Category: Journey story

Recent Reads: The Library by Bella Osborne

Posted on by Pam

My review:⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Library by Bella Osborne is about 2 people who don’t have much in common. 1 is a teenage boy, and the other is a pensioner. They discover they both love books, and when the library which has helped them so much is threatened with closure, they need to work out how to stop it!

This is a feel good story, with interactions between the characters that warm the soul. I enjoyed the storyline, and was cheering them on!

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Aria and Aries.

Recent Reads: Thrown by Sara Cox

Posted on by Pam

My review:⭐⭐⭐

Thrown by Sara Cox is a contemporary story about finding yourself.  This book does need a trigger warning as there is a domestic abuse storyline.

This book did feel unfinished on that I was expecting a little more closure, but the storylines are on the verge of the next step, and we’re just not being shown that.

It’s a story of female friendships, wanting some more out of life and reaching for change.

It’s a light read but felt lacking, such as the end as I’ve mentioned.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Hodder & Stoughton.

Recent Reads: Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn shows us Yinka’s life.  Her family is Nigerian, and so all the older ladies in her community are her aunties, and they all want to know why she isn’t married yet.  Yinka wants to know that too!

Her cousin gets engaged, and she wants her bridesmaids to work on something for her wedding.  Yinka chooses finding a date for the wedding as her project.

This is a really enjoyable story, with the difficulties of trying to live up to family expectations, and the expectations of the men in her life.

Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? was published on 31st March 2022, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Lizzie Damilola Blackburn on Twitter, Instagram and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin.

Recent Reads: The Book Share by Phaedra Patrick

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Book Share by Phaedra Patrick was such a good book!  It gave me all the feels, and kept me turning the pages!

I was gripped by the story of Liv, who cleans for a couple of clients, including her favourite author, Essie.

One day, unexpectedly, Essie dies, and one of her last wishes is for Liv to finish book 20 in her famous Georgie Rory series.  Liv is pushed out of her comfort zone, and by learning more about Essie, she learn more about herself.

The story of a 42 year old, married for 20 years with 2 children, learning she wants more out of life.  This has made me laugh out loud and cry in public!

The Book Share was published on 31st March 2022, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Phaedra Patrick on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to HQ.

Recent Reads: The Arctic Curry Club by Dani Redd

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Arctic Curry Club by Dani Redd is about Maya, who follows her boyfriend to the Arctic, where he is going to count polar bears, and she’s not certain what she’s going to do.

Maya has panic attacks, is scared of the snow, would like to see some daylight sometimes, and her father is starting a new relationship.  Oh, and her boyfriend is acting distant.  All in all, Maya is having a hard time.

When she is given a meal that’s been prepared from her late mother’s recipe book, she has a flashback to her childhood, something that she can’t remember on her own.  And things start changing in her life.

This was an enjoyable read, with the descriptions of the Arctic well done.  It’s a book that makes you want to circle up with a hot drink, and read about Maya’s adventures.

The Arctic Curry Club was published on 9th December 2021, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Dani Redd on Twitter.

I was given this book in exchanged for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Avon Books.

Recent Reads: The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger (The Devil Wears Prada 1)

Posted on by Pam

My review:🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger (The Devil Wears Prada 1) is the book that the film was based on.  Andrea is hired as one of the assistants for Miranda Priestly, the editor of ‘Runway’ magazine, and who rules her magazine with an iron fist, and many petty requests.

Be warned, Andrea is treated worse in the book than in the film, and there’s a story line that involves alcoholism.

This is an enjoyable story, with some bits that are hard to read.

The Devil Wears Prada was published on 15th April 2003 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Lauren Weisberger on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and her website.

Recent Reads: The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley (The Seven Sisters 7)

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley (The Seven Sisters 7) has the six sisters finally be given information about their missing seventh sister, and so they start looking for her.  They are given by their family lawyer a clue, an image of a star shaped emerald ring, and this is a search that involves all of the sisters, and goes on all over the world!

The other half of this story is set in Ireland in 1920s, 1950s and 1970s, and tells a tale of sacrifice and love.  It was another sweeping drama, with more reveals that just made me want to read the next book as I’m looking forward to a lot of answers to all the questions I’ve built up over this series!

Lucinda Riley sadly died earlier this year, but the last book in this series is coming out next year.

The Missing Sister was published on 27th May 2021 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can read my reviews of previous books in this series:

The Seven Sisters (book 1)

The Sun Sister (book 6)

Recent Reads: Devorgilla Days by Kathleen Hart

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Devorgilla Days by Kathleen Hart is the story of Kathleen’s life starting again in a town called Wigtown, which is Scotand’s book capital (no, I hadn’t heard of this place either!).

She has battled various health issues, including cancer, and has bought a 13th century cottage, which she renovates, and we meet her neighbours and people she knows in the town.

This is an enjoyable memoir of finding pleasure in the little things, and having a fresh start.  I enjoyed the way it is told, so you are given more information the longer you read, so you get the full picture by the end of the book, and realise quite how amazing Kathleen is!

Devorgilla Days was published on 27th May 2021 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Kathleen Hart on Instagram and on her website.

I was given this book in exchange of an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to John Murray Press.

Recent Reads: Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k Up by Alexandra Potter

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k Up by Alexandra Potter is about Nell Stevens, who is feeling like she has failed.  She’s left her fiancé in America and moved back to the UK, and is renting a room in someone else’s house.  She’s looking around at her friends who are married with children, and feels alienated from them.  

She gets offered a job to write obituaries, and jumps at it.  She meets Cricket, an 80 something year old widow, on her first interview, and they become unlikely friends.

This is a lovely story of finding yourself, changing your life and friendship.  I really enjoyed it, and loved Cricket!

Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k Up by Alexandra Potter was published on 31st December 2020, and is available to buy from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Alexandra Potter on her website, Facebook or Instagram.

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Pan Macmillan.

Recent Reads: The Sun Sister by Lucinda Riley (The Seven Sisters 6)

Posted on by Pam

My review::????

The Sun Sister by Lucinda Riley is number 6 in the Seven Sisters books.  It’s just over 1,000 pages long, but don’t let that put you off as it’s a book that will drag you in, and take you to different places!  In this book we visit New York, Switzerland and Kenya.

The first book in the series is The Seven Sisters, and you can read my review of it here!  I don’t read many family sagas but I’ve been enjoying this series, and I’m looking forward to book 7 coming out, which is apparently 2021.

My suggestion for this series is to read them in order, as they interweave with one another as you go on, and they are all set in 2007-2008.

Electra is the youngest sister, and is the one that’s termed the most difficult.  She screamed as a baby, and has always been headstrong and known what she doesn’t want to do.  Unfortunately, she has a drug and alcohol problem, which she tries to hide from her family.  This is her book of finding out more about where she has come from, which has an impact on where she is now.

Spoilers for the series below!

Yes, the books have a formula – sister struggles in present day, maybe she goes on search of her past, maybe it plops in front of her, then learning about her great grandmother will help her know more about her present day and see the way out of her issue.  But, it isn’t a formula that hurts the series!  Instead, it means you anticipate where the sister is going to go, how they’re going to find out what they need to know.

The mystery of Pa Salt… he’s been an elusive figure in all of the books, but one that all of the great grandmothers have met!  There’s a good Reddit on all of the encounters.  There’s been hints all along that maybe he isn’t really dead.  No one knows how he makes his money or where he goes off to when he leaves home.  It’s all very strange, and I’m looking forward (hoping!) for a wrap up in book 7!

The Sun Sister was published on 13th October 2019, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones, and your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Lucinda Riley on Twitter, Instagram and her website.

I read this book through my library, on the BorrowBox app.