Pages

Showing posts with label Kathy Hopkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kathy Hopkins. Show all posts

Monday, 19 May 2014

Blog Tour for The Playlist of a Broken Heart by Cathy Hopkins; Review

19708225Posted by Donna
Release Date: May 8th, 2014
Finished Date: April 22nd, 2014
Publishers: Simon and Schuster UK
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance 
Source: For Review
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
When Paige finds an old mix CD in a local charity shop, she can't help but wonder about the boy who made it and the girl he was thinking of when he chose the songs. The tracks tell the story of a boy looking for his perfect girl, a girl to understand him, a story of being alone, being let down, misunderstood and not knowing where to turn. 
Following the clues of the music, Paige sets out to find the mysterious boy, going from gig to gig and band to band, hoping to track him down. But will who she finds at the end of the trail, be the boy she's imagined?
Another perfect girly read from Queen of Teen nominee Cathy Hopkins!

The Review:  The Playlist for a Broken Heart follows the life of 15-year-old Paige. Paige has it all, a big house, a loving family, she just got the lead in her school’s play with the hottest guy and she has a great best friend, well, that is until she find out her father lost all their money in the stocks and now they are having to move to bath to live with her aunt because her family can no longer afford the life they live.

Upset about moving, it takes Paige a while to settle in and it’s only when she finds a mixed tap in a charity shop does she finally have something to focus on – she wants to find the boy who made it, because she thinks he can understand her like no-one else. Can Paige find the boy or is it a lost cause?

Kathy Hopkins writes a relatable story with The Playlist for a Broken Heart. It’s relatable in the sense that many children go through what Paige does – up and moving to a different City, leaving everything behind she was familiar with. I though Kathy wrote Paige’s emotions just right, especially for her a 15-year-old-girl. Paige is likable character – one that continues to grow throughout the story, and I was glad when she found the mixed tap so she could finally focus on something that surrounded her life in Bath. Her journey for finding the boy who made the mix tap wasn’t an easy one. At one point I honestly thought she might be disappointed with who the boy was because there were a few guys in her life that while I liked them as friends, I didn’t think they suited Paige as a boyfriend. As a reader, it wasn’t actually that easy to figure out who this mystery boy was. You go back and forth thinking “is it him or him” and it’s entertaining to find out the truth.

The story doesn’t just only focus on Paige’s mission to find the boy, it’s also about her family getting a second chance and I was glad that even in the dark times, her family remained strong and could come out with a second chance and the chance to start over.


In all, The Playlist to a Broken Heart is an entertaining and lovable story – one that any teenager could relate too and is a good read for older YA fans who want a light and fluffy story.  
Cathy HopkinsAUTHOR BIO

Cathy Hopkins’ worldwide sales are over four million. She started writing in 1986, turning to teen fiction in 2000. She is the author of more than 60 titles, with five children’s series in print: Million Dollar Mates; Mates, Dates; Zodiac Girls; Truth, Dare, Kiss or Promise and Cinnamon Girl, with editions in 34 languages. 

She lives in Bath with her husband and three cats. You can follow Cathy on Twitter @cathyhopkins1, or visit her website at www.cathyhopkins.com.

Thursday, 16 August 2012

A Review for Love at Second Sight by Cathy Hopkins

Love at Second SightPosted by Donna
Release Date: August 2nd, 2012
Finished Date: August 14th, 2012
Publishers: Simon & Schuster
Source: For Review
Format: Paperback 
Pages: 320
Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Unlucky in love Jo is dragged along to see a clairvoyant by her two coupled-up best friends, and is told that there's only one boy for her. The trouble is, the last time she saw him was in a past life, when she worked as a governess to his younger brother. The clairvoyant tells her that as she is back in this life, so is he, and she must find him if she is ever to know true happiness and love.Jo doesn't believe a word of it - but then a series of events begin to change her mind. Could her one true love really be out there? In her quest to find the One, she visits psychics and cemeteries - but will she even be able to recognize her soul-mate when she finds him? Or is she destined to continue looking for love for all of time?

The Review: Love at Second Sight was a book I'd never heard of until I went to an Simon & Schuster event back in July, and luckily enough, I managed to snag a copy. It's my first book by author Cathy Hopkins and I must say, it definitely won't be my last. 

The story follows the life of teenager Jo, who so far has been quite unlucky in love. All of her friends have boyfriends and she's sick of feeling like a third wheel and despite Jo's protests, her friends drag her to see a clairvoyant. Once there, the clairvoyant tells her that her true love is someone from her past live when she worked as a governess. Jo doesn't believe a word she's told because really, how can someone have a past life let alone a soul mate? However, Jo's friends won't let it lie and soon start a uncovering all the details about her past life. Can this all really be true? And will Jo find her one true love after all? 

Love at Second Sight is such a cute and fun read. I literally read it within about 24 hours and once I started it, I found it a very addictive read. It was very easy to slip into these characters lives and experience everything they were experiencing because Cathy Hopkins make it a very vivid read. I could easily imagine myself walking through Camden Market and going to the fair. But what I liked most about this story was the journey the characters took to find Jo's past love. It was very exciting and it was really interesting to discover how you would go about finding a long lost loved one or even relative. 

The love interests in the story really where a hard choice. I liked all three of them. Don't worry, there's no love triangle's in the story. It's simply Jo having to choose who she thinks is her soul mate. All three of the boys were great but it was pretty clear from the start who she was meant to be with. 

Now Jo, I really liked. She's had some hard times with her father passing at a young age and that really effects how she is now. She goes to therapy and if anything, that helps her more than she willing to admit. Her relationship with her friends mean everything to her and even though they have their silly arguments, they push and support each other into doing the right thing. I loved the connection they all had and even the girls boyfriends, were fun too. 

Overall, Love at Second Sight is a story about a lost love, second chances and destiny and I really enjoyed it.  If you're looking for the ideal summer read, then this is the book for you. 

A big thank you to Simon & Schuster UK for giving me the opportunity to review this book. 
 
Design by Imagination Designs
Graphics by Octopus Artis