Review: Banish by Nicola Marsh

Alyssa has one week to destroy her enemy, save her spirit... and save her soul.
After her ex-boyfriend commits suicide and her mum’s alcoholism sparks yet another psychotic episode, seventeen-year-old Alyssa Wood flees her small hometown of Broadwater and heads to New York City to stay with her bohemian aunt — a Wicca High Priestess.
Alyssa revels in the anonymity of a big city and her new life. Her grades climb, she has a new best friend, and a new guy: the sexy geek Ronan — a saxophone player who prefers jazz to pop.
But her newfound peace is soon shattered when she sees a dead body in one of Ronan’s music clips — and she’s the only one who can see it. Worse still, Alyssa recognises the body that has been murdered a week forward!
Alyssa doesn’t believe in the supernatural...despite her family’s Wicca background. So how will she overcome evil when it’s closer than she thinks?

Banish is a Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy. Right up my alley! Nicola Marsh is an Aussie writer from Melbourne which is super cool. I always feel like Australian authors never get the spotlight. I received an ARC from Harlequin (thank you) and so I read it before it came out. Banish comes out today! YAY! I read this after reading a pretty bad book. I was on the verge of a reading slump and this book saved me. I gave Banish 5 STARS and added it to my Goodreads Favourites list immediately. Read more to see why I absolutely adored this amazing read. Alliteration intended.
Characters:
The protagonist, Alyssa, was super easy to like and enjoy. Even though she's not as relatable as some other characters can be, I really like her. It's really hard to talk about characters without ruining the story because I don't want to ruin the mystery aspect of the book. Alyssa is living with her Aunt, who is a really cool person, because her mother was going crazy. Her love interest, Ronan, seemed super sweet as well. Then there's her 'best friend' Seth who has helped her after she moved towns. All the characters are really unique with heaps of mysteries to uncover.
Pros:
Banish will fill you with swoons,wonder and fright as the romance and the suspense builds. The romance was so extremely cute that I just couldn't help but love the characters. The mystery and suspense that surrounds this story really adds a lovely element to the book. What I really loved though was the slight horror element. It was the perfect balance for me to be scared but not scared to death. Nicola Marsh's writing was really easy to read and enjoy. Extremely fast-paced and adorable but scary.
Cons:
The only part of this book that I didn't like was how much Alyssa didn't like her mum. I felt like she was a bit too harsh but then again, teenagers are like that.
Summary:
Banish is a underhyped book that deserves the rave. I would 100% recommend this to everyone. I promise that you'll love it if you enjoy Paranormal YA. I hope you'll check it out! Go run and buy it or at least add it to your to-read list.

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Review: Kill Bill by Brown Eyed Girls

Genres: K-Pop, Pop, R&B, Dance-Pop
Released: 29 July 2013
Members: JeA, Miryo, Narsha, Ga-In
Nega Network

My blog has been crazy busy with a crapload of posts this month. I'm sorry but here's another one! I'll try to calm down a bit in the future but I just had to get this review up. Brown Eyed Girls is a much respected band that I love too. Even though I'm not a major fan, I do really appreciate their work. If you've never heard of them, Brown Eyed Girls is the band that Ga-In is apart of. Ga-In was the chick in Gentleman by PSY. The other day, one of my most awesome friends asked me if I'd heard their new song. That day, I went home, listened to it and loved it!
Song:
The beginning is like WOW! I swear, you have to listen to it for yourself because I don't even know what to call it. It's like a whistle mixed with synths. The same friend I mentioned above also said that she liked Brown Eyed Girls because they can actually sing. I completely agree. Even though they all look super good and can dance well, they don't rely on it because they can already sing amazingly. One of my favourite elements in the song is the rapping near the end. I could replay that part a million times.
Lyrics:
I've seen people say that the lyrics correspond to the actual movie! I can't be sure because I haven't watched it but I can be sure that it's not your usual pop song. Lyrics can be found here. My favourite part would translate to:
"Run, run away till you run out of breath
Everything is the price of what you did to me
Look at yourself,
you feel like going crazy, right?"Summary:
This song is addictive. I could listen to this non-stop because that's how much I loved it. I definitely recommend it. Check out the music video as well because it has a really cool story line. It'll only take 7 minutes. If that's too much just listen to the song! It's spectacularly fabulous.

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Review: Firestarter by Samantha Jade

Genres: Pop, Electro-Pop, Dance-Pop, R&B
Released: 28 June 2013
℗ 2013 Sony Music Entertainment Australia Pty Ltd.

It's pretty much the end of the month and I should probably be doing my end of the month posts or reading for the Debut-A-Thon but instead, I'm going to review Firestarter by Samantha Jade. It was released yesterday and is already climbing up Australia's Top 10 on iTunes. Samantha Jade was the winner of X Factor for 2012. I was super excited for her new single and of course, I love it. A wonderful Electronic-Pop, Dance song that makes sure the party's in the house.
Song:
This song was produced by the same people who produced her previous single What You've Done To Me. I think it's a wonderful choice. If your first single reached #1 why not do the same for the second? I absolutely love the feel this song gives. It starts of with a catchy vibe that stays around in the background for the whole song. It may seem a bit repetitive but it sounds really cool. I love how extra beats are added for the lead up to the chorus. Closer to the end of the song, the tempo slows down and this really added a nice ballady touch to the song before it went electro-pop again.
Lyrics:
Of course any song about fire is going to have a whole heap of symbolism. I really like the lyrics for this song. I can't be 100% but I pretty sure Samantha wrote them herself as well. My favourite lyrics in this song have to be:
"There you are like a flame thrown to my heart, yeah, yeah
Got the things that I need to make it start, oh, oh!
You're the flame thrower
You're the firestarter!"
Summary:
Australia being the silly country it is, means that this song probably won't get far in the US. However, you never know what might happen. Aussie Guy Sebastion managed to get into the US charts. Either way, I'm quite sure this song will reach #1 here in Australia. It deserves it too because it really is a wonderful song. Check it out and have a listen!


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Review: Trap by Henry 헨리

Genres: Pop, K-Pop, Urban Pop
Released: June 07, 2013
℗ 2013 SM Entertainment

Before I begin... I must admit... I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SONG. It's definitely one of the best songs I've heard in awhile. Henry was apart of Super Junior-M but honestly, I'd never listened to them. When I first saw the little snippet of this song in the teaser, I'd already fallen in love. I must say that Henry is pretty damn amazing. His also the first solo artist that SM has debuted in THIRTEEN YEARS.
Song:
Well firstly, you must listen to this song. Like, now. The piano at the beginning is so extremely wonderful. The intro probably would've been enough for me. I know the whole song is simple chords but with Henry's vocals, Trap sounds spectacular. I also loved the bold drum beats and the strings throughout the song. Kyuhyun and Taemin sounded beautiful as always. I don't think I can gush about this song enough.
Lyrics:
The title of the song basically sums up the song. In this day and age, the trap has obviously got to do with love. The chorus has got the be my favourite part.You can read the translation here.
Summary:
Please, just try it out. I don't care if you don't like Pop or K-Pop or even if you just hate music. You'll love it. Just trust me with this one. Absolutely perfect. I know this wasn't a very detailed review compared to some of my others but if I made it any longer, I'd just become repetitive.


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Review: Set Me On Fire by Bella Ferraro

Genres: Pop, Music
Released: 14 December 2012
℗ 2012 Sony Music Entertainment Australia Pty Ltd.

Song:
This song displays Bella Ferraro's amazing and unique vocals. The instruments are kept to the bare minimum with some piano. Strings aren't brought in until later in the track so that Bella's amazing voice can shine.

Lyrics:

The words are very inspiring and beautiful. Though the track isn't cheerful or uplifting, the lyrics are definitely positive. Songs are meant to be another form of a poem but lately, songs have lost it's poetic meaning. These lyrics are definitely much more thought out with the metaphors, similes and other endless poetic techniques. My favourite part:

"Set me on fire,
With silent kisses like the sunset
Darkness is our playground we call home"

Summary:

Set Me On Fire is my favourite song of the moment and you should definitely check it out! Being Australian, the song doesn't get much hype worldwide but I think she definitely deserves it. As of right now, the video on YouTube doesn't even have 50,000 hits yet. It's so unfortunate because the song, and Bella, are beautiful.

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