Top Ten Tuesday - Authors I've Only Read One Book From But Need to Rad More

 

This week's Top Ten was authors you've only read one book from but need to read more, this is a great list for me as I've read so many new authors over the last three months , most over which I'm desperate to read more from. This list is in no particular order:

 

 

1. Melissa Hill

I read A Gift to Remember last month and I loved it, Darcy was such a great character who I really related to. I particularly want to read The Charm Bracelet and Something from Tiffany's both of which sound perfect reads for me.

 

 

 

2. Natalie Meg Evans

If you want a historical romance with a hint of mystery then this is the book for you, I loved it and cannot wait until her next book The Milliner's Secret is released next spring.

 

 

3. Rosie Fiore

Back in 2012 I became pregnant after trying for months and I devoured almost every mum to be book I could get my hands on, this was one of the best. I've not picked up her other book Wonder Woman yet but it look like something I would really like.

 

4. Emma Garcia

I found this brilliantly funny and loved Viv as a main character. Really want to pick up the sequel OMG Baby soon.

 

 

 

 

5. Katie Fforde

I cannot believe that I've got to 31 and this was the first Katie Fforde book that I read, I know it definitely wont be the last, its just deciding which one to read next from all the others.

 

 

 

6. Lucy Diamond

This was the first book that I wrote a review for on this blog so will always be a favourite. I'd never read any Lucy Diamond before and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I really want to read The Beach Café, Sweet Temptation and One Night in Italy before too long.


7. John Green

 This book was everywhere when I started blogging so I had to read and I'm so glad I did, this book was amazing and has made me want to read all of John Green's other books, I have An Abundance of Katherine's on my tbr pile so should read it before the end of the year.




8. Philip Kazan
I won this book off Goodreads and was so excited as it was the first book I've ever received for free. The descriptive language in this book is just stunning and very absorbing, I can't wait to see what his next book is like.



9. Jill Steeples
This is a really good chick-lit read which has wetted my appetite for more of Jill Steeples' work, hopefully I can read Desperatley  Seeking Heaven soon as this sounds so good.



10. Zara Stoneley
This book had me laughing all the way through, it was just brilliant. The rest of Zara's work seems to be more erotic fiction than chick lit but I still really want to read more from her and hope there is a sequel to Stable Mates to read

So that's my list this week, what is on yours? To see everyone's list take a look here.

Showcase Sunday #8

 

Showcase Sunday is a weekly event hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea where book bloggers share what books they have added to their collection in the previous week.  This week I have been fairly good and just bought one book and picked one up in the local library.

 

 

 

I bought Daughter by Jane Shemilt and picked up The Playground by Julia Kelly which I was super excited about as it was only released this week. What new books did you receive this week? Link up with Vicky's blog and see the list here.

 

Book Review - The Wish List by Jane Costello

 

The Wish List by Jane Costello

Published: April 2013

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 496

Available in Kindle or Paperback

 

Blurb    

There are six months left of Emma Reiss's twenties. . . and she has some unfinished business.
Emma and her friends are about to turn thirty, and for Emma it's a defining moment. Defined, that is, by her having achieved none of the things she'd imagined she would.
Her career is all wrong, her love life is a desert and that penthouse apartment she pictured herself in simply ne...more There are six months left of Emma Reiss's twenties. . . and she has some unfinished business.
Emma and her friends are about to turn thirty, and for Emma it's a defining moment. Defined, that is, by her having achieved none of the things she'd imagined she would.
Her career is all wrong, her love life is a desert and that penthouse apartment she pictured herself in simply never materialised. Moreover, she's never jumped out of a plane, hasn't met the man she's going to marry, has never slept under the stars, or snogged anyone famous - just some of the aspirations on a list she and her friends compiled fifteen years ago.
As an endless round of birthday parties sees Emma hurtle towards her own thirtieth, she sets about addressing these issues. But, as she discovers with hilarious consequences, some of them are trickier to tick off than she'd thought…

 

Review

This book has been on my to read pile for months and I finally decided it was time to read it and I was instantly hooked, Jane Costello is definitely one of my new favourite writers, this book was brilliant.

It tells the story 29 year old Emma Reiss who is approaching the big 3-Oh and worrying that life has past her by. One day she stumbles upon a list she made when she was fifteen of all the things she wanted to do before she was thirty. This list includes things like become an interior designer and find the man you will marry, along with more extreme things such as jump out of a plane. Emma decides to embark on completing the list in the six months left before her birthday.

Emma is the perfect heroine for a chick-lit novel, she’s funny, caring and just a little bit clumsy which make her adorable and right from the start you’re rooting for her.  This book has some wonderful hilarious scenes, my personal favourite being the night Emma spends in a tent with Rob, just brilliant!

There is also number of sub-plots happening in this book which involve her sister Marianne and two friends Cally and Asha. I felt these added an extra dimension and made the story more realistic, they also added a little bit of heartbreak. My favourite character was Giles; I just loved how he changed from being so grumpy to funny and loving once he found the right woman.

I adored this book and found Jane Costello’s writing very addictive and this book was finished far too soon.  I cannot wait to read more of her work.

Rating 5/5

 

 

Release Day Round-Up #2

Here is my pick of my favourite new releases for this week, the first two I have been lucky enough to read and review already:

 

The Best of Me by Nicolas Sparks

(Movie Tie-In Version)

Available in: Kindle, Paperback

Published: September 11th 2014 (this version)

Publisher: Sphere

Pages: 336

Order here from Amazon

 

They were teenage sweethearts from opposite sides of the tracks - with a passion that would change their lives for ever. But life would force them apart.

Years later, the lines they had drawn between past and present are about to slip . . . Called back to their hometown for the funeral of the mentor who once gave them shelter when they needed it most, they are faced with each other once again, and forced to confront the paths they chose. Can true love ever rewrite the past?

 

This was the first Nicholas Sparks book that I have read and I loved it, read my full review here.

 

 

 

Crossing the Line by Kerry Wilkinson

Available: Kindle and Paperback

Published: September 11th 2014

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Pages: 300

Order from Amazon here

 

Long before Jessica Daniel became a police detective, Manchester was a ghost city after dark. Fear ruled as people were afraid to be out by themselves, the notorious Stretford Slasher terrorizing its inhabitants.

Now, twenty-five years on and the media are feeling nostalgic. But Jessica has a new case to worry about. Apparent strangers are being targeted in broad daylight, the attacker unworried about being caught. If only Jessica and her team could track him down . . .

It's the coldest spring in memory and Jessica has old friends to look out for, plus secrets - so many secrets - that should have long been buried.

This was the first Kerry Wilkinson book I've read and I'm sure it won't be my last as planning on going back and reading from book 1 in the series, hopefully before book nine makes an appearance. Check out my full review here.

Here are three books which are also out today but I've yet to pick up a copy to read:

 

The School Gate Survival Guide by Kerry Fisher

Available on Kindle and Paperback

Published: September 11th 2014

Publisher: Avon

Pages: 400

Order from amazon here

 

Maia Etxeleku is a cleaner for ladies who lunch. With mops and buckets in tow, she spends her days dashing from house to house cleaning up after them, as they rush from one exhausting Pilates class to the next.
But an unusual inheritance catapults her into the very exclusive world of Stirling Hall School – a place where no child can survive without organic apricots and no woman goes a week without a manicure.
As Maia and her children, Bronte and Harley, try to settle into their new life, Maia is inadvertently drawn to the one man who can help her family fit in. But is his interest in her purely professional? And will it win her any favours at the school gate?
A hilarious, straight-talking read for anyone who's ever despaired at the politics of the school run.

I love the sound of this one as I love a good "mum" book and this looks like it could be good to curl up with after a miserable wet school run, which I'm sure will be happening in the not so distant future.

 

The Honeymoon Hotel by Hester Browne

Available in Kindle and Paperback

Published: September 11th 2014

Publisher: Quercus

Pages: 448

Order from Amazon here

 

The Bonneville Hotel is the best kept secret in Mayfair: its art deco suites and glittering ballrooms a former home-away-from-home for royalty and film stars alike. Recent years haven't been kind, but thanks to Events Manager Rosie, the Bonneville is reclaiming some of its old cachet as a chic retro-glam wedding venue.
While Rosie's weddings are the ultimate in romance, Rosie herself isn't; she's focused on the details, not the dramas. But when the hotel owner appoints his eccentric son Joe to the Bonneville staff, Rosie finds herself up against an unprecedented challenge: a rival whose predilection for the unconventional could derail not only Rosie's own career, but the most elaborate, high-profile wedding the Bonneville has ever seen.

I've yet to read anything by Hester Browne but this could finally be the book that I pick up, I love the sound of Rosie and the plot and think the cover is just beautiful.

 

The Long Fall by Julia Crouch

Available in Kindle and Paperback

Published: September 11th 2014

Publisher: Headline

Pages: 448

Order from Amazon here

 

How far would you go to protect your secrets?

Greece, 1980

Emma takes part in a shattering, violent event. An event to which she is anything but an innocent bystander.
She is only eighteen, but this marks her fall from innocence.
It will haunt her for the rest of her life.

London, now

Kate has the perfect existence: a glossy image, a glamorous home, a perfect family.
But there are cracks.
All is not what it seems.

And now the two worlds are about to collide.
Somebody's out for revenge.
Someone who has been waiting thirty years...

I'm really intrigued by this book and cannot wait to read it and find out what its all about. So that is the books that I'm most excited about from this weeks releases, what book has interested you this week?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Crossing the Line (Jessica Daniel #8) by Kerry Wilkinson

Published: September 11th 2014

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Pages: 300

Available: Kindle and Paperback

Order from Amazon here

 

Blurb



Long before Jessica Daniel became a police officer, Manchester was once a ghost city after dark. Fear ruled as people were afraid to be out by themselves, the notorious Stretford Slasher terrorising its inhabitants.

Twenty-five years on and the media are feeling nostalgic over the milestone but Jessica has a new panic to worry about. Apparent strangers are being targeted in daylight, the attacker unworried about being caught. If only she and her team could find him…

It’s the coldest spring in memory and Jessica has old friends to look out for, plus secrets - so many secrets - that should have long been buried.

 

Review

 

Firstly I would like to thank Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of this book to review.  I’ve not read many crime novels recently and this is the first time I have encountered the author Kerry Wilkinson and the Jessica Daniel novels. I didn’t realise this was book eight in the series so I wasn’t sure whether or not to read this but it says it is book 1 in “Season 2” and is a good place to start for new readers, so I decided I  would just jump and review this book as it is.

 

Jessica Daniel has been recently promoted to Detective Inspector and I’m guessing this is the reasoning behind the season 2 label.  Jessica is a very complex  character to understand  and as the book starts right in the middle of the action  it took me a good third of the book to understand a bit more about her. There are lots of hints about her past which did help me to gain more insight into her character but also gave away things which probably happened in previous books, so if you haven’t read them and want to I would recommend reading from the start if you don’t want spoilers.

 

I did feel that the first third of the book was quite slow in what was happening and it did take me a while to completely get into this book but once the case started to unfold  I was hooked, wanting to know what happened. Some plot twists were a bit unexpected and a bit abrupt but somehow it all linked together and formed a cohesive ending.

 

Crossing the Line is an honest look at the gritty Manchester underworld with a fearless and likeable female lead in Jessica Daniel. I’ve had a taste for Kerry Wilkinson’s writing and will definitely be back for more. Hopefully I will have time to start from book one and catch up before book nine appears.

 

Rating 4/5

 

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday - Underrated Chick-Lit Authors

 

This week the Top Ten over at The Broke and the Bookish was Top Ten authors/books in genre X. I chose authors in the Chick-Lit genre although there is some crossover with erotic fiction and women's fiction. So here is my list:

1. Jane Linfoot

I was given a free e-book of Jane's book The Right Side of Mr Wrong as part of the #SexMeUpReadathon back in July and was instantly hooked on her work. Its full of sexy handsome men and strong women with brilliant sexual chemistry between them, mixed in with funny plotlines.

 

2. Emma Garcia

I've only read one book by this author, Never Google Heartbreak but for me it was the perfect chick-lit book with heartbreak, comforting friends and a heroine you just can't help but love. I'm eager to read her second book and hope she writes more.

 

3. Imogen Parker

She hasn't wrote anything new for about five years but her early books are for me perfect chick-lit and I really hope we haven't seen the last of her.

 

4. Fiona Walker

This ladies ability to write huge novels with a large amount of characters which don't confuse me amazes me everytime I read one, she deserves a medal for been able to do that in my opinion.

 

5. Jill Steeples

Again only read one book by the woman but it was brilliant and I'm surprised how few reviews she has on Amazon.

 

 

6. Holly Martin

Her book One Hundred Proposals blew me away with how romantic it was, I do think everyone who reads chick-lit should read this book, it will make you laugh and cry and wish you had your very own Harry

 

7.Sophie Hart

The Naughty Girls Book Club was probably one of my favourite reads of last year, I loved the way it showed real women's views of sex. I can't wait to read her second book out on the 19th September.

 

 

8. Jo Carnegie

I adored her Churchminister series, it was perfect for me and I loved the way each book focused on different characters in the village.

9. Lulu Taylor

I adore this women's books and get so excited when a new one is released, they just totally absorb my and nothing else gets done when I'm reading one as I just can't put them down.

 

10. Lucy Dillon

Lucy's books seem to come out and then disappear almost as quick which I  don't understand as her writing has such a magical quality to it.

 

So that's my list, what is on your list? check out the other lists here.

 

 



Book Review - The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

 

Published: September 11th 2014

Publisher: Sphere

Pages: 336

 

 

Blurb

 

They were teenage sweethearts from opposite sides of the tracks - with a passion that would change their lives for ever. But life would force them apart.

Years later, the lines they had drawn between past and present are about to slip . . . Called back to their hometown for the funeral of the mentor who once gave them shelter when they needed it most, they are faced with each other once again, and forced to confront the paths they chose. Can true love ever rewrite the past?

 

 

Review

 

This is the first Nicholas Sparks book which I have read although he has been on my list of authors to read for some time, so when I won a copy of this in a giveaway I was delighted, thank you Sphere and Little Book Café for this copy.

The Best of Me is the story of first love between Dawson Cole and Amanda Collier. They fall madly in love when they are teenagers but sadly are split apart when Amanda goes off to college and Dawson to prison. Years later they are reunited when their old friend Tuck dies and they come together to say goodbye. As the feelings come flooding back to them Amanda has to decide to give her love with Dawson one more chance or return to her husband and children.

I loved both of the main characters.  Dawson is such great male lead, very early on you realise just how much he seems to be driven by a sense of guilt and duty for events in his past and I think meeting again Amanda helped him to realise it was time to move on let it go. I bet he was an incredibly sexy brooding teenager so there is no wonder Amanda fell for him. Amanda seems to be a lovely person who is devoted to her family life even though her marriage to husband Frank does not seem ideal. When she meets Dawson again she is torn between following her heart and rekindling their love and her head telling her not to break her family up.

Dawson’s two cousins Abee and Ted for me added a comical touch to the book as they just reminded me of the two buglers in the Home Alone movie the way they could never quite get to Dawson and I’ll be interested to see who plays these characters in the movie.

This is a beautiful will they, won’t they story where you feel emotion of these two characters all the way through, which made my heart ache and the ending was not something I was expecting and it totally threw me and I wasn’t sure it was the ending I wanted but now I’ve thought about it for a few days it does seem a very fitting end to a beautiful love story.

After reading this I think I have caught the Nicholas Sparks’ bug and definitely need to read more of his work soon it’s magical.

Rating 5/5