Review: The Stranger in my Home by Adele Parks

The Stranger in my Home by Adele Parks

Publisher: Headline Review

Release date: 28 September 2016 - ebook only

Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: What would YOU do if your child wasn't yours? Utterly compelling, Sunday Times bestseller Adele Parks's new contemporary novel The Stranger In My Home, is sure to move, grip and delight her fans, along with readers of Liane Moriarty, Jane Shemilt and Lisa Jewell. Alison is lucky and she knows it. She has the life she always craved, including a happy home with Jeff and their brilliant, vivacious teenage daughter, Katherine - the absolute centre of Alison's world. Then a knock at the door ends life as they know it. Fifteen years ago, someone else took Alison's baby from the hospital. And now Alison is facing the unthinkable. The daughter she brought home doesn't belong to her. When you have everything you dreamed of, there is everything to lose.

I honestly didn't realise how much I had missed Adele Parks' contemporary writing until I picked up The Stranger in my Home.

This is a novel that I have been (im)patiently awaiting for some time. Although I love Adele's two previous historical fiction novels, it is good to have her back writing contemporary fiction - particularly when it is SO good.

Alison Mitchell is lucky, lucky to have the life she has, lucky to have Jeff, and lucky to have their daughter Katherine, a bright teenager destined for great things.

When a complete stranger in the form of the (very) handsome Tom Truby knocks on the door, and delivers some devastating news, the family's perfect world quickly begins to fall apart.

Everything they thought they knew about their daughter is thrown into turmoil.

As if that wasn't enough, Tom's visit delivers a second, equally as devastating blow, that makes the family question their future together as well as their past.

Alison has had to fight in the past to get what she wants, she is no stranger to the concept, she is just a little out of practice, but her motherly instinct tells her that she needs to protect Katherine, no matter what the consequences.

And so the fight begins...

I don't want to say much more, as I don't want to give anything away.

You MUST discover this absolute gem of a novel for yourself.

I'm pretty sure I say this after every Adele novel - but The Stranger in my Home, is definitely her best yet. It had me truly gripped from start to finish, and I know it is going to fly off the shelves.

The Stranger in my Home is available now via Amazon online and other e-book retailers.

The paperback is out January 2017 - you can pre-order it now via Amazon online and all good book sellers.

Blog tour: If You Go Away by Adele Parks

Day Four - Top 10 Most Notable Historical Romances

I cannot tell you how excited I am to be welcoming Adele Parks to my blog today to talk about her Top 10 Most Notable Historical Romances as part of the If You Go Away blog tour;

Perhaps the most difficult top ten list to curate is real historical romances because I’m stepping out of the remit of art (whether that’s music, film or the written, fictional word) and I’m looking at real lives; albeit lives often lived a long time ago. Of course, the problem with real lives is that they are hideously complex; that’s why we all love the security and satisfaction of fictional romance. Many of the most famous and profound historical romances didn’t end at all happily, in fact often they were quite definitively tragic. However, they are all memorable and many had huge political, social and even religious consequences. The magnitude of these romances cannot be ignored or denied. 

1. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert – Besotted, devoted, passionate about one another. They had many happy years where they produced a large brood and improved the country’s welfare. However, losing Albert was unbearable for Victoria. She mourned her beloved prince, for 40 years. Wearing black until her death in 1901.

2. Vera Brittain and Roland Leighton – Two brilliant, young people who were deeply in love, full of ideas and promise, typical of a generation. Heartbreakingly, he was lost to WW1, inspiring one of the most moving memoirs of their generation, ‘Testament of Youth.’

3. Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal - Many happy, loving and productive years were brought to an end when Mumtaz died while giving birth to their 14th child. Shah Jahan was devastated by his wife’s death but it inspired him to build one of the world’s greatest architectural masterpieces to serve as her final resting place: theTaj Mahal.

4. John and Abigail Adams - One of the most influential relationships that shaped the United States was possibly the most romantic and besotted couple in American (especially political) history. They were simply devoted, even when separated for years due to the political climate. In their lifetime they wrote 1200 love letters to each other. They grew old together #justlovely.

5. Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn - It started badly (as Henry was married to someone else), the middle bit was messy (as his insistence on marrying Anne led to a big row with the Pope) and it ended hideously (she was the first English queen to be publicly executed and that was after a humiliating trial where she was falsely accused of multiple infidelities including with her brother). Yet it cannot be denied at some point he must have loved her enormously, because otherwise, why all the bother?

6. Paris and Helen - According to Greek mythology, the love between Paris and Helen provoked the downfall of Troy. Helen was reputedly exquisite, indeed she’s known as, The face that launched 1000 ships. She was married and a Queen, Paris was asking for trouble. Perhaps he should have left her alone, after all, the saying goes that there are plenty more fish in the sea; certainly, following their elopement, there were plenty more ships in the sea.

7. Napoleon and Josephine – The most frustrating on-off couple in history. Sort of big scale Ross and Rachel. They married because she was a jilted courtesan without choices, separated through war, he wrote love letters constantly beckoning her to visit, but she made excuses, including feigning pregnancy, to stay in Paris for soirees and affairs. There was a lot of private and public humiliation, eventually he began entertaining his own mistresses. Only then did Josephine fall in love with Napoleon and become a loyal wife. The tables had been turned. The relationship became more tumultuous when Napoleon discovered Josephine was barren. He divorced her for Marie Louise of Austria. An heir was conceived, but Napoleon’s love for Josephine had grown once again, though not close what it had once been. He made certain she retained the title of empress and provided for her children. Josephine died alone, uttering Napoleon as her last word. Napoleon died seven years later reputedly with her name on his lips. Get it together people!

8. Antony and Cleopatra – Incredibly passionate about one another to the point that they were blind to the political consequences of their love. Yes, you’ve guessed it, another love affair that led to war, this one ended in their suicides. Sigh.

9. Edward and Mrs Simpson – He gave up being the king of England for her because the British government and people considered her unsuitable. He disagreed. Enough said.

10. Justinian and Theodora – I had to go right back to the 6th century to find an out and out success. This couple transformed the most powerful civilization in the world and established its new order. Justinian was heir to the throne, Theodora was a girl that had just turned her life around from working as an actress and courtesan to becoming a devoted Christian living a humble life. Think Cinderella. They met, fell in love but were not allowed to marry because of their social differences. The couple sensibly bided their time until Justinian became King and then he changed the law allowing marriage to reformed courtesans. Together they then ruled the most powerful nation in the world, building schools, churches and other buildings that greatly enhanced the civilization. This is one of the few stories that truly ends happily ever after. So there I shall leave you…

Don't forget to visit Shaz's Book Blog tomorrow for the last date on the tour.

 

If You Go Away is available to buy now from;

Headline Review
Amazon
iBooks

Finding the One: A selection of short stories is also available to buy now from;

Amazon
iBooks

    A HUGE thank you to Georgina Moore at Headline and of course Adele herself for letting me take part in this glorious blog tour.

Review: If You Go Away by Adele Parks

If You Go Away by Adele Parks
Publisher: Headline Review
Release date: 4 June 2015
Rating: *****

Back cover blurb: 1914. Vivian, a young, impassioned debutante is hurried into a pedestrian marriage to cover a scandal. War breaks out on her wedding day - domestically and across Europe. Quick to escape the disappointment of matrimony, her traditionalist husband immediately enlists and Vivian has no alternative than to take up the management and running of his estate - after all, everyone is required to do their bit. Even pretty, inadequately-educated young wives. Howard, a brilliant young playwright rushes to the front to see for himself the best and the worst of humanity; he cannot imagine what the horror might be. In March 1916, when conscription becomes law, it is no longer enough for him to report on the War, it's a legal requirement that he joins the ranks. Howard refuses, becoming one of the most notorious conscientious objectors of the time. Contd...

If You Go Away is Adele Parks' 15th novel. Her first foray into historical fiction resulted in one of my favourite novels of last year; Spare Brides. I wasn't sure that this could be improved upon, but If You Go Away is quite possibly Adele's best work yet.

Vivian (our main protagonist) is brilliant, but naive, beautiful but headstrong. She is wealthy and used to getting her own way when we meet her, but when WW1 breaks out on her wedding day she is forced to revaluate the planned life ahead of her. She moves away from London to be with her husband in the country, but it is a lonely place for Vivian and she does not settle immediately.

Aubrey is not the husband that Vivian wanted, the one that everyone told her she deserved. But he is the one that society has said she must have, after a terrible misjudgment on her behalf. It is inevitable that he will go away to War and Vivian cannot help but be thankful for that.

Howard is determined, determined not to go away to fight, and cannot be dissuaded once he has set his mind on something. He is not (at least in my mind) as Society would have him labelled 'a Conchie' (A conscientious objector). He is most definitely not a coward, and he will not be the first man to suffer for standing up for his beliefs.

When Vivian struggling with the loneliness of unfamiliar surroundings, befriends Enid, she has no idea that Enid's suggestion for her to become involved in the day to day running of her own land will set her on a collison course with Howard, Enid's son. After a eye opening stint on the front working with a newspaper reporter Howard returns home to his Mother, to the country, more determined than ever not to fight.

Vivian and Howard come from very different backgrounds. Previously a playwright in London, Howard has seen both sides of the war; back home and on the front. But it is the troubles of the homefront that bring them together when Vivian employs Howard to help with her land whilst her husband is away. The events that follow undoubtedly change both of their lives beyond recognition.

Few female writers I have come across are prepared to write about the brutality and horror of War as honestly as Adele has done with this novel and I hope that she is recognised for this. Her characters go on some remarkable journeys through this novel and emerge at the end infinitely better human beings although their situations have changed dramatically.

A beautifully written passionate, love story laced with tragedy, and Parks' trademark honesty; If You Go Away is a novel of epic proportions. And the ending? Well it is a glorious finish to the perfect novel. I can't recommend it highly enough.

I might be biased as a huge fan of Adele's work, but this is 100% my favourite novel of this year so far, and will probably be my stand out novel of 2015. I'm not sure if she has any more historical work up her sleeve- but I am quietly hoping that she does.

If You Go Away is available TODAY from Amazon online and Headline.

Finding the one: a selection of short stories is also available now.

  

A massive thank you to Georgina Moore at Headline and Adele for sending me my gorgeous limited edition proof.

Adele Parks - 15 novels in 15 years

Today marks 14 days until the launch of Adele Parks' latest novel 'If You Go Away'. Adele has released a phenomenal 15 books in 15 years, an accomplishment to be truly proud of. Let's take a quick trip down memory lane....

If You Go Away

It's 1914 if he goes away, he will become a killer or be killed. If he stays, he will be imprisoned, perhaps shot. If she follows her heart, she will be disgraced, ostracised. If she follows convention, she will be bored, isolated. A generation faces unbearable choices.

Available to pre-order at:

Amazon

Waterstones

WHSmith

Your local Independent Bookseller

   

Spare Brides

New Year's Eve, 1920. The Great War is over and it's a new decade of glamorous promise. But a generation of men and women who survived the extreme trauma and tragedy will never be the same.

Spare Brides is the story of four extraordinary women left to pick up the pieces of their lives, in the scarred, dazzling and endlessly fascinating post-First World War era.

“Historical fiction with real heart” – Marie Claire

  

 The State We're In

What are the odds that the stranger sitting next to you on a plane is destined to change your life?

Especially when they appear to be your opposite in every way. The world’s hardest cynic bumps into the last of the great romantics but their pasts dictate their futures can never be simple.

“One of those rare books you won’t stop thinking about” – Daily Mail

 

Whatever it Takes

Eloise Hamilton uproots from London to the country with her family. The excitement soon turns to turmoil as her mother in law Margaret has lost her history, her health and her mind, and struggles to hold on to the secret she has never wanted to reveal. As Eloise's world implodes with the strain of being responsible for all around her, someone is bound to be overlooked. And the damage might be irreparable…

 “Powerful and emotional” – RED magazine

 About Last Night

For thirty years, best friends Steph and Pip have been through thick and thin. Selfless and trusting; there’s nothing they would not do for one another. Or so they thought. Steph tests the boundaries when she asks Pip to give her an alibi for the night her husband was involved in a hit and run. Lending her a pair of shoes, picking the kids up from the school gate, lying to the police… How far would you go for your best friend?

“Witty, spirited and emotionally true” – Woman & Home

 

Men I've Loved Before

Neil and Nat are a beautifully matched couple. Among other things, they hate marmite and opera, they love smelly cheese and the missionary position and they both absolutely do not want children. Then, suddenly, Neil is practically begging her for a baby, causing Nat to wonder if he really is the man she should be with. Is it possible that someone from her past could actually be “the one”?

“Dazzling” – Heat

  

 Love Lies

Fern can’t waste any more years on her boyfriend who won’t commit. A chance meeting with UK’s sexiest pop star leads to a whirlwind romance and a shock proposal. Soon Fern’s living the celebrity dream in LA. But why is this modern day Cinderella homesick for her scruffy London flat and her old fella?

“This is a brilliant novel” – Daily Mail

 

Tell Me Something

English wife and Italian husband move to Italy to try for a child and a better life. But it’s impossible to relax with his wily mother-in-law, and beautiful ex-girlfriend always around. The language barrier is proving tricky, and the company of a gorgeous American stranger is proving tempting.

“Deliciously down to earth” - The Times

  

 Young Wives' Tales

Lucy stole her friend Rose’s ‘happily ever after’ because she wanted Rose’s husband and Lucy always gets what she wants. Big mistake. Rose was the ideal wife and is the ideal mother; Lucy was the perfect mistress. Now neither can find domestic bliss playing each others’ roles.

“Incisive and very very funny” – Company

 

Husbands

Secrets always lead to trouble. Love triangles are always complex but in Bella’s case things are particularly dangerous as her secret is that she is married to both men in her triangle! Then, inconveniently, her best friend falls for husband number one - estranged Elvis impersonator - and they all head for a showdown in Las Vegas.

“Funny, tender and observant” - Grazia

 

 Still Thinking of You

Tash and Rich set of to get married in a beautiful ski resort with their old college friends. In the run up to the big day long buried passions are reawakened and hidden secrets revealed; the group realise that a lot has changed in twelve years. And even more can change in seven days.

“Compelling and full of that's-so-true moments” – Company

 

The Other Woman's Shoes

Devoted wife and mother, Martha, discovers her husband’s infidelity. She finds she has two choices: hide away behind the school runs and home baking or have amazing sex with an inappropriate stranger. Who’d have thought she’d find true love swinging from the chandeliers?

“Sizzling Hot” - Marie Claire

 

Larger Than Life

Georgina loves Hugh even though he’s someone else’s husband and father. After years of waiting on the side-lines, Georgina finally gets him when his marriage breaks down. But her dream come true turns into a nightmare when she falls pregnant and Hugh makes it clear he’s been there, done that and doesn’t want to do it all again. Georgina has to ask herself, is this baby bigger than the biggest love of her life?

“Entertaining and sophisticated” - Marie Claire

  

 Game Over

Producer Cassandra is immoral most of the time and amoral when it comes to her new TV programme, Sex with an Ex. Unfeeling and unscrupulous, she ruthlessly and hilariously manipulates everyone she comes into contact with. Until she meets contestant Darren, a highly principled hunk, who won’t play her lethal games in the name of love.

“Very entertaining” – Heat

 

Playing Away

Written through the eyes of the adulteress, Playing Away is a candid, passionate tale of infidelity that strips away the fantasy to reveal the giddy, gritty, gripping reality. It's the closest thing you'll get to an affair without actually having one.

“A smart cross between Friends and Sex in the City” - USA Today

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Red Network Event: How to get published

Yesterday was a day of 'firsts' for me.

It was the first time I'd attended a literature festival (shocking I know!), it was the first time I'd been in a room full of writers, and it was the first time I that I actually answered the question 'are you writing a book?' honestly.

The answer to that question is 'Yes' and the exact reason that I found myself at the Red event. Well that and the fact that my favourite author, Adele Parks was one of the guest speakers...

The setting for the event was the elegant Francis hotel, and the event itself part of Bath's annual Literature festival (I have already put a note in my diary for next year).

The aforementioned best-selling author Adele Parks was joined by literary agent Cathryn Summerhayes and publisher Karen Duffy. The panel were quizzed for 40 minutes or so by Red magazine's Sarah Tomczak, during which time they covered everything from word-count worry to twitter etiquette, before answering questions from the floor.

Adele, Cathryn and Karen all stayed behind after to answer any individual questions, sign books etc. which I thought was a nice touch. It was wonderful for me personally to finally get to say 'Hi' to Adele, and she has inspired me to try and set some time aside every day purely for writing.

I'm so pleased that I attended the event, I thought it was well organised and extremely informative. I made plenty of notes during the chat, and I know I'm not the only one in the audience who did.

Key points that I took from the day were;

• Know your market
• Don't think too much/care too much about what others are writing
• Know your characters inside out
• Know your ending. Every word will count if you know where you are going
• Get someone you know to read your writing and ask them to be critical
• If you don't think your work is ready - it's not!
• You only get one shot. Prepare to be resilient.
• Don't give up

The event covered much more than this, but I think if I typed up all my notes, I'd just bore you to death, so I'll leave it there, but Red Magazine's coverage of the event can be found here and Adele also has tips for writers on her website.

Apparently 'Everyone has a book in them'. I know I have one in me somewhere. I just need to find the time to sit down and let it out...

 

Huge thanks to the organisers and to Adele and Georgina Moore for making me feel so welcome.

Review: Spare Brides by Adele Parks

Spare Brides by Adele Parks
Publisher: Headline Review  

Release Date: 13 Feb 2014
Rating: *****

Back Cover: (TBC I was sent a proof copy): New Year's Eve, 1920. The Great War is over and it's a new decade of glamour and promise. But a generation of men and women who survived the extreme trauma and tragedy will never be the same. With countless men lost, it seems that only wealth and beauty will secure a husband from the few who returned, but lonely Beatrice has neither attribute. Ava has both, although she sees marriage as a restrictive cage after the freedom war allowed. Sarah paid war's ultimate price: her husband's life. Lydia should be grateful that her own husband's desk job kept him safe, but she only sees his cowardice. A chance encounter for one of these women with a striking yet haunted officer changes everything. In a world altered beyond recognition, where not all scars are visible, this damaged and beautiful group must grasp any happiness they can find-whatever the cost.

Wow. What a novel.

I love historical fiction, and I love Adele Parks, so I was very excited to receive the proof copy of Spare Brides that was very kindly sent to me by Georgina at Headline. I've been eagerly awaiting this novel for a while and I was not disappointed.

I distinctly remember saying after reading 'The State We're In' that it was Parks' best yet. I was wrong. Spare Brides is definitely Adele Parks' best novel to date.

The novel is set in the early 1920's and tells the stories of Lydia (our main protagonist), Ava, Beatrice and Sarah who are all struggling in different ways to cope with the new world that they find themselves in after the war.

Lydia is struggling with with fertility issues, and a husband that she is not even sure that she loves. Ava is adored by literally everyone, but seems to have no sense or purpose. Sarah is happy enough, widowed, lonely and concerned about her friends' well-being, and Beatrice Sarah's sister is desperately lonely. Never the most attractive girl, she is finding it impossible with the shortage of men after the war to find anyone to marry, and fears she will end up an old maid.

The period is something that the author seems to adapt to writing effortlessly, as if she has always written so. In fact, this, is her first foray into historical fiction, but she writes about the period beautifully, describing the stunning gowns, accessories, fine dining and stately homes of the time, without shying away from the devastation that has been caused by the great war and the effect that it will have on the novels characters and their future.

Lydia we meet as she is getting ready to attend a New Year's Eve soiree, her biggest dilemma at the time is what on earth she is going to wear, as the frock that she had ordered from her favourite fashion house has not arrived. In the opening chapters, we see Lydia as wealthy, popular and perhaps a little selfish, certainly not living in the 'real' world. But this changes as the novel progresses, and she meets someone that will turn her life upside down, quite literally.

Her friends are less than encouraging, trying to persuade Lydia away from the temptation that is calling her. But she is not listening. She cannot and will not listen. So they take matters in to their own hands, with shocking and upsetting consequences. They believe they are doing what is right for her. Lydia knows they are wrong, but how can she prove them otherwise?

Well... I'm afraid you'll have to read it for yourselves to find out. I can guarantee you won't be disappointed!

Spare Brides is available from 13th February 2014.  You can pre-order it now from Amazon and Headline.  

Review: The State We're In - Adele Parks

The State We're In by Adele Parks
Publisher: Headline Review 
Release Date: 04th July 2013
Rating: *****
The back cover blurb:  What are the odds that the stranger sitting next to you on a plane is destined to change your life? Especially when they appear to be your opposite in every way.

She's a life-long optimist, looking for her soul mate in every man she meets; he's a resolute cynic - cruel experience has taught him never to put his faith in anyone. People can surprise you. In the time it takes to fly from London to Chicago, each finds something in the other that they didn't even realise they needed.

Their pasts are such that they can never make one another happy and it's when they get off the plane that their true journey begins...


I'll cut to the chase here, I'm a huge Adele Parks fan. Ever since I read, 'Playing Away' her début novel she's had me hooked. I'm not going to lie about that fact, but I will try and make this a constructive review (and as unbiased as possible).

I'm not a general fan of book reviews where the reviewer proclaims that the book is the author's 'best yet', I'm about to throw my general disdain out of the window and proclaim, that this is most definitely Adele's best yet.

I've always admired Adele's style of writing, she is brutally honest and personally I don't view her as a 'chick lit' author, I just view her as an author, one I particularly like.

I didn't know an awful lot about the book before I started reading it, there has been an air of mystery about it. I knew it was about two people meeting on a plane, as I had read the back cover blurb before hand, but I knew very little else, and I didn't want to.

I like reading books that haven't had the story splashed all over the internet weeks before their publication date. To me, the whole point of a decent book is not to want to put it down because you NEED to know what happens next. Not put it down because you know exactly what happens next!

Adele doesn't disappoint, I finished the book in less than two days (even with working full shifts) because I couldn't wait to find out what happened. Dean really is the resolute cynic that the synopsis suggests and Jo the life-long optimist, until she discovers something that has huge significance for both of them, past, present and future.

I really don't want to give anything away, it's definitely a book that you need to read for yourself.

The ending is certainly not the ending I was expecting, all I can say is, if you've read it - #keepthesecret 

You can buy 'The State We're In' now from Amazon and all good bookshops.