Book review: Something Great, Something Wonderful & Something Forever by M. Clarke

Something Great, Something Wonderful & Something Forever are trilogy from American writer M. Clarke. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. And she writes amazing books.
Actually I don't remember how I chose this book to read but I'm glad it was one of the first books I read on my Kindle.
Trilogy is very good example of adults romance book. I don't know why there is so big hype about Fifty shades of Grey, because Clarke's trilogy would rather deserve it.
Book is about usual girl who meets charming guy who happens to be her employers son. Story is not only about butterflies in stomach when you fall in love, but also about difficulties in relationship, jealousy, trust issues. And about dreams come true :) With realistic, but positive happily ever after.
Rating: 5 of 5

 Photo from goodreads.com

First boardgame: Balloons by Amigo

Around age 2,5 years we started to play boardgames with our oldest son. Not playing with boardgame, it's details but really playing and respecting rules. The first board game of Jacob became Ballons. It is a card game suitable also for children aged 3, publisher - Amigo.
The game can be played by 2-5 people, and this is quite short (on the box written: ~ 10 minutes). Game mechanics is quite simple: each participant has 5 cards, they are placed on table face up.

Game action consists of drawing action cards. Possible actions are (1) loosing balloon (card is put face down) (2) gaining new card or opening face up the old card.
The winner is player with most balloons.
Playing the game with child, kid repeats and learns basic colours and counting till 5 or 6. It's also good way to teach child that you will sometimes something loose in life and you need to get along with it.
And, of course, game is a good opportunity for child to deal with loosing something, in this case, for example, cat snaps balloon or balloon flies away in the air.
When we had taught the game, the child asked to play it every night, but eventually dropped the child's initiative and now quite rare he pulls it out.
Comment to real boardgamers: in principle this is a simple luck game, because the ability to influence a game is minimal.

Book review: Fiona Neill - Friends, Lovers and other Indiscrestions

Fiona Neill - Friends, Lovers and other Indiscrestions 

Until eleven o`clock that morning in late February, Sam Diamond had considered himself a reasonably happily married man. It was his thirty-ninth birthday and every year since they had met, Laura had sprung a surprise on him. Admittedly these had become less inventive since they`d had children, and he always suspected she might be engaged in one-upmanship with his mother, but nevertheless he counted himself fortunate to be married to a woman who still went to such effort on her husband`s birthday.
(..)
As Hannah spoke, Laura wondered whether Hannah knew and was surprised to feel a vague sense of relief. Secrets were a burden. The fear of them unravelling a constant companion. She wondered how Hannah had discovered. Whether it was intuition or a process of elimination, because once you knew thatnit wasn`t Sam who had reduced her to that state of spent langour, then there were a finite number of men and women on the boat trip who could have been responsible.
(..)
'Unconventional,' said Dr Lieber drily. 'So who is going to kick off?" Sam and Laura looked at each other. Laura raised an eyebrow.
'It`s complicated,' said Sam.
'It always is,' said Dr Lieber.

At first, I have to admit that English isn`t my native language and reason I started this blog and switched from reading in my native language to reading in English is practise :)
And I don't know which modern authors are popular (ok, ok, E L James even I know).
This book was chosen quite randomly - saw it in book fairs cheap price basket, looked at cover and bought it.
Book is about couple (family) and their friends an life after happilly erver after. It is always so simple and predictable in romantic love stories/movies and also in life - to fall in love and to have pink glasses, butterflies in stomach et cetera.
But in real life and in this book you have inconvenient situations and choices, and sometimes indiscretions in circle of friends.
Book is humorous and with unpredictable turns.
I give to this book **** stars.
Enjoy reading!