Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books About Friendship 20/5/14

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!

I love books that feature fabulous friendships between characters. Sometimes a love story can be just that on the surface, but when you look underneath, it's actually supported by strong friendships, new friendships or developing friendships, always a good read! 

1. One Moment One morning by Sarah Rayner. This is a recent read for me and was about death and friendship. Really good!

2. Carry You By Beth Thomas. Another new one but SUCH a lovely friendship story! 

3. What Would Oprah Do? By Erin Emerson. A fab books with an unusual friendship by a fab author! 

4. The Geek Girl series by Holly Smale. Fab friendships featured in these books, just great for teens! 

5. Me and You by Claudia Carroll. A great story about how far you will go for a friend. 

6. Storm and Stone by Joss Stirling. Again showing how much someone will sacrifice for a friend. 

7. The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling. If this doesn't demonstrate strong friendships, I don't know what does! 

8. The Greatest Love Story of All Time by Lucy Robinson. I love the friendships in this book, so funny as well! 

9. The Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan. Some strong friendships between women and between men and women in this one...

10. By My Side by Alice Peterson. A friendship between a woman and her dog, not usually my thing but totally awe-inspiring! 

Review: A Hundred Pieces of Me by Lucy Dillon

Letters from the only man she's ever loved.

A keepsake of the father she never knew.

Or just a beautiful glass vase that catches the light, even on a grey day.

If you had the chance to make a fresh start, what would you keep from your old life? What would you give away?

Gina Bellamy is starting again, after a difficult few years she'd rather forget. But the belongings she's treasured for so long just don't seem to fit who she is now.

So Gina makes a resolution. She'll keep just a hundred special items - the rest can go.

But that means coming to terms with her past and learning to embrace the future, whatever it might bring . . .

Review: oh what a gorgeous book. I haven't actually read anything by this author before, despite having a couple of her novels sitting on my shelves but I was recommended this book so many times by other bloggers and other authors that I knew I had to pick it up. I ended up listening to this on audiobook and found myself making excuses to listen at any opportunity it was so compelling and I needed to find out what was going to happen next. It was one of those novels that I really struggled to describe to someone as I was reading it, but I love something like that that doesn't conform to a particular mould or form!

First of all let me rave about Gina because she is such a special character. She has been knocked down again and again and again. She has been in an unhappy marriage, she has a difficult relationship with her mother she is struggling to buck against the stereotype that she has of a survivor and yet that is exactly what she is, a survivor. Someone who makes the very best of herself, by herself, she accepts help from others and yet does things by herself and for herself, she had decided to make herself happy, something which more of us should definitely be trying to do, be happy for ourselves by ourselves! 

Her best friend, Naomi is also an amazingly strong female and is a pillar of strength for Gina even if she doesn't realise it. She is written as the kind of best friend that all of us would want to have, just a little bit more outgoing and more straight talking that your average girly girl! Gina's ex is, of course, a character we kind of love to hate, but you also feel sympathy for him and I think Gina did too. Her relationship with her mother develops over the course of the novel and there is a very interesting couple that Gina works with, developing their house and gaining more than just a couple of business clients! 

The storyline jumps back and forth between present day and flashbacks to Gina's past but it is so well-written that you never feel confused as to what era you are in. The writing is truly beautiful, full of wonderful descriptive phrases and by the end of the book, i felt as if  the house she was developing was actually mine! There's a gorgeous dog for you to fall in love with as well and whilst reading about him, I felt I could actually see him sitting in front of me and see the pain in his eyes-aww! 

This is truly a novel to help you appreciate what you have and make you evaluate whether the material possessions in your life are anywhere near as important as the relationships that you have. This book is far from a downer though, it is full of moments of pure joy and will motivate you to seize the day, so to speak. This is a unique book and something which everyone should make space in their reading piles for! 

Review: Secrets of The Lighthouse by Santa Montefiore

Summer is not complete without a new novel from top ten bestelling author Santa MontefioreEllen Trawton is running away from it all - quite literally. She is due to get married to a man she doesn't love, her job is dragging her down and her interfering mother is getting on her nerves. So she escapes to the one place she know her mother won't follow her - to her aunt's house in rural Ireland. Once there, she uncovers a dark family secret - and a future she never knew she might have.

Meanwhile, Caitlin Macausland is mourning the future she can never have. She died tragically in what the village thinks is suspicious circumstances, and now she is stuck in a limbo, unable to move on.

And between the two of them is an old lighthouse - the scene of so much tragedy. Can each woman find the peace she so desperately longs for? And can they find the way to live again?

Review: I was drawn into this book right from the word go, the idea of someone running away to Ireland to escape what's going on in their life was really intriguing to me and then there were all the secrets. Family secrets, her secrets, secrets of what went on in the lighthouse, it was so compelling and I wanted to find out what was going on. The setting of the book was also great, roughest coastlines and quaint village feel, a roaring fire and a good old pub thrown in for good measure too, what's not to love?

In terms of the characters in this novel, I wasn't particularly drawn to any of them. Ellen was a good heroine in that she knew she didn't want to be in London and so had taken herself off to Ireland to escape. She was strong e nought o fright for this things she wanted, as big or as little as they were. I loved aunt Peg, she was a brilliant character and a real lynchpin to the story. Obviously I wasn't keen on the set Ellen had left behind in London, but neither was I that keen on the new love interest she fond in Ireland or the overprotective uncles and cousins that she had out there, they all seemed a bit bland or stereotypical for my liking. There were some crazy animals in the novel, characters in their own rights and they add up to a lot of funny events in the story! 

Although the pace at the beginning was pretty fast and compelling, i did feel it dropped a bit towards the middle-end of the book. Whilst things were being revealed left right and centre at either end of the book, the middle was a wee bit pedestrian for my liking. This didn't spoil my enjoyment of it, it just meant that I didn't really feel driven to carry on turning the pages and so it might have taken me a bit longer to get through than it could have done. This book would be fabulous to read if you are holidaying in Britain this year because it will make you remember the true beauty and diversity of the country. If you are a fan of this author, or like me this is your first novel written by her, I am sure you will enjoy this book! 

Review: Trouble by Non Pratt

In this dazzling debut novel, a pregnant teen learns the meaning of friendship—from the boy who pretends to be her baby’s father.

When the entire high school finds out that Hannah Shepard is pregnant via her ex-best friend, she has a full-on meltdown in her backyard. The one witness (besides the rest of the world): Aaron Tyler, a transfer student and the only boy who doesn’t seem to want to get into Hannah’s pants. Confused and scared, Hannah needs someone to be on her side. Wishing to make up for his own past mistakes, Aaron does the unthinkable and offers to pretend to be the father of Hannah’s unborn baby. Even more unbelievable, Hannah hears herself saying “yes.”

Told in alternating perspectives between Hannah and Aaron, Trouble is the story of two teenagers helping each other to move forward in the wake of tragedy and devastating choices. As you read about their year of loss, regret, and hope, you’ll remember your first, real best friend—and how they were like a first love.

Review: oh this book was so fast paced and easy to read it was truly a delight. I was recommended this book by so many people, and sometimes when that happens, you can end up disappointed but I really wasn't disappointed by this book. It has a little bit of everything, love, friendship, life lessons, mystery and humour, all wrapped up in just the right number of pages. The storyline isn't necessarily what you would expect from a teen pregnancy novel. The emphasis isn't totally on the pregnancy, or the taboo of being a fifteen year old with a baby bump, there is so much more to this novel and the storyline goes much deeper. Because of the mystery element of the storyline, I will avoid spoilers by saying any more. 

I actually thought Hannah was a really likeable character. To begin with I thought she was a bit of a 'popular girl' and so therefore I won't like her, but she bucks the trend, gains her own identity and I really admired her for that warming to her almost instantly then. Aaron was a firm favourite of mine right from the start. He was honourable and again, happy to be his own person. There is a mystery that surrounds both of these characters and we don't know just how sinister that mystery is, but despite that, I think I would forgive Aaron anything because he is just such a mature and likeable character. Normally the supporting characters in YA novels tend to grate on me a bit by being needy and whiney, but because these two main characters are so independent, they choose the kind of friends that I approve of and like, those who I would've chosen as my friends too! 

The ending of this novel is just fab. Things are wrapped up satisfactorily, yes, but so so much is still left open, leaving you with questions in your head, but enough resolution to be happy too. I think that the way it ended was one of my favourite things about this book. Too many books have predictable endings. Whilst we knew that eventually Hannah was going to give brith, so it is predictable in that way, there are so many things not fully tied up and resolved in a neat little package that this book can be called anything but predictable. Although this is a YA novel, I think it is definitely suited more at the upper age bracket of that genre, just because of the themes it covered. It felt like an adult book when I was reading it, but it was simply stunning for a debut novel, please tell me there's going to be more from this fab author! 

Guest Post From Margaret Ethridge

Today I have another guest post from an author spotlighted in the a boxed set that I brought you a couple of weeks ago now. It's great to have all these authors here telling you about their books and you really can't go wrong with the bargain price of the box set either can you?

Thanks so much for having us on Fabulous Book Fiend! I’m so excited to talk to you about Love Finds A Way. I’m thrilled to be a part of this fabulous boxed set – four unique stories about love and relationships rooted in reality, but dusted with just enough hope and happiness to make them irresistible. And all this for just $0.99! How can you beat that???

My novel, Contentment, focuses on the ebb and flow of a relationship a decade and a half into a marriage. Here’s the blurb:

Tracy Sullivan seems to have it all, a handsome, devoted husband, three beautiful children, a steady career, and the perfect suburban home; but she isn’t happy.

The petty resentments that have built over fifteen years of marriage surface when Tracy tells her husband, Sean, that she is no longer interested in sex, and their marriage threatens to implode.

For the sake of their children, Tracy and Sean agree to lead separate lives under the same roof. With the help of a healthy dose of adult-rated fiction and some gentle prodding from a good friend, Tracy begins to rediscover who she is, what she wants, and the reasons she fell for Sean once upon a time.

After two years of soul-searching, Tracy is finally ready to embrace her happily ever after having learned that while happiness may be fleeting, contentment can last a lifetime.

When I started writing Contentment, I wanted to write a story that moves beyond that first heady rush of love. So many books focus on the fall, but, in my opinion, real love storiesshow the bumps, bruises, and resilience one needs to make a story endure.

In Contentment, Tracy and Sean certainly have their fair share of ups and downs. Haven’t we all? Some seem like huge, insurmountable obstacles. Others are more like a series of tiny, relentless little hurdles.

I believe that most stories of love involve more than the two people at its center. But no one lives in a vacuum. Tracy and Sean are surrounded by friends and family who are every bit as invested in their relationship as they are. Sean’s brother, mother and uncle play pivotal roles, as well as Tracy’s two former roommates.

Contentment is the result of my own personal evolution. Just after my fortieth birthday, I embarked on my own journey of self-discovery, and like Tracy, I am still a work in progress.Tracy’s journey is about letting go of the dreams and ambitions we’ve outgrown and rediscovering the joy of simple things. I hope that other women will be able to relate.

http://margaretethridge.com/

http://www.turquoisemorningpressbookstore.com/products/love-finds-a-way-boxed-set

Giveaway: Snow White by Keith Austin

Yesterday I brought you a guest post from this fab YA author And today you have the chance to win one of 3 copies of the book for yourself. (UK only-sorry!) That's right I have THREE copies to giveaway. Here's what you can expect from the novel...

John Creed's nights are haunted by dreams of a white wolf, his days by the hideous class bully. He's a loner with a stutter and his home-life - with an eccentric grandfather who wants to teach him folklore and ancient languages - is isolated and unusual.

But then John makes a friend - Fyre. She's as unusual as John and has her own secrets to keep, but as the truth about John's past starts to emerge, she's the best ally he's got . . .

 To be in with a chance of winning a copy, simply leave me a comment below telling me which fairytale you'd most like to twist and how and I'll announce the winners on Saturday! Remember you need to live in the UK to enter this giveaway-good luck! 

Guest Post Six Fairy Tales I'd Like to Twist by Snow White Author KeithAustin

We are very lucky today to have a guest post from Keith Austin, author of Snow White, which came out last week....

John Creed's nights are haunted by dreams of a white wolf, his days by the hideous class bully. He's a loner with a stutter and his home-life - with an eccentric grandfather who wants to teach him folklore and ancient languages - is isolated and unusual.

But then John makes a friend - Fyre. She's as unusual as John and has her own secrets to keep, but as the truth about John's past starts to emerge, she's the best ally he's got . . .

The book sounds fabulous to I asked Keith if there were any other fairytales he'd like to twist... 

SIX FAIRY TALES I’D LIKE TO TWIST

By Keith Austin

1.

The Little Mermaid (Hans Christian Andersen) Oh, what couldn’t you do with this tale of yearning, transgression, love, and death? Yup, suck on all that, Disney. And then there’s the wonderful character of the sea witch, who lives in a house made from the bones of shipwrecked sailors and lets toads feed from her mouth “the way people sometimes feed a canary with a piece of sugar”.  I can see something wonderfully grotesque coming out of all that in a modern setting.

2.

The Princess and the Pea (Hans Christian Andersen)At first glance this short tale of the disguised princess whose royally sensitive skin detects the smallest of peas under 20 mattresses might not seem ripe for twisting but what if someone decided they wanted to ‘own’ that skin?

3.

The Little Match Girl (Hans Christian Andersen) A 1944 version of this classic tale changed the ending so that the match girl didn’t perish in the cold but survived to find a loving home and live happily ever after. Which rather takes the fun out of it. Frankly, I’d have her come back and turn everyone who ever did her wrong into blazing, life-sized matches. Fire!

4.

Vasilia the Fair (Alexander Afanasev) This Russian fairy tale is a mash-up of Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel – but much more vicious. To be honest it doesn’t take much fracturing, so twisted is it from the start (abandoned child, a house made of bones and teeth, a magical alter ego doll) but what fun could be had from translating the horrible, cannibalistic Baba Yaga ogressinto the modern idiom?

5.

The Happy Prince (Oscar Wilde) A princely statue which, with help of a swallow, gives away all histreasures and is, for his troubles, scrapped. The swallow, of course, dies. A sad little tale from the master storyteller in which no good deed goes unpunished. I’d make sure the good burghers of the town got theircommeuppence.

6.

Rumpelstiltskin (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm) Awonderfully, morally bankrupt tale of gold, greed, bizarre names such as Balthazar, Melchior,Spindleshanks and Ribfiend, and an antagonist who eventually tears himself in half in a rage – what’s not to like? The power of names looms large in fairy tales and is ripe for twisting.

Pop back tomorrow to find out how you can enter the giveaway to win an exclusive copy of the book!