Review of Summer Daydreams by Carole Matthews

When Carole Matthews signed to Sphere, I was really excited to hear that she would be bringing out two books a year. The first was ‘Wrapped up in You’, which I absolutely loved and reviewed last year. Summer Daydreams is her second title at Sphere and is just wonderful. Once you have got past the gorgeous, sparkly cover you are met with a funny, fast paced and ultimately romantic story.

I was particularly excited to see that the novel is set in Hitchin, a market town not far from where I live. I could really visualize all of the scenes set there.

The novel follows chip shop worker Nell McNamara who has a four year daughter Petal and is working all hours, alongside her partner Olly, to make ends meet. When Nell gives the tired and dated chip shop a makeover everyone sees her hidden artistic talent and tells her that she is wasting her life serving chips everyday. Her passion lies in handbags, but can she make it in the fierce fashion world with no experience and what will the consequences be for her family?

This is Carole Matthews at her best; Summer Daydreams is funny, sharp and addictive to read. The characters leap off the pages and make you feel like you have known them for years. Petal is adorable and hilarious, whilst Nell works so hard that you cannot fail to be impressed by her. There are also a few moments of suspense when some unexpected events occur towards the end of the novel.

I think this may be my favourite book from Carole Matthews so far.

Thank you to Sphere for sending me a copy to review.

Review of Another Time, Another Life by Leif G.W. Persson

Wow! An unforgettable crime thriller with heavily political themes covering the period of 1975 to 2000. Persson winds us through events such as the blowing up of the West German embassy in 1975 by supporters of the Baader-Meinhof gang, the murder of a previous “sleeper” spy in 1989, the still unsolved murder of Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986 and the upcoming appointment of a Swedish citizen involved in these events to a seat in the Government.

It is a very incisive and insightful exploration of the workings of government - here, obviously the Swedish Government- during the break-up of the Soviet Union and its machinations in East and West Berlin immediately post Cold War. It illustrates the involvement of the Secret Services of both East and West in “cleaning house” while keeping doors open in order to manipulate one another.

Persson draws his characters with the minimum of physical attributes but you feel that you know them intimately from the wry, cutting and cynical asides each gives. Jarnebring and Wiklander are the detectives with Johanssen the Deputy Chief of SePo, the Secret Police. Holt, Mattei and Martinez are the hand-picked talented policewomen employed to crack the unsolved murder of Eriksson and discover its ramifications. Not to forget Bäckström, the bête noir of the police force, who has an interesting outlook on the world! To go into more detail would spoil the story – I leave readers to their own journey of discovery.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to all readers of detective fiction…or is it???

Reviewed by Liz.

Thanks Liz and thank you to Transworld publishers for sending us a copy to review.

Review of Run Rabbit Run by Kate Johnson

Run Rabbit Run is the fifth book in the Sophie Green mysteries from Kate Johnson.

This is the first novel by Kate Johnson that I have read and it read well as a standalone novel.

This is a really fast paced book with a lot of action. Sophie Green is an ex spy who has been framed for murder. In the prologue we see how far she is prepared to go to escape England. What follows is a non-stop mission for Sophie to clear her name, taking her through Europe and to America.

Each chapter is told from Sophie and her boyfriend Luke’s point of view. I really liked Luke’s character, he is caring and will do anything to protect Sophie and discover her whereabouts. Luke will try anything to see Sophie clear her name and get home safe and well even if it means jeopardising his own career and putting his own life at risk. Will he find out enough information to save her?

This is a fantastic novel, full of action and suspense. I really felt for Sophie’s character as everything seemed to go wrong for her. There is not a dull moment in this book and Johnson’s writing keeps you guessing right to the very end. I will definitely be looking out for the previous Sophie Green mysteries in this series!

Thank you to Choc Lit for sending me a copy to review.

Review of The Night Stalker by Chris Carter

Liz has reviewed The Night Stalker by Chris Carter:

The brilliant Detective Robert Hunter and his partner Carlos Garcia of the Los Angeles Homicide Special Section have to find an invisible stalker with a fatal obsession who is drawn to women who strongly resemble one another, not only in looks but also in talent. These ladies suddenly go missing and their bodies are found in isolated buildings. The way in which these women were killed is at the heart of this murder mystery as there are none of the usual marks of violence on their bodies. How did he do it?? We follow the investigation through horror, red herrings and unbelievable cunning to its logical conclusion. Undeterred throughout, even though he is fighting his own personal demons, Hunter doggedly unearths every clue he can find - some seem impossible to untangle from the tight skein of the plot, right to the twist at the conclusion of the search.

As soon as you start reading, you are immediately gripped by the first terrible murder and need to find out exactly what, and who, caused it. The book is very well-written, in fact it is fast-paced rip-tide of a story which I for one did not want to put down until the final full stop. There is a wealth of action throughout with characters from the seedy underworld of life in LA and two clever and driven women in Hunter and Garcia`s boss Captain Blake of the LAHSS and beautiful investigator Whitney Meyers, as well as the inspired Dr Hove, the pathologist.

I am going to read more titles from this excellent, refreshing and inspirational crime writer. 

Thanks Liz and thank you to Simon and Schuster for giving us a copy to review.

Review of Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams by Jenny Colgan

I am a big fan of Jenny Colgan and loved her last novel Meet me at the Cupcake Café, so you can imagine how excited I was to receive a copy of her latest book in the post.

Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams contains everything you expect from Colgan - from the warm, friendly characters to the twist and turns in the plot that leave you trying to guess what the outcome will be. Rosie is a lovely character who I liked straight away; she is at loose end with a job and a relationship that seem to be going no where. When she leaves behind her busy London life to help her frail aunt in the small rural village of Lipton she does not expect to want to stay around long. However, life with her Aunt Lilian is definitely not what she expected.

This is a wonderful book that will leave you craving sweets. It really made me think of all of my childhood favourites – I even had to go out and buy some chocolate limes and rhubard and custard sweets. There are some great laugh out loud moments and quite a few surprises as Rosie works hard to fit in with village life. I particularly liked the descriptions of the shop and how Rosie tries to bring life back into it. I also enjoyed the way that Lilian looks back on her life in Lipton.

This is Jenny Colgan at her best. Highly recommended – especially if you have a sweet tooth!

Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams is released on the 28^th March. To celebrate I am giving away a copy of the book and a Nostalgic Favourites Gift Bag of sweets from Mrs Kibble’s Olde Sweet Shoppe. To enter retweet this post or leave a comment. Closes 15^th April 2012. Open to UK residents only.

Thank you to Sphere for sending me a copy to review.

Review of Priceless by Nicole Richie

Priceless is a modern day ‘riches to rags’ tale. Charlotte Williams is a Park Avenue princess who has always had everything she ever asked for. Suddenly her life is turned upside down when her father is arrested for fraud. With no other family, Charlotte flees to New Orleans, but how will she survive without everything she has become accustomed to?

I must admit I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but I actually really enjoyed it. The novel is told in short chapters, which give it a fast paced feel and made me want to keep reading. In fact, I only sat down to read a couple of chapters and ended up glued to the sofa until I had finished the book! There were also some great twists and turns in the storyline that I hadn’t been expecting.

I really warmed to Charlotte’s character. At first, I felt that I would dislike her, but my opinion changed a lot as the story progressed. I loved Kat’s character and thought that she was very witty. 

Overall, I would recommend this as a fun, light read. Perfect to take on holiday.

Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me a copy to review.

Review of Never Coming Home by Evonne Wareham

One of the things I enjoy most about Choc Lit books is that there is always a male and female perspective, whereas so many romantic novels are only told from the female point of view. The male character in Never Coming Home is Devlin, a mysterious figure who is a world away from many of the previous Choc Lit heroes. We are not told that Devlin is handsome, in fact, he possesses scars that he wants to hide. However, his past is unknown and at times dark and this gives him a real edge and attractiveness.

Never Coming Home is a dark romance full of suspense. Heroine Kaz Elmore learns the devastating news that her five year old daughter has been killed in a car crash. Just as she is beginning to get her life back on track, she is dealt some shocking news that gives her hope.

Soon the plot twists and turns its way from London to America and Italy and what appeared to be a tragic accident turns into a much deeper and sinister state of affairs. Wareham’s writing is fantastic and pulls the reader right to the heart of the story. I found it difficult to put this down.

I really loved this novel. It is a darker read and there is quite a bit of violence, but it fits well within the context of the book. It is action packed and kept me guessing right to the very end. I am looking forward to reading more from Evonne Waeham.

Thank you to Choc Lit for sending me a copy to review.