From Dark to Light by Isabella Murphy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Pumpker, a little boy pumpkin, desires nothing more than to be adopted by a family to make them happy. Planted as a slim white seed along with his sisters, Plumpalicious and Plumpilina, he finds his wish come true as he grows into a pumpkin.
This is a very sweet story about a pumpkin seed, who wishes he could be out in the light. Being planted alongside his two sisters, he is the outcast of the family, they think he is weird and tend to not include him. Pumpker is bought to life with his personality and you can feel the excitement he has for growing and wanting to belong to a family.
I thought it was a very interesting book and the personification of the pumpkins worked well, you also felt empathy with Pumpker as you read the book. I also loved that no matter how his sisters treated him, he was so glad that they were going to the same family, so he would still be with them, this really shows sibling love.
It was an enjoyable book with great illustrations, younger children may struggle to read this independently but it would be a great book to share around halloween time. I also couldn't believe it was written by a child, she is very talented!
I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.
Written in the Stars by Ali Harris
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Have you ever wondered 'What if…?' What if you'd taken that other job, gone on a date with that sweet guy, moved to a different city? Would an alternative life path have led to a happier ending?
Now imagine if you could have taken both paths…
When Bea Bishop slips while walking down the aisle on her wedding day, she is momentarily knocked unconscious. And in a flash, her world splits and two separate parallel lives take her on two very different journeys. In one, Bea flees back down the aisle and out of the church. In the other, she glides blissfully towards Adam, her intended.
Each path will take her on a very different journey. And each will see her life change for better and for worse. But which story will lead to her happy-ever-after?
Oh dear, I found this very boring and repetitive, the ending was so predictable and I found I was really having to make myself carry on reading it. I have to admit I skim read from about the middle of the book as I had really lost interest and only wanted to finish it in case something worthwhile happened, it didn't. I could not connect with Bea who I found boring and indecisive to the point of wanting to throttle her (never a good sign) and I didn't really like her overbearing best friend Milly either. The endless references to flowers and plants was maddening as was her continual references to her father and his pointless letters giving her advice comparing everything to horticulture.
The concept was fine but not a fresh idea and frankly this has been done much better as others have pointed out in 'Sliding Doors' and Ali Harris did not bring anything new or exciting to her take on this idea. From a promising start it just seemed to fizzle out and finished up a mediocre novel and one that is easily forgotten. Sorry Ali I can only give you a 2 star rating for this one, it would have achieved more if you had injected a little life into it.
I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.
The Sun in Her Eyes by Paige Toon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Blinding sunshine… A bend in the road… What became of the little girl with the sun in her eyes?
Amber was three when a car crash stole her mother's life. She doesn't remember the accident, but a stranger at the scene has been unable to forget. Now, almost thirty years later, she's trying to track Amber down.
Amber, meanwhile, is married to Ned and living on the other side of the world in London. When her father has a stroke, she flies straight home to Australia to be with him. Away from her husband, Amber finds comfort in her oldest friends, but her feelings for Ethan, the gorgeous, green-eyed man she once fell for, have never been platonic.
As Ethan and Amber grow closer, married life in London feels far away. Then Amber receives a letter that changes everything. 'Before your mother died, she asked me to tell you something…'
Paige Toon is one of my favourite authors and I always get excited when I hear she has a new one coming out.
Amber is heading off to Australia, her dad has just had a stroke, which has prompted her to go, but being made redundant has also helped, she needs to get away. Her husband, Ned has just been promoted and is unable to go with her. Amber believes his boss only promoted him as she fancies him and now they will get more time together abroad on conferences this plays on her mind.
It doesn't take long when Amber is back in her childhood home to get swept along in her old life with her teenage friends. Ethan used to be her best friend, they drifted apart and he married Sadie, Amber has never liked her but they have two girls together and she is pleased for him.
There were parts of this book, where I didn't agree with Amber's actions and I was actually disappointed with parts of the novel. It didn't sit well with me and I feel the 'big reveal' from the letter Amber received was a little bit of a let down, Paige could have made so much more from her mothers final words.
This is an enjoyable read, one that is great for holiday around by the pool. This was not my favourite novel by Paige, however it will still be added to my collection on my bookshelf and if like me, Pairge is one of your favourite authors I recommend you read this one.
I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.
An Act of Silence by Colette McBeth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
How far will a mother go to protect her son? A psychological thriller about a mother faced with an impossible choice. Perfect for fans of HE SAID SHE SAID, I LET YOU GO and APPLE TREE YARD.
These are the facts I collect.
My son Gabriel met a woman called Mariela in a bar. She went home with him. The next morning she was found in an allotment.
Mariela is dead.
Gabriel has been asked to report to Camden Police station in six hours for questioning
Linda Moscow loves her son; it's her biological instinct to keep him safe. But if she's not sure of his innocence, how can she stand by him? Should she go against everything she believes in to protect him?
She's done it before, and the guilt nearly killed her.
Now, the past is catching up with them. As old secrets resurface, Lind is faced with another impossible choice. Only this time, it's her life on the line...
The story revolves around the relationship between a mother and son which is tested when the son is tangled up in a murder. The mother is a former Home Secretary called Linda Moscow whose career ends when she is exposed for a 'cash for contracts' scandal that culminates in her being disgraced and leaving public life, she has almost become a virtual recluse. Woken in the early hours by her son Gabriel she faces a dilemma when he tells her about having met a woman called Mariela whom he invited back to his flat for the night when they had sex and she left. Mariela's body has been found in the allotments that back on to his property which obviously implicates him, he assures her he is being framed and begs her for help. She has in the past put her son first and sacrificed her principals for doing so and when she doesn't instantly jump to his rescue he takes this as meaning she doesn't think he's innocent so Gabriel takes what he thinks is his only option and goes on the run.
The police, having learnt that he has absconded, advise Linda it's in her own best interests to leave her home in case he comes back and is a threat to her safety. Before Gabriel appears Linda has been working on a sexual abuse of minors scandal involving one of her political colleagues and Linda didn't uncover this when she was in a position of power and could have done something about it. She now has a chance to put things right but now has the additional problem also being faced with either helping or condemning her son.
It is a cleverly woven novel but I really struggled to get into it perhaps it was the style of writing or perhaps the subject matter but I couldn't feel comfortable or entertained by this novel - that doesn't mean it wasn't good it just means it didn't appeal to me it just left me feeling a bit flat. I didn't feel it really delivered in terms of a satisfactory read and would be really hard to recommend it because of this. I think it deserves a 3 star rating from me and so sorry I felt I couldn't give it more.
I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.
Destination: India by Katy Colins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Starting the Lonely hearts Travel Club was supposed to be the second chance that gave Georgia Green back her life. She thought it would be just like travelling, but the reality is far from rosy as she realises that starting a new business is definitely not a beach!
So when Georgia finds herself on an impromptu work trip to India she knows something’s got to give! Where has the girl gone who fought so hard to rebuild her life?
The land of Bollywood, gorgeous beaches and the Taj Mahal might just hold the key to Georgia finding her stride again… Only she is about to find out that when in India the country calls the shots – not you. But Georgia’s not going down that easy!
I have previously read Destination Thailand and also Katy Colins new book Chasing the Sun, which is also part of the Destination series. Although I haven't read these in order, it has made no difference to my enjoyment of the novels. I still have Destination Chile to read, I'm looking forward to that!
So we are back in Georgia Green's world and Ben and her are running a travel company, when they start receiving bad reviews for one of their most popular tours (India, Golden Triangle) Georgia decides to take matters into her own hands and go undercover out there to discover what the problem is. Her trip is not plane sailing and there are many dramas along the way.
Although I really enjoyed this novel, I did prefer the first in the series Destination Thailand, I believe it's because there was more about the country and the surroundings in it, this followed a character and how to help him, it felt more like a mach making/love story, which was different to the first in the series.
I took this book with me to India, while I was on the Golden Triangle tour and I think this also added to my enjoyment, I must say that I feel Katy captured India very well.
If you have read any of Katy Colins books then you should read this one, it is a good addition to the others in the series and I can't want to meet Georgia in Destination Chile next.
I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.
Title: The Woolly Hat Knitting Club
Author Name: Poppy Dolan
Previous Books (if applicable): The Bad Boyfriends Bootcamp, There’s More to Life than Cupcakes, The Bluebell Bunting Society
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Release Date: 25th September 2017
Publisher: Canelo
My top five tips for writing AND knitting
When I sat down to work on my top five tips for writing, I realised there’s a spooky amount that’s similar to advice I would give someone new to knitting, so whichever pursuit you’re going for (or why not BOTH), good luck:
1. Get your tension right. In knitting tension refers to how tight or loose your stitches are - pull too tight on your yarn and your knitting will be too dense, but not tight enough and it’ll be loose and happy. Much like writing! You need tension between characters and in the plot to push the book along and hold things together. This doesn’t mean have an explosion on every page, or you’ll leave your reader with a headache, but definitely don’t let your book go floppy with lots of pages of lovely things where not much changes - use conflict, surprises, twists to get an addictive level of tension.
2. Follow the pattern closely. Knitting patterns will tell you how to knit, for how long and where to stop. Write yourself a plan for your novel and try and stick to it as much as you can; make it your knitting pattern. Characters will go off piste and change things for you, but still make sure you are following a pattern of beginning-middle-end for a well balanced story. It’s easy for waffling to creep in but keep an eye on it otherwise it’s the equivalent to a five-foot long scarf. Pretty but useless.
3. Make something you’d want to be seen with. I only ever knit things that I think are cute or that I’d want to wear. That way I can be confident the person I’m giving to is going to like it. In the same way, write the book you want to read. Don’t write a book that you think might sell through the roof. If you think you’ve identified a hot trend, so has everyone else and by the time you write, edit, rewrite, edit again and get the book ready to be published, you’ll have missed the moment anyway. Go with a passion that drives you: the novel will be all the more stronger for it and you’ll have SO much for fun in the process.
4. There’s nothing wrong with unravelling. Even the most conscientious knitter will go wrong sometimes and it can be dispiriting to pull out all your stitches and unravel the hard work that took you so long. And the same goes for writing: you can be having a blast, typing at lightening speed, loving every minute. And only later realise that you have 5,000 words that do not need to be there at all. It hurts to hit that delete key but it’s so worth doing: the overall story will benefit from it.
5. Enjoy every minute (as much as possible). I often start knitting projects full of energy and then a few weeks in, am so sick of moss stitch or fancy cabling that I want to bury it behind the sofa and forget about it. I have the same switch from energy to boredom with my writing sometimes and I have to step away and change my perspective. If you sit down to your laptop and think ‘Eurgh! I’m only halfway through! This will take forever’ then your negative attitude will almost certainly come across somewhere in what you write. Try and remind yourself this is a fun, creative outlet. Yes, you work hard. But you’re not down a dark, dank mine or driving an ambulance on a Saturday night. Find the fun, keep the finished article in your mind and get back to the first-page love.
Author Bio:
Poppy Dolan is in her mid thirties and lives in Berkshire with her husband. She's a near-obsessive baker and a keen crafter, so on a typical weekend can be found moving between the haberdashery and kitchenware floors of a department store, adding to her birthday wish list. She has written three novels: The Bad Boyfriends Bootcamp, There's More to Life than Cupcakes and most recently The Bluebell Bunting Society. The Bad Boyfriends Bootcamp made it into the Amazon top 100 bestseller chart, so clearly someone other than her mum must have read it. She's currently working on her fourth novel – it's about friends, siblings and crafty things – and drinking far too much tea. You can get in touch with Poppy on Twitter @poppydwriter and on Facebook at PoppyDolanBooks. She doesn't bite. Unless you are a dark chocolate digestive.
The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
That’s the Four Monkey Killer or ‘4MK’. A murderer with a twisted vision and absolutely no mercy.
Detective Sam Porter has hunted him for five long years, the recipient of box after box of grisly trinkets carved from the bodies of 4MK’s victims.
But now Porter has learnt the killer’s twisted history and is racing to do the seemingly impossible – find 4MK’s latest victim before it’s too late…
I loved this book, everything you could wish for from a crime/psychological thriller. Full of dark and disturbing events and clever plot twists make this a compulsive read. I read this in 2 days and it kept me up half the night because I couldn't put it down - a masterpiece in writing. Often disturbing but never a disappointment it will keep you awake until the wee small hours and stay in your mind for a long time to come.
I won't re-tell this as you probably have read the blurb and other reviews and I don't want to review this and give anything away which is pretty hard to review and not to do. Its a gripping serial killer thriller that has to be read and has a fantastic finish which was not at all predictable. I can't say anymore for fear of spoiling this so I won't I'll just say this is the best book I have read in a long time and can't wait for the sequel for there surely has to be one. Have to give this one a 5 star rating - couldn't fault it, brilliantly written, clever, pulls you in right from the start and speeds you through a roller coaster of events and doesn't disappoint with the ending - just brilliant.
I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.
