Emma's Review: Just One Look at You by Jill Mansell

Reviewed by Emma Crowley 

Fen can't believe her luck. A luxury holiday with her beloved grandmother Disa - what could be more delightful? It doesn't cross her mind that she might fall in love. Or that love can bring complications . . .

Jamie can't help it that women always fall for him, rather than for his kind-hearted friend Leon. Nor that only one of them got the looks (that would be Jamie). But how will he feel if the girl he's drawn to only has eyes for Leon?

Disa has a secret. A few weeks ago, an old letter in a file revealed a shocking truth about her late husband. She's come to Venice to find out more.

There's news on the way that will reverberate through all their lives, as Jill Mansell's joyful, heartbreaking new novel takes readers on a roller coaster ride of emotion - and makes us believe in love again.

Book Links: Kindle or Hardcover

Emma's Review: The Secret Sewing Society by Siobhan Curham

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Occupied Ukraine, 1940. Zirka has been sewing ever since she was a little girl. But now, every stitch contains a spark of rebellion. Together with her cousin Perla, as war rages around them they sew vital secret messages for the resistance into embroidered shirts.

Every night, Zirka leaves to meet with her fiancé in secret and Perla pours her heart out into her diary. Nobody else knows that Perla is living under false papers. If the two women are caught, or betrayed, it would mean certain death…

Lviv, 2022. As Ana gazes around at the peeling wallpaper, she hopes this little shop will bring her closer to the memory of her grandmother Zirka. After Ana’s mother suddenly refused to see or speak to Zirka decades ago, Ana has been desperate to find out what terrible secret tore them apart.

A diary hidden in a long-forgotten kitchen drawer tells of a secret sewing society vital to the war effort long ago. Ana knows she must continue her grandmother’s legacy of resistance now another war has come to her beloved country. But she’s no closer to finding the truth about her own family… and when she does, will she learn that some wartime secrets are too dangerous to uncover?

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: The Secret Twins of Paris by Suzanne Kelman

Reviewed by Emma Crowley 

Paris, 2011: Lily Tremaine’s hands shake as she opens the envelope addressed in her mother’s hand. The faded letter inside reveals the long-buried family secret that her mother had a twin she was separated from during the Second World War. A tear slides down Lily’s cheek, knowing the loss of a sister caused her mother so much heartbreak. And now, after all these years, her mother needs Lily to find her…

As Lily begins to piece together the fragments of her mother’s story, she meets Julien, a photographer whose research contains the clues she needs to unlock the past. As they pore over faded black and white photographs together, a warm feeling begins to stir in Lily’s chest. But she knows she can’t bury her own recent heartbreak just yet, not until she has fulfilled her mother’s wish.

When the truth of what happened to the young twins is revealed, it is more shocking than Lily could have ever anticipated. And with her mother’s health failing, she is running out of time to find her mother’s missing sister. Can Lily piece together long-buried family secrets from the war in time to reunite the lost twins of Paris before it is too late?

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: The Girl who Told the Truth by Catherine Hokin

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

London, 1941. The war has already taken everything from Annie. Her sweetheart Harry returned from the front with broken limbs and grief-stricken eyes, and her father betrayed his family by joining the Nazis. But with each new day at her desk in the War Office, a flame burns inside her to right her father’s wrongs and do everything she can to stop the war…

Nuremberg Trials, 1946. The war is over, but the search for justice is just beginning. Annie’s stomach churns when she sees Margarete outside the courtroom. This woman stole her father away and was one of the last people inside Hitler’s bunker. Since the war ended Margarete has continued to support the Nazis. Annie knows this is her only chance to expose her.

But if she tells the truth, Annie must also reveal her father ‘s dark past, putting her own family’s safety at risk. With an impossible choice to make, will Annie have the courage to tell the world the truth about who Margarete really is, no matter the cost?

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Review: The Cafe on the Coast by Christie Barlow

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Can a cake change your life?

Clemmie Rose’s great-great-grandmother’s beloved clementine torte is her ticket to the prestigious Royal Baking Competition. A win could put Puffin Island’s charming Café on the Coast on the map, land Clemmie her very own cookbook deal, and secure her a coveted invitation to a royal garden party.

But when she discovers the competition is being hosted aboard the Royal Yacht by none other than her ex, Oliver Lockwood, the stakes – and the soufflés –suddenly rise, and Clemmie’s bid for the Golden Whisk trophy is at risk of collapsing like an underbaked sponge.

When a decades-old secret is thrown into the mix, she’ll need more than the perfect recipe to keep her dreams from crumbling.

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback