Goodbye Ruby Tuesday by A.L. Michael

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday by A. L. Michael

Published: 29th April 2016

Publisher: Carina UK

Pages: 243

Available on Kindle

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Rating: 5/5

Blurb

Four friends have become three.

But that’s only the beginning. Ruby, Evie, Mollie and Chelsea were the bad girls at school. But Ruby was the baddest. Evie fought her anger, Mollie fought her mother and Chelsea…well, Chelsea just fought. But Ruby set her sights on a bigger stage. And together, they dreamed of a future where Ruby could sing, Evie could make art, Mollie could bake, Chelsea could dance – and all of them could finally feel at home.

A decade later, the girls are reunited for the funeral of Ruby, who took the world – and the charts – by storm, before fading too soon. And Evie doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry when she learns that Ruby has left them a house on Camden Square – the perfect place for them to fulfil their dreams. But does she dare take the plunge, and risk it all for one last shot at the stars?

Review

Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday is the first book in A. L. Michael’s new series The House on Camden Square. The story starts as friends Evie, Mollie and Chelsea meet up at their old friend Ruby’s funeral. The funeral has brought them all back together in  their home town of Badgeley where they all grew up on the estates at the wrong side of town and were never expected to amount to much. While reminiscing about their teenage dreams of escaping the small town and making it big in the arts they are given a letter from Ruby’s one-time foster mum who said Ruby had left it for them.

On opening the letter the girls discover that Ruby has left them the last few months lease on her rented building in Camden and in the letter she urges them to take a chance and go after their creative dreams by opening a gallery and workshop for the creative arts which can be accessible to anyone.

Each of the girls have different reactions to this. Evie is very excited as she longs to get away from her mother and conman father who keeps drifting in and out of their lives whenever he wants money. She’s the most creative of the group and has a way of making things happen so sees this as an amazing opportunity. Mollie is more reluctant as she has ten-year old daughter Esme to think of, but a chance to get away from alcoholic mother is one she has to take. Chelsea doesn’t seem to like the idea at all, but then she’s managed to get away and make a new life in London and doesn’t seem to want her old friends to be part of it.

When Evie finally convinces her friends to make a new start they’re in for a few months filled with hard-work, fun and laughter and even a little romance. Can they finally make their dreams come true?

I loved everything about this book, it’s the perfect easy going read and had me feeling nostalgic for my own old school friends and our teenage dreams. Evie, Mollie and Chelsea are all wonderful characters who seem to work well together and make each other stronger. My favourite character though had to be Esme, Mollie’s young daughter. She was the perfect cheeky ten-year old, wanting to have fun but also having moments of being incredibly sensible and grown-up, which made for some brilliant conversations with her mother and Evie.

I love the way flashbacks to their teenage years have been included as this explains what happened to Ruby and how she influenced their teenage lives and how each of the girls ended up where they did before Ruby’s funeral.

I also loved the romance that developed in the story. I thought it was very well written as it had all the makings of a real relationship, including romance, sex, arguments, misunderstandings and those clumsy moments you have in a new relationship.

Goodbye Ruby, Tuesday was a great read and has me very eager to continue with the story in the next book as I’m longing to find out what happens next for Evie, Chelsea and Mollie. It’s book full of fun with some emotional parts which are just deep enough not to make the story too heavy. It’s a book I think anyone who remembers their teenage dreams should go and read.

The Girls from See Saw Lane by Sandy Taylor

The Girls from See Saw Lane by Sandy Taylor

Published: 4th December 2015

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 350

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

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Blurb

Brighton 1963. Mary Pickles and I walked along the street with our arms linked, looking in shop windows. We were best friends and together we were invincible.

Dottie and Mary forged a friendship over a bag of penny sweets when they were eight years old. They’ve shared everything together since then – the highs and lows of school, family dramas, hopes and dreams and now, at seventeen, they’re both shop girls, working at Woolworths.

As they go out in the world in pursuit of love and happiness, the simplicity of their childhood dissolves as life becomes more complicated. The heady excitement of first love will consume them both, but the pain of unintentional betrayal will test their friendship in ways neither of them could ever imagine…

A charming, heart-breaking and ultimately uplifting novel which brings a bygone era vividly to life.

Review

The Girls of See Saw Lane by Sandy Taylor tells the tale of Dottie and Mary, who’ve been best friends since age seven when Mary moved onto See Saw Lane. This is a tale of friendship, betrayal, romance, growing up and tragedy, it’s a story which seems so ordinary yet it is so well written that it will totally absorb you and capture your heart.

Both main characters Dottie and Mary are very likeable and although very different they have the kind of close friendship many of can be envious of. Mary is a dreamer and artistic and she longs to travel the world and attend art school in Paris. She infatuated with bad boy Elton and longs for him to whisk her away from Brighton. Dottie is the more sensible one, she enjoys her job at “Woolies” and all she really wants in life is to get married and have her own family, but she’s happy to follow along with Mary and her dreams.

When their friendship suffers the ultimate betrayal can they survive? Can one girl get over the betrayal and forgive her friend or can she move on and make a life on her own? What does the future hold for these two girls?

I loved the descriptions of life for the girls in 1960s Brighton, their work in “Woolies” where they encounter the latest make-up, to the record shop where they listened to their latest rock and roll heroes, to the chips the bought on the pier. It really made me feel like I was there with them experiencing everything.

I loved this novel so much, even though it’s probably the most heart-breaking story I’ve read all year. It left me sad but in a good way and I’m eager to read the next book “Counting Chimneys” to see what happens next.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and Netgalley for the review copy and rate this heart-breaking and beautifully written novel 5/5.

The Beachside Guest House by Vanessa Greene

The Beachside Guest House by Vanessa Greene

Published: 10th September 2015

Publisher: Sphere

Pages: 336

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

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Blurb

When Rosa and Bee get together in the run-up to Bee's wedding, they reminisce about the holiday they took together as teenagers to the beautiful Greek island of Paros. They remember the sandy coves, the guest house in the converted windmill where they stayed with their friend Iona, and the gorgeous local men. As memories of that long-forgotten holiday resurface, they are forced to confront the turns their lives have taken - and the guilt they both feel about letting Iona slip away from them. When they learn that the windmill guest house is going bust they form a plan: why not go back to the island and take it over themselves? And so begins a life-changing journey - because it turns out that opening a guest house and reliving their teenage dreams isn't that easy ...Full of romance and friendship, love and life, laughter and tears, The Beachside Guest House is an uplifting novel about the magic of starting over with friends by your side.

Review

Rosa, Bee and Iona have been friends since they were children, sharing everything together as they grew up, especially a wonderful holiday they had on the Greek isle of Paros as teenagers before they went into the world as adults. More recently Iona has slipped off into her own world with boyfriend Ben and Rosa and Bee feel her loss as they struggle with issues in their own lives. When they learn that the windmill guesthouse where they stayed on the island is for sale Rosa decides its time for a career change and buys the place. Bee feeling unhappy with her impending marriage to boyfriend Stuart ends her relationship and joins Rosa. Can the two of them make a go of running the windmill and can they reach out and bring Iona back into their lives?

This is the first book by Vanessa Greene which I have read and its one which I became hooked on straight away. Vanessa’s writing style is heartfelt and emotional and I connected with the three main characters almost instantly and all the way through I was rooting for them and hoping they were going to make a success of the guesthouse, despite a number of setbacks.

Of all the three main characters I found Iona the most interesting, her struggles with her anxieties made her more complex than Rosa and Bee for me. Vanessa has written her character is such a way that I felt Iona’s pain and wanted her to make the right decision, I know I could so easily have found her annoying and become easily frustrated by her reasoning.

I loved how the Guesthouse became a sanctuary for all three woman while they lived there. As the guest house became ready for visitors the three women found they were able to move on from the past and embrace new adventures and new relationships and find true happiness.

Friendship and its importance is a big theme in this book. Despite years and miles apart Rosa, Bee and Iona have come together and their friendship is just as close as when they were teenagers. Proving that no matter what the problems you face are or the distance apart true friends will always be there to help you through the difficult times.

The Beachside Guest House is the perfect read for this time of year when the nights are growing colder and we’re all hanging to the last threads of summer, it’ll remind you of that perfect holiday you once had.  It’s a book to curl up with and will make you feel warm and cosy when you’ve finished.  I loved everything about this book as it kept me interested all the way through and the characters were ones which I really came to care for. I loved the ending as it tied things up for each character but also left the book with a potential follow on (please!).

It was a joy to discover Vanessa Greene’s writing and I cannot wait to see what she writes next. Thank you to Little Brown and Netgalley for the review copy of this book.

Rosa, Bee and Iona have been friends since they were children, sharing everything together as they grew up, especially a wonderful holiday they had on the Greek isle of Paros as teenagers before they went into the world as adults. More recently Iona has slipped off into her own world with boyfriend Ben and Rosa and Bee feel her loss as they struggle with issues in their own lives. When they learn that the windmill guesthouse where they stayed on the island is for sale Rosa decides its time for a career change and buys the place. Bee feeling unhappy with her impending marriage to boyfriend Stuart ends her relationship and joins Rosa. Can the two of them make a go of running the windmill and can they reach out and bring Iona back into their lives?

This is the first book by Vanessa Greene which I have read and its one which I became hooked on straight away. Vanessa’s writing style is heartfelt and emotional and I connected with the three main characters almost instantly and all the way through I was rooting for them and hoping they were going to make a success of the guesthouse, despite a number of setbacks.

Of all the three main characters I found Iona the most interesting, her struggles with her anxieties made her more complex than Rosa and Bee for me. Vanessa has written her character is such a way that I felt Iona’s pain and wanted her to make the right decision, I know I could so easily have found her annoying and become easily frustrated by her reasoning.

I loved how the Guesthouse became a sanctuary for all three woman while they lived there. As the guest house became ready for visitors the three women found they were able to move on from the past and embrace new adventures and new relationships and find true happiness.

Friendship and its importance is a big theme in this book. Despite years and miles apart Rosa, Bee and Iona have come together and their friendship is just as close as when they were teenagers. Proving that no matter what the problems you face are or the distance apart true friends will always be there to help you through the difficult times.

The Beachside Guest House is the perfect read for this time of year when the nights are growing colder and we’re all hanging to the last threads of summer, it’ll remind you of that perfect holiday you once had.  It’s a book to curl up with and will make you feel warm and cosy when you’ve finished.  I loved everything about this book as it kept me interested all the way through and the characters were ones which I really came to care for. I loved the ending as it tied things up for each character but also left the book with a potential follow on (please!).

It was a joy to discover Vanessa Greene’s writing and I cannot wait to see what she writes next. I give The Beachside Guest House 5/5 it was brilliant.Thank you to Little Brown and Netgalley for the review copy of this book.