I loved Mahi Cheshire’s debut, The Deadly Cure, so I was excited to read The Lying Guest. I also love a destination book. There is nothing quite like being whisked away to a different world. Preferably one with a beach.
I could not put this book down. I was drawn in from the first page and was desperate to know what was going to happen. Mahi Cheshire has cornered the unique medical thriller market. Anika is a surgeon who makes a mistake at work. Her entire life unravels and she heads back to Sri Lanka, where she used to summer when she was younger, and when a tragic accident happened. The Lying Guest has so many layers and they are all tied together perfectly. I love everything about this immersive novel. It has everything you could want: secrets, drama, exotic locations, a medical setting, and love. I had no idea where the plot was going. I loved the ending. I raced through this five star read. A perfect, twisty, thriller.
Hardworking and overworked, Anika is a talented surgeon at a London hospital. It’s been some time since she’s had a decent night’s sleep, let alone a holiday. Not ideal for someone with parasomnia – a rare condition, made worse by stress, that can cause sleepwalking.
When a patient dies on her operating table, important people start asking questions and the media and her colleagues turn against her overnight.
It seems her only respite is to escape on a housesitting gig in Sri Lanka and to keep a low profile until the verdict on her case, and her career, is decided.
Despite everything, she’s excited to visit the place she used to summer as a child. But what should be a restorative beach break ends up being a trip back into a murky, haunted past that’s been waiting for her all along.
Anika left for what she thought was a dream holiday, only to find herself trapped inside another nightmare. Will she finally wake up to face her demons?
Natali Simmonds is the author who became huge with Good Girls Die Last in 2023. It was a brilliant book. A blistering feminist thriller. This was followed by My Daughter’s Revenge and now, While My Baby Sleeps. I honestly think no one has a right to be this talented. Publishing a thriller of this calibre a year, with all of the other stuff she has going on, the TV rights for Good Girls Die Last also sold, is simply not on.
Jokes aside, I met Natali Simmonds in person at Laura Pearson’s book launch for The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up. She talked about this book and how hard she thought it was going to be to write it. Natali suffered with severe sleep deprivation for years. Her two daughters were born close together. You can feel it in this book. The real emotion. The experience. It has all of the mum-with-a-toddler haze all wrapped up in a thriller so perfect you will think of it every moment you are not reading it. I was desperate to know what was going to happen and read it into the night.
While My Baby Sleeps is a masterclass in thriller writing. An absolute perfect novel that I practically inhaled. I loved the story, I loved the characters (or hated them), and the ending was perfect and unpredictable. I am going to insist you read it. You will not be disappointed.
I have to stay awake… I need to keep him safe.
I haven’t slept properly since Riley was born. I love my baby so much – every noise he makes and every sleepy blink has me rushing to his side to make sure he’s safe.
Yet the lack of sleep is getting to me. There are terrifying blanks in my memory, and my temper is blindingly short. I can’t rely on my partner – I don’t even know where he is half the time. But at least I have Maggie next door. She tells me this is just what new motherhood is like, so I have no choice but to ignore the blackout rages and blurred vision, for Riley’s sake…
But after another night of no sleep, the last thing I expect is a police officer at my door. My neighbour has been found dead. The man I’ve been furious at for weeks for keeping me and the baby awake with his late-night parties.
Though really, maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised… Because this morning, I woke up on my doorstep. And I have no memory of what happened – or where the blood on my hands came from.
As I hear Riley start to cry, I swallow against the rising panic in my throat. It can’t have been me. I’m no killer, I’m just a sleep-deprived, loving mother… aren’t I?
An absolutely unputdownable, addictive suspense thriller with a jaw-dropping twist. Perfect for fans of gripping page-turners like The Housemaid, The Family Across the Street and The Family Upstairs.
Every now and then there is a book that everyone wants a proof of. Melancholy is the downside of seeing the social media posts of the book you want to read RIGHT NOW. Anyway, not to be smug, but I got a copy of Kate Kemp’s The Grapevine ages ago and devoured it in two days. A sumptuous story set in 1970s Australia, it is one of the most talked-about debuts of 2025. Winner of the Stylist Prize for Feminist Fiction, The Grapevine is a grippy and luscious story of living in a claustrophobic community and how the roles of motherhood can lead to bad decisions.
I felt for the housewives of this suburban community, even while being infuriated and sad with their decisions.
Set in the height of the summer in Australia, 1979, you can feel the heat in this book. It starts off with a shocking murder. As the news of Antonio Marietti’s death spreads through the neighbourhood, the gossip starts and fingers are pointed. Twelve-year-old Tammy launches her own investigation, desperate to solve the mystery.
The Grapevine is a fantastic story with a gripping plot and characters that you don’t forget. I thought I knew what was going to happen, then the plot threw me for a loop. Expect big things from Kate Kemp. This is a stunning debut and an unforgettable novel. It captures small-town life perfectly. The historical settings add yet another layer to this atmospheric novel. Gorgeous.
Australia, 1979.
It’s the height of summer and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white chequered tiles of her bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, it’s 3 a.m. For another, she is trying desperately to remove all traces of blood before they stain. Her husband seems remarkably calm, considering their neighbour has just been murdered.
As the sun rises on Warrah Place, news of Antonio Marietti’s death spreads like wildfire, gossip is exchanged in whispers and suspicion mounts. Twelve-year-old Tammy launches her own investigation, determined to find out what happened, but she is not the only one whose well-meaning efforts uncover more mysteries than they solve. There are secrets behind every closed door in the neighbourhood – and the identity of the murderer is only one of them . . .
Richly atmospheric and simmering with tension, The Grapevine is an acutely observed debut novel about prejudice and suspicion, the hidden lives of women, and how the ties that bind a community can also threaten to break it.
Five eight in heels. Five four in a bullet proof vest.
Fundamentallyis the book of 2025. It is in every magazine and newspaper with rave reviews, and its author, Dr. Nussaibah Younis, long-listed for the Women’s Prize, is the woman of the moment. Readers, do believe the hype. The Times called Fundamentally Bridget Jones with Isis brides. It says a lot about the talent of the author that she can take such a serious subject and make it so funny. This debut, yes, it is actually a debut, is funny as fuck. Written with a bravery and lack of filter that sorts out the great writers from the good ones. This no-holds-barred novel takes a serious subject, the rehabilitation of Isis brides and extremism and handles it perfectly. It is not tackled with kid gloves, and Younis reminds me of I.S. Berry, who wrote The Peacock and The Sparrow (pretty much my favourite book of 2024). Written in first person, Dr. Nadia Buart has been abandoned by her mother and is escaping a broken heart after her girlfriend, Rosie, leaves her. Going to Iraq to rehabilitate Isis brides is one hell of a rebound. Dr. Nussaibah Younis knows her stuff. She’s a peacebuilding practitioner and a globally recognised expert on Iraq. She advised the Iraq government for years on proposed programmes to deradicalise women affiliated with Isis. It is impossible not to fall in love with Nadia, despite her many faults. Younis writes with such humour that you will laugh even when you wonder how she was brave enough to write it. Fundamentally is an immersive novel. Completely unique and full of hilarious, well-rounded characters. It tackles a very serious subject with such skill and compassion. Some of the women in the camp ended up there because their husbands told them they were going on holiday. When they get there, they are trapped. It is hard to say who my favourite character is because I kind of love them all. Younis put a huge amount of work into the book. I went to her book launch, and she said how she did a stand-up comedy course to get the jokes right and be funnier. She even got her book club to read her manuscript and critique it. The result is a morally complex, sparklingly funny, jaw-dropping, and gripping novel. It will make you laugh out loud. Fundamentally, is essential reading from a bright new talent who is completely unafraid. Nussaibah Younis has big things ahead of her. We are all just along for the ride.
A wickedly funny and audacious debut novel following an academic who flees from heartbreak and lands in Iraq with an insane job offer—only to be forced to do the work of confronting herself.
When Dr. Nadia Amin, a long-suffering academic, publishes an article on the possibility of rehabilitating ISIS brides, the United Nations comes calling, offering an opportunity to lead a deradicalization program for the ISIS-affiliated women held in Iraqi refugee camps. Looking for a way out of London after a painful, unexpected breakup, Nadia leaps at the chance.
In Iraq, Nadia quickly realizes she’s in over her head. Her direct reports are hostile and unenthused about taking orders from an obvious UN novice, and the murmurs of deradicalization being inherently unethical and possibly illegal threaten to end Nadia’s UN career before it even begins.
Frustrated by her situation and the unrelenting heat, Nadia decides to visit the camp with her sullen team, composed of Goody Two-shoes Sherri who never passes up an opportunity to remind Nadia of her objections; and Pierre, a snippy Frenchman who has no qualms about perpetually scrolling through Grindr.
At the camp, after a clumsy introductory session with the ISIS women, Nadia meets Sara, one of the younger refugees, whose accent immediately gives her away as a fellow East Londoner. From their first interaction, Nadia feels inexplicably drawn to the rude girl in the diamanté headscarf. She leaves the camp determined to get Sara home.
But the system Nadia finds herself trapped in is a quagmire of inaction and corruption. One accomplishment barely makes a dent in Nadia’s ultimate goal of freeing Sara . . . and the other women, too, of course. And so, Nadia makes an impossible decision leading to ramifications she could have never imagined.
A triumph of dark humor, Fundamentally asks bold questions: Who can tell someone what to believe? And how do you save someone who doesn’t want to be saved?
Reading The Rebel Skies Trilogy was an absolute joy. Ann Se Lin took me back to my childhood reading fantasy and obsessively reading Stephen King novels. Ann is such a brilliant writer she reminds me of King. The comparison might seem weird, considering Lin writes YA and King is very adult. Yet the standard of Ann Sei Lin’s writing is so high that she has a long and illustrious career ahead of her. She is one of the best writers writing today.
Her imagination at building a world full of paper spirits, flying ships and cities in the sky immerses you completely. The characters become your friends, or people you want your new friends to defeat. With lyrical prose and vivid imagination, Ann Sei Lin has triumphed. The Rebel Skies trilogy will stay with me.
Rebel Dawn is an action packed and vivid fantasy adventure. It took me a while after I finished it to write this review. The ending resonates so deeply. It is beautiful, with a longing that stays with you. The third and final book in the trilogy, Kuara is dealing with a lot. Guilt, PTSD (I would guess!) and the weight of her burden. The world is falling apart. Can she fix it? I cannot wait for what Ann Sei Lin does next. She is one of the best YA writers and is more talented than one human being should be allowed.
I cannot recommend the Rebel Skies trilogy enough. They are absolute perfection.
The third and final book in a pacy, lyrical and vivid fantasy adventure set in a world of flying ships, sky cities and powerful paper spirits.
Kurara and her friends have found the key to releasing shikigami from their bonds and granting them eternal freedom – if they can unlock its power. The answer lies in Kurara’s homeplace, deep in the mountains of Mikoshima. But can the crew reach it before the imperial forces catch up with them, or their own internal battles break them apart for ever?
Excellent world-building, a dramatic and pacy plot, and an array of deep and believable characters – explored through multiple perspectives – make for a thrilling final instalment in this masterful fantasy adventure.
An absolute note perfect novel based on Maria Callas’s love affair with Aristotle Onassis. A fictionalised story of the ultimate Diva of Opera. I was obsessed with this book and did not want to put it down. I have always been a fan of Maria Callas, and Daisy Goodwin is a writer at the top of her game.
In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas is known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic and striking beauty, she’s the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. Yet her fame has been hard won: raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her, Maria learned early in life how to protect herself.
When she meets the fabulously rich shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis, her isolation melts away. For the first time in her life, she believes she’s found a man who sees the woman rather than the legendary soprano. Desperately in love, Onassis introduces her to a life of unbelievable luxury, mixing with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
And then, suddenly, it’s over. The international press announce that Onassis will marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.
Diva is sexy, glamourous and an absolute must-read. Available here.
HRT Husband Replacement Therapy Kathy Lette
Kathy Lette is known for her wit and this book is no different. It takes serious issues and even tragic moments, and tells them with humour and aplomb. Endlessly entertaining, and both heartwarming and funny, HRT Husband Replacement Therapy is a great antidote to reality. Escape between the pages.
An outrageously funny, heartbreaking read – when Ruby finds out she has cancer on the brink of her 50th birthday, she decides to start living instead of complying…
Ruby has always been the generous mediator among her friends, family and colleagues, which is why they’ve all turned up to celebrate her 50th birthday.
But after too many glasses of champers, Ruby takes her moment in the spotlight to reveal what she really thinks of every one of them. She accuses her husband of having an affair and lambasts her mother for a lifetime of playing her three daughters against each other – it’s blisteringly brutal.
As the stunned gathering gawks at Ruby, the birthday girl reveals that she has terminal cancer, and has cashed in her life savings to take her two estranged sisters cruising into the sunset for a dose of HRT – Husband Replacement Therapy. But is Ruby being courageous or ruthlessly selfish?
Another belter from Kathy Lette. This time four women reunite for the first time in decades as they enter midlife. The world has decided they are no longer relevant and so they take their revenge. It’s a fantastic, escapist comedy. Throughly enjoyable with many laugh out loud moments.
WHEN THE ODDS ARE AGAINST YOU, IT’S TIME TO GET EVEN.
Matilda, Jo, Penny and Cressy are all women at the top of their game; so imagine their surprise when they start to be personally overlooked and professionally pushed aside by less-qualified men.
Only they’re not going down without a fight.
Society might think the women have passed their amuse-by dates but the Revenge Club have other plans.
After all, why go to bed angry when you could stay up and plot diabolical retribution? Let the games begin…
I needed a moment after finishing this book. Damn, it’s a masterpiece. The story about a former child actor who quit at the top of her game because of the actions of the director she worked with for years. It’s a forensic take on Hollywood and the metoo movement. Ella Berman knows her characters inside out. The relationships between them is tender and realistic. You won’t be able to put this book down.
Grace Turner was one movie away from Hollywood’s A-List. So no one understood why, at the height of her career and on the eve of her first Golden Globe nomination, she disappeared.
Now, one year later, Grace is back in Los Angeles and ready to reclaim her life on her own terms.
When Grace is asked to present a lifetime achievement award to director Able Yorke – the man who controlled her every move for eight years – she knows there’s only one way she’ll be free of the secret that’s already taken so much from her.
The Comeback is a moving and provocative story of justice – a true page-turner about a young woman finding the strength and power of her voice, from the author of Reese’s Book Club pick Before We Were Innocent.
CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE: Fearne Cotton, Matt Haig, Katie Piper, Melanie B, Holly Willoughby, June Sarpong, Izzy Judd, Beverley Knight, Dermot O’Leary, The Duchess of York, Jo Malone CBE, Paul Weller, Alex Scott MBE, Dr Julie Smith, Emma Bunton and Melissa Hemsley
I absolutely adore this book. Kindness is the most important thing. This book is full of quotes and wisdom, as well as things to do and advice. It is perfect for adults and children and is beautifully illustrated. Buy in bulk to hand out this Christmas.
Unlock the incredible power of kindness with this small book with a huge heart.
Packed with inspirational quotes, tips, actions and pearls of wisdom from famous personalities, experts and inspirational leaders alike, each page of this beautiful book will help you be kinder to yourself, to other people, and to the planet. Be Kind celebrates kindness in all its forms and demonstratesthat kindness can truly change the world.Kindness is your superpower, and this book will teach you how to use it well.
Rosie Nixon lives in Surrey and is an author, coach and broadcaster. A former magazine editor in chief, she is the founder of Rosie’s Reinvention Retreats, a series of carefully curated ‘retreats in a day’ to support midlife women. She is a mother of two and the author of three previous novels, The Stylist (2016) and sequel, AmberGreen takes Manhattan (2017), and Just Between Friends (2020). Be Kind is her first non-fiction book.
The Perfect Christmas book from the Queen of Christmas. Best read with a hot chocolate for extra festive feels. It has family drama, a love story and it’s set in a Cotswolds village. Bliss.
Will this Christmas finally bring comfort and joy?
A PAINFUL SECRET
Imogen loves her job as an events organiser, and her colleagues are in awe of her. But Imogen isn’t the person she pretends to be, and she’s hiding painful truths about her past. But as long as she can keep on top of her work, Imogen can put everything else to one side.
AN ACT OF KINDNESS
And then Imogen makes a catastrophic mistake at work, and finally realises it’s time to reset. When her favourite client, Dorothy, invites her to spend Christmas with her and her family, in her cottage in the Cotswolds, it sounds like the perfect way for Imogen to take stock.
FINDING HAPPINESS AT CHRISTMAS
Imogen soon settles into idyllic cottage life, especially with the prospect of a new romance on the horizon … but when long-buried secrets and unwanted faces from the past resurface, Imogen’s new peace is threatened. Will Imogen end up alone this Christmas, or can she find it in her heart to forgive and move on?
This is a sumptuous page turner. The lives of two women are told expertly. It’s a glamorous love story which is both heartwarming and heart-wrenching. Perfect for fans of The Crown.
A royal princess. A dress lost for decades. A love story waiting to be uncovered… London, 1988: Meredith has landed her dream job at London’s most prestigious fashion house, creating beautiful gowns adorned with intricate beads and embroidery. But now Meredith is about to create a dress like no other for the most famous woman in the world: Diana, Princess of Wales. As Meredith pours her heart into this career-defining dress, she works under the handsome and exacting William in the workroom.
William, and this commission, could end up changing her life in more ways than one… New York, 1997: The red carpet has been rolled out on Park Avenue for the auction of Princess Diana’s dresses for charity. Of the eighty items listed for sale, only seventy-nine will sell.
Because dress Number 19 is missing… England, 2018: Jayne has met all the neighbours in her new building bar one: Mrs Chalis on the first floor. When she finally meets Meredith Chalis in the hallway, she is taken aback by how upset she seems and offers her help. Entering her home, Jayne immediately knows something is very wrong. The house is in complete disarray and there is no sign of Meredith’s husband.
But then Jayne sees the most beautiful evening dress thrown over a chair and reads the note laid beside it.
Jayne realises that Meredith has an incredible story to tell… and only she can help uncover it…
Perfect for fans of Strictly and historical fiction. We’re a sucker for a wartime story, and this is a page turner.
You’re invited to a show to remember at the prestigious Buckingham Hotel . . .
In London 1942 the war is far from over for soldier Raymond de Guise. His wife Nancy is overjoyed to be reunited with her husband, and to introduce him to their son. But their safety is threatened once more as Raymond returns to the ballroom at the Buckingham Hotel, ordered to discover the dark secrets held by the glittering high society. On the dancefloor Raymond uncovers a dangerous relationship that could change the course of the war, and also threaten his marriage to Nancy. Can he protect his King and his family before it is too late?
A DANCE FOR THE KING is a pageturning and epic wartime story filled with drama, mystery, dance and romance.
The shock of it almost being 2025 is softened by the fact you will all get to read Bad Blood by Sarah Hornsley soon. It’s an incredibly thriller that grabs you by the throat. I love a legal thriller and Bad Blood is an outstanding one. A perfectly paced and twisty story that captures small towns perfectly after Justine Stone returns after her ex-boyfriend is accused of murder.
I never saw the ending coming and the story is complex and gripping, with brilliant characterisation. An addictive thriller which will leave you thinking about it long after you have finished reading. A triumph.
What would you do if your childhood sweetheart was accused of murder?
Justine Stone left her hometown in Essex eighteen years ago, and she hasn’t looked back since. Married to Noah, with a beautiful house and a high-flying career as a barrister, she rarely thinks about her ex-boyfriend, Jake.
Until she’s given her first murder case, and sees his face staring up at her, charged with a horrific double murder.
The Jake that Justine loved would never have hurt anyone. But as evidence begins to come to light, Justine has to face up to the fact that perhaps she never really knew Jake at all. And as the past begins to merge with the present, Justine’s life that she’s worked so hard to create begins to fall apart.
You can run from your secrets. But they’ll always catch up with you.
This is a wonderful and atmospheric novel which sweeps you away, not letting you go until the very last page. Perfect for fans of historical fiction.
Cornwall, 1934.
Violet Ellis is living in the shadows of her father’s ruined reputation. So, when wealthy widower James Atherton offers her employment, she immediately begins the treacherous journey to his home on the remote Cornish island of Aoife’s Bay – despite the bone-chilling allegations surrounding his late wife Elizabeth’s death.
In James’s company, Violet begins to feel the love that has been missing all her life. But when anonymous letters start to plague the bay’s residents, threatening to expose what really happened to Elizabeth, Violet feels the hostility towards her grow. She has an unsettling sense of being watched in her new home, and as the mysteries of the island draw her in, she starts to fear she might never find a way out …
Sweeping across London, Oxford and the wilds of the West Country, this novel is perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Louise Douglas and Lucinda Riley.The Secrets of the Watch House is out now.
The Trip Phoebe Morgan
I’m a huge fan of Phoebe Morgan. She writes these dark and complex book which you can really stick your teeth into. She’s also amazing at writing books that are readable in a way that is very hard to write. If I have four hours and a Phoebe Morgan book, I’m happy. Now the weather has turned The Trip will also transport you back to summer. We all need a bit of that, don’t we?
The perfect holiday. The perfect crime.
Four friends on the holiday of a lifetime. Until a vicious murder shatters their paradise.
Four friends who’d do anything for each other, until now.
Kate Dylan is one of the best YA authors writing today. Her books are marvel on steroids, with a fun, feminist twist. Until We Shatter is an enemies to lovers heist fantasy from the author of Mindwalker. Sheer brilliance and just as good as Mindwalker. Kate Dylan drowns you in the world she has built and sometimes you will wish she left you there. She takes no prisoners. Loved it.
This is not just a book on feminism. It is also a stunning and brave feminist memoir on domestic abuse and single motherhood. Weaving the personal and the political into a must read book. Considering what is happening with women’s rights these days, And Still We March, is an essential read for everyone. Well researched, it educates and leaves you feeling a little more empowered.
Around the world, women’s rights are under attack.
In 2022, the US Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, restricting access to abortion across America. The decision mirrored a global trend towards a devastating unravelling of women’s freedoms; a reversal of hard-won progress, and a battle that continues to be fought on both sides of the Atlantic.
Following in the footsteps of her mother fifty years before her, Marisa Bate is galvanised to journey across America, meeting the women on the ground, and telling the stories behind the headlines. Examining half a century of feminist struggle in the UK and the US, she also finds herself tracing the roots of her own family, seamlessly interweaving the personal with the political.
Lyrical, poignant, and bursting with defiant hope, And Still We March is an urgent and perceptive dissection of female autonomy, motherhood, and a woman’s right to choose.
Oh how I adored The Commuter. It’s an absolute masterpiece on thriller writing. I inhaled this book, desperate to get back to it as soon as I put it down. It’s got a flawed female character (my favourite kind) and a plot that doesn’t let you go. Dark and addictive with a huge dollop of style.
I used to dread rush hour. Now I live for it…
Rachel wakes from a coma to discover her controlling husband has been killed, and the police suspect her of involvement.
But all Rachel can recall from the last few weeks are tantalising flashes of a fellow commuter. A man whose name she doesn’t know.
A man who has disappeared without a trace.
Now Rachel is a wealthy widow and the vultures are circling, wanting her in prison for murder, or failing that … dead.
Can Rachel discover the truth in time to save herself?
One Hundreds Moments Of Us is fantastic. A wonderful steak of a novel that really fills you up. It has One Day vibes as it follows Ashley and Charlie and their relationship over the decades. This brilliant idea is executed perfectly as we read about one hundred moments of their relationship. With stunning characterisation and nostalgia in abundance for millennials I am going to have to insist you buy a copy now.
They say life is made up of moments.
So is a relationship.
From the moment he sets his eyes on Ashley Oliver at sixth form on the cusp of the new millennium, Charlie falls in love. It isn’t all sunshine and roses though and it takes several years and more than one chance meeting before they begin their relationship.
Will they survive everything the world has to throw at them or will the pressure of life, love, and London be too much for them?
Told through moments big and small, trivial and significant, this is the moving and uplifting story of a relationship – the ups, the downs, and everything in between.
An unforgettable romance, perfect for fans of Sophie Cousens, Jill Mansell and Mike Gayle.
A Merry Little Christmas Cathy Bramley
Who doesn’t love a Christmas book. Cathy Bramley has written a snowy book full of female friendship and the real issues of being a women. I really enjoyed how it captured the real complexity of female friendship and being in a different place from a friend. Ultimately uplifting and heartwarming, it doesn’t shy away from real life. A perfect snowy read.
In the snowy market town of Wetherly, Merry is about to take on her biggest project yet – the arrival of a new baby. She has always dreamed of being a mother, since losing her mum at a young age. Everyone is so excited, so why is Merry feeling terrified? And why is she struggling to open up to business partner and best friend Nell, whose help she needs at their thriving candle shop more than ever?
What Nell desperately wants for Christmas is a baby with husband Olek. But when she uncovers a shocking truth about Olek’s past, dreams of a family are turned upside down. Nell feels she has no-one to turn to, as Merry is wrapped up in her own plans for the new baby.
Tensions run high as Christmas approaches, and Merry and Nell’s friendship reaches breaking point. As long-held secrets finally come to light, can Nell and Merry save the most precious gift of all – their friendship?
