Friday 28 February 2020

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird
by
Josie Silver
BLOG TOUR

Guest Review
by
Julie Williams
I am delighted to be a part of the Blog Tour for The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver. My dear friend and fellow reviewer, Julie Williams has very kindly agreed to review this one for me.


Review
I was looking forward to this new novel by Josie Silver as I really enjoyed One Day in December so much and I am delighted to say that it did not disappoint.


I liked all the characters and the storyline of this weepy love story.




Lydia Bird’s life collapses when her fiancĂ© and love of her life Freddie Hunter dies tragically in a car accident while on his way to celebrate her birthday. Lydia has the support of her Mum and sister but her grief is so deep that she resorts to sleeping pills which she discovers enable her to transgress into a life where Freddie is alive.


At first she looks forward to these magical nights discovering what might have been but they take their toll on her and Lydia knows that living two lives is not only exhausting but unsustainable.


Her journey is inspiring as Lydia seeks ways to control her life again and although this is a tough read, it is a beautiful written love story.
This book has it all, birth, death, marriage and funerals, but most of all love that is shown from family and friends.




A fabulous sentimental read, which I found captivating to the very last page.


My thanks to Net Galley for the ARC, this is my own review.

Thursday 13 February 2020

The Bermondsey Bookshop
by
Mary Gibson
BLOG TOUR
I am thrilled to be a part of the Blog Tour for Mary Gibson's latest book, The Bermondsey Bookshop. I love this authors books and feel they are getting better and better and as a South East London girl myself, I can relate to the area where her stories are set and none more so than Bermondsey. Please read my review below on this fabulous story of love, strength and struggle.




Review
When Kate Goss is left with her Aunt Sylvie to bring her up after her mother dies tragically  and her father disappears to "make his fortune", little did Kate know that the path to happiness and true love will take lots of twists and turns in the overcrowded house she has to share with her scheming cousins.

Kate's mother was a Romany and died in mysterious circumstances and her father, Archie Goss, has left the country to make his fortune, always insisting that he will come back for his daughter when he has made enough money to care for her.

Meanwhile, Kate dreams of a better life once her dad returns, but finds herself having to work all the hours God sends in a tin factory, a public house and also cleaning in a bookshop, just to make ends meet and to pay the rent on a room that she has to find when her Aunt throws her out on to the street.

Kate loves working in the bookshop and soon bonds a close friendship with the owner, Ether Gutman. She also strikes up a friendship with Ethel's nephew, Martin North, who soon holds a torch for Kate, but with so many barriers keeping them apart, non more so than their different classes, Kate is determined to keep things strictly professional. Anyway, her heart belongs to another, Johnny, who has problems of his own looking after his alcoholic mother.

This book has a handful of wonderful characters, who I loved, but especially Kate, who is strong and stubborn and won't stop fighting until she gets what she wants!

As I have mentioned before, I come from South East London and my beautiful Mum, who I lost a year ago, was born in Bermondsey and I loved listening to her stories of the factories she worked in and the people she met, so this story really got to me and I loved every single page.

It was obviously thoroughly researched as the author and her family come from the area as well.

I really loved this book and it's my favourite so far of Mary's and with the author's permission, I would like to dedicate my review to my beautiful Mum, my original Bermondsey Girl.

Ethel Elizabeth Locke
28.12.30 - 11.02.19
Rest in Peace



Thank you to the author for putting my name forward for reviewing this book and to Head of Zeus for letting me be a part of the Blog Tour.

Well done Mary on a gritty, heart wrenching book that kept me turning page after page when I really should have been asleep! I loved it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary Gibson was born and brought up in Bermondsey, South East London. In 2009, after a thirty year career in publishing, she took the opportunity of early retirement to write a book of her own! Her debut novel, Custard Tarts and Broken Hearts, was inspired by the lives and times of her grandparents in World War One Bermondsey and was a top ten Kindle best seller and selected for World Book Night 2015. Further Bermondsey novels: Jam and Roses, about three sisters living in Dockhead during the 1920s; Gunner Girls and Fighter Boys, set during World War Two; Bourbon Creams and Tattered Dreams set during the 1930s, and Hattie's Home, following three women's struggles to rebuild their lives in post-war Bermondsey, A Sister's Struggle, set during the 'hungry thirties' are all available in e book, hardback, paperback and audio. Her latest novel, The Bermondsey Bookshop will be published on 6th February 2020. www.marygibsonauthor.co.uk


To order a copy of this book click here