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
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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. 

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

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

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

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