To keep me on track not only of my yearly book challenge but also of my 30 book challenge, I've decided to do a post of my monthly reads. For me June has been a good month book wise and has seen me flick through the pages of 5 books, 4 of which are part of my 30 Book Challenge. That's just over a book a week which is pretty impressive, but seen as I'm always rather competitive with myself I'd like next month to be better.
June
Cocktails for Three - Madeleine Wickham (Sophie Kinsella)
Who's That Girl? - Alexandra Potter
Silent Witness (Point Horror) - Carol Ellis
I Heart New York - Lindsey Kelk
Evermore - Alyson Noel
I really enjoyed this book. It was a very easy but enjoyable read. I'd read so many mixed reviews before I finally picked this up, suggesting that it was nowhere near as good as Sophie Kinsella's previous work, but if you embark onto reading this with an open mind I'm sure you will love it too.
The story is about 3 completely different women who meet at least one a month and catch up over cocktails in their favourite bar. Life is changing for all three characters though pregnancy, love and huge changes and through everything they must fight to keep their friendship alive.
Like I said I enjoyed the story line but most of all I loved that it was easy to put down. Not normally a good point when reviewing a book but the characters were so easy to relate to and easy to remember that every time you picked it up it was like you'd never left. Plus when your only opportunity to read is on your lunch break then a book that's easy to put down is a must.
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I was lent this book by a colleague at work and though I loved the concept of this story line I felt the author could have taken it a lot further and been a little more adventurous.
Who's that girl? is about Charlotte who meets herself aged 21. She accidentally travels back in time and decides to give her younger self all the advice she wishes she had been given, but instead ends up being taught a thing or two.
When you have a concept such as time travel the world is your oyster, and I felt that Alexander Potter didn't do the story justice. It took almost half the book to set the scene and ultimately I knew more about her banker boyfriend, who predictably didn't have that much of a large part, than any other character. Also there were seemly important topics raised that were taken no further and I felt that the ending was a little rushed.
That being said I don't regret reading it, but I did feel that I came out of it thinking I could have done better. I know that sounds awful, but when reading the last page and closing the book I felt frustrated and filled with so many different ideas of where I could have taken the story.
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I was never lucky enough to find Point Horror in my early teens and though I was always a reader I was never a 'huge' reader. When I finally found them in my late teens I was hooked and have been hunting them down ever since. I picked this one up in a local car boot and pretty much starting reading it as soon as I bought it.
I love Point Horror books. They have a straight forward writing style, and though the series is made up of many different writers I'm yet to find one that I haven't enjoyed. I love how all point horror books have this air of mystery about them. They all have a predictable ending but it's also such an enjoyable journey.
This book was about a tape which is given to Lucy after her friend tragically dies. Little does she know that this tape contains a deadly crime that someone is desperate to keep secret.
I would recommend anyone to pick up Point Horror books and give them a read. I don't believe that they are published anymore but I'm sure that you will find them in charity shop, car boots, and most definitely on ebay.
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I received this book free in a copy of Glamour magazine last year but never picked it up until now. The only down side about this book was the font size which was tiny, but that was only due to copy being a magazine freebie. And that's all I have on down sides because this book was amazing!
I heart New York is Angela's story, who has recently broken up with her long term boyfriend, and to get over her heart break she runs away to New York. But instead of finding herself lost in a huge city she finds herself embarking on her biggest adventure yet.
I loved everything about this story, and I think I feel in love with Angela's character as soon as I read the first page. It's unreal once that you finish the story that the majority of the story only takes place on about 3 weeks. So much happens, so much changes, and Angela grows so much, that you think you've known her for years.
One down side to the story is that I don't yet own I Heart Hollywood, but I do own I Heart Paris! I also cannot buy it because I'm on my 30 Book Challenge. I'm holding out for birthday gifts in August and leaving plenty of hints in the mean time.
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I bought this in one of my recent ebay hauls. I'd never heard of the Immortals Series before so I had no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. I read this within about a week, but no because I didn't enjoy it. The story of this was pretty intriguing, not entirely original, but still thoroughly enjoyable. It's about Ever, who after an fatal car accident which kills her family becomes able to read minds. For Ever this is not a gift, and instead she fights a constant battle trying to block out these unwanted thoughts, until she meets Damen.
Now the only down side to Damen for me is his name. Throughout the story you are to believe that he is evil so it may be intentional that his name sounds evil. I don't know if it's just me, but all I could think of when I read his name was Damian, eg. the evil, devil child from the 1978 movie The Omen. Probably just me.
By the end of the book I was so in love with all the characters, including the evils one, that I had to pick up the second book.
I believe as a stand alone book it doesn't have a very strong story line, but combined with the second in The Immortals series it is spectacular at setting the scene. You need to pick up this series.
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So there we have it, my June reads. I have enjoyed all the books this month, and though one did leave me rather frustrated I don't regret reading it. I'm going to try to do this every month now, as I've loved summing up my month of reading. Plus it's nice to actually see everything laid out right in front of me.
I'm loving goodreads at the moment as it enables me to keep track of everything. Personally my favourite feature is that it shows shows me how far I am through my current read in percentages, and I can record the date I started and finished each book. It's nice to see how long it actually takes me to read a book. If you have a
goodreads account then please add me, I love seeing what everyone else is currently reading.
What have you read this month?
Speak Soon,
Katie
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