Unhappy with life in London, and with her love life a complete disaster, Ellie Chapman desperately needs a change. So when she learns she’s inherited a farmhouse perched high up on the cliffs above the English Channel, it feels like the perfect escape.

But ramshackle and dilapidated, and ruled by the world’s naughtiest donkey, Seabreeze Farm is not as picture
perfect as Ellie imagined. And then there’s brooding local vet Ben Hastings, who seems to make it his mission to make life on the farm even harder for Ellie!

With money tight, Ellie slowly rebuilds the tired old farmhouse. And as the farm comes to life under Ellie’s care, Ellie’s spark returns
too. Because as every day passes, Ellie begins to realises that there is something special about Seabreeze Farm, and there’s no other place she’d rather be.

My Thoughts:

After reading this book I have realised I need to read more of Jo’s books as they are a really great read. This was such a comforting story about learning to trust again and what family and friends really mean to you. I wanted to be there and experience where it was set and meet all the wonderful characters that are involved in this book. I felt as though this was a perfect read to snuggle up with and it felt heartwarming and comforting to read. I need to work my way through Jo’s other books as I know how much I would enjoy them.

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

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Some people would kill for a second chance.

Kat is rebuilding her life. After losing her husband in a tragic accident, moving to the countryside is her chance to start again.

Encouraged by her new and only friend Ginny, Kat joins New Horizons, dubbed the Coffin Club by its members. And that’s how she meets Nico. Instantly drawn to each other, Nico seems like Kat’s perfect match. He is kind, caring, handsome and, most importantly, a father to five-year-old Magdalena. This could be Kat’s shot at the one thing she has always wanted: to be a mother.

BUT SOMETIMES BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR…

My Thoughts:

OMG this book was everything I wanted and a whole heap more, it just kept on going and going with shocking and surprising twists and turns that I never saw coming. I felt as though it lead me up the garden path but I should of been going up the other instead. I loved how the drama builds you never know how the story is going to unfold, nothing is as it seems and it seems uncertain but you are not really sure if it is or not. I loved the characters and they are all unique in their own way, there could be women out there that can relate to how Kat was feeling about her situation, I am not saying I agree with what she did but I can understand that wanting feeling. I read this book in two days and was thinking about what I would do in that situation and also how the story would finish, though I didn’t want it to finish, the ending blew me away. I cannot wait to see what Jacqueline is going to write about next. She is definitely an author I will be reading more of in the future. This would make a great film.

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

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A new season…

As winter turns to spring, Hollie – owner of The Starfish Café – is feeling content as she settles into her new life with her loving boyfriend, Jake, and their adorable dog Pickle.

But when an unwelcome visitor threatens the future of her café, Hollie must stay strong to protect her family’s legacy…

A leap of faith…

Emerging from an unhappy relationship, Tori finds herself with nowhere to stay and nobody to talk to. The long-hidden secrets of her past weigh heavily on her until a chance encounter with Finley, struggling to come to terms with his own secrets, provides an opportunity to open up.

Can she find the strength to stop hiding from her past and face up to her family? Especially when that would mean letting her guard down and learning to trust again…

A fresh start…?

Little do Hollie and Tori know that their lives are about to collide at The Starfish Café and they may be able to help each other with a fresh start. After all, with good friends in your life, nothing is impossible…

My Thoughts:

I always think when I am reading one of Jessica’s books that it is my favourite until she brings out a new one and I find it hard to resist as I know I am going to love it. It was lovely to be back at the Starfish cafe with all the wonderful characters, as soon as I started reading it, I knew I would get caught up in the story and this is such a good one, it is emotional but it is also uplifting at the same time. The story is full of great family and friends and feels relatable which always makes a good story in my eyes. I loved seeing the friendship between Hollie and Tori blossom and it reminded me how close me and my best friend are. Such a warming ending too.

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

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Yinka wants to find love. Her mum wants to find it for her.

She also has too many aunties who frequently pray for her delivery from singledom, a preference for chicken and chips over traditional Nigerian food, and a bum she’s sure is far too small as a result. Oh, and the fact that she’s a thirty-one-year-old South-Londoner who doesn’t believe in sex before marriage is a bit of an obstacle too…

When her cousin gets engaged, Yinka commences ‘Operation Find A Date for Rachel’s Wedding’. Armed with a totally flawless, incredibly specific plan, will Yinka find herself a huzband?

What if the thing she really needs to find is herself?

My Thoughts:

If you are after an upbeat and funny read, this is the perfect read for you. I have been reading quite a few thrillers and needed something light hearted and this was the perfect change I needed. It really shows the true meaning of extended families and female friendships. It such a great and easy read, I was laughing most of the time reading this. I loved Yinka, she is such a strong female character, I felt as though I went through every emotion with her. Now when I think of this book it will make me smile. I just want to read it again and again.

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

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A girl covered in blood. A missing man. A coded fairy tale.

Detective Laura Shaw seems to have it all: a supportive husband, a happy two-year-old and a great career. She is her team’s top victim interviewer, a genius at getting vulnerable people to open up.

That’s until she meets Jenny – a 14-year-old assault victim who talks only in fairy tales. Jenny’s stepfather is missing and the blood on her clothes isn’t her own, so Laura’s colleagues need answers fast.

But Laura’s strange behaviour makes the girl shut down even more, leaving her bewildered partner, Niamh, desperately trying to rescue the situation.

It seems that this case has triggered something deep within Laura, and Jenny is not the only one with secrets. As the clock ticks down, Laura teeters on the brink of disaster, grappling with the biggest question of all:

Is every life worth saving?

My Thoughts:

This was a unique story line centred around an interview, Detective Laura Shaw has the perfect life being the top interviewer getting people to open up about traumatic experiences. Laura’s colleagues are working on a case involving young Jenny who has been through trauma involving her step father. She is completely traumatised and shut down, but when her step father goes missing and Jenny is found to have blood on her clothes, can Detective Laura Shaw get Jenny to open up to her? time is of the essence and Laura needs answers. She also wants to help this young girl deal with what has happened in her past. This is quite a sensitive subject, but I feel as though the author has done her research well, it is sensitively written, I felt upset reading about what that young girl had gone through and how she was after, I don’t know how anyone could recover after that. I had to take a step back from this book, but then continued to read it. I liked Detective Laura Shaw and I hope to see her in other books, I thought she was brilliant at her job and someone you could totally trust. I liked the plot line even though parts were a bit heavy going.

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

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Three generations, two secrets, one extended family . . .

Amy is thirty-four and has just given up her glittering career in the big (Welsh) city to move back in with her grandfather, returning to work in the small-town Chinese takeaway where she spent her bookish and boring childhood. Why? That’s a secret she won’t tell.

Just like the secret of why her grandfather, Ah Goong, and her father, TC Li, haven’t spoken to each other in thirty years. Weirder still, they’ve lived in the same small flat about the takeaway for the majority of those years, with Amy’s mother Joan acting as their unfortunate go-between and buffer.

Now Amy’s parents have moved, leaving her in charge of looking after the old man. But then Ah Goong collapses in the street and Amy realises time is running out if she wants to play happy families again . . .

My Thoughts:

I wanted to read something a little quirky and different and I thought this book would be the perfect read, I did enjoy the first several chapters but then I felt as though it dragged and became not as enjoyable. I found it very slow and the timelines going back and forth did not help either, it is a shame as it could of been a really good read, it had promise but for me it didn’t live up to expectations.

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They never found Leah Parata. Not a boot, not a backpack, not a turquoise beanie. After she left me that day, she vanished off the face of the earth.

A close-knit community is ripped apart by disturbing revelations that cast new light on a young woman’s disappearance twenty-five years ago.

After years of living overseas, Emily returns to New Zealand to care for her father who has dementia. As his memory fades and his guard slips, she begins to understand him for the first time – and to glimpse shattering truths about his past.

Are some secrets best left buried?

My Thoughts:

I found this such a great read, it had everything I wanted and more. I was engaged from the first chapter and couldn’t wait to see what the outcome was going to be. I think the sensitive topics that are discussed in this book are relatable and I think people will be able to relate and connect with the characters. It is an emotional story and I did have to reach for a tissue a couple of times but it is also very raw and honest and that’s why I enjoyed it so much. Charity is definitely an author who I want to keep on my radar and I look forward to her next book.

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

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After twelve years of marriage to English explorer James Cook, Elizabeth has yet to spend an entire year with her husband. In their house by the Thames, she moves to the rhythms of her life as a society wife, but there is so much more to her than meets the eye. She has the fortitude to manage the house and garden, raise their children, and face unbearable sorrow by herself―in fact, she is sometimes in thrall to her own independence.

As she prepares for another homecoming, Elizabeth looks forward to James’s triumphant return and the work she will undertake reading and editing his voluminous journals. But will the private life she’s been leading in his absence distract her from her role in aid of her husband’s grand ambitions? Can James find the compassion to support her as their family faces unimaginable loss, or must she endure life alone as he sails off toward another adventure?

My Thoughts:

I found it hard to write down what I felt about this story, it took me a few days to find the words. This story surprised me by being so much more than a story, Elizabeth is a woman that is understandable and relatable, she is so much more than a seaman’s wife, all the things she has had to put up with and deal with by herself makes her character so honest. It is a story that makes you think how you would cope in her situation and I really warmed to her. I look forward to more books by Anna.

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

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Set in the valleys of South Wales at the tail end of Thatcher’s Britain, The Green Indian Problem is the story of Green, a seven year old with intelligence beyond his years – an ordinary boy with an extra-ordinary problem: everyone thinks he’s a girl.

Green sets out to try and solve the mystery of his identity, but other issues keep cropping up – God, Father Christmas, cancer – and one day his best friend goes missing, leaving a rift in the community and even more unanswered questions. Dealing with deep themes of friendship, identity, child abuse and grief, The Green Indian Problem is, at heart, an all-too-real story of a young boy trying to find out why he’s not like the other boys in his class.

My Thoughts:

If you want a story that pulls at your heart strings this is the book for you, I felt as though I wanted to protect Green, with everything that is going on with him and how he is feeling at such a young age. The story explores quite deep subjects that include identity and child abuse which made me really emotional. I just felt as though I wanted to jump into the book and save Green, I have never had a book made me feel like that before. I think Jade has written this book very well, and I look forward to more of Jade’s books in the future. This book will stay with me for a very long time.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review. Thank you to Will at Renard Press for sending me a copy.

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Liv has a lot of secrets. Late one night, in the aftermath of a party in the apartment she shares with two friends in Ålesund, she sees a python on a TV nature show and becomes obsessed with the idea of buying a snake as a pet. Soon Nero, a baby Burmese python, becomes the apartment’s fourth roommate. As Liv bonds with Nero, she is struck by a desire that surprises her with its intensity. Finally she is safe.

Thirteen years later, in the nearby town of Kristiansund, Mariam Lind goes on a shopping trip with her eleven-year-old daughter, Iben. Following an argument Mariam storms off, expecting her young daughter to make her own way home . . . but she never does. Detective Roe Olsvik, new to the Kristiansund police department, is assigned to the case of Iben’s disappearance. As he interrogates Mariam, he instantly suspects her – but there is much more to this case and these characters than their outer appearances would suggest.

My Thoughts:

This book gave me the heebie Jeebies, I could not read it at bedtime as I am not a fan of snakes but thought they would not feature too heavily in the story. It is a different and unusual kind of read that I am still unsure whether I liked it or not. Even how the author has described the snakes, makes me feel on edge, but I liked how the story flowed and it was easy to pick up and put down. It was creepy and un nerving too. I may have to revisit this book at another time to see if I feel any differently about it. But I am not a big fan of snakes so maybe that has put me off.

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

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