Not quite a busy month as last six books this month, but some fabulous books all the same. A bit of everything. So here is my round up of my month in books for May 2019.
First up is
The First Time I Saw You Emma Cooper
Genre: Contempoary/Romance
Publisher: Review
Published: 1st July 2019
Kindle Edition: 448 pages
Pre-order https://t.co/lf1nuiLWTE
Blurb
Lost:
Six-foot-two Irish man who answers to the name Samuel McLaughlin.
Has weak shins and enjoys show tunes.
If found, please return to Sophie Williams.
Before Sophie met Samuel she saw the world in grey.
Before Samuel met Sophie, he never believed in love at first sight.
When they first meet, something tells them they are meant to be.
But fate has other ideas.
Now they have lost each other and can’t see a way back.
But they’ve already changed each other’s lives in more ways
than they ever expected…
My Review ***** 5 stars
The story of Sophie and Samuel who meet fall in love and then lose each other and their different journeys on the path to find one another once again. Sophie is wooden almost robotic, concentrating only on her career seemingly content with her lonely existence. Then she meets a handsome 6ft 2 Irishman and life wont be the same without him. I love an author who can reach in to your very being from the words written on the page. Every emotion was touched by this beautiful story. I love Emma’s quirky and unique writing style the way she describes things and gives inanimate objects, seasons and weather names. A truly touching and heartbreaking story with wonderfully written characters. Have a box of tissues handy
Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine Gail Honeyman
Genre: Womans Fiction
Publisher: Harper Collins
Published:25th January 2018
Paperback Edition: 400 pages
Paperback https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eleanor-Oliphant-Completely-Fine-Bestseller/dp/0008172145/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2MTSLOBW14FIK&keywords=eleanor+oliphant+is+completely+fine+by+gail+honeyman&qid=1559155973&s=books&sprefix=elean%2Cstripbooks%2C170&sr=1-1 Kindle https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eleanor-Oliphant-Completely-Fine-Bestseller-ebook/dp/B01MAYG70K/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0? _encoding=UTF8&qid=1559155973&sr=1-1 Audio https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eleanor-Oliphant-Is-Completely-Fine/dp/B06XCNPCVC/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1559155973&sr=1-1
Blurb
Eleanor Oliphant has learned how to survive – but not how to live
Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend.
Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything.
One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted – while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she’s avoided all her life.
Change can be good. Change can be bad. But surely any change is better than… fine?
My Review **** 4 stars Like no other book I have read. Unusual different, original funny and thought provoking. I wasn’t sure when I started it that I would enjoy but I did hugely. A must read.
The Last Thing She Told Me Linda Green
Genre: Thriller/pyschological
Publisher:Quercus
Published:28th July 2018
Paperback Edition:416 pages
Paperback https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Thing-She-Told-Bestselling/dp/1786483734/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1559156449&sr=1-1 Kindle https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Thing-She-Told-heart-wrenching-ebook/dp/B074ZNQ81M/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1559156449&sr=1-1 Audio https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Thing-She-Told-Me/dp/B07D2H9XHF/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1559156449&sr=1-1
Blurb
Even the deepest buried secrets can find their way to the surface….
Moments before she dies, Nicola’s grandmother Betty whispers to her that there are babies at the bottom of the garden.
Nicola’s mother claims she was talking nonsense. However, when Nicola’s daughter finds a bone while playing in Betty’s garden, it’s clear that something sinister has taken place.
But will unearthing painful family secrets end up tearing Nicola’s family apart?
My Review **** 4 stars Her grandmother’s dieing words of babies at the bottom of the garden can’t be true? Long buried secrets that threatened to destroy a whole family are unearthed. Secrets that nobody even Nicola would have thought possible. I was recommended this book by a good friend a while ago, and having read the blurb I was intrigued. What I wasn’t prepared for was the assault on my emotions. A truly harrowing account of 3 generations of women, of love, loss and the buried secrets that had to be hidden for all the right reasons. To protect those they loved. Well developed characters and a strong storyline that engages you from the first page. I would highly recommend it.
Spring At Lavender Bay Sarah Bennett
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Publisher: Hq Digital
Published:22 February 2018
Kindle Edition: 205 pages
Kindle https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spring-Lavender-Bay-delightfully-uplifting-ebook/dp/B075HPQM41/ref=sr_1_1?crid=23HD6SA22TUOB&keywords=spring+at+lavender+bay&qid=1559156772&s=books&sprefix=spring+at+%2Caudible%2C164&sr=1-1-spell Audio https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spring-Lavender-Bay-Book/dp/B078Z1Y3LQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1559156772&sr=1-1-spell
Blurb
Beth Reynolds loved growing up close to Eleanor’s Emporium – a bric-a-brac shop full of wonders on Lavender Bay. Devastated to learn that Eleanor has died, she returns home from London immediately and is shocked to discover that the elderly lady has left the shop to her!
Vowing to restore it to its former glory, she only intends to stay until the end of the season. Although the longer she spends in the colourful seaside town, the more she falls back in love with everything she left behind… and quite possibly, with her best friend Eliza’s older brother, local chef Sam Barnes!
Why didn’t she notice he was quite this gorgeous before? And will their spring fling be enough to convince her to stay?
My Review ***** 5 stars I am a sucker for a pretty cover and this drew me straight in before even reading the blurb. Beth seemingly has life all mapped out. Moving to London 3 years ago, a good job a place of her own. What could possibly be missing? Love? No absolutely not. After learning of a dear friends death Beth returns to her childhood home of Lavender Bay. Believing she doesn’t truly belong their old friendships reignite. With no plans to stay out permanently and definitely not looking for love, love finds her where she least expected it. A light uplifting romance with a touch of humour and a few spanners thrown out for good measure. Set in a beautiful setting I could almost smell the sea air. An author who’s books I will definitely read again.
The Tuscan Secret Angela Petch
Genre: Historical/Italian/Romance
Publisher: Bookouture
Published:26th June 2019
Kindle Edition:
Pre-order https://t.co/dbSFeJ1DXn
Blurb
Il Mulino. An old crumbling mill, by a winding river, nestled in the Tuscan mountains. An empty home that holds memories of homemade pasta and Nonna’s stories by the fire, and later: the Nazi invasion, and a family torn apart by a heartbreaking betrayal.
Anna is distraught when her beloved mother, Ines, passes away. She inherits a box of papers, handwritten in Italian and yellowed with age, and a tantalising promise that the truth about what happened during the war lies within.
The diaries lead Anna to the small village of Rofelle, where she slowly starts to heal as she explores sun-kissed olive groves, and pieces together her mother’s past: happy days spent herding sheep across Tuscan meadows cruelly interrupted when World War Two erupted and the Nazis arrived; fleeing her home to join the Resistenza; and risking everything to protect an injured British soldier who captured her heart. But Anna is no closer to learning the truth: what sent Ines running from her adored homeland?
When she meets an elderly Italian gentleman living in a deserted hamlet, who flinches at her mother’s name and refuses to speak English, Anna is sure he knows more about the devastating secret that tore apart her mother’s family. But in this small Tuscan community, some wartime secrets were never meant to be uncovered…
My Review **** 4 stars Wow! Why have I not read anything by this author before? The writing is magnificent. Very reminiscent of an author I already love. The blurb lured me straight in and the fascination I have with this period in time is all piqued with books like this one. A thoroughly researched story and great in depth analogy. A story of love, lose, secrets and hope. A story that is also a stark reminder of the ultimate sacrifices made so that we can enjoy life as we know and love today. Italy is beauty personified and I have truly fallen in love with the country helped by such beautifully descriptive stories such as this. A beautiful, touching story that I would recommend to everyone.
The Wedding Date Zara Stoneley
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Publisher: Harper Impulse
Published: 20th April 2018
Paperback: 400 pages
Kindle https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wedding-Date-laugh-romantic-comedy-ebook/dp/B079KKYY8H/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1559157378&sr=1-2 Paperback https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wedding-Date-Zara-Stoneley/dp/0008301034/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1559157378&sr=1-2
Blurb
One ex.
One wedding.
One little white lie.
When Samantha Jenkins is asked to be the maid of honour at her best friend’s wedding, she couldn’t be happier. There are just three problems…
1) Sam’s ex-boyfriend, Liam, will be the best man.
2) His new girlfriend is pregnant.
3) Sam might have told people she has a new man when she doesn’t (see points 1 and 2 above)
So, Sam does the only sensible thing available to her… and hires a professional to do the job.
As the wedding draws closer, gorgeous actor Jake Porter plays his part to perfection and everyone believes he is madly in love with Sam. The problem is, Sam’s not sure if Jake is acting anymore…
My Review ***** 5 stars
One ex. One Wedding. One little white lie. Sam’s best friend is getting married, Sam is maid of honour, how exciting. what could possibly go wrong? Several things in fact! Recently dumped Sam is facing the possibility of going alone or not at all to the wedding which she can’t possibly do. A laugh a minute with just the right amount of serious and a splash of class. The author has seriously good knack of writing stories revolving around friends weddings and new beginnings and such a way with words you will cry with laughter. A fun, light feel good read.
I think my favourite this month has been Angela Petch’s. The lure of Tuscany and stories of world war 2 especially when told so beautifully are always a great way to lose yourself.
What books have you been reading this month? What was your favourite?
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