Category: reviews

Tess needs a break!
Under appreciated at home, overlooked at work and now her beloved dog Bella has died. Tess has
simply had enough!
So in a spur of the moment act, Tess books a holiday of a lifetime for her, her two grown up kids and useless husband Dave. Maybe they can use the break to reconnect with each other?
But when the kids refuse to go, and Dave breaks his leg, Tess’s dream holiday looks seriously in doubt. And then there’s River Romero, the glamourous LA screen writer who is supposed to be house-sitting for Tess whilst she’s away….
Everything about River sounds so much more exciting than Tess’s boring life in Stratford Upon Avon.
From her beautiful LA condo and the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, Tess wonders whether a bit of River’s LA life might be exactly what she needs? So when River suggests a house swap, Tess jumps at the chance!
With Dave happily ensconced in the summer house at the bottom of the garden, the kids not needing mum anymore, Tess packs her bags and heads off for the adventure of a lifetime.
But real life isn’t like the movies, and when Tess arrives in LA, things aren’t exactly as they seem.
Will Tess find what’s she’s looking for or is getting away from it all isn’t all perhaps not all it’s cracked up to be?
Amazon

Carmen Reid is the bestselling author of numerous woman’s fiction titles including the Personal Shopper series starring Annie Valentine. After taking a break from writing she is back, introducing her hallmark feisty women characters to a new generation of readers. Her first title for Boldwood will be published in July 2021. She lives in Glasgow with her husband and children.

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My thoughts: this was a lovely, heartwarming book about adventure, reassessing your life and doing what’s best for you, even if that is egging a parking restriction sign!

Tess and River swap homes for six weeks one summer and both get a lot more from it than they anticipated. Tess is feeling stuck in a rut, in her job, her marriage, her relationship with her kids, even her haircut and her time in LA lets her decide whether she wants things to change. River meanwhile is writing a teenagers do Shakespeare adaptation for film, and Tess’ home not far from the Bard’s birthplace, is somewhere she hopes to be inspired and refreshed.

I loved Tess, I loved her carpe diem attitude once she arrives in LA, her determination not to let anything, River’s gross apartment and unexpected dogs, the closed pool, her too heavy clothing, nothing at all, stop her. She was marvellous. We should all be more Tess. I liked River, and Dave (Tess’ husband) too, they were strongly written, funny people. Their garden party disaster made me laugh, sometimes we leave people in our pasts for good reasons. I felt for Alex, having spent a long time living with depression I really empathised with his struggles and wanted to give him a hug. I think I need a sequel so I know that he, and everyone else, is OK. And that Tess gets a new canine pal too.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

How do you escape a past you can’t remember?

Kate Sullivan has a beautiful home, a job she loves and a handsome fiancé: all she’d ever dreamed of since getting sober and painstakingly piecing her life back together.

But a chance encounter with her old best friend Becky threatens Kate’s newfound and fragile happiness. Kate remembers nothing of their last drunken night out, the night Becky broke off their friendship without warning or explanation.

With Becky back in her life, Kate is desperate to make amends for the past. For the closure she craves, Kate needs to know what she did that ruined everything. But what if the truth is worse than Kate could have imagined?

(Previously published as Closure)

My thoughts: I really thought this book was going in one direction, then it swerved and went in a completely different one. Which was refreshing but also horrifying – the secret Becky has been carrying all those years will destroy everything Kate believes in.

It was also interesting to see Kate’s daily battle with addiction and how close to the surface her need swam, especially at times of stress. She’s fundamentally a good person but made some mistakes and continues to struggle with them every day.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

In learning to write about her life, will Hope Nicely finally learn how to live it?

‘I don’t have any friends, only dog ones, because they don’t make you do bad things. I don’t want any human friends, actually. It’s for the best.’

Hope Nicely hasn’t had an easy life.

But she’s happy enough living at 23 Station Close with her mum, Jenny Nicely, and she loves her job, walking other people’s dogs. She’s a bit different, but as Jenny always tells her, she’s a rainbow person, a special drop of light.
It’s just . . . there’s something she needs to know.

Why did her birth mother abandon her in a cardboard box on a church step twenty-five years ago? And did she know that drinking while pregnant could lead to Hope being born with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder? In a bid to find her birth mother and the answers to these questions, Hope decides to write her autobiography.

Despite having been bullied throughout school, Hope bravely joins an evening class where Hope will not only learn the lessons of writing (including the number one golden rule of ‘show don’t tell’), but may also begin to discover more about the world around her, about herself and even make some (human) friends.But when Jenny suddenly falls ill, Hope realises there are many more lessons to come . . .
Hope Nicely’s Lessons for Life is a heart-warming, coming-of-age novel about loneliness, friendship, acceptance and, above all, hope.

Caroline Day is a freelance journalist and consultant editor, living in Crouch End, married with kids and two dogs. She is an alumnus of the Curtis Brown Creative novel-writing course.

My thoughts:

I loved this book, I loved Hope. It’s sweet and sad and so hopeful. Hope has had a lot to deal with – her FASD is a lot to deal with and has led to some terrible bullying. But with the love and support of her wonderful mum Jenny, she has found ways to live her life happily. She has the best job – getting to play with lots of lovely dogs and is attending a writing class, so she can write her story.

Hope is resilient and inspiring. And this book had me laughing and crying. Honestly it’s so wonderful. More Hope Nicely please!

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

Tori Williamson is alone. After a tragic event left her isolated from her loved ones, she’s been struggling to find her way back to, well – herself. That’s why she set up her blog, The Beginner’s Guide to Loneliness, as a way of – anonymously – connecting with the outside world and reaching others who just need a little help sometimes.
 
When she’s offered a free spot on a wellbeing retreat in exchange for a review on her blog, Tori is anxious about opening herself up to new surroundings. But after her three closest friends – who she talks to online but has never actually met – convince her it’ll do her some good, she reluctantly agrees and heads off for three weeks in the wild (well, a farm in Wales).
 
From the moment she arrives, Tori is sceptical and quickly finds herself drawn to fellow sceptic Than, the retreat’s dark and mysterious latecomer. But as the beauty of The Farm slowly comes to light she realizes that opening herself up might not be the worst thing. And sharing a yurt with fellow retreater Bay definitely isn’t.  Will the retreat be able to fix Tori? Or will she finally learn that being lonely doesn’t mean she’s broken . . .
 
Welcome to The Beginner’s Guide to Loneliness! Where you can learn to move mountains by picking up the smallest of stones…

My thoughts: this was lovely, Tori is lonely and deeply sad, still grieving her mother’s death and the break up of her relationship. On a trip to review The Farm she starts to open up and recover. We all deal with tragedy in different ways and Tori is no different. The ways in which the gentle therapeutic methods of the The Farm help her heal are mostly kindness and friendship – things we all need.

I loved Doreen and Raven, honestly the other guests were a delight. Tori is a sweetheart and I wanted to reach through the pages and give her a hug. And there’s a delightfully slobbery dog too! The book is a tonic, so enjoy.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.