My Review for The Nursery by Sue Watson

⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was a weird one, sort of mystery and a thriller with some psychological stuff thrown in. I didn’t really like Emily. In fact, I didn’t really like any of the characters, apart from Mrs Peabody, who appears for about a nanosecond at one point.

Emily ran away to Sidmouth in Devon twelve years ago, and she’s been hiding ever since, but what did she run from and why? 

It takes a talented author to write a story where none of the characters are particularly likeable, but this is what Sue Watson has done, and she’s done it brilliantly. There are some dark moments throughout the book and a lot of things happen that I honestly just didn’t see coming and one particular WTF moment towards the end! 

I’d urge you to check The Nursery out if strange psychological novels are your thing. Definitely, one I’d recommend if you don’t know what to read next.

I am lucky enough to be a part of Books on Tour for this book, so thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Nursery by Sue Watson.

Book Description

Then: Morning light shines into the nursery, casting shadows across the pale pink walls and wooden cot in the middle of the room. She opens the door expecting to hear the soft coo of her daughter Sofia stretching herself awake. But the room is silent. The cot is empty. Her little girl has vanished…

Now: Twelve years have passed, but Emily will never forget the night her life changed forever and she’s happy to have her daughter back beside her. A teenager now, Sofia – who was once a star student – is getting into trouble at school and she’s started asking questions about when she was a baby, but Emily can’t tell her what really happened the night she went missing. Nobody would understand why Emily did what she did, and if anyone ever found out, she could lose her daughter forever.

But when Emily catches Sofia messaging a stranger online, her heart pounds in her chest as she reads the last message received.

Your mother isn’t who you think she is.

Days later, Emily returns home to find the house silent. She checks every room but Sofia has vanished, again. She shudders as she remembers that night in the nursery. Has her past finally caught up with her? And is she already too late to save her precious daughter?

A completely gripping, utterly twisted thriller that will leave your jaw on the floor. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Wife Between Us and The Woman in the Window.

Author Bio

Sue Watson was a journalist on national magazines and newspapers before becoming a TV producer with the BBC.

Now a USA Today bestselling author, Sue explores the darker side of life, writing psychological thrillers with big twists.

Originally from Manchester, she now lives with her family in leafy Worcestershire where much of her day is spent writing – and procrastinating. Her hobby is eating cake while watching diet and exercise programmes from the sofa, a skill she’s perfected after many years of practice.

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My Review for The Lost Letters in Ireland by Susanne O'Leary

⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Lost Letters of Ireland is the fifth in the Starlight Cottage series, but only the second one I’ve read, and these can definitely be read as a stand-alone

.

Edwina is nearly forty and has come to a fork in the road that is her life. She’s just resigned from her job in the city and has recently broken up with a flashy boyfriend. So what does she do next?

I loved reading about Edwina’s new project in Sandy Cove and the friends she makes along the way, most of whom you will have met before if you have read any of the other Starlight Cottage books. The project eventually brings her family closer together, but can they all put what happened in the past behind them and move on?

Aside from Edwina's renovation project, there is another story intertwined as she sets herself a mission to find out who wrote the message in a bottle, which she discovers in the sea at the beginning of her stay in Sandy Cove.

I love this book’s cover; it’s so adorable and I want to walk down that path to the cottage and see what’s behind the blue door! Check out Susanne O’Leary’s latest novel if you want something lovely to read as the nights draw in and you settle down with a mug of tea.

I am lucky enough to be a part of Books on Tour for this book, so thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Lost Letters of Ireland by Susanne O’Leary.

Book Description

A totally captivating story about long-lost family secrets and new beginnings, that will whisk you away to the village of Sandy Cove on the gorgeous Irish coast.

Heartbroken and feeling lost after the end of her last relationship, Edwina is looking for a fresh start. And when she hears that a coastguard cottage in the tiny village of Sandy Cove is for sale, she knows it could be her chance. She remembers the village from her childhood with its beautiful sandy white beaches, and wonders if using her life savings to buy the cottage might give her a new beginning in the Irish town beside the sea.

Not long after she arrives, Edwina discovers a message in a bottle during one of her walks along the coast. Written twenty years ago and washed ashore at Wild Rose Bay, it tells the story of a desperate young man, driven to despair after a terrible accident that left him separated from his true love. Touched by his heartbreaking letter, and haunted by its contents, Edwina resolves to find the person who wrote it.

As she begins her search, Edwina meets Shane O’Flaherty, a charming local doctor with green eyes, with whom she feels an instant connection. As the pair walk the cobbled streets of the village together, Edwina’s feelings grow stronger, and she begins to wonder whether Sandy Cove might be the place she can finally call home…

But when she uncovers the identity of the person who wrote the letter all those years ago, everything Edwina thought she knew about Shane changes in an instant. Has she unearthed a secret that should never have come to light? And will it force her to leave the place where she thought she had finally found happiness?

Fans of Sheila O’Flanagan, Mary Alice Monroe and Debbie Macomber will fall in love with this gripping, heart-warming and utterly charming Irish romance.

Author Bio

Susanne O'Leary is the bestselling author of more than twenty novels, mainly in the romantic fiction genre. She has also written three crime novels and two in the historical fiction genre. She has been the wife of a diplomat (still is), a fitness teacher and a translator. She now writes full-time from either of two locations, a ramshackle house in County Tipperary, Ireland or a little cottage overlooking the Atlantic in Dingle, County Kerry. When she is not scaling the mountains of said counties or keeping fit in the local gym, she keeps writing, producing a book every six months.

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My Review for The Woman Outside the Walls by Suzanne Goldring

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Never before have I read anything that will stay with me as much as The Woman Outside the Walls. Never before have I read a book where the protagonist was on the ‘wrong side’ and spent the rest of her life essentially running.

This little old lady who cleans at the church, makes the most amazing cakes and is the ideal neighbour, has a history that she doesn’t want anyone to know about because she feels incredible fear and guilt.  

Written across multiple timelines, Suzanne Goldring’s latest novel will send you on a hugely emotional journey. I was shocked, horrified and disgusted but also sympathetic, understanding, and pleased that Anna’s story was finally being told. 

If you enjoy reading historical fiction and you have an open mind (and stomach) then check out The Woman Outside the Walls. Incredibly educational and a story that will stay with you for a long time.

I am lucky enough to be a part of Books on Tour for this book, so thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Woman Outside the Walls.

Book Description

I always knew it would come out one day. They are finding everyone who has stayed hidden. They would have come to me in the end.

Hamburg, 1942 Seventeen-year-old Anna knows she can never tell her proud parents the truth about where she is going. She must hide the fact that she is pregnant, that the father of her unborn child is dead and that she is on her way to a special maternity home, where her baby will be given to a perfect family. She tells herself that this is the best solution. She doesn’t expect to feel the rush of love for her beautiful baby boy in the white blanket, or the devastation when he is snatched from her, never to be seen again.

Desperate to forget her grief, she sees an advert for a secretary in a prison, far away in the east. Days later, she leaves Hamburg, travelling eastwards by train, feeling as if a whole new life is about to begin. It is the biggest mistake she will ever make.

London, 2016 Ninety-year-old Anna sits on the edge of her bed, hands trembling, eyes brimming with tears, as she looks at the picture of the soldier in the newspaper. Her friends and neighbours know her as a kindly old lady who bakes cakes and always has time to listen to their troubles. They don’t know about the hated green uniform she burned, the memories of the prisoners she tried to help and the bombed and blackened city she once called home. But now the time for a reckoning has come, will revealing the truth free Anna or destroy her?

A gripping read that will break your heart and have you hooked, perfect for fans of The Alice Network, The Nightingale and My Name is Eva. The Woman Outside the Walls will take you on an emotional journey and show you that in war, even when you are on the wrong side, you can still do the right thing…

Author Bio

Following an eventful career as a public relations consultant, specialising in business and travel, Suzanne Goldring turned to writing the kind of novels she likes to read, about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Whether she is working in her thatched cottage in Hampshire or her seaside home in North Cornwall, Suzanne finds inspiration in the secrets hidden by everyday life.

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My Review for My Husband's Lover by Jess Ryder

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  What an awesome, captivating, page-tuner! I was hooked from about chapter 3 and you would find me with my nose between the covers at every opportunity. Full of subterfuge, lies and heart-stopping moments, My Husband’s Lover is my first foray into author Jess Ryder’s world, but it won’t be my last.

Sophie and her Swimmers are off on a wild-water swimming experience in the depths of Scotland and one of them is there for an entirely different reason, but who is it and what is her reason for joining Sophie’s Swimmers?

My Husband’s Lover just goes to show that everyone has their secrets and we can never be too sure what is going on in another person’s life - whether good or bad.

If you fancy a fast-paced, riding by the seat of your pants, psychological thriller, then check out Jess Ryder’s latest novel, out now!

I am lucky enough to be a part of Books on Tour for this book, so thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of My Husband’s Lover by Jess Ryder.

Book Description

A wife. A mistress. A week away with no escape…

As my girlfriends and I sip wine and share secrets in the flickering candlelight of our remote Scottish hideaway, we all agree we need this break. Every morning we will swim in icy cold lochs and hike to remote beaches and each night we will sip wine and share stories, cosy beside the log burner. It will be a break none of us will ever forget.

But behind my warm smile, there is ice in my heart. One of my friends is my husband’s lover, and it’s only a matter of time before I discover which one. She thinks she has me fooled, but she’s not the only one with secrets.

I don’t let my smile slip, but as I get closer to the truth, it becomes very clear that in these remote Scottish hills, far from help, someone is going to pay for their lies with their life…

A completely gripping and addictive page turner. Fans of The Guest List, K.L. Slater and Jackie Kabler will be utterly hooked on My Husband’s Lover.

Author Bio

Jess Ryder is the pseudonym of Jan Page, author, screenwriter, playwright and award-winning television producer. After many years working in children’s media, she has recently embarked on a life of crime. Writing, that is. So she’s very excited about the publication of her debut thriller Lie to Me. Her other big love is making pots.

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My Review for Daughter of the Dawn by Marion Kummerow

⭐⭐⭐⭐ The last book in this series from Marion Kummerow and our final journey with Margarete and Stefan. Once again we are enveloped within the resistance world of the Second World War, as Margarete, disguised as a young German woman, Annegret Huber tries to help save as many Jews as she can from being transported to the Prisoner of War camps.

The author takes us along with Margarete and Stefan as their relationship grows despite the hardships they are forced to overcome. As Margarete is betrayed by an old schoolfriend, Stefan steps up to help manage the estate in her absence. We discover how the Poles, Jews and Germans worked alongside each other when necessary and that actually, some wanted the same outcome.

These books could be read as stand-alone. Indeed, I have only read the final two in the series, but for the full experience of Margarete’s journey I would suggest starting at the beginning with A Light in the Window. If you enjoy historical fiction and books about the resistance during the Second World War, then check out Marion Kummerow’s books.

I am lucky enough to be a part of Books on Tour for this book, so thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Daughter of the Dawn by Marion Kummerow.

Book Description

1944, Germany: The war is still raging, as a young woman named Margarete hides from the Nazis in plain sight. With each day that passes, she takes more risks. But will one of those risks ultimately take her to the most evil place on earth?

After a bombing led to her identity being mistaken, Margarete Rosenbaum has been living disguised as one of the Nazis themselves, for almost the entire war.

But secretly—aided by Stefan, a resistance fighter she’s becoming impossibly drawn to—she is trying to liberate the Jewish workers sent to work on the land she’s inherited, and to sabotage the work of the factory she’s meant to be in charge of.

She knows that every day she is risking her life. But she also knows what she has to do. Because it could be her on the other side of the barbed wire fence. And for every person she saves from the Nazis, it’s worth it.

Until she is discovered. And to protect the people she had been helping, she knows she must accept her fate. Even when they send her to the very place she’s hoped to save her prisoners from: Auschwitz… Where no one comes out alive. As the war moves towards its brutal end, will she survive to see Stefan again?

A totally heartbreaking story about courage, love and betrayal, perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Beneath a Scarlet Sky and All the Light We Cannot See.

Author Bio

Marion Kummerow was born and raised in Germany, before she set out to "discover the world" and lived in various countries. In 1999 she returned to Germany and settled down in Munich where she's now living with her family.

Inspired by the true story about her grandparents, who belonged to the German resistance and fought against the Nazi regime, she started writing historical fiction, set during World War II. Her books are filled with raw emotions, fierce loyalty and resilience. She loves to put her characters through the mangle, making them reach deep within to find the strength to face moral dilemma, take difficult decisions or fight for what is right. And she never forgets to include humor and undying love in her books, because ultimately love is what makes the world go round.

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My Review for Christmas in the Little Irish Village by Michelle Vernal

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ The first book in a new series by Michelle Vernal and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Shannon is heading back to her home village of Emerald Bay, just in time for Christmas, after a traumatic break-up and having to leave an apartment she can no longer afford.

James is a visitor to Emerald Bay, but why is he so far from home, a few days from Christmas, and just what is his link to the village?

Family, friends, a cosy pub and your Nan’s cooking. What more could any girl need? I also wanted to sit around the family kitchen table, eating hot pot and soda bread slathered in butter, with the snow falling softly outside with my fluffy Persian cat on my lap!

If you enjoy a cute, Christmassy romance, then go and grab yourself a copy of Christmas in the Little Irish Village and settle yourself by the fire with a glass of mulled wine.

I am lucky enough to be a part of Books on Tour for this book, so thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Christmas in the Little Irish Village.

Book Description

Welcome to the little Irish village where Christmas celebrations are in full swing! Twinkling lights, cosy fires and big mugs of hot chocolate are in abundance as Shannon Kelly returns home to the Shamrock Inn. Will this be the year she finds the man of her dreams or is she destined to be forever unlucky in love?

Thirty-four-year-old Shannon is heartbroken following an unexpected break up. Seasonal joy is the last thing on her mind, as she wonders if she’ll ever find the kind of long-lasting love she’s always dreamed of. Even the comforting distractions of her big Irish family can’t cheer her up. Then things get even worse when Shannon slips over on the ice and finds herself red-faced in the arms of a gorgeous American man…

Despite the embarrassing encounter, Shannon can’t help wondering who the handsome stranger is. She soon finds out when James Cabot takes a room at the Shamrock Inn. Their second meeting is equally disastrous when she gives James the tour – without realising her skirt is tucked into her knickers! Shannon isn’t sure how she’s going to survive living under the same roof when she has such a talent for making a complete eejit of herself, and resolves to avoid their new guest at all costs.

But when Shannon discovers James is in Ireland because he’s claiming to be the long-lost grandson of her elderly neighbour, Maeve Doolin, she is immediately suspicious. Shannon has known kind Maeve since she was a little girl and feels protective of her, so she’s determined to find out the truth. Even if it means spending more time with James…

The two of them end up getting closer than she’d bargained for when they take a tour of Emerald Bay and end up snowed in together. But just as James begins to make Shannon’s heart melt with his cheeky grin and awful carol singing, a shocking secret threatens to shatter the growing romance between them.

Can Shannon trust James? And will she get the happily-ever-after she’s been hoping for this Christmas?

This gorgeous festive romance is the perfect cosy read to snuggle up with this Christmas. Fans of Nicola May, Trisha Ashley and Debbie Macomber will love this wonderfully uplifting novel.

Author Bio

Michelle Vernal is a New Zealand author who writes stories that will take you onto the page with her characters and make you feel part of their lives. She writes with humour and warmth, and her readers describe her books as unputdownable, feel good and funny. Her writing has been likened to Maeve Binchy but with a modern-day vernacular. In 2015 she was shortlisted for the Love Stories Award. In 2020 she won the Reader's Favorite Gold Medal Award for Chick lit, and in 2021 was shortlisted for the Page Turner Book Awards.

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My Review for The Perfect Mother by Matthew Farrell

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fast-paced, energetic and twisted. Three words to describe The Perfect Mother by Matthew Farrell. I really enjoyed reading this and raced through it in just a couple of days. It took me a few chapters to work out what was going on, as there are multiple timelines, and there were occasions when I couldn’t remember what was happening in each one. However, by the middle of the book, I’d sussed it out, and was excited to discover what was happening, and why.

Laura is our protagonist, and I loved her and hated her at the same time. The author was brilliant at managing my emotions and I’m pretty sure they were chopping and changing as he’d anticipated.

I definitely hadn’t envisaged some of the twists and turns that just kept coming and I was kept guessing throughout. This is my first venture into Matthew Farrell’s world, but it won’t be my last. If you love a psychological thriller, that’ll keep you on your toes, then put The Perfect Mother on your Christmas list.

I am lucky enough to be a part of Books on Tour for this book, so thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Perfect Mother by Matthew Farrell.

Book Description

A totally addictive and unputdownable psychological thriller packed with twists by Matthew Farrell

My daughter is gone. She’s been taken. I grip the phone so hard I think it might break, and try to focus on what they’re saying. I realise I’m not crying, even though I feel like I’ve been split in two. And then they say a name that makes my blood run cold…

Suddenly, my past and present collide. My heart pounds in my chest, memories flooding my head. I have to focus on my daughter, Nelle, but I can’t escape the panicked questions rushing in. How do they know about Betty? And what else do they know?

I picture Nelle’s beautiful green eyes and freckled cheeks, knowing that I have a choice to make. Just how far am I willing to go to protect my beloved family—and my secrets?

They give me an address in a tiny lake town upstate. I know another mother, a better mother, would call the police, but in seconds I’m driving as fast as I can away from my perfect white house with its perfect green lawn and the whole perfect life I’ve built since I last heard that name, my knuckles white on the steering wheel.

I’m terrified I’ll never see Nelle again. But I’ve been hiding behind my lies for twenty years. If the truth finally comes out, will my daughter ever forgive me? I don’t know. But I have to save her first to find out.

From bestselling author Matthew Farrell, this unbelievably twisty, unputdownable psychological thriller will keep you guessing right up to the final page! Fans of Freida McFadden, My Lovely Wife and The Couple Next Door will be hooked.

Author Bio

Matthew Farrell is the Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Adler & Dwyer thriller series. He lives just outside of New York City in the Hudson Valley with his wife and two daughters and is currently at work on his next novel.

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