My First Blogoversary Is Nearly Here!

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Saturday 11th July, marks one year since I first started blogging – how crazy! In many ways it has gone SO quickly, but it’s also now such an integral part of my life, that I almost can’t quite remember it ever not being.

It’s been a big learning curve, and I have met the most incredible, inspirational and supportive people I could ever have wished for, and I am so grateful to each and every one of you.

To say a great big thank you, and to celebrate in style, I have planned a week of celebrations, so there’ll be tonnes of amazing giveaways to enter. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has so generously donated prizes to help me celebrate, your generosity has astounded me and means so much.

First giveaway will be up later today, and each giveaway posted this week will run for one week! I’ve added a Blogoversary tab to the menu up there ^^^ so you can make sure you don’t miss out on anything. Best of luck and lots of love to you all xxxxx

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! photo

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. bookgirls2 bookgirlsphoto-3photo-2photo-4 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!).

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Books Releases to Get Excited About in April

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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. 24483265 23642148 24749530   18498569 23700783227443

What are you looking forward to this month?

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Nearly #NetGalleyMonth

I’m taking part in NetGalley Month, organised but the fabulous Tay over at Chicks That Read.

NetGalley Badge

As NetGalley is such an incredible resource for us book bloggers & reviewers, we’re having a month to celebrate it, as well as get our perentages up. Our percentage is based on the amount of books we’ve been approved for that we’ve given feedback on. The higher the percentage, the more books you are likely to get approval on.

So basically, this month will be a win-win situation for everyone!

NetGalley wins, because we’re making a special effort to read and review as many books as possible.

We win, because we get to read all those delicious books, and improve our stats for further approvals.

You win, because we’ll be posting lots of fabulous reviews of new books for you to read!

Happiness all round 🙂 Continue reading

Top Ten Books I Want To Read But Don’t Own Yet

Top Ten Tuesday PB

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday Topic from The Broke and the Bookish:

Top Ten Books I Want To Read But Don’t Own Yet

This is a tricky one as I went on a book haul this weekend and bought a load that I’ve been wanting for ages! So I’ll see if I can get to ten that I still don’t own… Continue reading

Top Ten Books People Have Been Telling You That You MUST Read

Top Ten Tuesday

Todays Top Ten Tuesday Topic from The Broke and the Bookish:

Top Ten Books People Have Been Telling You That You MUST Read

(whether because they think it’s a “you” book or it’s just been generally recommended so often)

 

The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me Lucy Robinson

  1. The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me, by Lucy Robinson – I’ve been hearing really great things on the twittersphere for a while, but a friend of mine has just read it and absolutely loved it, and is demanding I read it – it’s impossible not to want to after seeing her reaction to it!Love Lies and Lemon Cake Sue Watson
  2. Love, Lies and Lemon Cake, by Sue Watson – It’s been on my radar for a while, but my Stepmum has just started reading it and has told me I’ll love it, so I’ll be nabbing her copy as soon as she’s done!From Paris With Love Samantha Tonge
  3. From Paris With Love, by Samantha Tonge – Another one that I am just seeing great things about on all around on twitter! (Plus I use the signature, ‘With love, from Paris,’ so it kinda just stands out as  a ‘me’ book straight away!)Gone Girl Gillian Flynn
  4. Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn – I’ve heard about this for a while, but now the movie is coming out, my friends are all wanting to see it, and they know I won’t go until I’ve read this first so I am being told to do it before the movie release! (It’s currently sat patiently on the TBR pile on my coffee table!)The Bookshop on the Corner by Rebecca Raisin
  5. The Bookshop on the Corner, by Rebecca Raisin – I can’t seem to log into twitter or elsewhere without this popping up somewhere! I’m hearing amazing things left, right and centre so this is definitely on my TBR! In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve already downloaded it onto my Kindle…The One Plus One Jojo Moyes
  6. The One Plus One, Jojo Moyes – Jojo Moyes certainly doesn’t need much recommending for me to want it, as Me Before You is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read, but it doesn’t stop everyone raving about this one constantly!Divergent Veronica Roth
  7. Divergent, by Veronica Roth – I think most of us are being recommended this one, especially with the release of the film. This is another one where my friend wants me to watch the film with her, but knows I have to read the book first! I’ve heard so much about them though, I do want to read the whole trilogy anyway.How to get a Love Life Rosie Blake
  8. How To Get A (Love) Life, by Rosie Blake – Another twitter love at the moment, I’ve read lots of good things, and Rosie is a lovely tweeter so I can’t wait to tuck in to this one (which is also currently waiting on my kindle!)City of Bones Cassandra Clare
  9. City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare – This is a mixture of people loving the film (which I take as a recommendation to read the book) and people loving the book itself, which is apparently much better. So, I’d definitely like to read the whole Mortal Instruments series.Paper Towns John Green
  10. Paper Towns, by John Green – I think the pretty much the whole internet is in love with John Green. I read TFIOS a few months a go and it is probably one of my favourite ever books. It was just so moving (by which I mean heart-breaking and soul-destroying, naturally) that I knew I had to read more. I have recently read Looking For Alaska, and am currently reading An Abundance of Kaherines, but a friend has just read Paper Towns and I’ve been told that’s got to be next on my John Green list!

 

What about you – what books have you been told you must read recently? Any of the same ones as me?

Or any feedback on these ones if you’ve read them already?

 

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday

Today I discovered Top Ten Tuesday by The Broke  and The Bookish – and I absolutely love it.

Every Tuesday, they select a Top Ten topic (all bookish related!) and encourage bloggers to add post their own responses. I think it’s  a great way to get all us bookish bloggers to engage with each other, and find out a little bit more about our bookish preferences!

Here’s their description of Top Ten Tuesdays:

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join…
I’m about to write up my first one – and I’d love for you to do the same!