Sunday Post 17th July 2016

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer, it's a chance to post a recap on the past week, show the books we have received and share what we plan for the coming week. Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and the aim is to show our newest books and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops or downloaded on to their e-reader. As always you can click on any of the pictures to be taken to the Goodreads page for that book if you're interested in finding out more about it.

Last Week on the Blog:

• Wednesday Catch-Up
• Clare Reviews: Darkness by Karen Robards
• Friday Reads

Books We Got This Week:

Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan: I really enjoyed Little Beach Street Bakery last week so when I saw this in The Works I figured I'd give it a go.

Take a Chance on Me/To The Moon and Back by Jill Mansell: The former has me singing Abba every time I look at it but I've heard a lot of great things about Jill Mansell and I want to read something by her.

Heartsong Cottage by Emily March: It looks like a Christmas read. It probably is a Christmas read but I am actually feeling bizarrely Christmassy at the moment so I'll take it!

Deranged Marriage by Faith Bleasdale: This is a book about two best friends who make a marriage pact. One of those if-we're-both-single-when-we're-thirty agreements which usually make for a fun story.

Suddenly Last Summer/Summer Kisses by Sarah Morgan: At least these two are definitely Summer reads! I discovered Sarah Morgan recently and now want to read more by her - these popped up in a charity shop and I grabbed them.
Sunset in Central Park by Sarah Morgan: I had this pre-ordered ever since I finished Sleepless in Manhattan and I am excited to continue the series.

RSVP by Helen Warner: Another The Works buy, this one looks pretty and fun and I am excited to read it.

Fiona by Meredith Moore: I really liked I Am Her Revenge last year. I don't know much about this one but I am intrigued. 

The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick: I read and loved My Life Next Door a while back but have never read any of the companion novels. I am looking forward to this one.
You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour & David Levithan: I have loved every Nina LaCour book that I have read and although I haven't read a lot of David Levithan I enjoyed what I did read so I am excited for this one.
The Hypnotic City by Andrea Berthot: I read and reviewed the first book (The Heartless City) last year and I have been looking forward to this ever since so was excited when Andrea Berthot sent me an e-arc! This is due to be released August 1st.

Reading Update:

Chocolate Wishes by Trisha Ashley: 3 stars, This wasn't necessarily for me but it was a good read. 

Conditional Love by Cathy Bramley: 3.5 stars, Great characters and a compelling plot. I would have loved an epilogue to know how the other characters ended up.

Love From Paris by Alexandra Potter: This is a sequel to The Love Detective which I read last week, it was a good sequel and I enjoyed it but not, perhaps, as much as the first one.
Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis: 4 stars, I didn't love this as much as I loved Sweet Little Lies but it was still a great read and that cover is gorgeous.

Hunted by Karen Robards: 3.5 stars, This was a good read. I wasn't entirely sure about either main characters actions but I enjoyed the twists and the plot.
Hush by Karen Robards: 4 stars, This was a really great read, probably my favourite Karen Robards to date and I am looking forward to reading more by her. 
Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick: 4 stars, This was a good book. I liked the main characters and the plot was intriguing. There were even a couple of good twists towards the end.

Next Week on the Blog:

• Cover Characteristic: Eggs
• Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag
• Wednesday Catch-Up
• Top 5 Recent Additions to My Wishlist
• Clare Reviews: Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis
• Friday Reads

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Friday Reads 15th July 2016

Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice and Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader. The idea is to share a sentence or so from the first page and the 56th page of the book you are currently reading! 

Book Beginning:

"The Houston mansion was huge. Dark. Deserted.Except for the corpse hanging in the living room." - Hush by Karen Robards

Friday 56:

"Their marriage hadn't worked. They hadn't been soul mates, or even compatible life partners. But he had changed her life. He had introduced her to expensive soap." - Hush by Karen Robards 

I am really enjoying Hush it is a very exciting read. I have recently read two other Karen Robards books (one of which I posted a review for yesterday) but this is the one that grabbed me from that first sentence and hasn't let go since. I am looking forward to finding out how everything will be resolved.

 You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Clare Reviews: Darkness by Karen Robards

Title: Darkness

Author: Karen Robards

Source: Received from the Publisher in exchange for honest review

Pages: 384

Rating: 3.5/5

Blurb: BOOM. That’s the sound that changes everything for Dr. Gina Sullivan, a renowned ornithologist on a group research grant trip on the remote island of Attu, Alaska. When an everyday outing turns sinister at the onset of one of Attu’s infamous storms, Gina expects thunder and lightning—but what she doesn’t see coming is the small jet plane that drops out of the sky and into the water mere feet from her boat. Even more unprecedented: there’s a sole survivor from the crash, and he needs Gina’s help. But it turns out that rescuing the stranger and getting them both out of the oncoming storm is just the beginning. Because the more Gina learns about James “Cal” Callahan, he of brooding eyes and muscled frame, the more she fears—for herself, and for him.

Cal has made a career of trading on government secrets and emerging unscathed—until a routine pickup goes horribly wrong and lands him in ice-cold water. Literally. He knows the plane crash was no accident and that there could very well be an enemy force currently combing the Alaskan island ensuring there were no survivors. Now if only the arrestingly beautiful bird-watcher with the clear-blue gaze would stop watching him, well, like a hawk. Cal convinces Gina to return to base camp and help him covertly get off the island. But when Gina makes it safely back to camp and finds her entire team murdered, all bets are off, and as darkness envelops the island, she must decide: trust a man she barely knows, or go it alone and risk running straight into the arms of a killer? 

The blurb promised me an "atmospheric, tightly wound thriller" that would keep me "spellbound until the very last page". And it delivered on most of that. I read all of its nearly 400 pages in one sitting and the plot and setting were definitely both atmospheric and thrilling.

I did find that I was never really worried about these characters however. As exciting and enthralling as Cal and Gina's story is - I never once doubted their happy ending. I also really wanted to doubt the motives of both main characters. But although they, sensibly, doubted each other in the beginning I was never given the opportunity to doubt them myself. Too much of their backstories and their motives were revealed right away so I was left convinced of their joint innocence. 

The romance between Cal and Gina was a compelling part of the story - due to the nature of their situation it was slightly rushed. Not quite insta-love but definitely in that general area. I definitely would have liked a more resolved ending, the final chapter was just two pages and I wanted a bit more for me to be convinced that their love would last. The love scenes were peppered with a lot of similes and metaphors  - they kissed like the world was going to end too many times to count. 

The real strength of this book lies in the action. The plot is almost perfectly paced, with enough action and suspense to keep the reader engaged but not so much that it becomes exhausting to keep up with. There were a few quieter moments which offered an opportunity to get to know the characters more and gave the ensuing action more dramatic punch.

This is the first Karen Robards book I have read but it hopefully won't be the last. Although I had a few problems with the writing style at times - overall I thought it was a fun and engaging story that kept me reading. She managed to deliver a thrilling novel with great characters and I look forward to discovering more from her.

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Wednesday Catch-Up 13th July 2016

Every Wednesday we are linking up with WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is hosted at Taking on a World of Words and asks 3 questions: What are you currently reading?, What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you'll read next? 

Currently Reading:

I am currently about halfway through Hunted by Karen Robards. I am really enjoying it so far, the characters are behaving confusingly in my opinion but I am sure they have their reasons and all will make sense in the end.

Recently Finished:

The first two books I read this week were both for review. Darkness by Karen Robard was a fun and exciting read and I will have a full review up for it tomorrow. Sweet Little Lies was, simply, wonderful. The characters were amazing and I enjoyed the plot and the romance. I will be posting a review for this soon. I then went to the library and came back with a lot of books. I read Chocolate Wishes by Trisha Ashley which I thought was OK, just not necessarily for me. Conditional Love was an interesting read, I loved the character growth but I would have liked a more resolved ending. And Love From Paris was a fun sequel to The Love Detective. I then read Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis which was a great read although I didn't fall in love with it as much as with Sweet Little Lies. I do definitely want to continue the series though.

Planning to Read Next:

Next I am planning to read Hush which is another Karen Robards book, I am excited to read it. I then want to read Garden of Lies which I have been wanting to read for a while, but it was always expensive on Amazon so I was glad to find a copy in the library. And then I want to read Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery which is the second book in the series.

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Sunday Post 10th July 2016

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer, it's a chance to post a recap on the past week, show the books we have received and share what we plan for the coming week. Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and the aim is to show our newest books and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops or downloaded on to their e-reader. As always you can click on any of the pictures to be taken to the Goodreads page for that book if you're interested in finding out more about it.

We had a bit of a slow week blogging-wise this week. Both Ann and I got our exam results and we both did fairly well. I also took the Ilvermorny sorting on Pottermore and got Horned Serpent! Still gonna stick with my Slytherin pride though!  Ann has work experience next week so may be a bit absent but I am looking forward to getting back to a normal blogging schedule!

Last Week on the Blog:

• Cover Characteristic: Feathers
• Friday Reads

Books We Got This Week:
Clare:

The Little Beach Street Bakery/The Little Shop of Happy Ever After by Jenny Colgan: I can't believe I've never read any Jenny Colgan before. I've heard so many great things and I am interested to see what I think.

Destination Thailand by Katy Colins: I've seen this series around and I love books about travel so I thought I'd give it a go.

The Chic Boutique on Baker St. by Rachel Dove: If I am honest this was pure cover love. It's such a pretty cover and I am hoping the inside is as good.

Dream a Little Dream by Giovanna Fletcher: These three books were in the three for £10 offer on Amazon. This sounds interesting to me and very similar to an old Ginger Rogers film I've seen.

The Little Flower Shop by the Sea by Ali McNamara: I've loved Ali's previous books so I am excited for it - plus it's another beautiful cover.

Marlow's Landing by Toby Vieira: Received from the publisher for review, this interests me a lot. The blurb promised me "diamonds, deceit, and a trip up river" and I am so up for that.

After Alice by Gregory Maguire: I love Wicked, and I love Alice in Wonderland so I was very excited to receive this from Headline.

The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola: Received from Tinder Press, Such a beautiful book and a really intriguing plot!

Summer Shadows by Joss Stirling: I really like the Benedict series by Joss Stirling so I am excited to read the 6th book in the series.

Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis: I received this for review from Headline Eternal and I have already read it so I will have a review up soon.

Ann:

Return to the Isle of the Lost by Melissa De La Cruz: Very excited to read this as I very much enjoyed the first one.

Reading Update:

Ann:

The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson: 4 stars, I enjoyed this book although the plot was a bit predictable.

Clare:

Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella: 5 stars, I always adore Sophie Kinsella's books and this is one of my favourites of hers - I just felt like re-reading it.

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella: 5 stars, Another re-read and another favourite. There are so many laugh out loud moments in these books.

A Girl Like You by Gemma Burgess: 5 stars, Yet another re-read. I love romance novels set in Britain - the slang and the references all actually make sense to me. I always feel so much more at home with them.

Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan: 4 stars, This was a really sweet story with some sad moments.

The Little Shop of Happy Ever After by Jenny Colgan: 4 stars, Very much the same formula as Little Beach Street Bakery, but still a great read and perfect for book lovers.
The Chic Boutique on Baker St. by Rachel Dove: 2.5 stars, A fun read if slightly awkward writing style. 

The Little Flower Shop by the Sea by Ali McNamara: 3 stars, I loved her Notting Hill books but I felt slightly more ambivalent about this one. It was nice but it didn't live up to the promise in my mind.

Darkness by Karen Robards: 3.5 stars, This was such a fun read. Plenty of action and excitement and I liked the romance. I wasn't always a fan of the writing style (far too many similes and metaphors for me) but it was a good read. I will have a full review up soon.

Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis: 5 stars, I loved this book. The characters were great and the plot was engaging. Definitely want more from Jill Shalvis. Full review coming soon.

Next Week on the Blog:

• Cover Characteristic: Balconies
• Top 5 Books You Wish Had Sequels
• Wednesday Catch-Up
• Clare Reviews: Darkness by Karen Robards
• Friday Reads
• Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading