Review: Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen

Reviw Lately, Felicity just can’t shake a shadow of uncertainty. Her husband Quinn is the kindest person she knows and loves her peculiarities more than Felicity feels she deserves. But suddenly it’s as if she doesn’t quite belong.

Then Felicity experiences something extraordinary: a scent of perfume in the air which evokes memories that have been settled within her for a long time, untouched and undisturbed. As it happens again and again, the memories of a man Felicity hasn’t seen for ten years also flutter to the surface. And so do the feelings of being deeply, exquisitely in love . . .

Overwhelmed and bewildered by her emotions, Felicity tries to resist sinking blissfully into the past. But what if something truly isn’t as it should be? What if her mind has been playing tricks on her heart?

Which would you trust?

Review: wow! I stormed through this book. I was recommended this book by Miranda Dickson who couldn't promise this novel highly enough and was lucky enough to attend the launch and meet the authors but before I went to the launch I sat down to read the novel and iterally couldn't out it down. It forms kind of a love story, kind of a mystery, kind of a real life drama but it's all completely compelling, dramatic and yet heart warming at the same time. 

The main character felicity seems to be a loveable scatter brain and I thought I might find that annoying. The way she seems to do things on a whim and without really thinking of the consequences. It explains at the beginning of the book how she is always late for things and again I saw this as a bit of a warning sign that I might not get along with felicity, but you can't not love this woman-you just want to make her a nice cup of tea and tell her that everything is going to be all right. I wanted the best for her throughout this novel and I this that's one of the things that I found so compelling about it! 

I also really really loved her husband. He is kind and funny and the prefect compliment to Felicity's slight airy fairy ness. He takes it all in his stride, is always there for her and puts up with a hell of a lot very patiently. His family, i didn't like quite so much but they play a pivotal role in the book, as does blast from the past Ewan, again I didn't like him quite so much. Although she is not alive, Felicity's mother also plays a key role in this book. I thought perhaps she may feature as a sort of ghostly presence, something which I don't think I would've liked, but she stays firmly in the background, tying everything together. 

There is a massive spoiler in this book and so it is very hard to talk about the storyline without giving anything away. It is a bit like a rollercoater though, a slow climb up and then suddenly you are rushing through drama and intrigue and mystery and then round into a plot twist you go before coming out the other side again, it's a lot of fun! The ending of the book was superb. Through the last few chapters I went through all of the facial expressions there are (I finished reading this in a pub so I'm sure that went down well!) but I was entirely pleased with the ending. You are kept in suspense as to what is going to happen it up until the last 2 pages and I love that! 

Overall this book was a real treat, it was easy to get to know the characters, easy to get into the storyline and made for a very enjoyable day's reading. I think this books would appeal to most readers and you don't need to have read anything by this author before to quickly become familiar with her beautiful way of writing. A must for your summer reading! 

Nigel May Addicted blog Tour-Guest Post

Today I am lucky enough to have a guest post from wonderful author Nigel May. This is part of the Gosling Girls blog tour for his book Addicted. I really like this post because it is celebrating the women of the book and so what can be wrong with that! Thanks to Nigel May for this post and I look forward to reading the book!

Four-Play: The Women Of Addicted
Four women all battling with inner demons. And when they meet you can guarantee that mayhem, murder and misery will unfold. Nigel May introduces us to the four women of his latest glam fiction novel Addicted and what inspired his creation of each of them...

LAUREN EVERETT
Lauren is probably the most down to earth of the four women in Addicted. She is a former model and used to love nothing better than dancing around a glitzy nightclub floor until the wee small hours of the morning with her friends. But then she meets the most bewitching man ever, a politician called Saul, and before she knows it she is married to what she thought was the man of her dreams. But as his career heads skyward, Lauren is forced to conform and become the ideal politician's wife. And she finds it drab and boring. She loves Saul, but something is missing from her life...and that something is excitement. Which is why she sets off on a path that leads to addiction and so much more.
 My inspiration for Lauren has to be the countless women out there who feels trapped by their partnerships and that maybe they have given a little bit more than they get back in return. Saul brings riches and wealth and designer delights into Lauren's world, but it's not enough. She is determined to find more...

NANCY ARLOW
Nancy is the funkiest and trendiest of the four women. When we meet her in Addicted she has already had a successful pop career around the world and a successful UK soap acting career too, but sadly her life is now on the skids. She has been reduced to starring in laughable straight to DVD monster movies and is desperate to reinvent her stardom. She will do anything to succeed. She just needs to work out what. When I started writing Nancy I imagined her as a Billie Piper type - huge success at a young age, then the pop disappears. When whereas Billie Piper became a major actress, Nancy struggled and ended up inSharknado-type movies fighting mutant creatures and not wearing very many clothes. I kept thinking about 80s pop stars like Debbie Gibson and Tiffany who were huge singing stars filling arenas and now star in Mega Python Vs Gatoroid.

PORTIA SAFARI
Portia is a little older than the other women, already in her late 30s when we are introduced to her. She is a tour de force and a major operatic star. She is the women the word 'diva' was invented for. But behind her onstage happiness and adulation she hides a sadness and a need to settle down and find the right man. She is a hopeless romantic and believes that somewhere out there might be the man of her dreams but sadly she mistrusts them all as most have hurt her along the way.
 Portia's character was inspired by an opera singer I saw on TV called Malena Ernman. I saw her perform and loved her style, grace, power and the fact that she was head to toe in bling. I just fell in love and thought that I needed to create an equally glamorous opera singer for Addicted. I love Portia's dry wit. She is very cutting but very cool.

MARTHA ECLAIR
Martha is a wine heiress from South Africa. Her father owns one of the biggest wine empires in South Africa and as his only child he is keen for Martha to take over the reins when he retires. But his bullish nature and the fact that Martha has no real interest in wine means that she doesn't want to. One too many arguments with her dad and she rebels, packs her bags and hops on a plane to London, which is where her adventures and addictions escalate. She is a free spirit and finds it every easy to get into trouble, but she is determined not be bullied by anyone.
 The character of Martha came after I'd been on holiday to the wine regions outside of Cape Town. I loved it there, everything was so clean and fresh and luscious. So I thought what would be better than creating a bed of intrigue, deception and glamorous bitchery at one of the most scenic places on earth?

Four women, four addictions, one death....who survives..?
Find out with ADDICTED, online now for all eReaders - on Amazon athttp://myBook.to/ADDICTED_NigelMay
Nigel's first glam fiction novel TRINITY is available athttp://myBook.to/TRINITY_NigelMay
99p each. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I Own The Most Books From

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over there at The Broke and the Bookish. I'd love to share my lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Now for me this is a bit of a funny one because I'm not a massive keeper of books. I lend my books out once I've done with them and if they don't come back to me then that's ok. I also send them to charity shops or trade them in at Barter Books up in Alnwick so I can get myself some new ones in the process. I do keep the signed ones though or if it's a particularly lovely hard back. I'm also a big keeper of non-fiction because I feel I am far more likely to dip back into a non-fiction book for some reason! 

So this is going to be a top ten of authors I have sitting on the shelves unread or on my kindle or else authors I have the most signed copies of. This is by no means a definitive list of books by authors I've every bought throughout history...

1. Bill Bryson. Because he is non-fiction, my collection of his books remains intact. I also have a couple of audiobooks of his on my audible app which I have listened to. 

2. Lisa Jewell. I have a couple of her books on my signed shelf, a couple on my kindle, a couple on my audible app and a couple of unread copies so she is very much a presence in my books collection! 

3. Abbi Glines. I won a complete set of Abbi Glines novels and so they are displayed on my bookshelf in my kind of steamy book section...

4. Lindsey Kelk. I have 3 Lindsey Kelk novels on my signed shelf because she is so lovely to go and have a book chat with and I have 2 novels and a novella of hers on my kindle because it'd be rude not to right?

5. Rowan Coleman/Scarlet Bailey. This lovely lady resides firmly on my signed shelf, my kindle and also has pride of place on another shelf because I'm in one of her books as a character and mentioned in another of her books in the acknowledgments. She is also special because I read one of her books from the library when I had no books and a couldn't afford to buy any. 

6. Paige Toon. I have this lady on my signed shelf, on my unread bookshelf and on my kindle. She also features on my audible collection and she's going to be on my blog this week as well-amazing! 

7. Since moving in with my other half I have a considerable amount of Jon Ronson books on my shelf. He has a big collection by this author and so he now features on my bookshelf and I might even have a go at reading one of his over the summer! 

8. Nick Spalding. This self-published author features heavily on my kindle. I have every one of his books and I also have 2 paperback copies of his novels as all. I am ashamed to say that I've only read one of his novellas and I really must read more! 

9. Samantha Young. I read On Dublin Street then bought the others in the series, I have 2 in paperback and 2 on my Kindle and I STILL haven't got round to reading them yet! 

10. Rebecca Chance. I have literally all of the novels written by this author and I've only read 2 of them. Some are paperbacks, some are Ebooks and one is even sitting on my signed shelf-it's a treaty and something I need to rectify this summer! 

I also have a significant number of Ebooks which are a serialisation. I have 19 episodes of The Arcade and of course the bind up of the first year: where dreams come true. Now the author of this series is Kitty Charles but she is actually a combination of 6 different authors. I think a couple of these authors MIGHT just be on this list already but I couldn't really list her here because I would need to know all six of the authors to be able to do that and they're just not telling me! 

So there you have my current list of most owned authors. These aren't necessarily the authors I've read the most of authors like Milly Johnson, Sophie Kinsellsa and Enid Blyton would be on that list but it's interesting to actually look at the books I own in all formats and see who I've currently got the most by! 

Book Launch! Julie Cohen: Where Love Lies

On Thyrsday I was lucky enough to attend the Launch of Julie Cohen's latest book Where Love Lies which is published by Transworld on Thursday 31st July.

The event was held in a fabulous bookshop in the very trendy Notting Hill area. It was a gorgeous bookshop called Lutiyens & RubinsteinBookshop-I suggest you check it out when in the area! 

The event featured the perfume from the book which the gorgeous Julie Cohen was spraying on her guests as well as wine & nibble provided by the publishers. There were a host of other authors and bloggers in attendance and it was fab to be able to catch up with some of the Loveliest writers in the business-you know who you are!

Julie gave a fab reading from the book which whet everyone's taste buds for what was to come...

Julie was also lovely enough to give out presents to her publicity team  who were all dresses in matching navy...and was also lovely enough to sign my book!

 Thanks to Transworld & Miranda Dickinson for the invite to what was a lovely evening. The book is fab & my review will be up this Thursday!

Letterbox Love #11

Welcome to Letterbox Love, this is a UK meme, hosted by the lovely Lynsey at Narratively Speaking and inspired by The Story Siren's In My Mailbox. This post is a means by which to highlight the books we get in the post and beyond, and especially to bring attention to those books which may be sat on our shelves for a little while yet that we love all the same.

Now then I MAY have bought one or two books since my last haul post. I've also been lucky enough to have received books for review from authors & publishers over the past couple of weeks as well. So let's get on with it!

I downloaded The Lemon Grove on audiobook & have listened to that this week so expect a review of that soon!

This week I attended the launch of Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen so I got a lovely signed copy of that as well as a copy of her latest paperback Dear Thing. The review of where Love Lies will be up on Thursday so look out for that!

I bought myself a copy if Caitlin Moran's new Novel How To Build A Girl-can't wait to read this! 

I also attended an event with Mark Kermode and got a lovely signed copy of his latest book Hatchett Job.

I received some lovely books in the post this month too including The Boy in The Tower by Polly Ho Yen, Head For The Edge, Keep Walking by Kate Tough and Witchrise by Victoria Lamb which will be reviewed this week as well!

I received A Song for Issy Badley by Carys Bray and The Postcard by Leah Flemming. I'm on The Postcard Blog tour so look out for that & A Song for Issy Bradley is right up there on my summer reading list!

I also received a copy of  Night Runnet by Time Bowler & a copy of Shop Gossip by Kathryn Player. Kathryn was lovely enough to send me a copy of this herself for review. Holly Gilliat also sent me a copy of her novel Dreams, Interrupted for review so both of these are firmly on my summer TBR!

I went to the library this week too, just to make sure I had enough books for the summer. I got The Two Week Wait by Sarah Rayner. Amy & Rogers Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. OMG Baby by Emma Garcia & Scarlet & Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I've heard awesome things about all of these books & so I can't wait to get stuck into them!

On ebook my preorder of What A Girl Wants by Lindsey Kelk Arrived, I bought Glaze by Kim Curran and I got some fab books from Netgalley including the new Richard Medely& the new Ali McNamara.

So there you have it-some fab books!

I'm going to share my summer holiday TBR with you soon but let me know what books you've bought recently & also which of these should definitely be bumped to the top of my pile!

Sex Me Up Readathon Wrap up

Unfortunately this is going to be a bit more of a weekly wrap up than a readathon wrap up unfortunately! So this time of year is always hard to read for me. I am super super tired and so until the summer holidays finally arrive, my attention span for anything not just reading is like zero, all it want to do is sleep! 

At the start of this week I was already part way through Wistchrise by Vicotria Lamb and If I were You by Shelia O'Flanagan. I was also part way through The Diamond Ring by Primula Bond-yes some erotic fiction! I hear you cry...but no...I did not actually pick this book up again this week! I did finish off Witchrise though, NOT erotica but YA. It was very good and I'm glad to have completed the tirology though!

 I decided to pause my reading of If I Were you and instead move over to The Lemon Grove-hot and steamy I had heard. I did actually finish this one as it as a fairly short audiobook, so that's definitely a win-some sexy scene and frank discussion of very illicit sexual encounters. A little disappointed that this was the only book with a hint of sex in it that I read this week though! 

I attended the Launch of Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen this week and so I actually read that in the first day of my summer holidays. The review for this and other books I read this week will be up on the blog very soon but this was a very enjoyable way to spend the first day of my summer holidays! 

So it was a bit of a fail for my in trying to read sexy books this week, but in terms of reading books in general it was a massive win. This time of year I barely manage a book a week, it will of course accelerate from this week onwards since I am on holiday now, but I enjoyed seeing what other people were reading and the tweets with sex me up book suggestions. Thanks to the girls for hosting this readathon. 

Review: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try

Review: having read attachments a while ago, I was excited to begin this novel by Rainbow Rowell. iAd heard a lot of good things about this book and about the feels so I was ready to face the hype! I thought this book was a little slow to begin with and the storyline wasn't at all way I expected. The storyline as completely unwie though which is something I always value and so that's was definitely a good thing. I thought it was really interesting to have a main character to honest about their home life. Eleanor knows that things aren't right at home and she isn't happy there or with the bullying she receives at school but she knows that she has to carry on, coping somehow. 

I like the fact that park never necessarily felt sorry for Eleanor but she really appreciates Eleanor for who she is-I love him for it! These are both great characters and there aren't really a lot of other strong leading characters in the book, other than their families. So much is focused on them and because it is dual narrative, you really get a feel for how they are feeling and what they are going through. I really liked the length of the chapters as well, whatever length leant itself to the moment better, that's what ended up Boeing given over to that character-it really worked. 

The feelings of this book intensify and build up so much as the book goes on. Although I thought it was a slow start things were so intense right at the end of the book I was willing things to work out for both of our lovely protagonists! I was so involved that I found myself crying just from one of them touching each other. It was a really lovely book and I loved the totally realistic ending. I can't wait to get to the rest of my rainbow Rowell TBR pile! 

Review: The Julian Chapter by RJ Palacio

Over 1 million people have read Wonder and have fallen in love with Auggie Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face. Now readers will have a chance to hear from the book's most controversial character—Julian. 

From the very first day Auggie and Julian met in the pages of the #1 New York Times bestseller Wonder, it was clear they were never going to be friends, with Julian treating Auggie like he had the plague. And while Wonder told Auggie's story through six different viewpoints, Julian's perspective was never shared. Readers could only guess what he was thinking.

Until now. The Julian Chapter will finally reveal the bully's side of the story. Why is Julian so unkind to Auggie? And does he have a chance for redemption?

Review: I was so excited for this novella which is an extra chapter to the fabulous Wonder! I was really lucky because I literally went from reading Wonder onto reading this in the space of a week so I would really recommend re-reading wonder to get you in the right mindset for this one. A whole novella from the bullies point of view? Inspired. This novella has all the same great qualities as Wonder had. It is quick and pacey, has all the feels and a totally realistic voice of a teenage(ish) boy! 

I thought Julian was a totally hateful character after I read wonder. Everyone I meet who has read wonder feels the same way and so I kind of wasn't looking forward to hearing things from his point of view. I thought that perhaps I wouldn't spend the entire novella hating him, but I was surprised to find myself sympathising and even empathising with him during the reading of this one. It was also really great to hear some of the events from wonder retold from another point of view. 

This novella had the same great writing as wonder had an it was an absolute pleasure to be reading something by this author once again. She really does have the voice of the boys right and each character she writes about has their own unique way of thinking, something which I'm pretty impressed with. I'd love to hear more about Julian and August and I think a Wonder sequel would be absolutely inspired! 

Slight spoiler coming...

I read this with the same group of children at school who I read Wonder with and they loved every moment of it, particularly the story that Julian's grandmother tells. They were convinced the Julian would go back to Beacher Prep and were slightly disappointed that he didn't. So much so, that they are talking about rewriting the ending so that Auggie and Julian do meet up again. This is the impact that this writer has, encourages people to read and write as well as thinking about their actions-just fabulous!

#ChooseKind 

The Page Girls...promo and giveaway!

Here with news of a fab new website celebrating their first birthday this week. What's more you can win an ebook at the end of this post. They sound like a great site, here's all the info you need...

The Page Girls (www.thepagegirls.com) is a new online mag with an emphasis on books, cocktails, and female friendships. Each week, they publish a themed issue containing short stories, book reviews, personal and funny essays, videos, cocktail recipes, and more. Some sample issues include The Craziest Thing I Did For Love and LYLAS (Love You Like a Sister).

From July 21-25, The Page Girls is celebrating its first official “birthday week,” which means a giveaway every day plus other goodies. 

Sign up for The Page Girls’ weekly newsletter to get notified about new issues, and be sure to follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

And you can also win a copy of ebook Here For the Cake by Emily Poule, just sign up for the newsletter & leave me a comment below letting me know you've done so. I'll draw the winner on Saturday so keep your eyes peeled to the blog around then to see if you've won...

Happy reading! 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Characters I would want With Me on A DesertedIsland 22/7/14

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over there at The Broke and the Bookish. I'd love to share my lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Ooo this is an interesting one. Things you would want with you on a desert dial and need to be a combination of useful and entertaining and so I think book characters also need to be a combination of the same things, so I will try and make my list reflect this. 

1. Dave from the Greatest Love Story of All Time by Lucy Robinson. I heart Dave-he is so shagable and so I'd love to be trapped on a desert island with him! 

2. Jenny Lopez from the I heart series by Lindsey Kelk. Who doesn't love Jenny? She would get you out of some tight scrapes that's for sure! 

3. Annie Valentine from the Personal Shopper series by Carmen Reid. She would sort me out with my desert Island wardrobe I'm sure...

4. Ticket from By My Side by Alice Peterson. This dog would be ace, I so need a Ticket cuddle! 

5. Becky Bloomwood from the Sopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella because... Well obviously! 

6. Professor Don Tilman from the Rosie Project by Graeme Simison. This guy is such a hoot! He is the Sheldon cooper of the fictional world and I think he would be very helpful on a desert Island! 

7. Pia from Who is Tom Ditto by Danny Wallace. This character puts the comedy in this novel and so I would definitely want her around to make me laugh! 

8. Jess from The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes. Everyone needs a totally awesome mum to keep them right and I totally loved this mum in this book-I think she would keep everything running smoothly on that island! 

9. Harriet Manners from Geek Girl by Holly Smale. I love this character and so I would love to have the time to sit down and have a chat with her! 

10. Aaron from Trouble by Non Pratt. This guy was just awesome. Chivalrous, sensible, funny and sure to get you out of a tight spot. I wish I'd known someone like him when I was in high school-lovely-just lovely! 

So there you have my list. Thinking about all of these characters just make me want to read about them all over again! Let me know if you agree with my choices or of you've chosen any of the same and leave me a link to your top ten below!