Lil

Firstly I have to admit that my reading of this novel, and subsequently my review is undoubtedly coloured by the fact that I saw the film adaptation of it last year. I always try to read the book first, or if I really like the film I put off reading the book for a while so that I can enjoy them both separately, but I was too curious to pass this book up when I saw it on the library shelf. The whole story is told in first person perspective through Pat's eyes, sort of like a diary, which gives an insight into his incredibly fragile frame of mind. He is an OCD fitness fanatic, recently released from a mental institution (or 'the bad place' as Pat refers to it), who is adamant that he will be reunited with his ex-wife despite the fact that everybody doubts him. His firm belief in silver linings and happy endings at first glance seems to be a positive outlook on life, but as you read on you realise that his dream isn't going to come true, that this isn't going to play o...

Today I'm excited to be part of the blog tour for The Bone Church, a Historical thriller by Victoria Dougherty. Check out the rest of the tour schedule here ! Publication Date: April 15th 2014 Pier's Court Press Formats: eBook/Paperback Genre: Historical Fiction/Thriller/Suspense Synopsis In the surreal and paranoid underworld of wartime Prague, fugitive lovers Felix Andel and Magdalena Ruza make some dubious alliances – with a mysterious Roman Catholic cardinal, a reckless sculptor intent on making a big political statement, and a gypsy with a risky sex life. As one by one their chances for fleeing the country collapse, the two join a plot to assassinate Hitler’s nefarious Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Josef Goebbels. But the assassination attempt goes wildly wrong, propelling the lovers in separate directions. Felix’s destiny is sealed at the Bone Church, a mystical pilgrimage site on the outskirts of Prague, while Magdalena is thrust even deeper into the b...

July's been a pretty slow month for reading, there's always so much going on in the summer that it's difficult to keep up! But even during a slow month there are a few books that manage to make their way onto my bookshelf... Ice Creams at Carrington's - Alexandra Brown Georgie Hart and Carrington’s Department Store have got the world at their feet. Since a reality TV series put them both on the map, life has been amazing! Carrington’s profits are in the pink, Georgie has found a place in the nation’s heart and her romance with Tom, the store’s boss, has blossomed. Now summertime has come to Mulberry-on -Sea and town is holding a big summer regatta. Georgie and the Carrington’s team are are going to make sure that the town puts on the show of the year! But Georgie is about to get the offer of a lifetime – something just too good to turn down, one that will test her loyalties to their limits… Will Georgie be able to pull off it off once again, or has her luck finally run ...

Today I'm excited to be part of the blog tour for Phantom's Dance by Lesa Howard. Read on for a synopsis and review, and don't forget to enter the giveaway! Phantom's Dance by Lesa Howard Publication Date: March 1st 2014 Synopsis Christine Dadey’s family uprooted their lives and moved to Houston for her to attend the prestigious Rousseau Academy of Dance. Now, two years later, Christine struggles to compete among the Academy’s finest dancers, her parents are on the brink of divorce, and she’s told no one about her debilitating performance anxiety and what she’s willing to do to cope with it. Erik was a ballet prodigy, a savant, destined to be a star on the world’s stage, but a suspicious fire left Erik’s face horribly disfigured. Now, a lonely phantom forced to keep his scars hidden, he spends his nights haunting the theater halls, mourning all he’s lost. Then, from behind the curtain he sees the lovely Christine. The moldable, malleable Christine. Drawn in by Erik’s u...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish . This week's topic is bookish blogging confessions... 1) Being a stereotypical Yorkshire farmer I'm as stingy as they come. I'm always on the lookout for a bargain, and this extends to books. I LOVE browsing Waterstones or any other full price book shop- they're my first port of call when I have time to kill- but I very rarely buy anything. Sorry. On the other hand I can't walk past a second hand bookshop/booksale without having a check to see what they've got! 2) I have an addiction to downloading free kindle e-books. At my last count I had over 200! I don't even own a kindle; I just have the basic app on my phone and check the top 100 free books list at least once a day. 3) I've never bought an e-book. Handy as they are, I just much prefer paperbacks, and can't justify buying a book that I can't have a physical copy of!  3) I DO judge a book by it's cover. No matter how h...

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. I'm a little late to the party this week, but when I saw the topic I just had to join in. My family, myself included, are a bunch of hoarders. This means that I'm lucky enough to still have all of my childhood picture books, and yes I do like to revisit them from time to time. These are a few of my favourites: Being brought up on a farm meant that these books basically reflected real life for me- the mum even looks like my mum! Those who know the Usborne books will know the little yellow duck that you have to find on every page.. one year we took a little yellow duck teddy with us on holiday and hid him in every photo. Yeah... Full of flaps, letters, rhymes and nonsense, I absolutely loved this book, and it's still on my bookshelf today. I remember that the spider used to scare me, which is probably why his envelope is the best preserved in the whole book! I used to sit and stare at the li...

Synopsis Cassidy decides her senior year, including prom, will be about Michael Greenwood, the boy destined to be her soul mate. One problem. He hasn't figured that out yet. But certain events meant as innocent pranks—that weren't completely her fault—introduce her to Zeke, the reformed bad boy. And cutting deals in the boys’ bathroom with Jasper, the hottest guy in school, lands her in a complicated web of half-truths that spirals out of control. At the end of the year, she’s dateless the day before the big night but risks a lot more than her pride if she can’t find a way to fix her mistakes. PROM IMPOSSIBLE is a modern-day Shakespearean romantic comedy in the world of teens, true love, and life. Review Firstly I have to say that I love the cover! I think it is what drew me to the book in the first place. Unfortunately though the cover is the best thing about this book. I wanted to like it -it sounded great in premise- but I just didn't get it. I couldn't identify with...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish . This week's theme is classic books. As an English Lit graduate I've read a fair few classic novels in my time, and these, in no particular order, are some of my favourites: The Pride and Prejudice of the North. My favourite of Thomas Hardy's novels. The most famous of Jane Austen's works, and rightly so. The battle between love and convention set in The Gilded Age of New York. The American classic that everyone ought to have read. It's so short that you have no excuse! Loved the film, love the book even more! The epitome of governess and master romances (excluding Maria and Captain Von Trapp of course!) Though I do tend to skip the young Jane sections and go straight to Thornfield. I saw the film version first, and was blown away when I read the book some years later. Beautiful. An underrated Bronte novel that I absolutely love! I actually prefer it to Wuthering Heights. I ought to rename my blog...