Welcome 2022...Please go easy on me!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2022!! 

Happy New Year you lovely lot...to those of you who actually still read my blog. We were very quiet last year in the blog department, so many things have happened and I simply didn't have the time. 

However, if you follow me on Instagram or twitter, then you'll know that I was still about and reading! 

I did have about 13 reviews to post from 2020 (Since there was A LOT of books that were read, 33 to be precise!) But seeing as we're practically a year out, I thought I was start a fresh and just keep everything up to date this year instead. The good news is, is that I'll never forget to review - seeing as I now review more on IG too! (The handle is @tinksreviews should you wish to hit that follow button! 😉) 

Reading Update:

This year I have no set goal, I have literally dropped my goal all the way down to one, which I have already completed by the way - Go me! Woo! 

No in all seriousness, I thought the pressure to keep upping my goal was just becoming too much and I would start to feel it and then fall out of love with reading altogether.

So I thought, why not drop it all the way to the floor - and that's what I did. I'm currently on my 3rd book for the month and year which is an excellent start for me and I'm loving every minute again! 

I also recently (finally) finished watching the Shadow and Bone Netflix adaptation and oh my lord it was amazing! I adored it so much, they way they have incorporated both the the S&B and The Six of Crows was really good (I was very skeptical at first) but they pulled it off brilliantly...and Jesper...😍

Personal Update:

Well, where do I begin? If you've been speaking to me personally then you'll know what's been happening. But it's been a whirlwind, So I'll start at the beginning but make it brief. 

Back in 2019 I was working for a wonderful company called Schuelke who I adored with all my heart, thought sadly in 2021 I was made redundant, which trust me - was a shock to the system. 

Since then I went onto another company but was also made redundant. However, after relentless interviewing this week, I have managed to get myself another job, one which I am really excited about and look forward to starting.  

IN OTHER NEWS! Sam andI got accepted for our first home towards the end of last year and everything is now currently in the process of going through all the correct channels, but towards March/April time, we will have our very first home together - I may very well cry on the day we get the keys to our hopefully forever home. Ahh I just can't wait! Oh! We also got Engaged, but that's a story for next time 😉

Speak to you soon, reviews to follow shortly!

Love always, 

Amelia Fang & The Memory Thief - Laura Ellen Anderson

Amelia and her friends are taking part in a competition to visit Pumpkin Paradise Park – the most bloodcurding theme park ever! All they have to do is sell as many cookies as possible.

But the creatures of Nocturnia have begun to act stranger than usual . . .

Amelia and friends are back at it again and on a wild adventure! 

When a new teacher arrives at Catacomb Academy, the gang can't wait to get started on their new cooking classes, apart from Grimaldi and Florence - they think something isn't right, though they can't place their fingers on what it could be! 

Though Amelia's friends and family can't remember her name, or theirs for that matter! What's even odder is that not a single one of them remembered Amelia's birthday party - they never forget! 

Soon the gang are on a mission to find out, just what is happening with everyone losing their marbles, before it's too late and they can't even remember their own names too! 

Amelia Fang & The Memory Thief, is the third book within the Amelia Fang series (that I have also read this year) and I loved it. I know it sounds cliche but I don't think there will be an AF book that I don't enjoy. I just love the stories and worlds, the funny and punny names that Laura creates and I certainly love Amelia with all my heart. She just reminds me of me when I was younger and I'm so here for it.  It's cute and gothic in its own way and - ugh *swoons* 

If you're looking for a fun and quirky book, with fabulous and fun illustration, I can highly recommend these books. They're perfect for all ages, not just the kids! 

I will be giving this book 4 out of 5 

(Cawpile rating of 8.93)

Playing Nice - J.P. Delaney

Pete Riley answers the door one morning to a parent's worst nightmare. On his doorstep is Miles Lambert, who breaks the devastating news that Pete's two-year-old, Theo, isn't Pete's real son - their babies got mixed up at birth. 

The two families - Pete, his partner Maddie, and Miles and his wife Lucy - agree that, rather than swap the boys back, they'll try to find a more flexible way to share their children's lives. But a plan to sue the hospital triggers an investigation that unearths disturbing questions about just what happened the day the babies were switched.

What could be your worst nightmare as a parent? Your child getting hurt? Them not having any friends? Or perhaps, someone telling you that your own child, who you have given birth to and loved, isn't actually yours?

Theo had a traumatic entrance into the world, one that Pete and Maddie will never forget, but nothing trumps Miles Lambert showing up at their home with a private investigator and saying that Theo is actually his son, and they have theirs. 

When both couples start to get friendly, Maddie senses that something isn't right. Apparently Theo and David were swapped at birth, but who would do such a thing and why are they only finding out about it now? 

Miles and Lucy are lovely. They're charming, playful and Theo adores them, so why can't Pete shake the feeling that something is off with the pair? 

Soon through court hearings, NHS meetings, News bust ups and a strange occurrences  things start to take a drastic turn in Pete and Maddie's lives. They've gone from having all around loveable Theo, to nothing at all. The Lambert's suddenly don't feel like lovely people after all and Miles will stop at nothing to get what he wants.  

At the end of the day, all you have to do is play nicely don't you? 

Playing Nice by J.P. Delaney is the fourth book by the author and what an absolute gem it is. The day I received the ARC I nearly screamed! As you all know he, he has become one of my favourite authors. So a big thanks is in order for NetGalley and Quercus. 

The book was very gripping from start to end. The chapters are quick so you fly straight through them and the story is narrated between Pete and Maddie. I feel this one is better than its predecessor, The Perfect Wife. There was certainly more of an edge to this and the plot was a lot darker than the last, I would say on the same parr as The Girl Before. 

The plot is rich and equally creepy, I literally couldn't put it down and was reading into the early hours of the morning. The amount of twists in the story and how it all unfolds is genius,  all the way to the end it had you suspecting but then it twists again and leaves you shocked!

The only downside is that I now have to wait until he releases another book. If you're looking for a new gripping thriller, with a riveting plot and superb twists, this is the one for you. 

Playing Nice will be available in all formats on the 6th August 2020, be sure not to miss this amazing read!

I will be giving this book 5 out of 5

(Cawpile rating of 9.75)

Ruin and Rising - Leigh Bardugo

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

A weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina knows no fury, she has become Sankta Alina - but at what cost? 

To free Ravka and all other borders, she must fight to survive, even if it's against a former lover, to save the current one from ruin.  

The Darkling will stop at nothing to find the remaining firebird and leave no one standing in his path.  

She will get the last remaining amplifier, fight the strongest man in Ravka, even if it means losing the ones she holds so dear. Before it's too late. Though what if the amplifier has been under her nose the entire time? 

As Alina travels further into battle, she must decide between who to save and who to love.

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo, is the last and final book within the Shadow and Bone series and...I don't even know how to start to finish this review. It was everything I wanted and more, it's easily become one of the best series I've read for a while.

I can honestly say that I preferred this book a lot more than it's predecessor Seige and Storm, it was still slow in places but damn did it start with a bang and I was not prepared for it. It was so much more fast paced as it got towards the end, everything was happening. My heart for broke in the firing line and I cried quite a few times - I can't think about certain scenes, cause oh my lord my heart! 

I'm truly sad that the series is over, I think it could have done with at least one more book or at least one in The Darkling's POV. I am however, looking forward to reading the rest of the Grishaverse novels. 

I will be giving this book 5 out of 5 

(Cawpile rating of 9.43)

Forbidden Desire - Robin Lovett

Being a sex goddess should be my dream come true—as much sex as I want, with magic powers to heal people, too. Until I realize the enormously strong human I desire most is completely off-limits. My people will put me in prison if I’m caught with a human.

But one encounter together leaves me panting for more. So I kidnap him and take him to an alien sex retreat. I soon discover not only is my big strong human a virgin, his bio-engineering might have made him the largest person I’ve ever seen, but also it made him unable to feel any sensation on his skin.

Niva has a magic gift, she is the holder of the Exstare. A rare and and strong power that gives the her ability to heal her people in time of need, through Sex. 

Graven shouldn't even be on the planet. He escaped the clutches of the dreaded and evil Ten Systems, a system strong enough to wipe out Niva's people. He should know, he was tested and made just for the purpose, but he fled. 

Graven can't keep away from Niva, she's the most beautiful woman he has ever clasped eyes on. Her curvy body, luscious lips and sexy aurora...if only he could experience all of these magical things for himself, but humans are forbidden to go anywhere near her.  

When Niva kidnaps Graven to her family retreat in the hops to heal him, it becomes clear that there is something else beneath the surface that he's not telling her. Though that's okay, they have three days to get over their fears for each other...alone. 

Forbidden Desire by Robin Lovett, is the fourth book in the 'Planet of Desire' erotic series and it wasn't actually that bad. There were some quite steamy scenes in this book and damn, I really enjoyed them. The characters were okay, they weren't anything special but I did love the relationship between Niva and Graven and the whole secrecy to them. With that being said, I did struggle to put it down, as I wanted to find out what would happen further in the plot and what would happen to both characters. 

There were some scenes where I thought they were a bit far fetched, mostly with Graven, but all in all I did enjoy the book and wouldn't turn down anything else by this author in the future.  

Many thanks for NetGalley for the early ARC in exchange for an honest review.  Forbidden Desire will be out this coming Monday 13th July and will be available on Kindle and other e-book formats.  

I will be giving this book a 4 out of 5 

Cawpile rating of 7.14

So, Anyway - John Cleese

This is the story of how a tall, shy youth from Weston-super-Mare went on to become a self-confessed legend. En route, John Cleese describes his nerve-racking first public appearance, at St Peter’s Preparatory School at the age of eight and five-sixths; his endlessly peripatetic home life with parents who seemed incapable of staying in any house for longer than six months; his first experiences in the world of work as a teacher who knew nothing about the subjects he was expected to teach; his hamster-owning days at Cambridge; and his first encounter with the man who would be his writing partner for over two decades, Graham Chapman. 

Punctuated from time to time with John Cleese’s thoughts on topics as diverse as the nature of comedy, the relative merits of cricket and waterskiing, and the importance of knowing the dates of all the kings and queens of England, this is a masterly performance by a former schoolmaster. 

"This is an ex-parrot!"

National Treasure and comedian John Cleese goes into the depths of his past and tells you how it really is or how it was. We all know him, wether it be from The Life of Brian, The Holy Grail, Fawlty Towers or plain old Python sketches. He has become a staple in the comedy circuit and known for being one of the most influential comedic's of our time.  

From the shy young boy growing up in Weston-super-Mare and a public school, the 'At Last the 1948 Show to Python, even now the same old John Cleese is still shy and quick wittingly hilarious to this day. 

Written and narrated by the Python himself (which makes it all the more better) 

So, Anyway by John Cleese, was such a wonderful, hilarious and beautiful read. After listening to Idle's audiobook at the beginning of the year, I rushed to find other books by the Python's and was happy to come across this book. It's filled with live performance snippets, old conversations, scripts and sketches with made it all the more a lovely happy read. It made me smile so much. 

It has been an absolute joy to listen to whilst I've been working through this Pandemic, highly hilarious and full of laughs. There were quite a few sad moments though which made it all the more real and authentic. This simply couldn't have been narrated by anyone else other than the man himself. 

It was lovely to hear about his upbringing and his personal life outside of Python, how he has grown up and how he came to be one of the most respected comedic's of our time. Python have been a huge thing in my childhood and it was such a refreshing read. 

I would highly recommend for any Python enthusiasts.  

I will be giving this book 5 out of 5

Cawpile rating of 9.14