Thursday, 5 August 2021
Wednesday, 4 August 2021
Guest Review: The Moment I Met You by Debbie Johnson
It only takes a second...
For life to change forever.
Elena Godwin could never have known that her dream holiday to Mexico would change her life forever. She thought that she was in charge of her own destiny. But on a gorgeous summer evening, her whole world is ripped from her feet in a single moment.
Ten years later, she still can't forget the face of the stranger who held her whilst everything she knew was destroyed. Thrown back together again, Elena starts to uncover the truth around that fateful night - and questions whether she made the right decision all those years ago.
She only met him for a moment, but maybe it's not too late...
Review: Ever since I read my first Debbie Johnson book, she has been a ‘must read’ author for me and I have laughed and cried my way through every book as they were published. I never really consider what the subject matter will be before I start to read, so was totally unprepared for the rollercoaster I was going to be boarding when I opened this book to read.
The story begins with 26-year-old Elena Godwin on a fantastic holiday in Mexico with boyfriend Harry, but at the same time wondering in what direction her future lies. Suddenly, in the little mountain village they are visiting, the enjoyment of the evening is shattered by a horrific disaster and Elena’s life is shattered with it. However, she shares this moment of horror with a stranger without whom she may not survive and who becomes important to her. The narrative then moves on 10 years to show Elena’s life as it has become. Only then does she begin to discover what really happened that fateful night and to wonder at what might have been and whether she can, even yet, take a different path to the one she has followed since.
I thought this was a wonderful, tremendously moving story and can highly recommend it. It captured my imagination from the very start and the writing was so compelling that I found it hard to put the book down; even when I wasn’t reading, the story stayed with me. The descriptions of that Mexican village were so vivid that I could picture myself there enjoying the festivities and I could easily imagine the noise of the English and Spanish tongues and the smell of the feast that was being prepared. Then there were the different noises when disaster struck. The author very ably puts across how much survivors of such an experience, and indeed their families, are affected in the years that follow. Even years later, the sights and sounds stay with them. I really liked Elena, with her strength and strong sense of loyalty; I was delighted that circumstances allowed her to meet up again with the stranger with whom she shared the whole experience and that the attraction they felt survived along with them. This story is full of emotion; although there is heartbreak and tragedy, there is still a healthy dose of Debbie Johnson humour and the promise of romance along the way.
Tuesday, 3 August 2021
July 2021 Reading Wrap Up
Well July just seemed to disappear on me! I know that I did get to tick off my final 2 states before leaving Denver, that takes me up to a total of 48 out of 50 states visited, and I also did move countries and continents but still, why didn't I read more books?
I did manage to stick to my TBR this month, unsurprising given how many books I actually read, and I did really enjoy everything I read this month. As always I will divide my reading into the types of books read and leave links to any reviews I have already posted.
Ebooks
Physical Books
Audiobooks
My Videos
Monday, 2 August 2021
Review: Fresh by Margot Wood
Some students enter their freshman year of college knowing exactly what they want to do with their lives. Elliot McHugh is not one of those people. But picking a major is the last thing on Elliot's mind when she's too busy experiencing all that college has to offer--from dancing all night at off-campus parties, to testing her RA Rose's patience, to making new friends, to having the best sex one can have on a twin-sized dorm room bed. But she may not be ready for the fallout when reality hits. When the sex she's having isn't that great. When finals creep up and smack her right in the face. Or when her roommate's boyfriend turns out to be the biggest a-hole. Elliot may make epic mistakes, but if she's honest with herself (and with you, dear reader), she may just find the person she wants to be. And maybe even fall in love in the process . . . Well, maybe.
Review: Oh this book was so great, once I picked it up I didn't want to put it down again. It made me laugh, it was sex positive and it didn't pull any punches, just a really great reading time.
I love when books cover that difficult first year away at college/university. It is such a tricky but pivotal time and such great fodder for comedy and introspection at the same time. This book handles that ups and downs of that first term just so well whilst at the same time being entertaining and thought provoking. The new customs, the fire alarms and the friendships. We get to uni thinking those first friends are going to be the ones we end up with for life but oh so often that is not the case and I love how this book handled that.
Elliot is a great character to experience all of that with because she is just so open and honest. Being from a flyover state in Boston for the first time automatically puts her on the back foot and then we have her footnotes. She speaks directly to us as readers, as if narrating her own life and then adds footnotes to things, Don't you wish your life could contain footnotes for just a little further explanation sometimes? I loved Elliot's tone. I loved her attitude to life and I loved the fact that she is so sex positive and open about when she does and doesn't want from her romantic life. It was great hearing about her hopes and desires and I wish I had met her when I first went to university!
This book doesn't hold back when it comes to sex and relationships and I really loved that about it. It felt a little like reading a continuation from Are You There God, It's Me Margaret. The way the main character thinks and feels about the next step in her life, only instead of talking to God, we have footnotes. I think this would have been a great book for me to read when I was at the age of making those choices about university but even reading it now very much past the college age I took a lot from it. This book made me laugh, it made me cringe and it warmed my heart. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend.
Sunday, 1 August 2021
August 2021 TBR
Well July is over-what happened there? Oh yes I moved countries & continents during a pandemic that'll be why I'm so tired. Time to reflect and make some August reading plans. Basically a lot of this will be a carry over from July which was a bit of a carry over from June. Anyone else thinking I should've just done a summer TBR and stuck to that instead?
July wrap up coming your way soon but in the mean time here are a few things I would like to get to this month.
August Releases
August 3rd
August 12th
August 24th
September Releases
September 2nd
Book Vs Movie
Books I didn't get to in July
Not too bad right? Let me know what you're planning on reading this month.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)