●● Waiting on Wednesday - Hungry by HA Swain ●●

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


Expected Release Date: 3rd June 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

In the future, food is no longer necessary—until Thalia begins to feel something unfamiliar and uncomfortable. She’s hungry.

In Thalia’s world, there is no need for food—everyone takes medication (or “inocs”) to ward off hunger. It should mean there is no more famine, no more obesity, no more food-related illnesses, and no more war. At least that's what her parents, who work for the company that developed the inocs, say. But when Thalia meets a boy who is part of an underground movement to bring food back, she realizes that most people live a life much different from hers. Worse, Thalia is starting to feel hunger, and so is he—the inocs aren’t working. Together they set out to find the only thing that will quell their hunger: real food.

February, March and April 2014 Reading Wrap Up

Book Review / A Seaside Affair by Fern Britton

The new wonderfully warm and witty novel from Fern Britton, the much-loved TV personality.

Perfect for fans of Katie Fforde and Trisha Ashley.
When the residents of the Cornish seaside town of Trevay discover that their ramshackle but much-loved theatre is about to be taken over by a global coffee chain, Café au Lait, they are up in arms.

It is up to Penny Leighton, hotshot Producer, to come up with a plan to save it. Armed with her only her mobile phone and her enviable contacts book, she starts to pull in some serious favours. Trevay soon finds itself at the centre of the universe when more A-listers than you can shake a stick at arrive to take part in a charity season at the theatre.
The play throws out a chance to Jess Tate, girlfriend to TV heartthrob Ryan Roberts. His career is on the rise while hers remains resolutely in the doldrums. But when opportunity comes calling, it isn’t just her career prospects that are about to change.

Tevay is about to put on the show of its life – but can the villagers, and Jess, hold on to the thing they love the most?

Published:     24th April 2014
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Goodreads :  Click here
Author Website:  Click Here
Series:  Not part of a series but recommend reading Hidden Treasures First.
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
Review:   9 out of 10

My Review

Fern is very quickly becoming one of my favourite authors of all time.  Not only does she create an enthralling seaside community and describes the scenery so beautifully, she creates characters and scenarios that draw you in and keep you there until the story is done.

As you can probably tell from the first paragraph, I absolutely adored this story.  There were quite a few characters to get to grips with but the way they were introduced to the story I had absolutely no trouble in keeping up with them and remembering who they are.

What I loved about this story...
Everything.  The descriptions of locations were so great that they made me feel as if I was right there in the story, I loved that given the fact that at the time I was reading this book it was a typical rainy English day!  The fact that each character had their own particular back story and mini plot in this story coupled with the fact that we had the major plot line of saving the theatre, kept my attention right until the very end of the story.

What I was not fond of with this story...
I loved this story from start to finish and cannot come up with anything that I was not fond of...

About the Author

Fern Britton, an English television presenter, was born on 17 July 1957 in Ealing, London. She was educated at Dr Challoner's High School in Little Chalfont and underwent training in stage management at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She is the daughter of the English actor, Tony Britton and Ruth Britton. Fern Britton spent the early days of her life at Buckinghamshire. Her older sister, Cherry Britton, is a script writer and her younger half brother, Jasper Britton, is an actor. She is married to the celebrity chef, Phil Vickery and lives with her family at Holmer Green in Buckinghamshire.

Fern Britton worked with a touring theatre company and in 1979, she started her career with Westward Television in Plymouth. She worked as a newsreader and continuity announcer on Westward Diary, the nightly local bulletin. Later, she switched to present BBC’s Southwest news programme, Spotlight. She became a known as the youngest national news presenter to present News After Noon on BBC1. Fern Britton then moved to work for TVS in Southampton, where she hosted the South edition of the news programme, Coast to Coast, together with Fred Dinenage. She has also presented other programmes, like Coast to Coast People, The Television Show and Magic Moments.

Since then, Fern Britton has hosted several programmes, which include Carlton Television's After Five, BBC's Breakfast Time, London News Network's London Tonight and BBC 1’s Holiday. She also featured in the first two series of The Brian Conley Show and in 1994, Fern Britton went onto present the famous television cookery game show, Ready Steady Cook. She hosted the show for a long span of six years until she was succeeded by chef, Ainsley Harriott. She joined hands with the British television presenter, Phillip Schofield to host the famous television magazine show This Morning. Since 1999, Fern Britton has been hosting the show and the couple was known for their hilarious presentation. The show was a big hit and won the 2003 & 2004 TV Quick Award for the ‘Best Daytime Viewing’. It also clinched the 2004 National Television Award for the ‘Most Popular Daytime Show’.

Fern Britton anchored the Pride of Britain Awards in 2002 and was one among the panellists on the satirical panel show, Have I Got News for You.

In 2006, the song, “The Fern Britton Experience”, which featured in the album, Hang The DJ was named after her by the UK DJ Shitmat. She hosted the reality television show, Soapstar Superstar, and the British Soap Awards 2006. At the Royal Albert Hall, on 31 May 2007, Fern Britton presented the Classical BRIT Awards and also co-presented the British Soap Awards that year.

Fern Britton anchored her own ITV1 Saturday night series, That's What I Call Television in 2007. In December 2007, she went on a secret trip to Basra to broadcast behind-the-scenes footage of the troops. She appeared as a guest presenter for the show, Have I Got News for You on 27 April 2007 and again on 17 October 2008. On 12 January 2008, she was the winner in the first episode of Thank God You're Here, a television comedy series hosted by Paul Merton. In April 2008, Fern Britton together with her colleague, Phillip Schofield was the presenter of the revived 'all star' version of the super hit ITV show, Mr and Mrs. The show was broadcast on Saturday nights as a six-part series.

Apart from television presentations, Fern Britton has also featured in advertisements for Ryvita Minis. She performed the title role in a Cinderella pantomime in 1988. In March 1998, her first book, Fern’s Family Favourites, was released and in October the following year, she launched her second book Winter Treats and Summer Delights. Fern, My Story was published in November 2008 by Michael Joseph and it ranked among the Top Ten Bestseller list by The Sunday Times.


Best wishes

Debs :-)

Waiting on Wednesday - The Thiings You Kiss Goodbye by Leslie Connor

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


Expected Release Date: 24th June 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

Bettina Vasilis can hardly believe it when basketball star Brady Cullen asks her out, and she just about faints when her strict father actually approves of him.

But when school starts up again, Brady changes. What happened to the sweet boy she fell in love with? Then she meets a smoldering guy in his twenties, and this “cowboy” is everything Brady is not—gentle, caring, and interested in getting to know the real Bettina.

Bettina knows that breaking up with Brady would mean giving up her freedom—and that it would be inappropriate for anything to happen between her and Cowboy. Still, she can’t help that she longs for the scent of his auto shop whenever she’s anywhere else.

When tragedy strikes, Bettina must tell her family the truth—and kiss goodbye the things she thought she knew about herself and the men in her life.

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Book Review / The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

"Everyone wanted to believe that endless love was possible. She'd believed in it once, too, back when she was eighteen."

In the spring of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one another seemed to defy the realities of life in the small town of Oriental, North Carolina. But as the summer of their senior year came to a close, unforeseen events would tear the young couple apart, setting them on radically divergent paths.

Now, twenty-five years later, Amanda and Dawson are summoned back to Oriental for the funeral of Tuck Hostetler, the mentor who once gave shelter to their high school romance. Neither has lived the life they imagined . . . and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever changed their lives. As Amanda and Dawson carry out the instructions Tuck left behind for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew -- about Tuck, about themselves, and about the dreams they held dear -- was not as it seemed. Forced to confront painful memories, the two former lovers will discover undeniable truths about the choices they have made. And in the course of a single, searing weekend, they will ask of the living, and the dead: Can love truly rewrite the past?

Published:     7th August 2012
Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Bought

FOR OTHER VIDEO REVIEWS - http://www.youtube.com/user/DebrasBookCafe

My Review

About the Author

As a child, Nicholas Sparks lived in Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Grand Island, Nebraska, finally settling in Fair Oaks, California at the age of eight. His father was a professor, his mother a homemaker, then optometrist's assistant. He lived in Fair Oaks through high school, graduated valedictorian in 1984, and received a full track scholarship to the University of Notre Dame.

After breaking the Notre Dame school record as part of a relay team in 1985 as a freshman (a record which still stands), he was injured and spent the summer recovering. During that summer, he wrote his first novel, though it was never published. He majored in Business Finance and graduated with high honors in 1988.

He and his wife Catherine, who met on spring break in 1988, were married in July, 1989. While living in Sacramento, he wrote his second novel that same year, though again, it wasn't published. He worked a variety of jobs over the next three years, including real estate appraisal, waiting tables, selling dental products by phone, and started his own small manufacturing business which struggled from the beginning. In 1990, he collaborated on a book with Billy Mills, the Olympic Gold Medalist and it was published by Feather Publishing before later being picked up by Random House. (It was recently re-issued by Hay House Books.) Though it received scant publicity, sales topped 50,000 copies in the first year of release.

He began selling pharmaceuticals and moved from Sacramento, California to North Carolina in 1992. In 1994, at the age of 28, he wrote The Notebook over a period of six months. In October, 1995, rights to The Notebook were sold to Warner Books. It was published in October, 1996, and he followed that with Message in a Bottle (1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), The Rescue (2000), A Bend in the Road (2001), and Nights in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian (2003), The Wedding (2003), Three Weeks with my Brother (2004), True Believer (2005) and At First Sight (2005) all with Warner Books. All were domestic and international best sellers and were translated into more than 35 languages. The movie version of Message in a Bottle was released in 1999, A Walk to Remember was released in 2002, and The Notebook was released in 2004. The average domestic box office gross per film was $56 million -- with another $100 million in DVD sales -- making the novels by Nicholas Sparks one of the most successful franchises in Hollywood.

The film rights to Nights in Rodanthe, True Believer and At First Sight have been sold, and Nicholas Sparks has written the screenplay for The Guardian, though he has not offered it for sale at this point.

He now has five children: Miles, Ryan, Landon, Lexie, and Savannah. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and children.

His ancestry is German, Czech, English, and Irish, he's 5'10" and weighs 180 lbs. He is an avid athlete who runs daily, lifts weights regularly, and competes in Tae Kwon Do. He attends church regularly and reads approximately 125 books a year. He contributes to a variety of local and national charities, and is a major contributor to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame, where he provides scholarships, internships, and a fellowship annually.

Author Website:  http://nicholassparks.com/


Best wishes

Debs :-)    

Book Review / The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

When U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman half-buried in the dirt during his third tour of duty in Iraq, his first instinct is to toss it aside. Instead, he brings it back to the base for someone to claim, but when no one does, he finds himself always carrying the photo in his pocket. 

Soon Thibault experiences a sudden streak of luck—winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat that kills two of his closest buddies. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph—his lucky charm.
 

Back home in Colorado, Thibault can’t seem to get the photo—and the woman in it—out of his mind. Believing that she somehow holds the key to his destiny, he sets out on a journey across the country to find her, never expecting the strong but vulnerable woman he encounters in Hampton, North Carolina—Elizabeth, a divorced mother with a young son—to be the girl he’s been waiting his whole life to meet. Caught off guard by the attraction he feels, Thibault keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate and all-consuming love affair, the secret he is keeping will soon threaten to tear them apart—destroying not only their love, but also their lives.


Filled with tender romance and terrific suspense, The Lucky One is Nicholas Sparks at his best—an unforgettable story about the surprising paths our lives often take and the power of fate to guide us to true and everlasting love.

Published:     30th September 2008
Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Bought
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●● Waiting on Wednesday - The Winter People by Rebekah L Purdy ●●

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


Expected Release Date: 2nd September 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

An engrossing, complex, romantic fantasy perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore or Maggie Stiefvater, set in a wholly unique world.

Salome Montgomery fears winter—the cold, the snow, the ice, but most of all, the frozen pond she fell through as a child. Haunted by the voices and images of the strange beings that pulled her to safety, she hasn't forgotten their warning to "stay away." For eleven years, she has avoided the winter woods, the pond, and the darkness that lurks nearby. But when failing health takes her grandparents to Arizona, she is left in charge of maintaining their estate. This includes the "special gifts" that must be left at the back of the property.
 


Salome discovers she’s a key player in a world she’s tried for years to avoid. At the center of this world is the strange and beautiful Nevin, who she finds trespassing on her family’s property. Cursed with dark secrets and knowledge of the creatures in the woods, his interactions with Salome take her life in a new direction. A direction where she'll have to decide between her longtime crush Colton, who could cure her fear of winter. Or Nevin who, along with an appointed bodyguard, Gareth, protects her from the darkness that swirls in the snowy backdrop. An evil that, given the chance, will kill her.

Book Review / Purity by Jackson Pearce

A novel about love, loss, and sex -- but not necessarily in that order.
Before her mother died, Shelby promised three things: to listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. Those Promises become harder to keep when Shelby's father joins the planning committee for the Princess Ball, an annual dance that ends with a ceremonial vow to live pure lives -- in other words, no "bad behavior," no breaking the rules, and definitely no sex.

Torn between Promises One and Three, Shelby makes a decision -- to exploit a loophole and lose her virginity before taking the vow. But somewhere between failed hookup attempts and helping her dad plan the ball, Shelby starts to understand what her mother really meant, what her father really needs, and who really has the right to her purity.


Published:     24th April 2012
Publisher:  Little Brown
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

●● Waiting on Wednesday / Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine ●●

 

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


Expected Release Date: 5th August 2014

(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.
 

There are whispers of a ghost in the slaughterhouse where sixteen-year-old Wen assists her father in his medical clinic—a ghost who grants wishes to those who need them most. When one of the Noor, men hired as cheap factory labor, humiliates Wen, she makes an impulsive wish of her own, and the Ghost grants it. Brutally.

Guilt-ridden, Wen befriends the Noor, including their outspoken leader, a young man named Melik. At the same time, she is lured by the mystery of the Ghost and learns he has been watching her … for a very long time.

As deadly accidents fuel tensions within the factory, Wen must confront her growing feelings for Melik, who is enraged at the sadistic factory bosses and the prejudice faced by his people at the hand of Wen’s, and her need to appease the Ghost, who is determined to protect her against any threat—real or imagined. She must decide whom she can trust, because as her heart is torn, the factory is exploding around her … and she might go down with it.

Book Review / Dead Silent by Sharon Jones (Book 2, Penny Sinclair Series)

People think of Mother Nature as a gentle lady. They forget that she's also Death...Sixteen-year-old Poppy Sinclair believes in quantum particles, not tarot cards, in Dawkins, not druids. Last summer, in a boating accident in the Lake District, Poppy had a brush with death. But the girl she finds face down in Scariswater hasn't been so lucky. As she fights to discover the truth behind what she believes is murder, Poppy is forced to concede that people and things are not always what they seem and, slipping ever deeper into a web of lies, jealousy and heart-stopping danger, she comes to realise - too late - that the one thing that can save her has been right there, all the time.

Published:     6th February 2014
Publisher:  Orchard Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 2, Poppy Sinclair
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
 

Best wishes 

Debs :-)

Book Haul / 2nd April 2014

●● Waiting on Wednesday / Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray ●●

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


Expected Release Date: 5th August 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

As the above book is book 2 in the series, below is the blurb from book 1...

Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.

Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.

As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened.

The Booktuber Habits Tag

Book Review / Cavendon Hall by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Opening on the eve of the First World War, this is a dramatic novel set around the stately home of Cavendon Hall, its owners the aristocratic Ingham family and the Swann family who serves them.

Two entwined families: the aristocratic Inghams and the Swanns who serve them. The Earl and Countess have relied on their faithful retainers Alice and Walter Swann as their young family grows up.

One stately home: Cavendon Hall, a grand imposing house nestled in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales

A society beauty: Lady Daphne Ingham is the most beautiful of the Earl’s four daughters. Being presented at Court and making a glittering marriage is her destiny.

But in the summer of 1913, a devastating event changes her future forever, and threatens the Ingham name. Yet life as the families of Cavendon Hall know it – Royal Ascot, supper dances, grouse season feasts and a full servants’ hall – is about to alter beyond recognition as the storm clouds of war gather.

Published:     30th January 2014
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

●● Waiting on Wednesday - Hexed by Michelle Krys ●●

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


Expected Release Date: 10th June 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

If high school is all about social status, Indigo Blackwood has it made. Sure, her quirky mom owns an occult shop, and a nerd just won’t stop trying to be her friend, but Indie is a popular cheerleader with a football-star boyfriend and a social circle powerful enough to ruin everyone at school. Who wouldn’t want to be her?

Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen. But it’s when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie’s world that she learns her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties. If she doesn’t get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die. And that’s seriously bad news for Indie, because according to Bishop, she’s a witch too.

Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie’s about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.

●● Book Haul / 24th March 2014 ●●

Book Lover Survet Tag [Originally from You Tube]

Series Review - Fracture and Vengeance by Megan Miranda

Below is the description for the first book, Fracture....

When Decker found Delaney kissing his best friend Carson, he told himself that it meant nothing. But then Carson calls to Delaney from across the vast frozen lake. Jealous, Decker insists they walk over the fragile ice. Halfway, he leaves her there ...Ten minutes without air, Delaney will be dead. Decker pulls her out of the icy waters after eleven. Delaney is alive, but now she is drawn to those who are dying ...and to stranger, Troy - someone Decker should see as a threat.

Fracture
Published:     13th February 2014
Publisher:  Bloomsbury
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 1, Fracture
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

Vengeance

 Published:     13th February 2014
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 2, Fracture
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

Best wishes

Debs

●● Waiting on Wednesday - Bloodwitch by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes ●●

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


Expected Release Date: 13th May 2013
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

A gripping tale about loyalty, power, and the quest for freedom
Vance Ehecatl was raised with every luxury he could imagine in a beautiful greenhouse within the powerful empire of Midnight. Vampires are the only guardians Vance has ever known since he was abandoned by his shapeshifter family as a baby quetzal, and he is grateful to them for generously providing for all of his needs. When an act of violence forces Vance from his sheltered home, he is startled to meet Malachi Obsidian, a fellow shapeshifter with conflicting ideas about Midnight and its leader, Mistress Jeshickah.

Malachi claims Vance is a bloodwitch, who Jeshickah and her trainers, Jaguar and Taro, are trying to control. Vance doesn't know anything about the rare and destructive magic Malachi says he possesses, and he can't believe Jeshickah would use it to hurt others. But when his friends begin falling ill, Vance starts to realize his perfect world may not be as flawless as it seems. Now Vance must decide who to trust-the vampires he's always relied upon, or the shapeshifters who despise them.

Book Haul - 17th March 2014

Blog Tour Review / Deeper by Robin York

When Caroline Piasecki's ex-boyfriend posts their sex pictures on the Internet, it destroys her reputation as a nice college girl. Suddenly her once-promising future doesn't look so bright. Caroline tries to make the pictures disappear; hoping time will bury her shame. Then a guy she barely knows rises to her defence and punches her ex to the ground.

West Leavitt is the last person Caroline needs in her life. Everyone knows he's shady. Still, Caroline is drawn to his confidence and swagger - even after promising her dad she'll keep her distance. On late, sleepless nights, Caroline starts wandering into the bakery where West works.

They hang out, they talk, they listen. Though Caroline and West tell each other they're 'just friends,' their feelings intensify until it becomes impossible to pretend. The more complicated her relationship with West gets, the harder Caroline has to struggle to discover what she wants for herself - and the easier it becomes to find the courage she needs to fight back against the people who would judge her.

When all seems lost, sometimes the only place to go is deeper.

Published:     6th March 2014
Publisher:  Piatkus Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 1, Caroline & West
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
Review:  

My Review 

One of my resolutions for this year was to try new things and to expand my reading into genres I would not have otherwise picked up.  Deeper is a New Adult book; New Adult is a type of book that I have been seeing 'around the block' for quite a while now and have been intrigued to try one.  I have to confess that I have never had a fondness for erotic style stories, mainly because the ones I have read in the past seem to consist of just the erotic style of the story and not focus on the actual story of the book.  New Adult intrigued me.  

I really enjoyed the story of this book.  For me, the best part of this book was the character progression of Caroline and West.  You have Caroline at the beginning who is being victimised by having very private photos put on the internet with what seemed like everyone she knew had seen them.  How mortifiying...   Enter West who comes to Caroline's defence and punches the nasty ex-boyfriend who posted the pictures in the first place.  From there the story mainly concentrates on Caroline and West, how they interact with each other and seeing how they progress throughout the book.

What I loved the most about this book...

What I loved the most about this book was the character progression of both Caroline and West.  At the beginning of the story, Caroline has completely closed herself off trying to survive the embarrassment of everyone having seen her in a very private moment.  At the beginning with West, he definately had some family issues and worries from home, that I will not go into in too much detail here as I don't want to spoil the story. 

As the story goes on, I loved the way that Caroline and West bantered with each other and how they help each other along the way.  

What I was not fond of with this book...

The only thing that I was not fond of in this book was the erotic side of it.  It was a bit too much for me, but that is just a personal choice.  I was trying out this type of story to see how I got on with it.  I loved the story side of it but the erotic side was not for me.


Best wishes 
Debs :-)

 

Book Haul and Unboxing

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●● Waiting on Wednesdays / We Were Liars by E Lockhart ●●

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


Expected Release Date: 13th May 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

Book Review / The Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

From the author of the highly addictive and bestselling Blue Bloods series, with almost 3 million copies sold, comes a new novel, Melissa de la Cruz's first for adults, featuring a family of formidable and beguiling witches.

The three Beauchamp women-Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid-live in North Hampton, out on the tip of Long Island. Their beautiful, mist-shrouded town seems almost stuck in time, and all three women lead seemingly quiet, uneventful existences. But they are harboring a mighty secret-they are powerful witches banned from using their magic. Joanna can resurrect people from the dead and heal the most serious of injuries. Ingrid, her bookish daughter, has the ability to predict the future and weave knots that can solve anything from infertility to infidelity. And finally, there's Freya, the wild child, who has a charm or a potion that can cure most any heartache.

For centuries, all three women have been forced to suppress their abilities. But then Freya, who is about to get married to the wealthy and mysterious Bran Gardiner, finds that her increasingly complicated romantic life makes it more difficult than ever to hide her secret. Soon Ingrid and Joanna confront similar dilemmas, and the Beauchamp women realize they can no longer conceal their true selves. They unearth their wands from the attic, dust off their broomsticks, and begin casting spells on the townspeople. It all seems like a bit of good-natured, innocent magic, but then mysterious, violent attacks begin to plague the town. When a young girl disappears over the Fourth of July weekend, they realize it's time to uncover who and what dark forces are working against them.

With a brand-new cast of characters, a fascinating and fresh world to discover, and a few surprise appearances from some of the Blue Blood fan favorites, this is a page-turning, deliciously fun, magical summer read fraught with love affairs, witchcraft, and an unforgettable battle between good and evil.

Published:     21st June 2011
Publisher:  Hyperion
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 1, The Beauchamp Family
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
 
 

Best wishes
Debs :-)

●● Waiting on Wednesday / The Treatment by Suzanne Young ●●

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


Expected Release Date: 29th April 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

As the above is book 2 in The Program series, below is the blurb for book 1

In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them

Book Review / The Name on Your Wrist by Helen Hiorns

It's the first thing they teach you when you start school. But they don't need to; your parents tell you when you're first learning how to say your name. It's drummed into you whilst you're taking your first stumbling steps. It's your lullaby. From the moment it first appears, you don't tell anyone the name on your wrist.

In Corin's world, your carpinomen - the name of your soul mate, marked indelibly on your wrist from the age of two or three - is everything. It's your most preciously guarded secret; a piece of knowledge that can give another person ultimate power over you. People spend years, even decades, searching for the one they're supposed to be with.

But what if you never find that person? Or you do, but you just don't love them? What if you fall for someone else - someone other than the name on your wrist?

And what if - like Corin - the last thing in the world you want is to be found?

The gripping debut novel from the winner of the inaugural Sony Young Movellist Award.

Published:     2nd January 2014
Publisher:  Corgi
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher 




Best wishes  
Debs :-)

Book Revew / Enders by Lissa Price

Below is the description for the first book in the series, Starters.  The link to the goodreads page for Enders is below also...

HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

Published:     26th December 2013
Publisher:  Doubleday
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 2, Starters
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
 



Best wishes
Debs :-)

Book Review / A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey

In 1814, three cousins—Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope—discover their family lineage of witchcraft when a binding spell is broken, allowing their individual magical powers to manifest. Now, beyond the manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, an alluring underworld available only to those with power is revealed to the cousins. By claiming their power, the three cousins have accidentally opened the gates to the underworld.

Now ghouls, hellhounds—and most terrifying of all, the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters—are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers. And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders…because she keeps finding the bodies.

Can the cousins seal the gates before another witch is killed…or even worse, before their new gifts are stripped away?

Published:     7th January 2014
Publisher:  Walker
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 1, The Lovegrove Legacy
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher  




Best wishes

Debs :-)

●● Waiting on Wednesday / Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas ●●

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


Expected Release Date: 11th March 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

Despite what her name might suggest, Heart has zero interest in complicated romance. So when her brilliant plan to go to prom with a group of friends is disrupted by two surprise invites, Heart knows there's only one drama-free solution: flip a coin.

Heads: The jock. He might spend all night staring at his ex or throw up in the limo, but how bad can her brother's best friend really be?

Tails: The theater geek...with a secret. What could be better than a guy who shares all Heart's interests--even if he wants to share all his feelings?

Heart's simple coin flip has somehow given her the chance to live out both dates. But where her prom night ends up might be the most surprising thing of all...

Book Review / Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

A life hanging in the balance…a family torn apart. The #1 internationally bestselling author Jodi Picoult tells an unforgettable story about family, love, and letting go.

Edward Warren, twenty-four, has been living in Thailand for five years, a prodigal son who left his family after an irreparable fight with his father, Luke. But he gets a frantic phone call: His dad lies comatose, gravely injured in the same accident that has also injured his younger sister Cara.

With her father’s chances for recovery dwindling, Cara wants to wait for a miracle. But Edward wants to terminate life support and donate his father’s organs. Is he motivated by altruism, or revenge? And to what lengths will his sister go to stop him from making an irrevocable decision?

Lone Wolf explores the notion of family, and the love, protection and strength it’s meant to offer. But what if the hope that should sustain it, is the very thing that pulls it apart? Another tour de force from Jodi Picoult, Lone Wolf examines the wild and lonely terrain upon which love battles reason.

Published:     28th February 2012
Publisher:  Hodder & Stoughton
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
Review:   10 out of 10

What I loved about this book...

As with most of the books written by Jodi Picoult, this book has a very strong emotional message/tale to tell.  In this story, we see the dilemma between two siblings; one who has not seen his father in a few years and is resonsible to make the decision on whether or not life support should continue and one who has spent the last few years with her father but is not old enough to make medical decisions yet.  Reading this book, I found myself taking the side of the son (the oldest who has not seen his father for a while) for various reasons but moving towards the end of the book I realised that I could actually see valid reasosn from both siblings.  This is definately a story to think about.

What I was not fond of with this book...

Absolutely nothing, loved this book...

If you would like to check out the video review, please see below...



Best wishes
Debs :-) 

Book Haul - 21st February 2014

Book Review / The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trenow

It is 1910 and Maria, a talented young girl from the East end of London, is employed to work as a seamstress for the royal family. As an attractive girl, she soon catches the eye of the Prince of Wales and she in turn is captivated by his glamour and intensity.

But careless talk causes trouble and soon Maria’s life takes a far darker turn. Disbelieved and dismissed she is thrown into a mental asylum, shut away from the real world with only her needlework for company.

Can a beautiful quilt, discovered many years later, reveal the truth behind what happened to Maria?

Published:     16th January 2014
Publisher:  Harper Collins
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
Review:   10 out of 10

What I loved about this story...

Wow!  Historical fiction is fast becoming one of my favourite genres.  I loved this book.  What I loved the most about this book was the fact that real life historical facts are in this book as well as fiction so there were certain parts that I recognised. 

I also loved the story of Maria, from when she started off in the orphanage and getting picked to be part of the seamstress team for the Royal Palace to later on in life.  There is so much to discover in this book, so many secrets and I loved finding out each and every one.  There were a couple of surprses along the way too!

What I was not fond of with this story...

Absolutely loved this book, there was nothing I did not like about it...


If you would like to check out the video review, please see below...



Best wishes

Debs :-)
 

●● Waiting on Wednesdays / Death Sworn by Leah Cypess ●●

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


Expected Release Date: 4th March 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

When Ileni lost her magic, she lost everything: her place in society, her purpose in life, and the man she had expected to spend her life with. So when the Elders sent her to be magic tutor to a secret sect of assassins, she went willingly, even though the last two tutors had died under mysterious circumstances.

But beneath the assassins’ caves, Ileni will discover a new place and a new purpose… and a new and dangerous love. She will struggle to keep her lost magic a secret while teaching it to her deadly students, and to find out what happened to the two tutors who preceded her. But what she discovers will change not only her future, but the future of her people, the assassins… and possibly the entire world.

Book Review / My Name is Rapunzel by KC Hilton

My tale has been told again and again, and I’ve heard each one. Except for my hair, I barely recognize the pitiful renditions. 

Muddled versions, crafted to entertain laughing children…but the children wouldn’t have laughed if they’d known the real story. It wasn't their fault. They didn't know the truth. Nobody did.

My name is Rapunzel. I will tell you my story. I will tell you the truth.

Published:     22nd November 2013
Publisher:  Createsspace Independent
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Review Copy from Author
Review:   10 out of 10

What I loved about this story...

I LOVED this book.  I have to admit that this is the first book I have read that relates to Rapunzel and this was a fantatic book to start off this new obsession with!  This book has such a lot of history and background to the story of Rapunzel.  One of my favourite things about this story is actually the love interests of Rapunzel and how that fits in to the story..... 

What I was not fond of with this story...

There is absolutely nothing that I didn't like about this story....

If you would like to check out the video review, please see below...




Best wishes
Debs :-)

Book Review / Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. 

As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. 

They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

Published:     7th June 2011
Publisher:  Quirk
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 1, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

What I loved about this story...

What I loved the most about this story is the history of the main character and history of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and how they are linked.  I loved how the truth about what is going on is revealed slowly and somehow I get the feeling that there is so much more to learn that I haven't yet.  I am very intrigued to find out what happens in the next book Hollow City, which I need to pick up soon! 

I also loved the fact that there were really creepy pictures throughout the book and when you are reading the story, the pictures matched in with what was happening with the story at that particular time.


What I was not fond of in this story...

If I had to pick up something, I would say that when I was reading the blurb I got the impression that this book would really creep me out and would be a book that I should read during the day(!) but the story was not as scary as I anticipated.


If you would like to check out the video review, please see below:



Best wishes
Debs :-)

Book Review / How to Fall in Love by Cecelia Ahern

She has just two weeks. Two weeks to teach him how to fall in love – with his own life.

Adam Basil and Christine Rose are thrown together late one night, when Christine is crossing the Halfpenny Bridge in Dublin. Adam is there, poised, threatening to jump. Adam is desperate – but Christine makes a crazy deal with him. His 35th birthday is looming and she bets him she can show him that life is worth living before then.

Despite her determination, Christine knows what a dangerous promise she’s made. Against the ticking of the clock, the two of them embark on wild escapades, grand romantic gestures and some unlikely late-night outings. Slowly, Christine thinks Adam is starting to fall back in love with his life.

But has she done enough to change his mind for good? And is that all that’s starting to happen?

 Published:     24th October 2013
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher  

What I loved about this story...

Cecelia Ahern is one of favourite authors of all time, so I was highly anticipating this book and had very high hopes, that were not disappointed at all.  The story started off on a bad note with both characters, Christine and Adam, are in low places in their lives.   

What I enjoyed the most was the character progression throughout the story.  The journeys that both Christine and Adam took through the story where they go through sadness in certain ways, having to face up to difficulties and seeing what they do next kept me mesmerised throughout the story.

What I was not fond of with this story...

Absolutely nothing, LOVED this book....


If you would like to see the video review, please see below...




Best wishes 
Debs :-)

●● Waiting on Wednesday / Hexed by Michelle Krys ●●

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


Expected Release Date: 10th June 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

If high school is all about social status, Indigo Blackwood has it made. Sure, her quirky mom owns an occult shop, and a nerd just won’t stop trying to be her friend, but Indie is a popular cheerleader with a football-star boyfriend and a social circle powerful enough to ruin everyone at school. Who wouldn’t want to be her?

Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen. But it’s when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie’s world that she learns her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties. If she doesn’t get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die. And that’s seriously bad news for Indie, because according to Bishop, she’s a witch too.

Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie’s about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.

Book Review / Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

What happens when happily ever after... isn’t?

Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.

And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.

Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.

Published:     5th July 2012
Publisher:  Hodder & Stoughton
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher 

What I loved about this story...

What I loved the most about this book is both the viewpoints and the ending (don't worry, I won't put any spoilers in this review).  In this book, there are different viewpoints.  The one that I enjoyed the most was the viewpoint of Oliver inside the story, showing what happens when you are reading the book and also what happens when the book is closed, making it sound a bit like a theatre production where the characters are playing a part and once the book is closed they go back to being their 'normal' selves.  Loved it!

The ending is one thing that, obviously, I will not talk about too much so as not to spoil but all I will say is that the ending was not something that I was expecting and was completely surprising.

What I was not fond of with this story...

I have to admit that there really wasn't anything that I didn't like in this story.  The only think that I was not keen on was the actually physical book itself.  I had the English hard cover and the way it was put together made the book so heavy to hold it really did make my arms ache lol!


To check out the video review, please see below...



Best wishes

Debs :-)

Book Haul - 7th February 2014

Book Haul - 5th February 2014