Category: Fiction

Categories
Fiction Historical Fiction

Christmas with the Surplus Girls, Polly Heron

It’s 1922 and Nancy Pike is rather settled at her job in the pie shop. However, her father encourages her to better herself and enrols her as a new pupil at the Hesketh’s school for ‘surplus girls’.

At first, Nancy struggles to find her feet the world of admin but lands two placements. One at St Anthony’s orphanage and another working for Mr Zachary Milner, who has a new start up business selling fire extinguishers. When Nancy makes a huge mistake, which comes at a huge financial cost to Mr Milner he has no choice but to let her go.

Nancy is determined to make things up to Mr. Milner but is also determined that the orphans have the best Christmas they have ever known! Will she succeed in spreading festive cheer?

Having thoroughly enjoyed The Surplus Girls by Polly Heron I was delighted to receive an ARC of Christmas with the Surplus Girls, which is book no.3 in the series. (Admittedly I haven’t read book no.2 but didn’t find this hindered me). It was lovely to see the return of some of the characters in the previous book and to delve deeper into their lives and what happened to them after the prequel.

Like the rest of the books in the series, Christmas with the Surplus Girls is very much themed on the life of women in the 1920s and the difficulties and prejudices they faced. This book had a particular focus on the stigma of pregnancy outside of marriage.

Overall, 5 stars. Polly Heron writes in a way which really takes you back to the era. Perfect for any historical fiction fans.

Christmas with the Surplus Girls will be published on the 1st January 2022. Thank you to Netgalley and Atlantic Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Categories
crime fiction Fiction

Trick or Treat, Katerina Diamond

It’s the morning of Halloween when six year old Marcus Carlyle is taken from outside his house. The only witness is a teenage boy who is up to no good and torn between doing the right thing and wanting to keep his wrongdoings a secret.

Following an anonymous tip off, Detective Imogen Grey is called to the street, where the abduction took place. However, when she visits Marcus Carlyle’s parents they claim everything is fine. But where is Marcus? Is there more than meets the eye? And if so, how much more?

Trick or Treat is the seventh book in the Detective Imogen Grey series. I have read one or two books from the series, and whilst I would love to go back and read the ones I have missed, I have to say that I did not find that having not read them all put me at a hindrance when reading this novel.

The thing which made me most enjoy Trick or Treat is the fact that Katerina Diamond is a remarkable storyteller. The book is complex; there are lots of characters within the book and lots of different story threads. Whilst sometimes this can be messy, Katerina Diamond has a way of developing all these leads enough to intrigue you, and pulls them together to shock and surprise you.

This book is dark and traumatic. It is certainly not for the light-hearted but it is compelling, full of twists and perfect for crime mystery lovers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for giving me an ARC of Trick or Treat in exchange for an honest review. Trick or Treat will be published on 14th October 2021.

Categories
Fiction

The Daughter’s Choice, S.D Robertson

It has always been just Rose and her Dad. Rose’s mum died shortly after she was born leaving her Dad to bring her up alone, so it is no surprise the two of them are extremely close.

It is the week before Rose’s wedding and her Dad treats her, and her best friend Cara, to a spa weekend.

However, when Cara is suddenly called away from the spa, Rose gets talking to a woman who is also at the spa alone. Their encounter leaves Rose questioning everything she has ever known.

The Daughter’s Choice is a journey to the truth. We all have heard the say ‘there are three versions of every story: mine, yours and the truth’. This is exactly how the book was structured, which I thought was very clever. We hear Rose’s story, we hear Cassie’s story, and then final section is ‘The Truth’. As well as truth telling, other themes touched upon in the book include families, single parenting, young parenthood, love, choices, forgiveness, and morality.

One thing I wish to praise S.D. Robertson on is how he really brought the characters to life for me. I wanted there to be a good person and a bad person, but ultimately all I could see was people who tried to do their best, by themselves and by everyone else. I felt that I could emphasie with each of them and felt their pain and the experiences they had to go through, and it really made me question and think about the moral dilemmas they had to face.

I would like to point out that I see a lot of reviews saying this book hasn’t got the shock factor or is ‘too predictable.’ Please remember this book is not a mystery thriller book, if you want that then this perhaps is not the book for you. If you want an emotional and thought-provoking family drama, then this is it, and that is exactly what the author achieves as he takes us on a this journey to uncover the truth.

Overall, an emotional and thought-provoking story, which reminds us of the lengths people go to protect their families, but also the pain which secrets can unravel.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Daughter’s Choice will be published on the 30th September 2021.

Categories
Fiction Thriller

Death on the Aisle, Kate Johnson


Death on the Aisle follows Molly Higgins as she prepares for her wedding to fiancé Conor. Except this isn’t any normal wedding. Conor is a celebrity and the pair take part in a celebrity wedding show, the benefits of which mean the show pay for EVERYTHING(!), but that means they have little say in how their special day goes.

Their assigned wedding planner is Kiranda Kell, who whilst very passionate about her job happens to be the most annoying person ever and there is no stopping to her imagination when it comes to wedding ideas! For Molly the day can’t come soon enough, as she continuously battles with whatever Kiranda’s newest flamboyant idea is,  however when Kiranda is found dead on the aisle as the title suggests, Molly takes it upon herself to solve the murder.

Death on the Aisle is a very well written and nicely paced mystery. I have to admit I nearly gave up at around 6% as I was struggling to keep up with the characters, however I am so glad I kept on as Kate Johnson developed the characters so well that I began to really immerse myself amongst them. I also thought the pace of the mystery unravelled nicely.

Admittedly, I was unaware the book was the third in a series so perhaps the characters would have made more sense had I of read the first two novels. However, aside from that, the book stands very nice alone and I don’t believe it is a necessity for you to read the first two to enjoy this one.

Overall, a very light hearted murder mystery. Four stars.

Categories
Fiction

Magpie, Elizabeth Day

Marisa has only known Jake a few months, but their relationship seems to be going well. Despite the concern of her good friend, Marisa gives up her rented flat, moves in with Jake and their relationship appears to accelerate quickly when the couple decide to have a baby together.

Everything appears pretty rosy for Marisa, that is until Jake suggests getting a lodger to help the couple financially and Kate comes to live with them. There is something not quite right about Kate. She seems far too obsessed with the couple, she asks way too many questions about the baby, and she just seems far too comfortable in their house. To Marisa something just doesn’t seem quite right, but why doesn’t Jake share her concerns?

Having read and enjoyed other books by Elizabeth Day I was very excited to read Magpie. If I am completely honest it took me a little while to get my teeth into this book but once I warmed to the characters, I began to fly through it, and the perseverance was worth it as I have never read a book with a plot quite like it. Without giving too much away, all I will say is the plot twist is incredibly clever.

Within the book many themes are touched upon including, but not limited to, mental health illnesses, expectations of women and family relationships. However, one overarching theme which I would like to touch upon is infertility. Elizabeth Day has always been very open about her own fertility journey and I thought the way infertility was touched upon through Magpie was done empathetically but it also came across as very real. I think this is a topic which is far more common than people realise yet can be difficult for authors to touch upon in a way which is detailed yet realistic. I would like to thank Elizabeth Day for bringing this topic to light in such a candid way.

I have seen in other reviews people have said that the end seems too tidy for such a complex life situation. I will comment on this and say I must agree to some extent. Is the ending realistic? Not really. Is it possible? Yes, you would have to be very lucky. However, this is a fiction story and who doesn’t like a happy ending?

All in all, 4.5 stars. Magpie is a very clever and compelling novel with a one-of-a-kind plot twist.

Thank you to Netgalley and 4th Estate for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Magpie will be published in the UK on the 2nd September 2021.

Categories
crime fiction Fiction Thriller

The Anniversary, Laura Marshall

On 15th June 1994 Travis Green walked through the streets of Hartstead and killed eleven of his neighbours. The final victim was four-year-old Cassie Colman’s father.

With the twenty-fifth anniversary approaching, the Hartstead shooting is brought back into the limelight and, like many, Cassie would rather forget the past. That is, until she discovers something which suggests that those murders did not happen quite like everyone said. However, unlike Cassie, not everyone is so keen for her to dig up the past.

The Anniversary is quite possibly the best crime fiction book I have read in a very, very long time. Having read one of Laura Marshall’s books before and remembering how much I enjoyed it, I was keen to read The Anniversary, and wow, it lived up to my expectations and more! I was thoroughly hooked the entire way through.

Some crime fiction books are predictable but this one was not in the slightest. The entire way through I was kept in suspense, and I truly did not expect any of the twists and turns.

Themes in the book included violence (including domestic violence), becoming a first time parent, single parenting, questioning morals and dementia. I thought the themes were handled sensitively and I actually really enjoyed how the author explored the idea of new parenting and how other parents make it look easy. Whilst I am not a parent myself, I enjoyed the whole façade vs. reality, and how the author dared to go down the route of a character who doesn’t make motherhood look like a breeze. I am sure a lot of parents will appreciate this.

I was sad to get to the end of this book and cannot wait for the next release by Laura Marshall.  All in all The Anniversary was a compelling read, full of twists and turns, and worthy of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. The Anniversary will published on the 5th August.

Categories
Fiction Historical Fiction

A Ration Book Daughter, Jean Fullerton

A Ration Book Daughter is the fifth book in The Ration Book series and is focused around Cathy Brogan and her son Peter. If you have read the previous books, then you will know Cathy is stuck in an unhappy marriage and is living with her horrible mother-in-law, who treats her terribly.

When Cathy’s husband Stanley is declared missing in action, it comes as no surprise that Cathy begins counting down the days until she can be declared a widow and be free of her violent husband. Cathy dreams of a big family, like the one she herself grew up in, and has given up on this dream, but then she meets Sergeant McIntosh and finds herself falling for him. Can she find the love she deserves? Certainly not if her mother-in-law has anything to do with it!

Having previously read A Ration Book Wedding I was very excited to read A Ration Book Daughter and was certainly not disappointed. I was already invested in the characters, and was excited to continue my journey with them. I love Jean Fullerton’s style, her writing really allows you to immerse yourself in the story, and she has really made me grow on historical fiction as a genre.

The themes in the book really made me think about how society has changed (and perhaps not changed enough) since WWII. For example the position of women in society. Today if a woman was stuck in Cathy’s situation you would hope she could up and leave. However, for Cathy and other women at that time, they relied on their husbands wages to live on, and there was more stigma attached to a woman who left an unhappy marriage than there was to a man who treated them so horrifically. Other themes touched on in the book include war, racism, abuse, relationships and love.

Overall, whilst The Ration Book series doesn’t hide us from the brutalities of the war, and is great to learn more about family life during WWII in a fictitious way, this was a very cosy and heartwarming read. If you haven’t read all the previous books then this isn’t necessarily an issue, although I am keen to go back and read the ones I have previously missed.

Thank you to Readers First, who gave me a copy of this book pre publication in exchange for an honest review.

Categories
Fiction

Everything is Beautiful, Eleanor Ray

11 years ago Amy Ashton’s best friend and boyfriend disappeared without a trace. They must have run away together is the obvious conclusion. At first Amy is not convinced, but with it being 11 years later and still no answers, there is little else left for Amy to believe.

Over the years Amy begins to collect things. It started with things related to the case and things which reminded her of her past and better times. However, now her house is full of lots of things; things which people would consider junk, but which Amy finds meaning in and uses to fill the gaps her losses have left her with.

It isn’t until a new family move in next door that an incident occurs in Amy’s garden which leads her to discovering a clue. Is it enough to lead Amy to finally uncover the truth about the past?


Everything is Beautiful is a fantastically written novel. Structured with chapters which switch between the past and the present- this was particularly helpful to understand who the main protagonist Amy was and how she got to where she is now. As the past helps us to understand what she once had and why she is drawn to certain things.

I felt very drawn to Amy and thought that her character was well thought out. At the beginning she comes across as someone who is a bit of a recluse and very lonely, perfectly happy in her own company with her many belongings. However, as the book moves on you begin to realise that is not the true Amy.  It is difficult for Amy to move on when she is holding on to the past and has not ever had closure. At first it is almost unimaginable to think Amy can change and live the life she deserves, however, this is where Eleanor Ray gets it so wonderfully perfect, as with all situations in life, not everything is black and white or is it always linear. As we move through the book, we see that Amy still has so much to give and experience.

Themes in this book include but are not limited to love, loss, hope, healing and hoarding. I particularly loved that Eleanor Ray delved into the topic of hoarding. I think sometimes those who hoard can be really judged. Those who do not understand may see it as a choice or as simply lazy and therefore it can be seen as a taboo. However, as we see in the novel, hoarding is normally a sign of a deeper problem, which for Amy was her past and all the sadness she had experienced. I thought Eleanor Ray got this message across in a very sensitive way and I would hope it would have brought a greater understanding to many readers.

Overall, this is a story of hope. It truly felt like a hug in a book and without a doubt it deserves 5 stars.

Categories
Fantasy Fiction

The Midnight Library, Matt Haig

Trigger Warning: Suicide

Nora Seed feels trapped in her life, she views herself as a failure, and has many regrets. Regrets about giving up swimming, regrets about old break ups, regrets about not moving to Australia…The list goes on! What if she had only made the opposite decision, perhaps her life could have been completely different!

One night Nora finds herself tempted by suicidal thoughts. It is at this point that she finds herself in a library. However, this is not just any library. This is the library between life and death, full of infinite shelfs with infinite books. Each book providing a chance to see and live a life, where Nora made different decisions.

After seeing how her life could have panned out had she made different choices, does Nora still regret her decisions? Or does she realise that she is already living a fulfilled life.

The Midnight Library is a fantasy/sci-fi novel which carries philosophical teachings. Touching upon themes such as suicide, regret, mental health and living in the present.  I never thought fantasy was for me, however The Midnight Library has shown me otherwise. A lot of the quotes and philosophy behind this novel will stick with me for a long time.

Having enjoyed Matt Haig’s other books, I was really excited for this book to come out. However, I never rushed to read it. Why? Probably because I enjoy knowing I still have a book on my ‘to read’ list, which I can almost guarantee I can enjoy. I finally got a copy for Christmas and sadly just three days later I lost my sister to suicide. For anyone who has experienced suicide, you may know how no matter what you did or how much you tried to help, it does not stop you from tormenting yourself with the ‘what ifs’. It was at that point I was glad I had not rushed to read this book and it could not have come to me at a better time.

Overall a deeply meaningful, comforting and thought-provoking read. 5 stars.

Categories
Fiction Thriller

The Lies We Tell, Jane Corry

What would you do if your only son came home one night and told you he had killed someone? Would you hand him in? Or, would you go to great lengths to try and protect him?

That is the dilemma which Sarah and Tom are faced with, when 15-year-old Freddie comes home one evening and tells them exactly that.

The book rewinds back to the past and takes us on the journey of how Sarah and Tom met. Two, very different, people with very dissimilar traits and personalities, both of whom have experienced turbulent pasts and mistakes.

Overall, this book centres around the moral dilemma, of would you protect your child if they told you they murdered somebody, or not? Sarah takes a more nurturing approach, whereas Tom wishes to call the police. I think for some this may seem too far fetched- you may like to hope you would do the obvious right thing- but Jane Corry has a way with writing which really makes you feel Sarah’s pain. She wanted to be a mother to correct the wrongs of her own up-bringing, she suffered multiple miscarriages, therefore for Sarah the pain of giving up her son is unfathomable.

Jane Corry is one of those authors who I know will not let me down, and The Lies We Tell did not fail to impress. Her writing is spot on. The characters in the book, were well thought of, not just the main protagonists but also those supporting, such as Olivia and Gladys, and the pace was perfect. Whilst a huge timeframe was fitted in to one book, it did not drag and it kept my attention. The novel was full of twists and turns and every time you thought you knew you didn’t.

Overall a great book. A solid 4.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin General UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.