Tuesday, January 28, 2025

My Review for A Forever Home at Honeybee Croft by Jessica Redland

January 28, 2025  , , , , , ,  2 comments



This book is adorable. I fell in love with Poppy and Joel from the beginning, and I wasn't sure how they'd end up together, but I just knew they would. They clicked immediately and it was just so cute. Joel's daughter, Imogen, was a gem. I loved that she clicked with Poppy from the start, and, that isn't always an easy thing to do, but Imogen just knew that she wanted her Dad to be happy and Poppy was going to be the one who made that happen. 

Poppy's Dad was suffering with Alzheimer's and I felt that this subject was sensitively dealt with and researched thoroughly. Thankfully, no one I know has had to go through this terrible disease, but I know a lot more about it now than I did previously.

Jessica loves to bring her characters, from other books, into her current read and I adore this. It's like saying hello to old friends, finding out what they're up to now, and what's happened since we last met. All like one big happy family! I can't wait for Jessica's next book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Rachel's Random Resources for the opportunity to read and review A Forever Home at Honeybee Croft by Jessica Redland.





About the Book

Single dad, Joel Grainger, is devoted to his little girl, Imogen, doing all he can to be a key part of her life. But with Imogen’s mum being ever more difficult and Joel’s job suddenly in doubt, he’s worried that everything is about to change. Joel has given everything to Imogen, and he doesn’t regret it, but maybe he’s lost himself along the way…

Since her dad’s heart-breaking dementia diagnosis, Poppy Wells has been struggling and desperately needs a break. An opportunity to stay in gorgeous Whisperwood Farmhouse nestled in the Yorkshire Wolds and a stone’s throw away from Bumblebee Barn couldn’t be more perfect. Finally able to breathe, Poppy begins to see a new life ahead, a place where she can heal her broken heart and be part of something special. But can she ever leave her beloved dad to get the happiness she craves?

When Poppy and Joel meet there’s an instant connection. But with both of them at a crossroads, a future together seems impossible. Can they find the strength to overcome their challenges to secure their forever home together?

About Jessica - by Jessica

I write uplifting stories of love, friendship, family and community set in stunning Yorkshire. My Whitsborough Bay books take readers/listeners to the North Yorkshire Coast and my Hedgehog Hollow books transport them deep into the countryside of the Yorkshire Wolds.

My books are about real people living real lives. You'll find plenty of warm and fuzzy moments between the pages but you may occasionally find yourself tearing up and reaching for the tissues. I love my characters so, no matter how tough the going gets, I make sure they get their happy ending. Of course, with a series, it may take a few books to fully get there!

My favourite subject at school was English and I always loved the aspects of my day job in HR which involved writing but I never considered writing a novel until my manager told me that my business reports read more like stories and joked that I should write a book. As soon as a plot idea presented itself, that’s exactly what I did.















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Monday, January 27, 2025

My Review for The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

January 27, 2025  , ,  No comments



The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was December's choice for the classics book chat I'm in, #classiclitbookclub. Due to the time of year, a few of us decided to pass on this, but I still wanted to read it. My first Anne Brontë book and I loved it. It took me a good few weeks to finish it, and I read and listened to others in between, so yes, I took my time. With classics in particular I need to firstly be in the mood to read it, and secondly, concentrate on what's happening, so I actually understand it! No one is judging you on how long it takes to read a book and whether you find it easy or not. It's taken me a while to be confident enough to say in my chats, that nope, sorry, I didn't get that at all!

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was no different to a lot of classics I've read. It's a long book, but not a lot actually happens. Despite that, the story was interesting and beautifully written. Every single time I read about how women were often treated in the 1800s, I'm shocked that society was ever like that, but yes, that's just the way it was. Did you know that it was perfectly acceptable for there to be a clause in a man's will, forbidding his wife to marry after his death?!

I loved that Helen, our female main character, eventually became strong enough to stand up for herself and her son and managed to distance herself from her husband for enough time as to become more independent. Considered ahead of its time, Anne Brontë's second novel covered issues that were often not discussed, including infidelity, alcohol abuse and mental abuse within a marriage. 

I would definitely read this again, and I think I'd discover more about the characters the second time around.


About the Book

Gilbert Markham is deeply intrigued by Helen Graham, a beautiful and secretive young woman who has moved into nearby Wildfell Hall with her young son. He is quick to offer Helen his friendship, but when her reclusive behaviour becomes the subject of local gossip and speculation, Gilbert begins to wonder whether his trust in her has been misplaced. It is only when she allows Gilbert to read her diary that the truth is revealed and the shocking details of the disastrous marriage she has left behind emerge. Told with great immediacy, combined with wit and irony, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a powerful depiction of a woman's fight for domestic independence and creative freedom.


About Anne

Anne Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family. Anne's two novels, written in a sharp and ironic style, are completely different from the romanticism followed by her sisters, Emily Brontë and Charlotte Brontë. She wrote in a realistic, rather than a romantic style. Mainly because the re-publication of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was prevented by Charlotte Brontë after Anne's death, she is less known than her sisters. However, her novels, like those of her sisters, have become classics of English literature.

The daughter of a poor Irish clergyman in the Church of England, Anne Brontë lived most of her life with her family at the parish of Haworth on the Yorkshire moors. In Elizabeth Gaskell's biography, Anne's father remembered her as precocious, reporting that once, when she was four years old, in reply to his question about what a child most wanted, she answered: "age and experience".

During her life Anne was particularly close to Emily. When Charlotte's friend Ellen Nussey visited Haworth in 1833, she reported that Emily and Anne were "like twins", "inseparable companions". Together they created imaginary world Gondal after they broke up from Charlotte and Branwell who created another imaginary world – Angria.

For a couple of years she went to a boarding school. At the age of 19 she left Haworth and worked as a governess between 1839 and 1845. 

After leaving her teaching position, she fulfilled her literary ambitions. She wrote a volume of poetry with her sisters (Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, 1846) and two novels. Agnes Grey, based upon her experiences as a governess, was published in 1847. Her second and last novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which is considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels, appeared in 1848 and was an instant, phenomenal success; within six weeks it was sold out.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is perhaps the most shocking of the Brontës' novels. In seeking to present the truth in literature, Anne's depiction of alcoholism and debauchery was profoundly disturbing to 19th-century sensibilities. Helen Graham, the tenant of the title, intrigues Gilbert Markham and gradually she reveals her past as an artist and wife of the dissipated Arthur Huntingdon. The book's brilliance lies in its revelation of the position of women at the time, and its multi-layered plot.

Her sister Emily's death on 19 December 1848 deeply affected Anne and her grief undermined her physical health. Over Christmas, Anne caught influenza. Her symptoms intensified, and in early January, her father sent for a Leeds physician, who diagnosed her condition as consumption, and intimated that it was quite advanced leaving little hope of recovery. Anne met the news with characteristic determination and self-control.

Unlike Emily, Anne took all the recommended medicines, and responded to the advice she was given. That same month she wrote her last poem, " A dreadful darkness closes in", in which she deals with being terminally ill.

In February 1849, Anne decided to make a return visit to Scarborough in the hope that the change of location and fresh sea air might initiate a recovery. However, it was clear that she had little strength left.

Dying, Anne expressed her love and concern for Ellen and Charlotte, and seeing Charlotte's distress, whispered to her to "take courage". Conscious and calm, Anne died at about two o'clock in the afternoon, Monday, 28 May 1849, aged just 29.




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Friday, January 24, 2025

My Review for The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict

January 24, 2025  , , , ,  No comments



Cosy mysteries are really not my thing - they used to be - I used to read a lot of Agatha Raisin books, but I got bored and drifted to other things. However, this choice from #BookstaBritsBookClub may have persuaded me to try some more again, and for that I guess I have to thank Alexandra Benedict, author of The Christmas Jigsaw Murders.

I really enjoyed this, Edie is a feisty octogenarian who sets crossword puzzles and is famous amongst crossword puzzle solvers. She doesn't care what she says, or who she upsets as she goes along her merry way, trying to help (or hinder) the police solve the murders that are being committed, all of which look to be just one piece of a bigger jigsaw puzzle. 

There are thriller vibes woven through the book and despite the cosy mystery setting, there are some dark and heart-stopping moments included which I loved. I would definitely like to read some more of Alexandra's books, and I'm glad I read this just before Christmas.

There are some puzzles included within the pages, for the reader to solve, but I admit I didn't bother with these. I just wanted to get on and read!

About the Book

On 19th of December, renowned puzzle setter, loner and Christmas sceptic Edie O’Sullivan finds a hand-delivered present on her doorstep. Unwrapping it, she finds a jigsaw box and, inside, six jigsaw pieces. When fitted together, the pieces show part of a crime scene – blood-spattered black and white tiles and part of an outlined body. Included in the parcel is a message: ‘Four, maybe more, people will be dead by midnight on Christmas Eve, unless you can put all the pieces together and stop me.’ It’s signed, Rest In Pieces.

Edie contacts her nephew, DI Sean Brand-O’Sullivan, and together they work to solve the clues. But when a man is found near death with a jigsaw piece in his hand, Sean fears that Edie might be in danger and shuts her out of the investigation. As the body count rises, however, Edie knows that only she has the knowledge to put together the killer’s murderous puzzle.

Only by fitting all the pieces together will Edie be able to stop a killer – and finally lay her past to rest.


About Alexandra

Alexandra Benedict has been a composer, singer-songwriter, actor, and lecturer in crime fiction, and is now an award-winning writer of novels, short stories and scripts. As AK Benedict, she writes high-concept novels, speculative short stories and scripts. Her first novel, the critically-acclaimed THE BEAUTY OF MURDER, was nominated for the eDunnit Award; her short stories have featured in many anthologies; and her audio drama has been shortlisted for multiple awards including the BBC Audio Drama Award 2020, and, twice, for the Scribe Award, winning it in 2019. As Alexandra Benedict, she writes contemporary tributes and takes on Golden Age crime fiction. THE CHRISTMAS MURDER GAME was an Amazon Fiction Bestseller and was long-listed for the CWA Gold Dagger Award. Her latest novel, MURDER ON THE CHRISTMAS EXPRESS, arrives on November 10th. She lives on the south coast of England with her fiancé, writer Guy Adams, their daughter, and their dog, Dame Margaret Rutherford.










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Thursday, January 23, 2025

My Review for The Christmas Killer by Alex Pine, read by Neet Mohan

January 23, 2025  , , , , ,  No comments



This book grew on me the more I listened and as I got used to the narrator. I don't think it was intended as a cosy mystery, but I found it to be this, crossed with a thriller. It gave off cosy mystery vibes because all the murders take place in the small village of Kirkby Abbey, but a thriller as it's a Detective Inspector investigating, and not an amateur sleuth!

I had so many theories throughout this book, as to who the killer might be, and I didn't guess until the very end, which for me is always the sign of a great author, I was literally on tenterhooks, trying to work out who it might be and why they might be doing what they were doing. Aside from the murders and the investigative work surrounding that, Kirkby Abbey is a typical English country village, with nosey neighbours, a warm and welcoming village pub and a proper neighbourly feeling - well from most of the villagers anyway!

Thank you to Libro FM for the opportunity to listen to and review The Christmas Killer by Alex Pine.

About the Book

As the snow begins to fall, the body count begins to climb…

DI James Walker is ready for a quiet family Christmas in the sleepy village of Kirkby Abbey.

But when he opens an early Christmas present left on his doorstep, he soon realises it is no gift. Inside is a gruesome surprise, and a promise – twelve days, twelve murders. Not long after, the first body is found, half frozen in the snow.

As the blizzards descend, panic spreads through the remote Cumbrian village – there’s a killer amongst them, and with eleven more victims to go, anyone could be next….

Can James stop the killer before they strike again?


About Alex

Alex Pine is the pseudonym of a bestselling author who has also written books under the names Jaime Raven, James Raven and JP Carter. He was born and raised on a council estate in South London and left school at sixteen. Before long, he embarked on a career in journalism, which took him all over the world - many of the stories he covered were crime-related. He then became a television producer and for a number of years was director of a major UK news division and co-owned a TV production company. He now splits his time between homes in Hampshire and Spain with his wife.


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Monday, January 20, 2025

My Review for How Do I Tell You? by Nicola May

January 20, 2025  , ,  No comments




Nicola May has been one of my go-to authors for a few years now, so when I got the opportunity to read her new novel, How Do I Tell You? I was straight in there to join the blog tour.

I rarely, if ever, read the synopsis of a book. I base my choices on author and/or book cover, and this was no exception. Suffice it to say I was surprised by the storyline, not in a bad way, it was just unexpected. Once I'd got my head around what was going on, I settled down and enjoyed the solidarity that Victoria, our female main character, found with her true friends and family who surrounded her, whilst she came to terms with the unexpected news she received.

There are some brilliant characters in Nicola's new book, I loved Jerico, Danny and Ray who all had Victoria's back, right from the start. They were supportive, encouraging and just downright awesome. Nicola deals with a difficult subject incredibly well, with sensitivity and, very obviously, a great deal of research. 

I would advise anyone wanting to read this book to check the trigger warnings first, but I have no hesitation in recommending it. Another bestseller from Nicola for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Rachel's Random Resources for the opportunity to read and review, How Do I Tell You? by Nicola May.




About the Book

How do you rebuild your life when it changes forever in an instant?

Thirty-five-year-old Victoria Sharpe has a decent job as an illustrator, a perfectly good if predictable relationship, and great friends. So why can’t she shake the feeling that something is missing?

Keen to let off steam, she sets off on a night out with her best friends. Next morning – one reckless decision later – she resolves to make some seriously overdue changes to achieve the fulfilment she craves.

Then she gets devastating news that shatters everything she ever wanted for her future.

Or so she thinks. Because as friends and family rally around to support her, and an unexpected new romance makes her heart skip a beat, Victoria discovers that sometimes in the deepest darkness the brightest light can shine through. But, after all she’s been through, can she let it in?

About Nicola

Nicola May is a bestselling author renowned for her heartwarming and humorous romantic comedies. With eighteen books to her name, her work has captured readers' hearts around the world, has been translated into fifteen languages and consistently ranks in the top 100 of Amazon's Kindle bestseller charts. As a self-published author, she achieved the remarkable feat of reaching number one on Amazon twice, and has been a strong advocate for indie authors, pushing for a dedicated chart for them in The Bookseller magazine. Now signed to Storm Publishing, Nicola continues to write heartfelt rom-coms with her signature blend of warmth and wit. 

When she’s not writing, she enjoys cream teas in her beloved Devon, hikes through nature, and occasionally places a bet on the horses.





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Tuesday, January 14, 2025

My Review for Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

January 14, 2025  , , , , ,  No comments



I've lost track of how many times I've read this book, and all I know is that Daphne du Maurier has been a favourite of mine since I was a teenager. So when Jamaica Inn was chosen as our January read for the classics chat I'm in, I couldn't wait to disappear again onto the wild Cornish moors!

This is such a good story, and I'd forgotten a lot of what happened. I remembered the gist, the Inn in the middle of Bodmin Moor, the smuggling and the wrecks at sea, but I'd forgotten many of the characters and how influential they are to the story. 

Daphne du Maurier has an incredible imagination, her vivid descriptions of the dank and dreary Jamaica Inn and the wilderness and inhospitable Bodmin Moor are something which will stay with the reader, long after the last page has been turned. 

Jamaica Inn is a gothic, dark, gruesome and twisted novel, and so much more than many people perceive it. There is nothing fun and fanciful about Du Maurier's writing, so if that's your thing, you'll not like this one. If it is, delve in and immerse yourself in the mists of Bodmin Moor.

About the Book

The coachman tried to warn her away from the ruined, forbidding place on the rainswept Cornish coast. But young Mary Yellan chose instead to honor her mother's dying request that she join her frightened Aunt Patience and huge, hulking Uncle Joss Merlyn at Jamaica Inn. From her first glimpse on that raw November eve, she could sense the inn's dark power. But never did Mary dream that she would become hopelessly ensnared in the vile, villainous schemes being hatched within its crumbling walls -- or that a handsome, mysterious stranger would so incite her passions ... tempting her to love a man whom she dares not trust.


About Daphne

Daphne du Maurier (13th May 1907 - 19th April 1989) was first and foremost a really excellent storyteller but she was also part of the remarkable du Maurier dynasty - a granddaughter, daughter, sister, military wife, mother and grandmother. Daphne is often thought of as reclusive; she was perhaps solitary, comfortable with her own company and the make-believe world that she lived in and which enabled her to bring us her wonderful novels and short stories.  Her social media accounts are approved by her estate.




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Friday, January 10, 2025

My Review for Welcome to Pennycress Inn by Sarah Hope

January 10, 2025  , , , , , ,  No comments



Pennycress Inn is going to be another, thoroughly enjoyable series from Sarah Hope, and she is fast becoming a must-read author for me. Laura is our protagonist and I found her brave, independent and a woman who knows just what she wants. I loved her spirit, as she makes a new life for herself, taking on a new business challenge which proves a little - well a lot - more complex than she originally thought. 

I'm not sure that I'd have been as strong as she was when the villagers turned out to be a little hostile, and I admired this from her. She's proving that if you have the drive and determination, you can do anything you put your mind to, and overcome the obstacles in your way. 

There is humour, romance, tears, laughter and sheep (yes you read that right - sheep), along the way and if you need a fun, cosy book to get you through these dull January days, then get yourself a copy, grab a cup of your favourite hot drink and curl up on the sofa in front of the fire and disappear to the village of Meadowfield for a while. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Rachel's Random Resources for the opportunity to read and review Welcome to Pennycress Inn by Sarah Hope.



About the Book

Laura wants to shake things up. She’s thirty-eight, and has been living in her parents’ house since her divorce last year. Her siblings seem to have got their lives together: successful careers, happy marriages, beautiful children. 

Laura’s determined to prove herself. And buying the beautiful Pennycress Inn in the idyllic Cotswolds village of Meadowfield could be just the way to do it. 

But getting the inn ready for its first guests proves easier said than done! With crumbling walls, dangerous woodwork and loose roof tiles, not to mention unfriendly locals and even errant sheep, Laura soon fears she’s made the wrong choice. 

Luckily a friendly face is on hand in the form of gorgeous chef, Jackson. But is he too good to be true? And just why are the villagers so against her? 

Can Laura turn her life around and get the fresh start she longs for at Pennycress Inn?


About Sarah

Sarah has been dreaming up stories ever since she was a child. She remembers many a family stroll when she’d daydream up her next story adventure. 

As an adult, she prefers to write romance novels and novellas with a Happy Ever After ending. She has two main romance series, the Escape To... series that focuses on single mums taking a chance and fulfilling their career dreams as well as finding love, and The Cornish Bakery series, that follows a busy bakery in a beautiful fictional bay in Cornwall. 

Sarah Hope lives in Central England with her two children and an array of pets and enjoys escaping to the seaside at any opportunity. 

She has also written some women’s fiction books.



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