Book Review- Difficult Husbands by Mary de Laszlo

 

Difficult Husbands by Mary de Laszlo

Published: 31st October 2014

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 366

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

 

Blurb

 

Three friends. One surprise inheritance. And the perfect plan to deal with troublesome husbands at Christmas time…

Newly divorced Lorna is struggling to adjust to life on her own. When she discovers that her beloved godfather has left her the grand (and crumbling) Ravenscourt House in the heart of Sussex, she soon has a project on her hands.

Nathan sells delicious goodies at Mulberry Farm. When he meets Lorna at a Christmas market, neither of them can ignore the chemistry. But as they get to know one another, Lorna wants to know one thing – is he after her or the house?

Together with Gloria – whose marriage to alcoholic Adrian has hit rock bottom, and Rosalind – struggling to deal with her womanising husband Ivan, the three friends hatch a plan. They’ll ditch their difficult husbands at Ravenscourt House and enjoy stress-free Christmases with their families. But nothing is ever that simple…

 

Review

 

Firstly I’d like to thank the lovely people at Bookouture for allowing me to read an arc copy of this through Netgalley. I was instantly drawn to this book because of its cover; it has such a beautiful wintery Christmas scene with a gorgeous looking house.  The premise for this book looked very interesting, three friends wanting to enjoy their Christmas without their tiresome husbands ruining things for their children.

Lorna, Gloria and Rosalind are three friends in their early forties who have all married men who are now in their sixties and struggling with their identities as they hit the dreaded old age. Lorna is newly divorced from husband Stephen, who has left her for a young foreign girl. She wants to enjoy her Christmas with children Flora and Marcus without having to deal with Stephen.  Gloria is hoping son Justin will come home for Christmas but with husband Adrian getting himself drunk and ending up in gutters it’s not looking likely. Rosalind is longing for husband Ivan to take more notice of her and girls Emma and Chloe rather than the young girls from his charity work who he claims need his help more.

When Lorna suddenly inherits Ravenscourt an old crumbling down country house, the three women dream up a plan to keep their husbands in the house over Christmas while they enjoy a peaceful day with just their children. However this Christmas the women get slightly more than they bargained for.

I didn’t really connect with any of the characters in this book; this could be because I’m younger than their ages and have not hit those life problems myself. I did sympathize with Lorna a little as she kind of seemed to have to deal with everyone’s problems and I’m glad that she seemed to find a little happiness from the budding romance with Nathan from the food business.

Although the plot was full of twists I felt the whole story could have been better, I think from the cover I was expecting more of the story to be based at the house. Some narrative from the men while they were at the house would have been added to the story as I felt they were dumped there, then picked up and there was no real explanation as to what exactly went on and how they felt about being abandoned at Christmas.

If you are looking for a gentle read  set around Christmas then I’d recommend this , it has some family dramas to add to the plot but for me it was missing a little of the sparkle of Christmas.

Rating 3/5

 

Top Ten Tuesday - Books I Want to Re-Read

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week there is a new bookish list, this week it was books that you want to read again. This was probably the easiest list so far for me to complete as I love to re-read books, I find its like visiting an old friend. Some of these I have already re-read but know I will definitely re-read again.

1. Matilda by Roald Dahl

 

2. Bookends by Jane Green

 

These first two are books I've already re-read many times but I know I will keep re-reading them for many years to come.

 

3.The Shadow in the Winds by Calos Ruiz Zafon

4.Before I go to sleep by S J Watson

 

5.Touch the Stars by Jessica Rushton

 

6.Heiresses by Lulu Taylor

 

7. White Wedding by Milly Johnson

8. Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes

 

 

9. Jewels by Danielle Steel

 

These seven are all books I've read once but loved and definitely want to re-read one day.

 

 

10. Hello From The Gillespies by Monica McInerney

 

I only finished reading this book on Sunday and I loved it, can definitely see myself re-reading this book in the future.

 

So that is my list of books I want to re-read. I'd love to know what books you would re-read? Check out the link up here.

Showcase Sunday # 15 (On a Monday, Oops)

 

Showcase Sunday is a weekly event hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea where book bloggers share what books they have added to their collection in the previous week.

 

 

This week I was sent a proof copy of Lucy Diamond's The Year of Taking Chances, I am beyond excited to read this as I'm sure its going to be brilliant, it definitely sounds it anyway. So thank you so much to Becky at Pan Macmillan for the copy, you are fab!

 

 

   

 

I was also accepted to read these two on Netgalley, which I need to leave well alone this month I think as my score is shocking. I wanted to read The Doll as I want to try and branch out next year into more crime/thriller books as I do enjoy them I just never really know what to pick, like this book I didn't realise it was part of a series until I had downloaded it. I'm also really glad I was accepted to read But I Said Forever as the plot looks like it could be really funny to read.

 

So that's what I was lucky enough to receive from publishers and authors this week, I didn't buy any books but there a so many out on Thursday that look amazing expect next week's haul to be a little bigger!

 

 

This week I have read:

Difficult Husbands by Mary de Laszlo

Hello from the Gillespies by Monica McInerney

 

On the blog this week:

Monday - Book Review - High Heels and Bicycle Wheels by Jane Linfoot 5/5

Wednesday - Book Review - Driving Home for Christmas by A L Michael 5/5

Thursday - Release Day Round-Up # 9

 

Things went a bit wrong towards the end of the week with blogging but hopefully I should have posts everyday this week as half term is over.

 

Release Day Round-Up #9

This week's picks are a mixture of Christmas and the everyday, I've only got four picks this weeks as next weeks list is super long, may actually bankrupt me! So here are my favourites for this week:
 

 

Driving Home For Christmas by A L Michael

Released: 28th October 2014

Publisher: Carina UK

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

 

Megan McAllister is home for Christmas…whether she likes it or not!

Christmas is about family…and for Megan family means two people: herself, and her daughter Skye. It doesn’t mean her parents who, ten years ago, saw her pregnancy as anything but a miracle. And it definitely doesn’t include her irresistible ex-boyfriend Lucas Bright.

So ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ has never been top of Megan’s festive playlist. But for Skye, she knows she needs to spend the holiday season with the people she’s left behind. She can do this. Even if the thought of meeting Lucas under the mistletoe still has her feeling like she’s drunk one-too-many Snowballs!

But somewhere between the hanging of stockings and the crackle of wrapping paper, Christmas starts to sparkle. And Megan begins to wonder if family could be bigger than her and Skye after all…

 

I have already read and reviewed this book and its definitely a great Christmassy read, for all my thoughts, check out my review here. 

 

 

Difficult Husbands by Mary de Laszlo

Released: 31st October 2014

Publisher: Bookouture

Available on Kindle and in Paperback

Order now from Amazon

 

Difficult Husbands - In sickness and in health, for better but definitely not for worse…

Newly divorced Lorna is struggling to adjust to life on her own. When she discovers that her beloved godfather has left her the grand (and crumbling) Ravenscourt House in the heart of Sussex, she soon has a project on her hands.

Nathan sells delicious goodies at Mulberry Farm. When he meets Lorna at a Christmas market, neither of them can ignore the chemistry. But as they get to know one another, Lorna wants to know one thing – is he after her or the house?

Together with Gloria – whose marriage to alcoholic Adrian has hit rock bottom, and Rosalind – struggling to deal with her womanising husband Ivan, the three friends hatch a plan. They’ll ditch their difficult husbands at Ravenscourt House and enjoy stress-free Christmases with their families. But nothing is ever that simple…

Mary de Laszlo has had four novels published by Headline and has since had many others published by Hale. She lives in London and is an active member of the RNA. She was a fashion journalist with Vogue and now works as an occasional film extra when not writing.

 

The premise for this sounds really good, anything with grand country houses ticks a box for me. Hoping to read this today and hopefully have a review up tomorrow or Saturday, so pop back if you'd like to know what I thought.

 

 

 

The Chateau by Karen Aldous

Released: 30th October 2014

Publisher: Carina UK

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

 

Can young hearts ease a restless spirit?
On the shores of stunning Lake Geneva, Gina Remy is celebrating her brother’s wedding – when the figure of a woman appears hovering above the water, beckoning to her. Ghostly visitations do not happen to Gina - a self-confessed control freak with her own successful property business, she prides herself on being level-headed. But as she is tormented by dreams and visions, her perfect life begins to unravel, and she knows she needs to help this ghost find peace if she’s to get any of her own!

Enter Ollie Martin, an Anglo-Swiss property developer who’s sexy as hell and knows it. His arrogance annoys Gina, but he’s the only one who will take her seriously… and the closer they come to understanding the quest the ghost has set for them, the closer they get to one another…

 

This sounds amazing, I love a good mystery story and this sounds like a brilliant one. Also that cover is just stunning, makes me feel like I need a holiday somewhere warm and sunny.

 

 

If I Knew You Were Going To Be This Beautiful I Never Would Have Let You Go

by Judy Chicurel

Released: 30th October 2014

Publisher: Tinder Press

Pages: 336

Available in Hardback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

 

 It is the summer of 1972, and Katie has just turned eighteen. Katie and her town, Elephant Beach, are both on the verge: Katie of adulthood, and Elephant Beach of gentrification. But not yet: Elephant Beach is still gritty, working-class, close-knit. And Katie spends her time smoking and drinking with her friends, dreaming about a boy just back from Vietnam who’s still fighting a battle Katie can’t understand.  In this poignant, evocative debut collection, Judy Chicurel creates a haunting, vivid world, where conflicts between mothers and daughters, men and women, soldiers and civilians and haves and have-nots reverberate to our own time. She captures not only a time and place, but the universal experience of being poised between the past and the future.

 

I don't think I have ever read anything that was set in the 1970s, especially not in America so I think this would be an interesting read. I may pick this up when I'm looking for something a little bit different.

 

So that's my pick for this week, which new release have you got your eye on this week?

 

 

 

Book Review - Driving Home For Christmas by A L Michael

 

Driving Home For Christmas by A L Michael

Published: 28th October 2014

Publisher: Carina UK

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

 

 

Blurb

Megan McAllister is home for Christmas…whether she likes it or not!

Christmas is about family…and for Megan family means two people: herself, and her daughter Skye. It doesn’t mean her parents who, ten years ago, saw her pregnancy as anything but a miracle. And it definitely doesn’t include her irresistible ex-boyfriend Lucas Bright.

So ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ has never been top of Megan’s festive playlist. But for Skye, she knows she needs to spend the holiday season with the people she’s left behind. She can do this. Even if the thought of meeting Lucas under the mistletoe still has her feeling like she’s drunk one-too-many Snowballs!

But somewhere between the hanging of stockings and the crackle of wrapping paper, Christmas starts to sparkle. And Megan begins to wonder if family could be bigger than her and Skye after all…

 

Review

Megan McAllister has been living with her estranged Aunt Anna and her lodger Jeremy ever since she ran away from her family when they found out she was pregnant.  Now ten years on she’s been persuaded to head home for Christmas and make amends with her family.  Arriving back home with daughter Skye evokes all kinds of memories for Megan and as Christmas day comes closer family secrets and old feelings which have been hidden for years start to surface, but will they bring this family close again.

After reading the blurb for this book I knew I had to read it, any book in which the characters have some kind of mystery in their past draws me in and A L Michael has done this brilliantly. It’s the type of story that slowly unravels and gives the reader questions:  Why did Megan leave? Why hasn’t she been back? How did she end up living with Anna? And probably the question we all want to know the answer to who is Skye’s father?

Luckily for us as we keep reading we find out the answers to these questions and also a couple of little surprises, some which I totally wasn’t expecting and some which you could guess.  This is done really well through the use of flashbacks in the narrative which help us build up a picture of Megan as a teenager and show the strained relationship she had back then with her mother.  These were slightly confusing to me at first as the flashbacks do chop and change years between 2001 and 2004 but once I had read a few chapters and had more knowledge of Megan I found they really helped build up a picture of Megan and what led her to run away.

A L Michael has created some really great characters in this book, Skye has to be my favourite, what a brilliant little girl she is, so intuitive and clever but not in that annoying know it all way that some kids can be.  She is hoping to be detective when she is older and I could just imagine her hiding under tables and writing down notes in a little book.  I loved the way she seemed to weigh people up and instantly get their measure and then just carried on with whatever she was doing. I think is she was my daughter I would be very proud of her.

I wasn’t sure about Megan; I did feel that she brought a lot of the problems with her mother on herself by not opening up to her at the time. I did like the way that she didn’t let having a baby so young stand in the way of her dreams and she was able to find a fulfilling career. The thing that stood out the most about Megan was that she was so focused on Skye’s happiness and making sure she was loved that I felt Megan herself might be a little lonely, so when she finally let her family into her daughter’s life I was hoping Megan would put herself first just once.  I loved Lucas, just the image of him with a Where’s Wally scarf round his neck was enough to melt my heart, he just seemed such a lovely guy and although I understand why Megan let him go when she was younger I don’t think I would have been able to.

Driving Home for Christmas is a wonderful story full of Christmas spirit which helps to bring a family closer once again. I laughed, I cried and I was left with that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you read something wonderful.  Add this to your Christmas reading shelf and you won’t regret it.

Rating 5/5

 

Book Review - High Heels and Bicycle Wheels by Jane Linfoot

 

High Heels and Bicycle Wheels by Jane Linfoot

Published: 23rd October 2014 (Paperback)

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Pages: 306

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order from amazon here.

 

Blurb

Meet Bryony: she’s a fun-loving, very single TV production assistant whose idea of sport is the Jimmy Choo sales scrum.

Meet Jackson: Cycling’s bad boy superstar. Injured and out of a certain race this summer, without his training, he’s looking for another distraction…

Bryony’s facing a triple whammy – her last single friend just named the day, her mother’s offering to have her eggs frozen, and the guy she’s loved from afar, forever, has just got hitched. So she’s more than happy to accept the offer of a totally out of character but seriously steamy one night of no-strings fun. Especially when the guy in question is so attractive he even looks good in Lycra!

Jackson’s on the lookout for a new career but if the opportunity to work on TV means a fortnight with the most uptight woman in the world, he’d rather not bother. He never goes in for seconds – and who in their right mind would head off in a campervan, with a woman who irons her knickers?

Add in a tandem (yes a tandem) and fast forward to double trouble for a summer neither of them will ever forget!

 

Review

 

I was kindly sent a copy of this to review by Jane after reading “The Right Side of Mr Wrong” back in July, which I adored. I have been saving this book to read for a while as I knew I was going to love it as Jane’s writing style is just brilliant. After a rough week I decided to pick this up and it has definitely put me in better mood.

In “High Heels and Bicycle Wheels” we meet Bryony Marshall, production assistant for the program “Sporting Chances” who featured briefly in Jane’s previous book as the sister of Brando Marshall. It was nice that she got her own story as I felt there was a lot more to Bryony than was mentioned previously.  She’s helped fix all her friends up with partners and even given brother Brando a nudge in the right direction with Shae. Now she’s feeling very single and determined to stay that way, until she finds her Mr Forever. Along comes Jackson Gale world famous cyclist intent on cleaning up his bad boy image. He’s taking part in a charity tandem bike race, filmed by bryony’s company. After his intended partner on the bike Annie is found throwing up Bryony has to step in and take her place. Initially thrown together in the tandem bike race these two have instant chemistry, which is obvious to everyone around. They meet later in the hotel and end up acting on the chemistry between them with the understanding it’s a one off. The sparks between them lead to a filming contract to tour Cornwall in a campervan filming scenic bike rides. Both are reluctant to revisit their one-night stand but as soon as the trip begins the chemistry between them is so hot that they can’t help giving in again, and again and again.

Through the narrative we get to experience both Bryony’s and Jackson’s feelings which I really enjoyed, it’s not often we get the male perspective in a chick lit novel and I think it really adds to the story. It’s obvious that Bryony and Jackson have fallen for each other big time but their histories and baggage make them both wary of commitment and unwilling to open up.  I’m glad they did eventually deal with these issues, Jackson probably more successfully than Bryony as it gave them a chance of a better future.

I absolutely loved this book; Jane has a real talent for writing some really hot and really believable chemistry between two people. I also loved the number of twists and turns in the plot, you want Bryony and Jackson to admit their feelings but something always seems to get in the way. I also found some scenes really funny, like Bryony ironing her knickers, I mean who does that really?

If you’re looking for a light-hearted read where the chemistry grows from tiny sparks to full on fireworks then this is the book for you. I loved it and hope it is not too long before we have another wonderful romance from Jane to devour.

Rating 5/5

 

Sunday Showcase #14

 

Showcase Sunday is a weekly event hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea where book bloggers share what books they have added to their collection in the previous week. This week I've been fairly good not buying any new books I just added one to my collection and been sent one book for review

 

The Christmas Party by Carole Matthew - bought, had to buy this to add to the collection

Strange Girls and Ordinary Women by Morgan McCarthy - sent for review from bookbridgr, thank you

 

 

I have also been sent these two book to review from authors:

 

Hide and Seek by Amy Bird

 

Bride without a Groom by Amy Lynch

 

This week I have read:

A Special Delivery by Clare Dowling

A Christmas Hope by Anne Perry

High Heels and Bicycle Wheels by Jane Linfoot

Driving Home for Christmas by A L Micheal

Difficult Husbands by Mary de Laszlo - three chapters

 

On the blog this week:

Monday Review - Six Stories and An Essay by Andrea Levy 3/5

Tuesday Top Ten Tuesday - Series I Want To Read

Wednesday Review - A Special Delivery by Clare Dowling 5/5

Thursday Release Day Round Up #8