Friday 26 June 2015

WHIRLWIND LOVE by Didi Henley

I met the author of this book via Goodreads and agreed to read their book for an honest review. I loved this story, as you find out in my review below.

I truly hope the author succeeds in promoting this story. It's such an easy read, with some frustrating elements - what if? What if? Life is never as straightforward as we hope, and in Libby's case it came with a double-edged sword.

Find out more via Amazon or connect with the author via Twitter.

After 29-year-old Libby Morgan settled her niece, Megan, into college, she’s heading west to fulfill her ten-year-long dream of photographing a hot-air balloon “Freedom Festival” at the Grand Canyon in her parents’ refurbished RV.

No one could have predicted where her road would actually take her.

Disillusioned, 35-year-old Joe King is fed-up with the music business and is looking forward to the end of their two-week state fair tour forced onto him by his ruthless manager. His band, The Brothers King, should be headlining instead of opening. He’s weary of carrying his 31-year-old, irresponsible brother Chuck, who refuses to grow up past a teenage-mentality. The guitar-god's groupies are only too willing to participate in his exploits, so why should he grow up? New management has driven Joe and TBK down, but his need for control might be consumed by his darkness.

Take the journey with Libby across the United States, as she crosses into Joe’s crazy world of music and madness, and see who comes out the other side.

MY REVIEW: 4 Stars

"This was an enjoyable story about a woman, Libby, who has lost a lot in her life and yet is blessed by good fortune. Her acts of kindness and generousity make you instantly like her a lot, and her attraction to musician, Joe, makes for an interesting romance. She is also a redhead so of course I instantly related to her - being one myself!

Their love story is so natural and sweet that I loved the way it progressed. The line between attraction and friendship is beautifully done, and so discrete - refreshing in the currant climate where erotica seems to seep into so many stories that do not warrant it. In this case, the way their relationship evolved worked wonderfully and I have to admit that I cried at the end.

I don't want to give a spoiler, but you should read this book if you enjoy books that tug on the heart-strings.

At times, I wanted a bit more description. This is the reason it did not score a five. Especially, when she sees the balloons. I thought it needed more. Minor thing though."

Sunday 14 June 2015

Awesome Children's Book

Even though I am British, I love to use this American phrase... OMG! I have been hooked by another book!

My daughter (aged 11) has had this book for a while and it was pretty tattered after her re-reads. But, since we are becoming more and more alike in our reading habits, she told me I should read this one and so I did. 

WOW!

Hooked from the first page, and swallowed up into the story of a "would be princess" and "would be witch" who end up in the wrong schools for good and evil after been kidnapped by the "school master." 

Everything you expect from a fairy tale but twisted into something SO much more. The fight between good and evil has never been more blurred.

After reading Harry Potter years ago, this is the first book that has hooked me in the same way. An incredible read suitable for children & adults alike.

I loved it and thought the characters were so clever and well-developed. 

I did not know who to cheer for along the way. The twists and plot lines are so tense. The rule book has been thrown out with this one.

A well-deserved FIVE stars from me!

Find out more about THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL by Soman Chainani via Goodreads. Also on Twitter.

The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?


The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.