All-Hallows-Eve

I love halloween. I love the fun of it. The chance to dress up and no-one takes any notice of you. I like how slowly the nights start to get darker earlier and that the weather starts to change.

I figured, I would try to do a halloween bookish post. I love thriller, crime, gore and the likes. I'm not sure if I've read many books that are classed as horror. I'm not sure if my imagination will allow me to do so. But here are a list of books, i think may fit with halloween...

• Funnybones - Janet Ahlberg 
• Through the Woods - Emily Carroll 
• Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
• The Teacher - Katerina Diamond
• In A Dark, Dark Room - Alvin Schwartz
• Room on the Broom - Julia Donaldson
• Miss Peregrines Home for Perculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
• The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
• IT - Stephen King

I've read all with the exception of the very last book. I've recently brought it but both the sheer size of it and also the fact i'm scared of clowns doesn't bode well. I also think this will be worse than the movie and i hated that years ago. So that is a work in progress!

Also, this is the best halloween movie, right?

Christmas in St Ives

Title: Christmas In St Ives
Author: Miranda Dickinson
Type: Paperback (arc)
Read: 13th October 2017 - 17th October 2017
Rating: 5/5
Published: 19th October 2017 by Pan Macmillan

Heartbroken Cerrie Austin is doing her best to hold it together in the run up to Christmas. Not easy when her cheating ex works in the same school and everyone’s eyes are on her. The last thing she needs is a new teacher meddling in her beloved nativity play, even if he is charming, handsome and a talented musician. The Christmas performance is her pride and joy, and she won’t be undermined.
Seren McArthur has recently returned to her Cornish hometown and is enjoying being close to her family and her oldest friends again. St Ives is at its most magical at Christmas, with fairy lights and tinsel in every shop window, tempting locals and holidaymakers alike as they pick up gifts. But an exciting opportunity is just around the corner: will she stay or will she go?
Meanwhile, the St Ives Christmas celebrations are in crisis: plans for a giant lantern parade through the starlit streets have ground to a halt. As the snow starts to fall, can Cerrie, Seren and their friends Kieran and Aggie rally around in time to save the big day? 

When Miranda wanted people to join #TeamSparkly for a big exciting reveal-y thing, I had to be a part of it. I was very lucky that there was room. I was even more lucky that I recieved an advance copy.

I love christmas books. Theres just something so cosy and magical about them. This book is no exception. Set in cornwall over the festive season, it draws you in instantly. The characters were just amazing and I loved Cerrie so so much. I really enjoyed her sense of wonder with christmas. Setting up the children for their big production, how finally she could enjoy christmas her way.

I've never been to Cornwall before, but Mirandas attention to detail and description of the place, really makes the reader want to go there. It is being added to my holiday places must see. The story is a real feel good. It's also the prequal to Mirandas next book 'Somewhere Beyond The Sea'.

If you love a good festive read. Then get this now. You won't be disappointed.

Go Get it From: Amazon UK | Kobo
Follow @wurdsmyth

The Most Dangerous Place on Earth

Title: The Most Dangerous Place on Earth
Author: Lindsey Lee Johnson
Type: Paperback
Read: 4th October 2017 - 11th October 2017
Rating: 4/5
Published: 24th August 2017 by Hodder & Stauton

In an idyllic community of wealthy California families, new teacher Molly Nicoll becomes intrigued by the hidden lives of her privileged students. Unknown to Molly, a middle school tragedy in which they were all complicit continues to reverberate for her kids: Nick, the brilliant scam artist; Emma, the gifted dancer and party girl; Dave, the B student who strives to meet his parents' expectations; Calista, the hippie outcast who hides her intelligence for reasons of her own. Theirs is a world in which every action may become public: postable, shareable, indelible. With the rare talent that transforms teenage dramas into compelling and urgent fiction, Lindsey Lee Johnson makes vivid a modern adolescence lived in the gleam of the virtual, but rich with the sorrow, passion, and beauty of life in any time, and at any age.

So i went from reading one book about high school to another. This one i found much more darker and edgier. It screamed attention. It screamed help. The book changes from one character to another and then also a teacher, who is new at the school and wants everyone to like her.

It's a fasinating look into school. It's like the teacher really wanted to please her students and the employees but often got too involved in their lives to realise what was best. I did like Molly and i felt for her at times. A new teacher, moved to a new area and not knowing the past of the school and its students. I thought some of the other members of staff were just horrible. It's like they were just hoping she'd fail from the get-go.

The students were a mixed bag. From the early part of the book when a tragedy occured to when Molly joins the school, then kids go from being probably friends in a round-about way to distancing themselves from each other. Making their own marks on the world/school without trying to get over the past, how what happened was a part of each student. How even changing who you are, who you are friends with and how hard yuo try at school can't make you forget or have the past catch up with you.

I can only say im glad i'm no longer in school. i think if this was happening, id' go crazier. 

Go Get it From: Amazon UK | Book Depository | Waterstones | Wordery
Follow @lindseyleej

 

One of us is Lying

Title: One of Us is Lying 
Author: Karen M. McManus
Type: Paperback
Read: 26th September - 29th September 2017
Rating: 5/5
Published: 1st June 2017 by Penguin

Yale hopeful Bronwyn has never publicly broken a rule.
Sports star Cooper only knows what he's doing in the baseball diamond.
Bad body Nate is one misstep away from a life of crime.
Prom queen Addy is holding together the cracks in her perfect life.

And outsider Simon, creator of the notorious gossip app at Bayview High, won't ever talk about any of them again. He dies 24 hours before he could post their deepest secrets online. Investigators conclude it's no accident. All of them are suspects.
Everyone has secrets, right?
What really matters is how far you'll go to protect them.

I'll confess. I only got this book because the page edges were a pink colour and i'm a sucker for books with coloured edges. This book is so fast paced. I really enjoyed it and felt like i was caught up with all the drama that these characters were going through.

It shows you the effects of high school. How no-one is to be trusted but yet not everything is as it seems. That no-one can truely bury secrets. Everything eventually gets found out. But never in the ways you'd expected or wanted. We meet five very different characters who end up in detention together. They're the unlikeliest bunch ever, but when one of the students dies in detention, the other four are the suspects. Each has something they don't want to be found out. Who really killed Simon?

I loved this book. I think the characters were great and I liked the unlikely friendship they had to form to understand what was going on. To work out why they were being viewed as suspects when they all knew it wasn't them, was it?

I must say my favourite characters were Nate and Bronwyn who together were like, the best ever. I was routing for them and then thinking they needed to chill out. I liked Addy and how through being true to herself found out who she really was and in the end managed to help everyone including someone who would never have classed her as a friend before.

Really recommend this book. 

Go Get it From: Amazon UK | Book Depository | Waterstones | Wordery
Follow @writerkmc

 

The Great Catsby

Title: The Great Catsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Type: Hardback
Read: 24th September 2017
Rating: 4/5
Published: 21st September 2017 by Wildfire

• Millionaire Jay Catsby is a mystery. All alone in his moggy mansion, he throws extravagant parties attended by all the great and the good of the feline world. What nobody knows is that this is a kitty haunted by love - the love of a beautiful pussycat called Daisy, whom he lost to another long ago - and Catsby's great wish is that one day she, too, might be drawn to join the festivities.
  
  When Daisy's cousin Nick moves in next door, it seems like Catsby is a whisker away from winning back his beloved. But Daisy's husband Tomcat has other ideas...

I loved 'The Great Gatsby' and when I seen this take on bookbridgr i knew i had to request a copy. It's such a lovely book. Kind of like the ladybird ones. There are stunning pictures throughout. It's a cute take on the story. Cat lovers will really appreciate it.  

Go Get it From: Amazon UK | Book Depository | Waterstones | Wordery 

 

Giveaway - Harry Potter Edition.

Fancing winning a buch of amazing Harry Potter things? Are you in Gryffindor?? Then this is for you. I'm a Hufflepuff by nature and I've recieved a few Gryffindor things over the last couple of months.. So what better way that to give them to a fellow book or Harry Potter fan.

All you have to do to win everything in the picture is go to my Instagram page & check out the post! 

Competition runs until 29th October 2017.

So what you waiting for..

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Then Books on my Fall TBR List

I really need to get back into reading. And I usually do come autumn/ winter time. Nothing better than a good book, cup of tea all sunngled up in a blanket! Books I'm aiming to get through during Autumn are: 

1. The Hygge Holiday - Rosie Blake

2. I Found You - Lisa Jewell

3. One of Us is Lying - Karen M. McManus

4. The Secret - Katrina Diamond

5. The Chalkpit - Elly Griffiths

6. The Most Dangerous Place on Earth - Lindsey Lee Johnson

7. Fellside - M.R. Carey

8. Am I Normal Yet? - Holly Bourne

9. Searching for a Silver Lining - Miranda Dickinson

10. The Graces - Laure Eve

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by broke and bookish.

Christmas In St Ives && Team Sparkly

I was very lucky to become a member of #TeamSparkly to help spread news about author Miranda Dickinson new christmas novella. It was all a much kept secret with bloggers and book fanatics tweeting about team sparkly and surprise to come.

That surpise was annouced last night - Christmas in St Ives is the new novella by Miranda.

It's due out next month, 19th October in e-book only.

What's super cracking about it (besides the stunning cover) is it's also a prequel to the next book called Somwhere Beyond the Sea which is due out in 2018. 

Check out the fantastic cover below and go pre-order. This is not a story to be missed! 

Pre-order from Amazon UK & follow Miranda on twitter @wurdsmyth

Lookies, i got a badge to show i'm an official #TeamSparkly member..

It's amazing && there will be many more tweets to come about this great story! Keep an eye out.

Caraval

Title: Caraval
Author: Stephanie Garber
Type: Hardback
Read: 20th August - 23rd August 2017
Rating: 5/5
Published: 31st January 2017 by Hodder & Stauton

Whatever you've heard about Caraval, it doesn't compare to the reality. It's more than just a game or a performance. It's the closest you'll ever find to magic in this world . . . 

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.
But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.
Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.

I have no idea how you even pronounce Caraval. But I wanted to be a part of it. It sounds so magical and amazing. The deathly part is a little freaky but I guess I could deal with it if I had to. This book had such amazing hype when it came out. I got so caught up in it. When released in hardback, the book has a hidden cover under the dust jacket. But then they decided to release like five different covers all hidden. So unless your super cheeky and looking through them, its a surprise at what you got. Mine was a tophat. It's pretty awesome.
 
Scarlett and Tella are two sisters who live on a remote island with their abusive father. Tella would do anything to escape and Scarlett believes marrying a count of whom she's never met will be their ticket out of there. Scarlett has been writing to Master Legend begging for his performers and Caraval to come to their island for years. Sending one final letter informing him that she is geting married and therefore doesn't belive in Caraval she finally gets a reply with three tickets included. But to go would surely mean the wrath of her father. Tella doesn't care. With a salior who has recently ported on the island, they manage to kidnap Scarlett and take her to the Legends private island where the game truely begins.

Not everything you see or hear is real. People are always out to trick you. But what happens when the game suddenly feels and becomes too real. Tella is kidnaped and Scarlett has a duty to find her along with many other people for the prize of a life time. A wish.

I loved the whole attention to detail in this book. I loved the feel of the magic floating around the story and Scarletts desire to find her sister. But is her mind playing tricks. How has her father managed to get onto the island as well. And can she really trust Julian. It's all so very exciting.

There are only five days to the game. Everything comes alive at night and you must be in your room when the sun comes up. Trying to work out the clues makes the book so much more fun. Caraval seems like a magical game with many twists and turns. Once you start thinking you get it, something changes your mind.

I am still confused on the ending and I hope this is cleared up in the next book. But Caraval is truely an enchanting fantasy to be told. 

Go Get it From: Amazon UK | Book Depository | Waterstones | Wordery
Follow @SGarberGirl

 

 

The Silvered Heart

Title: The Silvered Heart
Author: Katherine Clements
Type: Paperback
Read: 1st August - 19th August 2017
Rating: 4/5
Published: 2015 by Headline Review

1648. Orphaned heiress Lady Katherine Ferrers is forced into marriage for the sake of family honour... But with Cromwell's army bringing England to its knees, her fortune is the real prize her husband desires. As her marriage becomes a prison and her privileged world crumbles, Katherine meets her match in Rafe - a lover who will lead her into a dangerous new way of life where the threat of death lurks at every turn...

Enter Kate Ferrers, highwaywoman, the Wicked Lady of legend - brought gloriously to life in this tale of infatuation, betrayal and survival.

 I requested a copy of this book from bookbridgr - it seemed slightly different to what i would usually read and I figured i'd branch out. It's seemed every historic and I would usually struggle with these types of books. However I really enjoyed this one.

Lady Katherine who grew up in a world of privilge is to be wed to Thomas. A youngman whom she has not seen since she was a child. If only to ensure her place in the world and keep what is rightly hers. However when war starts out, althought married it is anything but a privilged life Kate leads. Along with her trusted maidservent Rachel, they learn to live in a world far from that she grew up in. With a husband who is constantly away and whom is only interested in getting a heir, Kate learns to live with the little she has. Until things change...

Rafe who is Rachels' brother teaches Kate some ways of the world, ways to obtain what is not yours to help you survive. They made a fantastic pair and I was so routing for them throughout.

The book is too sad, it has moments where friendships are tested and lives lost. It tests the faithfullness of servents and familes. I enjoyed it as although at first Kate could be very demanding to the point of being a spoilt child, she grew up, found herself and decided her own path, her own future, which was pretty much forbiden then.

An enchanting tale. 

Go Get it From: Amazon UK | Book Depository | Waterstones | Wordery
Follow @KL_Clements

 

The Hunt

Title: The Hunt
Author: T.J. Lebbon
Type: Paperback
Read: 18h July - 1st August 2017
Rating: 4/5
Published: 16th July 2015 by Avon

Escape and they’ll kill your family.
The cruellest game. The highest stakes. Only she can bring his family back alive …Rose is the one that got away. She was the prey in a human trophy hunt organised by an elite secret organisation for super-rich clients seeking a unique thrill. She paid a terrible price. Every moment since she has been planning her revenge … And now her day has come. Chris returns from his morning run to find his wife and children missing and a stranger in his kitchen.
He’s told to run.
If he’s caught and killed, his family go free. If he escapes, they die. Rose is the only one who can help him, but Rose only has her sights on one conclusion. For her, Chris is bait. But The Trail have not forgotten the woman who tried to outwit them. The Trail want Rose. The hunters want Chris’s corpse. Rose wants revenge, and Chris just wants his family back.
The hunt is on …

Fast paced and additive book. This has been sitting on my shelf for ages before i decided to read it.

Chris returns home from his usual morning run to find a stranger in his home and no sign of his wife and two daughters. All he is told is to wait further instructions. But to escape his family will be killed.

It's a story of how much you will do for your family, how the will to survive must surely count for something. This book is packed with everything. It's full of action, drama and a hunt.

Rose, was the one who escaped. She's decided she wants to help Chris, or is she using him as bait. Together they must keep Chris alive as long as he is being hunted and work out how to save his family and bring those who kill to justice.

I enjoyed the book, it was addictive and i think they made a TV show of it? 

Go Get it From: Amazon UK | Book Depository | Waterstones
Follow @timlebbon 

 

Concert: Paw Patrol Live

Show: Paw Patrol Live

Tour: Race to the Rescue

Location: Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham

Date: 12th August 2017

 

So as much as I love theater, shows and concerts, I love nothing more than to take family to see them. Especially the children as I want to them to experience the wonders of shows at a younger age. So my treat to two of my neices and nephews was to take them to see Paw Patrol Live. These two, one aged five and the other two are big fans of the show. My niece is all for pup Everest and my nephew changes between Chase and Rubble. So when Ryder and the gang came to town, I had to be the ool aunty and take them.

We had the 1.30pm showing on a saturday, they were doing three shows each of the two days they were in Birmingham. I don't think the show was as much a sell out as I expected it to be. But then perhaps the earlier or later show might have been. The show was split into two halfs. For children, I think this is a must. You can't keep a childs attention too long if you go on forever. So each half with a fiftteen minute interval was approx half an hour. 

Ryder came out and introduced all the pups, Marshall, Rocky, Rubble, Chase, Skye and Zuma. We don't see Everst until a little into the show. The kids love it as they sing the theme tune and they dance. The show is all about the Great Adventure Bay Race. But when Mayor Goodway goes missing, the pups are called for to find her and get to the finish line. Along the way we meet the naughty Mayor Humdigger who, with his evil cats, try to throw the pups off the scent. 

The children are encouraged to get up and dance and were also encouraged to shout out to help the pups find the three clues, to help them work out where the finishing line was. It prety much takes a tour of the whole TV show, from the look out to Seal Island and to Jakes Mountain.The kids loved it from start to finish.

It was a really fun show. I think time wise was enough for children, it kept their attention and they enjoyed singing and dancing along. Merchandise was very expensive and I think unless children really loved the show was possibly a waste of money. But many did queue for them. There were also many children dressed up as their favourite pups throughought. We seen quite a few Marshalls and Chase's and many Skye's. 

A brilliant show for children and some adults alike! 

"Paw Patrol is on a Roll"

Get to know the girl behind the blog..

It's my birthday and I figured I'd do a get to know the girl behind the blog thingy to celebrate....

A) What's your name? 
I'm known as Rachel, but will often be found online under the name Smelleykins - a nickname given to me forever ago.

B) Where in the world are you blogging from? 
Birmingham, UK

C) How did you get into blogging in the first place? 
Not a clue. I originally started a book "blog" over on Tumblr and then forgot it. Then figured I'd put my book reading to some use and tried many sites to blog on before settling on Blogger.

D) How did you come up with your blog name?
Well I'm little (only 3ft8"), I'm a girl and I read. So Little Miss Reads is pretty apt for me.

E) What genre do you read and review most on your blog?
I don't think I read any one particular genre of book. I'm very open to reading anything in sight. If I had to say one it's probably fiction. I'm pretty clueless on genres though. If its a book and holds my attention. I'll read it.

F) What other types of posts, do you post on your blog, apart from reviews?
My other main love is concerts or musicals. I love love love them so much. I've seen probably been to over 70 shows. I just love the moment and I'm starting to add these to the blog. If anything just for my own memories.

G) Best blogging experience so far?
Doing the cover reveals & being part of book tours. I love reading other peoples comments and just generally the book fandom overall.

H) Name 5 books you want to read this 2017, that you didn't in previous years?
Les Miserables (the sheer size scares me!) is the main one. We're half way through 2017 and I really don't think I'll get through it though. I would just love to make a dent in my TBR pile though.

I) Which book boy or girl, would be your BFF?
Without a doubt Cath from Fangirl. Just reading that book made me relate to her so much. I loved the character alot. The book is fantastic.

J) Apart from reading, what are your other hobbies and interests?
I just love my musicals and concerts. It's the total opposite to reading. It's loud and full on. Reading is my escape from everything. Concerts allow me to go la la and still fit in.

K) What would your dream library look like?
Doesn't everyone who watches 'Beauty & The Beast' just want a library like that which Beast offers Belle? I really would love that, but then I'd feel bad not reading all the books there and I think books should be read. So probably something as lovely but on a smaller scale.

L) What are your three favourite books?
Oh gosh. This is hard because I read such a varied range of books that I never have too many favourites. I think i can guarentee that Wonder by R.J. Palico is my all time favourite. A book has never made me cry or relate to so much in such a powerful way. I think then Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and finally, Thirty Nothing by Lisa Jewell.

M) Which authors have you met?
I've only met Rainbow Rowell before and I was so useless. I didn't have a clue what to say or anything. I'm such an awkward person. I've also met Gok Wan when I went to his book signing with a friend and I tried to meet Ant & Dec for theres but got kicked out because I refused to buy the book again when I originally called up checking haha!

N) Have you always been a reader, if not what got you into reading?
Yes and No. I remember reading a lot when I was younger and then again during secondary school. I'd always have a book around but never comitted as much time as I do now to read. I got back into it a few years ago due to girls at work suggesting I read 'The Help' and I've never looked back.

O) What book(s) do you wish you'd read sooner?
Harry Potter. I never read them until two years ago? I think I only brought the books because it was black friday sales on amazon and they were going pretty cheap for the boxset. I put off reading them once I'd got them, because I'd never read a series before, let alone one with 7 books. But I commited to reading them and they blew me away. I just wished I'd read them before I went to Harry Potter World in Flordia so I'd have appreciated it more. I did then do a maraton of watching the films back to back and went to the studio tour afterwards.

P) Favourite reading snack?
I don't have one. I think as long as I've got a cup of tea or a bottle of water I'm happy. I don't like getting pages dirty with food and I get distracted easily so no food for me.

Q) Can you read multiple books at once?
 Nope. Not properly anyways. People who do amaze me. Like how do you not get sucked into one story and then are able to jump into another at the same time. My mind would be overloaded.

R) Books are better than movies right?
Sometimes. It depends how much they stray from the actual storyline. I think the HP movies were great, they did miss parts out from the books though - just little bits but they meant something. Then I watched another film where I prefered the film as I couldn't get into the book. So most of the time yes, but keep true to the book.

S) Favourite book quote?
"Though she be but little, she is fierce..."

T) What Hogwarts house are you?
Hufflepuff. I was never sure which one I belonged in, even when reading the books. But when I took the pottermore quiz, I was placed in Hufflepuff and upon reading about it etc... it's a very fitting house for me. I am a total Hufflepuff.

U) Dream Job? 
Well I never ever wanted to work in an office and I've been working in an office doing accounts for 14 years!! I like what I do. I do want to do something else, but I'm ueless at studying something in depth. So my dream job would be to do somethig with Photographt. I'm the girl who constnatly has her camera out. I love taking pictures and would love to be able to improve on the quality of them and actually understand what the heck my camera can do.

V) Favourite concert or musical seen?
 Musical is between - Me & My Girl or Wicked. They are very different to each other but were both absoultely amazing. As for concert, I'm most likely expected to say Steps as I'm such a huge fan of them. I think the Ultimate tour is certainly one of my all time favourites, I think probably my favourite concert is Shania Twain. I was utterly excited when I managed to get 7th row tickets and I even got her autograph on my program that night!

W) Actor and Actress, and the film you like most they are in?
Hands down my most adored actress is Sandra Bullock. We share the same birthday but I've loved her ever since I tourtured myself watching Speed many years ago. The film I love most of hers is between 'All About Steve' and 'While you were Sleeping'.
Actor is either Hugh Grant or Tom Hanks. We'll go with Tom Hanks for this and the best film is 'Sleepless in Seattle' which i took a few years ago my nana to see in the cinema. I'm a sucker for a romance.

X) Author you would like to meet?
I'm a huge fan of Cecelia Ahern and Lisa Jewell. I think I would freak out if I ever got a chace to meet them. Their books have given me so much joy over the years that I can go back to re-reading them and still feel the same.

Y) Dream destination?
I did my ultimate goal of going to NYC a few years ago. It was everything I dreamed of and a whole lot more. I would love to one day travel all 50 states. Do a big fly drive holiday. But I need a lottery win for that. I think my favourite destinations are where I can enjoy the culture, relax and spend times with family.

Z) I ran out of questions but I hope you enjoyed the above. I'm off to eat lotsa of cake.. I got two for my birthday!!

Would Like to Meet...

Title: Would Like to Meet...
Author: Polly James
Type: Paperback
Read: 12th July - 17th June 2017
Rating: 5/5
Published: 30th June 2016 by Avon

Could the worst thing that’s ever happened to Hannah Pinkman also turn out to be one of the best?
She and her husband Dan have reached the end of the line. Bored with the same gripes, the same old arguments – in fact, bored with everything – they split up after a trivial row turns into something much more serious.

Now Hannah has to make a new life for herself, but that’s not easy. She’s been so busy being a wife and mum that she’s let all her other interests slip away, along with her friends. And when Hannah is persuaded to join a dating site, her ‘best match’ is the very last person she expects it to be . . . 

The cover of this book grabs your attention straight away. Its' cute and girly and insists on being read. This book is just a big pile of laughter throughout. Hannah and her husband Dan split up after what appears to be a silly arguement. Queue Hannahs' life somewhat spiraling out of control. She's never been on her own before, she doesn't have a clue what to do and her son Joel is just at times causing more issues. Although he can be a sweetheart at times.

I liked this book so much. It's split up into the four seasons and each chapter details the course of the year from the breakup to now. Hannah learns to discover herself - and makes new friends along the way (Eva is bloody brillant!). So when they join a dating site the last person she ever figures will be a match is her soon to be ex-husband. But surprsingly in the virtual world they're getting on so much better. Which isn't too hard when only one side of the party knows they're talking to their ex.

It's a laugh a minute book, the hilarous tales of Hannah trying to date again, to even doing things she wouldn't ever dream of. Her worry about her son Joel and occasionally taking care of Pearl.  
 
I enjoyed this so much. I think Hannah was a great character and I was routing for her throughout the book. I wanted to her to better than before and to truely discover herself and her likes. She does all that and more. And with a friend like Eva at her side, nothig or no-one will stand in her way. 

Go Get it From: Amazon UK | Book Depository | Waterstones | Wordery
Follow @Mid_WifeCrisis

 

Frankenstein

Title: Frankenstein
Author: Mary Shelley
Type: Paperback
Read: 6th July - 11th July 2017
Rating: 4/5
Published: 26th April 2012 by Penguin (first published 1818)

The scientist Victor Frankenstein, obsessed with possessing the secrets of life, creates a new being from the bodies of the dead. But his creature is a twisted, gruesome parody of a man who, rejected for his monstrous appearance, sets out to destroy his maker.

Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale, conceived after a nightmare in 1816 when she was only eighteen, became a modern myth. It is a disturbing and dramatic exploration of birth and death, creation and destruction, and one of the most iconic horror stories of all time.

I brough this book when I was going through my phase of "I want to read/buy all the Penguin English Library books" - do you know how many of them there are?? Also I'm pretty rubbish at reading classics.

But this one is as thick or as tedious as some classics I tend to pick out. This one was actually pretty damn good. It held my attention and I realy enjoyed it. I'm not sure if Frankenstein is meant to be a "miserable" type of book as it can be pretty depressing but I thought it was cracking.

Scentiest Victor Frankenstein is obsessed in working out life. He manages to creat a being that is not human nor animal. It's a mash up of everything hideous known to man. So much so that once the being comes alive Victor himself is so disgusted by what he has created he abandons the creater altogether. But Frankenstein is not to be forgotten.

We learn how from the moment that Victor leaves him to them "meeting" again - what Frankenstein has achieved himself. Not only realising he is a monster but one that learns by watching to read, and talk and even to the point help people. But all he craves is company. Of a being like him. One that Victor must agree to make or more deaths of those nearest and dearest will occur.


I actually found this story sad. I felt more for Frankenstein than Victor who I thought was cruel to agree to the final wish to only change his mind. Then determind the only way to end Frankenstien for all was to distory him. Which kinda caused his death too.

Now this was a classic i understood! Throughly enjoyed. 

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Happy People Read & Drink Coffee

Title: Happy People Read & Drink Coffee
Author: Agnes Martin-Lugand
Type: Paperback
Read: 2nd July - 4th July 2017
Rating: 5/5
Published: 25th May 2016 by Allen & Unwin

Diane has a charmed life as a wife, a mother and the owner of a literary cafe in Paris called Happy People Read and Drink Coffee. But when Diane suddenly loses her beloved husband and daughter in a car accident her perfect world is shattered. Trapped and haunted by her memories, Diane withdraws from friends and family, unable and unwilling to move forward.

One year on, Diane shocks her loved ones by leaving Paris to move to a small town on the Irish coast to rebuild her life alone. There she meets Edward, a brooding, handsome photographer who lives next door. Initially Edward resents Diane's intrusion into his solitary life, but before long they find themselves drawn to each other . . .

Never judge a book by its reviews. Alot of them were saying that the story got lost in translation (originally being published in french). But I read it and was like what the... this book is blimmin' awesome.

I got sent a copy ages ago by the publisher and I read the title and just adored it. The cover too is very striking and I figured it be a good read. I put off because I read peoples reviews. But this story is really good. After Diane looses her husband and daughter in a tragic accidentl life isn't the same ever again. Unable to get through and do anything Diane stays at home and keeps in her little routine of keeping their things close and everyone else out. It's hard but she has one true friend who Felix. Her best friend and co-worker together they own the coffee shop slash book shop. Ecept for the past year Felix has attempted this on his own.

Nearing the one year anniversary Felix tries to get Diane to go on a trip to escape the memories and the tourture she is putting herself through. Adment that unles she does something herself she dreads to think what Felix will book. So deciding to go to Ireland for a few months to figure things out, Diane packs up and leaves. Her house is sold and her things are to be disposed of.

Ireland is worlds away from France. The people and way of life are nothing to what Diane is used to but she's not here to make friends. Queue meeting her new neighbour the mighty Edward. He's typically irish and rough around the edges, they annoy one another to the core.

I loved the build up of tension between Diane and Edward. I liked he's gruff exterior and he's moodiness. I also adored Felix and Edwards sister. Together they were so much fun and at times you think it was good for the others to have them around.

The book is a tale of how you can't always escape your problems, that sometimes you must face them and that moving on isn't always as easy as everyone else believes. It's hard and heartbreaking and sometimes you have to break your own heart again to survive.

I would love to read the sequal to this book. I really did adore the writing and nothing got lost in translation. If i could read in french, it would probably be so much more.  

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The Challenge

Title: The Challenge
Author: Tom Hoyle
Type: Paperback
Read: 17th June - 1st July 2017
Rating: 4/5
Published: 23rd February 2017 by Pan Macmillan

The Challenge by Tom Hoyle, bestselling author of Thirteen, is a gripping adventure thriller about an online game gone wrong. Ben's been grieving for his best friend, Will, who suddenly disappeared from their tiny village a year ago. But when twins Sam and Jack begin at the school, things start to look up. Cool, good-looking and popular, they draw Ben into their world and introduce him to The Challenge. What first appears to be a fun internet game quickly turns sinister as Ben's tasks become wilder and more dangerous, starting to raise questions over Will's disappearance. But once you're involved with The Challenge, it's very hard to get out ...

Okay, so reasons I like reading Tom Hoyle books.
- They come in pretty colours and the page edges also match the book
- Tom Hoyle isn't his real name and I want to work out who it really is.

I was so excited to read a new Tom Hoyle book. I loved his last three and really had high hopes for this one. Now I was slightly let down. I'm not sure why perhaps I went into it with too high of hopes.

But I found the story dragged a little and that at times it didn't make all that much sense. The challenge is a "game" played but some crazy twins who it turns out is a game passed down through generations of the same family. The twins, are drawn to Ben and as a boy who isn't one to stand out he enjoys the attention they give him. The fact he no longer beomes invisable. But things aren't always what they seem. The twins know what happened to Bens' friend Will and how he died. But can Ben work out the truth before they take another victim.

As I said I do like this writer alot but I just couldn't get into this book all that much.

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Sully: Miracle on the Hudson

Title: Sully: Miracle on the Hudson
Author: Chelsey B.Sullenberger III
Type: Paperback
Read: 10th June - 13th June 2017
Rating: 5/5
Published: 15th November 2016 by William Morrow Paperbacks

On January 15, 2009, the world witnessed a remarkable emergency landing when Captain "Sully" Sullenberger skillfully glided US Airways Flight 1549 onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 passengers and crew. His cool actions not only averted tragedy but made him a hero and an inspiration worldwide. His story is now a major motion picture from director / producer Clint Eastwood and stars Tom Hanks, Laura Linney and Aaron Eckhart.

Sully's story is one of dedication, hope, and preparedness, revealing the important lessons he learned through his life, in his military service, and in his work as an airline pilot. It reminds us all that, even in these days of conflict, tragedy and uncertainty, there are values still worth fighting for—that life's challenges can be met if we're ready for them.  

I remember hearing about the plane landing on the Hudson and being amazed by it. It would be such a huge fear of mine to crash land in a plane but the miracle on the Hudson was just astonishing. Something that should never ever have happened or even suceeded.

So i got the movie tie in book which normally goes against everything I read. I love original books. Not the movie releases. But this one had Tom Hanks on and i do adore Mr Hanks!

So thso book read like an autobiography. Again something I'm not always good at reading. But this was interesting. It's about planes. But it was also about Sully's life growning up and how he got interested in flying. Going through the years of getting his pilots licence. He's struggles as a family and then goes on about the flight that took place.

It's a truely remarkable book. It is an easy read. There are some pictures throughout of Sullys life, his childhood and family now. I don't think anything like the Miracle on the Hudson will ever happen again. But reading this book it really makes you view pilots in such a different light. It also gives you a little insight the the workings of the airline industry and their attitude to things.

Would certainly recommend this.

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Crush

Title: Crush
Author: Eve Ainsworth
Type: Paperback
Read: 10th June 2017
Rating: 4/5
Published: 3rd March 2016 by Scholastic

Love hurts ... but should it hurt this much? Reeling from her mum's sudden departure, Anna finds the comfort she needs in her blossoming relationship with Will. He's handsome and loving, everything Anna has always dreamt of. He's also moody and unpredictable, pushing her away from her friends, her music. He wants her to be his and his alone. He wants her to be perfect. Anna's world is closing in. But threatening everything is a dark secret that not even Will can control... Eve Ainsworth's gripping second novel is a pitch-perfect exploration of love at its most powerful, addictive and destructive.

This story made me feel so uncomfortable reading. I think the way Will kept getting at Anna was creapy and scary. This book is about a toxic relationship, where the school stud gets with the girl, no-one would really notice. Anna is that girl. She's struggling anyways then to add her first real boyfriend to the picture it just gets far too much. Especially when the boyfriend is a pretty caluclated evil idiot.

I think this book is good to bring awareness around situations like this. Because sometimes we are blind to it, as if its not happening to us, then do we notice? But i think this book, and how Will took time to show his true colours freak me. He was all nice at first and then slowly made Anna alienated from her friends, her family and the music she loved, all because he wanted her to love him more than anyone and anything else.

Its tough. I think this book is a good one for teens, but may need a trigger warning if anyone who has been in an abusive relationship may read.

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Library of Souls

Title: Libaray of Souls
Author: Ransom Riggs
Type: Paperback
Read: 3rd June - 9th June 2017
Rating: 5/5
Published: 22nd November 2015 by Quirk Books

As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discovers a powerful new ability, and soon he’s diving through history to rescue his peculiar companions from a heavily guarded fortress. Accompanying Jacob on his journey are Emma Bloom, a girl with fire at her fingertips, and Addison MacHenry, a dog with a nose for sniffing out lost children.They’ll travel from modern-day London to the labyrinthine alleys of Devil’s Acre, the most wretched slum in all of Victorian England. It’s a place where the fate of peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all. 

Oh my gosh. What a finale to the series. This book is full of action from the go.
A war going on with the peculiars survival in the balance. Its a do or die. Its a situation that Emma and Jacob can only try and get everyone out alive whilst beating off everyone else in the process. Its bloody fantastic.

We learn about Devils Acre and meet more wights and hallowgasts, we meet Sharon who is a pretty friendly giant overall. The children meet up with Miss Peregrines other brother and together, they try to rescue everyone. There are many twists and turns in this book and you can't stop reading. I wanted more, and more and it was given.

The ending was almost sad then i was happy. But its a pretty damn good ending. I realy enjoyed the trip into the perculiar world. There are some pictures within this book too, though fewer than pervious but they do give a little extra to the story itself.

Overall a cracking series.

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