Book-Mad-Mum

The Mother of All Christmases by Milly Johnson My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Mother of All Christmases is about a group of three different women brought together by their pregnancies and the start of an Ante Natal group called the Christmas Pudding Club - named because all the women's due dates are around Christmas. The story follows the lives of the women as some come to terms with a surprise pregnancy, and others fully embrace it. Woven into the story are excerpts from the local newspaper, The Daily Trumpet which are laugh out loud funny!! I especially warmed to Palma, a young woman who embarks on being a surrogate for a couple who desperately wanted a baby and I was gunning for her to have her fairy tale ending. The book isn't a schmaltzy, over the top Christmas read, so it can be read at any time of the year, and there is a particular part which will have you reaching for the tissues but which was written in such a sensitive and caring way....

As Big Ben chimed at midnight on 31st December, I made a conscious decision that I wasn't going to vow to get slim this year (although if I wake up in the morning, and I'm a size ten, I'll be over the moon!) or give up drinking (I'll never forgive myself if the Italian economy went into recession because I'd given up the grape juice!). Instead at midnight I decided that in 2019 I'm going to be a better person, I'm going to hand out free smiles to strangers (even if I appear mentally ill!) I'm going thank the Baristas at Pret every morning, and generally try not to be a grumpy old cow! Today, I turned on Radio 2 to hear the wonderful author Amanda Prowse talking about her latest release "The Girl In The Corner" on the Graham Norton Show. Hearing what she has faced in life so far , and how she just sprinkled love and joy over the airways was inspiring and left me thinking "I want to be like that!" So this year, when faced with a diff...

If Only I Could Tell You by Hannah Beckerman My rating: 4 of 5 stars What happened on that morning in 1988 when ten year old Jess caught her 15 year old sister Lilly coming out of the spare bedroom? It was enough to fuel a rift between the two sisters which went on for decades. When their mother Audrey becomes desperately ill, she moves in Jess and her grand daughter Mia due and vows to reunite the two sisters and their own daughter, Phoebe and Mia who have only met a handful of times. I had read about a twist in the middle of the book, so was prepared for it, and I was completely convinced that I’d guessed what it was, but how wrong was I, and when I read it, I was floored by it! The book tells you the family’s back story and then slowly, the truth is out there – for the last few pages I had tears rolling down my cheeks so have tissues at the ready for a beautifully told story. I received an Advance copy of this book from Net Galley in return for a ...

Shadows in Heaven by Nadine Dorries My rating: 3 of 5 stars My first book of 2019. If I'm honest, it was the lovely cover that initially caught my attention on the shelves in Tescos. I am new to Nadine's books, but being from Irish parentage, I love reading novels about the Emerald Isle. The year is 1945 and the place is Tarabeg in Southern Ireland, two women Rosie and Sarah are waiting for the same man to return home after the war. Both of them are in love with Michael, but it is Sarah he choses amid family feuds, and even murder. About three quarters of the way through the book we are introduced to Mary Kate, Sarah and Michael's daughter, and it is really only then that the story starts. Although a really nice book, a good story and once that is well written, I did think that this is just the precursor to the follow up novel called Mary Kate, which if I'm completely honest, I don't think I'll bother with. View ...

Christmas at the Chalet by Anita Hughes My rating: 4 of 5 stars Felicity Grant is a wedding dress designer from New York who is spending the week between Christmas and New Year in St Moritz with her business partner Raj for her bridal fashion show, leaving her boyfriend Adam back at home. After slipping over in the snow Felicity meets Gabriel, a doctor, who comes to her rescue. This was a nice, pleasant read and got me in the mood for Christmas with its twinkly lights, and the fantastic description of St Moritz in wintertime. I particularly loved the story of Nell's rowing parents...Nell is one of the models who secretly invites both of her divorced parents to join her in the resort to try and resolve their differences so they both attend her wedding. A lovely, festive read. View all my reviews

The Plus One by Sophia Money-Coutts My rating: 4 of 5 stars Polly is a thirty-something journalist who works for a magazine called Posh. Her job is to interview the Duke's and Duchesses of the UK. For one assignment she is sent to interview a playboy marquess with a bad reputation with the ladies! Polly certainly didn't expect to fall in love with the marquess Jasper Milton. Friends Lex, Lala, Joe and best friend Bill, all try and make Polly see sense, but love is blind as they say. Has she finally found her "happy ever after" with Jasper? I loved this book, it was laugh out loud funny and I raced through the pages, enjoying every single word. I must admit though, I did blush when I was reading the very graphic sex scenes, but this was mainly because I was reading it on the train, and was worried that someone was reading it over my shoulder!!! I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest and open review...

One Day in December by Josie Silver My rating: 5 of 5 stars There's no such thing as love at first sight according to Laurie, a cynic when it comes to l'amour! That is until one evening in December whilst traveling home on the to deck of the bus, she gazes out the steamed up window and locks eyes with a handsome stranger sitting at the bus stop. In a moment of madness she wills him to get on the bus, but when it drives away without the handsome stranger, Laurie realises he might just have been the man of her dreams. She then spends the next year, alongside her best friend and flatmate Sarah unsuccessfully searching for Bus Boy. The following Christmas at their annual Christmas party, Sarah introduces Laurie to her new boyfriend Jack who turns out to be....BUS BOY! Unable to tell her best friend the truth and shatter her dreams, Laurie keeps the secret to herself, and there follows years of friendship and heartbreak. I absolutely loved this bo...