My reiview of LIA’S GUIDE TO WINNING THE LOTTERY By Keren David

LIA’S GUIDE TO WINNING THE LOTTERY
By Keren David

Money can’t buy you love. But it can buy many other very nice things. Lia’s mum is a nag, her sister’s a pain and she’s getting nowhere in pursuit of the potentially paranormal Raf. Then she wins £8 million in the lottery, and suddenly everything is different. But will Lia’s fortune create more problems than it solves? Everyone dreams of winning the lottery - but what’s it really like? Find out in this hilarious story by Keren David, whose acclaimed debut novel, When I Was Joe, was Highly Commended for the Booktrust Teenage Prize.

MY THOUGHTS…

Does winning the lottery bring happiness or more problems?

Lia's family always seem to disagree with her and then she wins £8 million. But this brings the initial problem of her family thinking thatthey have won the lottery. When this initial thought blows over, the comes the issue of popularity at school, hate comments and people asking for things. How can Lia say no? She ends up spending over £1000 on people she doesn't know, and her family keep pestering her with more things she needs to pay for.

My favourite character was Raf. He had such a hard past, although what happened in his past isn't know until the end of the book is nearing. I wanted everything to turn out okay for him, and it did.

I liked this book, and I Recommend it to anyone who hopes to win the lottery or anyone in need of a good book to read.
Amazon

My review of THE LAST KINGDOM (THE LAST KINGDOM SERIES BOOK 1) by Bernard Cornwell

THE LAST KINGDOM
(THE LAST KINGDOM SERIES BOOK 1)
By Bernard Cornwell

Uhtred is an English boy, born into the aristocracy of ninth-century Northumbria. Orphaned at ten, he is captured and adopted by a Dane and taught the Viking ways. Yet Uhtred's fate is indissolubly bound up with Alfred, King of Wessex, who rules over the only English kingdom to survive the Danish assault.

The struggle between the English and the Danes and the strife between christianity and paganism is the background to Uhtred's growing up. He is left uncertain of his loyalties but a slaughter in a winter dawn propels him to the English side and he will become a man just as the Danes launch their fiercest attack yet on Alfred's kingdom. Marriage ties him further still to the West Saxon cause but when his wife and child vanish in the chaos of the Danish invasion, Uhtred is driven to face the greatest of the Viking chieftains in a battle beside the sea. There, in the horror of the shield-wall, he discovers his true allegiance.

The Last Kingdom, like most of Bernard Cornwell's books, is firmly based on true history. It is the first novel of a series that tells the tale of Alfred the Great and his descendants and of the enemies they faced, Viking warriors like Ivar the Boneless and his feared brother, Ubba. Against their lives Bernard Cornwell has woven a story of divided loyalties, reluctant love and desperate heroism. In Uhtred, he has created one of his most interesting and heroic characters and in The Last Kingdom one of his most powerful and passionate novels.

MY THOUGHTS…

I love reading Bernard Cornwell books, and this one was no exception.

My favourite characters were Uthred, Ragnar and Thyra. The list of characters I didn't like, due to their personalities, is very long, so I won't list all of them. The characters, those I didn't like included, were described very well and their personalities were evident.

This book, although one of a series, is an excellent one and has made me want to buy the rest of the series, as well as making me want to watch the television series. I love reading historical fiction/fact books, and this one was certainly no exception.

I Highly Recommend this book to anyone and everyone! Enjoy reading it!


Amazon

My review of TOMORROW THE WORLD by Josephine Cox

TOMORROW THE WORLD
By Josephine Cox

Bridget Mulligan loves her husband. He is caring, loyal and dependable - everything a woman could ask for. But she can't quite forget Harry - the one that got away - and when a snow storm drives her into his arms, the inevitable happens. Nine months later a child is born. 

Overcome with remorse, Bridget is determined that her husband should know the truth, but her confession can lead only to heartbreak. Although he allows his wife and her child to continue living in his home, Tom Mulligan makes it clear that their marriage is over. Lonely and afraid, Bridget finds comfort in the friendship of Fanny, a feisty young mother who knows what it is to be alone. But Bridget's life can never be complete until she has the love of the only man she ever really wanted...

My Thoughts...


The ending to this book made me happy... so did the actual story, but the ending made me especially happy.

I thought that the event that started the story was wrong and that Bridget shouldn't have given in to temptation - she was married after all. Although, without that one event, there would be no story for me to add to my 'favorites' shelf!

I loved the characters of Bridget, Ruthie and, despite it all, Harry. They all seemed like really nice people, and I thought that the ending turned out well for them.

I was not sure what to think about Tom Mulligan. One minute he loves his child and the next he hates it. I believed that how he treated Bridget was appalling, even though she was honest and, in many similar cases, many lies would generally be told and things would be made ten times worse. I was slightly sorry for him at the end of his characters part in the story (no spoilers) but what happened, happened because of his own choices.

I do love this book and Highly Recommend it to any Josephine Cox/Historical Fiction/Historical Drama lovers!

My book review of A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd

A SWIFT PURE CRY
By Siobhan Dowd


After Shell's mother dies, her obsessively religious father descends into alcoholic mourning and Shell is left to care for her younger brother and sister. Her only release from the harshness of everyday life comes from her budding spiritual friendship with a naive young priest, and most importantly, her developing relationship with childhood friend, Declan, charming, eloquent and persuasive. But when Declan suddenly leaves Ireland to seek his fortune in America, Shell finds herself pregnant and the centre of a scandal that rocks the small community in which she lives, with repercussions across the whole country. The lives of those immediately around her will never be the same again.


MY THOUGHTS…

I loved reading this book. The story is a good one, the main character, Shell, being responsible for her siblings, Jimmy and Trix. Her mother had long since died, leaving her father a drunken, religious mess. But how would Shell cope?

I felt sorry for Shell all the way through the book. Her best friend isn't the nicest of people, and she had no one else to turn to but Declan. But Declan only made things worse for her. I won't give out any spoilers, but I cried when I read about Rosie.

My favourite character was Shell, followed closely by Jimmy, Trix, Rosie and Paul. It seemed such a travesty that Rosie and Paul could not have survived and Shell raised them as well as her siblings. It seemed so sad when no one believed Shell about Rosie and Paul, and I hoped that the ending would bring a little happiness for Shell.

Siobhan Down wrote a fantastic book, and I Highly Recommend this book to all Young Adult readers and anyone else wanting an amazing, yet heartbreaking, story to read.

Amazon

My reiview of Severed Knot by Cryssa Bazos

Severed Knot
 By Cryssa Bazos

Barbados 1652. In the aftermath of the English Civil War, the vanquished are uprooted and scattered to the ends of the earth.

When marauding English soldiers descend on Mairead O’Coneill’s family farm, she is sold into indentured servitude. After surviving a harrowing voyage, the young Irish woman is auctioned off to a Barbados sugar plantation where she is thrust into a hostile world of depravation and heartbreak. Though stripped of her freedom, Mairead refuses to surrender her dignity.

Scottish prisoner of war Iain Johnstone has descended into hell. Under a blazing sun thousands of miles from home, he endures forced indentured labour in the unforgiving cane fields. As Iain plots his escape to save his men, his loyalties are tested by his yearning for Mairead and his desire to protect her.

With their future stolen, Mairead and Iain discover passion and freedom in each other’s arms. Until one fateful night, a dramatic chain of events turns them into fugitives.

Together they fight to survive; together they are determined to escape.


MY THOUGHTS....


I was lucky enough to win a copy of these book over on Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots, and I have to say it is absolutely fabulous. I really liked Mairead and I LOVED Iain!!! This is such a great book. I cannot praise it enough!!

Amazon

My review of The Host by Stephenie Meyer

THE HOST
By Stephenie Meyer

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.
Wanderer, the invading 'soul' who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.


MY THOUGHTS…


The Host is a fast paced action book with aliens and danger. My kind of book!

What do you do when you’re an alien with a human inside your head, and you don’t trust your fellow aliens? You change sides of course. Join the humans on the run to survival and help them along the way.

This is what Wanda did and what makes her one of my favourite characters. She, with persuading from Melanie, treks across the desert and puts her life, and Melanie's, in the trust of the humans, a different species. But she wins them over and becomes friends with them, especially Melanie's little brother, Jamie, and Ian, who are my other favourite characters.

I loved reading this book, and I Highly Recommend this book to YA readers and adults because it is suitable for anyone wanting some action and aliens.

My review of THE WAITING BOOTH (Whispering Woods #1) By Brinda Berry

THE WAITING BOOTH
(Whispering Woods #1)
By Brinda Berry

A missing boy, government agents, an interdimensional portal...

Mia has one goal for her senior year at Whispering Woods High--find her missing older brother. But when her science project reveals a portal into another dimension, she learns that travelers are moving in and out of her woods in the most alarming way and government agents Regulus and Arizona are policing their immigration. Mia’s drawn to the mysterious, aloof Regulus, but it’s no time for a crush. She needs to find out what they know about her brother, while the agents fight to save the world from viral contamination. But when Regulus reveals that he knows Mia’s secrets, she begins to wonder if there’s more going on than she thought...and if she was wrong to trust him...

MY THOUGHTS

I really liked reading this book and was torn all the way through it... Arizona or Regulus?

I came to a conclusion in the end that, if I had a choice, I would choose Arizona. Not only is he a fun, food loving joker, he has such a cool name! And besides... Regulus hardly ever laughs so my sense of humour would be wasted on him!


I give this book a four star rating, for there were certain parts of the book which confused me a little, trying to figure out where Dr Bleeker fits into it all, but I can guarantee that I will definitely be reading it again.