Positively Back!!!

So totally back!

Yippee!!!!

Review of Gemma Burgess' Love and Chaos would be hitting the blog in style.

And oh, plus the winners of The Beauty Game by Michaela Day will be announced shortly.

Not forgetting also, our Blogiversary Lineup would be in soon too. Find out my anticipated books to review this year and win some exciting paperbacks.

Good to be back!

Hugs,

Kobby.

Taking A Super-short break.

Hello Everyone,

I am taking a short break till May 18th to focus on my exams.

When I am back, it's more reviews, more giveaways in our Blogiversary celebrations.

My last post below is a review of the chic The Beauty Game by Michaela Day, I leave you with that and a chance to win three signed paperbacks!

So till 18th May, when my Blogiversary Lineup comes up, good bye!

Hugs,

Kobby.

RELATED POST: FIND OUT HOW TO WIN FIVE PAPERPACKS IN ONE RAFFLE IN THIS YEAR'S BLOGIVERSARY

Review+ INT Giveaway: The Beauty Game by Michaela Day

One beauty product formula failure and a million girls with skin they’d literally die for. Brilliant. Chic. And so The Devil Wears Prada.

Blurb: The Beauty Game.When talented copywriter Zoe Diamond first enters the plush offices of global beauty empire Visage D'Or she doesn't own a face cream.She thinks uplift is by Wonderbra. And wrinkles are removed with an iron.Soon she's seduced, manipulated and betrayed by charming words, false promises, and the powerful men behind them.She doesn't drink. Lie. Or have sex on the boardroom table.Yet.She learns beauty means pain.Truth means legal lies.And miracle creams make beautiful profits.Drowning in champagne-fuelled corruption and scandal, Zoe fights to keep her job, her reputation and most importantly, the man of her dreams.But will she succeed before The Beauty Game destroys her...?

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine this: You work as a copy-writer, one of your ads with your copy partner, Hugo, just won an award. You two are in the mood for some celebration, get sozzled in the process and give your boss, Dick, who happens to be a real big dick (not literally), an opportunity to sexually abuse you. Fortunately he doesn’t succeed, you thank your stars, the only mistake is you failed to resign. Now your ad agency, has posted you to another job, which you are very sure was the sole decision of Dickhead. You are going to write copy alright, probably make award-winning one-liners and scripts, but the only thing is, you’ll be writing Beauty copy. Fuck.

Take a scenario when the only beauty you apply on isn’t even lipstick, lip gloss, or even lip balm. Your encounter with Beauty might be the natural beauty you have going on there (think Audrey Hepburn) and there’s no room for eyeliners, eye shadows, consistent teeth flossing, waxing, fake tanning, real tanning. But you are asked to write on Uplift, and surprisingly, you don’t know what Uplift is (because you do not watch Fashion Police or any of the Real Housewives shows). There’s no room for failure, you have got to succeed, else you would go from award-winning to unemployed at Dickhead’s order.

Your introduction to the world of Beauty gives you an opportunity to meet the movers and shakers of the (Beauty) world. From tantrum-loving models, to sloven directors, to pussycat-loving female bosses, colleagues who’d shag anyone to get a promotion and uber-sexy demigod male tycoons that make your skin chill. Suddenly, your live’s a whirlwind between Paris, London, Nairobi, New York. Joggling a (kind of) long-distance relationship with a guy you met on one set, to sleeping with the big, bad evil boss with a sexy accent, preventing Dickhead from getting into your pants, avoiding Hugo――the partner who’s been laid off, resisting the urge to yell at one super-annoying female colleague, spying on a beauty company and wearing the latest Alai, Louboutins and L’Oreal. All in the name of writing copy for a revolutionary product that actually works (in taking lives of people and) giving a million girls in the world skin they’d die for. Really? Where are your morals?

Zoe Diamond’s liveS summed up for your entertainment.

MY REVIEW

I remember clearly the very first time I picked The Devil Wears Prada (sadly, the movie. One of those people who watched it before they read it), the bubbly feeling I had at the premise where different women of different tastes were dressing up for work (sadly again, it wasn’t for the appearance of female skin that gave me this walking-over-the-moon feeling). I had that same feeling when I read the blurb and the very first chapters of this book. I love fashion, beauty, magazines, ads, copy-writing, advertising, so any book based on the following themes win a star from me.──★

Secondly, this book has a storyline, a million readers would die for. Ugly Duckling who knows nothing about grooming is introduced to the big, bad industry of Beauty, and transforms into a Black Swan. It’s relatable, because most of us dream of big, bad jobs in the beauty/fashion industry, most of us would love to steal from the press rack of our dream magazines and most of us just love skin free of Acne, signs of ageing and the like.──★

I love Michaela Day’s style of writing, where she introduces her chapter as a movie scene with cuts and close-ups of girls taking selfies with the Eiffel Tower as background, or a lady strutting on Broadway (close-up on her clack-clacking zebra-print Louboutins), it gave this book somewhat of a racy feel and made me feel anticipated to know which character was chinking glasses with a gorgeous man in some limousine every time I turned a new chapter. Sweet.──★★

This book had characters to die for.  I loved Duchess, the old and idealess boss with her many gay friends and her compassion for our lead girl, Zoe. Bellini, the super-bitchy colleague who’d sleep with anyone to get promotions and negotiate her way with agents to hook high-end famous models for as little as the price of discounted Turkey on Thanksgiving. I loved Laurent, the big, bad, evil, sexy boss whose accent would sure make female readers brave enough to read this non-put-down book at bus stops weak at the knees. Laurent’s foil, Leo, whose mysterious simplicity which would be a turn-on for female readers, is also a drive to keep reading this book.──★★★

This book had so many OMG moments, I hardly kept track at a time, and kept nodding whenever they came. So many surprises, so many deaths, so much suspense that kept me on the edge of my yoga mat, all for the formula of a product that could give skin a million girls would die for.──★★★★

I loved this book. But I wish I loved, loved it. I felt it lacked humor where it could have gone laugh-out-loud funny. And expected a high level of chicness for a book set in the cutthroat advertising/beauty industry where anyone would go lengths for creams that actually work. Don’t get me wrong, it was chic. But on a level of Miley Cyrus and Emma Watson, I’d rate it a Heidi Montag――which isn’t good enough.

My rating: Four/Five Stars.

You can get the Beauty Game here in both kindle and paperback.

Michaela Day is giving away Three signed Paperbacks of Beauty Game. Enter to win.a Rafflecopter giveaway

I recommend this book for anyone who wants to read a book like The Devil Wears Prada, but this time, portrayed in the ever-cunning Beauty industry. Anyone who loves a book set in all the fab places in the world should also pick this. Anyone who wants secrets about the world of the Beauty products should get this. Now, ladies, if you’ve ever wondered what it takes to produce and reformularize all your fave products on the market, the ones you rave about so much and all of a sudden can’t speak bad about when they (kind of) don’t seem to work as they did anymore, get this book! Love, sex and skin a million girls would die for!

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads.

RELATED POST: FIND OUT HOW TO WIN FIVE PAPERPACKS IN ONE RAFFLE IN THIS YEAR'S BLOGIVERSARY.

Book Review: Three of Us by Cathy Woodman

Three of Us, is a short, inspiring, delectably warm tale of babies, special babies, acceptance and stray pets.

Blurb: The Three of Us is an exclusive short story introducing Zara, the village midwife whose story you can read in Follow Me Home, and bringing us up to date with what's happened to Tessa and Jack from The Village Vet

Tessa and Jack live at the animal sanctuary in Talyton St George. They had been friends for years, but it wasn't until Jack interrupted Tessa's wedding that she discovered his feelings for her were stronger than she ever knew.

Now, a year on, they could not be happier. And when Tessa discovers she's pregnant, it's as if all their dreams have come true.

But a scan shows that there are complications, and suddenly Tessa realises that Jack has always had doubts about having a baby. Supported throughout by Zara, the village midwife, Tessa and Jack have some tough decisions to make. 

However, as the baby's birth draws closer, Tessa and Jack grow further apart. Will he feel differently when the baby is born? Or will having her wonderful child mean losing the man of her dreams?

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine this: You just tied the knot. You and your husband run an animal shelter. Your responsibilities are, taking care of the stray pets you house in your shelter; making sure they are healthy, clean, well-fed, and if they happen to be a good meal in the bad, bad fox’s diet, you make sure it doesn't have them for dinner. 

Now there’s a baby.

Oh, you might want to go to the hospital regularly for your antenatal, and while you are at it, find out your baby might stand the chance of being labeled special. Your baby has a hole in his heart. Ouch. You are not sure if he might live or die. Or even if he makes it past your womb, would he be, uh, different? This is too much to bear, so you cave in.

Luckily, you husband would be there to help. (Most of the time).

Turns out, who you thought might be your perfect match wants you to euthanize. You can’t tell anyone, even your family, because you are not sure where your loyalty lies. But can you go through this alone? Can you fight off your husband’s claims buying time to convince him you must have this baby? Do you even want to have this baby?

My Review

I loved this book. It had all you needed in a short story. Brilliant. Poignant. And Interesting. We all love chick-lit, that focuses on issues women today face, or the possibility of some serious life-altering circumstance.

I loved that being a follow-up to Cathy Woodman’s Village Vet, it throws light on whether wedding bells at the end of a novel, or at some point in life, mean happily-ever-after. So true-to-life when it portrays marriage as not all glitter and tiara but rocky too. Marriage is not one big, wedding photo with the couple grinning ear-to-ear. It goes beyond the bliss of a wedding, to trials, problems that might steer the marriage into a course of dissolution, but the best marriages yank the steering wheel back to safe ground and progress into bliss again knowing there might be other hurdles to overcome.

I loved the characters. From our lead girl Tessa who handled her crisis well than most women I know would, to Jack the supportive husband you couldn't resist throwing a rock at sometimes, to Aunt Fifi and her blabber mouth, Zara the extremely supportive friend (when Jack had forgotten his responsibilities) and midwife. Oh, for he hadn’t sent a harsh bark my way, I almost forgot Buster, the best companion every chick-lit character must have. (Cats suck, Dogs rock---My campaign to give more chick-lit characters our canine friends than the self-centered milk-draining bitches).  

An amazing ending that leaves you partly fulfilled, partly wanting more. I loved the message of hope this ending carried. Of course in life there are so many unexpected happenings, but where there’s life, there sure is hope.

You can get Three of Us here. If you also want to rewind into discovering what went on before the wedding bells, Village Vet is also here. You can also grab Cathy Woodman’s latest, Follow Me Home, based on the story of Zara the midwife. >

I recommend this book to anyone who wants something short and fulfilling so they could move on to other duties as well. Anyone who wants something true-to-life should pick this. And anyone who’s just a sucker for Cathy Woodman’s inspiring, heart-warming numbers, should grab this.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads.  

Review: Psychos: White Girl Problems book by Babe Walker

Walk into the ‘chic’ life of Babe Walker, for drama, melodrama and craziness. It’s like reality TV adapted into writing.

BLURB: In this hysterical follow-up to the New York Times bestseller White Girl Problems, Babe Walker travels the globe as she tries to figure out the answer to the question foremost on everyone's mind—including hers: Who is Babe Walker?

If you’re one of Babe's 800,000+ Twitter followers who devour her daily musings, including “It's so sad when you're not dating Ryan Gosling” and “Good deed of the day: Tell a fat person they’re nice,” then you'll love riding shotgun with Babe at the wheel as she travels the globe trying to figure out just who she is in this hysterical follow-up to her New York Times bestselling book, White Girl Problems.

After spending four months in rehab conquering her alleged shopping addiction, Babe Walker embarks on a personal journey of self-discovery. Her faith in the Universe and its messages leads her all over the world: from Los Angeles to Paris to Amsterdam to Greece and New York City. Throughout this wild string of globe-trotting misadventures, Babe finds herself reunited with—and then torn apart from—an ex-lover, excommunicated by the fashion industry, and trailed by a mysterious stalker who clearly wants her dead. Although the post-rehab Babe and been re-birthed as a "New Babe," something that hasn't changed is the "lack of filter" that allows her to say what it is we're all usually thinking, but are too afraid, embarrassed, or polite to say ourselves, making Babe Walker the “epitome of the urban socialite you love to hate” (Time)

                                             

                                  MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine this: You are a socialite. A kind of celebrity.  Well known for penning a book about your life that became a bestseller and won a huge book deal. On the outside everyone might think your life is perfect. But perhaps they are underrating you because you think your life is more than perfect, it’s ‘chic’ perfect. Might it be the ‘drug addiction’ that landed you into rehab that makes you view your life as let’s say, Lindsay Lohan’s (without the criminal records)? Or that you might have an addiction to shopping that gets you high? Or maybe is it that your mother is a forty-year-old model who abandoned you when you were young?

Babe Walker doesn’t get that her life is not as fabulous as she thinks it is (or others do). There are perks in being a socialite and all, but have you thought of a socialite’s life after rehab? Forget ‘chic’, very chaotic if you’d ask me. With your old destructive self competing with your new self to keep you sane, friends who do not get the new you and make you wonder if you have got to ‘throw out last season’s clothes and revamp your closet to something that suits the new you’ (speaking metaphorically), an on-then-off boyfriend behind your back who you can’t get with because being with him reveals a side to you that (kind of) scares him away (for some time). As if all that isn’t enough, you somehow manage to get on Anna Wintour’s, Kim Kardashian’s and Anna Hathaway blacklist (outbidding her on a dress then wearing it to her engagement party), and now you can’t tell who (which one of them) is stalking you and why they are?

A life of fashion, super-annoying besties, psychotic behavior, drama, an ex you want to keep out of the way, a mom in love (I mean, real Brad and Jen love) with Kate Moss, jetting off to Europe (also known as running away), and more drama.

MY REVIEW

I liked this book. A scoop into the life of a real-life socialite. It’s like watching the Kardashians (only short on the number of idiots). Babe Walker bares it all, revealing emotions, real-life situation dilemmas (perhaps) and gives the reader a somewhat glance into the fab parts and not-so fab parts of the life of a socialite. But unlike Ice and Coco and all the fluff you see on telly these days, this book isn’t too orchestrated to make it seem fake. And what’s fun? There are no ad breaks (and no censoring)! Sweet!──★

I liked that this book was non-fiction, but didn’t seem so. Written in a very humorous language, this book made crazy seem just funny and real-life seem so fun (with just a few crazies) to believe.

Certainly Babe Walker might be the character I’d take for lunch. Not sure if I’d like her that much as a friend though (I’d probably think of changing my wardrobe at that thought for less heavy stuff. Again speaking metaphorically).  Very crazy, very chic and sometimes adorable when she hit rock-bottom. I like that when she’s killing it with an outfit after a description of the labels (Celine mostly), she makes sketches for readers to get a complete picture.──★★

I really wished much work was done on the characters, especially the mum and her friends (but not the random guys she’d hook-up with). Not that they seemed shallow, but I felt they could have taken on a bit of flesh (what with being thin and all?) and depth. Either way, I had some favorites like Mabinty, the Jamaican nanny whose accent was humorous; Robert, the so adorable boyfriend she cannot help but not be with; Paul, the junkie who for some reason I thought was Babe’s The One, was actually rooting for him to be though, till… can’t tell. Calisto, the Greek demigod who made you squirm in your seat just at the sound of his name (I really didn’t, just being in your shoes, women, to write this review).──★★

I’m not sure I found this book very suspenseful. Maybe I would have liked it if it was well orchestrated like reality TV and not very crazy Jersey Shore mated with Rich Kids of Hollywood. Much for a younger audience and some oldies who keep in touch with their reality stuff.──★★★

This book had some OMG moments that are note-worthy, but if I do, I might as well request the html from the publishers and paste it right onto this blog. You never did see what was coming until it hit you like a Babe Walker (talking of the hurricane), and when it did, you found yourself muttering a whole lot of colorful language.──★★★★

My rating: four out of five stars.

Pre-order Psychos: a White Girl Problems book on Amazon here. You could also read the prequel, White Girl Problems (although you don’t need the first to get an understanding of the second, but listen, the more the merrier).White Girl Problems

I recommend this book to anyone who loves reality TV. Anyone who wants something focused on the life-after rehab of a socialite should grab this too. And also, anyone looking for drama, humor and fun.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads.

Review+INT Giveaway: Double Dip (Davis Way Crime Caper series, #2) by Gretchen Archer

If Gretchen Archer keeps up with this Davis Way pace, I suspect humor, touches of delightful romance, extreme doses of action, masterpiece plots and loads of best-selling accolades to her name.

Blurb: “A smart, snappy writer who hits your funny bone!” – Janet Evanovich
It’s Davis Way’s first slot-tournament season. And it may be her last.
Things are dicey at work. A personal assistant goes missing, a little old lady goes on a suspicious winning streak, and a Bellissimo executive goes gaga for Davis. She follows a disappearing slot-tournament player trail to the So Help Me God Pentecostal Church in Beehive, Alabama, then jumps headlong into a high stakes holy scandal.


She’s on a losing streak at home, too. Her days, nights, and dinners run together, as Davis juggles a revolving door of uninvited guests, namely her rotten ex-ex-husband, Eddie Crawford. And Bradley Cole thinks three’s a crowd.

The worst? Davis doesn’t feel so hot. Maybe it’s the banana pudding, or maybe it’s a little bundle of something else. DOUBLE DIP. A reckless ride in the fast lane, and Davis Way can’t find the brakes.

MY SYNOPSIS

Double Dip takes reins from Double Whammy to tell the story of Davis Way’s mysterious/romantic/hilarious/undercover life. If you were Davis Way, here are a few pointers to begin with your (messed-up) life:

1. You are on the security force of a Casino, sort of a spy on the team.

2. You are not easily ruffled by theft, murder, shooting because that’s what you combat on a daily basis.

3. You are the splitting image of your boss’ wife (if you coat an additional heavy layer of foundation and change your hair color) and that makes her your boss too.

4. Your relationship with your boyfriend is on the rocks because your shithead ex-ex husband is always in the picture.

5. You might be pregnant so you would want to tone down on all the action stunts… only if you have convinced yourself enough there might be a due date.

So now that we are settled on your persona, let’s brief you on your mission. One, your boss’ wife has fired her Personal Assistant, I mean, really fired her with a gun and she’s missing. No body, no trace of the last bullet, nothing and she wants a new P.A, even. It’s your duty to find her a new one, find her old one, make sure the old one is alive and probably keep the new one from being shot. Two, there’s a mystery old lady signing into a lot of competitions on the slots in your casino, and your boss, No Hair, wants you to be in charge of ruining what might be the happiest moments in the life of this senior  citizen. You have to investigate on her in order to spoil her fun. But quit with the guilt trip, you are not alone on this, your partner, Fantasy, will be there to help. Three, you and your man are moving into a new, big space to cater for your grandmother’s reluctance to give you (two) some much needed privacy. And you must make this a positive move for the two of you, indicating a promising future, but if only your man wouldn’t arrive every time to see you in a very compromising (as well as complicated) position with your ratty ex-ex husband. Four, you haven’t told your boyfriend you are pregnant (because you haven’t told yourself you are pregnant), get it over with. Five, on the case of the old woman, during an undercover mission as one of the casino players, you pass out in the casino (Google symptoms of anemia associated with pregnancy) only to be caught by the casino’s Mr. Microphone, the slovenliest emcee alive. He wants you, you can refuse him, but your boss gives you no chance to, so date him. Six, your boss is holding out info from you, find out. Seven, a man-stealer/an almost-home wrecker wants to dig her claws into your man. No, I mean literally dig her claws into your man, stop her before she gets him. Eight, as if I haven’t briefed you enough and you are really exhausted by now from all your personal problems (your mother, your sister, your ex-ex’s mother), your boss’ wife wants you to be in charge of all her social activities. No, I mean really be in charge, take over her, become her double. All the charity events to make fashion statements and good public impressions are your duty, she might even demand you to get a boob job considering she’s contemplating one. Everything in outfits that barely cover your ass or your boobs or your every inch of skin, because she says so, and you might want to lay low on the carbs else you would get fired. Goodbye blueberry pie and Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream. Welcome your new life…

Which is Davis Way’s hell summed up for your entertainment.

MY REVIEW

In my life, there are three authors of one chick-lit sub-genre I’ve put on a pedestal. Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum series), Sarah Strohmeyer (Bubbles Yablonsky series) and now, Gretchen Archer for Davis Way Crime Caper series (applause, applause), so even if I end now, my review looks just complete.

The first thing that makes this book deserve a star, is Davis Way. I simply wanted to pull her out for a lunch date (mostly to force her ingest something for the baby she was carrying). Like all the other leads of my favorite, favorite series, she’s independent (one thing that draws me to a woman), she’s sassy, she’s sexy. We all want to read books about chick-lit heroines who make us feel secure, that no matter how the plot is twisted and turned they’d emerge victors (with perhaps a bullet wound to make them look hotter).──★

I like authors who take a topic we’d all run away from and make it look chic. We might not relate to the lead girl’s current dilemma , but sometimes reading a book that makes you feel the hottest accessory to finish off your outfit are red Manolo Blahniks and a holster (in case you can’t get licensing done quickly), is just worth it.──★★

I’m a fan of humor. So to make your book a really laugh-out-loud number is so sinister an attempt to give your book my ultimate rating score. This book was high-larious, hit my head against the bed post on one occasion. Davis’ voice is a plus, very funny, very lighthearted. It’s these books that make me wish everyone would stop using the term chick-lit loosely. We all know if it isn’t humorous (as Double Dip) it should be mama-lit. This is one of those books that make you crack a rib in the face of your toughest, lowest moments.★★★

The characters in this book added to this book’s humor and would make anyone have a blast. From Fantasy──for we all need a partner who would dive into a dumpster, for us, to retrieve a dead body; Bianca──’cause we all don’t need a boss who might shoot a hole through us right when we go against her orders (for a boob job); Meredith──sometimes reluctant sisters who would just take charge for whenever we have to move and our job gives us no time to organize, are important; Granny Dee──nothing like a grandma who loves the slots, speaks like a narcissistic bitch but you know if she didn’t have an ear problem  she’d actually whisper to sound like normal people do when whispering; Bea──an ex-ex mother-in-law might always come in handy in case you do not want to submit your own grandmother for a makeover and an undercover mission; No Hair──we need a boss who is annoying, yet adorable but wished he had a strand of hair, even if it fell from someone’s onto his; Bradley Cole──oh, who we’d kill to get a boyfriend who’d get back with us when caught looking up from our ex-ex husband’s crotch; Eddie──ugh, who would help get rid of the ex-ex husband. These and so many other characters I fell in love with, Mr. Microphone, Davis’ Mother, Cyril, Baylor/Cowboy──★★★★

This novel’s plot is a masterpiece. I like that Gretchen starves you then hits you in the face with the hot towel right when you think things are getting too fast for you to catch up. Perfect.──★★★★★

It’s obvious I’m giving this book five stars!

Get Double Dip, the second book in the Davis Way crime-caper series here. In any case if you want Double Whammy, get it here too (though you don’t need to read book one to get an understanding of book two)

 Enter to Win one SIGNED copy of Double Dip. Contest Going INTERNATIONALLY a Rafflecopter giveaway

I don’t know about your feelings after this review, but I know I am continuing the Davis Way Crime Caper series.

I recommend this to anyone who wants to read a book in their Manolo Blahniks holding onto their holster on their thigh.  Anyone who wants chick-lit with mystery, fun and suspense. Anyone who loves the big two, Janet Evanovich, Sarah Strohmeyer should get this. And if you want a book that you can get a follow up on, a chic series you want to keep up with, and a heroine you want to keep seeing, get Double Dip(ped).

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads.