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. 

Book Review - A Year of Taking Chances by Jennifer Bohnet - Rachel Reads Randomly Book #97

Amazon UK

Title: A Year of Taking Chances

Author: Jennifer Bohnet

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HQ Digital

Publication Date: 6th April 2018

Rating: 5 Stars

Life is about to change forever…
When best friends, Tina and Jodie, make a drunken New Year’s Eve vow to change their lives before they hit the big 3 – 0, neither expected to end the year with much more than another hangover…

Twelve months later, Jodie is married and living in Provence – and Tina is exactly where she was a year ago (although now her rent is double). Tina can’t help but feel a little bit left behind, but as Jodie reminds her, she’s not thirty yet, there’s still time to quit her job, start her own literary agency and sign the man of her dreams!

Don’t miss the new gorgeously uplifting holiday romance from bestselling author Jennifer Bohnet.

Best friends Tina and Jodie make a pact that if their lives haven't changed by their 30th birthday's that they would move to Wales and raise alpacas and cats.  They should their agreement into the cosmos and New Years Eve to the background of fireworks. 

Well if you are wanting alpaca farming you have come to the wrong book as their lives do start to change.  The chapters alternate between Jodie now living in France, and Tina who is in London and taken in the most unlikely of lodgers. 

I loved reading about both of these ladies lives and seeing how over the course of the book that they changed.  There are huge secrets to be discovered in both their storylines, one of which made me feel really emotional. 

What I loved the most was that Tina is a literary agent, and the descriptions of the preparations for London Book Fair felt so real to me having attended this year myself. 

I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this book and found myself whizzing through the pages.  I am a huge fan of this author and this was one of her most enjoyable.  I can't finish this review without mentioning the cover - just how gorgeous is it? Complete fits in with the story and so strikingly pretty! 

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

Thank you to everyone that voted for this this week, I can between the cover and lovely story completely understand the choice.  Let's hope I enjoy this weeks winning book as much. 

Rachel Reads Randomly - Vote #98

 

Thank you everyone for your input last time. The results of the last vote were:

4 Votes - The Last Laugh by Tracy Bloom

5 Votes - Where The Light Gets In by Lucy Dillon

12 Votes  -   A Year of Taking Chances by Jennifer Bohnet

Overwhelming winner again this week, and a great choice it was. I do always seem to enjoy Jennifer Bohnet books when I get to them and this one had been taunting me to read it from the moment I downloaded it. 

For the next few weeks we will be randomising from my review stacks, until I break for my upcoming holiday. I am including books in the pool coming out in the next few weeks as I've moved onto reading for my big summer feature that will run through mid June - mid July. 

Below is my initial theory for this feature, and then a bit further, what you are all waiting for... This weeks's vote! Enjoy!

I am also awful at deciding what book to read next, as I often have about 10 titles or authors jumping into my brain at any time, shouting at me to read them, and I tend to worry I have made the wrong decision while reading a perfectly good book. I am hoping this will save me having to make at least 1 choice a week, while possibly providing a review to the site of a book you all either love or are curious about yourselves. 

So what I am proposing, is my lovely loyal readers of Rachel's Random Reads, select one book for me to read a week, and I will post the review the following week. 

This week's random numbers are...

And the books these numbers correspond to are...

So the 3 choices with my gut feeling responses are:

4 - You, Me, Everything by Catherine Isaac - I loved this author when she wrote as Jane Costello and I've been eagerly looking forward to reading this from the moment I received it

5 - A Girl's Best Friend by Jules Wake -  I love everything this author tends to write and this one has just slipped through my fingers. Really want to read it! 

11 - The Little Cornish Kitchen by Jane Linfoot - I love Jane Linfoot and all of her books set in Cornwall.  And it features a kitchen, hopefully some great food descriptions in here! 

Good luck everyone, three authors that I wouldn't want to pick between as I tend to really enjoy all of their books and I've met them all in person and they are all utterly fabulous.  Can't wait to see which will win! 

And authors, if its your book up on this feature, feel free to take part, vote for yourself, or stir up excitement amongst your fans! 

Pick your favourite or the one you most want me to review, or just the one you are curious about, and leave me a comment below, before midnight on Wednesday. 

I look forward to seeing what I will be reading over the weekend, courtesy of you all. 

The explanation if you haven't seen the feature before. 

How is this going to work?

Every Monday, I am going to have a post like this, which is going to have some choices on it. I am planning on using random.org to select 7 random numbers, to coincide with my spreadsheet of unread books.  

I will from that produce a list of hopefully 5 books, I reserve the right to veto any books, and will give reasons for them, if it occurs.

I will take screenshots and post them, of the chosen books, and also give you my instinctive reactions to the choices (without checking blurbs or any other info about them, which could be interesting as there are probably many forgotten about books on my spreadsheet!). 

Your task is to post a comment on this post, with the book you would like me to read this week. At midnight on Wednesday I will take a tally of the votes and the book with the most, I will read and review for the following Monday, where you will also get a new choice post. 

In the event of a tie, I will chose which one appeals most, for the Monday review, and possibly try and read and review the other to appear when I can. 

I am hoping this will provide some variety to the books appearing, and will let me potentially read or discover some great authors that I have wanted to read but not got around to yet.

Book Review - A Bicycle Made For Two by Mary Jayne Baker - Rachel Reads Randomly Book #96

Amazon UK

Title: A Bicycle Made For Two

Author: Mary Jayne Baker

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Mirror Books

Publication Date: 4th February 2018

Rating: 5 Stars

Chock-full of colourful characters, bawdy wit and a bit of love and passion for good measure. 

In a lost corner of the Yorkshire Dales, Lana Donati runs a medieval theme restaurant with her brother. As a distraction to help them get over losing the father they loved dearly, and as a tribute to his passion for the beautiful area they live in, Lana hatches a plan to boost business for everyone by having the Grand Départ route pass through their village. 

But this entails getting the small community to work together to convince the decision-makers that their beloved village is Tour material. Not an easy task when the people involved include Lana's shy, unlucky-in-love brother Tom, the man-eating WI chair Yolanda, bickering spouses Gerry and Sue, arrogant celebrity Harper Brady, and Lana's (attractive) arch-nemesis, former pro cyclist turned bike shop owner, Stewart McLean, whose offbeat ideas might just cost them everything. 

Well its not every day you get to start a book set in a medieval theme restaurant with the main character being a wench of a waitress. And that is just the start of this book's quirkiness and fun, with the rest of it coming from the campaign to bring the Grand Depart of the Tour De France, to Lona Donati's little village. 

The entire village helps in the fundraising and campaign to get their village recognised as something special even having to fight animal rights protestors, and come up will all manner of fun things to attract the attention of the decision makers. 

Yet quite early on I had a lump in my throat at the emotion in the story, and is related to Lana's motivations for bringing the Grand Depart to the village. 

For the past few years Lana and her brother Tom have not really had a chance for romance, and now things are changing.  I loved both of their stories, and their potential relationships.  

There are just so many laughs and smiles to be had in this book, and I found it an incredibly entertaining story from an author that I definitely need to keep reading more from.  

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

Thank you to everyone that picked this in a huge landslide vote last week, I agree with you all the cover really is gorgeous.  So what will be reviewed this time next week, check out the choices and make your decision! 

Rachel Reads Randomly - Vote #97

 

Thank you everyone for your input last time. The results of the last vote were:

0 Votes -  My Girlfriend's Perfect Ex-Boyfriend by Peter Jones

1 Votes - The Undercover Mother by Emma Robinson

11 Votes  -  A Bicycle Made For Two by Mary Jayne Baker

I have to say I feel sorry for the two losing books, as clearly no one knows anything about them, and thus clearly they need to be featured on more blogs to bring attention to them!  Really happy with the winning choice though, very much enjoyed A Bicycle Made For Two, so thank you. 

For the next few weeks we will be randomising from my review back log - until each book in the back log has been up for a vote once....as I keep falling further behind this may take a while,   Also hoping it means there are books more of you have heard of and thus will be more engaged with the vote!  

Below is my initial theory for this feature, and then a bit further, what you are all waiting for... This weeks's vote! Enjoy!

I am also awful at deciding what book to read next, as I often have about 10 titles or authors jumping into my brain at any time, shouting at me to read them, and I tend to worry I have made the wrong decision while reading a perfectly good book. I am hoping this will save me having to make at least 1 choice a week, while possibly providing a review to the site of a book you all either love or are curious about yourselves. 

So what I am proposing, is my lovely loyal readers of Rachel's Random Reads, select one book for me to read a week, and I will post the review the following week. 

This week's random numbers are...

And the books these numbers correspond to are...

So the 3 choices with my gut feeling responses are:

3 - The Last Laugh by Tracy Bloom - Huge fan of the author, but having read the blurb at one point, not sure this is going to be as light hearted as her other books, but I could be wrong. 

5 - A Year of Taking Chances by Jennifer Bohnet  - Love this author too, and the cover for this book is gorgeous.  Really do need to read it

7 - Where The Light Gets In by Lucy Dillon - Also adore this author,  and have spare copies of this book so there could be a giveaway when I do read it! 

I've read many books by each of these authors, they are only sitting as unread books as I had others released around the same time that opened on my kindle before these!  I want to read them all so very excited to see how this week will pan out. 

And authors, if its your book up on this feature, feel free to take part, vote for yourself, or stir up excitement amongst your fans! 

Pick your favourite or the one you most want me to review, or just the one you are curious about, and leave me a comment below, before midnight on Wednesday. 

I look forward to seeing what I will be reading over the weekend, courtesy of you all. 

The explanation if you haven't seen the feature before. 

How is this going to work?

Every Monday, I am going to have a post like this, which is going to have some choices on it. I am planning on using random.org to select 7 random numbers, to coincide with my spreadsheet of unread books.  

I will from that produce a list of hopefully 5 books, I reserve the right to veto any books, and will give reasons for them, if it occurs.

I will take screenshots and post them, of the chosen books, and also give you my instinctive reactions to the choices (without checking blurbs or any other info about them, which could be interesting as there are probably many forgotten about books on my spreadsheet!). 

Your task is to post a comment on this post, with the book you would like me to read this week. At midnight on Wednesday I will take a tally of the votes and the book with the most, I will read and review for the following Monday, where you will also get a new choice post. 

In the event of a tie, I will chose which one appeals most, for the Monday review, and possibly try and read and review the other to appear when I can. 

I am hoping this will provide some variety to the books appearing, and will let me potentially read or discover some great authors that I have wanted to read but not got around to yet.

Book Review - The Babysitter by Sheryl Browne - Rachel Reads Randomly Book #95

Amazon UK

Title:  The Babysitter

Author: Sheryl Browne

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: 8th March 2018

Rating: 4 Stars

You trust her with your family. Would you trust her with your life?

Mark and Melissa Cain are thrilled to have found Jade, a babysitter who is brilliant with their young children. Having seen her own house burn to the ground, Jade needs them as much as they need her. Moving Jade into the family home can only be a good thing, can’t it?

As Mark works long hours as a police officer and Melissa struggles with running a business, the family become ever more reliant on their babysitter, who is only too happy to help. And as Melissa begins to slip into depression, it’s Jade who is left picking up the pieces.

But Mark soon notices things aren’t quite as they seem. Things at home feel wrong, and as Mark begins to investigate their seemingly perfect sitter, what he discovers shocks him to his core. He’s met Jade before. And now he suspects he might know what she wants …

Mark is in a race against time to protect his family. But what will he find as he goes back to his family home?

From the start you know not to trust the Babysitter, the clue is in the title and the blurb, in fact from the prologue I was 99% positive I had worked out her identity and I would expect most people reading this to get that far in their predictions. 

And yet despite being sure you know what the reveal will be, due to the various perspective the book is written from, and the specifics of the story, I found myself drawn into this rather twisted tale, which contained more horrors than I initially anticipating. 

We get chapters from Melissa and Mark's perspectives and its amazing how they seemed to be seeing various incidents differently and then there were chapters from the Babysitters point of view, in theory meaning the reader was one step ahead of Mark and his family, but in reality, there are still shocks to be had. 

There was just something that seemed to keep the book on my mind constantly until I gave in and sat down to finish it.  It is a story about knowing who you can really trust, whether people really are what they seem, and of some really sloppy police work with one of the most dislikeable colleagues of Mark's that I've met. 

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

Thank you to everyone that voted for this book this week including Snoops who deserves an honorable mention, as you don't often get dogs voting for their favourite books!  This was definitely a book I needed to read so I thank you all for that and look forward to seeing what wins this week. 

Rachel Reads Randomly - Vote #96

 

Thank you everyone for your input last time. The results of the last vote were:

3 Votes - Annie's Summer by the Sea by Liz Eeles

6 Votes - The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman

15 Votes  -  The Babysitter by Sheryl Browne

Given the weather this week I was very surprised the the spring/summer looking books didn't get more votes, but not to worry I was delighted to finally read The Babysitter by Sheryl Browne, which had me open eyed in disbelief at some of the events as they unfurled.  

For the next few weeks we will be randomising from my review back log - until each book in the back log has been up for a vote once....as I keep falling further behind this may take a while,   Also hoping it means there are books more of you have heard of and thus will be more engaged with the vote!  

Below is my initial theory for this feature, and then a bit further, what you are all waiting for... This weeks's vote! Enjoy!

I am also awful at deciding what book to read next, as I often have about 10 titles or authors jumping into my brain at any time, shouting at me to read them, and I tend to worry I have made the wrong decision while reading a perfectly good book. I am hoping this will save me having to make at least 1 choice a week, while possibly providing a review to the site of a book you all either love or are curious about yourselves. 

So what I am proposing, is my lovely loyal readers of Rachel's Random Reads, select one book for me to read a week, and I will post the review the following week. 

This week's random numbers are...

And the books these numbers correspond to are...

So the 3 choices with my gut feeling responses are:

3 - My Girlfriend's Perfect Ex-Boyfriend by Peter Jones -  I know this book had great reviews on the blog tour, and I love his writing from previous releases. 

5 - The Undercover Mother by Emma Robinson - There was something as it was announced that made me download it from Netgalley and not just the publisher. I haven't been paying attention to it though,so comments generally are very welcome! 

7 - A Bicycle Made For Two by Mary Jayne Baker - Love this authors sense of humour and have been meaning to read this book since I got it. 

Three fabulously fun sounding books, I know I will be happy with all of the options I just wish I knew how to pick books so that I didn't have such readable sounding things in my backlog!  Clearly far too many great releases at the moment.  I look forward to the outcome. 

And authors, if its your book up on this feature, feel free to take part, vote for yourself, or stir up excitement amongst your fans! 

Pick your favourite or the one you most want me to review, or just the one you are curious about, and leave me a comment below, before midnight on Wednesday. 

I look forward to seeing what I will be reading over the weekend, courtesy of you all. 

The explanation if you haven't seen the feature before. 

How is this going to work?

Every Monday, I am going to have a post like this, which is going to have some choices on it. I am planning on using random.org to select 7 random numbers, to coincide with my spreadsheet of unread books.  

I will from that produce a list of hopefully 5 books, I reserve the right to veto any books, and will give reasons for them, if it occurs.

I will take screenshots and post them, of the chosen books, and also give you my instinctive reactions to the choices (without checking blurbs or any other info about them, which could be interesting as there are probably many forgotten about books on my spreadsheet!). 

Your task is to post a comment on this post, with the book you would like me to read this week. At midnight on Wednesday I will take a tally of the votes and the book with the most, I will read and review for the following Monday, where you will also get a new choice post. 

In the event of a tie, I will chose which one appeals most, for the Monday review, and possibly try and read and review the other to appear when I can. 

I am hoping this will provide some variety to the books appearing, and will let me potentially read or discover some great authors that I have wanted to read but not got around to yet.

Book Review - Come and Find Me by Sarah Hilary - Rachel Reads Randomly Boo #94

Amazon UK

Title: Come and Find Me

Author: Sarah Hilary

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Headline

Publication Date: 22nd March 2018

Rating: 5 Stars

On the surface, Lara Chorley and Ruth Hull have nothing in common, other than their infatuation with Michael Vokey. Each is writing to a sadistic inmate, sharing her secrets, whispering her worst fears, craving his attention.

DI Marnie Rome understands obsession. She's finding it hard to give up her own addiction to a dangerous man: her foster brother, Stephen Keele. She wasn't able to save her parents from Stephen. She lives with that guilt every day.

As the hunt for Vokey gathers pace, Marnie fears one of the women may have found him - and is about to pay the ultimate price.

Woah! Well that was a book completely unlike the rest of this series but utterly compelling, and still completely brilliant.  

There is good progress made on some of the overall series story arcs, especially Marnie's feelings towards Stephen Keele, her foster brother. Noah's story continues too, with regular updates on Sol, Noah's brother. 

But the main story this time felt like a game of hide and seek.  We know what the big chaotic violent event is, but we don't know exactly who did what and why, but the suspicion is the man that escaped must be to be blame for it all. 

In amongst the police work, we get chapters from the only person able to give an accurate eye witness account of just what happened at the prison, and the run up to the large amount of chaos, and the story is revealed in small sections. What is apparent early on is that this is being told by someone critically ill who can't speak, and that they are in hospital. 

The whole book felt a lot like it was smoke and mirrors, the more you thought you knew about the case and the many they are looking for, the less you really did seem to know.  At no point in any of it did I have any suspicions to the truth. 

This book pulls you into many different directions, and you are never sure what is a red herring or key evidence.  The readers know not much more than the police in this story and I loved the pacing and how the whole book was written. 

This is an excellent fifth book in this series, and I'm highly curious what direction the author will take her characters in next. One this is for sure if Come and Find Me is anything to go by, there will be more incredibly cunning and twisted villains to come, and be found. 

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

Thank you to everyone that voted for this book, it was only a glut of other thrillers released on the same date that lead to me not having read this yet, as I was always intendit to fit it in as soon as I had a chance.  I do though wonder what you will pick for me this week!