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Lauraloves Reads 2016


lauraloves

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8) Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone - J. K. Rowling

 

Synopsis Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry's eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin!

 

My Thoughts - My OH brought me the whole set of these books for Christmas as my originals are actually falling apart now from being read that much! Its no secret that I am rather Harry Potter obsessed - I love everything about the magical world and its this first book in the series that sets that whole world alight. These books are some of the reasons that I'm such a big reader as they influenced me so much during my childhood to read and read more! I haven't read the series in probably around 4 years and its surprising as to how much you forget and how much you are actually missed out within the films. I am totally shocked that I forgot about the character of Peeves and I wish he was in the movies as that would have been brilliant.

 

I enjoyed the book that much I'm moving straight on to The Chamber of Secrets!

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The author plugs her previous book ; one of the characters is shown reading the book and saying how great it is. Bleah !  :doh:

That is pretty terrible :(!

 

Laura, I'm glad you enjoyed re-reading the first Harry Potter books :D. They are so nice. I agree about Peeves.

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That is pretty terrible :(!

 

Laura, I'm glad you enjoyed re-reading the first Harry Potter books :D. They are so nice. I agree about Peeves.

 

Its amazing how much you miss in the films - when I'm reading them its like visiting an old friend so its nice to get back into them :D Hope your feeling a little better too :)

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9) The Unmumsy Mum by Sarah Turner

 

Synopsis The Unmumsy Mum writes candidly about motherhood like it really is: the messy, maddening, hilarious reality, how there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach and how it is sometimes absolutely fine to not know what you are doing. The lessons she's learnt while grappling with two small boys – from birth to teething, 3am night feeds to toddler tantrums, soft play to toilet training – will have you roaring with laughter and taking great comfort in the fact that it's definitely not just you...

 

My Thoughts - Wow I love love loved this book! Its a book from the blogger The Unmumsy Mum - who I love! Who talks about being a mum and all the highs and lows that come with it. Normal parenting books focus on the lovely glossy side of parenting the cuddles kisses etc but this one focuses on what its actually like. For example fact that no matter what you do you hate baby group, sometimes you can't wait for the little darling to go to sleep (then you spend the whole time wishing they were awake). It was just a real refreshing book to read and know that you are not alone and the fact you hide in the bathroom for five minutes to try and save your sanity on a bad day is normal. This book is a must read for all mums - I wish it had been published a year ago when little one was a bit smaller as I think it would have got rid of an awful lot of the mum guilt I had. 

 

Rating - 5/5

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Its amazing how much you miss in the films - when I'm reading them its like visiting an old friend so its nice to get back into them :D Hope your feeling a little better too :)

I am, thanks :).

 

The Unmumsy Mum sounds interesting. I don't want children myself, but it is an interesting premise for a non-fiction book. I'm glad you liked it so much.

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I am, thanks :).The Unmumsy Mum sounds interesting. I don't want children myself, but it is an interesting premise for a non-fiction book. I'm glad you liked it so much.

It's such a brilliant book - defiantly going to be going back for re reads of this one :D

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10)Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J. K. Rowling

 

SynopsisHarry Potter's summer has included the worst birthday ever, doomy warnings from a house-elf called Dobby, and rescue from the Dursleys by his friend Ron Weasley in a magical flying car! Back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his second year, Harry hears strange whispers echo through empty corridors - and then the attacks start. Students are found as though turned to stone . Dobby's sinister predictions seem to be coming true.

 

My Thoughts - I'm continuing my re-read of the Harry Potter series and while this is my least favourite Harry Potter book I still do really enjoy it. I'm not sure why its my least favourite  - maybe the others are really good - or maybe its because this book features spiders quite heavily (shudders!) but its still a very good book. This is the start of where Harry started to learn about the history of Lord Voldemort and his relationships with a lot of the other characters are started to be made. I also really can't stand the character of Lockhart and I thought he came across quite true to the book in the film. I can't wait to start reading the next in the series as its my overall favourite of all the books! 

 

Rating - 5/5

Edited by lauraloves
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It's such a brilliant book - defiantly going to be going back for re reads of this one :D

I too love that blog & wish I'd discovered it earlier, when my eldest was first born, rather than about 2 years after! Still relevant however ;)

 

I may have to grab hold of a copy of this at some point myself :)

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I too love that blog & wish I'd discovered it earlier, when my eldest was first born, rather than about 2 years after! Still relevant however ;)

 

I may have to grab hold of a copy of this at some point myself :)

 

I only found the blog around 6 months ago and I wish id had found this too while my little one was a newborn too - would have been much more useful that the advice that I'd got from drs/health visitors etc!

 

If you get a chance to grab this then do - its fantastic! I'm hoping she carries on writing the books as her boys grow as it will fascinating to see if I'm still feeling the same as she does. My boy is around the same age as her youngest so it was nice to feel normal while reading this book!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've just realised its been a couple of weeks since I've been on here. Ive been so busy with work its unreal, little one has hit the terrible twos early, weve had a mini break for my birthday and I've unfortunatly been really rather unwell again :(

 

On the plus side I've finally got a referal from the Dr's for further tests but the best news is that I have a whole load of new books :) I need to put them all together so I can take a photo and sort them out properly but I think I've ended up with about 10 new books :D

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Hope you start feeling better soon, Laura. It sounds like you have a fair bit on your plate. :empathy:

 

 

I hope things get better soon, Laura :(:flowers2:.

 

 

Thank you - I've finally got some antibiotics that seem to be working and I've also finally got a referral for some scans so fingers crossed things are in motion again. My reading mojo seems to be returning too so that's good too :D

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11) A Whole Lot of History - Kimberley Walsh

 

Synopsis -

In 2002 - along with Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding and Nicola Roberts - Kimberley Walsh won a place in the Popstars The Rivals band Girls Aloud, and her life changed forever.

Ten years later, after six platinum albums, twenty top-ten singles, a Brit Award, an entry in the Guinness Book of Records and a triumphant sell-out reunion tour, the girls have decided to go their separate ways. What better time for Kimberley - a professional, hardworking businesswoman as well as a multi-talented actress and songstress - to tell her story. What was it like behind the scenes of a such a hugely successful band? Was there any truth in the rumours of endless feuds within Girls Aloud? How did she manage to maintain such a strong loving relationship with her partner Justin during the 10 years she was in the band? And how does it feel when your best friend becomes the most famous person in the land?

Full of the warmth and laughter that makes Kimberley such a national treasure, with lots of insider secrets revealed too, this book is like curling up on the sofa for a gossip with a friend. There is lots still to come from the UK's favourite Northern lass. Just watch this space.

 

My Thoughts - I'd brought this book a few years back on my kindle and as we went away for the weekend I took my Kindle as I'm trying to read the books on that when we go away. I was always a fan of Girls Aloud in the early days however I did kind of 'outgrow' them towards the end of the band.

 

This book was ok - a typical celebrity autobiography which is something I do read a bit. I didn't really know much about what she had done in her early life before Girls Aloud so that was quite interesting. I also didn't know about the rifts in the band at the time so that was quite interesting too. It was an ok book - not one I'd read again but having read it I did enjoy it.

 

Rating - 3/5

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Heres my Birthday and Mothers Day (very late!) list of books I got!

 

  • Denise Walsh - Starting Over (not a book I would have normally picked but it was a gift so I'll give it a go!)
  • Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
  • The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith
  • The Shadow Hour - Kate Riordan
  • The 100 - Kass Morgan
  • Cinder - Marissa Meyer
  • Inside Alcatraz - Jim Quillen
  • Me Before You - Jojo Moyes
  • Strictly Between Us - Jane Fallon
  • Harry Potter The Creature Vault - J.K. Rowling
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I really liked Fangirl (and I have The Cuckoo's Calling and Me Before You on my TBR). I hope you enjoy all your new books :)!

 

Thank you - I now have the problem of what to read first!

 

I loved Me Before You by Jojo Moyes....it has a lot more depth to it than I thought it would have. Hope you enjoy it, and the others. :smile:

 

I've actually heard that about this book so fingers crossed that its good :)

 

:she: I loved Me Before You, and After You was pretty good too. I have actually enjoyed all but one of the Jojo Moyes books I have read, but still a few more of the older ones to go! :)

 

I didn't realise that the author had written more than one book - oops! Bet I end up reading more then if its as good as everyone says :) Looking forward to it :D

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12) A Daughters Secret - Eleanor Moran

 

Synopsis - Mia is a high-flying child psychotherapist, hoping to be made partner in the thriving practice where she works. But then she takes on a case which will change her life for ever, and bring back the past she has done her best to bury.

Thirteen year old Gemma was the last person to see her father before he went on the run, fleeing from a major criminal trial. The police are desperate to track him down, pressuring Mia to tease the information out of his angry and reluctant daughter. But what does Gemma really know and how hard can Mia push without betraying her?

Both are hiding devastating secrets. Both need the other to survive. Will they learn to trust each other before it's too late?

 

My Thoughts - I brought this book on the off chance as it sounded like a really good book however unfortunately it really didn't capture my imagination. I thought that the book would really get 'going' but unfortunately it just didn't. I thought that there would be more going on with the story with both the Mia character and also Gemma but it just didn't seem to go anywhere. I also couldn't keep up with the storyline as it kept jumping from one to the other and that was a bit difficult for me to follow aswell. Overall not an enjoyable read for me.

 

Rating - 2/5

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  • 2 weeks later...

13) Alex Rider Stormbreaker - Anthony Horowitz.

 

Synopsis - In the first book in the number one bestselling Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, fourteen-year-old Alex is forcibly recruited into MI6. Armed with secret gadgets, he is sent to investigate Herod Sayle, a man who is offering state-of-the-art Stormbreaker computers to every school in the country. But the teenage spy soon finds himself in mortal danger.

 

My Thoughts - This is a series that I wanted to read for a long time but I have held off a bit as I thought that it had quite high expectations of it and I wanted to like it. I need not have worried - I loved it. This book was brilliant it dragged you in from the start and I can see why it is so popular with the young adult - and not so young adult! - audience. I do wish I had read this as a teenager as I would have been about the right age to really love this. It was first published in 2000 and I would have been 10 then so I do wish I had come across it then but I enjoyed it a lot now. I self imposed a ban on buying a whole series before reading the first as I've been burnt many times before but this is the one time I wish I could have had the next book on the shelf ready to get straight into. Needless to say ive already ordered the next book from Amazon and I cant wait to start it.

 

Rating - 5/5

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I'm glad you enjoyed this one so much. Nice review :). I have read some other books by Anthony Horowitz I really liked, this one sounds nice.

 

Thank you :) I've had a notification from Amazon today to say it will be arriving today - so that's exciting hehe!

 

I also ordered little one some classic childrens books too like The Very Hungry Caterpillar now hes taking a bit of interest in books :) 

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