Wednesday 23 March 2016

Too Many E-books!
















I have a disgusting number of unread books sitting on my kindle (or ipad kindle app) and I need to do something about it.

Unlike my physical books, I don't look at them very often which means I often forget that there's books on there let alone specifically which ones I've purchased.
To force myself to rectify this and actually get through the mountain that lays before me I am setting myself the challenge of reading at least one of my e-books each month.

I'm really hoping that this will get me into the habit of at least looking through my library and actually having some awareness of what I have!

Here's to reading challenges!

Does anyone else have this problem? It can't just be me!

x

Thursday 10 March 2016

February Favourites



Short and sweet intro because I feel by now these posts don't require much explanation.

- Sweet and spicy noodle soup

I'd never had this flavour before but as soon as I saw it I needed it. Most cup a soups are fairly bog standard but this stood out and spoke to me soul (my soul definitely speaks in the language of food just fyi). It was delicious and I highly recommend.

- Afternoon Tea

I visited my lovely friend and her daughter this month .... well a whole group of us went and as we're now technically adults we decided to do something a little sophisticated and go for afternoon tea.
I always love a good afternoon tea, it's all the sandwiches man! Plus her little girl is the cutest thing I've ever had the joy of looking upon and yes you may say I'm bias but it's still true.



















- The Walking Dead

Yes I am very late to this party but now I'm here and ready to boogie.
A lot of people in my life have insisted I need to get into the series and I knew that I'd love it but for some reason hadn't quite got around to sitting down and watching it.
My Dad recently made me sit down and watch from the start - he has already seen it all but was happy to re-watch with me.
We started this on Saturday evening and on writing this it is Thursday and I am a few episodes into series 4...... yeah that happened. To be fair I've had 2 days off work due to phlegmy illness issues and that is how I've managed to binge it so quickly. I imagine I'll be up to date in the next week.
I won't say anything about it in case of spoilers but I am so in love with Daryl it hurts a little. He is too good for this world and I just want to hold him and keep him safe forever and ever.

- Tenerife

My first holiday of the year happened in February and it was so necessary for my sanity I can't put it into words.
I've never been to Tenerife before and was a little worried it might be really touristy but I was pleasantly surprised by the area we went to.
We also went to a water park and a zoo which I would 100% re-visit both if I were to go back as they were amazing days well spent. FYI they were called Siam Park and Jungle Park.

















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Friday 4 March 2016

Buddy Books | The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman.


15993203


London, April 1812. On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall’s presentation to the queen, one of her family’s housemaids disappears-and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?


I mentioned in a post a few days ago that me and my friend have started a book club and we finally named it! As we will be buddy reading all these books it shall hence forth be known as Buddy Books!
This months Buddy Book was The Dark Days Club, here's what I thought -

I really enjoyed this book, it seemed to have been researched amazingly well, both the expectations of society in the 1800's and the geography and understanding of London itself seemed very accurate and honest.

There was lot's of intrigue and unanswered questions as Lady Helen tries to unravel her family's past which left me wanting to find out more. She is relatable in that she is flawed, she doesn't necessarily follow the same beliefs as those around her, she makes mistakes and is unsure as to who she is supposed to be. Having said that she does always want to do what she believes is the right thing not just for herself but for those she cares for.

There were a number of characters I enjoyed reading about and following through their developments as there were surprises for them all. My personal favourites have to be Darcy and Lord Carlston.

The only negative I could say about this book was that it very much felt like the first book in a series. The whole book was build up which isn't necessarily a bad thing but occasionally I found myself wanting a little more action, learning more about Lady Helen's parents and experience the Dark Days Clubs adventures further. I will definitely read the rest of this series though as I can't wait to see what Lady Helen and Lord Carlston get up to next.

Lady Helen is strong, brave and kind. Lord Calrston is dark, mysterious and at times very intense.

There's humour, mystery, 19th century balls and a little bit of swoony romance. What's not to like about that?

I gave it 3 out of 5 stars on goodreads but have a feeling any future books will be higher. Let me know if you've read this and what you thought.

The Buddy Book for March will be Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - please read along with us if you're interested!

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