You And Me Always Blog Tour: Giveaway

Hello you lovely lot! Today I am so excited to be kicking off the blog tour for Jill Mansell's new novel You And Me, Always which is released today! To celebrate publication day I've got 2 copies of the book to give away provided by Jill's lovely publisher. To enter simply follow the rules and fill in the Rafflecopter below. Good luck!

Giveaway Rules 

 To enter you have to fill in the Rafflecopter 

 Open to UK residents only 

 Two winners will be drawn and contacted by email with 1 week to reply else another winner will be selected 

 Make sure you complete what the form asks of you - I do check! Any winner who has not completed an option will be disqualified

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make sure you follow the rest of the blog tour!

Review for Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris 
Publisher: Mira
Release: 11th February 2016
Genre: Thriller
Source: Copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review



Synopsis: 

"Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace.

He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do. You’d like to get to know Grace better.

But it’s difficult, because you realise Jack and Grace are never apart.

Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of the bedroom windows.

Sometimes, the perfect marriage is the perfect lie."

Review 
We all know a couple like Jack and Grace. He’s a handsome businessman; rich, successful and totally devoted to his wife. She’s the supportive housewife; she has the big house, throws extravagant dinner parties and has a husband who adores her. Together they’re the ultimate couple; they’re the envy of all who know them. But what if the perfect marriage is the perfect lie?

Behind Closed Doors follows Grace, and from the opening pages you know that something is off about her seemingly perfect marriage. Through chapters that alternate between past and present you follow the relationship between Jack and Grace.

In the beginning Jack seems like the perfect partner. Grace doesn’t have many people in her life who are important to her but she does have her younger sister Millie whom she’s fiercely protective of. Millie has Down’s syndrome and, being her guardian, Grace has struggled in the past to find a partner willing to take on both her and her sister. So when Jack and Grace meet through Millie, Grace is thrilled to find someone who cares for her sister as much as she does. After a whirlwind romance Jack and Grace decide to get married but after the wedding Jack’s perfect façade drops and his true intentions towards Grace and Millie are revealed.

In the present day Grace is kept as a prisoner in their home, only brought out to entertain guests at their dinner parties and play the role of Jack’s trophy wife. With Jack’s position as a lawyer and Grace’s lack of family she’s the perfect victim. With the days counting down until Millie leaves school and comes to live with them, can Grace find a way for her little sister to escape the same fate?

Behind Closed Doors was a book that I was consumed by from first to final page. Unlike a lot of thrillers it’s not the twists and turns that grip you, but the horror of Grace’s daily life and the will she/won’t she escape element. It was so interesting to read about what Jack could get away with as a powerful public figure. The book really explores themes of compliance when it comes to authority figures.

Behind Closed Doors is a book that I couldn’t put down. If you pick it up prepare to lose yourself in its pages until the end. It’s a fascinating page turner that will make you question the idea of perfection and wonder what goes on behind closed doors.

26 Bookish Facts About Me

Today is my 26th birthday and so I thought it would be fun to do a more personal post and share 26 bookish facts about me - one for every year of my life. I hope you enjoy finding out more about me!

1.) On average I read 50 pages in forty minutes.
2.) My Nan is the only family member who regularly reads my blog (Hi Nan!)
3.) I started book blogging because I wanted a place where I could keep my book reviews together (I posted reviews on Amazon for about a year before I started this blog) I had no idea that the UKYA community existed!
4.) The first author I ever met was John Green.
5.) It takes me an hour and a half to write and format a book review.
6.) I met my best friend Ray on a Twilight fan forum.
7.) My favourite genre changes constantly! If you were to ask me right now my favourite genre is Fantasy.
8.) One Christmas, when I was a teenager, I spent the entirety of Christmas day in bed reading the books that I got for Christmas.
9.) I often recommend books to strangers in bookshops if I see them pick up something I love.
10.) My reviews are quoted in 21 books to date.
11.) My favourite blog posts to write are reviews.
12.) My favourite female author is J.K. Rowling (obviously.)
13.) I've met all of my close friends through books be that through blogging or book events.
14.) I find it really hard to finish a series. If there's a long period between book releases I lose interest in the story.
15.) I once bought a book that I already owned by accident.
16.) I collect bookmarks and own over a hundred.
17.) My favourite male author is Brandon Sanderson.
18.) I love treating my friends to books, whether that is gifting them a book once I've finished reading it or buying them a book just because.
19.) Twice when I've been on holiday I've spent the entire day in our holiday rental so that I could finish up a book I was engrossed in. The first time was for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and the second time was last year for Queen of Shadows.
20.) My favourite place to read is outdoors.
21.) Some of my favourite childhood memories are of visiting the library.
22.) I only keep my absolute favourite books. The rest I gift to friends or donate to my local second hand bookshop.
23.) When we were kids my brother got a poem that he wrote published in a book. I was so jealous that I vowed that I'd have something that I wrote published in a book one day too and I did!
24.) My favourite reading snack is popcorn.
25.) I'm currently (trying) to write three books: a Middle Grade book about pirates, a gritty contemporary YA and an adult Christmas book!
26.) I'm considering getting a bookish tattoo.

Review for 13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough

13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough
Publisher: Gollancz
Release: 18th February 2016
Genre: YA, Thriller
Source: Copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review



Synopsis: 

"I was dead for 13 minutes.

I don't remember how I ended up in the icy water but I do know this - it wasn't an accident and I wasn't suicidal.

They say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but when you're a teenage girl, it's hard to tell them apart. My friends love me, I'm sure of it. But that doesn't mean they didn't try to kill me. Does it?"

Review 
13 Minutes is a masterfully crafted YA Thriller. It’s like Mean Girls on crack and had me so addicted that I’d stay up late into the early hours of the morning to read it.

Tasha is your notorious mean girl so when she’s revived after being dead for thirteen minutes in icy water she knows that this wasn’t an accident and that many people have a reason to want her dead. Her two sidekicks “the barbies” are acting suspiciously so, with nobody to trust and no memory of what happened that night, Tasha turns to her childhood best friend Becca to help put the puzzle pieces surrounding her death into place.

I love books that explore toxic female friendships. The relationships that we make in our teens can be all consuming – bordering on obsession. 13 Minutes portrays these relationships to the extreme. It’s dramatic and exciting to read but also terrifying because behind every action there is an element of truth that’s scarily recognisable.

By the time I reached the final page I was left dazzled at the craft and complexity of this book. It’s such a brilliant study of the pressures that are placed on teenage girls to the point where their lives become one big performance. 13 Minutes doesn’t shy away from the nitty gritty of being a teenage girl and Sarah Pinborough delivers this message with subtle feminist undertones.

Overall 13 Minutes is an unmissable read for lovers of gritty, thrilling YA fiction.

Loved to Listen to (1) Cake, Sisters and Marbles

As you know over the last few months I’ve really been getting into audiobooks. I’ve found that I’m quite the fussy listener and that a terrible narration can ruin a book altogether for me. I figured that if I were to review them it wouldn’t be very fair on the books themselves. It’s not their fault if they’re partnered with a narrator that doesn’t work for me. So instead I decided that I’d start this new feature “Loved to Listen to” sharing with you some of the gems that I’ve discovered on Audible that are worth spending those precious credits on. A narrator can make or break a book and these picks are so good that I’d recommend listening to them on audio rather than buying the actual book. Today I’m starting by sharing three audiobooks about cake, sisters and marbles…

Spectacles by Sue Perkins 
Narrated by Sue Perkins 
Genre: Memoir 
Source: Credit received from Audible in exchange for an honest review 
Buy on Audible 

Review 
Sue Perkins is one of my favourite celebrities. She comes across as intelligent, funny, kind and like someone who has endless fascinating stories to share. I’m not usually interested in celebrity memoirs or autobiographies but was sold on the audiobook version of this with it being narrated by Sue Perkins herself.

Sue’s narration brings this audiobook to life. Listening to her stories is like going to the pub with an old friend for a catch up. I listened to this audiobook whilst doing chores and getting ready in the mornings and it made those mundane tasks so much more bearable. Not many people can make me laugh out loud at 7am on a Monday morning but Sue Perkins did. Not many people can make me cry whilst putting my mascara on but Sue Perkins did.

This book covers cake, travel, dogs, lesbianism, comedy, friendship, family and feminism all delivered in Sue's trademark humorous, warm and intelligent narrative. What's not to love?

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter 
Narrated by Jennifer Woodward and Robert G Slade 
Genre: Thriller, Crime 
Source: Bought 
Buy on Audible

Review 
Karin Slaughter is an author that I’d heard a lot of good things about, so when her latest standalone crime thriller was recommended to me by somebody who has very similar taste to me in this genre I decided on a whim to try the audiobook with my monthly credit.

The book is told by two narrators Jennifer Woodward and Robert G Slade and they were both fantastic and complemented one another well. I was particularly impressed by Jennifer Woodward who narrates the majority of the book and brought so many characters to life in my mind.

The plot for this book is complex and fascinating with so many twists and turns throughout. I don’t want to spoil any of the twists that begin quite early on the book, so I’ll just say that the plot follows two sisters who begin to uncover the truth about the disappearance of their older sister who went missing twenty years ago. It’s in many ways an old trope but the sinister twists and turns are what make this book really stand out.

If I had to describe this book in three words it would be gripping, gruesome and disturbing. At one point I was listening to this at 1am because I had to know what was happening and I couldn’t sleep for an hour after that because I was so freaked out!

This is simply one of the best Thrillers that I’ve ever read and I really want to check out more from Karin Slaughter.

The Marble Collector by Cecelia Ahern 
Narrated by Aoife McMahon and Aidan Kelly 
Genre: Fiction, Family 
Source: Credit received from Audible in exchange for an honest review 
Buy on Audible 

Review
I’ve been a reader of Cecelia Ahern’s books since her debut P.S. I Love You first released back when I was a teenager. Her books tend to be a bit hit or miss for me but The Marble Collector was one that I really enjoyed.

The book is told in alternate chapters between a daughter and her father and for the audiobook these chapters are narrated by Aoife McMahon and Aidan Kelly. Their Irish accents really helped set the scene for this book and I enjoyed both of their voices.

The book follows a daughter whose father has lost his marbles - quite literally! Throughout his life he has collected marbles and each one has a deep connection to his identity. Now that her father is struggling with his memory she goes on a journey to find his lost marble collection and reunite them and the memories they represent to her dad.

This book really touched my heart, it’s not often you see books about father/daughter relationships and I loved exploring this one. Fergus was a particularly fascinating character and I loved recovering his memories and learning more about his life.

The Marble Collector is such a brilliant book about identity and memory and how they go hand in hand. One of my favourites by Cecelia Ahern.

Those are the three audiobooks that I've loved to listen to recently. 

I'd love to know what books you've loved to listen to on Audible - I'm always looking for new recommendations!