Friday, May 16, 2025

My Review for All the Lost Pieces by Lara Martin

May 16, 2025  , , , , ,  No comments


'All the pieces of herself she'd lost along the way, well, it was time to start recapturing them'.

First, my sincere apologies to the author who kindly gifted me a copy of her book back in 2023, and I'm ashamed to say it's taken me two years to read it. Over commitment is my only excuse, but I am trying to do better this year!

I adored everything about this book. I loved all the characters, although Tammy was the one exception, she was a real piece of work! Each of them bring their own unique charm to the story and I especially fell in love with Ano - the things that man can do with food - if only this book had the ability to send cooking fragrances through the pages!

I lived alongside Nina as she navigated her way through finding the right job for her, attempting to win people round, but also being mindful not to tread on any toes as she finds pleasure and happiness in her personal life as well as her career. It's rare that I shed a tear when I'm reading, but I have to admit that there were a couple of times towards the end of this one that I had to stifle a sniffle!

I wish I hadn't waited so long to read this, and I will definitely be working my way through Lara's other books very soon.

Thank you to Lara Martin for the opportunity to read and review All the Lost Pieces.

About the Book

Twenty-nine-year-old Nina Abrahams is not in a good place. She’s been fired from her restaurant manager job after she stands up to her bully of a boss, her motivational speaker mother is helping other people get their lives on track and ignoring the derailing of her daughter’s, and her best friend, Lucas Wilson, the guy she’s loved since she was eighteen, can’t seem to look beyond the girl in braces to the woman she is now.

When a new opportunity comes up, Nina decides it’s the perfect time to start over. The restaurant needs a reinvention and so does she. Unfortunately for Nina, the restaurant comes with hostile servers, a belligerent chef, and an owner averse to change.

But if Nina’s brave enough to take on the restaurant and tackle the people out to sabotage her, perhaps she can find the courage to tell Lucas how she really feels, even if it means risking the most important relationship in her life.


About Lara - by Lara

I was born in South Africa, lived for twelve years in Melbourne, Australia and now call a cozy village in England my home.

I have tried a variety of amazing and awful jobs: video game reviewer, graphic designer, insurance claims agent, proofreader, feature writer and magazine editor.

But all of those jobs have been about putting food on the table and collecting stories that worm their way into my books. Writing fiction has always been – and no doubt always will be – my first occupational love.

Writing love stories started with my first kiss. I was number four in a long line of 14-year-old girls queuing in the hot sun outside a shed to kiss the tallest and cutest boy in our after-school centre. When it was my turn, I entered the gloomy, musty-smelling shed to glimpse a tower of car tyres next to a dark silhouette.

My first crush. Waiting for me. 

Nerves tingling, heart galloping, I climbed the tower, hooked my arm in one of the tyres and leaned over to where I calculated his cheek would be. I found his cheek, but lost my balance, toppling into him, his startled shout echoing in my ear as my braces gouged a groove in his cheek.

In the humiliating aftermath, I came away with a resolve that yes, my characters will go through turmoil, they’ll each have their Horror Shed Moments, times when I’ll push them further than they want to go, but they will ALWAYS get their happy ending.

My happy ending came at the age of twenty-four when I met Craig. After a classic best-friends-becoming-something-more love story, we got married. Happily, I can tell you that after you’re married the two are no longer mutually exclusive – your husband can be your best friend and the love of your life.

When I’m not working on my next novel, my two children keep me busy with life questions I can’t always answer and math problems that make me wish I’d concentrated more in school.




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Thursday, May 15, 2025

My Review for This Is Why We Lied by Karin Slaughter, read by Kathleen Early

May 15, 2025  , , , , ,  No comments

One toxic family. Eight suspicious guests. Everyone is guilty. But who is a killer?

I may be a bit of a dunce, but I had no idea what a locked-room mystery was - but now I've worked it out! Duh - pretty self-explanatory, really! Anyway, this is one, and I loved it, it was such a great listen, and because we are kept in the dark about so many things, it was really difficult to try to work out who the killer was. Throughout, I was guessing, and with each chapter I was wrong and had to try to think again!

I enjoyed the constant back-and-forth from the present time, to specific times before the murder, it made it much more exciting and definitely helps clarify events, so the reader can decide who is and isn't in the frame!

Each and every one of the characters brought an element of 'screwed up' to the story and yep, many of them had a reason to be the killer! Kathleen Early as the narrator brought that element of mystery and suspense to the story, which always makes a book stand out for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review This Is Why We Lied by Karin Slaughter.

About the Book

One toxic family. Eight suspicious guests. Everyone is guilty. But who is a killer?

Welcome to the luxury McAlpine Lodge…

Nestled in the misty mountains, it’s the perfect getaway. Until a woman’s body is found.

Everyone is a suspect.

The cruel father.

The toxic mother.

The bitter family.

The silent staff.

The suspicious guests.

Each of them is guilty of something. But only one is a killer. You’ll never guess who…

About Karin

Karin Slaughter is one of the world's most popular and acclaimed storytellers.

She is the author of more than twenty instant New York Times bestselling novels, including the Edgar–nominated Cop Town and standalone novels Pretty Girls, The Good Daughter, and Pieces of Her. She is published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. Pieces of Her is a #1 Netflix original series starring Toni Collette, and WILL TRENT, based on her Will Trent series, is on ABC (and streaming on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally). False Witness and The Good Daughter are in development for television. Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, she lives in Atlanta.




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Wednesday, May 14, 2025

My Review for Bazaar Girls by Kerrigan Byrne and Cynthia St. Aubin, read by Teddy Hamilton and Stella Hunter

May 14, 2025  , , , , , , ,  No comments


Neurodivergent girl meets messed up bad boy - what can go wrong?!

This is number three in the Townsend Harbor series, I didn't know this, before I started listening, but it really didn't make any difference. Although it took me a long minute and a few chapters to get to grips with who was who and what was what, I must admit I did end up enjoying it. Of course, I was rooting for Gemma and Gabe. Neurodivergent girl meets messed up bad boy - what can go wrong?!

I enjoyed the narrators of this one (of course I did, one of them was Teddy Hamilton)! It was a quick and easy listen once I got into it and held Stars Hollow vibes -if you know, you know! I need to find the other books in the series as audiobooks, and then I can immerse myself further into Townsend Harbor as I'm pootling around the garden on these (fingers crossed) glorious summer days to come.

Thank you to Tantor Media and Libro FM for the opportunity to listen to and review Bazaar Girls by Kerrigan Byrne and Cynthia St. Aubin.

About the Book

Gemini “Gemma” McKendrick knows just about everything about everybody in Townsend Harbor. When she’s not serving on one of the many civic positions or leaping headlong into another hobby, she’s hosting the Sunday Stitch ‘N Bitch at her yarn and craft shop, Bazaar Girls. But all her schmoozing isn’t converting to sales, and with her quirky boutique in big trouble, she makes a snap decision to rent out the basement of her cozy craftsman to Townsend Harbor newcomer Gabe Kelly. A man with a past as colorful as his tattoo sleeves, who has become an urban legend since he blew into town. And who better than Gemma, Townsend Harbor’s own gossip guru, to answer the rumor mill's most pressing questions? Like whether the silver-tongued mechanic is as good with his hands as he is with a socket wrench.

Gabriel “Gabe” Kelly wasn’t born into a family so much as a criminal enterprise. Taught to lift, chop, and rebuild cars since before he could tie his own shoes, he’s obliged to pay his debt to society before deserting Boston for Townsend Harbor, Washington.. A place he could stay out of trouble. He immediately lands about the only job an ex-con with prison muscles and neck tattoos could easily find in a town like this–a mechanic for a high-end vintage car shop. Moonlighting as the only tow truck in a thirty-mile radius, he rescues the absent-minded hottie who runs the local yarn shop. But he quickly discovers that a toy-sized car with a dashboard lit up by Christmas isn’t the only thing in Gemma McKendrick’s life desperately in need of maintenance. Gabe, who is uniquely qualified to diagnose and fix complicated mechanisms, finds his sexy landlord is impossible to figure out. Looks like he’ll have to take a peek at her undercarriage to find out what makes her purr before he hits the road again.

Because women of her caliber don’t take home guys with his make and model…

About Kerrigan 

Kerrigan Byrne is the USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author of several novels in both the romance and mystery genre.

She lives on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington with her wonderful husband, two Rottweiler mixes and a very cuddly cat. When she's not writing and researching, you'll find her kayaking, on the beach, eating, drinking, shopping, and attending live comedy, ballet, or too many movies.



About Cynthia, by Cynthia

Well hello there!

I like gravy. 

This has nothing to do with the rest of my bio, but I thought you ought to know. 

About the writing thing...

​I wrote my first play when I was eight and made my brothers perform it for my parents. I charged gum wrappers for admission (a steal, considering I had handed out the gum wrappers in advance). 

I never quite gave up on the writing thing, even as I earned a Master's degree in art history and spent a decade in the corporate cube. Because the voices in my head kept talking to me, and they discourage drinking at work, i started putting them in books instead. when I'm not standing in front of the fridge eating cheese, you can find me dreaming about what imaginary friends to play with next. 

​​I live in Texas with a handsome musician and two surly cats.






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Monday, May 12, 2025

My Review for Work Trip by Chloe Ford, read by Grace Calder

May 12, 2025  , , , , , , ,  No comments


Laugh-out-loud hilarious!

This was such a fun book to listen to and I finished it within 24 hours. Who doesn't want to be stuck in the Highlands of Scotland with a work colleague that they absolutely cannot stand, with only tents and the random contents of backpacks to survive on??

First off, I cannot imagine anything worse than a team-building exercise away from the office. In the office is bad enough, but overnight, with people you barely tolerate - absolutely no way, thank you very much! But Fliss and James have no choice, they have been abandoned by their boss in the middle of nowhere and need to find their way back to civilisation. There are injuries, awful weather, and arguments, but there is also laughter, camaraderie, and yes, eventually teamwork, and of course maybe there is a smidgen of romance thrown in for good measure. 

Grace Calder narrates Work Trip, and she does an amazing job of nailing the atmosphere, arguments, and romance of what will inevitably be love in the Highlands.

Thank you to NetGalley, Head of Zeus Audiobooks and Aria for the opportunity to listen to and review Work Trip by Chloe Ford.

About the Book

For Fliss, the prospect of a team building work trip fills her with dread. Mostly because she cannot stand her pushy colleague James, who often attempts to derail her brilliant plans. But when the two arrive in the Scottish Highlands, they find themselves facing a unique challenge: their boss has abandoned them in the middle of nowhere with only one tent, two sleeping bags and a few protein bars.

Cut off from the outside world, the pair are forced to put aside their differences to weather the unpredictable elements of the Highlands and get home. As they set out on a journey across miles of rugged wilderness - pushing each other to survive and testing their physical and emotional limits - they remain fully aware of their boss’s manipulative plan to orchestrate a hook up between them.

But even with only each other for company, Fliss and James stand firm in their resolve: they won't give in to any romantic notions. Or will they?


About Chloe, by Chloe

I'm Chloe Ford. I write British set romantic comedies. I grew up in rural Sussex but am now based in Gloucestershire. I have an affinity with all things country, from riding horses to muddy walks. My love for writing began at secondary school when my English teacher would set a writing task for the whole hour. As an avid reader, I started sneaking Mills & Boon books out from under my mum’s bed as a teenager and haven't stopped devouring romance books ever since. 

Some of my all time favourite authors (who I will always recommend) include Lisa Kleypas, Emily Henry and Beth O'Leary. While I do love romance, as a reader, I will also venture into thrillers, historical fiction and huge literary masterpieces such as Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead.




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Sunday, May 11, 2025

My Review for How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie, read by Charly Clive and Paul Panting

May 11, 2025  , , , ,  No comments


Grace hates a lot of her family - so why not kill them?!

Our #BookstaBritsBookClub had mixed reviews for How to Kill Your Family when we discussed it, but I personally loved it. I listened, rather than read this, and perhaps that helped. The dry wit of our female protagonist shone through and Grace Bernard is a complete badass who has done some truly disturbing stuff, but right now she is in jail for a murder that surprisingly she didn't commit. 

I enjoyed the back and forth chapters, flipping between when she is in jail and before, and as she kills a million and one members of her family (well maybe not quite that many but enough anyway)!

I'm sure I shouldn't like Grace, but I do. There are usually valid reasons why she wants people dead, and let's be honest, we've all felt like that at one time or another. It's just that the majority of us don't go through with it!

If you aren't sure about this one, and you like an audiobook, then I would definitely recommend giving it a try. It's witty, sarcastic and actually a lot of fun to listen to.

About the Book

I have killed several people (some brutally, others calmly) and yet I currently languish in jail for a murder I did not commit.

When I think about what I actually did, I feel somewhat sad that nobody will ever know about the complex operation that I undertook. Getting away with it is highly preferable, of course, but perhaps when I’m long gone, someone will open an old safe and find this confession. The public would reel. After all, almost nobody else in the world can possibly understand how someone, by the tender age of 28, can have calmly killed six members of her family. And then happily got on with the rest of her life, never to regret a thing.

When Grace Bernard discovers her absentee millionaire father has rejected her dying mother’s pleas for help, she vows revenge and sets about to kill every member of his family. Readers have a front-row seat as Grace picks off the family one by one – and the result is as gruesome as it is entertaining in this wickedly dark romp about class, family, love… and murder.

But then Grace is imprisoned for a murder she didn’t commit.


About Bella - by Bella

I am a former journalist who previously worked for The Guardian and Vice News. I write a twice monthly Vogue Column. My first book, Jog On, was a memoir about mental health and running. It was a number two best seller (just underneath Michelle Obama, which is a hallowed spot). Since then I’ve written an accompanying journal to encourage others to try exercise more for their minds than their bodies. 

My first foray into fiction was with my book “How To Kill Your Family,” which came out in July 2021 and also ended up in the number two bestseller spot. I’m currently writing a new novel which will hopefully be out in 2023. 

I live in London and spend a lot of time wrangling my large stupid dog. If the book isn’t out in 2023 then he will be why.






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Friday, May 9, 2025

My Review for New Hope For The Clarks Factory Girls by May Ellis

May 09, 2025  , , , , ,  No comments

Friendships and family, new life and new beginnings.

I love being back in Street, in Somerset, as Kate, Louisa, and Jeannie are hoping against hope that Britain will win the dreadful war and their loved ones can come home. Once again the book is full of friendships and family, new life and new beginnings, but it also isn't without its heartache as the atrocities of war are still in action. Prisoner of war camps are real, and the Germans are using that dreadful mustard gas!

Despite everything, this book is full of hope and positivity, and I admire how strong people were (and had to be) during these difficult times. 

I'm pretty sure that this is the last book in the series, and I'm gutted, I'd love to see how the Clarks Factory Girls live their lives as WWI ends and there is fresh hope on the horizon again. Perhaps May will write about them as they have to devastatingly navigate WWII. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Rachel's Random Resources for the opportunity to read and review New Hope For The Clarks Factory Girls by May Ellis.




About the Book

1917: As the war reaches its final moments, the families of the Somerset village of Street take comfort in new arrivals among them, but can they allow themselves to hope, or are more dark times around the corner? 

Following her recent marriage to Lucas, Louisa is delighted to discover she is expecting. But after everything she’s lost since the war began, dare she believe that this is a sign of brighter days ahead? 

Meanwhile, Louisa’s friends Kate and Jeannie struggle to balance factory work alongside their responsibilities at home, with shortages, illness and bad news from the front putting them under ever more pressure. Then unexpected news means that Jeannie can finally get her heart's desire but can she accept her happiness at someone else's expense? And when Kate’s tyrannical father dies, Kate pledges never to let another man have power over her, and to forge a career for herself, whatever it takes. But when the armistice brings a surprise reunion, will she risk her independence for a chance at love? 

One thing is certain, things are changing in the quiet village of Street. Can the Clarks factory girls navigate a changing world and stick together?


About May

May Ellis has been a legal executive, registered childminder, professional fund – raiser and a teacher. She has travelled the world, including trekking in mountains, deserts and the Great Wall of China, as well as helping build a house in Thailand. She went to university in her forties and gained a first class degree and an MA while still working full – time. Her first book, a contemporary romance, was published in 2014. Since then she has had five more novels published, including another romance and a YA time travel adventure. The last three are gritty dramas set in the 1960s/70s published by Darkstroke Books. She lives in Somerset, within sight of Glastonbury Tor, volunteering at her local library and for the Alfred Gillett Trust (custodians of the Clark’s archives). Her current series, based on the factory workers at Clark’s Shoes was inspired by her move to the area and her love of social history.




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Wednesday, May 7, 2025

My Review for Will There Be Love by Whitney Cubbison

May 07, 2025  , , , , ,  No comments


'...exploring where love begins, where it falters, and the courage it takes to hold on—or to let go'.

I adored Whitney's latest book, Will There Be Love, and it is absolutely as good as her debut novel, Will There Be Wine, if not better. I love a story that is told from different points of view and this one comes from the eyes of Ophelia and her husband Gianluca as well as Austen and her boyfriend Matt. Gianluca is a prize ass, but of course we are supposed to think that, however the other three are cute, and their lives soon become intertwined. 

We are transported from Paris, to Rome, to Ibiza. At each location, I was feeling that I was really there, particularly on the beaches on the Balearic island of Ibiza and the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean with the warm sun beating down on my skin. 

If you love a book full of the importance of friendships, romance and second chances, then I urge you to pick up a copy of Will There Be Love. It can definitely be read as a standalone, but why not buy both!

Thank you to Whitney Cubbison for the opportunity to read and review a copy of her second novel, Will There Be Love.

About the Book

A propulsive exploration of romantic and platonic love, commitment, shared history, betrayal and personal reckoning.

To celebrate her fortieth birthday, Ophelia and her husband Gianluca gather an unlikely group of eight friends and lovers – some old, some new, some false, some true – for a long weekend in Ibiza. However, the idyllic villa setting may be the only thing holding together a complicated tangle of friendship, love, and betrayal.

Among the guests is Ophelia’s old university flame, Matt, and his new girlfriend, Austen. While Matt finds himself falling in love, Austen is holding back, carefully protecting her heart.

Ophelia knows she loves her husband, but “love” is a word she never learned to say, a silence rooted in a childhood tragedy. What she doesn’t know is that Gianluca has been whispering it to someone else. And when his mistress crashes the party along with her own boyfriend, she brings a revelation that could unravel everything.

Across Rome, Paris and Ibiza, the party guests navigate the tangled paths that bring people together and push them apart, exploring where love begins, where it falters, and the courage it takes to hold on—or to let go.


About Whitney

Whitney Cubbison is a dual American & French citizen living in Paris since 2009. She grew up in Texas and California and graduated from UCLA with a degree in French. She started her career in Communications working for high-tech PR agencies in San Francisco and eventually joined Microsoft where she worked for sixteen years, thirteen of which from the Paris office. During that time, she held various international roles that encompassed public relations, employee communications, executive speechwriting, and social media. 

She earned her French citizenship in early 2022 and left Microsoft in the summer of that year to focus on completing her first novel, Will There Be Wine? The story, while fiction, was deeply inspired by Whitney’s own experiences as an ex-pat divorcée living in Paris and trying to navigate the cultural minefield of dating in a foreign country. It was released on January 16, 2023.

​She had such fun writing that one that she decided to write a sequel, which becameWill There Be Love? Her own search for love is ongoing, so she's hoping this title will manifest someone great for her. A girl can dream...! Will There Be Love? was released on April 29, 2025.

When she’s not writing, Whitney can be found sitting in Parisian cafés and restaurants with her friends, drinking wine.




​

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