Book Review - A Million Dreams by Dani Atkins - Blog Tour

The Amazon Purchase link below is an Amazon Affiliate link.

Amazon UK | Amazon US

Title: A Million Dreams

Author: Dani Atkins

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Head of Zeus (UK) / Bookouture (US)

Publication Date: 14th November 2019 (UK) / 19th February 2020 (US)

Rating: 5 Stars

Beth Brandon always dreamed of owning a florist, but today the bouquets of peonies and bright spring flowers are failing to calm her nerves. Because today, Beth has a life-changing decision to share with her husband.

Izzy Vaughan thought she and her husband would stay together forever, but sometime last year, their love began to fade. They both find such joy in their young son Noah – but is he enough to keep them together?

Eight years ago, something happened to these two women. Something that is about to bring them together in a way no-one thought possible...

Thought-provoking, emotional and uplifting, this is a gripping love story for fans of Jojo Moyes and Amanda Prowse.

I've spent the past 24 hours extremely resentful of real life separating my from reading at times,  regretful that I didn't read this while I was on holiday and would have been able to read it in one sitting,  and regularly on the verge of tears, due to the sheer emotion and power behind the words of this book. 

It has really got to me, and is easily one of the best books of the year so far for me.   

A lot of the power and emotion I feel has come because I had no idea what to expect. The blurb gives very little away, and even the first thing to be revealed, not too far into the story, I think I appreciated all the more because I had no idea it was coming.  (OK, I had an inkling perhaps a chapter before but wasn't convinced, and I had the same realisations at couple of times in the book, but never more than a chapter before it happened).  And even if I did think i knew what was about to happen, nothing could have prepared me for the way it was written and the impact it had on me. 

I was completely immersed in this powerful story, and its one that will hopefully stay with me for a long time.  It covers something that would be completely and utter worst nightmare scenarios for the two families involved,  and really does take you on a roller coaster of emotions. 

I suspect I would have been crying for most of the book if I had my own children, instead I just had a massive feeling of empathy regardless and really did love all the main characters. 

For this is an epic love story - but not romantic love, but of a mother's love for their child.   It is written from two perspectives and  from that you great insight into how both Beth and Izzy cope with a situation that I've never read about before anywhere. 

A uniquely wonderful story from an author who always writes powerful stories that grab your heart and don't let go.  

Or in short, it left me speechless, I have no idea how anything else I read for a few days will compare to this and just wow!!!  If you are a fan of anything with an emotional kick to it, you need to read this book. 

Thank you to Head of Zeus and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Please do take a look at the rest of the stops on this blog tour. 

Book Review - While I Was Sleeping by Dani Atkins - #HolidayReading Mexico

The Amazon Purchase link below is an Amazon Affiliate link.

Amazon UK

Title: While I Was Sleeping

Author: Dani Atkins

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 23rd August 2018

Rating: 5 Stars

What if someone else was living your happy ever after? 
When Maddie wakes up in a hospital bed, she can't remember anything about what happened to her or what has changed.
She just remembers she was about to be married and had everything to look forward to.
But it seems life has become a lot more complicated while she has been asleep ...

Wow what an immensely powerful story that was.  It has taken me on a complete roller coaster of emotions while being completely unable to put it down. 

It is another masterpiece of writing from the supremely talented Dani Atkins.

I wouldn't know where to begin with trying to explain this story.  Rest assured it is amazing. 

The two main women in it Maddie and Chloe are truly incredible. They both have a tremendous strength of character when faced with the most impossible of circumstances.

On more than once occasion tears threatened to fall which would have been awkward as I was on a plane at the time.

What a fabulous way to kick off my holiday with this book. I just hope the rest that I will read are even half as good. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - This Love by Dani Atkins

Amazon UK

Title: This Love

Author: Dani Atkins

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Goodie Bag

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 23rd March 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

Sophie stopped believing in happy endings a long time ago, but could this love change all of that?

Sophie Winter lives in a self-imposed cocoon - she's a single, 31-year-old translator who works from home in her one-bedroom flat. This isn’t really the life she dreamed of, but then Sophie stopped believing in dreams when she was a teenager and tragedy struck her family.

So, to be safe, she keeps everyone at arm’s length. Sophie understands she has a problem, but recognising it and knowing how to fix it are two entirely different things.

One night a serious fire breaks out in the flat below hers. Sophie is trapped in the burning building until a passer-by, Ben, sees her and rescues her.

Suddenly her cocoon is shattered - what will be the consequences of this second life-changing event?

Emotionally drained is one way of describing how I feel after reading this simply spectacular book, I have found completely unputdownable from start to finish. 

It is a book that begins with high drama and really hooks you into the action and introduces you at the same time to the main characters, Sophie who usually leads a rather reclusive life, for very understandable reasons that you find out as the book progresses to Ben who is instantly cast in the hero role, but whether he is too good to be true is to be seen. 

There is a great deal of depth to both Sophie and Ben and very little in this book goes particularly smoothly, there always seems to be back story to be revealed, which it is on a need to know basis. 

In This Love there is so much going on but realistically if I mention any specifics I feel like I would be spoiling your enjoyment of the tension, or the turns that the book takes. The writing grabs you instantly and just doesn't let you go, even after the book has ended. 

There were moments that I sat there gasping open mouthed as I didn't expect the story to go in that direction, there were some more light hearted moments too, but on the whole this is a book that you will almost certainly need a box of tissues by your side, if you are even slightly more emotional than I am! 

This Love is a story unsurprisingly about love, please note I mean love and not necessarily romance. It deals with the love of a family, love of friendship, as well as falling in love against perhaps your better judgment. It surrounds these themes as well as a lot more into a compelling story 

It isn't just about Ben and Sophie, their friends play a huge part in the book too, often providing some light relief. Watch out for Carla the hairdresser, an incident involving a rolling pin, and Sophie's best friend's husband Gary putting his foot in his mouth big time. 

In a story that is as dramatic as it is emotional, as tender and touching as it is amusing, there is one thing I can say for certain. This Love is a fabulous story, written by an incredibly talented author, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone! My only suggestion would be to make sure you set aside a day to read this, ideally somewhere you won't be interrupted as I can promise you will resent anyone besides Sophie and Ben trying to get your attention! 

Book Review - Our Song by Dani Atkins - Winning Reads #2

Winning Reads #2

Welcome back to my new feature, Winning Reads. As I enter a large amount of competitions for books, and have a reasonable degree of luck, over the past year or two, my paperback mountain has grown out of control mainly due to being a bit lucky, and then not remembering to pick the books up and read them. 

Now I have a blog, I find it harder to not just stick the the brand new shiny releases the whole time, but I do want to read all these other books, so while I have a stash of them, here is Winning Reads, my new weekly feature for Sundays.

Amazon UK

Title: Our Song

Author: Dani Atkins

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Competition Win

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

Publication Date: 21st January 2016

Rating: 5 Stars

The stunning new emotional drama from ebook phenomenon Dani Atkins, author of Fractured. 

This is the story of Ally and Charlotte, whose paths have intersected over the years though they've never really been close friends. Charlotte married Ally's ex and first true love, David. Fate is about to bring them together one last, dramatic time and change their lives forever. 

Full of Dani's signature warmth and emotion, this is a gripping and emotional family drama. With breath-taking plot twists, Dani explores themes of serendipity, friendship and love. She fully engages the reader in the dilemmas faced by her characters. What would you do if your husband was the love of somebody else's life? And when faced with an agonising decision, could you put the past behind you and do the right thing?

I have no idea how to start this review, nor do I have any idea how to convey the utter brilliance of this book. Right from the first chapter I was hooked. Dani Atkins has produces an emotional and gripping story, that will draw you in and won't let you go until you are finished. And even afterwards Our Song has the power to keep you thinking about it after you have finally finished. 

I strongly believe that Our Song could be an early contender for one of my books of 2016. It has been that well written, and doesn't make light of the tough subject matter. 

Our Song is about two couples, who both find themselves in the same hospital and intensive care unit, over a 24 hour period. Both of the husbands are in critical conditions, and by sheer chance the foursomes lives are incredibly interlinked. 

Ally, is married to Joe, and has 7 year old son Jake. Charlotte is married to David. However Ally used to go out with David, and believes he cheated on her with Charlotte. So when the two ladies meet again, mired in their own panic for their spouse, its inevitable that thoughts of their joint past are brought to the front of their minds. 

As the viewpoint changes between Ally and Charlotte, the passage of time changes as well and you get large snapshots as to their joint history, from both sides of the story, and they slowly become each other's support until their real support systems can arrive. 

There are various agonising decisions to be made, and various surprises to be revealed, and you are with Ally and Charlotte every second of this horrific 24 hour period, where lives are irrevocably changed for ever. 

Our Song is an emotional book, and there were various parts where tears were pricking and by the end, lets just say I'm glad I wasn't reading this on public transport but in the comfort of my own home, based on the state of me at the end. Make sure you have some tissues handy. It is very rare for tears to fall steadily as I read books, which makes me wonder sometimes if I have a normal range of emotions, but in this case Our Song completely got under my skin, and left me wet cheeked.