Book of the Month - August

The books I read this month:

-       The Sunflower Cottage Breakfast Club– by Lynsey James 4/5

-       Found – by Elle Field 4/5

-       After You – by Jojo Moyes 4/5

-       Green Tea Latte to Go – by Aven Ellis 5/5

-       Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Throne 5/5

-       All About the Hype – by Paige Toon 5/5

-       Nice Day For a White Wedding – by A.L. Michael 4/5

-       Christmas Under a Cranberry Sky – by Holly Martin 5/5

-       The Singalong Society for Singletons – by Katey Lovell

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Well, well, I’ve read some great books this month and I picked four this time, but they are all another genre and one of them is a Christmas one, so I thought I’d go for it: 

Green Tea Latte to Go – Aven Ellis

The bit on the back:

Perfect Drink: Green tea latte with coconut milk and raw honey.

Perfect Fashion Icon: The Duchess of Cambridge. Always on point with her fashion, dressing appropriately for every occasion and not afraid to recycle things from her wardrobe, I truly admire her class and style.

Perfect Place: Seattle.

Perfect Activity for Relaxation: Yoga. I’m terrible at it, but I’m determined to perfect downward dog. Someday.

For Seattle blogger Payton James, life is all about trying to achieve perfection. Payton is determined to be her best self in all areas, and she refuses to rest until she achieves it.

However, an imperfect moment in a coffee shop completely changes Payton’s life. When her drink order gets switched by mistake, Payton finds herself face-to-face with a gorgeous British man named Brooks. Payton is instantly attracted to the witty stranger who is quick with his words—and has a beautiful smile.

Brooks is an exotic veterinarian with a huge passion for animals. Heartache in his past has led him to focusing on his career out of fear of getting hurt again. But there’s something about Payton that makes this vet want to know more about the bubbly blogger he has met via fate—and has him reconsidering his stance on love.

But will Brooks ever be free of his fears to truly open his heart? And will Payton’s drive for perfection cost her the one thing she loves most? Or will she learn to embrace imperfections?

And maybe perfect is the one thing Payton doesn’t want after all . . .

My opinion:

I really adored how their relationship developed in this book, the storyline is beautiful and there were some magical moments for sure. Aven’s writing has it all: passion, love, humour, heart, sparks and much more. This book is an AMAZING start to this new series set in Seattle!!!

Aven on Twitter: @AvenEllis

Website/Blog: http://avenellis.com/

Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

All About the Hype – Page Toon

The bit on the back:

The third super hot, super fun Jessie Jefferson novel from internationally bestselling author, Paige Toon.

Is the life of a famous rockstar's daughter all it's cracked up to be? And what about dating your fellow band-member just as you hit the bigtime? 

Jessie is still getting used to being a celebrity, and the daughter of one of the world’s biggest rock stars. With her own music career on the rise, a gorgeous love interest and a fun group of friends, it seems Jessie’s glamorous LA life couldn’t get any better . . . but things are about to get really complicated.

My opinion:

This story is truly magnetic and full of sparks! This story takes you on an exciting roller-coaster ride, full of emotions, excitement and passion. There is a lot going on in this book, but it never got to a point where it was too much. I actually really liked this fact and I think it added even more glimmer to this book. I absolutely adored catching up with Jessie, Johnny, meg and Co. 

Paige Toon on Twitter: @PaigeToonAuthor

Website: http://paigetoon.com

Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Throne

The bit on the back:

The Eighth Story. Nineteen Years Later.

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

My opinion:

AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME! I love the fact that it is a script, it’s just as good and leaves so much space for your own imagination. It’s so fab to catch up with Harry, Ron, hermione and Co. And also getting to know the next genreation! There is so much action and drama in this book and also some unexpected events! LOVED IT!

Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

Christmas Under a Cranberry Sky – Holly Martin

The bit on the back:

This year spend a wonderful Christmas on Juniper Island, where love can melt even the iciest of hearts…

Piper Chesterfield lives a glamorous life travelling the world and reviewing the finest hotels. She calls nowhere home, she works alone and that’s how she likes it. For long ago Piper decided that to protect her heart she should lock it away. 

So when Piper’s next assignment brings her to the newly opened Stardust Lake Hotel for the festive season, the last person she expects to face is Gabe Whitaker, the man who broke her heart so completely she could never love again. 

But Piper isn’t the only one who has been frozen in time by heartbreak. Gabe hasn’t forgotten the golden-eyed girl who disappeared from his world without a trace. 

Now fate has reunited them on Juniper island, can the magic of Christmas heal old wounds? And can this enchanting town be the one place Piper can finally call home? 

Curl up with this gorgeously romantic tale and let the glistening snow and the roaring fires of Stardust Lake Hotel get you in the festive spirit this Christmas.

Christmas Under a Starlit Sky out soon.

My opinion:

Juniper Island is such a magical and festive place and so ist he story. I got hooked immediatley, because of how the characters have a history and now meet again. It’s unputdownable and full of wonderful sparks!!!

Holly on Twitter: @hollymartin00

Website: https://hollymartinwriter.wordpress.com

Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

Sky's Musical Corner - Books Including Music 1

It’s time for the first of three post about books including music/about music. This is all part of my musical feature "Sky’s Musical Corner" (see schedule at the end of this post). So in this post I introduce you to some books that are about music. Some I have read, some I haven’t. And of course there are many more, this is just a little selection. I will also feature certain books separately, including guest posts by the authors. 

The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me by Lucy Robinson

Sally is an incredible singer but she sings only in her wardrobe where nobody can hear her. She'd rather join a nudist colony than sing in public.

That is until she ventures to New York where a wild and heady summer of love and loss changes her forever. No longer able to hide in the shadows, Sally must return home to London to fulfill a promise she cannot break - to share her voice.

But just as she's about to embark on her new life, a beautiful man turns up on Sally's doorstep bearing a sheepish smile and a mysterious hand-written message.

How did he find her? Why is he here? Does he hold the truth to what happened back in New York? And, with him back on the scene, will she still have the courage to step into the spotlight?

Goodreads – AmazonUK - Amazon US – My Review

Proposing to Preston by Katy Regnery

 

Preston Winslow has a heart as open as the sky and room in his life for someone special. When he falls in love with Broadway actress, Elise Klassan, he holds nothing back.

Elise, who has made tremendous sacrifices to forward her career, is swept off her feet by handsome, charming Preston...but the stage has been her first love for so many years, she doesn't know if there's room for Preston in her life. When the day comes that she must choose between her ambition and her heart, she profoundly hurts the one man who could have made her happy.

Two years later, Elise has become a world-famous actress and Preston is a very successful lawyer. But fame has not equaled happiness for Elise, and Preston is much too bitter and cynical to ever consider falling in love again.

Is it possible that the only person who can mend Preston's heart is the one who originally broke it? Only if Elise can figure out a way to make him believe in love all over again.

Goodreads – AmazonUK - Amazon US – My Review

See you Soon Broadway by Melissa Baldwin

Maris Forrester has a wonderful life with an amazing boyfriend and a fulfilling job. She’s happy and content . . . or so she thinks. Maris has always had huge dreams of being on Broadway. Ever since her very first performance as a child, she has envisioned herself on the stage under the shining lights. Now she has to decide whether she should to give up her wonderful life to chase those dreams.

When her parents announce they are moving, she comes across a long-lost family treasure. She doesn’t realize that this treasure may hold the key to her future and to all her dreams coming true.

And if that wasn’t sign enough, a mysterious stranger throws another wrench in the mix at a dazzling rooftop party benefiting the Arts. These could be signs of things to come.

But will she remain content in her perfect world, or will she step into the unknown world she has always dreamed of?

Goodreads – AmazonUK - Amazon US

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

 

One miscarriage too many spelled the end of Max and Zoe Baxter's marriage. Though the former couple went quite separate ways, their fates remained entangled: After veering into alcoholism, Max is saved in multiple senses by his fundamentalist conversion; Zoe, for her part, finds healing relief in music therapy and the friendship, then romantic love with Vanessa, her counselor. After Zoe and Vanessa, now married, decide to have a baby, they realize that they must join battle with Max, who objects on both religious and financial grounds. Like her House Rules and several other previous Jodi Picoult novels, Sing You Home grapples with hot button issues. The novel also includes a CD of songs, each matched with a chapter in the book. Perfect for book clubs.

Goodreads – AmazonUK - Amazon US 

All Together Now by Gill Hornby

The small town of Bridgeford is in crisis. Downtown is deserted, businesses are closing, and the idea of civic pride seems old-fashioned to residents rushing through the streets to get somewhere else. Bridgeford seems to have lost its heart.

But there is one thing that just might unite the community--music. The local choir, a group generally either ignored or mocked by most of Bridgeford's inhabitants, is preparing for an important contest, and to win it they need new members, and a whole new sound. Enlisting (some may say drafting) singers, who include a mother suffering from empty-nest syndrome, a middle-aged man who has just lost his job and his family, and a nineteen-year-old waitress who dreams of reality-TV stardom, the choir regulars must find--and make--harmony with neighbors they've been happy not to know for years. Can they all learn to work together, save the choir, and maybe even save their town in the process?

All Together Now is a poignant and charming novel about community, family, falling in love--and the big rewards of making a small change.

Goodreads – AmazonUK - Amazon US 

Choral Society by Prue Leith

When Lucy and Rebecca agree to help the shy Joanna overcome stagefright during their choral class, an unlikely friendship develops among the three. And soon enough, the lessons turn to matters of the heart. Lucy has been recently widowed and now faces the loss of her “old-fashioned” food column. Rebecca is a flighty single mother with a voracious sexual appetite, and Joanna is a hard charging businesswoman, who comes home nightly to an empty house.

Goodreads – AmazonUK - Amazon US

Welcome to Sky’s Musical Corner

Happy September my lovelies!

This month is a bit special on my blog, let me tell you why. As some of you might now I’m in a theatre group and this month we will finally have our performances for CHESS. We have been rehearsing since March and now it’s finally time, I’m really excited about it.

We have six performances: Sept 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 and maybe even an additional one. That means I will be very busy, also before the premiere, because we have tech rehearsals, dress rehearsals and all that jazz. This means that next to work I won’t really have time for anything else, hence why I came up with this idea. A month full of Musical related posts. I will be talking about the show, rehearsals and much more, see schedule below. I have also asked some of my friends to join me with guest posts or answering my special Q&A, thanks for that lovelies xxx.

I will also introduce you to some books that include musicals or other form of music.

There will be the occasional book review in between, depending on how much time I get to read. I hope you enjoy this special month J.

I found a list on goodreads on books about musicals, have a look here: https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/musical-theater

To properly get into the topic, I thought I’d answer the Musical Q&A as well, so here we go:

1.  What’s your favourite musical ever?

For a musical theatre lover this is an impossible question, but I’m still going to answer it. I once posted my Top 5 Musicals on this blog, but that has definitely changed. My top two without a doubt are Les Mis and Wicked though! I love everything about these two shows!!!

2.  What comes to mind when you hear the word Musical?

Happiness, bliss, joy! The perfect combination of singing, dancing and acting. It’s just always so much fun to see everything turn into one perfect story and it’s only complete with all three elements together.

3.  Have you ever seen a Musical on the West End or Broadway?

There are so many!!! Broadway is easy, cause I have only been to NYC once and I’ve seen School of Rock and Fun Home.

West End is a different story, because every time I go to London I see at least two shows and I go to London almost every year, once or twice. Let me put together a list, but I might forget some: Into the Woods, Aladdin, Book of Mormom, Kinky Boots, Les Mis (2x), The Phantom of the Opera, “Assassins”, Billy Elliot, Singing in the Rain, Matilda, Oliver!, Blood Brothers, Wicked, Sound of Music, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat, A Chorus Line etc.

4.  What’s the next musical you want to see?

Hmmm. That’s difficult, I want to see so many! One would definitely be Chess, but it’s not running. Others would be Spring Awakening, Newsies, Hamilton, Hairspray, Memphis, Finding Neverland and many more.

5.  Which musicals have you seen live?

In addition to the ones mentioned in question three, I have seen West Side Story, We Will Rock You, Mamma Mia, Hair, Fame, Grease, Guys and Dolls, Kiss Me Kate, Oklahoma, Company, Sunday in the Park with George, Avenue Q, Annie, Bonnie and Clyde, Pippin, Lion King, Tanz der Vampire, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sweeney Todd etc.

6.  What’s your favourite song out of a musical?

Well, that’s a difficult one as well obviously, so I will mention a few.

-      Les Mis: On My Own, Do You Hear the People Sing?

-      Wicked: Defiying Gravity, As Long As You’re Mine

-      Chess: All of them! The music is so fab!

-      Oliver!: Who Will Buy, As Long As He Needs Me

I could go on, but I won’t…

7.  Who’s you favourite Musical actress?

That’s hard, I’ve seen a lot of good performances: Carrie Hope Fletcher (Les Mis), Jodie Prenger (Oliver!), Kathrine McPhee in Smash (TV show).

8.  Who’s you favourite Musical actor?

Aaron Tveit! I loved him in the Les Mis movie and then I saw him live in “Assassins” in London, he is so talented, his voice is amazing and he is very handsome ;).

9.  Best Musical movie you have ever seen?

Les Mis!!!

10.               Which book would you turn into a musical?

I think, that’s the most difficult one of them all for me. There are so many fab books out, who deserve to be turned into a musical, I’m thinking about the one that would make most sense. I think One Hundred Proposals by Holly Martin would be quite fun, would this special love story and all these exotic places. And maybe the whole Johnny Jefferson series by Paige Toon, Johnny’s story and new also his daughter’s. And obviously Harry Potter!

11.               Which musical has the best soundtrack?

I’m tempted to say Chess, but I’ve listened to this soundtrack over and over again in the past few months. I really like the Hairspray soundtrack and Wicked as well.

12.               Take your favourite Musical and put together your own dream cast.

Hmmm, I loved (most) of the cast in the Les Mis movie! And seeing as Aaron Tveit was once Fiyero in Wicked it’s all good.

13.               Who is your favourite Musical composer?

I have to say I like Andrew Lloyd Webber, but I kind of got bored of him. Stephen Sondheim is brilliant!

14.               Which Musical made/makes you cry?

Easy! Blood Brothers and Les Mis, I have to cry every single time, also when I’m just listening to the songs.

Here is the schedule for Sky's Musical Corner:

Sending all my love!