154. The Great Christmas Knit Off- Alexandra Brown

Title: The Great Christmas Knit Off

Author: Alexandra Brown

Rating: ★★★★

On the shelves: Fiction> Contemporary/Romance

The perfect seasonal tale of how laughter, friends and wacky Christmas jumpers can mend a broken heart. For fans of Trisha Ashley and Jenny Colgan.

Heartbroken after being jilted at the altar, Sybil has been saved from despair by her knitting obsession and now her home is filled to bursting with tea cosies, bobble hats, and jumpers. But, after discovering that she may have perpetrated the cock-up of the century at work, Sybil decides to make a hasty exit and, just weeks before Christmas, runs away to the picturesque village of Tindledale.

There, Sybil discovers Hettie’s House of Haberdashery, an emporium dedicated to the world of knitting and needle craft. But Hettie, the outspoken octogenarian owner, is struggling and now the shop is due for closure. And when Hettie decides that Sybil’s wonderfully wacky Christmas jumpers are just the thing to add a bit of excitement to her window display, something miraculous starts to happen… (Goodreads 2015)

***HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE- I hope you all have a wonderful 2016!***

153. IT Girl- Nic Tatano

Title: IT Girl

Author: Nic Tatano

Rating: ★★★★

On the Shelves: Fiction> Contemporary/Romance

Veronica Summer is stuck in the dream job from hell.

The spunky New York reporter is offered the network’s morning anchor position, but she doesn’t want it because she’s a night person. Then the network plays a trump card, promising her the evening anchor chair in three years. So the fiery redhead takes the plunge, with the ultimate gig waiting down the road.

Problem is, that road is filled with two am wake-up calls and the only social life she has is one with bats and raccoons. She quickly realizes she’ll never survive the grind and decides the only way out is to get fired by being her snarky self on live television and the ratings skyrocket.

Veronica becomes the nation’s It Girl, so the network makes her a celebrity contestant on its most popular nighttime dance competition show, Dance Off. While her journalistic credibility is shot to hell by the show’s skimpy costumes, she’s thrown into close contact with two incredibly attractive men; her dance partner and the show’s sarcastic British judge and she soon discovers that love is the ultimate gig.

(Goodreads 2015)

142. All Fall Down- Ally Carter

Title: All Fall Down (Embassy Row #1)

Author: Ally Carter

Rating: ★★★

On the Shelves: YA Lit> Contemporary/Crime/Mystery

Grace can best be described as a daredevil, an Army brat, and a rebel. She is also the only granddaughter of perhaps the most powerful ambassador in the world and Grace has spent every summer of her childhood running across the roofs of Embassy Row.

Now, at age sixteen, she’s come back to stay – in order to solve the mystery of her mother’s death. In the process, she uncovers an international conspiracy of unsettling proportions, and must choose her friends and watch her foes carefully if she and the world are to be saved. (Goodreads 2014)

141. Love Hurts- Malorie Blackman and co.

Title: Love Hurts

Authors: Malorie Blackman, Maureen Johnson, Catherine Johnson, Phillip Pullman, James Dawson, Jenny Downham, Patrick Ness, E. Lockhart, Lauren Myracle, Laura Dockrill,Gayle Forman, Markus Zusak, Susie Day, David Levithan,  and Lauren Kate

Rating:★★

On the Shelves: Young Adult Fiction> Anthologies/Romance

Publication Date: 29th January 2015

Malorie Blackman brings together the best teen writers of today in a stunningly romantic collection about love against the odds. Featuring short stories and extracts about modern star-crossed lovers from stars such as Gayle Forman, Markus Zusak and Patrick Ness, and with a brand-new story from Malorie Blackman herself, “Love Hurts” looks at every kind of relationship, from first kiss to final heartbreak (Goodreads 2015)

137. The Girl on the Train- Paula Hawkins

Title: The Girl on the Train

Author: Paula Hawkins

Rating: ★★★★

On the Shelves: Fiction> Suspense/Thriller

A debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people’s lives.

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good? (Goodreads 2015)

133. It Must Have Been the Mistletoe- Judy Astley

Title: It Must Have Been the Mistletoe

Author: Judy Astley

Rating: ★★★

On the Shelves: Fiction> Contemporary/Romance/Holiday

Thea’s parents decide to host a big family Christmas in a house by the sea. even though they are, in fact, about to split up. Thea herself is newly single – her sister and brother are both settled, with children, homes and a future. But Thea’s boyfriend has ditched her in favour of his pedigree dogs, and Thea can’t decide whether or not she minds.

There will be copious food and drink, holly and mistletoe, lots of bracing walks and a wintry barbecue on the beach. If it seems an odd way to celebrate the final break-up of a marriage and the Moving On to new partners, no- one is saying so. But then no-one had anticipated that the new partners might actually turn up to complicate the sleeping arrangements.

As Cornwall experiences the biggest snowstorm in living memory, the festive atmosphere comes under some strain. Will Thea manage to find some happiness for herself? Will the mistletoe work its magic on them all? (Goodreads 2014)

130. The Labyrinth House- Mark Rollins

Title: The Labyrinth House

Author: Mark Rollins

Rating: ★★★

On the Shelves: Fiction> Fantasy/Mystery

What would you do if you entered a house that you couldn’t leave?

Bradley Jensen, a young architect on his honeymoon, finds himself facing this very question when he finds a door embedded in a tree on a nature hike with his new wife. On the other side of the door is a mansion, and in the mansion are other people: a man from the 70’s, a former slave, and a young woman from the time of the Salem Witch Trials. They, like Bradley, can’t escape. They can’t open the door that leads to the exit; they can’t break down the walls.

There’s one other person in the mansion, a man none of the others like to talk about. He’s like them, plucked out of the world and placed here in a mansion beyond time. Except he’s dangerous. Deadly. In order to figure out the mystery of his current situation and—hopefully—make it back to his wife, Bradley is going to have to confront this man, as well as something far more dangerous:

The Labyrinth House itself (Goodreads 2014)

126. A Pretty Mess (Astonvale #1)- Carla Caruso

Title: A Pretty Mess (Astonvale #1)

Author: Carla Caruso

Rating: ★★★

On the Shelves: Fiction> Contemporary/Romance

 

Sometimes, to come clean, you’ve got to get your hands dirty …

Celeste Pretty, a self-confessed neat freak, has found the job she was born to do: a professional organiser, de-cluttering people’s homes and workplaces. Her new business gets off to a cracking start when she lands her first client, health and fitness guru Natalia Samphire, in the well-heeled suburb of Astonvale. But things get messy at Natalia’s mansion when Celeste finds a blackmail note and other mysterious items. And then there’s Lenny Muscat, the sexy builder renovating the place, whose constant presence is muddling Celeste’s usually organised brain.

When things get decidedly suspicious at the mansion, she and Lenny have to team up to investigate. But will Celeste emerge with her heart and professional reputation unscathed?

This is the first in the Astonvale series (Goodreads 2014)

120. Black Ice- Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Black Ice

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Rating: ★★

On the Shelves: Young Adult Fiction> Suspence/Thriller/Romance

Britt Pfeiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn’t prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants—but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage.

In exchange for her life, Britt agrees to guide the men off the mountain. As they set off, Britt knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there… and in uncovering this, she may become the killer’s next target.

But nothing is as it seems in the mountains, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally? (Goodreads 2014)

114. Apple and Rain- Sarah Crossan

Title: Apple and Rain

Author: Sarah Crossan

Rating: ★★★★

On the Shelves: Young Adult Fiction> Contemporary

When Apple’s mother returns after eleven years away, Apple feels whole again. But just like the stormy Christmas Eve when she left, her mother’s homecoming is bittersweet. It’s only when Apple meets someone more lost than she is that she begins to see things as they really are.

A story about sad endings.
A story about happy beginnings.
A story to make you realise who is special

(Goodreads 2014)