Book Review - Island Life Sentence by Carrie Jo Howe

Amazon UK

Title: Island Life Sentence

Author: Carrie Jo Howe

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Author supplied copy

Publisher: Unbound

Publication Date: 6th March 2018

Rating: 3 Stars

Peg Savage has contractually agreed to move to Key West, Florida. The smudged signatures on the damp cocktail napkin are irrefutable proof. "An adventure..." her husband Clark says. Peg can't swim; she's afraid of bridges (there are 42 of them); and she doesn't want to leave her friends. However, after a bottle of Cabernet, a move from Chicago to the southernmost city in the United States seems like the best decision ever. But now Clark has taken a long term job in Cuba and she's on her own. Neither her dog Nipper, nor the ghosts in the attic, offer up any good advice. But how hard can it be living in paradise? Peg dives into island life but the more effort she makes, the wider her wake of catastrophes. 

This was a reasonable easy book to read once I got into the swing of it, and thankfully it wasn't too long.  For although I did sort of enjoy reading it, I also found myself rolling my eyes more and more at the book. 

I really wasn't keen on Peg the main character, she was whiny, spineless, seemed scared of everything and despite moving across country on her husbands wishes, she just had no real oomph about her for most of the book.  That being said she was responsible for all the funny moments in the book while she tries to break out of her comfort zone and tries to make friends. 

There are some fabulous descriptions of Key West, and I did believe Peg was genuinely frightened at various points, especially of storms and hurricanes and water, and the scenes that involved her seeing possible ghosts were a bit freaky. 

However for anyone that knows me, I do love animals in books, and Nipper and his new friend Lulu are fabulous dogs, and I loved the interactions between their owners too. 

Island Life Sentence is a pleasant way to spend a few hours reading a book, and if you know nothing about life in Key West, or what Cuba is like then you will most probably love this book.  Had I felt more empathy with Peg I may have enjoyed it a lot more. 

Thank you to the author for supplying a copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Q&A - Would You Rather? with Catherine Isaac - Blog Tour

Today I am delighted to welcome Catherine Isaac to Rachel's Random Reads, and she has agreed to answer my new fun interview questions entitled - Would You Rather?

1) Would you rather live under the sea or in space? 

Space. Ideally in a Princess Leia costume and with a young Han Solo by my side.

2) Would you rather go skiing or sit by a beach on holiday? 

Ski-ing. I’d take an action-packed holiday over a beach any day. I’m quite an energetic person, so writing and reading books are literally the only times when you’ll see me sitting still for an extended period of time. 

3) Would you rather read ebooks, audiobooks or physical books? 

Definitely physical books, preferably hardback. But I’m a recent convert to Audible, which I listen to if I’m doing chores around the house or garden. I’ve just listened to The Essex Serpent and loved it so much I ended up buying a physical copy too.

4) Would you rather play or watch sports? 

Play. See above about not being able to sit still. I can’t claim to have many brushes with sporting glory since I played netball at school, but I’m always the first to jump up for a game of rounders on a sunny day.

5) Would you rather only be able to whisper the whole time, or shout the whole time?

Whisper. I live in a house with three very boisterous boys and it is LOUD. So I’d welcome the opportunity of communicating in a more civilised manner.

6) Would you rather always be late or always be unprepared? 

Unprepared. I think any working mother is used to winging it.

7) Would you rather have your own luxury car, or private plane? 

Private plane, because you can be in the most luxurious car in the world but if you’re stuck in traffic it’s still a miserable experience.

8) Would you rather look like a fish or smell like a fish? 

This one made me laugh out loud! Neither sounds very appealing but I’ll say smell; I’d simply douse myself in Sure for Women and hope for the best.

9) Would you rather have free books for life or free food for life? 

I’ll recklessly say books although I dread to think what that would do to my already bulging bookshelves. 


10) Would you rather give up social media or alcohol? 

I haven’t had a drink since 2017 and haven’t found it too difficult – so, alcohol! 

Thank you so much Catherine for answering me questions, I really hope you enjoyed them and let me just say how much I enjoyed You Me Everything when I read it last week, and for those who missed it my review can be found here. 

Author Bio

Catherine Isaac was born in 1974 in Liverpool, England. She studied History at the University of Liverpool, before completing a postgraduate diploma in Journalism at Glasgow Caledonian University. She began her career as a graduate trainee at the Liverpool Echo. At 27, she was appointed Editor of the Liverpool Daily Post and held the position for five years. For a decade she has written under the pseudonym Jane Costello. She wrote her first book, Bridesmaids, while on maternity leave. She has since written nine books, all Sunday Times bestsellers in the UK.

You Me Everything is her first novel writing as Catherine Isaac. Since writing the novel, Catherine has achieved a large following ahead of its publication. Alongside her decade long relationship with Simon and Schuster, You, Me, Everything has been her first opportunity to write for a US audience, and film rights for the novel have been optioned by Lionsgate.


Catherine now lives in Liverpool with her husband Mark and three sons. In her spare time she likes to run, walk up mountains in the Lake District and win at pub quizzes, though the latter rarely happens.

Twitter - https://twitter.com/CatherineIsaac_

Set in the French countryside over one hot summer, You Me Everything is a tender novel about finding joy and love even in the most unexpected places. 

Jess and her ten-year-old son William set off to spend the summer at Château de Roussignol, deep in the rich, sunlit hills of the Dordogne. There, Jess’s ex-boyfriend and William’s father, Adam, runs a beautiful hotel in a restored castle. Jess is bowled over by what Adam has accomplished, but she’s in France for a much more urgent reason: to make Adam connect with his own son. Jess can’t allow Adam to let their son down because she is tormented by a secret of her own, one that nobody - especially William - must discover.

By turns life-affirming, heart-wrenching and joyful, You Me Everything is a novel about one woman's fierce determination to grab hold of the family she has and never let go, and a romantic story as heady as a crisp Sancerre on a summer day.

Purchase Amazon UK

Please do follow along with the blog tour for even more great posts about this amazing book

Book Review - Love, Lies and Wedding Cake by Sue Watson - Blog Tour

Amazon UK

Title: Love, Lies and Wedding Cake

Author: Sue Watson

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Bookoutre

Publication Date: 23rd May 2018

Rating: 5 Stars

An absolutely hilarious, laugh-‘til-you-cry, romantic comedy about how life never quite goes to plan…


Faye is in crisis. You wouldn’t know it, because of the big fat smile on her face, but inside, she’s one step away from nuclear meltdown. And she shouldn’t be. Dan is the man of her dreams. And he’s just asked her to marry him.

But Faye’s been down the marriage road before and it ended up with her having Ryan Gosling fantasies while her ex-husband obsessed about the plumbing. Faye and Dan, on the other hand, have been living their lives to the fullest, travelling around the world, having sex under the stars... They've never argued about unrolling socks before putting them in the laundry.

Besides, even if she wanted to say yes, how could she move to the other side of the world? Because marrying Dan would mean living in Australia. Beautiful, warm and a gazillion miles from Faye’s daughter, Emma, a single mum with her own crazy little girl who both need Faye every single day. Leaving them – even for someone who makes her as happy as Dan – simply isn’t an option. 

Dan is offering Faye everything she ever wanted. So why does she feel like she’s about to lose it all?

Hilarious, delicious, inspiring are just three of the words I want to use to describe Love, Lies and Wedding Cake which is utterly brilliant! 

It is the long awaited sequel to Love, Lies and Lemon Cake and despite it being a few years between reading them, I realised I remembered the basics, and especially Faye and Dan, within a few pages, which to me is the sign of an author writing memorable characters.  This could be read as a standalone, but honestly why deprive yourself of the joy of reading two fabulous books?! 

Full of tantalising food descriptions and gorgeous travel scenery where I felt like I was part of the action, what this really is, is the story of two people trying to work out if they can live their dreams, do what is needed of them as responsible adults and still be in each others lives. 

The directions that Faye and Dan go in this book will surprise you if you had read the first book and know just how in love and perfect they seem for each other, but equally I loved seeing them both grow as people.  

I also loved the way that I have suddenly twigged how some of Sue Watson's book have a small connection, and I always enjoy seeing links between an authors work, like a special nod to her fans, and the character in question is rather memorable from the books set in Appledore. 

And then there is Rosie, Faye's grand daughter, who is adorable, but is 3 going on 30, with a turn of phrase best suited to the adults she is mimicking.  She picks up on any bad language and it seems like her favourite word is "bruddy".  Every single scene she was in had me smiling. 

Oh and Faye's best friend Mandy is also a hilarious tonic, she works in a beauty spa, happens to love men, and well during Vajazzle week was wearing a t-shirt that even confused poor Rosie, as she recognised a front bottom on it!! 

There is no doubt in my mind that this a perfect summer read,  take it with you to the poolside or beach,  and ignore the odd stares as you laugh out loud and maybe shed a few tears too!  

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - An American in Cornwall by Laura Briggs

Amazon UK

Title: An American in Cornwall

Author: Laura Briggs

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Author supplied copy

Publisher: Self Published

Publication Date: 25th April 2018

Rating: 4 Stars

Taking a break in North Cornwall to soak up the summer sun, Julianne is spending her holiday with her best friend Aimee from Seattle — who's taking a holiday herself in Cornwall as a 'shop sitter' in a small village. Eager to introduce Julianne to her new friends and show off the quirky secondhand shop she's minding for the next few months, Aimee sweeps her off to quaint St. Petroc, only a few miles from the sea. 

Just when everything looks perfect for a week of historical haunts and lazy afternoons in the sun, a scheming local businessman makes a disastrous announcement that changes everything — and Julianne rallies to help Aimee not only defend the future of the shop in her care, but all the rest of the village's high street as well.

From an oily businessmen to a chatty bookshop owner, to a kindhearted solicitor and a crazy hen night planner, Julianne's latest adventure in Book Eleven is as impossible, impulsive, and charming as any she's experienced before. 

Well this was the 11th and penultimate book in this long running series, that I have been enjoying.  So for this story we are transported to a different part of Cornwall, where Julianne's friend is staying and looking after a shop on an exchange sort of programme. 

The story had a save our village high street sort of feel to it, which is a common theme in books at the moment, at least the ones I read. However being a novella suddenly being thrown into a new location with loads of new characters I found a bit discombobulating, but once I was getting into the swing of things  it was great. 

Although given the way book 10 ended, it took until around 70% of the way through, for the story that I I thought the timeline was wrong on to be explained,  which may have added to my unsettled feeling reading this book. 

Despite all that there are some fabulous scenes in this and the hen party planner character whose name escapes me for the moment provided some great comedy gold moments on a night out with Julianne and Aimee. 

More so than a lot of the other books this one can definitely be read as a standalone novella without any problems at all I believe.  

Not the best book in the series, but still an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.  Can't wait to start the last book in this series to see how it all turns out. 

Thank you to Laura Briggs for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - Dying Truth by Angela Marsons - Blog Tour

Amazon UK

Title: Dying Truth

Author: Angela Marsons

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: 18th May 2018

Rating: 5 Stars

How far would you go to protect your darkest secrets?

When teenager Sadie Winter jumps from the roof of her school, her death is ruled as suicide – a final devastating act from a troubled girl. But then the broken body of a young boy is discovered at the same school and it’s clear to Detective Kim Stone that these deaths are not tragic accidents.

As Kim and her team begin to unravel a dark web of secrets, one of the teachers could hold the key to the truth. Yet just as she is about to break her silence, she is found dead. 

With more children’s lives at risk, Kim has to consider the unthinkable - whether a fellow pupil could be responsible for the murders. Investigating the psychology of children that kill brings the detective into contact with her former adversary, Dr Alex Thorne – the sociopath who has made it her life’s work to destroy Kim. 

Desperate to catch the killer, Kim finds a link between the recent murders and an initiation prank that happened at the school decades earlier. But saving these innocent lives comes at a cost – and one of Kim’s own might pay the ultimate price.

The utterly addictive new crime thriller from the Number One bestselling author – you will be gripped until the final shocking twist.

How on earth am I meant to review this?  I mean lets make this quick, if you are a fan of thrillers, heart stopping action, Angela Marsons, Kim Stone, Bookouture books, and want to be as opened mouthed as I am at the end of the book - then just make it a priority to read this one. 

Easily the best book in the series, some of it may work better if you have read the previous books in the series but at the heart of it is a fascinating set of circumstances leading to multiple deaths. 

I didn't have a clue who had done it,well I had one but I was so wrong, thankfully, and just wow.  This is police procedural at its best.  

Most of the book is focused on solving what is going on a a prestigious boarding school, after the first girl that dies is made to look like a suicide.  But if I say anything else about the plot I will spoil things completely, just trust me its a cracker. 

The writing is definitely the best yet, and the storyline well you can tell from this that I'm very impressed.  It is complex, intriguing, and the writing hooked me in completely.   I read the majority of this book in a few short hours not pausing for breathe.  

What I am though is very curious as to what the next book in the series will bring and I know I will be first in line to read it when its available. 

And if you didn't get the message at the top of this review, here is is put simply - Amazing book, best in the series and just wow! 

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Guest Post about The Development by Jackie Kabler - Blog Tour

As a writer you’re often asked about where the inspiration for your books comes from. My answer is generally very simple – from driving! I live in Gloucestershire and work in London, which is a four- to five-hour round trip, and I do that four times a week. That’s a lot of driving, and a lot of thinking time. I love listening to true crime podcasts as I drive, and the inspiration for my last book, The Deadline, came from listening to a podcast about an alleged miscarriage of justice – a man locked up for a crime he always maintained he didn’t commit. It got me thinking – what if that happened to somebody I know? What if a close friend of mine was charged with murder, and she said she was innocent? Would I believe her, if all the evidence was against her? How far would I go to help her clear her name? That became the plot for a book, when TV reporter Cora Baxter has to try to prove that one of her best friends is innocent of murder.

I also get inspired by the scenery and buildings I see as I drive, and that was very much the case with my new book, The Development. I live north of Bristol, and so when friends and family come to visit, Bristol airport is the most convenient. I was driving there to pick someone up one day, and suddenly started forming the plot of a novel in my head as I drove under the beautiful Clifton Suspension Bridge. It’s a stunning construction, but sadly is also a well-known suicide spot, so I started thinking “what if some poor person was up there right now, planning to jump? What if I saw it happen? What if they landed right in front of my car?”. (I’m not sure if everyone’s mind works like this – maybe it’s just the mind of a crime writer!)

And then, I pushed the idea a little further. What if the death turned out to be suspicious? What if somebody else was up there on the bridge too? What if there were odd circumstances leading up to all this? What if it wasn’t actually suicide at all, but murder, made to look like suicide? Those musings became the beginnings of The Development, which starts with Cora Baxter driving home from work and witnessing the horrible death of a young woman. I suppose a lot of writers work like this, irrespective of genre – what if this happened? What if that happened? What if somebody did this? What would the outcome be? “What ifs” definitely help pass the time on a long, tedious drive!

After three Cora Baxter books, I’ve now started work on something a little different, more of a psychological suspense novel, and that too was inspired by something I was listening to as I was driving to work. A two-hundred-and-twenty-mile commute may not be for everyone but for me it provides plot lines for my books, so long may it last! 

Thank you Jackie for this great post. I can't wait to read The Development and see what happens next with Cora Baxter. 

After a stressful week, TV reporter Cora Baxter is ready for a quiet weekend. But what she hadn’t counted on was witnessing the shocking death of a young woman on her way home. She discovers seventeen-year-old Leanne had been protesting against a new housing development, angering the powerful establishment. Leanne’s death is ruled a suicide, but when puzzling information comes to light, Cora decides to investigate further.

She doesn’t know what an unscrupulous businessman, a suspended police officer and hate-mail sending neighbours have to do with the case – but she knows there is a news story there.

With her eccentric camera crew on hand to help, can Cora tie the strands of Leanne’s case together – or will other forces interfere?

The Development is the third in the Cora Baxter Mysteries series.

Links

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36657676-the-development?ac=1&from_search=true

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Development-Cora-Baxter-Mysteries-Book-ebook/dp/B079V5Q2GW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524823356&sr=8-1&keywords=the+development+jackie+kabler

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Author bio: Jackie Kabler is a journalist, TV presenter and author. She spent twenty years as a TV news reporter for GMTV, ITV and BBC news, and now works as a presenter for shopping channel QVC and is author of the Cora Baxter Mysteries, a series of  murder mysteries set in a television newsroom. The Development is her third novel. Jackie lives in Gloucestershire with her husband, who is a GP. 

Website jackiekabler.com

Twitter @jackiekabler

Facebook www.facebook.com/jackiekablerauthor

Instagram @officialjackiekabler

Book Review - Five Years From Now by Paige Toon

Amazon UK

Title: Five Years From Now

Author: Paige Toon

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Goody bag

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 17th May 2018

Rating: 5 Stars

What if you met the right person at the wrong time?

Nell and Van meet as children when their parents fall in love, but soon they are forced worlds apart.

Five years later, they find each other.  Their bond is rekindled and new feelings take hold, but once again they must separate.

For the next two decades, fate brings Nell and Van together every five years, as life and circumstance continue to divide them. Will they ever find true happiness? And will it be together?

‘One day, maybe five years from now, you’ll look back and understand why this happened…’

What a beautiful story, so easy to read, and it tugged on the heart strings, but at the same time I suspect will have me later think back over my own life in 5 year chunks to see how things have changed, or what may have been the effect of something else. 

This is the story of Nell and Van, and how their lives intersect at 5 yearly intervals.  We meet them aged five when Nell's dad is living with Van's mum.  In a rollercoaster of emotion and life changing moments you are drawn  into their lives and over the few hours it took for me to devour this this book , I feel as though I have grown up alongside them. 

I loved getting to know both Nell and Van, along with their friends and the other locals in Cornwall that they grew up with.  There are plenty of unexpected turns in this book which just added to the one more page syndrome that I had while reading this. 

Read the book in two sittings, the majority of it sitting out in the garden, refusing to move or do more work until well I ran out of pages.   I was hooked on this story, although if you are a slower reader, the book is split into 5 year snapshots, so you could read a chapter and come back to the next knowing that the characters have grown a bit older in your absence. 

I totally love Paige Toon's books and her writing is as wonderful as ever before I have always found her books to be exceptionally quick to read and this was no exception,  it was a fabulous book to read on a hot spring day,  while mentally being in Cornwall with Nell and Van. 

Book Review - One Summer In Italy by Sue Moorcroft

Amazon UK

Title: One Summer In Italy

Author: Sue Moorcroft

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Avon

Publication Date: 17th May 2018

Rating: 4 Stars

When Sofia Bianchi’s father Aldo dies, it makes her stop and look at things afresh. Having been his carer for so many years, she knows it’s time for her to live her own life – and to fulfil some promises she made to Aldo in his final days.

So there’s nothing for it but to escape to Italy’s Umbrian mountains where, tucked away in a sleepy Italian village, lie plenty of family secrets waiting to be discovered. There, Sofia also finds Amy who is desperately trying to find her way in life after discovering her dad isn’t her biological father.

Sofia sets about helping Amy through this difficult time, but it’s the handsome Levi who proves to be the biggest distraction for Sofia, as her new life starts to take off…

This is one summer in Italy that you won't forget in a hurry, at least if you are Sofia, Levi or Amy who are  the main characters in this rather lovely book. 

If you want a book that features two women moving to Umbria for the summer, to work as waitresses, while trying to get their heads around big family news, then this is definitely the book for you.  The two women in question are Sofia and Amy. Sofia has family she has never met in this Umbrian town, and it was her father's last wish that she meet her uncle.  

Whereas Amy is 18, and a young 18 at that, who is struggling with her decision to run off from her family, and try to work in Italy for the summer and latches onto Sofia as a guiding figure.  The two girls come from different places but find common ground, and its lovely to see how the bond between them  comes into play, as they deal with a boss who has far too many rules and a tendency to try to fire people regularly. 

Levi is the kind stranger that steps in to help save Amy's job in her first week, and seems to have an eye on both women, the reasons for which became clear quite early on. 

There are certainly secrets to be discovered, some of which came as less of a surprise to me than others, but all really good and kept the interest levels up as you wanted to find out various bits of information. 

This is an enjoyable book that transported me to a warmer place than I was reading it,  and I really enjoyed all the characters, even the ones you weren't meant to like, kept me entertained.    

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - One Summer In Rome by Samantha Tonge

Amazon UK

Title: One Summer In Rome

Author: Samantha Tonge

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HQ Digital

Publication Date: 9th May 2018

Rating: 5 Stars

To Rome…with love?
Mary Smith is turning her very ordinary life upside-down! She’s bought herself a one-way ticket to Rome and is ready for a summer she’ll never forget.

Men might be off the cards for waitress Mary, but within hours of arriving at the utterly charming family-run La Dolce Vita pizzeria, she’s already fallen in love with the bustling capital!

Only Dante Rossi, the mysterious (and drop-dead gorgeous) chef seems displeased with her arrival. And in the heat of the kitchen, it doesn’t take long for long-buried secrets to surface and sparks to fly…

What a perfect book to have read over the first signs of Spring in April that we have have had this year.  Reading about a summer spent in Italy as the weather is just warming up in England, felt like fabulous timing, and made me absorb the brilliance of the book even more. 

This a a fantastic summer read, and if you like pizza then you will be in heaven with the book as its predominately set in La Dolce Vita pizzeria, with the Rossi family. 

Featuring one hot pizza chef, Dante its no wonder that Mary has bought a one way ticket to Rome and is hoping to make a new life for herself!  Dante I fell in love with very early on, and absolutely loved every scene that he was in.  He like the rest of his family have gone through a nightmarish previous two years for a variety of reasons, which I can't reveal to you, rest assured once you learn the back story you will have admiration for the whole family at how they are coping with everything. 

And the food all the varieties of pizza, and the associated scents and tastes are all present in this book that features far more of the life in Rome, than the tourist areas.  There is a rivalry with another pizzerie, there are dance classes there are assorted tougher subjects tackled incredibly well and sensitively.  

This is just a book that packs so much into its page, there is never a dull moment, and I just wish I could have stayed in this fictional Rome for a lot longer.  This book is without a doubt Samantha Tonge at her best, it has comedy, romance, family, delicious food, exotic location and a great level of depth to the characters too.   All I want to know is when is the next one out?!

Thank you to HQ Digital and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - You, Me Everything by Catherine Isaac - Rachel Reads Randomly Book #98

Amazon UK

Title: You Me Everything

Author: Catherine Isaac

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Publisher supplied copy

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 19th April 2018

Rating: 5 Stars

Set in the French countryside over one hot summer, You Me Everything is a tender novel about finding joy and love even in the most unexpected places. 

Jess and her ten-year-old son William set off to spend the summer at Château de Roussignol, deep in the rich, sunlit hills of the Dordogne. There, Jess’s ex-boyfriend and William’s father, Adam, runs a beautiful hotel in a restored castle. Jess is bowled over by what Adam has accomplished, but she’s in France for a much more urgent reason: to make Adam connect with his own son. Jess can’t allow Adam to let their son down because she is tormented by a secret of her own, one that nobody - especially William - must discover.

By turns life-affirming, heart-wrenching and joyful, You Me Everything is a novel about one woman's fierce determination to grab hold of the family she has and never let go, and a romantic story as heady as a crisp Sancerre on a summer day.

I had been looking forward to starting this book for ages, but equally slightly apprehensive as I know the author is Jane Costello writing under a new name, Being a huge fan of Jane Costello, I had no idea what to expect from this new change of direction, and was scared it may not be for me.  

Well I need not have worried as the book was fabulous, and I completely understand the need for a new identity!   This is story written with a lot of love, heart and knowledge.  It is eye opening, it is charming, it will make you think and above all its amazing.  Easily one of the best books I've read this year. 

Depending on how emotion affects you, having a box of tissues on hand at some points may be advisable, and there was one section I was reading on the tube where I had to pause for breathe, for fear of turning into a crying mess on public transport, the writing was getting to me that much. 

Yet I found the first 100 pages or so a bit tricky to get into, I wasn't really sure where the book was going or why I had heart such hype about it, and then I got to the chapter which changed everything.  From that moment I was hooked and everything made sense.  So if you are feeling the same as me as you start this, just continue, and you will be rewarded! 

This is a story of relationships and love.  The love between Jess and her 10 year old son William who is a gifted child.  The relationship or lack of one between William and his dad Adam, whose Chateau they are stay at in France for a few weeks.  The relationship between Jes and her mother, who is rather key to the whole book, despite being a woman of very few words.  The friendship between Jess and her best friends  and the potential new romances that appear over their long stay in France. 

You Me Everything is a book that will give you the feels, the writing is fabulous, its a great story and so many hidden depths to it, that are slowly revealed throughout which keeps you completely hooked. 

This is  a a very special book and its been a pleasure to have been able to read it. 

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for the copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly and 
voluntarily. 

Thank you to everyone that voted for this book this week. 

The Rachel Reads Randomly vote feature is now on a few months break, due to my currently not having time to read anything longer than a few pages at a time.  Followed by a holiday, and then my big Bookish World Cup feature.    I currently have this feature to return on 16th July, fingers crossed.