Review: I heart Forever by Lindsey Kelk

Please remember this is book 7 in a series before reading my review and being spoiled for the other 6! (But if you haven't read the others, go away and read them now because they're amazing!)

Winter in Manhattan…and someone’s keeping a secret.

The day her husband Alex picks up a backpack and goes travelling, Angela Clark promises to stay out of trouble and keep both Louboutins on the ground.

So when her best friend’s boyfriend confides in her, it can’t hurt to help him pick out a ring at Tiffany’s surely?

And when her fashion magazine announces major changes, being terminally late and arguing with your boss isn’t that bad, is it?

Then suddenly there’s another big secret Angela’s got to keep – and the man she loves is still thousands of miles away. As the wedding of the year looms, and Manhattan switches on its Christmas lights, Angela is going to need her friends by her side as her old life looks set to change forever.

Review: Well its safe to say that I loved this read! I did what I really don't do very often with a book and that is to read chunks at a time but not read the whole thing all at once to make it last longer. It's been a while since I took that approach and I am glad that I did. I just love Lindsey Kelk's writing. She is so funny and her way with words just makes me laugh all through anything she writes. She puts into words how I look at the world and she isn't afraid to say what we are all thinking, out loud, very loud! I also love the fact that this series of books is set in America and yet Angela is English and so there is this amazing mix of English terms mixed in with American life ( just like my life!) and that makes me laugh too but also makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

So back to Angela, Angela has a secret in this novel and Angela with a secret is never a good thing. As if she didn't have enough on her plate already, she has more and more things loaded on there over the course of this novel and I was really quite worried for her stress levels and her blood pressure at one point. Some of the things she went with induced anxiety in me, never mind her. But she deals with them in an Angela way, the way we all love her for. Alex is a little absent in this book because of his travelling but he is also very true to form and it was great to see her again. I think Angela's parents went down a storm in previous novels and so they have a part to play in the ending of this novel and they just made me laugh so much. In particular look out for a moment with Angela's Dad and some Yorkshire tea, that's all I'm saying!

Jenny Lopez, it was great to see Jenny again and Jenny is just Jenny and wonderful. I just love her friendship with Angela because it is such a turn friendship. A lot of people think that Jenny is holding Angela up, others think it is quite the opposite, but I just love the fact that they support each other and they need each other there in major life events because that is exactly how I am with my best friend. Cici is also a major player in this novel, which i kind of suspected but I love that she got a slightly bigger role this time around, she really comes into her own and we get to learn a lot more about her than in previous novels. I think that I would hate to work with her on a personal level but on a professional level, she gets the job done!

Of course the other major character in these books in New York and reading this novel, you can tell just how in love with New York this author is. The way things are described and the comfort that comes across throughout the book is just amazing. If you don't come away from reading this book wanting to go to NYC and have a great time, then I really don't know if we can be friends! I love the places they go, they places they resist and they are described with such detail and with such wistfulness it just makes for great reading!

There were a few surprises along the way in this novel, thankfully I wasn't spoiled for any of the details beforehand and I won't spoil you either. Some events were predictable, but in a really great way but there are a few things that made me go 'WHAT?' just in a really great way. I loved every moment of this book and I cannot WAIT for the next one. Read this series now, you won't regret it!

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Guest Review: There's Only Two David Beckhams by John O'Farrell

Here's another in my series of reviews on sports/history books. A novel about football today...

Re-live the glory and the heartache of England's greatest ever game - and THAT World Cup Final back in 2022.

Well now it’s 2022 and the discussion is finally over, England have eleven players as good as any of them. The unbeatable national team have reached the final of the Qatar World Cup. But one journalist is convinced there is a scandalous secret behind England’s incredible form. His lifetime’s dream is to see the Three Lions win the World Cup. But if he pursues and exposes the shocking truth, his beloved England could be sent home in disgrace. 

Suddenly this is much more than England vs Germany; it’s Love vs Duty, it’s Truth vs Happiness. 
The pressure of the penalty shoot-out is nothing compared to this.

There’s Only Two David Beckhams is John O’Farrell’s love-letter to football; part-detective story, part-sports memoir, part-satire on the whole corrupt FIFA circus; it just made the final for the funniest football fiction ever written...

Review: This is a fictional and humorous account of the England football team's progress in qualifying for and reaching the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar (I said it was a work of fiction). It is told from the standpoint of a sports journalist named Alfie covering the events, and describes his journey of discovery as well as the impact of the team's performance on his professional and personal lives.

As well as publishing a number of books and writing newspaper columns, the author John O'Farrell has written previously for the TV comedy programmes "Spitting Image" and "Have I Got News For You". This book displays the same incisive, satirical humour of those programmes, and I was in stitches constantly whilst reading it. The worlds of professional football, journalism and politics are all targeted, as the book leads to the thrilling climax of the World Cup Final, and the moral dilemma faced by Alfie. I don't believe a single footballing cliché has been omitted from the book. All in all, I was over the moon after reading this book and I give it my full vote of confidence.

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Review: Happily Ever After by Kiera Cass

A companion volume to the bestselling The Selection series – extra stories and never-before-seen material. Fans should prepare to swoon!

The achingly romantic and stylish four The Selection enovellas – The Prince, The Guard, The Queen and The Favorite – together in one irresistible volume. Plus exclusive extra content – Art for each of the novellas, a new intro for each of the novellas and 3 brand new scenes from each of the first 3 novels.

Review: I really enjoyed being back in this world. Having read the five novels in the series back to back, I decided to take a break and came back to this one a month later, but immediately I started reading it, I was transported back to a royal kingdom with characters I knew and loved. I read a story a day and binged the bonus materials almost as soon as I opened the book and would really recommend reading it this way!

My favourite story of the four was The Queen, it gave great insight into the character of The Queen but it also gave me a great insight into the whole selection competition! The only one I wasn't as keen on was The Guard (I left it until last) but this wasn't because of the plot or the writing, it was just because I wasn't as big of a fan of Aspen throughout the books and although the author puts a forward about how this story will get you to see Aspen in a new light, I still wasn't sold on him-sorry!

One of my favourite things about this book was the illustrations. I loved the fact that there were drawings spread throughout the book, some before a short story and some throughout the novellas too. They really brought the stories to life and made me think back to when I was reading illustrated books when I was younger, bring back pictures in all books I say! I also really loved the 'Where are they now' section, although I had forgotten about a few of the characters mentioned!

Overall I really enjoyed this read and would love some more selection stories to tie in with the final two books, if that could be arranged please? I think I would recommend reading these in the order they were intended, so if you haven't started the selection series yet, grab yourself a copy of this to read alongside!

To order your copy now, click the link: UK or US

Author Event with Lindsey Kelk and Miranda Dickinson

On Tuesday night I was lucky enough to snag tickets to the sold out event with Lindsey Kelk and Miranda Dickinson in Waterstones Birmingham. I was really pleased that I got my tickets well enough in advance and also really pleased that I was in the country when two of my favourite authors were doing an event within driving distance. My Mum and I drove down to Birmingham for the event (it was a very excited car I can tell you) and we loved every minute of it!

The event was a discussion between these two fabulous authors and saw them chatting about their writing spaces, the worst gifts they've ever been given, parties they have attended together  and of course, their books!

Once they had fully set the world to rights and amused us all greatly, they opened it up to questions. This is when things got really interesting with them discussing which of the characters from the I Heart series they would like to kill off, whether they have written revenge on anyone in their books and also covered things like how people react when they find out they're a writer. 

These two lovely authors stayed late into the night so that they could sign books and meet their fans and I got to give them both big hugs. The staff in Waterstones were so accommodating and stayed open late for this event. It was such a fun evening and if you haven't read anything by either of these authors then you should definitely make a point to go now and do that, I'll leave links below!

These are two of my favourite authors and it so was great to see them both again and have a bonus evening of entertainment from them. Thanks to everyone involved and now I'm going to go and finish reading my signed copy of I Heart Forever!

Click here to order your copy of I Heart Forever by Lindsey Kelk: UK or US

Click here to order your copy of Searching for a Silver Lining by Miranda Dickinson: UK or US

Click here to see my Miranda Dickinson reviews!

Click here to see my Lindsey Kelk reviews!

Guest Review: The Cornish Guest House (Tremarnock book 2) by Emma Burstall

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF TREMARNOCK.

A new couple have arrived in Tremarnock, but will these glamorous strangers fit into village life?

Tremarnock is a small fishing village, crowded with holidaymakers in the summer, but a sleepy Cornish backwater at other times of the year.

Here Liz has found refuge with her young daughter, Rosie, after her relationship with Rosie's father came unstuck. Now happily married, all seems set for a quiet autumn and merry Christmas. But strangers have bought the local guest house and seem to have big plans. Why is he so charming and confident, but she so frightened? Are they who they say they are? And what are they really doing with the guest house?

Review: This is book 2 in the Tremarnock series from Emma Burstall. Like the first book in the series, I chose the audio version, my husband and I listening to the story in the course of a few car journeys. Out of the car, we even debated what might be going to happen next with this character or that, surely a sign of a really exciting and enthralling story. If you have not read the first book in this series, Tremarnock, don't worry as this story is self explanatory. However, Tremarnock was a really enjoyable story too, so you could always read that before getting your teeth into this sequel. 

As the title of the book suggests, this story revolves around the Stables Guest House in the Cornish seaside village of Tremarnock, and its new owners. As we revisit this quaint village, we meet all the characters who were introduced in the first book in this series, along with the incomers who have arrived to open up the guest house. Major roles are played again by Liz, her daughter, Rosie, and local restaurant owner, Robert. However, the newcomers Luke, Tabitha and son Oscar are at the centre of a great deal of discussion and controversy amongst the villagers. But is Luke all that he seems and what is the matter with Tabitha? There is an immense amount of mystery and tension surrounding them, which expands to encompass Robert's niece, Loveday also. 

We both really enjoyed this book. Having met most of the characters before in the previous story and catching up with what had happened in the village in the intervening period was good, but not essential to the enjoyment or indeed understanding of the story. Although it is obviously a sequel, this story can easily be read as a standalone. I am greatly looking forward to reading the next book in the Tremarnock series, which is waiting for me on my Kindle. 

Want to read it now? Click the link to order you copy: UK or US

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I Loved During The First Year of This Blog! 12/9/17

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!

Putting this list together made me very nostalgic. I started this blog in 2012 after reviewing for another blog for a year before that. My favourite authors really haven't changed since then, I've only added more and more to my list. So here are the books I was loving then, and *spoiler alert* I still love them now! It's interesting that I only have one non-fiction on the list, I definitely read a little more widely now in terms on genre! I reviewed a lot of these for the other blog but my reviews are, of course on Goodreads! I have one review on this blog so I've left the link to that one. 

Here's my review!

Here's my review!

How have your tastes changed over the years? 

Have you read any of these too? 

Do you read/review books as soon as they come out or go through an authors back catalogue? 

 

My BookTube Anniversary Giveaway

I have a giveaway going on on my YouTube channel to celebrate me reaching 100 subscribers and reaching 1 whole year of BookTube. 

Today is the last full day to enter because the giveaway ends tomorrow.

So click on the video below and you could win a book of your choice. The giveaway is open internationally and is my way of saying thank you very much for all the support you have shown my channel over the past year!