My Writing Ramblings: June Favourites
July is here and wow, the weather has been amazing. I am keeping everything crossed that it lasts. As June is now finished, I wanted to look at some of my favourite things from last month.
My favourite book from last month was Secrets and Seashells at Rainbow Bay by Ali McNamara. I am a huge fan of Ali’s novels so it was no real surprise that I adored this novel.
Her writing style is so effortless and she creates wonderful characters. The plot for this book was great; a woman inherits a castle and meets a handsome stranger. Also, this cover is just so beautiful.
Here’s the blurb for the novel.
Amelia is a single mother, doing her very best to look after her young son, Charlie – but money is tight and times are tough. When she first hears that she is the last descendent of the Chesterford family and that she has inherited a Real-Life Castle by the sea, Amelia can’t quite believe her ears. But it’s true!
She soon finds that owning a castle isn’t quite the ticket to sorting out her money problems that she’d first hoped: she can’t sell, because the terms of the ancient bequest state that any Chesterford who inherits the castle, must live there and work towards the upkeep and maintenance of the family home. So ever-practical Amelia decides to uproot her little family and move to this magnificent castle by the sea.
Living in a castle on the beautiful Northumberland coast is fun at first, but organising the day-to-day running is a lot more complicated than Amelia first imagined. Luckily she has help from the small band of eccentric and unconventional staff that are already employed there – and a mysterious unseen hand that often gives her a push in the right direction just when she needs it most. It’s only when she meets Tom, a furniture restorer who comes to the castle to help repair some antique furniture, that Amelia realises she might get the fairy-tale ending that she and Charlie truly deserve…
There are so many great TV shows being released right now. The one I enjoyed most in June was definitely Black Mirror. I do think that Charlie Brooker is a genius. It’s sad he’s not doing his end of year show but if it’s because he has been writing Black Mirror, that is fine with me.
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My Favourites For May
Goodbye May and hello June.
I know I say this every month but it is hard to believe that we are almost to the longest day of the year when it doesn’t seem long ago we were celebrating new year.
I will admit, I am a Christmas girl but I am loving these longer summer evenings although does anyone feel they seem to have ages in the evening, get into something and then look up and it’s nearly midnight? Just me?
As it’s still the first week of June, I reckon I have just enough time to squeeze in a May favourites.
There were many things I loved in May. It was a little hard to pick a handful but, yep, I managed it. Haha.
The book I loved in May was Tick Tock by Mel Sherratt. I have already done a review of this book and if you want to read it along with an extract, click here.
It was great to be back with DS Grace Allendale and each book in this series just keeps getting better and better.
Grace and her team are investigating the murder of a young girl. The killer is out there and it all suddenly becomes very personal for Grace.
Tick Tock was full of suspense. I wanted to know what was going on but at the same time, I didn’t want it to end. It’s brilliant. An honourable mention to The Last Time I Saw You by Liv Constantine which came a close second.
BBC
My favourite TV show in May was …. Line of Duty.
I was really late to this show having only finished watching the previous series days before the new one began. My husband and I were just gripped and it is so incredibly addictive. We saw the ‘are you still watching Line of Duty?’ a few times on Netflix which may as well say ‘are you still up watching this? Go to bed you idiot.’
This show is thrilling, brilliant and utterly frustrating. My favourite character is Ted Hastings. Go find those bent coppers, Ted.
by My Favourites: Christmas Movies
Christmas is only a few days away. I can’t hardly believe it. This time of year is probably my favourite.
I love being able to snuggle up in warm pyjamas and slippers. The Christmas Tree, twinkle lights. I love it all. I even love the repeated Christmas music.
One of my traditions is watching Christmas themed movies (not that I need much of an excuse.) With it being the festive season, it got me thinking about which films I can’t have Christmas without. The danger with a question like this is that I could have gone on forever so, because I don’t like making things easy for myself, I have limited it to five. So, in no particular order, here are my favourites.
Scrooged (1985)
Staring Bill Murray and Karen Allen, this is my favourite adaptation of the Christmas Carol. It’s a film that has been part of my Christmas for a long time and it never gets old. At the beginning, Frank Cross is so easy to hate. He is horrible to everyone around him and oblivious to the needs of others.
There are some aspects to the story that have been adjusted or added to this film which keeps it fresh.
There are some laugh out loud moments, some heart-breaking moments (Norman,) and by the end, I’m always humming along with the cast when they sing ‘Put A Little Love in Your Heart.’
For me, it’s one of the perfect Christmas films.
The Holiday (2006).
This film focuses on two women who need to get out of their comfort zone and decide to swap lives over Christmas.
Awwwww, I adore this film. The four main cast members are just fantastic in this festive film about two women who are looking to escape their every day life and prove that going somewhere else for a while can be the best thing you ever do.
I have completely fallen in love with both houses for a start and would be hard pushed to be able to pick one if I was told that I could live in either Rosehill cottage or Amanda’s house.
Jude and Jack make lovely heroes. It’s funny, this is my favourite role of Jack Black’s and it’s not the kind of role he usually takes. I wish there was more Miles and Iris in this movie.
Plus, it came out a year before I got married to the day so it will always be a little bit special.
Nativity (2009)
This stars Martin Freeman and is such a sweet film. I am always impressed that it was mostly improvised and some of the kids are hilarious. There is something very original about this film. I will always cry at the end no matter how many times I see it. I can’t help it.
This movie brings back memories of when I was an angel in my school nativity ( I know, strange casting decision right. Haha.)
This film above all makes me feel festive and can put me in the best of moods.
by My Favourite Book Covers – Part Two
I 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.
Everyone 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.
by My December Favourites
Penguin Clothbound Classics
I know we are nearly halfway through January but I wanted to share some of my December favourites before we got too far into this month. I have not done a favourites post in a while so I thought I was a little overdue. Plus, I love reading these sorts of posts so I want to share some of my favourites from last month.
My first favourite from last month was this stunning version of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol and other Christmas writings from the Penguin Clothbound Classics. I do have a paperback version of this book but there was something that drew me to this copy. The cover is so beautiful. It looks very nice on the bookshelf. I couldn’t resist treating myself to a copy prior to Christmas.
I adore A Christmas Carol and this puts me in such a Christmas like mood whenever I look at it. I can’t wait to read it at the end of the year.
My next favourite is a DVD of possibly my favourite Disney movie as well as one of my favourite films of all time. It’s the big sleeve edition of Beauty and The Beast. This is something else I may have treated myself to just before Christmas. It was one of those impulse buys. I knew that if I didn’t buy it, I would never see it again.
I, like many other fans of Beauty and The Beast were slightly disappointed that we were not going to be getting the 25th Anniversary special edition here in the UK. I believe this version to be the next best thing (I am so looking forward to seeing the live action version in March.)
This version includes the blue ray as well as the DVD version and there are four beautiful postcards of some of the characters in the movie. I love this and don’t regret buying it for an instant.
by Book Club
