My I Heart Story (Inspired by the I Heart Series by Lindsey Kelk)

So I Heart Forever will be out very soon! In case you hadn't heard, Lindsey Kelk has been chatting about the I heart books, one a week over on her YouTube channel. There's still plenty of time to catch up with them and read along. She is always looking for questions for her videos so definitely get reading so you can ask your burning questions.

I decided to join in with this I Heart Book Club/Readathon, as you may have noticed from my TBRs and wrap ups. And so I have been re-reading these books!

Reading the books again and watching these videos got me thinking about where I was then and where I am now. Where I was when I read each book and how much things have changed because of that. These books were really quite important to me and so I decided I would share my I Heart Story with you!

This one came out in 2009 and I absolutely loved this book. This book was where I rediscovered just how great books could be. I had just finished my first year of teaching, which had directly followed my PGCE, both times where you're not going to get any sleeping done, never ind reading. I had just moved from Glasgow down to Kent, I was in a really rubbish relationship, didn't have any money or a proper job. And this book allowed me to escape those things. I loved living in New York with Angela and rediscovering that whole 'just one more chapter' thing that I hadn't had for a couple of years. This book was important because it did allow me a little bit of sanity. Someone gave me the book and so I hadn't had to pay for it and reading it didn't cost me anything so this book will always have a special place in my heart!

Now I found out this book was out because I used to go into Sainsburys on a Thursday, when the new books would come out and see what was new and I was so excited to see there had been a sequel to I Heart New York, one of my all time favourite books. This one was published January 2010 when I was back living with my parents in Yorkshire and doing supply teaching. I was working a lot more and was generally happier and I was just thrilled to read the sequel to this book. I had visited Hollywood once and so I could picture roughly where they were in the book. I also loved reading Heat magazine and so I loved the storyline with the celebrity interview! I was single again and so I loved reading about Angela and Alex's relationship dramas.

I Heart Paris came out that same summer and I had secured a long term supply position for that September, things were looking up for me but there was so much drama going on in Angela's life, what was going on? I was also just beginning a new relationship so was totally optimistic about all that kind of thing and so I didn't like that Alex and Angela weren't communicating properly. I believe I read this in the Lake district whilst I was away for the week before what should have been my wedding to the guy I was with when I Heart New York came out-big changes there! Yes we seem to be tracking my relationship history with I Heart books but this is why this series is important to me. 

I think that, aside from I Heart New York, obviously, this book is my favourite of the sequels. I loved the wild things that Angela and Jenny got up to and this was the first time in the series where I hadn't been to the location where the book was set (I have been there now, I got married there, and so re-reading it has been sooooo different!). This book came out in December 2011 and I had just moved down to the south east to teach just outside London. I had a full time job, a flat and I was living on my own again. I felt more grown up and Angela felt more grown up too. I was at one of those stages where you're like "I don't need a man, I'm not dating again!' and I think that made me long even more to be on a girly trip with Jenny and Angela and I think I connected all the more with this book. Re-reading it has been so different because of the fact that I went to vegas with family to get married and so I have a whole different perspective now. 

This book came out on June 7th 2012 and I went and met Lindsey and got this book signed! This was before I managed to go to all the author signings. I had been living in the South East just less than a year and this was still when most of the singings were in the London area (I love that they are all over the place now) and so I was very lucky to be able to go and get this one signed at the new Westfield! If we're tracking this in terms of relationships, I was in a very 'I'm going on dates' stage and had had a few good dates and a few disastrous dates from dating apps (this was pre-Tinder) and this book was released JUST before I met my now husband. 

It was exciting because the singing was on June 2nd so I got the book early and of course I started reading the book on the Tube home! This book was great because Angela was back in London and I was in London and I felt like I could be my own Angela because I had just started my very own blog too! This was probably the most empowering book of the series for me! Lindsey also complimented my dress so-mont made!

This one came out in November 2013. I was approved for this one on Netgalley-how exciting. I was loving my book blog, I had a promotion at work. I was still living on my own but I was in a happy relationship, very different circumstances from most of the I Heart series. You can see now why I wanted to track the differences in reading them and also the differences between then and now. Theres not such a big difference with this one. I'm sill in the same relationship only now we're married and living in Denver so a bit of a difference. I loved this book obviously and took my friend with me to get ti signed, it was her first author event and so that is why this book is just as important and all the others in terms of mile stones!

So re-reading the books now, obviously they remind me of where I was when I read them the first time and that's sometimes not the best memories, but they also remind me of why they were so important to me at the time. The first time I went on my own to a book signing, in London! Escaping to vegas as a single girl with Angela and Jenny. Getting celebrity gossip from Angela and discovering New York with her for the first time. I love this series, I'm not a bit re-reader but I am so enjoying re-reading these books because they represent these milestones to me. It's come full circle slightly because I am now unemployed again but happily so! Plus now I have Angela's perspective of things we miss from the UK, getting parcels containing Dairy Milk, Percy Pigs and M&S pants!

I cannot wait for I Heart Forever and I am so excited that I'm going to be able to go to a singing too!

Thank you Lindsey Kelk for writing this series!

Here's the link to pre-order I Heart Forever in the UK and the US