Learn To Draw Disney Winnie The Pooh

Any Disney Winnie fan will enjoy getting to draw their Disney favourites as this book has clear concise diagrams to follow to be able to draw the characters successfully and get any age involved too simply brilliany easy to follow for all ages!

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Lavender For All Seasons by Paola Legarre

This was such an interesting read as someone who visited the Hunstanton Lavender farm and has some lavender plants in my garden too, I was really happy to read this book and hear about how someone's family has history of growing and nurturing the plant through generations. Learning the history and uses of the plants over the years was really interesting with surprising depth and detail about the plants, with beautiful photo's showing the plants in all their colour glory and detail it was a beautiful book in layout and design the passion the author has for the plants clear to see.

A Long Awaited Catch-up!

Hello everyone still here on my old book blog! Long time no reviews, right?! What a strange few years it's been when COVID hit I had to isolate, we tragically lost my uncle and nearly my cousin and her husband too, my dad then broke his foot and after that spent three years unable to walk awaiting hip replacement surgery, we lost little Splodgie our bunny just after he turned eight very suddenly and I won't lie to you I was very low, depression I struggled with as a teen came back and I also dipped back into old negative self harming habits. It has been a rough few years and very mentally draining, the pleasure of reading slipped away as I tried hard to regain my sense of self and move on with what felt like jigsaw pieces left from my old life pre-covid to reassemble into a new life. So what has changed post COVID? Well, for me the biggets change is this year, 2024, in January I got my learners driving license and passed my theory test in the first two weekxs of the year which at 27 nearly 28 and being years on from my last exam experience at GCSE's I am immensly proud of myself for going through and not only getting through the test and passing first time trying it. I got through the shaking, crippling anxiety and passed with 50/50 on the questions! I have always been my own harshest critic and still seems incredible how far I've come deciding to go on the journey to driving despite my health wobbles I'm doing it, I have a beautiful little white Fiat Panda and am awaiting a practical test date to come now. As for reading and blogging now I am doing better and feeling brighter, I am coming back, intermittently but I am here, Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/28656604-eve-beinguniquebeingme Also on Instagram too @beinguniquebewingmeeve feel free to message, comment etc Also to you still here, thank you!

Wigglesbottom Primary The Toilet Ghost by Pamela Butchart

 In this funny book about a primary school class, they discover a toilet ghost making the boys unable to use their toilet at school resulting in a funny if not obvious outcome.

The second part of the story focusses on a show and tell of tricks
which wasn't funny for the teachers but was obvious to us readers what was happening!

Finally the third story focusses on a mysteriously itchy carpet with a not obvious at first cause that'll make you itch upon reading too!

This was a funny little quick read I flew through in ten minutes Pamela is a fabulous author to have discovered for writing funny books and I highly recommend you check out her books!

Gemma's Not Sure by Gil Stewart

Gemma is facing tough decisions, go and play piano professionally as a performer despite her shyness, or persue a different career altogether despite her work playing.

Jamie has tough decisions to make too, after finding uni more of a chore only enjoying rhe social aspects and his refereeing.

However as the two get friendlier, they discover they have more in common than they thought, as they start a bad, Gemma helps a piano student she takes on called Rosie to have a better time at school and of course Jamie is Lily's ex, her best friend.

There's plenty of drama but this book is utterly relatable for the issues it raises throughout from tough life work choices and following your heart and your true passion. I loved that Jamie and Gemma came together in a very quick yet natural way and feel like this book was even better than Lily's story! I truly can't wait for more from Gil about these characters lives!

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

The Last Charm by Ella Allbright

Jake moves into Layla's house after she and her dad have been abandoned by her mum and stay instead with her granddad a couple doors away.

As Jake suffers at the hands of his dad and his mum can't fight back, he gets to know Layla and her granddad becomes his role model and a much better and loving father figure.

He sends Layla charms each special time something happens only a misunderstanding means she always thinks they're from her mum who left her behind.

As the years to on, Jake and Layla stay in touch and are friends of sorts however it takes a long time for Layla to realise just what she wants in a guy after a string of bad relationships and a heartbreaking situation too.

My word this book broke me, it was a stunning story and the twists and turns especially towards the end took my breath away in a good way it was such a fantastic read showing how relationships change over time and raising awareness of serious issues so trigger warning of you are sensitive to the subjects of miscarriage and domestic abuse.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

The Secret Seaside Escape by Heidi Swain

Tess goes away to the Norfolk coast where she has good memories of her mum after making a shocking discovery at home about her parents.

Leaving her father's business in the lurch and switching off her phone she sets about helping the lovely locals, Sam, Hope and there she meets brother's Joe and Charlie.

However as she grows closer to them she finds out a huge life changing secret and her workaholic dad surprises her beyond belief...

The ending was phenomenal, a huge unexpected plot twist which made me gasp I was shocked and hooked on reading on about her family what a twist! A perfect read to distract through current times I was immersed in this wonderful world and the characters lives.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Make In A Day: Modern Wreaths by Victoria Hudgins

Filled with colourful wreaths designed for an array of ages and abilities, wreath making is made fun!

Made with everyday items from shops such as straws, embroidery threads and craft polystyrene balls as well as simply coloured card, these wreaths are an everyday twist on a usually Christmas only decoration.

The wreaths may look complicated but the guide is clear and they really aren't as hard to make as they look on first glance, many folding techniques and threading helps to achieve their look.

Set with an easy to follow and read layout, you can make these alone or aided by someone else and can enjoy making something fun together!

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

A Shape Of My Own by Grace Bowman

In this book we meet Grace the author as she takes us through her past to present story of her life with anorexia and all the stages she went through with it.

From losing boyfriends and friends to losing control over her life as good became the main focus of her life and things like socialising and enjoying university became mixed up with varying emotions over her battle with food. We see what a toll or took on her parents as they watched her lose weight and regained too as well as when she finally managed to get to university and break free into the world on her own with a proper graduation job and finding her new love.

Grace's story is one that is honest and raw with all emotions splayed out page by page in her effectively captivating writing. It was a truly brutal battle and a hard one Grace pushed to try and overcome but I was truly blown away by her account of becoming herself again after losing her way.

Carols And Crushes by Natalie Blitt

In this book we follow, Charlie who's passionate about singing and making the school concert the best it can be especially as she dreams of getting the solo and performing amazingly.

Only when her teacher leaves to have her baby the concert is thrown into jeopardy and as her group consists of her best friend, her crush, Eric and the popular guy, Matthew she doubts whether they'll be good enough or even get along well together to perform to a great standard not to mention how will she cope with her feelings towards the boys!

I really enjoyed the way the characters were thrust together and made to make do which obviously made great twists happen along the way. However Charlie was a great character whose judgement gets shattered and altered for the better by the end of the book she's definitely a better person. A sweet holiday read, curl up with a hot chocolate, blanket and prepare to fall in to a great musical adventure!

Just Don't Mention It By Estelle Maskame

This book is told from Tyler's perspective from his past self at the time of the first book.

Told between the past, five years ago and present day, we learn of how Tyler was treated by his abusive father in graphic accounts and how it caused Tyler's behaviour to change from happy to angry as well as his memories about his father, we see how he met Tiffani and Dean and him attending games together to watch and how well his father and him managed to hide everything as their family let alone anyone else never spotted the signs even when Tyler's wrist got broken three times in a year due to his aggressive father and him blame himself for his father's horrific actions.

Dean and Tyler are the first best friends then Jake joins them late on and so does Tiffani as the new girl at their school before she was 'queen' of the school.

Partying, kissing girls and him and Tiffani using each other for sex really shows the extent of their relationship as they clash and Tiffani is super high maintenance and crazy with manipulating Tyler and using his secrets to blackmail him to stay with her despite his stronger feelings for Eden which are true and not just out to use her like he does Tiffani.

The pull for him toward Eden shows just how much their attraction worked both ways as he can't ignore his true feelings he never had for Tiffani ever and finds himself wanting to be better to be with Eden.

This was a good book and addition to the series rehashing the first book from Eden's perspective into Tyler's as we see his feelings and hurt he suffered through in his childhood and how it stayed with him affecting him to now. It raises the subject of violence and domestic abuse happening to boys too and not just girls. Tyler was a brave young character and so was his brother for eventually discovering it and helping him, there's always a way to stop abuse.

This book might just be the most powerful one of the whole DIMILY series yet!

Bookshop Girl Book 2: Life's A Beach by Chloe Coles

We catch up with best friends Paige and Holly as they embark on an adventure out of their boring town and head for Skegton On Sea and a book festival full of surprises awaits them once they arrive.

From a hot boy knocking Paige off her feet, an erotic fiction writing elderly lady and discovering that working a book festival isn't as easy as it many actually sound!

It was an hilarious read and kept me so entertained as we see how the book festival really tried Paige's patience as authors aren't how she expects and things go crazy wrong. I can't wait for more adventures with Paige and Holly in the future, especially as things are going well romance wise for the pair!

Christmas On The Little Cornish Isles The Driftwood Inn by Phillipa Ashley

Maisie has just returned home to her parents where she finds Australian Patrick in need of a job and her family's business having a lucky vacancy for this charming man who just may provide Maisie with some of the happiness she's dreamed of for years...

Yet, she has smarmy Hugo to contend with as well as her best friend losing a pregnancy and her father collapsing suddenly there's no shortage of down's this Christmas so far so hopefully when Patrick finally realises how he feels and acts on it, him surprising her at a bad time helps her to see not everything is a tragedy this Christmas time after all.

It was a really great book, the characters have heart and deeply care about each other. It was a heartwarming read and very realistic to me as we always have bad stuff happen too at Christmas unfortunately but it made me love this book more knowing we aren't alone there! It was a great book and I recommend you to read this one, it may not be festive season yet but Cornwall is great all year round!

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

A Perfect Cornish Summer by Phillipa Ashley

Sam loves her costal home town and has done all the years living and get owing up there until her mum passed and Gabe her boyfriend at the time gave her brother in to the police. She had at to bring up her sister without their brother and still misses him.

Chloe is Sam's festival committee friend, mixed race and hiding a secret about not only her big age coming up but the fact she actually has a family but can she find her happy ever after in Porthmellow? As well as help her daughter be happy and reunited with her again as well as possibly meet her granddaughter too?

Gabe arrives from London now a famous chef to step in and help out at their food festival after their headline act is unable to fulfil his duties and so tensions rise between him and Sam as Chloe didn't know their history before asking him down to help out queue rising tensions, pulses and growing sparks flying!

As we read, we see from the characters split perspectives and what they have to face in the story. With drama in every chapter both personal and festival kinds the tensions between characters build up and mount until a dramatic turn of events in the last  third of the book. The setting was a Cornish dream and the festival meticulously planned and hard work well done just like in their lives they work hard to later play hard as they do eventually have a positive celebration alike I hope Phillipa will done for creating another cracking chick lit!

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

When Good Geeks Go Bad by Catherine Wilkins

When Ella gets bullies at school by Olivia she is used to putting up with it until one day she decides being good gets you nowhere but being bad will perhaps get her noticed more!

The Butts are a group known who cause trouble and also get into detention all the time and through them Ella becomes a friend to them leaving best friend Jas out a bit.

After her mum moved out she hasn't bothered with her much and so subconsciously she starts acting out wanting her parents to notice her and pay her attention and love she feels lacking and so she begins behaving badly to get attention from her parents.

This was a great book and a bit like the humour and tone of the Geek Girl series by Holly Smale. Ella is a girl people can relate to for an array of reasons from the ones mentioned above. It was a realistic telling of life as a teenager in the modern world especially when you forget your phone!

The Cottage On Sunshine Beach by Holly Martin

Melody and Jamie are friends and also have young puppies whom are brothers they walk together. Melody has had a lot to deal with age losing her brother and so moving to by the sea so she can be closer to her sister and nephew. Tori her best friend also moved from London and now works on Jamie's brother's fruit farm. Melody is a jewellery designer and also hopes for her mother's approval after years of never getting it or any praise for her achievements.

Jamie's friend Klaus a fellow sand sculptor, helps him realise how he feels about Melody after she asks him round for dinner.

Melody and Jamie embark on a friendship just dating situation and winds up in a few hilarious situations and many emotional times happen too and some super sweet romantic times as the couple come to realise what they truly feel for each other.

The book was so good just like Holly Martin's other great books this one made the areas sound so picturesque with the names of the areas. I loved the puppies in the book being named after film characters and Agatha an older lady who knows all the best spots for a bit of outdoor fun, if you get my drift! Holly will make you laugh, cry and smile like crazy with every book she writes without fail!

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Summer At 23 The Strand by Linda Mitchelmore

Serena Ross aka Martha, escapes to number 23 after cutting her ties with her acting career and nearly causing a marriage split during said career she flees back to the UK in order to rethink on where life should be leading her next. After dying her hair and using contacts, she's sure she's unrecognizable.

She finds number 23 homely and falls in love with it its also near number 20 where Hugh, a nature photographer is staying with an injured leg.

She later leaves a gift and message to the next visitors.

Cally arrives with her husband and two young sons where she gets a break from worrying about a lump she has found on her breast. She finds the gift and decides to also leave a gift to the next guest after finding the necklace Martha left behind signed her real name.

Arthur arrives and strikes up a bond with Hannah a new widow and her young son whom need a break. Arthur never had children and lost his wife years previous. They all find comfort in each other.

There's also Ana, looking for work and a new life, Stella a stay at home mum to three kids and more in this book which depicts a trail of visitors and the gifts they leave in the chain of visitors that stay at number 23.

I really loved this book as it reminded me of Cressida McLaughlin's Blue Moon Guest House series which I loved too! This book showed how a break and escaping the normal day to day life can help gain perspective on situations and events we're dealing with in our lives. Each story was touching and hit quite serious topics during the whole novel showing the array of issues people find themselves dealing with.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

The House Of Birds And Butterflies: Part 4: Birds Of A Feather by Cressida McLaughlin

After the author drama between Jack and Eddie happened, Abby finds herself planning a Summer Spectacular whilst trying to distract herself from the fact that Jack has gone to London to launch his book and also clear the air to the public about what happened between him and Eddie a fellow author.

We see how Penelope at last makes progress and moves on to sell the old house she loved dearly and a shocking secret come to light as well as the Summer Spectacular making Abby feel it too after an amazing growth in memberships and donations comes in, maybe she can be happy despite Jack being away, at least, for now?

It was full of drama and love finally blooming as the story comes together concluding the past parts, I enjoyed the whole book as it really kept me entertained and I found myself enjoying the nature aspect of the book so much as we don't read often about the forest and getting out there with nature.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Summer Under The Stars by Catherine Ferguson

Thirty two year old Daisy has just lost her mum eleven days before her birthday musical treat was going to happen when we meet our main character.

Disappointment is evident in the beginning of the novel but also hope, she was adopted and so out there is her birth mum she would love to know about.

An aspiring writer too, her mum encouraged her and so she enters a competition in a magazine only her boyfriend Tom is always busy with work and hardly gives her attention even on his birthday glamping trip she takes him on for his thirtieth. He makes it evident he'd prefer something upmarket and high class.

Only it's in the same village she was originally adopted from and with old friend Clemmie's help they might make a discovery...

It's set to be a memorable holiday with the arguing couple in the tent next door, a handsome writer called Jake she meets in the woods and a posh hotel her boyfriend approves of over the tent just metres away, ran by a nice lady called Sylvia...

A fun read for under the sun or stars, I love the way Jake and Daisy met it was normal but funny as the story goes on I also enjoyed how Tom got the push as it was very deserving and Daisy was such a strong independent character for the choices she had to face in the novel. I also liked how we were kept guessing whom her birth mum was as it was never made obvious and came as a great shock, the best way a story can be!

Many thanks to publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Love Is Love by Mette Bach

Emmy is dating Ty, a guy her friends Tiana and Michelle along with her mum and subsequently her stepfather, don't approve of because of him being bad news. Emmy can't take their criticism anymore and decides to stay with her aunt, cousin and uncle, back in Vancouver where her dad was previously before he passed away.

Whilst out there, she unexpectedly finds herself falling for Jude a transgender man whom she met briefly years before by her cousin Paige when he was still Judy.

The two's relationship develops through shared interests of creative subjects from music to poetry and acceptance of each other showing they are creative and open minded individuals.

Through the book we see Emmy struggle and compares herself to Paige and other women around Jude, feeling inadequate because of being the bigger girl and comfort eating away her emotions instead of helping herself feel better in other ways as she learns to bike around as she can't drive around for example and use that as a stress reliever.

Emmy also had a complicated background with her dad and her uncle gives her old notebooks of his along with telling her about his love of Kurt Cobain of Nirvana hinting that maybe her dad's drinking was to do with depression possibly.

The book dealt with complex issues surrounding Emmy and her friend's lives. It was a great read and appreciative of all people and a celebration of acceptance.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!