Sunny Days and Sea Breezes by Carole Matthews

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Synopsis: Jodie Jackson is all at sea, in every sense.

On a ferry bound for the Isle of Wight, she’s leaving her London life, her career, and her husband behind. She’d like a chance to turn back the clocks, but she’ll settle for some peace and quiet on her brother Bill’s beautifully renovated houseboat, Sunny DaysBut from the moment Jodie steps aboard her new home, it’s clear she’ll struggle to keep herself to herself.

Jodie soon delights in her newfound freedom. But out of mind isn’t out of sight, and when her old life comes knocking Jodie is forced to face reality. Will she answer the call or choose a life filled with Sunny Days and Sea Breezes?

My Rating: 5/5

My Review: My god, even after the years she has spent writing Carole Matthews just has that something special. Jodie is a character that I liked immediately and at the very early stages all we know is she is going to the Isle of Wight to spend some time alone. She is lucky enough to not only work for her brother, but to be able to stay at his recently renovated houseboat named Sunny Days.

Once there her wish to be left alone is completely ignored…enter Marilyn…the second star of this book! She is a cleaner her brther has employed and she is one woman positivity showboat. Jodie is reluctantly forced to explore life on the island by Marilyn and makes friends along the way invluding her neighbour Ned, the beach statueman George and Ida the owner of the beach cafe.

The story is wonderful and frankly made me want to pack a bag and jump on a ferry. This book was an absolute delight to read andI was truly dissapointed to finish it. I would love to see another book set here in the future!

One Eye Open by Paul Finch

download Synopsis: YOU CAN RUN: A high-speed crash leaves a man and woman clinging to life.
Neither of them carries ID. Their car has fake number plates.
In their luggage: a huge amount of cash.
Who are they? What are they hiding?
And what were they running from?

YOU CAN HIDE: DS Lynda Hagen, once a brilliant detective, gave it all up to raise her family. But something about this case reignites a spark in her…

BUT YOU’LL ALWAYS SLEEP WITH…What begins as an investigation soon becomes an obsession. And it will lead her to a secret so dangerous that soon there will be nowhere left to hide. Continue reading “One Eye Open by Paul Finch”

The Wish by Alex Brown

51Dsms9W8rL._SY346_ Synopsis The touching and emotional new novel from the No.1 bestselling author of The Great Christmas Knit-Off and The Secret of Orchard Cottage

Sam Morgan knows he messed up with his wife Chrissie and daughter Holly – he wasn’t there when they needed him most, but now he’ll do anything to put his family back together again. Until then, he’s back living in the picture-postcard village of Tindledale.

Jude Darling is coming home for good this time. She’s taking over the antique shop in Tindledale, the place where she grew up and she’s going to make sure she’s there for her friend, Chrissie, and Goddaughter, Holly. They certainly need her right now. Continue reading “The Wish by Alex Brown”

Tell Nobody by Patricia Gibney (Lottie Parker #5)

51BH3yWrGhL Synopsis: The boy’s body was so white it was almost transparent. But that’s not what caused the nausea to rise up her throat. He was so young. His body was unmarked, surrounded by a halo of plucked wildflowers.

One hot summer evening, eleven-year-old Mikey Driscoll is on the way home from playing with friends. Two days later, his body is discovered on a bed of wildflowers by some local teenagers.

The case is assigned to Detective Lottie Parker and this time it’s personal. The victim was a close friend of her son, Sean, from the run-down Munbally estate on the other side of town. Sean tells his mother Mikey was behaving normally before he died, but Lottie can’t help but feel that her son is keeping something from her… Continue reading “Tell Nobody by Patricia Gibney (Lottie Parker #5)”

Kate and Clara’s Curious Cornish Craft Shop by Ali McNamara

51E3N22BwLL._SY346_ Synopsis: Kate thinks all her wishes have come true when she opens her own little craft shop in the idyllic harbour town of St Felix.

But she soon finds a mystery lingers in her new shop – a sixty-year-old love story told through beautiful paintings and intricate embroideries.

Jack, the owner of the nearby art shop, volunteers to help Kate unravel the mystery, but in doing so they realise their own lives share some uncanny similarities with Clara and Arty, their 1950s counterparts . . .

My Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “Kate and Clara’s Curious Cornish Craft Shop by Ali McNamara”

The Mum Who Got Her Life Back by Fiona Gibson

51gR96Xe0IL Synopsis: When her 18-year-old twins leave for university, single mum Nadia’s life changes in ways she never expected: her Glasgow flat feels suddenly huge, laundry doesn’t take up half her week, and she no longer has to buy ‘the Big Milk’. After almost two decades of putting everyone else first, Nadia is finally taking care of herself. And with a budding romance with new boyfriend Jack, she’s never felt more alive.

That is, until her son Alfie drops out of university, and Nadia finds her empty nest is empty no more. With a heartbroken teenager to contend with, Nadia has to ask herself: is it ever possible for a mother to get her own life back? And can Jack and Nadia’s relationship survive having a sulky teenager around?

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: I really enjoyed this book and it made for a nice light-hearted read. Nadia is finally in a position where her twins go off to University and she is left with nobody but herself to answer to. She has her first relationship with a great guy named Jack and things seem to be going swimmingly…until her son Alfie drops out and returns home.

Suddenly her life is just not the same as she battles to try and keep things on an even keel. There are some real laugh out loud moments in this book which I think many people will relate to and I found myself chuckling on several occasions. The story tells a very relatable tale to many which makes the reader really will Nadia on to make the right decisions.

This book took me no time at all to finish and one that I would definitely recommend for a bit of escapism.

The Importance of Being Me by Caroline Grace-Cassidy

The Importance Of Being Me Synopsis: Thirty-eight-year-old divorcee Courtney Downey has no idea who she is any more. She has devoted her life to bringing up her beloved 15-year-old daughter Susan, but Courtney just doesn’t get the celebrity-obsessed, Snapchat-filtered teenage world Susan is part of, and they’re growing apart. When Susan announces she wants to live with her dad and his new, younger girlfriend, Courtney is devastated. But could the end of one life be the beginning of another?

When Courtney is offered a job in beautiful, sun-kissed Cornwall, she and her vivacious best friend Claire follow their hearts and leave their problems behind for a summer of sand, sea and second chances. And when she meets sexy but infuriating builder Tony, Courtney rediscovers her passions for life, for cooking and for love.

But just as Courtney is finally looking to the future, a crisis with Susan pulls her back to Dublin, and back into old habits. Will she ever be able to let go of the past and embrace the importance of being herself?

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: I have only read I think one other Caroline Grace-Cassidy book and am certain I enjoyed it so have become determined to read some books on my Kindle that have been waiting for ages for me to read. The synopsis seemed okay for this story but I didn’t have any pre-conceived opinions and I was so happy I decided to read this as I really enjoyed it.

I did have a couple of niggles with the characters but aside from that this story really does highlight a theme of looking after yourself. Courtney is the lead character and is in her late 30’s with a teenage daughter Susan and an ex-husband. Courtney has spent her whole life devoted to her daughter and always putting her first, however when Susan announces she wants to live with her Dad and his new partner her life seems to have turned on its head.

She decides to take a chance and take a temporary job assignment down in Cornwall. Along with her closest friend Claire who also has her own problems they decide to take the bull by the horns. I admit I didn’t particularly have too much sympathy for Courtney in the beginning as she seemed such a doormat, however as the story progressed she grew on me.

By the halfway mark I was totally engrossed and the last half of the book absolutely flew by. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting but thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.

No Safe Place by Patricia Gibney (Lottie Parker #4)

51d8jYa8ztL Synopsis: As funeral mourners stand in silence at Ragmullin cemetery, a deafening cry cuts through the air. Lying crumpled at the bottom of an open grave is the bloodied body of a young woman, and Detective Lottie Parker is called in to investigate.

Knowing the body can’t have been there long, Lottie wonders if it could be Elizabeth Bryne, a young woman who vanished without trace just days earlier. And with a new boss who seems to have it in for her, Lottie is under pressure to solve both cases quickly.

As two more women go missing from Ragmullin, Lottie and her team fear there is a serial killer on the loose. And the disappearances are strikingly similar to a cold case from ten years earlier. Could history be repeating itself?

As journalists begin to interfere with Lottie’s investigation, she fears the killer is about to strike again. Lottie is in a race against time to find the missing women, but the killer is closer than she thinks. Could Lottie be his next target?

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: I am very involved with this series now and know that I will continue to read until I am totally up to date (only 4 more to go!). After the end of the last series I wasted no time in launching straight into this book. An open grave is the opener for this storyline and as usual Lottie’s trusty colleague Boyd is by her side. In addition her colleagues Lynch and Kirby are back in addition to a new but familiar boss!

The storyline was more engaging than the last book but in this book we once again delve into the characters and their personal lives more. Lottie has her three children, her grandson and her Mother to deal with, and in addition we meet Boyd’s sister Grace! There are a lot of elements to this story and it kept me engaged from start to finish. 

Once I had finished this I literally opened page one of book 5…and then stopped myself. I decided to break it up with another genre so will eagerly go back to book 5 in a few days. This series is getting stronger with each book that is released and I would certainly recommend it.

The Lost Child by Patricia Gibney (Lottie Parker 3)

The Lost Child Synopsis: ‘Let me out! Please…’ My tiny fists pound the door, but my voice reverberates off the stone walls and hangs in the air as if suspended by spider’s webs. No one comes…

Years later, a woman is found face-down in a pool of blood. Detective Lottie Parker is called to the remote farmhouse in the bleak Irish countryside. Inside, she finds a scene that speaks of uncontrollable rage: glasses smashed, chairs ripped apart, the woman’s body broken.

A black rain jacket makes Lottie think she knows the killer’s identity, but then she finds a disturbing clue: is the murder linked to an old case at St Declan’s asylum? A case investigated by her own father, just before he took his life.

When another victim is left without her tongue on the hospital steps, and a young girl goes missing, Lottie knows she has to act fast. Can she face her own demons and uncover the truth before another life is taken?

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: I have recently started this series and was pleased to move onto book 3. Lottie Parker is a character that I really enjoy reading about even though she has serious issues and isn’t actually a pretty selfish and screwed up woman (but in a likeable way if you know what I mean). Her colleague Boyd is back alongside her other colleagues Kirby and Lynch and they are as usual assigned to the newest murder. In this case its the death of an elderly woman who is found in her daughters house.

I have to say I enjoyed the actual murder case storyline less than the last two in this book, however the personal elements of the story mad up for that in my opinion. In addition to the murder enquiry we see Lottie’s friend Annabelle in her own crisis of a situation. IN addition we see Lottie’s relationship and more development of this in terms of her Mother, three kids and grandchild.

The murder case they are working made the story at times a little muddled as there was so much going on, but eventually it gained traction. Boyd her colleague is as usual taking the abuse that Lottie dishes out, but by the end of the book he was the best person to be there for her. The ending was a corker and made me want to just go straight through to book 4, but I’m trying to pace myself. I think this read was a little more middle of the road but the series is definitely one I am keen to continue.

Five Years From Now by Paige Toon

Five Years From Now Synopsis: Nell and Van meet as children when their parents fall in love, but soon they are forced worlds apart.

Five years later, they find each other.  Their bond is rekindled and new feelings take hold, but once again they must separate.

For the next two decades, fate brings Nell and Van together every five years, as life and circumstance continue to divide them. Will they ever find true happiness? And will it be together?

‘One day, maybe five years from now, you’ll look back and understand why this happened…’

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: I have always enjoyed Paige Toon books and decided to start going through my long list of unread books and selected this one. I didn’t read the synopsis so was going in with no idea of the story line but I was very pleased I selected this book. Nell and Van are the stars of the show and the book slowly unfolds in increments of five years starting from when they met as children. Nell’s Dad was in a relationship with Van’s Mum and as such they met as young children and their friendship blossomed.

As the story progresses so do Nell and Vans life and it was an absolute joy to go along for the ride. It was glorious tale of friendship, love and loss and frankly although it is very different from her other books it was a brilliant read. I was surprised at the ending but though it was fitting and not too contrived. Although a departure from her normal type of book it was very enjoyable and one I would recommend.