NetGalley Reviewer nix21230

This is the third book in about Port Berry and I read it cold, without having read the previous two. As such it felt like I was missing some of the backstory, like I was a visitor looking in without knowing the history of the many characters that fleeted through the pages of the book. Will has returned to Port Berry to find his family and hopefully learn about his past. The warmth comes through the pages. He is also roped in by the local welcome committee and is quickly made to be part of the community.  Ginny runs the local cafe and also looks after her very unappreciative mother when she gets a chance; their relationship is pure toxicity. When Will and Ginny meet for the first time sparks fly. Different types of sparks fly later on, when Ginny finds out that Will is "stealing" her dream. With some adult level communication, much of the angst could have been avoided, and this would have been a pure, cosy, happy winter story. Winter Magic In Port Berry by K.T. Dady is releasi...

Ben Lytle's second Potentialist book focuses on the pursuit of wisdom.  He shows that it is possible to exercise the muscle of wisdom to create a better quality of life and relationships, and help us reach our potential.  Similarly to the first book in the series, which focused on potential, he is encouraging us to be the best we can be. In his words: “I will do my best, to be my best, and leave the world and the people I meet a little better than I found them.” Lytle takes us through a thought-provoking exploration of the future and how we as individuals can prepare for the rapid changes ahead. The book offers a unique perspective on the intersection of technology, society, psychology and personal growth. Preparing for and living in The New Reality, our future will shaped by technological advancements and societal shifts. To thrive, we must learn how to adapt to this "new reality". Wisdom, as defined by Lytle, is the ability to apply knowledge and experience to make soun...

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...

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...

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

Via Netgalley, I was given the opportunity to read the four books in the "Playing the field" series written by Sasha Lace: Playing the game Playing to score Playing for keeps Playing to win As I had all four downloaded, I read them all one after the other. They are quick, feel-good reads, bringing back my own footballing memories from playing for one of the top women's teams in my country.  Lane has created some great 'book role models' for aspiring young female footballers. The male lead characters are supportive, sweet, suitably geeky and all round cinnamon roll book boyfriends... The books will all release on 15 November 2024. PS: No idea why these books have been listed in Erotica // Literature & Fiction // BDSM on the UK part of Amazon? Highly inappropriate!!!

The Party Line is another fantastic book by the writing machine that is Carolyn Brown - she's got over 130 published books so far! First things first, the party line has nothing to do with politics, but all to do with the old fashioned telephone exchanges where a real person operator would connect you to the person you wanted to speak with. Small towns have their secrets, and Aunt Grace was supposedly the keeper of a very bid one. In this warm and feel good story we get a bit of mystery, small town gossip, admiration and romance. All nicely mixed up to create an enjoyable story. Aunt Grace has recently passed away leaving everything to Lila, the niece she treated like her own granddaughter. The neighbour, Jasper, was Grace's oldest friend and he was always like a grandfather to Lila, and he's providing great support to Lila as she deals with the loss of her aunt. Connor is another person who brings depth and extra meaning to the story.  Highly recommended. Other books by Ca...

Harper Ford is back with her no-nonsense, straight to the point writing, It's another hoot of a book!! Sending THAT email to everyone within the company.... go Heidi, go!!! Unfortunately for Heidi, it means she now has to lead a support group for menopausal women at her workplace, when she rather just stays in the background and gets on with her stuff in between hot flushes, memory loss, anger and tiredness...  It turns out that the group is not as bad as Heidi feared and they quickly build trust and share stories of their struggles during this natural part of all women's lives. The group also helps Heidi to take charge of her own life and symptoms, and to seek the professional help she needs; to try different things until she finds something that works for her.  Admittedly, it is a work of fiction, but there are lots of relatable events in this book for anyone experiencing peri-menopause or menopaus - it's good to know that we're not alone! The quote below if from one ...

This is the third book by Ellie Henderson about people and events taking place on Arran, a beautiful Scottish island - the local tourist board should be giving out copies of her books at events around the world!  Two women looking for a fresh start. An escape to a Scottish island. A summer of sisterhood and second chances . . . Recent empty nester Kitty is heading to Arran to house sit Lilybank Cottage.  At the same time, Olivia, who is looking for a fresh start after her current life has taken a turn for the worse, is also heading to Lilybank Cottage.  After a tense first encounter, they decide to share the cottage. They soon discover that they have more in common than they expected and a genuine friendship is developing.  Together they help each other find new energy and deal with the past.  I liked the friendship between Olivia and Kitty and also the relationship Kitty develops with Logan aka the Tartan Wanderer, a local tour guide.  In Henderson's world...

Maggie and Alex volunteer with "Doctors on Wheels" to help victims of natural disasters. During a hurricane relief effort, they encounter Jean and Rose, two teenage sisters who have lost their parents.  Maggie feels a connection with the girls and decides to foster them, much to the disapproval of her own daughters Willa & Gemma.  Throughout the book, the contrast between the entitled Willa and Gemma, and the orphaned sisters Jean & Rose is stark. The socio economic differences are just one part on the tensions, more so seems to be the fact that Jean and Rose are polite, grateful, and hardworking, despite recently having lost their parents and having to adapt to a new life. Willa and Gemma are just spoiled, superior and annoyingly entitled.  A deeply thought-provoking a touching story, in the end bringing out the best in everyone.   Rolling Toward Clear Skies by Catherine Ryan Hyde will be released on 12 November 2024. 

That's Cockatoo Much by Kristin MacQueen is the first book in a shared world series, with stories written by seven different authors.  Delilah left Tuft Swallow ten years ago and as she never planned on coming back she cut off all contact with everyone except with her Aunt Jane. Unfortunately Aunt Jane needs help running her salon so Delilah is returning to keep the business running.  Entering the town she manages to make quite a stir... crashing a police patrol vehicle to avoid a goat walking on the hight street...  Jonah is the police chief and Delilah's ex husband and he has never stopped loving her - even after one of his patrol cars gets crashed into on her unexpected return to town.  Mis communication, hastily drawn conclusions, second chances, small town life and GOSSIP by the Tit Peepers, make this story a real hoot (pun intended...).   "This woman always was the sole focus of my attention, how did I live without her for so long? You didn’t, you idi...

In the Midnight Rain by Barbara O'Neal there is two converging stories, or mysteries if you like, both linked to Gideon, Texas. One is the search for what happened to the up and coming blues singer Mabel Beauvais who on the eve of her breakthrough mysteriously disappeared more than forty years ago. The other one is the very personal search biographer Ellie Connor is taking on, that to find her own roots in Gideon. Ellie's mother died when Ellie was very young and she never knew her father. They are an unsettled piece of Ellie’s own past. Ellie believes that somewhere in this town is the answer to both of her quests. During the story, Ellie is piecing together Mabel’s known whereabouts, and those of her own father with help from the locals, and Blue in particular.  Slow burn romance full of hope and angst, requiring some thought when reading as there's plenty to enjoy and process.  The reworked and re-released In the Midnight Rain by Barbara O'Neal will be available on M...

Since you’ve been gone is the first book in an author collaboration project. It was written by writer goddess Lainey Davis - it’s safe to say this is going to be another success!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you to Lainey Davis for allowing me to be part of your secret ARC squad for this book! I am not 100% sure if I should post this review now or wait until closer to release day - 9 May 2024, but it's a FAB book, so here goes!! Since You've Bean Gone by Lainey Davis is the first in the Farm 2 Forking series of books, each written by a different author. The authors are: Lainey Davis, Liz Alden, Karen Grey, Erin Mallon and Ember Leigh. Bedd Fellows Farm, in the fictional town of Fork Lick, New Your is in trouble. The five Bedd siblings have inherited a heap of debt, along with Baa-bara the troublesome sheep, and they’re all too stubborn to accept the help they need to dig their way out of the compost pile. The foreclosure is handled by Lia, the ex of Ethan, the oldest Bedd and there are ...

HUGE APOLOGIES for the ridiculous slowness in publishing this review. Having finished the book 18 months or so ago (autumn 2022), I wanted to digest the content and try to come up with a fair summary - there is sooooo much thought-provoking stuff in this book - but writing the actual review continued to be put back on the "To do later..." pile of actions, sorry.  Lytle states that this is his attempt at summarising his experience and life lessons for the next generation of his family and that there are another two books in the works - these have not yet been published when I'm writing this (March 2024), but I do hope they reach an audience outside of his immediate family! The book discusses the potential impact of rapid technological advancements on human life in the next 30 years and Lytle argues that these advancements will fundamentally change what it means to be human. Advancements in automation and medicine will blur the line between human and machine - humans will i...

Entertaining, heartwarming and inspirational. Following some amazing travelling in her early retirement, the now recently widowed Maggie is feeling a little lost and unclear what she should do with her time.  Enjoying an evening out with her daughter Hannah, at an old favourite place, all doesn't seem to be as she remembered it. It turns our the owners have returned to India and their son has taken over. However he is a tech geek and not a trained chef... Maggie realises that the kitchen is struggling and jumps in to rescue the evening.  Afterwards she's full of positive energy and she's taking charge trying to help the restaurant to survive - and to get back her own purpose in life. Full of inspiration, hope, community spirit and an annoying baddie... The Unretirement by Penny Mirren is currently set to be published 23 May 2024. #TheUnretirement #NetGalley

Cornwall and more specifically a previously uninhabitable small island, close to Bryher in the Isles of Scilly, is the main place for this heart warming and feel good story. Lily, the overworked control freak who leaves London for some luxury relaxation booked by her PA, is not too happy when she realises that there is no mobile phone signal and no wifi... Sam, the rugged islander who is coping with his grief by building a luxury resort, forgot that he actually needs to interact with his guests... These two souls somehow connect, initially out of necessity, but later out of choice. Second Chance Summer by Phillipa Ashley is currently due to be published on 6 June 2024, just in time for peak tourist season.  #SecondChanceSummer #NetGalley

NOT a true story, even if it felt like it throughout. Amber is selected for one of the girl bands - Cloud9 - and her life takes a turn she never imagined.  Media is looking for stereotypes, and so are the producers - suddenly Amber doesn't recognise herself in the way she's portrayed, and her actual feelings are not in line with the narrative, neither are those of her fellow band member Gwen or boy band star Wes. They are all young, and their lives are decided (directed!) by those with money.  "I didn't like to perform. I liked to be loved." A fantastic debut novel!!! Thank you to Netgalley, Bonnier Books / Zaffre and Isabel Banta for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.  Honey by Isabel Banta is currently set to be published on 25 June 2024. #Honey #NetGalley

Don’t give up on your dreams to allow others to live theirs.  The author has developed plenty of characters and sub-plots, but I found the progress slightly slow in some parts and I wasn't able to connect with many of the characters. I must also admit that I was hoping for a different ending. The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue by Barbara O'Neal is available now. You may find it under Barbara Samuel in some listings / second hand bookshops as it's been available for a few years. (ARC via Netgalley) 

Dangerous Times on Dressmakers' Alley is the first book in a new series and it's an amazing starter!!! Set in London's East End in 1923, we are treated to a captivating, strong storyline with great characters (especially Winnie Lady Diane and Susie) whilst at the same time learning about history in a very enjoyable and believable way. I am looking forward to the future books in the series.  Dangerous Times on Dressmakers' Alley by Rosie Clarke is currently scheduled to be published on 5 April 2024. #DangerousTimesonDressmakersAlley #NetGalley

Thoroughly well researched, with beautiful and elaborate writing, but rather slow moving. I suspect this would be perfect for those loving the Shelley's, their history and slow, descriptive prose, but this just wasn't my cup of tea. I received two ARCs - one via Netgalley and one directly from the publishers, History Through Fiction.