Reviews | But I Smile Anyway...

Book and a Brew with Ritu – by Val Penny @valeriepenny @spellbound #NewRelease

16 May 2023 10 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Book and a brew with Ritu, New Release, The First Cut, Val Penny

Looks like this is a Tuesday thing now!!

Today, I am hosting prolific Crime writer and fellow Spellbound author, Val Penny, about her latest release, The First Cut!

Hello, and welcome to But I Smile Anyway, Val! Now, the first thing we do is get the drinks sorted.

Thank you so much for inviting me along, Ritu. It is always lovely to chat with you.

What is your beverage of choice? I know you have a Friday evening drink open on your Facebook page, but since it’s a little early, I was leaning more towards the hot kind!Coffee, tea, hot chocolate? I have green teas, too, or maybe you’d like to sample a masala chai from me?

I agree. I’d love a cup of Earl Grey tea, no milk, I’m a cheap date!

No problem at all!

And of course there will be nibbles. I have shortbread (a nod to your Scottish connection!) or we could do some samosas?

Why not start with the samosas and have shortbread afterwards, if it’s not too much trouble.

Sounds like a plan Val!

I always love to find out more about where a fellow author’s journey started. When did you realise you wanted to write, and how was your journey to becoming a published author?

I have been writing and telling stories all my life. When I was a child, I used to make up stories for my little sister after our Mum put the light out and told us to go to sleep. Later, I wrote documents, contracts, and courses as part of my job, but my time was well accounted for, so I did not create any fiction.

However, I took early retirement when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and there were times when I suffered severe side effects from my treatment. I could not go out, spend time with friends or indulge in many of my favourite hobbies, but watching daytime television got very old very fast, so I turned to reading. It was the only thing I had the energy to do and could do safely.

After a while, I began to feel a little better and I complained to my long-suffering husband about getting bored. It was then he challenged me: ‘If you know so much about what makes a good book, why don’t you write one?’ I did laugh. However, the challenge set, I have been writing police procedural crime thrillers set in Scotland ever since.

At present, you are a new to me author, (I have yet to delve into your books, but they are on my TBR pile!) but you have several other books out there. Could you tell us a little about your interest in crime thrillers?

I read voraciously; I always have. (Me, too!) I particularly enjoy reading crime fiction and thrillers. I indulged this interest with many novels, including those by Peter Robinson, Ian Rankin, Linwood Barclay and Joan Livingston. I decided to write the kind of book that I like to read, and so I write crime thrillers.

And do you have a favourite out of all your published books so far?

I dedicated my first novel, Hunter’s Chase to my mother. It always amused me when she read the second novel, Hunter’s Revenge and said, ‘Your first book was fine dear, but this one is so much better!’ However, for me, my favourite book is always the one I am working on at present. I am writing short stories for a collection to be published towards the end of this year. It is a lot of fun.

Fantastic! I have a set of uncompleted stories that, one day I would love to be made into picture books!

I always ask this one, but could you tell me where you like to write? Do you have a writing room/desk, or are you a writer who likes to take their laptop/notepad out and about?

I have a little writing desk in one of our extra bedrooms. I call it my writing nook. It’s not fancy, but I can really get into my flow there (but if we have visitors, it can revert to a guest bedroom). Do you have a special writing room, Ritu?

Oh, my readers here know this already, but yes, I do have my own writing room ever since we moved into our new home two years ago. In fact, it should have been my Hubby’s home office, and I had a smaller box room pencilled in as my room, but due to technical difficulties, he ended up down there, and I now have this gorgeous L-shaped room, with its own en-suite, too! I have. a little reading nook with an armchair, as well as my desk, and all my bookshelves, as well as a little open space where I can dance around like a loony if I wish!

Have you ever written a book you feel will never see the light of day? I know I have a few half-written ideas, but nothing I finished completely, then set to one side!

No. I have a few pieces of flash fiction, short stories and poems still looking for homes, but I’m quite disciplined with my novels, I write them until they are finished (and then edit the hell out of them!). Do you ever look through your partly finished novels and use them, or part of them?

The pieces I have sketched out or started writing are very different to the current stories I am writing, so I can’t use them as such, but I do continue to jot ideas down for them, too, as one day, they will get completed!

Now, I invited you over to have a little chat about your newest release, The First Cut. The first in a new Scottish crime series. Tell me a bit about your inspiration behind this particular series.

Jane Renwick appears in my original series of crime novels, The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries but the main character is Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson. However, I really liked Jane, so when I decided to write a new series, there was no competition about who my new main character should be. I had created an interesting back story for Jane Renwick. She grew up in care and struggled against the odds to achieve her ambition of joining the police force, but she did manage to do this and is now a respected police detective in the Major Incident Team (MIT).

However, Jane has not been able to marry. She lives with her civil partner, Rachael Anderson, who is also a detective on the force. The First Cut is set in 2014 and marriage for the LGBTQ community did not become legal in Scotland until 2016. Maybe Jane and Rachael will marry in the future.

It’s great to have a female protagonist, in DS Jane Renwick, and one championing the LGBTQ community, at that!. Have you ever wanted to be involved in investigations like the ones you write about?

Gosh no! I’d run a mile rather than be involved in the day-to-day trials of police work. I don’t think I’m brave enough nor organised enough. I leave all that to Hunter, Jane and their teams.

However, something quite exciting has happened for Jane. I have been contacted by a TV scout who is putting together a list of authors whose books would be suitable for a new crime drama. The difference is that instead of making an executive decision they are having a public vote! Each person who registers with them will have 5 free votes. Voting starts 15 May and I’d really appreciate your and your readers votes. https://booksoffice.com/voting-guidelines-for-readers.

Now that is exciting! Please Peeps, head on over in a couple days and give Val’s idea a vote!

And, as a sneak preview to my readers, what is coming next from you? Will it be the second in this thriller series?

Just now I am writing the second book in my Jane Renwick Thriller series, A Fighting Chance. It will be published next year, and I hope the readers will enjoy it.

Oh, I am sure all your readers will be chomping at the bit for the next Jane Renwick book!

Thank you so much for visiting, Val. I’ve enjoyed learning a bit more about you!

Thank you for having me, Ritu.

My pleasure 😊 Wishing this, and all your future releases much success, Val!

So, you have a fantastic book to read, my Peeps, and a second one following it, soon, too!

Now here is the blurb to whet your appetites! It sounds pretty good!

The Blurb

It’s hard to escape a brutal past.

A vicious killer is on the loose and victims include an academic and members of Edinburgh’s high society.

DS Jane Renwick is banished to the side-lines of the case and forced to look on impotently when the hunt for the killer ramps up, because the Murder Investigation Team finds out that the killer is her relative.

Has someone from Jane’s birth family returned to haunt her? Is one of her relatives be involved? Where will the killer strike next?

This gripping police procedural is set in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The exciting novel is the first in Val Penny’s new series of Scottish thrillers.

Hunter’s Chase – https://geni.us/ic7r

Hunter’s Revenge – https://geni.us/a13c

Hunter’s Force – https://geni.us/f5eJb

The First Cut – https://linktr.ee/spellboundbks

Author Biography

Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.

Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.

www.valpenny.com

https://www.facebook.com/Authorvalpenny

www.facebook.com/valerie.penny.739

www.facebook.com/groups/296295777444303

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17300087.Val_Penny

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/val-penny

Twitter: @valeriepenny

Book and a Brew with Ritu – I Love you Always Forever by @CharlieADean #NewRelease #BookReview #Book&ABrew

09 May 2023 12 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Book and a brew with Ritu, Book Review, Charlie Dean, Charliea Dean, Florence Keeling, I Love You Always Forever, New Release

We’re on a roll with these Book & A Brew posts!

Today, I am extremely excited to welcome Charlie Dean, another author friend who I connected with on Twitter and the Facebook Chick Lit and Prosecco, to chat about her newest release, I Love You Always Forever.

Charlie is an amazingly talented author with several pen names under her belt. Where Charlie Dean writes stories with a bit of a spice level to them, Florence Keeling writes Women’s Fiction, and Lily Mae Walters is her alter-ego who writes children’s books.

Hello, and welcome to But I Smile Anyway, Charlie! Now, the first thing we do is get the drinks sorted.

We’ve got pretty much anything you’d like, from all manner of coffees (from my trusty Tassimo) to hot chocolate, or tea. And I can brew up a proper masala chai, if you feel brave enough.

I was going to fry up some samosas, if you want to sample, or there are always biscuits, and I am known to make a super shortbread cookie…

It’s always tea and biscuits for me, especially a nice shortbread.

Perfect! That means I don’t need to turn on the oil to deep fry!

I always love to find out more about where a fellow author’s journey started. When did you realise you wanted to write, and how was your journey to becoming a published author?

I always wrote from a young age, poetry, short stories etc…used to write lots involving Take That and New Kids when I was a teenager. Then I left school, started work, got married, had children and it took a back seat. Around 2015/6 a story started to whirl in my head about a WW2 soldier and a magic mirror. In March 2016, my father who had dementia was taken into care and writing became a therapy for me and the book now known as Please Remember Me was born. It was picked up by a small American publisher, and I haven’t looked back.

I have this one on my TBR trolley (🙈 I won it in a giveaway from you, but that is one I still haven’t read. I will do, though!) I know what you mean about life getting in the way, though, as I started my first book in 2000, and after marriage, kids, etc., it didn’t get a look in until around 2016 and I didn’t finish that first draft until 2018!

I like to ask this one, because I’m a nosy so and so, but could you tell me where you like to write? Do you have a writing room/desk, or are you a writer who likes to take their laptop/notepad out and about?

I’m currently on the lookout for one of those old writing bureaus so I can finally make a writing space in the back room. So far all my books have been written sitting on my sofa with my laptop. My phone notes are full of ideas, last lines, first lines etc…

I used to have a writing bureau when I was a teen in my bedroom! It was a mahogany finish (not real antique!) one with a pull-down desk area, lots of nooks and crannies for stationery and a cupboard at the bottom. At the time, I moved out, my parents held on to it, and it was only a couple of years ago that they gave it away. I know it wouldn’t fit the decor of my home, now, but I wish we had found a space for it, here! But many stories were penned, sitting at that desk, as I grew up, dreaming of becoming a writer…

Now, have you ever written a book that you feel will never see the light of day? I know I have a few half-written ideas, but nothing I finished, completely, then set to one side!

Like you, I’ve got many WIPs and half-finished, but all my completed novels have been published either traditionally or self-published. I don’t think I could bear to have a finished story not out in the world.

And, do you have a favourite out of the books you have published so far?

Up until I wrote I Love You, Always, Forever…I would have said Love, Lies and Family Ties, but now it’s I Love You. I enjoyed writing it so much. Going back to my teenage years in the 90s was just an absolute blast.

I loved that, too. Reminiscing about my own teenage years in the 90s…

I’ve read a couple of your books under Florence Keeling, which I loved. Why the change to Charlie Dean?

Because I Love You is written in the first person, plus it’s very different to my usual writing and a little spicier in places, I felt it needed a different name to differentiate from the Florence books.

Now, I invited you over to have a little chat about your latest release under Charlie Dean, I Love You, Aways, Forever. What a gush of nostalgia I felt, reading it, since the main character, Charlie, was in sixth form, around the time I would have been there, listening to the music she was, and being rather shy. Then the parallel storyline of the present, with Charlie as a middle-aged woman. Well, there was plenty there to make me feel seen, too! Tell me more about your inspiration for the book.

It’s a little bit of me and a whole lot of fiction wrapped up in a 90s mix tape. It was written last summer as I came to terms with my mum’s own cancer battle, as does Charlie, and it helped me immensely. Much like Please Remember Me helped me cope with my father’s dementia, this book helped me cope with my mum’s cancer.

Writing can be so therapeutic, I agree. 🤗

What is it about the 90s that brings back such memories?

I’m a 70s baby, 80s kid and 90s teenager. There was just something so wonderful about those eras. The dodgy clothes and haircuts and thankfully no social media to document for the rest of eternity. I was very fortunate to have a loving family and a small close-knit group of friends who I’m still besties with today.

We are of the same ilk, you and me, born in the same era, with similar experiences. (Though mine are peppered with more masala since I have the Indian thing to add, too! 😜)

And, you must tell me, is there more in the pipeline from Charlie Dean? Any little tidbits I can share with my readers?

I’m currently working on a series of Rom-Coms under Charlie Dean, slightly spicy all with some kind of deal or pact going on. Things like jealousy pacts, childhood pacts, fake dating, those kinds of things. There will be one out this September, a lovely autumnal romance and fingers crossed, four next year, one for each season. I’m also hoping to get the third in my children’s fantasy adventure series Josie James and The Trail of Ages out this autumn and the second in my magic academy chapter book.

Harking back to the 90s, I loved Christian Slater, especially in the Heathers film. Hence one of the characters in the book being Christian Sawyer (Veronica Sawyer in the film) and using the surname of Dean as my pen name after the Jason Dean character in the film. I used Charlotte/Charlie as this was what I would have been christened if not my original name.

So much for us to get excited about, Peeps! Watch this space for more mildly spicy rom-com fiction from Charlie!

Thank you so much for inviting me, Ritu xxx

It was a pleasure to have you over. 😊

Peeps, you can read the blurb for I Love You, Always, Forever and my review below!

Purchase links follow.

The Blurb

Life is full of highs and lows, but it’s who helps us through that counts.

Stumbling across her teenage diaries in her childhood home, Charlie is instantly transported to the 1990s.

She relives all the emotions and feelings as memories come flooding back, from first kiss to first love and everything in between.

Back in the present and Charlie discovers that even in the darkest of times, light and laughter can ALWAYS be found.

A heartfelt journey through life, from teenage angst to the trials and tribulations of adulthood. Family, friendship and romance weave throughout but who will love you, always, forever?

BuyI Love You Always Forever HERE!

My Review

I Love You, Always, Forever by Charlie Dean

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, what a rollercoaster of emotion this book put me through!
Not least because there is sensitive subject matter but because of all the reminiscing I could do, thanks to the book’s timeframe.
The story is set in the now as an adult Charlie, the main character, is coming to terms with life as a middle-aged woman, and dealing with all that comes with it, including dealing with loss and illnesses of loved ones, as well as a dual timeline of the 90s when she is a student in 6th form (like me), shy, exploring different elements of her personality, and experimenting with a very special relationship.
I loved it because I lived with so many of these experiences as a teenager. The nostalgia I felt was unreal. And then the additional relatability of life as a middle-aged woman. It was just wonderfully written!
There is romance, budding and established, friendships, family and the awakening of sexual feelings. A bit steamy in places too, but honestly, I got all the feels, in a good way!

Author Bio

I was born in Coventry but now live in Nuneaton. I married the love of my life over 20 years ago and we have two almost grown-up children. We share our lives with two mad dogs as well.

Writing is a great passion of mine. I love creating stories and characters, they help me escape from the world for a while and I hope readers feel the same.

I am a huge fan of All Creatures Great and Small, Call the Midwife and Bridgerton. I love history and romance.

I also write for children as Lily Mae Walters, and women’s fiction as Florence Keeling

Connect with Charlie on Social Media here:

Twitter as Charlie Dean: https://twitter.com/CharlieADean

Twitter as Florence Keeling: https://twitter.com/keelingflorence

Twitter as Lily Mae Walters: https://twitter.com/LilyMaeWalters1

Facebook: fb.me/florencekeelin…

Tell Me How THis Ends by @JoLeevers #BlogTour #BookReview @fmcmassociates

02 May 2023 5 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blog Tour, Blogger, Blogging, Book Review, Jo Leevers, Tell Me How This Ends

Today I am bringing you a beautiful story written by Jo Leevers, Tell Me How This Ends.

The Blurb

Can Henrietta find out what happened to Annie’s sister—before it’s too late?

Haunted by the past, Henrietta throws herself into a new job transcribing other people’s life stories, vowing to stick to the facts and keep emotions at arm’s length. But when she meets the eccentric and terminally ill Annie, she finds herself inextricably drawn in. And when Annie reveals that her sister drowned in unexplained circumstances in 1974, Henrietta’s methodical mind can’t help following the story’s loose ends…

Unlike Henrietta, Annie is brimming with confidence—but even she has limits when it comes to opening up. Ever since that terrible night when her sister left a pile of clothes beside the canal and vanished, Annie has been afraid to look too closely into the murky depths of her memories. When her attempts to glide over the past come up against Henrietta’s determination to fill in the gaps, both women find themselves confronting truths they’d thought were buried forever—especially when Henrietta’s digging unearths a surprising emotional connection between them.

Could unlocking Annie’s story help Henrietta rewrite the most devastating passages in her own life? And, in return, can she offer Annie a final twist in the tale, before it’s too late?

My Review

Tell Me How This Ends by Jo Leevers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A book I found I wanted to get back to as soon as I was able, every time, I had to put it down.
Henrietta is a woman with a quirky personality. She sees things in very specific ways. When she get a job at a centre for the terminally ill, helping them to write their life stories, I wondered how she would cope with the sensitive nature of the job.
And there were a few hiccups.
But she meets her first candidate, Annie, and how the story unfolds, and their relationship develops is beautiful.
It is not straightforward at all, though.
Annie has secrets. She has also suffered heartache through family situations and in her marriage. But Henrietta has her own skeletons, too.
Some sensitive issues are dealt with throughout the book, and the story is told in an engaging manner.
It’s a centre for the terminally ill. There will be sadness, but there are spots of brightness which make the read so worthwhile.

About the Author

Jo Leevers grew up in London and has spent most of her career working on
magazines, most recently writing features about homes and interiors for
leading newspapers and magazines. This means she gets to visit people
around the country and ask them about all the things in their homes.
Some might call this a licence to be nosey…
Tell Me How This Ends is her debut. Whether writing fiction or interviewing
people for articles, she is fascinated by the life stories that we all carry
with us. She has two grown-up children and lives with her husband and
their wayward dog, Lottie, in Bristol.

April 2023 Books #AmReading

30 Apr 2023 14 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Am Reading, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Book Reviews, Goodreads, Netgalley, reading

I don’t think I will even comment on what ARCs I have because whenever I think I get to the end of my pile, another arrives! Still, I am not complaining. It means I have all the more books to share with you! But I hope you will be proud of me. I have also managed to read some already released books, too!

Her Fixer Upper: A brand new friends-to-lovers romance for 2023 by Emily Kerr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh my goodness, I LOVED this! I have read some other Emily Kerr books, so I knew I would enjoy this, but I sped through it, wanting to read every last word and to know exactly how things ended!
Freya and Charlie are childhood friends who have lost touch but meet again, by chance, in a pub.
And their fateful meeting couldn’t come at a better time, as both are trying to get on the property ladder, but neither is having any luck, what with the economy, and the state of most people’s finances, right now.
One thing leads to another, and the two friends find themselves celebrating their renewed friendship with the added golden handshake of a joint mortgage on a doozy of a fixer-upper!
I love property renovation, and I pictured Oak Tree Cottage as they gently rid it of its debris and began to make it a house worthy of living in.
And, more than the conversion of the house, I loved how the friendship between the two main characters began to morph, too.
Aided brilliantly by Arthur, Freya’s Grandfather, and her best friend, Leila, and not forgetting Ted, Aarthur’s dog, who ends up with them for a while, it was a pleasure to read the developments!
Hutch and Humph for life!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins, One More Chapter for an ARC.

Releasing 19th May, 2023

I Love You, Always, Forever by Charlie Dean
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, what a rollercoaster of emotion this book put me through!
Not least because there is sensitive subject matter but because of all the reminiscing I could do, thanks to the book’s timeframe.
The story is set in the now, as an adult Charlie, the main character, is coming to terms with life as a middle-aged woman, and dealing with all that comes with it, including dealing with loss and illnesses of loved ones, as well as a dual timeline of the 90s when she is a student in 6th form (like me), shy, exploring different elements of her personality, and experimenting with a very special relationship.
I loved it because I lived with so many of these experiences as a teenager. The nostalgia I felt was unreal. And then the additional relatability of life as a middle-aged woman. It was just wonderfully written!
There is romance, budding and established, friendships, family and the awakening of sexual feelings. A bit steamy in places too, but honestly, I got all the feels, in a good way!

The one that he wants: A gorgeous and exciting, enemies to lovers romance to escape with. by Lizzie Chantree
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was absolutely into Cherry Blossom Lane with book 1, so I couldn’t wait to be reunited with the characters and learn more about what was happening with Sasha this time!
And Lizzie Chantree did not disappoint.
It was wonderful to see Poppy again, follow the lead-up to her wedding, and watch with intrigue the development of Sasha’s self-confidence and her romantic life.
Ollie is the Taylor brother in the picture this time round, and he is certainly a complex character.
There were plenty of ‘Will they? Won’t they?’ moments as different characters introduced themselves as prospective spanners in the works!
I love how the intrigue has been built for the next book… And cannot wait for it to be out!

Hopeful Hearts at the Cornish Cove by Kim Nash
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It’s been a while since I stepped into the gorgeous worlds created by Kim Nash and her characters, and I truly enjoyed this foray to the Cornish coast!
Meredith made a bit of a drunken decision to purchase a lighthouse, miles away from the rest of her life, to have a fresh start, a project and to put some distance between her and her old life that, apart from her best friend, seemed to have begun to stagnate.
Well, what can I say? There are always dubious purchases made with the aid of alcohol when you aren’t feeling yourself, and when she arrives at her new, unviewed, apart from some stylised photos, home, she is in for a shock.
And the shocks don’t start there, but at the local supermarket, where she encounters rude locals that get her back up from the off.
I will not go into the story, as what would be the point of you reading it if I was just to regurgitate it here, but I will say that you won’t want to put it down once you start reading!
Meredith is a character who will resonate with many women, especially those of a certain age. She had a fire in her belly that was dampened by her previous life, but the sea and sea air might have just reignited it rather than put it out completely!
There are many characters to keep you wanting to read, not least Vi, who I think is an amazing woman. What a character! And her dog, Gladys, is just adorable!
Meredith has old friends, but the new ones she makes as she begins what feels like a thankless task of renovating and restoring her purchase are a choice bunch.
But there are always that core of locals who ‘hate’ newcomers. She has her work cut out, I’ll tell you.
And, of course, there’s Clem… A brooding, moody man who ends up rather helpful in many ways. But will he be the one who helps her realise she is not just a middle-aged woman undeserving of a fresh start romantically as well as generally?
The restoration of the lighthouse was fascinating to read about, too, and just reading the descriptions makes me want to go and stay in one right now!
A wonderful read from start to finish!

A Summer on the Riviera: a gorgeously heartwarming and escapist summer read of friendship, forbidden love and family secrets by Rachel Barnett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Definitely, an easy read for the coming summer!
Bella, the MC, has found herself the perfect summer job, as the first stewardess on a super yacht, using all the hospitality skills she has learned over the years working in hotels and restaurants, except she forgot that it is on a boat for the whole summer. And she gets travel sick! Oops!
First hurdle.
The second one is her roomie for the duration, who seems rather miffed at this newbie coming in and taking the position on the boat that she had hoped for.
Third, the first guests she has to host include a famous actress and her extremely tasty nephew.
And she CANNOT get involved… Can she?
This was an easy book to get into, with a good solid boy-meets-girl romance and several twists and turns along the way.
I can tell you that there was a moment towards the end before the climax when I literally held my breath, thinking that things might not work out…
So good!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books for an ARC.

Releasing 2nd May, 2023

Borrowed Time by Kay Bratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kay Bratt has wowed me again with this fantastic addition to the Hart’s Ridge series!
We meet Taylor Grey again in her role as a small-town cop, dealing with another heinous crime, this time against a very close friend of hers, Sissy, who has gone missing.
Aside from the investigation, we get to meet another of Taylor’s sisters, Anna, in more detail. Anna is the one who has remained rather aloof through the series, having married well and living in an affluent part of the town, with an Instagram-perfect kind of life.
Until it begins to crumble.
The sisters continue to build their support network together, and it is a joy to read about how their mother, Cate, is faring.
Obviously, there is Diesel, the dog, and several others that join the cast, sure to have starring roles in future stories!
So much happens in this book, and Kay touches upon many topics, such as suicidal thoughts and IDV, sensitively.
There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the book, which I have come to expect from the Hart’s Ridge Series, and the hint of what is to come in book 5, Instant Karma, makes me even more impatient as I wait for its release!
Thank you to Kay Bratt and the publishers for an ARC.

The Bay of Lost Souls: A Beautiful, Uplifting, Perfect Summer Read. by Kiltie Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, Kiltie Jackson. Well, you’ve done it again, haven’t you?
This is the third of your books I have read so far, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Each one I have read has a slightly different genre, and each has its own beauty.The Bay of Lost Souls centres around Perrie, a woman who is running from something to the isolated Broatiescombe Bay to be alone and come to terms with her life.
Morgan is a single father to one gorgeous little girl, Daisy, who has his own tragedy to overcome.
Fate rolls them into one another (literally), and the beauty of the bay, and a little girl obsessed with Disney princess Merida, try their hardest to seal the deal.
Thing is, nothing is ever what it seems.
I loved the bay and the little cottage Perrie moves into for her stay and her cats, Timothy and George. What a pair of characters!
All the book’s characters are believable, real souls to whom you can relate.
Daisy was a firm favourite, too, as a feisty little pre-schooler who knows what she wants.
The secret Perrie carries is a big twist and causes all manner of drama, as it should, but everything is revealed and handled in an extremely sensitive manner.
A love story with secrets, twists and turns, and adventure, too.
Definitely worth a read.

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After reading and thoroughly enjoying Ask Again, Yes, by Mary Beth Keane, I was excited to delve into another of her books.
The Half Moon centres around a bar named The Half Moon and a short period of time during which the owners, Malcolm and Jess, are going through their own marital struggles.
It’s that time-old tragedy of the threat of infertility taking its toll on a relationship.
Coupled with a little disappearing person case.
I found it a little tough to get into if I am honest. The same emotions that I felt reading Ask weren’t awakened.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Michael Joseph and Penguin Randon House for an ARC.

Releasing 13th July, 2023

Wish Upon a Cornish Moon by Amanda James
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, What a beautiful story!
I will probably end up gushing about this story to more than one person because I loved it that much!
This story spans several eras through two families, but they are all connected by a thread: the power of the moon and a belief in magic.
During and after WW2, Lamorna, and later on, her sister Morwenna, follow an old folk tale known in their community, harnessing the magic of the moon and a particular cove near where they live, in Cornwall, to launch their wishes for a love of their own, using a short incantation, and a message in a bottle.
In the present day, Merrin is not very easily adjusting to her life as a newly divorced mother to a teenager who is due to spread her wings and leave the family nest, too.
Fate brings her in touch with Morwenna, a lonely elderly lady who lives locally and shares the moon’s secret with her.
And the way everything falls into place is just beautifully planned.
I don’t want to go too far into it, but I can say that it is a gorgeous story filled with – fate, or maybe it really is magic.
I loved all the characters, and honestly, if I weren’t happily settled down, I’d be ready to rush to that cove and take a punt on a message in a bottle, helping me with my own future!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins, One More Chapter for an ARC.

Releasing 5th May, 2023

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, what a gorgeous read!
Mukesh is grieving the loss of his wife.
Aleisha is stuck in a dead-end summer job before returning to Sixth Form in September.
Neither of them enjoys reading.
Then, a twist of fate, and a certain list, throw them together to forge an unlikely friendship as they learn to love books and the messages they can give.
I was invested from the off with the elderly Mukesh. His unexpected transformation regarding reading is sparked by his trying to keep a closeness to Naina, his wife, who loved her books, and the library.
And Aleisha, as a young adult, just needs a simple job since she is helping her brother care for her mother. Books take on a different meaning, allowing her to accept life and see situations through different eyes.
Of course, the selection of books on that reading list was brilliant, too.
A must-read for book lovers and one for non-readers, too. Who knows, it might spur you on to read something different.

Poetry Treasures 3: Passions by Kaye Lynne Booth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another beautiful poetry anthology featuring some familiar names and some new-to-me poets.
Kaye Lynne Booth has collated a fantastic selection of poems centring around Passions, and some of these verses really tug at your heartstrings.
Robbie Cheadle, with her verses relating to family and illnesses and Willow Willers, exploring her passions and the feelings passion can encourage, had me speeding through the book.
Colleen Chesebro and D. Wallace Peach also feature in this fantastic collection, with examples of their evocative poetry.

The Twilight Garden: Escape with the life-affirming, uplifting new novel for 2023 from acclaimed author of The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved The Reading List, so when I heard that there was a second book from Sara Nisha Adams, I was thrilled, and, having read it, I was not disappointed at all.
Winston lives in a rented house with his partner Lewis. They have a huge garden that is shared with their neighbouring house, which has been empty since they lived there. The garden is overgrown but a solace to him as he ponders his life, not quite what his parents envisaged when they sent him to London from India.
Then one day, they have new neighbours: Beatrice and her young son, Seb. Beatrice is a recently divorced woman, who wants the best for her child and is excited to have this home with a large garden for her child, only she isn’t quite sure of the shared part.
Animosity brews, and then a set of anonymous letters start to arrive, first for Winston, then for Beatrice, which causes a chain reaction that changes their lives in a huge way.
There is a dual timeline, showing the house’s history, with the POV of the previous residents, Maya and Alma, which gives the story a solid background.
I loved learning about Maya and her start in England and Alma, the grumpy neighbour who becomes family to Maya, her husband, Prem and their daughter.
The anonymous list/letter seems to be a device in both Adams’ books, and it has also been used well this time.
A crew of flawed characters who you come to care about.
A good read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for an ARC.

Releasing 8th June, 2023

Review to follow in a Book & A Brew post, soon! But, it’s ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

Releasing 1st May, 2023 Blog Tour post to follow!

The Coach Trip by Izzy Bromley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this read about a couple of younger women who end up on a coach trip, typically for the more mature holidaymaker.
Emma wants to give her best friend, Mel, a birthday to remember, but double books herself when she promises to go with her grandmother on a coach trip, originally booked as an anniversary present for her husband. Sadly, Grandad passed away before the trip, but Emma wants to make her grandma happy.
Emma and Mel end up on this coach trip with many preconceived ideas about older people, and it is a pleasure to see how these misconceptions are sh=mashed as the week-long trip progresses.
Getting old isn’t fun in many ways. It is often hard for the younger generation to sympathise with that old lady who takes so long to walk or the man who is holding up the supermarket checkout line…
This is a book that makes you rethink your ideas, and it definitely reinforced my already strong respect for the elderly.
And… Mel did have a great birthday too!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC.

Releasing 10th May, 2023

Releasing 23rd May, 2023 – Look out for my review and a Book & A Brew with Ritu Post around publication date! But, again, another ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read!

So, tell me what you have been reading and what caught your eye from the above!

Where Waters Meet by Zhang Ling #BlogTour #BookReview @FMcMAssociates @AmazonPub #InternationalFiction

30 Apr 2023 5 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blog Tour, Blogger, Blogging, Book Review, The Woman Beyond The Sea, Translated Fiction

Today I am bringing you a beautiful story written byZhang Ling, Where Waters Meet.

The Blurb

A daughter discovers the dramatic history that shaped her mother’s secret life in an emotional and immersive novel by Zhang Ling, the bestselling author of A Single Swallow.
There was rarely a time when Phoenix Yuan-Whyller’s mother, Rain, didn’t live with her. Even when Phoenix got married, Rain, who followed her from China to Toronto, came to share Phoenix’s life. Now at the age of eighty-three, Rain’s unexpected death ushers in a heartrending separation.
Struggling with the loss, Phoenix comes across her mother’s suitcase—a memory box Rain had brought from home. Inside, Phoenix finds two old photographs and a decorative bottle holding a crystallized powder. Her auntie Mei tells her these missing pieces of her mother’s early life can only be explained when they meet, and so, clutching her mother’s ashes, Phoenix boards a plane for China. What at first seems like a daughter’s quest to uncover a mother’s secrets becomes a startling journey of self-discovery.

Told across decades and continents, Zhang Ling’s exquisite novel is a tale
of extraordinary courage and survival. It illuminates the resilience of humanity, the brutalities of life, the secrets
we keep and those we share, and the driving forces it takes to survive.

My Review

Where Waters Meet by Zhang Ling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Where Waters Meet is a heartwrenching story about a daughter and her journey to discovering the truth about her mother’s life after her death.
Phoenix, or Yuan Feng, travels from Canada to China in search of answers and peace for her mother, Rain, or Chunyu, from the only living relative left on her mother’s side, her mother’s sister.
The novel is told in a bit of a disjointed manner, moving back and forward from the present to various times in the past.
It took me a while to realise that the ‘past’ chapters were based on a manuscript that Phoenix is writing and sending back to her husband, George, in Canada, about her mother’s life and her own.
Once I got into the swing of it, I was intrigued.
I wanted to know the secrets of Chunyu. I felt the trauma of a young woman during the war-torn era in China, with the communist regime, facing famine, with a young daughter and a husband who couldn’t help due to injuries while in service.
I feel like I wanted to know more from Phoenix about how she felt when hearing about the most shocking parts of her mother’s past, which is not revealed until the final quarter of the book, as it is not something any child would expect to hear.
But I was invested in the story and felt the raw emotion of adult Phoenix and the young Chunyu before she could leave China with her daughter.

About the Author

Zhang Ling is the award-winning author of nine novels and numerous collections of
novellas and short stories, including A Single Swallow, translated by Shelly Bryant;
Gold Mountain Blues; and Aftershock, which was adapted into China’s first IMAX
movie with unprecedented box-office success.
Born in China, she moved to Canada in 1986 and, in the mid-1990s, began to write
and publish fiction in Chinese while working as a clinical audiologist. Since then, she
has won the Chinese Media Literature Award for Author of the Year, the Grand Prize
of Overseas Chinese Literary Award, and China Times’s Open Book Award. Where
Waters Meet is her first novel written in English.