totallytales's Reviews (1.9k)

Lily has been tasked with planning the wedding of her best friend alongside the groom's brother, whom she hasn't met before... It's not plan sailing he is always unapologetically late, not afraid to stand up for what he believes in and he is hot. Can he bring out Lily's wild side and stop her trying to please everyone else all the time?

This novel is delightfully filled with hope, happiness, and humour. It's perfectly set in the idyllic Castle Cove in the run-up to Christmas, (if only I was curled up in the Castle Teashop with a hot chocolate and a slice of that infamous chocolate cake!). I was hooked laughing at the antics Lily and Josh find themselves in as they disagree, compromise and sometimes (surprisingly!) agree on the perfect cake, flowers, car and shoes for Paul and Emily's wedding! The chemistry between the two characters is perfectly steamy but nothing is plain sailing - can they ever learn to stop running, let go of their hang-ups and give each other a second chance?

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for sending me this in exchange for an open and honest review.

This a collection of short stories about 30 women each one at a different point in their lives each one experiencing some kind of dilemma for example 'the Women Who Unraveled' and 'the Women Blew Away'.


I enjoyed this collection it was thought-provoking with its messages presented in a unique and appealing way. Though some tales resonated more with me more than others they all feature issues which women experience in modern life, for instance, not being taken seriously by men in the workplace, being eaten by Mum guilt and feeling so embarrassed you want the ground to open and swallow you up.
It was very reminiscent of Aesop's fables but for a grown-up audience with each tale having a moral.

My personal favourites were 'the Women Who Wore Pink' and 'the Women Who Had a Strong Suit'. It is the perfect book to dip into when you want a short sweet tale, amusing but with a valuable message at its heart.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for sending me this in exchange for an open and honest review.

Set around four siblings who as children visit a fortune teller, she discloses to each child individually the date they will die. The novel is split into four parts (one for each sibling) focusing on how they choose to live their lives based on their death date, how it affects them both as individuals and the wider impact it has on the family.

Overall I really enjoyed the book, the premise is really interesting and unique. Benjamin's writing is entertaining and the book is incredibly well researched. It spans 50 years and gives insight into topical events - AIDS, females legitimacy in male-dominated professions, the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, animal testing/rights and the exploration of anti-aging science.

Each sibling reacts and is affected by the psychic's claims differently, some go adventure and live life to the fullest chasing their dreams, others choose to play it safe to protect themselves. Who does the right thing? - what would you do if you were in their shoes? This read is complex, believable and thought-provoking; well worth reading if you are after something entrenched in modern family life with an edge.

Eve isn't sure whether to laugh-or-cry when she learns of her pregnancy, Annie is ecstatic she is going to be a mum to a child she thought she would never be able to conceive and Palma finds herself carrying a baby her never planned to keep when the couple split up who she was acting as a surrogate for. The three mums-to-be join the 'Christmas Pudding Club', a group for sharing the highs and lows of pregnancy and they soon become firm friends helping and supporting each other though their life changing journeys.

This novel is brimming with romance, humour and heart! You'll find soon yourself rooting for the characters and becoming engrossed in their respective stories and giggling at the cracker jokes and daily trumpet articles sprinkled throughout. The appearance of characters from Johnson's previous books are brilliant I love to get a glimpse of what they are up to now. Though if you are a new Milly Johnson reader don't let that dissuade you, it really is a stand-alone story. So get cosy and absorb yourself in this heart-warming and at times heart-breaking read perfect for chasing those winter blues away!

Thanks to EDPR for sending me this in exchange for an open and honest review.

Maggie's life as she knew it is over. She wakes up from a coma to find there has been an accident, daughter is dead and her husband has disappeared. She has no memory of the accident or the events leading up to it. Disorientated and grief-stricken she must find out what happened - was it her fault? can her daughter really be dead? where is her husband?

As Maggie begins to remember snip its and starts to investigate her life before the accident we learn that she has a complex past and things aren't as idyllic as they seemed. Adding to the intrigue are the mysterious letters from a young child certain to pull on your heart-strings scattered throughout this novel. It's not Elspeth is it? She is dead isn't she? Maggie is understandably not the most reliable narrator scared, vulnerable and grieving but soon you'll be willing her to work out what happened and take you along for all the twists and turns along the way. This complex psychological thriller will have you turning pages long after you should have turned the lights out.

Thanks to NetGalley & Penguin Books UK for sending me this in exchange for an open and honest review.

The hitchhiker is running away from something and just wants to find a safe place, the law wants to make a name for herself and not be stuck uselessly behind her desk forever and the old man knows something is very wrong but his deteriorated mind won't allow him to form the right connections and express his fears. Seeking refugee from the blizzard they all end up at the Halfway Inn together where is soon becomes clear your chances of survival might have been higher outside in the storm!

The prologue gives you a glimpse of how the day ends for the three characters, its intriguing and you certainly want to find out what happens and what events lead to this point. Chapter one takes you back to the beginning of that day and the chapters are shared been the hitchhiker, the law and the old man. It's a slow burner from then on until its explosive climax, whereas I personally prefer to have twists spread throughout the book rather than all crammed into the end.

I know that it is necessary to lay all the different threads throughout so they can get tangled up in order to deliver that ending but I found the build up a bit tedious. I also didn't like any of the characters I wasn't rooting for any of them, they are all untrustworthy and I had a feeling of unease constantly, but maybe that was the point? I won't go into detail about the ending (I don't want to ruin it) but I will say it is not for the faint-hearted. For me it was a classic case of the perils judging a book by its cover but the blurb sounded irresistible!

Thanks to NetGalley and the Little Brown Book Group UK for sending me this in exchange for an open and honest review.