A Song of Me & You by Mike Gayle @HodderBooks @mikegayle #paperbackbooks #ASongOfMeAndYou

 

A Song of Me & You by Mike Gayle

Published by Hodder & Stoughton

Publication Date: 25th April 2024 (paperback)

Book Description:

Helen and Ben parted as heartbroken 18-year-olds and went their very separate ways.

Twenty years later, mother-of-two-teenagers Helen is still in Manchester, a part-time primary teacher, stunned by the behaviour of her love-rat husband. In an old T shirt and scruffy jeans, she feels at the lowest point in her life.

And suddenly, impossibly, Ben is standing on her doorstep. Tired maybe, lonely even, but clearly still the world-famous, LA-based multi-millionaire rockstar he has become.

Can you ever go back?

For Helen and Ben, so much has happened in the years between. But just to sit in the kitchen for a while and talk - that would be nice.

Before the world comes crashing in.

My Thoughts:

Mike Gayle writes a tale that, while reading the synopsis you think nah, that would never happen, but once you start turning the pages it all becomes absolutely credible. The characters are entirely relatable, the scenarios are very real and the reader is totally drawn into the world the author has created.

Ben and Helen were at school together, studying for their A-levels when they fell for each other, and being their first experience of love they fell hard. But, as is often the case, real life dumped a ton of lemons on them they were forced to go their separate ways in order to pursue their goals, Helen staying in Manchester for university and Ben leaving for London after a nasty argument with his dad. Fast forward 20 years and the question comes: did either of them get what they really wanted out of life? Helen has been cheated on by her husband, being cruelly dumped for the cliche younger model, while Ben is finding out that all the trappings of being a world famous rock star don't necessarily bring happiness. So how come Ben has suddenly turned up on Helen's doorstep, with seemingly nowhere else to go after fleeing the celebrity scene and needing to lay low? 

This book is an excellent insight into what truly makes us happy. Helen's 2 teenage children can't believe their mum used to be cool enough to date an international rock star, and Ben hasn't had a decent relationship with his family for many years after a huge argument created a seemingly insurmountable divide. And how does Helen's soon-to-be ex-husband feel about things? Adam quickly shows his true colours when he discovers Helen has a new house guest - but is that really who he is, or is he just feeling threatened and trying to justify his own actions by hitting out at Helen's situation? 

I had the pleasure of listening to Mike Gayle discussing this book at an event at Waterstones in Worcester on 6th June, and there were some interesting discussions about various aspects of the book and the whole writing process. If you get the opportunity to attend one of Mike's events I thoroughly recommend you go as he's a really down to earth guy who kept us entertained for the evening. Sadly I was only part way through the book at that point, so was unable to tell him off for making me cry AGAIN at certain parts of the book - fortunately I was in the privacy of my own home this time, not my local library so that was something!

I love the way Mike Gayle writes, and with this being only the second of his novels I've read I am delighted to know I have another 16 books to catch up with for when I'm in the mood for laughing and crying in equal measure. 

About the Author:

MIKE GAYLE was born and raised in,Birmingham. After graduating from Salford University with a degree in Sociology, he moved to London to pursue a career in journalism and worked as a features editor and agony uncle. He has written for a variety of publications including The Sunday Times, the Guardian and Cosmopolitan. Mike became a full-time novelist in 1997 following the publication of his Sunday Times top ten bestseller My Legendary Girlfriend, which was hailed by the Independent as ‘full of belly laughs and painfully acute observations’, and by The Times as ‘a funny, frank account of a hopeless romantic’. Since then he has written eighteen novels, including The Man I Think I Know, selected as a World Book Night title, and Half A World Away, selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club. His books have been translated into more than thirty languages. In 2021, Mike was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association. He lives in Birmingham with his wife, kids and greyhound. You can find him online at mikegayle.co.uk and on Twitter @mikegayle.

The Happy Hour by Cressida McLaughlin @HarperCollinsUK @CressMcLaughlin #libraryloan

 

The Happy Hour by CressidaMcLaughlin

Published by HarperCollins

Publication Date: 9th May 2024

Book Description:

Jess is happy working in Greenwich market selling trinkets to well-heeled locals and excitable tourists.

Then one Sunday, Jess is thrown together with handsome, funny Ash, as they chase a pickpocket through the market, and before long they are making a habit of running into each other at the same time each week.

Jess starts to realize that their hour together is the brightest part of her life. But Ash isn’t telling her everything – can she discover the truth before it’s too late?

My Thoughts:

I am going to start by saying: I LOVE THIS BOOK! I'm not sure whether that's because it was just the book I needed as a palette cleanser after a lot of darker books lately, or whether it's because I have some lovely memories attached to the area in which it's set (Greenwich in London, with all its lovely landmarks) - whichever the case, or a combination of the two, this book hit the spot perfectly for me.

The lives of our two main characters, Jess and Ash, literally collide as they assist one of the other market traders in dealing with a shoplifter. The chemistry between them is instant, unlike the coffee that Ash brings them on each of the following Sundays they agree to meet. But Ash is hiding something from Jess and because he refuses to share anything about it with her, it becomes a huge elephant in the room which Jess just can't handle. 

While the relationship between the pair ticks along, we are introduced to some other fabulous characters. A few of them are market traders, others are "market ghouls" as they become affectionately known - regular visitors to the market who everyone has come to recognise. I very much got vibes of Clare Pooley's novel The People on Platform 5 from this book. A group of people who only know each other because of a place they pass through regularly but who become emotionally reliant upon one another and look out for each other's welfare. 

I don't want to say too much about this book, other than the fact that it left me with a nice fuzzy, warm, happy feeling despite describing some "real life" bumps along its journey. There's a whole lot of goodness going on, and the relationships between the characters felt very real. I finished the book yearning to be part of their community - until my "real" brain kicked in and I realised that would mean living in London, which I don't think I could cope well with!

5 twinkly, glittery stars for this book from me.

About the Author:

Cressida McLaughlin is a bestselling author of contemporary romance who has sold over a million copies of her books. Her feel-good, escapist fiction, featuring unforgettable characters who find their happy place, has established her as a firm favourite among readers and fellow authors alike.

Cressida lives in Norwich with her husband David and when not writing her bestsellers, spends her spare time reading, returning to London or exploring the beautiful Norfolk coastline.

The Trial by Jo Spain @QuercusBooks #TheTrial #libraryloan

 

The Trial by Jo Spain

Published by Quercus

Publication Date: 25th April 2024

Book Description:

2014, Dublin: at St Edmunds, an elite college on the outskirts of the city, twenty-year-old medical student Theo gets up one morning, leaving behind his sleeping girlfriend, Dani, and his studies - never to be seen again. With too many unanswered questions, Dani simply can't accept Theo's disappearance and reports him missing, even though no one else seems concerned, including Theo's father.

Ten years later, Dani returns to the college as a history professor. With her mother suffering from severe dementia, and her past at St Edmunds still haunting her, she's trying for a new start. But not all is as it seems behind the cloistered college walls - meanwhile, Dani is hiding secrets of her own.

My Thoughts:

One of the most shocking openers to any book I've read was written by Jo Spain. The prologue to The Confession has stuck with me ever since I read it back in 2017. This was the influencing factor in my decision to pluck The Trial from the shelf at my library recently. I tend to like novels set in Ireland too, which also helped, however my mind assumed that the title suggested "courtroom thriller" when it is actually based around a pharmaceutical drug trial which researchers at the college are involved in. My bad. 

So, once I had settled into the subject matter not being what I'd expected, I began to process the story. Students Dani and Theo are very much in love, so it was a complete bombshell moment when Dani finds Theo missing from her lodgings at the college early one morning, never to be seen again. Fast forward into the separate timeline ten years later, and Dani is back at the college in a very different role.

My gut instinct told me straight away that there was more to Dani's reappearance at the college than a case of her returning to teach at her old place of study. I couldn't imagine that it would be a sentimental decision given how things ended there for her. And sure enough, as the layers of the story get peeled away, the truth gradually comes out.  There are some quite unsavoury characters involved with the college but it takes Dani considerably longer than expected to wheedle out who the bad guys are and how deeply they are involved in events, past and present, which require investigating. Dani's suspicions about what happened to Theo also cloud her judgment and slow her progress, facts which cleverly provide a few red herrings for the author to use to smoke screen the reader too.

I enjoyed this book with its glimmer of hope for dementia treatments and some well-written unpleasant characters to get my teeth into making judgments on (don't you just love a real nasty piece of work in a novel?) however as it wasn't the book I was expecting I think this took the shine away from it for me. I know I should have read the synopsis before jumping in and that's entirely my fault but add to this the fact I am always wanting the same shock factor from this author that I got from The Confession I think I was expecting a more explosive storyline.

So all in all, an enjoyable story but lacking the edge of the seat action I was hoping for - plus I feel there needs to be a warning regarding the dementia aspect to the story. Anyone who has experience of dealing with this awful condition needs to be aware that it's a strong thread of the story from quite early on in the book and may wish to give it a miss.

About the Author:

Jo Spain is the author of the bestselling Tom Reynolds detective series and several No.1 bestselling standalone thrillers. She began writing full-time when her first book, top ten bestseller With Our Blessing, was chosen as one of 7 finalists in the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition.

Jo is a full-time screenwriter. Her first show, critically-acclaimed crime series 'Taken Down', aired in 2018. In 2021, she co-wrote Harry Wild, starring Jane Seymour, with its creator, Emmy-award winning David Logan (to air 2022). She is currently working on several international productions, including adaptations of her own novels.

A graduate of Trinity College, Jo lives in Dublin with her husband and four children.

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley #bookreview #TheMidnightFeast @lucyfoleytweets @HarperCollinsUK

 

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

Published by HarperCollins UK

Publication Date 6th June 2024

Book Description:

Midsummer, the Dorset coast

In the shadows of an ancient wood, guests gather for the opening weekend of The Manor: a beautiful new countryside retreat.

But under the burning midsummer sun, darkness stirs. Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests. And the candles have barely been lit for a solstice supper when the body is found.

It all began with a secret, fifteen years ago. Now the past has crashed the party. And it’ll end in murder at…

THE MIDNIGHT FEAST

My Thoughts:

Lucy Foley's book The Paris Apartment is one of my favourite reads of recent years so when the opportunity to read her new book The Midnight Feast came up, I was quick off the blocks to accept the invitation - my thanks to Vicky Joss from HarperCollins Publishers and Team Lucy Foley for the Netgalley copy.

Written from various points of view, and in dual timelines, it could quite easily have become a muddled mess of a book, but kudos to Lucy Foley everything stays neatly in its lane and at no point did I feel confused. Once again Lucy manages to make the location very much a character in itself, with the atmosphere of the new wellness centre seeming to carry the weight of earlier events into its new persona despite every effort to 'detox' it with mindfulness and positive thinking by the new owner.

Everyone seems to be harbouring a secret or two as the opening evening draws near - whether it's who they are or why they are there remains hidden amongst the shadows. With the local myths about The Birds adding to the background spookiness that surrounds the story, I found this to be another very cleverly structured novel which kept me looking for answers from start to finish.

About the Author:

Lucy Foley studied English Literature at Durham and UCL universities. She then worked for several years as a fiction editor in the publishing industry – during which time she also wrote her debut, The Book of Lost and Found. Lucy now writes full-time, and is busy travelling (for research, naturally!) and working on her next novel.

Visit her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LucyFoleyAuthor and follow her on Twitter @lucyfoleytweets