My Favourite Childhood Book

Cleaning my room the other day I stumbled across my all time favourite book from childhood. It was a lovely surprise and I was grateful for my sentimental ways that force me to keep everything that holds a memory for me!

My favourite childhood book? See it for yourself!

I'm not sure how popular this was when I was younger, considering no one has ever spoken to me about it, ever, I'm assuming it wasn't very. But for me, this will always be the book that I remember when I think of my childhood. This, plus Spot and of course The Very Hungry Catapillar - but those pretty much go without saying!

The book includes various stories about the adventures of a little boy called Tom and his stuffed monkey: Pippo. Doesn't sound all that relevant considering I was a little girl but I loved Tom and Pippo for many reasons. Firstly, this book was one of the reasons I carried a teddy bear - my best friend and confidant - around with me until I was 12. (Don’t get me wrong, Marshmallow was so small she fit right into my palm! She used to fit snugly into one of my pockets, although I did have a traumatic experience in which I lost her once. If you’re wondering, yes I do still have her!) I loved Pippo a ridiculous amount - I made a song up about him that's how far my love went! So of course I attempted to re-create Tom's relationship with Pippo with my own companion.

Marshmallow :)

Tom and Pippo was given to me by one of my older sisters, who used to read stories to me when I was still too young. I’ve had it since.. I’m not sure. I remember using the name Pippo for random inanimate objects that I liked before my little sister was born, so I’ve probably had it since I was less than 5 years old. :)

I haven’t read it in a long time though. You'd think that I'd want to open it up and remember everything all over again, but I don't think I'm ready. It might seem odd, but I think there are some things from the past that should only be opened/looked at when you're completely ready. From what I do remember, there's one story about Pippo getting filthy and being shoved into the washing machine and hung on a washing line. I remember it the most because for years I couldn't wash my bears or dolls because I thought it might upset them. :)

Questions for you:

• What's you're favourite/most memorable childhood book?
• Why is it your favourite/what makes it your most memorable childhood book?

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My Free Romance Novel from Mills and Boon - Three Weddings and a Baby by Fiona Harper

Remember the free romance novel offer Mills and Boon were doing? Well my book arrived a week ago and I finally got the chance to read it! :)

I was originally expecting Surf, Sea and a Sexy Stranger by Heidi Rice which is what the website had told me I would be getting but I was pleasantly surprised to find a different book altogether.

Instead, I received Three Weddings and a Baby by Fiona Harper!

When three is most definitely a crowd… Do you believe in love at first sight? Jennie Hunter and Alex Dangerfield did, and they married just a few weeks after they met! But when Alex disappeared on their wedding night Jennie was left alone – and angry – in her honeymoon suite. A month later, and Jennie has given up hope of ever seeing her runaway husband again. Then Alex returns – with his toddler in tow! Shocked to learn Alex has been married before, her first instinct is to run. Her second instinct – well, even a hard-headed businesswoman can’t turn away a tiny girl who needs a nappy-change and a husband with sheer panic in his eyes… Compared to umpteen clients, one small kid will be a doddle…right?

The blurb is pretty misleading in my opinion but I guess they're just trying to sell the book.

The story is about Jennie Hunter - an events manager and socialite - and her newly wedded lawyer husband Alex Dangerfield. Alex leaves Jennie alone for a week during their honeymoon because of an emergency and because of this and his lack of communication, Jennie is heartbroken and runs away. She avoids all contact with him and continues to be heartbroken until Alex forces himself back into her life. 


It was a really light read - I managed to finish it in 2 hours whilst taking a break from an essay haha - and I enjoyed it quite a bit.


The story alternates between the perspective of both Jennie and Alex which is something I think it handles really well. We get to sympathise with both characters (perhaps more so with Alex) as we see what they're holding back from each other. We see how and why misunderstandings form and develop not only within their relationship but in man and woman relationships in general. It gives you a lot of perspective :)


On the other hands, there were some pages that I ended up skimming through because there wasn't much happening and they were a bit repetitive. Apart from that, the romance was adorable! I loved the added story that the baby brought in too!


Rating:  

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Jessica Spotswood's December Giveaway

To celebrate the two-month mark before her book, Born Wicked, is released, Jessica Spotswood is doing a giveaway!

She's giving away 5 of her favourite fantasy books, including a signed arc of Born Wicked, to one lucky winner! Other books include: Chime by Franny Billingsjey, The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab, Kat Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis and Renegade Magic (the second part of Kat Incorrigible) also by Stephanie Burgis.


To enter, just leave a comment on this blogpost. Giveaway ends Wednesday 14th December and ends at noon. Read the blogpost for more details! :)

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Book of the Month: November

My favourite book for November is Wicca: Book of Shadows by Cate Tiernan. Without giving too much away, the series is about Morgan and her journey through her teenage years, studying Wicca. Of course there's romance, magic and all that fun stuff but I loved reading about Morgan's real life teenage problems.

I've owned Wicca: Night's Child - the last book of the series (which I bought and read first like the teenage genius I was) - and recently decided to buy the previous books. Book of Shadows is the the first of the series and I loved every bit of it. The series reminds me of myself when I'd just entered my teenage years. Mainly because I read my first book of the series around that time, but also because books and series' like this one are the reason I fell in love with reading - but more on that in another blog post!

Reading this book to me felt like I was reading the prologue of Night's Child. Of course I couldn't put it down and finished it in a day and moved on to the next book! It was interesting that my mind still remembered details from Night's Child, but it was even more interesting when I remembered wrong and got surprised by the book!

The Wicca Series was written and published between the '90s - early '00s so there are a lot of references to old things that aren't really used/talked about anymore - which I love! (I'm talking about you Hanson!) On the flip side, the books are harder to find because of this. If you're interested in buying, I've been buying mine off Amazon and eBay :)

Rating:     

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