MARCH 2018 FAVOURITES

Thirty Seconds To Mars @ O2 Arena London 27.03.18

After You (Me Before You #2) by Jojo Moyes

How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future. . . .

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.  

Cover:  I don’t think there’s really much of anything to like OR dislike.  It’s very basic.

When I read Me Before You, I really connected with it.  It made me feels so many emotions.  It was a real rollercoaster of a book.  I loved it so much I have two tattoos based on the book.

It’s taken me a very long time to get around to picking up this sequel, as I just didn’t feel ready for it.  I didn’t see how it could possibly live up to the first book, and how the first book ended, I just couldn’t see a continuation for it.

So I eventually picked it up.  And I’m really glad that I did.

Did it live up to Me Before You?

No.

Did I still enjoy it?

Yes I did.

I was glad to catch up with the main character Louise.  Seeing her brought low by the events of Me Before You, and dealing with the aftermath.  It was rewarding seeing her fight to pull herself of the black hole she’s in, and potentially finding love again.

I would recommend picking up After You, if you enjoyed Me Before You.

I will be picking up the third instalment at some point.

4/5 stars.

Love Me Like This (The Morrisons #3) by Bella Andre

Eight years have passed since Justin Morrison first laid eyes on Taylor and fell head over heels in love with her, even though he knew she could never be his. He's tried everything he can to get over her--including moving to another country--but she's still the only woman he'll ever want.

Eight years is a heck of a long time to secretly love someone. Taylor knows all too well how impossible it is to forget a man as sexy, sweet, and brilliant as Justin Morrison. So when he turns up on the doorstep of her Napa Valley bed and breakfast, she can't help but long for the happily-ever-after of her dreams.

As Taylor and Justin spend beautifully romantic mornings together watching the sun rise over the vineyards--and can't help but fall into each other's arms on wickedly sexy nights--it looks like they might finally get their chance at the love they've been waiting for. But will the secret Taylor has been keeping shatter everything in the end?

Cover:  I love this kind of cute and sappy covers, and this is no exception.

I’m a huge fan of Bella Andre’s Sullivans series, and when she released The Morrisons I was really excited.  And she didn’t disappoint, so I’ve been waiting for wait feels like forever for the third book.

Justin and Taylor have both secretly loved each other for years, but always thought it was one sided.

I’m not normally a big fan of the friends to lovers kind of romance, but in this case it was done really well.  You could really see that they had both loved each other, but that they thought the other thought of them as just a friend.

Justin was such a heart throb of a main character.  He really went all out to convince Taylor they should be together.

A super cute contemporary romance novel that I highly recommend picking up.  I think it can be read as a stand alone, but would suggest picking up the first two books in The Morrisons series first, just to get the most out of it.

4.5/5 stars.

Hello Stranger (The Ravenals #4) by Lisa Kleypas

A woman who defies her time

Dr. Garrett Gibson, the only female physician in England, is as daring and independent as any man—why not take her pleasures like one? Yet she has never been tempted to embark on an affair, until now. Ethan Ransom, a former detective for Scotland Yard, is as gallant as he is secretive, a rumored assassin whose true loyalties are a mystery. For one exhilarating night, they give in to their potent attraction before becoming strangers again.

A man who breaks every rule

As a Ravenel by-blow spurned by his father, Ethan has little interest in polite society, yet he is captivated by the bold and beautiful Garrett. Despite their vow to resist each other after that sublime night, she is soon drawn into his most dangerous assignment yet. When the mission goes wrong, it will take all of Garrett's skill and courage to save him. As they face the menace of a treacherous government plot, Ethan is willing to take any risk for the love of the most extraordinary woman he's ever known.  

Cover:  I’m such a sucker for cute historical romance covers, and this is no exception.  It’s nice and simple.  Of course I also like the old and cheesy bodice ripper type cover, but this is more reading-in-public-friendly.

I have become a huge Lisa Kleypas fan.  I mean HUGE.  I first read her Bow Street Runner series a few years ago and absolutely loved it, but for some reason, never picked up another of her books until late last year, and then I became obsessed with them.  I read Because You’re Mine, and it became one of my all time favourite books, not just romance book.  And since then I’ve been on a mission to collect all of her books.

On that mission I started to read The Ravenals series, and instantly loved it, reading one after the other.  Having to wait for book 4, Hell Stranger, to be released has been torture.  It is one of my most anticipated releases of this year.  And it did not disappoint me.

As soon as it arrived I was ready to delve in.

I absolutely loved this book.  The two main characters are just so loveable, and perfect for each other.

Garrett is a female physician in a time where woman have very little freedom, but she’s fought for what she wants to do.

Ethan is a man of mystery- working for the police, Scotland Yard, and then as some kind of Secret Agent.

The sparks were there between them when we met them briefly in book 2, and I’m so glad they got their own book.

Ethan has tried to stay away from Garrett, in his line of work danger follows him around but they’re both so drawn to each other.

They really are a perfect pair.  I loved that Ethan has the heart of a poetic, and even though Garrett is a very pragmatic female, he brings out her softer side.

Would highly recommend this book for fans of historical romance, but would suggest picking up the first three books in the series first.

I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in this series.

5/5 stars.

Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book by Jennifer Donnelly

An original addition to the beloved Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, Lost in a Book follows the lonely, bookish Belle as she finds an enchanted book in the Beast’s library called Nevermore that carries her into a glittering new world. There, Belle is befriended by a mysterious countess who offers her the life she’s always dreamed of.

But Nevermore is not what it seems, and the more time Belle spends there, the harder it is to leave. Good stories take hold of us and never let us go, and once Belle becomes lost in this book, she may never find her way out again.

Cover:  I love how magical this book looks, and just the colours on it are beautiful.

I love Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.  It’s probably my favourite Disney film of all time, and when I was found out there was going to be a live action version, I was both massively excited, and scared.  But when I saw it, I fell in love with it.  I really feel the live action really was the perfect mix of the original animated movie, and the stage musical.  So I became a tad obsessed, and wanted to get hold of everything Beauty and the Beast related they brought out, including this book.

It’s set during the movie, just after the Beast gives Belle the library, and she comes across a magical book that transports her into its magical world, which Bella think is a brilliant escape from her imprisonment in the Beast’s castle, but what she doesn’t realise is that she’s a pawn in a deadly game between two sisters, Love and Death, and they are both determined to win.

I really enjoyed this little book.  It was nice to see an original story but with all the familiar characters I love.

It was a great little adventure and would recommend all fans of Beauty and the Beast check it out.

4/5 stars.

Charming Hannah (Big Sky #1) by Kristen Proby

From New York Times Bestselling author, Kristen Proby, comes the first in an all-new trilogy in her beloved Big Sky Series!

Hannah Malone loves her new town. Despite living in Cunningham Falls for five years, she’s still considered a “move in” by most of the locals, and that doesn’t bother her in the least. She’s the “new girl”, and she hasn’t regretted it for one day. This town is her sanctuary. Her home. The one place she finally fits in and feels safe after a lifetime of being different and running from the memories and a past so far away it can’t haunt her anymore.

As the newly appointed police chief, Brad Hull has the responsibility to keep his citizens safe and to maintain order. His roots in this town are deep—five generations deep, to be exact. Cunningham Falls, Montana is his town, and being a cop and protecting what’s his is his passion. Everything’s running like clockwork until a sassy redheaded doctor moves in and disrupts the order—and Brad’s focus.

She’s not just beautiful, funny, and strong. Hannah’s everything he’s been looking for in a woman. The chemistry is undeniable, and the heat in the bedroom is off the charts. Brad knew the minute he met Hannah that she was the one for him. He’s tenacious in his pursuit of her. But when the past catches up with Hannah, will Brad be able to protect her and their hearts?

Cover:  A nice romantic cover, I’m a sucker for these.

I’m a big Kristen Proby fan.  I love her Boudreux series the most, but I’ve enjoyed all her books, so this was an insta-buy book for me.  And I wasn’t disappointment.

This is the first book in a new series, (Big Sky #1) but it’s a spin off series to her Love Under the Big Sky series, so I would recommend picking up that series first to get the most out of this one.

Hannah is a doctor, that suffers with anxiety- headache? Must be a brain tumour? Stomach pain? Cervical cancer.  And even though she knows she’s being irrational, she can’t stop it.   Brad, the police chief is drawn to Hannah, and the attraction sparks between them.

They were really cute together, and even though there was a ton of drama in this book, it was really enjoyable, and even though it seems a cliché, the doctor and the police chief, but they’re really adorable together.  And Brad’s dog steals the show in a fair few scenes.

Would definitely recommend for contemporary romance fans, Kristen Proby doesn’t disappoint.

I really enjoyed this one, but it’s not my favourite of hers, The Boudreaux series remains my fav!

4/5 stars.

FEBRUARY FAVOURITES | 2018