Beth Williams hasn’t been home for ten years. When she fell pregnant at just sixteen, knowing that her family would never approve, she ran away from the imposing Scottish estate that had been her home, building a new life for herself and her daughter hundreds of miles away.

But when her father begs her to return home to see her gravely ill grandmother, Beth is apprehensive at the thought of seeing her family again. With her daughter Isabelle, now a feisty ten-year-old, in tow, she plans to cut her visit as short as she can whilst fulfilling her duty.

Beth has worked hard to leave her past behind her, living in London with Isabelle and working hard to be the best single mother she can be. Returning to the Glendale Hall estate means facing her strict and unaffectionate mother, formidable grandmother, as well her teenage boyfriend, Drew, who broke her heart and doesn’t know that he has a daughter.

But Beth is about to discover that everyone has their own version of the past, and the true story she thought she knew for the last ten years might well be a very different one to the truth. Will Beth be able to find it in her heart to forgive her mother and grandmother (and herself) for what happened ten years ago? Or will she end up running away all over again?

My Thoughts:

I love snuggling up reading a festive read, this book truly made me excited for Christmas. The story is about Beth and Drew, they had a daughter but Drew knew nothing about her, he moved to America and never knew anything. When Beth and her daughter Isabelle return to the village little do they know that someone else has returned to. Lots of secrets and lies come out and families that are pulled apart but you are in for a real treat, it is full of the Christmas cheer.

Get your copy here:

At the time of writing this, this book is currently free on kindle. So click below to get your copy, also you can purchase the paperback copy too. Click on the image below.

She’s a murderer.
 
Everyone knows she killed Stuart Rees – why else would his dead body be found in her shed?
So now Tabitha is in prison, awaiting trial.
 
Coming back to the remote coastal village where she grew up was a mistake. She didn’t fit in then, and she doesn’t fit in now.
 
That day is such a blur, she can’t remember clearly what happened. There is something she is missing, something important… She only knows one thing. She is not capable of murder.
 
And the only one she can trust to help her out of this situation is herself.
So she must fight. Against the odds.

My Thoughts:

I thought this was a good read, not having read any of Nicci French books before, I was intrigued to give this one a read. I liked the storyline, how Tabitha is in prison awaiting trial for a murder. She can’t remember what happened so asks for CCTV and all the files so that she can represent herself. It was interesting learning about the prison and the courtroom. The prison side did get a little boring but once she was in the courtroom it got more interesting. I found Tabitha a prickly character too. I would read more of Nicci French books.

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

Get your copy here:

The IRON Book of Tree Poetry contains more than 50 contemporary poems inspired by trees, selected from more than 500 submitted. Contributors include such well-known writers as Jacob Polley, Linda France, Robin Moss, Kitty Fitzgerald, S.J. Litherland, Peter Bennet and Debjani Chatterjee plus many new voices. The settings include forests, woods, city centres, rubbish tips  and theres even one poem set underwater. As well as celebrating the trees, the imaginative response of the authors emphasises  what a vital role they are now seen to play in the future of our fragile planet. The book is edited by Eileen Jones and Peter Mortimer with a foreword by Max Adams.

My Thoughts:

A thought provoking book that makes you take a moment, reflect inwards upon yourself and makes you appreciate the world around you in more ways than one. I really liked some of the poems in this book especially After the show By Bridget Gallagher, I like this poem because it is a short poem but it tells us it like it is, Autumn has finished and Winter is coming. Another poem I liked is called Love Conkers By Ellen Phethean because it reminds me of my childhood and going to the park to find Conkers and then playing Conkers with them trying to hit the other person’s conker, it was so much fun and lovely to reminisce. I also really liked Changes in Climate By Dominic Weston as it is shaped like a tree and I found it a very clever way to show a poem. At the back of the book it also tells you a little about the authors which I found useful. For a book that proudly claims that “if anything can save humankind from itself it is trees” it is disappointing that it is not printed recycled paper. If trees are to truly save humankind then humankind must first save the trees.

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

Get your copy here:

Paperback

When Evie’s dreams come crashing down, she’s determined to still make something of herself in these trying times…

It is 1939 and working class Evie Bishop has received a scholarship to study mathematics at Oxford when tragedy turns her life upside down. Evie must seek a new future for herself and, inspired to contribute to the war effort, joins the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force as an Ops Room plotter.

Posted to a fighter station on the Sussex Coast, Evie befriends two other WAAFs shy, awkward May and flirty, glamorous Jess. Faced with earning the approval of strict officers and finding their way in a male dominated world, the three girls band together to overcome challenges, navigate new romances and keep their pilots safe in the skies.

But the German bombers seem to know more than they should about the base’s operations, and soon Evie, May and Jess are caught up in a world more dangerous than they ever imagined…

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book. I like reading about what happened back in the day. This book is set in 1939 and is set around the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, which I found really interesting. Evie, May and Jess form a really lovely friendship when they all start work at a fighter station, they are all different women and we hear about their lives. I like reading about the war and I always seem to learn new information. Vicki writes well and has packed lots into this book. I look forward to reading Christmas with the Ops room Girls and catching up with the women to see what happens next.

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

Get your copy here:

Elena Dumont is being watched. No one believes her, but she knows. She feels it. A kidnap, a betrayal and a choice soon alter her life forever. Will she make that choice?

Will she give up everything she knows to be with a man who should be her enemy? And will she find the person who wants her dead before they strike again?

My Thoughts:

This book is dangerous, once you have picked it up, nothing else will stand in it’s way and you wont want to put it down. It is a very good read with believable characters, I don’t think I have read a book with this type of story before, the fact that this is a debut novel just makes me even more happy as it is full of suspense and you never know what will happen next. I look forward to more books by Gemma in the future. This is definitely one I would recommend.

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

Get your copy here: