Book Hop (2)

Welcome to any viewers who got here through the weekly Book Hop (a Book Party) organised by Jennifer (a BIG thank you!) @ Crazy for Books(http://www.crazy-for-books.com/) so that book bloggers can share their blog with other book lovers and also find a new blog to 'follow.' To get involved all you have to do is post your blog link ( to a post telling a bit about yourself and how/why you started blogging.) It was great fun on my first week!

My answer:

My name is Stephanie and I started book blogging because I wanted to keep track of what I read in a more exciting way than reviews written in a notepad and came across blogging when searching for a book review on the Internet. Although I started about a couple of months ago, I only started posting properly in the last week or two. So far, I've loved posting, netwroking with all the other book bloggers from the Book Hop and playing around with my new background! I think that it's never too young to start blogging as I hope that my blog shows as I'm only just into my teens.

I hope you enjoy and have fun reading my posts as they were a lot of fun to write! Feel free to post a link for your blog in a comment to and I'll be very happy to take a look  :)

Happy reading!

Summer and Beyond Reading List

Check out my reading list under the page heading 'Reading List' - you might find a book that take your fancy!

Thanks!

Book Review: An Avon True Romance; Anna and the Duke by Kathryn Smith

Publisher summary/blurb:

Anna- At the very least, anyone in Anna Welsley's position would be satisfied. Anna is to inherit a fortune, and after a glittering London Season, is now engaged to a duke's son. Anna herself does not understand the vague feeling of dissatisfaction. While her mother industriously plans Anna's wedding, Anna herself reads poetry and wonders if what she's in is love or just an arrangement.

The Duke- As the estranged Scottish son of an English Duke who has just died, Ewan McLaughlin is the reluctant heir to his father's title. Arriving in London, he must face is father's widow, half sister and half brother, Richard, who was fully expecting to become the Duke himself. While acquainting himself with his new found relations, Ewan finds himself more and more often in the company of Richard's fiancee, the beautiful Anna.

When it becomes clear that Richard is conspiring against Ewan, Anna is compelled that Richard is conspiring against Ewan, Anna is compelled to warn Ewan. But what beings in innocence soon becomes betrayal as Anna finds the answer to the question in her heart- in Ewan.

My thoughts:

This historical teen,ya romance starts off when Ewan McLaughlin, who has lived with his Grandmother all his life in a small Scottish village where his family's Castle lies falling into dilapidation receives a letter to say that he must go to London at once because his father (who he has never had contact since baby and early toddler hood) has died and has left him the title of Duke. Angry and wondering why his father left the title to him, Ewan is reluctant to go to London but goes to meet his Father's new family who have been left behind. There are many challenges along the way such as the hostility of his half brother Richard towards him and the new ways of London society but when Ewan meets Anna Welsley and unsuspectingly falls in love with her, that just anger's his brother more as she is her fiancee. The story follows what happens to all the character's relationships between eachother and the obstacles that they have to overcome to follow their hearts.

I have heard from other people that this plot has been done several times before but this didn't spoil my enjoyment as I had never read a book like that before, but even if that is the case for the reader, I think the well developed and unique characters make up for this as I really cared about what happened to them.
I *loved* the romance between Anna and Ewan, it was so cute and just what I was looking for- a clean teen romance as many of the adult historicals are unsuitable. Anna's shy but bubbly occasionally, kind personality and the things that she did reminded me a bit of myself and Ewan was a great hero, tall and handsome but with flaws too so that he seemed human.  You get to know both Ewan and Anna well by the end of the book as each chapter, although written in the third person, follows what happens to either Anna or Ewan. Right from the beginning I thought they would be great together, especially with their love of books and poetry.
However, this book doesn't just focus on love as there is an element of adventure and mystery to it that adds an extra dimension to the book and makes you desperate to find out what happens at the end as it is quite unpredictable.

I would recommend this to anyone who wants a light hearted book with an adorable romance set in the past that keeps your heart fluttering and makes you sigh! If you have never tried reading a historical romance before but enjoy modern day romances, this would be a great innocent read to start with.

If you like the sound of this book, why not add it to your summer reading list?

New Background

After experimenting with backgrounds, I have decided on the current one with the cute fresh green feel and pink flowers. It was designed by Blogaholic Designs (click on link) who have some lovely free templates, backgrounds and buttons on their website. You can see some of the buttons in the sidebar (e.g Welcome to my Blog, Comments Brighten My Day) and I think they really personalise your blog- I love them!

I also had a go at designing my own 'Follow Me' button using Picnik (free online photo editing software) which was great fun and ensures your button is unique. I reccommend any other bloggers have a go ! :)

Book review: Wildthorn by Jane Eagland

Publisher description:

Wildthorn Hall, where cruelty and madness meet...

Seventeen-year-old Louisa Cosgrove longs to break free from her respectable life as a Victorian doctor's daughter. But her dreams become a nightmare when Louisa is sent to Wildthorn Hall: labelled a lunatic, deprived of her liberty and even her real name. As she unravels the betrayals that led to her incarceration, she realizes there are many kinds of prison. She must be honest with herself - and others - in order to be set free. And love may be the key . . .

I was first drawn to this book by the striking but pretty cover when searching on Amazon and when I found out that it was set in the Victorian times (my favourite historical period), I couldn't wait to read it. I wasn't disappointed and was soon gripped by the story of Louisa as she is unsuspectingly locked away in a mental asylum. Here is my summary:
Now re- named Lucy Childs in the mad-house, Louisa must do everything she can to keep her wits about her throughout the terrifying pain of having everything from her previous life stripped from her. With  seemingly no one and nothing in her life, she must solve the mystery of who had her locked up and try to free herself. However, she soon learns that she must also free her mind to discover her true self and keep hold of her dream career even when prejudiced Victorian society has everything against her.

This book is definitely a page turner with lots of suspense that will keep you reading into the night. As the book is written in the first person, you really feel the horrendous ordeals that Louisa went through and the injustice that she felt. This is helped by the detailed and clear description of what life was like in a Victorian mental asylum and also other issues in the book such as  mental health problems, unconventional love and equality for woman. Jane Eagland's accessible flowing writing style that lets the character's emotions shine through makes these issues in the book still relevant in today's world but also keeping the Victorian atmosphere.

I look forward to Jane Eagland's next novel!

I would recommend this debut novel to all lovers of the YA and historical fiction genres for a emotional and thought provoking read.

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along and have fun! Just do the following:



• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The book I am going to post my teaser from this week is Emma by Jane Austen, which I suspect that many book lovers have read. It might even inspire you to revisit a cherished Austen novel!

pg 9:


'Emma never thinks of herself, if she can do good to others;' rejoined Mr Woodhouse, understanding but in part. 'But, my dear, pray do not make any more matches, they are silly things and break up one's family circle grieviously.'