lauraloves

I was the same when I read it a few years back - thought I wouldn't like it and thought it would be challenging but I ended up loving it and its one of my favourites now! In my bookish news I brought Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian

26) How to Find Love in a Bookshop - Veronica Henry Synopsis - Nightingale Books, nestled on the high street in the idyllic Cotswold town of Peasebrook, is a dream come true for booklovers. But owner Emilia Nightingale is struggling to keep the shop open. The temptation to sell up is proving enormous - but what about the promise she made to her father? Not to mention the loyalty she owes to her customers. Sarah Basildon, owner of stately pile Peasebrook Manor, has used the book shop as an escape from all her problems in the past few years. But is there more to her visits than meets the eye? Since messing up his marriage, Jackson asks Emilia for advice on books to read to the son he misses so much. But Jackson has a secret, and is not all he seems... And there's Thomasina, painfully shy, who runs a pop-up restaurant from her tiny cottage. She has a huge crush on a man she met and then lost in the cookery section, somewhere between Auguste Escoffier and Marco Pierre White. Can she find the courage to admit her true feelings? My Thoughts - I brought this book purely based on the title of the book when I was food shopping one day - its a book about a bookshop - whats not to love? I'm also happy to say that the book did not disappoint it was brilliant. Its set around residents of Peasebrook and there love of books and all there different stories. It was brilliant dipping in and out of there lives and reading about how the bookshop had influenced them. I couldn't put it down either it was fantastic. I've added some more of the authors books to my wishlist and I'm hoping they are as good as this one. Rating - 5/5

I love September - a lot of our fam work starts to calm down this month so it gets more relaxing for us Also it means that my little one turns two next month - not sure where that has gone it seems five minutes since he was born!

Wow youve read more books this month than I have all year - very jelous haha

25)Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J. K. Rowling Synopsis - Dark times have come to Hogwarts. After the Dementors' attack on his cousin Dudley, Harry Potter knows that Voldemort will stop at nothing to find him. There are many who deny the Dark Lord's return, but Harry is not alone: a secret order gathers at Grimmauld Place to fight against the Dark forces. Harry must allow Professor Snape to teach him how to protect himself from Voldemort's savage assaults on his mind. But they are growing stronger by the day and Harry is running out of time. My Thoughts - Carrying on with my re-read of this series this year it was on to one of my favourites in the series. For me this book is the one that explains everything. Its been 4 books sort of setting the major plot line and this is the book that explains the who, what, where, when and how. This is the biggest of all the books too and they really start to deal with a lot of more adult themes like death. This is also the book where Harry seems to turn more of a 'man' than a 'boy' in my opinion. Hes faced with a lot of growing up choices and has to make a lot of life decisions. Its also the book with Sirius - one of the saddest moments of the books in my opinion too. This book is very enjoyable and I loved re-reading it. Rating - 5/5

Thank you I've just had a little look about the James Potter Series and these do seem very good I'll have to download them for next time we fly somewhere - OH bans me from taking anything other than the kindle as the weight limit on the books would be ridiculous haha Thank you for the recommendation - I've just had a look at it on Amazon and I've added it to my wishlist - trying to persuade hubby to look on there for anniversary presents I agree with the pregnancy thing - if that was me I'd be straight off to the hospital when I started to feel like things were happening! If I have anymore I've got to get myself to hospital fairly quickly as we had complications with our first so I've got to be monitored more carefully incase it happens again so I don't think I'd be putting anything at risk! I did struggle a little with the dialect and had to concentrate a little more on this. Glad you enjoyed it too ooohhh now do I want to watch it now or not? Thank you - hopefully I'll get around to reading them soon however it is a book series that I want to continue

Ive finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and I've started How To Fall in Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry - its very good so far!

24) Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse #1) Synopsis - Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much. Not because she's not pretty. She is. It's just that, well, Sookie has this sort of "disability." She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill. He's tall, dark, handsome--and Sookie can't hear a word he's thinking. He's exactly the type of guy she's been waiting for all her life.... But Bill has a disability of his own: He's a vampire with a bad reputation. He hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, all suspected of--big surprise--murder. And when one of Sookie's coworkers is killed, she fears she's next.... My Thoughts - I've had this book on my wishlist and TBR pile for years but for some reason I'd never picked it up until now. I really enjoyed this book it was different to other vampire books that I have read and much more enjoyable. I cant wait to read more of the series and see where her and Bill go and also where her powers go and if there are other people in the story with powers. Rating - 4/5 Yay finally caught up

23)Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Jack Thorne/J.K. Rowling/John Tiffany Synopsis - Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016. It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places ​My Thoughts - I've been looking forward to his book since it was announced and I'd had it on pre-order. I'm the biggest fan of Harry Potter so for me this was a dream come true. I wish I could say that that I loved this book but I cant say that I did. For me it read a lot like fan fiction as I couldn't understand the plot line sometimes and the plot surrounding Harry was quite unbelievable. I couldn't really warm to Albus however I did love Scorpius. I'm not sure how the plot line of the book is going to impact on any further Harry Potter stories but I just didn't understand the plot lines in regards to Voldemort and Bellatrix. To me this just didn't seem like something that would have happened. Now while I enjoyed revisiting Harry Potter I think i'll just stick with the original stories. ​Rating - 3/5

22)Sunshine Over Wildflower Cottage - Milly Johnson Synopsis - Escape to Wildflower Cottage this summer with the brilliant new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Teashop on the Corner and Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Café. Viv doesn't like animals. And the feeling is mutual: animals seem to hate Viv too. So when she applies for a job at Wildflower Cottage, a tumbledown animal sanctuary which caters for a variety of unloved animals, she is not sure she will fit in. But then she catches sight of Heath, the owner, and things start looking up... Geraldine runs the Wildflower Cottage sanctuary. She's a woman who has a secret in her past and who was drawn to the sanctuary just as Viv was. But her sanctuary is about to come under threat. Can she keep her past a secret and her future safe? Back home, Viv's mother Stel thinks she might have found a man who will treat her right for once. Ian is kind, considerate, and clearly head over heels for her. That's what she has wanted all along, isn't it...? ​My Thoughts - I read this book while I was on holiday and to be honest it was a really good holiday read. It tells the story of Viv who is running away with something and her family surrounding her. It juped around from character to character and this was easy to follow and also very interesting reading about the different types of things going on in there lives. There was a few twists and turns in this book that were quite obvious but enjoyable all the same. I've never read anything by this author before but I've added a couple more books of hers to my wishlist. ​Rating - 3.5/5

Hopefully you'll love it and its just me being a bit odd haha! Thank you I might go back to Alex Rider in the future but I'm not overly sure! I think I'm a bit odd in the not liking of Everything Everything as everyone else seems to love it! Thank you I'm hoping to have finished the Harry Potter series by Christmas. I'm on #5 at the minute so its do-able The Yorkshire Shepherdess is fantastic - hope you enjoy it as much as me hehe - I'm terrible at reading a book after seeing the movie I don't seem to be able to get into the book after seeing it on screen!

21) Everything Everything - Nicola Yoon Synopsis - My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla. But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly. Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster. My Thoughts - I'd seen this book on Instagram at lot with lots of good reviews so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this and read it. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. It was ok but I had guessed the big twist in this book about a quarter of the way in and to me it was really obvious. I've heard its going to be a movie too and I'm not sure that I'd watch it either.Howver on a positive the cover is really pretty! Rating - 3/5

20) The Yorkshire Shepherdess - Amanda Owen (couldn't find a book cover that would copy onto here ) Synopsis - Amanda Owen has been seen by millions on ITV's The Dales, living a life that has almost gone in today's modern world, a life ruled by the seasons and her animals. She is a farmer's wife and shepherdess, living alongside her husband Clive and seven children at Ravenseat, a 2000 acre sheep hill farm at the head of Swaledale in North Yorkshire. In 'The Yorkshire Shepherdess' she describes how the rebellious girl from Huddersfield, who always wanted to be a shepherdess, achieved her dreams. My Thoughts - I picked this book up as its on a subject close to my heart - farming. In farming terms we are a million miles away - she deals in sheep and we deal in a lot of pigs and straw. However it was still nice to read a book about 'our' way of life. Farming is such a different way of life and its kind of 'in your blood or not' as my father in law says. Its difficult to explain sometimes the differences but its kind of farming and animals come first and you kind of have to juggle everything around it. I love in the book she has all her children helping on the farm as little one comes out with me and rides the tractors and litters down the pigs - obviously with a lot of very close supervision but it was such a nice book. I've since found out she has written another book and that's gone straight onto my wishlist. Rating - 5/5

19) The Fifth Wave - Rick Yancey Synopsis - The 1st Wave; Took out half a million people. The 2nd Wave; Put that number to shame. The 3rd Wave; Lasted a little longer. Twelve weeks... Four billion dead. In the 4th Wave; You can't trust that people are still people. And the 5th Wave? No one knows. But it's coming. On a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs. Runs from the beings that only look human, who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan may be her only hope. Now Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. My Thoughts - I'd had this book on my wishlist for ages and then it became the movie and I was determined to read this before I saw the movie which I did and now I can watch the movie. This book tells the story of Cassie and other main characters as the dialog does jump from character to character however I did follow this well and it was very clearly explained as to who was who as I find this can be confusing at times in some other books. It is also packed full of twists and turns which kept me hooked. This was a brilliant book one that I really struggled to put down and I'm so pleased I read it first. I've added the second book to my wishlist and I'm hoping its just as good! Rating - 5/5

18) Alex Rider Skeleton Key - Anthony Horowitz Synopsis - Teenage superspy Alex Rider is enlisted by the national security services again – this time for a routine reconnaissance mission at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. But before long, Alex finds himself caught up in a terrifying chain of events that leads from the Chinese Triad gangs in London to an undercover assignment in Cuba. Alex begins to make chilling links between suspicious deaths, an illegal nuclear weapons deal and the plans of his host, Russian General Sarov, for the future of the world... My Thoughts - This is the third book in the Alex Rider book series and to be honest I didn't enjoy it all that much. The plot seemed very similar to the last two books and I just couldn't get into it very well. I also thought the agencies treatment of Alex was getting quite out of hand and to be honest I really didn't like it. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had have been younger when I read it but to me now I just didn't. I'm also glad that I didn't buy the whole series as I don't think I'll continue with it much more. Rating- 2.5/5

I must have missed it when it was on TV as it would have been something that I would have liked! I want to go to Chester Zoo more so now that I've got Ethan - it gives me an excuse to visit the zoo Thank you I'm now reading Order of the Phoenix which is one of my favourites

17)Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling Synopsis - When the Quidditch World Cup is disrupted by Voldemort’s rampaging supporters and the terrifying Dark Mark appears against the night sky, it is obvious to Harry Potter that, far from weakening, Voldemort is getting stronger. Back at Hogwarts for the fourth year Harry is astonished to be chosen to represent the school in the Triwizard Tournament. The competition is dangerous, the tasks terrifying, and true courage is no guarantee of survival – especially with the Dark Lord’s forces on the rise … My Thoughts - This is the first in the book series of what I call the more 'adult' books. The themes in it get a lot darker and the book is a lot bigger. This isn't one of my favourite books in the series however it is one of the books that start to put everything in its place. I do enjoy the introduction of Moody and a lot more focus is on the darker side of the magical world like the Death Eaters and I also enjoyed the different wizarding schools. Although its not one of my favourite books I did still enjoy this book. Rating - 5/5

16) Our Zoo - June Mottershed ​ Synopsis - Until I brought friends back from school I didn't realise that most people didn't have baby lions in their bedrooms when they were sick, or bring parrots into the house so they wouldn't catch cold.' Chester Zoo is counted among the top 10 zoos in the world and, with over 11,000 animals and 400 species, it is the most visited wildlife attraction in Britain. Unlike other zoos that owe their existence to philanthropists, explorers or big game hunters, Chester Zoo was the brainchild of one working-class man with a dream he had nurtured since he was a boy: to build a zoo without bars. June Mottorshead was four years old when her father, George, moved his family to Upton, two miles out Chester, to begin the process of turning his dream into a reality. With no other children around to play with - her sister Muriel was 10 years older - June's friends became the animals. Her closest companion was an orphaned chimpanzee which her sister hadshe hand reared, and for six years the two were inseparable. June soon became the poster girl for Chester Zoo and photographs of her cuddling lion clubs, head-butting a goat or opening the beak of a pelican soon graced the front pages of British newspapers. She was 13 when war was declared on 1939 and, with the backbone of the staff headed for the front, it fell to June to take over as head keeper. Keeping the zoo running while the war waged was no easy task. Despite rationing the animals had to be fed and all of them - penguins, elephants, leopards, tigers, lions, kangaroos and polar bears - needed to be moved into secure locked quarters inside as soon as the air raid siren sounded. My Thoughts - I picked this book up in The Works one day as it sounded very interesting and something that I would like. Its all about June's life and how her father set up Chester Zoo. Its also the basis for the TV show Our Zoo -which I still need to watch! It was a very interesting read about how life was like in a zoo back then and how they used to feed the animals and bring them into the house - I very much doubt that health and safety nowadays would let things like that happen now. It was also interesting reading about what happened during WW2 and how all the men that worked in the zoo had to go off to war leaving the women running the place. This was a very good book - not one that I would really read again but some parts of it have stayed with me. Rating - 3.5/5

15)Alex Rider Point Blanc - Anthony Horowitz Synopsis - In the second book in the number one bestselling Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, teenage spy Alex is sent by MI6 to infiltrate the exclusive Point Blanc Academy. But the academy hides a deadly secret. Can Alex alert the world to the truth before it’s too late? My thoughts - As I'd loved the first book in the series I quickly moved on to number two in the series. I didn't enjoy this as much as the first book as it was quite similar in the plot to the other and I also found the agencies treatment of Alex a bit hard to get through. I also think I would have enjoyed this book more as a teenager than an adult but it did still have some good points. I did enjoy the ending a lot so much so that I went and brought book number three straight away! Rating - 4.5

I've got about 10 book reviews to catch up on - oops! 14) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azcaban - J.K. Rowling. Synopsis - Harry Potter, along with his best friends, Ron and Hermione, is about to start his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry can't wait to get back to school after the summer holidays. (Who wouldn't if they lived with the horrible Dursleys?) But when Harry gets to Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There's an escaped mass murderer on the loose, and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school... ​My Thoughts - Hubby brought me the complete set for Christmas last year and I'm really enjoying re-reading the series. This is my favourite book in the series and this didn't disappoint again. This is the last of the younger audience books I feel as the next book is fairly sizable! It also introduces a lot of important characters in this book like Lupin and the story kind of grows up from there. I also love the covers of these editions they are so beautiful! Once again a lovely re-read of my favourite ever series. ​Rating - 5/5

I really want to post pictures as most of my books have been packed away for the last three years I'm also hoping that if I actually see how many are on my TBR pile I might actually do some serious reading to get it down haha

I've been re-reading the Harry Potter series this year while OH is listening to them on audiobook - I'm now re-reading Order of the Phoenix.

I've read this and while Harry Potter is my favourite ever book series I was a little disappointed with this. I thought the plot was a little far fetched and I didnt enjoy how some of the characters were portrayed. Still its a Harry Potter book and I'm happy to have another but to me it read rather like fan fiction.

A — Author You’ve Read The Most Books From: ​Probably Enid Blyton as I read so much by her when I was younger. B — Best Sequel Ever: The Mortal Instruments series - I cant pick just one! C — Currently Reading: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris D — Drink of Choice While Reading: Cup of tea E — E-Reader or Physical Book?: Physical book - I used to be big into e-books but I just cant beat a physical book F — Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Dated in High School: ummmm pass! G — Glad You Gave this Book a Chance: Dracula by Bram Stoker H — Hidden Gem Book: I Capture the Castle I — Important Moment in Your Reading Life: Finding all the different books on the internet and recommendations! J — Just Finished: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child K – Kinds of Books You Won’t Read?: Horror books - they scare me! L – Longest Book You’ve Read: Something by Penny Vincenzi it was about 1000 pages M — Major Book Hangover: The Harry Potter series N — Number of Bookshelves You Own: Not sure as they are all in storage at the minute - ask again in a month or so! O — One Book You’ve Read Multiple Times: Harry Potter! P — Preferred Place to Read: Outside in the garden on my swing chair Q — Quote that Inspires You and Gives You All the Feels: 'Always' R — Reading Regret: Buying a whole series and then not liking the first book S — Series You’ve Started and Need to Finish: I need to read the last in the Mortal Instruments series T — Three of Your All Time Favorite Books: I Capture the Castle Harry Potter Five Children on the Western Front U – Unapologetic Fangirl/boy for: Harry Potter V — Very Excited for this Release More than Anything: Not really sure I don't tend to pre-order much W — Worst Bookish Habit Finishing a book that I don't like X — X Marks the Spot – Start at the top of your shelf and pick the 27th book off it: I cant they are all boxed up Y — Your Latest Book Purchase: Fatherland - Robert Harris Z — The Zzzzzzzzzzzzz Snatcher Book (Book That Kept You From Sleeping): Girl on a Train

Congrats Noll