The Present - Charlotte Phillips

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 actually wanted to read this book too. The print length is given as 400 pages but I have to say that flew by and I read it in a day or so.

The story centres around Lucy and the discovery of some beautiful Christmas decorations covering the 12 days of Christmas, except one of them is missing and this is what hooked me in. Why was it missing?

The decorations belong to Olive, Lucy's Gran and she is at present in the hospital and so cannot help Lucy uncover the mystery. However, Olive's gardener and handyman Joe, comes to her rescue. At first I did feel this was a little contrived, but as I got slowly sucked in and some depth to the characters of Joe and Lucy evolved I needed to find closure with this book.

Maybe it's the time of year, but with such a seasonal setting and pictures painted of a snowy landscape I just settled down with this book and went with it. The little mystery got solved and I ended up loving it all.

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

I'm off to read the "other" The Present now!

The Art of Hiding - Amanda Prowse

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 plumbs the depths of human experience in this tale of one woman’s loss and love.

Review

Amanda Prowse is a prolific author but this is only the second book of hers that I have read and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Nina has led a very closeted and privileged life, and then one day it all ends in the death of her husband. She has to move, explain to two children why their life is not the same anymore and find some money for them to live on.

Whilst this is a sad tale there was enough of a glimpse of fabulous human relationships that helped Nina to keep going. I loved her sister Tiggy who really begins to come through for her and maybe has always been there for her? The meeting at the school and the "friends" from her old life were all portrayed brilliantly.

I found the circumstances that Nina finds herself in to be quite thought provoking. The children's voices in the story were true to life and poignant. The whole book is written in a easy reading style, like someone is retelling it to you in person. I couldn't wait to get back to it to find out what was going to happen next.

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

All I ever wanted - Lucy Dillon

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 faces whether or not to publish her late husbands diaries. The other Eva's brother and his wife decide to separate and the consequences for the children and the effects on them. Together with one of the parents trying to move on.

The star of the story is Nancy who her Mum calls fancy Nancy - something happens to her that is heartbreaking - I was rooting for Nancy throughout the book and could picture her clearly from the way she was described. 

I don't do spoilers, but there is a day when a calamity arises at Eva's house and the way it was written was just as good as any thriller - I was spellbound.

Although this is a chick lit type book there are such a range of subjects covered. The book does flip between Eva and Caitlin, this is done in a measured way though and I felt I knew exactly where I was in each of their stories. Not too many characters and I got to know all of them so well, I really didn't want it to end.

I did shed a few tears near the end of the book - it was just so moving and emotional, but not in a soppy way. So many different levels to the book, but I think if you really connected with the characters you would be hard pressed not to shed a tear.

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

Greatest Hits - Laura Barnett

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" were going to be from real life - but it turns out they are the fictional songs that Cass the main character in the book has written. There are some references made to contemporary songs and bands of the various times and so I did like those parts as it enabled me to relate to those periods of time.

Overall this book really didn't do it for me. I felt it was long at over 400 pages, drawn out and protracted. Bearing in mind this is one day - it felt like the longest day to me. Think of the TV series 24 and how that aired over many weeks!

There were parts I did like, such as the early childhood of Cass and her struggles with life. I could really relate to her being a young child and "grown up" things happening around her which she just couldn't understand - that is until many years later when she had a family of her own.

There didn't seem to be a pattern to the book, characters just came out of left field and I was left wondering who they were.  I decided to just go with it and get to the end, hoping I would warm more to Cass, but unfortunately the opposite happened for me. Some characters popped up again and I was glad that Cass did reconnect with her past, and again those parts of the book I enjoyed more.

If this is ever made into a film I could see Bill Nighy playing Cass's boyfriend/husband Ivor. I am giving this book 3 out of 5 stars.

My thanks go to Netgalley for a copy of the book for review.

Anything you do Say - Gillian McAllister

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 still got a little confused at times with which story line I was reading, but not for very long.

Unfortunately I think the Sliding Doors reference does this book a big injustice as it is such a powerful tale, one I really didn't want to carry on reading at times. A little like car crash tv - you don't want to look but you can't help yourself. So realistic and thought provoking, as the situation Joanna finds herself in - it could happen to anyone.  I'm still not sure what I would have done either.

All the characters are so believable they felt like people I've met and know, I could identify with them and some of their traits. They whole book plays out wonderfully and time and again I found myself thinking - all from those few minutes this happens. I will admit to shedding a few tears - especially at the end of the book. Who knew a thriller would have you crying?

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. I have the utmost respect for any one who can write a novel. But this is by far the best book I have read this year and I am in awe of Gillian's skill in telling this story - twice!.

The Best Day Ever - Kaira Rouda

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 the pages went by. What a smug character he is. We are given flashbacks to exactly how Paul met his wife and subsequently married her with two children to follow. Flashbacks to Paul's office life and the brilliantly written HR scenes. Not hard to follow, nicely flowing in with the story line.

I began to wonder how did Mia stay with Paul when it seemed apparent what he was about i.e. himself and no one else. Surely she must have glimpsed his true character. Well as the book gets down to the action we realise just exactly why Mia didn't "cotton on" to Paul and makes him well and truly even more of a despicable person than I already had him pegged down as.

About the last quarter of the book, and literally all hell breaks loose. The action got very gritty and I was gripped, I really wanted to know how this was all going to end. Some clever twists and although I think the author dropped a couple of hints along the way the ending was still a good one.

That is why I personally didn't like that the book had an epilogue. I just don't think it needed it and I'm not sure I learnt anything new from it. Many a time I hate it when a book leaves you in mid air - but this time it was sewn up just a little too neatly.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for a copy of the book to review.

Into the Water - Paula Hawkins

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 every day life. Whereas this began with what felt like The Crucible - references to others who had drowned in the pool decades ago across the centuries. People hearing voices and some being drawn to the pool - to drown.

I began to wonder whether I should just call it a day - too many characters each with their own chapters - a difficult time recognising who was narrating unless I referred back to the chapter heading - was it worth my time?

Then in part two of the book it turned into a regular detective novel. Why I wondered had there been a need for all the superstition about the pool and suchlike. It was at the end of the day a modern whodunnit. The characters began to be fleshed out and some secrets were outed - I was beginning to understand what was happening.

By the final part of the book I really wanted to know how this book was going to end. How did other happenings in the book fit into Nel drowning.  I got to a few pages before the end and all was made clear - a great ending. However - that was not the ending, characters began to have their own chapter again telling their tale. Wow! it was like a cannonball rushing at you - the real ending........

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars although when I began it was more like 3 out of 5! I marvel at how Paula Hawkins came up with this web of a novel. I ended up revisiting parts of the novel to read what I now realised were glaring clues to the initiated.