It Must Have Been the Mistletoe by Judy Astley

It Must Have Been the Mistletoe by Judy Astley

Published: 25th September 2014

Publisher: Transworld

Pages: 349

Available in Hardback, Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Blurb

Thea's parents decide to host a big family Christmas in a house by the sea. even though they are, in fact, about to split up. Thea herself is newly single - her sister and brother are both settled, with children, homes and a future. But Thea's boyfriend has ditched her in favour of his pedigree dogs, and Thea can't decide whether or not she minds.

There will be copious food and drink, holly and mistletoe, lots of bracing walks and a wintry barbecue on the beach. If it seems an odd way to celebrate the final break-up of a marriage and the Moving On to new partners, no- one is saying so. But then no-one had anticipated that the new partners might actually turn up to complicate the sleeping arrangements.

As Cornwall experiences the biggest snowstorm in living memory, the festive atmosphere comes under some strain. Will Thea manage to find some happiness for herself? Will the mistletoe work its magic on them all?

Review

It Must Have Been the Mistletoe is one of the most Christmassy books I’ve read this Christmas. It has a beautiful festive cover and unlike many “Christmas” books I’ve read it’s actually about Christmas which was wonderful to read in the middle of the festive season.

I really enjoyed the sound of this book, Anna and Mike are sixty-something parents who have chosen to divorce after forty years of marriage. They intend to remain friends with each other and decide to spend one last Christmas together as a family. They’ve booked a cottage on the Cornish coast and have ask their three children Thea, Jimi and Emily and their families to join them there over Christmas.  As with all large family gatherings some things are bound to go wrong including being snowed in with a couple of unexpected guests.

I did find that this book had a slow start and to be honest I was not totally comfortable by Mike and Anna’s decision to divorce and seek new partners, it just seemed a really odd thing to do after a  long and happy marriage. It took me a while to get these thoughts out of my head and focus more on the other characters. Thea, the eldest daughter has just broken up with fiancé Richard who decided he prefers his poodle and his sister to Thea. She’s not really in the mood for Christmas this year but tries to embrace it for the sake of her family, can the cottage’s owner give Thea her sparkle back? We don’t find out too much about the other family members other than Emily seems to be a bit moody. My favourite character had to be Charlotte, so was so brutally honest and put her foot in her mouth on more than one occasion!

After a few chapters I was hooked as the full on family Christmas got under way. There was tree-decorating, carols, snowmen, board games and of course the Christmas dinner. I just loved all the Christmas details and what made it all the more Christmassy was seeing the whole family together as one unit despite all the bickering, moaning and fall-out of normal family life.

Surprisingly given the number of previous novels listed at the back this is my first Judy Astley novel, it certainly won’t be my last I’m hooked. I loved the details of the scenery and am longing to visit a remote cottage for my own magical family Christmas. I also loved the way she brought her characters to life, the felt very real to me with their ordinary everyday problems and the way she wrote the romance in the book was just perfect. This is exactly the kind of book I enjoy reading at Christmas full of family, romance and a little touch of magic!

I’d rate this book 4/5 and am looking forward to reading the follow up book A Merry Mistletoe Wedding.

Top Ten Tuesday - Bookish Resolutions 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by The Broke and the Bookish who love list making an reading. Each week there is a different book related list to create and share with other bloggers and readers. This week's list was Top Ten Bookish Resolutions which for me was an easy list to create as there is plenty I would like to improve on.

1. Read 70 Books - Last year I set my Goodreads Reading Challenge at 100 books and although I read more than what is listed on my profile I know it was no where near 100 and towards the end of last year I began to feel very disappointed for not having succeeded. I'm taking the pressure and I'm sure I can easily complete this number.

2. Blog more consistently -In 2015 my blogging was very sporadic, one week I'd have five posts the next one. I think the thing was I was aiming for every day but with everything that happened last year I just couldn't manage it. When the guilt of not blogging crept in I'd post consistently for a few days and then life would catch up again. This year there are no big plans on the horizon so I aim to be more organised and try (fingers crossed) to post three times a week, every week.

3. Make my blog more interesting - My blog has predominantly been reviews with the odd Top Ten post for the last year. I'd love to be part of more blog tours and host guest posts and cover reveals, hopefully I can achieve this and my blog more interesting for readers.

4. Request fewer review books -  2015 was the year when I went crazy requesting books to review and although I read quite a few, I didn't read them all and for this I feel massively guilty towards the authors and publishers who've kindly sent me books in the post or through Netgalley. I think this is because I have a serious love of receiving mail and nothing makes me happier than seeing another shiny new book all ready to be read. This year I'm only going to request books I will read straight away and will hopefully really enjoy.

5. Buy fewer books - This links to the resolution above, I've bought loads of books in the year and there just gathering dust in my bedroom, very few have actually been read yet! As 2016 is going to be my year of the declutter I'm not going to buy another book unless I know it will be a firm favourite. /I have an excellent local library and really should make better use of it.

6. Read some of my own books - Although I have a large review pile to get through, this year I would also like to get my own books out and give them some love. I also really want to thin my collection down by probably half, so I need to get reading.

7. Write book reviews much sooner - I've become very bad at not actually writing reviews recently. I've a notebook full of notes I made while reading but have failed at actually writing the review, which is something I want to change immediately. I've loved most of the books I've read in the last few months and it's time I shared that love with my readers.

8. Engage with other bloggers more - The book blogging world is full of loving caring sounding people who also share my love of books. I'd love this to be the year where I become more involved in the blogging community and connect with other bloggers.

9. Read books nearer to there release date -  This kind of links to many of my other resolutions, I want to enjoy books while they still have the buzz about them so I can share that with others. I also want less books sat on shelves being unloved.

10. Spend more time writing creatively -  I'd love 2016 to be the year where I develop my writing skills and write some fiction of my own rather writing about other people's. Not sure if I'll find the time to do this on top of everything else but here's hoping!

Thank you for stopping by today, I'd love to know what your resolutions are for this year bookish or otherwise. See other people's lists here.

Top Ten Tuesday - New to Me Authors in 2015

Today I decided to join in with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, its being a long time since I complied a bookish Top Ten and felt this week's list was the perfect one to jump back in with: Top Ten New to Me Authors in 2015. Now at least half of what I've read this year has been new to me authors but I have found some real favourites who are now on my must-read list.
   

1. Angela Marsons: this woman's writing is superb and I've loved all three of her D.I. Stone novels that she has written this year and am looking forward to more in 2016



2. Jill Mansell: I'm very sad to admit that I've never picked up a Jill Mansell novel before despite being a huge chick-lit reader. Three Amazing Things About You changed that, it was just amazing in every way and has opened up a whole new love. Luckily for me Jill has written quite a few novels so I've plenty more gems to discover in her back catalogue.


3. Kirsty Greenwood: The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance was just brilliant and the main character Jess Beam just had me laughing all the way through. I have Yours Truly her first novel on my tbr pile so hopefully it won't be sat there too long.


4. Dinah Jefferies: The Tea Planter's Wife was such a beautifully written novel and I loved how the story unfolded. I'm so looking forward to her next read The Merchant's Daughter which is out in February.


5. Jessica Thompson: The Waiting Game was beautiful, such a heart-breaking novel. Will pick up another book by her when I want an emotional read.


6. Sarah Morgan: I've just finished reading Christmas Ever After and I adored it, love the characters, the setting, the plot, everything was perfect. I need to read more from this lady very soon.


7. Debbie Rix : The Secrets of the Tower was a ready good read with a dual narrative full of mystery and romance. I really hope this lady writes more in the future.

 
8. Christie Barlow: I read both of Christie's novels back to back in September and enjoyed the comedy in both of them. Looking forward to her new novel Kitty's Countryside Dream which is out in February


9. Claire Sandy: Loved What Would Mary Berry Do? and am hoping to read her other two novels before too long.


10. Chrissie Manby: I've just finished the first Proper Family book and am eager to start the next one as this family just captured my heart. Will enjoy going back and reading her previous novels next year.

So that's my list, are any of these favourites of yours? Pop over to The Broke and the Bookish and have a look at other people's lists.

Joanne x

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

Order now from Amazon

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.

Bella's Christmas Bake Off by Sue Watson

Bella's Christmas Bake Off by Sue Watson

Published: 22nd October 2015

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 314

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Blurb

Two best friends. One big lie. The best bake off EVER. Bella Bradley is the queen of television baking - a national treasure. Her Christmas specials have been topping the ratings for years and her marriage to Peter 'Silver Fox' Bradley is the stuff of Hello magazine specials. But this year things are going to be different. For Amy Lane, Bella's best friend from school, life hasn't held quite the same sparkle. And when Amy's husband walks out three weeks from Christmas, it seems their lives are further apart than ever. Amy has watched Bella's rise to fame fondly, despite the fact Bella was always a terrible cook. But when she realises that Bella's latest Christmas book is made up entirely of Amy's mother's recipes, the gloves are off... After winning a competition to appear on Bella's TV show, Amy is going to make sure that for Bella and her viewers, this will definitely be a Christmas to remember... A hilarious, heart-breaking and feel good read about best friends, baking and the magic of Christmas.

Review

After devouring Sue’s last Christmas book I was eager to read her next one and Bella’s Christmas Bake Off has all the ingredients for a perfect Christmas read for me. It was full of laugh out loud moments, entertaining characters, madcap plotlines all topped off with a sprinkling of glitz and glamour.

Amy Lane has just been left by her husband of twenty years for a younger, more flexible woman just weeks before Christmas. She’s gutted as she loves Christmas with all its trimmings and all the extra baking. In order to sooth her broken heart Amy switches on to watch her former childhood friend Bella Bradley serve up the perfect Christmas on her television show Bella’s Christmas Bake-Off. As she watches Amy notices that Bella is using recipes that Amy is very familiar with…because they were her mum’s.

In her anger Amy decides to enter Bella’s competition to win a Christmas cooked by Bella. When she wins Amy forces Bella to cook for the local homeless shelter St. Swithins or she’ll go public about Bella’s recipe stealing. When these two meet after twenty years the sparks fly but Amy begins to realise to how lucky she has been after the sparkly veneer of Bella’s life is peeled away.

Like her previous novels Sue has created characters that we can easy relate to because they’re not perfect! Amy is a little over-weight, she doesn’t make the best of her appearance and she’s jealous of what she believes Bella has, she does however have a caring side which makes her very likable. Although Bella appears to have the wonderful polished life that we can all lust after, once the cameras have gone away there is a very different and lonely woman left behind whose longing for friendship, this made her a very vulnerable and for me made a more likable.

I loved all the references to celebrity chefs such as Mary Berry and Nigella and the food! Oh my goodness, I don’t think it’s possible to read a Sue Watson book without having something to nibble on as the food descriptions are just delicious!

Bella’s Christmas Bake-Off is a book full of humour and comedy moments but by including the homeless shelter Sue has a given it a more serious element and this perfectly portrays the Christmas message that it’s not how much you have at Christmas that makes it special but who you share it with. The scenes from the homeless shelter felt really Christmassy to me when everyone came together to make the big Christmas dinner and these made the book all the more enjoyable.

This book is full of fun and Christmas spirit and I feel it would be the prefect book to read on Christmas Eve, providing of course you’ve stuffed your turkey and prepped your sprouts!

I’d like to thank Bookouture and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book, I really enjoyed it and would rate it 4 out of 5.

How to Stuff up Christmas by Rosie Blake

How to Stuff Up Christmas by Rosie Blake

Published: 5th November 2015

Publisher: Corvus

Pages: 324

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Blurb

'Tis the season to be jolly. Unless you've found an intimate picture of another woman on your fiance's phone...

Eve is heartbroken after discovering her fiance is cheating on her. Being surrounded by the joys of Christmas is more than Eve can bear, so she chooses to avoid the festivities by spending Christmas alone on a houseboat in Pangbourne. Eve gets an unexpected seasonal surprise when handsome local vet Greg comes to her rescue one day, and continues to visit Eve's boat on a mission to transform her from Kitchen Disaster Zone to Culinary Queen.

But where does Greg keep disappearing to? What does Eve's best friend Daisy know that she isn't telling? And why is there an angry goose stalking Eve's boat?

A hilarious and heart-warming novel about Christmas, catastrophes and cooking, containing exclusive Christmas recipes, from the talented Rosie Blake.

Review

How to Stuff up Christmas is the first book I’ve read by Rosie Blake. She is an author I’ve been wanting a read for quite a while and this book, which is her second novel, more than lived up to my expectations for being a funny and engaging read.

Heartbroken Eve is not looking forward to Christmas one bit. Last year it was perfect, her boyfriend Liam had proposed on Christmas morning and Eve had been overjoyed. This year she’s single after finding out Liam was cheating on her and she wants to avoid all reminders of last year. So she books herself on a pottery course and goes to stay on a houseboat for a few weeks in December. While staying on the houseboat the village of Pangbourne and its residents….including a very handsome vet start to make their way into Eve’s heart.

The first thing I loved about this was book was the cover, it’s so sparkly and festive and really put me in the Christmas mood, plus I love anything to do with gingerbread men!

I instantly liked Eve, she says and does exactly what she thinks and is very funny. I loved that she did what many of us do after break-ups, wallow in pj’s for days on end, avoid anything that serves as a reminder and clings onto things of the lost partner, even if we don’t really want them…poor Marmite it wasn’t his fault! I also loved that when she made decision to do something she went and did it.  

I loved the way the plot flowed easy and was filled with some brilliant, witty and very honest dialogue. The opening chapter with Eve chatting to her parents was hilarious and one of the best first chapters I’ve read in a long-time.

One thing I wasn’t so keen on was that a couple of scenes were repeated from Eve and Greg’s perspective’s, right down to the same dialogue and I just found this a little too repetitive and distracted from an otherwise hilarious and addictive plot.

I loved the number of mysteries that were in this book. Where does Greg keep running off too? Who is the woman on Liam’s phone? What is Daisy hiding? And what’s with that goose!

I found How to Stuff up Christmas to be a very funny read with lovely likable characters and although it doesn’t scream Christmas it will definitely put you in the mood for some mulled wine and turkey.

I’d like to thank Corvus for sending me a copy to review and would rate this book 4/5.

The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin

The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin

Published: 16th October 2015

Publisher: Carina UK

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Blurb

Le Vie En Rose

Bookshop owner Sarah Smith has been offered the opportunity to exchange bookshops with her new Parisian friend for 6 months! And saying yes is a no-brainer – after all, what kind of a romantic would turn down a trip to Paris? Even if it does mean leaving the irresistible Ridge Warner behind, Sarah’s sure she’s in for the holiday of a lifetime – complete with all the books she can read!

Picturing days wandering around Shakespeare & Co, munching on croissants, sipping café au laits and people-watching on the Champs-Elysees Sarah boards the plane. But will her dream of a Parisian Happily-Ever-After come true? Or will Sarah realise that the dream isn’t quite as rosy in reality…

Review

Once again Rebecca Raisin has manged to charm and enchant us with another brilliant story. The Little Book Shop on the Seine is Rebecca’s first novel which has partly being set away from her lovely town of Ashford. In this book Sarah, owner of The Bookshop on the Corner agrees to a six month book swap with her online friend Sophie who runs Once Upon a Time in Paris.

Sarah heads off believing that Paris will be just as romantic as it is in her books and is hoping to spend some much needed quality time with boyfriend Ridge. However things don’t turn out quite the way she expected and she finds things fairly tough going.

The Little Bookshop on the Seine seems to be a more serious and realistic novel from Rebecca, the characters in this novel aren’t all warm and cosy like the residents of Ashford and I enjoyed this new direction Rebecca has taken. Some of the characters in this book are snappy and rude such as Beatrice and I really enjoyed wondering what exactly her problem was.

Life in Once Upon a Time is busy, disorderly and at times too much for Sarah to deal with after the peace and quiet of her own shop. In this book we see her character develop as she gains more confidence, stands up for herself and takes control of the Parisian shop for Sophie.

As with her previous novels Rebecca has done a fantastic job of creating beautiful scenes from her wonderful descriptions of places in Paris. I loved visiting Anouk in her antique shop and all the quaint hidden little places Oceane introduced Sarah too. One of my favourite scenes was when Oceane took Sarah out for lunch and ordered her steak tartare, I think I would have acted exactly as Sarah did!

I did find that this wasn’t quite as Christmassy as I expected and for that reason I’m glad I’ve read it as one of my first Christmas reads this year. Christmas is only really featured in the last few chapters of the book. However it does do a wonderful have a lovely wintery glow about it, making it perfect to read in front of log fires with hot chocolate and start your Christmas dreams.

As with all previous Rebecca Raisin novels I loved everything about this book. I loved that Rebecca has given us a little bit more depth and mystery to her story but still kept that warm and cosy feeling at the heart of her writing. Although this follows on from previous novels it can be read completely as a stand-alone and make total sense. Definitely a book to add to your winter reading this year, I rate it 5 out 5!

Thank you to Carina UK and Netgalley for my review copy.