Bad Publicity by Bianca Gillam

Bad Publicity by Bianca Gillam
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 336

Publisher - Penguin books

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

A sparkling rom-com in which an unexpected reunion could lead to a career-ending catastrophe or a second-chance romance . . .

When Andie lands her dream job as a senior book publicist, she’s ready to take the world of New York publishing by storm.

Until her first day, when she discovers that her biggest author is Jack Carlson—the same Jack who ruined her life at university. Whom she hasn’t spoken to in five years. Who is not only still infuriatingly hot but also incredibly successful. And whose campaign she definitely cannot mess up, if she wants to keep her job.

To make matters even worse, the central part of this career-defining campaign is a book tour. For a month, Andie will have to travel across Europe with the man whom, if she were being totally honest, she’d like to hit with her car.

But she will not lose this opportunity, especially not because of him. One month on tour with Jack Carlson, visiting some of the most romantic spots in Europe. Deep breath. She can do this.



My Review

Andie is finally living her dream, she has just bagged a new job as a senior book publicist, things are looking up. However when her first big project is an extended book promotion and the author is non other than her scumbag ex Andie is in a quandary. She wants to success so bad, she is in a new country, this NEEDS to work. She is just going to be professional and do what needs done then move on. It is difficult to be professional and keep your feelings hidden when your ex hurt you so bad and you never got closure. Jack tries to speak to Andie but she shuts him down, she hasn't had anything from him in five years, she doesn't want it now. They will have a professional relationship for the sake of the tour and that is that but it never really is, is it?

Ugh Andie really ripped my knitting a lot in this. We know Jack did something bad, it ruined their relationship and had a lasting effect on her. It is referred to and hinted at throughout the book but we don't actually get to know what actually happened until the last maybe quarter of the book. We bounce back and fourth in time from present day to back then but still heehaw so I went from intrigued to annoyed to JUST TELL ME ALREADY!

Andie is also grieving her dad who passed after everything with Jack and despite the book because a romance it actually is more about her grief and the impact it has on her. We deal with her absolutely despising Jack and struggling to hide it and being pretty unprofessional a lot of the time, Jack lets it go because clearly he feels guilty for whatever it was that happened. So essentially it is unresolved feelings but forced proximity and we know how close hate can be to other emotions. Defo a slow burn and Andie is so prickly that her friendship and relationship with her mum (also grieving) and bestie is impacted. So many people don't deal with grief and this shows just how much it can eat into your life and have long lasting consequences.

I was wanting to find out how it all played out and sank into it easy enough, I didn't love the character Andie but was invested to see what the big secret was. Bless her wee mum, a very small side character but a wee scone, 3/5 for me this time. This is my first time reading this author, I would read her again.

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June giveaway

Sorry it is late guys, we do have a wee giveaway up on our Instagram that is open worldwide and up for grabs is X1 book protector book bag (it has a zipper along the top and a front pocket) and the winner picks x1 bendy man light, choose between pink or blue.

So our giveaway for here is UK only (Amazon doesn't allow me to gift outside my own country) and it is x1 £10 Amazon voucher. To enter, use the Gleam below, good luck guys.

Also, Luna is ready for the world cup, we are playing at 2am and I will be in bed for work but we are rooting for our country, moan Scotland, p.s how cute is Luna!


X1 £10 Amazon Voucher

If I Can't Have You by Charlotte Levin

If I Can’t Have You by Charlotte Levin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days as able

Pages - 416

Publisher - Pan

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Samuel, the day we met I knew I’d finally found what I’ve been waiting for.

You.

Happiness, at last.

Then you left me.

And now I am alone.

Everyone I love leaves in the end.

But not this time.

I’m not giving up on us.

I’m not giving up on you.

When you love someone, you never let them go.

That’s why for me, this is just beginning.


My Review

Oh this is a dark yin! Our main character is full of secrets, a bit all over the place and I couldn't decide how I felt about her. The book is a bit of a slow burn, teasing out and revealing information about out main character Constance. She works in a doctors surgery, her guy room mate is a bit much and full on at times, Constance is a bit quiet, a people pleaser and actually really complex. She lost her mum, her dad bounced when she was younger and she has so much unresolved issues and emotions. When Samuel joins the surgery Constance notices him quickly and soon things get very tangled, very mixed and very dodgy and dark, strap in guys!

There is so many dark issues, triggering for some and toxic toxic behaviours and people! Obsession, gaslighting, manipulation, grief, stalking, mental health, sa, honestly it is wild but very very dark. Cause and effect, how one persons perception can be so different, how manipulation of people can lead down some dark paths. It is very much an example of play with fire and you will get burnt.

I did struggle with some of this, not because it isn't well done or badly written, more because the people and behaviours are so shocking. It is car crash tv, like you don't want to read or look but you absolutely cannot look away because you HAVE TO KNOW. It is really good but just prepare yourself for a dark shady ride and if you have a shady muppet ex I think you will sympathise with Constance at some points and oooft girl what are you thinking at others, 4.5/5. Wild that this is a debut, it is really well done, total creepy, cringe and breath holding at points but it is a slow burn for a fair bit, prepare!

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Inside Wakefield Prison Life Behind Bars in the Monster Mansion by Jonathan Levi and Emma French

Inside Wakefield Prison: Life Behind Bars in the Monster Mansion by Jonathan Levi and Emma French
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 270

Publisher -

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

HMP Wakefield. 'Monster Mansion'. Hell to be inside. Almost impossible to escape. This prison has seen some of the most infamous prisoners of all time pass through its cells - from Levi Bellfield to Harold Shipman, Ian Huntley and Charles Bronson.

Jonathan Levi and Emma French are the perfect authors to give chilling insight into all the terrible men who have served time there. After detailing the shocking truth of life in Britain's most high-profile psychiatric hospital in their bestselling book Inside Broadmoor, now they will take readers behind bars in this the UK's most notorious prison.

Inside Wakefield Prison will trace its long and intriguing history, from when it was first built in 1594 all the way up to the present day. Today, just over 750 of the country's most dangerous offenders are kept there, including 'Hannibal the Cannibal' Robert Maudsley, notorious killer Jeremy Bamber and former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins.

Featuring all the sinister and truly horrifying stories that have emerged from the prison, as well as new unheard tales, this book will fascinate and shock readers on every page. Told with the help of interviews with staff, experts - and even in the words of the prisoners themselves - this is a no-holds-barred journey into the dark.


My Review

This is the third book of the series by these authors, Broadmoor, Belmarsh and now Wakefield prison, I think they have other books but I need to check. These books are a bit different from the other jail type books, usually a heavy focus on the inmates, their crimes and lives. Whilst this book does look at some of the famous inmates and their behaviors we also get to hear about the establishment. Its history, how it runs, the ins and outs, we get to hear from not just the stories of the inmates crimes but from those who lived/jailed in Wakefield, those worked in there past and present.

Not everyone will enjoy these because some people just want all the criminal stuff, stories, captures etc where as this one is very rounded. It does go over some of the high profile inmates and interactions folk have had with them. It goes through what a day in there looks like, what the security and routines are like. Some of the horrific episodes of violence, things the staff have seen and survived.

I think these books are so interesting because they don't just give the crime/criminals but also a look at those who keep the wheels turning, the routines, the happenings, the history of the establishment. I know it won't be for everyone but I find them really interesting, 4/5 for me.

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The Asylum by Karen Coles

The Asylum by Karen Coles
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 5 days

Pages - 352

Publisher - Welbeck

Source - Bought/gift

Blurb from Goodreads

1906: Being a woman is dangerous, being different is deadly.

Maud Lovell has been at Angelton Lunatic Asylum for five years. She is not sure how she came to be there and knows nothing beyond its four walls. She is hysterical, distressed, untrustworthy. Badly unstable and prone to violence. Or so she has been told.

When a new doctor arrives, keen to experiment with the revolutionary practice of medical hypnosis, Maud's lack of history makes her the perfect case study. But as Doctor Dimmond delves deeper into the past, it becomes clear that confinement and high doses are there to keep her silent.

When Maud finally remembers what has been done to her, and by whom, her mind turns to her past and to revenge.


My Review

Check your triggers, set in the early 1900s's Maud is in an Asylum, not a good place for anyone and the time for a woman, absolutely not. There is a new doctor in and Maud is the perfect candidate for his research. As he tries to get Maud to open up and trust he takes her back to her past and we flip between the two. As He digs deeper and Maud starts to remember it is clear there is someone who doesn't want her to and Maud's safety is at risk.

The before and memories are a bit slow burn to get to what we want, whatever caused Maud to block our her memories. The treatment she gets in the asylum, I use the word treatment loosely absolutely diabolical, brutal, evil and really unsettling. What she endures, how she is treated and the fact she is in a medical establishment, it is nothing short of abuse and I always think when it is vulnerable people it is even more horrific and by people who are meant to care for them and in a position of power. Absolutely enraging and upsetting and really brutal at points because historically we know things like that happened, I know this is fiction but still.

The book teases out the story, who is Maud, why is she there and why does it seem like she is being deliberately given the short end of the straw every single time. I can't give much in the way of triggers and themes because we don't do spoilers. I would say go into this with open eyes and prepare for themes that centre around abuse types that have been historically documented in asylums. 3/5 for me this time, I felt it slow at times, shocking at others but I was kept interested and wanting to see what was in Maud's past and what future, if any was ahead for her. I would read this author again.

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The Blood Doctor by Barbara Vine

The Blood Doctor by Barbara Vine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 369

Publisher - Penguin books

Source - Given by a friend

Blurb from Goodreads

When Martin Nanther, Hereditary Peer in the House of Lords, is choosing the subject of his next biography, he becomes intrigued by the life of his own great-grandfather, Henry Nanther. So grateful was Queen Victoria for Henry’s services as physician to the royal family that she granted him a peerage, making him a lord, the first doctor ever to be so honored. Henry had been especially attentive to hemophiliacs in the royal family, for he was obsessed with blood. As he recounted in his diary, “Red is my favorite color. To me a splash of blood is beautiful, and I profoundly lack understanding of those who flinch or even faint at the sight of it.”

As his research deepens, Martin begins to uncover hints that his great-grandfather’s fascination with blood may have had its darker side. The murder of Henry’s fiancée, the death of his young son, the remarkable number of relatives and friends who died mysteriously—could all these have been mere coincidence? Martin scours England and America for relatives whose attics or memories might hold clues, until finally the tragic truth stands revealed.

Drawing from the dark themes of obsession and murder that drive so many of Barbara Vine’s extraordinary novels, The Blood Doctor is also enriched by domestic intimacies familiar to readers of Ruth Rendell’s beloved Inspector Wexford novels and by details of Dame Rendell’s own experience as a Life Peer in the House of Lords. Once again we have a masterful work from a storyteller of the highest order.


My Review

Guys, I went back and fourth between a two and three stars, I have put three stars rounded up but I think really, for me, it is a 2.5. So Martin Nanther is writing a book about his ancestor his great great great grandfather (I think, maybe add another great) Henry Nanther. Basically he was a doctor, physician to the Royal family so they gave him a title, his focus was on blood disorders especially Haemophilia. The book flips between our author Martin and what is happening in his life, what he finds out about his Great Grandfather through notebooks, diaries, families who had correspondence either with him or him being mentioned. As Martin researches he isn't quite prepared for all he is about to find out.

So my issues is it was a whole lot of meh. Like that seems so unfair, I absolutely was interested in the medical side, what Henry thought he knew about Haemophilia and his own research and publishing's. However I don't feel there was so much, like a lot of it was about his personal life and not really all relevant to anything really and or it took an age to get to a point.

Martin is involved in politics as he is Henry's descendent as a Lord so we get some political stuff too but even that I was a bit meh. I mean I am not huge into politics however I have read a book before that was heavy on the side of political themes and I actually found it interesting and informative. I think the problem for me is the book is chopped up into Henry's past but again we hear from folk who are relatives of people related to him or knowing him and their chat. The political settings and stuff, Martin's research, what he finds, his own issues with his partner struggling to carry a baby to term, the losses, how he feels. He has an adult son with his ex so he is a bit torn about having another baby but knows how important it is to his wife.

So there is three kinda main focuses and one would take away from another to the point I was distracted, struggling to not just keep up but actually care. I think Henry's story would have been interesting if we followed it in "real time" but for me it was just a bit too much jumping around and nothing really had me invested. Well the blood condition(s) absolutely did which is probably why I stuck through with it and it has sparked my interest to read more about blood conditions but that really is it. So yeah 2.5 really, would I read this author again? Yeah absolutely, I just think for me there was too much going on and noting really with teeth so to speak, many people have loved it though so absolutely check it out for yourself. I am also a bit of a mood reader and been a bit crabby and irritable the last few days so that probably impacted too. Like I read this for over 6 hours in the car, normally I can read a full paperback in that time, I read just over 140 odd pages which is not a lot for me at all. So I think in this instance it absolutely is a case of it isn't you it is me!

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Don't Fall in Love With Me by Paige Toon

Don't Fall in Love With Me by Paige Toon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 368

Publisher - Penguin

Source - Arc and bought a copy

Blurb from Goodreads

What if the person you love the most is the one you can’t have?

Grace has loved Jackson since she was fifteen – when they spent every childhood summer exploring France's breathtaking Ardèche region together. They were best friends, until life took its course and Jackson married someone else.

Years later, Jackson re-enters Grace’s life with an irresistible her dream job in the very town where their story began. And he’s newly single.

As memories from those idyllic summers flood back, Grace encounters an old friend Étienne, who proposes a plan to help make Jackson jealous. But as their scheme unfolds, Grace finds herself questioning if the sparks between them might not be so pretend after all…

Unbeknownst to Grace, Étienne is harbouring a secret that could shatter her world.

Will learning the truth finally set her heart free?

Or is this the beginning of a love story bigger than she ever imagined?


My Review

Grace has loved her bestie guy pal Jackson since she was a teenager, their summers together so precious and she always looked forward to. Her feelings growing ever stronger but nothing ever happening. Heartbroken when Jackson got married Grace moved on but Jackson was always her special someone. Now she has a chance to go back, working for Jackson, her dream job AND Jackson is now single, could this finally be her time? Etienne is still there, Grace's friend who seen her unrequited love and was there for her then and is again now. He see's what Grace doesn't and knows that making Jackson jealous may just be the push he needs to realise just how great Grace is. As the pair flirt, Grace does see herself looking at the situation between both, her long time crush and her pal and questioning her feelings and all she has ever wanted, will she get it?

Ah Grace, we have all been there, wanting that one person, in this case her bestie and never getting her moment. Over the years there has been almost moments, moments when Grace felt she might finally get that kiss, that moment they cross the friendship line. We do geta feel for how they are and what their relationship was then and is now, it flows fine going back and forth so you don't get pulled out of the story. As we get to know Jackson and how he interacts with Grace, how he sees her - we the reader see what Grace seemingly can't. Especially when Etienne and her put into place the flirting in front of Jackson. There is no denying Jackson loves having Grace in his life, she is the grounded, adoring always supporting and stroking his ego. I think we clock on quickly that Jackson dangles the carrot just enough, enough that Grace has hope that she may get a chance with Jackson.

I love Etienne, he has been through so much and there of course is an undercurrent to him wanting to help Grace. Etienne's family are so nice and Jackson's Grandad but his mum, like his fiance/wife/ex wife are horror bags. It is quite a mixed dynamic, we have the old love triangle but with the twist of fake flirting, provoking jealousy, mingled with friendship, business and small town.

There is some humour, sadness, heartache, it is a slow burner but giving us the past and present so we understand the history and dynamics between the families, friends and just how complicated love, emotions, feelings and relationships can be. I do enjoy Toon's books and I love a messy will they won't they, the question - did Grace get her man? Well you will need to read it to find out, the book is out now, 4/5.

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