Showing posts with label a. Show all posts
Showing posts with label a. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

My Review for This Book Made Me Think Of You by Libby Page

February 11, 2026  , , , ,  No comments



"Sometimes life calls for a pillow fort. And sometimes you just have to build that fort yourself." 🏰✨

Libby! Why am I only now just discovering you?! 📚💛 It's only February, and I think I've already found the book that is going to be in my Top Ten for 2026. This book is incredible — it made me cry proper tears 😭 (and books rarely do that to me). It's so sad, but so heartfelt, and most of all it's full of hope and promise. Hope that there will be happiness following grief, and the promise that you just need to give yourself time and allow other people to care for you. 🤍

I adored reading about Tilly and how she fell in love with reading again 📖, something she hadn't been able to do since before her beloved husband Joe passed away. It was such a gorgeous memory to have — a book from Joe for every month of a whole year 🗓️💌. Oh, and some of those books took her out of her comfort zone and pushed her to do things she would never have dreamed of doing before. 🌊✨

I will definitely be reading Libby's previous books (watch this space!) 👀📚, and I'm putting them on my wishlist (I hope my Mum is reading this!) 🎁😉

Thank you to Penguin UK and Viking Books for the gifted copy of This Book Made Me Think Of You by Libby Page. 🤍

About the Book

Twelve stories. Twelve months. Once chance to heal her heart...

When Tilly Nightingale receives a call telling her there’s a birthday gift from her fiancé waiting for her at her local bookshop, it couldn’t come as more of a shock. Partly because she can’t remember the last time she read a book for pleasure. Mainly because Joe died five months ago…

The gift is simple – twelve carefully-chosen books from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him.

Tilly sets out on a series of reading-inspired adventures that take her around the world. But as she begins to vlog her journey, her story becomes more than her own. With help from Alfie, the bookshop owner, her budding new following and her friends and family, can Tilly’s year of books show her how to love again?



About Libby

Libby Page is the Sunday Times bestselling author of six novels: The Lido, The 24-Hour Café, The Island Home, The Vintage Shop, The Lifeline and This Book Made Me Think of You.

She is also a writing coach at The Novelry, where she mentors writers through the process of writing their own novels.

Before writing The Lido she worked as a journalist and in marketing. She lives in Somerset with her husband and young son.





Read More

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

My Review for The Dad Trap by Ian Eagleton

February 10, 2026  , , , ,  No comments



“Who needs friends when you’ve got books, fabulous felt-tips and a cool notepad, right? Much safer this way. Books over besties. Pens over pals.” 📚✏️🖍️

OMG, I loved this book! 😍 There were so many moments when I actually spat out my tea 😂☕ My 11-year-old granddaughter is going to love it!

William is neurodivergent — his brain is wired differently from everyone else’s 🧠✨ — and he knows that. He’s learning how to manage it, although he does like his routines… and woe betide anyone who tries to mess with those! 😅⏰ He’s a bit like me, if I’m honest. 🙋‍♀️

William and Florence are hilarious 🤣 as they come up with idea after idea to split their dads up! 💡💥 William doesn’t want to share his dad with anyone else, and Florence is convinced that her mum and dad will get back together. 💔➡️❤️

Buy this for your son or daughter (but read it yourself too! 😉) and watch their faces as they read — I bet you anything they won’t be able to stop smiling. 😁📖

Thank you to Scholastic UK for the gifted copy of The Dad Trap by Ian Eagleton 🎁📚 which will be gifted to my eldest granddaughter next week. 💕👧

About the Book

When William and Florence meet on the first day of Year Six, they instantly dislike each other. William is impulsive, endlessly chatty and struggles in school. His home life is safe and predictable - just him and Dad, who adopted him as a solo parent - and that's how William likes it.

Florence is sullen, cold, and everything seems to come easily to her. She's moved after her parents' divorce - but she's convinced she won't be staying long because they'll definitely get back together...

But then Florence and William find out that their dads have started seeing each other. Now they must put their differences to one side. Because only if they work together might they stand a chance of splitting up their dads... Let the sabotage commence!

About Ian

Ian is 35 years old and is the director of The Reading Realm. He is also a content creator and resource writer for various educational organisations, including The Literacy Shed and Authorfy. Ian has taught in primary schools for 13 years and during this time has been a member of the senior management team, a phase leader, and literacy co-ordinator. Ian has also run staff training and writing workshops for children. He still teaches part time at a local school and especially enjoys sharing picture books, poetry and creative writing activities with the children he teaches.



Read More

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

My Review for Dreams Come True at the Fairytale Museum by Jaimie Admans

November 12, 2025  , , , , ,  No comments


'Today has been the draggiest day in the history of draggy days.'

I didn’t want to read this book. Not because I thought I wouldn’t like it — I knew I’d adore it — but because it’s the last book in a series I’m not ready to say goodbye to. 😢 Jaimie Admans’ Ever After Street series is one of my most favourite series ever. It’s cute, cosy and funny, and every time I read one of the books, I feel like I’ve been wrapped up in a great big warm hug — no matter which one it is — and Dreams Come True at the Fairytale Museum is no exception. 💜

I love Lissa’s enthusiasm for the museum she’s so lucky to be in charge of. All she wants is for her visitors to experience the passion she feels, as her exhibits bring joy to children and adults alike. But what she wasn’t expecting was the devastating news that it all might be taken away from her. Enter Warren! Unfortunately, I didn’t like him from the beginning because I knew a Warren at school who was a complete idiot with a stupid name (sorry to all the Warrens out there)! 😂 I can’t say he grew on me, if I’m honest — maybe he would have if he’d been called George, Brad, Tom or Hugh! Haha, I jest — he was okay really.

All the other shopkeepers on Ever After Street are amazing. They all look after each other, they have their own WhatsApp group, and I want to be friends with them all. They adore Lissa, and the things they get up to to try and help her make the museum successful are so sweet, kind and caring.

This is book six in the Ever After Street series, but it can definitely be read as a standalone — although honestly, you need to meet all the other amazing characters and read their stories too. I’ll miss them all a lot. Thank you, Jaimie, for bringing Ever After Street into my life. 💕

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Dreams Come True at the Fairytale Museum by Jaimie Admans.

About the Book

A BRAND-NEW joyously whimsical, utterly enchanting and totally heart-tugging tale of magic, mischief and modern-day fairytales. Perfect for fans of Sarah Addison Allen, Ali McNamara and Jenny Colgan ✨💕 A place where dreams come true...

Lissa's heart belongs to the Colours of the Wind museum, a charming haven where fairytale artifacts whisper tales of old. But her quiet magic is shattered when a sleek real estate firm buys the building, threatening to demolish her beloved museum. Lissa is devastated and ready to fight.

Enter Warren Berrington, the infuriatingly handsome developer whose modern vision clashes with her quirky world. He talks budgets; she dreams of wishing wells. Yet, Warren offers a three months to save the museum, and despite their fiery arguments, a curious spark ignites between them.

Then, true enchantment begins. Spinning wheels whir, glass slippers vanish, and enchanted objects embark on whimsical adventures, making the museum an overnight sensation. Lissa dares to hope her dreams are finally within reach.

But she can't shake the feeling Warren is playing games. Could he be orchestrating events for a clever ploy, or is Ever After Street weaving a new fairytale, one that might just involve her heart?

About Jaimie

Jaimie is a 38-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, watching horror movies, and drinking tea, although she’s seriously considering marrying her coffee machine. 

She loves autumn and winter, and singing songs from musicals despite the fact she’s got the voice of a dying hyena. She hates spiders, hot weather, and cheese & onion crisps. She spends far too much time on Twitter and owns too many pairs of boots. 

She will never have time to read all the books she wants to read.



Read More

Thursday, September 4, 2025

My Review for Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow by Jessica Redland, read by Emma Swan

September 04, 2025  , , ,  No comments


“The less you respond to negative people, the more peaceful your life will become. Find your peace”

Hedgehog Hollow was my first venture into Jessica's books, way back at the beginning of the summer of 2024 - yes I'm only just now writing my review! 🙊 What can I say? Life gets in the way!

Anyway, I'm here now and I adored it. I saw the word 'hedgehog' and I knew I'd love it. Samantha was so deserving of finding a new life in a new place and making new friends, after having so much taken away from her, and so many mean people in her life. I admired her stoicism and endeavours to open a hedgehog rescue centre and make Thomas's dreams come true.

Emma Swan was brilliant at narrating this, she drew me into Sam's life, hopes, and dreams and all the itsy, bitsy, cutesy hedgehogs. I've already listened to the second one in this series, which I loved just as much. 

Jessica fast became one of my favourite authors, and now I am looking forward to working my way through all her books. 

About the Book

As Samantha Wishaw watches the love of her life marry another woman, she’s ready to give up hope of finding her happy ever after.

But when a chance encounter leads Sam to find friendship in Thomas – a lonely, grumpy elderly widower living at derelict Hedgehog Hollow – her life is about to change forever.

Glad to have a distraction from family feuds and match-making, Sam vows to fulfill Thomas and his wife, Gwendoline’s, dreams of restoring Hedgehog Hollow to its former glory, and to open a hedgehog rescue centre.

Throwing herself into the task at hand, little does Sam realize that the keys to love and happiness may also be found at Hedgehog Hollow, when she least expects it…


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.




Read More