Category Archives: Books

Every Happy Family by Sarah Stovell Book Review.

Posted on by

I loved Other Parents and was so excited when this book dropped through my letterbox. I wasn’t disappointed. This is another corker from Sarah Stovell. It’s a fascinating tale which kept me guessing throughout. The depth of characterisation is off the scale and everything we expect from such a skilled writer. I raced through this book as quickly as possible. 

I loved Minnie and her family and I loved the story. No one captures human behaviour quite like Sarah Stovell. Grab yourself a copy. You will not be disappointed. 

The new novel from the acclaimed author of Other Parents and Exquisite.

Minnie and Bert are over the moon to have their three grown-up children home for the first time in a decade. But having Lizzie, Jess, Owen and the grandchildren under one roof isn’t without its dramas.

Lizzie is off the alcohol (although emergency gin doesn’t count), Jess is juggling a toddler and a newborn, but it’s Owen who has the power to throw a grenade into everything.

It all stems from an incident that happened years ago. And it involves Nora Skelly – a name you don’t mention in front of Minnie.

With Nora also back in town, the past is about to come crashing into the present. And what better time to revisit old secrets and resentments than around the family dinner table?

Every Happy Family is available here.

The Garnett Girls by Georgina Moore Book Review

Posted on by

I absolutely adored The Garnett Girl. This story about a mother and her three daughters has so much depth. Margo and her daughters: Rachel, Imogen and Sasha are all so different. The Garnett Girls is centred around Sandcove, their huge family home. The book explores these women’s lives, as well as the lives of their husbands and partners. It shows how all of our lives are intertwined and how family is never easy. A beautiful and addictive read. I couldn’t put it down. 

Forbidden, passionate and all-encompassing, Margo and Richard’s love affair was the stuff of legend – but, ultimately, doomed.

When Richard walked out, Margo locked herself away, leaving her three daughters, Rachel, Imogen and Sasha, to run wild.

Years later, charismatic Margo entertains lovers and friends in her cottage on the Isle of Wight, refusing to ever speak of Richard and her painful past. But her silence is keeping each of the Garnett girls from finding true happiness.

Rachel is desperate to return to London, but is held hostage by responsibility for Sandcove, their beloved but crumbling family home.

Dreamy Imogen feels the pressure to marry her kind, considerate fiancé, even when life is taking an unexpected turn.

And wild, passionate Sasha, trapped between her fractured family and controlling husband, is weighed down by a secret that could shake the family to its core….

The Garnett Girls, the captivating debut from Georgina Moore, asks whether children can ever be free of the mistakes of their parents.

The Garnett Girls is available here.

EVA GLYN’S HIDDEN CROATIA: ROMANTIC FICTION

Posted on by

In celebration of the #RespectRomFic campaign, today I’m sharing some ideas of how you can visit Croatia from the comfort of your own armchair – and perhaps even fall in love.

The classic summer read: The Getaway by Isabelle Broom

This sun-drenched holiday book is set on the island of Hvar, loved by international jetsetters and backpackers alike.

When Kate’s life falls apart in a spectacularly public manner she joins her brother in Hvar to disappear from the world and lick her wounds. But then she meets Alex, a loner with a secret to hide. As he shows her the beautiful island she begins to have feelings for him that seem to be reciprocated. But will he ever be able to confront his demons and move on? And can Kate be there for him if he does?

 

The romcom: The Secret Cove in Croatia by Julie Caplin

Many people’s first experience of Croatia is on a cruise around the islands, and one of these small luxury boats setting out from cosmopolitan Split is the setting for this book.

When no-nonsense Maddie Wilcox is offered the chance to work on a luxury yacht for the summer, she can’t say no. She will be waiting on the posh guests, but island-hopping around Dalmatia should more than make up for it – especially when Nick, her best mate’s brother, is one of them. In this will-they won’t-they romance, sparks fly when they meet on board and Maddie can’t believe self-entitled jerk Nick is really related to her friend. But in a secret, picture-perfect cove, away from the real world, Maddie and Nick discover they might have more in common than they realise.

 

The biography: The Girl Who Left by Debra Gavranich

Set in a small rural village on the island of Korcula during and after the Second World War, this biography is a love story too.

The author’s mother Marija’s Yugoslavian childhood was tough but happy – until first the Italians, and later the Germans, arrived to occupy their island. Her older sister fled to join the partisans and she was left, frightened and hungry, to cope with the rest of the family when she should have been in school. After the war her best chance of a bright future was to travel to Australia as a proxy bride, married to a man who had emigrated from the village years before, but who she had never met.

 

The dual timeline: An Island of Secrets by Eva Glyn

The smallest of apologies for including my own book, but I would so love take you to the island of Vis in Dalmatia, and in particular the small fishing town of Komiza.

In 1944, British commando and SOE operative Guy Barclay is stationed there alongside Yugoslavian partisans. Not only does his war change when he witnesses a brutal execution, but he meets and falls in love with local fisherwoman Ivka. But can their love survive the war? Seventy years later Guy sends his investment banker granddaughter Leo to the same island. Battered and broken by a loveless marriage and her desire for a baby, she meets local travel agent Andrej. But are their worlds too far apart for their love to have a chance?

 

 

#RespectRomFic is a movement started by publishing luminaries to try to assure that romantic fiction is given the respect it deserves, and that matches its importance in readers’ lives – and its commercial value in the book market. For far too long the contribution to the literary landscape of the books written by the authors writing in the romance & saga space has been at best ignored, at worst dismissed. Show your support by using the hashtag to talk about your favourite romances.

 

 

 

The Ugly Truth by L.C. North Book Review

Posted on by

The Ugly Truth is a rollercoaster of a book that has you hooked from the first page. Told in an original way: through transcripts, interviews and social media posts, it is a damning indictment of our tabloid media and celebrity obsession. It’s also a heartbreaking exploration of mental illness. 

Your heart will be in your mouth throughout this book. I think it’s impossible to read it and not feel passionate about it’s characters and subjects.. The Ugly Truth is not for the faint hearted. It’s original, blistering and brilliant. A triumph. 

 

Melanie Lange has disappeared.

Her father, Sir Peter Lange, says she is a danger to herself and has been admitted to a private mental health clinic.

Her ex-husband, Finn, and best friend, Nell, say she has been kidnapped.

The media will say whichever gets them the most views.

But whose side are you on?

#SaveMelanie

#HelpPeter

The Ugly Truth is a shocking and addictive thriller about celebrity culture, coercive control and the truth behind the headlines.

The Ugly Truth is available here.

ROMANTIC FICTION MATTERS

Posted on by

To launch Frost magazine’s support for #RespectRomFic, Sara-Jade Virtue, Brand Development Director, Fiction, for Simon & Schuster UK explains why the campaign is important and reveals her favourite romance books.

There is NOTHING I enjoy as much as a Big Love Story. Preferably on the page rather than on a screen, whether the love is of the romantic, familial or friendship kind, I adore j’adore and have done all my adult life.

Which is why I feel so passionate (no pun intended) about the #RespectRomFic movement I’m leading, and why it’s so important to me. For far too long the contribution to the literary landscape of the books written by the authors writing in the Romance & Saga space has been at best ignored, at worst dismissed. And yet these are the books that dig into the very heart (every pun intended) of the human condition, love. Love is what makes the world go round and these ten novels from my all time favourite dessert island reads list, show love in all its glorious forms – escapist, romantic, heart-warming, heart-breaking, laugh out loud funny, moving, poignant and painful.

Lily and the Octopus (Steven Rowley) – a heart-breaking, charming and unforgettable novel about life, love and long walks.

These Days of Ours (Juliet Ashton) – a gloriously irresistible romance about what happens when the person you love can’t be yours.

Letters to the Lost (Iona Grey) – a poignant, absorbing and tender story of love and loss.

Together (Julie Cohen) – a bold, breath-taking and compelling love story that manages to be as complex as it is compelling.

Rescue Me (Sarra Manning) – heartfelt, funny and wonderfully uplifting, this is total joy from start to finish.

The Last Letter From Your Lover (Jojo Moyes) – passion, loss and romance, and arguably in my Top 3 Favourite Novels Of All Time.

Seven Days in June (Tia Williams) – an extraordinary novel that manages to be both utterly hilarious and completely heart-breaking.

The Photographer of the Lost (Caroline Scott) – a vivid story of forbidden love and longing, this took my breath away.

When We Were Young (Richard Roper) – incredibly moving, hilariously funny, utterly heart-breaking.

The Man I Think I Know (Mike Gayle) – redemption, love, trust and second chances. Incredibly moving, funny and clever.

The stats back up the importance of romantic fiction too – here are some figures taken from publishing industry bible, The Bookseller, with the numbers provided by Nielson.

In 2022 Romance & Sagas had its second best year ever at £53m, only bettered by the Fifty Shades bonanza of 2012 (£68.3m).

This is way up from the more normal value of £25m, which is still seriously significant in terms of the market as a whole.

These figures exclude love stories coded as General & Literary Fiction, for example Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (£2m), Marian Keyes’ Again Rachel (almost £1m), Elena Armas’ The Spanish Love Deception (£851k) and Beth O’Leary’s The Road Trip (£459k).

The Sunday Times bestseller list has no category for romance, yet in 2022 the top twenty contained no fewer than six books that could be regarded as romantic fiction; four by Colleen Hoover, including the top selling novel of all, It Ends with Us, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley.

 

 

 

DEA Agent Plunges Readers Into Seedy World of Trap Houses and Police Corruption in New Book

Posted on by

The Quiet Houses: Fall of the Narcs immediately caught my attention and I’m glad it did. Not only is it a fascinating story of the beginning of Jeff Moore’s career as an undercover detective, but it is a true insider view. Jeff is a fantastic writer and his empathy and compassion comes through on the page. You can tell he is a good person. Thankfully he shared his interesting life with us. 

The Quiet Houses: Fall of the Narcs is based on real events and keeps you hooked from the first page. Jeff and Tammy make an unusual, yet fascinating partnership. This book is perfect for true crime fans. I loved it and I cannot recommend it enough. 

DEA Agent Plunges Readers Into Seedy World of Trap Houses and Police Corruption in New Book

Based on real events, The Quiet Houses: Fall of the Narcs traces the remarkable career of DEA Special Agent Jeff Moore, who captured the world’s oldest and most successful drug cartel mule, Leo Sharp — the story of which became the inspiration for Clint Eastwood’s blockbuster movie, The Mule.

 

The Quiet Houses follows Jeff’s employment journey from redundant graphics designer to patrol officer to undercover detective in a corrupt, Kansas City, Missouri, narcotics unit led by Sgt. Ryan Shale, who has aligned himself with a large-scale drug trafficker in a symbiotic relationship of profit and police protection.

 

Embarrassed by Jeff’s sub-par results on the streets, Ryan forces Jeff to work alongside an unmanageable but streetwise informant named Tamera Josephine Mack. The unlikely pair embarks on a surreal odyssey infiltrating as many drug houses as possible to conduct undercover street level drug buys of heroin and cocaine. They encounter lost souls and violent men during their journey.

 

Jeff’s relationship with Tammy is exceedingly contentious yet entertaining.

 

“My experiences with Tamera Mack were almost too unreal to believe, which served to create an incredible story I wanted to tell,” Moore said. “In my career, I have met some of the most interesting and nefarious people in the world.”

 

Tammy opens Jeff’s eyes to a world he has never seen, and he is forced to redefine his purpose, and accept his failures and fears. Through self-preservation, Tammy and Jeff look past stereotypes and social differences, and form a deep friendship.

 

However, Ryan Shale’s unrelenting corruption knows no limits, as he uses his criminal contacts to steal drug and money seizures off the streets while eliminating adversaries. Eventually, Jeff and Tammy find themselves in Ryan’s crosshairs. In a final battle of cat and mouse, a surprise ending unfolds with Tammy and Jeff fighting for their lives with all the players under one roof.

 

About the Author

DEA agent Jeff Moore’s 2014 New York Times interview regarding his capture of the world’s oldest and most successful drug cartel mule, Leo Sharp, became the basis for Clint Eastwood’s movie, The Mule. In the movie, Eastwood portrayed Leo Sharp and actor Bradley Cooper portrayed agent Moore. Prior to working for DEA, Moore spent a year as an undercover narcotics police detective buying crack cocaine and heroin from drug houses throughout Kanas City, Missouri. Currently, DEA agent Jeff Moore works in Detroit, Michigan.

 

The Quiet Houses: Fall of the Narcs is available here. 

Publisher: Allestone Publications

Release Date: August 28, 2022

ISBN-13: ‎ 979-8218053260 (Paperback)

ISBN-13: ‎ 979-8218057091 (Hardcover)

 

The Sound of Being Human: How Music Shapes Our Lives

Posted on by

I’m a lifelong lover of music. I’m pretty much always listening to it. I believe music is healing, it’s one of the things that make life worth living. I have always thought it has a lot of benefits and now I know I’m right. 

The Sound of Being Human is part memoir, part scientific study and part music history. It is a deep and soulful read by an important music journalist, Jude Rogers. She has interviewed every musician worth knowing and knows her stuff. I learned a lot from this brilliant book and I cannot recommend it enough. 

The Sound of Being Human explores, in detail, why music plays such a deep-rooted role in so many lives, from before we are born to our last days. At its heart is Jude’s own story: how songs helped her wrestle with the grief of losing her father at age five; concoct her own sense of self as a lonely adolescent; sky-rocket her relationships, both real and imagined, in the flushes of early womanhood; propel her own journey into working life, adulthood and parenthood; and look to the future.

Shaped around 12 songs, ranging from ABBA’s ‘Super Trouper’ to Neneh Cherry’s ‘Buffalo Stance’, Kraftwerk’s ‘Radioactivity’ to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ ‘Heat Wave’, the book combines memoir and historical, scientific and cultural enquiry to show how music can shape different versions of ourselves; how we rely upon music for comfort, for epiphanies, and for sexual and physical connection; how we grow with songs, and songs grow inside us, helping us come to terms with grief, getting older and powerful memories. It is about music’s power to help us tell our own stories, whatever they are, and make them sing.

The Sound of Being Human is available here.

Three Romance Novels To Read Now

Posted on by

Secretly Yours by Tess Bailey.

This is the first Tess Bailey book I have read and, damn, now I believe the hype. It’s fun, deep, rom-com steaminess. Secretly Yours is a fun book with so many layers and excitement that I raced through it. Brilliant.  

From #1 New York Times bestselling author and TikTok favorite Tessa Bailey comes a steamy new rom-com about a starchy professor and the bubbly neighbor he clashes with at every turn…

Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen, after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family’s winery. Now the prodigal hottie has returned to their small Napa town. When Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens on the Vos estate, she wonders if she’ll finally get that smooch. But the grumpy professor isn’t the teenager she remembers and their polar opposite personalities clash spectacularly. One wine-fueled girls’ night later, Hallie can’t shake the sense that she did something reckless—and then she remembers the drunken secret admirer letter she left for Julian. Oh shit.

On sabbatical from his ivy league job, Julian plans to write a novel. But having Hallie gardening right outside his window is the ultimate distraction. She’s eccentric, chronically late, often literally covered in dirt—and so unbelievably beautiful, he can’t focus on anything else. Until he finds an anonymous letter sent by a woman from his past. Even as Julian wonders about this admirer, he’s sucked further into Hallie’s orbit. Like the flowers she plants all over town, Hallie is a burst of color in Julian’s grey-scale life. For a man who irons his socks and runs on tight schedules, her sunny chaotic energy makes zero sense. But there’s something so familiar about her… and her very presence is turning his world upside down.

Secretly Yours is available here.

The Ex Next Door by Jo Platt.

If you want to immerse yourself in a pacy romance with characters you love, and others you can hate, then grab a copy of The Ex Next Door. A smart idea well executed. 

Thank you, n(ex)t.

After burst pipes destroy Esme’s city-centre flat, she temporarily relocates to a delightful and small cottage in a village on the edge of town. The change is a big one, but Esme soon settles in and, as the art gallery she co-owns with her business partner, David, continues to thrive, life is sweet.

Until Elliot – an ex whom she hasn’t seen or spoken to for years – moves in next door, along with his perfect new girlfriend, Morgan. Suddenly, Esme’s past is right on her doorstep, or at least just over the fence.

When Elliot and Esme decide to keep their former relationship a secret from those around them, their subterfuge sets off a chain of events which not only forces Esme to re-evaluate her past relationship with Elliot, but also puts her friendship with David under the microscope and under pressure.

A laugh-out-loud romance of second chances and near misses, perfect for fans of Mhairi McFarlane and Jenny Colgan.

The Ex Next Door is available here.

The Corner Shop on Foxmore Green by Lilac Mills.

I loved this wholesome and happy novel. It’s a lovely story about community and love. Single mum Rowena lives in a beautiful village  with her daughter Nia. She has hopes and dreams and you root for her. Perfect for lovers of romance. 

Can a new shop change the village’s future – and Rowena’s?

Single mum Rowena is always looking for ways for her and Nia, her four-year-old daughter, to live more sustainably. So when she visits a zero-waste shop in Cardiff, she’s inspired to start one up in her home village of Foxmore, where local businesses and artisan shops are a core part of the community.

For Huw, it’s love at first sight when he bumps into Rowena the day he moves to Foxmore. But a series of misunderstandings keeps the two from getting closer, and now a conflict of interest over Rowena’s shop might put a stop to any fledgling romance…

When a figure from Rowena’s past makes a surprise appearance, both her shop and her relationship with Huw are suddenly under threat. Can Rowena still realise her corner shop dreams and find love?

A gorgeously fun and feel-good cosy romance, perfect for fans of Sue Moorcroft, Holly Martin and Suzanne Snow.

The Corner Shop on Foxmore Green is available here.