The Comfort of Others by Kay Langdale

The Comfort of Others by Kay Langdale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Minnie and her sister Clara, spinsters both, live in a dilapidated country house in the middle of a housing estate, built when their father sold off the family's land. Now in their seventies, their days follow a well-established routine: long gone are the garden parties, the tennis lessons and their suffocatingly strict mother. Gone, too, is any mention of what happened when Minnie was sixteen, and the secret the family buried in the grounds of their estate.

Directly opposite them lives Max, an 11-year-old whose life with his mum has changed beyond recognition since her new boyfriend arrived. Cast aside, he takes solace in Minnie's careful routine, observed through his bedroom window.

Over the course of the summer, both begin to tell their stories: Max through a Dictaphone, Minnie through a diary. As their tales intertwine, ghosts are put to rest and challenges faced, in a story that is as dark as it is uplifting.


An unlikely friendship develops between Millie a 70 year old woman and Max an 11 year old boy one summer that helps each one to come to terms with events that have shaped their lives. Max is given a dictaphone for his birthday and starts to record everything that happens to him that summer. It coincides with his mother is asked out on a date bu the boiler man and from that point he becomes something of a fixture in Max's life and not one he is happy about. No longer the focus of his mothers' attention and having to put up with this new man in her life who is less than kind to him he finds solace in sharing his thoughts and feelings on his dictaphone and eventually the old lady across the street.

Millie lives in the house opposite on the same estate and when she was a young girl her family once owned all the land the estate is built on. Living with her sister Clara all she has is her memories and routines hardly ever venturing outside. Millie notices Max from her window recording his days events and she decides to do the same in a diary. The journey for her is both cathartic and painful and eventually when Max and Millie meet they share confidences which make them both stronger.

It is sometimes a difficult read in that it has incredibly sad and poignant events but a feel good factor in their friendship keeps the book moving along nicely. It was nice to see how the author managed to make a connection with the young and old to develop a friendship that developed into a strong bond between the two.

Not my usual read but it was well thought out and executed and although a bit sad it was nicely done if the ending was a bit flat. I would give this a 4 star rating for its' subject matter and managing to bridge the gap between generations so well.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Where the Wild Cherries Grow by Laura Madeleine blog tour with guest post

It is 1919 and the war is over, but for Emeline Vane, the cold Norfolk fens are haunted by memories of those she has lost. In a moment of grief, she recklessly boards a trains and runs away from it all. Her journey leads her far away, to a tiny seaside town in the South of France. Taken in by cafe owner Maman and her twenty-year-old son, Emeline discovers a world completely new to her: of oranges, olives and wild herbs and the raw, rich tastes of her surroundings. But when a love affair develops, as passionate as the flavours of the village, secrets from home begin blowing in from the sea. Fifty years later, a young solicitor on his first case finds Emeline’s diary, and begins to trace a story of betrayal, love and bittersweet secrets that will send him on a journey to discover the truth...

Guest Post: 

Where I Write…

Laura Madeleine

Even though the image of a writer working feverishly in a cold garret is probably one of literature’s biggest clichés, that’s pretty much how I’ve written my last four novels. I work in the attic, my desk under a skylight, at the top of a tall, thin, Victorian terraced house. If you’ve ever seen pictures of Bristol, with its colourful houses on the hill, you’ll know what I mean. Writing in the attic does have its downsides. For one thing, there’s no heating up here, so it gets very cold in the winter. Also, being four flights of stairs away from the bathroom, it’s never a good idea to wait until things get too desperate…

But for me, the positives far outweigh the negatives. I’ve always loved attics, the feeling of being high up, the slanted ceilings, the beams. I also love the light: good light is important to me. The first flat I lived in when I first moved to the city was undeniably dingy, and I was never happy there. But here, if I look up, all I can see is the sky and the edges of chimneystacks.

There’s also a railway track close to the house. It’s not a big one, and is mostly used by ponderous, never-ending freight trains. At first, I thought the noise was going to be a problem; the two-toned honk honk of train horns and the strange, syncopated clacking of wheels in the middle of the night. But I’ve come to enjoy those sounds too. They’re sounds of movement, of life, a reminder that outside my bubble of make-believe, the world is always turning.

At my desk I’m surrounded by piles of paper that I have yet to sort out, but can’t throw away for whatever vague reason. There are empty cups of coffee (I’m terrible for hoarding them: again, three flights of stairs to the kitchen), open notebooks and ratty pieces of paper, that have taken on the status of IMPORTANT because of some idea scrawled on them. I have maps and pages of notes pinned to the wooden beam in front of me. At the moment, those notes consist of timelines, quotes by Maya Angelou and Primo Levi, a reminder about the Musée des Arts Forains in Paris (?) and words METAL POTFIRE. Hopefully I’ll remember why that’s significant at some point.

There are also a lot of plants up here. I love having them about, and often find myself staring at them, thinking. It’s a running joke in the house that I don’t know

where to stop when it comes to plants, and it’s true, I’m running out of flat surfaces to put pots on.

To my right, I have shelves of books that are being slowly bleached by the sun (sorry books), and a print that my friend Arthur once made for me in exchange for cake. To my left, there are shelves of records, the steep, steep stairs down the floor below and a trapdoor I can close, to keep the rest of the world at bay, while I write.

Laura Madeleine 

After a childhood spent acting professionally and training at a theatre school, Laura Madeleine chose instead to focus on studying English Literature at Newnham College, Cambridge. She now writes fiction, under three different psuedonyms. Laura lives in Bristol, but can often be found visiting her family in Devon, eating cheese and getting up to mischief with her sister, fantasy author Lucy Housom. Laura can be found on Twitter @esthercrumpet.

Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Frostfire by Amanda Hocking is the stunning first installment in a tale of love, betrayal and the need to belong, the Kanin Chronicles.

Will she give up her dream to follow her heart?

Bryn Aven is determined to gain status amongst the Kanin, the most powerful of the hidden tribes. But as a half-blood, winning respect is a huge challenge. Bryn's almost-human community distrusts people, and those from other tribes are almost as suspect.

She has just one goal to get ahead: to join the elite guard protecting the Kanin royal family. And Bryn's vowed that nothing will stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss, Ridley Dresden.

But her plans are put on hold when fallen hero Konstantin starts acting dangerously. Bryn loved him once, but now he's kidnapping Kanin children - stealing them from hidden placements within human families. She's sent to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

I am not a fantasy fan so this was a hard read for me. Having said that I do love Game of Thrones but perhaps this genre comes over better on the screen than in print - at least it seems to for me. I found this a heavy read, difficult to get into and when I put it down it was difficult to remember what I had previously read so picking it up was a strain.




I am sure that Amanda Hocking is a gifted writer and though she does try to convey atmosphere I just found it really hard to connect with this novel. It's a shame as I'm sure if you love fantasy reads this is a pretty passable novel but just not for me. Don't be put off reading it for yourself just because it didn't do it for me but on the basis that I have to review on my own enjoyment I can only give this a 3 star rating - I'm sure fans would disagree!




I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Forest Life and Woodland Creatures by DK Publishing

Forest Life and Woodland Creatures by DK Publishing
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Practical Facts Forest Life and Friendly Woodland Creatures introduces children to life in the forest through fun, educational activities.

Meet cheeping birds, winter wonders, brave bears and all their other forest friends in this fact-filled pre-school activity book. Children can learn how to make a bird feeder and create bear masks, all while learning about forest friends.

Perfect for supporting your little ones' development, Practical Facts Forest Life and Friendly Woodland Creatures engages young, curious minds with fun projects and facts.

This is a beautifully presented non- fiction book, it has been made with thick good quality pages, which have high ink and a protective hardback cover.

This is full of interesting facts about the forest and different creature found there. I particularly love the life cycle of the seed to tree page. This is an excellent educational resource and I love the 5 activities in the book. These are all beautifully presented and have instructions for children to read. These all do come with an advisory that an adult needs to be present when completing the activity.

The book is clear and easy to follow, which allow more confident readers to discover the facts for themselves. The book is made up of a mixture of illustrations and high quality photographs.

This is a great resource for schools or personal use if you have a small child. They would be able to learn a lot and having the added benefit of the activities may encourage those more reluctant readers to want to read this.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beautiful.
Rich.
Mysterious.

The Roanoke girls seem to have it all. But there's a dark truth about them which is never spoken. Every girl either runs away, or dies.

Lane is one of the lucky ones. When she was fifteen, over one long, hot summer at her grandparents' estate in rural Kansas, she found out what it really means to be a Roanoke girl. Lane ran, far and fast. Until eleven years later, when her cousin Allegra goes missing - and Lane has no choice but to go back.

She is a Roanoke girl.

Is she strong enough to escape a second time?

When Lane Roanoak's mother commits suicide Lane finds herself back in Kansas where her mother came from and in the Roanoake family home to live with her grandparents. At 15 Lane has no other relatives to care for her and being too young to take care of herself she has little choice. She has never met her grandparents or any of her relatives as her mother left the family home when she was 16 and pregnant with Lane. Over the course of the summer she becomes very close to her cousin Allegra who also lives in Roanoake and little by little she pieces together her family's past and uncovers secrets she is both ashamed and fascinated by.

We learn early on in the novel what is going on and although this should have made the novel lack luster it actually seemed to add to it. The twist at the end was not entirely unpredictable but again this did not detract from what ended up as a really good read.

The characters were well thought out and shaped not just their personalities but also the theme of the novel. Vulnerable and innocent children manipulated and 'groomed' into the playthings they became, those that ran could not outrun their past and those that stayed died young. Lane's mother ran but also died young as for her she could not put the past behind her and could not live with the shame and guilt.

The author did not try and steer the reader into one direction in terms of opinions or try and manipulate with a 'tell' philosophy but allowed the reader to come to their own conclusions as the story unfolds. All the characters in this novel had flaws or were scarred by things that happened in their lives and strong parallels are shown on how some were able to use these to shape their lives for the better and those who were too weak or controlled to be able to escape their fate. When Lane finds out the awful secrets she runs away from Roanoak after that first summer vowing never to return but she does return 11 years later when she finds out her cousin Allegra is missing and she stays until she discovers what happened to her.

I don't ever give spoilers so you will have to read it yourself suffice it to say that it covers some disturbing and real issues written mainly from Lane's point of view but also those of all the Roanoke girls which gave it a more rounded and complete view of the family over the course of many years.

Because of this clever writing the reader could have sympathy with the characters and understand in a way why they felt they couldn't unmask what was going on in this dysfunctional family unit. It laid bare the effects of neglect, the need to be loved,the guilt and shame of the abused and the consequences for those bound up in the secrets and lies.

Very clever writing and although I felt the ending was a bit predictable it did not detract from what was otherwise a well crafted novel. A well deserved 4 stars for this one.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Eyes Like Mine by Sheena Kamal

Eyes Like Mine by Sheena Kamal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It begins with a phone call. Fifteen years ago Nora Watts gave her newborn daughter up for adoption. Now Bonnie has vanished and when the police don't seem to care, her desperate parents turn to Nora as a last resort.

Nora knows only too well what happens to missing girls, especially when they aren't blonde or white enough. Despite herself, she sets out to find the daughter she's never known protected only by her instincts and a freakish ability to detect truth from lies.

As she plunges into her own dark past, Nora uncovers a violent conspiracy on a grand scale that will take her from the rain-soaked streets of Vancouver, to the icy mountains of the Canadian wilderness, and ultimately to a remote island where she will face her most terrifying demon. All to save a girl she wishes had never been born.

The opening of this novel was quite promising; an out of the blue phone call from the adoptive father of the girl Bonnie who Nora Watts gave up for adoption 15 years ago was asking for her help to find her. The reason Nora gave up her child becomes clear as we travel forward through the book and it seems history is about to repeat itself with her daughter.

Bonnie's disappearance is linked to Nora and her abduction 15 years previously and Sheena Kamal takes us on the journey to find her. Although the story was OK it wasn't the best psychological thriller I've read and I just didn't feel any emotional attachment to Nora. For me Nora's character was devoid of any warmth and although I appreciate that what she went through must have shaped her character she didn't show any human natural response for me. Because I couldn't emotionally connect with her (although I was curious about where Bonnie was and the story behind the abduction) I didn't really 'buy' into the story. I also felt that in places the pace was laboured and sometimes slow which is not what I expect from this genre.

I did guess the reason why Nora's daughter was abducted but felt the ending was a bit flat. Nora was quite a cold character and pushed everyone away from her (including me as a reader) so that in the end I didn't really care about her at all. I did care about her dog Whisper and was glad she eventually went to people who would give her a a decent home but overall the book was too long and too cold for me. Can only give this one 3 stars.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

An Unsuitable Marriage By Colette Dartford with guest post

Could your marriage survive the ultimate betrayal? A sharp and emotional novel of a family under pressure, perfect for fans of Joanna Trollope and Hilary Boyd.

Olivia had everything - a loving husband in Geoffrey, a thoughtful and intelligent son in Edward and a beautiful home in the Somerset countryside.

But all that changed when Geoffrey's business went under. Now penniless and homeless, Geoffrey is living with his recently widowed mother, whilst Olivia has been forced to work as a housemistress at her son's elite boarding school.

With their marriage under intolerable strain, Geoffrey makes a mistake - one that has devastating consequences for the guilty and innocent alike . .

Guest Post by Colette Dartford

Character Profile:

I write about relationships in crisis and in my new novel, An Unsuitable Marriage, the relationship in question is the thirteen year marriage of Geoffrey and Olivia Parry.

Geoffrey is a vicar’s son, the only child of older parents. He grew up in a Somerset village, loved but lonely, and settled there after university, with a pregnant Olivia. This isn’t how he imagined his life but Geoffrey Parry knows the right thing to do and most of the time, he does it.

I find it much easier to write a bad man than a good woman. Not that Geoffrey is deliberately bad, but when bad things happen to him he responds in kind.

Faced with bankruptcy after losing his factory and his house, Geoffrey has no choice but to move back into his childhood home with his widowed mother. Ostracized by friends and villagers, many of whom lost their jobs when the factory closed, Geoffrey finds his life spinning out of control.

Neutered by stress and shame, he makes a devastating mistake—one that has consequences for the guilty and innocent alike.

Olivia Parry is a city girl, raised in a loving, working class home, and never imagined an affluent, rural existence. It takes time but eventually she comes to love life with her handsome husband, their cherished son and her circle of loyal friends.

But faced with the prospect of moving in with her stern, judgemental mother-in-law, Olivia is horrified and instead, takes a job as Houseparent at her son’s prep school. Here she stumbles across a sordid secret, and Olivia makes a powerful enemy that threatens not only her own future, by her son’s as well.

When tragedy strikes, Olivia discovers a terrible betrayal and realizes that life can never be the same again.

Colette Dartford