bookbeforeuleap's Reviews (863)

This is the story of Vivian, her family and some of the other people in her small town, where everyone knows everyone's business especially since the women that work on the switch board listen into other peoples telephone conversations!

I enjoyed that there were lots of little stories woven in to the main characters tale and that these all connected in someway throughout.

This book really reminded me of an episode of revenge (you all remember that TV show from 2011 right, with Emily Thorne in?) just without the murders. I kept thinking I had it all figured out and then what I thought was going to happen over 100+ pages was revealed over the next 5 or 6 pages which then had me mystified as to where it was going and this happened several times throughout the book!

I did find this rather slow but by no means was it less enjoyable, it just wasn't one that I wanted to sit and devour in one go.

A book chocked full of mini Christmas reads, by various different authors but with the same central character, the marvellous Miss Moonshine and her magical match-making skills means that there is something for everyone!

I really enjoyed this and was disappointed when it was finished, I wanted more!

It was perfect for reading a short story a night before bed to get me in the festive spirit! I’m off to check out all of the authors other works!

Laurie has come over to England from Jamaica thinking he would be able to make his fortune only to find that the county that claimed to be so desperate for workers, in fact, only wanted white men. Evie, who has been the only person of colour in her area for as long as she can remember, is excited by the arrival of windrush as ‘she was no longer the odd one out’. The two meet and fall in love but as always things are never straight forward...

I found this utterly captivating, moving and thought provoking. In essence it is a post war murder mystery with a romantic element. The setting was described in such vivid detail that I could really picture it and I found the dual perspective engaging. Some parts were hard to listen to as it was upsetting think of how badly people were treated when they had just come here in the hope of making a better life for themselves.

The audio was brilliantly done and I would listen to more books narrated by Theo Solomon, Karise Yansen and there was beautiful jazz music played between each chapter which really added to the time.

This author is definitely one to watch and one I will be adding to my auto-buy list.

I really wanted to enjoy this book as the concept seemed great but it just seemed a bit confused and even after reading it I’m not sure what this book was meant to be, there was no clear outline of what was being discussed or why. There were some humorous moments but I found myself skimming a lot of parts of the book that I couldn't identify with. I didn’t find the book useful at all but the authors were very honest from the start about it not being a self help book so I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised.

This is the story, set in Edinburgh, of a family who run a funeral home/detective agency. It is told through the perspectives of three females, the grandmother, the mother and the daughter. I was instantly hooked as I am very close with my mum and nana with my father not being in the picture and my grandad having passed away.

This was darkly comical and fabulously twisty. For me this was like a cozy crime mystery with a punch and I loved it.

The story has a few main story lines which I was concerned would get confusing, but it didn’t at all, and I loved seeing each of the different generations thoughts as the book progressed .

I really hope this is going to be a series as I would love to know what the Skelf Ladies get up to next!
Thank you to Orenda Books for my #gifted copy in exchange for review.

This is the story of a family who has grown distant but are pulled back together when the middle sister decided to get married.

A fascinating look at how painful and damaging holding on to secrets can be, this look into a dysfunctional family had me hooked from the start. Told from multiple POV you really get a sense of what each character is going through whilst the same time understanding why the other family members are reacting to them the way they are.

It is beautifully written; you immediately get the sense of how much love the sisters have for one another without it being overly discussed. I loved that this was such a powerful book about families and pain without being soppy at all.

This book definitely pulls at the heart strings and I recommend grabbing a box of tissues to read it with!

Thanks to @orionbooks for my copy in exchange for review.

I’m going to jump right in there and say that I loved this book!

In essence this book was a character study, an in depth look at individuals, their lives, how they saw themselves and how they were seen by others. I loved this and how it was established so early on, for example on page 4, Monica “paused to turn the page and take a mouthful of wine. She wasn’t sure she liked Julian very much” when reading Julian’s message. Then on page 28 we have a completely different opinion from Hazard even though he was reading the same thing Monica read, “Hazard Read on, He rather liked Julian.”

I found it utterly captivating and could not put it down. It was light and fun whilst covering some serious topics. If you enjoyed the 24-hour café then you will like this!

Set in Essex, this is the story of ex journalist/reality tv star, Cherry Hinton, who has fled to Brentwood and opened a cake shop in order to forget her past and move on. But when a murder victims sister turns up at her shop claiming that the person who was imprisoned for the crime might be innocent, Cherry can’t control her investigative nature and ends up in all sorts of trouble…

I really enjoyed this book; it was a light and funny story that I read in one go. It was a great cosy mystery and I really enjoyed that it was set in the UK and mentioned locations close to home. I also liked that it made fun of the amount of reality TV shows we have now.

I will definitely be on the lookout for the next instalment.