beate251's reviews
453 reviews

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Cat Hardwick works in events planning but has just lost her job due to an unrequited crush on boss Oliver. As luck would have it, she has a godfather who is Laird of crumbling Iolair Castle in the remote Scottish Highlands and he timely invites her to stay in exchange for help in marketing the estate as an events venue so the mounting bills can be paid.

Unfortunately, Sir Alastair's grumpy but handsome son Logan McCaskill, who Cat knows from a holiday 15 years ago when they were both teenagers, is completely against anything she suggests. But he also has "eyes the colour of autumn bracken in sunlight" (how delightfully Princess Bride-esque!) so we know where this is going.

I love the Scottish Highlands so every book with them as a scenic setting automatically gains points. We also have tropes galore (enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, one bed only, miscommunication to name the ones I noticed), not one, not two but four cheeky dogs and a great cast of side characters that round the story off nicely. I particularly loved Agatha, who, quite literally, had her fingers in every pie and did great speeches.

Personally, I think it might have been better to ditch the flashbacks and just tell us from the start what happened 15 years ago, and also tell us how Cat lost her job, because none of it is a huge revelation or twist in the story. It's also best to suspend disbelief in how the castle gets saved, but it's not a spoiler to say we all knew it would get saved somehow, because romance story, thy name is predictability.

This is well-written, warmhearted, cosy and uplifting escapism. There is romantic tension, emotional healing, several pairings, showdowns with exes, a few baddies and scented soaps saviours. Recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for this ARC.

Thirty years ago, Peter Doyle killed a handful of teenagers at the annual Crawe Fayre in Crowhurst, a small town in Surrey, then threw himself off the cliffs at Staker Point. It's what Crowhurst is still most famous notorious for - that and sausage rolls.

Twelve months ago, a girl called Esme joined the four flatmates Kirby, Dave, Dylan and Seema who were calling themselves The Deadbeats in their WhatsApp group, at their run-down flat in Crowhurst, with the intent of investigating the spree killer via a true crime video site called ShowMe ("Tik Tok is so last year").

In the present day, Kirby and the others seem to have left Crowhurst behind, but suddenly a strange message hits the old group chat. It's from Esme - but Esme died a year ago. Slowly Kirby, the journalist, begins to piece together not only what happened twelve months ago but also 30 years ago. Is Peter Doyle still alive and now coming for the former flatmates? Because someone is killing them off one by one.

Unfortunately, I don't seem to be the target audience for this. I couldn't connect to the young hip characters and their constant need for validation via followers. The humour seems forced and childish and is certainly not laugh-out-loud funny. Also, calling a 42" TV a mega beast felt needlessly melodramatic.   

I found the dual timelines confusing and irritating, and the present day killings didn't make sense as there seemed no need for them. Even the explanation we got seemed unhinged. We got some heavy hinting throughout (Fitbit! Broken necklace! Noisy, vibrating printer press!) but none of it pointed to something really important. 

I liked the twelve months ago narration but every time I got into it, the timeline changed to the less interesting present day timeline. The whole thing strongly reminded me of slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer so maybe read it if that is your thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for this ARC.

The Kennedys are a complex modern family: Mother Lila, 42, is an author who wrote a book about how to successfully keep a marriage alive, shortly before ex Dan left her for a new woman, with a baby on the way. Daughters Celie, 16, and Violet, 9, try to get used to the new dynamics in the house - grieving Grandad Bill, who is Lila's Stepdad, has moved in after the death of his wife, cooking ultra-healthy food that no one wants, and continuously barking dog Truant has cost them many a wine bottle to appease the neighbours. I think good noise-cancelling headphones might have been cheaper!

The cauldron comes to a boil when one day Lila's estranged Dad Gene turns up like nothing had happened, after having ignored the family for decades, upsetting not just Bill. He is a larger than life American actor who still talks about the one role that made him, is relentlessly cheerful and promptly gets bitten by grumpy Truant.

Lila is asked by her agent to write a second book, this time about her escapades being happily single. Between "fighting old men and emotionally volatile teenagers", Lila tries to keep a modicum of sanity and to actually go dating, but is smooth single Dad Gabriel the better option or kind gardener Jensen? A seasoned romance reader like myself could sniff out the better prospect immediately.

This is a well-written, pleasant read that draws you into a family with relatable topics like how to navigate angsty teenagers, daggers at dawn pensioners and your ex's new family but it loses points for being just a tad too long. I thought it was a random choice to include a few chapters in Celie's POV but I liked the inclusion of difficult topics in a light-hearted way, with Gene usually providing the comic relief. This is a tale about redemption and forgiveness that tugs at your heartstrings without being overly sweet.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

Meet the Banks family. Michelle is a stressed out 52 year old district nurse, her husband Marc is a copywriter for a compost company and is addicted to buying old dolls on ebay, her 18 year old daughter Liv suffers from anxiety and agoraphobia, her 16 year old son Graham has just sent a dick pic to his underage girlfriend, her mother is dying, her father is constantly at risk of getting scammed and doesn't understand the digital world anymore, and her MIL needs more and more help after a fall. Oh, and she's in perimenopause and the guinea pigs keep dying.

Now picture a world in which the Alexa voices actually belong to real women Iike 65 year old Pauline from Halifax, shortly to be retired, who hides her broad Yorkshire accent when adding things to the Banks' shopping list or playing Liv's sad songs list for the umpteenth time. Pauline has been looking after the family's needs for six years and never once broken cover - but now she feels Michelle needs her, being crushed from so many sides at once. The story is told in dual POV between Michelle and Alexa Pauline.

Now, let's get out the way how bonkers and a legal nightmare this would be, because if Pauline from Halifax could have a good gander at my bank accounts, I'm not sure how happy I would be about that. Then again, it shows how blindly we trust a disembodied voice that can keep us under surveillance via several technical gadgets like webcams and Ring doorbells.

Let's also discuss how triggering the Yorkshire accent is in writing for a grammar obsessed person without the definitive article "the" - speaking it in Happy Valley is not the same thing! Also, you can't actually use an LPA until the donor has lost their mental capacity so Michelle needs the normal power of attorney.

Having got all this out the way, oh my God, how good is this book? Where on earth has Linda Green been?  I've last read In Little Stars several years ago and I am stoked there is a new one with one of my favourite publishers.

There is so much going on and then Pauline from Halifax swoops in like a literal Mary Poppins to the Banks family, with her "friends in high places", her "Amazonian Queens" Facebook group and great tips for sorting out the mess that is Michelle's life. We also get an insight into Pauline's lonely life, which makes the ending particularly happy. 

There is social commentary about modern technology but also heartwarming family support and forgiveness. This is the epitome of a funny, relatable, inspiring, hopeful and uplifting story and one I can wholeheartedly recommend, especially if you like strong, feisty, middle-aged women, Menopause talk, black Labrador emotional support dogs called Basil and you're also a fan of Fiona Gibson's books. 

Dr Briana Ortiz, best friend of Alexis from Part of Your World, is in the sole running for chief of Royaume Northwestern Hospital, until Dr Jacob Maddox arrives and instantly gets her hackles up. She's already stressed with the kidney disease of brother Benny, she really doesn't need a shy but attractive doctor with a dog called Lieutenant Dan to start writing her the nicest letters, while everyone around her tells her how great he is. Then he does something jaw-droppingly wonderful, and all he asks is for her to accompany him to his brother's wedding as his date because the bride used to be his girlfriend.

There are plenty of tropes in this one: Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fake dating, one bed only,  miscommunication, though the last one goes on way too long. It really isn't my favourite trope and it goes on and on. So frustrating.

Abby Jimenez' books seem to have many similarities to each other. They all deal with difficult topics, there is always a cute animal or two with a ridiculous name, a bearded man, the desire to have children, big feelings that border on obsession, and a couple of mentions of Nadia Cakes, the author's own business.

I went through so many emotions when I read this book, just like the characters in the story. To see how a serious illness impacts not only on the ill person but also on their loved ones, to see the trauma that comes from abandonment - it all felt so raw. But then, just when we needed it, one of the many side characters from either family would be quirky and hilarious. I was almost annoyed at Briana at times, when she seemed to throw away everything good, and quite frankly, I am not a fan of the third-act break-up. Plus a grown man in his thirties journaling every day and managing to sound like a lovesick teenager is, to say it mildly, unusual.

But I loved how Briana handled Jacob's anxiety and how he handled her trust issues. He really is an excellent human being. Jacob is the perfect book boyfriend so basically unrealistically great but who cares, sometimes we just need someone to swoon over.

A five year old boy is mown down by a speeding car and for some people, life will never be the same. The police attempt to find the driver of the car, and Jenna tries to start over again without her child. She almost finds happiness again in rural Wales - then the past catches up with her.

At the beginning we get dual POV - Jenna Gray in first person present, DI Ray Stevens in third person past tense. In Part II another voice is added, and I found it quite brave to let that person speak and address Jenna. It didn't whitewash anything, on the contrary.

This is a good thriller with jaw-dropping twists but the domestic abuse is hard to stomach. I liked that we learned more about DI Stevens' work and home life, it made the story well-rounded.

To the reviewer confused about miles per hour being used for car speed - the United Kingdom uses miles for road distances and speed limits so it's completely correct. 

Zoe and Gregory Milton are a middle-aged couple who have gained weight over the years like everyone else. One day Zoe's friend Elaine who works for a radio station, pressures her to take part in a new weight loss competition programme called "Fat Chance", that give six couples the chance to win £50,000, if they lose the most weight.

This is funny and light-hearted but the story is too slight. It's the usual clichés about getting stuck in a chair, quips about terrible diets, useless exercise equipment and militant personal trainers. But it can't have all been bad because somehow they manage to lose a whole boulder between them, and they didn't even sign up to Weight Watchers or the like!

There is an unexpected amount of casual fat shaming, homophobia, racism, sexism and xenophobia, which put the rating down a notch. There really is no need. Also, absolutely no one writes detailed diary entries like that, especially if they say negative things about the people they know will read it. You can have dual POVs without such a gimmick.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for this ARC.

Amelia Taylor is a romance author and the owner of the Pink Flamingo Motel in California. She meets attractive but grumpy Nathan Hart, author of military thrillers, when he checks in for the whole scorching summer to write in the desert location near Palm Springs.

Every other chapter gives us a brief summary of things like meet-cutes and tropes, and it always corresponds with what's happening in the story right now. Enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, save the cat, fake dating, slow burn, found family - it's all there and then some.

This would be impossibly cute but then the author suddenly decides to go literary and introduces terrible trauma for her and Nathan. The poor guy doesn't get a POV which is why I didn't warm to him initially - you can grieve and not be rude with it, but Nathan is a totally broken man, too broken to react normally or articulate feelings. 

If that wasn't enough, a terrible wildfire destroys the neighbourhood (content warning for everyone affected by the fires in LA) and they decide to hold A Very Desert Christmas Fundraiser, which brings Amelia face to face with an old boyfriend, repressed grief and more tropes.

This is a strange book. It is as if the author couldn't decide whether she wanted to write lighthearted romance with all the tropes or serious literary trauma fiction so she mixed it all together. There is too much repetitive inner monologue for my liking, that drags the story out and interrupts the flow of a conversation - when the answer to a question finally comes you can't remember the question from two pages before! The pace is all over the place and I felt bored halfway through and started skimming pages.

There is a huge cast of side characters, from staff to permanent guests, and while the setting is interesting and the elderly ladies who try to matchmake are cute, I think the author tries to fit too much into one story. The spicy scenes felt awkward, like the author felt she had to write them for a certain readership, and I just didn't believe in the sudden kitschy HEA, after all that trauma and angst. Read if you like a mixture of trauma and tropes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC.

This is book 4 in the popular Starshine Cove series. Usually someone ends up in fictional Starshine Cove accidentally, leaving their unhappy old life behind and becoming an enthusiastic and loved-up member of this unusual and vibrant community with its magical cove. This time this happened in the prologue, with Connie Llewellyn, who was a stressed out London restaurateur, literally being pulled out of a ditch by future husband Simon. 

25 years on and three children later, our Connie is a widow with a thriving café and empty nest syndrome. Then daughter Sophie brings friend Marcy along and her father Zack turns out to be someone from her old life that she used to have a crush on.

This is predictable and a short, fast read, but it pulls you in nevertheless. I love the Starshine Cove series and while my menopausal brain couldn't recall all of the community members, we are given enough of a summary to develop a comforting feeling of recognition when talk goes to village GP Ella and her new baby, or the two Bettys. It's just a wonderful, caring posse of people that any community would be proud to have.

Connie's second chances romance with Zack is just lovely, and I am very happy to see main characters who are 55 and 57 years old. There should be more of it! I loved all the food talk and that the young'uns lived in such harmony with their parent folk.

Given the age of the MCs, there is also talk of ailments and health conditions that could put a spanner in the works. However, there is not much dwelling on it. Starshine Cove is a magical, healing place in a picturesque seaside setting, with many friendly, lovable characters that feel like old friends, and is always worth a visit. 

While it can be read as a standalone, I would recommend reading the others in order first, because what really makes this book shine is the arc from the first to the fourth (and last?) book that involves absolutely everybody in the community ever mentioned, now giving Connie, who has been present since the start of book one, her time to shine and tell us all to live life to the fullest as none of us can predict the future. 

It's a lovely, well-written feel-good story full of warmth and humour that will leave you feeling happy, so the full five stars seem appropriate.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for this ARC.

Lucky, 24, works on a superyacht in the Mediterranean as chief stew. She wants to open her own bakery as a tribute to her Italian nonna, and life on board is well-paid. Hunter, 25, is a deckhand, but also secretly the son of the yacht owner. They both fall in insta-lust but a new rule forbids fraternisation between crew members so they have to throw longing looks a lot, talk in innuendos and sneak around. It's made worse by the forced proximity trope - of course the only bed left available for Hunter is the bunk bed in Lucky's cabin. 

I thought the ship setting would provide interesting and funny stories but it's all about annoying guests, annoying colleagues like lazy Emilie, and pages and pages of dialogue about their attraction, without much going on. There was just too much innuendo. 

Also, Lucky has only got her two sisters left but they both just use her as a cash cow, which is giving Cinderella vibes. I found that very frustrating, because if you can deal with life at sea and sexist men why can't you tell your adult sisters to stop exploiting you?

There is so much repressed lust, I thought someone might burst a blood vessel or have a heart attack. At one point Hunter says: "It was like locking a kid in a candy store and telling him he couldn’t have any of it." You don't talk about a woman like that! I didn't like Hunter very much - he acted very jealous from the outset and was a bit of a Neanderthal. A rich one who was sent onboard as a test for his parents to see whether he could last six months in a proper job. He didn't feel like a serious person, with the constant flirting, shirt off and nautical puns.

The story is told in dual POV - I would have preferred just Lucky's POV. Sariah Wilson is a very popular American author, but this didn't grab me. It just felt shallow and predictable and without relatable characters. And yes, there were problems like Lucky's anxiety and her childhood referenced, but it seems all the rage these days to give the MCs some sort of childhood trauma to make the story deeper. In reality, this added nothing. Read it if you like "banter".