With Promises to Keep by Ellie Dean

With Promises to Keep by Ellie Dean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 3 days

Publisher - Penguin books

Pages - 383

Blurb from Goodreads

The year of 1947 is almost upon them, and the community of Cliffehaven is still reeling from the tragic loss of Gracie, who left behind two young orphans.

Polish refugee and nurse Danuta made Gracie a to love and cherish her children as her own. But with her husband’s health failing, can Danuta’s promise be fulfilled?

Then a bitter winter storm cuts the town off. Peggy Reilly and the rest of Cliffehaven must pull together to survive.


My Review


So first off this is book twenty one in a series, I did not know this lol but it is all good and after reading this I will be going back, buying book one and starting there. It is 1947, folk are still feeling the effects post war, we meet (or if you know the series, reacquaint) with Polish refugee nurse Danuta and her husband Stan. Danuta made a promise to Grace she would look after her two children, one being a baby. It is all a bit precarious, adoption has a lot of expectation an standards, Stan has health issues with his stumps (amputee), they both work and struggle to make ends meet. However a promise is a promise and they will do what they can to keep their word, plus Danuta has always wanted a family, after the tortures during the war she cannot have her own. It is an emotive multifaceted road Danuta is on, many struggles and hurdles facing her, can she get the family she always wanted despite the odds stacked against her.

So I am absolutely getting the other books, it is a small community, it has what you know in these wee towns, classism, snobbery, even when you are all a bit skint there are folks who will gossip and judge so we do see a bit of that. Danuta and Stan are so in love and clearly already been through so much, I reckon if you know the previous books things will pack a bit more of an emotive punch but I still liked it and got it despite this being my first foray into the series, 4/5 for me.

View all my reviews

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 336

Publisher - Michael Joseph Books

Source - Netgalley & bought one from Amazon

Blurb from Goodreads

From the author of Reese’s Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller Wrong Place Wrong Time comes an addictive thriller about a new mother’s world upended when her husband commits a terrifying crime. How well does she truly know the man she loves? And what danger does she face if her entire life has been built on a lie?

It is June 21st, the longest day of the year, and new mother Camilla’s life is about to change forever. After months of maternity leave, she will drop her infant daughter off at daycare for the first time and return to her job as a literary agent. Finally. But, when she wakes, her husband Luke isn’t there, and in his place is a cryptic note.

Then it starts. Breaking news: there's a hostage situation developing in London. The police arrive, and tell her Luke is involved. But he isn't a hostage. Her husband—doting father, eternal optimist—is the gunman.

What she does next is crucial. Because only she knows what the note he left behind that morning says...


My Review

New baby, finally heading back to work all is great except your husband isn't here for day one of your return and babies first day in daycare, where is he? Heading through the day getting increasingly more nervous, no response to calls, no contact and then news of a hostage situation and then the police arrives at Camilla's (Cam's) work place and life as Cam knows it is gone!

Oooft dun dun dun, what a sweeping start eh. Cam goes through all the emotions, there is no way he could do this, she knows him, she loves him but the police show her, it is indeed her husband. Talk about the rug being pulled out from under you, I think the reason these type of stories grip you so much is the main character is normal, just a worker, a mum a normal person who finds themselves thrown into your worst nightmare.

The book takes us across X span of time, the day of the siege, after the siege and then seven years later, all clearly marked. Different time periods, Cam trying to sort her life, processing, recovering and I think, as the reader, you can't help but put yourself in her shoes. Would you react like that, would you do/think x,y,z way? How do you recover from that, what changed, what did you miss, how could that be your husband, how could he do that?

I was sucked in pretty much from the get go, I could not gage where it was going next, like all this has happened in the first X pages/chapter, where can it go next. I love when a book does that, I am the first to admit I never or rarely ever know the how or why but I think even those who do wouldn't be able to figure out where it is going. An author who keeps you guessing has a talent indeed. The first quarter of the book was intense and packing a punch, it then takes a slower turn but continues to be pacey, engaging and for me anyway invested in the character(s), 4/5. This isn't our first McAllister, it won't be our last, I need to bump the others up the tbrm.

View all my reviews

The Hospital by Leslie Wolfe

The Hospital by Leslie Wolfe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 322

Publisher - Bookouture

Source - Review copy & bought one

Blurb from Goodreads

I should feel safe here. I don’t.

I thought I had it all. The loving husband I married on a beach, sand between my toes. The career I fought for. The beautiful home tucked away between pines and mountains.

But my perfect life crumbled when my husband betrayed me. And then it started. Everywhere I went, someone was following me… But no one believed me. Were they right? Was I losing my mind?

Then, one day, I wake up with a searing pain in my head, and only the sound of sirens and distant conversations to pierce my confusion.

I’ve been attacked. I’m in the hospital.

It should be reassuring. But all I can think is: I’m trapped.

I must escape. But I know I can’t trust anyone, and I’ll do whatever it takes to save myself.

You will never see the twists coming in this jaw-on-the-floor gasp-out-loud rollercoaster from the no.1 bestselling author of The Surgeon. Fans of Freida McFadden, Lisa Jewell and Shari Lapena won’t be able to put it down!



My Review

She is running, she is injured, she wakes in a hospital, unable to move, unable to see - she can talk but that is about it. She knows she was attacked and she knows she isn't safe, how can she protect herself when she doesn't know who hurt her and can't get her body to move.

So the book bounces between the main character Emma confined to a hospital bed, immobile and we hear from the bad guy, the person who committed the atrocity against Emma and they are OBSESSED! So we know Emma was assaulted and almost died and now is essentially locked in, cared for around the clock, frustrated with her lack of memory and her body's brokenness. We bounce around as she grasps for her memories, tries to get any kind of movement going and frantically find out who is after her.

I did take a bit to settle into the book as the narrator is so unreliable, she has a traumatic brain injury so we are finding out about her as she is. Things jump around a bit which I found a wee bit distracting but I think it adds strength to the character, you are meant to be unsettled and frustrated because she is and it is her story. I had suspicious/guesses galore, I was a bit like when watching an episode of Murder She Wrote lol, I have about twenty theories so one ought to stick!

Some shady characters, cheating, manipulation, frustration, health/recovery (or lack of) and processing her past as it is all coming back to her slowly as she is confined to body and bed. I would say the last quarter really came into its own so I was back and fourth on my rating. I am going for 3.5/5 (I added the .5 because the later part really was WOW, well for me anyway). This was my first by this author, it won't be my last.

View all my reviews

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 352

Publisher - William Morrow

Source - Given by a fellow blogger

Blurb from Goodreads

In this game, even winning can be deadly...

Amy Whey is proud of her ordinary life and the simple pleasures that come with it—teaching diving lessons, baking cookies for new neighbors, helping her best friend, Charlotte, run their local book club. Her greatest joy is her family: her devoted professor husband, her spirited fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, her adorable infant son. And, of course, the steadfast and supportive Charlotte. But Amy’s sweet, uncomplicated life begins to unravel when the mysterious and alluring Angelica Roux arrives on her doorstep one book club night.

Sultry and magnetic, Roux beguiles the group with her feral charm. She keeps the wine flowing and lures them into a game of spilling secrets. Everyone thinks it’s naughty, harmless fun. Only Amy knows better. Something wicked has come her way—a she-devil in a pricey red sports car who seems to know the terrible truth about who she is and what she once did.

When they’re alone, Roux tells her that if she doesn’t give her what she asks for, what she deserves, she’s going to make Amy pay for her sins. One way or another.

To protect herself and her family and save the life she’s built, Amy must beat the devil at her own clever game, matching wits with Roux in an escalating war of hidden pasts and unearthed secrets. Amy knows the consequences if she can’t beat Roux. What terrifies her is everything she could lose if she wins.

A diabolically entertaining tale of betrayal, deception, temptation, and love filled with dark twists leavened by Joshilyn Jackson’s trademark humor, Never Have I Ever explores what happens when the transgressions of our past come back with a vengeance.


My Review

Well this starts off with a bit of a bang, nice neighbourhood, mummies book club, the pregnant host holds the book meet in her besties house, Amy (more space). When a new arrival Roux shows up and takes over the meeting. She is beautiful, forceful and enraptures everyone's attention. Instead of holding to the norm Roux turns everyone upside down, plies everyone with booze and introduces a game, Never Have I Ever. Secrets are spilled but Roux was already armed with knowledge and had one of the groups deepest secrets, now she has more and an agenda.


Dun dun duuuuuuuuun. So Roux should be short for ruthless because man that woman is TROUBLE! Roux quickly lets Amy know she knows and what she wants, her very presence threatening everything Amy has build and holds dear. Thing is, Amy does have a secret, one that could ruin her, how far will they go, who will come out on top?

So the book is like Stepford house wives meets a foxy shady she devil who has no morals and seemingly nothing to loose. She thrives on drama, upturning folks lives, sometimes for gain, sometimes for her own amusement. There are twists and turns galore and even folk who seem able to predict everything in books will struggle with this one. It has mentions of death, abuse, violence, partner violence, sa so quite a few dark ones and some real bottom of the barrel type of people, I can't list them all cos we don't do spoilers so be prepared. I struggled to put this down because it was total cat and mouse and hard to see how this was going to end, 4.5/5.

View all my reviews

A Secret In The Family by Nancy Revell

A Secret in the Family by Nancy Revell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 440

Publisher - Penguin

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

1945, Sunderland. Ida Boulter makes the heart-wrenching decision to leave her five children behind as she escapes her husband and moves to London to start afresh with the love of her life.
1953, County Durham. Ida’s children have since built a new life in the beautiful home of Cuthford Manor – looked after by their eldest sibling Angie and her husband.
But their world is about to be rocked once again when their mother turns up out of the blue for the first time in eight years.
She has come back bearing a secret she can no longer keep from her family.
Will telling the truth cause more harm than good?
Only their love for one another will carry them through the turbulent times ahead.
Readers love Nancy


My Review

Oooft 1945 Ida is running off with her lover and leaving behind her five kids, she knows her eldest will look after them, she always has. A woman leaving her husband and her kids, back in the 40s was almost unheard of, doing it the day before your eldest daughters wedding is pretty brutal. Now eight years later Ida is back and about to shatter her kids lives all over again.

I LOVE when authors create a world and characters you can envelope yourself in and this is exactly what we get here. I mean what a pull, a time when women stayed in marriages regardless of how bad things where and rarely did they leave let alone leave their kids behind. So you have the pull and intrigue right from the off and now eight years have passed and she is back WE NEED TO KNOW!

The kids are at different ages, the younger two are quite delighted and intrigued, the next two are loathe to acknowledge her let alone listen to anything she has to say and the eldest, Angie, she has always been a good and fair person so she gives Ida a chance to talk. I mean the decision kinda is forced on her but regardless some folk would have told her to sling her hook!

Very much actions, consequences, secrets, lies and some pearl clutching, gasp/shock moments, there are some scenes that hint to or actually have threat of violence/SA so prepare yourself. Even the 1940s had some bad folk around and there are always people looking to take advantage. I really liked how many themes ran in the book and at the heart of it all, family and love. There is some classism and snobbery, manipulation/expectation - again the time period it is absolutely expected, 4.5/5 from us this time.

View all my reviews

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 338

Publisher - First ink

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Why save the world when you can have tea?

On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—and she can’t do the job alone.

Calling on some of the city's most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the sinister, glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it.

From the New York Times—bestselling author of We Hunt the Flame comes the first book in a hotly anticipated fantasy duology teeming with romance and revenge, led by an orphan girl willing to do whatever it takes to save her self-made kingdom. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.


My Review

I honestly don't know where to start, this is a beautiful copy, mine has sprayed pages which is what drew me to the book, I am a sucker for sprayed pages. So Vampires, tick, romance and revenge it sounded like it had everything I could want. I don't really know what to say, it was very light on the vampire side to be honest to the point I felt they were incidental. Arthie Casimir owns a tearoom that cater to vampires at night, on the sneak. There is a big brutal boss who lords control and power over everything and now Arthie's tearoom is being threatened to be taken from her. With her bestie they embark on a mission with the help of others to do the undoable and take down the bad guy and save the tearoom.

I checked fantasticfiction and it is book one in a series but I feel like I was missing out on so much, Arthie does she have a back story of her own like a whole other book? The romance part again wasn't a huge play at all in the book the only thing that I would say was central and the plot was the revenge and everyone working together.

A mixed bunch of characters, secrets, lies, I would say more flirty and scorn than romance. The coconut thing I will let you read, discover and absorb yourself but that was another thing I was a bit like um ok? The book was ok, I didn't love it but did like some of the characters (Jin - I loved Jin) and interactions which makes it 3/5. Some folk seem to love this book, I think maybe the other series but give me a bit more - I just feel I was missing so much that maybe is why I didn't connect with the characters as much. The book has a map which is stunning, we do love a map.

View all my reviews

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 3 days

Pages - 432

Publisher -

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Twenty years ago Claire Scott's eldest sister, Julia, went missing. No one knew where she went - no note, no body. It was a mystery that was never solved and it tore her family apart.

Now another girl has disappeared, with chilling echoes of the past. And it seems that she might not be the only one.

Claire is convinced Julia's disappearance is linked.

But when she begins to learn the truth about her sister, she is confronted with a shocking discovery, and nothing will ever be the same...


My Review

This is my first Karin Slaughter, it won't be the last, my goodness it is jaw dropping. We hear from Julia's father in journal like entries peppered through the book. Julia was the much loved older sister of Claire and Lydia who disappeared and her family never got over it. Claire is married and the book opens at a bar with her and her husband, they nip up a wee alley and the unthinkable happens. Lydia, her sister is a mum and couldn't be living a different life from Claire, Claire has money galore, Lydia is making ends meet and the girls haven't spoken in many years. Claire doesn't rock the boat, Lydia is firey and will kick off and say what needs said, when circumstances bring the two together the past can no longer stay in the past.

So guys there is a lot of shocking and shady stuff in this, predatory behaviour, really sick bad people, abuse, murder, SA, exploitation, secrets, lies and a family torn apart by the disappearance of their loved one and the past.

The book is really dark at times and just when you think it can't get any darker or shocking BAM, rug pulled out. I thought I had a dysfunctional family LOL. The depravity of some folk may make some scenes difficult to read but my God you will struggle to put this down. I know I have others of hers on my tbrm, we won't be leaving it so long to get to the next one, just need to find it/them on my five bookcases, 5/5.

View all my reviews