Rachel Foster

One of my new favourite genres is magical realism and this book has it in spades! I was drawn in from the very first page.

Lucy is an editor at a prestigious firm in London but has been struggling to find a book to publish that will be a diamond and sell many copies.

After the death of her beloved grandmother, she receives a special inheritance which opens not only her eyes but also her life to some unbelievable things.

An email comes to her inbox and Lucy can't believe it - she's finally found a diamond - things are about to turn a corner for Lucy - not only in her work life but also in her home life as well.

This was my first book by this author and I'm definitely going to read more. If you are looking for a book with magical realism, romance, humour and that cozy feel - this is the book for you!

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, NetGalley and Amanda James for the eARC of this book which I received for free in exchange for my review.

This was my first book by this author and I enjoyed it. It had magical realism (which I am a big fan of!), romance, humour and a little bit of intrigue.

How amazing would it be to have your "book boyfriend" come to life!

Zoe is stuck in a bit of a rut. The men in her life over the years (father, ex-boyfriend and most recently Nick the romance genre hating bookstore owner) have made her wish that her book boyfriend - the wonderful Mr Darcy was alive.

After finding Pride & Prejudice in Nick's bookstore (it was the only romance book in his whole shop so she felt the need to save it!) and stealing it something amazing happened - the one and only Mr Darcy actually appears!

Zoe thinks all of her Christmases have come at once and takes him back to her apartment. She tried to hide him but somehow her landlord discovered him when she was out. In the end Mr Darcy spends his days watching TV with Zoe's landlord while Zoe is at work. What she doesn't realise is that he can only stay in her world for so long........

Can she get him back to his home before it's too late?

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark, NetGalley and Freya Sampson for the eARC of this book which I received for free in exchange for my review.

I didn't realise that this was actually the third book in the Cat Cafe series as I was drawn to the book by the picture on the cover being a cat fan! Even though I haven't read the other two books, I don't feel like I've missed anything.

Grace who works at the Cat Cafe wants to start a pet lovers matchmaking service much to the dismay of her parents. Her boss who knows this sends her along to the biggest matchmaking event so she can try and get some pointers from the matchmaking guru running the event. She also signs up to meet someone.

Nathan goes along to the matchmaking event as a performer so that he can get his music out there and also signs up to potentially meet someone - although he has been through a nasty breakup - is he ready to move on? Only time will tell.

This a cute story that keeps you reading to find out if there is a happy ever after for any of the participants at the matchmaking event.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton, NetGalley and Rachel Rowland for the eARC of this book which I received for free in exchange for my review.

This book starts in Berlin in 1939 during the war.

Clara is married to a German officer, Friedrich, and they have been together for a few years. As the war worsens pregnant Jews are turned away from the German hospitals and told they are not welcome and to find somewhere else to go. Clara finds this action by the hospital hard to understand as she works there as a midwife. Next thing she knows just because she is English suddenly her services are no longer at the local hospital.

Thankfully Friedrich finds her a job at another hospital who don't mind that she is English and she settles in.

Clara finds that she can't turn a blind eye to the Jewish families in need of a midwife and finds herself working for the resistance helping these women in their hour of need. Slowly word spreads about "The Angel of Light" what the Jews have come to call her and the Germans want to find her and put a stop to it.

This book draws you in from the first page and you really feel connected to the characters.

I am looking forward to reading more books by this author!

Thank you to Embla Books, NetGalley and Suzanne Fortin for the eARC of this book which I received for free in exchange for my review.

This book has a dual timeline where we read about Maggie in current times and the times of her grandmother and her friends in the past timeline.

Maggie wants to learn why her grandmother just up and left her grandfather all those years earlier never to be heard from again.

When Maggie's parents decide to sell Hellebore House after her grandfather passed away, Maggie decides it's time to unlock the secrets of the past. She is encouraged to go to Norway by her ex-boyfriend who is also curious to know what happened all those years ago.

Once Maggie arrives in Norway she slowly begins to unravel bits and pieces of the past. While she is in Norway we read quite a bit of the story of the past so we are learning what happened as Maggie is.

There are twists and turns along the way and I had to keep reading to find out how it was going to end. This story has mystery, romance, humour and grief.

Thank you to Headline, NetGalley and Amanda Geard for the eARC of this book which I received for free in exchange for my review.

It took me a little while to get into this book but I persevered and ended up enjoying it.

This was my first book by Ann Bennett and I will definitely read more of her books. She knows how to draw you in to the story, to make you feel like you are right there with the characters.

This story has a dual storyline, we meet Jeanne in 1972 who wants to learn about her mother Elise’s past, but most of it is set during the war in the 1940s with Elise and her two very good friends Myriam and Salome.

The Bonnand family and the Goldman family spent a lot of time together when Elise, Myriam and Salome were growing up, so much so that they felt like sisters. Life as they know it comes to an end with the Germans arriving in France. As Elise’s father throws his support behind the Germans and what they are doing, Elise knows she can’t stay living at home as she doesn’t agree with what he’s doing. Elise ends up doing and experiencing things she never would have dreamed of.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Ann Bennett for the eARC of this book which I received for free.

This is my second book by Evie Woods and I must say I’m a fan. I’ve discovered the magical realism genre and I love it! In this story there are three main characters whose lives intertwine because of the violin in Devlin’s possession and their lives change from that moment. The three of them go about finding out where this violin came from that Devlin had come across in the lost and found section at his work. This leads them to various locations, some of which they have to get to by plane, much to the dismay of Devlin. The banter between them had me laughing in places. I couldn’t wait to see how it would end once everything had been discovered. On top of learning about the lives of the three main characters we also find out about the violin from the point of view of the violin!. Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishers and Evie Woods for the eARC of this book.

I know this was a kids book but I really enjoyed it - knowing it was based on true stories was amazing too! I read it for a prompt in a reading challenge I'm doing, but now I want to read the best of the books in the series!

This was my first book by Kay Bratt and now I'm keen to read more! I liked how there was a whole different story to what I was expecting. As we read about Emily getting to know her puppy we learn she is a ghostwriter who would dearly love to write something she is passionate about. When she meets Nora and Mari at the dog park with their dogs is where this story really takes off! I'm pleased that she was able to make friends with Mari as they both really needed someone at that point in time. The description of what Emily and Mari find on their road trip seemed so real. I had moments where I had the odd tear in the corner of my eye. People who like heartwarming stories, animal stories, romance and women's fiction will enjoy this story.

I received an ARC of this book. It was my first book by this author but I will definitely read more of her books. I could not put it down. It had humor, romance, sadness, mystery and grief. I would definitely recommend to historical fiction fans.

This was the fifth book in The Lost Daughters series. It was another great story although this story did have a couple of differences to the other books in the series but I won't give anything away. I received an ARC of this book - thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture.

This is my first ever time reading Harry Potter. I saw the first movie when it came out but can't remember it now! I bought the game and done people said you should read the books and watch the movies so you have more of an idea where you are.

I thought it was a good book. It really annoyed me how sometimes her parents were called Mum and Dad and sometimes by Em and Charlie. It also annoyed me how she blamed everyone for the accident. Could have ruined her friendship with Billy because of it.

A little wordy in places but interesting story. I liked how Argylle had the respect of his team mates by the end - even Wyatt.

This is the third book in the Lost Daughters series and I really enjoyed it. I liked how the grand daughter found her mother's biological mother and was there when they met. It was sad they didn't meet any other family members as in other books, but good that her mother was still alive to meet her biological mother which has not been the case in the other two books.

I had real tears (more than once!) not just a lump in my throat! I had heard it would make you cry - but wow!

It was full on right from the start. Twists along the way too! My first book by this author but I will read more!

One of the weirdest books I've read in ages! Can't say too much as it would give things away!

It was all go right from the start of the story. I had to keep reading to find out how it was going to end.

Another great story in the series. Although I hope it continues in the next story! All the characters are so likeable. Bit worried about Stephen and hoping he sticks around longer!

This was my first book by him and I really enjoyed it. It was action packed from the start to the end. I really felt for Eddie the whole way through.

I'm really liking this author and genre. All the characters were likeable - although one person took a bit longer to like than the rest. I enjoyed the story even if it was mostly predictable.

This was the first book I've read by this author and I really enjoyed it! I found the characters likeable and couldn't wait to see how it all ended.

This was my first book by Brandon Sanderson and I really enjoyed it. I've just recently started reading easy going fantasy. This was easy to follow, a little wordy in places but I was pleased with how it ended.