Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Books Of 2017 (So Far)

Life has been whopping my ass, therefore this post is about a week late. BUT I couldn’t let the mid-point of 2017 go by without marking it in some way (HOW is it past the halfway mark of this year already, HOW?!). I had a solid start to reading this year, but I’ve fallen a little behind due to work commitments and studying. My final exam is the 20th of July, and then I’m free! Figuratively speaking, I still have to work and earn dolla. But you get my drift. That said, here are my top ten books of 2017 (so far)…

Review: Seven Steps to Happiness

Is there such a thing as a formula for happiness?

If it’s Netflix + 2 for 1 Malbec + the perfect toasted-cheese sandwich, Lenny Dublonsky has it covered. Even if she works for a tech company where her colleagues ride scooters round the office, and is in a relationship with a man who doesn’t do relationships.

A funny and moving novel of friendship, heartbreak, and the restorative power of melted cheese.

4.5* Read!

The Double Life of Mistress Kit Kavanagh Book Cover

Review: The Double Life of Mistress Kit Kavanagh

Of all the dangers she faced, the greatest was discovery… When Irish beauty Kit Kavanagh’s husband is taken to be a soldier, Kit enlists in the Duke of Marlborough’s regiment, disguised as a man, to follow him across war-torn Italy. Risking her life in battle, she forms a close bond with her wry and handsome commanding officer, Captain Ross.

But even when she dresses once more as a woman to evade capture, the war is not over for Kit. She catches the eye of the scheming Duke of Ormonde, who recruits her to spy upon the French. Torn between Captain Ross and her husband, and under the orders of the English Crown, Kit’s life will be in more danger now than on any battlefield.

5* Read!

Review: The Crying Tree

Irene Stanley thought her world had come to an end when her son Shep was murdered during a robbery at their home. 19 years later, Shep’s killer is placed on death row, awaiting a date for execution. Irene, having reached the brink of suicide, now realizes that she needs to face the secrets that surround her son’s murder.

4.5* Read!

Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Books Of 2015 (So Far)

Top Ten Favourite Books Of 2015 (So Far) I feel like I’m finally getting to grips with reading this year – I had a great start to 2015 with reading and blogging, but hit a slump in the Spring, but it’s beginning to feel like I’m back on track again! So, here are the top ten books […]

Review: The Good Psychopath’s Guide To Success

What is a good psychopath? And how can thinking like one help you to be the best that you can be?

Dr Kevin Dutton has spent a lifetime studying psychopaths. He first met former SAS hero Andy McNab during a research project. What he found surprised him. McNab is a diagnosed psychopath but he is a GOOD psychopath, able to dial up or down qualities such as ruthlessness, fearlessness, conscience and empathy to get the very best out of himself – and others. Drawing on the combination of McNab’s wild and various experiences and Dr Dutton’s expertise, together they have explored the ways in which a good psychopath thinks differently and what that could mean for you. What do you really want from life, and how can you develop and use qualities such as charm, coolness under pressure, self-confidence and courage to get it?

4* Read!

Review: Dumped – Stories of Women Unfriending Women

Being dumped by a woman-friend is excruciating: you expect romantic relationships to break up eventually but you don’t expect it from your friendships. And when it happens, you feel as though there should be an Adele song for you but there isn’t. Dumped: Women Unfriending Women fills that void, exploring the universal experience of being discarded by those from whom you expected more. The essays in Dumped aren’t stories of friendship dying a mutually agreed upon death, or of falling out of touch and reconnecting years later to find you haven’t missed a beat. These are stories by established and emerging authors who, like you, may have found themselves erased, without context. These, like your own, are stories that stay with you, maybe for a lifetime.

4* Read!

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover Book Cover

ReRead Review: Maybe Someday

I originally read this book for the first time in May 2014, giving it 4.5*.
I wish I had more time to reread, BUT I did manage to fit this one in, and compare my reread thoughts to my original thoughts!

4.5* Read!

Babes and Books Review: Before I Go

Daisy is 27-years-old and has only months to live. And, each day, she’s finding her way through what needs to be done. Her major worry is what her wonderful, charming husband, Jack, will do without her. She knows that he won’t take care of himself so Daisy has to do it for him. As she searches for Jack’s next wife, she begins to realise that her plan to ensure Jack’s happiness is much more complicated than she expected.

4* Read!

Babes and Books Review: Never Never

Best friends since they could walk. In love since the age of fourteen. Complete strangers since this morning.
He’ll do anything to remember. She’ll do anything to forget.

4.5* Read!

Review: Bad Feminist

A collection of essays spanning politics, criticism, and feminism from one of the most-watched young cultural observers of her generation, Roxane Gay. In these funny and insightful essays, Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman (Sweet Valley High) of color (The Help) while also taking readers on a ride through culture of the last few years (Girls, Django in Chains) and commenting on the state of feminism today (abortion, Chris Brown). The portrait that emerges is not only one of an incredibly insightful woman continually growing to understand herself and our society, but also one of our culture.

4.5* Read!

Review: Heir of Fire

Consumed by guilt and rage, Celaena can’t bring herself to spill blood for the King of Adarlan. She must fight back…

The Immortal Queen will help her destroy the king – for a price. But as Celaena battles with her darkest memories and her heart breaks for a love that could never last, can she fulfil the bargain and head the almighty court of Terrasen? And who will stand with her? Crowned by Evil. Bound by Duty. Divided by Love.

4.5* Read!

Review: Crown of Midnight

Crowned by Evil. Bound by Duty. Divided by Love.

Celaena Sardothien, royal assassin, is the King of Adarlan’s deadliest weapon. She must win her freedom through his enemies’ blood – but she cannot bear to kill for the crown. And every death Celaena fakes, every lie she tells, put those she loves at risk.

Torn between her two protectors – a captain and a prince – and battling a dark force far greater than the king, Celaena must decide what she will fight for: her liberty, her heart, or the fate of a kingdom…

5* Read!

Review: The Assassin’s Blade

Celaena Sardothien owes her reputation to Arobynn Hamel. He gave her a home at the Assassins’ Guild and taught her the skills she needed to survive.

Arobynn’s enemies stretch far and wide – from Adarlan’s rooftops and its filthy dens, to remote islands and hostile deserts. Celaena is duty-bound to hunt them down. But behind her assignments lies a dark truth that will seal her fate – and cut her heart in two forever…

5* Read!

Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry Excerpt and Giveaway!

Breaking the Rules (Pushing the Limits #1.5) by Katie McGarry. Release Date: 08/12/14 by Harlequin Teen. Goodreads Synopsis: A summer road trip changes everything in this unforgettable new tale from acclaimed author Katie McGarry. For new high school graduate Echo Emerson, a summer road trip out west with her boyfriend means getting away and forgetting what makes […]

Review: Life After Life

What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right?

During a snowstorm in England in 1910, a baby is born and dies before she can take her first breath. During a snowstorm in England in 1910, the same baby is born and lives to tell the tale. What if there were second chances? And third chances? In fact an infinite number of chances to live your life? Would you eventually be able to save the world from its own inevitable destiny? And would you even want to?

4* Read!