Open to UK and International readers.
You can now contact me/enter the giveaway via my new form Fill out my form!
My review is below
This book was not at all what I expected. It is centered around the Emperor of China and her quest to rid herself and her family of poverty and marrying her unsavoury cousin.
we start at the beginning of Orchids life, briefly one sentence and then the memory of the loss of her father and how her family tries to get him to his respectful resting place with very little funds to do so. With no financial or materialistic prospects the only solution is to marry her 'slope-shouldered cousin' at the age of seventeen and help her family from their dire situation. Orchid puts herself forward to try and become one of the Emperors low ranking comcubines with little expectation of success.
There in follows the trials and tribulations of the phases of selection and the humiliating, trying process of which she feels little chance of success. The story takes you on a rollercoaster ride of emotion as Orchid tries to come to terms with the changes in her life, the competitions and the jealousy and danger the life of a concubine has to offer.
I really enjoyed reading this and learning of different rules/rituals of another country and their journey to ruling. I felt sorry, admiration and sometimes frustration for the main character and ended up not wanting to put the book down to find out what happened to her, did she overcome her enemys or succome to their treachery. A good a griping read once you get into it. 4/5 for me
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Mays pre-loved giveaway winner is............
Darlyn from Darlyn and books - please check out her blog below
http://darlynandbooks.blogspot.com
Congratulations, please feel free to review and let me know what you think.
Please email me your address and full name and I will get the book to you asap. If your an international winner it takes longer for the book to arrive but please do take a moment to let me know it has arrived safely and what you thought of it.
Thank you to everyone who took part.
The winner was picked from all the names going onto paper and put into a bag and my friend picking the winner out.
http://darlynandbooks.blogspot.com
Congratulations, please feel free to review and let me know what you think.
Please email me your address and full name and I will get the book to you asap. If your an international winner it takes longer for the book to arrive but please do take a moment to let me know it has arrived safely and what you thought of it.
Thank you to everyone who took part.
The winner was picked from all the names going onto paper and put into a bag and my friend picking the winner out.
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Review - Valley Of The Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
Synopsis from the back cover
Dolls - red or black, capsules or tablets, washed down with vidka or swallowed straight. For Anne, Neely and Jennifer, it doesn't matter as long as the pill bottle is within reach. These three beautiful women become best friends when they are young and idealistic and struggling at the bottom of the ladder of the entertainment industry.
By the time they reach the top, they discover there's no place left to go but down - into the Valley of the Dolls.
My review
LOVED IT! Introducing Anne and her humble beginnings and the blossoming friendship between herself and the starlets Neely and Jennifer. The story goes off pretty much in each chapter in depths into each character and their lives to present. We start off with fairly ordinary girls, each trying to get what they want out of life and their trials and experiences getting there.
Then introducing the dolls and how they play a part in each characters life.
I initially liked Anne, Neely and Jennifer but as the story went on and the choices they went with I found myself annoyed and frustrated with each character for different reasons. By the end of the book I dont know who I disliked more Neely or Anne. One for the bitchiness and the other for pretty much being a doormat although I understand it was a different time but still!
Regardless of how, at some points, some of the characters annoyed me I did totally love this book. I loved the easy way it was written and how the characters where portrayed and even though in some parts you hated how they behaved you could still related to them in one sense or another.
5 out of 5 for me.
Dolls - red or black, capsules or tablets, washed down with vidka or swallowed straight. For Anne, Neely and Jennifer, it doesn't matter as long as the pill bottle is within reach. These three beautiful women become best friends when they are young and idealistic and struggling at the bottom of the ladder of the entertainment industry.
By the time they reach the top, they discover there's no place left to go but down - into the Valley of the Dolls.
My review
LOVED IT! Introducing Anne and her humble beginnings and the blossoming friendship between herself and the starlets Neely and Jennifer. The story goes off pretty much in each chapter in depths into each character and their lives to present. We start off with fairly ordinary girls, each trying to get what they want out of life and their trials and experiences getting there.
Then introducing the dolls and how they play a part in each characters life.
I initially liked Anne, Neely and Jennifer but as the story went on and the choices they went with I found myself annoyed and frustrated with each character for different reasons. By the end of the book I dont know who I disliked more Neely or Anne. One for the bitchiness and the other for pretty much being a doormat although I understand it was a different time but still!
Regardless of how, at some points, some of the characters annoyed me I did totally love this book. I loved the easy way it was written and how the characters where portrayed and even though in some parts you hated how they behaved you could still related to them in one sense or another.
5 out of 5 for me.
Monday, 23 May 2011
Review - Tough Love by Kerry Katona
For me this read like a Jordan meets a tame Martina Cole novel, basically junk food for the brain and I loved it!
Meet Leanne Crompton the storys main character. She finds her celeb style world turned upside down when she loses her job as a glamour model. Having to provide for herself and daughter and until she gets back on her feet she has to go home to her less than desirable family and roots.
The press have always been intreaged with her daughters fathers identity, now that Leanne has fell on tough times will she sell him out and get what she deserves.
It has fights, bitchness and memorable characters. I also found myself likening some of the characters to people Kerry has rubbed shoulders with in the real celeb world and just how much from that she used when making her characters.
Light and enjoyable 4/5 for me.
Meet Leanne Crompton the storys main character. She finds her celeb style world turned upside down when she loses her job as a glamour model. Having to provide for herself and daughter and until she gets back on her feet she has to go home to her less than desirable family and roots.
The press have always been intreaged with her daughters fathers identity, now that Leanne has fell on tough times will she sell him out and get what she deserves.
It has fights, bitchness and memorable characters. I also found myself likening some of the characters to people Kerry has rubbed shoulders with in the real celeb world and just how much from that she used when making her characters.
Light and enjoyable 4/5 for me.
Friday, 20 May 2011
Review - The Whole Wide Beauty by Emily Woof
I really, really had wanted to love this book but it just wasn't anything near what I hoped it would be. The story starts with Katherine Freeman and introducing her life as it is and her parents and husband. What she does and loves and her relationship with her husband. It moves between that and her father, his life and relationships and then her mother. Every now and then its the husband and child.
There wasn't any big pull in the story, after a while we have some excitement when she longs for something that could ruin her whole family life and spill over into her fathers. There is also a revelation with a secret her father has had and the potential for the story to erupt but it didn't come. I thought the slow buildup and link to the family was due to a big plot that was just taking a while to get into but sadly it wasn't to be.
The book is fairly easy to read but I didn't connect with any of the characters and felt it was lacking although the potential I felt was there. Only a 2/5 for me.
There wasn't any big pull in the story, after a while we have some excitement when she longs for something that could ruin her whole family life and spill over into her fathers. There is also a revelation with a secret her father has had and the potential for the story to erupt but it didn't come. I thought the slow buildup and link to the family was due to a big plot that was just taking a while to get into but sadly it wasn't to be.
The book is fairly easy to read but I didn't connect with any of the characters and felt it was lacking although the potential I felt was there. Only a 2/5 for me.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Mays Pre loved giveaway just an FYI - please read
As June is going to be so busy (I will be away for my honeymoon!) I will be closing the giveaway possibly a week early and listing Junes giveaway at the end of May as I just wont be able to do anything until later in the month.
So if you haven't entered and want to please do asap, the winner will be notified by email and blog if you left those contact details and listed on here :).
So if you haven't entered and want to please do asap, the winner will be notified by email and blog if you left those contact details and listed on here :).
Review Zombicorns by John Green (ebook)
Never take it as the cover might actually have any relevance to the book your about to read. I assumed there was going to be a unicorn or unicorns but nope not to be. The story had a few letters missing every so often from words and symbols in place which made it hard to read in some parts (this may have been an error or when I saved the .pdf to text (although this hasn't happened before).
The story itself was different (in the way the virus is brought about, the zombies themself quite a bit actually). It isn't meant to be taken serious(it isn't written with bulk or a beginning or end really) and it is a novella. At the start it does say there will be many questions with no answers so don't expect anything from this book at all.
It isn't particularly gorey, it certainly isn't a page turner and to be honest I am not sure where or what I would rate it as however overall a 2 of 5.
The story itself was different (in the way the virus is brought about, the zombies themself quite a bit actually). It isn't meant to be taken serious(it isn't written with bulk or a beginning or end really) and it is a novella. At the start it does say there will be many questions with no answers so don't expect anything from this book at all.
It isn't particularly gorey, it certainly isn't a page turner and to be honest I am not sure where or what I would rate it as however overall a 2 of 5.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
