Just My Luck by Adele Parks @adeleparks @HQstories #AdeleParks #JustMyLuck #BookReview

Hello book friends, I hope that you are all doing well?

I’m so happy to be on the blog tour for this book, I enjoyed reading it so much, and it really made me think about what I would do in the same situation!

 

Review

This story is about friends, 3 groups of friends in this case, they have been best friends since the wives met at Antenatal/Parenting classes, and they have been in each others lives ever since, 15 years to be precise. In fact, all of their children are also best friends, and 2 of them are actually dating!

Every week they have a dinner party, some are nice and posh, other times a takeaway, but they swap houses every week, and each week they talk and dream about what they would do if they ever won the lottery.

The 3 couples are in a Syndicate, and each week Lexi collects the money from Jennifer, Fred, Carla and Patrick, but one night there is an argument between them all, while having the usual Saturday dinner night, things get said, and tensions are high, so much so that words are exchanged and Fred, Jennifer, Carla and Patrick pull out of the syndicate and go home.

Jake and Lexi are naturally upset that they have fallen out with their best friends, but carry on with life as usual, Lexi works at the local Citizens Advice and helps lots of underprivileged people with things like debt management, housing, immigration, and landlord-tenant disputes.

As Saturday rolls around as usual, Lexi comes home to a very excited husband, their lottery numbers have come up!!
After a couple of calls to the National Lottery, it is confirmed that they are winners, and they have won £17.8 Million!!!!

Jake has dollar signs in his eyes, listing what he is going to spend the money on, mostly fast cars and expensive holidays, while Lexi is just trying to come to terms with the windfall.

There is just one problem, Jennifer, Fred, Carla and Patrick want a cut of the money!

There are also a few other stories woven into this one very cleverly, and what started out as a compelling read to find out what Lexi’s family was going to do, actually turned into a very suspenseful, gripping read, a few times I shouted NOOOOOO while I was reading it.

This is a fantastic read, and I flew through the book and nearly read it in one sitting, I would thoroughly recommend it.

**Thank you to HQ Stories and the Author for sending me a copy of this book**

Enjoy
Vicci 📚💛✨

Synopsis

It’s the stuff dreams are made of – a lottery win so big, it changes everything.

For fifteen years, Lexi and Jake have played the same six numbers with their friends, the Pearsons and the Heathcotes. Over dinner parties, fish & chip suppers and summer barbecues, they’ve discussed the important stuff – the kids, marriages, jobs and houses – and they’ve laughed off their disappointment when they failed to win anything more than a tenner.

But then, one Saturday night, the unthinkable happens. There’s a rift in the group. Someone doesn’t tell the truth. And soon after, six numbers come up which change everything forever.

Lexi and Jake have a ticket worth £18 million. And their friends are determined to claim a share of it.

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The Dilemma by B A Paris @BAParisAuthor @HQstories #TheDilemma #BAParis #BookReview #BlogTour

Hello Book Friends,

I’m so please to be able to be on the Blog tour for this incredible read, I had so many emotions reading this, and I may have even shed a tear or two.

My Thoughts

Well knock me down with a feather, only 3 books in 2019 made me have feelings, I said 2 in my previous post but I remembered another one lol.

This book made me have such a range of emotions, and it is going to be really difficult to write about it because you absolutely have to go into this book blind, my suggestion would be don’t read ANY reviews (except this one of course) as you don’t want to catch an accidental spoiler.

The story is centered around a 40th birthday party that is for Livia, she has been literally planning this party for 20 years, she didn’t get to have the big extravagant wedding that she wanted, so this is something that is very close to heart, and she hasn’t spared any expense.

Her friends and family all know about her big party obsession and have just left her to revel in the organising for her big day, after all you are not 40 every day.

Livia’s husband Adam and her two children Marnie and Josh are well aware how important this day is Livia, and have done their best to fit in and help where they can.

With friends, family, colleagues and a few surprise guests arranged to arrive to the party, what could possibly go wrong?

This story is so cleverly written that you almost don’t see the twist coming, I had that puppet face when it did, you know, this one –

B A Paris has written such a clever book, because it is such a difficult choice to make, and without going into any spoilers, I know that is really vague, #SorryNotSorry

Honestly grab this one when you can, you won’t regret it, I’ve already pre-ordered the audiobook so I can listen to it as well!

**Thank you so much to HQ Stories and B.A. Paris for sending me the gorgeous copy of the book.

Enjoy

Vicci📚💛✨

About the Book

Only 99p on Kindle – Amazon UK*

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It’s Livia’s 40th birthday, and she’s having the party of a lifetime to make up for the wedding she never had. Everyone she loves will be there except her daughter Marnie, who’s studying abroad. But although Livia loves Marnie, she’s secretly glad she won’t be at the party. She needs to tell Adam something about their daughter, but she’s waiting until the party is over so they can have this last happy time together.

Adam wants everything to be perfect for Livia, so he’s secretly arranged for Marnie to come home and surprise her on her birthday. During the day, he hears some terrible news. He needs to tell Livia, because how can the party go on? But she’s so happy, so excited – and the guests are about to arrive.

The Dilemma – how far would you go to give someone you love a last few hours of happiness?

One day that will change a family forever, The Dilemma is the breathtaking, heartbreaking new novel from the million-copy-selling Sunday Times best seller BA Paris.

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain @D_Chamberlain @MacmillanAudio #AudiobooReview #Historical #Mystery

How are we all today book buddies?

Happy to bring you a review of this Historical Fiction book that had me gripped.

Why did you pick it up Vicci? – I’ve already read one of this authors books and reviewed it on here, and I really like her writing style, I also want to start reading more Historical books as I had previously given them a wide berth.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this story and it is the second I have read from this author.

Tess DeMello is happy, she is engaged to a wonderful man, and is excited to become his wife, her husband-to-be is a doctor and is very passionate about his work, so much so, he hot foots it to Chicago to help out with the Polio epidemic that seems to be rife there.

She naturally misses him, and his time there seems to be getting longer and longer, each call she gets from him seems to be him changing the date that he will be coming home, this turns into months.

He friend tries to snap her out of her slump by inviting her to go away with her for a couple of days to her aunts house who lives out of town, but when they get there, it seems that her aunt has had to leave for a few days and has left instructions for them to have a good time, unfortunately there are also 2 men staying in the house with them.

Tess is very cautious about this, but they soon start chatting and the gentlemen invite them out for a friendly meal, which turns into an evening of bad choices for Tess, too much alcohol and another bad decision leads her into being single, pregnant and alone.

After finding out where the father of her unborn child lives, Tess breaks off her engagement, packs a bag and leaves to find him, Henry does the right thing and moves her in with him, and promptly marries her.

But things are not right in the house, Henry doesn’t seem to be the man she thought he was, and why doesn’t he want to spend any time with her?

A fab little mystery that had me guessing all the way through.

A great read, I personally thought that Tess was not totally to blame in this situation, Yes she had drunk too much alcohol and was a little worse for wear, but I didn’t really see any consent going on, I don’t remember Tess saying No, but she also didn’t say Yes, and I think really that Henry took advantage of the situation.

🎧🎧 – Narration was perfectly done by Susan Bennett and I will certainly be looking out for more of her narration.

About the Book

The Stolen Marriage
By: Diane Chamberlain
Narrated by: Susan Bennett
Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
Publisher: Macmillan Digital Audio

One mistake, one fateful night, and Tess DeMello’s life is changed forever.

It is 1944. Pregnant, alone, and riddled with guilt, twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly gives up her budding career as a nurse and ends her engagement to the love of her life, unable to live a lie. Instead, she turns to the baby’s father for help and agrees to marry him, moving to the small, rural town of Hickory, North Carolina. Tess’s new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife, and shows her no affection. Tess quickly realizes she’s trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out.

The people of Hickory love and respect Henry but see Tess as an outsider, treating her with suspicion and disdain. When one of the town’s golden girls dies in a terrible accident, everyone holds Tess responsible. But Henry keeps his secrets even closer now, though it seems that everyone knows something about him that Tess does not.

When a sudden polio epidemic strikes Hickory, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital. Tess knows she is needed and defies Henry’s wishes to begin working at there. Through this work, she begins to find purpose and meaning. Yet at home, Henry’s actions grow more alarming by the day. As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle the truth behind her husband’s mysterious behavior and find the love—and the life—she was meant to have?

 

 

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Vicci 📚💛✨

 

A Lily in the Light by Kristin Fields @writingkristin @AmazonPub @LUAuthors #Bookreview #alilyinthelight

Happy Sunday!

Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend! Delighted to share with you today my review for this heart wrenching debut that combines the beauty of ballet and the horror of tragedy!💜

My Thoughts

Beautifully told, elegantly executed… this was an emotional story about the aftermath of tragedy.

Kristin Feild’s debut was evocative and heart wrenching. A unique take on the missing child trope. This is not a dark twisted thriller with wild secrets, it is a tender story Full of heart and hope. This book really captures the essence of Esme, and how her sister Lily’s disappearance impacted her life.

Esme is 11 years old, she loves ballet and her biggest concern in life is getting on point. She has a loving family: hard-working parents, an aloof big brother, an impatient big sister, and an adorable little sister named Lily. One day mom is at church, dad just got home, brother is on the balcony, sister is in her room, Esme is making dinner, and Lily disappears. Just like that, while watching “Full House”. No sign of foul play Lily is just gone along with her coat and shoes. Esme is devastated not quite sure how to function in the shell of the family that remains. With some help from her ballet instructor and the urging of her father she finds herself at her dream ballet school in San Francisco all the way across the country from her shattered family. years pass and Esme dances on, using her art to process her grief. Eight years after the disappearance Esme is dancing in Paris when she receives a phone call from her big sister, a phone call that will change everything.

There was an air of grace to the story that was magnified by the ballet. Esme was such a likable and sympathetic character. Miss Fields did a wonderful job of grasping a Childs perspective, a child’s grief and guilt over a sibling going missing. Esme’s guilt and grief were palpable and present on every page. There was an authenticity to the story that made it shine. How does a family move on when their light is gone? Compelling and moving, absolutely recommend!

*** Many thanks to Lake Union for my copy of this book ***

About the Book

A harrowing debut novel of a tragic disappearance and one sister’s journey through the trauma that has shaped her life.
For eleven-year-old Esme, ballet is everything – until her four-year-old sister, Lily, vanishes without a trace and nothing is certain anymore. People Esme has known her whole life suddenly become suspects, each new one hitting closer to home than the last.
Unable to cope, Esme escapes the nightmare that is her new reality when she receives an invitation to join an elite ballet academy in San Francisco. Desperate to leave behind her chaotic, broken family and the mystery surrounding Lily’s disappearance, Esme accepts.
Eight years later, Esme is up for her big break: her first principal role in Paris. But a call from her older sister shatters the protective world she has built for herself, forcing her to revisit the tragedy she’s run from for so long. Will her family finally have the answers they’ve been waiting for? And can Esme confront the pain that shaped her childhood, or will the darkness follow her into the spotlight?

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Berit☀️✨

In the Blink of an Eye by Jesse Blackadder @jesseblackadder @StMartinsPress #bookreview #intheblinkofaneye

Happy Monday bibliophiles!

Delighted to share with you today my review for this emotional story guaranteed to pull at your heartstrings!💔

My Thoughts

A beautifully told compelling story packed with emotion, grief, and hope!

Jesse Blackadder has poured her heart and emotion onto the pages of this book. This is a heart wrenching tale about one family’s tragedy and how they pick up the pieces of their lives after. All it takes is a few seconds, the blink of an eye, for everything to change.

Finn, Bridget and their two sons have just moved from a frigid climate to the warm sunshine, hoping to revitalize their family. Bridget is the family breadwinner, working at her dream job studying koalas. Finn is the main caretaker and an artist working at home. Jarrah is 16 and struggling to find his place at his new school, he is also a wonderful big brother to two-year-old Toby. One day the family’s normal routine is altered, People are distracted, heads are turned, and tragedy strikes. What transpires after the tragedy is finger-pointing, blame, accusations, grief, and ultimately forgiveness. Can a family find their way back to one another after they have been completely shattered?

This book will pull at your heartstrings and leave you emotionally wrecked! Told from the alternating perspectives of Finn, Bridget, and Jarrah. We really got to see three people grieving in their own way, what this really impressed upon me was that there is no right or wrong way to grieve. Bridget’s perspective was told in second person, I found this jarring but impactful. As a mother I really felt as though I was grieving right alongside Bridget. Although I have to say I felt tremendously for Jarrah, his despair was so deep and his grief so palpable.

An exquisitely told evocative story that will break your heart and then mend it back together! Absolutely recommend!

*** many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for my copy of this book ***

About the Book

In the Blink of an Eye is award-winning author Jesse Blackadder’s deeply emotional drama that explores a family’s path to forgiveness and redemption in the aftermath of a tragedy. 
The Brennans – parents, Finn and Bridget, and their sons, Jarrah and Toby – have made a sea change, from chilly Hobart, Tasmania, to subtropical Murwillumbah, New South Wales. Feeling like foreigners in this land of sun and surf, they’re still adjusting to work, school, and life in a sprawling purple clapboard house, when one morning, tragedy strikes. 
In the devastating aftermath, the questions fly. What really happened? And who’s to blame? Determined to protect his family, Finn finds himself under the police and media spotlight. Guilty and enraged, Bridget spends nights hunting answers in the last place imaginable. Jarrah – his innocence lost – faces a sudden and frightening adulthood where nothing is certain. 
In the Blink of an Eye is a haunting, redemptive story about forgiveness and hope.  
“Intimate, raw and beautiful.” (Bryan Reardon, New York Times best-selling author of Finding Jake) 
“A captivating, visceral, beautifully written story…. The characters were so real and relatable that I was riveted.” (Robyn Harding, international best-selling author of The Party)

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Berit☀️✨