A Blackpool Christmas

 CHRISTMAS, 1918.

The war may be over, but for newly reunited sisters Babs and Beth, peace has yet to find them. Having been taken from their mother at a young age and then separated themselves for twelve years, their family has encountered enough pain to last a lifetime. 

As the festive season approaches, they realise their struggles are far from over, but if they want to look forward to a happy future together they must work to put the past behind them. Will the joys of Christmas be enough to unite their family once more?

About the author

 

Maggie Mason, who also writes as Mary Wood, was born the thirteenth child of fifteen to a middle-class mother and an East End barrow boy. Her family were poor, but rich in love. Over time, she developed a natural empathy with the less fortunate and is fascinated by social history. Maggie raised four children and has numerous grandchildren, step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren. An avid reader, she first put pen to paper in 1989, and is now a full-time novelist.

My Review

Maggie's books will take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions and this book is no exception. This time we catch up with twins, Beth and Babs, who have been apart for twelve years. Set at the end of the Great War, Maggie captures perfectly the constraints of the class system and how these are beginning to be challenged. Peace may be on the horizon but for these two sisters, they have a long way to go to settle their differences. As always, Maggie's writing has a rawness to it that brings the horrors of ordinary people's suffering to life. Another triumph.

The forgotten gift

 The Forgotten Gift

What would you do to protect the ones you love?

1861. George’s life changes forever the day he meets Lucy. She’s beautiful and charming, and he sees a future with her that his position as the second son in a wealthy family has never offered him. But when Lucy dies in a suspected poisoning days after rejecting George, he finds himself swept up into a murder investigation. George loved Lucy; he would never have harmed her. So who did?

Now. On the surface Cassie is happy with her life: a secure job, good friends, and a loving family. When a mysterious gift in a long-forgotten will leads her to a dark secret in her family’s history she’s desperate to learn more. But the secrets in Cassie’s family aren’t all hidden in the past, and her research will soon lead her to a revelation much closer to home – and which will turn everything she knows on its head…

Discover a family’s darkest secrets today. Perfect for fans of The Girl in the Letter, The Beekeeper’s Promise and The Forgotten Village!

Purchase Links 

UK –  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forgotten-Gift-Gripping-unputdownable-historical-ebook/dp/B08GHDTHWZ/

US - https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Gift-Gripping-unputdownable-historical-ebook/dp/B08GHDTHWZ/

Author Bio – 

Kathleen McGurl lives in Bournemouth with her husband. She has two sons who have both now left home. She always wanted to write, and for many years was waiting until she had the time. Eventually she came to the bitter realisation that no one would pay her for a year off work to write a book, so she sat down and started to write one anyway. Since then she has published several novels with HQ and self-published another. She has also sold dozens of short stories to women's magazines, and written three How To books for writers. After a long career in the IT industry she became a full time writer in 2019. 

Social Media Links – 

Website: https://kathleenmcgurl.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathleenMcGurl/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KathMcGurl

My Review

Kathleen Mcgurl has a talent for dual timelines. She avoids the danger of one story becoming more important than the other, as I found myself equally engaged in both George's and Cassie's stories. I love the idea of researching the past and wondering about the dark secrets that a forebear might have hidden. As always with a good story there are highs and lows, shocks and surprises, to keep the reader turning the page. Once again I was totally absorbed by this author's storytelling. Can thoroughly recommend.

Christmas at the Cornish Confetti Agency

 

Christmas at the Cornish Confetti Agency

It's Christmas at The Cornish Confetti Agency!

When Lexie Harrington is asked to choreograph Phoebe and Sam’s Christmas-themed wedding, she can’t wait to create the perfect winter wonderland - elegantly dressed fir trees, glossy garlands of holly and mistletoe, baskets of yule logs and pine cones, and the mouth-watering fragrance of gingerbread, cinnamon sticks and warm mulled wine floating through the air.

With handsome wedding columnist-cum-fledgling scriptwriter Theo Barker at her side, she’s confident that she can create the perfect festive ambience the bride and groom have been dreaming of since their engagement in the Swiss Alps; no rampant hosepipes, no mechanical mice, no confetti-filled hairdryers.

But this is The Cornish Confetti Agency, and the words ‘plain-sailing’ and ‘hassle-free’ do not feature in the promotional brochure. So, when a much-loved portrait of the groom’s father is adorned with pirate eye-patches and black plastic moustaches, and his expensive cologne is switched for toilet cleaner, Lexie and Theo must once again don their metaphorical deerstalkers and unravel the mystery before the wedding dissolves into Christmas-themed chaos and calamity.

A perfect Christmas wedding?
Is there such a thing for The Cornish Confetti Agency?

A glittery, feel-good story perfect for the festive season, and the third book in The Cornish Confetti Agency series.

Purchase Links 

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0892GV962

US  - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0892GV962

Author Bio – 

Daisy James loves writing stories with strong heroines and swift-flowing plotlines. She especially likes to create sunshine-filled settings in exotic locations - the Caribbean, Tuscany, Cornwall, Provence - so she can spend her time envisioning her characters enjoying the fabulous scenery and sampling the local food and drink.

When not scribbling away in her peppermint-and-green summerhouse (garden shed), she spends her time sifting flour and sprinkling sugar and edible glitter. She loves gossiping with friends over a glass of something fizzy or indulging in a spot of afternoon tea - china plates and teacups are a must.

Social Media Links – 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/daisyjamesbooks

Twitter - https://twitter.com/daisyjamesbooks

Instagram - @daisyjamesbooks

My Review

With lots of snowy descriptions and wintry treats, set against a backdrop of the gorgeous Cornish scenery, this is a perfect Christmas read. This book oozes with the scents of gingerbread, hot chocolate with cinnamon sticks and mulled wine, all so deliciously described that I would recommend the book for these alone. However, there is a mystery to solve that threatens to spoil the festive atmosphere and Lexie has to act quickly if she is to pull off the perfect Christmas wedding for her client. All in all a lovely read that will make you feel all Christmassy and no doubt have you searching for that last Christmas cookie to go with it.

The girl without a name

 September 1940. As the bombs of the Blitz fall on London, Ruby and Stevie are falling in love. United by a shocking experience when they were evacuees, Ruby believes that she understands Stevie like nobody else can. But then Stevie is sent abroad into danger and as Ruby waits, desperately, for letters with foreign stamps that never come, she begins to fear that he is lost forever.

August 2004. Billie has rushed to her father Dick’s hospital bedside. A terrible stroke has robbed him of his speech, and he is a shell of the man he was before. But when Billie finds a crumpled black and white photo in his wallet of a smiling, dark-haired girl she doesn’t recognise, Dick frantically tries to talk. Billie knows that he is trying to tell her something important, and she must ask the questions her father cannot. All she has to go on is the name he is just able to mumble. Ruby.

Billie tracks down Ruby’s aunt, her only surviving relative, and learns that Ruby’s life contained great love, but also great tragedy. Billie is determined to find out what happened to this brave woman, last seen leaving her home for a secret weekend away. Why did nobody miss her? And how is she connected to Billie’s beloved father? Can Billie lay the ghosts of the past to rest, even if it means revealing the darkest secrets of her father’s life and breaking her own heart?

A completely compelling and heartbreaking read, this is the story of the courage of a young woman in wartime and another woman’s quest to right the injustices of history. Fans of The Letter and The Nightingale will be hooked on The Girl Without a Name.  

Author Bio:

Following an eventful career as a public relations consultant, specialising in business and travel, Suzanne Goldring turned to writing the kind of novels she likes to read, about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Whether she is working in her thatched cottage in Hampshire or her seaside home in North Cornwall, Suzanne finds inspiration in the secrets hidden by everyday life.  

 https://suzannegoldring.wordpress.com/

https://twitter.com/suzannegoldring

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3kGjTKJ

Apple: https://apple.co/2ZE3rCo

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2WxpvwS

Google: https://bit.ly/32sA5cg

My Review

This dual timeline novel blends wartime history with present-day perfectly so that the reader becomes equally involved in both Ruby's story and Billie's search to find out more about her. I liked the way this story highlights the position of women in society and the hardships they had to endure. It would have been remarkable with the ending I expected but the twist makes it even more memorable and leaves the reader with a sense of satisfaction that I honestly wasn't expecting.