Book Review: The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

The Spanish Deception is a slow burn enemies to lovers chic lit romance written by Elena Armas. The book/ film went viral thanks to TikTok but does the book live up to all the hype surrounding it? 

I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the novel, there was lots of humour and snappy ripostes between the two main characters. Ironically  the  humour and chemistry started to fade away as they arrived in Spain for the wedding and moved from enemies/ work place acquaintances to lovers. The storyline became more formulaic and the reader could anticipate what came next. 

Disney Store Zero Light Up Hanging Ornament

Disney Store have released their 2022 Halloween collection. There are several spookily cute hanging ornaments which feature characters from The Nighmare Before Christmas. 

My favourite is the light up Zero hanging ornament (£20). This ornament features Zero sitting on a light up pump and a sign for Halloween Town. The ornament measures 7x6.5x9cm. The pumpkin can be switched on by a switch on the base. It is made from resin and stone powder and can be either free standing or hung from a ribbon. 

The packaging has been revamped so no polystyrene- the inside box feels and looks rather like an egg box - so less mess! 

I am not particularly a fan of Halloween or The Nightmare Before Christmas but I do think that this is a really cute hanging ornament and would make a great addition to any spooky Disney collection. 

I purchased this item myself and the views expressed in my blog are my own. 

Disney Store The Lion King Hanging Ornament

The Disneystore/ ShopDisney have started to release the 2022 hanging ornament collection. There are some lovely items but not many animal themed ones. The one that caught my eye is the Lion King hanging ornament (£16) which features Simba, Pumbaa and Timon marching across a log, looking as though they are going to burst into song. This ornament is similar to ethe 2019 Hallmark  version which does burst in to song and light up. This version is more detailed, cheaper and I love the artwork on the back of the ornament.  

The ornament can either hang from a ribbon or be free standing. It measures 12x5 cm and is hand painted and made from resin. 

The packaging has been changed. No longer the stupid polystyrene inserts which crumble as you pack/ unpack the ornament which is great for the environment and pets. The name of the item is also printed on the box which is great if you have a lot to post or pack away.  

I purchased this item myself and the views expressed in my blog are my own. 

Book Review: The Guilty Die Twice by Don Hartshorn

 I was asked if I would like to review this book and I agreed as the synopsis sounded very interesting. The Guilty Die Twice is a mystery thriller written by Don Hartshorn.

Set in America the main two characters are brothers - Jake and Travis Lynch. Both brothers are attorneys. The eldest, Jake,  is the DA for Texas whist Travis runs a mostly pro bono practice. 10 years ago the family was split in two by a capital murder case. The author uses flash backs to explain this case, Travis hid vital evidence to stop Sutton, the accused, from being executed. His brother finds out and Jake resigns from his job at the DA’s office. They haven’t spoken since then.

This new case features three victims: two teenage boys shot dead in a car whilst the third has life changing injuries. A drug deal gone horribly wrong there were were three shooters.  As the DA Jake is prosecuting this case whilst Travis is trying to prevent his young client, Sam, from being charged with the death penalty. The two brothers attempt to figure out who pulled the trigger whilst a secondary storyline is woven in which is full of political intrigue and backstabbing as elections for both the DA and Governor are imminent. 

This book is beautifully thought out. The flashbacks and different storylines are cleverly woven together. Travis is a likeable character, Jake is not. The secondary characters, the wives, Claire etc do not hinder but add to the storyline. The book is not sanctimonious when expressing Travis’s opposition to the death penalty merely presenting thoughtful and considered arguments. I enjoyed this debut novel and would thoroughly recommend it.  

Publisher website link:
https://www.tckpublishing.com/

author’s website:
https://donhartshorn.com/

I was #gifted this novel from TCK Publishing but this does not influence the views expressed in this blog post. 

Book Review: The Night The King Claimed Her by Natalie Anderson

The Night The King Claimed Her is a Harlequin/ Mills & Boon Modern novel written by Natalie Anderson. 

Elsie Wynter is a mandolin player who was working in a small coffee shop in Silvabon. She was befriended by the King’s step sister Amelia and they bonded over the love of music. When King Felipe found out he wanted to meet Elsie as he was suspicious of her motives for befriending someone much younger than herself. 

When the two meet there is a strong attraction which culminates in a 24 hour love affair and Elsie leaving the country. Several months later Elsie is travelling to Spain and the plane makes an emergency landing in Silvabon just before Felipe’s coronation. Elise’s name is recognised on the flight manifest and his security team remove her from the flight and she is brought before him. All the past misunderstandings are cleared up but will they get their HEA? 

I enjoyed this book. I especially liked the detailed description of the medieval castle, it was so realistic. I have mixed thoughts about the flash backs. As a writing device flashbacks can add to the storyline help set the scene.  I enjoyed some of them but some seemed slightly unnecessary and confusing.  The characters seemed realistic - the heroine wasn’t sickly sweet but forthright and rightly bitter about what had happened to her. Felipe was the caring brother who wanted what was best for his step sister. 

I love Mills & Boon UK and I think you will too! Click my personal referral link to get a discount on your first purchase http://rwrd.io/f4yjeqp?c 

This novel was #gifted to me by Natalie Anderson via BookFunnel. This has not affected the views expressed in this review. 

Review: Honest 2 Nature Insect Eco Suet Pellets

Unipet, the makers of my wild birds’ beloved berry pellets, have created a new eco brand and version of he insect pellets and block. Their new brand is Honest 2 Nature and their first products are the Insect Eco Suet Pellets and Blocks with compostable packaging. The pellets are available in three sizes - 1kg (£5.99), 12.55kg (£29.99) and 25.1kg (£53.99). The suet cake/blocks are available as single blocks or in a pack of 10 (£14.50). I was gifted two packs of the pellets for my garden birds to test. 

Unipet have invested 2 years and £750,000 building a new plant and technology to create this new eco range. which is completely plastic free and sustainable. The packaging is compostable and was tested for 18 months to ensure it is OPRL approved and suitable for composting/ recycling. 

The pellets themselves are made from non beef suet. The beef suet has been replaced with pure insect fat and insect protein. The new insect eco pellets contain wheat flour, fats, oils, wheat starch, and dried insects. 98% of the ingredients are sourced from within the U.K. and the insect element is provided by Protix in the Netherlands. This reduces the carbon footprint of the product. 

My wild birds have eaten 87 boxes of the berry recipe Suet To Go pellets over the last few years and have turned their beaks up at any other pellet. When I put the insect eco pellets out in their seed feeders and mesh tray one of the blackbirds was the first to come and check it out. He was happy to tuck in as were a few of the younger starlings. I noticed that although they ate the pellets they didn’t go down as quickly as the berry recipe pellets. 

The pellets didn’t have the same bright colour and smell to initially attract the birds. I also think my wild birds have got used to the taste of the berry version and have the bird equivalent of a human’s sweet tooth, in their case a sweet beak. The younger birds tucked in straight way it was the older ones who still wanted the berry pellets. When I mixed the two and they could eat both together they tucked in. The eco pellets did feel slightly tougher to the touch and I noticed that when I left both pellets out overnight in the ground feeder trays in the rain the eco version maintained its shape and was edible whilst the berry version went slightly sticky and mushy and had to be thrown away. 

I love the ethos of the new company. Unipet already create high quality suet products and their next step has been to improve sustainability and look at how their product impacts the environment. By removing the plastic packaging and their carbon imprint they have taken innovative steps with these new products and although my birds with their sweet beaks still prefer the berry pellets they will now be mixed in with the eco pellets so my little garden family can do their bit for the environment. 

 Update: I purchased a 12.55kg bag of Eco pellets from garden wildlife direct as the two male blackbirds seem to prefer them. The sparrows, female blackbirds, blue tits and robins still gravitate towards the berry recipe but will eat the eco ones if mixed together with the eco insect. 

I was gifted the eco insect pellets by Unipet but this did not affect my review. 

Review: Suet To Go Wild Bird Suet Pellets Berry Recipe

 I set up my first bird feeder station in June 2018. Sine then I have purchased 87 x 12.75kg Suet To Go Wild Bird Pellets in Berry Recipe. When I first started off I had 4 straggly starlings that visited. I now have 2 blackbird and blue tit families, 4 families of robins, lots of house sparrows and 1 gold finch family. My starlings have expanded from 4 to over 30. As I am disabled and spend a lot of time in bed I get lots of enjoyment watching them enjoy their food and grow into healthy adults from my window.

 I moved on to buying the Suet To Go Berry recipe after purchasing a cheaper version via Amazon which I found to be dry and crumbly, so there was lots of waste as the birds wouldn’t eat it. The Suet To Go version is more expensive but it doesn’t melt in the sun or crumble. It is high in energy - all the birds that visit are healthy and full of life. The pellets are easy to handle I just use a scoop and pour into a feeder or on to their feeding tray. I certainly have noticed an increase in the amount and variety of birds in my garden since I started using the pellets. The pellets contain human grade ingredients - beef suet, wheat, starch, peanuts, additives are berry flavour and red colouring. The pellets are a very bright pinky red which definitely catches the bird’s attention. The pellets also have a berryish sweet scent. They are a great nutritious complimentary food for wild birds all the year round. 

 The birds are also given peanuts and sunflower hearts as well as the pellets but the pellets are always the first to go! I always have a back up box so I don’t run out especially in Winter and Spring when food isn’t as plentiful. I put the pellets in a ground feeder mesh tray which is on a picnic table as the blackbirds and dove pigeons prefer this and heavy seed feeders that are hung from the station. I did try using suet pellet feeder but they turned their beaks up at that and wouldn’t use them. They always have access to fresh water and a bird bath. Spring/ Summer is a great time to start using a bird feeder station as the fledglings are being cared for by their parents so they bring their babies to the feeders and show them what to do and then they are looking for new homes, so a freshly stocked feeder is bound to attract some young birds. 

I purchased the item myself and the views expressed are my own.