Difference between revisions of "Newest Women's Fiction Reviews"

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[[Category:Women's Fiction|*]]
 
[[Category:Women's Fiction|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|Women's Fiction]]
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[[Category:New Reviews|Women's Fiction]]__NOTOC__
==Women's Fiction==
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{{Frontpage
__NOTOC__
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|isbn=1471180158
{{newreview
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|title=Maybe Tomorrow
|author=Charlotte Moore
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|author=Penny Parkes
|title=Grandmother's Footsteps
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Verity's husband has died suddenly and she decides to sell Knighton, the house she has lived in for large parts of her life, where she was born and brought up and where she has lived for thirty years with her husband and daughter. She must sort out all the possessions and papers stored there, and this prompts her reflections on the past, including her not so happy marriage. She also realises that now Simeon is dead, she can reveal a family secret to her daughter Hester.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0140278311</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Rosy Thornton
 
|title=The Tapestry of Love
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Women's Fiction
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|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Catherine Parkstone has sold her home in England and moved, lock, stock and tomato plants, to a tiny hamlet in the Cevennes mountains in France's Massif CentralIt's eight years since her divorce and her children are now grown and (reasonably) independent, so it's time for her to do what pleases herHer aim is to set up a sewing business in the hamlet – doing upholstery, soft furnishings and tapestry – but she has to come to terms with the extremes of the weather, French bureaucracy and the understandable reserve of her neighbours who are not keen to see more tourism taking over the area.  It's not long before Catherine falls in love – with the landscape and a way of life.
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|summary=Jamie Matson works in an upper-class grocery store, for a man who's a control freak with all the subtlety of a half brick.  Jamie's son, Bo, 'has his problems'He's asthmatic and the more you read, the more you'll suspect that he's on the autistic spectrumSometimes Jamie needs to take time off at short notice - she's a frequent flier in the local A&E and sometimes Bo's not fit enough to go to school.  Missed shifts or the need to be away on time to pick Bo up from school are occasions when Jamie can be controlled and put in the wrong.  It was going to come to a head.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755345568</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Lauren Bravo
|author=Beverley Eikli
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|title=Preloved
|title=Lady Farquhar's Butterfly
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|rating=4
|rating=3
 
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Olivia - Lady Farquhar - has recently been widowed.  This does not upset her in the least; indeed, as becomes clear through the novel, her husband was an unpleasant bully who subjected her to all kinds of abuse.  Unfortunately, however, the terms of his will have ensured that her beloved toddler Julian has been taken away to live with his uncle Max until such time as Olivia marries someone considered to be above reproach.  For that reason, she is seriously considering marrying Nathaniel, a clergyman who has helped her for many years.  The only problem with that is that she finds him increasingly repulsive...
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|summary= Gwen is pressing her middle-aged bosom on a big number that starts with a four and ends with an oh-my-God-I'm-nearly-fortyHaving been made unexpectedly redundant - any HR officer worth their salt would argue the toss - Gwen finds herself having a bit of a mid-life crisisCatharsis is key and Gwen has decided now is the time to take back her life'
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0709090579</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1398510629
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Wendy Kremer
 
|title=No Matter What
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Wealthy American Jason Tyler needs a wife fast to stop his cousin Calvin from taking over the family oil businessAfter responding to his advert English girl Amy Courtland meets Jason in London to discuss his proposal.  Amy is desperate for the money Jason is offering her to be his wife so she can pay off the debts her father has left behind.  Her feet barely touch the ground in Los Angeles before Amy finds herself with a new surname and new life as Jason's fake wifeBut unlike the rest of Jason and Amy's families, Calvin is not convinced by the marriage and is determined to prove it is a sham.  When Jason decides to take Amy into the Venezuelan jungle with him on a business field trip Amy soon finds her life in danger on more than one occasion, leaving Jason to wonder if someone is behind these strange events.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0709090757</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=0008506337
 +
|title=The Garnett Girls
 +
|author=Georgina Moore
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=General Fiction
 +
|summary=The love affair between Margo Garnett and poet Richard O'Leary was all-consuming, apparently on both sides.  Margo was just sixteen when they fell in love.  Richard was twenty-one and described by Margo's mother as 'an older man'.  Her parents worried that Richard's influence would take her away from what they felt she could achieve - going to Oxford and having a glittering career.  In the event,  they eloped and Richard took her away from the Isle of Wight.  Margo did go to Oxford and went on to become a well-respected journalist.  The couple had three children: Rachel, Imogen and Sasha.  Life was lived in London and holidays were spent at Sandcove, the family home on the Isle of Wight.  Even then the doubts about Richard's drinking were never far from Margo's mind: ''she would never be able to leave him in charge''.
  
{{newreview
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Then Richard left them.
|author=Sarah Duncan
 
|title=Kissing Mr Wrong
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Kissing Mr Wrong is the first book I have read by Sarah Duncan and it has definitely given me an appetite to read more. It tells an absorbing tale with many different threads that bind together well and with a main character that I loved. Indeed, it has all of the ingredients for a riveting read – one that I didn't want to put down.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755345959</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Kirsty Robinson
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|author=Hadeer Elsbai
|title=Grass Stains
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|title=The Daughters of Izdihar
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Women's Fiction
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|genre=Fantasy
|summary=Being the editor of a style magazine has its perks: free tickets, free gigs, endless parties, alcohol and drugs. And that is what Louisa's life consists of – one continuous binge. Louisa spends her life going from one party to another, but it's not all it's cracked up to be and her life is starting to fall apart.
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|summary= Drawing inspiration from Egypt, ''The Daughters of Izdihar'' explores the lives of two women who could not be more different, yet find themselves fighting for the rights of women and weavers – those with magical abilities - in a society pitted against them. Nehal, born into the upper class, wishes to attend the Weaving Academy to learn to control her abilities and then join the military, but instead she is forced into an arranged marriage with Nico. Giorgina on the other hand did not have a privileged upbringing like Nehal and feels great pressure to provide for her family and maintain their reputation, whilst secretly attending meetings of the Daughters of Izdihar – a group campaigning for women's rights. Giorgina also happens to be in love with Nico. What follows is a story of an unjust society, filled with hypocrisy and cruelty, from which blossoms a group of admirable women fighting for their rights and overcoming their personal obstacles.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>009954119X</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0356520471
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B0B575J99N
|author=Pamela Fudge
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|title=Beneath the Porticoes
|title=A Change For The Better
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|author=Brooke Adams
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=
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|summary=Elizabeth Miller was thirty-four and a teacher at a prestigious girl's school in York. It was ''comfortable'' but she longed for something more in life.  She'd ''still not found the right vocation nor met the right man'' and now was the time to make a change.  She needed challengesThere was a little trepidation when she applied for the professoressa job in BolognaAfter a telephone interview, she was offered the position and it wasn't long before she was exploring the beautiful city.  There were some natural doubts before her first class but it went surprisingly well.
Jo Farrell had spent all her life caring for other people. After she lost her alcoholic husband and her demanding, hypochondriac mother she had time for herself, but when she looked in the mirror she wasn't particularly impressed by what she saw.  The middle-aged, slightly plump woman with grey curls reminded her of her mother and the clothes she was wearing did little to help eitherIt was something odd which helped her to changeThe very scruffy man from downstairs (the sort you would cross the road to avoid) came to borrow a newspaper and somehow they got talking about what needed to be done to change her life.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0709090609</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0241542405
|author=Cath Staincliffe
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|title=Meredith Alone
|title=The Kindest Thing
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|author=Claire Alexander
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
 
|genre=General Fiction
 
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Imagine that your partner of twenty or so years discovers that they are dying from a terminal diseaseNow imagine that they've asked you to help them to die a little sooner, on their own termsWhat would you do?  This is the dilemma that faced Deborah and, after she went ahead and helped her husband Neil to die, she found herself charged and standing trial for murder with her own teenage daughter, Sophie, testifying against her.
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|summary=When we first meet Meredith Maggs it's Wednesday 14 November 2018 and she's not left her home for 1,214 daysShe'd ''like'' to: in fact, she so nearly doesHer outdoor clothes are on and she's even considered which shoes to wear if she's going to catch her train.  Then, she can't. She simply can't force herself to leave the safety of her homeShe's fortunate that she has a good friend, Sadie, who visits regularly with her two children, James and Matilda.  Sadie's a cardiac nurse and full of sound common senseIn fact it was Sadie who gave Meredith her cat, Fred.  Groceries are online deliveries and there's also an internet-based support group where you'll find Meredith as JIGSAWGIRL, so you can guess what she does in her spare timeThen Tom McDermott arrivesHe's from Holding Hands, a charity which supports people with problems such as Meredith's.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849012083</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Nicola Cornick
 
|title=Confessions of a Duchess
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=Historical Fiction
 
|summary=Dowager Duchess Laura Cole has come to the village of Fortune’s Folly to live a quiet life as a widow with her young daughterBut when the village squire decides to invoke the Dames’ Tax, a law requiring every unmarried woman to give up half her wealth to him, the town becomes a hotbed of men searching for heiresses now desperate to marryJoining the men is Dexter Anstruther, sent to secure a rich wife and carry out a murder inquiry on behalf of Lord LiverpoolThe last thing Laura and Dexter expect is to see each other again after their steamy encounter four years agoBut their passion for each other is reawakened and looks set to ruin them both.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0778303802</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0008441618
|author=Julia Williams
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|title=Other Parents
|title=The Bridesmaid Pact
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|author=Sarah Stovell
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=I recently read [[Last Christmas by Julia Williams]] and enjoyed it so much that I was determined to read more by this fabulous author. The opportunity presented itself in the shape of 'The Bridesmaid Pact', a truly wonderful book that not only met but also exceeded all my expectations. In fact it was so good that I read the last 200 pages in just one day, totally ignoring my family whilst doing so.  
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|summary=Jo Fairburn knew that she was under intense pressure as the new head of West Burntridge First School: if she didn't live up to her retired predecessor there could well be a house price slump in that part of the town. The school had an active Parent Teacher Association and the funds which they raised were a considerable benefit to the school. There was one difficulty, though - they were ''devastatingly shockable'', with two members, in particular, causing problems for the head. Laura Spence and Kate Monroe objected to Jo's restrictions on the toys children could bring in on Toy Day but that was just a warm-up act for their real gripe: LGBTQ education.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847560873</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Abby McDonald
 
|title=The Liberation of Alice Love
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=You can just picture Alice Love standing before the panel on Britain's Got Talent.
 
 
'And what do you do?' they like to ask.<br>
 
'I work in the film industry...'<br>
 
'Oooh, really?'<br>
 
'...as a lawyer.'<br>
 
'Oh.'
 
 
Like all those accountants they're always showing, you can imagine that Alice too would receive a rather luke-warm welcome on the show. And Alice would concur that her job isn't all that glam, even if her industry itself is a bit swish. But it's an appropriate job for her, since Alice is very sensible and by-the-book. She's certainly not the type of person to go overdrawn, or run into any kind of trouble financially, so when her card is declined one day she's pretty sure it's just a computer error.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099533928</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Giovanna Fletcher
|author=Lulu Taylor
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|title=Walking on Sunshine
|title=Midnight Girls
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Best friends Allegra McCorquodale, Imogen Heath and Romily de Lisle, known as the Midnight Girls, spend their nights at the exclusive Westfield Boarding School for Girls up in the attic rooms smoking and bitching. But when the girls are witness to a tragic accident, they become bound together forever by what they have seen and vow never to tell.
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|summary=Mike's wife, Pia, who he was with for seventeen years, has died. And whilst he is dealing with his grief, so are their best friends, Vicky and Zaza. But Pia left them all some 'rules' to follow, knowing that she was dying and that they would need help to carry on living. Whilst some of the rules are around practicalities such as clearing out her wardrobe, another one that Mike discovers one day encourages him to take one of their trips away, and Vicky and Zaza, struggling with their grief and their own life troubles, decide to drop everything in their own lives, and go along with him.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099524929</amazonuk>
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|isbn=140593560X
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B09FS89KX9
|author=Holly McQueen
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|title=Fall On Me
|title=Confetti Confidential
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|author=Penelope Potts
|rating=4
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|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=''Confetti Confidential'' is the third book in the Isabel series, but the first one I've read. Even without that grand claim on the front, you couldn't help but draw comparisons between Kinsella's series and this one from the very first page. The writing style is virtually identical – to the point where you do actually wonder if this is just a pseudonym – and while the chatty, chummy, conversational approach is not for everyone, if it's the sort of thing you like then this is the sort of book you'll love.
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|summary=Life should have been good for Hollie:  She was just going into the final year of her veterinary degree and - three years later - was still working at BB's diner.  Bob - the owner - regarded her fondly: he was a good boss.  Hollie had moved in with her boyfriend, Marcus: her mother thought he was great and he was doing well in his career. Hollie wasn't quite so certain though: Marcus wanted to control her and most of all he wanted her to leave her job at the diner. Then there was the fact that he would be violent, both to her and to other people.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099545756</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
SS
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0008421714
|author=Sabrina Broadbent
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|title=Mrs March
|title=You Don't Have To Be Good
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|author=Virginia Feito
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Women's Fiction
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|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=Bea Kemp has reached a crisis point in her life. She is in her forties, childless, enjoying a tedious job and a lacklustre marriage with Frank. She seems to have spent her entire life 'being good' and it really does not seem to have got her anywhere. Her only pleasure seems to come from the time she spends with her niece and nephew, Laura and Adrian, and as her successful sister Katharine has no qualms about using her as an unpaid childminder, that's quite a lot! However, all that looks set to change when Katharine announces that she is moving away with the children so she does not need Bea to look after them.
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|summary=The problem began just after the publication of George March's most successful novel to date. Everyone but Mrs March (we know her first name only on the last page) seemed to either be reading it or had already done so. Every day Mrs March went to the local patisserie to buy olive bread but on that particular morning, Patricia asked, as she was wrapping the bread, ''but isn't this the first time he's based a character on you?''  She mentioned that Johanna, the principal character had 'her mannerisms''.  Perhaps this would not have mattered, except for the fact that Johanna is the whore of Nantes - ''a weak, plain, detestable, pathetic, unloved, unloveable wretch.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099535556</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1473685745
|author=Rekha Waheed
+
|title=Unbreak Your Heart
|title=Saris and the City
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|author=Katie Marsh
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Yasmin Yusuf is a likeable main character with a group of Sex-and-the-City-style friends. The story begins with Yasmin splitting up with the man she was convinced was going to propose, rapidly followed by losing her job. We then follow her as she determines to become successful and make her mark in her new job, whilst holding out for ''the package'' in her personal lifeI particularly liked the way each chapter is a lesson and lets the reader know what Yasmin will be learning or proving through events played out in that chapter. For example, chapter one is ''Lesson One: If he's the bad boy and you're the good girl, you will get burnt'', hence the resulting ex-boyfriend.
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|summary=When Beth Carlyle and Simon Withers first met they were on opposite ends of an angry exchange - well, Simon was angry and Beth was doing her best to apologise for having knocked Simon's son, Jake, off his bike.  He wasn't hurt but Jake has history.  He has HLHS - that's Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome for those of you who are not ''au fait'' with your medical acronyms.  When he was born, the left side of his heart hadn't developed properly and he needed open-heart surgery when he was a few days old.  So, Simon has every right to be over-protective particularly when someone isn't looking where they're driving.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755356136</amazonuk>
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}}
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{{Frontpage
 +
|author=C J Carey
 +
|title=Widowland
 +
|rating=4
 +
|genre=General Fiction
 +
|summary=It's April 1953, and Adolf Hitler's schedule includes going to Moscow to attend the state funeral of Joseph Stalin then within weeks coming to London, parading around a bit, and watching over the sanctioned return to the throne of Edward VIII with his wife, Queen Wallis. For yes, Britain caved in the lead-up to the World War Two that certainly didn't happen as we know it, and we are now a protectorate – well, we share enough of the same blood as the Germanic peoples on ''the mainland''.  But this is most certainly a different Britain, for Nazi-styled phrenology, and ideas of female purpose, has put all of that gender into a caste system, ranging from high-brow office bigwigs to the drudges, and beyond those, right on down to the childless, the husbandless and the widows.  Female literacy is actively discouraged.  And in this puritanical existence, our heroine, Rose Ransom, is employed with the task of bowdlerising classical literature to take all encouragement for female emancipation out of it – after all, not every book can be banned, and not every story excised immediately from British civilisation, and so they just get a hefty tweak towards the party line before they're stamped ready for reprint.  That is her job, at least, until the first emerging signs of female protest come to light, with their potential to spoil Hitler's visit.
 +
|isbn=152941198X
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Ruth Hogan
|author=Joan M Moules
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|title=Madame Burova
|title=Fragile Memories
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Maura was surprised when she inherited the manor house at Picton near Salisbury.  She hadn't been close to her Uncle Tom for many years and he had a stepson, Jim, whom she thought would have inherited in preference to her.  It was five years since she's been back to Picton and when she returned to put the property on the market she was surprised by the extent of her longing to return there.  Money was going to be a problem though.  She worked as a model and couldn't really to this from the manor – and she didn't have the money for the property's upkeep.  Her boyfriend, Nick, had an answer.  He already had three successful restaurants and was looking to extend into the countryside – what better place could there be for his new restaurant?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0709090587</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Anne O'Brien
 
|title=Virgin Widow
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Historical Fiction
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|genre=General Fiction
|summary=The mighty Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, is famous throughout England as one of King Edward IV’s most trusted advisors. But as Edward is lured towards another influential family when he falls in love with Elizabeth Woodville, Warwick responds by backing the alliance between Margaret of Anjou and King Louis XI of France, aiming to put Margaret’s husband Henry VI back on the English throne. A helpless pawn, Anne is torn away from the man she loves, who will grow up to become Richard III, to be used as political capital by her father and his allies as they try to regain the kingdom of England.
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|summary=This book lets us discover several people in different stages of life in the early 1970s, all vaguely connected. So we have a bullied half-cast boy (as he would have been called then), a girl in a humdrum job wanting to become a singer, and chiefly, Imelda, the third generation of Madame Burova, ''Tarot-Reader, Palmist and Clairvoyant'', to use her family's sea-front boothThe singer, the scryer and the sufferer's mother will all become staff at a revamped holiday camp, but just before then we see Imelda fly solo for the first time in the family stall. We also see her on her last day, fifty years later, in possession of a pair of letters that will change everything for a woman called BillieJust who is she, and who delivered the secrets about her to Imelda, and why did it have to remain a secret all this time?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0778303756</amazonuk>
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|isbn=152937331X
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Sally Wragg
 
|title=Playing for Keeps
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=The Vernon family have been involved with Rislington Rovers Football Club – The Rogues - for generations.  Presently there are three generations actively involved with the Club, although Eleanor Vernon, the matriarch of the family, wishes that husband Landon would spend a little more time with her.  As the Rogues are facing relegation and a police investigation into their finances, stalwart Landon isn’t likely to be doing that any time soon and when the Club needs a new Chief Executive the appointment is one which divides the Vernon family and it seems that there’s not one of them whose personal life isn't in turmoil.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0709089880</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Debbie Macomber
 
|title=Hannah's List
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=It was a year since Dr Michael Everett's wife Hannah died from ovarian cancer and his grief was still as painful as ever. He certainly wasn't ready for what his brother-in-law, Hannah's brother, handed himIt was a letter which Hannah had written some time before her death and not only did she suggest that he should remarry, she went on to name three women she thought would make a good wife for him.  Winter Adams was the chef who owned the café on blossom Street, Leanne Lancaster had been Hannah's nurse, but who was Macy Roth?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0778303799</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Hester Browne
 
|title=The Finishing Touches
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=As the daughter of its owner, and a highly experience management consultant to boot, Betsy is the obvious choice to call for help in turning around a finishing school failing to make the grade in 21st century London. Except... Betsy never attended the school as a student, and she's not so much 'management consultant' as she is 'shop assistant' – a distinction many a proud parent could be forgiven for missing. With the Tallimore Academy facing financial ruin, however, Betsy isn't so much their best hope as she is their only hope.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340937807</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Allie Spencer
 
|title=The Not-So Secret Diary of a City Girl
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Banking analyst, Laura McGregor has her secret diary accidentally uploaded to the Internet. The diary contains her thoughts about her lacklustre relationship with a
 
trader, her attraction towards a “dirt-digging journalist” and massive discrepancies in the accounts of her new manager.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755352947</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Katie Fforde
 
|title=A Perfect Proposal
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=I have read most of Katie Fforde's books and each and every one has proved to be enjoyable and entertaining. A Perfect Proposal comes up to the same high standard and, having just finished reading it, it has left me wanting more! Her style is very relaxed and easy going and she always creates believable characters that you can't help caring about.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846054494</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Sandra Wilson
 
|title=A Change of Fortune
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Leonie Conyngham seemed to have everything going for herShe was beautiful and set to be the belle of the forthcoming season, but a family disaster stripped her of her position as the most important pupil in her school and placed her there as the lowliest teacher, there to do the bidding of those above her.  Her possessions stolen and in debt she had little choice in the matter.  Her physical attractions have not left her though, but now the young rakes of London are not looking at her as a possible wife, but to see who can be the first to deprive her of her virtue.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0709089996</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author= Jennifer Saint
|author=Gillian Morgan
+
|title= Ariadne
|title=Salt Blue
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|rating= 4.5
|rating=3
+
|genre= Women's Fiction  
|genre=Women's Fiction
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|summary= This re-telling of the myth of Ariadne and the Minotaur is interesting and unusual. Jennifer Saint presents the story in a way that is sympathetic to its origins but also appealing to a modern audience. Saint's narrative is told predominantly through the viewpoint of Ariadne, spanning from her childhood to her death, allowing the reader to really connect with Ariadne as a character in her own right rather than just a prop in the heroics of Theseus.  
|summary=I always judge a book by its cover. The eyes in the pretty face on the cover of ''Salt Blue'' are arresting, but difficult to assign to a period, though it’s clearly women’s or teen fiction.  I imagine that the cover might attract fiction readers of mainstream women’s magazines such as Women’s Weekly or Woman’s Own, so it’s spot on for the story inside.
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|isbn=1472273869
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906784159</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Lucy Holland
|author=Kate Lawson
+
|title=Sistersong
|title=Mother of the Bride
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Women's Fiction
+
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=This is the story of Jess Foster who is busily preparing for her forthcoming marriage to Max Porter, willingly aided by her mum, Molly, and her stepmother, Marnie. It soon becomes apparent though that the women have different ideas, particularly opinionated Marnie who seems set on Jess having the society wedding of the year and even goes as far as hiring a wedding planner. Molly, on the other hand, agrees with Jess that things should really be kept simple. Thus the scene is well set for all the moods and mayhem which occurs when arranging a wedding. Will Jess be able to stick to her guns and arrange the type of wedding that she wants or will it just be easier to give in to other suggestions?
+
|summary=Sistersong is part of a genre I particularly enjoy, the modern retelling of folk and fairy tales. These stories, for most of us, are a cornerstone of childhood and I relish seeing them retold with fresh eyes and a fresh perspective. If handled well these retellings give new life and new meaning to stories that are now becoming increasingly narrow and outdated, fleshing out characters, examining relationships and re-evaluating the role of women. Sistersong is a perfect example of a modern retelling done well, the plot is handled with care, keeping its archaic historical feel but allowing the characters to come to life, to feel real and human, most importantly they feel relatable in a modern world whilst still feeling appropriate for the pre-Saxon age they live in. This is a masterpiece of storytelling and I was captivated from beginning to end.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847561179</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1529039037
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B08NF79QXT
|author=Liane Moriarty
+
|title=Cherry Blossom Boutique
|title=What Alice Forgot
+
|author=Brooke Adams
|rating=5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary='This wasn't the worst thing that had ever happened to her…it was just the most ridiculous' laments thirty nine year old mother of three, Alice, who has had the last ten years of her life struck from her memory by a blow to the head in her step aerobics class.  Alice now thinks she's twenty nine, newly pregnant with her first child and happily married to Nick and furthermore she hasn't a clue what she's doing at an aerobics class in the first place.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141043768</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Elin Hilderbrand
 
|title=The Castaways
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=On the island of Nantucket, four couples have forged strong bonds of friendship. Together they live and love, raise their children, share their dreams. It's an idyllic existence and at the same time a very purposeful one. The couples have worked hard to create the quality of life they now enjoy and nothing can take it away from them. Until now. Greg and Tess are dead, the result of what appears to be a sailing accident. They leave behind two young children, and six devastated friends, all of whom have to come to terms with what has happened. For some there is guilt over final words said or final warnings left unsaid. For others, there is the knowledge that secret relationships will now have to stay that way evermore. 'The Castaways' is the book of that fateful summer, the accident and its aftermath, but it's more than just that. It's a look at the precious role friends and family play in our lives, and how innocent actions or words can change the course of history forever.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340919825</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Karen Abbott
 
|title=A Most Rebellious Debutante
 
 
|rating=3
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Lucy Templeton, daughter of Lord Templeton, fell in love with her dancing master.  It wasn't entirely unusual for a seventeen year old girl to feel this way, but it was better that it was unheard of when she was caught in his armsA substantial sum of money for the dancing master ensured that he would disappear and Lucy was sent to stay with her married sister as punishmentShe was not to attend parties or social functions and must spend her time looking after her sister's young children and doing good works, until such time as the Templetons could get her married offAll might have gone according to their plan had she not had a chance encounter with the notorious Lord Rockhaven and a stolen kiss catches her heart.
+
|summary=Thirty-one-year old Liberty Rossini has had her shop, the Cherry Blossom Boutique, for just six months when she's nominated for - and wins - the Retail Best Newcomer AwardShe's delighted and the two people she's brought with her to the event couldn't be more pleasedSonja, her mother, is an ex-model and Brazilian: you can see where Liberty got her looks from. Jessica's thirty-four and Liberty's best friend: they've known each other since university and Liberty adores Jessica's husband, Charles and their four-year-old daughter, AvaLife would be perfect for Liberty if it wasn't for one thing: she misses having a man in her life.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0709090315</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=B08GFSK2WZ
|author=Jojo Moyes
+
|title=The Karma Trap
|title=The Horse Dancer
+
|author=Lisette Boyd
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Only two things in life matter to fourteen-year-old Sarah: her horse Boo and her grandfather Henri LachapelleHenri sees Sarah's skill at horsemanship as her way out of their inner city London life and wants her to follow in his footsteps and become a member of France's elite equestrian academy Le Cadre Noir.
+
|summary=George Jackson is thirty-three years old, absolutely gorgeous to look at - and single.  She's not had sex for eight months and she's stuck in the karma trap: an awful lot of bad luck is being visited on her and she has a real talent for attracting dramaHer life's chaotic: she dealt with the leak from the shower by putting something down at the bottom of the stairs to absorb the water - then the shower fell through the roof whilst she was in it and left her, stark naked, staring at the pervy postman.  She only has to take her mother's dog out for a walk for her to end up with dog poo spattered across her face - and a photo being taken by someone who shares it around the office.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340961600</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=B08CHJLNBS
|author=Mavis Cheek
+
|title=Capturing Emilia
|title=Truth to Tell
+
|author=Brooke Adams
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Robert Porter was angry.  The politician filling the television screen was lying.  He knew it.  He railed against it and said politician would have thought himself lucky not to be there in person.  Nina only managed to calm her husband by enquiring whether he would like red or white wine with the meal and had that been the end of the matter then that would have been the end of the matter – if you see what I mean.  But the telephone rang and it was Robert's boss with details of the team-bonding office trip to Florida.  Robert assured him that he was really keen to go (he wasn't) and Nina was looking forward to it too (she wasn't).  And then Nina started wondering about the difference between the politician's lies and Robert's, er, evasions.  Surely it must be possible to tell the truth?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091931673</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Jojo Moyes
 
|title=The Last Letter From Your Lover
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=
 
I do love a story that wraps me up completely within its little world, making me want to ignore my long list of things to do and just curl up reading all day.  Jojo Moyes' new novel certainly managed it.  I felt transported back to the 1960's, entirely caught up in the characters' lives, riding their highs and lows alongside of them, and I ended up desperately foisting my just-woken-up toddler onto my husband so that I could just read the last four pages without her hanging off my arm!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340961627</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Cathy Woodman
 
|title=Trust Me, I'm a Vet
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Though I'm not a pet owner and as such had never thought too much about it, I believed this book when it told me there are two types of vets (three if you count the Vietnam kind, though for these purposes let's not). No, I mean the city type who look after poodles and hamsters and maybe the odd depressed gold fish, and the country kind who stick their hands up cows' bottoms for fun, and think horses are man's second best friend, as well as essential equipment for extracurricular activities. Maz definitely falls into the first category, but when her love life gets as sticky as a cancerous canine tumour, she realises that London is not the place to be any more. An opportunity arises at the rather tweely named ''Otter'' ''House'' ''Veterinary'' ''Clinic'', and she seizes it, pleased to have a reason to flee the capital, at least temporarily.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099543567</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Jeannie Machin
 
|title=My Lady Domino
 
 
|rating=3
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Adele Russell serves behind the counter in a haberdashers and lives over the shopIt wasn't always like that though as it's only a few years since she was a wealthy heiress engaged to marry an earl, but after her father's financial ruin and his death in a fire her fiancé broke off the relationship and Adele was lucky to be taken in by her old nurse. It's taken some time to come to terms with what happened and Adele has reconciled herself to her lowly position until she finds an invitation to a masked ballWhat harm would there be in her wearing her mother's ball gown and domino, just for a taste of how things used to be?
+
|summary=He's Charles Devereaux, thirty-eight and a partner at Wickham Jones, the Mayfair letting agents.  She's Emilia, twenty-nine, librarian and archivist in the heritage library next doorEmilia has read [[The Secret by Rhonda Byrne|The Secret]] but she's moved on from new age books like that, which leave you dependent on someone else's philosophies, to something a little deeper.  Charles is more of a [[Personal by Lee Child|Jack Reacher]] man himself, but, above all, he's shocked that Emilia reads ''The Guardian''.  They're obviously not at all compatible, so why can Charles not get this woman out of his mind? She's not his usual type at all: it's obvious to his friendsAnd given that Emilia regularly feels repulsed by Charles's superficiality, why does she feel drawn to him? The relationship's obviously a non-starter, isn't it?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0709089988</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Val Harris
 
|title=Sea Creatures
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Rowena Moon and her husband Brendan lived on the Cornish coast with their three children, Jenna, Charlie and Olivia.  Brendan was an artist – and a reasonably successful one.  Rowena ran a local café and the children had the freedom of the local beach.  It sounds like, and probably was, an idyllic childhood until one day Rowena disappeared without warning and without explanation.  It was devastating and affected each of the children in different ways as they grew up.  Twenty two years later the five are reunited and the mystery of their past unravels.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0955599741</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author= Helly Acton
|author=Sandra Heath
+
|title= The Shelf
|title=A Commercial Enterprise
+
|rating= 4
|rating=3.5
+
|genre= Women's Fiction
|genre=Women's Fiction
+
|summary= When we meet Amy, she's in a relationship with Jamie. You can't really call it a partnership, because things tend to get done on his terms, but she's sticking around because she hopes she can change him. Ah, yes. Haven't we all been there? Things are looking up when he tells her to pack for a surprise trip. Could this be it? Is he ''finally'' going to get down on one knee? Was the work (and the wait) worth it?
|summary=Caroline is a Lexham, but she's not one of ''the'' Lexhams as her father made a rather unfortunate marriage. In consequence she's rather surprised to be invited to the reading of her uncle's will. She didn't know him, had no expectations and probably wouldn't have gone to London if she hadn't been trying to escape the attentions of a pressing suitor. The journey there is trying, but she's rescued by Sir Hal Seymour who gives her a lift in his carriage.  It might have got Caro to the reading on time, but she made an enemy of his mistress who had hopes of becoming his wife.
+
|isbn=1838770879
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>070908997X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author= Alyssa Sheinmel
 +
|title= What Kind of Girl
 +
|rating= 4
 +
|genre= Women's Fiction
 +
|summary= '' Doing something when you're scared is braver than doing something when you're not''
  
{{newreview
+
When Mike Parker's girlfriend comes into school with a black eye, claiming he gave it to her, her whole world is tipped upside down. Her relationship has just ended and now she's the talk of the school. Mike was the most popular boy in school who was always so in love with her, everyone knew that, so why did he do what he did? Some people believe her and some don't, but one thing is for sure, this isn't going to blow over any time soon.
|author=Lisa Jewell
+
|isbn=0349003297
|title=After the Party
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=It's been eleven years since Ralph and Jem finally became an item at the end of Lisa Jewell's first novel Ralph's Party. After buying a house in South London and having two children their once exciting, romantic and crazy relationship has gradually become consumed by responsibility and domesticity.  Jem has become bogged down with motherhood and running a home and just wishes Ralph would help out a bit as she struggles to start working again.  Ralph, unsure of his role in the family, has gradually drifted away both physically and emotionally from Jem and his children, preferring to spend as much time as possible painting in his studio.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846055733</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author= Katie Fforde
|author=Sue Eckstein
+
|title= A Springtime Affair
|title=The Cloths of Heaven
+
|rating= 4
|rating=4.5
+
|genre= Women's Fiction
|genre=Women's Fiction
+
|summary= I've wanted to read author Katie Fforde for ages and this was pretty much exactly what I was expecting - a warm, cosy read focused on romance, family and friendshipsThis provided two romances for the price of one, but it was actually the family element as opposed to the romance that I really enjoyed.  
|summary=We're in West Africa in the early nineteen ninetiesThere's the usual mix of expatriates and diplomatic staff doing their best to do their best whilst still making the most of the freedoms such a life gives.  Isabel is married to iconoclastic photographer Patrick Redmond and copes better than most wives would with her husband's fixation with pendulous black breasts.  There is gossip though. The High Commissioner and his wife Fenella are both involved in illicit affairs, with more or less discretion.  
+
|isbn=1780897561
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0954930983</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=B07W4MNBSG
|author=Trisha Ashley
+
|title=Be Careful Who You Marry
|title=Chocolate Wishes
+
|author=Lizzy Mumfrey
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=4
|genre=Women's Fiction
+
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=I know one should never judge a book by its cover, but somehow I always do.  So I was expecting some light-hearted chick-lit when I began this bookI was a little startled to find several mentions of tarot cards, Mayan charms, and guardian angels - a somewhat bizarre spiritual mixture - within the first pages. What, I wondered, had I got myself into?
+
|summary=It was coming up to Halloween in 1987 and a group of sixth-form schoolgirls wondered what they would be doing when they were fifty.  When you're only seventeen that seems positively ancient, but Liz was convinced that ''your entire life depends on who you marry''The only eligible boys were the Young Farmers and the idea of living in a farmhouse and having a couple of children called Will and Olly appealed to Charlotte, or perhaps William and Oliver if you were Elizabeth who was determined to marry the rather superior Patrick Shepley-Botham.  The place to start their search was obviously the Young Farmers' Halloween disco that weekend.  There was just one problem - there were too many Elizabeths in the class.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847561144</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Features|the latest features]]
|author=Margaret Leroy
 
|title=The Perfect Mother
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Perfection pervades every corner of Catriona's life She has a beautiful home, a charming husband, a well-behaved stepdaughter, and a cherished daughter of her own, 8-year-old Daisy.  When Daisy is taken ill, Catriona does all a good mother would do to help her get better.  But as Daisy's condition deteriorates with no sign of improvement, Catriona seeks more and more medical intervention, until eventually she is accused of being responsible for her daughter's illness.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0778303527</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Susannah Bates
 
|title=Under a Sapphire Sky
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Marianne Cooper is happy.  She has a thriving jewellery business with her best friend Gabby and is six months pregnant with Gabby's brother Jay's baby.  Marianne enjoys her passion for stones, her unconventional attitude to life and her pregnancy, and her unique relationship with Jay, but when her ex boyfriend, and reformed man, Paul comes back into her life with his fiancée Sophie and a rare padparascha stone he wants Marianne to turn into an engagement ring, she soon finds herself questioning her decision to reject Paul and indeed her way of life.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099445441</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Louise Harwood
 
|title=Kiss Like You Mean It
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=This book is a modern-day love story.  It's all about trendy characters with trendy names living rather trendy lives in glossy location sets.  The title gives a very clear message as to its contents.  Romantic fiction which will appeal generally to women. But there's also a story within a story (and for me the more interesting one) which is the Hollywood movie being filmed in Europe.  It takes us back to the first World War and the heroic actions of one young man, in particular.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0330442090</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Laurie Graham
 
|title=Life According to Lubka
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Women's Fiction
 
|summary=Buzz Wexler is at the top of her game, working in music PR with all the latest up and coming Urban music bands like Grime Beat and Evil Marsupial.  She's forty-two years old but is still out every night, drinking, eating very little and seemingly surviving on a diet of chemical mood enhancers.  One day, however, she is called into her manager's office and assigned a tour with a 'World Music' group, the Gorni Grannies, a group of elderly women from Bulgaria who sing together.  Buzz finds her life in the fast lane is brought to a sudden halt, as she tries to control a group of elderly ladies touring England who think that lifts are powered by black magic and that Poundland is the best shop ever invented.  Yet this is just the beginning of a whole new life for Buzz.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849161828</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Janet Mullany
 
|title=Improper Relations
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Historical Fiction
 
|summary=Unlucky in love Charlotte Hayden has just lost her best friend and confidante Ann in marriage to the Earl of Beresford.  At the wedding she encounters Lord Shadderly, Beresford's best friend, a broodingly handsome man whom she takes an immediate dislike to.  Before she knows it Charlotte is caught in a compromising situation with Shadderly and he is forced to propose to her or risk both their reputations.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755347803</amazonuk>
 
}}
 

Latest revision as of 11:49, 13 November 2023

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Review of

Maybe Tomorrow by Penny Parkes

4.5star.jpg General Fiction

Jamie Matson works in an upper-class grocery store, for a man who's a control freak with all the subtlety of a half brick. Jamie's son, Bo, 'has his problems'. He's asthmatic and the more you read, the more you'll suspect that he's on the autistic spectrum. Sometimes Jamie needs to take time off at short notice - she's a frequent flier in the local A&E and sometimes Bo's not fit enough to go to school. Missed shifts or the need to be away on time to pick Bo up from school are occasions when Jamie can be controlled and put in the wrong. It was going to come to a head. Full Review

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Review of

Preloved by Lauren Bravo

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

Gwen is pressing her middle-aged bosom on a big number that starts with a four and ends with an oh-my-God-I'm-nearly-forty. Having been made unexpectedly redundant - any HR officer worth their salt would argue the toss - Gwen finds herself having a bit of a mid-life crisis. Catharsis is key and Gwen has decided now is the time to take back her life' Full Review

0008506337.jpg

Review of

The Garnett Girls by Georgina Moore

5star.jpg General Fiction

The love affair between Margo Garnett and poet Richard O'Leary was all-consuming, apparently on both sides. Margo was just sixteen when they fell in love. Richard was twenty-one and described by Margo's mother as 'an older man'. Her parents worried that Richard's influence would take her away from what they felt she could achieve - going to Oxford and having a glittering career. In the event, they eloped and Richard took her away from the Isle of Wight. Margo did go to Oxford and went on to become a well-respected journalist. The couple had three children: Rachel, Imogen and Sasha. Life was lived in London and holidays were spent at Sandcove, the family home on the Isle of Wight. Even then the doubts about Richard's drinking were never far from Margo's mind: she would never be able to leave him in charge.

Then Richard left them. Full Review

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Review of

The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai

4star.jpg Fantasy

Drawing inspiration from Egypt, The Daughters of Izdihar explores the lives of two women who could not be more different, yet find themselves fighting for the rights of women and weavers – those with magical abilities - in a society pitted against them. Nehal, born into the upper class, wishes to attend the Weaving Academy to learn to control her abilities and then join the military, but instead she is forced into an arranged marriage with Nico. Giorgina on the other hand did not have a privileged upbringing like Nehal and feels great pressure to provide for her family and maintain their reputation, whilst secretly attending meetings of the Daughters of Izdihar – a group campaigning for women's rights. Giorgina also happens to be in love with Nico. What follows is a story of an unjust society, filled with hypocrisy and cruelty, from which blossoms a group of admirable women fighting for their rights and overcoming their personal obstacles. Full Review

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Review of

Beneath the Porticoes by Brooke Adams

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

Elizabeth Miller was thirty-four and a teacher at a prestigious girl's school in York. It was comfortable but she longed for something more in life. She'd still not found the right vocation nor met the right man and now was the time to make a change. She needed challenges. There was a little trepidation when she applied for the professoressa job in Bologna. After a telephone interview, she was offered the position and it wasn't long before she was exploring the beautiful city. There were some natural doubts before her first class but it went surprisingly well. Full Review

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Review of

Meredith Alone by Claire Alexander

4.5star.jpg General Fiction

When we first meet Meredith Maggs it's Wednesday 14 November 2018 and she's not left her home for 1,214 days. She'd like to: in fact, she so nearly does. Her outdoor clothes are on and she's even considered which shoes to wear if she's going to catch her train. Then, she can't. She simply can't force herself to leave the safety of her home. She's fortunate that she has a good friend, Sadie, who visits regularly with her two children, James and Matilda. Sadie's a cardiac nurse and full of sound common sense. In fact it was Sadie who gave Meredith her cat, Fred. Groceries are online deliveries and there's also an internet-based support group where you'll find Meredith as JIGSAWGIRL, so you can guess what she does in her spare time. Then Tom McDermott arrives. He's from Holding Hands, a charity which supports people with problems such as Meredith's. Full Review

0008441618.jpg

Review of

Other Parents by Sarah Stovell

5star.jpg Women's Fiction

Jo Fairburn knew that she was under intense pressure as the new head of West Burntridge First School: if she didn't live up to her retired predecessor there could well be a house price slump in that part of the town. The school had an active Parent Teacher Association and the funds which they raised were a considerable benefit to the school. There was one difficulty, though - they were devastatingly shockable, with two members, in particular, causing problems for the head. Laura Spence and Kate Monroe objected to Jo's restrictions on the toys children could bring in on Toy Day but that was just a warm-up act for their real gripe: LGBTQ education. Full Review

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Review of

Walking on Sunshine by Giovanna Fletcher

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

Mike's wife, Pia, who he was with for seventeen years, has died. And whilst he is dealing with his grief, so are their best friends, Vicky and Zaza. But Pia left them all some 'rules' to follow, knowing that she was dying and that they would need help to carry on living. Whilst some of the rules are around practicalities such as clearing out her wardrobe, another one that Mike discovers one day encourages him to take one of their trips away, and Vicky and Zaza, struggling with their grief and their own life troubles, decide to drop everything in their own lives, and go along with him. Full Review

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Review of

Fall On Me by Penelope Potts

3.5star.jpg Women's Fiction

Life should have been good for Hollie: She was just going into the final year of her veterinary degree and - three years later - was still working at BB's diner. Bob - the owner - regarded her fondly: he was a good boss. Hollie had moved in with her boyfriend, Marcus: her mother thought he was great and he was doing well in his career. Hollie wasn't quite so certain though: Marcus wanted to control her and most of all he wanted her to leave her job at the diner. Then there was the fact that he would be violent, both to her and to other people. Full Review

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Review of

Mrs March by Virginia Feito

4.5star.jpg Literary Fiction

The problem began just after the publication of George March's most successful novel to date. Everyone but Mrs March (we know her first name only on the last page) seemed to either be reading it or had already done so. Every day Mrs March went to the local patisserie to buy olive bread but on that particular morning, Patricia asked, as she was wrapping the bread, but isn't this the first time he's based a character on you? She mentioned that Johanna, the principal character had 'her mannerisms. Perhaps this would not have mattered, except for the fact that Johanna is the whore of Nantes - a weak, plain, detestable, pathetic, unloved, unloveable wretch. Full Review

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Review of

Unbreak Your Heart by Katie Marsh

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

When Beth Carlyle and Simon Withers first met they were on opposite ends of an angry exchange - well, Simon was angry and Beth was doing her best to apologise for having knocked Simon's son, Jake, off his bike. He wasn't hurt but Jake has history. He has HLHS - that's Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome for those of you who are not au fait with your medical acronyms. When he was born, the left side of his heart hadn't developed properly and he needed open-heart surgery when he was a few days old. So, Simon has every right to be over-protective particularly when someone isn't looking where they're driving. Full Review

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Review of

Widowland by C J Carey

4star.jpg General Fiction

It's April 1953, and Adolf Hitler's schedule includes going to Moscow to attend the state funeral of Joseph Stalin then within weeks coming to London, parading around a bit, and watching over the sanctioned return to the throne of Edward VIII with his wife, Queen Wallis. For yes, Britain caved in the lead-up to the World War Two that certainly didn't happen as we know it, and we are now a protectorate – well, we share enough of the same blood as the Germanic peoples on the mainland. But this is most certainly a different Britain, for Nazi-styled phrenology, and ideas of female purpose, has put all of that gender into a caste system, ranging from high-brow office bigwigs to the drudges, and beyond those, right on down to the childless, the husbandless and the widows. Female literacy is actively discouraged. And in this puritanical existence, our heroine, Rose Ransom, is employed with the task of bowdlerising classical literature to take all encouragement for female emancipation out of it – after all, not every book can be banned, and not every story excised immediately from British civilisation, and so they just get a hefty tweak towards the party line before they're stamped ready for reprint. That is her job, at least, until the first emerging signs of female protest come to light, with their potential to spoil Hitler's visit. Full Review

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Review of

Madame Burova by Ruth Hogan

4.5star.jpg General Fiction

This book lets us discover several people in different stages of life in the early 1970s, all vaguely connected. So we have a bullied half-cast boy (as he would have been called then), a girl in a humdrum job wanting to become a singer, and chiefly, Imelda, the third generation of Madame Burova, Tarot-Reader, Palmist and Clairvoyant, to use her family's sea-front booth. The singer, the scryer and the sufferer's mother will all become staff at a revamped holiday camp, but just before then we see Imelda fly solo for the first time in the family stall. We also see her on her last day, fifty years later, in possession of a pair of letters that will change everything for a woman called Billie. Just who is she, and who delivered the secrets about her to Imelda, and why did it have to remain a secret all this time? Full Review

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Review of

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

4.5star.jpg Women's Fiction

This re-telling of the myth of Ariadne and the Minotaur is interesting and unusual. Jennifer Saint presents the story in a way that is sympathetic to its origins but also appealing to a modern audience. Saint's narrative is told predominantly through the viewpoint of Ariadne, spanning from her childhood to her death, allowing the reader to really connect with Ariadne as a character in her own right rather than just a prop in the heroics of Theseus. Full Review

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Review of

Sistersong by Lucy Holland

5star.jpg Literary Fiction

Sistersong is part of a genre I particularly enjoy, the modern retelling of folk and fairy tales. These stories, for most of us, are a cornerstone of childhood and I relish seeing them retold with fresh eyes and a fresh perspective. If handled well these retellings give new life and new meaning to stories that are now becoming increasingly narrow and outdated, fleshing out characters, examining relationships and re-evaluating the role of women. Sistersong is a perfect example of a modern retelling done well, the plot is handled with care, keeping its archaic historical feel but allowing the characters to come to life, to feel real and human, most importantly they feel relatable in a modern world whilst still feeling appropriate for the pre-Saxon age they live in. This is a masterpiece of storytelling and I was captivated from beginning to end. Full Review

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Review of

Cherry Blossom Boutique by Brooke Adams

3star.jpg Women's Fiction

Thirty-one-year old Liberty Rossini has had her shop, the Cherry Blossom Boutique, for just six months when she's nominated for - and wins - the Retail Best Newcomer Award. She's delighted and the two people she's brought with her to the event couldn't be more pleased. Sonja, her mother, is an ex-model and Brazilian: you can see where Liberty got her looks from. Jessica's thirty-four and Liberty's best friend: they've known each other since university and Liberty adores Jessica's husband, Charles and their four-year-old daughter, Ava. Life would be perfect for Liberty if it wasn't for one thing: she misses having a man in her life. Full Review

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Review of

The Karma Trap by Lisette Boyd

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

George Jackson is thirty-three years old, absolutely gorgeous to look at - and single. She's not had sex for eight months and she's stuck in the karma trap: an awful lot of bad luck is being visited on her and she has a real talent for attracting drama. Her life's chaotic: she dealt with the leak from the shower by putting something down at the bottom of the stairs to absorb the water - then the shower fell through the roof whilst she was in it and left her, stark naked, staring at the pervy postman. She only has to take her mother's dog out for a walk for her to end up with dog poo spattered across her face - and a photo being taken by someone who shares it around the office. Full Review

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Review of

Capturing Emilia by Brooke Adams

3star.jpg Women's Fiction

He's Charles Devereaux, thirty-eight and a partner at Wickham Jones, the Mayfair letting agents. She's Emilia, twenty-nine, librarian and archivist in the heritage library next door. Emilia has read The Secret but she's moved on from new age books like that, which leave you dependent on someone else's philosophies, to something a little deeper. Charles is more of a Jack Reacher man himself, but, above all, he's shocked that Emilia reads The Guardian. They're obviously not at all compatible, so why can Charles not get this woman out of his mind? She's not his usual type at all: it's obvious to his friends. And given that Emilia regularly feels repulsed by Charles's superficiality, why does she feel drawn to him? The relationship's obviously a non-starter, isn't it? Full Review

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Review of

The Shelf by Helly Acton

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

When we meet Amy, she's in a relationship with Jamie. You can't really call it a partnership, because things tend to get done on his terms, but she's sticking around because she hopes she can change him. Ah, yes. Haven't we all been there? Things are looking up when he tells her to pack for a surprise trip. Could this be it? Is he finally going to get down on one knee? Was the work (and the wait) worth it? Full Review

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Review of

What Kind of Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

Doing something when you're scared is braver than doing something when you're not

When Mike Parker's girlfriend comes into school with a black eye, claiming he gave it to her, her whole world is tipped upside down. Her relationship has just ended and now she's the talk of the school. Mike was the most popular boy in school who was always so in love with her, everyone knew that, so why did he do what he did? Some people believe her and some don't, but one thing is for sure, this isn't going to blow over any time soon. Full Review

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Review of

A Springtime Affair by Katie Fforde

4star.jpg Women's Fiction

I've wanted to read author Katie Fforde for ages and this was pretty much exactly what I was expecting - a warm, cosy read focused on romance, family and friendships. This provided two romances for the price of one, but it was actually the family element as opposed to the romance that I really enjoyed. Full Review

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Review of

Be Careful Who You Marry by Lizzy Mumfrey

4star.jpg General Fiction

It was coming up to Halloween in 1987 and a group of sixth-form schoolgirls wondered what they would be doing when they were fifty. When you're only seventeen that seems positively ancient, but Liz was convinced that your entire life depends on who you marry. The only eligible boys were the Young Farmers and the idea of living in a farmhouse and having a couple of children called Will and Olly appealed to Charlotte, or perhaps William and Oliver if you were Elizabeth who was determined to marry the rather superior Patrick Shepley-Botham. The place to start their search was obviously the Young Farmers' Halloween disco that weekend. There was just one problem - there were too many Elizabeths in the class. Full Review

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