beate251's reviews
413 reviews

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC.

Dawn is a 53 year old Black widowed journalist. Dawn's husband Dale has died of cancer and she returns to her hometown Baltimore to give the ashes to his brother Brent. While there she realises some unresolved career problems coming up again when her nemesis Joe Perkins, also Black, is on the same plane. A movie is planned detailing his Pulitzer prize winning exposé - but he stole the research from her and now makes her out to be the villain.

A complicated story ensues involving her sister Tonyah, an old admirer called Eddie, a diva with the name of Vivienne St Clair, and young journalist Bria. For me, there were too many flashbacks and it took too long to get the proof Dawn needed to take Joe down and then everything happened at once at the end.

The story is told in first person narrative which I'm not sure is the correct one here. I couldn't really get on with this novel, it was too American for me, and it took me forever to read this, which is never a good sign. I expected more of a light-hearted rom-com, instead I got rivalry and revenge for previous and current wrongdoings plus family conflicts, and it wasn't the story I wanted to read. If you enjoy complex family relationships and strong protagonists wanting to right a wrong, this may be for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC.

Sally is from London but now resides in Manhattan. It is clear that she has run from something and that there is major trauma in her past. She lives with New Yorker Priya who is a psychotherapist, and works in a job she doesn't enjoy.

One day she gets drugged and conned out of her money by suave Harry, and her sense of revenge gets awakened. Interestingly, within what feels like minutes she has assembled a support group of half a dozen women who have been hurt by men - abusers, rapists, financial con artists, catfishers, thieves, the lot. They call their group " Some Women" and meet weekly in a church hall of all places to pool their resources. First they just want to get their money back or humiliate these men out of their jobs but it very soon tips into murder, with Sally being at the forefront of the action.

It is clear that Sally is deeply damaged. She talks of a psychiatric ward in her past and compensation money and once we learn what happened we can understand how she is behaving now. Of course, with that many bad men around, even less damaged women might be out for revenge, and so one abuser and rapist after the other finds their timely end, with the women dividing up the work and helping each other out, making sure that nothing connects them to their respective victims.

There remains a complicated relationship between Sally and Harry - after all he did to her, she still gravitates towards him. She attributes that to her childhood but I still found it strange. Things do go wrong, one man survives an attempt, Harry taunts Sally, and there is an interesting but logical twist about Priya's boyfriend Steve.

I have a penchant for revenge novels and female serial killers, and this one delivers in spades, even though they all get away with it a bit too easily and the story ends a bit too neatly. The revenge theme is strong but we don't really get more than a superficial sense of the other women. I'm questioning whether the first person narrative is the correct choice and whether we need a mystery around Sally's childhood trauma instead of just being told straightaway. It is also lacking any kind of humour but that's not a bad thing. The story is however very entertaining and I read it in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

Coco Chevallier, a dual French and British book editor, has to return from London to Paris with her teenage daughter Eloise in reluctant tow to live with her parents because her boyfriend Alexander defrauded her and her business and damaged her reputation so that she is bankrupt and no one wants to work with her anymore.

She bumps into Henri, a grumpy journalist who berates her for getting herself mugged in front of the Eiffel Tower like a dumb tourist, which gets her hackles up. She flees into a quaint bookshop called The Paris Bookshop for the Broken-Hearted and meets charming owner Valérie who offers her a cocktail and a job. It's then she realises Henri is a regular. I have to say, enemies to lovers is not a trope I relish but it wasn't overdone here.

There is a lot going on in this book, making it an interesting and well-rounded read. It looks like Eloise is bullied at her new school by fellow pupil Léa; quirky but lovable members of an energetic book club like Agnes, Ziggy and book doctor Isidore cause havoc; there is a mystery about the unknown author of a popular book of poems; and where is Valérie disappearing to every day?
 
This is my fourth new Rebecca Raisin book this year and the third to take place in Paris, which is just such a great, evocative backdrop. I love how the bookshop is such a haven for book lovers, with a leaning wall of books, a cocktail bar with snacks, a secret book tunnel, and an upstairs reading area with hammocks, daybeds and beanbags. Plus the literary mystery brings a certain je ne sais quoi to the story.

"Reading is a portal into another world."

It is lovely to see Anais, a character from the previous book "The Little Paris Hotel" make a quick cameo appearance, tying the two books together, but I would have wanted to see Alexander properly brought to justice. Nevertheless, Coco's resilience in the face of adversity is inspiring.

All in all it's a well-written and fun, feel-good literary-themed read for book lovers with a pretty cover, that will make you wish you could visit The Paris Bookshop for the Broken-Hearted and let Valérie make you a personal cocktail and heal your heart with a book - one that is a love letter to books! Heartbreak comes for a lot of reasons but there is always hope.

"Not only does the bookshop cater for those with a broken heart, but also for lonely hearts, lost souls, the grief stricken, the star crossed. There’s a remedy for everyone."

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

Maddy Hart discovers she has a strange gift when she loses her virginity at the age of 16 - she can see ten years into the future and discover in a snapshot how this relationship might play out. None of the relationships she sees before her inner eye over the next few years convinces her so she stays away from men until, one Christmas time, at the age of 25, she meets Oliver, who is also an aspiring actor and has been duped with her into playing Santa and elf in a grotty grotto.

She meets him again when she is looking for a flatshare because her BFF Priya who she has been sharing with forever, wants to move her boyfriend in. She moves in with Oliver and they fall in love faster than you can say "Cut!" When they are intimate she sees a rosy future with laughter and an adorable small girl in tow. For the first time she wants this future, and everything could be great - until she finds something out about the little girl that changes everything.

Now let's get to that weird bit of clairvoyance. I have nothing per se against magical realism and that it requires everyone to just blindly believe it but why is it so illogical? Why can't it happen once with every new man with the first kiss? Why does she have to have her sex life destroyed by basically watching a film of the future every time she has sex? I repeat, EVERY. TIME.

Also, the one time she doesn't see anything with a guy it turns out later it is because he dies before the ten years are up. But she sees futures with everyone else? Ten year relationships exist but not for everyone, especially for very young people. It makes no sense that she could see relationships with all of them in the future, plus how does she even know that exactly ten years have passed every time?

Then, when she is finally happy, why does she decide to suddenly actively change something just so she can have that exact future? Either it will happen or it won't but surely if it's shown to her she'd doesn't have to change anything to get there? It felt to me that artificial drama was created for the sake of it. Was the point of all this honestly so Oliver would look better in her eyes and not be a simple cheat? She wants the kid that much?

It is a nice enough story told in dual timelines, and Oliver is generally lovely and gets on great with her disabled little brother Henry. I don't think Priya is a particularly great friend as she seems selfish to me, but Maddy's parents and Mrs Aziz are lovely.

But nothing much really happens, then suddenly we have a very abrupt and ambiguous ending that doesn't tell us the outcome of Maddy's mother's tests nor what happens when she tells Oliver the truth in the future.

I am usually a great fan of Laura Pearson's books but this one didn't work for me. The premise is fantastic but the execution is sorely lacking and not thought through enough. I can recommend The Last List of Mabel Beaumont though and The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for this ARC.

This is some heartwarming Jane Austen fan fiction that takes place four years after the events of Pride & Prejudice. Charlotte Lucas who was married to parson Mr Collins finds herself a young widow in need of consolation by friends, but as Lizzie Bennet is busy, she sends her younger sister Mary.

What follows is a historically inaccurate but very sweet wishful thinking sapphic regency romance with a lot of yearning and longing and misunderstandings plus a third-act breakup, before a happy ending that is fit for the times can ensue.

You don't need to be queer or a Jane Austen fan to enjoy this slow-burn romance, though it might help. Recommended, especially if you like to learn about the meaning of flowers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for this ARC.

The three Fisher sisters Alex, Nancy and Eva usually get on ok, but when the entire family including parents, partners and children meets for a week's holiday in a glass house in the forest (the metaphor is not subtle at all) to celebrate a naming ceremony and matriarch Vivienne's 70th birthday, something disconcerting happens - their father involuntarily picks a favourite amongst his daughters which causes all kinds of conflict and sibling rivalry.

I could not get into this. There were too many people, too many flashbacks and yet too little of note happened. I didn't really like any of the characters sufficiently - their relationships were all over the place, animosities were aired, secrets and lies exposed and it felt like one big dysfunctional family. And I couldn't engage with it. For example, who doesn't tell their family they got married? The fragmented writing style is infuriating. The jumpy timeline is incredibly confusing. Where is the structure? Just when we're about to get to an interesting revelation, the scene breaks off and we're in another flashback or back to the present. I really liked Amazing Grace Adams but this wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for this ARC.

This book takes place in a small village called Starbourne and while there are two main couples, the community setting means there are at least three more couples forming.

Nella and Lizzie end up in the same luxury cottage retreat in the picturesque Cotswolds - Bella as a concierge and Lizzie as a guest trying to relax and take time away from her Hollywood actress career. The two become firm friends, juggle some suitors and have more people from their lives turn up to visit or stay with them. 

This gentle story of love, friendship and second chances teaches you not to judge people too early - there were several male characters I was weary of at the beginning (Tony and Jed) who completely turned my opinion of them around. I also like that there were a couple of heartwarming surprises in the story.

Jill Mansell is always a great read! It's a pacey, feel-good story that's clean and not too cheesy. All the stories intertwine, and there is a great set of characters. Highly recommend for a light-hearted, escapist read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group for this ARC.

Samantha works in marketing for a mustard brand in Minnesota and tall and frowny Xavier is a vet with his own practice. They meet over an impossibly cute stray cat that has an unusual and costly medical problem. They have one perfect date that mainly takes place in a locked escape room and then Sam is forced to move miles away. Their relationship has no future - and yet they both can't forget each other.

The story is told in alternating dual POV, so both Samantha and Xavier get their say. Both have baggage due to their parents. Xavier's parents are abusers, emotionally as well as physically, and Samantha has to move back home to California due to her mother's deteriorating health condition.

This book nearly broke me. There are two big topics that I have personal experience with: dementia and long-distance relationships. Both are described incredibly realistically and both suck. Especially caring for someone with dementia is exhausting and heartbreaking and you can only really appreciate it once you've done it yourself and you realise it's not just about memory loss. For some people, just reading about it will be too much, as well as learning about those caricature villains that are Xavier's parents. The relationships within Samantha's family are a bit more complex and revolve around how to best care for her mother.

Abby Jimenez' books seem to have many similarities to each other. They all deal with difficult topics, there is always a cute pet or two with a ridiculous name, a bearded man, the desire to have children, big feelings that border on obsession, and a couple of mentions of Nadia Cakes, the author's own business. There is always one apparent reason why two people who are incredibly perfect for each other can't be together. This time it is "we live too far from each other and we can't move, at all, ever". I get it, long distance is frustrating, tiring and expensive, but it usually has an end date.

The book is eminently readable and the big feelings will have many readers swoon, although everyone's problems seem to get solved a little too neatly and quickly at the end, but I adored lovely Dr Hank and his selflessness. Abby Jimenez means quality, and even though I would have liked a little less dementia drama I thoroughly enjoyed this and read it in one sitting. Also, the cover is utterly gorgeous.

"Love is the brightest color in a gray world."

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC.

Denny Voss, 29, from Woodmont, Minnesota, is neurodiverse, and his IQ is only 72, having been deprived of oxygen at birth. Nevertheless, he is generally cheerful and lives with his elderly mother Nana-Jo and his beloved deaf and blind dog George, his Dad having died early. He has an 18 years older sister Lydia who lives in New York, and a cousin called Angus who wears slogan t-shirts, lives next door and works with him for the council to deal with roadkill.

One day, Denny is caught with several guns on his sled that he was trying to get to a police station. Unfortunately, one of the guns is a murder weapon and so he is arrested for the murder of a local businessman and would-be politician, who generally seems to have been an awful person, more so the more we learn about him. And yes, Denny would have had motive, means and opportunity, like some other people, and this wasn't his first arrest either - he once well-meaningly kidnapped a goose called Tom Hanks and illegally took it to Canada, plus there was the unfortunate incident where he accidentally assisted in a bank robbery. All these scrapes he tells his lawyer and therapist from prison in painfully drawn out sessions.

My main problem with the story is that as kind and lovable as Denny is, his behaviour is also extremely frustrating at times. There is a lot of rambling and going back and forth in the story, and like Lydia, I wanted to frequently say: "Denny, land the plane!" It took me double my usual time to read this book and when I realised that Denny had told his story over the course of several months, I felt that, yes, that's how long it took me too to get through.

Of course we can predict that as surely Denny isn't a murderer he will eventually be released - the story treads too lightly for any other outcome. But there are some twists and turns that I didn't see coming, when Denny discovers some painful truths about his past, and his story is entertaining and told in his own unique voice. However, the constant explaining of words and expressions grated after a while, as did his "he did swimming" way of talking.

But it is clear that Denny has people around him who accept and adore him and who get quite angry when he is mistreated (except maybe Lydia, she is too selfish for that). In my opinion there should be more awareness in general but especially with the police how to deal with someone who doesn't react as you expect and when stressed starts singing the "You've Got a Friend in Me" song from Toy Story!

So I salute this story, not just for being quirky, but also for raising awareness (also for Tourette's that another character suffers from). It didn't grab me as much as it could have, but I appreciate the topics and how they were handled in a touching and simultaneously (at the same time) funny way.

Frank, 67, lost his wife Marcie two years ago. He had a fallout at the funeral with son Mikey, and they haven't spoken since. He is now agoraphobic and almost exclusively sees and speaks to an apparition of his dead wife. Frank is lonely and grieving.

Red, 6, has had to move house and school, where he is bullied, after the breakdown of his parents' marriage, and ends up living next to Frank, with a shared garden fence that has seen better days. Red is lonely, sad and confused, but also very interested in the grump next door.

The two of them are not a natural fit and are only thrown together after Frank gives Red a tip against his bully that earns him a one week suspension - and Frank will have to look after him. 

Soon Red realises that Frank is estranged from his adult son and he hatches an utterly brilliant plan. Like most utterly brilliant plans hatched by six year olds, this one goes awry pretty soon - or doesn't it?

This must be one of the best debut novels I've ever read. The way those two lonely souls connect is nothing short of heartwarming. Talkative Red may be a bit precocious but he's also smart and kind, and Frank may be grumpy but he has a good heart, buried under grief and alcohol. When an unlikely friendship gets started, it has far-reaching consequences. Heartily recommended.