Hello reader, I’m baack!

I had to take a little hiatus from blogging for the past 6 or 7 weeks as we finally MOVED HOUSE (EEK)! It was honestly the most stressful/exciting/overwhelming experience buying and selling at the same time and I needed to take a step back from most things I enjoyed (boo) to focus entirely on getting everything sorted in time – but – we did it, we’re in, and its almost 1 month into us owning our first home together!

We have officially moved out of the city suburbs and moved to a semi-rural village at the bottom of the Yorkshire Wolds and what a difference to life! My morning walks have gone from dodging dog poo and bike riders on the pavement, to watching bunnies hop around the hill, pheasants running in circles, the stream trickling peacefully as I walk along it, the rock doves cooing and the cows saying a morning hello. I AM LOVING IT.

In addition to this big life change, Scott (my OH) and I took a walk on the dale at the rear of our house on Monday by my favourite reading spot. All of a sudden the sun broke through at the reading bench, and Scott got down and one knee and asked me to marry him!!! I had absolutely no idea what was going on, my blind ass thought he was videoing me because all I saw was a black box with a light – no wonder the optician said I needed new glasses at my appointment last week!

Let the wedding planning commence!

YOU AND ME ON VACATION, BY EMILY HENRY

This was a Rare Birds Book Club pick from my subscription, which I picked after reading some pretty heavy books and really fancied a change.

‘This Summer, Poppy asks Alex to join her on one last trip. Could this trip make them realise they’re not ‘just friends’ after all?’

Okay so let’s be real from the beginning, we all kind of know where this one is going, don’t we. Two mates who might have the hots for each other are off on their jollies, and this trip is clearly going to be the make or break for whether they remain friends or they take that friendship further. Although I usually find predictable books rather boring (because where’s the surprise..) there was something about this funky book cover and the promise of it being their last chance to fall in love that I thought ‘yeah alright then this doesn’t sound too taxing’.

Our book begins 5 years ago, the first line being:

‘On Vacation, YOU can become anyone you want.’

Now as a girl that hasn’t left this island for 1.5 years (and who usually does a couple of times a year at least for work or pleasure), I was instantly like ‘OK this book is going to take me on holiday from the comfort of my back garden, and I need this.’

We are introduced to our main characters of Poppy and Alex and within the first few lines of this read I was laughing so loudly I worried the neighbours might think I’d lost my senses.

Poppy works for a fancy travel magazine in the big city, and as a result gets to go on holiday for free and gets to take her mates – now thats some serious perks! So Alex and Poppy usually vacation on the company’s account, very nice. However a few years ago, something went down, although we’re not 100% sure what that is for quite a while. Anyway, in present day, they’ve not spoken for a few years and for one reason or another, they get back in touch.

So the big q is, can they reclaim their friendship.. and maybe more?

Oh reader I was like 100000000% into this rom com. If you thought Ross and Rachel were intense then this was another level. The ‘I can’t say anything I dont want to ruin my friendship’ and ‘but he’s my mate’ denial vibes were serious in this one. Plus it was hilarious to boot – I was picking it up at any moment I could.

I think what is important to point out is that this is not just a 90s rom com style holiday read with hilarious scenes; Emily Henry has done an amazing job with really creating the backbones of our main characters. Alex’s back story has some serious emotional depth which as you learn more, makes some serious sense about why he is the way he is as a person and with his relationships.

I may have cried a bit at the end.

CAN’T PUT IT DOWN RATING: 5/5

Easy one for me this one. 5/5. I recommend to your Mum, Sister, Aunt, Uncle, Grandad, whoever. If you’re in a reading slump, if you’re feeling grumpy, if you miss going on holiday, if you need a giggle, whatever the situation – it’s just absolutely brilliant. Teenagers will also really enjoy this one but warning… there’s a balcony scene.. google at your own desire!

I’m not normally a rom com book kinda gal, but this book changed that for me this year. I will be scouring out Beach Read and reading that when the weather turns pretty drab – I think I’ll need it for a pick me up.

Big thanks to Emily Henry for writing this one. It says in the dedications that this one is for us – it really was.

WASHED DOWN WITH:

My lovely estate agents at Peregrine Property gave us a House Move box full of goodies to take onwards to our new home, and within the box was Taylors of Harrogate’s coffee bags. Now I’ve seen these on the TV and to be brutal I was super skeptical and thought it was a fad. I’m a barista coffee, cafetière drinker (beanies is the only instant I know I enjoy!) so wasnt sure what to make of them, but knew I’d like the idea of less mess.

Well boy was I impressed. We tried the Italian with a roast of 4 (but Waitrose were out of those yesterday) so here is the ‘flying start’ with a roast of 5. I’m sipping that as I write to you and honestly it tastes the same as ground, but without the washing up. You simply pop the bag in boiling hot water for 2 mins and hey presto you have a cup of fresh coffee. I got 50p off these with a coupon, but they’re usually around £2/2.50 for 10 and found in most UK Supermarkets (also think I’ve seen them in Home Bargains etc).

Well thats it for me today! I am going to make another cup of this delicious coffee and get into what is probably the steamiest book I’ve read all year! I made the mistake of starting this one in public and quickly realised that my face was probably telling everyone else what kind of book I was reading!

Reader question to answer in the comments: What books make you feel like you’ve been on holiday?

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Until the next Chapter,

Emma X0