Tag: contemporary fiction

Finn and Kaz are about to meet for the first time…
Ten-year-old Finn, a quirky, sensitive boy who talks a lot and only eats at cafes with a 5-star hygiene rating, is having a tough time at school and home.
Outspoken Kaz, 59, who has an acerbic sense of humour and a heart of gold, is working at the café when Finn and his mum come in.
They don’t know it yet, but the second time they meet will be a moment which changes both of their lives forever . . .

My thoughts:

This is an incredibly moving, heart rending read, so have your tissues on standby.

Beautifully, sensitively written, with both grief and mental illness handled with compassion and understanding by a talented author.

It’s not often you read a book and have to sit quietly with your thoughts after, but I was so moved by the quietly redemptive story and the gentle and kind characters within the pages, that I needed a moment.

Life affirming and genuinely moving.

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

Roxy’s marriage has always been rock solid.

After twenty years, and with two carefree kids, she and Dave are still the perfect couple.

Until the day she comes home unexpectedly, and finds Dave in bed with their attractive, single neighbour.

Suddenly Roxy isn’t sure about anything – her past, the business she’s taken over from her dad, or what her family’s future might be. She’s spent so long caring about everyone else that she’s forgotten what she actually wants. But something has changed. And Roxy has a decision to make.

Whether it’s with Dave, or without him, it’s time for Roxy to start living for herself…

Sheila O’Flanagan is the author of many bestselling novels including The Hideaway, What Happened That Night, The Missing Wife, My Mother’s Secret, If You Were Me, and All For You (winner of the Irish Independent Popular Fiction Book of the Year Award). She lives in Dublin with her husband.

My thoughts:

There were points reading this book I wanted to reach in, grab Roxy and give her a good shake. Luckily she didn’t continue being a complete wet blanket.

Which of course means there’s some really annoying moments in this book and one very aggravating character!

Otherwise, there’s entertainment to be had from Roxy’s chauffeuring adventures, her personal growth and her lovely mum.

This is a very enjoyable read beyond those few moments of growling “c’mon woman, sort it out!”, which I’m sure is intentional as you root for Roxy to remember that Aretha didn’t sing R.E.S.P.E.C.T to teach you to spell!

I also enjoyed the geography lesson I got from Roxy’s trips around the Dublin area and beyond – I’ve never been to Ireland so everything I know I’ve learnt from Irish novelists!

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

In the midst of war, he found love.
In the midst of darkness, he found courage.
In the midst of tragedy, he found hope.
What will you find from his story?

Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live happily in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo – until the unthinkable happens and they are forced to flee. But what Afra has seen is so terrible she has gone blind, and they must embark on a perilous journey through Turkey and Greece towards an uncertain future in Britain.

As Nuri and Afra travel through a broken world, they must confront not only the pain of their own unspeakable loss, but dangers that would overwhelm the bravest of souls. Above all – and perhaps this is the hardest thing they face – they must journey to find each other again.

Moving, compassionate and beautifully written, The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a powerful testament to the triumph of the human spirit.

My thoughts:

This is a really moving, at times heartbreaking, read, following the plight of Nuri and his wife Afra as they leave their home in the war torn city of Aleppo, Syria, to the UK.

Inspired by real people and real experiences, the lives of people living right now. The suffering of refugees is something we’re all aware of but can’t ever fully understand until we are in those shoes.

Lefteri (herself the child of former refugees) brings the characters and the horrors they endure to life with tenderness and compassion. This is the sort of book that leaves a mark in your heart.

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

There’s always time to help out a stranger…isn’t there?

Supermarket delivery driver Charlie enjoys his new job, because he doesn’t have to spend too long with people, who, he’s found, are nothing but trouble. But when he’s assigned the Hope Row street, he realises there are a lot of lonely people out there – and for some, he’s their only interaction.

The supermarket boss tells Charlie he’s a driver, not a social worker – but Charlie can’t abandon the Hope Row residents and he sets about trying to draw them out of their shells and back into the world. But will his helping hand make everything worse?

My thoughts:

Moving and heartwarming, this story of Charlie and his new customers is one of those life affirming, ultimately uplifting reads that we all need from time to time.

For some people the delivery drivers are the only faces they see all day which makes them so much more than just “supermarket man”. This book touches on the loneliness and isolation that some people live in and the need for connection that we a need.

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

The closer the couple, the bigger the lie . . .

Romy and Michael have it all. Over 30 years of marriage, two grown-up sons, a beautiful London home as well as a weekend bolthole by the sea. If Romy’s had to sacrifice some of her dreams along the way to support Michael’s high-flying legal career, then it’s been a price worth paying.

Until the arrival of a letter changes everything.

At first Romy can’t believe what it is saying. That Michael – an upholder of the law, with an unwavering sense of right and wrong – could do something so terrible.

But then other lies start to emerge and she starts to wonder who the man she’s shared her heart, her bed, the best years of her life with, really is.

Walking away should be the start of a new chapter for Romy.

But an urgent telephone call brings her back into Michael’s life – and propels her into the past and the allegations which ended their marriage.

Innocent or guilty? Truth or lie? How well can you ever know those closest to you?

My thoughts:

I found this book compelling reading. The writing really grips you and takes you with it, which is what I want in a book, one that says “don’t put me down, you need to keep going”.

Romy is an empathetic character, dealing with trying to move on with her life after leaving her controlling husband and his lies, moving to Sussex to start again. Being dragged back into her husband’s control and not being able to break free, she almost loses her second chance at life.

It’s an intimate study of a marriage disintegrating and the damage we wreck on each other as we try not to admit to our own darkness. Really interesting stuff.

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

Three hours is 180 minutes or 10,800 seconds.

It is a morning’s lessons, a dress rehearsal of Macbeth, a snowy trek through the woods.

It is an eternity waiting for news. Or a countdown to something terrible.

It is 180 minutes to discover who you will die for and what men will kill for.

In rural Somerset in the middle of a blizzard, the unthinkable happens: a school is under siege. From the wounded headmaster in the library, unable to help his trapped pupils and staff, to teenage Hannah in love for the first time, to the parents gathering desperate for news, to the 16 year old Syrian refugee trying to rescue his little brother, to the police psychologist who must identify the gunmen, to the students taking refuge in the school theatre, all experience the most intense hours of their lives, where evil and terror are met by courage, love and redemption.

My thoughts:

Reader I wept. This book has some heart-wrenching moments. Thankfully school shootings are basically non-existent in the UK, although this set in Somerset. Getting hold of guns in the UK is very, very difficult, although some rural households have rifles for dealing with pests.

There were also moments of my heart in my throat, honestly the whole book is so gripping and so powerfully written. It really captures the sentiment of a rather unpleasant section of society and what lengths they might be willing to go to in order to advance their revolting agenda.

The ending is however heartwarming as you unravel the stories of the children hidden in the school and the bond that builds as they protect each other.

As long as you have a massive box of tissues to hand, this is an incredibly moving read.

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