The Trouble with Goats & Sheep

Title: The Trouble with Goats & Sheep
Author: Joanna Cannon
Type: Hardback
Read: 24th January - 27th January 2016
Rating: 5/5
Published: 28th January 2016 by Borough Press

England,1976.

Mrs Creasy is missing and The Avenue is alive with whispers. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly decide to take matters into their own hands.

And as the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives will find much more than they imagined…

I try so hard to avoid books that have a massive hype. But this one really caught my attention. So much so, june last year i asked Borough Press if i can have an ARC copy and even tried to pre-order on various book sites before a date of release got annouced. Somethin about this book really made me want to read it. And these past few weeks theres been Goats & Sheep everywhere over twitter! But yay for Waterstones sending out early i finished this just before release date. And it matched the hype!

Firstly i have to say i adore the cover, the whole design is just stunning. I love that the cover doesn't give anything away about what is inside. Is a book on farm-yard animals? No. It a tale set in the heatwave of 1976 and told through Grace and Tilly, ten year old best friends. I adored these two. I loved Tilly a teeny tiny bit more - but together they're awesome. Grace is just a little mini grown up who has an older head on her shoulders. We also discover Mrs Creasy has disappeared and Grace & Tilly take it upon themselves to find out where she has gone and after a visit to church, decide to find god along the way.

Once Grace & Tilly are back on the Avenue they decide to talk to all their neighbours in the hope of finding god in someones house. If they find god, then he will keep everyone safe and bring back Mrs Creasy. Through their innocent questions you begin to realise not everything is as it seems within the Avenue and that secrets are hidden waiting to escape. Through their questioning, they make the adults being to rethink the past and the parts they've played in situations.

The chapters do change from the girls view and then we get the adults side to understand the mysteries they are unraveling. It's addicting. I really couldn't put this book down. You get drawn to all the characters, you can't help but adore Grace & Tilly and you just want to help them every step of the way.

I have lots of favourite parts, but i'm very geeky when it comes to places i can very much relate to. When Birmingham was mentioned i had a goofy smile and then just a teeny mention of a drink, makde me giggle and tweet Joanna. The drink was a mention of a place I work at and i just loved that reference, so much so i've told the company I work for!

This is a stunning debut, it really does match all the hype surrounding it. Joanna is an excellent story teller. I really can't wait to see what comes next!

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

Title: The Rain (The Rain #1)
Author: Virginia Bergin
Type: Paperback
Read: 21st January - 23rd January 2016
Rating: 4/5
Published: 17th July 2014 by Macmillan Childrens Books

It's in the rain...and just one drop will kill you.

They don't believe it at first. Crowded in Zach's kitchen, Ruby and the rest of the partygoers laugh at Zach's parents' frenzied push to get them all inside as it starts to drizzle. But then the radio comes on with the warning, "It's in the rain! It's fatal, it's contagious, and there's no cure."

Two weeks later, Ruby is alone. Anyone who's been touched by rain or washed their hands with tap water is dead. The only drinkable water is quickly running out. Ruby's only chance for survival is a treacherous hike across the country to find her father-if he's even still alive.

I won this book via instagram a while back. I've never read anything by this author before and the blurb seemed interesting.

The book is set in the UK, Ruby is at a party with her friends and the hottest boy she knows. When suddenly they're all dragged inside. The radio says nothing but it's in the rain, stay in doors and keep calm. One drop of rain on you and you're dead. It makes you bleed and there is no cure. So how do you survive when everyone around you is dead. How do you live when you need water but you can't drink whats in the taps, you can't wash or anything.

This book is very much aimed at teens. It will probably actually annoy some as well. Ruby is selfish but she's young, she's lost her best friend, her mum and baby brother and now her step dad. What can she do? She decides to set off to London to find her real dad. He will be there he would have survived and he will keep her safe.

Throughout all this Ruby discovers she's not the only one to survive. She's stubborn though. She doesn't want help until she gets to a police station and realises there's people locked in the cells. When help comes from the biggest nerd she knows, Darius, together with a small child, they release the prisoners and animals. Careful to never be caught in a downpour, Darius, Rugby and the child are on a journey to get to London. Whilst routing around in abandond shops to find anything thats left to drink. They must contend with anything and everyone that comes in their way.

Ruby is your typical teenager though. She's always felt like she's been restricted from everything and finally having freedom she's able to do everything from dying her hair to putting on a crazy amount of makeup. To wanting her phone to work and dressing up the the fanciest of clothes.

It sad as well though. Ruby is alone. She wants to be but then never wants anyone to leave her. She's a tough little cookie. The book is written as if Ruby is writing a diary or a movie. She's narrating it and its' quirky. It can distract you often from the storyline, the world is pretty much ending and yet this girl only cares about make up or kissing.

Overall its a good book, its sad as well, especially near the end. I'm certianly going to aim to read the sequal - The Storm.  

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

Title: The Girls
Author: Lisa Jewell
Type: Hardback
Read: 16th January - 21st January 2016
Rating: 4/5
Published: 2nd July 2015 by Century

You live on a picturesque communal garden square, an oasis in urban London where your children run free, in and out of other people’s houses.

You’ve known your neighbours for years and you trust them. Implicitly.

You think your children are safe.
But are they really?

Midsummer night: a thirteen-year-old girl is found unconscious in a dark corner of the garden square. What really happened to her? And who is responsible?

Lisa Jewell is one of my favourite authors, that i will buy any book she releases. I got this on release day and its sat on my shelf for too long. It was a brilliant read.

The story is of Pip, Grace and their mother Clare who move to a flat which shares a communal garden. This part kinda reminded me of Notting Hill. As the new girls, Pip and Grace are ignored pretty much at first, they're noticed but ignored. Then gradaully they're intwined in the lives of the communal gardens residents. Grace more so than Pip.

Pip seems the more mature one of the two although she was the younger sister. She was so aware of everything and didn't trust many people at all. Grace being thirteen was just trying to find her own space, to distance herself from the past and get in with the new people in this garden. It caused a lot of drama especially between Tyler and Grace. When boys are thrown in the mix its every girl for themselves.

A night of a party and also Grace's thriteenth birthday, Grace is discovered lying motionless by Pip. Who has attacked her sister and why. This book then looks at what happend before that night, what came to it and why.

I loved the mystery part of it all. With Grace in a coma we only have Pip who is trying to figure evrything out and also the Police. Plus we also have resident Adele who's three daughters are known out in the garden. Adele is also known for her open door, anyone can come and she'll look after them.

But once Grace is hurt, secrets come out that are meant to stay hidden and everyone is suspect. Relationships are tested and boundries pushed.

It's a great story, I'm sorry i never read it sooner. I adore everything Lisa does and this is certainly one of the yes you must read books. I won't give out if we find out who has harmed Grace. Theres so many people you think have done it that as a reader we'll question everything.

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

Artist: The Corrs

Tour: White Light Tour

Location: Genting Arena, Birmingham

Date: 19th January 2016

My first concert of 2016 and what a cracking one to start off with. The Corrs haven't toured together for over 10 years, and perhaps in the fashion of groups coming back together, they released a new album "White Light" and a tour to go with it. So i was straight on the computre with my millions of screens open just so i can get decent seats. I got them. Then Genting moved me because it wasn't a sell out. But it was still bloody brilliant.

The support act was 'The Shires' - I'm not sure who they are and were non the wiser after watching them. However they have had an album out so I don't think are brand new. They were good, sung some catchy country songs, so a pretty good act to start up with. 

When The Corrs were together years ago, I never seen them on tour. I wanted to just didnt' get around to it. So with this tour I was really excited. I made sure I brought their new album when it got released so to learn all the songs before the tour. Then i dusted off all the old albums and got listening to them. The Corrs are timeless. Their music doesn't seem to age at all and I can still remember singing in my bedroom as a teen to their songs thinking one day I could do that. I've not got a musical bone in my body!

The songs were a mixture of both old and new. I had my favourites and was hoping they'd perform them. The show started off with a white curtian hiding the stage and suddenly Caroline is projected on there playing the drums. Then the curtain falls and the group break into the song 'I Do What I Like'. The crowd was a mixed bag. I was thinking it would attract mid-thirties and stuff but there was some older folks too and they knew every word! 

Two highlights of the night for me was when they performed 'Runaway' a very classic song which everyone knows and the crowd sung it back to them. You could see Andrea's face glow - like a little kid in a candy shop. And also when they performed the song 'Ellis Island' from their lastest album. This song is just touching and heartbreaking. It's about the times when Irish imergrents went to the US to live but had to go via Ellis Island to be checked over. It just a beautiful song.

The Corrs very much stuck to their Irish roots, they perfomed a song in gaelic 'Buachaill Ón Éirne' which as a language is hard to say let alone sing. They also played some Irish instrumentals seeing as all four are talented musicians too.

The stage was very simple, just the band and a screen behind them which showed them. It was probably daunting for them, being away for 10 years and then selling out numerous arenas, to come back out. I think they did a cracking job and the audience loved them. If they just interact slightly more with them, they'll have a great rest of tour.

Set Listing:

1. I Do What I Like
2. Give Me A Reason
3. Forgiven, Not Forgotten
4. Bring On The Night
5. What Can I Do
6. Radio
7. Lough Erin Shore / Trout In The Bath / Joy of Life
8. Runaway
9. With Me Stay
10. Ellis Island
11. Buachaill Ón Éirne
12. Love To Love You
13. Only When I Sleep
14. Queen Of Hollywood
15. Dreams
16. Kiss Of Life
17. I Never Really Loved You Anyway
18. So Young
19. Encore
1. White Light
2. Breathless
3. Toss The Feather

Cover Reveal: Reader, I Dumped Him...

Check out the stunning ebook by Lorelei Mathias. I love love love the colours.
Sounds like a cracking book!  

Reader, I Dumped Him... by Lorelei Mathias

Ebook is out 4th February 2016

This story is a celebration of the people that bring you back to life when your world closes in: your mates.
Relationships come and go, but the Break-up Club membership never truly expires.

Holly Braithwaite and loveable loser Lawrence have been together for five years. But the obvious cracks in their relationship can no longer be ignored and Holly soon finds herself saying ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’
In the shock aftermath of their break up, Holly finds unlikely companions in Olivia, Harry and Bella. Together, they form the Break-up Club, as they support each other through their mutual melancholy and find ways to love, laugh and function as human beings again.

Break-up Club meets every Sunday. Each week, as the comedy and drama unfolds, they discover a new BUC ‘rule’. And, one by one, the rules become vital markers on their journey to recovery . . .

‘BREAK-UP CLUB’
To our members, we’re the first emergency service.

Pre Order from: Amazon UK

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The Deep

Title: The Deep
Author: Nick Cutter
Type: Paperback
Read: 10th January - 15th January 2016
Rating: 3/5
Published: 8th October by Headline

A plague is destroying the world's population. The 'Gets makes people forget. First it's the small things, like where you left your keys ... then the not-so-small things, like how to drive. And finally your body forgets how to live.

But now an unknown substance with extraordinary power to heal has been discovered in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Nicknamed ambrosia, it might just be the miracle cure the world has been praying for.

A research lab has been established eight miles below the sea's surface, but all contact with the team has been lost. Dr Luke Nelson's brother is down there and as desperation for a cure outweighs common sense, he agrees to descend through the lightless fathoms ... perhaps to face an evil blacker than anything he could have imagined. 

When this book appeared on bookbridgr i didn't hesitate to request a copy. It sounded really intreguing from the go. I wanted to know more about 'the gets' and what it involved and what they were planning to do to cure it. What i got was something a little mixed.

The book is dark, its very messed up. Seriously you have to have one crazy imagination to think of half of the twisted things that go on in this book. But i did enjoy reading it. It was additive. We meet Luke who has been sent from Iowa to the bottom of the ocean. He's brother is working eight miles below to try and find a cure for the gets. Being at such a distance below the surface, with nothing but darkness surounding them, it messes with the occupants minds. Although most if not all are in total denial of such thing. They're all hiding it in their own crazy ways.

I loved the idea of this book. I don't think i've read anything thats been based under the sea. It's distrubing. It does give you the heebyjeebies of the dark. It messes with your mind too. Thats brilliant. But perhaps i drifted off from this as I wanted to find out much more of Lukes little boy who was taken years before. I want him and Alice to escape and get back to the surface. I wanted Luke and Clayton to make up. They did i guess, but I want them to get out together.

What disappointed me was the ending. And it's whats made me so confused about this book. I have no idea what i read. The ending threw everything out of the water for me. Did it fit? I'm not sure. I guess madness took over the situation and perhaps the ending was fitting. I am still so torn what it really meant. We also never actually find out much more about 'the gets' which this was the basis for the book.

Overall it was good. Its freakishly scary and dark.

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

Title: Die Again (Rizzoli & Isles #11)
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Type: Hardback
Read: 9th January - 10th January 2016
Rating: 5/5
Published: 30th December 2014 by Ballantine Books

Boston Detective Jane Rizzoli is on the case of a big game hunter found dead in his apartment, alone with the body of a beautiful white snow leopard he had recently been commissioned to procure and stuff for a high-profile museum in the area.

Medical examiner Maura Isles connects the case to a number of seemingly unrelated deaths where the victims have all been found hanging upside down, the hallmark of a leopard's kill.

Rizzoli follows the puzzling trail of clues all the way to Botswana, where she uncovers the unsolved mystery of a deadly camping safari six years prior. When she realizes the two cases are connected, Rizzoli must track down the sole survivor of the tragic trip to discover who - or what - is behind these gruesome deaths.

This is the 11th book in the Rizzoli and Isles series. I've never read them in order, i does help witht he back story but its not essential. I much prefer the crime and resolving it. Die Again has been on my shelf since the week it came out. I tend to freak myself out reading Tess' books, they can give me nightmares. So i put this one off and for some reason i just wanted to read it. I got through it in just about a day. Sometimes i feel bad doing so, as so much research goes into these books, that it seems like i'm rushing it. But i really enjoyed this one. It was addictive.

The stroy is split between Botswana and Boston. Africa and the US. We are first introduced to Millie who goes on a safari trip with her annoying and down right rude boyfriend Richard. They are there with five others and two guides. All is well until one of the guides is killed, at first it seems a tragic accident, eaten by animals. But then when one of the tourist is killed, it seems un-nerving and to top it off the truck won't start to get them out of the wild. So grouped together with just one clever leader, they decide to wait it out. Gradually more strange things begin to happen and Millie is caught between the rest of the party and the guide. Until everything gets even more crazy and it seems Millie is the only survivor.

Fast forward 6 years and a double murder in Boston of a taxidermist and a seemily unknown bring the case to light for Rizzoli. But how do these cases link with that of what happened to Millie six years prior.

Tess has a good way of writing, I honestly thought half way through the book i worked out who was behind all the murders. But alas I was totally wrong. It's a good twist and I dont' think anyone will see it coming. Tess leads you down lots of guess who routes and thats a damn good author.

The more I read about Jane Rizzoli the more I just adore her. She's fiesty, independant yet beneath it all at times is also scared. She fights for everything she truely believes in. I want to be a bad as her!

This is a fast action book, its full of drama, suspense and lots of big cats.
I'm keeping everything crossed that this isn't the last for the R&I series!  

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