Review: The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay by Nicola May

Genre: woman’s fiction, romance
Pages: 403 pages
Format: E-Book, paperback
Publisher: Nowell Publishing
(I have received a free copy of this book)

Rosa Larkin is down on her luck in London, so when she inherits a near-derelict corner shop in a quaint Devon village, her first thought is to sell it for cash and sort out her life. But nothing is straightforward about this legacy. While the identity of her benefactor remains a mystery, he – or she – has left one important legal proviso: that the shop cannot be sold, only passed on to somebody who really deserves it.

Rosa makes up her mind to give it a go: to put everything she has into getting the shop up and running again in the small seaside community of Cockleberry Bay. But can she do it all on her own? And if not, who will help her succeed – and who among the following will work secretly to see her fail?

There is a handsome rugby player, a sexy plumber, a charlatan reporter and a selection of meddling locals. Add in a hit and run incident and the disappearance of a valuable engraved necklace – and what you get is a journey of self-discovery and unpredictable events.

With surprising and heartfelt results, Rosa, accompanied at all times by her little sausage dog Hot, will slowly unravel the shadowy secrets of the inheritance, and also bring her own, long-hidden heritage into the light.

~Review~

When I said yes to reviewing this book, I didn’t thought that this book will be like this. Our main character, Rosa, isn’t your usual heroine; the one who has a completely supportive family and friends. In fact, her upbrining wasn’t in the family at all. She is unable to feel happy and doesn’t let herself be loved. What I loved about her a lot is that she won’t let anyone look down on her, she will fight for herself.

Her whole life turns around when one day she gets contacted that she has inherited a shop at the place she’s never even heard of. The timing was perfect; she was just fired from another job. She goes down to the village with he sausage dog named Hot. Slowly, she starts clearing up both the shop and the flat above it so that she has a place to stay instead of paying a room.

She starts settling down slowly but few things happen along the way and we get to see how the village is “working”. We see how close people are and that they would do everything for each other. She falls in love but finds out that she was having a false hopes. Even if she thought that the village will be nothing but quiet and sleepy place, it is nothing like that.

The book is no way boring. It has enough mysteries to keep you going and enough romance for you to enjoy. This book is really worth reading in my opinion. Romance is my favorite genre to read and this book is one of the gem pieces in this genre.

Rating: 4,5 out of 5*

With love,

Ana

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April To-Be-Read

Hi everyone!

I’m here with a post of the books that I would love to read in the month of April. I hope that I will be able to read all of those or at least the half of them.

• Autoboyography by Christina Lauren
• Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
• The signature of all things by Elizabeth Gilbert
• One summer in Rome by Samantha Tonge
• The things we need to say by Rachel Burton

I hope that I will be able to read all of those specially because ‘Heir of Fire’ and ‘The signature of all things’ are both over 400 pages long and I will be travelling home at the end of the month. I will keep my fingers crossed to finish all of this.

What do you plan to read in the month of April? I would love to hear all about your TBR list for this month.

With love,

Ana

March Wrap up

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all doing good. I’m here with one more Monthly wrap up, this time for the month of March aka my birthday month. I feel like that this month I haven’t been reading that much. 😦 I was sick for a week this month and seriously I feel like this month just flew by. But let’s list down books that I’ve read.

• The Summer Seaside Kitchen by Jenny Colgan –> Jenny is one of my favorite, if not my favorite, romance author. I love all her books, seriously. There hasn’t been a book that I’ve read from her and didn’t like. I have fell in love with the small Scottish village (and I was sad that it doesn’t exist in real life). I loved how everyone is just so close to each other in that village and I know what it means when everyone knows every little thing about you. My grandma comes from an island where everyone knows every single thing about you. I loved that one of the characters was gay and that he wasn’t portrayed as those gay guys you see in women fiction. 4,5*
• Modern Guide to Witchcraft by Skye Alexander –> This one is more spiritual book, if I can call it spiritual. I am into Witchcraft so it was more a book to learn from than an easy read. I loved it since it was really nicely laid out and easy to understand and not boring for sure. I will be buying more books like this, for sure. 4*
• Discovering Kwan Yin by Sandy Boucher –> Another one for spirituality since I feel connection to Kwan Yin. I wanted to read and “learn” more about Kwan Yin. It was interesting book and I see myself re-reading this one for sure. 4,5*
• Du willst es doch auch by Aya Sakyo –> Manga written in German; yaoi manga to be specific. Bought it on a whim since I wanted to read more mangas again. I liked it but it wasn’t mind blowing to be honest. I want to read more mangas so I would love to have some recommendations. There are some that I am keeping an eye on but am lazy to buy. >.< So, overall, rating for this one is: 3*
• The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay by Nicola May –> The review for this one is coming up in April so keep your eyes out for that one. One thing I can say: I really really liked it!!! 4,5*

This was my wrap up! Let me know what great books you’ve read in March. I will be uploading my April TBR soon.

With love,

Ana

90s Kids book tag

Hello everyone!

Happy Valentine’s day first of all! I hope you will have an amazing day, even if you don’t have special someone.

Today, I’ll be doing the 90s kids book tag today that I found over on Dora’s blog. It sounded so interesting and I’m 90s kid so why not do it?!

THE RULES

1. Please, please, please steal this tag and spread it around!  I only ask that you link it back to The Literary Phoenix so that I can see everyone’s answers!
2. Freeze tag was all the rage in the 90s.  Tag someone (or many) you think would have fun with this!
3. Have fun!

POKEMON:

A GBA game and trading card game where you battled pocket monsters and strived to catch them all.  Back in the day, there were only 150 Pokemon.

The author you need every book from.

• I would say that it is Jenny Colgan.

AIM

AOL Instant Messaging – how 90s kids communicated with their friends after school before everyone had a cell phone.

Book that connected you with your best friend.

• Ugh, my best friend isn’t really a reader but my other one.. I would say it was Captive Prince. She read it cause I talked too much about it. But aside the best friend, the book that connected me more to Dora was Six of crows.

FURBY

Creepy needy robots you could teach to talk and were probably demon possessed.  Somehow these made a comeback?

Book that seemed like a good idea but was actually a monster.

• I’m not really sure of it. The passage by Justin Cronin?

N’SYNC

90s quintessential boy band. You may have heard of Justin Timberlake?

A book you hated to say Bye, Bye, Bye to.

• Kings Rising by C.S.Pacat. I want more of the Captive Prince books

SLIMED!

Getting green slime thrown on you, courtesy of the show Figure it Out.  Also apparently still a thing at the Kid’s Choice Awards?

A book everyone loved but you hated.

• Will Grayson, Will Grayson. I don’t know what was amazing about that book but it didn’t really amaze me personally

OREGON TRAIL

90s computer game you could usually play at school, which was great.  It taught us people used to die a lot of gruesome, messy deaths.

A book that made you wish you died of dysentery.

• Antigona by Sofoklo. I had to read it in school and, gosh, I couldn’t even swallow it down. 

MIXTAPE/CD

Back before everyone had music on their phones (remember, we didn’t have cell phones!) folks would rip their CDs and make mixes for each other.

3 books you recommend to anyone, anywhere, no matter what.

1. Captive Prince 
2. The plot
3. Discovery of witches

DIAL-UP INTERNET

You know how it’s annoying when you aren’t on LTE?  IMAGING WAITING 10 MINUTES FOR INTERNET TO START AND ANOTHER 20 MINUTES FOR GOOGLE TO LOAD!

A book that took FOR FREAKING EVER to read.

• Uhm, I think it would be “U registraturi” by Ante Kovačić (croatian writer). Had to read it for school and it was so long and so gosh..

KENAN THOMPSON

He’s that guy who’s been on SNL forever.  Also Mighty Ducks.  Good Burger.  Keenan and Kel.  All That.  Everything.

That book that you see referenced everywhere and is in everything, but that’s okay because it’s awesome.

• I would say Harry Potter but I love it. I’m a huge fan of HP and a Potterhead, proud Ravenclaw so I enjoy it.

THUMBS UP, SEVEN UP

A game where most the class closed their eyes and seven people tapped someone’s thumb and you had to guess who did it without peeking.

Book where you peeked just REAL quick at the ending because you don’t like guessing games.

• I can’t remember the book where I’ve read that. I have been tempted to do that but I know that it will just ruin the whole book so I don’t do it. I like getting to know the ending myself

DUNKAROOS

These were basically just Teddy Grahams dipped in frosting, which is still a wonderful snack idea.

Your ideal bookish snack.

• Omg, I don’t eat while reading. I would probably just ruin my book by eating. I like to drink tea or just water, but eating is a big no.

SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK

Collections of short stories that would scare any sensible kid!  Plus, there were illustrations…

A book that kept you up all night.

• I don’t read horrors so I don’t stay up for that. I only once stayed up reading.

BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY

Basically the coolest thing you got to do in science class was watch Bill Nye.  He has a Netflix show again!

A book that taught you something new.

• Yoga Girl by Rachel Brathen > sort of a biography of a woman who, as a teenager, fell into a pit of drugs and alcohol but found her way out through yoga. She is really inspiring person anyway and I’m following her on instagram. Maybe one day I will be able to travel to Aruba and do her yoga class.

This tag is open for everyone who wants to do it!

With love,

Ana

Review: Body Positive Power by Megan Jayne Crabbe

Title: Body Positive Power
Author: Megan Jayne Crabbe aka bodypositivepanda
Genre: non-fiction, self-help
Pages: 288
Publisher: Vermilion

We’ve been convinced that happiness is something that only comes once we hit that goal weight, get those washboard abs, shrink ourselves down and change every part of ourselves. We believe that our bodies are the problem, but the truth is that our bodies are not the problem. How we’ve been taught to see them is the problem… it’s time for us all to stop believing the lies, and take our power back.

Megan’s body image issues began when she was five years old. She spent her childhood chasing thinness, and at fourteen found herself spiralling into anorexia. After recovery she spent years dieting, binging, losing and gaining weight. Then she found body positivity, quit dieting, and finally escaped the cult of thin. Now she’s determined to let as many people as possible know the truth: that we are all good enough as we are. If you’re tired of being at war with your body, then this book is for you.

With her inimitable flair, whip-smart wit and kickass attitude, Megan argues for a new way of seeing ourselves, and a world where every body is celebrated. Where there is no such thing as a ‘bikini body diet’ and 97% of women don’t hate the way they look. 

A powerful call to arms as much as it is inspirational and practical, this book is the life-changing answer you’ve been looking for.

Review:

This book is the first one I’ve read on body positivity and self love and I’m glad it is. It is a huge eye opener to the number 1 problem in the world. The one that mostly hits girls but the boys as well. The dieting problem! The I-Need-To-Lose-Weight problem!

Everything that you have believed about diets and everything that you thought you knew about dieting will probably fall in water. And by dieting, I mean the diets where you restrict yourself of the food(s). Did you know that the girls at the age of 8 start dieting and losing weight? Just because they are constantly bombarded with photos of the thin and photo-shopped bodies, bodies got only with working out and having an addiction to it, bodies that only 5% of people own.

Remember how often you have seen some ad where the person wasn’t thin and was perfect in any way possible. Not really that often, right?! It is not only weight but the hair, nails, eyes, skin.. Everything is attacking us and, yet, we asks ourselves why majority of people have body image issues. How often have you heard from your family members that you need to lose weight? As if your weight is the most important thing in the world and nothing else matters. I know that I’ve heard it more than enough to have body image issues with 25 years and that it is hard to get rid of them. Let’s also start from ourselves; how often have you acknowledged someone losing weight and how they look like before we acknowledged something else?

Do you really know what’s, or better said who’s, behind all those dieting programs? The multi billionaire companies ready to get your money from diet programs, pills, teas and so on.

Throughout the books, you will find the stats that support something that is written; which I find amazing. Also, all those Belly love tips! I loved those a lot because we are often attacking our belly as if it has done everything wrong in our life. Instead showing it love and care. Instead showing our whole body love and care that it deserves.

So, may 2018 be the year where you will fall in love with yourself. And read this book, find Megan on youtube and other social media (bodyposipanda on Instagram).

Rating: 5* out of 5

With love,

Ana

January Wrap up

Hello everyone!

This is my first wrap up of this year and I hope that I will be doing this at the end of every month. I might add a TBR for the next month but for now let’s leave it at just a Wrap up. This month I’ve read 7 books in total, 2 of those were comics.

So, here is the list:

1. The muse by Jessie Burton (4*)
   

Read this one in my mother language, Croatian, in 3 days. I liked it a lot! It was historical fiction and I have never read any before. It was nicely paced and kept my focus on it, that’s why 4 stars. It wasn’t perfect and it didn’t made me feel the things that my 5* books usually do.

2. The sun and her flowers by Rupi Kaur (4,5*)

I loved this one!! I’ve read this book in the airplane, on my way from one home to another (Croatia –> Germany) and I’ve shed some tears throughout. I plan to do a review of ‘Milk and honey’ and ‘The sun and her flowers’ together so stay tuned for it.

3. Fence #1 & #2 by C.S.Pacat (4*)

 

When I saw that C.S.Pacat is publishing a comics, LGBT ones, I knew I had to have them so I preordered those and I really liked them. I just wish that they were a bit longer but hey, maybe that changes one day 😀

4. Perfect Match by Zoe May (4*)

I really liked this one and I won’t tell you much about it, since I reviewed it here. Please, check it out.

5. Ibuki by Kathryn Sommerlot (4*)

This one I got off of Netgalley and it is LGBTQ+ book with fantasy elements. I liked it a lot, since I love the books sat in Japan or Asia in general. The reason that it didn’t got full 5 stars is that I wish the story was build up more.

6. Body Positive Power by Megan Jayne Crabbe aka bodyposipanda (5*)

This book!!! This book is amazing and the way Megan writes about all things diet and hot to love yourself is just awesome. I will be writing full on review on this one because it has blown my mind. I loved it!! Well deserved 5 stars.

That would be all from me!

With love,
Ana

Book tour & Review: Perfect match by Zoe May

Title: Perfect match
Author: Zoe May
Genre: Chick lit, Romance
Pages: 252
Format: ebook
Publisher: HQ Digital

Can you ever find true love online?
Sophia Jones is an expert in all things online dating: the best sites, how to write a decent bio, which questions to ask and the right type of photos to use. The only thing she’s not so great at? Picking the guys…
After sitting through yet another dreadful date with a man who isn’t quite what she expected, Sophia is just about ready to give up on the whole dating scene. But her flatmate, Kate, persuades her to give it one more chance, only this time she must create a profile describing her ‘perfect’ man.
Yes, he must look like Robert Pattinson and needs to own a multi-million pound business, but there are a couple of other deal breakers, too! So, when a guy comes along who ticks every box, surely there’s got to be a catch?
A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, perfect for fans of Catherine Bennetto and Rosie Blake!

Review:
I couldn’t really believe that this is a debut novel. It is surely very well written for a debut novel and all praise to Zoe for that. I could only hope that my debut novel can end up being great like this.

Although, I bet there are a lot of books written with a theme of online dating, this was my first one that I’ve ever read with this subject. Online dating is something almost completely normal in today’s world and society. People don’t have time to go out and meet other people. Others are just using it for sex. Others to just have fun and enjoy embarrassing people. That’s why, you have to be careful. As if you don’t need to be careful outside of online dating but you know what I mean.

Our main character, Sophia, has been doing online dating for a long time already (she has been to almost 80 dates!) but she has yet to meet her perfect guy. This is a very well written character and I really could’ve find myself in her. There were a lot of points where I was like “I feel you girl, I feel you”.

I enjoyed the way this book is written; it was funny, easy to read but yet it had depth. I’ve read somewhere that this is a perfect book for those who aren’t familiar with romance genre to read it. And I totally agree! The theme is modern and it has a nice strong message for all the women (and, of course, men) out there.

We often are looking for a perfect partner; height, weight, built, eye color, work place, money.. We are looking for that and while looking for that, we don’t realize that our perfect partner is actually standing in front of us or has been standing all this time. Someone who understands you and has been your friend maybe. Or someone you have just befriended? Ideal partner is there to be ideal but it is hard to find that ideal! And if we find one; if it sounds too good to be true, then it is.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in romance or maybe wants to try reading it for the first time. Amazingly written novel!

Rating: 4* out of 5

With love,
Ana