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__
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1471180158
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|title=Maybe Tomorrow
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|author=Penny Parkes
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=General 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 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.
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Lauren Bravo
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|title=Preloved
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|rating=4
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|genre=Women's Fiction
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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'
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|isbn=1398510629
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}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=0008506337
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|title=The Garnett Girls
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|author=Georgina Moore
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|rating=5
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|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''.
  
<!-- Butland -->
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Then Richard left them.
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[[image:Butland_Curious.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/785764403/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
  
 
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Hadeer Elsbai
===[[The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae by Stephanie Butland]]===
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|title=The Daughters of Izdihar
 
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|rating=4
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]], [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]]
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|genre=Fantasy
 
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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.
Ailsa Rae has been sick her whole life, and just as she was edging closer to death she finally, finally got the call that she needed, that a heart was available for her to have a transplant. Previously she had felt so helpless that she had used her blog to make decisions for her, running polls amongst her readers to decide on her actions. But with her new heart, she has been given a new life. Can Ailsa manage to start to live on her own, and will her mother let her do that? [[The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae by Stephanie Butland|Full Review]]
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|isbn=0356520471
 
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}}
<!-- Woods -->
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{{Frontpage
|-
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|isbn=B0B575J99N
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
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|title=Beneath the Porticoes
[[image:0751568538.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0751568538/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
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|author=Brooke Adams
 
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|rating=4
 
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|genre=Women's Fiction
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
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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.
===[[How to be Happy by Eva Woods]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]]
 
 
 
Annie had hit rock bottom. Her mother was suffering from early-onset dementia and her marriage was well and truly over. She lived in a damp and depressing tenth-floor ex-council flat and had to share with someone she didn't really know just to afford the rent. And let's not get into the job with Lewisham Council and her colleagues there. Could it get any worse? Well, it looked as though it might when Polly burst into her life. She's one of those irritatingly happy, joyful people who simply won't take no for an answer and she's determined to make Annie happy. Whether she likes it or not. [[How to be Happy by Eva Woods|Full Review]]
 
 
 
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[[image:B079LS2VKW.jpg|left|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079LS2VKW/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
 
 
 
 
 
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===[[Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by Marilyn Bennett]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]]
 
 
 
Lorraine has one of those voices which makes you stop whatever you're doing so that you can listen ''properly''.  She has some disadvantages though.  She's a checkout operator for Fresh and Co and frankly it's not the best place to be if you're hoping to be the next big superstar. Her manager is her mother, but that's not ''quite'' as much of a disadvantage as you might think as Natalie definitely has Lorraine's best interests at heart and she's street smart.  But Lorraine (actually, it's Lolly to her Mum) has one really big advantage too: she sounds just like the superstar she idolises and that lady has been indulging in some illegal substances and needs a body/voice double at pretty short notice.  It's the perfect opportunity for Lorraine. [[Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by Marilyn Bennett|Full Review]]
 
 
 
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[[image:James_Island.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1409159590?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1409159590]]
 
 
 
 
 
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===[[Coming Home to Island House by Erica James]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]]
 
 
 
Much to the disgust of the village and his estranged children Jack Devereux has a new wife, the 'scarlet woman' Romily Temple. But, can his death and final demand that his children spend seven days together at childhood home, Island House, bring about a reconciliation and forgiveness from his much loved family? With sadistic Arthur, grief-consumed Hope, remorseful Kit and fiery Allegra this seems like an impossibility but then war is declared and the family find themselves pulling together. [[Coming Home to Island House by Erica James|Full Review]]
 
 
 
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[[image:Moorcroft_Little.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/000826001X?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=000826001X]]
 
 
 
 
 
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===[[The Little Village Christmas by Sue Moorcroft]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]]
 
 
 
'Tis the season to be jolly, eat too many mince pies and read books with titles like ''The Little Village Christmas''. And so we come to this latest offering from the ever popular Sue Moorcroft. I am unashamed to admit that I have rather a penchant for ''Christmas'' books and look forward to indulging in them each year. This year being no different I was greatly looking forward to some literary Christmas magic - and frankly if you can take the romance of Christmas and ramp up the nostalgia by inserting a village setting I am more than happy to leave my cynicism behind to wallow in some festive sentimentality. [[The Little Village Christmas by Sue Moorcroft|Full Review]]
 
 
 
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[[image:Colgan_Xmas.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/075156477X?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=075156477X]]
 
 
 
 
 
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===[[Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]]
 
 
 
Polly, Huckle and Neil are back but in what, sadly for fans of the Little Beach series, seems to be the last of this trilogy. Never say never but by the end of this book, the author has certainly secured the destiny of these three much-loved characters. Don't be put off if you haven't read the previous ones, it really won't matter particularly as the author provides a helpful little synopsis at the start to help those, like me, that are new to these stories. [[Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan|Full Review]]
 
 
 
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|-
 
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[[image:Swain_Sleigh.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1471164853?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1471164853]]
 
 
 
 
 
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===[[Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells at the Christmas Fair by Heidi Swain]]===
 
 
 
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]]
 
 
 
Having just discovered author Heidi Swain and her series of novels featuring the residents of Wynbridge, I couldn't wait to read this book and it certainly didn't disappoint being every bit as good as the [[Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage by Heidi Swain|previous book]]. Yet again Heidi Swain has managed to combine an original mix of characters with a feel-good storyline to create a totally compelling read. But, don't worry if you haven't read any of the other instalments as each one focuses on a different lead character and story so it really won't matter. [[Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells at the Christmas Fair by Heidi Swain|Full Review]]
 
 
 
<!-- Pimentel -->
 
|-
 
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
 
[[image:Pimentel_Jenny.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0718186443?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0718186443]]
 
 
 
 
 
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===[[Jenny Sparrow Knows the Future by Melissa Pimentel]]===
 
 
 
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]]
 
 
 
 
 
Jenny and Isla were focused teenagers. So much so in fact that they decided to write a life plan for their futures right down to predicting the year in which Jenny would marry the man of her dreams. As luck would have it, as the predicted year arrives Jenny finds herself living with Chris – kind, dependable Chris. The sort of guy with whom she would happily walk down the aisle. Then that fateful long girly weekend with Isla happens in Vegas. A cocktail or two and voila, a sudden, very different husband. Can Jenny get a divorce in time for her wedding to Chris without Chris finding out about this little…errr... glitch? Jenny's working on it! [[Jenny Sparrow Knows the Future by Melissa Pimentel|Full Review]]
 
 
 
|}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Melissa Hill
 
|title= Keep You Safe
 
|rating= 4
 
|genre= Women's Fiction
 
|summary= This is the story of two mothers and two daughters, and the virus that binds them. Widowed mum Kate is a nurse. She has a daughter, Rosie, and Rosie is ill with measles. As a nurse, Kate knows exactly how dangerous this can be, but because Rosie has a rare allergy that prevents vaccination, there was nothing she could do except cross her fingers and hope herd immunity would carry her through. Married mum Madeleine is a ''mummy blogger'' and tells the world, or at least the internet, the do's and do not's of parenting. There's one thing she didn't do, though, and that is get her daughter Clara vaccinated. Dubious of the MMR, she and her husband decided to forgo the jabs for their children. And now, like Rosie, she has measles.  
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0008217122</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Chrissie Manby
+
|isbn=0241542405
|title= The Worst Case Scenario Cookery Club
+
|title=Meredith Alone
|rating= 4
+
|author=Claire Alexander
|genre= Women's Fiction
+
|rating=4.5
|summary= I love a good romcom and so was excited to read Chrissie Manby's latest novelIt certainly didn't disappoint on the comedy value and pleasingly it was more a 'relationship comedy' than just a romcom with unlikely friendships and day-to-day family relations providing the best laughs.
+
|genre=General Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1473639778</amazonuk>
+
|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 trainThen, 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= Holly Hepburn
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|isbn=0008441618
|title= The Picture House by the Sea
+
|title=Other Parents
|rating= 4
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|author=Sarah Stovell
|genre= Women's Fiction
+
|rating=5
|summary=So as another typically dreary British summer is drawing to a close, I found myself craving a fix of literary sunshine and sea kissed romance. In such a mood it was then, that I came across the cover for ''The Picture House by the Sea''. Perfect blue skies, glistening sea, a beautiful Art Deco building and to top it off an old fashioned ice-cream cart. Consider me sold!
+
|genre=Women's Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1471161714</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 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.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Susi Osborne
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|author=Giovanna Fletcher
|title=Angelica Stone
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|title=Walking on Sunshine
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=General Fiction
+
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=I'd say that Angelica Stone was known as Angel to her friends, but she's not big on friends. She has the sort of background you dread hearing about: sexually abused as a child, grabbed by the care system and didn't so much fall through the cracks as escaped its clutches and then had to learn how to cope. She's been told that she's tainted, that she ruins every relationship without intending to and that she's best staying away from 'decent' people. One of her jobs is working in a supermarket and it's there that she meets Lola Moriarty and ''she's'' a completely different kettle of fish.
+
|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>1911320947</amazonuk>
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|isbn=140593560X
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Katy Colins
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|isbn=B09FS89KX9
|title= Chasing the Sun
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|title=Fall On Me
|rating= 4
+
|author=Penelope Potts
|genre= Women's Fiction
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|rating=3.5
|summary= Author Katy Colins became Britain's most famous jilted bride when the true story of her subsequent lonely hearts backpacking trip went viral, before becoming a romantic comedy book series with this the latest one.  
+
|genre=Women's Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0008202192</amazonuk>
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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.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Heidi Swain
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|isbn=0008421714
|title= Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage
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|title=Mrs March
|rating= 5
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|author=Virginia Feito
|genre= Women's Fiction
+
|rating=4.5
|summary= I absolutely loved this book. It was utterly enchanting with its charming feel-good storyline, delightful characters and innocent romance. It was also an easy read with short chapters making it easy to pick up and put down (not that I wanted to) throughout the day.
+
|genre=Literary Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1471147282</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= Rebecca Chance
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|isbn=1473685745
|title= Killer Affair
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|title=Unbreak Your Heart
|rating= 3
+
|author=Katie Marsh
|genre= Women's Fiction
+
|rating=4
|summary=Rebecca Chance's much anticipated and praised latest novel is definitely worth a 'chance' but for me it was a very mixed readThe cover blurb describes it as 'irresistibly readable' and 'a glittering page-turner' which it most certainly was, starting with a famed but as yet unidentified woman on a revengeful warpath against a second glamorous mystery womanThe story then restarts from the beginning setting the scene, characters and events that will eventually lead up to the revengeful opening actIt's not until the end of the book that this mystery betrayal is fully revealed which is what kept me hooked throughout what is quite a long book.
+
|genre=Women's Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1447282914</amazonuk>
+
|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 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 oldSo, Simon has every right to be over-protective particularly when someone isn't looking where they're driving.
 +
}}
 +
{{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 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 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.
 +
|isbn=152941198X
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Sophie Divry and Alison Anderson (translator)
+
|author=Ruth Hogan
|title=Madame Bovary of the Suburbs
+
|title=Madame Burova
|rating=2.5
+
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=General Fiction
 
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=''It starts with becoming a homeowner, then settling in, then reproducing.''
+
|summary=This book lets us discover several people in different stages of life in the early 1970s, all vaguely connectedSo 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 boothThe 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?
   
+
|isbn=152937331X
Well, it actually starts a lot before then, with a set of fractured memories of our heroine's childhood – things she recalls her parents and relatives saying both to and about her.  It goes through her childhood, and pen letters to a best friend conveying her wishes for her life, those wishes being revised and affirmed by the liberty of university years, those wishes being met with or denied by married life…  Someone archly could point out that you should be careful what you wish for, but not even our wise, modern woman could not see the next step after the reproducing – ''standing disappointed in front of the refrigerator''.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857054686</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Louise Pentland
+
|author= Jennifer Saint
|title=Wilde Like Me
+
|title= Ariadne
|rating=4.5
+
|rating= 4.5  
|genre=Women's Fiction
+
|genre= Women's Fiction  
|summary=World famous fashion and beauty vlogger Louise Pentland, also known as Sprinkle of Glitter, takes on a new challenge in the form of her touching debut novel, ''Wilde Like Me''. You will be transported into a world full of exasperating drama with the PSMs (Posh School Mums), heart-warming mother daughter moments and self-righteous men who you realise aren't the be all and end all. Now enters Robin Wilde, a single mum to Lyla and make-up artist living in her granny's house simply just trying to get by. The novel follows her journey of self discovery, which even she'd admit sounds like some awful cliche, and shows you that only '''you''' can make you happy.
+
|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>1785762931</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1472273869
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Dorothy Koomson
+
|author=Lucy Holland
|title=The Friend
+
|title=Sistersong
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Literary 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.
 +
|isbn=1529039037
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|isbn=B08NF79QXT
 +
|title=Cherry Blossom Boutique
 +
|author=Brooke Adams
 +
|rating=3
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Maxie, Anaya, Hazel and Yvonne – four friends and school-gate-mums who meet for coffee, wine, gossip and momentary escape from their respective livesNothing unusual about that until Yvonne is found battered and half-dead in the playgroundThree weeks later Cece moves into the area, her children starting that same school. Gradually she finds herself falling into the orbit of Maxie, Anaya and Hazel and hears what happened to the still comatose YvonneTwo questions still hang in the air though: who did it and why?  The police believe that the perpetrator is one of the three remaining friends and that Cece is in the perfect position to help them with their enquiries… a very dangerous position to be in.
+
|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>1780895984</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Nora Roberts
+
|isbn=B08GFSK2WZ
|title=Come Sundown
+
|title=The Karma Trap
 +
|author=Lisette Boyd
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Bodine Longbow's family has learnt to live with tragedyA quarter of a century earlier Bodine's Aunt Alice disappeared without a trace.  Nothing has softened the pain but life goes on and the family business (a ranch-style resort) certainly keeps them all busy.  Bo is fully focussed as the resort's manager but distraction is on the horizon in the form of Callen Skinner.  Local lad Callen comes home with a successful Hollywood film career on his CV and an eye for a certain Longbow ladyHowever, when a woman's body is found on resort land Callen is implicated.  Is history repeating itself?  Can Callen and Bo shake themselves free of a lawman's prejudice in order to discover the truth? The clock's ticking as Bo and Callen try to solve a mystery while putting themselves in the firing line and then Aunt Alice returns...
+
|summary=George Jackson is thirty-three years old, absolutely gorgeous to look at - and singleShe'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 dramaHer 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0349410909</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Jenny Colgan
+
|isbn=B08CHJLNBS
|title=Spandex and the City
+
|title=Capturing Emilia
|rating=4
+
|author=Brooke Adams
 +
|rating=3
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary= Touted as a super-hero romantic comedy, ''Spandex and the City'' features a girl-next-door Holly, a typically insecure 20-something rom-com heroine, enjoying her life in Centerton (Colgan's stand in for Gotham). When a handsome stranger she meets at a bar turns out to be the ''Ultimate Man'', a vigilante superhero straight from the Marvel or DC universe (the superpowers are more of a Marvel kind, but the character - both of the UM and of his adversary - reference Batman, among others), she can't help falling for him.  
+
|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 door.  Emilia 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 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>0356505448</amazonuk>
+
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author= Helly Acton
 +
|title= The Shelf
 +
|rating= 4
 +
|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?
 +
|isbn=1838770879
 +
}}
 +
{{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''
 +
 
 +
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
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author= Katie Fforde
 +
|title= A Springtime Affair
 +
|rating= 4
 +
|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.  
 +
|isbn=1780897561
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview <!-- remove 28/6  -->
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Isabella Davidson
+
|isbn=B07W4MNBSG
|title=The Beta Mum: Adventures in Alpha Land
+
|title=Be Careful Who You Marry
|rating=4.5
+
|author=Lizzy Mumfrey
|genre=Women's Fiction
+
|rating=4
|summary=To say that Sophie Bennett didn't want to move to London is something of an understatementShe's a shy person who doesn't make friends easily and the thought of losing all her support systems and having to start again fills her with dread.  ''But'', husband Michael has been offered a big job on London's RailLink project and it's not a chance he can turn down - even if he wanted to, and he doesn'tSo before long their three-year old daughter, Kaya, has been left with Sophie's parents and Michael and Sophie have found a flat in west London and they've even, against all the odds, managed to secure a place for Kaya at London's most exclusive nursery schoolWell, when I say that ''they'' managed to secure the place, I actually mean that they required the services of a nursery consultant, who has a double-barrelled name and a friendship with the headmistress.
+
|genre=General Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781326525</amazonuk>
+
|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-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.
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
Move on to [[Features|the latest features]]

Latest revision as of 11:49, 13 November 2023

1471180158.jpg

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

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

B08CHJLNBS.jpg

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