A Hogmanany Kiss - Elsie McArthur

 

Description

Marsaili and Will's happily ever after isn't turning out exactly like they planned...

Eighteen months after getting back together, and struggling to find a forever home in their small Highland community, they're still living in the upstairs bedroom of Marsaili's parents' croft. A chance to get away from it all for a romantic Christmas break is just what they need - Marsaili's brother is getting married, and they're going to spend two weeks in Edinburgh for the celebrations.

But when wedding mishaps, a flirtatious bridesmaid and past insecurities threaten to derail their plans, the idyllic festive getaway Marsaili and Will have been dreaming of could make them... or break them.

Reunite with all your favourite characters for a Christmas holiday they’ll never forget, in this fun, feel-good, festive sequel to The Back Up Plan

Review

Although this is a standalone novel, you would probably enjoy it more if you read The Back Up Plan first. The story begins with Marsaili in the pub with her teacher colleagues - wait a minute! Last time we met Marsaili in The Back Up Plan she was an aspiring actress, so immediately I could see things had moved on since the last book.

It was great to catch up with Marsaili and Will and find that they now live in the Highlands. Desperate for some time alone with each other they are delighted to be going to Edinburgh for a family Christmas wedding, and what a wedding it is. The festivities begin on Christmas Eve and span many days as this is a multicultural wedding. Even before the wedding itself there are some ups and downs for the couple and it's not all plain sailing for the rest of the family party either. 

I detested Sophie the bridesmaid from the first page she appeared on and didn't warm to her much from there on in. I was so hoping she wasn't going to ruin Christmas or the wedding for Marsaili. I'll leave you to read this delightful seasonal tale and find out for yourselves if she did. 

A lovely novella to snuggle down with and escape to Edinburgh, which was beautifully described, taking me back to my last visit there many years ago. 

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to the author for the digital copy to review.

The Little Swiss Ski Chalet - Julie Caplin

Description

*Preorder the new book in Julie’s bestselling series for a slice of escapism at the turn of a page!*

‘Up there with the best of them…A big, fat five stars from me’ Sue Moorcroft

‘An irresistible slice of escapism’ Phillipa Ashley

It’s time to pack your bags and head to the breathtaking, snow-covered peaks of the Swiss Alps for velvety hot chocolates, delicious cheeses and a gorgeous love story…

Food technician Mina has always believed that chocolate will solve everything – and it’s just what she needs when her latest relationship mishap goes viral!

So with her bags packed and a new determination to sort her life out, Minna decides to drown her sorrows with the best hot chocolate in the world at her godmother’s cosy Swiss chalet. Chocolate: yes. Romance: no. Until she has a run in on an Alpine train with a mysterious but oh-so-gorgeous stranger…

Review

What's not to love? Julie Caplin + new book in the "Romantic escapes" series + chocolate - it's a match made in heaven!

I listened to the audio version of the book and the narrator was so good. At one point I had to check that there was only one narrator as the different voices were excellent and certainly added to the enjoyment of the story.

The book begins with Mina who has a surprise for her boyfriend, and the surprise goes viral. No spoilers but I was not fond of the boyfriend. However, this spurs her into taking action and going to stay in Switzerland, with her Godmother who owns a ski chalet. The description of her journey her shopping en route, I felt like I was there, a real dose of escapism. I also learnt a few things, about food, skiing and Switzerland. 

Not only were all the characters (in the main!) in this book absolutely lovely, the descriptions of the chocolate and food just had me drooling. I suggest you have some chocolate on hand before beginning this book because you will be craving it in no time.

If you haven't gathered by now - I just loved this book and am giving it 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC of the audio. It is available on kindle now, but you will have to wait a little longer for the paperback and audio.

The Christmas Swap - Sandy Barker

 

Description

Will all three women have their Christmas wishes come true?

Christmas is coming and best friends Chloe, Jules, and Lucy are needing change… so swapping homes for the holidays could be the perfect present for all of them!

Australian Chloe spends her Christmas in a sleepy village in Oxfordshire, England. She is totally star-struck when she discovers who lives across the road.

Lucy, who has jetted off to snowy Colorado for her dream-come-true white Christmas, is taken into the fold of Jules’s loud and brash family, discovering more about herself in a few short days than she has in years.

And Jules leaves the cold climes of Colorado to spend her Christmas on a beach with Chloe’s friends in Melbourne, finding that time away is just what she needed.

The only thing better than one Christmas romance is three, and this wonderful festive novel is perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan, Holly Martin and Karen Swan.

Review

If you are looking for a little Christmas escapism with some romance thrown in, then this is the book for you! If you've seen the film "The Holiday" well this is similar as the ladies within the story admit, only three times the fun.

The best thing about this book for me, particularly at the moment, is that it was set in three locations and I felt like I had a little holiday in all of them. We have Oxford (taking in London), Colorado and Melbourne. I loved that Melbourne had some descriptions of the City landmarks and even looked them up online, which made it all the more real. I also enjoyed reading about the different Christmas traditions, such as the popcorn stringing in America (which I have never really understood).

The story centres around three best friends Chloe,  Jules and Lucy who all live in different countries and they agree to swap their Christmases with each other. Of course each of them finds romance in their new location, but it doesn't always run smoothly or to plan. 

There's not much more to say other than snuggle down, be whisked away to a different scene and enjoy.

I'm giving this book four out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley and One More Chapter Books for being part of the #readalong.

Patch Work - Claire Wilcox

 

Description

Claire Wilcox has been a curator of fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum for most of her working life. In Patch Work, she steps into the archive of memory, deftly stitching together her dedicated study of fashion with the story of her own life lived in and through clothes. From her mother's black wedding suit to the swirling patterns of her own silk kimono, her memoir unfolds in spare, luminous prose the spellbinding power of the things we wear.

In a series of intimate and compelling close-ups, Wilcox tugs on the threads that make up the fabric of our lives: a cardigan worn by a child, a mother's button box, the draping of a curtain, a pair of cycling shorts, a roll of lace, a pin hidden in a seam. Through the eye of a curator, we see how the stories and the secrets of clothes measure out the passage of time, our gains and losses, and the way we use them to unravel and write our histories.

Review

I love fashion, sewing and the V&A - so I was delighted to read this book. What I wasn't expecting from the author was the exceptionally beautiful writing. I do hope Claire goes onto write more as she is very talented.

The book begins with a personal recollection of life behind the scenes at the V&A and I was hooked straight in. Not all the chapters relate to the V&A. Some are snapshots of the authors life from early on to present day. Interspersed with photographs, some of items and others are personal ones. The recollections are in no particular order, and because of this you can easily dip in and out as you wish.

I just loved being able to read about how they did the audit at the V&A.  Coming across items labelled '99 for the year 1899, with no thought for future years bearing the date '99!. Reading about the thought process behind organising an exhibition, and that you may pass curators in the corridors transporting precious items, as there are no private tunnels. The day they were sent home while a specialist in a white boiler suit and mask had to be called in to isolate a box of medieval leather shoes, in case they were from a plague pit. Just fascinating.

Even if you don't care for sewing or the V&A this book is a great recollection of times gone by, particularly the early 1960s. Although it predates me some of the lines rang so true for me, such as her drinking from a green cup and saucer in the staff canteen - I remember that crockery so well.

This book is a keeper and one to be read again and again. As to sink into it's pages and be delighted by the author's poetic use of words for the precious but evenly the everyday, is just fabulous. 

My thanks to Pigeonhole for sending the daily staves to enable me to read this book.

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter by Cherry Radford @CherryRad @urbanebooks @lovebooksgroup #lovebookstours

Description

After the break-up of her marriage, Imogen escapes to her aunt's converted lighthouse on Beachy Head. Writing for a tedious online magazine but hoping to start a novel, she wants to be alone until she finds an entrancing flamenco CD in her borrowed car and contacts the artist via Twitter. It turns out that actor-musician Santiago needs help with English, and is soon calling her profesora.

Through her window, the other lighthouse winks at her across the sea. The one where her father was a keeper until he mysteriously drowned there in 1982. Her aunt is sending extracts from his diary, and Imogen is intrigued to learn that, like her and Santi, her father had a penfriend.

Meanwhile, despite their differences, Imogen is surrounded by emotional and geographical barriers, Santi surrounded by family and land-locked Madrid their friendship develops. So, she reads, did her father's but shocking revelations cause Imogen to question whether she ever really knew him.

Two stories of communication: the hilarious mistakes, the painful misunderstandings, and the miracle or tragedy of finding someone out there with whom you have an unforeseen, irresistible connection.

Review

What a truly unique story this really is. With the dual locations of Beachy Head and Madrid so beautifully and poignantly described, this book is unlike anything I have ever read before.

With the meeting of Imogen and Santi being made through Twitter this book has a very contemporary feel, although it is set in 2012. Imogen is staying alone in a lighthouse, which looks out onto another lighthouse; the one from which her Father lost his life in 1982. 

As Imogen begins to converse with Santi through Twitter her Aunt is drip feeding her extracts from her Father's diary by post. Why can't she just send the whole diary to her wonders Imogen? Soon she begins to see a parallel in her own situation and that of her Father. 

Meanwhile in Madrid. Santi is a musician and actor and has a life surrounded by family and friends, so much going on for him. But, he needs to improve his English in order to get a part. So begins his friendship with Imogen who helps and corrects him over the internet and then later in real life.

The book flips between the two locations over many months, and is told from both Imogen's and Santi's perspective. The information on suicides and the people working at Beachy Head was very moving and not something I was expecting. It is dealt with sensitively and even with some humour too.

I really enjoyed  how the author used Spanish dialogue (even though I don't speak Spanish) and also the way all the dialogue was at times left unfinished, hanging in the air. Although I had to re read it sometimes, it was so true to life. People speaking over one another, a turned head and missed words.  

There is a lot more than this basic outline I've given happening within the book. Failed romances/marriages, teenage angst, misunderstandings - to name but a few. I rapidly read the pages as I really wanted to know how it was all going to end. Then I was in tears and then they were wiped away, only to lurk again. I can't say much more as the story needs to come as a surprise to you, as it did to me.

I loved this book so much and I know it is one that will stay with me.  I'm giving this book 5 out of  5 stars. My thanks to Love Book Tours for a copy of the book to review.

Author Bio

Cherry Radford was a piano teacher at the Royal Ballet Junior School, a keyboard player in a band, and then a research optometrist at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. She now lives in Eastbourne, UK and Almería, Spain. Her third novel, The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter, publishes April 2018.

WEBSITE: www.cherryradford.co.uk

BLA BLA LAND BLOG: https://cherryradforddotblog.wordpress.com

TWITTER: @CherryRad

Buy Link 

https://amzn.to/3oSH0Em

Meant To Be - Louisa Leaman

 

Description

After a spate of terrible boyfriends, Jess is sure she’s found her perfect man in dependable – but occasionally dull – Tim. But when her grandmother, tasks her with retrieving a family heirloom from a local auction she finds herself face to face with a charming stranger, Guy.

Guy has already bought her grandmother's precious necklace and whilst Jess desperately tries to buy it back from him, he somehow convinces her to go out on a date instead.

Ridiculous. But Guy has the necklace and Jess’s grandmother’s health is declining rapidly. Jess has no choice but to indulge Guy and go on a date with – if only to get the necklace back.

But when she and Guy hit it off on their date Jess’s dependable happily-ever-after is thrown off track…

Review

This is the second book by Louisa Leaman I've read and loved - the first was The Perfect Dress.

Louisa seems to be able to create a world I instantly want to fall headlong into and what's more contains all my own interests. In this book Jess is obsessed with jewellery and always notices what people are wearing and loves the jewellery section at the V&A, just like me! She's also fond of arts and crafts and William Morris and it was a joy to visit in the book a fictitious place called Pel Tawr (I had to google it, I was so hoping it was real!). In my minds eye I pictured Wightwick Manor which contains William Morris wallpapers as Louisa describes.

You can probably tell I adored this book for the above references alone. Jess is on the trail of a family heirloom and we meet her just as she has tracked it down and about to bid for it in an auction. When she literally bumps into Guy - sparks fly, but she is spoken for already with the lovely solid Tim. She's been hurt physically (in an accident) and had a few broken hearts in the past by going for the wrong type of man. But with Tim she's found the one - or has she?

We follow Jess through the book as she tries to reclaim the necklace whilst delving into her family history - taking her to LA and Hollywood, which was another really interesting part of the book. We also find out how Jess got injured and now that she uses a walking stick what her life has become for her.

Louisa manages to combine the romance we all love with a wonderful original and unique grounding in facts. This just brings her books alive for me. I flew through this book, not wanting it to end but equally wanting to escape to its pages. I can't wait for her next book, I was so sorry to leave this story behind. Maybe a sequel...

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Random Things Tours for the Book Blog invite and to netgalley for the ARC to review.

THE AUTHOR 

Louisa Leaman was born, raised and now lives near Epping Forest. She studied Art History at Leeds University before becoming a teacher working with children with special needs. After winning the Times Education Supplement’s New Writer’s Award, she turned her hand to writing books for children. Louisa currently writes content for the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, but has also been published in the Guardian, the Observer, the Independent and The Times Educational Supplement. Her interest in the arts is often inspiration for her plots and her first book, The Perfect Dress, was inspired by the V&As large wedding dress collection and fulfils her dream of writing romantic fiction. When she isn’t busy writing or rearing her three lively children, she paints portraits, takes long walks and spends far too long browsing vintage clothing shops. 

There's No Such Thing As An Easy Job - Kikuko Tsumura

 

Description

Convenience Store Woman meets My Year of Rest and Relaxation in this strange, compelling, darkly funny tale of one woman’s search for meaning in the modern workplace

A young woman walks into an employment agency and requests a job that has the following traits: it is close to her home, and it requires no reading, no writing – and ideally, very little thinking.

She is sent to a nondescript office building where she is tasked with watching the hidden-camera feed of an author suspected of storing contraband goods. But observing someone for hours on end can be so inconvenient and tiresome. How will she stay awake? When can she take delivery of her favourite brand of tea? And, perhaps more importantly – how did she find herself in this situation in the first place?

As she moves from job to job, writing bus adverts for shops that mysteriously disappear, and composing advice for rice cracker wrappers that generate thousands of devoted followers, it becomes increasingly apparent that she’s not searching for the easiest job at all, but something altogether more meaningful...

TRANSLATED FROM JAPANESE BY POLLY BARTON

Review

On the face of it this novel shouldn't be that interesting, the jobs in the book certainly aren't. Yet because it's been written about someone in Japan it's just fascinating!

I loved this book and am sorry to finish it. I'm not sure we ever learn the name of the lady in the book, but she wants "an easy job" not because she is lazy but because she has suffered from burnout in her previous career. 

Each of the jobs she gets are very tedious and yet she manages to excel at them and had me rivetted to the book in the process. The first job where she watched endless hours of surveillance on a man in his apartment, had me wondering like her - what was he doing? Would they find the right DVD case?

The next job writing for the adverts played on buses may seem to the Westerner pointless. But this is Japan and there is a quiet on a bus that we do not have in the Western world, so of course the adverts can be heard perfectly. Meanwhile she enters a kind of twilight zone with this job.

So it goes on, each job a little more intriguing, but will she find one she wants to stick at? I find myself describing these events like they really happened - the writing was so good (and the translation) that I forgot I was reading a work of fiction.  If you liked Convenience Store Woman then this is in the same vein. If you like you books to have no grey areas - no wondering "could that really happen" and firmly set in the real world, then it's not for you.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

Afraid of the Christmas Lights - An Anthology of Crime Stories

 

All profits from the sale of this anthology will be donated to frontline domestic abuse charities

DESCRIPTION

IT WOULDN’T BE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT A LITTLE CRIME…

A Christmas dinner takes a murderous turn, a friendship group loses the festive spirit, and a young girl goes to extreme measures to keep a beloved dog.

Afraid Of The Christmas Lights is a collection of gripping, sometimes funny, and always festive short stories from a group of bestselling crime writers.

From the hilarious to the macabre, there’s something for everyone – whether you’re a Christmas convert or a bit of a Grinch. From a detective tracking down missing Christmas geese, to a cat lady who goes on a date in order to keep Santa Paws well fed, this anthology is the perfect gift to cosy up with this year.

REVIEW

I read this anthology of short crime stories all with a Christmas theme courtesy of Pigeonhole. All the profits from the sale go to frontline domestic abuse charities, so well worth buying.

Some of the authors I had read before, but many I had not read and this was a nice introduction to some new writers. I hope to check out their other work later. The stories are a real mix of genres, with some very dark humour and some fun. They are all have some sort of a Christmas connection and you may never see Christmas in quite the same way again after reading these stories.

Some of the stories are very current with references to face masks being warn and the pandemic evident. Not all of them were to my taste, but I did enjoy them all. 

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars.

The Cottage of Curiosities - Celia Anderson

 

Description

Come home to 59 Memory Lane with a new novel from the Kindle Top Ten bestselling author Celia Anderson!

’A brilliantly original and enchanting tale’ Sun
‘Wonderful characters make this a great read’ Good Housekeeping

‘One of the most charming books I’ve ever read’ bestselling Cathy Mansell

‘Clever storytelling with a dusting of magic’ bestselling author Jenni Keer

Tucked away amongst the winding, cobbled streets of Pengelly, the old stone cottage on Memory Lane is full of secrets. Brimming with trinkets and treasures, there are thousands of stories hidden within its walls.

Fifty-four-year-old Grace Clarke arrives in Pengelly determined to uncover the secrets of her past. Standing outside the little cottage, she feels sure that the answers she craves lie inside. The truth about her mysterious long-lost mother and the even more mysterious gifts she was born with…

Review

I listened to the audio version of this book. I didn't like the narrators voice for some of the characters. At the times the book fell into descriptions of what was happening, this sounded like I was listening to the audio subtitles you find on TV. I think in this instance I would have preferred to read this book rather than listen to it.

The story itself was intriguing. Would Grace find her past in the village and how would the villagers react to her? It turned out that Grace found a lot more in the village and it was a nice gentle story to listen to. The subject of memory loss was dealt with very sympathetically and I liked how Grace used her gift in this respect.

I hadn't read the previous book in this series and at times did think maybe I was missing something. Perhaps the characters would have had more depth if I had read it. The village certainly felt like somewhere you would want to live and I did enjoy the descriptions of village life. Overall a nice cosy read.

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the audio copy to listen to. 

337 by M. Jonathan Lee @mjonathanlee - #337LEE @HideawayFall @lovebooksgroup #lovebookstours

 

Please note the double-ended upside-down opening for this book is available in books ordered in hard copy from UK booksellers only.

337 follows the life of Samuel Darte whose mother vanished when he was in his teens. It was his brother, Tom who found her wedding ring on the kitchen table along with the note.

While their father pays the price of his mother’s disappearance, Sam learns that his long-estranged Gramma is living out her last days in a nursing home nearby.

Keen to learn about what really happened that day and realising the importance of how little time there is, he visits her to finally get the truth.

Soon it’ll be too late and the family secrets will be lost forever. Reduced to ashes. But in a story like this, nothing is as it seems.

 I'm delighted to be able to share an excerpt from 337 with you today...

“I suggest you do,” he says in a voice which suggests there may be ramifications if I choose not to.

My only remaining thread of control is severed when he hangs up the phone. I take a deep breath and wait for him to call back, which is something he does when he feels he may not have made his point as clearly as he might. I lay there staring at the dust that has collected in the corners of my phone. The screen stays black, and after a minute or two passes I feel safe again. I place the phone on the duvet and turn my face into the darkness of the pillow.

For a moment I am gripped by anger, a feeling that twists in my chest like a coiled rope. I have spent a good part of the last ten years trying to remove this feeling from my life. I have been told on a number of occasions that if I cannot leave it behind, it will eventually consume me. I’ll be tossed into the black hole of its throat like Jonah and his whale. Gobbled up in one. My final resting place will be the belly of the giant beast and, unlike Jonah, I’ll never be seen again.

The last person who told me this was Sara. In fact, she told me plenty of times that I needed to change aspects of myself. For some time I listened to her, convinced that my macabre back story was reason enough to be the person I’ve become. It was only latterly, when I had an awakening, that I realised that her criticisms of me were actually a product of her own insecurities. Her insecurities moulding me into an angry and self-pitying person. A person I never used to be, nor ever wanted to be. And so, over the last year or so, the words I had listened to so attentively were rubberised and deflected, unheard, back to where they came from.

And of course, as I am sure you can now guess, Sara is gone.

And I feel the real me returning.

Slowly.

Author Bio

M Jonathan Lee is a nationally shortlisted author and mental health campaigner. His first novel The Radio was nationally shortlisted in the Novel Prize 2012. Since that time he has gone on to publish five further novels with ‘337’ being his sixth novel. Jonathan is a tireless campaigner for mental health awareness and writes his own column regularly for the Huffington Post. He has recently written for the Big Issue and spoken at length about his own personal struggle in the British national press on the BBC and Radio Talk Europe.

Endlessly fascinated by the human condition and what leads people to do the things they do to one another, Jonathan is obsessed with writing stories with twists where nothing is exactly how it first appears. 

Buy Link 

https://amzn.to/2JG2Nz1

The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair - Joel Dicker

 

Description

August 30, 1975. The day of the disappearance. The day Somerset, New Hampshire, lost its innocence.

That summer, struggling author Harry Quebert fell in love with fifteen-year-old Nola Kellergan. Thirty-three years later, her body is dug up from his yard, along with a manuscript copy of the novel that made him a household name. Quebert is the only suspect.

Marcus Goldman - Quebert's most gifted protégé - throws off his writer's block to clear his mentor's name. Solving the case and penning a new bestseller soon merge into one. As his book begins to take on a life of its own, the nation is gripped by the mystery of 'The Girl Who Touched the Heart of America'.

But with Nola, in death as in life, nothing is ever as it seems.

Review

I'm not sure how I missed reading this book when it came out. I may still not have read it until I saw a really strong recommendation. This is a very long book at 600+ pages so it was a commitment to read it, but I am so glad I did.

I've seen some reviews that don't rate this book at all, and to begin with I was unsure where 600+ pages was going to take me. I'm so, so glad that I stuck with this book as it was unlike anything I have ever read before. The nearest thing I can equate it to is the TV series How To Get Away with Murder as it has a similar way of twisting what you thought you knew and going back and forth over the events of 1975.

I've also read that some people think it's repetitive, that didn't bother me. One thing this does ensure is that you become fully immersed in this book - I can't stop thinking about it now. It's also translated from French and at no point did I ever even think of that - the translation is just superb. 

To me the plot was just genius, something I never expected from the description of the book. There is no way to say much more, as to do so would give something away. If you enjoy Agatha Christie I would say that this is a book you would enjoy also. A little bit like the Mousetrap - a secret you just have to know about to appreciate it and I am so glad someone let me know it was a book I needed to read.

Unusually for me I bought this book as a paperback instead of on kindle. I think it added to the experience and helped me to better see my progress through the pages.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Cover reveal - The Happy Family - Jackie Kabler #TheHappyFamily @jackiekabler @OneMoreChapter_

 

pre-order https://amzn.to/3f8UMyh

The Memories We Bury by H.A. Leuschel @HALeuschel @lovebooksgroup #lovebookstours

I'm so pleased to be on the Book Tour today.

Description

An emotionally charged and captivating novel about the complexities of female friendship and motherhood

Lizzie Thomson has landed her first job as a music teacher, and after a whirlwind romance with Markus, the newlywed couple move into a beautiful new home in the outskirts of Edinburgh. Lizzie quickly befriends their neighbour Morag, an elderly, resourceful yet lonely widow, whose own children rarely visit her. Everything seems perfect in Lizzie’s life until she finds out she is pregnant and her relationship with both Morag and Markus change beyond her control.

Can Lizzie really trust Morag and why is Markus keeping secrets from her?

In The Memories We Bury the author explores the dangerous bonds we can create with strangers and how past memories can cast long shadows over the present.

Review

This book on the surface appears to be a tale of complete domesticity. A young married couple with no close support and a neighbour who longs to be able to be helpful, especially when a baby arrives. For a while I felt nothing untoward was going to happen, and the book was really more about the relationships past and present of the the two women; but then the drama unfolded.

Lizzie has her baby and some things start to appear strange to her, she harks back to her own childhood a lot and her beloved Grandad. As a reader I began to wonder if it wasn't just fatigue from the birth and coping with a baby virtually on her own. Her husband Markus quickly becomes quite frankly a waste of space and no support with the baby. What was he up to when he wasn't around?

I realise looking back that there was a huge clue dropped in by the author early on, I remember reading it twice and thinking it strange, but couldn't understand how it fitted in. To say anymore would ruin the book for you. So I will just say that the tale of domesticity that began the book becomes a phycological minefield and the tension just grew and grew. I think the fact that it was such an ordinary scene of everyday life made it all the more frightening and worrying. 

The writing is so very clever. Towards the end of the book, just when I had begun to decide on my own truth of what had happened, a seed of doubt was sown again. Then the very last line of the book - well - it was just genius, maybe a little dark humour? That last line keeps coming back to me time and time again.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Love Books Tours for the ARC to review. 

Author Bio

Helene Andrea Leuschel gained a Master in Journalism & Communication, which led to a career in radio and television in Brussels, London and Edinburgh. She later acquired a Master in Philosophy, specializing in the study of the mind.

Helene has a particular interest in emotional, psychological and social well-being and this led her to write her first novel, Manipulated Lives, a fictional collection of five novellas, each highlighting the dangers of interacting with narcissists.

She lives with her husband and two children in Portugal. Please find out more about Helene at heleneleuschel.com or on Facebook and Twitter.

http://www.heleneleuschel.com

https://twitter.com/HALeuschel

https://www.facebook.com/HALeuschel

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15337013.H_A_Leuschel

Buy Link 

https://amzn.to/2EcmFHy

Be Careful What You Wish For - Vivien Brown

 

Description

Two strangers.

Two very different lives.

A chance to escape…or is it?

Her life isn’t as perfect as you think…

Former actress Madi needs to escape from her lonely London life.  She’s started to forget things and has the strongest sense she is being watched…

Prue feels suffocated by her claustrophobic village life, especially when she is humiliated in the most public way.  Now Prue is desperate for anonymity –whatever the cost.

Review

This book had two distinct threads to it. One was a seemingly cosy feel plot of two strangers who swop residences with one another. The Londoner goes to the countryside and into a village where she feels out of place. In return the country girl goes to London and experiences a big city for the first time. 

Then begins a rather creepy dialogue interspersed within these two tales. It's of someone who is entering the London property and seems to have a vendetta against the original occupant. 

To me this switching between the two genres felt a little like Jekyll and Hyde, you never knew which one you would end up with when you re-joined the book. Lulled along with the cosy life swop suddenly you would be faced with the ramblings of someone - you know not who - and their obvious dislike of the London actress. It then turned into a bit of a whoisit as you tried to second guess who this intruder is.

A clever twist to the end of the book and the "whoisit" kept me reading until the end. But I was never quite comfortable with the cosy comfort book meets Psycho!

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.