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 Half, Getting 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 **

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}

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 **