The Dartmoor Bookworm

 I'm back and trying desperately to get back to reading more regularly. Last year was a difficult year for us and my head just couldn't cope trying to read a book. I struggled to pick up my crochet hook too but I think I'm ready to get back to both. Time to myself is so important so hopefully I'll be posting again more regularly.

 I really enjoyed this book, the story of Diana Clare (pianist extraordinaire)and her love song written and performed once by her, and then lost after her tragic death. Her husband Arie, grieving for his wife,  but his instant love of Evie after a brief encounter, a true love story, a song that finds its way to different couples, all who appreciate the song for what it is, but all who know nothing of its whereabouts or where it came from, and the way in which the song travels around the world, to be brought back to Arie.   The couples are all very different, brought together in different ways, across different generations, and so something in the love story will appeal to most readers. It was very cleverly thought through and put together and beautifully written. The characters were well developed and likeable, and the story and the way in which it was interlinked was fabulous. If you like an easy read, and romance then I'd definitely recommend this book.  I gave it ...

I was sent a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review. OMG! I haven't read a psychological thriller like this for some time.  This is on a totally different level to The Family Upstairs, and so much better. What can I say without giving the story away.  It's about 13 year old Elissa who is a bright young girl, living with her mother.  They go away for a weekend chess tournament that Elissa is playing in and whilst Elissa goes to return something to the car she is abducted. When she comes around she is in the cellar of "The Gingerbread House', chained up and in the dark.  Her captor visits her but so does Elijah, a 12 year old boy who doesn't want Elissa to leave. He sees her as his new friend. Elissa realises that she isn't the first girl who has been brought here and the story follows the time after Elissa's disappearance. The story is brilliantly written, even when you think you've sussed it out, there's a twist a...

Blurb: When Sarah forgets to check on her best friend’s little boy, distraction turns to disaster. And she’s faced with a dilemma. Tell the truth, lose a friend. Tell a lie, keep her close. In a split second, Sarah seals her fate. But accidents have aftershocks, and lies have consequences.  And when it’s someone else’s child, the rumours are quick to multiply. Everyone’s talking about what happened. And sooner or later, the truth will have to come spilling out… We all make mistakes, right?  Bt this one could ruin the perfect friendship. I asked for a preview copy of this book from Netgalley. I'm not really sure why I asked for it. I cannot stand playground politics and this is the main theme of the story. The characters are all members of the PTA and all communicate via the group WhatsApp. These kind of things really bug me - I just can't see the point, however, to bring it into a story plot line I can see would grip a huge number of people. The stor...

It's been a bit manic around here lately, work has taken over and I've started running (that's another blog post!) and I'm hooked but it means I've struggled to find time to read. However, I was given a free copy of this book by HQ and NetGalley in return for an honest review and as I said in part one, the free ebook version I couldn't cope with. I'm really funny about things like that, a slight formatting issue and my head can't cope so I managed to get a paperback copy in my local supermarket. It's taken me a while to read, that's usually a good indication of how I find a book. But not this one! It was quite slow to start, building the story up.  Laura recently widowed and mother of Tilly, together they are about to lose everything, her job, their house, their family. A business deal gone wrong, a break down with their family it's all looking dire.  But when Laura finds out about a local community who are willing to help, she decide...

 I was sent a pre publication copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review. I loved this book, really loved it. I read it over two evenings whilst on holiday and i couldn't put it down. Arden Hall has recently come out of an abusive relationship and even though she has a son (not the abusive partner's) she is now living alone and trying to rebuild her life. Whilst visiting a friend in hospital a chance encounter with an ex lover makes Arden reminisce over her previous relationship with him. The book jumps from past to present, and even though I struggle with this usually, it was really easy to follow in this book. As Arden lives in the present, visiting her ex lover in hospital, she also looks back at their relationship whilst she was at university. The descriptions of the time are very good and took me back to my university days, the music, the clothes and the films. Even though I'm not a great movie buff and I haven't seen all the film...

I was sent a  copy of this (ebook) for free in return for an honest review. Tessa is 16 years old, homeschooled and a poetry blogger. She lives at home with her grandparents who have raised her since birth. (Her father is unknown and her mother moved away to find work.) One day Tessa and her grandmother are involved in a car accident, being hit by a drunk driver and as a result of the accident Tessa experiences temporary blindness. Her reaction, as I'm sure most peoples would be is panic, self hatred and a longing to stay safe, safe inside her home. She is unhappy and frustrated at not being able to see and do the things she used to do.  Her grandparents think the best thing for her is to get her back blogging again, but how can she when she can't see? They go to place an ad in a local paper asking for an assistant, but Tessa finds out and makes them pull the ad before it's published. Weston is also 16 years old and helping at his dad's workplace (the newspaper)...

I was sent a pre publication copy of this book in return for an honest review by Netgalley. The first thing I will say about this book is that it is the third in a series - I haven’t read the other two and you don’t need to. From what I understand a few of the characters and settings are the same but this book is fine to read on its own without the prior knowledge of storylines or characters. The book is set in a small Cornish village and the main character is Pippa Parkin, a teaching assistant, full of life, bubbly and who brings a smile to the room whenever she enters but who’s love life is not so flamboyant! Her mother is desperately trying to get her together with childhood and family friend James, who is polite and courteous when he needs to be but Pippa sees straight through him and decides he’s not the man for her! When her class teacher leaves on maternity at Easter, her temporary cover teacher, Kam, (male, good looking- we know where this is going) joins th...

This is the first book by Lulu Taylor that I have read. It took me a few chapters to fully get into it but I then found it really hard to put down. The story centres on Buttercup Redmain as the main character, who lives in her husband’s large country house with him and his staff. His ex wifeand the ex owner of the big house live in what I assumed to be smaller gate houses near to the main entrance.  The story follows Buttercup and her day to day goings on, where everything is done for her by her husbands grand team of staff. She quickly realised that the team are watching her every move and starts to delve into her husbands former relationship with his ex. The story also follows Xenia, the previous owner and goes back through her life of living in Charcombe, with her father and film star mother, how she comes to live in one of the gate houses.  I really got into the story and wanted to know what happened in the end. The ending was a real twist and not what I was ex...

Watching you by Lisa Jewell really didn’t disappoint. As I’ve said before I’m a big fan of Lisa Jewell books, they are usually gripping stories and easy to read. This one was both. The story starts with a murder scene but the author doesn’t tell you who it is and this makes you start questioning every character in the story. The story follows the main characters Joey, a newly married women, who with her husband, are living with her brother and sister in law in their house on the terrace which is the main setting of the story. The next main character is Tom Fitzwilliam who lives two doors away with his wife and son. Tom is a superhead who has been brought in to turn around the local academy school. His son, Freddie, is portrayed as a bit odd, constantly watching and photographing people who live in the village and recording their day to day goings on. Hence the “Watching You.” The other main characters are Jenna and Bess who go to the academy. Bess is infatuated by Mr F and Jenna...