Book Review: Under the Mistletoe by Sue Moorcroft
Christmas. A time for family, friends – and rekindling old flames…
When Laurel returns to the village of Middledip, she’s looking for a quiet life. Adjusting to her recent divorce, she’s ready to spend some time getting back on her feet amidst the glorious snow-dusted countryside.
Yet, life in Middledip is far from straightforward. Coming to the aid of her sister, Rea, as she navigates her own troubles, Laurel barely has a moment to think about where her own life is going.
However, time stands still when she sees her old flame, Grady Cassidy – and it’s soon as if they’ve never been apart. But through her happiness, Laurel remembers why she left the village all those years ago, as she recalls a dark night and Grady’s once-wayward brother, Mac…
Can Laurel learn to forgive and forget? Or will her chances of Christmas under the mistletoe with Grady remain a dream?
*****
Welcome to a Middledip Christmas!
As a fan of the author’s work for a good while now, I was delighted to find this year’s 2nd novel was set in her wonderful construction of Middledip. All the characters she’s populated this village with are back, and it feels like we’re back home.
This story contains all the usual humour we’ve come to expect from Ms Moorcroft, together with a healthy dish of mental and physical bullying to be conquered, as well as dealing with the issue of agoraphobia.
This is a beautifully written read which effortlessly switches between laugh out loud moments to those where you find tears streaming down your face without realising it.
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Book Review: The Girl She Was Before by Jess Kitching
Nat lives a picture-perfect life, but it wasn’t always this way. A victim of horrific bullying when she was a teenager, Nat will do anything to keep distance between the girl she was before and the woman she is now.
But when her best friend is murdered and people begin to point their finger at her, Nat’s new life quickly begins to unravel.
To Nat, it’s no surprise that the crime happened at the same time as the return of her biggest tormentor, Chrissy Summers. A woman with a violent streak who destroyed lives when she was younger and isn’t afraid to do it again.
Face to face with the past she so firmly keeps behind her, Nat’s sanity wavers as her determination to reveal Chrissy as the monster she knows her as rises to dangerous heights.
The question is, can Nat prove Chrissy is a killer, or will Chrissy get to Nat and her family before she has the chance?
You can’t outrun the past…
*****
Nat has a perfect life. As an online influencer, the perception of perfect is important.
However, her life wasn’t always like that, having been subjected to horrible bullying as a teenager.
She will do anything to keep her perfect life.
Then her best friend is murdered, and her nemesis returns to town.
When Nat is then accused of murder, her life begins to crumble in a big way.
Wow! That’s the first word that comes to mind. Wow!
From page one, this book doesn’t so much pull you into the action, it pushes you in with both hands.
Told from Nat’s point of view in the present, there are also ‘then’ flashback chapters involving an unnamed schoolgirl and the horrible bullying she’s subjected to by Chrissy Summers and her gang. When I say horrific, I mean totally horrific. When you read it, you’ll know what I mean.
by Book Review: Brooklyn Monroe Wants It All by Karen Booth
Brooklyn Monroe Wants It All
She can’t hit the snooze on her biological clock forever…
Love, career, kids—Brooklyn Monroe wants it all. Her beauty company? A triumph. Her love life? Total fail. At 42, that makes motherhood her top priority.
With no man in her life, she’s prepared to fly solo, but her plan is derailed when a mailing list mishap turns Brooklyn into a someone-get-me-pregnant internet meme. Making her PR nightmare go away entails a soul-baring interview on national TV. And the guy asking the questions? Her all-too sexy ex.
Talk show host Alec Trakas is the king of bad timing. Case in point, his heartbreaking romance with Brooklyn. Alec was all about commitment but Brooklyn was launching her start-up, and forever wasn’t in the cards.
Now a shot at his ultimate dream job depends on convincing Brooklyn to spill the secrets leading to her viral celebrity. It sets Alec’s star rising, but puts Brooklyn in a sea of flirty men.
Fate has thrown them back together. Sparks are flying. But is the timing finally right? Because having it all might not be worth the risk of losing each other again.
*****
Successful business… check.
Love Life… disaster.
At 42, Brooklyn Monroe knows that, if she wants to be a mother, that time is running out.
As she considers her options, an office joke gone wrong quickly makes her into a viral internet meme, where suddenly everyone knows her plans for motherhood.
Her ex, Alec knows that his career depends on whether he can get Brooklyn to agree to a TV interview about her new found fame. Is fate throwing them together again? Can Brooklyn really have it all?
Brooklyn Monroe Wants It All is the second book in the Never Too Late book series. However, you don’t have to have read Gray Hair Don’t Care to be able to read this one. It stands alone. Lela and Donovan do make an appearance in this though.
Brooklyn is a wonderful, strong, successful character. In fact, the book overall has empowering women and I loved that. These characters have worked hard and achieved success. You don’t feel that they need to be rescued by men.
It shines a spotlight on motherhood, especially for women in their forties and this was something I could immediately relate to.
Alec is a great male lead. He is written as a strong man but I feel that there was also a vulnerability to him. A conversation he has with another male character showcases this perfectly.
by Book Review: The Perfect Daughter by Alex Stone
The perfect daughter…
Jess Harper has spent her whole life trying to make her mum, Abigail happy and proud. And everything Jess does, from the clothes she wears, the job she has, the men she dates, are all approved by Abigail first.
The perfect boyfriend…
So when Jess announces that she has a new man in her life – plumber Adam – Abigail is less than impressed. ‘A plumber? Really, Jessica….’ Adam encourages Jess to break free from her mum’s manipulation, can’t she see what’s happening?
The perfect mother….
But Abigail is only doing these things to keep Jess safe, to protect her from getting hurt again…isn’t she?
Or the perfect liar?
Jess, caught in the middle, doesn’t know who to believe or trust. And then Adam vanishes without trace.
Now Jess is the police’s prime suspect and they want to know if Jess really is as perfect as she seems….
*****
Jess is always trying to be the dutiful daughter. She runs everything by her mother, Abigail first. That’s normal right?
Her mother knows best after all and Jess isn’t always trusting of her own judgement. Not if past experiences are anything to go by.
Plus, all Abigail wants to do is to protect her daughter.
So, when Jess meets Adam, Abigail is less than impressed.
Determined to prove her mother wrong about Adam, he practically moves in to her flat. They have a future.
However, when Adam disappears without a trace, Jess is the prime suspect.
From page one, this novel had me hooked. Told from Jess’s point of view, we enter the mind of someone who really doesn’t know who she is nor does she trust herself.
by Book Review: The Girl in the Maze by Cathy Haywood
‘I would caution you against delving into the past. The past is often best left exactly where it is.’
Emma Bowen has never had a close relationship with her mother, barely speaking with her in the last years of her life. But after her mother’s death, Emma finds something that might just explain the distance between them.
Discovering letters between her mother and grandmother, it seems to Emma that her mother has always been difficult.
As she searches for answers about her own childhood, Emma is drawn into the mystery of her mother’s enigmatic life. The more she finds, the more lost she feels, but Emma is determined to uncover her mother’s past, and the secrets held within it, whatever the cost.
An enthralling story of three women, generations apart, linked by one terrible tragedy.
*****
Emma had never been close to her mother.
After her mother’s death however, she finds something that may not only explain why her mother was always a little distant but also a secret that will change Emma’s life forever.
I found the premise of this novel immediately intriguing. I have always been fascinated by the relationship between mothers and daughters.
Told from the point of view of Betty, her Daughter, Margaret and Granddaughter, Emma, it gives the reader a real insight into three generations of women – their differences and parallels. The story also occasionally focuses on Emma’s stepfather, Jack and his input and influence over the women.
I also liked how the painting that featured in the novel was interpreted in many different ways. This really added an extra dimension to the story.
by Book Club
