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Book Review: Neal’s Yard Remedies Essential Oils by Susan Curtis

By Amazon, Books & Authors, Nature, Reviews2 Comments

Essential Oils by Susan Curtis is an essential book to own if you’re serious about aromatherapy.

This durable hardback has 256 glossy pages of full colour with plenty of photos. It has an A-Z of essential oils, for each oil covering:

  • An introduction
  • What it is good for?
  • Best Uses
  • Methods of use (i.e. bath oil, massage oil, compress, skin care, etc.)
  • The Plant
  • The Essential Oil (how the essential oil is made)
  • A photo of the plant or herb

Then the book goes on to sections on: Base Oils, Essential Oil Recipes and Healing Remedies.

The Essential Oil Recipes includes a really useful table of common conditions and which oils are good to work with around these conditions.

This book is backed by Neal’s Yard whom are famous for their shops selling essential oils.

The only thing that was missing out of the book for me was spiritual/magical uses of essential oils. But other than that I would (and have to all of my friends) highly recommend this book.

Essential Oils by Susan Curtis is available to buy on Amazon and at all good bookshops.

Review soon,

Antony

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Book Review: Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
Christmas-Shopaholic-by-Sophie-Kinsella

Don’t panic. Don’t panic.

Christmas Shopaholic is the best book in the Shopaholic Series to date.

Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) returns and it’s her turn to host Christmas.

Becky and Luke’s guests will include: Becky’s mum and dad, their neighbours Janice and Martin, Suze & Tarquin and their children, her sister Jess and her partner Tom.

Becky desperately wants her Christmas to be like a Christmas movie. Everyone getting on, following traditions and everyone to say: Do you remember that Christmas at Becky’s? Wasn’t it great.

But with the guests falling out with one another; everyone making demands around their Christmas traditions; trying to get Luke a sensational gift; and an ex-partner coming back into her life with the offer of friendship – but whom has secret motives;

making an outfit for Minnie’s school nativity; worrying about her sister Jess who won’t open up about what’s going on in her life; supporting one of the school mums whose having a rough time. Becky has a lot going on.

Can Becky pull off her dream? Well if you’ve read any or all of the Shopaholic series, you know Becky is resourceful and often solves problems in her own unique way. It is her ideas and how she pulls it off that makes this book a joy to read.

This book had plenty moments of comedy that made me laugh out loud. The ending made me cry with happiness. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of Christmas Shopaholic and was gutted when I read the last word of the last page.

I’ve always thought of Becky’s husband Luke as being a bit two dimensional, but he scored major brownie points with me and some realism points to, by swearing and holding people to account in this book.

If I could say anything to author Sophie Kinsella, it would be to make Luke a bigger part of the story. He is barely mentioned in most of the Shopaholic novels, yet is a big part of Becky’s life.

Christmas Shopaholic is available to buy on Amazon.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Book Review: Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas by Adam Kay

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
twas-the-nightshift-before-christmas-book-cover-adam-kay

Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas is the secret diaries of a junior doctor over the festive period. It is the follow on book from This Is Going To Hurt (which I reviewed here) , both by Adam Kay.

Twas The Nightshift contains all new content, which is fantastic as I was worried they might decide to just re-hash the content in This Is Going To Hurt.

Twas The Nightshift is a much smaller book than This Is Going To Hurt and its price is smaller, aiming to be a Christmas stocking filler.

Twas The Nightshift is as funny as This Is Going To Hurt, as honest and one tale is as heartbreaking.

If you have read This Is Going To Hurt and enjoyed it, this book is a must read.

It can be bought on Amazon and at all good bookshops.

Review soon,

Antony

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Book Review: Hero by Michael Grant

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
Hero-Michael-Grant-Book-Cover

Hero is the epic and thrilling third book in a trilogy that follows on from the superb and super selling Gone Series.

The first book in the trilogy was Monster which I reviewed here. The second book was Villain which I reviewed here.

The Gone Series had six books:

  1. Gone which I reviewed here.
  2. Hunger which I reviewed here.
  3. Lies which I reviewed here.
  4. Plague which I reviewed here.
  5. Fear which I reviewed here.
  6. Light which I reviewed here.

Hero starts with another asteroid falling over New York city. This leads to the introduction of two new main characters, one a hero and one a villain. These two new main characters also happen to be father and daughter.

Bob Markovic becomes bugs able to infect people with hideous diseases, yet keep them alive to suffer. These diseases are so bad that it makes suffers beg for death. Simone, Bob’s daughter, can morph turning her skin blue with tiny little wings that enables her to fly.

The book is full of exhilarating action, exciting plot twists and turns and answers to questions. Questions that include: Does Sam take to dose of rock? If he does, what power does he get second time round? Who are the dark watchers? Are they real or a simulation? Will anything ever been normal again?

My only slight disappointment was the book’s last chapter. The overall conclusion of the series was left open to the reader. This left me feeling cheated and that the unwritten contract between the writer and reader had been broken. But that is just my personal opinion, others will love that it has been left open to their imagination.

I can’t recommend the Gone Series enough. Buy it, read it, enjoy it.

Review soon,

Antony

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