Jim Chapman's "147 Things" Book Review*

When it comes to YouTubers releasing books, I am never that interested unless the person is local or I feel that I will really benefit from the book. When I was offered the chance to review Jim Chapman’s new book, ‘147 things’, I knew it was one that I genuinely would have been interested in. Being from Norwich, I used to see Jim in the city all the time before his YouTube career really kicked off. I think this is why I find him quite relatable, as once he was just like me. Wandering around the city vlogging and not many people knew who he was. I even got a selfie with Jim back in the day!

The book arrived in hardback and is a pretty good size. I also got some postcards included, not sure if this is something that comes with all of the books or only online orders but I thought they were a nice touch.

Jim’s book is all about 147 things that have helped him through life. No subject is off limits, there are embarrassing stories and personal things that you would not expect to read in any other book, but for Jim – it works!

I think this would make a great Christmas gift for those who love Youtubers and anyone who generally likes something funny to read. Have you picked up this book? What do you think? Buy it from Waterstones here.

*PR Post.

Book Review: The White Hare by Michael Fishwick*

I have really been getting into reading this year, in fact my Goodreads account tells me I have now read 7 books, which for me is pretty good considering we are only into March and I read only 12 last year. I recently received a really easy read, The White Hare by Michael Fishwick and it had me gripped from the onset.

Michael Fishwick is a publisher and author of two novels, Smashing People and Sacrifices. He lives in London and Somerset, where this particular book is set. The book starts out my introducing you to Robbie and Mags. I immediately found myself wanting to know more about them and as each chapter went on a little bit more was revealed.

Robbie is 14 years old and is new to the area after moving with his father and new step mother. His mum died of cancer and his father quickly remarried which causes Robbie to be angry and resentful. When he meets Mags he changes and along their adventures they come across a White Hare. The White Hare is introduced as possibly being a reincarnated woman who has been jilted by their true love and again this was something I was really interested in finding out about. Robbie soon discovers there is a mystery in the town and the white hare may have something to do with it.

The storyline was well laid out and very descriptive. I could picture the countryside and the surroundings as I read this and had a vision of the characters in my head. I’ll be honest, it didn’t take me long to read and I had finished within 5 hours but for a short YA fiction this was great. I won’t give anything away about the ending, you’ll have to read that for yourself.

The White Hare was released on 9th March 2017 and the hardback is priced at £10.99.

What books do you enjoy reading?

*I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way.

Book Review: Eat Smart by Niomi Smart

I love recipe books and when I saw that Youtuber/Blogger Niomi Smart was bringing out her own offering I had to get my hands on it. Albeit this was a few months ago now I have had the book long enough to really review it. I managed to pre-order a copy early on so actually managed to get a signed one which was pretty cool even if it was unintentional. First off, I love the cover. The foil spoon extends to the back of the book and the photo on the front is simple yet effective. 

The recipes inside are inspired by her every day healthy eating and she even incorporates flavours from her holidays. Whilst these recipes are plant based, this isn’t shoved in your face and shows you that vegan food can also be super flavoursome and varied. There are plenty of healthy dishes in here but there are also plenty of sweet treats and will offer you an alternative perspective on cooking up some of your much loved foods. The ingredients are readily available and although some more obscure and expensive superfoods are mentioned, Niomi outlines the fact that you don’t actually ‘need’ to use these products.

The recipes are split into breakfast, lunch, dinner, sides & snacks, desserts and drinks and range from delicious tarts to jammy dodgers, smoothie bowls and ice cream. There really is something for everyone in this book. The recipes are laid out clearly and the photos are stunning and clear. There is also a ‘what I eat in a week’ double page showing what Niomi eats on a non-work out weekday and workout weekend days so it’s good to see a real life example of how these recipes can be places into a daily meal plan.

Overall I am glad I purchased this book, I am really enjoying using it and feeling less guilty for eating healthy snacks over ones laden with sugar and fats.

Book Review - The Diabolic by S. J. Kincaid*

I am still really into reading at the moment and find myself spending my lunch breaks with my head in a good book to avoid braving the cold weather outside. I recently finished The Diabolic by S. J. Kincaid and despite not being my genre of choice, I did really enjoy the book. Fun fact about the Author: Kincaid originally wanted to be an astronaut, but a dearth of mathematical skills turned her interest to science fiction instead. 

This YA novel is set in a futuristic space world where ‘Diabolics’ exist. Its packed full of action with a hint of romance and plenty of intrigue surrounding it. You will want to keep reading. Nemesis is the main character in this book and she must fight to protect everything she’s ever known. She is a diabolic. Her story is riveting and had me gripped early on. We get to see her gradually develop and come to terms with her life and who she is. The character development was fascinating and was what kept me hooked. The setting and world in this book is complex but I managed to keep up with all the different classes of people mentioned in the book. This might be quite difficult for someone that is not used to reading a lot but I could easily keep to grips with it.

The book may seem like quite a hefty read and it is somewhat large but the pacing of the novel was good and you won’t feel like there is too much when you start to read it. A thought-provoking book, I would definitely recommend this to those who like YA genres and a bit of Sci-Fi. The book is a standalone and there are no prequels or sequels for it.

You can buy your copy of The Diabolic from Waterstones for just £8.99. It might be the perfect Christmas gift! Is this the sort of book you’d like to read?

*I received this item free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way.

Book Review: Tanya Bakes

When I saw that Tanya Burr was bringing out a new baking book I knew that I had to have it. I own Love Tanya and my favourite part of the book was the recipe section and the cookies are amazing. I first discovered Tanya Burr years ago when she had a lot less subscribers by searching for ‘Norwich Vloggers’ on YouTube. I used to see her around the city and no one battered an eyelid back then! Being from Norwich, I love watching vlogs based in my hometown. If I’m completely honest, I haven’t really kept up with or watched Tanya much since as her lifestyle became less relatable to mine but I still continue to support her in all she does. 

I pre-ordered the book Tanya Bakes when it first came out and managed to get hold of an exclusive signed copy before they all sold out which I was very pleased about as it didn’t cost any extra to order this copy and I didn’t even know I had ordered this one until after I received the confirmation. Amazon dispatched this on the day of release and I received it the next day.

The book is filled with delicious sweet recipes and none of them healthy which is exactly what I wanted it to be. The photography is amazing, almost mouth-watering. There is everything from cookies to cakes to tray bakes. I decided to try a couple of recipes out myself to see how easy they were to follow. The first recipe I tried was the Smarties Flapjacks. The recipe was indeed easy to follow and turned out exactly as I expected it to. The great thing about these recipes is they suit any budget. I was able to buy the basic range oats and butter and the recipe still turned out delicious but didn’t cost a lot to make.

The second recipe I tried was the Salted Chocolate Tart. One word.. Heaven. Again, I made this with budget ingredients. The bourbon biscuit base was made using Sainsbury’s 30p biscuits and it tasted absolutely divine. The creamy rich filling was sharp and the salt gave it that edge to take the sweetness off. We served it with cream and raspberries and everyone who tried it said it was delicious. It was so easy to make too and took no time at all. There are so many more recipes I want to try and I have already page-marked half the book!

For the full recipes you will need to order yourself a copy of Tanya Bakes! Have you got this book – what is your favourite recipe?

Book Review: How Not to Disappear - Clare Furniss*

I am still really enjoying reading and reviewing books so when I was given the opportunity to read ‘How not to Disappear’ by Clare Furniss, I couldn’t wait to add this to my reading collection. The book is centred around the main character Hattie and her experiences during the summer. Her two best friends have gone out of town and Hattie has just discovered she is pregnant. As if that isn’t shocking enough news she then finds out she has a long lost great-aunt Gloria. The story then follows Hattie and Gloria getting to know one another and sharing secrets on a road trip of self-discovery.

This book did leave me wanting to know more and was easy to read. I started reading this whilst in the middle of a house move but I  found it really easy to pick up again and get straight back into the story. The story is written from two points of view and this is clearly shown by a change in font. The main bulk of the story is from Hattie’s view however we often get snippets from Gloria’s side too which helps the story flow and answers some of the questions that occurred. Although these two people were of different ages their lives were very similar and I can see how they both relate to each other.

Although this book is marketed at the young adult age range, there are some mature themes running through and any adult would also happily relate to what is going on in the story. Gloria suffers from dementia but the book also explores alcoholism, teenage pregnancy, domestic violence and rebelling at a young age. I really got a feel for the characters and what they were like and found myself really invested in their storylines as the book went on. Hattie and Gloria are complex and diverse characters with flaws and both good and bad life experiences and the way this was written really helps you get into their minds.

Throughout the book we find out a lot about Hattie but it takes a lot longer to find out Gloria’s secret. I kept guessing and had a version of the story in my head so when I got to the end I was really shocked. I found myself getting goose bumps as I read the final chapters and it wasn’t what I expected. I love it when a book does that to me and I was a bit sad that it was over.

This is the second novel Clare Furniss has written following on from her debut novel ‘The Year of The Rat’. I always desire to read further novels when I really enjoy a book so I will be trying to see if I can track this down and read it too as I really do like the way Clare writes her stories.

If you are into teen fiction or would just like an easy read I would really recommend this book. I have now passed it onto my teenage sister as I think she will really enjoy it. If you are on the fence, I would seriously consider watching the trailer.

You can buy it from Waterstones here. Have you read any books lately?

*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way.

Book Review: Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie*

This year I told myself I would get into reading more inspired by friends on the Goodreads app clocking up book after book and me falling way behind. I decided to attempt to read Game of Thrones which is by no means an easy read and not something you can put down and pick up again weeks later, you simply lose track. Being stuck in a book I didn’t want to read put me off for a while so recently I have been choosing books that are a lot more easier to follow and teen fiction falls under that category.

I was kindly sent the book Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie. Sophie is the award winning author of a range of teen thrillers including this book. She has also written some romance literature and a novel for adults called Close My Eyes. This edition of the book was brought out in order to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of its original release date with a fresh new cover. Girl, Missing sold over 150000 copies in the UK alone and has won eight awards. The book touches on issues regarding adoption, parenting skills and kidnapping. This edition contains exclusive content from Sophie and I recommend this book to anyone who hasn’t read the original.

The story follows Lauren, aged 14, trying to find out the truth about her adoption and the search for her real parents. It takes place in North London but as you read on Lauren travels to America. I was hooked on the story from page one and remained gripped throughout the fast paced storyline as it unfolded. I actually finished the book in 3 days reading this in my lunch breaks and in the evening with a cup of tea. Even at aged 26 I found this book interesting and really enjoyed it and I already have a couple of friends older than me that want to borrow it themselves. Each chapter is short and fast and this book is very hard to put down.

I must admit I hadn’t read this book before when it was first released but I am now keen to read the two follow on books from the series and other titles by Sophie McKenzie. Teen fiction is nice and easy to follow and not a chore to read, the way Sophie has written this book keeps you gripped.

You can purchase this edition of Girl, Missing from Waterstones for £7.99.

*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way.

Book Review: Grey - E.L James

I don't often do book reviews on my blog, but the last one I did went down quite well. I often get most of my books on my kindle however I was recently buying the hard copy of a recipe book and needed to add some more things in my basket for free delivery so decided to get the hard copy of Grey by E.L James.

It's been a while since I read the original 50 Shades of Grey series so reading this brought back the story line for me. I actually love hearing the story again from a male perspective.

The book is witty. There are plenty of funny moments and little thoughts Christian Grey has that you'd never expect. Especially the peeled ginger root part, but you'll have to read it to find out more!

I won't give too much of the plot away just in case there is one or two people who haven't read 50 Shades of Grey yet (where have you been?!) but it obviously is very similar to the first book. I think a lot of people were expecting a new story but this is marketed as "Fifty Shades of Grey as told by Christian" so I don't see the problem with it being similar.

I read this book pretty quickly as I found it such an easy read, and knowing the story it was easy to skim over certain parts if I wanted to for example the contract which I couldn't be bothered to read again.

I would actually like to read the second 2 installments from Christian's point of view, I think they'd be a very interesting read.

Have you read any new books lately?

My 5 Favourite Healthy Recipe Books

I love recipe books. I almost have an obsession with them. I'm a sucker for a book with a nice spine and have already filled a shelf in my bedroom with all different types of recipe books. Most of my books were cake related and if this post goes down well perhaps I will list my top 5 cake recipe books! These are in no particular order.

The first recipe book with a healthy theme to it that I bought was the Deliciously Ella book. After being a huge fan of her blog and the healthy recipes on there, I had to get the book. It's written similarly to her blog and the photo's are laid out really nicely. The recipes are all plant based which I am happy with but I can't imagine serving a meat free meal up to my carnivorous family. I've tried the baked beans and the energy balls so far. I would love to try more but it's quite expensive to get all of the ingredients. I'm looking forward to book two!

My most recent purchase was the I Quit Sugar: Your Complete 8-Week Detox Program and Cookbook by Sarah Wilson. I flicked through this in a book shop and thought the recipes looked really good and a great way of reducing sugar in my meals. The bacon and egg muffins are amazing. I haven't tried much else but I am hoping to start cutting down on sugar so this will come in handy.

I also recently got Get The Glow by Madeleine Shaw. I was also a fan of her blog before I got this book and although these recipes are also really healthy, the ingredients are a bit more readily available and there are plenty of meat dishes to please everyone. There is so much I want to try, I have practically put tabs in half of the book. This fish recipe looks really delicious and simple to do and I think this will be my first experiment!

My boyfriend bought me this book for my birthday and it's the Sainsbury's Healthy Recipe Collection. This is great because I know all of the ingredients are readily available at Sainsbury's right around the corner. I can also adapt these recipes to my Slimming World plan and the majority of them are meals that everyone in the family will enjoy. I've made the Turkey Koftas with rice so far!

The final healthy recipe book I love is the Thug Kitchen cook book. This is filled with plenty of vegan recipes and although American, it is simple enough to find the British equivalent of the ingredients in my local supermarkets. This book is not for the innocent, it is filled with swear words which I personally find hilarious and fitting. I haven't tried anything from this book yet but the pancake recipe looks amazing and I can't wait to get some ingredients to create some of these delicious mouth watering recipes.

What are your favourite cook books?

Love, Tanya - Tanya Burr Cookies

I recently went cookbook shopping when I spotted Tanya Burr's new book Love, Tanya half price in WHSmith. Upon reading other reviews, it seemed I might be a little bit above the target age range but I decided to flick through.

I really liked the layout of the book and it seemed like a nice book to read. The cover is very similar to the last book I reviewed by Gayle Forman don't you think?

Tanya is from Norwich, as am I and I actually remember the days when I would see her and Jim vlogging around Norwich before and she has done amazingly well in the past few years to build up her brand.

I love that there are so many different chapters in this book ranging from Tanya's favourite products, top tips and bits about her life. My favourite section has to be the baking section and as soon as I got to this part, I raided the house for baking ingredients and low and behold we had enough to make the milk and white chocolate cookies.

There are a lot of photos in the book and that's another thing I love about it. The pages are broken up nicely and there isn't walls and walls of text. The recipes were really easy to read through and follow and the photos of the finished products complimented them nicely.

I'm pretty sure the recipe said this makes 10, but I made my cookies extra chunky.

The cookies were absolutely amazing. They didn't even last the night! Tanya was right in saying to take these out even though they look like they need longer. I ate mine straight from the oven and they were crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside. Perfect!

Overall I really like this book, the design is nice and it's very interesting to read especially as Tanya is from my hometown. I almost feel a sense of pride! It's the type of book you can pick up and open at any page and find something interesting to read. It's also a nice book to read with a cup of tea snuggled up in bed.

Tanya has done a video on how to bake these cookies which you can find here if you wish to make these yourself. 

Have you bought this book? What do you think?

Book Review: I was here - Gayle Forman.*

I was recently given the opportunity to read ‘I was here’ from award-winning, bestselling author, Gayle Forman. and from reading the blurb I thought this sounded like the sort of book I would like to read.

This book comes under the Young Adult category but can be enjoyed at any age, and I especially enjoyed reading this book aged 24. I find young adult fiction is so easy to read and to get into and also relate to. I found this incredibly easy to put down and pick back up again without feeling like I needed to re-read the last few pages to get back on track.

The cover of this book is modern and reminds me of an Instagram collage. I think the cover is very pleasing to the eye and something I would personally pick up and look at. This is reminiscent of Forman's other titles.

The plot centres around Cody coming to terms with the suicide of her best friend Meg. Cody thought she knew everything about Meg so to discover this has happened only intensifies her grief and leaves her with many unanswered questions. Cody then uncovers deleted emails and encrypted files on Meg’s computer and sets out to determine the truth behind her friend’s suicide and decision to die whilst also finding out about a whole other life Meg has been living.

Suicide is a very sensitive topic and I believe Forman has written about this very well and what affect this has on the people left behind. The plot covers heartbreak, romance and the changing and growing of many relationships and some really good character development which I could completely relate to. The book is what I can only describe as real. The way Forman has executed her writing makes this book really believable and I even found myself mourning Meg’s death by the end of it. 

This is the first Gayle Forman book I have read and I am left wanting to pick up other titles. I was kept on the edge of my seat and I am still left wanting to read even more.

I Was Here by Gayle Forman is out today and you can purchase this on amazon here. 

 *I was sent this book for free for the purposes of a review. All opinions are my own. See my disclaimer for more information.

Photography by Jimmyscribble.