Book Review: Happy Ever …After by Seb Earl

Synopsis:

When Emily wakes up in the middle of her bed, shaking and sweating from yet another nightmare, she knows it will not stop easily. The sexual assault she suffered eight years ago has left an enduring mark on her mind.

In the immediate aftermath, she moved back to live with her parents and, since then, they have happily provided sanctuary. But at what price? Emily is not free, and her inner doubt and anger are increasing their stronghold over her life.

Thrust into action by her best friend, Sarah, Emily finally finds the courage to move out and start a new life on her own. She soon meets Olivier, a charming French man.

As she realises how her future happiness depends on her ability to face the past, Emily begins the slow, and at times painful, journey to finding inner peace.

But can she truly put her ordeal behind her? And is everything exactly as it appears?

Review:

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Going into this book I prepped myself for a really hard hitting emotional read, as Emily faces her past and tries to move on with her life. Unfortunately, I felt that it just missed the mark. Now don’t get me wrong I did enjoy the story, while it was a bit choppy at times, I could see where the story was going, most of the reasons behind the decisions and emotions and I really liked the character of Sarah who just wants the best for Emily. Emily, on the other hand, I just struggled to like. I really couldn’t find the connection I wanted to really understand her as a character and she just kind of annoyed me at points.

The book itself was a slow start for me as I struggled through the first few chapters and while it did pick up I still never really found myself ‘lost’ in the story, there was definitely enough to keep me interested, just not enough to quite drag me in.

What I did like about the book was that it was able to show different aspects/personalities of secondary characters and I really liked how the author was able to add the next door neighbors as just that little bit extra to keep the story going. Also as everything ties up in the end and it just being a really satisfying ending I did feel it redeemed itself quite a few points. It just took a little bit to get there. While this is not a book I would read again, I would still be interested in reading any of the author’s other novels.

Rating: 3/5

Would I read again: No

Would I Recommend: Maybe

Would I read another book from this author: Yes

Book Review – The Cornish Village School – Second Chances by Kitty Wilson

 

Ex-ballerina and single mum Sylvie is in trouble. Juggling her ballet classes in the nearest town, preparing shy Sam for his first day at Penmenna Village school and trying to finally move out from the farm she shares with her cantankerous Uncle Tom means life is anything but easy.

Television Journalist Alex is facing challenges of his own. Seeking a calmer environment for his newly adopted daughter, Ellie, he’s swapped reporting in war zones for the school PTA in quiet Penmenna, where his best friend Chase has persuaded him to start laying some roots.

Fireworks ignite when Sylvie and Alex meet but as Ellie and Sam become instant best friends, will they be able to keep things strictly platonic for the sake of the children?

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

So I didn’t actually realize that this is the second book in ‘The Cornish Village School’ but I can safely say that it does read well as a standalone book. Also on a somewhat related note, I now do really want to read the first book in the series!

We start of the book by being introduced to Sylvie and her son Sam as they are heading off for their afternoon visit to the beach, I really loved the pure excitement from both of these characters as they initially set off for the beach, it’s where they meet both Alex and Ellie and begin an almost instant friendship. (Living pretty close to the beach I can safely say I do not take advantage of visiting as much as I really should and after reading the first few chapters of this book I really wanted to get out and visit!)

This was a great character-focused book with a lot of different relationships coming in to play, there was quite a focus on the children as well as the friends and family of Sylvie and Alex which made it just that little bit more than a simple romance book. There were a few ‘secrets’ in the background but mostly I really enjoyed it being a straightforward romance book. I think perhaps there could have been a bit more focus on some of the place descriptions but it doesn’t take away from the story at all. For me, it was a great sweet little read that had me smiling all the way through.

Rating: 4.5/5

Would I read again: Probably

Would I Recommend: Yes

Would I read another book from this author: Yes

Book Review: Not Perfect by Elizabeth LaBan

From Elizabeth LaBan, the acclaimed author of The Restaurant Critic’s Wife, comes a captivating and very funny novel about a wife and mother’s fall from grace, and why keeping up appearances is not her biggest secret.

Tabitha Brewer wakes up one morning to find her husband gone, leaving her no way to support herself and their two children, never mind their upscale Philadelphia lifestyle. She’d confess her situation to her friends—if it wasn’t for those dreadful words of warning in his goodbye note: “I’ll tell them what you did.”

Instead, she does her best to keep up appearances, even as months pass and she can barely put food on the table—much less replace a light bulb. While she looks for a job, she lives in fear that someone will see her stuffing toilet paper into her handbag or pinching basil from a neighbor’s window box.

Soon, blindsided by catastrophe, surprised by romance, and stunned by the kindness of a stranger, Tabitha realizes she can’t keep her secrets forever. Sooner or later, someone is bound to figure out that her life is far from perfect.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 34%

This is a book that has been sitting on my NetGalley shelf for far too long, I remember requesting it, I just never got round to sitting down and reading it.

The blurb itself is really intriguing and what initially drew me to the book. I was hoping for a story about a woman picking up the pieces of her shattered life while not only trying to maintain the image of a perfect life but hiding from a secret from her past. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like this book managed to pull this off and instead I found myself more angry with Tabitha then perhaps I should have been. Tabitha starts of fairly okay as a character she is clearly trying and using whatever ways necessary to keep food on the table and a fairly stable life for her two children. However, as time went on it just sort of showed that she was really just trying to keep up appearances as opposed to doing whatever she could to work her way through the situation. Sure no one knows how they would react when things get tough but her thought process and actions annoyed me to the point I wasn’t enjoying the book itself and decided to stop at 34%. Now the writing itself was good if a bit slow paced and the premise really was intriguing I just couldn’t, bring myself to finish the book.

I am not however averse to trying any other book from this author, or even giving this book another chance when I am in a different head space but for this read through attempt, unfortunately, it was not my cup of tea.

Rating: 2/5

Would I read again: Perhaps, but probably not

Would I Recommend: No

Would I read another book from this author: Yes

Book Review: This Could Change Everything by Jill Mansell

If only Essie hadn’t written that letter – the one that went viral…

THIS COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING is the feel-good new novel from Jill Mansell, the bestselling author of MEET ME AT BEACHCOMBER BAY. Not to be missed by fans of Katie Fforde and Lucy Diamond.

On the one hand, if Essie hadn’t written that letter – the one that only her best friend was meant to see – then she’d still be living like an actual proper grown-up, tucked up with Paul in his picture-perfect cottage, maybe even planning their wedding…

On the other hand (if her true feelings hadn’t accidentally taken the internet by storm, that is) she wouldn’t have moved into the attic flat on the square. She would never have met Conor. Or got to know Lucas…

And she wouldn’t have found herself falling in love with someone she really, really shouldn’t fall in love with…

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. I started this on a Friday evening and finished it that Friday evening. As I have been in a bit of a book/reading slump it was a nice surprise to be able to just immerse myself in a book again!

The story starts off with a series of unfortunate events which leads to Essie having an email which should of been purely venting sent out to everyone. This, of course, includes the people she was venting about. Essie soon finds herself single, homeless and without work, leading her to start again on a whole new adventure.

What first really sucked me into the story wasn’t Essie or her situation, however, it was Zillah Walsh, the eighty-year-old ‘matriarch’ of the story who is not only stylish and rich but kind and willing to help others less fortunate. I felt she is really who made the story and though technically not the main character, there is no way you would be able to tell the story without her.

What I liked about the way the story was told was that it was fast paced, there were a few characters to get your head around but it was easily followed. I didn’t find myself looking back to try and find out who was who, it all just sort of flowed. I also liked that I was never really able to guess what was going to happen, I really did feel like I was following along with the characters on their journey.

I think one of the main reasons when I finished the book it felt so satisfying though was that every character is put to rest as such. There is no loose ends, no second-guessing or wondering what might have been, everyone’s story arc is nicely closed up and while of course there is always future possibilities it did just feel finished.

A solid 4.5 out of 5 stars  

Rating: 4.5/5

Would I read again: Yes

Would I Recommend: Yes

Would I read another book from this author: Yes

Book Review: Adventures in Online Dating by Julie Particka

For Alexa, the answer to everything comes down to numbers. Three sons. One divorce. One great life…except her boys are getting older and they really need a man in their lives. Enter the number twenty, as in after twenty minutes with someone she knows whether or not she wants them in her life. So, she hatches a plan to meet any man who even remotely strikes her interest—for a twenty-minute date at her favorite coffee shop. It’s the perfect plan to find her perfect match in the most efficient way possible.

Too bad coffee shop owner Marshall isn’t keen on the idea. He doesn’t want his shop to be her speed dating zone—especially since she’s made it clear he’s too young to be a contender. But Alexa finds herself drawn to Marshall in ways she can’t quantify. There’s no easy answer, and once the kids become involved, her well-ordered world threatens to fall apart—twenty minutes at a time.

Thank you to NetGalley for for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review. 

I went into this book hoping for a fun tongue in cheek sort of romance book, it is my first book by Julie Particka and I was not sure what to expect. Luckily this was exactly the type of book I was looking for!

We start of by meeting Alexa a single mum of three who likes to plan her life down to the last detail. After deciding she knows if a relationship is going anywhere after the first 20 minutes she decides to optimise her time by setting 20 minute dates one after another to help find her perfect match. Alexa herself I found to be a hard character to like and it did take a little while for me to warm up to her. In all honesty she is a little too cold and organised I guess. I know she does need to be to be able to set up these types of dates but it did make it a little bit harder to really be rooting for her when everything is seen to be so clinical. Marshall makes himself so much easier to like simply by being more open, he does know what he wants and he is not afraid to try. He did surprise me as a character by not always going in the direction I thought he would which is always a good surprise!

The story itself followed pretty much how I expected it would and at a pace that I thought was really good for the book itself. It did take me a little longer than usual to actually get into the book but I think this was due to not being able to connect with Alexa. While there are not too many ‘surprising’ moments I didn’t feel like there needed to be. Either way an enjoyable sort of Sunday afternoon read.

Rating: 3.5/5

Would I read again: Maybe

Would I Recommend: Yes

Would I read another book from this author: Yes

 

Book Review: Three Last First Dates – Kate O’Keefe

When it comes to men, Marissa Jones is totally committed to not being committed. One major heartbreak is enough for her.

Against her better judgment, Marissa agrees to a pact with her friends to marry the next guy she dates. But she isn’t going to take any chances. For her, it’s a numbers game, and one last first date just isn’t enough. So, she ups the ante–three first dates with three very different guys, all in one day.

But can any of these men live up to her high standards?

Despite a few bumps in the road, from the three, she chooses The One. That is until the motorcycle-riding ex she never got over turns up, changing everything.

In the end, do you choose love or does love choose you?

Three Last First Dates is the third book in the Cozy Cottage Café series, but can be read as a standalone. It features laughter, a total hottie you will fall for, and, of course, a lot of cake! As with all my stories, I guarantee a feel-good, happy ending!

Escape to New Zealand in this fun, feel-good chick lit story.

 

Thank You to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 34%

I was rather excited to go into this book with it being set in New Zealand at all, but within the first few pages I was already struggling. I loved the premise of the book and kind of expected the dates to be a lot bigger deal than they were, instead they seemed to be a mild inconvenience achieved throughout the course of one day. Which ultimately left a whole lot of book left. After that there just seemed to be a lot of discussion regarding the dates and what on earth to do next.

Now the writing itself was good and I found out afterwards it is actually the third book in a series, however it supposedly could be read as a standalone. I’m starting to think I have problems if I read any book in a series out of order as I haven’t particularly liked any that I have read recently. I’m not sure if I would of liked this book if I had enjoyed the first two in the series but as I hadn’t I found myself not really invested in any of the characters. The main problem I had with the book though was with Marissa. I could not get behind her as a character to the point she was seriously irritating me. Not the book for me but I still love the idea behind it.

Rating: 2/5

Would I read again: No

Would I Recommend: No

Would I read another book from this author: No

 

 

 

 

Book Review: The Last Laugh by Tracy Bloom

 

‘I’ve googled it, how to die,’ Jenny says to Maureen. ‘It was full of climbing this mountain, swimming that sea, becoming a marathon runner and raising millions for charity.’

‘Sounds like bloody hard work. You can make it more fun than that surely?’

Jenny discovers her days are numbered at the same time she discovers her husband is having an affair…

Frankly, her life was tough enough already. Two tricky teenagers, her mother’s constant complaints, friends who aren’t up to the job and a career which has been spiralling downwards since she won ‘Sunseeker Tour Rep of the Season’ twenty years ago.

And now this: a cheating husband and a death sentence.

Enough is enough. Jenny vows to keep both catastrophes a secret. She takes her life – and death – into her own hands and decides to live as she did when she was happiest… in 1996. She plans a spectacular 1990’s themed party in place of a wake that she herself will attend. But will she be able to keep her secrets for long enough to have the party of a lifetime?

 

Thank You to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Now this is a story that right of the bat tells you it’s probably not gonna have a super happy ending, our main character is diagnosed with terminal cancer right at the start, and this is her story on how she is able to take a good hard look at her life and make the changes she wants to make while she still can. This is of course exacerbated by the fact that she finds our her husband is having an affair. All in all not a good week.

Now it did take me a little while to warm up to Jenny, she was just a little to passive about pretty much everything going on around her and she spends an awful lot of time thinking about how much better everything was in the past. This is something that starts from before her cancer diagnosis and remains a staple-point throughout the story. While I think it was a very understandable reaction to everything that was going on in her life, it did start to get a bit tedious.

What I did like about the book was how the author was able to approach a rather difficult subject and inject it with a whole lot of humor, not only does it lighten what had the potential to be a pretty dark book but it provides a coping mechanism for the character. I really did like the writing throughout the book as I felt I was really able to follow Jenny’s train of thought as she goes through all sorts of different situations, and while I didn’t necessarily agree with everything she was doing/thinking, it was great to have such a clear and concise narrative as to the why. It also gives a clear message of how everyone deals with things differently as well as to not always sweat the small things, as they don’t always matter in the grand scheme of things. The main thing I did love about the book though was the way the author was able to not make everything about the cancer diagnosis, something in which Jenny was adamant about as well!

Rating: 3.5/5

Would I read again: No

Would I Recommend: Yes

Would I read another book from this author: Probably

 

Married to a Cave Man – Damien Owens

Three young couples doing their best to keep the magic alive amid the nappies, bills and dirty dishes in recession-hit Dublin. When each of these husbands decides that he deserves a man cave simmering tensions come to the boil. A heartfelt comic novel about the trials of modern marriage.

 

Thank You to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story of three married couples as they try to deal with various different aspects in their married life. What ends up tying them all together is ‘the man cave’, that little area for the men to relax, unwind, whatever they may need.

What I liked at the very start was how the author introduced the couples, which was of course their first meeting, I loved this because although a short introductory chapter it gives you a vital piece of history as well as letting you know what everyone thought of each other at first glance. For me that really drew me into the story, most likely as I’m incredible nosy and love to find out how things turn out.

After we did get past the initial meetings and onto the real nitty gritty parts, I did find it hard at times to keep up with who was who, now there are six characters main characters to follow and just for the first few chapters at least I did struggle a tad to remember who was married to who. Once I did figure all that out, it was easy to see the different dynamics, different struggles and different personalities which were all fairly fleshed out. It did also lead to a lot more internal screaming towards every single character as no one was able to see any of the problems their spouses were facing. Now this might just be because as a reader it can be pretty easy to tell what’s going on, especially with all that internal dialogue, but my goodness I was definitely getting more than a little irritated at times.

It did however give a pretty good and pretty honest depiction of what a relationship can really be like, without all the romance and when life really decides to kick you while your down. It also gives a valid depiction of what can happen in a relationship when both partners let pride get in the way and stubbornness of course. Now even though this was a well written book, I just couldn’t really lose myself in it and I can’t really pinpoint why, I feel as if the points the author was going for were well received, as mentioned it gives an accurate depiction of struggles people face, but it didn’t have the certain factor that allowed me to completely lose myself in the book. This may just be me though. I was really hoping that the ending would knock my socks of and all would be forgiven but I only kind of liked how one couple was able to resolve their problems. If anything I wouldn’t of minded an epilogue to find out how the characters were doing down the road, but once again that may just be my overall nosiness!

 

Rating: 3/5

Would I read again: No

Would I Recommend: Yes

Would I read another book from this author: Probably

 

 

 

Book Review: The Perfectly Imperfect Women by Milly Johnson

Marnie Salt has made so many mistakes in her life that she fears she will never get on the right track. But when she ‘meets’ an old lady on a baking chatroom and begins confiding in her, little does she know how her life will change.

Arranging to see each other for lunch, Marnie finds discovers that Lilian is every bit as mad and delightful as she’d hoped – and that she owns a whole village in the Yorkshire Dales, which has been passed down through generations. And when Marnie needs a refuge after a crisis, she ups sticks and heads for Wychwell – a temporary measure, so she thinks.

But soon Marnie finds that Wychwell has claimed her as its own and she is duty bound not to leave. Even if what she has to do makes her as unpopular as a force 12 gale in a confetti factory! But everyone has imperfections, as Marnie comes to realise, and that is not such a bad thing – after all, your flaws are perfect for the heart that is meant to love you.

The Perfectly Imperfect Woman is the heart-warming and hilarious new novel from the queen of feel-good fiction – a novel of family, secrets, love and redemption … and broken hearts mended and made all the stronger for it.

Thank You to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was more than a little bit excited going into this book, the last book I had read from Milly Johnson I had continued reading until the early hours of the morning just to find out what happened so when I saw this on NetGalley I couldn’t help but request it!

So did I spend the rest of the night reading after I downloaded it? No I didn’t, but I still had a great time reading it over a few days! The story follow Marnie as she tries to navigate through her life while admittedly making more than one mistake. One of the things that first struck me about this book was the fact that although I didn’t have what I would call an instant connection to Marnie, the mistakes while obvious and avoidable didn’t annoy me as much as they usually do. I do tend to rage a lot at characters thought processes and decisions so it was nice to just lose myself in the story.

The story itself was nothing how I imagined it to be, the first few chapters sort of trundled a long how you would imagine and then suddenly it twists the entire story into a whole other direction, which was great, I love surprises. While the story is fast paced there is definitely enough going on to keep you sucked in. What was the most surprising about the story however was the amount of mystery and the little bit of supernatural that was involved. To be honest going into the book I had just sort of assumed it was going to all be mostly romance but I think the slight branching out into different genres gave it that little bit of an edge.

In regards to the characters Marnie definitely grew on me and I absolutely adored Lilian and a few other members of the village. I also like that there were a variety of different characters within the village just to make it all the more interesting. The character development was really well written and it was great to see Marnie except the good with the bad. I probably would of liked it better if a few ‘events’ or ‘issues’ had been completely resolved e.g. with her sister but let’s be fair there was probably no saving that ever. The ending was both a surprise and satisfying which is always hard to do and something that really topped of the book for me. If you are looking for a feel good summer read, full of intrigue, romance and a little bit of mystery then this is the book for you!

Rating: 4/5

Would I read again: Yes

Would I Recommend: Yes

Would I read another book from this author: Yes

Book Review: Almost Forever by Laura Danks

Almost Forever

Can love truly conquer all?

When a vicious attack leaves Paul in a coma on his wedding day, the doctors fear he will never wake up. But his fiancée Fran will never give up hope.

Fran has always known Paul is the only man for her, from the first moment they locked eyes as children to the day he finally told her he loved her. Paul can’t leave her, not now their lives are just about to begin.

Love will always find a way… won’t it?

 

Going into this I was not to sure what to expect, given the blurb I really wasn’t sure which direction the story would take and by that I mean would it be a focus on the accident, the aftermath, the recovery, how individuals deal with tragedy, I really wasn’t sure, turns out more then anything this book is a love story. A really gooey romantic coming of age kinda love story.

Now the story itself is really well written as I got to know both Paul and Fran and how their lives entwined. Definitely a romance novel the type of love and connection that the author was describing was one that seemed to literally come straight off the page and hit you in the face. However it still managed to remain for the most part believable with the actions, choices and emotions from both of the characters. I also really enjoyed the depth of the story and the characters and hadn’t really been expecting it when I started the book.

The book is relatively fast paced, though given the nature of the story-line it is one that focuses heavily on emotion so if that isn’t really your thing I wouldn’t recommend, however if your one that really relishes exploring romance, emotion and most things gushy I’m sure this is one you will enjoy. I will admit that it definitely had me crying at points and I did think that it did have a fairly satisfying if not a bit predictable ending.

Thank You to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5

Would I read again: Probably not. 

Would I Recommend: Yes

Would I read another book from this author: Yes