The Forgotten Summer by Carol Drinkwater. Review

I knew from very early on that I was going to enjoy this story as the writing is simply beautiful. I think a story that includes a character you love to hate makes a story even better and this one had it in the form of a mother in law from hell called Clarisse Cambon . The main character of the story is her daughter in law Jane who is married to her son Luc . Clarisse is definetly a matriarch who loves to rule the roost on this vineyard in France and she is very quick with her acid tongue . Jane's faults are easy for Clarisse to judge but she is not a straightforward character herself and she should not be judging anyone! Flawed characters like Clarisse make great reading and when you add in some mystery and family secrets it made this a book easy to read in one sitting. I was constantly surprised while reading this as the twists were great and Clarisse is infuriating at times so I wanted to see if Jane would get some form of closure or revenge on this woman. Highly recommend! 

I received this book for review from the lovely people over at Lovereading.co.uk

This book is going to be published in February 2016 and will be available from Lovereading and all other good bookstores then.

Below please find a link to this book on the Lovereading website:

http://www.lovereading.co.uk/book/15511/The-Forgotten-Summer-by-Carol-Drinkwater.html

Accidental SuperStar by Marianne Levy . Review

The main character of the story is Katie , her family life is a bit unsettled right now  but she has a lot of talent and has a good friend which keeps her grounded until one day her talent gets recorded and uploaded on the internet making her very well known ! At first mortified by her new found fame , she then progresses to being proud of herself especially as it looks like she may have got help to make this a career ! The story was very good, I think a lot of people who use social media regularly will understand the ups and downs of putting yourself on the Internet and the author put that across very well. I loved Katie's family and best friend and how important it is to always have them watching your back when anything could happen with fame. If you love social media then this is a book for you! 

I received this book from the lovely people over at lovereading4kids. This book is being published January 2016 and will be available for purchase from lovereading4kids and  all good bookstores then. Below please find a link to this book:

http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/book/12174/Accidental-Superstar-by-Marianne-Levy.html

In My Mailbox

Super Star by Marianne Levy

The Way We Were by Sinéad Moriarty

All books sent in by the lovely folks at Lovereading.co.uk

My December

It's a new year , but before I get too far into the year I must share with you a look back on my December . December is my birthday month as well as my favourite time of year . Something always seems magical about December..........

Blowing out my birthday candles with my niece and twin nephews.

Christmas Parties

Shopping with my Christmas / Birthday money 

Hot chocolate

My new forest lamp

My dog asleep on the blanket I made her.

I started collecting book mugs. I only have three but this one was given to me by a dear friend this year for my birthday 

New adult colouring book

My sister in law made me the yummiest chocolate cake I have ever eaten!

My second birthday cake from my hubby

Cosy nights in with handmade crochet blanketI made , my dog and great books

Yum! Costa Black Forest hot chocolate

New Audio Books

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

The Body Book , Cameron Diaz

My tree. 

The Perfect Gift by Emma Hannigan . Review

I really loved this story about a young woman called Roísín who owns her own business and is doing great in her professional life but her love life needs work. Roísín is adopted , and there has always been a mystery around her adoption as she knew very few details , but each year her birthday comes around and she receives something in the mail from her birth mother , this might not seem strange but her birth mother is dead. 

What I loved about the book was how real the characters felt and the situations they found themselves in , more then once I found myself holding back tears or bursting out laughing unexpectantly. This is also a bit of a mystery story as we are left with a lot of questions until the end when the entire story comes together perfectly in a very satisfactory way. This book was sheer joy the entire way through. 

If you love Maeve Binchy and Marian Keyes books then I think you will really love this touching and funny story .

I received this book for review from the lovely people over at Lovereading.co.uk

This book is being published in February 2016 and will be available from Lovereading and all other good bookstores then. 

Below please find a link to this book on the Lovereading website:

http://www.lovereading.co.uk/book/9781473619913/isbn/The-Perfect-Gift-by-Emma-Hannigan.html

All The Rage by Courtney Summers . Review

The story is about one drunken night that the main character Romy can remember little of. The story is told in past /present tense so we get an overall look at the aftermath then we start to get an idea of  what really happened. This was at times hard to read as the bullying had me enraged . Romy is a deeply troubled character who is trying to put her past behind her , the trouble is she can't remember it all and it has left her with a lot of questions and some of them very serious. There is also a missing friend too making this  a tense story with plenty of mystery and at times it felt like I was reading it through very hazy memories that flashed in and out of the main narrators consiousness. If you enjoyed books like " We Were Liars " then I think you will enjoy this. 

I received this book for review from the lovely people over at Lovereading4kids. 

This book is going to be published January 2016 and will be available from Lovereading and all other good bookstores then.

Below please find a link to this book on the Lovereading4kids website.

http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/book/9781509817597/isbn/All-the-Rage-by-Courtney-Summers.html/noredirect

Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave. Review

This is a beautiful and thought provoking story set in war time in England and some other countries that the army is stationed at. The story has 4 main characters . Mary, Tom , Zack , and Alistair. Mary is a young woman who throws away her well organised ladylike life the day war is declared so she can help with the war in anyway she can. Zack is a young black boy who she comes across who needs her help. The interaction with these two characters is very touching and at times made me emotional . 

Alistair and Tom are Mary's love interests in the story and we see the ups and downs of their individual lives ( army and education ) as well as their relationship with Mary. Mary is a wilful , good human who likes to make things good for everyone that she has any kind of relationship with making her a likeable character who you would want to be friends with . The story , like most war stories can be sad at times yet beautiful as you see how important enjoying every

minute was as you just never knew when a bomb would hit. If you enjoy books about ordinary people during war time then this book will be perfect for you. 

I received this book for review from the lovely people over at Lovereading.co.uk

This book is going to be published in April 2016 and will be available from Lovereading and all other good bookstores then.

Below please find a link to this book on the Lovereading Website:

http://www.lovereading.co.uk/book/9781473619081/isbn/Everyone-Brave-is-Forgiven-by-Chris-Cleave.html