The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger

by

Susan Fortin

I am delighted to be a part of the blog tour for this author. Today I have an extract for you, but I hope to review the book for you as soon as I can.

Extract

The grave tones of Neville Chamberlain and the crackle of the radio filled the sitting room.

‘…and that consequently, this country is at war with Germany.’

‘Bloody hell,’ said Arthur. ‘Chamberlain has only gone and done it.’

‘Do not use such language, Arthur,’ scolded Helena Pettinger, her French accent always stronger when she was cross. She raised her eyebrows in reproach at her son.

‘Oh, come on, love, he’s sixteen years old next month,’ said Reg.

‘I do not care how old he is, I will not have that language in my house. War or no war.’ Helena gave her husband an even harder glare.

‘What’s going to happen now?’ asked Arthur, to defuse the confrontation. No one wanted to rile his mother. She may have left her native France at the age of eighteen to live and work in England, but her Gallic temperament had most definitely come with her. ‘What about John?’

Reg Pettinger returned to polishing his shoe. ‘Nothing probably. It’s all bluff. Brinkmanship. You mark my words; it will all be over this time next week. John will be all right. Besides, it’s his job.’

Arthur couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed at his father’s prediction. His older brother John was already serving in the army and from what John had said during his last trip home, it sounded like it was going to be a bit more than just a petty argument. John had told his younger brother all about how they had been preparing for war in the regiment and what they would have to do.

To Arthur, it sounded exciting. Much better than being stuck on the farm, ploughing the fields, stacking hay bales, feeding the cows, blah, blah, blah. How many times had he sat on that tractor and wished he was doing what his brother was doing? And it pissed him off that he had been left helping his folks on the farm. He didn’t want to be a farmer but last in line to the throne at Holly Tree Farm had meant the honours had fallen to him. If only he’d been born the eldest, then he’d be the one dressed in that smart uniform, marching with his regiment, preparing for war, preparing for excitement.

‘I can’t wait until I’m old enough to join,’ said Arthur. ‘Did you hear that Pip Nelson is going to refuse to sign up. Conscientious objector.’

‘He should be ashamed of himself,’ said Reg. ‘Anyway, he’ll end up going to a tribunal and I’ll bet a week’s wages, they’ll overrule it and he’ll still have to go or face a stint behind bars.’

‘Of course, if there were medical grounds…’ began Helena.

Her husband cut her off. ‘Don’t go putting such ideas into the lad’s head. There’s nothing wrong with Arthur.’

Helena looked down at the tea towel in her hands and fiddled with the corner. Arthur could feel the angst she was holding in. She’d been distraught enough when John had joined the army before

war was even on the cards, so Arthur was well aware of her feelings about him joining now war was a certainty.

‘Don’t worry, Mum,’ said Arthur in an attempt to reassure her. ‘I’ll be all right.’

@suefortin1

@HoZ_Books

@VickyJoss1

The Snow Sister 

By

 Emma Carroll

Blurb Ever since her sister, Agnes, died, Pearl has a tradition every time it snows. She makes a person out of snow. A snow sister. It makes Christmas feel a little less lonely. On Christmas Eve, her father receives a letter about a long-lost relative's will. Is their luck about to change? In anticipation of a better Christmas, Pearl goes to beg credit at Mr Noble's grocery to get ingredients for a Christmas pudding. But she is refused, and chased down the street where she is hit by a hansom cab. The snow is falling so hard that they can't take her home. She'll have to stay at Flintfield Manor overnight, in a haunted room... Will Pearl make it home for Christmas? 

 REVIEW

I have bought a few of this author’s books (even though they are children’s books) as I love the covers and this one especially caught my eye and looked like the kind of book I would have read as a child. 

 Pearl lives with her mother and father and misses her dear sister Agnes terribly after her premature death. 

They live very simply and there never seems to be enough food or money to buy food. Every time it snows, Pearl makes a snowman (or rather a snow sister!) and finds her late sister’s shawl and puts in on the snow sister so it makes her feel closer to Agnes. 

Pearls father receives a letter from a solicitor about a relative’s will. It says he must go to Bath immediately as he will benefit from his late uncle’s will. Is Pearl’s luck about to change for the better? 

Meanwhile, Pearl is sent to the local store to buy all the ingredients for a Christmas pudding. As she is leaving the store the owner stops Pearl in her tracks and tells her if she has no money, then she will have no goods. In that split second she decides to make a run for it with the ingredients, but without looking where she is going, she gets knocked down by a horse and cart and is taken to Flintfield Manor which is owned by the carriage’s owner. 

Poor Pearl is very badly injured and desperately wants to get home for Christmas to be with her parents. Will she make it in time? 

This is a lovely story and one that you can read in a day (only 100 pages). There are also some absolutely stunning drawings in the book. I am definitely going to be reading more stories from this author. 

In the meantime, I am sending my copy of the Snow Sister on to my Great Niece who also loves to read.

 The Beekeeper of Aleppo

By

Christy Lefteri

I have had this book on my bookshelf for such a long time and my son has been on at me to read it, so I bit the bullet! 

Nuri and his wife Afra are living in war torn Aleppo, Syria. Nuri is a beekeeper, but all his hives have been destroyed and he is desperate to leave Aleppo, but Afra won’t leave as she feels she will be abandoning their dead son Sami.

Not only has Nuri lost his livelihood but Afra has been blinded by the bombing and he has to care for her every need. He loves the very bones of her, but he fears for their lives by staying in Aleppo and every day he tries to get her to leave.

Eventually Nuri changes her mind and they begin the dangerous journey to find a better life. They want to make it to the UK to be with Nuri’s cousin Mustafa, who is also a beekeeper and to hopefully start over again producing honey.

The journey is full of danger and everything seems to take twice as long because of Nuri’s blindness, but also Afra is suffering from debilitating flashbacks. How far will they get and will their deteriorating health prove too much for the journey?...

This is such a fabulous read that I managed to finish in a couple of days. It was totally gripping and I really couldn’t put it down. I was so anxious to find out what happened to them that I just had to read into the small hours to finish it!

There were situations which made me uncomfortable, but it also pulled on my heartstrings and I had tears in my eyes.

I would thoroughly recommend this book and feel that everyone should read Afra and Nuri’s story. This is a book that could easily become a modern classic and read as part of the national curriculum. A story that is shouting out to be read and should be on everyone’s “to be read” list.

Bring on book two!

@christy_lefteri

@bonnierbooks_uk

@ZaffreBooks

An Ordinary Life

An Ordinary Life 

by 

Amanda Prowse 

BLOG TOUR 

 I am delighted to be a part of the Blog Tour for An Ordinary Life and my very dear friend, Julie Williams, is a great fan of Amanda's books and so agreed to review this one for me. Thank you Julie.

REVIEW 

An absolutely wonderful story by the talented Amanda Prowse. Yes it tugs at your heart strings and you may find tears in your eyes but I can’t express how beautiful this book is. REVIEW This story tells of Molly recalling her life as she lies in bed having suffered a stroke and fall. She may not be able to move or talk but this 94 year olds' memories are sharp and vivid. The title An Ordinary Life doesn’t depict Molly’s life as she had endured so much in her lifetime. She has suffered deeply but also loved deeply. She can leave this world knowing that she is cherished and played a significant role leaving her mark on many. I love reading Amanda’s books as they are beautifully written with characters that I can’t help but hold in my heart. This story has all these and more. My thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

Author Bio

Amanda Prowse is an International Bestselling author whose twenty six novels and seven novellas have been published in dozens of languages around the world. Published by Lake Union, Amanda is the most prolific writer of bestselling contemporary fiction in the UK today; her titles also consistently score the highest online review approval ratings across several genres. Her books, including the chart topping No.1 titles 'What Have I Done?', 'Perfect Daughter', 'My Husband's Wife', 'The Girl in the Corner', 'The Things I Know' and ‘The Day She Came Back’ have sold millions of copies across the globe. A popular TV and radio personality, Amanda is a regular panellist on Channel 5's 'The Jeremy Vine Show' and numerous daytime ITV programmes. She also makes countless guest appearances on BBC national independent Radio stations including LBC and Talk FM, where she is well known for her insightful observations and her infectious humour. Described by the Daily Mail as 'The queen of family drama' Amanda's novel, 'A Mother's Story' won the coveted Sainsbury's eBook of the year Award while 'Perfect Daughter' was selected as a World Book Night title in 2016. Amanda's ambition is to create stories that keep people from turning the bedside lamp off at night, great characters that ensure you take every step with them and tales that fill your head so you can't possibly read another book until the memory fades... Praise for Amanda Prowse: 'A powerful and emotional work of fiction' - Piers Morgan 'Deeply moving and emotional, Amanda Prowse handles her explosive subjects with delicate skill' - Daily Mail 'Uplifting and positive, but you will still need a box of tissues' - Hello! 'A gut-wrenching and absolutely brilliant read' - The Irish Sun 'You'll fall in love with this...' - Cosmopolitan 'Deeply moving and eye opening. Powerful and emotional drama that packs a real punch.' - Heat 'Magical' - Now magazine Social Media Links – Say hello on Twitter: @MrsAmandaProwse Friend me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/AmandaProwseAuthor Tag me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/MrsAmandaProwse Visit my Amazon Author Page: Amanda Prowse Author Check out my website: www.amandaprowse.com

Christmas for Beginners

Christmas for Beginners

 by 

Carole Matthews

REVIEW 

My little old blog is 6 years old today and I am celebrating with a review by the lovely Carole Matthews, whose books I have loved for many years now. 

 This is a sequel to Happiness for Beginners and it follows the animal antics at Hope Farm which is run by Molly and her friend Bev. Molly loves the country life and when the original Hope Farm was being demolished to make way for a new rail link, her very rich actor boyfriend Shelby comes to the rescue and buys her a new farm which she is overjoyed at having.  

Molly also cares for Shelby's teenage son Lucas. He has anger problems (mainly involving his dad!), but loves living in the caravan on the farm with Molly. Shelby, in the meantime, is busy acting in a very famous soap and turns up to see them very sporadically! 

 Although Shelby bought the farm, Molly still has to keep it up and running and that includes helping to fund it and when they decide to hold a Christmas open day, it needs all hands to the pump to organise the event. 

Along comes handsome Matt, who happens to also be the local Mayor to help with the fundraising and also, it seems, a dab hand at farming! Will Molly get her head turned by Matt or will she wait for Shelby whose visits to the farm are becoming less frequent? 

 Lucas is a typical teenager, but you can tell his heart is in the right place, but he just can't seem to get close to his father, especially since the death of his beloved Mum. Molly seems to be the only one he can turn to in a crisis and he certainly has plenty of those in this second book! 

 This is another fabulous novel by Carole and I love the characters, so was really pleased that we were heading back to Hope Farm. I flew through this one and I would like to think we haven't heard the last of Molly and gang! 

 Thank you Carole for yet another great read and yes, I did laugh out loud when I read about the embarrassing alpacas at the Christmas open day!!

A Christmas Wedding

A Christmas Wedding

By

Fiona Ford 

Blurb: London, 1943: Dot Hanson has never forgotten the thrill of seeing the beautiful Christmas displays at Liberty’s department store as a young girl. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would one day work there, or that she would fall in love with the store’s manager, her childhood sweetheart Edwin Button. But in spite of the life Dot has built for herself, and the tight-knit community around her, she lives in the shadow of a terrible secret. And as the bombs continue to fall across Britain there is more heartache still to come. All Dot wants is a family of her own with the man she loves by her side. Will her dreams come true in time for Christmas? 

 Review 

Sadly, this is the final instalment in the Liberty Girls saga and I have loved getting to know the girls and their families over the past couple of years. 

 In this final part we meet up with Dot, who has recently found love again with Edwin Button, who she previously fell in love with as a teenager. They are engaged to be married and are like a couple of love sick puppies!! 

 Mary has married David and has recently adopted his  niece Emma and is busy building a loving home for her. Mary is estranged from her family and is devastated to receive a letter from her father telling her he would like to meet up with her as time is running out for him. This puts her in a real dilemma: Should she go and try to make amends, or should she let bygones be bygones and move on with her life? 

 Meanwhile, Liberty’s is welcoming a new sales assistant called Brenda and of course, Dot takes her under her wing and immediately realises that all is not well and wants to find out the reason why Brenda is such a nervous young lady. If anyone can find out why, it’s Dot! 

 Dot has a very dear friend called Ivy who lives in the West Country and she decides to take a trip to see her and her daughter for a bit of a break. Little does Dot realise that her trip will change her life and the lives of those around her forever….. 

 This was another fabulous read from the author. She writes straight from the heart and this saga has been full of love, loss, drama, laughter and everything in between! 

I am sad to say goodbye to the girls of London town and will miss them dearly. Anyone who is a saga lover will thoroughly enjoy this series and I hope to read more from this wonderful author.

The Cosy Little Cupcake Van

COVER REVEAL

I am so happy to reveal the second book by the wonderful Annette Hannah. She is not only a fabulous book blogger, but now an author! I am also delighted to be a part of the Blog Tour in March and I have an extract for you on 29th March. So stay tuned...