The Slimming Foodie Everyday Meals Every Day: Healthy Dinners for the whole Family By Pip Payne

The Slimming Foodie Everyday Meals Every Day: Healthy Dinners for the whole Family By Pip Payne

Perfect for home cooks of all levels, this book will take the stress out of mealtimes, with recipes that are fuss-free and use everyday ingredients that won’t break the bank. Including a chapter for each day of the week, plus four weekly meal plans and shopping lists, it has never been easier to eat well after a long day!

My Thoughts:

I couldn’t wait to get my copy of this book, I have been after a cookbook that has some great healthy dinners that are a bit different to the norm. This cookbook has over 100 recipes so I felt spoilt for choice. I like how the book is set out , and I always like cookbooks that have pictures to inspire you. The recipes look easy enough to follow and there are also some sweet treat recipes at the back too. All the recipes look mouth watering and I cannot wait to try to make some. I liked the sound of the mac and cheese lasagne, sausage and mushroom ragu and pretty much all of the other recipes too. I also liked the fact that there are sauces you can make too. It was a very knowledgeable and inspiring cookbook.

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

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The Summer Swap By Sarah Morgan

The Summer Swap By Sarah Morgan

It’s never too late to start over again …

A summer escape

When Cecilia Lapthorne’s 75th birthday celebrations take an unexpected turn, she seeks solace away from the festivities and escapes to Dune Cottage – without telling her family where she’s going.

A new friendship

Lily Thomas, a struggling artist, has secretly been staying in the unoccupied cottage. When Cecilia discovers Lily during a late-night visit, an unexpected bond forms between the two women.

A chance to start over

Then Cecilia’s grandson, Todd – and Lily’s unrequited crush – shows up, sending a shockwave through their unlikely friendship. Will it inspire Lily to find the courage to live the life she wants? Can Cecilia finally let go of the past to find a new future? Because as surely as the tide erases past footprints, this summer is offering both Cecilia and Lily the chance to swap old dreams for new …

My Thoughts:
The story is split into two with two very different women’s stories that intertwine somewhere along the way. Cecilia’s birthday is on the way and she wants nothing to do with the festivities that her daughter is arranging for her. No one understands how she is feeling and how she just wants to get away from her old life. So she takes a leap of faith and stays at Dune Cottage. Lily is struggling with her life and what people do not know about her is that she is staying at Dune Cottage for free, well she does the cleaning for the place and no one is residing there for now so why should she not? when Cecelia and Lily’s paths collide, they would never expect how much empathy and similarity they have. A great summer read, that I could not put down. Full of emotion, reality and hope.

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

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The Grass Widow By Vanessa Edwards

The Grass Widow By Vanessa Edwards

Ditched by her married lover Hugh on the day she was made redundant, Leonie plans to make life difficult for Hugh while she searches for a new job. She inveigles her way into his house as a cleaner, intending to plant fake clues to his new liaison for his wife Amanda to find. But instead she discovers real clues to Amanda’s secrets.

Meanwhile, fellow cleaners Brenda and Tina also have hidden agendas as they work: Brenda is counting on a spot of blackmail and Tina is looking for financial information to sell to her dodgy brother-in-law.

At the centre of this web is Amanda’s gardener Simon: handsome, ruthless and plausible, with a shady past and lofty ambitions.

A death in an apparent accident arouses Leonie’s suspicions. Can she put aside her animosity towards Amanda and use her impressive – if sometimes unorthodox – investigative skills to find the truth before someone else dies?

My Thoughts:

Leonie’s life is not going right now how she wanted it to go, she has no job and her lover who is a married man doesn’t want her anymore, but she is going to get her revenge on the man she thought she would spend the rest of her life with. Complicated. She sets out on her revenge plot but would never in a million years find out something that his wife is hiding from him. Everyone has secrets but who is ready to admit them? I liked how the story is believable and how the characters are too, the story has been dealt with sensitively and written very well. I really thought the ending was cleverly done and I felt satisfied at the end.

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

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The Estate By Denzil Meyrick

The Estate By Denzil Meyrick

Succession meets And Then There Were None.

Every family has a secret.

The mega-rich Pallanders are used to luxury – a castle in the Scottish Highlands, a villa in Tuscany, a billion-dollar fortune and an island in the Caribbean – but their perfect life is about to be shattered.

Every father has a favourite.
Sebastian Pallander dies, leaving a pitiful amount of money to his wife and children. His family fight over the scraps as old rivalries and bitter jealousies come to the surface. And when Pallander’s son is killed in mysterious circumstances, everyone suspects foul play.

Every killer has a motive.
After a desperate race for survival, the relatives gather at their estate to weather the storm. They all begin to wonder: who will be next? Where has all their money gone? And will any of them get what they truly deserve?

My Thoughts:

When Sebastian Pallander a very wealthy man dies, the family all think they are going to be getting a big pay out but what they don’t realise is everything is not as it seems. They family fight and argue what they think is rightfully theirs. When another tragedy strikes, is there something going on behind the scenes where the reader now questions if everyone is playing fair? It was a great and captivating story. It starts off on a steady pace but soon is tense and on edge as the family gets what’s coming to them. They are all greedy and dishonest with each other. It made me question a few things about what the outcome could be. It was a cleverly written mysterious story that I really enjoyed.

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

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The F**k It List By Melanie Cantor

The F**k It List By Melanie Cantor

Meet Daisy. She’s just caught her boyfriend shagging someone else at her fortieth birthday party. She’s camped out in her childhood bedroom. And it looks as if her dream to have a baby has gone down the pan.

Time for a F**k It! list?

Don’t miss this triumphant comedy about a woman taking on the world on her own terms.

My Thoughts:

Wow what a read, I could not believe the plot when I read it but unfortunately this happens in real life. It was one of those reads that make you go oh my god I cannot believe what Daisy has gone through. I really felt for her and wanted her to get her happy ever after. She has caught her boyfriend cheating and life is over for her but is it? she makes a plan and it involves the f**k it list and puts matters into her own hands about how her life is going to be. A smart and witty read, it is one of those reads that you just don’t want to put down. It was very funny in parts and uplifting too. Daisy is going to be an inspiration to the many women out their who have had their hearts ripped out of them. A great read.

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

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Prickly Company By Kitty Johnson

Prickly Company By Kitty Johnson

Frances Mathews doesn’t get out much since her husband died, but that doesn’t stop her from jump-starting a campaign to create a hedgehog highway in Hilltop Place―feeding stations, holes at the bottoms of gates and fences, and wild garden areas for hibernation. To Frances’s delight, her neighbours are on board. Mostly.

There are Jess and Michael, whose marriage is cracking under the unanticipated strain of a recent adoption. And Ryan, a wounded war reporter struggling to connect with his son after a divorce and forced to return to an exasperating parental fold. Plus, a very forthright single mum new to the neighbourhood and an exceedingly proper couple not about to upend their picture-perfect garden for prickly nuisances.

As relationships―from the romantic to the nerve-racking―form and secrets are unearthed, Hilltop Place is threatened in ways that affect them all…unaware hedgehogs included. What Frances and her charitable neighbours soon discover about themselves and each other is hardly what any of them expected.

My Thoughts:

Frances loves hedgehogs and she will do anything and everything to protect them where she lives. Even her neighbours want to help the hedgehogs well almost all of them. Each neighbour has their own life they are living and this story shows how the hedgehogs help each of Frances neighbours in many ways than one. I love the community feel around this sweet and uplifting story. I really liked Frances and what she is about, she is very caring and has made me feel as though I can adjust my garden to help the hedgehogs. Also the hedgehogs are a massive hit. A story you will want to read.

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

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The Second Chance By Charlotte Butterfield

The Second Chance By Charlotte Butterfield

Nell has always known her expiry date.

After a psychic predicted her death date twenty years ago, she has lived life accepting she would never see forty – embracing adventure and travelling the world, choosing fun over commitment and laying down roots.

So, when the fateful day comes, Nell feels ready. She sends five excruciatingly honest confessions to her sister, parents and past loves, knowing she won’t be around to face the consequences. Then, with her heart laid bare, all that’s left to do is check into a glamorous hotel and wait for the inevitable…

But when Nell unexpectedly wakes up the next morning broke, single and very much alive, she must figure out exactly how to seize this second chance at life. And then it also hits her:

What on earth happens now that everyone knows how she really feels?

My Thoughts:

When Nell gets the harsh news twenty years ago that she will never hit forty by a clairvoyant, she has lived her life to the fullest, so near to the time she starts selling all her things and telling loved ones things she would not of said if she was to live. She has no way of knowing how it will happen but just that it will happen on this particular day. But for Nell it doesn’t happen this way or that way or any way really, she wakes up and is still on planet Earth much to her surprise. Then she realises things are not as they seem and it feels her with dread what she has said to her loved ones, will they be able to forgive and forget? It was one of those stories that is life affirming, it is thought provoking too. It was full of wit and funniness and it was a easy read that is the perfect pick me up.

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

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Date with Destiny By Lucy Vine

Date with Destiny By Lucy Vine

Ginny is about to turn 32. It’s a year she’s been thinking about for a long time. Sixteen years ago she crossed paths with a psychic who made some key predictions about her thirty-second year…

Three bad things: A heartbreak, a loss of independence, and a death.

Three good things: A life-changing trip, reconnecting with someone, and meeting her soulmate.

The issue is that Ginny is due to get married in a month… but it’s all nonsense, obviously. But when some of those pesky predictions start coming true she starts to wonder what might happen next…

My Thoughts:

A while back Ginny went to a psychic who told her when she hits 32 years old, there will be some things happening in her life, some good and some bad. Well… Ginny is here right now and what is going to happen? will any of the predictions come true? It was an uplifting and funny read that had me in stitches. I loved the characters and the way the book made you want to cheer for Ginny. It was full of warmth and humour. You can’t really go wrong with this book and I would recommend reading if you need a bit of cheering up.

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

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The Trip By phoebe Morgan

The Trip By phoebe Morgan

The perfect holiday. The perfect crime.

Four friends on the holiday of a lifetime. Until a vicious murder shatters their paradise.

Four friends who’d do anything for each other, until now.

Only one of them committed a crime.

But all four know how to keep a secret.

And they’re all guilty of something…

My Thoughts:

When four friends go on holiday together, they would never imagine the horror that the trip would ensue. As the story flows, we see that each of them have something that they are willing to hide. I liked how each chapter is a different persons point of view, it makes it more interesting for the reader. The story has a steady pace but ramps up half way through and makes you feel on edge wondering what is going to happen. It was full of mystery and intrigue and a big twist. It was a great read again from Phoebe.

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

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The Kill List By Nadine Matheson

The Kill List By Nadine Matheson

He will come for them, one by one…

Five shocking murders

Twenty-five years ago, DCI Harry Rhimes arrested Andrew Streeter for the brutal murders of five young people. Streeter’s ‘kill list’ of victims was found in his home, and he was convicted of all five crimes.

A legacy under threat

Now, Streeter’s convictions are being overturned, as new evidence implies the original investigation was corrupt. No one is more shocked that DI Henley. Because this case is personal; Rhimes was her old boss, and he’s no longer alive to defend himself. But when the killings start up again, Henley must face the truth: Rhimes got it wrong twenty-five years ago.

A hunt for a killer

Henley and her team reopen the original murder cases, but they must put their personal feelings to one side. Because the real killer is still out there, and he’s working his way through a new kill list …

My Thoughts:

DCI Harry Rhimes many years ago brought down a serial killer and got him convicted. He was sent to jail and that was that. But how can it be that years later this serial killers actions back then might not of been all as it seems and is being questioned now. Can it truly be that DCI Harry Rhimes did something wrong back then? DI Henley is now on the case to reopen it and find out what really went on then and if DCI Harry Rhimes was truthful when he was leading the investigation all that time ago. It is a story that has many layers, I felt as though each chapter you are unpeeling yet another discovery or twist. Nadine the author does a really good job of putting you to work as the reader working alongside DI Henley and feeling involved in the case. There is plenty of drama and intrigue, it put me on edge and the suspense is fantastic. I really enjoyed this story.

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

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