Hello my lovelies, I hope you're all well and have been having a lovely day. So today we have something very different on my blog and as you can clearly see in the title, we're doing a book review! *gasp* a book review, Katie's doing a book review?! *you all cry with amazement*
No, yes today we are doing a book review. I am trying to get into doing a more diverse range of posts and I've never done a book review simply because I am not a professional book reviewer person as I'm presuming those jobs exist. I'm also not a novelist and I've never written a book or anything. So think of this review as me talking about a book and recommending it to a friend, i.e. you guys. So if you guys are interested, carry on reading.
Many moons ago when I was in town I was just browsing around different stores and I popped into Poundland just to have a look around and I noticed that Poundland were now selling DVDS and books. So I had browse just to see if there was anything catching my eye and that's when I first noticed The Stylist. Now, it must've been a sign as it was the only one there just sitting on the shelf. I haven't seen it in another Poundland since that day, so I don't know if it was just like a little release they had in their store and were given like a few copies of the book or if a bunch of random books were just given to Poundland in a like store delivery or something. I don't know but either way I saw it and I immediately picked it up.
FIRST IMPRESSION - I was really intrigued by the cover actually. As you can see it's just a really pretty golden background with a super tall woman/mannequin in a gorgeous red mermaid-esk dress. So just from the front cover and the title of the book you can already tell it's going to be something to do with fashion and styling something or someone. Also, the colours of the gold and red together work really well to compliment each other - they're both bold and stand out which means your eyes are already drawn in because of the bright colours.
*fun fact* - our brains love bright colours.
It's nice to know my science GCSE came in handy for something.
So yeah essentially, I was already drawn in because of the colours, title, and the image. I was also drawn in because it states on the front if you're a fan of The Devil Wears Prada, which I am, it's by far one of my favourite films, then you'll be a fan of The Stylist.
Massive thumbs up already. Then I read the blurb/ description...
'When fashion boutique worker Amber Green is mistakenly offered a job as assistant to infamous, jet-setting 'stylist to the stars' Mona Armstrong, she hits the ground running, helping to style some of Hollywood's hottest (and craziest) starlets. As awards season spins into action Mona is in hot demand and Amber's life turned upside down. Suddenly she catching the attention of two very different suitors, TV producer Rob and Hollywood bad boy rising star Liam. How will Amber keep her head? And what the hell will everyone wear? The Stylist is a fast-paced, fun-packed rummage through the ultimate dressing up box' (goodreads.com)
So when I first read the blurb it was pretty much the basis of what I imagined the book to be about and that was enough to draw me in to buy it and want to read it. So when I first started reading it the first thing I actually fell in love with was the characters, especially the main character, Amber Green. She's your classic young girl who accidentally lands the job as Mona Armstrong's assistant because of a lucky mistake she makes in the first few chapters. Which essentially does mimic what happens in The Devil Wears Prada. And as the story goes on the character of Amber does find her feet and some how manages to actually succeed in a job she landed that was just a lucky mistake. So it's clear that the author, Rosie Nixon took some inspiration from the The Devil Wears Prada book and film.
Throughout the book the character of Amber definitely goes on a journey to discover that she's actually very good at being a stylist and she has a keen eye for it which she definitely doesn't realise whilst she's working in a little boutique in London. However, that doesn't mean she doesn't go through some troubles along the way, from fainting at a premiere to being snogged in Starbucks by LA Liam. She is very likeable as a character which is definitely why she is the main character. She is very honest, humble, kind-hearted, and genuine. Also a little insecure in the beginning but definitely blossoms into her own as we follow her journey throughout the book. I really loved that about the character and I really latched on to her from the very beginning which you definitely need to keep engaged with a story and want to have that feeling to keep on reading it.
The story itself; there is actually so much that happens that originally I didn't expect but after I finished the book and had a think about everything that happened throughout. All of that really needed to happen in order to get to the ending that Nixon wrote. There's a lot of twists and turns that I didn't expect whilst still sticking to the main concept which was awards season. I felt like it was really cleverly devised and it is clear to see that Nixon put so much time and effort into this book. As well as thinking about the characters and their intentions etc, there was also the different types of award events going on, such as The Oscars and The BAFTA's which are events that do actually happen. So a lot of research must've gone into those events to have the knowledge, not only of the event itself, but the build up to the event and everything behind the scenes. For example, what the stars wear on the red carpet, what happens whilst they're on the red carpet, what it means to be a stylist and get all the stars ready etc. There's so much within this one book that needed to be included otherwise this book wouldn't have linked together like it does.
Going back to loving characters, Mona Armstrong. The complete opposite end of the spectrum to Amber but I love her. She is completely straight to the point, super sassy, and absolutely fabulous. Even though she appears all head strong and an independent woman underneath it all there is a sensitive side there and there's a lot going on underneath the surface of Mona's image. So when you strip away all of the wealthy lifestyle of the designer clothes and bags there's a woman who is actually a bit lost and alone. Which throughout the story it highlights how much she needs Amber even if she doesn't admit it. I feel like the relationship they have together was partly for me what made the book so good. If you've seen The Devil Wears Prada then you'll understand what I mean when I say that Mona is essentially Miranda Priestly and Amber is Andrea Sachs. And even though the book is, and the characters within The Stylist are very similar to The Devil Wears Prada, and Nixon has clearly had influence from that book as well as the movie to help shape her own novel. Both are still definitely different and not completely the same. When you look at them both side by side they're very similar and have similar qualities in their characters but they're not the same. So when I was reading the book I didn't picture The Devil Wears Prada, I was completely transported into my own imagination and had my own ideas of what all the characters looked like etc. I'm not gonna say what they looked like in my mind in case you guys want to read this book or who knows, maybe by some coincidence you're currently reading it, as once someone mentions how they look or how that specific character looks in a film that's all I can picture. So for example, when I read Fifty Shades of Grey I pictured the character Christian Grey to look like Adam Levine, I don't know why, I just did. Plus, Adam Levine is one of my celebrity crushes by far. But now that Fifty Shades is a movie, all I can picture Christian Grey as now is the man who plays him, which is Jamie Dornan. Which I'm not complaining about Jamie Dornan is all kinds of beautiful. But, now if I ever read the books again, I'm going to picture Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson because that's the faces of Christian and Anna in the movies. And, more people are going to have probably seen the movie than read the books.
One thing I love to do when I read books is to read them out loud and I think it's to do with the fact I do drama. So obviously during acting when you are being a character the more work on that specific character the more you discover about them as technically you're always devising that character. So to me, by reading out loud I feel like I get to really become those characters and understand the intentions and emotions behind certain phrases they say or decisions they make etc. It also helps me imagine the world the book is creating and making me picture in my mind how all of the characters look and act etc. So by doing that it did really help me to imagine all of the characters, the setting, the relationships, the colours, the look of everything etc. I just really enjoy reading that way and it definitely helps me to stay engaged with the story and want to read more.
The majority of my favourite books are mainly books that aren't super popular or well known and The Stylist definitely makes this list.
Overall I absolutely loved this book. I've always been interested in the fashion industry and I love reading magazines etc, I really loved all the characters - they definitely fit the theme of the story and compliment the story and each other well, I love all of the little running jokes throughout the story, for example Amber's name is Amber Green and there is a running joke about her name being traffic lights hence because her name is Amber Green and the traffic light colours are red, amber, green. I loved how real the character of Amber was, also as the story was in Amber's point of view it meant when reading it out loud I found the comedy in some of the things she says and some of her thoughts which I really enjoyed, the love aspect of the book was really nice - it was focused on enough to be a key feature but not enough to be all about love which I really liked, I loved how there was so much jam packed into one story but how it all worked together, I thought it was really well devised, also really well written and is definitely aimed at young adults.
If any of you guys are big fans of The Devil Wears Prada or the fashion industry then you'll love this. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in those areas. If you guys are interested in purchasing it or reading it click on this link where you can buy the hardback copy like I have, a paperback, and a kindle version if you're interested.
I was also super ecstatic to know that Rosie Nixon is bringing out another book within this series which I am so excited to get my hands. As you can see above it is called Amber Green Takes Manhattan. I'm super excited to read it when I get a chance. I got in contact with Rosie Nixon on Instagram and asked if her new addition was already out and she said it is available to purchase now which I'm definitely going to do ASAP!
Go and give Rosie a follow on Instagram guys to keep updated with all of her books and lots of other things she is doing. It's just @rosiejnixon - I can't wait to see if she does any more books in this series or what kind of books she brings out next.
I hope you guys enjoyed this post, I know it was a little bit different than what we normally do over here but I hope I can carry on with different posts like this. I also just want to note that this is 100% my own opinions, it is not sponsored or anything like that.
Let me know in the comments down below what books you guys are currently reading and what some of your favourite books are. I'd love to know. I am already reading another book, completely different from The Stylist. However, that's all I'm gonna tell you as I may be doing another book review in the future of the current book I'm reading, so who knows.
Don't forget guys if you want to keep up to date with me then you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest which are all linked in the header at the top of my blog. And don't forget to #katielouisejohnson on Twitter and Instagram as it will help you guys to find me much quicker to see what I'm up to and will help me notice your comments and things faster as well.
Also, you can now follow me on Google+ via my little box in my side bar, if you have a Google+ account all you have to do is literally click the button that says follow and voila, couldn't be easier.
Also, you can now follow me on Google+ via my little box in my side bar, if you have a Google+ account all you have to do is literally click the button that says follow and voila, couldn't be easier.
Thank you guys for reading and I shall see you in my next post.
Love,
Katie
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