Sunday 20 December 2015

My Top Books of 2015





Hi everyone,


Well Christmas is nearly upon us which means it's nearly the end of another year and what a year 2015 has been for books.

I would like to firstly say thank you to all the authors, publishers and all the bookish people for all the support I've received throughout the year whether it was allowing me to read ARC's of their books, tweeting my reviews or viewing my blog, it's given me great confidence to make me continue doing what I love which is my LOVE for reading and reviewing.


Below you'll find listed my Top 12 Books of 2015 (well there's actually 13 as I couldn't leave any of these out) but they are not in any particular order.


Lost Girls ~ Angela Marsons


The Girl Who Broke The Rules ~ Marnie Riches


Only The Brave ~ Mel Sherratt


Those We Left Behind ~ Stuart Neville



The Two of Us ~ Andy Jones


The Doctor's Daughter ~ Vanessa Matthews  


Untouchable ~ Ava Marsh


Freedom's Child ~ Jax Miller



Follow Me ~ Angela Clarke



Disclaimer ~ Reneé Knight



Afraid ~ Mandasue Heller 



No Other Darkness ~ Sarah Hillary



The Venus Trap ~ Louise Voss



       
That's the list and hope you've enjoyed reading it. Hopefully you've read at least one of these titles and if not then I suggest you do. I'm already looking forward to the 2016 books where I hope I will find some excellent reads.

Merry Christmas to you all and best wishes for 2016 Xxx



Sunday 13 December 2015

Follow Me by Angela Clarke


Today, it's my turn on the final day of The Follow Me Blog Tour and I'm delighted that I was asked to participate with some great Book Bloggers so a HUGE thanks to Helena Sheffield from Avon Books and Netgalley, I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review........

LIKE. SHARE. FOLLOW . . . DIE

Freddy Venton is an unpaid reporter but would love nothing more than to be taken on and have a paid salary but currently has to make do with working in a coffee shop.  She's quite addicted to social media (I've been guilty of this on numerous occasions, who isn't!??)  She checks her phone first thing in the morning to see what she may have missed out on on her newsfeed the night before along with all of her other apps aswell as checking her apps last thing at night too.  She bumps into Nasreen Cudmore, a childhood friend who is now a member of the police force and an ambitious one at that too but eight years ago these two young girls did something that was unforgivable. Now, police officer Nasreen and investigative journalist Freddie are thrown together again in a desperate struggle to catch this scheming, fame-crazed killer. The ‘Hashtag Murderer’ posts chilling cryptic clues online, pointing to their next target.  Their account is gaining momentum every hour as the number of followers rises but so is the body count.  But can they stay one step ahead of him or will it be too late? Can they escape their own past??

This is the first book by Angela Clarke and what a debut it was, I didn't just like it, I LOVED it and it definitely didn't disappoint. There were a few twists in it, which I loved as I was convinced that I'd worked out who the killer was halfway through but I definitely wasn't expecting who I thought it was. There were parts in the book I could feel my heart thumping so it's definitely not for the fainthearted.  We are all too familiar with social media, it's part of our daily lives, whether it's Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or Whatsapp,  the threats and dangers that these can pose and the way some people can use them dangerously to their advantage which sometimes cause tension, rows and fallouts between friends and family.  It really goes to show you that there can and are some crazed people on the internet these days and I'm sure we've all heard stories whether it be on the news or reported on social media.  I am really looking forward to reading more from Angela Clarke and she definitely is an author to watch and I would HIGHLY recommend this book and especially if you're like me quite addicted to social media so don't say I never told you.  I think I may have to check who my followers are in future just incase the "Hashtag Murder" may be following me...........

Follow me is available on Kindle from 3rd of December and will be available in all good bookstores from 31st December 2015.

Thursday 3 December 2015

25 Random Things About Me

Thanks to Kate at Bibliophile Book Club at http://bibliophilebookclub.wordpress.com for coming up with this idea & giving me the opportunity to use this idea for my own blog. I think it’s a great way for everyone to find out more about the person behind the blog, do here we go.


1. What is your middle name?
Elizabeth for Christening & took Bernadette for my Confirmation

2. What’s your favourite Drink?
I’m addicted to Hot Chocolate but I don't have it all the time but I do love a nice cup of tea, I have at least 3-4 mugs a day, possibly more when I'm reading of course. I also love Coke Zero.



3. What’s your favourite song at the moment?
Well it’s that time of year, so I'm loving all the Christmas songs, I also love the 80's & 90's also.

4. What’s your favourite food?
Oh, its got to be a creamy chicken, bacon pasta dish ~ delicious!!!

5. What’s the last thing you bought?
I've bought quite a few Christmas presents over the past few days, I also bought myself Star Wars PJ's for Christmas & a Star Wars top for my little nephew.

6. Favourite book of all time?
This ones really hard but I'd have to say To Kill A Mockingbird, I read it when I was 15 for my Junior Cert exams & then re-read it when I was in my 30's & definitely seen it from a different perspective.

7. Favourite Colour?
I wear a lot of different colors but my favorite colour is purple.

8. Do you have any pets?
Yes, we have 2 cats, Tiddles & Snowy, would be lost without them.


9. Favourite Perfume?
Pure Poison ~ Christian Dior

10 – Favourite holiday?
It has to be Orlando, Florida, I went there numerous times when I was younger with my brother, thanks to my super parents, we were brought every year until our late teens do magical experiences & great memories. I have to get back there again one day.

11. Are you married?
No, but I am engaged to Brian who's my best friend & soul mate. We're together almost 11 years & our anniversary is next week.


12. Have you ever been out the country? If so, how many times?
Oh, I'm not sure, I've travelled to Spain, Corfu, Greece, Orlando, Tampa & I've been to a few places in England & Wales numerous times.

13. Do you speak any other language?
I learned German when I was in school & also been from Ireland I can speak some Irish but I'm raging I never pursued it to become fluent.

14. How many siblings do you have?
I have 1 brother who is 5 years younger than me.

15. What is your favourite store?
I’m a big fan of Penneys but I also love Heatons, Dunnes, Debenhams, H&M, Forever 21 & M&S.

16. Favourite restaurant?
I would have to say I love The Lavey Inn which is in Cavan where my fiancé is from & I love going in when we visit his family.

17. When was the last time you cried?
A few weeks ago watching the Sainsbury's ad featuring Mog 

18. Favourite Blog?
This is a hard one as there are so many great book blogs out there but I'd have to say ~

https://bleachhouselibrary.blogspot.ie
https://bibliophilebookclub.wordpress.com
http://beccasbooooks.blogspot.co.uk

19. Favourite Movie?

I'd have to say Home Alone, The Santa Clause, Santa Clause The Movie, Indiana Jones Trilogy, mainly anything with Harrison Ford.

20. Favourite TV show?
I have quite a few ~ Currently Better Call Saul, Homeland, Red Rock. I was devastated when these were finished ~ Quantum Leap, Prison Break and Breaking Bad.

21. PC or Mac?
I use PC, phone or iPad for everything.

22. What phone do you have?
Galaxy Samsung S4.

23. What’s your favourite pastime?
Reading & blogging my reviews hoping someone might find a new read for themselves, watching football & other sports and spending time with my family.

24. Can you cook?
Yes, I cook all the time & don't mind it really but if was given choice I wouldn't, haha!!

25. Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
No, I don't have any of either.

I hope you enjoyed my post & learned a little bit more about me, please feel free to leave a comment below 