Em & Me by @BethMorrey #BlogTour #BookReview @harperfiction

I am thrilled to be a part of the blog tour for the wonderful book that is Em & Me, by Beth Morrey. I was asked to read an early arc, and now, on the release of this book, here I am, again, with all the blurb, and my own review, too!

First, the blurb…

You can’t change your past
But what comes next is up to you

That’s what life turns on, isn’t it? The choices and moments that change everything

Once upon a time, Delphine Jones had big dreams. Clever, beautiful and ambitious, she was going to get an education, travel the world, make her mark. But somewhere along the line, it all went wrong… Now Delphine is a struggling single mum, serving coffee for a living, fishing coins out the back of the sofa to make ends meet. All she wants is a safe place for her and her daughter Em, yet nothing she does makes a difference.

But there is one thing she never gave up: hope.

When a brief reprieve from her daily grind forces her to look outwards, she begins to remember who she is and what she’s capable of. Her world opens up, offering new opportunities, adventures – even love – if only she can put the past behind her.

Can hope bloom into something more for Delphine and Em?

And my review:

Okay, so, although it took me a little time to read, (life, not the book’s fault!) I truly loved this new release by Beth Morrey.
Delphine Jones is a relatively young woman, in her late twenties, already with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Having been a teen-mum, reeling from the loss of her beloved mother and caring for her grief-stricken father, as well as looking after her twelve-year-old daughter, life hasn’t dealt her the best cards, but she’s trying to make the most of it.
She keeps things afloat with a waitressing job and a long term cleaning gig for an old friend of her mother.
The thing is, there was always meant to be more to the life of Delphine Jones, or Fifi as her dad calls her.
This isn’t a romance, though there is so much love within the pages of this book.
I was immersed in the story of Delphine, as she slowly begins to bring back the unravelled threads of her former self, and starts to reach for the dreams she had all but given up on, in order to keep existing.
Fifi was a bright student with so much to look forward to until she fell pregnant at sixteen. Then all the confidence seemed to have been knocked out of her.
I loved how the different people around her built her up, in their own ways, so each part of her life starts to make sense.
Her ‘teacher’, Ros, who encourages her to study again.
Letty, her elderly French companion, who teaches her to take every opportunity while she can.
Dylan, who shows her she is not dead inside.
Sanjay (and Dylan, again) who brings music back into her life.
Her father, who finds his strength again, through her, then becomes her support.
Selassie and Abrihet, who take her into their little restaurant, and treat her like their own daughter, giving her encouragement, and nourishment she didn’t know she needed.
And Em. Beautiful Em Jo, her daughter, who is her whole reason for living and being.
A story filled with soul and hope.

About the Author

I’m a TV producer, but not the kind where you wear headsets and say ‘cut’. More like Alan Partridge pitching monkey tennis. I dream up ideas for TV programmes, pitch them to channels and mostly get roundly rejected. My working life is very W1A.

For a long time, I was Creative Director of Development at RDF Television, where I was involved in numerous productions – I helped create The Secret Life of Four Year Olds series on Channel 4 and devised 100-Year-Old Drivers for ITV. Now I am a freelance development producer, so if you need a treatment re-writing 33 times, or some research on Texas body farms, then do get in touch.

I’ve been trying to write a novel since my early 20s when I wrote a spin-off from Mary Poppins called Sister Suffragette, which was all about Winifred Banks’ adventures when she wasn’t at home singing. It’s probably for the best that it’s still in a drawer somewhere.

In my spare time, I enjoy running, cooking curries, admiring my dog everyday and Christmas once a year.