The Start Of Something - Miranda Dickinson || Netgalley Review

 

Two lonely people.
One note in the window.
And what happens when they reach out…

Lachlan Wallace is stuck at home after a car accident stalled his army career. With months of physiotherapy still to endure and only his rescue dog and cat for company, he’s taken to gazing out of the window, watching the world spin on without him. And then he notices a vase of flowers on the windowsill of the apartment opposite his. Drawn to their hope and colour, he decides to reach out and sticks a message in his window…

Bethan Gwynne is a stranger in a new town. Bringing up her son Noah by herself, she is slowly rebuilding her life, but loneliness is one obstacle she has yet to overcome. She’s intrigued by a glimpse of her neighbour in the apartment across from hers – and then, one evening, she sees a message in his window just for her:

WHAT ARE THOSE FLOWERS CALLED?

And so begins a love story of two people reaching out, daring to trust a stranger…

Lessons In Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus || Review

 

'Your ability to change everything - including yourself - starts here' ELIZABETH ZOTT 

Set in 1960s California; Lessons In Chemistry is the brilliant, idiosyncratic and uplifting story of a female scientist whose career is derailed by the idea that a woman's place is in the home - something she most definitely does not believe - only to find herself the star of America's best-loved TV cooking show

 Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing. 

 But it's the 1960s, and despite the fact that she is a scientist, her male peers are very unscientific when it comes to equality. The only good thing to happen on her road to professional fulfilment is a run-in with famous colleague Calvin Evans, legend and Nobel nominee. He's also awkward, kind and tenacious. Theirs is true chemistry. 

 But life is never predictable and three years later Elizabeth Zott is an unwed, single mother and star of America's best loved cooking show Supper at Six. Her singular approach to cooking - 'take one pint of H2O and add a pinch of sodium chloride' - and empowering message prove revolutionary. Because Elizabeth isn't just teaching housewives how to cook, but how to change their lives. 

 Meet the unconventional, uncompromising Elizabeth Zott

August Book Haul

 

Well, this last month or so has really seen me getting back into my books & blogging and that is absolutely in part due to having a brand new blogging set up complete with desk & fake plant. Its like books are constantly on my radar. So here is the ones i managed to pick up this month.

The Doctor - Annie Payne || Review

 

Care giver, life saver… or cold-blooded killer?

 Running away from a past she’d rather forget, Doctor Alison Wilson has moved to a new town to take up the role of Medical Officer at failing hospital Saint Margaret’s. 

 Tasked with shaking things up, she quickly learns that things are worse than they initially seem: patient records are in disarray, staff morale is low, and there’s something afoot that she can’t quite put her finger on… 

 As Alison starts to dig into the hospital’s past, she gradually discovers a trail of lies that runs deeper and darker than she could have ever imagined. 

 There’s a cold-blooded killer in the hospital. And they’re hiding in plain sight…

Only Love Can Hurt Like This || Paige Toon || Review

An earth-shattering secret. A life-changing love story. 

When Wren realizes her fiancé is in love with someone else, she thinks her heart will never recover.

On the other side of the world, Anders lost his wife four years ago and is still struggling to move on.

But Wren doesn't know that Anders is harboring a secret, and if he acts on any feelings he has for Wren it will have serious fall-out for everyone. Walking away would hurt Wren more than she can imagine. But, knowing the truth, how can she possibly stay?

The Push - Ashley Audrain Review

 

A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family–and a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for–and everything she feared.

Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had.
But in the thick of motherhood’s exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter–she doesn’t behave like most children do.
Or is it all in Blythe’s head? Her husband, Fox, says she’s imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well.

Then their son Sam is born–and with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she’d always imagined with her child. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.

The Push is a tour de force you will read in a sitting, an utterly immersive novel that will challenge everything you think you know about motherhood, about what we owe our children, and what it feels like when women are not believed.

The Players - Darren O'Sullivan || Netgalley Review

 

In this game it’s kill or be killed

A stranger has you cornered.
They call themselves The Host.
You are forced to play their game.
In it one person can live and the other must die.

You are the next player
You have a choice to make.

This is a game where nobody wins

5* So Far 2023 - Top Picks

 

So seen as we are entering the second half of the year, I thought it was about time I shared my top books of the months so far. I've tried to keep on track with my reading for my Goodreads goal which is 60, so more than 1 book a week. So click below the jump to see what each month's picks where.

The Cruise - Caroline James || Blog Tour

 

Three friends set sail on a luxury cruise… will they be able to catch a husband on the open seas?

Leaving behind the heartache, guilt and disappointment of their real lives, three friends decide that now they’re in their sixties, it’s time they finally did something for themselves!
Swapping Christmas turkeys and BBC reruns for crystal waters, white sandy beaches and smooth golden rum, Anne, Jane and Kath throw caution (and tradition) to the wind as they set sail on a luxury two-week Christmas cruise around the Caribbean.

Will the three friends find the comfort and joy they seek aboard the Diamond Star?

The Little Board Game Cafe - Jennifer Page || Blog Tour

 

An irresistible story of love, friendship and the power of Games Night, perfect for fans of Holly Martin and Christie Barlow.

When Emily loses her job, house and boyfriend all within a matter of days, she's determined to turn a negative into a positive and follow her dream of running a small cafe in the gorgeous Yorkshire village of Essendale.

But she quickly finds she's bitten off more than she can chew when the 'popular' cafe she takes over turns out to secretly be a failing business. Emily desperately needs a way to turn things around, and help comes from the unlikeliest of places when she meets local board game-obsessed GP Ludek. But when a major chain coffee shop opens on the high street, Emily is forced to question if she'll ever be able to compete.

Has she risked everything on something destined to fail? Or can a playful twist, a homely welcome, and a sprinkle of love make Emily's cafe the destination she's always dreamed of?

'A heart-warming romance perfect for curling up with. I absolutely loved it' - Kitty Wilson

Love On The Run - Suzie Tullett || Blog Tour

 

With her ex and her kids away, a woman takes up running and meets a new man - but can they make it to the finish line

Ten years after their divorce, this is the first time Hannah's ex-husband has had the kids for more than a weekend. Her calendar is gloriously blank, ready to be filled with some self-care time. That is, until Hannah's BFFs push her to join a charity race for which she'll need to start training - after all, she's not doing anything else. And her mum nags her to have Aunt Dorothy over for a visit.

So much for me-time...

However, Hannah's not in tip-top shape, and running is a challenge to say the least. Maybe Gabe, the nice-looking personal trainer, can help with that? The more Hannah struggles, the more determined she becomes. But then Hannah is tripped up when she finds out Gabe has ashocking secret. Does this mean he'll be out of the running for a place in her heart?

Paris Requiem - Chris Lloyd|| Blog Tour

 

A gripping World War II murder mystery—and a beautifully drawn portrait of Paris under Nazi occupation—with compelling and conflicted hero Detective Eddie Giral at its heart. 

 Paris, 1940. 

 As the city adjusts to life under Nazi occupation, Detective Eddie Giral struggles to reconcile his job as a policeman with his new role enforcing a regime he cannot believe in, but must work under. 

 He's sacrificed so much in order to survive in this new world, but the past is not so easily forgotten. When an old friend—and an old flame—reappear, begging for his help, Eddie must decide how far he will go to help those he loves.

 The notion of justice itself quickly becomes as dangerous, blurred, and confused as the war itself. And Eddie’s morale compass, ever on unreliable foundations, will be questioned again and again as the ravages of the German occupation steadily attempt to grind him—and the city he loves—into submission. 

 Negotiating a path between resistance and collaboration, he can remain a good man and do nothing—or risk everything he has achieved in a desperate act of resistance.

January Book Haul

 

Well, This January i committed to returning to book blogging so what better way to kick that off than picking up a few books. A few where review books, a few 99p bargains and a few physical books so ill share what i picked up, where and what they are about below. 

The Shape Of Your Heart - Debbie Howells || Blog Tour

 

'When the world says “give up”, hope whispers, “try it one more time”.’

Callie’s always been the least ambitious of her sisters but also the happiest, until fate snaps her fiance before they can say I do.

One year later, she is still putting her life back together, but she might be ready for more. With so much life left to live, she has to find a way to be happy.

Nathan knows not everyone gets a second chance at life and he’s not going to waste his. He’s left the city behind, moved to Cornwall and is starting over. When he meets a beautiful woman at the beach it feels like fate, but her heart belongs to someone else.

Could Callie and Nathan be just what the each other needs?

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels || Janice Hallett || Netgalley Review

 

Open the safe deposit box. Inside you will find research material for a true crime book. You must read the documents, then make a decision. Will you destroy them? Or will you take them to the police?

Everyone knows the story of the Alperton Angels: the cult-like group who were convinced one of their member's babies was the anti-Christ, and they had a divine mission to kill it - until the baby's mother, Holly, came to her senses and called the police. The Angels committed suicide rather than go to prison, and Holly - and the baby - disappeared into the care system.

Nearly two decades later, true-crime author Amanda Bailey is writing a book on the Angels. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen and can finally be interviewed - if Amanda can find them, it will be the true-crime scoop of the year, and will save her flagging career. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and is also on the baby's trail.

As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realise that what everyone thinks they know about the Angels is wrong, and the truth is something much darker and stranger than they'd ever imagined.

This story is far from over - and it won't have a happy ending.

Let It Snow - Beth Moran || Review

 

Curl up with the perfect cosy read and the latest novel by the bestselling author of Just the Way You Are.

After the end of a long-term relationship, local weather girl Bea Armstrong has been avoiding her family, and their inevitable ‘I-told-you-sos.’ But with Christmas fast approaching, she is finally on her way home to Charis House, the school in Sherwood Forest that her mum and dad run in their old family home. And to top it all off, the insufferable Henry Fairfax – who her parents have always wanted her to marry – has also been invited.

Relief comes in the shape of a last-minute interview for her dream job. There are just a few minor problems… The interview is in Scotland, Bea has no car, and the snow is falling already. The only solution is for Henry to drive her – could this Christmas get any worse…

But during an unforgettable two-day interview, a stay in a log cabin and a nightmare journey through the snow, Henry turns out to be nothing like she thought. And when Bea’s first love and recent ex shows up, Bea has a difficult choice to make…

2022 5* Reads

I may have only read 31 books last year and officially took a break from blogging around April time when it all got a little too much, reading got pushed aside and i literally had no spare moments and when i did - i was sleeping, not reaching for books. These last month or so i have been itching to return to blogging, reading and talking all things book. Like the passion is back. So i thought i would start the new year with my 5* reads from 2022.