The Beforelife of Eliza Valentine by Laura Pearson - #bookreview #blogtour

When my parents met for the first time, I was watching. They met at a party, in a garden, and my siblings and I were hovering nearby, unseen...

***

You’ve heard of the Afterlife. Welcome to the Beforelife.

There are four of us: Samuel, Lucy, Thomas, and me – Eliza.

We came into being the day Becca Valentine was born. We’ve been by her side ever since. What she doesn’t know yet, is that one day she might become our mother.

Then two men come into her life. Both seeking her heart. And then we realise: everything rests on Becca’s love story. Because one of the men is Lucy and Thomas’s father. And the other is mine and Samuel’s. And there’s simply no way we can all be born.

We all want her to make the right choice. We all want to be born. To hold her hand one day. To feel her stroke our hair. To call her our mother.

Then we discover there is something we can do. We can change Fate. But we only have a single chance each. How would you make sure you were born? And what if doing that isn’t what’s best for the person you already love the most in the world – your mother? 

***

This is such a sweet story, and I enjoyed it very much.

I have previously read Laura Pearson's book The Last List of Mabel Beaumont, which was an equally lovely read. That was a very different book to the one I am reviewing today but both brilliant in their own way.

I can honestly say that I have never read anything quite like this book. It has a uniqueness to it that made it all the more gripping for its novelty. It is the story of four unborn siblings as they observe their mother, Becca, from a different plane, from the time of her birth to the time of their own conception.

Eliza was the main character from this set of four, and the book is written from her perspective. However, we meet many other wonderfully drawn characters also. Becca and her dad were lovely characters. Also, the relationship between Eliza and her brother Samuel was beautifully written.

I was interested to read that the author wrote this based on a dream that she had many years ago, which I guess explains it uniqueness. It is to be applauded that the author could take her dream and turn it into a story that was both easy to read and engaging. 

The book has much to say about how the choices we make impact not only our own lives but the lives of others too. It is story of love, hope and sacrifice. It was heartwarming and left me with a lovely warm feeling inside.  It was a delight to read.

ISBN: 978 1836034452

Publisher:  Boldwood Books

Formats:  e-book, audio, hardback and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited

No. of Pages:  288 (paperback)

About the Author:

Laura Pearson is the author of the #1 bestseller The Last List of Mabel Beaumont. She founded The Bookload on Facebook and has had several pieces published in the Guardian and the Telegraph.

(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(author photo courtesy of her website)

(all opinions are my own)

Under a Summer Skye by Sue Moorcroft - #bookreview #blogtour #GIVEAWAY

 

Thea's heart tried to claw itself out of her chest as she stooped over the motionless figure sprawled in the road. His yellow visibility vest looked jaunty in the sunlight, but his face, where not bleeding, was grey. One leg was twisted through the frame of a crumpled bicycle.

***

A Scottish island. A stranger from the mainland. A summer of possibilities...

Escape to the Isle of Skye this summer with the Sunday Times bestselling author, and lose yourself in the first book of the Skye Sisters Trilogy.

A chance encounter is about to change everything for Thea Wynter.

The moment she arrived on the Isle of Skye, life changed for Thea. Running from a succession of wrong turns, she comes to the island in search of blue sea, endless skies, and mountains that make the heart soar. Here, she feels at peace.

As head gardener at Rothach Hall, life is exactly how she wants it, with her days spent working in the glorious clifftop garden and her evenings in the cosy village pub.

But an encounter with a stranger from the mainland brings with it an unexpected turn – and she is left wondering whether he is friend or foe.

It seems that even on Skye, life can catch up with you, and Thea is soon faced with the past she left behind – and with it, the family she’s never met...

From old lives to new beginnings, lose yourself on the beautiful Isle of Skye with Thea as she discovers how many possibilities life can truly hold if you look hard enough.

Don't miss your chance to win a copy of this lovely book in today's giveaway! Just scroll to the bottom of the page for your chance to win!

***

Having now read this book the question I am left asking myself is, why have I never read anything by Sue Moorcroft before? If this book is typical of her back catalogue, and the others are as gorgeous as this one, then I cannot wait to get stuck into more of her titles.

I am also thrilled that this is the first book in an anticipated trilogy as I still have two more books to read when they are published.

It is set on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, and the descriptions of the environment are glorious. I challenge anyone who reads this not to want to hop on an aeroplane and go there. 

The main character is Thea, the head gardener at Rothach Hall. When Dev arrives and unexpectedly ends up as one of the seasonal gardeners, the chemistry between them is undeniable.

What is great about the plot is that the reader knows from the outset the real reason behind Dev being at the hall, and it was obvious that sooner or later, this would become apparent and have a huge impact on the burgeoning relationship between them. The author has created a cast of believable characters, not just in Thea and Dev but also in the secondary characters too. Pivotal to Thea and Dev meeting is Daisy the dog, who is a wonderful addition to the story.

Ms. Moorcroft has a story-tellers instinct, and she conveys this on the page extremely well. Anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction will love this book every bit as much as I did.

ISBN:  978 0008636814

Publisher:  Avon

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  384 (paperback)

***

About the Author:

Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times bestselling author, and her novels have been #1 on Kindle UK and Top 100 on Kindle US, Canada and Italy. She writes two books a year for publishing giant HarperCollins and has won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Novel of the Year, Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award, a HOLT Medallion and the Katie Fforde Bursary. She’s the president of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Her novels, short stories, serials, columns, writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared around the world.

For your chance to win a copy of this fabulous book by clicking the link below.

Enter Giveaway

Our Gorgeous Baby by Smriti Halls - Illustrated by Eve Coy #BookReview

 

Our baby's eyes are NOT brighter than the sun...

And NO, she's NOT light as a feather...

***

A charmingly funny picture book that celebrates the unconditional love a family has for their slurpy, burpy and boisterous new baby!

Smriti was inspired to write Our Gorgeous Baby after reading Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130. With lyrical humour the story reflects the routine chaos a new baby brings upon a family and – in so doing – shows that even the slurpiest, burpiest, noisiest, smelliest and messiest of babies (multiple night-time wakings included) is no challenge whatsoever to the unbreakable bond and endless and unconditional love, care and affection a family has for their gorgeous baby.

***

This book could not have been more timely for me when it arrived this week. I had a new granddaughter make her entrance into the world just a few days ago. Of course, she is utterly gorgeous and this book epitomises how every big brother or sister might view a new arrival.

Written throughout in rhyme the book is beautifully illustrated. These support the text perfectly, and young children will adore following them. They add further to the story and there is much that adults can share with their little ones in the book.

Aimed at the preschool age group young children will enjoy having this book read to them and equally will enjoy looking at the colourful pictures themselves.

It has a timeless quality to it and portrays the burping, dirty nappies and sleepless nights which accompany the arrival of a new baby. It is done in a loving and charming way that parents and children alike will enjoy.

My son and his family do not live locally and so have yet to meet our latest addition to the family. Needless to say, I can hardly wait to meet her and have a cuddle, and I cannot wait to share this book with her two year old brother who will definitely be able to identify with it.

ISBN:  978 1406391770

Publisher:  Walker Books

Formats:  Hardback

No. of Pages:  32

About the Author:

Smriti Halls is an award-winning, critically acclaimed children’s author. Since publication of her first picture book in 2012, she has had a U.S. number 1 bestseller and been published in more than 30 languages, from Arabic to Afrikaans and from Catalan to Korean.

With a cast of characters as varied as mischievous monsters and disgruntled geese, she explores relationship and identity; the personal and the political; how it feels to be in your own skin — and in someone else’s. Her books, often fast-paced and funny or lyrical and tender, are always full of hope and heart and speak to the child in all of us.

 

Several of her books have been nominated and shortlisted for national awards. The Little Island (illustrated by Robert Starling) is currently shortlisted for the 2020 Teach Primary Awards and the 2020 Little Rebels Award.

Smriti works extensively with the Bedtime Stories Prison Project, helping parents in prison stay connected with their children at home through stories. She has been interviewed about this work by BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour and The Guardian.

Smriti has been a judge for several awards and prizes, including the Stratford Salariya Prize, Faber's FAB Award and the Booktrust Lifetime Achievement Award. She is currently BookTrust’s Writer in Residence.

South Indian by birth, British by nationality and London-loving by heart, Smriti lives near Richmond Park with her husband and their three sons, reading, writing and eating iced buns. 

(Book courtesy of the publisher)

(author media coutesy of her website)

(all opinions are my own)

The Vintage Village Bake Off by Judy Leigh - #bookreview #blogtour

 

'In the presence of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we have come together to witness the marriage of Harriet and Geoffrey, to pray for God's blessing on them, to share their joy, and to celebrate their love.'

The vicar smelled of something muddy and a strong whiff of aniseed. Hattie wondered if he'd just finished a quick burial outside. He must have rushed into the vestry to dust the soil from his hands and swig a swift glass of Pernod before starting the marriage service. She squinted at Geoffrey, sombre in his grey suit, through the dense net of her veil...

***

Now in his seventies, Robert Parkin is stunned to find himself the unlikely sex symbol of the village gardening club.

Living in happy solitude with his cat Isaac Mewton in the Devon village of Millbrook, entertained by his mischievous chickens and goats, Robert has never figured out the rules of romance. But as the local ladies vie for his company, it soon becomes clear that Robert’s Victoria Sponge cake is the lure, and as his baking prowess grows, so does his confidence.

Cheesecakes, meringues, puddings, Robert can do it all, but his real masterpieces are his scones – ginger, rosemary, coconut, fruit, his recipes are inspired and soon come to the attention of the local media. Which county does the best cream tea – Devon or Cornwall? It’s time for an age-old debate to be settled with a competition.

Robert’s sisters Bunty and Hattie are both at crossroads in their lives, so news of their brother’s baking competition is the perfect excuse to bring them to Millbrook. And as the siblings relish each other’s company, and Robert relishes being at the heart of his community, a summer of scones may just light the way to long-lasting happiness for them all.

***

This book was fun to read. It focusses on how we are never too old for second chances and how it is never too late to delve into new opportunities.

Whilst Hattie is the main character, it is really the story of three siblings of mature years, Hattie, Robert and Bunty. The author has developed their characters brilliantly, and they were each a joy to become acquainted with.

However, there was also a cast of secondary characters who were equally well drawn. I loved the vicar's daughter, Tilda, who is part of a punk band called Armpit. Jacko, the self-centred plumber, as well as the various women who are vying for Robert's attention. All extremely well drawn and who added an extra nuance to both plot and character.

What was delightful in this book was observing how Hattie grew as a person. Having escaped her marriage to the coercive and controlling Geoffrey it was marvellous to observe how she grew in strength and character.

It was a character led book set in an English village in Devon. The author conveys the feeling of community very well. Devon is a beautiful part of the country, and she did a great job in demonstrating that through the narrative.

It was a heartwarming and lighthearted novel which was a pleasure to read, and I recommend it.

ISBN: 978 1785132230

Publisher:  Boldwood Books

Formats:  e-book, audio, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages:  336 (paperback)

About the Author:

Judy Leigh is the USA Today bestselling author of The Old Girls’ Network and Five French Hens and the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ genre of women’s fiction. She has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset.

(e-book and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

Don't Look Away by Rachel Abbott - #BookReview

 

Slowly, gently, he eases down the handle and slips silently through the door.

She's there, on the bed, covers thrown back. He stifles a gasp as his eyes travel the length of her body, from her long naked legs, exposed to the cool breeze drifting gently through the open window, to her chest, rising and falling with each soft breath. In the still of the hot night the only sound is the murmur of waves lapping the pebbled beach...

***

She never wanted to come back. Now she'll never leave.

Nancy Holland's sister disappeared on a holiday in Cornwall eleven years ago. She hasn't been seen since, and Nancy never returned. Until now.

Life has pulled her back to the seaside village and cottage where young Lola was last seen. Back then, Nancy couldn't see what was right in front of her eyes. Can she now finally uncover what happened to her sister?

***

This book is the third in the Stephanie King series and is publishing in the UK today. I have not read the previous two in the series, but this did not hinder my enjoyment of the book and it worked perfectly well as a standalone novel.

I enjoyed the book very much, and it was a real page turner. I was hooked from the very beginning and had time permitted I would have gobbled this up in one sitting.

The book is set in Cornwall, to where the main character, Nancy, has returned when she inherits a cottage from her great aunt. She has not visited the area since her younger sister, Lola, went missing eleven years previously. Nancy had no desire to return to the area as it holds such unhappy memories for her.

The detective, Stephanie King, is looking into the case and she is an equally well drawn character. The author has a good understanding of her characters and thus, they are extremely easy to engage with.

The plot kept me guessing until the very end and its conclusion was unexpected. The author is clearly a great storyteller and she kept me captivated throughout this dark and suspenseful novel. However, the darkness of the plot was accompanied by the beautiful descriptions of the environment and were a joy to read. I have been lucky enough to visit Cornwall and it is every bit as beautiful and dramatic as Ms. Abbott describes.

This is an excellent psychological thriller, and I highly recommend it.

ISBN: 978 1035403387

Publisher:  Wildfire

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:   464 (paperback)

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org*

About the Author:

Rachel Abbott began her career as an independent author in 2011, with Only the Innocent, which became an instant No. 1 bestseller on Kindle, topping the chart for four weeks. Since then, she has published ten further psychological thrillers, plus a novella, and sold over 4 million copies in the English language. She is one of the top-selling authors of all time in the UK Kindle store, and her novels have been translated into 21 languages. 

Rachel splits her time between Alderney and the Le Marche region of Italy, where she is able to devote all her tine to writing fiction.

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org*

(ARC and all author info courtesy of the publicist)

(all opinions are my own)

*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.

The Village Vicar by Julie Houston - #BookReview

 

'Well, look who it is.' Glenys Parkes glanced up from the sausage meat she was expertly encasing in flaky pastry, wiped her hands on the front of her faded pinny and moved to kiss her younger daughter. 'You never said you were coming home?' Glenys took in Alice's lack of suitcase, her grubby-looking bare feet in their leather sandals and her skimpy flowing dress, quite unsuitable for this overcast, chilly May morning in Yorkshire. 'You look frozen. Here.' Glenys threw her mauve M&S cardigan in Alice's direction but, although Alice caught it, she placed it on the battered armchair in fron of her and went, instead, over to the sink to fill the kettle...

***

When Rosa Quinn left her childhood home in Westenbury, she never expected to return over a decade later as the village vicar. But after a health scare and catching her boyfriend cheating, Rosa jumps at the chance to start over and live closer to her triplet sisters Eva and Hannah.

But Rosa's isn't the only old face in the village, and when her role in the parish throws her into the path of her ex, she begins to wonder if she's made a terrible mistake. Meanwhile, Eva and Hannah face their own troubles, as secrets about their family threaten to emerge.

Can Rosa make a life for herself in Westenbury? Or will the sisters discover you can't run away from the past?

***

I am already a fan of Julie Houston. I have previously read and reviewed Goodness, Grace and Me and Sing Me a Secret, both of which I have enjoyed enormously. If you would like to read my reviews of these two book please just click on the book title and it will take you straight there.

The Village Vicar was every bit as good as I had anticipated. We meet triplets Rosa, Eva and Hannah and they make for a set of lovely main characters, although the book focusses slightly more on Rosa than her sisters. They have a close but complex relationship, each of them different to the other and they each bring something distinct to the novel.

The book begins with the story behind their birth. Readers are introduced to Alice, their birth mother, and her sister, Susan, who along with her husband adopts the three girls. It was good judgement on the part of the author, to spend time portraying the back story of the triplets at the beginning as it provides context for the remainder of the novel.

It is both humourous and heart felt and I enjoyed reading every page. Ms. Houston's novels always leave me with a satisfied feeling, and I cannot wait to read the next in the series, The Girls of Heatherly Hall, which was published just last week.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading contemporary women's fiction.

ISBN: 978 1803280028

Publisher:  Head of Zeus

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  384 (paperback)

Purchase Link*

About the Author:

Julie Houston is the author of ten novels set in and around the fictional West Yorkshire village of Westenbury, GOODNESS, GRACE AND ME, THE ONE SAVING GRACE, LOOKING FOR LUCY, COMING HOME TO HOLLY CLOSE FARM, A VILLAGE AFFAIR, SING ME A SECRET, A VILLAGE VACANCY and A FAMILY AFFAIR, as well as a novella, AN OFF-PISTE CHRISTMAS, all published by Aria.  Her most recent novel, A VILLAGE SECRET, was published in ebook and paperback in April 2022 by Aria/Head of Zeus.  All her novels have been Kindle bestsellers.

A VILLAGE AFFAIR, published  in November 2018, on the Kindle Top 100 bestseller list for almost a year, was the seventh most-read UK fiction ebook in the year to November 2019, and a Kindle top 5 bestseller.

SING ME A SECRET won the RNA’s 2021 Sapere Books Popular Romantic Fiction Award.

Julie is Yorkshire born and bred and lives near Huddersfield. She worked as a teacher for many years, still doing supply work.   Additionally she sits as a magistrate in West Yorkshire.  

Translation rights in Julie’s novels have been sold to a number of countries.

(author photo and bio courtesy of Kate Horden Literary Agency)

(all opinions my own)

Purchase Link*

*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett - #BookReview

"The first time our father brought Andrea to the Dutch House, Sandy, our housekeeper, came to my sister's room and told us to come downstairs. 'Your father has a friend he wants you to meet,' she said.

Danny Conroy grows up in the Dutch House, a lavish folly in small-town Pennsylvania taken on by his property developer father. Though his father is distant and his mother is absent, Danny has his beloved sister Maeve: Maeve, with her wall of black hair, her delicacy, her brilliance. Life is comfortable and coherent, played out under the watchful eyes of the house's former owners in the frames of their oil painting.

Then one day their father bring Andrea home. Her arrival will exact a banishment: a banishment whose reverberations will echo for the rest of their lives.

As decades pass, Danny and his sister are drawn back time and again to the place they can never enter, knocking in vain on the locked door of the past. For behind the mystery of their own enforced exile is that of their mother's self-imposed one: an absence more powerful than any presence they have known.

The Dutch House is a story of family, betrayal, love, responsibility and sacrifice; of the powerful bonds of place and time that magnetise and repel us for our whole lives.

***

Having read this book and thought it wonderful I have been continually asking myself why I have never read any of Ann Patchett's books before! She has an extensive back catalogue, which I now have the joy of reading, so I am very happy about that.

The author portrayed this dysfunctional family with insight and understanding. I really liked the relationship between Danny and Maeve. They were totally believable, as indeed, were the less focal characters. 

The time span covers several decades and I particularly enjoyed seeing how Danny's character developed. His narration starts when he is still a young boy and takes us through to his adult life. We see how his character matures and changes and makes the reader question how we think we may have reacted if we had been in the same situation.

The titular house itself plays a significant part in this book, playing as compelling a role as the characters do. The descriptions were tangible and I really could see it's exterior and wander around the rooms in my imagination. I think it takes enormous skill for a writer to be able to imbue an inanimate object with such life.

The book tackles many themes, among them, family, forgiveness and loylaty. Ms. Patchett is clearly a phenomenal storyteller and writes with acute observation of the world around her. I really cannot wait to read more of her work.

Have you read any of her earlier novels? Which were your favourites?

ISBN: 978 1526614971

Publisher: Bloomsbury

About the Author:

Ann Patchett is the author of seven novels and three works of non-fiction. She has been shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction three times; with The Magician's Assistant in 1998, winning the prize with Bel Canto in 2002, and was most recently shortlisted with State of Wonder in 2012. She is also the winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2012. 

She is the co-owner of Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee where she lives with her husband, Karl.