Storybook Cosmetics Wizard Wands Brushes.

Hey all. How are ya’ll doing this fine Sunday? I recently took part in a competition to win a set of Storybook Cosmetics brushes at a book release party over on Facebook. I was so thrilled when I found out I’d won that I thought I’d share my excitement with you all.

I’d been lusting after the brushes for sooo long and I can’t wait to work some magic with them – IF I can bring myself to use them! Thank you so much Katie M. John for my spoils! I really wasn’t expecting the extras that came with the brushes so it was such a lovely surprise! Love my little Gomm knight badge. I’ll be putting that on one of my bags! Willow loves the pen haha and attempted to draw all over the parcel bag. 😂

Katie is the fabulous author of amazing YA books such as The Knight Trilogy series and the Meadowsweet Chronicles series. If you’d like to find out more about her books, check out her author page on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

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Happy Book Release Day! – Angelicus by Katie M. John.

I am so excited to announce that ‘Angelicus’, the 4th book in the Meadowsweet Chronicles series, is out today! If this is your first time stumbling across the series by Katie M. John then please keep on reading. You will also find a link below to download ‘Witchcraft’, the first book in the series, for free!

‘Angelicus’ Book 4 of The Meadowsweet Chronicles

Published by Little Bird Publishing House London.

Date of Release 22^nd of March 2018

Author Katie M. John

Website www.katiemjohn.com

SERIES BLURB:
There’s no light without dark.
Fox Meadowsweet is a Witch. Jeremiah is a Witch Hunter. The Meadowsweet bloodline has lived in the sleepy English village of Heargton for thousands of years. Jeremiah Chase is a New York boy in exile.

Neither of them asked for their past, but now it’s the only thing that can save their future as dark and ancient paranormal forces threaten to obliterate the world.

When a local college girl is discovered ritually murdered and covered in strange symbols, old suspicions rise, ancient fears manifest, and centuries-spanning blood feuds reignite between the old households of the village.
With their ancestral reputation of magic and witchcraft, eyes turn to the three beautiful Meadowsweet sisters. Including the eyes of Jeremiah Chase, who finds himself inexplicably drawn the quirky wild beauty of the middle sister, Fox.

But as Jeremiah learns the history of her bloodline, he also unearths the dark and tangled story of his own family, giving him knowledge of a terrible and diabolical legacy.

VIDEO BOOK TRAILER

 

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

Giving away a Witchy Hamper of surprise goodies worth $75 and a Semi-precious stone pendant made of amethyst and rose quartz. Click the link below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Witchcraft BOOK 1

 

 

‘Witchcraft’ BOOK 1 of the SERIES IS ON FREE DOWNLOAD

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NG5CLTE

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NG5CLTE

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id950645919

KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/witchcraft-16

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/witchcraft-kati…/1127088200

PURCHASE YOUR COPY OF ANGELICUS HERE:

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078N34MBP

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078N34MBP

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!

Hallowreads 2017!! 🎃

Hey all. Sorry I’ve been MIA for a couple of weeks. My little girl and I went back to my home town to spend some quality time with family and friends and to also celebrate my mum’s birthday. We had such an amazing time, it was so great seeing everyone again. I even got to pop into my old work and have a catch up with some of my ex colleagues! Of course they all adored Willow who was chatty and cheeky and walked round like she owned the place. 😂

Anyway, onto today’s post…
October is nearly upon us which means… Halloween season! Wooo! In my house that means watching as many scary movies as possible and reading spooky books! This October’s Halloween reads will be… 

The Crow Man by Katie M. John

Book of Spells by Christina Benjamin, Katie M. John, Carlyle Labuschagne, Caroline Gill, Susan Burdorf, and Tia Silverthorne Bach

Sooo excited for the release of The Crow Man by the fabulous Katie M. John and Book of Spells a spooky anthology by amazing authors Christina Benjamin, Katie M. John, Carlyle Labuschagne, Caroline Gill, Susan Burdorf, and Tia Silverthorne Bach! Perfect for the season!
What will YOU be reading?? Do you have any spooky, scary reads to recommend?

Beta/Proofreading Requests.

After spending 3 years studying hairdressing only to realise this wasn’t for me, I went on to study Business Administration. But really my passion lied in books; I always had the urge to correct errors left in a book’s final copy.  It would just drive me crazy and being a self-confessed perfectionist, I can’t help but want everything to be 100% correct. So I decided to study proofreading as I wanted to help authors and be that second eye to look over everything and make sure that it was all perfect. Since then, in my spare time, I have been lucky enough to work as a proofreader for an e-zine and also for several indie authors.

I have decided to start advertising my Beta/proofreading services should you need a second eye to go over your work and, if you wish, I can also help with promo, etc. I may not be a professional proofreader working in a publishers, but I am accurate and will always give 100%.

If you would like to talk to me about any services please email me at secretlivesoffictionlovers@gmail.com

Book Mail!

Ahhh look what dropped on my doormat this morning! 

Thank you Penguin Random House! Can’t wait to review Bonfire by Krysten Ritter! I am actually stupidly excited to have received this! I love Krysten as an actress so I can’t wait to read her new book! All being well I shall start it tonight once Willow is in bed!

Here’s the blurb:

Should you ever go back?

It has been ten years since Abby Williams left home and scrubbed away all visible evidence of her small town roots. Now working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, she has a thriving career, a modern apartment, and her pick of meaningless one-night stands.

But when a new case takes her back home to Barrens, Indiana, the life Abby painstakingly created begins to crack. Tasked with investigating Optimal Plastics, the town’s most high-profile company and economic heart, Abby begins to find strange connections to Barrens’ biggest scandal from more than a decade ago involving the popular Kaycee Mitchell and her closest friends—just before Kaycee disappeared for good.

Abby knows the key to solving any case lies in the weak spots, the unanswered questions. But as Abby tries to find out what really happened to Kaycee, she unearths an even more disturbing secret—a ritual called “The Game,” which will threaten the reputations, and lives, of the community and risk exposing a darkness that may consume her.

With tantalizing twists, slow-burning suspense, and a remote, rural town of just five claustrophobic miles, Bonfire is a dark exploration of the question: can you ever outrun your past?

Sounds pretty cool, right? Review coming soon! 

#bookblogger #bookreview #bookblog #reviewer #bonfirethebook #books #krystenritter #reading #amreading #tbrlist #influencer #bblogger #bbloggers #bblog #bookgeek #bookworm #booknerd

What’s next on my TBR list?

Hey guys! I hope you’re all having a lovely Wednesday! Today I have been wondering what to read next. Since Gone Girl was such a let down for me, I want to read something that would totally suck me in and completely have me lost in its pages. Then I remembered my Mother in-law lending me The Darkest Surrender by Gena Showalter! It’s part of the Lords of the Underworld series and my mother in-law couldn’t rate it highly enough. She absolutely raves about this series and talks about how dreamy one of the characters is. That’s me sold then! I need something that will have me totally engrossed and I think this book may be the one to do it!

It’s actually the 8th book in the series (oops!) but you don’t have to read them in order,  although it does  pain me to start part way through. I hate not starting with the first book in a series. For  those who may be interested, here’s the blurb from Goodreads:

Possessed by the demon of Defeat, Strider cannot lose a challenge without suffering unimaginable pain. For him, nothing stands in the way of victory. Until Kaia, an enchanting Harpy, tempts him to the razor’s edge of surrender.

Known among her people as The Disappointment, Kaia must bring home the gold in the Harpy Games or die. Strider is a distraction she can’t afford because he has an agenda of his own-steal first prize, an ancient godly artifact, before the winner can be named. But as the competition heats up, only one prize will matter-the love neither had thought possible…

I love the sound of this! I’m a big fan of myths/fantasy novels. Can’t wait to get started! Have any of you guys read this series? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below. 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – Mini Book Review.

I’ve just finished reading Gone Girl. That’s how it ends?! Really?! It’s actually left me feeling quite deflated and disappointed. 🙁 Throughout the book I got so frustrated (in an excited, tell me who did it godamnit, kinda way) and just wanted to cheat and skip right to the end. Then I eventually get there and I’m like… “Oh. Meh.” Kind of annoyed by it, ya know? Wasn’t quite what I was expecting. For me, it’s ended up being that one book that everyone raves about, so you read it, and it doesn’t live up to your expectations. Very anticlimactic. The book in itself was fast paced and kept me glued. I mean, I was bloody reading every chance I got, hoping that karma would make an appearance, but she didn’t and things took a really random turn with an odd ending that felt a bit rushed and sort of like the author was running out of ideas on how to conclude it, or something like that. It just didn’t sit right with me. I feel bad leaving a negative review, especially as people rate this book so highly but, I’m sorry guys, I just didn’t love it. It gets a thumbs down from me.

#reading #amreading #books #gonegirl #bookblog #blogger #bookreview #bookreviews #blog #disappointed

Book Mail!

I always love getting books in the post! Today Penguin have
sent me “A New Darkness” and “The Dark Army” by Joseph Delaney and also “The Creeping Shadow” by Jonathan Stroud. Have any of you read the Spooks or Lockwood & Co series? I’m so excited to read these! I shall be saving them for Halloween season!

#bookmail #books #reading #amreading #horror #halloween #spooks #lockwoodandco #bookblogger #bookblog #blog #blogging #halloween