This Month I Have Mostly Been Reading~March

At the start of this month I could slowly feel myself getting into a book slump

I started The Handmaid's Tale read the first chapter then put it down! I then started White Lies and Wishes and done the same, while I really liked both books I just couldn't get into them

So I started Lauren Graham book Talking As Fast As I Can and it hit the spot and got me out of what could of been a long book slump!!

Talking As Fast As I Can~Lauren Graham
At the start of the month I found myself a little burned out from reading so many books in February and was beginning to slide into a book slump. I reached for a book on my TBR that I knew who pick me up and shake off that feeling!
I adore Gilmore Girls, and from December my cousin and I have been binge watching the six series and finally the new series on Netflix.
Like a lot of modern biographies she doesn't get super personal and the focus is mostly on her struggling early life as an actor. Her personality shines through and I loved hearing about her stories, of fashion, early jobs, romances and finally the stories on set at Stars Hollow.
As I was reading this rumours have started that the writers/creators and Netflix are in talks for another series....fingers crossed we might see some more of Stars Hollow!!

White Lies & Wishes~Cathy Bramley

I picked this book up twice this month but after reading Talking...I really got into this book.

I have read a couple of Bramley's books and enjoy her writing style and her characters

This book wasn't my favourite but I did enjoy it. One of the things that draw me to Cathy Bramley are her covers they are always attractive and eye grabbing.

This book tells the story of three women who met a funeral and strike up a friendship .

Three women all with there own different lives and problems, the problem for me was that I didn't find any of the three main characters very likable. If they where such good friends and so comfortable with each other then why where they lying to each other?

It's basically a book about friendship through the good and bad

I did enjoy it but not as much as the other book I read about friendship this month!

The Handmaid's Tale~Margaret Atwood
This was another book that I just couldn't get into at the start of the month, yet when I finally got started with it I couldn't put it down!
Offred is a Handmaid in Republic of Gilead in dystopian future women are second class citizens
Women are no longer allowed to read, they are given jobs such as cooks, cleaners, to be wives and handmaid's which is another word for prostitute/baby maker! In a word where births are in decline Handmaid's are given to powerful men in this new regime regardless if they already have wives or not. The Handmaid must tread a fine line in keeping The Commanders happy and keeping the household peaceful including the Commanders wife. Handmaid's are only valuable to this new world if there reproductive system works and they get pregnant and more importantly give birth to a child. Offred and the other Handmaid's are haunted with memories of the time and there lives before all the madness of this new world.
I really wanted to love this book, but I didn't I like it and found it very intriguing. Yet I needed the whole picture I needed to know why this happened, the timescale and why women where targeted?
There was too many unanswered questions for me to fully commit to the plot. Offred was a character that I didn't really connect with, the author doesn't really give her much of a softer side. I didn't feel heartbreak or sympathy for her situation. While I did feel disgust at the women population was being put through I didn't really feel anything for what was meant to be our heroine.
I did enjoy the premise of this book and the new regime fantasied me but it's characters where not strong enough in what is ultimately a character driven book.

The Double Life Of Mistress Kit Kavanagh~Marina Fiorato

I read this just in time for St Patrick's day! This one was another mixed back for me! I really liked the true story of Kit Kavanagh who when her young husband joins in the English war effort in Italy she follows him into the army dressed as a man!  I found the first half of how Kit disguises herself as a man, the journey to Italy, and the first half of her training in the army really enjoyable. The pace for me lulled after a while in the army, it became a bit repetitive for me. The book for me is split into two parts for her time in the army and then as a spy. I found the spy plot refreshing and would of liked to see a little more of that to be honest. It was at this part of the book, that I began to think this would back a good TV show on the style of Outlander, and I actually begin casting actors for each character in my mind! 

I loved the historical note at the end of the book confirming that most of the action was in fact true. Kit and Ross where actually real people! 

It made me want to read some more Irish historical fiction! 

A Time For Friends~Patricia Scanlan
Patricia Scanlan for me is a go to author when I want a good but easy read
This basically a story of three friends and there up and downs through the years
Once again I really enjoyed it, over 500 pages but I read it in three days
It's a story where not much happens it's very character based and easy to read

Sleeper's Castle~Barbara Erskine
This was my first Barbara Erskine book and although I didn't love it, it will not be my last.
I loved the premise of this book I don't read much books set in Wales, this book had a bit of everything in it, historical fiction, tense modern day thriller and magic!
When Miranda moves to Sleeper's Castle after the death of her partner she begins to have strange dreams, soon she is also having them while awake! She begins to have a strange and very really connection with Catrin the women who lived there hundreds of years ago. When war was coming closer and closer to Sleeper's Castle. Miranda's dreams soon cause he trouble in her day to day life can she ever wake from this living nightmare?
I did enjoy this book but felt like I was very distance from the characters, for a book so long I never really connected with the plot or characters. My favourite character was Catrin but I kept waiting for her storyline to really start. While I didn't love this book I will definitely be going back to read more of Barbara Erskine in the future.

What Paul Has Been Reading This Month~

The Man In The High Castle~Philip K Dick
The Man in the High Castle is book from Bladerunner’s Philip K Dick, based in the 60’s; it focuses on the hypothetical “What if the axis powers won the war?” As with all other books I have read, this has made it to the small screen. The story focuses on three main intertwining plots, the antiques trade that sells “decadent American memorabilia” located in Japanese occupied San Francisco, The Nazi undercover agent liaising with the Japanese on a plot that could have massive political implications for the planet and a fitness instructor living in the demilitarised zone in the Rockies.
This book interested me as it showed a difference in culture between the world we live in and the world of the story. This fantasy world could argue that it is technologically far advanced as the Nazis have achieved milestones far beyond what we have achieved now such as landing on mars, draining the Mediterranean for farmland and achieving a flight time of 45 minutes from Sweden to Los Angeles. However culturally, this world is stuck in the 50’s. The reason for the title is a book referenced by all characters hypothesising “What is the axis lost the war”, which follows our timeline up to the 50’s at which point Britain become the aggressors.
 I enjoyed this book for the most part but was a little let down by the end, if a book ever deserved a sequel this was one because it left more questions than answers.
I would recommend the TV show currently running because this elaborates and expands on the story

What Oisìn Has Been Reading This Month~

A Dublin Fairytale~Nicola Colton

This book Oisìn has been loving it's a cute Irish spin on Little Red Riding Hood

As Fiona has to go to her Granny's and on the way she pasts different Dublin landmarks!

So that's what our family have been reading how about you?

This Month I Have Mostly Been Reading~February

This month I got my reading mojo back and read more books than I intended too!
For a short month I got an awful lot of reading done!
Some of them were amazing, some were awful but I love months like that!
I really got back into reading, I tried to take a few minutes me time each day to read. Towards the end of the month my little one was unwell again, with a cough and cold so we spent a few days snuggling getting him better. A lovely memory of this month was him cuddled into me napping while I read!

The Marble Collector~Cecelia Ahern
This was the first novel that I really enjoyed reading this year. I am not normally a huge fan of Cecelia Ahern but I got sucked into this quirky book and read it quickly.
It is a sort of historical fiction but done in a very different way, told in perspective of father and daughter. Sabrina in having a bit of a midlife crisis unhappy in her job, marriage, role as carer for her Father. Fergus had a stroke at the most stressful time of his life, he is now in a care home, unable to walk or remember alot about his life.
When a box of marbles is delivered to Sabrina's house she starts to realise that her Father had a double life, and everything she though she knew about him is wrong. Unable to ask her Father for the answers she set out to find out more about this man she calls Dad
Set over the course of one day and night as Sabrina tries to piece parts of her father's life together. Fergus take the reader back to intercity Dublin in the 1950's as he remembers his childhood and family.
It did take me a couple of chapters to get into the style of writing but once it got going I really enjoyed it. Fergus childhood was really interesting to read about and I did like the slight twist in the middle of the book.
It was a book I really enjoyed and it was a good start to the month

The Island~Victoria Hislop
I have mixed feelings on this book, I was really looking forward to reading it but it wasn't my favourite of the month. Parts of the book where really interesting but other parts where so dull!
The actually history of the island in Crete which was a leper colony until after the Second World War is really well researched and makes for an intriguing story
My problem was with the two main characters Sofia and her daughter Alexis where very under developed and unlikable. Alexis storyline on if to dump her boyfriend or not was totally irrelevant to the book.
An OK book but the actually Greek history was much was gripping than the storylines the author added to it

Our Betty~Liz Smith
I read this quirky memoir in one day a Sunday...and if I could describe this book it was be just that-it's a lazy Sunday afternoon book. It's not too taxing, it's short around 220 pages, it's funny, quirky and totally Sunday reading!
I really enjoy this memoir, it's not the most revealing book but then it doesn't have to be, it is a collection of stories of Liz's life. I loved the little sketches she done of people in her life, from her lonely childhood, her Mother died when she was two. She live with her Grandparents with an unreliable Father floating in and out of her early life. I loved reading about her childhood in the 1920s and 30's as it was another time and she went into more detail about that part of her life. The the war broke out and she joined the WRENS. I liked that she described how her generation felt after the war when then had to go back to dead end jobs to be paid a pittance. How although the war was an awful time, they did miss the freedom and adventure of it, how afterwards the dead end jobs felt pointless and dull. She did have a hard life especially after her husband left and she struggled to makes end meat, keeping a roof over her two children's head and hold down various jobs.
She didn't get into acting lightly, it took alot of getting turned down for roles, acting for free and alot of determination for her to finally get her big break at the age of 50! The second part of the book didn''t grip me as much as the first and there wasn't as much detail in it. I thought she would of went into much more detail about The Vicar of Dibley and The Royale Family but I enjoyed it for what it was and that is an beautiful, funny insight to an inspiring woman.

Uprooted~Naomi Novik
This genre of reading was a new one for me I had never read any YA Fantasy before this month
This is something I definitely have to rectify this year, this was my favourite book of the month and so far this year! I got so sucked into this world of Russian folklore, magic, poison woods, wizards and witches. I devoured the book it took me away to a different world with strong characters and nail biting battles.
Uprooted takes place in an Kingdom surrounded by a large, dark dangerous wood, in one of the small villages there is tower where a powerful wizard called The Dragon lives. Every ten years he comes down from his tower and picks, the most beautiful, graceful and brave woman to go to his tower with him. Agnieszka feels like she has nothing to fear as she is none of these things, but her best friend Kasia is all these things and more. Yet when the time comes The Dragon picks Agnieszka much to everyone's shock...deep within Agnieszka he sees magic and due to the law he must teacher how to use it. The first part of the book is about how this unlikely couple come together to teach Agnieszka how to use her magic. This is a struggle as Agnieszka is at first terrified of The Dragon and then annoyed by him and he is unlikeable, brooding, cold and impatient!
Uprooted is dark, Gothic and has the most beautiful descriptions, everything that I love in a book. While reading it I could picture in my mind eye on a big screen and thought it would make an amazing movie, so when I finished the book I was happy to see it is set to make the big screen.
It was one of those books that takes up all your mind space and free time time till you finish it!

All The Light We Cannot See~Anthony Doerr
Maybe my expectations where too high when starting this book but after all the hype on booktube I thought I would really love this but I didn't I barely liked it! Very unpopular opinion here!
While the writing was very beautiful the story itself it very slow, the time jumping had me confused and annoyed me after a while.
I read alot of historical fiction so time jumps is something I read alot of, but I felt with this book they where not done very well.
The book follows two character French blind Marie Laurie who lives with her Father, when the German's invade she spends most of the time in hiding and German Werner who only friends when growing up are his sister and the radio.
The problem with the book for me, the characters where not very interesting and I didn't really care what happened to them! For a book set in WW11 its quite a boring and tame book. I didn't feel any of the danger or horror of war in this book.
For all the hype and praise for this book I didn't connect with it

The Princess Diarist~Carrie Fisher
This is a very short memoir of Carrie's time filming the first Star Wars movie, it was 1976, she was 19 years old, she fell for her older broody co star Harrison Ford. She did what every young woman does she kept a diary of that time filled with thoughts about him, poems about unrequited love, and a honest account of how she felt at that time.
Harrison was 35 married with two children, he made the first move and in doing so kept the affair how he wanted it to be, he was cool, composed and in control. Carrie away from home young and fairly naive, she fell big time, and although she tried to deny it later in the book it's all there to see in her diary. She wanted more than he was willing to give, he barely spoke to her most of the time, while she began to question everything about herself. When the time came to end things it was Harrison who gave a brief few words on the flight home to make sure she understood what happened in Pinewood studios stayed at Pinewood studios!
Why is she saying all this now 40 years after the event? I think it was to close the door on that part of her life. I think she may have held a torch for him well after there brief affair. She does state that the longer she got to know Harrison the more friendly, happy and relaxed there relationship became afterwards.
Reading in hindsight after her death was sad and eerier especially the parts where she knows what picture the press/media will use to announce her death, or when she thanks her Mother for not dying and leaving her alone.
This is not a detailed account of what it was like making Star Wars, it's more for fans of Carrie than of Star Wars and I really really enjoyed it.

Saving Grace~Jane Green
This was my first one star book of the year! I made myself finish it after almost putting it down twice! I normally put down books much quickly than this but something kept pushing me to finish this maybe in the hope it would get better....it didn't!
I felt like there was a good story in there somewhere trying to get out! The author would push one plot line than to drop it, and then move onto something else!
Grace's perfect life is suddenly turned on it's head when another woman steals her husband Ted. The other woman is not everything she seems, it predictable with the whole single white female plot, it could of been really great, instead it was really awful!!

The Midnight Watch~David Dyer
This was another book that I adored reading this month I really enjoyed this take on the tragic events of the Titanic. Almost everyone knows the events of 14th April 1912, after all there was the most successful movie which made stars of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. The Titanic which was dubbed "unsinkable" hit an iceberg and within three hours sunk, plunging it's passengers and crew into the icy waters of the Atlantic over 1,500 people died that night. Mostly where men, woman, and children of the lower classes, but ancient family-lines of English aristocracy where severed as several generations of upper class men also died.    
This book focuses on another ship that was in the Atlantic ocean that fateful night The Californian, little has been put in the history books about this ship, as unlike The Carpathian, The Minia and The MacKay which either came to the aid of the Titanic or helped to recover bodies. The Californian done neither, although it was the nearest ship to the Titanic less than 20 miles away from it when it began to sink.
Dyer tells the story in two points of view, on the Californian we met Herbert Stone the Second Officer and he is on the Midnight Watch as the Titanic sinks. He sees the eight white rockets being fired into the night sky, he alerts his Captain who is sleeping below deck. The Titanic sinks that night, the Californian stays where it is until morning, when the sleeping wireless operator wakes and finally turns on his wireless to discover the Titanic has indeed sunk, only then does The Californian move towards where The Titanic should be. Soon some of the crew reveal that the second officer wasn't the only one on the ship to see the rockets in the night sky.
In Boston journalist John Steadman is eager to get a big scoop for his paper, yet he soon realises the story the Captain from the Californian is telling doesn't add up.
Dyer's story telling and writing are beautiful, this didn't feel like another Titanic retelling it was fresh and new. In all the movies I have seen and books I have read I never new about the Californian and how close it was to the Titanic. How one simple any act could of saved so many lives. Dyer gives the reader a captivating tale of one man unwilling to stop until he gets to the truth.

Wildflower Bay~Rachel Lucas
This was a lovely little book to finish the month with, something nice and light after The Midnight Watch. It's a nice sweet cosy read and it has made me want to read some more of Rachel Lucas
Set in Scotland Isla has worked hard to get where she is, head stylist is a posh salon in Edinburgh but when everything goes wrong she is forced to take a job in her Aunts run down salon in remote Scotish island Auchenmoor
It's basically a chic lit, with hints of romance, and some humour in parts. Isla was a bit annoying to be honest, all about her work no life or friends, holding on to a school crush as the love of her life and wanting to make all her one time bullies jealous at her school reunion. Yet Lucas still manages to make the reader care about Isla and I loved the relationship Isla had with Ruth and Finn.
One think I will say this book was originally published as a three parts and in some places you can feel it doesn't flow as much as it should.
It's a warm book that will definitely give you that cosy feeling when reading it!

What Paul Has Been Reading This Month~

The Walking Dead Compendium 2~Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard & Cliff Rathburn
I have completed the second compendium of the walking dead, this carries on the tale for Rick and his band of survivors. In this book, we pick up from the ruins of the prison and the aftermath of the Governor's attack. Rick has become a broken man following the deaths of those close to him and the group are lost without their leader. After a brief stop in the farm, Rick and the group decide to move on to pastures new and pick up some familiar faces on the way. They happen upon a stranger named Aaron who brings them to Alexandria, a place untouched by the outbreak but naive to the new world. Rick realises this and makes plans to ready this group for the dangers that lie ahead both the living and the dead. This graphic novel deals with key issues such as loss, trust and ethics. We are given a first hand insight into Rick's mindset as he talks to lost loved ones on a phone that is unconnected. This strangely heals Rick and sets him on his path to leadership. We are shown that you also do not have to pick a partner for life as old world problems begin to creep back in. This book was a good bridge between the first novel and the novel to come as a foe is teased that will surely test the Alexandrians resolve. As before there were differences between the hit show and the comics such as different relationships, subtle hints at grabbing power and characters left out and added.
I am looking forward to the next book which will put me on level pegging with the show.

What Oisìn Has Been Reading This Month~

My Mummy Is Magic~Dawn Richard & Jane Massey
Oisìn picked this book from the library a couple of weeks ago and has been asking for it at every bedtime since!
It's a lovely little book to read and some things I can relate to, like reading different stories, or making up ones from my head, or making falling over into something magic.


So that is what we have been reading....how about you?

This Month I Have Mostly Been Reading~January

January was a strange month for me I lacked motivation to blog, read or do anything creative!

I didn't read much and found I wasn't enjoying reading

So I took a break from both reading and blogging! 

I am back with my monthly book review but it isn't very positive! 

I didn't enjoy most of the books I read this month but some months are like that, as readers we are not always going to love every book we read and I want to be truthfully when doing these reviews.

Hopefully February will be a much better reading month for me!

Beatrice & Benedick~Marina Fiorato
I am a big fan of Marina Fiorato I have read most of her books and have enjoyed the adventures they bring me on when I read them. When I saw this book in my library I couldn't wait to read it, but I was so disappointed in this book.
It is a prequel to Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, which isn't my favourite from Shakespeare but I like the play and the characters so thought I was off to a good start. Unfortunately there is way to much going on in this novel. Fiorato also interweaves other Shakespeare's characters from Romeo & Juliet and Othello for no good reason, it doesn't add anything to the plot.
The story takes so long to pick up and it doesn't really add anything to the two main characters, yet I did like find out about Hero and Claudio's back story
Not a great read and quite boring but I have loved Fiorato's other historical fiction and would definitely recommend her other novels.

Daughter of the House~Rosie Thomas

This was another disappointing read for me. This was recommend by Goodreads so I ordered it from my local library. I hadn't read The Illusionists or even knew this book was a sequel which kind of annoyed me as I would of read that book first! Anyway this is a stand alone story so it didn't really matter. It took forever for the book to actually feel like it had started, the plot is a little thin, it's basically about the daughter of a magician. She is growing up in a time when magic becomes unpopular, the First Word War changes her world, the magic theatre is closed and the family struggles. The problem is none of the characters where likable to me and I found myself not caring about them or what happens next. It's a very slow read and in the end I felt it didn't really go anywhere! 

Bonkers~Jennifer Saunders

French and Saunders are one of my favourite comedy duos. I do love strong women, and I love female singers, actors and comedians! After reading Sue Perkins book last year I am trying to read more non fiction and more auto biography's of my favourite people. 

This is a nice read but as Jennifer says at the start of the book her memory is a little sketchy, she skims over alot of her life, whether she couldn't remember or just didn't want to get too personal I don't know. She is very shy and a very private person, but it's just hard to keep interested in a book where she doesn't give much away about her life. Unlike Perkins who also kept alot private, there was lots of funny stories about childhood and school years. Saunders memory lapses meant the reader didn't get much of that. 

It is a funny read I loved the little drawings at the start of each chapter. The stories about meeting Dawn French and then later making Ab Fab are really funny. Yet I still know relatively nothing about Jennifer Saunders after reading this book!

The Peacock Emporium~Jojo Moyes

Moyes is a funny author for me she can be very hit or miss. I adore some of her books and hate others this falls under the MEH category!

First of all I found it sooooo slow it took me days to get into it I put down and took it back up a number of times! The first few chapters are so boring and slow that I almost gave up but once the pace finally picks up it's not a bad read, it not great either!

It tells of Suzanna her marriage is in trouble and she returns to her home town to try put her life back together. She is haunted by her Mother who died at her birth and she never knew much about her. She must piece together her parents past and secrets to sort out her own marriage and life now.

Parts of this book are very good but others are awful. The character of Suzanna is so dull and depressing! It is hard to get to like her never mind invest in her story! 

What Paul Has Been Reading This Month~

The Walking Dead Compendium 1~Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, 

Tony Moore & Cliff Rathburn

In December, I started reading The Walking Dead – Compendium 1, the graphic novel the hugely successful show is based on. I say based on because there are more differences than similarities between the source material and the show. This would not be a complaint as I enjoyed reading a story that was vastly different but felt familiar. The story focuses on Rick Grimes an everyday small town deputy that gets shot in the line of duty. When he awakes he finds a different world to the one he left behind. Saturday mornings washing the car and bringing your child to sports has been replaced with a constant battle for survival.

The graphic novel highlights a number of key issues that the first world has become accustomed to, when the outbreak has come and gone the survivors are still waiting for the government to take control and help the survivors to safety. Survivors now have to try to grow their own food and ensure a safe place to sleep. It would easy to picture this scenario a century’s previous but to see it against the backdrop of modern day Atlanta is frightening.

Human beings have now been replaced by the deceased who outnumber the living 20:1. We see Rick and his group of survivors moved from a campsite outside Atlanta to a tucked away farm to a state prison in search of a safe haven. However, the biggest threat comes not from the dead but the living as we see how the modern person reacts to the loss of society. If you can picture a cult society mixed with mad max then you are on the right track.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel and I’m preparing to read the second, you might not believe me but this 1000 page novel is a light and easy read. I cannot wait to see what this new life throws at Rick and his group next!

What Oisìn Has Been Reading This Month~

Catch The Cuddle~Mike Smith

Oisìn got this book as a gift at Christmas and he has asked for it to be read every night since without fail! He gets three stories read to him a night (Paul blames me as I have turned our little one into a book worm, and some nights three books can be a bit much after a long day) and this book is always in that three! Daisy wakes up one morning not feeling right she needs a cuddle but first she has to catch it!

Oisìn loves lifting the flaps to see what's underneath although he remembers each one now!

It's a sweet book and always guarantees me getting a big cuddle at the end! 

So that's what our family have been reading this month 

How about yours?

This Month I Have Mostly Been Reading~December

I started off on a reading roll this month but as often happens around Christmas time
I was really busy and haven't finished a book since before Christmas Day!
Watching all the festive TV has got in the way! I started Calling Mrs Christmas the other day
but will not get it finished before writing this post, so will review it in January's post!

Every Time A Bell Rings~Carmel Harrington

Last year Twelve Days Of Christmas was my festive book of the year. This year it is this Irish retelling of It's A Wonderful Life.
It took me a while to get into this book, but when I did I didn't want to put it down! It's full of the spirit of Christmas just what you want in a festive book.
Harrington was quite brave to tackle a retelling of a wonderful life, through the story of Belle a mix-raced young woman who has spent her childhood in various foster homes. It sounds like it could be quite downbeat but it's a stunning book, filled with joy, Christmas magic and the love of family.
I'm not ashamed to say I did shed a few tears at the end when Nora finally got her chance.
I would recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a heartwarming Christmas read

Snowed In For Christmas~Claire Sandy
Beautiful Christmas sparky cover, chick-lit set in Ireland, and an author who I love seems to tick all my boxes, but this book fell so flat for me!
I have LOVED Sandy's other novels What Would Mary Berry Do? and A Very Big House In The Country, so I couldn't wait to read this and see what Sandy had in store at Christmas!
It tells us of Asta who got pregnant as a teenager left the small Irish town she called home and relocated to London. She has been living there every since with her now 16 year old daughter, she doesn't visit home....ever! That is until her hunky boss asks her to go back to report on a religious miracle a weeping statue! Asta is very nervous to go home, as she knows some secrets will start to unravel, everyone thinks that a French exchange student is the Father of her daughter, but the truth is much more murky than that!
When Sandy got some elements of the book right it was brilliant, but the stereotyping of an small Irish town was after a while annoying! Tobercree sound like a cross between Ballykissangel and Craggy Island!
I didn't feel any of the Christmas magic or spirit from the previous book, even with all the sparkle of the cover!

The Winter Folly~Lulu Taylor

I haven't read anything from this author before, but when I saw the title I immediately added to my TBR for this month!

It sounded like something I would enjoy history fiction with a mystery thrown in!

Present day Delilah is a young second wife of John Stirling owner of Fort Stiring the house and owner seem, sad and lonely. Delilah had great plans of change but soon learns that nothing is allowed to change in Fort Stiring! Delilah starts to unravel the secret surrounding John's mother Alexandra and her death. 

It took me about 200 pages to get into this book, the story didn't flow as much I hoped. Some of the characters are very hard to like and lacked dept. That all being said I liked it I just didn't love this book, but I will definitely be reading another book from this author soon.

Wish Upon A Star~Trisha Ashley

This was the last book I finished this month, Ashley books can be a bit hit or miss for me

Last month book A Christmas Cracker was a miss but this one was definitely a hit!

This is another one that has a beautiful festive cover the story is heartwarming and full of Christmas spirit. This one pulled at my heart strings and I shed a few tears at the end

Cally is a singe mother who was told to get rid of the baby when she finds out she is pregnant

She give birth to a beautiful baby girl called Stella but she has a heart defective, so Cally must give up everything to help get the money for surgery. Of course there is a hint of romance thrown in, I loved this book.

I took it as the huge mush fest it is, because at Christmas time that is just what I want to read!

What Oisìn has been reading this month

When I Dream of Christmas~Oakley Graham

Oisìn loved this book over Christmas, we done an advent book calendar which he loved

but he always came back to this book. He loved the different words associated with Christmas time such as North Pole, Angels, Elves, Carol Singers, Santa Claus, and Baby Jesus

A beautiful book which I know will be a favourite for years to come

Paul didn't read anything over the Christmas time or this month

Guess he was too busy with work and last minute gift buying!

So that what we read this month how about you?

This Month I Have Mostly Been Reading-November

This month I gave myself a smaller TBR although three of the books where quite long Drums Of Autumn is over 1000 pages and  The Forgotten Garden almost 700 pages!

Yet this month a really really enjoyed reading and got lost in lots of wonderful stories! I read seven books and am delighted with that.

A Christmas Cracker~Trisha Ashley

I did try start Drums at the start of November but just wasn't in the right mind for it, so I decided to start with a light festive read....never to early for Christmas right?!

While I love some of Trisha Ashley books some just fall flat for me, although Twelve Days Of Christmas which I read last year is one of my favourite festive books ever, other of her books I haven't liked.

This one was okay nothing special and didn't once make me feel all warm and cosy inside like festive reads should. Some of Ashley's Christmas offerings can be misleading the cover and blurb suggest a festive read all set at Christmas, this wasn't the case literally only the last five pages are set at Christmas. It took me about 80 pages to actually get into the story and start to like any of the lead characters.

Tabby gets herself mixed up in a work scam not going to the police about it and talking about it to the wrong people gets her time in prison! While in prison she realises her boyfriend is a loser, and an idiot why it took her so long to realise this surprises me! While in prison she meets lovely Mercy who wants her to come work at her Christmas Cracker Mill.

What I had a problem with was how quickly the start of the book moved, before we even get to know Tabby, her fiance or friends she is locked up in prison. Prison life is skimmed over until she is released, living and working with Mercy, because of this it made it hard for me to connect with the character of Tabby. However I loved Mercy she is a good Samaritan with a kind warm heart but a brilliant business mind, she was definitely my favourite character. Her nephew Randal was another character hard to connect to he has a bimbo girl friend who I don't think he loves at all just arm candy for him through out the book. 

I did like the cracker factory crew all the mix match characters where very funny! It was an okay read but I wouldn't class it as a Christmas read!

The Forgotten Garden~Kate Morton
I love a good Kate Morton book and when she get gets it right she can take the reader on an amazing adventure full of secrets and lies! This stops a little short of being a five star read for me, its about 100 pages too long and towards the end I felt it a little drawn out.
It has all the things to make it a great Gothic read, for me it basically reads as an adult version of The Secret Garden, it has the large eerie estate full of secrets, the weak and ill child living in the estate and the long lost orphaned cousin who brings the people and estate back to life
The book has three female voices in three different eras Eliza in the 1900's Nell in the 1970's and Cassandra in 2000's
Cassandra has travel to England from her home in Australia as her Grandmother Nell left her an old cottage in her will. A cottage that Cassandra knew nothing about as she didn't even know her Grandmother had ever come to England. It turns out there was alot about her Grandmother that she didn't know! Nell in the 70's is finding out things about her self that even she never knew, she is close to find who the Authoress is, the woman who put her on the boat to Australia.
This is a book to devour in long sittings! I read in over the course of four days and found it hard to put down. While I really loved the characters of Eliza and Nell I thought Morton didn't spend as much time with Cassandra so found her character hard to connect with. Cassandra has her own tragic past so I would of liked for her character to have more depth and would of liked to have seen an epilogue for her.
Like I stated earlier I do think this book is about 100 pages too long but the story makes up for it. It's a beautiful Gothic page turner which the reader will devour.

The Christmas Party~Carole Matthews
This book wasn't on my TBR this month but I fancied something light to read after reading The Forgotten Garden and picked this up. I loved this book it was like a big Christmas hug and I read it in a day!!
This book is basically about what happens at Fossil Oil's Christmas Party, set around the Christmas party, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was such fun to read and it worked really well. I can't really say much without giving away everything but it's mostly centered around Louise a single Mum who has recently started working with Fossil Oil. She loves working there with one exception her manager Tyler is a womanizer he has been making passes, coping feels although Louise has made it clear she is not interested in him in the slightest!
Tyler is at the party with his stunning if somewhat bored wife Kirsten, also at the party are Fossil Oil exec Lance who seems to have a bit of a drink problem and his American wife Melissa. Louise's work friend Karen is fun but very drunk, so Louise is relieved when Fossil Oil hunky hot shot Josh Wallace turns out to be down to earth and genuine he saves her from a night of boredom with Tyler leering at her.
I would of liked a bit more of an epilogue to find out what happened next in the new year but not wanting a book to end is aways a good sign! It was a wonderful festive read with good characters who the reader can really care for, even characters that where only in a page or two like Louise's Dad came across really well. It was a different Christmas read and yet the warmth and Christmas spirit really came through. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves to curl up with a nice festive book.

The Night Circus~Erin Morgenstern
To be really honest I am not sure how I felt about this book! The start of it I loved, the middle of it I liked, the ending I disliked! After all the booktube raving and hype about this book I was disappointed with the actually book itself.
It is beautifully written, with rich full characters especially the characters who occupied the circus, the descriptions are beautiful at the start but the book does get a bit bogged down with them later.
Celia and Marco are pitted together by two great magicians they are binded by magic from childhood to compete in a great magic duel. Neither know who there opponent is, until years later when Celia is hired by Marco to be in a new special unusual circus. The two fall passionately in love and there lies the problem!
I felt like I kept waiting for this book to start, when was this fearsome magic duel going to happen! SPOILER ALERT.......it never does! Instead Celia and Marco make tents in the circus for each other Ice Gardens, Wishing Trees and a Cloud Maze all for a love they know can never happen! The author keeps tells us how much they love each other, without the reader feeling it, for me the whole love story felt very flat. Some of the characters like Celia's Father and mentor was meant to come across as mysterious for me he just weird and annoying!
While the writing and descriptions are stunning, the story is very slow paced and the book is lacking. It is very much a case of style over substance.

In Order To Live~Yeonmi Park
This is my nod to nonfiction November this wasn't on my TBR but I was on a reading roll and enjoy it so much that I picked this up toward the end of the month. My cousin is really interested in all things Korean she gave me this book and said I should read it. I had so many other books to read this month that my Dad actually borrowed it off me to read, he read it in two days and recommend I read soon, so I did!
This is a harrowing read, and horrible to think things like this go on in this day and age.
It was hard to read some of the North Korean things without thinking this must of been in a different century but when Park remembers the great famine 1994-1998 and snow of 2004 it's hard to digest. The harsh conditions of North Korea is known in the Western World no matter how much there government deny it. Yet it is hard reading about these conditions for someone who is ready to do all most anything to get out of the country. Little did Yeonmi know that much worse was waiting for her across the borders in China. There her Mother and her where sold into a horrific human trafficking ring, the horrors she has witness and lived through and she is only in her early twenties.
It's a gripping book and I read it in a couple of days but also hard to read as this is someones life story and Yeonmi Park is truly a survivor.

Drums Of Autumn (Outlander Series Book 4)~Diana Gabaldon
This book was the first in the Outlander series that I struggled with, I started at the start of November read almost 250 pages and put it down. I know after reading the first three books that Gabaldon can be a little slow paced in places, but literally nothing happened to keep me hooked within the first 200 pages of these book! Like all Gabaldon books this is a mammoth book with almost 1,200 pages so I was a bit intimidated by the size of this book and how I felt about not being gripped by the story
So I put it down and read lots of different books and came back to it towards the end of the month and I am glad I did!! While this wasn't my favourite of the series and I thought it was about 400 pages too long, it did have its good sometimes excellent moments.
SPOILERS AHEAD
What I loved was the settling of the wild lands of America in the 18th century. I loved some of the new characters Stephen Bonnet, Jocasta Fraser, Nayawenne, Rollo and Lizzie where all new characters I loved. Of course the old classics are there, the bulk of the book is about Claire and Jamie making a new life, in the new world but to be honest that part of the storyline is quite slow. For me Roger and Brianna where the ones I wanted more of especially in the first part of the book.When Brianna finds information about her parents in the future which shocks her, she secretly begins to make plans to travel through the stones to be with them. I can't say much without giving the plot away but I did like the first half of Roger and Brianna's love story but I don't think Gabaldon gave them enough time together for the reader to really get to know them before the time jump. The second part of there love story annoyed and frustrated me because it would of all been settled if they both had an adult conversation, instead of a misunderstanding that takes up alot of the book!
There isn't much of Fergus in this book but Ian and his huge new guard dog Rollo are brilliant and I loved reading about them.
It was great to read about Lord John and William again, Lord John is a bit of a hero in my opinion in this book. Stephen Bonnet had the premise of being a brilliant evil but cheeky villain yet he is glossed over but I don't think we have seen the last of him. I am looking forward to see who gets cast for him for the TV show when the time comes.
Jamie Fraser was once my dream boat husband material but in the past two books this has changed, yet he still has his moments. There are some beautiful moments between him and the women in his life but for most of the book there is an misunderstand in which he is mixed up in and he acts like a complete idiot. He is very violent and hot headed in this book, which make him a quite unlikable character at times. He is very unlike the kind, caring sweet, clever man in the first two books.
While I did like parts of this book it didn't connect with me in a way the others did. I never had that hold my breath moment like in the others. I felt it drawn out and badly edited my edition was over 1000 pages I think it could of been edited down to 700/800 pages and it would have been more than enough. This book doesn't end on a cliffhanger and I wonder where the story can go next.

Make A Christmas Wish~Julia Williams
I managed to fit in this festive book in the last few days of November
This wasn't on my TBR  but I was glad I picked it up and got through it in two days
I am not sure if it was because I read a book a few months ago with similar themes you can read the review of Time To Say Goodbye here but I just couldn't connect with this book
Livvy the main character finds out before Christmas that her beloved husband has been having an affair distracted she walks straight into a car in a supermarket car park. She is killed almost instantly but she is too annoyed with, herself, hubby and God to pass over, instead she stays frozen to the spot where she died, until she realises she can now haunt her husband, his new girlfriend and to some extend her son.
The theme is easy enough to spot this is a different take on the classic A Christmas Carol, with her  spirit guide giving her glimpses of Christmas pasts, present and future. Yet the characters where very unlikeable Livvy was annoying, so wrapped up in her own pain, never seeing how hard this all was on her autistic son. I did like how it was written in different characters perspective and the writing itself was very good. I did enjoy Williams writing style and the idea of the story but the characters was not strong enough. If you are looking for a different take on a Christmas book maybe this might be the one for you, but it wasn't my cup of tea!

What Paul Has Been Reading This Month~

The Lost Word~Michael Crichton
The Lost World is the sequel to the hugely successful book Jurassic Park, as with the first movie / book comparison there are many differences in this novel. The most obvious is the character of Richard Levine, a genius millionaire who has become obsessed with the stories coming from Costa Rica of large lizards. Richard Levine is a single minded man who is almost villainous in his drive to expose the truth to the world. He is accompanied on his journey by Ian Malcom from the first novel, Sarah Harding, Jack Thorne, Eddie Carr and two sneaky kids Arby and Kelly. The story takes off when the group find out that Richard Levine goes missing on one of the islands, Ian, Jack and Eddie set off to find him with 2 stowaways in Arby and Kelly while Sarah makes her way from Africa. The group however are not alone on this journey as they are being shadowed by Lewis Dodgson, a ruthless villain that unlike the group sees these creatures as commodities to be exploited.
The scenes presented in this book are fast paced and frightening with a lot of the deaths more akin to an episode of The Walking Dead than Spielberg. The best part about this novel is not what is described by Crichton but more what is implied, he will describe a sound and allow your imagination to run wild before confirming your worst fears.
As I said in my last review, it is shame that we may never see this story on the big screen but maybe one day a TV executive may have the wisdom to bring us this and its predecessor to the small screen.
HBO I eagerly await your decision….

What Oisìn Has Been Reading This Month~

Never Ask A Dinosaur To Dinner~Gareth Edwards & Guy Parker-Rees
Oisìn totally fell in love with this book, he thinks its so funny
A funny rhyming tale of why you should ask different animals to your house
and why there is a reason a Teddy Bear is the best thing to cuddle at bedtime

So that's what this family have been reading this month!
How about you?

Reading Habits

1.Do you have a certain place at home for reading?
In the Summer I love reading in our back garden, but I mostly read in bed with a toddler that's really the only chance I get the time to read. I do try grab a few pages while curled up on the sofa if the housework is done and the little one is watching Peppa Pig, but that only lasts 15 minutes if I'm really lucky! 

2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?
Both! I do love themed bookmarks but I always losing them or the toddler gets his hands on them! Recently my cousin bought me a beautiful angel bookmark but Oisìn got his hands on it and now I am back to using a random piece of paper!

3.Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/certain amount of time?
I always have to stop after a chapter I can't just leave a book down in the middle of a chapter
but I do have to limit my time reading as I read in bed I could read into the early hours of the morning with an almost three year old that wakes at the crack of dawn its not good to be reading till 2am!
I done that once when reading Dragonfly In Amber and was like a zombie the next morning!

4.Do you eat or drink while reading?
I don't normally eat much but I do drink I love a cup of tea or hot chocolate while reading so cosy!

5.Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?
Neither! I don't mind something on low in the background but I definitely can't watch TV while reading!

6.One book at a time or several at once?
Normally I can only read one book at a time but this month I am reading two together and am enjoying it

7.Reading at home or everywhere?
I read anywhere I can get a chance! I have had lots of hospital appointments the past few years and always bring a book for the waiting rooms!

8.Reading out loud or silently in your head?
Silently bugs the life out of me when people read out loud to themselves!

9.Do you read ahead or even skip pages
No....if I am struggling with a book I might skim over pages but I don't skip pages

10.Breaking the spin or keeping it like new?
My Mam and I really disagree with this she breaks the spin on her books so when I get a lend of books of her I think they always look tatty! I like to keep them look newish and I never break the spin, I do bend them a little but never break them!

11.Do you write in your books?
No never! I am currently reading a library book and someone before me unlined random words in the first few chapters with pen and it so annoyed me!

What are your reading habits?

This Month I Have Mostly Been Reading-October

This month has been an odd one, some books I loved and some I hated!
I even got hubby to write a review on the book he was reading!
While I really enjoyed some of the books I read, I found on the whole I am not really enjoying reading! I think I am putting too much pressure on myself to read a certain amount of books.
For November I am going to cut my TBR in half and just go with what books strike me to read.

The Nightingale~Kristin Hannah

This was my favourite book of the month! The story is set in France in World War II and it follows two sisters Vianne and Isabelle who to be honest are not very likable at the begin of the book. It took me a few chapters to like either of them. I liked how the POV shifted to either sister in each chapter it was this that made me see into there thoughts and feelings. Isabelle is 18 years old and not going to take this war lying down, she is made of hard stuff and knows she is going to try help the resistance any way she can.

Vianne is much more refined and will keep the peace to keep her daughter safe. Her situation is a nerve wrecking one with her husband off fighting for the French. The occupying Germans see her home as somewhere there men can stay. She is aways trending on water between her loyalty to her friends and family and staying on the Germans good side. 

Isabelle goes to huge lengths to help the allies her physical strength is amazing and yet Vianne mental strength is also to be admired. This book pulls on the heart strings, it sucked in and really made me care about the characters.

While both sisters are very different there are both to be admired for the different ways they helped in the war effort. The end of the book was quite heart breaking and definitely not what I saw coming!

It's a book that will stay with you long after reading

You And Me, Always~Jill Mansell

This was my first Mansell book to read and it will not be my last I loved this light sweet read!

This has a sweet plot about first loves, Hollywood glamour, and beautiful country village.

The plots are slightly predictable but after reading the heartbreaking plot of The Nightingale this was just what I needed!

Lily's mother died when she was just eight years old she left a letter for her daughter for every birthday until her twenty-fifth this is her last letter. This letter changes things and brings up someone from Lily's past. Jill Mansell brings life into great charaters I loved all of the characters and the settling of pretty postcard village Stanton Langley is stunning.

It's defiantly a curl up on the sofa read, while forgetting the worries of the world to get lost in Mansell's funny and heartwarming world. 

The Misbegotten~Katherine Webb
I had this book on my TBR for a while so thought October and Autumn would be a good time to finally read this. I had high hopes for this book, dark secrets set in a rural village in Victoria times it sounded right up my ally. So you can imagination how I felt when I put it down after only 120 pages! I just couldn't get into it, it was so sold paced and the main character Rachel was so unlikable! I didn't want to get into a reading slump so I put it down!

  Divided Loyalites-Patricia Scanlan
I really enjoy Patricia Scanlan books this was like an family saga spanning over years
While its a long read over 700 pages I read it quickly as it was an easy read and really enjoyable
It's mostly about two sisters and there highs and lows over the course of a few years
I liked how the book started at Christmas time and went through all the seasons until it was Christmas again many years later.

What Paul Has Been Reading This Month:

Jurassic Park~Michael Crichton

As  I have taken up more reading again, my wife has asked me to write a review on the book I read each month.
This month I have read Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, most of the newer generation do not realise that everyone's favourite movie about dinosaurs began with a book. Having been a big fan of the films for many years I decided it was time to compare the novel and I wasn't disappointed. The book differs greatly to the original blockbuster to the point that characters that were villains in the movie started out as heroes and vice versa. Characters integral to the story have been completely erased or glazed over. There are so many great scenes that the movie could have added such as the T-Rex hunting the raft with Lex, Tim and Grant in the lagoon.
The obvious character to pick out was Richard Hammond (everyone's favourite granddad) in the novel Richard Hammond is a visionary like his movie counterpart however that is where the similarity ends. This Richard Hammond would have been better played by Jonathon Pryce, he is a capitalist first and refuses to see reason. He is also the reason for the failures in the park, he forces Denis Nedry into the arms of his rivals by under paying him for work on the computer system.
One character that is portrayed as coward in the movie is Gennaro the lawyer. this character is involved in almost every rescue operation in the book and is the reason for the survival of most of the characters.
I really enjoyed this book and I have already ordered the sequel - The Lost World.
Sadly we may never see this version of the book make the big screen but in this case I am a big fan of both book and movie.

What Oisìn has been reading this month

Skip To The Loo, My Darling~Sally Lloyd-Jones
We have been reading this sweet book to Oisìn hoping that he will get back on track
with his potty training! Its a cute little book that shows lots of animals using the potty and then includes a mirror so that you can join them!

So thats our reads this month what's yours?