Wellies and Westies (A novella) by Cressida McLaughlin

Wellies and Westies (A novella) by Cressida McLaughlin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars




Hilarious, touching and fun, Primrose Terrace will appeal to dog lovers everywhere and fans of Lucy Diamond, Cathy Bramley and Trisha Ashley.

Catherine ‘Cat’ Palmer realises, too late, that bringing an adorable puppy into work at the local nursery was a bad idea, especially after the ensuing chaos gets her the sack.
Determined to turn a negative into a positive, Cat decides this is the perfect opportunity to get her dog-walking business off the ground with the help of her flatmates, Polly and Joe. After all, Primrose Terrace where she lives, is full of home-alone hounds…

Wellies and Westies is the first part of a serialized novel told in four parts – all set in Primrose Terrace.


When I found out this was going to be a series of novellas I knew I had to read it. By now you will know my love with novellas, they are perfect for busy days and when you can only give yourself half an hour to read. This is perfect for those occasions, you get to feel satisfied after a short period of reading and cannot wait for the next installment of the series.

The first think that I thought when I saw the cover for this series was, how beautiful! Each and every installment has a beautiful cover, which just makes me want to read it even more!

I love how easy this novella was to read, only after the first few pages I was in love with Cat, who works in a nursery but makes a huge mistake when she takes her puppy to work with her one day. Unfortunately for Cat the day goes from bad to worse and she ends up fired. After feeling sorry for herself and a chat from her best friend she decides to become a dog walker and begins to set up her own business. I think it is ever so hard to build relationships between the characters and the reader in such a short space of time but McLaughlin manages to pull it off and have you the reader rooting for Cat from the first few pages.

I love how the book is set round a small community and I would love to like in Primrose Terrace, I began to love all the characters that were introduced to me and through development they all have separate stories that mix together.

This is a must summer read this summer, perfect for those moments in the garden or lazing by the pool, it is funny, light and lovable. I really cannot wait for the others in the series.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Art History Paper Dolls by Kyle Hilton

Art History Paper Dolls by Kyle Hilton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Get a hands-on art history lesson with these giants of the art world, shrunk down to paper-doll form. Illustrator Kyle Hilton expertly captures the essence of such masters as Leonardo da Vinci, Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock and more. Educational trivia and unique accoutrements accompany each artist. Art history has never been so fun!


When I saw this I knew I wanted a copy. This for me has many uses, I love art, history and I am a teacher. This book is brilliant for making art history for kids fun. There are interesting facts and quirky parts to cut out and stick on the dolls.

I love the fact that this books takes you through art history, with the art movements and famous artists. I honestly cannot say a bad word about this book and it makes it fun for kids too. Even as an art fanatic there were a few artists I was unsure of, this book encouraged me to find out more about them and research their work.

I would love to get more of these books to help teach history.

This is a well and truly awesome book, it is great for any age. I will be recommending this to other teachers and my friends. My review can not do this book justice, you just have to get it to see for yourself.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Weekly Wrap Up - 19.7.15

The last few weeks have been pretty stressful, it became apparent that we were going to have to move home soon, due to our current landlord wanting to sell the property. It is not something we want to buy so decided to try and find something asap for us to try and move in during the summer holidays. This week it has been confirmed so for the next couple of weeks I think packing things in boxes are going to be in order. Will have to have a major clear out too. 

This week I have been sent:

Luckiest Girl Alive - Jessica Knoll
Sunshine and Spaniels - Cressida McLaughlin 

A Proper Family Holiday - Chrissie Manby
Beneath the Lake - Christopher Ransom
Siren's Call - Jayne Castle
Everything Everything - Nicola Yoon
Sparkling Stilettos - Jess Wright

This week I have bought: 

Books I have read this week:

Art History Paper Dolls - absolutely amazing, check out my review soon. 

Pretty Patterns colouring book
Stereotypical freaks - Howard Shapiro

The books I have read all have reviews and they will be on the blog soon so look out for that!

Thanks for stopping by at The Book Corner, I loved  hearing what you have got this week so please leave a comment to let me know

Pretty Patterns: Creative Colouring for Grown-ups by Various Illustrators

Pretty Patterns: Creative Colouring for Grown-ups by Various Illustrators
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Pretty Patterns Colouring Book for Grown-ups gives all creative types the opportunity to personalize over one hundred pages of the most beautiful illustrations imaginable. With a hugely diverse range of styles and scenes, there is something here for all tastes. Providing hours of fun and relaxation, the book also gives you the chance to create something you can be truly proud of. The ideal way to enhance your artistic skills or the perfect present for the gifted individual in your life.


Colouring books for grown ups are all the range at the moment, so when I was lucky enough to be offered this book to review I jumped at the chance.

I am an arty person, I have an art degree and I love to create things. This book I found was very relaxing. Personally I don't like using pens to colour as there is every chance they could go through the paper so I stuck to colouring pencils. This was great as I could get tones when colouring too.

There are many different colouring books out there at the moment, this one is full of flowery designs, some are more detailed than others and some have other features on the page such as butterflies. I love how every time I look at the pictures I see something different from the images, as I am colouring them I can also see new things being created.

I would recommend grown up colouring books to everyone, as soon as you are getting a little stressed in your life, pull one of these out and your stress level will soon begin to drop. This is a lovely girly addition to everyone's colouring book collection.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Cowshed Cow Pat moisturising hand cream

Cowshed Cow Pat moisturising hand cream

What they say:

Despite the name, this essential oil-based hand cream from lovers of nature, Cowshed, will leave your hands as fresh as an English garden. Packed with nourishing Shea and Cocoa butters with a sprinkling of lavender, grapefruit, and cinnamon, the rich formula quickly absorbs into the skin for never-greasy hydration. What's more it delivers all-day moisture and an invigorating fragrance. Trust us. (Birchbox website)

What I think:

I absolutely love hand creams, I have so many of them I have lost count. After loving Cowshed candles and their body lotion, I knew I would love their hand cream. It smells great and leaves your hands feeling soft and smooth. I would recommend this product. It is £8 full size, which is 50 ml. I think that is reasonable for a good hand cream and have spent more in the past on hand creams. I will be buying this again. 

You can buy this from the Birchbox website: here

Flash Sticks 1 month review

I thought I would do a very quick update on how my learning is coming along. I have had the flash sticks for about a month now and couldn't wait to put them around the house, I began to go through the pack and taking out the ones I felt could be attached to the items I have in the house. Working full time it makes it really difficult to do any learning as I have little time. These have really helped me to learn Spanish, every day I am seeing the words around the house and even if I don't say the word out loud it begins to become ingrained in my head. 

I had to take down a few of the flash sticks the other day as we had someone come to take pictures of the house, when going to put them back up I noticed I had lost one. The word for door - even though I cannot find it, it turns out that actually I don't need it up there now anyway. Looking at the position of where it used to be I can remember the word for door. This has proved to me that the flash sticks are working. I am so happy as I know I am beginning to learn the language. Some words I am finding more difficult as they have harder pronunciation. This is where the app comes in, I have found this so useful, by scanning over the post it, a video will appear with the pronunciation. 

I am really getting into learning words, useful words that actually I may use (not like when you learn a language at school!) I am hoping that the more words I learn I begin to be able to create sentences, at the moment I feel like I am only learning the odd words. I am so pleased I had the opportunity to review flash sticks, please head back soon to continue on my journey with me. 

I would recommend these to anyone with a busy day job, who doesn't have time to learn a language, you will be surprised at how much you do learn.

I would like to thank the company again for sending these in exchange for an honest review. 

Weekly Wrap up - 12.7.15

The week has been a stressful one, not with work, thankfully for once but with house hunting. We are going to be moving house at some point and I am hoping it happens in the summer holidays so I have time to do it. This has cut into my reading time this week as I am visiting properties all the time. This weekend however I was hoping to read quite a bit and I am had a mini readathon I think to try and get some reviews done, otherwise I won't have any scheduled. 

This week I have been sent:

Sing no Evil - JP Ahonen & KP Alare 

Art History Paper Dolls 

This week I have bought: 

Books I have read this week:

The books I have read all have reviews and they will be on the blog soon so look out for that!

Thanks for stopping by at The Book Corner, I loved  hearing what you have got this week so please leave a comment to let me know