Book review: Arms Wide Open by Tom Winter

My edition: Paperback, to be published on 17 April 2014 by Corsair, 352 pages.

Description: Jack and Meredith are non-identical twins. Their father died before they were born and now they both have to watch as their mother sinks further in to the grip of early-onset dementia.

Jack's career has crashed and burned, all that remains is a Maserati and a nervous disposition. Meredith's world is also crumbling the decomposing yogurt in her fridge a symbol of her newly-expired marriage. Her children, Jemima and Luke, offer little support, too consumed with the world of online dating and amateur taxidermy.

One day, a throwaway comment starts Jack wondering if their father really died. As they begin to untangle the revelations, the twins are forced to ponder both the past and the future: their memories of their mother, their hopes for finding their father, and the fear of what's in their bloodline.

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Bronnley's Citrus collection and Easter collectible tins

I associate spring time with the warming sun tentatively poking through patches of rain clouds, brightly coloured delicate flowers popping up in the most unexpected places and the gentle fragrance of blossoming trees filling the air; and that essence is exactly what Bronnley has captured in some of the products I got to try for this review.

Based on traditional family recipes, the business has been creating luxury soap, fragrances and toiletries in the United Kingdom since 1884 when founder James Bronnley returned from a year studying the art of soap making and perfumery in Paris and borrowed £300 to set up his business from a small shed in Holborn, London. The toiletry brand is now in its 130th anniversary year and for the occasion they have revamped their Citrus collection with subtle reformulations, new products additions and fresh new packaging.


The company is particularly well-known for its lemon soap, which has been in UK households since 1892. Part of the Lemon & Neroli scent range, it doesn't only smell like a lemon, but it looks like one too. As a big fan of fruit-shaped and scented soaps (my previous favourite was one that resembled a juicy slice of watermelon) this was right up my alley. Not only that, but the zesty freshness of the lemon is incredibly suiting, as it makes you feel all nice and clean after use. To expand upon the fun fruit-shaped soaps, the brand also has limes and oranges and I loved the latter as well. Less sharp than the lemon soap, it's the perfect cleaning companion when you feel in a sweeter mood.

The fruity Orange and Jasmine fragrance of the orange soap is mirrored in the other products from the range and the two I got to try - the Bath & Shower Gel and the Eau de Toilette - were both delightful. The beautiful flowery jasmine scent was complimented well by the fruitiness of the orange and mandarin and I found myself opening the bottle just to get a whiff of this heavenly fragrance. Sadly neither of the products are ones where the smell lingers very long, but I'd happily bottle the Orange and Jasmine fragrance as a perfume and spray it all day long. I'm normally not much of a perfume person, but I thoroughly enjoyed this and wanted to douse myself with the scent so it would linger longer than the brief moment after use.


For a little Easter in your home of the non-chocolate variety, Bronnley has created these super cute Daffodils and Tulips collectable tins. The stunning designs fit the season very well and the scent of the soap was gorgeous too; super fresh and delicately floral it reminded me of the lovely smell of freshly laundered sheets. The fragrance was quite strong too, so leaving the tin open in the bedroom gave the whole space an aura of having just been spring cleaned, without any of the hard work. The two limited edition tins would make great gifts, however once you've seen them in person and had the chance to smell the gorgeous scent you'd likely want to keep them for yourself.

Book review: Beautiful Day by Kate Anthony

My edition: Paperback, to be published on 10 April 2014 by Penguin, 384 pages.

Description: Rachel is looking for her beautiful day. She's worried about everything: being a good mother, money and starting a new job.

Philip is a lost soul in the world and he could do with a friend.

They are just about to meet and when they do everything will change. Rachel and Philip don't know it yet, but they each have what the other needs. They can save one another, and not in the way you might expect.

This is a story about finding happiness and love in all their forms. And how sometimes you can find them in the most unlikely of places.

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Book review: Truly, Madly, Deeply - 24 New Stories

My edition: Paperback, published on 21 February 2014 by Mills & Boon, 415 pages.

Description: 24 short stories about romance.

From wedding days to special anniversaries, steamy one-night encounters to everlasting loves. Truly, Madly, Deeply takes you on an unforgettable romantic adventure where love is really all you need.

This collection brings together all new specifically selected stories from star authors from the Romantic Novelists' Association including international bestsellers Katie Fforde, Carole Matthews, Adele Parks and Miranda Dickinson, and many, many more and is edited by Sue Moorcroft.


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Penguin Blogger Night 2014

When lovely Laura from Laura's Little Book Blog invited me as her +1 to the Penguin Bloggers Night 2014 I was thrilled. Not only at the prospect of meeting some of the Penguin team and authors, but also for the chance to catch up with Laura in person, as so far we've chatted just on the Internet. Unfortunately she fell ill just before the outing and we didn't get to meet up after all, but we should be seeing each other at another literary event next month (fingers crossed).

I still decided to attend the Penguin event (though I felt a bit awkward at first as I was by myself) and I am very glad I did as it was a wonderful evening where I got to meet some of the Penguin team (hi Francesca and Lija!), their authors and fellow bloggers. Also, there was wine, which is always a good thing. I've been to various author Q&As at Foyles on Charing Road Cross before and have nothing but praise for them; they're super well organised and the authors I've met there have always been very approachable and interesting to talk to.


As soon as I walked into the Gallery (the special space the store reserves for these kind of bookish events) I was given a sticker to put my name and blog on, which was a clever ideas as it made meeting new people much easier (even though in the first instance eyes wandered to the chest area of another person - where the sticker was - before introducing ourselves).

I was also shown two big tables stacked high with new and upcoming Penguin releases and a pile of tote bags and was told to make my own goodie bag. Eh... it's probably not a wise idea to let a book lover addict lose on so many gorgeous new novels. I tried to be super strict with myself and imagine my out-of-control TBR pile at home (I say pile, but it has now grown to multiple bookshelves as it will no longer stack in a single pile) while I was choosing which TWO books I'd take home, but as you can see from the picture below that really didn't work. At all.

I did start off with just choosing three books, but then I talked to some fellow bloggers (mostly Clare from 50 a Year and Kinga from The Book Snob, hi girls!) and we were drawn to different titles which made me pick up even more. And then when my bag was definitely completely full I spoke to lovely author Elizabeth Fremantle, so OF COURSE I had to grab a copy of her novel too. And so then there were seven.


After some more exciting book chat (I get very enthusiastic where books are involved) it was time for readings from some of the Penguin authors. Obviously this would be the highlight for most people who were attending, but sadly this was also the time I had to leave as I had theatre tickets booked for that night long before I was invited to the event. Even though I normally love my theatre outings I was disappointed this meant I couldn't stay to the end of the Penguin Blogger Night and so prolonged my leaving until the last possible second (I ended up having less than 10 minutes to run from Foyles to the Theatre on St. Martin's Lane and take my seat there), but I still I only caught a bit of the first reading.

Fun to note though is that each author was introduced with a personally picked tune on the piano by a lovely pianist I also got to talk to earlier on the night. Apparently one of the intros was a Beyonce song, which sounds equal measures totally random and completely awesome.


This is actually the back of the tote (the front shows a John le Carré title) but I love the Penguin logo
Many thanks to the wonderful Penguin team for organising such a fab event (sorry I couldn't stay longer - it was me, not you) and to Laura for inviting me (even if you couldn't make it yourself this time around), it really was a great bookish evening.

Book review: Bad Brides by Rebecca Chance

My edition: ebook (proof), to be published on 27 March 2014 by Simon & Schuster.

Description: Milly Gamble is an up-and-coming actress, and the perfect English flower child. At 23, she's always been cast as the innocent heroine. But looks can deceive. Calculating and fiercely ambitious, Milly is determined to be the most famous star in England. And how better to achieve her goal than by dating Tarquin Ormond, lead singer of the biggest folk band of the moment? Tarquin is madly in love with Milly; Milly is only in love with herself.

Brianna Jade is an all-American pageant girl. The daughter of Tamra Maloney, a stunning billionairess, Brianna is a sweet, pretty girl who is more than happy to go along with her mother's ambitious plans for her. Now Tamra's brought her to the UK and hooked her up with an Earl. He has a crumbling stately home and needs a rich wife to help restore it to its former glory. Tamra is as ambitious and determined as Brianna is sweet and innocent - is this more a case of mother-in-law-zilla than bridezilla?

Both Milly and Brianna's upcoming weddings will be huge, lavish events that garner national press. But with the cover of the biggest magazine in the country to be won, things are about to get very dirty…

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Sunday post #25

Sunday is when I sit back with a lovely cup of tea and write about all the wonderful new books I've received and purchased in the past week. This post participates in fab memes Showcase Sunday and Stacking the Shelves.




• A Place to Call Home by Carole Matthews (review copy)
• Coal Creek by Alex Miller (review copy)
• Chop Chop by Simon Wroe (Penguin)
• Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey (Penguin)
• Em and the Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto (Penguin)
• Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe (Penguin)
• Sisters of Treason by Elizabeth Fremantle (Penguin)
• The Strangler Vine by M.J. Carter (Penguin)
• Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy (Penguin



Thanks everyone for your advice last week on how to showcase unsolicited review copies I may not have time to read an/or I'm not interested in! I particularly liked the idea to mention them on social media (I'll have to do regular book post Tweets) and putting a widget on my blog.

This week nearly all my new books are from Penguin and their brilliant Blogger Night 2014 at Foyles on Wednesday. It was a lovely evening consistent of book chat with some of the Penguin team, authors and fellow bloggers and a massive goodie bag to take home (aren't they a gorgeous bunch?). I'll make a proper post about the event in the next few days.

Out of the two review books I received this week I am most excited (read: ecstatic) to pick up the new Carole Matthews title, A Place to Call Home. Her charming and heart-warming books rank amongst my absolute favourites and I'm thrilled to both have the opportunity to read this novel early and to be a part of the blog tour for it.

Hope you guys had a brilliant bookish week as well!

Book review: A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke

My edition: Paperback (proof), to be published on 27th March 2014 by Harper, 416 pages.

Description: The deeper the water, the darker the secrets.

There were so many times I thought about telling you the truth, Eva. What stopped me was always the same thing...

When Eva's husband Jackson tragically drowns, she longs to meet his estranged family. The journey takes her to Jackson’s brother's doorstep on a remote Tasmanian island. As strange details about her husband's past begin to emerge, memories of the man she married start slipping through her fingers like sand, as everything she ever knew and loved about him is thrown into question.

Now she's no longer sure whether it was Jackson she fell in love with – or someone else entirely...

The truth is, it was all a lie.

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Theatre review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Synopsis: When Charlie wins a golden ticket to the weird and wonderful Wonka Chocolate Factory, it's the chance of a lifetime to feast on the sweets he's always dreamed of. But beyond the gates astonishment awaits, as down the sugary corridors and amongst the incredible edible delights, the five lucky winners discover not everything is as sweet as it seems.

Roal Dahl's deliciously dark tale of young Charlie Bucket and the mysterious confectioner Willy Wonka comes to life in a brand new West End musical directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes.

Featuring ingenious stagecraft, the wonder of the original story that has captivated the world for almost 50 years is brought to life with music by Marc Shaiman, and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman (Grammy winners for Hairspray; Smash) and a book by award-winning playwright and adaptor David Greig (The Bacchae; Tintin In Tibet).

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NPH Top Ten Perfect Styling Cream

I am used to having more bad hair days than good ones so whenever I come across a new styling product that promises to eliminate frizziness and make my hair feel silky smooth, I'm always keen to put it to the test. NHP is developed for professional salon use to care for dry, colour treated or brittle hair in need of nourishment to restore the internal balance and to condition the external structure of the hair shaft.

The Top Ten Perfect Styling Cream is their hero product, so to speak, and I had the opportunity to put it to the test. Even though it is technically a cream, it is also a spray and it's rich in organic argan and macadamia oil, silk proteins and panthenol. The product's name derivatives from the ten benefits it aims to achieve:

• Immediately imparts vitality and improves the visual appearance of the hair
• Repairs and nourishes dry and damaged hair
• Tames and eliminates frizziness
• Disentangles leaving the hair feeling silky and smooth
• Helps to reduce and prevent split ends
• Protects against heat styling damage
• Helps with brushing and straightening
• Improves body and volume
• Adds extra shine and protects colour
• Ensures a long-lasting perfect style

Argan oil is a hot ingredient in hair care at the moment; it promises to give the user silky smooth and frizz-free hair, almost as if by magic. While personally I haven't come across a product yet that can do that without an extensive treatment in a hair salon first, nor one that will last me all day, Top Ten comes close. Very close. Usually I have to scurry to the nearest mirror throughout the day to ensure my hair is still in tip top condition and add another few sprays of styling product to keep it in place, but when I was using the NHP styling cream I found that only towards the end of the day my hair started to look a little less in control, which is not bad going for a few quick spritzes as part of my morning hair routine.

What I loved foremost about Top Ten though is that it's a cream but a sprayable one; taking the best of both hairstyling worlds to make one easy to use and very effective product. My preference normally goes to creams as they work better than a spray, but the big risk with these is that the product clutters, as it is harder to spread out evenly, resulting in my hair feeling as if it's glued together in places. Anti frizz sprays on the other hand, while properly distributing the product, normally are weak and watery making them less effective as a styling product. This cream and spray hybrid combined the best elements of both options.

Not all ten benefits of the product are applicable to me and so I cannot testimony to the entire list of promised benefits, but the ones I find most important certainly ticked all the right boxes. My hair felt silky and smooth, was frizz free for (almost) the whole day, it had a pleasant fragrance and though I don't need it per se I noticed an added bounciness and volume to my hair. Also noteworthy is that the product is free from potentially irritating or aggressive synthetic ingredients such as SLES, DEA, parabens, paraffin and colourants. Plus the company aims to look out for the environment as all packaging is 100% recyclable and products are created using renewable and ecological sources of energy. Well done, NHP, well done.