The Rules:
- Tag the creator, Kate@ MeltingPotsandOtherCalamities;
- Answer the questions;
- And tag as many people as you like!
I was tagged by Tania at My Lovely Secret (who tagged me in a bunch of stuff lately so brace yourself for more tags… possibly). I couldn’t resist when I saw it involved cats since I’ve such a soft spot for them. This is especially appropriate seeing as I began my week with a friend telling me an awful story about how he’d discovered a kitten in his garden that must have been thrown over his back fence! He rescued the poor thing and the kitten is quite young, but I now get to hear tales of his new kitten (he named it Socks). This post is dedicated to little Socks, who had a tough start in life but was lucky enough to land in the best person’s garden and so is getting the best possible care. Also, my own cat, Widget, who I only ever refer to as cat and meow meow. He is a tiny delicate flower (pictured below) and he is the worst, but I love him stinky breath and all.
"PURR" AS CATS DO THIS WHEN THEY’RE HAPPY OR RELAXED: What is the book that makes you happiest or relaxed?
Either a good romance, like Lucy Parker’s books, Jennifer Crusie maybe? Or really just a nice contemporary read. I mean, most books make me happy, but I think contemporary romance makes me truly relaxed.
SLEEP: What is a book that put you to sleep or was just boring?
I have yet to finish Jane Eyre! I will never finish Jane Eyre! I hate Jane Eyre!
And Lord of the Rings was a struggle too, I did try to read it when I was like ten though so that probably didn’t help. I was probably a little too young to read it and I definitely wasn’t in the right mind space. I was way more committed to reading a long series as a kid than I ever am now.
TWITCH WHILE DREAMING: Have you ever dreamt of a book you read?
Did I ever tell you that time I was reading Hex and I had a dream about the witch in it? She chilled out in people’s houses and had her mouth sewed shut. it was genuinely a freaky dream, but a really good horror book I recommend you check out for Halloween (is August too early for Halloween recommendations?),
SEEMS TO PLAY NICE…UNTIL THE CLAWS ARE OUT: Which book had the biggest plot twist(s)?
Plot twist? Hmmm… this is a thinking one because I never remember big parts of books and I have terrible book amnesia.
I literally cannot think of a good plot twist. How bad is that? There must be a good one, why can’t I do it? So this is a let down of an answer for you guys. I am obviously not reading books with enough twists and turns in them.
CUDDLES: Which book character would you give a hug to?
Erm? So many of them… except not because I’m not much of a hugger so it would be a big deal for me to hug someone, usually reserved for family and best friends… or someone who is crying because crying folks just make me want to cry too. I mean, recently? I wanted to give Calla a book old hug in The Simple Wild because that girl went through a whole heap in that book and she needed a hug from the very start. Although everyone in that book deserved a big old hug really.
CATNIP: What's a book that made you have warm and fuzzy feels?
Literally every good romance. Honest to God, all good romances will give you that warm fuzzy feeling by the end. If they don’t then they’re angsty romance and that only floats my boat occasionally… but actually they kind of give you added warm and fuzzies because they went through so much and they deserve that happy ever after (and don’t even start me on romance without a HEA or HFN because that doesn’t even deserve the romance label).
CAT BREEDS: What are your favourite books?
Sorry, this question is not allowed unless I’m allowed to pick like 100 books. I cannot pick a favourite anything. Honestly, I struggle to even pick a favourite colour half of the time. If you want to see some of my favourites check out my favourites shelf, there are plenty of books there and that’s not even a complete list because I’m too lazy to go update it right now.
GETTING THE CAT: How did you find your favourite book(s).
By reading them, duh!
Oh, really, you want to know? Well, honestly, there’s no interesting story for most of my faves. I think I’ve told the story of how I got into Harry Potter a million times. I discovered Jennifer Crusie’s books after stealing a couple of my mom’s library books, or maybe she told me to read them? I can’t remember. And then anything post blogging? I probably discovered them on one of your blogs.
BEING IN PLACES THEY SHOULDN’T: Least favourite clichés.
Love triangle every time. I hate a love triangles in basically every circumstance really. They are just so unnecessary and rarely written well. I would honestly prefer you not tell me about them if you want me to read a book as I will avoid it at all costs. You need to make a strong argument to convince me otherwise.
FINAL QUESTION - THE GOOD OLD CARDBOARD BOX: Most underrated book series.
Damn, this is another tough one. Well, I’m definitely saying Ainslie Paton’s books in any series because I feel like her books never get anywhere near enough love. Especially her Confidence Games books because the third one has just come out so what better time to mention it? Also, I feel like not enough people know about Paula Weston’s Rephaim series so I’m gonna mention that since I spotted when looking at my shelves for inspiration for some of these other questions.
And I tag all of you to do this (if you so wish). What are some of your favourite books, and please tell me a good plot twist since I could think of nothing!
Hey guys. Late update for you this week and I have a whole heap of catching up to do blog wise as I’ve kindly granted myself a bit of downtime this weekend away from blogging. If you follow me in Instagram (honestly, why am I even pretending that’s for book blogging at this point?) you’ll have seen I was at Bongo’s Bingo last night. It was another great night out with some friends and so I’ve felt extra lazy this morning… but no hangover guys! That’s a rarity for a night out and the friends I introduced to bingo is already begging me to go to bingo again so we can take his boyfriend. I am obviously so up for that. I’ve yet to win at bingo, but third time might be the charm, right?
Anyway, this week has been a quieter week which has just been building to the bank holiday weekend here in the UK! Yep, I am so psyched for this three day weekend. I could not wait for it. It was a little annoying the first day of my weekend had me setting an alarm for 7:30 so I could go to the opticians. I never mind the opticians, though, I just hate glasses shopping. Any of you who wear glasses may understand my struggles. You want to find something cool, but then you kind of just want to stick with your old glasses since that’s what you know. But then you’re trying stuff on but can’t see yourself in the mirror because you don’t have your glasses on! And so you have to take a million phone selfies and I always feel like a weirdo. My poor mother ends up having to put up with like 50 texts asking her opinion because I hate making decisions.
I spent the majority of my time last week not being able to figure out what I wanted to read. I read two really good books… then I can settle on nothing. Even Mariana Zapata’s latest release didn’t keep my attention and that’s a sign. I’ve turned to some fanfiction for my reading needs lately and that’s good.
What’ I’ve Been Reading
What can I say about what I’ve read lately? They were both really good books and they’ve made it really tough to figure out what to read next. I’m sure I’ll find something good to read soon but until then I’ve got fanfiction.
New To Me
Just one new book, an arc I’m excited to start but I want to shift this slump first.
And that is my week, anyone been up to anything interesting?
I’ve got about twenty different book tag posts I want to posts on the blog and I feel like my drafts have just been slowly building up with them. This time I’ve managed to finish one, though. Tania over at The Lovely Secret tagged me in this one and I was so excited to start it because we all know I adore Harry Potter and if you don’t know that are we even really friends (joking, of course, we are). It was actually a lot of fun trying to think of answers for these without just using books I read like a week ago because I always mention recent reads and forget about older ones. Hopefully you enjoy.
EXPECTO PATRONUM: A childhood book connected to good memories?
I want to say Harry Potter like Tania did but it feels like cheating. It does remind me of happy times. My nan bought the first two books for my brother to read, she was constantly buying books for the two of us because she wanted us to enjoy reading as much as she did. She was especially concerned my brother wasn’t reading enough so always bought him books. I obviously stole those book when he finished reading. I was probably about 8 and I was fully obsessed with the Harry Potter world ever since.
But if we’re doing something different I’ll say The Mediator series by Meg Cabot. It was actually something that helped bring me and my best friend together. I don’t even remember how we got on to it but we both learnt we loved that series and then she was ordering the books in and lending them to me as they weren’t getting released straight away here. We used to walk back from school just obsessing. I even remember a conversation about fanfiction in relation to these books! I mean, I seriously want to reread that whole series just talking about it.
EXPELLIARMUS: A book that took you by surprise?
Are we talking good surprise or bad? I want to go good surprise, everyone prefers a happy surprise, don’t they? I think I’m going to say Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews. I can’t remember who it was who told me to read them now but it was a blogger who said the cover was awful and the book was good. The cover was hideous (but I’ve grown to appreciate the glorious abs on the book covers). I had seriously low expectations and become fully obsessed very fast.
PRIOR INCANTATO: The last book you read?
I’ve been struggling pretty bad with finding a book to read the past few days but I did finish The Rest of The Story on Sunday and it was a very good read. A return to form for Sarah Dessen, not to say her past couple of releases have been bad, I just enjoyed this one so much more than her past couple of books.
ALOHAMORA: A book that introduced you to a genre you'd never considered before?
That’s a good one and I wish I had a really good answer! I suppose I’ve got to say Sarah MacLean and Tessa Dare! I read Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake and Romancing the Duke and realised I had been way too judgey about historical romance. I was reading mostly YA and a couple of contemporary romance books alongside various fantasy reads but hadn’t labelled myself a romance reader. I then saw a blogger doing a reading outside of their comfort zone post and these books featured and I decided I was going to read them. I am so glad I did, I now love historical romance and very much label myself a romance reader. And thinking on it now I would love the chance to read outside of my comfort zone more. I might need you guys to suggest things to read. Or maybe I need to find a good reading challenge?
RIDDIKULUS: A funny book you've read?
I mean, I read a lot of books which involve humour. Tessa Dare’s latest, The Wallflower Wager, had me laughing at some of the animal antics. And there are plenty of other romances putting a smile on my face. But I feel like I want to mention a book which is actually meant to be funny. Well, funny and thought proviking. I haven’t read loads of Caitlin Moran stuff, but I’ve read some and she writes some good books I actually enjoy. I have another couple of her books sat at home which I have yet to read, but she is a writer I will always check out. And not just because she’s from Wolverhampton so feels like a local to me.
SONORUS: A book you think everyone should know about?
All of the books!
Ok, that’s a lie, not all books deserve extra attention. They get more than enough. Instead I want to highlight a book (or five) which has far too few ratings on Goodreads and deserves a little love. I’m talking less than 1000 ratings here and that just isn’t right. Yes, this is a romance heavy list (do you expect anything less from me?) but these books deserve your love and attention.
OBLIVIATE: A book or spoiler you would like to forget you ever read?
None? Honestly, I’m pretty good at avoiding spoilers for books and they don’t tend to ruin things for me. Or maybe I should say all spoilers beyond books 2 for the Throne of Glass books because they pretty much made me give up on that whole series. I’m sorry but that was meant to be shorter series and then it became like six books and it became totally unrecognisable in terms of the first part of the series. I may eventually read that series… but it won’t be any time soon. So yeah, maybe I wish I hadn’t read spoilers for that because I might have kept reading otherwise. Maybe if I crave an angsty fantasy read that gets all kind of crazy I’ll binge that series.
IMPERIO: A book you had to read for school?
Does it have to be a book I had to read for school and enjoyed because this would be a very short list. I mean, I see some folks have this giant reading list of books for school and I really feel like the UK education scammed me because I have like 6 books I had to read for my GCSEs and A Levels and I hated most of them.
I did read King Lear as part of my English A-Levels and I liked that. I also read The Handmaid’s Tale and enjoyed that. But the rest? Hated. I hated Wuthering Heights. I hated Lord of the Flies. Don’t even speak to me about Great Expectations. I liked reading and I really feel like English lessons at school worked really hard to try and make me hate it. I originally hoped to study English at university and school destroyed all desire for me to do that because I didn’t want to hate reading.
CRUCIO: A book that was painful to read?
Damn, I want to find a really good book for this one… but I can’t. I mean, I suppose I could choose one of the books I hated from school?
No… I’ve got it. Jane Eyre! I’ve tried to read that book so many times it’s ridiculous and it’s my best friend’s favourite book (yep, same friend who I bonded with over Meg Cabot) so I always feel I should read it… but it’s too much to get through. I genuinely think I might hate it for how difficult I find it to get through. maybe I should try an audiobook version and see if it’s any easier?
AVADA KEDAVRA: A book that could kill (interpret as you will)?
I was going to choose a book which killed my feelings (The Simple Wild) but I then thought maybe I should take this question a bit more literally and find the biggest book in my read list and say one which probably kill someone if you smacked around the head with it… or threw it at them… or just accidentally dropped it out of the window and it hit someone.
My pick for this? Well, I was going to say Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell because that book was looooong but turns out in my list of read books Outlander is, in fact, longer (and I have the paperback TV series tie in edition and I can attest to it being huge) so maybe I’ll just say both. And if you can get them in a hardback version even better, adds more weight to it.
What do you think of my answers? And are you a big Harry Potter nerd like me or do we need to have a talk? Don’t worry, I won’t actually shout if you haven’t read it I just always find it interesting to hear how you’ve managed to avoid it.
The Simple Wild – K.A. Tucker
Published: 7th August 2018Source: Scribd
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, New Adult
My Rating:
Calla Fletcher wasn't even two when her mother took her and fled the Alaskan wild, unable to handle the isolation of the extreme, rural lifestyle, leaving behind Calla’s father, Wren Fletcher, in the process. Calla never looked back, and at twenty-six, a busy life in Toronto is all she knows. But when Calla learns that Wren’s days may be numbered, she knows that it’s time to make the long trip back to the remote frontier town where she was born.
She braves the roaming wildlife, the odd daylight hours, the exorbitant prices, and even the occasional—dear God—outhouse, all for the chance to connect with her father: a man who, despite his many faults, she can’t help but care for. While she struggles to adjust to this rugged environment, Jonah—the unkempt, obnoxious, and proud Alaskan pilot who helps keep her father’s charter plane company operational—can’t imagine calling anywhere else home. And he’s clearly waiting with one hand on the throttle to fly this city girl back to where she belongs, convinced that she’s too pampered to handle the wild.
Jonah is probably right, but Calla is determined to prove him wrong. Soon, she finds herself forming an unexpected bond with the burly pilot. As his undercurrent of disapproval dwindles, it’s replaced by friendship—or perhaps something deeper? But Calla is not in Alaska to stay and Jonah will never leave. It would be foolish of her to kindle a romance, to take the same path her parents tried—and failed at—years ago. It’s a simple truth that turns out to be not so simple after all.
You know you're on to a winner when the book you're reading has you tearing up and it has barely started. I was a sobbing mess by the end of this book, like ugly crying, face blotchy crying when it was all over. It was not pretty but the emotion was so worth it for this book!
The Simple Wild had been on my radar for at least a year and I kept convincing myself not to buy it because it was a lot of money to spend on a book if I didn’t like it. Then I saw it on Scribd and I figured I might as well read one book with this 30 day free trial and I am so glad I did. This book was devoured in one sitting and I don’t think I could have read it any other way. I was dying to know how the book would develop and, honestly, it would have been too painful to read stretched over several days or several sittings. I didn’t even get distracted reading like I usually do. There was no looking at my phone constantly, or looking up something up online. None of that, It was just so good I did not want to put it down for even a second.
So this book is all about Calla, who has a father in Alaska she hasn’t spoken to in years and has never actually seen face to face (because no one remembers being a baby so meeting before the age of two does not count). She receives some news that her father’s health is less than stellar she throws caution to the wind and heads to the far reaches of Alaska to finally meet her dad and boy am I glad she did. I actually really liked the character of Calla. I admit I might have judged her a little at first, much like Jonah did. When it was mentioned she had a standing appointment for her nails and begged her stylist for a last minute hair appointment before she went to Alaska I did worry we wouldn't get on. I mean, it seemed a little superficial… but then if you were meeting your father for the first time I guess you kind of want to look your best. Thankfully, I was as wrong as Jonah was. Yes Calla liked to look good and, like any of us, spent too much money on clothes but that wasn't all she was and I loved seeing her have the chance to realise that too. During her time in Alaska she lost her clothes and was stuck wearing uncomfortable shows and like two pairs of jeans, and she has all of her makeup and hair products taken away from her for a while. but during all this she learnt that her appearance didn’t define her. This is especially significant as she was a lifestyle blogger with a strong social media presence where appearance is everything. Throughout this she learnt that she was more than how she looked and a picture didn’t tell a whole story and I really liked that aspect of the book and do wish that could have been explored a bit more.
Another thing I really liked in this book? The romance! Jonah was a sweetheart who I kind of hated at first appearance and was slowly charmed by as you learnt he was not as much of a dick as he first presented himself to be. Jonah is Calla’s pilot to the small town her father lives in and he gives the absolute worst first impression but he is a big presence in her dad’s life and quickly becomes a regular in Calla’s days in Alaska. The banter between Jonah and Calla was A+ and I couldn't get enough of them getting funny digs in and their joking. They were so entertaining to read together. I have always loved some good banter in romance because it so damn fun to read and you definitely get that here. And I think you needed the fun banter between Calla and Jonah to balance some of the heavy emotions which come up within this book because otherwise it would just be too much. I adored their romance but I don't think it was my highlight.
My favourite part of this book were the family connections. Honestly, I adored Wren, Calla's father, and the sweet moments of them being together as they tentatively got to know each other. They were both so hesitant around each other but I was crying at little moments like Wren being willing to eat a salad Calla had prepared even though he hated vegetables just so he could say he enjoyed a meal his daughter prepared. I was crying at him drinking the coffee she made even though she was clueless and it was way too strong. Seriously, this book has me tearing up even thinking about it. I will always love a strong family connection in a book but this father/daughter relationship just killed me. And let’s not forget Wren’s makeshift Alaska family of Mabel, Agnes and Jonah and really all of Bangor, Alaska was brilliant. It was so lovely to see this small, close knit community and how everyone there seemed to be part of this massive extended family. I adored how close everyone was and I just wanted to be part of it for a little while. This book had me about ready to book a flight out to Alaska.
This will definitely be going into a favourites list because I couldn't put it down. I will be investing my money in my own copy soon enough because this book destroyed my emotions and I am sure I’ll want to return for the happy moments.
Have you read this, or any other books by K.A. Rucker? And what was the last book you read which destroyed you emotionally?
One Day To Fall (One Day to Forever #1) – Therese Beharrie
Published: 12th August 2019
Source: Netgalley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
My Rating:
Of all the taxis in all of Cape Town, Sophia Roux had to stumble into his.
She should be at her “perfect” sister’s bedside, awaiting the arrival of the newest member of her family. But the thought of spending hours at the hospital with her suffocating relatives has Sophia hailing the first taxi she sees. Only to realise too late that the man at the wheel of her getaway car is the most unpleasant one she’s ever had the misfortune to meet.
Parker Jones, the handsome yet surly driver in question, is used to dealing with baggage of the family variety. And it just so happens he’s in need of temporary escape from his own. Witty banter with a beautiful—if exasperating—woman while chauffeuring her around the city on a gorgeous spring day makes for an ideal break from reality.
But a lot can happen in twenty-four hours: babies can be born, family can reconnect. And maybe the most unlikely pair can fall in love.
With another fantastic new release from Therese Beharrie I have found another author to add to my favourites list. She deserved the place after this book had me feeling so many emotions, and it was a story which took place over the space of a day. It was unexpected but so wonderful to read. Yes, there were emotional points and it dealt with grief, acceptance of oneself, and some family drama. But it still had me smiling because who doesn't love two grumps falling in love over one day?
Sophia was a grumpy, sarcastic, blunt woman who had been dragged to the hospital as her eldest sister had gone into labour. She was not happy about it, especially there was a family resentment going on and a bunch of family issues which you know were dealt with within the book. I was loving Sophia and it only got better when she bumped into another grump when she was returning from a quest to get snacks for her mom and youngest sister. She was annoyed about the whole thing and returned to her family only to do a runner. You know she bumped into the grumpy guy again.
The grumpy guy? Well, that was Parker... except he was nowhere near as much of a grump as Sophia was. He was a soft marshmallow totally in touch with his emotions and who was annoyed some rude woman got the upper hand in a conversation. So when he was leaving the hospital after being handed some bad news about his mother’s health (and he was avoiding his dad) who should happen to climb into his car but Sophia (I will say she wasn’t randomly getting into cars with strangers,, he worked for a car company. But funny side story, my nan once got into a car with a stranger thinking it was someone she knew and they drove her all the way home from the shops. She had very poor eyesight but how nice that random stranger did that for her!). Anyway, in the book Parker was intending to drive Sophia wherever she wanted and then going home to crash… but instead they end up spending the whole day together and throughout the day the small spark that appeared when they were arguing in the hospital ignites and they ended up going on an adventure around Cape Town while they each avoided their family issues.
Anyway, wonderful antics ensue from that meet-cute and I was there for all of them. Sophia was just so good. I didn't realise I wanted some grumpy heroines in my life until I was reading this. Women are not all sunshine and rainbows, why do men always get the corner of the grumpy market? She was a wonderful grump, she was sarcastic and she wasn’t there for people giving her shit for her blunt sarcastic tone either. And at no point in this romance was Parker looking for her to change who she was. She wasn’t expected to suddenly become sunshine and rainbows but instead, she was expected to look at her feelings and some of the resentment and anger which had built within her family
I admit, romances taking place over one day always have me wary. How can the couple possibly develop enough of a connection for us as readers to believe they will make it through? I don't know how Therese Beharrie did it but she pulled this romance off flawlessly. It never felt rushed and considering both of these characters were convinced they weren't ready for any relationship I was there convinced they were perfect for each other even when they weren't so certain of it. Their connection just was there and it worked and they helped one another reach some life realisations and they weren't always happy about it.
I was a little late to reading this one, I had an arc for a while but I was so glad I read it when I did. I got to fly through it in a single day and I think that helped me fall head over heels right along with these characters. I was invested in their lives and now I'm eager to go back and read the first in this series because how did I miss that one?!
Anyone else found Therese Beharrie on their favourites list? And if you’ve not read anything from her yet, why not?
I’m back from my break! I did pop in and post a review of Tessa Dare’s latest release but I am now attempting to get back into the blogging business all proper like. I have reviews, and discussion ideas, and a whole bunch of tags I’ve not got around to finishing. I have plans!
But first, let’s recap my break… or my trip to Newquay as that’s really my only highlight. And yes there are pictures, and I do include a selfie. No, I don’t support Cleveland Browns but my brother does and I stole his cap… when we were sat inside… and it was dark out. Why are you judging me?!
Anyone who follows me on Twitter will have seen I’ve been away! It was my step sister’s wedding and we all travelled down to Newquay for the weekend to watch her get married and it was such a lovely weekend away. It wasn’t without some excitement too. We drive down on the Friday (that is the royal we, I didn’t drive anywhere, my brother did, I provided assistance in changing the music and offering sweets out occasionally). It began with my brother arriving late because he forgot something and when I asked what he forget he said ‘nan’. Now anyone who has followed my blog for a little while will know my nan passed away over a year ago now and we still hadn’t decided on where to scatter her ashes and really a family weekend at the seaside seemed the most appropriate place considering the sheer number of beach holiday’s she took us on throughout the years. But he arrived late and so we ended up hitting traffic on the motorway down. It didn’t help the worst storm in ages was due to hit the UK and it kept chucking it down (also, this appears to be a britishism, do you guys not refer to heavy rain as chucking it down? And if not why not?) but anyway, rain meant more traffic and slightly scary driving conditions. We arrived in one piece, though, and we went to get the keys for our caravan only to be told that there had been a power cut and no one knew when it would come back on. Always fun when your phone needs some juice and you still need to go to the shop for basics and you’ve been hounded by your mom to go to a pub to meet up with everyone in the family in a little over an hour. It’s safe to say that Friday was an exhausting day of rushing about and exhaustion but it was fine.
Saturday was the day of the wedding and let me tell you it was a long day! I was up at 8, ready for 11 and out of the caravan and we thought there would be rain all day but it brightened up (after I’d got to the hotel and been rained on) and we had a view of the sea! Now, you might not understand my excitement at seeing the sea… or even a beach, but I love in the area of the UK referred to as The Midlands and we don’t have beaches and the sea so it’s exciting any time you go to the seaside. It’s just a fact. But we were talking about the wedding! It was a bit of a strange day, everyone turned up in dribs and drabs and we were all a but like, where do we wait? And everyone was drinking pretty much as soon as they arrived at the hotel and it was weird because we’re not family but we are and… it was weird. But my step sister looked beautiful and she looked so happy the whole day. She was committed to wearing her dress the whole day and you could tell she was fed up of folks stepping on it and having to drag it around all day, but you only get to wear it once and look like a princess. And the wedding was great, and filled with tasty food (and pick and mix, which hopefully isn’t another britishism but I know it probably is). I have to say, I’ve never been to a wedding where you get a cone of fish and chips and it was tasty. I was knackered by the end, though, and also discovered Newquay is a weird time warp which has very few taxis and no takeaways!
Sunday was spent adventuring around Newquay eating ice cream and trying to make my brother feel better as he was not 100% after the wedding. It was quite a lazy day in the end, and I liked that. I bought sticks of rock for a couple of friends and then spent an evening in a caravan. We did go to a really cool looking beach, though, and I swear it looked like it had a bricked over cave! I bet there were interesting things in there.
Finally, Monday we travelled home, but not before walking across a beach barefoot, climbing a small cliff and scatting my nan’s ashes. It was quite funny, which I feel like it’s not meant to be when scattering ashes but it was windy and my brother almost slipped at one point. It was nice, though, and now I have a good reason to return to Newquay! I mean, I know I don’t need to go to the place where my nan’s ashes are scattered to remember her, but any excuse to return to the seaside.
Apart from wedding adventures life has been a little dull. I have had work drama but I’m not putting myself in a bad mood talking about that with you guys. It’s safe to say I deeply regretted my decision to go back to work Wednesday and my grand plans to be productive when I came home from work was shattered by me being angry and annoyed and just generally in a bad mood.
I have slowly made progress in my plans to be a proper adult, though! I have a meeting booked at the bank about getting a mortgage and actually buying a house. It’s scary times, but kind of exciting because those towers of books I own will finally have a home of their own. I mean, I may change my tune as time goes on but I am looking forward to having a bit more space… I just need to make sure it’s close enough to my mom that I can sneak the dog out with me from time to time as I will miss this Milo face!
What I’ve Been Reading
So my grand reading plans didn’t happen when I was away, but I did read. This Earl of Mine was an ARC request and let me tell you I enjoyed every damn page. I wasn’t certain I would but no regrets, it was good. I just need to remember to write the review because it’s not out for a while yet. Stripped… it was disappointing. I will probably write a review here, but it was not as good as I’d hoped. I just couldn’t get into the story for some reason. The writing was good, I could tell the characters were likable… I just didn’t click with it, which is never fun. I then moved to One Day to Fall and let me tell you I <3 Therese Beharrie. That book was just so good. I need to write my review for that as well. And then I decided to renew my efforts to read some books from Sarah MacLean’s Read More Romance list of books and discovered Her Naughty Holiday available on Overdrive so I sat and had an enjoyable evening reading that (it was on Wednesday, I needed romance like that to cheer me up). And that is my reading of late.
New To Me
I’m not even going to try and lie, I got too many books the past couple of weeks so now I need to start reading a few! I bought a physical copy of Call it What You Want with the intention of reading it during my Newquay trip but I ended up reading nothing that weekend other than fanfiction (we rewatched the first Avengers film one night in the caravan, I fet compelled to read fanfiction). Taking the Heat has been on my maybe buy list for a while so I sucked it up and bought when it was on offer, same for Dreamer’s Pool. And then Mariana Zapata did the best thing ever and dropped a new release! I snapped up The Best Thing so fast. She’s the only author who is on Kindle Unlimited whose books I’ll always buy anyway. And then I saw When Dimple Met Rishi on offer in WHSmith’s and couldn’t resist getting myself a physical copy.
How have you been while I’ve been away? Anyone else been on an adventure of late? And recommend me all of the good books as I’m still not sure what my reading mood is doing.
The Wallflower Wager (Girl Meets Duke #3) – Tessa Dare
Published: 13th August 2019Source: Netgalley (but you know I preordered too)
Genre: Historical Romance
My Rating:
They call him the Duke of Ruin.
To an undaunted wallflower, he's just the beast next door.
Wealthy and ruthless, Gabriel Duke clawed his way from the lowliest slums to the pinnacle of high society―and now he wants to get even.
Loyal and passionate, Lady Penelope Campion never met a lost or wounded creature she wouldn't take into her home and her heart.
When her imposing―and attractive―new neighbour demands she clear out the rescued animals, Penny sets him a challenge. She will part with her precious charges, if he can find them loving homes.
Done, Gabriel says. How hard can it be to find homes for a few kittens?
And a two-legged dog.
And a foul-mouthed parrot.
And a goat, an otter, a hedgehog...
Soon, cold-hearted Gabriel, who wouldn't know a loving home from a workhouse, is covered in cat hair, knee-deep in adorable animals, and bewitched by a shyly pretty spinster who defies his every attempt to resist. Now she's set her mind and heart on saving him.
Not if he ruins her first.
You know when you finish a book and just want to hug it close? That was me after finishing this book.
I mean, this was Tessa Dare’s latest release so I never had any doubts that I would adore it. She could write a to do list and I would probably end up singing it’s praises which probably doesn’t fill any of you with hopes for an unbiased review, but really? Don’t come here for a balanced review of books, you come here for honest reviews where I am either 100% a fan of a book or feeling meh or DNF a book. There is no middle ground in my world!
It was just so utterly satisfying to read. It had fluff, romance, sexy times, drama and fun. I am so glad I read it and will happily read it again and again. I've never been disappointed by Tessa Dare and there was no concern that would happen here either. I loved reading Penny's story and she so deserved this book.
At the start you know little of Penny apart from her large collection of unwanted animals (and when I say that, I mean unwanted by others, Penny adores her animal family). From a goat to a dog with a cart due to his back legs not working. There was an otter, a hedgehog, and a Highland steer. And let's not forget the parrot with the dirty mouth. This, rather large, collection of animals was the family she didn’t get to have. And she cared for them even more as her close friends grew to have families of their own, she felt a little abandoned so these animals gave her purpose and a chance to care for someone. Throughout the book you learn that she was not just a crazy animal lady (cat just didn’t fit here) but there are so many reasons for the person she was. She did adopt every sorry animal she came across and she did it for many reasons. She had grown distant from her family and these animals gave her purpose. Luckily for her, Gabe moves in next door and if there was ever a man in need of a little saving (and a whole lot of love) then it was him. And she needed the level of stubbornness and care he could offer too.
I love when a romance has sparks flying off the page as soon as the couple meet and we definitely had that in this book. I mean, when the opening was Penny breaking into the neighbours house to retrieve her parrot (who turns out to be a foul mouthed fiend) and closes the night bumping into her neighbour fresh from the bath (and in a revealing towel). I was cracking up laughing from the very beginning and the book only went up from there.
If the hilarious scene of parrot retrieval was not enough Tessa Dare tweeted this amazing scene month’s ago which was what fully convinced me I would love this book:
The Governess Game was “read it for the doll eulogies,” The Wallflower Wager will be “read it for the goat labor” pic.twitter.com/flPskrgpep— Tessa Dare (@TessaDare) May 17, 2019
Honestly, the friendship between Penny and her friends was already well established but it was so much fun seeing Gabe slowly become integrated with their husbands. Especially when Ash and Chase were wholly against Gabe being anywhere near Penny from the start. I mean, come on! If that doesn’t convince you just leave now. There’s no hope for you.
In the end, as you can plainly see, I adored this book. It was absolutely genius and I cannot wait to read it again and again.
Have you read Tessa Dare’s latest release yet? And do you have another brilliantly swoony, but ever so hilarious historical romance to suggest to get me through until Tessa Dare gives us another brilliant release?
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