Friday, May 31, 2019

Return to the Little Cottage on the Hill by Emma Davies

3.5 Star

It has been a difficult few years for thirty-year-old Megan Forrester, completing her apprenticeship and trying to maintain a long-distance relationship with her gorgeous boyfriend, Liam. 

She’s returned home to compete in a local craft competition. The prize is the chance to design beautiful new gates for the estate at the bottom of the hill, a job which could secure her future in the village forever. 

As the contest gets underway, Megan is devastated when a rival design turns out to be almost identical to hers. Someone in the close-knit community must have leaked her sketches, but who? Is it the same person spreading heartbreaking rumours about Liam? 

Down to the last few left in the competition, Megan throws her heart and soul into a show-stopping final piece… but will winning even matter when the truth about Liam is finally revealed? 



Kathryn - 3.5 Star

I read this novel a little while ago so am writing my review without the benefit of it being freshly on my mind- not recommended as the details are a bit fuzzy.  However, sometimes it actually just helps you to remember how you felt about the story overall rather than being picky about little things.  

For starters I remember being fascinated by the blacksmith trade and the running of the big house more than the characters and their inter-minglings.  This is likely due to the fact that this is book three of the same series and I may have missed some of the details of the people running the house.   
I remember thinking that I needed to seek out the first two books to really get into the series.   It can certainly stand alone but I did feel that I was missing a certain level of feeling for them.  

The personalities are all warm and lovely though and I was rooting for them all to succeed in their various pursuits.   I felt a bit lacklustre about the romances, but truly that's ok with me as the friendships and the depth of the ventures kept me entertained.

The were a number of storylines to keep me entertained and I felt very much engrossed with the plot and hopeful for all those involved.  I also found myself very visually aware of the setting which I always appreciated!  Definitely interested in the other novels in the series. 


Thank you to Bookouture for our review copy.  All opinions are our own.


Connect with Emma Davies:
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Friday, May 17, 2019

The Shop Girls of Lark Lane by Pam Howes

3 Star

Liverpool, 1945. As the war draws to a close, Alice and Terry Lomax are building a new life with their young daughter Cathy. After years away fighting, Terry is a stranger to his daughter and must work hard to win her trust and love. 

Alice and old friend Sadie work in the haberdashery of Lewis’s department store, where bomb damage scars the walls and rationing is still in force. Yet Lewis’s remains open, a sign of strength in the midst of Liverpool’s post-war ruins. 

Though memories of those lost in the war are fresh, Alice and Sadie look forward to the future. But then a tragic accident leaves Alice a widow, and the father of Sadie’s child – a man she hoped never to see again – is back in Liverpool… 

With Alice struggling to start again alone, and Sadie desperate to protect her son, can these two shop girls overcome their troubles and keep their hopes alive – even with all the odds against them?



Kathryn - 3 Star

I am a fan of Pam Howes because she creates characters that seem perfectly placed, with depth and warmth but also weaves into the narrative some serious challenges. I really enjoyed the last series I read from her (The Liverpool Girls) so I was hoping for the same immersion into this novel.  

Howes gave Alice a really difficult start and an even more challenging middle.  Her husband returning from war to be killed so shortly afterwards was heartbreaking so I was immediately entrenched in the hardship that was about to follow for her. But her choice to allow herself to be pursued by another man, a friend of her husband,  seemed doomed from the start and I couldn't quite get my head or heart to see it the way Alice did.  Her life was difficult without remarrying but I was not a fan of the new man.  I was also frustrated because her life without a husband didn't seem to be insurmountable, she had support from her brother, friends and her mother in law.  It's perhaps a sign of the times that the need for a husband would have her still choose someone with red flags rather than be alone.   

But what I loved most about the story was Alice's love for her brother, her daughter and her friends.  This is really a novel of friendship and family relationships rather than romance.  The strength of all the women is apparent.  


Thank you to Bookouture for our review copy.  All opinions are our own.


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Friday, May 10, 2019

Stranded on a desert island with Bo Kearns

Please welcome Bo Kearns, author of Ashes in a coconut, as she tackles our Desert Island Interview!



Bo Kearns is journalist and writer of fiction, is the author of Ashes in a Coconut, a novel set in Indonesia, where he lived for three years. He is a feature writer with Northbay biz magazine and the Sonoma Index-Tribune newspaper. His short stories have won awards—First Prize, Napa Valley College writing contest, Honorable Mention-Glimmer Train Fiction Open competition, and Finalist- Redwood Writers On the Edge genre competition. Other works have been published in the annual California Writers Club Literary Review, Napa Valley Writers First Press, The Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine and Sonoma: Stories of a Region and Its People. He is a UC Naturalist, beekeeper, avid hiker and active supporter of conservation causes. He lives in the wine country of Sonoma with his wife. 



Connect with Bo:
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Bo Kearns Stranded on a Desert Island

If you could only have one book with you, what would it be?

The aptly named One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Márquez. I could read the engaging, complex, weird family saga over and over again while waiting for help to arrive.

What one luxury item would you want to be stranded with?

A top-of-the-line hammock.

What is the one practical item you would want to have with you to use?

A machete. I could use it to slash off the tops of coconuts and drink the refreshing milk while swaying in the hammock, reading Solitude.

Would you enjoy the solitude, even briefly, or would it drive you crazy?

I’m a social person. Briefly would be okay. After a few weeks I’d invent a character and we’d have a chat.

If you could be stranded with one other person, who would you want it to be?

The ghost of Carl Sagan. We could gaze at the clear night sky and the brilliant stars, while discussing the mysteries of the universe and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

What modern technology would you miss the most?

A toss up— my electric toothbrush or my laptop.

What food or beverage would you miss the most?

A glass of crisp, cold California Chardonnay to sip with my sashimi catch-of-the day.

How many days do you think you would cope without rescue?

By nature I’m optimistic. I could hang in there as long as ships appeared on the horizon, even if they passed me by.

What is the first thing you would do when rescued?

Have a group hug—me, my wife, my daughter and my dog.

What would be your first Tweet or Facebook update upon your return?

You won’t believe what happened to me!


Ashes in a coconut



Set in 1983, when Laura Harrison sets aside her fashion design career to follow her banker husband, Jack, to Jakarta, hoping the effort will save her marriage. She has a bad feeling about it all, though. There, he struggles with different rules and corrupt business people while she thrives, joining the effort to save the rain forest and orangutans. But when Jack considers funding development in the rain forest, and when his business associates turn frightening, all Laura's premonitions seem less far-fetched. 




Available at:
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Friday, May 3, 2019

The Single Mums' Mansion by Janet Hoggarth

3.5 Star

Amanda Wilkie unexpectedly finds herself alone with her three children in a rambling Victorian house in London. Her husband leaves them, claiming he's just 'lost the love', like one might carelessly lose a glove.

A few months later, Amanda's heavily pregnant friend, Ali, crashes into her kitchen announcing her husband is also leaving. So, after Ali's baby Grace is born, they both move into Amanda's attic. And when Jacqui, a long-lost friend and fellow single mum, starts dropping by daily, the household is complete.

Getting divorced is no walk in the park, but the three friends refuse to be defined by it. And, as they slowly emerge out of the wreckage like a trio of sequin-clad Gloria Gaynors singing 'I Will Survive', they realise that anything is possible. Even loving again...




Kathryn - 3.5 Star

I quite enjoyed this book but it wasn't what I was expecting.   Far from light-hearted it actually had some quite serious situations in it that had me questioning the genre I thought I was reading.  It's entirely possible that I'm a bit far removed from the situation of single parenting and dating with children!   

I liked Amanda and her attitude towards her children and her friends.  Despite being in a quite precarious position she does tend to just get on with things while still questioning everything she's doing.  I would be the same I think.   Her ex is a most confusing character and he's not exactly helpful about his intentions.   Her mum friends each come with baggage of their own which was realistic and well plotted to enhance the story.   

The book definitely takes on all the emotions from the heartbreak (for me it was particularly hard for Amanda's children) to the chaos and laughs of trying to find a new normal. 

My only issue was that the partying evenings seemed a bit out of place with the rest of the feel of the story and the characters.


All opinions are our own.

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