Favourite First Series Watched In 2016

It was definitely a good year for TV, although you could say the majority of the stuff I watched was actually a good few years old.

I love getting stuck into a really good series so a first series has to really draw me in to keep me hooked.

Pretty Little Liars definitely did that for me. I blitzed through the entire lot in a few months so I'm now awaiting the last half of the final season along with everyone else.

Okay so it did get a little bit ridiculous after the first "A" was revealed but I'm not going to give up on it when there's so little left to go!

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Westworld was a recent one my housemate and I decided to watch as we'd heard a lot of weird but good things about it.

It was definitely beyond weird, but hey that's JJ Abrams for you.

A weird mix of the wild west and sci-fi, you have a million questions by the end of episode one and are no near answering them by the end of all ten episodes.

It certainly does heat up though from the end of episode seven, so if you're finding it hard to grip, bare with it.

I can't believe we have to wait two years for the next one!!

Prison Break was another I got into as a recommendation from my previous boss. I had a weird on-off relationship with this one. When I was watching it I loved it, it was action packed and you didn't know quite how it'd end up but then when I stopped watching it I wasn't completely gripped to start another episode.

Maybe it was because my mum accidentally told me who died at the end when I was only a few episodes into series one. 

Oh well, throughly looking forward to its return for a fifth season in April!

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The Walking Dead I literally only started last month I think. 

I kept going back and forth in my mind as to whether I should watch it or not as zombies absolutely terrify me, but I'd heard so so many good things. So I took the plunge and it is truly fantastic and has you on the edge of your seat, wondering who will make it through the terrifying apocalypse!

I'm currently on season three and I have to say, I'm addicted!

Stranger Things was the first series my housemate and I decided to watch together one evening as we were bored with sitting in our own rooms all the time. 

This literally had me hooked within the first minute. That opening scene was gripping and I loved the whole idea of the series and how 80s America it is.

The cast are brilliant, the choice of music is brilliant and I love the mix of horror and sci-fi and especially the way the Duffer Brothers introduced each episode as a separate entity.

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Containment was one I randomly saw advertised whilst watching something else and I seem to have a weird love/fascination for watching virus outbreaks (maybe that's why I'm so into zombies now?) 

It's only a one-off series unfortunately but my God. 

There's one episode in particular that broke my heart, literal floods of tears and I had to take some time to myself after just to process!

I hate when a TV series gets cancelled or finishes and I definitely hate when they kill off characters, especially crucial ones, but that's what also makes them good.

Hopefully this year will provide some more fantastic series to get stuck in to.

I know I can't wait for the final season of Game of Thrones and the final bits to Pretty Little Liars and Prison Break!



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Change For The Better & A Book Tag

A few months ago I had an epiphany of sorts.

Me and Adeel had been disagreeing a lot or arguing, whatever you want to call it, and things were getting tense and frustrating.

But we came through the other side.

And you know what I learned?

Don't try to change others, change yourself for the better instead.

So instead of getting frustrated at the little things he does or says, I've tried becoming more understanding and calm-headed so I don't flip out.

Of course there are still times where I get grouchy, but he's so persistent most of the time that he always manages to make me smile again.

This is definitely something I need to work on because I don't want to grow up to be a consistently negative and moody cow, I want a positive mindset and I want to be kind and forgiving quickly.

What a great time of year to set this new goal, huh?

Anyways, I've also got another book tag below (again I got it from Lindsay's blog, check her blog out here).

Question 1:
Hardback or paperback?

Paperback, they're way easier to hold whilst reading! Although some hardbacks can be really pretty - The Miniaturist is one memorable one with a lovely binding and endpapers.

Question 2:
Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?

I hate this question. I've been asked it a few times and I never know how to answer. I feel so guilty for choosing! Harry Potter was my childhood so I will forever love it, but, there's just something about Lord of the Rings...

Question 3:
The smell of an old book or the smell of a new one?

The smell of a new one. I've smelt some of the old ones before and some are alright but others can just smell fusty and damp? Maybe it's just however you store them!

Question 4:
Stephen King ot RL Stine?

Okay so I literally just had to google RL Stine as I'd never heard of him, but he wrote Goosebumps! Didn't think I would've read anything of his if I didn't know his name, but I've definitely read at least one Goosebumps book. I've also only read one of Stephen King's books - Carrie. I preferred Carrie to Goosebumps although there's about ten years age difference in when I read them, but I've heard a lot of good things about King's works so I may pick up a few more of his in due time!

Question 5:
Sci-fi or Fantasy?

Fantasy all the way. That's pretty much all I read.

Question 6:
Reading indoors or outdoors?

Depends on the weather really. Indoors mostly though I think. The sun can get so bright sometimes when you're reading outside that it makes me so sleepy and then I'm getting all hot and bothered too. Reading in bed is the best for me I think.

Question 7:
Twilight or 50 Shades of Grey?

Twilight. Although they're both basically the same thing. Hello, 50 Shades is fan-fiction of Twilight. Ahaha, sorry to say I've read all of both. I like the way Stephenie Meyer writes, it's just the storyline of Twilight obviously isn't great, but another of her novels I've read is brilliant. 50 Shades looks like it was written by a teenager.

Question 8:
Shop online or from a local bookstore?

Bookstore. Any chance I get and I'll be in a Foyles or Waterstones, rifling through their many shelves. It's pure heaven. I don't really have any local, independent bookstores in East London though. However, it's great when I visit my dad in Faversham because they have a good handful of old, musty, crooked bookstores.

Question 9:
The Great Gatsby or Catcher in the Rye?

I've only read The Great Gatsby so that one I guess, although I actually didn't think much of it even though everyone raves about it. I will read Catcher in the Rye at some point, added to my ever-growing list of to be reads...

Question 10:
Fiction or Non-fiction?

Fiction. I rarely pick up non-fiction. A great one I've actually read this year, that's non-fiction, was Unbroken. Mind-blowing.

Question 11:
Bookmarks or dog-earing?

I actually do both. I bookmark my position in the book, obviously, but I dog-ear the points of 25%, 50% and 75% because I like to know how far through the book I am. Strange, I know! Aha.

Question 12:
Dr Seuss or Roald Dahl?

I've not really read either? Like I have a little Roald Dahl collection from my childhood on my bookshelves back home but I don't remember reading them very much. And Dr Seuss I think I've only read snippets of. I'll pick Roald Dahl though because I prefer his stories.

Question 13:
eBook or Audiobook?

Audiobook after this year. A new love was found when my friend suggested Audible to me. I like eBooks too, I must dust off my kindle this year!

Hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas
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Independence Day: Resurgence

I really need to start writing these reviews as soon as I've seen the film otherwise I lose all memory of details and end up spending an age trying to remember what actually happened.

Now, Independence Day.

I wouldn't say I was a hugeee fan of the first one. It's good, don't get me wrong. But Adeel is a massive fan so I always knew we'd watch the second one.

I was pretty excited though, wondering what they'd do different this time.

Image from Pinterest

Like with everyone else (I assume), I was disappointed that Will Smith wasn't reprising his role after 20 years. Everyone else managed to be in it, yet one of the main characters wasn't. Annoying much?

However, I did find Liam Hemsworth to be a pretty good substitute.

He's playing his usual sort of charming, funny role. But I enjoyed his subplot with the romance and even more so the fact that his girl got in on the action of fighting with the aliens as well.

Maika Monroe was pretty good as Hemsworth's love interest and the former President's daughter. Like I said, I loved how she was able to be a helpful role in bringing down the alien force. It wasn't all left down to the men as usual which was nice.

Jeff Goldblum as always was amazing. I will forever enjoy anything he is in after playing Ian in Jurassic Park. Enough said.

The rest of the cast were good too, especially Bill Pullman as a slightly going-off-the-rails Whitmore.

The storyline was pretty much the same except with bigger aliens and some of the characters (like Whitmore) having all of these visions to sort of predict their next attack.

I liked the added element of alien and human working together against a bigger alien foe and the CGI and finale were spectacular.

I can't really remember much else, I just know I enjoyed it!

Plenty of action, some edge of your seat moments and a good dose of romance/feel good moments.

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Rating:
★★★★★



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