My Review for The Love Interest by Victoria Walters

The perfect enemies-to-lovers romance and perfect for anyone who is a diehard romantic. The Love Interest just oozes romance from beginning to end, whether within the pages of the novel Liv is writing or on her perfect date - which has yet to happen!

The Love Interest is another brilliant novel by Victoria Walters and as soon as I got wind of it, I knew I had to read it.

Liv is working in the university library and to her horror, her brother’s best friend and her arch-enemy, is coming to work at the university too, and even worse, he’s moving in with her and her brother, albeit temporarily. 

Any book that has books as one of its subject matters is always a win for me and this doesn’t disappoint. With lots of Mr Darcy and Pride and Prejudice references, The Love Interest kept me entertained during the first drab few days of February.

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to read and review The Love Interest by Victoria Walters.

About the Book

No man can be as good as the one in your imagination... Librarian Liv Thomas has always dreamed of writing a romance novel. But she’s stuck when it comes to creating a romantic hero – sadly – lacking anyone in real life to base him on.

When her brother suggests his best friend stay in their shared flat for a few weeks, she can’t believe her bad luck. Aiden Rivers is irritating and pushes all her buttons. Worst of all, he’s gorgeous, has a sexy accent and reminds her of her all-time favourite character Mr Darcy.

Liv finds herself unexpectedly inspired and the leading man in her novel begins to bear an uncanny resemblance to Aiden. He can never find out she’d never live it down. Because Aiden can only ever be her love interest in the pages of her book – and definitely not in real life… right?!

About Victoria

Victoria Walters is the author of both cosy crime and romantic novels, including the bestselling Glendale Hall series. She has been chosen for WHSmith Fresh Talent, shortlisted for two RNA novels and was picked as an Amazon Rising Star. Previously published by Hera, she is now writing romantic comedies for Boldwood.

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My Review for As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh read by Rasha Zamamiri

"It reminds me that as long as the lemon trees grow, hope will never die".

I have seen this book reviewed many times over on Bookstagram and I love a story that educates and entertains me, and As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow, certainly did this.

I listened to it as an audiobook, read by Rasha Zamamiri and it was haunting. Whilst the majority of us are living free lives, enjoying vacations and being able to travel anywhere we want to, there is still a war continuing in Syria that has been going on for 13 years! I cannot even begin to imagine what that must be like to live through.

As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is an absolutely incredible story with beautiful imagery, but it’s so sad. I’m sure the war in Syria is something that many people will be aware of, yet many won’t know to what extent it has affected and is affecting the people of that country. No one actually wants to leave all that they know and get on a boat to sail to who knows where. They do it because they have no choice if they want to stay alive.

Salama is our protagonist and an amazingly strong female character who is working hard to try to find a way for her and her pregnant sister-in-law to escape her beloved, yet war-torn country. Does she make it? You need to read it for yourself to find out.

As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is classed as a YA book but is definitely a book which should be read by everyone, regardless of age.

About the Book

Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. She still had her parents and her big brother; she still had her home. She had a normal teenager’s life. 

Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe. 

But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive. Salama must contend with bullets and bombs, military assaults, and her shifting sense of morality before she might finally breathe free. And when she crosses paths with the boy she was supposed to meet one fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all. 

Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are—not a war, but a revolution—and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria’s freedom.

About Zoulfa

Zoulfa Katouh is a Canadian writer with Syrian roots. A trilingual pharmacist, currently pursuing a master’s in drug sciences, Zoulfa is the first Syrian author to be published in both the US and the UK in the young adult category. When she's not talking to herself in the woodland forest, she's drinking iced coffee, baking aesthetic cookies and cakes, and telling everyone who will listen about how BTS paved the way. A dream of hers is to get Kim Nam-joon to read one of her books. As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow is her debut novel.

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My Review for The Girl She Left Behind by Jo Bartlett

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book when I read the Author’s Note at the beginning, but I absolutely loved it from start to finish. You won’t find any spoilers in my review because personally, I think knowing how this ends would make it less enjoyable. 

The Girl She Left Behind was sensitively written, with obvious research having gone into how police procedures deal with a missing person and the information which they can and can’t share with relatives.

I loved Phoebe, Jamie and Darcy. Darcy is an amazing little girl who seemingly deals with things the way only children know how to, and with the love and support of those closest to her.

Unfortunately, I could relate to the behaviour of Phoebe and Lucy’s Mum, in the fact that I had to work with someone who showed that sort of behaviour and it did bring up painful memories as I was reading but it did make me realise that I did the right thing by taking myself out of the situation.

The Girl She Left Behind is so much about the loving support of friends in times of need and how trying to at least provide some sense of normality can help with coping mechanisms. I would totally recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a contemporary novel, but please check the trigger warnings beforehand.

Thank you to Boldwood Books, Rachel’s Random Resources and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Girl She Left Behind by Jo Bartlett.

About the Book

Phoebe Spencer left home a long time ago, desperate to get away from her mother's emotional manipulation. She knows her life is better away from her family, but she can’t help feeling she’s simply running away from her problems…

Then Phoebe hears that her younger sister Lucy has disappeared, leaving behind her four-year old daughter, Darcy. Phoebe's certain Lucy will be back soon - she'd never leave Darcy alone - and then Phoebe can get on with her life again.

But as the days pass there's still no sign of Lucy, and everyone begins to fear the worst. Phoebe has to consider the terrible truth that Lucy might never come home. And as their mother makes it clear she wants to take control of Darcy’s life, Phoebe must do all she can to protect the girl her sister left behind – no matter the cost to her.

About Jo

Jo Bartlett is the bestselling author of over nineteen women’s fiction titles. She fits her writing in between her two day jobs as an educational consultant and university lecturer and lives with her family and three dogs on the Kent coast. Her first title for Boldwood is The Cornish Midwife – part of a twelve-book deal.

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My Review for The Keeper of the Irish Secret by Susanne O'Leary

The Keeper of the Irish Secret is the first book in a new series - the Magnolia Manor series - and looks set to be just as much fun as Susanne’s previous books. Magnolia Manor, in Dingle, County Kerry, has been in the Fleury family for generations but has fallen into disrepair. The three granddaughters, Lily, Rose and Violet, have grand plans for the large Georgian house, but first, they need to persuade their grandmother that it’s a good idea!

I loved all the characters in Susanne’s new book. From the outset, both Lily and Dominic had a place in my heart and I was rooting for them the whole way through. In particular, I really want to go and live in Dominic’s house on the beach with its great view of the Atlantic Ocean! I enjoyed the quirky, eccentricity of Wolfie’s character and I think he’d be such a fun man to work for!

I love reading books set in Ireland and as I’m reading them; I try to do the accent in my head! I’m looking forward to the next book in the Magnolia Manor series, which will tell Rose’s story. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review The Keeper of the Irish Secret by Susanne O’Leary.

About the Book

A mysterious old house, an unforgettable romance and a lost granddaughter escaping to the stunning Irish coast…Lily Fleury used to love visiting her eccentric grandmother Sylvia in Ireland, taking long sunset walks on the beach and exploring the nooks and crannies of the family’s old home Magnolia Manor. But when she arrives from Dublin broken-hearted, hoping to heal in Sylvia’s warm embrace, she finds the once ornate Georgian house in disrepair and the gardens wildly overgrown. Sylvia has always been fiercely independent, but Lily can’t believe she hasn’t told anyone she’s been struggling.Lily knows she can’t leave until she gets Sylvia back on her feet. Although mysterious local builder Dominic agrees to help, from the moment Lily looks into his fierce green eyes they clash over how to fix the sprawling estate. It’s only when she hears the soft Irish lilt of his voice as he sings in the local pub that their arguments ignite a spark of passion neither can ignore…But when Lily finds a trunk of tattered letters in the gatehouse, she discovers a devastating secret Sylvia has been hiding about Magnolia Manor. And she soon learns the real reason Dominic agreed to help out.

About Susanne

Susanne O’Leary is the bestselling author of more than 20 novels, mainly in the romantic fiction genre. She has also written three crime novels and two in the historical fiction genre.

The wife of a former diplomat, she has also been a fitness teacher and a translator. She now writes full-time from either of two locations, a rambling 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 doing yoga, she keeps writing, producing a book every six months.

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My Review for The Berlin Wife's Resistance by Marion Kummerow (German Wives Book 3)

I love this series from Marion Kummerow. The Berlin Wife’s Resistance is the third book in the German Wives series and we start this book as we finished off the second, where Julius and Edith are at the Swiss border hoping to escape Germany to begin a new life.

Once again, I had my heart in my mouth throughout the entire book. Just what was in store for the families that were simply trying to stay alive in the country of their birth? A country that no longer wants them and will go to the utmost atrocities to rid Germany of these people, by any means necessary.

Marion Kummerow always researches her books brilliantly, and this one was no exception. I always learn something new when reading one of her novels and as I closed the cover on this one I was blown away by the attitude of the women who tried to save their families.

I recommend that you read this series in order to enable yourself to get the full story, and if you enjoy historical fiction and in particular a war story, then I hope you’ll enjoy this one too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review The Berlin Wife’s Resistance by Marion Kummerow.

About the Book

The soldier looks her dead in the eye, his weapon raised. “You must leave now,” he warns. But this is her last chance to save her husband, and she won’t be silenced…

1943. Fleeing Germany had been Edith Falkenstein and her Jewish husband Julius’s last hope, selling their remaining precious possessions to make the gruelling journey. But to their horror, they are turned away at the Swiss border. Devastated, they return to the tiny Berlin apartment they share with other Jewish families, with its peeling wallpaper and bare kitchen cupboards. It is a world away from the heady glamour of their lives before.

Edith’s worst fears come true when Julius is brutally arrested and imprisoned alongside thousands of other Jewish men, destined for the camps. When she hears the news, Edith feels her heart crack wide open with unbearable grief.

But then she hears of women gathering outside the prison in their hundreds—wives and mothers from every walk of life whose relatives have also been taken. They are united by a single, desperate wish. She links arms with the woman next to her and takes up the chant.

Standing among these brave women offers Edith a flicker of hope. But can they really save their loved ones? And as Edith faces the lines of German soldiers with cold savagery in their eyes, will she pay the ultimate price for this small act of courage?

An absolutely unputdownable, heartbreaking and hopeful story of love and courage. Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, My Name is Eva and The Nightingale will be swept away by this book based on incredible true events.

About Marion

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 The T**t Files: A Life of Mistakes - No Regrets by Dawn French, Read by Dawn French

In one of my Instagram book clubs, we decided that January would be non-fiction month, and Dawn French’s The T**t Files was the overwhelming winner when we all voted. As soon as I discovered this was the choice, I thought what could be better than Dawn reading the book herself, in her own inimitable style. 

I found the book on Audible and settled down, just after Christmas, to begin listening. What a hilarious journey Dawn takes you on throughout the book as she travels through her illustrious career, sharing with the listener, the mistakes she’s made, the misunderstandings she’s encountered and basically, how she has made a champion t**t of herself (her words - not mine)!

I laughed out loud; I shared stories with my husband and I snorted into my tea as I was listening to Dawn’s ramblings. I resonated with so many of her stories, telling her that yes, I too had almost ridden a horse upside down! (Well, it was actually a fat pony - but same difference)!

The T**t Files is a perfect example of how not to take ourselves too seriously. To laugh at all the t**ty things we’ve done and, more importantly, to share them with others! 

I love these words that Dawn shares and agree with each and every line.

💜 Mistakes tell us about ourselves.

💜 Mistakes tell us about others.

💜 Mistakes are hilarious.

💜 Mistakes expose our flaws.

💜 Mistakes show us ourselves honestly.

💜 Mistakes are gloriously human

Thank you to the @bookstabrits Book Club for choosing The T**t Files by Dawn French as January's read.

About the Book

Discover the truth behind the many, many times Dawn French has been a complete twat over the last sixty years.

When I was younger I wanted to be an interesting, sophisticated, semi-heroic, multi-layered person.

BUT.

That kind of perfect is impossible. Being an actual twat is much more the real me. Sorry to boast, but I am a champion twat.

In The Twat Files I will tell you about all the times I've been a total and utter twat. The moments where I've misunderstood stuff and messed up. In my life these have been key 

Mistakes tell us about ourselves.

Mistakes tell us about others.

Mistakes are hilarious.

Mistakes expose our flaws.

Mistakes show us ourselves honestly.

Mistakes are gloriously human.

My hope is that these stories might fire up yer engines to remind you of just what a massive twat you also are.

Let's celebrate and revel in this most delightful of traits together.

That would be perfectly twatty.

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My Review for Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Read by Jeremy Irons

Lolita was January’s read for an online Classics Book Club. I began by listening to the audiobook, read by the amazing Jeremy Irons who narrated it brilliantly. I started just after Christmas while working on my Harry Potter diamond art. Talk about diverse! From fantasy witches and wizards to a classic from a Russian/American novelist.

To be completely honest, I rarely read a synopsis of a book before I dive in and I had zero idea what Lolita was about before I put those AirPods in. There were a lot of ‘what the hell am I listening to’ moments until I finally settled into the story. I switched towards the end and read the final third from my beautiful Penguin Clothbound copy. I know that people’s views and reviews of Lolita vary, and are sometimes contentious, but there can be no mistaking the beauty of the imagery which Nabokov portrays. 

Lolita, despite the difficult subject matter, was exquisitely written. There were many,

many words that I didn’t understand, but I was too invested to take the time to look them up and it absolutely didn’t matter and it didn’t detract from my thorough enjoyment of the story.

I can’t say that I actually liked any of the characters. Humbert Humbert is our protagonist who is telling the reader his story from inside a prison cell, although he hasn’t been convicted yet. Lolita/Dolores is Humbert’s nymphet, his twelve-year-old obsession. Did she seduce him, or was it the other way around? I think that depends on the reader and I’ll leave that for you to decide. Regardless, though, what Humbert did in kidnapping and having sex with the underage Lolita was ultimately a crime and I guess explains why the book was banned in several countries for a few years.

I recommend that if you are thinking of reading Lolita, then you check out the trigger warnings first.

Thank you to #classiclitbookclub for choosing Lolita as January’s read. It’s been a great start to 2024.

About the Book

Poet and pervert, Humbert Humbert becomes obsessed by twelve-year-old Lolita and seeks to possess her, first carnally and then artistically, out of love, 'to fix once for all the perilous magic of nymphets'. Is he in love or insane? A tortured soul or a monster? Humbert Humbert's seduction is one of many dimensions in Nabokov's dizzying masterpiece, which is suffused with a savage humour and rich, elaborate verbal textures.

About Vladimir

Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977), born in St Petersburg, exiled in Cambridge, Berlin, and Paris, became the greatest Russian writer of the first half of the twentieth century. Fleeing to the US with his family in 1940, he then became the greatest writer in English of the second half of the century, and even 'God's own novelist' (William Deresiewicz). He lived in Europe from 1959 onwards, and died in Montreux, Switzerland. All his major works - novels, stories, an autobiography, poems, plays, lectures, essays and reviews - are published in Penguin Modern Classics.

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