My Review for Going Greek by Sue Roberts

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I love a book that is set anywhere sunny or romantic and I'm a sucker for a love story somewhere along the way, so I was always going to love Going Greek by Sue Roberts and she didn't disappoint. Sam was a high-flying television presenter who had great plans for the future until a misplaced one-night-stand sent all that flying off the edge of a cliff! Next stop, Rhodes, Greece, where her sister and her family live and where she tries to hide from the media and get her life back on track. 

Full of sunshine and laughter and lots of great Greek food and drink, Going Greek will keep you quiet for a few hours as you disappear into someone else's life. Perfect to read on the beach or by the pool with a cocktail in hand.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Going Greek by Sue Roberts.

Read More

My Review for Christmas with the Cornish Girls by Betty Walker

⭐⭐⭐⭐ It’s the middle of the Second World War and life in Cornwall may not be as difficult as in the big cities, but it has its moments.

Lily, Eva and Rose are working in St Ives, in Cornwall, at Symmonds Hall Convalescent Home for injured officers, and preparing for Christmas. Lily is footloose and fancy-free. Eva has her heart set on an injured Flight Lieutenant who doesn’t; think he’s the man for her, and Rose is in love with her sister’s fiancee. What on earth could go wrong?

Fun and laughter, sorrow and heartache, Christmas with the Cornish Girls has it all and Betty Walker brings the characters to life as we prepare for a wartime Christmas with them all. The nurses are compassionate and caring, and the injured men are brave and determined. In the uncertain and challenging times of war, we discover just how everyone works together to make the best of what they have.

If you enjoy a wartime story with a bit of love and Cornwall thrown in, then you’ll enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Christmas with the Cornish girls by Betty Walker.

Read More

My Review for the Hidden Village by Imogen Matthews

⭐⭐⭐⭐ I listened to The Hidden Village, by Imogen Matthews as an Audiobook which was narrated by Antonia Whillans. 

Set in Holland in 1943, The Hidden Village is a secret village that the Dutch people built to hide Jewish people and anyone else who needed protection from the Germans. We follow the variety of characters who are involved in the village, whether building it, living there or maintaining it and slowly we become immersed in their lives.

Although rather slow, it kept me hooked, as I was desperate to find out how things ended for Sofie and her friends. Based on true events, I was curious how an entire village could remain hidden from the Germans for so long, and it was interesting to research this further once I’d finished the book.

I have read many books set in World War II, and it’s eye-opening to read about it from another point of view, this time primarily from Dutch citizens. Everyone should know what happened in the war, and fiction books which are based on facts are an entertaining and insightful way to gain the knowledge.

Listening as an Audiobook, the narrator, Antonia Whillans, brought the characters to life and probably made the story more tense and foreboding than just reading alone might have done.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to listen to and review an ARC of The Hidden Village by Imogen Matthews.

Read More

My Review for A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I wanted to read A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon because one of her other books, The Trouble With Goats and Sheep, was recommended to me by so many people. However, it’s still sitting on my shelf waiting to be read! Hopefully, I’ll get around to it soon!

A Tidy Ending had me gripped from the beginning. Just who was this strange woman, Linda, and why did everyone think her odd? Linda is the protagonist in the story and I honestly couldn’t work out from beginning to end what I should be thinking of her. Is she the victim and a pawn in someone else’s life or is she the mainstay in the plot? She’s weird is what she is, but I definitely wanted to read more of her story. Linda is very insightful, having her own opinions on how she feels people behave in the way in which they do. She’s funny, but she has a sad past which she tries to remember differently than it was. 

Joanna Cannon did a great job with all her characters, each has their own quirks and adds to the story, I can’t say too much without giving the plot away but read it, It’s not quite a thriller, a mystery or a crime novel but lots of those mixed together. I simply loved it! 

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon.

Read More

My Review for Rainbows End in Ferry Lane Market by Nicola May

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Another outstanding book from one of my most favourite authors, Nicola May, but sadly, apparently the last in the Ferry Lane Market series. Rainbows End in Ferry Lane Market was brilliant from beginning to end. It was happy, sad, funny and thought-provoking and definitely something I would recommend to anyone who wants to switch off for a few hours and join someone else’s life.

Glanna’s life has had ups and lots of downs until she moved to Hartmouth, but now she’s settling into her new life, making new friends and beginning to love life again. With her gorgeous whippet, Banksy, Glanna is immersing herself into Ferry Lane Market and gradually returning to becoming a local girl once again. She befriends local artist Isaac Benson and they help guide each other through things that have happened to them in the past, both discovering who they are now and how to move forward with their lives. 

Nicola brings in characters that have been at the forefront of her other Ferry Lane Market books and we see how their lives are moving forwards too. However, Rainbows End in Ferry Lane Market is equally enjoyable as a stand-alone novel as well as alongside the previous two visits to Hartmouth. 

I love Nicola’s writing and as an amazingly talented author, I hope she continues to introduce us to new series and new characters as time goes on. Please never stop writing, Nicola. I smile every time I know there’s a new book coming out! 

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Rainbows End in Ferry Lane Market by Nicola May.

Read More

My Review for 214 Palmer Street by Karen McQuestion

⭐⭐⭐⭐ The description of 214 Palmer Street doesn’t do the actual story justice. A psychological thriller that raises more questions than it answers. I was annoyed and hooked in equal measures. 

I enjoyed the plot and the way it played out, but Sarah and her husband Kirk annoyed the hell out of me. Sarah is just such a wet blanket. I just wanted to shout at her and tell her to stand up for herself, to do what she wants to do, not what anyone else wants her to do! Meanwhile, Kirk is just overbearing with his love, which borders on control. I know his heart is in the right place, but come on, give a girl some space! 

That being said, if the author, Karen McQuestion, wanted her characters like that, then she has done an excellent job, that is exactly how they come across. I sort of worked out what was going to happen pretty early on, although I didn’t realise who ‘her’ was until quite close to the end! It was fun to discover how and why the ending played out as it did and the scenarios that occurred along the way. 

I am lucky enough to be a part of Books on Tour for this, so thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of 214 Palmer Street by Karen McQuestion.

Book Description

214 Palmer Street: A completely gripping psychological thriller packed with suspense by Karen McQuestion

A house with a secret. A woman with nothing to lose.

When Maggie sees the beautiful Venetian blinds moving in the Caldwells’ front window, she freezes. Her favorite neighbours Cady and Josh are away, so who is in their house?

The pretty young woman who answers the door tells a convincing story. She’s Sarah. The house-sitter. Just here for a month. An old friend of Cady’s who needed a place to stay. She’s pleasant and warm, and Maggie wanders back to her house thinking she might have made a new friend. Yet she can’t help but wonder why Cady never mentioned Sarah.

What Maggie doesn’t know is that on the other side of the door, Sarah is starting to panic. No one was meant to see her at 214 Palmer Street…

An unputdownable psychological thriller from number one bestseller Karen McQuestion, which will make you question what secrets your own neighbors are hiding… For fans of The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window and Gone Girl.

Author Bio

Karen McQuestion is an Amazon Charts bestselling author who's written more than twenty novels and has sold over two million books worldwide. She's also the co-host, (along with USA Today bestselling author Tess Thompson), of the popular podcast, BEHIND THE BOOK.

Her publishing story has been covered by the Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, and NPR and she has appeared on ABC's World News Now and America This Morning. McQuestion’s books share common themes of connection and kindness. She lives in Hartland, Wisconsin.

From Karen: To be notified of giveaways and book news, please sign up for my email newsletter at www.karenmcquestion.com

Read More

My Review for The Girl in the Shadows by Marion Kummerow

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Margarete Rosenbaum is living as Annegret Huber following a bombing raid, from Jew to part of a German high-ranking family in the blink of an eye.

I have read many war fiction novels, but I’m not sure I’ve ever read one which included so much detail of the inhumane behaviour of the German SS. It takes a lot to make me shudder when reading, but parts of The Girl in the Shadows did just that. Of course, I am aware of the gist of what happened during the war, but to have it written down and for the characters involved to be portrayed in such a way was eye-opening. Marion Kummerow is an exceptional author. There aren’t many who can skip between love and romance and hate and cruelty and ensure the reader is also feeling those emotions. Yes, I was left feeling very uncomfortable many times throughout the book, but actually, this was a good thing. It meant that the author was doing her job well! 

The Girl in the Shadows is the third book in Margarete’s journey, but can certainly be read as a stand-alone novel. I haven’t read anything by Marion Kummerow before, but I will definitely go back and read more. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys war-fiction but be aware that sometimes, it’s not an easy read. 

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

Book Description

1943, Germany: Two years ago, fate gave a beautiful young Jewish woman named Margarete Rosenbaum the chance to survive the Nazis, by pretending to be one of them, hiding in plain sight. Now she must make a terrifying decision…

Margarete lives as Annegret Huber would have, in a beautiful rural mansion by a forest in northern Germany. She is the heiress to the entire Huber fortune—one which she has devastatingly discovered includes a factory and Nazi prison camp. Margarete has done everything she can to help improve conditions there, and to reduce suffering for the prisoners who remind her so much of her own lost family and friends.

However, as the war rages on and the Nazi party becomes more brutal in its treatment of Jews, she realizes she must do more. She has to help the prisoners escape to real safety, because they will never be safe in Hitler’s Germany.

She’s heard of a route to freedom through Sweden. Although that means secretly reaching out to the resistance. With the risk of betrayal at every turn, her enquiries lead her to a man named Stefan, who she instantly feels a powerful connection to. But she fears he will never trust her… unless she reveals the secret that keeps her safe.

At the same time, a Nazi officer begins to show romantic interest in her, making it harder to keep her identity a secret. His loyalty to the party is beyond question, so if he finds her out, not only will her plan be at risk, but also her life and those of everyone she cares for.

But can she let that fear stop her from saving others? Because she knows she herself could so easily be one of the faces on the other side of the fence. And that, in the darkest times, sometimes the only person who can rise up is the girl in the shadows…

The powerful third novel in Marion Kummerow’s bestselling Margarete’s Journey series is an unforgettable and devastating story, perfect for fans of The Nightingale, The Lilac Girls, 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 humour and undying love in her books, because ultimately love is what makes the world go round.

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Read More