I'm someone that doesn't like to read a book that's been hyped about so much. I normally find that theres an immense amount of disappointment once I've read it and it never really lives up to the expectations. But a fair amount of the time I'm surprised and I love the book just as much as the rest of the world. Before I read The Cows by Dawn O'Porter, I had heard SO many things about it that I was fairly excited to start reading it. This book is the April book for the Mumsnet Book club who I have partnered with to give an honest review of each of their books of the month. 

Before we had Max, we were the stereotypical students. Going on nights out, drinking a little bit too much and staying out all night eating some dodgy chips as we stumble back to someones house. Having Max in the middle of uni put an abrupt stop to that. But we've swapped nights out for family festivals, and much more kid centric events. That's not to say we can't have some fun, so we joined Big Fish Little Fish over at the Old Fire Station, Bournemouth to get stuck into their family friendly rave!

I am one of those parents that absolutely loves World Book Day. The idea of creating a costume out of nothing that represents a book that my child loves. It helps that my years of bookselling have given me the edge for quirky characters that don't require much work too! Max is an avid reader and since hitting year two has absorbed any book given to him. I find him sat in bed with a torch way past his bedtime and engrossed in everything from Diary Of A Wimpy Kid to Who Let The Gods Out. 

With new year comes new year resolutions. And whilst we all try and stick to them, we seem to slip back into our old ways quite fast. I hold my hands up as one of the guilty ones that promised to eat better come the new year, and here I am only just making the changes that are showing. With weight dropping off me finally, I wanted to put together a list of ways that we can all live a slightly healthier lifestyle. 

February was a weird month for me. I had lots going on and not enough time to read as what I had hoped. I also found that whatever I started really didn't seem to be what I wanted to read at that time. I was in a complete reading funk and it took a whole month to get out of it. I did however really enjoy the books I did finish in the month. 

Me and Max absolutely love seeing shows. We've got our fair amount of pantomimes, musicals and short plays under our belts, and he's just starting to concentrate long enough in those slightly longer plays. When Lighthouse Poole invited us to go and see I Believe In Unicorns, a play based on the story by Michael Morpurgo, I jumped at the opportunity. It's a book that I loved and we couldn't wait to see the adaptation. 

There's something daunting yet brilliant about reading books that are out of my comfort zone. The satisfaction of knowing I have read it and the disbelief that I hadn't read it already. It's one of the reasons that I am loving reading the Mumsnet Book Club titles, there's so much variety. 

Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo is one of those books that I was definitely daunted by reading. A harrowing subject matter, location that was miles away from my comfort zone and a host of award accolades held to it's name. But as soon as I started reading it, I was transported and hooked. I couldn't put it down.