Book-Mad-Mum

  The book starts on 22nd August 1984 when George Michael’s Careless Whisper was at number one in the charts, and 16 year old Bessie wakes up on the morning of her 16th birthday. A young woman awaiting her O Level results, she has the whole world at her feet, but within the space of 24 hours, her whole life comes crashing down. Fast forward to the same day in 2021, Bessie is now celebrating her 53rd birthday and probably wouldn’t know (or care) who was number one in the charts. The highlight of her birthday is lunch with her parents in a tatty old carvery restaurant, so far away from the life that 16 year old Bessie had dreamt of. Her marriage to Mario is in tatters and with her children having flown the nest, Bessie now has to face her demons, but it will save her relationship with Mario or will it all come crashing down like a house of cards? It is no secret that I am a massive fan of Amanda Prowse, both as a person and an author, and I adore her style of writing. You don’t feel ...

  Kathleen is eighty years old and lives independently in her seaside cottage in Cornwall. After an altercation with an intruder, Kathleen’s daughter Liza questions whether she should move her into residential housing. What octogenarian Kathleen craves is one last hurrah, and she sets about arranging it. Liza is so stressed with daily family life, so the last thing she needs is her mother jetting off on a wild holiday. Unemployed Martha needs to change her life, her family see her as a failure and so when she sees Katherine’s advert for a driver and companion to share an epic road trip across America with, she decides this job might be the answer to her prayers. She's not the world's best driver, but anything has to be better than living with her parents. As these women embark on the journey of a lifetime, they all discover it's never too late to start over. This was a really enjoyable read – it took me a little time to get into it, but when I did I felt I bonded w...

  Newlyweds Charles and Grace decide on a quiet honeymoon in Cornwall after Grace experienced a traumatic accident on a previous holiday to Turkey. When their train terminates early due to a storm, they’re forced to find accommodation in the sleepy town of Saltwater. However, there is only one guesthouse, The Anchorage, left with rooms available is it really as empty as Charles and Grace think? In the night, Grace is woken by the haunting sound of a child crying but the next morning when husband Charles convinces her that it was her imagination. But the following day, she finds a warning scrawled in the guest book:  Leave now. Do not trust them . With phone lines down, no transport links and no wifi Grace and Charles are truly stranded in the eerie guest house. This was such a chilling read, it made the hairs on my arms stand up. It was the first ghost story that I’ve read as I’m a bit of wimp when it comes to things like that – however it completely gripped me and I ra...

  I’ve been a bridesmaid twice in my life, and to be honest, they were the two   most stressful days in my life, so why anyone would want to do it for a living is beyond me!!! However, Sophie Breeze loves it…posing as a friend of the bride she goes undercover to make sure that the day goes to plan, averting all problems and making sure that everything runs like clockwork. When a member of the aristocracy approaches her to act as a bridesmaid for her daughter, former model and IT Girl, Lady Victoria Swann, Sophie knows that this will open more doors for her and is a great career opportunity. However, I didn’t feel comfortable with this – to say that Lady Vicki was a minx is putting it mildly, and the bullying and hateful things that she made Sophie do made me feel really uncomfortable, and I wanted Sophie to grow a backbone and tell her “No”! Sophie was a likable character but, I felt instead of giving in to every demand, swans walking up the aisle of the church, peacocks a...

    Lydia’s Butler’s life has been turned upside down in a heartbeat – quite literally. When her husband suffers a massive heart attack and dies, Lydia finds out secrets about him which forces her, and their daughter Sunny to leave their wealthy, luxurious Dublin lifestyle, selling their house and most of their possessions and moving to Sandy Cove, in Kerry on the west coast of Ireland. Wild Rose Bay is the last place Lydia Butler thought she’d be, but seeking solace in the run-down cottage she inherited from her Great Aunt Nellie, she tries to protect her daughter from the gossip of Dublin and adapt to a different lifestyle, but can she escape the web of deceit and re-build their lives on a shoestring?   This book was perfect for me – it was like slipping my feet into handmade shoes – the fit was spot on, and I don’t know how I haven’t read any of Susanne O’Leary’s books before.  Although this book is just one of the Sandy Cove series, I really didn’t fee...

    Georgia and Lydia are both illustrators except that Georgia has a book deal, and Lydia is working in a job she hates in publishing striving to become successful.   When Lydia starts an online business that struggles, Georgia wants to help her - but she also understands Lydia's not the kind to accept a handout. Setting up a fake Twitter account, Georgia hopes to give her friend a confidence boost by posing as a potential customer. When Lydia starts confiding in her new internet buddy “Patricia” Georgia discovers she doesn't know her friend quite as well as she thought and although she knows that she should reveal her identity she is drawn in by the secrets that Lydia is revealing…secrets that could end both their friendship and Georgia’s marriage. AMAZING! I can’t tell you how much I adored this book and I want all my friends to read it so we can talk about it! It is my favourite book of the year so far. Jane Fallon never disappoints her readers with her true to...

East London during the Blitz and when Violet loses her sister in the Blitz, she decides to take her nieces to safety on her aunts farm in Cornwall. Once there she meets Hazel, a woman married to a bully of a husband who was recently gone off to fight for his country. Together they meet Eva who is also running from the dangers of London. The town Porthcurno hides a secret military base, and the three women who all get jobs at the base realise there’s a battle to fight in Cornwall, too. But will their friendship be enough to keep them safe?   I will be honest, initially I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book, as it is so far away from the type of books I usually read however, it blew me away and I absolutely loved it!!! The characters are so well written you immediately fall in love with the good ones, and want to boo and hiss at the baddies!   I’m also ashamed to say that I never knew that Cornwall was bombed so heavily during the war, or played such an importa...