Wednesday 4 March 2015

January/February 2015 Haul!

Hi Book Lovers and Welcome to my Book Haul for January/February 2015!

(Clicking on the picture takes to the corresponding Goodreads page)



Physical Books
These are all the Physical Books that I acquired this month!




To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
(Purchased from Tesco)
Affiliate Links:



Throne Of Glass by Sarah J Maas
(Received as a Gift)
Affiliate Links:


Crown Of Midnight by Sarah J Maas
(Received as a Gift)
Affiliate Links:

Heir Of Fire by Sarah J Maas
(Received as a Gift)
Affiliate Links:


AudioBooks
These are all the AudioBooks that I purchased this month!



The Dark Tower II: The Drawing Of The Three by Stephen King
(Purchased from Audible)
Affiliate Links:



The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands by Stephen King
(Purchased from Audible)
Affiliate Links:



The Dark Tower IV: Wizard And Glass by Stephen King
(Purchased from Audible)
Affiliate Links:


E-Books
These are all the E-Books that I purchased this month!



Bound By Prophecy by Mellissa Wright
(Purchased on Kindle)
Affiliate Links:



The Originals Book 1: The Rise by Julie Plec
(Purchased on Kindle)
Affiliate Links:



The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason
(Purchased on Kindle)
Affiliate Links:

Tuesday 3 March 2015

January/February 2015 Wrap Up!

Hi Book Lovers and Welcome to my January/February 2015 Wrap Up!

So here are all the books I read in January/February 2015:




The Collectors By Phillip Pullman
2nd January - 2nd January

*****
    5 out of 5 stars



Peter and Wendy By JM Barrie
9th April 2014 - 24th February 2015

****
    4 out of 5 stars





Wednesday 31 December 2014

September/October/November/December Wrap Up

Hi Book Lovers and Welcome to my September/October/November/December 2014 Wrap Up!


So here are all the books I read in September/October/November/December 2014:




The Fault In Our Stars By John Green
29th August - 4th September

*****
    5 out of 5 stars



The Ocean At The End Of The Lane By Neil Gaiman
7th September - 7th September

****
    4 out of 5 stars



My Sister's Keeper By Jodi Picoult
11th September - 22nd September

*****
    5 out of 5 stars




Fables #2 Animal Farm By Bill Willingham
16th October - 16th October

*****
    5 out of 5 stars




Fables #3 Storybook Love By Bill Willingham
19th October - 19th October

*****
    5 out of 5 stars




Fairest #1 Wide Awake By Bill Willingham
25th October - 25th October

****
    4 out of 5 stars




Avengers #1 Avengers World By Johnathan Hickman
9th November - 9th November

****
    4 out of 5 stars




Under The Dome By Stephen King
23rd September - 15th December

****
    4 out of 5 stars




All I Want For Christmas By Claudia Carroll
15th December- 16th December

*
    1 out of 5 stars




Killer Christmas By Harper Lin
16th December - 26th December

***
    3 out of 5 stars




All I Want For Christmas By Amy Silver
28th December - 30th December

*****
    5 out of 5 stars

Review: All I Want For Christmas by Claudia Carroll

Hi Book Lovers and Welcome to my Review of All I Want For Christmas.



(WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS)



Title:

All I Want For Christmas

Author:

Claudia Carroll

Publisher:

Avon

Date Published:

25th November 2014

Genre:

Contemporary Romance

Pages:

21

Synopsis:

Christmas with the one you love. It’s going to be perfect … isn’t it?

Three couples. Three Christmases. One perfect day!

In three days Lucy and Andrew will to fly to Mexico for their beautiful wedding. What’s a twenty-year age gap when you’re this in love? Christmas dinner feels like the perfect occasion to introduce the two families to each other. What could possibly go wrong?

Workaholic Jo Hargreaves spends most of her Christmas day wondering where her unreliable new husband is.

Dawn and Kirk spend hours slaving over a mung-bean based vegan festive lunch - but Dawn’s mum is struggling to keep her true feeling to herself.

Can these three couples manage the magical Christmas they’ve been dreaming of?

Source:

Kindle book I purchased for myself.

Date Read:

15th December- 16th December 2014

Review:

* 1 out of 5 stars

All I Want For Christmas, is a prequel to Love Me or Leave Me. When reading it I didn't realise it was a prequel. This book is basically the synopsis with a bit extra padding.

I thought this book was rubbish. I was really confused all through this book, the little snippets of different stories didn't really interest me. Based off this prequel I would say that I am not going to read Love Me Or Leave Me, but the stories might make more sense being fully written.


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Review: Killer Christmas by Harper Lin

Hi Book Lovers and Welcome to my Review of Killer Christmas.



(WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS)



Title:

Killer Christmas

Author:

Harper Lin

Publisher:

Harper Lin Books

Date Published:

8th December 2013

Genre:

Contemporary Mystery

Pages:

71

Chapters:

18

Synopsis:

After breaking up with hunky movie star Nick Doyle, Grammy Award-winning singer Emma Wild returns to her hometown for Christmas to get away from it all. In Hartfield, a small town in Ontario, Canada, she gets caught up in a murder case after a fan's drink is poisoned at the Chocoholic Cafe, owned by Emma's sister Mirabelle. 

Source:

Kindle book I purchased myself.

Date Read:

16 December- 26th December 2014

Review:

*** 3 out of 5 stars

Killer Christmas is the first book in An Emma Wild Holiday Mystery series. Its is about a famous singer called Emma Wild, who has just recently split up from her movie star boyfriend Nick Doyle. She decides she is going home to spend Christmas with her family in Hartfield. She goes to her Sisters cafe, where after she orders her hot chocolate, she bumps into someone who claims to be her biggest fan, they talk for a short while until their orders are ready. They both pick up their drinks, the girl that Emma had just been talking to takes a sip of hers and falls down dead. The police arrive to investigate, Emma finds out that the dead girls name was also Emma and that she had also taken the wrong drink, so they now think that someone was trying to kill Emma Wild. Emma takes it into her own hands to try and track down the killer herself. With the help of the Chief detective who also happens to be her ex-boyfirend from high school, they work out that the killer is a widower called Kendra, who lives opposite Emma Wild's parents and who went to school with her. She blames Emma for her husband committing suicide, because he would constantly listen to her songs, so had planned to poison her with the cyanide that also killed her husband.

I thought this book was okay. I liked that this was a very quick paced story and that we didn't have to wait for ages before finding out who the killer was. I also liked the cliffhanger of an ending, which really makes me want to read the next book in the series.

My favourite part of this book is when Sterling, the chief detective tells Emma, why he broke her heart all those years ago and confesses that he still loves her. But as he is kissing her, her movie star ex Nick turns up with a ring asking her to marry him. My favourite character is Sterling because he was so considerate to Emma's dreams when they were together in high school, and that he finished with her so that she would follow her dreams instead of putting them on hold for him.

Overall, I thought this book was alright. I will be continuing with this series just because of the great cliffhanger. I will probably only recommend this book if people are looking for quick winter read.

Review: All I Want For Christmas by Amy Silver

Hi Book Lovers and Welcome to my Review of All I Want For Christmas.



(WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS)



Title:

All I Want For Christmas

Author:

Amy Silver

Publisher:

Arrow

Date Published:

25th November 2010

Genre:

Contemporary Romance

Pages:

325

Chapters:

12

Synopsis:

Twelve days and counting...
It's Bea's first Christmas with her baby son, and this year she's determined to do everything right. But there is still so much to do: the Christmas menu needs refining; her café, The Honey Pot, needs decorating; and she's invited the whole neighbourhood to a party on Christmas Day. She really doesn't have time to get involved in two new people's lives, let alone fall in love...

When Olivia gets knocked over in the street, however, Bea can't help bringing her into The Honey Pot and getting to know her. Olivia's life is even more hectic than her own, and with her fiancé's entire family over from Ireland for Christmas, she shouldn't be lingering in the cosy warmth of Bea's café. Chloe, on the other hand, has nowhere else to go. Her affair with a married man has alienated her friends, and left her lonelier than ever.

But Christmas is a magical time, and in the fragrant atmosphere of The Honey Pot, anything can happen: new friends can be made, hearts can heal, and romance can finally blossom...

Source:

Phyiscal book received as a gift.

Date Read:

28th December- 30th December 2014

Review:

***** 5 out of 5 stars

All I Want For Christmas, is a standalone novel. It is about a widowed mother called Bea, who owns a little cafe/deli called The Honey Pot. Oliva, a successful journalist, who is a regular in The Honey Pot gets knocked down outside the cafe by a cyclist. Bea helps Oliva into the cafe to sit down and have a drink after her ordeal, they are interrupted by a rude, stuck up female Lawyer called Chloe. Oliva occidentally takes Chloe's purse home, so both she and Chloe go to The Honey Pot the next day, Chloe to ask if anyone had seen her purse and Oliva to say thanks to Bea before going to hand in the purse to the police. Chloe starts having a go at Oliva for taking her purse, so Bea tells her to leave. Over the next few days their paths all cross with each others, and even tough at first both Bea and Oliva really dislike Chloe they soon realise that she isn't really that bad and is actually very lonely. Soon the three women are very good friends. And they all have the best Christmas ever.

I thought this book was really good. I really like the way that these three completely different women, go from complete strangers to the best of friends in just a matter of days. I also like that we get to see things from each woman's point view.

My favourite part of this book is when Sam, Bea's next door neighbour comes home on Christmas Eve, and Bea finally admits to herself and him that she loves him, and they get to spend Christmas together. My favourite character is Bea Marinelli because she has had a troubled past to which I could relate to, and she has changed her life for the better and is finally happy again.

Overall, I thought this book was excellent. I would love there to be more books written about Bea and her friends as I would love to learn more about her future. I think I will definitely be trying other books by this author. And I will almost certainly recommend this book to other people.