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Unexpected Family For The Rebel Tycoon (Mills & Boon True Love) by Rachael Stewart @rach_b52

Unexpected Family For The Rebel Tycoon (Mills & Boon True Love)

by Rachael Stewart 

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?

Happy reading!

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A Window Breaks by C. M. Ewan 

A Window Breaks

by C. M. Ewan 

A Window Breaks is an enjoyable read.

A lot happens over a very short time!

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?

Happy reading!

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Beautiful and Terrible Things: A Novel by S.M. Stevens 

Beautiful and Terrible Things

by S.M. Stevens 

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.

I.C.Y.M.I.

The Wallace House of Pain: A Novelette by S.M. Stevens @SMStevens17

Happy reading!

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Before I Let You In by Jenny Blackhurst @JennyBlackhurst

Before I Let You In

by Jenny Blackhurst 

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 . . .

Happy reading!

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#FlashbackFriday July 2024

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 July 2023 + a link to previous July FBFs….

This Child of Mine by Emma-Claire Wilson @ECWilsonWriter #BookReview #NetGalley

The Bone House (A Slayton Thriller Book 3) by Caroline Mitchell @Caroline_writes

Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver 

The Whispers by Ashley Audrain @audrain #BookReview #NetGalley
#FlashbackFriday July 2023

happy reading!

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Escape Beyond the Tide (Beyond the Tide Trilogy 1) by N Dune @AuthorNDune

Escape Beyond the Tide (Beyond the Tide Trilogy 1)

by N Dune 

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.

Treat yourself

Happy reading!

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The Island Love Song by Emma Cowell @EmmaCowellBooks #NetGalley

The Island Love Song

by Emma Cowell 

Wow! What can I say about The Island Love Song which would do it the justice it deserves!?

I could talk about it for hours to be honest with you, but I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn’t read it yet.

First, as I’ve said before, I’ve never been to Greece, but I honestly felt like I was in Greece whilst reading this novel. I felt the same when reading Emma Cowell’s previous novels. I would really, really love to go to Greece now and experience the beauty of the country Emma portrays so enticingly. The food sounds amazing also! I love that food plays its part throughout the story. I think I actually drooled at times. lol!

Anyway, this story is about sisters Ella and Georgia. They lost their Mum and are returning to Hydra to scatter her ashes in the sea. They have a rich history of happy memories with their mother there. As if that isn’t heart-wrenching enough, there has also been heartbreak for Ella and guilt for Georgia over secrets she’s carried for years.

The sisters are like chalk and cheese. Ella is very much a free spirit. Tied to nothing and no-one following an extremely traumatic experience. Georgia is the organised, dependable one, who’s life she has dedicated to her husband and bringing up their daughter, Phoenix. Neither of them is particularly happy though, nor have they had a close relationship, so coming together for two weeks on the Island of Hydra was never going to be straight forward.

I couldn’t wait to find out where their story would take me, and I was completely invested in the emotional journey I was taken on.

I liked Ella immediately and my heart broke for her as I learned what she had been through.

Georgia isn’t as easy to like, but I came to understand her more as the story progressed, and I did really feel for her in the end.

Phoenix is a beautiful character. Oh, to be so young and self-assured!

Harrison is a fascinating character and one I warmed to quickly despite his history with Ella.

There are other beautiful characters in this book too, all who add their own little something special.

This is a compelling tale about grieving sisters, the devastation secrets and lies can cause, the power of true love, and the true meaning of family.

I absolutely LOVED it! It’s just beautiful!

** A big thank you to the author and publisher for my review copy of The Island Love Song via NetGalley **

ICYMI….

https://chataboutbooks.blog/2022/03/18/one-last-letter-from-greece-the-new-sweeping-romantic-debut-novel-to-escape-with-in-summer-2022-by-emma-cowell-emmalloydcowell-avonbooksuk-bookreview/

https://chataboutbooks.blog/2023/05/30/the-house-in-the-olive-grove-by-emma-cowell-emmalloydcowell/

Escape to the beautiful Greek Island of Hydra with this moving novel, filled with family secrets and romance

Emma Cowell, author of THE HOUSE IN THE OLIVE GROVE, returns with her brand new, emotional and romantic novel set on an idyllic Greek Island.

Hydra, the picturesque Greek island, is a paradise for most, yet for sisters Ella and Georgia, it is a place where their darkest secrets dwell. And now the time has come for them to confront their past as they return to Greece to scatter their mother’s ashes.

Ella is haunted by a love song that was written for her by the man who broke her heart years earlier and she longs to find peace so she can move on with her life.

Georgia pretends everything in her life is perfect, but she is plagued with guilt. If what she’s kept hidden for decades was revealed, their family would never be the same again.

The island is urging the sisters to confront the truth, but can they build a future on the ruins of their past?

Buy it immediately!!!

Happy reading!

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I Know What You’ve Done by Dorothy Koomson 

I Know What You’ve Done

by Dorothy Koomson 

I Know What You’ve Done is the third book I’ve read by Dorothy Koomson. I’d be lying if I said it was my favourite so far, but it did keep me intrigued enough to really want to find out what was going on.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of. All of whom live in close proximity. It did make me wonder who could potentially be watching your every move. None of us knows what goes on with our neighbours behind closed doors.

Some of the character’s behaviour was difficult to understand, although none of us know how we would deal with a situation until you find yourself in said situation. I enjoyed the realistic variation of characters. I wouldn’t want to live in their street though!

I didn’t guess the twist at the end, but I can’t say I found it shocking either.

Overall, an enjoyable read but maybe a little underwhelming for what I expected. I will certainly be reading other books from Dorothy Koomson as I really enjoyed the first two books I read a while ago.

https://chataboutbooks.blog/2022/03/09/the-friend-by-dorothy-koomson-bookreview/

https://chataboutbooks.blog/2023/06/09/the-woman-he-loved-before-by-dorothy-koomson-dorothykoomson/

** I read I Know What You’ve Done as part of a buddy read with friends on Instagram. I read the paperback edition **

What if all your neighbours’ secrets landed in a diary on your doorstep?

What if the woman who gave it to you was murdered by one of the people in the diary?

What if the police asked if you knew anything?

Would you hand over the book of secrets?

Or … would you try to find out what everyone had done?

Happy reading!

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#FlashbackFriday June 2024

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 June 2023 + a link to previous June FBFs….

The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson @DorothyKoomson

The Crucifix Killer (Robert Hunter Book 1) by Chris Carter 

Where There’s A Will, There’s A Woman by Mary Mae Lewis @MaryMaeLewis1

Missing Girls: A Staffordshire Moorlands Mystery (DI Marsha Clay Book 1) by Mel Sherratt @writermels #PublicationDay #BookReview #TeamSherratt
#FlashbackFriday June 2023

happy reading!

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The Long Way Home by Audrey Howard 

The Long Way Home

by Audrey Howard 

The Long Way Home is a beautifully written book. The first by this author for me but hopefully not the last.

Set in Liverpool in the early 1900s we meet Amy when she is just ten years old and doing a grand job of looking after her mother and her ten siblings whilst her father goes out to work. Her mother is ill, with tuberculosis, and is unable to leave her bed often. Can you even imagine living like that these days. Thirteen people to one bedroom! People seemed to just get on with things in those days, doing whatever they had to do to survive. No such thing as universal credit or such like back then. You worked whenever work was available, made the best of what you had, and older children helped to bring up the younger children. Everyone mucked in. Despite this they quite often came across as happier and closer as a family.

Unfortunately, Pa’s wealthy sister, Aunt Zillah is unable to carry a child to term so she decides she is adopting Amy and plans to bring her up as her own. With his wife now in hospital and him having to work to keep food on the table, Amy’s Pa allows it as Zillah has promised him money to move to better housing and support for the other ten children.

Amy is understandably traumatised by being dragged from the family she loves, to a massive unfamiliar house, by her aunt who blatantly doesn’t have a maternal bone in her body. My heart broke for her, and I prayed she might escape the claws of her aunt one way or another.

I was engrossed in her story as she grows into a beautiful young lady who never gives up hope of finding her family again. I love how her relationship with Joe grows as they grow. However, Zillah has other ideas and what she puts Amy through at only sixteen years old is horrific.

Zillah’s husband, Caleb, is a much more likeable character. I’m so glad Amy has him to help protect her from his heartless wife. Whatever he saw in Zillah I’ll never know, but quite often in those days people of wealth married for money and the hope of suitable heirs rather than for love didn’t they. I can’t even imagine.

Amy’s story is one of true resilience. With her aunt, an abusive husband, and a war to contend with it seems as though happiness is impossible, but true love always wins.

There are so many beautiful characters throughout this book, including some of the staff at the Seymour home (which reminded me of Downton Abbey). It’s such a rollercoaster of emotion and is so full of love. Love for family, love between friends, and fighting for the love of your life. I absolutely loved it!

** I read the paperback edition of The Long Way Home. I have no idea where I bought it from though. It’s been on my bookshelf for years. Published in 2008, I assume I bought it from a book sale some time ago **

Amy Pearson’s family is desperately poor – even by the standards of Edwardian Liverpool – but they have each other. Until Amy is torn from her home by her rich aunt, a woman obsessed by religion and snobbery who wants a girl she can mould as she wishes. Clever and pretty, ten-year-old Amy is perfect for her purposes. It is the beginning of a long journey for Amy, as she desperately searches for the family she lost, and a home where she can be free at last from her aunt’s possessive tyranny. But she will have to endure a forced marriage and a tragic war before she can at last find what she seeks.

Happy reading!