Book Review: Is This Love? by Sue Moorcroft
How many ways can one woman love?
When Tamara Rix’s sister Lyddie is involved in a hit-and-run accident that leaves her in need of constant care, Tamara resolves to remain in the village she grew up in. Tamara would do anything for her sister, even sacrifice a long-term relationship.
But when Lyddie’s teenage sweetheart Jed Cassius returns to Middledip, he brings news that shakes the Rix family to their core. Jed’s life is shrouded in mystery, particularly his job, but despite his strange background, Tamara can’t help being intrigued by him.
Can Tamara find a balance between her love for Lyddie and growing feelings for Jed, or will she discover that some kinds of love just don’t mix?
Where to start? Are there enough superlatives to describe this story? No. there you go, one of the shortest book reviews you’ll ever see.
Seriously? Yes, seriously, I finished this book about half an hour ago and have since being thinking, cogitating and generally mulling over how to put into words my thoughts on this story. I’ll do my best, though for those other fans of hers, I doubt if anything I’m going to say will come as a surprise.
Ms Moorcroft doesn’t pick easy subject matter, that much you already know if you’ve read any of her other books, for this, she should be congratulated. No picking the tried, tested, or easy route for her and perhaps other writers in the Contemporary Romance genre would do well to take a leaf from her book.
There are three central characters in ‘Is This Love?’ Two conventional, Tamara and Jed, around whom the conventional love story is centred and then there’s Tamara’s elder sister Lyddie. Lyddie is the glue that binds Tamara’s family together; Lyddie is a kind, generous thirty-something woman; Lyddie is a kind, generous, thirty-something brain-damaged woman. That got your notice.
by 
This Week’s Latest Releases
It’s Thursday and time for another week of new releases. I have three titles to share with you today. All of these sound so good and I can’t wait to read.
The Unforgotten by Laura Powell (Freight Books, 17th March 2016.)
This has been released today. This book feels as though it would be right up my street and yes, I am in love with the cover.
Summer, 1956. Fifteen-year-old Betty Broadbent has never left the Cornish fishing village of St Steele or ventured far beyond the walls of the boarding house run by her erratic mother. But when the London press pack descends on her village to report on a series of gruesome murders, Betty’s world changes. In particular, she is transfixed by mysterious and aloof reporter, Mr Gallagher.
As the death toll rises, an unlikely friendship blossoms between Betty and Gallagher. But as their bond deepens, they find themselves entangled with the murders and each is forced to make a devastating choice, one that will shape their own lives and the life of an innocent man forever.
Hold Still by Tim Adler (Urbane Publications, 17th March 2016.)
This book sounds like a fantastic read. Even from the blurb, it has me wondering what is going on and how I would react if I were the character. It would be devastating.
‘I photographed the moment of my husband’s death…’ So begins HOLD STILL, a nerve-twisting thriller from bestselling author Tim Adler. How much do we really know about those we love? Kate is visiting Albania with her husband Paul, a much-needed break from Paul’s stressful website business. ‘Hold still,’ says Kate, taking a picture as Paul steps onto the hotel room balcony. ‘We’ll always be together,’ Paul responds. Suddenly there is screaming below and a blaring car horn. Kate stares down from the balcony at the broken body of her husband lying lifeless in the street. Overcome with grief, Kate can’t accept the truth of Paul’s tragic death, and replays the incident over and over again, searching her pictures for a vital clue to what really happened. When she meets the enigmatic Priest at a grief support group, they journey together into a dangerous world of violence and secrets as Kate realises what Paul really meant when he said he would never leave her……
When I’m Gone by Emily Bleeker (Lake Union Publishing, 15th March 2016.)
This book was released in paperback on Monday and again, it’s a really gorgeous cover. I have this book on my TBR pile and am looking forward to reading although it does sound heartbreaking so I might need to have the tissues ready for crying purposes.
by This Week’s New Releases
There have been some great novels been released this week so some potentially great books to add to your collection. These include…
Last Night on Earth by Kevin Maher (Abacus, 3rd March 2016.)
The paperback edition for Last Night on Earth has been released today. The premise for this novel looks very interesting.
Jay adores his small daughter, Bonnie, and nothing matters more to him than being a good father. But Bonnie’s traumatic birth puts an unbearable strain on his marriage with Shauna and the couple eventually separate.
Despite this, London is the place to be: New Labour is in power and the city is buzzing with optimism. Jay is slowly putting his life back together, snagging a job on a TV documentary about the Millennium Dome and, crucially, spending time with his beloved three-year-old daughter, Bonnie.
Indeed, things might have even begun to look up. Until, that is, the arrival of The Clappers. Six foot tall, all muscle and plenty of heart, she insists on making the world right for Jay. But, inevitably, she makes it wrong…
You Sent Me A Letter by Lucy Dawson (Corvis, 3rd March 2016.)
Both the paperback and electronic versions of this book have been released today. Again this is another great sounding novel and I actually can’t wait to read this one.
At 2 a.m. on the morning of her fortieth birthday, Sophie wakes to find an intruder in her bedroom. The stranger hands Sophie a letter and issues a threat: open the letter at her party that evening, in front of family and friends, at exactly 8 p.m., or those she loves will be in grave danger.
What can the letter possibly contain?
This will be no ordinary party; Sophie is not the only person keeping a secret about the evening ahead. When the clock strikes eight, the course of several people’s lives will be altered for ever.
by Five Books I’m Looking Forward To Reading In 2016
2016 is bringing so many new books and I can’t wait to get my hands on them. I have a feeling it’s going to be a great year for books. Here are five of the books being released in 2016 that I am most excited to read.
Harry Potter & The Cursed Child by JK Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany (Little, Brown, 31st July 2016.)
I can’t, can’t can’t wait for this to be released and on Harry Potter’s birthday too. The eighth story in the series, this is a script of the upcoming stage play. It’s written by Jack Thorne and is based on an original story by JK Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. This is the closest I am going to get to the play (unless some magic grants me a ticket) so July can not come quick enough.
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on 30th July 2016. It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
I Found You by Lisa Jewell (Century, 14th July 2016.)
Also due to be released in July, I Found You is the latest novel from Lisa Jewell. I adore Lisa’s novels. I always look forward to being able to escape into her fictional worlds for a while and so I am eagerly awaiting her new book. It sounds fantastic.
‘How long have you been sitting out here?’
‘I got here yesterday.’
‘Where did you come from?’
‘I have no idea.’
East Yorkshire: Single mum Alice Lake finds a man on the beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, no idea what he is doing there. Against her better judgement she invites him in to her home.
Surrey: Twenty-one-year-old Lily Drew has only been married for three weeks. When her new husband fails to come home from work one night she is left stranded in a new country where she knows no one. Then the police tell her that her husband never existed.
by Book News: Recent Releases
There have been some great titles released over the last week. Below is a selection. Let me know in the comments below which ones take your fancy.
Time to Say Goodbye by S.D. Robertson was released on 11th February 2016 by Avon.
I am looking forward to reading this book. I have a copy waiting to be read. The plot sounds compelling and the cover is beautiful.
HOW DO YOU LEAVE THE PERSON YOU LOVE THE MOST?
Will Curtis’s six-year-old daughter, Ella, knows her father will never leave her. After all, he promised her so when her mother died. And he’s going to do everything he can to keep his word.
What Will doesn’t know is that the promise he made to his little girl might be harder to keep than he imagined. When he’s faced with an impossible decision, Will finds that the most obvious choice might not be the right one.
But the future is full of unexpected surprises. And father and daughter are about to embark on an unforgettable journey together . . .
This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial by Helen Garner was released on 11th February 2016 by Text Publishing Company.
Not completely fiction but this book sounds very interesting and one that I will definitely be reading at some point especially as it’s based on a real case and sounds similar to Making a Murderer on Netflix.
On the evening of September 4th 2005, Robert Farquharson, a separated husband, was driving his three sons home to their mother, Cindy, when his car left the road and plunged into a dam. The boys, aged ten, seven and two, all drowned. Was this an act of revenge or a tragic accident? In a tale reminiscent of In Cold Blood (1966), Helen Garner decided to reveal every aspect of this complicated and highly emotional case.
The case became Garner’s obsession; she followed it on its protracted course until the final verdict was delivered, and attended every day of the trial (and subsequent retrial). She was there alongside countless journalists and family members – exposing with great compassion the emotional complexity of a case that gripped the nation.
In this utterly compelling book, Helen Garner tells the story of a man with a broken life – she presents the courtroom as a theatre with its actors and audience, all gathered for the purpose of bearing witness to an often uncomfortable truth.
by Book Club
