The Liar by Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts is on top from with the latest title. Shelby's life falls apart after the sudden death of her husband reveals the life that she has come to expect has been built on a tissue of lies.Trying to rebuild a life for herself and her daughter she returns to her home in the Smoky Mountains, In usual Roberts style not everything is what it seems and soon unexplained and suspicious events start to happen impacting on Shelby, her family & her new love interest.  Shelby starts to dig into her husband's past to try and find out people are being murdered around her she discovers a man she never knew, he is in stark contrast to the new man in Shelby's life. Roberts seems to equate good men with those who are hardworking and practical, something Shelby discovers her late husband was anything but.

Nora Roberts romantic thrillers are pure escapism and do follow a predictable formula but that doesn't stop them from being a good read. The premise of this novel is much better than the previous one The Collector which was slightly questionable as the heroine enjoyed spying on other people with her binoculars.

Nora Roberts depiction of strong women is a particular strength of hers and there a three generations of them in this novel - all Southern women - all steel magnolias. She doesn't equate being strong with being mean though; kindness, good manners respect and  loyalty are all important elements of strength and all lauded by Roberts.

The only negative I have is not directed at this book in particular. I have read most of Nora Roberts books over the years and really enjoyed them but I have to admit I am starting to find her use of one particular word is starting to grate - how many times can pretty be used as an adjective? Apart from that one small gripe this is Nora Roberts on top form - a great escapist read!

I received this book from Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review

A book apothecary sails into view

The Little Paris Bookshop is a must for all those who love books, reading and France.  a story that is told in 2 parts from the perspective of Jean and the diary of  Manon.

Jean stopped living 20 years ago when his lover, Manon,  walked out without explanation, his grief though has made him attuned to the needs of others and in his bookshop on a barge on the Seine he offers readers a book apothecary .Believing strongly in the power of books and stories to offer healing and respite to those with troubles Jean can heal many but not himself. He exists in his small world but even as he has shut himself away from human contact he has been forming relationships. Catherine a new resident in his apartment block sparks his interest as he recognises someone else who is also dealing with grief and opens the door to the part of his life that he has shut away.

This connection sparks a radical response as he casts his barge off and sets off down the Seine with 2 cats, a troubled author,a vague idea to really find out what happened to Manon and a quest to find the mystery author behind his favourite book set Jean on a course to reconnect with the world and start living again.

As they sail through France heading South the book apothecary continues to offer solace to those who need it along the way. Jean starts to learn that grief and anger has stopped him from living, we also see what happened to Manon as we read the diary and discover the secrets she kept and the things that drove her to make the choices she did.

The description of food is important in the novel - and Nina George has included some of the recipes that are mentioned in the novel. Jean Perdu's emergency library apothecary is also included so if you want to know which titles to read to deal with a sense of humour failure, pessimism and many more ailments - take a look!

An engaging read and you really can feel the heat of France in high summer (even in the depths of an English winter!)

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

Anne Tyler is one of my favourite author's and no one does family stories like Tyler. A spool of blue thread explores three generations of the the Whitshank family and the house that they have lived in. 

We spool back and forth through the history of the family and the house, picking up the stories and seeing what has made the them the people they are. We see snapshots of their lives over the years - key moments that don't seem to be that at the time but shape their lives. Those lives are directed down particular paths because of a small decision and isn't that true of all our lives? 

The story begins with Abby & Red, who are growing older, and the impact that this starts to have on their own children and grandchildren. They struggle to understand their youngest child, Denny,  who drops in and out of their lives with no warning and the impact that this has on his siblings. Abby worries about her children and especially Denny - whilst Red says it is possible to care too much - isn't this what parents do though?

Junior, or Junie, and Linnie Mae, Red's parents form the middle part of the novel, Junior built the house for another family but it his ideal home - but like all ideals when it becomes his real home, it never quite lives up to his expectations - in fact in typical Tyler fashion, Junior's life never really lives up to his dreams.

Abby & Red's children Amanda, Jeannie, Stem & in particular Denny have to work out what to do as their parents get older. Tyler explores the reality that all children face when they realise that they are going to have to take on responsibility for parents as well as children.

The Whitshanks are believable characters with faults and failings, there are moments of great sadness but also laugh out loud moments in this book. It is sad to think that Anne Tyler has said that this is going to be her final novel - but it is a wonderful one to leave on.

If you have never read any Anne Tyler this would be a great one to begin with - and then go and explore all her other wonderful books.

I really cannot  recommend this book highly enough - it is a gem!

I received a copy of this from Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review

Of Irish Blood

Of Irish Blood by Mary Pat Kelly has a long story arc starting in early 20th century Chicago and moving to pre-WW1 Paris, on through the trenches and hospitals of war-torn France, and then on to Ireland and the stormy period after the Easter Rising, through the Anglo-Irish War and then the Civil War.

The book is based on the life of the author's aunt and it was certainly eventful. Nora Kelly is a strong believable character who sees the best in people and this often leads her down difficult and dangerous paths. She is swept along on the romance of Ireland painted by Yeats and Maud Gonne amongst others but doesn't always understand the nuances of politics. .


Nora discovers a whole hidden part of Paris when she stumbles across the Irish College and meets the students, priest and lecturers. One in particular shapes her life and future direction and the romance and tragedy of their relationship frames the plot.

The main drawback I felt was that the author was trying to show off her knowledge of famous characters who lived in Paris during the early 20th century: Chanel, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scot Fitzgerald, Matisse and many more pass fleetingly across the story without really moving it on. Other historical figures are key: Maud Gonne in particular, and these add to the flavour and plot.

If you like big sagas grounded in history this is the book for you!

I received this copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

War of Flowers

War of Flowers by Jane Thynne

This is the third title in the series with Clara Vine, the actress come spy living in pre-war Nazi Germany.

I really enjoy this series of books which offers a fascinating insight in to the day-to-day life of those living in Germany just before the outbreak of WW2, as the Nazi regime was strengthening its grip on the daily life of its citizens.

The book opens with the murder of a young woman on a cruise ship but then quickly moves to Paris and then wends its way back to Berlin, on to Munich and then on to the Bergdorf, Hitler's mountain retreat. It is now 1938, the Anschluss with Austria , the so-called War of Flowers, has just taken place and the world is trying to understand Hitler and his sabre -rattling. The plot revolves around the lead-up to the annexation of the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia and the appeasement politics of the rest of Europe and Britain.

The murder is actually an unnecessary element to the story - Clara does not really get involved in solving the crime and this thread re-appears occasionally at opportune moments and then comes back to tie the plot of the novel about the resistance and failed Oster coup together in an untidy bow. The actual premise of the novel - life in Nazi Germany, the German film industry and the famous real-life cast of characters does not need this plot device to tell a good story or to create suspense. It is all their in the real-life events.

Clara is a fascinating character, constantly walking a fine line of balancing her increasing fame as an actress with the secret life of feeding information on the Nazi elite back to her spymasters. The real-life events of the Oster plot which highlights the resistance movement that existed in Germany offer an interesting view of Germany and its people at this time.

At the end of the novel Clara is left in an increasingly precarious situation and the reader is left to wonder where Thynne will take her next, especially as war is now looming on the horizon. The major figures from the Nazi elite and their wives all make appearances in this series - but the main character of  Hitler himself is never seen, only spoken about. You are left to wonder if and when Clara will meet Hitler himself and what will happen when they do.

I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who likes their historical novels well grounded in fact. This series casts a light on a little known aspect of Nazi Germany - the impact on the people themselves. I would say though that the murder element is not needed to move the story forward and would ask the author to only include this device if the plot really needs it!

I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Plenty of tears and laughs

The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes by Anna McPartlin

I have to admit that I'm one of those people who reads the end of the book before I start it - though reading an an e-reader now makes that more difficult. As I read this on my e-reader, technically I didn't know the ending but in this case you do know as soon as you read the opening pages but that doesn't detract from the fact that I really enjoyed this story. Just because we know the ending does not mean that there aren't a few surprises along the way.

 Anna McPartlin makes you laugh and cry - sometimes at the same time as you follow Mia aka Rabbit Hayes through her final days. She is in the final stages of cancer, which makes this sound like a really depressing story but it isn't! As Rabbit relives her memories of her life with her lively Irish family, best friend Marjorie and her first love Johnny we get drawn in to her story, her life and her choices.  We also experience the pain her family and friends feel as they watch her slip away and the ways in which they try to cope with the pain and grief.


I really enjoyed this book and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes a good laugh and cry (sometimes at the same time) in their reading. I thought it was a great story about enjoying life, whatever it throws at us. Recommended to fans of Jojo Moyes!

It's not me its you by Mhari McFarlane

 Delia's life seems perfect - long term boyfriend, lovely home and a job she can coast along in. However, as in all the classic rom-coms in a short space of time she goes from being in  a long-term relationship, to finding out her boyfriend has been cheating on her  - on the night she proposes,  having problems at work, deciding to quit her job and move from Newcastle to London to take stock of her life and decide where she wants to go next. Where she goes next lands her a job with a dodgy boss, a run-in with a good-looking journalist and the resurrection of the comic strip she started in college.

Mhari McFarlane's novel has plenty of the classic rom-com twists  but it is done with good humour and believable, likeable characters. The finished book will benefit from the comic-strip which was missing in the galley but will bring a new dimension to the story and make this one stand out from the other chic-lits on the shelf. I have to admit I had been getting a little bored with the chick-lit books and had started to avoid them but this one made me laugh!