An Englishwoman in New York by Anne- Marie Casey. Review

This is the story of one woman called Lucy who moves to New York after her husband loses his job and has to relocate to America. This is where Lucy meets the three very different women she comes to call friends. Christy, Julia and Robyn are very different characters and if you have ever seen Sex and the city this book will likely remind you a little of that. Each woman is having her own troubles and struggles in life which make them very relatable. I liked Julia the most, she was really struggling with motherhood and marriage and you felt real apathy for her, there was times you worried for her. Robyn and Christy are the most spirited characters in the group and although the entire book is great fun their parts are particular juicy. If you want a really great escapist read set in one of the coolest cities in the world with some strong women trying to get the most out of life then this is the book for you.

I received this copy for review from the kind folks over at lovereading.co.uk
This book is due for publication in Early October 2013 and will be available at lovereading.co.uk and all good bookshops from then.
Below is a link to the book on Lovereading.co.uk where you can also get a free extract.
http://www.lovereading.co.uk/book/9131/An-Englishwoman-in-New-York-by-Anne-Marie-Casey.html

Missing Amy by Joanne Clarey.Review.

Missing Amy by Joanne Clarey (A Hummingbird Falls Mystery Series)

 

Wow this was fantastic! I could not even put it down to eat my dinner!
This story is a prequel to the Hummingbird Falls mystery series which I adore! I could not have been more pleased when I heard that there was another book out in this series and that this time we were going to get some background to the history of the town of Hummingbird Falls.
This book goes far back in time to the 1800's and a rich family who have promised to help a mutual friend's daughter come out in society. When the young woman leaves her home to come and stay with the Abbott family things are an awful lot different then she expected them to be. Startled at first with her current situation she makes the best of it and later makes some friends. Some of which she can share her love of reading. Reading is something she turns to for comfort and I think a lot of people could relate to that . Amy is a strong and sweet character and smarter then some around her might think. There is an eeriness to the story.. slightly menacing at times that builds the tension very well and kept me guessing. It was a story that got me interested from the very start and pulled me along very willingly to the heart stopping end. This story was truly magnificent and a bit of a heart breaker. There are plenty of good and bad guys in this story. It has something for everyone.
I was so very lucky to receive this from Joanne. As one of Joanne's biggest fans  I was truly honoured.

Below is a link to Amazon.co.uk where you can buy this wonderful book.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Missing-Amy-Mountains-Hummingbird-ebook/dp/B00E9BMY5A

Below is a link to Amazon.com where you can buy this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Missing-Amy-Mountains-Hummingbird-ebook/dp/B00E9BMY5A/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377549379&sr=1-2&keywords=missing+amy

Book Haul

The first book I have to show you today is Sense & Sensibility by Joanne Tropllope. This book is a  retelling of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. I received this book for review from the kind folks over at lovereading.co.uk for review. This book will be published in October 2013. Review to follow. 

 

 

                                     Can you tell I am into everything Jane Austen right now.

                                    How pretty is this box set of Jane Austen's classis novels?

A weekend with Mr Darcy.....I wish.... By Far my favourite yummy guy character ..

Look at this gorgeous cover of Murder of a Bookstore Babe by the lovely Denise Swanson. This is book 13 in the Scumble river series. . This begs to be read!!!

Murder of a sweet old lady is book two in the Scumble River series by Denise Swanson. This is a great series that you should def check out!

 

                                            

Currently Reading

 

Currently Reading

 

This cover is beautiful! I love the skyline behind her.. An Englishwoman in New York...

Death Comes To Pemberley by P. D James is a Pride and Prejudice re-telling. I am about 30 or so pages into this and I am loving it. I will be posting review when I am finished so keep an eye out for that if you are a Jane Austen fan.

Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen

                                                               Heirs and Graces


I am a big fan of this series and this book, book 7 did not disappoint. Lady Georgiana Rannoch(Georgie) has been asked to help her cousin the Queen in a little matter that will require all that she learned in finishing school in Switzerland . The Duchess of Eynsford badly needs someone to come and whip some manners and poise into her farmer grandson Jack who is coming to England from Australia to become the new Duke as the current Duke remains unmarried and without children. Jack has a lot to unwillingly learn before becoming Duke so Georgie has her hands full with this charming young man.
The characters in this series are wonderful and the narrator Katherine Kellgren did a wonderful job of making each character really come alive .
This book had me laughing on many occasions and smiling away to myself during the listening of it. There is a lot of humour in the story/series and it is great fun to read/listen to.
The one character I could not warm to at all was the horrid Cedric, the current Duke...ohhh he is a horrible character with a soul as dark as night, I was glad to see the back of him!
Darcy, Georgie's love interest I was glad to see was back in this story.. their romance is very cute and great fun to read about. I am hoping for a glamorous wedding at some point in the series with these two!
To sum up this was a wonderful read and it has me eager for book 8, Georgiana is a wonderful main character and it is great fun to read about all the adventures she gets up to . This is a fun and ladylike cozy mystery series! Go get it!!

Book Geek With a Haul

Ethel and Ernest by Raymond Briggs

                                                             Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman

                                            Where's You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

 

 Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

                                                  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

                                                  Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

                                 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Graphic edition

                                  Murder of  a Small Town Honey by Denise Swanson

 I love my new phone cover...this can be found on ebay.. I tried to find the link for this guys but I can't find it anywhere....

 

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen . Review.

Reading this book was a real light bulb moment for me. I finally understood why Ms Austen's books get so much recognition and are adored by millions.
I am ashamed to say it took me 33 years on this earth to finally pick up this dazzling book and now that I have I am greedy for more.
These characters, this plot...genius!!!!
What puts me off reading books from this era in time is the worry that the plots will not be relevant today.. from what I have seen not much has changed in the hundred plus years since this book was published. Of course there are some obvious differences such as women's role's in marriage, careers etc to name but a few but some things never change such as love, families, bad people, greed, bitchiness and sarcasm.
I do have favourite characters from the book... Mr Bennet , Lizzie, Jane , Mr Bingley, reading about them filled me with so much joy!
Mr Collins on the other hand made me shiver and repulsed me no end. I could almost picture him slithering around the story, greasy haired and unable to say a good word about anyone. ( Its fun how you can set an idea in your head about how a character would look and every time you read the story you picture them like that).
Mr Bennet's humour and sarcasm made me smile from beginning to end where as his wife was in need of a good scolding.
All in all this story was one to be cherished and I will be putting it on my favourite list from now on. Little did I know all these years that I had this gem on my shelves.

Balloon Animals by Jonathon Dunne

 

Balloon Animals by Jonathon Dunne

What a truly wonderful story! I had no idea when I started this book that a few hours later I would be finished and wishing for more books by Mr Dunne. This book had everything you could hope for in a story.. Quirky characters that I adored , action, adventure, dysfunctional family ,witty banter ,travel, and an ending that will make you smile.I cannot wait to read more from this very talented writer

Please find below a link to this book. You can also get a free sample!!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Balloon-Animals-ebook/dp/B009JUBC2W

Currently Reading

                    I can't believe how long it has taken me to read this. Ohhhh wow it is good.....

                      3/4 of the way through this book by Robert Galbraith...It is very good!!!!

                                          Under the sea with Jules Verne... Brilliant!!!

Ebook , Paperback , Audible book Haul

An Englishwoman in New York by Anne-Marie-Casey...This book is stunning, gorgeous cover!!!!
I was sent this book for review from the kind folks over at Lovereading.co.uk.
The publisher for this beautiful book is John Murray, an imprint of Hodder.

 Howling at the Moon by Karen MacInerney. Book 1 in the Tales of an Urban Legend series. I was waiting for this book to arrive so that I could finally start on this series..Yay!!!!!!

 Nice Girls Don't Live Forever by Molly Harper. This is a wonderful series about a young female librarian who has recently be turned into a vampire. I have listened to the first two books through audible.com and now hope to read this book(book 3) and the previous two.

 The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbriath... I can not begin to tell you how excited I was to hear that the lovely J. K Rowling had written a detective story. I was on amazon as quick as possible to get it.

 I have never read anything by Laini Taylor before but I have heard nothing but good things so I am keen to see how I get on with this book.

 The Selection by Keira Cass.. Beautiful cover that this picture does not do justice when in black and white.

 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne.. I have been really into books about the sea etc this summer so I could not resist this well known classic ..

 I know.... Yes it is ages before Christmas is here but seriously as soon as the summer is nearing end I am already thinking about my favourite holiday. ...I got this to get me in the mood for that.

Missing Amy by Joanne Clarey is book 5 in the Hummingbird Falls mystery series. I was gifted this book by the author and I am very excited as I am a huge fan of the series and have read all of the books.
                                                  ********************************
I also received the audible version of Heirs and Graces by the lovely Rhys Bowen. I adore this cozy mystery series centered around  the character Lady Georgiana Rannoch, 35th in line to the throne. Georgie as she is better known is a fun character, not as well off as she would like but excellent when it comes to playing detective. It comes in very handy when she is helping her relations out..esp The Queen. Action and adventure along with quirky characters and often hilarious situations makes this a series worth following from the very beginning. In this series Georgiana is off to help Jack Altringham adjust to his new position in society, Jack has very recently arrived from the outback of Australia and has a lot to learn about his new life in England.
Below please find a link to Audible.com where you can hear a free sample of this book and others in the series.
http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B00E3WVNVQ&qid=1376915518&sr=1-1

The World is a Wedding by Wendy Jones Review.

 

This book is the sequel to The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price Purveyor of Superior Funerals. I loved the first book so when I knew this book was coming out I was very excited. Wilfred is our main character and he helps run the family funeral home business with his father and in this story he is married and working away in the funeral business when the past comes back to greet him at a time his personal life is going through some hardship. I think Wilfred is wonderful, he is still learning about women and his innocence is very sweet and he has a heart of gold. He is a real good guy, a gentleman! This story is very engrossing and I could not put it down. Characters from the first book appear again and it is great to see them back again...or at least some of them... It is not necessary to read book 1 to enjoy this as they are both wonderful on their own as a stand alone read. I am crossing my fingers that there is going to be a third book following these wonderful characters.

I received this book from Lovereading.co.uk for review.
This book is due for Publication in September 2013 and will be available from lovereading.co.uk and other good bookstores at that time.
Below please find a link to this book along with a free excerpt:
http://www.lovereading.co.uk/book/9041/The-World-is-a-Wedding-by-Wendy-Jones.html

My Review of Joyland by Stephen King on Youtube

                                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a8RF-xIXIQ

August Glossybox 2013 UK Edition

              It's that time of the month again!!! Yep my Glossybox arrived today!!! Yay!!!!

                                            We are back to the dusky pink box!!

 The fab Glossymag above ... This month we have Highflyers.. Contents of this months box comes from many corners of the earth.

                                                     Ohhhhh look it's the goodies!!!

 Olay Regenerist, 3 point treatment cream . I have not tried Olay since I begged my grandmother to let me try her beauty fluid many years ago. Olay has come along way since then so I am excited to see what the Regenerist is like. This brand has been a favourite of women for many years, esp in my family. I have high hopes for it. Thus product was founded in South Africa.

 Jelly Pong Pong 2in1 eyeliner and shadow is a handy multi-use product. You have to love something like this that saves you some room in your make-up bag. I got a nice green gray shade that I am going to save for the autumn months when I tend to use more of these shades.This product was founded in the UK.

 These eyelash curlers and spare pads are always handy to have in your make up bag to make your eyes look more awake... just try and not poke yourself in the eye when practising using them :0). This product was made in Sweden.

 I think we are all fairly familiar with Tresemme products but I have never tried one of their treatments before. I can't wait! This is a product from the USA.

 Below is a makeup remover pen by Oceane. This product comes from Brazil. I can't wait to try this out on eye makeup.

 

Another great box this month from Glossybox. I will definitely use everything in this box !Roll on next months box!!

The Thoughts And Happenings Of WIlfred Price Purveyor Of Superior Funerals by Wendy Jones.

I thought this was a lovely book ! The characters were very interesting , especially that of Wilfred. There are many times I wanted to give him a good shake. Wilfred is pretty dreadful in the art of asking a woman out. Honestly if he was real and not just a character in a book I would be standing in front of him going no no no no no Wilfred!!! It is because he is so clueless that makes him adorable in a way, you can't help but want to take him under your wing. I really enjoyed this story!!!  Wilfred  helps run the family funeral home and he is very good at what he does, it is the subject of love he struggles with. When a moment of madness  seeing a beautiful woman in a yellow dress takes over him it causes him more trouble than he could have ever imagined!
Wilfred's character really grew on me quite quickly as did the other characters in the book. Before you know it you are really keen to know them all and what makes them tic. Small town life and all that comes with that plays a role here too and it is really enjoyable seeing it all through the characters eyes. This story filled me with mixed emotions , I would love if this was made into a series!!!!!
It was the title of this book that first attracted me to it but I can honestly say I loved it.