Book Review: "A Masterclass in Drawing & Painting Landscapes" by Sarah Hoggett, Abigail Edgar

A Masterclass in Drawing & Painting Landscapes: Learn to produce beautiful compositions in oils, acrylics, gouache, waterpaints, pencils and charcoal by Sarah Hoggett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Extremely helpful book with a comprehensive introduction to the different materials and mediums used in painting/drawing. Step by step tutorials complete with photos, list of materials and what specific colours are used. Will definitely be easy to follow, even for a newbie artist!


View all my reviews

Buy the book here!

Full Affiliate Disclosure

Book Review: "A Beautiful Mind, A Beautiful Life: The Bubz Guide to Being Unstoppable" by Lindy Tsang

A Beautiful Mind, A Beautiful Life: The Bubz Guide to Being Unstoppable by Lindy Tsang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Inspirational book for anyone who is finding their way in life, to be responsible for YOU!
It has been almost 7 years since I first started watching Lindy on YouTube, can't believe she finally wrote her own book! Though some of her videos shed some light into her personal life, especially in her vlogs, this book really elaborates on some of her experiences, and how she overcomes challenges/reaches her goals.
Definitely a must read!

View all my reviews

Buy the book here!

Full Affiliate Disclosure

Book Review: "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse

Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A riveting fiction story based on true events that happened in World War 2 during the Holocaust, though it doesn't dive too deep into the horrors that happened. How something done almost (or maybe not) unconsciously, could set off a chain of events that affects the people around you. Starts off lightly with Hanneke taking on the 'job', and slowly uncovering more and more secrets as she goes along.

View all my reviews

Buy the book here!

Full Affiliate Disclosure

Book Review: "Into the Abyss" by Stefanie Gaither

Into the Abyss by Stefanie Gaither
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*Spoiler Alert* "Into the Abyss' comes full circle for Violet's character. I'm glad she got 'closure', and found her sense of self. Though I'm glad the author expanded more on Seth, it wasn't the direction I anticipated. The story was quite heavy, the characters (and the reader) can't catch a break throughout. It was filled with action right till the end. A good ending to the series.


View all my reviews

Buy the book here!

Full Affiliate Disclosure

Book Review: "Falls the Shadow" by Stefanie Gaither

Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Riveting read!
The story-line was refreshing and (mostly) unpredictable, have yet to come across another book with a similar plot. I really empathised with Cate and the others who had to go through what they did. Hope that the sequel expands more on Seth's character, and the relationship between him and Jaxon. (and maybe their mom too)

View all my reviews

Buy the book here!

Full Affiliate Disclosure

Book Review: "Heart to Heart, Hand in Paw" by Peggy Frezon

Heart to Heart, Hand in Paw: How One Woman Finds Faith and Hope Through the Healing Love of Animals by Peggy Frezon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such a wonderful read! I love that the author included some photos so we could have a better idea of what everything looked like, also making it much more palpable as the story itself was so out of the ordinary. It was so fascinating to read about the many ups and downs that happened in Luanne's life, seemed like there never was a dull moment. It was heartbreaking to read about the things she had to go through, even as a young child. It was so inspiring to read about them overcoming struggles as a family (with God at the helm), from being practically homeless, to building their own house and filling it with so much love. How she saw herself in the animals she cared for, and how they helped and supported each other in their own ways.

View all my reviews

Buy the book here!

Full Affiliate Disclosure

Book Review: "Faithfully Yours" by Peggy Frezon

Faithfully Yours: The Amazing Bond Between Us and the Animals We Love by Peggy Frezon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Faithfully Yours" is a collection of many inspiring true stories about animals and humans. It is lovely to read so many fascinating stories about how humans and animals save each other in so many different ways, physically and emotionally, and how we can learn so much just by interacting with them.

I love that this book included stories about so many different animals, not just dogs and cats! It took me longer than usual to finish this book as the stories were making me tear up so often! While reading, thinking about the animals that are and were in my life, the what-ifs and the future made it much more emotional for me.

I would recommend this book to anyone. For pet owners, I'm sure we can relate to some of the things in the book. To people who have negative feelings towards animals/pets, this book will be an eye-opening read to how animals can be more 'human' than us humans.

View all my reviews

Buy the book here!

Full Affiliate Disclosure

Itacho Sushi @ Star Vista Review

Itacho Sushi: 3/5 stars.

Came here with my family on a Friday evening to try it out. When we first arrived at around 6pm, the place was just starting to fill up. When we were halfway through our meal, there was a queue outside. 

The inside seating area is a comfortable size, but when the place is filled during lunch/dinner time, it can get quite loud. Especially when the waiters are welcoming new customers when they walk in. (almost all of the waiters saying "Irasshaimase" whenever someone comes in) At some points, I couldn't hear what our waiter was saying because the restaurant is just so noisy.

Service was good and the dishes came quite quickly, the only one that took longer was our last order. We had to remind the waiter and she immediately brought it out. They probably forgot about it on the counter since the restaurant was now filled with customers.

We ordered some salmon sashimi, soft shell crab, edamame, blue fin tuna sushi, beef tenderloin teppanyaki, salmon handroll, hana batake set and some other items that I didn't take photos of. (can't remember what they were either)

They were quite generous with the salmon in the handroll but I would have preferred it without the veggies as I'm not used to that. (used to eating salmon avocado handrolls which they did not have here)

The soft shell crab was crispy and yummy but the portions seemed small compared to another restaurant.

The hana batake set consisted of uni (sea urchin), salmon roe (egg), negitoro (tuna), scallop, crab meat and tobiko (egg). Definitely do not recommend the hana batake set as even though there were so many ingredients, you couldn't taste anything. It was so bland and a waste of money. If you do order it, I would suggest eating everything separately.

The salmon sashimi was quite a good size for the price.

The blue fin tuna sushi not worth it considering they only gave one for that price. 

The beef tenderloin teppanyaki was easy to chew but you have to take it off the hotplate fast as ours were a little overcooked around the edges. 











Overall for the food, I feel that the quality is not worth the price you pay. They seem to be marketing themselves as a very authentic Japanese restaurant, but the food at another Japanese restaurant is much much better for the same price. 
Lots of improvement needed.

https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g294265-d5431060-r493782038-Itacho_Sushi-Singapore.html#

*This is NOT a sponsored post*

Book Review: "How to Write Good" by Ryan Higa (nigahiga)

How to Write Good by Ryan Higa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In true nigahiga fashion, this book had many comedic moments, but also had a more relatable and emotional side to it. Readers can definitely get to know Ryan on a more personal level, and it expands on some stories he told on his youtube channel. Not giving 5 stars as in my opinion, it could have been more engaging and better written. I hope that he writes another book in the future as I feel that this book only touches upon one small portion of his life.

View all my reviews

Buy the book here!

Full Affiliate Disclosure

Book Review: "Defector" by Susanne Winnacker

Read my review for the prequel here!


Defector by Susanne Winnacker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I would have given this book 5 stars, if not for the ending. This book, although a tiny bit predictable, was almost perfect. The story was interesting right from the start, a relatively good mix of romance, adventure, action, new details and variants in action. The reunion near the end was well written, it made me tear up! I loved every second of reading it, until the end. It was written like a film scene, too short for an ending in a book. *slight spoiler ahead* Considering how strong our lead was, I would have expected the author to give her a different ending, instead of taking away everything that made her what she is. So disappointing. Now that the author recently decided not to publish the 3rd book in the series, seems like this book is final. Read at your own discretion because you are likely to feel unsatisfied at the loose ends. (The relationships between Tessa and everyone at FEA and her mother, and the story of Abel's Army.)

View all my reviews

Buy the book here!

Full Affiliate Disclosure