The Little Cafe in Copenhagen - Julie Caplin

Description

Welcome to the little cafe in Copenhagen where the smell of cinnamon fills the air, the hot chocolate is as smooth as silk and romance is just around the corner…

Publicist Kate Sinclair’s life in London is everything she thought she wanted: success, glamour and a charming boyfriend. Until that boyfriend goes behind her back and snatches a much sought-after promotion from her.Heartbroken and questioning everything, Kate needs to escape.

From candles and cosy nights in to romantic late-night walks through the beautiful cobbled streets of Copenhagen, Kate discovers how to live life ‘the Danish way’. Can the secrets of hygge and happiness lead her to her own happily-ever-after?

Review

I enjoyed The Little Brooklyn Bakery so much that I just had to dip into another one of Julie Caplin's books. I thought as the writing was so evocative of New York then why not see what Copenhagen was like. Somewhere I want to go and really this was the next best thing to a trip there. Usually I don't read books about places I haven't been as I can't get a clear picture in my head. Yet again I found myself on google earth as I just had to see for myself the places being so beautifully described, and I then felt I really need to go there

Although this book is a prequel to The Little Brooklyn Bakery it stands alone. Sophie from the next book is in the story. A few references are made to her life, which of course I knew the outcome of, having read the latest book first. But it didn't affect the story.

At the beginning of the book we meet Kate and find she is in a secret relationship - because they work together. After Josh breaks her heart both professionally and privately I felt a kinship with Kate. From word one I was on her side willing her to do well at whatever else was coming her way. It turns out it was a trip to Copenhagen with a press delegation, which she was in charge of. She's nervous and I did think - what could go wrong? We soon find out and it really was most amusing and heartwarming all at the same time. I loved how the group bonded and supported Kate when the enemy arrived.

I was loving the Copenhagen experience when all too soon the book relocates to London. At first I was disappointed, but what followed was a really great romcom. I am definitely going to be reading the next book in the series - a little bit of escapism beautifully crafted.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars and my thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of the book.

The Memory Chamber - Holly Cave

Description

True death is a thing of the past...

Now you can spend the rest of eternity re-living your happiest memories: that first kiss, falling in love, the birth of your children, enjoyed on loop for ever and ever.

Isobel is a Heaven Architect, and she helps dying people create afterlives from these memories. So when she falls for Jarek, one of her terminal - and married - clients, she knows that while she cannot save him, she can create the most beautiful of heavens, just for him.

But when Jarek's wife is found dead, Isobel uncovers a darker side of the world she works within, and she can trust no one with what she finds...

Review

I do like books with an element of the future world. In this instance the book covers Isobel who is a heaven architect - she creates heavens for dying people so they can relive their best times over and over again after they are dead.

I wasn't sure quite how this concept would be possible, but I was willing to go with it. Unfortunately I was not prepared for Isobel being such a one dimensional character. To begin with I even wondered if she was actually a robot or AI life form - then she ate a banana. Of course in the future maybe AI will be eating food stuffs! She really was a little bit of a prima donna and I had trouble liking the character. 

Then she met Jarek and I felt she got worse - all the principles she seemed to need other people to live up to suddenly went out of the window in her own life,  and I was fearing that so would the book as I was finding it all a little boring.

Fortunately for me the book took a sudden turn of suspense when Jarek's wife was found dead. We were also thrust into some heavy futuristic happenings, as Isobel undertook something that had never been attempted before. The writing was very convincing even though I had no idea if this would ever actually be possible to attempt. I think this is down to the author having a science background which began to show at this point more.  Finally I began to have a little sympathy for Isobel and bond with her character somewhat.

I was then on a race to finish the book because it was one of the best thriller story lines I have read. It was certainly an unusual setting and I was unable to second guess the outcome. Lots more of the science fiction aspect was apparent and I really enjoyed reading the book more from this point onwards. I can see this would make a really good film as it is more of a visual storyline, however the writing was so descriptive, I really felt like I could see exactly what Isobel saw too.

I really wanted to give this book 5 stars but reduced it to 4 as it took so long to get going for me and reel me in. My thanks go to Netgalley and Quercus for a copy of the book for review.

Those Other Women - Nicola Moriarty

Description

Poppy never thought her husband wanted children - especially not with her best friend.

When Poppy arrives home to find her husband and best friend sitting side by side at her kitchen table, she thinks they're planning her a birthday surprise . . .

Little does she know, they're waiting to tell her about their affair. And worse, that they're having a baby.

Now everywhere she goes, mothers are reminding her of their betrayal.

So when Poppy meets a woman who wants to help her fight back, it seems like a good idea.

But how well does she know her?

Is she there to help . . . or does she have an agenda of her own?

Review

I really enjoyed reading this book - so much so I finished it in a few sittings. I thought the characters in this second book by the author were much more developed than in the "Fifth Letter", we even get to read a kind of diary that one of characters is writing, and all I could think was how do you go about writing something this realistic? 

The blurb for the book is really only the tip of the iceberg as to what happens in this book. It explores closed Facebook groups and what goes on in them (moles and all) - and in this instance how it can spill over into real life situations. I thought the author handled it all incredibly well, especially as running alongside it were a couple of other equally intriguing story lines. Basically a tale of he said, she said, what you think you saw and all those other tales of miscommunication and day to day life. We read all the time about people who are braver online to voice an opinion than in real life. Yes, there were some bitchy characters - but then there are in life too!

It was all there in black and white and really how could anyone get it all so wrong? - but as readers, we too were sucked in. When you begin to see the story lines from all sides - you realise you just never know the truth. I wasn't expecting the author to tell the story from different characters viewpoints, so when it happened it made it all that more interesting.

I don't do spoilers so I won't elaborate other than to say there was another storyline covered here that I don't think I've read in this type of book before, it just made the book so much more thought provoking than it already was.

I'm giving this book five out of five stars and my thanks to Penguinrandomhouse for a copy of the book for review.

You Were Made For This - Michelle Sacks

Description

A bold, sharp, gripping debut about a couple whose perfect life in the Swedish countryside is not what it seems…

In an idyllic house in a Swedish wood, Merry and her husband are building their new dream life with their young baby, far away from events that overshadowed their old life in New York. And they’re happy, aren’t they? Blissfully, blissfully happy.

When Merry’s childhood friend Frank comes to stay, Frank barely recognises her old friend Merry, pureeing baby food, baking, living the Swedish dream. But little by little, cracks begin to show in her carefully constructed fairy tale. And Frank starts to see things others might miss. Dark and treacherous things.

And then a terrible tragedy unfolds…

Review

I should have seen the warning signs in the blurb when it said "Dark and treacherous things" but I really wasn't prepared for how disturbing this book is. It will depend on your own sense of the world and the fact that it is only a book - but for me it was a very difficult read in parts. I found myself gasping out - "no, no" so on that level the author has written a good book to invoke such reactions from me.

The story begins quiet, calmly, and all seems well with the world. Little by little it begins to twist and turn and eventually it all comes crashing down. If that wasn't enough there are still some twists the author has to reveal to the reader.

I hated all of the characters - I didn't warm to any of them. They were all so self absorbed and each in their own way controlling of others. Again the author has written them well to evoke this reaction in me. But did I want to read about them, or enjoy reading about them, maybe not. What I had to know though was what was going to happen and when it did - who did it!

A very different read for me and one that at times I did not relish - a story I am sure I will stay with me, but I rather wish it didn't. My one real gripe is the character called Frank - she is female and I could not for a long time remember that! Her given name is Frances and at one point she even corrects the police when they call her Frances. I did not see the significance of her name - maybe it got lost in editing.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. The atmosphere conveyed in the book is so bleak - the writing so evocative and for that it deserves the 5 stars.

You Were Made For This is out 28 June 2018. My thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley for a copy of this book to review.

The Cottingley Secret - Hazel Gaynor

Description

The New York Times bestselling author turns the clock back to a time when two young girls convinced the world that fairies really did exist…

1917: When two young cousins, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright from Cottingley, England, announce they have photographed fairies at the bottom of the garden, their parents are astonished. But when the great novelist, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, endorses the photographs’ authenticity, the girls become a sensation; their discovery offering something to believe in amid a world ravaged by war.

One hundred years later… When Olivia Kavanagh finds an old manuscript and a photograph in her late grandfather’s bookshop she becomes fascinated by the story of the two young girls who mystified the world. As Olivia is drawn into events a century ago, she becomes aware of the past and the present intertwining, blurring her understanding of what is real and what is imagined. As she begins to understand why a nation once believed in fairies, will Olivia find a way to believe in herself?

Review

I am going to begin my review by saying that I found this book to be utterly enchanting - such beautiful and evocative writing made me want to savour every word I read. I am not a fan of flowery descriptive writing normally, as I prefer to get the tale told: but this was so wonderful that I wished I could have framed some of the sentences to read all over again. One of my favourites is right at the beginning of the book "The house stood at the top of a steep hill, at the end of a row of seven or so terraced houses bunched together like books on a shelf, with Number 31 the bookend propping them all up".

The story is told over two timelines which are clearly headed in the book and at no time was it confusing to know which era you were in. One timeline is about the girls and how they came to photograph the fairies and the other timeline is set in the present day in Ireland. The present day timeline is mainly focused around a bookshop and I was in heaven when reading those lovely pages. I also loved the fact that Olivia in the present day was a book binder. I won't spoil the book by describing what the connection is, just to say it is all woven together with a thread that is in itself magical. There is also a sensitivity that the author shows for the subject of dementia and it was portrayed so realistically, as were the scenes in the residential home.  As the book neared the end I found myself crying more than a few tears, as I had become very attached to the characters.

To be balanced in my review, I will say there are some elements of the book that jolt you back to reality and appear unlikely - such as Olivia seemingly cutting herself off from her life in England and her fiance. However, I chose to go with the flow and not worry about such things - after all the book is a little more than a little magical.

I had heard of the Cottingley fairies and over the years each time the story once more came to the surface I was intrigued - did the girls really fake the photographs? Whilst this is a work of fiction I was delighted when I reached the end of the book to find that the author had in fact connected with the daughter of one of the girls, Christine Lynch. She has included at the end of the book a letter from Christine and it just added all the more to the charm of the book. So often a book comes to an end and you are left in a little bit of a quandry as to what just happened? I have so many questions. But, Hazel Gaynor has not only her own "Notes on a Fairy Tale" explaining how she came to write the novel but also the photographs which inspired it. A wonderful finishing touch to the book for me. 

I need to read more by this author. I do in fact now realise that I have one of her earlier books on my TBR list, and that book is now very much at the top. 

I'm giving this book five out of five stars - I wish it could be more! My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book for review.

Time is a Killer - Michael Bussi

Description

It is summer 1989 and fifteen-year-old Clotilde is on holiday with her parents in Corsica. On a twisty mountain road, their car comes off at a curve and plunges into a ravine. Only Clotilde survives.

Twenty-seven years later, she returns to Corsica with her husband and their sulky teenage daughter. Clotilde wants the trip to do two things - to help exorcise her past, and to build a bridge between her and her daughter. But in the very place where she spent that summer all those years ago, she receives a letter. From her mother. As if she were still alive.

As fragments of memory come back, Clotilde begins to question the past. And yet it all seems impossible - she saw the corpses of her mother, her father, her brother. She has lived with their ghosts. But then who sent this letter - and why?

Review

The synopsis of this book really hooked me in, but when I began to read the book I struggled to stay with it. I found it very slow and boring for the most part. It is translated from French and I wondered if something had literally been lost in translation? Most of the sentences did not make sense to me - they read in a abstract way, perhaps it is the authors style? But I did not like it.

The book flips between 1989 and 2016 - although each era is labelled as such, I still felt disorientated at times as to which timeline I was reading about. Probably me - but I also brought forward in my minds eye the teenage Clotilde from 1989 into the present day and could not imagine her as a lawyer in 2016.

What I do like is a mystery and about half way through the book things began to get interesting enough for me to want to know the ending to this book. There were still long descriptive passages, which I did not think added to the story line, but several events kept me reading.

At one point I did think I had half guessed what had happened all those years ago in 1989 - and I was partly right but not for the reasons uncovered in the book. The last quarter of the book did live up to the promise from the synopsis but it was hard work getting to it.

I've always wanted to visit Corsica and I must say this book has made me want to do that even more as the descriptions of the island were one of the best parts of the book.

I am giving this book three out of five stars. My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book for review.

The Little Brooklyn Bakery - Julie Caplin

Description

When Sophie Bennings arrives in New York, love is the last thing on her mind. Still reeling from a painful break up, she throws herself into her work as a food editor on a top-notch magazine.

Columnist Todd McLennan is everything that Sophie wishes she didn’t want. Like the gorgeous bakery below her Brooklyn apartment, he’s as tempting as the sugary cupcakes on daily display. Surely a little of something you fancy can do you good?

As Sophie and Todd get to know one another, a love of food isn’t the only passion they share. In the city that never sleeps, has Sophie finally met the man of her dreams…?

Review

This is pure chick lit and I just loved it. I read it in a couple of sittings and couldn't wait to get back to it. Being set in New York was a winner right off for me, but the writing was so wonderful that I really felt I was there. Thank goodness for Google street view as I found myself looking up some of the locations in the book, including the Brooklyn Public Library - what a building! which I appreciated even more in the book when I had seen it for myself.

To me the dream location would be living in a flat above a friendly bakery such as this one. I just loved all the descriptions of the cakes and makes and the stories of those that made them. I thoroughly enjoyed Sophie moving into her flat and getting to know her way around. Not only does she live in Brooklyn, helps out in a cool bakery - she is a food writer for a magazine - just don't wake me up! I admit I lived vicariously through her in this book.

It is probably the raciest chick lit I have ever read! There are certainly some steamy scenes. 

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. It's out 25 May 2018 - make sure you get your copy!