April: Book Review

Welcome to April's Book Review!

During lockdown I have been reading to my hearts galore and I thought it might be helpful to note down quick reviews for them because I can't think of anything else to do with my time. I read 4 books in April, my favourite undoubtedly was Normal People and my least favourite was definitely My Sister The Serial Killer and here's why.

The Smiling Man by Joseph Knox ★★★★



First up was The Smiling Man by Joseph Knox. This book is actually the 2nd in a three book series that follows Detective Aidan Waits investigating murders with links to the gang and drug scene in Manchester. The first book is called Sirens. I read that in January and loved it! So easy to read and grips you right from the off with the short and snappy chapters so naturally I had big expectations for this book. This book didn't really capture me as much as the first one did, I felt the story quite slow but I gave it 4 stars because it has a really good ending so glad I stuck with it. If you're looking for a good crime series to sink your teeth into during lockdown, I would recommend these 2 books. The next in the series is called The Sleepwalker which I've just to read. Its my on my list though! 


My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite ★★★

I seen this book pop up on social media with rave reviews so I followed the herd and gave it bash! I read it in 3 days so its a relatively short read. I hate to admit that I was quite disappointed, I wanted more a juicy ending to it. The book follows the story of 2 sisters in Nigeria called Korede and Ayoola, Ayoola has a dark hobby for killing boyfriends and so the story takes shape when she links up with Korede's crush. I won't spoil it but I will say the crush did sort of get what was coming to him for being such a wet blanket. They say you should never judge a book by its cover but the cover is badass haha. I hereby give this book 3 stars! 

The Cows by Dawn O'Porter ★★★★★

Next up is The Cows. I have had this book on my shelf for a wee while and just didn't have the time to get fully into it when I was working. When lockdown began I kinda made a vow to try reading the books on the shelf first before hitting amazon and buying new ones. I haven't actually stuck to that but I did give this book another bash. I have to say that I couldn't rave about this book enough. I absolutely LOVED IT and definitely deserves my 5 stars! This book follows the stories of 3 women, Tara, Cam and Stella, women from all walks of life. These characters represent all women in some way or another, single mothers, career driven women, the women that don't want kids, the psycho women out there, the lonely women.. I could go and on! Its a lovely piece of literature that reaches younger women in todays society and tells them its ok to be different and live life you're own way. The three characters stories intertwine so perfectly and each stories concludes with absolute shockers.  I couldn't recommend this book enough! READ IT! Dawn O'Porters next book is called So Lucky and it's out in July - I'm not even ashamed to admit that I have already pre-ordered it and I have never pre-ordered a book in my life. 

Normal People by Sally Rooney ★★★★★

Last but certainly not least was Normal People by Sally Rooney and yes just like the general population of the world I completely fell in love with these two characters. I am ashamed to admit but I tried to read this book months ago and just couldn't get into it, couple of months later, bam coronavirus, bam furloughed, bam sunshine, bam finished this book in a day! The book follows the story of Marianne and Connell, two complicated souls in a small Irish town who basically become friends with benefits in school and remain close friends/ on and off boyfriend & girlfriend throughout University. Connell is a complicated mess and Irish, my type in a nutshell so naturally I completely and utterly fell in love with him and he reminded me so much a guy I used to know as well ! The ending of this made me physically scream in frustration haha those who have read it will understand but if reading isn't your thing, the 12 part TV series has just came out on BBC and honestly its truly heart wrenching and perfect. It's soo true to the book which I love. 

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you enjoyed this!

Next post: Do you have an Avoidant Personality when it comes to dating? Find out 12pm on Sunday! Rx 

How I'm Staying Sane During Lockdown

Hello all, it's been 558 days since my last confession. 

Nah, I'm joking - it's been way longer than that! 

 It's been 558 days since my last blog and yes I am that sad that I googled it to find out.  It's bittersweet to be back writing as it's currently 01:30am in the morning and I'm only here because  I can't sleep anymore. My brain won't sleep but it will write. Weird!

Don't know about anyone else but lockdown is really starting to take it's toll on my bank account. The amount of money I've spent on ingredients for the Wagamama's recipes, baking mixes, dining tables, pouffes, and most importantly alcohol is eye watering (PS the person who is stock piling all the flour and Chambord from Tesco St Rollox, I'm coming after you!). Wowcher has also taken its fair share from my hard earned cash, so far I've purchased a cocktail kit, a pair of skipping ropes, wireless ear pods, a jigsaw of  New York and a Peppa Pig painting by numbers! All essentials of course! 

My coronavirus experience is just like the movie Eat Pray Love, that one with Julia Roberts, albeit without the size 6 figure, traveling the world and all the hot guys but apart from that it's pretty accurate. I've also taken up running after I was nominated to run a 5K for the social campaign #run5nominate5donate5, it took me 45 minutes to complete and I cried pretty much the whole way through it! I donated my fiver to Glasgow Women's Aid, an organisation who help women and young people who are suffering with domestic violence, they do hugely important work during normal times but even more so during this lockdown. 

From that nomination, I set myself a wee challenge to get my fitness up so I run 2 x 3K's a week, the goal is to complete a 3K without stopping and tears and then work my way up to a 10k without stopping and tears.  I've already hit a wee bump in the road though because I busted my knee joints due to not wearing proper running shoes. Doh! Who Knew! So my nights have consisted of me sitting with deep freeze patches on both knees. New all singing all dancing running shoes have been ordered and en route as an early birthday pressie! Thanks Mum and Dad! In the meantime, I've cut down to only running once a week with the hope of outrunning the limp by the time my new shoes arrive. 

Dress ASOS // Sandals: TEVAS 

In other news, I'm proud to announce that I have won exactly 3 general knowledge zoom quizzes over the last 7 weeks as well.. yes.. me - the gal who doesn't consider spiders animals and can't crack an egg to save her life, however on the egg point, I may not be able to crack them but I have become an absolute expert at fishing out the wee bits of shell which is NOT an easy task btw! I read a total of 5 books during the month of April, (PS you need to read/watch Normal People, it's juicy)! I have a book review blog coming on Wednesday at Noon so stay tuned for that! I have tried my hand at cooking, my famous fajitas, some of Wagamama's recipes and Just Jess Food recipes and it was all going so well and people seemed quite impressed until I tried to make pizza. I read the recipe wrong and ended up putting double the amount of vegetable oil in the dough mix, it ended up a disaster and instead of fajita pizza, I ended up having leftover spring rolls for my dinner. Safe to say I will be leaving the pizza making to the pros! Honestly, I'm like a new woman, well not completely new I still drink the same amount as before. In fact as I am the bouncer, the bar tender and the customer in Rachel's Tavern so it works out better and I can shake myself a decent cosmopolitan which has become my go to lockdown drink!  

Every day of this lockdown is getting harder and harder for me despite all the activities. There's only so many times you can watch Tiger King on Netflix, you know what I mean, Carol Baskin is a Queen though! Another special shoutout goes to all the people who have taken the time to read this blog and are sitting thinking they have learned absolutely nothing new about my life during this lockdown as I document everything on my Instagram story. I'll say sorry to disappoint but thanks for the continued support and nosiness! 

Hope my wee update brought some laughs, please remain safe and healthy! Please let me know if you enjoyed it. Please don't highlight any spelling or grammar errors either, I know there will be loads. Positive vibes only.

Lastly, I would just like to say a massive thank you to NHS Scotland, carers, police officers, firefighters, supermarket workers and all other key workers for their amazing work on the front line! Thanks for reading, Rx