Goodreads: ARC April

Goodreads: ARC April

Thursday 31 March 2016

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I decided that this month, in keeping in line regarding my book ban, that I would introduce “ARC April” and read absolutely nothing but things that have been sent to me by publishers. Luckily for me, I have 6 ARCs waiting patiently for me on my to-read pile so I have plenty to get my teeth stuck into. 

The first of the ARCs I’ve received recently is The Girl You Lost by Kathryn Croft, published by Bookouture. This one has already been published, I’m just really slow at getting to books, but I won’t let a good book go to waste so I’ll be reading and reviewing it as normal. It’s a psychological thriller (my favourite kind of book!) and sounds like it’s going to be right up my street. I’m really looking forward to reading this book and seeing what Kathryn Croft, an author I’ve never read before, has to offer. 

I also received The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood, a YA fiction contribution from Pan Macmillan and Macmillan Children’s Books. Again, this isn’t an author I’ve read before but the cover jumped out at me when putting my NetGalley requests through and I couldn’t resist requesting to read and review this one. I absolutely love YA fiction and have recently really got back into reading the genre more seriously so it’ll be really interesting to read an author that I know nothing about and see how it measures up to the Young Adult authors that I already love so much. The Square Root of Summer will be published on May 5th. 

I received a copy of The Primrose Path by Rebecca Griffiths from the lovely team at Little, Brown Book Group UK, and is another psychological thriller. There’s a chance I might have already read this by the time it gets to this post being published, as its publication date is March 24th and I’d prefer to have reviewed it as close to this date as possible, but I thought I’d include it in this list anyway just in case I don’t get the time. I think of the four books I have here, this is the one which jumps out to me the most as being one that I’m really excited to read- it sounds creepy and exciting and creepy and exciting is EXACTLY what I love about a good old psychological thriller. The cover art is absolutely gorgeous and really adds to the appeal of the book, while the creepy quote on the cover makes is blatantly obvious that this book is going to be no picnic in the park. Very excited.

I was also fortunate enough to be approached by the lovely Cara at Harlequin books. She sent me 2 books to read and review and I’m absolutely thrilled by these two as well. The first of the two is The Good Mother by A.L. Bird, yet another psychological thriller for me to grip my teeth into! I also received The Chic Boutique on Baker Street by Rachel Dove which is something different to the type of books that I usually read, but one that interested me quite a lot when I looked through the possible request choices. Both of these books are to be published in April, on the 4th and the 21st respectively. 

My final ARC for ARC April is The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson, provided by Bloomsbury UK. It’s written by the woman who wrote Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand which I haven’t personally read but I’ve heard amazing things about. That was what drew me to the novel and the reason why I chose to request a review copy so naturally I’m thrilled to be allowed the opportunity to give it a read. The book is set in 1914, so this book also falls into the War Fiction Challenge which I’ve been doing for the last few years (which I will blog about very soon- watch this space). Again, the cover is absolutely beautiful and I absolutely LOVE the little poppies scattered around. This one’s also going to be published on March 24th, so it’ll be an early April review from me. 

What are you reading at the moment? Which ARCs should I request for next month? Let me know in the comments! 

Food: Maltese Easter Sunday Biscuits Recipe

Food: Maltese Easter Sunday Biscuits Recipe

Sunday 27 March 2016

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Anyone that knows me personally will know that I lived abroad, in Malta, for a period of my life. Since I moved back to the UK, I haven’t really missed all that much about the country (other than friends and family and so on), and the two things that I have missed are, needless to say, types of food. Maltese people have a lot of amazing food traditions, their most famous being cheesecakes known as “pastizzi” but they also have an Easter speciality which I crave on a regular basis. One of my friends posted a picture of her decorating figolli on Instagram and I had a sudden desire to make some of my own. I thought I’d share some images and the recipe here just in case you want to make a DELICIOUS Maltese traditional Easter biscuit. 

Normally, a figolla (a single figolli) is enormous. They are giant, decorated cookies filled with almond paste. Because I’m greedy (and too lazy to decorate an enormous figolla), I decided to make miniature ones to share with my boyfriend and his family for Easter. 

Recipe makes 12, approximately. 

Ingredients: 

For the biscuit: 

• 400g plain flour.
• 200g unsalted butter, cut into squares.
• 175g granulated sugar 
• a dash of salt
• 2 egg yolks
• Zest from a lemon
• Water.

For the marzipan paste: 

• 250g ground almonds 
• 250g icing sugar 
• 2 egg whites 

1. Using a large mixing bowl, add all of the flour and the squares of butter. Rub the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. 

2. Add the sugar and the lemon zest to the bowl and mix again. I’d use your fingers to really get it all mixed in properly. 

3. Separate the eggs into yolks and whites. You’ll need the whites later. Add the yolks to this mix and again, mix in with your hands. Add water until a dough is formed: it should be a little stiff but easy to work with. 

4. Cut the dough into two and wrap in plastic/cling film. Stick them both in the fridge for 45 minutes. 
Whilst you're waiting for the dough to chill, you can make the marzipan paste filling. 

5. Mix together the ground almonds and the icing sugar, then add egg whites. Again, mix with your hands to ensure it’s all mixed in properly. Put it to one side for later. 

6. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius at this point. 

7. When you take the dough out of the fridge, the butter is going to quickly start to melt so you need to work quickly. Roll the dough out as well and as quickly as you can to a desired thickness (remember you’re going to be sticking two biscuits together to make a giant cake) and stick it back in the fridge for another 15 minutes to set. After it has set, use a cookie cutter to cut out your biscuits- an even number is needed. I used hearts but you can pretty much use anything you like, any size, shape, whatever. Do this until you run out of dough, simple! 

8. Roll out the marzipan paste and using a smaller cookie cutter (preferably the same shape) cut out half the amount of biscuits. 

9. Layer the marzipan slice on top of the first biscuit and position the second on top. Press the pastry down so that the marzipan is encrusted between the two biscuits. 

10. Put the trays of biscuits in the freezer for 15 minutes to ensure they’re properly sealed together, then cook until the biscuits are golden brown. Mine took around 25 minutes. 

11. Leave to cool and then decorate with chocolate, icing sugar, fondant or whatever else takes your fancy! 

Do you have any Easter traditions? Let me know in the comments! 

Goodreads: What I'm Reading This Spring

Goodreads: What I'm Reading This Spring

Thursday 24 March 2016

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About a month ago, I told myself that enough was enough and I was going to partake in a book buying ban. I have SO many unread books piled high in my bedroom which I haven’t had a chance to read yet, so as well as the fact that I’m not lacking in material, this will also mean that I’m able to save a few pennies for my holidays. I have a RIDICULOUSLY long to-read list and my amazon basket is full to brim with goodies but I am resisting and I’m starting this period of resistance by picking out five of my current books to read between now, the first week of spring and June 21st, when summer begins… 

The Secret History - Donna Tart 

My boyfriend bought me this as one of my Christmas presents and I’m looking forward to finally getting stuck into it. I’m not all that sure what this book is about, I was just told by a friend that I HAD to read it at some point so I stuck it on my Christmas book list without a second thought. I get the impression that it’s going to be quite a deep read but I don’t think that’ll stop me from enjoying it. 

A Daughter’s Secret - Eleanor Moran

I started this one a few months back and never finished it, oops. If you read my blogs regularly, you’ll know that I love a good psychological thriller (see my reviews of The Silent Twin, The Sisters,  I Let You Go and The Girl on the Train for a wee bit of proof) and this seems to fall perfectly into this genre of books. I have no doubt that I’ll love it when I finally get around to reading it properly. 

The Day We Disappeared - Lucy Robinson

I must admit that it was the cover more than anything that drew me to this book as I’ve never heard of the author before but the premise of the story seems really interesting and I get the impression that it’s going to be a really lovely read. Again, I’m not too sure what the book entails but the blurb seems really interesting and a bit of a break from the heavier stuff I’m reading for university. 

Reading Lolita in Tehran- Azar Nafisi 

This one’s been on my reading list probably longer than any book has for a long time, and I finally picked up a copy of it for a mere £2 in a little bookstore. I absolutely love memoirs and this one is one that I’ve really been attracted to as book a woman and a book lover. It also makes me think about how fortunate I am to have never been actively involved in a situation where what I am allowed to read has been decided for me by outside forces. I’m looking forward to reading about Nafisi’s views on western fiction from a non-western perspective and I think that this book will be really eyeopening. 

How to be Both - Ali Smith 

This one has won basically every prize going and that’s what originally drew me to buy it. If I’m not mistaken, the book is split into two and the same story is told from two different people’s perspectives and that in itself is an interesting concept for me and one which I regularly enjoy. I’ve bought another of Ali Smith’s books to read after this one, The Accidental, and I’m looking forward to that one as well, for different reasons. 

What are you planning on reading now that spring has sprung? Let me know! 

Book Review: Flawed by Cecilia Ahern*

Book Review: Flawed by Cecilia Ahern*

Sunday 20 March 2016

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I’ve always been a bit of a softie for YA fiction and while I’d say it’s a bit insulting to refer to it as a guilty pleasure (who needs to feel guilty about reading young adult? It’s fab!) I’d say that’s exactly what this book was to me. I was quite shocked to receive an advanced reader copy of “Flawed” by Cecilia Ahern- I absolutely love Cecelia Ahern’s books for adults and I’m pleasantly surprised to say that her contribution to the YA genre is an amazing one, and I can’t wait for the next instalment of the story. Thank you very much to Harper Collins books for providing an advanced reader copy of this book for me to enjoy! 

I’m big into dystopian fiction and this book slots itself perfect into the genre. We are introduced to Celestine, a girl who has everything and more- she has the perfect family, the perfect boyfriend and ultimately, the perfect life. The story is set in a place where committing a moral crime is punishable by being branded ‘flawed.’ If you are branded flawed, you’re made to wear your brand visibly, for all the world to see, and you lost your rights as a citizen- you aren’t allowed to travel out of the country, you have specific designated seats on the bus, you’re forced to wear an armband signifying that you are flawed and you follow a strict curfew and dietary plan. Needless to say, Celestine allows herself to get into a position where her own morals are called into question and her actions ensure that she is deemed flawed. She is then shunned in a society in which she had previously been so perfect. 

There’s a lot of room for spoilers as far as this book is concerned, so I won’t say much more than that about the plot. I will say, however, that I absolutely love what Cecilia Ahern has started here-her characters are interesting, full of personality and easy to relate to. I particularly love Celestine- as a main character she is feisty and intelligent; and her grandfather, who is basically the most kick-ass grandad I’ve ever read about in YA fiction. I’m also incredibly interested in finding out how the friendship between her and Carrick is going to develop in future books, as I think that this could work in weird and wonderful ways. I loved how the Ahern has taken time to discuss certain characters histories (particularly Carrick’s)- this sets the tone for the book and allows an interesting twist to the plot when darker pasts are taken into consideration. The villain created in Judge Crevan is fantastic, especially in one scene in particular, a scene which really changed the pace of the story, as well as having the power to  shocked me as a reader. Crevan, as head of the Guild which rules over the region, reminds me of a “big brother” type character and I must admit that the political side to the novel reminded me of Orwell’s works in general (by no means am I comparing the writing quality and style to Orwell, but in terms of where it’s going with its political opinions and the theme of the manipulation of the media there are definitely similarities.) I’d also say it’s quite similar to the Scarlet Letter, with it’s branding with the letter F on those who are deemed flawed enough to receive punishment. 

I’d definitely recommend this book to other readers, particularly those who are fans of dystopian YA fiction (such as the Hunger Games trilogy, the Divergent trilogy and so on) as it is very similar to these books in its approach and is definitely a very good read all-in-all. 

You can buy FLAWED from all the usual places from Thursday 24th March, 2016. 

3.5/5 

Life: 5 things I'm feeling grateful for

Life: 5 things I'm feeling grateful for

Friday 18 March 2016

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The fast approaching summer holidays.

2 of my close friends and I are heading off to Spain at the end of June for a much needed girly holiday and it hit me today just how close it actually is! We’re nearing the end of March now so it’s nearly 3 months until the trip which will absolutely FLY by! I haven’t been on a proper beach holiday in a while and it’ll be nice to relax and recuperate after a heavy final exam period.

Weight gain.

My weight gain process is slow and steady and I’m feeling really good about myself at the moment. I’m now at the perfect weight for my height but I want to put on a few extra pounds as I still see myself as being quite long and gangly and I’d love to feel even more confident in my skin. 

Hair growth.

Equally, my hair has grown a ridiculous amount since I cut it all off last June! Every year I get sick to the back teeth of the length of my hair and furiously get it all chopped off, only to regrow it to exactly the same length over the course of the next year and do the same all over again. I told myself I wouldn’t cut off any of the length (other than the ends when they need a tidy up) until my graduation ceremony in July so hopefully it’ll get even longer in the meantime! 

The Easter Holidays

I honestly feel SO run down at the moment, 9-6 days at uni and in the library are really taking it out of me and while I know I should be grateful that I don’t then have to run to work afterwards, I’m more grateful for the fact that the Easter holidays are upon us and I have a much needed period of respite. I plan on tackling the library as much as humanely possible but it’ll be nice to wake up at a reasonable hour rather than forcing myself out of bed for a 9am lecture. 

Friends and Family

I’m always grateful to have such a loving family and home base, and having the friends that I do (including some newly acquired blogging friends) makes all the hard work and sleepless nights worthwhile. I’m looking forward to catching up with my parents and brother over the holidays and seeing some friends from home as well. 

What are you feeling grateful for at the moment? 

Goodreads: March Currently Reading

Goodreads: March Currently Reading

Wednesday 16 March 2016

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My March To-Be-Read list is a little bit on the late side, as we’re currently more than halfway through March but I thought I’d post it anyway for those who were interested. I’m sticking to my monthly target of three books, which is working quite well for me whilst I don’t have an awful lot of time to read for pleasure. I’m currently on a book buying ban (and probably will be for the foreseeable future) so these are three books that I bought a few months back and never got around to picking up. 

The Woman Who Stole My Life - Marian Keyes

I picked this book up as part of the Vipers Book Hunter Challenge and I started reading it at the beginning of this month. I’m just over halfway through it and I’m absolutely loving it so far. I’ve never read anything by Marian Keyes before, in spite of her being such a big name in the literary world, mainly because I remember my mum reading her books when I was younger and I kind of associated her writing with older women (even though my mother can’t have been older than 30 herself at the time). This one was published at the end of 2014 so quite a new publication really, and I’m really glad that I took a step back from my presumptions about it being for the older woman and gave it a go. It is definitely NOT an old lady book. It’s fast-paced, exciting and I love the split in the narration between the present day and the past. No doubt this one’ll be included in a future summary review as it’s an absolutely cracking read.

Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

This is a book that has repeatedly referred to in my French literature lectures throughout the course of my (4 year) degree,  so I thought I’d give it a go and see what all the fuss was about. I’ve read about a chapter of it so far, it is quite heavy going but that’s reflective of the time but I’m not NOT enjoying it as things stand. It’s a really short read so no doubt I’ll get this one finished off fairly quickly when I put my mind to it properly.

The Bees - Laline Paull

When I lived in Strasbourg, one of my friends was reading this book. He recommended that I give it a go so I added it to my ever-growing amazon wishlist and forgot all about it. This is another I purchased a few months back with the intention of reading straight away but again, life got the better of me and I never had the chance to start it. I still haven’t started reading it, but university breaks up for the Easter holidays at the end of this week so I’ll have ample opportunity to start a new read. 

What are you reading at the moment? Let me know in the comments! 

Food: Almost Famous, Liverpool*

Food: Almost Famous, Liverpool*

Friday 11 March 2016

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About a week ago, I received an email from the lovely Steph at Liverpool Bloggers asking about an event that was taking place at Almost Famous. I’ve never been to an event before and I’m a bit shy when it comes to meeting new people so I nearly almost didn’t respond to the email requesting bloggers to take part, but I thought for ONCE I’d take myself out of my comfort zone and get involved in the more social side of blogging. I’m stepping a bit out of my comfort zone in terms of this review as well but after the fun involved with my Lunya review, I was keen to get into the habit of reviewing restaurants and edge my way slowly into the lifestyle side of blogging! 

 I got there a tad early (and by a tad I mean about 25 minutes early) but the staff in Almost Famous were absolutely lovely and saw to it that I was taken upstairs to the little room where we’d be getting started. The absolutely FABULOUS Tim looked after me whilst I was waiting for the others to arrive and he really put me at ease with his chatter (and a few shots of the naughty stuff as well…) as I was honestly REALLY nervous about meeting everyone. I shouldn’t have worried as everyone who attended (Steph, Olivia, Jemma, Codie and Renee) was absolutely lovely and we seemed to all get on like a house on fire. Tim made us all what Almost Famous called “Bitch Juice, “ a mixture of fruity happiness and gin (the best mixture, as far as I’m concerned…) I’m not sure if this cocktail is an Almost Famous exclusive but it was bloomin’ delicious and absolutely lethal. Us girls all had a chatter as we were drinking these drinks, with good ol’ Tim pushing little blueberry flavoured shots in our direction sporadically. 

Part of the package that Steph had sorted out for us included actually making our own cocktails, which was absolutely fantastic. We made two cocktails each, out of a choice of three different ones: Breakfast in Tennessee, which was a mixture of Jack Daniels, Banana Liqueur, Blueberry syrup, Cinnamon and lemon juice; Gin Floozie, with its Gin, grapefruit liqueur, peach bitters, club soda, orgeat and lemon juice concoction and finally El Bramble, a tequila and blackberry based cocktail. I went for the Gin Floozie and El Bramble and they were both absolutely delicious. They cost £7.50 to buy normally in the restaurant which I think’s pretty reasonable for such fab tasting cocktails- the bartenders definitely don’t go easy on the booze either. The entire cocktail making session probably lasted for about an hour, maybe slightly longer, and by this point we were all absolutely starving and buzzing at the thought of devouring one of those tasty burgers! 

Again, the waiting staff were fantastic. We were quickly shown to a table which had been saved especially for us and we were offered the choice of three meat based burgers- the Famous Burger, the Triple Nom, the River Phoenix) or else the Veggie choice of one called the “Brittany Murphy.” Whilst we were waiting for our burgers to arrive, we were brought out trays of battered chicken wings and 3 different types of fries (including the AMAZING bacon bacon fries, which I believe is their speciality. Confession: I would go back to Almost Famous time and time again JUST for these fries. Orgasmic.) I chose the Triple Nom burger, which I was surprised to discover when it arrived had not one beef patty but two and the largest pile of pulled pork I’ve ever seen. All of this was topped off with a dollop of some of the nicest tasting coleslaw I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating and was encased in a brioche bun (which unfortunately I didn’t manage to eat as the rest of the meal was so damn filling!) The pulled pork was perfectly tender and tasted absolutely incredible, the burger itself was one of the best I’ve had in a while and combined the taste was absolutely ridiculous (in the best kind of way!) I did have to take the burger apart as it was piled so high that just picking it up was a challenge in itself, but that didn’t make me enjoy it any less, if I’m honest. The burgers are priced between £8 and £10 which is good value for money as far as I’m concerned and the fries come in at between £2.50 and £5.50, which considering the portion sizes were massive is more than acceptable! The fries are “all shaken with wonderdust” which, if you’re a northerner like I am, you’d probably associate with tasting like red salt. 

I honestly have no bad words to say about the entire experience. The staff were professional, entertaining, polite and managed to keep 6 VERY excitable young women under control for the best part of 2 and a half hours, so hats off to them! I’d like to thank the lovely staff at Almost Famous, particularly Tim for being such a fabulous host and also give a massive thanks to Stephanie for arranging everything and being such a genuinely kind person! I had an absolute blast and can’t wait to get involved in events like this again! 

Book Review: The Silent Twin by Caroline Mitchell*

Book Review: The Silent Twin by Caroline Mitchell*

Wednesday 2 March 2016

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I didn’t know much about Caroline Mitchell prior to reading The Silent Twin other than the fact she follows me on twitter and writes books, but I’m certainly very much aware of the skill she has with words now! When I received the copy of The Silent Twin from Bookouture, I was quick to whack it onto my kindle and give it a whirl, a) because I absolutely love a good psychological thriller and b) avoiding French literature that I actually HAVE to read is becoming a daily occurrence. I’m incredibly glad I did because this book is FANTASTIC and I thoroughly enjoyed reading every single word of it. 

I was absolutely hooked from the word go as far as this book is concerned and I found myself loving  and getting pretty quickly attached to the protagonist, Jennifer Knight, in spite of the fact I hadn’t read the two previous books in the series. We learn that a family of four has been torn apart when one of the children- in fact, one of a set of twins, Abigail- goes missing without a trace. Her twin sister, Olivia, quite literally refuses to speak and her mother has, quite frankly, gone off the rails. I found myself absolutely infuriated with Joanna and couldn’t for the life of me understand how she was able to keep her emotions so in check. She really doesn’t give the impression that she is a mother going through the most unthinkable, horrendous thing you could imagine. On the other hand, her dad Nick is the definition of the devastated father who will do absolutely anything to work out what has happened to his little girl. The book uses flashback journal entries and different character perspectives to unravel a mystery that left my heart pounding and my brain whirring. 

Joanna’s writing style is quick paced, descriptive and is one that definitely keeps a reader’s interest- there was never a moment where I found it difficult to plod through the book. In fact, I had to force myself to go to bed at 2am because I knew my 8am alarm would be disgustingly painful otherwise. I was absolutely thrilled to discover that I worked out what was going on and who the perpetrator of the crime was and with the exception of one teeny tiny detail (which we’ll ignore…) I worked out the entire reasoning behind it as well. I won’t give anything away because you really should read this one for yourself but it’s BIG. I wasn’t really too keen on the whole paranormal aspect of the novel but that seems to be a recurring storyline in Mitchell’s series of books involving this particular character and is more a question of my own tastes as opposed to it affecting the storyline in a negative way. 

The book as a whole made me incredibly conscious of the alarming number of children who go missing on a yearly basis. Caroline points out the number herself in the book- 140,000 a year- and this sends absolute chills through every part of my being. I’m definitely going to give the other books in the series a go when I have the chance and can’t wait to see what Caroline will have to offer in the coming years! Definitely an author to get excited about.

5/5.