Book Review - Escape to the Country Garden by Hannah Langdon

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Amazon UK

Title: Escape to the Country Garden

Author: Hannah Langdon

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Storm Publishing

Publication Date: 13th March 2025

Rating: 4 Stars

A sweet and funny romance that will wrap you up in a big, warm hug!

Frankie Carlisle finds herself back at Feywood – her family's crumbling manor house – after yet another disastrous break-up. Her sisters Juliet and Martha try to comfort her, but Frankie can’t help but wonder why everything always seems to go wrong in her life…

Then a charming stranger arrives on the grounds, and Frankie's world is turned upside down once more. Could this unexpected encounter be the key to mending her broken heart and restoring the faded glory of Feywood, or will old wounds sabotage this last chance at happiness?

It was lovely to be back at Feywood and with the Carlisle sisters in this second book in what I'm guessing will be a trilogy! 

This time we have Frankie as the main character, and she is the one I probably knew the least after the previous book, but she is back at the house and nursing a heartbreak while also suffering low self confidence and feels like she needs to move her life in a new direction. 

And it just so happens Rousseau has come up with a plan for her, and gets Nathan to start working there, to help get the gardens under control and he volunteers Frankie to assist. 

Frankie like all the family seem to be excellent at whatever creative pursuit they turn their hands to, and it was great to see her start to have a real love of gardening and garden design. 

And she has a good heart, as when she sees there is a pair of peacocks looking for a new home, she is first in line to offer to take them in at Feywood, much to the amusement of, but with the support of everyone else! 

I found it hard to properly connect to Nathan, we had chapters from his point of view, and although things were alluded to in the past, I felt as though I would have perhaps like a bit more time spent on them, to really get a feel for how his childhood has shaped his career decisions. 

With some of the story taking place in Tuscany too, this is a lovely summery read, and I am absolutely adoring this series and the family at the heart of it.  And I'm very eager to see Martha's story in the next book and whether she will be given the romance that has been hinted at it the first two books! 

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

Book Review - Escape to the Country Kitchen by Hannah Langdon

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Amazon UK

Title: Escape to the Country Kitchen

Author: Hannah Langdon

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Storm Publishing

Publication Date: 13th June 2024

Rating: 5 Stars

An uplifting new romance from a bestselling author… a warm-hearted tale of second chances and healing hearts.

Shy, world-weary Juliet Carlisle reluctantly returns to her family's crumbling English manor house, seeking solace after a painful heartbreak… only to discover that her family has launched a new cookery school, run by the handsome but irritatingly cheerful French chef Léo Brodeur.

Between her manipulative ex, two much-loved sisters who just won’t stay out of her business and a home falling down around her ears, Juliet has enough on her plate without dealing with an exasperating Frenchman. But as they work together in the kitchen – surrounded by the warm scents of baking croissants, fresh garden thyme, and Léo's peppery cologne – she begins to see a more serious side to him that she never noticed before.

Just as her heart begins to mend, Juliet discovers the shocking reason Léo suddenly left France, and she doesn’t know what to believe. Should she run away, or fight for the chance of a future at Feywood filled with healing… and maybe even love?

A poignant and heartfelt country kitchen romance that explores the power of second chances. Perfect for fans of Heidi Swain, Phillipa Ashley, and Sarah Morgan.

What a lovely start to the Feywood Sisters series this was, and I'm already totally invested and keen to read the next books which probably give you a good indicator of what I thought of this first one! 

For I loved it - ok at times I was a bit frustrated with both Juliet and Leo for not communicating clearly, but they had their reasons and with their backgrounds, I could understand them, it was just a bit like I wanted to knock their heads together! 

Juliet is a fabulous character, she had a fractious relationship with mother, she's escaped a controlling relationship and isn't completely happy at being asked to give up her London life in order to help out with trying to save the family home. 

There are a lot of walls built around Juliet and as she softened and adapted to her new circumstances, including her interactions with Leo, I began to really love her. 

And I'm certainly eager to get to know Frankie and Martha better in their books, as well as returning to Feywood, to catch up with Rosseau, Will and Aunt Sylvia.  There is a cookery school that has been set up at the house that is what lends the book a foodie feel to it, and at times it certainly made me hungry. 

I loved discovering the family dynamics, and all of the characters grew on me throughout, apart from Toby (but you are meant to hate him with good reason). 

This is another very enjoyable book from Hannah Langdon, which is what I've come to expect from my previous experiences.  Bring on book 2 of this series! 

Thank you Storm Publishing and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - The Revenge Plot by Jackie Kabler - #HolidayReading Tenerife

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Amazon UK

Title: The Revenge Plot

Author: Jackie Kabler

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: One More Chapter

Publication Date: 30th May 2025

Rating: 5 Stars

When Ella Leonard arrives at work one Monday morning, she’s stunned.

The place isn’t just shut – it’s gone. Boarded up, closed down.

Days later, she gets home to find she’s been evicted from her flat, her belongings piled on the doorstep.

It’s as if, bit by bit, someone is taking her entire life away from her.

Who, and why? And how much worse can it get?

The answer? A lot worse.

Three women scorned

All out for revenge! 

Who will come out on top?

It all starts with Ella, and her initial situation is intriguing, as she goes to work on Monday morning and discovers that over the weekend the locks have been changed, everything from the coffee shop has been removed, and even a key order had apparently been cancelled the previous week. Ella has no idea what or why, and when things escalate from that, it gets even more interesting. 

There are so many levels of deviousness within the pages of this novel. It kept me totally gripped. I was never sure where the story would take us next, and kept being open mouthed at some of the revelations / twists. 

It's another utterly brilliant psychological thriller from Jackie Kabler, and I couldn't get enough of it.  I can't say any of the characters would be someone I'd want as a friend, but they are realistic, possibly marginally unhinged and I could understand some of the motivations.  

it's dastardly, compelling and I was totally there for it. Just fabulous. 

Thank you to One More Chapter and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - They Had It Coming by Nikki Smith - #HolidayReading Tenerife

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Amazon UK

Title: They Had It Coming

Author: Nikki Smith

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: 15th May 2025

Rating: 4 Stars

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer . . .

Nate and Layla, Jude and Sophie. They've been a four for as long as they can remember: fancy dinners, dancing 'til dawn . . . Even living and working together.

So when Nate and Layla suddenly quit their lives and move to Bali, with its white sands and exotic beach clubs, Jude and Sophie are their first visitors. Anything to escape their life in London.

But as the two couples reunite, cracks begin to show.

Which is hardly surprising; they've been lying to each other for years.

And now, it's time for revenge.

What an enjoyable book of deceptions.  It seems as though Layla, Nate, Jude and Sophie are all not being entirely truthful with each other. 

And many of the revelations I certainly didn't see coming. It was unpredictable to say the least. 

Set in Bali, amongst the digital nomad community, we see a slightly different side to Bali. But above all we saw many sides to our main characters and many of them not overly pleasant. 

I'm not sure I totally connected with any of them, I was still keen to discover what was going to happen, especially with a different storyline happening in a separate time line that is interspersed which definitely intrigued me. 

It may not be my new favourite from this author but its another solid thriller from her, and a perfect holiday read! 

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

Book Review - The (Anti) Wedding Party by Lucy Knott

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Amazon UK

Title: The (Anti) Wedding Party

Author: Lucy Knott

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Aria

Publication Date: 14th March 2024

Rating: 4 Stars

It's the biggest day of their best friends' lives... and they might just ruin it.

Andi hates weddings. So when her best friend Alex tells her she's getting married in Italy, and asks her to be her maid of honour, she knows she's the wrong woman for the job. But Alex won't take no for an answer, and so begins a week-long trip to a beautiful villa in Italy, full of potential disasters that it's Andi's job to avoid. But what if she's the one causing them?

Enter Owen, fellow wedding-hater, Best Man and also the worst person for the job. Tall, sexy and warm, Andi can't help but feel the ice around her heart begin to melt when he's around. But as Andi and Owen grow closer, the disasters begin to multiply, try as they might to keep them at bay. Together, can they put their feelings aside and pull off a successful wedding for those they love most?

Well this was rather amusing and I absolutely loved the Amalfi coast setting in Italy which was described so well. 

And with two main characters that are clearly big food lovers, there are loads of descriptions of food that will make your mouth water, and I could almost smell some of it from here! 

That isn't the only thing Andi and Owen have in common, as neither of them are keen on weddings, yet they are about to be Maid of Honour and Best Man for their best friends wedding, and all they have to do is try to not destroy it, or anyone in it!   And well that has some interesting effects. 

I absolutely adored Owen, he was everything I could want in a man and more. However I struggled at times to connect with Andi, don't get me wrong she is lovely, and I think it was a me issue! 

This was just a really enjoyable story, that was great escapism. 

Thank you to Aria and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily, 

Book Review - The Saturday Place by Alice Peterson

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Amazon UK

Title: The Saturday Place

Author: Alice Peterson

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Bedford Square Publishers

Publication Date: 14th March 2024

Rating: 5 Stars

Three perfect strangers who help each other to believe in love again

Holly's husband died, and she's lonely. She needs to do something to save herself, quickly. Next thing she knows she's interviewing for a voluntary cooking job, surprised to be ambushed by a scruffy man who looks like he has a past.

Angus has messed up. He's lost the respect of his family and has none for himself. If it weren't for his brother and friend who run the cafe, he'd be sleeping on the streets. Angus is about ready to give up - until he meets Holly, who sparks something in him.

Then Lauren arrives from the homeless shelter. She came to London with nothing but an old train ticket, a teddy bear, and the clothes on her back. With no family, no home, no friends, she doesn't know what love is. People scare her. She's terrified of Angus and Holly. At first.

Each of them finds themselves in the Saturday cafe at a time when they need something to grab hold of. It might have to be each other...

Well it has been many years since I last read an Alice Peterson novel, but this was definitely worth the wait. 

This was fabulous, and it's a book that has three very different characters that all have a few things in common, and about their growing friendship, and about how you can make changes in your life. 

It is also pro volunteering and its many benefits and not just the obvious of helping others. For Holly, Angus and Lauren are all volunteers at Soul Food which is only open on Saturdays and is a cafe designed to help the community, tackling food waste and offers meals to those in need too. 

We get to see characters who are living on the streets and Lauren's backstory is particularly harrowing.  Angus I just fell for, and Holly once she gets a bit of her groove back, is a really lovely character too. 

They are all volunteering for different reasons but as these three in particular bond, it is heartwarming to follow their story and a real joy to read. 

I was thinking about these characters well after I had finished the last page, and felt as though I was having to say goodbye to new friends when I ended the book. I wonder what they are all up now - that is how real these characters were to me! 

Utterly fabulous as always from this author, just don't make us wait so long for your next book please! 

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

Book Review - His Truth Her Truth by Noelle Holten

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Amazon UK

Title: His Truth Her Truth

Author: Noelle Holten

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: One More Chapter

Publication Date: 1st March 2025

Rating: 4 Stars

An anonymous call raises the alarm. Two bodies found as a result of a home invasion. Then the police see the knives.

One in his hand.

One in hers.

Joe and Beth appeared to have the perfect relationship. But there are two sides to every story.

His truth. Her truth. And the actual truth.

In this web of lies, only one person can be telling the truth, can’t they?

The first part of this book was really slow but its needed to set up what was a fairly unputdownable second half of the book which is where everything hotted up. 

I picked this book to read purely based on the author, as I've enjoyed her books in the past, and thus didn't really register the title, nor look at the blurb, which led to me reading a book featuring multiple unreliable narrators. 

And frustratingly I'm just not keen on this level of unreliability, I was never really sure what I was meant to be believe, or what I should believe but what I did know is that I wasn't overly keen on Joe or Beth for different reasons. 

Although I wasn't keen on them as people, they were very real and I could understand a lot of their feelings. Both had a fair bit of depth to them, and Beth in particular is on medication for many things, and the descriptions of her mental state were certainly interesting. 

The more I got to know Beth, i did start to at least feel sorry for her, whereas I struggled to find redeeming features for Joe - he's not evil or anything, I just didn't take to him. 

I was definitely intrigued from the prologue and it motivated me to keep reading to discover just how the situation in it came to fruition, and then I had to know who did it.  As I say the second part of the book, after the attack was brilliant, and I ended up reading most of the last section of the book in one sitting. 

Was a book of two halves for me, I'm very glad I kept reading, and anything I was less keen on was purely a me thing, the book itself was good   And if you love unreliable narration, this is definitely one to look out for! 

Thank you to One More Chapter and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - A Secret Escape by Sarah Morgan

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Amazon UK

Title: A Secret Escape

Author: Sarah Morgan

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HQ

Publication Date: 22nd May 2025

Rating: 5 Stars

A lifelong friendship

Childhood friends Milly and Nicole had always been more like sisters so Milly never understood why Nicole dropped out of contact all those months ago. Milly buried that hurt and moved on with her life.

A call for help

Now, suddenly, Nicole is begging for Milly’s help. She needs somewhere private to hide, and the only safe place she can think of is Milly's holiday home business in the Lake District. Milly knows she should tell Nicole no, but she can’t ignore the desperation in her old friend’s voice so, despite her misgivings, she agrees to let Nicole stay.

A summer to reconnect

Over a summer of tentative conversations, the two women begin to reconnect, and there’s a potential new romance for Milly too. But then the biggest bombshell of all lands and their delicate friendship is put to the test once more …

Can the friends come together in this time of need, or will this summer break their bond forever?

I was sucked in from the first few pages and the book hasn't left me alone until I got to the end. It was hard to be parted from this story and I was thoroughly enjoying every second of it. 

At the heart of it its a story about female friendship, but it also features multiple generations of Milly's family with occasional chapters from their points of view, and there are even some new "friendships" to be discovered. 

This is the story of Milly and Nicole - Milly who runs a gorgeous holiday retreat in the Lakes and Nicole who is a world famous actress, and until recently they had been the very closest of friends.  But when Nicole reaches out to Milly for help, Milly isn't sure but agrees anyway. 

And I loved getting to know their respective stories, as well as enjoying seeing interactions with Zoe, Milly's daughter, and Connie, her mum and Nanna Peg, who is Connie's mum and a real live wire in her 80s!  Milly has such a close relationship with all the females of her family, whereas the more you hear about Nicole's mum and her childhood, the more you feel for Nicole. 

There is just something about this author that always draws me in, and leaves me unable to put a book down. I was totally gripped and loved all the various storylines.  

Sarah Morgan is a queen among authors, she is an auto read author for me, and this is another wonderful example of her work.  I absolutely adored the setting, the characters, the hints of romance, Joel, and the lemon chicken sounded good too!  

If you are looking for an all around gorgeous book to devour this summer, then this is for you. Oh and the cover is stunning too! 

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

Book Review - A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering by Andrew Hunter Murray

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Amazon UK

Title: A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering

Author: Andrew Hunter Murray

Format reviewed: Ebook 

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: 22nd May 2025

Rating: 5 Stars

Property might be theft. But the housing market is murder.

My name is Al. I live in wealthy people's second homes while their real owners are away.

I don’t rob them, I don’t damage anything… I’m more an unofficial house-sitter than an actual criminal.

Life is good.

Or it was - until last night, when my friends and I broke into the wrong place, on the wrong day, and someone wound up dead.

And now … now we’re in a great deal of trouble.

What a thoroughly entertaining book. 

I totally loved Al's voice as he explains his rules of interloping and takes us on a long and varied tale as to how he ended up in prison. 

And it's a tale of peril, of wrong doings on various level and a whole lot of amateur sleuthing after being in the wrong place at the wrong time 

After all, once you have been in a house with a man that has just been murdered, you can hardly report it to the police when you weren't exactly meant to be in the house in the first place. 

So watching Al and his new temporary acquaintances attempting to work out who the murderer is, in order to protect themselves is rather amusing. 

For a group of criminals you have to feel sorry for our protagonists.  Yes, what they are doing is wrong, but Al has a certain code of conduct he works to, and he doesn't steal, doesn't kill, he just wants to have a roof over his head! 

I'm especially impressed by all the tech Johnny seemed to be using, it was all rather impressive and he was incredibly smart too. 

This is the first book I've read from this author and if he writes more of this ilk then I'd certainly be keen to read others.  It kept me on my toes and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

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

Book Review - How To Get Away With Murder by Tam Barnett

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Amazon UK

Title: How To Get Away With Murder

Author: Tam Barnett

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 27th January 2025

Rating: 5 Stars

I'm obsessed with true crime. All the podcasts, the documentaries... I can't get enough.

And now there's a murderer on the loose where I live. What a rush!

Of course, some people might wonder if it's me. Am I an innocent soul with an unhealthy fascination, or a deadly psychopath?

It's the killer question. After all, I would love to know how to get away with murder…

Woah, what an absolutely amazing debut novel. 

I'm reeling from what I've just read, and it really will make you think too. 

At no point was I completely sure what I could believe, I suspected there was information being concealed, but had no clue as just to what extent, or why or what! 

We have Kelli who is fascinated by true crime, has a "friendship" as such with a serial killer she helped catch, and regularly reads and watches things on the most depraved people on the planet.  There is nothing she doesn't know about murder. 

Her friends and family are concerned about her interest in the macabre, but it takes for a new series of murders in the woods near her house, for her to starting being concerned herself.  For she is even wondering did she do it. 

There is a lot going on in this story, loads of interesting character dynamics and lots of secrets to be revealed.  There are twists and turns, and it really was the most compulsively brilliant of reads that I just couldn't get enough of. 

I am already excited to see what this author's second book will be like, as I loved this one so much.  This feels quite different to other books that I have read and its feels like a fresh take on a thriller.  

It's just superb and I was totally hooked from the first to the last page.  Brilliant! 

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