Close Knit by Jenny Colgan

 

Gertie has always had her head in the clouds, wondering what her life might be like if she could only pluck up the courage to leave the remote Scottish island where she was born.

It's the only place she knows, but you can't do anything there without everyone knowing - the glue of this close-knit community is the Knitting Circle, a group of strong, capable and frankly nosy women who work hard, gossip, knit and support each other through thick and thin. At the centre of this sisterhood is Gertie's mum Jean and her grandmother Elspeth, and the three generations of women live together, surrounded by wool, in one small cottage.

When the chance comes to make changes - a new job working with old schoolfriend Morag on the local airline, new friends and even a possible new romance - a world of possibilities opens up before Gertie. Is this the way to make her dreams come true?

Jenny Colgan is one of my favourite cosy feel good authors and after reading a lot of fantasy recently I needed something light that provides pure escapism and that was just what I got with her new release Close Knit.

Our main character is the loveable day dreamer Gertie who has a pure heart of gold but she has led a very sheltered life never quite fitting in anywhere other than her mum Jeans knitting friends. When an opportunity arises to take a leap and work at the local little airport Gertie finds herself out of her comfort zone and her romantic daydreaming almost getting her in trouble.

The book feels very atmospheric set in Scotland with the harsh weather conditions and small sometimes too close knit community that makes such a cosy and luring setting for the storyline.

If you read Summer Skies last year then you will be thrilled to be reunited with Morag once again and if someone can bring Gertie out of her shell then it is Morag. I still feel like you could read this book as a stand alone so don’t be put off if you haven’t read Summer Skies.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it was certainly the right book at the right time but for me it did lack a little of the excitement I usually feel when reading Jenny’s books and I am usually left desperately clinging onto the characters not wanting to let them go but at the end of this book I felt ready to leave these characters behind. The part of the book that was a highlight for me was when the school trip took an unexpected turn of events and I was eager to see how things would pan out. 

Available to purchase HERE ( Affiliate Link AD ) 

Cursed Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

 

Twin queens Wren and Rose have claimed their crowns . . . but not everyone is happy about witches sitting on Eana’s throne.

Cool-headed Rose sets off on a Royal Tour to win over the doubters, but soon finds herself drawn to the Sunkissed Kingdom. Here secrets are revealed about those closest to her, and Rose finds her loyalties divided.

Meanwhile rebellious Wren steals away to the icy north to rescue their beloved grandmother, Banba. But when she accepts King Alarik’s deadly magical bargain in exchange for Banba’s freedom, the spell has unexpected – and far-reaching – consequences . . .

As an ancient curse begins to arise from the darkness, the sisters must come together and unite the crown. Their lives – and the future of Eana – depend on it.

After finishing Twin Crowns I wasted no time in picking up the second book in this trilogy, Cursed Crowns which picks up on the journey with sisters Wren and Rose after they have taken their rightful place on the throne.

As the pair are set to commence the Royal tour to promote peace within Eana and to unite the witches and the non magical villagers Wren decides to forgo the tour in the attempt to find and save their grandmother Bamba who was captured by King Alerik. Rose has no choice but to continue with the tour along with Shen-Lo to aid her.

As both of the sisters set out on their own tasks it soon becomes clear that both of them are about to face a dark and dangerous time ahead. Each chapter alternates between Rose and Wren which keeps the book feeling action packed and fast paced as lost Kingdoms are found, dark curses are unearthed and blood magic is discovered.

I am not a big Fantasy reader, as much as I would love to be I usually find the vast amount of characters with obscure names along with the various lands and kingdoms to keep on top of all a little overwhelming and before long I lose my way however the Twin Crowns series has been so easy to read, slowly introducing the characters building up a picture in your mind before introducing the next so that they all feel well developed and the places are easy to differentiate between too. If you are just dipping your toe into fantasy this is the perfect series to get you started.

It is rare for me to read a series and find the second book in the series matches the energy and excitement of the first but Cursed Crowns is bursting with the same magical essence as Twin Crowns. The ending has been set up ready for what looks to be a dramatic darker twist to come in book 3 Burning Crowns and I am chomping at the bit to start this final book straight away.

In all honesty I wouldn’t recommend trying to read this book as a standalone so jump straight into Twin Crowns and enjoy this magical witchy journey.

Available to purchase here 

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In Bloom by Eva Verde

 

Delph has kept herself small and quiet as a form of self-protection, ever since the love of her life Sol’s untimely death left her pregnant and alone at the age of twenty-four. Theirs was such a once-in-a-lifetime love, that the loss of her soulmate broke her heart ‒ and almost broke her, too.

Years on, Delph’s protective bubble bursts when her daughter Roche moves out of the flat Delph shares with her partner Itsy and in with her estranged nan, Moon. Now that it’s just the two of them, the cracks in Delph and Itsy’s relationship begin to grow. Feeling on the outside of the bond between her fierce-yet-flaky tarot-reading mother and volatile martial-arts-champion daughter, Delph begins questioning her own freedom.

Is her life with Itsy all it seems? And has keeping small and safe truly been her choice all these years…?

In Bloom is the first book that I have read by author Eva Verde and looking at the pretty floral cover never would I have thought there was such a raw and touching storyline of a families fractured and tormented lives that holds so many years of secrets and hurt.

If I am honest the structure of the book took me a little while to settle into as it jumps between our three main characters, three generations of strong women Moon who is the eldest her daughter Delph and her daughter Roche. Not only do we alternate between each of these women at times we go back in time too but by the time I was a quarter of the way through I found myself relaxing into the story and developing a bond with our characters wanting to know why there was so much turmoil amongst the broken relationships of these three women.

There are many sensitive topics that our characters have been affected by from sexual abuse, grief and volatile controlling relationships and each subject has been explored in gentle detail raising awareness and opening the readers eyes to the effects of each situation has but we also see how strong and resilient these women are and the importance of love, guidance and support can help to reshape lives and protect others with foresight from experiencing the same things in their lives.

I was touched by each of these women, at times I was frustrated with them but it just highlights it is easy to sit on the sidelines and judge but when you are in their shoes they don’t see another way.

For me the title In Bloom really come into light as we see Delph slowly turns from being a small hidden bud of a women to gradually find her way into blossoming into the bright creative and loving person she always was supressed inside.

Available to Buy here.