The Story Of Us by Dani Atkins ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the story of Emma who is about to get married to Richard.  On the way home from her hen do Emma and her two best friends are involved in a horrific car crash. This changes her life and leaves her with decisions to make.

This is one of those stories that starts at the end and then goes back and tells the story from the beginning. I found that I could not wait to pick the book up each night and get into the story. Then something changed for me. I did not want to pick it up anymore and I found myself delaying reading it.  The problem is with this book that after the first few chapters where all the action is, the story slows down dramatically and I just wanted to get to the ending. It was a shame really because it was not a bad story. The thing that saved this book for me and kept me reading was every so often the story went back to the ending again.  The author did an amazing job at giving a surprise ending, it was definitely not what I was expecting. In order to keep the ending as a surprise I think that the author either made an error with this book or just did not make something clear. I was a little confused. I don't want to say anymore because I don't want to give away the ending.

The biggest lie by Lisbeth Foye. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I  was kindly given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  This is the story of Lana. The book starts when she is 23 yrs old and spans around 40 years. The book mainly deals with an affair she embarks on with a married man she meets through work. I really could not connect with Lana at the start of the book. She makes herself out to be the victim and I felt that we were supposed to feel sorry for her. The character did grow on me later on in the book. The book is so much more than a book about an affair. As the book spans 40 years it deals with all the ups and downs of her life. The biggest problem that I had with the book was that there was far too much detail which could have very easily been cut out. This is a long book so any unnecessary detail which could have been cut outin my opinion should have. I did enjoy the story but it did not always hold my attention which was ashame.

Temorarily Employed by Vicki Batman ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was kindly given a copy of this book in exchange for a review.  This is the story of Hattie Cook who has fallen on hard times. She is coming home from an interview that she is convinced that she has messed up and gets stopped by the traffic police for having a missing taillight. She later realises that the policeman who pulled her over and gave her a ticket was Detective Allan Wellbourne the brother of her best friend. Out of desperation she takes a temporary job at Buy Rite insurance company because she now has a ticket to pay for as well as replacing the parts that have been stolen from her car.   Allan tries to help Hattie recover her stolen car parts and they become friends which quickly turns to romance.  When she starts her job at Buy Rite she uncovers an embezzeling scam and Allan reveals that he is investigating the death of the emloyee that Hattie has replaced at Buy Rite.

This book was not what I was expecting. I thought that the book was going to be more of a mystery with a bit of romance thrown in. This is more of a romance with a little bit of mystery thrown in. I was more interested in the mystery aspect of the book rather than the romance. I liked most of the characters in the book but I could not believe how naive, trusting and at times stupid the main character could be to the point were it annoyed me. I liked the humour that carried on throughout the book. It made a nice change to read something that is lighthearted. 

Fractured by Dani Atkins. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The central character in this book is a girl called Rachel. At the start of the story we see Rachel with a good looking boyfriend about to start University. She is having a meal with friends when a tragic accident happens which changes Rachel's life forever. Five years later she is living the life she had always dreamed of but it just does not feel right to her and she can't shake the memory of a different life that she once had.

I really loved this book. It was so much more than Chicklit. There is a great mystery in this book which makes you want to keep on reading until the end to find out the answer to the mystery. The ending to this book came as such a big surprise to me, I would go as far as to say that this books ending is one of the best that I have read this year. I really would like to say more about the story but I feel that if I did it would ruin the book for some people What I would say is, it is about the choices that you make in life and how a single moment can point your life in a totally different direction to the one that you imagined. I did not feel that I could give this book five stars because I did find it dragged and was a little repetitive in places

The Gift A Christmas Miracle by Joanne Clancy

I was gifted a copy of this short novella in return for an honest review.

This Christmas is promising to be extra special for Julia as she is expecting her first child on Christmas Eve. However, a chance encounter turns her world upside down leaving her praying for a miracle.

I don't want to say anymore about the story because it is so short but I absolutely loved it. Every year at Christmastime I seek out some Christmas novels and short stories to give me that warm glow that for me means Christmas. Although I have read some good stories over the years, this is the first one that has made me feel Christmassy. I will be definitely be seeking out more books by this author

The Ghost Hunters Club by L.K.Jay. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a story about three single women Linda, Karen and Anna who have been friends for years. Linda is the teacher, Karen is the martial artist and Anna is the newly made single mum whose husband has left her. After spending a disasterous evening at a speed-dating event, the three friends plan a weekend away to Whitby to search for the supernatural and have a few drinks and laughs. 

I would firstly like to say that this was not the story that I was expecting and I may have enjoyed it more had I realised that this was mostly Chicklit. I must also point out that there were a few grammatical errors which did irritate me and spoilt my enjoyment of the story.  What I had expected was a humorous supernatural story with a side story of the women's personal lives thrown in. What I got was a book which was most definitely Chicklit with a bit of humour thrown in. The ghost hunting aspect of the book was there, but it was just something the women enjoyed doing together. 

The real focus of this book the individual love lives of the three main characters. I really did like the main characters and their genuine friendship and respect for each other. I found Anna and her story the most interesting of the three. For me there was too many minor characters in this book. I found myself having to stop and try to remember who they all were. I thought that the ending wrapped the three individual stories off nicely and we are not left wondering what happened to them. There is another two books that follow on from this one if you enjoy this one. 

One Plus One by JoJo Moyes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the story of Jess a struggling single mum to Tanzie and Stepson Nicky. Jess holds down two jobs whilst trying to raise her two children with no help from the children's father. Jess's husband left one year previously to live with his mum because he was depressed and is still there one year later. He is constantly making excuses as to why he cannot support her and his children.

Teenage Stepson Nicky is being bullied by a local family that is terrorising the neighbourhood.

Tanzie aged 8 is exceptionally gifted at maths and is offered a place at a private school. Her only chance of being able to go to the private school is to win a big maths competition which is being held in Scotland. Unfortunately Jess cannot afford the train fare.

In steps Ed Nicholls, Jess's rich employer who she cleans for. Ed's life is in chaos and the last thing he wants is to be stuck with a group of strangers and their smelly dog. Seeing how much the competition means to Tanzie he volunteers to take Jess, Tanzie and Ed and their dog to Scotland in his car so Tanzie can participate in the competition. There starts the road trip which will change all their lives.

I would like to begin by saying that I normally do not like books that I can predict the ending to. I knew what the ending was going to be quite early on in the book.  The difference with this book is that the characters, in particular Jess, Tanzie and Nicky are so well written that you are really rooting for them and want them to get a break.
There were times when I disagreed with things that Jess said and did with regard to her family but I felt a great empathy with her.

I felt parts of the book were long winded and sometimes a little far fetched which is why this book did not get the full five stars. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Looking for La La by Ellie Campbell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was part of a boxset of 7 books called "What's so funny about murder?" This was definitely some light, humorous British chicklit. I was expecting it to be more of a murder mystery book with a bit of humour thrown in. The plot centres around a stay at home mum called Cathy. Cathy is married to Declan who is a successful businessman and they have two children. The mystery begins when Declan starts receiving postcards signed from somebody calling herself La La. The postcard is trying to imply that Declan is having an affair with La La. Cathy does not necessarily believe that Declan is having an affair with La La but makes it her mission to try and find out who La La is and why she/he is trying to cause trouble.

I really liked the character of Cathy and being a stay at home mum myself could definitely relate to Cathy and some of the emotions that she was feeling. There was lots of laugh out loud moments in this book. It was a nice, light, humorous read. I knocked a star off because I did get a little confused who some of the characters were. Cathy has a lot of friends and I found myself having to stop and try to remember which character was which. My other reasoning for knocking a star off is because I felt that the book went on for a bit longer than it needed to. I didn't guess who La La was but I did guess how the book would end. I would highly recommend this book.

Landline by Rainbow Rowell. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is about a woman called Georgie McCool. Georgie knows that her marriage is in trouble. Georgie and her husband Neal love each other very much but that almost seems besides the point now. She knows that Neal is unhappy and has been for a long time.

Georgie is a TV writer and two days before they are due to go to Omaha to visit Neal's mum, she tells her husband Neal that she is unable to go. The show that her and he co-worker and best friend Seth have been dreaming of is going ahead and she needs to stay in Los Angeles and complete some work before the deadline. She knew that Neal was going to be upset with her but she does not expect him to take their children and go anyway , leaving her alone at Christmas. She really believes that this is the end of her marriage. Whilst visiting her mum she finds her old landline phone in her former bedroom and finds that she is able to speak to the Neal of 15 years ago before they were married.

I would firstly like to say that rather than 4 stars I would give this 3 and a half. The book did not quite live up to my expectations. I really thought that Rainbow missed a huge opportunity here. The book was not nearly as fast paced or as exciting as I thought it was going to be. She could have explored the time travelling (if you can call it that) element of the story a bit more. It was almost as though she was afraid to go there. The book did not explore the whys or the wherefores of the phone. It just seemed to be a tool the author used to connect to the past.

The story takes place between 17th December and the 25th December but it feels like longer. It has a good balance of the past and the present. We get to to learn about how the relationship between and Georgie and Neal started and how their relationship ended up as it has.The book was a bit slow in places for me, which was disappointing. What this book did do was make me stop and think about how much we take people for granted. It also poses the question, if you had the opportunity to go back and change the past would we? I loved all the characters in the book and the relationships that are explored. I felt the ending was very predictable and I had probably had an idea of the ending from the first page.

In conclusion, the book did sit and make me think about some of the bigger questions in life but it could have been so much better!