Tuesday 24 October 2017

Christmas Cakes & Mistletoe Nights by Carole Matthews


Fay and Danny are madly in love and it's all Fay's ever dreamed of. But she left everything - including the delightful cake shop she used to run - to be with Danny on his cosy canal boat The Dreamcatcher. And as she soon finds out, making delicious cakes on the water isn't always smooth sailing!
Then Fay gets a call from her friends, a call that sends her back to her friends and the Cake Shop in the Garden. It will be hard being away from Danny but their relationship is strong enough to survive . . . isn't it?
Fay soon falls happily back in love with her passion for baking - especially now she's on dry land again! - and starts to wonder if she ever should have left. With Christmas around the corner, Fay is determined that her friends will have a very merry time, but does that mean even more time away from Danny?


What could be more exciting than a new Carole Matthews book?
How about a new Carole Matthews Christmas book?
Even better………..
A new Carole Matthews Christmas book that reunites us with our much loved characters from one of favourite books of hers The Cakes Shop in the Garden!
Fay and Danny have been living the dream onboard The Dreamcatcher but Fay is starting to miss the cake shop and her friends but she doesn’t want to leave Danny whilst he is enjoying his new life on the canal living a spontaneous life.
The decision is made for her when she gets a desperate call from Lija that means Fay has to return and it isn’t long before she feels content back in the life she knows so well but can her relationship still survive?
I wholeheartedly enjoyed this book and I couldn’t wait to return home from work to steal another chapter to see what lay ahead for Fay. It was wonderful to be reunited with the fowl mouth Lija and the loveable “ Stinky Stan “ even if they were facing some difficult times and clearly missed Fay. We have a new character, Rainbow, who I was a little struck by when she first appears in the book and thought she was going to grate on me but her kind, positive and upbeat manor soon won me around.
This book could easily be read at any time of year as it only brushes on Christmas and isn’t overly festive which was a slight disappointment as I always get my hopes up for a real magical read when picking up a Christmas themed novel but luckily the storyline still kept me hooked all the way through so it didn’t put me off reading.
Although this could be read as a standalone I would urge you to read The Cake Shop in the Garden first as the connection you build with the characters in the first book then transfers in to this book and you know the background of each characters.
Carole Matthews fans will not be disappointed with this book she has brought back much loved characters and thrown an extra spoonful of romance and friendship in to make this I wonderful enjoyable light read that will hooked.

The wonderful team over at Sphere have provided a signed copy for one of you lucky followers to 
win as part of my spot on the blog tour.
This giveaway is open to the UK and Ireland only ( publishers request )
GOOD LUCK!





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Monday 9 October 2017

The Foster Child by Jenny Blackhurst



When child psychologist Imogen Reid takes on the case of 11-year-old Ellie Atkinson, she refuses to listen to warnings that the girl is dangerous.
Ellie was the only survivor of a fire that killed her family. Imogen is convinced she's just a sad and angry child struggling to cope with her loss.
But Ellie's foster parents and teachers are starting to fear her. When she gets upset, bad things seem to happen. And as Imogen gets closer to Ellie, she may be putting herself in danger...



The Foster Child is the first book I have come across by author Jenny Blackhurst but after reading the synopsis for this book I couldn't wait to get stuck in and see what havoc this dangerous little girl was going to create in this book.

Imogen has clearly has something bad happen in her career recently which has resulted to her moving back to her childhood town on Gaunt but her past is kept hidden from us throughout the majority of the book which adds to the suspense. When she starts her new job she meets 11 year old Ellie who is having a tough time adjusting at her new school and her new foster home, branded a little witch Imogen is horrified at the way both children and adults have been treating her and is shocked at the things they are accusing her of doing.

As more events unfold including a murder, Imogen can't help but begin to question is there any truth in the accusations or is she just as bad as the rest of them?

This really is one of those books that keeps you guessing the whole way through. At times I found the storyline absolutely ridiculous only to then start questioning myself, it really did play mind tricks on me right up until the last page. I loved the eerie and mysterious feel that the author managed to create I hold my hands up and say I didn't predict at all what the outcome would be I only began to get suspicious of one character around three quarters of the way through the book so I was in suspense throughout the majority of the book.

Ellie really was a peculiar child and she is certainly not a character that you would warm too even after finding out about her devastating background. I also found that I couldn't warm to Imogen but again I think this was because there was constant speculation about her background and how it may be impacting her dealings with Ellie I just didn't feel like I could trust her and was almost waiting for something to be revealed.

With Halloween around the corner I think this is the perfect eerie read with a creepy little character who you never quite know what will happen around her next. Full of suspense and keeping you on your guard you can't go wrong with this book.






Available NOW on kindle and pre-order available for paperback. ( Release date 17th November )
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