Letting You Go by Anouska Knight

Letting You Go
By Anouska Knight
Published by Mira (10 September 2015)
ISBN: 978-1848454262

Publisher's description

Alex Foster lives a quiet life, avoiding the home she hasn’t visited in eight years. Then her sister Jaime calls. Their mother is sick, and Alex must return. Suddenly she’s plunged back into the past she’s been trying to escape.

Returning to her hometown, memories of the tragic accident that has haunted her and her family are impossible to ignore. Alex still blames herself for what happened to her brother and it’s soon clear that her father holds her responsible too. As Alex struggles to cope, can she ever escape the ghosts of the past?

My verdict
Letting You Go is a book filled with family secrets, love and romance, regrets and feuds.

A tragic accident tore Alex Foster's family apart when she was a teenager. She left the family home soon afterwards, cutting herself off from her family and Finn, the love of her life. But now that her mother is ill, she is forced to return home and come to terms with her guilt. But is she really the one who needs the forgiveness?

It took me a little while to get into this book but then I couldn't put it down. It's well written and easy to read. I think it just took a little while to engage with Alex at first, but her character developed as the book progressed. It reads as chick lit, but the story itself is darker and more in-depth.

Letting You Go is a very moving book and I did shed a few tears at the end.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Talk of the Toun by Helen MacKinven

Talk of the Toun

By Helen MacKinven

Published by Thunderpoint Publishing (29 October 2015)

ISBN: 978-0992976873

Publisher's description

Lifelong friends Angela and Lorraine are two very different girls, with a growing divide in their aspirations and ambitions putting their friendship under increasing strain.
Artistically gifted Angela has her sights set on art school, but lassies like Angela, from a small town council scheme, are expected to settle for a nice wee secretarial job at the local factory. Her only ally is her gallus gran, Senga, the pet psychic, who firmly believes that her granddaughter can be whatever she wants.
Though Lorraine’s ambitions are focused closer to home Angela has plans for her too, and a caravan holiday to Filey with Angela’s family tests the dynamics of their relationship and has lifelong consequences for them both.

My verdict

Talk of the Toun transported me back to the 1980s, reminding me of my own teenage years.

This is a story of Scottish working class families in 1985. It's a coming of age novel - how children's friendships change over the years and teenage girls grow up.

Angela and Lorraine have been friends since early childhood, although they come from two very different social backgrounds. Angela has always seen herself as Lorraine's protector, but now the girls are 17 and Lorraine is maturing at a faster rate than her friend. As school, boys and families exert different pressures on their lives, Angela is struggling to accept that the two friends are going in different directions. And she has yet to discover that she relies on her friend far more than she realises.

Talk of the Toun is a great laugh and fun to read, yet it also covers more serious underlying social issues. I found it easy to respond to the characters, and there are some very observant (and often hilarious) descriptions of people and places. I loved reminiscing about the 1980s clothes, hair, music and teenage lifestyle…

The book made me laugh and cry. And it's definitely one to remember.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Rules For Thursday Lovers by Yana Stajno

Rules For Thursday Lovers
By Yana Stajno
Published by Clink Street Publishing (16 July 2015)
ISBN: 978-1910782125

Publisher's description
When old school friends, Angie and Fiona, bump into one another at a rather drunken timeshare event aboard a barge on the river Thames, their reunion will prove to be auspicious. Bored with her life, Fiona insists they both need some excitement. Their marriages have grown stale; their previous hopes and dreams confined to the top shelf, just out of reach. Both women crave romance, not a timeshare apartment. Timesharing a lover; now that would be interesting... Auditions are swiftly convened at London Zoo, with hopefuls including a language student, an opera singer and a pickpocket. Their advert also falls into the hands of a young lawyer called Jake, a colleague of Angie's solicitor husband on a sperm-ownership case. To make sure they each play fair, the women create a list of rules by which they will court and enjoy a man of their mutual choosing. But when has love ever been fair, especially amongst friends?

My verdict
Rules For Thursday Lovers is a humorous story about two middle-aged women who want to liven up their seemingly boring lives.

When old school friends Angie and Fiona meet at a timeshare holiday event, they decide that they need some fun. Rather than take up a new hobby, the two married women rent an apartment and advertise for a timeshare lover. But obviously not everything goes to plan, as the women struggle to find a lover that they can easily share. A series of disasters lead Angie and Fiona to learn a lot about themselves, their lives and about their loved ones.

Rules For Thursday Lovers reminded me of a Carry On film. It's a bit predictable in places but this just seemed to add to the entertainment. I was surprised that Angie agreed to Fiona's idea in the first place, as the women hadn't seen each other for years and Angie didn't seem like a naturally adventurous person. She certainly surprised me bwith her enthusiasm.

Some of the subplots weren't always easy to follow and seemed to go a little off tangent until the end, when everything came together. Overall this is a funny and entertaining slightly off-beat book.

I received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Stirred With Love by Marcie Steele

Stirred With Love
By Marcie Steele
Published by Bookouture (3 September 2015)
ISBN: 978-1910751381

Publisher's description

Sometimes the best friends can be found where you least expect them …

Still grieving after the loss of her beloved husband, Lily Mortimer is determined to do something with the time she has left.

After the end of her fairytale marriage, thirty-something Kate is trying hard to mend her broken heart.

Chloe, a young woman with the world at her feet, is struggling to know what to do with her life.

When Lily embarks on a new venture in the picturesque town of Somerley, the three women come together to open The Coffee Stop, the most charming café for miles around.

But opening a coffee shop is never as simple as it seems, especially when you add neighbouring competition, local heart throbs and heartbreak to the mix.

When tragedy strikes, can the three women pull together to make the new business fly, or will Lily’s last chance disappear down the drain along with yesterday’s coffee grinds?

My verdict
Marcie Steele is actually the lighter floaty romantic alter ego of author Mel Sherratt, who is well known for her gritty realistic crime novels. So I knew this book would be well written and well plotted before I started. I just wasn't sure how much I would like it, as I don't always enjoy chick lit these days. But I discovered that Stirred With Love provided a lovely relaxing break from all the crime/thrillers I usually read.

The story flows well, with snappy dialogue and a fast-paced plot. It focuses on three very different women, Lily, Kate and Chloe, all of whom have life-changing decisions to make. Kate and Chloe are brought together by Lily, who wants to reopen her café as a coffee shop.

As expected with chick lit novels, there are disasters, romances and adventures along the way. The book is warm and humorous and a lovely holiday read.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey

Letters to the Lost
By Iona Grey
Published by Simon and Schuster (23 April 2015)
ISBN: 978-1471139826

Publisher's description

1943, in the ruins of Blitzed London…

Stella Thorne and Dan Rosinski meet by chance and fall in love by accident. Theirs is a reluctant, unstoppable affair in which all the odds are stacked against them: she is newly married, and he is an American bomber pilot whose chance of survival is just one in five.

… He promised to love her forever

Sixty years later Dan makes one final attempt to find the girl he has never forgotten, and sends a letter to the house where they shared a brief yet perfect happiness. But Stella has gone, and the letter is opened by Jess, a young girl hiding from problems of her own. And as Jess reads Dan's words, she is captivated by the story of a love affair that burned so bright and dimmed too soon. Can she help Dan find Stella before it is too late?

Now forever is finally running out.

My verdict
Letters to the Lost had me captivated from the start. This wasn't just because it was a lovely story, but also because the narrative flowed so easily.

Late one evening, Jess escapes her abusive boyfriend to take refuge in an abandoned house. Injured and feverish, she doesn't dare to leave, concerned that her (ex)boyfriend will find her. A few days later, a letter arrives, written by 90-year-old American Dan Rosinski to Stella, his lost love and the original owner of the house. Dan is dying and is determined to find Stella before it's too late. Jess soon discovers a box filled with letters written by Dan, who was an American bomber pilot during World War 2. As she reads on, she becomes determined to track down Stella, but has little to go on.

This is a dual-narrative story of lost love, forbidden love and developing love. It's beautifully-written and the switching between the present day and the 1940s works really well. Although the book is over 500 pages, it certainly didn't feel like it. I read it in just two sittings as I couldn't put it down.

I received an Advance Reader Copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.