What’s more to say about my blog about books I’ve read?
Well, this is my blog about books I’ve read 😀.
I always liked reading books, and it all started on a very silly way… It’s always good to blame my dad, so he is the cause of my reading addiction.
When I was still a little girl, a looooooong time ago, I saw him always going to the bathroom with the newspaper. One day I wondered why he did that, so I took a book and tried to see the fun of that.
And since that day, you can find everywhere in the house a book of mine.
A while ago, I had the opportunity to review some books, and now a new opportunity came to post them on an own blog.
So here we are, my own blog!
I read books, and I will post my thoughts about them.
Some books I’ll like, some I won’t like that much…. but you can be sure that I’ll give you my personal and honest opinion about them.
When you have to go back home, but it terrifies you…
Synopsis
A wintry treat brimming with snowflakes, secrets and second chances!
When her beloved Aunt Colleen passes away, settling her affairs means doing the one thing Hannah Merryweather has spent years avoiding: returning to Micklewick Bay, the seaside town she fled years ago and has never quite found the courage to face again.
Coming home means facing the past too. Polly, her stepmother, and Darryl, her stepbrother, still loom large over the life she once knew, and the home she lost is never far from her thoughts.
Then, on her very first day back, she nearly collides with the one man she never expected to see again: Lachie, the kilted, green-eyed Scotsman who stole her heart last spring. His unexpected arrival in Micklewick Bay is the last complication Hannah needs – especially as feelings she thought she’d locked away start to resurface.
As Hannah slowly uncovers just how far her aunt’s plans for her future stretch – including one life-changing surprise waiting at the end of the pier – can she find the courage to claim the life, and the love, Auntie Colleen always believed she deserved?
A beautifully uplifting story of hope and second chances, set in the snow-globe charm of MicklewickBay.
Perfect for readers who love:
• Cosy seaside fiction
• Slow-burn romance
• Stories about fresh starts
• Female friendship and found family
• Wintry settings
My review
While grieving over the loss over her beloved Aunt Colleen, who acted as her mother, Hannah Merryweather has to return to Micklewick Bay, a place that holds so many painful memories. But needs must to settle the affairs Aunt Colleen took care of. Hannah hopes to get everything in order and leave Micklewick Bay as soon as possible and more important, avoid facing her stepmother Polly and her stepbrother Darryl. Ever since they stepped into Hannah’s life, everything changed, and absolutely not for the better… But now she has to face her past again, something she is not ready to do. And of all places, in Micklewick Bay she collides with the man that broke her heart last spring. Something else Hannah is not ready to face…What Hannah did not foresee, is that Aunt Colleen may have had plans for Hannah making Hannah wonder if she can claim her life and her future back…
Returning to Micklewick Bay is for me always a bittersweet return. And that because I know that the main characters are going through a difficult time (the bitter part) and it will take a while before they get the (un?)expected resolutions (the sweet part).
Obviously, as a reader, I was very curious discovering what Hannah had been through in the past, and why she was so scared to return to Micklewick Bay. Because initially she was very loved by both her parents, and it is after the passing of her mother and the appearance of Polly and Darryl that her life changed for the worse.
And I got so very very angry reading what Polly and Darryl have done in the past. They are just a nasty pair! And what angered me even more, was the nonchalance of Hannah’s father… How you can allow that someone treats your own flesh and blood like that? Just AWEFUL! (my anger is resurfacing just thinking about it! 😊)
So of course Hannah is not all that thrilled to return to Micklewick Bay, especially as Polly’s and Darryl’s poisonous lies have been told all around the place… I don’t think I would return, no matter what reason is waiting for me.
Luckily, or rather a silver lining, is that her Aunt Colleen and Uncle Len understood what truly was taking place and didn’t hesitate to take Hannah in. So after everything she has been through, living with Auntie Coll and Uncle Len could give her a rather normal upbringing, filled with love. Even if the hurt never truly evaporated…
And I found it wonderful reading how Hannah and Aunt Colleen manage to create a successful burger stand. I know for sure that I would be a VERY loyal customer 😊.
It was so heartwarming reading the bond between aunt and niece. Colleen truly understood what Hannah has been through and did whatever she could to give Hannah the confidence back. I think that if everyone had an Aunt Colleen in their lives, the world would be such a better place, and also a funnier one!
Aunt Colleen was also the catalyst of igniting something between Hannah and new burger – customer Lachie. It was so sweet to read how Hannah was able to get out of her shell with Lachie, and how feelings were developing.
Because Lachie for sure showed what an amazing man he is, and then I am not talking about the way he carries around with his kilt. For sure swoon – worthy material. But also making it difficult to comprehend how he broke Hannah’s heart…
However, back to the present, as that is for sure important for Hannah’s growth and story.
Returning to Micklewick Bay is very hard for Hannah, as she believes that people have bought Polly’s lies. (And again the anger resurfaced…). But of course the people of Micklewick Bay are no fools, and are actual happy to see Hannah back.
And of course our beloved – and – already – known friends like Florrie, Stella, Maggie, Jasmine and Lark don’t hesitate to let Hannah become a member of their group, making Hannah feel welcome, and make her understand that she now has real friends.
Friends, and also a community, that will have her back, support her, believe her. It truly warmed my heart reading how even if they haven’t seen Hannah in a while, everyone is just happy to see her back.
And we see how that warmth and love have an effect on Hannah. Where she initially literally hides away from everything and everyone, slowly she shakes away the feelings of shame and doubts, and becomes more and more confident.
And yes, perhaps I am not talking too much about it here, but Lachie will also have his moment of redemption in this book, and he for sure ignites the same initial feelings I had before he also broke my heart a little bit 😊.
Now, there has to be a confrontation with her past, and I was not only proud of Hannah herself, but also how she finds herself backed up. And yes, I was happy reading how Polly and Darryl are finally getting what they deserve. Although I have to admit that perhaps I would have loved to read more about them getting some payback. But that is Evil Tizi thinking 😊.
This wasn’t always an easy story to read, especially the bits about Hannah’s past and all she had to endure because of some evil people in the world. But all the beautiful moments for sure made up for all my anger. We see here how your inner strength can emerge, how you can get up when you are feeling low. And how being surrounded by truly lovely people that care about you and embrace you,
Eliza J Scott wrote a heartwarming story, and it gave me just all the feelings I was expecting, and even the angry feelings. But that doesn’t take away that I loved getting to know Hannah and I found myself cheering for her, encouraging her and loving her from the first moment!
I already love this cover, and I know I will love the story!
Synopsis
Brooke never intended to return to her native Scotland. That is until she’s offered a job with legendary literary agent, Levi Hudson, who just happens to represent her favourite author, Petra Swan.
Petra’s books helped her find hope again after her heart was broken, and Brooke will do anything to meet her. Even if it means working with the formidable Levi.
Not only is he grumpy, he’s also infuriatingly handsome. Yet as his frosty exterior slowly begins to melt, Brooke realises that moving back to the highlands might be the best decision she’s ever made…
Julie Shackman is a former journalist from Scotland, who has always wanted to write feel-good romance. As well as being an author, Julie also writes verses and captions for greetings card companies. Julie admits to having an obsession with stationery and handbags. She has two sons and an adopted Romanian rescue pup, Cooper. Dreaming of a Scottish Summer is Julie’s sixteenth novel.
An eclectic mix of heart-warming stories, full of memorable, quirky characters. Read about the heroic postie, the eccentric duke, a spoilt parrot, a true friend and a determined would-be husband. Perfect bite-sized reading with your favourite drink.
My review
A collection of short stories, that whether taking place in a faraway past, in the present, about a Duke or a postie and even a parrot, that somehow will make you feel good and put a smile on your face.
Sometimes, there are moments that you just don’t have the energy to read a complete book, but you just want to have that happy feeling when reaching the end and where everything is resolved.
So for when you are in that specific mood, I for sure recommend this book. Of course, the downside is that being short stories, you don’t always get to the true essence of the characters, but for a pick – me – up, this is just the perfect reading session(s).
Most of the stories in fact truly put a smile on my face, reading how stubborn people can be yet change their mind. But also how determined people can be to get to their goals. And how somehow, somewhere, things go the right way and make things just work out.
Of course there are some stories that I easily connected with, and some less. Not that I didn’t like them, but I liked them not so much as others. Which is normal I believe…
But if you need something sweet yet also short, something to make you feel warm on the inside, something to put a smile on your face, this for sure is the perfect book for it!
This was my first encounter with this author, and it for sure was a heartwarming, smiling one! 😊
Two Scrooges come together for a festive-free holiday season by the sea and find all their anti-Christmas plans going up in smoke when they decide to play Santa for a single mom and her child.
Eloise Garrett thinks Christmas is overpriced, overhyped, and overrated, and without any family to share it with, she feels sad, lonely and isolated. The “season for giving” is just a constant reminder that she’s single, sixty(ish), and staring down retirement. But not this Christmas. Determined to avoid the most magical time of the year, Eloise decides to spend Christmas in Honeycombe Bay. Surely a seaside village in the middle of winter won’t be too festive?
Ever since his wife passed away, Bartholomew Knott hasn’t felt up to welcoming visitors to his guest house. With the prospect of another long, lonely winter, and having become more Scrooge than Santa over the years, Bart is dreading Christmas. However, when he’s contacted by someone who dislikes decking the halls just as much as he does, Bart has the brilliant idea of opening the guest house to people who want to escape all things festive.
Christmas isn’t easy to ignore, though, not even in off-season Honeycombe Bay. So when fate forces Bart to give shelter to a single mother and child whose holiday has been devastated by a terrible fire, Eloise finds herself playing Mrs. Claus to Bart’s Santa—dragging the house’s other guest, a heartbroken teacher looking for a break during the holidays, into the action as well. But holiday cheer isn’t the only thing sparking under the mistletoe. Will the guests at Honeycombe Bay realize that, sometimes, the best way to escape Christmas is to let it into your heart?
PERFECT FOR FANS OF
– Small-town Christmas vibes
– Later-in-life romance
– Forced proximity
– Grumpy x sunshine
My review
What Eloise Garrett wants the most this Christmas, is to not be surrounded by it at all. And as she has no family to celebrate it, instead of feeling sad, lonely and being forced to face her single-being, she decides to spend it at a B&B at a seaside village. Because who would want to spend Christmas there, even with a lovely name as Honeycombe Bay. And she has found the perfect guest house, where Christmas is not welcome. Because Bart Knott, ever since he has lost his beloved wife, is dreading everything festive. So when Eloise contacts Bart, despite the initial refusal as Bart does not want to welcome guests, Bart sees the perfect idea: to open the guest house for everyone who wants to escape the holidays. However, unexpectedly, Honeycombe is more festive than ever, and when a young mother and her son need shelter, Bart and Eloise find themselves suddenly wanting to give the little boy the best Christmas ever…
I am not the biggest fan of Christmas. And before you wish me any harm, let me explain 😊. I love spending those days with my family, going to my parents, spending time together, eating the typical Italian Christmas dishes, en yes, even opening those gifts. But while I enjoy those precious moments, I also believe that Christmas has been over-commercialized. The lights come up earlier and earlier each year, the pressure of buying the most extravagant gifts… For me, that is not what Christmas is about.
So in that aspect I could truly comprehend Eloise. And especially in her case, with no family and being single, Christmas isn’t the jolliest of times… I liked the decision Eloise took. Not wanting to burden anyone about her personal feelings, she decides to ga away, to a place where normally Christmas isn’t being commercialised.
I know that this is a fictional story, but what a luck Eloise has finding Bart’s Guesthouse. Because the last thing on Bart’s mind is celebrating Christmas.
Not that Bart is a total Scrooge or Grinch, but he is still grieving over the loss of his lovely and beloved wife. And as they were a real power couple running the guesthouse, I could also understand that the will and the enthusiasm is no longer there to even just open the guesthouse.
So even if Bart is not looking to open the guesthouse, he sees an opportunity to give people the quiet and peace during the holidays, offering a Christmas – free stay.
A stay that attracts Mitch, who may seem all rough and tough, but quickly turns out to be a real ‘teddy bear’! Mitch shows us that no matter how you look like, it is the interior that counts, and he truly has his heart at the right place, even if he has been burnt by love before…
But that is something all three of them show in this book, upon the arrival of Sarah and little, adorable Toby.
Arrival… in a terrible sense of the word, as it s purely because Bart opens his house for the unlucky pair. Because while initially we just see heartwarming scenes between mother and son, a fire destroys their home. And the pair has (momentarily) no place to go (reminds you of another very famous story that took place more than 2000 years ago in a way? 😊).
It broke my heart reading not only what Sarah and Toby have just been going through, but also and as which we discover later on in the book, what already happened to them.
Yet at the same time, it was just so heartwarming reading how Bart, Mitch and even Eloise welcome the both of them in the guesthouse, and are helping out, in every possible way. And yes, even the Grinches/ Scrooges are changing their tunes, for Toby’s sake.
Of course several things are taking place. But whether it is Eloise and Bart getting closer, yet also fearful of admitting the feelings, or Eloise, Bart and Mitch wanting to give Sarah and Toby an unforgettable Christmas filled with amazing gifts yet Sarah not wanting to be a charity case, the main thread in this beautiful story is the warmth, love and kindness of people.
Because no matter how Bart, Eloise and even Mitch are feeling at the start of the book, we see all three of them slowly ‘melting’. And we see that even if they are closed off, we see their true characters, their true selves emerge. Ad what a delight it was to discover the wonderful persona of each character!
Of course I did not have an ounce of doubt that the characters of this book would be lovely. But I wondered how it would all come together, how each of them would un-Scrooge. And it was lovely to see that no matter how different each character is, they befriend each other, they become close and understand each other.
I loved reading this book, reading how people so adamant to keep Christmas outside, are not immune to the magic, the love and the warmth that Christmas brings. A wonderful tale, what more can I say!
Destiny promised Hanna Bailey her soulmate, but delivered a divorce instead. So, when the career opportunity of a lifetime comes calling, she’s ready to answer. Alone.
Joining the tour of rising rock band His Locked Heart is her chance to start again. Sold-out shows, endless miles, and the freedom to leave her past behind
But fate has a habit of rewriting the lyrics.
Behind the spotlight, the band’s brooding songwriter, Nathaniel Cole, is about to become the one person Hanna never expected. As friendships deepen and long-buried truths surface, Hanna finds herself torn between the life she built and a love that could burn the whole thing down.
Some songs are written in secret.
Some loves refuse to stay hidden.
And sometimes you get the chance to rewrite your own story.
My review
Twenty years ago, a fortune-teller told Hanna Bailey that she would have three loves in her life. And that the third one would be everything. Now is Hanna divorced and she is ready for the career opportunity of a lifetime. And so she finds herself joining the tour of rock band His Locked Heart. Where you would think that the members of the band would look down at Hanna, each member is quickly becoming a friend, between shows and riding miles. But Nathaniel Cole is the one that becomes the closest to her, their friendship only deepens the more time they spend together. Nathaniel finds himself writing the most heartfelt love songs about his feelings for Hanna, Hanna is at a crossroad. Because should she follow the path with someone else she has started on, or should she dare to take a step towards a love that could be amazing but also terrifying?
When I started reading this book, purely based on the blurb, I thought it would be the ‘typical’ romance or contemporary story. Nothing wrong with such stories, as I love reading them. But once this one got me, it truly *got* me and I realized that not only is this a story that was amazing to read, but it is also unique in its special way.
Now, I have to say, even if it was twenty years ago, how Hanna holds on to the ‘prophecy’ of the fortune-teller. On the other hand, being young and in love, twenty years ago, wouldn’t you also hold on to the information that brings you love?
But even if Hanna holds on to the believe that the third love would be her everything, it felt to me that this story goes way deeper than just that.
I was happy at the start of the book that Hanna is just unapologetically Hanna. Of course she has her self-doubts and insecurities. Yet she has found her own style and she enjoys the career path she has chosen. And while a rock band for sure can be a challenge, Hanna hit the jackpot with His Locked Heart.
I liked reading how Hanna genuinely cares about each member of the band, how she knows what they need without even saying it out loud. Whenever there is an issue, the band knows that Hanna is the person to go to.
But just like most people, Hanna is missing that special someone in her life. Don’t we all need someone to love and that loves us? So when Aaron makes it clear that he is into her, I could understand how they got together, even if I honestly wanted Hanna’s love life go a different direction.
And I am not saying that because Nathaniel from his first meeting starts to fall for Hanna. But because Nathaniel shows in so many different ways how he cares about Hanna. And yes, Nathaniel is just a real darling!
Nathaniel not only has an amazing writing talent. But he is also a genuine, caring, lovely person. We do not only see this with his feelings for Hanna, but also how homesick he feels at moments and how close he is with his family, despite the physical distance.
Of course the greatest part of the book is about what Hanna is going through and lesser about Nathaniel point of view. But that doesn’t take away that we see what a great friend Nathaniel is for Hanna, how he just gets her, and how Hanna can always count on him, no matter what.
The more the story evolves, the more it becomes clear that Hanna in fact *needs* Nathaniel for support. Because over time, we see how the light is dimming in Hanna’s eyes, how small she is becoming.
And that angered me, reading those bits. Not angry at Hanna herself, but how ‘easy’ someone can make you feel so small and indifferent, or in the wrong all the time. I just despise people who think that can just gaslight people…
But because of the above, we also see the growth in Hanna, and the unconditional love and support she receives from Nathaniel. And we see how difficult it can be to see what is being done to you, and how difficult it can be to make the right choice, for yourself.
But we also see how difficult it is for those the closest to you, to see you retreat in yourself more and more. And see you become just a shadow of your former self. Because we also all know, stepping in, saying something about it, forcing in a way, could have the complete opposite effect. In that aspect, my respect for Nathaniel only grew more and more. Because he sees what is happening to Hanna, and he wants to help her, but he also knows that it has to come from Hanna herself. And when the decision has been made, he will be there, as always, for her.
This whole story was a punch in my heart. It broke my heart to see Hanna’s struggles. But at the same time, it was so heartwarming and beautiful to see how strong the bond between Hanna and Nathaniel is and how their relationship evolves. But we also see how we carry the burdens of what we have endured and how it can scare us to accept the obvious and embrace it.Hann
I gave this book the full five stars, something I don’t do easily. But with everything that Hanna and also Nathaniel go through, I just couldn’t find it in my heart to give just less than the maximum. And reading the lyrics Nathaniel writes throughout the whole book… just wow!
CAN LARA ADD A SPRINKLING OF MAGIC THIS CHRISTMAS?
Jacob introduces ever tastier treats to the Sugar and Spice cafe’s menu as the Christmas Spirit knits her magic into the lives of those finding this Christmas tough.
Florence is struggling to make ends meet and afford the present she knows her son wants for Christmas. Her ex-husband flaunting his new girlfriend and their baby isn’t helping her mood.
Widower Jude feels a failure as a father to his two young children after the tragic death of his wife. The move to Winstanton was meant to make life easier. Can he learn to carve out time to build new friendships and give himself the chance to grieve?
Rachel’s boss has given the promotion he promised her to the man twenty years her junior, whom she trained. She’s fed up with being taken for granted, and the lack of sympathy from her husband and teenage children.
Retired David feels Grinch-like as his son expects him to look after his grandchildren all the time, without taking his life into consideration. He used to love Christmas, but this year it has lost its sparkle.
Can the warm welcome at the Sugar and Spice café help them find their Christmas spirit?
A feel-good festive romance with a heartwarming community and a generous helping of Christmas spirit!
My review
With Christmas looming around the corner, Lara is adamant to make the magic work as usual. This year maybe it would be a real challenge… Because there is Florence, struggling to not only afford the Christmas present her son wants, but to just get to the end of the month. Especially as her ex couldn’t be bothered to take his responsibilities. Then there is widower Jude, who moved to Winstanton after the death of his wife. While he is still grieving, he also feels like a failure as a father, as his two young children are also grieving and he does not know to make the children happy again. And Rachel is angry as the promised promotion went to the man she trained and that is twenty years her junior. And she doesn’t get the support she expected from her own husband. Meanwhile, David enjoys his retirement, but starts to feel as being taken for granted as his son expects more and more that David will look after his grandchildren, and drop everything when Lewis has other plans. So Lara for sure has work to do, but luckily she can also count on her Uncle Jacob and his treats of the Sugar and Spice Café.
There are books that put a smile on your face, even before you have read one word of it. And Susan’s books is just like that. Just knowing that this would be my next read, made me all happy on the inside! 😊
At the start, I was very curious to see what challenge Lara would be facing now, and if her ‘magic’ would be able to do the trick once again. Because for sure it is a real challenge this time around!
Lara is still that wonderful child, eager, kind and just so welcoming with a warm hearth. She is not only making new friends of her own age, but she also sees the struggles of the adults around her and Lara just wants to make them happy again. Somehow, I truly see Lara like a Santa’s Little Helper 😊.
With my first encounter of each character, I thought that I had found my favourite character, or the character I felt the most for. Yet the more the story evolved, the more I realized that I liked each character equally, even if perhaps their situation was not something I could relate to.
My heart went out to Florence. She is struggling to not only find a job, but each month is a struggle to make ends meet. And she cannot count on the support of her ex – husband for contributing for the care of their son Rain.
However, at the same time, I also admired Florence. Being on your own isn’t easy. Yet that doesn’t take away that Florence would do anything for Rain. She loves him with all her heart. And no matter how much struggles she is facing, she tries to be the best mum she can be, and not let Rain see how much in fact she is having a hard time.
What I also liked about Florence, is how she just doesn’t give up. Yes, she isn’t always getting the jobs she wants, but she is not a quitter. After every setback, she keeps her head up high, and believes that something will come her way.
I found it also sweet to see how Florence even dares to hope for love again, or at least she has an attraction towards Jude.
Jude… well maybe he *is* my favourite character in this book after all…
Because what he has been through with his family is so unfair. But unfortunately, life isn’t always fair, is it?
Losing the person you love so deeply is already difficult. But if you have two children to look after, it’s even harder. Grief is difficult for an adult, but how can children cope with the loss of their mother?
And here we see that also Jude does all he can for his two children. I could understand the reason for their move to Winstanton, to have more support. And yes, perhaps also to have a new start, to not be constantly reminded of what they have all lost?
Not that Jude wants to forget about his beloved wife, but slowly he just wants to live again, see the beautiful things that life can have. Just move on, without carrying the heavy burden of grief all the time…
Perhaps even Florence could be part of the beautiful things in his life?
In Rachel’s situation, I felt a lot on anger. Not towards her, I would never dare, but the situation she finds herself in career-wise. I truly cannot understand the injustice she has to go through. Not only does she not get the promotion she was promised and it goes to someone she trained. But also the more time passes, the more she is being used and being treated badly.
I don’t know if it is typical a man – thing, but it frustrated me too the lack of support Rachel has from her own husband. Is truly that hard for men to see the struggles we women have to face, and how unfair life still is? But I also have to say, he redeems himself 😊.
David is perhaps the furthest away from my own personal situation, as he is freshly retired and I am still enthusiastically working. But I could understand how his frustrations are only adding up. Of course he wants to help his son with the grandchildren. But I also felt it may not become a habit. Just because someone is retired, does not mean that he can drop everything when you need him to help out.
The not understanding of David’s son Lewis, and even how Lewis gets angry and ‘disappears’ with his whole family, truly angered me. Perhaps because I am a people – pleaser myself and have been taken advantage of several times, I just wanted to knock some common sense in Lewis.
Now, it may seem that I got a lot of anger in this book. And yes, there for sure were some frustrating moments. But the heart of the story, the warmth of the story, the beauty of the story (may or may not be in the form of delightful Lara), emanates from all the pages.
Because we see that no matter what you have endured in the past, no matter what you are enduring now, with a little bit of Christmas magic, nice treats of a lovely Café, being embraced by a lovely and caring community, things can take a turn for the better.
I found this, may it not be obvious already 😊, a wonderful, heartwarming, Christmassy story, filled with wonderful characters, lovely treats and delightful drinks. And once again a Lara that keeps on surprising me in the best of possible ways! 😊
Working for your ex’s football team, what could go wrong?
Synopsis
Breaking up with Dominic Wright was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Working with him years later is making me forget why I ever did.
I never thought we’d cross paths again, but I just divorced a man I never loved, and I’m desperate to restart my career. Working for Dom’s team for a season will prove what I’m capable of… and it will test my strength.
He’s at work events. At parties with friends. In very little clothing in the locker room.
We bicker and fight and promise the past is long gone… only to end up back in bed.
Worse, with how Dom holds me, it’s like I’m precious to him again.
But we can’t repeat our mistakes. Career ambitions and distance broke us apart before. When I leave this time, I must do it with my heart intact.
Nothing lasts forever. Especially not the kind of love we had.
My review
After ending her loveless marriage, Mariana returns back home from England to restart her career. The plan is to stay for a while back in the States, to later on return to England. For the moment, she will work for a season for a football team. Nothing wrong with that, weren’t it that not only Mariana will be working alongside her sister, but that one of the team’s players is Dominic Wright. The same Dom Mariana had a romance with while being at college. And while they both knew they story would come with an expiration date, it still ended in heartbreak for the both of them. And now they cross paths again, but for sure it isn’t amicable, even they keep on meeting at work events, parties with friends and yes, even in the locker room… And despite their bickering and fighting over everything, the attraction keeps pulling them together. But mistakes of the past are best not repeated, right? Especially as Mariana is once again only for a limited time in the States…
I have to say, this is the first book of the series that I have read, even if this in fact is Book 4. But I can also say that while perhaps it would have helped reading the other books first, you can perfectly read this as a standalone.
Now, normally at the start of a book, I quickly sympathize with both main characters. However, I have to admit that Mariana came off as a little bit all high and mighty. She came back from England, starts a seasonal job and is perhaps already focused on the new job waiting for her back in England.
But the better I got to know Mariana, the more I realized that in fact she is anything but high and mighty.
Truth to be told, I started to feel sorry for her. Of course she made her own choices in the past, but it is also crystal-clear that she made those choices based on the expectations her own parents had and still have for her. Choices that perhaps she wouldn’t have made if she just would have had the full support of her parents.
As a reader, I was very curious to read how that first meeting between Mariana and Dom would go. Yes you can call me evil 😊. Because it is clear that the both of them are not looking forward at that meeting. And that reluctance makes it clear that something has transpired in the past, making the end of the relationship at the time not that amicable as they both had initially planned.
And clash it did! Not that they were rude in public, but everyone could feel the vibes between them.
Where I found it difficult to immediately connect with Mariana, I did not have the same issue with Dom. I cannot pinpoint exactly why though. Is it because he is a ‘beast’ as a football player? Or is it because of his dedication for the sport? Or could it be that he has the need to keep proving his worth? Or could it be the gentle side we see of him at the moments he allows us to see the real Dom?
Dom doesn’t make a secret of the fact that he was heartbroken when Mariana left. He even attempted to win her back, without success. And that vulnerable side of him made me truly like him.
A vulnerable side we also discover as we see that in the past and even in the present he wants to show his worth, or want people to see him worthy.
The matter that he was truly heartbroken by Mariana leaving, and moving on with her life so quickly (apparently), makes that he cannot hide his anger and perhaps even resentment when Mariana is back, and they keep on meeting, as their worlds are entwined through work and friends in common.
Now, I have to say, I found it nice of both Dom and Mariana that they keep things polite and respectful when there are people around. It would have been so easy for each of them to make things difficult and awkward. But they both have the common sense to not do that.
When they are on their own though, complete different matter! Initially it is with fighting and bickering and someone it shifts in something way more physical. And I LOVED reading how they are just unable to resist each other!
And it was just sweet reading how slowly, with even some restraint, Mariana and Dom are getting closer to each other once again. They are able to put the past behind them and they can rediscover each other all over again.
Years have passed, so both characters have grown, matured. They are now also able to put things in perspective. And while in college their love was already strong, and perhaps something to be envious of, this growth is something they both needed to have a ‘replay’ of that love.
In this book we how people and their expectations can let you go in a direction that you perhaps wouldn’t choose yourself. And how that can cause a break – up of something beautiful you have in your life. But we also see how time will tell, and how growth can let you become stronger, more independent and how it can give you the fire to fight for your own causes.
Dom and Mariana show us that perhaps a great love story needs time to grow, and that perhaps the first time around isn’t just the right time but that a replay is needed.
I absolutely enjoyed reading this story and now I just must read the previous books of the series! 😊
She has a happy marriage, a career she loves, and a daughter beginning to find her place in the world. But when her husband Ed receives a devastating diagnosis, long-buried secrets surface – shattering everything Lizzie believes about their life together.
Now Ed is desperate to set things right before his memories slip away.
Meanwhile, their adopted daughter Beck is searching for answers of her own that could change the family forever.
After rediscovering her love of singing, Lizzie brings together a community where friendship, kindness and music forge unexpected connections — and perhaps a way back to one another.
My review
Lizzie’s and Ed’s worlds are falling apart when Ed is diagnosed with an illness that will affect his memories. Just now that the married couple would be enjoying life now that the hardest years are behind them. But with memories slipping away, also long – kept secrets are being exposed, putting Lizzie’s and Ed’s marriage on a bigger strain than just Ed’s illness. Add that their daughter Beck is looking for answers of her own, like looking for her biological mother, and just finding her place in the world. Unexpectedly, Lizzie finds her love for signing again, joining a choir with her best friend. And then music turns out to be what could possibly bring Lizzie back closer to her loved ones. But can music heal all the pain that have been caused in the past? And can it bring forgiveness? And could it even bring back the people we think we have lost?
I was a bit doubtful if I should read this story or not. Not because I thought it would a bad story, but more because I knew it would be a heavy story. Ed’s diagnose is not a light matter and it affects many people in the world. It is difficult for the person itself, but also for the people around him/her. So my curiosity for the story had the upper hand.
At the start of the book, Ed is a bit reluctant to go let himself check out. And I could understand that in a way. Because when it is just being a ‘normal’ forgetfulness and when is there something else going on? Aren’t we all having moments where we seem to forget something?
Even when Ed’s diagnose is made, obviously everyone is a bit shocked as it is news that nobody was expecting, I could understand how Ed is a bit in denial. Where Lizzie is trying to find remedies, treatments or things can just help a little but, Ed does not want to be faced constantly with the diagnose and just want to go on with his life as it was before. Which is of course just wishful thinking…
We see how the disease, the diagnose, affects everyone, how now things just have to change in a way, because living as before is just not an option.
I thought that the book would be only about how the family would face the changes in their lives, but the more I was reading more, the more I realized that just because someone gets bad news, that the rest in life pauses.
Because, and perhaps Ed’s situation ‘helps’ in this case, suddenly Lizzie discovers a secret Ed has been keeping, making the blissful marriage she believed she had with Ed turn into the opposite. While Lizzie is in the dark about what to do next, she doesn’t want to be the wife that leaves her sick husband, she also just has her heart broken over the betrayal.
And also Lizzie is someone I could understand, because no matter what you would do in this situation, it is never the right thing…
I was happy for Lizzie that she then finds comfort in music and the choir she is joining. Now, I was happy reading that it isn’t a choir in the classical sense of the word, but a choir where all kind of songs are being sung. Being in the choir is an escape for her, but it is also about Lizzie growing her own self – esteem again. And I admired how Lizzie understand how important music can be, and even comes up with great ideas to help others.
Like I said, we see how an illness, a diagnose doesn’t put the rest on hold. And we also see this with Beck, the daughter.
We see here a young woman that is in fact a little bit lost. She doesn’t know what to do with her life, has been doing several things but hasn’t find that one thing that she loves doing. The fact that she is also adopted, leaves her with many questions. She has and is still being loved by Ed and Lizzie, but still Beck has a felling of not belonging anywhere.
Perhaps I did not feel truly sad for Beck, but I could understand her inner turmoil. It is not easy, especially in these times, trying to find not only your place in the world, but also the answers to all her questions. And then the devastating news about her adoptive father…
Now, it may sound like a depressing story, and for sure it isn’t an easy one. There is Ed’s illness, his struggles and we see how slowly are taking a turn for the worse. There is Ed’s secret that suddenly is being exposed and his attempts to explain and make things right. There is Lizzie devastated by not only Ed’s illness, but also by that secret, making her doubt what to do next. And Beck just trying to answers.
But in fact, we also see so many moments filled with hope and love. And we see, something we perhaps should pay more attention to, how important and how impactful music can be. It can bring you joy, it can bring you hope, it can connect you again with others.
Not an easy story, but for sure an important one, that makes you reflect about your own life, about what truly matters in your life.
When new girl Ivy starts working at the café, Maddy suspects she might be hiding something. But when Ivy’s secret is finally revealed, it’s more heart-breaking than anyone could possibly have imagined.
My review
Ivy is over the moon that she has gotten the job at The Little Duck Pond Café. She believes that this could be the start of a new chapter in her life, after a devastating and heartbreaking event. However, the past is still haunting her somehow, and even at the café they suspect that Ivy is hiding something, especially Maddy her radar is going off. While Ivy rather wants to keep it all to herself, she also realizes how liberating it can be to confide in someone. And when the truth comes out, no one could have ever imagined what Ivy has been through…
It may not be a big secret that I am always over the moon when I can return to Sunnybrook and this delightful café. However, I have to also admit, that I wasn’t ready for this story and Ivy’s tale…
Right from the start it is obvious that Ivy is haunted by something/ someone from the past. It is not clear what exactly happened, and I have to say, Rosie did a great job to lead on down the wrong path 😊.
While Ivy is clearly not at ease and she is clearly tormented and even told a few white lies in order to get the job at the café, it is also obvious that she would be a great addition to the bunch that we all know and love. Because everything about Ivy says that she is a caring, loving and gentle character.
And then the moments of torment she goes through… those bits truly saddened me, seeing her scared in her own home, seeing her standing in the rain looking at the pond and searching for a specific duck… If it were possible, I would enter the book and give Ivy a big hug and tell her I am there for her and that things will work out, somehow… And that before I even knew her true tale of woe…
A tale of woe that absolutely broke my heart! A tale of woe that made me think the worse but also where my gut feeling was telling me there was more to it than we may think…
It is easy to think that Ivy got her heart broken in one of the worst possible ways, and I was perhaps also thinking not so nice things about her ex. And yes, perhaps Ivy shouldn’t have let her own self-doubts take the overhand, but I could also understand where she was coming from.
We see with Ivy’s story how perhaps you can self – destruct a wonderful relationship, but also how people’s interferences can ‘help’ with making things worse. Shows once again that there are some nasty people in this world, isn’t it? And then I am not talking about the discoveries later on in the book! Let me tell you I was flabbergasted!!!
Luckily Ivy can count on her new friend of The Little Pond Duck Café, who quickly show her that she is part of their group now and that means that Ivy can always rely on them, confide in them and they will always have her back and they will support her.
Maddy also plays a big part in this story, not only as Ivy’s biggest supporter, but also on a funnier, more hilarious way, her quest to buy a home together with the love of her life. And laugh that I did with Maddy!!! 😊Because let’s be honest, her attempts of gentle persuasion, playing innocent, nobody falls for it! 😊
Perhaps this next chapter in a just *marvellous* series broke my heart the most. Because what Ivy has been through, it is just terrible. But it is also, and that is as usual, an uplifting story, a warm story and even an inspiring story.
Because even if your heart has been broken in a million little pieces, it can be healed again, tiny bit by tiny bit again. By finding new, loyal and loving friends, by finding your passion again and finding the courage to pursue in that passion.
I don’t know how Rosie Green keeps on finding the inspiration to write amazing story after amazing story, without ever being repetitive somehow. Each new story is just something I *need* and *must* read, as in the end I always end with a big smile on my face and a feeling of contentment!
In early 20th century Britain, society was changing rapidly, but not much was changing for women. From different ends of the social spectrum, Celia Mapperley and May Hallam wrestle with rules and circumstances beyond their control and must navigate love, sex, war, and the thin line between conformity and scandal. As they each bear the shame of a devastating family secret, their stories come together in ways that neither could have imagined.
GuestPost
Behind the Bridal Veil
As a lifelong reader of novels set in the 19th and early 20th century Britain, I’ve always wondered about how young women on the marriage market felt as they approached the unveiling of the great mystery of sex. Because British society before the First World War tried to safeguard the innocence of young, unmarried women by keeping them from any knowledge of what happens between husband and wife, many must have been startled and even horrified by what they encountered on their wedding night.
Just how badly this strategy could backfire is the theme of the two parallel stories in my novel Ancestral Virgins, set before, during, and after World War I. In the novel, I wanted to show how badly these young women could be damaged by being brought up in ignorance and hedged about with so many proscriptions.
The first of the two stories grew out of my theory that some potential brides might have been more fascinated than repulsed by what they gleaned from the few hints and whispers about sex that came their way. Thus, my character Celia Mapperley was born, a young aristocrat touched by no-one but her maid, kept in the dark but longing to discover the mysterious no man’s land that divided married women irrevocably from their unmarried sisters. Aristocratic parents tended to be distant in those days, and some treated their daughters merely as pawns in a marital lottery. I’d noticed how many of the heroines of novels written during that period had their most loving and tactile relationships with their brothers, even if it was just playing tennis or rough housing – Lucy Honeychurch and her brother Freddie in E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View spring to mind. And I started to wonder what could happen if this went awry – if a young woman who feels unmoored and afraid of being married off to a stranger cleaves to the only person with whom she feels completely comfortable and safe.
The second of the two stories involves a young woman, Lily Hallam, one of six siblings who live and work on the country estate of Celia’s family estate in Nottinghamshire. Lily grows up in close proximity to her brothers but is as innocent and unquestioning as any other girl of the era about the relations between men and women. When, aged only 15, she’s sent away from home to work as a housemaid in a gentleman’s manor house in Sussex, she finds herself confused and conflicted as her charming employer becomes increasingly keen to enjoy her company.
“Lily wished Mrs. Goodwin could see how properly he always behaved, parting from her at the foot of the stairs each evening with a bow and a peck on the back of her hand. She’d felt no urgency from him, none of the pressing attentions that Mam had warned her about when it came to men. All he seemed to want was the lightness that they had when they were together, the lightness that helped him to forget the war for a little while. Yet there were also his kisses – long, trembling, addictive – and sometimes in the night, she’d lie awake in bed in the attic, hardly able to breathe as she relived them. It was like balancing on a very high and very narrow wall stretching far ahead and far behind, and only by taking one very careful step after another would she manage not to fall.”
As Celia and Lily’s stories draw ever closer together, the consequences for both women are dire and shocking and have long-lasting implications for all who know and love them.
