I have had a terrible month or so of reading between my last catch-up post, but thanks to the Pokemon Readathon, this week I have been on fire (well for me anyway)!
Read This Week:
When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.
Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war.
Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils… Pagford is not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?
I read this book for my book club this month, and my thunder badge for the readathon. Review is up here. Really enjoyed it!
Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.
But then Celestine encounters a situation in which she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found FLAWED.
Completing this for the Earth Badge, I was fascinated while reading this, and I cannot wait till the second one is published. Review to come in the next week.
My name is Amanda. I’m 18. When you look at me, you might see that I’m pretty and popular; you might think my life is easy. But being me has never been easy. Because I haven’t always been Amanda. When I was born, I was named Andrew. Now, at my new school, I finally feel like myself. But do I owe my new friends the truth about my past?
For my Rainbow Badge I chose this one as I was really eager to read it and it was really good. One of the best YA books I’ve read in a while.
Next Week’s Reads:
Honor’s secret threatens to rob her of the independence she’s guarded ferociously for eighty years.
Jo’s secret could smash apart the ‘normal’ family life she’s fought so hard to build.
Lydia’s could bring her love – or the loss of everything that matters to her.
Grandmother, mother and daughter – three women whose lives are falling apart. But one summer’s day, a single dramatic moment will force their secrets into the open.
For my Cascade badge, a book that might make you cry, I chose this one, I’ve been wanting to read a book by Julie for a while, and from the chapter or so I’ve read this morning, it looks promising.
Brides by the Sea, the cutest little wedding shop in all of Cornwall, has it all, including cake baker Poppy who lives upstairs. But wedding planning is not the piece of cake Poppy thought it would be, and when her best friend Cate’s wedding planner walks out, Poppy has to tie up the loose ends so her bestie can tie the knot.
Double-booked venues, ‘rustic’ locations and gorgeous but grumpy farmer Rafe have this wedding pro feeling like she could be Cate’s ‘something blue.’
Will the wedding, the shop and the cake all come crashing down on her? Or will Poppy pull it off to give Cate – and herself – the happy ever afters they deserve?
This cover looks so pretty and delicate, I hope the story is just as delightful. Also the christmas one will be out before I know it, so must catchup!
Best friends Evie, Krista and Willow are just trying to make it through their mid-twenties in New York. They’re regular girls with typical quarter life crises: making it up the corporate ladder, making sense of online dating, and making rent.
Until they come across Pretty, a magic tincture that makes them, well …gorgeous. Like, supermodelgorgeous. With a single drop, each young woman gets the gift of jaw-dropping beauty for one week, presenting them with unimaginable opportunities to make their biggest fantasies come true.
But there’s a dark side to Pretty, too, and as the gloss fades for these modern-day Cinderellas, there’s just one question left: What would you sacrifice to be Pretty?
Really Intrigued by this book, sounds like nothing I’ve read before. Cannot Wait to start it!
Pokémon Update:
My Dratini has earned 269cp and evolved into the very pretty Dragonair
Oh, I’ve heard of The Casual Vacancy (and of course read the Harry Potter books) but I’ve never really known what it was about! I might have to pick it up sometime.
Flawed and If I Was Your Girl are also on my TBR; I’m really looking forward to reading those! Glad to hear you enjoyed them. 🙂