The Making of Maddy James by Sara Sartagne - #bookreview

Something woke her. Maddy peeled open her eyes, sticky with mascara that she hadn't taken off. Oh my God, what was the time...

The Blurb

She’s got dreams. Ludicrous, fanciful dreams to become a fashion designer.

But years spent caring for her adoptive mother and being a full-time breadwinner has forced Maddy to leave her dreams unspoken. It’s something of a family tradition – keeping secrets.

When her estranged aunt Tess invites her to spend the summer in Corfu, Maddy glimpses a different future. Designing a wedding dress for Adriana, daughter of the influential Gavros family, could be the break she needs.

However, the commission comes with conditions. And complications. Once again, Maddy must ignore her suspicions and stay quiet. And Kon, Adriana's uncle, is a complication she really doesn't need.

But they're not the only secrets she’s keeping…

As the summer unfolds and her secrets start to unravel, Maddy must decide: will she continue to live in the shadows of half-truths and compromise? Or finally find the courage to shape a life that’s truly her own?

My Review

This made for delightful reading, and I enjoyed every page.

For the past few years, Maddy has been working in admin whilst caring for her adoptive mother. Her dreams of being a designer have had to be shelved as she has had to financially and emotionally support her mum through her illness. When Maddy's mother dies, she is invited to Corfu to spend time with her estranged Aunt Tess. 

For me, reading this during the winter months was glorious. For a short while, I was taken away from the grey, wet skies of England to sunny Corfu, and I very much enjoyed my time there while I got to know Maddy.

As a dressmaker myself, I loved all of the descriptions of the clothes that Maddy was designing and making once she was in Greece. Maddy clearly is very skilled, and I loved watching her gain confidence in her own abilities. She was a great character, and the author did a marvellous job in making her come alive on the page. Equally good were the secondary characters, who all help in the portrayal of her character.

I have been to Corfu and so could readily imagine the streets Maddy walked down. The descriptions of the Greek island are lovely. They are just enough to help the reader envisage the surroundings but without getting bogged down with paragraphs of descriptions. Instead, we see it through Maddy's eyes as she familiarises herself with Corfu.

The book has been well written, and the author understands her characters very well. Equally, I felt she had researched and spent time in Corfu in order to compose such a compelling atmosphere for her novel.

I have never read anything by this author before. I enjoyed it very much and will definitely be reading more of her work next year.

I can highly recommend this novel. If you would like an escape from the cold winter days, then this would be an ideal novel to snuggle down with.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1918354003

Publisher:  Key Title Books

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  297 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Author Website

Amazon UK

About the Author

Sara wanted to be a journalist when she was younger, and actually ended up on the dark side, in PR. From there, it was a short skip to writing for pleasure, and from there to drafting her first book, The Garden Plot. This is the first novel in a romance series where gardens feature in a BIG way - She inherited green fingers from her grandmother, and gardening is a passion.

She moved from London to East Yorkshire in 2019 and is loving the open skies and the green fields. And a HUGE garden! Although not a country girl, She has discovered the joys of very dark country lanes with no streetlights, septic tanks and ordering logs. Going from an underground tube or bus every three minutes, bus timetables in a small Yorkshire town have been a bit of a shock.

She loves being a writer although it's not her only job - yet. Over the years since she began, she has cultivated some wonderful friendships with readers and she loves hearing from anyone who has thoughts about the books and characters - and even about gardening! 

You can also find Sara at:

Author Website

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(ARC and media courtesy of the author)

(all opinions are my own)

Love, Lies and Family Ties by Florence Keeling - #extract #excerpt #blogtour

I am super happy to be bringing you an extract of this book today. Love, Lies and Family Ties by Florence Keeling looks like a good read. It is an uplifting romantic comedy that will warm your heart – perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Milly Johnson and Carole Matthews. 

The Blurb

Bea Winters is in desperate need of a fresh start. Being bullied at work is not her idea of fun and she longs to follow her dream of becoming a published author. When an advert appears in her local paper to work in a publishing house in the sleepy village of Bloomsdale, it sounds too good to be true.

She strikes up an instant friendship with gorgeous aspiring author, Eddie Richards and her dashing millionaire boss Scott Summers. But all isn’t as it seems in the sleepy village of Bloomsdale.

How does the local clairvoyant know her name? Who does the little black dog that keeps appearing belong to and why does she keep bumping into the mysterious Charlie?

As she starts to unravel the truth, it seems that everyone in Bea’s life is keeping secrets.

The Extract

I adore the "meet cute" in romances, when eyes meet eyes for the first time and what better place for a would be author to have a "meet cute" in a coffee shop full of writers underneath a publishing house.

Bea has just arrived in Bloomsdale for a job interview and steps into the coffee shop with a new story idea buzzing in her head.

She couldn’t wait to explore and after changing into her jeans and trainers she locked her door and almost ran down the two flights of stairs and out the front door.

It was starting to cool down but the air was still muggy. Bea walked straight across into the centre, nodding to people as she passed. Considering it was only a small village there seemed to be lots of people around. Checking her phone for the name and address of the publishing house, she followed the directions on her phone and found Summers Day Press was on the top floor above a coffee shop at the end of a particularly long street called North Avenue.

The coffee shop was still open so she headed inside and ordered a large latte, cheese panini and a delightfully stodgy-looking chocolate chip muffin. She sat by the window and for the first time in days pulled out her pen and notebook and started scribbling. A new idea was forming in her head and she wrote the basic outline and characters before staring out of the window thinking of how to begin.

A bespectacled man with messy brown hair walked in and caught her attention. He looked about twenty and carried himself with an awkwardness that Bea found endearing. He was carrying what looked like a laptop case and after buying the largest cup of tea she had ever seen he sat in the far corner, pulled out his laptop and then sat staring out the window just as Bea had been doing.

This was when she noticed that most of the people in the coffee shop were sitting alone and had either a laptop or notebook open in front of them. Bea supposed this was what you got when you owned a coffee shop underneath a publishing house and wondered which one had come first and whether all of these budding writers actually lived in the village.

The young man caught her eye and she smiled nervously at him before turning away, embarrassed to be caught staring. For the next hour she kept her head down pretending to write even though she still couldn’t even think of a killer first line. At ten to nine the place was virtually empty so Bea picked up her stuff and headed back to the hotel. The young man in the corner watched her leave before packing up his own things and heading off in the opposite direction.

Book Details

ISBN:  979 8375730059

Publisher:  Independently published

Formats:  e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  279 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Florence was born in Coventry but now lives in Nuneaton. She married the love of her life over 20 years ago and they have two almost grown up children. They share their lives with two mad dogs as well.

Writing is a great passion of hers, that one day she hopes to be able to turn into a career but until that day comes, she will continue working in accounts and payroll.

You can also find Florence at:

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(media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

The Vanishing Act by Jo Jakeman - #bookreview

Eloise Ford was a Small Pond person. And within that pond, she wasn't even a big fish...

The Blurb

Life as a missing person is absolute murder...

When artist Eloise Ford hears that human remains found in an abandoned mine are believed to be those of long-missing teenager Elizabeth King, the shock sends her reeling.

It can't be true. Eloise knows this for a fact because... she is Elizabeth King.

Now, her carefully curated life in Cornwall is falling apart. Her husband is acting strangely, her children aren't speaking to her and she can't sell a painting for love nor money. But much more worrying are the signs that someone knows exactly who she is... and why she had to vanish thirty years ago.

Eloise needs answers. Is her son's ex-girlfriend just plain annoying... or does she know something? Will the detection skills of the online 'Truth Seekers' group prove more than amateurish? What's the real story behind those village newcomers?

And just how far would she go to keep her family, her friends, and her fraudulent life, safe?

My Review

I enjoyed every page of this super book and was sorry when it reached it's satisfying conclusion, as I would have happily carried on reading.

The main character is Eloise Ford, who enjoys her life. She has good friends, a wonderful husband, and two children who have flown the nest. However, she is keeping a secret from the past. She used to be known as Elizabeth King, and when remains of a woman are found and they are thought to be Elizabeth, Eloise is the only one who knows that the remains aren't hers. It is at this point that Eloise's carefully constructed life in Cornwall begins to unravel. 

The book is told from the alternating perspectives of Eloise and her son's girlfriend, Holly. Holly is a fabulous character, and whilst she has flaws of her own, is very likable. She is drawn into a true crime Facebook group called Truth Seekers UK, and some of the narrative is told via the posted messages in the group.  This added another dimension to the story. It served to break up the prose whilst moving the story along perfectly. In addition, we are also introduced to other characters.

The book was well plotted, with some marvellous twists and turns which kept me guessing.  The author's excellent writing style had me gripped throughout. It was perfectly paced for the genre, and it was easy to read and to become engrossed in the story.

I am now very keen to read other books by this author. This was a fabulous book to read. It is publishing today and I highly recommend it.

Other books available by Jo Jakeman are:

One Bad Apple

What His Wife Knew

Safe House

Sticks and Stones

Book Details

ISBN:  9781408718421

Publisher:  Constable

Formats:  e-book and hardback

No. of Pages:  368 (hardback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

About the Author

Born in Cyprus, Jo Jakeman worked for many years in the City of London before moving to Cornwall with her husband and twin boys. When she's not writing or reading, Jo walks the coastal paths and plots the fictional downfall of those who have wronged her.

She is the author of One Bad Apple. 

You can also find Jo at:

Author Website

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(ARC and media courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

Where We Belong by Sarah Bennett - #BookReview #BlogTour

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Hope Travers groaned as the harsh sound of he alarm dragged her from the depths of sleep. Having tossed and turned for most of the night, she'd finally managed to drift off sometime after the church clock in the village had chimed a distant single note. There'd been a few complaints about the chimes over the years, mostly from weekend commuters who liked the idea of a pretty house in the country more than the realities of village life, but Hope found them soothing. The alarm buzzed again and she flailed her arm towards the bedside cabinet, knocking the phone off and under the bed in the process.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

***

On paper, Hope Travers has an idyllic life.

Living in a bustling farmhouse with her mum, aunt and uncles, cousin and too many dogs to count, surrounded by the breath-taking Cotswolds countryside, she knows she is privileged and protected.

But all families have secrets, and the Travers family are no exception. Their farmhouse sits in the grounds of the Juniper Meadows estate, passed down through the generations and now being made to pay its own way with a myriad of businesses and projects. When a construction crew uncover what appear to be historical ruins, the history of the Travers family is put under ever closer scrutiny as a dig gets underway.

Hope may have found a blossoming romance with local archaeologist Cameron Ferguson who is running the dig, but when things start to go wrong around the estate and family secrets begin to be revealed, Hope wonders if she’s made a big mistake in digging up the past.

***

In this book, the author demonstrates her excellent storytelling skills. It's themes of love, secrets and belonging run throughout the book and are portrayed through a cast of characters who are all as charming as this book is.

In fact, I think I am a little in love with Cam, who is one of the main characters. He, alongside the other main character Hope, make for a heartfelt romance which runs throughout this book. Ms. Bennett allows the readers to familiarise themselves with the characters in this book. It is utterly charming, and I am thrilled that it is the first in a planned series. 

Set in the beauty of a rural Cotswolds village, I particularly liked the community spirit which is portrayed within it's pages. Not just by the family but by the village residents also.

I have never read any books by this author, but I am already greatly anticipating the next book in the series. In the meantime, I will be delving into some of her already published novels.

ISBN:  978 1804833155

Publisher:  Boldwood Books

Formats:  e-book, hardback, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  336 (paperback)

About the Author:

Sarah Bennett is the bestselling author of several romantic fiction trilogies including those set in Butterfly Cove and Lavender Bay.

Born and raised in a military family she is happily married to her

own Officer and when not reading or writing enjoys sailing the high seas.

(ARC, author photo and bio info courtesy of the publishers/NetGalley)

The Secrets of Bridgewater Bay by Julie Brooks - #BookReview #BlogTour

 

Rose scrambled down the bank in a storm of sand, arms flailing and legs protesting. Funny how her legs didn't work as well as they had once. Inside she still felt like the girl who had landed on these shores forty years ago, yet her body resembled an old woman's more each year. Sometimes, catching a flicker reflected in a window, she didn't recognise herself.

Reaching level ground, she shook the sand from her shoes, before settling the canvas hold-all on her shoulder and looking up to see the bay spread before her like a half-moon of glittering blue, Cape Bridgewater jutting into the ocean to the west with rugged Cape Nelson and its lighthouse rising to the east. 

***

England, 1919: Rose and Ivy board a ship bound for Australia.

One is travelling there to marry a man she has never met.

One is destined never to arrive.

Australia, 2016: Amongst her late-grandmother's possessions, Molly uncovers a photograph of two girls dressed in First World War nurses' uniforms, labelled 'Rose and Ivy 1917', and a letter from her grandmother, asking her to find out what happened to her own mother, Rose, who disappeared in the 1960s.

Compelled to carry out her grandmother's last wish, Molly embarks on a journey to England to unravel the mystery of the two girls whose photograph promised they'd be 'together forever' . . .

***

I love a dual time line novel. Partly, because I am fascinated by the connection that the present has with the past, and also because I think it is exceptionally difficult to pull off successfully. Julie Brooks has achieved this incredibly well, and I enjoyed reading every word of this book very much.

Furthermore, it is a book of secrets and is full of twists and turns, many of which I had not anticipated. It made for an interesting and intriguing reading experience as little by little the secrets of the past are revealed.

The characters were all well portrayed, and as an amateur genealogist myself, I could identify with Molly who was attempting to join the dots between herself and her ancestors. Ivy, whose story was set in the earlier time frame was a wonderful character and I thoroughly enjoyed reading how the author developed her character.

This is Ms. Brooks debut historical fiction novel for adults and I am looking forward to reading more of her work. Her next novel, The Keepsake, is due for release in the UK in January 2023.

I wholeheartedly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. I would love to hear your thoughts if you read it.

ISBN: 978 1472279163

Publisher: Headline Review

Formats: e-book, audio, paperback and hardback

No. of Pages: 400 (paperback)

About the Author:

Julie Brooks was born in Brisbane, Australia, but has lived most of her life in Melbourne. She taught English and Drama in secondary schools before working as an editor of children’s magazines. She has been a full-time author since 1999 and is the author of several young adult novels as well as children’s fiction and non-fiction. The Secrets of Bridgewater Bay is her first novel writing as Julie Brooks.  

Purchase Link

(author photo and bio. info. courtesy of the publisher

ARC courtesy NetGalley)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict - #BookReview

 

24th December - Christmas Eve.

Snow is falling. Because of course it is. Nothing about this is going to be easy.

Lily presses her forehead against the cold window, her duvet wrapped around her. It's four in the morning and she can't sleep. Streetlights shower gold rings onto Catford High Street. Snowflakes dance down from the sky. Two blokes stumble along the middle of the road, arms around each other, shouting, "It's Christmas!"

***

Twelve clues.

Twelve keys.

Twelve days of Christmas.

But who will survive until Twelfth Night?

Lily Armitage never intended to return to Endgame House - the grand family home where her mother died twenty-one Christmases ago. Until she receives a letter from her aunt, asking her to return to take part in an annual tradition: the Christmas Game. The challenge? Solve twelve clues, to find twelve keys. The prize? The deeds to the manor house.

Lily has no desire to win the house. But her aunt makes one more promise: The clues will also reveal who really killed Lily's mother all those years ago.

So, for the twelve days of Christmas, Lily must stay at Endgame House with her estranged cousins and unravel the riddles that hold the key not just to the family home, but to its darkest secrets. However, it soon becomes clear that her cousins all have their own reasons for wanting to win the house - and not all of them are playing fair.

As a snowstorm cuts them off from the village, the game turns deadly. Soon Lily realises that she is no longer fighting for an inheritance, but for her life.

This Christmas is to die for . . . Let the game begin

***

Who does not like a Christmas thriller set within a traditional country house murder scenario? I think most of us do, and this book was a cut above many of them.

It undoubtedly contained all the usual tropes one would expect to find in a story of this kind but what elevates this above the average is the wonderful writing. It has a lyricism in the narrative that made it a pleasure to read. Ms Benedict's use of simile and metaphor was inspired.

Puzzle lovers will particularly enjoy this as it is possible to play along with solving the clues but from the safety of your own armchair. For the characters in the book, no such safety exists and the body count soon mounts up.

There was much of this novel that was predictable to anyone familiar with the genre but that did not make it any less entertaining or enjoyable to read.

This is my favourite Christmas themed book that I have read in a while and I hope that you enjoy it every bit as much as I did.

ISBN:  978 1838775384

Publisher: Zaffre

Number of pages: 400 (hardback)

About the Author:

Alexandra Benedict read English at Cambridge and studied creative writing at Sussex.

She composed film and television soundtracks, as well as performing as a musician before becoming a full-time writer in 2012.

As A.K. Benedict, she published the critically acclaimed The Beauty of Murder and The Evidence of Ghosts.

She lives in St. Leonard's with her dog, Dame Margaret Rutherford.

(photo and bio info courtesy of the authors website https://akbenedict.com/about/)

Sisterhood by V. B. Grey - #BookReview #SocialBlast

 

My mother is not an easy patient. To her, patients are submissive, impotent creatures, and she - Dr Freya Grant - has no intention of becoming one. Not that she's in denial about her condition. She knows she's dying from an inoperable brain tumour and, if she could speak, would explain it better than I can. Her doctors say that, while her mind is as sharp as ever, a rapidly spreading glioma in the left frontal lobe has left her with expressive aphasia - the inability to speak, read or write. She can still understand language and can occasionally form sounds, but they are often meaningless, which annoys her so much she'd rather remain silent.

It is 1944 in war-ravaged London. Freya and Shona are identical twins, very close despite their different characters. Freya is a newly qualified doctor tending to the injured in a London hospital, while Shona has been recruited by the SOE. The sisters are so physically alike that they can fool people into thinking that one is the other. It's a game they've played since childhood. But when Shona persuades her twin to swap roles to meet her Polish lover, he is angered at being tricked.

Then Shona proposes a far more dangerous swapping of roles. At first Freya refuses but finally she agrees, with consequences so dangerous that they threaten not only the happiness but the lives of both sisters.

Forty-five years later in November 1989 Freya, now aged 69, is watching television with her daughter Kirsty. Freya is gripped as she witnesses crowds of Berliners attempting to knock down their hated Wall. This sight stirs long buried memories of her own war and her sister's, and of events in wartime Poland - memories that she has never shared with anyone. Even if she wanted to reveal them now, she couldn't. She's suffering from a brain tumour and is unable to speak although her reason is unimpaired. And this is what she's thinking: if they succeed in knocking down the Wall, what secrets will come tumbling through? If her own were revealed, it would be devastating for all those close to her, especially her daughter.

***

I initially came across this author when I was invited to take part in the social blast for her previous book, Tell Me How it Ends, last year. You can read my review by clicking here. I was further delighted when I was again approached by the publisher to take part in the social blast for her new book and I enjoyed every page of her latest work.

Without doubt, Ms. Grey is an accomplished storyteller and this book very much showcases that talent. Interestingly, her own family history was the springboard for this novel although it is an entirely fictionalised account of the lives of her mother and her non-identical twin during World War II.

With a dual timeline the narrative alternates between the 1940s and the 1980s, telling the story of Freya and her daughter, Kirsty.

The book takes as it's main themes both the bonds that exist between mother and daughter and also between that of identical twins. Also, it considers the impact that secrecy can have upon these relationships.

Parts of the plot are set in wartime Poland, and the reader is given insight into the role played by the Polish resistance. It made for fascinating reading and I was all the more gripped as the story unravelled and the courage of those involved played out on the page.

The characters are all well portrayed and easy to engage with. The relationship between twins, Freya and Shona, was compelling. The strength of their bond coupled with the sometimes changing roles of their individual weaknesses and strengths made for an immersive reading experience.

Furthermore, there is a thread of mystery and intrigue running throughout this novel and, it is this which  elevated this book and made it into a page turner. I found this book to be an engrossing read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys books about strong female characters.

ISBN: 978 1529405750

Publisher: Quercus

Format: Hardback, audio and e-book

Pages: 368 in hardcover

About the Author: 

V. B. Grey is the pseudonym of the acclaimed television screenwriter and crime novelist Isabelle Grey. A former arts journalist and feature writer, she has written for film, radio and television, contributing episodes to Jimmy McGovern's award winning BBC series, Accused. 

She is the author of two novels of psychological suspense and four books in a contemporary crime series under he own name. She grew up in Manchester and now lives in north London.