Take Me Home - Daniela Sacerdoti

Inary Monteith'a life is at a crossroads. After a stolen night with her close friend Alex, she's just broken his heart by telling him it was all a terrible mistake. Then she has to rush home from London to the Scottish Highlands when her little sister's illness suddenly worsens - and in returning she must confront the painful memories she has been trying so hard to escape. 

Back home, things become more complicated than she could ever have imagined. There's her sister's illness, her hostile brother, a smug ex she never wants to see again and her conflicted feelings about Alex in London and a handsome American she meets in Glen Avich. On top of that, she mysteriously loses her voice but regains a strange gift from her childhood - a sixth sense that runs in her family. And when a voice from the past keeps repeating, 'Take me home',  she discovers a mystery that she knows she must unlock to set herself free. 

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I read Daniela Sacerdoti's first novel Watch Over Me earlier in the year and thought it was a great début novel.  In Take Me Home we are taken back to the village of Glen Avich in the Scottish Highlands. This time it is Inary's story who is the cousin of Eilidh who was the main character in Watch Over Me, you also find some of the other character's such as Aunt Mhairi and her little village shop. 

Inary's story is around mending a broken heart, learning to love again and how to deal with the loss of her beloved sister and the memories it evokes of the loss of her parents in a car accident when she was 16 years old. 

Inary also has a secret one that she has shared with very few people but a secret none the less that will draw her back to the loch. She hasn't been near the loch since that day when her father took her out on his boat when she 13 when she saw something that nobody else saw. Difference being that this time she knows she has to do something about it in order to bring peace not only to herself but to others too. 

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I loved this book and by the time I got to the last 50 pages I just had to finish it to see whether Inary would face her demons and would she make things right between her and Alex or would she go against her own better judgement and return to her ex. 

As we are now in the holiday season it would be a great one to take away and if you have a kindle or the kindle app it is still on offer at 89p through Amazon.

Moving on I am back to selecting a book from the rather large pile that is still residing next to my bed.  A number of colleagues have mentioned my next book and as it had been sitting on to be read pile for a while I decided it was time.

My next read is 

I have previously read a couple of Lisa Genova novels and loved them.  I am already half way through this one and I am loving this one too.  It is a very emotive subject and it even makes you question yourself when you find you have trouble remembering the simplest of things. 

Happy reading one & all 

Mx

And the winners are........................

Firstly thank you to everyone who took part in this years giveaways. 

I really do enjoy thinking about and gathering the items to go in them 

OK imaginary drum roll please.......





The winner of the Tea & Biscuits and A Good Book giveaway is.............

Congratulations Penny

2nd imaginary drum roll please...............

The winner of the Lazy Days & Sundays giveaway is......................

Congratulations Jo.

If you lovely ladies could email me your addresses at

email: littlecottagenextthesea@gmail.com

and I will arrange to get your parcels off to you.

Happy Sunday one & all

Mx

Perfect Daughter - Amanda Prowse

Once upon a time, Jacks Morgan had dreams.

She was going to have a successful career and travel the world. She would own a house on the beach, and spend long nights with her boyfriend strolling under the stars.

But life had other ideas. First Martha came along, then Jonty. Then Jacks' elderly mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and had to move in. Now their little terrace in Weston-Super-Mare is bursting at the seams. 

Jacks' dreams were put on hold long ago. But if she can save up enough to give her teenage daughter a bright future, then all her sacrifice will be worth something... won't it?

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Anyone who has been following my blog for any amount of time will know that I love Amanda Prowse books and I wait eagerly as the release dates draw near and do a little happy dance when the postman pops my copy through the letter box. 

Perfect Daughter  is the eighth novel in the No Greater Love series of books written by Amanda.  Each of her novels touches on every day life and real things that happen to real people.   She writes in such a way that each of her novels have a tenuous link to the one before or one to come.  It may be as subtle as a name of a person or the name of a shop, but sooner or later it will pop up in a future book giving you the link from one to another. 

In Perfect Daughter we meet Jacks Morgan who had aspirations of moving away from Weston of having a career and building a new life for herself .  Unfortunately life had other ideas and all of Jacks dreams had to be put on hold.  When we first meet Jacks she is a thirty something wife and mother who as well as looking after her family is also carer to her elderly mother.  Throughout her novel Amanda writes a chapter in the present day but will then take you back some 19 years to when Jacks was a teenager with all her hopes and dreams. 

Jacks loves her family and wouldn't change them for the world but like we all do from time to time she occasionally wonders how her life would have been if her life had taken a different path. 

I definitely recommend you read this and the other Amanda Prowse novels.

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Moving on I have picked a Kindle read next.

I read Daniela Sacerdoti's novel Watch Over Me earlier in the year. As a début novel I found it an easy read so when I saw her next novel Take Me Home in the kindle sale I immediately downloaded a copy and it has been sat patiently waiting it's turn ever since. I have to confess probably some 6 months. I have now read the first two chapters and really enjoying what I have read so far so may be it was worth the wait.  I am definitely someone who picks a book according to my mood so I must be in the need for a bit of will they won't they get together by the end of this book time and as it is a relatively small book at 293 pages I will be back before you know to tell you whether I would recommend you find a copy for yourself. For those of you with a kindle it is currently at 89p which is a bit of bargain don't you think. 

Happy reading one & all.

Mx

Summer reads continued

Is it just me or are the years going quicker the older I get.  I cannot believe we are into July already. Before we know it the children will have broken up for the summer, fraught parents will be trying to keep them entertained as the familiar tune of I'm bored rings out across the country and then before we know it the dash to purchase new school uniforms will begin in readiness for the new school year and Christmas decorations will be in the shops.

Thursday D and I had a rare day off together and whilst our youngest was in school decided to have an even rarer day out just the two of us.  Nothing grand you understand, but when you have a son with autism it is nice to do something that is outside of his latest obsession which at the moment is his iPad, Burger King and train spotting. 

We chose to visit the ancestral home of Sir Isaac Newton, Woolthorpe Manor. It was a lovely sunny day but not as hot as it had been on Wednesday. Don't get me wrong I would rather it were sunny than raining but Wednesday was a little overbearing especially as I was shut up in a stuffy office. We had a lovely visit and the staff were very knowledgeable and I think we both learnt a few things apart from the fact that it was here that Isaac Newton discovered gravity when an apple fell from this very tree.

We enjoyed a nice lunch of Gloucester Old Spot Pulled Pork at the Chomeley Arms in Burton Le Coggles. So full were we that we didn't even have room for a desert. To which anyone who knows me well would know this to be unheard of.  The staff were very accommodating as we hadn't booked but still managed to find us a table none the less. The Cholmeley Arms sits within the Eason Estate which has an old walled garden open to visitors. We didn't visit this trip but maybe when we find a day to escape again we can make it our next trip out which also means we could return to the Cholmeley Arms for lunch and maybe leave just enough room for a desert next time.

My July reads have started with The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. I was drawn in by the title alone having been a knitter of some 40+, goodness that makes me feel old.  Essentially the story is around loss. Mary has recently lost her five year old daughter to meningitis. She cannot see the way out of her grief when her mother suggests she visits Alice at the Sit and Knit and join the Knitting Circle.  Reluctantly Mary decides to give it a try, not in good grace, how is learning to knit going to help her cope with the loss of her beloved Stella her mothers reply, it may just save your life.  Having felt that I had lost my way with reading over the last month The Knitting Circle has definitely rectified that. It was a lovely book to read and I would recommend it to all even if you have never picked up a pair of knitting needles in your life, who knows it may even encourage you to give it ago. At the moment it is still just 99p to any of you who have a Kindle or use the Kindle App.

Having had such a lovely day out on Thursday it was nice to round the day off with another surprise. The release of the latest Amanda Prowse novel. It was sat waiting for me on our return delivered as promised on it's release date.  I am a big fan of Amanda Prowse novels and have read everything she has published. Perfect Daughter is her eighth novel in her No Greater Love Series.  Perfect daughter is Jacks story. She is a wife, mother and carer to her elderly mother with Alzheimer's. She was going to be a successful career women, with the freedom to travel the world. Only life seem to have other ideas and her dreams were put on hold long ago. Of course with it's arrival it meant a queue jumper as there was no way I could leave it sitting on the bookshelf until I had worked my way through all those residing there before it arrived. So far I am 100 pages in and not disappointed. Just the ironing to conquer this morning before I get the opportunity to sit in the garden to continue reading about Jacks life story.

So that has been my first week in July and plenty more reading to be had.

But before I go I will just remind you all that one week today I will pick the winner for my anniversary giveaway so if you haven't already done so and wish to take part you can do so by leaving me a comment here, even if you don't normally comment but just like to visit don't be shy.

Happy reading one & all

Mx

Taking part in  Laura's The Year in Books Project 2015

The Knitting Circle - Ann Hood

Come on in and join the knitting circle - it might just save your life.
Spinning yarns, weaving tales, mending lives.
Every Wednesday a group of women gathers at Alice's Sit and Knit. Little do they know that they will learn so much more than patterns.
Grieving Mary needs to full the empty days after the death of her only child.
Glamorous Scarlet is the life and soul of any party. But beneath her trademark red hair and beaming smile lurks heartache.
Sculptor Lulu seems too cool to live the suburbs. Why has she fled New York's bright lights?
Model housewife Beth never has a hair out of place. But her perfect world is about to fall apart,
Irish-born Ellen wears the weight of the world on her shoulders but not her heart on her sleeve. What is she hiding?
As the weeks go by, under mysterious Alice's watchful eye, an unlikely friendship forms. Secrets are revealed and pacts made. Then tragedy strikes, and each women must learn to face her own past in order to move on.

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The story is around the main character Mary who has recently lost her daughter to Meningitis and her mother is worried about her shutting herself away in the house and suggests she go to Alice's Sit and Knit. Mary is a little reticent at first but eventually decides to take her mothers advice and so the story unfolds from there.

I don't need to  write any further blurb to describe this book as the above tells you all you need to know.
As you can imagine being a knitter the title alone drew me in from the start and the storyline is just my cup of tea and  at the moment it is on the kindle for just 99p - Bonus.

Whether you are a fellow knitter or not you will still enjoy Ann Hood's novel and I would definitely recommend as a summer read.
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Moving on.....  Upon arrival home after a lovely day out with D, sat waiting patiently in amongst the post was my next read.

It most definitely has queue jumped but I can't resist an Amanda Prowse novel.




Perfect Daughter  is novel number 8 from Amanda's No Greater Love series. I am already up to Chapter 3 and I can already see my weekend being spent book in hand.

Have a lovely weekend one & all

Mx

PS

 

Don't forget if you've not already entered my anniversary giveaway and would like your name putting in the hat then all you have to do is leave me a comment here and I will pick the winner
on Sunday 12th July

Summer reads

Do you remember the picture of the White Rabbit I posted a few weeks ago? Well I am still in the same place worrying that I am late for a very important date.
That would be because we are at the end of June and I haven't posted my Summer reads collection until today the 30th June.

As always I have moved a selection of books from my bookshelf that will become my summer reads 2015. There may be some additions to this line up depending on how quickly I get through those now sitting by my bedside. I am way behind posting about the books I have chosen to read through the Summer months. In fact as you will see below there are links to all the books I have read and posted about throughout June and here we are already fast approaching July. 

  

And of course there are those that are patiently waiting their turn on my Kindle (currently 23).
I still can't decide which I prefer, the convenience of a Kindle especially when travelling or the feel of a paperback in my hands. I think I will always flit between the two. 

So in June I  returned to my favourite childhood read Follyfoot by Monica Dickens. Monica Dickens is the great granddaughter of Charles Dickens. She kept horses herself and loved riding. Her Follyfoot series of books was made into a TV series in the 70's and I loved watching with my elder sister who was and is still completely mad on horses. My first choice from the bookshelf was  One Summer by David Baldaci. Quite a departure from his usual novels.   I usually steer clear of TV presenter turned novelist type books, but having listened to Judy Finnigan on the Graham Norton Saturday morning radio show a while ago describing the idea for Eloise I decided to give it ago.   My next Kindle pick was Elizabeth is Missing, the debut novel by Emma Healey.  There have been a few reviews for this one across blog land, in fact it is Laura's choice who hosts The Year in Books Project's June choice so it will be interesting to see what we both thought of it. Moving on it's back to the paperbacks with Laline Paull's The Bees . This one was recommended to me by a colleague and her description of it was a Watership Down for adults.

This month I felt as though I had lost my mojo with my reading. I didn't seem to really pick any that had me gripped to the edge of my seat wanting to know what was going to happen next.  I did enjoy Follyfoot but then who doesn't like returning to their childhood every now and then. Out of the five books I have read this month I think the best one has been

and therefore will be my book of the month for June.




Now if you haven't already don't forget to enter my anniversary giveaway details of which you can find here.

Happy reading one & all and I will endeavour to better at taking part in Laura's
The Year in Books Project in July.

Mx

The Bees - Laline Paull

Accept. Obey. Serve.

Flora 717 us a survivor. Born into the lowest class of the totalitarian hive society she is prepared to sacrifice everything for the Queen, surviving internal massacres, religious purges and terrifying invasions by vicious wasps. With each act of bravery her staus grows, revealing both the enemies within and the sinister secrets that rule the hive. But when her instinct to serve is overwhelmed by a fierce and deeply forbidden maternal love, she breaks the most sacred law of all.....


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I love seeing bees in my garden and at this time of the year they are everywhere.

There is nothing better than wondering into my garden and seeing them busy at their work.

The Bees was recommended to me by a colleague quite a while ago and she described it as Watership Down for adults and I think that was a very apt analogy.

The Bees as you have probably guessed already is set within a bee hive and follows the life journey of Flora 717 whose place within the hive is as a sanitation worker as depicted by her birth but,  Flora 717 is no ordinary bee and her journey through her life cycle is to cause her great danger as she breaks the most sacred rule 'only the Queen may breed' but when the hive is threatened it will be Flora 717 whose bravery will be put to the test to save them.

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I did enjoy reading this one.  I'd had a bit of a slump this last month. I wasn't getting my usual enjoyment out of the books I had chosen to read. That has thankfully been restored and I would recommend you read The Bees but remember you have to put yourself into their world.

Moving on I have picked



I had to pick this one for it's title alone. It has been patiently waiting it's turn on my Kindle and having read the first chapter I know I made the right choice.

Happy reading one & all

Mx

ps

Don't forget if you have done so already to take part in my anniversary giveaway here I will be picking the winner on

Sunday 12th July.