Now I’ve been meaning to pen this post for a while and now I’m finally doing so. As it stands unless I get anymore reading in I’ve read 107 books this year. I’ve finally hit my Good Reads target for 2020.
It’s been a strange old year in many ways but reading has been such a tonic. If I hadn’t had lost two weeks to headaches there could have been many more.
It’s been hard to get it down to ten reads so in no particular order.
Miranda is one of my most favourite authors and this book gave me all the feels.
Well firstly I have to mention my most favourite bookish friend aka Fabulous Book Fiend aka Catriona. She gave me the push I needed to get involved with this readathon and what a week it was. I didn’t get involved in chats as I literally either missed them or couldn’t get the timings and I didn’t really do the challenges.
However, I did take part in a few reading sprints and I spoke to more bookish people over on Twitter which is always fun. Although for once bookish chat did not see me adding to my ever expanding TBR which was a plus. As much as I love adding more books it then makes choosing what to read harder again. I’ve been trying to get more of the new releases read and reviewed but there is always so much that I still hope to read. The readathon really did help with that.
So how did I do? I hear you say…
I completed 5 books 🙂 two ebooks one physical book and two audios.
Yesterday I had said for the final day I wanted to finish my audiobook which I did and I started a new audiobook although I didn’t listen to much as I struggled a little with the narration so I relistened and as it stands I’m listening determined to not give up just yet. It’s been a while since I’ve been in Nicholas Sparks world.
I’m intrigued by the description so far but I’m still not clear on where this story is heading…
I also managed to read a decent amount of a book that I should have read ages ago. I recently started re-reading it and I managed a good five and a half chapters. If I hadn’t got a bit of a headache I reckon I could have finished this yesterday. The book in question is a heart wrenching non fiction read about bowel Cancer.
Rachel’s story is informative and full of reality with the odd dash of humour.
Now for a bunch of links…my original Bout of Books sign up link can be read Here.
My first finished book of Bout of Books was Susan Gee’s second novel Love Me To Death my thoughts are Here.
I’m not sure I wrote enough updates but here is the first one day update and hopes for day two can be read Here.
The Minute I Saw You I read in its entirety and you can read my thoughts Here.
During this week I also posted two new features that I’m hoping to continue on the blog the first was my weekly update which you can read Here I really enjoyed doing this and I’m still open to what you would like to see in my weekly update…
I also wrote about my library app Libby and what I have downloaded and what I have on hold you can read that Here.
So that was my bookish week…this week is set to be a bit of a scorcher here in London and as I type I’m sat in the garden listening to Nicholas Sparks as I say I probably wouldn’t recommend this narrator but I’m glad I’m stubbornly getting to grips with it.
After yesterday’s well received weekly update I’ve been toying with a few ideas of a blog post for today. Thanks to the Bout of Books readathon I’ve had quite a productive reading week.
I was listening to the end of my audiobook earlier and I spent a bit of time with a book I had half started and shelved, I have hoped to finish it today on the final bout of books day but I have a bit of a headache so I’ve came back inside re-hydrated taken pills and started penning this I will step away from my electronics shortly.
Do you use your library and in this instance are you taking advantage of online bases. I downloaded Libby this week and I must admit once I realised just how easy it was to load my library details and download audiobooks I became addicted. I had almost instantly downloaded three audiobooks.
Out of the audiobooks I downloaded I have already finished…
My thoughts on this will be uploaded this week. Somehow out of his older novels this one has passed me by. This may well be the one I start later today. One that I’ve wanted to read for a while.I’ve enjoyed the Netflix series even though it’s hard to watch at times I’ve been saying I would read this in forever.
I’ve also put a few books on hold…with my library I can take out 5 books and can hold 3 as you can see I’ve took out 4 and I’ve finished one already. Below are the ones I have on hold….
Is there anything I should be reading? I’ve heard good things about all of these books and I’m making good use of my currently closed library without leaving the house.
Have you enjoyed my library based post? What should I be downloading and would you like to see this as a regular feature. Do get in touch?
Happy Saturday all and welcome to my newest feature here at Hayley Reviews. I’ve been toying with the idea of doing a weekly round up for a while and seeing as I’m at home right now I have no excuses whatsoever. So please bare with me and we will see how this feature turns out. I’m also looking for feedback on what you like and what you would like to see on next weeks post.
This week I’ve taken part in Bout of Books and it’s not over yet although the challenge does finish tomorrow. So far I’ve finished 2 ebooks and an audiobook. I’m hoping to finish another audiobook and paperback today 🙂 watch this space.
May has been a pretty successful one in terms of consistent blog posts and I’m hoping to keep some of this consistency once life returns to normal..
Last Sunday I choose to do a different post instead of a Six For Sunday the last few prompts haven’t been good for me so that’s where this inspiration came from you can read what I downloaded onto my Kindle in Kindle spree.
I had targeted myself to finish Love Me To Death on day one ahead of it’s release on Thursday and I was chuffed to have succeeded you can read my review Here.
I rarely post more than one post in a day but in line with posting reviews and updating my progress on the bout of books readathon I have done on occasion. Update…. I would like to know whether you like the extra posts or whether that’s too much daily? Please leave me a comment below.
I wholeheartedly loved buddy reading Anstey Harris second novel Where We Belong and you can read my thoughts Here.
Another Bout of Books update for you to read Here.
I’m such a fangirl for Paige Toon and I read her latest novel The Minute I Saw You in a day (yup in its entirety) you can read my thoughts Here.
Today so far I’ve managed a little of my audio and that is it…as I say my plans are to finish my audio and my paperback of these beauties.
So that’s my first weekly update….and I would love to hear what you think and what you would like to see? I haven’t rambled about my own day to day bar my bookish stuff would you like me to say more personal stuff let me know…
Blurb: When Hannah meets Sonny, she’s irresistibly drawn to him: he’s sexy and confident, but only in town on holiday. That’s fine with Hannah – she doesn’t do long-term relationships. And luckily for her, neither does Sonny. But before they can even so much as kiss, Sonny receives some shocking news and commits to making serious life changes – ones that can’t and won’t include romance.
With even a short fling now off the cards, Hannah and Sonny settle for being friends. But as summer hots up and their chemistry shows no signs of cooling, they start to question their reasons for shutting each other out.
Are they both too broken to find love? And if they tear down the walls between them, will they still like what’s on the other side?
Review: I’m wholeheartedly completely biased when it comes to Paige Toon, as I’ve stated numerous times I got into her books late on. Recently I’ve embarked on a readathon with Catriona and I’ve loved delving into the books I hadn’t read and re-reading the ones I loved.
The Minute I Saw You – is a first for me. In the first instance it’s the first proof I’ve not touched until publication day and in saying that I’ve read it in a day. Spending my day immersed in Paige Toon in Grantchester, Amsterdam and Australia pausing to watch her Facebook live, to make food and drinks and to watch her Insta live with a few chores in between. It was my mission to complete especially as I had the time to but I did find as I got further into the story my kindle said I didn’t have too long but it seemed to take me longer to finish.
Wow! I mean every single time I think I can’t be shocked by Paige I’m dumbstruck once again. The premise of this novel made my hairs stand on end the intensity and the angst was paramount. I have never imagined how sexual an encounter in an opticians could be making me think more and more about real life situations. Which I’m often left doing after being in Paige’s world.
Now for me what comes next is hard because there’s so much I would love to say but I cannot say and I wouldn’t want to risk ruining this rollercoaster for anyone. I will state one part of the storyline I had half guessed but I would never have anticipated what the actual outcome was. Paige delves into some dark subject matters but what I found encouraging was how she done so in a real way. Ignoring tabo and relying on good old fashioned friendships and conversations.
Both Sonny and Hannah I loved from the off – Paige naturally has a way of creating likeable and unlikeable women – which you will see from this novel there is a girl who features who you really won’t like ha. Hannah is strong on the outset but there is so much to her and her back story is woven through so well but you will be kept guessing for a while. With Sonny I had no incline or indication on his story but wow! I must say his cocky fun personality had me smiling like a goon throughout.
I love that this was a buddy read meaning I had a pal I could scream about stuff too. Paige has a habit of integrating characters from other novels and quite possibly my favourite couple appeared it was definitely a little OMG moment. If I had been able to read this in public it would have been one of those moments when people step away or give weird looks.
There’s so many aspects I want to talk about but I won’t spoil argh. I will mention friendships because there is a bond between a number of characters that grows, changes and evolves and each of those characters bring their own personality to the dynamic. I must say as ever for me there were tears and shocked expressions and genuine love for Paige and another heart wrenching story. The other sentiment I will mention is family and secrets in seeing Sonny and Hannah change, evolve and accept their pasts was emotional. Paige touches on sex in a totally different way showcasing that a true relationship is so much more than sex and that every single person has their own worries, stresses and insecurities but with the right person these aspects shouldn’t matter.
I’m glad I left this book until now to read, during the strangest time of my life I needed a Paige Toon all encompassing love – in saying that in this novel it made me want pizza, Prosecco and coffee…I’m not usually swayed by food in a Paige novel but this one had its moments.
This is another level of Paige Toon showcasing that this woman can put her hand to almost anything. Some hard hitting themes are dealt with such grace and precision and I’m actually left wondering on a few aspects. Quite simply her sexiest novel leaving me hoping these beauties come back to us some day. My time with Sonny and Hannah was short seeing as I read it on publication day but their story is one I will remember fondly and I will be recommending forever more.
Yesterday was in entirety dedicated to Paige Toon I was reading her latest novel The Minute I Saw You and watching her publication day lives on Facebook and insta with a few household chores and breaks for food and stuff.
So for day four I read in full.
Heading back to day three I completed my audiobook of this…
And I made a head-start on
Listening to up to chapter 9.
I did manage to lose the headache and get some of my paperback buddy read in although not enough..
In being all encompassed by Paige yesterday I’m therefore a tad behind on this beauty so this is my aim for day five. After coffee breakfast and making my final tweaks and adjustments to my Paige Toon review which will be posted shortly.
During bout of books I’ve managed to finish two ebooks and an audio so far. Most of the time this readathon passes me by but this one has been pretty successful and it’s not over yet.
Sorry about my delayed update…..do you like these posts?
Well I’m loving dedicating a bit more of my day to reading. I know I had already kind of done that since lockdown but I’ve also been giving myself targets. In saying that what I’ve realised is that I also need to get a bit more sleep, my dedication for trying to surpass my goals is leaving me feeling a bit off. Although I’m quite happy with where I’m at.
As I was behind on Monday yesterday I read Monday and Tuesday’s segments of this reading 138 pages and getting up to chapter 9. This is a fun read but it makes me realise even more that I’ve never liked the fashion industry.
On Monday I had listened to 27% and yesterday I got up to 67% I had wanted to finish but alas that didn’t happen although since then I have finished this one this morning…my thoughts will be coming soon.
So as I say I finished one audiobook today I’ve had a bit of a headache this morning which I think is lack of sleep. Which was why I delved for the audio when in reality I wanted to read my buddy read alongside my breakfast. But the plus is I’ve been reading still….I’m still a bit headachey I’ve been trying to sort a few things in my room and it’s been productive. I’m hoping I can get round to those pages later…I had wanted to get onto this
But it never happened I will be delving in shortly but I also need to have a rest to try and ease this headache as I don’t want to get behind. Especially as the new Paige Toon is out tomorrow I’ve had it a while but due to the readathon I’ve not started it. After hearing her read from it at a Spring blogger event before gatherings were cancelled I was even more in awe…
So today is about reading but not overdoing it. I have a fitness class via Facebook this evening and I’m hoping to watch Miranda Dickinsons live.
So yesterday was day one and I had said that I wanted to finish this beauty below
And I did…
I truly enjoyed delving into a Thriller for the first time in a short while. My review was posted this morning.
I wanted to get a few things done in my room but I didn’t want to not be reading so I downloaded Libby which I’m now a little obsessed with and I started this beauty which has been on my TBR for a while…and I love that the audio is read by Emily Attack who is fun to listen to whilst I do chores including my walk around Sainsbury’s this morning.
I listened to 28% of this yesterday I had said I would have liked to have listened to 50% but Love Me To Death took over my time alongside all the day to day stuff.
I should have read the first five chapters of this
My buddy read. So today I will be catching up on this it’s my must on today’s list.
If I’m honest I would like to read both Monday’s and today’s chapters of The High Moments and I would like to finish Some Kind of Wonderful as I’m eager to get to book two of the Jessie Jefferson novel which is another audio read thanks to Catriona I also have this in physical form. As I’m also eager to delve into the latest Paige Toon which is out on Thursday…
I’m onto chapter 3 of The High Moments and it looks like times are changing for Scarlett….right time to step away from the phone and back to the book.
Tomorrow I hope to have my day two round up and hopes for the day in the morning and a review in the afternoon unless you would prefer it the other way around let me know in the comments.
The police find a young woman’s body in the woods the same week a couple discover a crude, handmade doll in Lyme Park. But are the two findings connected… or a strange coincidence?
In a town full of loners and unhappy families, nothing is as it seems…
All Mr Anderson wants is a family. After his elderly mother died, he was almost unbearably lonely. Now it’s time for him to claim his own.
All Jacob wants is for Maggie to love him back. She only has eyes for the Vincent twins – but maybe he can make her see just how much he cares.
And everyone is a suspect.
Review: I truly loved Kiss Her Goodbye which was Susan Gee’s debut where my namesake was quite simply intense and extremely strange.
From the beginning Love Me To Death had a totally different feel to her debut although in saying that it was still intoxicatingly intense and unnerving. There are so many aspects to this story….the want of family, loneliness, bullying, mental health, obsession just to name a few. I’m not sure what to say without ruining the story and the spine tingling twist that once you’ve finished you’ll be sat there thinking I didn’t even contemplate that outcome because I didn’t. I was fully immersed into snowy Stockport – I think the woods, the description and the snow added to the drama of the story…
Mr Anderson was intense but in seeing his backstory you could see why he was the way he was. Not that I condone what he was doing because quite frankly he unnerved me but he also had a sense of ease and in trying to make life better. It had the same feel of Norman Bates from Psycho – you know he’s not all there but you also feel sorry for him at times. His relationship with Jacob is heartwarming and it’s also heartbreaking as they have so much pain and suffering in common.
Jacob is adorable in the strangest of ways but I felt for him. I honestly couldn’t believe how much he had to put up with, when all he wanted was to be accepted and to be loved and cared for. The total simply aspects of life, there’s so much I could say about Jacob but I don’t want to spoil the reveal but I felt for him so much.
The sense of family is paramount but it’s not as it seems at all. I read 30% on the first day and 70% yesterday when I completed it, when the tension builds and momentum takes over its intoxicating and you will continue until the final page.
As I’m taking part in the bout of books readathon I had said to myself I wanted to complete this on day one and I did and wow. This beauty hits e-readers on 14th May alongside a number of gorgeous books I’ve either read or am excited for you can order your copy Here.
Thank you to Aria and Netgalley for letting me read this beauty ahead of publication it’s available for 99p and is worth every single penny.
I will be posting again later today with my updates on how day one was in bout of books and what I hope for for today. I’ve only managed some audio alongside typing this and heading to the shops this morning which was a success I will be diving into my paperback shortly.
Today is Monday 11th May and my mindset is in a completely different place to that of yesterday. I’ve already managed to plank and a much better second count which was the boost I needed today. Enough about that on to the books.
Every time this readathon comes round I say I will participate and I have tried a few times but this time around I really don’t have many excuses as let’s face it I’m not working right now. Although today I’ve started an audiobook that I’ve wanted to read for a while but it wasn’t originally on my TBR thoughts for this week. I have a few things I want to get done in my room today and so I can do both reading and sorting I decided I needed an audiobook in my mix.
Thanks to my good friend Catriona aka Fabulous Book Fiend I’ve finally worked out how to use Libby so I can download audiobooks from my library. I couldn’t be happier so today I downloaded and I’m currently on chapter 2 of.
I may have also put a few things on hold and downloaded a Nicholas Sparks audiobook. It’s been a while since I’ve been immersed in a Nick Sparks novel. Sorry I’m rambling again.
So here is what you need to know about Bout of Books…The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are daily challenges, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For Bout of Books 28 information and updates, visit the Bout of Books blog.
I will be blogging daily as well as adding much needed reviews here on Hayley Reviews. There’s some amazing books I hope to get to and I will be posting reviews as much as possible this week too.
Yesterday I started this beauty and I’ve read a little of that this morning before turning to audio.
I absolutely loved Susan Gee’s debut and this is intriguing and unnerving me at the moment.
Myself and Catriona are buddy reading this this week I’m to start that later today. This beauty is out this week I can’t believe I’ve had it ages and not read it. We are almost at the end of our Paige Toon read a long.I’m not sure when this week I will start this but it will happen.
I’m hoping I can squeeze some more in but if this is all I manage I will also feel pretty happy.
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