Wowowow, I haven't been as excited to read a book as I am to read this in a long time. I won't give too much away, as I plan to do a proper book review at a later date, but let me just say it's a novel about The Lady of Shalott, written in Tumblr-style poetry. Oh my days, have you ever read such perfection?!

When I was about seven I went through the ballet phase most girls go through at some point, and for ages I was obsessed with Adele Geras's series about a ballerina called Louisa. I loved those books to death - there was something about the storytelling, the lovable characters and the beautiful illustrations which captivated me, and made them one of the more memorable reads from my childhood. So a few months ago I was just idly googling the author, as I couldn't remember the names of all the titles of the Louisa books and it was bothering me enormously, and I saw this book. Now, I have to mention the cover, because although you should never judge a book by its cover etc, how gorgeous is this? 'Oh so fairytale' was my first thought, and I was delighted to discover that it is in fact a retelling of three classic fairytales in separate volumes: The Tower Room (based on Rapunzel), Watching the Rose (Sleeping Beauty), and Pictures of the Night (Snow White). I've been really into mystical, fairytale-type things recently, so I decided to order this and give it a go. I was a bit concerned it would turn out to be way below my age group, but there's a note on the back that says 'unsuitable for younger readers' so I'm pleased about that. 

Since there was no school today, I went to the supermarket with my mum and brother and I saw they had a display of really lightweight and soft scarves, and since I only own chunky knitted ones, I really wanted to get one. There were loads of them, but eventually I settled on this kind of greyish green print - I wouldn't quite describe it as animal print, but I suppose there is some leopardish bits in there. There were quite a few green ones I liked too, but since all the coats and jackets I have are green I didn't want anything too matchy-matchy, so hopefully this will be perfect for the autumn/spring weather where a big cosy scarf is sometime a little too much.

And that's it! Look out for a book review of The Song of the Sparrow coming soon...

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Emilie Autumn

Although I posted yesterday about my obsession with Lorde, that's really only been in the last few days, and my main music obsession for September was Emilie Autumn. I'd forgotten just how amazing her music is, and I'm happy to say I had a total rediscovery moment this September. I just love the variety of her songs - we're talking anything from goth rock to mellow, lyrical music.

And that's just about it! For me the biggest thing that happened in September was going back to school, so I was totally focused on that, which meant I didn't have as much free time to enjoy doing my own thing in. Hopefully October will be slightly less manic, but somehow I doubt it very much...

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Royals

Team

Million Dollar Bills

Bravado

Thanks for reading!

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Firstly, I got this trilogy by Libba Bray. I really can't remember where I first heard about these books, but they haven't actually been on my wishlist all that long. Set in 1895, the main character is Gemma Doyle, who is shipped off from her life in India to a boarding school in England, where she discovers her power to attract the supernatural. I think was interested by the odd mix of historical fiction, school story and fantasy these seem to involve - they're also described as Gothic novels "touched by modern conceptions". Despite (or perhaps because of) this bizarre mix of genres, I think I'm going to enjoy this trilogy a lot.

Surprise, surprise - it's historical fiction. I first read Anna Godbersen's series The Luxe a year or two ago, and I remember being thrilled to find out she had written another similar series set in the 1920s. Especially after reading and watching The Great Gatsby, I think it's safe to say that the roaring twenties are a favourite period of mine, so I really hope these books live up to my expectations. I got the first two books from the series because these were both available for about £2 each, and the next one was over £5, so I'm going to wait for it to go down in price.

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Rose Under Fire is Elizabeth Wein's second novel set in World War II, after Code Name Verity which was an incredible read that I reviewed back in July. It's about an American ATA pilot who is captured and sent to the Ravensbruck concentration camp - if it's anything at all like Code Name Verity, I cannot wait to read this!

On a bit of a departure from the historical fiction theme, Glow is about two teenagers called Waverly and Kieran who are part of the first generation born in space. The blurb gives very little away about the rest of the plot, but that was enough to convince me! I saw this in a bookshop in the UK over the summer and decided to buy it online. To say one more thing about it, I just love the cover - it's so beautiful and it has a really tactile, waxy feel to it.

Untold Stories by Alan Bennett

Greek Tragedy

These are actually two books I need for school, but I thought I'd include them here anyway. I don't know much about Alan Bennett, but this book has some raving reviews on the back cover so I assume that means it's good, ahaha. The one on Greek tragedy is because we're going to be looking at tragedy and comedy over the next two years, and as my English teacher said "You really can't talk about tragedy without going back to the Greeks, can you?".

And that's it! Even though I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more books until I'd read everything on my bookcase, I have made some decent progress over the summer and I just needed something to keep my spirits up in the face of a whole year of school. I spent less than £20 in total (not counting the ones for school), so I'm pretty pleased with myself for getting finding them for such good prices. I'm really excited to get stuck into all these - I may review one or two if they really catch my interest, so look out for that.

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I hope you enjoy the above - please comment if you know Emilie or love her music too!

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Burgundy tank top from H&M, €4.95

I wanted a plain, simple tank top in a reddish/purple, as the one I have has stopped being stretchy and gone a funny shape. I just love this colour for autumn and winter, and it goes with a lot of my clothes.

Hair doughnut from H&M, €2.75

I've always been fascinated by these, but I never really understood how they worked. My friend Joolz quickly educated me, so I decided to buy one and have a go myself - and I have to say, it took me several tries before I even remotely got the desired effect! But I love how it looks, and I know this is going to be my new favourite hairstyle for autumn.

Sparkly nail varnish from New Look, €3.99

This is perfect for giving your nails a snazzy top coat - it's clear with added glitter, and it looks amazing in the bottle.

Stick-on gems from HEMA, around €3

I'm going to use for craft projects and cards, as I finished up my last packet a while ago.

Wire beads from HEMA, around €3

This was a bit of a strange purchase, but it was that kind of shop. I originally thought these were those little beads you can assemble into shapes and then iron to create a kind of plastic design, and it took me a while to realise that the idea is to customise the wire on your earphones, by attaching the little beads to it.

Here's what the finished effect looks like:

I absolutely love these! I haven't seen them anywhere else, and it's such a fun and novel idea. I slotted mine on fairly randomly, but you could do it in a pattern if you so desired.

And that's it for my slightly random haul!

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Outfit 1

This outfit is for quite cold weather, as it includes a winter coat. Creepers are some of my favourite footwear for school, as I find they go with anything, especially the black ones, and add a touch of grunge to any outfit. I love the colours here, and I hope the items go well together without being too matchy-matchy.  

Outfit 2

I am a huge fan of these kind of loose trousers I've been seeing a lot in shops lately. I have a pair myself from Pull & Bear, and I love them so much! They're ideal for the back-to-school time of year when summer is just turning into autumn, and they come in a huge range of colours. I love the brown satchel bag too, and the black jellies (which could be worn with socks) are a quirky finish.

Outfit 3

I've been shopping a lot in the past few weeks and I've noticed a lot of tartan clothes, particularly in shops like Bershka and New Look. I personally love it, and I think these shorts are a great way to wear it - a statement piece, yet without being over the top. Paired with a simple t-shirt and Dr Martens, the result is a comfy autumnal outfit which I think would be fab for school.

Outfit 4

This combination of leggings, a simple top, a shirt and lace up boots just screams practical school attire (or it does to me at least!). I think every girl should own at least one pair of brown or black lace up combat style boots, as they go with almost everything. I love the skeleton print leggings oh-so-much, and I've been looking for something similar to them for absolutely ages.

Outfit 5

This is so girly and feminine, and lovely for just before the weather starts to turn. Denim shorts are a foolproof choice for school, and the knee high socks add a slightly vintage twist.

Outfit 6

I love everything and anything with the USA flag on! I also like clothes with the Union Jack, but I prefer the stars and stripes for school as it's a bit more neutral and doesn't single me out as being British. Anyway, I love the lace shorts, which being black with go with so many different things, and could be worn with tights underneath in colder weather. The shoes (Jeffrey Campbell Coltranes) probably aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I absolutely adore these, and if I had a couple of hundred dollars to spare, I would definitely buy them and wear them to school!

Outfit 7

Another thing I keep seeing in the shops is this slightly rococo/baroque print, and in thin, floaty material shirts. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but I think this particular shirt (or indeed any other patterned shirt) would look great under a pair of dungarees. I love the shiny bag, although it would probably be too small for school, and look, more jellies!

Excuse the weird lighting on this picture, it's actually quite difficult to photograph black clothing properly, and this was probably my 5th or 6th attempt! Anyway, I'd been looking for a cosy black cardi to wear in winter for some time now - I have similar ones in grey and cream from Primark, but I always felt like I needed a black one. So I was so happy to find this in New Look, even though the price was double what I paid in Primark for something very similar. This will be perfect when it gets colder, as it's warm and snuggly, without being too itchy.

Grey Knee Socks from Bershka, €7.99

This is another thing I'd been looking for for a while: knee socks. I've looked in so many shops over here in Belgium, but very few seem to do knee socks, which is kind of odd. But I finally found these in Bershka, and I'm fairly pleased with them, as they'll go perfectly with skirts and creepers in autumn.

And that's it. Yup, I only bought two things, which I suppose is hardly worth doing a haul post for - but never mind, since I've already written it :P

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