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

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[[Category:Women's Fiction|*]]
 
[[Category:Women's Fiction|*]]
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[[Category:New Reviews|Women's Fiction]]__NOTOC__
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Diney Costeloe
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|isbn=1471180158
|title=The New Neighbours
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|title=Maybe Tomorrow
|rating=4
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|author=Penny Parkes
|genre=General Fiction
 
|summary=Dartmouth Circle has always been the epitome of British middle class propriety.  Manicured lawns, well-kept house facades… All is where it should be and life is ordered, with the disrupting influence of the town's university students out of sight and out of mind.  Imagine, then, the horror when the good citizens of the Circle hear that one of their houses… THEIR houses… has been bought as student accommodation.  Will it be the harbinger of doom they expect?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784972665</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Dinah Jefferies
 
|title=Before the Rains
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Historical Fiction
 
|summary=Eliza has tragically punctuated childhood memories of India that have feed her desire to return.  Therefore in 1930, following the death of her husband, when the British government commission her to photograph scenes of Indian life, she jumps at the chance.  What she doesn't realise is that not everyone she comes across is delighted with the idea.  Living within the Sultana's opulent palace complex is definitely an attraction for her, as is Jay, an Indian price who shows Eliza the real India.  However, attractions are sometimes dangerous and even deadly.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241287081</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Pam Jenoff
 
|title=The Orphan's Tale
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=General Fiction
 
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Herr Neuroff's circus has a secret: as well as a much needed wartime source of entertainment, it's also refuge to Jews escaping uncertain concentration camp fates.  One such person, Astrid, a trapeze and high wire artist, lives a precarious life in which her possible discovery would be more dangerous than her nightly actShe's an expert who has perfected her art over time and therefore resents Neuroff demanding she teach Noa, a non-circus family new comer, quicklyThere's a reason behind the circus owner's demand thoughNoa arrives at the circus endangered by an act of kindness: a Jewish baby she stole from a Nazi train before leaving the Netherlands.  It was a spur of the moment decision that will bind her to Astrid and their future, no matter how long… or short… a time that may be.
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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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848455364</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Amanda Roberts
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|author=Lauren Bravo
|title=The Roots of the Tree
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|title=Preloved
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 +
|genre=Women's Fiction
 +
|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'
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|isbn=1398510629
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}}
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{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=0008506337
 +
|title=The Garnett Girls
 +
|author=Georgina Moore
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=General Fiction
 
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=The strength of a tree comes not from what you can see, not from the trunk, the branches and the leaves, but from what you can't see - the rootsDisturbance to the roots can be devastatingIt's similar in human beingsAnnie had lived for 63 years, secure in the love of her parents, Elsie and FrankShe'd looked after them in her home in their final years and it was quite by chance that she came across their wedding certificate when she was sorting out their effectsThey had not been married until ''after'' her birth, but her birth certificate showed Frank as her father and that her mother was married to himSomething didn't add up and there was one inescapable conclusion: the man she'd loved as her father all those years ''wasn't'' her father after all.
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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 loveRichard 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 careerIn the event, they eloped and Richard took her away from the Isle of WightMargo did go to Oxford and went on to become a well-respected journalistThe 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 WightEven then the doubts about Richard's drinking were never far from Margo's mind: ''she would never be able to leave him in charge''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909716863</amazonuk>
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 +
Then Richard left them.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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|author=Marilyn Bennett
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{{Frontpage
|title=Granny with Benefits
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|author=Hadeer Elsbai
 +
|title=The Daughters of Izdihar
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Women's Fiction
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|genre=Fantasy
|summary=Thirty nine is a difficult age for a woman, particularly if she's not married.  Has she given up on the idea of having a family?  Does her career mean everything to her?  On the other hand is she desperately looking for a man?  Grace found herself in a difficult situation when she first met Dale (or Heaven on Legs - HoL - as she thought of him).  She'd volunteered to sort out her late grandmother's home, but she couldn't resist the opportunity to do a little dressing up.  So, wearing her grandmother's clothes, wig resting just above her eyebrows and heavy-rimmed glasses perched on the end of her nose she met the man of her dreams. Only, rather than laughing and explaining what she'd been doing, Grace carried on the pantomime - and called herself Louise.
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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>1785898736</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0356520471
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Jenny Colgan
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|isbn=B0B575J99N
|title=The Summer Seaside Kitchen
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|title=Beneath the Porticoes
 +
|author=Brooke Adams
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary= Colgan has a diverse portfolio of chick lit (and she also writes Dr Who novels) under her belt but starting with [[Meet me at the Cupcake Café]] in 2011, she has established herself as one of the queens of the chick-lit subgenre of '''comedy romance with food''', the Queen of Hearts and the queen of fruit tarts, to an obvious benefit of her popularity and presumably her bank balance and to the sound of satisfied ahhhhs and mmmms from her growing fanbase. As you can see I do miss the Old Jenny a little bit, the brasher and swearier characters and the much more cutting humour. But. There is something to be said for a well written feelgood novel and I did enjoy the sweetshop, the café, the bakery and now the ''Summer Seaside Kitchen'' which has all the tried, tested and well loved ingredients of a perfectly escapist, mostly but not totally predictable chick-lit romance with a foodie angle that Jenny Colgan has made something of her house special.  
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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 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>075156480X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Anna Bell
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|isbn=0241542405
|title=The Good Girlfriend's Guide to Getting Even
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|title=Meredith Alone
|rating= 3
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|author=Claire Alexander
|genre= Women's Fiction
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|rating=4.5
|summary= We begin the story with Lexi and her boyfriend. Lexi is one of those women, who has a begrudging relationship with her mother, who is constantly pestering to get her down the aisle, a father who has a spine missing and a boyfriend who leaves her as a sports widow. The more I talk to my female friends about this, the luckier I realise I am to not have. A partner who is entirely uninterested in sport but does fixate on Star Trek, Star Wars and anything else that revolves around space and guns.
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|genre=General Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1785760394</amazonuk>
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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 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.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Dawn O'Porter
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|isbn=0008441618
|title= The Cows
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|title=Other Parents
|rating= 3.5
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|author=Sarah Stovell
|genre= General Fiction
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|rating=5
|summary= Reading the blurb for this novel, the first novel for adults by author Dawn O'Porter, I got very excitedIt talks about the cow being a piece of meat, born to breed, one of the herd, and compares this to women, saying how they don't have to fall into a stereotypeI expected a slightly subversive novel about feminism.  What I found was an easy to read, enjoyable romp through three modern women's lives.
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|genre=Women's Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0008126038</amazonuk>
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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 school.  There 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.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Toni Jordan
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|author=Giovanna Fletcher
|title=Our Tiny, Useless Hearts
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|title=Walking on Sunshine
|rating=5
+
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=As predicted by Caroline and Janice's mother on Caroline and Henry's wedding day, their marriage is over, albeit 15 years and two daughters further along than predicted. Indeed, this is definitely not a good weekend for Janice to be babysitting at Caroline's house. There's the split and the awkwardness of the girls' schoolteacher being the other woman for a start.  Then there's that mistaken identity moment involving the neighbours.  At least Janice is well adjusted and over her ex-husband Alec. She still dreams of him, yes, but it's so over!  Just as well really… guess who's at the door?
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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>1760293814</amazonuk>
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|isbn=140593560X
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Wendy Holden
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|isbn=B09FS89KX9
|title= Honeymoon Suite
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|title=Fall On Me
|rating=5
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|author=Penelope Potts
 +
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary= This is an excellent read, weaving together many stories. We have Nell who, yes, is left at the altar after a whirlwind romance. It's horrible and horrifying and she is, understandably, distraught. Her last modicum of self-respect vanishes when she rings to cancel her honeymoon, only to find it non-refundable. And so, in a rare show of gumption, she decides to go anyway, taking along her friend Rachel and Rachel's daughter Juno for the ride. At the same time, bestselling novelist Dylan is having romantic woes of his own. An almighty fire has chased him out of town and he needs to disappear, at least for a bit. As luck, and artistic license, would have it, the two end up in the same place. But this is not the first time they have crossed paths, and they are both in for an almighty shock.
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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 diner. Then there was the fact that he would be violent, both to her and to other people.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755385357</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Rosie Blake
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|isbn=0008421714
|title=How to Get a Love Life
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|title=Mrs March
|rating=3
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|author=Virginia Feito
|genre= Women's Fiction
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|rating=4.5
|summary= Nicola is the sort of girl who knows what's for dinner based on what day of the week it is. Meticulously tidy, she employs a cleaner as well just to make doubly sure nothing is out of place. And you can set your watch by the time she eats her daily treat of a Mini Roll. Not all of this is bad. I believe in scheduled relaxation, and felt my heart skip a beat when, on the first day of my honeymoon, we received a schedule with our activities for the week. But the point is, Nicola is at the far end of the spectrum, and she certainly does not seem the kind to have a messy, chaotic love life.
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|genre=Literary Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782398643</amazonuk>
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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.''
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Nadiya Hussain
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|isbn=1473685745
|title=The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters
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|title=Unbreak Your Heart
 +
|author=Katie Marsh
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=The Amirs are dysfunctional: there's really no other way of putting itThey're of Bangladeshi origin and they're the only Muslim family in the small village of WyvernageOn the surface they look to be happy, but actually each of the sisters is struggling in her own wayFor the most part they're doing it quietly, but it's not always the caseThe eldest is FatimaHer name's often abbreviated to Fatti: it's not meant unkindly, but she's well upholstered and at thirty she's unmarriedEven her mother doesn't seem to think that there's much point in trying to find a husband for her.
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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 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 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>0008192251</amazonuk>
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}}
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{{Frontpage
 +
|author=C J Carey
 +
|title=Widowland
 +
|rating=4
 +
|genre=General Fiction
 +
|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 discouragedAnd 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 reprintThat is her job, at least, until the first emerging signs of female protest come to light, with their potential to spoil Hitler's visit.
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|isbn=152941198X
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Chrissie Manby
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|author=Ruth Hogan
|title= A Fairy Tale For Christmas
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|title=Madame Burova
|rating= 3.5
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|rating=4.5
|genre= Women's Fiction
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|genre=General Fiction
|summary= Kirsty meets Jon while working as a singer on a cruise ship. He is the impressive Director of Entertainment on board, and they fall into a relationship which Kirsty hopes will grow and develop into something special. When Jon announces he wants to return to England to his West Country seaside home, Kirsty is faced with a difficult decision: whether to follow him and cement their flourishing relationship or pursue her own career with a Cruise Line contract in the Caribbean.
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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>1473639743</amazonuk>
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|isbn=152937331X
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Diane Allen
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|author= Jennifer Saint
|title= The Mistress of Windfell Manor
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|title= Ariadne
|rating= 4
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|rating= 4.5
|genre= Women's Fiction
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|genre= Women's Fiction  
|summary= Charlotte Booth is the beautiful daughter of a successful wool farmer and like any young Victorian woman, she looks forward to the day she can be married and have a family of her own. Her childhood sweetheart Archie has a place in Charlotte's heart, but he cannot provide her with the life she desires, so when wealthy mill owner Joseph Dawson comes to town Charlotte sees her luck begin to change. After a brief courtship, Charlotte and Joseph marry and move in to the illustrious Windfell Manor, but things soon turn sour when one of Joseph's mill workers is found dead and Charlotte starts to suspect that Joseph isn't the man she first thought he was.
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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.  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1447287312</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1472273869
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Wray Delaney
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|author=Lucy Holland
|title=An Almond for a Parrot
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|title=Sistersong
|rating=4.5
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|rating=5
|genre=Women's Fiction
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|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=It was when Tully gained a step-mother that her education really started.  That was the beginning of the road to discovery. The discovery that she can realise ghosts for others, that she can escape the cruelty of an alcoholic father and the discovery of the income and pleasure her body can generate.  That, in turn, leads to the rather classy Fairy House brothel and, now, the condemned cell in Newgate Prison. As she awaits her fate, Tully writes her autobiography ''An Almond for a Parrot'' and allows us to read over her shoulder.
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|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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>000818254X</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1529039037
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Nancy Revell
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|isbn=B08NF79QXT
|title=The Shipyard Girls
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|title=Cherry Blossom Boutique
|rating=5
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|author=Brooke Adams
 +
|rating=3
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=1940 and the workload of Thompsons, the Tyneside shipyard, increases so much they do the unthinkable: employ women to perform the roles traditionally taken by menIt's the bravest as well as the strongest women who accept the challenge and, under the expert tuition of Rosie, begin to take their places beside their male counterparts. It's not an easy ride for any of them.  In fact, as they band together, there's one particular group that will face dangers in their daily lives as real - and more imminent - than any encountered on the slipway.
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|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 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784754633</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Lisa Dickenson
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|isbn=B08GFSK2WZ
|title= Mistletoe on 34th Street
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|title=The Karma Trap
|rating= 4
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|author=Lisette Boyd
|genre= Women's Fiction
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|rating=4
|summary= It's December, and Olivia is off to New York. Sadly it's not for the Christmas of a lifetime, or even a pre-holiday shopping weekend. She's going for work, in fact she's leading a team of colleagues, so it's far from a relaxing trip. Luckily she'll be home in time for the big day itself, and then she'll really be able to relax. Except, in a comedy of errors such as this, things don't exactly go to plan. Fierce weather grounds flights and shatters dreams, and new Christmas plans come into play.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751563099</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Fionnuala Kearney
 
|title=The Day I Lost You
 
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Anna is missing; a difficult truth for her mother Jess to absorb.  Anna went ski-ing with friends, leaving Jess to look after Anna's daughter, Jess' granddaughter.  Little Rose is now a comforting presence for Jess as she thinks about Anna, piecing together the person and life that Jess thought she knew aboutHowever, Anna has secrets, at least one of which will have repercussions… and not just for Jess.
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|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>0007593996</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Diney Costeloe
+
|isbn=B08CHJLNBS
|title=The Sisters of St Croix
+
|title=Capturing Emilia
|rating=5
+
|author=Brooke Adams
 +
|rating=3
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=On her 21st birthday Adelaide discovers a family she wasn't aware of: a Mother Superior aunt in a French convent and a father who died in WWI rather than Richard - her mother's husband and the man who raised herAdeline decides to go to France for a short holiday in order to learn more from her aunt that her family knew as Sarah HuntBoth Sarah and Adelaide part, hoping that they will see each other again soon and they will, but in circumstances that neither of them envisagedAs the Second World War begins and Germany captures France, there's danger ahead for each of them.
+
|summary=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 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 deeper.  Charles 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 friendsAnd 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>1784972606</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author= Melissa Pimentel
+
|author= Helly Acton
|title= The One That Got Away
+
|title= The Shelf
 
|rating= 4
 
|rating= 4
 
|genre= Women's Fiction
 
|genre= Women's Fiction
|summary= When you're American, and planning a wedding, you want that wedding to be in a proper, English castle. Of course you do. It's the only thing that matters. It's far more important than the hassle of shipping in your whole family from the States, forcing your sister to spend a week in a foreign country with her ex or anything else. This is the situation Ruby finds herself in. Her ex, Ethan, is the best man and she's Maid of Honour. It can't be avoided. And it's going to be a disaster.
+
|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?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405923733</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1838770879
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author= Vanessa Greene
+
|author= Alyssa Sheinmel
|title= The Little Pieces of You and Me
+
|title= What Kind of Girl
 
|rating= 4
 
|rating= 4
 
|genre= Women's Fiction
 
|genre= Women's Fiction
|summary= Sometimes you know exactly what you want in life, can list it all quite easily. At the end of their first year of uni, Isla and Sophie make lists. Just one list each, but with a number of items on. Things they want to accomplish in their lives. Lofty goals and easier wins. |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751563765</amazonuk>
+
|summary= '' 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.
 +
|isbn=0349003297
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author= Penelope Jacobs
+
|author= Katie Fforde
|title= Playing FTSE
+
|title= A Springtime Affair
|rating= 4.5
+
|rating= 4
 
|genre= Women's Fiction
 
|genre= Women's Fiction
|summary= Melanie is something of a ''wunderkind'', a graduate at an investment bank with brains to match her body. In a male dominated environment she's finding that one gets in the way of the other, but she's a smart girl and can learn to play this to her advantage. With her friend Jenny keen to lead her astray, Mel must learn the give and take of life in the City, and how far to push the limits to get ahead.
+
|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.  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781324611</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1780897561
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Alan Titchmarsh
+
|isbn=B07W4MNBSG
|title=Mr Gandy's Grand Tour
+
|title=Be Careful Who You Marry
|rating=3.5
+
|author=Lizzy Mumfrey
|genre=Women's Fiction
+
|rating=4
|summary=Timothy Gandy lost his wife unexpectedly.  One minute she was reaching up for the perfect serve and the next she was lying dead of a massive heart attack on the tennis court.  It hadn't been the perfect marriage: the two had little in common, but Tim had stayed with his wife firstly for the sake of the children, then eventually for Isobel's sake and eventually because he realised that he would feel guilty if he left her.  After the shock of her death came the realisation that he was 55, retired and could now do what he liked.  And that was where the idea of the grand tour came from.  He was going to take a leisurely trip around the cultural sights of western Europe and indulge himself.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340953071</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Georgia Clark
 
|title= The Regulars
 
|rating= 5
 
|genre= Women's Fiction
 
|summary= If offered the chance to immensely upgrade your beauty, to become the very definition of gorgeous, to have a face and body the likes of which are only ever seen on magazine covers and catwalks, would you take it? This is the question posed to best friends Evie, Krista and Willow, when they are presented with ''Pretty'', an enchanted solution of which a single drop guarantees a stunning physical appearance for a week. Before the ''Pretty'', the girls had regular faces, faced regular problems, and found themselves regularly disappointed by the dating world. But this bottle has the potential to change everything. The adventure that ensues takes all three young women on a whirlwind journey of self-discovery as dreams are fulfilled, hearts are broken, and the addiction to such a lifestyle proves to be far more sinister than they ever imagined.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1471160181</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Talulah Riley
 
|title= Acts of Love
 
|rating= 4.5
 
|genre= Women's Fiction
 
|summary= Bernadette St John presents herself as the very face of contemporary feminine independence. She is strong, career-driven, beautiful…and definitely holds the attention of the public. For Bernadette is the ''Man Whisperer'', winning herself fame with her ability to coax secrets from the richest and most powerful men of the world, exposing them with controversial distaste in her articles. Hidden behind such a conniving and judgemental persona, however, is a deep insecurity, and a desperate longing to be loved by the perfect man. She has already decided that the newly engaged Tim Bazier is the only candidate for such a position in her heart, and will stop at nothing to win him back from his all-too-lovely fiancé. Yet what is perfect is a subject for discussion, and charismatic entrepreneur Radley Blake's unwavering attention has also fallen upon the feisty journalist. It is a weaving tale of ''will-they-wont-they'' that Riley spins here, one that I found myself unable to put down.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1473637902</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Julie Cohen
 
|title=Falling
 
|rating=5
 
 
|genre=General Fiction
 
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Here is the story of three women, from three generations within the same family.  There is Jo, a forty year old single mother whose first husband died, and whose second husband ran off with their nanny.  She is left caring for her older teenage daughter, Lydia, and her two little ones, Oscar and Iris, whilst harbouring a secret that she feels she cannot share with anyoneHer daughter Lydia is the second female character, and as well as the usual teenage angst she is also dealing with grief, still, over her father's death, anger with her mother for her second disastrous marriage, and her own very difficult secret that she is unable to talk to anyone about.  Finally there's Honor who is Jo's mother in law, the mother of Jo's first husband, StephenHonor has a fall, breaks her hip, and is forced to move in with Jo for a time as she has no one else who can help her.  She too is hiding a secret from the world, and as you read the story you begin to wonder if any of these characters actually know who the others are, and if any of them will ever start telling the truth.
+
|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 fiftyWhen 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784160636</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
Move on to [[Features|the latest features]]

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

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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

B08GFSK2WZ.jpg

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

1838770879.jpg

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

0349003297.jpg

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

1780897561.jpg

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

B07W4MNBSG.jpg

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

Move on to the latest features