Book Review; The Hamilton Affair, by Elizabeth Cobbs

The Hamilton Affair, by Elizabeth Cobbs

Let me start by saying that I really wanted this book when I learnt that it was going to be published. When I tried to buy it, Amazon.co.uk told me that it wouldn't be available until May 2017, and I could pre-order it. Instead, I purchased it on Audible UK (which doesn't make much sense to me - like seriously, Audible is a part of Amazon and I was on the UK version for both so why such the difference??) and I listened to the audio book instead. I've really been getting into audio books lately, which is really strange because I've always struggled with them.

Originally, I was really excited about this book because it's touted as a book about the relationship of Alexander and Eliza Hamilton. While, yes, it did do this, it does it a lot later than I expected, which I found kinda disappointing. I was expecting it to talk about their childhoods and then pre-meeting for a short while, but it seemed to last for at least half the book, and a lot of it seemed irrelevant to the plot - yes, I understand why you're focusing on Ajax, the slave that Rachel Lavine owned who Alexander grew up with as it allowed Eliza to move past the idea of colour and understand that slavery and racism shouldn't exist when she has contact with Ajax Manley (I have no idea how to spell his last name) later in the novel, but the first half of this novel really felt like it was dragging.

I also felt like Eliza wasn't portrayed in a particularly good way. She came off more... weak than I think of her as when reading biographies. She was portrayed as a woman who needed Alexander to live, and while that may have been true of her opinion during their marriage, she lived fifty years longer than he did. I did like her portrayal after the Reynolds Pamphlet came out; she returned to Albany and meets a man that she met as a child and while she is tempted to cheat, unlike her husband, she refuses to do so which illustrates the differences between the two. As a result of the distance between Eliza and Alexander, she begins with multiple orphan, widow and children charities which I liked as an explanation of why she started philanthropic endeavors. This is also linked with her childhood in the novel as she is described as wanting to help children and animals so the novel does have a continuing thread of characterization running through it.

However, for going into so much detail about their lives prior to meeting each other, not much attention is given to Eliza and the children after Alexander's passing, and fifty years is passed in (I think?) sixteen minutes. or a short epilogue like chapter. I found this rather sad really.

However, Cobb does a remarkable job of showing the trials and tribulations of marriage in the 1700s; the fears of pregnancy, the worry of the loss of both child and mother during pregnancy, the ongoing endemics of illness that waved through the cities every year.

Overall, I liked the novel, I would recommend it to people, but there were some inconsistencies and pacing issues that I didn't like which is why this book does not get 5 stars.

Rating = 4 / 5 stars.

Book Reviews; Doctor Who: The Glamour Chronicles

Doctor Who: The Glamour Chronicles

Royal Blood, Big Bang Generation and Deep Time



I should say before this that I accidentally read book three (Deep Time) first, the first time around. Needless to say, it was very confusing and I still didn't understand when I read book one, which apparently you don't need to do. It's a trilogy that you're supposed to read in order, but because it's not made clear which is book one, two or three, the vast majority read them out of order. In my opinion, it's ultra confusing.

Royal Blood

This story begins with a country at war with it's neighbour, who has slowly been chipping away at the vast amount of land that the original country (Varuz) controlled. It's only later that you realize that this country is more a dictatorship and it's Conrad's country (I don't recall the name, if they even named it) that is actually more like a democracy, at which point you're too embroiled in trying to like (or actually liking) the characters from Varuz that you're probably going to view them as the enemy no matter how good Conrad's country is or how bad Varuz is. 

The Doctor and Clara arrive at Varuz and pose as ambassadors as Aurelian and Guena, the Duke and Duchess of Varuz, are expecting ambassadors from Conrad's country. Clara is roped in as a spy by Guena and Bernhardt, the leader of the Knights to talk to a new arrival, assumed to be the actual ambassador to Conrad. When this conspiracy is revealed to Aurelian, he banishes his nephew, the rightful heir to the throne, Clara and the fake ambassador. At the same time, a group of knights searching for the 'Grail' arrive, led by Lancelot. Aurelian sends his knights with Lancelot to find the grail. (Like seriously, why would you do this just as your country is about to be overrun by a superior army??  Was he in his right mind??) The Doctor joins them, determined to find out who Lancelot truly is. 

The Glamour is revealed to be a sentient object that enchants people and can appear to each person differently depending on their greatest love or wish or desire. Both the fake ambassador and Lancelot's knights and 4/5 of Aurelian's knights are enchanted by the Glamour and are in search of it. When it is revealed at the end of the novel, these characters leave the planet in order to keep following the Glamour. Aurelian is killed by Conrad's invading force and Guena and Bernhardt are aided by the Doctor in escaping together.  

Good points: the novel can stand alone as a singular Doctor Who novel. It was an evenly paced novel and all around good book. Not the best Doctor Who novel I've read (that would either be the 11th Doctor's book Borrowed Time, the 12th Doctor's book The Blood Cell, the 10th Doctor's novel The Last Dodo or the 8th Doctor's audio book The Blood of the Daleks Part 1 and 2). Both the Doctor and Clara are well characterized and I could imagine this as TV episode.

Bad points: Aurelian was a very confusing character. You never really find out who Lancelot's knights are. The Glamour isn't very well explained beyond "your wildest dreams" which is very strange and extremely vague. 

Rating = 3.5 / 5 stars.

Big Bang Generation

This novel is extremely confusing. All of the secondary characters have met up and started talking and now some of them are dead. I don't really understand what is happening or why half of these characters are needed. I do like Kik the Assassin. As the second novel in the trilogy, it does make more mention of the 'Glamour' but the description makes it even more confusing - its a rock called the Lodestar which Bernice had a fragment of.  

The best I could describe this book as is the beginning of the Glamour on Earth (specifically Sydney) because I thought this was how the Glamour was actually created, with it being the key to the Pyramid (which I didn't really understand much of either despite the fact that they kept talking about it) but book three completely contradicts that. Either way, I entered this novel with some understanding of the trilogy and I left it extremely confused and barely understanding anything.

Good points: Clara isn't in the novel. Many references to actual Doctor Who episodes (notably Flesh and Stone). Doctor Who characters (notably River Song) and Doctor Who spin-offs (mentioning Sarah Jane and Luke from the Sarah Jane Adventures), these references being rather rare in most Doctor Who tie in novels. Bernice and the connected characters (Peter, Ruth, Jack) are all characterized well, as they were seen (or heard) in the audio books, which is probably a result of the author penning something like sixteen of the audio books himself. 

Bad points: Bernice Summerfield replaces Clara for this novel. It's very confusing with a large cast of secondary characters that are hard to remember across the novel. The half-arsed relationship that Kik attempted to form with Peter - like seriously, he's gay, he doesn't like you. Plus, you keep trying to kill him. It came from nowhere, went nowhere and ended in I have no idea. They insult my home city, which didn't impress me and didn't make me want to continue reading it (though the confusing manner of the novel didn't help that thought either).

Rating = 2 / 5 stars.

Deep Time

I actually really enjoyed this novel. It was my favourite of the trilogy, and unlike the other two novels, it had clearly drawn characters, with clear understanding and motivations, despite the limited page count and the large array of secondary characters. In that regard Trevor Baxendale really excels as he has in previous Doctor Who and Torchwood novels.

This novel surrounds the mystery of the Phaeron, who inhabited the universe alongside the height of the Time Lord empire, back when they still interfered in the universe. The Phaeron disappeared mysteriously, having left behind one last 'road', a series of space tunnels throughout the universe which they used to travel. The fate of the Phaeron are tied together with the Glamour, whose terror and destruction is explained. 

Good points; clear and concise writing, with well developed characters. The deaths of some of the characters are well written and quite sad at some points. The Doctor and Clara are extremely well written, sounding like they normally do on the TV series. Truthfully, I feel like this could have been a singular book instead of a trilogy, and it would have served much better, because this book was pretty good, while the other two, for me, were either 'meh' or 'alright'.

Bad points; some points seemed rather easy, for example, the group are separated from each other. At least one person in each group then dies before they manage to meet up again. Also, just as they run out of oxygen, the time jump took them to a time when they could breathe without the safety suits on - it felt like it was convenient writing.

Rating = 4 / 5 stars.

Book Review; Malory Blackman

Malory Blackman.

Dead Gorgeous and Pig Heart Boy.



Pig Heart Boy

This story revolves around a thirteen year old boy called Cameron, who suffers from heart disease. All his prayers about getting a new heart can be answered by a doctor who suggest a xenotransplant. AKA transplanting a pig heart into a human body. He has to deal with the stigma and hate mail and parental infighting and general lack of understanding that he faces in the time preceding the operation and the aftermath.

To this effect, Blackman illustrates the changes in somebody after an event - prior to the heart transplant, he had a crush on a girl named Julie, but afterwards, she isn't allowed in contact with him by her parents so he coughs over her on purpose. His friends note in book that he is changing as a result of the operation as he is stronger and fitter and somewhat meaner to people, such as Julie and Travis, the school bully.

Something I found rather irritating was the ending as it was a kind of cliffhanger (spoilers) with Cameron choosing to accept a new pig heart in the attempt to see his new sibling, however, you don't know if he survives the operation or if he makes it to the birth of his sibling. Considering that it's a children's book, I can kind of understand why as it seems highly likely that a second heart wouldn't let him live for much longer and it would have upset children to learn that the main character had died, whereas if he had survived, it would have been regarded as unrealistic. 

However, there were issues with this book - a lot of the story lines felt like they were tied up quickly and easily without any real effort. For instance, (spoilers) Marlon tells his parents about Cameron's transplant, who then tell it to the press. Cameron obviously feels betrayed by Marlon but after he says that they were going to lose their house, Cameron forgives him almost instantaneously. I feel like even teenagers would hold a grudge for a slight bit longer, especially considering the grief and hassle that Marlon caused. This is also shown with the fighting between his parents - they fight like tooth and nail prior to the operation and then the mother reveals that she is pregnant and the fighting stops almost instantly. I don't feel like this is realistic as a new baby does not immediately stop fighting. In most cases, it actually increases fighting.

Overall, I found this book rather choppy in writing style, slightly unrealistic and somewhat laborious to read at times.

Rating = 3 / 5 stars.

Dead Gorgeous

This books revolves around a thirteen year old girl called Nova, who lives at a seaside beach hotel with her older sister Rainbow (or Raye), her younger twin brothers (Jude and Jake(?)) and her parents. Also inhabiting the hotel are guests, such as Andrew and his parents, Miss Eve and Miss Dawn, Mr. Jackson and his ghost brother Liam, who only one of the twins and Nova can see when he's a ghost. During periods of heightened emotions, others around him can see him as well, such as in the case of Raye.

You read this book from every character's point of view, except the five parents in the novel (Nova's parents, Andrew's parents and Liam's father) which provides both understanding for each character but quite a choppy novel. It could be quite difficult to follow and some parts of the novel felt redundant and / or unnecessary.

The main character, Nova, struggles with her self-image and the fact that she is not classically beautiful like her older sister. Resulting from this, she is bulimic. This story line literally hits you from out of nowhere when you were least expecting it, and Blackman goes into detain about it quite graphically, for instance, Nova eats colourful food first like peas or sweetcorn so that she knows when her stomach is empty when she is throwing up. I felt like this is quite disturbing for a children's novel personally. Surrounding this is Nova's lack of attention from her parents, her annoying brothers and the lack of a relationship between her and Raye, who has gone from her little sister to boys. Her relationship with Liam grows exceedingly quickly as a result, with the book lasting the equivalent of a weekend, with occasional flashbacks to ten years previous in Liam's perspective, as she is the only one able to see and interact with Liam, even when she doesn't want to.

The other main character is Liam, a ghost who died in the area around the hotel ten years prior to the beginning of the book and can only be seen by Nova. His younger brother, Joshua, is a guest at the hotel, and has searched the UK for his older brother, however Liam wants him to leave desperately, occasionally allowing him to turn corporeal. Liam's story line is told through flashback chapters, allowing you to know what happened to him alongside his brother's beliefs and actions in the present. At the end of the novel, after the discovery of his body, Liam attempts to kill Raye so that he is not alone for ever, but Nova stops him from throwing her over a cliff and allowing Liam to move on from the hotel, which he had been stuck at since his death as a result of a mental tie which Liam didn't know about.

Upon finishing this book, I had so many questions;

1. Who are Miss Eve and Miss Dawn?
2. Did Nova tell her family about her bulimia?
3. Did Nova manage to solve her bulimia?
4. Did Joshua and Father manage to resolve their issues?
5. Did Raye and Andrew stay in contact?
6. Did Nova stay in contact with Joshua?

Overall, it was a somewhat choppy read, as a result of the changing point of views, but it did provide a clear narrative and understanding and motivation for each character. Parts I didn't feel were plausible, such as the fact that the book is set over one weekend and the strength of Nova and Liam's relationship in that time frame, as well as the fact the hotel is failing anyway - it's set on a seaside. Albeit, it is set in Britain so the British weather may be playing a factor. 

Rating = 3 / 5 stars.

Eliza Schuyler Hamilton

Eliza Hamilton, born 9th August 1757, died at the age of ninety seven in November 1854.



General Phillip Schuyler married Catherine Van Rensselaer and they had fifteen children together;

• Angelica, who survived to adulthood.
• Elizabeth, who survived to adulthood. (Eliza)
• Margarita, who survived to adulthood. (Peggy)
• Cornelia, who died as an infant.
• Cordelia's unnamed twin, who died as an infant.
• John Bradstreet, who died as an infant.
• John Bradstreet, who survived to adulthood.
• Philip Jeremiah, who survived to adulthood.
• Unnamed triplets, who died as infants.
• Rensselaer, who survived to adulthood.
• Cornelia, who survived to adulthood.
• Cortlandt, who died as an infant.
• Catherine Van Rensselaer, who survived to adulthood.

As a child, Eliza was a tomboy, who loved walking and climbing. Once, when her father attended a Six Nations meeting, she visited alongside him. She was also taught how to play backgammon by Benjamin Franklin, who visited the Schuyler Mansion while travelling. She attended the Dutch Reformed Church of Albany, which instilled in er a strong lifelong religious belief that she would later depend upon after the death of her husband. Each of the Schuyler siblings learnt a musical instrument, and they would entertain and amuse visitors and guests to the Schuyler Mansion.

At the age of 20, Eliza first met her future husband, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton dined at her father's Albany mansion in November 1777, but it wasn't until they met again when Eliza moved to Morristown to live with relatives in February 1780. They decided to marry only a month later, with Hamilton being fully accepted into the Schuyler family, especially Angelica. their marriage has often been described as a menage-a-trois between Eliza, Angelica and Alexander, as all three adored each other. 
While at Morristown, Eliza developed a friendship with Martha Washington, which was to continue until Washington's death, with Washington later describing her as "she was always my ideal of a true woman." This would later be shown when George and Martha Washington sent Eliza a silver cooler after Hamilton revealed his affair with Maria Reynolds.

Eliza and Alexander married in December 1780, at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany. After a honeymoon, and Alexander fought with George Washington, they moved back to Albany, where Eliza made a home around them and supported Alexander in his political writings. Soon after, Alexander was given a military commission and Eliza returned to her parent's Mansion, pregnant with their first child. In August, the Mansion was invaded and harm averted as a result of Peggy (Margarita).
They would later have eight children together;

• Philip, who would die at nineteen in a duel.
• Angelica, who would have a mental breakdown over Philip's death which resulted in a continued childlike state.
• Alexander Junior, who became a lawyer and soldier.
• James Alexander, who became a soldier, a lawyer and the acting Secretary of State.
• John Church, named after his aunt Angelica's husband, he would be responsible for his father's biography, published three years after Eliza's death.
• William Stephen, who would become a politician and miner, living in Illinois.
• Elizabeth Holly.
• Philip, named after his eldest brother.

It is during this time that Angelica and her husband moved to Great Britain, where her husband became a Member of Parliament. Eliza also took in an orphan, named Franny Antill, who stayed with the Hamilton's from the age of two until twelve, when she moved to live with her married older sister. This foreshadowed Eliza's future endeavors after Alexander's death. She also sat for a painter imprisoned in debtors prison, so that he would be able to buy his way out of prison. They had an incredibly busy social life, attending the theater, balls and parties. When her youngest child at the time (John Church Hamilton) fell severely ill, Eliza suffered a miscarriage.

While pregnant with their sixth child, the affair between Alexander Hamilton and Maria Reynolds was revealed. At the beginning, Eliza did not believe the rumours, believing the men purporting them to be scoundrels. At the end of the month, Alexander published the Reynolds Pamphlet, revealing it to be true to Eliza. Despite his betrayal and adultery, the Hamiltons remained together and even had two more children.

Philip, the eldest child of the couple, would become involved in a duel of honour with George Eacker, after Eacker's 4th July speech where he insulted Alexander Hamilton. Eacker was a Jeffersonian, which explained his dislike of Hamilton and the other Federalists as the Federalists were opposed by the Republicans, led by Jefferson and Madison. This duel resulted in the death of Philip, three years before Alexander's death.

Alexander Hamilton died after a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804, in Weehawken, New Jersey. 

Following his death, Eliza raised their seven children, surrounded by the debt that Alexander had left them in. Eliza struggled to cope with this large sum, even losing their home, The Grange. However, she was later able to buy it back at a reduced price. Around the same time as her husband's death, both of her parents and two of her siblings had died. Eliza would eventually outlive all but her youngest siblings, who outlived Eliza by three years despite being twenty-four years younger.

Eliza spent the rest of her life defending Hamilton's legacy, smeared and attacked by the rest of the founding Fathers who outlived him by an average of thirty years. She did this by supporting his claim for authorship of George Washington's Farewell Address, which was also claimed by James Madison. She also requested an apology from James Munroe over his accusations of financial impropriety and refused his apology in regards to his involvement in the Reynolds Affair, as he spread the knowledge of Hamilton's affair to Jefferson, Hamilton's political rival and personal enemy.

In 1805, Eliza joined the Society for for the Relief of Poor Women with Small Children, and even formed the Orphan Asylum Society as vice-president. This was the first private orphanage in New York City, and she continued as President of the Society from 1821 to 1848, when she retired and moved to Washington D.C. to live with her youngest daughter, Elizabeth Hamilton Holly, who has recently been widowed. The Society is now called Graham Windham and continues in New York today. She also contributed funds to build the Washington Memorial and fought against slavery. She also shamed Congress into taking care of Hamilton's seven children after his death, petitioning for her husband's writings to be published.

She re-organised all of Hamilton's papers and writings with the help of her son, John Church Hamilton, and persevered in order to get his biography written, despite many setbacks, such as the deaths of the biographers and some biographers backing out. John Church Hamilton would later finish the mammoth biography three years after Eliza's death. 

At the age of ninety-seven in 1854, Eliza Schuyler Hamilton died in Washington D.C. fifty years after the death of her beloved husband, having carried his special letters and notes around in a pouch around her neck since his death. She would then be buried next to her husband and near to her sister in Trinity Church graveyard in New York City. 

Book Review; Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets to the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

First posted on Goodreads.com

Read between 28th June 2016 and 8th August 2016.

I started listening to this audio book purely because Lin-Manuel Miranda narrated it. He was an amazing narrator, able to use inflection so that each character sounds different and authentic. Through him, the characters feel real, like I'm sat watching them in the room or truck with them, a silent observer.

The story revolves around two teenaged Mexican-American boys, Aristotle (or Ari) and Dante. It's told from Ari's point of view, and as such you're treated to a more pessimistic point of view. I feel like this made the books somewhat more relate-able, rather than an alternating point of view between the two boys. I also feel like this book revolves more around the fact that Ari is scared of loving Dante while Dante is completely unafraid, except to tell his parents that he loves another boy. Their mutual friendship and their love is felt throughout the novel, with Ari protecting Dante from a car crash and Dante giving Ari his art book, something that he hadn't shown to anybody before.

Ari is a loner, who meets Dante, who sees the world completely differently to Ari, at the swimming pool. Ari is described as a loner, with an imprisoned brother, while Dante is described as a know it all who detests shoes. They begin a friendship because Dante teaches Ari how to swim, as Ari attended the pool everyday to avoid the silence of his parents. They quickly develop a close friendship, with Dante teaching Ari about birds and poetry and Ari struggling with the affection offered by Dante and his family.  Ari later falls ill and his parents nurse him back to health while Ari suffers from intense bad dreams about losing Dante and trying to find both his father and his brother. Sáenz portrays this feeling very well through a dream rather than in conversation as Ari is characterized as a quite person, noted by many characters throughout the novel, and it feels like an epiphany that should come through a dream.

Dante moves to Chicago with his parents for an academic year, and through his letters to Ari, we learn of his continuing story line - he attends parties, tries marijuana, drinks alcohol and kisses girls. I feel like this is Dante trying to hide from himself in some regard as he is fearful of wanting to kiss boys rather than girls and he is trying to distance himself from the truth, before finally admitting it to himself in the next letter to Ari, where he accepts and tells Ari. In contrast, Ari struggles with his growing feelings for Dante, refusing to accept them until the end of the novel until his parents force him to accept it and he wonders why he was so ashamed to admit to himself that he loves Dante. I think this part of the novel was probably my favourite, as Ari finally feels free. Throughout the novel, he has felt hurt and miserable and unable to fully connect with those around him and this chapter gives him an enlightening epiphany which completely transforms his character. 

The contrasting family connections also serve to show the differences between the two boys - Dante's family tell each other everything while Ari struggles to talk to either of his parents and vice versa. Ari's father, an ex-soldier from Vietnam struggles with the memories of the war and stays mostly silent. Ari struggles to connect to his father throughout the novel as a result of his PTSD and silence, but over the course of the novel they slowly grow into a relationship again, with his father acting as his father once again and the familial connection restored, but still different. On the other hand, Ari's mother struggles with the reminder of Ari's older, and only, brother who is in prison. This is a point of contention between Ari and his parents throughout the novel as Ari wishes to learn about Bernardo, while everybody refuses to talk about him, contributing to his confusion and his anger.

Dante's father is friends with everyone and struggles when harm comes to either Dante or his wife, and slowly brings Ari around to the idea that he loves Dante. Dante's mother is described as omniscient, and in the novel, she might as well be. You can feel throughout that they truly care for their son, despite Dante's worries that they might disapprove of him over his homosexuality.

One aspect of this novel that I particularly liked was that the parents are portrayed accurately; most YA novels swing from one spectrum to the other in regards to the parental figures but Sáenz managed to portray them as real parents - sometimes they make mistakes and they aren't perfect, but they tried to help their sons, and I feel like that is important. 

The two major themes of the book are the boy's struggle with coming to terms with their homosexuality, made more complicated for Ari as his extended family had severed all connections with his favourite aunt (Ophelia, which happens to be the name of one of my favourite characters in Fire Emblem Fates) as a result of her own sexual orientation, as she lives with another woman for many years, and the struggle of cultural heritage, especially the Mexican-American heritage as the two boys feel that neither of them are truly Mexican nor truly American. This is a central theme that runs through the book but remains in the background as a support for other plot-lines, such as hate crime, gender and sexuality, male gender roles and societal expectations that the boys struggle through. 

Overall, this was a very good coming of age novel and narrated brilliantly. At the beginning, I didn't think that there was much plot, and the novel itself didn't seem to be moving anywhere, but some wise advise had me reading between the lines and learning so much more about this novel. Sáenz is truly a wonderful author, and hopefully there is a sequel that I can listen to.

Rating = 4 / 5 stars.

Book Review; The Candle Man by Alex Scarrow

First posted on Goodreads.com.

Read between 14th May 2016 and 18th July 2016.

This is possibly one of my favourite Alex Scarrow novels. I read TimeRiders first, and subsequently became addicted to his style of writing. Even between the genres and ages, his writing style remains the same; short chapters, built up plots and quick revelations. Though the revelations are somewhat slower in The Candle Man than in TimeRiders, this is possibly due to the change in audience.

The book begins with suspense; aboard the Titanic, next to a dying girl, a man recounts the most exciting time of his life, knowing that he is going to die by nights end. The story surrounding Jack the Ripper. Scarrow keeps this suspense throughout the novel, with a few twists and turns that took me by surprise (i.e the identity of the man on the Titanic and the role of Mary Kelly.) I admit that I thought it would struggle to keep the pace of the novel as many Jack the Ripper novels do, but I was pleasantly surprised. This was probably helped by the novel being split into three distinct parts and views; 1. how the Candle Man came to England. 2. Mary Kelly and John Argyll, and 3. the employer of the Candle Man.

Scarrow has always had this imagination that enables him to intertwine historical opinions (such as near the end of this novel, the different viewpoints in regards to Mary Kelly and her murder by Jack the Ripper) with fact and events. It served him very well in this novel, and I hope he continues to use this method in future novels.

Altogether, this was a brilliant book by a brilliant author, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a friend or read it again.

Rating = 5 / 5 stars.

Greetings and Introduction!

Hello, my name is Emily :-)

That was a very formal way of starting this, but I suppose it has to be said at one point or another, and the best place is at the beginning. What can I say, I like things to go in a chronological order. Unless it's Doctor Who, in which case, everything can be timey-wimey and I'll still love it. Once I start talking about Doctor Who, I can go on and on for hours and not stop. 
Changing the subject... I love reading, some television programmes (as evidenced ^), musicals (about 80% of my ipod is comprised of musical songs) history (1700s-1900s specifically), Pokemon (Crystal remains my favourite game but I'm currently trying to complete the pokedex in shiny form in Pokemon Y - 113 / 721, going well!) quite a lot of other stuff and my dog. Who doesn't love their dog? Or their cat? Or their snake? Not that I have a cat or a snake, just a dog :-) Oh yeah, I have a slight addiction to emoticons. 

Oh, and I'm British, so expect m's and u's and dropped h's all over the place.