New Year, New Start

I am a terrible, terrible blogger.

It has been months. I know. Months. I hang my head in shame and offer my excuses. Work happened. Home remodelling happened. Elementary happened (what an awesome show, no? Hey there Johnny Lee Miller, I have never found you attractive before!). And then Elena became a vampire…I jest. It’s been really busy and my life has changed a bit but my non-resolution (don’t believe in em etc) for 2013 is to blog on a semi consistent basis (as well as to become skinny, wear nicer shoes, dye my hair before the roots show through etc etc etc…).

So what I have I been reading? Oh, lots! After the joy of Heist Society I loved Uncommon Criminals, which means I cannot freaking wait for this:

Such a good series.

Then for a few weeks I tried to be dead adult and only read books for grown up people but that didn’t really fly. I only ended up reading the two new Susan Hill novels and I love her anyway so my horizons aren’t exactly…broadened.

Even so…I reviewed one of these on Goodreads so…read it if you want to see me trying to be adult (spoiler: it’s carnage).

I dipped my toe into ‘new adult’ too (Beautiful Disaster. Just…no. Clue is in the name. Wanted to give the boy a good smack. Stupid crier). I did like Easy by Tammara Webber though, lots. It’s a little racy for YA, mind, so maybe give it a miss if you’re like 14 years old.

Then I picked up Stealing Parker:

Miranda Kenneally is really quite awesome. I really loved Catching Jordan too. She has a new book in the Hundred Oaks (god, I hope that’s the right town name) out next year and I seriously can’t wait. So excited etc.

What else? Legitimately there are a couple dozen other books at least that I’ve read and I’m staring at them as I sit here but I think I’m going to do a separate post on the ones I liked best. Soon. Promise. 

If I Lie by Corinne Jackson

Book: If I Lie 

Author: Corinne Jackson

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Sometimes, you read a book that makes you, I suppose...grateful that you grew up the way you did. Ireland has a proud military history, but our army are peacekeepers who haven't actively fought overseas since WW2. They do amazing humanitarian work, bit the military is not as all-encompassing a presence here as it is in the South Carolina town where If I Lie is set.  And, trust me, that factoid is going to be way important.

Sophie Quinn, the narrator, is a military daughter, niece and girlfriend. She lives in a tiny town where the majority of high school graduates enlist in the armed forces before the ink is fully dry on their diplomas. Her boyfriend Carey has been deployed on his first tour of the Middle East and he's asked her to keep a devastating secret for him while he's gone: Carey is gay. Confused and hurt, Sophie seeks comfort in the arms of Blake, Carey's oldest friend. But when photos of the two in a compromising position end up on Facebook, Sophie becomes a virtual outcast. Unable to explain her actions without revealing Carey's secret, Sophie is left to face her senior year with no support, under the fierce scrutiny of her cold and judgmental father. But then Carey goes missing, presumed dead, and Sophie knows that, as the hatred around her escalates, that she is going to have to make some really tough decisions for the sake of her own happiness.

This is a really fantastic book. Sophie absolutely shines as a narrator; despite the utterly crappy situations she's wound up in, she manages to stay perky and snarky and funny. She also unfalteringly keeps Carey's secret, despite the torrent of abuse she receives from her former friends and even the teachers at her school. She knows the alternative; if she reveals Carey's secret, he will never be looked at the same way again. I can't imagine what that must be like, to grow up in a town so stifled that turning poor Sophie into a modern Hester Prynne is preferable to telling the truth. Some parts of the book made me so mad; Sophie was doing this really noble thing and all she got was abuse from all angles. God, I wanted to tell everyone about Carey, just to make them leave poor Sophie alone! The townspeople all made Carey out to be some poor suffering martyr, even though he's left Sophie in an impossible situation; she can't tell his secret, because he's still her best friend and she loves him too much.

There are some good points though, in spite of all the bitchy cheerleaders who scrawled messages on Sophie's locker or shoved her over in the hall. You've got the supporting characters for one. Even the ones you'd describe as flawed, like Sophie's dad, are really well written and well rounded. Blake, the boy Sophie supposedly cheated with, is stoic yet oh-so-sexy.And then there's George, the veteran that Sophie befriends at the local military hospital. He was great; sweet with just the right about of crabby (all old men should be just a little crabby!).

This is a great book; I highly recommend it.

God Save Us All....

It's the weekend, which for me means several things:

1. I will be screamed at enough times in work to warrant Solpadeine (non-Ireland based readers, it's the strongest painkiller you can buy over the counter, but the pharmacists are so stingy about selling it, I'd have an easier time procuring a nuclear weapon).

2. I will be made to feel like a criminal whilst buying my Saturday-night-wine-for-with-my-takeaway. I may look young, but the last time I checked, wine from M&S was not top of the shopping list for pre-teens who wish to get hammered in a field while groping each other. Just saying.

*Public Service Message: Don't drink before your 18/21/insert geographically appropriate age here*

3. I will read something.

Naturally, point three is the best bit.

This weekend, I have selected this bit of magnificence:



It is Girl of Nightmares, by Kendare Blake, and how gorgeous is that cover?

Dear god, I've gone out with worse looking men. But that's another post entirely.
Page 120, awesome so far, may abandon my plans to watch The X Factor and finish it tonight (not that I'd be missing much....).

I Hate Whiners

See above; if a protagonist in a book is big moaner I am guaranteed to get a smidgen irritated. Nobody's life is perfect, you know? Mine certainly isn't. My ass is too big, I still have teenage skin at twenty one years old and I don't know what I want to do with the rest of my life. But I have a job, a degree and my parents aren't threatening to de-nest me just yet (to international readers, most Irish people don't leave home til their late twenties, formerly because of the housing boom that made life impossible for first time home buyers, and lately because the recession has rendered most graduates poor or unemployed). Where was I, and what was I talking about. Oh yes, Keep Holding On by Susanne Colasanti (social commentary over, I promise never to do it again).



Dude, the narrator in this book complains. So. Much. I mean really! Yes, her mother is awful and never buys her tampons but she has the use of her legs, is not blind or deaf and her best friend really loves her. It's not that bad! My mum forgot to buy tampons for me once or twice so I did what everyone else does and got them from the school health official. It was not the end of the world! It did not mean I was unhappy or neglected! And, Noelle, fine, your mum doesn't do your laundry but...you are SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD! I did my own laundry and ironing then. My mum, like Noelle's mum had, and has, a job so maybe doing LAUNDRY IS NOT SUCH A BIG ASK. You put things in the washer, then the dryer, and then you fold them. No big deal, really. It's quite relaxing, I find.

Noelle, in case you hadn't gathered from the above caps-lock rant is the impoverished protagonist of the novel. Her mum works a dead end customer service job and, in all fairness, is quite disinterested in Noelle, but even when she does make an effort Noelle moans about it. There was one bit where her mum makes pasta and Noelle complains for a whole paragraph that the garlic bread is the packaged kind. Well, that's unimaginable  store-bought garlic bread! Call the police like! Sheesh! I found that really annoying.

Then there was another bit about how when Noelle took a summer job, she was pissed off at her mum for 'stealing' all her wages. Well, if you're behind on the rent and the power is getting shut off, maybe you should be contributing! All my friends and I hand up some of our wages and have done since we were kids. Yes, her mum should have discussed it with her first but you can't expect to spend all your money on new clothes if your mum can't afford electricity and is claiming food stamps, can you? That seemed...dumb to me, if I'm honest.

Then Noelle goes on about how she's bullied at school, but when she sees another student being picked on she does nothing to help them out, and still complains that no one ever helps her. Do I even need to point out what's wrong with that scenario. Dun, Noelle. No one is going to fight for you if you aren't prepared to fight for them in return!

I think I've run out of steam now.

Epic sigh. I mean the book was good, but enough with all the whining!

Give it a go, I suppose, if you like getting irritated by narrators. The book does have some important points to make about bullying and is worth a read from that perspective alone.

Oh, God.....

I have an entire weekend off work, and have chosen this golden opportunity to develop an ear infection. Classic, Kitty. Job well done.

While sitting around with bits of cotton wool in my ear, and watching endless episodes of Four in a Bed, I have finished some books. Numero Uno: How to Save a Life, by Sara Zarr.



Hmm. Hmm. This book was great, don't get me wrong. But I sort of felt like I had been beaten over the head with it, and was expected to find it amazing and fantastic and life-changing. I mean, it was good, it just wasn't...all of the above, you know? And I found Jill (Protagonist One of Two) a bit annoying. Even so, if you like contemporaries, give it a bash.

Numero...two: I re-read Anna and the French Kiss. Don't judge me, I needed it.



This book is amazing, in case you've never read it or heard of it. Etienne St Clair....just read it, I'm not explaining any of it to you in case you get lazy and don't read the thing. It's brilliant.

Finally, we had Keep Holding on by Susanne Colasanti....hmmmm. I feel there will have to be an entire review for this one, to be honest. I have many issues. Many. But it is late, and I am tired...we will come to that in the morning.

See links to Goodreads...zzzzzzzz....

Misery Business

Oh, lads, it's awful!
I am on a book ban.
Sob. Sniff. Cry.

Long story short, my mother was home the other day when my most recent Book Depository order came in and she was not impressed. In my defence, most of those books were for my brothers' birthday on Sunday but...she does have a point.

So. For the whole of September I am not allowed to purchase a single book. I can borrow them from my friends or the library or I can read from my ridiculous pile of to-be-read books, but no new books. None.
With the single exception of the new JK Rowling book, but that's only because a) it is out on the 27th which is basically the end of the month anyway and b) my mother wants to read it, but would rather have me buy and pay for it. Crafty minx.

I don't think I'll make it. I have to walk past the biggest bookstore in the city centre to get to and from work and my place of employment (lolz) has a book department. #Screwed....

I promise to try my best, and that is all I can do...

Crime...and Punishment

Hmmmm.
The crime binge is going reasonably well....I think?
This week, I've read the first three Ruth Galloway books by Elly Griffiths (see book one below):



These were very good, if you're willing to suspend disbelief just a little (the events of book two? The baby? Really?). But now I think I want a break from the hardcore misery and murder (I do have four Denise Mina books to get through but maybe next month?)

So, on a lighter note, this is what I propose I read next:



Like, why have I not read this already? I love the Gallagher Girls to bits and pieces. This is nice crime. I bet nobody dies or gets maimed or shot or stabbed or..well, I bet less horrible things happen is all.

Bad Kitty

I am a bad blogger.
After the disaster that was July, I promised myself that there would be regular interwebz . But no. I have failed. There has been a fortnight of web silence. May I hang my head in shame.

Blame the Olympics. I've been having crazy Olympics sessions, because a lovely thing called GMT means we aren't having the Beijing issue where everything was on at a weird time. I got to see all the gymnastics this year (Beth Tweddle! Gabby Douglas! Aly Raisman! McKayla Maroney in vault silver shocker!). I got to see Usain Bolt take 100m gold live as it happened! It's been very emotional though.

I have, however, read things. My favourite by far was Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry. I know it's being hyped to kingdom come but I loooooved it. It was a bit racy though, guys. They do stuff! Read it though, it's a great romance with a real Perfect Chemistry vibe, if you're in to that kind of thing (I clearly am!).

      

I mean, look! Even the covers are a bit similar! And there's going to be a spin off about Beth and Isaiah (read it and you'll know what I mean. That's a direct order. Go on and get it now. And if you're in the UK or Ireland like me you've no excuses, it's been published here too!).

And now, on to the rest of the month. I am on a crime kick, so for the next week or two, I am only reading books where people are murdered or jewels are stolen or something...dastardly happens. Mmmm.

In other news, Mo Farrah has just won double gold and I am weeping.

What I Did In July

Weeeehhhhh.

It has been almost a month of interweb silence. I’m sorry. I’m not a bad person, I’ve just been really busy with work, and then my family were abroad so I was solely responsible for all the household-y things-dude, it takes so long to change the bed sheets and do laundry for five people.

And, of course, they all went off and left me with about a weeks worth of their dirty clothes to look after. I wasn’t home for a few days before they left; trust me, if I had’ve been around, standards would not have slipped to such an appalling low (I’m kind of OCD about cleaning and laundry. Like, I iron our towels).

Plus, during their holiday I had lots of my own friends to stay (not the best plan when you’re working all the time but hey, we had our evenings).

And don't start me on work; Lord, but those ladies are demanding! Weh, weh, weh. 

So I’m sorry.

I have read a bit though.

I got through Dark Water by Tricia Rayburn, which I was so excited about and it was really, really good:

Then, I went on an Artemis Fowl binge, which was fantastic. I forgot how downright awesome those books are. Holly Short is my icon; in fact, as my hair is already kind of auburn and I am very short, I may get a pixie cut and a jumpsuit to complete the look.

                                                                           

Dude, if you haven’t read this series you need to get on that immediately. And there are no excuses as the series is complete, so no waffle about no wanting to be stuck on cliffhangers and so on.

Awesome, awesome, awesome. 

Insert Angry Noise Here

Like, I need to complain.

It's been two weeks, and I have finished two books. Bad. Bad.

Why did nobody warn me about the perils of real life? That instead of reading on the bus home from work I'd be sleeping, missing my stop and having to take buses home from the shopping center very late at night because I happened to wake up there? Seriously, the colleges should be handing out flyers or something.

Pffft. The two books I did read were pretty good. The first was The Night She Disappeared by April Henry and the second was Girl Stolen, also by April Henry.



Both really awesome books on their own-I just made the cardinal error of reading them consecutively  and I SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT, NOT AT ALL.

I apologize for the caps lock and all. I've accepted that most writers have a theme in mind for their books, and April Henry is no exception. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but...sigh. I'll try to explain.

April Henry definitely likes girls who fight. Both of these books feature girls who are taken captive against their will. In Girl Stolen, Cheyenne is kidnapped during a carjacking while she waits for her step-mom to come out of the drugstore. Bad enough. Worse? Cheyenne is blind and suffering from pneumonia. Not a situation I'd want to be in, just saying. Then, in The Night She Disappeared Kayla is attacked and kidnapped in a case of mistaken identity while she delivers pizzas. Also not a contender in my top ten ways to spend an evening. But I digress. Individually, these books are great. Well written, tense, compulsive...but if you read them back to back you start to notice all the similarities. Teenage girl with victim written all over her who has a penchant for fashioning homemade weapons? Check. Boy love interest from the wrong side of the track? Check. At least one girl with rich disinterested parents? Check. Written from numerous points of view? Check. 


I'm not denying that, individually, these books are great. They are both quick, enjoyable and compulsive reads/ Just give yourself a good long break between books. Read them, just not together. 


I need a nap now. I am very, very cranky. 

Book Haul!

Yessssss! I moan about reading ruts, then come home from work and there are packages! Yip yip!

I have gotten:



The Night She Disappeared by April Henry



The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison



Purity by Jackson Pearce 

Aaaaaaand:



Siren by Tricia Rayburn (I already had this but I wanted it in hardcover so that when the new one comes out they all match..I'm just weird that way. Totes soz).

Oh, what to read after the Kody Keplinger marathon?

Rut!

Oh, god.

I think sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Like, I've read some amazing books in the last couple of weeks that now, every book I pick up is disappointing me.

Well, there's one exception: I read Revived by Cat Patrick last week and that was really good:



I feel like I should have read it before Unravelling, though; they were in a similar genre and now I compare everything to that book (Ben and Janelle FOREVER! Sniff, sob, cry).

This week is Kody Keplinger week. I am aiming to get through The Duff, Shut Out and A Midsummers Nightmare before Friday. Wish me luck!

    

My Life Next Door

Book: My Life Next Door

Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick

Publisher: DIAL

Dude! I read Unravelling last week and I genuinely thought that that was going to be my top book of 2012. No contest. Then My Life Next Door arrived on my doorstep and, well…..move over Unravelling! (Which I still highly recommend!). 

This book is amazing. I just loved it. I felt like making up a whole new rating system because I felt it deserved a million out of ten. It's that good. 

 Our protagonist is Samantha, who is a seventeen year old perfectionist-perfect hair, perfect grades, and a perfect senator mother. Who doesn't really pay all that much attention to her perfect, wonderful daughter...unless she steps out of line. Next door to Samantha live the Garretts, who are loud, messy and boisterous. Samantha is fascinated by this loving family-and when Jace Garrett climbs up her trellis one night, her whole world is changed utterly. Samantha feels properly loved for the first time in her life-but then something terrible happens, and Samantha worries that she might have lost her fleeting happiness forever.

Things I loved about this book: Jace. Perfect, sexy Jace....sigh. Next thing: Jace’s little brother George, who is four and worries about everything. I just wanted to eat him up. And the baby, Patsy, whose first word was ‘boob’. Bless! I also liked the fact that Samantha knows she has it good. Her Mum might be completely self absorbed and disinterested, but she provides her daughter with a nice life and a comfortable home. I’m always annoyed by protagonists who are whiny when they have nothing to whine about, you know?

This is also a proper romance; it’s lovely. The relationship between Samantha and Jace is sweet and relatable and real. It made me pine for the sexy neighbour I’ve never had (sniff. Cry).

Rating: Ten out of Ten.

Get. Read. Now. 

News, Reviews...and New Sheets

I'm so excited. I bought new sheets today. Mmm-hmm.
Life in a bridal registry means I'm exposed to a ridiculous amount of linens, but I have my faves...Cath Kidston is the prettiest.



Behold! It's pink, flowery and reversible. Boom!

Thing is, I only changed my sheets yesterday and I don't really want to change them again...but I really also want to put my new sheets on.

This is my life. These are the things I fuss about. Sheets and laundry. I need a new boyfriend.

I'm reading a classic this week, just cause:



It's Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym, which is a Virago Modern Classic. Virago are really important publishers in womens writing; they've reissued titles from 'forgotten' females like Kate O'Brien and Elizabeth Jenkins, and are generally all high-brow and worthy. Until shortly ago I was an English major type person so I do feel like I should read grown up books occasionally and this one is very good. I may even review it just to make me feel accomplished and to give my brain something to do.

Next week (hopefully it arrives as promised on Monday) I plan to be reading THIS:



EXCITED! I've been waiting on this book since I saw someone get an ARC of it in January and I cannot wait for it to arrive. Squeal!

Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Book: Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Publisher: Balzer and Bray

I somehow ended up with two copies of this book. Not sure why, but there is now a much-battered paperback of it doing the rounds amongst the clan Kitty and I have a pristine hardcover on the shelf. Yay.

Dude: not holding back, this book is frigging awesome. As in, if we leave out Anna and Lola it's my favourite book that I've read so far in 2012. It's that good.

Story? Janelle is a fairly normal sixteen year old. If you ignore the fact that her dad is an FBI agent, her mum is bipolar and she basically acts as a whole parental unit to her younger brother. But all that's cake compared to what happens after Janelle gets killed by a speeding pickup truck and the local stoner Ben brings her back to life. Now there are all these things she can't explain-why is there a countdown timer photographed in her dads office? Why are there bodies turning up covered in radiation burns?  Why is she falling in love with a strange boy she barely even knows? How did he save her life? And, most importantly, what terrible event is the timer counting down to-and how can Janelle  stop it?

This. Book. Is. Amazing. It's was so hyped up that I was afraid I was going to be disappointed, but if anything it exceeded my expectations and that almost never happens. I loved Janelle and Ben, and Janelle's best friend Alex; they were all so readable and so likeable. The writing is fluent and tight, and the numbers counting down at the start of every chapter really heighten the pace. This book is seriously white knuckle and I stayed up all night to finish it. I couldn't put it down.

A word of warning though. There are lots of sad bits. And I bawled at the ending like a big sobbing baby. It was tragic and cliffhangery.  Which is why I am hoping and praying for a sequel. Please, Elizabeth Norris? Pretty please? Like maybe if I give you cake?

Rating? Eleven-yes, eleven-out of ten. I love this book.

Snow White Picture Book!

Behold the above!!!! It is a the standard Snow White fairy tale story, only fifty times more awesome because it has such pretty illustrations inside. Love. Even though my mother did mock me for buying this instead of what she would call a 'proper' book, but hey: it looks so nice on my shelf.

In other news, I finally got to go and see Snow White and the Huntsman. Yes, this is book related because there is now a novel of this movie, and that is my justification. Ahem. Anyway, see below:



I believe I may have outlined previously how much I love all things Hemsworth, and I was not disappointed by the axe wielding turn of the elder one here. He's all grubby and Scottish. And he has bar fights and wants to avenge his dead wife. But somehow is turned to hard-man mush by a short girl who spends most of her time running around after vampires...oops, wrong movie. Basically, Snow White looks at a big deer and the Huntsman turns into a decent and worthy puddle.He's great onscreen. Get this though: Thor or no Thor, this movie is so, so good! I had read all these mean reviews for it and I wasn't expecting much, but I absolutely loved it. Charlize Theron as the Wicked Queen was the star of the show. She was as unhinged as a box of frogs guys, but in a good way (from a movie-goers perspective anyway, I wouldn't have liked living in that kingdom for real).
Then there are the dwarves-one of them is in this excellent Irish TV series called Love Hate and my brother (who came with me) was all "yeah! Represent!".

I should add that my brother believes he is both a) American and b) from 'the hood'.

If I was being super-critical, I felt the dwarves could have been a bit more multi-faceted, but what can you realistically achieve in a two hour movie? You can't exactly give eight dwarves a detailed character profile and back story in that window of time, can you?

Then on to my biggest bug-bear: Prince William. Did anyone else feel like he was a bit pointless? Just thrown in there to create a love triangle where there shouldn't really be one? Cause as far as I'm concerned, it's Snow White and Eric the Huntsman for the win! Ahem.

I kinda want to go and see it again. Which I only ever did for the Harry Potter movies. And Hunger Games, but that was special.

Also....I wonder what the next big fairytale movie is going to be?

Movie Books

Have just finished watching the MTV Movie Awards (and bemoaning the fact that both the Hemsworth men are spoken for) and am devastated-Hunger Games didn't win best film! OUTRAGE! Still...Liam Hemsworth is so darn pretty. Too bad he goes out with...her. I refuse to type her name.

As I have screeched  in the past, I love the Hunger Games. I have a Catching Fire Countdown widget. It doesn't even have a proper release date, but hey. It'll get here eventually. It's a book movie, and I love book movies.

On this topic, I stole my mam's Glamour magazine, and, apparently the Fallen Series is getting made into a movie?????? WWWHHHHHHAAAAAAATTTTT!!!!????

I am beside myself at this news. It was like when I heard they were making a film of the Mortal Instruments. Who's will play Luce? And Daniel? Ahhhhhhhhhh! This is a great series. And I can't believe I heard this news the week Rapture is coming out. Squeal. Squeal.

I need to lie down now. Please excuse me.

Clarity by Kim Harrington

Book: Clarity

Author: Kim Harrington

Publisher: Point

You'd feel sorry for Clarity (or Clare, as she prefers to be known). She's sort of psychic, her mother's clairvoyant, and her brother's a medium. Whenever Clare touches something, she sees things-often things she really wishes she couldn't see at all. She's also been the long-standing school freak and her boyfriend's just cheated on her with the most popular girl in town.

All-in-all, not the best summer ever.

To top it all, a rival psychic is putting severe strain on the family business and now there's a dead girl who's death is being blamed on Clares' brother Perry. Add into the mix a plucky new detective and the added complication of his hot, hot son, you'd wonder why Clare ever leaves the house. But leave it she must; the police look at set to arrest her brother for murder and Clare must use her special psychic skills to clear his name. Without getting herself, her ex, or her new love interest killed in the process...

I LOVED this book. Loved it big style. It was so good that, two thirds of the way through, I went ahead and ordered the sequel. I never do that. I just knew even before I finished it that this book and I would be life long friends. Why?

Several reasons. The writing is clean, sharp and tidy, so the plot just zips along without feeling stilted. The narrator Clare, is fabby. She's snarky and funny and you root for her from page one. And then there's the setting. It's a beach book! They live by the sea! Brownie points before I'd even cracked the spine. Okay, the ending is a wee bit predictable but whatever, I didn't really care.

Rating? Nine out of ten. A great summer read!

Saved By Cake

Book: Saved By Cake

Author: Marian Keyes

Publisher: Micheal Joseph

Guys! Following on from my recent interlude with Rachel Khoo, I have become rather enamored with cookery books and food writing. My level of skill has not progressed a bit, mind you, but some of the books have such pretty pictures!

This week, as college is finished and I had a few days off work, I decided to try baking. I purchased a mixing bowl:



and set to work.Well, I just wanted an excuse to buy the mixing bowl really. And it was on sale. But I still had to try and justify it somehow.

My efforts were wholly unsuccessful, but I did discover the sweetest cookbook ever. It's called Saved by Cake, and it's by the doyenne of women's fiction, Marian Keyes. Marian is the only chick lit author who I can read without wanting to kill-I love her! And now, she has written a cookbook!

The stuff in here is fantastic. There are all the usual suspects: blondies and brownies, muffins, cheesecake and scones (because if you are Irish and female, you have to be able to make scones. Even I can do them, and I fail at life). But there are also some mad, out-there creations: wasabi cupcakes, and a pear, almond and tahini tart for example. Like, what the hell? But they supposedly taste amazing.

Best recipe? Strawberry and Raspberry upside down cake. So delicious. And baked in the shape of a heart. Love. And even I was sort of able to make it.

Rating? Eight out of ten. It get's five just for the cover and the pics, and also for Marian's fab way of describing everything. My favourite bit was when she said that white chocolate 'suffers with it's nerves'...I love this woman.

Cover Slut

I may have mentioned at some point in the past that I, fo sho, judge books by their covers. If there's a choice between a nice cover and a not-so-nice one, I go nice cover every time, even if it means spending more. I recognize the stupidity in this, but hey.

I know that you're always being told that it's what's on the inside that counts, but when it comes to books...nah. Aesthetics are important. In short...

My name is Kitty, and I am addicted to book covers.

My point? I have recently discovered Penguin Deluxe Classics. Dude. They are so PRETTY.

Just look at Emma:



Or the Wizard of Oz:



Preeeeeeettttty. Pretty.

There are others. There's The Scarlet Letter: 



And Jane Eyre: 



I have complete book lust. I want ALL of these. I have read them all already, but now I want to get them and stroke them.

I need to delete my Book Depository account now. Otherwise I may order all of the above, and that would be bad (and, if I'm honest, I got the Jane Eyre one already....).

The times they are a-changing

Tomorrow, guys and dolls, is my last college exam.

My last undergraduate activity. Boo. And hoo. And crying. Lots of it.

I have no idea what I want to do with my life. And everyone always tells me that the year after you finish college is the worst year of your life.

All I actually want to do is watch marathons of The Big Bang Theory and cultivate my love of Leonard,  and also read all of the lovely books that I've been neglecting. But alas, I have to go to work and decide what I want to do about graduate school. Scary, scary times.

Maybe I'll win the lottery on Friday. That'd be nice.

Still, my summer reading list is exciting. I have made one hard and fast rule. I will only read books that I actually want to read. I'm not reading anything Tolstoy-ish (the only Russian I even like is Nabokov) or anything even remotely wordy and miserable. Instead, these are the books I want to read:



Book: The Raft by SA Bodeen

This doesn't come out until August, but it looks amazing. It looks like a teen version of Castaway, and I love that film.



Book: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick 

I have been excited about this book since January when I started seeing people getting ARCs of it. It's out in early June and I am prepared to stalk my postman until it gets here.



Book: Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors 

I got this last week and I realllllyyyy want to read it. I just haven't had a chance yet because I've been learning off reams of poetry for our last exam.



Book: Belles by Jen Calonita

I am a cover slut, and the cover of this book is just gorgeous. I  want it for my shelf. I may at some point read it, or I may just buy it and stroke it.



Book: Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols 

I do not feel like I need to justify why I want to read this. It is by Jennifer Echols. And that is all.

When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

Book: When You Were Mine

Author: Rebecca Serle

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

I feel like I should send Simon and Schuster a note of thanks, cause they've published everything I've read this week! Go S&S! And three for three, they've all been good books!

When You Were Mine has a sense of inevitability about it. It's a Romeo and Juliet retelling, so we kinda know how it's gonna end, but to change things up this is told from the perspective of Romeo's (or Rob's) first love.
The protagonist, Rosaline, has been in love with her best friend Rob for years, but they've only just shared their first kiss when Rosaline's beautiful cousin Juliet moves back to town. The chemistry between Rob and Juliet is instant, and Rosaline soon finds herself forgotten by the boy who was her whole world. But such instant, devouring passion is not always a good thing, and Rosaline soon finds herself concerned not just for Rob's heart, but for his very life.

I've seen several people make this comment when reviewing this book, but I'm adding in my two cents for good measure: Rob is an ass, and Rosaline shouldn't have been so hung up on him. He and Juliet deserved one another, as she was not particularly nice either. She was very prissy and spoiled; she sort of reminded me of Naomi from 90210,before she mellowed a bit. Sadly, Juliet doesn't really get the chance to do a Naomi and win us all over.

The really great thing about this book is the supporting characters. Rosaline's friends Olivia and Charlie are really well developed in their own right, and very funny. Olivia is also a touch Naomi, but in a good way! There's also Len, Rosaline's stoner lab partner, who you like even though you know you shouldn't. I also like the ending, which was very well done, especially considering the fate we all know that Rob and Juliet are destined for.

This was a great debut, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Rebecca Serle does next.

Rating: Eight out of ten

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Book: Second Chance Summer
Author: Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Sniff. Cry. And sniff again.

I've just finished this book, and I will warn you: it's very sad. I was not expecting this. When I read the title I thought it was going to be a nice, Lauren Barnholdt-y type of affair. Oh how wrong I was.

Taylor Edwards is seventeen and the odd one out among her siblings. Her little sister is a ballerina like their mum, and her older brother is academically brilliant like their father. The only place Taylor ever felt like she belonged was at the family lake house with her friends Henry and Lucy, but the family haven't visited the house in years. But then Taylor's father gets some devastating news, and the family decides that one last summer at the lake house might be just what they need.

Oh, God, this book is sad. Like reallllllly sad. It's brilliant and I loved it, but it's not a laugh-a-minute kind of a book. Like, you might not want to read this is you've just had a row with your mum or your boyfriend, without giving too much away. Also, the ending is not exactly happy. It's really well written and the characters are great though, and it does have a few funny moments-there's a hilarious bit where Taylor's older brother tries to flirt with a girl in a pet store that's really endearing.

Overall, a fantastic book but not the most cheerful thing I've read this month!

Rating: Nine out of ten.

Wrecked by Anna Davies

Book: Wrecked
Author: Anna Davies
Publisher: Simon and Schuster

I feel sorry for mermaid-siren-water-person type books, because it seems like nobody really likes them except me! I love Tricia Rayburn's Siren novels (cannot wait for Dark Water) so I was so excited when I got Wrecked.

Good thing number one: This book is blurbed by Becca Fitzpatrick. Love her.

Good thing number two: I loved the setting of this book. Loved it. I am guaranteed to give any book set on the coast at least a five out of ten, just for proximity of the ocean. I can't help myself.

Good thing number three: I also liked that the main character had a legitimate reason to be upset and annoyed; most of her friends were dead and she was getting the blame for what happened to them. That would irritate me! Also, the love interest Christian? Swoon worthy.

Bad things? I can't put my finger on exactly why this isn't my new favorite book. It has all the ingredients: sea, paranormal romance, bitchy grandmother. This book should be rivaling Anna and the French Kiss for my affections and it just isn't. I think that's my issue though; it's not the books fault.

Rating? A good seven out of ten. I'd definitely recommend this as a start-of-summer read.

Book Haul!!

Yay!

I only have one exam left, and it's an easy one, so I can finally start to enjoy all the lovely books that arrived in the post last week.

Four of them arrived on one day. The post man was cross. There was muttering and grumbling.

The books I got were:

Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris (finally!!)



Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf



In Honor by Jessi Kirby  (So Excited for this one!)



Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson (I've started this one and it's great)



Now I just need to quit my job and my life so that I can read full time!