July Reads + Mini Reviews

I'm settling in to a lovely evening of blogging and what better way to start that with my monthly reads. I've had a pretty good month book wise and have devoured 5 books, a few of which have quickly become favourites. I'm now 22 books into my yearly challenge and 10 books into my 30 book challenge. I cannot believe that since setting this challenge midway through June I'm already a third of the way through. I cannot wait to buy a new book, my wish list is seriously growing. Anyway let's get cracking,

July

The Immortals Series Book 2 Blue Moon - Alyson Noel 

The Single Girl's To-Do List - Lindsey Kelk 

Crazy in Love - Chrissie Manby

Operation Sunshine - Jenny Colgan

The Wedding Girl - Madeleine Wickham

I mentioned the first book in this series, Evermore, last month which held a great place on my bookshelf and here we have the next book. I absolutely loved this. I must have whizzed through this one so quickly because I was hooked on Alyson Noel's every word. In this book we  have the opportunity to explore Summerland in greater depth, and the imagery created here is fantastic. A new character is also introduced who is interesting to say the least. I don't want to go into to much detail here because I wouldn't want to spoil the story for anyone, but what I will say is that I loved it. I cannot wait to pick up the next few books in the series and luckily there are four more... so far. I would recommend this book to anyone. I really am a sucker for teenage fiction which I know is not to everyone's taste, but if it is to yours then I'm sure that you will enjoy this one. 

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I picked this up a few months ago with high hopes of a fantastic read. After reading I heart New York and falling in love with Lindsey Kelk's writing style I predicted that this would be on par. Unfortunately I cannot say that this was love at first read. I did enjoy the story, but I did not fall in love with the characters and I wasn't really hooked from the first page as I am with all my favourite reads. Saying that I wouldn't give it a miss. I know that there are people out there that will love this book and rate it higher that any other but for me this makes it into the donate pile. 

The Single Girl's To-Do List is about Rachel who is dumped by her long time partner. Over a few too many drinks Rachel and her two best friends compile the list, which involves many adventures to get over her ex and to enjoy the single life. The challenges involve the typical 'make-over' (which Lindsey seems to be a huge fan of) bungie jump, travelling, and many more, all over the space of two weeks. A tough amount to get through in such a short space of time but it is fiction at the end of the day. 

Overall a good summer read but not Lindsey Kelk's best work. 

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I absolutely loved this book and finished it within a couple of days. I remember receiving this free with a magazine at least a year ago and adding it to my bookcase. It then didn't see the light of day for months until I needed a book to photograph my new bookmarks. From then on it has been staring at me begging to be read. I must say that I'm glad that I finally pick it up.

Crazy in Love is about Birdie Sederburg who is the heiress to the Sederburg Golf Resorts fortune. She has everything that money could buy, but the one thing she is missing is a boyfriend (and manners it seems.) This is until one day when she crashes into her future boyfriend's car and falls 'madly' in love. From this moment on you can enjoy the story unfold as she faces many challenges to keep him by her side. 

I really love this book but I can see how many wouldn't. Birdie is your typical rich 'brat.' She has more money than sense and also believes that money can buy you anything. To some this would seem too much, but for me that was part of the charm. It was different to anything I've ever read, and though parts were predictable, it was as predictable as others I've read which deserves a huge thumbs up! I now cannot wait to read more from Chrissie Manby. 

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Another free book, also from a magazine last year. At first this book was a little slow. I started this on the way to Manchester Airport so I had a good few hours to kill. (Nope I wasn't off on holiday. Shame I know.) It took a while to get into but midway through I'd gotten there and couldn't stop reading. Operation Sunshine is your typical holiday read with an easy, light hearted tone and once I'd forced through the tough beginning I really did enjoy it. Don't get me wrong it's not the best book I've ever read and I wouldn't rave about it to anyone and everyone, but I don't regret reading it. 

Operation Sunshine is about a receptionist in Harley Street who has never had a real holiday, or at least one that she has enjoyed. Desperate for some sun, sea and sand, but with no-one willing to go with her she strikes luck when she is asked to administer an event in the South of France. Obviously what follows is not quite what she expects, though she does get a bit of romance. Well why not? 

Anyway not bad for a free book, and something a little fun to pass those afternoon breaks at work, or very long journeys to and from the airport. 

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The second Medeleine Wickham book I've read and I must say that I really enjoy her writing. The story itself seems a little far fetched but what unfolds as you get deeper into the plot is well worth it.  This book made me laugh, cry, gasp and smile. I loved it. I read this within 24 hours because I just couldn't put it down. Every opportunity I had I picked it up to read just a few more pages. 

The Wedding Girl is about Milly who is only a few days away from marrying the man of her dreams but she has a secret... she's already married! The far fetched part comes from the fact that she agreed to marry someone else knowing full well that she was already married. But if you can get past that you are in for a very good read. Once I finished this book it had raised so many topics which kept spinning round and round in my mind that I couldn't stop talking about it for days. Though the main story is about Milly it's Rupert's that warmed my heart. The wedding Girl is a book that is definitely worth your time. 

 ♥  ♥  ♥ 

So that's it for this month. I have no idea what books are up for the month of August because I just grab whatever tickles my fancy on that given day, but be sure to expect August reads next month. Overall 'Crazy in Love' and 'The Wedding Girl' have now been added to my favourite books but there's plenty of room left over for many, many more. 

Happy Reading.

Speak Soon,

Katie 

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Hello July

Well we've said goodbye to June. It's now July and to be honest I have absolutely no idea where June went! One minute it was here, then next we're not only onto the next month but we're already half way through 2011! Incredible! I remember when I was younger thinking how slowly each year past, where the summer holidays seemed to last forever. It's crazy to think that the older you get the quicker the months pass. Soon we'll be here in 5 years times wondering where the last few years went, but for now we'll just treasure the here and now. 

So what happened this month? 

I'm not quite sure. And if it wasn't for this blog I would have thought the month passed completely uneventful where in reality quite a fair bit has happened. And it's not until I look back at my Hello June and wonder what I wanted out of June, that I reminisce about what a lovely month it's been.

♥ Most importantly Michael and I celebrated our first full month as a married couple. Exciting!

♥ We officially and legally change our name. We decided against Mr and Mrs Cahill and instead Michael chose to take my second name. So our Mr and Mrs name will remain a mystery... for now. My Dad's reaction to our new Surnames melted my heart as he lit up at the though of his grandchildren sharing his family name. 

♥ I changed an important part of my diet and yes I do feel great. Though it is something I should have been doing for a very long time. Drinking water! I'm useless at drinking enough water, but believe me carrying a 1.5l bottle of water around with you really does help. You just seem to guzzle  it down without even realising. 

♥ In regards to my online store, I'm getting there. I'm creating at many new things as possible before I officially open up. I have chosen a name but we'll keep that a secret for now, but I will say that it suits my creations very well. We were contemplating 'Get Felt' at one point but decided it was too offensive. haha! 

♥ It was my Nanna's 89th Birthday on the 10th and I did bake her the most amazing birthday cake, and though it was two weeks late in the making it was still worth the wait. I laughed at the sight and now thought of it as I decided to use four sponges and stack them, with buttercream between each one (instead of the usual two) and it was massive!

♥ Finally you'll be please to hear that I did in fact bath the dog, though she's now due for another one. Typical. haha.

♥ I started my 30 Book Challenge, which is so much fun but most definitely a challenge. I need to stop leaving pictures  of books around the house as hints for Michael. Just because I can't buy 'me' books doesn't mean he can't. haha.

♥ Most amazingly June was the month I hit 100 followers! Don't worry I haven't just ignored this point I do have something up my sleeve but you'll just have to wait and see. But I did want to say a huge THANK YOU! it means so much to me. And to all of you that comment on my posts you have fast become a part of my daily life. Reading and replying to your messages make this whole blogging experience that little bit more exciting. And to the rest of you, just knowing you're there is incredible.

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Overall a pretty productive month. Though I think we both failed as the keeping in touch with friends aim didn't really go to plan. I'm useless at that. Life just kind of takes over. Though this will always be a constant struggle especially when your best friend is your husband. It's hard to share the time I have with him with other people. I am just so selfish.

It was also the month of the many car troubles. And the month where household appliances (if you can class a TV as an appliance) began to fall apart. haha. It's funny now but it wasn't at the time.

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So I'm looking forward to what July has in store for us, though what do I want to get out of it?

♥ I want to save some money and pay off the small but still existent debts we do have.

♥ Create more fun and inspiring things for my shop before I go live.

♥ Try and combat these terrible headaches I've found myself getting recently.

♥ Enjoy the summer and go on a few day trips with the husband.

♥ Set up Skype so I can talk to my Dad. I do miss him.

♥ Get the kitchen tap fixed. I'm sick of listening to running water.

♥ Begin the process of getting fit!

♥ Clear the clutter and sell the items you've been meaning to sell on ebay for months.

♥ Start pole dancing again... we can't let that pole go to waste.

I'm going to leave it there for now, because for some reason I'm very motivate and could see this list becoming never ending. Hopefully this ambition will last me through the month!

What have you got planned for the month of July?

Speak Soon, 

Katie

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