Loungewear Loving

It is no secret that I love loungewear, majoirty of the time, I am wearing joggers and a massive sweatshirt but sometimes I want to be able to leave the house without feeling like I look like a massive slob. That's when matching sets come in and I know, they can be super hit and miss because no one wants to draw too much attention to themselves right? but I think I've found the perfect set that I am going to be wearing 24/7. 

I will say now that this set is not the cheapest but I wanted to get this post up before black friday as I have a feeling that you could get this set for such a great price when the day finally comes around, I know I definitely plan on picking up another colour. Believe me or not, but this set is actually from Gymshark which is mainly an activewear brand but now that I come to think of it, most activewear brands do the best comfy clothes. 

Anyway, this is their 'Slounge set' and the one I have is in the colour Taupe Marl just in case any of you like this colour also. The main reason why I love this set though is because of how comfortable it is. The material is like a very lightweight, thin knit and it is super strechy. When I wear this set, neither of the pieces feel restricting or uncomfortable in anyway, they are just so soft and luxurious feeling. One thing I will say though is that on the leggings, the drawstring is fake and you can't actually adjust it, which I don't find particularly annoying but just in case you care about that, I thought I'd put it in. I love the little details on this set though, like the drawstrings and also the little brand detail on each piece also as it is super subtle, which I like a lot more as it just looks more modest I find. This set together, I think looks so nice and I feel super confident in it which is such a huge bonas for me. The leggings are super high waisted and so with the cropped hoodie, I don't feel like I'm showing too much skin which is nice. One thing I was concerned about when I ordered this was that it seemed like all of it was super tight fitting and that I was going to want to breath in all the time but it is the total opposite. The leggings, I think fit and feel more like skinny joggers and the top is also super roomy and feels nothing like your typical crop top. I guess you could size down if you wanted it to be a little more skin tight, but for everyday wear, I would suggest your normal size. 

I just love the way these two pieces look together and I honestly wear this out together all the time. I love pairing it with a super oversized jacket and my white trainers just for when I'm out and about. As seperate pieces though, they are just as nice. Right now, I am just chilling in my house with the leggings on and a huge sweatshirt but I also wear the cropped hoodie to the gym because it is so comfortable. 

I think everyone would love this set and I would definitely suggest that you treat youself to one. Gymshark tend to have a great Black Friday sale on though, so maybe hang fire a bit and see if these sets are on offer. They have also recently came out with a few more colours, so there will definitely be one for everyone, but I am still hoping that they come out with a black marl one soon. Last thing before I go and leave the links, this set also had another crop top but it is sleeveless and I do like it, it looks great with the leggings once again as a set, but I think that the cropped hoodie is way better, although it is more expensive, I just think that the cropped hoodie is just nicer. 

Definitely let me know what your thoughts are on this set, I love it!

Grace xx

Links:

Cropped Hoodie - https://uk.gymshark.com/collections/slounge/products/gymshark-slounge-cropped-hoodie-taupe-marl

Slounge Leggings - https://uk.gymshark.com/collections/slounge/products/gymshark-slounge-leggings-taupe-marl

The Entire Slounge Range - https://uk.gymshark.com/collections/slounge/womens

Sticking to the basics - Being boring?

Disclaimer: I've noticed that a lot of the items within this outfit are quite luxurious and I just want to say how grateful I am to be able to own items like this in my collection. The last thing I'd want anyone think was that I was trying to brag or show off, I am not. This was genuinely what I wore that day and it is only now, having already written this post, that I have noticed. 

I am definitely learning that I just prefer my fashion posts when my outfit pictures aren't taken from the comfort of my lovely, yet super tiny and unphotogenic room so the fashion posts will be happening a little less often but I guess it's quality over quantity. However, Penny and I did have a little photoshoot in Liverpool the other day and so I thought I'd share with you what I wore.

It has been so long since I have worn a pair of jeans with my sixth form dress code and all, but they just never get old. I am such a jeans and a tshirt girl at heart and so excuse this post for being super basic and boring but I guess it's better than nothing. This was also the first time I took my new bag out for a spin and I know designers aren't for everyone, but I'm obsessed and I just really wanted to include it in this outfit. Also, is anyone else really disappoint in this so-called autumn weather. In the UK right now, it is not feeling all that autumnal as the sun is still beaming most days so excuse the fact I'm not wearing a think knit jumper and tights, but hopefully that day will come soon. 

I love my leather jacket, it is my prized posession, I just can't live without it and for me, in winter it is great to layer with. This one in particular, you have probably seen a lot if you have read some of my previous outfit posts but it is from the brand Black Rivet but it is from the Wilsons Leather shop and I love it. It fits me perfectly and you just can't go wrong with a black, leather biker jacket.

In this case, I teamed this jacket with a v-neck striped t-shirt from Missguided, which is actually a t-shirt dress but because I tucked it into my jeans, you couldn't tell. I love stripes, I just think that they will never go out of style and black and white strips are so easy to style. The style of this top is also super fun too, because the v-neck is quite big you can make it go of the shoulder and I think that just gives it such a nice oversized look.

As for the jeans I tucked the t-shirt dress into, they are Levi Skinny Jeans, I am not really sure on the exact name but I will link them nevertheless. Blue jeans for me are just my favourite, believe it or not, but I just don't like black skinny jeans anywhere near as much. The wash of these jeans are perfect too because they are not too light or too dark, just the perfect inbetween. This particular size though is a little too long for me so I did end up rolling them up at the bottom but I love that look as it is just so casual.

I also wore a belt with this outfit, which wasn't really necessary because the jeans do fit me perfectly but I wanted something that would tie with the leather jacket a little more so this belt is from Boohoo and it has quickly became such a staple for me. I love how simple it is, as it is just a silver, rectangular buckle, so it goes with everything and I think it went really well with this outfit.

Before I left my house, I was umming and ahhing over what shoes I should wear because I find it so hard to find a pair of shoes that is the perfect combination of looking smart and like you made an effort with them also being comfortable. I had tried on about five pairs of shoes before going with my trusty plain white Vans. My relationship with these shoes has not always been smooth sailing but they were so comfortable with this outfit and I liked wearing them instead of my typical black chealsa boots. 

For the bag, which is just my new favourite thing, it is the Louis Vuitton Neverfull GM which is just so iconic and I am just in love. This bag is so versatile and it is going to go with everything but I love the way it looked with this outfit. It is definitely a rather large bag but go big or go home, right? I am definitely looking forward to styling this bag some more as I think that is is such a timeless piece and will never go out of fashion.

Do let me know what you think of this outfit, I know it was a little boring but hopefully I will get some more interesting outfit posts up soon(ish), just please bare with me!

Grace xx

Links:

Jeans - https://www.levi.com/GB/en_GB/clothing/women/jeans/mile-high-super-skinny-fit-jeans/p/227910020

Belt - https://www.boohoo.com/chunky-boyfriend-belt/DZZ94373.html?color=105

T-Shirt - https://www.missguided.co.uk/white-v-neck-stripe-t-shirt-dress-10115034

Jacket (similar) - https://www.wilsonsleather.com/product/designer-brand-asymmetrical-moto-genuine-leather-jacket.do?sortby=ourPicks&from=fn

Shoes - https://www.vans.co.uk/shop/en/vans-gb/classic-slip-on-shoes-veyew00

Bag - https://uk.louisvuitton.com/eng-gb/products/neverfull-gm-monogram-007652#M41180

Sixth Form // I made it through the first term!

It is finally half term and I feel like I have never needed a week off more in my life. This first term of sixth form has been a whole mixture of emotions and so I wanted to write about all of it today. It is definitely going to be fairly long and chatty so I appologise now, but hopefully this could give you a little insight into what I'm currently doing at the moment. 

Starting from the beginning, I made a pretty rash decision, after results day, to stay at my high school for sixth form and so my initial subjects were maths, history, economics and fine art. The school year started with three days to get to know people and just get back into the habit of school so nothing happened that is really worth docummenting. 

However, the first full week was pretty intense to say the least. I definitely underestimated just how busy I was going to be and it is definitely true that the workload does get much bigger once you go to sixth form. Within the first week, I was super tired and I had already got my first cold, but I actually really loved being back and I realised that I made the right decision to stay at my sixth form. For the most part, I was loving my subjects too, apart from economics. Economics was such a last minute decision for me and when I was in the lessons, I was just waiting for it to end. It turned out to be the only thing I dredded about going into school so halfway through my second week, I dropped it and instead switched it with an extended project qualification, which my school offers as it is the equivalent to an AS. I know not all sixth forms/ colleges offer this qualification but you can google it and look into it yourself, but it was just something extra that I thought might benefit me in the future. 

I definitely found that even within the first week, my workload was huge and so it did take up a lot of my weekend, however, after dropping economics, I had a lot more free time within school hours and so my workload seemed more managable. The difficulty is definitely hightened which was expected but also the teachers expect a lot more from you. I quickly realised that if I wanted to do well in my subjects, I would have to put in a lot of extra time and extra reading to be successful.

I'm going to skip a bit now in time, just because my routine started to settle at this point but now I wanted to go into a bit more detail in terms of how I feel about sixth form now.

Just under two weeks ago, I felt like I had hit a bit of a plateau in terms of my subjects. I felt as though I wasn't 'doing the most' if you like, I felt like I was settling when instead, I could have been pushing myself and challenging myself further. It had also occured to me around this time, that my favourite subject was maths, I know it is not to everyone's taste but I would look forward to every lesson and I just really loved it. It had occured to me that I could have taken further maths as an alevel, but I was constantly convincing myself that I would have been incapable of taking it, until one of my really good friends made the switch from maths to further maths, which ended up giving me the boost I needed to make the switch myself. I have only been doing it for a little under two weeks, however, I already feel so much happier with my decision, and I really love that I now feel forfilled with everything I am doing. It definitely isn't a bad thing being indecisive like myself but I will say, go with your gut feeling because if I had done that, I would have taken further maths a lot earlier on and it would have saved me a lot of catching up. Saying that though, I don't regret a thing, and I am so super excited for what is to come.  

The sixth form I go to is linked with my old high school and so I knew majoirty of the people going. This definitely does have its pros and cons, which I soon came to discover. I found that I was slipping into old habbits with some people that really don't bring out the best in me. Clearly, not everyone was like that, I found that I was trying to spend a lot of time with the people I felt best with, but due to forms and lessons, I just didn't get to see them as much as what I would have liked. This made me start feeling super isolated and lonely as I just couldn't be with the people I wanted to for reasons I can't really mention, but it just wasn't a great time. It is definitely so much better now and all of my worries have started to iron themseleves out. Saying that, it didn't happen on its own, I definitely had to be selfish at times and do what I wanted to in order to get to this point, I will say though to just talk to someone about it, because I did and it definitely helped me to target what the issue was, and someone else's opinion can be very useful when it comes to friendship and all that. As for new people though, it is so refreshing. I am not a very outgoing and confident person, so I tend to find it difficult to make new friends but I definitely surprised myself and it has been so great to have some new people in my life.

Finally, the last thing I wanted to touch on was how I am doing mentally and although I could do an entire post on this, I wanted to breifly talk about it in terms of school. Obviously, things that happen outside of school do effect how I act once I am in school but as for the way the school system has effected me, it has been surprising in a good way. Year 11 was a very stressful and intense year for me, and probably most people, in terms of my mental state and I was scared that year 12 would make me feel similar. However, although the workload is a lot and intense, I feel more confident to reach out for help and I have found that I have gained a lot of confidence in terms of my actual ability also. I definitely do not have a lot of faith in myself most times but I am working on it, and right now, my school environment is helping me. Maybe I will talk about it another time but school definitely does help me tackle my mental state, and I know that sadly it is not the case for everyone, but I do think that it is so crutial that are in a safe and happy environment.

I really enjoyed writing this post and I might do a few more on my sixth form experience so do let me know in the comments if there is anything in particular you want to see. Thank you so much for sticking around, I know I have been very unpredictable recently but I am making steps everyday to get to where I want to be and hopefully you'll follow me on this journey. 

Grace xx

An Update On My Fitness Journey

I know that this post is not going to be to everyone's taste but like I have kept on saying for a while now, I really am looking to mix up my content. This post is a little more health and fitness themed but fitness, in particular, is something that I enjoy doing and I am constantly learning more and more about it. 2018 has actually been a huge turning point for me in terms of my fitness journey and so I wanted to share my progress with some of you in case it helps you gain motivation or inspiration for your own fitness journey. 

Just a bit of a recap firstly, so at the start of the year my fitness was definitely not a priority for me, exam season was right around the corner and so I was mainly focusing my time on revision and not the gym. I was also going to the gym with someone who really didn't give me any motivation, they didn't share the same passion for fitness as me and so when I was going the gym, it wasn't really productive or benefitting me as much as what it could have done.
Generally, before GCSEs started, I was going the gym about once a week, two at max as I was mainly doing revision and for me, travelling to the gym and back again, it does take out about two hours of my day so most of the time, it wasn't really practical. Saying that, when exams did start and I was on study leave, I found myself going the gym much more as I was only going in for exams so I would go the gym straight after an exam and then go home to do more revision for another exam that was in the next few days. That routine was very consistent across the two months that GCSEs took place and I was being very productive also as I started to say goodbye to old high school friends and started doing my own things a little more. Roughly I probably went to the gym two/three times on a weekday and occasionally on a Saturday too. The gym, for me, was a great way to cope with exams, it was a way for me to take my mind off exams for a few hours and just focusing on something completely different.
In terms of my actual workouts and progress, I was still getting educated on my gym at the start of the year and I was nowhere near as confident then as I am now so I was sort of sticking to what I knew and doing the same workout most times. It was mainly leg focused and was based on machines and not necessarily weighted with dumbells or anything like that. I was also doing a lot of steady-state cardio which was mainly walking on a treadmill on an incline and also using the rowing machine. In terms of the machines I would use to target my legs, they would be the leg press and hip abductors. I found that for a while, I was feeling sore afterwards and I was able to start building weight but I was never fully seeing progress. I wasn't that focused on it at the time and so I wasn't getting super disappointed but it actually helped motivate me into trying something new.

Something else I thought I'd mention was the fact that when I was on study leave, the gym was not as busy as what it would be like straight after school. For me personally, the gym hasn't always been a safe space for me, during high school, the gym would be a place people would 'hang out' not necessarily me but it did affect my confidence as I was feeling judged because I was actually there to workout, weird I know. However it did stop me from trying new things and so that is why my workouts and experimentation was very limited but since study leave, I have been able to try new thing without feeling as pressured so that is where I started seeing progress. I started using more of the free weights and space on the mats to train legs which helped me to carry on feeling inspired and motivated.

After finishing high school this year, I had a super long summer and it honestly came at the perfect time. My holiday was not until the end of August and so I had loads of spare time until then so I decided to spend a lot of it going to the gym. I had nothing better to do and with the high school drama behind me, I felt as though I could really work hard at the gym without feeling judged. I started going more often as the summer progress, I was probably going on average four times a week.
It was because of the time I started spending in the gym during the summer that I really started gaining confidence in what I was doing and it made me much more comfortable in the gym. Ways in which I gained confidence was by just staying educated on what I was doing, obviously, mistakes were made and I was laughing at myself some of the time but it was fine because I felt comfortable more than anything. I also started going with another friend who really shared the drive and passion I carried in terms of making progress and constantly trying new things which did help me as I didn't feel as judged if I was to try something new.

During summer of this year, I also started to realise that I had made loads of progress in terms of my legs in both strength and physical appearance but I started to realise other parts of my body that I wanted to define, the main one being my arms. Particularly across July and August, I started to train my arms, alternating them with my leg days and I started learning loads of new moves and getting to know new machines. It was definitely a time of experimentation for me but that was probably how I was able to stay so motivated and consistent because I was constantly doing something new and that kept the gym exciting for me. I started finding exercises that worked for me and I built a routine from there, obviously, I do change it each time I go but I do still have my core moves.
Reiterating what I was saying earlier about being able to go really consistently in summer, it was mainly because I was feeling so motivated and inspired. I was also going to the gym a lot with a friend so even when I didn't want to go, she would persuade me to and it did work out in my favour. I found that going to the gym in the morning really set off my day, it helped me to stay productive and it was generally just a good feeling. Since I was also training both legs and arms, I was also able to go more often as, if one part was recovering, I could work out the other which really helped me to make sure that I was looking after my muscles. I also thought that I should mention here that I do also work out my core but I tend to combine it in with most of my workouts at the end, just as a little burnout.

Moving onto the progress I have made this year so far covering all things from weights to physical appearance, the first one being my cardio. At the start of the year, I was always too scared to commit to running as I never really thought of myself as capable of running for more than two seconds but with my friend's help, she made me realise that I can actually run fairly well. Back in January, I would waste half an hour walking on an incline because I was too afraid to jog for ten minutes, however, now at the start of every workout, I start out with a 1km run which I have really found to start off my workout in the right way. Jogging has been something I am actually quite self-conscious of but it is something I am making progress on and I have found it to be a huge milestone for me this year. 
Generally speaking, I have also lost a little weight which does just come with working out. I have started to gain a bit of muscle also. I can't give specific numbers because I don't actually weight myself but I just pay attention to the way I look in the mirror, I have lost fat, particularly in my legs. Losing fat is obviously a benefit of going to the gym but I always try and make sure that it doesn't occupy a lot of my mind as I find that sometimes I can obsess over it. Saying that I do still want to continue to burn fat in other places mainly but it isn't something that I want to be short-term, right now, I am mainly focusing on just having fun in the gym. 

Something that sort of ties into losing weight is that with losing fat, it has managed to reveal muscle that was beneath it. Once again, mainly in my legs but I have noticed that my hamstrings, particularly, are much more prominent and it makes me really happy that I can now see the muscles I have worked so hard on training all year finally show themselves. I also think that with pushing my weight with training legs has also caused me to build the muscle which just adds to the definition I have gained. It has been mainly over summer that I have seen a lot of definition revealed and I have also noticed my quads gaining a lot of muscle also. Once again, this comes with weight training and constantly pushing weight. 
Finally for progress, is just the fact that I have gotten much stronger. Even after only training arms for a few months, I have already noticed myself increasing the weights to maintain a difficulty within my workouts and it's a great feeling to release that you can go higher in weights, it really helps me stay motivated. Same with my legs, I have found myself looking back at the weights I use to use and now looking at where I am, I have figured out that I have come a long way. 

To finish off this post I just thought I'd talk about my plans for the rest of this year in terms of fitness, my main one is to just carry on enjoying it. I do know that as soon as summer is over and I start going to college I will be less consistent in the gym mainly because of how far away my college is to my gym but hopefully I will soon have a routine I can stick to. Having fun in the gym though is a priority as I now consider it to be a hobby and an escape for myself to just work on me. 
In terms of physical goals though, I would like to lose more fat, however, that is always a goal so I am not going to change anything specifically, I just want to keep with what I'm doing and I should start seeing more progress soon. 
Again, I want to carry on training all parts of my body and really experimenting with new movements just to keep things exciting. It is always something I am researching and constantly learning more about so that shouldn't really be a problem. 
I would also like to start seeing some more definition in my arms, it is still a pretty new area for me but maybe nearing to the end of the year, I might be able to start seeing some muscle there.

This post was definitely a little different for me but hopefully, you enjoyed, do let me know if fitness is something you want to see more on my blog. 
Grace xx

Blazer Obsessed!

You are going to see me mention my sixth form a lot in these fashion posts, but it was actually a blessing as the dress code at my sixth form has really inspired a lot of these outfits that I am sharing with you. I am not sure whether it is like this for all sixth forms, but at mine, a blazer is a necessary part of the dress code, and I won't lie, I wasn't super excited about it, but it turns out, that I am kind of loving them. 

After picking up a few blazers, I have actually fallen in love with them as I think that they just look so smart but you can make them look so cool too. Today's outfit is more of a casual way of styling a blazer as it is paired with a bit of denim and it would just look super cute if you were out and about shopping or having a meal with some friends. 

For the blazer itself, it is actually from Miss Selfridge, however, I can't seem to find it online so I have linked a similar one at the end of this post, along with everything else in this out. I love this blazer though, mainly because of its print. A checkered print like this, I find to look so preppy and I love that it is mainly grey as it is then super neutral and more versatile to style. Saying that the checkered print is obviously the statement piece in this outfit but you could quite easily pair this blazer with a brightly colour top or some coloured trousers. I also really love the fit of this blazer, I think that it is really flattering as it goes in at the waist. The silver button detail, I also think is a great touch as it goes so well with the rest of the blazer. 

To go with the blazer, I just paired it with a black bandeau underneath. I love the way this looked together as it was so basic but because the bandeau was cropped, it showed a little more skin which I think makes this outfit a little more day-appropriate. 

As for bottoms, I kept it super simple with a pair of skinny jeans. These particular ones are from Topshop and are the Jamie jeans which will forever and always be my favourite style of jean. This wash is a mid-blue and there are no rips or anything on these jeans, so it is pretty basic, but like I said earlier, I wanted the blazer to stand out the most in this outfit.  I love the way blue and grey look together but to add to the outfit, I added a chunky black belt. This goes so well with the blazer as they both have silver hardware so for me, it just completed the look. 

I know you can't see shoes in these pictures, but I would probably just wear this with a pair of black Chelsea boots as they are essential for me in autumn and winter. 

Let me know in the comments how you would style this blazer, I would love to know!

Grace xx

Links:

Blazer - Miss Selfridge (similar)

Bandeau - Topshop

Belt - Boohoo

Jeans - Topshop

Stepping Out Of My Comfort Zone - Wide Leg Jumpsuit Edition

I love fashion and I have a huge admiration for fashion, however when it comes to my own personal style, you could say that I am pretty set on my jeans and a t-shirt look. However, with starting sixth form, I have given myself a little challenge to try and step out of my comfort zone, especially in terms of what I wear, mainly because I am not allowed to wear jeans (pray for me people). That was sort of the inspiration for this post as while I was in New York, I saw this jumpsuit and thought I could never pull it off, but I bought it anyway and now I am reporting back on how I wore it. 

If you saw my blog back in July then you might have seen that I did a post covering a different jumpsuit I picked up (linked here) accept that jumpsuit was a little more summer-appropriate as it was more of a cullotte style. This jumpsuit however is full length and wide leg. Some people pull off wide leg trousers so well but it has always intimidated me as I am just so use to seeing myself in skinny jeans or trousers with a cuffed bottom. When it came to trying on this jumpsuit, I actually fell in love with it straight away. Starting with the wide legs, I didn't expect to love them as much as I did, they felt so super comfortable and I love how they swoosh when I walk (it's the little things). I did find the wide leg to also look quite flattering, I know you can't see them fully in the picture, but I just love how they look. As for the top half of the jumpsuit, it is so flattering! The main reason I love this jumpsuit is because of the buckle detail on each side, as it is adjustable, it allows you to really add shape and flatter your waist. It definitely helps give you curves by allowing you to tighten the waist, which I love. The neckline is also super beautiful too, I love that it is more of a square neck and it is a little lower as it lets you show off whatever it is that you are wearing underneath it. 

As for the print, I love how simple it is. Black and white are such esssential shades in any outfit and I think that this grid print is super fun. I love that the grid lines are thin as it makes it look a little more subtle than if the lines were thicker. The silver buckle detail also looks so great with the white lines.

This jumpsuit is just so comfortable and what I have quickly realised is how easy it is to style. The day I wore this jumpsuit, I kept it super simple and just paired a white t-shirt with it but I think that it could also look super fun with a bright coloured t-shirt or when winter comes, a thick knit jumper. To finished off the outfit though, I just paired it with a black blazer (which is uniform at my sixth form) and some black pumps, just keeping it super neutral and keeping the attention focused on the jumpsuit. 

Both the t-shirt and jumpsuit are linked at the end of this post, but I really hope you liked this post. I am so happy with this purchase and I am so proud of myself for biting the bullet and wearing this to sixth form. It might not seem like a big deal to everyone, but I am slowly taking more steps towards a more adventurous style. 

Grace xx

Links:

Top - MissGuided

Jumpsuit - Forever 21

How To Write A Love Story - Katy Cannon // Book Review

I love reading and this year I have really rediscovered that and so I want to talk about it more on my blog. You might have already seen, but I have been posting the odd book-related post for a few months now and I want to keep doing so. I love reviewing books and I want to share all of my thoughts but I don't want to do them in monthly wrap-ups anymore as I think that they are too long so from now on, I am going to be doing individual reviews of every book I read. With school starting back up, I don't really get the chance to read a lot and so there shouldn't be too many book reviews but hopefully, you enjoy them. 

If you have read the title or seen the pictures in this post then you will agree with me when I say that, don't you think this book sounds like the perfect cute romance? Well, it definitely intrigued me. I love a good light-hearted contemporary novel as they are just great to read here and there. 

This one, in particular, is written by Katy Cannon, an author I had never heard of before so I was definitely excited to get to know her writing style. As for the plot though, it is about sixteen-year-old Tilly, whose grandmother is a famous romance novelist and so Tilly has always dreamt of following in her footsteps. Well, her opportunity comes when her grandmother needs help writing her next book and so Tilly jumps at this only to realise that she can as she has never experienced love herself. When her high school welcomes a new boy, Zach, Tilly takes it as her chance to experience love for the first time. The book follows Tilly as she learns about love, not only for herself but also for the book she dreams of writing. I loved the idea of this book as it just sounds too good to be true but I did question whether this book would be too idealistic and so I was apprehensive. 

Overall, I did really enjoy this book and ended up giving it a 3.5/5. It definitely wasn't my most favourite romance but I read it at the perfect time when I just needed a little distraction. The concept was great, as well as the writing style so I would recommend it if you are just looking for a super easy read but I'm going to go a little in-depth now into the characters, plot and writing style in case you want a more detailed idea of the book (don't worry, I won't spoil anything either).

Starting with the plot, it does sound a little idealistic but as you read further and further, it definitely gets a little more realistic but it is also very predictable. I was about a third of the way through the book when I guessed what was going to happen and I was right, not because I am an expert on love but just because the book was sort of set up to have a predictable ending. Although the basics are predictable in this book, I did love the role of Tilly's grandmother in this book as she definitely caused a lot of good drama moments in the book. In terms of the topics this book deals with, it is clear that the main one is romance. All of the couples that get together in this book all have their own story however, some are forced, some were hidden to then be discovered and some are incredibly spontaneous, so you do see a range of romance and relationships in this book. I will say, the book lacks a lot of diversity though as all of the couples are heterosexual which I did think was quite disappointing for a 2018 published novel. The other main topic is family relationships which I found to be the most realistic topic. I definitely saw parts of myself within Tilly and her relationship with her grandmother. You definitely see secrets get revealed and some of them are 'hard-hitting' but because of the natural 'fluffy' nature of the book, it doesn't make you, as the reader, particularly emotional. The family relationships also were the most realistic for me, they were not perfect but the book still concluded them all really well. In terms of the ending and the conclusion element, it was just nice. Like I said earlier, it is predictable, but it is really well done, no loose ends, no weird last line, it was just simple but was a great ending. I will also mention now that some of the romance is cringe-worthy but I guess that's what makes it fun. There are, however, some really adorable scenes between both friends and couples. 

As for characters, Tilly clearly being the main one, I found her to be super relatable and a great character to be from the perspective of. She develops a lot throughout the book and you definitely get to see that happen. I found her to be super relatable in terms of how she deals with romance, she embarrasses herself easily, tries to plan for every possible situation yet she is funny and charismatic. She definitely can get a little frustrating nearer the end as she sort of avoids the inevitable but it all solves itself in the end. As for other characters, Tilly's two best friends were so funny in the book and they definitely made a great sub-plot, Tilly's grandmother was also a great character as she is just like your typical nan, with fun quirks and cute nicknames. In terms of Tilly's love interest(s), they are super romantic in their own way and they definitely make you higher your own expectations.

Finally, for the writing style, it is super romantic but well written, clear and easy to follow. I love that the chapters were short and sweet, they didn't necessarily leave you hooked but the story followed really well. A little touch I also loved from the author was that at the start of every chapter there was a quote from a romance book, that wasn't real but linked to the book and its plot. 

I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for something light-hearted to read. Let me know if you have read this book before and your thoughts, or if you plan on adding it to your TBR. 

Grace xx