Book Review: Instructions For Dancing by Nicola Yoon. #YA

This was our book club read for July. Not my choice and probably wouldn’t be my choice of read either really. It’s a young adult book which isn’t a genre that I generally like. But I thought I would give it a go. If nothing else, I like our discussions. Also I have heard very good things about this author Nicola Yoon.

Instructions For Dancing by Nicola Yoon. My kindle and a beautiful day.

Description:

Evie Thomas doesn’t believe in love anymore. Especially after the strangest thing occurs one otherwise ordinary afternoon: She witnesses a couple kiss and is overcome with a vision of how their romance began . . . and how it will end. After all, even the greatest love stories end with a broken heart, eventually.

As Evie tries to understand why this is happening, she finds herself at La Brea Dance studio, learning to waltz, fox-trot, and tango with a boy named X. X is everything that Evie is not: adventurous, passionate, daring. His philosophy is to say yes to everything–including entering a ballroom dance competition with a girl he’s only just met.

Falling for X is definitely not what Evie had in mind. If her visions of heartbreak have taught her anything, it’s that no one escapes love unscathed. But as she and X dance around and toward each other, Evie is forced to question all she thought she knew about life and love. In the end, is love worth the risk?

• 

My Thoughts:

I have read a lot of good things about this author Nicola Yoon. More so her book before this ‘ Everything Everything ‘. I didn’t read that, but decided to read Instructions For Dancing as part of our July book club read. While young adult books are not my thing, I can appreciate a good author and excellent writing when I see it.

The main character Evie is dismayed with love due to her parents break up. Within the first few chapters we can see that Evie likes books and not just any books, but romance books. Unfortunately as she lost faith in love, she fell out of love with her books. Despite this there are still some great quotes worth noting here that are typically from romance novels.

” I don’t want the world Eves, just my piece of it”

There were lovely friendships in this book. Evie’s best friend Martin is a great support to her and encourages Evie to go to a dance class. Hence the name of the Book, Instructions For Dancing. The book does have a bit of dance talk but it is not full of it. The messages come through without having to know anything about dance or even be particularly keen on dancing. I personally liked the dance talk. Beautiful dresses and sexy moves. But if you’re not a fan of dance don’t let this put you off.

My favourite part of this book was the over all message that resonated throughout the book. Like I said already YA is not my thing but all my bookclub buddies do like YA and they all rated it highly. So I would recommend it if you like YA. From my point of view, the writing style was good, it was easy to read And the moral/ message throughout the story was true and good.

• Amazon
• Goodreads

Book Review: Instructions For Dancing by Nicola Yoon via

Tweet

Advertisement

 

This book made me #Hungry. By Grace Dent. Book Review.

Isn’t the name of this book just enough to make you want to delve in!? I received my copy of this from netgalley and with many thanks, I share my unbiased thoughts.

Description:
From an early age, Grace Dent was hungry. As a little girl growing up in Currock, Carlisle, she yearned to be something bigger, to go somewhere better.
Hungry traces Grace’s story from growing up eating beige food to becoming one of the much-loved voices on the British food scene. It’s also everyone’s story – from treats with your nan, to cheese and pineapple hedgehogs, to the exquisite joy of cheaply-made apple crumble with custard. It’s the high-point of a chip butty covered in vinegar and too much salt in the school canteen, on an otherwise grey day of double-Maths and cross country running. It’s the real story of how we have all lived, laughed, and eaten over the past 40 years.

My Thoughts:
Grace Dent shares with her readers her beginnings in Carlisle where highlights included yellow sticker goods from the new big Asda and pink wafer biscuits.
Throughout Hungry we hear the authors love of food and her cravings for fame and cuisine. I love a good foodie book and this one has so many aspects to devour.
I think I must be a similar age to the author as there were so many parts of this books that I could relate to. If you grew up in Britain in the 80’s here is a reminiscence for you. From Findus crispy pancakes to Neapolitan ice cream, of course most of these memories include food. As Grace grows up her travels take her away from Carlisle and the foodie talk becomes much more distinguished with dishes sounding weird, wonderful and some just downright odd.
Hungry is written as a kind of memoir to the authors start in life until she becomes the much loved food writer that she now is writing for The Guardian amongst other places. The book is written with humour, emotion and mostly with the love of food.
The first half of this book brought back lots of memories for me. The second half showed a slightly different side of the author, which didn’t go amiss by her family.
A really enjoyable book that I recommend to everyone who loves a foodie tale.
It was also lovely to see Grace Dent back on Uk MasterChef recently.
Links:
Goodreads
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk

 

When The Night Is Dark by Cameron Bell.

Thank you very much to Author Cameron Bell for my copy of When The Night Is Dark. I was intrigued at first by his book as it started off in a town very close to where I was brought up. ( Port Talbot in Wales).Then the blurb continues with a great sounding plot based in Ibiza.

Description:

Ibiza – The White Isle, a party capital of the world. On a big night out beautiful 19-year-old Hannah Morgan vanishes. It is unexpected, out of character and no one seems to know anything.

Her father, a former British Paratrooper Jason Morgan is flying over to find her, and seeks the help of his estranged friend Will Cutter.

After 25 years on the Force the tenacious, no-nonsense Sergeant has left, and is working for himself as a Private Investigator.
Cutter agrees to ride shotgun and watch out for his old friend, and anyone stupid enough to stand in his way.
Together they uncover the dark side of the party where someone’s pleasure is another’s pain. The clock is ticking. The longer Hannah is missing, the sooner she is dead, or gone.

The two race to an uncertain finishing line battling deceit, perversion and violence.
Are they too late?
Are they in over their heads?
Will Ibiza get over the bloodshed?When The Night Is Dark is a gritty, hard-boiled crime mystery which readers of Dennis Lehane, Walter Mosley and Robert B. Parker should enjoy.

---

My Thoughts:

When The Night Is Dark is a dark, gritty crime thriller. I was intrigued to read this as it began in Port Talbot which is an area I know and continues in Ibiza. When Hannah goes missing, her Dad and his friend go out to look for her in Ibiza. You know when you get a former cop and a former military guy together on the hunt for bad guys you will get some grit and blood in a plot.  When the Night is Dark certainly delivered on that point. We meet lots of bad guys as the plot to find Hannah plays out. Jason ( Hannah’s father) and his friend Will take us along with them to The Highlander, the Scottish bar in Ibiza and various other places which if you have been to Ibiza you may well know. I liked that the places were real and you could picture where you were throughout the book.

There are some quite violent parts in the book, but I was expecting this when I read the blurb. Perhaps not a book for the faint hearted but I like a good crime thriller with a bit of violence! It is not all violence, the relationship between Jason and Will is a part of the book that enjoyed. Will is willing to give everything he has to find and protect his friends daughter. They have that manly man’s friendship and this was fun to read. I didn’t guess what had happened to Hannah until they found out, and when they did find out the plot picks up speed and the race is on. This is a fast paced, gritty thriller which I recommend to those who like a dark plot with great characters.

Links:
Goodreads

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

 

Book Review: The Mysterious Writing Group by Susan Willis

The lovely Author Susan Willis has released another fabulous short story. I have to admit after reading many of her short stories ( All of which you can find reviewed on my blog), The Mysterious Writing Group is my favourite so far.

I downloaded when it was available to download for free. So thank you Susan for this freebie little coffee break read.

Description

Christine has joined her four friends from a writing group at a murder-mystery weekend in a manor house. Although they enjoy each other’s company in their writing sessions, Christine wonders how the dynamics of the group will work over three days? They have been studying the golden age detectives and she is huge fan of Sherlock Holmes.
To even out numbers Christine pairs up with a newcomer, a Welshman, called Owen who she immediately likes when he offers to be her sidekick, Doctor Watson. While using their powers of deduction they discover some mysterious happenings, which makes Christine wonder if everyone is who they say they are?

My Thoughts:

The Mysterious Writing Group is a perfect coffee break read. Like I have said with all of my reviews for Susan Willis’ short stories, they are a great little escapism read when you have a little time to yourself.

I liked this story because it’s all things bookish. The characters are from a writing group where they meet to discuss their work. The main character Christine begins within the first few pages talking about well known authors who write crime books. And to top it all off they go to a murder mystery weekend. It is a booklovers perfect set up.

The writing flows, the characters are relatable, and the story has a full rounded plot within its shorter styled book.

I have to say as well, I was not expecting it to end as it did……..

A cracker of a read and my favourite short story by Susan Willis so far. I’m readily waiting for the next one. 😊

---

Links:
susanwillis.co.uk

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

Twitter – @SusanWillis69

 

The Currently Reading Book Tag. #Booklover

I have found myself with more free time to read at the moment, and although it started off with a slight lack of concentration, I’m really enjoying my books again. So this is the perfect tag for me at this time.

I saw this tag on Meggy’s site and thought it was a fun tag to do. I haven’t done one in ages. You can read Meggy’s answers HERE!

The Currently Reading Book Tag was created by Charly Reynhorse.

How many books do you usually read at once?

I usually have 2 books on the go. One in paperback and one on my kindle.  But they have to be completely different stories and usually different genres.

 

If you’re reading more than one book at a time, how do you decide when to switch to reading the other book (do you read a certain amount of pages in each?)

I read my paperback when I have more time to sit and relax with my book.
I read or listen to my kindle when I have less concentration and when I’m doing other things, like ironing, driving, chopping veg etc.

Do you ever switch bookmarks while you’re part way through a book?

Not usually part way through a book, but usually after I finish a book. Part of the joy of choosing a new book also includes choosing a new bookmark.  Here are some of my favourite bookmarks.

Where do you keep the book(s) you’re currently reading?

My paperback is usually on my bedside table, unless I’m reading it in which case it’s in my hands. 😁. My kindle doesn’t have a “place”. That could be found anywhere from my bedside table to sofa to in my bag.

This is what I’m reading at the moment.

What time of day do you spend the most time reading?

This varies depending on what’s going on in my life at the time. During this lock time period, I’ve been reading a little in the morning with a cuppa when I wake. A little as an afternoon break and then sometimes in the evening.  When life becomes more ” normal ” again though, this will change.

How long do you typically read for in one go?

Again depends on what’s going on at the time. At the moment this can range from 5 minutes to 2 hours. I guess a usual time would be about half an hour before I take a break to make another cuppa or do something else.

Do you read hard covers with the dust jacket on or off?

Always on! I know some people like to keep them in perfect condition, but my books are most enjoyed when reading them. So always jackets on so I can keep looking back at the cover if I choose to. The cover always relays more of the story the more you read of a book.

Which position do you mainly use to read?

Either sitting up in bed or on the comfy chair in my living room. I used to be able to read lying down in bed…… now my reading glasses don’t allow that!

Do you take the book you’re currently reading with you everywhere you go?

No. I don’t take my book to work with me as I don’t have any free time to read it there. If I’m going to most other places then usually yes. This could be either my kindle or a paperback. 

How often do you update your progress in the book you’re currently reading on Goodreads?

Only when I start it and when I finish it. Although I often forget to do this and have a catch up process of what I’ve read and am reading. 

If you have done or fancy doing this tag, link your post in the comments below so I can read your answers too. If you don’t fancy doing the whole post, just let me know an answers or two in the comments. I’d love to hear your reading habits too.

 

Three Little Lies by Laura Marshall.

I received my copy of Three Little Lies from a book loving friend that I often swap books with. She loved it so I was hoping I would too. Also as I saw it was the same author that wrote Friend Request, I was expecting it to be good…….and it was…….very good.


Description

Someone told a lie.
Someone knows the truth.

Someone is watching you.

*****

When Sasha North comes into Ellen’s life, Ellen falls under her spell. As Ellen is welcomed into Sasha’s family, she doesn’t see the darkness that lies beneath their bohemian lifestyle. Not until a brutal attack changes all their lives forever.

Ten years later, Ellen and Sasha share a flat in London, still bound together by that night. When Sasha disappears, Ellen fears the worst. The police won’t take her seriously, but the events of the past give Ellen good reason to be frightened.

What really happened that night? Who is telling the whole truth? These are the questions Ellen must confront when searching for her friend. But someone knows Ellen is looking. And they don’t want the answers coming out . . .





My Thoughts:

Three Little Lies was a brilliant page turner of a read. A mix of friendship, lies and wondering if you really know someone as well as you think you do. We all have secrets, maybe we all tell the odd white lie. But what if those lies have life long consequences?

The book alternates between characters view points. But we mostly hear from Ellen who is best friends with Sasha who has disappeared.  Ellen is extremely concerned about Sasha and takes on the responsibility to try to find her. As Ellen’s hunt continues, she finds out that maybe she didn’t know her best friend as well as she thought she did.

The characters bring about a range of feelings for the reader. Some characters I didn’t like, some I felt sorry for. For an Author to invoke feelings about characters, I know that she has written them well.

The plot took me on a hunt for a girl, her secrets and her lies. What I found shall remain unsaid ( by me). Read Three Little Lies and let Laura Marshall tell you. You won’t regret it. 



Links:

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

lauramarshall.co.uk

 

Kick #Anxiety to the curb! Book Review: Anxiety Girl by Lacey London.

Many of us experience anxiety in our lives, some to a lesser extent and some people suffer from it in a life altering way. I have seen often on Twitter that the Author of this book has offered it free to download, as she wanted to share her experiences to help others.

I downloaded this book when it was available free for kindle download about Christmas time I think. I have seen it talked about a lot on Twitter so thought I would give it a read. If you look on Amazon, there may be other times where it is available free.

 

Description

From the best-selling author Lacey London.

When a seemingly perfect life takes a dangerous turn, nothing is certain… 

Loving life in the glitzy village of Alderley Edge, Sadie Valentine thought she had it all.

With her best friend, Aldo, for company, Sadie spends her time sipping bubbles amongst the glitterati in her many local bars and restaurants. However, unbeknown to the outside world, a series of unfortunate events cause her to fall into a lonely hole. 

Keeping her mask in place on a daily basis proves harder than Sadie anticipates, and when she is dealt yet more blows, her positivity starts to crumble. 

Despite her efforts to battle her demons, Sadie soon realises that sometimes, it’s not quite as simple as picking yourself up and carrying on.

With Aldo by her side, can Sadie crawl out of the impossibly dark hole and take back control of her life? 

Join Sadie Valentine as she discovers who she really is, and learns the true meaning of friendship…

 

Published March 21st 2017 by Independently published

My Thoughts:

The book starts off with main character Sadie explaining to us a bit about her life, how it started off seemingly all rosy and nice. Until a few things happened and caused her to be gripped by feelings that she hadn’t felt before and found difficult to explain and understand at the time. These feelings as we know from the title of the book were anxiety.I was looking for a book that was mildly entertaining, easy to read and perhaps one that would give tips to help with anxiety. I would say this ticked the box for all of those quotas. It was mildly entertaining, certainly easy to read. It gave a few tips on how to help with anxiety, but I also thought that if you severe anxiety then you may feel that this book makes it sound a bit too easy to overcome. ( just my opinion though).There were a few tips that I already knew about and perhaps are well known for sufferers? breathe, talk about it, counselling. But there were also tips that I hadn’t heard of before. For example, Sadie gave her anxiety a name – and this way she could talk to it and feel more in control, which may be helpful for some. I think anyone suffering would appreciate and try any tips they are able to, so any reasonable and thoughtful suggestion is a positive. Whether or not it works for you is a different matter, but as with all things, life is about trying to make things the best you can.“This too shall pass”, is a quote that Sadie found from a friend and found useful when she was finding herself having a difficult time.To be honest I found the first quarter of the book difficult reading as we hear all about Sadie’ s problems and although it was necessary to understand her story, it wasn’t enjoyable reading. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be?The friendship between Sadie and her best friend Aldo was amazing. Again this was great for Sadie. But many sufferers will not be in such a lucky position to have such a supportive friend.There are a few follow on books to this series and although I imagine they will be ok, I doubt that I will be reading them.Anxiety Girl was worth a read but if you are looking for how to help your severe anxiety, I would look elsewhere. 

---

Links:Amazon.co.ukAmazon.com

I was looking for a book that was mildly entertaining, easy to read and perhaps one that would give tips to help with anxiety. I would say this ticked the box for all of those quotas. It was mildly entertaining, certainly easy to read. It gave a few tips on how to help with anxiety, but I also thought that if you severe anxiety then you may feel that this book makes it sound a bit too easy to overcome. ( just my opinion though).There were a few tips that I already knew about and perhaps are well known for sufferers? breathe, talk about it, counselling. But there were also tips that I hadn’t heard of before. For example, Sadie gave her anxiety a name – and this way she could talk to it and feel more in control, which may be helpful for some. I think anyone suffering would appreciate and try any tips they are able to, so any reasonable and thoughtful suggestion is a positive. Whether or not it works for you is a different matter, but as with all things, life is about trying to make things the best you can.“This too shall pass”, is a quote that Sadie found from a friend and found useful when she was finding herself having a difficult time.To be honest I found the first quarter of the book difficult reading as we hear all about Sadie’ s problems and although it was necessary to understand her story, it wasn’t enjoyable reading. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be?The friendship between Sadie and her best friend Aldo was amazing. Again this was great for Sadie. But many sufferers will not be in such a lucky position to have such a supportive friend.There are a few follow on books to this series and although I imagine they will be ok, I doubt that I will be reading them.Anxiety Girl was worth a read but if you are looking for how to help your severe anxiety, I would look elsewhere. 

---

Links:Amazon.co.ukAmazon.com

Goodreads.

 

 

 

 

#Papercraft using recycled packaging. #snailmail #happymail

Making things from paper can be fun easy and you end up with a lovely final product from what started out as lots of bits.

Today I will show you how I made a happymail parcel for a friend using an old phone charger box!

I kept this box for a little while knowing I would be able to make something useful and pretty with it. I decided to turn it into a happymail parcel to send a few coffee samples to a friend.

This is what it started out looking like! Boring plain packaging.

To start off, I got pretty papers, scissors and glue. Simply choose some nice paper and glue it around the main body of the box.

A pretty easy start right! It stays just this easy too.

Next, I chose some washi tape to stick around the edges and a bit on the front to give some extra hold and design. As a crafter I have a box of washi tape and plenty to choose from.

You can find washi tape at most stationary shops and at most bargain/ pound / dollar shops.

I wanted to send some coffee samples. So I added the samples into the box to make it a bit more sturdy.

You can see the coffee coloured washi I chose and also the coffee inside the box. However there is a marking on the box telling us about the charger! Now I obviously didn’t want that to be on show. So I chose some embellishments and stickers to cover the markings and make the box look attractive and not at all like a charger box.

 

 

As I was enclosing caramelized honey coffee samples, I chose a coffee cup design and a bee to match the inside and outside of the gift.

I wanted to add a little tag to say who it is for and from. This is easily tied at the top of the box where there was already a hole.

You could then leave the box as it is with the coffee samples showing through the box. Or as I did, enclose a letter written on nice paper then fold the paper so the pretty side shows out through the clear part of the box.

And that’s it finished. A quick, easy and cheap way to make a lovely box to put a gift in.

Have you made crafty uses out of any recycled goods?

 

#Papercraft and murder!! Book review: Last Pen Standing by Vivian Conroy. Stationary Shop Mystery 1

Can you imagine how delighted I was to be approached by an Author who not only really looked at my blog and reading preferences, but also had written a book containing my love of crime stories and papercraft!!! I didn’t think such a book existed. But this is the first in a series! 😁

Description

Will this paper trail run cold?

As the new co-owner of Tundish Montana’s stationery shop WANTED, Delta Douglas knows how to organize a killer crafting event. Creativity and cardstock are all she needs to move one step closer to her ultimate dream: developing her own line of crafting products. But on the night of the workshop, at the swanky hotel venue, glitter isn’t the only thing found sprawled on the floor. A hotel guest is discovered dead in the bar, and amid the confusion, Delta’s best friend is suspected of the crime.

Enlisting the help of her Paper Posse and Spud, her canine sidekick, Delta dives into the investigation. But with many high-powered suspects on the line, Delta soon realizes her sleuthing may come with deadly consequences.

Publication date: September 24th 2019 by Poisoned Pen Press

---

Thoughts:

I was excited to start this book with it being a cosy mystery based around a crafter who owns her own craft shop. Delta has moved to Montana away from her beloved Gran to start a new business venture which includes papercrafting 💖

Within a few days Delta gets far more than she bargained for in her new town. A murder happens on the same night in the same hotel as her very first craft fair as owner of her new craft shop Wanted. Not only is she in the next room when the murder occurs, her business partner and her business partner’s brother are implicated in the crime! Is Delta’s dream job about to be ruined as her best friend and business partner get blamed for a murder? Delta sets upon finding out who the murderer is, and why they did it.

There are plenty of suspects and plenty of motives. With the help of ex policeman Jonas and canine friend Spud, Delta starts her sleuthing.

Delta is a likeable character. Of course I enjoyed her love of crafting and the mentioning of all types of crafting products that I also use, like washi tapes, stationary and pretty notebooks. It was also a nice touch where Delta made a suspicions board and used washi tape to link her thoughts.

Delta easily makes friends with the local people in the area and becomes a member of The Paper Posse who are a group of women who chat and look out for each other. Together they share clues about the murder and also share some amusing nick names.

Last Pen Standing has the traditional cosy mystery sleuthing, clues and red herrings. But it has the added brilliance of being set in lovely little town with a main character who loves to craft.

I very much look forward to the next book in this series.

Have you read this book? Do you know of any other stationary / crime books? Are you a crime and stationary lover yourself?

---

Links:

Goodreads

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

Twitter/VivWrites

 

Sun, Sea and Secret Coves! Book review of The Secret Cove of Croatia by Julie Caplin.

I saw this book talked about on Twitter. As I have a friend who is Croatian, I mentioned it to her and we both decided to read this book. You can see irena’s review HERE!. I was very much looking forward to reading Irena’s thoughts on how her country was represented. Click over and see what she thought.

Description:

Sail away to beautiful Croatia for summer sun, sparkling turquoise seas and a will-they-won’t-they romance you won’t be able to put down!

When no-nonsense, down-to-earth Maddie Wilcox is offered the chance to work on a luxury yacht for the summer, she can’t say no. Yes she’ll be waiting on the posh guests… But island-hopping around the Adriatic sea will more than make up for it – especially when Nick, her best friend Nina’s brother, is one of them.

Sparks fly when they meet on board and Maddie can’t believe self-entitled jerk Nick is really related to Nina. But in a secret, picture-perfect cove, away from the real world, Maddie and Nick discover they might have more in common than they realise…

Trigger warning: mentions eating disorders, the way it’s mentioned may not be appreciated by sufferers.

My Thoughts:

I was originally intrigued by this book because it was based in Croatia. I didn’t pay to much attention to the blurb or reviews so I went in a bit blind. Perhaps this was why the first few chapters didn’t grab me straight away.

The story consists of a luxury holiday on a yacht which sails around Croatia. The characters on the boat are a mix of hot, entitled models to salt of the earth Maddie. ( star of the show and main character).

I think it took me a little while to get into the book because some of the characters were so irritating. In my considered opinion though, the author made me feel irritated by these characters so that indeed makes a good writer.

When the setting and characters are laid out for us, I got into the book properly and then I saw the awesomeness of Croatia. It sounds like such a beautiful place, with idyllic beaches, history, art and delicious food. I was happy to read about a drink that was mentioned that Irena had sent to me from Croatia 😊.

The plot is typically chick lit. Good guys and gals, and not so good guys and gals. But their antics on the yacht and around Croatia kept me entertained and kept me rooting for Maddie.

The Secret Cove in Croatia is a great summery read where you can escape to the beautiful coast of Croatia, taste the delicious foods and drinks of the land. Ok, you may be irritated by some of the characters you meet, but you will also learn about how first impressions sometimes can be misleading, and sometimes can be bang on! A fun easy reading book that I’m glad I read.

Links:

Goodreads

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

Twitter/@JulieCaplin