Book-Mad-Mum

The Idea of You by Amanda Prowse My rating: 4 of 5 stars Lucy and Jonah meet at a christening, fall in love, marry, and are over the moon when Lucy discovers she is pregnant, until at 11 weeks she starts to bleed and their hopes and dreams for the new addition to their family fade. I always find with Amanda Prowse's books that I can relate to the story in one way or another, and yet again I can because I sadly suffered a miscarriage, like Lucy at 11 weeks into my pregnancy and so I felt every emotion that was written. Every tear she shed, I did, when she got angry with life, I did and when she was thinking "why me?" I did too. This isn't a twee attempt at a subject that women still don't talk about, this was written from the heart and the characters were very true to life. I loved Lucy, and wanted to sit on the sofa with her, hold her hand and tell her that the pain of a lost child doesn't go away, you just learn to live wit...

Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner My rating: 2 of 5 stars Thank goodness that is over! I really hate posting bad reviews because I know that reading a book is a personal thing, and also, the author put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into the long writing process, however, this book just felt like pages and pages of cliches. Rachel is a young, white, middle class Jewish girl in hospital after having heart surgery. One evening, bored on the hospital ward, she wheels herself down to A&E in a wheelchair to watch the world go by. In comes young Andy, a mixed race boy with a single mum, from the wrong side of town, with a broken arm. Himself and Rachel get chatting and he goes off to have his arm examined and they never see each other...until...! What happens next is a lot of "bumping" into each other over the years, and a love affair that lasts a lifetime. I was really disappointed with this and found that reading it was like wading throug...

The Food of Love by Amanda Prowse My rating: 5 of 5 stars WOW! WOW! WOW! I should start this review by saying that I adore Amanda Prowse's books. I don't know what it is, but I always feel that there is a part of my life that she is writing about. The subject of this book is eating disorders (thankfully nothing I've encountered in my life) but I still felt that I could relate to the characters. Freya,a food writer and Lockie, a photographer have a wonderful, strong marriage with two teenage daughters Charlotte and Lexi. Food and healthy eating are a massive part of this family's life, so when the horrible disease of anorexia knocks on the door, and comes for an unplanned visit, the family do not know how to deal with this unwanted visitor. I found this book compelling to read, in fact, I stayed up until 1.30 in the morning to finish it, because this family became MY family, and I wanted to know how they all were at the end!! If you do nothing e...

The Assistants by Camille Perri My rating: 2 of 5 stars I had great hopes for this book, after being a personal assistant myself,mi was hoping for the bitchy stories of a corporate office, the politics and the office affairs, but sadly it wasn't the book was I thought it was going to be. Imagine a modern day version of the 9-5 film starring Dolly Parton with theft thrown in...it didn't feel like a new story to be, just an old one with a new twist. Saying that it was nicely written, but not a story I would recommend to my friends. View all my reviews

The Secrets We Keep by Jonathan Harvey My rating: 3 of 5 stars The whole book seems to centre around a left luggage ticket found in a jacket pocket after Danny goes missing five years against. What we do find out is someone has picked up the suitcase, but we don't find out what was in the suitcase or why Mim picked it up. Although I Liked this, there was a point when I felt I was wading through treacle although it did get better, but was a little far fetched at the end. I've read better Jonathan Harvey books. View all my reviews

Holding by Graham Norton My rating: 4 of 5 stars I listened to this book on Audible, with Graham Norton reading it himself, and it was brilliant. Set in the fictional Irish town of Dundeen, local, over weight Gardai PJ Collins is used to the slow sedate village Bobby, eating a fried breakfast, handing over speeding tickets and giving safety talks at the local school until....human remains are discovered when excavation work is being done on a farm. Down go the doughnuts, and PJ Collins has to step up to the plate, and solve the murder. Will the town ever be the same again as secrets are unleashed and we all know that once Pandora's box is open it is very difficult, neigh on impossible to get the lid back on. My family are from West Cork which is where this novel was set, and with Graham reading it, it bought the accents to life and made me giggle..I could imagine the scenery and landscape. Well done Graham, five stars...can't wait for the nex...

The Little Village School by Gervase Phinn My rating: 4 of 5 stars I loved this book!! I used to work in a school office but not in a village school, but I was interested to read it and I wasn't disappointed!! If you liked the Miss Read books then you will love this as it's just a more up to date version of using on Elisabeth Devine the new headmistress in school. You have all the usual characters that you would find in a village book, the gossip, the doctor and opinionated farmer which makes it sound like a really predictable read, which it probably was, but Gervase transported me from my home in Kent to the wonderful Yorkshire Dales. Really recommend this book. View all my reviews