Book Club | Easy by Tammara Webber

"I took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly before turning around. It was Lucas who stood there. His gaze was penetrating, not wavering for a moment, and my pulse hammered under his silent scrutiny.  I couldn't remember the last time I'd been so full of pure, unqualified desire.  Lucas is the stranger who saved Jacqueline from an attack by a fellow student - she'd never noticed him before then, and now he's everywhere.  But can Jacqueline trust him - or will the secrets he's hiding come between them?"

It's been a while since I last wrote a book review and that's mostly because I was re-reading one of the Harry Potter's.  Wizards aside, I've recently finished a book by Tammara Webber (yet another chick lit to add to the list...), an author I hadn't heard of before, but I'm glad I found her.  The novel Easy is a step up from Young Adult fiction, as Webber simply calls it "New Adult".  Think in terms of 50 Shades of Grey, this book would be a step down from that in terms of genre and the level of explicitness.  It was a really gripping read from the first word.  There's an extremely violent opening scene where the main character Jacqueline is attacked by a man with intentions of rape, before her rescuer, Lucas, saves the day.  The storyline then follows these two characters and how their relationship grows.  Overall I really enjoyed it and sailed through it pretty quickly.  The writing was good and sometimes extremely evocative.  It was also reasonably priced, at £2.99 for the Kindle.  

Currently reading: Between The Lines by Tammara Webber

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Year in Review | Best of 2012

Happy New Year! 

This is part two of my 'Year in Review' series.  Yesterday I wrote about my Top 12 Beauty Products of 2012 and today I'll be talking you through each month and all the things that happened to me.  So without further adieu...

JANUARY

While for many, January is a horrible month, for my family it was a really happy one.  On Wednesday 25th January my Sister-in-law gave birth to William Alexander and he's brought so much love and happiness into the family (and quite a few sleepless nights for his Mum and Dad). Without sounding too soppy, it was the best possible start to the new year.

FEBRUARY

My birthday month always brings good memories.  This year was no exception and on my birthday we went out on the town.  The club was packed thanks to Joey Essex and Diags from The Only Way is Essex making an appearance but I can't really remember much else from the night.

MARCH

A busy month at university.  We were creating a magazine in a group as part of our course and it was a lot of hard work which would eventually pay off.

APRIL

April was both a good and a bad month.  Tuesday 4th April brought the end of my favourite TV show in the entire world - One Tree Hill.  On the plus side, I have all the box sets and will continue to watch them for years to come! At the end of the month, I started a social media internship at Phoenix, a designer reseller which meant I was surrounded by Chanel, Louboutin, Mulberry and many more for a whole month.  At lunch time, I often found myself in a small shop called 'At Home' where they sold delicious but humongous  sandwiches.  The shop was also situated about two minutes from Space NK and inevitably, I got the bug.

MAY

With the end of my internship also came the end of second year at university.  I continued freelancing for Phoenix whilst they were between interns.  May is also a big month for birthdays in my family with my brother on the 7th and my youngest niece Alice on the 25th (are you noticing a pattern with birthdays?)

JUNE

On Tuesday 5th June, myself and two of my best friends went on holiday to Spain.  It was the best 10 days of my life, we laughed, tanned, shopped and just had an amazing time.  Definitely what we needed after a stressful few months at university.  Sophia Bush, aka Brooke Davis from One Tree Hill also tweeted me on the 20th June - a pretty cool highlight.

JULY

My second internship of the year was in June at More! Magazine. I spent two weeks working with the fashion team as well as contributing to the magazine which was fun, as I read More! on a weekly basis. It was a lot of hard work, more so the commute than anything else but it was also great experience for my CV.  July also saw the arrival of another baby in the family.  My auntie gave birth to a baby girl who is absolutely adorable.

AUGUST

While I didn't get to go to the actual Olympic park (still kicking myself), I definitely got the Olympic bug.  Luckily, the cycle race came through my hometown so I got to feel the atmosphere without paying a pretty penny for it.  We saw Wiggins, Cavendish and the boys for all of about two seconds as they whizzed past.  

SEPTEMBER

I made an Apple investment in September and bought my iPad, which I've found difficult to put down since.  The first thing I did when I got it was buy Allure magazine, my favourite magazine and one any beauty junkie should read!

OCTOBER

After what felt like a year off, it was time to go back to university for my third and final year (eek).  Of course, October also means Halloween and I celebrated with the girls at a house party. I decided to go as Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter because I don't think I could have passed as Hermione with my bleach blonde hair.  

NOVEMBER

I popped my spa virginity in November as we celebrated one of my best friends 21st birthday by getting pampered. Although I didn't have any money to get a treatment, we had access to a relaxation room with herbal tea and fruit, both steam and sauna rooms as well as a jacuzzi, where we spent the majority of the day.  We finished the day with Mexican food and cocktails.  

DECEMBER

Gossip Girl ended but Christmas softened the blow.  December is one of my favourite months and the lead up to the big day was made more magical now that Alice is old enough to understand and really believes in Santa Claus. On the 10th, the girls and I got together for our very own Christmas day, complete with Secret Santa, Turkey and all the trimmings. 

That's my year in review, thanks for reading my blog this year and here's to another good year! I've got lots to look forward to in 2013 including (hopefully) graduation, seeing Girls Aloud, Williams 1st birthday, my 21st birthday and hopefully I'll be able to leave Tesco for a big girl job (fingers crossed).

How has 2012 been for you?

Book Club | Bared to You by Sylvia Day

"Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness - beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white hot. I was drawn to him as I'd never been to anything or anyone in my life. I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily.  Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other's most private wounds and desires.  The bonds of his love transformed me, even as I prayed that the torment of our pasts didn't tear us apart..."

After the phenomenon that was 50 Shades of Grey, their were quite a few authors to hop onto the bandwagon.  The most successful runner up to the 50 Shades trilogy is the Crossfire series, with it's first installment 'Bared to You'.  Reading this book, their are many comparisons to E. L. James' popular books.  The main protagonist is a rich business man who's also gorgeous and haunted by his past, whilst the female lead Eva (not Ana) is also haunted by a horrific past.  They go about a far more realistic relationship than what Christian and Ana did, but by no means less glamourous.  The writing is so much better in Bared to You - I actually think Sylvia Day may have got an editor involved, whereas 50 Shades is debatable.  I found the story a lot more enjoyable, too.  If you liked 50 Shades then this is definitely another one to add to your booklist.  The only downside was that the sequel isn't out until October.  

Currently reading: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (going back to my childhood...)

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