Maddy's Book Blog

  Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle by Jaimie Admans I absolutely love a Jaimie Admans book, and this one is right up there with her best. I'm a sucker for a love story, and if it has a healthy dose of comedy, even better. This book has both in spades. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. I absolutely loved it! Lula is a window dresser, but disaster strikes just before Christmas and she ends up getting fired. After all, who wants to see Santa decapitating Paddington Bear?! When Lula spots an advert for someone to decorate a castle for Christmas, she jumps at the chance. There's just one catch: she has to pretend to be the owner's long-term girlfriend, Lucy. The fact that Oliver is drop-dead gorgeous certainly makes keeping up the charade a little easier! Add in a couple of fake children, plenty of festive chaos, and some laugh-out-loud moments, and you have the perfect recipe for a heartwarming romance. This was such a fun read, packed with humour, Christmas...

  Under Story by Chloe Benjamin   I hadn't read anything by Chloe Benjamin before, but the premise of the book really appealed to me. I'd previously read and enjoyed a book about time moving backwards, so I was very keen to read this one. It started a little slowly, but picked up around the 30% mark. She covered most of the backwards-time concepts that I'd enjoyed in the previous book, along with some physics, although she didn't touch on the concept of eating. Imagine that going backwards! 😊   Lauren is a renowned scientist, but after experiencing a traumatic event, she and her husband, fellow scientist Eli, separate. Seeking a complete change of direction, she moves to Antarctica and ends up working in the kitchen. When Eli arrives at the research station, old feelings begin to resurface. After Lauren has the epiphany that the mysterious Arc may be a portal, she must convince Eli to take a leap of faith with her. However, sometimes what you think you want isn...