A Laird for the Governess

A Laird for the Governess by Catherine Tinley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 288

Publisher - Mills & Boon

Source - ARC

Blurb from Goodreads

A penniless governess

And the dour Laird of Ardmore

Lydia Farnham must travel to a remote Scottish island to work for widower Alasdair MacDonald, who doesn’t trust her or her unconventional teaching methods! Yet as his daughter flourishes, so, too, does the intense connection between Lydia and Alasdair. Only she should know better than to fall for the handsome laird when it could leave her without a job, or a home…

From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.

Lairds of the Isles Should duty come before love?

Book 1: A Laird for the Governess

My Review

Lydia is a Governess, she loves her job and the kids she looks after, she has to leave position after position, why? Lydia is beautiful, inside and out, even when she plays down how she looks, avoids them, males cannot help themselves. When she is offered a position for A Laird in Scotland, remote with the most adorable little girl could Lydia have finally found somewhere she can settle or will she be forced to leave again?

Ooooh Alasdair is an enigma, he is polite and kind, he is moody and rude, he is a doting father, he is aloof. Lydia finds herself able to settle and focus all on the bairn, a lovely bright stubborn little girl who is physically disabled and needs carried around the castle. As Lydia spends time with the child and lets her guard down she finds herself drawn to Alasdair and the bairn Mairead.

It is a lovely story set in Scotland, I liked the tradition, the location, the family, the way the staff were more than just staff. We follow Lydia as she goes from "the outsider" the becoming a part of the team, being comfortable in her own skin and learning to trust and love those around her.

Years ago I used to read Mills and Boon and like a comfy pair of slippers you knew what you were getting. This was different but not in a bad way, it didn't stick to a formula of any kind, just a story that has relationships, love, personal growth, friendship, happiness, loss, personal growth and community spirit. I would love to spend more time there. If you need a story that takes you out of your own day this one will do the job, 4/5 for me this time. First time reading this author and I won't leave it as long to read another M&B.

Available to buy NOW from Amazon, Paperback and Kindle. Click HERE for Amazon UK.



View all my reviews

Wish You were Here by Jodi Picoult

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 319

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Source - Netgalley

Blurb from Amazon

Contains an exclusive short story from Jodi Picoult featuring the main character, Diana, available in the first print run only. Pre-order now to guarantee your copy!

Diana O'Toole's life is going perfectly to plan. At twenty-nine, she's up for promotion to her dream job as an art specialist at Sotheby's and she's about to fly to the Galápagos where she's convinced her surgeon boyfriend, Finn, is going to propose.

But then the virus hits New York City and Finn breaks the news: the hospital needs him, he has to stay. But you should still go, he insists. And reluctantly, she agrees.

Once she's in the Galápagos, the world shuts down around her, leaving Diana stranded - albeit in paradise. Completely isolated, with only intermittent news from the outside world, Diana finds herself examining everything that has brought her to this point and wondering if there's a better way to live.

But not everything is as it seems . . .


My Review

Covid has well and truly hit, Diana O'Toole and her doctor boyfriend and meant to be going on holiday. The hospitals are struggling and Finn encourages Diana to go the non refundable trip of a lifetime alone. Paradise has no signal, Diana ends up stranded in a place she doesn't speak the language with only a troubled teen, her angry dad and helpful gran to get through the days. We hear from Finn back home in broken correspondence from the bits of emails/messages that manages to make it across the seas.

So I know this book won't be for everyone because a lot of people don't want to read about covid. Whilst covid does feature in the book in isn't the whole focus or even the main meat of it. Diana goes on a bit of a person journey, self discovery and growth being stranded, very limited communication from back home. I loved the island she goes to, Picoult paints such a vivid picture you could see the places, smells, animals, just serene!

Then we have the aspects of covid, poor Finn, caught in the midst of it, unable to properly talk to Diana, offload, decompress - the things we do with partners during extreme stress. I think if you aren't in healthcare or haven't been affected by covid this is a fantastic book to let you see the devastation, emotional impact that covid can have, on healthcare, on a person, on relationships, there isn't really anything it doesn't impact upon.

Sometimes Picoult can knock the stuffing out of you in some of what she writes or how she constructs parts of her story. I actually uttered the words out loud "No Waaaaaay" during one part and that my friends is a teaser not a spoiler! I really liked this book, I think she wrote a really hard subject and humanised it by creating the characters the way she did. 4/5 for me this time, I do enjoy Picoult's books and have at least one or two more to catch up on so I have read them all. I need to bump them up the tbrm, this reminded me how much I like her writing!

View all my reviews

The Man Who Loved Islands by David F Ross - Blog Tour

Welcome David to So Many Books, So Little Time & a wee quick thanks to Karen at Orenda Books and the beautiful Anne from Random Things Through My Letter Box for introducing me to a new Scottish author, for me, & including me in the tour. I am only stop 4 on the blog tour so please check out the others as we are going through the month, info below.





You can read a wee bit more about David here!




The Man Who Loved Islands by David F Ross
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - on and off over 5 days

Pages - 302

Publisher - Orenda Books

Blurb from Goodreads

In the early 80s, Bobby Cassidy and Joey Miller were inseparable; childhood friends and fledgling business associates. Now, both are depressed and lonely, and they haven't spoken to each other in more than 10 years. A bizarre opportunity to honor the memory of someone close to both of them presents itself, if only they can forgive and forget. With the help of the deluded Max Mojo and the faithful Hamish May, can they pull off the impossible, and reunite the legendary Ayrshire band, The Miraculous Vespas, for a one-off Music Festival—The Big Bang—on a remote, uninhabited Scottish island? Absurdly funny, deeply moving and utterly human, thisis an unforgettable finale to the Disco Days trilogy—a modern classic pumped full of music and middle-aged madness, written from the heart and pen of one of Scotland’s finest new voices.


My Review

Bobby Cassidy & Joey Miller were thick as thieves, pals from childhood in the 1980's, we have a tiny glimpse of them like this then jump forward in time. Neither speaks to the other and their lives have gone in very different directions Joey has traveled all over the world whilst meeting his clients, Bobby made it huge as a DJ in Ibiza. Successful in their own rights but each having separate battles with age, addictions, fame and or depression a chance opportunity sees them both reunite and try to pull off the event of the century.

This is book three in a trilogy, whilst I don't think not having read the others hampered my enjoyment I think it would have had more impact knowing the extensive background with the two. Bobby and Joey are pals, the book mostly concentrates on their life in the now with some kick backs to their adult life without each other, more so Bobby's. Music has a huge feature in the book and I did spent some time googling quite a few songs as I didn't know a whole lot of them. Locations of the tale varies between China, Ibiza, USA, England and Scotland. The boys are Scottish and they or the folk around them swear a lot. The C word makes a few appearances as is par for the course to authenticate the Scottish settings, people, banter, I know some folk balk at that one so just an FYI.

I loved the lingo in this book, as a Scot myself some of the slang, terminology and banter fires up some memories from my own past. Some of the chat and banter was like talking with an old friend or firing on a pair of well loved slippers! On more than one occasion I burst out laughing and a book that can get you laughing out loud is ticking many boxes! I think some may struggle with some of the conversations with the guys and maybe a wee list explaining what some words mean would have helped some non Scottish readers.

The book touches on quite a few things, friendship, infidelity, love, loss, corruption, bereavement, sex, drugs, and a big feature of music. The chapters are relatively short which for me was great, I do normally like that anyway but I started this book during a run of shifts so it made for perfect reading to be able to dip in and out with the short time offered. It initially took me a wee bit to settling in to read but once I got into the meat of it I didn't want to put it down. Hillarious, sad in parts and a great spin on friendship with two guys struggling with their personal demons pulling together for something epic. This is my first time reading this author, I enjoyed the book so much I am going to buy the first two of the series. Thanks so much to Orenda books for highlighting a new author to me. If you like Irvine Welsh you need to read David F Ross, not as much grit but certainly of the same caliber. 4/5 for me this time, absolutely I will be reading this author again, all opinions are my own.

View all my reviews


If you are local, David is having the launch in Glasgow City Centre with a live band and Q&A, this is a ticketed event. See the details below.

The One I Love by Anna McPartlin

The One I Love by Anna McPartlin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 355

Publisher - Penguin

Blurb from Goodreads

LETTING GO FOR GOOD . . .

Once, Jane Moore and Alexandra Walsh were inseparable, sharing secrets and stolen candy, plotting their futures together. But when Jane became pregnant at seventeen, they drifted slowly apart. Jane has spent the years since raising her son, now seventeen himself, on her own, running a gallery, managing her sister’s art career, and looking after their volatile mother—all the while trying not to resent the limited choices life has given her.

Then a quirk of fate and a faulty elevator bring Jane into contact with Tom, Alexandra’s husband, who has some shocking news. Alexandra disappeared from a south Dublin suburb months ago, and Tom has been searching fruitlessly for her. Jane offers to help, as do the elevator’s other passengers—Jane’s brilliant but self-absorbed sister, Elle, and Leslie Sheehan, a reclusive web designer who’s ready to step back into the world again. And as Jane quickly realizes, Tom isn’t the only one among them who’s looking for something . . . or traveling toward unexpected revelations about love, life, and what it means to let go, in every sense.

In this insightful and irresistible novel, by turns profound, poignant, and laugh- out-loud funny, acclaimed Irish writer Anna McPartlin tells a story of friendship and love, of the families we are born into and the ones we create for ourselves, and of the hope and strength that remain when we fi nd the courage to leave the past behind at last.


My Review

Alexandra Walsh is missing, gone out to pick up tickets and then nothing, no contact, just gone. Jane Moore was once her best friend, but like a lot of friendships, life and events saw them separate. A chance meeting at a concert brings Alexandra's husband into contact with Jane, Jane's sister Elle & Leslie. After being trapped together in a lift, they decide they will help Tom to try and find Alexandra. Elle is a loose cannon, a liability but a fantastic artist who has many demons she needs to address. Leslie has lost so many of her family to cancer, she tested for the gene and has decided the best way to be safe is to keep a distance from people & family. This chance meeting will see them all come together and in helping Tom expose themselves to friendship and self exploration and personal growth.

There is a lot about this story I liked, when someone disappears you want to know what has happened. Relationships forming and learning more about the characters, some happiness, some sadness and some laughter in between. People coming together, growth of characters and vesting interest is always a great art created by some very talented authors. What didn't I like? There are themes of infidelity, some codes broken that as friends and or family you just wouldn't do, lines you do not cross. However, in saying that, it does happen and brings realism to the story, I still personally do not like it.

Yet another good tale by McPartlin, I enjoy meeting and following the characters she creates. I really wanted to know what happened to Alexandra and getting to know the characters followed secondary to that. Once the story got kick started, you find yourself being drawn in and not wanting to put the book down so you can find where their paths are going. 3/5 for me this time, I will continue to buy up this authors work although my favourite still remains, The Last Days Of Rabbit Hayes.

View all my reviews