Book After Book

Publication: 26th November 2020 – Orion

The next stifling, atmospheric gothic crime novel following one of the world’s first forensic photographers – for fans of The Woman in Black, The Silent Companions and Little Strangers.

* * * * * * * *

1905. A year after ‘the affair’ in Dinas Powys, Thomas Bexley has become a drunkard and recluse, haunted by terrible visions of the dead. But when news of a spate of extraordinary kidnappings reaches him, Thomas is shocked to learn that his dear friend and former mentor, Professor Elijah Hawthorn, is the lead suspect.

Discovering a plea for help from Hawthorn claiming to have unearthed a gruesome conspiracy at the heart of the Metropolitan Police, Thomas embarks on a journey to prove Hawthorn’s innocence.

But wherever Thomas goes, he is followed by the dead, and as the mystery of Hawthorn’s disappearance deepens, so too does Thomas’s apparent insanity…

How can Thomas be certain of the truth when he can’t trust anybody around him, not even himself…?

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

**********

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Letters From The Dead, the new immersive novel by Sam Hurcom.

Letters From The Dead is the second novel featuring Thomas Bexley, one of the world’s first forensic photographers. The character of Thomas was first introduced in the author’s debut novel, A Shadow On The Lens, and Letters From The Dead picks up a few months later the events that changed Thomas’s life. If, like me, you haven’t read A Shadow On The Lens, no worries. Hints and mentions will give you an overall background of what happened in the first book and you can easily follow the story of Letters From The Dead.

The story is set in London, in the year 1905. More than a decade after the murders of Jack the Ripper, London is shaken by another serial killer. Renamed the Wraith of London, the serial killer randomly kidnaps men and women around the English capital and their bodies are never found. Lost in his own world of alcohol and seclusion, the once-special investigator Thomas Bexley finds out about the serial killer when interrogated by the Metropolitan Police who thinks that the serial killer is Elijah Hawthorn, once a mentor and friend of Thomas. Not entirely convinced of Elijah’s guilt, Thomas starts investigating on his own going on a journey that will lead him to Scotland, prison, and horrific discoveries…

I really enjoyed reading Letters From The Dead. It is dark, haunting, and gripping and I really liked the protagonist, Thomas Bexley. He is smart, flawed, and authentic. He is also an unreliable narrator. You don’t know if you can trust him. He is addicted to alcohol, he suffers some memory loss. and he has visions which leave you to question what’s happening.

Letters From The Dead is the perfect read for fans of historical crime stories and gothic novels. After reading this well-written and well-plotted story, I am going back and read the first novel, A Shadow On The Lens. Highly recommended!

A huge thank you to Alex and Orion for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a proof of the novel.

**********

Follow the rest of the blog tour:

Sam Hurcom was born in Dinas Powys, South Wales in 1991. He studied Philosophy at Cardiff University, attaining both an undergraduate and master’s degree. He has since had several short stories published, and has written and illustrated a number of children’s books. Sam currently lives in the village he was raised in, close to the woodlands that have always inspired his writing.
A SHADOW ON THE LENS is Sam’s debut novel.

Publication: 15th October 2020 – Simon & Schuster UK

WITH A KILLER ON THE LOOSE
As the scorching summer sun beats down on St Mary’s in the Isles of Scilly, DI Ben Kitto and his team are training for the annual Swimathon, until they discover a body hanging from Pulpit Rock, dressed in a bridal gown.

ON A TINY ISLAND
An obsessive killer is hunting for female victims. Kitto has no choice but to stop anyone leaving St Mary’s, but soon another woman is attacked.

EVERYONE IS A SUSPECT
The killer must be a trusted member of the community. Kitto’s investigation is being watched closely, the killer always one step ahead, as the next victim is chosen . . .

NO ONE IS SAFE

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

**********

Pulpit Rock is the fourth novel by Kate Rhodes featuring DI Benesek ‘Ben’ Kitto. After years working in the murder squad in London, Ben had had enough and decided to move back to the small Scilly island of Bryher where he was born. In Pulpit Rock, Ben is training for a swimathon when he sees a body hanging from the local landmark of Pulpit Rock. The victim is a woman and she is found wearing a wedding a dress. For Ben it becomes clear that it is murder and, after another woman is attacked, that a serial killer is on the island. Since no one is allowed to enter or leave the island, everyone becomes a suspect, including people who Ben knows very well.

I really enjoy this series. I love the setting of the Scilly Islands, so atmospheric and beautiful, often remote and cut off from the mainland, a place that it is described in vivid details by the author and that it has a very central part in the story.

I like the protagonist DI Ben Kitto. I find him smart, decisive, intrepid and I enjoy reading about his interesting love life. On the job, he is really good and, in this new novel, he finds himself in the difficult position to suspect and interview close friends, people he grew up with, and even his own colleagues. I love his dog Shadow and their entertaining relationship was one of my favorite part of the story.

The plot is well-structured and well-written. It is suspenseful, engrossing and thrilling. You never know when the killer might strike next and I didn’t figure out who the killer was until it was revealed.

The DI Ben Kitto series is one of my favorite crime series and I am already looking forward to the next book, in the meantime, I highly recommend Pulpit Rock!

A huge thank you to Simon & Schuster UK and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the novel.

Publication: 17th November 2020 – Simon & Schuster UK

Set in a charming little Scottish town, The Bookshop of Second Chances is the most uplifting story you’ll read this Winter, by a hugely talented debut author.
 
Thea’s having a bad month. Not only has she been made redundant, she’s also discovered her husband of nearly twenty years is sleeping with one of her friends. And he’s not sorry – he’s leaving.
 
Bewildered and lost, Thea doesn’t know what to do. But, when she learns the great-uncle she barely knew has died and left her his huge collection of second-hand books and a house in the Scottish Lowlands, she seems to have been offered a second chance.
 
Running away to a little town where no one knows her seems like exactly what Thea needs. But when she meets the aristocratic Maltravers brothers – grumpy bookshop owner Edward and his estranged brother Charles, Lord Hollinshaw – her new life quickly becomes just as complicated as the life she was running from…
 
An enchanting story of Scottish lords, second-hand books, new beginnings and second chances perfect for fans of Cressida McLaughlin, Veronica Henry, Rachel Lucas and Jenny Colgan.

AMAZON

**********

Thea thought that being made redundant was bad enough, but then she finds out that her husband of fifteen years has been having an affair. And not only he’s been having an affair with someone she considered a friend, but he is also leaving her to be with her. So, when Thea receives a letter from a lawyer informing her that a great-uncle she just met a few times has died and left her all his possession, including the Lodge, his house in Scotland, and an amazing collection of books, Thea decides to take a break from her life and travels to Scotland to take care of her inheritance. She is supposed to stay just for a couple of weeks to sort everything out, but two weeks turn into the whole summer, and the whole summer turn into many months because in Scotland she starts a new life. She makes new friends, she finds a job, and she also finds herself in the middle of the rivalry between two brothers, Charles, better known as Lord Hollinshaw, and Edward, the irritable owner of a second-hand bookshop.

I really liked the character of Thea. She is smart, funny, and decisive. Her heartbreak over her husband’s infidelity and the end of her marriage, her determination to start a new life, her independence feel realistic and honest. I enjoyed how her relationship with Edward develops. He has his own problems and his own past to deal with, but I loved how they become friends, their witty exchanges, and how they help and support each other.

The Bookshop of Second Chances is an enjoyable, feel-good, and romantic novel. It is very well-written and I loved the characters, the story, the setting, and, of course, the many many books.

The Bookshop of Second Chances is out today in eBook so don’t miss it, it’s a real page-turner.

A huge thank you to SJV and Simon & Schuster UK for providing me with an early proof of this beautiful novel.

Publication: 12th November 2020 – Orion

Emily is sure she’s getting this baby stuff all wrong. Why does everyone else look like they’re smashing motherhood when she’s barely made it out of her maternity leggings and out of the house?

Her other half tries to say all the right things (can’t he just keep making her toast?). Her mum is brilliant (but on the other side of the country). Her two new mum-friends seem to feel like misfits too – but there’s really just one person she wants to open up to . . . only Emily hasn’t spoken to her for fifteen years.

Lonely but not alone, Emily’s about to discover that when you’re starting a family, what you really need are your friends.

Hilariously funny and excruciatingly relatable – perfect for fans of THE UNMUMSY MUM, Louise Pentland and Gill Sims.

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

**********

Good morning and happy Sunday everyone! I am delighted to welcome you on my stop for the blog tour of Winging It, the wonderful new novel by Anna Jefferson.

Winging It is a well-written and insightful novel about motherhood. What I really liked about this novel is how authentic and relatable both the story and the characters feel. The protagonist, Emily, is a new mother who struggles to adapt to life taking care of her baby girl. While everyone else around her seems to be doing just fine, Emily is having a hard time coping with the lack of sleep, change of humor, the annoyance to her partner for the smallest thing.

Not her supportive-yet-often-clueless partner, not her family who lives far away seems to understand her fears and her doubts. And then she meets other mothers who, like her, are struggling, new mothers who quickly become new friends and I enjoyed how Winging It focuses on this friendship between the new mothers, how they support and comfort each other.

I found Winging It funny, engaging, and realistic, a fantastic story about parenthood, love, family, and friendship, perfect not only for mothers, but for everyone, because you will feel you can identify with the characters and their problems.

A huge thank you to Alex and Orion for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a proof of the novel.

**********

Publication: 12th November 2020 – Harvill Secker

Snow is falling in the exclusive alpine ski resort of Saint Antoine, as the shareholders and directors of Snoop, the hottest new music app, gather for a make or break corporate retreat to decide the future of the company. At stake is a billion-dollar dot com buyout that could make them all millionaires, or leave some of them out in the cold.

The clock is ticking on the offer, and with the group irrevocably split, tensions are running high. When an avalanche cuts the chalet off from help, and one board member goes missing in the snow, the group is forced to ask – would someone resort to murder, to get what they want?

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

**********

There is no doubt that Ruth Ware is one of my favourite authors and One By One is her latest gripping story. Set in the beautiful and snowy French Alps, it features a group of people gathering for a corporate retreat, the two staff members running the remote resort, dangerous secrets, a killer ready to do anything to protect those secrets, and weather conditions that keep the characters isolated from the rest of the world. And, because of all these elements, I spent an enjoyable Saturday completely engrossed in the story.

Based on the many thrillers I read, corporate retreats are a bad idea… they always end badly! In One By One, inspired by Agatha Christie, Ruth Ware creates a story in which the employees and shareholders of a successful app company reunite in a resort to discuss the future of the company and to ski. With millions of dollars at stake and secrets threatening to come to light, the tension is high. Things get worse when an avalanche isolates them with no cell reception and no way to call for help. When one of them disappears, it becomes clear that there is a killer on the loose and no one is safe. When everyone is a suspect, who can you trust?

The story is told from two points of views. Lily, a former employee of the app company, finds herself in the middle of the battle between the two founders of the company. Thanks to her perspective, we get a deep and interesting insight inside the company and its members. On the other hand, for Erin the chalet in Saint Antoine is her escape from her past. Even from the outside, it is clear that tempers are fraught between her new guests and things take a dark turn when one of them disappears.

Ruth Ware never disappoints. I loved the cold and immersive setting, the deceitful and suspicious characters, the clever, chilling, and addictive plot. I raced through One By One. How could I not? I needed to know who the murderer was and it took me by surprise. I don’t know if One By One is my favourite of Ruth Ware’s novels, because I love all of her books, but it is definitely a must-read! Highly recommended!

Publication: 10th November 2020 – Orion

Heading home after winning his latest case, defense attorney Mickey Haller – The Lincoln Lawyer – is pulled over by the police. They open the trunk of his car to find the body of a former client.

Haller knows the law inside out. He will be charged with murder. He will have to build his case from behind bars. And the trial will be the trial of his life.

Because Mickey Haller will defend himself in court.

With watertight evidence stacked against him, Haller will need every trick in the book to prove he was framed. But a not-guilty verdict isn’t enough. In order to truly walk free, Haller knows he must find the real killer – that is the law of innocence…

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

**********

Delighted to welcome you on my stop for the blog tour of The Law of Innocence, the thrilling new novel by Michael Connelly.

I’ve read and enjoyed many Michael Connelly’s novels over the years. mostly from the Harry Bosch and Jack McEvoy series, but The Law of Innocence is my first novel in the Mickey Haller series and it’s a fantastic introduction to this series as the protagonist, a defense lawyer, is accused of murder.

Mickey Haller is known as the Lincoln Lawyer because he often works from his Lincoln car. One night, he is pulled over by the police while returning home and, for once, he finds himself on the other side of the law, arrested after a body is found in the trunk of his car. The victim is a former client. The prosecution is convinced that Haller is guilty. Haller, incarcerated in the Twin Towers Correctional Centre, knows that a lawyer should never represent himself, but he also knows that he and his team are the best chance he has to prove that he’s been framed.

I love Michael Connelly novels, his twisty plots, his attention to details, and his incredible protagonists. Mickey Haller is the kind of lawyer every criminal would want on his side. He knows every trick, every subterfuge in court. He is smart, brash, assertive. He knows when to push, he knows when to stop. He knows where to look for the truth. I loved him!!!

Harry Bosch makes an appearance as Mickey’s half-brother and there are other characters that I enjoyed, from Mickey’s law partner Jennifer to his ex-wife Maggie, Mickey is surrounded by a cast of brilliant characters.

The Law of Innocence is a terrific legal thriller. The court room scenes were my favourite part because we see Mickey Haller at his best, but I also enjoyed the behind the scene, the investigation to prove Mickey’s innocence, and the few glimpse we got into his personal life.

The Law of Innocence is a gripping, brilliantly-plotted novel that kept me glued to the pages and I will definitely keep following this series, catching up on the books already published and looking forward to the next installment.

A huge thank you to Orion and Tracy for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a copy of the novel.

**********

Publication: 10th November 2020 – Moonflower Books

One of the UK’s most critically acclaimed teen authors returns with a new novel set in the world of her hugely popular Night School series.

Number 10 tells the spinetingling story of 16-year-old Gray Langtry, the daughter of the UK’s female prime minister, who is about to get in way over her head.

After a wild night with friends is splashed across the tabloids, Gray is grounded for two weeks at Number 10 Downing Street, no ifs no buts.

Left alone one night, with her mother at an important meeting, Gray discovers a secret network of government tunnels leading from 10 Downing Street to the Houses of Parliament and beyond.  What starts as a bit of fun, suddenly gets serious, when Gray stumbles across a secret late night cabinet meeting and overhears what sounds like a Russian-led plot to kill her mother.

Wasting no time, she rushes back to inform her mother’s security detail, but with no proof of what she heard, no-one will believe a wayward teenager. Now, it’s up to Gray to break out of Number 10 and warn her mother before it’s too late.

With the help of her best friend Chloe and love interest Jake McIntyre – who just happens to be the son of the leader of the opposition – will she make it in time to save her mother?  And what will she have to sacrifice in the process?

Number 10 is a Night School spin off series that sees CJ Daugherty back at her spine tingling best.  Gripping, thrilling, and filled with intrigue, Number 10 explores the nexus of power in the UK from a teenager’s point of view. 

**********

Delighted to welcome you on my stop for Number 10, the latest novel by CJ Daugherty.

Gray is sixteen years old. Like all sixteen years old she enjoys spending time with her friends, going to parties, and breaking curfew. But Gray is not a normal sixteen-year-old girl because she is the daughter of the Prime Minister of England and that means many rules to follow and being always on her best behavior because paparazzi are always there waiting for her wrong move.

Following a party gone wrong, Gray is grounded and she is assigned two bodyguards to keep eyes on her at all times. She is trapped inside No. 10 Downing Street until she finds out the tunnels that connect it to the Parliament and she decides to do a bit of exploration on her own. One night, she ends up in one of the offices listening to two men plotting to murder the Prime Minister. When no one seems to believe her, so she has no choice but to stop them herself, with the help of a couple of friends.

I have read the author’s previous crime novels and I love her captivating and fluid writing style and her gripping stories, but this is my first of her YA novels and I am happy to say that I really enjoyed it. Gray is a likable and authentic heroine. She wants to be a typical teenager, but she can’t, although her relationship with her mother is typical of every teenager (meaning a lot of screaming and “you don’t understand me”). When she realizes that all the adults in her life are keeping secrets from her, she decides to find out the truth on her own and that truth is more dangerous than she thought, but she is ready to do anything to protect her mother.

Number 10 is a brilliant and thrilling story with intriguing characters, unexpected twists, and an ending that leaves you eager to see what happen next.

A huge thank you to Bei and Midas PR for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a copy of the novel.

**********

C.J. Daugherty was 22 when she saw her first dead body. Although she’s now left the world of crime reporting she has never lost her fascination with what it is that drives some people to do awful things as well as the kind of people who will try to stop them. While working as a civil servant she visited No. 10 Downing Street and saw people disappearing into a small door with her own eyes – this became the inspiration for the novel Number 10. 

A former crime reporter and accidental civil servant, C.J. Daugherty began writing the Night School series while working as a communications consultant for the Home Office. The young adult series was published by Little Brown and went on to sell over a million and a half copies worldwide. A web series inspired by the books clocked up well over a million views. In 2020, the books were optioned for television. She later wrote The Echo Killing series, published by St Martin’s Press, and co-wrote the fantasy series, The Secret Fire, with French author Carina Rosenfeld.

While working as a civil servant, she had meetings at Number 10 Downing Street, and saw people disappearing through a small door leading to a staircase heading below ground level. This visit became the inspiration for Number 10.  FYI: She still doesn’t know if there are tunnels below Number 10. But she hopes there are. 

Her books have been translated into 25 languages and been bestsellers in multiple countries. She lives with her husband, the BAFTA nominated filmmaker, Jack Jewers.  

Publication: 15th October 2020 – HarperCollins

I just wanted them to stop wittering at me, eat vegetables without complaining, let me go to the loo in peace and learn to make a decent gin and tonic.  
It genuinely never occurred to me when they were little that this would ever end – an eternity of Teletubbies and Duplo and In The Night Bastarding Garden and screaming, never an end in sight.  But now there is.  And despite the busybody old women who used to pop up whenever I was having a bad day and tell me I would miss these days when they were over, I don’t miss those days at all.  
I have literally never stood wistfully in the supermarket and thought ‘Oh, how I wish someone was trailing behind me constantly whining ‘Mummy, can I have, Mummy can I have?’ while another precious moppet tries to climb out the trolley so they land on their head and we end up in A&E.  
Again.

Mummy has been a wife and mother for so long that she’s a little bit lost. And despite her best efforts, her precious moppets still don’t know the location of the laundry basket, the difference between being bored and being hungry, or that saying ‘I can’t find it Mummy’ is not the same as actually looking for it.

Amidst the chaos of A-Levels and driving tests, she’s doing her best to keep her family afloat, even if everybody is set on drifting off in different directions, and that one of those directions is to make yet another bloody snack. She’s feeling overwhelmed and under appreciated, and the only thing that Mummy knows for sure is that the bigger the kids, the bigger the drink.

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

**********

To say that I adore this series, it is to say too little. I have been reading it since the first book and, every time, I find myself with tears in my eyes from laughing. The protagonist’s adventures are hilarious and kept me so engrossed that, when I finished reading Why Mummy’s Sloshed, I looked at my phone and I realized that it was 2 in the morning and maybe it was time for me to go to bed.

Ellen has been a mother and wife for twenty years and, for most of the time, she’s never felt appreciated. She spends her days cleaning, cooking, and driving around her children, now teenagers, one of whom spends his time playing video games while the other is busy with her friends and her driving lessons. Ellen has been juggling her family and work for years, but now she feels overwhelmed. With one child hopefully soon on her way to university, she starts to wonder about her identity and a future where her children won’t need her so much.

I love the character of Ellen. She is honest, relatable, smart, funny, and reliable. After four books, I feel like I know her and – having just discovered this is the final installment in this series – I know I am really going to miss reading her adventures. She gets herself in situations that are hilarious and that you can clearly see happening. And the way she recounts them is captivating and makes me laugh page after page (I still laugh every time I think about Ellen babysitting her best friend’s Devil toddler).

Why Mummy’s Sloshed can be easily read as a stand alone, but I highly recommend you also read the previous books, not only because they are entertaining and immersive reads, but because you can see how well the characters develop. Ellen’s children are growing up, her husband seems more involved in the life of their children, so can Ellen focus more on herself and what she wants?

A huge thank you to HarperCollins for providing me with a copy of the book.

Publication: 29th October 2020 – Simon & Schuster UK

They need him to remember. He wants to forget.

1918. In the last week of the First World War, a uniformed soldier is arrested in Durham Cathedral. When questioned, it becomes clear he has no memory of who he is or how he came to be there.

The soldier is given the name Adam and transferred to a rehabilitation home. His doctor James is determined to recover who this man once was. But Adam doesn’t want to remember. Unwilling to relive the trauma of war, Adam has locked his memory away, seemingly for good.

When a newspaper publishes a feature about Adam, three women come forward, each claiming that he is someone she lost in the war. But does he believe any of these women? Or is there another family out there waiting for him to come home?

Based on true events, When I Come Home Again is a deeply moving and powerful story of a nation’s outpouring of grief, and the search for hope in the aftermath of war.

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

**********

Prepare the tissues and immerse yourself in this beautiful novel about a man with no memory of his identity and his past, about the doctor who wants to help him while, at the same time, battling his own ghosts, about the three women who hope that that anonymous man is the loved one they have been looking for.

I love Caroline Scott’s writing style. She captures me with the detailed and evocative descriptions, the incredible authentic characters, and the accuracy of the historical facts. World War I is over, but families are still grieving and looking for someone they lost. In the author’s previous novel, The Photographer of the Lost, we saw families paying someone to go on the battlefields and take a picture of the place where their loved one is buried, far away from home. In When I Come Home Again, we read about parents, wives, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters who are still wondering if their loved one is alive. And that hope is so big that, when the picture of a soldier with no memory appears on the newspaper, many people see in him their son, brother, or husband.

Adam’s story is heartbreaking. A soldier with no name, found wandering by Durham Cathedral. The trauma of the war is so big and shocking that his brain completely shut down, taking all his memories away. He is taken to a rehabilitation house, Fellside House. James Haworth is the doctor who wants to help Adam recover his memories, but he has his own memories from the war to face, memories that give him nightmares and are threatening his marriage. Celia, Anna, and Lucy know that their loved ones didn’t die in the war and one day they will come home. After seeing Adam’s picture on the newspaper, each knows that he is her son, brother, husband. But which one is right?

When I Come Home Again is a haunting and emotional story. The author explores the effects of the war not only on the soldiers, but on their families, too. Adam’s story is the story of many other soldiers. At Fellside House, he is surrounded by other patients suffering from PTSD. The doctor curing them keeps dreaming of the battlefield. Celia, Anna, and Lucy are not the only family members who never stopped hoping.

As I said, don’t forget the tissues, because tears will come, because the story is unique, intense, engrossing, moving, it’s a story that I won’t forget.

A huge thank you to SJ and Simon & Schuster for providing me with a proof of this book.

Publication: 29th October 2020 – Transworld

I love you . . . but what if I can’t love your life?

Ava is sick of online dating. She’s always trusted her own instincts over an algorithm, anyway, and she wants a break from it all. So when she signs up to a semi-silent, anonymous writing retreat in glorious Italy, love is the last thing on her mind.

Until she meets a handsome stranger. . . All she knows is that he’s funny, he’s kind and – she soon learns – he’s great in bed. He’s equally smitten, and after a whirlwind, intoxicating affair, they pledge their love without even knowing each other’s real names.

But when they return home, reality hits. They’re both driven mad by each other’s weird quirks and annoying habits, from his eccentric, naked-sauna-loving family to her terribly behaved, shirt-shredding dog. As disaster follows disaster, it seems that while they love each other, they just can’t love each other’s lives. Can they overcome their differences to find one life, together?

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

**********

Sophie Kinsella is one of my favourite authors. I have been reading her books for almost 20 years now (WOW! That makes me feel old) and I am always excited when a new novel comes out, whether it is a stand alone with new characters or a new Becky Bloomwood adventure, because they make me laugh, they cheer me up, and I always fall in love with the characters.

Love Your Life is her new stand alone (actually, it is out today, so happy publication day!) and I adored the protagonist Ava. How can you not love a character whose mind is an endless surprise? She is very unique: funny, romantic, and loyal. She is so enthusiastic about everything, she has many many interests, and she is optimistic about love despite many bad dates. And I enjoyed how she doesn’t do silences:

“One of my theories of life is: it’s unhealthy not to let words out of your brain. Otherwise they curdle. Plus, you know, someone has to speak.”

Love Your Life is a story about love, about two people who couldn’t be more different and yet they love each other and want to make it work. Ava’s romance with the man she met during a writing retreat in Italy was unexpected, fast, romantic, exciting… it was just perfect! But then they leave Italy behind and return home where reality hits. Are they really meant to be together?

Love Your Life is also a story of friendship. Ava’s family is her three best friends. I loved how different they are, how close they are, how well they know each other, how they are always there for each other.

“I love them all, and you have to, as well. They are part of the deal.”

Love Your Life is a story about delicious food: ice-cream, pasta, pizza… your mouth will be watering.

If this is not enough to convince you to pick up the new novel by Sophie Kinsella, then I should mention my favourite character: Harold, the adorable dog who steals food without you noticing and who disagrees with handbags, shirts, stuffed animals… the list is long.

Love Your Life is an entertaining, addictive, fabulous novel that will make you laugh so much, it will warm your heart, and you don’t want it to end.

A huge thank you to Becky and Transworld for sending me a proof of this beautiful novel.