Review for The Truth About You by Melissa Hill

"When the baby is found on the doorstep of Ella's café, everyone asks - what sort of parent would abandon their child?


Jess feels increasingly left out as the only non-mum amongst her friends. Terrified she might lose them altogether, she embarks on becoming a mother too. But is she really ready?


Hollywood actress Ruth Seymour is home in the small town of Lakeview for the summer. But has an ill-advised fling with a handsome co-star resulted in a seriously unplanned consequence?


Nina has come to live with her estranged father, Patrick, after a bad break-up. But will she ever dare tell him about the secret she is concealing?


One thing's for sure: someone knows more than they're telling.
And the truth won't stay hidden forever..."

I’m a HUGE fan of Melissa Hill, I’d even go as far as to say that she’s my favourite chick-lit author. I’ve read five of her novels to date and have thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them but The Truth About You is on a whole other scale and has quickly become my favourite.

What I love most about Melissa’s books is her ability to keep me totally absorbed from start to finish. I’m a big fan of chick-lit don’t get me wrong but unless its well written and offers something original I easily become bored of the easy going boy meets girl type story. However Melissa Hill always brings to the table something fresh and interesting and never do I get bored of her stories! Melissa expertly entwines everything that I love about chick-lit- the romantic love story, the lovable funny heroines, the feel good writing style- with a fast paced plot full of twists and turns with a delicious dash of mystery surrounding the story making for a compelling, indulgent read.

As is the norm with all of Melissa Hill’s books The Truth About You took me on a rollercoaster of a ride. One minute I thought I knew exactly how the book was going to end and then in the next few chapters Melissa would have me completely re-guessing myself with a new discovery being thrown into the mix. Melissa’s books are unpredictable and fresh and as always this books conclusion completely took me by surprise and blew me away leaving me back tracking through the book wondering how I didn’t pick up on the clues Melissa subtly leaves along the way. I love being taken by surprise and Melissa’s clever twists never disappoint.

As well as the compelling plot The Truth About You is chock full of fantastic, full bodied, characters. I loved the way this book was told from the alternate perspectives of Nina, Ruth and Jess. The girls are all very different despite having the one big thing in common and I found switching between their perspectives fresh and interesting to read. Ultimately I loved how as you get further into the book the women’s lives all begin to entwine and we got to see them face the prospect of motherhood together. Melissa Hill’s characters are very real and honest in that they make mistakes but as the reader I could always see where each girl was coming from and never judged them despite each woman’s insecurities over becoming a new mum and the ultimate decision of whether they should keep their baby.

I absolutely adored this book. It’s by far the best chick-lit novel I’ve read this year and my favourite by Melissa so far. If you’re a fan of this author you won’t want to miss this new instalment. And if you’ve not read anything by this author yet I highly recommend that you do! If you’re looking for an excellent summer read that will keep you on your toes this is the book for you.
My Rating 5/5 stars

Synopsis taken from Amazon

Passion Blog Tour: Lauren Kate’s Favourite Luce and Daniel Moments including a scene from Passion and upcoming and final book Rapture!

So those of you who’ve read the Fallen books are sure to have some of your own favourite moments between our starstruck couple Luce and Daniel I mean there are plenty of heart wrenching, romantic scenes to choose from right?! When I was approached to take part on a tour for the latest book in the series Passion it got me to thinking about what Lauren’s favourite moments are and which pull on your heartstrings moments were her favourite to write so without further ado let’s take a look! Lauren has chosen a favourite interaction that represents the title of each book including a sneak peak from upcoming novels Passion and even the final book in the series Rapture!

Fallen: I really loved writing the scene under the peach tree at the Sword and Cross cemetery--where Daniel first tells Luce about their history. She doesn’t believe him at first. She is standing up to leave when he pulls her back and goes into a long catalog of memories of all their lives together. To Luce, the details are impossible--but they also ring a bell somewhere in the back of her soul. For me, this is the moment when Luce stops lusting over Daniel and actually falls in love with him. (I didn’t realize at the time that this list of lives would eventually give me a backbone of the narrative for Passion, but all the lives are there.)

Torment: Torment is a growing-pains book for Luce. Her interactions with Daniel are limited and, most of the time, pretty frustrating. For the book to work and for Luce to grow, they have to argue a lot, which was tough for me to write. I would have much rather they get along. The scene where Daniel pulls her away from the party on the beach is pivotal because it’s romantic (they’re dancing on the ocean together), and because it shows how hard they’re both trying not to fight. They argue over Luce dying her hair--and she knows is dumb even in that moment, but she can’t help herself from getting angry. This rang true to me; I can be particularly stubborn in an argument. Its a big part of what pushes her character further--first further from Daniel, then ultimately, closer to him.

Passion: Passion is a steamy, steamy book. My favorite Luce and Daniel moment is one of the steamiest of the series. I won’t tell you what happens, but I will say it takes place in Helston, England--a redux of the prologue from Fallen--and it’s the most wrenching kiss I’ve ever written.

Rapture: I just finished the first draft of Rapture and already, I can’t wait until it comes out. This book is the first one that woke me up at night. There’d be a little voice in my head saying, “Make sure you don’t forget this!” and “How are you going to explain that?” There is one particularly rapturous moment in the book, a dialogue between Luce and Daniel. Again, I’ll have to be a little bit mysterious about the details for now, but I will say it was the first time I’ve ever cried during the writing process, and all of that emotion is poured right into the book.

Big thank you’s to Lauren for stopping by the blog today! I have to agree that Lauren’s favourite moments are some of mine too especially the scene on the beach in Torment *swoons* and I’m so excited to see what beautiful moments await our couple in Rapture! I recently had the pleasure of reading Passion early and let me tell you guys it’s the most romantic book of the series so far! Chock full of gorgeous, tender moments between Luce and Daniel. I’ll have a review for Passion going up before the release date so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for that!

The next stop on the Passion blog tour will be with my good friend Ellie at Musings of a Bookshop Girl so make sure you stop by there tomorrow! Passion will be released in the UK on 23 June. For a full list of bloggers taking part on the rest of the tour I’ve included this banner, be sure to stop by :-)

Monsters, Laxatives and Big Noses, Oh My!

Hi guys, welcome to May’s book of the month and monthly round up! This is a feature to sum up for you my reading and recommendations for the past month and to share with you the exciting things that have been going on on the blog and books I’m looking forward to in the following month.

May’s book of the month is...A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A Monster Calls is hands down my favourite book of the month. Patrick Ness spins a harrowing, lyrical, emotional tale from the final story idea of Siobhan Dowd. These two award winning authors have created one of the most beautiful stories I’ve ever read about a young boy whose struggling to deal with his mother’s battle with cancer. With stunning illustrations by Jim Kay this is a book that demands to be read and discussed and it comes with the highest of recommendations from me just make sure you have a box of tissues on hand! For more info on the book make sure you stop by my review here.

Best Plot: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Best Writing: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Best Cover: Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Best Characters: Swim the Fly by Don Calame
Best Ending: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
Best Romance: Passion by Lauren Kate
Most un-put-down-able: Swim the Fly by Don Calame
Most Memorable: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Best Moral: Flawless by Lara Chapman

Books read this month
28.) City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (4.5*)
29.) A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (5*)
30.) Flawless by Lara Chapman (4.5*)
31.) It Happened One Summer by Polly Williams (3.5*)
32.) Wither by Lauren DeStefano (4.5*)
33.) Swim the Fly by Don Calame (5*)
34.) Passion by Lauren Kate (3.5*)
35.) Stolen by Lucy Christopher (3.5*)

Top 3 Most Recommended Books: A Monster Calls, Swim the Fly and Flawless

Bookish Highlights of the month
I got to take part in my very first blog tours for Dead Beautiful and Swim the Fly two books that I really enjoyed and the blog got a new makeover something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and I’m very happy with the results!

Bookish Lows of the month
Book Buying Ban and computer fails, need I say more?

Book’s I’m looking forward to in June
So many! It’s going to be such a hard month with my book buying limit being only 4 books The Single Girls To Do List by Lindsey Kelk, Wish Me Dead by Helen Grant. There are also some fantastic books coming out that I’ve received for review already like What Happened to Goodbye Sarah Dessen’s latest book. Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini, About Last Night by Adele Parks and Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson I can’t wait to delve into those! There’s plenty to look forward to :-)

So there you have it my May reading summed up for you guys. Have you read any of the books I’ve read this month? What were your thoughts on them? Leave me a comment and let me know and don’t forget to treat yourselves to A Monster Calls! – You won’t regret it! ^_^

Changes and Upcoming Blogoversary!

Hi lovely followers, So if you’re reading this post then I take it that your noticing the changes I’ve made to the blog. I’ve wanted to change the blogs look for a while. I wanted to go for a simpler, cleaner look that wasn’t so girly and would appeal more to boys. I really love my new look and I hope that you guys do too! I have my very first blogoversary coming up next month and so decided to get the blog all fancy pants for that. I’ve made a lot of changes and commenting is now easier than ever so feel free to have a look around and explore. For the blogoversary I’m planning lots of exciting stuff including an international giveaway of a book of your choice from a list of my very favourite books. Also a little post on what I love most about blogging and how my reading and life’s changed since starting up Jess Hearts Books. I also have a lot of exciting stuff coming up for the summer with guest posts, my summer reading list and my summer reads recommendations for you guys! Times have been tough lately with my computer not working properly for months and personal things at home but your constant support and encouragement never fail to amaze me and always make me eager to provide regular quality stuff for you guys to enjoy. Anyway the dog days are over and things in my life seem to be coming together more and more. I can’t wait to see where this next chapter in blogging takes me and am sending huge thank you’s to anybody who’s ever followed, commented, or supported this blog in any way. Hope you enjoy the new changes! Jess

Kick-starting the Swim the Fly blog tour! The Importance of Dude-lit

It gives me great pleasure to be coming to you today with the first stop on Don Calame’s UK Swim the Fly blog tour. I recently read this book and it was amazing, laugh out loud hilarious about three boys setting a summer time goal to see a real live naked girl. With plenty of boisterous mischief and mishaps along the way this makes for a very funny read- think John Green meets The Inbetweeners. Anyway it really got me thinking about how little dude-lit there is out there for guys. Sure there are guy’s books but there mainly all about action and spies and what not which is great but what about books about the truly tough stuff like growing up? Yep barely a drop. Especially when you take into comparison the amount of chick-lit and magazines girls have to read about all those embarrassing problems whilst growing up. I’m a firm believer that it only takes one book. One book that really speaks to you that can develop a lifetime love of reading and upon reading Swim the Fly I truly believe that if enough word gets out about this book and boys are encouraged to pick it up this could be that special book that sparks a lifetime’s love affair with reading. Here’s what Don Calame author of Swim the Fly had to say on the importance of there being some decent dude-lit out on the shelves...

The Importance of Dude-Lit By Don Calame

"Boys aren’t reading. You hear it all the time. In the newspapers, from teachers, from parents, from librarians. But if you take a look at the teen section of most bookstores you might get a clue as to why. The majority of the books that are geared toward teenagers are meant to be for girls, about girls, doing girl things. Whether that’s finding out that they are secretly a princess, learning that their friend has the problem du jour (anorexia, cutting, drugs, alcohol, pregnancy), or perhaps most disturbing of all, discovering that the boy they are in love with is a vampire (or werewolf, or zombie, or angel, or alien from another planet). And then there are the books the students are meant to read in school. Novels by Steinbeck, Melville, Shakespeare, Bronte, etc. All very important works of literature, all having absolutely nothing that might appeal to a teenage boy. And nothing that a teenage boy can relate to in his current life. In fact, it takes quite a lot of effort to find those really good books that address what it’s really like to come of age as a teenage boy. And believe me, I’ve tried, with the help of some very knowledgeable booksellers. I’m not sure why this is. Because guys are half the population. These types of books should and need to be published. “Well,” some people say, “teenage boys won’t read even if you do publish them. Because they have short attention spans. And because they like sports. And because they play video games.” I’m sorry but I don’t buy it. Why? Because I’m a guy. And I have a short attention span. And I like sports. And I play video games. I also happen to love reading. And I learned to love reading when I was a teenager. Beyond that, most of my friends are exactly the same. I honestly believe that if you hand a boy a book that he can relate to, that feels realistic to him, that presents guys the way guys really are, with all the humor and confusion and awkwardness that we experience at that age, then boys will not only read that book, but they will thoroughly enjoy it and ask for another one just like it. And hopefully, more and more of them will be published, so that when they do ask for that next book it’s available for them to pick up." Big thank you’s to Don for stopping by the blog today and to Templar for setting this whole thing up. To learn more about my thoughts on Swim the Fly you can stop by my review here. The tour will next be stopping at Chicklish where they’ll be offering up an exclusive extract plus your chance to win a signed copy of Swim the Fly! Exciting stuff right? For more info on the tour you can check out Templar’s post here to find out more about what will be taking place and to watch the trailer for Swim the Fly (trust me you don’t want to miss THAT!)

Swim the Fly is out in the UK 1st June 2011. Don is currently in the UK promoting Swim the Fly so be sure to give him a warm British welcome and check out his website here.