Faking Friends by Jane Fallon

Faking Friends by Jane Fallon

Published: 11th January 2018

Publisher: Penguin 

Pages: 448

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

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Rating: 5/5

Blurb

Amy thought she knew everything there was to know about her best friend Melissa. Then again, Amy also thought she was on the verge of the wedding of her dreams to her long-distance fiancé.

Until she pays a surprise trip home to London. Jack is out, but it's clear another woman has been making herself at home in their flat.

There's something about her stuff that feels oddly familiar . . . and then it hits Amy. The Other Woman is Melissa.

Amy has lost her home, her fiancé and her best friend in one disastrous weekend - but instead of falling apart, she's determined to get her own back.

Piecing her life back together won't be half as fun as dismantling theirs, after all.

Review

Faking Friends is the latest twisty chick lit novel from Jane Fallon exploring the effects of a toxic friendship. In this book we meet best friends since childhood Amy and Mel, who’ve shared their hopes, dreams, secrets and stood by each other for years, or so Amy thought. Amy has been working away as an actress in New York leaving fiancé Jack alone in their London flat. With Mel’s fortieth about to happen and Amy’s contract in New York over she decides to make a surprise visit home. On entering the flat she shares with Jack its immediately obvious to Amy that another woman has been there. Her clothes and beauty products and are scattered all over the apartment and to top it off the place is spotless, something Amy knows Jack is not capable of managing himself.

When Amy works out that the other woman is Mel she decides not to get upset but get even. All throughout their friendship Mel has taken what she wanted and left Amy to pick up the pieces, but this time its different, this time Mel is going to get what she deserves.

With the help of friends Kat and Greg, Amy manages to inflict sneaky acts of revenge on Jack and Mel whilst finding herself a new flat, a new job and a blossoming new romance. This is a great and addictive read full of twists and turns as sometimes Amy’s revenge plans have a habit of back-firing.

Amy’s a very resilient character who is quite easily able to pick up the pieces from this devastating news and move on with her life. I feel a little sad for Jack really, as although he’s behaved badly Amy doesn’t even seem to give him a second thought once she’s decided on her revenge plan, surely, she must have had some regrets over all their years together.

Written mostly from the point of view of Amy it was refreshing to finally get Mel’s take on things when about half way though her voice is added to the narrative. This may come as a shock to some readers as there is no indication of this in the book. But having read previous Jane Fallon novels it was something I was expecting to happen and after a couple of pages its pretty clear which character is narrating.

At times I did start to feel sorry for Mel (a little) but then you turn the page and read more of the devious things she’s done in the past and think she’s getting everything she deserves. Does Amy manage carry out the ultimate revenge or does Mel get the last word as usual, read it for yourself and find out.

From the author of Strictly Between Us and My Sweet Revenge, Faking Friends is another fantastic not to be missed read from Jane Fallon.

Blog Tour Review: My Husband's Wife by Jane Corry

My Husband's Wife by Jane Corry

Published: 26th May 2016 (eBook)

Publisher: Penguin, Random House

Pages: 534

Available on Kindle

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Blurb

FIRST COMES LOVE. THEN COMES MARRIAGE. THEN COMES MURDER...
When lawyer Lily marries Ed, she's determined to make a fresh start. To leave the secrets of the past behind.
But then she meets Joe. A convicted murderer who reminds Lily of someone she once knew, and who she becomes obsessed with freeing.
But is he really innocent?
And who is she to judge?

Review

My Husband’s Wife by Jane Corry is a novel which intrigued me as soon as I read the tagline: “First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes murder” What on earth must happen in this book for love to end in murder?

Right from the start we know it is Ed who has been murdered but we have no clue as to who did it or why. They main story is split into two parts, the first being fifteen years earlier when Lily and Ed are newly married and young Carla enters their lives. Told in alternating chapters between Lily and Carla we begin to build up a picture of these two characters who both have aspects of good and bad in them.

Lily and Ed have recently married after a whirlwind romance. Really they are still getting to know each other and soon it is obvious that they are both hiding things from the other.  Lily has just been made a criminal defence lawyer and her first case is defend convicted murderer Joe Thomas in his appeal case. Instantly Lily is drawn to this man who reminds her of her brother Daniel and she goes out of her way to ensure that he walks free, whether he was guilty or not. As the case develops Lily and Ed’s argue more and more and their marriage begins to hit the rocks, can they find a way to start again?

Carla lives in the same building as Ed and Lily with her mother Francesca who is having an affair with a married man named “Larry”. Carla is being bullied at school for being different but receives very little comfort from her mother who seems more concerned with pleasing Larry than her own daughter. When Carla is sent home one day from school after an incident Lily steps in to look after her, as her mother is nowhere to be found. This sees the start of Carla spending more and more of her weekends with Lily and Ed acting as a buffer for their marriage until an chance encounter blows everything apart.

Fast forward twelve years later and a grown up Carla makes her way back in the lives of Lily and Ed, she’s looking for revenge for the unhappiness of her childhood and the consequences for Lily and Ed are devastating.

Right from the start I found this a very intense read, it’s one of those books which you know is building up to something and it makes you feel unsettled. I found that most of the characters seemed to be hiding something and were always very tense with each other trying not to let all the secrets come pouring out and I didn’t really like any of them.

I found Francesca and Ed to be both selfish characters who only seemed to be focused on making themselves happy, which did at times make me feel sorry for Lily and little Carla. But as the story progressed it’s obvious that Carla is quite a manipulative child and will get want she wants even if she goes about it in the wrong way and as she gets older what she wants becomes bigger and bigger. Lily was the character I was most unsure about, I really wanted to like her but I just couldn’t. She’s hiding something from her past and it unsettled me that she wasn’t honest with Ed. As the story progresses Lily begins to hide more and more little things so you never really know when she’s being completely honest.

My Husband’s Wife is an intense novel full of blackmail, hidden secrets and watching the consequences when those little white lies all come tumbling out. It’s a novel which has been very cleverly written so you’re not sure who is good, who is bad and who is telling the truth. It’s a novel which will make you question the morality of every decision you’ve ever made, will make you wonder if even the very best people have a little bit of bad in them and it will make you wonder how far people will go to get what they want. In the end, the question at the centre of this book is who do you believe more Lily or Carla?

Despite not liking the characters I did really enjoy reading this book, I think perhaps not liking the characters has left me thinking about the book more as I’m not entirely sure which characters story I believe, if I’d had a favourite then maybe I would have an answer.

 My Husband’s Wife is a book which had me hooked from the start and has left we with many things to think about, which for once I rather like. I’d like to rate this book 5 out 5 and would recommend it to anyone who loves an intense read full of mind games and moral questions.

Thank you so much to the publishers for sending me a copy to review and also for inviting me to be part of the My Husband’s Wife blog tour.

The Silk Merchant's Daughter by Dinah Jeffries

The Silk Merchant's Daughter by Dinah Jeffries

Published: 25th February 2016

Publisher: Penguin UK

Pages: 400

Available in Hardback and on Kindle

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Blurb

1952, French Indochina. Since her mother's death, eighteen-year-old half-French, half-Vietnamese Nicole has been living in the shadow of her beautiful older sister, Sylvie. When Sylvie is handed control of the family silk business, Nicole is given an abandoned silk shop in the Vietnamese quarter of Hanoi. But the area is teeming with militant rebels who want to end French rule, by any means possible. For the first time, Nicole is awakened to the corruption of colonial rule - and her own family's involvement shocks her to the core...

Tran, a notorious Vietnamese insurgent, seems to offer the perfect escape from her troubles, while Mark, a charming American trader, is the man she's always dreamed of. But who can she trust in this world where no one is what they seem?

The Silk Merchant's Daughter is a captivating tale of dark secrets, sisterly rivalry and love against the odds, enchantingly set in colonial era Vietnam.

Review

Last year I read The Tea Planter’s Wife by Dinah Jeffries and I loved it, it was probably one of my favourite reads of last year. So I was very excited to hear she had another novel out so soon. The Silk Merchant’s Daughter tells the tale of Nicole Duvall, a young woman who is half French and half Vietnamese.

Nicole looks Vietnamese just like her dead mother and is struggling to relate to her father and sister Sylvie who both look more French and keep her at a distance. When their father signs over the majority of his silk business to Sylvie when previously he mentioned the girls being equal partners Nicole feels even more left out and seeks solace in the small silk shop she is given in the Vietnamese quarter of Hanoi. As political unrest becomes more and more prominent in daily life Nicole must decide where her heart truly lies, with her French family battling for control or with the Vietnamese people battling for their county. Who can she trust her family, Vietnamese insurgent Tran who seems keen for her to join him or the handsome American trader Mark who is Nicole’s dream man.

Just like in Dinah’s previous novel I was blown away by her ability to capture the true essence of a place, I really felt like I was walking the streets of Hanoi along with Nicole. The sights, the sounds, the smells it has all being captured Dinah’s exquisite writing and this really brought the novel and Vietnam alive for me.

Included in the beginning of this novel is a couple of pages which explains the history of Vietnam around the time this novel was set which I suggest you read beforehand, especially if like me you know nothing  about this part of history, as it helped to gain a little understanding of events in the novel.  I felt this novel was initially much more focused on political events of time rather than the more personal story of Nicole and her family and I didn’t enjoy this as much because political differences in countries is not really my thing. I much preferred the last third of the book which focused more on Nicole’s relationship with her sister.

The Silk Merchant’s Daughter is a novel of conflicts, of sisterly rivalry, trust and above all flowing your heart. I did enjoy reading this but for me The Tea Planter’s Wife was better as I loved the mystery within it. I think Dinah Jeffries is an excellent writer and I’m very keen to go back and read her first novel The Separation and will also be eagerly awaiting her next novel.

Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley for this review copy in exchange for my review. I’d like to rate The Silk Merchant’s Daughter by Dinah Jeffries 4 out of 5.

Release Day Round-Up #20

So here we are the last week of February and finally some sunshine here in Yorkshire! Fingers crossed it lasts. So here are my top three for this week and surprisingly they are all authors whose previous books I also loved.

Kitty's Countryside Dream by Christie Barlow

Published: 25th February 2016

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 309

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

New home. New life. New beginning. Love affairs can blossom in the most unlikely places . . .
When Kitty inherits Bluebell Lodge from her grandmother, a farm in the beautiful Staffordshire countryside, it’s time for fresh air and a fresh start. Up to her elbows in chickens and ponies, Kitty soon realises there’s an awful lot to learn about farming. Still, at least the locals seem friendly, not least her handsome neighbour Tom…

But just as Kitty is beginning to find her feet, and the possibility of love, the discovery of a long-hidden diary, by a mysterious character called Violet changes everything. Who is Violet and what is her message for Kitty? As Kitty fills in the lost pieces of her family jigsaw and discovers some shocking revelations, will her countryside dream and blossoming relationship fall to pieces? When it comes to life in the country, nothing is ever quite as it seems …

Just like Christie's previous novels I loved this book. Its got more of a deeper plot than her other books with the mystery surrounding Kitty's grandma and who exactly Violet was. It still had Christie's wonderful comical moments and close-knit friendships which made it a really enjoyable book. Check out my review here.

The Silk Merchant's Daughter by Dinah Jeffries

Published: 25th February 2016

Publisher: Penguin UK

Pages: 400

Available in Hardback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

1952, French Indochina. Since her mother's death, eighteen-year-old half-French, half-Vietnamese Nicole has been living in the shadow of her beautiful older sister, Sylvie. When Sylvie is handed control of the family silk business, Nicole is given an abandoned silk shop in the Vietnamese quarter of Hanoi. But the area is teeming with militant rebels who want to end French rule, by any means possible. For the first time, Nicole is awakened to the corruption of colonial rule - and her own family's involvement shocks her to the core...

Tran, a notorious Vietnamese insurgent, seems to offer the perfect escape from her troubles, while Mark, a charming American trader, is the man she's always dreamed of. But who can she trust in this world where no one is what they seem?

The Silk Merchant's Daughter is a captivating tale of dark secrets, sisterly rivalry and love against the odds, enchantingly set in colonial era Vietnam.

Dinah Jeffries The Tea Planter's Wife was one of my favourite books of last year so I was really looking forward to her next book. In The Silk Merchant's Daughter we meet Nicole a young eighteen year old who is half French and half Vietnamese and is struggling to find where she belongs in the world. I really enjoyed reading about Nicole as she is pulled first one way then another by the various sides in her life, but can she really trust Tran who is offering her a way out of the family where she's never felt she belonged or Mark the my of her dreams who she longs to be with. Check out my full review on the blog tomorrow. 

The Cosy Teashop In The Castle by Caroline Roberts

Published: 25th February 2016

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Pages: 400

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

When Ellie Hall lands her dream job running the little teashop in the beautiful but crumbling Claverham Castle, it’s the perfect escape from her humdrum job in the city. Life is definitely on the rise as Ellie replaces spreadsheets for scones, and continues her Nanna’s brilliant baking legacy.

When Lord Henry, the stick-in-the-mud owner, threatens to burst her baking bubble with his old-fashioned ways, Ellie wonders if she might have bitten off more than she can chew. But cupcake by cupcake she wins the locals over, including teashop stalwart, Doris, and Ellie’s show stopping bakes look set to go down in castle history!

Now all that’s missing in Ellie’s life is a slice of romance – can Joe, the brooding estate manager, be the one to put the cherry on the top of Ellie’s dream?

I've only just started reading this but already I'm hooked. Ellie's determined to make the teashop work and I'm right behind her and rooting for her to succeed as she's such a lovely bubbly character. I love how this is much more light-hearted than Caroline's previous novel The Torn Up Marriage which for me was a real emotional rollercoaster. I can't wait for more time to continue on with Ellie's story. Look out for my review coming soon.

So that's my top three for this week but I'd also like to mention One Summer Night by Emily Bold which is a very emotional read and perfect for fans of Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. Checkout me review here. If your after something else then check out my releases page above to find other books published today.

Strictly Between Us by Jane Fallon

Strictly Between Us by Jane Fallon

Published: 14th January 2016

Publisher: Michael Joseph (Penguin)

Pages: 448

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Blurb

Tamsin and Michelle have been inseparable since childhood. Even now they spend all their time together, along with Patrick, Michelle's handsome husband.

Except Tamsin's brilliant assistant Bea (without whom Tamsin's life would fall apart) has heard a nasty rumour that Patrick is playing away. Determined to uncover the truth, Tamsin devises a honey-trap to test his resolve, using Bea as bait. But she never counted on Bea having her own agenda . . .

Struggling to untangle the web of deceit, Patrick seems to be constantly one step ahead. Can Tamsin reveal the truth to Michelle without ruining everyone's life along the way?

Review

Strictly Between Us by Jane Fallon has a blurb which for me made me instantly want to read this book. However I was unprepared for how addictive this story would be, it’s a book I finished in just one day.

Tamsin and Michelle have been best friends since their school days and will do anything to protect each other. So when Tamsin starts to hear more and more rumours that Michelle’s husband Patrick is being unfaithful to her she decides to try and catch him out. Using Bea her attractive and very loyal assistant as bait for a honey-trap Tamsin sets out to discover the truth about Patrick. What Tamsin doesn’t count on is Bea not being quite as loyal as she thinks and Patrick being even sneakier than she ever thought possible.

From the very first chapter, which had me completely shocked I was hooked on this book.  I was desperate to find out what happened next and as the secrets and lies between the characters developed it became even better. For the first part of the book we only have Tamsin’s perspective of events but in part two we hear from Bea too as she begins to explain her actions. This really made the book for me as for the first couple of chapters I was thinking “What does Bea really think about all this?”

I wanted to like Tamsin for standing by her friend and not wanting her to be upset but part of me felt she was manipulating the situations to get the best outcome for herself. After all she wasn’t 100% honest herself was she?

My favourite character was Adam who seemed very genuine and didn’t appear to have an ulterior motive for his actions. I did feel the nickname of “Pillsbury Dough Boy” given to by his students was a little unfair.

Strictly Between Us is a well written and very addictive book which I loved and recommend to anyone who likes a plot with lots of twists and turns. It’s a book which will leave you questioning how well you really know people in your life and how much can you trust them?

Thank you to Michael Joseph and Netgalley for this copy to review. I rate it 5 out of 5, I loved it!

Book Review - The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies

 

The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jeffries

Published: 3rd September 2015

Publisher: Penguin UK

Pages: 418

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

 

Blurb

Two newlyweds: practically strangers, deeply in love, and each hiding a secret from the other...

 

Nineteen-year-old Gwendolyn Hooper steps off a steamship in Ceylon eager to begin her new life as a married woman. But the husband who greets her is distant, secretive and brooding. Laurence is forever away working, leaving his young English bride to explore the vast tea plantation alone. Wandering into forbidden places, Gwen finds locked doors, trunks filled with dusty dresses, a tiny overgrown grave - clues to a hidden, unspeakable past.

 

Gwen soon falls pregnant and her husband is overjoyed, but in the delivery room she is faced with a terrible choice - one she must hide from Laurence at all costs. When the time comes to reveal the truth, how will he ever forgive what she has done?

 

Review

The Tea Planter’s Wife follows the story of Laurence and Gwen Hooper as they return to Ceylon to begin married life.  As soon I began reading this book I knew it was going to be special, the descriptive language used in the first chapter instantly transported me onto the boat arriving in Columbo alongside Gwen. The author has captured the true essence of Ceylon perfectly right down to the cinnamon and jasmine in the air masking the underlying smell of the sewage, which made me feel like I was living the story.

As the newly- weds begin their married life, Laurence becomes distant as Gwen begins to feel uncertain of her future, especially as she discovers things which begin to make her question Laurence’s past – hidden graves, locked rooms, things hinted but left unsaid by her maid and sister in law Verity. Soon Gwen finds herself pregnant and Laurence is overjoyed but on the night she gives birth Gwen gets a terrible shock and is faced with a difficult decision, one which will alter their lives forever.

This book is so much more than just a marital saga it deals with jealously, conflict, prejudices, tragedy and secrets. I particularly loved the way the author has captured the historical elements of the period including the workers unrest on the tea plantations, the prejudices of mixed race marriages and the impact of the 1929 stock market collapse, it really added to the realism of the story.

It’s also a book which affected me with all the emotions in it, Gwen and Laurence are lovely characters and so in love with each other and so eager to keep each other happy that they don’t completely reveal everything to each other, this leads to tragedy that could so easily be avoided if they’d just opened up a little more. I felt my heart breaking along with Gwen’s as she has to decide what to do and so many times I was longing for her to tell Lawrence.

This is exactly the type of book that I adore, it full of romance, with a historical element and elements of mystery all bound together by brilliant writing. The Tea Planter’s Wife is definitely one of my favourite books of 2015 and I cannot wait to read more from this wonderful writer.

Thank you so much to Penguin UK for sending me a copy to review, I loved everything about his book and give it a very well deserved 5/5!

 

 

Book Review - Hello From The Gillespies by Monica McInerney

 

Hello From The Gillespies by Monica McInerney

Published: 6th November 2014

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 528

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

 

Blurb

For the last thirty years, Angela Gillespie's annual Christmas letter has been full of her family's triumphs. But this year Angela surprises everyone, including herself - she tells the truth.

Angela's husband is in the throes of a mid-life crisis. Her grown-up daughters are more out of control than ever. And her youngest child spends all of his time talking to an imaginary friend.

With fantasy thoughts of a life before marriage and motherhood becoming more than just an innocent daydream, Angela's real life is slowly slipping out of focus.

But, as the repercussions of her ruthlessly honest letter begin to pile up, a shocking event takes Angela from her family, and she realises she should have been more careful of what she wished for. .

 

Review

I was instantly drawn to the cover of this book; I have a real love of all things postal so a book based on a letter has my interest straight away .Thank you to Penguin for allowing me to read an arc copy of this through Net Galley.  Hello from the Gillespie’s is set in the outback of Southern Australia on the sheep station of Errigal. Every year since her marriage to Nick, Angela has written a Christmas letter highlighting all the good things her and family have done throughout the year, she sends this letter on December 1st to over a hundred people across the world.

 This year things haven’t being going so well for the family. Twins Genevieve and Victoria are living away from home and having their own problems, Victoria having come out of a nasty affair which ended her Sydney radio career and Genevieve being caught up in celebrity gossip, her other daughter Lindy has returned home after a failed attempt at running her own business and son Ig has run away from boarding school and is spending all his time talking to imaginary friend Robbie. As for Nick, he’s spending all his time researching family history, shutting himself away from everyone. He and Angela are barley speaking and Angela feels more distant from her family than she ever has been.

So Angela is not sure what to write in her letter, friend Joan suggests she writes how she really feels instead of just the glossy things Angela usually writes. So Angela does just that, she lets all her emotions flow into the letter and even describes her fantasy life.  Angela saves the letter, intending to edit it later with what she ought to say, but as it usually does with a big family, life gets in the ways and Angela never gets a chance to change the letter before it accidentally gets sent out.

The aftermath of the letter send the family into complete disarray and push Angela and Nick even further apart. Angela becomes more and more withdrawn spending most of her time dreaming about her fantasy family, until eventually a tragic event leaves Angela more apart from her family than any of them could imagine.

I found this book a truly wonderful read, in the beginning I wasn’t exactly sure what would happen as we were introduced to each of member of the Gillespie family and found out what life was like for them.  As the family became reunited in a geographical sense at least I found I was totally absorbed by the everyday life of this family.  Monica has a real talent for being able to give you the viewpoints of the six main members of the family and make them all distinguishable so the story was easy to follow and flowed at just the right pace to keep you wanting to read just a little bit more.

I loved every character in the Gillespie family, although they seemed to have their differences and their squabbles the love they had for each other just flowed off the page and I really felt like I was a part of that too.  I loved the way that all the children seemed to grow up a little and help, their mother when she really needed them all.  My favourite character was Joan, she was just so brutally honest with all of them but at times they needed it to pull themselves together.

This book is full of the drama of family life and some slightly more shocking events, which made for an incredible read as you weren’t sure what exactly was going to happen next.  It’s a book which makes you truly value your family and makes you really think about what you wish for, because sometimes you might just get it and not in the way you expect.

If you are looking for a read which is incredibly emotional, has characters you will fall in love with and plot that will keep you hooked until then end then I recommend this book, it’s perfect.

Rating 5/5