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beate251's reviews
357 reviews
The Silver-Haired Sisterhood by Judy Leigh
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
REVIEW IN PROGRESS
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.
This is a sequel to Five French Hens but can be read as a standalone as we get a good summary at the beginning.
Tess, Rose, Della, Jen and Pam are best friends. They had an adventure five years ago that led to Rose living and working in Paris, playing piano in a nightclub, Tess throwing out her husband Alan and a wedding not taking place.
Now Jen is going on an Iceland cruise, Pam is off to Greece with her dog Elvis and Della is planning a pre-seasonal short trip to Paris with husband Sylvester. Feeling left out, Tess books a trip to the Isle of Skye in Scotland.
Then bereavement and illness strike our quintet, which leads to Della accompanying Tess to Skye, and after a while, Rose joining too with her young friend Daz. The owner of the hotel, Roddy Fraser, is in a terrible pickle though. His wife Isla has left him, threatens him for half the hotel and leaves him broken and unable to deal with guests.
There's a fairly big cast, with the hens, owner, guests like Robin and his son Jamie and quirky old men like Murdo and Aul Crabbit.
The author does a good job of marketing Skye to the reader - it feels as if you're there seeing the Northern Lights yourself.
I like the fact that elderly women are celebrated here as being and having fun and not being "past it" in the slightest. I have read books from Judy Leigh before and they were similarly full of adventures for the elderly gals.
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.
This is a sequel to Five French Hens but can be read as a standalone as we get a good summary at the beginning.
Tess, Rose, Della, Jen and Pam are best friends. They had an adventure five years ago that led to Rose living and working in Paris, playing piano in a nightclub, Tess throwing out her husband Alan and a wedding not taking place.
Now Jen is going on an Iceland cruise, Pam is off to Greece with her dog Elvis and Della is planning a pre-seasonal short trip to Paris with husband Sylvester. Feeling left out, Tess books a trip to the Isle of Skye in Scotland.
Then bereavement and illness strike our quintet, which leads to Della accompanying Tess to Skye, and after a while, Rose joining too with her young friend Daz. The owner of the hotel, Roddy Fraser, is in a terrible pickle though. His wife Isla has left him, threatens him for half the hotel and leaves him broken and unable to deal with guests.
There's a fairly big cast, with the hens, owner, guests like Robin and his son Jamie and quirky old men like Murdo and Aul Crabbit.
The author does a good job of marketing Skye to the reader - it feels as if you're there seeing the Northern Lights yourself.
I like the fact that elderly women are celebrated here as being and having fun and not being "past it" in the slightest. I have read books from Judy Leigh before and they were similarly full of adventures for the elderly gals.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Alcohol
Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Daphne Bell is 33. Since she first started dating she has received small notes that give her the name of the guy and a time frame, like one night, 6 months or 2 years. She takes this as the expiration date of the relationship, doesn't question it at all and keeps to it slavishly, whatever she thinks of the guy. If you think that's self-fulfilling prophecy, I'd agree with you.
One day she receives a note with just the name of the guy and no date. This unbalances her greatly, especially, as we learn way too late, she has some serious medical issues, which she tells hardly anyone about.
I couldn't relate to Daphne at all. She lives in LA and we hear a lot about streets and restaurants there. She also insists in telling us what people are wearing all the time. "He's wearing a white long-sleeved waffle-knit Henley" means absolutely nothing to me. I also didn't understand her not telling anyone about her condition. I have a congenital heart disease and everyone around me knows about it. Why keep secrets from people, especially the ones you're in a relationship with?
Rebecca Serle's books always come with a touch of magical realism which in itself isn't bad, unless someone takes it as gospel and someone else uses it to turn things on their head as happens here. To be honest, I didn't appreciate any of the twists and turns.
The book should be about Daphne's relationship with Jake, the no expiry date guy, but we get too many flashbacks to other relationships she has had including Hugo who is now her best friend, so I never got a sense of anyone. The rest of the time is spent philosophising about love.
Thankfully it's a quick read because this didn't grab me at all. I found Daphne unlikeable and the guys not very memorable. Her parents are fantastic though.
One day she receives a note with just the name of the guy and no date. This unbalances her greatly, especially, as we learn way too late, she has some serious medical issues, which she tells hardly anyone about.
I couldn't relate to Daphne at all. She lives in LA and we hear a lot about streets and restaurants there. She also insists in telling us what people are wearing all the time. "He's wearing a white long-sleeved waffle-knit Henley" means absolutely nothing to me. I also didn't understand her not telling anyone about her condition. I have a congenital heart disease and everyone around me knows about it. Why keep secrets from people, especially the ones you're in a relationship with?
Rebecca Serle's books always come with a touch of magical realism which in itself isn't bad, unless someone takes it as gospel and someone else uses it to turn things on their head as happens here. To be honest, I didn't appreciate any of the twists and turns.
The book should be about Daphne's relationship with Jake, the no expiry date guy, but we get too many flashbacks to other relationships she has had including Hugo who is now her best friend, so I never got a sense of anyone. The rest of the time is spent philosophising about love.
Thankfully it's a quick read because this didn't grab me at all. I found Daphne unlikeable and the guys not very memorable. Her parents are fantastic though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting
Love Letters to a Serial Killer by Tasha Coryell
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Hannah Wilson is a desperate, needy pick me girl. She has no insight in how damaged she is. She has no self-confidence and fixates on a man for the slightest compliment he gives her.
She complains about being overlooked for a promotion at work but she never does any work. I wouldn't promote her either!
And now she is obsessed with serial killer William Thompson, accused of having murdered four young women. First she writes to him and uses him as a verbal punching bag for all her real life frustrations, but when he writes back in a friendly way, she soon gets sucked into his net, using him as a confidante and thinking she's falling in love with him, even though (or maybe because) he might be a very bad person.
When she loses her job because of being distracted, she travels to attend William's trial, making friends with other delusional "fans" and trying to ingratiate herself into his family, including his brother Bentley (imagine calling someone after a car!).
I was fascinated and grossed out at the same time by her. She is so deeply unlikeable in everything she does and thinks. There are a few twists but they aren't coming out of left field and are pretty predictable.
Hannah learns nothing, still self-destructive at the end and unhinged. Unfortunately, we never learn what made her this way which would have been interesting. How she makes it to the end of the book alive is beyond me.
Go to therapy, lady, you're a mess.
I was also annoyed by the consistent but grammatically wrong use of "between you and I". It's "between you and me" and I see it wrong a lot but it was really over the top here.
This is a debut novel and for that it's not too bad but it's not on par with writers like Katy Brent or C J Skuse.
She complains about being overlooked for a promotion at work but she never does any work. I wouldn't promote her either!
And now she is obsessed with serial killer William Thompson, accused of having murdered four young women. First she writes to him and uses him as a verbal punching bag for all her real life frustrations, but when he writes back in a friendly way, she soon gets sucked into his net, using him as a confidante and thinking she's falling in love with him, even though (or maybe because) he might be a very bad person.
When she loses her job because of being distracted, she travels to attend William's trial, making friends with other delusional "fans" and trying to ingratiate herself into his family, including his brother Bentley (imagine calling someone after a car!).
I was fascinated and grossed out at the same time by her. She is so deeply unlikeable in everything she does and thinks. There are a few twists but they aren't coming out of left field and are pretty predictable.
Hannah learns nothing, still self-destructive at the end and unhinged. Unfortunately, we never learn what made her this way which would have been interesting. How she makes it to the end of the book alive is beyond me.
Go to therapy, lady, you're a mess.
I was also annoyed by the consistent but grammatically wrong use of "between you and I". It's "between you and me" and I see it wrong a lot but it was really over the top here.
This is a debut novel and for that it's not too bad but it's not on par with writers like Katy Brent or C J Skuse.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
It Happened on Christmas Eve by Kirsty Greenwood
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
3.5
This is another short novella by Kirsty Greenwood whose back catalogue I'm currently going through. Like with Love Will Save the Day this one takes place in Notting Hill and "Harmonious Spaces" is mentioned, it's Christmas Eve and again there are "large piles of snow" outside. Sorry, but that kind of inaccuracy is hilarious. When does it ever snow enough in London?
This time we're getting the grumpy/sunshine trope, with, unusually, the woman being the Grinch who stole Christmas. Phoebe had a relationship go south on Christmas last year and since then she hates everything about it.
Adam is her boss Marcy's son and he loves the most wonderful time of the year, even with a broken leg and Phoebe as a reluctant babysitter for a few hours on Christmas Eve, when his mother/her boss is occupied with a business emergency.
Novellas always suffer from the fact that the shortness of the story doesn't allow for deep character analysis but some novellas cope better than others. This one has a better, albeit very slight story than Love Will Save the Day but it's not a patch on the adorable Love of my Afterlife. Maybe this would have been better as a full-grown book with better fleshed-out characters, as the story has potential.
This time we're getting the grumpy/sunshine trope, with, unusually, the woman being the Grinch who stole Christmas. Phoebe had a relationship go south on Christmas last year and since then she hates everything about it.
Adam is her boss Marcy's son and he loves the most wonderful time of the year, even with a broken leg and Phoebe as a reluctant babysitter for a few hours on Christmas Eve, when his mother/her boss is occupied with a business emergency.
Novellas always suffer from the fact that the shortness of the story doesn't allow for deep character analysis but some novellas cope better than others. This one has a better, albeit very slight story than Love Will Save the Day but it's not a patch on the adorable Love of my Afterlife. Maybe this would have been better as a full-grown book with better fleshed-out characters, as the story has potential.
Love Will Save the Day by Kirsty Greenwood
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I loved Kirsty Greenwood's The Love of my Afterlife so much that I am going through her entire back catalogue at the moment.
This is a novella featuring Bess McKinley, a personal trainer who wants to make it big in London but can't even afford the rent for her tiny freezing flat, and she has just lost her job at the gym for reasons that I can't remember.
So when she meets Henry Byron (!), romantic poet and YouTube content creator in the queue of a coffee shop and he insists that she is the woman who saved his life a month ago and buys her lunch, she seizes the day and not only becomes his personal trainer but also moves into his spare room faster than you can say "posh mansion in Notting Hill". The film really has a lot to answer for.
Unfortunately, I couldn't stand any of the main characters. Bess is delusional about making it in expensive London, and instead of asking her Dad for help like a normal person, the first thing she does to Henry is lie to him.
But Henry is worse. I can't stand those stupid influencers and content creators who start every post with "Hi, guys!" He is creepy with Bess and tries to drive an online narrative that she doesn't want, especially as she has a growing attraction to flatmate Auguste, who speaks perfect English apart from the fact that he apparently mixes up all his idioms. At the end we learn that Henry was even worse than we thought.
Added to that, characters say things like "Holland Park is so wonderful in the snow." When does London ever gets sufficient snow for anyone to say that?
Novellas always suffer from the fact that the shortness of the story doesn't allow for deep character analysis but some novellas cope better than others. This one doesn't. This fell flat into the snow for me.
This is a novella featuring Bess McKinley, a personal trainer who wants to make it big in London but can't even afford the rent for her tiny freezing flat, and she has just lost her job at the gym for reasons that I can't remember.
So when she meets Henry Byron (!), romantic poet and YouTube content creator in the queue of a coffee shop and he insists that she is the woman who saved his life a month ago and buys her lunch, she seizes the day and not only becomes his personal trainer but also moves into his spare room faster than you can say "posh mansion in Notting Hill". The film really has a lot to answer for.
Unfortunately, I couldn't stand any of the main characters. Bess is delusional about making it in expensive London, and instead of asking her Dad for help like a normal person, the first thing she does to Henry is lie to him.
But Henry is worse. I can't stand those stupid influencers and content creators who start every post with "Hi, guys!" He is creepy with Bess and tries to drive an online narrative that she doesn't want, especially as she has a growing attraction to flatmate Auguste, who speaks perfect English apart from the fact that he apparently mixes up all his idioms. At the end we learn that Henry was even worse than we thought.
Added to that, characters say things like "Holland Park is so wonderful in the snow." When does London ever gets sufficient snow for anyone to say that?
Novellas always suffer from the fact that the shortness of the story doesn't allow for deep character analysis but some novellas cope better than others. This one doesn't. This fell flat into the snow for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting
Onwards And Upwards by Celia Anderson
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.
Ingrid Copperfield moves to Willowbrook to sell her late husband Tommy's possessions in a pop-up shop using premises belonging to her aunt Sylvia. She's got a lease for a year and then she plans to get out of there and move somewhere remote.
However, her hopes of a quiet life are soon shattered when she meets the Saga Louts: Beryl, Winnie and Anthea, three elderly but very energetic ladies who take her under their wing.
We met the Saga Louts in Celia Anderson's previous book Life Begins at 50! already, as well as young single Dad Sam and his 7 year old daughter Elsie.
There is also Joel Dean, a divorced carpenter who has a teenage daughter named Leo, and who develops feelings for Ingrid. Together with the Saga Louts they become The Treasure Team, helping Ingrid to open up her Treasure Trove shop.
Then Lennie Nightingale, Sylvia's son and Ingrid's cousin, turns up to stalk her, Anthea becomes unwell and a mysterious stranger turns up with shocking news for Ingrid.
This is an uplifting story of a woman starting again with the help of her new quirky friends of all ages and a new man. It is quite predictable but the characters are great and it's a nice and easy read about friendship, community and second chances. I'm in my fifties myself, and it's great to see romances for characters my age. The ending felt a bit abrupt but we get an epilogue and I loved that little Elsie was back!
Ingrid Copperfield moves to Willowbrook to sell her late husband Tommy's possessions in a pop-up shop using premises belonging to her aunt Sylvia. She's got a lease for a year and then she plans to get out of there and move somewhere remote.
However, her hopes of a quiet life are soon shattered when she meets the Saga Louts: Beryl, Winnie and Anthea, three elderly but very energetic ladies who take her under their wing.
We met the Saga Louts in Celia Anderson's previous book Life Begins at 50! already, as well as young single Dad Sam and his 7 year old daughter Elsie.
There is also Joel Dean, a divorced carpenter who has a teenage daughter named Leo, and who develops feelings for Ingrid. Together with the Saga Louts they become The Treasure Team, helping Ingrid to open up her Treasure Trove shop.
Then Lennie Nightingale, Sylvia's son and Ingrid's cousin, turns up to stalk her, Anthea becomes unwell and a mysterious stranger turns up with shocking news for Ingrid.
This is an uplifting story of a woman starting again with the help of her new quirky friends of all ages and a new man. It is quite predictable but the characters are great and it's a nice and easy read about friendship, community and second chances. I'm in my fifties myself, and it's great to see romances for characters my age. The ending felt a bit abrupt but we get an epilogue and I loved that little Elsie was back!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Grief
Midnight Rainbows Over The Little Village by Ella Cook
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for this ARC.
This is book 4 in the Broclington series. I haven't read the other three but I think this can be read as a standalone.
This is a queer romance about Imogen Finnegan, who is a physiotherapist and is setting up a holistic complementary therapy business for pain management (she suffers from Fibromyalgia herself) and Kim Macpearson, receptionist at brother Jake's vet practice. She has another brother called Callum who is a GP.
Kim isn't gay or at least she doesn't think she is, until she meets Imogen, and sparks fly. The romance is slow-burn and sweet. Immy's chronic illness is explained clearly, and we learn a lot about pain management therapy. There is one episode of homophobia and Callum behaves horribly, attacking Immy twice because he thinks she's a charlatan. I thought that conflict was solved a little too neatly at the end.
However, Imogen is quite secure in who she is - it's Kim who has a lot of soul-searching to do, about her sexuality and about what she wants to do with her life. She does not have a lot of self-confidence and needs quite a bit support from Imogen to start her creative interior design business.
The small-town and family vibes are strong, with both women having annoying brothers, and everyone knowing everyone. The story is predictable but given an edge with the fibromyalgia topic and the fact it's the only one out of the series that's a queer romance.
All in all, this is a light-hearted, humorous and fun read with a sweet, heartwarming romance. The lovely cover made me pick it up, the original story made me read on.
This is book 4 in the Broclington series. I haven't read the other three but I think this can be read as a standalone.
This is a queer romance about Imogen Finnegan, who is a physiotherapist and is setting up a holistic complementary therapy business for pain management (she suffers from Fibromyalgia herself) and Kim Macpearson, receptionist at brother Jake's vet practice. She has another brother called Callum who is a GP.
Kim isn't gay or at least she doesn't think she is, until she meets Imogen, and sparks fly. The romance is slow-burn and sweet. Immy's chronic illness is explained clearly, and we learn a lot about pain management therapy. There is one episode of homophobia and Callum behaves horribly, attacking Immy twice because he thinks she's a charlatan. I thought that conflict was solved a little too neatly at the end.
However, Imogen is quite secure in who she is - it's Kim who has a lot of soul-searching to do, about her sexuality and about what she wants to do with her life. She does not have a lot of self-confidence and needs quite a bit support from Imogen to start her creative interior design business.
The small-town and family vibes are strong, with both women having annoying brothers, and everyone knowing everyone. The story is predictable but given an edge with the fibromyalgia topic and the fact it's the only one out of the series that's a queer romance.
All in all, this is a light-hearted, humorous and fun read with a sweet, heartwarming romance. The lovely cover made me pick it up, the original story made me read on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
The Autumn of Ruth Winters by Marshall Fine
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC.
Ruth Winters is about 70 years old (there are contradictions about her age throughout the novel), lives in Minneapolis and hasn't spoken to her three years younger sister Veronica in years until she gets phoned up by her one day out of the blue and asked to drive her to chemo as she has incurable liver cancer.
Ever after this shock revelation, Ruth is very reluctant to help her sister out. There is deep-seated resentment about the past between the sisters. They barely tolerate each other and in a lot of flashbacks we learn why.
Ruth studied art and wanted to become a museum curator, but after a car accident killing her mother and injuring her father, she became his carer for eight years, then an accountant for 37 years and wife to Charles for 15 years. She has always looked after others without help (Veronica simply disappeared, lived her life and went through four husbands) and no one has looked after her. She is now widowed, retired, isolated and set in her ways, not knowing much about modern electronics.
She has no children but looks after some neighbours' kids in her spare time. At the same time, old crush Martin Daly tries to get her to attend their 50th high school reunion, which she resists for the longest time, finding the idea simply preposterous.
This is a story about family, grief, forgiveness and second chances that is as predictable as it is repetitive. It also felt simplistic, with a woman facing death suddenly acknowledging what she did to her sister all these years ago and apologising profusely.
The reunion of the feuding sisters should have been very emotional but it felt flat, with a sort of abrupt and open ending. With no offence to the author, I was left questioning whether his perspective was the right one for an elderly woman's story.
For example, he labels what she does as simple babysitting but babysitters don't take 3-4 different children at a fixed time every week into their own home, feed and even educate them. That's what childminders do but as Ruth doesn't seem to have any qualifications, certificates or a registration, she is probably doing it illegally. She simply doesn't get rumbled because the author doesn't care about it or even understands the difference.
There were too many long flashbacks interrupting the present story, with not all of them being of importance, leaving no time for the present story to fully develop. Sometimes I was confused as to where in time I was, as the story hops around in time, from 50 years back to the present to 20 years back etc.
I liked Ruth as a character, and the fact she loved her niece Chloe so much. She has quite an acerbic tongue but I like people who say what they think. Her sister has treated her terribly in the past, but nevertheless, her life journey was of her own making. She chose to look after her father and she chose to marry Charles.
There seems to be a surge of books about elderly characters rediscovering life, like "A Man Called Ove" or "The Last List of Mabel Beaumont", and they are mostly very good. This one has still a bit of work to do to catch up, but it's not a bad read, just a "we've been here before" one.
Ruth Winters is about 70 years old (there are contradictions about her age throughout the novel), lives in Minneapolis and hasn't spoken to her three years younger sister Veronica in years until she gets phoned up by her one day out of the blue and asked to drive her to chemo as she has incurable liver cancer.
Ever after this shock revelation, Ruth is very reluctant to help her sister out. There is deep-seated resentment about the past between the sisters. They barely tolerate each other and in a lot of flashbacks we learn why.
Ruth studied art and wanted to become a museum curator, but after a car accident killing her mother and injuring her father, she became his carer for eight years, then an accountant for 37 years and wife to Charles for 15 years. She has always looked after others without help (Veronica simply disappeared, lived her life and went through four husbands) and no one has looked after her. She is now widowed, retired, isolated and set in her ways, not knowing much about modern electronics.
She has no children but looks after some neighbours' kids in her spare time. At the same time, old crush Martin Daly tries to get her to attend their 50th high school reunion, which she resists for the longest time, finding the idea simply preposterous.
This is a story about family, grief, forgiveness and second chances that is as predictable as it is repetitive. It also felt simplistic, with a woman facing death suddenly acknowledging what she did to her sister all these years ago and apologising profusely.
The reunion of the feuding sisters should have been very emotional but it felt flat, with a sort of abrupt and open ending. With no offence to the author, I was left questioning whether his perspective was the right one for an elderly woman's story.
For example, he labels what she does as simple babysitting but babysitters don't take 3-4 different children at a fixed time every week into their own home, feed and even educate them. That's what childminders do but as Ruth doesn't seem to have any qualifications, certificates or a registration, she is probably doing it illegally. She simply doesn't get rumbled because the author doesn't care about it or even understands the difference.
There were too many long flashbacks interrupting the present story, with not all of them being of importance, leaving no time for the present story to fully develop. Sometimes I was confused as to where in time I was, as the story hops around in time, from 50 years back to the present to 20 years back etc.
I liked Ruth as a character, and the fact she loved her niece Chloe so much. She has quite an acerbic tongue but I like people who say what they think. Her sister has treated her terribly in the past, but nevertheless, her life journey was of her own making. She chose to look after her father and she chose to marry Charles.
There seems to be a surge of books about elderly characters rediscovering life, like "A Man Called Ove" or "The Last List of Mabel Beaumont", and they are mostly very good. This one has still a bit of work to do to catch up, but it's not a bad read, just a "we've been here before" one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Reach for the Stars by Maxine Morrey
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.
Felicity DeVere gets dumped by her fiancé Adrian and loses her paid-for dream wedding in one fell swoop, gets drunk, makes a faux pas in an online business meeting and gets fired, and in "clearly not a considered and thoroughly researched decision" sells her London flat and buys a dilapidated Victorian farmhouse with acres of land and chickens, called Paradise Farm, "in the arse end of nowhere", as she charmingly puts it.
In a literal "knocking someone off his feet" move she bowls over a man with a plank in a DIY shop then gets rained on until her clothes basically disintegrate. This is how she meets dishy Jesse Woods and leaves a spectacularly memorable first impression on him.
Felicity's family used to be rich until her father squandered it all away on his second wife. Fliss has clawed her way back to having money by staging properties, although not as much money as before, but the mental scars haven't left and she now suffers from trust and commitment issues, originating from how her so-called friends turned their backs after her fall from grace.
She is fiercely independent and has a problem with accepting help, even when a tree crashes through the roof of her new house in a storm, nearly killing her. "Thanks, but I can manage" and variations thereof are her most uttered sentences.
Thankfully, kind Jesse takes no notice and offers his help anyway. His cousin was the one selling Fliss this wreck and he feels responsible. A lot of tradesmen owe him, a building renovator, favours and he is now calling them all in. And if he loses his heart in the process, so be it. He lost his wife five years ago and the entire village community, including his lovely sister Julie, thinks it's time for him. But will Fliss agree?
This was extremely fun to read. A heroine who uproots her entire life is a popular trope and I love a good renovation project, a strong-armed hero and cute animals. The light-hearted banter is exquisite, and even though it was very predictable, Fliss and Jesse's slow-burn romance had me engrossed. The only thing I was annoyed about was that cousin Joe never got his comeuppance, and the third-act break-up felt superfluous.
This is nevertheless so well-written, humorous and heartwarming that I will forgive it. This charming, cosy and escapist read with plenty of time for personal growth will make you happy. It's my first book by Maxine Morrey but it won't be the last.
Felicity DeVere gets dumped by her fiancé Adrian and loses her paid-for dream wedding in one fell swoop, gets drunk, makes a faux pas in an online business meeting and gets fired, and in "clearly not a considered and thoroughly researched decision" sells her London flat and buys a dilapidated Victorian farmhouse with acres of land and chickens, called Paradise Farm, "in the arse end of nowhere", as she charmingly puts it.
In a literal "knocking someone off his feet" move she bowls over a man with a plank in a DIY shop then gets rained on until her clothes basically disintegrate. This is how she meets dishy Jesse Woods and leaves a spectacularly memorable first impression on him.
Felicity's family used to be rich until her father squandered it all away on his second wife. Fliss has clawed her way back to having money by staging properties, although not as much money as before, but the mental scars haven't left and she now suffers from trust and commitment issues, originating from how her so-called friends turned their backs after her fall from grace.
She is fiercely independent and has a problem with accepting help, even when a tree crashes through the roof of her new house in a storm, nearly killing her. "Thanks, but I can manage" and variations thereof are her most uttered sentences.
Thankfully, kind Jesse takes no notice and offers his help anyway. His cousin was the one selling Fliss this wreck and he feels responsible. A lot of tradesmen owe him, a building renovator, favours and he is now calling them all in. And if he loses his heart in the process, so be it. He lost his wife five years ago and the entire village community, including his lovely sister Julie, thinks it's time for him. But will Fliss agree?
This was extremely fun to read. A heroine who uproots her entire life is a popular trope and I love a good renovation project, a strong-armed hero and cute animals. The light-hearted banter is exquisite, and even though it was very predictable, Fliss and Jesse's slow-burn romance had me engrossed. The only thing I was annoyed about was that cousin Joe never got his comeuppance, and the third-act break-up felt superfluous.
This is nevertheless so well-written, humorous and heartwarming that I will forgive it. This charming, cosy and escapist read with plenty of time for personal growth will make you happy. It's my first book by Maxine Morrey but it won't be the last.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident and Classism
By Way of Paris by Christopher J Newman
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Collective Link Ltd - Roundfire Books for this ARC.
This is a wild story about Luke, a 28 year old man from North Carolina doing some travelling in Europe with his BFF Corey Cash, where he is doing banal touristy things like drinking beer in Munich and visiting museums in Rome, before he takes up a master's creative writing programme at a London university.
However, while in Paris, he finds a dead young woman in drug dealer Rémy's house and helps him and new friend George to hide her body. The story here makes a jump - one moment we get blue police lights in Paris, the next we are in London without an explanation, where Luke seeks out George's cousin Shane in a rundown pub in Catford and becomes a drug mule for him, joining his gang.
I didn't like the protagonist at all. He's got a terrible temper and can't control himself, carries an illegal knife, drinks too much and is incredibly violent, constantly getting into fights with other people, enthusiastically embracing his new life as a criminal. He swears like a sailor and constantly and irritatingly mentions the skin colour of everyone he meets. He also seems obsessed with homeless people, and not in a good way. He goes from one stupid and impulsive decision to the next, with his immature, rash actions getting him into all kinds of scrapes. And no, I didn't care about his violent father and his distant mother.
The story is overblown and I didn't like the writing style either: Clumsy, chopped sentences ("a few homeless people who had no home") like this one.
This book needs tighter editing and proofreading, there are too many grammar mistakes and typos to be found. Also, Rémy's French needs translating - the reader shouldn't be forced to have to use a translation app.
This debut novel served as the author's dissertation for his master’s programme and was awarded a distinction. I congratulate him for that, however it didn't hold my attention and wasn't for me. Might be interesting to Americans though for the European touch and for lovers of illogical action films where you can fall into the cold, strong current tidal Thames with a knife wound and come out not just alive but barely needing treatment.
This is a wild story about Luke, a 28 year old man from North Carolina doing some travelling in Europe with his BFF Corey Cash, where he is doing banal touristy things like drinking beer in Munich and visiting museums in Rome, before he takes up a master's creative writing programme at a London university.
However, while in Paris, he finds a dead young woman in drug dealer Rémy's house and helps him and new friend George to hide her body. The story here makes a jump - one moment we get blue police lights in Paris, the next we are in London without an explanation, where Luke seeks out George's cousin Shane in a rundown pub in Catford and becomes a drug mule for him, joining his gang.
I didn't like the protagonist at all. He's got a terrible temper and can't control himself, carries an illegal knife, drinks too much and is incredibly violent, constantly getting into fights with other people, enthusiastically embracing his new life as a criminal. He swears like a sailor and constantly and irritatingly mentions the skin colour of everyone he meets. He also seems obsessed with homeless people, and not in a good way. He goes from one stupid and impulsive decision to the next, with his immature, rash actions getting him into all kinds of scrapes. And no, I didn't care about his violent father and his distant mother.
The story is overblown and I didn't like the writing style either: Clumsy, chopped sentences ("a few homeless people who had no home") like this one.
This book needs tighter editing and proofreading, there are too many grammar mistakes and typos to be found. Also, Rémy's French needs translating - the reader shouldn't be forced to have to use a translation app.
This debut novel served as the author's dissertation for his master’s programme and was awarded a distinction. I congratulate him for that, however it didn't hold my attention and wasn't for me. Might be interesting to Americans though for the European touch and for lovers of illogical action films where you can fall into the cold, strong current tidal Thames with a knife wound and come out not just alive but barely needing treatment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Abandonment