Ailish's Book Reviews

Book Description: Roxie Brown loves erotica and her friend, Sylvie, loves crime... novels of course. On a girls' night out they meet The Great Zehilda, the tea leaf reader, and suddenly Roxie's Fifty Shades fantasies about her millionaire boss, Ark Morgan, look about to become a reality. But then she looks through the telescope and her life us turned upside down. Roxie and Sylvie, with help from Sylvie's flatmate, Felix, set out to crack the case. Can Ark Morgan save her or is he the man she should be running from? Then enter Sam Lockwood and her heart is shot with another arrow. Come with Roxie Brown on her hilarious crime-busting romantic adventure and discover if the love of her life is the man of her dreams or if the man she loves is her worst nightmare.  My Review:  First off I want to thank Lynda for sending me a copy of another fantastic book to review - you never disappoint! This is such an entertaining rom com that had me laughing out loud with ever

BOOK DESCRIPTION One-off, moving on sex, wasn’t meant to be this hot… When determined singleton Shea Summers is persuaded to become the “wife” of the Lord of Edgerton Manor, the last thing she wants to do is play house with a stranger. Brooding playboy Brando Marshall is far from happy when Shea turns up at his sprawling estate with production crew in tow. Surely she’s just another woman after his wallet? And if she’s looking for Mr Right, she’s definitely hitting on the wrong guy. Then again, after catching an unscheduled glimpse of her knickers, perhaps Brando needs to teach this “gold-digger” a lesson! She’s seizing the moment, he’s breaking the rules, and when bad boys can be so much fun, who can resist getting on the right side of Mr. Wrong… MY REVIEW *Book provided by author in exchange for an honest review* Well let me start off by thanking Jane Linfoot for very kindly sending me The Right Side of Mr Wrong to review. I have enjoyed all her books immensely. 

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION : It was a wedding invitation that changed everything for Floriana. If she hadn't been so distracted at the thought of having to witness the one true love of her life get married, she would have seen the car coming and there would have been no need for elderly spinster Esme Silcox and local property developer Adam Strong to rush to her aid. If she hadn't met them she would never have had the courage to agree to attend Seb's wedding in Lake Como. For Esme, Lake Como awakens memories of when she stayed at the lake as a 19-year-old girl and fell in love for the first time. So often she's wondered what happened to the man who stole her heart all those years ago, a man who changed the course of her life. MY REVIEW: What a superb novel - Erica James never disappoints. This story is partly set in Oxford and in the beautiful Italian Lakes. Floriana, a tour guide, while walking home is knocked down by a car. This traumatic event leads her t

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Welcome to Jenny Oliver’s brand new Cherry Pie Island series! Home, Sweet Home….? There’s nowhere more deliciously welcoming... When Annie White steps back onto Cherry Pie Island, it’s safe to say her newly inherited Dandelion Café has seen better days! And while her childhood home on the Thames-side island idyll is exactly the same retreat from the urban bustle of London she remembers, Annie’s not convinced that Owner of The Dandelion Cafe is a title she’ll be keeping for long. Not that she can bear the idea of letting her dedicated, if endearingly disorganized staff lose their jobs. Plus café life does also have the added bonus of working a stone’s throw away from millionaire Matt and his disarmingly charming smile! One (shoestring budget) café makeover, a few delightful additions to the somewhat retro menu and a lot of cherry pie tastings later, The Dandelion Café is ready for its grand reopening! But once she’s brought the dilapidated old c

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Meet the Bird Family All four children have an idyllic childhood: a picture-book cottage in a country village, a warm, cosy kitchen filled with love and laughter, sun-drenched afternoons in a rambling garden. But one Easter weekend a tragedy strikes the Bird family that is so devastating that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear them apart. The years pass and the children become adults and begin to develop their own quite separate lives. Soon it's almost as though they've never been a family at all. Almost. But not quite. Because something has happened that will call them home, back to the house they grew up in - and to what really happened that Easter weekend all those years ago MY REVIEW: Wow what a book! This was something a little different and completely unexpected. Lisa Jewell is a beautiful writer and she is able to captivate and draw you in right from the start. This novel is about the Bird Family, Lorelei, her husband Col

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: The Cotswolds, 1947 The relentless winter of 1947 holds post-war Britain in its deadly grip, and Eleanor Phillips rides out from her beleaguered Cotswold farm to rescue a stranger lost in the storm. But the near-dead man is no stranger and when she recognises Matthew Croft, the old ties of a failed romance tug deeply. Her sweetheart has returned from the war… Suspicion, the police and the panicked flight of a desperate man beat a path to her door. And with a wanted man hidden in her home and stealing back into her heart, Eleanor must be on her guard—for the net is closing in on them both and enemies are all around. MY REVIEW: This story is set post World War Two, Eleanor and a young boy Freddy find a man in a foot of snow - clearly in an agitated state. Seeing him in a troubled state, they decide to bring him home. When he starts to fight them Eleanor gets such a shock when she realises that it is Mathew Croft, a man she knew before the war. They

Hello all, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Kate Marshall is slowly getting her life back on track after losing her fiancé. As an author she has been able to hide herself away from the world and its expectations – but now one of her books has been optioned for a film and Hollywood suddenly comes knocking on her door! When Kate is given the opportunity to stay at a beautiful country retreat and concentrate on the screenplay, it’s an offer she can’t refuse. Encouraged by her best friend, sharp-tongued single mum Sarah, Kate sees it’s finally time to stop letting life pass her by. Looking for confidence and inspiration in the idyllic Cotswolds countryside, the last thing Kate expects is for Timothy Calder, A-list actor and leading man in the movie adaptation of her book, to turn up on her doorstep, hoping to lie low after his latest tabloid scandal! But after a rocky start, with Tim narrowly avoiding death by watering can, they find they have a few things in common: a liking for Lady Grey tea, w

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Even the darkest secrets can’t stay buried forever… Five figures gather round a shallow grave. They had all taken turns to dig. An adult-sized hole would have taken longer. An innocent life had been taken but the pact had been made. Their secrets would be buried, bound in blood … Years later, a headmistress is found brutally strangled, the first in a spate of gruesome murders which shock the Black Country. But when human remains are discovered at a former children’s home, disturbing secrets are also unearthed. D.I. Kim Stone fast realises she’s on the hunt for a twisted individual whose killing spree spans decades. As the body count rises, Kim needs to stop the murderer before they strike again. But to catch the killer, can Kim confront the demons of her own past before it’s too late? MY REVIEW : This is Bookouture's first crime novel and everywhere I look on Twitter somebody is talking about this book and with such great reviews

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Jessica Beam is a girl who knows how to party. Only lately she's been forgetting to turn up for work on time. Or in clean clothes. Down on her luck, out of a job and homeless, Jess seeks the help of her long-lost grandmother. Things aren't going well for Matilda Beam, either. Her 1950s Good Woman guide books are out of print, her mortgage repayments are staggering and her granddaughter wears neon Wonderbras! When a lifeline from a London publisher arrives, the pair have an opportunity to secure the roof over their heads – by invigorating the Good Woman guides and transforming modern, rebellious Jess into a demure vintage lady. The true test of their make-over will be to capture the heart of notorious London playboy Leo Frost and prove that Matilda’s guides still work. It's going to take commitment, nerves of steel and one seriously pointy bra to pull this off. MY REVIEW: I am bursting with excitement about this book! I cannot begi

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Eva Gatsby has often wondered about her grandfather Lawrence's past, and exactly what happened to him in Burma during the Second World War. But it is only when Eva's job as an antiques dealer suddenly requires a trip to Mandalay that Lawrence finally breaks his silence and asks her to return a mysterious artifact of his own - a chinthe - to its rightful owner. As Eva arrives in Burma her mission soon proves dangerously complicated, and the treasure she is guarding becomes the centre of a scandal that will have far-reaching consequences. Caught between loyalty and integrity, Eva is determined to find the truth about her grandfather's past, of her own family origins, and of the red-eyed chinthe itself - enigmatic symbol of the riches of Mandalay. MY REVIEW: Well this was the first book I have read by Rosanna Ley and I cannot wait to read her others! Our story begins in Bristol, England where we meet Eva Gatsby who repairs and resto

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION : Annie has a secret. But if she's not going to tell, we won't either. It's a heart-breaking secret she wishes she didn't have - yet Annie isn't broken, not quite yet. Especially now there's someone out there who seems determined to fix her. Kate has run away. But she's not going to tell us why - that would defeat the point of running, wouldn't it? It's proving difficult to reinvent herself, however, with one person always on her mind. Scratch beneath the surface and nobody is really who they seem. Even Annie and Kate, two old friends, aren't entirely sure who they are any more. Perhaps you can work it out, before their pasts catch up with them for good . . . A gripping and unpredictable story of two young women running from their pasts. We defy you to guess the twist . . . MY REVIEW : I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this book. I mean wow - where to start! This is one of those books that

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION : From bestselling author, broadcaster, journalist and Book Club champion Judy Finnigan comes an unputdownable and wonderfully moving story of the enduring power of a mother's love. Do not stand at my grave and weep  I am not there; I do not sleep. Five years ago, Molly Gabriel lost her 20-year-old son, Joey, to a terrible sailing accident. His empty boat was found washed ashore on the rocks -- but his body was never found. Now, Molly has returned to the sands of Cornwall haunted by his death, unable to accept he is gone. Joey was an experienced sailor and died on a calm sea -- things just don't add up and Molly cannot let it go. Desperate for answers she turns to Joey's best friend, Ben, to go back to what really happened that day. MY REVIEW: This was a beautiful and sensual novel about a mother grieving for her suposedly dead son. Five years ago Molly lost her son Joey in a tragic sailing accident. Now Molly has returned to Cornwall

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Nineteen-year-old Gwendolyn Hooper is newly married to a rich and charming widower, eager to join him on his tea plantation, determined to be the perfect wife and mother. But life in Ceylon is not what Gwen expected. The plantation workers are resentful, the neighbours treacherous. And there are clues to the past - a dusty trunk of dresses, an overgrown gravestone in the grounds - that her husband refuses to discuss. Just as Gwen finds her feet, disaster strikes. She faces a terrible choice, hiding the truth from almost everyone, but a secret this big can't stay buried forever . . . MY REVIEW: First off I want to thank Dinah Jefferies for sending me an early copy of The Tea Planter's Wife to review. Wow what a story! I immensely enjoyed this sensitive, thought provoking narrative which was beautifully told. We meet nineteen year old Gwen Hooper who has just arrived in Ceylon to join her new husband at the tea plantation. The year

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION : Can love set you free? Becky Cooper hasn’t got time for romance. She’s a thirty-two year old widow, struggling to raise her daughter and come to terms with the past, so a man is the last thing she needs. Her friends disagree, and when Max Bedford arrives in the village, they decide he’s perfect for her; he’s gorgeous, rich and divorced. But Becky’s already met him and feels he’s far from perfect; he’s rude, arrogant and annoying – and anyway, he wouldn’t be interested in her. To his surprise, Max is very interested in the feisty woman he’s just rescued and whilst he’s not looking for a serious relationship, dating her could be a lot of fun. When Becky is employed to organise Lizzie Marshall’s Wedding, introducing her to Max’s ex-wife and a group of people whose lives seem even more complicated than her own, she begins to discover she’s not the only one with ‘baggage’ . Can love set her free, or will Max Bedford break her heart? MY R

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Sometimes a weekend can change your life. Lizzie Marshall left London, and her husband Max, after his affair. But running a B&B in the Scottish Highlands is not as easy as she’d hoped – and using her maiden name doesn’t mean she’s over him.  Max Bedford can still twist her around his little finger – most of the time. Jack Drake’s getting married in two weeks, but he’s having doubts about his fiancée, Kim Mentor. A weekend in Scotland with five of his friends will cure his pre-wedding nerves – won’t it? Jane Munroe’s too busy sorting out her friend Lizzie’s love life to worry about her own. Besides, the man she’s fallen for, clearly isn’t interested. Perhaps she should look elsewhere for love? Iain Hamilton vowed he’d never marry again after his wife’s death, and as a forty five year old farmer, a thirty two year old woman from London is the last person he should be interested in – so why can’t he stop thinking about her? Highla

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION : Annabel Lewis (Bels) has two days to get to her wedding in Rome but her journey is beset with one disaster after another as fate takes its turn. Will the stranger she meets on the way get her to her wedding on time or will he change her life forever? Come with Bels on her humorous romantic journey to see if she marries Mr Right or if destiny takes her in different direction... MY REVIEW : This was the first book that I read by Lynda Renham and it will not be my last! This book has all the ingredients of good chick-lit, the heroine who is a walking disaster, the domineering, uptight fiancé, the best friend and the interfering mother, for whom no one is good enough for her daughter except Mr Right.  It is jam packed (pardon the pun!) with humour and if you want something that will make you laugh your socks off and you are in need of some serious cheering up, then this is the perfect book for you.  Most of the book was set i

Dear Reader, Book Description : No secret stays buried forever... In London, the snow is falling and Christmas is just around the corner - but Allegra Fisher barely has time to notice. She's pitching for the biggest deal of her career and can't afford to fail. And when she meets attractive stranger, Sam Kemp, on the plane to the meeting, she can't afford to lose her focus either. She learned to shut off her emotions long ago and only her sister and best friend Isobel knows why. But when Allegra finds herself up against Sam for the bid, their passion quickly turns sour. In Zermatt in the Swiss Alps, a long-lost mountain hut is discovered in the snow after sixty years and the last person expecting to become involved is Allegra - she hasn't even heard of the woman they found inside. But it soon becomes clear the two women are linked and, as she and Iz travel out to make sense of the mystery, hearts thaw and dark secrets are uncovered, long buried by the

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: The Fires Of Autumn was written in the last two years of Irene Nemirovsky's life, after she fled Paris in 1940. The prequel to her masterpiece, Suite Francaise,  it is a panoramic exploration of French life and a witness to the greatest horrors of the twentieth century.  After four years of bloody warfare Bernard Jacquelain returns from the trenches a changed man. No more the naive hopes and dreams of the teenager who went to war. Attracted by the lure of money and success, Bernard embarks on a life of luxuriant delinquency supported by suspect financial dealings and easy virtue. Yet when his lover throws him off, he turns to a wholesome childhood friend for comfort. For ten  years he lives the good bourgeois life, but as another war threatens everything, Bernard has clung to, starts to crumble and the future for his marriage and for France looks terribly uncertain. First published posthumously in France in 1957, The Fires Of Autumn is a coruscating t

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love - all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine's life. MY REVIEW: Wow what a great book! Before I Go To Sleep is the debut novel from S.J. Watson. This is one of my favorite books from 2011.  Most of the story is structured as a diary recounting daily events. Every morning Christine Lucas awakes with no idea of who she is, where she is, and who the man is sleeping beside her. She suffered a terrible attack eighteen years ago that has left her unable to retain memories. However, with the help of a doctor who specializes in memory disorders, Christine begins to keep a journal that helps her piece together her past and how she ended up the way she has. Before  I Go To Sleep is a thriller that will leave you guessing until the final page. A

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: A kind, bookish only child born in the 1940s, Alice Lindgren has no idea that she will one day end up in the White House, married to the President. In her small Wisconsin hometown, she learns the virtues of politeness, but a tragic accident when she is seventeen shatters her identity and changes the trajectory of her life. More than a decade later, when the charismatic son of a powerful Republican family sweeps her off her feet, she is surprised to find herself admitted into a world of privilege. And when her husband unexpectedly becomes Governor and then President, she discovers that she is married to a man she both loves and fundamentally disagrees with - and that her private beliefs increasingly run against her public persona. As her husband's Presidency enters its second term, Alice must confront contradictions years in the making and face questions nearly impossible to answer. MY REVIEW: This is Curtis Sittenfeld's third novel which

Dear Reader, I finally got around to reading How To Win A Guy In 10 Dates. I'd like to thank the lovely Jane Linfoot for sending me a copy to read and review! BOOK DESCRIPTION: Take Millie: a fun, independent dance teacher starting over, whose burlesque classes are all about self-esteem and empowerment. Her new life plan definitely doesn't stretch to bad boys. And Ed: he’s gorgeous, designs firework displays for a living and positively self-destructs at the thought of commitment. But he’s embarking on the impossible – a challenge to have ten dates with one woman. When Millie literally lands in Ed’s lap after an accident, she’s an unlikely choice for the ten date challenge – scruffy, opinionated and then there’s the small matter of that tattoo snaking out of her boot – but he’s running out of options, and more importantly, she owes him. She’s so not his type, he’s so not in her life-plan, but a weekend in sunny Provence changes everything. Against a backdrop of starry s

Dear Reader, This was my first Christina Courtenay novella and it won't be my last. I came across this through the fabulous team at ChocLit UK via twitter! This Regency novella has a bit of everything. We have a likeable hero and a damsel in distress.  The damsel in distress is Maude who about eight years ago was to elope with our likeable hero, Luke, but certain people vied to keep them apart. So Maude ended up marrying his cousin instead.  When Maude ends up widowed, Luke becomes the new head of her estate. He keeps her on as his housekeeper but he secretly still desires her but is still a bit miffed over her having married his cousin without knowing the true reason. Maude desires him too, but of course is afraid to say so. But Maude and Luke may have to stop tip toeing around each other and tell each other their true feelings because (this is where is gets good!) someone wants them dead. We have arsenic poisoning, smashing pots, run away carriages, and kidnapping.  I won't g

Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: It all started with Paris.   At the top of the Eiffel Tower, a young man proposes to his girlfriend, cheered on by delighted tourists. In that second, everything changes, not just for the happy couple, but for the family and friends awaiting their return in Bridgeport, Ireland... Leila's been nursing a badly broken heart since her love-rat husband just upped and left her one morning, but she's determined to put on a brave face for the bride. Vonnie, a widow and exceptional cake-maker, is just daring to let love back into her life, although someone seems determined to stop it. And Grace, a divorced head teacher, finds the impending wedding of her son means that she's spending more time with her ex-husband. After all those years apart, is it possible she's made a mistake? MY REVIEW: This is Cathy Kelly's latest novel It Started with Paris and she doesn't disappoint. It is a fabulously warm and enjoya