Hello! Happy Saturday! And we say farwell to another month!! What a week it’s been – toooooo hot!!! Hopefully more ‘sensible’ temperatures are on the way with the sunshine!
And on the book front it’s been another goodie! Another 4 books finished – and there may have been some book buying and visits to Netgalley too …. the heat made me do it!! Here’s my look back!
It’s been a year since book editor Melissa Martyn’s husband passed away. Now it’s time to write a new chapter for herself.
And so she is welcomed back to the cozy Cornish village of Penworthal. Her close-knit group of girlfriends even start a book club to get Melissa back into the swing of things in Cornwall.
It seems she’s met with open arms by all but one.
A chance for forgiveness
English literature professor Nathan Kellow blames Melissa for the death of her husband — his best friend.
But Nathan has a secret. He has always been drawn to Melissa. And now he hates himself more than ever for the feelings he’s desperate to quash.
Keeping the barrier between himself and Melissa firmly in place is the easiest way to do that.
A love that could heal all
But Melissa and Nathan soon bond over their shared love of books, drawn together by the mutual attraction they’ll do anything to deny. Especially to each other.
Because they fear they’re doing the unforgiveable . . . Falling in love. Is fate offering Melissa and Nathan a second chance at a happy ending, or is this going to be a heartbreak they’ll never forget?
Another enjoyable romance read from the author!! Set against the backdrop of Cornwall, we are introduced to Melissa who is recovering from the loss of her husband 1 year ago. If it was up to her she’d hide away for longer, but her neighbour Josie won’t let that happen and gets her involved in a local book club to get back out into the world!
Her family are back in Tennessee but Melissa loves the Cornwall life and makes her feel close to Robin, and surrounded by people who loved him too. His friend Nathan, for some reason, seems to blame Melissa for Robins’ death and it’s only until they spend time together and talk that the reality of his belief is shattered.
There’s a nice slower pace to this story, and watching her reconnect with the world and think about dating again is approached with care and didn’t feel fake or rushed. The characters are the big draw in this book as they are in their 40’s so have a more mature attitude to life!
The friendship group have problems of their own too, so that gives you a chance to see that problems happen to everyone and come in all shapes and sizes! And it was good to have different issues to focus on.
A real ‘feelgood’ book about moving on and the importance of friendship.
Not everyone gets nine lives… So he better be the love of a lifetime!
When Clara’s ginger cat Casper chases yet another romantic prospect out the door she’s ready to give up on love altogether. But then the fussy feline causes two meet cutes in the space of a day and suddenly Clara has two gorgeous men driving her to distraction.
But who is in control of happy ever after? Clara, fate…or the cat who started it all?
I found this to be one of those light and easy reads that puts a big smile on your face – and makes me wish I had a Caspar the cat in my life!
Clara is struggling to find love – anytime she thinks she’s found the one, her grumpy cat Casper gets involved to make them leave! Her brother reckons the cat is doing her favour and has better judgement than she does!
She works at the local museum and that brings some awkward encounters her way, along with time spent at the local vets where Casper is very well known for all the wrong reasons!!
I really enjoyed the character of Clara and would have loved more of Casper with his antics!! A light and fun romance story!
When friends Louise and Irina find a dead body in the local park whilst walking their dogs, they are soon drawn into the mystery of who murdered local entrepreneur Phil Creasey.
Phil used to be a member of their dog walking community – nicknamed The Pack – until the death of his cockapoo, and The Pack feel they owe it to Phil to investigate his death. With Louise and Irina leading the charge, they soon come up against local drug dealers, stolen cars and a disturbing incident of poisoned dog biscuits. Have The Pack bitten off more than they can chew, or can they follow their noses and solve the crime?
The Dog Park Detectives is a joyous and fur-ociously entertaining murder mystery for fans of dogs and cosy crime, and the first in a pawfully exciting new series that is perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Robert Thorogood.
Don’t mess with the local dog walking community!! This is a really fun and easy read in the cosy crime genre, which centres around the goings on between owners and dogs in the local community and how they come together when they discover something gruesome in the local park!
And it feels more personal to them as the victim found used to be on of their dog walking community, so the Whatsapp group they share is spurred into action in helping to track down the perpetrator, doing more it seems than the local police who don’t have the insights into the area that they do!
there’s a great mix of characters, both human and canine, and it was just a really nice read for all fans of cosy crime, and dogs!!
Hello! Happy Saturday!! Hope the week has been good to you – it hasn’t been good to me as I’ve got a stinking cold….just as the weather gets good as well!! Not the best timing!! But that has meant so more time for reading so I’ve managed to finish 4 books this week – and then promptly added 4 books to my Netgalley shelves! Oops!! Here’s my look back!
Five years after writing her first nature memoir, The Bumblebee Flies Anyway, Kate Bradbury has a new garden.
It’s busy: home to all sorts of wildlife, from red mason bees and bumblebees to house sparrows, hedgehogs and dragonflies. It seems the entire frog population of Brighton and Hove breeds in her small pond each spring, and now there are toads here, too. On summer evenings, Kate watches bats flit above her and for a moment, everything seems alright with the world.
But she knows habitat loss remains a huge issue in gardens, the wider countryside and worldwide, and there’s another, far bigger threat: climate change. Temperature increases are starting to bite, and she worries about what that will mean for our wildlife.
In her uplifting new book, Kate writes passionately about how her climate-change anxiety pushes her to look for positive ways to keep going in a changing world. As in her first memoir, she invites you into her life, sharing stories of her mum’s ongoing recovery and her adventures with her new rescue dog, Tosca.
One Garden Against the World is a call to action for all of us – gardeners, communities and individuals – to do more for wildlife and more for the climate. Climate change and biodiversity loss go hand in hand, but if we work together, it’s never too late to make a difference.
I always enjoy the writing and passion of Kate Bradbury, and this latest book carries on her campaign to get more people engaged with nature and how they can make an impact, no matter how big or small their garden or surrounding area may be.
In this book she shares her own gardening experiences and the impact that it has on the wildlife in her local area, and also shares many tips and hints on how we can do the same in our own garden. It is definitely one of those books where I’ll be making notes and returning to various chapters to try different things.
What I also enjoyed was that it’s written in diary form, taking you through the months from May onwards sharing what jobs are needed, the kinds of wildlife and plants you might expect to see and how to expand on your own plot with just some little tweaks and changes. And the fact that just a little effort really does go a long way for the sake of nature.
I share her sadness that so many people feel disconnected from nature nowadays, and in this book she shares what she has encountered, whether it’s been helping various forms of wildlife to adding different habitats and plants for helping the wildlife. I also adored how she described her garden as being ‘set free’ when she lets it go a bit and doesn’t get too tidy! That’s a form of gardening I can totally get on board with and relate to!
At the end of the book there’s a wonderful list of tips to help you more in your garden as well as a reading list and websites to visit, which helps you find even more information! A must read for everyone wanting to do their bit for wildlife!!
A story of love and madness, of obsession and revenge.
Paris, 1938 : Runaway heiress Juliette Willoughby perishes, with her married lover, in an accidental studio fire alongside her Surrealist masterpiece, Self Portrait as Sphinx.
Cambridge, 1991 : Two art history students stumble across proof something sinister was at play in Juliette’s death, threatening to expose the long-buried secrets of the artist’s aristocratic family.
Dubai, Now : An art dealer is accused of the brutal murder of his oldest friend – the last surviving member of the Willoughby dynasty.
Three suspicious deaths over the course of a century. Is the key to unlocking them all hidden in Juliette Willoughby’s lost painting?
A fantastic and stylish thriller/mystery! I absolutely loved it! I can definitely see this as a movie or Netflix series as it’s got a little bit of everything!!
Set around the world of art, it’s set over different timelines and is looking at the tragic death of the artist Juliette in the 1930’s at the peak of her success. So we have the story told from her perspective back in the 1930’s, including life with her fellow artist.
We also meet Caroline and Patrick in the 1990’s while they are at University in Cambridge, looking into the work of Juliette and a missing piece of her artwork ‘Self Portrait of a Sphinx’ which leads them on an epic trail and uncovering some rather dark secrets.
And in the present day timeline we are transported to Dubai, where the famous work of Juliette is about to go on display – it just seems that there’s more than 1 copy! So which is genuine, and where has it been for all these years?
Each timeline blends effortlessly into the next and I couldn’t tell you which one I enjoyed the most as I loved them all! There’s so much discovery going on, wonderful characters to explore and it really shows the dark side of art and artists down the ages. The sense of history in each timeline is wonderfully explored there was never any drop in the suspense. One of my books of the year!!
Hello! Happy Saturday! The middle of the month is with us, and we’re still waiting for ‘Summer’ to arrive! Have started harvesting strawberries though so that’s a bonus!
And on to books and I’ve finally started my 20 Books of Summer list! Managed to read 4 of them this week and added ZERO to my TBR pile! Let’s see if I can keep up those good stats for a while…. I’m thinking nope! Here’s my look back!
Hello! And Happy June!! Blimey those months went by fast!! And the weather to finish June has been more Autumnal than anything so I’m hoping this month sees an improvement…. please!
On to happier things, and that’s books!! Managed to finish another 4 books this week, and then there may have been a little shopping spree thanks to Waterstones, a gift voucher and their double stamps weekend!! oops!! I did stay away from Netgalley though!!
There’s been some books!! 4 were from Waterstones, 2 were from Book*ish (buy 1 get 1 free!) and 1 is a review copy from the fabulous Renard Press – click on the title for more info on each book!