December giveaway x1 £10 Amazon Voucher (UK Only)

Sorry it is a wee bit later in the month, I cannot believe it is almost the second week in December! I absolutely need to get a move on and sorted, this may be my least organised year!

So up for grabs is x1 £10 Amazon voucher, UK only cos the voucher comes straight from 'zon. Don't worry I will be sorting a wee bookish one that will be open to all, I will try get that up asap.

To enter just fill in the entries you want in the Gleam below, good luck and if you are doing your Christmas shopping, may the odds be ever in your favour, it is wild out there! xxx

December Giveaway x1 £10 Amazon Voucher (UK only)

Redeeming 6 by Chloe Walsh

Redeeming 6 by Chloe Walsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 766

Publisher - Piatkus

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

He's underwater, but she'll pull him out, whatever it takes. With his world unraveling around him and pressures rising at home, Joey Lynch's life has never been in more turmoil. Desperate to prove himself worthy of the only person he's ever put his trust in, Joey fights hard to save himself from his addiction, but the odds are stacked against him. Day by day, the water is rising. Giving into his demons would destroy everything he's worked for—but soon, even love doesn't seem like enough to reach the surface. Unwilling to give up on her best friend, the boy she's fallen for, Aoife Molloy fights back against Joey's self-destruction with everything she has. But she's drowning, too, in this world she doesn't understand, with only her fiery heart to guide her. As circumstances change and unexpected hurdles rise between them, hearts will break and mend and break again. All the while, Aoife refuses to turn her back on Joey—because he's always had hers, too. In the end, it will be up to both of them if their hearts are worth healing and their love is worth saving.


My Review

If you haven't read Saving 6 you need to as this is a follow up to that book, you could get away with not reading Keeping 13 and Binding 13 but I would read them anyway as they are good and also were we meet Joey but you can start with Saving 6. So we don't do spoilers in our reviews so I will try not to but as it is a follow on from Saving 6 some of it won't. So we left things with Joey and Aoife in a pretty sad state and this book delves deeper into that. Aoife is fiercely loyal to Joey despite how far he goes into self destruction, even to the point I was like GIRL!!!!

The book goes into a lot of dark places, abuse, addictions, domestic violence, family violence, alcoholism, drug use and ingestion, fighting, sexual violence, self harm, threats like so much darkness. The chapters go between Joey and Aoife's points of view, as things happen and Joey reacts to it and the fall out for Aoife. Family dynamics, secrets, betrayals, love, loss, spicey scenes and the characters are teens as you know so things that affect and are relevant to that age group.

I have the next two to read and looking forward to them but also have the fear because they are absolutely engaging but also have dark dark themes, 4.5/5.

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The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J Maas

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 451

Publisher -

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom’s most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful and ruthless Assassin’s Guild, Celaena yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer for hire, Sam.

When Celaena's scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, she finds herself acting independently of his wishes—and questioning her own allegiance. Along the way, she makes friends and enemies alike, and discovers that she feels far more for Sam than just friendship. But by defying Arobynn’s orders, Celaena risks unimaginable punishment, and with Sam by her side, he is in danger, too. They will have to risk it all if they hope to escape Arobynn’s clutches—and if they fail, they’ll lose not just a chance at freedom, but their lives . . .

A prequel to Throne of Glass, this collection of five novellas offers readers a deeper look into the history of this cunning assassin and her enthralling—and deadly—world.


My Review

I have read ACOTAR series and people said this should be the next series to read, I have this and TOG and so many folk said to read this first, another said read it 3rd but I read this as my first entry to TOG. Meet Celaena Sardothien, wow she is very self involved and loves herself. She is a very good assassin, one of the best and part of a select few who works for, ruled by their master Arobynn Hamel. He tells them the target/contract and the obey, well in theory. This is my first exposure to her and I wasn't a huge fan, then I liked her, then I didn't and flip flopped about lol.

So these are novellas but they all follow on to each other so it even if you aren't a big novella fan you would enjoy how this goes. We learn about her past, a little insight as to how she is, Sam is also an assassin and has a prickly relationship but then she is so c*cksure and arrogant at times you understand why she rubs folk the wrong way.

As we go through the stories we get more of her personality and actually see a softer side and despite being the way she is she does have a moral compass which warmed me to her for sure. I had goosebumps a few times, an I KNEW IT AHHHHHHH, rage lol. Oh all the stories in this book I think the one across the desert was my fave, it reminded me of an old 80s movie, REMO lol. It has a wee bit of everything, romance, action, murder, heartbreak, betrayal, love, tragedy, personal growth, slavery, abuse, violence to name but a few, prepare yourself, 4.5/5.

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Backstage Passes by Angela Bowie and Patrick Carr

Backstage Passes: Life on the Wild Side with David Bowie by Angela Bowie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 368

Publisher -

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Angela Bowie has produced this scandalous, sexy, and uncompromising memoir of her turbulent years with David. She recounts how she launched him from cult hero to superstar and managed his career. Angela witnessed and shared it all―the bisexual orgies; David; decline at the hands of satanic cults and cocaine; and the lives and loves of Mick, Elton, Marianne, Iggy, Rod and Lou to name a few.



My Review

I didn't really know much about David Bowie, yeah his songs well some of but that was about it. Didn't know he had been married nor really any of his rise to fame stuff. Angela Bowie I didn't know until she was on celebrity big brother and her famous scene of the David's dead and poor Tiffany. Anyway after that stint I Googled her and saw she has this book, bought it and in true Lainy style it stayed on my tbrm since 2016 til now!

The book centres hugely on her and David's time together, we get a little of Angela before it and some of her antics whilst married but doing her own thing. What a wild time she had, free love indeed. She does name drop some people throughout the book and some very spicy stories of sexual times/partners before during and after (but still married) with David.

She drops the lowdown on what it was like being with him, dealing with his managers, people in his circle, getting to stardom and the before. His and her usage of drugs, both their sexual experiences together and apart, even dropping some names of people we know and again, free love.

She is a very different person from the one we seen on CBB and I don't know how much of what she wrote will be a surprise to folk. She did say there was a lot of people not happy about the book and her interview she gave once the NDA expired, I need to look up a few of the interviews and songs.

It is certainly an interesting read, Hollywood scandal, gossip and an insight into Bowie's creative process and rise to fame and how it affected him as he rose, 4/5. Interesting for sure and who doesn't love a bit of gossip and sneak peek behind the curtain of celebrity life/showbiz.

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The World's Most Evil People by Rodney Castledon

The World's Most Evil People by Rodney Castleden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - over a month

Pages - 576

Publisher - Futura

Source - its been on the tbrm for years

Blurb from Goodreads

There are some evil people in this world, when you think about the killing, torturing, bombing and maiming and this book covers it all. Vlad the Impaler was a prince known for executing his enemies by impalement. He was a fan of various forms of torture including disembowelling and rectal and facial impalement. Vlad the Impaler tortured thousands while he ate and drank among the corpses. Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator, ordered that millions of peasants were either killed or permitted to starve to death. Stalin brought about the deaths of more than 20 million of his own people while holding the Soviet Union in an iron grip for 29 years.


My Review

This took me a while to get through. There are so many evil people from the past, I knew a few names but loads I didn't. I read a lot of true crime, crime fiction and horror but some of these people in this book are absolutely horrific.

Some of the chapters are really small, like a page and a half. A mix across genders, countries and timelines. People in power, ordinary everyday people who do some utterly horrific things, brutal killings, some of the most depraved things I have ever read. This is why I took so long to get through it, I had to put it down a few times and read stuff in between.

I never normally pick up on an authors feelings about people but when I got to the Krays story I could tell the author really didn't like them. I have read and seen a few Kray stories and never caught anyone's strong dislike. Like notable on theirs but not some of the other horrific mass killers, deviants in this book so that was interesting especially when I never notice stuff like that. It certainly opens your eyes to how many truly evil people have passed through this world and left a dark mark on it, 3/5.

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Blood Communion by Anne Rice

Blood Communion by Anne Rice
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 288

Publisher -

Source - Gift from a friend

Blurb from Goodreads

The Vampire Chronicles continue with a riveting, rich saga--part adventure, part fairy-tale--of Prince Lestat and the story of the Blood Communion as he tells the tale of his coming to rule the vampire world and the eternal struggle to find belonging, a place in the universe for the undead, and how, against his will, he must battle the menacing, seemingly unstoppable force determined to thwart his vision and destroy the entire vampire netherworld.

In this spellbinding novel, Lestat, rebel outlaw, addresses the tribe of vampires, directly, intimately, passionately, and tells the riveting story of the formation of the Blood Communion and how he became Prince of the vampire world, the true ruler of this vast force, and how his vision for all the Children of the Universe to thrive as one, came to be.
The tale spills from Lestat's heart, as he speaks first of his new existence as reigning monarch--and then of his fierce battle of wits and words with the mysterious Rhoshamandes, proud Child of the Millennia, reviled outcast for his senseless slaughter of the legendary ancient vampire Maharet, who brought forth the Great Family of the undead; Rhoshamandes, a force who refuses to live in harmony at the Court of Prince Lestat and threatens all that Lestat has dreamt of.
As the tale unfolds, Lestat takes us from the towers and battlements of his ancestral castle in the snow-covered mountains of France to the verdant wilds of lush Louisiana with its lingering fragrances of magnolias and night jasmine; from the far reaches of the Pacific's untouched islands to the 18th-century city of St. Petersburg and the court of the Empress Catherine . . .




My Review


This is the last book in the vampire series, I think had I not left as long gaps between reading them maybe this one would have been a bit different? Lestat has changed over the years, like actually evolved and if you aren't familiar with his humungous back story you really need to go back and read them.

There are many mythical beings in this one and a lot of animosity, a war threatening due to issues and grudges that happened previously. Lestat has to face ad adversary that threatens all he holds dear and everything they have set up.

Death, murder, threats of violence, vampires obviously, the clones from the previous books, the close circle of those around Lestat and what they have built. I just wanted and expected more I guess, it isn't a bad book at all but going on things that have happened in the previous books I just expected so much more, 3/5 for me.

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November Competition

Happy November you guuuuuuuuuuuys.

This month I am just going to be doing a giveaway for x1 £10 Amazon voucher (Luna NOT included, she is just the model), as this comes directly from Amazon it is UK only.

To enter use Gleam as shown below, all winning entries are checked so please only choose entries you have completed. Good luck xxx

November comp x1 £10 Amazon Voucher