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The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

☆☆☆☆☆

The Great Gatsby is about a man who came from nothing, to someone rich, and in his time, famous. Everyone knew the name Gatsby. He held marvellous parties, but little did anyone know that they weren’t for fun. He had high hopes that his one true love would some day walk through the door, after he brought a house just over the water from hers… Little did he know though that finding her finally, would be the end of him.

This was @letsgetclassical_bookclub June pick, and I LOVED it!I haven’t read very many classics, but this was absolutely outstanding. It’s a short but sweet book and I loved everything about it!

There isn’t really anything I could fault about it really… the writing was perfect, and the storyline was amazing! I love how he paints Gatsby’s past, and how in love he is with Daisy, and the lengths he goes through to be with her! But I also love how he shows that some people will choose money and security over everything else, no matter what! And I think Fitzgerald shows this so so well, particularly at the very end of the story with Daisy! And that she isn’t the perfect, beautiful girl that Gatsby believes her to be.

I also really enjoy the film adaptation to this! Although it’s slightly modernised with the music that is used, it fits very well I think! And most of the film is actually word for word which I love! Nothing important is really missed in the film, which I find happens a lot with other adaptations!

What do you think about the film adaptation?✨

All in all, I would recommend this book to everyone! Whether you enjoy classics or not, I do feel as though this book could be for everyone!📚🌼✨

Coffee Book Tag

Check out my new book tag (click on the image)! I had so much fun participating in this one – get involved even if you haven’t been tagged! Be sure to tag me so I can read your responses too!

Are there any other book tags you could recommend I should do?

Let me know in the comments section! – Can’t wait to participate in more.

Hope you’re all having a fabulous and relaxing weekend!

C x

Regretting You – Colleen Hoover

☆☆☆☆☆

This book looks at grief, love, and lies. What seemed like the perfect family, isn’t all it seems after an unfortunate accident…

After the loss of husband and father Chris, Clara and Morgan couldn’t be further apart from each other, more so than they should be for a mother and daughter. Whilst Morgan begins to learn the truth about her late husband and sister, Clara begins to find comfort in an unexpected boy. With the truths coming out and Morgan wanting to keep it from Clara, it pushes them further and further apart, almost to the point of hate! Will things ever be the same again? Probably not, but they could be better…

I LOVED this book. I finished it in less than 24 hours, I just couldn’t put it down! It really focuses well on the relationship between a mother and daughter, as the chapters flick between each of Morgan’s and Clara’s perspectives, and this works really, really well for the story. I really do feel for Morgan throughout, having to keep secrets from Clara, and letting her believe the worst in her mother. As a mother, that can’t be easy at all!

You also see Clara evolve throughout the story after going through what she does, you see her change and grow up from the girl she is in the beginning.

I’m a huge advocate for Colleen Hoover and her novels. Each book I’ve read I’ve fell in love with straight from the off, and I don’t get that with many books (I’m quite picky believe it or not). So I really can’t wait for my next one… Possibly Verity!

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading a lil’ bit of family drama!

Girl, Serpent, Thorn – Melissa Bashardoust

‘Sometimes the princess is the monster…’

☆☆☆

Publish Date – 07/07/2020

This was another @netgalley read, so thank you for allowing me to have an Advanced Reader Copy to review!

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book if I’m honest. The first few chapters had me thinking it could be a did not finish as the setting is different to what I would usually read, I believe it’s set with a Persian twist to it so was unsure of whether I would understand what some things we’re. But this ended up being okay, you get the gist of it as you go throughout the story.

The story is about a young girl who is ’cursed’ to the touch, and anything she touches dies. All the girl wants is to be rid of the curse so that she can live a happy, normal human life, like the rest of her family. She feels like an outcast and is locked away to ensure peoples safety. Little does she know that her curse is what is actually keeping her safe…

The story definitely has some Sleeping Beauty/Rapunzel/fairy-tale type feels to it, with a curse and being locked away from humanity. But I did enjoy this book, maybe not as much as I thought I would, as fantasy is one of my favourite genres but it was a good read.

It was a little slow in the beginning, then it sped up pace in the middle, and slowed again. It was very predictable what was to happen in the end. It was still a fun read though, I wouldn’t say it’s a bad book at all! The writing style was easy to follow, and it is a good story, just not 100% my cup of tea but as I said it wasn’t a book I would usually pick up and I liked being able to try something different!

Safe Haven – Nicholas Sparks

‘Promise me something, you’ll take a lot of pictures and only regret the ones that you didn’t take.’

☆☆☆☆☆

Safe Haven is about Erin/Katie, who runs away from her abusive and controlling Husband who is a high up detective working in the police force, and she ends up in Southport where she meets Alex and his two children…

This is such a lovely, heartfelt story and it touches upon some really hard subjects. This includes domestic abuse, alcoholism, manipulation and control. Besides these, it also carries a beautiful love story between Erin and Alex.

If you’re someone who has read Nicholas Sparks’ other books such as The Notebook and Dear John, I really think that you would enjoy this as its a little more thrilling and makes you want to continue reading!

I’ve rate all of @nicholassparks books that I’ve read at 5 stars, I think he’s so passionate in his writing and stories and it’s so evident throughout his books. I highly recommend them, especially if you’re a sucker for a good romance!

Dead To Her – Sarah Pinborough

Being the second wife can be murder…

☆☆☆☆☆

Publish Date – 04/06/2020

Firstly, thank you to Harper Collins UK/HarperCollins Fiction & Sarah Pinborough.

Dead To Her is a thriller that is based on two females, Marcie and Keisha, who are “second wives” of their current husbands, that are in an elite group of friends. Their friends are seriously rich, with whom they envy, they all seem to have the most perfect lives. The story is told from both Marcie and Keisha’s perspectives, and you learn a lot about their backgrounds. The two of them came from nothing, so to marry into the lives of their husbands was like a dream come true for them. Keisha manages to grab the attention of Marcie’s husband, Jason, and she refuses to be pushed to one side… The lengths Marcie will go to, to get what she wants, who knows how far she’ll really go…

I actually really enjoyed this book; I was literally hooked from the first chapter which isn’t very common for me. There is so much suspense throughout the novel that I just couldn’t put it down and managed to finish it in less than a day! It’s a book full of lies, sex, deceit and murder, what’s not to enjoy?

It’s the kind of book where you’re constantly guessing who did what and what’s going to happen next, and it turns out to be completely wrong! There are so many twists and turns throughout the book from the beginning right until the end, and I constantly found myself thinking “wow, that was completely unexpected”! I wouldn’t say it’s your typical thriller that is very predictable, its actually quite the opposite.

With the book being released in the next two days I highly recommend anyone to read this! Definitely won’t disappoint.

Good Girl – Miranda Smith

‘She seems perfect. It’s the perfect disguise…’

☆☆☆

Publish Date – 24th June 2020

So this was my first @netgalley book, so I quite enjoyed being one of the first people to read and review this book!

It was a bit of a slow start so I wasn’t completely invested in the first section of the book. Once I’d got through about 25% that definitely changed. I loved the way each chapter changed from the perspective of the past and the present. ⠀⠀

As the book goes on it shows layers and layers of the plot of the book. It’s not really a ‘who done it’ kind of book, I guessed pretty much from the off who the person causing all the trouble was, as it was very obvious. But that’s not to say it was bad for that reason, I found that it really worked. It was just frustrating when no one believed Della!

Throughout the story you are told of the relationship between Della and her brother, Brian when they were younger. Over the years Della and Brian obviously don’t get along and have their issues. But Della has always known about Brian’s dark side, but no one ever believes her…

In the present day Della has, what you would consider, a normal life. She’s a married woman and has the job of a teacher. It isn’t until Zoey joins the school that Della’s life is turned upside down. She see’s something in Zoey… The same as what she saw in Brian all those years ago… But again, no one believes her… Will it be too late?

Overall I enjoyed the book, it was a quick read and different to anything I have read before. I would definitely recommend this book to others!

The Flat Share – Beth O’Leary

‘Tiffy and Leon share a bed. Tiffy and Leon have never met…’

☆☆☆☆☆

This is in no doubt, the easiest five star review I think I’ve ever given. I started to read this as it is @womenwinewit chosen book of the month! When reading the description of the book I felt like it may have been to much of a ‘girly chick-flick’ read, and don’t get me wrong it really is but WOW.

The way the author has perfectly executed this book is incredible. It’s such a lighthearted book, yet it talks about serious issues that happen in relationships including gaslighting and emotional abuse. It also shows how people come to realise that they may not have been physically abused but actually emotionally abused instead.

There were areas of the book that really hit home for me, but it wasn’t hard to read in that sense, because of the way it’s done it was an easy and very quick read. I loved every page of this book and highly recommend it to absolutely everyone who needs a bit of a feel good moment. This book will do it for you!

Leon and Tiffy end up becoming flat mates, as Tiffy needs somewhere to live, after her traumatic breakup with Justin (who really is an ass). Although Leon and Tiffy are flat mates, they don’t actually meet in person for a number of months due to Leon’s work and his very jealous girlfriend Kay (who also isn’t the nicest of people). But when they do eventually meet, sparks fly instantly.

The relationship between the two of them is just so so loveable. Also, the way Leon is so so protective over Tiffy is the sweetest thing, as he’s not over protective, he just wants to learn her triggers as she struggles coming through the other side of the emotional abuse she didn’t notice for years.

It’s genuinely such a heart-warming book and I urge everyone to give it a read.

The Binding – Bridget Collins

Imagine you could hide a secret. Forever.

☆☆☆

So this one was a very different book to what I’d usually read! I will try to review with no spoilers where I can…

The book seems to be set around Victorian-like times, where everyone uses horses for transport rather than cars!

Emmett Farmer is to be a binders apprentice, due to becoming weak from getting fever and not being able to help his family on the farm.

Emmett leaves to become Seredith’s apprentice and I was really excited about what she could teach him, she seemed lovely (other than a little odd at times) so the fact that she was only in the first few chapters really annoyed me. Also I found that you never really find out how Emmett becomes a binder, and I don’t particularly think that they delved in deep enough with that part of the story. I think it could’ve been made a little more magical if it had been explored more…
⠀⠀
I quite liked the second part of the book as you get an insight into what Emmett’s life was like prior to becoming ill… and you find out how he got ill in the first place, along with a huge secret that’s tried to be hidden! ⠀⠀

The third part of the book was a little more predictive and a lot probably could’ve been left out? I found that some of it wasn’t relevant at all and may have been better without it.

Overall I didn’t like the book as much as I’d have hoped too, which is very annoying! That’s not to say it’s a bad book, I just thought that it would be more magical and enchanting than it actually is… but that might just be me!

If you’ve read this, let me know your thoughts?

Blood Orange – Harriet Tyce

‘A damaged marriage, a toxic affair, a dark obsession…

☆☆☆☆☆

Okay, hooooly shit. I wouldn’t usually swear in a review but wow!

I started this book a few days ago, and took my time reading it as it’s such a heavy read. From the middle onwards I could barely put it down, it’s one of the most intense books I think I’ve ever read.

Alison is a woman who has what seems to be everything. A family, a career as a barrister, everything she ever wanted. But it never seemed enough… and nothing was ever as it seemed.

Throughout the book there were times that I hated Alison, and that what ever happens to her she deserves, then at other points of the book I felt sorry for her, even after everything she’s done. Alison is made to believe that she single handedly ruined her marriage, but is that true? Or was it already ruined when it had barely begun?

At work she’s been given her first murder, the most important case she’s ever took on. As the case comes to a close, everything begins to come together for Alison. The case, her life and the tragedy that has come with it all… ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀

The ending is so unexpected… but if you read back to the prologue at the beginning of the book you realise the ending was there the whole time, it never quite made any sense. But with the context of the story it all makes sense now when you re-read it…

It’s an incredible read as a physiological thriller and would recommend it to everyone who enjoys those types of books… @harriet_tyce definitely made a masterpiece with this book! I hope that she releases more as I know now that I’ll pick up any book that she writes🌼✨