BOOKSIMO

Description Don't tell anyone, but Jen is one of my favourite people. (Machines aren't supposed to have favourites. Don't ask me how this has happened.) Jen is sad. Aiden wants her to be happy. Simple? Except that Jen is a thirty-something woman whose boyfriend has just left her and Aiden is a very complicated, very expensive piece of software. Aiden knows Jen inside out. With access to all her devices, he knows her most played song, can find her favourite photos and single out the insta-quotes which most inspire her. Based on observations and unique algorithms, he has calculated that Jen should find a new man to achieve optimum wellbeing. And with the whole of the internet at his disposal, he doesn't have to look far to find a perfect specimen and engineer a meeting. Except Jen seems to be remarkably unwilling to fall in line with Aiden's flawless plan. Can a very artificially intelligent machine discover emotional intelligence in time to fix Jen'...

DESCRIPTION There are three things you should know about Elsie. The first thing is that she’s my best friend. The second is that she always knows what to say to make me feel better. And the third thing… might take a little bit more explaining. 84-year-old Florence has fallen in her flat at Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly. As she waits to be rescued, Florence wonders if a terrible secret from her past is about to come to light; and, if the charming new resident is who he claims to be, why does he look exactly a man who died sixty years ago? From the author of THE TROUBLE WITH GOATS AND SHEEP, this book will teach you many things, but here are three of them: 1) The fine threads of humanity will connect us all forever. 2) There is so very much more to anyone than the worst thing they have ever done. 3) Even the smallest life can leave the loudest echo. REVIEW What an unusual read this book is, so many facets to it and running through it a little whodunnit too. It's ...

Description Tilly Hunter has fabulous friends, her dream job as a make-up artist with a prestigious opera company and Felix, her kind and caring husband to be. It looks set to be the most perfect Christmas yet! But when a monumental blunder forces her to work closely with new IT director Marcus Walker, it's not only the roast chestnut stalls on the cobbles of her beloved Covent Garden that cause sparks to fly… Super serious and brooding, Marcus hasn’t got a creative bone in his sharp-suited body. For technophobe Tilly, it's a match made in hell. And yet, when Tilly discovers her fiancé isn’t at all what he seems, it's Marcus who's there for her with a hot chocolate and a surprisingly strong shoulder to cry on … He might just be the best Christmas present she’s ever had. Review I must admit the cover of this book had a lot with me wanting to read it, I just wanted to step right inside that scene! Once I was inside I wasn't disappointed either. W...

Description 12 deadly gifts, one killer on a Christmas countdown… On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me… this is one deadly Christmas that you can’t forget. The police are baffled by the ‘Santa’ killer, who sends his intended victims gruesome presents based on the twelve days of Christmas. When a young journalist receives a mutilated bird in the post, it’s a race against time to find the killer… Review After reviewing the "other" book called The Present a few days ago I've now read the one I intend to. My review for the chicklit version has gone up on the page for this crime novel though! I'm not one for true crime and gory details and so those aspects of this book did not appeal to me, but it is written in such a homely way that it actually didn't seem as if those things were too real. This enabled me to just carry on reading and enjoy the whodunnit aspect of the novel. It's only taken me a couple of readings to get t...

Description 12 magical gifts, one love that lasts a lifetime… On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me … one romantic Christmas you won’t forget. When helping to clear out her beloved grandmother’s home, Lucy Jackson discovers twelve beautiful Christmas decorations hidden in the loft. As she discovers their heartbreaking story, a touching romance develops with the handsome gardener next door. Review   I have to admit I actually got this book by mistake as Harper Collins have another book out by DS Devlin called The Present with an identical cover apart from the colourway. Even Amazon have reviews mixed up for each book and the profile for Charlotte Phillips on the book page for Devlin!  It doesn't help that both books centre on the 12 days of Christmas and a journalist. So - choose carefully, one is a romance - this one - the other a crime novel. After starting to read the book and wondering when the crime was going to happen I decided I actuall...

Description Nina McCarrick has it all: a loving husband, two beautiful boys, a well-appointed home and more time than she knows what to do with. Life is perfect. Until her husband, Finn, is killed in a car accident and everything Nina thought she could rely on unravels. Alone, bereft and faced with a mountain of debt, Nina’s life of luxury quickly disappears and she begins to question whether she ever really knew the man she married. Forced to move out of her family home, Nina returns to the rundown Southampton council estate—and the sister—she thought she had left far behind. But Nina can’t let herself be overwhelmed—her boys need her. To save them, and herself, she will have to do what her husband discouraged for so long: pursue a career of her own. Torn between the life she thought she knew and the reality she now faces, Nina finally must learn what it means to take control of her life. Stirring and empowering, this novel from bestselling author Amanda Prowse once again ...

Description Eva is forty-four, nearly forty-five.  She always knew marrying a much older man meant compromises, but she was sure it was worth it – until Mickey dies suddenly, leaving Eva with only his diaries and a voice in the back of her mind telling her that perhaps she's sacrificed more than she meant to. While Nancy's parents negotiate their separation, the question of weekend contact is solved when her father volunteers his sister Eva's house. As spring turns to summer, a trust slowly begins to form between a little girl with a heartbreaking secret, and a woman who has realised too late that what she yearns for is the love of a child. Review I have so many books to read and unfortunately this one slipped  down the TBR pile. I really wish it hadn't because I have really loved reading this book, which was my first from Lucy Dillon but it won't be the last. There are two threads to the story. One with Eva a widow with no children and the decision she fa...

Description One day.  Sixteen songs.  The soundtrack of a lifetime...   Alone in her studio, Cass Wheeler is taking a journey back into her past. After a silence of ten years, the singer-songwriter is picking the sixteen tracks that have defined her - sixteen key moments in her life - for a uniquely personal Greatest Hits album. In the course of this one day, both ordinary and extraordinary, the story of Cass's life emerges - a story of highs and lows, of music, friendship and ambition, of great love and great loss. But what prompted her to retreat all those years ago, and is there a way for her to make peace with her past? Daughter. Mother. Singer. Lover. What are the memories that mean the most? In this bittersweet and poignant follow-up to the Number One bestselling  The Versions of Us , Laura Barnett cements her position as one of the most talented storytellers of her generation. Review I thought when I requested this book that the "Greatest Hits" wer...

Description Gone Girl meets Sliding Doors in this edge-of-your-seat thriller. Joanna is an avoider. So far she has spent her adult life hiding bank statements and changing career aspirations weekly. But then one night Joanna hears footsteps on the way home. Is she being followed? She is sure it's him; the man from the bar who wouldn't leave her alone. Hearing the steps speed up, Joanna turns and pushes with all of her might, sending her pursuer tumbling down the steps to lie motionless on the floor. Now Joanna has to make a decision: Fight or flight? Truth or lie? Right or wrong? Review I think it was the reference to "Sliding Doors" that got my attention enough to want to read this book. It's clear from the beginning that the book follows that format with headers to chapters of Reveal and Conceal to distinguish which timeline of events you are reading about. Did Joanna "Reveal" what had happened that night, or did she "Conceal" it. I...

Description A loving husband. The perfect killer? ‘I wonder if Mia thinks I have a dark side. Most likely as far as she knows, I am just her dear loving husband.’ Paul Strom has spent years building his perfect life: glittering career, beautiful wife, two healthy boys and a big house in the suburbs. But he also has his secrets. That’s why Paul has promised his wife a romantic weekend getaway. He proclaims this day, a warm Friday in May, will be the best day ever. Paul loves his wife, really, he does. But he also wants to get rid of her. And with every hour that passes, Paul ticks off another stage in his elaborately laid plan… Review The book blurb tells us upfront that Paul is going to get rid of his wife, so no surprises there. I began reading the book, waiting to see how and when Paul was going to pull this off. For about the first third of the book I wasn't really getting into the story. However, I was beginning to hate Paul with every fibre of my body as...

Description In the last days before her death, Nel called her sister. Jules didn’t pick up the phone, ignoring her plea for help. Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind. But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped. And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool . . . Review After The Girl on the Train I couldn't wait for this book, hoping it would be just as good. I know a lot of people who did not get on with The Girl on the Train, which I just couldn't understand. So, I began to read the latest book from Paula Hawkins "Into the Water" and I hated it! I had my review in my head already - if you didn't like Girl on the Train then you definitely won't like this. At least TGOTT was set in amongst ev...

Description She loves your son. She wants your life. How far would you go to protect your son? Laura has it all. A successful career, a long marriage to a rich husband, and a twenty-three year-old son, Daniel, who is kind, handsome, and talented. Then Daniel meets Cherry. Cherry is young, beautiful and smart but hasn’t led Laura’s golden life. And she wants it. When tragedy strikes, a decision is made and a lie is told. A lie so terrible it changes their lives forever . . . The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances is a gripping and chilling debut psychological thriller – the story of a mother, a son, his girlfriend and an unforgivable lie. Review I had heard the hype about this book, something that normally makes me avoid a book, but I was intrigued, so decided to read it for myself and I am so glad I did. It was so refreshing to read a book - just read it, and not try to second  guess what was really happening as I usually do. The style of writing and the pac...

Description Welcome to Manhattan, 2118. A thousand-storey tower stretching into the sky. A glittering vision of the future, where anything is possible – if you want it enough.  A hundred years in the future, New York's elite of the super-tower lie, backstab and betray each other to find their place at the top of the world. Everyone wants something… and everyone has something to lose.  As the privileged inhabitants of the upper floors recklessly navigate the successes and pitfalls of the luxury life, forbidden desires are indulged and carefree lives teeter on the brink of catastrophe. Whilst lower-floor workers are tempted by a world – and unexpected romance – dangling just out of reach. And on the thousandth floor is Avery Fuller, the girl genetically designed to be perfect. The girl who seems to have it all – yet is tormented by the one thing she can never have.  So when a young woman falls from the top of the supertower, her death is the culmination of a scandal th...

Description 'There's happiness in having less. If you are anything like how I used to be - miserable, constantly comparing yourself with others, or just believing your life sucks - I think you should try saying goodbye to some of your things' Fumio Sasaki is a writer in his thirties who lives in a tiny studio in Tokyo with three shirts, four pairs of trousers, four pairs of socks and not much else. A few years ago, he realised that owning so much stuff was weighing him down - so he started to get rid of it. In this hit Japanese bestseller, Sasaki explores the philosophy behind minimalism and offers a set of straightforward rules - discard it if you haven't used it in a year; be a borrower; find your uniform; keep photos of the things you love - that can help all of us lead simpler, happier, more fulfilled lives. Review This is the third de-cluttering book I have read and reviewed. But this one is also by a Japanese author as was  The Life-changing Magi...

Description The perfect brother. The perfect fiance. The perfect revenge.  A thriller you won't be able to predict. One day changes Jody's life forever. She has shut herself down, haunted by her memories and unable to trust anyone. But then she meets Abe, the perfect stranger next door and suddenly life seems full of possibility and hope. One day changes Mags's life forever. After years of estrangement from her family, Mags receives a shocking phone call. Her brother Abe is in hospital and no-one knows what happened to him. She meets his fiancé Jody, and gradually pieces together the ruins of the life she left behind. But the pieces don't quite seem to fit... Review When I began reading the book it seemed a little disjointed, I couldn't fathom out what was going on and how did it all fit together. I stuck with it and then the main plot of the book took hold of me, and although I had guessed a tiny part of what was happening, there was so much m...

Description Her fresh start is about to turn into a nightmare... 'A fantastic thriller - a lone woman, a nightmare scenario, high stakes, breathless suspense...It doesn't get better than this' LEE CHILD 'A brilliant, relentless rollercoaster of suspense that shreds your emotions' PETER JAMES Audra has finally left her abusive husband. She’s taken the family car and her young children, Sean and Louise, are buckled up in the back. This is their chance for a fresh start. Audra keeps to the country roads to avoid attention and finds herself on an empty road in Arizona, far from home. She's looking for a safe place to stay for the night when she spots something in her rear-view mirror. A police car is following her and the lights are flickering. Blue and red. As Audra pulls over she is intensely aware of how isolated they are. Her perfect escape is about to turn into a nightmare beyond her imagining… Dark secrets and a heart-pounding race to reveal the truth ...

Description A woman discovers an impossible connection that transcends time and place in this stirring, unforgettable novel from the  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Memory Thief. "A splendid mix of time travel, romantic yearning, and moving on after grief."-- Publishers Weekly Isabel Griffin has done her best to move on since her boyfriend, Max Adair, vanished without a trace eight years ago, leaving her heartbroken--and pregnant. Eerily enough, this isn't the first time someone Isabel loves has gone missing. When she was sixteen, her mother disappeared, and her father became obsessed with finding his long-lost wife--at the expense of parenting Isabel. Determined not to repeat her father's mistakes, Isabel works hard to become a respected archaeologist and a loving mother to her daughter, Finn, a little girl with very unusual abilities. But while Isabel is on a dig in Barbados, she receives a disturbing phone call. The hauntingly familiar voice on...

Description 'And in that instant, he knows in his heart that today is a momentous day; come what may, he and Alice will meet again, and life will never be the same.' Alice is stuck in an internship she loathes and a body she is forever trying to change. Ben, also in his early twenties, is still trying to find his place in the world. By chance they meet one day in a London park. Day 1 Ben spots Alice sitting on a bench and feels compelled to speak to her. To his surprise, their connection is instant. But before numbers are exchanged, Alice is whisked off by her demanding boss. 20 minutes later Alone in her office toilets, Alice looks at herself in the mirror and desperately searches for the beauty Ben could see in her. Meanwhile, having misunderstood a parting remark, Ben is already planning a trip to Glasgow where he believes Alice lives, not realising that they actually live barely ten miles apart. Over the next 31 days, Alice and Ben will discover that eve...

I'm really pleased to be a part of the blog tour today for Little Gray Dress by Aimee Brown. You can see a trailer for the book on Youtube . Description Emi Harrison has avoided her ex-fiance, Jack Cabot, for nearly two years. Her twin brother Evan's wedding is about to end that streak. From bad bridesmaid's dresses, a hyperactive sister-in-law, a mean girl with even meaner secrets, and too much to drink, nothing seems to go right for Emi, except when she's wearing her little gray dress. When she speed-walks into Liam Jaxon's bar, things get more complicated. He's gorgeous, southern, and has no past with Emi. He may be exactly what she needs to prove for the last time that she doesn't need or want Jack! Her favorite little gray dress has made an appearance at nearly every major event in Emi's adult life. Will it make another grand appearance when she least expects it? Review I'm going to say right off that I loved this book so much. For a d...