Hello book lovers! How are we all?
Next Thursday, November 20th, is one of my favourite days of the year – my birthday! 😀
And because you all make me so amazingly happy, I want to celebrate with you too. What better way to do this than with a giveaway? Continue reading
When time is running out, every moment is precious…
 When Claire starts to write her Memory Book, she already knows that this scrapbook of mementoes will soon be all her daughters and husband have of her. But how can she hold onto the past when her future is slipping through her fingers…?
A Sunday Times bestseller and Richard & Judy Autumn Book Club pick, The Memory Book is a critically acclaimed, beautiful novel of mothers and daughters, and what we will do for love.
Searching for the man of her dreams, one want ad at a time…
Imagine standing in line at Harvey Nichols waiting to buy the most gorgeous silk Gucci dress. The only minor problem? You can’t afford it, it’s a size smaller than you are, and you have absolutely no place to wear it.
Meet Natalie Flemming: a twenty-something woman working in London for a fabulous shoe-designing firm, but the only thing they let her touch is the company’s tax forms. She has decided to give fate a vacation and takes the task of finding the man of her dreams (or Johnny Depp if he would just return her calls…) into her own hands.
She craves adventure, spontaneity, passion- or will just settle for a decent date.
I am very happy to be a part of Paris’s Christmas Corner project and I am sharing about My Best Christmas. Christmas for me is a million things, various definitions. However, Christmas usually only meant one single thing when I was a child – celebrating at my parents’ fave hotel and seeing my relatives. I loved and missed those days, don’t get me wrong. I have celebrated nineteen Christmasses so far and if I were to choose the best, I would go for the most recent one. Not just the best Christmas but the best holiday ever.
It’s my best not because it happened only last year but it was the best Christmas ever. It was a Christmas which I will always remember as the funnest holiday before I turn twenty, the last chance to do something crazy and reckless and truly let my hair down, forget about all the stress and put a proper smile on the faces I love. It was also the Christmas that we deviated from the hotel lounge tradition. Late December 2013, my parents, my younger brother and I ended up going to Singapore for three days.
I’ve always loved going to Singapore, the food are great, the place is clean and everything is wonderful. Nowhere fancy or snowy and no chance of a White Christmas, but yet I still think of this holiday a lot. It wasn’t a planned trip, out of the blue because my dad finally decided to take a break and go for a proper holiday. The hotel was fabulous and it’s the most Christmassy hotel ever!
I loved the food there and the pool was great. There was a tiny miserable part, I booked breakfast for only one person instead of four and we couldn’t add. I was enveloped with guilt and ended up at the breakfast café alone. So I guess, instead of blabbing about the horrible first morning, I should focus on the beauty of that Christmas.
We had only three days and Singapore wasn’t new to us and it wasn’t my first Christmas there. I was in Singapore in 1999, checking out the Looney Tunes statues. So we decided to do what was usual to us. We ate ice creams at malls, macaroons (first Laduree boutique in South East Asia), visited Universal Studios Singapore (the queue for tickets was bloody long!), shopped for gifts, splashed water in the pool till it hurts (just me and my brother) and took hell lot of pictures.
Not a huge fan of theme parks, all I did in USS was taking photos and buying souvenirs. My brother enjoyed the rides that I hated. Brr. I loved the kiddy feeling that gripped my heart when I was there but not the heart attacks from the roller-coasters. I took a couple of photos, only a few left as one memory card went nuts. I enjoyed the Sesame Street merchandise store so so much! Tried on the headbands there and if I was given a choice, I’d stay there till forever. Hehe.
       We went to a mall with the most gorgeous Christmas trees! Not just the trees were gorgeous, they have the best macaroon boutique there! And did I mention the giant snow globe?
There was a Tiffany & Co. tree, huge and complete with cute tiny blue boxes. My dad is a camera shy man but a fabulous photographer, so the photographs are precious to me. We took a proper family Christmas photo there! I loved the Laduree Christmas Tree that’s made of macaroons! It’s pink but wasn’t as enormous as the Tiffany’s. You have to see the photos! The photos are rare!
I was so lucky enough that the Chanel The Little Black Jacket exhibition (held at the ArtScience Museum, Marina Bay Sands) was open to all. That’s where some great photographs by Karl Lagerfeld were displayed.
So, I went with my mom as the men decided to walk around. Some books about Chanel were on sale but pretty pricey. The overall space layout was pretty simple. A stack of books in the middle of the hall and posters everywhere.
All black and white and I saw pictures of Alexa Chung, Keira K and a few others. It was really an eye opening experience.
I know other girls went to Disney, New York and all sorts of exotic destinations, but I’m glad I experienced a very familial Christmas in a place that feels like home. Though there’s no mention of pressie, my family has given me the best Christmas present anyone could ever ask for.
Until next Christmas! xx
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Meet Evelyn
Evelyn is the owner of Eve’s Chick Lit Reviews from sunshiny land, Malaysia. She is currently chasing her dreams and doing an English & Public Relations degree programme. She loves blogging and reading chick lit novels. When she’s not busy hiding behind a good book, she might be playing an instrument with six strings. She is probably busy writing or designing Christmas cards as we speak. Other than that, she could be found in malls or hiding in a book store seeking for new colour pens, watching movies or maybe, drinking strong coffee or tea with family and close friends.
Blog: Eve’s Chick Lit Reviews
Twitter: @ChickLitterEve
Goodreads: Evelyn
Thanks so much for coming on the blog today, Evelyn, your best Christmas sounds like it was absolutely amazing! Xx
The biggest-selling writer of popular women’s fiction tells a stunning tale of losing the life you had and finding a better one
Stella Sweeney is back in Dublin. After living the dream in New York for a year – touring her self-help book, appearing on talk shows all over the USA and living it up in her 10-room duplex on the Upper West Side – she’s back to normality with a bang. And she’s got writer’s block.
Stella wants a clean break as she didn’t exactly leave New York on a high. Why is she back in Ireland so soon? Who is it who keeps calling? Stella wants to get back to being the woman she used to be. But can she? And should she?
I’m really excited about these book releases today, which include 3 fabulous festive reads!
The Woman Who Stole My Life, by Marian Keyes
I am currently reading this and have almost finished – unfortunately, real life keeps getting in the way and I keep reluctantly having to put it down. I assure you, it’s difficult as this book is bloody brilliant. (Not that I’d expect anything less from the amazing Marian!) Review should be up later today!
It’s Not Me, It’s You, by Mhairi McFarlane
This book looks hilarious, and I’ve heard great things. I’ve not read and of Mhairi’s books before, but they look fab, so if this is as great as I’m hoping, I’ll definitely be checking out the others.
The Great Christmas Knit Off, by Alexandra Brown
I’m so excited to read this book. It’s on my list to start this evening, and I have very high hopes. Besides the gorgeous cover that immediately caught my eye, the story sounds great and I’ve heard only good things about it.
Cold Feed at Christmas, by Debbie Johnson
Yes, I’ve committed the ultimate bookworm sin on this: I judged by the cover. I coveted this book as soon as I clapped eyed on it. How could I not? Just look at it! The story sounds fun and interesting, so I’m hoping it lives up to its good-looks!
Coming Home for Christmas, by Julia Williams
Another lovely cover for another Christmas book I’m excited about this year. Julia Williams is another author who’s work I have not read before, but it sounds great and I have high hopes!
The Mysterious Miss Mayhew, by Hazel Osmond
Another cover I have lusted over! The story sounds great and I’m very much looking forward to reading this one. I’ve also not read any Hazel Osmond before, so again I’m excited to be trying out a new author!
Which book released are you exciting about at the moment? Any of these make the cut on your wishlist?
One hundred proposals, one hundred chances to say yes.
‘Is there really such a thing as a perfect proposal?
Over the next hundred days I intend to find out. I will find one hundred ways to propose to our Chief Proposer Suzie McKenzie and post the results here for your enjoyment. One thing’s for sure, not one of my proposals will be on top of the Eiffel Tower with a dozen red roses.’
Best friends Suzie and Harry are partners in romance. That is, they run the.PerfectProposal.com, coming to the aid of would-be grooms to create the ultimate marriage proposal.
But when Harry decides to catapult the business into the big leagues with a PR stunt all Suzie can see is a hundred days of heartbreak stretching ahead of her. But however exotic the location, or breath-takingly romantic the setting, Suzie has to keep remembering that ‘Marry Me?’ is the one question she can’t say yes to.
This business proposal should come with one hundred broken heart warnings…
Two ex-friends. One Christmas to remember …
Bobbie’s boss Carol is a real misery-guts, dedicated to making the lives of everyone around her unhappy in pursuit of every last penny. What makes it worse is that the two women have history: once they were best friends.
When handsome hotelier Charlie steps into the frame the two women go to battle as one sees a romantic future ahead and the other a possible lifeboat for her business. With wonderful warmth and humour, and the odd mince pie fight, the women are forced to confront their shared past, the turbulent present and, most importantly, the potential of the future.
This is a tale about love and friendships, complete with a sprinkling of Christmas magic. Perfect for fans of Jenny Colgan and Lucy Diamond.
No matter how beautiful some dreams are, there comes a time when we must let them go.
 It is the summer of 1972, and Katie has just turned eighteen. Katie and her town, Elephant Beach, are both on the verge: Katie of adulthood, and Elephant Beach of gentrification. But not yet: Elephant Beach is still gritty, working-class, close-knit. And Katie spends her time smoking and drinking with her friends, dreaming about a boy just back from Vietnam who’s still fighting a battle Katie can’t understand.Â
In this poignant, evocative debut collection, Judy Chicurel creates a haunting, vivid world, where conflicts between mothers and daughters, men and women, soldiers and civilians and haves and have-nots reverberate to our own time. She captures not only a time and place, but the universal experience of being poised between the past and the future.
I really hope you enjoyed Spooky Reads Week as much as I did!
Now that Halloween has been and gone, there’s only one thing for it…Christmas is coming! (You have no idea how tempted I was to start this in September; be proud of my restraint!)
Christmas books releases are in full swing now, so as we enter November, I don’t feel too bad about going full blown Christmas Spirit on you all! My blog now has a ‘Christmas Corner,’ which you can access from the tab up there.
I’ve already started posting some Christmas reviews and releases over the last couple of weeks or so anyway, but as it’s now November, I will now be taking the festive cheer up a notch…come on, you know you love it 😉
I’ve got some great guest posts lined up from some fabulous authors and book bloggers, as well as lots more Christmas book reviews, Christmas book releases, and just about anything else Christmas related that I darn well feel like. ‘Tis the season, after all!
Oh, and of course there shall be at least one Christmas themed giveaway, if not more!
Also, for a little extra festive cheer, you may have noticed that Christmas books are being rated out of five Pink Penguins, instead of stars! Just look at how cute these little ladies are!!
 Hope you enjoy the festive fun!
Paris Baker's Book Nook 