Rinas bookish blog

The Rosewood Chronicles:UnderCover Princess Spotlight.

Hey lovelies! Hope you are all well! Today, I bring you a spotlight for Undercover Princess, Book one of The Rosewood Chronicles. I’m thrilled to be taking part thank you to TheWriteReads and Penguin platform for having me on this tour. I’m currently half way through this gorgeous read and can’t wait to continue with the series. I’m genuinely having the best time, it’s fun and glamorous and just what I needed to read. I hope you will keep reading and I can tell you more about how wonderful this book and series is.

Synopsis

When fairy tale obsessed Lottie Pumpkin starts at the infamous Rosewood Hall, she is not expecting to share a room with the Crown Princess of Maradova, Ellie Wolf. Due to a series of lies and coincidences, 14-year-old Lottie finds herself pretending to be the princess so that Ellie can live a more normal teenage life.

Lottie is thrust into the real world of royalty – a world filled with secrets, intrigue and betrayal. She must do everything she can to help Ellie keep her secret, but with school, the looming Maradovian ball and the mysterious new boy Jamie, she’ll soon discover that reality doesn’t always have the happily ever after you’d expect…

About the author:

Connie Glynn has always loved writing and wrote her first story when she was six, with her mum at a typewriter acting as her scribe. She had a love for performing stories from a young age and attended Guildhall drama classes as a teenager. This passion for stories has never left her, and Connie recently finished a degree in film theory. It was at university that Connie started her hugely successful YouTube channel Noodlerella (named after her favourite food and favourite Disney princess). After five years of publicly documenting her life and hobbies to an audience of 900,000 subscribers on YouTube, Connie closed the book on the Noodlerella project in a bid for more privacy and to pursue her original passions in the performing arts. Connie now writes music and fiction full- time. Follow Connie on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr @ConnieGlynn

Book info:

The Rosewood Chronicles #1
Genre: YA Fantasy
Length: 441 Pages
Publishing: 2nd November 2017
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rosewood-Chronicles-Undercover-Princess/dp/0062847821/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34042261-undercover-princess

I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about Undercover Princess. If you’re looking to have a fun, magical time with your next book I definitely recommend The Rosewood Chronicles ❤

You’ll Be The Death Of Me Review. #TheWriteReads #UltimateBlogTour

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 Captivating, Ya Thriller that kept me engrossed to the very end.

Morning lovelies, I’m super excited to share my review for You’ll be The Death Of My by Karen M. McManus. Thank you to The Write Reads and Penguin for having me on this tour! I’ve only read One Of Us is lying by this author but I loved that one too and she’s done it again! I really must read all the other books!

So what is You’ll Be The Death Of Me about I hear you ask? Well I will give you the blurb and then tell you my thoughts.

Blurb:

From the author of One of Us Is Lying comes a brand new addictive thriller.

Ivy, Mateo and Cal used to be close – best friends back in middle school.

Now all they have in common is a bad day. So for old time’s sake they skip school together – one last time.

But when the trio spot Brian ‘Boney’ Mahoney ditching class too, they follow him – right into a murder scene.

They all have a connection to the victim. And they’re ALL hiding something.

When their day of freedom turns deadly, it’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out . . .
It’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with murder, perfect for fans of One Of Us Is Lying and A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder. This explosive new thriller is impossible to put down.

My thoughts: Sounds amazing right?? The Blurb isn’t lying when it says it’s impossible to put down! I raced through this book and stayed up super late to carry on reading it! Karen has this real affinity for writing teenagers, It almost makes me nostalgic although my school days were a lot less drama filled than in this school thankfully.

Full of plot twists, I never knew where the story was going to take me and I guessed literally nothing. I thought I’d kind of found out the villain and then would change my mind repeatedly. Its honestly so much fun reading this book! It’s exactly what I want in a Ya Thriller. I loved the friendships, the element of suspense. Its all there! If you’re a fan of any of Karen M. McManus’s other books I strongly suggest you pick this one up! You won’t be at all disappointed.

Ultimate Tour – Penguin

You’ll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

Publisher: Penguin

Length: 336 Pages

Publishing: 30th November 2021

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Youll-Be-Death-Karen-McManus/dp/0593175867

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56200366-you-ll-be-the-death-of-me

Blurb

From the author of One of Us Is Lying comes a brand new addictive thriller.

Ivy, Mateo and Cal used to be close – best friends back in middle school.

Now all they have in common is a bad day. So for old time’s sake they skip school together – one last time.

But when the trio spot Brian ‘Boney’ Mahoney ditching class too, they follow him – right into a murder scene.

They all have a connection to the victim. And they’re ALL hiding something.

When their day of freedom turns deadly, it’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out . . .

It’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with murder, perfect for fans of One Of Us Is Lying and A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder. This explosive new thriller is impossible to put down.

About the Author

Karen M. McManus is the #1 New York Times and international bestselling author of young adult thriller/mystery novels, including One of Us Is Lying, One of Us Is Next, Two Can Keep a Secret, and The Cousins. You’ll Be the Death of Me will be her next novel, publishing December 2021. Her work has been translated into more than 40 languages worldwide. Karen lives in Massachusetts and holds a master’s degree in Journalism from Northeastern University, which she mostly uses to draft fake news stories for her novels. For more information, visit www.karenmcmanus.com or @writerkmc on Twitter and Instagram.

https://www.amazon.com/Youll-Be-Death-Karen-McManus/dp/0593175867

Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone. #UltimateBlogTour

Todays spotlight is Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone. Thank you to @TheWriteReads and @Scribner for my gifted e-arc.

With the startling twists of Gone Girl and the haunting essence of Room, Mirrorland is the story of twin sisters, The man they both love, and the dark childhood they leave behind.

Blurb:

Cat lives in Los Angeles, about as far away as she can get from her estranged twin sister El and No. 36 Westeryk Road, the imposing gothic house in Edinburgh where they grew up. As girls, they invented Mirrorland, a dark, imaginary place under the pantry stairs full of pirates, witches, and clowns. These days Cat rarely thinks about their childhood home, or the fact that El now lives there with her husband Ross.

But when El mysteriously disappears after going out on her sailboat, Cat is forced to return to the grand old house, which has scarcely changed in twenty years. No. 36 Westeryk Road is still full of shadowy, hidden corners, and at every turn Cat finds herself stumbling on long-held secrets and terrifying ghosts from the past. Because someone—El?—has left Cat clues all over the house: a treasure hunt that leads right back to Mirrorland, where she knows the truth lies crouched and waiting…

A sharply crafted mystery about love and betrayal, redemption and revenge, Mirrorland is a propulsive, page-turning debut about the power of imagination and the price of freedom. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, Ruth Ware, and Daphne du Maurier.

About The Author.

Carole Johnstone is an award-winning writer from Scotland, whose short stories have been published all over the world. Mirrorland, a psychological suspense with a gothic twist, is her debut novel.

Having grown up in Lanarkshire, she now lives in the beautiful Argyll & Bute, and is currently working on her second novel: a very unusual murder-mystery, set in the equally beautiful Outer Hebrides.

Don’t Turn Around Jessica Barry

Its my pleasure to be the penultimate stop on the the Road Trip for Don’t Turn Around by Jessica Barry. Please check out @OnTheShelfBookBlog who hosted before me as well @LittleBookProblem who hosted chapter one. To make this even more exciting @MyChesnutReadingTree will be holding a giveaway where you can win a copy of this wonderful book, So please make sure you check it out.

Firstly I will share chapter 16 of Don’t Turn Around and then tell you my thoughts on this book!

NINE MONTHS EARLIER

Cait was checking the bottles in the speedrail, making sure she had enough cheap tequila to make it through happy hour. It was something the barback was supposed to do, same as he was supposed to slice the lemons and limes and restock the ice well, but Jimmy had called in sick that day, so she was stuck doing it herself. It didn’t matter much— it was a Tuesday after spring break, and all the college kids were hiding out nursing their hangovers, which meant she was going to spend her shift watching the TVs mounted behind the bar and trying to stay awake until close. She’d be lucky to walk out with twenty dollars in tips, but it was part of the deal. You had to take the crappy shifts along with the good ones. Saturday, the UT students would come flooding in, eager to show off their tans and swap stories about doing shots off a stranger’s stomach in Cancún, and she’d walk out with three hundred dollars, easy. So she could suck up a slow Tuesday.

It was March Madness, which meant nothing but college basketball on the TVs, something Cait couldn’t care less about, but at least it made the time pass. She watched De’Andre Hunter sink a three- pointer as she wiped down the bar top for the hundredth time and thought about checking her phone.

It had been a week since the article came out, and while the full force of the firestorm had passed, a few embers were still blowing around. Miraculously, no one had pegged her to it; she was still officially “Anonymous.” It was a relief. They were welcome to write the occasional shitty line about her on 4chan, so long as no one came knocking on her door.

She checked the back bar, saw they were low on tequila, jotted it down on the stock notepad. JB was up in his office somewhere, probably smoking weed and watching porn, the manager’s two great passions in life. He’d be able to see her on the security cameras, but she knew he never watched them. He wasn’t the most effective manager she’d ever had, but he was the easiest. Stay out of his hair and he’d stay out of yours: that was pretty much the motto of the place.

Anyway, she’d been there for, what, two years now? She could be running the place if she wanted— the owner had said as much the last time he was in— but she knew that moving up to management would mean accepting this as her actual job, rather than a way to make easy cash while she waited for her real life as a writer to begin.

And she was close to it now, so close. Hers was the most clicked- on article ever published by the website. Her editor had said that she’d made their name, though she had yet to see any of the cash. It had been a flat- fee rate, no share of the ad revenue, so while the website was raking it in, she was stuck with her two hundred bucks. She’d thought maybe she’d be able to convert it into more commissions, but so far, the editor hadn’t liked any of her pitches. “Too worthy,” she’d responded to Cait’s pitch about sex trafficking across the border. “Do you have anything sexier?” Cait had feelers out with a dozen other editors, had even dropped a couple of not- so- subtle hints that she was the woman behind the Jake Forsythe piece, but so far she hadn’t had any luck.

Still, she had to be close. Something she’d written had gone viral— surely that couldn’t just be down to dumb luck. No, she didn’t want JB’s job. She was going to be a writer, a real one. One who got bylines and paychecks.

She felt a blast of warm air cut through the air- conditioning and looked up to see a couple of guys walk through the door. She tossed the rag under the bar and started pulling a couple drafts of Bud.

“Hey, Caity.” Ken took up his usual stool at the bar, Nick sliding in next to him. “How’re you doing this fine evening?”

“Bored out of my skull,” she said, placing the cold beers in front of them. “How about you?”

“Ah, you know,” Ken said, taking a long pull from his drink. “Same shit, different day.”

“I hear you. You want a chaser to go with that? Two for one on whiskey shots. Thirsty Tuesday.”

“Why the hell not.”

Cait poured out two shots of Jim Beam, and the two men sank them and placed the empty glasses upside down on the bar. She tossed them in the dishwasher and wiped the bar top clean again.

“Where’s the big man?” Ken asked. He meant JB.

“Up in his office, I think.”

“Working hard or hardly working.”

“You’re telling me.”

It went on like this for a while, Ken tossing patter across the bar and her tossing it back while Nick sat nursing his beer and staring silently at the screen above her head. Nick wasn’t much of a talker, and she’d known him long enough not to try to force it. That was her job, more than pouring drinks. She was there to either talk or not talk, and to read her customers well enough to know which one they wanted at any given moment.

Ken always wanted to talk. He’d been coming in most weeks for the past year, sitting in the same spot and drinking Bud drafts with whiskey chasers until his eyes went a little hazy, at which point he’d climb down from his stool, slap a ten- spot on the counter as a tip, and make his way back to wherever it was he came from. He talked a lot of hot air, Ken, but she liked him. He kept her occupied, especially on the slow shifts.

“Hey, you heard about this whole thing with Jake Forsythe?”

She arranged her features in what she hoped was bland disinterest. “No. What’s that?”

He shook his head. “You know he’s a musician, right? I saw him down on Fourth Street a few months back, pretty good, too, though the guy needs a haircut and he was wearing his jeans a little too tight.” He flicked a glance at Nick. “Not that I was looking at his ass or anything. Anyway, this chick goes home with him— completely willingly, by the way, she even says so herself— and they have sex— again, completely willingly— and the next thing he knows, she writes some article claiming she’s been violated or something.” He threw his hands up in the air. “Call me crazy, but I just don’t think that’s right. I mean, the poor guy’s just trying to get laid, and this girl uses him to get attention for herself.”

Cait tried to swallow her pounding heart. “Maybe she didn’t like what happened when they were having sex. Maybe it wasn’t a good experience for her.”

Ken pulled a face. “If I complained every time I didn’t have a ‘good experience’ ”— he put air quotes around the words— “I wouldn’t have time to go to work or brush my teeth in the morning. Jesus Christ, Caity, how often does anyone have a good experience in this world?”

“That’s a pretty cynical view.”

“Hey, it is what it is, and I’m not complaining. These two people wanted to have sex with each other, so they had sex. That should have been the end of it. Instead, just because this girl didn’t see stars during it, or wasn’t showered with roses afterward, she goes off and writes some article tearing him a new asshole and puts it out there so the whole world can read it.” He shook his head. “If a man did that to a woman, there’d be hell to pay.”

“Yeah, well, if a woman tried to choke a man during sex, it probably wouldn’t have been as traumatic. He had fifty pounds on this woman. He could have killed her.”

He looked at her sharply. “I thought you said you hadn’t heard about it.”

She turned her attention back to wiping down the bar, but she could still feel him staring at her. “I remembered something about it when you were talking.”

“How do you know he had fifty pounds on her? They don’t know who the girl is who wrote the article. She did it anonymously, which is even worse in my opinion. Cowardly.”

“I was speaking generally,” she blustered. She felt a trickle of sweat run down the small of her back. “Usually, men weigh more than women, and they’re stronger. I’ve seen a picture of Jake, and he’s not exactly a small guy.”

“Yeah, fair enough.” Ken’s eyes trailed up to the screen above her head. “Still think it was bullshit, though. Political correctness gone crazy.”

“I’m going to go on break. You want another before I go?”

He waved her away. “Nah, it’s fine. You go ahead. Sorry for getting heated. It’s just things like that just really boil my piss.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, forcing a smile. “I’ll be back in twenty.”

She ducked into the break room, a cigarette already in her mouth. She lit it and took a long drag. Her pulse was still racing, and the nicotine made her feel woozy and a little nauseated.

That was close. Too close.NINE MONTHS EARLIER

Cait was checking the bottles in the speedrail, making sure she had enough cheap tequila to make it through happy hour. It was something the barback was supposed to do, same as he was supposed to slice the lemons and limes and restock the ice well, but Jimmy had called in sick that day, so she was stuck doing it herself. It didn’t matter much— it was a Tuesday after spring break, and all the college kids were hiding out nursing their hangovers, which meant she was going to spend her shift watching the TVs mounted behind the bar and trying to stay awake until close. She’d be lucky to walk out with twenty dollars in tips, but it was part of the deal. You had to take the crappy shifts along with the good ones. Saturday, the UT students would come flooding in, eager to show off their tans and swap stories about doing shots off a stranger’s stomach in Cancún, and she’d walk out with three hundred dollars, easy. So she could suck up a slow Tuesday.

It was March Madness, which meant nothing but college basketball on the TVs, something Cait couldn’t care less about, but at least it made the time pass. She watched De’Andre Hunter sink a three- pointer as she wiped down the bar top for the hundredth time and thought about checking her phone.

It had been a week since the article came out, and while the full force of the firestorm had passed, a few embers were still blowing around. Miraculously, no one had pegged her to it; she was still officially “Anonymous.” It was a relief. They were welcome to write the occasional shitty line about her on 4chan, so long as no one came knocking on her door.

She checked the back bar, saw they were low on tequila, jotted it down on the stock notepad. JB was up in his office somewhere, probably smoking weed and watching porn, the manager’s two great passions in life. He’d be able to see her on the security cameras, but she knew he never watched them. He wasn’t the most effective manager she’d ever had, but he was the easiest. Stay out of his hair and he’d stay out of yours: that was pretty much the motto of the place.

Anyway, she’d been there for, what, two years now? She could be running the place if she wanted— the owner had said as much the last time he was in— but she knew that moving up to management would mean accepting this as her actual job, rather than a way to make easy cash while she waited for her real life as a writer to begin.

And she was close to it now, so close. Hers was the most clicked- on article ever published by the website. Her editor had said that she’d made their name, though she had yet to see any of the cash. It had been a flat- fee rate, no share of the ad revenue, so while the website was raking it in, she was stuck with her two hundred bucks. She’d thought maybe she’d be able to convert it into more commissions, but so far, the editor hadn’t liked any of her pitches. “Too worthy,” she’d responded to Cait’s pitch about sex trafficking across the border. “Do you have anything sexier?” Cait had feelers out with a dozen other editors, had even dropped a couple of not- so- subtle hints that she was the woman behind the Jake Forsythe piece, but so far she hadn’t had any luck.

Still, she had to be close. Something she’d written had gone viral— surely that couldn’t just be down to dumb luck. No, she didn’t want JB’s job. She was going to be a writer, a real one. One who got bylines and paychecks.

She felt a blast of warm air cut through the air- conditioning and looked up to see a couple of guys walk through the door. She tossed the rag under the bar and started pulling a couple drafts of Bud.

“Hey, Caity.” Ken took up his usual stool at the bar, Nick sliding in next to him. “How’re you doing this fine evening?”

“Bored out of my skull,” she said, placing the cold beers in front of them. “How about you?”

“Ah, you know,” Ken said, taking a long pull from his drink. “Same shit, different day.”

“I hear you. You want a chaser to go with that? Two for one on whiskey shots. Thirsty Tuesday.”

“Why the hell not.”

Cait poured out two shots of Jim Beam, and the two men sank them and placed the empty glasses upside down on the bar. She tossed them in the dishwasher and wiped the bar top clean again.

“Where’s the big man?” Ken asked. He meant JB.

“Up in his office, I think.”

“Working hard or hardly working.”

“You’re telling me.”

It went on like this for a while, Ken tossing patter across the bar and her tossing it back while Nick sat nursing his beer and staring silently at the screen above her head. Nick wasn’t much of a talker, and she’d known him long enough not to try to force it. That was her job, more than pouring drinks. She was there to either talk or not talk, and to read her customers well enough to know which one they wanted at any given moment.

Ken always wanted to talk. He’d been coming in most weeks for the past year, sitting in the same spot and drinking Bud drafts with whiskey chasers until his eyes went a little hazy, at which point he’d climb down from his stool, slap a ten- spot on the counter as a tip, and make his way back to wherever it was he came from. He talked a lot of hot air, Ken, but she liked him. He kept her occupied, especially on the slow shifts.

“Hey, you heard about this whole thing with Jake Forsythe?”

She arranged her features in what she hoped was bland disinterest. “No. What’s that?”

He shook his head. “You know he’s a musician, right? I saw him down on Fourth Street a few months back, pretty good, too, though the guy needs a haircut and he was wearing his jeans a little too tight.” He flicked a glance at Nick. “Not that I was looking at his ass or anything. Anyway, this chick goes home with him— completely willingly, by the way, she even says so herself— and they have sex— again, completely willingly— and the next thing he knows, she writes some article claiming she’s been violated or something.” He threw his hands up in the air. “Call me crazy, but I just don’t think that’s right. I mean, the poor guy’s just trying to get laid, and this girl uses him to get attention for herself.”

Cait tried to swallow her pounding heart. “Maybe she didn’t like what happened when they were having sex. Maybe it wasn’t a good experience for her.”

Ken pulled a face. “If I complained every time I didn’t have a ‘good experience’ ”— he put air quotes around the words— “I wouldn’t have time to go to work or brush my teeth in the morning. Jesus Christ, Caity, how often does anyone have a good experience in this world?”

“That’s a pretty cynical view.”

“Hey, it is what it is, and I’m not complaining. These two people wanted to have sex with each other, so they had sex. That should have been the end of it. Instead, just because this girl didn’t see stars during it, or wasn’t showered with roses afterward, she goes off and writes some article tearing him a new asshole and puts it out there so the whole world can read it.” He shook his head. “If a man did that to a woman, there’d be hell to pay.”

“Yeah, well, if a woman tried to choke a man during sex, it probably wouldn’t have been as traumatic. He had fifty pounds on this woman. He could have killed her.”

He looked at her sharply. “I thought you said you hadn’t heard about it.”

She turned her attention back to wiping down the bar, but she could still feel him staring at her. “I remembered something about it when you were talking.”

“How do you know he had fifty pounds on her? They don’t know who the girl is who wrote the article. She did it anonymously, which is even worse in my opinion. Cowardly.”

“I was speaking generally,” she blustered. She felt a trickle of sweat run down the small of her back. “Usually, men weigh more than women, and they’re stronger. I’ve seen a picture of Jake, and he’s not exactly a small guy.”

“Yeah, fair enough.” Ken’s eyes trailed up to the screen above her head. “Still think it was bullshit, though. Political correctness gone crazy.”

“I’m going to go on break. You want another before I go?”

He waved her away. “Nah, it’s fine. You go ahead. Sorry for getting heated. It’s just things like that just really boil my piss.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, forcing a smile. “I’ll be back in twenty.”

She ducked into the break room, a cigarette already in her mouth. She lit it and took a long drag. Her pulse was still racing, and the nicotine made her feel woozy and a little nauseated.

That was close. Too close.

My thoughts…

Don’t Turn Around is part thriller, part psychological suspense and I feel like Jessica Barry has it completely nailed.

Two Strangers Cait and Rebecca are driving across America to New Mexico, Cait’s job is to transport women to safety. She has her own secrets, she understands from personal experience what it’s like to feel unsafe so she takes her job very seriously.
She knows little about Rebecca, a high flying Politician’s Wife who is fighting battles most women would struggle to come to terms with but what if Rebecca’s secrets put them both in danger?

I always feel like its best to go into thrillers blind and not know much about the plot, that’s how I prefer to read this genre anyway, but I really enjoyed this, although for me it was more psychological suspense with an explosive second half.
I feel like this is a very timely book with the conversations happening currently about women and their rights and although I didn’t particularly warm to Cait Or Rebecca immediately I absolutely changed my mind on both of them in the latter half of the book.
Jessica Barry writes with emotion and takes on subjects that I haven’t seen written in this genre so it feels quite fresh, which I feel is always appreciated if you read thrillers regularly. I know I’m not alone when I say they can be somewhat predictable and this is definitely not the case here.
This is definitely more action packed in the second half of the book, with the first being more slow burning, but although I think it could of moved at a quicker pace in the beginning I actually really liked the pacing overall.
I never saw the twists coming and it did keep me on the edge of my seat towards the end. I became very invested in Cait and Rebecca’s story towards the end and felt the ending was very emotive.
Overall I thought this was a great book! There were parts where I wasn’t quite sure where it was going at the beginning but it really did pay off! I loved that its ultimately about women and how strong we actually really are. Its also about not judging other people’s circumstances until we know the truth. If you like psychological suspense I would definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to @DeadGoodbooks for sending me a #Gifted Copy of #DontTurnAround

#TheEndOfHer Shari Lapena #review

Yessss Shari! If I could high five you I would because this is my favourite of your books!
I’m a little bit over thrillers recently but I really really liked this one! I’m pleasantly surprised because I’ve sometimes found Shari Lapena’s other books a little bit predictable. This one is not. At All.

Stephanie and Patrick, happily married but sleep deprived as parents of newborn twins Stephanie believes she has it all, great family, supportive husband, financially stable, She just needs to sleep and everything will work out. Or that is until Erica shows up…
Erica has some damaging accusations to make about Patrick’s first wife and how she died.
Patrick claims it was a tragic accident, The coroner claims it was a tragic accident. Erica claims its murder.

This book is an absolute page turner! I really enjoyed trying to work out who was telling the truth. The cat and mouse aspect builds complete suspense. Erica seems like this deranged,obsessive woman who’s just out to get Patrick and will ruin his life in any way possible whereas Patrick seems like this very charming, loyal husband who loved his first wife and has never really got over her death.
But is all as it seems?
There’s one thing I love about thrillers and thats a twist which I don’t see coming and this one had me! I honestly couldn’t decide who was telling the truth right up until the latter part of the book and my mind changed throughout quite a lot.
It did feel slightly repetitive in parts but for me I was that hooked it wasn’t hugely noticeable so didn’t really take much away from the story.
I remember reading this whilst cooking dinner I found it that compelling. Its a hard to put down, quite disturbing thriller that I will be recommending to anybody who has enjoyed Shari’s other books!

Star Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genre: Thriller

Published by : Bantam Press

Release date: Available to Buy now.

June reading wrap up!

Howdy Book friends! Wow it feels like forever and admittedly it has been awhile!

I love writing, I Love how welcoming the book blogger community is but sometimes the reality is life gets in the way. I’ve been so busy with work and parenting I feel like I haven’t had a minute to go to the toilet in peace let alone blog!

Rest assured I’m back and more committed to my Blog than ever! So without further ado here’s my reading wrap up for June!

The Cactus by Sarah Haywood:⭐⭐/5

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstein: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This Green And Pleasant Land by Ayisha Malik: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

On The Come Up by Angie Thomas: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

So there we have it. I feel like June was a good reading month with plenty of 5-star reads!

I hope you have a great Reading month in July 😍🤞💕

April Wrap Up!

Hey guys I can’t believe its May already! I mean the year is just flying by! May is my birthday month and I’m super excited to spend time with family and friends and hopefully get some books!

I read 11 books this month 7 physical copies and 4 on my kindle.

Here’s my ratings for the books I read!

Educated by Tara Westover: I love this book! Humbling and inspiring! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

BirdBox by Josh Malerman: ⭐⭐⭐.5 A creepy tense thriller I really enjoyed the twists and turns in this one!

Looking For Alaska by John Green: ⭐⭐ I really didn’t enjoy this! I thought the characters were extremely unlikeable! I feel like I really love some of John Green’s books but loathe others!

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak: ⭐⭐⭐ I enjoyed this book but my unpopular opinion is that its by no means the best historical fiction I’ve read! I just dont get the hype with it to be honest!

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ written in verse this is powerful and punchy! I think every teenage girl should read this!

A House For Happy Mothers by Amulya Malladi ⭐⭐⭐⭐ a story exploring surrogacy in India this was a heartbreaking Read.

The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo ⭐⭐⭐⭐ this was Reese Witherspoon’s April pick and I enjoyed every second of it! Full of magical realism this is one of my favorites of April.

The Beekeeper Of Aleppo book review!

#Bookblog #bookreview #thebeekeeperofAleppo

The book: The Beekeeper Of Aleppo

Published: 2nd of May by Zaffre Books.

Author:Christy Lefteri

Star rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 5

Synopsis: In the midst of war,he found love. In the midst of darkness, he found courage. In the midst of tragedy, he found hope.

My review: I’m probably using the wrong phrase when I say I enjoy these books but this book is beyond beautiful.

The story follows the Journey of Nuri, a beekeeper and his Wife Afra as they travel across Turkey and Greece to The UK where they are seeking asylum due to the unrest and war that’s ravaging their country Syria.

Told from Nuri’s perspective the plot is split into before they left Syria when himself and his Cousin ran a Beekeeping business and His Families Journey to the UK after the unrest had started and the unimaginable horrors they face along the way.

The way this book is written from the Description of Syria and the affects of war on an innocent family and the Journey they must make to safety is stunning. I would maybe have liked to hear Afra’s perspective but Nuri does such a great job it really doesn’t take anything away from the book.

This to me is crucial reading! It really puts things into perspective and makes you take stock of how fortunate we are! Most of us if not all are aware of the unrest and destruction that happens in Syria and other parts of the world and how refugees are desperate to escape to a place of safety. Reading this book really highlights that journey and the aftermath of that often perilous, horrifying process!
Please if you haven’t read this I definitely recommend it! It one of those books that will stay with me for a long time.

Book review! Bird box!

#Bookblog #bookreview #birdbox

The book : BirdBox

Published: out now!

Author: Josh Malerman

Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5 out of five.

Synopsis: Most people dismissed the reports on the news.But they became too frequent; they became too real.And soon it was happening to people we knew. Then the Internet died.The televisions and radios went silent.The phones stopped ringing.

And we couldn’t look outside anymore.

My review:

Ok first things first I need to confess I’m a wimp when it comes to reading or watching anything creepy! I scare easily! And I read this peeping through my fingers for the majority of it! 😂 I haven’t watched the movie yet as I like to read the book first and I really enjoyed it!

I literally couldn’t stop turning the pages even when I got slightly freaked out the plot is so compelling I had to read more.

I didn’t find the plot predictable which is a massive plus point for me! This has so many twists and turns it’s hard to guess what’s going to happen next and I love that in a book.

I really enjoyed getting to know the characters in this book and I think Malorie’s bravery and determination shine through as she narrates the story. I love that she questions her parenting skills even though she’s in an impossible situation.

Ultimately I love the element of friendship and the fear of the unknown. I can’t wait to watch the movie now!

Has anybody read this book? Or watched the movie? I’d love to know what you think if you have! 😊

I finally decided to write a blog!

Hi guys I’m Rina and yep you guessed it I finally decided to take the plunge and start a blog! eek I’m so excited! I’m kinda nervous though at the same time I mean there’s so many decent blogs out there but hey ho! I can talk for England and I have nothing to lose life is for living right!

I love reading obviously it’s one of my favourite things to do, but my friends and family are mainly Non readers (how strange!) So don’t hold the enthusiasm for books and reading that I do.

I’m forever talking about books over on my Instagram page, and Twitter, and goodreads you get the idea I’m sure!? So this seemed a natural step for me to take!

I love meeting new people and talking about all things bookish so please come and say hi!

If you made it this far I salute you thank you for reading my very first blog post! 😊