Book Review - Christmas at the Gin Shack by Catherine Miller

Amazon UK

Title: Christmas at the Gin Shack

Author: Catherine Miller

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HQ Digital

Publication Date: 13th October 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

Gingle bells, gingle bells, gingle all the way…

Olive Turner might have lived through eighty-four Christmases, but she’ll never get bored of her favourite time of year. And this one’s set to be extra-special. It’s the Gin Shack’s first Christmas – and there’s a gin-themed weekend and a cocktail competition on the cards!

But, beneath the dazzle of fairy lights and the delicious scent of mince-pies, Olive smells a rat. From trespassers in her beloved beach hut to a very unfunny joke played on her friends, it seems that someone is missing a dose of good cheer.

Olive knows she’s getting on a bit – but is she really imagining that someone in the little seaside town is out to steal Christmas? More importantly, can she create the perfect gin cocktail before Christmas Eve – in time to save the day?

If you are looking for a Christmas book with Gin, Cocktails, Christmas spirit, laugh out loud moments, octogenarian antics, and a loveable cast of characters, then look no further than Christmas at the Gin Shack. 

Despite not being a Gin drinker, I could taste the variou Christmas Gin based cocktails the gang were coming up with in an effort to win a cocktail competition. I really wanted to try the chocolate orange one, and some of the decorative touches on the others were fantastic. 

This is an excellent sequel and it didn't even feel like I had been away from the Gin Shack. Within pages of starting this book it was like I was back with old friends and family and there were enough subtle hints at the story from the first book that I believe it would work as a standalone too. 

Olive is 84 years young, and shows no signs of slowing down, in fact she goes to every effort to make sure she speeds right up. There is after all The Gin Shack to help run, her beach hut, a potential new nemesis for the Gin Shack, still the fame of being part of the Oakley West Trio, and that before she comes up with all manner of ways to make the most of Christmas to their advantage. 

Richard who I struggled to like in the first book, has turned the corner and is a much nicer man nowadays, and spends a lot more time at the beach with his mum, and he has great ideas for the future. It is in part due to these ideas that I'm hoping there will be a third book in this series, as I need more from all of these characters. 

It's a warm hearted, uplifting, enjoyably entertaining story that was a joy to read. It spread festive cheer as well as plenty of action, good times, rivalries, one nasty man, and a surprising change of heart for one character.  I absolutely love spending time at The Gin Shack, which due to the age of the main character is such a refreshing change from most of the other books I read. 

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

Book Review - The Gin Shack on the Beach by Catherine Miller - Chances Fortnight - Blog Tour

It is always a chance when you have never read the author before, and pretty much were drawn to the book purely by the cover, having not really looked at the blurb before hand.

Amazon UK

Title: The Gin Shack on the Beach

Author: Catherine Miller

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HQ Digital

Publication Date: 5th June 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

You’re never too old to try something new!
When octogenarian Olive Turner is persuaded by her son to move into a retirement home, she congratulates herself on finding the secret to an easy life: no washing up, cooking or cleaning. But Olive isn’t one for mindless bingo with her fellow residents, and before the first day is over she's already hatching a plan to escape back to her beloved beach hut and indulge in her secret passion for a very good gin & tonic.

Before long Olive’s secret is out and turning into something wonderful and new. Only a select few are invited, but word spreads quickly about the weekly meetings of The Gin Shack Club. Soon everybody on the beach wants to become a gin connoisseur and join Olive on her journey to never being forced to grow older than you feel.

A journey of friendship, defiance and a quest for the perfect G&T.

What happens when you try to put an octogenarian into a retirement home, try to force her to give up her beach hut, and stop her from having freedom to come and go as she pleases? Well that is what Olive has to contend with, and more in The Gin Shack on the Beach. 

She doesn't mind too much about moving into a retirement hotel that has a huge activity schedule, but having restricted access to her beach hut, the one thing that gives her joy, is a step too far for her. It leads to Oliver, and new friends Veronica and Randy having to find ways to sneak out so they can do as they please. 

I pretty much loved everything to do with Olive and her friends, and the way she seems to inspire people around her. She is incredibly feisty, doesn't necessarily conform to what is expected from a woman of her age, has a fantastic knowledge of Gin and Tonic, has some great friendships, but equally seems to have had a sad past, and a difficult relationship with her son. In fact its son, Richard that is adding to Olive's stress, meaning she has to stay at Oakley West, and barely has access to her beach hut any more. 

The story takes many turns, each of them feels completely right, while also in some respects taking me by surprise.  There is simply a fabulous cast of characters, that I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know.  I also loved the descriptions of the various gins that Olive has tried, as well as everything to do with The Gin Shack Club. 

The pacing in the book is just right, keeps moving a  good speed, with no dull moments, just plenty of action, laughs and good times. It really is a feel good story, and I loved our octogenarians, their budding friendship and the antics they get up to.  I would have happily read this in one sitting had I had the time.  

I suspect if you are a big G&T drinker then you will identify with Olive even more than I did, and also start to crave a drink during some parts of the book.  This was the first book I have read by Catherine Miller, and I'm really glad I started with this one given how much I enjoyed the book. 

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

Take a look at the rest of the stops on the blog tour for this fabulous book. 

Guest Post - Catherine Miller's Waiting For You Book Launch

When I ended up with 15 bottles of wine, I knew it was a sign that I should launch my debut novel to the world in style. The only question was where? I could have held it at Southampton Central Library where I was author-in-residence last year, but the room they had available only held thirty and I wasn’t sure if that would allow enough space for what I had planned. So I contacted the fantastic Oasis Down to Earth Farm to see if it was possible to hold it there and IT WAS! 

The only problem was it wouldn’t be possible to serve the wine! That was fine by me as the idea of tea and cake at the farm seemed like a very memorable way to launch a book, but what to do with all the wine? (I know the obvious answer is drink it, but with twin toddlers I need my wits intact pretty much all the time.) Instead, the wine ended up as part of a raffle with all the proceeds from the event going to the farm.

I spent a nervous run up to the
event wondering if anyone was going to come and if they did, would there be enough cake? On the day it all went to plan and all the cake disappeared. There were crafts for the adults and children. The chance to explore the farm and the refreshments were enjoyed by everyone.

In Waiting for You, Fliss is an interior designer and she likes to turn her hand to different types of craft. In her garden there is a peacock mosaic table that she upcycled herself, so the adult craft was making a peacock mosaic with foam squares for the chance to win a bottle of prosecco. There was some very intense competition for that prize.

It was a little bit like having all my acknowledgements in one room: family and friends from all the different parts of my life along with new readers ready to discover Fliss’s story. Overall there were 66 ticket sales and the event raised over £300 for Oasis Down to Earth farm.

Would I do it again? Without a doubt. Everyone said they had a great time and enjoyed the launch. I just need a couple of months to lie down and recover from this one.

I've always enjoyed going to book launches, and I'm a bit envious that I didn't get to go to this one, as it looks like it was loads of fun. The photo of the cakes is makes my tongue tingle with anticipation. I'm glad that you had such a great party and that it looks as though everyone enjoyed themselves. 

Waiting For You

You’d never guess that Fliss Chapron doesn’t have it all

All Fliss wants is to see two blue lines telling her she is pregnant with her much longed for second baby. But as the negative tests stack up, dreams of completing her perfect family feel more hopeless every day.

After years of disappointment, Fliss’s husband Ben is spending more time at the office than in their marital bed, and Fliss finds herself wondering who could be responsible for their inability to conceive another child. Yet, where do you lay the blame when it comes to having a child – and can anyone really be at fault…

As Ben becomes increasingly distant, Fliss begins to question whether her desire for a baby is just a sticking plaster to save her marriage. Because in the end, how well can you ever know another person…even the man you’re married to?

About Catherine Miller

When I became a Mum to twins, I decided my hands weren't full enough so wrote a novel with every spare moment I managed to find. By the time the twins were two, I had a two-book deal with Carina UK. There is a possibility I have aged remarkably in that time. My debut novel, Waiting For You, is out now.

I was a NHS physiotherapist, but for health reasons (Uveitis and Sarcoidosis) I retired early from this career. As I loved my physiotherapy job, I decided if I couldn't do that I would pursue my writing dream. It took a few years and a couple of babies, but in 2015 I won the Katie Fforde bursary, was a finalist in the London Book Fair Write Stuff Competition and highly commended in Woman magazine's writing competition. Soon afterwards I signed with Carina. Soon after that, I collapsed in a heap and was eventually revived by chocolate.

Website -http://www.katylittlelady.com/ 

Twitter - https://twitter.com/katylittlelady