My Favourite Book Stores

This post is to bring awareness of Books Are My Bag.

 

 

I'm unlucky than most people when it comes to a local bookstore. Most people have a local bookstore that is only a couple of minutes away, but my local bookstore is over forty minutes away by train. And that bookstore is Waterstones in Cardiff.

 

 

Now I don't shop there that often since I hardly leave my house, but when I do travel to Cardiff then I will pop in there, but the first time I went there I was in utter awe. As soon as you walk in you are surrounded by beautiful books trying to grab your attention and all sorted out into genre's and authors. However, I never really stay too long to look at them because I always go straight towards the Young Adult section.

 

All the books are organised perfectly, all of the books gaining some attention. But what I love most is that some of the employees give recommendations that are printed in front of the book (not in the book, but in a card form, like a price tag in most clothes shops.) and that's great to see because you get to see what other people are enjoying. As well as that the staff are all very lovely and one of the best things I've seen is that one of the employees is a self-published author and they sell his book there and advertise it. Talk about support like nothing else.

 

The only slight negative is that they don't get many known known

Young Adult authors to have signings, the best they've had in the past two years is Rainbow Rowell, author of Eleanor and Park. She was there in July and it was a great experience!

 

 

Another one of my favourite book store is in London. FOYLES. Foyles is probably the most beautiful book store in the UK. I know it's been recently re-designed, which I've yet to see, but when I was there in December 2013 I had the best experience ever! All the books were organised properly and the prices were decent. But what's so good about Foyles is that they stock books that are published in America as well. Also you can come across some signed books that most book shops never have. I got a copy of The Dream Thieves by Maggie Steifvater signed and I never even knew about it until I got to the check out.

 

 

When I next go to London, I know that Foyles will be the shop I will visit first because it is so beautiful, plus it's not crowded like most shops. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Book Review: Breathe by Abbi Glines

    Book Name: Breathe
    Author: Abbi Glines
    UK Release Date: 2013
    UK Publishers: Simon and Schuster
    Summary:

Sadie White doesn't get to spend her summer on the beach like most kids. Her mother can't keep a job, so Sadie is forced to work during the break at one of the mansions nearby instead.

Then Sadie discovers that Jax Stone, the hottest teenage rockstar around, owns the house, and things get a lot more interesting. Jax is adored by teenage girls everywhere - except for Sadie, that is -  but the fact she's not impressed by his reputation is exactly what he finds fascinating about her. As the summer passes, Jax and Sadie find themselves drawn to each other, even though their different worlds want to keep them apart. They're about to discover that love can be suffocating, until you find a way to breathe...

Praise for Abbi Glines:

'Every time I read one of Abbi's books, I declare it my new favourite.' Colleen Hoover, author of Slammed

'Abbi Glines really knows how to write hot male characters; she really does make you swoon.' Serendipity Reviews

Review:

Since being in a reading slump I really needed something that was either A) Set on or around a beach or B) Based around music. And this book was perfect because its both of those things.

Now I've been dying to read an Abbi Glines book for a while, and I finally caved. The outcome: I loved it!

Abbi Glines knows how to write great characters that you just swoon over, male or female, you'll soon find yourself in love with them because they're so elegantly developed. Sadie, the main female protagonist, is too kind. She won't stand up to her mother, she'll do anything for anyone and she'll even go as far as dating a rockstar and getting upset over fake girlfriend publicity. However, for me, Sadie was a bit immature for a seventeen year old. I thought I was reading about a fifteen year old, and then automatically she'd mature. But then again I still liked her character.

Jax Stone really confused me. Through out the book he was a great character: Flirty, cocky and jealous. But with a kind side to him. But there were a few scenes where I felt his character voice completely changed to something new and those were in the sexy scenes. He aged by like ten years and turned into something like Christian Grey. Only younger and a lot less experienced.

However, the story did grip my attention. The premise worked very well and I felt so many different things towards the characters and their personal stories. You can very much tell that this is Abbi's first book, and I know from this that her writing has so much promise and potential. And I really look forward to reading the rest of the Sea Breaze series. As well as her other intertwining series.

Overall, I gave this book a rating of 3.75/5 Stars because I couldn't decide between 4 stars and 3.5 stars, so I went for the middle of them.

Quote:

'Abbi certainly knows how to write great sensual escaping stories.' Bookbitchreviews.blogspot.co.uk