Review: Beattie Cavendish and the Highland Hideaway

Beattie Cavendish and the Highland Hideaway by Mary-Jane Riley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

`Three and a half stars.

Beattie Cavendish is a former WW2 member of SOE who has been 'relegated' to translating communications for GCHQ, with the occasional field trip. her boss calls her into the office and tells her to go to a remote listening station in Scotland, the commander has gone missing (possibly drunk and/or with one of his fancy women) and there is a suspicion of espionage - some intelligence is not being passed on and GCHQ is concerned that our American allies could be cosying up to former Nazis who have not shed their old allegiances. Her boss also, rather cryptically, suggests Beattie should visit her uncle who lives close to the station.

When Beattie gets there she finds her uncle has also mysteriously disappeared with all the evidence suggesting it was not planned. Can she keep up her cover story, investigate her uncle's disappearance, and investigate the commander's disappearance single-handedly? Well no, so she enlist the help of private investigator Patrick Corrigan.

I enjoyed this and it had a good pace from the start, but the ending felt a bit hurried. In fact I re-read the last chapters this morning thinking I might have missed something. But, no.

Also, there is a lot of harking back to what Beattie and Patrick did during the war with very little resolution - I think that needs to be sorted in the next book as it leads to a lot of repetition.

Overall, I liked it but I didn't love it.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Beattie Cavendish and the Highland Hideaway

Beattie Cavendish and the Highland Hideaway by Mary-Jane Riley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

`Three and a half stars.

Beattie Cavendish is a former WW2 member of SOE who has been 'relegated' to translating communications for GCHQ, with the occasional field trip. her boss calls her into the office and tells her to go to a remote listening station in Scotland, the commander has gone missing (possibly drunk and/or with one of his fancy women) and there is a suspicion of espionage - some intelligence is not being passed on and GCHQ is concerned that our American allies could be cosying up to former Nazis who have not shed their old allegiances. Her boss also, rather cryptically, suggests Beattie should visit her uncle who lives close to the station.

When Beattie gets there she finds her uncle has also mysteriously disappeared with all the evidence suggesting it was not planned. Can she keep up her cover story, investigate her uncle's disappearance, and investigate the commander's disappearance single-handedly? Well no, so she enlist the help of private investigator Patrick Corrigan.

I enjoyed this and it had a good pace from the start, but the ending felt a bit hurried. In fact I re-read the last chapters this morning thinking I might have missed something. But, no.

Also, there is a lot of harking back to what Beattie and Patrick did during the war with very little resolution - I think that needs to be sorted in the next book as it leads to a lot of repetition.

Overall, I liked it but I didn't love it.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Bedside Manner

Bedside Manner by C.G. Macington
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dr Maxwell York is known as the Ice King. He is the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, a control freak from the family that endowed the hospital. His OR is silent, everything is clean to the point of sterility.

Dr Jax O’Connell is the Head of Trauma in the Emergency Room at the same hospital. Loud, messy, ex-military, and brought up care.

When a hospital refurb forces the two doctors to share a small office the staff are taking bets on how long it will take before one of them kills the other. But although they might be like oil and water, enforced proximity brings a certain grudging respect (and some lustful feelings).

Who doesn't love an opposites attract romance? Especially when they are opposite in every single way: rich/poor, rulebreaker/follower, specialist/generalist, etc.

I honestly had no expectations of this, saw it mentioned somewhere and gave it a go - LOVED it. I loved Maxwell and Jax, booed at Maxwell's mother, sort of cheered at his father. Love his little brother.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Review: It Was You All Along: The emotional and uplifting second chance romance from the author of The Last Train Home and The Wedding Game

It Was You All Along: The emotional and uplifting second chance romance from the author of The Last Train Home and The Wedding Game by Elle Cook
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Aurora, Ollie, Ben and Liv meet on the first day of University - assigned to share accommodation they soon become found family. Aurora comes from a working class family, her father left when she was young and her mother has worked minimum wage jobs to feed and clothe them. Aurora will be the first person in her family to go to university and has to get a job to subsidise her living expenses. Liv and Ben clearly come from affluent families, Ben's parents have a swimming pool in the garden and neither of them has to worry about getting a job. Ollie is a bit of an enigma.

Despite sharing accommodation throughout university, 'something' happened that lead to them barely keeping in touch, and the book starts with Aurora planning a house-warming party where she intends to invite the other three and 'fix' what went wrong. Thereafter the reader goes back in time to see what transpired between them and how they fell out.

I was enjoying this initially, but it started to drag about halfway through. I think its obvious to the reader who/what is meant by the title and then it is just increasingly irritating as one thing after another comes in the way. Also I didn't really 'get' the different personalities and why they liked each other. I don't understand why anyone liked Liv or Ben - they seemed self-obsessed and each thought the world revolved around them. Ollie was a bit meh, and Aurora suddenly became a model despite no prior indications that she was anything special to look at (other than being tall).

This gave off similar vibes as a previous book by this author that I have read (The Last Train Home) - if you liked that then I'm sure you'll like this.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Work Love Balance: A heart-warming, uplifting romantic read!

Work Love Balance: A heart-warming, uplifting romantic read! by Sophie Loxton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lizzy Brinks is juggling a high-powered job herding unpredictable artist Esme Kaminska through PR minefields whilst also providing for her almost non-verbal autistic brother and financially naïve father. She lives in a dingy flat in a poor part of town, buys all her designer clothes on Vinted and generally is giving off an Ice Queen vibe with her all-black wardrobe and strong red lipstick.

Then disaster strikes, Esme makes a firm-wide internal announcement, after spending the weekend with fitness influencer Ajax Banks they are engaged and intend to merge their businesses whilst simultaneously launching a new dating app based on (wait for it) people's art preferences. Esme won't listen to reason, she and Ajax are all over each other and Lizzy has to deal with her equivalent from Ajax's side, Scottish, ex-military Oliver MacLeod who is all smart suits and charm.

Now Lizzy has her hands full trying to market an app that hasn't even been designed, keep her boss from derailing all they've worked for, and resisting the charms of lovely Oliver.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Fun, silly, serious, with real-life problems and a HEA - what's not to love?

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Murder at the Duomo

Murder at the Duomo by T A Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dan gets involved in an investigation when a British arms dealer is murdered in the confessional at the Duomo.

Tristan Angel was one of the founders of TXA Supplies, one of the world's largest sellers of arms and his death has created a power vacuum - was he murdered by rivals? Was it a government sponsored hit? Was it related to his infamous womanising? Tristan was on holiday in Florence with several colleagues - was it a power grab by one of his partners?

Yet another charming cosy mystery set against the stunning backdrop of Florence and amazing food, with Oscar the dog as Dan's faithful sidekick. The suspects are plentiful and it is going to take some good detective work to find the motive but Dan and Virgilio will do it.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Off the Record

Off the Record by Sara Goodman Confino
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Judy Greenberg wants to be a journalist, which isn't easy for a Jewish girl in 1962, so when she gets offered a job in the typing pool at a Washington DC newspaper (despite having a degree in journalism) she takes it hoping to be spotted and given her big break.

Miss Kelly who runs the typing pool with an iron fist warns Judy against fraternising with the journalists and editors, saying that's what got her predecessor fired, but Judy has not intention of looking for a husband.

The junior White House reporter Jack Fields is particularly irritating, constantly hanging around Judy's desk and getting her into trouble with Miss Kelly. The galling thing is the leads for his articles are never right - Judy could (and does) do far better. But rather than being angry with Judy for editing his articles Jack encourages her, whilst taking all the credit ... until Judy calls him out for it.

Nevertheless, when Judy takes a very strange message for one of the editors after hours while temporarily filling in for his secretary Jack is the only person she can turn to for help in investigating what the message means.

This book is set shortly after the Bay of Pigs incident. Height of the Cold War, think Russia, Cuba, Kennedy. Women were still expected to get married and churn out lots of children, even Judy as a twenty-two year old woman had her hair, make-up and clothing monitored by her mother.

This had it all, politics, intrigue, women's issues, spies, and romance. A great read and fascinating to find out how much of the story is based on real happenings and people and places (whilst obviously also being fictitious).

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts

The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Someone is killing Marlow's celebrities, a former England footballer and a famous author were both shot dead ... who will be next?

Meanwhile, a step-daughter she never knew existed has appeared in Judith's life accusing Judith of murdering her (Judith's) husband and demanding she confess or she (Eleni) will take her evidence to the Police.

Confession time, this is the first book in the series that I have read. I tried to watch the TV series and found it beyond irritating, but I thought people must love it because this is the fifth book so I requested an ARC to give it a go. My conclusion is that the book was very similar in feel to the tv series and just not for me.

Judith is clearly the leader of the trio of amateur sleuths, with a mysterious past and a job as a crossword setter for the local newspaper. Then the other two Suzie and Becks are somewhat interchangeable, one is a vicar's wife and one walks dogs - might be the same one, one is very pretty. There's an absurd plot involving breaking into a Real Tennis men's changing rooms and hiding in a shower. Also, I have serious questions concerning Judith's passport.

Anyway, I didn't guess the identity of the murderer but I believe that is because the clues were all miniscule and the reader isn't put in possession of the facts.

Overall, if you enjoyed the previous four books and/or the tv series I am sure you will enjoy this book too. As I said, not for me, but the plotting was clever.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Only on Gameday

Only on Gameday by Kristen Callihan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Meet August 'Augie' Luck, first draft NFL Quarterback, part of an American Football dynasty, fancy house in LA, sponsorship coming out of his ears (not literally), and stunningly good-looking to boot. So why is he suddenly acting out of character standing on a table and dancing the funky chicken at a black-tie event?

Augie's mother is best friends with Penelope Morrow's mother and the two families have been in and out of each other's houses (possibly in Colorado) their entire lives. Which is why no-one quite understands why Penelope and Augie seem to do everything in their power to avoid each other, even leaving the room when the other enters.

Penny is unhappy, particularly with her mother, because she inherited her grandparents' beautiful home in LA but as a student she can't afford to pay the property taxes and her mother won't lend her the money. To put this into perspective it's a multi-million dollar house on an acre of land in Brentwood designed by Cliff May, so the property taxes are hundreds of thousands of dollars (which is mad for a Brit because in my London borough the maximum council tax anyone would pay on a multi-million pound house is just over £4,000 - I looked it up).

After Penny sobs all this into Augie's mother's shoulder (she is visiting to wish her happy birthday), Augie has a cunning plan. To reassure his agent and the Coach that he has turned over a new, more respectable, leaf he and Penny should get fake engaged and he can pay her taxes, or lend her the money. What neither of them realise is that have each fancied the pants off each other for years - hence the avoidance tactics.

Of course, once they are forced to spend time together they quickly start dating for real.

I feel like a complete hypocrite, I hate manufactured angst and the unrealistic conflict that breaks the couple up before they get back together in romances ... but this felt lacking in conflict. I think maybe I am expecting a Kristen Callihan book to be like a Sarina Bowen book and they are two very different styles.

This feels like each of Augie's siblings (all of whom are named after the month in which they were born *sigh*) will eventually get their own books.

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Review: Brighter than Before

Brighter than Before by Courtney Walsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Claire Karadec falls apart after she discovers her husband John has been having an affair ... and all their friends knew. Twenty years of marriage, supporting his career, just gone in a puff of smoke. After a particularly humiliating episode a year later, she decides enough is enough and things have to change. Rather recklessly she sells the house and moves to Chicago, a city she always wanted to live, with a dream of finding a career and a new life.

Navigating living alone for the first time in her life, trying to get a job, and being dragged kicking and screaming into the dating scene by her daughter Minnie (at college in Oxford), Claire notices a sexy male neighbour seems to have a revolving door of beautiful young women leaving his apartment - who turns out to be the owner of the apartment block, which she only finds out after yet another embarrassing incident, this time involving a face pack, a dressing gown and an automatically locking apartment door. Anyway, her landlord Miles turns out to be a nice guy, albeit with an aversion to commitment, and he is soon conspiring with Minnie to get Claire some non-serial killer dates.

I did enjoy this and it was easy beach reading material but honestly I felt Claire was a totally unrealistic person. Her background, the fact that she had never eaten any foreign food of any description (like even Mediterranean), the multiple Goldie Hawn-esque kooky catastrophes, they all just felt like plot devices.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Between the Lines

Between the Lines by Tracey Magruder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sadie Reed is a book editor in New York. Having split from her narcissistic, abusive ex, who is an unsuccessful author who has been leeching off her for years, she is camping on her best friend (and boss)'s floor. So when her friend asks her to take on Corbyn Pearce, a brilliant author who has already driven off three previous editors and is seriously in danger of missing the deadline for his latest novel, Sadie feels a change of scenery could be just what the doctor ordered.

Corbyn was badly injured in a car accident and since then he has been a recluse at his manor house in the Cotswolds, he is bogged down in his latest book but resistant to any advice or suggestions from editors ... until Sadie refuses to take no for an answer.

Can these two metaphorically and literally scarred individuals find their way to one another?

I was enjoying this and then suddenly it just got glacially slow and nothing much happened for chapter after chapter until the inevitable rather OTT 'conflict'.

Overall, I liked it but I didn't love it.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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