Category Archives: Book Reviews
Marked Release Blitz Blog Tour – Book Review!
Hey guys! And welcome to my blog spot on the Marked Release Blitz Blog Tour! If you saw my previous post, you will have already been introduced to Eden and her friends and will know a little about what is in store for them in the first book, Marked, in Sloane Murphy’s series, Black Water Academy. Not familiar yet? Feel free to read the post here. There are also links to purchase Marked and a giveaway!
Before I start my review I just wanted us to take a moment to stand back and appreciate this book cover…
How absolutely stunning is it? It’s so unique and beautiful!
Anyway, without further ado, here is my review of Marked…
Book Review – Marked (Black Water Academy #1) by Sloane Murphy.
This was such a fantastic read. It’s like a cross between Harry Potter and Vampire Academy but with Sloane’s own unique supernatural twist to it.
17 year old Eden enrols at Black Water Academy after the death of her guardian, Dannika. Black Water Academy is a place where teen supernaturals go to hone in on their powers and learn how use and control them. Eden is a vampire but there is a lot more to her than meets the eye.
I love Sloane’s style of writing. It was written in first person and once again it was so easy to get swept away into a whole new world. I loved the characters, although I did wish for more character development, delving into their lives at the academy and more backstory but that’s just me being greedy and wanting more, more, more story! And no doubt we’ll find out more in the next book! Which, by the way, is it ready yet? I neeeed to know what happens after that twisty plot twist! I’m so impatient haha! I’m really intrigued by Ruby. She’s so peppy! It makes me wonder if she’s hiding something. I loved the romance in this book. I’m a sucker for romance and there’s a bit of a love triangle going on between Eden, Creed and Ethan. I was actually unsure about who I wanted Eden to get with and I’m still not entirely sure whether I trust Creed either. I know I’ve said it before but….is book two ready yet? If you love the supernatural/paranormal genre then this book is for you! I wholly recommend you read it!
ARC Book Review – When We Fall by Olivia Rose.
Blurb:
Erin Michaels wants nothing more than to just survive high school. With a life long crush on the boy next door, and his mean girl girlfriend who seems to want to make her life miserable, it’s no wonder those short years feel like a lifetime.
That is, until Mason Knight.
When Mason Knight rocks up at Rocky Falls High, Erin’s world turns upside down, and her eyes are opened to a world worth living for.
Exploring love and life for the first time, Erin’s world is set ablaze in ways she never imagined possible.
‘When We Fall’ is a YA novel that centres around high school bullying, finding love, giving you strength and bravery to rise above the bullying and have the courage to stand up to it and speak out. I love that this was written in first person with a friendly conversational tone to it. It makes for a really smooth read that really pulls you in.
The characters were easy to like – or dislike depending on who (I didn’t like Evan. He was a tool from the start). The main character, Erin, is sooo the book version of me; with her style, her clumsiness and her love of books. Not to mention her personality and how she overcomes being bullied. Mason… wow Mason. Ohhh he was everything you’d want in a love interest, in my opinion. He was always in Erin’s corner. Supporting her, encouraging her to fight back and not take the crap that the bullies were throwing at her. He had that bad boy vibe about him too which I loved… the reformed bad boy with a heart of gold. Monica (Erin’s guardian) and Grams (Mason’s grandma) were really likeable characters too. They were both so lovely and reminded me of my own nannas.
I was totally engrossed by this book. There is a major plot twist that I just wasn’t expecting and it had me hanging on the edge of my seat with my heart in my mouth! For a time I was worried that suicide, or attempted suicide, may happen in the story, but something entirely different happened and it’s not something I’ve come across a great deal in the books I’ve read. I really like that Olivia Rose wrote about it though as it really does resonate with what seems to be happening more and more in the US today.
This was a fantastic read that I definitely recommend you go out and buy! It is released 26th March and is available to pre-order now!
* This ARC was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
** This book was previously written under the pen name Sloane Murphy.
Book Review – A Princess’s Duty by Sloane Murphy
Blurb:
Emilia Daarke has wanted to escape the Summer Court her entire life. She’s not brutal like the other Fae. She’s not savage. But they are.
When the boy she loves, Cade Vasara, Crowned Prince of the Winter Court, kills Emilia’s twin, they are torn apart and Emilia’s love for Cade dies just like her sibling did.
Years later, she has fallen in love with a hunter – a forbidden love that goes against all that she has been taught. A man her father will never approve of. When her secret is outed, her father captures her Hunter and gives Emilia an ultimatum.
If she succeeds, she’ll lose the one she loves. But if she fails, he will die, and she will never be able to forgive herself…
This is the first book I’ve ever read of Sloane’s. It’s the mention of the fae that drew me in! And I wasn’t disappointed! Whew what a page turner that was! I love the writing style, it was so easy to get into. I love the chemistry between both Emilia and Oberon, and Emilia and Cade. I was actually torn about who I wanted to ship her with. I love how gory and dark it was in some places and how heated things got in others! I REALLY enjoyed the twists; and that cliff hanger at the end? Oh. My. God! I was about 90% through reading when I had an inkling that a certain character would turn. I’m a bit gutted though, I really liked them! A part of me is hoping it’s all some kind of act. Speaking of characters, I didn’t warm to Lex. He’s definitely one shady dude! However, maybe I’ll be surprised in the next book and he actually turns out good? Who knows? But I’m dying to find out what happens!
Book two, A King’s Oath, will be released in December.
*this book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review.
Home made oat milk
Happy Monday! I made my own oat milk today after seeing A Virtual Vegan’s recipe for it. It was really simple to make. There’s a few tweaks I need to make next time but for a first attempt, it’s not bad at all.
I’m actually really proud of myself. It’s currently chilling in the fridge in its lovely Kilner milk bottle. I need to buy me another one of these bottles for sure; they’re so cute!
#milkalternative #oatmilk #oats #vegan #vegansuk #vegetarian #dairyfree #dairyfreemilk #drink #tea #beverage #coffee #blog #blogger #mummyblog #mommyblog #mummyblogger #mommyblogger #potd #like #drinkme #lifestyleblog #lifestyle #proud #kilner #kilnerbottle
Book Mail!
Book mail yay! When Penguin approached me about reviewing the book, Dear Evan Hansen (to be released 9th October 2018), I jumped at the chance. I was really intrigued by the fact that it was a stage to book adaptation as I hadn’t heard of it being done before. I definitely have to look up the musical on YouTube and the Internet! And must also check out the soundtrack so that I can listen to that whilst reading the book! The other thing that drew me to the book was the mention of “Benj Pasek” and “Justin Paul” 😮! OMG if you love The Greatest Showman like me, then you will have heard of them and you’ll know how amazing their music and songwriting is! This is another reason why I need to check out the Dear Even Hansen soundtrack!
Here’s the book blurb:
Dear Evan Hansen,
Today’s going to be an amazing day and here’s why…
When a letter that was never meant to be seen by anyone draws high school senior Evan Hansen into a family’s grief over the loss of their son, he is given the chance of a lifetime: to belong. He just has to stick to a lie he never meant to tell, that the notoriously troubled Connor Murphy was his secret best friend.
Suddenly, Evan isn’t invisible anymore–even to the girl of his dreams. And Connor Murphy’s parents, with their beautiful home on the other side of town, have taken him in like he was their own, desperate to know more about their enigmatic son from his closest friend. As Evan gets pulled deeper into their swirl of anger, regret, and confusion, he knows that what he’s doing can’t be right, but if he’s helping people, how wrong can it be?
No longer tangled in his once-incapacitating anxiety, this new Evan has a purpose. And a website. He’s confident. He’s a viral phenomenon. Every day is amazing. Until everything is in danger of unraveling and he comes face to face with his greatest obstacle: himself.
A simple lie leads to complicated truths in this big-hearted coming-of-age story of grief, authenticity and the struggle to belong in an age of instant connectivity and profound isolation.’
Book Mail: Advance copy of Misfit by Charli Howard.
Absolutely thrilled to be given the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of “Misfit” by Charli Howard – an international curve model and body activist whose charity, The All Woman Project, goes into schools to teach children about body image and mental health issues.
Here’s the blurb:
“So, how did a slightly bonkers misfit with anorexia, bulimia and anxiety decide to solve their problems? I became a model. As you do.
Charli Howard had always wanted to be normal – but for some reason, she couldn’t quite find out how to do it. As a teenager, she felt like the only one who struggled with anxiety and self-esteem issues when everyone around her seemed to fit in. So she tried to embrace standing out: by becoming a model. Believing it would make her happy and envied, she set out single-mindedly to make it – and she achieved her dream. But the reality wasn’t quite as glamorous as she’d hoped. The pressure on Charli to look a certain way took an extreme toll on her body and self-image, and no matter how thin she got, she was never thin enough.
When Charli, though medically underweight, was fired by her modelling agency for being too big, she decided she’d had enough. She used her platform for good and spoke out about the insane standards of the modelling industry, whose images influence young women and girls all over the world. Now, Charli is comfortable in her skin for the first time ever, working happily as a plus sized model in New York. Here, she shares her journey, from anorexic and bulimic teenager to happy, healthy twenty-something.”
I actually feel quite emotional about reading this book to be honest. Maybe it’s because I have a baby girl now and I hope she never ever falls victim to body shaming.
Charli is an inspiration to thousands of girls and I hope that when my little girl Willow is older, she’ll read this book and feel empowered. That she’ll feel comfortable in her own body, be proud of it, and that she’ll become a confident young lady that I know she can be.
“Misfit” will be released 22nd February 2018.
Blind Date With a Book!
For ages now I’ve seen on social media people having blind dates with books and have so desperately wanted to have one of my own! So imagine my excitement a few days ago when I saw on Facebook that my local library was doing one! A blind date with a book is basically how it sounds. A book is wrapped up in possibly brown paper so that you have no idea what book you’re going to read, apart from maybe the genre. I tagged my mother in-law in the post as I knew she’d be interested too and the following we popped down to our library to pick up our date.
The parcel above is the book I’d chosen. Each book is given a letter so that the folk at the library know what you’re reading but you don’t know until you unwrap it.
Say helloooo to my blind date….
The Ribbons Are For Fearlessness by Catrina Davies
The blurb:
I’m really enjoying it so far and I’m just about to start chapter 5. I unattractively snort laughed at the Wales and rain reference coz it’s so bloody true!
I swear we see more rain than sunshine here in Pembrokeshire! Our little town is near both the beach AND the mountains so this little reference was spot on lol! If you ever visit Pembrokeshire, don’t forget to pack a rain coat and wellies! Coz you Will need them. 😂
I hope you’re all having a lovely weekend. I’m now going to continue enjoying my date whilst having Dancing on Ice playing in the background. Anyone else watching it? Love me some ice skating!
The Winter Queen free on Kindle until Sunday!
Yep that’s right! The Winter Queen by Katie M. John is free on Kindle until Sunday! So be quick and grab yourselves a copy!
Here’s a little blurb for you:
When close friends May and Tom take a walk through the snow covered woods, May has no idea how truly magical, and dangerous, things are about to get.
When she wakes up badly injured in lavish but unfamiliar surroundings, she begins to understand that nothing is once what it was – and sometimes, as beautiful as the snow can be, it can be cruel.
Finding herself trapped in a terrible fairytale, May must find a way to get home before she is trapped there forever.
READERS’ NOTES.
Please note that this is a 3/4 novel of 30,000 words.
It is an upper YA/Crossover timeslip / worldslip story with modern fairytale elements.
You can purchase it here for UK readers and here for US readers.
Well, what are you waiting for? Go onnnn snag yourselves a copy and get lost in this amazing and magical story!
