My dream jobs as a child

I recently filled out one of these friendship books for one of my students. One of the questions in there, was the dream job. Right then I remembered that the first time (I was about 7 years old) I had to fill out one of these, I wrote TEACHER. Now 20 years later, I actually am a teacher.

It was my first dream job, when I was a child. After that these changed every year. It’s always funny to see what kids want to be in their future.

The things I wanted to after teacher are very different from each other.

We went to Italy every year, to the same hotel at the beach and because I love the beach so much I wanted to own a hotel somewhere by the sea.

I have always loved languages, so it’s not surprising I wanted to be a translator, preferably for a big international company. I was really impressed with the UNO office in Geneva, so I really wanted to work there. I still have the books I bought there.

I started ballet, when I was 5 years old and then switched to modern jazz and jazz. Standing on stage and dancing was always a little dream. The dream of being on stage in a West End or Broadway show only started when I started choir (high school) and my mom took me to London to see Les Mis.

When my mum decorated the house, I always liked watching her. Whenever we changed something in our house (sofa, shelves etc.) I gave my opinion, so the dream of becoming interior designer started.

Last but not least, we have the land of television. I didn’t want to be an actress, but work behind the scenes was always really fascinating to be. Generally, the field of media and communication appealed to me.

Being a translator was probably the strongest of all my dreams.

When I finished high school and had to decide what to do, I had no idea. My list of things to study was endless. Luckily, the right internship came along and then I knew pretty quickly.

I actually didn’t have great teachers in my primary school career, so you could say it’s a bit surprising. On the other hand, you can just say I want to be a better teacher than them.

What were your dream jobs as a child?

The Wedding That Changed Everything - by Jennifer Joyce

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

Love happens when you least expect it… 

Emily Atkinson stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago! She’s fed up of dating frogs in order to track down her very own Prince Charming, despite the best efforts of her matchmaking best friend…

But now she’s been invited to the wedding of the year at the enchanting Durban Castle, and perhaps bumping into a knight in shining armour isn’t as far away as she thought!

Will Emily survive the wedding and walk away an unscathed singleton – or finally find her own happily-ever-after?

My Opinion:

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

Emily Atkinson is a history teacher and has had enough of men. She doesn’t want to go on date after date, but her best friend Alice has a different plan. She is also looking for men and Emily’s perfect match.

Alice herself has a boyfriend (Emily’s teacher colleague), but her family doesn’t know. Kevin had to hide several times already and she just can’t tell them, because she knows they won’t approve. When her sister gets married, she takes Emily as her plus one. Kevin is of course not happy with this situation and nor is Emily. It means there will be lots of single men around and Alice will do her best to play cupid.

The wedding takes place at Durban castle, a fabulous location and Jennifer Joyce captured it beautifully. There are lots of activities for the guests and it’s so much fun to read about them and see Emily being part of them. Of course there are several potential love interests there too. Archie and Tom were the most interesting ones and Emily definitely had chemistry with one of them. No I’m not telling you which one… read the book!

The banter between them was great and I liked him as a character. All the characters were very well lined out and had their own story to tell.

The fresh, modern and cute writing was the perfect mixture and the book has wonderful humour. It’s an easy read, with so many fantastic elements. The storyline flows beautifully and has a lot of sparks.

Rating:

Jennifer Joyce on Twitter: @Writer_Jenn

Website: http://www.jenniferjoycewrites.co.uk

Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

Fashion Corner - Actually I Can

This Fashion Corner is dedicated to a statement shirt a lot of blogger own. But let's be honest, the message is great!!!

The shirt/jumper is from New Look. It's pink, but I'd actually think is rose and perfect for autumn. They also have it in grey, but I prefer this version. I combined it with my burgundy Zara jeans and my rose velvet sneakers from Steve Madden. 

- Jumper: New Look

- Jeans: Zara

- Shoes: Steve Madden

In this outfit I combined the jumper with black cropped jeans, my Maje leather jacket and my black Nike trainers. 

- Jeans: Jack Wills

- Jacket: Maje (similar)

- Shoes: Nike

When to post a book review on your blog

Book bloggers publish their reviews regularly on their blog, goodreads and amazon. On amazon is clear that you can only publish your review from publication day onwards. On the blog and goodreads however, it’s your own decision when to publish a review.

A few weeks ago, I published a review on my blog, maybe two weeks before publication date. I got a little thank you from the author, but the main comment was that they are delaying publication and don’t want words out yet. All I did was look at the pub date on NetGalley, like I usually do. Especially on NetGalley I always look at the pub dates, because otherwise it’s easy to lose the overview. I was a bit surprised, because I made sure I looked at the release date and then I just took a free slot on my blog.

Publishers who send out early copies, usually say when they want you to post and when they don’t say it, it’s always around publication date. No more than six weeks before pub date, is what one of my blogging friends said. She asked publishers before. Some publishers ask for early reviews and they also use these afterwards in quotes and for promotion. Of course in blog tours you can either choose a date or you get assigned one, that makes deciding when to post easy.

Book bloggers read a lot and sometimes it’s difficult to schedule everything around the right pub dates. Spaces fill quickly and sometimes we also don’t have time to read a book. We all have a life outside of book blogging, a 100% job, so we read and review when we can. After publication day any time is basically fine.

I have asked authors and other blogger friends for their opinion on the matter and we all pretty much agree. Around release date seems to be the common answer. That can be before or after. Sometimes there are a lot of books out at the same time, then you just do it as close as possible. It has to be within your reading schedule.

Sometimes it’s just best to as the author and they will tell you. I often tell them I can’t review before pub date and around it, just after and they are totally ok with it. When I do then is usually publish a Q&A or guest post around pub date, like this I can still help promote it.

Some authors prefer publication week, but I have had a lot who are just grateful to get reviews, anytime basically. When the ebook is out, before the paperback, a boost of reviews around the paperback release date is very helpful. Authors also like reviews, when their book is on sale. The majority actually doesn't care and shares it the same way, no matter when the review was published. 

I think it’s important to see that the pre-order link is up, so your blog readers, can pre-order it. Otherwise they will forget about the book. The pre-ordering has actually started a little discussion, because some think that people don't pre-order books. Others pre-order themselves and think that's very common. In my opinion, pre-ordering is very helpful. I do it all the times, with books I really want to receive and read. It's on my kindle after midnight and they usually send it immediately when they receive it themselves. You don't have to think about it anymore and they book will and on your doorstep. 

A lot of publishers start promoting certain books very early. They post quotes, part of the blurb, trailers etc. I think then it’s also ok, to post your review, even if it’s way before pub date.

If you are not sure, when to post it, always ask. And one more thing: also add the reviews to amazon and goodreads as soon as possible, that always helps promote a book.