Month of Guests 2013: Serendipity Reviews

It's a great pleasure to have the amazing Viv from Serendipity Reviews here today!  Enjoy!! :D

Hi everyone. I'm Vivienne Dacosta and I run the UK book blog Serendipity Reviews. If I'm not raving about books on there, you will find me loitering on Twitter as @Serendipity_Viv. When I'm not talking about books, I should be found busily finishing writing my own Middle Grade book which I hope to one day get published. 

Chuck A Book with Vivienne from Serendipity Reviews

So, I’m on The Book Addicted Girl today.  I thought it might be best to participate in one of my very own features where I normally put bloggers and authors under the spotlight and ask them for their book recommendations. They normally hate me for it, as the idea is to provide just one book per question. Now it’s time to find out just how hard it really is to answer the questions of Chuck A Book.

1) The best book you have ever read.

Oooh now I can see why everyone moans at me. This really is a hard question to answer. Stumped at the first goal post! How on earth do I pick one book? Right, after much deliberation, I am going to say Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman. This is one of those books that I often return to again and again. It is set in the Deep South and brings to life the warmth and hospitality of Americans from those parts.

2) A book you loved from your childhood.

Anne of Greengables by L.M. Montgomery

I had so many favourite books as a child, so this really was a difficult question to answer too. I had to think about who I wanted to be when I was younger and what I love doing now, which led me to Anne of Greengables. I think Anne’s love of imagination might have sparked my need to write. The fact that my hair was exactly the same colour as Anne’s only added to my love of this wonderful character.

3) A book that made you laugh.

The 13th Horseman by Barry Hutchison. When I first received this book, I thought it might be too dark for me.  Perhaps too much horror my taste. Yet within the first few pages I was practically wetting myself with laughter. Barry’s light-hearted interpretation of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is the funniest book I have read in a long time.

4) A book you could not finish.

The Passage by Justin Cronin

I know a lot of people loved this book, but I just didn’t get it. A third way through the book, characters I had invested a lot of time in were killed and I quickly lost interest. The book just dragged on too much for me.

5) A book that made you swoon.

The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

Within the first few pages I was completely in love with Beau! He is such an awesome character, a real bad boy, slightly possessive but will do anything for Ash. I was swooning all the way through the book.

6) A book you can’t wait to read.

The Night Itself by Zoe Marriott

I love the way Zoe writes and I’m so excited by the first book in her first ever trilogy. Zoe has teased us with snippets and now I am desperate to read the whole book!

7) A series you have read and loved.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

I can’t believe I’m admitting to this, but I blooming loved the Twilight series of books. I read all four of them in one week during illness and they unleashed my passion for YA books. If I hadn’t read these books, I may never have discovered how wonderful YA books actually are.

8) A book that made you cry.

Dewey, the Small Town Library Cat, Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron.

This is the first non-fiction book that has ever had me crying.  I was so upset by the end of this book, I had to go away and read it on my own, as I could not stop crying. If ever a book makes you appreciate the love your pets give you, then this is the one.

9) Your guilty pleasure book. 

Oh crikey. I don’t really have a guilty pleasure book as I have quite an eclectic taste anyway and read such a wide variety of books. I am actually completely stumped by this question and would have to say I really don’t have one.

10) A book that took you out of your comfort zone.

Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson

I hated this book with a passion and it takes a lot for me to say that. It took me way out of my comfort zone and threw me into a hurricane. I was confused from page one and didn’t understand what the author was trying to get at within the story. The explicit content then took the book to such a level I had to stop reading it.

Phew! I am so glad that’s over. Now I can see why all the bloggers were making such a fuss about this guest post.

Thanks Megan for letting me play on your blog today, it was fun!

---

Thank you so much for your amazing post, Viv!! It's a huge honour to have you here!!  And thank you for this amazing list - I really must read The Vincent Boys!!  

Hope you all enjoyed Viv's post! And don't forget to follow Viv's Blog: Serendipity Reviews, follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads! :D

And keep up to date with MonthOfGuests on Twitter using #MonthOfGuests2013! And stop by tomorrow for an awesome post by the brilliant Evie from Bookish!!