Tag: Simon & Schuster

The one of huge importance: And the Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando #booklovers #bullying #fiction

And the Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando book cover UK edition

GIFTED / Today I want to talk about one book that I read back in February, but haven’t reviewed it until now. It is, in my opinion, one very important book that talks about bullying and where it can lead if we close our eyes.

I received And the Stars Were Burning Brightly via Netgalley, and I want to say thank you to publisher Simon & Schuster UK for providing me a copy.

This novel was published on March 5th 2020 and it has 368 pages.

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About the book:

FROM GOODREADS / An emotionally rich and current story of suicide, mental health, bullying, grief and growing up around social media.

When fifteen-year-old Nathan discovers that his older brother Al has taken his own life, his whole world is torn apart.
Al was special.
Al was talented.
Al was full of passion and light…so why did he do it?
Convinced that his brother was in trouble, Nathan begins to retrace his footsteps. And along the way, he meets Megan. Al’s former classmate, who burns with the same fire and hope, who is determined to keep Al’s memory alive. But when Nathan learns the horrifying truth behind his brother’s suicide, one question remains – how do you survive, when you’re growing up in the age of social media?

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Review:

And the Stars Were Burning Bright is such a wonderful, heart wrenching story with important topic (bullying) more people should talk about.

It explores the dark side of human beings and the ways to recover from loss.

I have to admit, I didn’t know about And The Stars Were Burning Brightly before it was READ NOW on Netgalley, but as I noticed it, and the premise sounded interesting to me, I couldn’t help myself. I had to read it.

And I am so glad I did give it a shot. I read it few months before it’s publication, but because of technical difficulties I wasn’t able to review it before (aka I postponed it because my computer broke).

The story follows two main characters: Nathan (who’s brother Al killed himself) and Megan (who was friends with Al but kept that friendship secret).
As they lost the one they loved, their lives intertwined.

The story is written in somewhat unique way.
It has two POVs written in first person: Nat’s and Meg’s, but every chapter starts with Al’s thoughts, that often includes space and stars, but also life.
I am grateful for Al’s parts.
However, I have to admit that Meg and Nathan sounded too similar at times.

This is emotional story, which is understandable because it covers serious topic, so be aware that it could make you sad.

I would recommend this book, and I would like to read more novels with the same theme because bullying and suicide is something we should all be more aware about.

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Book Review: While I Was Sleeping by Dani Atkins #BookReview #BookLovers #WhileIWasSleeping

Title: While I Was Sleeping
Author: Dani Atkins
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date: July 26th, 2018
Pages: 543
Format: Physical ARC
Source: from Publisher for a review

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): What if someone else was living your happy ever after?
When Maddie wakes up in a hospital bed, she can’t remember anything about what happened to her or what has changed.
She just remembers she was about to be married and had everything to look forward to.
But it seems life has become a lot more complicated while she has been asleep …

Review:

Going into While I Was Sleeping I thought I knew what I’m putting myself up to.
I have heard good and not so good things about it, and one main thing everyone stated about this story was how emotional it is.

My expectations were not so high, but they were still there.

I know this will probably sound stupid after everything I wrote before this, but what took me by surprise the most was how emotional it was.
I know, I know, I just told you how everyone stated how heartbreaking the novel was, but I did not expect for this story to hit me as hard as it did.
I am not a crier when it comes to books, but my eyes were blurred with tears while I was reading this novel, and the tears appeared on multiple parts of the story.

The second thing about this book that took me by surprise was that it was written from two POVs: one is Maddie’s, and the other is Chloe’s.

The story is written in such a beautiful way. I think the writer knows how to use the words that hit heart, and I praise her for that.

Maddie was my favorite character, she was the only character I truly cared about and even though I can’t even imagine what she went through, I could connect with her.
Her happiness was all I cared about.

Chloe is the one who lived the life Maddie planned to live, before the accident took everything from her.
I didn’t like how it was so easy for her to put Maddie’s shoes, and I didn’t like how goody-good she was.
It was like she was some saint or angel sent from above to fill Maddie’s place, and then she took it completely.
I still can’t accept the fact that Chloe’s happiness was built on Maddie’s  misfortune.

Ryan was my least favorite character. I would use a word hate to describe my feelings for him, but then again I think that word is too strong and wrong.
I know it’s not his fault that he fell in love with someone else while his fiancee was in coma, but how he treated Maddie after she woke up was what made me angry and hurt.

This book is one of the rare books that stayed with me even when I wasn’t reading.
I kept thinking about it over and over again, couldn’t wait to have some free time to read at least one more page.
Even after I finished the book, I caught myself longing to read at least one more page, and then I had to remind myself that the story is over and that all the pages were already read.

This could have easily be a five stars book for me, and I wish it was, but I can’t make myself like it that much because the end ruined everything to me.
It took me few days (even weeks to be precise) to finally write my review because my emotions were all over the place and I was so angry, but still I didn’t want to write something I would be sorry about later, and I was afraid that because I hated the end I wouldn’t be able to tell you how beautiful and interesting everything else was.

In the end, this is a four stars book for me, and all of my feelings about the end you can read in the spoiler section down bellow:

Spoilers!!!

So this is how I feel about the end: I hate how the author didn’t give Maddie a happy end, but instead decided to put her into a long sleep again.
I wonder if she killed her would it be less painful? It probably would.

The only good that could come out of it (and I would never welcome that kind of story) was if the author decided to write a sequel in which Maddie’s daughter was sick and then Maddie would up and save her life because her daughter would need an organ or something).

This story could have a happier ending. Why Maddie didn’t start a relationship with Mitch??? They could have been a perfect couple.

This way Chloe got everything, all the happiness in the world, and Maddie didn’t even get crumbs. She got crumbs of crumbs, and I can’t put my head around why the writer decided to put her through so much pain and didn’t even give her at least that little happiness that she deserved.

Book Review: Our House by Louise Candlish #BookReview #THATlastline #Suspense

Title: Our House
Author: Louise Candlish
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Date: September 1st, 2018
Pages: 448
Format: Paperback
Source: from Publisher for a review and to give away

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): On a bright January morning in the London suburbs, a family moves into the house they’ve just bought in Trinity Avenue. 

Nothing strange about that. Except it is your house. And you didn’t sell it. 

When Fiona Lawson comes home to find strangers moving into her house, she’s sure there’s been a mistake. She and her estranged husband, Bram, have a modern co-parenting arrangement: bird’s nest custody, where each parent spends a few nights a week with their two sons at the prized family home to maintain stability for their children. But the system built to protect their family ends up putting them in terrible jeopardy. In a domino effect of crimes and misdemeanors, the nest comes tumbling down.

Now Bram has disappeared and so have Fiona’s children. As events spiral well beyond her control, Fiona will discover just how many lies her husband was weaving and how little they truly knew each other. But Bram’s not the only one with things to hide, and some secrets are best kept to oneself, safe as houses.

Review:

I feel like Our House took our blogging community by the storm. Ever since it first came out in April, all the amazing bloggers who review adult titles rave about this novel.
Some reviews are very positive, but there are also ones that do not think Our House is the best book written.
Me?
I think this novel is very good and I am so grateful that I had chance to read it.

I would like to thank Sara-Jade Virtue for sending me a paperback copy of Our House to read and pass on to someone else in the #ibelieveinbookfairies project, where people leave books in different places for other people to find it.
I left mine on the Model of Zagreb in Kaptol, Zagreb, Croatia.

Every now and then I would come across a review for this story. You can’t help it when you read blogs and book reviews on regular basis. However, I was good when it comes to avoiding spoilers, so I still found myself surprised while reading.

First thing that surprised me was that Our House is actually more of suspense then a thriller.

Second thing was the way it was written.
You see, this novel does not have that regular, every day way of storytelling.
In fact, it is told from two POVs, one written as podcast and the second one written as documents (that actually sound more like a diary or confessions to me).
There is the third way of storytelling that unites those two POVs into one whole.
Never before have I ever read anything similar to that, so I welcomed it.

The story follows Fiona who lost her house and her husband Bram who is the reason why she lost it.
I don’t want to tell you too much about it because I feel like the less you know the more interesting reading experience you’ll have.

I have to stress out that during the reading process I didn’t have anything to think too much about, like, there was no mystery to be solved.
The story itself was interesting enough, but was is not puzzling as I assumed it would be.

The characters of the story were pretty memorable but not one of them was likeable. However, I feel like that was author’s goal, to give us unlikeable, realistic characters that we can not trust.

The story itself has some dull and boring moments, but I highly encourage you to keep reading because once you get to the end, it is all worth it!
The end is the best part of this novel, so unique, and one of the best endings I read in a very, very long time.

Book Review: Five Years From Now by Paige Toon

Title: Five Years From Now
Author: Paige Toon
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Date: May 17th, 2018
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Source: Gifted

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): What if you met the right person at the wrong time?

Nell and Van meet as children when their parents fall in love, but soon they are forced worlds apart.

Five years later, they find each other.  Their bond is rekindled and new feelings take hold, but once again they must separate.

For the next two decades, fate brings Nell and Van together every five years, as life and circumstance continue to divide them. Will they ever find true happiness? And will it be together?

‘One day, maybe five years from now, you’ll look back and understand why this happened…’

Review:

First of all, I want to say thank you to my wonderful friend Amanda (who is also an awesome blogger and you should all check out here blog here) for giving me a copy of this novel.
Amanda knew I was dying to read Five Years From Now, because it is the newest piece of work from one of my favorite authors, Paige Toon, and she was kind enough to send me a copy.

Once again, Paige Toon didn’t disappoint. In Five Years From Now she created two wonderful main characters who will win hearts of the readers all over the world.

This is a beautiful, emotional story that will make you smile, hold your breath and also, it will probably make your heart wrench.
As matter of fact, your heart will probably be broken to that level that you will go online and talk about it all day long (or maybe even longer).
At least, that’s how it’s done on twitter.

Since everyone talked about how emotional this novel is, and there was even a video of the author crying her heart out while writing this book, I prepared myself for the worst.
Can you imagine the consequence of my preparation?
Yes, you’re right. I didn’t cry at all! But in my defense, I’m not a big cryer anyway, plus, this story was still pretty emotional for me.

If there’s one thing I learned from this wonderful novel is just how long the period of 5 years actually is.
So many things can happen’ in 5 years, lives can change drastically.

The story follows Nell and Van from when they were 5 years old to when they were in their forties.
They met because of their parents, who were in love and lived together. When they were 10 a big tragedy separated them and Van moved to another part of the world, Australia.
They kept seeing each other every five years. There was always that big chemistry between them that turned out into love, but life isn’t always as you want it to be.
They both built their own families, lived their own lives, but couldn’t forget each other.

In whole honesty, while I was reading Five Years From Now I had a feeling I already came across this story before, and then it hit me: Love, Rosie! I’ve never read the book, but I’ve seen the movie multiple times, and Five Years From Now reminded me of it.
But still, even though it had some similarities, it is also so different.

Toon’s writing style is so amazing. Her books are always so easy to read, with beautiful sentences.

I want to stress out that Five Years From Now is not only emotional story, but it also has brilliant atmosphere, with amazing descriptions of Cornwall and it’s beaches.

Reading this book while on vacation is the perfect score!

I feel like everyone who already read this piece of literature talks about the end, so I won’t.
In all honesty, I wish they wouldn’t either, because it spoils the reading experience.
I’ll just say I liked it.

Q&A with Penny Parkes, the author of The Larkford Series (Best Practice Blog Tour)

I am so happy to be today’s host in Best Practice blog Tour.
I want to say thank you to Hayley McMullan for giving me this opportunity, to Penny Parkes for answering all of my questions, and to Simon and Schuster UK for sending me a free copy of the book.

 

Best Practice is out now in hardcover and paperback.

 

About the book:

THE BRAND NEW BESTSELLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF OUT OF PRACTICE
Love and laughter with the residents of Larkford is exactly what the doctor ordered!

Dr Alice Walker has become accomplished at presenting a façade to the world – to anyone watching, she is the epitome of style, composure and professionalism. But perhaps it was to be expected that the cracks might begin to show at some point. Thankfully Grace is on hand to offer both friendship and support when it’s needed most.

Meanwhile, Dr Holly Graham has her hands full both professionally and personally. Planning a wedding with Taffy Jones is challenging enough, even before some surprising news changes everything. At least beloved Larkford resident, Elsie, still has a few tricks left up her sleeve!

Dr Dan Carter, on the other hand, has decided to throw himself into his career – the best antidote he’s found to unrequited love. When tragedy strikes in the heart of Larkford, Dan makes it his mission to help the community.

Penny Parkes’ first novel, Out of Practice, won the RNA’s ROMANTIC COMEDY OF THE YEAR AWARD in 2017. 

 

Q&A

Hi Penny, thank you for visiting Book Dust Magic. Can you please introduce yourself?

Hi, I’m Penny Parkes and I write novels about love, community and sneaking behind the scenes – it’s the contrast between my fictional GPs’ personal and professional lives that provides the springboard for my Larkford novels.

Can you please describe your journey to become a published author?

The moment I turned from talking about writing to actually writing seriously didn’t happen until my children started school. Going back to my old line of work finding film locations just wasn’t an option, so I had a small but distinct window of opportunity to see if I could make it as a writer. That focused the mind rather!

There have been many points of serendipity along my path to publication, but the common theme has always been taking a risk, jumping in with both feet, walking into a publishing party knowing nobody, taking on a challenge… And happily I haven’t looked back…

I just love The Larkford Series. Have you always planned for it to be a series, or was Out of Practice meant to be standalone in its early stages?

In my mind, it was always a series, but it has grown and grown, as my characters have developed on the page. Larkford gives me scope to write the stories behind the stories.

Who is your favourite character?

Oh, without a doubt it has to be Elsie Townsend – although she can be a bit of a show-off and can monopolise a scene without careful attention! Her Life Lessons and general empathy and generosity are a joy to write. In fact, she’s fast becoming my role model for my later years…

I always imagine your series as a Lifetime TV show. I assume you’d like to see it on the screen one day, but this time I want to ask you what TV shows do you like to watch?

It probably will come as no surprise to learn that Greys Anatomy and House MD feature very highly on my wish list for TV-time. I’m also a huge fan of shows like Sherlock, Elementary and The West Wing – sharp, funny, clever drama where I can’t predict the outcome (the curse of a writer’s mind that spoils many a TV show)

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Reading – obviously – and from a variety of genres. I feel positively twitchy without a book on the go! I’m also a huge movie fan and love to escape to the cinema. The rest of my spare time I’ll spend swimming, walking The Ginger Ninja, baking gluten free goodies or plotting the next Big Family Adventure. It also has to be said that I spend a glorious amount of time catching up with friends and fellow writing mates and just putting the world to rights over coffee or a little something stronger.

Where do you find your inspiration?

In the most unlikely of places, to be honest. Sometimes it’s not so much an event, as a comment, or a glance that sets the cogs tumbling into place. I do believe that you cannot

write fiction effectively in isolation though – conversations, movies, books, newspapers – they all add in to the mix.

What kind of music do you like to listen to?

When I’m writing, it has to be classical music, otherwise I start singing along! Einaudi is a firm favourite.

There is a presumption that all writers are also avid readers. How many books do you usually read in a month and what book did you really like that you read this year?

I’ll usually read one or two books a week, but on occasion I’ll devour a much-anticipated proof overnight – I don’t sleep much! Something in The Water by Catherine Steadman ticked all my boxes and is sure to fly next year.

Doing this interview with Penny Parkes was so much fun, and reading her books is even more awesome.
Make sure to check out The Larkford series, and to visit other blogs that participated in the tour.

 

Book Review: This Love by Dani Atkins

Title: This Love
Author: Dani Atkins
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Date: March 23rd, 2017
Pages: 466
Format: Paperback
Source: from Publisher for a review

Review:

If you’re looking for a damsel in distress story done right, look no further!

This Love is the story about Sophie Winter who finds herself in a hard situation in which she can’t cope without someone’s help.

The story starts with drama. Sophie’s flat is on fire and she’s trying to get out before the fire swallows her too.
She managed to save her little cat Fred by letting him go out of the window (I really loved that cat, it was my mission the whole time to know that Fred is save), but for her it is a bit harder to get out.
That’s where Ben, our knight in shining armor plays his part.
He gives her directions what to do to get out of that flat alive.

Ben’s kindness doesn’t stop right there. Oh, no! He helps her find her cat Fred, and even (because of some circumstances) offers her the place to stay.

I know stories about ladies who need to be saved are not in fashion anymore, but as I already stated, This Love is done right. Sophie didn’t want to find herself in the role she played, but her entire home burned and she was in a really bad situation. She had no choice but to accept other people’s help.

At first I really liked Ben. He is that type of character women all over the world dream about. He has a good heart, always knows what to say and is kind, plus he looks really, really hot.
He is way too perfect to be real, and that is where my adoration for him fall back. 
I wished he had at least one flaw (actually, in my had I started plotting a story in which he was really a psychopath with great acting skills).

The writing style is really good. Dani Atkins pulls you in with her voice and makes you forget about the rest of the world. I was thinking about the book even when I was not reading.
It is written in third person.

This Love is a perfect title for this novel because you can feel and see the love in so many shapes through the story.
It is no wonder that it received RNA award in category “Romantic Novel of the year”.

I enjoyed reading This Love, and I feel like I gained a lot as a reader from this book, but it is my duty to mention that this story also reminded me of two very popular novels: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes and Ten Tiny Breaths by K. A. Tucker.
I’m not saying it is a reap off of those two novels by any mean, I’m just saying it has some of the same elements as those two.

Overall, This Love is a perfect book for romance lovers and for those who want to read a good book about damsel in distress.

Book Review: The Love Shack by Jane Costello

Title: The Love Shack
Author: Jane Costello
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Date: April 23rd, 2015
Pages: 484
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Life’s great when you’re 29 years old with a gorgeous girlfriend and fulfilling job. Until you have to move back in with your mum . . .

Dan and Gemma have found their dream first home, but the asking price is the stuff of nightmares. The only way they’ll ever save enough for the deposit is by moving in, rent-free, with Dan’s mum.

It’s a desperate solution, but it’s only for six months. And Gemma’s determined to make it work, no matter how bad things get.

But between Dan’s mum’s kitchen karaoke, her constant innuendos, irrepressible argumentative streak and – worst of all – her ham and pineapple curries, life back at home would test the patience of two saints. Which Dan and Gemma most definitely are not.

Then, as they’re trying to convince themselves it will all be worth it, Gemma’s past comes back to haunt her. And suddenly the foundations of their entire relationship are shaken to their core…

 

Review:

Ohh, Jane Costello! Seems like I can’t get enough of her books. They always make my day a bit better no matter in what stage my life is.
If you follow me for a while, you probably know she is my favorite author, and there’s a reason for that. Read this, or any other of her books, and you’ll understand.

The Love Shack follows a couple, Dan and Gemma who have been together for four years and they are in a process of buying a house.
They find a perfect one, but in order to be able to afford it, they have to live under the same roof with Dan’s mother for 6 months.
It’s not an easy choice but Gemma and Dan will do their best to secure the best possible future for themselves.

Reading this novel was such a delight. I got lost in Gemma and Dan’s story, had my LOL moments and was just having fun. It was everything that I wanted from a book at that time (that’s why I picked it in the first place, because I can always count on Costello to bright the mood).

Even tough it is a typical chick-lit (it has all the elements but the only difference is that in this story we follow the couple that are together from the very beginning of the story), I would say that this book is also very realistic.

Buying a house comes with lots and lots of paper works and compromise, and this book shows that (Just to stress out, it won’t bore you with those legal things that are not funny to read anyway).
Also, problems that our main characters had in this novel are ones everyone could come across now and then (especially Gemma’s).

The novel is written in fist person, following two POVs: Dan’s and Gemma’s.
I think that the author did a very good job because character’s voices sounded similar, but yet different.

I liked the imperfection of the characters.
I didn’t approve Gemma’s acts and couldn’t understand Dan’s principles, but still I liked them both very much.

Overall, I really, really enjoyed reading The Love Shack. I know this is one of those books I can always come back to.
Would I recommend? Defintely!
If you still haven’t read anything of Costello’s work, do yourself a favour and give her books a chance. Trust me, you won’t regret it!

P.S. In April Jane Costello will release her new book You Me Everything under a pseudonym Catherine Isaac. Movie rights have already been sold, as well as rights for translation to (I think) 15 different countires. I can’t wait to read that one!