Her Husband's Mistake by Sheila O'Flanagan

Today I am really excited to be able to share with you my review of this brilliant new release from Sheila O'Flanagan. I would like to say thank you to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inviting me to join the blog tour, and Headline Review for my copy of the book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. 

Book Description

Roxy’s marriage has always been rock solid.

After twenty years, and with two carefree kids, she and Dave are still the perfect couple.

Until the day she comes home unexpectedly, and finds Dave in bed with their attractive,single neighbour.

Suddenly Roxy isn’t sure about anything - her past, the business she’s taken over from her dad, or what her family’s future might be. She’s spent so long caring about everyone else that she’s forgotten what she actually wants. But something has changed. And Roxy has a decision to make.

Whether it’s with Dave, or without him, it’s time for Roxy to start living for herself . . .

My Review

After the death of her Father, Roxy has been staying with her Mother to help her deal with her grief. Feeling like she has neglected her beloved husband, Dave, Roxy decides to head back home to surprise him. What Roxy did not realise is that she was the one about to get a massive and shocking surprise when she finds Dave in bed with the Julie from next door.  Roxy is stunned by what she has just seen and feels like the perfect marriage that she has had for the last twenty years has just come crashing down around her. How could her beloved husband treat her like this and does their marriage mean so little to him. 

Roxy and her two children move in with her mum as Roxy needs to rebuild herself and decide what she wants for the future. It is while staying with her mum that Roxy starts to carry on with the driving business her father had built up. This is Roxy's way of escaping for a few hours. she loves driving and feels like she is starting to do something for herself and is surprised by how much she has been able to grow the business. 

Roxy has some big decisions to make. Was this just a blip in their marriage that they can both get over, or is it just the start of the next chapter for Roxy and will she be able to put herself first for a change. 

I really loved reading this book. It is highly addictive and I enjoyed reading it from the first page to the last. 

I really liked the character of Roxy. To start with she seems so unsure of herself which, given what has happened to her in such a short space of time you do understand. It is great to see her start to build herself back up as you read the story and you see her become so much more confident and able to decide what she wants from life. She has a great support network around her which has helped her too. 

Sheila O'Flanagan has been a firm favourite of mine for a long time and her books just keep getting better and better. You will not be disappointed by purchasing this book. 

Published 30th May 2019

About the Author

Sheila O’Flanagan is the author of many bestselling novels including The Hideaway, What Happened That Night, The Missing Wife, My Mother’s Secret, If You Were Me, and All For You (winner of the Irish Independent Popular Fiction Book of the Year Award). She lives in Dublin with her husband.

Social Media

Website - www.sheilaoflanagan.com

Twitter - www.twitter.com/@sheilaoflanagan

Facebook - www.facebook.com/sheilabooks

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today and I hope you enjoyed my review. 

This is Me by Shari Low

Today I am excited to take part in the blog tour for this fantastic new release from Shari Low. I would like to thank Aria fiction for inviting me to join the tour and also for my copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. 

Book Description

This is... Denise.

Married to Ray, her first and only love, Denise has never for one moment regretted putting the husband she idolised on a pedestal above everyone and everything else. But, after forty years of marriage, he is gone, leaving Denise to discover that their perfect marriage was fatally flawed. Now she faces a future alone, but first she must face the betrayals of the past.

This is... Claire.

The estranged daughter of Denise, the woman who put her husband before her children, Claire took the opposite path and devoted her life to raising her family, sacrificing her marriage along the way. With her teenage sons about to flee the nest, she realises she may have left it too late to find her own happy ever after.

This is the story of two women, both alone, both cautionary tales of one of motherhood's biggest decisions.

Who is more important, your partner or your children? And what happens if you make the wrong choice?

My Review 

This is a highly addictive and heartbreaking read from Shari Low and I was completely absorbed from the first page to the last. 
This book tells you two separate stories of heartbreak and loss and how rifts can grow between families and tear them apart. 
It tells the story of Denise who has built her life around her husband and everything he wants. He has always been put first. He has always been put before their children, Claire and Doug, before her extended family and even before herself. This has built Denise a very lonely life and when her husband drops dead she realises just how lonely her life is especially as she has no contact with her children after they feel they have been so badly let down by their mother and father. 
After her husbands death, with no family and friends around for support, the life that Denise has built around herself slowly starts to fall apart around her and she begins to realise that maybe the life she has built is not so perfect after all and maybe the decisions she has made along the way have not been the best ones. 
It also tells the story of Claire who with both of her Sons now leaving home she is feeling lost and lonely. Thankfully she has a very close knit group of friends that surround her and support her. They tell Claire that they will give her one day to mope and talk about how lonely she now feels and then they will help her get on with her life and do things for herself. They decide to hold an intervention and spend the day at Claire's Bridal boutique giving her a makeover and the chance to spend the day talking about her boys and the life she has made. She tells her friends why her marriage failed and how she feels it is due to putting her children before her husband as she wanted her own children's life to be so much better than the childhood she had with Denise. 
It is while talking with her friends she starts to talk about her life with Denise and Ray as parents and some secrets come out too. 
Did putting her children before her marriage cause the rift between herself and Sam and did she make the right decision after all.
I really loved how this story was written going between the past and the present, and also between Denise and Claire. It is very different but it is easy to follow and it does give you a good insight into each of their lives. I really liked the Character of Claire you really understand the reasons behind why she does put her children above everything else and why she want them to feel so loved after never feeling love from her own parents. I did not like the Character of Denise I did not like how she treated her children, and as a mum of two I could never understand her treating her children the way she did. You do however get a better understanding of her life and you do begin to realise that she was being brainwashed by her husband and trying so hard to please him. 
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from Shari Low and I am really looking forward to her next book. 

Published by Aria Fiction on 2nd May 2019 

Purchase Links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2VoQlEh

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2BV5VjD

iBooks: https://apple.co/2tEtVTw

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2IDfCJj

About the Author

Shari Low is the No1 best-selling author of over 20 novels, including One Day In December, A Life Without You, The Story Of Our Life, With Or Without You and her latest release, Another Day In Winter. And because she likes to over-share toe-curling moments and hapless disasters, she is also the shameless mother behind a collection of parenthood memories called Because Mummy Said So. Once upon a time she met a guy, got engaged after a week, and twenty-something years later she lives near Glasgow with her husband, a labradoodle, and two teenagers who think she's fairly embarrassing except when they need a lift. For all the latest news, visit her on Facebook, twitter, or at www.sharilow.com

Social Media

Website: www.sharilow.com

Twitter: @ShariLow

Facebook: @sharilowbooks

Aria Fiction

Website: www.ariafiction.com

Twitter: @aria_fiction

Facebook: @ariafiction

Instagram: @ariafiction

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today and I hope you enjoyed my review. 

Edie Browne's Cottage by the Sea by Jane Linfoot

Today I am pleased to be able to share with you my review of this fantastic read from Jane Linfoot. Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to take part and for my coy of the ebook in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. 

Book Description

Those who don’t jump will never fly…

Hurtling through the sky was supposed to be Edie Browne’s flight of independence. But when she falls head over champagne bucket while celebrating her successful landing, her life is changed in an instant. 

But starting over has its benefits, and as Edie relearns the basics under the watchful eye of her Aunty Josie and an entire Cornish village of new friends and neighbours, she finds love and joy she never could have imagined in the unlikeliest of places… 

Come home to St Aidan and Periwinkle Cottage for a romance full of love, laughter and friends for life!

My Review

This is a fantastic read that will really absorb you and you will not want to put down. 
Edie was doing her best to make the most of her life and show her ex boyfriend, Marcus, that life was amazing. Edie does a parachute jump which she loved but unfortunately once back on the ground she suffers a massive stroke and her world crumples down around her. Luckily for Edie she is still able to walk and use her arms however it has left her with her thoughts little jumbled and unable to read or write very well. She decides to go and stay with her Aunty Jo to recuperate and regain her strength. Her intention is to just stay until she has regained her strength and then return to the life she once knew, what she wasn't planning happening was getting to know the residents of the small Cornish Village and find out that they will not be so keen on letting her go and that perhaps a little by little Edie is falling in love with the village too. 
This is an absolutely fantastic read from Jane Linfoot. It is such an engaging and relatable storyline that will have you engrossed from beginning to end. I really enjoyed getting to know Edie and watch her get stronger and more confident the more time she spends in St Aiden.  I also loved getting to know Aunty Jo and all of the community within the small village. You get the idea that they all just want go look after and support each other. 

Purchase Links

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edie-Brownes-Cottage-Sea-heartwarming-ebook/dp/B07PPD1JD9/ 

US - https://www.amazon.com/Edie-Brownes-Cottage-Sea-heartwarming-ebook/dp/B07PPD1JD9/

About the Author

Jane Linfoot is a best selling author, who lives in a muddy cottage, up a steep hill in Derbyshire, with her family, their pets, and an astonishing number of spiders. Although she loves seeing cow noses over the garden wall, she’s happy she can walk to a supermarket. 

Jane grew up in North Yorkshire where she spent a lot of her childhood avoiding horizontal gales blowing off the sea, and wrote her first book by accident, while working as an architect, and renovating country houses. While she loves to write feelgood books that let readers escape, she’s always surprised to hear her stories make people laugh, admits to (occasionally) crying as she writes, and credits her characters for creating their own story lines. 

Jane’s garden would be less brambly if she wasn’t on Facebook and Twitter so often. On days when she wants to be really scared, she rides a tandem.

Her latest books include a series of stand alone novels, based around a seaside wedding shop in Cornwall. Cupcakes and Confetti – The Little Wedding Shop by the Sea, Sequins and Snowflakes – Christmas at the Little Wedding Shop, and Bunting and Bouquets – Summer at the Little Wedding Shop, and most recently, The Little Cornish Kitchen. These are all published by Harper Impulse,  an imprint of Harper Collins.

Follow Jane on Twitter @janelinfoot, or find her on her Author Page Facebook or her Personal Page Facebook. She’s also on Instagram, and has lots of Pinterest boards relating to her novels.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today and I hope you enjoyed my review. 

A Bakery at the Little Duck Pond Cafe by Rosie Green

Today I am excited to share with you my review of this brilliant novella as part of the series from Rosie Green. Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to take part and for my copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. 

Book Description 

Ellie’s dreams of opening a bakery in Sunnybrook are finally coming true and best friends Fen and Jaz are happily rallying round, helping her to plan a fabulous grand opening day. Everything in their garden seems to be rosy – until the arrival of a newcomer brings chaos to the village and tests relationships to the limit. Can the bakery succeed in the face of such upheaval? And more importantly, can firm friendships survive?

My Review

This is a great fun and feel good read that will have you totally absorbed from the first page to the last. 
Katja has fallen into a slump after the death of her mother and has become a bit of a recluse.  Her grandmother keeps trying to persuade her to leave the house but Katja is very reluctant to do so. It takes her grandmother showing her a job advertisement to try and bring her out of her shell and move forward with her life. Katja is filling in the form and after years of having to explain her Russian heritage decides to call her self Kate Baker, she then decides she can't possible move away from her grandmother she then throws the application form in the bin. Little does she realise that her grandmother finds it and sends it off. 
When Kate as she is now known as goes for the interview she is shocked to find out that she is offered the job and it isn't long before she is moving to Sunnybrook and become a baker like she's always wanted. But how long before she has to reveal she has a fake name and with her competition in the form of Maddison will she still be in Sunnybrook after her probationary period. 
What follows is the story of Kate settling into Sunnybrook and all the ups and downs that brings. It is a fantastic storyline and works really well and it was great to revisit some of the characters we've already met before. I really looking forward to reading what is next in store for the residents of Sunnybrook. 

Purchase Links

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bakery-Little-Duck-Pond-Cafe-ebook/dp/B07MLF2N6T

US - https://www.amazon.com/Bakery-Little-Duck-Pond-Cafe-ebook/dp/B07MLF2N6T

About the Author

Rosie Green has been scribbling stories ever since she was little. Back then they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’. Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger involved at all, unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love.

​

​Rosie’s brand new series of novellas is centred on life in a village café. Confetti at the Little Duck Pond Cafe will be the sixth in the series

Twitter - https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green1988

Breaking News

Breaking News - Coming Soon – Confetti at the Little Duck Pond Café 

With Ellie and Zak’s Big Day on the horizon, the sun is shining brightly on the Little Duck Pond Café community. But as dark clouds begin to roll in, threatening more than one close relationship, will the wedding of the year take place at all?  

Follow Rosie Green on Amazon to hear when its published and available for purchase - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosie-Green/e/B07CZYV7DW

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today and I hope you enjoyed my review. 

Confessions of a Bad Mother - The Teenage Years by Stephanie Calman

                                       

Today I am pleased to share with you my review of this incredibly funny and witty read from Stephanie Calman.  Thank you to Tracy Fenton and Picador books for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. 

Book Description

When you’re pregnant you think: ‘I’m having a baby’, not a person who will eventually catch trains by themselves, share a fridge with ten strangers, go to a festival in Croatia without succumbing to a drug overdose, and one day, bring you a gin and tonic when your mother is dying. 

We imagine the teenage years as a sort of domestic meteor strike, when our dear, sweet child, hitherto so trusting and mild, is suddenly replaced by a sarcastic know-all who isn’t interested in the wisdom we have to pass on. But with great honesty and refreshingly bracing wit, Stephanie Calman shows that adolescence in fact begins much earlier, around the age of seven. 

And having nurtured them through every stage of development, from walking to school by themselves to their first all-night party, you find yourself alone – bereaved even – as they skip off to university without a second glance.

My Review

This is an absolutely brilliant read that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish and is the perfect read for any parents out there to make them realise we are all doing the best we can as parents, and that we are also not the only ones going through this drastic change.  

This book shows the change in your children as they grow up from children, to teens to young adults, and find their own independence and make their own way in the world. This is the follow on read from Confessions of a bad mother and is just as funny and hilarious as her first book. It describes the ups and downs of parenting teenagers and will really have you thinking "Wow that's happened to me too"! It has some brilliant detailing of difficult parenting and just how emotionally hard it can be being a parent and having to let them go, especially as you don't want them to make the mistakes you did but, you still want them to achieve everything they have set out to do. 

There are some very emotional part to the book especially when it goes into detail about losing a parent and how that can effect your life as a parent and how hard it is to tell your children about the loss too. 

This book is great at navigating the changes from teenage years to becoming an adult and gives you a good laugh along the way. 

Published on 16th May 2019 by Picador Books

About the Author

Stephanie Calman is the founder of the ground-breaking Bad Mothers Club website and the author of six previous books including the best selling Confessions of a Bad Mother. She created the hit Channel 4 sitcom Dressing For breakfast and has appeared on many TV shows including Have I Got News For You and The Wright Stuff. She has also written for most British newspapers and magazines including The Daily Telegraph, Observer, Guardian, Cosmopolitan, GQ and Harpers & Queen, and has contributed to a wide variety of radio programmes including Woman's Hour and The Today Programme. She is married to the author Peter Grimsdale. 

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and I hope you enjoyed my review. 

Second Chances for Lottie Botte by Katy Lilley

Today I am excited to share with you my review of this feel good and fun read from Katy Lilley. I would like to thank Tracy Fenton and Manatee Books for my ebook copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. 

Book Description

Unhappy, friendless and dissatisfied with life in general, Lottie Botte isn’t afraid to let people know how she really feels.

When her husband Donald comes home and drops a bombshell, Lottie realises she is about to lose everything. Now is her chance to make some changes.

Second chances don’t come along very often, and Lottie must grab her opportunity with both hands, even if it means negotiating with the mysterious hot guy who is moving into her house… 

Can Lottie become someone else - a less grotty, snotty Lottie?



My Review
This is a great, feel good and fun read that I loved from the first page to the last. 
Lottie Botte is not a happy lady. She's stuck in an unhappy marriage, she has no real friends and her razor sharp tongue frightens people away. 
This is until one day her husband Donald, whom she has pandered to every day of their marriage and has done everything she can to make him happy, drops the bombshell that he is leaving her as he has been having an affair with his PA. Lottie is shocked and stunned but there is more to come. He then goes on to tell her that he has sold the house too and that she has just two weeks to move out of the house. Deciding this could be the making of her Lottie decides to make the best she can of the situation and moves on with her life. 
Lottie decides she needs to change and make more of her life. She spent so long being ruled by her husband and his family that she didn't think of how she could make herself a priority. Well now she can put herself first. 
Lottie is soon finding herself somewhere else to live, somewhere that will be perfect for her and be somewhere she can call home. 
Lottie is loving being given the chance to change her ways and become what she thinks is a better person. There are a few bumps along the way but it isn't long before things are changing for Lottie, she's even making friends. Maybe people can have a second chance after all. 
I really liked the character of Lottie. She wasn't easy to like at the beginning as she had quite a knack of telling people exactly what she thought of them, but once you got to know her better you released this was not the real Lottie at all and loved the effort she stared to put in for others too. 
I think this storyline is brilliant and there are some real laugh out loud moments in it. Its also nice to see someone not fall apart after their marriage ends and just make themselves stronger instead. 
This was the first book I have read by Katy Lilley but I will be adding her previous book to my kindle  soon. 

Publication day 23rd May 2019

by

Manatee Books Ltd

About the Author

Katy Lilley

The softer, sweeter side of Raven McAllan, I write romance with sass.
Ever since I made up happy ever after stories to tell to my dolls, and then to my children, I've wanted to write them. It just took a long while to get there.


You can Find Katy Lilley on Twitter @KatyLilley

You can also find Manatee Books Ltd on twitter @BooksManatee

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today and I hope you enjoyed my review. 

Singles, Set and Match by Elaine Spires

Today I am so excited to be able to share with you the cover reveal for the final book in the singles series by Elaine Spires. Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to take part. 

Book Description

The fifth and final book in the Singles’ Series takes us to the Mediterranean island of Ibiza then back to the Caribbean island of Antigua, where it all began.  

After making a hard decision two years earlier Eve Mitchell has moved on with the hand that life has dealt her and she finds herself on the White Island working a tennis holiday.  While it isn’t a job she would have chosen, in her typical pragmatic way Eve gets on with it, working hard to ensure that her diverse group of singles, with their hopes, expectations character flaws and baggage, have the best time possible.  And as she binds together tennis sessions, social gatherings, meals and trips Eve hears some tragic personal news that brings her to another crossroads in her life.  Will she and the love of her life Melv finally make a life together and live happily ever after? 

publication date 1st July 2019

Pre- order the book using the links below;

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07S3WGLX2

US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S3WGLX2 

About the Author
Elaine Spires is a novelist, playwright, screenwriter and actress. Extensive travelling and a background in education and tourism perfected Elaine's keen eye for the quirky characteristics of people, captivating the humorous observations she now affectionately shares with the readers of her novels. Elaine has written two books of short stories, two novellas and seven novels, four of which form the Singles Series - Singles’ Holiday, Singles and Spice, Single All The Way and Singles At Sea.  Her latest book, Singles, Set and Match is the fifth and final book in the series.  Her play Stanley Grimshaw Has Left The Building is being staged at the Bridewell Theatre, London in May 2019.  Her short film Only the Lonely, co-written with Veronique Christie and featuring Anna Calder Marshall is currently being in shown in film festivals worldwide and she is currently working on a full length feature film script. Only the Lonely won the Groucho Club Short Film Festival 2019!  Elaine recently returned to UK after living in Antigua W.I. She lives in East London.

Social Media

Facebook: Elaine Spires Author

Twitter: @ElaineSWriter

Instagram: elainespiresauthor

And now here comes the cover reveal.......

Its such a fantastic and vibrant cover. I cannot wait to read this. 





Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today and I hope you enjoyed the cover reveal.