The Number One Rule For Girls - Rachel McIntyre

The Number One Rule For Girls tells the story of Daisy. Daisy has a great group of friends and the perfect boyfriend. Except her perfect life can’t last forever and her boyfriend moves to Spain and finds a new girlfriend. Daisy decides that she needs a fresh start so enrols in the local college instead of following her friends to sixth form. It’s at college she meets on the service perfect boyfriend, Toby who makes her question all the rules she’s ever known.

I found Daisy likeable overall. She is a bit of a twonk at times particularly when it comes to Toby. Toby in the surface seems to be the perfect boyfriend except in reality he is extremely erratic and puts Daisy's life in danger. I found myself constantly wanting to go and shake Daisy to make her see sense about Toby which is exactly what the book wants you to do. I really liked the very little bits of Matt that we see in the book too, I would've loved to have read more about him.

I’ve never read one of Rachel McIntyre’s books before but I shall certainly be checking her other book out. I absolutely loved her writing style. Throughout the book it is always focussing on Daisy’s thoughts which I loved. I think everyone can relate to her as some of the things she thinks are so unfiltered and I liked that. I also thought that the story wasn’t just a typical romance story it had a strong message weaved in. 

I read The Number One Rule For Girls insanely fast as I just enjoyed reading it. It's not my favourite book but it was a fantastic read regardless. I loved the ending and I would love to read another book about Daisy. For the £2.99 kindle price this book is certainly worth reading. 

Synopsis – 

Daisy knows a thing or two about love and romance. She’s surrounded by it – in fact, there’s no escape! Not only are her parents childhood sweethearts turned soulmates, they also run the very successful wedding agency 'Something Borrowed', helping couples to tie the knot in whatever frilly, quirky, tasteful, outrageous way they choose. So it's no surprise that Daisy has a pretty clear vision of how her life with boyfriend Matt is going to pan out.

There’s one major flaw in this plan – Matt and Daisy have split up! Determined not to brood, Daisy sets out to re-invent her life and her dreams. And that’s when Toby enters the scene, who appears to be perfect, but is turning all the Rules upside down...

An irresistible exploration of post break-up life featuring Rachel McIntyre's trademark wit and observation.

When Everything Feels Like The Movies - Raziel Reid

When Everything Feels Like The Movies tells the story of Jude aka Judy. He pretends his life is like a movie to get through the traumas of his day to day life but unfortunately his life is difficult.

Truthfully I've never read a LGBT book before but I loved the blurb so much that I knew I just had to give it a read. I didn't gel with the characters at all. Although some of the things the main character Jude goes through are truly horrendous I just didn't like him enough to care. He's a well written character I just unfortunately found it difficult to connect with him which made it a real effort at times to pick up my kindle and read more. 

I so badly wanted to like this book. I've heard so many people rave about it lately but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. A lot of discussions are happening as of late about this book which can only be a good thing with the topics that it is based around. If you read the blurb and think it sounds like your kind of book you should give it a read, I like this book is like marmite, you'll either absolutely love it or won't be fond. However, the themes around the book are simply wonderful and it's fantastic to have a book that highlights the struggles LGBT individuals have on a daily basis. 

Synopsis -

School is just like a film set: there's The Crew, who make things happen, The Extras who fill the empty desks, and The Movie Stars, whom everyone wants tagged in their Facebook photos. But Jude doesn't fit in. He's not part of The Crew because he isn't about to do anything unless it's court-appointed; he's not an Extra because nothing about him is anonymous; and he's not a Movie Star because even though everyone know his name like an A-lister, he isn't invited to the cool parties. As the director calls action, Jude is the flamer that lights the set on fire.

Before everything turns to ashes from the resulting inferno, Jude drags his best friend Angela off the casting couch and into enough melodrama to incite the paparazzi, all while trying to fend off the haters and win the heart of his favourite co-star Luke Morris. It's a total train wreck!

But train wrecks always make the front page. 

Match Me If You Can - Michele Gorman

Match Me If You Can follows the individual stories of best friends Catherine, Rachel and Sarah. All of them are having no luck in their love lives, Catherine's ex husband (and business co owner) is getting married to an extremely young woman, Rachel's office romance ended badly and Sarah hasn't had a date in years. Catherine manages to persuade them to join her dating site where you have to join with an ex partner. Can all three of them finally get their happily ever afters?   

Usually I hate books that follow different narratives but I felt that it worked very well in Match Me If You Can. All three of the characters were instantly likeable and you enjoyed reading more about all of them. I usually find you're drawn to a character more and although I preferred Rachel's chapters I still eagerly wanted to find out what happened to Catherine and Sarah too. 

Personally I thought Match Me If You Can was ever so slightly too long. At times I did find myself skim reading a few of the chapters. However, overall it was a enjoyable read and I did thoroughly enjoy the authors writing style. 

I had high hopes for this book as it the story really appealed to me when I read about it. The idea of having to join a dating site where your ex fills in a questionnaire about when you were dating is a great premise for a book. I can see some people absolutely loving this book but for me, I enjoyed reading it but it unfortunately wasn't the best book I've read. 

Synopsis - 

Three friends upcycle their exes through London’s most popular boyfriend recycling website, but haven’t bargained on the consequences of the exchanges they make.

Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Lindsey Kelk.

Meet best friends Catherine, Rachel and Sarah. Yet to find Mr Right, they’ve been settling for Mr Right Now. But when Catherine, London’s finest matchmaker, gets the girls to join her dating site where they can recycle their ex-boyfriends, they soon realise that anything could happen.

Rachel's office romance James was a big fat mistake and she's more than happy to upcycle him… Or is she? Homebody Sarah hasn't had a date in years but when her transformation finds men falling at her newly-pedicured feet, will her popularity be worth the sacrifices she’s making? And Catherine falls asleep more often on her desk than on a man, so when she builds the perfect partner who ticks all her boxes, surely it's a recipe for love . . . not disaster?

There’s someone for everyone, right? These best friends are about to find out for themselves . .

Carrie's Book Club

It seems a little pointless to be writing this blog post as its based on a subscription box that is now sold out for this particular box and February’s box will be arriving shortly but I’m in the mood to write something so here goes!

Jumping on the subscription box hype is successful YouTuber, author and West End star, Carrie Hope Fletcher creating her very own book club called Carrie’s Book Club. As the name suggests Carrie’s Book Club is a book club except it doesn’t actually include a book just items that you could use whilst you’re reading a book. The ideas in the box each month are loosely themed around a book meaning that if you haven’t read the book or you already the book you can enjoy the items regardless.

I was very kindly gifted a 3 month subscription to Carrie’s Book Club as a Christmas present with the first box that I received being January 2016’s. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this box was themed around my favourite book series, Harry Potter.

January’s box contained a light up candle, a bath bomb, three butterscotch sweets, a lollipop, a bookmark and a letter from Carrie. According to the letter that was included, this box also contained a blackcurrant tea but I didn’t seem to have that in my box, but I don’t like blackcurrant flavoured things so no complaints from me! 

At £16 + postage for a one off box or £48.00 + postage for a three month subscription I personally think that Carrie’s Book Club is a little overpriced. I was incredibly surprised when I opened the box then it didn’t actually contain a book or at the very least a coupon to download an eBook, however it does clearly state on the website that it doesn’t contain a books it was completely my mistake for assuming it would have a book. I appreciate that today people read books in different ways so it would be quite difficult to do a book club containing a format that everyone who subscribes want but I feel that without a book it makes the box quite expensive for what you get. 

Carrie’s Book Club has existed for over a year now so it obviously must be a successful subscription box. Although I think I would’ve been disappointed if I had paid for the subscription myself, I did thoroughly enjoy using the items that were including in the box. It great to get mystery items through the post that you can enjoy using as soon as they arrive. I also like the fact that it’s themed around a book, hopefully younger subscribers may be more enticed to pick up the book and read it which can only be a good thing. Fans of Carrie Hope Fletcher will love this book, however if you want to get a book and feel like you’ve got value for money this certainly isn’t the subscription box for you.

Star Struck - Jenny McLachlan

Star Struck is book number four in The Ladybirds book series. I’ve only read one of the other books in the series, Sunkissed and I absolutely loved it so I had high expectations for this one. As discovered in Sunkissed, Pearl is certainly the rebellious member of the group. Despite this she has a real passion for theatre and is always cast at the lead. That is until new girl Hoshi appears on the scene and changes everything.

Personally I didn't enjoy Star Struck half as much as Sunkissed but it's probably wrong to compare the two. The storyline just wasn't as much to my liking. However the themes that this book touches on are absolutely fantastic. Without spoiling the book, Pearl goes through some serious issues and for a book to highlight them so wonderfully is great. If anyone reading is going through a similar thing I think the author has written Pearl into the perfect role model. Ok, perhaps she's a little rough round the edges but Pearl deals with her problems fantastically.

Pearl is an interesting character, on the surface she is a bit of a rebel but this book highlights perhaps maybe why she appears to be like that on the outside. It was fascinating to read about the different layers of Pearl and see her open up as a person. I particular enjoyed how she was just green with envy at the beginning at Hoshi’s talent and then mellowed towards the end. I didn’t expect to like Hoshi. She is extremely different to characters I usually read in books but she really made the book. The relationship between them both and reading how they interacted together was delightful.

Star Struck isn't my favourite book in the series so far but I still adore the authors writing style and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. If you loved the other book in the series, particularly Sunkissed where we saw a lot of Pearl, you will love reading Star Struck.

Star Struck is released March 10^th so be sure to pick up a copy!

Synopsis –

Following on from Flirty Dancing, Love Bomb and Sunkissed, Jenny McLachlan's next book is perfect for fans of Geek Girl and Louise Rennison.

In a huge fantastic final hurrah to our lovable heroines - Bea, Betty, Kat and Pearl - Jenny McLachlan's latest book tells Pearl's story. Pearl is the 'bad girl' of the group - she drinks, she smokes, she swears - and she's mean to Bea and Betty. But she did fly halfway round the world to rescue Kat in Sunkissed. If there's one thing Pearl knows deep down, it is how to be a friend. And now, more than ever, she could really use a friend.

There will be laughter, there will be tears and there will definitely be kissing. Most importantly, Pearl will be keeping it fierce!

Click here to preorder Star Struck by Jenny McLachlan from Waterstones. 

Bookishly Ever After - Isabel Bandeira

Ever since I first heard about Bookishly Ever After I instantly added it on to my must read book pile. A book about a girl was is obsessed with books and wouldn't mind her real life being like the stories she's read it books? I'm pretty sure any avid reader can relate to this already! 

Bookishly Ever After is about Phoebe. Phoebe, like many readers of this book, love reading and always tries to read the latest releases. If she’s not reading you’ll find her knitting or practicing her archery skills. Then thanks to a little encouragement from her friend she starts noticing that her friend Dev is cute and tries to impress him using advice from her favourite novels.

I loved Phoebe. I thought she was a completely relatable character. From when she has her head in a book at school blissfully unaware of people around her to when she's queuing in full cosplay to meet her favourite author, it's all relatable. I particularly like the fact that she embraces her quirkiness and doesn’t have an issue with it, like many characters in young adult books do.  I found her character a consistently enjoyable read as she fumbles though trying to impress Dev. I thought her love interest, Dev, was a great read too. He is a theatre and band geek who also is pretty good at survival skills – basically he was just a perfect match for Phoebe.

Perhaps at times the storyline got a little repetitive. Phoebe tries to channel her favourite book characters on to herself, her and Dev flirt but nothing ever happens. Maybe some of the book could've been cut slightly? I know I may have somewhat skim read a few of the chapters. However, I loved reading about Phoebe when she went to camp, from then on in the book I truly could not put it down! There was some just downright adorable moments between Phoebe and Dev at summer camp which for me completely made the book.

Interestingly Bookishly Ever After slots in mini chapters of Phoebe's favourite book in between. I could've done without them being there as I was just dying to know if Phoebe and Dev’s relationship would ever turn into something more than friends but it made the book unique. I think that it is an interesting idea to put them in as it’s like you’re reading Phoebe’s books along with her, whilst you’re reading a book about Phoebe.

It’s not one of the stand out books that I’ve read but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy reading Bookishly Ever After. It is the author’s debut novel and I’m very keen to read more of her work. If you’re an avid reader this book is most certainly for you, I can assure you that you’ll be able to relate to Phoebe and you’ll completely enjoy reading Bookishly Ever After.

Synopsis –
In a perfect world, sixteen-year-old Phoebe Martins’ life would be a book. Preferably a YA novel with magic and a hot paranormal love interest. Unfortunately, her life probably wouldn’t even qualify for a quiet contemporary. But when Phoebe finds out that Dev, the hottest guy in the clarinet section, might actually have a crush on her, she turns to her favorite books for advice. Phoebe overhauls her personality to become as awesome as her favorite heroines and win Dev’s heart. But if her plan fails, can she go back to her happy world of fictional boys after falling for the real thing?

Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Banderia is out now. Click here to buy it from Waterstones.

Beyond The Stars - Stacy Wise

Beyond The Stars by Stacy Wise tells the story of A List Hollywood actor Jack and Jessica. Due to Jessica's year abroad in France falling through she ends up becoming Jacks personal assistance. Little does she know and as much as she would deny it, the attraction between the pair is undeniable.

I'm an absolutely sucker for stories where one half of the pairing is famous and unfortunately some books just don't reach my high expectations of these kind of stories. Thankfully this wasn't the case with Beyond The Stars and it is one of the best books I've read with this kind of storyline. I loved the story, I loved the characters, I love the authors writing style, I just absolutely loved everything about this book!

If like me you read a lot of books in this genre I'm sure you'll have a list of fictional love interests that you wish were real. Well it's not often someone new gets added to my list but Jack has made it. I thought it was such a great character who really did love Jessica. Even during the moments where she is just his PA, he stands up for her and genuinely tries to do what he can to make her happy. They form an unlikely bond and although there is an attraction between them, they become great friends. Although Jack pushes Jessica away at first and we learn that he may have been abit of a twonk in the early stages of his acting career he's still cemented his place as one of my favourite male characters in a book.

The pacing of the book is particularly slow with any real action between the pair taking place around 80% into the book. In my opinion the fact it's a slow burner really adds to the book. The tension that developed between Jack and Jessica as the book went on was so strong it was oozing out of the pages into my room which only made it even better when the final few chapters came around. If you like a book to get to the relationship quick you may find the slow buildup frustrating and probably won't enjoy this book as much. However I absolutely loved the pace and when the moment came when they admitted there feelings it made the slow pacing completely worthwhile. 

From the opening page to the very end my attention was constantly captured, I personally thought it was a real page turner. I found the way that it was written most captivating. The characters in particular Jack and Jessica were so well developed and provided some entertaining moments. One of my favourite things about this book was that the entire book was written from Jessica’s point of view except for the last chapter which was from Jack’s. As if the entire book hadn’t been good enough, it was such a sweet ending to be able to read things from Jack’s perspective.  

With every turn of the book my heart fluttered more and more. It was such a sweet read. Yes it's only January but believe me when I say Beyond The Stars is already going to be a contender for one of my favourite books released this year. I’ve only just finished reading and I already want to read it again. Beyond The Stars most certainly should be added to your must read list, it is absolutely fantastic.

Synopsis - 

Falling for him wasn't in the plans...

Most girls would kill for the opportunity to work for Jack McAlister, Hollywood's hottest actor, but twenty-one-year-old Jessica Beckett is ready to kick him out of her red Ford Fiesta and never look back. She should be spending her junior year in France, eating pastries and sharpening her foreign language skills. Instead she's reluctantly working as Jack's personal assistant, thanks to her powerhouse talent agent aunt.

Jack is private, prickly, and downright condescending. Jessica pushes his buttons—she's not the type of girl to swoon over celebrity heartthrobs, precisely why her aunt thought she'd be perfect for the job—and Jack pushes right back.

But as she begins to peel away his layers, Jessica is shocked to find she craves her boss's easy smile and sexy blue eyes. The problem is, so does the entire female population. And what started out as the job from hell soon has Jess wondering if a guy like Jack could ever find love with a regular girl like her.

Beyond The Stars – Stacy Wise is released February 6^th. Click here to preorder the Kindle edition from Amazon.