Hi, and welcome to my Flashback Friday feature!
On the first Friday of each month, I like to look back at the books I was reading the previous year during the same month.
Please do join in if you have the time, I’d love to see your posts 🙂
A big thank you to those who already join in regularly! xx
Here are my reviews from January 2023 + a link to previous January FBFs….
One Christmas Eve has been a lovely festive read. One I stayed up way past 1am this morning to finish as I was just loving it!
The whole book is set on Christmas Eve, but bounces between 1968, 1993, and 2023. I loved that!
Cathy and Eve (Grandmother and Granddaughter) are extremely likable characters. Helena (Eve’s mother, Cathy’s daughter) is another kettle of fish. She’s a bit more difficult to warm to. Intriguing though.
I thoroughly enjoyed the three women’s very different Christmas Eve experiences and couldn’t wait to find out what Eve is so desperate to find out.
I laughed, cried, and found myself smiling a lot.
A beautiful ending to a beautifully written story.
The perfect Christmas read, but I think I would have enjoyed it at any time of the year.
I borrowed this book from the Prime reading library.
On Christmas Eve, 1968, Cathy McLean receives a surprise visit from the lost love of her life and is forced to choose between the one that got away and the one that stayed.
On Christmas Eve, 1993, Cathy’s daughter Helena is overjoyed to hear that her boyfriend is about to propose, until a devastating encounter threatens to bring her heartbreak instead of diamonds.
On Christmas Eve 2023, a shocking discovery rocks Eve Quinn’s world. The only gift Eve wants this year is the truth. But will it take a Christmas miracle to unravel generations of secrets?
Unwrap this festive tale of complicated families, impossible choices, and an unforgettable love that lasts three lifetimes.
I very rarely read non-fiction, but this book intrigued me as soon as I received the email about it from NetGalley.
It isn’t a quick read by any means. I have dipped in and out of it over the last few months and I have found it fascinating.
I love the way it is written. It’s very easy to read even though it’s a complicated subject matter, full of scientific facts. The author makes it very reader friendly. I’d love to have a hardcover copy for my bookshelf.
If you’re even remotely interested in evolution, then I think you will appreciate this book. I learned a lot!
I am not an addict and I have no experience of being close to anyone who is, but I think this book should be read by everyone regardless of personal circumstance. It is aimed at helping addicts/recovering addicts to see that there is always hope. There is always help, and there is always a way forward to a better life, for those that want it. Such an inspirational man, who talks openly and honestly about his battle with addiction. He is dedicated to helping others and I take my hat off to him.
For me it gave an insight into the life and mind of an addict I would otherwise have no clue about. I think I will be much more understanding of people in these situations moving forward. It is easy to think, “well, no one forced them to take drugs or drink themselves into oblivion”, but it goes so much deeper than that and we should all be more aware of the hell some people are living and what led them there.
JR Weaver’s story and those of the other recovering addicts who share their stories with us are truly eye-opening and incredibly moving.
I purchased The Addiction Manifesto in July 2021 after featuring the author, JR Weaver, on my blog.
2020 International Book Awards Finalist for Health: Addiction & Recovery
2021 Literary Titan Award
2021 American Writing Award
2021 Royal Dragonfly Book Award
2021 Readers Choice Award
“Some people won’t believe in you, and that’s ok, this journey isn’t about them. It’s about you.”
The Addiction Manifesto has been uniquely designed to provide you with a new perspective on recovery and will show you that anything is possible. In this deeply personal book, JR Weaver has crafted a raw insight into his life and how he’s been affected by substance abuse over the past 20 years. He details his recovery process and how he’s dealt with loss.
With this book he wishes to help people on their journey to recovery. His realistic approach details his journey to try to have a normal life again.
If you’re going through addiction recovery or want to help someone who is… This book allows you to gain a greater understanding of substance abuse and its many challenges.
This is just the most gorgeous story! I’d have enjoyed it at any time of the year, but it is a special, warm, and cosy read at Christmas time.
I know I’ve said it before, but I will say it again, I love Rachael Stewart’s books. They are just perfect for losing yourself in for a few delightful hours.
As this is book two of the How to Win a Munroe series it features characters I loved from book one, but centres around Aiden Monroe. Aiden took over the family business when his father passed away. He never really had the time to grieve properly and won’t even entertain the idea of a serious relationship. His poorly mother would love to see him settled and happy though. He would do anything to make his mother happy, so he enlists the help of his best friend, Elena. Elena is only too happy to help.
I did want to shake Aiden on occasion. I was totally with the Mums!!
Such a beautiful story with gorgeous (some in more ways than one) characters, set in a beautiful place at the most wonderful time of the year. What is not to love!?
‘YOU WANT ME TO BE YOUR FAKE WIFE?’
In this How to Win a Monroe story, when my best friend Aiden Monroe proposed, all my foolish youthful dreams came true. But the guarded bachelor only wants a temporary fiancée to appease his family. Still, after my recent break-up, spending Christmas with Aiden sounds ideal. We didn’t expect our families’ enthusiasm for our engagement… Nor that we’d be hurtling towards a real Christmas wedding!
The Last Line is a WWII thriller where we are introduced to war veteran, John Cook.
Cook hears about a young girl who has disappeared since being evacuated from London and he makes it his business to find out where she, and countless other missing children, have gone.
What he discovers is beyond horrific and he will make those responsible pay.
I can only imagine what it must have been like for people in this country who lived through the war. Especially those who had to surrender their children to evacuation in the hope of keeping them safe. It doesn’t even bear thinking about it.
To think your child didn’t even reach their destination and to have no idea what has happened/is happening to them, I would never be able to rest.
Thankfully Cook won’t rest either. He is most definitely someone I would want on my side!
The Last Line is a compelling debut with an excellent storyline and brilliant characterisation. I hope there will be a book two!
‘John Cook is the Jack Reacher of 1940’s Britain’ – Damien Lewis
*****
May 1940.
With Nazi forces sweeping across France, invasion seems imminent. The English Channel has never felt so narrow.
In rural Sussex, war veteran John Cook has been tasked with preparing the resistance effort, should the worst happen.
But even as the foreign threat looms, it’s rumours of a missing child that are troubling Cook. A twelve-year-old girl was evacuated from London and never seen again, and she’s just the tip of the iceberg – countless evacuees haven’t made it to their host families.
As Cook investigates, he uncovers a dark conspiracy that reaches to the highest ranks of society. He will do whatever it takes to make the culprits pay. There are some lines you just don’t cross.
THE LAST LINE is a blistering action thriller combined with a smart noir mystery, played out expertly against the taut backdrop of the British home front.
Sometimes it’s hard to say the words.
After the death of her husband two years ago, Eve Warrington is ready to start again. But where on earth is she going to meet another soulmate that can match the man she lost? Bumping – literally – into her first love reignites a flame. Now Eve is worrying about getting too close. She couldn’t go through the heartache of losing someone else.
Eve’s daughter, Grace, still reeling from the break-up of a four-year relationship, is the opposite of her mum. She never wants to settle down again. But she does have something to prove at work. When she comes up with a brilliant idea for a community project to involve the people of her hometown, she’s annoyed to then see it handed over to someone else. Why is she always helping out, rather than running something?
Eve’s mother, Rose, is living alone. A dark part of her life ended when her husband, Harry, died, and although she won’t admit it to anyone, there was also a sense of relief. So she gets the shock of her life when a blast from the past tracks her down through the project Grace is working on.
One Letter is a story of first loves and second chances, and of overcoming grief, deceit and loneliness. Perfect for readers who enjoy Rachael Lucas, Hannah Lynn, Milly Johnson and Jill Mansell and Hannah Ellis.
A note from Marcie: One Letter is set in the small market town of Somerley. If you’ve read any of the other books in the series, you may meet some of the characters you loved from that story, but each Somerley novel can be read independently.
I absolutely love Marcie Steele’s books and I was so excited to read One Letter. I knew it would be a treat and I wasn’t wrong. It is a gorgeous story! Add it to your reading list. Honestly, you’ll love it!
I love the characters, I love the setting, I love how I always get swept along with the rollercoaster of emotions in every one of the books in this series.
I absolutely LOVED the idea of local residents writing letters about positive experiences in their lives and things they are grateful for. I love the sense of community in Somerley. Something I think we often lack nowadays, sadly.
I love that Grace, Eve, and Rose are three generations of the same family. All have suffered heartache and the loss of a long-term partner and all of them absolutely deserve to be happy again. I was rooting for all three of them.
I have to say Rose’s story really made me cry.
There isn’t anything I didn’t love about this book! I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Hi, and welcome to my Flashback Friday feature!
On the first Friday of each month, I like to look back at the books I was reading the previous year during the same month.
Please do join in if you have the time, I’d love to see your posts 🙂
A big thank you to those who already join in regularly! xx
Here are my reviews from December 2022 + a link to previous December FBFs….
The Pieces of Us was my most anticipated read of 2023 and I absolutely loved it!
The fact that it is set in the Potteries makes it even more special to me.
When we meet Marina and Hugh they are drowning in grief after losing their infant daughter. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain they must be suffering. At a time they need each other the most they are no longer communicating, and Marina feels that moving back to Hugh’s family home, Thorncliffe Hall, might be the only way their marriage will survive such a devastating loss. She seems to be both overwhelmed and underwhelmed with Thorncliffe Hall though.
However, finding a beautiful coffee pot on a trip to London gives Marina a new distraction. She soon finds herself determined to find those who designed and created it.
This is a dual-timeline story and I found myself completely swept up in Marina’s investigations as she discovers the links between the potters of the past and her husband’s family.
It is an emotional and captivating tale featuring places very familiar to me. I love it when I can picture exactly where the characters are! Characters who have been carefully thought out. It is clear how much the author cares about them. There are clever connections between the past and present, and a respectful insight into the history of the potteries.
It very much reminded me (in part) of the film, The Colour Room, which tells the story of Clarice Cliff.
It is the most beautifully written novel. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
Marina and Hugh were once madly in love. But after the loss of their beautiful little daughter, grief has created a distance between them that feels impossible to bridge. Marina knows leaving Italy is the only way they will be able to move on, but Thorncliffe Hall, Hugh’s family home in England, is so grey and unwelcoming.
Just when life feels like it may never regain colour, Marina and Hugh come across a striking china coffee pot in a London shop window, adorned with a fox flying through the night sky. The coffee pot comes attached with a mystery, one that is connected with Hugh’s own family many years ago.
By digging into the past, Marina is about to discover a story far beyond her wildest dreams. But will the past help her heal the present?
MY CHILD HAS BEEN TAKEN.
AND I’VE BEEN GIVEN A CHOICE . . .
KILL A PATIENT ON THE OPERATING TABLE
OR LOSE MY SON FOREVER.
The man lies on the table in front of me.
As a surgeon, it’s my job to save him.
As a mother, I know I must kill him.
You might think that I’m a monster.
But there really is only one choice.
I must get away with murder.
Or I will never see my son again.
I’VE SAVED MANY LIVES.
WOULD YOU TRUST ME WITH YOURS?
Wow! What a book!
Anna isn’t the most likable of characters, but I cannot begin to imagine being put in the position she finds herself in. As a mother though I can absolutely say that my son would always come above all else too, so her reaction to the situation is completely believable. Absolutely horrific circumstances, especially for a doctor who has taken an oath to do no harm. A genius idea for a book. I couldn’t wait to see how it would all pan out.
What a rollercoaster ride of a read!
Horrifying, emotional, uncomfortable, tense, heart-wrenching, jaw dropping….
I found it completely compelling, and I highly recommend it to all!
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