What I read

5 Stars

Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel by Jane Costello

The Silk Merchant's Daughter by Dinah Jefferies

Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan

The Night that Changed Everything by Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice

The Book of Lost & Found by Lucy Foley

4 Stars 

Dear Thing by Julie Cohen

Secrets of the Sewing Bee by Kate Thompson

The Hurricane by R. J. Prescott

3 Stars

The Astonishing Return of Norah Wells by Virgina Macgregor

The Father by Anton Svensson 

What I cooked

Banana Bread - Wickham Hall by Cathy Bramley

What I was up to

March has been a fantastic month as we had a little holiday in London. I had been dying to go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour forever so I finally convinced Husband to go. We had such a great time! I don't even know how many pictures we took, it was truly magical.

I also had the chance to attend a couple of blogger events (read all about them here) and to see Matilda the Musical which was amazing. 

For Easter, we went to Karlsruhe to spend the long weekend with friends. It was the birthday of one of them so we went out to celebrate big time and I baked a special cake for him! 

Apart from that, I'm still doing an intensive German course every day. So I'm slowly getting better! 

What I blogged about

At the beginning of March, we celebrated World Book Day, so I decided to write a little post about my favourite children book: Le Petit Prince.

Happy World Book Day

It seems like spring has finally arrived so I shared with you the books I'm planning to read during these months (I have already read a couple): 

Top Ten Books on my Spring TBR

While in London, I had the opportunity to attend a couple of blogger events. I really had a great time meeting old and new bookish friends and authors. Read all about them here:

Spring Blogger Event at Books and the City

Blogger / Author Shananigans in London

And we also went to see a musical! I've always loved Matilda, so I was a great pleasure to see her on stage: 

Musical Review: Matilda

Blurb: How does a child become a criminal? How does a father lose a son?

An epic crime novel with the excitement of Jo Nesbo'sHeadhunters and the narrative depth of We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Father is inspired by the extraordinary true story of three brothers who committed ten audacious bank robberies in Sweden over the course of just two years.

None had committed a crime before. All were under 24 years old. All of them would be changed forever as individuals and as a family.

This intoxicating, heartbreaking thriller tells the story of how three boys are transformed over the course of their lives from innocent children to the most wanted criminals in Sweden. And of the man who made them that way: their father.

First of all I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: What first caught my attention about The Father, was the fact that it is based on a true story. In the early 90s, three brothers committed ten extremely violent robberies in only a few months. This is their story, told by their own brother. Anton Svensson is actually the pseudonym for the two authors who co-wrote this story, one of them is Stefan Thunberg, the fourth brother.  

The book focuses on two periods of time: then, when the brothers where young (the eldest was 12 and the youngest 3), and now, when the brothers have decided to rob their first target (the eldest is 24 and the youngest 17). I found the "then" parts highly interesting. Their family seemed to work but with each day the father went a bit further, teaching his son to fight, to defend himself from the bullies. Becoming more and more violent. Ignoring his wife and transforming his eldest into a machine. From those parts you could clearly see why and how those children had become criminals.

The "now" parts dragged a bit for me. They were dense, with lots of describing of their violent actions and assaults. And it seemed like the plot didn't really progressed for a while. Also, the book is classified as a thriller but there was something missing for me to call it that. It was tense but it felt more like reading the script of a documentary. With a narrator explaining everything that was happening.

The last part of the book was probably the most entertaining, the pace gained speed considerably and I really wanted to know how it all ended. And then, there was also a short interview with Stefan Thunberg discussing exactly what was true and what was fictional in the story. I was surprised to discover how true to the real events they were. Especially during the "then" parts.

All in all, I found this book interesting, especially if you regard it as a psychological analysis of the mind of a criminal. It is definitely not a light read but it is unique take on a true story.

Rating: 

Blurb: Emily McCarthy is living in fear of a dark and dangerous past. A gifted mathematician, she is little more than a hollow, broken shell, trying desperately to make ends meet long enough to finish her degree. 

Through an unlikely friendship with the aging, cantankerous owner of an old boxing gym, Em is thrown into the path of the most dangerous man that she has ever met.

Cormac “the Hurricane” O’Connell is cut, tattooed and dangerous. He is a lethal weapon with no safety and everyone is waiting for the mis-fire. He’s never been knocked out before, but when he meet Em he falls, HARD. Unlike any other girl he’s ever met, she doesn’t want anything from him, but just being around her makes him want to be a better person. 

They are polar opposites who were never meant to find each other, but some things are just worth the fight.

First of all I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: At first sight you might think that this story is quite unoriginal and predictable: broken fragil girl meets bad boy fighter who changes after falling in love with her. Well, you are wrong then, The Hurricane is so much more! R.J. Prescott handles many difficult and controversial topics in this story and handles them with tact but with honesty. The characters and their story really got to me and I really enjoyed seeing them grow and mature.

The book is told from Emily's point of view. Her life hasn't been easy, she has been severly abused by her step father and has just only gotten away from him. She is trying to rebuild her life and leave her past behind, something extremely difficult as she is sure her step father will find a way to find her again. When she meets Cormac O'connell, she is afraid even of her own shadow.

Cormac instantly recognises the fear in her eyes but he is determined to help her and become her friend, someone she can rely on. What I really liked about Cormac is that he was true to himself. He did what he said and didn't play games. Many NA novels base their plots on the bad guy playing difficult to get or always hiding his true feeling. Cormac O'Connell is the opposite. His feelings were always clear and he was not afraid of showing them. This made for a refreshing change.

So, as you can imagine, Cormac and Emily fell in love pretty quickly. But taking into account both their pasts, this was no surprise and it didn't feel rushed in the story. What I enjoyed about their story was how they complemented each other and made each other better and always tried to work with each other, discussing their options and never lying.

The secondary characters were really interesting too, from Cormac's gym buddies who were like a big family to Em's university friends, they all added to the story and made for a very entertaining read.

The story was never boring, always hot and sweet and very well written. I'm sure I'll be checking R.J. Prescott's future novels. 

Rating: 

Last Friday I had the pleasure of going to the Cambridge Theater to see Matilda the Musical and I absolutely loved it, so I thought I'd share my impressions with you.

As a kid, I was a huge fan of Matilda. I don't know how many times I must have seen the movie! I think she is one of the reasons I love books so much. She taught me that books are important, they can be comforting, a place you can escape to but they also give you strength and self confidence. So, as you can imagine, I was bit worried that I'd be a bit disappointed if the musical didn't deliver the magic in this story. 

As soon as we entered the theater though, I could tell I was in for something special. The stage was beautifully decorated with blocks with letters. We spent several minutes trying to spot words, like Acrobat, Rage, Escape or Malice. 

Blurb: Rebecca is the only girl she knows who didn't cry at the end of Titanic. Ben is the only man he knows who did. Rebecca’s untidy but Ben doesn’t mind picking up her pieces. Ben is laid back by Rebecca keeps him on his toes. They're a perfect match.

Nothing can come between them. Or so they think.

When a throwaway comment reveals a secret from the past, their love story is rewritten.

Can they recover from the night that changed everything? And how do you forgive when you can’t forget?

The Night That Changed Everything is a funny, feel-good and bittersweet story, told in alternate chapters by Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice.

First of all I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: I recently read Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice's debut, The Best Thing That Never Happened to Me, and I absolutely adored. It was clever, fun and original. So I had huge hopes for their new book. And the truth is that it surpassed all my expectations. Their debut was good but their second book is just brilliant. It is also clever, fun and original but it goes a step further. Its dry humour made me chuckle more than once but what really got to me was its unique plot and all the surprises it had in store for me.

Just the other day I was talking to some book lovers about how sometimes we feel that we read the same stories over and over again, you know "girl meets boy and the rest is history" so it is always refreshing when you find a story that gives you something more and that's what The Night That Changed Everything does. It actually gives you so much more. For a starter, it is not a story about falling in love but kind of falling out of love because it is about a break up. And if you think that a story about a break up might be a bit depressing, you are completely wrong. It is bittersweet but uplifting and hopeful. 

Another thing I really enjoyed about this story was how I had no idea how the story was going to go. The authors managed to surprise me more than once. The story line was clever and unexpected and I found myself devouring this book in a couple of days, wanting to know more. 

But the book is not only about a couple (Rebecca and Ben) with some problems, it is so much more. It is about loving, learning to love again and to forgive but mainly it is about living, living a life that is worth living. It made me think a lot of the importance of making every heartbeat count, every day matter. And I ended this book with a really positive vibe. 

I'd like to point out that the book is told in alternating chapters, Rebecca's chapters are written by Laura Tait and Ben's chapter's are written by Jimmy Rice. And this works extremely well for them. I really connected with them both and being able to be inside their minds was fantastic. Also, they were really well developed characters and while I was reading the chapters from the others' point of view I could still clearly hear their voices. 

The whole bunch of secondary characters added the perfect spark to this story. I have to admit that my favourite was Jamie. He was a bit like the sun, because of his shiny and lively personality but also because the rest of the characters orbited a bit around him. His story really got to me and he is one of those characters that will be difficult to forget. 

The Night That Changed Everything is an unexpected and brilliantly clever story. It will make you smile, chuckle and maybe even shear a tear or two too but above all, it will surprise you. Really worth a read.

Rating: 

The event took place at The Waiting Room, a pub near Kings Cross. So after a yummy English Breakfast in Greenwich, Husband and I took the DLR to the city centre. The place was quite easy to spot as from quite a distance you could see, through the big windows, lots of women talking and moving around. That was the moment when Husband said "that's a lot of women! I think I'll go for a walk and come in a couple of hours". Poor thing, he felt a bit overwhelmed. So I entered the place by myself and instantly spotted some familiar face.

Once the lovely Kim has given me a sticker to put on with my name and twitter handle, so people would know who I was. And then the mingling started. There were so many bookish people around! It was quite unexpected to see so many people had made it. Also, as you can imagine, the noise we generated was quite high! I think the staff at The Waiting Room was not expecting that!

Anyway, I instantly got chatting with some lovely bloggers and authors. It was fantastic to finally meet Maryline, from M's Bookshelf, as we've been chatting forever on twitter. And she had come from Belgium with lovely Silke, from Silke reads and writes. I got to catch up again with fantastic blogger of the year, Rea from Rea Book Reviews, and some super bloggers like Sharon, from Shaz Book Blog, and Rachel, from Rachel Random Reads. 

But the room was full of authors too! I loved meeting Holly Martin again and chatting to her about her new book(s). She had us in stitches more than once. Also lovely to catch up with Heidi Swain and meet Kerry Fisher, Tilly Tennant, TA Williams or Isabelle Broom, to name a few. During the day I heard about some amazing books and got home with many cards from authors (I really need to get some cards done for my blog), so I can't wait to check them all out. 

By the way, Husband appeared after a couple of hours and joined us, chatting about books (he doesn't read a lot, so thanks for the support!). All in all, a great time was had! Bookish people are the best! I hope I'll be able to make another meet up during the year. 

Blurb: Orphan Flossy Brown arrives at Trout's garment factory in Bethnal Green amidst the uncertainty of the Second World War. In 1940s London, each cobbled street is strewn with ghosts of soldiers past, all struggling to make ends meet. For the women of the East End, their battles are on the home front.

Flossy is quickly embraced by the colourful mix of characters working at Trout's, who have turned their sewing expertise to vital war work. They fast become the family that Flossy has always longed for. Dolly Doolaney, darling of the East End, and infamous tea lady, gives her a particularly warm welcome and helps Flossy settle into wartime life.

Things aren't so easy for Peggy Piper, another new recruit at the factory. She's used to the high life working as a nippie in the West End, and is not best pleased to find herself bent over a sewing machine. But war has the ability to break down all sorts of class barriers and soon Peggy finds the generosity and spirit of her fellow workers difficult to resist.

Dolly sets up a sewing circle and the ladies at Trout's play their part in defending the frontline as they arm themselves with their needles and set about stitching their way to victory. But as the full force of the Blitz hits London, the sewing bee are forced to shelter in the underground tube stations on a nightly basis.

In such close quarters, can Dolly manage to contain the secret that binds them all? And how will Peggy and Flossy cope as their lives are shaped and moved by forces outside of their control?

First of all I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: Last year I had the pleasure of reading Kate Thompson's debut, Secret of the Singer Girls, which I thoroughly enjoyed. So I was over the moon to get a review copy of her new one. As soon as I started reading Secrets of the Sewing Bee, something sounded familiar and I soon realised that this story is set in the same textile factory as the previous book, Trout's. The difference is that The Sewing Bee takes place some years before, when the war is about to begin. This made me really glad, as I really enjoyed reading about some favourite characters from The Singer Girls and learning what they were up to before their own story. But the main characters for this one are completely new.

In Secrets of the Sewing Bee, we are introduced to two new recruits for the factory: fragile and shy Flossy and beautiful and proud Peggy. These girls couldn't be more different, they have had completely different upbringings, one being raised in an orphanage, the other in a healthy family, one ready to please, the other too cool to bother with work or making new friends. But soon war breaks out and willing or not they find themselves in the same boat with the whole Trout's family. And their friendship is one of the few things they can cling on. 

Something I love about Kate Thompson's stories is how you can tell the amount of research that she must have done for them. Her detailed descriptions of the buildings, the streets, the atmosphere and even the feelings of her characters make you feel part of the story. I always enjoy books that teach me something and with this one I learned so much, as we glimpse at the lives of those who lived through the horrific Blitz. Some made it and some didn't and the story reflects this and how everyone must have felt perfectly. 

Another bit that I found really interesting was that the author added some testimonies from the women  she interviewed during her research. They lived in the East End during that time and their words really resonated with me and made me understand the story even better. I really thing Kate Thompson captured their experiences perfectly in the story: that feeling of camaraderie, that almost joyous atmosphere they created in the underground stations where they had to hide from the bombs and also how brave and strong those women were. 

Secrets of the Sewing Bee is a touching story that will surprise you more than once. With complex characters, secrets, love, friendship and tears, it has it all. I cannot wait to see what Kate Thompson comes out with next. 

Rating: 

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Spring Blogger Event at the Books and the City HQ, which, as you can image, was a total blast. When we first arrived, the lovely SJ welcomed us all and offered us something to drink and some fantastic nibbles. I got chatting to some bloggers and soon we were called to the conference room. There, Clare Hey, editor to the stars, introduced us to these four fantastic authors: Juliet Ashton, Holly Hepburn, Paige Toon and Penny Parkes.

Blurb: In many ways my life has been rather like a record of the lost and found. Perhaps all lives are like that...

LONDON, 1986: Bequeathed an old portrait by her grandmother, Kate Darling begins to unpick the tapestry of her family’s secret history in a journey that takes her to Corsica, Paris and back to the heady days of the Roaring Twenties where it all began.

PARIS, 1939: Alice Eversley and Thomas Stafford meet once again in the City of Light. Tom is now a world-famous artist, Alice is much-changed too – bruised from the events of the last decade. Perhaps they can lose themselves in the love story that ignited by a moonlit lake all those years ago?

But sometimes there’s no place for happy endings – and there’s no hiding from the shadow of war...

Review: I love epic stories that go beyond generations, wars, distance, secrets and any other obstacle imaginable and The Book of Lost and Found is one of those, a brilliant one at that. As soon as I met the characters of this novel I wanted to know everything about them. We have an art student now working in a photo studio, an old painter who now lives isolated from the world in the island of Corsica, a tormented young man and an old woman who with too many regrets and secrets. And you might wonder how are they all linked? 

Well, it all starts when the young Kate Darling discovers an old photo of her supposed grandmother. She never knew about her as her mother was adopted and never met her own mother, but something about her makes Kate want to know who she was and what happened to her all those years back. From that moment we follow Kate in her journey of discovery, a journey full of missed chances, secrets, misfortunes and sorrows but also love, passion and bravery. I think Kate was not prepared to discover it all and neither was I, it completely swept off my feet and I found myself glued to the pages of this book wanting to know it all, at once.

The book alternates chapters from the past (thirties and forties mainly) and the present (the eighties), with different points of view. We learn about Kate's grandmother's story, a story I found fascinating. That woman went through hell and back and was still left standing. I found her bravery and purposefulness admirable and even if I didn't agree with all her choices, I completely respected them. I ended up being an unconditional fan of that woman. And as both past and present started entwining with each other, I found myself holding my breath. Could there be any better sign that you are enjoying a book so much that you completely lose yourself in it?

This beautifully written and deeply moving tale will capture your hearts from the first page and my warning is: be prepared for one of those colossal book hangovers after finishing it.

Rating: 

Blurb: One ordinary morning, Norah walked out of her house on Willoughby Street and never looked back. Six years later, she returns to the home she walked away from only to find another woman in her place. Fay held Norah's family together after she disappeared, she shares a bed with Norah's husband and Norah's youngest daughter calls Fay 'Mummy'.

Now that Norah has returned, everyone has questions. Where has she been? Why did she leave? And why is she back? As each member of the family tries to find the answers they each need, they must also face up to the most pressing question of all - what happens to The Mother Who Stayed when The Mother Who Left comes back? 

From the author of What Milo Saw, comes this powerful, emotional and perceptive novel about what it takes to hold a family together and what you're willing to sacrifice for the ones you love.

First of all I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: When I read Virginia Macgregor's first book, What Milo Saw, I fell completely in love with her simple but truthful writing and her quirky characters. I found that book really special, with the right balance between reality and tale. But with this one I think this balance has been lost a bit and what started like an interesting story full of potential turned out to be to unrealistic and even a bit absurd at the end. 

The novel has more or less the same structure as What Milo Saw, short chapters from different points of views. That is something I liked, this way you feel like you know better all the characters involved and understand their actions better. Plus, the author's style was once more, flawless and simple but full of emotions. My main problem with the story was I guess that I didn't get the main two characters, The Mother Who Stayed and The Mother Who Left. I couldn't really connect with them nor did I understand their motives. It's true that as the story unfolded and some truths were uncovered, it changed a bit my conception of these two women but there was something bothering me all the time, why would a mother abandon her family and then expect that coming back 6 years later would be seen as completely normal and everyone would be exactly the same? 

There were also some story lines surrounding this main one, like the older daughter running a twitter campaign to find her mother which I found quite interesting. Through her tweets we could easily see how she was feeling and I thing this sub plot was well handled. And then there was the younger daughter and her obsession with foxes, which I didn't really get. 

My favourite character in the story was the older daughter's boyfriend. He probably was the only one who understood the situation and was trying to help. He had his own little story and I found his little parts very engaging. 

All in all, The Astonishing Return of Norah Wells didn't work for me. I did enjoy it and found some parts very touching and especial. And as I said the writing was beautiful and made me want to keep reading but my problems with the main plot and their main characters were too much to ignore and at the end this novel didn't deliver as much as I had hoped. 

Rating: 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over there at The Broke and the Bookish. And who doesn't love a good list?

This week's topic is about the books I am planning to read this spring. Spring is one of my favourite seasons because it feels a bit like everything wakes up and comes to life after the grey and cold winter and with books I have the same feeling. Plus, some of my most anticipated books of this year are coming out very soon! Well, let's see what's on my (never ending) tbr pile:

Thrillers:

The Missing by C.L. Taylor. Probably the book I am most excited about. This author's books are so addictive, so clever, so dark and creepy! I cannot wait to see what she has come up with next. Good news, I don't have to wait until publication next month, I've got a review copy! 

Follow Me Back by Nicci Cloke. I haven't read anything by this author but I found the blurb for this one very interesting. Social media play such a big role in our lives, especially in teenagers, so I'm curious to see what happens.

The Father by Anton Svensson. I've read some Nordic crime novels and thrillers and loved them so I hope The Father is up to my expectations. It's based on a true story and sounds very intriguing.

The Faithful Couple by A.D. Miller. Not a thriller per se but it's supposed to be a very tense narrative. I've heard great praise for this one, so looking forward to finding out for myself.

Everything Love Is by Claire King. This is probably the most beautiful proof I have ever received and the story sounds equally beautiful. It's not out until summer but I'm planning on picking it up very soon.

The Night That Changed Everything by Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice. I adored their debut novel, The Best Thing That Never Happened to Me, and the early reviews for this one are raving about it so I couldn't resist requesting it on NetGalley and it's now on my kindle.

Somewhere Inside of Happy by Anna McPartlin. This book is going to completely break me, I knot it, but I am so looking forward to it!

The Wedding Date by Jennifer Joyce. Jennifer's books are always so much fun! This one sounds just up my street and I'm sure it'll bring many laughs.

Destination India by Katy Colins. I loved Katy's debut and I have been patiently awaiting the second installment in the series since then (it's been only a couple of months but it has felt forever). 

Non-fiction:

The Time in Between by Nancy Tucker. I am trying to read more varied reads and I've decided to add more non-fiction books to my pile. This one handles eating disorders and gives you an insight into Nancy Tucker's life, described as an unquiet mind – a Wasted for the 21st century.

So here they are, some of the books I'm planning on reading in the next few weeks! Have you read or are you planning to read any of these?