The Waiting Game by Jessica Thompson

Nessa Bruce waits for her husband to come through the double doors. She'd waited for him to return home from Afghanistan for what felt like forever, and now the moment was finally here. But Jake isn't... Jake Bruce hasn't come home, and it looks like he never will.

Nessa's life - and that of her daughter Poppy - is turned upside down in an instant. What has happened to the elusive man at the centre of their world? They hold onto the hope that he is still out there somewhere, alive... but as time passes by, Nessa is forced to look at her life, at the decisions she has made and the secrets she has kept. For maybe somewhere within it all lies the answer to the question she's desperate to answer - where is the man she loves?

The Waiting Game is Jessica Thompson 4^th book, I have enjoyed each of her previous books and the synopsis for this book sounded like a promising read that was sure to pull at the heart strings and cover some delicate topics too.

The storyline follows our heroine Nessa Bruce who has been trying to keep things ticking over at home with her hormonal teenager Poppy whilst her husband is away in Afghanistan but things are all becoming a bit too challenging and she needs her husband by her side so she is eagerly counting down the days until he is due back home. What Nessa didn’t expect that when she waits at arrivals for her husband he doesn’t appear and no-one knows where he is but they do know he is not of stable mind. Still clinging on to the hope that he will return they try to carry on with their lives until the day he may return.

This was a poignant read that really draws the reader into the emotions of the main character Nessa, the struggle she is facing with her rebellious daughter Poppy, who needs her mouth washing out with soap, as well as dealing with the disappearance of her husband with no knowledge if he is alive or not and if he is alive where on earth he is and why.

The friendship between Nessa and Will was delivered well, you could feel the strong connection between them, more so than between Nessa and Jake to be honest, and I looked forward to him each time he popped up in the book and I found myself routing for him and hoping he got his happy ending which actually felt a little wrong!

Jessica Thompson has created a monster in daughter Poppy! As much as I loathed this character I still can’t help but praise Jessica for developing such a perfect hormonal and rebellious teenager who thinks she is so hard done by and has the world on her shoulders, but yet at times we see the young vulnerable side of her appear too so she was developed so well.

The author does cover the sensitive issue of mental health too and she delivers this in a delicate way. The one thing I really felt was missing for me though from this book, and is probably the reason why I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as the previous books is we only briefly hear from Nessa’s husband Jake point of view and I think the storyline would have been stronger and more emotive if we also got to engage more with Jake from his point of view.

This is the first book I have ever read which is set locally to where I live and many places such as Knole Park, Ide Hill and Beckenham were mentioned all of which are places I have been on numerous occasions and this really added to the enjoyment of the book as it did make me feel more connected to the book.

Although this wasn’t a favourite of mine from this author it was still one I couldn’t put down and I liked the fact that the ending was unpredictable.

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Paper Swans by Jessica Thompson

Ben Lawrence seems to have it all - the hot job, the flashy car, the luxurious apartment. But one tragic day in his past mars his future. Since the events of that day he hasn't truly got close to anyone. He made a promise that love was the price he would pay for his mistakes. When Effy Jones - a bright, ambitious charity founder - walks into the PR firm where Ben works, neither realise that their lives are about to be turned upside down.

I absolutely loved This is a Love Story and Three Little Words by Jessica Thompson so I have been eagerly awaiting her next release, so when I finally set my eyes on the gorgeous cover for Paper Swans I just couldn’t wait to get wrapped up in this authors literary world again.

Ben is the definition of success, he has it all the high flying job, the bulging bank account, the cool apartment and the gorgeous looks to go with it but his package isn’t complete as underneath all that he is hiding a tragic event from his past that he just cannot lay to rest.

Effy has very strong values and is a very ambitious woman who is the founder of a new charity to help the families is Uganda. Effy and Ben are poles apart and yet when their paths cross when Ben is put forward to help with the fundraising for Effy’s charity the two soon find an attraction between them but  like with many relationships it  is never plain sailing and will this couples relationship be able to ride the storm or will it just sink?

Once again this wonderful author has brought us yet another fabulous read. The author has created such full bodied characters that seem so life like, they are both completely different characters but they both seem to be workaholics and they have their flaws! I loved Effy as it was nice to have such a determined and ambitious female lead. Ben is a great character who I couldn’t help but swoon over. I loved how he comes across as this picture perfect hot blooded male that any woman would fall for and yet underneath he is a very broken man. It was great how the author managed to keep us in suspense throughout a lot of the book as to what the actual event was that had occurred earlier in Bens life and we were giving parts of the event in dribs and drabs so our attention was held all the way through the book waiting to find out the whole picture of the event.

The reason why I loved this book so much was because of the main topic of the storyline which was about mental health. I could really relate to this topic which is another reason why I think I enjoyed the book so much especially because the author has shown that someone with mental health can easily hide their problems so nobody has any idea that anything is wrong but it also shows how important it is not to bottle it all up but to talk about it. The author writes about this delicate subject beautifully and with such knowledge and skill.

I often find that the title of the book has little relevance to the storyline but I love that little paper swans do actually feature in the book. This really was a lovely moving read that flowed at a slow pace and I enjoyed every minute of it, I cannot wait for another book by this author she is fast becoming one of my favourite authors.

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Three Little Words by Jessica Thompson

I loved Jessica Thompson’s début book last year and have eagerly been awaiting her next release. The synopsis of Three Little Words had me intrigued. I had a feeling this book was going to  be completely different from her first book.

Plot

They are just words but they mean so much. As a dark evening draws in, the lives of three women are changed forever. The worlds they have been living in, the people they thought they knew - in an instant it all changes. But when everything seems to shatter around them, could three little words be enough to help put the pieces back together again?

I had high expectations for this book as the authors first book won me over and has been a book I have been recommending throughout the year. The book gets off to a gripping start, I was in shock and emotional already just from these first chapters!

The book then did take a little nose dive for a few chapters, it felt very slow and my interest in the characters and their stories began to waver a little but I think this could be because the start of the book was so intense that it over shadowed the next part of the book. Luckily the book does pick up again after a few chapters and this is when we begin a rollercoaster of emotions!

Sara and Toms story did take a little back seat for me and I think their story will probably be forgotten and I did wonder for most of the book what these characters had to do with the bigger picture but all does become clear further into the story.

Rachel was a character who I constantly changed my opinion on throughout the book and still at the end I am unsure if I love her or hate her!

Then we get to my favourite characters first we have Keon who is only a teenager but after a stupid reckless mistake he finds himself behind bars. He cannot forgive himself for what he has done and to the hurt he has caused others, he needs forgiveness from one person in particular before he can begin to forgive himself. This character I felt like I should hate for what he done but the way the author writes his character you couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

The last and the main character is Bryony. I loved Bryony. Her emotions flowed through this book in different ways. She is heartbroken and there were times through this book where reading her story brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes especially around page 413.

The structure of the book is very much like a jigsaw there are four main characters all who have their own little story to tell and the book alternates between each of the characters until gradually all of the pieces fit together to make the bigger picture.

Although the book had that one little low point the emotions and the difficult scenarios that this author tackles in this book more than makes up for it. A very moving story about love, loss and heartache.

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This is a Love Story by Jessica Thompson

How stunning is this cover? This was winking at me from the shelf so it didn’t take me long to pick it up and start reading! 

Plot
This is a love story. 
Boy meets girl and girl falls for boy - that much is true. 
But when Sienna meets Nick it's not the way it happens in love stories. It's because of a squirrel on water skis...
She sees Nick's dangerous brown eyes and thinks,
Don't.
Fall.
Into.
Them.


Who will be there to catch Siena when she falls? She is so fragile. She has so many secrets, and he is not that serious.


Funny and sad, this is the story of two people destined never to come together in the great love affair they crave more than anything else.

My Opinion
This is simply one of the best books I have read in a long time it is a true little gem. The start of the book is a little slow but as the storyline started to develop and we started to bond with the characters it became a true page turner. If you are looking for an airy fairy read then this really isn’t going to cut it for you as the storyline is very delicate and realistic and covers some touching issues. 

There were times where I found myself laughing out loud ( no I didn’t fart or snort like a greedy pig !!!) * once you read the book you will understand! But towards the end of the book my laughter soon turned to tears. I think the reason I found it so emotional is because of the way Jessica Thompson manages to describe the characters so well they feel so real, so certain scenario’s really pulled at my heart strings.

I found the storyline really captivating although there were times where I found myself wanting to shake both of the characters and make them see sense. 

I find it quite hard to believe that this book is a debut for Jessica Thompson, if this is the kind of work she starts off with then I am very excited to see what she has in store for us next!