My Name is Memory – Ann Brashares

“Not everyone believes in the existence of ‘the one’, the love of our life that we are destined to find, but Daniel knows it’s real.  How could he not?

He has the gift of ‘the memory’, the ability to recall past lives and recognize the reincarnated souls he has known.  He has spent centuries meeting and falling in love with the same girl over and over and over again.  Life after reincarnated life, generation after generation, he and Lucy have been drawn together – and though he can never tell her, he remembers it all.

But the force that draws Lucy and Daniel together also inevitably tears them painfully, sometimes fatally, apart.  Now, he has started trying to stop her from falling in love with him, to protect her from the heartbreak he knows will follow.”

This was another case of ‘I love that cover, I wonder what it’s about’ and oh how I loved this book!  The story stayed in my mind long after I had finished it.  It is incredibly romantic but completely heartbreaking at the same time.  I just can’t imagine how Daniel feels losing the one he loves time and time again and not knowing when he’ll find her again.

There were times that I was confused by what was going on but everything is revealed as you read through the book. The villain in the story threatens to come between Lucy and Daniel and I found the background of his hatred towards Daniel very interesting.  Things aren’t always as they seem!

I was so captivated by Lucy and Daniel’s journey that I managed to read the whole book in just one sitting, I really fell in love with their story and the ending of this was very hard to bear as it ends on a rather large cliffhanger.  I’ve heard that this is going to be a trilogy and I really hope it is because I am desperate to find out what happens next.

A wonderful tale of soul-mates and everlasting love, I can’t wait for the story to continue.

I Heart Vegas – Lindsey Kelk

 

This was such a fun, refreshing read that had me literally crying with laughter, it was definitely my kind of book with my kind of humour.

Angela Clark is a Brit living in New York, she’s happily shacked up with her boyfriend and having a great time with her friends but, unfortunately, she has also lost her job and unless she can get a new visa (or get married) she’ll have to leave the country.

She goes on a girls weekend to Vegas which only ends up leading her from one disaster to the next, she desperately wants to stay in America because she doesn’t want to leave her boyfriend but the way she goes about it doesn’t exactly win her many fans!

I loved the hilarious witty remarks that are thrown about between Angela and her friends, and the English/American personality differences were so much fun to read.  I particularly enjoyed the fountain frolics and the helicopter ride – those scenes actually had me laughing out loud, one whilst I was waiting for the kids to come out of school resulting  in some funny looks being directed my way, but never mind I was too busy enjoying my book.

The romance in this book wasn’t a slushy kind of movie romance and, me being an old fashioned kind of romantic, I wasn’t too sure about it at the start but it soon grew on me and I became obsessed with trying to guess what was about to happen next.  Unfortunately I wasn’t very successful and many gasps of shock followed!

An entertaining, fun, girly book that I really enjoyed and definitely made me want to read more from Lindsey Kelk.

 

The Undomestic Goddess – Sophie Kinsella

 

I was initially attracted by the title of this book, being a bit of an undomestic goddess myself I felt that I could probably relate to it.

Samantha works hard in London as a high-powered lawyer, she doesn’t get much time to herself so her social and personal lives have suffered.  She desperately wants to get a partnership in the company and it looks like she may get her wish, until she makes a huge mistake that threatens to ruin her career.

Instead of dealing with the mistake she’s made, she ups and leaves, not just the office but London altogether.  She gets on the first train she sees and ends up in the middle of nowhere.  Somehow she finds herself in a big, beautiful house being interviewed for a housekeepers job.  She manages to get hired even though she has no idea how to work the oven, let alone do the rest of the housework!  She doesn’t exactly tell her new employers the truth about herself and what follows are many humorous twists and fun encounters, including meeting a rather yummy gardener called Nathaniel.

I really really enjoyed this book, it had me laughing out loud, feeling sad and also feeling happy, all the things I look for in a great book.  Reading about Samantha’s efforts as a housekeeper were so funny, I was completely unable to put the book down and I read it in one sitting.  The blossoming relationship between Samantha and Nathaniel is fantastic and I couldn’t help but worry what his reaction would be when he found out about all the lies she’s told.

Again I did manage to roughly predict what the outcome would be but it was an enjoyable and fun journey getting there.

I would highly recommend this book, it’s a fun, heart-warming and addictive read!

Breakfast at Darcy’s – Ali McNamara

 

This was another book that caught me with it’s cover and another book that I simply couldn’t put down until I had finished.

Darcy’s Aunt Molly passes away and being the only family member left Darcy inherits her rather large estate.  Darcy had no idea that her Aunt had so much money and even less idea that she also owned a small island off the west coast of Ireland called Tara.  In Aunt Molly’s will it states that to fully inherit Darcy must move to the island and set up a new community of at least fifteen people for a whole year.  Darcy has no idea why her Aunt wants her to do this but as things aren’t going great with her current life she decides to go for it.

There are many obstacles to cross and issues to resolve but Darcy tackles them all head on with the help of a group of people who have joined her on the journey.  This book is packed with love, lies and heartbreak and the secrets that the island holds had me hooked to the very end.

I absolutely loved the idea of this story, to move to an island that belongs to you and pretty much start a new life sounds really magical (hard work but still magical).  I found myself wishing that I could move to Tara and join in with the adventure.  The characters were interesting and likeable especially Darcy and the two main male characters, Conor and Dermot, who for some reason don’t exactly get along.

As always I tried to predict how this book would end and on this occasion my predictions were right, although there were quite a few events and revelations that I really didn’t expect or predict.

This is a heart-warming story of rediscovery and romance that captivated me from start to finish.  I look forward to reading more from Ali McNamara.

 

Nothing But Trouble – Rachel Gibson

 

This is the second book of Rachel Gibson’s that I have read and like the first it was an unputdownable read, it’s one of those books that you just need to know what happens next.

There are two main characters in this story, Chelsea Ross the out of work actress/celebrity PA and Mark Bressler the injured hockey superstar.  Chelsea is hired by Mark’s hockey team management to become his PA but Mark doesn’t think he needs help, he’s in a really dark place after the accident and is very rude to most people that he meets, seeing as she really needs the money though Chelsea sticks with it.

The relationship between Chelsea and Mark is at times very funny and full of chemistry, Chelsea is used to dealing with unreasonable people so she doesn’t let Mark get the better of her, this clearly annoys him even more because he is trying to get rid of Chelsea like he got rid of all the other hired help – by being rude and difficult!

I loved the banter between Chelsea and Mark and I really enjoyed reading about how their feelings changed towards one another throughout the book.  There were some very touching moments and also some very heated, sexual ones.

Another great book from Rachel Gibson – sexy and funny with some romance thrown in too.

 

Lust, Money & Murder Book 1, Lust – Mike Wells

 

 

I got this book as a free download from iBooks after discovering the author on twitter.

The book is about a girl called Elaine who goes through a life changing event, caused by an unscrupulous criminal, when she is just sixteen.  This event triggers a strong need for revenge and the story follows her while she prepares herself to get that revenge.  Nothing’s that simple though – a few twists and turns in the story and she finds herself in another country doing a job that she actually enjoys and working with a guy who she couldn’t help but fall for.  Unfortunately, however, things aren’t as they seem and the end of this first book ends on a huge cliffhanger.

I don’t usually read crime style books but I did enjoy this, there were a few moments that had me laughing out loud, which is always a good thing in my opinion, and the plot kept me guessing throughout.  I really liked Elaine’s character because she seemed so strong and determined even when things got tough.

This is a fast-paced, sexy book and after such a teasing ending I will definitely have to read the next book to find out what happens.

 

Die For Me – Amy Plum

 

This book was amazing, it really didn’t take many hours to finish because it was just so difficult to put down!  So my husband was ignored and the housework was forgotten because I was Kate and I was in Paris with the revenants (being a Kate myself certainly helped with that idea!).

In the story Kate, along with her sister Georgia, has moved to Paris from America to live with her grandparents after her parents were killed in an accident.  Kate is a quiet girl who spends a lot of time alone reading and is still coming to terms with the loss of her parents.  Georgia, however, deals with things in a different way – she is outgoing and has a great social life.  It is Georgia who suggests that Kate should leave the house to do her reading so that she might actually meet people, when Kate takes her advice and meets the handsome Vincent she has no idea how much her life is about to change.

I absolutely loved the revenant/immortal idea, it was so different to other books I’ve read and it made a refreshing change to the vampire and werewolf stories I read a lot of.

The romance between Kate and Vincent was enchanting and exciting, you can really feel their connection as you read through the book.  There is also something that I can’t quite put my finger on about Jules (one of Vincent’s fellow revenants) – he flirts with Kate a lot and I have a hopeful feeling that something more might be revealed in the books to come.  I really liked all the characters in this story, except the bad guys of course, and I look forward to finding out more about them as the trilogy continues.

Speaking of bad guys, the ones in this book are seriously dark and sly.  I particularly enjoyed reading the action scenes in this story, I could picture them so vividly and it’s a good job I can handle a bit of blood and gore as there is plenty of that involved.

This is a fantastic book that had me gripped from the first to the last word, I eagerly await the release of the next book Until I die due to be released on 3rd May 2012.

 

Any Man of Mine – Rachel Gibson

 

Autumn Haven goes on holiday to Vegas, she meets a guy called Sam LeClaire, they have a fabulous time together, drunkenly get married and the next day he leaves her in the hotel room alone and goes back to his normal life.  Sam is a famous hockey star who loves the ladies and the lifestyle, the last thing he wants is to be tied down to a marriage so his lawyer arranges the divorce but then comes the shock that Autumn is pregnant with his baby!.

The book actually starts years later when Autumn is successfully running her own event-planning business and bringing up their child, Conner, by herself.  Sam looks after Conner now and then when it suits him but he has never been very reliable and he never picks Conner up himself – he sends his assistant.  They run into each other again at a wedding she’s in charge of and from there on in everything seems to change between them.

I really enjoyed this book, it’s a sexy and romantic story all rolled into one.  I found the single mum storyline empowering yet sad because it’s clear that Autumn wanted things to be different and she has been incredibly hurt by everything that Sam has put her through.

At the end of the story I felt satisfied that everything was how it should be and all loose ends were tied up so it was another enjoyable read for me.

I’m now looking forward to reading more of Rachel Gibson’s work.

 

Pride & Premiership – Michelle Gayle

 

I have to be honest, I wasn’t sure if I would like this book very much because I’ve tried reading WAG/football type books before and I could never get into them.  This one, however, captured my interest pretty much on the first page.  It has been written as a diary and this made it really interesting to read.  Coupled with the fact that it made me laugh a lot this book had me pleasantly surprised.

It follows a girl called Remy on her quest to become a WAG, her sister Malibu devises a plan to help them both bag a footballer and it seems to be quite successful but certain things happen that has Remy questioning if that is really the life she wants.  I’m not entirely keen on the whole idea of girls chasing footballers just for the WAG status but this books tells it in such a way that it doesn’t sound like such a fabulous lifestyle after all.  It wasn’t all just WAG talk and footballers though, there was a part of the story that dealt with a few family issues that I think many young people could relate to.

The book is aimed at younger readers,14+, but even though I’m 29 I still enjoyed it.  I liked the style of writing, it actually felt like I was reading a teenage diary (reminding me of my own back in those days!).

This is a light, fast-paced book and I would like to read more from Michelle Gayle.

 

You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me – Sarra Manning

 

This book was an impulse buy – I hadn’t gone to buy this book in particular but I loved the pretty cover (I’m easily won over by a nice cover) and when I read the back I knew it was my kind of book.

It follows a girl called Neve, she is currently slimming down for a guy called William who is a friend that she fell for before he moved to LA.  Nothing had ever happened between them but she developed a huge crush on him at university and thought perhaps he might reciprocate her feelings if she lost weight.  He’s been gone for three years now and Neve has dropped quite a few dress sizes but to her it’s not enough, she still feels like a fat girl which just wouldn’t be good enough for the wonderful William.  The weight issue is something I could really relate to, I’ve always had insecurities about my weight and reading this story really did make me look twice at parts of myself that I thought were bigger than they actually are.

One night Neve’s younger sister Celia convinces her to go out to a club because she thinks Neve needs to practice being with a man before William returns from LA.  Neve feels really out of place and uncomfortable at the club but stays anyway and this is where she meets Max who is Celia’s work colleague.  Max is a wonderful character, he’s a sexy, cheeky jack-the-lad and after a few interesting twists in the story he ends up becoming Neve’s practice guy.

I laughed out loud so many times while I was reading this book and I really enjoyed joining Neve on her path of discovery. While I was able to predict the outcome of the story, I wasn’t able to predict the details of how it would happen and there were certainly quite a few surprises in store for me.

This is a fun, sexy story that had me captivated from start to finish, I’ll definitely be reading this one again.