Tag: Book Lover

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Fiction Romance

One Day in Summer, Shari Low

One day in summer three lives are about to change forever.

The book starts with introducing Agnetha McMaster, mother of 20 year old twins. It is Agnetha’s 45th birthday and her daughters are encouraging her to reclaim her life and put herself first for a change. For the past 20 years she brought her children up, she took care of her elderly parents and she barely takes a day off at her job running the café which has been passed down through generations.

10 years ago Agnetha’s husband Mitchell, divorced her for her ex-best friend Celeste. Mitchell now suspects Celeste of having an affair. Is this karma for how he treated Agnetha?

Meanwhile, Hope McTeer, who was adopted as a baby, takes a DNA test and she is about to meet her biological father for the first time. Will she get the answers she hopes for?

The story is set between the past and present and told from multiple viewpoints. At the start of the story there was a list of all the characters which made me nervous that I would never be able to keep up and that the story could get messy. However, Shari is an exceptional storyteller, all the characters came together to tell the story and they were so well portrayed. I felt like I was part of their circle and living their experiences and emotions through them.

I read this book whilst away for a week and it made the perfect summer holiday read. The story is full of energy and humour, whilst it touches on themes including grief, betrayal, lost love and finding love again. I picked this up thinking it would be a break from my usual twisty thrillers, yet how wrong I was. ‘One Day in Summer’ is full of shocks and surprises, so much so that I could not put it down.

Categories
Fiction Thriller

Shame On You, Amy Heydenrych

‘Shame On You’ tells the story of social media sensation, Holly who is an influencer, the face of clean eating, and a cancer survivor. One evening Holly meets a man in a coffee shop. Whilst he seems friendly at first, the evening ends when he brutally attacks Holly. He makes it clear he knows who she is, yet she doesn’t know him. Who is this man and why did he attack Holly?

As the investigation follows. Holly’s life begins to spiral out of control. This is a story of how one tiny lie can have a rippling effect on your entire life.

Having read ‘The Pact’ by Amy Heydenrych earlier this year, there was no question as to whether I was going to give ‘Shame on You’ a go and it for sure did not disappoint. What I loved about ‘The Pact’ was how niche and well researched it was and it came as no surprise that Amy is a ghost writer for tech companies. This is the same for ‘Shame on You’. The book surrounds itself around social media, the influencer culture and how we ‘trial people’ by social media.  I have not come across many thrillers which are as modern and relatable as this thriller was.

I feel like I had a complete love/hate relationship with the main character. I felt bad for her because she was bullied at school and had a difficult home life. Yet, I hated her because of what she did. The same went for the man who hurt her. He did bad, but he lost his mum when he was young, he wasn’t allowed to grieve, and it was obvious he needed help and support. It wasn’t as clear cut as good vs. bad and I think Amy got this across to us very well. There was one quote in particular which was about women fitting in on social media and how if they don’t fit in then it can be seen as an invitation to harassment. This quote literally blew me away as it was very relatable and describes perfectly what we are up against in the influencer world. Whilst what Holly had done can be argued as inexcusable, these words provided an explanation for why she felt so under pressure to do what it is she did.

Overall, great themes and it really offered food for thought in today’s social media obsessed society.

Categories
Fiction Romance

An Accidental Life, Chelsea Cannon

Margaret Wilcox dreams of studying literature at college but with disapproving parents, who refuse to pay for a course which they believe has no purpose, Margaret’s aspirations for college are short-lived. When William Hill asks Margaret to marry him at the age of seventeen Margaret says yes as she doesn’t see an alternative life. William’s job allows her to stay at home, giving her time to read, and she remains a home maker and brings up their two children Michael and Emily.

Fast forward 15 years, and an opportunity arises for a screenwriting course. Margaret is desperate to sign up but the class is full. However, an opportunity arises which allows Margaret to sit the course, but it involves the need for her to live a double life. We all know lies don’t last forever and always have consequences- but what does this mean for Margaret?

At first I wasn’t sure what to make of this book! I loved it and hated it all at the same time! It was an easy, light read but also predictable and unrealistic. I found that the novel touched upon some great themes such as identity, being true to oneself and following our own passions in life, but I think the lack of depth let it down. There were areas where not enough attention was given to and the story seemed to skip out important bits, such as when Charles was born, what were William’s reactions at the time? And many other questions which I won’t state as I don’t want to give away spoilers.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of An Accidental Life in exchange for an honest review.

Categories
Fiction Historical Fiction Romance

A Ration Book Wedding, Jean Fullerton

Until I read ‘The Surplus Girls’ a few months ago, this had never been my usual genre of book to read. However, I seem to have grown a new love for historical fiction which was why I was keen to read ‘A Ration Book Wedding’.

Set in 1942, during The Blitz, Francesca Fabrino’s mind is occupied by Charlie Brogan, her best friend’s brother, who she has been in love with forever. Charlie, who is currently serving in North Africa, is already married to Stella, who has a questionable reputation.  

When Francesca begins a job as a translator for the BBC Overseas department, she meets Count Leonardo D’Angelo, who quickly falls for her but where does this leave Francesca’s feelings for Charlie?

‘A Ration Book Wedding’ was beautifully written. I felt like I got to know each and every character and was able to see the world through their eyes and feel the emotions they felt, and the descriptions of the era were depicted very well. With being new to this genre, I have not read the other books in The Ration Book series however this did not seem to be a problem and the book read fine as a stand alone. However, I am keen to read the rest of the series by Jean Fullerton.

Categories
Non Fiction Self help

Attention! Rob Hatch

‘Attention!’ is a guide for how we can reclaim power and make simple decisions in a world full of endless distractions. With information available to us at the tip of our fingertips and more choices available to us than ever before it is no wonder anxiety levels are extremely high. In fact, sometimes all this information and choices almost paralyses us as we feel inhibited to make simple decisions, which are best for ourselves in terms of happiness and success. As a result, Rob teaches us approaches to reclaim power so that we can confidently make decisions which are aligned with our wants and needs.

Throughout this book many topics are touched upon including how to ‘put success in your way’, how we can reduce decision fatigue and many tips to avoid getting distracted. In a period where working from home has become the new norm, I found the latter particularly helpful. For example, just one tip Rob suggests is how when he is working, he keeps a blank piece of paper on his desk so that if anything pops into his head he writes it down without allowing it to distract him from his work. I for one, often remember I need to pay a bill, order something online or make a phone call mid work, and that distraction takes me out of my focus zone. I often let these thoughts distract me as I fear I will forget to do it later, however by writing it down Rob knows he will remember to go back to it later without losing focus of his work. This was just one of many things I related to and have vowed to implement many of the practices Rob talks about in my own life.

Overall, a great guide and lots to take from it! Whilst, it could be argued that a lot of Rob’s ideas are not new and you may have heard them in some form before, it goes without saying that this book was full of brilliant reminders and certainly could not have come at a better time.

Categories
Fiction Romance

Very Nearly Normal, Hannah Sunderland

If you loved Sophie Kinsella’s ‘My Not So Perfect Life’ then you will love ‘Very Nearly Normal’

This novel follows the story of 28 year old Effie, who is still living with her parents, has a tragic love life, and has given up on her dreams to become a published writer. Effie’s so called best friend Kate appears to be living it up in a glamorous flat, with a successful career and is newly engaged whereas Effie lives under a black cloud. Her self-esteem and self-belief is drastically low and she doesn’t feel good enough and as a result she turns to the bottle to drown her sorrows.

Following a failed date Effie, meets Theo who encourages Effie to live out of her comfort zone. They write a to do list together and before you know it you are laughing and crying as we follow Effie’s on a journey of self discovery.

Overall, a very relatable and feel-good story. It is so easy to think everyone is doing better than us and that we should have reached the same goal posts but this story shows us how we all have our time to shine and that good things come to us all.

Categories
Fiction

A Good Father, Catherine Talbot

A Good Father is told from the perspective of Des, who lives with his wife Jenny and their 3 children. The book flicks between the past and the present day and Des is, as the title of the book suggests, A Good Father. However, Des also struggles with control, jealousy and obsession, which we see unwind throughout the tale.

From a psychological element I thought Des was an interesting character, I never knew whether to hate him or to feel sorry for him. I found that Catherine Talbot demonstrated Des’ complexities very well. However, I would have loved to have either delved more into Des’ past to try and understand how and why his personality was moulded that way, or to hear from Jenny to try and understand Des’ character from her point of view.

Overall, despite some parts of the book being slow I thought this was a decent psychological read and good for a debut novel.

I would like to thank Net-Galley and Penguin Books UK for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Categories
Fiction

I Made A Mistake, Jane Corry

I Made a Mistake: The compelling new thriller from the SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author of I LOOKED AWAY by [Jane Corry]

Having read other novels by Jane Corry I knew that I Made A Mistake would be a read which was hard to put down.  

Poppy Page is a mum, wife, and owns a successful extras agency. When her first love Matthew Gordon walks back into her life Poppy makes a huge mistake- and that mistake is more dangerous than one could ever imagine, which is bound to have a profound effect on the whole family.

The story is well written and told from 3 different perspectives; Poppy’s, scenes from The Central Criminal Court where Poppy gives evidence for a murder trial, and Betty’s, Poppy’s mother in law. I particularly loved how Betty’s story was told through a series of letters to Poppy which described her life with her late husband Jock. Betty appears to be a very loving mother, grandmother and mother-in-law, who at 70 years old is still full of life! Although she comes across very flawless, in letters to Poppy she unravels the mistakes she too made during her marriage and similarities are formed.

Primarily a thriller, I Made a Mistake also touches upon domestic transformations over the years. However, I was a little disappointed that at the end it is suggested that Poppy can’t be the best mum/wife and keep managing her agency.  Despite this, the book is well written, full of suspense and once again Jane Corry succeeds in leading you to believe one thing for the majority of the book and takes you by surprise at the end.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Penguin Random House for supplying me a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Non Fiction Self help

Confidence Lost/Confidence Found, Kate McGuinness

Unlike some self-help books Confidence Lost/Confidence Found is extremely useful. This book goes above and beyond offering more than your standard clichés and instead gives practical tips and offers the science behind them.

Having gone from high flying lawyer to questioning her self-worth, Kate reflects on her own experiences to help others. I for one have suffered from lost confidence and felt I could fully relate to Kate and found her tips useful and easy to implement into everyday life. This book focuses on small steps, which may seem trivial, yet they are less daunting and therefore much easier to achieve, meaning the results of these small changes are in fact life changing.


Not only did I love the summaries at the end of each chapter meaning that upon finishing the book I could easily revise the different sections but also throughout the book you are signposted to further resources. This is fantastic for those who want to learn or work more on specific aspect which is discussed throughout the book.

All in all, Confidence Lost/Confidence Found is a very empowering read and I believe we can all take something from this book.

Categories
Fiction Thriller

Haven’t They Grown, Sophie Hannah

The Leesons and the Braids were best friends. They did everything together but then their friendship came to a holt and they have not seen each other for 12 years.

One Sunday morning Beth Leeson takes her son to football. Upon realising she is near the former home of her old best friend Flora Braid she cannot resist to take a peak. Parked up opposite the house Beth is gobsmacked to see Flora and her two kids Thomas and Emily. Except Thomas and Emily look exactly the same as they did 12 years ago when they were five and three years old. But how can that be when they should be seventeen and fifteen now? Why haven’t they grown?

Determined to find out what is going on Beth goes back and tells her family. Her husband Dom comes on board as he starts to track down the Braids online but as Beth gets more and more obsessed with needing to know how and why this is possible, Dom takes a step back and encourages Beth to do the same. However, unwilling to drop the matter, and fearing Flora’s children could be in danger Beth continues her quest with the encouragement of her strong-minded daughter Zannah. Sophie Hannah takes us on a roller-coaster of a journey as Beth unlocks secrets and unravels the dark truth.

This was the first book I have ever read by Sophie Hannah and I enjoyed it very much! At first I wasn’t sure the imaginative plot was very believable but I thought the concept of the children not growing was very creative and something very different to other thrillers I have read before. Haven’t They Grown is definitely a page turner.