Author: Courtney Shek

Fun Things to do in Lisbon!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

A few weeks ago my friends and I went on a trip to Lisbon and I thought I would share some fun things that we did while we were there! I am by no means a travel blogger, but after being on my first trip out of the country since COVID, I could definitely consider it, if I had the time and the money lol.

Boat Tours

On our first full day in Lisbon, we decided to take a boat tour. It was with Rent a Boat and my friend Jasmine had booked it for us. We weren’t really sure what to expect but it turned out to be an instant crowd-pleaser for all of us.

When we were getting onto the boat we saw a lot of people choosing to sit in the designated seating area at the back of the boat, but when the tour guide said we could sit at the front we decided to head up there immediately. And honestly, if you are going to pay for a boat tour why wouldn’t you sit at the very front? This was great because there was enough room for all four of us and also it gave us some privacy away from the other people on the tour so it was like we were on our own private boat tour.

The tour itself was really chill, and there was music playing and the tour guide offered us some ‘green wine’, which we had never heard of but we were instant fans. To quote the tour guide when he offered us the wine “you are Irish, I don’t even have to ask”. The only thing he was asking was “do you want more?”. Now I don’t know if it was because we were special or if the tour guide was offering everyone wine a second (and third/fourth) time but I will not complain.

In terms of a guided tour though, we did not get much which was fine by us because we just enjoyed being on the water in the sunshine and enjoying the views. Our tour guide did come down and give us some ideas of what to do while we were in Lisbon as we hadn’t planned much for the trip yet. And he was really friendly and enjoyable, I think if we had been with the rest of the main group we might have gotten more of a guided tour.

And that was our first boat tour of the trip! Yep, we went on another one lol. That night after the tour, we all kept talking about how much we enjoyed it and so we decided to also book a nighttime tour. We did look at sunset ones but they are hella pricey because that is an obvious peak time.

So the next night we once again arrived at Belem marina for our second boat trip. This one was with Get Your Guide – we did originally want to book with Rent a Boat again, but they were not available. Though I think this was actually a good thing because we had a different experience with this company.

We got lucky with our night tour that we were actually the only ones on the boat, there was supposed to be a second group joining but they didn’t show. So it really was a private boat tour this time.

Like before, we opted to sit in the front, because again you gotta have good views. That being said, at night the tour was much colder, thankfully though the company provided blankets for us which kept us warm during the trip. Also because we were the only ones on the boat we got more of a guided tour, so the tour guide was able to tell us about all the attractions we could see along the river banks. I appreciated this because we didn’t get that the first time so it was nice to learn a bit more about what we were seeing. And it wasn’t repetitive which is good.

Unlike the last tour I found this one more chill and relaxing, I guess because it had been a long day and also there’s something about being away from all the noise of the nightlife and sailing along the water. Also in terms of wine, we did get one glass which was included in the package, which was more what we expected from the tour anyway.

And that concludes all our boat tours in Portgual lol. Honestly, I would recommend doing more than one, maybe not in the same trip if that’s not your vibe but they are definitely worth it because it gives you a different view of the city. And also the different times of day were nice because the contrast between both of them was nice to see.

And Portugal offers a lot of different boat tours, we saw plenty of them on the water as we were sailing though I would highly recommend the sailboat ones. We saw a lot of tour boats that were filled with a lot more people and that didn’t seem as enjoyable but might be for you if you prefer hop-on and hop-off kind of tours. There are also tours that include snorkelling and lots of other things so it’s definitely worth checking out!

In terms of pricing, the tours weren’t super expensive either which was nice. Both were around £30 per person and if you book private ones, then the more people you have the less you pay as the price is split between people. So 100% would recommend it to everyone.

Pink Street

I am not sure if this place is for everyone but it’s definitely a pretty photo op during the day. Pink Street is a street in Lisbon that is lined with bars/clubs on both sides and is party central at night.

My friends and I decided to go for drinks after we had been on our daytime boat tour and it was Friday night and packed to the brim with people. Usually not my scene, especially because we have just come out of a pandemic but we decided to be optimistic about it.

We walked up and down the street a couple of times, trying to find a bar with seating which was almost impossible, but we finally found a table outside a bar called Liverpool, named after the football team. Not exactly Portuguese culture but the only place with space and we took advantage.

I’m not going to say it was a glamorous night because in reality, you were sitting in a very crowded area in the heat of the night and the noise of the goings-on around you but we still had a great time. It worked out well we had this table, and there was a waitress who was taking drink orders for the bar so she would come by every so often to take our order. I honestly felt bad for her because she must’ve been getting all kinds of abuse and such throughout the night but we did our best to be polite and non-disruptive. We’re not that kind of people lol.

So we sat and we enjoyed our drinks, enjoyed seeing the parades of bar crawls and hen/stag do’s that passed us by.

Eventually, we did have to use the bathroom and the inside of the Liverpool bar is tiny, definitely wouldn’t like to be crammed in there with a lot of people. And also the female toilets only had one toilet which isn’t great for a bar but thankfully there weren’t many people inside, and so not many people in the bathrooms either.

And then around 3:30 a.m the staff were packing up the tables so it was time for us to move and probably go home because we didn’t realise it had gotten so late so quickly. The drinks were strong and we were enjoying our time so we had no idea it was going by so fast. The bar wasn’t closing at 3:30 though, they were just putting the tables away we could have still gone into the bar as they were open till SIX AM. Yeah, SIX IN THE MORNING. Crazy.

We did not feel like going inside so we decided to find a spot to stand and finish our drinks before heading home. Even at 3:30 in the morning, there were people everywhere. It was crazy, especially when in Northern Ireland clubs close at 2 and everyone is in Mcdonald’s by 3.

And so yeah our Pink Street adventures were pretty tame compared to most going on around us but I’d still say pretty wild for us lol. Like I said I wouldn’t say it was a vibe for everyone and I feel like if we hadn’t gotten sat at a place with a table it would have been a bit miserable. So I’d say it could be hit or miss if you decide to take a trip.

We did walk through the next day while trying to get somewhere and like I said, I think it’s nice for photos but otherwise not worth a trip, unless you’re looking to get smashed.

Timeout Market

I feel like Time Out Market is one of those things that everyone mentions on their list of things to do in Lisbon. It is a big food market located close to Pink Street in the middle of Lisbon.

We decided to take a visit the afternoon after our Pink Street adventures and it was packed to the brim with people. I don’t think it would ever not be busy, to be honest, but it’s definitely a fun vibe. The market is set up in long cafeteria-style tables, and then the outside of the room is lined with various food vendors. So if you are ever undecided in the friend group about what to eat, this is the place because everyone can go to different places, or you can all share little things from various places.

I will say it’s not ideal if you are looking for anything private or intimate as you are sharing a huge table sandwiched between groups of people but it’s nice for lunch or something light.

The waiting lines for each vendor vary greatly as my friends and I scattered to our selected restaurant and came back to the table with our buzzers. Though I’d say waiting in line to order actually takes the longest. Once you get your order in then the food is prepared quite quickly.

Needless to say the food was delicious and everyone enjoyed it. Lauren and Jasmine even went to get dessert from one of the vendors.

So yeah a bright and fun place to go if you aren’t sure where to eat. I also think that if you enjoy the food from a vendor there that they have full restaurants you can go to if you want more of the food so definitely worth checking out. Though I’d say if you aren’t a fan of the crowds to not stay longer than needed, I found it quite draining to be there for a long time. But that could’ve been the late-night out before, who knows?

Electric Scooters

We saw so many people zooming about on electric scooters while we were away and we decided to take them for a spin ourselves after Time Out Market. To use them you just need to download an app corresponding to the branding on the scooter, scan the QR code, and off you go! There is no shortage of scooters or electric bikes in the centre of Lisbon, we saw so many of them around and it’s such a handy mode of transportation.

Something to note about the scooters though is they are heavy. Like heavier than your average Razor scooter as a kid and definitely more painful to the ankles. So basically, doing a lot of pedalling on them is a lot of work, as I soon found out because it took me a while to get to grips with the scooters. Like you’d think you can just step on and go but no lol.

You basically pedal a little bit and get your balance and then SLOWLY press on the accelerator until you feel comfortable to zoom off. Unfortunately for me, the balance did not come quickly lol we first took the scooters out in a busy area and trying to navigate through people and also get your balance was not the easiest.

So, later on, we were in a quieter area and took out some scooters again where I got to practice my balance and it was much easier to figure out when you weren’t worried about hitting anything or anyone. Plus, the scooters can get up to some speeds so you really need to spend time adjusting and figuring out what works for you.

Once we got the hang of the scooters they were super fun. We wanted to use them at every opportunity, especially because we were along the river and it was a long straight path towards where we were staying. It was so fun zooming down the street at night with the girls. Definitely, something we’ll remember for a long time.

So if you want something fun and easy to try out, get some scooters! I will now be sad if I go elsewhere on holiday and they don’t have scooters.

Sintra

Sintra is not actually in Lisbon as it’s a separate town but I wanted to include this in the post anway because this is something the girls and I did.

Sintra is a town about an hour by train from Lisbon, and it contains four castles that you can visit and is perfect for sightseeing and pictures…unless you go in the rain which we ended up doing. So you go on holiday expecting sunshine and warmth and then the next thing you know it’s cold and rainy. Not fun, but something you can handle especially if you’re from Northern Ireland.

What it looked like waiting to go inside to view the palace interior

Even though the weather wasn’t great it was still a good day. We went to the Pena Palace and Moorish Castle. First was Pena Palace as it was at the highest up the mountain. It definitely would have been better if it was sunny, as the views from the palace were obscured by the mist, but it did clear up a bit by the time we had finished the palace interiors and had some lunch at the cafeteria.

What it looked like after we had been inside and the weather had cleared a little

I am thankful the weather cleared up a bit so we had some views, it would have been disappointing to continue to see nothing from such a great vantage point. But still would recommend a clear day to visit. It was also very busy waiting to get into the palace, we were waiting for an hour in line, I think if it was sunny it wouldn’t have been bad but I assume everyone was wanting to get inside to escape the rain.

The rain wasn’t actually too bad, it was a light mist at most but I think the altitude and wind made it a lot worse. So if you do see rain in the forecast, bring a rain jacket!

After Pena Palace we made it to Moorish Castle, again there would have been great views if the weather hadn’t taken a turn again. Moorish Castle was stunning and while climbing up all the stairs was a journey it was one I’m glad we took, even if we couldn’t see anything from the top I am proud we made it all the way to the top. Plus the views that we could see were stunning.

I would love the opportunity to go back with better weather to see the full thing and also explore the gardens of Pena Palace, as we decided to skip those due to the weather.

So those are all the things I would recommend doing in Lisbon! There were a couple other things the girls and I did like go to a flea market and also the beach but I feel like those you can kind of do anywhere. And in terms of where to eat and restaurants, my friends and I basically just walked along wherever we were until we found a menu with a vegetarian option for my friend Lauren and also something everyone else could eat. Unfortunately for us, Portugal is seafood heaven and none of us actually eat seafood lol.

But yeah, I hope you enjoyed this blog post, and if you are interested in seeing more of our Lisbon adventures I did manage to vlog a little of each day so you can check that out below!

Now for me, it’s time to return to regular life and start planning my next holiday…

Flawless PLL Book #2 by Sara Shepard Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ 1 Comment

We are back with our second PLL book review! I feel like I couldn’t put it down I just had to know what happened. I also found out that when I had intended to read the series a few years ago, I was actually halfway through this one and stopped. Thank you Kindle app! But also don’t know why I stopped reading, there could be 100s of reasons but part of me thinks maybe it was because of exams and school. But that doesn’t matter now because I finished it this time!

So I think it makes sense to talk about each girl individually and all their drama because the girls are still not close yet. Yes, they discussed A briefly at Alison’s funeral but they are still keeping secrets to themselves. It is only at the end of the novel that they come together as Spencer spills some tea about The Jenna Thing, but we’ll get to that.

First off let’s talk about Aria, I feel like she didn’t have as much going on this time compared to the other girls. I also find her drama kind of boring. Thankfully Ezra Fitz was nowhere to be found in this novel. Not like in the TV show where he shows up at the funeral and he and Aria kiss. Bleh.

In this book, Aria is being pressured by A to tell her mom about the affair that Byron had with Meredith. Like I said I find this kind of boring. I guess because it matches up with the TV show. We know what happens, A writes a letter to Ella and she is devastated and can’t believe Aria knew the whole time. Ouch.

Aside from that, we see Aria get close to Sean Ackard who is Hanna’s ex. This was hinted at on the TV show but Aria shut it down because she could never do that to bestie Hanna. Except in the book she definitely does do that and doesn’t give Hanna a second thought because she and Sean broke up and Hanna and Aria aren’t friends. Savage.

I wasn’t expecting this pairing to happen and I don’t really know if I like it. Plus there’s the whole aspect of the girl code which was so obviously broken. I mean okay Aria and Hanna weren’t close anymore and Hanna had broken up with Sean but I still think it would be weird to date someone that your old friend also dated…but eh it’s high school and as long as Aria is hooking up with people her own age I can’t be mad. I just don’t see it lasting.

Meanwhile, Hanna is dealing with so many more issues. Like the fact she totaled Sean’s car and has to work at Sean’s family’s burn clinic to pay off the debt. Not cute. But still better than the dental clinic she had to work in on the TV show.

But also, Hanna’s dad is back and he has ulterior motives for wanting to see Hanna as he wants to bring his old family and his new family together. Gross.

Similar to the TV show the events unfold with Kate and Isobel as expected. That Kate ends up getting Hanna in more trouble by lying to Hanna and then exposing her terrible behavior to her dad. Except in the TV show, Hanna’s grandmother can see right through that crap. No such luck in the book, Hanna has no one to defend her and it looks like her dad may never speak to her again. Eep.

I honestly hate how none of the characters in this book have good parents lol. Like Hanna’s dad goes AWOL and starts a new life for himself and when he sees his daughter is clearly struggling he just pawns her off to her mother and goes back to his new family. And then Hanna’s mom is obviously a shitty parent who is never present and is sleeping with a cop to keep Hanna out of jail…I suppose that’s a “nice” thing to do for your daughter? But still shitty parenting lol.

Anyway, aside from the Kate drama, Hanna is also bullied by A into confessing to some girls at school that she has been making herself throw up. Which is horrible, but I am also glad they address Hanna’s eating disorder more in the books than in the TV show. Like in the TV show they mention it once and just act like it’s no big deal but it’s clearly still a very real thing in the books and I hope that Hanna can get it under control. I just wonder how far Mona will push her on it.

Next, we have Spencer who is totally head over heels in love with Wren. And it makes me sick. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again he is a full-ass adult who is hooking up with a teenager and it’s DISGUSTING. He calls Spencer not two days after breaking up with Melissa and then the first time Spencer hangs out with him they have sex. Ugh. Hate it.

I can totally see from Spencer’s point of view why she thought this would be okay but Wren is just an adult who took advantage of a child in that situation and it makes me want to barf.

But after Spencer sleeps with Wren she becomes the classic girl in love who is very clingy to Wren since she thought they had an amazing bond since they had sex. And it’s surprising to see Spencer fall like this I feel like in the TV show she is much stronger and the Wren thing doesn’t last as long. But yeah, naturally Wren gets annoyed with all of Spencer’s calls and texts and tells her it’s over.

And to make things worse, Spencer finds out from Melissa that Wren has actually been seeing her too. So not only is Wren scum for sleeping with a minor but he’s also been sleeping with her sister the whole time too! I hate him so much. And in the TV show, he ain’t much better so I guess he did deserve to be turned into a diamond.

I don’t know if we hear much from Wren after this book but I’m hoping not.

Also, Spencer stole her sister’s essays because she was way behind on school work and too busy focusing on Wren. But she also stole the essay on the TV show and if things play out the same then we know she kind of gets away with it. So not super important to note.

Then there’s Emily who is still struggling with her sexuality but she ends up making friends with Toby Cavanagh who saves her from a bad encounter with her ex Ben. Again, these events play out kind of similar to the TV show, except the dance they are at is homecoming and Toby doesn’t die.

I gotta tell you I was not expecting Toby to commit suicide. Like in the TV show he is Spencer’s main love interest and he actually seems like an okay guy! I am surprised they kept him around considering how quickly he is killed off in the books. This makes me wonder if Spencer has a different main love interest in the books or maybe none at all. I think I would prefer if the focus was on the drama and not the relationships so I’m fine if Spencer doesn’t have someone but we’ll see how it plays out.

It also turns out that Toby was the one who forced himself on Jenna and not the other way around like on TV, and that’s why he kills himself. He thought everyone knew his secret and he couldn’t live with it anymore. Even though the secret Emily was confronting him about was actually that she thought he killed Alison. Yikes. This is the tea that Spencer spills to the girls when they find out that Toby has died.

So yeah things took a turn at the end of the novel. All the girls think Toby was A and that they would be free but then Emily gets a text from A telling her “it’s not over till I say it is”. And then that’s the end of the book.

No A chapter at the end which is nice, I think it was good to end on that message because it’s a good cliffhanger and definitely makes me want to find out what happens next. I am hoping there is more deviation from the TV show because I find myself guessing what happens and that’s not always fun. I want to be shocked lol.

I am wondering if Jenna ever comes back to Rosewood properly or if we never see her again now that Toby is gone, I am wondering when Emily embraces her sexuality with Maya as it could still be a while, I wonder if Wren comes back though I really hope he doesn’t…and I also want to know what Hanna’s mom plans to do since her daughter is so ‘out of control’. And of course, I wonder if the girls will be able to figure out who A is now that Toby is gone, even though they aren’t really speaking at the minute.

And so that’s where we leave the girls for now. I am not sure what will come next exactly, other than Spencer’s essay thing kind of working out for her, Aria trying to keep her family together, and Emily trying to be straight lol. But I’m interested to see what A pushes them to do next. After all, I feel she is just getting started.

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I am finally starting to read the PLL books! I have wanted to do this for years but I’m finally committed to it now.

I also don’t know what to call these blog posts because I guess they are reviews but mainly it’s just going to be me comparing the books to the TV show and also trying to piece together clues about who A is.

First of all though disclaimer: I already know who A is in the books. How could you watch the TV show and search A theories without being spoiled? So I know who it’s going to be and now I wanna see if there are hints to see if I can figure it out or guess.

Anyway yes, so here we are PLL. I’ve actually read the first book before. Back in 2013 when I thought I was going to read the series. I got to the second book and stopped for whatever reason lol I swear I’ll get through this time.

So the first book is basically the pilot of the TV show. We are introduced to the four girls and who they are now that Alison is missing. The TV show also reveals the girls were at a sleepover when Ali went missing but we do not know this in the first book.

Mainly the things I focused most on in this book were the differences between the TV show.

For instance, everyone is hella rich in the books. So I don’t think Hanna will be having any money troubles.

They also have pets! How wild lol and Emily has a whole ass family of siblings and her dad isn’t in the army. How strange. Also, her mum is racist towards Maya’s family which is not cute.

The appearances of the girls are also different in the books but I won’t be mad about that because that always happens when doing book adaptations to movies/TV.

So yeah those were things that were strange to me. Also, A sends the girls a lot of messages in the first book. In the pilot, I think they all get one each. But A seems relentless in the first book, texting Aria nonstop about Ezra, leaving notes for Hanna and emailing Spencer. I like this though because it really shows how forceful A is.

Also A is Mona in the beginning so tell me how she be laying high in a field at Noel’s house and sending all these messages to Aria at the same time lol. I mean she was maybe acting and wrote a script to auto send messages but for real how did she know Aria was gonna see Ezra?

I think that’s the biggest thing I wondered about while watching the show is wondering how Mona even did it all. I mean they say some crap about her mental illness making her feel omnipresent or something but there had to be more. So I am hoping the book gives me some insight.

There was also the A chapter at the end of the book which, apparently back in 2013 I loved but today I read it and it was kind of cringey. It gave me some Gossip Girl vibes like very much “and who am I? That’s a secret I’ll never tell” sort of thing. Probably could have done without it.

Though I wonder how often these A chapters happen or maybe it’s just at the end of each book. I don’t know if I like it though. We’ll see how it goes from here on out.

Another thing that was wild to me is how they write Aria and Ezra. I mean I’m 100% against Ezria because it’s creepy, I might have felt differently back in the day but now I can’t stop being like “HE IS HER TEACHER AND SHE’S UNDERAGE”. So I’ll probably complain about them a lot in every blog post lol.

Anyway, the way Ezra is written is like he might as well be Aria’s age. I mean him getting jealous over her flirting with Noel is so icky. And even when he is hurt when he thought Aria told someone about them. “I really liked you” bro get over it she’s 16 and you’re in your early 20s…

Yeah, it’s all icky and I hate it. The way they write it in the book also makes it so casual and I hate that too. So yeah not a fan of Ezria can’t wait for it to be shut down. Hope it happens soon lol.

It’s also wild how they write about Wren and Spencer and how he immediately is way more attracted to her than Melissa and stuff. Like there’s no build-up, I wish there had been more to it…not sure what else I would have wanted lol but it just seemed a tad unbelievable.

Not to mention the way Spencer’s family treat her it’s so gross. How about being angry at the 20 something student who is preying on your 16-year-old and not your 16-year-old???

Yeah, that’s another inappropriate relationship. Ick.

Aside from all of that, the book is a strong start into something interesting. I’m excited to get into the series for real this time. I’ve read bits and pieces about the book series online so I’m interested to see how it all plays out.

And of course, I’ll be blogging about it along the way. This is the kind of series I feel I’m going to have a lot of thoughts about. So stay tuned for another post probably very soon!

May 2022 Reading Wrap Up

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I read quite a bit this month! Proud of myself considering last month was a bit of a fail reading-wise, but we soldier on.

Talking As Fast As I Can

I finished this one on the 1st May so I guess technically an April read? I covered it in my last post as well.

It was a nice one. Nothing super special I feel but a nice insight into Lauren Graham’s time as Lorelai in the Gilmore Girls reboot and some other fun anecdotes about her career as an actress. Would recommend it to any Gilmore Girls fan out there.

Sweet Water

I wasn’t planning on reading an Amazon Prime First Reads book this month, but I started it when I was out of the house and wanted something to read.

This one was actually a good one! Amazon Prime First Read selections can be hit or miss and I always have a love/hate relationship with the ones that I choose. But this one I liked. I’m not saying it was amazing though, murder mysteries are always touch and go with me.

I think this one had a good pace, I hate when a novel drags something out when they don’t need to. I think the mystery was just enough but nothing crazy that you couldn’t guess what was going on.

So yeah, this one would be on the higher end of 3 stars compared to others I’ve read. And I usually end up rating a lot of books I read 3 stars lol so I guess that’s saying something.

Cinderella is Dead

I read this one very quickly, credit to the fact that we were getting work done on our house and the electricity was off for a few hours haha.

I’m not usually one for fantasy books, which sounds ridiculous when I tell you I loved Twilight and Vampire Diaries in my teens lol but yeah I don’t know they just don’t usually have an appeal to me. So I was taking a chance with this one it sounded interesting.

I ended up really enjoying this, I think it was a good twist on an old story. I wasn’t expecting the plot twist at the end either. Honestly just a great story and something that kept me wanting to go back to see what would happen. I’d definitely recommend it if you enjoy fantasy/fairy tale type stories.

Pretty Little Liars

IT. IS. TIME.

I have been wanting to read this series basically since I watched the TV show, was disappointed in the ending and found out the books are better. I have read the first book I think twice before with the intention of reading more and I just haven’t. But I’m doing it this year.

So I actually managed to finish the first book in the series yesterday which means I can officially include it here! Yay! But because I want to talk more in-depth about the books they will be getting their own blog posts.

I want to discuss everything, the secrets, the drama the “who is A” of it all. I mean I know who it is already because the internet spoiled it for me long ago but I need to know if there are clues. I wanna relive my 16-year-old self’s life of being immersed in the PLL universe. So be ready for this because I am so ready for this.

But don’t worry, I will still be breaking up the series with other books in between. How many I couldn’t say but there will at least be a couple Bridgerton books thrown in there.

Anyway yes, that’s my reading for May, I don’t know if reading will pick up now I’ve started a series like PLL, in my head, those books are easy reads and not super long so I feel like I’ll get through them quickly but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

April 2022 Reading Wrap Up

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

This one is going to be a short one because I managed to read ONE book the whole month haha.

I actually didn’t even think I was taking that long to read this one book but I guess I did because well…the facts are it took me almost four weeks to read this book.

I’m not mad about it though, these things happen I feel like because I was off for Easter and not travelling etc I wasn’t reading much and so it’s not a big deal. We will just work on reading a bit more next month to make up for it.

So the book I read this month was:

When He Was Wicked

This is the 6th Bridgerton book and I did not like it lol.

First of all the first couple of times, I did some reading on it I was falling asleep while reading. Like partly because I was tired but also the story was not exciting.

The story goes that Francesca is married to John the Earl of Kilmartin and she has a wonderful life. However, Michael, John’s cousin is secretly in love with her. Eh. John ends up passing away very suddenly and so Francesca becomes a widow, and long story short she and Michael fall in love.

And I really did not like it. I mean I will give credit that because Francesca is not a virgin the love scenes were different than the usual “first-time” ones which have been in every other Bridgerton book so far. So that was something.

But Francesca’s constant indecision and vague “I can’t marry Michael just because” thoughts were so annoying. I am an indecisive person so I hate to see it in someone I’m reading about too. Just because I know it’s annoying when I can’t make up my mind never mind a fictional character. And there’s not even precise reasoning behind the indecision other than Francesca refusing to see Michael as anything but a friend really.

I also found that Michael’s plan to essentially trap Francesca in marriage by impregnating her is not the vibe. I know she never rejected his advances but it did not sit right with me at all.

So yeah, I was very glad to be done with this one. I suppose I could have just stopped reading it if I disliked it, but I’ve made it so far into the series I have to see it through to the end now. I probably won’t read the side books to the series but if I at least get through the main Bridgerton siblings that’ll be enough. Not sure how the other books will go but I can feel myself getting a bit fed up with them so I’m hoping to end it soon.

That being said I am still enjoying the TV show and am hoping for some creative changes to make some of the stories a bit more modern and more tolerable so…we’ll see how that goes.

Currently Reading: Talking As Fast As I Can

I kind of want to count this as part of my read books in April since I managed to read a lot of it in the last few days. But it’s not finished and it’s not even like I have 10 pages left either. I’m about 3/4s of the way through.

This is a non-fiction book written by Lauren Graham where she shares some stories of her time on Gilmore Girls and how she came to be where she is today.

The book is okay, for a non-fiction book. Lauren’s writing style is basically the talking style of Lorelai Gilmore which makes for an easy read. If you watch Gilmore Girls then you know, the characters talk fast so the book’s pace is fast. If you can read at the speed they talk haha.

But yeah I think I will finish it up in the next few days and I’ll be onto something else.

Reading plans for May consist of, reading the last of the physical books I bought a few months ago. I feel like I’ve had them for ages and I don’t know what’s been taking so long to read them – I guess I have been reading some Kindle books in between.

Another big goal is to actually start the Pretty Little Liars book series. I want to read it this year and I have officially finished my TV show rewatch so I want to get into the books when I can. Hopefully, by June I will have started into them, from what I hear they are better than the TV show so I’m looking forward to seeing what they bring to the PLL universe.

I’m not sure how much I will read in May, but I’m hoping it’s more than one book haha. I do have a holiday booked at the end of May but I’ll be with friends so not sure how much reading will get done, so better work on getting some books in before then!

The All Ireland Pole Dance Championships

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Last weekend I got the chance to get dressed up fancy and attend the All Irelands. I’ve attended the competition a couple of years ago and I am always blown away by the talent that is shown there. As someone who has done pole for 4 years I can appreciate the work that goes into it and even just the courage to perform on stage in front of everyone.

It was a good night and it was fun to get dressed up for an event that wasn’t a wedding. I have always loved the idea of being able to dress in black-tie attire for various events – my dream life is one pictured in the likes of Gossip Girl where you have an event to attend every week and also one packed with all the drama.

On the other hand, I am also glad my life is a bit boring at times because all the events and drama can be exhausting…but still it’s nice to dream.

I don’t know when the next time I will get dressed up like this will be, probably my friend Jasmine’s wedding next year so I thought I would enjoy this moment a bit longer by posting it all over my social media lol. And even so special it makes my blog lol so enjoy!

Recently Watched TV Shows February – March 2022

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I did a blog post like this last year where I finally sat down to watch a bunch of Netflix shows I had had on my list for a long time and I’ve decided to do it again! I finished a long rewatch of Pretty Little Liars a couple of months ago and so I was more than ready to dive into some one-season shows that were shorter and more noncommital.

So these are all the shows I’ve watched recently and my thoughts on them!

For the People

I love a good Shondaland show and I decided to watch this because it only had two seasons and my Disney+ subscription was expiring and I wanted to use it.

So this was not a successful Shondaland show, which is sad because it had the potential to be a strong show. Because we know Shonda can do a law show – How to Get Away With Murder and Scandal being good examples.

But in this show, they tried to give the lawyers personal lives and then they dropped them and never brought them up again. Like I was ready for the Kate Littlejohn girlfriend arc to be cute and fun. I needed them to give me more of Richard and Jill. What the hell happened with Allison and Seth after Allison hooked up with a different guy?

They just created these plotlines and dropped them like nothing and it was sad. Don’t get me wrong, the law cases are interesting and the main part but don’t bring up the lawyers’ personal lives if there’s going to be nothing to them. So yeah, sad it was a bit of a flop but it was enjoyable for the two seasons it had.

One of Us is Lying

This one was okay. I feel like if I didn’t read the book I would have been more into it. I read the books last year and I enjoyed them so I was excited about the TV show.

Nothing much to say about it to be honest haha I mean it follows the books pretty close so can’t complain but it was a bit boring because I already knew what happened.

Still, it looks like the next season is deviating from the second book so we will see what that’s like. I would recommend it if you haven’t read the book!

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window

I got through this in two days, we love short TV shows. This one was a wild journey from start to finish but something fun to watch. Don’t really know if I would have tuned into another season but it was nice for what it was haha.

The Chair

This show made me realise how much I miss Sandra Oh. She’s just an amazing actress and it was fun to see her in something other than Grey’s Anatomy.

A lot was happening in this show from the get-go and I loved that. There was always something new but the characters are easy to identify and you get invested quite easily. At least I did.

I wasn’t expecting the show to wrap up so nicely in the last episode like it did. I suppose as one season it does stand well on its own but I am hoping for another season. I feel like we just started to get to know everyone so I want more of this world.

Though if they want to just do a spin-off following the life of JuJu that would be fine she gives me life and I could easily watch her go on adventures day after day.

So I highly recommend this show! It’s a short one but it’s fun!

Lost

Okay this one I’ve been watching with my boyfriend and also I started it in December but I just finished it and I needed to include it to add my thoughts.

Honestly, disappointed lol. It was a big show at the time it was airing and there was a lot of mystery but things were just not explained enough for me. I just felt a bit cheated and then it kind of looked like they had all been dead the whole time???

I’m kind of sad I didn’t bail out of this one sooner but also proud that my boyfriend and I finished a long-running show together haha. We usually don’t.

Bridgerton Season 2

I included Bridgerton in my blog post last year and I loved it and obviously I watched season 2. I’m not going to lie, Anthony and Kate were not the most interesting people this season lol. I wanted them to get together sooner than they did but maybe that’s just because I read the book and things happened a bit differently then.

I need more about Penelope next season, and I know in terms of books she won’t get her moment with Colin until book 4 aka season 4 but can we skip Benedict and go straight to Pen? I feel like that’s what the audience would want as well. Especially now that Eloise knows her secret.

Also, spoilers if you haven’t read the books BUT I picked up on the Easter Egg from season one this season when they revisited Marina. In the books; Marina dies and Eloise ends up becoming step mum to the twins and marrying Philip Crane. BUT in the TV show, Marina seems perfectly fine and has just given birth to the twins so I wonder what will happen with that?

To be honest, I hope Eloise ends up with someone else, she deserves more than to be with Philip Crane because if we’re going by the books he’s not great. Like he’s a bad father and just hides away all day in his greenhouse and Eloise is so not the type to just accept that. So I want a better husband for her in the TV show.

Not sure how they will bring Sophie into the mix for Benedict but I think that story will be a cute one. But I’m getting ahead of myself, season 2 just aired!

Overall a good season but Penelope and everyone else were a bit more interesting than our main characters. Like Lady Featherington really slayed hustling the ton and then “cousin Jack” she’s an icon. Plus didn’t miss the Duke of Hastings which is good but also sad because I do enjoy Rege Jean Page.

Currently Watching: Inventing Anna, Queer Eye S6 and More!

Okay so I wanted to include Inventing Anna in this list but my boyfriend and I haven’t finished it as we have been busy watching Silicon Valley and the Amazing Race, but I do hope to get to the end of it soon! Especially because it seems like the kind of show I would watch very quickly on my own.

My boyfriend and I have also been watching Queer Eye season 6, we started one episode like months ago but have been making good progress on the season so far, who doesn’t need some Fab 5 in their life during hard times?

And then on my own; I have been taking time to finally watch Drag Race US Season 14! Honestly, this season is so strong and I am not sure who is going to take the crown but I think I’m mostly rooting for Willow Pill.

I have also watched two episodes of Euphoria and I want to continue on that because it has a lot of hype around it, and maybe I’ll even take in the next season of Grey’s Anatomy…basically what I am saying is there is no shortage of TV shows to be watching at the minute and I am ready for it all lol.

March 2022 Reading Wrap Up

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

This month I was busy and so I feel like I wasn’t reading as much but we managed to finish one yesterday which makes a total of 3 books! Which I would say is about the average for me, so not bad.

Lie, Lie Again

When I started this one I thought I was going to really like it. But as I was reading it, I was realising the story wasn’t really going anywhere? I mean I thought there was going to be more mystery and drama.

The story follows three women who live in the same apartment complex. They all have their own secrets, which sounds interesting and mysterious but two of them have very basic and boring storylines. The most interesting one was Sylvia and even then it fell a bit flat for me.

I think it could be good in terms of a TV show but there are so many of them out there. So no, the book’s not super original but it was an enjoyable read. I just wish there had been a bit more drama or suspense to keep it a little more interesting. Still better than Open House though.

Loveboat, Reunion

I read the first book in this series a couple of years ago and I was so excited to get my hands on the sequel!

This book follows the story of Sophie and Xavier, they had a wild romance during Loveboat which ended up in flames. Now they are both trying to prove themselves as they return to the real world, Sophie as an AI uni student hoping to woo her professor and Xavier as a high school senior repeat who is struggling with dyslexia.

Honestly, when I first started reading it took me a while to figure out what was going on. I do not remember the first book at all lol so maybe I should have reread it before diving in here. This is a common theme for me with anything, even new seasons of TV shows I just never remember what happened beforehand. But oh well we figure out enough to keep reading.

Still, I really enjoyed this book! I was glad to learn more about Xavier and I was rooting for him and Sophie to work things out in the end. I definitely think I favoured Xavier’s storyline over Sophie’s; hers seemed a bit more surface level to me compared to Xavier’s struggles but I like how they intertwined.

I would highly recommend this book if you enjoyed the first one, I think it wraps up the Loveboat story nicely.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

I feel like I read a lot of murder mysteries but this one I could not put down. I loved this.

It’s not like there’s anything in this murder mystery that is super different from others but I liked the main character Pip a lot. And I enjoyed her determination to solve this mystery. Plus I think it was one where you couldn’t immediately guess the storyline and those are always the best.

I will 100% be picking up the other two books in the series to see what happens next.

And that includes another month of reading. I do not have a currently reading at the moment since I just finished A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder yesterday. Though the next book I know I will be reading is another Bridgerton one since it is due. I think it’ll be the first Bridgerton book about a sibling I know little about so it will be interesting.

Other books I plan to read in April are books that I bought physical copies of a few months ago and should probably get around to reading. That being said I don’t know how many books I’ll be reading since I know I’m busy towards the end of April but we’ll try to read what we can.

So far I have read 8 books out of 22 and so I think I’ll reach my goal in a few months’ time. Yay!

QuirkyWeddings Fair with Jasmine & Lauren! | 20th March 2022

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday I went with my friends Jasmine and Lauren to a wedding fair!

Jasmine is getting married next year and so we went to check out some ideas for her wedding, and not gonna lie I did get some ideas for my own. Not that I’ll be married anytime soon haha.

It was a really fun day! I love looking at wedding things because it’s always so beautiful.

Plus I am super excited to see what Jasmine’s wedding will be like, and I feel honoured that she has chosen me to be a part of it as a bridesmaid.

I probably won’t make much more wedding content but this was a fun day and I wanted to document. Obviously it’s not my wedding so I won’t be going overboard with vlogging and stuff but some things here and there are nice to look back on.

As for my own wedding, I’ll probably document a lot but maybe not post as much? Or I’ll post all the time lol who knows? In the meantime I’ll just enjoy being a part of other peoples weddings. Being a guest is a lot more fun and less stressful.