Dark Dates by Tracey Sinclair

Dark Dates by Tracey Sinclair
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - dipped in over 3 days

Pages - 246

Publisher - Amazon media

Source - author

Blurb from Goodreads

All Cassandra Bick wants is to be left to get on with doing her job. But when you’re a Sensitive whose business is running a dating agency for vampires, life is never going to be straightforward – especially when there’s a supernatural war brewing in London, a sexy new bloodsucker in town and your mysterious, homicidal and vampire hating ex-lover chooses this moment to reappear in your life…

Witty, sharp and entertaining, Dark Dates is a heady mix of vampires, witches and werewolves – with the occasional angel thrown in – and introduces Cassandra Bick, a likeable heroine destined to join the ranks of fantasy’s feistiest females.



My Review

Cassandra makes a living from her dating agency, a dating agency like no other. Hooking up humans and vampires. The agency has come to the notice of someone, someone who wants Cassandra to stop. With threats on her life, attacks on the office and vampires being killed Cassandra should give up and stay safe but she won't be warned off. Her "bootie call" Cain, ex boyfriend and destroyer of "Others" no just vampires but other beings drops in and out of her life and usually when trouble is afoot. There is more than meets the eye to Cain and Cassandra is about to find out just how special and different the people in her life really are.

This is the first in a series, we meet Cassandra who is a Sensitive with a capital S, her sense helps her read Others and help her in some tricky situations. There is a lot to her Sense and I think as the series goes on we will learn more about it. I had to email the author as I had a fair few questions about it, I think along with the character learning about it the reader is too. It is a fresh and interesting approach as vampire stories have been around for such a long time so it is hard to make it original. We have vampires, a sassy Sensitive with a mouth on her, a fabulous witch side kick, a mysterious old boyfriend who Cassandra can't seem to keep out of her bed and violence and deaths all round.

There is bad language, sex, mystery, homosexuality, a lot of humour especially from Cassandra she is quirky, feisty, strong, independent and I did laugh out loud in parts. If work hadn't gotten in the way I could have read this in one sitting. There was more than a few actions I found myself frustrated with, especially how Cassandra responded to certain situations however I think that brings realism into it. How often has someone acted or said something in a situation and you just wanted to slap them or shout no why didn't you say X,Y,Z! A very promising start to a series and I look forward to more from Sinclair and seeing what is in store for Cassandra and crew, 4/5 for me this time. Thanks to the author for introducing to a new series and sending me a review copy.

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Turning Into Your Mother by Ada Adverse

The Mills & Boon Modern Girl's Guide to Turning into Your Mother: The Perfect Mother's Day gift for mums who have it all by Ada Adverse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < than 20 minutes

Pages - 96

Publisher - Mills and Boons

Blurb from Goodreads

’Perfect for the gin lover in your life.’ – Sun

Have you ever…?

A) Opened your mouth and heard your mother come out?

B) Wondered whether a bunch of flowers and breakfast in bed once a year really makes up for the 37 hours your mum spent in St Agnes’ Maternity Ward?

C) Voiced a heartfelt opinion on the weather?

If so, the Mills & Boon Modern Girl’s Guide to Turning Into Your Mother is for you: a guide to the joys of motherhood – with a feminist twist.



My Review

Uck this wee book is a breath of fresh air! An A to Z with "advice" and snippets of motherhood, expectations and reality with a zesty comical take. Accompanied with pictures this Modern Girl's Guide could actually be named To Motherhood than Turning into your mother. Whilst pitched as the perfect mother's day gift, I think this is the perfect gift for any female. I am not a mother & won't be celebrating Mother's day but I think all females would enjoy this book and identify or relate to some of it.

With Mother's day looming it can be a beautiful day of celebration or a day that evokes sadness, emotional turmoil and one that is hard to face. This wee book is a ray of sunshine, I found myself laughing out loud at many of the pages and certainly smiling at them all. Some of the snippets conjured up vivid memories of my own mother and her take on one or two things within the book.

At a tiny 90 odd pages, I flew through this book in between spray painting some furniture, I picked it up for a quick nosey and ended up devouring it page to page. Stopping only once to text a family member and laugh over one of the quotes/advice. Amazing what one woman's quick wit has captured on a page and strikes up a personal memory and laugh. Genuine laughter and being caught off guard with memories, for me is priceless, I love this wee book. There are others in the #ModernGirlsGuides and I will track them down. I would love to see an actual novel from Adverse, she has an easy flow of writing and quick wit even in a few sentences, I think letting her loose on a few hundred pages worth would be priceless, I would buy it! 5/5 for me, whilst it is a tiny quick read it certainly holds its weight against some of the thick novels that are out just now on similar subjects. Thanks to much to Mills and Boon for introducing me to a new author and a series I will track down. For me, this book is a keeper, I have already ordered a copy for me friend and I don't think it is the only one I will be buying, a wee gem of a book!

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