Wishlist Wednesday #24

Welcome to my twenty-fourth Wishlist Wednesday; part of the great blog hop hosted by Dani at Pen to Paper. This week I've chosen Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes.


Catherine has been enjoying the single life for long enough to know a good catch when she sees one. Gorgeous, charismatic, spontaneous - Lee seems almost too perfect to be true. And her friends clearly agree, as each in turn falls under his spell. But there is a darker side to Lee. His erratic, controlling and sometimes frightening behavior means that Catherine is increasingly isolated. Driven into the darkest corner of her world, and trusting no one, she plans a meticulous escape. Four years later, struggling to overcome her demons, Catherine dares to believe she might be safe from harm. Until one phone call changes everything. This is an edgy and powerful first novel, utterly convincing in its portrayal of obsession, and a tour de force of suspense.

This popped up on one of my emails as it is currently on offer on Amazon Kindle. It's been really well reviewed and I'm looking forward to getting it!

Want to join in??

• Follow Pen to Paper as the host
• Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get your hands on and read
• Wrote a post telling your readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist
• Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of her post
• Put a link back to Pen to Paper somewhere on your post with a note about the host
• Visit the other blogs, follow and enjoy :)

What's on your wishlist this week? Leave me a link to your post, I'll be sure to pop by and check it out!

Stop Keeping Clothes For Best

For one reason or another I temporarily diversified my reading material into a couple of self-help books (no groaning please!). I'm not going to suddenly going to turn into the Yes-Man though I think they do deserve a place on our bookshelves.

The phrase 'stop keeping clothes for best' popped up in 'Being Confident' by Judi James as part of a list of instant confidence boosters. I have to admit that this is something I'm massively guilty of. Even though I don't have multiple wardrobes full to bursting with clothes, I do wear the same things day in day out and keep some of the nicest and prettiest clothes I own 'for best'. Even when the opportunity comes along, such as a lunch with friends, for some reason I lack the confidence to wear them and shy away from looking my best.

Even though I read a lot of the book on Monday for some reason this particular piece of advice stuck with me. I went for a run that evening and afterwards, instead of chucking on the same old stuff, I popped on some cropped leggings and a cute casual dress that I've never found the right occasion for. You know what? I felt great!

Since then I've had a good rummage through my wardrobe only to discover that there's a whole hidden world of clothes that I love but don't wear. I'm not sure if it's because I'm saving them for best or because for some reason I lack the confidence to wear something other than my usual jeans and t-shirt. But why not enjoy them and feel good about the way I look? I don't buy clothes with the intention of stashing them away waiting for the right occasion for so long that they go out of fashion. I bought them to wear!

So why not be my best today, tomorrow and the next day? I'm going to give it a go!

Wishlist Wednesday #23

After a few weeks away I'm happy to be joining in with Wishlist Wednesday again, the great blog hop hosted by Dani at Pen to Paper. This week I've chosen Desert Places by Blake Crouch

Greetings. There is a body buried on your property, covered in your blood. The unfortunate young lady's name is Rita Jones. In her jeans pocket you'll find a slip of paper with a phone number on it. Call that number. If I have not heard from you by 8:00 P.M., the police will receive an anonymous call. I'll tell them where Rita Jones is buried on your property, how you killed her, and where the murder weapon can be found in your house. (I do believe a paring knife is missing from your kitchen.) I strongly advise against going to the police, as I am always watching you.

Andrew Z. Thomas is a successful writer of suspense thrillers, living the dream at his lake house in the piedmont of North Carolina. One afternoon in late spring, he receives a bizarre letter that eventually threatens his career, his sanity, and the lives of everyone he loves. A murderer is designing his future, and for the life of him, Andrew can't get away.

I'm loving the sound of this and it's currently on offer for Amazon Kindle users. I'm sure this will be making it's way on to my TBR pile pretty quickly!

Want to join in??

• Follow Pen to Paper as the host
• Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get your hands on and read
• Wrote a post telling your readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist
• Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of her post
• Put a link back to Pen to Paper somewhere on your post with a note about the host
• Visit the other blogs, follow and enjoy :)

What's on your wishlist this week? Leave me a link to your post, I'll be sure to pop by and check it out!

Risk the Unusual

If you are not willing to risk the unusual, 

you will have to settle for the ordinary.

~Jim Rohn

Book Review #7

I've had way too much going on recently to be reading but I need some time to escape from the craziness of life so I tend to turn to my kindle. The problem is that I picked up 'Killer Instinct' by Zoe Sharp and then couldn't put it down! As per my usual I don't know when or why I got this book but it was sitting on my TBR list so I got stuck in. Also quite typically for me, I hadn't read the synopsis before starting it and had no idea what was going to happen (to be honest I'm quite enjoying doing that as I enjoy being led by the author at the pace that they want rather than having the bones of the story before I've even begun). However I'm going to share the outline with you or you'll have no clue what I'm on about!


'Susie Hollins may have been no great shakes as a karaoke singer, but I didn't think that was enough reason for anyone to want to kill her.' 
Charlie Fox makes a living of sorts teaching self-defence to women. It's a skill she picked up of necessity having been kicked out of the army for reasons she prefers not to go into. So when Susie Hollins is found dead only a few hours after she mistakenly tussles with Charlie at the New Adelphi Club, Charlie knows it's only a matter of time before the police come calling. Only the police reveal that the unlucky Hollins has become the latest victim of the homicidal rapist stalking the local area. Charlie finds herself inadvertently drawn into the investigation when the Adelphi's enigmatic owner Marc Quinn offers her a job. Viewed as an outsider by the existing all-male security team, her suspicion that there is a link between the club and the serial killer doesn't exactly endear her to anyone. Charlie has always taught her students that it's better to run away from a danger than fight unnecessarily. But when the killer starts taking a very personal interest in her it becomes clear that he isn't going to give her that option...

I really enjoyed this book. I've never read anything by Zoe Sharp before and I hadn't heard any reviews about her work. Since finishing it I've seen a lot of people seem to compare her books to the Jack Reacher novels though they're not something I've ever been able to get into. I think this novel is written more as a female point of view and as a result I enjoyed the book a lot more. The protagonist, Charlie Fox, is strong but not too over the top. You never know for sure if she's going to be able to get out of trouble as her conscience can get the better of her. I can't promise that the plot is completely revolutionary but it had enough twists and turns to keep me interested and unsure of who to trust.

Zoe Sharp is a British writer and has written 10 books in the Charlie Fox series with Killer Instinct being the first. I'm pretty sure I'll be adding the next one to my wishlist (and probably my TBR pile before too long)!