I’m taking a bit of a blogging break over the next couple of weeks but I’m delighted to close the blog tour for Annette Hannah’s Poppy’s Christmas Wishes by sharing my review today. My thanks to Rhea Kurien for inviting me to participate.

I am a real lover of Annette’s writing and she has featured here on Linda’s Book Bag previously, most recently when I reviewed her The Cosy Little Cupcake Van here. Annette has also featured here when I reviewed her debut novel Wedding Bells at the Signal Box Café and we stayed in together to chat all about it.

Published by Orion imprint Dash on 2nd December 2021, Poppy’s Christmas Wishes is available for purchase here.

Poppy’s Christmas Wishes

What would you wish for if you were granted three wishes?

For the first time she can remember, Poppy is dreading Christmas. Unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend after moving across the country for him, there’s nothing cheery about the festive season this year.

Dragged to a Christmas ball by best friend Layla, Poppy meets gorgeous actor Gabe, who stars as a genie in a play. When he asks her what three wishes she would make, she realises it’s quite simple: love, a job she’s happy in and, just once in her life, to do something extraordinary.

Gabe and Poppy make a pact to help each other make their dreams come true. As they tick off their wishes, their friendship blossoms… But, as they discover, sometimes, what you want for Christmas isn’t necessarily what you need…

A delicious romance to snuggle up with this festive season from the author of Wedding Bells at the Signal Box Café and The Cosy Little Cupcake Van.

My Review of Poppy’s Christmas Wishes

Poppy has moved to Bramblewood.

It was a real pleasure to return to Bramblewood with Poppy and catch a glimpse of some characters and settings I am becoming familiar with. However, Poppy’s Christmas Wishes needs no prior knowledge of Annette Hannah’s books and is a stand alone helping of total festive joy. There’s a real warmth and genuineness in Annette Hannah’s writing that makes Poppy’s Christmas Wishes a lovely book to curl up with – even when Poppy’s life isn’t going according to plan!

I loved the plot here. There’s a naturalness to events so that even the most dramatic moments feel authentic and Annette Hannah has a real talent for presenting really well-balanced humour and emotion so that I laughed aloud and found a moistness in my eye as I read. Poppy’s Christmas Wishes left me feeling uplifted and satisfied as I finished the book. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have depth too. Without spoiling the plot I will say that there are some profound emotional challenges for some of the characters and an exploration of workplace harassment from Brian adds an extra dimension to the read that is hugely satisfying. There are some really unexpected moments in the story that I found just wonderful.

The characters feel so true to life. I loved Poppy and Gabe from the moment I met them and I desperately wanted them to be together and have a happy ever after ending, but you’ll need to read Poppy’s Christmas Wishes to see what the outcome is! I thoroughly appreciated the way sexual preference is woven so effortlessly into the story. There’s no moralising or heavy handedness, but rather a gentle understanding of people. I think it is this humanity and sensitivity towards human emotion that makes Annette Hannah’s writing so appealing. Even as she entertains her readers and brings them happiness, she doesn’t shy away from her characters’ flaws, poor choices or inappropriate behaviours so that Poppy’s Christmas Wishes provides a glimpse into the real world of real people.

However, what I enjoyed most about Poppy’s Christmas Wishes was the sheer festive fun of it. A trip to New York, amateur dramatics, romance, wishes and, oh my goodness, the glorious food that is becoming one of this author’s trademarks, make Poppy’s Christmas Wishes sheer escapist fun. Poppy’s Christmas Wishes fizzes with entertainment and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

About Annette Hannah

Annette Hannah is a Liver Bird who relocated to leafy Hertfordshire in the 80’s and now lives near a river with her husband, two of their three grown up children and a crazy black cocker spaniel. She writes Romantic comedies in settings inspired by the beautiful countryside around her and always with a nod to her hometown.

She worked in Marketing for many years as a qualified Marketeer which she loved as it tapped into her creative side. As an avid reader, she began to review the books she read, became a book blogger and eventually plucked up the courage to fulfil her life long dream of writing a book.

For four years she was a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s new writers’ scheme, during which time she wrote a book a year. After signing a two book deal with Orion Dash in 2020 she graduated to full member of the organisation and is also their Press Officer. She loves long walks along the river, travelling to far flung places and spending time with her friends and family.

You can find out more by visiting Annette’s blog or website and following her on Instagram and Twitter @AnnetteHannah.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

I adored Caroline Scott’s The Photographer of the Lost reviewed here. It was one of my top reads in 2019. Sadly her next novel When I Come Home Again is still awaiting my attention so I knew I had to break all my intentions not to accept new blog tours and read Caroline’s latest book, The Visitors. My enormous thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate. It’s a real privilege to close the tour and I’m thrilled to share my review today.

The Visitors was published by Simon and Schuster on 9th December 2021 and is available for purchase through the links here.

The Visitors

From the highly acclaimed author of The Photographer of the Lost, a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick, comes a tale of a young war widow and one life-changing, sun-drenched visit to Cornwall in the summer of 1923…

Esme Nicholls is to spend the summer in Cornwall. Her late husband Alec, who died fighting in the war, grew up in Penzance, and she’s hoping to learn more about the man she loved and lost.

While there, she will stay with Gilbert, in his rambling seaside house, where he lives with his former brothers in arms. Esme is fascinated by this community of eccentric artists and former soldiers, and as she gets to know the men and their stories, she begins to feel this summer might be exactly what she needs.

But everything is not as idyllic as it seems – a mysterious new arrival later in the summer will turn Esme’s world upside down, and make her question everything she thought she knew about her life, and the people in it.

Full of light, laughter and larger-than-life characters, The Visitors is a novel of one woman finally finding her voice and choosing her own path forwards.

My Review of The Visitors

Esme is on her way to Cornwall.

It’s going to be hard to convey quite what a beautiful book The Visitors is. It has a luminosity and an almost ethereal allure that captivates from the very first sentence. I was completely lost between the pages of The Visitors. The quality of Caroline Scott’s prose is astounding. It is lyrical and occasionally brutal so that not only do we have a real insight into the very souls of the characters, but our own emotions are heightened by reading this story. Descriptions are so vivid and clear it almost felt as if I were there with the characters, and the intimacy of their lives touched me completely.

The plot is exquisitely crafted, blending Esme’s nature writing and her time in Cornwall alongside the men’s experiences in WW1 to perfection. The balance of light and shade between the settings is heart rending and adds to the heightened sensation of reading The Visitors. I genuinely felt physical emotion reading this narrative, like an ache deep inside, because it is so sensitive and touching. I think that what works so well in The Visitors is the authenticity of even the most dramatic aspects of the plot. It feels as if the author has written with her heart and soul as well as with meticulously researched authority.

I loved all the characters because they are so fully rounded and convincing. Initially I loathed Sebastian because of the way he reacted to Esme, but by the end of The Visitors I understood completely why each person in this story behaved the way they did. I’m not sure I forgive them all their actions and this is one of the successes of the story. Caroline Scott doesn’t preach or steer her reader to any particular conclusion so that the narrative resonates long after the story is finished. Cornwall itself feels as much a character as any of the humans as it is so perfectly, visually, described, but Esme is the real star of the narrative. She embodies the hopes and fears, the trials and tribulations of an entire generation of women. Her uncertainty about her position in society, her present and future roles and the way she questions the veracity of her past make her fascinating and frequently heart-breaking. In Esme, Caroline Scott has afforded the reader a crystal clear glimpse into post war England and given them a whole new understanding of how lives were altered.

The themes of The Visitors are very much of the era, but equally resonate today, making this such an affecting read. Friendship and loyalty, love and relationships, trauma and healing, the power of nature and the spoken or written word, forgiveness and personal growth weave through the pages in a glorious mosaic of meaning that I found enthralling. I loved the ultimate message of making the most of life, of being creative and of forgiving ourselves as well as others.

The Visitors is a beautiful book. That beauty comes through glorious prose, perfect storytelling and wonderful characterisation but somehow those elements seem to blend into something far greater than the sum of their parts. This is a haunting book that will linger with me for a very long time. I absolutely loved it and cannot recommend it highly enough.

About Caroline Scott

Caroline completed a PhD in History at the University of Durham. She developed a particular interest in the impact of the First World War on the landscape of Belgium and France, and in the experience of women during the conflict – fascinations that she was able to pursue while she spent several years working as a researcher for a Belgian company. Caroline is originally from Lancashire, but now lives in southwest France. The Photographer of the Lost was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick.

You can follow Caroline on Twitter @CScottBooks, or visit her website for further information.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

My thanks to Laura Fitton for kindly sending me a copy of her poetry anthology Guardian Angel: A Book of Poems in return for an honest review.

Guardian Angel: A Book of Poems is available for purchase here.

Guardian Angel: A Book of Poems

Some people say that writers write their best stuff from influential life events. Guardian Angel is a compilation of poems that Laura Fitton has written over the years. They are personal and from the heart.

Laura touches topics people find difficult to speak about, such as death and dying, the grieving process, feelings of loss and topics around friendship, pets and Laura’s career as an NHS frontline nurse.

Dedicated to her best-friend Sofie, who sadly died before her 21st birthday, and who Laura believes to be her Guardian Angel; the poems will make you laugh and make you cry.

My Review of Guardian Angel: A Book of Poems

A collection of poems.

Guardian Angel is a collection that covers a range of human emotions any reader can relate to.

Whilst I preferred Laura Fitton’s poetry in free verse rather than rhyme, the regular rhyme scheme fits perfectly the poems where it is used, because it maintains a regularity and control that we need when dealing with the themes Laura Fitton explores. In Guardian Angel Laura Fitton doesn’t shy away from death, grief and loss. I found My Best Friend Sophie – Our Story particularly affecting because of the life not lived as it made me think of my still born great niece. Similarly, the fact that Laura is a nurse and suffered Covid herself made Covid 19 – A Silent Killer all the more affecting. A Flashback to Southall horrified me. The action and violence here would make a riveting television drama, but it packs such a punch (literally and metaphorically) because it is based on Laura’s experiences. In Guardian Angel she shows us humanity with all its flaws and compassion.

It is the themes of human experience that give Guardian Angel its strength and appeal. Here we have family, relationships, friendship, sexuality, violence, caring and the whole range of human emotion whilst simultaneously coming to know the poet a little bit too. It feels as if Laura Fitton is sharing her innermost thoughts and the reader is privileged to hear them.

Is Guardian Angel the most literary poetry anthology I’ve encountered? No. But that is its strength. Through Guardian Angel Laura Fitton shows how the ordinary person can use poetry to make sense of their lives and might even encourage others to try writing their grief down as a means to begin healing. Consequently, Guardian Angel is one of the most accessible and heart felt anthologies I’ve read and its accessibility will bring succour and comfort to many because Laura Fitton writes from her truths. I hope her own Guardian Angels continue to watch over her.

About Laura Fitton

Laura Fitton is a poet, author and nurse as well as an award winning film producer. She is author of Guardian Angel A Book Of Poems. Laura is a supporter of the LGBT community.

Follow Laura on Twitter @LauraFitton2 and Instagram.

Today, I’m delighted to share my review of The House by the Loch by Kirsty Wark which was the book discussed at my reading group this month.

The House by the Loch was published by Two Roads on 13th June 2019 and is available for purchase through the links here.

The House by the Loch

Scotland, 1950s

Walter MacMillan is bewitched by the clever, glamorous Jean Thompson and can’t believe his luck when she agrees to marry him. Neither can she, for Walter represents a steady and loving man who can perhaps quiet the demons inside her. Yet their home on remote Loch Doon soon becomes a prison for Jean and neither a young family, nor Walter’s care, can seem to save her.

Many years later, Walter is with his adult children and adored grandchildren on the shores of Loch Doon where the family has been holidaying for two generations. But the shadows of the past stretch over them and will turn all their lives upside down on one fateful weekend.

The House by the Loch is the story of a family in all its loving complexity, and the way it can, and must, remake itself endlessly in order to make peace with the past.

My Review of The House by the Loch

Walter keeps his family close.

I’m going to be totally honest and say that to begin with I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy The House by the Loch. Initially it felt a little too descriptive. However, once I attuned myself to Kirsty Wark’s writing and realised that setting is absolutely essential to the narrative I realised my original concern was entirely misplaced and I ended up absolutely loving this evocatively written story. It’s difficult to say too much about plot for fear of spoiling the story for others, but I found The House by the Loch captured me completely.

The loch, the countryside and the physical buildings are beautifully presented so that I could envisage them in my imagination. Kirsty Wark’s writing had the ability to transport me right into the setting and I found her dialogue felt so real it was as if I were listening in to conversations rather than reading about them. The House by the Loch is a visual and auditory feast to the extent I did actually forget I was reading a book.

The characters are vivid and real, depicted through carefully crafted nuances so that I cared about them all. The portrayals of Walter, Carson and Jean in particular held me spellbound. Jean’s brittle, glittering, alcohol fuelled life felt every bit as tragic to me as any Shakespearean character and I frequently felt that Walter was a man more sinned against than sinning. It was Carson who gained my compassion the most. Her relationship with Walter, her guilt, her ambition and her development through the novel felt so true to life.

Indeed, it is relationships that make The House by the Loch such a compelling read for me. Kirsty Wark explores what family love and loyalty is, and how it can affect us, with such sensitivity that she managed to reduce me to tears several times. Her uncovering of truths, her exploration of addiction and mental health, of family, grief and guilt all blend into a hugely affecting read that builds through beautiful writing, understanding of humanity and moving plotting.

The House by the Loch is intense with feeling. It’s moving, emotional and ultimately hopeful. I began unsure if I’d like it and ended thinking it was a wonderful read.

About Kirsty Wark

Kirsty Wark is a journalist, broadcaster and writer who has presented a wide range of BBC programmes for more than twenty five years, from the ground-breaking Late Show to the weekly arts and cultural review show The Review Show and the nightly current affairs show Newsnight. Kirsty has won several major awards for her work, including BAFTA Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting, Journalist of the Year and Best Television Presenter.

Her debut novel, The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle, was published in March 2014 by Two Roads and was shortlisted for the Saltire First Book of the Year Award, as well as nominated for the International DUBLIN Literary Award.

For further information follow Kirsty on Twitter @KirstyWark and find her on Instagram.

My enormous thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate in this blog tour for West Camel’s Fall. I’m very pleased to share my review of Fall today.

Published by Orenda on 9th December 2021, Fall is available for purchase here.

Fall

Twins Aaron and Clive have been estranged for forty years. Aaron still lives in the empty, crumbling tower block on the riverside in Deptford where they grew up. Clive is a successful property developer, determined to turn the tower into luxury flats.

But Aaron is blocking the plan and their petty squabble becomes something much greater when two ghosts from the past – twins Annette and Christine – appear in the tower. At once, the desolate estate becomes a stage on which the events of one scorching summer are relived – a summer that shattered their lives, and changed everything forever…

Grim, evocative and exquisitely rendered, Fall is a story of friendship and family – of perception, fear and prejudice, the events that punctuate our journeys into adulthood, and the indelible scars they leave – a triumph of a novel that will affect you long after the final page has been turned.

My Review of Fall

Aaron and Clive are estranged twins.

Fall is exactly my kind of book. I loved it because it is exquisitely written, elegantly constructed and completely mesmerising. West Camel’s writing is beautiful. The variety of his sentences means that depth of feeling and meanings are conveyed with almost a visceral intensity. West Camel’s use of the senses, his direct appeal to the reader and his atmospheric prose are truly captivating.

There’s a tension, an air of expectation, bordering menace from the very first moment in Fall that ensnares the reader. The oppressive heat adds to the atmosphere and the switch between past and present tenses for the two time lines adds weight and immediacy, linking both eras perfectly. Whether the nod to Cain and Abel suggested by the fact the twins have names beginning with A add C was intentional I don’t know, but it added a sense of danger lurking in the back of my mind as I read.

In many ways the plot is relatively simple, as Clive wants Aaron out of the tower block he wants to develop, but that belies the intricacies of West Camel’s narrative that only finally fit together as the story reaches its last sentence. In the same way that Zoe’s tower block has secret passages, so reading Fall is the literary equivalent of viewing an Escher painting. Perspectives and truths shift and change so that I thought it was absolutely wonderful. Indeed, Fall is perfectly entitled. Here we have fallings out, physical falls, falls from grace and favour, and so on, that build layers of interest in the story. As soon as I’d finished reading Fall I wanted to read it again as I’m sure there is even more for me to discover. I’m convinced it’s no coincidence that the tower is called Marlowe Tower, because of the connotations of intrigue and links to themes of ambition, power and manipulation in Christopher Marlowe’s life and works that thread through Fall. It’s hard to explain further without spoiling the plot but Fall is such convincing storytelling.

Part of the delicious intensity in reading Fall comes thought the fabulous characterisation. The almost psychic link between Aaron and Clive and between Annette and Christine feels so convincing. Although Aaron seems more prominent in the story because he is still living in Marlowe Tower, Fall feels balanced and nuanced. I found Zoe both abhorrent and fascinating and at no pint could I decide whether she had been entirely honest or entirely duplicitous so that she’s a really flawed, but compelling, individual.

Add in simmering racism, secrets and lies, community and design, relationships and identity and Fall is a book that feels simultaneously modern and timeless. It’s one of my favourite reads of 2021. I thought it was excellent.

About West Camel

Born and bred in south London – and not the Somerset village with which he shares a name – West Camel worked as an editor in higher education and business before turning his attention to the arts and publishing. He has worked as a book and arts journalist, and was editor at Dalkey Archive Press, where he edited the Best European Fiction 2015 anthology, before moving to new press Orenda Books just after its launch. He currently combines his work as editorial director at Orenda with editing The Riveter magazine and #RivetingReviews for the European Literature Network.

He has also written several short scripts, which have been produced in London’s fringe theatres, and was longlisted for the Old Vic’s 12 playwrights project. His debut novel, Attend was published in 2018, and was shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize and longlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award. His second novel, Fall was published in December 2021.

You can follow West on Twitter @west_camel and visit his website.

I couldn’t be more grateful to the lovely folk at Team Bookends and to Milly Reid at Quercus for sending me a copy of Anything Could Happen by Lucy Diamond in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.

Published by Quercus in ebook on 14th December and other formats next year, Anything Could Happen is available for pre-order through the links here.

Anything Could Happen

Your big secret is out. What next?

For Lara and her daughter Eliza, it has always been just the two of them. But when Eliza turns eighteen and wants to connect with her father, Lara is forced to admit a secret that she has been keeping from her daughter her whole life.

Eliza needs answers – and so does Lara. Their journey to the truth will take them on a road trip across England and eventually to New York, where it all began. Dreams might have been broken and opportunities missed, but there are still surprises in store…

Anything Could Happen is a warm, wise, funny and uplifting novel about love, second chances and the unexpected and extraordinary paths life can take us down.

My Review of Anything Could Happen

Life hasn’t always been straightforward for Lara and Ben.

Not having read Lucy Diamond before I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from her writing. What I got in Anything Could Happen was fabulous story-telling, perfect characterisation and the most wonderful reading experience. I loved Anything Could Happen unreservedly from the very first word. There’s just enough description to create a sense of place, Lucy Diamond’s direct speech is natural and convincing and her narrative is spellbinding.

What drew me in so completely was that there are no unrealistic heroes, no super human wonder women between the pages of Anything Could Happen, but instead I found glorious, flawed, perfectly imperfect human beings that were real, vivid and as important to me as any real person I know. I was so invested in the outcomes for Lara, Eliza, Ben and Kirsten that I put life on hold, unable to tear myself away until I discovered what the final outcomes were in their lives.

The plot is so brilliantly crafted. It follows the natural rhythms of ordinary life so beautifully, enchanting the reader and drawing them into the story completely. This makes Anything Could Happen relatable and emotional because there is something for every reader to identify with here. Relationships, family, love, second chances, loss and being true to yourself are just some of the wonderful themes explored with such humanity.

Anything Could Happen is a tender, realistic exploration of the ‘What ifs’ of life that I found utterly gorgeous, utterly convincing and a total must read. I adored this book. It’s one of my favourite reads of the year.

About Lucy Diamond

Lucy Diamond grew up in Nottingham and went to university in Leeds where she studied English Literature. After graduating, she lived in Oxford, London and Brighton, working in publishing and at the BBC. She now lives in beautiful Bath where she writes full-time.

As a Sunday Times bestselling author with sixteen novels, two digital novellas and a Quick Read under her belt, Lucy writes with warmth and honesty about the joy and surprises, as well as the complications, that love, family and friendships can bring. Her seventeenth novel, Anything Could Happen, is out as an ebook this December and published in hardback January 2022.

For more information, visit Lucy’s website, follow her on Twitter @LDiamondAuthor and Facebook or find her on Instagram.

How can it possibly be over two years since lovely Shelley Wilson featured on Linda’s Book Bag? Then I was reviewing one of Shelley’s children’s books, Meditation for Children in a post you’ll find here. Previously, Shelley ‘stayed in’ with me here. I’ve also interviewed Shelley here on the blog and she has explained here why she writes for the self-help market. Speaking of which, I have reviewed another of Shelley’s self-help books, Motivate Me: Weekly Guidance for Happiness and Wellbeing here too.

Today, thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours I am reviewing another of Shelley’s books, Self-Help For The Helpless.

Self-Help for the Helpless is available for purchase here.

Self-Help for the Helpless

Bestselling self-help author and award-winning personal development blogger Shelley Wilson takes the fear out of self-help and makes it fun, helping you to make easy, positive changes to improve your life right now. Includes her 31-day self-help toolkit.

Have you ever felt helpless? Are you struggling to understand why you feel disconnected from your friends or family? Are you mystified by the words self-help, self-care, and personal development? Are you looking for answers but really have no idea where to begin?

In this beginner’s guide to personal development and understanding self-care, Shelley Wilson will show you how looking after your own needs can be a powerful tool for your mental, physical, and emotional health so you can begin making important changes today.

Discover what self-help means, how to become more self-aware, understand core values, and have fun mapping out what your best life looks like. Shelley includes tips, tools, and techniques and shares her 31-day self-help toolkit.

Be the person you deserve to be and join bestselling self-help author and award-winning personal development blogger Shelley Wilson on a journey of self-discovery.

My Review of Self-Help for the Helpless

A self help book!

Self-Help for the Helpless is a little cracker of a book because Shelley Wilson guides her readers to accept responsibility for their own health, success and well being whilst providing practical and accessible ways to change their lives for the better. It’s a no nonsense book that had me nodding in agreement and realising I CAN do something to improve my life the way I’d like. Shelley Wilson writes with such engagement and honesty about her own self-discovery that she is totally inspirational.

Self-Help for the Helpless is written in a conversational style the makes the reader feel as if a close friend is supporting them along their path to a happier and more fulfilled life. Little touches of humour are interspersed with honest and revealing aspects from the author’s own life so that Shelley Wilson really does practice what she advocates here, giving an authenticity to her advice that makes it all the more effective. I loved the references to ‘should’ because it felt as if Shelley Wilson had been listening in to many a conversation I’ve had and the ‘advice’ I’ve been given. Here Self-Help for the Helpless gave me permission to be myself and provided the practical tools I might need to achieve that balance.

In amongst the celebrity books about mental health or the plethora of self help manuals littering bookshops, Self-Help for the Helpless is a quiet, practical oasis of calm that I found motivating and inspiring.

Now, where’s that wretched internal parrot because I want a word with it!

About Shelley Wilson

Shelley Wilson is a multi-award-winning blogger and author. Her motivational and personal development blog has received numerous awards and was named a Top 10 UK Personal Development Blog. She is the author of How I Changed My Life in a Year!, How I Motivated Myself to Succeed, Motivate Me! An Oracle Guidebook, and Meditation for Children. Shelley divides her writing time between motivational non-fiction for adults and the fantasy worlds of her young adult fiction. She resides in Solihull, West Midlands, UK, where she lives with her three teenagers.

Find out more about Shelley on her author blog or via her personal development blog. You can also follow Shelley on Twitter @ShelleyWilson72 and find her on Facebook (or here on Facebook for YA writing) and Instagram.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

My grateful thanks to the lovely team at Avon for sending me a copy of The Couple on Maple Drive by Sam Carrington in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share my review today – publication day.

It’s far too long since I last featured Sam here on Linda’s Book Bag. Then I was sharing details of Sam’s Bad Sister. Before that I was delighted to host a guest post here from Sam all about the allure of psychology alongside my review of Sam’s Saving Sophie.

Published today, 9th December 2021 by Avon Books, The Couple on Maple Drive is available for purchase through the links here.

The Couple on Maple Drive

You think you’d know a killer if you met one?

Think again.

When Isla McKenzie is brutally mugged, it’s her boyfriend Zach who’s there for her, who moves in to look after her when she can barely bring herself to leave the house.

But then something else happens, right on their doorstep. And it’s almost like someone’s out to get her…

Can Isla and Zach find out the truth before it’s too late? …Or at least before the secrets they’re hiding from each other surface?

Because those may be even deadlier…

My review of The Couple on Maple Drive

Isla’s recovering from a mugging.

It took me a little while to get into the rhythm of The Couple on Maple Drive as it’s a slow burn thriller that builds gradually, but once I was into the narrative I thoroughly enjoyed this deftly plotted book. I loved the podcasts that drip feed information and some obfuscation so that the reader isn’t entirely sure how the book might be resolved. The short sentence hooks at the end of each chapter add urgency and engagement, even if they did mean my life wasn’t my own as I was compelled to read on. As the pace increased towards the denouement I appreciated all the more the way Sam Carrington had constructed the story so that it all came together so satisfyingly. This is very clever plotting.

Despite the fact that I I didn’t really warm to Isla, I was fascinated by the way Sam Carrington made me care about her in The Couple on Maple Drive. I think it’s the depth of the psychological element to the story that creates such a response. Isla’s gradual emotional and mental recovery from the attack is so well depicted. I also thoroughly enjoyed the exploration of how we become who we are; how our past helps construct who we are in the present. The psychological aspect of The Couple on Maple Drive is very convincing.

Indeed, I think it is the way the reader gradually uncovers what is happening at the same time as does Isla that makes the story so successful. Add in themes around business practices, competitiveness, friendships and relationships, family and memory and The Couple on Maple Drive becomes layered and interesting beyond just the entertaining story. I found it made me think about society and those around me with a sharper perspective.

I really enjoyed The Couple on Maple Drive although, to mis-quote the Christie’s Crime Addicts podcasters, I’m not sure I would feel safe in the bay!

About Sam Carrington

Sam Carrington lives in Devon with her husband and three children. She worked for the NHS for 15 years, during which time she qualified as a nurse. Following the completion of a Psychology degree she went to work for the prison service as an Offending Behaviour Facilitator. Her experiences within this field inspired her writing. She left the service to spend time with her family and to follow her dream of being a novelist.

For further information visit Sam’s website and follow her on Twitter @sam_carrington1 and Instagram. Find her on Facebook too.

My thanks to Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources, for inviting me to take part in the blog tour for My First Animal Moves by Darryl Edwards. It’s my pleasure to share both my review and a very special giveaway with you.

My First Animal Moves

Nathan loves to play, but he loves his video games more.

Can a trip to Animal Moves land convince him there’s more fun outdoors? Best-selling author and speaker Darryl Edwards has created this fun adventure inspired by his passion for encouraging kids to move in an ever-increasing sedentary environment.

MY FIRST ANIMAL MOVES

Discover the joys of animal moves with your little cubs in this first book of movement. Join Nathan and his cute, but sometimes lazy, dog as they crawl, jump and balance their way through the animal kingdom re-enacting moves designed to emphasise fun. It’s all in this exercise for kids book that focuses on family fun boredom busters.

HELPING KIDS MOVE AND GETTING KIDS OFF SCREENS THROUGH FUN ANIMAL PLAY

✓ Do you want to make physical activity for kids fun?

✓ Are you looking for ways to help your children develop strength, coordination and balance?

✓ Do your children love learning about animals?

✓ Are you worried about too much TV and screen time?

✓ Do you want to teach young children about the importance of physical activity?

✓ Would you like easy and fun fitness games to include in your day?

My First Animal Moves is your answer. Play along together, keeping everyone healthier and happier, promoting physical, mental and emotional well-being. You’ll all release more mood-enhancing hormones as a result, which help you feel good every day.

It’s written by professional movement coach and award-winning author Darryl Edwards who is best known for his groundbreaking TED Talk “Why working out isn’t working out“, viewed over a million times worldwide. My First Animal Moves distils the ideas in his bestselling Animal Moves book and Animal Moves Fitness Decks into a colourful picture book for children.

A Children’s Book to Encourage Kids and Their Guardians to Move More, Sit Less and Decrease Screen Time.

This unique story takes a different stance to many popular titles in this arena, with a fun activity that encourages children’s active play while aiming to get families moving and reading together. It takes the humour and colour in kids’ yoga books such as Breathe Like a Bear by Kira Willey, Yoga Bug by Sarah Jane Hinder, and You Are a Lion by TaeeunYoo to a whole new energy level with active play for the entire family.

Get My First Animal Moves to help your family thrive through movement today.

My Review of My First Animal Moves

Nathan prefers to stay inside playing video games.

At last! I’ve been waiting for a children’s book to arrive that features a child of colour so prominently rather than as a secondary character or as an illustration in the background. Here Nathan is at the forefront and it’s just delightful to see.

My First Animal Moves is a super children’s book. Certainly it tackles the modern issue of children being addicted to screens, but Darryl Edwards does it so effectively. He weaves in activity so cleverly that any child reading this book or having it shared with them will want to emulate the activities meaning that My First Animal Moves encourages a healthy lifestyle without preaching.

I loved the fact that activity comes through reference to a range of animals so that young children can learn about the environment and the animal kingdom whilst becoming more active within their own lives. There’s a lovely touch of humour with Lola too making for a fun read.

Alongside the written content, the illustrations are glorious, showing children the moves they need to make to be like the animals.

Simple in concept but packed with practical content, My First Animal Moves is a simply smashing book for children – and the adults in their lives. I think the book has value not just in the home, but in the full range of educational settings too. It’s great.

Giveaway

Win a Signed Copy of My First Animal Moves plus an Animal Moves Fitness Deck for juniors (UK Only)

(Please note this giveaway is run independently of Linda’s Book Bag)

Please enter using the Rafflecopter link here.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

About Darryl Edwards

Darryl Edwards is a Movement Coach, author of the best-selling books “Animal Moves” and “My First Animal Moves”, and a thought leader in the area of creativity and innovation in fitness and health.

Darryl developed the Primal Play Method™ to inspire others to make physical activity fun while getting healthier and more robust in the process.

You’ll find Darryl on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @fitnessexplorer.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

How wonderful to have a book about the environment that actually supports a place looking after seals. Some of the profits from copies of the children’s book Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure will go towards Cornish Seal Sanctuary. I’ve been to the Gweek site on numerous occasions (even losing a gold and diamond bracelet there) so I’m delighted to share my review of Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure today. My enormous thanks to Nick Jones at Full Media for sending me a copy in return for an honest review.

Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure is available for purchase in all the usual places including directly from Full Media here.

Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure

“My bus takes off with a sonic boom, straight through the wall and out of my room…”

Finn and Fred Octopus are off on a magical adventure to the Arctic. They meet a kindly seal, a hungry polar bear and an angry walrus. The whales sing to Finn, and Finn arrives home with an important message to share…

In association with the Cornish Seal Sanctuary, Jocelyn Porter’s latest picture book is beautifully illustrated by the super-gifted artist Leo Brown, who has worked with everyone from Roald Dahl to Disney.

Aimed at children aged 3-8, this action-packed rhyming adventure will gently educate your child about protecting the oceans while entertaining them with terrific sea creatures – from seals and polar bears to narwhals and whales!

My Review of Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure

Finn has a magic suitcase under his bed.

As with all the Full Media children’s books I’ve reviewed, Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure has such a luxurious appearance with wonderful illustrations by Leo Brown that really bring the story to life. There’s so much to look at on every page that Finn and Fred will provide entertainment far beyond merely reading the story. I think the facial expressions on Finn and the animals are perfect for helping children to learn emotional literacy.

What works so well with Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure is the Arctic setting. So many young children will have little idea of the area or the creatures living in it and this story brings them into contact with land and sea creatures like polar bears and narwhals and with natural phenomena like the Northern Lights. I could envisage Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure being used in an educational setting every bit as as much as in the home, with all kinds of projects related to geography, nature and the environment linked to the book.

I loved the rhyme scheme as it supports language learning and literacy, as does the inclusion of more challenging vocabulary such as ‘atrocious’ so that reading Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure naturally enhances a child’s learning whilst they are enjoying an engaging narrative. It’s always pleasing to see direct speech so effectively used too as this helps model what is expected in children’s writing. I’d love to see Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure used for drama or a school play.

There’s peril in Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure that helps generate an understanding of how we impact on the natural world. Finn and Fred’s bus accidentally causes damage to the walrus and the pair find themselves under threat from the ravenous polar bear, but it is the lament of the whales that really brings home how children can help protect the seas. I think Finn’s actions at school are a brilliant example and actually empower even the youngest of children to realise they can make a contribution to saving the oceans. That said, the environmental message isn’t sanctimonious, but rather provides small practical ideas that can easily be adopted.

Packed with adventure and excitement that children will love, Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure has a powerful environmental message that couldn’t be more needed. I thought Finn and Fred’s Arctic Adventure was excellent.

About Jocelyn Porter

Jocelyn’s writing career began when she was asked to write a story for a preschool magazine. That story was the first of many. Jocelyn became the writer/editor of several preschool magazines and continued in that role for 15 years. Writing one new story every month, plus rhymes and activities was a tough gig, but very exhilarating.

Time is the big difference between writing for a magazine and writing a book.  You see your work on the supermarket shelves within a few weeks of completion. A book takes longer – a lot longer. Jocelyn has to be patient now – not something she’s good at.

Before becoming a writer, Jocelyn work in higher education as International Students Officer. It was a rewarding and interesting job even though she was on call 24/7.

Jocelyn also trained as a counsellor and volunteered at drop-in centers. She never knew who would arrive for counselling and had to be prepared for anything. This work gave her insight into some of the darker corners of life.

Motor sport was one of Jocelyn’s early loves, she had spine tingling thrill of taking part in a 24-hour national rally as navigator – those were the days when rallies were held on public roads!

Jocelyn work as an au pair in Paris in her teens. Having visited the city on a school trip, she fell in love with it, and always wanted to return.

You can find Jocelyn on Facebook.