May 22
Congratulations to Rainie Bish, who is the lucky winner of my ‘Learn Love in a Week’ giveaway. A copy of the book is on its way to her.
A huge thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway, and don’t worry if you didn’t win this time because I have loads more competitions lined up!
‘Billy and Me’ is Giovanna Fletcher’s first novel.
Sophie May has a secret, a secret that she has kept hidden for most of her life. Having this secret meant that she had to give up ideas of university, travelling and instead works in a little teashop and lives with her mum. But then she meets gorgeous Billy Buskins, an actor who has ambitions to make it to the top. And when they fall in love, Sophie is whisked away from her comfortable life into Billy’s glamorous but ruthless world. Their relationship throws Sophie into the spotlight after many years of shying away from attention. Can she handle the constant attention that comes with being with Billy? And most of all, is she ready for her secret heartbreak to be exposed and shared with the nation?
May I say that I simply adored ‘Billy and Me’ this book had my full attention for twenty hours and I couldn’t put it down until I had the book finally finished. And then when when I came to the end, even though it left me with a warm fuzzy feeling of happiness, I also felt a wave of sadness wash over me, as I closed the final page of my Billy and Sophie adventure. What a splendidly adorable couple, their relationship oozed of love, fun and friendship, that it was impossible not to fall in love with the young lovers.
Sophie, the young protagonist of the story is such a sweet character, warmhearted and caring. She radiates warmth in her lead role in the book, working in the teashop. With her best friend and owner Molly, a elderly kind hearted woman who enjoys a good gossip, she takes Sophie under her wing and through their blossoming friendship, she gives the young woman the much needed confidence boost that makes her desirable to Billy, the young heart throb. I loved Sophie, I thoroughly enjoyed following the adventure through her eyes, as she left her quiet, reclusive life behind, came out of her shell and turned into a independent young woman. Having spent most of her life shackled with guilt, she finally leaves her past to rest, she lets go of her inhibitions and begins to fully appreciate the world around the her, with the aid of Billy and Molly.
It’s hard not to fall in love with Billy, a typical cheeky choppy with a heart of gold and a romantic side, their first date in particular made for quite envious reading, if I’m honest!
With the addition of more serious scenes where Sophie, regularly feels threatened by the interest of the media and paparazzi and the fact that so many women lust over her boyfriend, it gives an interesting insight into the world of celebrities and just the amount of pressure and scrutiny that they are under. This also gives the story a bit of an autobiographical element to it, as Giovanna is the wife of Tom Fletcher from McFly.
Beautifully written, the story is gloriously romantic and also wonderfully innocent, a story of love and friendship, we join the young couple as they embark on their big adventure together where they experience the ups and downs of a high profile relationship. An absolute triumph of a debut, ‘Billy and Me’ is a delight to read, heartwarming with wonderful characters, a picturesque setting of a small quaint village, packed with sweet delights, this book is definately one of my favourites of 2013.
You can buy Billy and Me on Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.
‘The Juliette Society’ is Sasha Grey’s debut novel.
Catherine, a blossoming film student whose sexuality has recently been stirred, finds herself drawn into a secret club where the world’s most powerful people meet to explore their deepest often darkest sexual fantasies. But even as these new experiences open intense new pleasures for Catherine, they also threaten to destroy everything that she holds dear.
OK, I’ll be honest I didn’t like this book. I don’t like writing that as I fully understand the time and effort that is involved with writing a book, but with ‘The Juliette Society’ there was nothing about it that warmed to me, well the cover is very pretty but also misleading as ‘The Juliette Society’ is hardly mentioned in the book. Try as I might to find a positive to the book, I found it hard. Although there were occasions when I liked Catherine when she wasn’t absorbed in herself or her fantasies, she was actually quite a sweet girl
I found the story, dark and occasionally twisted as the story explored the darker thoughts of Catherine, her passions, desires as she longed for a more fruitful, explorative life and often she escaped on wild tangents of thoughts, that initially made for shocking reading but then it became quite repetitive in parts and felt the sole reason behind this book was simply too shock, but in the end I just didn’t find it a pleasant reading experience. Having reading ‘The Fifty Shades of Grey’ series and particularly enjoyed the ‘Fire After Dark’ series, I have come to the conclusion that I no longer have a desire to read this genre anymore but for all those who are still enjoying the current trend of Erotic Fiction books and are eager to read more about the darker side of sex and love then ‘The Juliette Society’ maybe just be the book for you but sadly this was not the case for me.
You can buy The Juliette Society on Amazon and is available from good bookshops.
May 20
‘My Life in Black and White’ is the second book by Kim Izzo.
Tabloid reporter Clara Bishop feels that life has served her far too slaps and not nearly enough kisses. When she is suddenly jilted by her philandering husband, she follows him to London, determined to win him back. Armed with a suitcase of her grandmothers clothes that she inherited, Clara discovers that clothes really make the woman. Dressed to kill, she adopts a new femme fatale persona and sets out to seek revenge. But on her road to realisation, Clara discovers an unfinished film script that sheds light on her grandmothers mysterious death many years ago. As Clara’s life is transported into a living, breathing film from the fifties, she discovers not only the secrets of her grandmothers but the chance to write her own ending too.
‘My Life in Black and White’ is an absolutely captivating story that had me enthralled from the very start. The story is wonderfully written, transferring from 1952 to present time the story is seen through the eyes of Clara Bishop as she relays her story to a policeman recalling her unlikely adventure in London. Clara, plays the unfortunate femme fatale, determined not to give up on her failed marriage, she follows her husband to London but what transpires is far from the reunion that Clara longs for. With a single suitcase of her grandmothers clothes, a former femme fatale actress, Clara has no choice but to dress like her grandmother in the city and it’s not just Clara’s appearance that changes. Suddenly her life becomes a film noir and she has the female lead, in a world where the year is 1952 and films are created in black and white, Clara herself becomes a different character, she becomes dynamic, confident and sexy as uncovers secrets of grandmothers life.
I loved ‘The Jane Austen Marriage Manual’ but I adored ‘My Life in Black and White’, I thought it was a unique concept, that certainly made for a gripping story. Clara is a great lead character, as the story develops, she changes from a meek, eager to please woman to quite a cocky lady that certainly made for entertaining reading as she left a trail of men in her path.
Beautifully written with fast paced dialogue and breathtaking costumes, ‘My Life in Black and White’ is a witty and glamorous story where hell has no fury like a woman scorned!
You can buy My Life in Black and White on Amazon from will be available to buy from good bookshops.
For all you budding writers seeking advice and tips, the Dublin Writers Festival is an absolute must. Running from 20th – 26th May 2013 the week long event is perfect for every aspiring writer jam-packed with workshops and talks from some the industry’s finest talents. The annual celebration of the written word, returns to the capital with a breathtaking line up of inspiring events. Audiences are invited to ‘Be Part of the Story’ and hear the ideas behind the words as the finest Irish and international writers engage in readings, talks, debates, and workshops across the city.
Curated by Sinéad Connolly, the programme includes a wide range of events for all ages, including the Get Drawn In initiative, which will see 500 school children taking part in events all over the city, featuring top European picture books makers Hervé Tullet (France), Sarah McIntyre (UK) and Ireland’s Laureate na nÓg, Niamh Sharkey. The Ark are hosting an Irish language programme for schools with Patricia Forde, Aine Ní Ghlinn, Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin and Diarmuid de Faoite.
There are plenty of events for children at the week-end, with a choice of indoor and outdoor workshops; and author events with Costa award winner and dyslexia advocate Sally Gardner, master of horror Darren Shan, Jennifer Gray’s witty Cat burglar, Andy Briggs with his re-imagined Tarzan series, and debut novelist Dawn O’Porter.
Budding young teenage writers will be taking part in workshops throughout May with poet Dave Lordan, leading to a performance as part of the popular and streetwise Brownbread Mixtape (featuring the best Irish spoken word performers, comedians and musicians).
The festival also examines the science of programming children’s events, bringing together representatives from the Discover Story Centre, Southbank Centre in London, and Fighting Words and The Ark in Dublin for Drawing Children In, an event highlighting innovative new approaches to literature programming.
This year’s stellar line up includes, amongst others, a rare visit from American literary master James Salter; author of one of the bestselling novels of all time Dan Brown; Booker prize winning heavyweights Thomas Keneally, Anne Enright, Roddy Doyle and John Banville; and compelling contemporary poets Robin Robertson and Frank McGuinness. Proving that feminism is alive and well, Caitlin Moran will bring her sparkling wit and razor sharp intelligence to bear on a dizzying array of topics.
For more information about the festival and a full programme listing, check out the Dublin Writers Festival website.
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