Review - Love In The Blitz by Eileen Alexander

Love in the Blitz by Eileen Alexander
Publisher: Williams Collins
Release date: 30 April 2020

Back cover blurb: When the papers say that people in London are behaving normally, they’re telling the truth. Everyone is pretending as hard as possible that nothing is happening … I don’t think Hitler will destroy London, because London, if its legs are blown away, is prepared to hobble on crutches. In summer 1939, war was brewing. Eileen Alexander was a bright young graduate just leaving Cambridge and newly smitten with Gershon Ellenbogen, a fellow student who had inadvertently involved her in a car crash. Her first letter to him, written from hospital, sparked a correspondence that would last the length of the war and define the love of their lifetimes. Love in the Blitz is a remarkable portrait of one woman’s coming-of-age. Her previously undiscovered letters are vivid, intimate, and crackling with intelligence. She is frank about sex and her ambitions, hilariously caustic about colleagues, rationing rules and life on the homefront, and painfully honest about loving a man away at war. The discovery of these magical letters must count as the greatest literary find of the 21st century.

Just one letter from bright young graduate Eileen Alexander to Gershon Ellenbogen a fellow student who had inadvertently involved her in a car crash is enough to spark a correspondence that will last the length of the Second World War.

Those expecting a fictional tale here will be disappointed, Love In The Blitz is a collection of Eileen's letters to Gershon, and are very real in their content.

This collection, I suspect will not be to everyone's taste, some of the letters are very long and therefore difficult to read, and some is very gossipy and frivolous which I suppose is a good insight into how people's emotions would have been challenging and changing during this time.

Love In The Blitz is a unique insight to life in London during the Blitz and a great read during our  own troubled times and period of lockdown.

Love In The Blitz is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan

Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan

Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK

Release date: 1 May 2020

Back cover blurb: You think you have the perfect family. But everything can be broken. Liz and Jess have been friends for ten years, ever since they both started a family. But how well do they really know each other? When Jess arrives at hospital with a story that doesn’t add up, Liz is the doctor on call. Jess has devoted her life to family and home. But she is holding so many secrets. As the truth begins to emerge, Liz is forced to question everything she thought she knew: about Jess, and about herself. When something feels so personal, how do you stay professional?










Jess and Liz have been friends for ten years since they met at antenatal classes prior to the birth of their respective first born children.

When Jess arrives at the hospital Liz works with a story that doesn't add up. Liz is the Doctor on call. Her instincts as friend tell her that she should believe and trust what Jess is telling her, but her medical background and intuition is telling her not to.

Jess' daughter Betsy is admitted for tests and Liz raises the potential safeguarding issue with her boss, who is less than happy with her hesitation. It is a clear cut case for referral to the authorities as far as he is concerned.

Of course, once the authorities do get involved Liz is public enemy Number One with Jess and her family, and their other close friends from antenatal classes. No one sees that Liz had to do her job, they only see a betrayal of trust.

For Jess surely would not hurt her own daughter. Would she?

Little Disasters deals with some difficult subjects sensitively and is a brilliant novel about friendship, trust and loyalty. I look forward to the author's next.

Little Disasters is available via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

Publisher: Quercus

Release date: 7 April 2020

Back cover blurb: Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous aftermath of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest. For heiresses Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and siblings before slavery's end, the pilgrimage westward reignites an agonizing question. Could her long-lost family still be out there? Louisiana, 1987: Arriving in Augustine, Louisiana, first-year teacher Benedetta Silva finds herself teaching students whose poverty-stricken lives she can scarcely comprehend. The town is impossibly set in its ways, suspicious of new ideas and new people. But amid the gnarled live oaks and ancient plantation homes lies the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything.

Louisiana 1875, Hannie has just turned Eighteen, having been left alone on the Gossett plantation,  her entire family exchanged to other plantation owners for money. She accompanies the ladies of the house, Lavinia and Juneau Jane on a journey where they begin compiling 'The Book of Lost Friends'.

Louisiana 1987, Benedetta Silva is a new teacher at a poverty ridden school. Her attempts at teaching her class are not what she was expecting. The kids are unruly and the only condition is that they be kept in the classroom. They are mostly distracted by hunger, as most are starving.

She is about to give up when she discovers that the abandoned house near her own houses a huge library. She decides to build a library for her classroom and try and engage the kids through reading.

However, she soon discovers that the old house harbours some dark secrets. Her discovery doesn't lead her to shut the door on the place though, as it would with many. Instead, it inspires a class project that the previously disinterested kids quickly become absorbed in.

But will the school board and other residents of the town allow a painful and ugly part of their history to be bought back to life?

Hope runs strongly through this novel, and the belief that no matter how tough things are, they will get better. Something that we can all identify strongly with at the moment.

The Book of Lost Friends is available now Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

'Just My Luck' - Publication Day Q&A with Adele Parks

Any regular readers of my blog will know that I am a massive Adele Parks fan, so today was always going to be exciting for me, as her latest novel Just My Luck is published.

However there is an additional reason for my excitement today, and I am delighted to be hosting a quick Q&A on my blog in honour of Just My Luck's publication, Adele's 20th novel in 20 years!!!

Just My Luck is available to buy today via Amazon online and all good book shops.

1. The last twenty years has flown by, did you ever think when Playing Away was published that you would still be writing and publishing twenty years later? 

Honestly, I barely thought a month ahead in those days! I did think, ‘Oh finally, I am an author’ as that was what I had always wanted to be and I was already 30. I had tried a few different career avenues by then, in retail, advertising and as a management consultant. I did hope that I’d continue writing from then on. 

2. It’s a massive achievement. Did you ever believe that you would publish twenty books in twenty years? 

I don’t think I expected to write a book a year for 20 years and for them all to be bestsellers. That seems unbelievable to me, even in retrospect! I just kept putting one foot in front of another and asking, ‘What’s next?’ My work is not just work, it is a vocation; I love being a writer so it hasn’t such an effort to write this many! I’ve been so incredibly fortunate to have enjoyed the support of readers, publishers, bloggers and reviewers for this length of time. 

3. If you could pick a career defining moment from the last twenty years what would it be, and why?

I guess the moment an agent accepted the first book I wrote (Playing Away), 21 years ago, I knew I was off! I found him via a book called ‘The Writers’ and Artists’ handbook’ which lists agents and publishing houses. I didn’t know anyone in publishing or how to go about getting started. I basically cold-called by sending him an unsolicited manuscript. I still remember the moment he called to say he had excepted it. My other career defining moment was when Lies Lies Lies hit the number 1 spot in the Times Best Sellers List. I’d had the number of number 1 position in other charts (Amazon, the Independent etc.) but The Times felt incredibly special. It’s basically the real deal top spot!

4. If you ask one question to any of your readers that have been with you for the last 20 years, what would you ask? 

I usually want to know which is their favourite novel of mine. I’d also want to thank them enormously for their support and loyalty. 

5. Is there a question that most authors are asked all the time that you’ve never been asked which has surprised you? 

I don’t think so! People are extremely interested in the careers of writers and that is flattering. I always try to answer anything and everything as sincerely as possible.

A huge thank you to Adele and Sophie Calder at Harper Collins for taking the time out to answer my questions and arrange the Q&A.

Review - Just My Luck by Adele Parks

Just My Luck by Adele Parks

Publisher: HQ

Release date: 14 May 2020

Back cover blurb: It’s the stuff dreams are made of – a lottery win so big, it changes everything. For fifteen years, Lexi and Jake have played the same six numbers with their friends, the Pearsons and the Heathcotes. Over dinner parties, fish & chip suppers and summer barbecues, they’ve discussed the important stuff – the kids, marriages, jobs and houses – and they’ve laughed off their disappointment when they failed to win anything more than a tenner. But then, one Saturday night, the unthinkable happens. There’s a rift in the group. Someone doesn’t tell the truth. And soon after, six numbers come up which change everything forever. Lexi and Jake have a ticket worth £18 million. And their friends are determined to claim a share of it.

Twenty books in Twenty years is quite something, but to consistently make each one better than the last, is something else. Yet it is something that Adele Parks manages with ease.

Regular readers of my blog will know that I am a huge fan of Adele's so it is difficult for me to write an unbiased review, but I always try to, and anyone who knows me will know that I am very honest, sometimes brutally so.

Just My Luck I think may be my favourite of Adele's novels so far, it's very clever, with lots of twists to keep the reader guessing right up until the end.

Let's be honest for a moment, we've all sat and wondered what we would do with the money if we were to win the lottery. Haven't we?

Well for Lexi and Jake, that seemingly impossible dream is now a reality.

The unthinkable has happened, all six of their numbers have come up, they are rich beyond their wildest dreams. It should be perfect, they can now have the life that they have always dreamt of. But money does strange things to people and Lexi and Jake quickly realise that they have very different ideas on how their new found winnings should be spent.

And that's only the start of it, because Lexi and Jake have played the same six numbers for the last fifteen years with their so called friends the Heathcotes and the Pearsons, but a rift in the group before the win has torn the relationship apart.

When they hear of Lexi and Jake's win, the two couples are determined to get their hands on their share of the winnings, no matter what the cost...

Just My Luck is a thrilling ride through a roller coaster of complex family relationships, adult friendships and trust. It is magnificent and I can't wait for everyone to read it!

Just My Luck is available tomorrow from Amazon online and all good book shops.

Many Thanks to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Check back in to my blog tomorrow for a special publication day Q&A with Adele.

Review - The Mist by Rangar Jonasson

The Mist by Rangar Jonasson

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Release date: 30 April 2020

Back cover blurb: 1987. An isolated farm house in the east of Iceland. The snowstorm should have shut everybody out. But it didn't. The couple should never have let him in. But they did. An unexpected guest, a liar, a killer. Not all will survive the night. And Detective Hulda will be haunted forever. The third and final novel in Hidden Iceland trilogy

The Mist is the final instalment in Ragnar Jónasson's Hidden Iceland trilogy, but technically it is also the first, as this is a trilogy with a difference as it is in reverse order.

I have had the pleasure of reading all three books in the trilogy, but this could be read as a standalone. I'd recommend reading the previous books in the series if you able to you though, as they are all brilliantly written.

The Hidden Iceland trilogy follows the career of Icelandic Detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir from personal tragedy to near retirement (in reverse of course).

In the late 1980's, Hulda is recovering from a life changing event when she is called upon to investigate a potential murder at an isolated farmhouse in the East of the country.

The novel switches back and forth between Hulda's world, and the farmhouse where snow has made the already isolated house inaccessible. Yet somehow a stranger is able to knock on the door seeking shelter.

The couple of live there are wary but accommodating. Will they regret the decision to allow a stranger into their home?

Like the other books in the trilogy, the Mist is a quick read, but that does not make it any less thrilling.

The Mist is available now via Amazon online and and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - People Like Us by Louise Fein

People Like Us by Louise Fein
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Release date: 7 May 2020
Back cover blurb: 'I nearly drowned and Walter rescued me. That changes everything.' Leipzig, 1930's Germany. Hetty Heinrich is a perfect German child. Her father is an SS officer, her brother in the Luftwaffe, herself a member of the BDM. She believes resolutely in her country, and the man who runs it. Until Walter changes everything. Blond-haired, blue-eyed, perfect in every way Walter. The boy who saved her life. A Jew. Anti-semitism is growing by the day, and neighbours, friends and family members are turning on one another. As Hetty falls deeper in love with a man who is against all she has been taught, she begins to fight against her country, her family and herself. Hetty will risk have to risk everything to save Walter, even if it means sacrificing herself...

Hetty Heinrich, daughter of a high ranking SS Officer and member of the Bund Deutscher Madel ((BDM) the League of German Girls) the female branch of Hitler Youth, truly believes in the Fuhrer and his ability to make Germany a better country after WW1.

Walter is the crush that a 7 year old Hetty never grows out of. After he saves her life when she nearly drowns she is captivated by him. But he is her Brother's friend, older than her, and therefore out of the question.

This is even more apparent when she learns something about him that changes everything.

Walter is a Jew, and therefore now forbidden entirely from their school, and their house. Her Brother abandoning his friendship with Walter out of loyalty to both his Father, and Nazi ideology. Hetty cannot believe that Walter is a Jew, he is the perfect Aryan poster boy.

She doesn't really think any more of Walter, until she meets him years later by chance as a teenager and realises what a remarkable young man he is. At first, she is confused by his beliefs, and they argue frequently about what is right for their country.

As time goes on and Hetty realises that she is falling in love with Walter, she also begins to realise that everything about her country and the way that they are treating people is wrong. She feels ashamed, and vows to help Walter in any way that she can.

This of course is without her family's knowledge, as her Father is a high ranking SS officer who believes in everything the Furher and the Nazi party stand for. But Hetty knows that she no longer does and is determined to do all that she can, to help Walter and make educate people to her country's leaders and their terrible crimes.

People Like Us is a beautifully written, important novel about the sacrifices that we must make for those that we love.

People Like Us is available from Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - The Secrets of Ironbridge by Mollie Walton

The Secrets of Ironbridge by Mollie Walton
Publisher: Zaffre Books

Release date: 30 April 2020

Back cover blurb: 1850s Shropshire. Returning to her mother's birthplace at the age of eighteen, Beatrice Ashford encounters a complex family she barely knows. Her great-grandmother Queenie adores her, but the privileged social position of Beatrice's family as masters of the local brickworks begins to make her uncomfortable. And then she meets Owen Malone: handsome, different, refreshing - and from a class beneath her own. They fall for each other fast, but an old family feud and growing industrial unrest threatens to drive them apart. Can they overcome their different backgrounds? And can Beatrice make amends for her family's past?









The secrets of Ironbridge is the second book in the Ironbridge series. It can be read as a stand alone novel, but I would recommend reading the first if you can.

1850's Shropshire, and Beatrice Ashford returns to her Mother's birthplace at the age of Eighteen. After a life of growing up in cosmopolitan Montmartre, Paris, at first Beatrice isn't sure what to make of her Mother's home town.

The reason for their return is the threat of imminent death of a family member Beatrice has never met. Sadly they are too late, but Beatrice's Mother insists that they must stay, as it will give Beatrice a better future being back amongst the family wealth.

Her Mother, Margaret has warned Beatrice many times of her Great Grandmother Queenie and her acerbic tongue, but Beatrice and Queenie immediately get along, leaving Margaret to breathe a sigh of relief.

Beatrice though, is lonely, she misses her friends in Montmartre and longs to go back. When Beatrice meets Owen Malone, she does not care about his job, or class, only that he is the most charming and handsome man she has ever met. As she learns that he works at the local brickworks, she realises that any fledgling relationship must be kept secret from her family.

I don't want to say too much more, as I'd love you to read this novel for yourself and discover the Ironbridge of the 1800's.

The Secrets of Ironbridge is another beautifully written novel by this author, and I can't wait to read the next installment in the series.

The Secrets of Ironbirdge is available now via Amazon online and all good shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - The Yellow Bird Sings by Jennifer Rosner

The Yellow Bird Sing by Jennifer Rosner
Publisher: Picador
Release date: 2 April 2020

Back cover blurb: A powerfully moving and utterly gripping debut novel about a mother and daughter forced into hiding at the height of WWII, and the bond between parent and child that can never be broken. Poland, 1941. Roza and her five-year-old daughter, Shira, are the only surviving Jews in their town. They spend day and night hidden in a neighbour’s barn. Forbidden from making a sound, only the yellow bird from her mother’s stories can sing the melodies Shira composes in her head. Roza does all she can to take care of Shira and shield her from the horrors of the outside world. They play silent games and invent their own sign language. But then the day comes when their haven is no longer safe, and Roza must face an impossible choice: whether the best thing she can do for her daughter is keep her close by her side, or give her the chance to survive by letting her go...

Poland 1941, Roza and her five year old daughter Shira are the only surviving Jew left in their town. They are forced to hide in the barn of a neighbouring farm. Roza suspects that he has an ulterior motive for allowing them to stay, and it doesn't take long for her suspicions to be proven, for Roza will do anything to keep her daughter safe.

Shira is too young to understand the danger that they are in and doesn't understand why they are cramped into the smallest of spaces and forced into silence for most of the time. Shira has a musical mind, and misses the music her family played around her before the others were taken from the family home.

Inspired by her Mother's whispered stories to her, Shira imagines that she has a small yellow bird, an imaginary pet that she must take care of. This helps her to keep silent, as she must to avoid discovery. Several months pass without incident, and Roza almost believes that they could make it to the end of the war, but that sadly is not to be.

As the Nazi's begin to acquire barns for storage, the Farmer is forced to put his own life and family first. But his wife knows of a hidden network to help Jewish children. And Roza is forced to make the heartbreaking decision to send Shira to a convent school, where Shira will be disguised as just another Catholic girl, and looked after by the Nuns.

Shira doesn't understand, and believes that her Mother will come for her. However, she eventually settles in to life at the Convent school, and is looked after and looked out for by a few kind Nuns who are risking their own lifes to keep children like Shira hidden.

The Yellow Bird Sings is a beautifully written novel, about the heartbreaking decisions that sometimes have to be made to protect those what we love, particularly during war time. I don't want to spoil anything, so I can't say too much more, but I highly recommend this wonderful novel.

The Yellow Bird Sings is available now from Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - Strangers by C.L. Taylor

Strangers by C.L. Taylor
Release date: 2 April 2020
Publisher: Avon

Back cover blurb: Ursula, Gareth and Alice have never met before. Ursula thinks she killed the love of her life. Gareth’s been receiving strange postcards. And Alice is being stalked. None of them are used to relying on others – but when the three strangers’ lives unexpectedly collide, there’s only one thing for it: they have to stick together. Otherwise, one of them will die. Three strangers, two secrets, one terrifying evening.

I always look forward to a new C.L. Taylor novel and Strangers was no exception.

Alice, Gareth, Ursula, three total strangers, are about to have their lives turned upside down, in a way that none of them ever imagined could happen.

We meet them at the beginning of the novel, where it is clear something terrible has happened, and work backwards back to that pivotal point of the novel.

Alice manages a clothes shop in the fictional Meads Shopping Centre in Bristol. Gareth is a security guard in the same centre, and Ursula is a delivery driver, with a part-time shop lifting habit in the same shopping centre...

Having three separate characters stories running could become confusing, but this novel is so well written that it is never a problem.

Twists are another thing that this author does particularly well. To the point, that they are the kind of twist that even the most prolific thriller won't see coming.

One thing I love about C.L. Taylor's novels is that they are all unique, and you never know what you are going to get (in a really good way). As always I look forward to the next!

Strangers is available now via Amazon online and all good shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.