Close My Eyes by Sophie McKenzie.

Until I read Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson, I never really thought of myself as a fan of thriller books.  However I enjoyed that one so much that when I read the details of Close My Eyes, I was excited at the possibility it could be just as good; and I wasn't disappointed.

I loved this book.  It was gripping from the start, and towards the end I didn't want to put it down.

I really liked Gen, the main character, and so many times throughout the book I felt so sorry for her confusion and could empathise with her doubting herself, yet at the same time I was cheering her on to follow her heart.

There are lots of fantastic twists and turns in this story line, but despite this it's very easy to follow.  I was constantly second guessing my ideas of where the plot would go next and which characters I thought were trustworthy, which made it a really exciting read.

The ending wasn't a disappointment which I'm always worried about when I've been so compelled to keep reading throughout the body of the book.  But the ending of Close My Eyes was totally creepy, and the final twist made the story stay with me long after I'd closed the book.

This is a brilliant book, that whilst being packed full of information to digest as you go on Gen's journey with her, is really easy to follow.  It will absorb you in the story and keep you guessing right up until the end. Definitely one to read.

Title: Close My Eyes
Author: Sophie McKenzie

The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling.

Like most Harry Potter fans I was really intrigued to read J. K. Rowling's first adult book.  I heard mixed reviews but was excited to get started.

I'm afraid to say I didn't enjoy this book one bit.  I had heard there were a lot of characters to get your head around at the beginning, and there is, but even as you carry on through the book I didn't find things became any clearer.  I was constantly trying to remember who everyone was, and how they were all inter-related.  I would have preferred there to be less characters so that I could get to know them better and became more involved in their story.

My main problem with the book is that there was no real interesting plot-line keeping me interested in the characters and making me want to keep reading. 

I felt like the book was trying to make a point about society, but it didn't make this point clearly enough.

Also, the book is just too long.  I don't mind reading longer books, but they have to have an interesting and intriguing plot to keep my interest and this just didn't.

All in all I wouldn't recommend this book which is a shame because I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and was looking forward to reading a totally different style of book the J. K. Rowling.  In the end it was only my reluctance to ever give up reading a book part way through that kept me going to the last page, but in hindsight I should have just given up with it as it didn't get any better towards the end.

Title: The Casual Vacancy
Author: J K Rowling

The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom.

This book has been on my 'to'read' list for ever.  The concept of the story just sounded so interesting and I wasn't disappointed.

The book takes us on Eddie's journey from death through heaven.  Each person must make a journey touching five people who have influenced their lives, in order to realise the impact they had upon the life they lived.

I enjoyed the philosophical side of this book, but it doesn't push any heavy beliefs onto the reader.  Instead it simply tells the interesting story of Eddie's life through the people he meets in Heaven.  It's a heartwarming story which is very enjoyable to read.  And what's more there are only just over 200 pages in this book so it won't take you long to read.

Title: The Five People You Meet In Heaven
Author: Mitch Albom

I Heart Paris by Lindsey Kelk.

The third book in the 'I Heart...' series sees Angela and Alex take a 'working' trip to Paris.  As ever Angela's trip is full of drama, self-doubt and a lot of clumsiness, but what makes these books so endearing is that Angela's so relateable, and the writing is so funny.

Angela's best friend Jenny, who I love, doesn't play a big role in this book which is a shame, but there are new characters to keep your interest and the relationship between Angela and Alex is examined in more detail than the other books.

I expected to like this book more than I Heart New York and I Heart Hollywood simply because I visited Paris earlier this year and hoped I would recognise some of the places Angela visits.  But I didn't find this made me like the book anymore than the others which I think is a strength of the series in general as you don't have to have visited, or even have any interest in, the places where the stories are set; the writing pulls you into the heart of the story, and the setting is just an interesting extra detail.

I love this series of books.  Now I've finished the third book I'm actually getting a bit worried that I only have two books left to read.

As always with the 'I Heart' series there is a helpful guide to the title city at the back of the book.  And with that thought I'm off to read the guide for Vegas in the next book.  I'm saving the actual book to read on my flight... to Vegas... excited :)

Title: I Heart Paris
Author: Lindsey Kelk
I Heart Series #3

Have a peek at my reviews for:
I Heart New York
I Heart Hollywood

A Day At The Office by Matt Dunn.

This book takes place on Valentines Day and tells the story of several people who work at the same office.  It's a light-hearted romance which I didn't expect given the title and cover of the book.

If I'm honest I was a little disappointed with this book.  It just seemed to lack any spark to keep me interested.  It certainly wasn't a book that I couldn't put down.  Although there were several characters none of them stood out to me and if I'm honest I wasn't really bothered what happened to the characters in the end.

If you want a book that you don't have to think about then this one will do, but it just lacks any magic in the writing to make it stand out from other books on the shelf.

But it was only 99p on Kindle...

Title: A Day At The Office
Author: Matt Dunn

I Heart Hollywood by Lindsey Kelk.

This is the second book in the 'I Heart...' series and after loving the first book I have to say I loved this one even more.

It's another example of the perfect chick-lit novel, stuffed full of friendship, romance and lots of embarrassing and cringe-worthy situations for the main character, Angela.  The end of the book in particular had my laughing out loud and there were plenty of heartwarming moments throughout the book too.

I love the relationship she has with her best friend Jenny, who sounds impossibly gorgeous but the best friend to have around when things keep going wrong for you or you're in need of a stylist!

What I particularly liked about this book was that Angela wasn't that keen on Hollywood.  It would be easy for every book in this series to simply gush about the city it's based in which would get a bit boring, but although Angela points out some things she can appreciate about Hollywood, on the whole she's just not that keen.

All in all this is another book that I couldn't put down.  As soon as I finished this one I literally picked up the next in the series, I Heart Paris.  And long may this series continue...

Title: I Heart Hollywood
Author: Lindsey Kelk
I Heart Series #2

I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk.

The first thing I thought when reading this book was 'why have I not discovered Lindsey Kelk books earlier?'  Somehow I have never read one of these brilliants books which given the fact I'm a huge chick-lit fan and these are totally chick-lit heaven I've been seriously missing out.

I loved this book from the first page when the main character wonders if its possible to get a muffin top on your head whilst wearing a tiara.  I thought, yep, this is my kind of neurotic leading lady! Angela is the perfect main character, she's just a normal girl thrown into a crazy situation and despite being very vulnerable she is just the right side of brave and throws herself into a new life making herself a role model for readers straight away.

My heart was totally behind Angela the whole time I was reading this book, I was desperate for her blog to become a success and I had my fingers crossed the whole time that Alex would pull through as the guy she wanted him to be.  Nearing the end of the book things suddenly take a turn for the worst following Angela's argument with Jenny and my heart sank.  You can rest assured with this book that it's not all fluffiness, Angela is going on a real emotional journey that we've all been on at some point, we just all haven't been in New York whilst we go through it!

If you didn't want to visit New York before you read this book, most certainly will do afterwards I can guarantee that.  The way Angela describes it makes it seem magical, if not a little cold!

Thankfully when you finish this book, you're in the glorious position of knowing there are three more in the series waiting to be read... and so not wanting to leave Angela's story there I jumped straight into I Heart Hollywood.  And guess what? - I love it already.

Title: I Heart New York
Author: Lindsey Kelk

The One You Love by Paul Pilkington.

As a fan of chick-lit I was only really drawn to this book because it was the number one free book in Kindle (shallow I know) but despite this I really enjoyed it.

The book is a thriller and is packaged full of suspense and intrigue.  The author constantly leaves little snippets of information hanging in the air which you are unable to piece together.  As you read you find yourself unable to figure out all the little bits of information and your idea of 'who did it' constantly changes.  And thankfully when you do get to the end of the book it's not disappointing to find out the truth which I sometimes find with these kinds of books.

I was a little worried by the fact that the same characters in this book go on to feature in another crime thriller - how unlucky can one set of friends be!

Get it while it's still free on Kindle - it's well worth it.

Title: The One You Love
Author: Paul Pilkington