Genre: General Fiction

#BookReview The High Tide Club by Mary Kay Andrews @mkayandrews @StMartinsPress

#BookReview The High Tide Club by Mary Kay Andrews @mkayandrews @StMartinsPress Title: The High Tide Club

Author: Mary Kay Andrews

Published by: St. Martin's Press on May 8, 2018

Genres: General Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 480

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: St. Martin's Press, NetGalley

Book Rating: 8.5/10

When ninety-nine-year-old heiress Josephine Bettendorf Warrick summons Brooke Trappnell to Talisa Island, her 20,000 acre remote barrier island home, Brooke is puzzled. Everybody in the South has heard about the eccentric millionaire mistress of Talisa, but Brooke has never met her. Josephine’s cryptic note says she wants to discuss an important legal matter with Brooke, who is an attorney, but Brooke knows that Mrs. Warrick has long been a client of a prestigious Atlanta law firm.

Over a few meetings, the ailing Josephine spins a tale of old friendships, secrets, betrayal and a long-unsolved murder. She tells Brooke she is hiring her for two reasons: to protect her island and legacy from those who would despoil her land, and secondly, to help her make amends with the heirs of the long dead women who were her closest friends, the girls of The High Tide Club—so named because of their youthful skinny dipping escapades—Millie, Ruth and Varina. When Josephine dies with her secrets intact, Brooke is charged with contacting Josephine’s friends’ descendants and bringing them together on Talisa for a reunion of women who’ve actually never met.


Review:

Mysterious, sentimental, and uplifting!

The High Tide Club is an alluring tale that delves into the life of ninety-nine-year Josephine Bettendorf Warrick and all the friendships, lies, secrets, and promises she made, told, and broke over her lifetime.

The prose is clear and fluid. The characters are well-developed, unique, and inquisitive. And the plot, alternating between past and present, is a nostalgic, twisty tale full of familial drama, loss, grief, war, forgiveness, deception, happiness, love, skinny dipping, southern life, and murder.

Overall, The High Tide Club is a humorous, emotional, heartbreaking, suspenseful story that highlights the intricate and dynamic bonds between friends, both old and new, that gets better and better as it goes along and is an excellent choice for a summer read!

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                            

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Mary Kay Andrews

Mary Kay Andrews is the pen name of American writer Kathy Hogan Trocheck, based in Atlanta, who has authored a number of best-selling books under the Andrews pen name since 2002.

Trochek graduated from the University of Georgia with a journalism degree in 1976. She worked as a reporter at a number of papers, and spent 11 years as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution before leaving to write fiction full-time in 1991. She published ten mystery novels under her own name between 1992 and 2000, and switched to the Andrews pen name in 2002 to author Savannah Blues, which marked a change in her style to more Southern-flavored themes.

#BookReview The Husband Hour by Jamie Brenner @JamieLBrenner @littlebrown

#BookReview The Husband Hour by Jamie Brenner @JamieLBrenner @littlebrown Title: The Husband Hour

Author: Jamie Brenner

Published by: Little Brown and Company on Apr. 24, 2018

Genres: General Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 368

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Little Brown and Company, NetGalley

Book Rating: 10/10

When a young widow’s reclusive life in a charming beach town is interrupted by a surprise visitor, she is forced to reckon with dark secrets about her family, her late husband, and the past she tried to leave behind.

Lauren Adelman and her high school sweetheart, Rory Kincaid, are a golden couple. They marry just out of college as Rory, a star hockey player, earns a spot in the NHL. Their future could not look brighter when Rory shocks everyone-Lauren most of all-by enlisting in the U.S. Army. When Rory dies in combat, Lauren is left devastated, alone, and under unbearable public scrutiny.

Seeking peace and solitude, Lauren retreats to her family’s old beach house on the Jersey Shore. But this summer she’s forced to share the house with her overbearing mother and competitive sister. Worse, a stranger making a documentary about Rory tracks her down and persuades her to give him just an hour of her time.

One hour with filmmaker Matt Brio turns into a summer of revelations, surprises, and upheaval. As the days grow shorter and her grief changes shape, Lauren begins to understand the past-and to welcome the future.


Review:

Absorbing, poignant, and incredibly moving!

The Husband Hour is a beautifully written story that delves into the complexities and dynamics of relationships between partners, siblings, and the nuclear family as a whole and reminds us that there’s no perfection in humanity, we are all wonderfully flawed.

The prose is fluid and well turned. The characters are authentic, scarred and lovable. And the story is an exceptionally mesmerizing tale about life, loss, love, grief, forgiveness, familial drama, friendship, courage, community, moving on, happiness, and the enduring physical and psychological effects of sports injuries on professional athletes.

Overall, The Husband Hour is the perfect blend of heart-wrenching emotion, grit, hope, and humour. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it left me smiling, and I absolutely loved it!

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                             

 

 

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jamie Brenner

Jamie Brenner was born and raised in suburban Philadelphia but has called New York City her home for the past twenty years. She graduated from George Washington University with a degree in literature and spent her career in publishing before becoming an author herself. Her books include The Gin Lovers, The Wedding Sisters. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two daughters.

#BookReview An Unsuitable Match by Joanna Trollope @joannatrollope @PGCBooks

#BookReview An Unsuitable Match by Joanna Trollope @joannatrollope @PGCBooks Title: An Unsuitable Match

Author: Joanna Trollope

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Mar. 27, 2018

Genres: General Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 304

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 7.5/10

Number one bestselling author, Joanna Trollope, is back with her twenty-first novel.

Dealing with one’s own emotions is one thing, but facing a parent’s rollercoaster of a love life is quite another.

Rose Woodrowe is getting married to Tyler Masson – a wonderful, sensitive man who is head-over-heels in love with her. The only problem? This isn’t the first time for either of them. And when you marry later in life there are a lot more people to consider…

Like Rose’s daughter, Laura, who remembers her mother’s first marriage and doesn’t want her to get hurt again. Or the twins, Emmy and Nat, who are used to their mum being there for them whenever, and for whatever, they need. And then there’s Tyler’s children: Mallory, a young actress who craves her father’s attention, and Seth, whose San Francisco bakery is just taking off and needs all the money he can get.

Both Rose and Tyler are determined to get it right this time, but in trying to make everyone happy, can they ever be happy themselves?


Review:

Insightful, sincere, and absorbing!

An Unsuitable Match is a heartfelt, domestic story about relationships, new and old, and all the complexities, drama, and emotion that surround them.

The prose is polished and astute. The characters are well-developed, genuine, and troubled. And the plot is a compelling, heartwarming ride of life, love, self-discovery, familial dynamics, second-chance romance, aging, support, honesty, and friendship.

Overall, An Unsuitable Match is a sophisticated, moving, relatable tale that highlights the highs-and-lows of committing later in life and reminds us of all the struggles and challenges of trying to combine and blend families together.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                            

 

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Joanna Trollope

Joanna Trollope is the author of twenty highly acclaimed and bestselling novels, including City of Friends, Friday Nights, Second Honeymoon, and The Other Family. She was appointed OBE in 1996, and a trustee of the UK National Literacy Trust in 2012. She has chaired the Whitbread and Orange Awards, as well as being a judge of many other literature prizes; she has been part of two DCMS panels on public libraries and is patron of numerous charities, including Meningitis Now, and Chawton House Library. In 2014, she updated Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility as the opening novel in the Austen Project.

#BookReview The Italian Party by Christina Lynch @Clynchwriter @StMartinsPress

#BookReview The Italian Party by Christina Lynch @Clynchwriter @StMartinsPress Title: The Italian Party

Author: Christina Lynch

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Mar. 20, 2018

Genres: General Fiction, Historical Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover, ARC

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

Newly married, Scottie and Michael are seduced by Tuscany’s famous beauty. But the secrets they are keeping from each other force them beneath the splendid surface to a more complex view of ltaly, America and each other.

When Scottie’s Italian teacher―a teenager with secrets of his own―disappears, her search for him leads her to discover other, darker truths about herself, her husband and her country. Michael’s dedication to saving the world from communism crumbles as he begins to see that he is a pawn in a much different game. Driven apart by lies, Michael and Scottie must find their way through a maze of history, memory, hate and love to a new kind of complicated truth.

Half glamorous fun, half an examination of America’s role in the world, and filled with sun-dappled pasta lunches, prosecco, charming spies and horse racing, The Italian Party is a smart pleasure.


Review:

Picturesque, insightful, and delightfully winsome!

The Italian Party is an immersive story that takes you back to Siena, Italy during the mid-1950s when The Cold War was still influencing Italian politics, Communism was rampant, spies were everywhere, and in this tale newly married American couple Michael and Scottie have just arrived with glamour, high-tech gadgets, and an abundance of secrets.

The prose is eloquent and atmospheric. The characterization is exceptionally well drawn with a whole slew of characters that are colourful, affable, and quirky. And the plot is an intriguing mix of spy thriller, romance, and comedy, that’s full of life, love, self-discovery, deception, betrayal, grief, friendship, antics, and community.

I have to admit I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started The Italian Party but it wasn’t long before Lynch swept me away in a debut that’s mysterious, informative, and witty and gave me a beautiful picture postcard of the history, landmarks, culture, and culinary fare of a country she obviously loves and knows well.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                            

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Christina Lynch

Christina Lynch’s picaresque journey includes chapters in Chicago and at Harvard, where she was an editor on the Harvard Lampoon. She was the Milan correspondent for W magazine and Women’s Wear Daily, and disappeared for four years in Tuscany. In L.A. she was on the writing staff of Unhappily Ever After; Encore, Encore; The Dead Zone and Wildfire. She now lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. She is the co-author of two novels under the pen name Magnus Flyte. She teaches at College of the Sequoias. The Italian Party is her debut novel under her own name.

 

 

#BookReview Say My Name by Allegra Huston @allegrahuston @HarlequinBooks

#BookReview Say My Name by Allegra Huston @allegrahuston @HarlequinBooks Title: Say My Name

Author: Allegra Huston

Published by: Mira Books on Jan. 9, 2018

Genres: General Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 304

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Harlequin Books

Book Rating: 7/10

Eve is a garden designer and antique buyer whose husband has left her after several miserable years of marriage. Her latest antique find is an old violin, beautiful but broken.

On meeting Micajah, 20 years younger than her, she feels a spark between them – a sexual spark she hasn’t felt in a long time.

As their affair escalates, Micajah shows her how to embrace her sexuality and take charge of it. A musician, he also helps her repair the violin to be even more beautiful than she could have imagined.

Eve goes on a journey of discovery, and the story ends in Venice where she and Micajah set each other free in the world, allowing Eve to take charge of her own happiness at last.


Review:

Pensive, intriguing, and incredibly seductive! 

Say My Name is an alluring novel that reminds us that women can be attractive, powerful, sexual beings at any age and highlights that you’re never too old to try new things, take risks, and discover what truly makes you happy.

The prose is delicate and raw. The characters are authentic, sensual, and unique. And the plot sweeps you away into an engaging saga about marriage, independence, age disparity, music, desire, lust, and happiness.

Overall, Say My Name is a thought-provoking, love story with palpable emotion that for the most part kept me captivated and invested in both the characters and the situations they found themselves in.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                           

 

 

Thank you to Harlequin Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Allegra Huston

Allegra Huston has written screenplays, journalism, and one previous book, Love Child: A Memoir of Family Lost and Found. After an early career in UK publishing, including four years as Editorial Director of Weidenfeld & Nicolson, she joined the film company Pathé as development consultant. She wrote and produced the award-winning short film Good Luck, Mr. Gorski, and is on the editorial staff of the international art and culture magazine Garage. She lives in Taos, New Mexico, with her 15-year-old son.

 

#BookReview & #GuestPost If I Fall by Ella Harper @Ella__Harper @canelo_co

#BookReview & #GuestPost If I Fall by Ella Harper @Ella__Harper @canelo_co Title: If I Fall

Author: Ella Harper

Published by: Canelo on Jan. 22, 2018

Genres: General Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 237

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Canelo, NetGalley

Book Rating: 8/10

Four university friends, four devastating secrets.

I’m really sorry for what I’m about to do…

It’s fifteen years since graduation, and Connie, Jonas, JJ and Layla have managed to remain close despite the odds. They’ve supported each other, but are some things too big for friendship?

Connie is desperate to maintain the veneer of perfect family life.

Jonas is feeling the pressure at work.

Layla’s career is unravelling thanks to her ill mother

JJ’s past is catching up with him.

When they stumble and fall, who will be there to catch them?

A truly powerful and unforgettable story of love, friendship, and real life, If I Fall is perfect for readers of Alice Peterson, Amanda Prowse and Lianne Moriarty.


Review:

Sobering, compelling, and incredibly intense!

If I Fall is a complex, character-driven novel that delves into how much friendships can define us and highlights how secrets, lies, and unspoken words can emotionally and psychologically impact them.

The writing is somber and raw. The characters are multifaceted, desperate, and broken. And the plot, using multiple perspectives, is an engaging, edgy tale about life, loss, love, heartbreak, deception, jealousy, abuse, friendship, and family.

If I Fall is truly a poignant novel that reminds us that life is unpredictable and full of ups and downs and true friends are those who are there not only in the good times, but more importantly during the hard ones.

 

And now Ella Harper with:

The Importance of Subplots

So. We all know what the main plot in the novel is. It’s the story at the centre of the novel…the important, key issue or theme. That’s the all singing, all dancing part of the story – the part we most want the reader to connect with and relate to. But by and large, there will also be a subplot – or subplots – running alongside.

   The subplot is the secondary strand that supports the main story. It will usually (but doesn’t have to) connect to the main plot and this could be in terms of the theme of the novel, or perhaps the timeline. The subplot could involve the main characters or supporting characters in the book and it will take up less action. It might, however, provide light relief for the tenseness of the main plot strand, adding humour perhaps. It might create a realistic feel to the main plot by showing contrast or providing colour and richness. It can also be used to develop a lesser character in the novel who may become significant later on and who could be woven into the main plot. The subplot should definitely reinforce the main plot – and much of the time, this is a device used to reveal relevant information to the reader that might not have been revealed elsewhere. Equally, a subplot might be used to crank up the tension in the main plot, bringing the protagonist to a different point.

   Another useful aspect of the subplot is to bring in another viewpoint. Sometimes an author can use an entirely new voice or ‘person’ for the subplot…writing in the third person or the first person to differentiate and bring another layer into the novel. But the main thing is the ensure that the main plot is always at centre stage and only use your subplot when you want to change the pace or utilise it in the ways mentioned above.

   I used a few subplots in my first Ella Harper novel Pieces of You. The main characters were essentially Luke and Lucy Harte, but with Luke in a coma for much of the novel, other characters had to come to the fore. So the feelings of Luke’s sister Nell and his mother Patricia then came into play as subplots, which supported the main plot.

   In If I Fall, each character was part of the main storyline, but also had their own subplot, which made it complex, but really fun to write. The characters interacted with one another, weaving in and out of each other’s lives and stories until they merged into one and the subplots all kind of became the main plot. But the characters’ subplots served to provide background and an insight into their lives that then became relevant to the main plot and hook of the novel which is…which one of them wants to commit suicide? And why? As I say, tricky to write, but my favourite so far, because of all the complex subplots!

 

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

             

 

 

Thank you to Ella Harper and Canelo for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ella Harper

Ella Harper learned foreign languages, and imagined she might eventually get a glamorous job speaking French. After climbing her way up the banking ladder, Ella started idly mapping out the beginnings of a novel on an old laptop. When she realised her characters were more real to her than dividends and corporate actions ever could be, she left her job to become a writer.

 

#BookReview Things to Do When It’s Raining by Marissa Stapley @marissastapley @SimonSchusterCA @HarlequinBooks

#BookReview Things to Do When It’s Raining by Marissa Stapley @marissastapley @SimonSchusterCA @HarlequinBooks Title: Things to Do When It's Raining

Author: Marissa Stapley

Published by: Simon & Schuster Canada on Feb. 6, 2018

Genres: General Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 256

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada, NetGalley

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Two families are torn apart by secret pasts and broken hearts—from Globe and Mail-bestselling author Marissa Stapley.

When secrets tear love apart, can the truth mend it?

Mae Summers and Gabriel Broadbent grew up together in the idyllic Summers’ Inn, perched at the edge the St. Lawrence river. Mae was orphaned at the age of six and Gabe needed protection from his alcoholic father, so both were raised under one roof by Mae’s grandparents, Lilly and George. A childhood friendship quickly developed into a first love—a love that was suddenly broken by Gabe’s unexpected departure. Mae grew up, got over her heartbreak, and started a life for herself in New York City.

After more than a decade, Mae and Gabe find themselves pulled back to Alexandria Bay. Hoping to find solace within the Summers’ Inn, Mae instead finds her grandparents in the midst of decline and their past unravelling around her. A lifetime of secrets stand in the way of this unconventional family’s happiness. Will they be able to reclaim the past and come together, or will they remain separate islands?

From the bestselling author of Mating for Life comes a powerful story about guilt, forgiveness and the truth about families: that we can choose them, just as we choose to love.


Review:

Powerful, poignant, and heartrending!

Things to Do When It’s Raining is an absorbing novel that delves into the mental and emotional anguish that can be caused by underlying secrets, grief, guilt, family dynamics, friendship, first loves and loneliness and emphasizes the importance of closure and forgiveness.

The prose is smooth and well turned. The characters are consumed, troubled, raw, and authentic. And the character-driven plot interweaves the past and present of two multigenerational families as they learn to cope, survive, accept, support and love each other unconditionally.

Things to Do When It’s Raining is ultimately an intelligent, evocative, pensive novel by Stapley that tugs at the heartstrings from start to finish.

 

This book is available now. 

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and Harlequin – Graydon House for providing me with a copy in an exchange for an honest review.

 

About Marissa Stapley

Marissa Stapley is the Globe and Mail bestselling author of the novel Mating for Life, and the forthcoming Things to Do When It’s Raining. She writes the commercial fiction review column “Shelf Love” for the Globe and Mail, reports on books and culture for the Toronto Star, and lives in Toronto with her husband and two children.

#BlogTour & #BookReview That Girl by Kate Kerrigan @katekerrigan @HoZ_Books

#BlogTour & #BookReview That Girl by Kate Kerrigan @katekerrigan @HoZ_Books Title: That Girl

Author: Kate Kerrigan

Published by: Head of Zeus on Jan. 1, 2018

Genres: General Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 400

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Head of Zeus, NetGalley

Book Rating: 10/10

You can escape a place. But you can’t escape yourself.

Hanna flees the scene of a terrible crime in her native Sligo. If she can just vanish, re-invent herself under a new name, perhaps the police won’t catch up with her. London seems the perfect place to disappear.

Lara has always loved Matthew and imagined happy married life in Dublin. Then comes the bombshell – Matthew says he wants to join the priesthood. Humiliated and broken-hearted, Lara heads to the most godless place she can find, King’s Road, Chelsea.

Matthew’s twin sister, Noreen, could not be more different from her brother. She does love fiance John, but she also craves sex, parties and fun. Swinging London has it all, but without John, Noreen is about to get way out of her depth.

All three girls find themselves working for Bobby Chevron – one of London’s most feared gangland bosses – and it’s not long before their new lives start to unravel.


Review:

Compelling, beguiling, and undeniably moving!

That Girl is an enthralling story about dreams, courage, heartbreak, goals, secrets, adventure, new love, self-discovery, and friendship all set against the backdrop of 1960s London when King’s Road was alive and grooving and had more than its fair share of velvet, miniskirts, pubs, gangsters, and violence.

There are three main Irish lasses in this novel; Hanna, a young woman running from an abusive past; Lara a hardworking, brokenhearted seamstress; and Noreen a fun-loving gal, looking for a good time.

The prose is expressive and effortless. The characterization is spot on with a wonderful cast of characters, including some determined, fearless women who learn through friendship and compassion to let go of the past and embrace the future. And the plot is the perfect blend of heart, humour, hope, surprises, and drama.

Overall, I have to say that Kerrigan has done a smashing job on this novel. That Girl is truly a fantastic read with a little bit of everything, suspense, romance, and even a dab of dark comedy and just in case you couldn’t tell already, I absolutely loved it!

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                            

 

 

Thank you to Head of Zeus for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kate Kerrigan

Kate Kerrigan lives in County Mayo, Eire, with her husband and children. Her novels include Recipes for a Perfect Marriage, shortlisted for the 2006 Romantic Novel of the Year Award and Ellis Island, which was a TV Book Club Summer Read.

 

#BookReview #BlogTour What She Left by Rosie Fiore @rosiefiore @AllenAndUnwinUK @rararesources

#BookReview #BlogTour What She Left by Rosie Fiore @rosiefiore @AllenAndUnwinUK @rararesources

#BookReview #BlogTour What She Left by Rosie Fiore @rosiefiore @AllenAndUnwinUK @rararesources Title: What She Left

Author: Rosie Fiore

Published by: Allen & Unwin on Aug. 17, 2017

Genres: General Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 383

Format: Paperback

Source: Allen & Unwin, Rachel's Random Resources

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Helen Cooper has a charmed life. She’s beautiful, accomplished, organised – the star parent at the school. Until she disappears.

But Helen wasn’t abducted or murdered. She’s chosen to walk away, abandoning her family, husband Sam, and her home.

Where has Helen gone, and why? What has driven her from her seemingly perfect life? What is she looking for? Sam is tormented by these questions, and gradually begins to lose his grip on work and his family life.

He sees Helen everywhere in the faces of strangers. He’s losing control.

But then one day, it really is Helen’s face he sees…


Review:

Absorbing, intense, and immensely sobering!

What She Left is an emotional, character-driven novel that delves into the complex relationship between a husband and wife and highlights the detrimental physical and psychological effects the breakdown of a marriage can have on the whole family unit.

The prose is fluid and well turned. The characters are multifaceted, desperate, determined, and raw. And the plot, using multiple perspectives, is an engaging story about life, loss, love, family, secrets, lies, collusion, selfishness, friendship, and the importance of self-identity.

What She Left is a poignant, clever novel that reminds us that true happiness comes from honesty, trust, and never losing sight of your own desires, needs, wants, and dreams.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

       

 

 

Thank you to Rosie Fiore, Allen & Unwin and Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Rosie Fiore

Rosie Fiore was born and grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. She studied drama at the University of the Witwatersrand and has worked as a writer for theatre, television, magazines, advertising, comedy and the corporate market.

Her first two novels, This Year’s Black and Lame Angel were published by Struik in South Africa. This Year’s Black was longlisted for the South African Sunday Times Literary Award and has subsequently been re-released as an e-book. Babies in Waiting, Wonder Women and Holly at Christmas were published by Quercus. She is the author of After Isabella, also published by Allen & Unwin.

Rosie’s next book, The After Wife (written as Cass Hunter), will be published by Trapeze in 2018, and in translation is seven countries around the world.

Rosie lives in London with her husband and two sons.

 

#BookReview #BlogTour Ours is the Winter by Laurie Ellingham @LaurieEllingham @HQDigitalUK @NeverlandBT

#BookReview #BlogTour Ours is the Winter by Laurie Ellingham @LaurieEllingham @HQDigitalUK @NeverlandBT

#BookReview #BlogTour Ours is the Winter by Laurie Ellingham @LaurieEllingham @HQDigitalUK @NeverlandBT Title: Ours Is the Winter

Author: Laurie Ellingham

Published by: HQ Digital on Nov. 17, 2017

Genres: General Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: HQ Digital, NetGalley

Book Rating: 9/10

Journeying across the Arctic, their pasts are about to catch up with them.

Erica, Molly and Noah are embarking on the challenge of a lifetime, driving Siberian huskies across the frozen wilderness of the Arctic. Cut off from the world and their loved ones and thrown together under gruelling conditions, it isn’t long before the cracks start to show.

Erica has it all. A loving husband, a successful career and the most adorable baby daughter. But Erica has been living a double life, and as she nears her fortieth birthday her lies threaten to come crashing down.

Molly was on her way to stardom. But when her brother died, so did her dreams of becoming an Olympic champion. Consumed by rage and grief, she has shut out everyone around her, but now she’s about to learn that comfort can come from the most unexpected places.

Noah has a darkness inside him and is hounded by nightmares from his past. Tortured, trapped and struggling to save his fractured relationship, he knows this journey is not going to help, but try telling his girlfriend that.

As their lives and lies become ever more entwined, it becomes clear that in the frozen wilds there is nowhere to hide.


Review:

Riveting, affecting, and atmospheric!

Ours is the Winter is an emotive, absorbing novel that takes us on a journey into the icy, cold, Arctic where friendships will be formed, love will be lost, past tragedies will haunt, and secrets will surface and bind people forever.

There are three main memorable characters in this novel. Erica, a career woman, struggling with the pressures of being a good mother, wife, and sister. Molly, a young woman, crippled with grief over the loss of her brother. And Noah, a man grappling with extreme guilt and a relationship in tatters.

The writing is eloquent and vivid. The plot is well crafted and uses a past/present style to create a little suspense and a lot of emotion as it unravels all the histories, personalities, and relationships within it. And the characterization is well done with a cast of characters that are troubled, scarred, and raw; a group of Huskies that are intelligent, athletic and lovable; and a setting, the arctic wilderness, that is a character itself with its harsh weather, isolation, and physical challenges.

Ours is the Winter is a clever, poignant novel that reminds us that survival of any form takes strength and courage and the greatest gift we can give ourselves and others is forgiveness.

This book is available now. 

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following link.

 

 

Giveaway:

 

Prize: 1 signed paperback of Laurie’s previous book, “One Endless Summer”.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Thank you to Laurie Ellingham, HQ Digital, and Neverland Blog Tours for providing me with a copy in an exchange for an honest review.

 

About Laurie Ellingham

When I’m not running around after my two children, my husband, our Cockerpoo Rodney, or just plain running, I love nothing more than disappearing into the fictional world of my characters preferably with a large coffee and a Twix (or two) to hand.

When I am in the thick of a character crisis, I can often be seen walking around the village with my jumper on inside out and back to front, chatting (and occasionally laughing) away to myself.

I have a first class honours degree in psychology and a background in Public Relations, both of which help in everything I do.