'When Will There Be Good News' by Kate Atkinson.

'When Will There Be Good News' was the first book by Kate Atkinson I read, and I wasn't disappointed at all. In fact, I'm extremely happy with this choice. There is only one thing that keeps tickling my anxious brain a little bit. The thing is WWTBGN is actually the third book in a book series about Jackson Brodie. Although these books are not bound tightly by their plot, the fact that I started reading the third book as the first one keeps bothering me. Anyway, I don't think it makes much of a difference which book to start with, so let's move on...

So the story in the book follows a few different characters. But the main story line is about a girl who saw her mother and older siblings being killed by a man, and how she was the only one of them to survive. And then we travel thirty years forward and find out that the killer, who was in a jail all these years, is free again. And this is kind of the main thing, but it`s not the MAIN main thing, you know? There are a few things that happen to different characters at the same time, and it all kind of ends up connected, and all the characters end up meeting each other (which is pretty cool, if you ask me). Character-wise, it feels like there's not a person who's completely happy in this book. It`s pretty much a collection of people with tough lives, I guess. As I was reading through some comments on Kate's other books, I realized it's probably present in her every book. I'm not saying it's bad. I mean, it's just a special feature of her writing, I guess. And I must say I liked it.

For instance, there`s a story about 16-year-old Reggie, who`s an orphan and has one hell of a rollercoaster life, a story about ex-detective Jackson Brodie, who has a very troubled love life to say the least, a story about a confused about her life police investigator Louise Munroe, who shares a history with Jackson, and even on this note a lot more. (Can I just add I SHIP JACKSON AND LOUISE OMG!)

I don't know about you, but I really love stories with a lot of characters, which end up connected altogether in the end. The thing with the characters in this book is that there are a lot of their personal stories in it. Like...first hundred or so pages are mainly about opening all those characters up. Now, I picked this book up firstly because I thought it was a detective story, and when I only started reading it, I wasn't as amused as I thought I would be. So if you think it`s a typical detective story where suspense follows you from the start...it kind of is, but it also kind of is not. This is so much more than just a detective story. However, thanks to all those great story lines you feel extremely connected to all of the characters, and it makes you sad when the book ends. This, for sure, is a good author's trick. Another great trick by Kate Atkinson, may I add, is making all these literature and music references all the time. It seems like there's not a person in this town who don't know the classics.

And one more great thing about the book is that it feels real. It`s full of different aspects of life, and full of death. And when with some other books you know they`re fictional, and you can feel they're fictional, in this case it all feels absolutely real. And it adds more tension to the reading process. I loved how there are a lot of different relationships as well. Loved the development of relationships between all of the characters. It was very human-like, very genuine, and all in all nice.

The jump from subtlety to suspense is pretty much invisible. Imagine, you're reading about what happened to him or her, everything is relaxed... and then suddenly you just realize you're biting your lips and tongue, and your heart is beating faster, and everything is getting creepier and more dynamic. This was pretty good, I must say.

I haven`t read detective stories in a very long time, and the mysterious vibe of this book got me.

So like I said, by the end of the book you feel so connected to every character you feel sad to finish it. The ending and the mystery solving part are amazing, so I don't think the detective lovers out there will be disappointed (I know I wasn't). And...not gonna lie, it made me cry a little. And all I can say now is that the book was really good. I loved every second of it, and I will definitely pick up other books in this series.  

Let me know if you liked this book series, and which one is your favourite? Also...Is the TV Show any good? (The cast looks amazing!) x

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(I do not own any pictures from this post. All credits go to the owner!)

'How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful' by Florence & The Machine.

Have you ever listened to an album and thought 'Oh dear god, she's singing about me!'? This month I have a few of those albums, and the first of them is 'How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful' by Florence & The Machine. It's so weird how relatable this album is. It`s creepy even, but in a good way, obviously. I`ve always loved Flo`s voice and a couple of their songs but have never listened to their full albums. I completely fell in love with them when I heard 'Over The Love' in The Great Gatsby movie. That song became absolutely and completely mine. I love it to pieces, and I can never unlove it. So when I saw the new album, I thought I would definitely listen to it, and...And for two long months I`ve been looking at it and leaving it without any further attention. And now, finally, I got myself into it. I dived in and couldn`t stop listening until it was all done. I was so angry with myself for putting the album away for so long I wanted to slap myself in the face.

This album is a masterpiece. All the way through it I had goosebumps, and I was shivering, and catching my breath because of the beauty of all lyrics, and music, and the voice, and everything... I don't think a lot of people feel music like I do. I mean, if the music is good, I physically, mentally and god knows how else get caught in it and I start hyperventilating and feeling dizzy and all that.

Lyrics and metaphors in each and every of these songs are GORGEOUS. I couldn`t stop listening to it and couldn`t stop overthinking everything and feeling every lyric very strongly. Basically, when I was listening to it, I thought 'THIS. THIS IS ART.' Honestly, this is art. This is what music is about.

Visuals for the album are a great bonus in addition to all gorgeousness of it. Let me just say...'St. Jude' and 'Long & Lost' made me bawl v e r y hard. I love it when people make visuals for their albums (although I`ve only seen two or three recently). It gives so much more life to it, I guess. Especially if those visuals are made this wonderfully. It kind of remind me of Sia and her recent videos. Both Florence and Sia are so inspiring and purely gorgeous I can`t...

This album felt like home. It was a rainy day, and I sat with a cup of tea. I felt comfortable and warm. The air around me seemed to get pure and somehow magical. Florence`s voice brings magic into our lives. And I`m immensely grateful she brought this much magic into mine with this album. Wow. I`m in love with this record.

What do you think? x

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(I do not own any pictures from this post. All credits go to the owner!)

The Evolution of Cody Simpson and 'Free'.

Okay, so here`s the story. I haven't seen or listened to Cody Simpson since 'All Day', probably. At the beginning of this year I`ve only heard 'Summertime Of Our Lives'. I liked the song, and that was about it. Then I accidentally came across his new album 'Free', and for about two months I was postponing listening to it. At last, yesterday, the time has come, and I dived into that musical masterpiece. I`m not even joking calling it a masterpiece. I honestly think this is the best music Cody has ever made. By the way, acoustic sound really suits him a lot. This album left me so hung up on this guy that the next day I decided to do a little research. That`s when I found out two pieces of vital information. One: Cody has left his label about a year ago, and this album is the first independent work of his. Two: little Bieber-like sweet-cheeked angel-looking girl-voiced Cody Simpson has completely changed. I don`t mean to offend him or his fans. The thing is, back in 2010 (presumably when I heard 'All Day' and developed a certain opinion on Cody) I was struck with a Bieber fever (can`t tell you it`s completely gone now, but it doesn't matter right now). So, obviously, everyone should remember how Bieber was the first angel-looking girl-voiced boy who gained such an amazing success among us, young little girls waiting for a prince Charming. That's why back then I remember absolutely loathing Cody (although I liked a few of his songs) for trying to copy-paste our precious Biebs. You know what they say, first impressions are the most lasting ones. That was it for me. I forever remembered Cody Simpson as a worse version of Justin Bieber (I must admit, back then even One Direction boys were his bad version. oh dear..). Well, what can I say now? I`ve completely changed my mind. First of all I`ve never expected Cody to get this handsome. Like...he has something so unique about his appearance that really fascinates me, and, may I add, long(ish) hair suits him so much better than those teenage, up to the minute, heartthrob haircuts. But the appearance is not what hit me the most although it did hit me hard enough. His voice has changed so much. He developed these husky Bryan-Adams-like notes, which just sweep me off my feet. You can especially hear it on the live videos. My very first thought about it all was that now he`s finally become his true self, for some reason. Like...I`ve never really seen his real side (I don't think even his fans did). The genuine, so much more talented, amazing side, you know what I mean? He`s never given me any genuine, good, warm feelings before. And I think this is such a great thing. I love when something like this happens to artists/musicians. That`s why, I reckon, his album sounds this good (and so much better than anything he`s recorded before). Because there`s so much more life and truth to it.

Anyway, I fell in love with another great artist today. I really hope that this growth will continue, and I wish all the best to Cody. I also want people to acknowledge how gorgeous 'Free' is and give Cody the credit he deserves, cause the record is really very VERY good. Two of my personal favourites are songs 'Free' and 'Happy Lil' Hippie'. They gave me so many feels and so much happiness during these two days I can't even describe. Great job, Simpson! I`m in love.

Let me know if you liked the album, and what do you think about Cody and his evolution? ;)

And here`s the live performance that I absolutely adored:

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(I do not own any pictures/videos from this post. All credits go to the owner!)

'Younger Dreams' by Our Last Night.

I love Our Last Night. I`ve loved them for a while now, and I don`t even remember when did it all start. However, I remember how. I fell in love with their covers, such as Dark Horse (Katy Perry), Skyfall (Adele), Bye Bye Bye (NSYNC), Stay (Rihanna), etc. I remember loving these covers so much I would listen to it for days. But for some reason I`ve never really been into Our Last Night`s original stuff. I mean I loved one or two of the songs, but that was all. It was until now. Until this amazing album. 

'Younger Dreams' represents the youth. People who are a bit lost, a bit sad, very ambitious. People who could change the world once they figure out how life works. This album is about everything that can be in those people`s lives. There`s falling in love with a person who`s not exactly your 'breed' ('White Tiger'), confusion about a meaning of life, feeling a stranger and a prisoner in one`s own skin, understanding of all the differences between people that unfairly split us all apart ('Prisoners', 'A World Divided'). At the same time, there is faith in a better, brighter, successful future. There is a struggle ('Road to The Throne'), a realization that we all are so much more than our past, our mistakes. And we all should live in this moment, right now, not in the past or the future ('Living Now'). To me this album, basically, represents a year of my life (which thankfully happened long ago). Everything I`ve been through, good and bad. The time I was trying to understand who I really am, and where I`m going. 

I know our generation really likes to relate to music/movies/books, etc. And I think this album is a very good thing to relate to in a lyrical sense. Musically this band is great as well. I`ve always loved what they do. They never fail to shake me up with some (pop)-rocky bits.

All in all, I thought this album was amazing. I`m really happy I`ve come across it. However, very disappointed it took me so long to listen to it ;)

Let me know if you liked this album or not. And also if you`ve listened to their other albums? Which one is your favourite?x

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(I do not own any pictures from this post. All credits go to the owner!)