Always Mine by Laura Pavlov – “Niko West is the most beautiful man I’ve ever laid eyes on. Six feet, four inches of broody, chiseled Greek god in a firefighter suit. He’s also been my best friend since kindergarten. He always says the only solid thing in his life is our friendship. He’s Honey Mountain’s favorite player and I’m what you’d call a relationship girl. But when I find myself single for the first time since turning sixteen, I make Niko an offer he can’t refuse. Who better to show me what I’ve been missing? But now that we’ve crossed that line, I don’t know if friendship is enough for me.”

Ever Mine by Laura Pavlov – “Hawk Madden was my first love. I thought he would be my forever. But life wasn’t always fair. And grief could be a cruel beast. Fight or flight? I’d always run. But now he’s back in my life after all these years. With one look. One touch. One kiss. Old feelings resurface. Feelings that I thought I’d buried a long time ago. Hawk Madden was my first love… I just didn’t know that he’d be my last.”

Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente – “Sophia was made for him. Her perfect husband. She can feel it in her bones. He is perfect. Their home together in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. Everything is perfect. It’s just that he’s away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband and everything is perfect. But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things. Dark things. The look on her husband’s face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbours, they can’t quite meet her gaze…. But everything is perfect. Isn’t it?”

The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager – “Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press, has retreated to the peace and quiet of her family’s lake house in Vermont. Armed with a pair of binoculars and several bottles of bourbon, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple living in the house across the lake. They make for good viewing–a tech innovator, Tom is powerful; and a former model, Katherine is gorgeous. One day on the lake, Casey saves Katherine from drowning, and the two strike up a budding friendship. But the more they get to know each other–and the longer Casey watches–it becomes clear that Katherine and Tom’s marriage isn’t as perfect as it appears. When Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey immediately suspects Tom of foul play. What she doesn’t realize is that there’s more to the story than meets the eye–and that shocking secrets can lurk beneath the most placid of surfaces.”

We have officially booked our flights and accommodation for Singapore later this year, so it’s all systems go with holiday planning and budgeting. I am still being mindful of superfluous spending, and am trying to monitor and track what I am spending on myself each month. Here are the things I picked up for myself in the month of February:

▷ Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow
▷ Patchology Serve Chilled Rose Eye Gels
▷ Target Fonda II Suede Loafers (in black)
▷ Target Ines Double Gusset Slip On Sneakers
▷ Apple iPhone Case in Umber
▷ Lana Del Rey Born To Die Vinyl LP

Sweet Valley Love Diaries: Jessica – “Dear Diary, You’ll never guess who I ran into today. He’s even hotter than he was three years ago. And this time it’s me he wants. Devon Whitelaw is finally mine, all mine!”

Sweet Valley University Super Thriller #17 – Very Bad Things – “Someone is jealous of Jessica Wakefield. Someone who’ll do anything to take her place. Someone who has the power to make bad things happen… Very bad things.”

Fair Catch by Kandi Steiner – “As if things aren’t already tough enough as the only girl on a college football team, Coach had to go and assign Zeke Collins as my roommate. A cocky kick returner and my brother’s best friend who should have been ripped of that title years ago, he’s as infuriating as he is undeniably sexy. I hate him, and for good reason — reason I won’t ever let him forget. He thinks because we grew up together that it’s his role to protect me, but all he does is get in my way, make me look weak, and piss me off more. I tell him I can handle myself, and I’m hell-bent on getting that point across to him and the rest of the nation watching the only girl in collegiate football. The pressure doesn’t get to me. The scrutiny? I’m ready for. But sharing very thin walls with Zeke Collins? I wasn’t prepared for that. And the more we’re forced together, the harder it is to distinguish that pencil-thin line between hating him… and wanting him.”

Blind Side by Kandi Steiner – “The hottest college football safety in the nation just asked me to be his fake girlfriend. And I just asked him to take my virginity. Clay Johnson has the abs of Adonis and the deadly smirk of the devil, himself. There’s hardly a day he’s not headline material during football season, and never a day he isn’t a bullseye target for every girl on campus. He used to be the easiest of all the players for me to wrangle as the Public Relations Coordinator, but after a nasty breakup with his high school sweetheart, he’s a mess. And a complete pain in my ass. We meet to discuss his behavior and review media relations standards. But when he witnesses how I fall to pieces in front of my guitar-toting crush, his wheels start turning. And he cooks up this absurd plan. He helps me get noticed. I help him make his ex jealous. All by pretending to be in a relationship. What he doesn’t realize is that this bookworm is a virgin, and far from versed in seducing a musician. So, to sweeten the deal, I convince him to help me — not just to get my crush’s attention, but to knock his socks off once I have it. But the more I come unraveled at the hands of Clay Johnson, the more trouble I have discerning what’s fake and what’s undoubtedly real — particularly, the way my heart flutters every time that breathtaking man touches me. We set the rules. We put the safeguards in place. But they say rules are meant to be broken. They probably should have added that hearts are, too.”