Watching what I’m reading . . .

Good Sunday afternoon. We’ve had a lazy weekend and have accomplished very little. I don’t even have to think about dinner tonight as we’re off to a friend’s later this afternoon to watch the Supercar racing out of Australia and staying for dinner. I’m really looking forward to it.

I didn’t manage to accomplish much reading wise over the past week either. I have only managed to finish one of my six reads for review for the week, but will probably finish the second tonight.

Currently I am reading The Summer

And a book by a new to me New Zealand author, Vanda Symon. Loving it!

A killer targeting pregnant women.

A detective expecting her first baby…

The shocking murder of a heavily pregnant woman throws the New Zealand city of Dunedin into a tailspin, and the devastating crime feels uncomfortably close to home for Detective Sam Shephard as she counts down the days to her own maternity leave.

Confined to a desk job in the department, Sam must find the missing link between this brutal crime and a string of cases involving mothers and children in the past. As the pieces start to come together and the realisation dawns that the killer’ s actions are escalating, drastic measures must be taken to prevent more tragedy.

For Sam, the case becomes personal, when it becomes increasingly clear that no one is safe and the clock is ticking…

I am listening to The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly

I am hoping to catch up on the reads I didn’t get to last week as I have only one read for review due this week. It is Murder at the Willows by Jane Adams.

Meet Rina Martin, a retired actress with a taste for tea, gardening and crime solving.

She played a TV sleuth for years, but now she has to do it for real.

There’s something strange about the scene . . . Famous artist Elaine appears to have passed peacefully in her sleep as she rested against a tree in the garden of her home, the Willows. Her legs are outstretched, hands tenderly clutching a small blue flower.

But upon closer inspection, things don’t add up. Where is Elaine’s trusty walking stick? Why did she choose to slumber on the ground when there is a comfortable lounge chair nearby? Where did that blue flower come from? . . . not from her garden, that’s for sure.

The clues soon point to murder. Elaine was beloved by the community, who would do such a thing? Her grandson is determined to uncover the truth and hires Rina to investigate.

The trail leads Rina to a series of shocking secrets, stretching back over twenty years. And a murderer who has unfinished business . . . Can our favourite amateur sleuth catch this killer before it’s too late?

Suddenly, because I decided to stop requesting ARCs for review, several that were on my pending list were approved, and I received three widgets from publishers!🤣🤣🤣 Is someone in the great library in the sky trying to tell you something?

The three publishers widgets are:

Windmill Hill by Lucy Atkins

The People Watcher by Sam Lloyd

And Don’t Look Back by Jo Spain

Other ARCs I received via Netgalley are:

The Guest House by the Sea by Faith Hogan

A Cornish Seaside Murder by Fiona Leitch

A Lonesome Blood-Red Sun by David Putnam

and The Lucky Shamrock by Carolyn Brown

Oh, well, I was obviously meant to have these. 🤷‍♀️❤📚

Thanks to all of you who have been asking after Pete. We’re back to Oncology Monday when they will plot a detailed map of the cancer for the radiation treatment which will be starting in the next two to three weeks.

Have a great week of reading and I’ll be popping in whenever I can. 🤗❤📚

Watching What I’m Reading . . .

Greetings from a sun-soaked but devastated New Zealand. While our area escaped this week’s cyclone virtually unscathed, the small west coast communities north of Auckland and the Hawkes Bay Region of the North Island have been decimated. Eleven are dead, including two firefighters killed when a house they were evacuating slid over the cliff. There are many still missing. To all my New Zealand bookish friends, I hope that you and your loved ones are all safe.

I haven’t had much time to read during the week and doubted, at one point, that I was going to finish even one read for the week. But it is now late Sunday afternoon and over yesterday and today I managed to finish three of my four reads.

Currently I am reading Blind Eye by Aline Templeton, #5 in the DI Kelso Strang series.

I am still reading The Christmas Pig by J.K. Rowling.

And I am listening to Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber

Nestled in the mountain shadows of Alabama lies the little town of Wicklow. It is here that Anna Kate has returned to bury her beloved Granny Zee, owner of the Blackbird Café.

It was supposed to be a quick trip to close the café and settle her grandmother’s estate, but despite her best intentions to avoid forming ties or even getting to know her father’s side of the family, Anna Kate finds herself inexplicably drawn to the quirky Southern town her mother ran away from so many years ago, and the mysterious blackbird pie everybody can’t stop talking about.

As the truth about her past slowly becomes clear, Anna Kate will need to decide if this lone blackbird will finally be able to take her broken wings and fly.

This coming week I have two books to read for review – Getting Even by Lisa Jackson

Trask McFadden is back.” Those are words that Tory has been waiting to hear, half in dread, half with longing. It’s been five years since Trask landed her father behind bars for horse swindling, using things she’d told him in confidence. Her father died there, but now Trask insists he has information that could help prove who was really responsible for the crime, not to mention his own brother’s death. Trask needs her help. But he won’t get it, not after destroying her family, her ranch, and the love they shared.

Lauren Regis’s ex-husband has kidnapped her children. There’s nothing she won’t do to get them back, including hiring Zachary Winters. The unconventional attorney has made a name for himself by locating people–especially those who don’t want to be found. But he’s got a darker reputation too, and there are rumors swirling about the fate of his ex-wife. How much is Lauren willing to trust him–or to lose?

Murder at an Irish Bakery by Carlene O’Connor

The picturesque village of Kilbane in County Cork, Ireland, is the perfect backdrop for a baking contest–until someone serves up a show-stopping murder that only Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan can solve.

In Kilbane, opinions are plentiful and rarely in alignment. But there’s one thing everyone does agree on–the bakery in the old flour mill, just outside town, is the best in County Cork, well worth the short drive and the long lines. No wonder they’re about to be featured on a reality baking show.

All six contestants in the show are coming to Kilbane to participate, and the town is simmering with excitement. Aside from munching on free samples, the locals–including Siobhan–get a chance to appear in the opening shots. As for the competitors themselves, not all are as sweet as their confections. There are shenanigans on the first day of filming that put everyone on edge, but that’s nothing compared to day two, when the first round ends and the top contestant is found face-down in her signature pie.

The producers decide to continue filming while Siobhan and her husband, Garda Macdara Flannery, sift through the suspects. Was this a case of rivalry turned lethal, or are their other motives hidden in the mix? And can they uncover the truth before another baker is eliminated–permanently . . .

In the past week I have received four new ARCs for review.

Murder at the Willows by Jane Adams, a new author to me, but one I have heard only good things about.

The Rush by Michelle Prak

The Fall by Louise Jensen

And Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne – I adore Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends. I still have my original copy of this from when I was a child. It is greatly treasured.

To all my bookish friends who have been asking about my husband, Pete, thank you. I appreciate your support and concern. He is feeling well in himself and is returning to work on Monday on light duties while we wait to hear when he starts chemotherapy.

Have a wonderful week my friends and happy reading. ❤📚

Watching what I’m reading . . .

Today it almost feels like autumn is already here. Cool and breezy, it’s been ideal weather for mowing the lawn. Afterwards I went out on the deck to enjoy a sandwich and a cup of coffee, but it was unpleasantly cool and I had to move back inside. Please, no autumn yet – we’ve hardly had a summer!

Currently I am reading The Devine Doughnut Shop by Carolyn Brown

For Grace Dalton, her sister, Sarah, and her cousin Macy, the Devine Doughnut Shop is a sweet family legacy and a landmark in their Texas town. As the fourth generation to run the Double D, they keep their great-grandmother’s recipe secret and uphold the shop’s tradition as a coffee klatch for sharing local gossip, advice, and woes. But drama brews behind the counter, too.

Grace is a single mother struggling with an unruly teenage daughter. Heartbroken Sarah has sworn off love. Macy’s impending wedding has an unexpected hitch. And now charming developer Travis Butler has arrived in Devine with a checkbook and a handsome smile. He wants to buy the shop, expand it nationally, and boost the economy of a town divided by the prospect.

With the family’s relationships in flux, their beloved heritage up for grabs, and their future in the air, it’s amazing what determination, sass, a promise of romance, and a warm maple doughnut can do to change hearts and minds.

And doing a read/listen to The Mistress Next Door by Lesley Sanderson

<i>I know what you did. You destroyed my life. Now I’m going to take everything from you, starting with your husband. I’m your worst nightmare, and I’m closer than you think.</i>

Oliver, my husband and the father of our three little girls, used to be my rock. But recently he’s been behaving strangely, staying out late, working weekends and emotionally absent even when home. Now as I clutch a receipt for a hotel room and champagne for two, hidden away in his coat pocket, I’m devastated. What else can I assume other than he’s cheating?

I’ve risked everything for the life I have now, a life that’s a million miles from… before. Not that Oliver would know anything about that. I would do anything to hold on to the perfect future I so dearly long for. A future that is now about to come crashing down.

Because Oliver’s cheating isn’t the only threat to my family. This morning I received an anonymous note. One that changes everything. The past isn’t just haunting me, it’s coming back to destroy me. It seems that someone in our close-knit community of Prospect Close knows my secret. Someone who’s willing to do whatever it takes to get their revenge. They’ve already stolen my husband. How much further will they go? And what can I do to stop them…?

This week I have only one other book to read for review – The House Guest by Hank Phillipi Ryan

After every divorce, one spouse gets all the friends. What does the other one get? If they’re smart, they get the benefits. Alyssa Macallan is terrified when she’s dumped by her wealthy and powerful husband. With a devastating divorce looming, she begins to suspect her toxic and manipulative soon-to-be-ex is scheming to ruin her—leaving her alone and penniless. And when the FBI shows up at her door, Alyssa knows she really needs a friend.

And then she gets one. A seductive new friend, one who’s running from a dangerous relationship of her own. Alyssa offers Bree Lorrance the safety of her guest house, and the two become confidantes. Then Bree makes a heart-stoppingly tempting offer. Maybe Alyssa and Bree can solve each others’ problems.

But no one is what they seem. And the fates and fortunes of these two women twist and turn until the shocking truth emerges: You can’t always get what you want. But sometimes you get what you deserve.

After that I want to read the next book in Elly Griffiths Ruth Galloway series and hopefully I will fit in at least one title from my backlist.

I have received five new ARCs from Netgalley and a publisher’s widget this week to read for review. They are:

Blind Eye by Aline Templeton

The Holiday Home by Daniel Hurst

The Summer House by Keri Beevis

A Fatal Affair by A.R. Torre

Murder at an Irish Bakery by Carlene O’Connor

And the publisher’s widget is I’ll Leave You With This by Kylie Ladd

And that’s where I will leave you for the day. I have a review to write, laundry to bring in off the line and dinner to prepare.

It’s Waitangi Day here in New Zealand tomorrow, and today is the wedding anniversary of a young couple who are very dear to my heart. Happy anniversary Dan and Nettie. It was wonderful catching up with you. ❤💐🥂

Happy reading my bookish friends. ❤📚

Happy publication day for What is Left Over After by Natasha Lester

EXCERPT: I was six years old when my mother came to collect me from my grandparents’ farm in France as if I were simply a piece of luggage that had been misdirected. I had never expected to be granted a mother-creature and only knew of their existence because the children on the neighbouring farms all had one and because I had heard about them in fairytales: mothers died tragic deaths so their children could be persecuted by evil stepmothers, or they made promises to give their children away in return for magic powers. Knowing this should have made me more careful.

ABOUT ‘WHAT IS LEFT OVER AFTER’: Gaelle has a dream job working for a fashion magazine, and a husband who loves her. Life should be perfect, but life does not always go according to plan.

Feeling lost and alone, Gaelle flees to a tiny seaside town on the other side of the country. As she revisits the legacy of a strange, sometimes magical, childhood in France, Gaelle finds unexpected help from a thirteen-year-old stranger.

As if she were experiencing her childhood all over again, she must ask: when you lose everything you love, what is left over after?

MY THOUGHTS: Natasha Lester certainly put me through the emotional wringer with What is Left Over After.

The early part of the novel isn’t an easy read as Gaelle lashes out against the world and those she loves in a rage of despair and grief. And then she runs, just as her mother did, just as her mother taught her.

I can’t say I particularly liked Gaelle initially, but as the story of her childhood is revealed I began to understand her, and with that understanding came admiration for how far she’d come and hope that she would find her way through to be the person she deserved to be.

The characters in What is Left Over After are beautifully drawn: Gaelle in all her pain and despair; Gaelle’s wonderful childhood friend, Imogen; the wise but very typical teenager Selena and her mother, Marie; and even Gaelle’s quite dippy and totally irresponsible mother.

Lester’s writing is beautiful, almost poetic in places. She writes with a depth of emotion that comes from the heart, and which touched mine.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

What is Left Over After was originally published in 2010. It is being republished with new cover art by Fremantle Press 01 February 2023.

#WhatisLeftOverAfter

I: @natashalesterauthor @fremantlepress

T: #NatashaLesterAuthor @FremantlePress

#australianfiction #contemporaryfiction #deathanddying #familydrama #friendship #romance

THE AUTHOR: Natasha Lester lives in Perth, Western Australia with her 3 children and loves fashion history, practising the art of fashion illustration, collecting vintage fashion, travelling and, of course, books.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Fremantle Press for providing a paperback copy of What is Left Over After by Natasha Lester for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and Goodreads.com

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

EXCERPT: Gabe is standing much closer to the woman than he usually would. Closer to the edge, too. This is against the rules – his own, and the police’s. The cliff is precarious enough for one person. Chunks of it fall into the ocean all the time. And on a night like this, the wind alone could force an unsuspecting person over the edge. Gabe has always been diligent about following the rules, despite his run towards the burning building mentality. I wonder if this is a sign of how it’s going. If so, it’s unlikely to be a good sign.
I glance briefly towards the street to see if the police are near. They won’t have sirens or lights on. Like Gabe, they prefer a more subtle approach, not wanting to surprise or crowd anyone.
‘Mummy,’ Freya says, ‘Asha is looking at me.’
‘Asha, stop looking at your sister,’ I say, my eyes still on the window.
Gabe takes a step towards the woman, which is also against the rules. ‘Don’t advance on them,’ he always says. ‘Persuade them to come towards you, towards safety.’
When Freya screams, I think I might faint. ‘For heaven’s sake,’ I say quietly, as I see the prongs of the fork pressing into Freya’s thigh and Asha’s huge brown unworried eyes. I grab the fork. ‘Asha!’
‘Come on girls,’ Kat says. ‘I’ll read you a book. Let’s go pick one out.’
I turn back to the window. In the dark it takes me a moment to locate them. When I do, I don’t understand what I’m seeing. The space where the woman had been standing is now vacant. Gabe is alone at the cliff’s edge. His arms are outstretched, palms facing the empty air.

ABOUT ‘THE SOULMATE’: Before the woman went over the cliff, Pippa and Gabe were happy. They have the kind of marriage that everyone envies, as well as two sweet young daughters, a supportive family, and a picturesque cliff-side home – which would have been idyllic had the tall beachside cliffs not become so popular among those wishing to end their lives.

Gabe has become somewhat of a local hero since they moved to the cliff house, talking seven people down from stepping off the edge. But when Gabe fails to save the eighth, Amanda, a sordid web of secrets begins to unravel, pushing bonds of loyalty and love to the brink.

What wouldn’t you do for your soulmate?

MY THOUGHTS: Delicious. Absolutely delicious.

Full of secrets, lies and suspicion, The Soulmate is told from the points of view of Pippa, Gabe’s wife, and Amanda, the woman who dies falling from the cliff.

Initially Gabe and Pippa’s family seem like a normal family. Gabe is a loving husband, a caring stay-at-home dad. Pippa is a lawyer – wills and beneficiaries. They are very close to Pippa’s family. Both her parents and her sister Kat live close by. It seems that there is always one of them in Pippa and Gabe’s house. But you know that, with this being a book by Sally Hepworth, things are not always what they seem.

There are some amazing twists in this novel, and none that I saw coming! I lost count of the number of times I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. But there’s nothing OTT, it’s all perfectly believable and rational.

The Soulmate is a book best gone into cold. Know no more than what is written in the blurb. Be prepared to be surprised in the very best way.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#TheSoulmate #WaitomoDistrictLibrary

I: @sallyhepworth @macmillanaustralia

T: @SallyHepworth @MacmillanAus

#australianfiction #contemporaryfiction #domesticdrama #familydrama #mentalhealth #mystery #psychologicaldrama #suspense

THE AUTHOR: Drawing on the good, the bad and the downright odd of human behaviour, Sally writes incisively about family, relationships and identity. Her domestic thriller novels are laced with quirky humour, sass and a darkly charming tone.

Sally’s novels are available worldwide in English and have been translated into 20 languages.​

Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and three children and excels at burning toast.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Waitomo District Library for the copy of The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Instagram and Goodreads.com

First Lines Friday . . .

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Welcome to First Lines Friday originally hosted by Reading is my SuperPower.

Instead of judging a book by its cover, here are the first few lines which I hope will make you want to read this book.

This story really begins at midnight one month after Aurora was born, the night of her due date, the night she couldn’t wait for, such was her wish to rush headlong into our lives.

Like what you’ve just read?

Want to read more?

These are the opening lines of one of my current reads, What is Left After by Australian author Natasha Lester. This book was first published in 2010, but is being republished by Fremantle Press and is due to hit the shelves February 01, 2023.

Gaelle has a dream job working for a fashion magazine, and a husband who loves her. Life should be perfect, but life does not always go according to plan. Feeling lost and alone, Gaelle flees to a tiny seaside town on the other side of the country. As she revisits the legacy of a strange, sometimes magical childhood in France, Gaelle finds unexpected help from a thirteenyear-old stranger. As if she was experiencing her childhood all over again, she must ask: when you lose everything you love, what is left over after?

WAKE by Shelley Burr

EXCERPT: Echo planted his butt on the ground, tipped his head back and howled. That sound Mina wasn’t imagining. Echo had alerted. He’d found something dead.

Mina was the closest you could get to an expert on identifying the signs of a clandestine burial without having actual certificates to put on the wall. She’d considered a double degree so that she could study forensic science in addition to agriculture, but her dad had quietly steered her away, fearful of how that would play in the press. If the sister of a famous abduction victim decided to go into law enforcement, that was a story everyone could understand. If that same sister decided to become a farmer, but studied criminology and crime scene investigation and the science of body decomposition as a hobby, well that was creepy.

Her father was very concerned about her being perceived as creepy. His concern did little to prevent it.

Instead, she’d looked up the book lists for the courses she wasn’t supposed to take, and sat in quiet corners of the library and devoured them.

ABOUT ‘WAKE’: The tiny outback town of Nannine lies in the harsh red interior of Australia. Once a thriving center of stockyards and sheep stations, years of punishing drought have petrified the land and Nannine has been whittled down to no more than a stoplight, a couple bars, and a police station.

And it has another, more sinister claim to fame: the still-unsolved disappearance of young Evelyn McCreery nineteen years ago.

Mina McCreery’s life has been defined by the intense public interest in her sister’s case–which is still a hot topic in true-crime chat rooms and on social media. Now an anxious and reclusive adult, Mina lives alone on her family’s sunbaked destocked sheep farm.

Enter Lane Holland, a young private investigator who dropped out of the police academy to earn a living cracking cold cases. Before she died, Mina’s mother funded a million-dollar reward for anyone who could explain how Evelyn vanished from her bed in the family’s farmhouse. The lure of cash has only increased public obsession with Evelyn and Mina–but yielded no answers.

Lane wins Mina’s trust when some of his more unconventional methods show promise. But Lane also has darker motivations, and his obsession with the search will ultimately risk both their lives–and yield shocking results.

MY THOUGHTS: WAKE is very much a character driven mystery. Mina is pretty much a hermit, still living in the homestead from which her twin sister was abducted nineteen years previously. Evelyn’s body has never been found, nor has she ever turned up alive. She simply vanished.

The townspeople are very protective of Mina’s privacy, as are the elderly couple who still manage the farm. So when Lane Holland turns up – yet another person wanting to solve the mystery of Evelyn’s disappearance – he doesn’t exactly get a warm welcome.

Lane has secrets of his own, and an agenda he’s not about to reveal. He also desperately needs the reward money.

WAKE (if you read the book you will understand the acronym) is an incredibly atmospheric mystery set in outback New South Wales. The internet has turned this family tragedy into a public debate attracting all the wacko people and theories that can be dreamed up. The storyline is interspersed with posts from people still actively following the case.

Although the main characters are hard to warm to, I recognised several of the supporting characters from time spent in towns like Nannine. And the fact that I found it hard to warm to the main characters didn’t impact on my love for this book at all. I could understand why they were the way they are. No one is going to come out of experiences like they have had with no scars.

The landscape is bleak. Dry. Unproductive. Soul destroying. It is harsh and dangerous. And yet it has a beauty all of its own. Shelley Burr has captured it all.

This is a compelling outback mystery. I was completely consumed by my need to know what had happened to Evelyn. There are red herrings and some very clever and unexpected twists which kept me on the edge of my seat.

I loved this debut – yes, debut – novel and I can’t wait to see what this author has in store for us next.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#WAKE

I: @shelleyburrwrites @hachetteaus

T: @ByssheShelley @HachetteAus

#fivestarread #australiancrimefiction #contemporaryfiction #crime #familydrama #mystery #thriller

THE AUTHOR: Shelley Burr works at the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment in Canberra, Australia. She grew up splitting her time between Newcastle and Glenrowan, where her father’s family are all sheep farmers.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Waitomo District Library for providing a paperback copy of WAKE by Shelley Burr for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and Goodreads.com

Table For Eight by Tricia Stringer

EXCERPT: She recalled her reason for booking the cruise and her spectacular tumble on the stairs. She pressed her fingers to her lips but couldn’t stop the laugh that erupted.

Jim looked at her in surprise.

She took a sip of water and composed herself. ‘My ex is on this cruise.’

‘Really?’ Jim glanced around as if he was about to meet Ed.

‘The thing is, I knew he was going to be here with his new wife.’

ABOUT ‘TABLE FOR EIGHT’: Clever, charming dressmaker Ketty Clift is embarking on her final cruise from Sydney before she must make serious changes in her life. Supported by the ship’s all–powerful maitre d’ Carlos, she has a mission: transform the lives of those who join her at her dining table every evening. Not only can Ketty turn Cinderellas into princesses with her legendary style–eye, but she has a gift for bringing people together.

But this trip is different. As the glamour and indulgence of the cruise takes hold, and the ship sails further away from Sydney towards the Pacific Islands, it becomes clear that her fellow travellers – a troubled family, a grieving widower and an angry divorcee determined to wreak revenge on her ex – are going to be harder work than usual.

As Ketty tries to deal with her own problems, including the unexpected arrival on board of her long–lost love, Leo – the man who broke her heart – as well as troubling news from home, she begins to realise this might be the one cruise that defeats her…

MY THOUGHTS: I enjoyed my cruise around the South Pacific with Ketty Clift and the group of people at her table for eight. There are strained relationships; grief in a few different forms; people looking for love, or something resembling it; people determined to avoid any and all emotional entanglements; and one person intent on revenge.

I love Ketty’s character. She is a woman who has endured great sorrow in her life, but she is a battler and never lets circumstances keep her down for long. With current financial problems weighing heavily on her mind, she has some difficult decisions to make. Is the reappearance of ex-lover Leo just the distraction she needs, or just another problem for her to deal with?

Table For Eight was full of surprises. Initially I thought it was going to be predictable, but that was just the author lulling me into a false sense of security. Tricia Stringer weaves a few deft twists into the story and it ends in a completely different way to what I had expected.

The characters are not spring chickens which adds another dimension to the storyline, one that I liked. The story is told from multiple points of view by the different people at the table, so sometimes we are given more than one view of events. But Tricia Stringer does this well and it is never repetitive or boring.

I enjoyed this warm-hearted shipboard drama which focuses on friendship and second chances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.2

#TableForEight

I: @triciastringerauthor @hqstories

T: @tricia_stringer @HQstories

#australianfiction #contemporaryfiction #domesticdrama #friendship #romance #womensfiction

THE AUTHOR: Tricia lives in the beautiful Copper Coast region of South Australia, often exploring Australia’s diverse communities and landscapes, and shares this passion for the country and its people through her authentic stories and their vivid characters.

DISCLOSURE: I borrowed a copy of Table For Eight by Tricia Stringer published by HQ Fiction from the Waitomo District Library. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Instagram and Goodreads.com

First Lines Friday

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Welcome to First Lines Friday originally hosted by Reading is my SuperPower.

Instead of judging a book by its cover, here are the first few lines.

‘Someone is out there.’

I’m standing at the kitchen sink, my hands plunged in warm soapy water. Gabe is beside me, supposedly drying dishes but mostly drinking red wine and singing to Èdith Piaf. He made coq au vin for dinner using every pot in the house, but if there is one thing to be said for my husband it’s that he knows how to create a mood. He’s dimmed the lights, lit some candles, even trotted out his best French accent. If not for the kids and my older sister Kat – who is perched at my kitchen counter – it might have been romantic.

Like what you’ve just read?

Want to read more?

These are the opening lines of one of my current reads, The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth.

Before the woman went over the cliff, Pippa and Gabe were happy. They have the kind of marriage that everyone envies, as well as two sweet young daughters, a supportive family, and a picturesque cliff-side home – which would have been idyllic had the tall beachside cliffs not become so popular among those wishing to end their lives.

Gabe has become somewhat of a local hero since they moved to the cliff house, talking seven people down from stepping off the edge. But when Gabe fails to save the eighth, Amanda, a sordid web of secrets begins to unravel, pushing bonds of loyalty and love to the brink.

The first book I read by Sally Hepworth was The Things People Keep, which I loved. Since then I have read and enjoyed The Mother-in-Law, The Good Sister, and The Younger Wife. I also have The Secrets of Midwives sitting in my pile of books on my bedside table.

Have you read anything by this author? What did you think?

Happy reading. ❤📚🎄

The Unusual Abduction of Avery Conifer by Isla Evans

EXCERPT: ‘I have a theory,’ began Beth.

‘Oh, god!’ said Shirley. ‘Not another one!’

Beth sent her a brief frown. ‘No, hear me out. I have a theory that in thirty years we’ll be sitting where your mother is now. Celebrating our ninetieth birthdays. We’ll have been carted over from the retirement village and we’ll be surrounded by wheelchairs and walking sticks and those Zimmerframe things. And also family. Just like now.’ She wiped at the window, clearing away the condensation from her breath. ‘Your Sam will still be running around organising everything, and Alex will have settled himself somewhere with a beer, and Hamish will be tending the bar, and Cleo will still probably be finding her way.’

‘And Daniel?’ asked Shirley in a low voice.

Beth hesitated, but only for a second. ‘Yes,even your rotten Daniel. And also Avery, who’ll probably have children of her own, and Caitlin and Charlie. All grown up. And you know what? People will be arguing, and others will be estranged, and still others will be taking sides when they maybe shouldn’t. Some will be happy and some will be sad. They’ll have mortgages and marriage issues. Some will be unemployed. All of them will have regrets in one way or the other. Maybe wishing they’d made better choices. And it doesn’t matter.’ She shrugged. ‘Because, well, that’s life.’

ABOUT ‘THE UNUSUAL ABDUCTION OF AVERY CONIFER’: Two women abduct and hide out with their four-year-old granddaughter Avery, who they suspect is being harmed. They both love Avery … shame they can’t stand each other. A wise and witty novel for readers of Sophie Green and Brooke Davis.

What would you do to protect a child?

Beth’s daughter Cleo and Shirley’s son Daniel used to be married. Now Cleo is in gaol for supposedly contravening a family violence order, and Daniel has full-time care of their four-year-old daughter, Avery.

When Shirley suspects that Daniel is harming Avery, she enlists Beth to abduct their own granddaughter, even though the two women can’t stand each other. They are joined on the run across country Victoria by Winnie, Shirley’s own 89-year-old tech-savvy mother, and Harthacnut, Beth’s miniature schnauzer.

The abduction gives rise to crises both personal and social, as Shirley’s large and interfering family – including her toxic son – struggle to come to terms with her actions, amid a whirl of police investigation and media excitement. This heartfelt, wise, witty and wholly original novel explores of the lengths we may go to for those we love, and the unintended damage folded into daily life.

MY THOUGHTS: Relationships are an endless source of fascination for me. The Unusual Abduction of Avery Conifer is the story of mothers in their role as grandmothers (and one great-grandmother) doing what they do best – nuture and protect.

Of course, as someone once famously said, ‘you can’t please all of the people all of the time,’ and yet mothers constantly try as they do their best for their families. And these mothers certainly upset more than one person in their efforts to keep Avery safe and give Daniel a much needed wake up call.

Daniel is a character who is easy to dislike. He’s one of those ‘entitled’ people, one who never takes responsibility for anything, who believes that he is treated unfairly, and – need I go on? You know the sort. He’s manipulative and needy and controlling. What makes him so different from his brother and sister? Who knows, but he is different, very different.

But the crux of the story is what brings together two women who previously couldn’t stand each other. Beth thinks Shirley is common; Shirley thinks Beth is stuck up; and Winnie thinks they both need to get over themselves. Shirley is worried that Winnie is in the early stages of dementia but Beth has a sneaking admiration for Winnie – she is capable of being sneaky and thinking on her feet.

I admired these three women for having the courage of their convictions. They tried to do the right thing the right way, but when that failed they took matters into their own hands. We need more women like these three. You only have to look at the skyrocketing child abuse numbers to know why.

An inspiring story told with empathy, pathos and humour.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.1

#TheUnusualAbductionofAveryConifer #NetGalley

I: #islaevansauthor @harlequinaus

T: @islaevans @HarlequinAUS

#australianfiction #contemporaryfiction #familydrama #sliceoflife

THE AUTHOR: Ilsa Evans is an Australian author. She has written across several genres from light fiction (such as the books that make up the ‘laundry series’) to more gritty social realism. Two of her books, Broken and Sticks and Stones stem from the findings of a PhD on the long-term effects of family violence that Ilsa completed in 2005. Ilsa teaches creative writing and carries out public speaking when she is not writing. She lives in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne with her children, assorted pets and several uninvited possums.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA, via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Unusual Abduction of Avery Conifer by Isla Evans for review. I’m only sorry that I waited so long to read this little gem. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and Goodreads.com