Maddy's Book Blog

  Just the Beginning by Sarah Bennett I have read several books with a similar storyline, but this is so well written that I was totally involved with the characters and their lives. Whilst there was no doubt how things would end up, getting there was a real treat. Anya thought she was living the perfect life – with her handsome husband, beautiful daughter and wonderful house and no lack of money. Only when her husband dies does Anya find out the truth – her perfect life was a house of cards, and build on lies and fraud. Anya has no choice but to move to Halfmoon Quay, where her family give her accommodation for her and her daughter. When she bumps into her old friend Rick, and he organises a job for her at his uncle’s hotel life seems to be finally looking up for Anya. But is Rick just being friendly or does he have an ulterior motive? A lovely story, with believable characters, and all of whom became like friends, and who I missed when the book was finished. I am hoping for...

  Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino   I was very keen to read this book, but I was quite disappointed. It was very hard to read as the copy I was sent to preview was so terrible. All the ‘fl’ and fi’ in the book were missing! Words were joined together with spaces missing. Sometimes it was hard to figure out what the book was trying to say – and it spoilt the flow. Also, I’m not sure if you were supposed to see the ‘replies’ to the faxes, but I couldn’t see them either. That not withstanding it was interesting in parts, and I managed to finish it, but honestly, I was expecting more to happen. I do think it needed another edit to make it more pacy.     When Adina was born, she had a very difficult birth, and her mother nearly died. She soon realises that she is different. As she grows, she spends her nights in a classroom learning about her home planet, and the beings who live there, and finds out that her purpose was to report back to her planet by means of ...

The Rest of Our Lives by Benjamin Markovits   I hadn’t heard of Benjamin Markovits before but I was intrigued by the blurb, so I applied to read it. This book won’t turn your world upside down but it is a lovely story, with very believable characters, and plausible situations – although if someone had Tom, our narrator’s symptoms, one would hope they would go to a hospital sooner.   Tom is married to Amy. They have 2 beautiful children – first Michael, then Miriam (Miri). When Michael is young and Miri is tiny, Amy has an affair. They carry on, so as to keep the home together for the children, but Tom decides that when Miri leaves home, he will leave. Amy suspects and is just waiting for something to happen, so the marriage is not a comfortable one. However, they muddle along. When Miri goes to University Tom drives her. When he drops her off, he just decides to carry on driving – to see various old friends, and ultimately to stay with their son Michael. Unfortunately,...

  The Favourite Child by Emma Robinson   Wow what a book! An emotional rollercoaster that will make you smile, and then choke back tears. I absolutely loved it. It’s a very clever idea, and not implausible. A five-star review from me.   When Erica and Andrew find out they are having twins they are over the moon. They love the fact that they are having both a boy and a girl (Ben and Mollie), but the shock that Ben has Special Needs threatens to break up the family as Ben needs a lot more support than Mollie. However, when Mollie goes missing, it throws the whole family into panic. For the first time, Mollie is everyone’s priority. Erica hasn’t ever got over feeling guilty about something that happened when the twins were small, and she takes Mollie’s disappearance very hard. Can Erica and Andrew work together to ensure Mollie, and Ben, are safe?   A book full of raw emotion. Guilt, stress, happiness, betrayal, devastation and so much more. The characters a...

  Killing Time (The Time Police #5) by Jodi Taylor   I have read some of the St Mary’s books by Jodi Taylor, but not any of these Time Police books. It did feel like I had gone to a party where everyone else knew each other and I had missed out! However, I soon caught up. It isn’t a literary work of art but it is a fun romp.   When 2 of a Time Police team go to apprehend 2 children who have build their own pod, and time travelled to see a ‘ghost train’ the two Police, along with the children,   get inadvertently stuck on the ghost train travelling through time. Can the rest of the Time Police rescue them before they get lost for good?   A fun story which doesn’t take itself too seriously. To be read tongue firmly in cheek.   https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7305664549  

  We All Live Here by JoJo Moyes JoJo Moyes isn’t one of our favourite Authors for nothing, and a number 1 Times bestseller to boot. This latest book just cements her as one of the Queens of contemporary fiction. Lila has managed to get through a very difficult divorce – made more difficult for having to see the other woman at school pick up each day! She has barely managed to hang on to the house, with her two daughters, but her step father has moved in bit by bit without her noticing – at least he handles some of the school pick ups. However, when her father – her mother’s first husband turns up, having been missing most of her life, that seems like one step too far. This is JoJo Moyes doing what she does best, and is sure to be another bestseller. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7285479152

  The Paris Bookshop for the Broken Hearted by Rebecca Raisin   I absolutely love reading a new Rebecca Raisin book. It’s as comforting as sinking into a warm bubble bath. The only trouble is that I find myself up half the night to read ‘just one more chapter’. It was also lovely that Rebecca slipped in a ‘cameo’ of Anais – the heroine from a previous book – it was like meeting an old friend.   Coco is half English and half French. She was living her best life in the UK - Joint head of a Publishing company with her boyfriend, wonderful daughter, and a lovely home. When it transpires that said boyfriend has been stealing royalties from the writers, he disappears leaving her to clear up the mess.   By the time she has made recompense to everyone, she is left with nothing, and has to relocate to Paris and move in with her parents – taking an extremely grumpy teenager - who is extremely unhappy about being separated from her friends! Unable to get a job in the pu...