Pippa realises she cannot go through with her wedding but still goes on the honeymoon to Mauritius. She has plenty of time on her hands so takes to people watching, especially the two couples also on their honeymoon and the intriguing private investigator.. But tragedy occurs when one of the newlyweds is found dead. Pippa returns home haunted by the death but more revelations about her personal and professional life send her back towards the PI Jim Cardle…
The Guilty Wife is a thriller that takes us all around the world. The intricacies of relationships, a mysterious death and a new beginning for the lead character all combine to create an engaging plot.
Pippa stops herself from making a huge mistake by marrying Al and I was so glad she did after revelations when she returns home! But her solo honeymoon gives her more than just perspective on her life. Her coincidental meeting with PI Jim and the two honeymooning couples gives her an urge to investigate when a death occurs.
I loved Tansy’s character as she really gives influencers a bad name! It’s great to have a person we love to hate 🙂 Her husband Daniel is more complex and I have no idea why they got together. There were other aspects of the plot and characters that stretched my credulity a little but that just added to the drama and entertainment value.
The plot is delivered from the third person perspectives of Pippa and Daniel and is split into 5 parts that take on different times or focus. This allows the complicated relationships to be revealed but doesn’t make us attach to the characters’ emotions.
The Guilty Wife is very entertaining and I liked the lead character despite some dubious decisions. I have previously reviewed Her Sister’s Child, The Man She Married and The Friendship Pact by Alison James.
The Guilty Wife book information
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About the BookÂ
At a luxury resort in the Maldives, two newlywed couples are on honeymoon. On the surface, they seem to have it all. But behind the filtered photos and fake smiles is the truth…
Tansy isn’t really in love. Daniel is trying to escape the biggest mistake of his life. Nikki’s past is catching up with her. Arne’s heart is about to be broken.
They all have secrets. And before the honeymoon is over, their happiness will be shattered.
Because one of them is going to die…
This dark, addictive thriller will have you gripped until the final, shocking twist. Fans of Behind Closed Doors, The Guest List and The Wife Between Us will be hooked by the latest page-turner from US top five bestseller Alison James.
(*Previously titled: Happily Ever After)Â
Author Bio:
Born in the Cotswolds, Alison spent most of her formative years abroad. She studied languages at Oxford, then became a journalist and author, returning to university after her two children to take a law degree. After a three-year stint as a criminal paralegal, Alison worked as a commercial copywriter and then a TV storyliner, before coming full circle to write fiction again.
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TRIGGER WARNING: this book deals with infertility, miscarriage and teen pregnancy
A diverse selection of women in a support group for infertility in 2010, all desperate for a child. A pregnant teenager in 1976, sent away from her family in shame.
Waiting For The Miracle is a hugely emotive book about pregnancy that will really tug at your heartstrings.
In 2010 we are introduced to a range of women with varying fertility issues. Caroline has endometriosis. Natalie is a lesbian. Janet has multiple failed IVF cycles. Ronnie is a mystery… In 1976 we meet Catherine who falls in love with Justin, the son of a judge but when she gets pregnant he denies everything. She is forced to live with nuns but desperate to be reunited with Justin and have her child in a family setting.
Both timelines are completely absorbing and I was emotionally involved and included in all stories. The group of women in the support group are shown in the third person so we can experience their emotions individually and collectively. Catherine’s perspective in the 1970s is provided to us in the first person so that we are in the story with her. I did find it shocking that such outdated social expectations and patriarchal behaviours were still practised around the time I was born.
This book really shines a light on the beauty of human nature in the friendships the women share and that Catherine finds with some of the girls at the convent. The power of hope gives the women courage and I found myself desperately wanting a happy ending for all of the main characters. However the shadow of the social stigma attached to both unplanned pregnancy and infertility taints the positive emotions in the book.
Waiting For The Miracle is compelling reading but heartbreaking too. I was totally immersed in the characters’ lives thanks to the skill of the author’s writing style.
Waiting For The Miracle book blurb
2010
Caroline has hit rock bottom. After years of trying, it’s clear she can’t have children, and the pain has driven her and her husband apart. She isn’t pregnant, her husband is gone and her beloved dog is dead.
The other women at her infertility support group have their own problems, too. Natalie’s girlfriend is much less excited about having children than her. Janet’s husband might be having an affair. And then there’s Ronnie, intriguing, mysterious Ronnie, who won’t tell anyone her story.
1976
Catherine is sixteen and pregnant. Her boyfriend wants nothing to do with her, and her parents are ashamed. When she’s sent away to a convent for pregnant girls, she is desperate not to be separated from her child. But she knows she might risk losing the baby forever.
Anna McPartlin’s new novel is a powerful and poignant exploration of motherhood, filled with unique and unforgettable characters, as funny as it is moving, and as poignant as it is wise.
About the author:
Anna McPartlin grew up in Kerry and Dublin. She lives in Wicklow with her husband, a musician. Before becoming a full-time writer she worked in insurance – and as a stand-up comic. As well as writing fiction, she also writes TV scripts. Anna believes that even the darkest times have their lighter moments and she tells tales that are authentic, deeply emotional and yet often deeply funny.
Natalie accepts the surprise marriage proposal from her boyfriend Archie and they begin to plan a quiet wedding. But once his family find out they take over! Suddenly the wedding is HUGE and Natalie is starting to wonder if Archie is the right man for her if he won’t stand up to his family…
He’s Cancelled is a highly amusing novel about the lead up to a wedding. I got married 3 years ago and we were very clear on the type of wedding we wanted but some families like to get involved in the planning especially when they are paying!
Nat and Archie are a sweet couple although they do not seem ready to tie the knot! Nat is really likeable and down to earth so she wants a small wedding with a tight budget. They have already accepted money from Archie’s family to help them set up a business so she is reluctant to take any more but they insist. I really wish she had more backbone to stand up and state what she feels although I understand it is tricky when family is involved 🙂
Nat’s future mother and sister in law completely take over all aspects of the wedding. Daisy even foists her wedding dress on her! In some ways I wanted to be more sympathetic towards Yvonne and Daisy, the latter cancelled her own wedding so both have missed out on a family celebration. But I was fully behind Nat as she begs Archie to rein his family in.
The chapters use a magazine quiz with multiple choice answers to show how unready Nat and Archie are to have a wedding let alone share a lifetime together. Plus it is also fun to work out your own answers!
MEDIA PACK INFORMATION
Title: He’s Cancelled
Author: Sophie Ranald
Publication date: June 23rd
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ABOUT THE BOOKÂ
When he proposed, I had to pinch myself. Up until then, his most romantic gesture was buying me a 128-piece tool kit.
It’s normal to get cold feet, right? But what about a case of frozen get-me-the-heck-out-of-here feet?
When Natalie’s boyfriend gets down on one knee (even if it’s because he trips and drops the ring) it’s meant to be the start of their happy ever after. But planning a wedding to Archie feels like she’s competing in the Hunger Games…
She’s up against a mother-in-law who enforces a pre-wedding diet with portions you need a microscope for.
She’s cornered by a bridesmaid-zilla sister-in-law who forces her old wedding dress on Nat, featuring satin bows, way too much tulle and a bodice that Nat doesn’t even have the boobs for.
She fends off a best man who tries to kiss her by kneeing him in the crotch.
And she has to defeat a pushy wedding planner who insists on peacocks, doves and pink flamingos at the ceremony.
Nat would wear her battle scars with pride if Archie was by her side. But her fiancé is missing in action, refusing to help her deal with his diva family and going AWOL on the stag do. With just weeks to go, she might have to do the unthinkable… Is it too late to cancel? And if she’s not Archie’s bride-to-be then who on earth is she?
A totally addictive romantic comedy for anyone who has a phobia of bridezillas and who makes the happiest memories during Happy Hour. Fans of rom coms by Sophie Kinsella, Shari Low and Mhairi McFarlane, and TV shows like Emily in Paris will be glued to the pages of this feel-good page-turner.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sophie Ranald is the youngest of five sisters. She was born in Zimbabwe and lived in South Africa until an acute case of itchy feet brought her to London in her mid-20s. As an editor for a customer publishing agency, Sophie developed her fiction-writing skills describing holidays to places she’d never visited. In 2011, she decided to disregard all the good advice given to aspiring novelists and attempt to write full-time. After one false start, It Would Be Wrong to Steal My Sister’s Boyfriend (Wouldn’t It?) seemed to write itself, and six more novels have followed. Sophie also writes for magazines and online about food, fashion, finance and fitness. She lives in south-east London with her amazing partner Hopi and their two adorable cats.
To find out about Sophie’s forthcoming releases and get access to free books and special offers, sign up to her newsletter at sophieranald.com or www.facebook.com/SophieRanald
1946 Norfolk. German prisoners of war arrive at a local camp to the disgust of the locals. Fran gets a job in the office and her eye is caught by Thomas, but her family cannot forgive the Germans who killed her brother in the war. 1989. Tiffany travels to Berlin to see the Wall being destroyed. She ventures through the barrier to search for someone…
The English Girl is a fascinating dual timeline historical novel about love and the after effects of war. It begins with Tiffany’s experience in Berlin before settling into the main part of the book beginning in 1946.
There are a number of threads in the 1940s timeline. Foremost we have Fran who is struggling to find her place in a world that has dramatically changed due to the war. We also have Martin who was unable to fight in the war on medical grounds and feels survivors’ guilt. Finally we have Major Markham, who is traumatised by his wartime experience, and his unfaithful wife Viv, in love with an American officer.
I thought that the emotional sides of the characters were all well developed and I could identify with them. Fran’s conflicting feelings about the Germans due to the war and the death of her brother whilst also seeing the prisoners of war as men like her brother fighting for their country. Martin’s guilt and the Markhams’ emotional turmoil was also very believable and the characters seemed very human.
The English Girl was an enjoyable historical novel about the aftermath of war and the enduring nature of love and hope.
The English Girl book description:
He is German. She is English. Their countries are enemies. Can love bring them together? Inspired by an incredible true story, this is a sweeping tale about the power of hope in the face of war and the legacy of an impossible choice.
1946, Norfolk, England: Grief and fear spill over in Fran’s small village when German prisoners of war are sent to the nearby camp. After the death of her beloved brother on the front lines, Fran cannot see the new arrivals as anything but his killers.
When one of the mines the Germans are clearing from the beach explodes, Fran is thrown into the path of prisoner Thomas as they rush to help the wounded. Thomas’s kind, artistic nature and his bravery, putting himself in danger to save others, changes everything for Fran. She realises he is a boy just like her brother and was forced to fight in a war he never believed in.
From that day on, there is something powerful and unspoken connecting Fran and Thomas. But as battle lines are drawn across Europe and tensions within the village reach breaking point, they could be about to unleash something neither of them can control…
1989, Berlin: Tiffany arrives in Berlin from London, just as the wall that divided a nation finally falls. With only a few words of German, she celebrates with strangers in the streets, and crosses the border between West and East. In her pocket is a crumpled letter addressed to her grandmother, yellowed with age, that has led her in search of a wartime secret with the power to change her future…
A book that you will carry with you long after having turned the final page. Fans of Fiona Valpy, The Forgotten Village and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society will be absolutely gripped from the very beginning until the final, heart-stopping conclusion of this unforgettable wartime story.
Author Bio:
Sarah grew up in Norfolk and studied law at Cambridge University which led to a career as a barrister, working mainly in the field of human rights. After nearly twenty years she was tempted off-track by a creative writing course at the Open University and fell in love with making up stories instead of constructing arguments. Three years later she completed, with distinction, an MA in Creative Writing – Prose Fiction at the UEA.
Now she lives in Norfolk again, this time with her husband and three almost-grown-up children, where she combines writing with some legal work – and thanking her enormous number of lucky stars.
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Emma feels at a crossroads in her life when she realsies she hates her job and her fiance is no good. A chance meeting with an old school friend leads her to take a leap of faith and dump Dougie and her life to invest in a hotel renovation. A friendship soon emerges with her builder Aiden but will romance blossom too…?
The Hotel at Honeymoon Station is a sweet and heart warming book about seizing life’s chances and persevering in the face of trouble.
Emma is a lovely lead character. Her little sister has always been the focus on the family after their mum died giving birth to her and now she is heading off for an adventure so Emma feels it is also her time to think about her own wants and needs. I felt so angry at how shockingly Dougie treats her and was willing her to dump him and find someone worthy of her love.
Emma and Tia move to Honeymoon to renovate the station into a hotel but this is fraught with problems. Their builders let them down and some of the locals protest against the likely tourist influx. Tia jumps headfirst into bed with new builder Blake but Emma slowly begins to heal her heart with the help of Aiden. I enjoyed the little nuances to their friendship especially the legends and tales about the local area which also serve to bring the setting to life.
Media Pack – Tour Info Sheet
Author: Tilly Tennant
Book: The Hotel at Honeymoon Station
Publication Day: Â June 18th 2021
Description:
Run away to the Dorset countryside, to the sleepy village of Honeymoon, where rose-adorned thatched cottages soak up the sunlight and Emma is risking everything for a brave new start on life and love…
When Emma’s useless fiancé tells her a lie she cannot forgive, she decides enough is enough. She leaves him, quits her dead-end job and travels hundreds of miles away to the ancient village of Honeymoon in the Dorset countryside, to help her friend Tia turn the old train station into a boutique hotel.
Tia has told Emma that it will be a project, but when Emma arrives in Honeymoon and sees a weed-choked crumbling ruin, her vision of an idyllic life in Dorset begins to disintegrate. But when she meets twinkly-eyed builder Aiden in the village shop, and sparks fly between them, she can’t help but feel that the stars have for once aligned.
As work begins on the hotel, Emma and Aiden grow closer, and on sun-dappled evening walks, he tells her the secrets of the village. But there are some villagers who wish that Emma had never arrived in Honeymoon… And when Emma is involved in a terrible accident on site, and then discovers what Aiden has been keeping from her, it feels like the universe is telling her to leave Honeymoon for good. What if she was wrong to say goodbye to all that was safe and familiar? Will she ever be able to find her happy-ever-after in Honeymoon?
A completely gorgeous and romantic read about being brave and taking chances on love and life. Fans of Shari Low, Jill Mansell and Milly Johnson will be enchanted by The Hotel at Honeymoon Station.
Author Bio:
Tilly Tennant was born in Dorset, the oldest of four children, but now lives in Staffordshire with a family of her own. After years of dismal and disastrous jobs, including paper plate stacking, shop assistant, newspaper promotions and waitressing (she never could carry a bowl of soup without spilling a bit), she decided to indulge her passion for the written word by embarking on a degree in English and creative writing. She wrote a novel in 2007 during her first summer break at university and hasn’t stopped writing since. She also works as a freelance fiction editor and part-time lecturer.
Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn was her debut novel; published in 2014 it was an Amazon bestseller in both the UK and Australia. In 2016 she signed to the hugely successful Bookouture and is currently working on her fifteenth Tilly Tennant novel. Christmas bestseller A Very Vintage Christmas has just been made into a movie for Lifetime Channel.
Tilly also writes young adult fiction as Sharon Sant.
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