Book Review: The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk

Posted on by Libby Price

I’ve previously enjoyed books by Lindsey Kelk – so when I saw she had a Christmas book out, I requested it from NetGalley and was lucky enough to be sent a review copy. Here’s the blurb:

“Newly single lawyer Gwen Baker is hoping that a family Christmas – countryside, a mountain of food and festive films –
will salve the sting of her career hanging by a thread and her heart being trampled on. Because everyone else has their life sorted: even Dev, her boy-next-door crush, is now a tall, dark and handsome stranger with a fiancée. She can’t help wishing her future was clearer.
Then Gwen wakes up to discover it’s Christmas day all over again. Like Groundhog Day but with turkey. And family arguments. On repeat.
As she figures out how to escape her own particular Christmas hell, Dev is the one bright spot. He might be all grown-up but underneath he’s just as kind and funny as she remembers.
Maybe, just maybe, her heart can be mended after all.
But how do you fall in love with someone who can’t remember you from one day to the next?”

I enjoyed the book from the start with Gwen and her cousin Manny travelling to their family home town from London for Christmas. Although not specified exactly where – later on in the book it’s evident that it’s walking distance to Chatsworth House – so clearly near my Aunt and Uncle in Derbyshire!

Gwen and Manny clearly have a close relationship as cousins – and as the book continues, lots of the backstory for the whole family is filled in. They are a really mixed bunch – but you’re rooting for them all. You’re also definitely rooting for Gwen and Dev!

The Groundhog Day element is brilliant! Each day Gwen wakes up and it’s Christmas morning again – and she needs to work out what has gone wrong and why she’s gone back in time again, and again. It’s so clever – and each iteration affects the next in some way or other.

It’s well written, intricate but still very funny and relevant. I had one tiny niggle (because I’m a d*ck) and that’s in one version of the day, Gwen grabs a bacon sandwich as she leaves the house – but a few pages later is starving because she hasn’t eaten all day. Now maybe she didn’t eat the sandwich she grabbed – or maybe I just spotted the one tiny continuity error in it!

It’s a perfect book to curl up with at this time of year – and it’s bargain on Kindle at the moment. I would thoroughly recommend it with a glass of Baileys / box of celebrations / log fire / cozy blanket (delete as applicable)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Book Review: The Bullet That Missed (The Thursday Murder Club 3) by Richard Osman

Posted on by Libby Price

“It is an ordinary Thursday and things should finally be returning to normal.
Except trouble is never far away where the Thursday Murder Club are concerned. A decade-old cold case leads them to a local news legend and a murder with no body and no answers.
Then a new foe pays Elizabeth a visit. Her mission? Kill. . . or be killed.
As the cold case turns white hot, Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience (and a gun), while Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim chase down clues with help from old friends and new. But can the gang solve the mystery and save Elizabeth before the murderer strikes again?”

Having loved the previous two Thursday Murder Club books I was a bit sad that the third instalment didn’t hit NetGalley – so when I had a book token to spend, it was a no brainer. I bought it planning to give it to my Mum for Christmas (but then decided to read it myself first!!)

It was so good to be back with the gang again. Whilst the book would stand alone – I really think you need all of the back stories to fully appreciate it – and I’ve found each book is better than the previous because of the familiarity with the 4 founding members of the Thursday Murder Club but the supporting cast of characters as well. The relationships between these supporting members are also an integral part of this book – and it feels like the cast is growing and intertwining as if you were in a serial drama (posh term for soap opera!)

There are huge twists and turns, you have to suspend your disbelief sometimes – but I enjoy that. I can totally ‘hear’ Richard Osman in the writing – but I enjoy that too!

I don’t need to give this a glowing review to get Mr Osman more sales – as his books are ridiculously popular and often fill up multiple spots on the Sunday Times bestseller lists – but I am definitely a fan, and I’m already looking forward to book 4! And yes – I have passed this one on to my Mum as an early Christmas present.

Book Review: The Sh!te Before Christmas by Serena Terry

Posted on by Libby Price

Having followed Serena Terry / @mummybanter on social media, and enjoyed her first book – when I saw she had a sequel out – and it referred to Christmas in a similar vein to me – I had to request a copy off NetGalley!

Here’s the blurb:

“One month to go. One stressed mum. Can she pull off the perfect family Christmas?
Twas the sh!te before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring except for … mum!
Like every mum, Tara wants a perfect Christmas for her family – but no-one else is lifting a finger and she’s losing her elf-ing mind. From the kids behaving badly (vaping! Potty training! The Nativity!), to a distracted husband acting very out of character, the last straw is Tara’s glamorous, feckless, boundary-less mother moving herself back in for the holidays.
Can Tara pull off the holly jolly Christmas of her dreams? Will she deck the halls and not her family? Or is this a Christmas catastrophe”

I finished this book ages ago – but for some reason forgot to post the review! Anyway – we’re now in advent, so life feels much more Christmassy – so definitely the right time to purchase and read this – or it would make a great Christmas present.

It was fabulous to go back to catch up with Tara and her family – it felt like visiting friends for Christmas! All of the relationships from the first book are revisited – and Tara’s Mum plays a key role in this book too. Whilst you could read this as a standalone book – I really think it would be better if you’d read the first book so that you know the back story to all of the characters – from Tara’s immediate family, to her friends and work mates.

The relationships are – again – the centrepoint of the book. From the stroppy teenager, to the excitable small child, the grumpy husband, the nightmare boss – all if it is written very well.

Some of the book was quite predictable, some of it completely surprised me – so all in all I really enjoyed it.

Is this book going to win any literary prizes? Probably not. But a bit like how I don’t always want to watch Oscar nominated films – sometimes a funny, relevant, laugh out loud, have a little weep book is what you want – and this fits the bill perfectly.

A big festive thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for my ARC.

Book Review: Parenting Hell by Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe

Posted on by Libby Price

I love the Parenting Hell podcast – and have bought (with my own money, which doesn’t happen very often!) the books written by Josh Widdicombe and Rob Beckett – so when they had a co-written book come out, it was a no brainer. However, super organised me ordered a signed copy when it was first announced. People pleaser me then felt guilty for not having ordered a copy (potentially peri menopausal forgetfulness at this point!) when Rob ranted about freeloading podcast listeners not buying it – I bought it again. So, on release day – I had two parcels from WHSmiths arrive!! I’ve sent the extra copy to the lovely friend who introduced me to the podcast in the first place to say thank you for the hours of free entertainment I’ve benefitted from.

Here is the blurb if you’re not a podcast listener already (and you wouldn’t have to be a podcast listener to read it – it would stand alone – but you really should listen to the podcast, it’s my ‘go to’ every Tuesday and Friday and is available free on Spotify):

“THE MADNESS, ABSURDITY, AND UTTER CHAOS OF BEING A PARENT FROM THE HOSTS OF THE NO.1 SMASH HIT PODCAST.
What’s it really like to be a parent? And how come no one ever warned Rob or Josh of the sheer mind-bending, world-altering, sleep-depriving, sick-covering, tear-inducing, snot-wiping, bore-inspiring, 4am-relationship-straining brutality of it all? And if they did, why can’t they remember it (or remember anything else, for that matter)?
And just when they thought it couldn’t get any harder, why didn’t anyone warn them about the slices of unmatched euphoric joy and pride that occasionally come piercing through, drenching you in unbridled happiness in much the same way a badly burped baby drenches you in milk-sick?
Join Josh and Rob as they share the challenges and madness of their parenting journeys with lashings of empathy and extra helpings of laughs. Filled with all the things they never tell you at antenatal classes, Parenting Hell is a beguiling mixture of humour, rumination and conversation for prospective parents, new parents, old parents and never-to-be parents alike.”

The book is – as expected – brilliant and funny. It’s written like a conversation between Josh and Rob – covering different topics of parenthood. It’s not completely chronological – and it’s not a self help book – but it’s funny, normal and relatable (which is surprising, as Rob and Josh usually try to be sexy and unrelatable #podcastjoke)

I also really enjoyed the chapters written by Rose and Lou (Josh and Rob’s respective wives) and by the Widdicombe and Beckett parents – as well as by childfree producer Michael. It was interesting to see the other perspectives (and hear which other comedian Lou would have married – and may run off with in the future!)]

Like Lou I have bowel problems – not the same one, but still ‘anal wouldn’t help’ (this is a reference from the book – not me being completely weird when writing this blog post!) and sometimes this means I have to sit on the loo for ages (although let’s face it, sometimes I sit there just to read more of my book!) One evening my husband thought I must be suffering more than usual as he could hear me ‘crying’ in our en suite. Apart from I wasn’t crying – I was laughing a lot at Lou’s chapter. Honestly – this is turning into a Lou Beckett appreciation post rather than a book review!

Overall it’s a fun, escapist read – and whilst funny, self-deprecating and not always 100% positive about all aspects of parenthood – the love for their families shines out from Rob and Josh. I’d thoroughly recommend it to everyone (even if your youngest ‘baby’ is 11 tomorrow like mine, and your oldest one of the four is 19. Let’s not tell the boys about how the next decade or so pans out………)

Book Review: Bournville by Jonathan Coe

Posted on by Libby Price

When I read the blurb for this new Jonathan Coe book – I was very excited to request a copy from NetGalley. Here it is – to see if it entices you too:

“In Bournville, a placid suburb of Birmingham, sits a famous chocolate factory. For eleven-year-old Mary and her family in 1945, it’s the centre of the world. The reason their streets smell faintly of chocolate, the place where most of their friends and neighbours have worked for decades. Mary will go on to live through the Coronation and the World Cup final, royal weddings and royal funerals, Brexit and Covid-19. She’ll have children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Parts of the chocolate factory will be transformed into a theme park, as modern life and the city crowd in on their peaceful enclave.
As we travel through seventy-five years of social change, from James Bond to Princess Diana, and from wartime nostalgia to the World Wide Web, one pressing question starts to emerge: will these changing times bring Mary’s family – and their country – closer together, or leave them more adrift and divided than ever before?
Bournville is a rich and poignant new novel from the bestselling, Costa award-winning author of Middle England. It is the story of a woman, of a nation’s love affair with chocolate, of Britain itself.”

I have lived within a few miles of Bournville all of my life and equally my parents and grandparents have also lived nearby – so it felt very ‘close to home’ literally as well as figuratively. The generations of the family in this story are about 1/2 a generation out from mine – but still incredibly relevant.

The book starts in Vienna in March 2020 – just as the world is about to go mad as Covid 19 hits. It then goes back in time to VE day in 1945 as Mary Lamb is a small child celebrating the end of the war with her family.

The book then uses huge events that are happening as key chapters in the book – it reminded me a bit of a historic blog post I did about remembering where you were when specific key events in the world happened. Also, the fact that lots of these events involve the Royal Family made it even more poignant given the fact that the Queen recently died.

This is a swooping family drama – and I’ve read some reviews complaining that nothing really happens – but it is the story of a family life – and thankfully my own family life doesn’t involve many murders or mysteries either!

For me the local backdrop was lovely – not only was Bournville unsurprisingly a key geographical location – I got even more excited as characters moved initially to the Lickey Hills – and then Barnt Green, which is the next village to us! Just like in the book – when we first moved to the village we found that lots of people worked at either The Austin (subsequently The Rover) or Cadburys – both of which loom large during the book.

I have to say that I had realised that Cadbury’s chocolate didn’t taste the same overseas – but I wasn’t fully up to speed with the politics of chocolate – particularly across Europe – so was educated on that by the book.

The book circles back to during the pandemic – and it is incredibly moving (even more so when I realised that some of it was based upon real life experiences of the author and his family during the covid 19 situation).

The book has some ‘Easter Eggs’ in it from the authors other novels – and a couple of names were familiar – but it’s a long time since I watched ‘The Rotters Club’ on TV back in 2005.

Now I probably would have bought this book for lots of my relatives – especially my Great Aunt who lives in Bournville – however there is quite an explicit sex scene, and it just feels really out of sorts with the rest of the book – and I’d be uncomfortable knowing she was reading it!

Overall, as a proud Brummie – and South Brummie at that – I really enjoyed the book and all of the local history entwined with British history of the last 75 years. It also makes you realise that what we’ve all been through with the pandemic will soon be history taught to kids in schools.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Book Review: How To Live When You Could Be Dead by Deborah James

Posted on by Libby Price

I pre ordered this book when Deborah James was talking about it in the Spring. Like many people, I had been so impressed with how she had dealt with her bowel cancer diagnosis and used it to raise awareness of the disease initially on social media as Bowelbabe – but then on mainstream media too. I wanted to show Deborah, in some small way, my support – so pre ordered the book, wore the Rebellious Hope T-shirt – and ‘bought her a drink’ on her JustGiving fundraising site.

This is what Deborah (or Dame Deborah James as she became) wrote for the blurb of her book:

“I was alive when I should have been dead. In another movie, I missed the sliding door and departed this wondrous life long ago. Like so many others, I had to learn to live not knowing if I have a tomorrow, because, statistically, I didn’t. At the age of 35, I was blindsided by incurable bowel cancer – I was given less than an 8 per cent chance of surviving five years. Five years later, my only option was to live in the now and to value one day at a time.
How do you turn your mind from a negative spiral into realistic and rebellious hope? How do you stop focusing on the why and realise that ‘why not me’ is just as valid a question?
When Deborah James was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer at just 35, she learned a powerful lesson: the way we respond to any given situation empowers or destroys us. And with the right skills and approach, we can all face huge challenges and find strength and hope in the darkest of places.
How to Live When You Could Be Dead will show you how. It will awaken you to question your life as if you didn’t have a tomorrow and live it in the way you want to today. By harnessing the power of positivity and valuing each day as though it could be your last, you’ll find out, as Deborah did, that it is possible to live with joy and purpose, no matter what.”

The book starts with a Foreword written by Gaby Roslin, who had become a friend of Deborah’s in recent years – and this was really moving. As was the subsequent author’s note where Deborah admits she probably won’t be around to see the book being published, which she sadly wasn’t. So I’d cried before the book had started properly – and continued to during the book at times. However it most definitely is not a doom and gloom book – it’s about grabbing life and enjoying the time you have.

I think like most ‘self help’ books, it’s not rocket science and doesn’t contain any advice that would come as a huge shock – but it’s good to take time out of hectic lives to actually think about that – and think about small steps you can take to make your life happier and more fulfilled every day.

Chapters include topics such as hope (rebellious of course!), living for today, having something to aim for, the healing power of laughter – and lots more. All are covered in Deborah’s matter of fact but also fun way – with personal stories interwoven with professional research and advice and relevant quotes.

There’s a great resources list at the end of the book too (Deborah was an educator by trade – and that is evident).

I really enjoyed the book from start to finish – and I defy ANYONE not to cry when reading the final chapter entitled ‘final word’. I am sure the book will be cherished by Deborah’s family – especially her children Hugo and Eloise – as they grow up. And I really hope Eloise will have the Dame Deborah James roses in her wedding bouquet some day.

Book Review: Darling by India Knight

Posted on by Libby Price

“A razor-sharp, laugh-out-loud novel that re-imagines the cast of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love.
Marooned in a sprawling farmhouse in Norfolk, teenage Linda Radlett feels herself destined for greater things. She longs for love, but how will she ever find it? She can’t even get a signal on her mobile phone. Linda’s strict, former rock star father terrifies any potential suitors away, while her bohemian mother, wafting around in silver jewellery, answers Linda’s urgent questions about love with upsettingly vivid allusions to animal husbandry.
Eventually Linda does find her way out from the bosom of her deeply eccentric extended family, and she escapes to London. She knows she doesn’t want to marry ‘a man who looks like a pudding’, as her good and dull sister Louisa has done, and marries the flashy, handsome son of a UKIP peer instead. 
But this is only the beginning of Linda’s pursuit of love, a journey that will be wilder, more surprising and more complicated than she could ever have imagined.”

OK – so I need to hold my hands up first and say I’ve never read ‘The Pursuit of Love’ by Nancy Mitford – so whilst this is a retelling – it was a brand new story / set of characters for me – but as a fan of India Knight’s writing I requested an ARC from NetGalley.

The book is narrated by Frances, a cousin of the Radlett siblings, who has been sent to live with her Aunt Sadie and Uncle Matthew by her flaky mother. Matthew is a retired rockstar, Sadie is his earth mother wife – and they home school their children – and Franny.

The characters are all brilliantly written – with Uncle Matthew my favourite, with some amazing one liners – and lists of things he hates. I’ve just re read one of the lists now – and have laughed out loud as I type (in a coffee shop in Worcester whilst waiting to collect my kids from private school, and ironically one of the things on this list is ‘overconfident public schoolgirls with loud voices’) Another favourite is ‘wellness, (why should I take advice from posh girls with eating disorders?’ But I will stop listing them now, as you really need to read them in their wonderfully written rant mode to fully appreciate them!!

The book starts with the kids growing up in rural Norfolk – with the occasional trip to Cromer for the children’s excitement. Their homeschooling means they know incredibly random things – but not your standard three Rs. They also have their own codes, words, abbreviations – which as a mother of 4, and with our own family ‘things’, I totally understand.

The book then follows all of the family – but primarily Linda on her pursuit of love, taking in London and Paris as well as Norfolk. Each of the locations is written about and described really well and you feel like you’re there.

There is an eclectic supporting cast who are excellently described – Davey and his gut health being very informative!

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the book – it was clever, witty, funny and an escapist read. I just can’t comment on how it is as a retelling!

It’s out later in October 2022. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Book Review: The Cruise by Catherine Cooper

Posted on by Libby Price

I have thoroughly enjoyed Catherine Cooper’s previous two books and so was excited to be sent an advance review copy of her new book – still at C in the alphabet, this time The Cruise! Here’s the blurb:

“A glamorous ship
During a New Year’s Eve party on a large, luxurious cruise ship in the Caribbean, the ship’s dancer, Lola, goes missing.
Everyone on board has something to hide
Two weeks later, the ship is out of service, laid up far from land with no more than a skeleton crew on board. And then more people start disappearing…
No one is safe
Why are the crew being harmed? Who is responsible? And who will be next?”

The book starts off on a luxury cruise ship in the Caribbean – so far so swanky. Then it flips to a remote Scottish location – and I have to admit I must have read it after wine / when really tired – as when I opened my Kindle the next day to continue reading I was completely confused as to where the cruise ship was and what had happened – and wondered if I’d opened a totally different book! After a bit of ‘rewinding’ (not sure what the technical term is?!) I worked out what had happened. At first read these two storylines appear completely unrelated – but you know from previous Catherine Cooper books that it’s not going to stay that way! Having been caught completely off guard with her previous books’ twists and turns I was much more alert this time (well, when sober / awake enough, clearly!).

On the cruise ship, one of the dancers, Lola has gone missing – and her dance partner Antonio is distraught. A guest thought she saw someone fall overboard during the New Year’s Eve celebrations – and it’s assumed that Lola has taken her own life. But then other crew members start dying…

The cruise ship setting is described really well and you got a real feel for the boat – however as it’s basically moored up for maintenance work, the setting of the Caribbean isn’t really explored at all.

The geographical location of Laura and her father in Scotland is the other initial setting – and again, you get a real feel for the oppressive and reclusive setting he enforces they live in.

The storylines eventually intertwine – but I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoilers!

I loved the fact that the book tied up all of the loose ends – even if some seemed a *little* far fetched – but that often happens in ‘whodunnits’ I guess.

The book has an incredibly similar vibe to Catherine Cooper’s previous novels – but why mess with a format that has worked so well. And even though I was on my toes looking for clues throughout – and did pick up on some – I most definitely didn’t guess the whole storyline. Enough to be smug – but without being bored – perfect!

The Cruise is out later this month on Kindle, and early next month as a hardback.

A big thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for my ARC.

Book Review: Cat Lady by Dawn O’Porter

Posted on by Libby Price

I have loved Dawn’s previous writing – fiction and non fiction – and would consider myself a fan, following her on Instagram and subscribing to her Patreon page. So when I saw she had a new book out, I jumped at the chance to review it – and Net Galley sent me an advance review copy.

Here’s the blurb:

“CAT LADY [n.]
Single, independent, crazy, aloof, on-the-shelf, lives alone . . .
It’s safer for Mia to play the part that people expect. She’s a good wife to her husband Tristan, a doting stepmother, she slips on her suit for work each morning like a new skin.
But beneath the surface, there’s another woman just clawing to get out . . .
When a shocking event shatters the conventional life she’s been so careful to build, Mia is faced with a choice. Does she live for a society that’s all too quick to judge, or does she live for herself?
And if that’s as an independent woman with a cat, then the world better get ready . . .
Fresh, funny and for anyone who’s ever felt astray, CAT LADY will help you belong – because a woman always lands on her feet.“

Now I have to say that I got off on the wrong foot with this book for a couple of reasons.

Firstly – I am allergic to cats. It’s not that I don’t like them – but I can’t go near them without feeling really poorly. There is a paragraph basically dissing anyone who doesn’t adore cats – so I was immediately defensive.

Secondly – very early in the book it is ‘Mother’s Day’ – but Mia is going to work and her stepson to school – which clearly doesn’t happen on Mothering Sunday in the UK where the book is set. I did give Dawn the benefit of the doubt as I know she lives in the US and I wasn’t sure if Mother’s Day could be on a weekday over there – but having checked, seemingly not. Therefore this is just a straight error. It seemed really odd that neither the author or editor would have picked up on this? It’s not 100% fundamental to the story, it could easily have been tweaked to still fit in the plot lines without it having to be changed. I initially thought I was being petty – but it would appear many other ARC readers on Net Galley felt the same!

So – a few pages in and I didn’t have high hopes – however, I did get more into the book as it went on and so am not going to be totally negative about it I promise!

Mia is clearly struggling in many aspects of her life – and all of them seem quite compartmentalised – her role as wife and step mother at home (although she doesn’t share a bedroom with her husband, as she prefers to sleep with her cat ‘Pigeon’), her work – where she loathes her ‘boss’ and appears to dislike most of her staff, her relationship with her sister (and non existent relationship with her brother in law), and her attendance at a pet bereavement group – despite Pigeon being alive and well.

I have to say I didn’t particularly like any of the characters – so I wasn’t Team Mia – but equally wasn’t Team Anyone Else. I would also say the overwhelming feeling for me wasn’t ‘fresh, funny’ but actually probably ‘unusual, sad’.

The story skips along – and has the standard SHOCK moment that I’ve come to expect from Dawn’s fiction books.

The second half of the book I found quite odd. Like chapters had been written at completely separate times and didn’t really link properly. It was just a bit weird and I felt didn’t flow.

As well as the whole Mother’s Day debacle, there are loads of homophone errors throughout the book that hopefully will be picked up before printing.

I didn’t hate the book – and wanted to keep reading to see what happened – but it’s definitely not my favourite Dawn O’Porter book and I guess I had high hopes. It’s out in October 2022 if you’re interested in ordering it.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

Book Review: Ten Years by Pernille Hughes

Posted on by Libby Price

“Becca and Charlie have known each other since university.
Becca and Charlies have also hated each other since university.
Until now. Until Ally’s bucket list. The death of their loved one should mean they can go their separate ways and not look back. But completing the list is something neither of them can walk away from.
And sometimes, those who bring out the worst in you, also bring out the very best…
Over the course of ten years, Becca and Charlie’s paths collide as they deal with grief, love and life after Ally.
Not since Emma and Dex in One Day and Will and Lou in Me Before You will you root for a couple as much.“

The book starts with Ally dying and her fiancé Charlie, and best friend Becca, being completely devastated. They clearly don’t like each other – and both envisage never seeing each other again after her funeral.

However Ally – assisted by her Mum – had other plans! Ally has a bucket list of things she wanted to do – and she has tasked Becca and Charlie with doing these things. Their love for Ally – despite their loathing of each other – means they agree to do the tasks around the anniversary of Ally’s death.

I have to say, you can probably guess how this is going to end after the decade of tasks – but it isn’t a straightforward rom com. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way – both in what is happening in the present day – but also in unravelling the past too.

The tasks are all different – so give lots of varied settings for the plot to develop.

Whilst Becca and Charlie both have their character flaws – fundamentally you are rooting for them both.

I really enjoyed this book – and devoured it really quickly – and would definitely recommend it.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.