Maddy's Book Blog

  Love from Christmas Tree Farm by Jo Thomas I hadn't read any books by Jo Thomas before, but the premise of Love from Christmas Tree Farm immediately appealed to me, and its festive setting made it irresistible. I'm pleased to say it lived up to my expectations, proving to be a fun, heartwarming read that was perfect for getting into the Christmas spirit. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I read it in a single day. Gwen lived at Christmas Tree Farm with her beloved husband, Paddy, but after his death she finds the huge farmhouse far too lonely for just her, her dog, and her collection of chickens and ducks. With something always going wrong and the old house becoming a money pit, she decides it is finally time to sell up and move to a small new-build flat. Then social worker Lara gets in touch, looking for somewhere, even temporarily, for Willow, a young distant relative of Paddy's whose mother is too seriously unwell to care for him. Although Gwen and Paddy never ha...

  Time After Time by Clare Swatman I am a sucker for a timeslip novel, and having previously read and enjoyed another timeslip story by Clare Swatman, I was confident I would be in for a treat, and I wasn't disappointed. Time After Time is a warm, feel-good novel with plenty of heart, making it the perfect read for the festive season.   Robyn's best friend, Aida, has a habit of giving her truly dreadful gifts, and this year's offering is no exception: a clock that is supposed to bring good luck. However, legend has it that if the clock is broken, the last person to touch it will be forced to relive the same year over and over again. After an awful year in which her beloved mother dies, Robyn goes to sleep on New Year's Eve and wakes up to discover it is 1st January of the previous year. Given a chance to do things differently, she is determined to change events and save her mother, but can she alter the future, or are some things destined to happen no matter what? ...

  Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger I was beyond excited to receive this sequel to The Time Traveler's Wife , which remains one of my favourite books. While I enjoyed revisiting the fascinating premise that made the original so special, I found this story became a little too political and rather gloomy for my taste. I would have preferred the focus to remain on the characters and their relationships, rather than the bleak political landscape that increasingly took centre stage. Despite that, it was still interesting to return to the world Audrey Niffenegger created and see where the story went next. Henry’s daughter, Alba, has inherited the same rare chrono-displacement disorder as her father, meaning she experiences life out of order. The story focuses mainly on Alba and her husband, Zach, but also reveals what happened to her mother, Claire, after Henry's death, including a new romance in her life. Alongside a wide cast of friends, Alba uses her knowledge of the fut...

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne Cyril Avery grows up knowing that he's not a 'real Avery' as his adopted parents tell him so all the time. He is starved of affection, and feels like he is just a lodger in his own house. His adopted father is a wealthy businessman who doesn't agree with paying taxes and does a couple of spells in prison as a result. His adopted mother is a writer, but doesn't want fame and fortune for her writing. All in all a very strange household to be bringing up a small boy. In the beginning of the book you find out that Cyril was born to a sixteen year old Irish girl, and owing to the location and times is cast out of the village by the local priest and her family. She goes to Dublin and manages to secure a job, and end up living with a friend she makes on the coach to Dublin, but quickly realised that she will be unable to keep her baby without any support and is forced to give him up to a " hunchbacked Redemptorist Nun...

  The Weight of Angels by John Boyne   I am not sure there are enough words to do this latest novel by John Boyne justice. He is a modern literary titan, not unlike the subject of this book was in his own time. I recently had the pleasure and privilege of hearing him speak about the novel and read a chapter from it, and I can happily say that the major difference is that John Boyne is a thoroughly lovely man. This is a substantial book that took me quite a while to read, but I savoured every word. This is a novel that brilliantly blends fact with fiction. In reality, the Marquess of Queensberry left his infamous calling card at the Albemarle Club in February 1895 bearing just his name and five words: "For Oscar Wilde, posing sodomite." Oscar Wilde's decision to sue for libel set in motion a chain of events that led to his arrest, imprisonment and, ultimately, his premature death. But what if he had simply ignored the card? What if he had escaped prison and been given ...

  Counting Down to You by Emily Stone   I have now read four books by Emily Stone, and they just seem to get better and better. Counting Down to You has everything I look for in a great read: deep emotion, romance, humour, and stunning scenery. From the very beginning, I was completely drawn into the story and couldn't wait to see how it would unfold. Ali and Robyn have been best friends and couldn’t be closer, sharing everything, especially their love of Christmas and the tradition of creating advent calendars filled with challenges for each other. When Robyn becomes seriously ill, she creates one final advent calendar for Ali, packed with special tasks designed to push her out of her comfort zone. Devastated by the loss of her best friend, Ali feels completely adrift, but completing the challenges gives her a way to honour Robyn's memory. As she works through each one, she finds herself embarking on a journey of friendship, healing and self-discovery. Emily Stone bala...

  Always A Silver Lining by Jessica Redland I have read so many books by Jessica Redland, and I am always completely immersed in her stories, which feel like sinking into a warm bubble bath. Although Always A Silver Lining can be enjoyed as a standalone novel, it is the sixth book in the series, so I loved revisiting old friends and learning more about characters who have only been mentioned briefly in previous books. Juliet is a wedding planner who has helped many couples achieve their dream day, but despite being engaged twice, she has never made it down the aisle herself. When she meets Christian following a cycling accident in a car park, the attraction between them is immediate, and she cannot stop thinking about him. However, Christian is concerned about their age difference, while Juliet is hiding a secret that she fears could destroy any chance of a future together. As their feelings deepen, both must decide whether they are willing to take a chance on love and hope th...