• Books,  REVIEWS

    [REVIEW] #ad Vendetta – Jack McSparron

    August 28, 2017

    Image result for jack mcsporran vendetta

    GIFTED*

    Mafia, Murder and drugs; all in one book?

    This book caught my eye when it came up on my bulk emails (linked to up and coming authors & review ebook copies) as an advertisement. So I grabbed it before it disappeared. This book is a quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It took me just under 24 hours to completely finish this as it was so entertaining.

    The man character is a kick-ass woman called Maggie Black, who is incredible. Her partner in this book and part-time lover is Leon. I feel both have an interesting backstory which propelled the story on well.

    The story takes place mainly in Venice, Italy and I loved the casual references to places within the city. The story powers on easily and quickly as we are introduced to various characters, each with their own agenda.

    This book basically is about a spy who is trying to stop a meeting and two groups becoming partners across Europe. The mafia is involved via the character Carlo Rossi and his family vs the other Italian family and mafia enemy the Martinis.

    The killer in the murders through the story is revealed just as I figured out who it could be. The suspense was high and clever to read. I enjoyed hearing the ending of this book.

    I would recommend this book, as it is an enjoyable quick read. I will go on to read more about the main character in new books, as this was the first in the series which I highly recommend reading.

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    [REVIEW] #ad Born Bad – Marnie Riches.

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  • REVIEWS

    [DNF] A Court of Thorns and Roses

    August 26, 2017

    I have bad news for you reading. I tried “A Court of Thorns and Roses” and didn’t like it.

    I heard a lot of hype of this book series on BookTube and Bookstagram and I thought I’d give it a go and could not get into it.

    I found the storyline strange and didn’t like it and at the half way mark, I decided that’s enough and I gave the book back to the library.

    The reason I didn’t enjoy the book is mainly because of these reasons and more…

    • The main character Feyre is boring after the leaving her family
    • I don’t think Tamlin is a nice person he’s guilt tripping her because he didn’t kill her straight away
    • I don’t understand the fae world

    Sorry, this post was so brief and I hope this was interesting to read why I didn’t enjoy this book. Luckily it was not a review copy so it didn’t upset anyone, except maybe you guys who are reading my blog.

    HERE IS MY QUICK REVIEW:

    I went in to this book with extremely high expectations of enjoyment. This made me sad when i started reading and did not enjoy or get into the book as i was told by other bloggers around the world.

    I just didnt seem to get the whole damsel in distress idea, i mean shes a hunter after all so why couldnt she defeat the beast that came to her door after killing the wolf.

    The other thing that bugged me is i have never read a faery tale before so it took me a goood few chapters to understand what it is all about and start to like this mystical world i was reading.

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    [REVIEW] #ad The Betrayed – Casey Kelleher

    July 18, 2017

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  • Books,  Lifestyle

    [book tag] HARRY POTTER: Q&A

    August 23, 2017

    Following on from last weeks Harry Potter theme this week – So Never Not Reading tagged me in this Q&A. Please go ahead and view her blog…

    HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS!

    What Hogwarts House are you in?
    Hufflepuff
    “Did you know that Hufflepuff has produced the fewest Dark wizards of any house..?“

    What is your Patronus?
    Blackbird

    What is your wand?
    Aspen wood // Unicorn hair // 11 ¼” inches // Unbending

    What would your boggart be?
    Honestly, a few things come to mind?

    What position would you play in Quidditch?
    I can safely say I would be a spectator – I don’t do sports!

    Would you be a pure blood, half blood or muggle born?
    I think I’d be Muggle Born but have knowledge of Hogwarts!

    What job would you want after to have after Hogwarts?
    I want to work in the ministry of Magic – with books and unusual happenings

    Which of the deathly Hallows would you choose?
    Hard choice but I would go with – The Wand. As I would like to have a reliable and powerful wand if I needed to use magic – for good causes obvs!

    Favourite book?
    I haven’t read them in soo long so I can’t remember but I would go with “The Philosopher’s Stone” as it introduces everyone to the wizarding world and also “The Deathly Hallows” because it finishes the story well which I like.

    Least favourite book?
    My least favourite book must be The Order of the Phoenix” which is too long and I don’t like the storyline or main characters in it this book.

    Favourite film?
    My favourite film is definitely “The Prisoner of Azkaban” because it introduces my favourite Character, Sirius Black. This is closely followed by “The half blood prince” as it has a lot of backstories in it and is quite a dark film.

    Least favourite film?
    This is a difficult one again but probably I would go for same as the movie choice for the same reason. I just didn’t enjoy that book or film at all.

    Favourite character?
    I could go on and on about Sirius Black for hours but to sum up he gives Harry hope that someone cares about him, he has a wizard relative that’s alive to meet him and he also has the best storyline I think (Although I didn’t like the rest of the film  that he was a big part in!)

    Least favourite/most hated character?
    This is again a hard one but I’m going with Dolores Umbridge as I can not stand her in the film she is in. she ruins the film and I don’t think she should have been a professor, surely she wouldn’t have been able to get into Hogwarts.

    Favourite teacher at Hogwarts?
    My favourite Teacher is obviously Severus Snape. Not only does he have a brilliant backstory, he keeps you guessing which side he is on (good or bad) all the way through the series and the actor is one of the best in the whole series.

    Least favourite teacher at Hogwarts?
    Dolores Umberbridge – READ ABOVE.

    Do you have any unpopular opinions about the series?
    Not particularly; other than I enjoy the films more than the books!

    If you could save one character from the final battle who would you save?
    I would save Snape as I think he deserves saving. I think he could have gone on to release another set of books just dedicated just to his back story as he is quite a hidden character and he’s my favourite throughout the whole series!

    Basically I’m not tagging anyone in this – so if you want to do it, please comment below and I’ll get round to reading your answers! Thanks, guys.

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  • Books,  REVIEWS

    [REVIEW] Harry Potter 1 (atPS) – J.K. Rowling

    August 15, 2017

    A boy a cupboard …who becomes a wizard.

    Harry Potter is a book close to my heart. I remember reading this book while still in Primary school for the reading hour. It is still as exciting as it was all those years ago.

    We start at the beginning with a young boy being ignored and basically feeling unwanted by his adopted parents after his real ones perish.

    we are given a brief idea about how important this boy is to the world he was not able to be brought up in.

    It follows average peoples lives via his aunt and uncle with their son Dudley. The drama doesn’t really pick up until we get t the part where a parcel is delivered to Harry (Potter) and his aunt and uncle will not allow him to read it. This uncle and Aunt decide to run away from their house to a remote area and hide from these parcels.

    Hagrid turns up and he is a welcome surprise that makes everyone feel much better and happier. This is because he has rescued Harry Potter from the wretched family who didn’t really want him or care about him.

    The action picks after Harry was introduced to the wizarding world. As this is a re-read for me and since watching the film I had a good idea what was going to happen throughout the book.  I would say to all new readers to this book to stick by the mundane storyline until you get to Hogwarts (the magical school) and enjoy it.

    As many people before have said before I think that Peeves really should have been added to the film adaption. For all that don’t know he is a cheeky ghost that haunt Hogwarts castle.

    Towards the end, it becomes apparent that Harry and his house/class mates who he has befriended are intent on a journey and solving the mystery of what is on the third floor of Hogwarts that came from Gringotts – the wizarding bank.

    Personally, it was very interesting plot over all and I would say read this book – if not the whole series. I would recommend not watching the films before reading as it does ruin the story. Although the films  miss a lot, they have enough in for you to know what’s going on and you don’t want to know the storyline before reading the book.

    Harry Potter is a book for kids that adults can read and should. Enjoy!

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  • Books,  REVIEWS

    [REVIEW] #ad The Betrayed – Casey Kelleher

    July 18, 2017

    GIFTED*

    A modern tale of family & loyalty.

    Part 1 – 1982

    The first 100 pages are fast-paced drama which kicks you right in the teeth with impact. Jimmy in the first chapters is what I would describe as borderline inhuman and quite evil, toward his own father.

    After the first two chapters, it settles down to a novel with romance for the first half of the book.

    Edel is the cliche mother figure; loveable because she comes across as a real human rather than a character just added to the plot.

    After Jimmy and Colleen meet, you see a different more likeable side to Jimmy. Although it comes across as overboard. The romance between them is quick paced and before you know it, it is cliche romance. Some people would call it “Insta-love” whatever that means?

    The ending chapters drama were okay but nothing special or unique about it until the end of it – it hits you with a punch, especially after a few chapters of just mundane life.

    Part 2 – 1985

    The shift between mundane life and marriage themes are broken when dramatic impact as you see how completely different the characters are compared to the beginning. Personally? I did not like the change at all and wanted to put the book down without finishing. Anyway, I powered on through eventually. A word of warning, there is a lot of depressing scenes and TRIGGER suicide is mentioned throughout.

    Part 3 – 2003

    The way this book changes again for part 3 is quite strange in my opinion. It jumps to a completely different family and this generation that has little to do with the original characters that I had to endure. Personally, I did not care for a change in characters and thought it was an easy way out rather than finishing the main story. The only part which made sense was when Jimmy and Colleen’s family were mentioned.

    Would I recommend this book? Honestly… although I didn’t enjoy it, I think others might. Why not borrow it from the library and if you do enjoy it – buy! I wouldn’t have chosen to read it if I had known more about it, but I do like most crime genres and was intrigued.

    DISCLAIMER: I got this ebook from the author and publisher for an honest review.

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  • Books

    About unpaid books online,

    July 11, 2017

    Well, this topic has recently come to light. How do you free about sent copies of books online? Are they worth it? How do you get them? I have found out the hard way, via Facebook, how controversial this subject actually can actually get.

    I asked an innocent question “how do you get free books and how long does it take you read them. I had over 130 comments ranging from”good luck with your blog, it takes time” to “I think you’re blogging for the wrong reasons” type thing.

    I then went out there anyway and just asked for one – YES, it is worth trying.

    I have recently joined up on NetGalley and got 9 online e-books in the last month. The idea is that I go on to give full feedback & publish a review about how the book was. This has made me feel honoured as a new blog reviewer that they would allow me the opportunity to do a good service and be trusted to follow out on my review.

    On top of that, I saw by chance a new up-and-coming author on Twitter showing her new book and read an excerpt. I was hooked. I found out by browsing her tweets that she was giving away a load of ARCs from USA so I messaged her my address to send me the book (bear in mind I live in the UK) and she said Yes.

    I have never felt more humbled that she said yes to me out of anyone, but then again I think it was “first come, first serve” kinda thing. I am so excited to receive this book, read it and then review – it’s crazy. The thing is I still don’t know if I’m going to receive it. I guess I just need to be patient and wait it out.

    ISN’T READING, WHAT BOOK BLOGGING IS ALL ABOUT?

    My main query is: are “sent” books really acceptable? is it rude to ask? & should you just stick to book sales or the libraries?

    What are your opinions? Let me know!

    • Would you ask online for a copy?
    • how long did it take you to your 1st?
    • Have you regretted ask/reading?
    • Do you find ask/receiving ARCs offensive?

    ALSO – Are e-book better than paper copies?

    EDIT: I now have a review policy for authors who wish to send me a copy of their book to read and review. This is at their discretion – I reply with either yes or no – also depending on whether it hit my criteria for a book I would read normally.

    Read More

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