I'm 47, married to Steve (50), Mum to two (24 & 23) and a Shih Tzu called Bella (13). I'm our Church Treasurer (on a voluntary basis) since July 2014. I started my Book Blog in October 2015. I created Bowen's Book Publicity in June 2020. I love to #sharethebooklove 💕
Rosa’s Beauty Salon might be shabby and old fashioned, but it’s where women have always come for help and advice.
When Sylvie inherits the family business, she plans to bring the salon up to date.
But if she thinks she is in control, she’s wrong.
Her mother and grandmother might be gone but their voices are still clamouring to be heard.
Sylvie cannot free herself from the past until she faces up to who she truly is and accepts the gift that has been passed down through the generations.
Then her regulars set up Friday night sessions where they share wine and wisdom, solve problems and transform lives. Including Sylvie’s.
OUT NOW!
Misha Herwin is a writer of women’s fiction.
Ever since she had her hair cut short at the age of twelve, she has been looking for the right hairdresser. Not only has she found her, but has also been inspired to write, “Friday Nights at Rosa’s.”
When Misha is not working on her next book, or having her hair done, she likes to spend time with family and friends, read, do the garden, or bake. Scones with jam and cream are her speciality.
I read The Time Traveler’s Wife for the first time about fifteen years ago and I have never forgotten it. It remains one of my most favourite books ever! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it on Audible and could quite happily listen to it again.
A most untraditional love story, this is the celebrated tale of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who inadvertently travels through time, and Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare’s passionate affair endures across a sea of time and captures them in an impossibly romantic trap that tests the strength of fate and basks in the bonds of love. “Niffenegger’s inventive and poignant writing is well worth a trip”
Wedding Belles at Rosa’s is a gorgeous little story. One I enjoyed over the last two evenings but could have happily read in one sitting had I not gone to bed too late the first night.
This story is full of brilliant characters. Some more lovable than others. Some more amusing than others. My heart went out to Jayne. No-one so young should have to deal with losing the love of their life. How do you even begin to move on from such a devastating loss? Her mother is determined she will, but you can’t force these things.
I loved the friendship dynamics in this story. I loved the family closeness and the sense of community centred around Irene and her beauty salon. I loved Irene’s honesty with Jayne and Jayne’s reaction to such honesty. I also loved the cat.
I’m very much looking forward to reading Friday Nights at Rosa’s. I have already pre-ordered it. It’s out on Monday 22nd July. This is the perfect chance to read Wedding Belles at Rosa’s in the meantime. Enjoy!
Father Black is the most brilliant character. Talk about going from one extreme to the other with his career choices. I love it!
Take Down sees him being blackmailed by the Honos Group. No-one knows who is running the show though, so he’s left with no choice but to return to where it all started and find out for himself. I can only imagine how conflicted he must feel when making some of the decisions he is faced with in this situation.
This book is full of action and exceptional characters who you can’t help but love but would most definitely not want to get on the wrong side of. It’s full of suspense and tension. Each chapter ensures you need to read the next one.
Considering the level of violence involved in this story it has its fair share of humour too.
I love Emmy and her relationship with Father Black. Or lack of, much to her disappointment. She amuses me in her persistence, and I admire his ability to resist.
It’s just brilliant writing!
I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Selfishly I hope this isn’t the end of Father Black’s adventures, although for him I hope he gets some peace for a while at least 😉
Many thanks to Mick Williams for my review copy
A hunted priest turns hunter.
To get back his former life, Father Black must return to where it all started.
Blackmailed by the mysterious Honos Group, the only way for him to break free is to track them down, starting with the surviving members of his original Iraqi unit…all tied to Honos. Surely, one of them can shed some light on the group.
But do they want to be found? And is he prepared to kill to discover a decade old secret?
As the hunt begins, a series of unexplained power outages cripple parts of the United States and, as the net tightens, his personal mission becomes a desperate race to save the entire country.
If you’re new to this series, I highly recommend that you read book one first….
Rachael Stewart has really outdone herself with Matteo De Luca!! She’s an expert at creating men with difficult pasts who are determined to live a free and single life, and women who rock their world.
Porsha isn’t looking for love any more than Matteo is. She has her young nephew to raise after the devastating loss of her sister. Recently retired footballer, Matteo, is her neighbour. They don’t know each other (their first encounter is quite amusing); However, it soon becomes apparent that he’s her only hope of help with her football mad nephew as she tries to balance a fulltime job with the school summer holidays.
I loved this story! I loved sharing the summer with Porscha, Fin, and Matteo. Oh, how the other half live!
I love how it’s far from a straightforward romance, but with undeniable chemistry. I love how obvious it is to everyone else before themselves. I love how Fin is always the priority. I love how obvious it is that money truly doesn’t buy you real happiness. I loved the family history aspect of the story, and I loved Porsha’s well intended interference. I loved it all, but especially the ending which I could barely read through happy tears.
Just gorgeous!
All the stars from me 😊
** Many thanks to Rachael Stewart for my review copy **
Everyone’s heard of Matteo De Luca: tycoon, footballer and international thrill-seeker. Until an injury sees him permanently benched—and bored! So bored that when his neighbour’s kid drives off another nanny Matteo volunteers to step in, adding ‘manny’ to his CV. After unexpectedly becoming her nephew’s guardian, it’s clear Porsha’s defences are high. But as Matteo gets to know the woman beneath, a startlingly intense connection emerges… Could this be his biggest adventure yet?
Tom, his wife, Rachel, their thirteen-year-old daughter, Holly, and their dog travel to Scotland for much needed rest and re-connection. They are all struggling with grief after the loss of Tom and Rachel’s sixteen-year-old son a few months previous, so Tom’s boss, Lionel, insists they use his remote lodge for a few days to relax. On arrival it all looks like the ideal place for just that. That is until there is a break-in in the middle of the night on the first night they’re there.
An absolute nightmare!
Is it a random attack or have they been targeted?
From this moment on I had no idea what to think! I had my theories as the story progressed, but there was many a curveball along the way. I found it to be quite a tense read. The tension builds slowly, but it kept me intrigued. The flashbacks provided little glimpses towards the truth along the way, but also threw up new questions at times.
I thought Tom was quite a believable character. Most ‘normal’ blokes wouldn’t be equipped to deal with the sort of attack they are faced with. My husband is ex-military so I’m sure he’d be great in an emergency such as this, but Tom is a lawyer. I’m assuming they don’t tend to have the same training! 😉
Rachel was an intriguing character. She was obviously hiding something from the start, so I was itching to find out what. I couldn’t warm to her the same, although I did understand her better by the end.
I thought Holly coped well with the whole situation, especially given her age. She’s a little trooper.
It certainly kept me guessing and I was shocked by the end!
I buddy read this with some Instagram friends, and I think I enjoyed it more than some of the other ladies. I understand how the repetitive use of certain words/phrases grated on them, and I agree it could possibly have been condensed a little bit. I personally think the ending justified the build-up though. I think it would make a good film. Some of the repetitive descriptions used wouldn’t be necessary on screen. I think, done well, it would keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a tense, psychological thriller which confuses the cr*p out of you for the most part, but all wraps up nicely at the end.
** I purchased the paperback edition of this book purposely to join in with this month’s buddy read chosen by @readswithdanii **
It’s 2 a.m. in a remote Scottish lodge.
You are asleep when a noise wakes you.
You stir, unsure why, and turn to your partner.
Then you hear it.
Glass. Crunching underfoot.
Your worst fears are about to be realized.
Someone is downstairs, intent on causing your family harm.
You will do whatever it takes to protect them.
But with only each other to rely on, can you escape?
Beautiful and Terrible Things is extremely relevant to the world we live in today. It’s about a diverse group of friends, each with their own struggles, principles, and wishes for a better world for all.
Charley is new to the group. I love that she manages a bookstore and lives above it. How cool is that! Her anxieties are understandable given her difficult past. Xander introduces her to his friendship group and, at first, she starts to relax in their company. They are mostly a good bunch, although I wouldn’t necessarily condone some of Xander’s behaviour. I love that they take her under their wing though. My heart goes out to her when she realises her life might be about to be turned upside down. I was rooting for her the whole time and hoping for a positive outcome.
I do have to mention that this is the first book I’ve read with a gender-neutral character. Sunny is a very easy to like character and I have absolutely no problem with anyone living their life however they wish to, but when I read they/them I automatically imagine more than one person (as per definition). I did have to keep reminding myself that it was just Sunny, and I can’t pretend that it didn’t interrupt the flow of the story for me a little bit at times. I imagine it’s something I will get used to though as I’m sure it will become more commonplace in books.
I think younger readers especially will relate to these characters. They have an important story to tell, not least about the importance and power of friendship.
** Many thanks to S.M. Stevens for my ARC in exchange for my honest review **
Charley Byrne isn’t really living. At age 29, she hunkers down in her apartment above the bookstore she manages, afraid of a 7-year curse. Then quirky activist Xander Wallace lures her out of social exile with the prospect of friendship and romance. Charley joins Xander’s circle of friends diverse in their heritage, race, gender and sexual orientation. She thrives, even leaving her comfort zone to join protests in a city struggling with social justice ills.
But the new friendships bring back-to-back betrayals that threaten the bookstore—Charley’s haven—and propel her into a dangerous depression. Can her friends save the store? And Charley?
Beautiful and Terrible Things offers a compelling portrait of modern American life in a major city with its vibrant culture and rampant social issues. At once enlightening and entertaining, it reminds us that friendship has the power to validate, destroy, transform, and save lives.
Before I Let You In is a compelling psychological thriller. One that held my interest throughout and kept me guessing to the end.
The story begins when Karen (a psychiatrist) meets a new client for the first time, Jessica. Something is off about Jessica from the get-go, and it soon becomes apparent that she knows Karen and her friends etc. Karen is faced with a dilemma. She should refer her to a different psychiatrist really, but curiosity gets the better of her.
I can’t say I warmed to Karen. She comes across as a bit of a control freak, but I did enjoy the dynamic between her and her friends. They couldn’t be more different to each other. I found them all fascinating, and I couldn’t wait to see where the story would lead.
Jessica put me on edge. I desperately wanted to learn her story!
This book is pacey, with short chapters which add to the pace and tension. It succeeded in shocking me and I loved it!
** I read the paperback edition of Before I Let You In. I’m not sure where I bought it from though as it wasn’t Amazon. Unless it was sent to me via my Wishlist at some point. Thank you if you sent it to me **
She knows you better than you know yourself.
Karen is meant to be the one who fixes problems.
It’s her job, as a psychiatrist – and it’s always been her role as a friend.
But Jessica is different. She should be the patient, the one that Karen helps.
But she knows things about Karen. Her friends, her personal life. Things no patient should know.
And Karen is starting to wonder if she should have let her in . . .
Escape Beyond the Tide is the first book I’ve read by N Dune, and I’m impressed!
I think it must have been sent to me as a gift via my Amazon Wishlist as it isn’t in my orders, so thank you to whoever sent it to me 😊
Lou is an immediately likeable character. My heart went out to her as, when we first meet her, she’s trying to find the right time to leave her abusive boyfriend. The boyfriend who has always promised her one thing. He would find her if she ever tried to leave him. Thankfully for Lou he never showed any interest in her life before him, so where she runs to is an obvious choice.
Jay is the most delightful character! It’s easy to see why Lou would run to him. Not so easy to understand why she didn’t cling to him in their younger years. They are so obviously made for each other. He has been in love with Lou forever, and the way he instantly welcomes her back into his life is incredibly heart-warming. The chemistry between them is off the chart. He is patient with Lou though. He knows she’s obviously been through something horrendous even if she doesn’t want to tell him straight away. They have a beautiful friendship which is destined to develop into a scorching hot partnership. Will Lou ever be able to fully relax though, with Damon’s promise echoing in her ear!?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I loved the unconditional friendships, the understandable jealousy from certain characters, the way others in the Cornish community welcomed Lou back into their lives and helped her to heal, the chemistry between Lou and Jay….
It made me sad, and angry, and it shocked me at times. My heart was in my mouth at one point! However, mostly, it made me smile.
I look forward to reading book 2 before too long.
I remember like it was yesterday, how he promised he would find me if I ever tried to leave him… Lou has only one plan-run as far away as possible from her abusive boyfriend. She chooses the only place he wouldn’t think to look. Seeking refuge with the only person who has ever made her feel safe. As Lou tries to put the broken pieces of herself back together, a need for her best friend reignites. Jay has loved Lou since they were building sandcastles on the beach. When fate throws them back together, he is determined not to let her go a second time. Can he keep her safe and convince Lou that she belongs on the Cornish Coast with him? . Escape Beyond the Tide is a friends-to-lovers, second chance romance and book one in the Beyond the Tide trilogy, which should be read in order. Trigger warning: This book contains references to and some scenes of domestic abuse and violence.
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