5* review - The Woman Who Upped and Left by Fiona Gibson

Available HERE from Amazon.co.uk

Forget about having it all. Sometimes you just want to leave it all behind.

Audrey is often seized by the urge to walk out of her house without looking back – but she can’t possibly do that.

She is a single parent. She is needed. She has a job, a home, responsibilities…and a slothful teenage son’s pants to pick up.

But no one likes being taken for granted – Audrey least of all – so the time has come for drastic action. And no one’s going to stand in her way…

I absolutely loved the latest offering from Gibson, I am a huge fan of her older books but this is undoubtedly my favourite. 

Audrey Pepper (nee Hepburn) always knew her name was too special for her. She had a really sad childhood and always had to be the adult, taking care of everyone else, a trait which she never really grew out of as she always felt she was looking after someone - and there was no one to care for her.

When we first meet Audrey she is casually seeing Steve, a friend with very few benefits other than the odd stop over at a motorway service station. Then her fortunes seem to change as she wins the Dinner Lady of the Year competition with a choice of two prizes that are not life changing in their own rights, but have the potential to be in other ways...

She decides that she is sick of serving everyone else and picking up dirty pants from the living room floor - it is time to do something for her! 

I love all the relationships that Audrey has, with her eighteen year old son, Morgan, who is lazy, slobbish and appears quite selfish (typical teenage boy!) but underneath really does have a caring side...very deeply hidden. I love her job as a carer for Mrs. B - that was a part of the plot that seemed really special, and the friends she makes along the way.

I think she is a character that most women and maybe some men will identify with at times - I know I certainly do! The scenarios she faces are so very real and I love the witty way she deals with them. I would love a friend like Aud! 

This book really entertained me and I read it far too quickly! I would highly recommend it for a light, feel good read!

Here are the lemon Madeleines I made from the recipes in the back of The Woman Who Upped and Left: Fiona Gibson's Madeleines

Appleby Farm by Cathy Bramley ~ COVER REVEAL!

Pre-order Appleby Farm from Amazon.co.uk

I am very excited to be able to share the cover for Cathy Bramley's Appleby Farm, all four glorious parts in ONE BEAUTIFUL PAPERBACK (and eBook)! It will be released on August 13th and I can't wait for it to nestle into my bookshelf next to Ivy Lane (5* Review here)

Appleby Farm is a charming, funny and romantic story for anyone looking for a feel-good, light-hearted read, from the author of bestselling Ivy Lane. 

Freya Moorcroft has wild red hair, mischievous green eyes, a warm smile and a heart of gold. She’s been happy working at the café round the corner from Ivy Lane allotments and her romance with her new boyfriend is going well, she thinks, but a part of her still misses the beautiful rolling hills of her Cumbrian childhood home: Appleby Farm.

Then a phone call out of the blue and a desperate plea for help change everything…

The farm is in financial trouble, and it’s taking its toll on the aunt and uncle who raised Freya. Heading home to lend a hand, Freya quickly learns that things are worse than she first thought. As she summons up all her creativity and determination to turn things around, Freya is surprised as her own dreams for the future begin to take shape.

Love makes the world go round, according to Freya. Not money. But will saving Appleby Farm and following her heart come at a price?

I can't wait for part four of Appleby Farm to be released on May 7th so I can see how things conclude for lovely Freya, here are my reviews for the first three installments:

Part One: A Blessing in Disguise
Part Two: A Family Affair
Part Three: Where The Heart Is

Review: The School Gates by Nicola May

The School Gates on Amazon.co.uk

The school gates are a great social leveller, with parents from all walks of life brought together whether they like it or not at the start and end of their children’s day. For a few, friendships forged there will bring drama, for others consolation, for some romance… When single working mum Alana reveals the identity of her love-child’s father, she isn’t prepared for the consequences. Dana knows she should be content with her perfect house and perfect husband but finds herself longing for another child and wishing for more fulfilment. Mo’s life has always been hard, but the violence of her alcoholic husband could be the last straw, which only friendship with super-mum Joan can get her through. And what of gay Daddy Gordon? Will he be able to juggle parenthood and cope with his broken heart at the same time? 

Featherstone Primary, a good school in an affluent area, yet the school gates certainly do not present the peaceful manner you may expect.

The School Gates follows the lives of five families; the wealthy Alana - Eliska has everything she could want except time with her mother who works every hour, Dana, ex au pair who has made a perfect life for herself and her family - but there are cracks under the surface, Joan - with a large family to care for and money tight things are a struggle but she still finds time to help her lovely friend, Mo. I loved Mo, she keeps her little family together even when things really are at rock bottom, and lastly the wonderful gay dads, Gordon and Chris - adoptive fathers to Gordon's nieces after a family tragedy. Will he cope?

Their lives, however different intertwine and they are all certainly not what they seem under their well constructed exteriors. 

The mixture of characters works perfectly and each family/character is well developed. The plot is complex to begin with - keeping track of who's who but you soon get to grips with it. It must have been difficult for Nicola May to write as there are many sub plots but kudos to her as it never goes off track or gets too confusing. 

My favourite character has to be Mo, mother to little Rosie and wife to alcoholic Ron. She does have an incredibly tough time of it, I just wanted to wade in and rescue her. I was thankful for her friendship with Joan, mother of four, most of whom always have nits.

I look forward to working my way through Nicola's newly published back catalogue (have a look at more of Nicola May's work here at Accent Press)

Witty, heartwarming, VERY racy in places, and a well deserved

As Good as it Gets by Fiona Gibson

Buy HERE from Amazon.co.uk

“Midlife crisis? WHAT midlife crisis?!”

Charlotte Bristow is worried about her husband Will. With her 16-year-old daughter Rosie newly signed to a top modelling agency, and Will recently out of a job, things are changing in their household.

As Will dusts down his old leather trousers and starts partying with their new, fun neighbours, Charlotte begins to wonder what on earth is going on.

So when Fraser, Charlotte’s ex – and father of Rosie – suddenly arrives back on the scene, she starts to imagine what might have been…

I have only recently discovered Fiona Gibson when I bought Mum on the Run to read over the Christmas holidays. I really enjoyed it and wanted to read more from her so was excited when I saw that this has been released. I did then realise I have quite a lot of her back catalogue in ebook and paperback form anyway!

I really like her observational wit and basic telling it like it is! The way she describes family life is insightful, truthful, and hilarious. 

Charlotte's relationship with Will is steadily breaking down. Family matters such as 16 year old Rosie being scouted by a modelling agency (Will has been Rosie's stepfather since she was a baby after Charlotte was abandoned by 'real dad' Fraser) which Will is certainly not keen on, puts a further strain on their already struggling relationship. As does Will's unemployed status after he was made redundant several months earlier.

Charlotte muddles through, happy with her job and her life in general, if only her and Will could get back to a happier place, when things are made even more complicated by her receiving an email from Rosie's birth father, Fraser, her first true love, and when a sexy, fun new neighbour, Sabrina, who thinks Will is some kind of God in the kitchen and out, befriends the family, things start to spiral from bad to worse, leaving Charlotte wondering if the grass really is greener on the other side.

There really wasn't a character in this book that I disliked, well maybe Delph, a bit character model friend of Rosie's, she's every parents nightmare of a friend for their teenage daughter, but aside from her there was nobody that really irritates, a trait I find appealing in a book! 

The story reads well and the ending is lovely. I did find the story line relatively similar to Mum on the Run however, that would be my only criticism? But it certainly wouldn't be criticism enough to not read the rest of Gibson's back catalogue as I really do enjoy her writing style and the way she develops her characters, especially her leading ladies.

As Good as it Gets is a fun read, well written and with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.