1. My Mad Fat Diary

This is one of my favorite series of all time. Actually, it is my favorite. It tells the story of Rachel “Rae” Earl, a teenage girl who struggles with many problems such as obesity and low self-esteem and writes a diary to keep herself together. This show will change your life. What Rae writes about will become your life motto.

This series hasn’t got any flaws. The cast is perfect, the dialogue is credible, the graphics are enjoyable... You have to watch it. Plus, there are amazingly hot guys that will break not only Rae’s heart but also yours. Don’t worry; there is always Finn to save the day. (God, that boy is handsome).

I have laughed, cried, thrown pillows at the screen and wasted a ridiculous amount of tissues while watching the show so, yeah, that’s how good it is.

Unfortunately, there are only thirteen episodes and it is unknown if there will be a third season. Personally, I don’t mind how it ended and I really don’t want this series to turn into those shows where great relationships are destroyed just to keep it interesting. On the bright side, the thirteen episodes won’t disappoint you. In fact, you might feel the urge to watch them over and over again. (Who doesn’t want to see Finn shirtless at least three times? P.S: Yes, I have an obsession with Finn. You will have it too if you watch the series.)

Oh, and did I forget to mention that the series is set in Lincolnshire? Get ready to listen to that fantastic British accent. 

2. Awkward

Hello, America! Awkward is also a teen comedy series that focus on the life of another teenage girl, Jenna Hamilton, who attempts to commit suicide (actually, it was a mistake). This series is addicting, lovely and funny. You cannot contain a laugh while watching even one episode of this brilliant show.

As you can expect of this kind of genre, there are also handsome guys to make your heart melt. This series will brighten your day with genuine jokes and spontaneous characters. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind going to Jenna’s high school every day.

3. Misfits

And back to Britain! God, you guys are on fire. Misfits is a brilliant comedy series which follows the life of a group of young offenders who obtain supernatural powers after a strange electrical storm.

It’s funny, painful, crazy... it’s everything you need.

So that’s my list, lovely people. Now, go get some popcorn and enjoy the series. (Have I already mentioned that Finn is really, really hot? I have? Wow. My obsession is growing strong.)


-Barista Alexandra-

Imag: My Mad Fat Diary still, Awkward season 3 poster, Misfits poster Read more »

Valar Morghulis! How is everybody doing? I’m so excited since Season 4 of the HBO’s hit show Game of Thrones has started! I thought it would be a fantastic idea to talk about one of the things this series has that makes it such a gripping show: the female characters. I had a hard time making this list owing to the fact that George R.R. Martin created many female leaders and all of them are absolutely brilliant. I mean, I had to cut out Shae (yeah, I know, I’m a terrible human being), Osha (she was one my favorites), Lady Catelyn Stark (It’s still difficult to talk about her after the Red Wedding, you have to understand. That episode broke all kinds of hearts), Ygritte (I know nothing!) and many others...

Still, I had to think of who the fans love and who plays better the game. So, here they are, the top five.

5. Brienne of Tarth

You will never meet someone as loyal as her. She is a strong but emotional character at the same time. Brienne is unique and a fighter; plus, she refuses to have the typical female role that women of Westeros have. Therefore, she places number 5 on the list. I just couldn’t cut her off.

4. Arya Stark

Everybody loves brave and curious Arya Stark. Like Brienne, she is a fighter and she intends to become something more than a wife. She has to be ruthless in order to survive and to get her revenge.

3. Margaery Tyrell

This character came out of nowhere to become one of the game’s best players. Should we trust her? We might never know, but we sure love her! She gets along with the minorities but she intends to become the Queen. She won’t stop till she gets what she wants.

2. Sansa Stark

Remember the first time we saw her? Oh man, we hated her but she has since become more than we could ever have imagined. She grew up, learned that the world isn’t a fairy tale and became a survivor. She is no longer the little brat we knew.

1. Daenerys Targaryen

Do I need to explain why she is the best female character on TV? Her children are Dragons and she ate a whole heart. Need I say more?


-Barista Alexandra-

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I'm normally a massive fan of The Voice UK, but this year kind of started going downhill from the Knockouts, if you ask me. And it didn't really stop going that way.

The moment Jai McConnell was sent home after her Knockout performance, I seriously started questioning whether the judges were getting bored after three years or not paying enough attention, or maybe drunk. I loved Jai.

She wasn't the only exceptionally good one they got rid of too early. Most people were expecting Jessica, Anna, Jazz and many more to go through to the live rounds, but they didn't. Let's have a look at some of these singers and their awesome voices.

Jessica

Jessica Steel auditioned last year but got no turns, then tried again this year and had all the coaches begging for her to pick them. (This exact thing happened in Seasons 1-2 with another singer, and she was more successful in the long run.) Pity it didn't work so well this time; after specially promising to fight for her, Will neglected her in the battle. Ricky "stole" her but didn't bring her through the next round, either.

Anna


Out of everyone who auditioned this year, Anna's is probably the only music I would actually buy. I have a soft spot for folk, not to mention folk sung by such a sweet voice, not even to mention folk played along with that infamous harp. It would have been brilliant if she had been in the finals, but alas! Didn't happen.

Jai


As I said, I fell in love with Jai's blind audition and fell asleep with the YouTube video of it on repeat for the next several nights. Although her singing style wasn't quite as unique as people said it was (Luciee Marie sounded very much like her!) it was captivating to listen to. Plus she's Irish, like me.

Sophie


Sophie was the only one who in my opinion got as far as she deserved. She was the one who walked, talked and sang Vintage. Who doesn't love "Moon River"? Sophie got to the Live Semi-Finals. Hooray!

Jermain


Now I'm not just saying this but *whispers* I had expected that Jermain would win, out of all the finalists. will.i.am's been coaching for three seasons and not won yet, so it was about time he did. Jermain is a retro singer too, but no match for Sophie, if you ask me.

So, now this series of The Voice UK is over, I wonder how our winner will do with his debut and whether things will be better next year! What did you think of the series? What were your highlights and worst bits?


-Barista Sabita-

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Which characters do we love the most? Here's my opinion on some of them.

1. Camille “Cami” O’Connell vs Matthew “Matt” Donovan

Winner: Cami

Cami is the perfect human in a town full of supernatural creatures. She is way better than Matt whose personality isn’t the greatest. She has a great background and she grows up so much over the episodes that I just can’t get enough of her. I think no one can deal better with supernatural mess than she does.

On the other hand, Matt really doesn’t contribute a lot to TVD’s story development, which is a shame.

2. Davina Claire vs Bonnie Bennett

Winner: Davina

I really loved Bonnie in the first season of TVD but then I felt like the writers gave up on her and her development. Davina , though, is a fresh witch with a tragic life. I love how intense her story is and how she expresses herself.

3. Hayley Marshall vs Caroline Forbes

Winner: TIE

Remember when we were all furious about Hayley being in the Originals instead of Caroline? Well, that opinion certainly has changed. Hayley fits the Originals perfectly just as Caroline fits TVD.

4. Rebekah Mikaelson vs Elena Gilbert

Winner: Do I really have need to say it?

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to express how Katherine is the only reason I still watch The Vampire Diaries. She is awesome and I love her. Elena, on the other hand, is extremely annoying. The only thing I like about her is her relationship with Damon and we know how that is going…

Between these two very emotional girls, Rebekah is my favorite. She seems tough but she just dreams of a normal life. Also, she learned that girls need to stick together. GIRL POWER! Hehe.

5. Klaus and Elijah vs Stefan and Damon

Winner: TIE

I have to admit that I didn’t like Stefan till this season came out. But now, I think I like him even more than I like Damon. The two together make my heart melt.

Klaus and Elijah are perfect as well. I mean, do I have need to comment on this? The four of them are just perfection! You can’t make me choose!


-Barista Alexandra-

Image: via (TVD and The Originals posters)

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Disney sucks. Or rather, Disney used to be awesome, but now it sucks. I really, really miss the times of That's So Raven, Kim Possible, Totally Spies, and Lizzie Mcguire. Sigh, Memories, man. Unfortunately, we can't bring any of these shows back unless we're watching episodes that we've watched a hundred billion times. So then. Are there any shows that are worth watching in this new and suck-y Disney channel? Funnily enough, there are! Just two, but they're just as fun as the old shows and they make up for the pure gross-ness of nowadays Disney shows.

Phineas and Ferb

I watch this show every freaking day. It's soooo good. It's about these two brothers who invent the coolest things ever and their sister's attempts to bust them to their mom. Ooh! And how could I forget Phineas and Ferb's platypus who does absolutely nothing but is secretly a secret agent? This show is funny, heartfelt... everything the old Disney shows were like before they were destroyed.

Good Luck Charlie

At first, I was wary of this show since it featured real people and real people shows in Disney nowadays are Stupid with a capital S. But this show is actually awesome. It's the story of a very "special" family and an older sister leaving video diaries to Charlie, the baby of the family (well, actually, Charlie is an older sister too now. Kinda sucks, but whatever), to help survive the family.

These two shows are the only things keeping me watching Disney channel as an all grown up eighteen year old girl. LOL. Anyway, y'all should go check these two shows out. They're really good. No lie.


-Barista Mia-

Image: Disney Read more »

I am a bit of an X Factor fanatic. I love The X Factor. And the funnier and sillier it gets, the more I find myself enjoying it. Now, I'm not usually one for celebrity gossip, but I have to admit it can be great fun, so I'm going to conduct an investigation into a conspiracy that has been aloft on the show lately- whether Sam Callahan and Tamera Foster are...awh...in loooove. (Of course in reality I'm sure they're not, but that's not the point of gossip, is it? *Insert evil cackles here.*)

• Tamera's first diary dare was to be Sam's PA for a day. Ooh, nice. Here, take a look at the video!


• At the end of one of the joint performances of all the finalists, Tamera rested her arm on Sam's shoulder- as if he was a piece of furniture in her house. This is a true sign that they belong to one another, if you ask me. No one's asking me? Oh, well.

• Caroline Flack, one of the Xtra Factor presenters, kept seeming to think Sam and Tamera were getting married. "There were rumours"... Sam denied it, blushing, but Tamera has a cheeky side (which I hugely admire her for, BTW) and made fun of it by announcing that they were getting married after the X Factor had finished. Well, now they're both out of the competition, so we'd better listen out for wedding bells!

• When Sam left, he was asked who he was backing to win, and he paused and said Nicholas- "Nicky", who's in his category, or Tamera. Sweet.

• And when Tamera left last Sunday, she said she was going to meet up with our Sammie as soon as she could.

So there's some juicy fried nuggets of gossip for you. Gosh, I sounded like a Daily Star writer... Hum. What do you think of this rumour or any others that are on the show at the moment?

-Barista Sabita-

Image: Screenshot from a video-diary video on YouTube Read more »

Brilliant, outstanding, witty, clever, memorable, whatever. Here are three characters from books, movies and TV that I personally think deserve the Novel Prize for Fictional Charisma (no, there is no such thing... Is there? There needs to be.) What do you think about these characters? What are your favourites? Let us know in the comments!

Jace from "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones"

I've just finished reading City of Bones, or COB as I like to call it, and have been marvelling at what a brilliant character Jace is. His sarcasm and wit really do sparkle as brightly as he imagines them to; he pokes fun at anything and everything, and gets a huge kick out of being irritating. He is a deep character, but he also sent me to bed shrieking.

Bella from the "Twilight" series

You're thinking: Bella's a boring pig-arse and Kristen Stewart can't act. I'm thinking: she may seem boring, but in fact she's a very unusual girl. She reads Jane Austen novels "for the fun of it" and doesn't want to check her emails for days. I bet she doesn't even have a Facebook account... She's self-contained and intelligent. And she must be pretty depressed to choose to study maths when she could be gossiping. But then Bella simply doesn't do gossip- she's in a world apart, quite literally.

 Arthur from "Merlin"

This is just an old TV show, but I had to include this blast of mighty self-centred Princeness. Arthur is like an older sister- he verbally (and physically) bullies his servant Merlin and episodes end with a stream of bossy orders- "Merlin, you're such a girl's petticoat!" "And now, my room needs cleaning, my horses need exercising, my stables need to be mucked out, my clothes need ironing, my armour needs polishing, and when you've done all that, you can be a dummy for my wrestling practise." Wouldn't you just love to have Arthur as a sister? Yes, I'm sure you would.

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