New books...

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick

This is a non fiction book about North Korea and looks at what life is like there from the 1990s onwards looking at the famine and the controlling government. The book was written using interviews with North Korean people and sounds like it's going to be a hugely interesting read.

The Call of the Weird by Louis Theroux

Another non fiction book although one with a lighter tone this was written during Theroux's LA Stories series and is a travelogue of sorts as he meets the weird and wonderful (and not so wonderful) people of LA. I am a huge fan of Theroux and his documentaries so look forward to this.

Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl

I usually steer clear of YA as I'm not particularly a fan but I saw this and had to pick it up. This is a novel about Marvel character Natasha Romanoff a.k.a Black Widow- super spy and all round badass. The book is set eight years before the first Avengers film and hopefully will be interesting!

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide

Set in Tokyo this is a short novel about a married couple in their thirties who are drifting apart until a a cat invites itself into their house and brings them back together. The story sounds completely charming and the cover is beautiful.

Primark haul...

A few weeks ago I went for an innocent "wander" around the shops. It was payday and I thought it would be a good idea to get some Summer clothes for my holiday next month. I didn't end up doing that, but I did buy cute pyjamas instead! Yay!

Primark have Adventure Time pj's! I am in love with these and would happily wear them all the time if I could!

Ok, Primark also have Wonder Woman pyjamas. I decided to not go too crazy and just got the bottoms for these because seriously I have way too many pj's already... Also, Tokidoki pants! :)

As well as that I got some cool accessories. The leopard scarf is huge and was just £2 in the clearance section. I got a pack of gold and black stud earrings, some pom pom hair clips (which you can wear to make it look like you have little fluffy bear ears...), some sunglasses and this amazing Ursula make up bag. I don't really need a make up bag but I though it would be useful for toiletries on holiday (my excuse to buy it!) and I love Ursula so :) 

Pop in a Box June...

Another month another Pop in a box!

Pop in a Box is great subscription service if you are a Funko collector- you get sent a mystery pop (or more depending on your subscription choice) and it will only be ones that you put into your wishlist meaning you don't get disappointed!

This month I didn't actually get a Pop I got a Dorbz. I remember saying ages ago that I was adamant that I wasn't going to start collecting these things, and now I have five already -_- they keep releasing cute ones dammit! This one is the Wonder Woman from Batman Vs Superman and she is adorable (adorbzable?! ok, I'll shut up..)   

Too see all my other Pop in a Box posts click here

If you are interested in subbing to PIAB use my link to get 20% off! 

Kracie Otanoshimi Strawberry and Chocolate Japanese candy kit...

I haven't posted any Japanese snack reviews in ages so thought I'd show you this easy candy kit today that I found in my stash. With this kit you can make a strawberry flavour neru neru nerune (a whipped foam) and a chocolate sauce...

Here's everything you get in the kit. The packet has instructions on (with clear pictures if you can't read Japanese.) There's not much to this one- you add one cup of water and mix with the first packet and then add the second packet make the strawberry foam, and then mix a cup of water with the third packet for the chocolate sauce- everything you need is provided except for the water!

And here's what it looks like when it's done! You can then dip the wafers into the sauces and then dip into the pastel coloured puffed rice :) This is definitely one of the easier candy kits and also one of the tastiest! Some candy kits can be a bit dodgy taste wise but this one was really good. My only moan was that they could have put another wafer or two ( they only gave two.) If you haven't tried candy kits before I'd definitely recommend this one as a good one to start with. Overall I give it the thumbs up!

You can buy this candy kit here from Oyatsu Cafe for just £2.11

Pink Parcel subscription box June 2016...

When subscription boxes first became a thing I was all over them then after a while I got bored with getting the same old stuff all the time and can't remember the last time a subbed to any box. Then I heard about Pink Parcel. Pink Parcel is a 'luxury period subscription box' that sends you a monthly supply of tampons and/or pads and a selection of treats including tea, something sweet and other goodies. 

This is what the box looks like. I love the presentation- everything is boxed and labelled in compartments which pleases my organisation obsession.One of the things that drew me to the box was the fact that I'm terrible at remembering to buy pads which makes this box very useful!

You can choose your brand and type of tampons/ pads and you get a pouch that can be chucked straight into your bag that contained for me 5 pads, and 5 pant liners. The 'for later' box contained 10 more pads and the 'for night' box contained 5 night time pads. During the set up of your subscription it asks for the duration of your menstrual cycle etc.. so it can tailor what you receive.

Finally the 'for you' box contains a huge selection of goodies. The June box contained some sweet & salty popcorn (which I ate instantly and was delicious!), and emergency tea bag, some Bandzee hair bands, some nail decals, a face mask, some mini Amie skincare samples, a Model Co mascara (worth £24), a Bubble T lip balm (shaped like a macaron), and an Imperial Candles wax melt (mine was Fresh Cotton and smelt amazing.)

You get a booklet which gives the prices of everything and the total not including pads came to around £40. Overall I was really impressed with my first box- I will use everything apart from a couple of bits that I'll give to a friend and I think this box is great value. It's also a nice pick-me-up for the worst week of the month! 

I got my first box for £6.99 (here) but it's usually £10.50 after that. I'll definitely keep subscribed for now as so far I love it!

Payday haul...

I need to stop making the mistake of going into Primark on payday! I saw they had Batman shoes. BATMAN SHOES. How could I not buy them?! They also had batman nail files, and a manicure set. I don't do manicures but it had Catwoman on the case so I got it.

In Boots I picked up my current favourite shampoo: Toni & Guy Cleanse. It really annoys me that my favourite shampoo is so expensive -_- and in HMV I picked up earphones to add to my stock of back up headphones (I use them all the time and am paranoid they are going to break so I have many back ups!) and also a Louis Theroux book- I'm a big fan of his documentaries and have been watching them constantly on Netflix lately so thought this would be a good read.

This stuff was from Tesco... yes, I was supposed to be buying food but they had a sale on pens ffs so what was I supposed to do?!! I also got the Nivea in shower moisturiser which I love- you use it like a shower gel at the end of your shower and wash it off and ta-da you're all moisturised. It does actually work too! :) 

Recently watched...

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

I've been (im)patiently waiting for this film for what seems like forever and it did not disappoint. I felt like this is the best portrayal so far of my favourites (Hawkeye, Scarlett Witch, Vision, Black Widow). The action scenes were amazing, the story was good, and Black Panther was a badass. Ant-Man and Spider-Man provided some very funny moments (as a formerly non Spider-Man fan I'm now very excited for the new film) and despite having so many characters in it it didn't feel rushed, or over crowded. Of course the highlight was 'casual' Vision! The Marvel cinematic universe is just getting better and better. 4/5 

Bad Neighbours (2015)

I'm not a huge fan of Seth Rogen films- I don't dislike him, I just find them all the same as each other. There were a few laugh out loud moments here and there was an argument between Rogen and Rose Byrne where she said she refuses to be the nagging mature one in the marriage whilst he's the man child which I though was a clever nod to pretty much every film Rogen's ever been in. Ultimately though I just found the film a bit meh, and also why did everyone have to shout all the time???! 2/5

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Disclaimer: I'm not a fan of the X-Men films. I grew up with the X-Men Animated series and I feel the films trash over all the characters but I thought I'd give this film a chance. It pretty much matched my expectations- they just can't compete with the Marvel films. This felt like a soap opera about people with powers. Over the top acting, no real emotion and dialogue that felt like it was written by a teenager. Also why are they trying to make Mystique a hero, and why is she hardly ever blue?? (outrage!!) On the plus side I thought Quicksilver was funny, the casting of Storm was good but unfortunately she didn't get much to do (more Storm please!), and Fassbender does make a good Magneto. The villain just wasn't scary though (I actually kind of liked him with his soothing voice and big Oscar Isaac eyes), and the story was weak and full of holes, I really wish they'd get rid of Bryan Singer. 2/5  

Welcome To Me (2015)

This is a comedy drama about a woman with borderline personality disorder and an obsession with infomercials and reality TV who wins $80 million on the lottery and decides to spend it on making a TV show all about her and her life. The film lacked a little in depth but was warm and funny and Kristin Wiig was brilliant in the lead role. I particularly enjoyed the segments in Alice's show that re-enacted traumatic moments in her life including one called "Tampering With My Make Up Bag".  3/5

May reading round up...

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
Ani seems to have the perfect life but as a teenager endured a painful and humiliating experience that made her reinvent herself into a successful and glamorous writer with a rich fiancée. But will breaking her silence set her free- or destroy everything? This had a fair few twists in and was well written although often a little shallow. All the characters were horrible, and I felt like Ani was supposed to be redeemed because of her past but despite my sympathy I just couldn't root for her as an adult. Despite the dark, and harrowing subject matter I found the book lacked emotional depth making it hard to connect with the story. There a message in there about expectations put on women and how they should be fought against which I liked but it just felt kind of empty. 3/5

How To Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran
I'm not sure why it took me so long to get round this this... About an awkward 14 year old girl living in a council estate in Wolverhampton Johanna dreams of being music writer and decides to re-invent herself into the confident and cool Dolly Wild. I really enjoyed this book, it was full of Moran's humorous style as well as a lot of great points about the class system. The story was fun, honest, and positive as Johanna realised that being someone else wasn't much fun. I'd recommend picking this up after reading Moran's brilliant How To Be a Woman which has semi autobiographical moments that are sometimes mirrored in this. 4/5

Marvel Civil War by Mark Millar
This is one I've wanted to read for a while and decided I wanted to read it before Captain America: Civil War actually came out. I enjoyed it but I felt like the story was a bit patchy and rushed and would have been better had it been told over a longer more in depth book. The story and artwork were good though but this gets a lower mark for the portrayal of the only two prominent female characters (She-Hulk and one of her only talking parts involves a close up of her breasts and them in the next panel and huge close up arse shot -_-, whilst Sue Storms storyline alluded to her doing something that induced a major eye roll). 3/5

Scarlet Witch Vol.1 by James Robinson
(Read in single issues) I was so excited for this new series- I love Scarlet Witch! The first issue was really strong and the artwork was beautiful. Unfortunately after that each issue had a different artist and the art for me seemed to get worse and worse. Wanda and the other characters looked completely different each time and it just made it really difficult to concentrate and keep with the story to the point where I just stopped caring. If the artist from issue one would have drawn the whole run I'm sure the score would be completely different but sadly I gave this 2/5

Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee
This is my favourite Batman story I've read so far! A mysterious mastermind is using Batman's enemies and allies to wreak havok. Firstly the story was very predictable- I guessed who Hush was straight away- but there were a lot of other twists I didn't expect and the story was so well written I didn't care. One of the things I loved the most was that Catwoman was a main character, the book explored Batman and Selina having a relationship and if it would work (Catwoman was very well written in this) and we also got to see so many familiar faces (I particularly enjoyed Huntress, Oracle, Poison Ivy, Nightwing and the Riddler). Jim Lee's artwork was beautiful and brought the whole story to life. Overall I loved it! 5/5

Patsy Walker A.K.A Hellcat! Vol.1 by Kate Leth & Brittney Williams 
(read in single issues) If you enjoyed the quirkiness and humour of The Unbeatable Squirrel you will love this new series from Marvel. Focusing on Patsy's attempts to find a job in New York, pay the rent, and date whilst trying to play down the romance comics her Mother wrote when she was a kid  this is a super fun and relateable story. Hellcat's long time friend She-Hulk is along for the ride as well as appearances from Ms Marvel, Thor, Squirrel Girl, and some new faces as well. Add to the list the lovely bright and bold artwork, the letters page mainly consisting of readers cat pictures and the Jessica Jones teaser in the last issue this is series you don't want to miss! 4/5

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