I heart New York - Lindsey Kelk

Description

I Heart series book 1. Get ready to meet Angela Clark as she flees the world s worst wedding for a new life...

It's official. Angela Clarke is in love with the most
fabulous city in the world.

Fleeing her cheating boyfriend and clutching little more than a crumpled bridesmaid dress, a pair of Louboutins and her passport, Angela jumps on a plane, destination - NYC.

Holed up in a cute hotel room, Angela gets a New York makeover from her NBFJenny and a whirlwind tour of the city that never sleeps. Before she knows it, Angela is dating two sexy guys. And, best of all, she gets to write about it in her new blog (Carrie Bradshaw eat your heart out). But it's one thing telling readers about your romantic dilemmas, it's another figuring them out for yourself ...

Angela has fallen head over heels for the big apple, but does she heart New York more than home?

Review

Any book set in New York is a winner with me and this was no exception. I just loved all the day to day details of living in the Big Apple.

When we first meet Angela she is a bridesmaid at her BF's wedding. Next thing she is alone in a hotel room in NYC with no one she knows wondering what on earth she has done.

Luckily Angela gets a new BF and a group of friends who begin to help her live (and me vicariously) New York style. Personally I loved the descriptions of the shopping trips and her purchases.

Don't expect this book to be realistic - it's pure escapism chic lit, and apart from the locations of the various places in NY, totally chic lit fiction. A few things I wasn't personally comfortable with, like dating two guys at once and the way her blog seemed to be a plagiarism of Carrie Bradshaw's style.

I hadn't realised that this was the first in a series of books and I will be looking to read the others to see what else happens to Angela as she has a big decision to make in this book which sets out the path for future books.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars and my thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review. 

The Telephone Box Library - Rachael Lucas

Description

The Cotswolds: the perfect retreat for a stressed-out teacher. And Lucy has found just the right cottage for a bargain rent. All she has to do is keep an eye on Bunty, her extremely feisty ninety-something neighbour . . .

With her West Highland terrier Hamish at her side, Lucy plans to relax and read up on the women of nearby Bletchley Park. But the villagers of Little Maudley have other ideas, and she finds herself caught up in the campaign to turn a dilapidated telephone box into a volunteer-run library.

Along the way, she makes friends with treehouse designer Sam, and finds herself falling for the charms of village life. And it seems Bunty has a special connection to Bletchley and the telephone box, one that she's kept secret for decades . . 

Review

I was in seventh heaven reading this book! I just can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed it. Probably aided by the fact that Lucy has a West Highland Terrier and I loved how very true to life all of its antics and mannerisms were. If I had one gripe it would be that the dog on the cover of the book is no Westie!

Lucy has taken a break from a stressful teaching post and finds herself in a Cotswold village in a lovely cottage at a low rent, in return for looking in on an elderly neighbour each day. When we first meet that neighbour called Bunty she is a force to be reckoned with. But oh how she mellows and she also used to work at Bletchley in the war. So, along with Lucy I was enthralled at what went on in the war and her memories.

I think I've met everyone in the book in real life at some point. All the characters are so well drawn and of a wide age range. Stanley the Snake was a great addition to the book and I laughed so much when we first met him, I leave you to find out why and where.

This was such a delight to read. I feel I did live a little vicariously through the book and was so sad to finish it. Definitely a feel good book if you want a little escapism.

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

The Dilemma - B A Paris

Description

It’s Livia’s 40th birthday and she’s having the party of a lifetime to make up for the wedding she never had. Everyone she loves will be there except her daughter Marnie, who’s studying abroad. But although Livia loves Marnie, she’s secretly glad she won’t be at the party. She needs to tell Adam something about their daughter but she’s waiting until the party is over so they can have this last happy time together.

Adam wants everything to be perfect for Livia so he’s secretly arranged for Marnie to come home and surprise her on her birthday. During the day, he hears some terrible news. He needs to tell Livia, because how can the party go on? But she’s so happy, so excited – and the guests are about to arrive.

The Dilemma – how far would you go to give someone you love a last few hours of happiness?

Review

I found this book to be a very different read to previous B A Paris books which I loved so much. It wasn't a psychological thriller to my way of thinking at all. Difficult to describe without giving away the plot line.

There are twp dilemma's in the book but personally I found one of them to be unrealistic, hard to believe and not plausible.  If the dilemma had lasted a couple of hours, but it was a whole day and I found the whole thing was dragged out for far too long. I just kept asking myself "really!" who would do this? 

The ending was extremely raw, so sad and very well written. Certainly it was an emotional read, but not the book I thought it was going to be based on previous works. There is a final few pages on what happens one year later on which I am not sure was needed as it seemed to detract from the ending.  I would say if this is your first B A Paris do read the earlier works as they are truly psychological thrillers.

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

The Quality Street Girls - Penny Thorpe

Description

At sixteen years old, Irene ‘Reenie’ Calder is leaving school with little in the way of qualifications. She is delighted to land a seasonal job at Mackintosh’s Quality Street factory. Reenie feels like a kid let loose in a sweet shop, but trouble seems to follow her around and it isn’t long before she falls foul of the strict rules.


Diana Moore runs the Toffee Penny line and has worked hard to secure her position. Beautiful and smart, the other girls in the factory are in awe of her, but Diana has a dark secret which if exposed, could cost her not only her job at the factory but her reputation as well.


When a terrible accident puts supply of Quality Street at risk, Reenie has a chance to prove herself. The shops are full of Quality Street lovers who have saved up all year for their must-have Christmas treat. Reenie and Diana know that everything rests on them, if they are to give everyone a Christmas to remember…

Review

I was drawn to this book by the beautiful cover and the wonderful end papers. It really reminded me of the long ago Quality Street tins and not the ones today. The writing style unfortunately didn't grab me, but once I got to know the characters I was drawn in. Especially Renee who wanted to do so much good but didn't always get it right.

It certainly captures the naivety of a different time with the girls not being very worldly and plenty of misunderstandings afoot.

The book was written by the archivist from Mackintosh. I didn't discover this until the end of the book and actually her notes were so interesting that she could have just written a book without the story. This explains the well written social aspects of the book and for those alone it was worth reading for me.

Not particularly Christmassy you could read it at any time of the year.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Description

In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.

In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer's, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.

But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .

Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s beautiful, moving story – translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot – explores the age-old question: what would you change if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?

For fans of The Guest Cat and If Cats Disappeared from the World, Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a touching story about second chances and how we find and lose the ones we love.

Review

I love time travel books and books set in Japan, so for me this is a match made in heaven. I must say first though, that if you are a time travel fan, this is translated from Japanese. Meaning it is written in a very different way to most books of this genre and is not a western way of looking at the subject. 

For me this approach made the book all the better and I just loved it's whimsical approach to time travel. The whole book is set in a cafe with a the same characters at different times of their lives and how if they sit in a particular seat they can travel back in time. There are rules to the time travel such as they can only stay in the seat in the cafe once they have travelled back in time and they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold. Unlike most time travel theories in this explanation you cannot alter the future.

A thought provoking read covering delicate subjects such as dementia and bereavement. I loved the gentleness and calmness of the book. A perfect read for any time of year but a good one to unwind with.

I'm giving this book five out of five stars and my thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

Everything is Figureoutable - Marie Forleo

Description

The New York Times #1 Bestseller

'Millions of young women look to Marie Forleo as their inspiration for empowerment and achievement' Oprah Winfrey

'This book delivers a knockout punch to whatever is holding you back' Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild

Do you ever have trouble finishing what you start? Do amazing ideas come to you all the time but after the initial excitement wanes you struggle to follow through? If you're creative and ambitious, the answer is likely yes.

The problem isn't you. It's not that you're not hardworking, intelligent or deserving, but that you haven't yet installed the one key belief that will change everything: Everything is figureoutable.

Whether you want to leave a dead-end job, heal a relationship, grow a business, master your money, or just find two free hours in your day, Everything is Figureoutable will train your brain to think more positively and help you break down any dream into manageable steps.

Inside you'll learn:

- How to deal with criticism and imposter syndrome
- Why it's crucial that you strive for progress not perfection
- How to bounce back from failure
- How to overcome a lack of time and money

You'll also hear triumphant stories of everyday people using the everything is figureoutable philosophy to transform their life. Everything is figureoutable is more than just a fun phrase to say. It's a practical, actionable discipline. And it's about to make you unstoppable!

Review

Over the years I have read a lot of motivational and self help books. This one was not for me. There was a lot I already knew, but I didn't really like the style of the book. The book has a lot about how the author personally dealt with things in their own life. I have never heard of the author but gather she is very well known and certainly in the USA. Maybe if you know of her and are inspired by her as it seems many are, this is the book for you.

One of the things the author urges you to do is free up two hours a day and she's heard all of the excuses why you can't too. I have to say that when I studied I managed to fit in so many things and yet when I ended study each time that "extra" time magically disappeared. So a lot of what she said in this section did ring true for me and also the amount of time spent on social media, the internet etc. One piece of advice she gives is to leave emails for a few days before checking them. Personally if I left mine that long I would not be able to face my inbox. 

There are an awful lot of quotes in the book but there are also stories of real people that are inspirational. My take away from the book is this "Fact - use what helps, leave the rest" which is just what I am going to do. 

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

The Neighbours - Nicola Gill

Description

Meet Ginny, 34, and Cassie, 55. Neighbours, and (very) unlikely friends.

Some women have it all. Others are thirty-four and rent a tiny flat alone because they recently found their long-term boyfriend in bed with their boss. Ginny Taylor is certain her life can’t get any worse. But then she meets her downstairs neighbour…
 
Cassie Frost was once a beloved actress, but after a recent mishap she desperately needs a new publicist. And Ginny is a publicist who desperately needs a job – but can she be persuaded to work for the prickly woman who lives below her floorboards?
 
Ginny and Cassie are two very different women, but they have more in common than they’d care to imagine (or admit). And when their worlds collide, they realise that bad neighbours could become good friends…

Review

After a bit of a slow start to this book it turned out to be a great read.  I'm sure there will be comparisons with Bridget Jones and the narration by Ginny gives it a feel of that.  But it has a little more to it than an average chick lit book.The characters explore so many life issues within the pages, with some humour thrown in at times and great one liners.

One of the things I didn't like about the writing style was the author explaining what was happening without the preamble. It would work great visually but in a book I had to keep re reading parts, thinking I had missed something. So Ginny gets some notebooks - she's admiring them, where did they come from? Next paragraph describes her getting the notebooks from the person she was just talking to.

The book is more about Ginny and Cassie's friendship than the romances and I found this a refreshing change. There are some dark times in the book, which without spoilers is difficult to convey. Once I got to know Ginny and Cassie I found the book hard to put down and read about 3/4 of it in one sitting as I really wanted to find out what was to become of them both. 

I'm giving this book four out of five stars.

The Neighbours is released on 6 February 2020. My thanks to Netgalley