The Merry Christmas Project by Cathy Bramley

The Merry Christmas Project by Cathy Bramley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 384

Publisher - Orion

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Christmas has always meant something special to Merry - even without a family of her own. This year, her heart might be broken but her new candle business is booming. The last thing she needs is another project - but when her hometown's annual event needs some fresh festive inspiration, Merry can't resist.

Cole loves a project too - though it's usually of the bricks and mortar variety. As a single dad, his Christmas wish is to see his kids again, so getting the new house finished for when they're all together is the perfect distraction.

But this Christmas, magic is in the air for these two strangers. Will it bring them all the joy they planned for . . . and take their hearts by surprise too?

After all, anything can happen at Christmas. . .



My Review

Merry is taking a huge leap of faith, after stepping down from her job and living with her boyfriend she is giving it her all to set up her new candle business. When she thinks things are going in the right direction with her relationship fate has other ideas. Focusing on keeping busy she steps up to help arrange a festive memorial special event for the whole town. Cole is spending this year alone, his ex is with the kids far away from their wee town. Soon Cole gets swept up with the community festivities and a friendship with Merry and co.

If you want a bit of escapism with some Christmas spirit, relationships, friendships and a wee tug at some heart strings (nothing too heavy) then this is a perfect read for you. Merry is such a sweetheart and Cole's family is lovely too. It is a nice cast of characters and I think I needed that because there have been some belters of late. A community pulling together for this time of the year when it means so much to so many.

I liked reading about Merry's candle making too, it doesn't feature hugely in the book (I mean the actual process) but what it does I liked. I burn a fair few candles but never really thought about what all goes into the nor the tweaking, I liked how Merry came up with one particular scent inspiration.

This is my first dance with Bramley, it won't be my last. A nice wee break from reality read and ticks a good bit of the festives, 4/5 for me this time.

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The Devil's Advocate by Steve Cavanagh

The Devil's Advocate by Steve Cavanagh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1.5 days

Pages - 304

Publisher - Orion

Source - ARC

Blurb from Goodreads

A deadly prosecutor

They call him the King of Death Row. Randal Korn has sent more men to their deaths than any district attorney in the history of the United States.

A twisted ritualistic killing

When a young woman, Skylar Edwards, is found murdered in Buckstown, Alabama, a corrupt sheriff arrests the last person to see her alive, Andy Dubois. It doesn't seem to matter to anyone that Andy is innocent.

A small town boiling with rage

Everyone in Buckstown believes Andy is guilty. He has no hope of a fair trial. And the local defense attorney assigned to represent him has disappeared.

A former con-artist

Hot shot New York lawyer Eddie Flynn travels south to fight fire with fire. He plans to destroy the prosecutors case, find the real killer and save Andy from the electric chair.

But the murders are just beginning.

Is Eddie Flynn next?




My Review

So I have read a few of the Eddie Flynn books, bought the ones I have missed and need to actually read them. I LOVE Eddie, he is a lawyer who won't represent anyone who is guilty, I imagine this may be covered, the why, in the earlier books. He has a colourful past and can be a wee bit dodgy but in a totally good way, he is a really good guy and has a moral compass, he also bends some rules as and when needed. He has been asked to come to a small town to help a guy accused of murder, the prosecutor has a record for going for the death penalty and it is never reversed. The town is shady, dodgy, racist and even the decent people aren't huge on outsiders. The prosecutor loves his record, he is powerful, rich and very influential, nothing and no-one gets between him and his goal, Eddie has met some bad people in the past but this town has folk of the likes he has never encountered before.

If I hadn't had work I would have sunk this in one sitting. I make no qualms about how much I love Flynn so I really need to find the earlier books and get them read. He is the type of guy you can't help but love, wee bit shady, heart in the right place, fighting for the good "guy" and the odds are usually placed against them.

This book gave me "A Time To Kill" vibes, racism, them vs us, murder, violence, manipulation, corruption, abuse of power, ooft heart in my mouth multiple times and beyond horrified at the behaviour of some of the humans in this book. I know it is fiction but attitudes and violence like we see in this book is all to real and fiction that evokes strong emotional responses *mic drop*.

I couldn't guess where the book was going, I gasped a fair few times and was just like there is no way out for X character, where to next? The author pulls the rug from under you a fair few times, I was totally invested in the characters and a total ragin spice at others. Definitely one of my 5/5 this year, I am re arranging my 5 bookcases soon so will be actively hunting the earlier Flynn books. Out to buy tomorrow in ebook and tree book, I can't recommend this story enough. Be warned it has some very hard hitting themes, do not start it late at night or if you have plans that day because you are drawn in and need to know what happens next! Buy link from AMAZON UK.

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Our Life in a Day by Jamie Fewery

Our Life in a Day by Jamie Fewery
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 304

Publisher - Orion

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Our Life in a Day is a breathtaking, ten-year love story told in twenty-four individual hours - for fans of One Day by David Nicholls, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and The Note by Zoe Folbigg.

The rules are simple. Choose the most significant moments from your relationship - one for each hour in the day.
You'd probably pick when you first met, right?
And the instant you knew for sure it was love?
Maybe even the time you watched the sunrise after your first night together?

But what about the car journey on the holiday where everything started to go wrong?
Or your first proper fight?

Or that time you lied about where you'd been?

It's a once in a lifetime chance to learn the truth. But if you had to be completely honest with the one you love, would you still play?

For Esme and Tom, the game is about to begin. And once they start, there's no going back . . .


My Review

This one has sat on the review pile for a wee bit and I am glad I didn't leave it longer than I already had. I think because folk had been saying it was like "One Day" by David Nicholls (I wasn't a fan) I wasn't rushing to read it. Guys it is so far from "One Day" I really disliked that book but I thought this was really well done and doesn't read like a debut at all. Esme and Tom have been together for 10 years and to celebrate Esme has created a game in which Tom has to put together memories of their time. One story from a specific hour of any given day in their time together to make up 24 hours, each marked that hourly time. It can't all be good, it must be real, relevant to the hour time stamp and real to their relationship. The result is honest, brutal, emotive and allows the reader to delve into Esme and Tom's relationship warts and all.

It is pretty unique the way the author has created this. Timeline jumps can be difficult to pull off let alone jumping months/hours on the clock. There isn't a part of the story you get lost, the timeline is marked clearly at the start of the chapters. We meet at their anniversary and with Tom constructing the game we travel back and forth, to their meeting and the start of their relationship. They carve out ground rules very quickly and set the tone for their unique relationship. We know early on that Tom isn't telling everything to Esme and something has happened to him recently. As the book goes on and more hints are dropped by his family we get a bit more insight into who Tom is, what he has survived and his daily battle and how it affects him.

Male mental health is at the heart of this story, meshed in with his relationship with Esme, warts and all. They are chalk and cheese and Tom has pinned a lot of his hope for going forward on Esme, unknown to her as he tries to battle his illness, inner demons, protect her and keep the battle a secret from her. We see his inner turmoil and get a glimpse of what it is like for someone living with this and trying every day to stay on top.

If you have ever had depression or loved someone with it I think this book will pack a very emotive punch. If it is something you have never encountered it gives you an intimate look and bit of insight into what a battle like that is like and a small idea of why they do what they do. The way the book has been written is pretty smart, engaging and snapshots in and out of a ten year period. Like an onion it reveals another layer as you delve in and perhaps bringing a tear as you go. I think this book will evoke different emotions from readers depending on your life experiences but I challenge anyone to read it and not feel anything. 4.5/5 for me, I very much look forward to seeing what will come next from this author and will be keeping an eye out for their next offering!

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If Only I Could Tell You by Hannah Beckerman

If Only I Could Tell You by Hannah Beckerman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 368

Publisher - Orion

Source - Review Copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Audrey's family has fallen apart. Her two grown-up daughters, Jess and Lily, are estranged, and her two teenage granddaughters have never been allowed to meet. A secret that echoes back thirty years has splintered the family in two, but is also the one thing keeping them connected.

As tensions reach breaking point, the irrevocable choice that one of them made all those years ago is about to surface. After years of secrets and silence, how can one broken family find their way back to each other?


My Review

The prologue opens in 1988 with an event that we, the reader, aren't too sure exactly what it is but will have a lasting impact on the family across the years. We flip to current day 2016 with Audrey, Audrey has to make huge changes to her life for health reasons and finds herself, as always, split between her two daughters, Jess and Lily. They haven't spoken in years and Audrey wants more than anything for these two to reconcile before it is too late but can you move on in the future when you haven't dealt with a past that is tearing you apart?

There are no two ways about it this book is a hell of an emotive rollercoaster, it touches on so many life issues that will evoke tears from the most hardened reader. Family, secrets, lies, love, loss, grief, heartache, health issues and so much more. It is hard to mention all the themes because you run the risk of spoilers and I never do a spoiler review.

I think depending on the life experiences you have had, grief and losses will absolutely impact upon how you receive this book. I hate using the word trigger but for many there will be triggers in this book, it reflects on the hardships, loss, grief and utter injustice that life sometimes hands out to folk, hence being an emotive read. I think what some will take comfort from in this story whilst others may feel too raw in their own experiences. It is testament to the authors writing skills to pen a book that can draw out different responses from so many from certain scenes.

The sisters I found hard to fathom at times, more so Jess in how she behaved in view of what was going on in that particular moment. That said, as the book reveals its secrets you get a better understanding of why the characters behave the way they do. Again for me, depending on your own personal experiences will impact on how you react to some scenes and Jess I felt I could reach in and slap/shake. This comes down to my own life experiences and any writer that can get a reader to pull reality from fiction, strong emotions is doing their job and then some.

This book has been so loved and I enjoyed it if enjoy is the right word to apply considering some of the content. If you aren't emotionally vulnerable going in you may well be when you finish it, a story that kicks you in the emotionals and keeps you going page after page hoping and praying for it to go the way you want it to, 3.5/5 for me this time. This was my first dance with Beckerman, it won't be my last.

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The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides is OUT TODAY, happy publication day Alex.



Published in Hardback by Orion on 7th February 2019, price £12.99 CLICK HERE

Alicia lives a life most dream of. She lives in a house in one of the most desirable areas of London. She is a famous painter, and her husband, Gabriel, is an in-demand fashion photographer. Her life is perfect.

That is, until one evening when Gabriel returns late from a fashion shoot and Alicia shoots him five times and then never speaks another word.

Theo Faber, a forensic psychotherapist, has been consumed with the case for five years, and is the only person able to unravel the mystery of why.

The Silent Patient is a heart-stopping debut thriller about a woman's brutal and random act of violence against her husband - and the man obsessed with discovering why.

Praise for The Silent Patient:

‘The Silent Patient sneaks up on you like a slash of intimidating shadow on a badly lit street. Michaelides has crafted a totally original, spellbinding psychological mystery so quirky, so unique that it should have its own genre. I read it in two nights and savoured every luscious word, every grim encounter, every startling twist. The pages will burn with the friction from your hands turning them’ – DAVID BALDACCI

‘There are books with twists and then there is THIS BOOK. Wow. Brilliant pacing, the definition of a page turner, its tone and readability reminded me of The Girl On The Train in parts. But that twist comes as hard and fast as a slap across the face. Loved it.’- JOHN MARRS

‘That rarest of beasts: the perfect thriller. This extraordinary novel set my blood fizzing - I quite literally couldn't put it down. I told myself I'd just dip in; eleven hours later - it's now 5.47 AM - I've finished it, absolutely dazzled’ – A. J. FINN, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

‘Smart, sophisticated suspense’ - LEE CHILD

‘Alex Michaelides has written one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read. The Silent Patient is a swarming, paranoid nightmare of a novel with an ending that is destined to go down as one of the most shocking, mind-blowing twists in recent memory’ – BLAKE CROUCH, author of the New York Times bestseller Dark Matter

‘An excellent, slow-burning psychological thriller; sharp, clever and with a whammy that genuinely took me by surprise (it takes a lot to do this). Kudos to the author. More, please’ – JOANNE HARRIS, bestselling author of Chocolat

'Just one more chapter. Just one more. Then I'll stop.' Once you pick up The Silent Patient, this will be what you'll say to yourself, until you give in and keep reading until the blindsiding and brilliantly clever conclusion - no matter how good a sleuth you are, you aren't going to see it coming’

– EMILY KOCH, author of If I Die Before I Wake

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:




Alex Michaelides was born in Cyprus in 1977. He wrote the film The Devil You Know starring Rosamund Pike and co-wrote The Brits are Coming, starring Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Stephen Fry, Parker Posey and Sofia Vergara. The Silent Patient is first novel. He was inspired to write it while doing a post graduate course in psychotherapy and working part-time at a secure psychiatric unit for two years. Brad Pitt's Plan B are developing the film of The Silent Patient: they have won Best Film Oscars for The Departed and 12 Years a Slave.