Blog Archives
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!
It’s finally happening!!!!!
I am happy to announce that today the launch page went live for my new book subscription box – The Indie Book Nook
This subscription box service caters specifically to indie authors. It wasn’t until I created an author account on twitter that I discovered so many talented authors who are just starting to or have already self-published. As I beta-read pre-release novels or purchased self-published books on Amazon, it blew my mind that all this time I was missing out on beautifully crafted works of art simply because I didn’t know they existed.
This is a common problem that many authors who choose to self-publish face and I wanted to do something about it but I didn’t know how.
Then I came across an ad online for a book subscription box for newly released hardcover fiction books. And I thought, “Why doesn’t something like this exist…
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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.
The Tales of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
(please excuse the poor photo quality)
Even after all these years, I still enjoyed reading it and really felt for poor, naughty, Peter.
It gave me such a warm fuzzy feeling to be so lucky as to have my very own daughter that I can read books to and pass down my childhood favourites to. I really do hope she becomes a book lover just like me.
My apologies for such a short review tonight. Brain is getting sleepy so has given up for the night lol!
Take care, guys,
Dayna.
Next On My TBR List: And I Darken by Kiersten White.
A few weeks back the lovely Harriet at Penguin sent me a copy of the soon-to-be released And I Darken by Kiersten White. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to read it yet BUT this weekend will be THE weekend that I can finally get engrossed in it! I am so excited to be reading this book! Here’s the blurb:
AND I DARKEN by Kiersten White
Published 7th July 2016
“The phenomenal first book in an epic feminist trilogy set in the bloody Ottoman Empire, by the New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White.
Perfect for fans of Game of Thrones and The Queen of the Tearling, this is the ultimate, gripping, ‘can’t-stop-reading!’ novel to get stuck into on your summer holiday. Anti-princess Lada Dracul is destined to be the next feminist heroine, following in the footsteps of recent strong, gritty female characters Arya Stark, Jessica Jones and Star Wars’ Rey.
No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwyla likes it that way.
Ever since she and her brother were abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman sultan’s courts, Lada has known that ruthlessness is the key to survival. For the lineage that makes her and her brother special also makes them targets.
Lada hones her skills as a warrior as she nurtures plans to wreak revenge on the empire that holds her captive. Then she and Radu meet the sultan’s son, Mehmed, and everything changes. Now Mehmed unwittingly stands between Lada and Radu as they transform from siblings to rivals, and the ties of love and loyalty that bind them together are stretched to breaking point.”
Look out for my review in the coming weeks! 😃
Have a lovely weekend, all!
Come Join Me on Litsy!
Hey everyone! I hope you’re all keeping well and enjoying the Summer so far! It’s been a while and I do apologise for that. Having a cute little baby girl seems to be taking up a lot of my time now, but I’m still here, I promise. 😀
Have any of you heard of an app called Litsy? No? Neither had I until recently when my fiancé’s mum introduced me to it. It’s a book community where book lovers go to chat about, well, books! Basically it is a simplified version of Goodreads. At least that’s how I see it. It’s the only thing I can think to compare it to.
When you sign up, they ask if you want to follow their suggested users. I chose to do that but you don’t have to. One of them is a Litsy book club which I thought was a fab idea and will hopefully be joining in the fun next month myself. 😀
Here is what your profile layout will look like:
When you want to post something, just click on the cross symbol. You can then choose to write a review, write a blurb (or a general comment), or quote something from the book. Once you’ve chosen what you would like to do, you select your book and then you can write about it! It really is a nice little app. I think if I was to suggest any improvements, it would be to maybe have hashtags (or simply search for words) so that you can find other people who are reading the same book as you, like the same genre, are bloggers etc. So, if you love books like I do then come join me: SecretLivesOfFictionLovers
Enjoy your evening, guys! Oh and I thought I’d share a photo of Willow:
She’s wearing an Alice in Wonderland bow that I had made for her. I hope she loves books when she’s older!
Currently reading … And my Valentine’s Day gifts! 💕
Hi everyone! I haven’t disappeared off the face of the earth … honest! This pregnancy (I’m now 38 weeks pregnant – eek!) just seems to have taken over! So apologies yet again for being so quiet! I seem to have really lost the reading bug of late but I’m *trying* to get it back! I’ve been attempting to read something on my Kindle but my hands are crying out for an actual book to hold and turn the pages of (you just can’t beat the feel of an actual book, right?) so I’ve given in and chosen to read The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury!
Here’s the blurb:
“I am the perfect weapon.
I kill with a single touch.
Twylla is blessed. The Gods have chosen her to marry a prince, and rule the kingdom. But the favour of the Gods has its price. A deadly poison infuses her skin. Those who anger the queen must die under Twylla’s fatal touch.
Only Lief, an outspoken new guard, can see past Twylla’s chilling role to the girl she truly is.
Yet in a court as dangerous as the queen’s, some truths should not be told…”
I haven’t gotten very far but of what I have read, I’m really enjoying it! I love my YA novels and this was one that was recommended to me by Amazon. Seems completely unique to anything I’ve read in the past so thought I’d give it a go. Can’t wait to see how it all unfolds. 😃
Now on to Valentine’s Day … With having a little one due any day now, Aled and I didn’t go mad this year. He did offer to buy me a new Pandora charm but I opted for books instead! Coz I do love my books (even if I seem to have lost all motivation atm) and thought it a great excuse to get some new ones! These are the books I’d chosen:
For a change, I thought I’d go for a classic by H.P. Lovecraft and a book called Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick. As you can see, it’s been compared to The Hunger Games but for me the only similarities seem to be the fact it’s a dystopian. Here’s the blurb taken from the back of the book:
I couldn’t find a blurb online that matched the back of the book, hence this picture.
Oooh Superheroes AND zombies … should be in for an interesting read here!
So, there you have it. I can’t wait to delve into these books and hopefully my reading bug will return and I’ll be back to normal with my head constantly stuck in a book. Or as much as our baby girl will allow, once she is here lol!
