My Sunday Photo 2020 #52

 

Lore by Alexandra Bracken Book Review

 For the love of Gods!

Greek mythology meets hunger games in this stunning, fast-paced novel from best-selling author Alexandra Bracken.

From the moment my eyes were drawn to the front cover of this book I just knew I would be drawn into its world and the idea that humans can in-fact become gods.

Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.

Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family's sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt's promises of eternal glory. For years she's pushed away any thought of revenge against the man--now a god--responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore's decision to bind her fate to Athena's and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost--and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees. 

Alexandra does a superb job of bringing the myths to life, mixing what we'd consider fantasy with real life in a modern NYC.

Flawless.

My Sunday Photo 2020 #51

 

The Humiliations of Welton Blake by Alex Wheatle Book Review

 Barrington Stoke have done it again!

Another dyslexia friendly book which is both hilarious and witty.

The Humilations of Welton Blake is the latest book from award-winning author Alex Wheatle.

Welton Blake has done it! He's asked out Carmella McKenzie - the best looking girl in school - and she's only gone and said yes!

But just as he thinks his luck is starting to change, Welton's phone breaks, kick-starting a series of unfortunate and humiliating events. With bullies to avoid, girls read to knock him out and all the dram with his mum and dad, life for Welton is about to go very, very wrong ...

The lead title for January 2021.

I can already tell that this is going to be extremely popular.

Our protagonist Welton is appears to be a typical teen. 

Read With Me 2020 #51

 Hello lovely lot.

Welcome to the last ever Read With Me.

We've had a good run but I figure after my announcement last week that this would be a good time to stop because we'll all be getting busier leading up to the holidays.

As I said, please do share your post with me over on Twitter with the hashtag #readwithme and I will continue to share and read them all.

My Sunday Photo 2020 #50

 

Everything is Fine by Gillian Harvey Book Review

 Every so often I find myself in a reading slump.

I find it difficult to engage/concentrate when starting a new book and my usual pace decreases rapidly making finishing a novel nearly impossible.

Recently on Twitter I won a giveaway which gained me a copy of Gillian Harvey's novel Everything is Fine and let me tell you, I devoured the story in hours. It gave me a much needed boost both for my reading ability and my mood in general.

Jessica Bradley has it all: the perfect boyfriend; influential healthy-eating blog; successful PR company and wonderful daughter, Anna. Or at least that is what her thousands of followers believe.

The truth is, her boyfriend just broke up with her in four words on a post-it; her zest for healthy-eating has all but disappeared; her PR success is all reliant on her now not-so-honest online-life and she just got caught eating her daughter's Coco-Pops.

So as they say: fake it 'til you make it. A few little white lies and phoney smiling selfies and Jess can keep up appearances. But when her real-life starts to spiral out of control how can Jess tell the truth from the lies? And will she be able to seize real happiness when it is right in front of her?

These days you can't escape social media.

Read With Me 2020 #50

 Hey there.

Welcome to this weeks Read With Me.

Thanks to everyone who linked up last week, always appreciated.

I was talking to someone the other day and she asked the question what do I do with all of the books that I've read?

Good question. For me I keep certain books, especially series, others I swap with friends and the majority I give to charity.

My Sunday Photo 2020 #49

 

Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

 I always waver between favouring stand-alone books or series of stories.

I'm an impatient person so I much prefer a series when they've already all been released, which means I don't have the horrific, long wait for the next book to come out.

There is however a couple of sets of books where I'm willing to make an exception.

One such series is the Shopaholic novels from Sophie Kinsella. From the very first one I fell in love with the character of Becky Bloomwood and found myself laughing ( an awful lot) with each book that I read. 

Combine Becky with Christmas and there was no way I wasn't going to buy this story, p.s. can't believe I waited so long to read it!

Tis the season for change and Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) is embracing it, returning from the States to live in the charming village of Letherby and working with her best friend, Suze, in the gift shop of Suze’s stately home. Life is good, especially now that Becky takes time every day for mindfulness—even if that only means listening to a meditation tape while hunting down online bargains.

But Becky still adores the traditions of Christmas: Her parents hosting, carols playing on repeat, her mother pretending she made the Christmas pudding, and the neighbors coming ’round for sherry in their terrible holiday sweaters. Things are looking cheerier than ever, until Becky’s parents announce they’re moving to ultra-trendy Shoreditch—unable to resist the draw of craft beer and smashed avocados—and ask Becky if she’ll host this year. What could possibly go wrong?

Becky’s sister demands a vegan turkey, her husband insists that he just wants aftershave (again), and little Minnie needs a very specific picnic hamper: Surely Becky can manage all this, as well as the surprise appearance of an old boyfriend–turned–rock star and his pushy new girlfriend, whose motives are far from clear. But as the countdown to Christmas begins and her bighearted plans take an unexpected turn toward disaster, Becky wonders if chaos will ensue, or if she’ll manage to bring comfort and joy to Christmas after all.

One word sums up this book, hilarious. With every turn of the page - or press on the Kindle screen - my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. I would challenge anyone to not cry from laughing when reading this story.

Christmas Island by Natalie Normann Book Review

 It's December.

That means it really is safe to talk about Christmas now right?

So I'm kicking this festive month off with a fantastic review for Natalie Normann's latest novel. Christmas Island.

In the bleak midwinter…

A really frosty wind is making Holly’s life absolutely miserable

After all the years of hard work it took Londoner Holly Greene to become a doctor, now it could all be taken away and she only has herself to blame. She’s retreating to her brother’s rustic home on an island off the coast of Norway to lick her wounds. Only, it’s the middle of winter and icy slush plus endless darkness isn’t exactly the cheery, festive getaway she had imagined.

Nearly stumbling off the edge of a cliff in the dark, Holly is saved by Frøy, a yellow-eyed cat of fearsome but fluffy proportions, and his owner – grouchy, bearded recluse, Tor. Tor has his own problems to face but the inexplicable desire to leave a bag of freshly baked gingerbread men on Holly’s doorstep is seriously getting in the way of his hermit routine.

First of all, the front cover. 

It screams love and all things Christmas.