Book Review: The Widow

Hey, 

  Welcome back to another one of my blog posts. Well at least I'm back with another post before three months have passed. This one took about a month to get out and I can't wait for you guys to read it. Next the reason why it took me just under a month to read it. The reason is, I just didn't have time in the day to read the book, things were just coming up with a distraction for me. Therefore I was only reading in the night which resulted in me only reading three/four chapters a day. But it's better late than never. Back to you guys, so how are you? Since I last wrote you guys. I'm about to ask you lot some questions, so what have you been doing this last month? I hope everything is going okay at your school/college or even university and if it's not then there will always be someone who you can go and talk to if you have any problems. In the month of November, here in the UK we celebrate something called Guy Fawkes Night. If your not from the UK its a celebration where during the night we launch fireworks off and have rather large bonfires. Plus there is a bit of a back story. I was just wondering if you guys have any similar celebrations in the country you live in? Before I forget Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American readers, I know it was a couple of days ago. But there is always a reason to be thankful. So what are you lot most thankful for? Leave your answers in the comment section below this blog. It's that time of my introduction where I ask you all to leave me some sort of feedback also in the comment section below once you have finished reading this blog post of course. Your feedback means I can improve the quality of these posts therefore you can enjoy them more. Anyway, I think that's enough chit chat from me, the book I'm reviewing this time is, The Widow and it was written by Fiona Barton. 

  This next paragraph is all about welcoming any new readers to my blog posts. Here comes the part with a lot of thank you's it's like the section at the back of a book. First of all thank you to any new readers who has seen the link and has clicked on it to arrive here. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my small blog posts. It's so nice to see my blog posts reaching new places. Once you have finished this blog post and you thought I would like to read more you can find plenty more of my blogs at laurennpullennreviews.blogspot.co.uk Don't worry I haven't forgotten the many readers who return with each blog post I write. Thank you all so much, it means the world to me see I did tell you that it would be a lot of thank you's. Now it's time to move on to my next paragraph.  

  For the people who are new around here this next part is all about the blurb from the book. There are many terms used for the term blurb but the most popular term used is 'synopsis'. But the more easy way of remembering what the blurb actually is, it's a short paragraph that perfectly sums up the book. Most blurbs can be found on the back of most books. But when your reading a book with a hard backed cover, you can normally find the blurb on the inside of the front cover or if you want the correct term for this as well, you can find the blurb on the inside the dust jacket on the front cover. That's where the price on hard backed books can be found hiding as well. Next comes the reasons why I put the blurb into my blog posts in the first place. I have the blurb in my posts because it is more convenient for my many readers as you can make your opinion on the book on whether you would like to read the book or not. As it's more convenient to you the readers you don't have to spend ages looking online or roaming around the shops looking for the book when you can read it here right now, by just clicking some buttons it's not that hard. Plus if you know someone who would be interested in my posts and they don't know how to work the internet please help them as a little bit of help travels a long way. Or you could simply share the post online with friends and family. It would mean a lot to me to see my posts reaching more countries than usual, I can't stress that enough. So without further delay here is the blurb to Fiona Barton's, The Widow;

"The Wife

Jean Taylor's life has blissfully ordinary. Nice house, nice husband Glen was all she'd ever wanted: her Prince Charming. But then everything changed. 

The Husband

The newspapers found a new name for Glen: MONSTER, they shrieked. Jean was married to a man accused of the unimaginable. And as the years ticked by, with no sign of the little girl he had been accused of taking, their lives were constantly splashed across the front pages. 

The Widow 

But now Glen is dead and she's alone for the first time, free to tell her story on her own terms. 

Jean Taylor is going to tell us what she knows." 

But if you prefer to look at the blurb in picture format there will be a picture of  the blurb at the bottom of this paragraph. Also please remember if you've already finished the book, don't give away any spoilers. Please and thank you! I'm sure the many readers around you would be very grateful as well! 

  

  This next part of my blog post is all about the author of each book I review. Where would all of us bookworms be without the many talented authors that are out there. I have read this quote once and it has stuck with me ever since, so I'm about to write it in here and continue to share it with my readers maybe it will stick with you guys. Here it is 'A author is nothing without it's readers.' This next section is all about the author of this book. If you haven't already guessed by how many times I have mentioned the word 'author'. This is just a little something to give back to them as they have worked so hard to create an excellent book. Just think about the author the next time you read a really good book. A lot of work has gone into that book your reading. Like the amount of meetings they have to fit into their busy schedules. They have to go to them as they could be with their management teams and book publishers. The amount of hours they have to sit at a computer screen answering the endless amount of emails and going through the many different edits as possible which can also take up a lot of time. All of this is being done whilst the author has her/his own life to live which is made twice as hard to balance if the author has a young family. Most of their writing is done when they've gone to bed. In the end of it exceeds all expectations the book can become top of the book charts, win many awards and then get turned into a big movie or TV series. That's definitely something to be happy and proud about. It just makes me feel so much better knowing that this piece of information is included because it just wouldn't be a blog post without it. Please let me know what you think about having this section in my posts. You can leave all your thoughts in the comment section below. I think I've rambled on enough so without further delay, let me introduce you the author Fiona Barton: 

Fiona Barton's debut, The Widow (so the book I'm reviewing), was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and has been published in thirty five countries and optioned for television. Her second novel, The Child, was a Sunday Times bestseller. Fiona was born in Cambridge, Fiona currently lives in South-west of France. Previously, she was a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph and chief reporter at the Mail on Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards. While working as a journalist Fiona reported on many high-profile criminal cases and she developed a fascination with watching those involved, their body language and verbal tics. Fiona interviewed people at the heart of these crimes, from the guilty to their families, as well as those on the periphery and found it was those just outside the spotlight who interested her most... 

  Now then readers, it is the time to give my opinion on this book. The first time I saw this book it was in the book charts and very high at that. Plus I've seen many other book bloggers reading it and they all seemed to like it. So I thought I would give it ago as well. The first thing that caught my eye about this book, was the big bold lettering on the front cover or the title as its formally known. It would grab anyone's attention really. Once I finally got my hands on a copy of the book I read the blurb instantly. The blurb just described a really good book. That's because I just love all the current crime fiction that's out there these days. So with that in mind I just couldn't wait to start reading this one. So when I eventually got to reading it, it got me hooked from the very beginning. I would love to know where the many crime writers out there get their ideas from and maybe they wouldn't mind sharing to inspired young writers and how do they make their books completely different to very other other crime writer. When I continued to read I just couldn't put the book down. From that moment on I just fell in love with this book. The moment where I finished the first couple I realised I was reading the past events. When I went back to the beginning of the chapter I noticed the dates. My little piece of advice to you the reader is to take more notice of them as the story goes past it will definitely make it more understandable to you. I loved everything else about the book the characters, storyline and the way the book was written. Which made the story that more enjoyable. The many twists and turns in this book that will keep you on your toes and, it will keep you guessing until the very end. Don't worry I'm not going to spoil it for you. Put it this way you won't be disappointed at all. I just can't wait to read the other books that she has already written and the many others in the future. Fiona *high five*!!! 

  Overall, I'm going to give this book a 9/10. I'm going to recommend this book to anyone that's 16 and over as they is strong language and a bit of adult content. If you enjoyed reading this blog post you can find the rest of my posts at laureennpullennreviews.blogspot.co.uk where you can follow the blog, to stay updated on when I next upload a new blog post. Or leave a question and I will get back to you at some point. Thank you for your continued support, it means a lot!!! 

 Until my next book review x 

Book Review: Our Endless Numbered Days

Hey, 

  When you see this post, I'm going to guess your going to say WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Well my first response would be I'm sorry and secondly, I would say that I just couldn't be bothered to read and just fell out with reading. But now I'm over that and I've finished this book that I started nearly a month ago. Now I'm ready to write my next review. There is another small reason on why this book review took a little longer to come out. This book just didn't grip me, but more of that in my opinion part which can be found towards the end of each review I write. That's enough about me, how are you lovely readers doing. First of all, how are you? As its been over a month and a half since we last had contact. So much would of happened over that amount of time. Use my comment box as a place to ramble even if you wanted to vent about that one person just a little. Now that school/college has gone back, how is it going? Like I said before if you need to vent about that topic just go for it the comment box is always open. The big holiday that is at the end of October, which is my favourite month. Halloween is what I'm talking about. I know it's a pretty big thing in USA and it is getting bigger here in the UK. So, how did you celebrate it? What did you dress up as this year? Last question, Do you celebrate Halloween in your country? If you don't, do you celebrate anything that's equivalent to Halloween? You know where to leave those answers in the same place as always! I know I haven't been here for over a month but this part is going to be the same. If you are now a frequent reader around here, I would love to receive some of your feedback. So that I can improve the quality of these reviews it would really help. Please! Anyway I think I have now rambled on enough lets get back to this review. So this review is about Our Endless Numbered Days and it is written by Claire Fuller. 

  This next part of my review is a little thing for any new readers. Welcome to my blog posts. Here comes the part with a lot of thank you's it's like the section at the back of a book. First of all thank you to any new readers who have seen the link and has clicked on it to arrive here. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my small blog posts. It's so nice to see my blog posts reaching new places. Once you have finished this blog post and you thought I would like to read more you can find plenty more of my blogs at laurennpullennreviews.blogspot.co.uk Don't worry I haven't forgotten the many readers who return with each blog post I write. Thank you all so much it means the world to me. 

  For the many people who are new around here and don't know the full structure of my blog posts. This next section is all about the blurb from the actual book. There are many words/terms people use for the word 'blurb' but out of all the terms used, the most popular one is synopsis. But the most easy way to remember what the blurb is, it's a short paragraph that perfectly sums up the book. Most blurbs can be found on the back of most books. But when your reading a book with a hard back you can normally find the blurb on the inside of the front cover, or if you want the correct term for this as well you can find it on the inside of the dust jacket. Next comes the reasons why I put the blurb into my blog posts in the first place. I have the blurb in my posts because it is more convenient for my many readers as you can make your opinion on the book on whether or not you would like to read the book or not. As its more convenient to you the readers you don't have to spend ages looking online or roaming around in shops looking for the book when you can read it here right now. So without further delay here is the blurb to Claire Fuller's, Our Endless Numbered Days;

"Peggy is eight years old when her father takes her to live in a cabin in a remote European forest. There, he tells her that her mother and the rest of the world are gone. Now the two of them must scratch a living from the earth; trapping squirrels, foraging for berries, surviving winter as best they can. But it is easy to lose you way in the forest, to lose yourself. How long will Peggy believe her father's story? How long can you stay sane when the world is lost? And what happens when you stop believing in everything?"

 But if you prefer to look at the blurb in picture format there will be a picture of the blurb at the bottom of this paragraph. Also please remember if you've already finished the book, don't give away any spoilers. Please and thank you again! 

  This next part of my blog post is all about the author of each book I review. Where would many of us book worms be without the many talented authors that are out there. I have read a quote and thought about it a lot lately so I'm about to write it here and let you lot to think about it to 'a author is nothing without its readers'. This is just a little something to give back to them as they have worked so hard to create an excellent book. Just think about the author the next time you read a really good book. A lot of work has gone into that book your reading. Like the amount of meetings they have to fit into their busy schedules. They have to go to them as they could be with their management teams and book publishers. The amount of hours of hours they have to sit at a computer screen answering the endless amount of emails and going through the many edits as possible before deadline day. All of this is being done whilst the author has her/his own life to live which is made twice as hard to balance if the author has a young family. That's when most of their writing is done when their little ones have gone to bed. In the end of it exceeds all expectations the book can become top of the book charts, win many awards and then get turned into a big movie or TV series. That's definitely something to be happy and proud about. So without further delay let me introduce you to the author Claire Fuller: 

'Claire Fuller was born in Oxfordshire, England in 1967. She gained a degree in Sculpture from Winchester School of Art, but went on to have a long career in marketing and didn't start writing until she was forty. She has an MA in Creative Critical Writing from the University of Winchester and lives in Hampshire with her husband and two children. Our Endless Numbered Days ( the book I'm reviewing now) is her first novel, her second novel came out earlier this year and her third novel is expected to be released early 2019. So keep your eyes open for it. 

  The time has come to deliver my opinion part of my blog post like I mentioned earlier on in my blog post. Let's start from the beginning, I've heard many things about this book and heard many different authors rave about this book. So I went ahead and got the book. Once I read the back the back of the book (blurb) it's not like anything else I've read. I'm more into my crime and suspense novels. But I thought let's give it ago maybe it will change my opinion on these sort of books. So I began the book at a steady pace and enjoyed the beginning and the two or three chapters after that. But that was it for me because the book went down hill from there for me. It just didn't grip me and leave me wanting more. Like I said before I like fast pace novels which it lacked. So at every moment I was finding myself putting the book down more than picking it up. When I did read it I was yawning more and feeling tired, just a more polite way of saying it was boring there was never a rush of excitement. I think that was why I fell out with as I was still on this book as I couldn't be bothered to read it. I would like to mention the small bits about this book that were good, the book was clearly structured between the past and the present and the ending is where the book eventually picked back up, because I can never leave a book unfinished. You could say it was more of a cliff hanger ending, don't worry I'm not going to give away any spoilers. But anyway this is my opinion, so don't let this opinion stop you from reading this book. I don't know if I'm going to read any of her other books as I don't think they are for me. 

  Overall, I'm going to give this book a 6/10. I'm not going to recommend this book at this time. But if you love it please feel free to spread the word. If you enjoyed reading this blog post you can find the rest of them at laurennpullennreviews.blogspot.co.uk where you can follow the blog to stay updated on when I upload a new blog post. Or leave a question and I will get back to you at some point. Thank you for continued support, it means a lot 

 Until my next book review x