Todays review is of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.

Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend.

Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything.

One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted – while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she’s avoided all her life.

Change can be good. Change can be bad. But surely any change is better than… fine? (Thanks Netgalley)

Firstly, I am late to the party.  Everyone is reading or has read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.  Everyone.  I have had this recommended to me so many times, and I still didn’t manage to pick it up until now.  It’s won awards, and it has still take me this long to read it.  I can only apologise.

Secondly, I am giving this novel 5 stars.  That’s right, this is my second 5 star review in a matter of weeks.  I don’t know what is happening! I feel it is important that you know this is a 5 star novel from the outset, rather than waiting until the end of this review to find out!

So, I loved this book. Eleanor is a beautifully crafted, complicated character who really gets inside your head and stays with you. Her matter of fact statements, the shocking way she’ll sometimes impart information makes you feel for her all the more. Despite her tough, somewhat lonely life, she has come through it all (albeit with a quite serious drinking problem). You can’t help but want her to connect with other people to build the life you know she deserves.

I am often put off reading award winning books – I know this is a little controversial – because critics (in my opinion) do not always represent the wider audience. For example, how many Best Picture Oscar winning films do you actually like? But I am happy to confirm that this novel thoroughly deserved to win its awards. It is an amazing debut from Gail Honeyman, and I look forward to seeing what else she brings us. I also cannot wait to see what Reese Witherspoon does with the book now that she owns the films rights – exciting times ahead!

So, to round up – if you haven’t already read this book, go out and get yourself a copy.  You will not regret it!

Rating: 📖 📖 📖 📖 📖

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Todays review is of Letters to Eloise by Emily Williams.

When post-graduate student Flora falls unexpectedly pregnant during her final year studies she hits a huge predicament; continue a recent affair with her handsome but mysterious lecturer who dazzles her with love letters taken from the ancient tale of ‘Abelard and Heloise’, or chase after the past with her estranged first love?
But will either man be there to support her during the turmoil ahead? (Thanks Amazon)

As you may have noticed, I do not regularly give 5 star reviews.  This is not because I don’t love the books that I read, I just have a habit of comparing all books (even when it is not necessarily right to do so) which means that very few get that coveted 5 stars.  I am going to go big (spoiler alert) and let you know at the beginning of this review that this novel will be getting 5 stars.  That’s right – 5 stars.

So I am ashamed to say that I have had this novel sat in my ‘to be read’ pile for far too long.  Having now read it, I am so annoyed that it took me so long to pick it up!  You know how it is – sometimes it’s a reading deadline for another novel, sometimes the kids won’t let you sit down, sometimes you just pick up another book.  Well quite frankly I am irritated that it took me so long to pick up this book, because once I did, I could not put it down.

Firstly, I feel that I must acknowledge that this was Emily Williams’ debut novel. Debut! If this is what she produces for her first published work, then honestly I will be devouring anything and everything she writes in the future!

I don’t really want to tell you very much about this novel if I’m completely honest because I’m rather hoping that you will pick it up and read it yourself.  However, as the title implies, this novel is a series of letters to Eloise.  It is not about Eloise though.  It is about Flora, a young woman who is at the most pivotal moment in her life.  This is a story almost entirely about love.  Sometimes the love of a man, but ultimately it is a novel about a mothers unwavering love for her child.  Emily William’s captures a mothers love perfectly; the love that sprouts from nothing the moment you realise you are growing another person inside you.  The moment you realise that you would do anything to keep them safe and give them the life they deserve. I unashamedly laughed and cried in public reading this book (my eleven year old sons will confirm this if required!) – I know you will too.  So, I insist that you go and get yourself a copy of this book, a glass of wine and big bar of chocolate, then settle in and read it from cover to cover.  You won’t regret it.

Rating: 📖 📖 📖 📖 📖

Thank you to Emily William’s for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

My latest review is of A Single Journey by Frankie McGowan.

Harriet has begun to despair of her life.

A failed relationship, a business in trouble and a flat that’s falling apart. Oh, and her only friend is an aging and eccentric Russian woman, Elena.

When Elena unexpectedly dies and leaves everything to Harriet, the young woman is thrown into a whole new dilemma as she finds herself in a bitter court case against Elena’s family for her inheritance.

Against the advice of her friends, family and lawyers, Harriet sets off on her own, very singular journey to Berlin.

She knows she has to fight for justice. But when she meets Neil, who is struggling with a complicated marriage, she must also decide if she’ll also fight for love.

A Single Journey is yet another book that I have had for a long time and not read.  It was therefore another book that surprised me! I literally had no idea what this book was about (yes, I know there is blurb for a reason, but the fact that I’ve read it once and added it to my TBR list must mean I wanted to read it at some point!).

This is a novel about Harriet, a young woman who has a number of issues in her life; bad choice in men, a business making very little money and a falling apart flat.  She feels responsible for her elderly (and very eccentric) Russian landlady, Elena, who seems to have no friends or family around her.  When Elena dies suddenly, Harriet discovers that actually, she knows very little about the women she has shared a building with.  Finding herself Elena’s sole heir, Harriet becomes embroiled in a legal battle with Elena’s long lost family.  With nothing left to lose, Harriet takes it upon herself to journey to Berlin, and find out everything she can about her elderly landlady who was seemingly all alone in the world until she was dead.  Harriet decides to take the single journey that Elena never seemed to be able to take in her lifetime.

This is a novel about love, loss, regret and justice.  When all seems lost, Harriet can do nothing but push forward, fighting for a woman she realises that she barely knew.  It’s about fighting for justice and what is right, no matter what the cost.  By learning everything she can about Elena, Harriet also learns more about herself; what she really wants from life, and what she is willing to risk to get it.

I love a novel set abroad, and this was no exception.  Frankie McGowan’s descriptions of Berlin were vivid.  It is a city that I have not yet had the pleasure of visiting, but the writing really brought it to life – both the dark and vibrant sides of the city.  I really felt I was there with Harriet, struggling in an unknown city unable to speak the language.

There is an underlying love story in this novel, but don’t read this novel if you are purely looking for romance.  I would say that the romance element of the story is a minor plot line – and rightly so.  I would not have wanted it to detract from learning about Elena and her intricate past.

This was an intriguing read – I loved learning more about Elena, the eccentric Russian lady; a woman who proudly held her head high and did not believe in settling for anything less than what you really want.  Her life was full of twists and turns, and I enjoyed following Harriet as she endeavoured to ensure that in death, Elena could finally  rest in peace.

Rating: 📖 📖 📖 📖

Thank you to Alice Rees at Endeavour Press for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

My latest review is a good one – Stephanie Butland’s Lost for Words.

THIS BOOKSHOP KEEPS MANY SECRETS . . .

Loveday Cardew prefers books to people. If you look carefully, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But there are some things Loveday will never show you.

Into her refuge – the York book emporium where she works – come a poet, a lover, a friend, and three mysterious deliveries, each of which stirs unsettling memories.

Everything is about to change for Loveday. Someone knows about her past and she can’t hide any longer. She must decide who around her she can trust. Can she find the courage to right a heartbreaking wrong? And will she ever find the words to tell her own story?

It’s time to turn the pages of her past . . .

So Lost for Words is a novel that has been sat on my Kindle for some time now, I just never seemed to get round to reading it.  When I finally did pick it up, I had completely forgotten what it was about, except that it has a picture of a bookshop on the front cover and that can only ever be a good thing!  I also have a habit of not re-reading the blurb of a book, so when I have a book for a while it’s always a surprise when I finally read it!

Lost for Words was definitely a surprise! I expected a lighthearted, easy-read romance and that is not what I got at all – please note however that this was not a bad thing.

Loveday Cardew is not your typical novel heroine.  She is a complex character who has had a very difficult upbringing, something that continues to impact on her adult life.  She helps run a lovely secondhand bookstore in York, owned by her close and dear friend Archie, the closest man she has to a father figure in her life.  For a number of years she has existed quietly, sorting and selling secondhand books by day and spending time in her small flat by night.  She is not surrounded by friends and family, and those who do know her, know very little about her.  A series of events, including Nathan unexpectedly walking into her life, cause Loveday to question everything she knows, and to start to actually explore the events of her past.

Loveday, Archie and Nathan are all fascinating characters, and I really enjoyed getting to know them all.  They each have their own secrets, all of which were appropriate for the story.  I enjoyed learning about each of them, and I most definitely have a soft spot for Archie – what a character!

As already mentioned, this is not a romance novel – not in the typical sense anyway.  This is more a story of self-discovery; the story of a young woman finally learning to own her past rather than run from it.  It’s a story of love and friendship, and how our friendships often save us, even when we didn’t realise we needed saving.

So, despite not being the novel I was expecting, I am more than happy to recommend it to you all.  It was a beautiful story, full of love, loss, friendship and discovery.  I hope you all go and grab and copy!

Rating: 📖 📖 📖 📖

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

My latest review is of Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square by Heidi Swain.

Kate is on the run from her almost-divorced husband who is determined to have her back, and she has found the perfect place to hide… a little cottage on Nightingale Square in Norwich, far away from her old life in London. But the residents of Nightingale Square don’t take no for an answer, and Kate soon finds herself pulled into a friendship with Lisa, her bossy but lovely new neighbour.

Within a matter of days Kate is landed with the job of campaigning the council to turn the green into a community garden, meanwhile all the residents of Nightingale Square are horrified to discover that the Victorian mansion house on the other side of the square has been bought by developers. But when all hope is lost, the arrival of a handsome stranger is sure to turn things around! (Thanks Netgalley)

I am no stranger to Heidi Swain’s novel’s, having read and reviewed The Cherry Tree Cafe and Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells at the Christmas Fair, neither of which disappointed.  Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square is no exception.  I like that Heidi’s novels are all linked, with the characters over-lapping novels and the setting remaining the same – Wynbridge.  This novel is no different, except for the change in venue – Heidi now introduces us to Nightingale Square, a beautiful community, a hidden treasure in fact, within the city of Norwich.  Close enough to Wynbridge that we still get to see the characters we know and love, but far enough away that we get to learn about this new setting and those that live within it.

Kate is our newly single main character.  She is in desperate need of a fresh start, and rather than returning to her family in Wynbridge she chooses to buy a small cottage in need of TLC in Nightingale Square.  She wants to hide from the world, or more specifically her soon to be ex-husband, and this seems to be the perfect place to do that.

Rather than finding the peace and quiet she seeks, Kate instead finds herself in the midst of a tight knit community who are keen to involve her and get to know her.  She quickly finds herself with new friends who have no qualms about telling her that her views on love are wrong!  What follows is the story of a woman who thought she understood love, life and friends and instead finds that sometimes it’s good to be wrong!

I really enjoyed this novel.  It was easy to read with a good pace, a beautiful new setting and really lovely relationships; both friendships and romantic.  The characters are all well-rounded and likeable – I found some of Kate’s view on love a little annoying, but despite this I enjoyed learning more about her and her newfound community.  I very much hope that Heidi Swain lets us re-visit Nightingale Square soon!

Rating: 📖 📖 📖 📖

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK Fiction for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

So my latest review is of The Things We Learn When We’re Dead by Charlie Laidlaw.

The Things We Learn When We’re Dead is about how small decisions can have profound and unintended consequences, but how we can sometimes get a second chance.

On the way home from a dinner party, Lorna Love steps into the path of an oncoming car. When she wakes up she is in what appears to be a hospital – but a hospital in which her nurse looks like a young Sean Connery, she is served wine for supper, and everyone avoids her questions.
It soon transpires that she is in Heaven, or on HVN, because HVN is a lost, dysfunctional spaceship, and God the aging hippy captain. She seems to be there by accident… or does God have a higher purpose after all?
Despite that, The Things We Learn When We’re Dead is neither sci-fi nor fantasy. It is a book about memory and how, if we could remember things slightly differently, would we also be changed?

In HVN, Lorna can at first remember nothing. But as her memories return – some good, some bad – she realises that she has decisions to make and that, maybe, she can find a way back home. (Thanks Amazon)

So I did not know what to expect when I started reading this novel.  The premise that Heaven, or HVN, is a spaceship, along with the cover of the novel insinuates that this is a sci-fi novel.  It is also often likened to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in some of the blurbs you may read.  I have to say that I completely disagree with this comparison.  It is not a sci-fi comedy in the way that Douglas Adam’s novel is.  It is a novel about the actions we take, the way events shape us, and if we had the opportunity, would we change things?  It just happens to be set on a spaceship!

Lorna Love finds herself dead, after stepping out in front of a car.  Upon waking, she finds herself on HVN, a spaceship captained by a very laid back God.  The novel moves between Lorna’s memories in life and her time on HVN.  This book covers so many different topics; the ‘what if’s’ of life, memories and our interpretation of them, faith, death and the afterlife. Quite a lot to cover!

I really enjoyed following Lorna’s life up to her death, finding out why she was standing on that curb that fateful evening, distressed, stepping out in front of a car she seemingly didn’t see.  I also particularly enjoyed exploring Laidlaw’s vision of HVN and God’s impact on the Earth as a whole, both in his actions and the subsequent faith that developed amongst Earth’s inhabitants.  It really is an interesting concept to read about, even if it is fiction!

I don’t want to give too much away about this novel – it really is one that you need to read for yourself.  But please don’t be put off by the cover or the concept.  It is so much more than a novel about a spaceship.  It’s about finding yourself, exploring your past and working out what you really want from life, even if it is in death.

So, please do go and get yourself a copy of this novel and let me know what you think.

Rating: 📖 📖 📖 📖

Thank you to Charlie Laidlaw for providing me with a copy of his fab novel in exchange for my honest review!

My latest review is of Letters to Iris by Elizabeth Noble.

A gloriously uplifting story about love in all its forms from the Number One Sunday Times bestselling author of The Reading Group and Things I Want My Daughters to Know

Tess has a secret – one which is going to turn her life upside down in just nine months’ time.

The only person she can confide in is her beloved grandmother. But Iris is slipping further away each day.

Then chance brings a stranger into Tess’s life.

Gigi’s heart goes out to Tess, knowing what it’s like to feel alone. She’s determined to show her that there’s a silver lining to every cloud.

As their unlikely friendship blossoms, Tess feels inspired to open up.

But something still holds her back – until she discovers Iris has a secret of her own. A suitcase of letters from another time, the missing pieces of a life she never shared.

Could the letters hold the answers that Tess thought lost for ever?

An uplifting, unforgettable story about keeping secrets, taking chances and finding happiness where you least expect it.

I was really excited to read this novel, and I can confidently say that I was not disappointed!  Letters to Iris is a novel about secrets and pain, but also about love, family and hope.

We are introduced to the novels namesake, Iris, in the prologue.  We are given a brief insight into her teenage years, and that of her older brother Tom at a time when war was breaking out and conscription was being introduced. We then fast forward to present day, where we meet Tess, Iris’s beloved granddaughter.

The novel focuses on both Tess, a young woman with a secret and an ailing grandmother,  and Gigi, a mother, grandmother and wife who has lost her purpose in life.  They each have their issues, but find their lives intertwining as a friendship blossoms between them.

I’m a bit worried about giving too much away in this review, so am keen not to say too much.  What I will say though is that the stories of Tess and Gigi are beautifully woven together, and I genuinely enjoyed following their stories.  I also loved the way Iris’s story, an elderly woman who had begun to lose her battle with life, was delicately threaded through the novel.  There are heartbreaking moments throughout, in both the contemporary and historic parts of the story.  This isn’t just a story of secrets and loss though; it is also a story of love, family and hope.  There is light even in the moments of darkness, and that is one of the things that I loved about this novel.

I am delighted to be able to recommend this lovely novel – I hope that you’ll read it and let me know what you think!

Rating: 📖 📖 📖 📖 📗

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK – Michael Joseph for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.