Review: Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems besides the point now.

Maybe that was always besides the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . .

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

Review: I was really looking forward to this book having enjoyed Attatchments immensely, and more than I enjoyed Eleanor and Park so another adult novel from Rainbow Rowell seemed perfect. I did find this book fun and enjoyable and pretty easy to get through and easy to read but it didn't have as much of a spark for me as Attatchments did. The plot was interesting, a magic phone connecting you with your husband in the past but I felt a little bit like I wanted some more things to happen with the phone and some more consequences because of speaking to her husband in the past or comparing him to husband in the future. 

I thought the characters this novel were great. I loved Georgie McCool-what an awesome name, and she is the kind of hardworking mom we don't read about enough in novels, she doesn't give up her career for her her children, she lets her husband takeover things at home and yet she still does her best to love and provide for them! Neil is a very interesting character, I don't think I could be married to him but I was really rooting for him and Georgie because I could see that they just fitted together so well!  I really liked the character of Seth, and he was pivotal to the plot which I thought was interesting for a supporting characters. Georgia's family were all mad, I think they were ace and so we have the comedy element of the novel thrown in as well! 

In terms of the development across the storyline, there ws nothing too taxing, nothing too challenging and I really enjoyed the beginning and ending,no just wanted a little bit more to happen in the middle, which, for me, just seemed to consist of flashbacks and Georgie being Kate for work because she was confused by the magic phone, I found it a little frusrating because I could see the potential for so much more to happen. This doesn't out me off the book overall, I still thought it as a good read and I'm glad that I bought the audiobook. I now need to read Fangirl to complete my Rainbow Rowell collection and this book hasn't put me off doing that at all! 

Letterbox Love #15

Welcome to Letterbox Love, this is a UK meme, hosted by the lovely Lynsey at Narratively Speaking and inspired by The Story Siren's In My Mailbox. This post is a means by which to highlight the books we get in the post and beyond, and especially to bring attention to those books which may be sat on our shelves for a little while yet that we love all the same.

Well you can tell it's been the holidays, the amount of book hauls I've been doing! I've definitely been buying far too many books this holiday-there's no such hung really is there? I had a waterstones order come in this week. Some of this was academic books for school but I snuck in a couple of beauties for myself...

I got Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

This beautiful edition of I Calture The Castle by Dodi Smith. I'm looking forward to dedicating a Saturday to this piece of gorgeousness! 

And finally I got 365 Days of Wonder by RJ Palacio. I'm looking forward to discussing some of these precepts with the kids at school! 

A copy of this one was also included in a lovely pack from Alex at Random House which she sent for me to use with the children at school. This pack also included some fab book posters for the library, a copy of the new Darcy Burdock by Laura Dockrill, 3 more copies of Wonder by RJ Palacio including the Julian Chapter *claps hands* and also 2 Ellie's Magical Bakery books by Ellie Simmonds. I've not read these so I'll have to share them with a group at school and see what they're like! Thanks again for all thse bookish goodies Random House!  Don't forget to #choosekind ! 

I was also lucky enough to receive two books from O'Brien publishers: Rebecca is Always Right by Anna Carey & Black Wreath by Peter Sirr. The cover for Black Wreath is absolutely terrifying but I suggest you check out the blurb on Goodreads!

I also bought myself a lovely hardback copy of A Walk in a The Woods by Bill Bryson. This now matches my other lovely hardback copies of his books. The best part? It was £2.49 in a charity shop!

The lovely Kim from Bookouture also sent me 2 ebooks which were very exciting! One is Sophie Hart's new novel The Beginners Guide To The Birds and The Bees and the other Fiona Valpy's Christmas novel The French For Christmas!

This is definitely the beautiful book haul and I am one very lucky blogger!

Review: The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me by Lucy Robinson

Sally is an incredible singer but she sings only in her wardrobe where nobody can hear her. She'd rather join a nudist colony than sing in public.

That is until she ventures to New York where a wild and heady summer of love and loss changes her forever. No longer able to hide in the shadows, Sally must return home to London to fulfill a promise she cannot break - to share her voice.

But just as she's about to embark on her new life, a beautiful man turns up on Sally's doorstep bearing a sheepish smile and a mysterious hand-written message.

How did he find her? Why is he here? Does he hold the truth to what happened back in New York? And, with him back on the scene, will she still have the courage to step into the spotlight?

Review: opening a new novel by the fabulous Lucy Robinson gives you the same kind of buzz you get when you enter a familiar shopping centre with a purse full of vouchers, or when you board an aeroplane for a much-needed 2 week holiday, or when you go to the most amazing all you can eat buffet. Its like excitement mixed with familiarity-definitely a good feeling. I just love the humour, sarcasm and rudeness that make up the novels of Lucy Robinson and this one is definitely no exception to that rule. 

The novel is divided into present day and flashbacks and I have to admit that I didn't enjoy the flashbacks as much as I enjoyed the present day storyline. I think this is because I knew something was going happen to change everything and that something was bad, so whenever I read the flashback scenes I was filled with a sense of foreboding, mainly due of course, so the quality of this writing. I so enjoyed watching Sally go to opera school and flourish and blossom into a more confident singer, one who can actually sing outside the wardrobe. 

I also enjoyed watching the kind of unravelling of Julian, whatever his surname might be! He seems to be a completely mysterious character and part of the purpose of the book is to show who this guy actually is and what his agenda is. I found myself flip flopping between hating him and fancying him, I think overall I was just wary of his character and his agenda but this didn't mar the book at all for me, I was just looking out for the lovely squishy Sally who I felt very protective over and wanted her to do well so so badly. The fact that I have such strong emotions about these characters shows you just how fab this author is at writing them. She writes characters who really stay with you and these guys have stayed with me since I finished the book! 

I LOVED the settings for this book. Are we in New York? Are we in the UK? You know what-have both! I thought it was brilliant, the descriptions of the buildings in Brooklyn, and the streets of New York and the various stages and dressing rooms that they all performed in. If anything I wanted this book to continue so I could see where they were going to go next and read about all the places they performed and partied! The opera was a massive part of the book as well and it was so incredibly well researched that I feel I have learnt about it just from reading this book. The whole thing must have been so fun to research but it really shows the work that has been put in in the plot and the novel as a whole! 

I actually read this book in two halves, putting it down for a while and then picking it back up again, I have no idea why I did this because it's an awesome book but I did. When I did pick it back up again, however, I could remember every detail and all of the characters and storyline and that is a testament to how good this writer is that she could create such a memorable world for me to return to. This book had me laughing out loud, crying, thinking. And really enjoying the book. I absolutely raced to the end because I had to find out what was happening. The ending was exactly as I had predicated and I love that about this book. If you haven't read any Lucy Robinson before then I suggest you go and read all her novels now and if you're a massive Fangirl like I am then this book won't disappoint and you should also go away and read it right now! 

Glitterati plus Giveaway! An evening with Ali Harris, Jane Costello,Paige Toon and Hanna Beckerman

On Thursday 28th August I got tickets for a fabulous authors event at the Grosovner House a Hotel. My mum and I had the pleasure of listening to Simon and Schuster Authors Ali Harris,

Paige Toon and Jane Costello. The discussion was being chaired by another lovely author-Hannah Becekrman. The whole vent was held in the Red Bar of the hotel, a gorgeous venue and so we were greeted with an offer of Prosecco or Qcumber water and handed cupcakes as we sat down. There were nibbles on each table and the most amazing mini lemon curd filled doughnuts glistened tantalisingly in martini glasses! 

There were also fab cocktails named after each of the authors books for us to try...

The authors were asked questions by the fabulous Hannah Beckerman. She asked them questions such as which of their characters they would want to be trapped on a desert island with, how they get their inspiration for their wild and wonderful locations and how they got into writing! It was wonderful hearing their answering and really inspirational. 

Ali read from her novel Written in the Stars. I recently received this book-it must have been so difficult to write. She also talked about her new novel which is going to be set on Broadway in present day and the 1950s. It sounds awesome! 

Jane read a very funny extract from The Time of Our Lives which had us all chuckling. She talked about the fact that she has to sit down and write from beginning to end, turning off her inner editor before going onto multiple drafts to get her novels to be the fabulously funny read that we know and love! 

Paige read from Thirteen Weddings. I reviewed this back in July, it was such a fun book and had the usual escapism that we can expect from a Paige Toon novel. Her new novel is set in Australia and she recently revelled the title on twitter. She said that she would like to be trapped on a desert island with the lovely Leo from The Longest Holiday (an excellent choice!)

We got a wonderful goody bag at the end of the event containing a Jackie Collins cookbook, some Pop Chips and Qcumber water, a Bookish and Proud notebook, a Books and The City Tote, a little book of lovely quotes and an amazing Benefit mascara. 

I'm being kind and lovely to you all today and giving you the chance to win some of this fab bookish swag. I've got 2 copies of the cookbook, tote bag and mascara to giveaway, here's what you can win...

Just leave me a comment below telling me your favourite Books and The a City author (if you can decide) and I'll pick 2 lucky winners in exactly a weeks time, make sure you keep an eye on the blog and twitter for the announcement! 

Thanks again to The Grosovner and Simon and Schuster/Books and the city for organising the event and to the amazing authors for being so thoroughly entertaining! 

Review: The Dead Wife's handbook

'Today is my death anniversary. A year ago today I was still alive.'

Rachel, Max and their daughter Ellie had the perfect life - until the night Rachel's heart stopped beating.

Now Max and Ellie are doing their best to adapt to life without Rachel, and just as her family can't forget her, Rachel can't quite let go of them either. Caught in a place between worlds, Rachel watches helplessly as she begins to fade from their lives. And when Max is persuaded by family and friends to start dating again, Rachel starts to understand that dying was just the beginning of her problems.

As Rachel grieves for the life she's lost and the life she'll never lead, she learns that sometimes the thing that breaks your heart might be the very thing you hope for.

Review: I think the blurb of this book captures what is inside it more than anything else I've read recently. I was so worried that this novel was going to upset me and make me sad about the thought of losing my own mum or dying but it really didn't, at no point was I inconsolable with tears. This is a novel about seeing someone's life from their perspective after they have finished living it. How very day things can affect those we've lost without us even realising it and the feelings of a mother who has died before their child has had the chance to grow up. 

I found this novel entirely compelling and beautifully written. Each chapter ends with some sort of wonderful reflection which are each a book on their own and will be uplifting if that particular chapter has had something a little more difficult to cope with. The structure is just a women seeing her husband and her daughter over the course of a year in what would've been her life, her glimpsing them every now and then moving on and growing, nothing more complex than that and I loved this bok for that simplicity and that ease of reading. 

Rachel is a woman just like you and me, she gets angry and sad and jealous just like any other person despite the fact that she is dead and I found this really engaging and make her like her lots. She even gets jealous when her best friend gets friendly with someone else! I loved her little family, Ellie is sweet and max is trying his best to be sensible and do what is right for his daughter, he doesn't always get the on the mark but then that's just the whole human error thing and makes him equally loveable for trying his best to do the right thing. Max's family and Rachel's family are also a bit part of this book highlighting the importance of family during difficult times. 

A lot of peoplpe had recommended me read this book, other authors as well as bloggers, but I was worried about the content but it's not sad and it's not scary, it's real and it's lovely and so I would recommend this book to anyone out there! It obviously deals with someone looking on from the afterlife and this author hasn't tried to define what that is, just every now and then we get a nod to a mist surrounding Rachel or her looking down from the clouds. I think this was a rally brave move from this writer and makes me love her writing even more! This should definitely go on your to be read pile now! 

Top Ten Tuesday: book characters that would be sitting at my lunchtable 2/8/14

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over there at The Broke and the Bookish. I'd love to share my lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Ok this is another tricky one this week, I seem to be finding a lot of these too ten titles quite ambiguous. There are a lot of characters I would LOVE to have at my lunch table and then there are those characters whom think would actually be at my lunch table. (Just to say that through a lot of high school I went home for lunch so there was mainly just me at my lunch table-bit of background there for you!) so I think I'm going to do a list of people I would CHOOSE to have on my lunch table...

1. Nell from Take a Look at Me Now by Miranda Dickinson. I loved Nell, she was such a kick-ass female lead and I would love her to eat lunch with me! 

2. Neil the Puffin from the Little a Beach a Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan. A puffin called Neil, what more do I need to say?

3. Dave from The Greatest Love Story of All Time by Lucy Robinson. Our eyes would meet over the dinner hall and he would come and sweep me of my feet and the we could go somewhere a lot more private! 

4. Jenny Lopez from the I Heart Series by Lindsey Kelk. Who wouldn't want jenny sitting bitching with them on their lunch table? She's awesome! 

5. Becky Bloomwood from the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella. She would be sitting there showing off her new shoes and we could swap green scarves and things! 

6. Darcy Burdock from the book with the same name by Laura Dockrill. When I was at school I'd have loved to have Darcy on my side because we could've painted each other's nails all different colours and then she would've stood up to the bullies for me! 

7. Lola from Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stepanie Perkins. Same reason as having Becky Bloomwood there really, I heart Lola! 

8. Maya Van Wagenen from Popular: A Memoir. Ok so this isn't really a character but the author of the book who is also the character because this is a non-fiction book and Maya uses a 1950s guide to popularity to try and make her popular in her own middle school. I would love to be in on the experiment with her and so I would definitely want her sitting at my lunch table. 

9. Harriet Manners from Geek Girl by Holly Smale. We could play scrabble and discuss grammar-heaven! 

10. Loud from One Moment One Morning and Annother Night Another Day by Sarah Rayner. I loved Lou in these books and I really wish she would be my friend and sit on my lunch table...

Book Blogger UKYA Awards-Voting Now Open!

Hey Guys! Today I am here with VERY exciting news! It is the shortlist of the Book Blogger UKYA Awards! This is the time for YOU to vote for your favourite from the list! Voting is open until 21st Voting will also be happening a little differently than the nominations. On this blog you will be voting for: Best Contemporary, Best Historical, Best Crime/Mystery, and Best LGBT And then you will hop along to the next blog to vote for more awards! There are five different awards to jump to (and five/six bloggers hosting each group, but you only need to visit five blogs!). This doesn’t have to happen all at once, it gives you the chance to vote in your leisure – but make sure you do so before 21st [IF THIS DOESN’T WORK, THE LINK FOR THIS IS; https://docs.google.com/forms/d/ 1VOe_WthhHphOVOkVPL-VxrUGM6NeH0c6Q4khXgz1y5g/viewform?usp=send_form ] September. Make sure you don’t miss out! September. Jump To (choose which blog for each category you want to visit!) Funniest Book, Most Heartbreaking Book, Best First Sentence, Best Ending Ya Yeah Yeah Cicely Loves Books Challot Queen of Contemporary Luna’s Little Library Best Horror, Best Sci-fi/Fantasy, Best Paranormal, Best Adventure Winged Reviews K – Books To Another World Bookish Outsider Readaraptor Best Protagonist, Best Couple, Best Friendship, Best Villain Snuggling on the Sofa Much Loved Books Hush Hush Revealings The Pewter Wolf The Little Munchkin Reader Best Self-Published, Most Social Author (Online), Most Social Author (Offline), Author Whose Mind You Wish Was Yours A Daydreamer’s Thoughts This Fleeting Dream Bookish Treasures Escapism From Reality Book to Basics