My year in books...

As we approach the end of another year, I thought I would reflect back on what I have achieved reading wise over the year. After all I started this blog initially as a 'book blog'.

This year hasn't been all that prolific for me in terms of reviewing books... REAL LIFE has gotten in the way of this mostly and I do find myself having less and less time for writing full detailed reviews. However, I have continued to read a lot, as always.

Mainly the 2nd half of this year I have been reading a lot of older books, I've been in a bit of a retro vibe! And also, the amount of kindle one-click purchases appearing on my bank statement was getting to epic levels so I actually thought I should knuckle down and actually read the books I have been collecting and putting on my groaning bookshelves! Which, I admit are mainly of the old school variety...

oooh, look at all the pretty colours...

Old skool romance FTW!

And surprisingly I have actually made my way through quite a lot of them!

Going forward, I am thinking of different ways to continue to keep this blog as a book based blog at its core. Such as mini, on the go reviews as I'm reading books or just a monthly summary and star rating... I've not quite decided.

But whatever happens, don't worry I'm still out there reading and enjoying romance novels as aways. Maybe one day I'll actually get through my entire book collection...

Two NEARLY full book shelves (p.s. theres also two more 'non romance' bookshelves in the other room...)

Xx

#ModernTempted The Reunion Lie by Lucy King

The Reunion Lie - Lucy King
Mills & Boon Modern Tempted
Harlequin UK, 2014
ISBN: 9780263910742

My Rating

From the back cover:

"It was only meant to be a little white lie...

Inventing a fake fiance was an act of desperation for Zoe Montgomery - a knee-jerk response to her horrifying high school reunion! But now that she's convinced London's most unattainable bachelor to play the part, her little white lie is spiralling out of control. 

Because everyone wants a piece of tycoon Dan Forrester. Including Zoe! Especially once she's seen the view from his bedroom...

This might be a fake engagement, but she's certainly not faking anything else! Now the reunion is over, and Zoe and Dan have convinced the world they're meant to be! But convincing each other? That's a whole different challenge..."

There was something about the back cover blurb that made me think I wouldn't enjoy this book all that much... But I must have been reading something different as I ended up loving this book!

The opening of this book is fantastic, I was utterly absorbed from the word go. Lucy King managed to draw me right into the heroine's feelings, I was feeling as uncomfortable, unconfident, and inadequate as the heroine was at that moment in her private hell of a reunion. I loved the touch that the heroine had only gone to prove a point only to have that point backfire on her!

Then with the heroine's ridiculous attempt at saving face by not only inventing a fantastical fiancé but also pretending the next guy who walked in was him, and quite literally jumping on him, the story became a bit of a farce, in a really good way. Good job that the man took it well, and actually helped with the pretence, oh that was fun to read! I wanted to roll my eyes, but I couldn't.

Lucy had me totally hooked already and the hero and heroine's story was only beginning. There is instant, recognisable chemistry between this pair and I loved that both characters, individually, were so strongly written. The relationship develops slowly and I was really invested in it. What I particularly liked about this story is that the author didn't really on that one big "black moment" (there is one but its not the total focus of the conflict) instead the conflict is clear throughout and the hero and heroine's insecurities slowly chip away at their supposed happiness... Very poignant.

A really enjoyable read. Fun, flirty, sad, and romantic!

Xx

Policy is boring...

As you may have noticed I do a lot of book reviews on this blog! That is something I love doing and will continue to do so even though I am no longer being silly and trying to read a book a day or more. However, I feel the need to add a page of information about my reviews to make it clear how I go about things.  I have received a few books from authors to review and to avoid any confusion the information will include what I will accept, etc.

This will be posted on it's own page, on the tabs above, but I am posting it now as an update.


Introduction

One of my passions is reading and as such, a feature of this blog is book reviews. The majority of the books I read and review I have acquired myself. Either bought in either physical form (brand new or second hand), ebook form via most ebook stores and read using e-reading apps available for the iPad, or borrowed from my local library.
The books are usually chosen by me, but I am always interested in recommendations.

Review Copies

If you are an author or publisher and would like me to consider reviewing your book(s) please contact me via email -
everydayisthesameblog (at) gmail (dot) com

Please bear in mind the following criteria for my acceptance of a book.

What I will review

I mainly read books that fall in the 'women's fiction' area, including mainstream/general fiction, romance including category and single title, chick lit, suspense etc. This is not an exhaustive list.

What I will not review

I read most things.
I don't tend to read erotic romance/erotica, however a book that falls within this category yet has strong romantic (or other) elements - where the sex is secondary to the rest of the story and not gratuitous - may be considered at my discretion. Other books I do not read are paranormal, inspirational, historical, sci-fi, horror, action, etc. But once again, these may be considered.
Definite no-no's are books that include indecent content, taboo subjects, and unnecessary violence especially towards children and animals.

I'm not here to judge what you read, it's just that I chose not to.

Format

I am happy to receive books in physical or ebook form. For ebooks please be aware that I use an iPad to read on, I have most e-reading apps (iBooks, Kindle, Overdrive, Bluefire, Kobo) so it will need to work on those platforms.

About my reviews

All my reviews will be in the form of a blog post on here. The post will include a cover image, title and author info, publisher's info, category line where applicable, year and date of publication, ISBN, and blurb.
Please note that the publishing info and the ISBN will usually relate to the UK release of the book - let me know if you would like to have release info for other countries included.

The reviews will consist of my rating followed by my summary and review.

I don't like every book I read! Where I have chosen a book myself and end up not enjoying it, it's more than likely that I simply will not write a review for it. However if the book has been sent to me for review, then the review provided will be honest and detail why I didn't like it.

I do not resort to insults (especially towards the author), nor do I use unnecessary snark. Reading is subjective and while I may not like something another person will. I'm British after all, and we are unfailingly polite!

Turnaround

Books sent to me will be prioritised as soon as they are received. I would hope to read the book and post the review within 14 days. However, life does sometimes get in the way so I can't always promise this.

My rating

I know it is sometimes difficult to understand the different review ratings out there. Here are mine in the simplest possible terms:

1 star - Hmm, I really didn't like this one. Sorry!

2 stars - I didn't like this, but some bits were OK. Perhaps this was not for me...

3 stars - I enjoyed it... but not all of it. Who's perfect though, right?!

4 stars - Really, really enjoyed it! Yes, some bits were better than others but that's life!

5 stars - Absolutely loved it! It was amazing, brilliant, great, fantastic... etc!

A half-star is used when I am being indecisive and can't decide to be more negative or more positive... I'm indecisive a lot!

Other stuff

I also post my reviews on goodreads as well as tweeting my review including a link. *If you would like me to '@' you in the tweet you must let me know as I wouldn't automatically do this.

I am also happy to host authors and/or giveaways here on my blog. In fact it would be my pleasure to do this, please email!

I would be interested in reviewing other stuff including products if this suits my interests. Please contact me by email to discuss.

I DO NOT review unpublished work, and I am not able to provide critiques to your work.

Where to find me

email - everydayisthesameblog (at) gmail (dot) com

Twitter - @RLAeverydaysame

Goodreads - RLAeverydaysame

Thank you

Xx