I rarely seem to remember to do monthly favourites, but this time I was looking for ideas for a blog post anyway, so I thought why not talk about some things I've been loving throughout the summer.

Bastille

HAIM

TRXYE

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

I came across this series on Amazon, and was immediately intrigued by the setting - the crumbling country mansion of the de Luce family, set in the English countryside in the 1950s. The heroine is Flavia de Luce, an 11-year-old chemistry whizz who spends her time in her chemical laboratory researching and creating all kinds of poisons - throw in a few good murders and an eccentric family and you've got an absolute gem of a novel.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

You know those books which blow you away and leave you pondering over the intricacies of the plot and whether the characters were based on real people days after you've finished it? This is one of those. Think a more modern taken on Jane Eyre, with a few exciting ingredients, but then forget that idea because it's not like that at all - it's stunningly well-written, spellbinding in the extreme, and left me at a loss for words.

The Original St Trinians Films

I've loved the whole concept of St Trinians ever since I first saw the 2007 film, but I was even more thrilled to discover the four original 1950s and 60s films in a lovely boxset. There's so much to like about these films: the comedy element, the nightmarish girls, the havoc they wreak, and the whole quintessential Britishness of it all.

Sherlock

Floral Headband from Ale-Hop

As I may have mentioned in a previous post, I'm currently growing my fringe out, and so far this headband has been brilliant in keeping it out of my face until it's long enough to join the rest of my hair.

And that's the stuff I've been loving this summer!

x

It's that time again- the end of an old month and the beginning of a new. Time for my second ever monthly favourites post, where I'll be talking about all the things I've been loving this month. Let's get cracking...

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Just like last time, I'm starting off with my book of the month - or in this case, trilogy of the month, as there are three books: A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing. I got these books off Amazon just over two weeks ago (which I included in this haul), and it's taken me that long to get through all three of them, thanks to all the reading I've been doing for school that means my own personal reading has to take a back seat. But anyway, I think I'll be doing a separate, more detailed review post on these books because they are just that good. I recommended them to my lovely friend Elisha, who I'm thrilled to say has added A Great and Terrible Beauty to her Christmas book wishlist!

Hair doughnuts

The Great British Bakeoff

It's the end of August and I only have two days of holiday left - where did the summer go?! It seems only yesterday I was looking forward to over two months of nothingness, and now school is just around the corner.

Anyway it's time for my first monthly favourites post! I planned to do this at the end of July, but I was poorly and away on holiday so it didn't really work out. The idea is that I ramble on about a few thing I've been loving this month, which can include anything from clothes and accessories to books and TV shows. In the style of YouTubers such as Zoella and dailygrace, here's my monthly favourites for August:

Historical fiction

I've always loved historical fiction, but I've never been quite so into it as I was during August. I reread most of my collection of this genre, which is rapidly expanding to include more adult books and less YA fiction, and I enjoyed it all immensely. I love both reading and history with a passion, so historical fiction is ideal for me! My favourite read of the month was definitely The Rose of Sebastopol, by Katharine McMahon.I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a dose of Victorian life, or is particularly interested in Florence Nightingale and nursing.

Mini Review:

Set in 1854, The Rose of Sebastopol follows the main character Mariella Lingwood and her friendship with her cousin Rosa Barr, as Rosa follows her dream of becoming a nurse and travels to the Russian Crimea to work on the front line. When Rosa vanishes without a trace, leaving only a trail of whispered rumour and scandal behind her, Mariella travels to the heart of the conflict by request of her injured doctor fiancé, in her quest to uncover her cousin's secrets, while navigating the dangerous landscape of the ravaged Crimea. 

I've been on Polyvore for over two years now, but this past month I've acquired a ton of followers (I hit 1000 not too long ago!) and received a lot of likes on my sets. I'm so happy, as I really enjoy putting together sets and collections and it's something that takes up a lot of my time.

I don't watch a whole lot of TV (mostly due to the fact that the only two channels we get in English are BBC1 and BBC2), but recently I've been loving the series Death in Paradise, on BBC1. I love crime fiction, and the series is described as a crime comedy-drama. I haven't seen a whole lot of episodes, but I love the characters, the setting, and above all the highly clever plots which I rarely see coming. So far I've only watched repeats of past series, but I'm super excited there's a new season airing next January!

I spent over a week of August in Spain, and the rest back home where although it wasn't baking hot, summer gear was definitely required. When it comes to summery footwear, I do have quite a lot of ballerina pumps and flipflops, but by far my favourite thing to wear on a walk down to the beach or out to dinner are these sandals I bought a couple of years ago from Primark - they were £6 and have lasted remarkably well for that kind of money. I wear them with everything, from floaty maxi skirts to leggings or denim shorts.

Speaking of denim shorts: one item of clothing I've found myself wearing a lot this summer are my acid wash shorts from Primark. These were about £12, if I remember correctly, and I got them from Primark for the same reason I buy so many things there: I loved the look of them, but I wasn't sure whether I would enough use out of them to spend a lot of money on them in another shop. But it turns out these were a fantastic purchase, as I've been wearing them a lot this summer! Being denim, they aren't great for wearing in very hot weather, but they're perfect for when the temperature is around 20-25 degrees. They have a lovely pale acid wash effect, with slightly lethal-looking metal studs on one half of the fabric.

Vlogs

Now you may or may not know that I watch a lot of YouTubers. Some of my favourites include Zoella, SprinkleofGlitter, dailygrace, Emma Blackery, danisnotonfire, RoseEllenDix and Tanya Burr - I just love watching the videos they put together, and I really appreciate that so many wonderful people spend their time providing free internet content for the likes of you and I. But something I've found myself getting really into in the past month or so is watching vlogs. Thanks to YouTube events such as Vidcon, there has been no shortage of vlogs of late, and I've been loving watching the little details from people's lives as well as the main videos they make.

Marina & the Diamonds

It's no secret that I love Marina! This month I had quite an obsession with her music, and I spent most of the time sitting at my computer with her album Electra Heart on repeat.

And that's it! Probably a kind of boring/pointless set of favourites for this month, but I'll work on it for September, okay?