Reading Right Now

Hi there guys ! How is your day going? It's cold and just the tinest bit wet here so I am spending a good bit of time before sleep tucked up in bed with my duvet and books. Nothing cosier then the wind howling outside at night when you have a great book to read.Below are the books I have been enjoying this week . Let me know what you are reading :)

Billionaire Blend by Cleo Coyle. Cozy mystery set in a coffeehouse . Love it!

Mariana by Monica Dickens. This is a perfect cosy read , likeable characters and a laid back pace to the story .

Still reading The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. Loving this! Wickedly good characters !

Book Haul

Hi guys ! Below are a number of books I got lately or received in post for review or won in competition.

A Gift To Remember by Melissa Hill

Crossed by Ally Condle

The Collected Works of Nathanael West

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt

How Yo Build A Girl by Caitlin Moran

Kinsey and Me by Sue Grafton

No Time Gor Goodbye by Linwood Barclay. I was sent this book for review from the lovely people over at Lovereading Co.uk. The sequel of this book will be out soon. Reviews and publication dates to follow.

Waiting For Doggo by Mark B. Mills. I won this book in a competition . Yay!!! 

Ethan Frome by Edith Warton

The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope

Sunny Sundays

Hi guys! It has been a lovely sunny day here in my part of the world.  Everyone seems to be out enjoying the lovely weather ...have you noticed people seem happier when the sun is shining and they don't have to wrap up in layers to keep the cold out. 

 Anyway I usually walk on Sundays and Cook but this Sunday I did something a little different....

First let me show you the books I am reading tonight. I am finishing two books off. Lending A Paw by Laurie Cass .

The next book I am finishing is Pumpkins in Paradise by Kathi Daley. Truly loving both these books ! Check out either of these if you like mysteries or cozy reads.

Now on to the food.........

Delicious soup for starters

Shredded chicken with sweet chili sause and fried rice

The bookshop was calling to me so I called in but it was closing soon so I had not got a chance to pick out a book. I love it in there! Book shops are awesome!

I love the attention to detail some shops go to. Pretty , oh so pretty!

Frothy coffee.... Yum

Read the storage instructions of these crisps !

Chapter & Hearse by Lorna Barrett. Review.

This is book 4 in the Booktown Mystery series by Lorna Barrett . The story takes place in the village of Stoneham known locally as Booktown. The main character of the story is called Tricia and she owns and runs the mystery bookstore Haven't Got A Clue. 
This book begins with quite the bang when Angelica, Tricia's sister , has a book coming out , but the day she has a book signing things take a very dramatic turn for the worst and it's going to be up to Tricia to sort it out. 

My favouite things about the series and this book is the setting... A Booktown!!!!! I mean who could resist ! , I love the relationship between Tricia and her sister Angelica and the awesome plot twists . There are plenty of red herrings here! The secondary characters are interesting and you want to know more about them, esp some of the more dubious characters..
I always look forward to a new book in this series coming out as they never disappoint . I love every one of them. If you are a cozy mystery fan then don't miss out, go read this immediately ! 

Dead in the Stacks by Zana Hart. Review.

If you enjoy books about books and bookish atmospheres (libraries) then this is a book you will very likely enjoy. If you also happen to love a good mystery then you have just doubled your chances of loving this as much as I did. 

This is book 1 in The Curious Librarian Cozy Mystery Series.

The setting of the story is the Silvermine Public Library and the main character is Lauren Long who works in the library. Lauren is a very likeable character who is trying to get on with her job and that is not made easy when a dead body is found there under very suspicious circumstances. This book had a lovely setting and a very enjoyable plot with lots of plot twists to keep you guessing. I will certainly be picking up the next book in this series !

Comforting Cozy Mystery Audiobooks

I like to read every day , but if there is ever a day when for whatever reason I don't want to read a book or can't pick up a book then I listen to audiobooks . Audiobooks are great to have on in the background when you have to do other things or when in the bath or shower when you don't want to risk getting your actual book wet. 

I have listened to quite a few audiobooks over the years and below are the cozy mystery audios that I recommend. If you can recommend any I would love to know in the comments. 

As always ,have a great day xxxxxx

Murder of a Barbie and Ken by Denise Swanson

Nickeled and Dimed by Denise Swanson

Heirs and Graces by Ryhs Bowen

D is for Deadbeat by Sue Grafton

Real Murders by Charlaine Harris

Death by Cashmere by Sally Goldenbaum

Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper

Roast Morten by Cleo Coyle

Calamities In Flipping Bodbury. Review.

I was so thrilled when I got to review Calamities in Flipping Bodbury by Georgina Edwards and Verity Stew , I had a really good feeling about it when I saw the beautiful cover of a typical Cotswolds scene. 

If you were a fan of EF Benson or P G Wodehouse then I think you will enjoy this book set in a small village in the Cotswolds. I love reading about small town life and it's inhabitants and this did not disappoint as there were some very amusing characters amd scenes in this story. Each chapter told us more about a different family or group in the village and the humour and the plot were what had me smiling throughout . I truly did not want to see the story end. If you enjoy books about small town/ village life with a good dose of humour then you cannot go wrong with this book . Loved it! 

I received this book from the lovely people over at Austin Macauley Publishers. 

Below find a link to this book on their website.

http://www.austinmacauley.com/product_info.php/products_id/272

Reading And Cold Weather

Hi there buddies! It's a rainy Monday in my part of the world and I am thinking about the books I am planning to read this week. As you might know I am listening to a few audiobooks right now and they do take a little while longer then reading the actual book so you may see some books below you have seen before in my "Reading Right Now "Blog Posts.
In other news.... I have been going to the library regularly lately....I get the urge to do this about this time every year, the end of the summer feels like it is drawing in quickly and the cravings for books and tea and hot chocolate begin like clockwork again. Anyone else thinking of stews and mashed potatoes??????????????? Walks in cold dry weather while being wrapped up warm and cosy?????
I do read and buy some books and go the library in the summer ,but it is the Autumn and Winter I do this a lot more often. I don't know why that is but it is very comforting when it's grey and raining outside. Who has not enjoyed a good haunted house story when there is a gale blowing outside, it really sets the mood.

Grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee and have a look at the books I will be  reading this week. Let me know in the comments what you are reading right now and if you are enjoying it.

Calamities in Flipping Bodbury by Georgina Edwards & Verity Stew. Review Book. 

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald 

Still listening to Doll Baby by Laura Lane McNeal. I truly adore this!

Have a lovely day my friends x x x

The Love Curse Of The Rumbaughs by Jack Gantos. Review

Hi guys! This book grabbed my attention from the shelf, the cover is splendid and slightly eerie which made it all the more intriguing .
The book is aimed at older readers and I would say that is a good call as it does have a more adult theme throughout of a gory, grizzly nature.
The story is about a young girl called Ivy, Ivy has a love curse , it's not like any curse you probably heard of before , it's one of a darker more creepy nature. If you are an adult reading this and you have enjoyed the movie Psycho for instance, then you will likely enjoy this a lot. 

The characters in this story are unusual and quirky so I immediately wanted to know more about them, the plot kept me interested and it felt eerie throughout , I never felt safe for some of the characters for the entire book which I loved as I could not guess how it was going to end. I loved this creepy little read and you will to! For older children or adults , both will enjoy.

Blah days and Books

💐Today was one of those summer days that is really warm one minute and lashing rain the next so if you happen to be out in it you have the good fortune to get drenched to the skin while getting heat stroke into the bargain. Anyway as the title says it was a bit of blah day , cheerless and well blah..so in order to end the day on a better note books, food, snacks, and a little pampering are called for.

There is nothing like tea and a biccie to give you a lift unless of course you are intending to run a bath and drink your tea there... Now your talking! Add a book and a facemask, some music and a candle and I am well on my way to a good nights sleep .

I am completely absorbed in reading Tender is the Night right now...I wish I had realised sooner how awesome this book is.... These characters ...WOW!!!! I love watching the relationships unravel and its anybody's guess how it all will end. Rosemary is a character that I both love and hate. Her mother....well she is a bit of an odd one...  Her guidance is a bit bizarre but she makes a great secondary character . Have any of you guys read this book? The main couple in the book are electric, they have real charisma , it's engrossing to read about them if slightly like watching a car crash.You guys probably know by now that I am a fairly speedy reader but I am taking my time with this book. 

Me and cutie patootie

I got some Audible books recently too so expect a haul and reviews over the weekend. 

Have a lovely Friday x x x x x

Laughter in the Darkness

Last night I was finding it hard to get to sleep as usual so I decided to go on Facebook for a few minutes and reply to some messages etc. I was so incredibly shocked and saddened when I came across Robin Williams face on my news feed with a headline that he had died. At first I thought it could not be real , that it must have been a horrible mistake, no way could this funny sweet man be dead, this man who I grew up watching on television. Unfortunately it was to be true and hearts all over the world broke when they heard the news. Death is always sad but somehow for someone to take their own life who gave so much joy and laughter to others seems like a double blow.

 Depression  is a difficult if not impossible illness for some people to understand unless they have experienced it for themselves. It is not just being sad , and people cannot just forget about it or shake it off , it engulfs and darkens you to everything light and fun in the world and for me I have always called it a dark cloud and when the dark clouds came in I would sink deep into something so black I could hardly see my way back up from it. Sometimes I have almost needed to be held up until I had the strength to do it for myself, sometimes that took weeks ,sometimes months. It is always there in the background waiting for a time when I am vulnerable so I do everything I can physically do to try and keep those clouds from catching up with me by not smoking ,rarely drinking,keeping fit, exercising almost every day, eating nutritionally good food as much as possible, talking to people , writing, reading, drawing and keeping away from things that help trigger the return of those dark and dismal days. It is a tiring battle and there have been some very dark days that I did not see myself coming out off but with a lot of counselling,medication etc I am here now today and that's great , I only take each day as it comes ,and that's okay with me.
Tonight I will be watching some Robin Williams movies, reading some of his quotes and feeling grateful that I am still here where as depression and suicide has taken too many wonderful people from this world.
Mr Williams , thank you for the laughter and the movies that I will continue to watch again and again,and may you rest in peace.

Below please find a link to the Aware website which helps with coping with depression
http://www.aware.ie/

Reading This Week

Hi guys! Here are the books I have planned to read or to finish reading this week. What are you guys reading? Let me know in the comments below. Have a great evening x xxxxxx

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Dead in the Stacks by Zana Hart

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Finishing up this wonderful book by Laura Lane McNeal.