Angie, 6, and sister Polly, 4, are utterly distraught when they arrive to stay with foster carer Cathy Glass. Their older half-sister Ashleigh has accused their father of something horrible, and the two young sisters have been removed from home to keep them safe.

Cathy tries to comfort the girls, but they are inconsolable. They just want their mummy and daddy, whom they love dearly.

The girls appear to have been well looked after, but as they settle and start to talk of life at home, it becomes clear something is badly wrong. Then a chance remark sets in motion a chain of events that eventually changes everything.

My Thoughts:

I have read all of Cathy’s books and loved following her and her family, I feel as though I know them. This time we follow Cathy as she fosters Angie and her sister Polly, they arrive and have to be fostered by Cathy because of what their older sister Ashleigh has accused their father of. The girls are young and understandably distraught at the thought of leaving their parents and their home. But as usual Cathy is absolutely brilliant with them and has such a heart of gold. All the stories are sad, but they really drive home that there are children suffering in the world. Also it was interesting to see what fostering is like in Covid times. Great catch up with Cathy and her family. Look forward to the next book.

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Ivy, Mateo and Cal used to be close – best friends back in middle school.

Now all they have in common is a bad day. So for old time’s sake they skip school together – one last time.

But when the trio spot Brian ‘Boney’ Mahoney ditching class too, they follow him – right into a murder scene.

They all have a connection to the victim. And they’re ALL hiding something.

When their day of freedom turns deadly, it’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out . . .

My Thoughts:

This is my first book from Karen, I liked the sound of the blurb, three friends decide to skip school and when they see another class mate skipping school too, they follow him and he leads them to a murder scene. What the hell happened here? we see it all unravelling through out the story. It is more of teen crime for me, I just found it a bit over dramatic and a bit silly. It was not my favourite unfortunately. It could of been a lot better.

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MISSING
When Gemma Kline is reported missing after setting off on a solo hike in the remote Pennines, her sister, Sarah, is dumbfounded. How can someone disappear without a trace?

PRESUMED
Travelling to the isolated town where Gemma was last seen, Sarah discovers it’s not the first time a young woman has vanished from the hills in mysterious circumstances. As she digs deeper, it quickly becomes apparent that neither disappearance is what it first seems – especially when unwelcoming locals share chilling tales about what’s really lurking on the moors…

MURDERED
Whatever has happened to her sister, one thing is clear: this town has secrets someone would kill to keep. But even on the fells, nothing stays buried forever…

My Thoughts:
I really liked this story, I liked how both girls stories ran along side each other and intertwined with each other. It set a good pace right from the start and kept me entertained till the end. I wanted to know what would happen. It is such a fresh idea and one I have not read before. Sarah is on the hunt for her sister to a isolated town where her sister was last seen, but with the locals being mysterious and a bit suspect what actually has happened to her sister and will Sarah be able to find her before it is too late? A really good story, I felt as though you could almost feel as though you are there. You could cut the tension with a knife and it all felt very unpredictable. A great thriller.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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CAT LADY [n.]
Single, independent, crazy, aloof, on-the-shelf, lives alone . . .

It’s safer for Mia to play the part that people expect. She’s a good wife to her husband Tristan, a doting stepmother, she slips on her suit for work each morning like a new skin.

But beneath the surface, there’s another woman just clawing to get out . . .

When a shocking event shatters the conventional life she’s been so careful to build, Mia is faced with a choice. Does she live for a society that’s all too quick to judge, or does she live for herself?

And if that’s as an independent woman with a cat, then the world better get ready . . .

Fresh, funny and for anyone who’s ever felt astray, CAT LADY will help you belong – because a woman always lands on her feet.

My Thoughts:

I loved this book so much, having a cat I felt as though I could relate to Mia. The story is all about Mia and her life, she has a husband and a step child and her gorgeous cat. But there is something missing in her life, so she decides to break free and see what life has in store for her. It is a story that makes you think about what you have in your life and what matters to you the most. It was such a emotional but funny story that you just have to read it. Dawn is such a fantastic writer, she has a way to pull the reader into her books and forget about the real world. I loved it.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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What if your dream house became your worst nightmare?

Jess and her husband need a new start. So when the chance to buy a rambling old house in the Suffolk countryside comes up, they leap at it.

But not everyone in Suffolk is welcoming. The locals know a secret about the Maple House, and soon, Jess realises they’ve made a huge mistake.

Something bad happened in that house. Something nobody wants to talk about.

Something to do with the people before…

My Thoughts:

I loved the sound of this book and when reading it you can definitely feel the atmosphere is tense and creepy. A family decide to make a fresh start in Maple House, but what has happened there before, why are people not very welcoming? strange things are going on and Jess and her family don’t know what to do. Will they uncover the deadly truth of the house? I have to say for me it was a slow burner but when it got going it was good. It sets the scene at the start with things happening and going wrong and then you in for a hell of a ride with twists and turns at every corner where you least expect them. I had no clue were this story was going to lead and I could feel the tension and unease just sitting reading it. The ending left me stunned. I cannot wait to read more of Charlotte’s books in the future.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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When Julia Child arrived in Paris in 1948, ‘a six-foot-two-inch, thirty-six-year-old, rather loud and unserious Californian’, she barely spoke a word of French and didn’t know the first thing about cooking.

As she fell in love with French culture – buying food at local markets, sampling the local bistros, and taking classes at the Cordon Bleu – her life began to change forever. We follow her extraordinary transformation from kitchen ingénue to internationally renowned (and internationally loved) expert in French cuisine.

My Thoughts:

After watching the film Julie and Julia, I have been fascinated with Julia Child and her life so being able to read this book was my idea of heaven. I got to know so much more about Julia and I loved the way there are photographs in the book. It was a fascinating and eye opening read, with some delicious sounding recipes that made my stomach growl. Reading this book you can see how affectionate and humbling Julia is. It was a wonderful and charming read and I am so glad I had the chance to read it. I now want to go and watch the film again even though I have watched it many many times.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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How did life begin? How does it end? What happens to those qualities that make each of us alive as individuals after the bodies they animated die and disappear?

Taking inspiration from Sir David Attenborough’s maxim ‘Nature wastes nothing’ and drawing on the wisdom of commentators as varied as NASA astronauts, the Dalai Lama, existential philosophers, a couple of prescient teenagers and even an engagingly ‘human’ gorilla – Hope . . . and the Hedgehog distils the thinking behind the principal interpretations of creation, before presenting them to the reader in an easily digestible summary.

This is not a religious book and nor does it extol religion – rather it offers the same kind of assurance Bear Grylls presents to his readers. In the same way, it helps unpick the enduring puzzle that prompted Steve Jobs, creator and co-founder of Apple, to enigmatically describe death as ‘Very likely the single best invention of life.’ Which reinforces the importance of hope addressed here.

My Thoughts:

I really had no clue what to expect from this book, I found it such a thought provoking and inspirational read, one that I will go back to time and time again. I really took my time to savour each page and the quotes I enjoyed reading, I feel they give the reader a guidance through life, personally I have found this book very helpful. After reading a chapter or even just a quote it makes me appreciate my life and what I have. It made me take some time out of my day to sit and think about what I had just read. I really hope it helps other people, it is such a positive book. Also I loved some of the illustrations in the book, it made it more special for me.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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Thirty years ago, Vincent King became a killer.

Now, he’s been released from prison and is back in his hometown of Cape Haven, California. Not everyone is pleased to see him. Like Star Radley, his ex-girlfriend, and sister of the girl he killed.

Duchess Radley, Star’s thirteen-year-old daughter, is part-carer, part-protector to her younger brother, Robin – and to her deeply troubled mother. But in trying to protect Star, Duchess inadvertently sets off a chain of events that will have tragic consequences not only for her family, but also the whole town.

Murder, revenge, retribution.

How far can we run from the past, when the past seems doomed to repeat itself?

My Thoughts:

So many people had said how good this book was so had to get in on the hype, I am very late to this party but I don’t really see what all the fuss is about. For me the names of people got to me, and I couldn’t see past that. It is a slow burner, not a lot of stuff happens for a bit in the first half of the story. The chapters are short and sweet and the second part was better than the first but still it was not my favourite read.

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The astonishing new portrait of the master of spy fiction, by the woman he kept secret for almost half his life

John le Carré led a life entirely constructed of secrets. First as a British ‘spook’ during the Cold War, then as a world-renowned writer of espionage fiction, but also in his personal involvements. He guarded his private life with fierce determination, so that even when he finally permitted his life story to be written, there was still one element he insisted be excluded: the women.

Married with children for virtually all his adult life, le Carré – David Cornwell – had a number of secret affairs, usually conducted abroad with women encountered by chance on his travels. These relationships were always intense, dramatic, even tragic, yet each was destined to last no more than a few months. But there was one love affair that withstood the test of time; just one woman in all his life whom he took into the innermost sanctum of his writing and his heart.

My Thoughts:

I had heard of Le Carre but never read any of his books, so I went into this memoir with open eyes not really knowing much. I feel as though he may have written best selling books but he spun the same line to each and every women who so much as looked in his direction. It is an honest account of love and betrayal and one that people might not be able to get their heads around. I still don’t really get it after reading the book, I just don’t feel I learnt much about him. I just feel sorry for his family.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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Returning to her home town of Wishing Tree is definitely temporary for Camryn. She can’t wait to leave and get back to her ‘real life’. Until she meets Jake. Suddenly Camryn starts to see the town, and it’s Christmas traditions, differently. She thought she’d put her future on hold…but maybe her real life was here all along, waiting for her to come home.

New in town, River is charmed by Wishing Tree’s Christmas traditions and warm-hearted people, especially Dylan Tucker whose snow melting kisses bring her to the brink of love. But Dylan has a secret and River can’t risk falling for him until she uncovers it, even if that means losing him forever.

Both women find themselves faced with difficult decisions. But if they are prepared to risk their hearts, they might find they are about to have a Christmas to remember…

My Thoughts:

If you are after a heart warming festive read then this is the book for you. Camryn is moving back to The Wishing Tree where she used to live. What’s changed since she has been away? She has now become the guardian of her teenage twin sisters. It is such a small town but the people that live there add the charm and friendliness that makes you want to go and visit. I have never read any books by Susan and I can see how much warmth and love she brings to her books. The characters really come alive through out the pages and I wanted to leap in and be part of it all. A good happily ever after read.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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