WWW Wednesday – 21st October

October 21, 2015October 21, 2015 Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Unfortunately I missed last week as I’d been ill and hadn’t had a chance to actually read anything but I’m so excited to be taking part again.

WWW Wednesday The three W’s are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading 23343303

At the moment I’m working my way through The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance by Kirsty Greenwood. It’s a light and fluffy romance about a girl who doesn’t do love and romance but is convinced to follow the rules in a “get a man” guide book from the 1950’s. Finding it really funny which is proving difficult as far as reading on my commute goes. I’m back to using my hand to cover my mouth so I won’t actually laugh out loud.

Recently Finished

Over the last week or so I’ve been doing quite well and have finished a few books. After reading Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson last week I couldn’t resist the follow up novella Toil and Trouble. It’s set at Halloween so seemed an appropriate read for October. Unfortunately little bit disappointed in it as it switched from first to third person and nothing much happened.

After that I was looking for a bit more romance so read How to Lose a Bachelor by Anna Banks which I’d received as an ARC. OK read but nothing special. I then switched back to my usual genre of YA fantasy and read The Jewel by Amy Ewing. First in a series but not sure I’ll be rushing to read the sequel. It seemed quite formulaic and as if the author was dragging out what could have been one story into a series. I think it may actually have put me off YA fantasy altogether for a while.

Reading Next

Next I need to start working my way through some of the ARC books I have sitting around and which are kind of overdue. I think first up will be Blonde Eskimo by Kirsten Hunt although I’m a little bit unsure about it. The reviews seem to be a bit mixed so I have a feeling it will be a love or hate type story.

I have however been distracted by Love, Death and Tea by Will Once which sounds like it could be an interesting read. It’s a story from the point of view of a zombie so should definitely fit my love of the weird and unusual stories. Also another one that should fit in with the Halloween theme.

Taking a Random Approach

QuoteOctober 21, 2015October 21, 2015 Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “By the Dots.” One of my pet peeves when I’m reading is the misuse of punctuation. Wrongly placed commas or speech marks can completely change the meaning of a sentence. Occasionally it can be funny but most of the time it means re reading a sentence and […]

Book Review: The Cowgirl Jumped Over the Moon by Linda Ballou

October 15, 2015October 15, 2015 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

The Cowgirl Jumped Over the Moon by Linda Ballou
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

In honour of the 10 year anniversary of getting my horse I’m going with a bit of a horsey theme on the blog this month. To keep with the theme I thought I’d post some reviews of horse related books.

I have to admit that as a horse rider I usually stay well away from stories about riders as there is almost always some kind of accident where either horse or rider is hurt and it will either upset me or freak me out. I’m extremely superstitious about my riding and think that reading about someone else’s accident will somehow cause me to have one. I did however overcome my reservations to try this story by Linda Ballou and for the most part I’m really glad I did.

The story follows Gemcie, a young showjumper competing at the highest level, who is badly hurt when she falls from her horse during a competition. Forced to stop riding for a period as she works to recover, her main rival takes over her ride and moves in on her husband. Gemcie has to re assess her life, overcome her fear of falling and decide what she wants to be. To do this she sets out on a quest to find out what happened to her father who abandoned her as a baby. When she finds the trail he was last seen riding off on she decides to follow in his footsteps and takes a horse and provisions and rides into the mountains alone. As she travels she begins to understand the beauty of nature and finds a connection to her father. This gives her the focus and the motivation to reclaim what’s rightfully hers.

For the most part I enjoyed the story and towards the end I couldn’t stop reading. I love stories of recovery and overcoming obstacles against the odds. I’m a big fan of films like Rocky and Seabiscuit as it’s great to see the underdog fighting their way to the top. Gemcie is definitely an underdog in this story. She’s come from practically nothing to become one of the top showjumpers which obviously took a lot of work and she’s completely dependant on her husband and his family to ensure she stays where she is. She is one accident or slip from losing everything which needless to say is exactly what happens.

I have to admit it took me a little while to warm up to Gemcie as a character. She’s quite a young girl who is obviously a top rider and unlike a lot of competitive riders does actually treat her horse with respect rather than as a means to an end. She’s obviously worked hard to get where she is considering her background. I think what frustrated her about me at the start was her reaction to her injury and also her relationship with her husband. I can understand her frustration at being injured and limited to what you can do but I can’t understand why when you have a back injury you wouldn’t listen to the doctor. As far as her husband went I couldn’t comprehend why she’d married him at such a young age and why she was ok with him not sticking by her side when she was injured. It wasn’t exactly a shock when things started going wrong between them. I also found it difficult to understand why someone would head off on horseback into the mountains on their own for months. It seemed to me a little selfish and self indulgent to make her family and friends worry so much.

However, once she does begin her journey my opinion of her started to change. She finds some determination and some courage which you couldn’t help but admire. By the time she returned home and decided to fight for what she wanted I was definitely rooting for her all the way.

The main thing I loved about this book however were the descriptions of riding as I could imagine myself there with Gemcie as she rode around a course of jumps. My heart was thumping when she fell and soaring when they took off up the mountain at a gallop. I’m not sure how it would work if you’re not a rider, there is a lot of knowledge assumed and some of the terminology I didn’t know, but it definitely kept me gripped.

The book hints at a sequel and I have to admit I’d be interested to read it.

Could this be book heaven?

October 13, 2015October 14, 2015 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

This weekend I visited Birmingham to attend the Horse of the Year show but while I was there I couldn’t resist visiting the Library (sad I know). I’ve been down to Birmingham a few times and have seen the Library from the outside but this was the first time I actually made it inside.

I absolutely love libraries and bookshops so there was no way I was passing up the chance to visit one of the largest libraries in the world. It’s 31,000 square metres, spread over 10 floors of differing size and use. It’s definitely the first library I’ve ever visited with multiple escalators and a glass elevator. Unfortunately the outside terraces and secret garden were closed to the public on the day I visited but they certainly looked impressive and there are incredible views across Birmingham from the 9th floor.

There are loads of comfy chairs spread all over where you can just relax with your choice of book for an afternoon. There are a lot of non fiction books which aren’t really my thing but just being surrounded by so many books is relaxing. It could possibly be a book lover’s heaven.

Inside

Outside

Book Review: How to Lose a Bachelor by Anna Banks

October 13, 2015November 5, 2015 Ali@abookishlife1 Comment

How to Lose a Bachelor by Anna Banks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An OK read but nothing special.

This is my first book from this author and I chose it as I thought the story sounded like it would be quite funny. It’s not the most original of ideas, a girl enters a reality dating show to win money and ends up running into an ex, but it could have been exciting and enjoyable. While I didn’t dislike it, I get the feeling it’s one of those books that I will have forgotten in a week or so.

The story follows Rochelle Ransom who enters dating show Luring Love not because she want to find love but because the prize money would help her support her favourite charity. However it turns out the bachelor whose heart she will be competing against 9 other girls to win is the guy who broke her heart in college. If she quits she loses the money so she decides to stay and resorts to increasingly ridiculous behaviour to try to get voted off. However Grant Drake, her ex, is determined to keep her around for as long as possible. Is he trying to get revenge or does he want her back?

I think for me the issue with the story is that it was missing the emotion and the spark. It’s an easy enough read (I think I read it in about 3 hours)and the narrative flows quite well but I think it was maybe a bit shallow. There was no depth, no description and therefore no real connection with the characters.

There should have been some laughs in the story as Rochelle resorts to increasingly extreme behaviour to get voted off. However her actions didn’t really come across as funny to me. She just comes across as a little bit ridiculous and I’m not convinced that a professional lawyer would be willing to act that way on national television to get money even if it is for charity. To be perfectly honest I just didn’t find her believable as a lawyer at all. I think it would have made more sense for her to have a different occupation.

As for Grant Drake, the bachelor everyone wants to win, I’m not sure I could see the attraction. He seemed nice enough but a little bit bland and boring. I also felt like he tended to over react a bit to certain things. Considering the anti domestic violence message running through the book I thought it odd that it was considered ok for him to break someone else’s nose for a throwaway comment that people use all of the time.

Some of the other girls competing seemed like they could be quite interesting characters but we didn’t really get to see much of them. Again what we did get was pretty superficial and there was no depth.

The story and the ending were fairly predictable as you would expect from this type of story but overall I thought it was a nice easy read. It’s not a book I’ll be rushing to read again but if you’re looking for something light it might be worth a try.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Book Review: Genie by Kitty French

October 6, 2015 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

Genie by Kitty French
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved the Piano Man Project by Kitty French’s chic lit alter ego Kat French so was excited to try this story. I like a good steamy novel with great chemistry between the leads and this is definitely that.

Genie is a burlesque dancer and more or less assistant manager in her uncle’s theatre. Abel is the owner of a chain of gyms who thinks the theatre will be perfect for his next club. He can’t stand “strippers” but when he sees Genie’s routine he can’t take his eyes off her much to his disgust. When Genie finds out he’s trying to take over the club she makes it her mission to stop him. Needless to say sparks really fly between the two of them. There is a lot of game playing, a lot of arguing and a lot of passion.

Both are pretty likeable characters. Genie is passionate about her job, her home and her family. She’s intelligent, caring and funny. Some of the tricks she plays on Abel are pretty funny but she is not keen on conflict so when she pushes him too far she does apologize.

Abel was a bit more difficult to warm to at the start mostly due to his attitude towards Genie and women in general. He’s definitely an Alpha male and a little bit full of himself. However as the story progresses and Genie shakes him up he becomes quite a sweet guy. I think it’s safe to say his mum has a lot to answer for.

For the most part I thought the book was well written. The pace is about right and there is a lot of chemistry as well as some humour. I loved some of the secondary characters, particularly the other burlesque dancers. The scene when Abel was showing round some potential investors when the dancers were teaching a class was classic. My one relatively minor criticism is that some of the more erotic scenes didn’t quite make sense but that’s maybe just me.

Overall I think this is one of those books that’s perfect when you’re looking for something light, a little bit funny and a whole lot steamy. I will no doubt be reading more Kitty (and Kat) French.

WWW Wednesday – 30 September 2015

September 30, 2015September 30, 2015 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

Yesterday I participated in my very first book tag so I’ve decided to keep trying new things and am taking on my very first meme. I’ve seen the WWW Wednesday meme popping up a lot and it looks fun so thought I’d give it a go. The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.

WWW Wednesday The three W’s are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

Yesterday I started Wendy Darling by Colleen Oakes. As you may have noticed I’m a big fan of fairytale re-tellings so when I spotted this new version of Peter Pan I couldn’t resist. I read Neverland by Anna Katmore back in April so this is my second Peter Pan book this year. This one however seems much more of a classic re-telling than Neverland which put a bit of a twist on the characters. Really enjoying it so far, finding it quite dark and sinister. Peter is kind of giving me the creeps but then I think there is something a bit odd about a boy who doesn’t want to grow up and seems to want to collect little boys.

If you look to the widgets on the right you will also see I’m currently reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I started this a few weeks ago got about half way through and came to a stop. Not sure I will ever actually manage to finish it. I’m obviously not that effective.

Recently Finished

My most recent read is Genie by Kitty French. Kitty French is the other pen name of Kat French who wrote one of my favourite books this year, The Piano Man Project.

This is a little more X rated than the Piano Man Project but I thought it was a great read. She’s a burlesque dancer and he’s the owner of a chain of gyms who wants to buy the theatre where she works and hates “strippers”. There are a lot of arguments and an undeniable attraction between the two of them. I’ll post a proper review soon but it’s definitely one I’d recommend if you like an erotic romance (and who doesn’t).

If nothing else don’t you just love the cover.

Reading Next

This is actually the hardest question for me as I usually don’t make up my mind till the very last possible moment. I currently have 103 books on my kindle TBR shelf so there are no shortage of options. It will no doubt depend on whether I feel like something light and funny or if I want something a bit darker.

I really, really want to read A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J Maas but feel I should take a break for a month or so to recover from the last two books in the throne of glass series. I think therefore the most likely candidates for next read are either 3:34am by Nick Pirog or What Could Possibly Go Wrong by Jodi Taylor. Both are continuations of a series I love and are likely to be slightly silly reads.

So that’s my first set of W’s what do you think? Are there any other books I should add to my ever growing TBR pile?

The Emoji Book Tag

September 29, 2015September 29, 2015 Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

I’ve never actually tried a book tag before but was very excited to be tagged by Deanna at A Novel Glimpse for the Emoji Book Tag. Thank you Deanna I love your blog and am so happy to take up the challenge.

In this tag, you pair your five most used or recently used emojis to books. I may actually kill two birds with one story and use this as my List Five for this week. So here we go:

SMILEY FACE

A book that makes me smile seems like a really good place to start. There are quite a few books I’ve read recently that have made me smile but the one which had me smiling for days was The Piano Man Project by Kat French. It has some great funny dialogue between main characters Honey and Hal, rebellious pensioners fighting to save their care home and some romance and heat. A great read when you’re in need of a smile.

Synopsis from GoodReads

A delightfully romantic, heartwarming read for everyone who’s ever looked for The One and found someone better.

You: kind, piano-playing sex god
Me: hopelessly romantic charity shop manager

Honeysuckle Jones has a problem, and her best friends Nell and Tash are on a mission to help her solve it. She needs a man – a caring, intelligent, funny man. But most importantly, a man who’s good with his hands…

Luckily Honey’s new neighbour – moody, antisocial ex-chef Hal – fails on almost every count. Even though the chemistry between them is electric, he’s obviously wrong for her in every way.

But when Honey discovers the devastating reason for his moods she decides to give him another chance. And discovers that the best songs aren’t always in tune…

SHOCKED FACE

The last book that had me taking a sharp intake of breath and my jaw hitting the floor was Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls. It’s a young adult book about a girl whose former best friend commits suicide during the school holidays but things may not be as straightforward as that. There are quite a few twists and turns in this story but there was one in particular around the halfway point that I really didn’t see coming.

GoodReads Synopsis

Pitched as Gone Girl meets Thirteen Reasons Why

June barely has time to mourn the death of her best friend Delia, before Delia’s ex-boyfriend convinces her Delia was murdered, and June is swept into a tangle of lies, deceit, and conspiracy.

LAUGHING FACE

Sometimes it seems that life is just that little bit too serious so it’s great when you find a book that gives you a bit of a giggle. Probably not the best idea to read it on the train unless you’re willing to get some very odd looks or bite very hard on the inside of your cheek. Thankfully I chose to read Sentencing Sapphire by Mia Thompson when I was home alone. It’s the third in the series about a society heiress who hunts serial killers in her spare time. There are a lot of hilarious rich people stereotypes and some great dialogue as well as a great fast paced story.

GoodReads Synopsis

A summer has passed since the catastrophe at the country club. Heiress and vigilante Sapphire Dubois has escaped to Paris, where she has shed her rich persona and lives as the infamous Serial Catcher. When the handsome Detective Aston Ridder tracks her down, Sapphire returns home to find Beverly Hills in chaos. A new vigilante has taken over Sapphire’s old job, and will stop at nothing to get her predecessor out of the way.

Meanwhile, a man with dark intentions and a deceiving smile has nestled his way into the rich community and is killing off heiresses. It doesn’t take long before Sapphire finds that this man, the next killer she has to catch, is none other than her estranged father. Already plagued by sickening memories, Sapphire is pushed to the limit when her father initiates a deranged game that threatens both her sanity and the lives of everyone around her.

While Aston struggles to keep the woman he loves from drowning in her father’s madness, Sapphire battles to outwit her merciless opponents before time runs out and more innocent blood is spilled.

EMBARRASSED FACE

Believe it or not my Mum’s kindle is hooked up to my Amazon account. This means any book I buy she has access to so for the most part I’m beyond being embarrassed by books. Once you’ve chatted to your almost 70 year old Mum about Fifty Shades of Grey (she didn’t like it) it doesn’t get much worse. What did embarrass me though was not the content of a book but the title. I read it while doing a team challenge on GoodReads and we needed the points so yep I admitted it. I read a book called “Prick”. I did actually really enjoy it but not the best title. I hope no one reading this is offended by bad language.

Goodreads Synopsis

I can’t stop thinking about that prick.
Caulter Sterling is a prick.
A filthy-mouthed, womanizing, crude, spoiled, arrogant prick.
The tattooed, pierced, panty-melting-hot son of a celebrity.
I hate him.
He’s slept his way through practically every girl at Brighton Academy.
Except for me.
I’m the good girl. The responsible girl. The 4.0, class president, studied-so-much-she-never-lost-the-big-V girl.
And in celebration of graduation and adulthood, I just made the worst decision in the history of ever.
I lost my V-card to the devil himself.
It was just one night. So what if it was mind-blowing? Hit it and quit it.
Except I just found out that my father – the Senator, the Presidential hopeful – is marrying Caulter’s mother. Oh, and this summer? We’re hitting the campaign trail.
One big happy family.
I’m totally f**ked.

CRYING FACE

The last book that had me crying my eyes out in the least dignified way possible was The First Last Kiss by Ali Harris. We’re talking huge, big, ugly sobs. I actually ran out of tissues and had to use toilet paper to dry my snot and tears. Think PS I Love You or One Day and you’ll know what I mean. I challenge anyone to read this and not have a bit of a bubble.

Synopsis from Amazon UK (for some reason Good Reads synopsis is in Croatian)

How do you hold on to a love that is slowly slipping away from you? Can you let go of the past when you know what is in the future? And how do you cope when you know that every kiss is a countdown to goodbye? This is the story of a love affair, of Ryan and Molly and how they fell in love and were torn apart. The first time Molly kissed Ryan, she knew they’d be together forever. Six years and thousands of kisses later she’s married to the man she loves. But today, when Ryan kisses her, Molly realises how many of them she wasted because the future holds something which neither of them could have ever predicted…

So that’s my five what’s yours? I tag the following fantastic blogs and anyone else who wants to take part.

Feel free to ignore if you’ve already been tagged.

Book Review: Christmas Ever After by Sarah Morgan

September 25, 2015 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

Christmas Ever After by Sarah Morgan
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

It’s a bright sunny day in September and I’m reading a Christmas book but do you know what it’s absolutely perfect. I was so excited to get a copy of this book from NetGalley and Harlequin that I had to read it immediately. The previous book in the Puffin Island series had a bit of a sneak peak at this one and based on that alone I knew I would love it. I was so right.

In previous meetings they have always seemed to rub each other up the wrong way but Alec comes to Sky’s rescue when she really needs someone. He takes care of her and takes her to his family home in the Cotswolds to make sure she’s OK. As they are forced to spend more time together the sparks flying between them could just set their relationship on fire but will one of them get burned.

I love Sarah Morgan’s books and for me this is one of her best books yet. Skylar and Alec were very likeable characters and I thought they had some great chemistry which in a book like this is by far the most important thing.

Skylar is bubbly, up beat creative, dreamy and smart. She knows what she wants out of life and isn’t afraid to go for it despite her extremely unsupportive family. She has the odd knock (mostly due to her family) but just keeps bouncing back. You can’t help but admire someone with that kind of resilience. Alec is dark, handsome, reserved, grumpy and secretly a knight in shining armour. He’s almost the opposite of Sky, shut off from the world and the possibility of love as a result of a past relationship that ended badly. He has some preconceived ideas about Sky which she proves to be completely wrong. The relationship between them is fiery to say the least but it also leads to some fantastic dialogue between the two of them which often made me laugh.

Despite being the third in the Puffin Island trilogy the story actually begins in the UK, in London and the Cotswolds, which I thought worked really well. It seemed so cosy and romantic spending time together with family in the countryside at Christmas. It also worked well in terms of shaking up Alec as he was subjected to the third degree by his parents and sister. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the holidays and was a little disappointed when they headed back to the states and Puffin Island.

Once they were back on Puffin Island I felt like the story slowed down a little. There was too much time spent trying to define their relationship without ever talking to each about it. The fire from earlier in the story seems to fizzle out a little and turn into angst. I also felt like there was too much time spent trying to bring in the characters from the previous books. It didn’t feel very natural to me but I’m sure loads of readers will be desperate to know how they are getting on.

The story does pick up again towards the end and I thought the conclusion of the story was perfect.

Overall it’s definitely a great romantic read for Christmas, or any other time of year.

Book Review: Sentencing Sapphire by Mia Thompson

September 23, 2015September 23, 2015 Ali@abookishlife1 Comment

Sentencing Sapphire by Mia Thompson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

If you’re looking for a deep, dark, psychological thriller about chasing down serial killers this is not the book for you. However, if you’re looking for an easy, funny, exciting read with some mystery, romance and a lot of action this book is perfect.

This is the third book in the Sapphire Dubois mystery series and one which I’ve been anxiously awaiting for ages. It seems like forever since I read Stalking Sapphire and Silencing Sapphire and I have been semi stalking Mia Thompson ever since to find the release date for this one.

The story starts with heiress and hunter of serial killers Sapphire Dubois on the run in Europe following the events at the end of the last book. Free from the constraints of her old life and reputation she’s enjoying not having to live a double life and can hunt serial killers to her hearts content. Her thoughts and dreams however keep wandering back to Detective Aston Ridder and everything she’s left behind.

When she finally decides to return home it seems her secret is out and she ends up in jail accused of murder and obstruction. She has to try to clear her name but to make things more difficult a copycat serial catcher is on the loose and Daddy is back and looking for Sapphire to join the family business (which is murder).

It had been so long since I read the first two books that I’d forgotten what it was I loved about them. However this was clear pretty much from the start of this instalment in the series.

Sapphire is a great character. She’s another kick ass heroine, intelligent, tough, independent, with a great sense of humour and a smart mouth. She seems to take most things in her stride from her latest run in with a killer to her completely crazy family and friends.

I have to admit though that Aston is my favourite character. He’s rude, curses pretty much non stop and I’m not sure how much thinking he does with his head (as opposed to other parts of his anatomy) but he does make me laugh. He definitely gets some of the best scenes and one liners. Notable examples being his choice of outfit to a masquerade ball and the morning after the night before when he wakes up at his bosses house.

Sapphire and Aston together make an explosive couple and their relationship fluctuates from love to hate from one page to the next. There is a clear attraction but being on different sides of the law causes them quite a few complications and some very funny interactions.

In addition to Sapphire and Aston there are a lot of great supporting characters including Aston’s partner Barry Harry, spoilt, shallow, billionaire heiress (and Sapphires BFF) Chrissy Kraft and possibly the thickest man ever John Vanderpilt. The stereotypes are played to the max but it totally works.

The plot itself is fast paced and exciting and as well as all of the laughs there is a lot of action. It is a who-dunnit as Sapphire has to figure out who the copycat is and solve her father’s riddles before someone she cares about gets hurt. I have to admit it kept me guessing and totally hooked throughout.

Overall I thought it was a great read and would recommend to anyone who likes a mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I’m off to stalk the author some more until the next one comes out.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.