A Skye Full of Stars

by

Sue Moorcroft

Review by

Julie Williams

Under the winter stars, anything is possible…

Ezzie Wynter can’t wait for Christmas on the beautiful Isle of Skye. Her island home sparkles at this time of year thanks to the snow-capped mountains and frosty winter walks, topped off with family gatherings with those she loves the most.

But her peaceful Christmas idyll is upended when she hears that the Larson family – the owners of Rothach Hall – are flying in from Sweden for the festivities. As Manager of their grand Scottish manor house, Ezzie suddenly has decorations to hang, food to source and itineraries to organise.

Life only becomes more difficult when Mats Larson turns up. The owners’ handsome, self-assured son is used to doing things his own way – and he is only another headache to add to her overflowing list.

Yet when unexpected visitors arrive looking for Ezzie, nothing else matters as she is left questioning everything she ever knew about herself. But amidst the Christmas chaos, she might also discover that, when all is lost, it’s sometimes those we least expect who come to our aid…

REVIEW

I loved this 2nd instalment of the Skye sisters trilogy, although it is perfect as a standalone, you would be missing out on the lives of Ezzie, Valentina and Thea and their connection with Rochach Hall on the Isle of Skye.

This book centres on Ezzie Wynter's life where she has just been promoted to Manager of the Hall, which is owned by a Swedish family who arrive to spend a traditional Scottish Christmas. Ezzie feels the pressure that the family bring, along with the day-to-day running of the Hall. 

She is thrown a curve ball when her birth parents pay a surprise visit disrupting her life. A secret from long ago, hidden from her eldest sister Valentina, resurfaces and is revealed but not taken well.

This story is packed with emotion. I was caught up with the gorgeous scenery and the magic of Christmas as the Swedish family’s children delight and excitement shone every day.

My thanks to Net Galley and Avon for the digital advanced copy. I can’t wait for the next and final instalment which will be Valentina’s story.

 Estella's Revenge

by

Barbara Havelock

Raised in the darkness of Satis House where the clocks never tick, the beautiful Estella is bred to hate men and to keep her heart cold as the grave. She knows she doesn’t feel things quite like other people do but is this just the result of her strange upbringing? As she watches the brutal treatment of women around her, hatred hardens into a core of vengeance and when she finds herself married to the abusive Drummle, she is forced to make a deadly choice: should she embrace the darkness within her and exact her revenge? A gripping Gothic read, perfect for fans of Stacey Halls, Eve Chase and Jessie Burton. 

Review

Most of us know the story of Miss Havisham from the novel Great Expectations. She is jilted on her wedding day by her fiancé Evarard Compeyson and from the moment she received the letter saying he wasn't coming, she stopped all the clocks in her great house and it was as if time stood still. She stayed in her wedding dress and the wedding breakfast was still on the table, for many, many years. 

Miss Havisham adopted a baby and named her Estella and this book tells her story. 

As Estella grows up, Miss Havisham is determined to make sure that she breaks men's hearts, just like hers was broken all those years ago. When a young boy is brought in to the house by the name of Pip to befriend Estella, she is nothing short of foul to him, but there is a spark between them, but Estella just cannot let her guard down.

Estella goes to Paris to finish her education and has a lady's maid by the name of        Yvette. They become friends, but even this relationship is doomed and Estella drives her away.

When Estella comes back from Paris, she meets Bentley Drummle who she sees as a challenge and when he asks her to marry him, she tells him it will be a strictly business arrangement. 

Once married, this arrangement doesn't last long and Estella is in fear for her life and so runs back to Miss Havisham, but knows it will only be a matter of time before Bentley finds her and heaven knows what the consequences will be...

I cannot tell you how much I loved this book. I devoured it in just a few days and at the end of each chapter, it just left me wanting more and more. 

The characters were fabulous (even if you hated some of them!) and the description to detail in this book is nothing short of amazing. 

This book is definitely my book of the year and I wouldn't be surprised if it became a modern classic. Superb writing by the author. 

About the Author

Barbara Havelocke (Copperthwaite) is an international bestselling author, whose psychological thrillers have topped Amazon and Kobo. Her writing career started in journalism, interviewing the real victims of crime - and the perpetrators. Barbara lives in Birmingham. 

 The House at Ocean's End

by

Faith Hogan

** COVER REVEAL **

I'm delighted to share the cover reveal for The House at Ocean's End by Faith Hogan and a snippet for you. It's published on 5.6.25. 

I can't wait to read this one as I love this author's writing. 

Ocean's End might just be as far away as you can run from your worries, but can you ever outrun your secrets?

Constance is in her ninth decade, looking back on a life filled with laughter and loss, tragedy and triumph. It is time to take stock, make plans and right the wrongs from her past that have always haunted her.

Heather arrives on the island to bury her mother. Already adrift, with her business sold, her divorce finalised and her flat recently transferred to new owners, time on the island may be the perfect opportunity to change the course of her future.

Ros has managed to slip into the perfect job, the perfect cottage and friends that feel like family. However, when the stitches of her life begin to unravel, she must find a way to hold onto the things that have become most dear to her.

Ocean’s End is a faded art deco house by the sea, equal parts sanctuary and inspiration – now, Constance, Heather and Ros must come together to save not just the house, but each other, before time runs out.

 Home Again for Christmas

by

Emily Stone

Lexie is always on the move, but there is one constant in her life - her ' wish jar ' ; the childhood tradition from home that she couldn't leave behind. When Lexie's estranged dad dies, she is shocked to learn that she has inherited half of his travel company in Bath. Her dad's will stipulates that she must work with Theo, her handsome but bad tempered business partner, for  a year. Once the year is over, Lexie intends to leave. But a work trip to sizzling Spain reveals a chemistry between Lexie and Theo that is impossible to deny. Will Lexie find a reason to stay in one place? Will she discover the secret her father kept from her and finally learn the meaning of home?

Review

Lexie loves working abroad, especially in the ski resorts in the winter, but when her father dies and she is summoned to the reading of her father's will, she is shocked to learn that she has inherited half of her father's travel company. The stipulation in the will states that Lexie has to keep the company for a year before even thinking about selling it. The other half of the company is left to her father's friend and colleague, Theo, who is not too pleased to have to share the company he has worked so hard to keep going over the last 5 years.

Lexie and Theo get off on the wrong foot and Lexie cannot wait for the year to be up so that she can sell the company and move on, but when they both go on a work trip to Madrid, there is definitely a chemistry between them which Lexie tries her hardest to deny.

When Lexie was a little girl, she made a wish jar which she would put all the wishes she wanted to come true. Theo finds the jar and asks her what she wished for and Lexie tells him that if she tells him a wish, he will have to answer a question! 

Whilst trying to make things work with the travel company and coming to terms with her grief, Lexie finds herself falling for Theo, but if she is going to sell the company eventually, what will that do to any future she might have with him? and the grief she is going through at the loss of her father both when he was alive and when he died as he had divorced her mother and remarried and had another daughter, Rachel, who is desperate to have a sisterly relationship with Lexie, but Lexie won't let people get close, because when she does, she feels they will leave her again. 

This book is full of great characters. Sometimes you want to bang Lexie and Theo's heads together, but you can understand why they both feel the way they do. It deals with the grief of a daughter and how she comes to terms with that and I really loved how the author dealt sympathetically with that. 

This is the first book I have read by this author and I loved it, so much so, that I have ordered another of her books to read over the festive season!

I couldn't put this book down and finished it within a few days and would thoroughly recommend it.

About the Author

Emily lives and works in Chepstow. She is the author of debut novel Always, in December and One Last Gift, her second successful novel. Always, in December was partly inspired by the death of her mother, when Emily was seven, and wanting to write something that reflected the fact that you carry this grief into adulthood, long after you supposedly move on from the event itself.

 The Love of My Afterlife

by

Kirsty Greenwood

If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. She’s entered the afterlife wearing the sort of pyjamas you don’t want anyone to see and finds herself face-to-face with the most handsome man she’s ever encountered. And he’s smiling at her.

As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise – until someone comes running out of a door, yelling something about a huge mistake, and sends the dreamy stranger back down to earth.

In a twist of fate, Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to her previous life and reconnect with the mysterious man she’s sure is her soulmate.

The challenge? She only has ten days to find him.

Ten days to make him fall for her.

Oh, and he has no recollection of them ever having met…

REVIEW

After choking on a microwave burger, Delphie finds she has entered the afterlife. Apart from being devastated by finding out she is dead, she has to deal with Merrit, who is an afterlife advisor and helps all the new "deads" come to terms with their fate. A lover of romantic fiction, Merrit sees that Delphie is attracted to another newbie, but he is sent back to the living and Merrit sets Delphie a challenge - to find the handsome stranger and get him to kiss her within ten days back on earth, or she will be sent back to Evermore for all eternity...

When Delphie is sent back to earth, she sets out to find her "soul mate", but a series of events leaves time running out for her. She also has to deal with her neighbour Cooper who she is not sure whether she hates with a passion, or actually passionately fancies!

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I read it on holiday and actually laughed out loud several times! It has it all, I was laughing one minute and had a tear in my eye the next. Great characters that I loved. Would thoroughly recommend this book. 

 The Coal Miner's Wife

by

Jennie Felton

Somerset, 1911. Miner's wife Lorna Harrison sometimes wonders what became of her marriage. The affection has gone, and her husband Harry is surly and cold. But Lorna will always be grateful for the joy that their two daughters bring.

When a devastating accident occurs at the pit and Harry is unable to work, Lorna worries about how she will make ends meet. Worse, the pit owner wants them out of their house. And neighbours turn their backs, as rumours spread that Harry helped cause the mine collapse.

At her lowest ebb, Lorna is befriended by Bradley Robinson, the colliery safety officer, whose kindness is a beacon of light. But as shocking secrets are revealed, Lorna wonders if Bradley is only using her to learn the truth about the pit. As she struggles to keep her daughters safe, Lorna must decide if she can trust the man she is falling in love with . . .

Review

Lorna Harrison is married to coal miner Harry and when there is a tragic accident at the pit where he works and Harry is very badly injured, Lorna is beside herself with worry about how they will cope financially whilst Harry is not working. 

Bradley Robinson is the Safety Officer at the pit and is determined to find out how the accident happened, if in fact it was an accident...

Rumours spread quickly that Harry had something to do with the accident as witnesses say they heard an explosion just before the pit collapse. 

Life with Harry is unbearable as he was a miserable so and so before he was injured and now he is just a drain on Lorna's nerves and so when Lorna meets Bradley after he visits her and Harry about the accident, there seems to be an instant spark between them, but Lorna is so worried about how she is going to feed her family (they have 2 small children), that she tries to put any growing feelings she may have for Bradley to the back of her mind.

This is such a great saga (as usual, I love this author's work). It held my attention from beginning to end and I just couldn't put it down as I wanted to know what happened in the end! A great mix of characters, some you love, some you hate with a passion! 

If you love sagas then this one is a must!

Amazon Link UK

Amazon.co.uk : the coal miners wife jennie felton

Scandalous women

 Scandalous Women

by

Gill Paul

BLOG TOUR

1966: In London, Jackie Collins’s racy The World is Full of Married Men hits bookshops and launches her career. In New York, Jacqueline Susann’s debut novel Valley of the Dolls is published, and she’s desperate for it to be a bestseller. But neither author is prepared for the price they will pay for begin women who dare to write about sex. In Manhattan, college graduate Nancy White is excited to take up her dream job at a Manhattan publishing house. But Nancy could never be prepared for the rampant sexism she will encounter on the job. But when Nancy introduces the two Jackies, she never could have predicted what was about to happen next. As she strives to achieve her ambition of becoming an editor, can all three women succeed despite the men determined to hold them back?

REVIEW

Anyone who is anyone knows that I have loved all of this author's books and I always eagerly await the next one. I was particularly interested in the blurb for this one because I have actually met Jackie Collins at her book event for The Santangelos in the Dorchester Hotel just a few weeks before she sadly died. 

The characters in this book are concentrated on Jackie Collins, Jacqueline Susann and a wannabe book editor called Nancy. 
Jacqueline Susann was an American author who wrote Valley of the Dolls which went to number one in the US bestsellers list. Jacqueline was married to Irving, her long suffering husband. She was the one who wore the trousers in their marriage, but they were devoted to one another. 
Jackie Collins (sister of Joan Collins) became a published author a couple of years after Jacqueline, but her novels were more popular in the UK, but she dreamed of making it on the US bestsellers list. 
Nancy always dreamed of working in publishing and becoming an editor in New York and when she got the chance to meet Jacqueline Susann, little did she known how much her life would change, but could she work her way up to editor when working in a male dominated environment?
This book flits between the three main characters with short chapters (which I love), so you can easily read “one more chapter” befor bed!
The story has some hard hitting topics including sexism in the workplace which sadly was rife for women in the 60’s and drug taking and how this affected peoples lives.
I must admit, I didn’t know anything about Jacqueline Susann, but I was lucky enough to meet Jackie Collins before she died (and read a few of her books), but what I loved most is that when I read the chapters about Jackie, I really thought I could hear her talking! That’s the talent of a great writer. Thank you Gill for writing another fabulous read. I really couldn’t put this one down and devoured it in just a few days.   

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gill Paul is an author of historical fiction, specializing in the twentieth century and often writing about the lives of real women. Her novels have topped bestseller lists in the US and Canada as well as the UK and have been translated into twenty languages. The Secret Wife has sold over half a million copies and is a book club favourite worldwide. She is also the author of several non-fiction books on historical subjects. She lives in London and swims year-round in a wild pond.

Below is a photo of me and the late Jackie Collins at a book launch at The Dorchester Hotel less than 3 weeks before she died. She gladly posed for photos and signed books of her latest book The Santangelos (which I have and will treasure). She was a lovely lady and taken far too soon.