A Year and A Day by Isabelle Broom

A Year and A Day by Isabelle Broom

Published: 17th November 2016

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 5/5

Blurb

Welcome to a city where wishes are everywhere
For Megan, a winter escape to Prague with her friend Ollie is a chance to find some inspiration for her upcoming photography exhibition. But she's determined to keep their friendship from becoming anything more. Because if Megan lets Ollie find out about her past, she risks losing everything - and she won't let that happen again . . .
For Hope, the trip is a surprise treat from Charlie, her new partner. But she's struggling to enjoy the beauty of the city when she knows how angry her daughter is back home. And that it's all her fault . . .
For Sophie, the city has always been a magical place. This time she can't stop counting down the moments until her boyfriend Robin joins her. But in historic Prague you can never escape the past . . .
Three different women.

Three intertwining love stories.

One unforgettable, timeless city.

Review

This is the first book I’ve read by Isabelle Broom so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I just knew that the cover was stunning and the premise had me very intrigued. What I found when I read this book is that Ms. Broom is a brilliant writer and in A Year and a Day, has created to truly emotional and magical read.

Three couples are heading to Prague for a few days, some for the first time and for some it’s like returning home. Megan, a photographer, has agreed to go with best friend Ollie who wants to research the city before he teaches it to his students in the New Year. She’s worried as she knows Ollie wants more than friendship from their relationship and deep down she doesn’t know how much longer she can resist her handsome best friend.

Hope and Charlie are heading off on their first romantic trip as a new couple. Charlie can’t wait to spoil Hope with everything she wants but Hope is feeling more and more uneasy about their relationship. Can Hope pluck up the courage to tell Charlie what she really wants.

Sophie has come alone, a few days before boyfriend Robin is due to catch up with her. Being without Robin is new to Sophie as the pair have been inseparable since they met ten years ago on the Charles Bridge, right here in Prague. As Sophie wanders the streets the familiar streets as she waits for her love, she becomes more and more lost in her memories of the past.

The first thing that stood out when reading this book was just how well Ms. Broom has captured Prague, she has described places in great detail and the city has taken on an almost magical quality within the pages of A Year and a Day, at some points it really felt like I was actually there. I loved the old folk story discovered by Hope which gives the book its name and love how it wove its way into each characters story.  Having read A Year and a Day, Prague has definitely worked its way up my list of places to visit as it just seems to ooze character, history and magic.

Although Megan, Hope and Sophie all appear to be very different, it’s clear that these three women just want to follow their dreams and in Prague they find the courage to do so. Initially I have to confess I didn’t gel with them totally, I’m not really sure why. As their stories are told through the switching narratives I began to understand more about them and what their fears and dreams were. After this I began to warm to Megan and Hope, but still felt something wasn’t quite right with Sophie. As the story unfolds Sophie’s behaviour becomes clearer I just wanted to give her a big hug.

This is a wonderful novel which was very difficult for me to put down, I loved the setting, and I found the relationships described to be honest and real and heart-breaking at times. It’s a novel which is incredibly romantic and a novel which says don’t let go of your dreams no matter what you’ve been through.

Thank you to the publishers for sending me a copy to review and thank you to Ms. Broom for writing such a beautiful novel, I can’t wait to see what you write next.

Blog Tour Guest Post & Review: Its Not You, It's Them by Portia Macintosh

Today I'd like to welcome Portia Macintosh to my blog as part of the tour for It's Not You, It's Them, today she's sharing three things to avoid at Christmas, so over to Portia:

Three things to avoid at Christmas

Christmas can be a very tense time, that’s why when I was writing It’s Not You, It’s Them, I decided that it had to be set at Christmas. Emotions are running high, everyone is working hard to make their loved ones happy – and all for one day of the year.

Obviously it would be nice if this one day was as joyous as possible, so here are three things you can avoid if you want everyone to get along well.

1. Don’t play games

No, I’m not talking about mind games – although probably steer clear of those too. Board games are one of the easiest ways to turn a nice day into a big argument. There’s a saying, in my family, that a game of Monopoly doesn’t end until someone has flipped the board over and stormed off angry. If you can do anything else to amuse yourselves, then do it. Just like a roll of the dice, how the game plays out will be complete luck. Don’t risk it.

2. No debates

Politics, along with debate of any description, is not something that should be discussed over dinner. One of the fastest ways to fall out is to break out your difference of opinion. Debates almost always lead to arguments, so avoid, avoid, avoid.

3. Be helpful

Even if it isn’t your job to prepare dinner, offer to help in any way that you can. When you have a lot to do, to please a lot of people, it can be hard, and stress levels going up can cause tempers to get shorter. Do everything you can to make sure that everything runs smoothly.

Review

I love Portia Macintosh's writing style as it's full of comedy moments and quirky characters that just make you want to love them. Her latest book It's Not You, It's Them is no exception to this with slightly sex mad Roxie whose about to meet the in-laws from hell.

Roxie's dreams have come true, she's finally met the man of her Prince Charming in Mark. A man who adores her just the way she is and is only too willing to help with research for her job as a lifestyle joyrnalist, even if it means dressing up and acting out sex scenes from some of the most iconic movies. When he proposes Roxie is shocked but happy, until she has to meet her news in-laws.

While Roxie's parents are over the moon to have Mark join their family, his family are a little less welcoming towards Roxie. The couple decide to drive up to Yorkshire to his family a few days before Christmas and surprise them with meeting Roxie for the first time and by announcing their engagement.

Roxie, a born worrier is concerned about this and rightly so as Mark's family do not give her the warm welcome she is longing for, they are not horrible just too wrapped up in their own problems to really care about her presence. Apart from two people, Bea Marks ex-girlfriend and his mother, both of whom seem to be determined to makes Roxie's stay as uncomfortable as possible. Unfortunatley Roxie and Mark get snowed in and have to endure his family a little longer than expected. Will their relationship survive?

I loved Roxie, she appears to be self-assured and confident on the outside but on the inside she is a born worrier and that for me made her adorable. She tries so hard to engage with Marks family but with disasters following her around she always seemed to make things worse. Mark was lovely but his family although appearing close-knit didn't appear very loving towards each other and I really felt for Roxie being stuck in her Christmas nightmare. The worst character was Bea and how she was always trying to make Roxie feel small and inadequate and if I'm honest I was praying something awful would happen to her to stop her being so perfect.

I really enjoyed this book, it was full of humorous comedy moments which had me laughing out loud and sharing with my husband, we are both blessed not to have horrible in-laws! It's the perfect book to put you in a good mood and one which I can see I will read again and again.

Blog Tour Review: Snokeflakes and Christmas Cakes by Lindsey Paley

Snowflakes and Christmas Cakes by Lindsey Paley

Published: 15th June 2015

Publisher: Purple Heather Publishing

Pages: 178

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Blurb

When all-round buttercream princess, Millie Carter, becomes stranded at Craiglea Manor Cookery School, she believes her chance of enjoying a merry festive season is over.

The village of Aisford is Christmas-card perfect, but Millie hates it - she hates the snow, her freezing fingertips, and being forced to look like her Aunt Marjory in a mud-splattered wax jacket and wellies instead of her beloved shorts and sparkly sandals. 

She plots her escape but ends up locking spatulas with the estate manager, Fergus McKenzie, who is forced to rescue her before she succumbs to a severe dose of hypothermia. Things start to improve with the arrival of handsome Sam Morgan, fresh from the beaches and rum shacks of the Caribbean. 

Can Millie accept her fate? And will Aisford sprinkle some of its seasonal magic on her troubles? 

Snowflakes and Christmas Cakes is a festive story of love and friendship and reaching for the buttercream icing and edible glitter when life gets tough. 

Review

Snowflakes and Christmas Cakes is the first book in Lindsey Paley’s Camille Carter series and is a book which is full of mishaps and festive treats surrounding Camille Carter or Millie as she prefers to be known.

Millie Carter’s a girl who adores the sun and living in the south of France she gets plenty of it, this year she has reluctantly agreed to spend Christmas with her sister Nicole in cold and wintry England.

Arriving in London with not even a coat Millie is about to get a shock when sister Nicole suddenly cancels their holiday plans and asks Millie a huge favour. Will she replace Nicole as a cookery demonstrator at Criaglea Manor in the Lake District to deliver a course on the perfect Christmas dinner. With no other option Millie agrees and heads north towards Criaglea Manor and hopefully a cosy Christmas sharing her passion for cooking with a group of enthusiastic learners.

However as Millie arrives things are not as she dreamed, Aisford where Craiglea Manor is situated is covered in snow, the only way to get around is via quad bike and she’s going to need to buy herself a huge coat to keep out the chill in the air. When she arrives at the Manor things are even worse the heating’s broken and the cookery course has been cancelled.

Stranded at the Manor for the weekend with no way of escape Millie entertains herself with thoughts of handsome estate manager Sam, baking up a mountain of Christmas treats and most of all trying to avoid the frosty Fergus who sees Millie’s whole presence an inconvenience, especially after he has to rescue her from hyperthermia when she tries to make her way back to the train station.

As Millie reluctantly settles into village life for the weekend and meets many of the villages lovely residents is there someone special who can thaw her heart and convince her life in the snowy village isn’t as bad as she thinks.

I really enjoyed reading this book and found myself warming to Millie despite her being quite a standoffish and cold character to begin with.  I liked her a whole lot more once she began to get settled in the village and could see her fitting in well with the group of characters who became her friends.

I thought she was quite a lucky lady too as there seemed to more than one man who had noticed her arrival and I was glad with the choice she finally made.

I loved that this was more than a chick-lit romance and had some more serious moments involving some of the characters. I also loved the comedy moments Millie provides by being angry and clumsy. The aftermath of her kitchen bake-off I can totally relate, I also leave a trail of mass destruction wherever I go so loved this characteristic in Millie.

I’m so glad this is part of a series as I’m really looking forward to reading more about Millie and hopefully other characters from the village. This story was well written with some heartfelt moments and plenty of laughs, an ideal read for a wintery afternoon by the fire.

Thank you to Neverland Book Tours for inviting me to be part of this tour and for the review copy of the book.

Giveaway:  open to UK residents only

1 eBook copy of Snowflakes and Christmas Cakes and an actual Christmas cake. Mmm!

Click on the link below to enter, good luck x

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

14th July 2016

Publisher: Transworld Digital

Pages: 302

Available in Hardcover and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 3/5

Blurb

You never know what's happening on the other side of the wall.

Your neighbour told you that she didn't want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn't stand her crying.

Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You'll have the baby monitor and you'll take it in turns to go back every half hour.

Your daughter was sleeping when you checked on her last. But now, as you race up the stairs in your deathly quiet house, your worst fears are realized. She's gone.

You've never had to call the police before. But now they're in your home, and who knows what they'll find there.

What would you be capable of, when pushed past your limit?

Review

I really wanted to love Shari  Lapena’s debut novel The Couple Next Door, it had what I thought was a fantastic premise for a story and has received rave reviews all over social media but it wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be.

Anne and Marco Conti have been invited to their next door neighbours for a dinner party. At the last minute their babysitter for six month old Cora cancels on them. With strict instructions from neighbour Cynthia that the evening is to be a baby free zone. Marco and reluctantly Anne agree to leave baby Cora at home, take the baby-monitor with them and pop back every half an hour to check on her. The evening goes well and the couple become quite drunk and don’t return home till after one in the morning, where they find their front door open and baby Cora missing from her cot. The couple call the police and then we follow the police investigation as Detective Rasbach tries to uncover the kidnapper of baby Cora.

I loved the idea of this book as who really thinks it’s a good idea to leave a six month old alone in a house, nobody normal anyway. Well Marco and Anne are not normal, they are weak, selfish and stupid people who I had no sympathy for at all. Anne seems far too reliant on other people to make decisions for her, like calling her parents for help almost as soon as they called the police. I disliked Marco immensely, he seems to only be focused on making money and even though he dislikes his in-laws is only too happy to receive their money for his business and for buying his large house.

I was mad at Marco for suggesting the idea in the first place and even madder at Anne for agreeing with him, even though deep down she knew it was wrong. I felt she was such a weak character for not putting her baby first. Then they both get so drunk they’re not sure what time they checked on the baby and if they shut the door or not, just irresponsible parents which made me mad.

This did make the beginning quite good though as I was full of emotion, even if it was anger and was longing to know what had happened to Cora. As you keep reading though you realise you’re going to be slowly spoon fed every little point without any guesswork, which is not what I want from a psychological thriller, I want surprise and mystery and somethings only hinted at, there was very little of that as we’re told everything, even down to what each character is thinking.  It felt to me more like reading the police report of events rather than an actual novel. Halfway through we find out who the kidnapper is and to be honest I wasn’t surprised at all

This style of writing did make the novel quite intense as the paragraphs swap from character to character so often it does build up the confusion of what exactly is going on. This makes the novel quite a fast paced read and at times it did feel a little like information overload. I would much preferred if the novel was written in the first person from just one character’s point of view, perhaps as Anne as she seemed the most emotional and most concerned about the well-being of her baby once she was missing.

I was also confused by the setting of this book. We are told Anne and Marco live in New York which to me conjures up images of large townhouses and apartment blocks on busy streets. But when the police arrive at their house they have a nice long garden which backs onto a little lane not used by many cars, this seemed small English country village than a busy New York street. There was also mentions of lakes being a close drive away from their house which didn’t seem to fit.

I think the best part of the book was the twist right at the end which I didn’t see coming and left me with some questions which is what I was longing for all the way through the book. The Couple Next Door is a good read but it’s not a book which has blown me away like other books of this genre have this year. It’s a book which examines the relationship between Marco and Anne and makes you question what is really holding them together.

 I’d like to thank Transworld Digital and Netgalley for this review copy.  

Celebrations and Confetti at Cederwood Lodge by Rebecca Raisin

Celebrations and Confetti at Cedarwood Lodge by Rebecca Raisin

Published: 24th October 2016

Publisher: Carina UK

Pages:114

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 5/5

Blurb

Clio Winters is finally fulfilling her childhood dream of renovating the gorgeous old Cedarwood Lodge in Evergreen. Turning it into the perfect destination for big celebrations, weddings and parties has brought her back home, but Cedarwood Lodge is in need of a lot of tender loving care.
Perhaps all the work will be the perfect distraction from the real reason she had to leave her glamorous New York life behind.
Will coming home be the best decision of her life… or her biggest regret?

Review
Celebrations and Confetti at Cedarwood Lodge is the first book in Rebecca Raisin’s new three part series being released in the run up to Christmas. Like all her other novels it’s a book which instantly has you wrapped in Rebecca’s warm and cosy writing style.

Clio Winters used to be a wedding planner in New York until a little honesty landed her in a lot of trouble and without a job, now she’s heading back to her hometown of Evergreen after using all of inheritance from her father to buy the run-down and forgotten Cedarwood Lodge. A place where Clio and her best friend Micah spent many happy hours playing in the grounds when they were growing up.

With the help of handsome project manager Kai and the shy garden designer Isla, Clio and Micah hope to bring Cedarwood back to its former glory and hopefully soon as they have their first booking for a 50^th wedding anniversary just weeks away. Can Clio and her team work their magic on the lodge despite a few mishaps along the way and can Clio work out why her mother is not as pleased as Clio hoped about her being back in Evergreen.

This was such a joy to read and for me was Rebecca Raisin at her best. I adored Clio instantly and loved how she had such a beautiful vision to restore Cedarwood.  She hasn’t let her past mistakes put her off making her dream come true and her enthusiasm for the project bubbled off the pages as much as it did among her team members.  I loved her easy going relationship with Micah and how they had their own long lasting jokes. She gives Isla a shoulder to cry on and when around Kia provided me with a few chuckles as she tries to keep up with his wacky exercise requests.

The town of Evergreen itself was a lovely place to live. It has that small town charm where everyone knows each other and pitches in to help if there is a problem. It’s a place with community at its heart and it was lovely to see Cedarwood Lodge become part of that again and to still keep an air of mystery as it’s yet to divulge all of its secrets.

Rebecca has even included a little piece of food heaven like many of her other books in Puft, a gourmet doughnut shop run by Clio’s Aunt Bessie….hazelnut filled doughnuts anyone?

Just like all Rebecca Raisin stories, this book has a project to work on, a mystery to solve and some romances to watch develop, it’s a formula which never fails to have me hooked and wanting more. This first part in the series could be read as a standalone novel but if you’re a Rebecca Raisin fan like me you will be desperate for the next part of the story.

Thank you to Carina UK and Netgalley for this copy to review

Sunshine on a Rainy Day by Bryony Fraser

Sunshine on a Rainy Day by Bryony Fraser

Published: 8th September 2016

Publisher: Avon

Pages: 400

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 4/5

Blurb

It’s Zoe and Jack’s first wedding anniversary party. They’ve got an announcement! They’re getting divorced.
Marriage isn’t for everyone – something that Zoe and Jack discovered only after they’d walked down the aisle. Bad timing, huh?
So now they’re stuck together in their once harmonious marital home, neither one of them willing to move out of their lovely house.
With Zoe’s three sisters always wanting a say, and Jack’s best friend trying his best to fix things between them, misunderstandings arise. Tempers flare. ‘Accidents’ happen…
Zoe and Jack are going to be lucky if they’re still alive when the twelve months are up. But maybe things aren’t quite as final as they seem?

Review

As soon as I read the blurb for this book I really wanted to read it as it sounded refreshingly different to the get married, live happily ever after storyline. In Sunshine on a Rainy Day Bryony Fraser as knocked this idea on its head and given us a story of matrimonial disaster.

Sunshine on a Rainy Day starts with Jack and Zoe announcing on their first wedding anniversary that they’re getting a divorce. We’re then taken back through the previous twelve months to relive their nightmare year of being married and find out exactly what went so wrong with these two people who were so in love. As we follow Jack and Zoe through their wedding and first year of marriage we are also given flashbacks of how these two met and how their relationship has developed over the last seven years, which was a brilliant way of storytelling as you could see those pivotal moments which had affected their feelings towards marriage.

Despite wanting to love this book I had one major problem with it, Zoe. I just didn’t like her at all. I really couldn’t get my head round why getting married changed her so much. Before the wedding she seemed a kind caring and devoted girlfriend who would do anything for Jack. After she became like a spoilt child when they don’t get their own way, moaning at Jack for everything, picking fights over silly things and always assuming he’s wrong without ever giving him chance to speak. I felt a bit like Jack and wondered where has his lovely Zoe gone and why. From the flashbacks I can kind of understand where she was coming from but I felt so sad for Jack that she never seemed to give their marriage a chance to work.

Apart from Zoe this is a really good read. Jack is such a lovely guy and totally someone I think most of us would enjoy being married to as he was so kind and considerate to Zoe even when she was being ridiculous. I also loved the other characters in the book, Zoe’s sisters and their own little dramas, but my favourite had to be Liz and her plan of dating a guy she hated so she’d appreciate the next guy more was so funny.

The pace of this book is quite fast and even though I kept putting it down as Zoe irritated me I found myself sneaking a couple of chapters when I got a chance as I kept wanting to see  what would happen next and after a couple of days I was finished.

With this book I felt a wide range of emotions, I laughed, I cried and I got mad. It is a book of love, friendship, family and above all following your instincts when something doesn’t feel right. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to seeing what Bryony Fraser comes up with next.

Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for this review copy.

Blog Tour Review: Death at the Seaside by Frances Brody

Death at the Seaside by Frances Brody

Published: 6th October 2016

Publisher: Piatkus

Pages: 389

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Pre-Order now from Amazon

Rating 5/5

Blurb

Nothing ever happens in August, and tenacious sleuth Kate Shackleton deserves a break. Heading off for a long-overdue holiday to Whitby, she visits her school friend Alma who works as a fortune teller there.
Kate had been looking forward to a relaxing seaside sojourn, but upon arrival discovers that Alma's daughter Felicity has disappeared, leaving her mother a note and the pawn ticket for their only asset: a watch-guard. What makes this more intriguing is the jeweller who advanced Felicity the thirty shillings is Jack Phillips, Alma's current gentleman friend.
Kate can't help but become involved, and goes to the jeweller's shop to get some answers. When she makes a horrifying discovery in the back room, it soon becomes clear that her services are needed. Met by a wall of silence by town officials, keen to maintain Whitby's idyllic façade, it's up to Kate - ably assisted by Jim Sykes and Mrs Sugden - to discover the truth behind Felicity's disappearance.
And they say nothing happens in August . . .

Review

Death at the Seaside by Frances Brody is my first Kate Shackleton mystery and one I was very much looking forward to as being a Yorkshire girl I love it when places are set somewhere I know, like Whitby which is a place I love.

Kate Shackleton a woman who has been widowed by the WW1 and has taken up investigating with her friend Jim Sykes and her housekeeper Mrs Sugden. This story is set in August 1927 when Kate and her assistants believe nothing much will happen in their hometown of Leeds so decide to each have a well-earned break on the East Coast.

Kate heads to Whitby to visit old school friend Alma and her daughter Felicity. On arrival Kate takes a walk round Whitby reacquainting herself with memories from her past with husband Gerald. When she enters the jewellers where Gerald bought her wedding and engagement rings Kate makes a shocking discovery, the owner Jack Phillips is lying dead in the back room. Alarmed by her discovery Kate goes for help and soon finds herself as a prime suspect for murder.

To make Kate’s visit even worse she discovers that her goddaughter Felicity has disappeared along with her boyfriend Brendan and a pawned watch-guard. Can Kate help Alma find Felicity and work out who killed Jack Phillips and are the two things linked? One thing is certain, Kate is going to get the nice relaxing holiday she was planning.

The overwhelming feeling I had when reading this book was how much like an Agatha Christie novel this was with murder described in not much detail and the sleuthing taking place by amateur investigators at a very gentle pace. Kate Shackleton reminded me instantly of “Miss Marple”, but a few years younger with her need to solve the mystery. I loved her very English and “proper” way of doing things like when she was reluctant to meet with new acquainted men in the hotel bar.

I think Frances Brody has perfectly captured the essence of Whitby and the period of the 1920s from the details of the town to the descriptions of social etiquettes of the time. It shows she has done her research well to make a realistic story.

I loved the flow of this mystery a number of people are suspected and there are a few twists to overcome before the murderer is revealed making this a very enjoyable read. I’m so glad to have found this new to me author as I love her writing style and am looking forward to going back and reading her previous works as they are perfect for when you want a little mystery but nothing too gruesome.

I’d like to thank the publishers Piatkus for this copy to review in exchange for my honest opinions and also for inviting me on the blog tour.