Book Review - Destined to Play by Indigo Bloome

 

Author: Indigo Bloome

Publisher: Harper

Published: 2012

Pages: 275

Book 1of the Avalon Trilogy

 

“It’s Simple. No Sight. No Questions. 48 hours.”  This quote led me to pick this book as the part of the #SexMeUpReadathon as it seemed the perfect “dirty weekend away” storyline.

Dr Alexandra Burke a psychologist leaves her home to give some lectures across Australia, after the first one she meets up with her old lover from university, Dr Jeremey Quinn. He propositions her to stay for the weekend under the conditions of no sight and no questions.  Alexandra agrees as she knows Jeremy would not do anything to hurt her and she has enjoyed herself with him before.

I was disappointed by this book; it sounded so good but just did not live up to my expectations.  I think the main reason for this was I just didn’t believe in the attraction and passion between Jeremy and Alexandra, it felt very forced which put me off.  I didn’t really like either character; Alex annoyed me because she seems to forget she is a mother. Jeremy takes her phone off her for the weekend and I didn’t like this as we are told her children are away on a school trip. Now being a mother myself I know nothing would keep me from being reachable to my children and this bothered me. I was surprised to find the author also has two children, so maybe it’s just me that has issues with this. I also felt she was too submissive to Jeremy, she agrees to his suggestions almost straight away, even though you can tell she has doubts.  I wanted more from Jeremy’s character, we never really get to find out much about his thoughts and feelings and this left me feeling he was a little one-dimensional.

This book started off quite well and I did quite like the first half of the book. However it all became a little too much for me to get my head round and became very clinical and not very passionate, which is was I was expecting.  It did not leave me feeling hot and bothered which other erotic fiction books have done, I just felt confused and slightly disturbed.

The ending does answer some of the questions and issues I had with the book and the way it leads onto the second book in the trilogy was done well, if slightly predictable.  I have the second book in the trilogy on my to be read pile, so I may pick this up at some point.  I am giving this book a rating of three stars out of five. I’m giving one star because the book is well written, despite my issues with the content.  Another star because I did like the way it lead onto the second book , which if you enjoyed the first would make you want to read the second straight away and a third star because although I didn’t like it I’m still thinking about it, so obviously the author has done something right.  If you like erotic fiction which is challenging and possibly has  unique scenes then give this book a go, sadly it didn’t do it for me.

 

July Monthly Wrap-Up

As July was only the second month blogging I went a bit crazy and bought quite a few books and also was able to buy a Kindle which I've been wanting since Christmas. Here are the books I've bought and borrowed this month:

 

Books I've Bought:

            

 

 

Books I've Borrowed:

 

        

 

 

Books I've Received for Free:

 

      

 

Thank to my friend Jane for the signed copy of The Teashop on the Corner and thank you to Jane Linfoot for copies of her e-books for me to read and review.

 

This month I've managed to read the following seven books, click on the link for my review:

 

Appetite by Philip Kazan

The Teashop on the Corner by Milly Johnson

The Right Side of Mr Wrong by Jane Linfoot

The Wolf Bride by Elizabeth Moss

Destined to Play by Indigo Bloom

Never Google Heartbreak by Emma Garcia

Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes

I've just started The Dress Thief by Natalie Meg Evans which is proving to be a very intriguing read

so far.

 

Favourite Book of the Month: The Teashop on the Corner by Milly Johnson, absolutely loved this book, it had everything you need in a good book: romance, mystery, heartbreak and friendship and of course that special little bit of Milly magic.

 

Least Favourite Book of the Month: Destined to Play by Indigo Bloom, this book has left me with mixed feelings and I'm still writing a full review to appear next week.

Discovery of the Month: This month I could not decide which was my favourite new author so it is tied with Jane Linfoot and Emma Garcia


During August I hope to read the following:

A Gift to Remember by Melissa Hill
Dear Thing by Julie Cohen
The Wish List by Jane Costello
High Heels and Bicycle Wheels by Jane Linfoot
One Hundred Proposals by Holly Martin

I will hopefully read more than this as there have been a lot of amazing sounding books released recently wish I hope to read soon including What Would Mary Berry Do? by Claire Sandy which will probably be one of the few purchases I make this month.

"Waiting On" Wednesday - It Had to Be You

"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:




Author : Ellie Adams (Jo Carnegie)
Publisher: Corgi
Released: August 28th 2014
Pages:448

Taken from Amazon:
The worst break-up ever . . . Could be the best thing that has ever happened to her

Lizzy Spellman has been dumped. At a party. While wearing a Henry VIII costume. By the man she thought was The One. Someone even filmed it, so now she's a massive YouTube hit sensation too.

Just when she thinks things can't get any worse, she meets the rudest, most cynical man in the world, and gets a new mission in life. To prove him wrong.

Love does exist, and she's going to find it . . .

This looks like it could be a really funny read. Hope it is as good as her Churchminister series.

 

 

What are you "Waiting On" this week? Here is everyone else's list.

 

 

Joanne x

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday - Authors Whose Books I Own The Most Of

 

'Top Ten Tuesday' is a meme/event hosted by The Broke and the Bookish , each week there is a different top ten list , this week it is top ten authors you own the most of. So here's my list:

 

1. Enid Blyton - I have around 100 books of Enid Blyton's from my childhood, I really loved the St. Clare's, Mallory Towers and The Naughtiest Girl in the School series' and have everyone of those. Plus all the Secret Seven collection and a few Famous Five books and many more. I haven't read them in years but am hoping to read them to my children and I hope that they will love them as much as I did.

 

2. Milly Johnson - I have all ten of Milly's paperback novels and LOVE them.  I'd never heard of her till she was on Come Dine with Me a few years ago. She mentioned she was a romance novel writer and it showed you the covers of the books she had written, which looked lovely. I'd  loved her on the show so went straight on Amazon an ordered the first three which were the only ones available at the time. I was hooked and have bought every one since.

 

3. Agatha Christie -  I love the Hercule Piroit series on TV and have bought the first five books, I also have a couple of the Miss Marple books.

 

4.  Tasmina Perry - I have five books by Tasmina, I love they way her characters are rich and famous, pure escapism at its best.

 

5. Jane Green - I only have four novels by Jane Green but Bookends is probably one of my favourite books ever, I reread every couple of years. This book was also what got me talking with one of my best friends and we still share a love of books twelve years later, so thank you Jane.

 

6. Carl Hiaasen - I have four books which Carl has written, I love his style of writing and plots even though at first glance they don't seem to be my kind of book, but some how he draws me in every time.

 

7. Lulu Taylor - I have four of Lulu's five novels which are published, the fifth is on my list to pick up before the end of the year. These are big books but I love them.

 

8. Louise Bagshaw -  I have four of her earlier novels, Tall Poppies being my favourite. I'm interested to read Beauty which is written under the name Louise Mensch which is the first book she's written in a while.

 

9. Jane Linfoot - Jane's books are a recent discovery for me but they are quickly becoming some of my favourites. I have three e-books, please write some more Jane as I love your work.

 

10. Fiona Walker - I only have three of Fiona Walker's books which are French Relations, Well Groomed and Kiss And Tell. These three tell the story of Tash and her love triangle with Hugo Beauchamp and Niall O'Shaunghnessy.

 

Making this list has been very interesting and has highlighted two things for me. Firstly I tend to buy big books, half of the ones I own are over 400 pages and some over 800, this is a little scary. Secondly I only tend to buy one or two books from most authors, although I've read many more that they have read. Maybe this is a lack of space I don't know. What is on your list, feel free to leave a link below. Did you notice anything interesting? See everyone else's list here.

 

Joanne x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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.