Guest Book Review: Tasmina Perry - Perfect Strangers

Reviewed by Ceri Kehoe 

Just an innocent invitation...

When Sophie Ellis is asked to house-sit at a luxurious Knightsbridge townhouse, it appears to be the offer of a lifetime. Drawn into the glittering circle of the home's owner, she meets wealthy American businessman Nick Cooper and is swept up into a thrilling and passionate affair.

But when Nick is found dead in his hotel suite, Sophie is suddenly the prime suspect for his murder, and soon realises Nick was not the man he seemed. Racing to find the truth and clear her name, Sophie must elude not only the authorities but also a group of dangerous players who believe Sophie has something that they want. And who won't stop until she's caught...

Guest Book Review: Rosanna Ley - Bay of Secrets

Reviewed by Ceri Kehoe 

Spain, 1939.
Following the wishes of her parents to keep her safe during the war, a young girl, Julia, enters a convent in Barcelona. Looking for a way to maintain her links to the outside world, she volunteers to help in a maternity clinic. But worrying adoption practices in the clinic force Sister Julia to decide how far she will go to help those placed in her care.

England, 2011.
Six months after her parents' shocking death, 34-year-old journalist and jazz enthusiast Ruby Rae has finally found the strength to pack away their possessions and sell the family home. But as she does so, she unearths a devastating secret her parents, Vivien and Tom, had kept from her all her life.

Guest Book Review: Carmel Harrington - Beyond Grace's Rainbow

Reviewed by Ceri Kehoe 

Beyond Grace’s Rainbow is a poignant story about a young mother’s battle with cancer.  Single mother Grace Devlin faces what will be the biggest fight of her life and the stakes are high.  She cannot contemplate leaving her adorable little boy Jack all alone in the world.  Unfortunately for Grace her best chance of survival is to receive a bone marrow transplant, so she embarks on a heart breaking search for her biological parents, as she was adopted when a small baby.  This search will unravel a web of lies and deceit that has spanned over thirty years.

And just when she thinks life can get no more complicated, Jack’s father Liam is back in town full of remorse and he’s made it clear that he’s not leaving until he’s won her back.   Liam was the love of Grace’s life but can she trust him ever again? Helping Grace muddle her way through her cancer treatment and complicated love life are her friends – Tara, Sean, Abby, Tom and Gerry.  Tara is Grace’s cousin and is happily married to Sean but they are desperate for a baby of their own; Abby, Grace and Tara’s friend from college is single and looking for her one true love  which is proving difficult, whilst Tom would be happy if  his boyfriend Gerry for once didn’t max out their credit card!    Beyond Grace’s Rainbow will bring the reader into Graces world where friendship, courage, loyalty, laughter and above all love are abundant.  

Guest Book Review: Cecelia Halbert - Up The Hill

Reviewed by Ceri Kehoe

Cecelia Halbert is a funny, intelligent, and attractive fifty-year old Chicago-area author who feels isolated by her marriage to her emotionally vacant husband. She falls in love with a brilliant and unavailable actor who teaches her what love can be, illuminating the deficits in her dysfunctional marriage. The actor encourages Cecelia to take a no-holds-barred weekend trip to Santa Monica, ostensibly to engage in non-committal, non-judgmental sex with an Oscar-winning writer she met on Twitter. The trip results in an unexpected twist of events, shaking Cecelia's world and her conscience. Wondering if she has somehow created the drama in her real life in order to fuel her writing, Cecelia returns home to pursue the happiness that has always been just out of her reach.

Irish Fiction Month Guest Review: Maeve Binchy - The Return Journey

Reviewed by Ceri Kehoe
 

In this extraordinary collection of stories, the world-wide bestselling author of Evening Class once again reveals her incomparable understanding of matters of the heart. In The Return Journey, Maeve Binchy creates powerful compelling stories of love, loss, revelation, and reconciliation. A secretary's silent passion for her boss meets the acid test on a business trip; a man and a woman's mutual disdain at first sight shows how deceptive appearances can be; an insecure wife clings to the illusion of order, only to discover chaos at the hands of a house-sitter who opens the wrong doors; a pair of star-crossed travelers pick up each other's bags, and then learn when you unlock a stranger's suitcase, you enter a stranger's life. These and many more poignant, ironic, often humorous stories - unforgettable slices of life -make up The Return Journey, a spellbinding trip into the human heart. 

Guest Review: Elizabeth Gill - Miss Appleby's Academy

Reviewed by Ceri Kehoe

Emma Appleby’s arrival in the County Durham village of Tow Law is sudden and mysterious, provoking deep suspicion in the locals. And because she has a child with her, seemingly out of marriage, they want nothing to do with her – except for pub landlord Mick Castle. 

When Emma opens an academy and sets herself up in competition with the local school, she provokes a savage response from the community. But she will not be deterred – even when her past catches up with her and Mick is forced to choose between family and love.

Guest Book Review: Elizabeth Waite - Three Brides for Three Brothers

Reviewed by Ceri Kehoe

John, Rick and Derrick Underwood are the most handsome trio of brothers in town and it takes three exceptional women to convince them to settle down.

For Jodie, marrying John seemed exciting and romantic at the time but the reality of life is proving too much. Jodie loves her husband but she doesn't know how much more she can take of his dishonest ways.

Rick's marriage to Laraine is filled with love and adventure; their life is blissful - until one day it delivers a cruel blow. Everything begins to unravel and Laraine isn't sure she's strong enough to survive.

Dee is smitten with her husband, Derrick. He does all he can to provide for her so when he's sent away to sea, she knows she will be all right. But suddenly she stops hearing from Derrick - where is he?

From the 1950s all the way through to the 1980s, Three Brides For Three Brothers is a nostalgic story of love and loyalty during the most testing of times.

Guest Book Review: Serena Clarke - All Over The Place

Reviewed by Ceri Kehoe

Livi Callaway has fled back to London after a reality TV disaster in New Zealand. Safely anonymous in the big city, she’s determined to stay under the radar from now on. But her attempts to build a new life are complicated by unexpected visitors from her old one, and new dangers and temptations lie in wait.

Late one night, she meets a mysteriously sexy American on the Underground – and the events that follow take her from Pooh Bear to the golden lights of Paris, via a trail of rock stars dead and alive. A family in disarray, a determined Swede, a crazed Australian and a childhood friend (who might yet be more than that) have her all over the place as she tries to discover the American’s secret – while keeping her own.

With help – and occasional hindrance – from her friends, what she eventually finds is something unexpected...sometimes, running away can lead you to exactly what you didn’t know you needed.

Irish Fiction Month Guest Review: Sheena Lambert - Alberta Clipper

Reviewed by Ceri Kehoe

Christine Grogan is a beautiful 28-year-old meteorologist with a loving family, great friends and an exciting career working for an international investment bank. So why does she spend every January 20th crying like her heart might break? As everyone around her appears to be moving on with their lives, Christine wears her past like a pair of concrete shoes. Can nothing, or nobody help her shake them? 

Mark Harrington thought he had all he ever wanted. Head of the bank's Irish operations, he has the career, the house and the relationship any 39-year-old would wish for. But when his seemingly perfectly-planned life suddenly strays totally off course, Mark is confronted with the fact that he isn't actually in control at all... 

...and that he is crazy in love with Christine. 

Insider trading, rambunctious Christmas parties, overnight conferences, the modern office environment has it all. But it can also be the stage for a simple, modern love story. ALBERTA CLIPPER is that story. The story of two people, each floundering in their own lives, who might just be able to save one another.

Guest Book Review: Charlotte Betts - The Painter's Apprentice

Reviewed by Ceri Kehoe

1688. Beth Ambrose has led a sheltered life within Merryfields, her family home on the outskirts of London; a place where her parents provide a sanctuary for melancholic souls. A passionate and gifted artist, Beth shares a close bond with Johannes the painter, who nurtures her talents and takes her on as his apprentice.

But as political tensions begin to rise in the capital, Noah Leyton arrives at her family home in the middle of the night with a proposition that turns Beth's world upside down. And when Merryfields becomes refuge to a mysterious new guest, whose connections provide an opportunity for Beth to fulfil her artistic ambitions, she soon realises that it comes at a price...

Guest Book Review: Sophie King - Divorce for Beginners

Reviewed by Ceri Kehoe

As Lizzie juggles running a failing women's magazine with bringing up a young family she ponders on whether you really can “have it all”. The answer comes sooner than she expects when her husband's actions turn her world upside down...

Alison should be looking forward to a quieter life with David now that their youngest has flown the nest. But David has other ideas and his increasingly bizarre behaviour leaves Alison wondering if she really knows her husband at all...

Karen has managed to hold her family together since leaving her husband Paul many years before. That makes her the perfect person to start The "How to Survive Divorce" Club, to help others on their own. But as the burden of past secrets unravels, Karen realises she needs help too.

Ed really believes in marriage. So much so that he's done it three times already. But as his work and home life get ever more complicated, will he ever be able to find “The One”...?

Add in mysterious diary entries, an overbearing sister, a troublesome stepbrother, the surprise return of faces from the past, grown up kids with their own problems, and ageing parents who've discovered the ups (and downs) of internet dating and you have a gripping and entertaining tale of modern life as our foursome struggle with... Divorce for Beginners.