A Spoonful of Happy Endings: kirsty greenwood

Showing posts with label kirsty greenwood. Show all posts

27 November 2014

Weekly Feature: Once Upon a Story...

'Once Upon a Story' is a weekly feature in which we go back in time and focus on a specific novel that was released in the same month we're in right now (in this case May), but a few years back! It can be a women's fiction classic from the 1990's or perhaps a great chick lit read from 2011. I thought it would be nice to not just focus on recent releases, but also take the chance to jump back in time once a week and look back at wonderful reads that have been released over the years!

This week, we're travelling not so far back to November 2013 to look back at...

Be sure to visit the blog next week for another blast from chick lit past with 'Once Upon a Story...'!

25 February 2014

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Favourite Books of 2013!

'Top Ten Tuesday' is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Lately I've seen some other book bloggers being quite enthusiastic about this weekly meme, so I decided to join in with the fun and try it out myself as well!

Top Ten Favourite Books of 2013 For Today's Top Ten Tuesday all bloggers got the chance to pick one of the previous Top Ten topics we'd like to do again or may have missed. Since I joined the Top Ten Tuesday club just a few weeks ago, there are quite a lot of fun and challenging lists to choose from. However, I decided to go for my 10 favourite books of 2013! I never got around to making a list of my favourite books of last year, and this is the perfect chance to do this, even though I might be about two months late, oops!

Giovanna Fletcher - 'Billy and Me'

Giovanna Fletcher released her debut novel 'Billy and Me' in May 2014 and it was a release I was really looking forward to. As soon as I read the title and the blurb and saw the cover of the book, I knew this would be chick lit I'd instantly fall in love with, and that is exactly what happened when I read the book. I can't wait to read Giovanna's second novel, 'You're The One That I Want', which will be released in May 2014!

Click here to read my review of 'Billy and Me'!

Lindsey Kelk - 'About a Girl'

Lindsey Kelk is without a doubt one of my favourite chick lit authors. Her 'I Love...' series is an absolute must-read for any chick lit fan, but 2013 introduced us to a new Lindsey Kelk series! 'About a Girl' tells the story of new heroine Tess, and was everything I had hoped for: thoroughly entertaining, incredibly funny, and simply sparkling! In 2014 the second part of the series will be published, 'What a Girl Wants', and I can't wait to pick it up!

Click here to read my review of 'About a Girl'!

Kirsty Greenwood - 'Yours Truly'

Kirsty Greenwood's debut novel 'Yours Truly' was one of the best chick lit debuts of 2013 and I couldn't simply not mention it on this list. 'Yours Truly' tells the story of Natalie Butterworth who manages to get hypnotized, which completely turns her life around. The novel's not just funny and a definite page-turner, but also has a lovely handsome male character at its core... I'm looking forward to reading more of Kirsty's work in 2014!

Click here to read my review of 'Yours Truly'!

Diane Chamberlain - 'Necessary Lies'

I unexpectedly received a review copy of Diane Chamberlain's novel 'Necessary Lies' and was completely blown away by it. The book is set in America in the 1960's and tells the story of Ivy and Jane, who both lead completely different lives but are brought together, which results in a simply wonderful tale. Diane Chamberlain is an amazing author and I definitely plan on reading more of her work in 2014.

Click here to read my review of 'Necessary Lies'!

Kim Izzo - 'My Life in Black and White'

Kim Izzo is another author I was introduced to in 2013, and I really fell in love with her novel 'My Life in Black and White.' I can honestly say it's a book unlike anything else I read before, and I simply did not want to put it down. The book is a time-travel romantic comedy, in which the reader is transported from the present day to the 1950's, and is suitable for any reader, not just fans of chick lit. A read I still recommend to others every chance I get!

Click here to read my review of 'My Life in Black and White'!

Miranda Dickinson - 'Take a Look at Me Now'

One of the queens of chick lit, Miranda Dickinson, treated us to another brilliant read in 2013 in the shape of 'Take a Look at Me Now.' I love love love Miranda Dickinson's novels, they are always filled with amazing characters, a wonderful storyline, and a good dose of romance. This one definitely did not disappoint; Nell's story is one I thoroughly enjoyed and the book earned a well-deserved place on my favourites list!

Click here to read my review of 'Take a Look at Me Now'!

Emily Liebert - 'You Knew Me When'

Next to 'A Spoonful of Happy Endings', I'm also a book blogger for Chick Lit Club and that is how I got into touch with a publisher about Emily Liebert's 'You Knew Me When.' Sometimes you read a book and just after a few pages you already know you've fallen in love and don't want the book to end. That's exactly what I felt when I read this novel. I loved absolutely everything about it, and it is undoubtedly one of my favourite reads of the past year.

Click here to read my review of 'You Knew Me When'!

Charity Norman - 'The Son-in-Law'

Another book I was asked to review and was completely blown away by. Charity Norman's 'The Son-in-Law' is an incredibly emotional and realistic read; a story that has stayed with me up until this day. It's a book that looks at a rather serious topic from two different points of view, which really captivated me and proved once again that there are always two sides to every story. A must-read!

Click here to read my review of 'The Son-in-Law'!

Alexandra Brown - 'Christmas at Carrington's'

At the start of 2013, I read Alexandra Brown's novel 'Cupcakes at Carrington's' and I instantly loved the storyline and the characters at its centre. At the end of last year we were treated to the Christmas-themed sequel, 'Christmas at Carrington's' which was definitely one of my favourite Christmas releases of 2013! I loved travelling back to the world of heroine Georgie Hart and Carrington's department store. A wonderfully festive novel, and I'm already really looking forward to the third part in the series which will be released this year!

Click here to read my review of 'Christmas at Carrington's'!

Lisa Dickenson - 'The Twelve Dates of Christmas'

Another Christmas read which I enjoyed SO much it had to be the one to end this list with! Lisa Dickenson's 'The Twelve Dates of Christmas' was released at the end of 2013 as an e-book series, with 6 different parts focusing on 2 of the 12 dates as mentioned in the title. The story is incredibly funny, magical, and simply brilliant, and I honestly can't wait to see what else Lisa has in store for us. Even if it means I have to start a petition in order to have more of her work published!

Click here to read my review of 'The Twelve Dates of Christmas'!

I'd love to hear what YOUR favourite reads of 2013 were!

20 November 2013

Review: 'Yours Truly' by Kirsty Greenwood (2013)

Newly engaged Natalie Butterworth is an easy-going girl. She'll do anything for a quiet life and if telling a few teensy white lies keeps her friends and family happy, then so what? It's not like they'll ever discover what she's really thinking...

Until one night, thanks to a pub hypnotist, Natalie's most private thoughts begin to bubble up and pop out of her mouth. Things get very messy indeed, especially when some sticky home truths offend her fiancé.

Natalie must track down the hypnotist before her wedding is officially cancelled. So along with bad influence bestie Meg, Natalie finds herself in the Yorkshire Parish of Little Trooley - a small village bursting with big secrets, nosy old folk and intriguing Wellington-wearing men.

When the girls get stuck in the village with no means of escape and no way to break the hypnotist's spell, Natalie is forced to face the truths she has been avoiding her whole life...

I have to admit, Kirsty Greenwood’s ‘Yours Truly’ has to be one of the 2013 releases I have been looking forward to the most. Many of you chick lit fans out there will undoubtedly recognise Kirsty’s name from Novelicious, an amazing chick lit website and now also digital imprint of fantastic women's fiction. Kirsty self-published her novel ‘Yours Truly’, which became a big hit, and she is now signed by Pan Macmillan. The paperback version of ‘Yours Truly’ will be available from the 21st of November 2013 (click here to get it on Amazon now), but I was lucky enough to receive a review copy. I knew this book would not disappoint, so I saved it for a time when I needed a good book to cheer me up, and this one definitely did the trick!

Natalie Butterworth is a 27-year-old who can be described as being a push-over. She does everything to avoid any form of confrontation, tells everyone what they want to hear, and is afraid to stand up for herself. Yet, Natalie is satisfied with her life and especially her engagement to the fit and handsome Olly. So, when Natalie’s best friend Meg takes her on an evening out to the pub and Natalie ends up accidentally hypnotized to only tell the absolute truth and nothing but the truth, she at first doesn’t necessarily expect any trouble. Until she discovers she might not be as satisfied with her relationship, her job, and her upcoming wedding as she thought, and there’s no way to hide her true feelings any longer. Natalie knows she has to find Amazing Brian, the man who hypnotized her, which brings her to the tiny Yorkshire village Little Trooley. All Natalie wants is her old life back, but on her journey to get there she is forced to face some truths, whether she wants to or not...

I loved loved loved this book. I instantly liked Natalie, who is a relatable and entertaining heroine, and as soon as she was forced to only tell the truth, I couldn’t stop laughing out loud. Next to her, there’s a great mix of likeable characters, such as dreamy bartender Riley, lovely best friend Meg, and slightly annoying-but-in-a-good-way sister Dionne. The setting of the novel was also brilliant; the tiny village of Little Trooley is described in perfect detail and I’d simply like to pack my bags and move there right now! However, great characters and a beautiful setting don’t make a novel. Thankfully, the book also has a great storyline with its own original twist, and all of this combined together made me not want to put this book down for even a single second.

If you ask me, this novel is exactly what the genre ‘chick lit’ is all about: an inspiring female heroine who finds herself being challenged, trying to find her way in this world, with a special dose of love, friendship, family, humour, hunky men and delicious food. ‘Yours Truly’ is a charming, addictive, laugh-out-loud funny book, and definitely one of my favourite reads of 2013. Kirsty Greenwood has presented us with a wonderful debut novel, and I already see a future for her as one of the new big voices within the world of chick-lit. A must-read for anyone looking for a great and funny read!

Rating:

10/10

12 November 2013

November 2013 release: 'Yours Truly' by Kirsty Greenwood

Newly engaged Natalie Butterworth is an easy-going girl. She’ll do anything for a quiet life and if telling a few teensy white lies keeps her friends and family happy, then so what? It’s not like they’ll ever discover what she’s really thinking…

Until one night, thanks to a pub hypnotist, Natalie’s most private thoughts begin to bubble up and pop out of her mouth. Things get very messy indeed. Especially when some sticky home truths offend her fiancé.

Natalie must track down the hypnotist before the wedding is officially cancelled. So along with bad influence bestie Meg, Natalie finds herself in the Yorkshire Parish of Little Trooley - a small village bursting with big secrets, nosy old folk and intriguing Wellington-wearing men.

When the girls get stranded in the village with no means of escape and no way to break the hypnotist's spell, Natalie is forced to face the truths she has been avoiding her whole life...

Kirsty Greenwood (whom all of you chick-lit fans might know from the fabulous 'Novelicious' website) is releasing her first novel, 'Yours Truly', on the 21st of November! I have been looking forward to this novel for quite some time now, especially after all the amazing things I've heard about it from other people. Kirsty Greenwood is named as the new chick-lit author on the scene to look out for, and apparently 'Yours Truly' is incredibly funny and entertaining. I can't wait to read it!

Be sure to pre-order your own copy on Amazon by clicking here!

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