Book Review: Fallen Angels by Tara Hyland

An unwanted child: San Francisco, 1958. On a dark December night, a baby girl is left at the Sisters of Charity Orphanage on Telegraph Hill. A mysterious suicide: One year later, movie star Frances Fitzgerald takes her own life. Her husband, wealthy businessman Maximilian Stanhope, is rumoured to know more about her death than he's letting on, but nothing is ever proved. A terrible secret: What is the connection between these two events? That's what Frances's daughter, Cara, wants to find out. Abandoned by her mother when she is just seven years old, her childhood is filled with hardship and loss. As a young woman she finds professional success as a journalist, but on a personal level, she still struggles to trust those around her. Soon Cara becomes convinced that uncovering the secret behind her mother's death is the only way to lay her demons to rest, but learning the truth may end up tearing her apart.

Tara Hyland is a relative newcomer to the chick lit world given that this is only her second novel. However, it's her second novel which has received 5 stars from me, so she is definitely an author I have been hugely impressed by in such a short period of time. Her debut novel, Daughters of Fortune, came out last year and it was a great read set around the world of retail. I have to admit that initially the cover of Fallen Angels didn't capture my attention, but now I have read the book, I see how it fits in with the story and I have really changed my opinion of it. It's a fairly big story, but its one that I quickly found myself absorbed into, fell in love with the characters and by the end I was so sad it was finished, that to me is the measure of a fantastic book!

Book Review: Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson

Chelsea Ross knows she's a great actress. Which is lucky, as she's just got the toughest role of her life! Washed up from Hollywood and in serious need of some cash, Chelsea jumps at the $10,000 opportunity to act as 'carer' to famous hockey player Mark Bressler, currently injured after a car crash. After all, how hard can it be to play nice and pick up after an incredibly hot invalid in need of her tender loving care? Just three months of playing nurse and the cash is hers. But Mark Bressler doesn't need help. The moody hockey player's glory days may be over, but he has no intention of letting anyone aid his recovery, least of all the maddeningly cheerful Chelsea. He's determined to get her to quit – and Mark isn't the type to give in. But then again, neither is Chelsea...

Despite the fact she's written several books with the Little Black Dress publishing label, I haven't really read Rachel Gibson's work before. I was sent her first stand-alone book (in the UK), Any Man of Mine, to review earlier this year and really enjoyed it, so when I was offered the opportunity to read the prequel (although it's released after its sequel!) to that book, Nothing But Trouble, I was eager to see if the rest of the Chinooks series would match up. I have to say I really love the covers, they aren't fancy or anything overly special but I really like them and actually quite liked the darker colours in this one, it suits the darker lead character in my opinion! Rachel Gibson's books aren't serious chick lit, they are very light and fluffy reads but that doesn't at all mean to say that there isn't a darn good story inside!

Book Review: The Importance of Being Myrtle by Ulrika Jonsson

Is a death in the family the chance for a new start? When Myrtle's husband, Austin, dies on the bus one morning, everything seems to freeze. But in reality Myrtle has been frozen for nearly forty years, locked into an emotionless marriage. So if the barriers have been lifted, why does she still feel trapped? Her daughters are a mystery to her - one prickly and defensive, the other with a closely guarded secret. And thanks to Austin's cold presence, friends are a rarity. How is a widow supposed to find herself when she's alone and unconfident of her place in the world? But hope might rest with Gianni, the kind stranger in whose arms Austin died. And when nosy neighbour Dorothy discovers Myrtle's sad news, she also refuses to let her wallow. But Myrtle will never move on until she's dealt with her past and the reason for her devotion to Austin. The truth must out, even though the consequences might prove devastating for Myrtle and her daughters ...

Celebrity novels are one of those types of books where it's either really good (Sharon Osborne, Coleen Nolan), a bit middle-of-the-road, nothing to write home about (Fern Britton) or downright rubbish (Katie Price, Kay Burley). Therefore when I was offered the opportunity to receive a copy of Ulrika Jonsson's new fiction title, I was a bit wary but decided to give it a go. I haven't read her autobiography so don't know anything of her writing style, but have been informed by the publishers that Ulrika has indeed written this herself, with no help from a ghost-writer at all. After hearing that, I was sold on giving it a go, despite the dreariness of the original cover. It's since been updated with some pinks and yellows to brighten it slightly but it's still nothing to write home about really!

Book Review: The Empty Nesters by Nina Bell

Clover Jones and Laura Dangerfield have been best friends since their children were born. Along with Clover's stylish, powerful friend, Alice, they share holidays, sleepovers, school runs and childcare. They're like one big family. But all families have their secrets. When the children leave home, Clover and Laura's lives and marriages change forever, and the old rules on love and loyalty no longer apply. And when Alice decides she wants what they've got, Clover and Laura have to find out who they really are. Without the children, can their marriages - and friendship - survive?

I've read most of Nina Bell's previous books and really enjoyed them - they are great family dramas and really draw you in when you're reading them which is what I love from a book. I have to say that when I saw the cover for her latest book The Empty Nesters I wasn't initially impressed - it looked a bit bland and didn't jump out at me like her previous covers had done at all. However, when I received a copy I thought it was actually quite nice and after reading it, I see how it fits in with the story too. As usual, Bell has delivered on her dramatic family dramas and although I felt this one was a bit of a slow burner at first, I soon found myself engrossed in it and not wanting to put it down!

Book Review: The Look of Love by Judy Astley

Bella has given up on men. Happily divorced, her latest boyfriend just omitted to tell her about his current wife, so she’s back on her own again. Then her ex-husband turns up, wanting to sell the family home in which she and their two teenage children are well settled. But all their lives are changed when a television company rents the house for a reality TV fashion makeover programme. Against her better judgment Bella finds herself taking part in the programme, and while she learns a little bit too much about what really goes on behind the scenes, she also discovers that love can appear in the most unexpected places...

Now I have to admit that the previous Judy Astley book that I read, Other People's Husbands, wasn't one I especially enjoyed, feeling that it was aimed at an older audience than me and therefore that hampered my enjoyment of it somewhat. However, I was willing to give her new book a go since I really liked the sound of it and the cover seemed enticing too. I tried to put to the back of my mind her previous book and go into it with an open mind, it's only fair to approach a book without any bias and so I began reading. By the end, I was really enjoying the book and was disappointed that it was finished, so it was most definitely an improvement in my eyes!

Author Interview: Charity Norman

Debut author Charity Norman released her first novel Freeing Grace this year, and I had the pleasure of reading this very enjoyable book. After reading it, I was given the opportunity to interview Charity and ask her some of my questions about her book. Our thanks go to Sam from Allen&Unwin for her help, and for Charity for taking part in the interview!

Q1. Tell us briefly about your book 'Freeing Grace'.

Abandoned at birth, baby Grace Serenity is up for adoption. A childless couple delightedly await her arrival, but her young father has fallen for her during his contact visits and cannot bear to give her up. In a bid to keep their child, his family ask a friend – rootless New Zealander Jake Kelly – to trace Grace’s grandmother who has run away to Kenya. Simply by being born, this baby changes forever the lives of those around her. What is best for Grace – her troubled biological family or an adoptive couple?

Q2. Where did you get the idea for the story from?

I used to be a barrister in an earlier life, and often worked with families in danger of losing their children into the care system. The courts were faced with desperate dilemmas and sometimes there was no obvious solution. I met very young fathers who cared deeply for their children; they could seem sidelined in the process so I wanted to portray the feelings of a schoolboy father. Also my sister has two children who are adopted, so it’s something I’ve thought about a lot.      

Book Review: Love Always by Harriet Evans

Returning to the wild Cornish coast for the funeral of her beloved grandmother, Natasha has no idea of how things are about to change. This trip reunites her with her large and complicated family for perhaps the last time: Summercove, her grandparents' beautiful house by the sea, is being sold. With it go a generation of memories and the key to the death, many years ago, of fifteen-year-old Cecily, her aunt, a tragedy that no one ever discusses. When she finds the opening pages of Cecily's diary, written the summer she died, Natasha discovers the family she idealised has secrets that have long been buried. But where is the rest of the diary? Back in London, trying to rebuild her own life, Natasha is haunted by Cecily's writing and the tragic tale of love, rivalry and heartbreak promised in those scant pages. She has to know what happened, the summer her aunt died. And so she makes some life-changing decisions – and in the process finds out that a second chance at love might be possible…

After reading Harriet Evans' debut novel Going Home a few years ago, somehow I've managed to not read any of other titles since, although I'm not sure why since I enjoyed her first book! I was sent a copy of this, Love Always, Harriet's latest novel for review and was quite excited to see if Evans was still as good as that first book I had enjoyed so much. The cover was absolutely gorgeous, with some gorgeous bright blue, and other colourful detail that certainly would entice me to pick up the book had I seen it in a shop. My copy was 500 pages long, quite a big chunk of a book but I was looking forward to diving in. I have to now say for the most part I enjoyed the book but there were a few niggles that let it down for me and therefore brought it down from a 4 star to a 3 star read.