Pregnancy is not an illness...Hyperemesis Gravidarum IS by Laura Burton

'Pregnancy is not an illness...Hyperemesis Gravidarum IS' by Laura Burton

What do Charlotte Bronte, Holly Madison and Kate Middleton have in common? A condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) widely understood to be an acute form of morning sickness.
What is it? How could it send a woman into hospital and lead to ending a wanted pregnancy? L A Burton speaks out about her HG pregnancies providing a detailed insight into what it is really like to have Hyperemesis Gravidarum and includes testimants from other HG sufferers giving their honest accounts.

The author Laura really takes you into her personal life and how pregnancy affected her - not only one pregnancy but three in three years!! Laura gives you an insight into what everyday life was like living with Hyperemesis Gravidarum and how she was treated by some doctors - who were rude to her and kind of blamed her for this made up illness!! I really felt for Laura throughout her ordeal as this is a subject close to my heart having suffered from severe morning sickness (all day sickness!!) throughout all my three pregnancies too. It was only 27 weeks into my third pregnancy that HG was mentioned to me by a midwife. I had spent everyday of all my pregnancies from 5 weeks to the day of birth being sick not just once or twice a day - I lost count being sick 24/7 till nearly 28 weeks and then maybe 5 times at least from there on. I spent weeks in hospital on drips, having injections and bleeding because I was retching some much - 9 times out of 10 on an empty stomach. My third prednacny only went to 32weeks term - throughout this time I spent in total 7 weeks in hospital. To me I just thought I have severe morning sickness, I didn't know anything about HG, I know for Laura if doctors had understood her condition that she would have got help sooner but for me if I had known about HG sooner I don't think it would have made a difference - I had really good care from two difference health regions for my sickness.

I really enjoyed that Laura included other peoples stories into the book. Stories are from around the world and how HG affected them, their families and how they where treated by others.

This book is heart felt from a very personal life story from Laura. I hope Laura's wish to help others be aware of HG is achieved. I really think that others who suffer from HG reading this book will be inspired to seek help if they are not receiving it or just to know that they aren't alone.

I would recommend.

The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins

  
'The Hunger Games', Catching Fire' and 'Mockingjay' by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games: When 16-year old Katniss Everdeen volunteers for her little sister, she must face battle in the arena. Set in the future, in a place where every year one boy and one girl is chosen to represent their district in the annual Hunger Games, the story follows the 24 tributes who must fight till death leaving just one standing. Once in the arena there is one rule: kill or be killed.
Catching Fire: After the victory tour through the twelve districts, Katniss and Peeta have to enter the games yet again. But times have changed - all through the land there are uprisings against the Capitol and with it President Snow. Katniss, who after threatening to kill herself and Peeta with the poisonous berries in the first games, is in serious danger from President Snow, because by not playing by the Capitol's rules she has become the Mockingjay - the symbol of rebellion.
Mockingjay: Katniss founds herself as the Mockingjay, the symbol of the people's rebellion against the Capitol and cruel President Snow - something at first she does not want. She is broken and wants to be free from the rebellion but Katniss knows she is the peoples only hope, so she becomes the heroine fighting for the right of all.

The only reason I read all three books, was once again due to my impatient on needing to know the end. I watched the movie The Hunger Game and really hated that I was left not knowing what was going to happen next so I picked up the books and read them! I have friends who have read them before me and liked the books but I thought they were more aimed at teenagers so before the movie I had no interest in reading them.

I found the first chapter of the first book a bit slow so was a little unsure on how I was going to feel, but after the first chapter I was hooked and I could not put it down! Through the book you could feel Katniss's pain, happiness and anger. I cant believe how reading this book made me feel - I felt pain and anger for what the capital was putting these children through and I found I cried in a few places! But I also laughed too. I really enjoyed reading the parts with Katniss and Rue - who I loved as a character. The book gave a better understanding to Katniss and Peeta relationship than just watching the movie. When I got nearer the end of the book I just couldn't put in down, I needed to find out if Katniss would escape. It took all my will power to not pick the second book up to carry on reading the story as it was well passed midnight when I finished the first book.
The second book did not catch me a much as the first, but I still enjoyed it. I would have enjoyed to have had more information about the districts - for Suzanne to have taken us more into the make up of the country and how all the districts fitted into this make up. (If you know what I mean!)
The part of the book which covered the Hunger Games arena once again had me hooked. I couldn't put this part of the book down - the clock system that Suzanne used was amazing, it was action packed and got me hooked as I wasn't sure/didn't know what was going to happen - who was going to live and who was going to die! The ending was great too and I could wait to start reading book three, Mockingjay.
Well not sure about this the last in the series. I founds the first part of the book slightly boring and wishing it would hurry up to the good stuff. Which did come, the middle section was fast paced, thrilling and had the perfect balance of emotion and action. BUT THEN.... the ending came! Oh how disappointed I was. There was such a good build up that I thought the ending was going to be fantastic but it wasn't. Yes we finally see Katniss and Peeta together but at what price. What happened to happy ever after (I know all books don't end like that but after such pain surely Katniss and Peeta deserved it). If the ending was slightly different I think for me it would have been a better ending to what I feel overall is good books.

I would recommend - Happy Hunger Games! May the odds be forever in your favour!

One Day by David Nicholls

'One Day' by David Nicholls

15th July 1988. Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways.
So where will they be on this one day next year?
And the year after that? And every year that follows?
Twenty years, two people, ONE DAY.

I'm really not sure about this book, I did overall enjoy it, sometimes not being able to put it down but at other times found it boring, long winded and I would start drifting. The story idea of catching up on the lives of two characters I did enjoy, but I found I came to dislike the character Dexter who throughout most of the book is an alcoholic, heavy drug user, selfish and an idiot. He treats Emma his friend - who loves him - really bad. But in the end love is found for both with each other. This was a book chosen by me for my army book club, where most really enjoyed the book and a few were shocked by the ending (Emma's) but having watched the movie I knew what to expect. Throughout the book, I did feel for both Dexter and Emma though, as they find that life doesn't always turn out how they expected - a lesson to be learned.

So would I recommend? Yes I think, but maybe when you've read all those others books you wanted first!!

the five people you meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

'the five people you meet in Heaven' by Mitch Albom

The five people you meet in Heaven is a story of the meaning of life and life after death. This story allows us to follow an elderly amusement park maintenance worker named Eddie who, while operating a ride called the 'Free Fall', dies while trying to save a young girl who gets in the way of a falling cart that hurtles to earth. Eddie goes to heaven, where he meets five people who were unexpectedly instrumental in some way in his life. While each guide takes him through heaven, Eddie learns a little bit more about what his time on earth meant, what he was supposed to have learned, and what his true purpose on earth was. Throughout there are dramatic flashbacks where we see scenes from his troubled childhood, his years in the army in the Philippines jungle, and with his first and only love, his wife Marguerite.

This book was recommended to me by my friend Frances who loved it, so I added it onto my book read list - I also passed this recommendation onto my friend Jen who read it before me and loved it. But I didn't!!! I really just couldn't get into it at all - yes I did finish it but it was hard, I kept hoping it would improve as I really wanted to like this book especially as two close friends loved it but I just didn't love/like it at all.

Read Frances and Jen's reviews here.
Frances - http://50percentsuepageturners.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/five-people-you-meet-in-heaven-mitch.html
Jen - http://www.jenthousandwords.com/search/label/books?updated-max=2012-08-31T09:00:00%2B12:00&max-results=20&start=4&by-date=false

So even though I wouldn't recommend - they would!

The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad

'The Bookseller of Kabul' by Asne Seierstad

Asne Seierstad (the author) went to Afghanistan to report on the conflict there and while there meet Sultan Kabul the bookseller. For more than twenty years Sultan Khan defied the authorities - be they communist or Taliban - to supply books to the people of Kabul. Throughout this time he has been arrested, interrogated and imprisoned by the communists and watched illiterate Taliban soldiers burn piles of his books in the street. He even resorted to hiding most of his stock - almost ten thousand books -  in attics all over Kabul. But while Khan is passionate in his love of books and hatred of censorship, he is also a committed Muslim with strict views on family life and the role of women. Asne Seierstad is so interested in his life, that she returns to live with the bookseller and his family for four months in spring 2002. As an outsider, Asne Seierstad found herself in a unique position, able to move freely between the private, restricted sphere of the women - including Khan's two wives - and the freer, more public lives of the men. We also learn of proposals and marriages, suppression and abuse of power, crime and punishment. The result is a genuinely gripping and moving portrait of a family, and a clear-eyed assessment of a country struggling to free itself from history.

I read quite a few reviews on this book (book was my village book club November book) and to be honest wasn't sure what to expect. Some reviews said that the author made up the facts on the families life's and doesn't show true facts of Afghanistan; and other reviews rave on how fantastic the book was and how they learnt so much about Afghanistan and the lives people lead over there. So I started this book with mixed feelings. I have to say it, I really did enjoy the book, whether it was non-fiction or fiction, I really don't care. I enjoyed it as a story and if it was written on all facts all the better.
So reviewing as if the author wrote on all facts - the family were extremely hospitable to her. Seierstad portrays the family as being extremely nasty to each other and I know from one review I read commented on, how this portray was wrong that no family is without its redeeming qualities - that the author shouldn't have wrote about them in this way. But surely if this is how the family were with each other then why write it any differently. I'm sure there are families in Afghan that are caring and loving towards each other and if the Khan family were one of those families that Seierstad would have portrayed that. Aren't families like that, we see it everyday, nice families/nasty families!! You get to know each of the family members and understand why each member is the way they are, through no fault of their own. We learn how society has changed and how it is still changing, how women were forbidden to use nail polish and those who disobeyed had the tip of a finger or toe cut off - women didn't were open toe shoes or shoes with solid heels since it was believed that the sound of women walking might distract men!! I loved the insight to this family lives.

Many other journalists also reported on the lone bookseller in Kabul following the fall of the Taliban, so this may be the true story, who knows!!

I would recommend.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood

The story is told by Offred (not her real name as that was taken away from her).
A religious group called the Sons of Jacob has recently overthrown the United States government. Offred (in her previous name) has been arrested for being married to a divorced man, which is now illegal. She and her husband, Luke, were arrested while trying to escape the country on fake passports with their daughter. Their daughter has been given away to an elite, childless family. As Offred can conceive children (birth rate has diminished), she has been sent to a Re-Education Centre, to be trained for her new role as a Handmaids. In the centre, know as the Red Centre, they are brainwashed into submission to their new role by a group of women called Aunts, where they are taught to believe that its their fault that society was so bad and that men are blameless. Her new role as a Handmaid is to bear children for elite, childless families. These Handmaid's are given the name of the man - commander they are to serve, bear children too. The are made to wear outfits which is modest and entirely red except for a white, winged bonnet. Offred discovers a message from the previous Handmaid carved into her closet, "Don't let the bastards grind you down." This story is about her life and how Offred becomes friends with another Handmaid, Ofglen, her only companion on her daily shopping trips. This is a very harsh time, were beatings and killings take place, if you are found or even suspected of being an non-believer. There is a lot more to this book; government spy's called the Eyes, jealous wife's of the commanders, the unseen life of women who are no good to bear children - a underground hotel, Mayday and so much more. Is this going to be her life until she no longer can bear children? Following her story, the ending part of the book is a historian's speech, in which they try to authenticate the Handmaid's Tale.

This was a book that I wouldn't have chosen for myself - it was one of this years village book club books. I have to say I was dreading reading this, I just kept thinking, please be better than 'Brave New World' (both are about an altered furture). 

Well I loved this book. My feelings went out to Offred through her ordeals and trials, and this feeling of involvement made the story truly thought provoking. The story makes you think about what life could be like if this kind of society actually existed/took over our western way of life. I couldn't wait to find out what happened, I couldn't put the book down - I was gripped. Reference the ending, I have read a few reviews about how they were disappointed with the ending, there was not enough closure. But I liked that, (I finished the book a few months ago) it still gets me thinking about what happened to her - I've been allowed to finish the story for her, and I've made up a few so far!!

Would highly recommend.

Fallen books series by Lauren Kate

    
 
'Fallen' 'Torment' 'Passion' 'Fallen in Love' and  'Rapture' by Lauren Kate

A series of books about fallen angels and forbidden love.
Fallen, On her first day at Sword & Cross boarding school, Luce Price feels like she know the mysterious Daniel Grigori. She is pulled towards him, he is the only good thing about Sword & Cross, an unfriendly place were mobile phones are banned and security cameras watch the students every move. Even though he captures her attention from that first moment, he wants nothing to do with her, he is rude and unkind to her. But she can’t let it go, even though she doesn't want to, she is drawn to him - wanting to find out what Daniel is hiding. 
Torment, It took them an eternity to find each other, but now Luce is forced to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel. He must leave to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the California coast with unusually gifted students, Nephilim - offsprings of fallen angels and humans. While at the school, Luce learns what the Shadows are - things that have haunted her most of her life. She learns how to use them as doorways to her previous lives. While at Shoreline she starts to suspects that Daniel is hiding things from her, about their past together. What is he hiding? Are they meant to be together? 
Passion, Luce learns that she has died over and over again in the past, every time she and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart, leaving Daniel heartbroken and alone. Luce wonders if it doesn't need to be that way. Luce begins the most important journey of this life looking for someone in one of her past life's who can help her in her present one - save her and Daniel. Throughout this journey going back through eternities, she witnesses firsthand her romances with Daniel, finally unlocking the key to make their love last. Daniel and his angle friends chase Luce through their shared pasts, trying to catch her before she rewrites history. 
Fallen in Love, This book tells the story of four love stories over the course of a romantic Valentine's Day in Medieval England. And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories combine  Miles and Shelby find love where they least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding-and losing love. Arianne pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. Luce also while visiting this past life, spends her only night with Daniel - together.
Rapture, The sky is dark with wings... Time is running out for Luce and Daniel, Lucifer wants to erase their past. The angels must find the place where the angels fell to earth in the beginning, but this isn't as easy as it seems as dark forces are after them. Can they succeed? Together they face a great battle that will end with great sacrifices. Luce knows what must happen, as the curse is only about her, brought on by the love she cast aside, the love for someone else. 

I have mixed feelings about the Fallen series. I do wonder if Lauren Kate was trying to do a Twilight thing - 3 books, a mini in between book and then the ending book. I think she could have cut the amount of books and maybe told the story in two or three. Overall I did enjoy the books but for example the third book did go on a bit, I kind of thought the story could have been told in half the amount of time, I found in some places I went 'sigh', yes I get it!! I did enjoy how Lauren Kate allowed us to understand why some of the characters (the angels) acted the way they did - an insight into the lives in heaven, why they fell and the reasons behind them choosing heaven or Lucifer and their relationships with each other - even though they should have been on opposite sides. The books are full of romance, danger, hope and love.

The ending was not what I thought was going to happen so that was a shock - I was a little disappointed, I won't say anything about the ending so not to ruin it for you. I just wish it had been a little more. But then again did Lauren Kate do that so to shock us readers who thought we knew how it was going to end - was it brilliant because no one expect it at all!

Overall I would recommend the series. If you get bored a little in book three just keep going - it will be worth it in the end!

Just adding if you only wanted to choose either the Fallen series or the Twilight book - I would recommend leave these alone and read Twilight - they are written better and keep you gripped throughout them all.

The Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer

   
 

'Twlight' 'New Moon' 'Eclipse' 'Breaking Dawn' and 'The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner' by Stephenie Meyer

The Twilight stories are about Edward and Bella’s romance and so much more.
Twilight, the first in the series, is the story of two teenagers - Bella, a regular girl, and Edward, a perfect gentleman and a vampire!
New Moon is the continuing story of Bella's unusual life in Forks, Washington. When her vampire boyfriend Edward, suddenly leaves, Bella is heartbroken in a way only a teenager can be, leaving time on her hands to develop a friendship with Jacob, another boy with a strange family background.
Eclipse opens with teenager Bella and her vampire boyfriend Edward reunited after their tortuous parting in New Moon. Bella’s eventual transformation into a bloodsucking immortal is now guaranteed, yet all is not well in the town of Forks. Her best friend, the werewolf Jacob, harbours a generations-old vendetta against vampires in addition to unrequited feelings for Bella herself. To top it all off, a plague of murders in nearby Seattle points to an impending vampire threat.
Breaking Dawn opens up issues which have been gathering over the course of the series. There is a wedding and a horrifying pregnancy, new groups and friendships are formed and of course more fighting. A portion of the novel is told through Jacob’s incredulous eyes.
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is the story of Bree Tanner, a character introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits.

I have reviewed all these books together - mainly to save time!! I had no plans on reading the twilight books but changed my mind after watching Breaking Dawn part 1. I only watched the first twilight movie early last year - enjoyed it and wanted to watch the next one to see what happens in the story, that's how I ended up watching the other movies, my need to finish the story I was watching. So to my horror after watching Breaking Dawn part 1, I was at a loss - I hate an unfinished story (that's a big problem for me when reading a series - need to read them all, one after another!). So you can imagine when Breaking Dawn finished I was like - NO!!!! I need to know the ending. That's where reading the books came into it. But of course I just couldn't read Breaking Dawn to find out what happens, I needed to read them all in case the story line differed. I read all five books in 3 1/2 weeks - I just couldn't put them down. I had thought that the twilight stories were for teenagers but I actually think that the stories (and films) has the ability to cross age barriers and will satisfy both teenagers and adults alike. By the end of the first book I was thirsting for more - wanting to know more about the Cullen family and the events that was going to happen. I felt like I was right there in Folks with the descriptions that Stephenie Meyer's wrote throughout the books. The romance between Edward and Bella is both touching and compelling - their impossible love. I didn't want these books to end.

We highly recommend them all!

To Kill A MockingBird by Harper Lee

'To Kill A MockingBird' by Harper Lee

A black man charged with raping a white girl is to be defended by Atticus Finch, a white widower lawyer in Alabama. This book tells the story of his two children Scout and Jem. Through their eyes we read a series of events that shook their innocence, teaches them about human nature and shape their life's. We learn about attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties and how a town showed prejudice, violence and hypocrisy over one man's struggle for justice. 

This is a classic novel and is read and studied in many schools in American, as well as in other countries. I never read this book at school as my English class was seemed not good enough to read classics like this, what a shame! This novel is really good (fantastic!!) and I wish I had had the opportunity to read it years ago. I loved reading the story through the eyes of a child Scout and how she made me see the things she saw and things she felt. There is a lot more going on than just the trial, and Scout tells us all about it. 

Would highly recommend  

The Casual Vacancy by J K Rowling

'The Casual Vacancy' by J K Rowling

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils...Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

I have never read any of the Harry Potter books so I was very open minded to this new book from
J K Rowling. I had heard a lot from others on how could she write anything better than the Harry Potter books, as I had never read them I had nothing to compare but knowing what a fantastic writter she is meant to be, I expected more!! For the first quarter of the book I was bored, disappointed and spent most of my time trying to work out who all of the characters were. I just couldn't get into it. I decided to put the book down for the week and then try again thinking that maybe I just wasn't in the frame of mind for reading that week, but no, I still felt the same when I started again! The book was chosen for our camp book club and it has been the only book I haven't finished. I finally stopped 3/4 through and put it down. I just kept thinking what a waste of my time, why am I sitting here reading this, I could be reading something so much better. What a waste of my £9 to buy it and those hours reading the 350+ pages!!

I have to say though, a member of my book club group did say the last 1/4 was the best and I should persevere with it, she was gripped with the ending. I think for now I can't finish it - I just can't waste anymore time on this novel, maybe at a later date when I have no more books to read I will finish it. (maybe!!) One thing I did get from the book though was you never know what goes on behind closed doors!

Would never recommed

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley

Far in the future, the World Controllers have created the ideal society. Reproduction is controlled through genetic engineering, and people are bred into a rigid class system. As they mature, they are conditioned to be happy with the roles that society has created for them. Through clever use of genetic engineering, brainwashing and recreational sex and drugs all its members are happy consumers. Bernard Marx seems alone harbouring an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage Reservations where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his distress...

This book is considered to be Huxley's masterpiece, his best works with many fantastic reviews...I hated it!!! This book was chosen by a member of the camp book club as she loved it when she read it many years ago. Oh what a hard read, I felt like pulling my teeth out would have been a better pass time than reading this!!

An interesting concept, but not at all enjoyable. Would not recommend at all!!

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

'The Thirteenth Tale' by Diane Setterfield

Angelfield House stands abandoned and forgotten. It was once home to the March family - fascinating, manipulative Isabelle, brutal, dangerous Charlie, and the wild, untamed twins, Emmeline and Adeline. But Angelfield House hides a chilling secret which strikes at the very heart of each of them, tearing their lives apart...

Vida Winter is the most respected and widely read living writer, now coming to the end of her life. Throughout her career, she's been interviewed many times but has always given different and fantastical stories about her life, so that she's preserved an aura of mystery.

Margaret Lea is a young, repressed woman who lives above her father's bookshop. All her life she has loved reading, but has never attempted a write a novel. She's written a few articles on her non-fiction research, one of them having been published in an academic journal. Margaret receives a letter in terrible handwriting, an invitation from Vida Winter, who wants Margaret to write her biography.

Now Margaret Lea is investigating Angelfield's past - and the mystery of the March family starts to unravel. What has Angelfield been hiding? What is its connection with the enigmatic writer Vida Winter? And what is the secret that strikes at the heart of Margaret's own, troubled life?

As Margaret digs deeper, two parallel stories unfold, and the tale she uncovers sheds a disturbing light on her own life...

I loved this book. My friend Frances recommended it to me, so I went on Amazon to purchase it and while there read the reviews. Even though after reading some of the negative reviews I still brought the book as Frances had said how good it was. It was only when I finished the book that I was amazed about the negative comments. As I said I loved it. The Thirteenth Tale is Diane Setterfield first novel (her second came out in May this year) and I think for her first book, it was great. The mystery kept me turning the pages and just couldn't wait to reach the end - kept me guessing!

I look forward to reading her second novel. Thanks Frances for recommending it to me.
Would recommend

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

'The Uncommon Reader' by Alan Bennett

The Uncommon Reader is none other than the Queen who drifts accidentally into reading when her corgis stray into a mobile library parked at Buckingham Palace. She takes her first book because she feels like she should as she doesn't want to upset the librarian. Her views of the world and those around her soon change. Those around her don't like her reading and try to get her to stop.

Very disappointing, I only stuck with it as it had been chosen for my village book club. I found the whole book dull and wanted to gave up before finishing it but as it was only a small book (thankfully!) I did finish it. I had read that it gave the reader a insight into the reading habits of the queen, but I doubt that, as I guess the queen is probably quite well read, she is certainly no fool as it came across in the book. I did not laugh once, I can't really see the point of the book.

I expected more. Would not recommend

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.
Aibileen, raising her seventeenth white child; Minny, forever losing jobs due to her sassy tongue; and Miss Skeeter, an aspiring writer who has been raised by black maids all her life.

This book is written in 'Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. Black maids raise white children, but aren't trusted not to steal the silver'. And where white women should have a ring on their finger.
Aibileen, Minny and Miss Skeeter embark on a dangerous journey to try and change decades of prejudice and pave the way for a better life for the next generations. Through the words of each of these women we learn how racism and intolerance was in 1960 in the south. There are tales of unbelievable cruelty and humiliation but also tales of tenderness and real love.

I just couldnt put this book down. I felt like I was transported into the life of each of these characters. I loved each character and almost felt that I knew them personal at the end. I was gripped reading this book, one minute laughing out loud, the next almost in tears (ok a few times I was in tears!). And one thing that will always stay with me is the part about Minny famous cake.

Would highly recommend

Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson

‘Before I Go To Sleep’ by S J Watson

 

With this book, I was hooked after the first paragraph! I actually hadn't heard of 'Before I Go To Sleep' before being recommended by my friend Frances. Because I haven’t been reading any books for a while, I hadn’t paid any attention of the latest bestsellers and hot reads. Even though Frances had told me how good the book was, I was still surprised how much I loved it. I found I just couldn’t put this book down, and to me this was a sign on how good the book was. I don’t want to hint at or spoil anything so I wont to say anything about the story, I just know if you are looking for a great read, this book is for you! You won't be disappointed!

 

Would highly recommend

Reading

I used to love reading and would read often but when Megan was born, time and tiredness took over and books were put to the side to collect dust!

Back in May after listening to my friend Frances talk about a book that she had just finished made me want to pick up a book again and read. And what a great decision that was. I love reading and its only now that I realise how many good books i've missed out on reading (a lot to caught up on!).

Paul brought me a Kindle for my birthday and I love it - I have read loads on it. I love the size and the fact that I can take it away with lots of books on it, saving so much room in my bag rather than carrying paperback books. But I still love a paperback book too, in fact the book i'm reading at the moment is a paperback.

I have done this blog to write about the books that I have read and would I recommend or not.