Books Read: Together, Again by Milly Johnson

Sisters Jolene, Marsha and Annis have convened at their beautiful family home, Fox House, following the death of their mother, the tricky Eleanor Vamplew. Born seven years apart, the women are more strangers than sisters.

Jolene, the eldest, is a successful romantic novelist who writes about beautiful relationships even though her own marriage to the handsome and charming Warren is complicated.

Marsha, the neglected middle child, has put all of her energy into her work, hoping money will plug the gap in her life left by the man who broke her young heart.

Annis is the renegade, who left home aged sixteen and never returned, not even for the death of their beloved father Julian. Until now.

So when the sisters discover that their mother has left everything to Annis in her will, it undermines everything they thought they knew. Can saying their final goodbyes to Eleanor bring them together again?

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

On the First Day of Christmas...

How is it December already? The year has flown by and what a year it's been for me as I was dreading spending my 50th birthday alone during lockdown but despite this I was totally spoilt, working from home is likely to become a full-time option for me but sadly also a few health issues (nothing serious) have affected my concentration which has meant that I haven't reviewed anything on the blog for months. So thanks again to Emma for holding down the fort.   

Over the next 12 days I'm going to be sharing the book love with daily giveaways of 📚 and other book-themed prizes. Each giveaway will last two days and a winner will be selected at random and will win the prize I've allocated for that day (but it would be too easy if the order below matched with the days but as you'll also see there are more than 12 prizes so for a couple of days there will be a bookish bundle of a few of the non-book items 😉)

Festive Fun: My Fantasy Christmas Dinner Party by Kim Nash

Today it's my pleasure to welcome Kim Nash back to the the blog, a woman of many talents, blogger, PR & Social Media Manager and now published author... over to you Kim.

I have decided that the five authors I would love to invite to my Christmas dinner party are: 

Martina Cole - I could listen to Martina talk all day. She has SUCH a way with words, not just on paper, but in person too and she’s such a captivating storyteller.  So lucky to have finally met her at Harrogate this year.  I think she’d be an amazing dinner party guest and would keep us all on our toes. 

Milly Johnson - Milly was the person who changed my life.  She didn’t know it at the time but reading her book A Spring Affair was a pivotal turning point in my life.  I contacted her by email, when I’d read her to tell her how much it resonated with me and we’ve kept in touch ever since.  She encouraged me every step of the way of my blogging life, my journey into the publishing world and more recently my journey as an author.  An absolute, all round bloody superstar.  And again another hilarious story teller, who I could never tire of listening to. 

Enid Blyton - I would bring Enid back from heaven and thank her for giving me my love of reading.  Her Famous Five stories were brilliant, I wanted to be The Naughtiest Girl and go away to boarding school and have a trunk of goodies sent to me and more than anything I wanted to play Lacrosse because it sounded so cool!  Her Magic Faraway Tree series and Magic Wishing Chair series were just wonderful.  

Blogiversary Giveaway: Take your pick from a selection of Women's Fiction Books

Today it's time for the other TBR giveaway, the chance for the winner to select one of the books currently languishing in my review piles that realistically I'm unlikely to read anytime soon. If you missed Monday's giveaway post explaining what the TBR giveaways are about, you can read it here.

The broad genre I'm using today is Women's Fiction as I have a mixture of books that cover Contemporary fiction, Romantic Comedy, Romance or Saga and I think in the selection of books below these are widely covered. As mentioned previously these are either duplicate copies where I already have a proof copy or eBook to review or have been received out of the blue and I'm unlikely to be reading for review in the near future.

World Book Night Review & Giveaway: The Queen of Wishful Thinking by Millie Johnson

Tonight is world book night and although I'm not reviewing or doing a giveaway for one of their featured books, you can read about them here, it seemed only fitting to do a review and giveaway for one of the books I have read recently that I have a duplicate copy of The Queen of Wishful Thinking by Milly Johnson.

When Lewis Harley has a health scare in his early forties, he takes it as a wake-up call. So he and his  wife Charlotte leave behind life in the fast lane and Lewis opens the antique shop he has dreamed of. Bonnie Brookland was brought up in the antiques trade and now works for the man who bought out her father’s business, but she isn’t happy there. So when she walks into Lew’s shop, she knows this is the place for her.

As Bonnie and Lew start to work together, they soon realise that there is more to their relationship than either thought. But Bonnie is trapped in an unhappy marriage, and Lew and Charlotte have more problems than they care to admit. Each has secrets in their past which are about to be uncovered. Can they find the happiness they both deserve?

My Favourite Book is... from Joanne, Kim Nash & Louise Beech

Joanne from Portobello Book Blog

It’s always hard to pick a favourite book when you’re an avid reader but one that has made a big impression on me is Birdsong by Sabastian Faulks. It’s not a perfect book – I don’t particularly like the contemporary ending – but there is so much in it which spoke to me. I have since watched the TV adaptation which, much though I like Eddie Redmayne, I felt did not capture the passion between Stephen and Isobel. I saw a stage adaptation earlier this year which I thought was excellent. But it is the book which stays with me. I think I just read it at the right time. 

When I read it, I had been doing a lot of family history research including into relatives who had fought and died in WW1. As much of the book is set in northern France where I had holidayed and where I knew my ancestors had fought, I had a sense of familiarity with the settings. The way the horrors of the war were so vividly described made me feel I had a better understanding of what my ancestors and so many others had gone through. As the attraction between Stephen and Isobel grows in the first section of the book, Sebastian Faulks creates tension as the anticipation builds. When they eventually get together, it is beautifully and sensuously told. Stephen’s feelings throughout the book are movingly portrayed and I felt I could really understand the emotions he experienced.

There is a quote in the book which moved me a lot, so much that I noted down at the time. To me, it must sum up what so many of the men and women who fought in the war must have felt.

“When it is over, we will go quietly among the living and we will not tell them. We will talk and sleep and go about our business like human beings. We will seal what we have seen in the silence of our hearts and no words will reach us.”

A poetic and poignant novel, a modern classic which I love.

Kim Nash, Publicity Manager at Bookouture and reviewer at Kim the Bookworm

A book that changed my life and is therefore my favourite was A Spring Affair by Milly Johnson.  While reading it, around 5 years ago, I spent most of the book saying “OMG that’s me!”.  The main character really resonated with me.  She read an article about clutter and started to clear out her house, but then realised that it was her life she was unhappy with and not her house and she started to make some massive changes.   I too realised through reading this book, that at the time I was so similar to the main character and was desperately unhappy in a life where I did everything to please others and did nothing for me.

Blogiversary Giveaway #6: Win a signed copy of The Teashop on the Corner by Milly Johnson

You might notice a bit of a theme brewing, excuse the pun, with today's blogiversary giveaways as next up I'm offering one follower the chance to win a copy of Milly Johnson's latest novel The Teashop on the Corner. 

After buying a copy of the book I contacted Milly asking whether she had any signed bookplates available and she very kindly sent me a couple, one of which I have inserted this book.

Life is full of second chances...if only you keep your heart open for them. 

Spring Hill Square is a pretty sanctuary away from the bustle of everyday life. And at its centre is Leni Merryman's Teashop on the Corner, a place where three people will find a friend to lean on.

Books Read: Milly Johnson - The Teashop on the Corner

Life is full of second chances...if only you keep your heart open for them. 

Spring Hill Square is a pretty sanctuary away from the bustle of everyday life. And at its centre is Leni Merryman's Teashop on the Corner, specialising in cake, bookish stationery and compassion. And for three people, all in need of a little TLC, it is somewhere to find a friend to lean on. 

Carla Pride has just discovered that her late husband Martin was not who she thought he was. And now she must learn to put her marriage behind her and move forward. 

Molly Jones's ex-husband Harvey has reappeared in her life after many years, wanting to put right the wrongs of the past before it is too late. 

And Will Linton's business has gone bust and his wife has left him to pick up the pieces. Now he needs to gather the strength to start again. 

Can all three find the comfort they are looking for in The Teashop on the Corner? And as their hearts are slowly mended by Leni, can they return the favour when she needs it most...?

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback