Book Review - The Happiness List by Annie Lyons

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Amazon UK

Title: The Happiness List

Author: Annie Lyons

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HQ Digital 

Publication Date: 11th July 2018

Rating: 5 Stars

Life is about to change forever…
Heather is finally back on Hope Street after running from the memories for so long. She hasn’t bumped into many neighbours yet but with her upcoming wedding to plan there’s plenty to keep her busy!

Fran is still trying to get used to a life without her husband by her side. It’s hard enough raising two children on her own – she doesn’t have time to even think about dating…

Pamela is fed up with being taken for granted by her grown-up children and grumbling husband. She’s ready to shake things up a little, but will her family even notice?

So when the three women hear about a ‘happiness course’ starting on Hope Street, surely it’s the perfect opportunity to let their hair down, laugh with new friends and maybe even change their lives in ways they never expected…

A wonderfully uplifting story with three rather distinct characters and their stories but with a common theme. 

Each chapter alternates between focusing on Fran, Heather and Pam who all for different reasons find themselves at the Hope Street Community Centre on a course to discover "happiness". 

Heather is sure she is happy as she is engaged and is working on wedding plans, but found herself at a loose end when Luke was working late again.  Fran on the other hand is realising she may need to start moving on, she was widowed two years ago and has two wonderful children to look after, and Charlie is a star.   Then there is Pam who is a bit older than the others, is regarded as a gossip on Hope Street but really does have a heart of gold, but needs to re-discover who she really is as her children are all adults now. 

I loved getting to know all three of these ladies and their friends, circumstances, and just how this Happiness course is going to work for them all. 

As the story progresses new friendships are made, there are journeys of self discovery and new hobbies, and lessons that the readers can take from it about their own happiness. 

This is a feel good summer read, that is a pleasure to read, and is another gem of a book from Annie Lyons. I just feel bad I didn't read it the second it arrived on my kindle many months ago as I was missing out! 

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

Book Review - The Choir on Hope Street by Annie Lyons

Amazon UK

Title:  The Choir on Hope Street

Author: Annie Lyons

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HQ Digital 

Publication Date: 6th April

Rating: 4.Stars

The best things in life happen when you least expect them
Nat’s husband has just said the six words no one wants to hear – ‘I don’t love you any more’.

Caroline’s estranged mother has to move into her house turning her perfectly ordered world upside down.

Living on the same street these two women couldn’t be more different. Until the beloved local community centre is threatened with closure. And when the only way to save it is to form a community choir – none of the Hope Street residents, least of all Nat and Caroline, expect the results…

This spring, hope is coming!

The words no woman ever wants to hear from her husband are " I don't love you any more" but that is just how the book starts, and it sends Nat into a tailspin, as she thought their marriage was rock solid and working really well. 

While reeling from this bombshell, she meets Caroline who lives at the "posh" end of Hope Street. Caroline then ropes Nat into the campaign to save the Hope Street Community Centre, which involves them forming a community choir. 

Nat is a children's book writer, and has her son Woody to look after. She likes a bit of a drink and generally seems up for a laugh, when she isn't confused as to what is happening between her and Dan. Caroline on the other hand seems to be all about appearances, doesn't have a job outside the home, but does have her mother who suffers from dementia in a care home. However it is becoming harder for the care home to cope with the mother's behaviour, and Caroline is put into a tricky position given she had a troubled relationship with her mum. 

I loved the sense of community of Hope Street especially from the choir members, where new friendships are formed, and the members discover just how freeing singing can be.  I loved Guy the music teacher who steps up as choirmaster, and Doly who has a wonderful singing voice, and Pamela who provides all the cakey goodness you can need. 

The story is told in alternating chapters between Nat and Caroline's view points, and I had a good amount of sympathy for both ladies as neither of their current circumstances are particularly easy, and although they may not see it, it is clear that they could help each other out, if they can get past their differences. 

I reckon most people will recognise the music that the choir sings, as there is a mix of songs for all generations, and I could really imagine them singing the songs. I loved the journey of self discovery Caroline especially was one, as she learns more about herself and her family. 

The Choir on Hope Street is an uplifting book, guaranteed to brighten up  a horrible day. It is an enjoyable story and one I didn't really want to finish. 

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

Cover Reveal - The Secrets Between Sisters by Annie Lyons

Having met the lovely Annie Lyons a few times, and since I enjoyed Life or Something Like It when I read it earlier in the year, I was flattered to be asked if I wanted to reveal her new cover.

Some of you may know the book as Dear Lizzie, but it has been given a makeover and a gorgeous new title and name.

So here it is...the debut of The Secrets Between Sisters

Two sisters. Twelve letters. One year that changes everything.

A story that will make you laugh and cry, the perfect book to read as the nights grow colder…

Lizzie and Bea Harris were always very close. They were sisters and nothing could tear them apart. Until Bea dies at the age of thirty-five, leaving her sister twelve letters and a mission that will change Lizzie’s life forever.

Alone for the first time Lizzie is left trying to pull together the pieces of a life she has for so long ignored. With Bea’s list of last requests, Lizzie has a chance to finally find a place for herself in the world - out from under the shadow of her sister.

Purchase on Amazon UK

I love the look of this cover, especially the colours, and think the new title probably sums up what the book is about a bit easier. Of course I haven't read it yet, but really do hope to fix that at some point in the near future. 

Book Review - Life or Something Like It by Annie Lyons - Booklympics

Amazon UK

Title: Life or Something Like It

Author: Annie Lyons

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Purchased

Publisher: Carina

Publication Date: 13th July 2015

Rating: 5 Stars

Step into someone else’s shoes for a day… And it will change you for a lifetime.

Cat is very good at her job. She runs a PR company with her best friend (and secret crush) Jesse, and is never happier than when her high-profile celebrities are glittering in the spotlight.

But when her footballer client gets in the press for all the wrong reasons, Cat’s career takes a sudden nosedive. So when her brother Andrew unexpectedly needs her to look after his kids for a few weeks, she can hardly say no. She’s happily single, hasn’t exactly been the ‘World’s Best Auntie’ over the years, and what she knows about looking after children would fit on the back of a postage stamp. But it’s only temporary until she gets her real life back on track – isn’t it?

Cat's life starts to change, when her footballer client ends up in the newspapers for all the wrong reasons. Cat is made to take a sabbatical from work, and that coincides with her brother needing help with his kids over the summer. 

However Cat has made it clear on many occasions to anyone she speaks to that she has no interest in kids, and she barely knows her niece and nephew. But she is up for a challenge and she determines that she will try to become the best Auntie ever, and in doing so she may just learn more about herself than expected. 

I loved watching Cat with the kids, Ellie who's 6 and Charlie who's 10, and she starts off as not a fan of Finn, Ellie's best friend Daisy's uncle, but then they start to spend enforced time together, and something softens. 

This is the first book I have read by Annie Lyons, despite having bought all of them, and my instincts to mass buy the author appear to be correct. This is a delight to read, and I found myself smiling at some of the comments the children came out with. Ellie is a very insightful 6 year old, while Charlie is acting out but for good reasons, while Daisy is adorable too. 

I loved the way the book flowed, and the clear sense of humour with in it. The family interactions were really well done, and the story does touch on a couple of issues, including one that is becoming more common in schools in recent years. 

My favourite characters were definitely all the children, with their distinctive personalities, and generally great outlook on life. Cat's first outing with Ellie and Charlie was particularly fab, as she had no idea what she was doing, but gamely trying her hardest to give the kids the sort of day that perhaps she would have loved herself. 

I can't wait to see what Annie Lyons comes up with next, and I will on the back of this book endeavour to read more of her previous books too. What a great introduction to an author who is new to me. 

Guest Post - The Twelve Not Quite Perfect Moments of Christmas by Annie Lyons - #CarinaChristmas

I'd love to welcome Annie Lyons to Rachel Random Reads today, and she is telling us those twelve Not Quite Perfect Moments of Christmas.

1. When your child catches you knocking back Father Christmas’ favourite tipple on Christmas Eve.
   
2. When during your impressive twerking routine at the Christmas party you realise that your skirt is tucked in your knickers. Again.
   
3. When your mother-in-law offers to help you sieve the gravy.
   
4. When you start to believe that socks really are a great Christmas present.
5. When your child declares ‘babyccino’ to be the son of God when answering the vicar’s question during your local church’s crib service.
   
6. When you decide that home-made gifts really do make the best presents, resulting in burnt chutney, bendy gingerbread and a kitchen that would make Mary Berry weep.
   
7. When the highlight of your festive TV season is the Peppa Pig Christmas special.
   
8. When buying new Christmas lights is preferable to untangling the ones you carelessly stuffed back into the box last January.
   
9. When some joker decides to give the dog sprouts.
   
10. When Granny decides to act out ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ during charades.
    
11. When your mother misinterprets your request for boots and instead of the knee-high beauties you’ve been coveting, buys you a pair of Dunlop wellies.
    
12. When you decide to make egg nog. And realise that any drink with ‘egg’ in the title really is as disgusting as it sounds.

Not Quite Perfect Christmas

Amazon UK

A Christmas fairy tale in New York?

This Christmas, Emma Darcy has decided, is going to be perfect! Not only has she exchanged her glamorous London life to jet out to the even more glitzy New York, but she has her gorgeous boyfriend finally by her side, and her dream job comes with an invite to their super-dazzling Christmas party. Ooooh, what to wear?!

To celebrate, this year she’s planning a Christmas like you see in the movies; her tinsel-topped to-do list includes ice-skating outside Rockefeller Center, strolling around a snow-covered Central Park and Christmas (window) shopping at Tiffany.

That plan goes slightly out the window with news that her Mum, sister and niece Lily will be visiting her – that’s a lot of Darcy women, even in the Big Apple! With family drama and a work disaster to avoid too, this might not quite be the picture-perfect Christmas she’d had in mind…!

A Not Quite Perfect short story.

About Annie Lyons

After leaving university, Annie Lyons decided that she 'rather liked books' and got a job as a bookseller on Charing Cross Road, London. Two years later she left the retail world and continued rather liking books during an eleven-year career in publishing. Following redundancy in 2009 she realised that she would rather like to write books and having undertaken a creative writing course, lots of reading and a bit of practice she produced Not Quite Perfect. She now realises that she loves writing as much as coffee, not as much as her children and a bit more than gardening. She has since written another two novels and is about to start work on her fourth. She lives in a house in south-east London with her husband and two children. The garden is somewhat overgrown. One day she hopes to own a chocolate-brown Labrador named John and have tea with Mary Berry.

Website & social media

www.annielyons.com

Twitter: @1AnnieLyons

Facebook: www.facebook.com/annielyonswriter

Annie Lyons on Amazon

Buy links:

Not Quite Perfect

Not Quite Perfect Christmas

Dear Lizzie

Life or Something Like It

Thank you so much to Annie, for this rather amusing post of when things just don't go quite right at Christmas. 

For more #CarinaChristmas click here