Lil

First of all, an apology. I haven't posted anywhere near as often as I'd have liked to this year, and I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't read as much either! At least my New Year's resolutions are easily decided this time. Anyway, as the New Year rolls around it's time to look back on my year of reading, and although my stats aren't as high as I'd like them to be, I have read some great books! Hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner 2016 Reading Stats Number of books you read : 32 Number of re-reads : 0 Genre you read the most from : Historical Fiction Shortest Book : The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E Smith (215 pages) Longest Book : Florence Grace by Tracy Rees (544 pages) Best in Books Best Book You Read In 2016? Florence Grace by Tracy Rees. I just adored it. You can find my review here .  Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t? I was hugely exited about Kate Williams...

There's been a few subtle changes going on here over the past few weeks. ' Good Friends, Good Books and a Sleepy Conscience ' is no more! I'd never actually intended on keeping the name anyway, it was a sort of stop-gap until I decided what I actually wanted to call it  - a stop-gap that ended up lasting over two years! After much deliberation my sister came up with the idea of Reading in Wellies (like Running in Heels but with farmers and books, geddit?) The url is staying as lilmissvixreads for now - if anyone has any expertise on changing urls on over 200+ posts I would greatly appreciate it. Do I need to make custom redirects for all of them? Technology is hard. ________________________________ In other news, I've finally joined the wonderous world of instagram. You can find me there  @readinginwellies. I had no idea how many amazing bookstagrammers there are out there, and while I'm still very much a novice I'm loving all the beautiful book photography...

I've always been very interested in the life of Queen Victoria. It's hard not to be when you're named after her! So it was with some delight that I discovered ITV were making a television series all about her early years, penned by the wonderful Daisy Goodwin. Despite my initial frustration to discover that the majority of the series was filmed within an hour's drive of my house and I knew nothing of it, I was glued to my screen every night for the eight week duration (Captain Poldark had to wait for iPlayer). So when I heard that Daisy had written a novel to accompany the series, complete with extra scenes, well I headed straight online to pre-order it. The cover is beautiful and perfectly fitting, and I dived right in as soon as it arrived. "In June 1837, the eighteen-year-old Victoria wakes up to find that she is Queen of the most powerful nation in the world. But will she be queen in her own right, or a puppet controlled by her mother and the sinister Sir John ...

  A spectacular fraud in a London auction house.  A barefoot lover running through the Paris streets.  A colossal theft from a billionaire's yacht.  A vicious murder under a bridge in Rome.  They started it. she'll end it.  WHO IS THE MAESTRA?  Review The simple yet deceptive blurb on the back of this novel is what drew me to read it.I had no idea what to expect, and it was nothing like I could ever have imagined. Maestra comes with the tagline 'The Most Shocking Thriller You'll Read This Year'. I'll admit that I haven't read that many thrillers, but this is  certainly true for me. Maestra is unpredictable, graphic in every sense of the word and left me feeling very uneasy. I couldn't put it down. So I suppose that makes it a success. Having looked at the reader reviews I'm surprised how many negative ones there are. Yes it's explicit, designed to shock, but Maestra is reflective of the baser aspects of human nature - lust and greed. Althoug...

Synopsis Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. 'Jess and Jason', she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she's only watched from afar. Now they'll see; she's much more than just the girl on the train... Review Last weekend I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about. Less than 48 hours later and I knew. I daren't say too much for fear of giving anything away. True to form it's a thriller packed with twists and turns, and although I predicted pretty early on what the big twist was going to be, I was gripped to see ho...

It was with some trepidation that I went to see Bridget Jones's Baby . In fact, and friend and I had previously written off the idea, as it surely couldn't come close to the cosy charm of the original (I tend not to think about Edge of Reason ). However, as the positive reviews poured in curiosity won out and it was time to see for myself what the writers had come up with. I was saddened not to see Richard Curtis' name on the credits, but equally delighted to spot Emma Thompson's. Her role in the film - which she may well have written with herself in mind - as Bridget's brilliantly deadpan doctor is a great addition to an already top notch cast. Aside from Hugh Grant's conspicuous absence it's lovely to see the whole original gang back together; Bridget's trio of best friends are all in check, with husbands and children in tow, and her parents - and her auntie Una - are all thankfully still alive and kicking.  If you've seen the trailer you...

HE SEIZED LIFE BY THE THROAT Dubbed the Black Wolf for his raven hair, his fierceness in battle and his way with women, Sir Alexander of Talisand attacked life as he did the king’s enemies. But acclaim on the battlefield and his lusty escapades did not satisfy. King William Rufus would bind him to Normandy through marriage to one of its noblewomen, but the only woman Alexander wanted was a commoner he had saved from a terrible fate. SHE KEPT MEN AT BAY WITH HER BOW The shame of being the child of a Norman’s rape dogged Merewyn’s steps from her youth. Determined never to be a victim of a man’s lust like her mother, in Wales she donned the garb of an archer and developed extraordinary skill with a bow. Despite her fair beauty, men now keep their distance. No longer in need of protection from other men, can Merewyn protect herself from Alexander when he holds her heart yet can never be hers? Review  Regan Walker's novels never fail to capture my imagination, to transport me to anot...