Duplicity is a fantastic mind blowing psychological thriller. It's my first Sibel Hodge book, however if her other offerings her as good as this one, Duplicity is a fantastic mind blowing psychological thriller. It's my first Sibel Hodge book, however if her other offerings her as good as this one, I'll be checking out her other books pronto.
It's most definitely one of those thrillers you should go into blind. It's too easy to give something away to any potential readers and thus spoiling the experience. Believe me though, this is a hell of a twisty story.
The basic premise is Max and Alissa have the life most people can only dream about. Deeply in love and with a fantastic lifestyle, with no concerns about money or the mundane things in life. Not long after their wedding, Max is murdered and found stabbed to death at his desk at home. Alissa manages to flee to safety. DS Carter is one of the first officers on the scene and so begins the hunt for the killer. A number of leads emerge, and it transpires their fairy tale life may not have been so perfect. Was Max killed in revenge for dodgy business dealings or possibly his money? Maybe it was an obsessed stalker? The tangled web of lies, love, secrets and envy will entangle you in their grasp, until you reach the tense conclusion.
The chapters are told from the viewpoint of the detective investigating the murder, and the viewpoint of someone else. I won't divulge who, part of the pleasure of this book are those moments that stun you slightly.
Each of the characters seems to have a slightly sly side to their personality, meaning you don't know who to trust or believe, with the result you end up suspecting most people at one stage or another. I enjoyed the format that Hodge uses, with the different perspectives, the unreliable narrator and the surprises along the way. The writing is full of suspense and moves at an exceedingly fast pace, making it the perfect weekend read. Just make sure you are sat down tight, the twists just keep on coming at you and make your head spin. Just an amazing twisty and all round excellent thriller. ...more
Incase you somehow missed the fantastic first book - "Me Before You" - "After You" is the follow up. Just as tear jerking and funny as the first, "AftIncase you somehow missed the fantastic first book - "Me Before You" - "After You" is the follow up. Just as tear jerking and funny as the first, "After You" catches up with Louisa after the events of the first book. We discover how she's coping without Will to care for, and whether she's doing as he instructed her to do - to just live. It's great to catch up and revisit the Traynors and Lou's mad but loving family, and see how they are all coping in the aftermath of Will's decision, as well as meeting some new characters such as the Moving On Circle.
Jojo Moyes is one of those authors with a special touch, she can make you tear up on one page and have you giggling on the next. I find her similar in style to Marian Keyes, Moyes is just as capable of tackling meaty serious subjects, yet can also look at the little nuances of life and have you laughing out loud. Or if reading in a public place, attempting to cover up your laughs so as not to look like the loon in the room/on the plane/train/coffee shop...
Initially I have to admit i was a little skeptical when I heard there was going to be a follow up to the powerful "Me Before You". I worried any sequel wouldn't live up to the engrossing and moving first book, and was in two minds about bothering to even read it. Sure, there are some "as if" moments where you think that's totally implausible, and it's not quite as hard hitting or emotional as the first book, which was so unique and raw it stayed with me for a while after finishing it. Yet this is still a thoroughly enjoyable read and it works because you want to know how all the characters you got to know in the first book are doing. All in all a great follow up to the first story and I'm looking forward to the third book "Still Me"....more
The Cotswolds Cookery Club is told in three parts, working through the cuisines of different countries. A Taste of France is part three. They've cookeThe Cotswolds Cookery Club is told in three parts, working through the cuisines of different countries. A Taste of France is part three. They've cooked gastronomic delights from Italy, Spain, and now it's the turn of France - but definitely no frogs legs!
The cookery club is the one thing in life Kate Ellis could look forward to. She's run off her feet with two year old twins, their older sister, running the busy village veterinary practice, and contending with her husband Andrew's secretive and aloof behaviour. The cookery club is the perfect escape for Kate, where she can be herself and actually relax!
The club was set up four months ago, and Kate loved the cooking and dishes they came up with from different parts of the world. However what she most appreciated was the camaraderie, with her now three best friends - Connie, Melody and Trish. The club had brought all four women together, and provided each of them with an outlet and circle of support, whenever they've encountered difficult times.
Kate has always been a passionate Francophile. So she's delighted the club is venturing into the cuisine of France. The club receives a new challenge for the women to get stuck into. So with attempting to juggle her kids, her husband, work, the club and now the reappearance into the village of her gorgeous ex boyfriend Greg, Kate's plate is as full and overflowing as it's ever been. Will she be able to keep all balls in the air and save her marriage, keep her kids from turning totally feral, and also produce some absolutely mind blowing culinary delights?
The Cotswolds Cookery Club is told in three parts, a Taste of France is part three. Each part can be read as a standalone book, although if you can, relish reading each part in turn, so that you get to see the characters friendships bloom and grow as the books progress.
After getting to know Kate via the other characters in the previous books, it was great to finally read her story. I really felt for her trying to juggle everything, while simultaneously feeling she wasn't good enough. She really had it tough, and I felt exhausted reading about her days with the kids, work and then her husband and seemingly not of much use au pair. The twins were absolutely awful, and I was cringing reading parts. I would have preferred less focus on their appalling behaviour, although I assume this was ott to show just how tough Kate had it. They seemed to just get away with everything and anything, little wonder they were feral.
I particularly enjoy books that make you feel invested in the characters lives, ones that make you feel strongly about things that affect them. Alice Ross achieves this with her utterly likable characters (other than the twins), there's someone there most people can relate to. There was also the opportunity to catch up with the other characters lives who appeared in the other parts.
It was refreshing and enjoyable reading about the friendships between the four women and of how supportive they were to each other. It's not uncommon for women to be pitted against each other, so this book is a lovely change, with its positive take on female friendships, minus any petty backstabbing.
Then there's the food! A Taste of France is full of mouth watering autumn dishes that make you feel all warm inside. Making it the perfect book to read at this time of year. I adored reading the descriptions of the French dishes they cooked. I almost felt like the fifth member of the Cookery Club, and couldn't wait to read what dishes they concocted every few weeks. I've been saying for ages I will attempt to cook some French food from scratch, and this book has given me the motivation to actually cook some.
I adored this lovely little heartwarming series and am just sad it's come to an end.
With thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital, for the opportunity to read this ARK in return for an honest and unbiased review....more
An enjoyable, feel good and cute delightful read, full of romance, friendship, family secrets and lots of yummy food.
Nell Andrews lives on a longboatAn enjoyable, feel good and cute delightful read, full of romance, friendship, family secrets and lots of yummy food.
Nell Andrews lives on a longboat called the "Nollie" that's moored in the lovely Little Rock Marina, with small boutiques, coffee shops and the Waterfront Pub all adorning the jetty. The Nollie is named after herself and her late husband Ollie, who died in an accident two years ago. She works in The Melting Pot, her best friends - Bea's - delicatessen and has been trying to mend her broken heart. Bea lives nearby in a cottage with her husband Nathan and Jacob, her five year old son, and her Mum Gilly lives a short way up the tow path in Bluebell Cottage where Nell grew up.
Nell's life takes a sudden change when she's almost knocked over by a dog, which belongs to the gorgeous Guy Cornish. Guy is over from Ireland to lend his brother, Ed, who owns the boatyard a hand. Nell and Guy start spending more time together when she sees the Old Picture House is up for auction. She decides to buy it so she can restore the old cinema back to a place the entire community can enjoy once again, with Guy advising her on restoration costs. Everyone is really pleased that Nell has a project she can immerse herself in and make her smile again. Only her mother seems really opposed to her buying the cinema, but she won't disclose the reason why.
Everything seems to be going along perfectly. That is until Nell discovers there's another reason why Guy is over from Ireland, and it's not just to help his brother while he recovers from an operation... Meanwhile a mystery new boat has turned up in the marina called "Much Ado About Nothing", that seems to be making Nell's mum act slightly out of character. Will Nell be able to find out why Gilly is acting strange, and be able to buy the Picture House and stop it falling into the hands of greedy housing developers. Or are her dreams going to be dashed once again?
This book gave me a real feeling of warmth, with just the right amount of coziness. There's a nice mix of characters that you can't help but warm to, and an entertaining plot with a number of sub plots that weave in and out of different people's lives. The story mainly revolves around Nell, but also touches on the lives of her mother Ginny and best friend Bea, who owns The Melting Pot delicatessen where Nell works. There's also a host of fabulous supporting characters from in and around the marina.
I loved the setting of the book being a marina that's home to long boats, it's slightly different to the usual village or coastal cottage. If you love books with lots of descriptions of food then this is the book for you. The Melting Pot is where a lot of the action takes place, meaning there's lots of yummy food mentioned - hot chocolate, savouries, speciality cheeses, flapjacks, homemade lemonade, bakes, hot potatoes, chocolate brownies, soup, sausage rolls, sandwiches, cream meringues, baguettes, pies, scones, pasties, danish pastries, deli bowls and scrumptious homemade cakes.
Everything is tied up nicely in the latter part of the book. Some people might find the predictability of this type of book a little too much, but this was just the kind of book I wanted to read, so I loved how everything wound up at the end. If I wasn't in the mood for a feel good book, then I would have steered clear of a book like this, but I wanted predictability. So if you aren't looking for this right now, then keep this book on your shelf for a read at another time.
There was so much in this book to enjoy - romance, heartache, secrets, friendship, and lots of scrumptious food. Perfect if you're looking for a fun, feel good, chick lit, rom com kind of read.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the opportunity to read this ARK in return for an honest and unbiased review....more
A Christmas Flower is a sweet, genuine and touching Christmas story that tugged at my heartstrings. Although this is a lovely book, evoking a sense ofA Christmas Flower is a sweet, genuine and touching Christmas story that tugged at my heartstrings. Although this is a lovely book, evoking a sense of Christmas spirit, it also has a bit more meat and substance to it and includes some quite topical storylines.
Logan Mitchell is returning to his home town in New Hampshire for Christmas. He's been out working west as a smoke jumper, but as the fire season is at an end, he decides to take a break. Back home in River Dale, the local fire station is short staffed and facing an outbreak of fires with an arsonist causing problems and Bruce Devlin, the longtime Captain, hospitalised. Logan agrees to step into the role, until after the Christmas season.
He's also facing some tough decisions; he's not getting any younger, and at 42 is thinking about giving up being a smoke jumper for a role based at a station. He loves his hometown, yet now the woman he has loved for many years is engaged to another man, he can see little reason to stick around after New Year. He's been offered a permanent position at the local fire station, and would be in the area he loves the most, yet without Beth he's thinking of moving back to California where there aren't heaps of memories around every corner.
Dr Elizabeth Harding - Beth - works as the acting administrator of the River Dale General Hospital. She had quit her job in Chicago and returned home when her mum became ill and passed away. But the board wants to close the hospital by New Year's, starting on Christmas Day of all days. The town council doesn't want to spend more money on new equipment. Yet without new equipment the hospital will fail to stay in compliance with state regulations and would have to close, yet the new regional hospital is in Winston - over forty miles away!
Beth is engaged to Rory - who's still in Chicago - who works for a pharmaceutical company that has also offered her a job once the hospital shuts. However, she will do anything to help the hospital her Mum helped grow and thrive to remain open. But with a board, and seemingly her own fiancée against her, she faces a tough fight.
With the return of Logan, she also has some huge personal decisions to make. The entire town thinks she should be with Logan, yet she's engaged to another man. With getting over the loss of her mother, her worries over her younger sister, the hospital, a fiancée, and now Logan making feelings resurface, Beth has a lot on her plate.
The book is mainly from the viewpoint of two characters - Beth and Logan - yet we are also introduced to a whole number of River Dale residents. From the fire station to the hospital, the book really makes you feel part of the community. I loved the relationship between Logan and Beth, you could literally feel the tension between them, and wanted to scream at them along with the rest of the town.
There are heaps of descriptions of the village of River Dale located in the snow filled valleys of New Hampshire. It does sound like the most special of places to be during the Christmas period with its Yule Log ceremony, sledding and cross country skiing in the snowy valleys, looking for the perfect Christmas Tree at the local tree farm and fresh maple syrup bought from nearby tree farms poured over homemade biscuits and pancakes - YUM!
The descriptions of the food and smells from Schmidt's Bakery filled with holiday customers picking up their orders of Christmas sugar cookies, shortbreads, fruitcakes, pies, and pink-powdered Springerle cookies with pink, red, and green sprinkles on top, are enough to get you reaching for a couple of mince pies.
A Christmas Flower is a very charming and cheery Christmas read, full of delightful descriptions of all things magically Christmas, that evoke warm feelings and memories. However, as the book progressed, it transpired to not just be a relaxing and cute book to curl up with and read during the hectic Christmas season, but also quite political. The plot progressed to be more about saving the local hospital, than just a typical holiday book.
The book discusses the shortages in many areas of public funding for hospitals, fire fighters and stations, in many cases with fire fighters using substandard and old dangerous equipment. Meanwhile, the finance departments are looking to make more cuts to save more money. Yet the only effect this has is on the public and the service workers who face longer hours and heavier workloads with a lack of funding to replace outdated equipment. Hospitals find themselves under the threat of closure, due to lack of funds. Yet the money is being redirected elsewhere. Although this book is located in the U.S these same issues are faced in the U.K and Australia - the state I lived in in Australia was closing hospitals, yet the demand was outstripping resources before the closures. I'm guessing it's the same story in other western countries too.
There was also a subplot surrounding Beth's younger sister Claire, who was in a controlling relationship, and another involving the issues caused by the over subscribing of antibiotics which has led to antibiotic resistant bacterium. So it definitely wasn't all light and fluffy, yet the more serious plot lines didn't detract from the book being a Christmassy feel book. The slightly grittier plots, actually led more depth to the book and made it feel more realistic.
There were plenty of charming family moments; memories of Beth baking with her mum, and the sweet budding romance and the realisation that dawned on Beth and Logan, that all added to the perfect dose of sentimental Christmas spirit that is needed. I enjoyed the scenes set in the fire station, along with the camaraderie, it was quite enlightening going "behind the scenes". You also feel yourself tied up in the lives of some of the hospital patients, and root for them to make it.
This book would make for an awesome Christmas film; the snowy New England setting, cast of believable, realistic and lovable characters, the holiday romance, and the obstacles. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the story and didn't want it to end. Definitely recommend to any readers wanting a Christmas book, but with a bit extra.
With thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Bryan Mooney, for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest and unbiased review....more
A corker of a book; funny, charming, romantic, heart warming and and jam packed with lovely sounding food.
The story revolves around Trish who lives iA corker of a book; funny, charming, romantic, heart warming and and jam packed with lovely sounding food.
The story revolves around Trish who lives in the chocolate box village of Cornfield and is getting used to life as a single mother to 15 year old Amber. Her ex husband Ian was the perfect cliche, and left her for his 26 year old p.a who's also pregnant. Trish decides she needs a life of her own to get her ex completely out of her system, and get her life out of the rut it's in!
She ends up meeting some new friends - Connie, Kate and Melody - all members of The Cotswolds Cookery Club. The club is working their way around the cuisines of the world. They've already covered Italy, now Spain, and next up is France!
Trish starts going along to the club and rejoices in people who appreciate her love of cooking, but also the boost it gives to her self esteem and the new friendships she's forging. Not to forget the charming and sexy Steve she keeps bumping into at the newsagents. Yet just when she thinks her life has taken a turn for the better, a curve ball is thrown her way by her ex...
The Cotswolds Cookery Club is told in three parts, a Taste of Spain is part two. Each part can be read as a standalone book, concentrating on different characters. Although as with most series, it's nice to read them in order.
I loved the blossoming friendships between Trish and her new friends and the gorgeous Steve. The food descriptions were mouth watering scrumptious sounding! Honey drenched pestinos, Sardines en Escabeche, piminento tartlets, patatas bravas, pan de Cebada, churros.....
The storyline is sweet, infused with witty comments and humour and easy to read, so ideal for when you want a refreshingly light and somewhat breezy book to relax with.
Alice Ross is an author to look out for if you enjoy chick lit that is funny, romantic, and with wonderful descriptions of food and places that give you that lovely warm feeling.
I can't wait to embark on another culinary journey and read the third part, next time to experience some tasty delights from France.
With thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital, for the opportunity to read this ARK in return for an honest and unbiased review....more
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