Divergent Trilogy Review - CONTAINS SPOILERS

Okay, so if you don't want to know what happens in the Divergent trilogy, STOP READING NOW. This is going to contain a LOT of spoilers, so be wary as you read. 

(You have been warned).

What can I say about this trilogy, other than I thought it was amazing!

I bought the first two books in the series, Divergent and Insurgent ages ago, and only got round to reading them recently, once I had purchased the third and final Allegiant. In fact, I read all three in the series in the space of about a fortnight! (Nerd, I know).
I'm still yet to see the film adaptation of Divergent. I'm a little nervous that it's going to have gone completely off track from the book, and I thought the book was just great the way it was.

If you've seen the film or read the books, you'll know that the trilogy follows a 16 year old girl named Tris, and a number of obstacles she must overcome due to her being 'Divergent' and the danger that presents in her society, beginning with the decision to leave her family and faction behind to start fresh in a new one.
There are five factions in the city with each containing their own dispositions that they must live by. Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave) and Erudite (the intelligent).
Throughout this book, the underlying theme seems to be Tris trying to figure out who she is and where she belongs. At 16, I'm fairly certain everyone has gone through a phase similar to this, and it's an easy connection that we can make with Tris.
The book is filled with danger and anticipation as you get to understand the world Tris lives in, watch her adapt to her new life as a fearless Dauntless, fall in love with her initiation instructor, and risk her life to save others, while along the way losing people that she cares for dearly.
Out of the three, this was my favourite by far. I liked the idea that because Tris was starting a new life and learning a new way of living, that the reader was going through the journey with her and learning as she did.
It was also interesting to watch her relationship with Four develop. For a while it seemed to be a 'will it-wont it' kind of relationship which I was rooting for (and I'm sure everyone else reading was too).
The three books flow seamlessly into one another, which is something I feel makes the trilogy so unique. It all happens in a very short space of time.

Insurgent, the second book starts immediately after the first book ends, after a 'war' breaks out and most of Abnegation is wiped out by Dauntless soldiers under a mind control simulation, controlled by Erudite. 
Tris, accompanied by her boyfriend Tobias/Four and a few others try and find safety with other factions, whilst constantly trying to escape Dauntless traitors.
After turning herself in to save her friends, Tris discovers the betrayal of someone she never could have imagined would hurt her so badly.
And then there's the cliffhanger ending that rips their whole world apart.
Like Divergent, the book is filled with anticipation and danger, but in a completely different way.
Tris isn't the same girl we new, after the events of Divergent, she's too scared to pick up a gun, and she's even lost the desire to live. She's reckless and puts herself frequently in danger, which puts a strain on her relationship with Tobias. Lets be real, if the one person you loved more than anything in the world was unnecessarily risking their lives, you wouldn't be thrilled either!
There is a different level of emotion to connect with, and the relationships of characters make you really involved (like when Christina finally forgives Tris for shooting Will, and their friendship becomes rock solid again. Yay!)

With Allegiant, I found that I couldn't put it down. I'd stay up until late at night trying to get to the end of the chapter, only to have to read the next one because of the cliffhanger ending.
To me, the change in direction with the book was quite surprising, but still really well written.
This book sees Tris and friends venture outside the gates of their little world, and meet a group of scientists who explain that their entire lives have been an experiment, to produce 'perfect' and 'pure' genes.
But their society is just as broken as the one Tris left behind, and their is yet more death and pain.
It's a little less easy reading that the first two, as some of the language used is too complicated and I just didn't understand what they were even going on about sometimes, and the fact that the chapters are from two different peoples perspectives (Tris and her boyfriend Tobias) confused me. I'd read a page thinking it was from one characters perspective and have to go back after realising it was the other.

The ending however, I was not expecting and took me completely by surprise. I'll admit it, I had a little cry! I disliked how it ended, because of the reasons I was meant to. But I also liked it because it was different and unexpected.
Out of the three, this was my least favourite, but I still really enjoyed it! It was just a bit too confusing for me.

Author Veronica Ross has written an incredible series, and I'm excited for what she has in store next.
She also has some shorter stories focussing around Tobias coming out July 2014 (next month), if your Divergent needs haven't been completely satisfied.

xox

Warner Bros. Studio Tour

So for my birthday, my boyfriend and I decided to go on a little trip to London since I'd never been.
Baring in mind that we live in Newcastle, London is quite a train journey away. So after hours of traveling and multiple spells of me thinking I was going to be sick all over myself, we arrived in Brighton, which I did not realise was an hour away from London. (More traveling, yay...).

Despite the lonnnnng journey, Brighton was the nicest place ever, all the little winding lanes with little shops were super cute, and being so close to the sea really made me feel extra holiday spirited. To make things even more amazing, it was actually warm! Not shorts weather warm, but warm nonetheless.
As I'm sure you're all aware, the UK is not known for it's jolly weather, especially the North East where I live, so it was a nice change to be able to walk around at the beginning of March with only a cardigan on instead of my usual parka, scarf and gloves combo.

Since we were in London for the week, we of course had to see all the sites (Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Hyde Park etc).
I have to admit, I was pretty impressed, (although my feet didn't enjoy the many blisters they ended up with) and we even got a glimpse of Kate and William!  
ONLY KIDDING! All we saw was a car being escorted into Buckingham Palace by a ridiculous amount of police, but I'm going to keep pretending it was Kate and Wills for the giggles!

The main reason for the holiday, rather than saving up to go abroad or somewhere fancy, is because I am a complete lover of Harry Potter (of both book and film), and have been dying to go to the Warner Brothers Studios where they actually filmed the movies! 
So that's what I did. On my 22nd birthday. Don't judge me, I had the best day ever!

Everything was a million times better than I expected! I couldn't believe how many of the props, costumes and sets were actually there, especially when you see the sheer scale of some of the pieces. Don't worry, I won't go into too much detail and ruin it for you if you haven't been yet! (But if i may ask, WHY ON EARTH HAVE YOU NOT BEEN YET?!)
The tour is open all day, and we were informed from staff that it takes roughly about 3 hours to see everything. We were there for almost 6, so I'm not sure how anyone manages 3 unless they whizz quickly past everything and don't take any photos!

The beginning of the tour is the only part that you have a tour guide, which I preferred because it meant that I could go at my own pace and get to see everything, rather than being rushed within a tour group and miss something (which I would have literally cried about). There are a number of helpful and lovely staff dotted about throughout the place though, to take photos of you or to give you a little bit of information about the various things you will see in the studios.
Behind glass cases you can see iconic items such as the Philosophers Stone, Neville's Remembrall and the Golden Snitch that every Potter fan will know and love (and if you're anything like me, got extremely overexcited about).

There are 3 different sections of the tour, one of which is outside. This is where the Dursley's House (Number 4 Privet Drive) is, which is massive! You can also purchase some Butterbeer from a little shop, which is DE-licious! I've tried to make some at home before, following online recipes, but it tasted nowhere near as nice! I think it was the toffee cream that made it so yummy, but whatever it was, it was top notch! Plus if you get the more expensive of the different cups, you get a medium sized tankard that you can take home with you. For £5 it was a bargain really, and my tankard is sitting on my shelf along with some other things I bought from the gift shop.

The other two sections are indoors, and these are where the main bulk of the tour is located. The first, mainly consists of sets and costumes, whereas the third is more dedicated to concept art, prop designs and anamatronics. There is literally something for everybody, even if you're not as crazy about Harry Potter as I am!

One of my favourite parts in the entire studio, was located right at the end of the tour, and is something truly breathtakingly spectacular. But I'm not going to spoil it for you, if you want to find out what it is you'll have to go visit the studio! I promise you won't be disappointed!
Even the gift shop was impressive. From wands and robes, to Chocolate Frogs packaged exactly the same as in the films. I was in my element. To make my geeky fan girlyness even more apparent, I bought a massive book full of information and pictures going into even more depth of how they went about creating the films, including original costume designs, scale model drawings and interviews with the cast. And of course, as any Harry Potter lover should, I now have my very own wand (YAY).

For anyone who is a massive Harry Potter fan, it's just an amazing opportunity to see into the films this way. I know when I re-watch the eight movies, I'll be saying 'OOH I remember that', or remembering all the nifty little facts dotted about along the way.
So all in all, I had the best week, and the best birthday EVER! So much so, that we're hoping to go back later on in the year!
Harry Potter and London, I'm coming back for ya!

xox