Difference between revisions of "Newest Women's Fiction Reviews"

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[[Category:Women's Fiction|*]]
 
[[Category:Women's Fiction|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|Women's Fiction]]
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[[Category:New Reviews|Women's Fiction]]__NOTOC__
==Women's Fiction==
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{{Frontpage
__NOTOC__
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|isbn=1471180158
{{newreview
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|title=Maybe Tomorrow
|author=Margaret Leroy
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|author=Penny Parkes
|title=The River House
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|rating=4.5
|rating=3.5
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|genre=General Fiction
|genre=Women's Fiction
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|summary=Jamie Matson works in an upper-class grocery store, for a man who's a control freak with all the subtlety of a half brick.  Jamie's son, Bo, 'has his problems'He's asthmatic and the more you read, the more you'll suspect that he's on the autistic spectrumSometimes Jamie needs to take time off at short notice - she's a frequent flier in the local A&E and sometimes Bo's not fit enough to go to schoolMissed shifts or the need to be away on time to pick Bo up from school are occasions when Jamie can be controlled and put in the wrong.  It was going to come to a head.
|summary=Ginnie Holmes is a child-psychologist, working to help children and young people damaged by what they have experienced or what they have seenShe is also the mother of two typical, happy teenage daughters – one just about to leave for university the other, trying hard not to work for her GCSE's. Her life is outwardly as near perfect as it getsHer husband is a successful academic.  She has a solid circle of friends old and newThe cottage by the river might be whimsical rather than elegant but it suits her and in the right light and the right company it is charming.
 
 
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0778304094</amazonuk>
 
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Lauren Bravo
|author=Julie Highmore
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|title=Preloved
|title=The Birthday
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=4 November 2008: That's the date of the US presidential election, and Fran's 60th birthday. Fran is nervous about her milestone birthday – she doesn't feel that old. She is worried about her husband, Duncan, who has become rather down and forgetful. As it turns out though, her planned party will be less a celebration than the catalyst for the revelation of a lifetime of secrets.
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|summary= Gwen is pressing her middle-aged bosom on a big number that starts with a four and ends with an oh-my-God-I'm-nearly-forty. Having been made unexpectedly redundant - any HR officer worth their salt would argue the toss - Gwen finds herself having a bit of a mid-life crisis. Catharsis is key and Gwen has decided now is the time to take back her life'
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755343042</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1398510629
 
}}
 
}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=0008506337
 +
|title=The Garnett Girls
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|author=Georgina Moore
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|rating=5
 +
|genre=General Fiction
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|summary=The love affair between Margo Garnett and poet Richard O'Leary was all-consuming, apparently on both sides.  Margo was just sixteen when they fell in love.  Richard was twenty-one and described by Margo's mother as 'an older man'.  Her parents worried that Richard's influence would take her away from what they felt she could achieve - going to Oxford and having a glittering career.  In the event,  they eloped and Richard took her away from the Isle of Wight.  Margo did go to Oxford and went on to become a well-respected journalist.  The couple had three children: Rachel, Imogen and Sasha.  Life was lived in London and holidays were spent at Sandcove, the family home on the Isle of Wight.  Even then the doubts about Richard's drinking were never far from Margo's mind: ''she would never be able to leave him in charge''.
  
{{newreview
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Then Richard left them.
|author=Kate Lace
 
|title=A Class Act
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Tilly de Liege (that's pronounced 'de Lee', by the way) met Ainsley Driver quite by accident and they just seemed to get on with each other really well.  Both were about to do A levels and were hoping to go on to university, but there was a snag.  Tilly was from the wrong side of the tracks.  She wasn't in the least bit worried about the fact that Ainsley lived in a council house on quite the worst estate in town but when he found out that she lived in the local manor house and went to a private school something snapped.  It didn't seem to be about money – as the de Lieges really didn't have any - more about the fact that she hadn't said.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755347943</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Sarah Monk
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|author=Hadeer Elsbai
|title=Taking the Lead
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|title=The Daughters of Izdihar
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Women's Fiction
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|genre=Fantasy
|summary=Theodora English had left her home in London to move to a tiny Cornish village with her boyfriend Michael, only for him to dump her soon afterwards.  You'd expect her to head straight back to London, but you'd be wrong. She buys the cottage next door, moves in and starts getting to know the locals.
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|summary= Drawing inspiration from Egypt, ''The Daughters of Izdihar'' explores the lives of two women who could not be more different, yet find themselves fighting for the rights of women and weavers – those with magical abilities - in a society pitted against them. Nehal, born into the upper class, wishes to attend the Weaving Academy to learn to control her abilities and then join the military, but instead she is forced into an arranged marriage with Nico. Giorgina on the other hand did not have a privileged upbringing like Nehal and feels great pressure to provide for her family and maintain their reputation, whilst secretly attending meetings of the Daughters of Izdihar – a group campaigning for women's rights. Giorgina also happens to be in love with Nico. What follows is a story of an unjust society, filled with hypocrisy and cruelty, from which blossoms a group of admirable women fighting for their rights and overcoming their personal obstacles.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755345142</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0356520471
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Christina Courtenay
 
|title=Trade Winds
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Historical Fiction
 
|summary=It is 1731 and Killian Kinross, disgraced heir to the estate is making his way as best he can through the gambling dens of Edinburgh, trading on his skill, ability to hold his drink and the smiling fickle fortunes of lady luck.  The Lady is smiling at the moment, although she hasn't always done so.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906931232</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B0B575J99N
|author=Ali McNamara
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|title=Beneath the Porticoes
|title=From Notting Hill with Love... Actually
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|author=Brooke Adams
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Scarlett loves the movies; in fact that you could easily say that she is obsessed with them, much to the exasperation of her father, her fiancé David and her friends. She can't help dreaming and wishing that her life was more like the films that she loves. So, when the opportunity arises to house sit for a month in Notting Hill (the setting of her favourite film), she grabs it. It's a chance to prove to all those sceptics that life can be like the movies and also for her to examine her feelings about her forthcoming marriage to David.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751544957</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Lucinda Riley
 
|title=Hothouse Flower
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=In the London Season of 1939 Olivia met the Honourable Harry Crawford, heir to the Wharton country estate in Norfolk and he seemed like the perfect catchIt looked even better when his mother invited her to spend the summer at the estate and before long they were married.  There were problems even before Harry went to fight in the Far East, but Olivia was determined that the marriage would work.
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|summary=Elizabeth Miller was thirty-four and a teacher at a prestigious girl's school in York.  It was ''comfortable'' but she longed for something more in life.  She'd ''still not found the right vocation nor met the right man'' and now was the time to make a changeShe needed challenges.  There was a little trepidation when she applied for the professoressa job in Bologna.  After a telephone interview, she was offered the position and it wasn't long before she was exploring the beautiful city.  There were some natural doubts before her first class but it went surprisingly well.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141049375</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0241542405
|author=Lucy Dawson
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|title=Meredith Alone
|title=The One That Got Away
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|author=Claire Alexander
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
|genre=Women's Fiction
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|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Lucy Dawson's latest novel is a cut above run-of-the-mill chick-lit papMolly Greene is happily married to Dan, and they live a normal twenty-first century life in a small townShe is a successful salesperson for a medical supplierThe couple struggle with the bills and hope to buy their own place.  She spends time with two old girlfriends whose situations are different from hers, but who know our heroine inside out and will always be there for her for long, boozy heart-to-heartsSo far, so predictable.  
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|summary=When we first meet Meredith Maggs it's Wednesday 14 November 2018 and she's not left her home for 1,214 daysShe'd ''like'' to: in fact, she so nearly does.  Her outdoor clothes are on and she's even considered which shoes to wear if she's going to catch her trainThen, she can'tShe simply can't force herself to leave the safety of her home.  She's fortunate that she has a good friend, Sadie, who visits regularly with her two children, James and Matilda.  Sadie's a cardiac nurse and full of sound common sense.  In fact it was Sadie who gave Meredith her cat, Fred.  Groceries are online deliveries and there's also an internet-based support group where you'll find Meredith as JIGSAWGIRL, so you can guess what she does in her spare time.  Then Tom McDermott arrivesHe's from Holding Hands, a charity which supports people with problems such as Meredith's.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751542520</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0008441618
|author=Christine Stovell
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|title=Other Parents
|title=Turning the Tide
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|author=Sarah Stovell
|rating=4
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=We're in the seaside location of Spitmarsh.  It's seen better days, frankly.  And that's putting it mildly.  It has ' ... a local economy so depressed it was almost suicidal'.  Ms Harry Watling loves her town in spite of the negative vibesShe wouldn't change a thingYou can tell that she's an optimist because even although she's having difficulty keeping her business afloat, she's still happy with her lotShe's not afraid of hard work and seems to work almost round the clock and in all weathers to carry out her boat-building and repairs business.  But it's a constant battle.
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|summary=Jo Fairburn knew that she was under intense pressure as the new head of West Burntridge First School: if she didn't live up to her retired predecessor there could well be a house price slump in that part of the townThe school had an active Parent Teacher Association and the funds which they raised were a considerable benefit to the schoolThere was one difficulty, though - they were ''devastatingly shockable'', with two members, in particular, causing problems for the headLaura Spence and Kate Monroe objected to Jo's restrictions on the toys children could bring in on Toy Day but that was just a warm-up act for their real gripe: LGBTQ education.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906931259</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Giovanna Fletcher
|author=Bernadette Strachan
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|title=Walking on Sunshine
|title=Why DO We Have to Live with Men?
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Cat and her friends often meet up for a drink and a chat, and regularly fantasise about giving up on men, sharing a house and looking after each other. Then one night Germaine calls their bluff – she’s found a house, and wants to know who is going to join her in it. Initially, the answer is no one. Shortly afterwards, though, Cat’s life as she has known it falls apart, as her landlord gives her notice to leave her flat and she loses her job. There is nothing now to keep her in London and moving into Germaine’s commune doesn’t seem like such a mad option.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751542296</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Sarah Dunn
 
|title=Secrets to Happiness
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Holly Frick is 35, single and living in New York City.  She still thinks she's in love with her ex husband, her career as a TV writer is on a steady downward spiral and she's had limited success as a novelist.  She may be having amazing no strings sex with toy boy Lucas, but Holly is unfulfilled and unhappy.  Plus, she's surrounded by equally dysfunctional friends, including best friend Amanda, who has no qualms embarking on an extramarital affair, and writing partner Leonard, who is more than happy to self-medicate and find his thrills through the Internet.  Plus Spence, the ex before the ex husband has resurfaced in Holly's life and thanks to his new girlfriend Cathleen, Holly finds herself reliving their relationship as Cathleen interrogates her on Spence's past.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751538302</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Miranda Dickinson
 
|title=Welcome to My World
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Light, romantic fiction (or that dreadful phrase but which is apt, chick-lit) is not, I have to say, my preferred genre. I wouldn't buy it from a bookshop nor borrow it from the local library.  But, having said all that, would you believe the coincidence that chatting with two female friends recently (fortysomething and fiftysomething) they both told me that they wouldn't read anything else.  So, it just goes to show, horses for courses and all that.
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|summary=Mike's wife, Pia, who he was with for seventeen years, has died. And whilst he is dealing with his grief, so are their best friends, Vicky and Zaza. But Pia left them all some 'rules' to follow, knowing that she was dying and that they would need help to carry on living. Whilst some of the rules are around practicalities such as clearing out her wardrobe, another one that Mike discovers one day encourages him to take one of their trips away, and Vicky and Zaza, struggling with their grief and their own life troubles, decide to drop everything in their own lives, and go along with him.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847561667</amazonuk>
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|isbn=140593560X
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B09FS89KX9
|author=Pamela Evans
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|title=Fall On Me
|title=Harvest Nights
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|author=Penelope Potts
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
|genre=Historical Fiction
 
|summary=It is 1920 and London is struggling to deal with the consequences of the Great War. Unemployment is high and money is scarce. Clara Tripp, a former Land Girl has been forced to return to the city to work as a waitress, leaving behind the countryside which she loves so much. When Charlie Fenner, an acquaintance from Clara's Land Army days, comes in to the teashop where she works, Clara can't help but feel overjoyed. He offers her temporary work on his parents' orchard in Kent and she gladly accepts. Yet a serious accident forces Clara to stay longer than expected and it is then that she makes a shocking discovery which threatens to destroy the Fenner family. Back in London Clara struggles with her confused emotions and the looming prospect of her marriage to local boy Arnold. When devastating news comes from Kent, Clara realises she can no longer keep her discovery a secret. But coming face-to-face with Charlie again means Clara must acknowledge her buried feelings and make a decision between doing the right thing and following her heart.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755345452</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Sue Moorcroft
 
|title=Want to Know a Secret?
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=When you get a couple of policemen in your kitchen telling you that your husband has been badly injured in a helicopter crash you can be forgiven for being upset. On the other hand, if your family has the sort of income which means that your husband was as likely to be in a spaceship as a helicopter then it's quite permissible to say that the policemen have come to the wrong place and this is what Diane Jenner didUnfortunately it also means that when they prove that it was your husband you've got quite a big adjustment to make.
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|summary=Life should have been good for Hollie:  She was just going into the final year of her veterinary degree and - three years later - was still working at BB's diner. Bob - the owner - regarded her fondly: he was a good boss.  Hollie had moved in with her boyfriend, Marcus: her mother thought he was great and he was doing well in his career.  Hollie wasn't quite so certain though: Marcus wanted to control her and most of all he wanted her to leave her job at the dinerThen there was the fact that he would be violent, both to her and to other people.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906931267</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0008421714
|author=Amy Silver
+
|title=Mrs March
|title=All I Want For Christmas
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|author=Virginia Feito
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Women's Fiction
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|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=In Amy Silver's 'All I Want for Christmas', the reader meets three very different women. Bea, who runs the local delicatessen, The Honey Pot, is facing Christmas alone with her young son Luca but is determined to make it as good as she possibly can. Olivia has somewhat rashly offered to host all of her fiancé's family from Ireland and it looks like it will be chaotic. On the other hand, Chloe will be celebrating alone, as her boyfriend will be sitting down to Christmas dinner with his wife and family. Although on the surface, the three women appear to have little in common, as Christmas approaches they start to form a bond that is likely to last well beyond the festive season.
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|summary=The problem began just after the publication of George March's most successful novel to date.  Everyone but Mrs March (we know her first name only on the last page) seemed to either be reading it or had already done so. Every day Mrs March went to the local patisserie to buy olive bread but on that particular morning, Patricia asked, as she was wrapping the bread, ''but isn't this the first time he's based a character on you?''  She mentioned that Johanna, the principal character had 'her mannerisms''. Perhaps this would not have mattered, except for the fact that Johanna is the whore of Nantes - ''a weak, plain, detestable, pathetic, unloved, unloveable wretch.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099553228</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1473685745
|author=Sue Moorcroft
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|title=Unbreak Your Heart
|title=All That Mullarkey
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|author=Katie Marsh
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Cleo and Gav seemed to have the perfect marriage.  Neither of them wanted children and their lives seemed to be full of fun, enjoyment and love.  But sometimes all is not as it seems as Cleo discovered the night that she'd made up her mind to go to a reunion and Gav said that she shouldn't goShe set off, but wondered if it really was worth causing so much heartache when she wasn't all that keen on going and turned backWhen she got home she found that the writing was on the wall for their marriage – quite literally.  It said, in marker pen on the bedroom wall 'This Marriage is Over' and Gav had gone.
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|summary=When Beth Carlyle and Simon Withers first met they were on opposite ends of an angry exchange - well, Simon was angry and Beth was doing her best to apologise for having knocked Simon's son, Jake, off his bikeHe wasn't hurt but Jake has historyHe has HLHS - that's Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome for those of you who are not ''au fait'' with your medical acronymsWhen he was born, the left side of his heart hadn't developed properly and he needed open-heart surgery when he was a few days old.  So, Simon has every right to be over-protective particularly when someone isn't looking where they're driving.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906931240</amazonuk>
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}}  
}}
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{{Frontpage
 
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|author=C J Carey
{{newreview
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|title=Widowland
|author=Julie Cohen
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|rating=4
|title=Getting Away With It
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Julie Cohen's latest book is a different creature to her previous novels.  It's not just that it's longer, although the length allows for more characterisation and trickier, complex plots than her ''Little Black Dress'' books, but it also feels different in styleThere's the same quirky side that Julie writes so well - the heroine this time is a stunt woman, some bizarre ice cream flavours and there's some interesting crop-circle action!  But the book feels more serious - more grown up somehow - yet just as readable and compelling as her previous stories have been.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>075535060X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Cathleen Schine
 
|title=The Three Weissmanns of Westport
 
|rating=3.5
 
 
|genre=General Fiction
 
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=The novel begins with Joseph Weissmann, or Josie as he is known, deciding at the age of 78 that he no longer wants to be married to Betty after 48 years togetherIn an attempt to save Betty's feelings he cites irreconcilable differences, but the truth is he has fallen head over heels in loveBetty is devastated, her life in tatters, with even the beautiful Central Park apartment she adores soon lost to her.
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|summary=It's April 1953, and Adolf Hitler's schedule includes going to Moscow to attend the state funeral of Joseph Stalin then within weeks coming to London, parading around a bit, and watching over the sanctioned return to the throne of Edward VIII with his wife, Queen WallisFor yes, Britain caved in the lead-up to the World War Two that certainly didn't happen as we know it, and we are now a protectorate – well, we share enough of the same blood as the Germanic peoples on ''the mainland''.  But this is most certainly a different Britain, for Nazi-styled phrenology, and ideas of female purpose, has put all of that gender into a caste system, ranging from high-brow office bigwigs to the drudges, and beyond those, right on down to the childless, the husbandless and the widowsFemale literacy is actively discouraged.  And in this puritanical existence, our heroine, Rose Ransom, is employed with the task of bowdlerising classical literature to take all encouragement for female emancipation out of it – after all, not every book can be banned, and not every story excised immediately from British civilisation, and so they just get a hefty tweak towards the party line before they're stamped ready for reprint.  That is her job, at least, until the first emerging signs of female protest come to light, with their potential to spoil Hitler's visit.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849015716</amazonuk>
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|isbn=152941198X
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Ruth Hogan
|author=Sharon Owens
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|title=Madame Burova
|title=A Winter's Wedding
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|rating=4.5
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Decluttering: it's a great thing to do, you know. You clear space and you give yourself emotional energy when you get rid of things which you don't need.  Take stuff to a charity shop and it's an all-round winner for everyone.  That's what Emily did when she began to clear out her flat.  Her friend Augusta had given her quite a few gadgets which she knew that she would never use.  And it was at the charity shop that she met Dylan.  His sister ran a charity which rescued horses and Dylan was helping out between jobs.  Now, there's something which you need to know about Dylan.  He's perfect.  He's thoughtful, considerate, loyal and honest.  Yes – he's ''that'' perfect.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141028580</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Brooke Morgan
 
|title=Trapped
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=General Fiction
 
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Ellie Walters is 36, divorced and keen to start a new life away from her cheating and control-freak ex-husband. Fulfilling a life-long dream, she decides to take her 15-year-old son, Tim, to live with her in the small town of Bourne. As she soon becomes good friends with her next-door neighbour, Louisa Amory, Ellie finally feels she is making a life of her own. She begins to feel a sense of freedom and independence but for how long? When strange events start occurring Ellie is forced to face some painful and guilty memories connected to a tragic accident nineteen years ago; memories which she would rather forget. It is clear that someone has discovered her well-kept secret and is reluctant to let her forget about it. As a campaign of terror against Ellie unfolds she must come to terms with what happened all those years ago and try to discover who her tormentor is. Vulnerable and afraid, she relies on Louisa's friendship to help her through the ordeal. However, when a misunderstanding causes a rift between Ellie and Louisa's son, Joe, the women's friendship is threatened. Alone and afraid, she suddenly finds herself trapped in a nightmare from which she must do all she can to escape.
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|summary=This book lets us discover several people in different stages of life in the early 1970s, all vaguely connected.  So we have a bullied half-cast boy (as he would have been called then), a girl in a humdrum job wanting to become a singer, and chiefly, Imelda, the third generation of Madame Burova, ''Tarot-Reader, Palmist and Clairvoyant'', to use her family's sea-front booth.  The singer, the scryer and the sufferer's mother will all become staff at a revamped holiday camp, but just before then we see Imelda fly solo for the first time in the family stall. We also see her on her last day, fifty years later, in possession of a pair of letters that will change everything for a woman called Billie. Just who is she, and who delivered the secrets about her to Imelda, and why did it have to remain a secret all this time?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099536285</amazonuk>
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|isbn=152937331X
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Beth Pattillo
 
|title=Jane Austen Ruined My Life
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=I blame Bridget Jones.
 
 
 
Jane Austen's six novels have inspired a huge number of novels about the romantic dilemmas facing bright, educated middle class women. Does adding literary references to chicklit somehow make for better novels? I don't think so, but I do find these books fun, escapist reading, and the title of this one was irresistible.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857210106</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author= Jennifer Saint
|author=Immodesty Blaize
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|title= Ariadne
|title=Ambition
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|rating= 4.5  
|rating=3.5
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|genre= Women's Fiction  
|genre=Women's Fiction
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|summary= This re-telling of the myth of Ariadne and the Minotaur is interesting and unusual. Jennifer Saint presents the story in a way that is sympathetic to its origins but also appealing to a modern audience. Saint's narrative is told predominantly through the viewpoint of Ariadne, spanning from her childhood to her death, allowing the reader to really connect with Ariadne as a character in her own right rather than just a prop in the heroics of Theseus.  
|summary=Las Vegas Showgirl Sienna Starr has got it made. Her career is set to flourish when she lands her dream role in Vegas' top show, she has great friends, a fabulous home, and a red hot sex life with her rich and gorgeous boyfriend Max.  But as Sienna starts her new job at the Follies Casino under the eyes of Vegas' most powerful showgirl Brandy Alexander, she soon becomes surrounded by people who are not only envious of her, but are more ruthless and ambitious than she could ever be.
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|isbn=1472273869
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091930073</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Lucy Holland
|author=Sheila O'Flanagan
+
|title=Sistersong
|title=Stand by Me
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|rating=5
|rating=4
+
|genre=Literary Fiction
|genre=Women's Fiction
+
|summary=Sistersong is part of a genre I particularly enjoy, the modern retelling of folk and fairy tales. These stories, for most of us, are a cornerstone of childhood and I relish seeing them retold with fresh eyes and a fresh perspective. If handled well these retellings give new life and new meaning to stories that are now becoming increasingly narrow and outdated, fleshing out characters, examining relationships and re-evaluating the role of women. Sistersong is a perfect example of a modern retelling done well, the plot is handled with care, keeping its archaic historical feel but allowing the characters to come to life, to feel real and human, most importantly they feel relatable in a modern world whilst still feeling appropriate for the pre-Saxon age they live in. This is a masterpiece of storytelling and I was captivated from beginning to end.
|summary=Many of us would love to be married to a successful, wealthy and attractive businessman and for Dominique Delahaye it becomes a reality. Not only does she get to live in luxurious houses, go on expensive holidays and wear glamorous clothes, she also gets to organise and attend wonderful charity events and has her photo in nearly every magazine and newspaper. Once a spotty and unpopular school girl, she is now the centre of everyone's attention. Her husband, Brendan Delahaye, starts out as a builder but soon has his own construction business, Delahaye Developments. The couple become known as the "Dazzling Delahayes" and whilst their lives seem perfect to the outside world, it hasn't always been that way. Brendan and Dominique, who gets given the nickname 'Domino' from her husband, are quite literally forced to marry through unforeseen circumstances. Their marriage suffers a number of problems and as the title "Stand by Me" suggests, both of them are faced with the decision of whether to stay or leave. However, their greatest challenge comes when the perfect life they've built is destroyed. Domino must face an uncertain future and take control of her life but first she has to make some heartbreaking decisions.
+
|isbn=1529039037
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755343824</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B08NF79QXT
|author=Sandra Wilson
+
|title=Cherry Blossom Boutique
|title=The Wrong Miss Richmond
+
|author=Brooke Adams
|rating=3.5
+
|rating=3
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Mr Richmond had been married twice.  From his first marriage he had a daughter, Christina and another daughter, Jane from his second marriageChristina is quiet, sensible, bookish and, in her mid-twenties, with no expectations of matrimonyJane, or the other hand, is the heiress of her mother's fortune, just a little wild and loves the bright, society life. That's probably not unreasonable as she's not yet twenty and whilst the girls are chalk and cheese they love each other dearlyChristina is pleased when Jane makes a good match – she's to marry Lord St Clement – until she meets her lordship, when she realises that her heart might not be quite so hardened to emotion as she thought.
+
|summary=Thirty-one-year old Liberty Rossini has had her shop, the Cherry Blossom Boutique, for just six months when she's nominated for - and wins - the Retail Best Newcomer AwardShe's delighted and the two people she's brought with her to the event couldn't be more pleasedSonja, her mother, is an ex-model and Brazilian: you can see where Liberty got her looks from. Jessica's thirty-four and Liberty's best friend: they've known each other since university and Liberty adores Jessica's husband, Charles and their four-year-old daughter, AvaLife would be perfect for Liberty if it wasn't for one thing: she misses having a man in her life.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0709090005</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B08GFSK2WZ
|author=Sally Anne Morris
+
|title=The Karma Trap
|title=Vintage Magic
+
|author=Lisette Boyd
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=With the life she thought was before her ruined by her fiancé's cheating ways, Rose Taylor swiftly leaves her life in London and seeks refuge with her mother Mimi and her sister Lily in the beautiful city of BathReeling from her fiancé's deceptions, now is as good a time as any for Rose to reinvent herself, although she is determined to win her fiancé back.  Having always had an eye for clothes, starting a vintage dress shop seems like a perfect idea and soon 'Vintage Magic' is opened.
+
|summary=George Jackson is thirty-three years old, absolutely gorgeous to look at - and single.  She's not had sex for eight months and she's stuck in the karma trap: an awful lot of bad luck is being visited on her and she has a real talent for attracting drama.  Her life's chaotic: she dealt with the leak from the shower by putting something down at the bottom of the stairs to absorb the water - then the shower fell through the roof whilst she was in it and left her, stark naked, staring at the pervy postmanShe only has to take her mother's dog out for a walk for her to end up with dog poo spattered across her face - and a photo being taken by someone who shares it around the office.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755354419</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B08CHJLNBS
|author=Margaret Henderson Smith
+
|title=Capturing Emilia
|title=Ne Obliviscaris: Do Not Forget
+
|author=Brooke Adams
|rating=3.5
+
|rating=3
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Poor Harriet Glover.  She's caught between her attraction to two menThere's Mark (coincidentally he's a Glover too), her long-term partner and father of her two children.  The girls are grown up now but he still hasn't made up his mind about whether or not he and Hat should get married - and truth to tell Hat isn't that certain either.  In theory it sounds like a good idea and would regularise matters but she's utterly smitten by Joris Sanderson, the headmaster of the school where she's a teacherThere are times when she thinks that, joy of joys, he's attracted to her, but then there are so many other women in his life that she's far from certain whether he's going to seduce her or sack her.
+
|summary=He's Charles Devereaux, thirty-eight and a partner at Wickham Jones, the Mayfair letting agentsShe's Emilia, twenty-nine, librarian and archivist in the heritage library next doorEmilia has read [[The Secret by Rhonda Byrne|The Secret]] but she's moved on from new age books like that, which leave you dependent on someone else's philosophies, to something a little deeperCharles is more of a [[Personal by Lee Child|Jack Reacher]] man himself, but, above all, he's shocked that Emilia reads ''The Guardian''.  They're obviously not at all compatible, so why can Charles not get this woman out of his mind?  She's not his usual type at all: it's obvious to his friends. And given that Emilia regularly feels repulsed by Charles's superficiality, why does she feel drawn to him?  The relationship's obviously a non-starter, isn't it?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1845494067</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author= Helly Acton
|author=Rosie Thomas
+
|title= The Shelf
|title=Lovers and Newcomers
+
|rating= 4
|rating=4
+
|genre= Women's Fiction
|genre=Women's Fiction
+
|summary= When we meet Amy, she's in a relationship with Jamie. You can't really call it a partnership, because things tend to get done on his terms, but she's sticking around because she hopes she can change him. Ah, yes. Haven't we all been there? Things are looking up when he tells her to pack for a surprise trip. Could this be it? Is he ''finally'' going to get down on one knee? Was the work (and the wait) worth it?
|summary=Friendship is precious and in this book six middle-aged friends put it to the test as they go to live with each other in an old country house. Each of them is eager to escape the outside world and cover up the cracks of strained relationships and unsuccessful lives. Afraid of growing old and leaving dreams unfulfilled, they do their best to feel young and free once more. However, far from being the wonderful and perfect solution they desired, living together means only more difficulties and new tensions emerge. They must battle with forbidden desires, heartbreak, broken relationships and the fear of old age. To make matters worse their isolated retreat is soon interrupted by an unexpected discovery from the past and with it the unwelcome attention of the outside world. Friendships are challenged, new ones are made and some are lost forever.
+
|isbn=1838770879
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007285949</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author= Alyssa Sheinmel
 +
|title= What Kind of Girl
 +
|rating= 4
 +
|genre= Women's Fiction
 +
|summary= '' Doing something when you're scared is braver than doing something when you're not''
  
{{newreview
+
When Mike Parker's girlfriend comes into school with a black eye, claiming he gave it to her, her whole world is tipped upside down. Her relationship has just ended and now she's the talk of the school. Mike was the most popular boy in school who was always so in love with her, everyone knew that, so why did he do what he did? Some people believe her and some don't, but one thing is for sure, this isn't going to blow over any time soon.
|author=Susan Lewis
+
|isbn=0349003297
|title=The Choice
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=The book tells the story of Nikki Grant who at the age of twenty one discovers that she is pregnant. Although this is unplanned, Nikki and her partner Spencer welcome the news and look forward to being the best parents that they possibly can be. However Nikki's parents are not so happy especially as they disapprove of Nikki's somewhat bohemian lifestyle and her relationship with Spencer. They virtually turn their backs on their daughter and don't even visit baby Zak when he is born. Nikki enjoys being a mum though even without her parents' support and could not be happier. That is until one fateful day, with Zak only a few weeks old, when some devastating news turns her whole world upside down. Life is never going to be the same again and in fact things just seem to get worse and worse for Nikki as the story unfolds.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099525690</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author= Katie Fforde
|author=Michele Gorman
+
|title= A Springtime Affair
|title=Single In The City
+
|rating= 4
|rating=4.5
+
|genre= Women's Fiction
|genre=Women's Fiction
+
|summary= I've wanted to read author Katie Fforde for ages and this was pretty much exactly what I was expecting - a warm, cosy read focused on romance, family and friendships.  This provided two romances for the price of one, but it was actually the family element as opposed to the romance that I really enjoyed.  
|summary=In a rather spontaneous decision to follow her dreams Right This Second, Hannah has left Connecticut behind and moved to London. She doesn't have a flat, she doesn't have a job, and she doesn't have any friends, but she has more important things to worry about on arrival. Like how to deal with potential lovers who are too posh to wash and how to get the guy in the sandwich shop to understand her order. As she navigates her way through the highlights and pitfalls of life on this side of the pond she chronicles all the little intricacies that we would never consider twice.
+
|isbn=1780897561
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141048263</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=B07W4MNBSG
|author=Nell Dixon
+
|title=Be Careful Who You Marry
|title=Just Look At Me Now
+
|author=Lizzy Mumfrey
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Big Barb, tub of lard, has turned her life around. No longer overweight with wonky teeth and frizzy hair she has transformed herself into Tia Carpenter, the stylish Beauty editor at Platinum magazine. She has always kept her previous life secret, even from her best friends, but then Juliet Gold, the girl who tormented her at school, joins the magazine as Fashion Editor and suddenly Tia's new life is threatened.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755354370</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Lorraine Jenkin
 
|title=Cold Enough To Freeze Cows
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Lorraine Jenkin is already well known for her wacky characters and outrageous plotlines. But taking on an archetypical boy next door romantic plot? I really thought that she would be forced onto the cliché-ridden path to a predictably happy ending. Well happy ending duly arrived, but via a completely unpredictable route, one that I could never have guessed in a month of Sundays, even by peeking at the last page before I started. And she ticked all the writing boxes along the way!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906784175</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Annie Sanders
 
|title=Famous Last Words
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=The story centres on Lucy Streeter who is a very ordinary woman leading a very ordinary life. She is quite happy running her designer clothes shop and being mother to her grown up son Nat. However, one evening her life is thrown into turmoil after meeting Micah, a fortune teller, who kindly informs her that she only has a few more days to live. Normally, Lucy would dismiss this as absolute rubbish, but unfortunately too many of his other predictions seem to be coming true so she has to sit up and take notice. As she does, she comes to the sad realisation that she has not made the most of her life and there are many things that she should or could have done.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1409112764</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Elizabeth Buchan
 
|title=Separate Beds
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Women's Fiction
+
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Annie and Tom Nicholson looked like the sort of people you would envy.  Both had rewarding jobs, Tom in the World Service and Annie in hospital management.  They had a lovely home and three grown-up children.  But all is not as it seems.  For five years they have had separate existences after a family row when Tom caused his elder daughter to walk out of the house and never return.  There hasn't been a catalyst which would have caused them to separate but Tom moved into his daughter's vacated room and he and Annie have lived together - but apartIt could have gone on indefinitely but then Tom came home one day and dropped the bombshell which could well finish them off.
+
|summary=It was coming up to Halloween in 1987 and a group of sixth-form schoolgirls wondered what they would be doing when they were fifty.  When you're only seventeen that seems positively ancient, but Liz was convinced that ''your entire life depends on who you marry''.  The only eligible boys were the Young Farmers and the idea of living in a farmhouse and having a couple of children called Will and Olly appealed to Charlotte, or perhaps William and Oliver if you were Elizabeth who was determined to marry the rather superior Patrick Shepley-BothamThe place to start their search was obviously the Young Farmers' Halloween disco that weekendThere was just one problem - there were too many Elizabeths in the class.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141019891</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Rebecca Farnworth
 
|title=A Funny Thing About Love
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=When the reader first meets Carmen Miller she is struggling to cope with the breakup of her marriage whilst not really enjoying her job as a comedy agent. Her boss always seems to find fault with her and she soon discovers that her ex husband's girlfriend is pregnant which comes as quite devastating news. The only thing that lightens up her days is the flirtatious banter that takes place between herself and her colleague Will. The problem is though that she is afraid of taking things further and eventually being hurt as she knows too well what that is like.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099527189</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Margaret Henderson Smith
 
|title=A Question of Answers
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Harriet Glover lives with her partner who's reluctant to commit himself to marriage.  It's not that he hasn't had time to make up his mind – their two children are at the stage where they might produce grandchildrenHis excuse is that he can't see the point as they already share a surname through chance, so what difference would marriage make?  Mark's not ''entirely'' insensitive (well, some of the time…) but he can't understand Harriet's need for that reassuring piece of paper.  Until then she's going to be wondering if his eyes are wandering elsewhere.  Harriet's not entirely immune either: she finds the headmaster of the school where she teaches quite irresistible.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1845493281</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Tasmina Perry
 
|title=Kiss Heaven Goodbye
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=A group of students were gathered on a private island in the Bahamas in 1990.  They'd just finished their exams – for some it was A Levels and for others it marked the end of university – but after a holiday of indulgence in drugs and alcohol and with lots of sexual tension four friends found themselves on the beach on the final dark night.  In front of them was a body, but they took the decision to let someone else make the discovery rather than getting involvedWhen they searched the beach the next day the body had gone – and they had no idea howThey did have a suspicion that Miles might have been involved in the death.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755358406</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Features|the latest features]]
|author=Rowan Coleman
 
|title=The Happy Home For Broken Hearts
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Nearly a year on from the death of her beloved husband Nick in a car crash, Ellie is still not coping very well. She is overwhelmed by debts and because the accident was a result of Nick's own dangerous driving, the insurance company won't pay up. How can she keep the London house she lives in with her son Charlie? Her bossy sister Hannah comes up with a solution – three very different lodgers.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099525224</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Carole Matthews
 
|title=The Only Way Is Up
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Lily and Laurence Lamont-Jones were on holiday in Tuscany with their friends.  Lily had enjoyed it but she had a nagging suspicion that Laurence's mind was elsewhere.  Quite how bad his worries were didn't become apparent until they flew home to find that their house and car had been repossessed along with all their worldly goods.  They were left with the contents of their suitcases, the clothes they stood up in and a mountain of debts.  After a night in the cheapest motel they can find the family of four is moved into the only available accommodation – a very scruffy council house on a sink estate.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755373782</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Leonie Fox
 
|title=Up Close and Personal
 
|rating=2.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=I had high hopes for a bright and breezy bonkbuster from Leonie Fox's third novel, having read some favourable reviews of her first two books.  The title, cover art and blurb suggest a frothy, fun, flirty and sexy read, so I was very disappointed to find this is anything but.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141037059</amazonuk>
 
}}
 

Latest revision as of 11:49, 13 November 2023

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Review of

Maybe Tomorrow by Penny Parkes

4.5star.jpg General Fiction

Jamie Matson works in an upper-class grocery store, for a man who's a control freak with all the subtlety of a half brick. Jamie's son, Bo, 'has his problems'. He's asthmatic and the more you read, the more you'll suspect that he's on the autistic spectrum. Sometimes Jamie needs to take time off at short notice - she's a frequent flier in the local A&E and sometimes Bo's not fit enough to go to school. Missed shifts or the need to be away on time to pick Bo up from school are occasions when Jamie can be controlled and put in the wrong. It was going to come to a head. Full Review

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Review of

Preloved by Lauren Bravo

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

Gwen is pressing her middle-aged bosom on a big number that starts with a four and ends with an oh-my-God-I'm-nearly-forty. Having been made unexpectedly redundant - any HR officer worth their salt would argue the toss - Gwen finds herself having a bit of a mid-life crisis. Catharsis is key and Gwen has decided now is the time to take back her life' Full Review

0008506337.jpg

Review of

The Garnett Girls by Georgina Moore

5star.jpg General Fiction

The love affair between Margo Garnett and poet Richard O'Leary was all-consuming, apparently on both sides. Margo was just sixteen when they fell in love. Richard was twenty-one and described by Margo's mother as 'an older man'. Her parents worried that Richard's influence would take her away from what they felt she could achieve - going to Oxford and having a glittering career. In the event, they eloped and Richard took her away from the Isle of Wight. Margo did go to Oxford and went on to become a well-respected journalist. The couple had three children: Rachel, Imogen and Sasha. Life was lived in London and holidays were spent at Sandcove, the family home on the Isle of Wight. Even then the doubts about Richard's drinking were never far from Margo's mind: she would never be able to leave him in charge.

Then Richard left them. Full Review

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Review of

The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai

4star.jpg Fantasy

Drawing inspiration from Egypt, The Daughters of Izdihar explores the lives of two women who could not be more different, yet find themselves fighting for the rights of women and weavers – those with magical abilities - in a society pitted against them. Nehal, born into the upper class, wishes to attend the Weaving Academy to learn to control her abilities and then join the military, but instead she is forced into an arranged marriage with Nico. Giorgina on the other hand did not have a privileged upbringing like Nehal and feels great pressure to provide for her family and maintain their reputation, whilst secretly attending meetings of the Daughters of Izdihar – a group campaigning for women's rights. Giorgina also happens to be in love with Nico. What follows is a story of an unjust society, filled with hypocrisy and cruelty, from which blossoms a group of admirable women fighting for their rights and overcoming their personal obstacles. Full Review

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Review of

Beneath the Porticoes by Brooke Adams

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

Elizabeth Miller was thirty-four and a teacher at a prestigious girl's school in York. It was comfortable but she longed for something more in life. She'd still not found the right vocation nor met the right man and now was the time to make a change. She needed challenges. There was a little trepidation when she applied for the professoressa job in Bologna. After a telephone interview, she was offered the position and it wasn't long before she was exploring the beautiful city. There were some natural doubts before her first class but it went surprisingly well. Full Review

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Review of

Meredith Alone by Claire Alexander

4.5star.jpg General Fiction

When we first meet Meredith Maggs it's Wednesday 14 November 2018 and she's not left her home for 1,214 days. She'd like to: in fact, she so nearly does. Her outdoor clothes are on and she's even considered which shoes to wear if she's going to catch her train. Then, she can't. She simply can't force herself to leave the safety of her home. She's fortunate that she has a good friend, Sadie, who visits regularly with her two children, James and Matilda. Sadie's a cardiac nurse and full of sound common sense. In fact it was Sadie who gave Meredith her cat, Fred. Groceries are online deliveries and there's also an internet-based support group where you'll find Meredith as JIGSAWGIRL, so you can guess what she does in her spare time. Then Tom McDermott arrives. He's from Holding Hands, a charity which supports people with problems such as Meredith's. Full Review

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Review of

Other Parents by Sarah Stovell

5star.jpg Women's Fiction

Jo Fairburn knew that she was under intense pressure as the new head of West Burntridge First School: if she didn't live up to her retired predecessor there could well be a house price slump in that part of the town. The school had an active Parent Teacher Association and the funds which they raised were a considerable benefit to the school. There was one difficulty, though - they were devastatingly shockable, with two members, in particular, causing problems for the head. Laura Spence and Kate Monroe objected to Jo's restrictions on the toys children could bring in on Toy Day but that was just a warm-up act for their real gripe: LGBTQ education. Full Review

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Review of

Walking on Sunshine by Giovanna Fletcher

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

Mike's wife, Pia, who he was with for seventeen years, has died. And whilst he is dealing with his grief, so are their best friends, Vicky and Zaza. But Pia left them all some 'rules' to follow, knowing that she was dying and that they would need help to carry on living. Whilst some of the rules are around practicalities such as clearing out her wardrobe, another one that Mike discovers one day encourages him to take one of their trips away, and Vicky and Zaza, struggling with their grief and their own life troubles, decide to drop everything in their own lives, and go along with him. Full Review

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Review of

Fall On Me by Penelope Potts

3.5star.jpg Women's Fiction

Life should have been good for Hollie: She was just going into the final year of her veterinary degree and - three years later - was still working at BB's diner. Bob - the owner - regarded her fondly: he was a good boss. Hollie had moved in with her boyfriend, Marcus: her mother thought he was great and he was doing well in his career. Hollie wasn't quite so certain though: Marcus wanted to control her and most of all he wanted her to leave her job at the diner. Then there was the fact that he would be violent, both to her and to other people. Full Review

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Review of

Mrs March by Virginia Feito

4.5star.jpg Literary Fiction

The problem began just after the publication of George March's most successful novel to date. Everyone but Mrs March (we know her first name only on the last page) seemed to either be reading it or had already done so. Every day Mrs March went to the local patisserie to buy olive bread but on that particular morning, Patricia asked, as she was wrapping the bread, but isn't this the first time he's based a character on you? She mentioned that Johanna, the principal character had 'her mannerisms. Perhaps this would not have mattered, except for the fact that Johanna is the whore of Nantes - a weak, plain, detestable, pathetic, unloved, unloveable wretch. Full Review

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Review of

Unbreak Your Heart by Katie Marsh

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

When Beth Carlyle and Simon Withers first met they were on opposite ends of an angry exchange - well, Simon was angry and Beth was doing her best to apologise for having knocked Simon's son, Jake, off his bike. He wasn't hurt but Jake has history. He has HLHS - that's Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome for those of you who are not au fait with your medical acronyms. When he was born, the left side of his heart hadn't developed properly and he needed open-heart surgery when he was a few days old. So, Simon has every right to be over-protective particularly when someone isn't looking where they're driving. Full Review

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Review of

Widowland by C J Carey

4star.jpg General Fiction

It's April 1953, and Adolf Hitler's schedule includes going to Moscow to attend the state funeral of Joseph Stalin then within weeks coming to London, parading around a bit, and watching over the sanctioned return to the throne of Edward VIII with his wife, Queen Wallis. For yes, Britain caved in the lead-up to the World War Two that certainly didn't happen as we know it, and we are now a protectorate – well, we share enough of the same blood as the Germanic peoples on the mainland. But this is most certainly a different Britain, for Nazi-styled phrenology, and ideas of female purpose, has put all of that gender into a caste system, ranging from high-brow office bigwigs to the drudges, and beyond those, right on down to the childless, the husbandless and the widows. Female literacy is actively discouraged. And in this puritanical existence, our heroine, Rose Ransom, is employed with the task of bowdlerising classical literature to take all encouragement for female emancipation out of it – after all, not every book can be banned, and not every story excised immediately from British civilisation, and so they just get a hefty tweak towards the party line before they're stamped ready for reprint. That is her job, at least, until the first emerging signs of female protest come to light, with their potential to spoil Hitler's visit. Full Review

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Review of

Madame Burova by Ruth Hogan

4.5star.jpg General Fiction

This book lets us discover several people in different stages of life in the early 1970s, all vaguely connected. So we have a bullied half-cast boy (as he would have been called then), a girl in a humdrum job wanting to become a singer, and chiefly, Imelda, the third generation of Madame Burova, Tarot-Reader, Palmist and Clairvoyant, to use her family's sea-front booth. The singer, the scryer and the sufferer's mother will all become staff at a revamped holiday camp, but just before then we see Imelda fly solo for the first time in the family stall. We also see her on her last day, fifty years later, in possession of a pair of letters that will change everything for a woman called Billie. Just who is she, and who delivered the secrets about her to Imelda, and why did it have to remain a secret all this time? Full Review

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Review of

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

4.5star.jpg Women's Fiction

This re-telling of the myth of Ariadne and the Minotaur is interesting and unusual. Jennifer Saint presents the story in a way that is sympathetic to its origins but also appealing to a modern audience. Saint's narrative is told predominantly through the viewpoint of Ariadne, spanning from her childhood to her death, allowing the reader to really connect with Ariadne as a character in her own right rather than just a prop in the heroics of Theseus. Full Review

1529039037.jpg

Review of

Sistersong by Lucy Holland

5star.jpg Literary Fiction

Sistersong is part of a genre I particularly enjoy, the modern retelling of folk and fairy tales. These stories, for most of us, are a cornerstone of childhood and I relish seeing them retold with fresh eyes and a fresh perspective. If handled well these retellings give new life and new meaning to stories that are now becoming increasingly narrow and outdated, fleshing out characters, examining relationships and re-evaluating the role of women. Sistersong is a perfect example of a modern retelling done well, the plot is handled with care, keeping its archaic historical feel but allowing the characters to come to life, to feel real and human, most importantly they feel relatable in a modern world whilst still feeling appropriate for the pre-Saxon age they live in. This is a masterpiece of storytelling and I was captivated from beginning to end. Full Review

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Review of

Cherry Blossom Boutique by Brooke Adams

3star.jpg Women's Fiction

Thirty-one-year old Liberty Rossini has had her shop, the Cherry Blossom Boutique, for just six months when she's nominated for - and wins - the Retail Best Newcomer Award. She's delighted and the two people she's brought with her to the event couldn't be more pleased. Sonja, her mother, is an ex-model and Brazilian: you can see where Liberty got her looks from. Jessica's thirty-four and Liberty's best friend: they've known each other since university and Liberty adores Jessica's husband, Charles and their four-year-old daughter, Ava. Life would be perfect for Liberty if it wasn't for one thing: she misses having a man in her life. Full Review

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Review of

The Karma Trap by Lisette Boyd

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

George Jackson is thirty-three years old, absolutely gorgeous to look at - and single. She's not had sex for eight months and she's stuck in the karma trap: an awful lot of bad luck is being visited on her and she has a real talent for attracting drama. Her life's chaotic: she dealt with the leak from the shower by putting something down at the bottom of the stairs to absorb the water - then the shower fell through the roof whilst she was in it and left her, stark naked, staring at the pervy postman. She only has to take her mother's dog out for a walk for her to end up with dog poo spattered across her face - and a photo being taken by someone who shares it around the office. Full Review

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Review of

Capturing Emilia by Brooke Adams

3star.jpg Women's Fiction

He's Charles Devereaux, thirty-eight and a partner at Wickham Jones, the Mayfair letting agents. She's Emilia, twenty-nine, librarian and archivist in the heritage library next door. Emilia has read The Secret but she's moved on from new age books like that, which leave you dependent on someone else's philosophies, to something a little deeper. Charles is more of a Jack Reacher man himself, but, above all, he's shocked that Emilia reads The Guardian. They're obviously not at all compatible, so why can Charles not get this woman out of his mind? She's not his usual type at all: it's obvious to his friends. And given that Emilia regularly feels repulsed by Charles's superficiality, why does she feel drawn to him? The relationship's obviously a non-starter, isn't it? Full Review

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Review of

The Shelf by Helly Acton

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

When we meet Amy, she's in a relationship with Jamie. You can't really call it a partnership, because things tend to get done on his terms, but she's sticking around because she hopes she can change him. Ah, yes. Haven't we all been there? Things are looking up when he tells her to pack for a surprise trip. Could this be it? Is he finally going to get down on one knee? Was the work (and the wait) worth it? Full Review

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Review of

What Kind of Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

Doing something when you're scared is braver than doing something when you're not

When Mike Parker's girlfriend comes into school with a black eye, claiming he gave it to her, her whole world is tipped upside down. Her relationship has just ended and now she's the talk of the school. Mike was the most popular boy in school who was always so in love with her, everyone knew that, so why did he do what he did? Some people believe her and some don't, but one thing is for sure, this isn't going to blow over any time soon. Full Review

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Review of

A Springtime Affair by Katie Fforde

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

I've wanted to read author Katie Fforde for ages and this was pretty much exactly what I was expecting - a warm, cosy read focused on romance, family and friendships. This provided two romances for the price of one, but it was actually the family element as opposed to the romance that I really enjoyed. Full Review

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Review of

Be Careful Who You Marry by Lizzy Mumfrey

4star.jpg General Fiction

It was coming up to Halloween in 1987 and a group of sixth-form schoolgirls wondered what they would be doing when they were fifty. When you're only seventeen that seems positively ancient, but Liz was convinced that your entire life depends on who you marry. The only eligible boys were the Young Farmers and the idea of living in a farmhouse and having a couple of children called Will and Olly appealed to Charlotte, or perhaps William and Oliver if you were Elizabeth who was determined to marry the rather superior Patrick Shepley-Botham. The place to start their search was obviously the Young Farmers' Halloween disco that weekend. There was just one problem - there were too many Elizabeths in the class. Full Review

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