The Little Provence Bookshop by Gillian Harvey

 

                                                     

Ebook:  306 pages Kindle edition

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Fiction 

Publisher: October 2024 by Boldwood Books

Source: My Kindle Library via NetGalley

First Sentences: It was the same every morning, even Sundays in the high season. At seven o'clock the bell tower opposite would ring out, rousing Monique from her bed, and she'd wash, dress and make her way to the apartment's small cuisine, fill the copper kettle and with on the gas.

Setting: South of France

Review Quote: I inhaled this gorgeous novel in two greedy sittings. Escapist, romantic and deliciously atmospheric.’ Nicola Gill, author

My Opinion: 

Gillian Harvey is an author I only discovered earlier this year when I read The Riviera House Swap. She is a prolific author who writes escapist stories often set in France.

The story centres around Monique the mysterious bookshop owner and Adeline a young English woman who has taken a job as her assistant in the shop. Having recently discovered that she is adopted with a French birth mother Adeline has moved from England, to take this job in France to try and come to terms with the revelation. Along with her daughter Lilli they quickly settle in and Adeline discovers some surprising things about herself along the way.

A touch of escapism that will appeal to those looking for a quick mood enhancing read.

With thanks to Netgalley, Boldwood Books and the author for the opportunity to read and review.

Previous Review:   The Riviera House Swap

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

 Everyone’s story has some magic. You just have to turn the page to find it… As the sun rises over the little Provence village where single mother Adeline has escaped with her little girl Lily, she breathes deeply. This is their new beginning. Here, she can forget the lies her family told her. Here, she can start her story again.

Later she opens the door to the town’s tiny bookstore, where she is to work, ready to meet the mysterious owner Monique for the first time.

She expected an ordinary bookshop. But this bookstore feels somehow different… magical. Breathing in the smell of books, she feels a jolt of something. It feels like a new chapter beginning.

As she gets to know the villagers – including the handsome Andre and friendly Michel – she starts to believe in the magic of this new start. But can a runaway like Adeline ever find what she’s looking for? Or is a happy-ever-after just another fiction?

A totally gorgeous, escapist, romantic novel – set in rural Provence – by the bestselling author of A Year at the French Farmhouse and The Bordeaux Bookclub.

Author Profile:         

                                                                                    

                                Courtesy of  Author Website

Gillian Harvey is a British author and freelance writer, who writes contemporary, uplifting and emotive fiction, often set in France where she lived for many years with her husband and five children.

Photographs, Trailer and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Gillian Harvey - Author Website.    Goodreads Author Profile    Facebook Profile

Instagram Profile.   Twitter Profile

The Forgetting by Hannah Beckerman

                                                   

Paperback:  331 pages                                                                                   

Genre:  Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Domestic Drama, Psychological Thriller. 

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing  April 2023

Source: Tywyn Public Library

Review Quote: “A compelling, claustrophobic story…I finished it in one huge gulp, excusing myself unilaterally from any family responsibilities I was so desperate to finish it.” ―The Observer

Favourite Quote: 'My parents always warned me: be careful who you have kids with. Mortgages, joint bank accounts, marriages - you can extricate yourself from all of it. But have a child with someone and you're linked to them for the rest of your life.'

First Sentences: When I open my eyes, nothing is familiar. Light falls in parallel strips across the ceiling. Square white tiles, puckered with small black holes, form neat grids. A metal railings above me, curved like the broad sweep of an arm.

My Opinion: 

This is the third book I have read by this author and I was looking forward to starting. Wow, once I did I raced through this story that makes for compulsive reading, I was hooked from the start.

Anna Bradshaw and Livvy Nicholson, the protagonists are two young women who are both in relationships where they feel trapped. We are told in the book blurb that their stories are going to collide, but how is that to be? Told from the points of view of both women the disturbing story unfolds.

Absolutely devoured this very moving and scarily realistic novel about coercive relationships and domestic violence. Highly recommend to all fans of the genre. 

Previous Review:  If Only I Could Tell You.  The Impossible Truths of Love

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

From the bestselling author of If Only I Could Tell You comes the story of two women feeling trapped and powerless. Can they find their way back to life?

When Anna Bradshaw wakes up in a hospital bed in London, she remembers nothing, not even her loving husband, Stephen. The doctors say her amnesia is to be expected, but Anna feels cut adrift from her entire life.

In Bristol, Livvy Nicholson is newly married to Dominic and eager to get back to work after six months’ maternity leave. But when Dominic’s estranged mother appears, making a series of unnerving claims, Livvy is sucked into a version of herself she doesn’t recognise.

A hundred miles apart, both women feel trapped and disorientated, and their stories are about to collide. Can they uncover the secret that connects them and reconstruct their fractured lives?

Author Profile and Photo From Amazon: 

           

Hannah Beckerman is a bestselling author and journalist whose novels have been translated into more than a dozen languages worldwide. She is a book critic and features writer for a range of publications including The Observer and the FT Weekend Magazine, and has appeared as a book pundit on BBC Radio 2 and Times Radio. She chairs literary events across the UK, interviewing authors and celebrities, and has judged numerous book prizes including the Costa Book Awards. Prior to writing her first novel, Hannah was a television producer and commissioning editor for the BBC, Channel 4 and the Discovery Channel, and for two years lived in Bangladesh, running a TV project for the BBC. She now lives in London where she writes full-time.

Her About Me on her Website makes an interesting read. 

Photograph and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Profile    Official Website - Hannah Beckerman.  Twitter Profile

Instagram Profile    Facebook Profile

Things We Never Say by Caitlin Weaver

 

                                           

Ebook:  394 pages      

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Domestic Drama,                                            

Publisher:   September 27th 2024 by Storm Publishing

Source:  NetGalley - My Kindle

First Sentences: Anna watched the other women step out of their high-end SUV's, all smiles and carefree greetings, and tried to decide who she'd want to trade lives with. Any of them would do.

Review Quote: Wow, this was an emotional rollercoaster of a read!’ Reader Review, 

My Opinion: 

A new to me author Caitlin Weaver has written a powerful novel of domestic suspense. This seems to be popular genre recently or maybe it is a coincidence that I have read a few books along similar lines recently.

Anna, Maggie and Rhea are all on the fund raising committee of Civitas, a top ranking private school. It seems at first that apart from as committee members that these women have nothing in common. Actually it turns out they do, as they are all hiding secrets within their marriages. As they get to know each other their friendship grows as shared vulnerabilities emerge.

An engaging story about marriage, relationships and how we never really know what goes on behind closed doors. Recommend to fans of the genre.

With thanks to Storm Publishing and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review ‘Things We Never Say’

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Three mothers. Three secrets. One devastating scandal.

Anna has always been the quiet one, the soft-spoken mother who kept her head down and her secrets close. But when she's thrown together with Maggie and Rhea on a PTA project, they begin to bond over wine and gossip, and slowly share the truths behind their picture-perfect lives.

As a relationship therapist, Maggie is struggling with the painful, embarrassing reality of her floundering marriage. Rhea, despite her wealthy appearance, admits her troubled past could resurface and shatter her perfect world. But it's Anna who harbors the darkest secret, hiding the reality of her home life to protect the reputation of her husband – the school headmaster.

When the three women stumble upon a scandal the school has gone to great lengths to bury, Anna is caught in an impossible dilemma. With the centennial gala approaching, she must decide how far she's willing to go to expose the truth. Because doing so could wreck all of their perfect lives in one instant…

In this gripping tale of scandal, deception, and female solidarity, three women discover the steep price of perfection and the unshakable strength of friendship. A riveting, emotional story that will captivate fans of Big Little Lies, Lucinda Berry and Jodi Picoult.

Author Profile:                       

                                              

Caitlin Weaver's novels are about family secrets, the trial of modern motherhood, and the things that happen behind closed doors. She is also an essayist and editor covering topics including health, style, parenting, and business for outlets like Well+Good, Business Insider, Huff Post, Scary Mommy, and more.

Caitlin lives between Atlanta and Toronto with her husband and two young children. When she’s not writing you can find her on the tennis court, struggling with the NYT crossword puzzle, or reading “just one more” story to her kids.

Photos and Biographical information Courtesy of the following links.

Amazon Profile.   Goodreads Profile  Facebook Profile.   Twitter Profile.   Instagram Profile

Storm Publishing Profile.  Official Author Website.

The Second Marriage by Rebecca de Winter

                                                        

Ebook:  310 pages      

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Domestic Drama,                                            

Publisher:   September 26th 2024 by Storm Publishing

Source:  NetGalley - My Kindle

First Sentence: It wasn't like I didn't know who Emily Brigham was.

Review Quote: “An emotional rollercoaster… the tension ratchets and twists come thick and fast.” Reader Review,

My Opinion: 

Rebecca de Winter has written a contemporary novel about how women, even in this modern age are often judged on their looks, before their abilities as a person.  

Young women can it seems be so easily be lured into a false sense of security in relationships. This is exactly what happened with the protagonist Emily in this story. As a young woman she had an unhealthy obsessive and abusive relationship with a married man, Liam, whom she was very much in love with. In due course she is abandoned by him and ends up marrying and having a child with another man, Pete. She appears to be happy until Liam suddenly reappears in her life and everything starts to unravel.

It is suggested that this is a thriller, but I feel it fits better into the domestic drama genre. I neither loved or hated it and therefore can only suggest that it is an ok read if this sort of storyline appeals to you.

Thanks to Netgalley and Storm publishing for the opportunity to read and review 'The Second Marriage'

Précis Courtesy of NetGalley:

New husband. Old secrets.

I know it’s a cliche, but your wedding day really does go past in a blur, even if you’ve done it before. When I look back, I only remember snippets: walking down the aisle of the ballroom, my silk skirts blowing in the sea breeze… 

I thought my second marriage would be different. He was everything my first husband wasn't – magnetic, successful… But I started noticing things. Small things at first, then bigger ones.

Why was there an old phone hidden in his desk? And those torn-up letters he tried to hide? At first, I thought he must be cheating, but it wasn’t that. It was a hundred times worse. 

They say there's nothing like becoming someone's wife. But guess what's even more unforgettable? Becoming his widow on the same day. Did he think he was the only one with skeletons in his closet? It turns out, some secrets aren’t meant to be told...

Author Profile:                       

                                              

Rebecca de Winter has two kids, works in corporate, and lives in suburbia. Her favourite movie is Thelma & Louise. She has ADHD, is deaf, synaesthetic and left-handed. She sometimes rock climbs. She loves weights and hates running. Her first word was book and as a child she wanted to be both an author and Madonna's back-up dancer. Her short stories and flash fiction have been published online. She's also been a finalist in several national novel writing competitions. She's obsessed with dark, messy, complex, female protagonists - real women. They could be your colleague, your BFF, your wife, or mother, or girlfriend. They can be anything except cookie cutter... unless they are also a serial killer. She loves to write stories about the secrets people keep, the masks they wear - and what happens when their true selves are revealed. She also loves to show you why people do the terrible things they do. Or sometimes, leave you guessing. Books she's loved are Girl A, Notes on an Execution, The Marsh King's Daughter, Strange Sally Diamond, The Push, The Family Upstairs, The It Girl and of course, Gone Girl.

Photos and Biographical information Courtesy of the following links.

Amazon Profile  Facebook - Rebecca de Winter - Writer.  Instagram Profile

Coming Home to the Windmill by the Sea by Caroline Young

                                           

Ebook:  312 pages      

Genre: Contemporary Fiction                                           

Publisher:   September 25th 2024 by Storm Publishing

Source:  NetGalley - My Kindle

First Sentence: Beth and Megan sat on the headland above Aberffraw, on the island of Anglesey, in North Wales, where they always watched the sun go down in the summer.

Review Quote: ‘A captivating read… beautifully written… you could imagine being there… a real lesson on the ability to forgive.’ Reader review,

My Opinion: 

This title is the third in a trilogy, which I was drawn to read because of the Anglesey setting. Having not read the previous two first I was concerned it might not stand alone. However I need not have worried as it did and is a delightful read hinging around the importance of friendship and family in our lives.

Beth and Megan were best friends back in 1999 and living on Anglesey but around this time their lives took very different directions when Beth left the island. Thanks to the breakdown of their friendship it was to be over twenty years before they were to meet again. Can the mistakes of the past be forgiven and will they be able to rekindle their friendship?

With well written realistic characters and wonderful descriptions of Anglesey this heart warming story is one I recommend.

Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review 'Coming Home to the Windmill' 

Précis Courtesy of NetGalley:

From the windswept beaches of Anglesey, an unforgettable story of love, forgiveness and the rediscovery of hope.

When her father dies unexpectedly, Beth Macintosh leaves her high-powered career in London and rushes home to the island of Anglesey to be by her mother’s side. Stepping into the converted windmill she once called home, Beth is flooded with memories of her childhood spent on the island, before she left at eighteen to pursue her big-city dreams.

Crossing paths with Megan Williams is inevitable. Beth hasn’t spoken to her former best friend for fifteen years, not since the betrayal that shattered their friendship and set the women on different paths. While Beth spread her wings, painful secrets kept Megan tethered to the island and a life of isolation, supported only by her brother Ioan, who yearns for the love he once felt for Beth.

Confused about the feelings her memories of the island stir, Beth searches for solace on the beaches she and Megan loved as girls. But when the two friends meet again, and Megan confesses the truth about what drove them apart all those years ago, a fragile new bond begins to grow between the women. As Beth rediscovers the stark beauty of her childhood home, Megan opens her heart to the possibility of a renewed friendship, and hope of a brighter future. Can the two former friends overcome the pain of the past and come together to find the happiness they both deserve?

An uplifting and emotional novel about second chances and the healing power of love and friendship, set on the island of Anglesey. Perfect for fans of Susanne O’Leary, Amanda Prowse, Liz Eeles and Sheila O’Flanagan.

Author Profile:                    

Caroline Young has always written stories and found inspiration in the world around her, be it a bustling city or a windswept beach. She has worked for many years as a writer of non-fiction books for children, which allows for few adjectives or creative expression, so she keeps these things for her fiction. As the mother of three grown-up daughters, she now has the time to focus on her own writing, and tell the stories she wants to tell. Caroline has a degree in English from Cambridge University where she was exposed to wonderful writers from every age, and she aims to relate just some of their ideas and language to her life and writing. Caroline's idea of paradise is a bright day with a bracing wind and the sea, waiting for her to dive into it (even in January!). She hopes to write stories that the reader can lose themselves in, which take them somewhere different and fill them with joy in the beauty of the natural world, and all the amazing people in it.

            

Amazon Author Page.     Goodreads Profile.   Caroline Young - Storm Publishing

Photos and Biographical information Courtesy of the above links.

The Other Mrs Eden by Becky Alexander

 

                                           

 Ebook:    282 pages      

Genre: Domestic Drama, Contemporary Thriller, Fiction                                           

Publisher:   September 11th 2024 by Storm Publishing

Source:  NetGalley - My Kindle

First Sentence: 'She's a total bitch. Good luck.' I watched the woman march down the path towards the road, banging the gate behind her.

Review Quote: ‘Fascinating… a gripping story.’ Harriet Tyce, bestselling author of Blood Orange

My Opinion: 

Not the thriller I was expecting, but more of a domestic drama and the title disappointed me. It just does not make a good fit. The characters are not particularly likeable either but I am sure this was the authors intention. I kept reading though despite these minor irritations and am glad I did so.

The female protagonists are Kim, the would be actress who gets a job as PA to Jemima Eden a famous actress. Life is not as it seems on the surface for Jemima and her husband George as Kim discovers as she becomes more and more entrenched in the couples life.

The suspense kept me interested and the ending is a good and for me unexpected twist. Fans of domestic drama will enjoy this quick read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

I never imagined I'd be living in Jemima Eden's world. As her new assistant I'm suddenly part of a life I've only ever dreamed of. After years of barely scraping by, juggling temp jobs and failed auditions, it feels like my chance to finally be someone.

Author Profile:

 Photo Courtesy of Goodreads              

Becky Alexander is a non-fiction book editor by day and writes dark, twisty thrillers by night. Being more inclined to hiding behind a screen, Becky has always been fascinated by the psychology of actors - just why do they put themselves in the spotlight and face all that competition and rejection? To find out, Becky started acting classes and has recently taken part in her first play - which was as terrifying as expected. 

Becky is a Curtis Brown novel writing course alumni (course led by Charlotte Mendelson). Her first novel, Someone Like You, is about ambitious, driven women and what they will do to get success. Any resemblance to living people is purely intentional...                                               

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page.    Goodreads Author Profile