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White Lies & Wishes By Cathy Bramley

White Lies & Wishes By Cathy Bramley

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white lies

What happens when what you wish for is only half the story…?

Three strangers and a funeral, that’s all it takes for these women’s lives and wishes to intersect. Death has a funny way of showing you what you really want out of life… or so they say, anyway.

Jo is flirty and a little after thirty, but what she really wants is to get her business back on track and conquer her fear of heights. That’s what she’ll say when asked, anyway. She has things to prove and finding love can always wait…

Sarah has the best of both worlds, baby in one hand and job in the other. All she wants is to get that promotion, then all those missed bath times will be worth it. So she says, anyway. She can’t stop to think about it too long or she might drop something…

All Carrie wants is to shift the excess pounds and look good for summer. Wearing a bikini is all she has ever desired. So she has always said, anyway. But it’s not the only weight she’s carrying, dark secrets from her past are threatening to surface…

So the three unlikely new friends set themselves a deadline to get their lives in order; juggling blokes, babies and bikini bottoms along the way. There’s nothing to stop them from achieving their dreams – except those little white lies we all tell…

My Thoughts:

I am a big fan of Cathy’s books, there is just something lovely about curling up with one of her books and escaping from everyday life. The story is about three women who get to know each other and become good friends. I loved reading each women’s story, it was real life. I warmed to all three women and felt as though I was part of their friendship.

Get your copy here:

Kindle edition

https://www.amazon.co.uk/White-Lies-Wishes-Cathy-Bramley-ebook

Paperback

https://www.amazon.co.uk/White-Lies-Wishes-Cathy-Bramley

The Girlfriend By Michelle Frances

The Girlfriend By Michelle Frances

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the girlfriend

She loves your son. She wants your life. How far would you go to protect your son?

Laura has it all. A successful career, a long marriage to a rich husband, and a twenty-three year-old son, Daniel, who is kind, handsome, and talented. Then Daniel meets Cherry. Cherry is young, beautiful and smart but hasn’t led Laura’s golden life. And she wants it.

When tragedy strikes, a decision is made and a lie is told. A lie so terrible it changes their lives forever .

My Thoughts:

This is a psychological thriller at it’s best. I loved the fact that the places in this book are around where I live. They even mention Worcester park where I do actually live and there is a pet shop. Creepy. I was hooked from start till the end, I didn’t want to put this book down. I was surprised to learn this is a debut novel, I have a feeling more good things are going to be coming from Michelle and I look forward to them.

Get your copy here:

Kindle edition

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girlfriend-Gripping-Debut-Psychological-Thriller-ebook

Paperback

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girlfriend-Gripping-Debut-Psychological-Thriller

The Breakdown By B A Paris

The Breakdown By B A Paris

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the breakdown

It all started that night in the woods.

Cass Anderson didn’t stop to help the woman in the car, and now she’s dead.

Ever since, silent calls have been plaguing Cass and she’s sure someone is watching her.

Consumed by guilt, she’s also starting to forget things. Whether she took her pills, what her house alarm is, and if the knife in the kitchen really had blood on it.

My thoughts:

I was really looking forward to the next book by B A Paris and I had previously loved Behind Closed Doors. All the characters are good but I found myself getting really annoyed with Cass, it is like if your getting phonecalls just turn your phone off or get a new one. I didn’t feel as though I connected with this book until near the end when there is a dramatic twist. Then I loved it, shame it came so late but I did enjoy it.

Get your copy here:

Kindle edition

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Breakdown-gripping-thriller-bestselling-author-ebook

Paperback

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Breakdown-gripping-thriller-bestselling-author

Visions of the Heart By Julia Sutton

Visions of the Heart By Julia Sutton

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julia sutton

The first year at Chattlesbury University is coming to an end. Five students have become friends, and their lives are progressing both academically and personally.

Forced to mature too soon, can Will’s life ever be the same again?
Crippled by personal loss, can Evelyn overcome her grief?
Secrets and revelations threaten to destroy the world that Sophie knows.
Can Juliette’s growing love for one man overcome opposition from those around them?
Ann is striving for the one thing that will fulfill her personally.

Life and dreams collide in Visions of the Heart, as five characters encounter new challenges. It is an uplifting story of optimism, love, loss and the tenacity of human spirit.

My Thoughts:

This is book 2 in the the School of Dreams series and I would recommend reading the first book so you can get to know all the characters. I found all the characters realistic and like real people. There is romance and intrigue, I wanted to know what would happen with the characters, luckily there is going to be a book 3 which I am really looking forward too.

I won this book in a competition.

Get your copy here:

Kindle edition

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Visions-Heart-School-Dreams-Book-ebook

Paperback

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Visions-Heart-2-School-Dreams

 

Happy Days of the Grump By Tuomas Kyro

Happy Days of the Grump By Tuomas Kyro

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happy days

Maybe there’s a little grump in all of us . . .

The Grump, at eighty years old, is more focused on death than life; building his own coffin and keen to write his will in ink – who can trust technology, after all? – he knows that everything was much better in the old days.

But when the Grump finds himself in hospital after falling down his basement steps, his life passes before his eyes. Thinking of the people closest to him and reflecting on the changes society has brought about, he realises he must come to terms with the cards life has dealt him.

My Thoughts:

At 80 years olf the Grump decides to start making his own coffin and writing his will. I’ve never read a concept of this book before. I really did feel as though it was an 80 year old man speaking these words. I found it a heart warming story, it dealt with serious issues but there was a bit of comical on the side.

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

Get your copy here:

Kindle edition:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Happy-Days-Grump-feel-good-bestseller-ebook

Paperback:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Happy-Days-Grump-feel-good-bestseller

Invisible Woman By Sarah Long

Invisible Woman By Sarah Long

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invisible woman

Isn’t it about time we talked about YOU?

Tessa, Sandra and Harriet have been best friends through first crushes, careers, marriage and the trials of motherhood. After twenty years of taking care of everyone else’s every need, they’ve found themselves hitting the big 5-0 and suddenly asking themselves: ‘what about me?!’

Sandra has a sordid secret, and Harriet is landed with her ailing mother-in-law. Tessa is looking for something to fill the gaping hole left by her youngest daughter’s departure for uni, where it seems she’s now engaged in all sorts of unsavoury activities, if Tessa’s obsessive late-night Facebook stalking is anything to go by.

When Tessa impulsively responds to an online message from an old flame, she soon finds herself waiting at Heathrow Airport for The One That Got Away.

But what will the plane from New York bring her? The man of her dreams, or a whole heap of trouble?

And could this be the long-awaited moment for Tessa to seize her life, for herself, with both hands?

My Thoughts:

This is the story of three women who are best friends. You get to find out about each women and their lives they are all different women but it is lovely to see how close they are and how they help each other out. I don’t necessarily agree with what they do with their lives whilst the husband is away the cat will play but I can kind of see where they were coming from as it was like the husbands needed a shove in the right direction. There are a few funny moments that bring this book to life.

I received an advanced reading copy of this book for an honest review.

Get your copy here:

kindle edition:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Invisible-Women-Time-Talk-About-ebook

Paperback:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Invisible-Women-Time-Talk-About

 

The Watcher By Monika Jephcott Thomas

The Watcher By Monika Jephcott Thomas

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the watcher

This title will be released on October 10, 2017. 

It’s 1949 when Netta’s father Max is released from a Siberian POW camp and returns to his home in occupied Germany. But he is not the man the little girl is expecting – the brave, handsome doctor her mother Erika told her stories of.

Erika too struggles to reconcile this withdrawn, volatile figure with the husband she knew and loved before, and, as she strives to break through the wall Max has built around himself, Netta is both frightened and jealous of this interloper in the previously cosy household she shared with her mother and doting grandparents.

Now, if family life isn’t tough enough, it is about to get even tougher, when a murder sparks a police investigation, which begins to unearth dark secrets they all hoped had been forgotten.

My Thoughts:

I always find stories about POW camps very interesting as you learn what the people that were sent to them had to endure. This story centres around Max who has just returned to his family after coming from a POW camp. He struggles in every day life, then there is a tragedy but who is to blame? The story also centres around his daughter Netta and we see her reaction to her father returning as a different man and how she copes with it. A really interesting story.

I received a advanced copy of this book for an honest review.

Get your copy here:

Kindle edition:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Watcher-Monika-Jephcott-Thomas-ebook

Paperback:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Watcher-Monika-Jephcott-Thomas

The Woman at 72 Derry Lane By Carmel Harrington

The Woman at 72 Derry Lane By Carmel Harrington

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carmel

 

On a leafy suburban street in Dublin, beautiful, poised Stella Greene lives with her successful husband, Matt. The perfect couple in every way, Stella appears to have it all. Next door, at number 72 however, lives Rea Brady. Gruff, bad-tempered and rarely seen besides the twitching of her net curtains, rumour has it she’s lost it all…including her marbles if you believe the neighbourhood gossip.

But appearances can be deceiving and when Stella and Rea’s worlds collide they realise they have much in common. Both are trapped in a prison of their own making.

Has help been next door without them realising it?

My Thoughts:

I found this a very powerful novel. It is about two ladies who live next door to each other and how their lives change when they meet each other. The story took me on a emotional rollercoaster, I found both of the ladies Stella and Rea stories really sad and was willing for a happy ending. From this story I realised that you are never alone and that you never know what is going on behind closed doors.

I received an advanced reading copy of this book for an honest review.

Get your copy here:

Kindle edition:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Woman-72-Derry-Lane-emotional-ebook

Paperback: pre-order as it is not released until November 16th.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Woman-72-Derry-Lane

Everybody’s Somebody By Beryl Kingston

Everybody’s Somebody By Beryl Kingston

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beryl

Rosie Goodison is not one to shy away from life’s problems. Whether it’s finding work or challenging injustice, she squares her shoulders, sets her chin high and faces it full on. Born at the end of the nineteenth century, in the rural south of England and sent into service aged just twelve, Rosie quickly discovers that many people spend their lives toiling for very little reward, whilst others ‘have it all’.

Whilst working as a housekeeper Rosie starts to learn more and more about the world, gleaned from overheard conversations and discarded newspapers. This prompts a thirst for knowledge that will prevail for the rest of her life.

Rosie aspires to have a better life than that of her parents: better living and working conditions, better education for her children, to be able to vote, to be able to control how many children she has…

Without realising it, this young woman is blazing a trail for all of those who are to come after.

Whilst working in London, Rosie meets her sweetheart Jim, but The Great War puts paid to their plans, and she, along with the rest of society, must try to deal with the horrors and losses.

All that remains of Rosie now is a quartet of paintings in an art gallery. The artist is now famous, but the model is unnamed and forgotten; nobody of consequence.

But everybody has a life story.

Everybody’s Somebody.

My Thoughts:

I do like a good historical read especially when it is something I am interested in. This is Southern England up until 1939 and we see how Rosie Goodison copes with life as a twelve year old girl. It is a tale about a young girl who makes the best of what life throws at her. I found her a strong and determined young girl. The descriptions are very well detailed and very informative. I felt I learnt a great deal about that era from this book. I liked the dialogue too it made it more realistic. I hope there is a book two as it seemed like the ending wasn’t really finished with yet.

I received an advanced reading copy of this book for a honest review.

Get your copy here:

Kindle edition:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Everybodys-Somebody-Beryl-Kingston-ebook

Paperback:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Everybodys-Somebody-Beryl-Kingston

Doing Scary By Donald M. Bell

Doing Scary By Donald M. Bell

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doing scary

This title will be released on October 5, 2017. 

Two marriages haunted by betrayal. Four people whose pursuit of the American Dream has taken a nightmarish turn.

Roman and Sage Bryant-Cole have spent nine months trying to salvage what was left of their marriage after it was rocked by the revelation of Roman’s serial affairs. Sage is dealt a second blow when she discovers that her cherished cousin, Owen Bryant, has been cheated on by his ruthless, gold-digging wife, Leah.

Sage’s discovery hits the reset button on the progress she and Roman had been making on their marriage, as all the doubts and fears she has tried to suppress come flooding back. In order to reclaim Sage’s trust, and to save a love now left dangling by a thread, Roman must take his efforts to win back his wife to another level.

Leah and Owen Bryant are visited by a ghost from their past; Leah’s college sweetheart, Casey. Leah and Owen must confront a dark secret at the heart of their marriage, if they are to stand a chance of surviving as a couple.

One family’s legacy, two marriages, four lives, and millions of dollars are at stake.

My Thoughts:

I found this read very informative and that the author has clearly done their research. I liked the concept of the book two different marriages that are affected by a betrayal and to see what becomes of them in the end was interesting. I did find myself skimming over some of the more informative side as it did get a little too much but I can see where the author was coming from. I really hope this book helps people that are in that situation.

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

Get your copy here:

Kindle edition:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doing-Scary-Donald-M-Bell-ebook

Paperback:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doing-Scary-Donald-Bell