coming soon........

So pleased to be on the blog tour for this one on 19 October - check back then for my review.

The Perfect Dress - Louisa Leaman

Description

Fran’s wedding dress shop isn’t like any other. A treasure trove of history, filled with gowns from every decade for every type of bride. But not as you’d expect.

Something bold for the shy and retiring.
Something simple for the woman who is unafraid to stand out.
And something dazzling for the bride who wouldn’t normally dare to be different.

No matter your expectations, you’d never guess your own perfect dress. But Fran knows… she feels the wisdom woven into every gown, a gift from the previous owner waiting to be handed down to the next bride.

When Fran finds a dress that seems to be perfect for her she can’t wait to know its complex history which starts with her getting to know the son of the previous owner…

Review

What an absolutely lovely book this is, especially for someone like me who loves fashion, fabric and arts and crafts. The author's sumptuous details of all of these themes made the book an absolute haven for me. She even had a reference to William Morris and his home in Walthamstow. 

Fran runs a vintage wedding dress shop but there is so much more to it than that as she traces the history of the original owners of the dresses. She also has a kind of second sight and can sense things by holding dresses. Early on in the book there were some things Fran did that I thought a little strange, but I just went with it whilst wondering if she was trying to self destruct at times.

I loved the part where the Instagrammer wanted a wedding dress, so on trend and believable too. All of the fashion details were spot. I also liked the veiled reference to the Liz Hurley dress, easily missed and not important to the story,  but for someone who knows fashion it was the icing on the cake.

Mixed in with all of this is a little romance (and a little saucier at one point) at times it felt almost Austen like with a modern day twist in it's plot. I just loved the ending.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars and look forward to more from this author.

My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC to review.

Entanglement - Andrew J Thomas

Description

Five friends, four mysteries, three deaths, two road trips and a secret that will change the world ...

Entanglement is a quirky mystery with a sci-fi twist that’s influenced by the humour of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman.

David Marston drops out of contact, and his fiancé is worried. A secret research base vanishes, and MI5 is nervous. Then a colony of moles goes missing, an ordinary house brick appears out of thin air, and intertwined with it all is the story of a woman continually shifting between parallel worlds. But how can all this possibly be connected? And why are cakes so important?

Entanglement is a warm, funny and original tale about friendship, loss and coping when you’re out of your depth. It also invites the reader to ask, “What if?” What if that person at university had said yes? What if you hadn’t answered that voicemail?

Review

I love time travel books and whilst this isn't strictly time travel, it's time displacement! As the travel is from one parallel world to another.  Now, apparently something has to exist in all parallel worlds in exactly the same form and it's CAKE! Which I was very pleased about!

The book is written very much in the style of Douglas Adams and at times I almost felt the lines had been lifted and reworded from THHGTTG. It also reminded me of the Jasper Fforde novels, so needless to say if you've enjoyed either of those writers, you will enjoy this book. If you are more serious minded and don't like frivolity, or seemingly senseless ideas then this is not the book for you. For instance in the library Three Little Pigs is filed under Construction and Project planning not nursery rhymes, as it's seen as construction best practices!

I have a slight criticism regarding the dialogue, as at times it read more like it was written by Enid Blyton for The Famous Five, slighty too formal and staged for the 21st century to my liking. Also the footnotes. On a kindle it is a little annoying to try to keep going backwards and forwards, not like a paperback where you can just flip to the end.

What kept the book afloat was the fabulous mystery and the documentation of travel between the parallel worlds. I was certainly kept entertained and when the little twist came ( I hadn't seen it coming) it was certainly an "ah ha" moment the author can be proud of.

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

Eat Yourself Healthy - Megan Rossi

Description

'Learn to love your gut with this jam-packed book from Dr Megan' - Jamie Oliver

'I've learnt so much from Megan, looking after my gut is now a priority and I feel so good for it. She's a huge inspiration to us' - Ella Mills, author and founder of Deliciously Ella

The go-to lifestyle guide for a happy gut that will transform your health and wellbeing.

Drawing from the latest research and a decade of experience as a dietitian and consultant at The Gut Health Clinic, Dr Megan Rossi explains how to feed your gut for a happier, healthier you using simple, delicious and gut-boosting recipes.

Eat Yourself Healthy is packed with over 50 delicious, easy-to-make meal ideas from delicious breakfast options such as banana, fig and courgette breakfast loaf and chickpea crepes, to crowd-pleasing dinner recipes including creamy pistachio and spinach pesto pasta and mouth-watering satay tofu skewers.

Alongside Dr Rossi's gut-friendly recipes, Eat Yourself Healthy also includes expert advice on how to deal with common complaints such as IBS and bloating, diagnose food intolerances, and manage good gut health with sleep and exercise routines.

Supercharge your digestive health and transform your overall wellbeing with this ultimate guide that promises to make you happier and healthier from the inside out.

Review

I was given an ARC of a sample of this book to review. I can only base my thoughts on the part of the book I was able to read.

I have an interest in maintaining a healthy gut as I have some issues from time to time. Most of what I read in this book was new to me.

My take aways from this book are:- the advice to ask yourself these questions "How will I feel if I continue versus if I stop?" and What will my life look like in one year if I continue versus if I stop". I felt these two pieces of advice could be applicable to any change in your life and worth remembering. The other one is to eat misshapen fruit as apparently it contains more polyphenols.

There are also some good recipes in the book including one for Prebiotic chocolate bark and my favourite Banana, fig and courgette breakfast loaf which I hope to make.

There is a website which when you have a full copy of the book you can access certain things such as a stress assessment. As I haven't seen these extras I can only comment that it seems a useful addition to the book, however, how detailed they are I am unsure of.

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars and my thanks to netgalley for the sample to review.

The Postscript - Cecelia Ahern

Description

The long-awaited sequel to the bestselling PS, I Love You 

It's been seven years since Holly Kennedy's husband died – six since she read his final letter, urging Holly to find the courage to forge a new life.
 
She’s proud of all the ways in which she has grown and evolved. But when a group inspired by Gerry's letters, calling themselves the PS, I Love You Club, approaches Holly asking for help, she finds herself drawn back into a world that she worked so hard to leave behind.
 
Reluctantly, Holly beings a relationship with the club, even as their friendship threatens to destroy the peace she believes she has achieved. As each of these people calls upon Holly to help them leave something meaningful behind for their loved ones, Holly will embark on a remarkable journey – one that will challenge her to ask whether embracing the future means betraying the past, and what it means to love someone forever…

Review

Having read PS, I Love You several years ago I was unsure whether this book would be a worthy sequel or indeed spoil my memory of the first book.  I am happy to say that it is definitely a worthy sequel and left my memory of PS I Love You intact and maybe even a little enhanced.

On beginning to read the book my initial thoughts were that this was going to solely feature the "PS, I Love You Club". This is a club set up by terminally ill people who heard of Holly and Gerry's letters and want to do the same themselves. The book is actually so much more than that; with Holly providing more back story to her and Gerry, and ultimately her yet again coming to terms with Gerry's death.

I read this book a couple of times on public transport which was a mistake. It's not that the story is inherently sad or weepy, but the ordinariness of it just grabbed me out of nowhere, and I was on the verge of tears. There are as can be expected some sad moments, but for me it was more of the everyday events which tore me up a little. They were written so cleverly and beautifully it never felt like I was reading a book. 

I really enjoyed this book and I'm giving it 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollinsUK for the ARC to review.

The Nursery - Asia Mackay

Description

ASSASSIN. MOTHER. WIFE. MEET THE NEW HEROINE FOR OUR TIMES.

Lex Tyler is trying to have it all, but being a working mother is so much more difficult when you're a secret agent for an underground branch of the security services. Platform Eight have been tasked with tracking down and eliminating the traitor in MI6 who has been selling information to the highest bidder through a headhunting website for the criminal underworld that connects intelligence operatives with all manner of bad people with a simple right swipe.

Deals get made. Secrets get sold. Missions fail. Agents die. Lex's own home life is not much easier. With a husband who rings her in the middle of a gunfight to complain she's yet again forgotten to pick up his dry-cleaning, and a two-year-old daughter who has a newfound love of biting, surviving both the Terrible Twos and a traitor might just be too much for one exhausted mother to handle.

Killing Eve meets Mick Herron in this gripping and witty page-turner about having it all, keeping it all and surviving it all.

Review

This is the second book by this author that I have read. The first, Killing It, was the prequel to this book, but you can easily read this as a standalone book; but why would you? I enjoyed this book even more than the first one, but by reading Killing It you get twice the enjoyment. You can find my review of the first book "Killing It" here.

We meet Lex again in this book, it's two years later on and her daughter Gigi is now a toddler. Lex is still an undercover operative for Platform Eight whilst juggling Motherhood, picking up her husbands dry cleaning and ensuring her daughter behaves herself at nursery.

Lex really does step up the action in this book, but true to form there are still those who under estimate her, and I loved it when she held her own. There's also Mrs Moulage, she was the first ever female agent and another strong female character who I loved. Lex is using her real life knowledge in her role - such as giving suspects names from Peppa Pig, after all who is going to think it's odd. So many laugh out loud moments in this book too, whilst at the same time being a very credible thriller.

If you think James Bond/Jason Bourne etc is a little unrealistic, then you need to read these books.  I can see whilst this is fiction it could actually be so true. Especially the use of social media and those public announcements we hear.

Also in this book Gigi has a voice now and she knows how to use it! - I hope she becomes a little mini me in the future.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars and await book three........... My thanks to Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK for the ARC to review.

The Understudy - Sophie Hannah; Clare Mackintosh; B A Paris; Holly Brown

Description

Written By Sophie Hannah, BA Paris, Clare Mackintosh, and Holly Brown, this psychological thriller is perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Louise Candlish

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO PROTECT YOUR DAUGHTER?

Carolyn, Bronnie, Elise, and Kendall are bound together by one thing - their four daughters are best friends at the highly competitive Orla Flynn Academy for the Performing Arts.

Imogen Curwood is a new girl at the Academy and her behaviour is odd from the start. On the day she arrives, bad things start to happen. As one threatening incident follows another, the four mothers begin to ask themselves: are their girls in danger?

When an attempted murder rocks the school, Imogen is pleased to report that she has an alibi. If she isn't the guilty party, someone else must be.

Carolyn, Bronnie, Elise and Kendall are determined to uncover the truth and protect their daughters. But are they prepared to risk their own secrets being exposed?

THE UNDERSTUDY IS THE OUTSTANDING NEW NOVEL FROM FOUR MASTERS OF SUSPENSE

Review

I was intrigued by the multiple authorship of this book. I have read books by B A Paris and that really drew me in and the knowledge that the other authors are also well regarded. 

Four mothers and their daughters - eight characters first off to keep track on and I couldn't. Which daughter was with which Mother I kept trying to recall as I read on. I would have thought that the different authors would have each had a voice but they for me just didn't.

The four girls are all budding stars, friends whilst also frenemies at times, the same can be said for their Mothers too. A new girl arrives and upsets the dynamics of the group - she has no Mother with her so she was slightly easier to keep track of. 

I didn't warm to any of the main characters and once the "mystery" was just about solved I actually groaned out loud. I really began to lose interest in the book. I did though make it to the end - just.

Disappointed in this book. A minor point, it's set in England and yet throughout American spellings are used which just kept annoying me.  I'm giving it three out of five stars. My thanks to Netgalley for a ARC to review. The book is out on 3 October.