BOOKSIMO

  Description The world is at war and her country needs her When Florence’s son, John, announces that he has enlisted, she is horrified but determined to hold her family together during the oncoming hardships they are to face. Men are returning to England wounded, with many more not returning at all, families are struggling, and Florence's ‘Dear Girls’ are risking their lives in new and dangerous jobs. Florence might be older now, but she has no intention of sitting back on her laurels while others fight for King and Country. She knows what needs to be done… Review This is the third book in the Mrs Boots series, but it could be read as a standalone. I think this is the best book yet. I've not read many books set in the 1914 war and so was interested firstly in the book from that point of view. The book covers the war from the perspective of  the Boot family in Nottingham and their employees and the impact it has on all their lives and of course the Boots business. I found it t...

Description Rose Gold Watts believed she was sick for eighteen years. She thought she needed the feeding tube, the surgeries, the wheelchair . . . Turns out her mother is a really good liar. After five years in prison, Patty Watts is finally free. All she wants is to put old grievances behind her, reconcile with the daughter who testified against her - and care for her new infant grandson. When Rose Gold agrees to have Patty move in, it seems their relationship is truly on the mend. And she has waited such a long time for her mother to come home. But is she still the pliable young girl she once was? And is Patty still as keen on settling an old score? Because if mothers never forget then daughters never forgive. A gripping tale of obsession, reconciliation and revenge from an incredible new talent. Review This isn't the sort of book I would usually go for, but it certainly drew me in and was a real page turner. The book begins with the release of Rose Gold's Mother from prison ...

  Description The morning after a dinner party at Windsor Castle, eighty-nine-year-old Queen Elizabeth is shocked to discover that one of her guests has been found murdered in his room, with a rope around his neck. When the police begin to suspect her loyal servants, Her Majesty knows they are looking in the wrong place. For the Queen has been living an extraordinary double life ever since her coronation. Away from the public eye, she has a brilliant knack for solving crimes. With her household's happiness on the line, her secret must not get out. Can the Queen and her trusted secretary Rozie catch the killer, without getting caught themselves? Review This was nearly a DNF (did not finish) for me and if it had been the book and not audio then that is probably what would have happened. As it was I nearly didn't finish the audio, but having it on in the background whilst doing other things it was just ok. I think the narrator did a brilliant job, although her Queen voice did rath...

  I picked up a copy of this book from 1982 second hand and I am so glad I did. Loving Helene Hanff's voice in 84 Charing Cross Road I have been tracking down her other works and this one is a star if you are a fan of New York City. Helene and her friend visit like tourists would, their home city of New York. Helene is researching the writing of a book for tourists, what they would see and where they could go. It's really like a history lesson as it's from 1982, and of course the Twin Towers are still standing. She takes us inside them and it was brilliant, as I never got to see them in real life. She also goes on the swiss tram that goes over to Roosevelt Island, which then, had only opened the week before! I have been on this and not a lot of people know about it, especially not NYC residents. I ended up looking on Google maps at streets and sights she visits, to see if they still exist and in what form now. Obviously so much has changed and it felt a little like time tra...

  Description Tis the season to be jolly… But can Eve find happiness through the frost? Eve  has never liked Christmas. So when her adored elderly aunt dies, the last thing she is expecting is to be left a theme park in her will. A theme park with a Christmas theme … And that's not the only catch. Her aunt's will stipulates that Eve must run the park with a mysterious partner, the exotically named  Jacques Glace . Who is this Jacques, and why did Aunt Evelyn name him in her will? But Eve isn't going to back down from a challenge. She's determined to make a success of Winterworld, no matter what. Can she overcome her dislike of Christmas, and can Jacques melt her frozen heart at last? Review I'm working my way through the back catalogue of Milly's books that I haven't yet read. If you want a book that you can settle into and not worry about who's who, and the action just flows instead of flip flopping about, then this is a book for you. A nice straightfor...

  Description From the publishers of  The Familiars  by Stacey Halls comes Manilla Press's biggest debut launch of the season - and your next obsession in reading group fiction. Yesterday, I kissed my husband for the last time . . . It's the summer of 1959, and the well-trimmed lawns of Sunnylakes, California, wilt under the sun. At some point during the long, long afternoon, Joyce Haney, wife, mother, vanishes from her home, leaving behind two terrified toddlers and a bloodstain on the kitchen floor . . . A beguiling, deeply atmospheric debut novel from the cracked heart of the American Dream,  The Long, Long Afternoon  is at once a page-turning mystery and an intoxicating vision of the ways in which women everywhere are diminished, silenced and ultimately under-estimated. Review I just loved this read. The style of writing drew me in from the very first paragraph. Joyce Haney appears to have the perfect life and home as do all the residents of Sunnylakes, Cali...

  Description Olive, Again  follows the blunt, contradictory yet deeply loveable Olive Kitteridge as she grows older, navigating the second half of her life as she comes to terms with the changes - sometimes welcome, sometimes not - in her own existence and in those around her.  Olive adjusts to her new life with her second husband, challenges her estranged son and his family to accept him, experiences loss and loneliness, witnesses the triumphs and heartbreaks of her friends and neighbours in the small coastal town of Crosby, Maine - and, finally, opens herself to new lessons about life.  Review I didn't realise this was a follow on book, but it was a stand alone read for me. I listened to it on audio, I'm not sure I would have stuck with it as a book. I thought the book would be told throughout by Olive, so when it began with Jack who becomes her second husband, I thought I had the wrong idea about the book. Eventually we got to Olive and then other characters that...

  Description An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories. Their last one begins  here . Life is short - no one knows that better than seventeen year-old Lenni Petterssen. On the Terminal Ward, the nurses are offering their condolences already, but Lenni still has plenty of living to do. When she meets 83-year-old Margot Macrae, a fellow patient offering new friendship and enviable artistic skills, Lenni's life begins to soar in ways she'd never imagined. As their bond deepens, a world of stories opens up: of wartime love and loss, of misunderstanding and reconciliation, of courage, kindness and joy. Stories that have led Lenni and Margot to the end of their days. The One Hundred Years is a celebration of life, hope and kindness. The perfect read to shine a light on dark days. Review You might think a novel set on a hospital terminal ward would be a little depressing - but this book is far from that. It's a brilliant uplifting tale with laugh out loud moments. The ...

  Description Heads You Win  is the incredible and thrilling novel by the master storyteller and bestselling author of the Clifton Chronicles and  Kane and Abel , Jeffrey Archer. Leningrad, Russia, 1968. Alexander Karpenko is no ordinary child, and from an early age, it is clear he is destined to lead his countrymen. But when his father is assassinated by the KGB for defying the state, he and his mother will have to escape from Russia if they hope to survive. At the docks, they are confronted with an irreversible choice: should they board a container ship bound for America, or Great Britain? Alexander leaves that choice to the toss of a coin . . . In a single moment, a double twist decides Alexander’s future. During an epic tale of fate and fortune, spanning two continents and thirty years, we follow his triumphs and defeats as he struggles as an immigrant to conquer his new world. As this unique story unfolds, Alexander comes to realize where his destiny lies, and a...

So happy to be on the blog tour for this brilliant book today. Description They say those we love never truly leave us, and I’ve found that to be true. But not in the way you might expect. In fact, none of this is what you’d expect.  I’ve been visiting my mother who died when I was eight. And I’m talking about flesh and blood, tea-and-biscuits-on-the-table visiting here.  Right now, you probably think I’m going mad. Let me explain…  Although Faye is happy with her life, the loss of her mother as a child weighs on her mind even more now that she is a mother herself. So she is amazed when, in an extraordinary turn of events, she finds herself back in her childhood home in the 1970s. Faced with the chance to finally seek answers to her questions – but away from her own family – how much is she willing to give up for another moment with her mother?  For fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife comes an original and heartwarming story about bittersweet memories, how the past shap...

Description When supermarket delivery driver Charlie is assigned the Hope Row street, he realises there are a lot of lonely people out there - and for some, he's their only interaction. The supermarket boss tells Charlie he's a driver, not a social worker - but Charlie's tough exterior begins to soften, and he can't help show a little kindness to the Hope Row residents, helping them find their place in the world once more. But will his helping hand make everything worse? Review Charlie is a new supermarket delivery driver and he's allowed 4 minutes per customer for a delivery. As his boss tells him, he won't need longer, he's not a social worker. This was a truly delightful tale of Charlie and his interaction with the different residents of Hope Street his delivery run. As Charlie begins to deliver to the residents of Hope Street we get to know a few of them a little better and what happens before and after Charlie does his delivery to them. I'm making a...