Review: Shopaholic on Honeymoon by Sophie Kinsella

The new Mr and Mrs Brandon are on honeymoon, and Becky has big plans! They’ve got a whole year to explore Venice, learn yoga in India, sleep in little wooden huts in South America… maybe even see penguins in the Arctic. And of course they’ll need to buy just a few essential souvenirs along the way (everyone needs a set of Murano glass goblets, after all).

They’re not just tourists, they’re travellers. Becky is sure it is just the thing that Luke needs – time to unwind. He’ll come back a changed man… with all the good bits still intact of course.

But it soon becomes clear that Luke has different plans entirely. Can Becky help him let go, or will this little disagreement threaten their whole honeymoon? 

Review: A proper festive treat from Sophie Kinsella, what could be better than a cute little Becky Bloomwood short story? Nothing! This is such a fun read and you definitely won't be putting it down once you've picked up it. At just over 50 pages, you won't need to either. Kinsella has such a fast-paced writing style! it is really well-suited to the short story setting and she manages to pack in the same amount of abe my antics that we are used to in a full novel into just these short few scenes. 

You can't not love Becky and her usual mix of apologetic over spending and misunderstanding is very present in the story, if you are a fan of Becky you will not be disappointed. like is also deliciously present  on this honeymoon and he plays his usual clam, collected character who is slightly disapproving of Becky's ways, but is he hiding a bit of a secret of his own in the story? It's so exciting! 

Although this is only a short story it definitely has all the good markings of a proper Sophie Kinsella classic and is something to tide us over until the next installment of shopaholic fun which could be next year or possibly the year after, let's hope there are more short shopaholic stories where this one came from because this was a really gem. Read it whether you're a Becky fan or you're not and let it be part of the staple shopaholic series from here on in! 

Bout of Books 12.0 Day 1 Update

So day one wasn't amazing for me but them I'm still pretty sick so I knew this about of a books wasn't going to be the best...

I read one Novella... Shop Gossip by Kathryn Player totalling 66 pages 

I also read 1 short story from My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins 

Let's hope for a few more pages on day 2! 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top a Ten most Anticipated Debuts for 2015 6/1/15

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!

I find debuts more difficult to find out about than books by authors I've already read so this list is a littletricky this week but I've done my best, done some research and we'll give it a go! 

1. The Two of Us by Andy Jones. I'm literally just  about to pick this book up as it's out in February...

2. Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey-out in April, this sounds like a beast of a read! 

3. The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins-I've heard great things about this one and it's out in January! 

4 Age, Sex, Location by Melissa Pimentel-this is non-fiction but sounds awesome and is out at the end of january! 

5. The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester-this one comes out in January too and sounds exciting! 

6. The A to Z of You and Me by James Hannah, out in March! 

7. The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett out in June

8. The a silent Hours by Cesca Major also out in June, a lot of us who know Cesca have been waiting for this one for some time so that's very exciting! 

And now for some YA novels...

9. The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi, this novel comes out in June

10. None of The a Above by I.W. Gregorio Out in April-this one really sounds like it pushes the boundaries! 

There are so many books I'm excited for in 2015 and these are just some of them-I can't wait! 

Review: A Christmas Surprise by Jenny Colgan

Rosie Hopkins, newly engaged, is looking forward to an exciting year in the little sweetshop she owns and runs. But when fate strikes Rosie and her boyfriend, Stephen, a terrible blow, threatening everything they hold dear, it's going to take all their strength and the support of their families and their Lipton friends to hold them together.

After all, don't they say it takes a village to raise a child? 

Review: wow-everything that could possibly happen in this novel did! Seriously, if you're looking for new drama every few pages this book has it all. I have to admit, it was a little too much drama for me in this case but I still enjoyed the novel overall. I wasn't a massive fan of the second book in this trilogy but I preserved and gave this one a go but I really think this serious would have been better remaining as just one book. Rosie Hopkins Sweetshop of Dreams was one of the my favourite novels but the subsequent sequels just didn't really do it for me and I'm not sure they really add anything to the whole Rosie Hopkins story...

The events in this book were all believable in themselves but altogether I'm not sure they could've happened to Rosie Hopkins. I love the storyline with Rosie and Stephen and their little family but the other events in this story really didn't grab me at all.  Rosie is a lovely character and I really admired her strength in the first novel but I felt in this novel she lost herself somewhat, bowing down to what others and Stephen wanted her to be. Stephen also goes back to being the sullen character that he began as in the first novel when he had come so far and I just felt that this was a shame for him! 

There is the issue in this novel of Rosie possibly having to move house and away from the village that has made her so happy and I think that this really took some of the magic out of the whole Rosie Hopkins story because this was the village that really changed her life. There were some real magical moments in the book, like Tina and her impending marriage and some bridges built with Stephen and his family, there are others that were truly lovely but I don't want to include any spoilers! 

Overall I wasn't overwhelmed by this novel but it was still an enjoyable read. It has a great catch-up section at the beginning that means even if you haven't read the other novels in the trilogy, you should be able to jump right into this one and it will work as a standalone, there is certainly enough going on that it could be a trilogy in its own right, I would definitely recommend giving the original novel a go first though if you get the chance! I enjoyed this book but it wasn't particularly Christmasy and it didn't live up the expectations that I have for a Jenny Colgan novel. This won't out me off other books by this author, but if another Rosie Hopkins sequel comes along, I won't be buying it. 

Bout of Books 12.0 sign up

Ok so I really haven't been doing much reading recently. I've had two weeks off school and I haven't even read one complete novel! I've read a few short stories, finished a couple of books, started another but normally I would have read at least 2 books a week during term time, this increases significantly in the holidays. My only excuse is that I went away on holiday and then immediately I came back I fell ill and have been in bed asleep pretty much since then! 

So I need this bout of books to kick start my 2015 reading. Even if I just read one book this entire week, it will still be an improvement on my performance this year so far and so I don't have any aims further than doing just that. 

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog

Goals: I literally only have a goal to read at least one book this week. I have a new audiobook that I'm going to get started as these are easier to read when you're sick than normal books. I have a few review books sitting on my kindle right now that I'm rather desperate to dive into so if I'm felling a little better, I may get into one of those. Aside from that, I just want to get back into the swing of reading again to be perfectly honest! 

Review: The Great Christmas Knit Off by Alexandra Brown

Heartbroken after being jilted at the altar, Sybil has been saved from despair by her knitting obsession and now her home is filled to bursting with tea cosies, bobble hats, and jumpers. But, after discovering that she may have perpetrated the cock-up of the century at work, Sybil decides to make a hasty exit and, just weeks before Christmas, runs away to the picturesque village of Tindledale.

There, Sybil discovers Hettie’s House of Haberdashery, an emporium dedicated to the world of knitting and needle craft. But Hettie, the outspoken octogenarian owner, is struggling and now the shop is due for closure. And when Hettie decides that Sybil’s wonderfully wacky Christmas jumpers are just the thing to add a bit of excitement to her window display, something miraculous starts to happen…

Review: I totally didn't know what to expect coming into this book. Alexandra brown is an auto buy author for me and so I didn't even read the blurb before reading-sometimes that's the best way don't you think? Anyway, what I found was a lovely heart-warming read that's great at this time of year but would be perfect for a reread at any time of year! This book has gorgeous characters, a fab setting and true Fairytale storyline! 

I loved the setting in Tindledale, it's like Sybs literally leaves the problems and the hustle and bustle of London behind and travels to a magical land, the Narnia-sequel village of Tindledale! It's got it all,the hunky doctor, the village gossip and the pivotal village pub! I love the link between Sybs and her friend Cher in the village and then when she finds the knitting shop-meant to be! All the characters in the novel are great, I love Sybs and her determination, I love her friendship with Cher and Hetty is a great edition to her circle of people. Ben is a great love interest and Alexandra brown has written in all the usual quirky characters you would find in a small country village, eccetentric and yet believeable! 

The storyline is very much a fairy story yet with reality built into it. It has romance and Rama, a bit of mystery and a lot of heart warming moments. There are a few times where the storyline seemd a little slow to me, like in the beginning when Sybs is getting ready to go and meet her mystery man from the train, it seems to take her ages to actually get ready and go and meet him, things keep stopping her and I felt like surely it must've been dead of night by the time she got there but overall, the rest of the novel is pacey and fun and really just a lovely story! I really enjoyed this novel and would definitely recommend giving it a read! 

Happy New Year! 2014 Wrap-Up

Wow, 2014 has been an amazing year for me when it comes to bookish things. I've read 132 books /novellas this year, although this really did slow off towards the end of the year. I've read some really wonderful books, my top ten of the year was immensely hard to create because there have just been so many amazing reads! 

I've also been writing my own stuff and I've really been enjoying that so hopefully that will continue in 2015! 

I've been to some fabulous book launches and book events this year. Some amazing Simon and Schuster events as Grosovner House Hotel including meeting Richard Madeley, Santa Montefiore and the awesome Hannah Beckerman, Jane Costello, Ali Harris and Paige Toon.

 I also attended Lucy Robinson's launch which included live opera singing and Julie Cohens launch which was in a fabulous bookshop and was hot hot hot! 

There've been some wonderful blogger brunches at Random House and also an event at Oxford Children's Press. I've been lucky enough to meet Miranda Dickinson several times and been to events at Brixton Library and Ickenham Library which included fabulous authors! 

As you can see, I've been really spoilt this year in terms of author events and all the authors have been lovely and wonderful and thank you to all the publishers and publicists that have organised the events too! If you want to find out more you can check out the posts for these events or the authors I have met page...

So here's to a fabulous book-filled 2015, there are so many books I'm looking forward to reading this year already and some amazing bookish events coming up too-I can't wait!