Murder Before Evensong - The Reverend Richard Coles

 

Description

Canon Daniel Clement is Rector of Champton. He has been there for eight years, living at the Rectory alongside his widowed mother - opinionated, fearless, ever-so-slightly annoying Audrey - and his two dachshunds, Cosmo and Hilda.

When Daniel announces a plan to install a lavatory in church, the parish is suddenly (and unexpectedly) divided: as lines are drawn, long-buried secrets come dangerously close to destroying the apparent calm of the village.

And then Anthony Bowness - cousin to Bernard de Floures, patron of Champton - is found dead at the back of the church, stabbed in the neck with a pair of secateurs.

As the police moves in and the bodies start piling up, Daniel is the only one who can try and keep his fractured community together... and catch a killer.

Review

I was expecting so much more than I got from this book. 

As I began reading this book I assumed it was set in the present day. References to Tenko and To the Manor Born being on the TV made me rethink that. I decided it must be the 1980s - rechecked the blurb, but no clues there.  Then a character had what the Rector thought was a mobile phone in her handbag - he had never seen one. Well, in the 1980s a mobile phone was still very brick like, and not found in a ladies handbag! I was there. 

Finally a clue (not about the storyline) - a Eurovision song was mentioned and it put the year at 1988. Meanwhile all this guesswork had distracted me from the story. It still read more like 1958 than 1988 to me and reminded me of the style of Barbara Pym.

I was 25% in before anything actually happened in the story and was beginning to wonder how long it would take to continue to "scene set". Far too many characters had me getting them muddled up, apart from the Rector and his family, and the rather awful Stella.

As you would expect the writer had the church scenes absolutely correct. Right down to the squabbling and in fighting with Church committees and such like. But for me it was too detailed in the high Church goings on, bible quotes and Latin references - The Vicar of Dibley this is not. I found it extremely dry reading.

At 74% there began to be a sort of Hercule Poirot moment of grey cells working and something caught my attention. Unfortunately it soon lapsed back to being a plod of a book for me. I did read to the end as I had invested so much in it. I wanted to know whodunnit!

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

Thrown - Sara Cox

 

Description

The wise and gloriously big-hearted debut novel from the much-loved broadcaster, Sara Cox

Becky: a single mum who prides herself on her independence. She knows from painful experience that men are trouble.
Louise: a loving husband, gorgeous kids. She ought to feel more grateful.
Jameela: all she's ever done is work hard, and try her best. Why won't life give her the one thing she really wants?
Sheila: the nest is empty, she dreams of escaping to the sun, but her husband seems so distracted.

The inhabitants of the Inventor's Housing Estate keep themselves to themselves. There are the friendly 'Hellos' when commutes coincide and the odd cheeky eye roll when the wine bottles clank in number 7's wheelie bin, but it's not exactly Ramsay Street.

The dilapidated community centre is no longer the beating heart of the estate that Becky remembers from her childhood. So the new pottery class she's helped set up feels like a fresh start. And not just for her.

The assorted neighbours come together to try out a new skill, under the watchful eye of their charismatic teacher, Sasha. And as the soft unremarkable lumps of clay are hesitantly, lovingly moulded into delicate vases and majestic pots, so too are the lives of four women. Concealed passions and heartaches are uncovered, relationships shattered and formed, and the possibility for transformation is revealed.

Review

What a wonderful read. An amazing debut novel which reads like it has been written by a seasoned author.

Sara Cox best known to me for her radio work. She was a previous presenter of The Great Pottery Throwdown TV programme and she obviously gained a lot of knowledge which shines through in this book. The dialogue is very descriptive about the processes and equipment but not so overdone that it is boring.

Four women from very different backgrounds all come together for a pottery class. Each of them it turns out has a little mystery going on in their lives which we get to find out about. There are some delicate issues that are dealt with very carefully and sensitively.  Great to have a real diverse set of characters.

I loved all the four main characters and was so intrigued about what was going on in their lives. One of them I felt for more than the others. I had my heart in my mouth at times hoping for the best outcome. There is some great humour in this book, and I frequently heard Sara's voice ring out to me when some cracking one liners were delivered.

I relished picking this book back up and rejoining the action. I would definitely read another book by this author.

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

Meredith Alone - Claire Alexander

 

Description

Meredith Maggs hasn't left her house in 1,214 days.But she insists she isn't alone.

She has her cat, Fred. Her friend Sadie visits when she can. There's her online support group, StrengthInNumbers. She has her jigsaws, favourite recipes, her beloved Emily Dickinson, the internet, the Tesco delivery man and her treacherous memories for company.

But something's about to change.

First, new friends Tom and Celeste burst into her life, followed by an estranged sister she hasn't spoken to in years, and suddenly her carefully curated home is no longer a safe place to hide.

Whether Meredith likes it or not, the world is coming to her door . . .

Review

Absolutely loved this book.

Meredith hasn't left her home in 1,214 days. You might think this won't be much of a story as she only has her four walls and a cat for company. But you would be wrong - I was hooked from the beginning into this wonderful and realistic tale.

I just loved the character of Meredith and got so caught up with her that I felt her every emotion so deeply. The portrayal of all the characters really brought them alive and I could picture all the details of the scenes so clearly in my minds eye.

Meredith has a visitor called Tom - he's part of a support group and she's not happy he's in her space. She has a real life friend called Sadie who visits with her children so she's covered for friends. She's much happier with a friend called Celeste from an online support group who stays online - just like she prefers. Except maybe things are about to change and with the help of Tom and Celeste Meredith gets a little braver.

It takes a while for us to discover why Meredith hasn't left her home and I was dreading it being revealed. With flashbacks to Meredith's past throughout the book we begin to see she didn't have the best upbringing and is now estranged from her family.

I felt a bit lost when this book ended. I had read it in two sittings and to suddenly not have Meredith in my life left a big space. 

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to penguinrandomhouse for my proof copy of this book to review.

The Only Exception - Claire Huston

 

Description

Lucinda Green knows something is missing from her life. But what? Her catering business is enjoying modest success and she loves her cosy house, even if she does have to share it with her irritating ex-fiancé. 

 

Whatever’s making her unsettled and edgy, Lucinda’s certain that a lack of romance isn’t the problem. How could it be when she doesn’t believe in true love?

 

But Lucinda’s beliefs are shaken by a series of electric encounters with Alex Fraser, a newly notorious actor who gradually proves himself to be infuriatingly funny and smart, as well as handsome. 

 

Not that any of that matters. Because Lucinda doesn’t believe in all that ‘The One’ nonsense. That’s the rule.

 

But doesn’t every rule have an exception?

 

This uplifting grumpy-meets-sunshine romance is perfect for fans of Phillipa Ashley, Katie Fforde and Trisha Ashley.

Review

This is the 3rd book by Claire that I have read and enjoyed. It shares locations and a character (Becky) with her first book, but you don't need to have read that book to enjoy The Only Exception, which is a self-contained love story.

The book begins with an alarming incident in a lift, and this is where Lucinda also first encounters Alex Fraser. Turns out Alex is very well known as a public figure, to everyone except Lucinda. So, despite the initial spark, she's happy to stay in her own little bubble.

Of course once she meets Alex again and so do her friends, she realises he is a little more than she first realised when she got off on the wrong foot with him. Lucinda is far too busy with her catering business for any romance and she has enough on her plate living with her ex fiancé too. Meanwhile she discovers Alex has a significant other who is a budding IG star, she really doesn't need to get involved.

I loved the characters of both Alex and Lucinda. Their partners not so much. I got really quite irate about the way his girlfriend Nicole treated Alex.  So of course I spent the book wishing Alex and Lucinda would get together, but it seemed it was not to be, as so many obstacles and mis understandings intervened. I really enjoyed my time settling down with the story.

Claire always invests time in a back story for her characters and makes them and their careers believable, and this book was no exception. I really relished the insights into the acting and catering worlds. 

There was also a twist that I never saw coming. I had to rethink very quickly one of the characters whom I had formed a strong opinion about in my mind from the start of the book.

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

About the Author

Claire Huston lives in Warwickshire, UK, with her husband and two children. She writes uplifting modern love stories about characters who are meant for each other but need a little help to realise it.

A keen amateur baker, she enjoys making cakes, biscuits and brownies almost as much as eating them. You can find recipes for all the cakes mentioned in Art and Soul, her first novel, at clairehuston.co.uk along with over 150 other recipes. This is also where she talks about and reviews books.

Social Media Links

You can also find Claire on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads and Pinterest: https://linktr.ee/clairehuston_author

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies - Deesha Philyaw

 

I'm so pleased to be on the blog tour for this book today.

Description

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies explores the raw and tender places where Black women and girls dare to follow their desires, and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good.

There is fourteen-year-old Jael, who nurses a crush on the preacher's wife; the mother who bakes a sublime peach cobbler every Monday for her date with the married Pastor; and Eula and Caroletta, single childhood friends who seek solace in each other's arms every New Year's Eve.

With their secret longings, new love, and forbidden affairs, these church ladies are as seductive as they want to be, as vulnerable as they need to be, as unfaithful and unrepentant as they care to be – and as free as they deserve to be.

Review

A collection of short stories that are sure to stay with you for many years to come.

Each of these stories is a jewel with many facets. I am amazed at how one author can write such varied and unique voices, and be so observant of differing human traits. If you are a people watcher you will definitely enjoy these stories.

I really enjoyed all of these stories so very much. Each one was just the right length and the writing was really rich and inviting. If I had to pick a favourite it would be Peach Cobbler. Told through the eyes of a young girl who thinks the Pastor is God himself. It was so full of humour but also with heart wrenching reasons why her Mother does what she does.

Another story that was full of humour for me was  "Instruction for Married Christian Husbands" written in a totally different style, hard hitting and didn't keep anything back. 

Perfect to dip in and out of or just read all in one go - as I did, just couldn't stop.

If I had one request it would be that the author had put a recipe for Peach Cobbler in this book. Two of the stories feature it, and it really made me want some.

I'm giving this book a well deserved 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Pushkin Press for the tour invite and to netgalley for the ARC to review.

People Person - Candice Carty-Williams

 

Description

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of QUEENIE comes a propulsive story of heart, humour, homecoming.

People Person is a triumph. Caleb Azumah Nelson

Wonderful. Marian Keyes

I loved it. Sara Collins

It's as warm and infectious, as familiar and true as Queenie. Diana Evans

IF YOU COULD CHOOSE YOUR FAMILY...

YOU WOULDN'T CHOOSE THE PENNINGTONS.

Dimple Pennington knew of her half siblings, but she didn't really know them. Five people who don't have anything in common except for faint memories of being driven through Brixton in their dad's gold jeep, and some pretty complex abandonment issues.

Dimple has bigger things to think about. She's thirty, and her life isn't really going anywhere. An aspiring lifestyle influencer with a terrible and wayward boyfriend, Dimple's life has shrunk to the size of a phone screen. And despite a small but loyal following, she's never felt more alone.

That is, until a catastrophic event brings her half siblings Nikisha, Danny, Lizzie and Prynce crashing back into her life. And when they're all forced to reconnect with Cyril Pennington, the absent father they never really knew, things get even more complicated.

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of QUEENIE comes a propulsive story of heart, humour, homecoming, and about the truest meaning of family you can get when your dad loves his jeep more than he loves his children.

Review

I wanted to read this book based solely on loving her first book "Queenie". I wasn't really sure what this book was going to be about, and I was in for such a surprise.

Dimple Pennington meets her half siblings once, many years ago along with the reader. Then we are in  fast forward to the present day and she meets them all again in very different circumstances. It was at this point I was totally hooked into the book. I wasn't prepared for being so invested in all of the characters, but I was and I feel like I'm going to miss them now it's all over.

The writing is once again just brilliant and the words flew off the page and fired up my visual imagination. I was so caught up in the plot that I told other people about it as I read it,  who then also wanted to know what happened. 

The biggest character has to be Cyril the father of the siblings with four different women. I loved getting to know more about each of the Mothers and how they had come to know Cyril. Such wonderful character writing throughout the book kept me engaged. My favourite character was Nikisha. A strong female lead who I championed as I read.

So, what was this book about? Lives, loves, prejudices and a crime! I'll be first in line for the next book Candice writes.

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

The Northern Lights Lodge - Julie Caplin

 

Description

Escape to the cosiest little lodge in Iceland for love, log fires and the Northern Lights…

With a shattered heart and her career completely in tatters, Lucy needs to get away from her life in the UK. But, when she takes a job as hotel manager of the Northern Lights Lodge, she doesn’t quite expect to find herself in a land of bubbling hot springs and snowflake-dusted glaciers – and in the company of gorgeous Scottish barman, Alex.

Determined to turn her life around, Lucy sets about making the lodge the number one romantic destination in Iceland – even though romance is the last thing she wants. However, as Alex and Lucy grow closer under the dancing lights of the aurora, Lucy might just learn how to fall in love again…

Review

A lovely gentle read.

I've read all the Julie Caplin novels in this series apart from this one, which I came across in a charity shop the other week. Despite having many other books to read and review I couldn't resist starting this one and I wasn't disappointed.

Set for the most part in Iceland, I just loved the descriptions and glimpse into the culture that Julie provides. I enjoyed the descriptions of hotel life and the camaraderie between the staff and the insight into their characters. 

With a number of things going wrong at the Northern Lights Lodge and the Huldufólk (elves) getting the blame, can Lucy turn the lodge around? She's the latest in a long line of managers who've tried and quit. Of course they didn't have the benefit of Alex being around. He's a barman who has maybe more to him than he appears to be as well as catching Lucy's eye.

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