Review: Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart. 



Review: I absolutely loved this book, I have no idea why I waited so long to read it! I listened to this book on audiobook but I also have a physical copy of this so I was able to dip into that as well. I just loved the storyline, the characters and the general feel of this book.

I really know nothing about beauty pageants apart from what I have seen on films and so I was hoping this plot of this book wouldn't focus on that too much. Whilst the beauty [pageant is a strong feature of this book because that is what the whole community is gearing up for, it is not the main plot of the book. This book is very much a character driven book, it is all about the fabulous Dumplin' and there are also wonderful undertones of inclusion, body positivity, diversity and acceptance which made it the wonderful, well-rounded read that it is!

Dumplin' is great as a main character. She is easy to like and get along with and also very easy to relate to an empathise with. She is living in a town that values this beauty pageant and so she is having to deal with the fact that people are so focused on beauty and perfection when she is a girl of more substance. But she is plus-sized and proud. She appears on the surface, not to give a toss about what others think of her, she doesn't want to loose weight and yet when a boy starts showing interest in her, she can't understand why!

I loved the romance in this book, of Dumplin' trying to cope with her first forays into the world of dating, of course nothing runs smoothly, I felt sympathy for her in certain parts of this particular storyline,  but I also laughed at the mishaps that she got herself into-this was incredibly well-rounded. The other aspect I need to cover of course is the diversity of the characters. We have characters who are not body confident despite conforming to what society deems as the norm, we have dumplin' who is plus size, we have people with disability and all of them pulling together with incredible strength to fight against this idea of what a beauty pageant is and the way society and sometimes their friends and families, expect them to behave!

I loved this read, I do think there is something for everyone in here. I really recommend listening to the audiobook because the narrator has the accents down to a tea and that really brought it alive for me!

To get your copy now, just click here!

Review: A Gift For You by Patricia Scanlan

A warm, wise, funny and heartfelt collection of short stories from bestselling novelist Patricia Scanlan - the perfect gift and the perfect treat! 

Collected to celebrate Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and birthdays, as well as offering wise words on how to deal with difficult days, these stories will entertain and delight readers. Meet Magdalena as she prepares for the birth of her first child, knowing her family are in another country - but will her fiancé surprise her for Christmas? Share memories of treasured tree decorations and the stories they hold. Delight as Irene remembers her husband on Valentine's Day and fate finds a way to remind her of the love they shared. Cheer along with Sophie as she finally finds the courage to deal with a fairweather friend, and laugh as a grandmother receives a visit from her granddaughter - only to turn the tables on her and show her who is boss! 

Lose yourself in sublime storytelling - the perfect gift for readers everywhere.

Review: I really enjoyed making my way through these short stories. They're all very similar in length and so make for [perfect bedtime reading or reading whilst you're waiting for someone or something. I did find myself finishing one story and then saying 'oh just one more' and so they do make for compelling reading, that's for sure. All the stories are complete in themselves but all seem to have a similar theme of allowing time for yourself or completing something you always wanted to do, hence the title, a gift for you. After reading this I did feel like I should be kinder to myself and treat myself the way I treat others!

The book is split into sections for various holidays. Christmas, valentines, birthday, mothers days and difficult days. My favourite section by far was the birthday section. The stories in this section were all funny and the final story of the book made me laugh so much that I had to re-read it! I really enjoyed the Christmas stories and will probably read these again next Christmas!

Overall I think the book was a really good idea. The fact that the Christmas stories are first shows that it is perfect for the festive season, but I loved that that stories had so much more to give than just that! I really liked the length of the stories. Many of them were set in Ireland, a couple in London and so they had a familiar setting too, which helped. I liked the fact that I got to meet so many new characters and got to complete a whole story before having to put the book back down again . I would definitely recommend this book to read at any time or year and I really recommend allowing one of these stories a day to really spread out the pleasure!

To grab your copy now click here!

Review: The Duff by Kody Keplinger

Today I am going to review The Duff. The film is out in cinemas in the UK next week and I went to see a special preview this Tuesday. I will be doing a book vs film comparison on the blog soon but to celebrate the release of the film, here's my review of the book...

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is smart, cynical, loyal - and well aware that she's not the hot one in her group of friends. But when high-school jock and all round moron Wesley Rush tells her she's a DUFF - a Designated, Ugly Fat Friend - Bianca does not the see funny side. She may not be a beauty but she'd never stoop so low as to go anywhere near the likes of Wesley ... Or would she? Bianca is about to find out that attraction defies looks and that sometimes your sworn enemies can become your best friends ...

With a wry and tell-it-like-it-is voice, New York Times Bestselling novel The Duff is a witty and poignant story of a teenager struggling with the rules of high school attraction, along with the breaking down of her relationships with family and friends. It is a novel about what it means to be sexy, in a world where we feel we have to be perfect!

Review: Ok so I'm going to have to admit that I really wasn't terribly into this book in the first few pages, now usually that spells doom for me and not really enjoying the book, but as the story went on, I became more and more invested in the story and sat reading a great chunk of this all in one sitting! I laughed, I gasped, i even went oooo in a few places. i was a little shocked that there was so much sex and swearing in a YA book but reading it as an adult it didn't really bother me.  can't believe how young this author is either-am seriously jealous that such talent can be exhibited at such a young age-I need to get a move on clearly!

I really liked the characters in this book, in that they felt pretty real to me. Sometimes I didn't like the fact that they were such typical teenagers and therefore somewhat whiny and naive but then I always take against teenagers in books for that reasons so I'm totally not judging! Bianca was the least whiny of the bunch and so it was good that she was the main character. She seems strong on the outside, but many of her actions in this book are done through insecurity and through wanting to try and find herself or better herself and so she really isn't as strong as she makes out. She is practical though and understands what real life is like and so I liked her for that. 

The makes characters in the book are interesting and are kind of like your typical Jocks., I was, of course rooting for Bianca to get with one male character in partciular all the way through the book, I won't give the game away and tell you which one. The high school setting is typical of YA but I like the family aspect of this book too and theme of strong friendships throughout. 

Overall this book was a lot of fun. I think the reason I didn't connect with it straight away was that it felt it went a little too quickly in the beginning but as the story progressed, things slowed down and we were able to see the characters and the storyline in its fullest form and really explore what was going on. I really enjoyed the book and found it to be a really quick read. Its a fun read but i would definitely say that its something for older teens because of the sex, the swearing and the exploration of alcoholism. 

Review: Another Night, Another Day by Sarah Rayner

From the author of the bestselling One Moment, One Morning comes another beautiful, bittersweet novel set in Brighton…

Three people, each crying out for help

There’s Karen, about to lose her father; Abby, whose son has autism and needs constant care, and Michael, a family man on the verge of bankruptcy. As each sinks under the strain, they’re brought together at Moreland’s Psychiatric Clinic. 

Here, behind closed doors, they reveal their deepest secrets, confront and console one another and share plenty of laughs. But how will they cope when a new crisis strikes?

Review: I really enjoyed the first book by this author, one moment, one morning and so when I was offered this book for review, I jumped at the chance. I was so pleased to discover that this revisits the characters from the first novel. Whilst we don't carry on straight where we left off in that novel, it is two years later but the characters still feel familiar and so this is an aspect I really enjoyed about the book. There aren't really any spoilers from the first book because we know that someone dies in the first book and so that's no great surprise when it is mentioned in this one, but in would recommend reading one moment, one morning first of all just because you'll have a greater appreciation of two of the characters in this novel and where they've come from. 

This book deals with the sensitive issue of Mental Health. You definitely have to be in a fairly positive frame of mind to read this novel because it does deal with all kind of mental health issues including suicide and two different mental health clinics as well. I think it is always brave when an author tackles as big of an issue as mental health and I think it was dealt with fairly well in this novel. One of the characters in the book has a sone who is on the autistic spectrum. I don't think that this illness was handled quite as well as the mental illness issues in the book. The child is made to seem so different and so extreme which I know is the case with some sufferers on the spectrum, but I think it was very subjective as there was no other side to ASD shown, I would've like another aspect of the disorder to be explored. 

I really did enjoy this novel, it was nice to revisit the chRacters I had grown to like previously, but it was also good to get to know the new characters. I particularly liked the character of Michael. I think it is good to have a middle aged male suffering with depression and suicudal thoughts to be seen to be getting help. I think this would prove encouraging or reassuring to some readers and be an eye opener to others as the stereotypical sufferer of depression is female and the popular misconception is that no one actually wants or tries to get any help further than what they can get on prescription. I think this book really lifts the lid on stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding mental health. 

There is a lighter side to this book too. Strong themes of friendship and family run through this, just as in the first novel by this author and it is definitely a nice quick read because it is so easy to get to know the characters and their stories. It is also structured really well with fairly short chapters divided into sections and the whole book divided into different sections depending on where the characters are in their journey to recovery. This book works well as a stand alone but if you are intending on reading the other novels by this authors then I would recommend reading those first before this book. I think a lot of readers will be able to take a great deal of enjoy nets from this book which commands reflection and a rethinking of those stereotypes surrounding mental health issues. 

Review: The Time of Our Lives by Jane Costello

Imogen and her friends have had their fill of budget holidays, cattle-class flights and 6 a.m. offensives for a space by the pool.

So when one of the group wins a VIP holiday at Barcelona's hippest new hotel, they plan to sip champagne with the jet set, party with the glitterati and switch off in surroundings of unapologetic luxury.

But as they mingle with movie stars, mafia bosses and millionaires, it becomes clear - with riotous consequences - that even in the most glamorous of locations, things can go wrong. Very wrong . . .

Review: oh it was so nice to get back into one of Jane Costello's books again, it felt a bit like coming home. All of her books are the perfect mix of humour, love, real life and just the right percentage of eventfulness! This book was no exception! I raced through this novel because I was pulled in right from the word go and wanted so badly to find out what was going to happen that I ended up staying up really late just so I could finish it. I laughed really hard, I cried and I awed...

Imogen is just a gorgeous character, so down to earth and real it's actually amazing. I could identify with her so much. She is stressed out by work, loves her mates, loves her daughter and is a little bit scared of getting Into another relationship after her last big affair. I think it's just so great to read about a real character going through the kinds of things we all go through. Her friends on the trip are lovely as well and each have their own secondary story lines going on which is fabulous! Of course there is some male action too and there are one or two scenes which got seriously steamy thanks to the gorgeous hunk in glass Harry (loved him) he is a true gentleman and definitely my new book boyfriend! 

The storyline itself is light-hearted and yet seriously stressful at points. Because of Imogen's job, she seems to be constantly on call and at some points I really did want to just dump her phone in the sea! I was feeling the stress for her, but at the same time revelling in the sunshine and laughing at the capers her and her friends got into. There are more serious issues dealt with in the book and Jane Costello has written these very well indeed and intertwined them perfectly amongst the more serious storylines. 

Whilst I couldn't picture the setting as I haven't been to Barcelona, there was some wonderful description by the author that totally made me want to be there right now. The thought of an infinity pool, a sunny beach and a sun terrace filled me with energy, but because of that it was the perfect escapism from the British weather! This book would be a great introduction into Jane Costello's work if you've never read anything from this author before. If you are a fan of her work then you will love this new offering, the perfect summer affair and I guarantee you will not want to out it down! 

Review: Keeping Her by Cora Carmack

Garrick Taylor and Bliss Edwards managed to find their happily-ever-after despite a rather . . . ahem . . . complicated start. By comparison, meeting the parents should be an absolute breeze, right?

But from the moment the pair lands in London, new snags just keep cropping up: a disapproving mother-in-law-to-be, more than one (mostly) minor mishap, and the realization that perhaps they aren't quite as ready for their future as they thought.

As it turns out, the only thing harder than finding love is keeping it.

Review: a fabulous new novella from this great New Adult author! This is a brilliant novella because we get to have a quick catch up with Bliss and Garrick from Losing It-wonderful! Bliss and Garrick are headed to London to meet Garrick's parents and so you know trouble is going to ensue. It was grata to catch up with these characters and find out what they are doing now they have both left the college where they met. We learn that Garrick isn't quite sure about his career change, i thought this was brilliantly realistic and so really enjoyed that part of the writing.

The characters haven't changed a bit, apart from being further on in their lives and relationships, Bliss is still as insecure as ever and Garrick is still so lovely and supportive of her. When Bliss goes to London with him, she becomes particularly anxious about meeting his family, and it is lovely the way he supports her. Something else also happens in London which is incredibly exciting, but I'll leave you to find out about that one yourself! 

We get to meet some of Garrick's friends as well as his family and they are written as typically British Lads, I thought this was great. I did find myself wanting to tell Bliss to pull herself together at points,but again I found her incredibly real, we often can't see how good we've got it in a relationship because we are too close to realise! This is a must for any fans of Cora Carmack, and a great New Adult Novella in its own rights. I wouldn't recommend reading this if you haven't read Losing It but both a fabulous to grab your copies now!

To get your copy of Keeping Her click here.

You see my reviews of Cora Carmack's previous novels by clicking the links.

Losing It

Faking It

Review! Rolling Dice by Beth Reekles

They say that the higher you climb, the harder you fall - and Madison Clarke will do anything to keep her new life from crumbling to pieces. Moving from a small town in Maine to Florida, Madison grasps the opportunity to reinvent herself, to forget about those days of being a lonely, loser outcast, and jumps at the chance when the popular kids decide to take her under their wing. A hot boyfriend, parties, friends... If only there wasn't the slight problem by the name of Dwight, a cute, funny and totally nerdy guy in Madison's physics class who she can't help but enjoy spending time with. Running from her past and stumbling through the present, who knows what lies ahead in this new life in Florida?

Review: what a fun contemporary romance! I loved the first novel by this young author and was very much looking forward to this new offering. I was not disappointed let me tell you! Just like the Kissing Booth Beth's first novel(click here for review), I cannot believe that this wasn't written by an American author, the voice of the American teens is so prevalent. I also can't believe that this was written by such a young author-the characters are so well developed, the plot thought out thoroughly and there is a strong moral message which is reflected in the blurb of the book above.

I felt like I was watching a film at points during the book, that's just how engaging it was. It could have been a wholesome teen flick set in a US high school with the popular crowd, the jocks and the nerds. The character of Madison was lovely, a typical shy teenage girl who over thinks everything, we are lucky enough to hear what those inner thoughts are and see how they affect her decisions in everyday life. I felt slightly protective over Madison and was willing her to make the right choices from beginning to end of this novel.

There were a host of supporting characters who all had great parts and were pivotal to the plot of the story. I liked the wholesome family environment that Madison had, and felt that these characters too were very well written. Of course there are possible love interests for Madison, and I have no doubt that readers will, as I did, have a preference when it comes down to Dwight versus Bryce. These two guys were also both well written and were really polar opposites in Madison's world.

The storyline was your typical teen plot of new girl coming to a new school, choosing what crowd to be in and had an element of the ugly duckling about it. I was worried it was all going to end in tears, but I am pleased to say, this definitely had the ending that I wanted, I felt entirely satisfied with the last few pages of this novel and needless to say, I am desperate for there to be a sequel-please? I am sure fans of this author, or indeed, new readers will enjoy this book as much as i did. It is the perfect read for the start of the new term-I devoured it in 24 hours, I'm sure it will have the same effect on many others out there-a sure fire hit!

To get your copy, simply click the picture!

Don't forget you can follow this author on twitter too!

Review! Faking It by Cora Carmack

Mackenzie “Max” Miller has a problem. Her parents have arrived in town for a surprise visit, and if they see her dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings, they just might disown her. Even worse, they’re expecting to meet a nice, wholesome boyfriend, not a guy named Mace who has a neck tattoo and plays in a band. All her lies are about to come crashing down around her, but then she meets Cade.

Cade moved to Philadelphia to act and to leave his problems behind in Texas. So far though, he’s kept the problems and had very little opportunity to take the stage. When Max approaches him in a coffee shop with a crazy request to pretend to be her boyfriend, he agrees to play the part. But when Cade plays the role a little too well, they’re forced to keep the ruse going. And the more they fake the relationship, the more real it begins to feel.

Review: Having only recently read Losing It I was so pleased to find out the sequel was out. I quickly downloaded it, eager to find out what had become of the love Cade from the previous novel, and perhaps catch up with Bliss and Garrick. Sometimes when you are excited about a particular sequel, you can end up disappointed, but I really wasn't in this case! I devoured this book in a matter of hours, try as I could to slow down and savour the action, my self control was not strong enough, I HAD to keep turning the pages.

I was surprised I liked Losing it as much as I did, but I find this fabulous author's writing style so easy to read and so conducive to an extremely quick read. The way she constructs her plot and even the length of her sentences, just make you keep wanting to turn the pages! I think it was a brilliant idea to take one of the character from the first novel and give him his own story. Cade seems to alway be the injured party in Losing it, and at the start of this novel. He seems to be going down that same route, but he really comes into his own about a third of the way through the book.

I loved the introduction of the character of Max. I think she is really easy to identify with as sometime who wants to be an individual and yet finds it hard to show who she really is to her parents, for their benefit, more than for hers. When she first tells her boyfriend Mace to go away in a coffee shop and quickly hauls Cade into the picture to be her 'Faking It' boyfriend, I wasn't sure I  was going to liked her. But she turned out to be a feisty independent women, who I love to read about, and meant that the story was almost more about her than it was about Cade.

We hear a little bit from the characters of Losing It, enough to satisfy fans of the book, but not too much so that it take the attention away from this storyline and this particular novel. I think if you haven't already read Losing It, you definitely don't have to in order to enjoy this novel, it works brilliantly as a stand alone as well as a sequel to Losing It. Not only are the characters in the novel fabulous and the writing wonderful, there are some perfectly described sex scenes thrown in too, this author really does have a way with words! Whether you have already discovered Cora Carmack or not, I am sure you will find something for you in this novel. If you haven't read Losing It already, you definitely should, but Faking It is equally brilliant. A successfully satisfying sequel!

You can follow this author on Twitter @CoraCarmack

Or click here to buy the book!

Guest Review! Girl on the Run by Jane Costello (Jane Costello Reviewnumber 4!)

Big thanks to Lynda for sending me this review to be part of my Jane Costello Marathon!

He's a real catch . . . if only she could catch him up

Abby Rogers has been on health kicks before - they involve eating one blueberry muffin for breakfast instead of two. But since starting her own business, after watching one too many episodes of The Apprentice, the 28-year-old's waistline has taken even more of a back seat than her long-neglected love life.

When Abby is encouraged to join her sporty best friend's running club - by none other than its gorgeous new captain - she finds a mysterious compulsion to exercise.

Sadly, her first session doesn't go to plan. Between the obscenely unflattering pink leggings, and the fact that her lungs feel as though they've been set on fire, she vows never to return.
Then her colleague Heidi turns up at work and makes a devastating announcement, one that will change her life - and Abby's - forever.(less)

Review: I began reading “Girl on the Run” at the perfect time – I was also in the middle of training for my first charity race, just like Abby, the main character. And for a girl like me, who prefers chilling on the sofa with a glass of wine rather than running a 10k every night, it was very easy to identify with Abby.

Jane Costello has got the perfect balance for chick lit with “Girl on the Run” – emotion, friendship, courage, laughs and a little bit of romance all intertwined in a very relatable story.

The reader quickly grows fond of Abby and her eclectic group of employees and friends – rooting for them all throughout the story. Jane Costello’s excellent writing skills ensures that each characters’ strong, personal bond with Abby is highlighted throughout the story and each character – no matter how minor - has their own sub-story and defined personality.

The thread of MS throughout the book is emotive yet informative. We see the struggle to come to terms with this disease, not only from the sufferer, but also their nearest and dearest. Costello subtly portrays the profound, domino effect that illness can have on a close-knit group of friends.

This is the first of Jane Costello’s books that I have read, but it certainly won’t be the last. This is chick-lit at its best as we follow the ups and downs of not only Abby but her closest friends, family and loved ones as well as some great awareness-raising for multiple sclerosis and its sufferers.

Review: Bridesmaids by Jane Costello

With less than an hour to go before her best friend, Grace, is to walk down the aisle, Evie is attempting to fulfil her most important bridesmaid role: to deposit the bride at the start-line at the appointed time. But with a bride famed for her chaotic sense of time, and the bride's daughter busy mashing Molton Brown into the expensive hotel carpet, minus underwear, the odds are stacked against her . . .

At least she has her new 'chicken fillet' boob-enhancers to make her feel special. That is, until these are spotted poking over the top of her dress. So spotted by Jack - the most ruggedly attractive man Evie has ever laid eyes on.

Evie is twenty-seven; a sparkly, down-to-earth journalist. She has never been in love and has started to fret that she never will be. Small wonder, then, that the prospect of being bridesmaid at no less than three impending weddings is one that fills her with trepidation.
Things get worse when Evie learns that Jack is her friend Valentina's date. Valentina is beautiful, shallow and self-obsessed. Her dates tend to be mirror-images. Which can mean only one thing: Jack can't possibly be as good as he seems. But as they sit together talking late into the night, Evie finds herself yearning to believe he's all real.

Review: I really really want to read Jane Costello's new novel The Wish list but I knew that I had  couple of her previous novels sitting on my bookshelf unread, so last weekend I decided to have a bit of a Jane Costello Marathon BEFORE purchasing her new book. This is number two in my marathon, I am beginning to realise what a fabulously funny author Jane Costello is. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her other novels so that I can have reviewed the full set!

This is one of those kind of novels where you are dropped into the storyline straight away, without warning you are in the thick of it, mixing with all the characters, getting involved in their dramas-I LOVE THAT KIND OF BOOK! Straight away we are in there with Evie and Grace getting ready for Grace's wedding, and I felt as if these women were my friends, like I was there getting ready with them. Other characters come and join them and begin to get ready. Charlotte who has issues with her weight and her self-esteem, Georgia, who is another bride-to be and Valentina, the typical, high-maintenance spray tan fanatic. Costello has created a great mix of characters here, a typical friendship group of different personalities and characteristics that everyone can relate to!

The plot is also a wonderful concept. I am at that age where I have to buy an outfit that will do me for more than one wedding in a year. Baby shower invitations and engagement parties are a regular occurrence in my life and so a book that deals with just that kind of thing is a genius idea. Its Four weddings and a funeral from the single girls perspective (and without the funeral). I love the fact that Evie is a bridesmaid in all of these weddings, including her own mothers, and so that gives us a whole different perspective on it too! Evie is perpetually single, but just like in Four Wedding and a Funeral, someone catches her eye at wedding number one, and she continues to bump into him throughout the other weddings.

There is the perfect mix of laugh-out-loud comedy, friendship issues, infidelity and 'will they, wont they' romance in this novel. It is written in such a witty way that I would defy anybody, male or female not to enjoy this. I giggled to myself in public, and held my breath as things started to move forwards with Evie and love interest Jack. It will keep you guessing from start to finish and is literally a real page turner. The chapters are very short so it is the perfect read for the commute to work or equally lying beside a pool in the sunshine! The three novels down, looking forward to the rest!

Review! The Fault in our Stars, John Green

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Review: A friend lent me a copy of this book telling me that an had to read it. It sat on my shelf for a couple of weeks before I eventually sat down to read it over a weekend. Boy am I glad that I gave over a whole weekend to this book, because this is the kind of the treatment that this wonderful novel deserves. I was really worried about the fact that this novel dealt with death and cancer and even worse-the death of young people. But what I found was a beautifully written novel with a wonderful storyline-I can see what all the fuss is about.

When I began reading the book, I wasn't sure whether I was going to like main character Hazel. She seemed terribly self-absorbed and self-important but then I am not used to reading novels featuring teenagers and so I found that once I accepted the fact that she was just exercising her teenageness so to speak, I could relax and live the story along with her. By the end of the book I thought that she was a wonderfully accepting character. For a young girl to deal with the things in the way she did is truly admirable, and I think John Green wrote her character remarkably well. He doesn't turn her into some kind of martyr and neither does he turn her into someone who is unrealistically upbeat and positive, despite having cancer.

Augustus Waters, oh Augustus Waters. Even I found myself wanting to drool over him, and I'm a grown woman! I think that as a character, he will give a lot of hope to younger girls that there are guys out there like him who will look out for them and love them in the way they are supposed to be loved. The book wouldn't be the same without this character and that shows just how strong a character he has been written as.

Overall I thought there were some slower parts in the storyline, some parts where I found myself wishing it would go on, because I knew something good was bound to be coming up soon, but I think that it deals with some very difficult issues, as a lot of YA books do, in a sensitive and well-thought out way, the main thing for me about this book was how beautiful the writing style was. I don't want to give any spoilers about the plot, but I think that everyone should give this book a go, to enjoy the plot, enjoy the characters and most f all enjoy this beautifully crafted piece of modern fiction!

Review: The Valentines Card, Juliet Ashton

The Valentine's card was meant to be Orla's fairy tale ending, but really, it was only the beginning . . .

Orla adores her actor boyfriend, Sim, who's away filming a sumptuous costume drama. Although the long-distance relationship means that she can eat toast for dinner and watch as much reality TV as she likes, she misses him like crazy.

But Valentine's Day changes everything . . . The same morning Orla learns that Sim has died, she receives a card from him. As Orla travels from Ireland to London, to live and breathe Sim's final moments, can she bring herself to open the Valentine's card and read his final message?

Review: I love the fact that this book was released for valentines day and was called The Valentines Card, an author who wasn't afraid to state the obvious! I wasn't so sure how the death of Sim would be handled, but this came up pretty quickly during the opening moments of the book and so it didn't cause too much drama. My worries that a book about valentines day was actually going to turn into a book where the main event is the death of a loved one were quickly quelled and I was ready to get on and enjoy the story!

The structure of this book worked really well. Most chapters started with an extract from Sim's journal, giving some insight into his feelings about Orla or his acting career at that time. These journal extracts each fitted exactly what was going on in each chapter and I think that they worked really well because they meant that we had an extra bit of information about what Sim was thinking and feeling, that Orla didn't.

Orla is a very strong female character in this book. I think the fact that she is Irish only adds to her feistiness and fearlessness. At the start of the book, when she is dealing with the death of her boyfriend and when she travels to London to seek out his journal. He weak moments and irrational fears can be a little irritating, but the character develops and grows, as one would in a situation like this, and Orla becomes very likeable as the book progresses.

There are a host of wonderful supporting characters in the book. Although Sim is speaking from the grave, so to speak, we get to know that he is a typical drama queen who is pretty selfish, but someone who loved Orla very much. When Orla travels to London, she meets Maud who was Sim's landlady. She becomes like a mother figure to maud and her involvement in the book is vital to the development of the storyline and to Orla's recovering from bereavement.

There were some very funny moments in the book, even if some were completely implausible. I really liked the times when we see Orla at work. Because she is a teacher, there was a lot of scope for humour in her work, and whilst there are indeed some funny classroom moments, I would have liked to see some more. I know from experience that every singe day working as a teacher brings humour that other people experience in their own work places once in a blue moon!

Despite there being death in this book, it's definitely not a weepy story. I found myself gasping as the story unravelled at certain points, as well as willing romances to take place. The author has done a very good job at creating a very well rounded novel, with all the features a reader might expect from this genre. I think that fans of this genre will not be disappointed, I certainly found it to be a very engaging and enjoyable tale!

Review! Geek Girl, Holly Smale

Harriet Manners knows a lot of things.

She knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a "jiffy" lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. What she isn't quite so sure about is why nobody at school seems to like her very much. So when she's spotted by a top model agent, Harriet grabs the chance to reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her Best Friend's dream, incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating herself in front of the impossibly handsome supermodel Nick. Even if it means lying to the people she loves.

As Harriet veers from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, she begins to realise that the world of fashion doesn't seem to like her any more than the real world did.

And as her old life starts to fall apart, the question is: will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything?

Review: I picked this book up because EVERYBODY else seemed to be raving about it, I had to see what all the fuss was about. Firstly I really loved the cover, the big glasses on the front which continue to cover the pages numbers throughout the book, they're very attractive to a fellow glasses wearer and so my gut instinct told me I was going to really like this one. The whole concept of the book was equally attractive, a geek turned chic, or at least trying to be. This really rang true me with me. I was the geek in glasses looking for a way to be accepted. In the end Harriet (geek girl) realises what it is she needs to be accepted and thankfully so did I, but this book will definitely be coming into school with me, because there are plenty of kids out there still really struggling with this, I think it was a brave topic to tackle in a debut novel, but really paid off for this author.

I found all of the characters in this book really easy to get to know and identify with. Harriet on the surface seems like a kind of loveable fool, and although sometimes I did find her foolish was grating on me now and then, I reminded myself that she is a teenager and therefore is bound to be making these kind of errors in her quest for acceptance. Once I got over this fact, I loved taking the journey with her. Her friend Nat and Toby both have really individual personalities which I really liked, as did her Dad and stepmom Annabel. The character of Wilbur 'bur not iam' had me laughing out loud at several parts in the book (very embarrassing on a busy tube) and I think he must have been so fun to write because he is so crazy and out there! His pet names for people are just hilarious and make him impossible to dislike.

I also thought the structure of the book was really good. It all takes place as thought you are in Harriet's head, I always think that things in the first person allow the reader to participate more in the story, and this is no exception. It also meant that this was a really quick read. You were living every moment of the novel through Harriet and so there was no need for any asides to check how she was feeling you knew straight away, and with such a strong voice, she carried her tale well. The chapters were very short and so the reader will definitely find themselves falling into the 'one more chapter' trap as they are reading this, but meant that a tale dealing with the serious issue of bullying, friendship and self-esteem seems much more light hearted than it actually is, a good thing!

All in all this was a really enjoyable, easy read which had me laughing out loud at several points and yet covered these serious issues with great care and sensitivity. I think it is a great to have a book out there which stands up for people's individuality, whatever that might be, and I find it incredibly refreshing to find a book for young people which asserts that fact that it is ok to be a geek! This is a great debut novel from this author and most readers will enjoy every moment form start to finish. I honestly cannot wait for the sequel!