5 YouTubers I'm loving right now

5 YouTubers I'm loving right now

Tuesday, 18 August 2015

Read post

You guys know that YouTube is basically my favourite thing ever and I am constantly on the look out for new YouTubers to add to my subscription box. These are the 5 YouTubers I am loving right now.

Jaclyn Hill -  I've been subscribed to Jaclyn Hill since I first really started getting into youtube, in fact I credit this woman for helping me master the smokey eye. Jaclyn Hill I am forever indebted to you! BUT for the last year or so it's like she fell off my radar and then I remembered and I was like HELL YAS I LOVE JACLYN HILL! I'm going to watch every video I've missed in one sitting ( I didn't but the intention was there!) She's amazing. She's funny, her tutorials are incredible and I'm seriously loving her at the moment. 

Lana - I mentioned Lana in my first Weekly Round Up (read it here) and I'm still loving her channel. She's very sweet and makes good videos. What's not to like?

Tati AKA Glam Life Guru - So I've been a fan of Tati's for a while now but for some reason or other she's never made it into my daily youtube viewing. Until now. I mean I watched her fairly regularly anyway (woah that sounds creepy!) but recently I've had a whole new level of appreciation for Tati, she goes into so much depth and detail when she reviews make up, which I love, but she's also really open and honest and does some seriously beautiful make up tutorials. She's amazing. 

Karlie Kloss - AKA my new youtube obsession. Love. Her. 

John Green - Okay so my love of John Green is not exactly secret, nor is my crush on John Green, and I was already a big fan of vlogbrothers - the youtube channel he has with his brother Hank (Hank is also awesome just fyi) - but recently I have discovered the bundle of joy that is List Show on Mental Floss and it is fascinating. Basically on List Show John Green, and sometimes other people, list interesting facts about stuff. It sounds boring  but IT SO ISN'T. I've been putting it on to listen to while I've been writing my dissertation because I find John Green's voice very soothing. Right now I'm listening to him list 30 facts about Chocolate, I mean seriously does it get any better than that?

Those are my 5 youtube obsessions at the moment. Who are yours let me know on twitter, by commenting below or dropping me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also follow my instagram, facebook, bloglovin', snapchat - search lolarocknroses - and pinterest for regular updates.


Love love love xxx

*Disclaimer* I own none of the images featured in this post, all images are used for entertainment purposes only. Images Via, Via, Via, Via, Via

Lola Loves... Reading

Lola Loves... Reading

Thursday, 23 April 2015

Read post

I was talking with my best friend last night, setting the world to rights and all that, when the conversation turned to reading and how much we both love it. As an MA English Student I do A LOT of reading. I'd say I spend about 90% of my time with a book/kindle (/kindle app on my phone/iPad) in my hand and even though most of the time I'm reading something I really don't want to be I always try find time to read for the sake of reading. So with that in mind, and it being World Book Day and all, I thought I'd share with you lot the books I've been reading and loving lately.

Looking For Alaska by John Green

I'm reading this at the moment and I'm really enjoying it. I'm slowly working my way through everything John Green's ever written (because I like super love him) and whilst LFA isn't my favourite - it's a tie between The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns - it's a good story that's both funny and sad and a really good read. Miles 'Pudge' moves to Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama in search of 'A Great Perhaps.' Which turns up in the form of Alaska Young. Alaska is beautiful and exciting but deeply troubled. As Miles falls in love with her he struggles to reconcile the Alaska he loves with her angrier, bitchier side. It's very similar to Paper Towns (read my review here) in that it addresses how we idealise people, and loving the idea of a person is not the same as loving them. If you haven't checked it out I would definitely recommend it.

To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

I read this just after Christmas and then read it again a few weeks later because I enjoyed it that much. To All The Boys I've Loved Before is about Lara Jean, a young Korean girl, who has been in love with her neighbour and best friend Josh forever. There's just one catch he's her older sister Margot's boyfriend. To get over Josh, and all the guys she loved before, she writes them a letter that she never intends to send. When these letters accidentally get sent out all hell breaks lose for Lara Jean and to save face in front of Josh she pretends one of her classmates is her boyfriend and things get... complicated. I really enjoyed it, it's funny and sweet and oh so teenage but awesome. Fans of New Girl will love it.

Sweet Temptation by Lucy Diamond

This is chick-lit at it's very finest. Sweet Temptation is about three overweight women Maddie, Lauren and Jess who meet at a weight-loss group and follows their lives as they struggle to lose weight (#thestruggleisreal) It sounds pretty naff I know but it is a really good, easy read. I found myself getting sucked into the story and actually caring about the characters. I really enjoyed it, it's a perfect Beach Read.

What are the books you're loving at the moment? Let me know on twitter - use the hashtag #LolaLoves, by commenting below or dropping me an email to lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also check me out instagram, facebook, bloglovin & pinterest. That's me for this evening but I'll be back Sunday. Until then have yourselves a lovely week. 

Love love love xxx

Paper Towns Book Review

Paper Towns Book Review

Wednesday, 18 February 2015

Read post

Image via

At 11 years old Margo Roth Spiegelman and Quentin 'Q' Jacobsen find a dead body in the park by their houses.  Q has loved Margo from afar ever since. 7 years later Margo  appears at Q's window in the middle of the night  and  asks him to come  on an adventure with her. During the night Margo and Q wreck havoc on Margo's enemies and break into Seaworld. The next day Margo goes missing, but not before leaving a series of clues for Q to find her. As Q delves deeper and deeper into Margo's past in search for more clues, the more he realises that he never really knew Margo at all. 

The thing I found most interesting in Paper Towns was Q's perception of Margo. He built her up to be his perfect, dream girl. It's only after he begins to get to know her through the clues she's left behind that he begins to see her as a real person rather than a fantasy. But even Q's idea of her as a real person is wrong.  It's not real, it's not who Margo really is but only what Q thinks she really is.  I think everyone, myself especially, is guilty of moulding a person into something they're not in our heads, falling in love with an idea and then being disappointed after finding out who they really are.  I do this a lot, I build people up to be this amazing person, I even do this with people I know quite well and then I'm so disappointed when they're not who I want them to be.  So this really spoke to me on a more personal level. One of my favourite quotes in the book is towards the end  when Q realises that Margo isn't who he thought she was. 

'I realize that the idea is not only wrong but dangerous. What a treacherous thing it is to believe a person is more than a person.' 

That just speaks volumes to me.

All in all I really enjoyed this book. I found it gripping, laugh out loud funny at times, poignant and sad at others and in a lot of ways not what I was expecting. I also had to stop myself looking up the ending on Wikipedia a number of times. Having said that I had a quick look on goodreads and a lot of people have said that Paper Towns is pretty much exactly the same as John Green's earlier novel Looking for Alaska, which I haven't read (I am planning to read it) so I can't really comment. But I love John Green so I was always gonna enjoy it. I'm a great advocate of reading the book before seeing the film so I strongly recommend giving this a read because it is really good, and the film looks like it's gonna be good too. 

Have you read Paper Towns? What did you think?  Let me know by commenting below, on twitter or by sending me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also have a look at my instagram,  facebook, bloglovin & pinterest. 

Love love love xxx

The Fault In Our Stars: A Movie Review

The Fault In Our Stars: A Movie Review

Wednesday, 9 July 2014

Read post

(Picture courtesy of thefaultinourstarsmovie.com...how adorable is Gus/Ansel Elgort's face?! Seriously!)

Before we get started this review contains spoilers! You have been warned! I saw The Fault in Our Stars on Thursday and I thought I had to review it for you guys. Since I first read this book (I've read it 5 times and am now on my 6th) I, and the rest of the world, have been obsessed with The Fault in Our Stars. Because I loved it so much I was a teeny bit skeptical when I heard this was being made into a movie. How on earth could a movie capture the magic of this book? - It totally managed it by the way- That's the problem with film adaptations they can't please everybody. Particularly when it's an adaptation of such a beloved book. Some fans were bound to be disappointed with the movie but I am happy to report that I was not one of them. 

To say that I loved this movie is a HUGE understatement. It. Is. Amazing! It stays true to the story without being cheesy. It has a kickass soundtrack (more about that later) and it manages to achieve the perfect balance between hilariously funny and heartbreakingly sad. I will definitely be buying the dvd, in fact I can't wait for it to come out. I was really worried about the casting of Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort (because I have too much time on my hands) but they were absolutely perfect. When I initially saw that Ansel Elgort had been cast I was a bit dubious for 3 reasons. 1. I hadn't really heard of him before so I didn't know if he was capable of stepping into the impressive shoes of Augustus Waters. 2. Nat Woolfe, who was in contention for the role of Gus before taking on the role of Isaac (above middle), was closer to how I imagined Gus and 3. He had played opposite Shailene Woodley in Divergent AS HER BROTHER and because of this I didn't think they would have the right chemistry. How very wrong I was on all counts. Ansel Elgort was GLORIOUS as the beautifully tragic Augustus Waters. As for Shailene Woodley, despite being very confused about what feminism actually is, she was pretty amazing and exactly the way I'd pictured Hazel. As for the chemistry between the two of them... 

(Picture courtesy of thefaultinourstars.wikia.com)

I think this picture says it all! I mean seriously? Who looked at these two and thought hmm they'd be good as brother and sister? They're even adorable together in real life. I'm totally shipping Ansel and Shailene/Gus and Hazel, yeah we're on a first name basis, but they aren't the only amazing cast members Nat Woolfe was brilliant as the tortured and blind Isaac, particularly in the trophy smashing scene which was both very funny and incredibly poignant. Of course Willem Defoe was excellent (obviously) as the embittered, alcoholic and borderline insane Peter Van Houten. The lady from Jurassic Park (Laura Dern) and Sam (Sam Trammell) from True Blood were also really good as Hazel's parents. All in all the casting was top notch, yeah I just said top notch non-ironically, not ashamed. 

(Picture courtesy of thefaultinourstarsmovie.com) 

Not only was the casting excellent and the film very well acted but the soundtrack is marvellous. It's no secret that I am something of a music lover and a major film fan. But what I love the most are films with amazing soundtrack. TFIOS definitely meets this criteria. I downloaded the soundtrack pretty much immediately after I saw the film and then completely forgot about it. Then the other morning on my way to work I came across No One Ever Loved by Lykke Li and was hooked. Since then I have listened to the album repeatedly and it is awesome. My favourite songs are Simple As This by Jake Bugg, No One Ever Loved by Lykke Li and Wait by M83.  Having said that there isn't one song on the soundtrack  that I don't like. 

This film was superbly executed, look at me I've gone all posh now! I can definitely see it becoming a firm favourite. I loved it, I thought it was fantastic and I can't wait to see it again! And spend the last hour weeping until my top is soaking wet and my make up has been wept into oblivion. 

Have you seen TFIOS yet? What did you think? Did you love it? I did! Let me know I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Right I'm off to sleep now because I have work in the morning (BOO!) but will be back tomorrow with this week's 2 Stars & A Wish - it's the 6th one I'm so proud! - Until then I am on every possible social media site, and some impossible ones too (facebook anyone?). Check me out on twitter, facebook, BlogLovin, instagram & pinterest for your daily fix of Me...I know no one really needs one of those but it's nice to have the option. Anywho nighty night!

Love love love xx