It's not too often I choose to socialize, the people have to be pretty damn special for me to willingly head into a group situation but when I got invited to the Cape Town authors breakfast at Bootleggers I couldn't say no because I fangirl a few of them so hard in secret. These are just some of the most talented and nicest people ever. Though I feel a bit like a fraud going there when I'm not actually a published author as they all are but they...

22 January, 2018 /

Stephen Fry. A lot can be said from this man who challenges the church, stalks through jungles trying to find endangered species and openly speaks about mental disorder. And he narrates all 7 Harry Potter books...

20 November, 2017 /

Driving home from a July 4th party Juniper and her older sister get into a car accident and only one survives and the other is left trying to pick up the pieces and find ways to deal with the grief. Since her sister Camille's death, Juniper Lemon keeps track of her happiness by writing daily on note cards. (I am actually loving this idea and think I might start doing it as well) After losing card 65, she is determined to find it and hunts all over school, including...

17 July, 2017 /

This for me has been one of those highly anticipated books, which of course often lead to disappointment, even though Into the water can't actually fall into that category I do feel it didn't live up to Girl on the train.  Unlike The Girl on the Train which only had two main characters points of view (and later a third), Into the Water has more than a dozen storytellers which left me somewhat confused at times and I felt like I needed sticky notes to remember what's who etc. The...

27 June, 2017 /

The good reads synopsis really does the summary of this book perfectly; it's a funny, enthralling and heartwarming story of a woman who gets a second chance in life - but will she have the courage to take it Molly has moved from London to rural Herefordshire, chasing the Good Life. Swapping the tube for the saddle, she is living the country dream. Except that it isn't really her dream. It's her husband David's. And David is, well, rather dead now and she's struggling to keep the whole too...

09 April, 2017 /

Sophie Kinsella is one of those predictable authors that you keep in your back pocket, you know that she isn't going to disappoint and that her writing is going to be one of those perfect Sunday afternoon reads where you pour yourself a G&T and grab a comfy spot and tell the family you'll see them later. Or as was my case; a coconut latte and cookies while Fysh watched Phineas and Ferb :) Unlike her other books it's not particularly a laugh out loud, it's more subdued and sensible...

05 March, 2017 /

Yesterday was a pretty decent day considering the last few we've had. I paid my car thanks to some help and I even managed to do a small grocery shop so that was a total win. We'll still need to make sure the eskom bill gets covered but at least I have until next week before that becomes an issue again and hopefully I get a client or two in this week so that won't be a stresser :)  Besides those small victories it was made even better by numerous...

30 August, 2016 /

Earlier this year we had to have our beautiful border collie put down. Joonbug was a rescue we got shortly after moving into our home, it's a big house and I wanted the safety of a dog. Well it turned out she definitely wasn't much of a watch dog (she was actually a scaredy cat and the first storm we had her nearly gave me a heart attack when she tried to climb through the burglar bars to get into my room and thus became an inside dog)...

28 July, 2016 /

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image="15783" img_size="full" alignment="center" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" link="http://mischiefmanaged.co.za"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="15784" img_size="full"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text]This was my first Harlan Coben book and I'm not sure why I haven't heard about him before, being an 8 times New York bestseller and all you'd think I'd know but somehow he slipped past my radar. Thankfully Penguin Books tapped me on the shoulder and introduced us with an ARC of Fool Me Once! I love thrillers thrown into my usual mix and this piece of work by Coben is pure genius. Fool Me Once is a tale of a disgraced...

07 June, 2016 /

So I've been toying with the idea of running a giveaway on my book blog to motivate you to invite your friends who like books to join up to be reviewers because the more reviewers we have the more books we get from authors and I am not a patient person haha. Then Mel and I decided that maybe this wasn't a good idea because people might invite people just so they sign up - ghost reviewers - and that's not cool so I'm going to amend the giveaway a little so that...

23 March, 2016 /

Random Struik (aka Penguin books) sent me a copy of Haafner Linssen's "Hooked on Mandalas" and man oh man I am hooked (see what I did there, haha).    It arrived yesterday morning and the first thing I did was send The Person photos of some of the ones I thought he'd like then headed to thimbles to stock up on some Vinnis Colours 100% cotton so I can turn the Mandala he chose into a blanket for really close old time friends of his who are helping a soul into the...

17 March, 2016 /

I’ve been blogging for 10 years (joh!) this year and 5 of those ten years I’ve been doing book reviews. In that time I’ve made really great friends and a lot of those friends are authors. When you get to really know published authors you get to learn all about the stuff that readers don’t know they worry about like how much they actually make on a book, the publish process and then their biggest deal > trying to get readers to actually leave reviews. And that’s where you are...

19 February, 2016 /

I wrote a book! And had it edited! As in I seriously wrote one and finished it all by myself with a beginning a middle and and end and a pretty cute story line. I pantsed it like I usually do but this time I finished it. I've written adult books before and mostly with friends, I have one pending that needs to be finished but I've never finished one on my own and have never really been able to write for kids. I wrote one for kids! And apparently (according to...

22 January, 2016 /

When your whole world shatters and time stands still, recovery is never easy. Plans and dreams, ripped apart now seem impossible and finding a steady rhythm for your beating heart seems unattainable. Cole Tierney and Grace Rivers had a bright, uncomplicated future ahead of them, but the accident changed that. In the aftermath, there are wide reaching consequences, not only for Cole and Grace, but their loved ones too. Only together can they battle to survive the impact. Is it enough for them to heal and fight for their future? With...

05 December, 2015 /

Grace Rivers is your everyday twenty-five year old. She could have the world at her feet, but instead chooses to help run the family business. After experiencing great loss early in her life, Grace values what's most important: her family and friends. But she aches to find that certain someone—that one great, passionate love who values family as much as she does. Cole Tierney loves his life. He has a wonderful family, a loyal best friend and a successful career as an ER doctor. The only downside is he...

04 December, 2015 /

When Lisa Richards’ parents died, she never thought her life would change as drastically as it did. Now she has to take over her father’s seat on a secret supernatural council, lead troops into battle against the ferocious Goblin Lord, and try not to get herself killed in the process. To make matters worse, Lisa thinks she may be falling in love with the socialite werewolf who was supposed to protect her. Whoever said growing up was easy, clearly didn’t have to save the world every other week. Another local author...

11 October, 2015 /

 Guardian trainee Violet Fairdale is just weeks away from one of the most important occasions of her life: graduation. After messing up big time by bringing a human into the fae realm, Vi needs to step up her game and forget about Nate if she hopes to graduate as the top guardian of her year. Everything would be fine if she wasn't forced to partner with Ryn, her ex-friend, ex-enemy, current 'sort of friend'. They might be trying to patch up their relationship, but does she really want...

19 September, 2015 /

A Guardian is dead. For the first time in one thousand years, no replacement has come forward. With only eleven Guardians remaining, the enchanted City of Summerfeld, home to the last survivors of the Blood War, is vulnerable. As their enemies close in the Guardians must unite or Summerfeld will fall. Firstly, what a oak blurb dear Melissa, that tells you almost NOTHING about how damn awesome this book is! A writer who sucks at blurbs hahaha, she has a weakness yay ;) Okay now that I've done the teasing let's...

27 August, 2015 /