Book Review – Friends Like These by Sarah Alderson

Blurb:

‘We all know someone like Becca.

She has the job everyone wants, a designer wardrobe, a hot-shot lawyer boyfriend, holidays to exotic locations. And she flaunts her perfect life all over social media.

It drove her colleague Lizzie mad, but she couldn’t stop looking. They were never really friends – and yet Lizzie knew everything about her.

Or did she?

When chance, and a terrible mistake, pulls Lizzie back into Becca’s orbit years after they lost touch, she’ll realise that you can’t always believe what you see online… and that finding out the truth might be the worst thing you can do.

There’s no such thing as a perfect life. Only a perfect lie.’

I love a good thriller and this really keeps you guessing. Although I had my suspicions, I never truly knew until that fatal last 24 hours or so. What really threw me off as to who’d done it was that the story had been written from two view points, being made to believe one character more so than the other. To me, that was genius! It was a fantastic read and excellently written. I loved the twists, with an ending so unexpected it made my jaw drop!

Thank you to Sarah Alderson and Mulholland for this ARC in return for an honest review.

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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!

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?

My Birthday gifts wish list.

OK so I know it isn’t until October but for the past week or so I’ve been thinking about what I’d like for my birthday (you can never start too early haha plus it gives people time to buy you gifts) and which beauty products I’ve been wanting for ages not to mention other things I’ve been lusting over. Click on the pics to take you to the links. 😀 

No. 7 Illuminated Makeup Mirror. 

I have been wanting this mirror for so long! However, if anyone has any recommendations for me, I’d love to hear them! Especially when it comes to the magnified side and the brightness of the light. 

Morphe Brushes Eyeshadow Palettes. 

I am in love with Morphe Brushes eyeshadow palettes and would love to own more. They are definitely going on my birthday wish list

Morphe eyeshadow palette 35R. 

This is such a beautiful palette! Look at those golden shimmers! I love that there’s matte shades too.  I can only find it on Morphe’s actual site though. Beauty Bay and Cult Beauty don’t seem to have it in stock. 

Morphe eyeshadow palette 35B.

I don’t own a bright eyeshadow palette so this is definitely something I want, no, NEED in my collection. Again, I’m loving the fact there’s both matte and shimmer shades in this palette. Dying to get my hands on it! Imagine all the different looks you could do!

There’s more palettes I want from Morphe but I’ll stick with those. For now. 

Juvia’s Place The Magic Palette. 

I don’t own any products from Juvia’s Place but I have heard soooo many fab things about their eyeshadow palettes. I would love to have this one in my collection. 

Spectrum x Mean Girls Mini Burn Book and Brush Set.

Soooo fetch!

I LOVE the movie Mean Girls and I adore Spectrum brushes. I was so excited when they revealed that they were doing this collab! Roll on tomorrow! They are quite pricey but gosh so pretty!

Lime Crime Metallic Velvetines in Eclipse. 

I love Lime Crime lippies. There are many shades that I want but this shade is so darn pretty! They also currently have free worldwide shipping on orders $20+. Sooo tempting! 

Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. 

The second novel in the Dark Artifices series.

I am a huuuuge Shadowhunters fan! I have loved Cassandra Clare’s novels ever since I read the first three in the Mortal Instruments series – so you can imagine how ecstatic I was when she announced she was writing book four! She really sucks you in to the stories and makes you love/hate the characters as if they were your own friends/enemies. If there is a writer I aspire to be like,  it is her. I love the Shadowhunters fandom. My sister and I have even cosplayed as Shadowhunters! I did it for LFCC and then we both did it when we went to see City of Bones at the cinema.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Encyclopedia: The Ultimate Guide to the Buffyverse.

Ahhh Buffy. My first love when it comes to my favourite TV shows. This is where my love of all things paranormal properly began. I am such a nerd when it comes to Buffy haha. I’ve had so much Buffy merch over the years, it’s unreal. I’ve got Buffy on VHS, dvd AND the special collectors edition boxset from back when it was first released. I have Angel too (of course!) as does my fiancé but I refuse to get rid of my boxset because it’s the special edition. 😂 I could go on about Buffy all day but I’ll stop here. 😀

Morganville Season 1.

I loooved the book series by Rachel Caine (If you love your vampires then def check them out!) so I dying to see if the show has done it justice! 

Vampire Buffy and Vampire Angel pop figures. 

This is an SDCC 2016 exclusive and I so want it! Unfortunately it’s sold out but I’m hoping it can be found elsewhere. Maybe Ebay. 

There’s so many other pop figures I want too; Twilight, Game of Thrones, Disney… 

Sunnydale High hoody.

Whilst looking at the pop figures I came across this hoody. It’s Buffy related and it looks so snuggly! 

Buffy “I slay” bracelet. 

Hot Topic have recently brought out some brilliant Buffy merch. This bracelet is on sale at the mo too!

Buffy tee. 

This is another one from Hot Topic. Like I said, I’m a Buffy nerd. Just gimme all the merch!

Pandora Love Makes a Family Charm. 

I love my Pandora charms. This will be a suggestion for my other half I think.

Pandora Majestic Swan Charm. 

I have a double leather Pandora bracelet and the charms on that are all inspired by books. The swan charm would be a nod to Bella Swan from Twilight. 

Pandora Purple Poetic Droplet Ring.

I love purple! It’s one of my fave colours and I’ve had my eye on this ring for quite some time!
Zoeva Rose Golden Palette. 

This is another eyeshadow palette that I’ve had my eye on for a while. The shades are all so beautiful!

Zoeva Rose Golden Vol. 2 Complete Eye Brush Set. 

I would really love a set of Zoeva brushes. Especially when it comes to eyeshadow as I could do with some more brushes. These particular brushes aren’t cheap but this isn’t called a wish list for nothing lol.

I’m also into crystals (would absolutely love an amethyst geode)  and wicca and love black cats! So I’d love anything to do with those. Love anything Beauty and the Beast related too. I’m sure there are many more things that I’d like but have forgotten so for now I shall end it here. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading. 😀 

The Indie Book Nook!

I have so much love for Indie authors (some of my fave books are by Indie authors!) so I think this is such a fabulous idea!

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

I love proofreading!

One of the things I love about being a stay-at-home mum, rather than having your usual 9-5 day job, is that I can now concentrate on the things I’m passionate about and one of them is proofreading. A lot of people may think it’s boring but I love it! I love spotting mistakes and correcting them before they’ve made their way to the readers’ eyes! If you know of anyone who needs another pair of eyes to go over their work, feel free toleave a comment below or send them my way. I’d be more than happy to help! You can also email me: secretlivesoffictionlovers@gmail.com
Take care,
Dayna.

Blame by Simon Mayo – Read-along!

Hi everyone. The lovely people at Penguin recently sent me a copy of Blame by Simon Mayo. I’m so excited to read it! My boyfriend’s mum has also got a copy so, starting tonight, we have decided to do a read-along where we’ll read a chapter each night. This is actually a great way for me to read as with having little Willow now, I’ve been struggling to read as much as I used to, but setting aside half an hour or so to read a chapter is doable!

If you haven’t heard of Blame yet, here’s the blurb:

“Heritage crime [noun]: A previously undetected crime committed by your parents or grandparents for which you are held responsible. 

Ant and her brother, Mattie, are locked up in Spike, a new family prison.  Society demands they do time for the unpunished heritage crimes of their parents. Tension is simmering inside the jail.  When the tension breaks and a riot begins, Ant realizes they’ve got one chance to break out. 
It’s time for Ant to show the world that they’re NOT TO BLAME.”

Have any of you read Blame? If so, what did you think? Do any of you have it on your TBR list? Do you fancy reading along with us? Let me know in the comments below.

Take care,
Dayna.