Books, Birthdays and Lifestyle Blogging

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It’s my birthday! Well kind of. One (ish, give or take a few days) year ago I wrote my very first blog post, a little roundup of all the new release books I was looking forward to reading (go check it out as most of them I have read and are actually, rather good.) which makes the end of June my first anniversary of blogging, woo! At the time I wasn’t even sure that I would even get to the one year mark but I’m so happy I have reached this mini milestone as blogging is something that has truly made me happy and given me a creative outlet that I never would have had otherwise. My blog isn’t something I really advertise to people I know but more of something to stumble upon if like minded people want to hang out in my neck of the interweb woods.

One year in I wanted to take stock of how far I have come and what plans I wanted to make for the following year. Although I am super happy with the content and layout (thank God for beautiful templates like Pipdig as my own fumbling attempts at design and code often had me want to punch my laptop square in the face on many occasions which would have only resulted in sore knuckles for me) yet Sundays and Ink isn’t quite the blog I envisioned when I first started. Originally I had thought of being more of a book and lifestyle blog but along the way I’ve really given a lot of time and effort to getting back into books in a massive way and not much lifestyle content has made its way onto these pages.

So for the next year I am hoping to up the amount of beauty, lifestyle and foody-type posts to sit alongside my booky ones. I love the book blogging community and am really excited to be adding different elements into my blog as I first envisioned. I may even throw in some more personal Travel posts if I’m feeling super up to sharing photos of myself…hmmm, well see on that one, no bikini shots or anything.

Anyway I think the awesome thing about this change is that I still have a list as long as my arm of book, author and reading recommendations so if anything the changes in content should result in bigger, better and more badass stuff to read about! At the minute I have a billion thoughts on music, fashion and beauty that I really want to share but do rest assured my blog will still be filled to the brim with lots of books.

Apart from books what areas do you love reading about the blogs you follow?

An Awesome Holiday Read: Saving Grace by Jane Green

I'd never read anything from Jane Green before but with two new release books out this year alone I thought it was about time I tried this popular and much loved author. Saving Grace introduces us to Grace wife of formerly, one of the best writers in America, Tim Chapman. When the couple's personal assistant quits Grace is at a loss as to how to keep their hectic schedules and life afloat. In steps the wonderful Beth. She's professional, organised and immediately tends to every want and needs of Grace's household including her ill-tempered husband. If it all seems too good to be true, that's because it is. There's something more to Beth than meets the eye but will Grace discover what it is before this perfect stranger steals her life?

Saving Grace was an effortlessly enjoyable read. Green's writing sucked me into Grace's hectic life and I really enjoyed the speed at which I was hooked into knowing more about Grace, Beth and Tim's party of three was going to turn out. I really enjoyed the character development throughout Saving Grace as both Beth and Grace turned out to be quite different people from beginning to end. Grace was an instantly likeable character. As a wife and mother she was warm and I instantly wanted things to be great for her despite having to put up with a husband whose failing book sales and over inflated ego had turned him into an emotionally manipulative ass-hat most of the time. I also loved the way the character Beth played out. She turns up in the Chapman’s lives and makes herself instantly indispensable and yet I , like Grace, kept questioning whether she was really that nice and genuine or was it all a cleaver ruse for someone more sinister? 

The only thing I couldn't put my finger on was why Grace stayed with her miserable temper-tantrum husband for so long as despite being described as loving and caring at the beginning of their relationship, he had turned into quite a bully. I guess Green could have done a better job at showing the side of Tim Chapman that Grace loved so much as there were several times I was thinking Grace should leave her husband in the first fifty pages of the book and when she described Tim as being like his old affectionate self he wasn't even being that kind anyway.

What I loved about Saving Grace was the way Green never quite lets on which way Grace’s cards will tumble. Will she go back to her husband and restore her marriage? Is Beth who she thinks she is or is Grace the one who needs help? You might just have to read to find out.

The Funniest Book I've Read All Year: Must Love Otters by Eliza Gordon

You know those books that you start reading and just love everything about them and can't stop smiling at the characters and relating to pretty much everything about them? Yeah, Must Love Otters by Eliza Gordon is one of those books. Hilarious and laugh out loud funny from beginning to end, Holly Porter is one of my favourite funny characters I've had the pleasure of hanging out with for an entire novel.

Speaking of Holly, at twenty five years old she hates her job working as a 911 operator, has a disappointingly unromantic relationship with her boyfriend and no friends to speak of. When her father buys a gift voucher for a romantic weekend at Revelation Cove, British Colombia, Holly ditches her boyfriend and work for a week of soul searching and potential new hookups. Holly goes from one disaster to the next watched on by the cute but annoying Concierge Ryan - a former NHL star with a bad knee who has been forced into an early retirement.

Holly was beyond relatable as a character and I couldn't help but recognise her attempts at soul searching and finding something she didn't know she was looking for as a common theme among my twenty something peers. Although her attempts results in a lot more nudity than the average person, Holly with her sarcastic wit and skeptical outlook on life was a fabulously funny narrator. Eliza Gordon's writing is pure gold and I can't wait to read more from her.

While the plot and storyline aren't exactly groundbreaking Holly's hilarious escapades which see her go from shitty down and outer to life of the party is the best thing about this book. If you are looking for a seriously funny read with a loveable main character and sweet romantic story Must Love Otters is a must read.