Book-Mad-Mum

A Vintage Summer by Cathy Bramley My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is the second Cathy Bramley book I have now read, and I have loved them both, but out of the two of them, this is now my firm favourite. At the start of the story we meet Lottie, a gardener in a Crematorium, who has moved to London to live with her boyfriend Harvey who works as a personal trainer. When the relationship turns sour, and things don’t work out between the two of them, Lottie decides to return home. With no job or prospects her sister finds Lottie a job working as a manager of a local English Vineyard for six months. I don’t want to give away any more of the story, as I want you to enjoy it for yourself. This was the perfect book for the sunny Easter weekend, and I felt a strange serendipity when I finished reading it on Easter Saturday – a date which is mentioned in the book! This really is a must read summer novel – it will make you feel good about life, and if you’re like m

One Last Wish: A heartbreaking novel about love and loss by Ella Harper My rating: 4 of 5 stars Rose and Nate fell in love, and appeared to have the perfect marriage, until their young daughter Emmie is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, and the stresses of a terminally ill child take their toll. Emmie an astute eleven year old sees the anguish that her illness causes to her parents and when the cracks start to appear in their marriage, she, along with her counsellor Dr Tom, set about rekindling their love with a series of treasure hunts based around previous dates. This books handles a very emotive subject, no one really wants to address the topic of a child with cancer, however it was dealt with in such a sensitive and caring way that you wanted to turn every page, but not out of morbid curiosity but to see how the beautifully written characters developed. Have a box of tissues to hand! View all my reviews