Christmas Cravings by Emma Hamilton

From Amazon:

How could everything that seemed so right suddenly have gone so wrong for Mia? Snow is on the ground and Christmas lights twinkle in the German Christmas market. The warm, spiced wine is just right, but there's still one key ingredient missing from her romantic dream. Will Mia's Christmas turn out to be sugar and spice and all things nice - or a deflated soufflé of loneliness and regret? 

-- Christmas Cravings is a festive romance standalone episode from the Greedily Yours series. 

-- About the series: Mia Maxwell loves food. She loves it so much that she's made it her career. She owns a food PR business that fills her days, and by night she's a food blogger with a burgeoning audience. With her 'Culinary Confessions of a Greedy Girl', Mia takes the reader on a delicious journey, searching for top dishes and the perfect man.

My review:

I finished this book very quickly and very reluctantly. I can honestly say I hated it. The language was simple and poor and the story line was predictable and awfully written. How many times can someones eye mist over and take them back to the happy times with Tom? The jumps between present time and past were not done in a nice smooth way and the whole love story felt quite childish. 

I must admit here that I glazed over quite a few pages just to get to the end. I just couldn't do it to myself to read all of it. 

I have been given access to this book by NetGalley in return for an honest opinion.

My rating: 1/5

Monsterland by Michael Phillip Cash

Synopsis from Amazon

Welcome to Monsterland – the scariest place on Earth. All guests can interact with real vampires in Vampire Village, be chased by an actual werewolf on the River Run, and walk among the dead in Zombieville. Wyatt Baldwin, a high school student and life-long movie buff is staring bleakly at a future of flipping burgers. Due to a fortuitous circumstance, Wyatt and his friends are invited to the star-studded opening of Monsterland. In a theme park full of real vampires, werewolves and zombies, what could possibly go wrong?

My review: 

I picked this book to read something different. I like to read the odd piece of horror genre, but I am not a massive fan and usually seek dramas, thrillers and romance so this was something a little different.

In this huge age of romanticizing vampires and werewolves I enjoyed reading the other side of the coin, to see what happens when these creatures aren’t all loving and nice and, well, human.

Wyatt and his friends receive VIP back stage tickets directly from the man behind the theme parks, Vincent Conrad. The whole world’s economy has been destroyed by a strange explosion and a virus that turns people into zombies (or ‘vitality challenged’ as the government likes to call them).

Without giving too much away, on the day of the opening, everything goes wrong, people die, monsters go wild – but not all is as it seems. There are nice twists and turns at the end of the book that might be a little predictable but still make the story good.

I felt the book was written well and had the right length so the story didn’t become tedious. There are some pretty gory parts, but I was expecting that from a horror story. It was easy to understand and read and it became a nice distraction in a busy life.

The characters of Wyatt and his step-father Carter were very likable and I could easily see them running around with a silver axe fighting for the people they love. This book would undoubtedly make a good movie or TV series.

Thank you to Michael Phillip Cash and NetGalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review.

My rating: 3/5

Enjoying my first ebook

As a member of Net Galley I have been able to download a couple of books before being (hopefully) approved for some titles I am interested in.

I fancied a bit if a fantasy/horror kind of book and my choice was Monsterland by Michael Philip Cash.

And it's not bad. Language is good and story is there. It's a bit gory at times but that's to be expected in a book about zombies,  vampires and werewolves.

I am 63% in and it won't be long before my first review is written. And my tablet is finally getting some use with the help of the free Kindle app from Amazon.

And in between I carry on with Stephen King's Rose Madder.

Happy days 😀

Time to revamp this blog and get back to my biggest passions. Ove the last year I have stumbled and fallen into the bad habits of fast food and hardly any books and that has to stop now. I have made a commitment to myself to do it this time. 

I am back to Read It Swap It forums and getting good recommendations on what to read. I have downloaded the Kindle app and refreshed my Net Galley account in hope I will be approved for some good reading. 

I love books and I have would love to have a go myself. I have ideas in my head, but never put them down to paper. Well that is going to change.

Oh yes - cooking! Back to planning and enjoying the many, many cooking books I have on my shelves. 

I decided to pick up one of the books that have been sitting on my shelf for a very long time - Stephen King's Rose Madder - slightly dusty on the top, but ready to be read.