Book Review On: Under The Duvet by Marian Keyes

January 12, 2020 mariesbookboutiqueLeave a comment

under the duvet by marian keyes

About the author (as seen on Amazon)

Marian Keyes

Marian Keyes’ international bestselling novels include Rachel’s Holiday, Last Chance Saloon, Sushi for Beginners, Angels, The Other Side of the Story, Anybody Out There, This Charming Man and The Woman Who Stole My Life. Three collections of her journalism, Under the Duvet, Further Under the Duvet and Making It Up as I Go Along, are also available from Penguin. Marian lives in Dublin with her husband.

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Publication date: 28th July 2009

Publisher: Penguin Books

ISBN: Paperback 978-0-141-00747-2

also available in Ebook and Hardback

Pages: 304 pages

Genre: Collection of Journalism

Format reading: Paperback

Copy provided by: Giveaway prize

Blurb (as seen on the back cover)

Her novels are adored by millions around the world- now read Marian Keyes’s collected journalism and exclusive, previously unpublished material in Under The Duvet.

Bursting with her hilarious observations- on life, in-laws, weight loss and parties; her love of shoes and her LTF’s (Long-Term Friends); the horrors of estate agents and lost luggage; and how she once had an office Christmas party that involved roasting two sheep on a spit, Moroccan style- it’s the perfect bedtime companion, and will have you wincing with recognition or roaring with laughter.

My Review

Under The Duvet by Marian Keyes is a collection of her journalism, some which have been published and some which hasn’t. This is the first type of book I’ve read like this and I was more than intrigued when I read the blurb; knowing I was in for a treat of a read!

In her articles she share’s her experiences in a very comical way; some will have you cringing and laughing at the same time! Also there are some serious bit when Marian share’s her personal struggles with alcoholism and other trials she has faced.

Marian has shared bit about herself giving readers a glimpse of the author behind her books. It’s a book where you can read in which ever order you wish; which I did and it did feel a bit odd but was refreshing non the less. It’s something different than what I normally read but I did enjoy and was nice to read something that’s not my norm!

Marie’s Book Boutique give’s

Under The Duvet by Marian Keyes

4 Sparkly Stars

4 stars

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2020 Goodreads Challenge

January 5, 2020 mariesbookboutique6 Comments

goodreads challenge 2020

Hey Guy’s

Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all had a lovely time spending time with family and friends over the festive period!

As you may all know I’m partial to a reading challenge! I’ve taken part in the Goodreads Challenge now since 2014 and it would be a shame to brake my run of taking part now wouldn’t it?

Last year I targeted myself to read 79 books and I smashed it by reading 89 books! ( thats the most books I’ve ever read since I started my reading journey)

Here is what I did in previous Goodreads Challenge’s:

*2014 my target was 35 books and I read 45!

*2015 my target was 34 books and I read 31.

*2016 my target was 30 and I read 36!

*2017 my target was 50 and I read 68!

*2018 my target was 65 and I read 78

For 2020 I’ve set a target of 89 books to read; which is what I read last year and I would love to reach it!

So what do you think?… Will I complete my target? Are you also doing the Goodreads Reading Challenge? If so what’s your target? And do you think you can reach it? How have you done in previous years?

As always thanks so much for stopping by and please feel free to comment I love reading your thoughts!

Happy New Year guy’s!

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POPSUGAR Reading Challenge 2020

December 30, 2019 mariesbookboutiqueLeave a comment

popsugar reading challenge 2020

Hi Guy’s!

Well it’s that time of year again guy’s where we’re making reselutions (or not!) and taking up a challenge or two! So POPSUGAR have released 2020’s prompts, and yes you’ve guessed right I’m going to give this challenge another go; even though I’ve failed to complete it in previous years. (gotta love a trier!!!)But in all seriousness, I think as long as improve on the last year I’ll be happy!

Here are 2020’s reading prompts:

1.A book that’s published in 2020.

2.A book by trans or nonbinary author.

3.A book with a great first line.

4.A book about a book club.

5.A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics.

6.A bildungsroman.

7.The first book you touch on a shelf with your eye’s closed.

8.A book with an upside-down image on the cover.

9.A book with a map.

10.A book recommended by your favourite blog, vlog, podcast, or online book club.

11.An anthology.

12.A book that’s passes the Bechdel test.

13.A book with the same title as a movie or TV show but is unrelated.

14.A book by an author with Flora or Fauna in their name.

15.A book about or involving social media.

16.A book that has a book on the cover.

17.A medical thriller.

18.A book with a made-up language.

19.A book set in a country beginning with ‘C’.

20.A book you picked because the title caught your attention.

21.A book published the month of your birthday.

22.A book about or by a woman in STE.

23.A book that won an award in 2019.

24.A book on a subject you know nothing about.

25.A book with only words on the cover, no images or graphics.

26.A book with a pun in the title.

27.A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins.

28.A book with a robot, cyborg or AI character.

29.A book with a bird on the cover.

30.A fiction or non-fiction book about a world leader.

31.A book with ‘gold’, ‘silver’, or ‘bronze’ in the title.

32.A book by a WOC.

33.A book with at least a four star rating on Goodreads.

34.A book you meant to read in 2019.

35.A book with a three-word-title.

36.A book with a pink cover.

37.A western.

38.A book by or about a journalist.

39.Read a band book during Banned Books week.

40.Your favourite prompt from past POPSUGAR reading challenge.

And if you complete these then there’s and advanced section as follows:

Advanced

41.A book written by an author in their 20’s.

42.A book with ’20’ or ‘twenty’ in the title.

43.A book with a character with a vision impairment or enhancement ( a nod to 20/20 vision0.

44.A book set in Japan, host of the 2020 Olympics.

45.A book set in the 1920’s.

46.A book by an author who has written more than 20 books.

47.A book with more than 20 letters in the title.

48.A book published in the 20th century.

49.A book from a series with more than 20 books.

50.A book with a main character in their 20’s.

Well that’s all the prompts for the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge!

I can see a few I might struggle with, but I’m going to give it a good go and hope I complete this year! ( one can live in hope!!!!)

Are you taking part in 2020 POPSUGAR reading challenge? What are your thought’s on the prompts? How well do you think you will do?

As always thank you so much for stopping by and feel free to comment I love to hear your thoughts.

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Happy Holidays

December 22, 2019 mariesbookboutique4 Comments

christmas 2019

Hi guy’s,

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy holidays and to wish you all the best for the coming new year.

And to thank all the author’s, publicists, publishers and blog tour organisers for the amazing opportunity’s to read some awesome books this year! I also want to thank you guy’s for all the wonderful views, likes and generally the support you all give me and my blog because quite frankly it mean’s the world to me! Your awesome! Thank you!

I’m very much looking forward to 2020 to discover more wonderful author’s, books and blog’s of course! ( I hope you are too!!!!)

Once again happy holidays and I hope you all enjoy all it has to offer! And I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2020!!

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My POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Results

December 22, 2019 mariesbookboutique11 Comments

Hi guy’s

Well it’s nearly the end of the year and that mean’s a new challenge is on the horizon. (I can’t believe how quick this year has gone! Let’s see how I did this year shall we?!….

1.A book becoming a movie in 2019. – uncompleted

2.A book that makes you nostalgic.

Letters From Lighthouse Cottage by Ali McNamara

3.A book written by a musician (fiction or non-fiction)- uncompleted

4.A book you think should be turned into a movie.

Eve of Man by Giovanna and Tom Fletcher

5.A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads. -uncompleted

6.A book with a plant in the title or the cover.

Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square by Heidi Swain

7.A re-read of a favourite book.

Deep Heat by Chris Manby

8.A book about a hobby. -uncompleted

9.A book you meant to read in 2018.

Coming Home to Island House by Erica James

10.A book with ‘Pop’, ‘Sugar’, or ‘challenge’ in the title. -uncompleted

11.A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover.

I Love You Billy Langley by Monika Jephcott Thomas

12.A book inspired by mythology legend or folklore.

Love’s Labours by Simon Truckle

13.A book published posthumously. – uncompleted

14.A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie. -uncompleted

15.A retelling of a classic. -uncompleted

16.A book with a question in the title.

Will You Remember Me? by Amanda Prowse

17.A book set on a college or University campus.

All About the Hype by Paige Toon

18.A book about someone with a super power. -uncompleted

19.A book told from multiple character POV’s.

Guilt by Amanda Robson

20.A book set in space. -uncompleted

21.A book by two female authors.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Borrows

22.A book with a title that contains ‘salty’, ‘bitter’, or ‘spicy’. -uncompleted

23.A book set in Scandinavia. -uncompleted

24.A book that takes place in a single day. -uncompleted

25.A debut novel.

#Toots by Linh Le James

26.A book that’s published in 2019.

Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop by Rebecca Raisin

27.A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature. -uncompleted

28.A book recommended by a Celebrity you admire.

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman

29.A book with ‘love’ in the title.

How To Get A Love Life by Rosie Blake

30.A book featueing an amateur detective. -uncompleted

31.A book about a Family.

Betrayal by Martina Cole

32.A book written by an author from Asia, Africa, or South America.

The Great Ex-scape by Jo Watson

33.A book with a Zodiac sign or astrologhy term in the titile. -uncompleted

34.A bool that includes a wedding.

The Endless Beach by Jenny Colgan

35.A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter.

Last orders at the Star and Six pence by Holly Hepburn

36.A ghost story.

The Girl at the window by Rowan Coleman

37.A book with a two- word title.

Standing Water by Terri Armstrong

38.A novel based on a true story.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Cristie

39.A book revolving around a puzzle or game. -uncompleted

40.Your Favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR reading challenge. (2018) A book set in a Country that fasinates you.

My Map Of You by Isabelle Broom

Sadly I didn’t get them all so couldn’t get on to the advanced section of the challenge. Maybe next year hey!

So in total I’ve managed to compete 23 out of 40; which considering last year I got a measly 19. So I managed a few more this year. Hopfuly 2020 will be the year I finally complete a POPSUGAR reading challenge! (I live in hope!!!!!)

Did you guys take part in the POPSUGAR reading challenge this year? And did you manage to complete it?

Always feel free to comment I love to chat books!!!!

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Book Review On: Jennifer Brown Moving On by Angie Langley

December 15, 2019 mariesbookboutique2 Comments

jennifer brown moving on by angie langley

About the author (as seen in the book)

Author Angie Langley was born in Somerset and has lived in the South West of England all her life. Nowadays home is a 17th century thatched cottage on the banks of the River Avon in Wiltshire, a tiny piece of heaven and a true writer’s paradise. ‘Jennifer Brown Moving On is the second in a series of three books continuing the adventures of our heroine as she muddles her way through life’s up’s and down’s.

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Publication date: 4th June 2019

Publisher: Riverside Publishing Solutions

ISBN: Paperback 978-1-913012-10-6

Ebook 978-1-913012-11-3

Pages: 264 pages

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Format Reading: Paperback

Copy Provided By: Angie Langley

Blurb (as seen on the back cover)

She’s Back!

Five feet one and full of fizz, Jennifer Brown has learned to roll with the punches and adapt to whatever life throws at her.

It’s thrown plenty in the past and she’s had to use her steely core to reinvent herself, first as cook and housekeeper to a saucy sexagenarian, then as manager of a tumbled down country estate with sensitive secrets.

In Jennifer Brown Moving On, this Bridget Jones with knobs on is taking charge of her life again, showing the world she can move in the most exalted, high- power circles and lose not an ounce of her gutsy, down-to-earth charm.

Her hilarious cross-dressing confidant Will is on hand once again, with pearls of caustic wisdom, and her old boss Jonathan Dashwood-silk breezes in and out of her life, still dripping charisma but still needing our heroine to dig him out of the odd hole.

As she crosses continents and breaks bread with the world’s movers and shakers, Jennifer Brown finds her mind still troubled by thoughts of the quiet man with the warm eyes and the velvet vowels. Then the daydream is torpedoed when she’s invited to his wedding.

But you know Jennifer. She never gives up.

My Review

I would very much like to thank Angie Langley for her patients and kindness in waiting for me to post my review on her book. And also for asking me again to read and review her next book and very kindly sending me a singed paperback. Thank-you lovely Angie!!!

front cover for jennifer brown moving on

Another great cover it’s bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds in the background and the London scean of buses, black cabs on a busy street and Jennifer Brown at the front about to go about her day! Love it!

Jennifer Brown Moving On is the second instalment of a three book series. I read Jennifer Brown’s Journey , which I really enjoyed very much! So much so I’ve read it more than once. You can imagen my excitement to read Angie’s next book.

We catch up with Jennifer Brown again as she is about to embark on a new career in London city and traveling all over the world; selling expensive wine to the rich and famous. Needless to say things don’t always go to plan for poor Jennifer in love, life and work. But her shear guts and determination she carry’s on regardless and has her trusted cross-dressing mate Will is always on hand to listen and offer advice!!!! Her dishy old boss floats in and out of her life and the man she actually has feelings for is now out of reach. Will Jennifer ever settle down in love? Is Mr Right closer than she thinks? Can she get the flow of selling expensive wine? Dose she enjoy her now role and mixing with the rich and famous?

I have to say first off how hilarious and fun the second book is to read!! I had a blast as I kind of knew from reading the first book! Jennifer’s character is not just funny but she has depth and kindness that I can’t help but love as she goes about the next stage of her life. I love her general attitude to life and her steely determination! Angie’s writing is wonderful in every possible way… she has packed every ingredient that makes up a truly eventful book that keep’s you turning the pages just to see what happens next! One of my favourite parts in this book was when Jennifer’s friends Maranda talks her into go speed dating, I simply couldn’t stop giggling! I have very much enjoyed all the new characters and reconnecting with old one’s!

All in all I had a tremendous reading experience reading Jennifer brown Moving On! In my eye’s Angie Langley has done it again! Writing a book that I know I will enjoy reading again and again! I’m very much looking forward to reading the final book of Jennifer Brown’s story, although I will be sad it’s the last! I can’t recommend this fabulous read enough… it’s just fantastic!

Marie’s Book Boutique gives

Jennifer Brown Moving On by Angie Langley

A superb 5 sparkly stars

5stars

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Book Review On: Love’s Labours by Simon Truckle

December 8, 2019December 8, 2019 mariesbookboutique1 Comment

Love's Labours by simon truckle

About the author (as seen on Amazon)

simon truckle

I live and am based in the UK, in a lovely seaside town called Whitstable where I divide my time between eating oysters and writing. Currently the oysters are winning.

I write to make people laugh so if you enjoy a chuckle or two then I think you’ll like my books.

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Publication Date: 12th March 2019

Publisher: Simon Truckle

ISBN: Paperback 978-1527238879

Also available in eBook

Pages: 223 pages (eBook)

Genre: Humorous Fiction

Format Reading: eBook

Copy Provided by: Simon Truckle

Blurb (as seen on Amazon)

Your uncle has left you everything in his will. But he’s also given you a one-way ticket to Greece and told you to complete the Labours of Hercules. Tricky. Scott Poole – 24, broke and sadly single – is the last person you’d call a Hercules. But when his rich uncle packs him off to a Greek beach with a list of Labours to complete, Scott finds himself in the unlikely position of emulating a demi-god. A demi-god with a can of lager in one hand and a dented windsurf board in the other.As Scott and his best mate Oliver struggle to complete the modern-day Labours of Hercules the Gods don’t make things easy. They find themselves accidental owners of a beach bar, come up against German naturists, chippy Greek schoolkids and a grumpy donkey. What could possibly go wrong?

My Review

Before I go into my review I would just like to say a massive thank you to Simon Truckle for not just asking me to read and review Love’s Labours but for also sending me a review eBook and for his patients in waiting for my review.

book cover for loves labours by simon truckle

I really like this front cover its simple yet it has a fun feel to it from the blue sky to where the sea meets sky to the yellow sandy beach with a shack surfing boards and a random donkey!

This cover would defiantly have stood out to me if I was to go into a book shop!

It’s 1991 and Scott is newly single from the love of his life Abi. At the age of 24 Scott has no prospects or any dreams of the future and has become a bit of a disappointment to his parents. However he also suffers from anxiety which has stopped him from traveling and seeing the world. He did however strike up a great friendship with his uncle Ted who seems to get him. They have the same kind of comical humour and in character.

So when his uncle Ted passes away he is devastated. Scott’s father pulls him aside at the funeral and tells him he is to inherit all of his uncles assets only there’s a few stipulations. Ted wants Scott to travel to Volos in Grease and while he is there is to complete 7 of the 12 Labours of Hercules and to provide evidence of the Labours he completes. Then his uncle wants him in this time earn enough money to buy a sailing boat and sail back to the UK. Scott has two years in which to complete the task in order for him to get his inheritance. Ted has provided him with and airline ticket £200 in cash and a hand written note from him. Ted always had a fascination with Greek mythology and never got to see the country for himself so he wants Scott to do it so he doesn’t end up like him.

Scott doesn’t want to do it alone so asks his best friend Oliver to accompany him on his quest. Can Scott with the help from Oliver and a few friends they make complete his challenge? Will Scott finally grow up and realise what he want in his life? Will they ever earn enough money to buy a boat to get home in the two year time limit? How will they earn the money? Is there romance in the air for one of the boys? Can Scott get over Abi? Or does he realise that he wants her back?

Love’s Labours by Simon Truckle is a perfect summer read and had me in stiches! It has a really great and unique storyline that keeps you thoroughly entertained till the very last page. I loved learning a bit of Greek Mythology along the way that was really quite interesting. I found Scott to be really endearing and I like his comical character a lot! What a great book! Well worth a read guy’s!!!!!

Marie’s Book Boutique give’s

Love’s Labours by Simon Truckle

5 Sparkly Stars

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