Review: The Year That Changed Everything by Cathy Kelly

Three women celebrate their birthdays . . . 30. 40. 50. But their milestone birthdays mark the start of a year that will change everything . . .

Ginger isn't spending her 30th the way she would have planned. Tonight might be the first night of the rest of her life - or a total disaster.

Sam is finally pregnant after years of trying. When her waters break on the morning of her 40th birthday, she panics: forget labour, how is she going to be a mother?

Callie is celebrating her 50th at a big party in her Dublin home. Then a knock at the door mid-party turns her perfect life upside down . . .

Full of warmth and wisdom, this is a story about finding happiness on your own terms from international bestseller Cathy Kelly.

Review: This is such an original premise for a book. Three women all having milestone birthdays and not all of them quite living up to expectations. For me the strength of this book lies right here, things not living up to expectations. Cathy Kelly really sheds a lights on what being a woman at these milestone ages is actually like compared to what society deems it should be.

This book tackles some difficult issues as well and does so very well. It covers what happens when marriages end unexpectedly, the difficulty in having a baby and really delves deep into body image. I could relate to all of these characters even though I most identify with Ginger, and not just because I'm in my 30s too!

These characters are all unique but have a connection. We don't see them reveal that connection until much later on in the book. As I have mentioned above, I felt the most empathy with Ginger, she is a great character to read about and I would love to hear more from her in the future! Sam is also very easy to get along with and I can definitely see aspects of her in my girlfriends. I feel like Callie has the most thrown at her in this novel, she has a very difficult ride, even if on the surface it doesn't seem that way. 

Obviously this book has multiple narratives and I did struggle a little to identify where we were in each of the characters storylines when we picked back up with them again because each of their sections was quite long. Once I got back into each of their worlds though, I enjoyed going on this journey with them. I think this switching did slow down the pace of the book a little for me, even though I am normally a fan of a multiple narrative. Cathy Kelly's charm and wit shine through though and I say this is a plot which is unique and I'd love to see more of! 

To order your copy now, just click here!

Review: Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella

After being together for ten years, Sylvie and Dan have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs, beautiful twin girls, and communicate so seamlessly, they finish each other's sentences. They have a happy marriage and believe they know everything there is to know about each other. Until it's casually mentioned to them that they could be together for anothersixty-eight years... and panic sets in.

They quickly decide to create little surprises for each other, to keep their relationship fresh and fun. But in their pursuit of Project Surprise Me - anything from unexpected gifts to restaurant dates to photo shoots - mishaps arise with disastrous and comical results.

Gradually, the surprises turn to shocking discoveries. And when a scandal from the past is uncovered, they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other after all...

Review: I know I say this every time I start reading a new Sophie Kinsella novel but it is always such a joy and such a comfort to be back in her world and in her writing again. I know when I pick up a Sophie Kinsella book, I am in safe hands. And the feeling of comfort that I felt as soon as i dived into this book was just like that. I loved being back in a world where there is humour and feeling and just great characters and a great story. 

This novel was really not everything I expected it to be though. I thought the premise was great and I loved everything that was going on between Dan and Sylvie, I loved the way they interacted in their marriage and with their friends and neighbours and then about two thirds of the way into the book, the storyline takes a whole different direction and it was me that was very surprised, never mind either of them. Now don't think that this meant that I didn't enjoy the book, the direction the storyline went in was a little darker that the first two thirds, but it was really intriguing and I read that whole last third in one big gulp, but it was really really unexpected!

Sylvie was a great character to lead this novel. She is completely relatable and has insecurities about her personal and professional life just like all of us. She is a mother and a wife but that isn't her only identity and I loved the fact that she asserted this throughout the novel. She provides some real comedy moments throughout the book, but because she is so real we have real sympathy and a real concern for her as well. Dan is one of those characters you love one moment, then hate the next, I think we really get to know him through Sylive's eyes and I really loved the ending that he got in this novel.

Despite the fact that this novel takes a turn in a different direction from the one I was expecting I really did enjoy it. I found myself furiously turning the pages, wanting to know what was going to happen to Sylive next. I laughed out loud in public and cried a little at the ending. It was really everything I look for in a book, but don't be expecting to come away from this one without a few surprises of your own! 

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Review: I heart Forever by Lindsey Kelk

Please remember this is book 7 in a series before reading my review and being spoiled for the other 6! (But if you haven't read the others, go away and read them now because they're amazing!)

Winter in Manhattan…and someone’s keeping a secret.

The day her husband Alex picks up a backpack and goes travelling, Angela Clark promises to stay out of trouble and keep both Louboutins on the ground.

So when her best friend’s boyfriend confides in her, it can’t hurt to help him pick out a ring at Tiffany’s surely?

And when her fashion magazine announces major changes, being terminally late and arguing with your boss isn’t that bad, is it?

Then suddenly there’s another big secret Angela’s got to keep – and the man she loves is still thousands of miles away. As the wedding of the year looms, and Manhattan switches on its Christmas lights, Angela is going to need her friends by her side as her old life looks set to change forever.

Review: Well its safe to say that I loved this read! I did what I really don't do very often with a book and that is to read chunks at a time but not read the whole thing all at once to make it last longer. It's been a while since I took that approach and I am glad that I did. I just love Lindsey Kelk's writing. She is so funny and her way with words just makes me laugh all through anything she writes. She puts into words how I look at the world and she isn't afraid to say what we are all thinking, out loud, very loud! I also love the fact that this series of books is set in America and yet Angela is English and so there is this amazing mix of English terms mixed in with American life ( just like my life!) and that makes me laugh too but also makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

So back to Angela, Angela has a secret in this novel and Angela with a secret is never a good thing. As if she didn't have enough on her plate already, she has more and more things loaded on there over the course of this novel and I was really quite worried for her stress levels and her blood pressure at one point. Some of the things she went with induced anxiety in me, never mind her. But she deals with them in an Angela way, the way we all love her for. Alex is a little absent in this book because of his travelling but he is also very true to form and it was great to see her again. I think Angela's parents went down a storm in previous novels and so they have a part to play in the ending of this novel and they just made me laugh so much. In particular look out for a moment with Angela's Dad and some Yorkshire tea, that's all I'm saying!

Jenny Lopez, it was great to see Jenny again and Jenny is just Jenny and wonderful. I just love her friendship with Angela because it is such a turn friendship. A lot of people think that Jenny is holding Angela up, others think it is quite the opposite, but I just love the fact that they support each other and they need each other there in major life events because that is exactly how I am with my best friend. Cici is also a major player in this novel, which i kind of suspected but I love that she got a slightly bigger role this time around, she really comes into her own and we get to learn a lot more about her than in previous novels. I think that I would hate to work with her on a personal level but on a professional level, she gets the job done!

Of course the other major character in these books in New York and reading this novel, you can tell just how in love with New York this author is. The way things are described and the comfort that comes across throughout the book is just amazing. If you don't come away from reading this book wanting to go to NYC and have a great time, then I really don't know if we can be friends! I love the places they go, they places they resist and they are described with such detail and with such wistfulness it just makes for great reading!

There were a few surprises along the way in this novel, thankfully I wasn't spoiled for any of the details beforehand and I won't spoil you either. Some events were predictable, but in a really great way but there are a few things that made me go 'WHAT?' just in a really great way. I loved every moment of this book and I cannot WAIT for the next one. Read this series now, you won't regret it!

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Review: The House of Secrets by Sarra Manning

Every home has a story to tell . . .

An ordinary house on an ordinary street, built in 1936 and never lived in. Its rooms might be empty, but this house is full of secrets.

When Zoe and Win, raw and reeling from a recent tragedy, move into their new home it's meant to be a fresh start and a way to mend the holes in their relationship.

But pushed to the back of a cupboard is a suitcase that's been gathering dust for eighty years. Inside is a wedding dress, letters and a diary all belonging to a woman called Libby. And there's something else in the suitcase, something that echoes Zoe's own pain.

Zoe follows Libby's trail from Paris to Spain on the brink of Civil War to secret trysts in London, and as Libby finds the courage to live and love again, Zoe begins to let go of her own grief.

But when Libby's story takes a darker turn, Zoe becomes increasingly obsessed with discovering what really happened all those years ago. Because if Libby managed to get her happy ever after then maybe Zoe and Win can too . . .

Review: I had no idea what this was going to be about because I hadn't read the synopsis due to Sarra Manning being an auto buy author for me. I loved her last historical novel and so I knew I was probably going to like this one too. The premise behind this novel, two women who live nearly 100 years apart are linked somehow and Zoe finds sharing her pain and her difficulties with someone she has never met, someone who is long gone cathartic and healing. I don't want to say too much about the storyline because then you can go into it with a clear head as I did but I thought the whole thing was done really well. The issues covered had great comparison across the ages and yet both women's struggles were easy to relate to.

The structure of this novel is a dual narrative, we switch between LIbby's story and Zoe's story. Zoe and Win are struggling to cope with their issues and the fact that they have just moved into a fixer upper isn't helping. Both sides of the story are third person but Zoe's part is very much about moving on and moving upwards whereas Libby's story reveals slowly, building up and up. Sometimes we have things in Zoe's story that give us clues as to what kind of ending Libby is going to have and I thought the two were tied together really well. I listened to this on audiobook and there weren't different narrators for the two so it was slightly less easy to discern which storyline we were following but it was generally pretty straightforward to work it out. 

As I say, both of these women had stories one could relate to and it is safe to say that feeling don't change and wither over time. Zoe is obviously dealing with some grief and so we really do see her personality changing as she comes to terms with this more and more over the course of the book. There are moments where she suggests that she is beginning to feel more her old self and it was great to see her grow over the course of the book. Libby also grows as we get to know more and more about her. I think that she has to learn certain life lessons and that is sometimes hard to deal with but both of these women start out on the back foot and grow stronger and stronger as the novel progresses. 

There are some sad moments in this novel, some difficult moments but there were also some moments that made me laugh and moments that made me want to say 'go get 'em girl!' which was just a great balance. I had a little trouble with the dual narrative in the beginning, as I say I think this would be avoided by reading the paperback or ebook rather than the audio but the narration of the audio was great too so... I really enjoyed this read and it is safe to say that Sarra Manning is definitely still an auto buy author!

To order your copy now, click the link: UK or US

Review: The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion

Would you risk everything for a second chance at first love?

At forty-nine-going-on-fifty, Adam Sharp likes his life. He works part-time in IT consulting, is a leading member of his local pub-quiz and has a stable relationship with his partner, Claire. But there's something he can't shake: a longing for the life he might have had with smart, strong-willed actress Angelina Brown.

Then, out of nowhere, Angelina walks back into his life. All the intensity of their affair twenty years ago resurfaces and Adam must make a decision.

Should he let her go again? Or does he dare to live dangerously? 

  

Review: I got stuck into this book straight away, it is definitely a very compelling read because you know the situation tat Adam is going to get himself into but you don't know how he got there or how he is going to resolve it in the end. The structure of this book is firstly that it is in two parts and the author said himself that those two parts are both very different. The first part is definitely very much Adam reminiscing about his time in Australia, about his music and his past love. And the second part is very much present day and what the consequences of Adam's actions, whatever they might be, are. The first part has flashbacks as well so sometimes we are with Adam in Australia and sometimes we are with him in his present day life pondering the meaning of life. I am a big fan of flashbacks and these work well in the physical copy of the book because you can track where you are, but don't work so well in the audiobook because you can't always tell you have shifted time periods. 

Adam himself is a great vehicle for this novel. He isn't always easy to like but he is very easy to relate to because he is just a normal guy, someone who has a very middle class, suburban life, thinking about what he could have made of his life and the adventures he had in his youth. Unless you are still very young, you will definitely be able to relate to this. Adam doesn't always say and do the things you expect him to, making this quite a challenging read sometimes, but because Adam is the way he is, he moves the book forward and makes it much more of a realistic story. 

There are other supporting characters in the book took, none of whom i particularly liked either but all add a sense of something else to the story, the characters who encourage risk, the characters who play devils advocate, the characters who offer safety and those that offer escapism. I thought the mix of characters was really well-written, even though I didn't like them! 

As I mentioned above, I listened to this book on audiobook and really didn't get on with the narrator. He was quite softly spoken and had little or not intonation. I found that the physical copy of the book I ended up reading was much more dramatic because I could hear more pitch change and excitement in my own head and I also didn't have to turn the volume right up to be able to hear the words! So my advice would be to get the ebook or the physical book of this one. 

If you are expecting a novel the same as the Rosie Project then you are definitely in for a shock but this is an incredibly well written novel. The music is great and I loved the fact that there is a play list to accompany this book, it really brings it alive. I laughed, i related, I cringed and I got angry. This book brought out all the feels and that's why I found it to be an enjoyable read!

Click here to get your copy now: UK or US

Review: The One With The White Wedding (Bridesmaids Part 4) by Erin Lawless

This is the fourth part in a four part series and so there may be spoilers for the previous 3 parts in the blurb or in my review. I've tried super hard to keep them out but you have been warned!

Nora Dervan is ready for her Happy Ever After. With her darling Harry waiting at the altar, and all her family and friends around her. She is certain that her special day will not be forgotten/will be one to remember…

But with her four bridesmaids hiding more secrets, than bottles of champagne. Will her big day be remembered for all the right reasons?

Bea has barely gotten past the fact that her two best friends are dating, and now they’re engaged, whilst cupid’s arrow points in a forbidden direction for Cleo. She is so distracted by her off limits, hot new colleague that she has forgotten Daisy, who has been left dreading the singles table. There’s more romance in the cheesy pick- up lines than Sarah’s own marriage, which hasn’t turned out as she hoped it would be.

Review: I love the characters from this series and so I was so excited to re-join them for one last story and find out just how the story ends for all of them. Obviously we have all the usual characters there. We have Sarah and Cole who are wonderful in this instalment, I really feel like they come into their own as they cope with the things being thrown at them by this terrific author. Then we have bride to be Nora and Fiancee Harry. I just love how chilled out these two are and I feel privileged to be invited to their wedding. 

Then there's Daisy. Again I feel like she really grows up a lot in this particular installment. She is pure comedy value up until now and the voice of fun, and she's by no means a downer this time around but she reveals a softer side to herself, bridesmaids duty can do that to a person! And finally, my favourites Cleo and Gray. I love these two (and not just because they are fellow teachers) I don't feel like the focus is as much on either of them in the beginning of this episode, you have to wait until the end to get any answers about what the future hold for those two! There are also obviously other family members in this installment, because it is the one with the wedding and there are some obvious funny family wedding moments, but mostly this book focuses on our bride and her bridesmaids and I loved that about it. 

This series is so realistic about what it is like to be part of a female friendship group and what it can be like leading up to a wedding for all of those people involved in that wedding and that's something that I love about Erin Lawless's writing. Like a good observational comic, she goes witch what can really go wrong and right for people in real life and then combines it all with witty anecdotes from others and curve balls thrown at her characters. This book made me laugh, it made me cry, and that goes for the whole series, not just this installment. I loved every moment of this series and between episodes, the characters stayed with me. I would have loved an epilogue to find out where they all are now, but I'm hoping that no epilogue means that we're going to hear from some of them again in the future! 

If you haven't already read this series, you're in luck! You don't have to wait for any more episodes to come out, they are all there to gorge upon and have the same laughs and emotions that I did reading this, or you can buy the whole book in bulk-go forth and enjoy in engagement and hen party and wedding capers!

Click here to buy the series now!

Bridesmaids Ep 1

Bridesmaids Ep 2

Bridesmaids Ep 3

Bridesmaids Ep 4

The One With All the Bridesmaids. (out on 21st July)

Review: The Woman At Number 24 by Juliet Ashton

Meet the residents of number 24 in the warm, witty and wonderful new novel from bestselling author Juliet Ashton.

When your marriage falls apart, the last place you'd want your husband to move to is downstairs. Unfortunately for Sarah, up in the eaves at number 24, her ex-husband now lives one floor beneath her with his new wife. Their happiness floats up through the floorboards, taunting her.

A child psychologist, Sarah has picked up great sadness from the little girl, Una, who lives with her careworn mother three floors below, but is Sarah emotionally equipped to reach out?

The Spring brings a new couple to the house. Jane and Tom's zest for life revives the flagging spirits, and Sarah can't deny the instant attraction to handsome Tom. Having seen at first hand what infidelity does to people, she'll never act on it ... but the air fizzes with potential.

The sunshine doesn't reach every corner of number 24, however. Elderly Mavis, tucked away in the basement, has kept the world at bay for decades. She's about to find out that she can't hide forever.

Juliet Ashton weaves a story of love, friendship and community that will move you to laughter and to tears. Think Cold Feet meets David Nicholls, with a dash of the joy of Jill Mansell added for good measure.

Review: Oh my goodness, everything that could possibly happen inside Number 24 literally does happen. This is a book packed full of twist, turns and dramatic revelations and that made for some fast-paced, Page-turning reading for the entirety of the second half! Number 24 is a house split into flats in Notting Hill and each of the residents, or former residents in these flats each have their own dramatic story lines going on but Sarah, who lives in the flat at the top of the building and is the titular woman, is the lynch pin that holds it altogether. So whilst there are so many dramatic story lines taking place, this is a very character driven book, I loved that about it. 

The novel begins fairly pacey because we are working out who all the residents are and how they relate to one another. each chapter begins with a quote from the calendar from the Chinese takeaway that Sarah uses and is a piece of wisdom that someone in that chapter could definitely use. I loved the little clues that Juliet Ashton left in the form of the wise sayings and other little clues about people throughout the chapters, and just like her last book, i enjoyed working out what everyone's story was and the skeletons in their closet. 

It is fairly hard to pass judgement on many of the characters in this novel because there are so many twists and turns and everyone is not who they seem to be. I loved the relationship that the characters had and developed with one another though. Many people in London do not know their neighbours and this book certainly starts of being that typical set up, with only a couple of exceptions. There are many changes over the course of the book, but I liked seeing how the characters and those changes affected relationships within the doors of Number 24. 

Sarah is a great character to hold the whole story, and the house, together because she is very relatable. She is recently divorced but having to see her husband on a regular basis. Because of the housing situation, in cities in particular, many people are faced with this situation The crisis of her sudden divorce has also made her question her professional capabilities and so we have to go through that with her as well, making her even more easy to sympathise with as a character. She is just a normal woman who is determined to make the best of herself but questions her choices at every turn. I loved the friendships that she forged during this novel and I loved watching her grow and change as a person over the period of time that this story is set. 

The beginning and end of this book (I'd say the first 30% and the final 40%) are very pacey and I read those sections all at once. I couldn't believe some of the twists that this story took on and found myself shouting at the characters to realise what was going on right in front of their eyes. The very middle of the book dragged a little for me, it was focused on one storyline in particular and I just didn't click with that one. Overall though this was a great read and in keeping with what I have now come to expect from this author. This would be a great book to read over the bank holiday weekends that are coming up and if you haven't read any of Juliet's other novels, definitely add those to your TBR too!

To get your copy now, click here!

Review: The Escape by CL Taylor

Look after your daughter's things. And your daughter…"

When a stranger asks Jo Blackmore for a lift she says yes, then swiftly wishes she hadn't. The stranger knows Jo's name, she knows her husband Max and she's got a glove belonging to Jo's two year old daughter Elise.

What begins with a subtle threat swiftly turns into a nightmare as the police, social services and even Jo's own husband turn against her. No one believes that Elise is in danger. 

But Jo knows there's only one way to keep her child safe – RUN.

Review: I was unbelievably excited for this new book from CL Taylor and as such wanted to allow myself time to read as much of this as possible in one sitting. I ended up reading all but the first few pages all at once and I am glad that I did. The storyline of a CL Taylor book is so tense and so gripping that I strongly believe all of her novels are best read in one sitting so that you can fully immerse yourself in the action and get the proper reaction to every moment in the book. That being said, I feel sure that this storyline will sick with you so much when you put the put down that you will absolutely be ready to dive right back into again upon picking it back up. 

One of the reasons I love CL Taylor's Psychological thrillers so much is because they generally have a slightly more domestic setting than other psychological thrillers I have read, meaning that there is a story that I can relate to going on alongside the action. The events take place in a normal household in a normal street or with a normal group of friends and I think because they are so relatable I find them so easy to read. This particular storyline surround a mother and her need to protect her daughter. There are a few issues with her anxiety and a few other issues in her home and work life but aside from that this is essentially what the storyline surrounds. 

I really liked getting to know the character or Jo, we experience the very first moments that this fear grips her, the need to escape is there right from the beginning and so we get to know what Jo is like and how she handles things very quickly. Husband max and their daughter are also in the action right from the word go and then we have the mystery situation for which Jo is trying to escape. I think Jo is like every other mother but also experiences the anxieties that a lot of us experience whether or not we are mothers and so we get  a very clear picture of Jo right from the beginning. 

A lot of this story is set in Bristol, with escapes to other cities which actually exist. The setting means that the story gets under your skin a lot more easily because we can picture the scenes taking place and imagine them happening just down the street from us, in our neighbourhoods and workplaces. I also loved the link with the title and the need for escape in the book. I loved the way the escape was interpreted throughout the story and without giving any spoilers away, I'm sure you will too. 

If you're not usually a psychological thriller fan, as I am not normally, then CL Taylor is a great place to start because her novels are so very easy to relate to but at the same time so compelling. I read this basically in one sitting, just like her previous 3 novels, which speaks for itself really. Her writing and her ability to twist and weave plots and characters just astounds me and I highly recommend picking up her latest novel right now!

To order your copy now, just click here!

Review: The Queen of Wishful Thinking by Milly Johnson

When Lewis Harley has a health scare in his early forties, he takes it as a wake-up call. So he and his wife Charlotte leave behind life in the fast lane and Lewis opens the antique shop he has dreamed of. Bonnie Brookland was brought up in the antiques trade and now works for the man who bought out her father’s business, but she isn’t happy there. So when she walks into Lew’s shop, she knows this is the place for her.

As Bonnie and Lew start to work together, they soon realise that there is more to their relationship than either thought. But Bonnie is trapped in an unhappy marriage, and Lew and Charlotte have more problems than they care to admit. Each has secrets in their past which are about to be uncovered. Can they find the happiness they both deserve?

Review: This was such a fabulous book to be absorbed in over a weekend and definitely one to banish those rainy springtime blues. Milly Johnson has a great gift of being able to weave serious issues and humour together with the help of characters you can easily relate to and relationships you can easily fall in love with and this book is a great example of that. This is a great book for die-hard Milly fans but also fabulous if this is your first foray into the wonderfully Yorkshire world that this author creates!

I was definitely hooked on this story right from the word go and found it really difficult to put down once I had picked it up. The story surrounds two people who are going through a great deal of changes in their lives and they each get a chapter at a time to deal with their own personal stories and then sometimes their tales overlap and we get to see the way they react to each other as well as the way they deal with their issues on their own, I loved this structure and it made for a very easy read. 

This book also deals with the antiques business and a little bit with the law, both of which I have limited knowledge of, but this wasn't a problem, as I was afraid it might be. I came away from the book feeling like a knew a little bit more about both and I really do look at the antiques industry in a completely different light now. I think if you have any interest in the business of antiques then this is definitely a must-read for you, but if you are new to that whole aspect of life, Milly will guide you through it, don't you worry. 

The issues of domestic violence, divorce, miscarriage and starting again from scratch are all covered in this book and yet you don't feel like this is a book about 'issues' and those things aren't forced down your throat at any point. Because this book has such strong main characters, these things are happening but are just a part of their lives and you get to deal with them alongside the characters so nothing seems to heavy or unnecessarily dramatic. 

Speaking of those characters, I loved those two main characters. Bonnie is a woman who is stronger than she realises and it was wonderful watching her grow and develop over the course of the book. She doesn't appreciate the sunshine that she brings into the lives of those around her and it is great seeing how she affects her friends and colleagues. Lew also doesn't seem to realise how strong he is. I loved how laid back he was throughout the whole of the book. I would love to have a boss like him and I really enjoyed seeing his transformation as the book went on. 

There were some seriously funny moments in this bit, particularly the misprinted newspaper headlines and captions that are interspersed throughout the pages. There were also a few moments when this book made me cry, sometimes through happiness and sometimes through sadness, but being able to laugh and cry at the same read is the sign of a truly good book and that's just what this is! I love how typically Yorkshire some of the phrases are and they were just the icing on the cake for me in what was a fantastic read and another win for Milly Johnson. 

To get your fabulously Yorkshire copy, click here!

Blog Tour: Review of Secrets of a Happy Marriage by Cathy Kelly

Today I am delighted to share my review of Secrets of a Happy Marriage with you as part of the release day blog tour!

Bess is hoping to show everyone just how happy her recent marriage is, but behind all the party-planning the cracks are beginning to show. Why is joining a family so difficult?

Jojo, Bess's stepdaughter, has a point to make. Bess is not her mother, and she won't replace the one she's been missing every day for the last two years. And will she ever get the chance to become a mum herself?

Cousin Cari is a fierce career-woman who isn't unnerved by anything - apart from facing the man who left her at the alter, and he's on the guestlist. Her job has been a safe place to hide ever since - but is it time to let love into her life again?

Thanks to laughter, tears and one surprise appearance, the Brannigans might just discover the secrets of a happy marriage . . . But will they find out before it's too late?

Review: When I first picked up this book, I have to admit I was a little intimidated by the size of it, I knew it was going to be something epic at over 500 pages, what I got was a saga, but not just any saga, a very modern family saga completely relevant to the issues we all face today and completely absorbing. 

This book is extremely character driven and as such is fairly character heavy. I have to admit that, at first, I struggled a little bit with who was who in the family and how each person was connected. But when I stopped thinking about it and just let myself absorb all the characters individually, my reading began to speed up and I was drawn into their world. Not all of the characters are likeable but all have their own storylines, all of which are very compelling. I think that character that I identified most with, and therefore enjoyed reading about the most was Cari. I loved the way she handled everything that was thrown at her and I loved her development over the course of the book. 

This book also has older characters, so there really is something for everyone. Edward is celebrating his 70th birthday and so we have a whole storyline with him and his wife and their marriage. We also explore the lives of his children, Jojo and Paul who both have very very different lives. Then there are his two brother, Mick and Kit, their wives and their daughters, again leading very different lives from each other, and finally we have the mystery sister, the one who left and never came back. I really enjoyed reading her storyline, and found the way that she wove into the whole book very interesting indeed!

The book is mainly set in Ireland, but there are also sections which take place in San Francisco, New York and London. This gave the book a whole added layer of depth. It meant that we see characters outside their comfort zone and also explore the idea of what it means to go home. Of course the whole premise behind the book, the secrets to a happy marriage is also hugely fascinating and everyone will take something completely different from this meaning, as all the characters in this book do too. Each chapter begins with either a quote or a secret to a happy marriage, which I enjoyed immensely, particularly the Gloria Steinem quote! 

Overall I really think that this book is worth putting in the time. This is the second Cathy Kelly book I have read, and the first I didn't listen to as an audio book. The storyline is completely relatable and definitely very relevant for modern relationships, romance and way of life. There is great character development and it was a very enjoyable read!

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Review: Chapel Wars by Lindsey Lovett

Sixteen-year-old Holly wants to remember her Grandpa forever, but she’d rather forget what he left her in his will: his wedding chapel on the Las Vegas strip. Whatever happened to gold watches, savings bonds, or some normal inheritance? 

And then there's Grandpa's letter. Not only is Holly running the business with her recently divorced parents, but she needs to make some serious money—fast. Grandpa also insists Holly reach out to Dax, the grandson of her family's mortal enemy and owner of the cheesy chapel next door. No matter how cute Dax is, Holly needs to stay focused: on her group of guy friends, her disjointed family, work, school and... Dax. No wait, not Dax. 

Holly’s chapel represents everything she’s ever loved in her past. Dax might be everything she could ever love in the future. But as for right now, there's a wedding chapel to save.

Review: I picked up this book, knowing nothing about it, having just returned from getting married in Las Vegas. All I knew was that it had an infamous Vegas wedding chapel on the front, but I knew I had to read it as soon as I read the blurb. I really did enjoy this book because of all the mentions of the places I went when I was in Las Vegas. It covers various other hotels and wedding chapels, the infamous Strip and the Neon Boneyard. I loved the descriptions of all the places and you could tell that this author has a passion for her city, just like the main character does, it really helped bring the book alive and off the page for me!

The characters in question were interesting. I don't think I loved them quite as much as I loved the setting for this one. Holly is definitely a courageous young woman and is most definitely a good advocate for strong women in YA fiction. She takes care of her family and of her siblings and works hard to respect her grandfathers wishes. I really liked the values that she stood for but I'm not sure I found her situation to be the most believable. Dax was another person who is very family loyal, I liked this quality about the main characters. He is a very loyal person in general but he has other characteristics (which I won't give away) that definitely make him the lovable rogue of the story!

The storyline, as I've mentioned above, seems a little contrived to me. I love the notion of a 17 year old trying to save a business but I'm not sure that everything Holly did in this story would actually be able to take place. The storyline did sweep me along though and I enjoyed reading about each stage of her endeavour. I think that you need to suspend your disbelief slightly going into this novel, but if you do, you will have a sweet story with some very interesting characters and definitely something that will give you a strong belief in self-improvement and self-discovery!

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Review: Modern Lovers by Emma Straub

Friends and former college bandmates Elizabeth and Andrew and Zoe have watched one another marry, buy real estate, and start businesses and families, all while trying to hold on to the identities of their youth. But nothing ages them like having to suddenly pass the torch (of sexuality, independence, and the ineffable alchemy of cool) to their own offspring.

Back in the band's heyday, Elizabeth put on a snarl over her Midwestern smile, Andrew let his unwashed hair grow past his chin, and Zoe was the lesbian all the straight women wanted to sleep with. Now nearing fifty, they all live within shouting distance in the same neighborhood deep in gentrified Brooklyn, and the trappings of the adult world seem to have arrived with ease. But the summer that their children reach maturity (and start sleeping together), the fabric of the adults' lives suddenly begins to unravel, and the secrets and revelations that are finally let loose—about themselves, and about the famous fourth band member who soared and fell without them—can never be reclaimed.

Review: This truly is exactly what is says on the tin, it is a story of love in the modern time and how work life, social life and social media life can make that a damn sigh trickier than it should be. I loved the setting of this book and also the issues dealt with but something about the mix and the number of characters left a little something to be desired for me and so this book wasn't as good as I hoped it was going to be. 

I really liked the structure of the book in that there were various chapters dedicated to each character and so we got to hear their version of an event and how they were coping with things that had just happened to them. I also liked the storyline being composed of characters that had been intertwined for an extended period of time. I felt a little like I wanted to know more of the history of the people in question, like I'd arrived late at a party, but I think that part of the storyline was done deliberately as things did begin to unfold gradually over time. 

In terms of characters, I struggled a little to remember who was who and so I think this affected my enjoyment of the book as a whole but then I did end up listening to this one on audiobook and this may not have happened had I read the physical copy of the book that I checked out the library. I liked the fact that there was an LGBTQ element to this, re-affirming once again that this book is about modern lovers and modern families. I also liked that fact that there were young people involved, showing that the pressures of modern society on relationships affects new relationships, old relationship, young relationships and more mature relationships too. 

Overall I feel that this author has done a good job of providing a storyline that fits the nature of marriage and relationships, as well as family life in today's society. I thought that the setting and the events that happen throughout the book were strong but I struggled to keep track of the characters and therefore struggled to make a bond with any of them and I think that that is why this book wasn't as entertaining as I'd hoped it would be.

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Guest review: A Most Desirable Marriage by Hilary Boyd

Lawrence and Jo have enjoyed a strong marriage, the envy of their friends. Even after thirty years they have lots to say to each other, many interests in common and, until recently, a good sex life.

But Lawrence seems wary and restless. Something's wrong. Just how wrong, Jo is about to discover...

Can they use their years of history - all the things they've shared - to overcome a devastating betrayal?

I was attracted to this book as it is unusual to find a story dealing with the 'older generation' and the problems that may be rumbling away beneath even the most stable-looking long marriage. 

Jo and Lawrence have been married for 37 years and he is on the point of retiring from his university lecturer job when he drops a bombshell that splits them up. Until then, everybody - friends, family, Jo herself - thinks that they have a strong, even perfect, marriage. Lawrence's revelation leaves them all reeling. We then follow Jo in particular as she deals with Lawrence's betrayal and tries to pick up the threads of her life. She must deal with the effects on her 2 grown up children who are shocked by what has happened, and have personal problems of their own that must be addressed. She also has to try to continue with her own career as a writer of fiction for young adults - after all, there are financial implications of the situation. Most of all, she must try to sort out in her head how she feels about Lawrence and what the eventual outcome will be.  

This is the second of Hilary Boyd's novels that I have read and I shall watch out for more from her. This one had me picking it up whenever I had a moment as I had no idea at all how it was all going to play out and was intrigued to see what would happen. It was certainly thought-provoking, but, even so, I don't think I would say that I enjoyed it immensely. I found that I didn't agree with a lot of Jo's actions and couldn't warm to many of the characters. However, it is undoubtedly refreshing to find a storyline featuring slightly older people and dealing with the fallout from a very difficult situation. 

Review: The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion

With the Wife Project complete, Don settles into a new job and married life in New York. But it's not long before certain events are taken out of his control and it's time to embark on a new project . . .

As Don tries to get to grips with the requirements of starting a family, his unusual research style gets him into trouble. To make matters worse, Don has invited his closest friend to stay with them, but Gene is not exactly the best model for marital happiness. As Don's life with Rosie continues to be unpredictable, he needs to remember that emotional support is just as important as practical expertise.

Review: Having loved The Rosie Project so much I was so so excited to begin this book. I dove into it straight away and then, I'm afraid I got a little bored... So, having reached the halfway pint I walked away from the novel. I left it for nearly a year and then read it in just about one go. I can't say that I enjoyed it lots more on the second attempt but I remembered why I love Professor Don Tilman so much! There were some fabulous funny moments in the novel, just like in the first book staring everyone's favourite Geek, some real laugh out loud blunders that don gets himself into so definitely be prepared to laugh! There are also some very real moments of how new parents having to cope with a rollercoater of emotions when they decided to make that jump towards parenthood and I think these were the moments I struggled with the most because I would be laughing and then I would be worried about what was going to happen in a very serious situation. 

Don is a lot more empathetic in this novel than in the previous book, his time living with Rosie obviously having taught him a lot. Rosie is just the same and I really like her in this book. Don's friends are very involved in this novel and I did have a little trouble keeping track of who was who, I'm not going to lie! Their involvement leads to a lot of hilarity though because Don is trying to do the right thing based on why they have told him and so he ends up in some compromising, unwise and sometimes illegal positions-funny though! 

I did feel at points in this book that Don's autistic nature was really misunderstood and this was very interesting because I think it is a great thing to raise awareness of the fact that autism is so generalised by people in society and yet can affect each person in a very very different way. I think it's great that a Don can bring about this awareness but I also really just wanted to know what he was going to do about Rosie and the baby. Overall I did struggle a bit with this novel but this will in no way deter me from picking up what Graeme Simsion has to offer in the future! 

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