Blogiversary Review+GIVEAWAY: Fashionably Dead Down Under by Robyn Peterman

 

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine this: You’ve been a vampire for a while. You’ve experienced the perks and cons besides the amazing shags that seem ten times better (because you are doing the Prince of Vampires). But you find yourself in hell after killing your demon father and your de-mom. A few minutes in hell and you encounter talking walls and smooth floors. Whoever said all hell was ridden with fire?

Then allow yourself to trudge the floors of hell and find out the official soundtrack to hell is Journey, and you have a sweet cousin who’s a demon, and Satan your uncle. Fuck. The Prince of Darkness is your uncle? Consider yourself a freak of nature. And he wouldn’t let you leave hell until you get to know your family. Bam! Suddenly you find out you are a demon too.

But what the hell is everyone going on in hell about you being special, your grandfather, Mother Nature, the Seven Sins (who are also your cousins), and the Hell Hounds who talk with their eyebrows? When all you want to do is go home to your Prince of Vampires (because you are getting horny as your time extends in hell) and give birth to the child you are expecting on earth not some fucked-up place.

But Satan has an agenda besides ensuring Steve Perry finds his way to hell (so he’d stop doing Journey covers) and being the king of all trickery, it might not be in your favor.

MY REVIEW

I loved, loved this book. So you know I’ll be screaming at you to get it.

Off late, I feel reluctant to pick up Robyn Peterman’s titles. Why? Because I know if I do I’d have a blast. No uncertainty, I’m just so sure of this that it gets tiring sometimes. (Oh, no, another Peterman book again? *eyeroll, eyeroll*).

The story-line is ah-mazing! Very unique as with all other Peterman titles. I mean, we’ve all read books about hell, but have we one that confirms that Dante’s nine levels are really fiction-fiction? Or one that portray gives us more details about the music preferences and the level of aristocracy in hell (where there’s always a ball to attend?). Such creativity and not-done-before-ness is what I expect of a book. And Robyn nails it as always.

Having read and reviewed Fashionably Dead (the first installment), it’s no surprise to you who read that review that I loved Astrid. Humorous, warm and deep for a (half) vampire (half demon). Her voice is amazing and sticks to the chick-lit side of this story without making this all one big paranormal bore. A star to her. After all, what’s a sassy girl to do when she turns undead (in hell and finds out Satan is their uncle)? (It could happen to you).

The characters in this book made reading it absolutely wonderful. From Carl, the really buffed demon guy who’s pro-fur (alert PETA!) and has the speech deficit of speaking on his tongue that makes every sentence he attempts sound ridiculous.  Myrtle, the party waitress in hell who’s accustomed to bingeing on the treats for guests. Dante, Hemmingway (yes, all your real literary heroes) were really captured by Robyn in a way that would suit their personality if you new them in real life. Satan himself, had a charm no reader can resist and some sense of humor when he’d laugh back at all the insults hurled at him by Astrid. God was present, Mother Nature (who pole-dances), the Hell Hounds, the Seven Sins. Oh, they all made this book worth reading. So many others I cannot keep going on and on about.

One of Robyn’s main elements to keep readers glued is suspense through a series of anti-climaxes. When I say anti-climaxes I do not mean the ones that make you throw your book across the room or simply press the close button on your kindle. Robyn’s keeps you gingered for the final battle ahead even if there’s…. won’t give much out.

Humor checked. That’s like a requirement for all Robyn’s titles. If they are not then perhaps you can be imagining someone repeatedly banging her head against her writing desk and threatening her not to write anything amusing. (But even with that you can expect more ridiculous craziness to persist).

So I’m giving this book five stars (as usual).

You can get Robyn’s amazing Fashionably Dead Down Under on amazon. You do not need to read Fashionably Dead to pick up on the pace of this book. But both are a must-read and you can’t get a bra without getting some nice panties (what am I saying??) so go get that one too.

You can also win this book as part of five paperbacks going away in this rafflecopter.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves their chick-lit with a little paranormal adventure. Anyone who loves heroines hilarious. Anyone who loves authors that are hilarious. Anyone who wants to spend a few days of their summer in Robyn’s hell (Fuck Dante’s).

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

Review+Giveaway: Diary of an Unsmug Married by Polly James

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine this: Bridget Jones once said all married women should feel smug. Do you? If you have a husband who no longer fancies you enough, or doesn’t know what you are wearing to bed is a flashy new underwear you bought to impress him, or if he takes long business trips without giving you the hotel information. Should you feel smug then?

Or when you feel your job is the most shittiest job in the world, with no protection, attending some of the craziest constituents and getting backed up against the wall with a knife on your throat almost every time.

You married life, your professional life, and personal (with the super-sexy neighbor who keeps popping in for a cockscrew getting your husband’s attention for a few more seconds than you would) is in shambles. And proving you can still be fun and flirtatious and attractive to someone might mean emailing pictures of your butt to an old flame (or whatever he was you are failing to remember) over at Russia.

The crazy life of Molly Bennett summed up for your entertainment.

MY REVIEW

I liked this book.

The storyline was great. One woman married for long, husband hardly notices her anymore, children hormonal teenagers, shitty job in politics, offering wondering if she would be a happily-ever-after pensioner or one going to be stuck in a nursing home, recently sending pics of your butt to an old lover. Brilliant.── ★★

I loved Molly. Very relatable to all the mothers out there who feel they’ve lost some spark in their relationships, anyone with a super-annoying boss and husband and roughly all men in their lives being assholes.── ★★

The characters in the book are amazing. From Molly’s mum who’s worried about her painful backside, to Molly’s dad who loves a little hank-panky with his neighbors even though his hitting seventies, to Greg the annoying coworker, Andrew the dickhead MP who’s more than occasionally not sure what views he’s standing for. Josh, the skateboarding son with no talent (for skateboarding). Connie, the daughter who always, always tells the truth even during an interview for questions when you are supposed to give a static lies to earn the job. A star to these characters and the all the many others that made  reading this book a blast. (I could go on and on)── ★★★

The humor in this book is sick. Very hilarious, laugh-out-loud funny. And everyone knows I love my chick-lit hilarious. So more humor means more points for me. But at certain times I thought the author was trying too hard. Anyway, a star to the humor.── ★★★★

I liked this book. But I would have loved it if there was a particular direction to the story, some suspense something moving enough to keep me reading for a long time besides the humor.

So my rating: Four stars.

You can get The Diary of an Unsmug Married Married on amazon.

We are also giving away a paperback if you enter this rafflecopter.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants something funny this summer, all the mothers out there who feel there’s something wrong with their relationships with their husbands and children, anyone who feels their job or their bosses are shitty. And most importantly, anyone who’s receiving those emails from an old flame their itching to reply to (but for the sake of common sense—and a marriage they’d want to keep—don’t).

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

Review+Giveaway: The Time Of Our Lives by Jane Costello

 

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine This: You are a single-mum. Work always seems hectic on its own. Now even more so with a four-year old in the picture.

Thank God you can afford a holiday these days. Or your friend can win one of those rafflecopters on Facebook no one ever seems to win. Hola, Barcelona!

You ditch your four-year old with your mum amidst tears, you tell your boss you’d like to switch on your phone in case he needs help. He tells you, you are on a holiday so you should really try relaxing.

You’re super-excited to be taking this holiday with your friends since this would be your fist holiday in six years.

Tragedy strikes, when you bump into a super-sexy guy after piling up your plate on the plane, when the kid behind you keeps kicking your seat and getting his cookies all over your hair, when you get to Barcelona and your room is not ready yet, when your boss keeps ringing you about some PR work you need to be attending to(!), when you can’t move on and forget your ex, when you have no time to read past the first line of your book, when you can’t seem to avoid Super-sexy Guy, when you chase down a pickpocket, when you are told to avoid all journalists on your holiday (who want to get info out of you about some scandal at work), when you can’t seem to talk right but blab in the presence of Super-sexy Guy, when you find out super-sexy guy is a journalist… FUCK. Tragedy still keeps coming.

MY REVIEW

I liked this book.

The storyline was perfect. Three friends on holiday, meet up to have a blast, yet Main character cannot seem to get off work related matters, and avoid all journalists no matter how sexy they seem. A star to the storyline.

I loved Imogen. So relatable. Mums out there would dig her, because it’s not always easy to juggle a job as the (acting) manager to one of the biggest companies in the UK and still get enough time to spend with your four-year old who cannot manage to say I love you back. You would love her when she chases pickpockets, when she’s supportive to her two friends, and when she cannot manage to get past the first line of her book because she can’t afford turning deaf ears to her phone.── ★

I loved the other characters. Meredith, the funky pregnant friend with an on-an-off relationship; Nicola, the over-protective friend. To Imogen’s mum who’d call about the (slightest) unimportant issue. To David the boss, and Carmel his wife. All the character were worth reading about.── ★★

The suspense in this book is also a feature that kept me on the edge of my seat. One minute you are unsure of if Imogen would be able to rescue her company, next you are worried if she’d be able to rescue her job. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened in the end. And trust me, I was fulfilled.── ★★★

I liked this book. But I really wished I could have loved, loved it. It had a shaky start, it took me time to really get involved. But of course, it beat my fifteen percent specification for books I’d review.── ★★★★

My rating: Four-point-five stars.

You can win Time of Our Lives by Jane Costello here.

You could also buy Time of Our Lives by Jane Costello on amazon.

I recommend this book to all the mums out there. The ones finding it difficult juggling between their jobs and their babies. Anyone who wants something to relax to this summer should get this.

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

Review+Giveaway: Take Mom Out by Fiona Gibson.

                                                          

                                                              
 Blurb: "What do you need a boyfriend for? You're a mum." Fiona Gibson's eagerly awaited new novel is full of dating disasters. Sharply observed and laugh-out-loud funny, its perfect for fans of Tracy Bloom, Kate Long and Tess Stimson. Three blind dates Two teenage boys messing up her plans And one man who'll melt Alice's heart. 'You need to get back in the saddle...' Alice despises that phrase. She's fine being single - with two slothful teenage boys and a meringue business to run, she has enough on her plate without negotiating the troublesome world of modern dating. However, Alice's three best friends have other ideas. Each one will present her with an utterly delicious, eligible man - all Alice has to do is pick her favorite. Perfect for fans of Tracy Bloom, Kate Long and Tess Stimson.

                                                                MY SYNOPSIS
 

Imagine This: You are a mum of two. A single mum of two after ditching your so irresponsible husband who’d lazy around the house all day having no aspirations. Things have been hard, but you’ve still managed to bring up two very, um, responsible boys very, um, different from their father, I guess. So now you are two-timing a job as a school-secretary and a meringue business which you just had a permit to operate.

So maybe you’ve forgotten about love, or dating, or men, or sex. But you would if you have two hormonal teenage boys to raise who always roll their eyes at your every command. Fuck Tom, your husband who’s now all over Stylish Living with his new wife and a huge business empire with a lovely daughter. Looking very responsible (like he never was) and still fresh-faced.

You don’t envy Tom, you wish him all the best, you’ve moved on and you’ve proved that to yourself and your sons so many times. But your friends think you are stuck up on him because you’ve not actually dated, dated since you gave him the boot. And your mum thinks you are too fat to find a new guy. Your friends think you look fab, despite whatever your mum says and intend to get you back in the game (if ever you were after marrying your childhood sweetheart).

So now here you are juggling three guys with different personalities  (some awful, some not-too-awesome) and you are wondering why you ever agreed to dating again. After so long, just how exactly do you get back into the dating scene where everything has changed? And how do you come back home unscathed without your sons teasing you about just kissing Fat-Tongue Man… right after using your cleansing cloth for a little cleansing (of their anus) of their own?

MY REVIEW

I simple ah-dored this book! So you know in my review I would be screaming at you to get this.

I loved the story-line. Mum hasn’t been in dating for a while, mum running a meringue business, mum single, mum dealing with two hormonal teenage boys who love you one minute when you get them that hot chocolate sticks and hate you when you try to tidy up their room, mum’s friends forcing her back into dating game and actually get to pick one guy each for her (so new). Totally brilliant how Fiona executed it. So mature, yet very, very interesting.── ★

I am nuts for the plot of this book. Again, the execution. It struck me that the whole thing didn’t seem choreographed as with other books I’ve read. It seemed so true-to-life, from one action to the other. Like mom is in the kitchen chatting with friends, then there's a blast of laughter from the TV room or a whoosh from the shower from one of your boys who likes to take long baths.── ★

I loved Alice Sweet! So relatable, so mature. Every mother would love to be Alice, worry too much when her boys even keep telling her she worries too much, does everything for her boys from laundry to making them scramble eggs in the exact texture each of them want them in.  You would so, so love her. As much as I did.── ★★

Not only Alice, but the other characters in this book made it worth reading. There’s Alice’s mum who’s so criticizing of everything Alice does (much like every mother). There’s Viv, the raunchy all-over the place friend who would remind you of Samantha (Sex And The City). There’s Ingrid who’s very sophisticated she’d remind you of Miranda in Sex And The City but with a little more uptightness and class. There’s Kritsy, the other friend who’d bare so much resemblance to Charlotte, very motherly and sweet (enough to have her husband dictate to her for long). Oh, you would love Clemmie, the next-door-neighbor, who loves to show off her property and give Alice the Stylish Living mags so she learns tips on how to decorate her very small flat. I loved each of them!── ★★★

I love the humor in this title. Very funny, lots of chuckling moments. And it’s just so amazing when Fiona likens things to motherhood duties you would so giggle at.── ★★★★

One feature about this book that you would so love is the ending. Very unexpected, very heart-warming. One of those chick-flicks where after watching you get this big chest expansion and makes you want to resurrect the characters afterwards even after the ending.── ★★★★★

You can get Fiona Gibson’s latest Take Mom Out on amazon.

You can also stand the chance of winning Take Mom Out if you enter this rafflecopter.

I recommend this book to every mom. Every woman who plans on being a mum of boys so they actually know they have a huge job cut out for them. Every woman who loves her chick-lit amazing, and heartwarming to pick this up.

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