My Haul

I am very excited because I got mail!  Oh yes!!  Thanks to Michael O' Mara books and welovethisbook I won this lovely set:  I Before E series.

Give-away: Pink Wellies and Flat Caps - Lynda Renham

Recycle, Re-Use, Pre-Loved Give-away

I have ONE copy of Pink Wellies and Flat Caps by Lynda Renham to give-away to one lucky entrant.

The competition is open to UK Residents only and the winner will receive a paperback book ISBN 978-0-9571372-4-0.  This books has been once and is in excellent condition.

Entrants must be over 16 years of age.  

Here is the link to my review: Book Review: Pink Wellies and Flat Caps

Good luck!

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It's A Wrap - End of Month Round Up

April was a busy month, not so much on the book front but elsewhere in my life.  I don't seem to have read so much this month and have reviewed one book.  Let's see if May gets any better in my bookish life!

I have read 6 books this month and reviewed one of them.

Reviewed 
Pink Wellies and Flat Caps - Lynda Renham 3*

Books Read and Not Reviewed
A Gathering Storm - Rachel Hore
The Undomestic Goddess - Sophie Kinsella
Labyrinth - Kate Mosse
Midnight Cactus - Bella Pollen
Please Look After My Mother - Kyung-Sook Shin

Winners 4*
A Gathering Storm - Rachel Hore
Labyrinth - Kate Mosse

No losers this month.

I ran a give-away: One copy of Nobody's Damsel by EM Tippetts won by Carol E Wyer author of Surfing in Stilettos and owner of Facing 50 With Humour blog.

I was a giver for World Book Night on Tuesday 23 April.  I gave away copies of Damage by Josephine Hart.

Incoming
Lucky Break - Esther Freud (£2 in The Last Bookshop)
Pink Wellies and Flat Caps - Lynda Renham (Review)
The View on the Way Down - Rebecca Wait
The Promise - Ann Weisgarber (both a win from Anne's give-away on Random Things Through My Letterbox)
My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell (RISI swap)
Keeping the World Away - Margaret Forster (Library for May book group read)

Future Plans
Another give-away, again from my book stocks.  Look out for that!

Have a good month of reading in May.

Book Review: Pink Wellies and Flat Caps

Synopsis - Alice Lane has everything: a wonderful fiancé, a responsible job and a lovely flat in Chelsea.  But after she has a bra fitting her life goes tits up.

Homeless, and with just a sparkling engagement ring as a memory of her previous life, Alice accepts a live-in farm manager's job and discovers that things actually can get worse.  Come with Alice as she makes her hilarious career change and struggles to cope with her moody employer, Edward...  But can Alice turn her back on romance and resist the dashing Dominic or will her past come back to surprise her?

Review - This is my second read of Lynda Renham's novels, the first was Croissants and Jam which I reviewed last year.  I haven't read Wedding Cake to Turin, Coconuts and Wonderbras or as I discovered today (another book) The Diary of Rector Byrnes.  Therefore I have limited comparison but I have to say that I preferred Croissants and Jam.  Pink Wellies and Flat Caps took me longer to get into and didn't have me laughing at the outset, however, once the story got going it was peppered with Lynda's trademark humour and did (to put in my husband's words), "that book's giving you a right titter!"  I hasten to add this isn't an expression he uses but he did a very good impression of his late mother.

Characters - I must admit I did find Alice a bit wet and really! I mean really!  Even I wouldn't be that gullible.  For me she was a little unbelievably dumb at times.  Georgie was a scream and I loved Cas, who reminded me of Stuart (one of The Great British Sewing Bee contestants).  Charlie, well the name says it all!  He was, I mean, a complete Charlie!  Again, unbelievably naive and stupid!  Likeable farmers and other background characters, even grumpy Edward and can you blame him?  He had a lot to contend with.  Dominic lived up to being the character Lynda gave him.

This book had all the usual ingredients to make good chick-lit, humour, a variety of characters from losers to winners.  The ex-boyfriend, the best friend(s), the unsympathetic boss, gorgeous men, the downright nasty, the lot.  Good choice of setting to provide contrast to situations, the reader got a flavour for country life with all that mud and the animals and a good picture of someone who has lived all their life in a city.  I did like the references to animal rights.  I loved the portrayal of Myrna and Philip, even though it was a bit clichéd.  Being a veggie myself and having gone so far as handing out leaflets in the high street in my youth.  I have come across extremists and I know just how committed to their cause they are rightly or wrongly.  The scenarios did have a ring of truth about them.

All good fun! 3*

ISBN 978-0-9571372-4-0
Published by Raucous Publishing

Give-away: Nobody's Damsel - E.M. Tippetts

Recycle, Re-Use, PreLoved Give-away

I have ONE copy of Nobody's Damsel by E.M. Tippetts to give-away to one lucky entrant.

The competition is open to UK residents only and the winner will receive a paperback book ISBN 9781481147637.  This book has been read once and is in excellent condition.

Entrants must be over 15 years of age. 

Here is the link to my review Book Review: Nobody's Damsel (Book 2) - EM Tippetts

Good luck!

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It's A Wrap - End of Month Round Up

As you know my blogging is a little erratic at present.  However, I did fit in a couple of book reviews this month, a post about the event I held for Oxfam's International Women's Day and a give-away.  Oh!  I also received an award!

I have read 10 books this month and reviewed 3 of them.

Reviewed
The Iron Witch - Karen Mahoney 3*
A Small Free Kiss in the Dark - Glenda Millard 3*
Storm Warning - Eugenia O'Neal 3*

Books Read (Not Reviewed)
Second Chance  - Jane Green
The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larssen
Alphabet Weekends - Elizabeth Noble
Waiting For Sunrise - William Boyd (March book group read)
Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis (April book group read)
Hard Times - Charles Dickens
A Week in December - Sebastian Faulks

Winners 5* Reads
The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larssen

Losers
Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis (I know, an esteemed author and book!  I read this years ago and didn't like it then.  This was chosen for book group and I tried but I haven't changed my mind.  It's just not for me.)

I posted about my Book Swap for Oxfam's International Women's Day which I held for the second year running.

I ran a give-away: One copy of Surfing in Stilettos by Carole E Wyer won by Jo from Jaffareadstoo blog.

I was a recipient of the Sunshine Award.

Incoming
The Life You Want - Emily Barr (RISI swap)
Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis (Library)
Storm Warning - Eugenia O'Neal (ARC for review)
Hurting Distance - Sophie Hannah (RISI swap)

Future Plans
Once again I have been selected as a giver for World Book Night.  I will be giving away Damage by Josephine Hart, my second choice.
I will be hosting another give-away on my blog in April.  Keep an eye out for that!

How was your reading in March?

Sunshine Award

Don't we need a little bit of sunshine to brighten up these cold wintry days?  

Guess what!  I got my little ray of sunshine today.  

A big thank you to Jo from Jaffareadstoo... for sending this award to me.

To tell you a bit about this award:

The Sunshine Award is an award given by bloggers to other bloggers.  The recipients are "bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere".

The way the award works is this: on your blog, thank the person who gave you the award, and link back to them.  Then answer 10 questions about yourself (see below). 

Finally, select up to 10 of your favourite bloggers, link their blogs to your post, and let them know they have been awarded the Sunshine Award.

10 Questions:

1.  What inspired you to start blogging?

2.  How did you come up with the name of your blog?

3.  What is your favourite blog that you like to read?

4.  What would be your dream job?

5.  If you could spend a day with eight authors discussing novels as a group, who would you invite (past or present authors)?

6.  What is your favourite place to travel?

7.  What is your favourite book out of all the books you have read?

8.  What was your favourite book as a child and how did it influence your choice in books today?

9.  How much time do you spend blogging?

10.What would you say to your favourite authors if you got the chance?

What inspired you to start blogging?

I guess it was when I started to read blogs for book reviews and recommendations.  I liked discussing books which I did within the book group I co-set up and was a member at the time.  So I thought why not take this further and post my reviews on a blog.

How did you come up with the name of your blog?

I had set up an account on one book site as 'avidread' but when it came to logging onto other sites this name had been used up.  I decided on Booketta as I had my nose in a book during any spare moments I had.  I thought I would use that name in the blog title as I was already using it nearly everywhere else.

What is your favourite blog that you like to read?

Now that is a difficult one as there are so many good blogs out there.  Far too many to mention.

What would be your dream job?

In a past life a ballerina.  Now, I wouldn't mind working in a library or a bookshop.  Think how I could spend my day browsing, buying, borrowing, touching and smelling all those books.  Ha-ha! I wouldn't get the job done!

If you could spend a day with eight authors discussing novels as a group, who would you invite (past or present authors)?

Jane Austen, JK Rowling, Sebastian Faulks, Charles Dickens, Dan Brown, Daphne du Maurier, Paul Coelho and Joanne Harris.

What is your favourite place to travel?

Europe

What is your favourite book out of all the books you have read?

Pride and Prejudice.  Hmm!  I wonder if Colin Firth in a wet shirt has anything to do with that answer!!!!

What was your favourite book as a child and how did it influence your choice in books today?

I'm not sure a particular book influenced my reading choices.  I was encouraged to read a lot: Winnie the Pooh, Enid Blyton, Heidi, Alice in Wonderland and the usual classics.

How much time do you spend blogging?

Not so much this year.  It's sporadic depending on time and other projects.

What would you say to your favourite authors if you got the chance?

Carry on writing!

My Sunshine Award nominations go to:

Curiosity Killed the Bookworm

The Secret Writer

Books, Biscuits and Tea

Purple Jelly Bean Reviews

Books 4 Teens

Mac-Adventures (with Books)

Jera's Jamboree

Bookalicious Travel Addict

Serendipity Reviews

aobibliosphere

Book Review: Storm Warning - Eugenia O'Neal

I received an ARC of Storm Warning by Eugenia O'Neal in exchange for a review.  This is a new collection of short stories soon to be released.

The stories are set in or around St Crescens, a fictitious island around the British Virgin Islands.  One of the common themes running through the book is the connection to the USA, whether islanders wish to emigrate there or some other connection.

There are five stories in the book.  The first Collision, is about drug trafficking where two sets of traffickers from different countries unexpectedly meet.  The second story Storm Warning (also the title of the book)  tackles preparations for an oncoming hurricane and centres around the lives of a young couple.  Face-down is the third story which is a series of statements to the police recording the whereabouts of each potential suspect around a crime scene. Story four, The Righteous Ones, is about evangelism in the extreme, where a minister and his family sail to St Crescens on a mission to put right the wrongdoings of the inhabitants.  The final and in my opinion the best short story in the series is titled The Dead Bishop.  This story tackles paedophilia and the church.

They are all good stories in their own right but the last in the book is the story which will be remembered for its content, being topical and controversial.  Having said that all the stories are topical and newsworthy.

Last year I read and reviewed Jessamine by this same author and these stories are quite different which shows Eugenia's versatility as a writer.  I am not huge on short stories and would not normally buy a collection.  However, when you find a readable collection like Storm Warning they are worth it.  Do look out for these when this book hits the shelves.  When I do find a good collection I love the fact that you can dip in and out without worrying where you left off.  Read a story each week, day, month or all in one go like me.  3*