Book Review - Queen of Wishful Thinking by Milly Johnson

Available in Hardback/Ebook and Paperback 

on Amazon

When Lewis Harley has a health scare in his early forties, he takes it as a wake-up call. So he and his  wife Charlotte leave behind life in the fast lane and Lewis opens the antique shop he has dreamed of. Bonnie Brookland was brought up in the antiques trade and now works for the man who bought out her father’s business, but she isn’t happy there. So when she walks into Lew’s shop, she knows this is the place for her. 

As Bonnie and Lew start to work together, they soon realise that there is more to their relationship than either thought. But Bonnie is trapped in an unhappy marriage, and Lew and Charlotte have more problems than they care to admit. Each has secrets in their past which are about to be uncovered. Can they find the happiness they both deserve?

Thank you to Books and the City for my preview copy, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I love Milly Johnson, so when I was given this signed preview copy of her latest novel I was very excited. So excited in fact that I read it twice!

Lewis Harley opens an antique shop called The Pot of Gold and has yet to make a profit. Bonnie Brookland is working for Grimshaws, a once reputable antique dealership that was run by Bonnie's dad and his business partner. The business had been bought out by Ken Grimshaw and is now being run into the ground as a junk shop. Bonnie hates working for Ken, but she cannot see a way out, Her homelife is terrible too. She is married to Stephen who is nothing but a control freak. As the book moves on we learn that Stephen has some kind of hold over Bonnie making her wary of leaving.

In the meantime Bonnie is fired by Ken after advising and elderly lady to take her valubles somewhere else to be valued as Ken is about to rip her off.

Bonnie drives to the Pot of Gold on the off chance that Lewis may have a job going. As luck would have it, he has, but first he has to get rid of his current, incompetent assistant. 

Lewis is constantly trying to please his wife Charlotte who is getting more and more like her friend Regina everyday. Lewis isn't happy about this as Regina is a bitch. Charlotte is very materialistic and Lewis feels he has to give her everything she wants as a few years ago she lost their baby and it has left her very depressed. On top of that their other friend Gemma wants to try for a baby with her husband and this is proving hard for Charlotte to cope with.

Lewis finds himself getting closer to Bonnie and Bonnie finds herself dreaming about her new boss.

Can Lew and Bonnie help each other get through their troubles?

This book is warm and laugh out loud funny. The character names for the dealers such as "Stickalampinit" are genius. Milly writes with such humour and is also fantastic at making you shout "BOO HISS" at the baddies when they show their true colours.

Woven through the book are hilarious apologies from the local newspaper for their printing mistakes, which actually made me laugh so much I spat out my tea!

The Queen of Wishful Thinking is dedicated to Milly's late doggy and best pal Teddy. This struck a note with me as we lost our darling cat Darcy last year after nearly 19 years together. The void left is huge and our hearts remain broken.

I urge you to buy this glorious book, pour yourself a cuppa and delve in. You'll be smiling in minutes.

Book Review - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

by 

Gail Honeyman

Click here to purchase from Amazon

A stunning debut. 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?

,

Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for this ARC, which I have reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine thank you very much! She has her routines; work, speak to Mummy on a Wednesday, buy and consume two bottles of vodka and never get involved with other people. Eleanor has her own opinions on how things should be done and doesn't hold back on sharing these opinions, no matter how abrupt or rude she may seem. 

Eleanor is surviving, not living and then Raymond the bumbling, unhygienic IT guy begins to talk to Eleanor. Usually work colleagues ignore her, make fun of her or talk about her behind her back. They begin to have lunch together, a situation that Eleanor finds very strange indeed.

One day an elderly man collapses on the street and Raymond rushes to help him. He enlists a rather reluctant Eleanor to help him and they both visit the gentleman - Sammy - in hospital. Gradually Eleanor gets absorbed into Raymond's life, tea with his Mother and walks and they both end up spending time with Sammy and his family too.

Eventually Eleanor begins to blossom, to live not just survive. Raymond helps her face her demons and Eleanor finally puts Mummy in her place.

If you only read one book this year, then make it this one. A genuine, deep, thought provoking book about a woman fighting her past and muddling through as best she can. I really felt an affinity with Eleanor and her actions although sometimes unforgivable, were always understandable. Everything in her world is black and white until she begins to live and see the colour in the world.

Definitely a 5* read,

Book review - Secrets of the Dead by Carol E Wyer

Secrets of the Dead 

by 

Carol E Wyer

Three murders. Three innocent victims. What secrets did they share with their killer?

A bottle of bubble bath and colourful, plastic boats were scattered in small puddles on the floor. In the bathtub lay Linda Upton, fully-clothed, her lips a shade of blue, and her bloodshot eyes wide open.

When a young mother is found drowned in the bath, clutching a receipt saying ‘all debts paid’, Detective Robyn Carter knows it’s just the beginning of a harrowing case. She recognises the signs of a serial killer, and when a second victim with a receipt is found, her worst fears are confirmed

With the local press whipping the public into a frenzy, Robyn is under pressure to solve the crime yesterday. But her team can’t find a link between the two bodies, and the cracks are starting to show.

Just when her leads have dried up, Robyn discovers an unsettling clue she thinks could unlock the case. But as she chases across the plush carpets and manicured lawns of the wealthy elite, honing in on the killer’s shocking motive, one of her own is put in terrible danger.

The press call him The Leopard for his stealth, speed and brutality. Can Robyn stop the most twisted killer of her career before it’s too late?

Available to purchase here

Thank you to Bookoutre and Netgalley for this ARC, which I have reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

The second book in the DI Robyn Carter series (Little Girl Lost) 

Robyn and her team are back and a series of murders have taken place. Each victim has been left with a note attached them reading:
Invoice - Name of victim
Payment due: £250,000
Then written across each invoice in red is written "Paid in full"

At nearby Bromley Hall, a well to do hotel and spa the manager Miles Ashbrook has been found dead in the sauna. Robyn has a hunch that somehow all these murders are linked. One of the victims worked there, one used to work there and one was a regular visitor.
Robyn enlists the help of her cousin Ross and his wife Jeanette to go and stay at the hotel for a few days. As Private Investigators they set to work uncovering the history of the place and chatting to employees. They uncover the death of a woman called Harriet, who by all accounts slipped and fell into the pool while drunk.

Robyn and her team face a race against time to catch the killer - who the local press have unhelpfully dubbed "The Leopard" - before he kills again.
What is the link between these murders and why are the invoices relevant?

I found this to be a very good read, which I devoured in three sittings. I found it very similar to the DI Helen Grace series by MJ Arlidge, who is a firm favourite of mine.

Book Review - Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage by Heidi Swain

Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage 

by 

Heidi Swain

Published on July 13th

From the bestelling author of Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market and The Cherry Tree Café comes a glorious summer treat of glamping, vintage tearooms and love ...

When Lottie Foster’s grandmother’s best friend Gwen dies, she leaves Lottie her lovely home, Cuckoo Cottage.

Lottie loves the cottage but Matt, a charming local builder, points out that beneath its charm it is falling apart. Luckily he is always on hand to help with the problems that somehow seem to keep cropping up. But is he just a bit too good to be true? Certainly Will, Lottie’s closest neighbour, seems to think so.

Lottie plans to set up her own business renovating vintage caravans. She hasn’t told anyone about the project she has cooked up with Jemma from The Cherry Tree Café to repurpose Gwen’s old caravan and turn it into a gorgeous tearoom.

But before she can finally enjoy living with her legacy she must uncover who she can trust, and who to 

avoid. And with two men vying for her attention, will she also find love?

Available to purchase here

Thank you to Simon and Schuster/Books and the City and Netgalley for this ARC, which I have reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage is the 4th book by bestselling author Heidi Swain (Find out about her other books over on Heidi's website here).

We return to the beautiful town of Wynbridge and some familiar faces from Heidi's previous books, which of course means you will be reaching for cakes and cider as you read!

Lottie has been left Cuckoo Cottage by Gwen, who was Lottie's Grandmother's best friend. Lottie had no idea of Gwen's plan until David Miller (Gwen's solicitor) tells her after Gwen's funeral. Lottie decides to leave her flat share and move into Cuckoo Cottage. She soon meets her neighbours Maggie and her son Ed with whom she immediately clicks. She meets Will - the local vet - under rather tense circumstances. Lottie had been taking a shower when the hot water had cut out, showering her with arctic water. Will hears her screams and bursts into the bathroom. Will throws her a towel and sorts out the fuse box.

Surprises keep on coming when Will presents Lottie with Gwen's dog Minnie who by all accounts comes with the cottage and Lottie also finds three vintage caravans in one of the barns, which Gwen had purchased with the help of the Cherry Tree Cafe girls as a project for Lottie. It would appear that Gwen was trying to steer Lottie towards a brighter path from beyond the grave.

Lottie begins to worry that she has made a huge mistake after local builder and good looking chap to boot Matt informs her that the cottage is practically falling down and needs a massive amount of work doing to it. He also puts a spanner in the works when Lottie comes up with a brilliant idea for making money with the caravans.

Has Matt really got Lottie's best interests at heart? Is Will all that he seems?

This is another wonderful book from Heidi. The descriptive writing makes you think that if you were dropped into Wynbridge you could definitely find your way round with no problems. A trip to the market, then a cake at the Cherry Tree Cafe would be divine, not to mention some cider and bacon from Skylark Farm.

Heidi's Christmas novel Sleigh Rides and Silverbells at the Christmas Fair is available to pre-order and is due to be published on the 5th October 2017.

The Cherry Tree Cafe is also now available in PAPERBACK at Sainsburys stores. 

Heidi can be found on Twitter and Facebook

Book Review Love Me Not by MJ Arlidge

Love Me Not

THE SEVENTH DI HELEN GRACE THRILLER BY BESTSELLING AUTHOR M. J. ARLIDGE

She Loves Me 

A woman's body lies in the road. At first it looks like a tragic accident. But when Helen Grace arrives on the scene it's clear she's looking at a coldblooded killing. But why would anyone target a much-loved wife and mother?

She Loves Me Not

Across town, a shopkeeper is killed while his customers are left unharmed. But what lies behind the killer's choices?

She Loves Me

Who lives? Who dies? Who's next? The clock is ticking.

She Loves Me Not

If Helen can't solve this deadly puzzle then more blood will be shed. But any mistake and it might be her own ...

Purchase here

Find out more about author MJ Arlidge and the other Helen Grant books here

Thank you to Michael Joseph Books/Penguin and Netgalley for this advanced copy which I have read and reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

This is the 7th book in the series of DI Helen Grant books. Nine months after her wrongful imprisonment Helen and her team including her close friend DS Charlie Brooks are on the hunt for a killer. The first victim is found on a road by Helen in what at first glance looks like an accident, but she has been shot at point blank range. She dies in Helen's arms.The next murders happen in quick succession and it is a race to try and catch the killer.

Journalist Emilia Garanita is with holding some information that could very well aid Helen and the team and very nearly ends up a victim herself because of her foolish behaviour.

The clock is ticking and the people of Southampton want answers. Can Helen provide them and can she find the connection before it's too late?

As usual MJ Arlidge gets straight on with the plot making this a fast paced novel. A proper crime novel with plenty of twists, turns and surprises.

Another fantastic book in the DI Helen Grant series.

Book Review Hide and Seek by M.J Arlidge

Hide and Seek

by

M.J Arlidge

Detective Inspector Helen Grace has spent her whole life running.

From the past. From herself. From everyone who's ever tried to get close to her.

She's spent her whole life hiding.

Behind the badge. Behind her reputation as one of the country's best detectives. Until - framed for murder - she became one of its most high-profile prisoners.

Now there is nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.

Because HMP Holloway is a place of dark days and long nights with dangers at every turn. Despised by the inmates and reviled by the guards, Helen must face her nightmare alone.

And then a carefully mutilated body is found in a locked cell.

Now Helen must find a ruthless serial killer. Before the killer finds her.

I was so excited to receive this ARC from NETGALLEY and Michael Joseph/Penguin as I have read every book in the DI Helen Grace series and loved them.

Hide and Seek begins where the last book 'Little Boy Blue' ended with Helen imprisoned for murders she didn't commit. She is in Holloway Prison and obviously given the fact that she had a hand in the incarceration of a lot of the inmates and she is a 'copper', she isn't having the easiest time.

Her friend and colleague Charlie Brooks is still actively to track down Robert Stonehill - Helen's nephew - who framed Helen for the murders. Her investigation however is not being supported by the rest of the team as the officer in charge is insisting the case is closed.

Whilst Helen is resident in Holloway the body of another inmate Leah is discovered. Leah is unpopular among the other prisoners as she has murdered a pregnant woman.
However Leah hasn't committed suicide. She has been murdered and her body defiled. Her mouth has been sewn up and pulled into a macabre smile, her eyelids have been sewn, her nose and ears have been stuffed with Vaseline and her vagina and anus is also sewn. It is also discovered that she in the early stages of pregnancy, meaning the finger of suspicion is now pointing towards any male members of staff in the prison.

Can Helen find out from inside who is responsible for these murders? Is she in danger?

This book kept me on tenterhooks to the very, very end. Another absolutely first class novel from the fantastic M.J Arlidge.

Order here

Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land

Good Me, Bad Me

By

Ali Land

'NEW NAME, NEW FAMILY, NEW SHINY ME'.

 Annie's mother is a serial killer. The only way she can make it stop is to hand her in to the police. But out of sight is not out of mind. As her mother's trial looms, the secrets of her past won't let Annie sleep, even with a new foster family and name - Milly. A fresh start. Now, surely, she can be whoever she wants to be. But Milly's mother is a serial killer. And blood is thicker than water. Good me, bad me. She is, after all, her mother's daughter... Translated into over 20 languages, Good Me Bad Me is a tour de force. In its narrator, Milly Barnes, we have a voice to be reckoned with, and in its author, Ali Land, an extraordinary new talent.



Thank you to Netgalley and Michael Joseph for this ARC

Wow!! This book absolutely blew me away. Written from the perspective of Milly the daughter of a child killer we follow Milly into her new foster family as she struggles to come to terms with what her Mother has done and the fact that she is the main witness in the upcoming trial. 
Her new foster family consist of Mike (a psychologist), his wife Saskia and their daughter Phoebe.
Phoebe is a nasty character who is jealous of Milly and her and her friends set out to rage a campaign against her to make her life as uncomfortable as possible.
Milly finds a friend in Morgan who lives in the much scorned tower blocks nearby. Can she trust Morgan with her true identity?

This book kept me guessing and using Milly as the narrator all the way through is genius. I really liked the character of Mike who obviously whilst helping Milly prepare to give evidence against her Mother, has his own selfish agenda as to why he wants to help her.

The references to the crimes committed by her Mother are thankfully not described in lurid detail, but leaving the reader to imagine them is an excellent way for each reader of the book to have different insights into Milly's character.

This book was fantastic and kept me awake wanting to carry on reading. It is one of those books that after it is finished you will find yourself still thinking about it for weeks afterwards.

Brilliant.

Buy your copy here
Ali Land can be found on Twitter