Fragments Of Life

What I'm wishing on Wednesday is a new blog feature in which I give you a sneak peek into all the lovely things from around the web I'm wishing were in my life!  I'll be including everything from beauty to books and beyond in this feature, and I'll link up with Waiting on Wednesday too in order to do some much needed book blogger networking (I haven't found any new book blogs to read in ages!) So, if you're taking part in that feature, here's where you can find the next book I can't wait to read.  This time round I'm wishing on Morgan Matson's new book The Unexpected Everything. With the cover reveal a few days back I'm sure this will be a popular pick this week. Matson is an auto-buy author for me, and I'm very excited to read this one! The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson || Release date: May 2016 Andie had it all planned out.  When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be pla...

Product details :   Publishe r: Orchard Books. Paperback, 320 pages. Release date : February 5th 2015. Rating : 4½ out of 5. Ages : 13+ Reviewed by : Arianne.   Grace can best be described as a daredevil, an Army brat, and a rebel. She is also the only granddaughter of perhaps the most powerful ambassador in the world and Grace has spent every summer of her childhood running across the roofs of Embassy Row. Now, at age sixteen, she's come back to stay - in order to solve the mystery of her mother's death. In the process, she uncovers an international conspiracy of unsettling proportions, and must choose her friends and watch her foes carefully if she and the world are to be saved. Ally Carter is a name synonymous with thrilling, sophisticated stories which deal in danger as well as romance, and All Fall Down more than lives up to expectation. This book will appeal to Carter’s long-time fans, but as the first in a brand-new series, it’s also perfect for any fan of well...

Product details :   Publisher : Amulet Books. Hardcover, 336 pages. Release date : September 8th 2015. Rating :  4 out of 5. Ages : 14+ Source : Received from publisher for review.   Lorrie Hollander used to be a rich girl, but now she’s lost everything because of the secrets and lies of the people around her. It’s been 12 years since Lorrie’s mother skipped town and left Lorrie in the care of her unstable aunt Gigi. Together they live in a neglected, decrepit mansion called Edgewater, the eyesore in a town of extraordinary wealth and privilege. When Charlie, the son of an esteemed senator, takes an interest in Lorrie, her shame for her family and lifestyle runs deep. But what she doesn’t know is that Charlie’s family is hiding something, too, and that their secrets are inextricably tied. Now Lorrie must confront the truth about her family—and everything she ever thought she knew about herself.     Grey Gardens meets Scandal via The O.C . in Edgew...

Hey! Remember that time I said I was going to post up some beauty reviews on here? Yeah, what happened with that? As is often the way with bright ideas and this blog, beauty reviews fell by the wayside. Until now. If, like me, you are someone who suffers from annoying breakouts from time to time, then, listen up! The Origins Out of Trouble Face Mask is a ten minute mask to rescue problem skin. So, you're meant to leave this one for ten minutes as per tube instructions before removing with a damp washcloth, but I often leave this on for longer - say fifteen or even twenty minutes. I usually apply face masks when I'm watching TV and I leave them on for as long as it takes the show to end. Yup, that's what I do.  I don't recommend this for every mask - not those mask that clean deep down into pores and inevitably make your skin break out as it purges all the bad stuff - but with this, leaving the mask on for a little longer doesn't have any detrimental effects. I'd...

Naomi Novik is the Diana Gabaldon of historical fantasy; a hugely skilled writer with fans across the globe, most famous for a series that started decades ago but which is still going strong. Known for her epic history-but-with-dragons saga Temeraire , if you don’t feel like committing to such a long series just yet, Uprooted could be the perfect book for you. I’d heard great things about Uprooted long before release, and when I was lucky enough to snag an advance review copy, I couldn’t wait to get reading. For fans of Rosamund Hodge and Robin Hobb, Uprooted has an almost fairytale-like quality to it. Clearly inspired by European folk tales, this book draws on their magic and mystery from start to finish. Key to that mystery is The Dragon, who let's just say is quite different from Novik’s usual reptilian fare of the same title, and who may be a divisive figure even among fans of the book. The plot isn’t as original as it could be, but then that’s not really the point of Uproote...

Product details :   Publisher : Simon Pulse. Hardcover, 336 pages. Release date : August 25th 2015. Rating :  3 out of 5. Ages : 14+ Source : Received from publisher for review.   To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer. Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away. As West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his father—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he ...

Hey guys! So, it's happened again. I'm in the midst of a reading slump. I hate when this happens, but, it just seems that 2015 just hasn't been my reading year. I currently have: - THREE books on my list of 2015 favourites (THREE BOOKS?!! How am I meant to compile that oh so important end of year favourites list from this?) - ZERO books have been awarded five stars by me in 2015 (I am reading all the wrong books - or I am just too damn picky for my own good!) - Of the three books I have really, really liked in 2015 only ONE is a YA title. That would be 99 Days by Katie Cotugno. So, yeah, reading slump! And here's where you come in. I want to know the books (YA or otherwise - but I would really love some YA recommendations) that you have been loving in 2015. And I mean LOVING as in all-the-stars-with-a-cherry on top LOVING. Because I need a five star read sometime soon. I am so over writing reviews for 'meh' books - typically books that I rate three stars on Good...

What I'm wishing on Wednesday is a new blog feature in which I give you a sneak peek into all the lovely things I'm wishing were in my life! I'm a big fan of shopping (online and off) and as such I have wishlists EVERYWHERE from Amazon to Etsy to Topshop. I figured this would be a good way of keeping track of them all. I'll also helpfully let you know where the item is from, should you want to track it down yourself or add it to your wish list! I'll be including everything from beauty to books and beyond in this feature, and I'll link up with Waiting on Wednesday too in order to do some much needed book blogger networking (I haven't found any new book blogs to read in ages!) So, if you're taking part in that feature, here's where you can find the next book I can't wait to read. Oh look, here it is! The Evening Spider by Emily Arsenault || Release date: January 2016 A gripping blend of psychological suspense and historical true crime, this riveti...

Product details : Publishe r: Walker. Paperback, 356 pages. Release date : September 3rd 2015. Rating : 4½ out of 5. Ages : 12+ Reviewed by : Arianne.   How many times can you lose the person you love? Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again, century after century. Each time, their presence changes history for the better, and each time, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated. Spanning the Crimean War, the Siege of Carlisle and the near-future of 2019 and 2039 they find themselves sacrificing their lives to save the world. But why do they keep coming back? What else must they achieve before they can be left to live and love in peace? Maybe the next together will be different... Take a look at any bookshelf in 2015 and you’ll come face to face with a treasure trove of cutting-edge contemporaries and lush high fantasies. Look a little further, however, and you’ll find one of the most original UKYA débuts in years winning fans from al...

Product details :   Publisher : Orion. Paperback, 320 pages. Release date : August 13th 2015. Rating : 3½ out of 5. Ages : Adult Source : Received from publisher for review.   My daughter is a liar. A liar, liar, liar. And I'm starting to see where she gets it from. When Rosalind's fifteen-year-old daughter, Stephanie, ran away with her teacher, this ordinary family became something it had never asked to be. Their lives held up to scrutiny in the centre of a major police investigation, the Simms were headline news while Stephanie was missing with a man who was risking everything. Now, six years on, Ros takes a call that will change their lives all over again. He's going to be released from prison. Years too early. In eleven days' time. As Temperley's release creeps ever closer, Ros is forced to confront the events that led them here, back to a place she thought she'd left behind, to questions she didn't want to answer. Why did she do it? Where doe...