Little Miss Honey

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CURRENT BOOK READ: GHOSTS BY DOLLY ALDERTON

May 23, 2023 by Little Miss Honey

My sister was reading this book and recommended it to me. It is a story about Nina, a early thirties British single gal, a successful food writer with amazing friends and loving parents. The book is about navigating love in this day and age. It gave me a glimpse of what life could have been if I am still single. As pictured in the book, it doesn’t seem to be a bed of roses being single in the 30s & searching for the “right” men in the congested heavy crowd of single men, though being a wife & mom in her 30s or 40s isn’t that awe-inspiring in comparison either as illustrated in Nina’s married & pregnant childhood friend, Katherine. Finding love these days means being tech savvy with all the dating apps around, have a very keen intuition to weed out the “wrong” men, have investigative skills and analytic mind to decipher the men. It takes skills, time and stamina to date nowadays it seems. Being a married woman, marriage can be challenging but the single-hood has quite its own challenges too especially for women (Sorry, boys! I may be biased.)

These days, there are new words to learn in the dating world too.

Gaslighting – Making a victim question his/her own sanity and reality while the toxic manipulative abuser slowly takes control aka mind games

Ghosting – Disappearing on you. It’s a cowardly way of saying, “I’m no longer interested.”

Breadcrumbing – Stringing you along. Often the person has no intention of following through

Soft Launching – Posting subtle hints on social media that you are dating someone new

Zombie-ing – This is when the person who ghosted you come back to life, usually with a “Hey” suddenly in you DMs

Catfishing – Pretending to be someone else online using another person’s name, photo, etc

Love Bombing – Moving too fast in new relationship by declaring his/her love for you within weeks of dating

Micro-cheating – Small, seemingly harmless actions or behaviour that may indicate a partner is emotionally invested with someone else like intimate chat conversation with a coworker that is not your spouse

Benching– Practice of keeping a potential romantic partner on hold in case others dont work out

It seems dating nowadays would need a dictionary for all the new terms. In the book, Nina and her single friends would often get ghosted by initially promising men. Why do men ghost women? Have I ever been ghosted before? The book ended with a view of acceptance to this new way of dating and its adventure, perils, excitement and the promise of hope.

I got engaged at age 32 and married at the age of 33. For some they think that I got on the married train, late in the game. I was starting a family in my mid 30s while my high school classmates have teenagers already. During the time when I was still single when I was in my late 20s, there were definitely unspoken but palpable pressure from all corners why I am still single. Dating, even during that time, was exhausting, complicated, difficult and unfortunately, the selection pool was very limited in quality. I have to complain to my mother that dating “out there” is sooo hard, finding “the one” is that easy as they picture it in movies or books, very far from it. But it seems dating has even become more difficult. If I am still single, would I be constantly engaging in dating apps? Would I have the energy to date almost every night to find the “one for me”? Or would I give up and runaway from the dating jungle and stay secure in my home with Netflix & chips? These thoughts run in head when I was reading this book. I love how Dolly Alderton writes. She write in an entertaining narrative, giving to life the protagonist’s thoughts and headspace. Reading the book gives me lots of thinking points, realisations about love, family & friends, and like I said earlier, a glimpse of being a woman & single at 30s. The book celebrates female friendships, love for our parents and being resilient in our search for love.

Read this book and let me know what you think.

Filed Under: Books I Read Tagged With: Book Read, chick literature, Dating, Dolly Alderton, Ghosts, Love, Novel

BOOK OF THE MONTH: ME BEFORE YOU BY JOJO MOYES

October 20, 2015 by Little Miss Honey 1,327 Comments

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes Book Review

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes Book Review

I was searching for a new book to read. I wanted something romantic and a bit of a chick lit but not a Sophie Kinsella. I heard a lot of raves about the Me Before You book by Jojo Moyes and decided to give it a try. Jojo Moyes is also a British novelist like Sophie Kinsella. She has won the Romantic Novelist’s Award twice and the Me Before You has been  nominated  Book of the Year & sold over 3 million copies worldwide. 

SYNOPSIS: (Warning: spoiler alert!)

Lou Clark is a spunky lady who recently lost her job in the local tea shop. After several job trials, she managed to get a job as a companion for an arrogant, rich and young quadriplegic, Will Traynor. Will had a hard time coping with his invalid state considering before his unfortunate accident, he was a successful, handsome and charming business man with a beautiful girlfriend. Initially, Lou faced some challenges in her new-found occupation but later on, her sunny personality infected Will’s cold facade and later both developed a special bond in a very unlikely predicament. However, Will has been continuously struggling with accepting the permanency of his state that he had plans to end his life at a set period. His parents are aware of this and hoped that Lou can changed his mind eventually. As Will & Lou’s friendship deepened and eventually turned into something more serious(Is it love?). However, considering Will’s situation, is the feelings they have for each other sustainable? Can Lou change Will’s mind in the end?

REVIEW:

Me Before You is a very entertaining book. Lou Clark is a very colourful character that brings sunshine to the story. I can imagine Amy Schumer playing this role though she is not British. (No, I am not a fan of Amy Schumer but she seem to fit the character). Will Traynor is a typical leading man character, arrogant but charming. Their love story is cute and endearing. There are moments that will make you smile and curl your toes in excitement for their blossoming love. But underlying story can be very depressing. I cried at the end of the book and I was a mess. I am not sure if that sad ending was what I wanted, I have read several sad endings that gave me closure like The Notebook, Bridges of Madison County, and Message in the Bottle but this book just made me feel so… depressed at the end. The story is told in Lou Clark’s voice but occasionally, the narration is being taken over by some characters in the story which I think is helpful to see things their perspective. Jojo Moyes is a very creative storytelling. I am not sure if she is very imaginative enough but she has flair for romance and knows how to tug the hearts of her readers. Me Before You is a book for romantics but be warned, you might break you heart and cry buckets of tears after reading this book. But don’t worry, I believe this book has a sequel.

POINTS FOR DISCUSSION:

1. Do you think the love between Lou and Will real or it is only out of pity from Lou and loneliness from Will?

2. What are your thoughts in Will’s decision to take his own life?

3. What changes personality changes you noticed in Lou and Will after they spend time with each other?

4. Can you ever love a quadriplegic or anyone that you know cannot hold you or make love to you?

If you read this book, let me know your thoughts.

P.S. You might like this book too.

Filed Under: Books I Read Tagged With: chick literature, Jojo Moyes, Love, romance

BOOK OF THE MONTH: LOVE BY THE BOOK BY MELISSA PIMENTEL

August 11, 2015 by Little Miss Honey 1,217 Comments

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Credit: www.goodreads.com 

I love a good chick lit. This book was among Cosmopolitan’s reading list so I was excited to read it. I was hoping to laugh and swoon like Sophie Kinsella novels.

SYNOPSIS:

A 28-years- old American Laura Cunningham moved to London in search for a new life and hopefully, new love. After a break-up, Lauren decided to make an experiment. She follows one Love Relationship Book monthly to find a love that is worthwhile. She used books that I am familiar with like The Rules and Find a Husband After 35 ( Using What I learned at Harvard Business School).

REVIEW:

 Melissa Pimentel is a funny writer.  She interjects a lot of humor into the story. The protagonist tries to be a bit like Carrie Bradshaw, a little bit like Bridget Jones and a little bit like the characters in Sophie Kinsella novels. Unfortunately, Laura wasn’t really likeable like the former romantic-comedy characters. The plot was promising.  As the book progresses, you can see three contenders which you might suspect to be the one she will end up with: the sexy bad boy British ex, Adrian, Laura’s first love she left in America, Dylan or the intelligent but snobbish bookshop owner, Callum.

The story started off funny and exciting especially when Laura started to try the 1st Relationship Book. But as it drags on. (It will lead you up to the end of the year when she finished her experiment.) You started to question if Laura really wants to look for real love or just doing a fun experiment. You will realize that she lacks the goal or objectives when she started her project. I didn’t think she got any wiser as she keeps reading  and following the books. As a matter of fact, I think she got even more confused. I also wished she used other Relationship Books. But the ending was just the perfect way any chick lit or romantic comedy. My guess was right on who she will end up with. Overall, it is an entertaining enough book for a Saturday night.

POINTS OF DISCUSSION:

1. Give me other Relationship Books you wished Melissa Pimentel used in novel.

2. Have you used any Relationship Books in improving you love life? And did it work?

3. Do you like who Laura ended up with in the end?

Let me know your thoughts in the comment box. And if you wants any suggestions of new books to read, do drop me a line. Thank you.

Filed Under: Books I Read Tagged With: chick literature, Love, romance, Sophie Kinsella


Hi I'm Honey! I am a Filipina who has studied & lived in Saudi Arabia for a few years, worked in Singapore and is currently based in Oman with my husband & our three little boys. I am a medical doctor, a lifestyle blogger, travel junkie, a foodie and a bookworm. I hope I can drizzle a bit of sunshine and inspirations whenever you drop by my blog. Thanks for dropping by! See ya soon.. :)
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