Book Spotlight

My Favourite Book Covers – Part Two

looking for alaskaI don’t think I will ever end my love affair with beautiful book covers. They are the thing that will attract me to a book. If it’s a pretty cover, I will sometimes stop reading and just look at it for a while (anyone else do that? Just me… ok.)

I have been thinking again about my favourite book covers. I did a post about this back in 2015 (want to see them, click here,) and I thought it was about time I thought about five more favourites.

It was hard picking just five. I think I have managed to narrow it down.

My first favourite is the 10th Anniversary edition of Looking For Alaska by John Green (HarperCollins Children’s Books, January 2015.) The original cover (which is black with a white daisy) is lovely but this cover is so beautiful.

Gold, the cover is gold. I brought a copy of this edition just because I loved the cover. I already had a paperback copy.

Miles’s life is one big non event until he meets Alaska Young. Alaska draws Miles into her reckless world and steels his heart in the process. His life will never be the same again.

My next favourite is Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven (Penguin, October 2016.) This cover is simple but yet so pretty. Sometimes less is more and this was one of my favourites from last year.

Holding up the universe little teashop of lost and foundEveryone thinks they know Libby – the girl once dubbed ‘America’s Fattest Teen.’ No one has looked past the weight to see who she really is.
She’s been trying to deal with the grief of loosing her mother.
Now she is ready for school. For new friends. For a new life.

My third favourite is The Little Teashop of Lost and Found by Trisha Ashley (which is due to be released by Bantam Press in March.)

This cover is absolutely stunning and I can’t wait to be able to add it to my book shelf. I absolutely adore it. The illustrations are just lovely and has such wonderful detail.

Alice was discovered on the Yorkshire Moors above Haworth as a baby.

Adopted but then later rejected by a horrible step-mother, Alice struggles to find a place where she belongs. Only baking brings her a sense of comfort.

When Alice does return to Haworth, she returns to baking. She makes friends but there are a couple of last twist and turns in her story.

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This Week’s New Book Releases – Jane Fallon, Danielle Steel and Jill Mansell

BeachcomberIt’s Friday. Yey!
I hope you’ve all had a great week and have lovely things planned for the weekend. If you’re looking for something to read over the next few days, there are some cracker titles out this week.

The wonderful Jill Mansell released her latest novel, Meet Me At Beachcomber Bay on 12th January 2017 by Headline Review.
There is love in the air in St Carys, not that you’d know it. The residents are good at keeping secrets.
The man that Clemency loves is in love with someone else. When she ropes into a friend to help, wires get crossed.
For the first time in Ronan’s life, his charms have failed him in getting him the woman he wants.
Belle seems to have the perfect boyfriend but something isn’t quite right. A secret is also rising to the surface. The truth has a funny way of revealing itself and when it does, St Carys will be very different.

The new book from Jane Fallon is called My Sweet Revenge and was also released on 12th January, this time by Penguin. To read my review, click here.
‘I want to make my husband fall back in love with me.’
My Sweet Revenge. bonefieldPaula put her own acting career on hold in order for her husband to have his own success. Robert is now a regular on a popular daytime TV show.
Despite that, Paula is pretty happy with her life. It feels perfect to her. Until she finds out that Robert is having an affair.
Before she tells him it’s over, Paula wants Robert to be reminded just what he’s sacrificing. Then once she has won him back, she wants to break his heart. It will be her greatest acting role.

Next up is The Bone Field by Simon Keruick which was released by Century on 12th January.
There is a missing girl, a ruthless crime gang and a man so evil he must be stopped at any cost.

DI Ray Mason and PI Tina Boyce begin a hunt for the truth that will take them into a dark and terrifying world. One of corruption and deadly secrets.

The bones of a 21-year-old woman are found in the grounds of an old catholic school. This girl went missing in Thailand in 1990.
Her boyfriend at the time of her disappearance is now a middle aged university lecturer. He comes forward to say that he knows what happened. He knows who killed Kitty.

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Book Review: My Sweet Revenge by Jane Fallon

my-sweet-revenge

Penguin, 12th January 2017

I want to make my husband fall back in love with me.

Let me explain. This isn’t an exercise in 1950s wifeydom. I haven’t been reading articles in old women’s magazines. ‘Twenty ways to keep your man’. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

I want him to fall back in love with me so that when I tell him to get the hell out of my life he’ll care. He won’t just think, ‘Oh good’.

I want it to hurt.

Paula has had Robert’s back since they got together as drama students.
She gave up her dreams so he could make it.
Now he’s one of the nation’s most popular actors.
And Paula’s just discovered he’s having an affair.

She’s going to remind Robert just what he’s sacrificing.
And then she’s going to break his heart like he broke hers.
It will be her greatest acting role ever.

Revenge is sweet. 
Isn’t it?

Paula has been married to Robert for many years. They have a daughter who is about to become eighteen. Paula left her ambitions to be an actress to raise her daughter and to support Robert in his career. He’s a regular on a long running day time TV show.

Paula is pretty content with her life. She has no idea her marriage is anything but perfect. That is until she finds out he’s having an affair.

She decides to get revenge before she confronts him. She wants to make him fall back in love with her before she breaks his heart.

I loved Jane’s previous novels and I am a big fan of her style of writing. It is not hard to fall into her stories and this book was no exception. I was completely hooked.

There were many moments when my sympathy went from one character to another and back again. There were some chapters where I couldn’t believe the behaviour of some of the characters and I wasn’t quite sure how the end was going to go.

This book puts spotlight on the lack of communication within relationships. It will be a relatable plot in terms of how Paula deals with finding out her husband is having an affair.

It had me wondering what I would do in Paula’s situation. I am not sure if I am honest.

The plot and characters were engaging and there were a few twists and turns too. The writing is witty and I couldn’t put this book down to be honest. It certainly did not disappoint. As I was reading, I could see this making a good TV show or movie.
Well done Jane Fallon. Another great novel.

(My Sweet Revenge is due to be released on 12th January 2017 by Penguin. Will be available in UK bookshops and online. Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy.)

 

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Latest Book Releases – Sue Fortin, Julia Forster and Jessie Burton

sister-sisterA new year and new book releases. There are some great books out this week and I can’t wait to settle down and make my way through some of the books on this list.

Sister, Sister by Sue Fortin was released on Kindle on 6th January (the paperback version is due for release by HarperImpulse in April.)

This book is definitely going to be making its way up to the top of my to be read pile.
Alice is beautiful, kind, manipulative and a liar. Clare is intelligent, loyal, paranoid and jealous.
Clare thinks Alice is trying to steal her life. Alice thinks Clare is jealous of her return and place in the family. One is telling the truth, the other is a maniac Two sisters, one truth.
I can’t wait to read this one.

Also from HarperImpulse is the legacy of Lucy Harte by Emma Heatherington. Its Kindle release was on 6th January with the paperback due out next week. I think this is my favourite book cover this week. It is very pretty.

For fans of JoJo Moyes and Kelly Rimmer, this book focuses on Maggie. She knows better than most that life can change in a lucy-harte the-museheartbeat. Eighteen years ago, she got given the gift of a new heart and a second chance at life.
Maggie has never forgotten Lucy Harte, the girl who saved her life. As Maggie’s life begins to fall apart, she looses sight of everything she has to live for. Then an unexpected letter arrives which changes everything.

The Muse by Jessie Burton got its paperback release on 29th December by Picador. I am still totally in love with this cover. It’s a book that’s been on my pile of books to be read for a while and i am hoping I can pick this one up soon.

Odelle climbs the steps of the Skelton Gallery in London, knowing that her life is about to change. Having struggled to find her place in the city, she’s been offered a job as a typist with Marjorie, who remains a mystery.
The Muse is a novel about aspiration, identity, love and obsession.

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Book Review: Winter’s Fairytale by Maxine Morrey

Carina, November 2015

Carina, November 2015

A few weeks before Christmas and a sudden blanketing of snow has closed the roads and brought public transport grinding to a halt, stranding Izzy miles from home and in desperate need of rescuing.

That doesn’t mean she’s looking to bump into Rob and spend a cosy weekend holed up in his swanky flat watching London become a winter wonderland! Because Izzy and Rob have history…

Six months ago, they were standing in the vestry of a beautiful country church, while best man Rob delivered the news that every bride dreads on their big day.

But at the time of year when anything is possible, can Rob and Izzy let go of the past and let Christmas work its magic? Or will this be one holiday wish that Izzy lets walk right out of her life…

 

My first thought was – ‘…and this is a debut novel?’

That should say about all you’d need to know how much I loved this book.

Maxi has crafted and woven a beautiful tale where you’re rooting for the two protagonists to get together from the first time we meet them on the pages. Izzy was jilted at the altar and promptly broke the nose of the Best Man when he came to break the bad news – pretty good considering she’s on the petite-side and Rob’s a strapping rugby-playing fellow.

As life has it, Izzy makes wedding dresses for a living and it’s through her business, and the fact that fate conspires to bring the pair together all the time, that ‘something’ begins to grow between the two of them. Life being what it is though, it’s never going to be that simple and there are many misunderstandings and false starts before love finally finds a way.

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