Love the One You’re With - by Lauren Layne

The blurb: 

As a leading columnist for Stiletto, Grace Brighton has built a career warning women about rotten, cheating liars. She just never suspected her fiancé would be one of them. After Grace takes a heart-mending hiatus, her first assignment is to go on a couple of dates with a counterpart from the men’s magazine Oxford and report her impressions. Grace 1.0 may have been instantly smitten with the gorgeous correspondent, but Grace 2.0 has sworn off relationships for six months, and she’s not falling for his outstanding bod and trophy-winning kisses . . . or is she?
 
Jake Malone wants to get back to the fly-by-night, who-knows-what’s-next guy he used to be, and he knows exactly how to do it. Oxford is adding a travel section, and Jake—with no wife and no kids and a willingness to live anywhere, eat anything, do everything—is perfect for the job . . . except that his playboy reputation makes his new editor nervous. To get the gig, he must agree to a fluffy joint article with Stiletto. But after just one date with snooty, sumptuous, sensational Grace Brighton, Jake starts taking this assignment a whole lot more seriously.

My Opinion:

Love the One You’re With is book two in Lauren Layne’s Stiletto series and features Grace, who we of course already now. 

Grace Brighton is done with men! After nine years with the perfect guy, she is single and heartbroken. Grace 2.0 wants to do things differently, no man, no relationship for six months. Well, after a month off at work, she takes on a assignment to  go on a few dates with a counterpart (Jake Malone) from the men’s magazine Oxford. It’s part of a series and these two play some tricks on each other, after a while though they can’t deny their chemistry. They start spending a lot of time together, not even thinking about their articles. 

Jake from the start didn’t want to do the assignment, he wants to be a travel writer and when this opportunity comes along, everything changes. 

I loved reading about Grace and Jake together, their scenes are adorable and cute, their banter is fab. I think they are perfect together, but of course some drama is included and makes the story more exciting. I really loved the ending.

I think I liked this book even more than the first one of the series. It’s full of heart, passion, fun, friendship and more. I love how the Stiletto girls are there for each other, their friendship is deep. We also get to know some of the other Oxford guys. We get to catch up with Julie and Mitchell as well, which was fab!

The dialogues are in this book are great, the characters are very well lined out and the plot is full of surprises. A flirty, fresh and fun style of writing. I can’t wait to read book three of the series. 

Rating:

Lauren Layne on Twitter: @_LaurenLayne

Website: https://laurenlayne.com/home

Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

Musical Review - Fiddler on the Roof

About the show: 

Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters (or Tevye the Dairyman) and other tales by Sholem Aleichem. The story centers on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions as outside influences encroach upon the family's lives. He must cope both with the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters, who wish to marry for love – each one's choice of a husband moves further away from the customs of their Jewish faith and heritage – and with the edict of the Tsar that evicts the Jews from their village.

The original Broadway production of the show, which opened in 1964, had the first musical theatre run in history to surpass 3,000 performances. Fiddler held the record for the longest-running Broadway musical for almost 10 years until Grease surpassed its run. It remains the seventeenth longest-running show in Broadway history. The production was extraordinarily profitable and highly acclaimed. It won nine Tony Awards, including best musical, score, book, direction and choreography. It spawned five Broadway revivals and a highly successful 1971 film adaptation and has enjoyed enduring international popularity. It has also been a popular choice for school and community productions.

My opinion: 

When we were in London in February, we didn't have time to go see this show. It was playing at The Menier Chocolate Factory and because it was so popular they extended the running and moved it to the Playhouse Theatre. I grabbed the chance and booked my ticket. 

I absolutely loved this show!!! I don't even know, where to start with this review. It's the story of a Jewish family and their whole village. Tevye And Golde have five daughters and it's time for them to get married. Of course, they get matched with someone, that's tradition. However, the daughters are about to break the tradition. Tzeitel is in love with Motel, her childhood friend. They have never told her parents, so her dad promises her to someone else, someone much older. The shock is big when they finally reveal the truth, but Tevye agrees and comes up with a funny dream to explain everything to his wife. Well, the second daughter Hodel falls in love with their teacher Perchik, a poor student from Kiev. They managed to convince the dad about their love. Hodel then goes after Perchik. And they live away from the family. Chava is the third daughter and she, unfortunately, falls in love with Fyedka, a Christian. She then runs away and eventually the whole village is expelled by the Russians. And they have to leave. 

The acting was on point from the whole cast, they really transmitted the feelings and got into their roles. It was real and authentic. I really liked the three daughters played by Molly Osborne, Harriet Bunton and Nicola Brown), their voices were beautiful and their acting was brilliant. Andy Nyman, who played the dad was absolutely phenomenal, great voice, fab actor! I didn't really like Tania Newton, who played his wife, it was the understudy and her voice seemed shaky and not secure. Then we have the men, mainly Stewart Clarke and Matthew Hawksley (Perchkin and Fyedka), they were great! I might have fallen in love with them a little bit myself ;). I actually saw both Andy Nyman and Stewart Clarke in Assassins four years ago, so that was fab.
The company scenes were fantastic, very well staged and the choreography was very effective. I also liked what they did with the stage and the scenery, it's the perfect theatre for this show. 

A very special thing was also the cast being on stage and interacting before the show even started. 
I wouldn't recommend sitting in the first row, maybe start with the forth, and the seats were really tight and not a lot of space for the legs. 

Of course, this is still a must-see show in the West End, I would definitely go and see it again. 

If You Could Go Anywhere - by Paige Toon

The blurb: 

The brand new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author Paige Toon. The perfect summer read for 2019! 

Angie has always wanted to travel. But at 29, she has still never left her small mining town in the Australian outback. When her grandmother passes away, Angie finally feels free to see the world – until she discovers a letter addressed to the father she never knew and is forced to question everything.

As Angie sets off on her journey to find the truth – about her family, her past and who she really is – will enigmatic stranger Alessandro help guide the way?

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

The best book I have read so far in this year!!! Paige Toon just manages it every time, her writing is magical!

In this book we follow Angie, who lives in Coober Pedy, a mining town, she has never left Australia and is now 29 years old already. She lost her mum as a baby and then her grandfather and now her grandmother, who she looked after for years. The community in her little town is amazing, but Angie has always dreamed of following her mother’s footsteps of seeing the world. Angie has a long of list of counties, but when she finds a letter addressed her father, things change and she finds herself in Italy, Rome to be specific. Her father Giulio runs a restaurant in the city. Alessandro works at the restaurant and it gurns out he is connected to the family as well. He kind of takes care of her, shows her around and they instantly have a connection. Angie also gets to know the other people at the restaurant and she slowly gets to know her new family as well. Part of it is in Tivoli and part of is in Venice. Paige Toon takes us on a journey through Rome and the rest of Italy and I loved it, all the Italian aspects actually. I’m have Italian, so it was a really special read for me. 

We saw it all through Angie’s eyes, which made it unique and different. No touristy stuff, just her point of view, but also Angie getting to know her knew family and making friends. All the characters added a lot of spark to the story and yes, I wanted her and Alessandro to spend as much time as possible together. Their chemistry grew through out the book and I just loved them together. 

Alessandro is connected to the family, as I said and a lot happened in his past. It has made him the person he is now, but there are still a lot of unresolved issues and that stops him of following his feelings. That meant a lot of secrets were eventually discovered and the feelings and emotions were high. 

This book is great on so many levels!!!! A fab cast of characters (especially Angie, so relatable), wonderful locations, a exciting storyline, deep emotions, real feelings, romance, friendship, family and passion. It’s really intense and I was hooked immediately, I couldn’t put the book down and in the end I just cried. 

Paige Toon has areal talent to capture a reader and create a fascinating, unforgettable and irreplaceable story. 

I have read and seen documentaries about people living in dugouts (caves) and I really liked that Coober Pedy was part of the setting in this book. It’s fascinating and very interesting. 

The community of people, who live there in the books is great, they care for Angie and they send her lovely postcards to Italy. She is really connected to them, but also starting anew life, that’s not easy. 

This book is touching, passionate, beautiful, inspiring, bright, authentic, addicting, sweet, romantic and so much more. Paige Toon’s writing is on point, I need more of these characters, pronto!!!!

AMAZING!!!!!

Rating:

Paige Toon on Twitter: @PaigeToonAuthor Website: https://www.paigetoon.com Goodreads - Amazon  UK - Amazon US

The Effortless Mind - by Will Williams

The blurb: 

 

Whether teaching meditation to 5000 people at Glastonbury, launching World Meditation Day from London’s Fabric nightclub or bringing people together in Berlin, San Francisco and LA to meditate; Will Williams is bringing meditation to the masses in a jargon-free, accessible way. Will has taught everyone from Kate Winslet and Basement Jaxx to the staff at Google, Spotify and Universal how to meditate with astounding results.  

An incredibly successful technique, long term sufferers of debilitating conditions including stress, insomnia, depression and anxiety have used Will’s unique Beeja meditation technique to transform their lives. Jargon-free and straight to the point, The Effortless Mind offers an accessible guide for those needing a breakthrough on challenges from anxiety to diet and addiction to trauma.  Will’s 20 minute Beeja meditation technique is hugely successful because it’s simple enough for beginners but quick enough for busy lives as it can be done literally anywhere, at your desk in the office, on the tube, even while flying.

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

I usually don’t read a lot of non-fiction books, but when I got contacted about this one, I said yes. I have started yoga and meditation at the beginning of the year, so I thought it would be a good read for me. 

Will Williams talks about meditation in the modern world. He explains how the meditation helps and what it can help for. Things like increased creativity, cured insomnia, reduced anxiety, depression and many more things are a topic in this book. It’s also showing how people got out of their difficult situations with the help of Williams and meditation.

The author covers a lot of topics and has examples of how he and the method helped different people in different situations. He explains, how he met these people, what they went through, how he helped and how it got better afterwards. 

The book is an introduction to Beeja meditation (vedic meditation). However, it barely talks about the actual technique. From time to time there are mentions of things you can do and sometimes there are explanation parts. It doesn’t have a fluent thread throughout the book. It covers little steps and it always says that he can help you directly. It kind of felt like an advert. 

The stories from other people were interesting at times, but some topics, I didn’t feel related too and I think the book was too focused on these experiences. 

I expected something else and that’s why I had some difficulties with this book. The blurb mentions a guide for meditators, which is a bit misleading. The focus of this book is not ideal for me. 

I believe that working with Will and his way of meditation can really help people. It really sounds interesting, but just talking about it in a book is not enough. 

It’s very motivating to read about the positive outcome for people and reading about their feelings. 

Rating:

About the author

Daily life can feel like a fast-paced treadmill, leaving little time to unwind, recharge and do what brings us joy. Meditation is a powerful way to hit the pause button, increase your energy and start to enjoy life more.

The Effortless Mind is renowned meditation teacher Will Williams’s must-have guide for modern-day meditators. Suffering from chronic stress and insomnia, Will undertook years of research and training with leading experts from around the world, which led him to find the cure he was looking for in Vedic meditation.

In The Effortless Mind, Will explains how his Vedic-inspired method of meditation has transformed the lives of his students – all of whom are busy people of all ages and all backgrounds. Their inspiring stories and the scientific research into meditation show the profound physical, mental and emotional benefits you can gain from such a simple daily practice, including more energy, better sleep, greater clarity, less anxiety and a happier outlook on life. 

Will Williams on Social Media:
Website
Twitter

Goodreads

From one Harry Potter city to another. London calling...

On Monday, April 15 I took the train from Edinburgh to London Kings Cross. The whole journey took 4 hours and 40 minutes. On the way I looked at the lovely scenery, listened to music, wrote some blog posts and read Lindsey Kelk's newest book. At Kings Cross I took the underground to Covent Garden and checked in at my hotel.
After that I immediately left the hotel again and walked around the Covent Garden area (one of my faves). My first stop was The Noble Collection store, they have all the official Harry Potter merchandise, as well as other movies like Fantastic Beasts, Lord of the Rings, The hobbit etc. I was in there last time we were in London as well, but i wasn't feeling well and didn't have the energy to properly look around. So this time I really took my time looking at every single detail. They have all the wands, plushies, replica of the Philosopher Stone, the Rawenclaw Diadem, the Grindlewald pendant, the Triwizard cup etc. they also have brooms, arteft boxes, house related things etc. you can definitely spend hours in there. The way they display things is brilliant, so pretty!!! I didn't bux anything yet, but definitely kept some things in mind. Then I just went into some stores: French Connection, Karen Millen, Ted Baker, Kurt Geiger, & other stories etc. I also walked around covent garden looked at the beautiful flowers and enjyod the su shine, before having dinner at the hotel restaurant Monmouth Kitchen. The have a tapas style menu, which is fab. They have changed it a little bit, so I tried some new things and had my beloved Chardonnay from Chile. The rest of the evening was spent in the room and I went to bed early, because...

...Tuesday meant an early start. I gave myself enough time to get to the Harry Potterr studio tour in Leavsden. I got a coffee and ate breakfast on the train from Euston. Then of course I took the bus and collected my ticket. My time was at 10.00 am, but I took some tiemto look at the new entrance first. The huge dragon is very impressive, die hen there are all the oictures from the characters ariznd the dragon, plus the castle and some ither details. There are also costumes and windows with some nice details. Completely new is also the chocolate frog café, the marauders map around it and part of the enchanted ceiling. The whole entrance to the cinema room is different, covering all eight movies. From the cinema room, you go to The Great Hall and then the room with all the props and sets. Then comes the Forbidden Forest and Platform 9 ¾, both have a shop. After that comes the Backlot Café and then the whole exterior area with The Knight Bus, Privet Drive, the bridge and more. From the creatures area, we see all the goblins, which afterwards leads to Gringotts (the new part). What they did there is fabulous, the main hall of the bank is great and I really liked the Lestrange vault. When you come out of Gringotts you walk through Diagon Alley, the the model section and the the Hogwarts model, before stepping into the wand shop and then the actual shop of the tour. I spent a really long time in the shop and walked home with quite a few things (details in my studio tour post). I had lunch at the studios as well and enjoyed a coffee from the Chocolate Frog Café, before taking back the train to central London. From Euston station, I went to Kings Cross and headed to the 9 ¾store, I had to stand inline to get in. I couldn’t resist buying some little things. Then I took the time to relax at the hotel, get changed and have ddinndinner there 

Dinner there again. They have a fab menu, so I had to try other things. Before going to the theatre I went to Trafalgar Square ad took some phtos there and looked at the London Eye. Fiddler on the Roof was playing at The Playhouse theatre and I really enjoyed the show. Great story, fab acting, wonderful voices (read my musical review to know more). 

Wednesday was another Harry Potter day, but I started with a yummy coffee from Monmouth Coffee and some shopping on Regent Street. I bought some summer shorts at Abercrombie and Fitch and just browsed through my fave stores. At 12 I headed tob e beloved restaurant in Carnaby Street called Dehesa, another Tapas place. I had to rush a bit and eat fast, because I had to go back tot he hotel ,leave my tjings there,pick up my ticket and go to the theatre. Luckily, the theatre was on the way back, so I got my tickets before going tot he hotel. I quickly freshened up and walkedto the thatre, it was just a three minute walk. I took some time to take photos in front of the theatre, with the ticket, without, me standing in front etc. Then I had to stand in the queue to get in. They tell you tob e there an hour early, because they take their time checking bags and tickets, the line actually goes around the theatre. The momentI got in, I checked out the store first to see what they have, bought a program, got a coffee and chilled at the bar. Then part one started and I actually had tears in my eyes, a very special moment (more details in my review, soon). After part one I went to the Mina Lima store and actually ordered two very special prints. I then had dinner and enjoyed a little drink at the hotel, before going back tot he theatre for part two. It was amazing, just incredible!

On Thursday I took my time in the moring and I had to pack, which wasn’t easy, because I bought some things ;). After checking out I got my coffee first and walked to Piccadilly Circus, where I went to Tesco first ad then to Waterstones, a must of course. Then I did the res of Regent Street, especially Ted Baker, where I bought some culottes. I had to go back to Dehesa for lunch, because it was justso delicious and I wanted to take my time. The afternoon was spent in Liberty, Starbucks (outside in the sunshine), Mina Lima again and Foyles. Sadly, it was time to say goodbye to London after that, I took the underground to heathrow airport.

London really is a home away from home, I miss it already and want to go back. 

I Heart Hawaii - by Lindsey Kelk

The blurb: 

Join Angela and Jenny in the series finale of the bestselling I Heart books, on the balmy beaches of Hawaii.



When Angela Clark’s best friend Jenny invites her to join a press trip to Hawaii, three days of sun, sea and sleep sounds like the perfect antidote to her crazed life.
 
At work in New York, she’s supposed to be the face of Having It All. But the only thing Angela feels she excels at is hiding in the printer cupboard, eating Mini Cheddars and watching Netflix on her phone and if this is living the dream, she's more than ready to wake up.
 
A few days away with Jenny sounds like exactly what she needs but Angela’s talent for getting into a scrape guarantees nothing goes to plan – and not even the most beautiful beaches, blue skies and daiquiris will get her off the hook…

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

We are back with Angela, Jenn, and Alex, yay!!!

I love Lindsey Kelk’s books and especially her I Heart series, so I was really excited for this book, but also sad and didn’t want it to finish, because it’s the last one. 

Angela Clark is still the same old Angela, but more mature and in a different stage of life. Alex and her are parents now and was fab to see them with little Alice, especially Alex I have to say. He is a fab character and always there for Angela, just awwww. Well, Angela goes back to work and applies to be part of the top mothering group in New York. Then, Jenny comes up and invites her on a press trip to Hawaii. Angela doesn’t want to go, but in the end, she does of course. Louisa is going as well and James and Eva. We get to know some new characters, as well get to read from other series Lindsey Kelk has written. 

I just love Lindsey Kelk’s books so much, so many LOL moments, great locations, lively characters and much more. The storyline in this book is very exciting and fun. It’s full of ups and down, but includes some memorable moments. The topics of friendship and love play a very important role and Lindsey Kelk did a brilliant job with her writing. It feels like being there with the characters. 

The beginning of the book makes you hooked immediately and you are wondering through the story, what is behind it all. Of course, we only find out in the end. 

A fabulous book, once again. Thank you Lindsey!

Rating:

Lindsey Kelk on Twitter: @LindseyKelk

Website: https://lindseykelk.com

Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US