Book Review - Her by Harriet Lane

I've had a lot of spare time on my hands recently and have been using it to catch up on the books I 've had sat on the side waiting to be read.

In this pile was Her by Harriet Lane:

I have to say I am a massive fan of thriller/mystery type books so this one was just up my street.
The book centres on two characters Emma and Nina.
Emma is a young mother of two children and her life revolves around them she gave up her career for the children and her husband goes out to work leaving her to do most things.

Nina is the same age as Emma she has a 17 year old daughter who is independent and seems to be the perfect child, she's dating a much older man and is a very successful artist.

From the beginning of the book it becomes clear that Nina remembers Emma from long ago and that something happened that Nina can not forgive.

The book is shown from both of the women's different perspectives and shows how Nina slowly works her way back into Emma's life and befriends her.

This leaves you in suspense till the very end What did Emma do that was so bad? How did they know each other? What is Nina going to do once she is back in Emma's life?

So many questions I simply couldn't put it down. The book was well laid out you got a real sense of the characters and I felt there was almost a role reversal between the two where one was confident and pretty while young the other was awkward and didn't have many friends. It was interesting to see the roles switch as the two got older.

The ending was almost a cliffhanger leaving what happens open to observation from the reader. You think you know but it isn't confirmed.

If you are interested in Thrillers this is definitely a book to add to your too read list. Interesting characters, quick paced and so many questions that you want answers to that once you start it you won't stop until you have finished.

My Current Perfume Addictions

I've never been one for expensive perfumes before I didn't really seeing the point of wasting money on such a small bottle purely for the name.

However as of late I appear to be acquiring an expensive taste on things from make up to perfume. I'd find that the cheaper perfumes I would be buying just wouldn't last the day meaning I'd have to use them over and over meaning they would run out far quicker than a perfume with staying power.

I thought I would share with you some of my favourite fragrances of the moment:

This perfume has a very hefty price tag costing £50 for 30ml but the fragrance is so sweet and one spray lasts all day. I am a sucker for sweet perfumes especially anything that includes notes of caramel. The bottle is also super cute and unique coming in the shape of a pink bow. Definitely one I would use more on special occasions purely because of the price.

Bon Bon - Viktor & Rolf

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes: Mandarin, Orange, Peach

Heart Notes: Caramel, Jasmine, Orange blossom

Base Notes: Cedarwood, Guaiac wood, Sandalwood, Amber

I first smelt this at Heathrow airport while passing through customs. It is a very sweet and refreshing scent perfect for the summer. This currently retails for £37 but I got it for £30 in the sale. I loved all of the scents in this collection but this was definitely the one that stood out the most and they all did remind me of ice cream flavours as they were so sweet.

 DKNY Delicious Delights - Dreamsicle

Frangrance Type

Fruity/Citrus

Victoria's Secret may be known more for its underwear but what I love most about it is there perfume collection! All of their fragrances smell sweet and girly which is just what I look for in a perfume. While browsing this was the one that stood out to me probably because of the notes of Paradise Apple. Their perfumes are rather expensive but the sell each fragrance in the form of a body mist which is marginally cheaper than the perfume. These smell just as nice and have a very good staying power.

 Eau So Sexy - Victoria's Secret
Fragrance type: Fresh gourmand
Notes: Bergamot, paradise apple and Chantilly cream

I got this in the form of a sample from Debenhams it's not a perfume I would usually opt for but there is something about this that you can't ignore when you're wearing it. Maybe it's the Raspberry and orange mix? Either way I am going to save my pennies to purchase a full size version I have only used the sample once and I loved it instantly!

Lady Million - Paco Rabanne

Fragrance notes:

Top Note Neroli Bitter orange Raspberry

Heart Note Orange flower Jasmine Sambac

Base Note PatchouliHone

Needless to say that at the moment I will not need to be buying anymore perfume for a while!

Thanks for reading!

My American Adventure

As you know from a few of my previous posts I have recently been on holiday to California. Going to America on holiday has always been a dream of mine and I have to say the holiday itself did not disappoint!!

We opted to do a 2 and a bit week tour around California through Titan tours and I have to say it exceeded my expectations there was so much included everyday, the hotels were fantastic and everything went to plan.

A few of the places we visited were:

- San Diego

- Palm Springs

- Las Vegas

- San Francisco

- Anaheim

- Los Angeles

- Arizona

- Scottsdale

- Flagstaff

- Calico

- Santa Barbara

- Sedona

We had a lot of trips included some examples being the Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park and a tour of Warner Brothers Studios.

We were also very lucky that our hotel in Anaheim had a shuttle bus direct to Disneyland! The big kid inside of me was so excited by this not going was most definitely not an option!!

I'm not a big fan of theme parks but Disneyland most definitely had something for everyone rides, you could take photos with the princesses and an amazing fireworks display at the end of the evening with the characters creating a show.

This most definitely was the holiday of a lifetime and though I was exhausted I would do it all again in a heartbeat. The one thing we didn't get to do was book to visit Alcatraz (there's my excuse to go back!)

So it would appear I've added more than a few there were just too many to choose from!! It's going to be hard to beat this holiday that is for sure! I feel so blessed to have had such a fantastic experience!

Comment and let me know what your dream holiday would be.

Thanks for Reading!