Book-Mad-Mum

  Annie is all ready to marry her university sweetheart Alexander…the dress is on, hair and makeup done and when she arrives at the church with her little sister and dad at her side, the last thing she expects is to be left standing at the altar. Alexander has done a runner and instead of speaking to Annie, he texted the wedding planner asking her to break the news. Annie is left wondering how could life have taken such a cruel turn? Grieving for her relationship, Annie decides to channel her sorrow into Boot Camp classes and it was there that she bumped into Patrick, an old friend who she used to attend summer camp with -   and he is a reminder of happier days. So when Alexander’s parents insist that Annie still goes on the honeymoon to Australia that they arranged and paid for – she reluctantly agrees but spontaneously Patrick says he’ll go as her friend and companion, but what is it like to go on honeymoon with a man who isn’t your husband? I loved, loved, loved this bo...

  The Carey family call Rockwood home until their flighty mother goes off to London to seek fame and fortune as an opera singer, a successful career she gave up when she married their father, a botanist who also goes off to locate some lost plants up a remote mountain in Asia. Abandoned by their parents and left to fight for themselves, the children comprising of headstrong Rosalind Carey, sister Patricia, brother Bertie who stands to inherit the castle, bookworm Walter and their grandfather Sir Lucien who is suffering with dementia after a long career in the Navy. But their once much-loved home is crumbling like the family that lives within it.  Living hand to mouth and desperate to provide for the estate that depends on them, the Carey family are one debt away from ruin. Until the day comes when the dashing Piers Blanchard appears on their doorstep from Cornwall, claiming he is Rosalind’s distant cousin and that Rockwood Castle is his. Piers says he wants to help p...

  At her 30 th birthday party Kate decides to take the bull by the horns and pop the question to her long term boyfriend James, but when silence surrounds her proposal she realises she’s made a massive mistake. Overnight, the video of her popping the question has gone viral and she’s an internet hit for all the wrong reasons. So distraught Kate hops on a plane to getaway from the embarrassing situation she’s found herself in. Seeking solace in Croatia with her brother Toby and his husband Fillipo who are renovating a hostel, Kate discovers a hidden talent for interior design. Working alongside dreadlocked, bearded handyman Alex, Kate discovers that his laid back attitude to life is not only   refreshing but is also catching!   Kate was a lovely character, but felt so vulnerable that you just wanted to scoop her in your arms and hug her – I was so glad that she had a good friend in Robyn who had her back and looked after her. James on the other side was a real panto...

  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...