NetGalley Reviewer nix21230

Madeline has fought poverty, worked her way up in life and is very close to having her 'dream life'. She has now been given the opportunity to move to the States and pursue her dream job. To do this, she needs to leave everything behind - something she's more than happy to do, until her family suddenly needs her.  Will she chose herself or her family? Her old life or a new?  Will we judge her? Most certainly. Will we want to be like her? Also, most certainly. Would we have chosen the same as her? Then? Now? The moral dilemmas posed in the story are astronomical - but perhaps would have been less so if Madelaine had been male? Thought provoking and increasingly emotional as more of the past is revealed.  Quotes from the ARC (so may not be in the final version): [...] how she had been the girl who wanted more, while he [...] only wanted enough ‘Don’t you want more?’ [...] ‘I think’ – he paused – ‘that I don’t want more necessarily. I only want enough, and I know that enough...

Following on from "All Our Tomorrows" which was released earlier this year, "The Forgotten One" takes off where that story ended.  Chase and Alex have succeeded in finding their half brother - Max, but even if he believed them, which he doesn't, he is not really interested in a public life. So far the tabloids have not got wind of the story, but it looks like someone has been talking to one of them... Sarah is working for one of the gossip rags and she's asked by her boss to find the story or lose her job. Problem is that Sarah refuses to make things up. She's hoping for a serious career and don't want to write any stories which may stop her from getting a job with one of the proper papers.  Max and Sarah literally bump into each other and after a bit of lies and tension, they work together to control the story, carefully working their way through the many obstacles set in their path.  I liked how Chase, Alex and Max work together, how Max finds his ...

Family Affairs at Orchard Cottage Hospital by Lizzie Lane, is the second instalment in the Orchard Cottage Hospital historical saga series. It is set in rural Somerset, England, in 1931. I had not read the previous book, and despite some gaps in the back story it was a very enjoyable and captivating read.  Doctor Frances Brakespeare continues to settle into her new life, but continues to face both professional and personal challenges. Not everyone is happy with her "progressive" outlook on medicine and giving women a choice when it comes to their bodies. Her relationship with Reverend Gregory Sampson is going from strength to strength with hime providing comfort and support when everything piles up, including her past. As Frances unravels her family's past, she confronts the consequences of hidden truths and the importance of forgiveness. Family Affairs at Orchard Cottage Hospital is an engaging story that explores themes of love, loss, and the enduring power of human con...

Cosy, feel good Christmas story with the right amount of family, seasonal festivities, romance and a naughty goat. Rose is working extra in a Christmas shop in London to earn some badly needed cash. It's definitely not her definition of fun, neither is dressing up which apparently was part of the job description. Alistair is in London trying to avoid preparing for Christmas, a season he loathes after his wife walked out on him and his daughter on Christmas Eve. As fates will have it, he enters the shop where Rose works and offers her to organise his Christmas, up in Scotland. To ensure we get the Hallmark story, Rose accepts. Rose goes all in and sets about organising the best Christmas ever for Alistair, his daughter and his extended family.  Slowly, the Christmas magic is spreading to all involved and Alistair is finding that he once again enjoys the celebrations - all made easier by Rose and her warm heart.    A Scottish Christmas by Emma Bennet will be released on 16 ...

Pre-game rituals must be taken seriously, even when they seem completely outrageous - and indecent!  Hilariously believable.  Hockey trope. Brother's best friend. Playing to win. Pub Date: 18 Feb 2025 Part of Maple Creek series #ThePuckingProposal #NetGalley

We're back in Yule! Tis the season for secrets , is the sequel to The naughty or nice Clause , which I labelled as one of the best Christmas stories I've read in quite a while.  Callaghan has created another feel good story about love and Christmas, without it being over the top sweet. Just like the first book,  Tis the season for secrets , is highly entertaining, with lots of romance and some magic. Perfect for creating Christmas spirits and feel-good.  Preorder now for delivery on 24 November 2024: link to Amazon UK . #TisTheSeasonForSecrets #NetGalley

Henderson goes from strength to strength. Providing just the right mixture of cozy atmosphere and romance in this heart warming second-chance story set at Christmas on the lovely Arran.  Beth and Callum haven't seen each other since they worked together one summer on the island a VERY long time. After Beth accepts a new job on the island, they meet again and rediscover that their feelings for each other are still strong. Both Beth and Callum has undergone changes whilst apart. Beth is working on rediscovering herself, and figuring out where she fist in.Callum has also grown whilst he has confronted his past mistakes.  The story has a festive feel with family, friends and the island all rallying together.  The paperback of "A Christmas Wish on Arran" by Ellie Henderson will be released on 15 October, with the eBook releasing a week later.  Books by Henderson set on Arran; A summer wedding on Arran - my review A Christmas escape to Arran - my review A summer house on A...

I was given an ARC of Coaching for Performance , 6th edition. This is a reworked version of the global success book originally written back in 1992. It has been carefully extended and improved by Tiffany Gaskell following John Whitmore's passing.  It is still the go to source for all things coaching - be it for leaders wanting to apply a coaching leadership style, or for coaches helping leaders to successfully motivate and elevate their businesses.   As Whitmore put it: "Coaching unlocks a person’s potential to maximize their performance, helping them to learn rather than teaching them." Coaching focuses on future possibilities, not past mistakes. Highly recommended.  #CoachingforPerformance6thedition #NetGalley #GROWmodel #theInnerGame

Ten days to keep a lie. Ten plagues if you deny. Ten ways to watch them die. Detective Jena Campbell put away a notorious serial killer named Silas Halvard (The Leviticus Killer) five years ago based on evidence which was more circumstantial than real.  At the beginning of this story, Jack the Governor's son is kidnapped and Jena is called in to investigate. It very soon becomes clear that solving the case becomes a race against time whilst the kidnapper, using the alias Azrael, threatens to kill unless Silas is released. One by one, the jurors from Silas' trial are murdered using inspiration from the ten Biblical plagues. Jena tries to get Silas to cooperate, but her efforts are futile and time is running out to save Jack. At the edge of your seat, nail biting psychological thriller. Heavy Are the Stones by J.D. Barker and Christine Daigle is set to release on 26 November 2024. #HeavyAreTheStones #NetGalley

A Lady's Lesson in Scandal by Darcy McGuire is the second book in the "The Queen's Deadly Damsels" series. Set in Regency England, the novel follows the adventures of Millicent Whittenburg, a spy in training for the Queen. Lady Phillipa has very recently started training Millie, to be part of her secret cadre of undercover agents, all working on the orders from the Queen herself. Millie is just hours away from being forced to marry a man the same age as her father - all instigated by her power hungry, horrible step-mother Patricia. Together with Lady Phillipa, a plan is put in place, but it doesn't seem like it'll go as expected.. Major General Beaufort Drake is way more decent than they expected. A Lady's Lesson in Scandal is another fab story and I'm guessing there'll be at least one more instalment to come. Highly recommended. Pub Date:12 Oct 2024 Previous book: The Secret Life of a Lady - link to my review #ALadysLessoninScandal #NetGalley

The Ballerina of Auschwitz is a retelling of The Choice with approximately 30 per cent entirely new material, which offers readers both a more expansive and more intimate understanding of Edith’s journey. I am humbled by Edith's story, her strength to share it with the world and her outlook on life as shared both in The Choice and in The Ballerina of Auschwitz . It is a very emotional read, much of which is hard to accept actually happened as it is so brutal.  I am forever grateful to Edith and other survivors for sharing their stories. To see that there was hope in all the misery, "if I can survive today, then tomorrow I will be free".  Her realisation that to continue living, rather than simply existing, there is a choice - "to pay attention to what we’ve lost or to pay attention to what we still have". Thank you.   

This is a fascinating story about a rhino (Clara) being brought from Asia to Europe by boat in 1740.  A great insight in life onboard a ship sailing from India to Europe, the struggles, the need to work together and the challenges posed by women at the time. Add in some amazing fact about rhinos in genearl and Clara in particular.  It is a gripping and entertaining story, with believable characters (including that priest...) driving the two timelines forward to a satisfactory ending. All in all, a great historical novel built on facts and the author's imagination.  PS. I LOVE the book cover! #TheRhinoKeeper #NetGalley