Book Review - Never Google Heartbreak by Emma Garcia

 

Author: Emma Garcia

Published: 2013

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Pages: 352

Available in: Paperback and Kindle

Source: Library Book

 

Never Google Heartbreak is the story of Viv and how she deals with the break-up between her and fiancé Rob.  Viv and Rob have been engaged for five years, after two failed attempts at actually getting married Viv is hoping its third time lucky. However two months before the third wedding date Rob declares he just can’t do it.  As any normal girl would do Viv moves out in the hope Rob will use their time “on a break” to realise his undying love for Viv and come crawling back to her. However he doesn’t, which leads Viv to go on a path of destruction which many of us can relate to. Viv does many of the things we’ve all done to win back the one we love, new haircut, fancy dress, endless phone-calls but finally she has to accept  that her and Rob are over. In an attempt to mend her broken heart Viv decides to set up her own self-help website to help those with a broken heart and so www.nevergooglehearbreak.com is born. Viv’s so focused on what she thinks she wants but doesn’t see what a good thing she has standing right in front of her with best friend Max until a huge misunderstanding ruins everything.

Viv is a great main character she was hilarious and some of the things she ends up doing just made me laugh. She does start off by being whiny, slightly self-absorbed and a little scatty but I think we can all be like that when we have had our hearts broken. By the end of the story she’s stronger and more focused and very determined to get what she wants. I think having Viv’s background with her Nana in the story helped the reader to understand Viv’s obsession with getting married and some of her insecurities. I loved every character in this book; I think they are all really well written and each adds something to the story. I think my favourite was Christie; the outfits she wore brought some brilliant images in my head and the way she was so clueless about her job was very endearing.

This story flowed really well and even though you can guess what happens fairly early on, the journey to get there is brilliant, with some very funny little twists.  The scenes with Viv at work are great, especially the meetings she has with Christie and their bosses. 

I think Emma Garcia has a real winner here, this book had everything for me great characters, great plot and sub plots and it was funny, I even laughed out loud while reading,  which does not happen very often. I hope to read the follow on book OMG Baby very soon as I cannot wait to find out what Viv gets up to next. I could not put this book down, even when I walked away from it I found myself going back and reading a bit more. If you are a fan of Sophie Kinsella or Alexandra Brown then I’m sure you will love this book.

Emma Garcia has a real talent for drawing the reader in and keeping them interested and making them laugh, that is why this book gets 5/5

Showcase Sunday #4

 

Showcase Sunday is meme started by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea where book bloggers can share which books they have received throughout the week. This week I've been very good and not bought any books. I'm saving up for a Kindle and thankfully due receiving some money for my birthday on Friday I now have enough. I just have to wait till it's cooled down a bit so I can venture into town to get one without being exhausted.  I was lucky enough to receive some e-books this week.

 

          

                                                      

 

Firstly the brilliant Jane Linfoot sent me copies of two of her books for review,  How to Win a Guy in 10 Dates and High Heels and Bicycle Wheels, super excited to read these as read The Right Side of Mr Wrong last week and I loved it, plus I've had a sneaky read of the first couple of pages of these and I can't wait to read more, both look really good.

 

 

I also picked up this short story on Amazon for free yesterday. Have you read any of these, I'd love to know what you think? What did you pick up this week? To look at everyone else's list click here.  

 

Children's Book Review - Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose by Julia Donaldson

 

Author: Julia Donaldson

Illustrator: Nick Sharatt

Published: 2006

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

 

Chocolate Mousse for Greedy goose is a book about a group of animals eating a meal together and not all of the animals have good table manners. It is an ideal book to introduce younger children to table manners. As with most Julia Donaldson books the sentences rhyme and are full of simple adjectives which means the story is easy to read and follow. It rhyme's so well that my son and I have been known to sing this book instead of read it, which makes us both laugh.

 

I love this book and so do my children, its probably one of our favourites for a bedtime story.  Nick Sharatt has done a brilliant job capturing the animals facial expressions with his illustrations. My favourite page is the rabbit page where the line is ""Don't just grab it" says angry rabbit" and the rabbit has its hands on its hips and a big frown on its face, just like a cross mum would be. I love the way tiny bits of the next animal are shown on the edge of the page so the child can guess which animal is coming next, which enable them to be more involved with the story.

 

I would give this 5/5 as its a perfect story for younger readers. Even though it is quite old you can still buy it on Amazon here.

Book Review - Wolf Bride by Elizabeth Moss

 

Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks

Published: November  2013

Pages: 352

Wolf Bride begins in the Tudor court of Henry VIII just months before Queen Anne Boleyn met her untimely end. The story follows the relationship between Lord Wolf, a solder in the Kings Court and Eloise Tyrell, one of Queen Anne’s ladies-in-waiting.   Lord Wolf comes to court to claim Eloise as his bride. She accepts but is determined not to surrender herself to this man she barely knows.  However from their very first kiss it is obvious there is a deep passion between them, which despite the barriers they both put up eventually, erupts into some hot sex.

I love the two main characters in this book; they are very well written and very believable. Lord Wolf does seem to reflect his namesake and be quite “wolf” like. Obviously being a soldier he has the ability to hunt and kill his prey, but he also seem very wary of emotional attachments which I perceive as very “wolf” like. Also while reading there seems to be many hints that he has piercing deep eyes which were very sexy. I loved the way Eloise tried so hard to resist Wolf because she is determined not to submit to a man who doesn’t love her; but then whenever she sees him so just seems to go weak and fall into his arms because the lust for him just takes over.

As a huge fan of anything related to the Tudor era I thought it was brilliant the way the Queen Anne’s misdemeanours were woven into the background story, but did not take over from the relationship between Wolf and Eloise.  I also love the way the necklace on the cover is similar to the iconic necklace which Anne Boleyn wore with the pearls and the gold letter “B”, don’t know if this was intentional  but I love it.

Another thing which was really good was the way the author hinted at the relationship which is the focus of the second book in the trilogy, a brilliant way of making you want to read the next book, which I do very much.

This is a brilliant erotic fiction book; I loved the storyline, the characters and the sex scenes. This book totally deserves 5/5.

 

"Waiting On" Wednesday - First We Take Manhatten by Colette Caddle

 

 

 

 

 

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine where you showcase a book you are eagerly awaiting for publication.

 

This week my pick is

 

Publication Date: August 14th 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Pages: 416

 

 

Taken from Goodreads:

Identical twins, Sinéad and Sheila Fields, have always done everything together and so, after graduating in millinery, they decide to open their own hat shop. It's a small business but thanks to hard work and talent, they build up a loyal clientele. Then one day a glamorous young actress buys one of their hats, wears it to the Baftas and suddenly success seems guaranteed.

But within weeks, tragedy strikes when Sheila disappears, and is presumed dead. After months of desolation, Sinéad is just beginning to come to terms with her loss when she is given new hope: there has been a sighting of her sister. While she is filled with excitement at the thought that Sheila might be alive, she is haunted by questions. Why would Sheila have deserted her twin without a word? After all, they had always told each other everything … hadn't they?
A compelling, emotional story from number one bestseller Colette Caddle.
'Caddle can whip up a tremendous love story' Irish Independent
'If you like Marian Keyes, you'll love Colette Caddle' Company

 

 

This looks really intriguing and a bit different to the rest of what is on my to be read pile, so looking forward to giving this one a go, especially as I have not heard of this author before. What is your pick for this week? Head over to Jill's blog to take a look at everyone's pick here.

 

 

 



Top Ten Tuesday - Characters I'd Want on a Deserted Island with Me

 

This week's list from The Broke and the Bookish is top ten characters you would want on a deserted island with you. Click here to see everyone's else's list.

 

So here goes:

 

1. Brando Marshall from The Right Side of Mr Wrong by Jane Linfoot

Every deserted island needs its own handsome brooding man doesn't it?

 

2. Nino Latini from Appetite by Philip Kazan

Anyone who can make eels taste good is always handy when food could be scarce or bland.

 

3. Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Just for his witty one-liners, okay and he looks good.

 

4. Becky Bloomwood from the Shopaholics series by Sophie Kinsella

I'd love to watch how she coped not being able to shop.

 

5. Hercule Piriot from the Agatha Christie Novels

One of my favourite fictional characters ever! You always need someone who has "little grey cells" to solve any crimes which may occur.

 

6. Lucy from Bookends by Jane Green

She is such a lovely cuddly character she would stop anyone feeling alone, scared, unhappy, perfect friend for anyone to have around.

 

7. Georgie Hart from Cupcakes at Carrington's by Alexandra Brown

Same as above really, plus she seems to get herself in tight corners which could be amusing.

 

8. Victor Frankenstein from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

He made a monster out of dead humans, could be useful if you need protecting, plus he could probably invent other useful things.

 

9. Violet from White Wedding by Milly Johnson

Because every place needs someone who can make ice-cream

 

10. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

He's been there and done it all before, enough said.

 

So that's my list, what do you think? Who is on your list?

 

Joanne

 

 

 



 

 



Book Review - The Right Side of Mr Wrong by Jane Linfoot

 

Title: The Right Side of Mr Wrong

Author: Jane Linfoot

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Released:6th March 2014

Pages: 174 (Kindle Edition)

Source: Free from author in exchange for an honest review, part of the #SexMeUpReadathon

 

 

 

Shea Summers arrives at Edgerton Manor having entered a competition to be the "wife" of Brando Marshall, to prove to her friends that she is capable from moving on from her past. Brando is a rich, handsome playboy who has no intention of settling down. He believes Shea to be a gold-digger looking to bag herself a rich husband so decides to teach her a lesson. When these two meet the chemistry is instant and the one-upmanship between the two is intense and leads to some HOT scenes...

At 174 pages this is a short read which I think suits the hot, fast-paced, flirty style of writing this story has. I devoured this in around three hours as once you start reading it’s hard to put it down.  In a way I wish it had been longer as I wasn’t ready to stop reading about these characters, however I think this may have ruined the pace of the book.

I loved the way that the book focused just on the relationship between Shea and Brando, there were hints of other characters like Bryony and Mrs McCaul but we don't really get to know much about them. Keeping the story between Shea and Brando added to the intensity of the heat which develops between them as their reluctance to give in to their feelings drifts away.

Brando's the perfect male character for this book being handsome and sure of himself, I can imagine any woman would fall at his feet just as he wanted. I love the way that he changes as Shea puts up some resistance and makes him work a bit harder for what he wants, which in the end works out well as this seems to helps him overcome his demons from the past and become more settled in himself.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to read this book as I think I’ve found another author who could become a favourite, I really loved her fast paced witty style of writing and will definitely be reading her other books in the near future.

 Rating 5/5