Tag Archives: book

Are You Watching? Book Review

Posted on by

Are you watching bookThis crime thriller from Vincent Ralph is that publishers dream: a YA novel that adults will love too. It is a modern novel with mixes social media and crime, and then combines it with skill and excellent pace. I raced through this book, practically breathless to get to the end. Full stars. 

A page-turning new YA thriller for the social media age, perfect for fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and One Of Us Is Lying.

Ten years ago, Jess’s mother was murdered by the Magpie Man.

She was the first of his victims, but not the last.

Now Jess is the star of a YouTube reality series and she’s using it to catch the killer once and for all.

The whole world is watching her every move.

And so is the Magpie Man.

Are you Watching is available here.

The Things We Left Unsaid: An unforgettable story of love and family by Emma Kennedy

Posted on by

the things we left unsaid, emma kennedy, book, review

The Things We Left Unsaid reads like an off-beat romantic comedy. It certainly has all of the ingredients: drama, complicated characters, conflict and resolution.

It has real, and sometimes unlikeable characters. The setting of the family country home is gorgeous and works well. The Things We Left Unsaid also talks a a lot about the human condition and how we are always searching for who we are and trying to find out the truth of the past. A good read. 

 

Rachel’s relationship with her mother, Eleanor, has always been far from perfect. Eleanor is a renowned artist born from the swinging sixties, and Rachel has forever lived in the shadow of her success.
When Rachel is left by her fiancé on the morning of their wedding she has no choice but to move back into her family home and spend an unbearably hot summer with a mother she feels distant from – in the presence of many painful memories.

It will take another turn of events before Rachel realises that sometimes the past holds exactly the comfort we need. And that behind the words left unsaid are untold stories that have the power to define us.

Imbued with warmth and full of characters who will steal your heart, THE THINGS WE LEFT UNSAID is a radiant novel in which past and present collide with life-affirming consequences.

Available here.

The Mummy Bloggers Book Review

Posted on by

Mummy bloggers are huge now. While motherhood used to be a solitary business, the internet has allowed thousands of mothers to write about their experiences and, in some cases, make money while they do so. The term ‘mummy blogger’ can be used in a negatory way, but, hey, there is sexism everywhere. 

The Mummy Bloggers by Holly Wainwright is an outstanding book. She writes her characters so vividly, you really feel like you know them. I raced through this book as quickly as my children and work commitments would let me. It has great pace and the twists and turns keep you guessing. The book is so relevant and smart. Definitely one of my favourite books of the year. It also has a positive review from You magazine editor Jo Elvin on the cover and she has impeccable taste. A must read. 

You can read about Holly Wainwright’s writing process on Frost Magazine tomorrow. 

 

Elle Campbell is a glossy, lycra-clad mum with washboard abs, a ten-year plan and a secret past.

Abi Black has quit sugar, moved to the country and is homeschooling her kids.

Leisel Adams slogs away at her office job each day before rushing home, steeped in guilt, to spend precious moments with her kids before bedtime.

All three share a label that they simultaneously relish and loathe: mummy blogger. And when they are nominated for an award with a hefty cash prize, the scene is set for a brutal and often hilarious battle for hearts, minds-and clicks. As the awards night gets closer, their lies get bigger, their stunts get crazier – and some mistakes from the past become harder and harder to hide.

 

The Mummy Bloggers is available here.

The Nanny Gilly Macmillan Book Review

Posted on by

the nanny gilly macmillan

The Nanny is one of my favourite books of the year so far. A fast paced thriller with dazzling characters and enough twists and turns to leave you guessing. Five stars.

Seven-year-old Jocelyn loves her nanny more than her own mother.
When her nanny disappears one night, Jo never gets over the loss.
How could she vanish without saying goodbye?

Thirty years on, Jo is forced to return to her family home and confront her troubled relationship with her mother. When human remains are discovered in the grounds of the house, Jo begins to question everything.

Then an unexpected visitor knocks at the door and Jo’s world is destroyed again as, one by one, she discovers her childhood memories aren’t what they seemed.

What secrets was her nanny hiding – and what was she running away from? And can Jo trust what her mother tells her?

Sometimes the truth hurts so much you’d rather hear the lie.

The Nanny Gilly Macmillan is available here.

My Sh*t Therapist: and Other Mental Health Stories by Michelle Thomas

Posted on by

my shit therapist michelle thomas, book

Michelle Thomas is a stunning writer. She is brave and has such an original voice. Her writing is like being talked to by an articulate friend. I am lucky I do not have a mental health problem but this book was still a great read. It should be prescribed to everyone with a mental illness, and is even an essential read for this who want to understand more about mental health, or has a person in their life who needs help. Searingly honest and beautifully written. I loved it. 

A shocking, heart-rending and blisteringly funny account of what it’s like to live with mental illness, by a powerful new comic voice.

When Michelle Thomas suffered her first major depressive episode six years ago, she read and watched and listened to everything about mental health she could get her hands on in an effort to fix herself. God, it was tedious, boring and, quite frankly, depressing.

Which is the last thing she needed.

What she did need was a therapist who would listen and offer a wellness strategy catered to her specific needs. What she got was advice to watch a few YouTube videos and a cheerful reminder that ‘It could be worse’.

An honest, hilarious and heart-rending account of living with mental illness, My Sh*t Therapist will help you navigate the world, care for your mind and get through sh*t diagnoses, jobs, medications, boyfriends, habits, homes and therapists.

With no miraculous scented candles, herbal teas or ‘cures’ for mental illness in sight, learn instead how a modern woman and her friends and followers are learning to make the most of brilliant but unpredictably sh*t brains.

Having a crappy mental health day? I’ve got you.
Want to chat antidepressants and mental breakdowns?
Pull up a pew and let’s get into it.

 

Available here.

Now You See Her by Heidi Perks | Recommended Reads

Posted on by

Now You See Her by Heidi Perks

This bestselling book is gripping from start to finish. It has even been optioned for TV. This recommended read is a fantastic thriller.

Charlotte is looking after her best friend’s daughter the day she disappears. She thought the little girl was playing with her own children. She swears she only took her eyes off them for a second.

Now, Charlotte must do the unthinkable: tell her best friend Harriet that her only child is missing. The child she was meant to be watching.

Devastated, Harriet can no longer bear to see Charlotte. No one could expect her to trust her friend again.
Only now she needs to. Because two weeks later Harriet and Charlotte are both being questioned separately by the police. And secrets are about to surface.

Someone is hiding the truth.
So what really happened to Alice?

Available here.

Mother: An Unconventional History By Sarah Knott

Posted on by

mother an unconventional history by sark knott, book, book reviews, mothering, being a mother

Mother: An Unconventional History By Sarah Knott is a unique and fascinating book. An intoxicating blend of history, autobiography and anthropology. I loved it and read through it as quickly as possible. It brings women from every social class and time together. Essential reading for all mothers.

What was mothering like in the past?

When acclaimed historian Sarah Knott became pregnant, she asked herself this question. But accounts of motherhood are hard to find. For centuries, historians have concerned themselves with wars, politics and revolutions, not the everyday details of carrying and caring for a baby. Much to do with becoming a mother, past or present, is lost or forgotten.

Using the arc of her own experience, from miscarriage to the birth and early babyhood of her two children, Sarah Knott explores the ever-changing habits and experiences of motherhood across the ages. Drawing on a disparate collection of fascinating material – interrupted letters, hastily written diary entries, a line from a court record or a figure in a painting – Mother vividly brings to life the lost stories of ordinary women.

From the labour pains felt by a South Carolina field slave to the triumphant smile of a royal mistress pregnant with a king’s first son; from a 1950s suburban housewife to a working-class East Ender taking her baby to the factory; from a pioneer with eight children to a 1970s feminist debating whether to have any; these remarkable tales of mothering create a moving depiction of an endlessly various human experience.

Available here.

The Tiger Catcher Paullina Simons | Recommended Reads

Posted on by

the tiger catcher paullina simons

An interesting, entertaining and pacy novel.

The first novel in a beautiful, heartbreaking new saga from Paullina Simons, the international bestselling author of Tully and The Bronze Horseman.

Can true love ever die?
Julian lives a charmed life in Los Angeles. Surrounded by friends, he is young, handsome, and runs a successful business. Everything changes after he has a fateful encounter with a mysterious young woman named Josephine. Julian’s world is turned upside down by a love affair that takes him–and everyone else in his life–by storm. For the two new lovers, the City of Angels is transformed into a magical playground.
But Josephine is not what she seems and carries secrets that threaten to tear them apart―seemingly forever.
A broken man, his faith in tatters, Julian meets a mysterious stranger who tells him how to find Josephine again if he is willing to give up everything and take a death-defying trip from which no one has ever returned.
So begins Julian and Josephine’s extraordinary adventure of love, loss, and the mystical forces that bind people across time and space. It is a journey that propels Julian toward an impossible choice which will lead him to love fulfilled…
…or to oblivion.
The Tiger Catcher takes readers from the depths of despair to the dizzying heights of joy in the first novel of an unforgettable trilogy of love lost and found. For all fans of Outlander, The Time Traveler’s Wife and Jojo Moyes.

 

Available here.