Monthly Wrap Up: April 2015

April was both a busy and quiet month for me. I feel like I was constantly on the go with barely a free moment, and yet when I look back, I honestly couldn’t tell you what I’ve been up to or what I’ve achieved! But my head feels like it’s ready to explode from how hectic the last few weeks have been. Most free time has probably been spent trying to catch up with family, especially with my gorgeous little bro in the mix now. I’m still pretty much in awe of him, I can’t get over how wonderful he is and I want to spend every moment I can with him.

Mr & I have also got a little bit addicted to Pretty Little Liars – something I’d started after recommendations from friends as something to have on in the background, particularly when home alone, but we were quickly sucked in and are now well in to Season 3, in less than two weeks of watching it!! We’d previously binge-watched all 7 series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so needed something to fill the void that had left in our hearts. (Although I like to watch Once More With Feeling about once a week still, and listen to the soundtrack most days just to hear Spike sing…*ahem*)

So overall, crazy-busy without much really happening!

Harper Impulse Fortnight

April 27th – May 10th is Harper Impulse fortnight. I’ll put my hands up and admit my involvement so far has been poor with only one post, but I have some lovely guest posts lined up for next week, so stay tuned, and don’t forget to check out the hashtag #HIfortnight on twitter to keep up to date with all the latest from the lovely authors and bloggers involved.

April in Books

April for me has been an awful month for reading, in the sense that I simply haven’t had anywhere near enough time to read. I feel like i’ve constantly been struggling to grab a few pages here and there, with no real time to sit back and enjoy a book. However, what I did read, was overall pretty damn awesome. A lovely splash of vintage from The Doris Day Vintage Film Club and The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance, and some fabulous summer reads in Truly Madly Greekly and Game of Scones. It was great getting into some holiday reads and feeling summery again (even if the weather hasn’t followed suit!)

    

Books Releases to Get Excited About in May

 

The Heir – May 5th 2015

How I Wonder What You Are – May 7th 2015

Just The Way You Are – May 8th 2015

We Are All Made Of Stars – May 21st 2015

Truly Madly Greekly – May 22nd 2015

Resistance is Futile – May 28th 2015

Books I Plan to Read in May 

If you read my March Wrap-up you may recall I planned to read a few of the books that have been sitting around my house forlornly for months on end. Unfortunately, this was not to be as I found myself struggling for time to read, so they are still staring at me from all corners of my home and judging me for not having the time to read them. Hopefully May will prove more relaxed, but we shall see. I’m not going to set my expectations too high incase the last month is anything to go by for this one, but here’s what I hope to manage:

     

What are you looking forward to this month?

Monthly Wrap Up: March 2015

It’s been a while since I’ve done a ‘wrap up’ or ‘what I’m looking forward to’ post, so I thought it was about time I got back into the habit! March was such an incredible month, both book-wise and otherwise, that I think it’s worth a wrap-up post (better late than never)!

Bundle of Joy

Of course, the most exciting news of all is the birth of my darling baby brother, Sonnie, earlier this month. This little slice of heaven has stolen my heart and I could not love him more, I’m just smitten! I’m so happy for my whole family and know this new addition will only bring us closer. I honestly just can’t get enough of the little monster – I could just stare at him all day!

Rebecca Raisin’s Party

The second most wonderful and exciting thing that happened in March was without a doubt going to Bec’s party in London and getting to meet her and so many of my wonderful bookish friends. I had a bit of a stressful time getting there after a flight delay caused me to miss my train (inducing a minor break down at Gatwick train station!) but eventually i arrived – an hour late – and luckily bumped into Bec and Tay downstairs and recognised them straight away, so I didn’t have to face my fear of having to walk in by myself! I had planned to meet Sharon an hour or so before hand which obviously didn’t happen, but luckily she very kindly saved me a seat at the table with her, Simona, Louise, Candy and Charlotte. It was such a strange feeling, feeling like I knew everyone all so well already, but meeting them for the first time! I quickly relaxed as we all fell into conversation like old friends. After we’d had a good natter and our fill of the delicious cakes and sandwiches served, and had a lovely speech from Bec, we all mingled a bit and moved round, so we had a chance to talk to everyone. I’m just so glad I’ve finally got to meet some of you lovely people who’ve come into my life in the last year, and made such a wonderful impression on me. I was reluctant to leave come the evening, and typically ended up sat in the airport for ages as my flight was delayed yet again, but it was so worth the flying visit. I think we definitely all want to make sure we get together again soon, so Tay, Charlotte and I are looking to plan a bookish picnic in late summer – watch this space! We were all given an adorable goodie bag full of Rebecca Raisin themed treats (the gingerbread man did not last the journey home!) and I honestly can’t wait to get my hands on Secrets at the Maple Syrup Farm. Thank you so much Bec, for such a wonderful day.

March in Books

On the whole, March was a pretty great month for books! I really enjoyed Secrets of the Tower as it was so different from most books I read, First Time in Forever and The Day We Disappeared were just WONDERFUL and I finally read Amelia Thorne’s Tied Up With Love, which was so worth waiting for and I loved every second of it so much that I immediately started her first book, Beneath The Moon and The Stars (also amazing!).

     

Books Releases to Get Excited About in April

  

The Day We Disappeared – April 9th 2015

The Cake Shop In The Garden – April 23rd 2015

The Doris Day Vintage Film Club – April 23rd 2015

Books I Plan to Read in April 

One thing I’ve really noticed lately – and I’m not moaning because I feel hugely privileged to be a book blogger and receive review copies! – is that nearly every book I’ve got for myself, and largely the ones I’ve received as gifts/prizes, are all sitting sad and untouched because I haven’t had a chance to get to them for the last six months. I do prioritise review copies and try to have them read and reviewed for around publication date, but it means my own books have been somewhat sadly neglected, so I have a lot of catching up to do. I’ve caught up on most of my ARC reading now, and left my self a bit more free for some time to hopefully catch up on my own books, which I’m really excited about. I still can’t believe I’ve never read Bridget Jones! That definitely has to change, and hopefully that can start this month.       

What are you looking forward to this month?

Amelia Thorne Valentines Feature

A big, warm welcome to Amelia Thorne who is joining me on the Book Nook for Valentines Day – an extra special day for Amelia as it also sees the release of her new book, Tied Up With Love. Today she’s written an interview with Izzy and Ethan, the lead characters. This interview takes place after the book, so it’s a bit of a spoiler interview, but I think we already know when to expect a happy ending in chick lit!

Love, Always magazine interviews Ethan Chase and Izzy Franklin

How did you two meet?
Both look at each other and laugh
Izzy: Well, Ethan kidnapped me.
Ethan: Technically, I didn’t kidnap you, my brothers did.
Izzy: It’s your company, you need to take responsibility for your actions.
Ethan, laughing and shaking his head: My company kidnapped her by mistake. We offer a kidnapping service to couples who want to spice up their sex life. Izzy was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Izzy: And once he explained his error I then blackmailed him into giving me a job.

Sounds like you two didn’t have the most conventional start to a relationship?
Ethan: Nothing about our relationship was conventional, we never dated, I never bought her gifts…
Izzy: That’s not true, you bought me a kitten after my cat died.
Ethan: That’s true, I wanted to make you smile, but we weren’t in a relationship then.
Izzy: We danced in a rooftop bar under the stars. That was very romantic.
Ethan: Yes, one of my favourite moments, but we weren’t even together then.
Izzy: And you looked after me when I was sick.
Ethan: I just wanted to make sure you were ok.

So there was some romance in the early days of your relationship, was it love at first sight?
Izzy: No
Ethan: Yes.
Izzy, laughing. You’re such a liar, you couldn’t stand me when I first started working for you.
Ethan: I was in love with you but I didn’t want to be, I may have been a bit difficult to work with at the start when I tried to push you away.
Izzy: He was grumpy, moody, found fault in everything I did.
Ethan: Don’t tell me you weren’t in love with me. She declared her undying love for me two days after we first got together.
Izzy: I fell in love with you after one day of working with you, despite all the grumpiness.
Ethan: One day? (Smiles and takes her hand)
Izzy: Yes, I think when you showed me round the house, I knew then that I was falling for you.
Ethan: That night, when you came to my house for dinner, I think I fell for you too.

Once you fell for each other, was it all plain sailing after that?
Izzy, laughing: He tied me up four, no five times before we got married.
Ethan, laughing: You make me sound really kinky, it was all to do with work, well most of them.
Izzy: He broke up with me twice.
Ethan: You’re not painting me in a good light here.
Izzy: He did rescue me from a real kidnapping.
Ethan: Yes I was very heroic.
Izzy giggles.

Sounds like it was quite an adventure?
Ethan: I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Izzy smiling: Me neither.

How long have you been married?
Ethan: A little over a year.

Can you tell us what you love about the other person?
Izzy leans into Ethan’s side and he puts his arm round her.
Ethan: I love that she fell in love with me even with all my faults, that she saw a good in me that I didn’t even see in myself. I love her feistiness. I love her kindness and that she loves my family almost as much as I do. I love her passion and her ideas to improve our company. She makes me smile, a lot and I love that. And her kisses, I love kissing her very much.
Izzy smiles. I love that he saw past my scars and fell in love with the person on the inside, I love how safe I feel with him. I love how much he makes me laugh. I love… making love to him. And I love how he is the father of my unborn child.

Ethan’s face drops: You’re pregnant?
Izzy nods: We’re pregnant.
Ethan grins: We’re going to be parents. I’m going to be a dad?
Izzy nods, smiling and crying.
Ethan: And you decide to tell me here?
Izzy, laughing: Why did you think I was so keen to come to the interview?
Ethan laughs and rests his hand on her stomach: We’re going to have a baby.
Ethan kisses her and our interviewer diplomatically leaves them to celebrate alone.

From everyone here at Love, Always magazine, Congratulations Ethan and Izzy xx

      

Tied Up With Love is out today!

Amazon US – Amazon UK – Goodreads

      

Amelia’s Bio

Amelia is a writer of sexy chick lit with Carina. Her twitter profile mysteriously tells us she may have a secret identity. Intriguing!

Connect With Amelia

Twitter – Goodreads

Valentines Weekend Celebrations

Hey lovebugs!

Now, as a book worm obsessed with Romance novels, it probably comes as no surprise that I am a totally hopeless romantic! I love everything about love and romance. And while, yes, I know, Valentines is a totally commercialised blah blah blah blah…you know what? I love it. I don’t care. Ultimately, it’s an excuse to spend a totally lovely, romantic day with someone special. What’s not to love? The truth is, even though we can be romantic and lovely and make an effort every single day for the ones we love, we often don’t. So what’s wrong with having one day a year where you make a special effort and celebrate your love in style?! Even in past years when I’ve been single, I’ve spent amazing Valentines Days with friends, where we’ve always had a great laugh celebrating our friendship.

So in the spirit of things, I have a very special love-themed weekend planned here which I am SUPER excited about as I have a whole bunch of amazing guests on the Book Nook! I’ve added a ‘Valentines Weekend’ tab in the menu up there, so you can go straight to all the latest lovey dovey stuff 🙂

Here’s what I’ve got in store for you:

Friday 13th February

Holly Martin Valentines Interview

Jennifer Gilby Roberts Guest Post

Jenny Hale Valentines Interview

Saturday 14th February

Claudia Carroll Valentines Interview

My Favourite Romances Post & Giveaway

Amelia Thorne Guest Post

Sunday 15th February

Fiona Gibson Valentines Interview

A.L. Michaels ‘My So-Called Love Life’ Blog Tour Review

Rebecca Raisin Valentines Interview

Pretty darn amazing, huh? Thank you SO MUCH to all my amazing guests for taking part in the Valentines Weekend celebrations here on the Book Nook – you’re all stars!