Sleeping With A Psychopath by Carolyn Woods | Book Review

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Sleeping With A Psychopath by Carolyn Woods

My rating: 4/5

Publisher: HarperElement

Publication date: 29th April 2021

Blurb:

Carolyn Woods was living happily in a quiet Cotswolds village when an attractive stranger abruptly arrived in her life.

Introducing himself as Mark Conway, he exuded confidence and to her surprise Carolyn quickly became captivated by this mysterious man. A rich Swiss banker (who later confessed to being a spy), he offered Carolyn companionship and introduced her to an exciting, glamorous world.

In fact, some things were so astonishing she began to question her new lover. Was all as it seemed?

The truth was even harder to believe. For a start, his real name was Mark Acklom, he was wanted by Interpol, and he was rich but for one reason only…

A true-crime story that reads like a thriller, Sleeping with a Psychopath is a blow-by-blow account of the power of manipulation and a testament to the human will to survive.

Review:

I, like the majority of people these days, love anything to do with true crime. I was vaguely familiar with Carolyn's story so I was interested to hear the intricate details surrounding what happened.

Divorcée Carolyn Woods met Mark Conway (real name Mark Acklom) and he quickly set his sights on her. He duped her into a whirlwind relationship, managing to get her to transfer all of her savings to him and being very clever whilst doing so.

When I hear stories like this in the news, I am always confused as to why these women put their trust into men like this and Carolyn explains exactly how everything transpired. She seems like a very headstrong and independent woman at the start but, I felt, barely recognisable by the end. Mark was great at theatrics and made everything so believable.

Not only did he take Carolyn's savings, leaving her with nothing, he destroyed relationships and left her reaping the consequences for years afterwards. I am so happy that she is living a better life now but can't believe that Mark will be free soon and clearly he will continue on!

Blue Kangaroo book series by Emma Chichester Clark - Review

What better day to post a book review than on World Book Day! I hope you (well, the kids!) have all had a fun day dressing up.

I was recently contacted about reviewing new releases in a book series, Blue Kangaroo by Emma Chichester Clark. They are suitable for ages 2-5 so C is target age. How could I say no?

We received all three new books in the series; When I First Met You, Blue Kangaroo!; Happy Birthday, Blue Kangaroo! and Where Are You, Blue Kangaroo?

All of the books focus around a little girl called Lily and her blue toy kangaroo. In the first book, When I First Met You, Blue Kangaroo! we learn just that - how they met. Lily's grandmother gifted Blue Kangaroo to Lily when her little brother Jack was born. She soon discovered that it isn't easy looking after a tiny baby so she can practise with Blue Kangaroo. She goes through some trial and error situations but they love each other instantly. I love this book as a mother because Lily gets a bit upset that she can't do everything as well as her mum can but mum reassures her that she made mistakes when she first had Lily - something that I can relate to! Parenting is all about learning.

In Happy Birthday, Blue Kangaroo! both Blue Kangaroo and Lily are celebrating their birthdays on the same day and are having a party. Lily, like a typical girl, wants everything to be pink from the food to her dress and the wrapping paper that her friends bring. Blue Kangaroo feels a little bit pushed out because he's blue and not pink so he thinks that Lily doesn't like him as much because of his colour. When she realises, Lily soon reassures him and makes him feel happier. I think this was C's favourite of the three books. He felt quite sorry for Blue Kangaroo and kept telling me that he was sad. He was pleased with the happy ending though.

Where Are You, Blue Kangaroo? reminds me a little bit of days out with C. Lily goes out with a few members of her family over different days and always brings Blue Kangaroo along for the trip. Sometimes she gets a little forgetful and leaves him somewhere then can't find him! She always ends up finding him again but Blue Kangaroo gets scared that one day she won't come back for him. As I read this story to C, I made a point of saying "That's why you always need to hold onto your toys tight because you'll lose them" and he kept nodding so I think it sunk in that if he loses a toy, it's lost for good.

Since we received these books, C has always asked for "a blue kangaroo book" at bedtime so he's taken to them quite well. They're a little longer than his usual books which is great, I love that we're moving on from toddler books and getting into something a bit older. The length doesn't bother him, he'll sit through the entire story listening intently. I think this is the first book series that he's owned and he likes hearing about Blue Kangaroo having different adventures. There are nine in total and because of C's love for them, I think I'll have to get my hands on the rest!

Each book retails at £6.99 and they are published by HarperCollins. You can find them at all good high street bookstores and online.

(We received these books for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

 

GRRRRR! by Rob Biddulph - Review

My favourite part of the day is taking C up to bed and reading his bedtime story with him before having a cuddle and having him drift off to sleep. C loves this too. We have so many books and love reading new ones.

We recently received Grrrrr! by Rob Biddulph from Harper Collins and I couldn't wait to read it. C loves animals and making their noises so I knew just by the cover and title that it would be a hit.

The book is full of colour and C was in awe at all the beautiful imagery. The story is about a bear called Fred who is the best at everything in the woods. On the day of the contest to see if he still holds the title, he wakes up having lost his Grrrrr!

I don't want to spoil the ending for you, but it is a wonderful story about making friends and how stealing and cheating isn't a great idea! The story rhymes too which I love. It makes it easy to read and C's attention is kept throughout. He loves to grrrrr along with me too. Grrrrr! is Waterstones Children's Book Prize winner and it's not hard to see why.

Harper Collins have developed an app alongside the book where your child can upload their best Grrrrr! to get a certificate and be in the running to win one of 10 signed copies of the book. Why not get your child to try it?

Grrrrr! by Rob Biddulph is available to buy from Amazon for £12.08 for the hardback edition.

(Disclaimer: We received a copy of the book for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)