The Two-Night One-Night Stand - Ryan Ringbloom

Holly is absolutely not the type of person to have a one night stand, let alone have a one night stand twice! Thanks to a identity mix up, Holly ends up sleeping with who she thought was her blind date but instead it just ended up being Matthew Daniels, a doctor who claims he's too busy for love. Can a one night stand (that happens twice) ultimately end up in love? 

I knew from the second I read the blurb that The Two Night One Night Stand was exactly my kind of book. What I liked the most was the fact that neither of the characters would ever have a one night stand on a normal day yet here they both are. I felt that the fact they were both acting out of character made the characters very likeable. It was helped with the dual narrative told from both Holly and Matthew's point of views. 

As promised this book did make me laugh at loud at certain points and I found that I whizzed through reading it as I loved it so much. If you read the blurb and think you'll love it I can almost guarantee that you will! Just as an aside this book contains lots of sex so just be aware if that's not the kind of thing you like to read about. I personally loved this book and the way in which the author writes. I'll certainly be checking out more of the authors others novels.

Synopsis - 

A girl. A guy. And a talking peen. 

Holly Martin isn't the type to have a one-night stand. But a crushing break up, a sexy blind date, and a few shots of Fireball is about to change all that. 

Matthew Daniels is an introverted PA who claims he’s too busy to date. But that doesn’t stop his older brothers from encouraging him to let loose and get out there, because as they put it - the right girl won’t just walk up to you.

But what if she does?

Is it possible for a one-night stand that happens twice, to actually become more? Could two nights of reckless debauchery actually lead to true love? Or is this just another case of a whisky induced disaster?

This Romantic Comedy is sure to have you laughing, cringing, rolling your eyes, shouting at the pages and looking for a shot glass of your own. 

**This book contains mature content (and immature content). It is intended for adult readers. 

Taking The Reins - Katrina Abbott

Taking The Reins tells the story of Brooklyn. Due to her dads job she is sent to Rosewood, which is a boarding school for the rich and famous. The Rosewood girls give her a warm welcome and before you know it she gets thrown headfirst into the life of a Rosewood girl. Not only does she have new friends to contend with but also boys from the neighbouring boys boarding school, Westwood and to the stable boy she meets in Rosewoods stables.

Taking The Reins was an incredibly quick read. However this isn't necessarily a bad thing as sometimes all you want is a quick, enjoyable, light hearted read. If I was heading for a long train journey or a plane trip somewhere this book would certainly be one that I would chose to take with me. Although I've seen discovered that this book is part of a series of 10 books, Taking The Reigns actually finishes at quite a non cliff hanger ending. Ok, I would've liked to have read more in particularly about Brooklyn's love life but now we know there are multiple books in this series then I think that will probably be more of a feature in later books.

I really enjoyed reading about Brooklyn. Despite her fathers job she seems completely down to earth and she is relatively unfazed about moving to an American boarding school. I found her quite funny at times, particularly when it came to the assumptions made regarding the stable boy, and very loyal to her fellow Rosewood girls. I actually thought the girls she attends school with were be great snobby and annoying to read about but I was happy that this wasn't the case at all. The adventures that they go through in this novel is exactly the kind of thing that I've always imagined would take place at a girls boarding school too which to be helps add to the enjoyment of the novel.

If you want a quick, lighthearted read with a few romantic moments thrown in for good measure then you will love Taking The Reigns. I've downloaded the next book in the series to read as I enjoyed it so much. 

Synopsis -

Brooklyn Prescott (if that’s even her real name) is the new girl at The Rosewood Academy for Academic Excellence, now that she’s moved back to the States after two years living in London. Rosewood, a boarding school for children of the rich and famous and known for its celebutantes, is missing just one element important to any junior’s education: boys. But luckily for Brooklyn, and the rest of the Rosewood girls, there’s a boys’ boarding school, The Westwood Academy, just a few miles away. 

On her very first day, Brooklyn meets Will, a gorgeous and flirty boy on campus to help with move in. But is he who she thinks he is? And what about Brady, the cute stable boy? Or Jared, the former child actor with his grown-up good looks who can always make her laugh? As Brooklyn settles in at Rosewood, she’s faced with new friends, new challenges and new opportunities to make herself into the girl she always wanted to be. Whoever that might be.

Taking The Reins is the first installment of The Rosewoods, an exciting new Young Adult series for readers who love fun, flirty love stories.

The Singalong Society For Singles – Katey Lovell

The Singalong Society For Singles is a story about Monique (Mon) and her friends. Mon’s childhood sweetheart Justin, has just dropped the bombshell on her that he’s going to go and work in America for a year. It comes as a shock to Mon and her friends love lives aren’t going much better. So together they decide to start a club where every Friday they all meet up, eat food, drink wine and watch their favourite musicals. However, when 2 males unexpectedly join the club perhaps they can change the group’s opinions on being single. 

I love musicals and the idea of this club sounds so fun, so for me it was a complete effortless read that you just wanted to never end. I was pretty much sold on this book from the second I read which musicals were going to be included in the novel. I really enjoyed the way that the author writes and I’ll certainly be looking at reading some of her other novels. The story wasn’t just the story of Mon but instead weaved in multiple storylines but without it being too much and confusing. It fact every additional piece of important you gained about Mon and her friends just added to the enjoyment of the book. I’m also a tiny bit bias as this book is set in Sheffield so as I live very near I am well aware of all the places that the characters visit in the book.

The characters all brought slightly different elements to the book including new members Ray and Liam who just slotted in with the gang as if they’d always known the friends. I found all of the characters were enjoyable to read about and each one had their own mission and issues with life which are all slightly touched upon.

If you read the synopsis and like the sound of this novel then I can safely say you will love this book. I personally loved the addition of musicals and think it’s an interesting concept to loosely base a novel around. I loved the story, I loved the characters – this book is just a really great read.   

Synopsis –

Monique and Issy are teachers, housemates and lovers of musicals! Their Friday night routine consists of snacks, wine and the Frozen DVD. So when Monique’s boyfriend moves to America for a year and her sister Hope moves in because of her own relationship woes, Friday nights get a new name… ‘The Singalong Society for Singletons’!

It’s a chance to get together, sing along to their favourite tracks from the best-loved West End shows, and forget the worries of work, relationships and love (or lack of it). But when Issy shares the details of their little group further afield, they get some unexpected new members who might just change their opinions on singledom for good….

A New York Love Story – Cassie Rocca

Clover loves Christmas, good job really as her job consists of buying people presents. She can’t afford to live in Manhatten so lives just across the water in a quiet area of Staten Island. Meanwhile, world famous Hollywood actor Cade Harrision has just had a messy public breakup with an actress and has fled to an apartment in New York...more specifically Staten Island, bang opposite Clover’s apartment. Their lives are completely different yet when meeting at Christmas even the most magical things can happen.

I love New York, I love Christmas and I love storylines like this one! When I first started the book I worried that it wasn’t going to meet my expectations as it took me a few chapters in to get hooked then before I knew it I ended up spending the entire day sat on a chair reading this book! It's such a cute, Christmas read!

I loved the characters. Clover is different - in a good one! She desperately tries to please her family but with no joy but she loves her job and has great friends. I found her very enjoyable to read about. Her life couldn't be more different from the life of a Hollywood actor so instead of falling at Cade's feet at the sight of him she has quite an adverse reaction. Personally I liked the fact that she didn't instantly like him and it took somewhat grovelling from Cade to get her attention. Meanwhile, Cade is the typical egotistical famous person on the surface but as his barriers start to crumble it's revealed he does have a caring side. Clover and Cade interacted well together and provided some sickeningly adorable romantic moments which I loved!

It's getting to the season where Christmas is starting to get in the back of people's minds. If you're ready for a book set over the Christmas period and you love a good romance story, particularly involving a famous individual then you will absolutely love this book! I loved reading it now but I know that I'll be digging this book out for a reread over the festive period in a few months. 

Synopsis –

Giving a present is not always easy. Clover O’Brian knows that only too well: her job consists of helping people in the arduous task of choosing unusual gifts. Christmas is coming, New York is buzzing, and Clover, who has always loved the festive period, savours the atmosphere.

Cade Harrison already has everything in life. A Hollywood actor, he is handsome, rich, famous and popular. Success, however, has its downsides; having just emerged from a disastrous relationship with an actress, he feels a need to hide away in an area unfrequented by stars, in an apartment lent him by a friend, far from prying eyes – especially those of tabloid reporters. But as chance will have it, the apartment in question is right opposite the one occupied by Clover, who until now has seen Hollywood actors only on the big screen. Two quite different lives meet by chance, at the most exhilarating time of year…

Loserville - Montgomery Theatre Sheffield

Loserville is the first musical that made it to the West End stage that was written by James Bourne and Elliot Davis. As you know by this blog I'm a huge fan of James Bourne and as I was at university in London at the time Loserville was in the West End I saw the show on a number of occasions and loved every performance I saw. Well now I'm back home I couldn't resist going when I saw Loserville was coming to the Montgomery Theatre in Sheffield! 

Loserville revolves around Michael Dork. He's is the ultimate computer geek whose determined to change the world by inventing emails. As expected he is bullied at school but is determined to keep trying to success with help from his friends Lucas, Frances and Marvin and of course potential love interest Holly. It's a typical geek/popular crowd story line but add in music from Son Of Dork's Welcome To Loserville album, talented actors and you've got yourself one hell of a musical!

This particular performance was put on by Splinters Theatre Group, a young persons musical company for those aged between 14-30. What a talented bunch of performers, they could easily match those who I saw playing the characters in the West End. Richard Granger playing Michael Dork was phenomenal. He had captured the awkwardness of the character perfectly and was a great lead. Lucy Keeton who plays love interest Holly was also extremely good. Her vocals throughout were fantastic and unbelievably I discovered she is only 17! Certainly a name to watch in the future. I also particularly enjoyed Matthew Bevan's performance of Lucas and Joseph Oliver Walker's as Eddie. It's worth mentioning however, that every single performer on that stage was enthusiastic and energetic. I know I'll certainly be checking out future Splinters theatre shows.  

Sadly today was the last day in which Loserville is showing in Sheffield but I was given a flyer for Rock Of Ages on the way out of the theatre, if you'd like to catch this talented group of actors in action in the future!

The One Where I Attended Friends Fest

The final episode of Friends may have aired on television over ten years ago now but that doesn’t stop people from loving the show as much as it did when it aired. Last year, Comedy Central launched the first ever Friends Fest in London except it sold out in seconds, well this year they’ve brought it back and it’s touring the UK! Of course, having missed out on the London tickets last year I instantly bought a ticket for when it came to Harewood House in Leeds.

Friends Fest is basically one large photo opportunity. You can the chance to visit some of the shows most iconic sets such as Monica’s apartment. I spent a good hour and a half at Friends Fest this weekend and for someone who is a big fan of the show they’ll love getting snaps in the sets. 

At £25.00 a ticket (compared to £5 in London last year) the tickets had gone up in price quite substantially and in my own opinion I felt it was a little expensive for what you actually got. You didn’t get any time at all in any of the sets, just one quick photo in various locations and you’re out. The time spent in Friends Fest pretty much consisted of queuing for photos in the sets and then being quickly ushered onto the next one. It was very interesting however to see the attention to detail in all of the sets, it’s just such a pity you weren’t given more time to look at things. However, the photos that are taken on the sets from the day are incredible and for any Friends fan its incredible to now watch the show and keep pointing out locations where you’ve actually been into! It was also nice that the event didn’t have official photographers so at no point where you being pressured into buying photos. 

The food and beverage outlets were all Friends themed which I thought was a nice touch. From New York Ice Cream to The Chick & The Duck Bar everything has some kind of connection to the show. However, if you’re attending at one of the future events make sure you take enough money as expected from events everything is rather experience – £7.50 for a cocktail and £3 for an ice cream for example.     

I love Friends and even queued for most of the day to get into a pop up Central Perk that had opened in celebration for the 10^th anniversary whilst I was on holiday in New York City a few years back. Personally, although New York was only the one set I felt it overall was done much better. For one it was free to get inside and when inside you were given a free coffee to drink in Central Perk. At Friends Fest, the entirety of Central Perk was just a photo opportunity and you were ushered out rather quickly. When you’re paying £25.00 admission, maybe if they had offered a free coffee for example if may have made the ticket price more worthwhile and it’s still very fitting with the Friends theme.

Although the event was a little steeply priced it certainly is a must for any fan of the show! Fans will love getting photos in Monica’s apartment, in Central Perk and other locations and they’ll certainly be showing everyone photos from the day! Personally, I’m glad that I went as I loved seeing the sets but I think for what you get it’s a onetime visit thing so probably wouldn’t go again if it tours again next year

Kisses On A Paper Airplane - Sarah Vance-Tompkins

Hannah is American but manages to get a place at a drama school in London. Things are going well for her in London until unexpectedly she gets a call from her mother that she is getting married and needs to come home straight away from the wedding. Her future step dad (who Hannah has yet to meet) buys her a first class plane ticket back to America to make the journey easier. Hannah is a very nervous flyer and as soon as she gets to the airport she discovers her flight is delayed meaning she has more time to panic in the first class lounge before her flight departs. It is here she ends up befriending world famous pop star Theo Callahan, except Hannah doesn't recognise him. Hannah is saving her first kiss for her Prince Charming could it be possible that this strange she's just met could be the one? 

I've read mixed reviews on this book but oh my goodness I loved it. Everyone knows I love this kind of storyline and sometimes I just love a book I can read very quickly - I am a fast reader anyway but finished Kisses On A Paper Airplane in around an hour. I loved the idea of Hannah going on a airplane and befriending a celebrity. If you've ever flown alone and didn't m think about which of your favourite celebrity could be sat next to you on the flight then you did it wrong! I think this book wonderfully taps into that small part of you that fantasises about who you could end up sat next to on a plane. 

The book wasn't very long so you didn't get an in depth introduction to the characters. However. I did enjoy reading about Hannah and Theo and the book did offer some very cute reading moments between the pair which I loved.

If you're looking for a fast little read about a normal person meeting a celebrity then I think you will love Kisses On A Airplane. 

Synopsis -

Drama student Hannah Evans isn't kissing any frogs on her path to find Prince Charming. She's determined to share the perfect first kiss -- with the perfect boy -- in the perfect place -- or she's not kissing anyone at all. When Hannah meets a cute ginger-haired boy in first class lounge in the London airport, she knows he's 'The One.'

Pop star Theo Callahan is on the road to get as far away as possible from his back-stabbing best friend, and his supermodel girlfriend who broke his heart. Until one shy smile from Hannah has him rethinking all of his travel plans.

Theo is smitten, but he's worried she's just a groupie in search of the ultimate selfie. Can Theo learn to trust Hannah in time to share one perfect first kiss, or will Hannah be forced to kiss a frog?