Sunday, September 28, 2014

Getting Even by Sarah Rayner



Title: Getting Even 
Author: Sarah Rayner
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: September 23, 2014
ISBN: 9781250042118
Number of Pages: 312
How I Got It: direct from publicist
Format: paperback

Publicist Description:
Revenge has never been such fun. From Sarah Rayner, the international bestselling author of One Moment, One Morning, comes GETTING EVEN an unputdownable story of jealousy, sex, friendship and backstabbing set in the heart of London's Soho adland,

How would you feel if your best friend at work betrayed you? Was secretly having an affair with an influential colleague? Won a coveted promotion, then teamed you up with a mere junior, leaving you feeling completely demoted? What would you do? For Ivy there's no choice. The only person she has ever trusted, Orianna, has blown it big time. So there's only one way forward: revenge. Ivy's campaign is brilliant, if horribly destructive, and she's determined to get even with the woman who has dared to cross her. But is Ivy really the innocent party? Or is she hiding secrets of her own?

Like The Other HalfGetting Even is lighter and sexier than Sarah's more recent novels. It’s funny and flirtatious and very fun. If you liked Bridget Jones's Diary, then you'll love this.

My Review:
Mark my words, this book is going to made into a movie! I was thinking about Devil Wears Prada and Bride Wars or even Melrose Place the whole time I was reading it. I love that it highlights women in the workplace but is naughty and "back-stabby" enough to keep me flipping the pages. The grey areas of friends / lovers / workplace politics all get mixed up and messy in this evilly giggly story. One of my favorite lines in this book is:
"she was no longer sure where discretion ended and deception began."
Orianna keeps her relationship with Dan secret from her friend Ivy and everything unravels from there. Ivy's jealousy takes on a life of its own and a reader can't help but be slightly shocked, but love it and want her to do more. Workplace politics are often such nightmares. It is great to read about (and cheer for) the craziness without personally experiencing it. 

I will recommend this to a lot of my friends who like chick-lit or my girlfriends who don't read that often but like a fun read. 


** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **
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Thursday, September 25, 2014

115 Book Bloggers You Should be Following



I love Twitter. I usually do most of my bookish interaction on there but *gasp* I wasn't following a lot of my Twitter friends' blogs! I knew I needed to update my blogroll, but I also knew it would be a very time consuming task. Well, today was the day! After going through 600+ accounts that I follow on my personal Twitter account (@writerrhiannon,) I did a massive update to my personal blogroll. I then went through those blogs and made a list (with links) of (current / active) book bloggers that I love. Now I'm sharing with you! Of course you should also follow MY book blog Ivory Owl Reviews! Please leave a comment if you want to add a blog.
  1. A Blonde Librarian
  2. A Mom in the Middle
  3. A Patchwork of Books
  4. About Happy Books
  5. Adria in Paris
  6. Always With a Book
  7. Anita Loves Books
  8. Arts & Life
  9. As I turn the pages
  10. BACKLIST BOOKS
  11. Becoming Books
  12. Beth Fish Reads
  13. Bibliophilia, Please
  14. BOLO BOOKS
  15. Book Barn
  16. Book Chick
  17. Book Dilettante
  18. Book Stop
  19. Book-alicious Mama
  20. Bookalicious Babe Book Reviews
  21. Bookman
  22. Bookfoolery
  23. Bookishly Witty
  24. Books in the Burbs
  25. Bookworm's World
  26. Busy Brunette's Bookshelf
  27. Cerebral Girl
  28. Closed the Cover 
  29. CocoDrizzle
  30. Coffee and a Book Chick
  31. Cynthia Robertson
  32. Doing Dewey
  33. Entomology of a Bookworm
  34. Estella's Revenge
  35. Geeky Bloggers Book Blog
  36. Gilmore Guide to Books
  37. Girls Just Reading
  38. Great Imaginations
  39. Hearth and Homefront
  40. heavenali
  41. House of Blog
  42. I'm Lost in Books
  43. Interesting Literature
  44. iva-marie palmer
  45. Jennifer Joyce Writes
  46. Jenn's Bookshelves
  47. JulzReads
  48. KerryAnnMorgan
  49. Laura's Reviews
  50. Lesa's Book Critiques
  51. Libereading
  52. Linus's Blanket
  53. Lost Generation Reader
  54. Love at First Book
  55. Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity
  56. Loving Books
  57. Luxury Reading
  58. Man of la Book
  59. Missris
  60. Mrs. Mommy Booknerd
  61. Novel Life
  62. Novel Review
  63. Oh, Chrys!
  64. One More Page...
  65. One Person's Journey
  66. Palmer's Page Turners
  67. Palmer's Picks for Reading
  68. Parajunkee's View
  69. Peeking Pages
  70. Pivot Book Reviews
  71. poofbooks
  72. Posting For Now 
  73. Read for Pleasure
  74. Read-at-Home Mama
  75. Reading & Eating
  76. River City Reading
  77. S. Krishna's Books
  78. Sally Kilpatrick
  79. Sandy Nawrot
  80. Sarah's Book Shelves
  81. Seaside Book Nook
  82. She Treads Softly
  83. Shelf Addiction 
  84. Shelf Pleasure
  85. Silver's Reviews
  86. Southern Spines
  87. Story Matters
  88. Svetlana's Reads
  89. Tales of the Marvelous
  90. Ten Penny Dreams
  91. That's What She Read
  92. The Baking Bookworm
  93. The Book Diva's Reads
  94. The Book Junkie
  95. The Boston Bibliophile
  96. The Broke and the Bookish
  97. The Evening Reader
  98. The New Dork Review of Books
  99. The Relentless Reader
  100. The Sweet Escape
  101. The Well-Read Redhead
  102. The Writes of Woman
  103. Tiny Library
  104. Too Fond
  105. Traveling With T
  106. Turn the Page
  107. Unabridged Chick
  108. Utah Mom's Life
  109. We Be Reading
  110. Whisks & Words
  111. WildmooBooks
  112. Worn Pages and Ink 
  113. Write For Me
  114. {The Book Musings}
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Monday, September 22, 2014

The Secret Life of Sleep by Kat Duff


Title: The Secret Life of Sleep
Author: Kat Duff
Publisher: Atria Books / Beyond Words
Publication Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 9781582704685
Number of Pages: 256
How I Got It: NetGalley
Format: Kindle

NetGalley Description:
Unlock the astonishing facts, myths, and benefits of one of the most endangered human resources—sleep.

Birds do it. Bees do it. Salamanders do it. Even round worms do it. To the best of our knowledge, all creatures display some form of sleep behavior, a regular time of quiet when they settle into familiar postures, lose awareness of the outside world, and rest.
Yet for many of us, rejuvenating sleep is as elusive as clean water and dark nights. More than 60 percent of Americans experience a sleep problem at least twice a week, and though experts recommend getting seven to nine hours of shut-eye each night, nearly a third of adults get only six hours or less. In response to this emerging endangered resource, award-winning author Kat Duff blends myth, history, science, culture, and story with a contagious curiosity to unveil the hidden and invaluable healing benefits of sleep.
Drawing on the latest scientific research, literature, personal experience, as well as cultural and spiritual traditions from around the globe, The Secret Life of Sleep will help us better understand what we’re losing before it’s too late.


My Review:
Did you sleep good last night? I did. But that isn't always the case. I've had sleep problems in the past and now have them occasionally. I know that my absolute minimum amount of sleep necessary for me to function the next day is 6 hours, but I really need 8-9 to feel well rested and not in need of a nap the next day. Everyone talks about their sleep patterns and studies show that plenty of people would sacrifice all sorts of other comforts in exchange for sleep. Too often sleep is sacrificed. This book was so interesting in that it was both scientific but understandable. Information from sleep studies as well as how industrial progress has affected sleep are discussed. I have always been a big advocate of sleep and believe in taking steps to be sure me and my family get enough. Bedtime rituals, good sheets, etc. but this is sometimes seen as a weakness from others. Friends, co-workers, and bosses have been less than supportive of something I know is vital for my health and daily performance. I learned a lot from this book and am now armed with statistics and scientific information to provide to the next person who believes sleep is some sort of inconvenience. 


** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

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