My Review for Am I Allergic to Men by Kristen Bailey

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐  The 5th book in Kristen Bailey’s ‘The Callaghan Sisters’, but you don’t need to have read any of the others to enjoy this one. This is the first Kristen Bailey I’ve read and Lucy is our protagonist, happy-go-lucky Lucy, the sister with the wild streak and a devil-may-care attitude. I loved her, her free spirit, her unconditional love for her family, and simply her energy.

Lucy has it tough throughout much of the story. Following a head injury, she has no memory of the last ten years and has to fight hard to recover what she’s lost. She meets up with friends, colleagues and anyone that may be able to help her work out what she has been up to in the years she’s missing. Her sisters are with her every step of the way and for this, Lucy is thankful. 

I loved the easy reading of ‘Am I Allergic to Men’. I could put it down and pick it back up again without having to remember what I’d read before. However, if you pick a day when you’re not doing much else, if it’s wet and windy outside or you’re lucky enough to be lying in the sunshine in the warmer weather, it will be difficult to even think about putting it down! 

I will definitely add the rest of the Callaghan Sisters books to my TBR list and try to fit them all in soon! 

I was lucky enough to be included in the blog tour for this book, so thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Am I Allergic to Men by Kristen Bailey.

The fabulous Kristen has created a quiz so that readers can find out which sister they are!  Give it a try and let me know.

🙈 I'm Grace - not sure whether that's a good thing or not 🙈

Which Callaghan sister are you? Click here.

Book Description:

You think you’ve got it bad? I lost my memory, I’m so single I’ve basically got an allergy to men, and my own cat despises me.

‘Lucy! If you can hear me, squeeze my hand!’

That’s the first thing I hear when I wake up in hospital. Then my sister drops a bombshell: I’ve been in a coma.

It gets worse. In my head, it’s 2009 and I’m seventeen. Somehow, I need to remember the last decade…

Plan A: Track down my exes. Highlights include a one-night stand with someone in a Batman costume, and balcony sex that gave the neighbours a nervous breakdown.

Plan B: Get flirty. Lowlights include a fling with someone hairier than a yeti.

Plan C: Figure out why I have more exes than underwear. Am I allergic to men?

As I piece together my past, I find a mysterious note: Oscar, 9th February. Determined to work out what it means, I uncover a secret I’ve been hiding from everyone.

When the truth comes out, will my memory return? Will I get my life back? And will I ever find the cure to my singledom?

You’ll laugh so much your abs ache! The perfect page-turner for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk and TV shows like Schitt’s Creek.

Author Bio:

Mother-of-four, gin-drinker, binge-watcher, receipt hoarder, enthusiastic but terrible cook. Kristen also writes. She has had short fiction published in several publications including Mslexia & Riptide. Her first two novels, Souper Mum and Second Helpings were published in 2016. In 2019, she was long-listed in the Comedy Women in Print Prize and has since joined the Bookouture family. She writes women's fiction and she hopes her novels have fresh and funny things to say about modern life, love and family.

You can find out more about her at her website: www.kristenbaileywrites.com.

https://www.facebook.com/kristenbaileywrites/

https://www.instagram.com/kristenbaileywrites/

https://twitter.com/mrsbaileywrites

Hear a sample here:

https://soundcloud.com/bookouture/am-i-allergic-to-men-by-kiersten-bailey-narrated-by-sarah-durham

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My Review for A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is Stacy Willingham's debut novel! I didn't realise this until I'd finished reading it, and to say I was surprised is an understatement. It feels like she's been writing for years! Full of plot twists and turns, I guarantee it'll leave you reeling and wanting more with each turn of the page.

Chloe is the protagonist in A Flicker in the Dark and has been trying to hide from her past, and her serial killer father for the last twenty years but some things just never go away... Flitting back and forth between the present, and Chloe's memories of the past, we begin to understand why she seems as troubled as she is. 

It now seems that the murders are beginning again, with a similar modus operandi and Chloe feels that somehow she is a link to the killings, setting out to try and find out what is going on. Stacy Willingham's novel certainly keeps you on your toes and I really didn't see the ending coming, not in the way that it did. 

Although I've read a few thrillers, it hasn't been my go-to genre but judging by the last couple I've read, I need to read more. A Flicker in the Dark kept me entertained as nothing has done for a while. If you've never read a psychological thriller before, start off with this one! 

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham.

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My Review for The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was such an awesome read and just kept on getting better and better. The more I read, the faster those pages were turning. I was hooked almost from the beginning. A psychological thriller, mystery and suspense, The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan has it all. 

The novel begins in the remoteness of Northumbria as the ladies begin what was supposed to be a relaxing weekend away. However, it turns out to be anything but this. As a storm rages in, the cragginess of the fells of Northumbria becomes treacherous, malevolent and downright scary. 

A story with many characters, each one playing their own part and each adding to the timeline as events occur. They are all damaged, in their own way, and this just adds to the suspense as I tried to get to grips with what was going on. I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next and everything, literally every tiny thing, was a surprise. The author got this dead right, and I didn’t know the identities of bad guys and victims right up until it was revealed. 

If you want to read something to keep you on your toes, then read The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan, full of ‘what the hell’ moments, I guarantee it’ll keep you guessing until the end. 

I was lucky enough to be included in the blog tour for this book, so thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK and Century Books for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan.  

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My Review for The German Wife by Debbie Rix, Read by Tamsin Kennard

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My first Audiobook of 2022, The German Wife by Debbie Rix, enthralled me from the beginning. Brilliantly narrated by Tamsin Kennard, I plugged myself in at every given opportunity and just couldn’t get enough of Annaliese, Alexander and Hans. Largely set in Germany, during the Second World War, we live life amongst the Vogel family and Hans’ work at Dachau prisoner of war camp. Fast forward to the late 1980s in North America and we discover how their journey has continued.

Listening to The German Wife went some way to showing me more about the atrocities that went on inside the German concentration camps, and how some SS officers probably had little say in what their job roles involved if they wanted to stay alive themselves. We discover the lies that people told, and the in-depth deceit that occurred, all to seem to be, upstanding members of their community.

Debbie Rix has researched her book incredibly well, and before now I hadn’t really thought about how the Nazi regime affected the German people and the way of life which they were forced to endure. We have to remember that most of the people who lived in Germany, would have just wanted a peaceful life, but that they had to live knowing of many brutal acts that would have been carried out, which were beyond their control.

I would thoroughly recommend The German Wife for anyone who enjoys historical fiction and would like to read a book based on the war from a differing viewpoint.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review an ARC of The German Wife by Debbie Rix.

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My Review for Wahala by Nikki May

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wow! Just wow! What an amazing book to start my reading in 2022. Wahala, by Nikki May, is outstanding and I simply loved it, staying up way past my bedtime to finish it! 

Wahala is set in London and centred around three, Anglo-Nigerian friends. Ronke, Boo and Simi have been inseparable since they met at University and are constantly in and out of each other's lives, godmothers to one another's children, and shoulders to cry on when necessary. Until Isobel appears on the scene, causing chaos wherever she goes and with whoever she meets. Everyone's lives are turned upside down and no one can understand what is happening.

I'm not giving too much of a synopsis to this book, it will spoil it for you but read it, read it, read it! It's a romance, a thriller, and a mystery all rolled into one.

I understand that they are making Wahala into a television series later this year, and I'm so excited to hear this. I'm sure it will be awesome.

I'm off to make some jollof rice for dinner!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Wahala by Nikki May.

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My Review for Diary of an Angry Young Man by Rishi Vohra

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ I have very little knowledge of life and events in India or Indian history, but after reading ‘Diary of an Angry Young Man’ by Rishi Vohra, I’d be interested in learning more.

At the beginning of the book, Raghav is a seven-year-old boy, but as the story progresses, he does indeed turn into ‘an angry young man’, for a very good reason.

Inspired by true events, the author has captured the characters and scenes vividly. With the descriptions of the shantytowns and the people begging on the streets, we are almost taken there to experience the sights, sounds, and smells for ourselves.

Raghav wants to make an impact on the country that he lives in and slowly but surely he discovers what he can do to help this happen.

Thank you to the author for contacting me and asking me to read his book in exchange for an honest review. I’m so pleased I accepted and I will definitely read more of his books.

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My Review for Seen and Not Heard by Deborah Jean White

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you fancy a psychological thriller, with an element of quirkiness, then check out ‘Seen and Not Heard’ by Deborah Jean White. 

 Told from two points of view and beginning with Molly. Still a teenager and fresh out of school, Molly falls into a job as a Classroom Assistant and settles in well until the children slowly become absent from her class.

The second point of view is ‘house’. It takes a bit of getting used to, but before long, I can guarantee that you will begin to see things as the house does. It loves children, but isn’t too sure about the adults!

The story had me gripped from the outset and I honestly could not put it down. Yes, it’s slightly strange because I’ve never read a book written as a house before, but weirdly it works. The author brings each character to life, even the house, and we are carried along by memories and present-day as different timelines are visited.

I found the ending surreal, but believable, and I loved the entire book from beginning to end. 

Thank you to Deborah for asking me to read and review ‘Seen and Not Heard. I can’t wait for her next book.

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