Waiting on Wednesday: The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.



Expected Release Date: 8th October 2013
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

Quiet misfit Rose doesn't expect to fall in love with the sleepy beach town of Leonora. Nor does she expect to become fast friends with beautiful, vivacious Pearl Kelly, organizer of the high school float at the annual Harvest Festival parade. It's better not to get too attached when Rose and her father live on the road, driving their caravan from one place to the next whenever her dad gets itchy feet. But Rose can't resist the mysterious charms of the town or the popular girl, try as she might.

Pearl convinces Rose to visit Edie Baker, once a renowned dressmaker, now a rumored witch. Together Rose and Edie hand-stitch an unforgettable dress of midnight blue for Rose to wear at the Harvest Festival—a dress that will have long-lasting consequences on life in Leonora, a dress that will seal the fate of one of the girls. Karen Foxlee's breathtaking novel weaves friendship, magic, and a murder mystery into something moving, real, and distinctly original.

Book Review / This Thirty Something Life by Jon Rance

Being a Thirty Something man isn’t easy (especially when you still yearn to be a Twenty Something man). Meet Harry Spencer. History teacher, lover of snack food and terrified of growing up. However, when his wife Emily drops the P-Bomb, Harry is suddenly thrust into the role of expectant father. Cue baby doctor visits, breast-pump demonstrations, morning sickness, food cravings, self-help books, family therapy sessions, cold sweats and the birthing class from hell.

However, when he’s tempted by the greener grass of an ex-girlfriend past, he must make the most important decision of his life. Will Harry have what it takes to become a man or will he succumb to the lure of adolescent fantasy?

Set in London, This Thirtysomething Life: A Diary is a love story about what happens after we've fallen in love, when we’ve swapped frolicking in the bed for cigarettes in the shed and Match of the Day for Mothercare. Brutally honest, riotously funny and often heartwarming, this is a diary about one man’s bumbling journey on the road to adulthood.


Publisher:  Hodder
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  N/A
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

Review:   5 out of 10

Video Review....




Best wishes

Debs :-)

Dusty Reads: Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweep Shop of Dreams by Jenny Colgan

Dusty Reads is a Tuesday meme that I found at Ya-aholic.com and was originally started at Xpressoreads.com. 

This is a meme where I intend to showcase a book that has been on my shelf for a while and haven’t got to yet.  If you have read this or have heard of this book, I would love to hear your comments on whether you  like it or not, or have heard great things about it.

This week, my  Dusty Read is:

 Were you a sherbet lemon or chocolate lime fan? Soft chewy ones or hard boiled sweeties (you do get more for your money that way)? The jangle of your pocket money . . . the rustle of the pink and green striped paper bag . . .

Rosie Hopkins thinks leaving her busy London life, and her boyfriend Gerard, to sort out her elderly Aunt Lilian s sweetshop in a small country village is going to be dull. Boy, is she wrong.

Lilian Hopkins has spent her life running Lipton s sweetshop, through wartime and family feuds. As she struggles with the idea that it might finally be time to settle up, she also wrestles with the secret history hidden behind the jars of beautifully coloured sweets.

     

   

     
   

 

 
 
    

Book Review / Transcendence by CJ Omololu

When a visit to the Tower of London triggers an overwhelmingly real vision of a beheading that occurred centuries before, Cole Ryan fears she is losing her mind. A mysterious boy, Griffon Hall, comes to her aid, but the intensity of their immediate connection seems to open the floodgate of memories even wider. 

As their feelings grow, Griffon reveals their common bond as members of the Akhet-an elite group of people who can remember past lives and use their collected wisdom for the good of the world. But not all Akhet are altruistic, and a rogue is after Cole to avenge their shared past. Now in extreme danger, Cole must piece together clues from many lifetimes. 

What she finds could ruin her chance at a future with Griffon, but risking his love may be the only way to save them both.Full of danger, romance, and intrigue,Transcendence breathes new life into a perpetually fascinating question: What would you do with another life to live?

Published:    21st May 2013

Publisher:  Bloomsbury

Goodreads :  Click here

Series: Book 1, Transcendence

Source:  Review Copy From Publisher

Review:   6 out of 10

What I loved about this book…

I really enjoyed the fact that this story started in London.  Having been to London many times, I recognised the location and the description around the Tower of London. 

What I enjoyed the most was the historic feeling to the story.  There are ‘flash backs’ every now and then throughout the story which gives a glimpse to a bit of history and definitely gives some depth to the story. 

There is a bit of mystery with this story, the main mystery for me being trying to figure out who was who, who was good and who was bad, which I have to admit was a bit easy to figure out but it was interesting to have to figure them out at the beginning. 

What I was not fond of about this book…

For me, this was a very easy young adult read – nothing complicated.  With a story of this kind, I would have loved to have seen more twists and turns and maybe a few surprises along the way.  I was really expecting all the things that happened in this story and would have loved to have been surprised a bit. 

In summary…

A really great, easy to read, young adult read that I would recommend to those of you who like a bit of a historic ‘paranormalish’ type read.   This is the first in a series and definitely did leave me with quite a few questions that I am intrigued to find out more.

Video review...

Best wishes

Debs :-)

Waiting on Wednesday: Red by Alison Cherry

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.



Expected Release Date:  8th October 2013
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

Felicity St. John has it all—loyal best friends, a hot guy, and artistic talent. And she’s right on track to win the Miss Scarlet pageant. Her perfect life is possible because of just one thing: her long, wavy, coppery red hair.

Having red hair is all that matters in Scarletville. Redheads hold all the power—and everybody knows it. That’s why Felicity is scared down to her roots when she receives an anonymous note:

I know your secret.

Because Felicity is a big fake. Her hair color comes straight out of a bottle. And if anyone discovered the truth, she’d be a social outcast faster than she could say "strawberry blond." Her mother would disown her, her friends would shun her, and her boyfriend would dump her. And forget about winning that pageant crown and the prize money that comes with it—money that would allow her to fulfill her dream of going to art school.

Felicity isn’t about to let someone blackmail her life away. But just how far is she willing to go to protect her red cred?

Dusty Reads: The Meryl Streep Movie Club by Mia March

Dusty Reads is a Tuesday meme that I found at Ya-aholic.com and was originally started at Xpressoreads.com. 

This is a meme where I intend to showcase a book that has been on my shelf for a while and haven’t got to yet.  If you have read this or have heard of this book, I would love to hear your comments on whether you  like it or not, or have heard great things about it.

This week, my  Dusty Read is:

 Welcome to The Three Captains. A charming bijou guesthouse on the Maine coast which is a haven of calm for guests and owners alike. When Lolly summons home her nieces, Isabel and June - one recovering from a broken heart, the other struggling to bring up her young son singlehandedly - they assume she's going to sell The 3 Cs, the place they called home after they lost their parents in a car accident. But the truth is much more heartbreaking than that.

Along with Lolly's daughter Kat - also at a crossroads in her life - the women spend their first summer together in years and home truths and long-buried secrets begin to emerge. Then movie buff Lolly invites her three offspring to attend her legendary movie nights and what at first seems like a few hours of distraction from their tumultuous lives becomes so much more. What they discover shakes them to the core, brings them together after years of discord, and provides them with the inspiration that they need to truly connect with each other and find happiness.

     

   

     
   

 

 
 
    

Author Interview / Ava Zavora

 

In my childhood, I used to ride water buffaloes and wade in swamps. Nowadays, I travel and write dark fairy tales and romantic novels about adventurous women. My debut novel, Rosethorn,is available in all Amazon stores.  Belle Noir: Tales of Love and Magic will be published in June 2013, and Dear Adam, a contemporary romance will be published in August 2013.

1.  If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why?  

Mary Shelley because her she is an underrated genius.  She wrote Frankenstein when she was only 21 and lived a very fascinating life outside of that fame.

2.  What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you write? 

With a full time job, I write whenever and wherever I can, but mostly do so here, in my little nook.

3.  What is the hardest part of the writing for you?  

Getting through the middle.  I want to write stories that leave out the boring parts people usually skip.  

4.  When and why did you first start writing? 

Believe it or not, I started pretend writing on the pages of my little Bible when I was a toddler.  I still have it somewhere, just scribbles and scribbles of nonsense.  

5.  How did you come up with the idea for your book? 

One day I wanted to read a book about reunited first loves that also had a bit of a mystery in it.  I couldn't find what I was looking for so I realized I had to be the one to write that book :)  Add my love of Stevie Nicks's music, as well as allusions to Charles Dickens, and Rosethorn was born.

6.  Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now?

I think I read books in my mother's womb to pass the time :)  I am re-reading Dante's Inferno, which is one of the most richly-depicted worlds ever created.  It would make a fantastic horror film.

7.  Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?

I cannot say it more eloquently than Jane Yolen: BIC - "Butt in chair." 

Links:

Website:  http://www.avazavora.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/avazavora

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authoravazavora

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/avazavora

Book Review / My Life in Black and White by Kim Izzo

When Clara Bishop, a struggling screenwriter-turned-tabloid journalist in Hollywood, is jilted by her philandering husband, she follows him to London, determined to win him back. 

Armed with only a glamorous wardrobe of vintage clothing inherited from her grandmother, a former film noir actress, Clara discovers that the clothes really do make the woman. Dressed to kill, she adopts a new femme fatale persona: confident, sexy and set on revenge. 

But on the road to retaliation, Clara discovers an unfinished film script that sheds light on her grandmother’s mysterious death years before. Then it happens: somehow, magically, her whole life is transported back in time, into a living, breathing film noir that reveals to Clara the potential to write her own ending

Published:    4th June 2013

Publisher:  Harper Collins

Goodreads :  Click here

Series: N/A

Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

Review:   6 out of 10

What I loved about this book…

This book was not what I was expecting at all.  I had expected this to be a typical chick lit story about a woman finding out more about her grandmother than she expected and then goes on a journey of discovery.  Yes the main character discovers something  about her grandmother that she didn’t know but this story was more about the setting and scene for me.  The entire book has a film noir feel to it, one of those old black and white movies about gangsters and such.  I was not expecting it but loved it.  The story starts at the end, where you are at a police station and then as the story is told to a policeman, it flashes back piece by piece throughout the story.

What I was not fond of about this book…

About halfway through the story, the whole story takes on a completely new twist and although I cannot say too much because that would spoil the story but the spin in this story did throw me off track for a bit and it was just like starting a whole new story from scratch.  It did take me a little while to get back into the story from the middle to the end.

When reading the blurb, I got the impression that this story was about discovering the grandmother’s secrets and taking the story on from there but this story was more about the main character and her journey rather than the grandmother, discovering her secrets and finding out more about the grandmother, family history and so on.  I have to be honest and say that I was a little bit disappointed that there was not more of that in the story.

In summary…

Despite the fact that the story was predictable but unexpected, I did enjoy the journey of the story and the fact that this was completely different to what I had expected and not something that I had read before.  I have not really experienced any old black and white gangster type movies or stories before so this was a first for me.  Although I would not say that this is one of my most favourite types of stories to read, I did enjoy it.

Video review....

Best wishes

Debs J

Book Review / Pretty Girl Thirteen by Liz Coley

A gripping, suspenseful debut that will haunt you long after you have turned the final page…

Angie Chapman is only 13 when she gets lost in the woods in the middle of the night.

The next thing she knows she’s returned home, scars around her wrists and ankles, physically exhausted. Her parents collapse into tears when they see her, but Angie doesn’t understand – until they tell her she has been missing, presumed dead, for three years.

Angie doesn’t remember anything from her missing years. But there are people who do – people who could tell Angie every terrifying detail, if only they weren’t locked inside her mind.

With help, Angie begins to unravel the darkest secrets of her own past.

But does she really want to know the truth?

Published:    28th February 2013

Publisher:  Harper

Goodreads :  Click here

Series:  N/A

Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

Review:   10000000000000000 out of 10

What I loved about this book…

As I have probably mentioned before, once in every few books you read one that completely blows you away.  A book that has that edge to it that makes you want to read and never stop until it is done.  This is one of those books for me.  It has a very intriguing start, where you see Angie returning home from her camping trip thinking that she was still thirteen but despite the fact that the family is very happy to see her back, they have trouble telling her that she has been away for more than three years.

I liked how there were flashbacks, not really giving a lot of information but a glimpse into a memory of some kind and as the story went on the flashbacks revealed more and more.

The best parts of this book was when Angie starts to see a psychologist who tries to help her open her mind and try to discover what happened and why she forgot.  Slowly she begins to remember but the interesting twist was how she remembered.  What is revealed, which I will not spoil here, is a very interesting spin on ‘amnesia’ and reveals more about Angie that anyone would have predicted. 

What I was not fond of about this book…

There was nothing that I did not like about this book.

In summary…

An amazingly eye opening read.  Absolutely loved this one from start to finish.

I would point out that there is content in this story that is very explicit and deals with some very adult issues that some younger readers may not want to read.

Video Review...

Best wishes

Debs J