My six favourite books of 2016.....so far

As June is now a not so distant memory and that means that we are already more than half way through 2016, I have decided to share my favourite 5 books of 2016 so far. However, I couldn't whittle it down to just 5, so I've actually named 6 instead.  2016 seems to be the year of unputdownable books, with so many already fighting for a place as my book of the year (I don't think that I'll be able to pick just one, though).  Even picking 6 from the list of brilliant books that I have read so far was hard, but here they are, in no particular order I might add:

1

The Girl From The Savoy by Hazel Gaynor

There are not enough words in the world that will describe how much I loved this book.  Hazel Gaynor is one talented lady and is in a class of her own when it comes to writing historical fiction.  The Girl From The Savoy has changed the way that I look at historical fiction and has stolen a little piece of my heart. 

The Blurb:

Dolly Lane is a dreamer; a downtrodden maid who longs to dance on the London stage, but the outbreak of war takes everything from her: Teddy, the man she loves – and her hopes of a better life.

When she secures employment as a chambermaid at London’s grandest hotel, The Savoy, Dolly’s proximity to the dazzling guests makes her yearn for a life beyond the grey drudgery she was born into. Her fortunes take an unexpected turn when she responds to an unusual newspaper advert and finds herself thrust into the heady atmosphere of London’s glittering theatre scene and into the sphere of the celebrated actress, Loretta May, and her brother, Perry.

All three are searching for something, yet the aftermath of war has cast a dark shadow over them all. A brighter future is tantalisingly close – but can a girl like Dolly ever truly leave her past behind?

You can buy The Girl From the Savoy here.

2

A Life Without You by Katie Marsh

Katie Marsh has quickly become one of my favourite authors.  I adored Katie's first book, My Everything, when it came out last year, so much so that it was my book of the year for 2016, and A Life Without You may very well be following in it's footsteps this year.  I know that technically, the book isn't out in paperback until next week, but the kindle version came out on June 16th and I read this book back in April, so I'm adding it in.  A Life Without You is a very touching read, that will both warm and break your heart.  I can't recommend this book enough and I sincerely hope that it gets all of the praise and recognition that it so rightly deserves.

The Blurb:

Can you ever outrun the past?

It's Zoe's wedding day. She's about to marry Jamie, the love of her life. Then a phone call comes out of the blue, with the news that her mum Gina has been arrested. Zoe must make an impossible decision: should she leave her own wedding to help?

Zoe hasn't seen Gina for years, blaming her for the secret that she's been running from ever since she was sixteen. Now, Gina is back in her life, but she's very different to the mum Zoe remembers. Slowly but surely, Gina is losing her memory.

As she struggles to cope with Gina's illness, can Zoe face up to the terrible events of years ago and find her way back to the people she loves?

A Life Without You is a stirring and poignant novel about the power of the past - and the possibilities of the future.

You can buy A Life Without You here.

3

These Days Of Ours by Juliet Ashton

2016 is the year that I discovered Juliet Ashton, technically speaking, I had discovered her other books, written under different names, but These Days Of Ours and The Valentines Card were discovered in 2016, so I'm going with it.  I didn't know what to expect when I picked this book up, but I didn't expect to spend a very long night making my way through a box of mansize tissues.  But that is what happened.  These Days Of Ours is a weepy one, full of happy tears and sad tears.  I just loved this book.  Everything about it was just perfect and it is so beautifully written.  Juliet Ashton is definitely my best find in the book world of 2016.

The Blurb:

Kate and Becca are cousins and best friends. They have grown up together and shared all the most important milestones in their lives: childhood birthday parties, eighteenth birthdays, and now a wedding day as they each marry their childhood sweethearts, Charlie and Julian.

 

Kate has always loved Charlie - they were meant to be. Then she discovers that life never turns out quite how you expect it to. And love doesn't always follow the journey it should.

 

But best friends are forever, and true love will find a way, won't it…?

You can buy These Days Of Ours here.

4

The Judge's Wife by Ann O'Loughlin

The Judge's Wife is another book that I didn't know what to expect from and yet another one that swept me off my feet.  Set in Dublin in the 1950's and 1980's, telling the story of a Judge's wife and her daughter.  Spanning over three decades this book is so beautifully written and tells such a beautiful story. I adored each and every page of this book.  It has such heart and yet again left me a weeping mess, but it was so worth all the heartbreak to get to that gorgeous bittersweet ending.  I can't find the words to describe just how much I love this book.  It is a book that I will be recommending to just about everyone.

The blurb:

When Emma returns to Dublin to put her estranged father’s affairs in order, she begins to piece together the story of his life and that of Grace, the mother she never knew. She knows her father as the judge – as stern and distant at home as he was in the courtroom. But as she goes through his personal effects, Emma begins to find clues about her mother that shock her profoundly.

A tale of enduring love and scandal that begins in 1950s Dublin and unravels across decades and continents, digging up long-buried family secrets along the way, The Judge’s Wife asks whether love really can last forever.

You can but The Judge's Wife here.

5

The Day I Lost You by Fionnuala Kearney

If you follow me on twitter you may have heard that I love this book!!! I absolutely loved You, Me and Other People last year, so I was jumping for joy when this hit the shelves.  I didn't know how she was going to beat  the first novel, but this was miles ahead of it.  If this book was a rollercoaster, I would have been very very sick coming off of it, the amount of twists and turns in this book is unbelievable and just when I thought that I had it all figured out, another twist would pop up out of nowhere and lead me down a completely different path.  I read this book in one sitting, not going to sleep until 5 a.m. because I couldn't put it down. (It wasn't a school night, don't worry!).  

The blurb:

THE DAY I LOST YOU WAS THE DAY I DISCOVERED I NEVER REALLY KNEW YOU

When Jess’s daughter, Anna, is reported lost in an avalanche, everything changes.

Jess’s first instinct is to protect Rose, Anna’s five-year-old daughter. But then she starts to uncover Anna’s other life - unearthing a secret that alters their whole world irrevocably . . .

THE DAY I LOST YOU WAS THE DAY YOU TORE OUR FAMILY APART

You can buy The Day I Lost You here.

6

Fix You by Carrie Elks

Fix You is one of the first books I read in 2016 and it has stayed with me since.  I'm not sure what it is exactly that has drawn me to this story, but there is something extremely special about it.  I adored how this story moved through time, starting in 1999 and finishing in 2021.  Each and every character is beautifully developed and written.  There isn't one thing that I disliked about this book.  When I read Fix You, I had five assignments on the go, as well as 2 exams to study for.  Fix You was the perfect distraction to take me out of my own world, and into Hannah and Richards.  Without a doubt one of the best books that I will read this year.

The Blurb:

On New Year's Eve, 1999, Hanna and Richard meet. She is a born and bred Londoner with plans for a career in journalism. He is the son of a wealthy New Yorker and destined for Wall Street. As Hanna and Richard go back to their own worlds they keep in touch, and when Hanna has her heart broken it's Richard she turns to. They reunite and fall deeply, madly in love.

But they can't possibly imagine the ways their love will be tested. Fifteen years after they first meet, neither can bear to hear the other's name spoken. Then one day Hanna walks into Richard's office and reveals a shocking secret. Richard must decide if he can forgive her. And both need to choose whether to take a second chance on happiness, or if their love is beyond repair?

You can buy Fix You here.

The Judge's Wife by Ann O Loughlin

It's 1954 in Dublin and only days after giving birth to a daughter, Grace is taken to Our Lady's Asylum by her husband and aunt to help to recuperate.  Grace finds herself embarrassed with nobody to turn to, not even her elite status as a Judge's wife will help her here.  

Fast forward to April 1984, 30 years after the death of her mother, Emma, the Judge's daughter returns from Australia to attend the Judge's funeral.  Meanwhile, in India, Vikram, the man that Grace fell in love with all those years ago, is planning on returning to Ireland to visit his beloved Grace's grave.  But before he can do that, Vikram has to try to put the awful memories he has of his last few weeks in Ireland all that time ago behind him.

To my dismay, I managed to completely miss The Ballroom Cafe when it came out last year, but after reading The Judge's Wife, I am counting down the days until I can get to a book shop to buy it.  To say that I loved The Judge's Wife would be an understatement.  I couldn't believe the amount of emotion I felt whilst reading this story.  I was utterly blown away by Ann's attention to detail.  She wrote both the 1950's and the 1980's beautifully, and there was a stark difference between the two eras.  Without going into too much detail on each of the decades, she was able to create a feel for both decades, which is probably what I loved the most about this book.

The characters in this book are so well written and are developed beautifully.  I have never loved a character as much as I loved Grace.  My heart broke into a million pieces every time a chapter was told from her point of view.  She really is the most loveable character and I adored her from the very first page until the very end.  Even though, the character of the Judge is a hard character to like and I really disliked him at the beginning of the book, by the end, his letters to his loved one's had me in tears and the villain of the story, very nearly turns into the hero.  Emma, Vikram, Mandy and Rosa, all added something very special to the story and I adored the chemistry between all of the characters.

The Judge's wife, for me, was a very hard book to read, because I cared so much for the characters, that it became hard to see them go through a hard time.  The Judge's Wife is without a doubt the heart warming and heart breaking story I have ever read.  Within the space of one paragraph I was crying tears of utter sadness and then tears of pure happiness.  It's a end that I didn't see coming in a million years and there are plenty of little twist and turns thrown in to keep you interested throughout.  

Ann O Loughlin could not have written a better book.  It is full to the brim with emotions and is just as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking.  I am so happy that I got the opportunity to read this amazing book.  The Judge's wife is simply stunning and had me spellbound from beginning to end.  It tells a very real story, that lots of women had to go through back in the 1950's, it really shows us how lucky we are to be living in a time where this is no longer the norm.  It makes you appreciate all that you have.  Please, please, please, read The Judge's Wife.  I could never do it enough justice in a review and I hope the Ann and the Judge's Wife have all the success that they deserve with this amazing story.

5 stars  

You can buy The Judge's Wife on kindle and in paperback here.

The Hope Family Calendar by Mike Gayle

 I would like to thank the publishers, Hodder and Stoughton for my copy of this book via bookbridgr in return for an honest review.

Tom Hope had the perfect family life. He adored his wife and two daughters more than anything in the world. He had a great job as a television producer and wanted for nothing.  That was until, one phone call changed his life forever.  His wife has been in a fatal car accident and he is left to raise his two daughters alone.  Unable to cope, Tom goes into meltdown, leaving his mother-in-law, Linda to pick up the pieces and raise his daughters.  When Linda reaches breaking point, she decides to go and visit her friend in Australia, a trip that she has been putting off for a very long time, she leaves Tom to learn how to be the best Dad that he can be.

I've never read anything by Mike Gayle before this, but I am itching to go to Amazon and fill my kindle up with his books.  I really didn't know what to expect when I started reading this book and I definitely wasn't expecting to fell the rollercoaster of emotions that I felt as the story progressed.  The Hope Family Calendar really makes you stand back and be thankful for everything that you have.  It teaches you not to take anything for granted.

I loved the characters in this book.  Tom was the perfect leading character.  I adored how the book switched between to point of view of Tom and Linda.  I loved that I was able to get an insight into both characters lives.  I liked Linda as a character, but I feel that if the book didn't touch on her point of view from time to time, then I wouldn't have like her for various reasons.  That is why I think this book was brilliantly written, because it really shows that there are two sides to every story and to never judge a book by its cover.  The characters of Evie and Lola were brilliantly written and I found myself falling more and more in love with the two little girls as the book went on.  I think that the characters of Fran, Clive and Desi add that something special to the book.

The Hope Family Calendar made me laugh and cry.  It is both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.  A beautiful story, that is so brilliantly written.  I am very much looking forward to discovering more of Mike Gayle's writing.  I am so glad that I read this book, it's one that I won't forget for a very long time.

4 stars

The Hope Family Calendar can be bought on kindle and in hardback here.

BLOG TOUR: Last Kiss by Laurelin Paige

Today is my stop on the Last Kiss blog tour an I am delighted to welcome Laurelin Paige to my blog to talk                   about how she came up with her characters.  

How I came up with my characters:

Emily Wayborn and her friend Amber were the first two characters I imagined vividly. Most of the women I write are strong and intellectual and usually brunette, but I wanted Emily and Amber to be, on the surface, anyway, very different. I pictured the type of women that were trophy wives. There’s a generalization that these women are generally blonde and buxom and materialistic. I wanted to take that stereotype and flip it on its head.

Thus came Emily.

While on the surface Emily is stunning and sexy, she’s also all the things we don’t usually attribute to party girls. She’s smart and calculating and brave and strong. It wasn’t until I was writing the series that I really understood why a woman like her needed to be dominated and how deep this desire went for her.

Reeve’s character developed out of necessity. He became what I needed him to be in order to make the storyline interesting for Emily. He needed to be what she considered her worst nightmare. Notorious and criminally minded were the first traits that came to mind. He needed to be commanding and controlling. Those are qualities that would scare most women. For Emily, he was more terrifying because he was also all the things that she secretly yearned for.

And, of course, he’s also hot as hell and extremely good in bed because doesn’t that make it more fun? 

Last Kiss by Laurelin Paige is out now on ebook, and is released in paperback on 5^th July

A Life Without You by Katie Marsh

A Life Without You by Katie Marsh is available to buy on kindle now and will be available in paperback from Thursday 14th June 2016.

I'm going to save my full review for the paperback release, as I am giving away a copy of the book on that date.  So I'm just going to write a few lines for now to tell you how utterly amazing this book is.

I am such a huge fan of Katie's writing.  I couldn't have loved her first book, My Everything, more.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book and I am so happy to say that it didn't disappoint.  I loved every page, the characters are so real and they became friends the more I read.

My Everything was my favourite book of 2015, and I fail to see another book that can come along this year and take the title of my favourite book of 2016 away from A Life Without You. I love everything about this book, from the striking cover to the beautiful tale that lies within it's pages. Katie Marsh is a hidden gem within the world of fiction and I cannot recommend her books enough. I will be shouting about this book to everyone who will listen. A Life Without You is not to missed.

My full review will be up on the 13th of July in time for the paperback publication.  Until then, the kindle version can be bought here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Without-You-Katie-Marsh-ebook/dp/B016IOF3J4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1466423576&sr=8-1

How To Find Your (First) Husband by Rosie Blake

I would like to thank Corvus for my copy of this book in return for an honest review.

When Isobel Graves moves to LA to make it as a big time actress, she didn't expect to be handing out fliers dressed as a Giant Prawn, promoting a fish market.  Instead of living the glamorous life that she thought she'd be living, she spends her evenings in front of the TV watching boxsets and spending time with her boyfriend, who is probably to worst boyfriend in the world.  Isobel can't help but think that her life is going downhill fast. The only thing that keeps her going is the thought of her childhood crush, Andrew, who she married in the school playground when she was a child.  When she spots Andrew in the background of a news programme at home in England, Isobel decides that if she can track him down, her life would take a turn for the better.  This adventure takes Isobel from Sunny LA, back home to Devon and then to a remote Malaysian Island, in the search for Andrew and true love.

Rosie Blake is one of the greats when it comes to writing women's fiction. She has a way of telling a story that no other author can master quite as well.  Just like Rosie's previous books, How To Find Your (First) Husband is a laugh out loud tale about love and friendship, that sucks you in at chapter one, takes you through many twists and turns and spits you out when it's all over.  I found it absolutely impossible to put this book down and I refused to go to sleep until I had read it in full.

The characters in this novel became friends to me. I loved all of the characters, but Isobel is a the perfect leading lady in this book.  She added fun and humour to the story.  This book is a laugh a minute and I adore this about it.  It is the perfect summer read and I love that it is light hearted and doesn't take itself too seriously.  

How To Find Your First Husband is witty and entertaining from beginning to end. Full of great one liners that had me in stitches.  Rosie Blake transported me to the sunny remote Island in Malaysia, and described is so vividly, it made me want to pack my bags and set off there.

This is another dazzling read for Rosie Blake and I can't recommend this book enough.

4 stars.

The book is available on kindle and in paperback through amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Find-Your-First-Husband-ebook/dp/B01BU6I9PK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465833138&sr=1-1&keywords=rosie+blake

The Girl From The Savoy by Hazel Gaynor

I would like to thank Harper Collins and Hazel Gaynor for my copy of The Girl From The Savoy in exchange for an honest review.


The Girl From the Davoy takes us back to the magical era of 1920's post war London, where we meet Dorothy 'Dolly' Lane, who had just gotten a job as a maid in London's most well established hotel, The Savoy. But Dolly has left a life behind in Lanchasire, in order to life in the bustling city that is London. With the man of her dreams ack home, the question is what dark secret forced Dolly to move to London. Loretta May is a huge West End star and someone that Dolly really looks up to. However, Loretta is also carrying a huge secret. When Dolly and Loretta meet, that learn more from one another that they ever could have imagined.


The Girl From The Savoy is a such a magical story that has sweeped me off my feet and landed me in 1920's London. I loved every last page of this incredible book. Hazel Gaynor has a huge talent for taking you back in time and allowing you to leave everyday life. The characters are beautifully written and became friends as the book progressed.


From the moment I opened the book and started reading, Dolly captured my heart and captivated me. I loved the character of Loretta, but there is just something special about Dolly. I loved that this book had two very strong female leads.


The Girl From The Savoy made me cry tears of sadness and tears of joy, sometime without even having to turn the page. The more the story and the characters developed, the more in love I became with the book. It was as if Hazel Gaynor was sitting beside me reading the story to me herself, he storytelling ability is faultless and utterly breath-taking. There is not one thing that I didn’t like about this book, every single page was filled with magic and sparkle. No other author does Historical Fiction as good as Hazel.


The Girl From The Savoy is an absolute must read.

5 stars