22.4.12

New to Dot Scribbles Shelves

I have received some very exciting books to review recently, here's a few of them, let me know your thoughts!

Summer Daydreams by Carole Matthews (Sphere, 24th May) Nell McNamara has a happy life: her boyfriend Olly adores her, their four-year-old daughter Petal is the centre of their world and Nell has a steady job in the local chip shop. When the chippy needs a makeover, Nell jumps at the chance to unleash the creativity fizzing inside her.
Inspired by what she can achieve- and encouraged by the best friends a girl can have- Nell is determined to try something new. Waving goodbye to the chip shop, she starts up a new business making her own line of must-have handbags, which are soon flying off the shelves!
It seems Nell's dreams are finally coming true, but her success doesn't come without a price. Before too long, Nell has to ask herself if it's really possible to have it all...

Catching The Sun by Tony Parsons (Harper Collins, 7th June) When taxi driver Tom Finn is almost jailed for confronting two burglars in his own home, he leaves broken Britain and takes his wife and children to live on the tropical island of Phuket, Thailand. Phuket is all the Finn family dreamed of- a tropical paradise where the children swim with elephants, the gibbons sing love songs in the jungle, the Andaman Sea is like turquoise glass and the young family is free to grow. But both man-made disaster and unleashed forces of nature shatter this tropical idyll.

White Wedding by Milly Johnson (Simon and Schuster, 7th May) It's the day they've always dreamed about. But will it turn out to be a nightmare...?
Bel is in the midst of planning her perfect wedding when disaster strikes and everything she thought she knew is turned on its head. Can she hold it all together and, with the help of her friends, and a mysterious man she meets unexpectedly, turn disaster into triumph?
Bel's best friend, ice-cream parlour owner Violet, is engaged to Glyn, who is besotted by her although Violet fell out of love with him long ago. But however trapped she feels in the relationship, she can't quite say the words, 'I don't want to marry you anymore.' Then, just when she's about to give up and resign herself to married life, she finds love in the most surprising of places. Will duty rule her heart or will she allow herself to be swept off her feet?
Their childhood friend Max was planning a quick registry office do with her fiance Stuart until she sees a TV programme about traveller brides and becomes determined to have the most extravagantly glitzy wedding ever. But in all the excitement has she lost sight of what's really important? Does she want the wedding more than she wants the groom?
And as all three friends find the dress of their dreams at the White Wedding bridal shop, its owner, the lovely Freya, guarantees that her gowns will bring them happiness- though maybe not quite in the way they expected...

Until I Die by Amy Plum (Atom, 3rd May) She fell in love with the perfect man. But his secret condemns him to die: again and again. For Kate's boyfriend is a revenant. A man who gave his life in place of another. Now one of the undead. Locked in an immortal battle played out on the streets of Paris. Kate and Vincent can be together right now, in the moment. But when one is mortal and the other immortal. What will they do about forever? Set in a Paris rich in art, history and mythology, Until I Die is a gothic novel about love against the odds. With a detailed revenant mythology rooted in existing legend, Amy Plum introduces you to a dark and fascinating new paranormal underworld.

Better Together by Sheila O'Flannagan (Healdine, 5th July) Sheridan Gray has the perfect life: dream job as a hot-shot journalist, ideal boyfriend and demanding parents' approval. That is, until her world crashes around her. Left with few options, she takes a job in what just so happens to be the hometown of the man she blames for everything- is this ever going to be the new start Sheridan needs?
When her husband, an aspiring actor, was offered a part in Dublin, Nina Fallon never dreamt her own life would become a soap opera. Faced with running her guesthouse alone and denying the idle gossipers, the last thing she needs is her new tenant's eagle-eyed investigations. As Sheridan gets closer to the truth, both women struggle to let go of the past. Will they stick to what they know? Or will they find that practice makes perfect and sometimes it's best to move on?

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (Headline, 10th July) It began with A Discovery of Witches. Historian, Diana Bishop descended from a line of powerful witches, and long-lived vampire Matthew Clairmont have broken the laws dividing creatures. When Diana discovered a significant alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, she sparked a struggle in which she became bound to Matthew. Now the fragile coexistence of witches, daemons, vampires and humans is dangerously threatened. Seeking safety, Diana and Matthew travel back in time to London, 1590. But they soon realise that the past may not provide a haven. Reclaiming his former identity as poet and spy for Queen Elizabeth, the vampire falls back in with a group of radicals known as the School of Night. Many are unruly daemons, the creative minds of the age, including playwright Christopher Marlowe and mathematician Thomas Harriot. Together Matthew and Diana scour Tudor London for the elusive manuscript  Ashmole 782, and search for the witch who will teach Diana how to control her remarkable powers... Fall under the spell of Diana and Matthew once more in this stunning , rich imagined epic tale.



6 comments:

Ellie said...

I'm sort of glad I got an ebook proof of Shadow of Night, it looks huge!

Regina said...

I have read Summer Daydreams, really good book. But haven't read any of the others yet. Hoping to read White Wedding sometime this year.

Jo said...

Lots of good reads there? I must get round to reading my Milly Johnson book I have on my shelf.

Dot said...

Ellie- it's huge!

Regina- That's good to hear, I love Carole's books!

Jo- I've received so many good books recently, there's not enough hours in the day!

jessicabookworm said...

I haven't read any of these books or authors, instead I'm just find myself instantly drawn to the purple coloured ones. Which worked quite well as looking at your blurbs they are the two I might read :-)

Dot said...

Jessica- I'm always drawn to purple covers too!

All change here!

I have made the decision to stop doing written reviews on here for a little while. I shall keep this page open but for the time being I sha...