Happy Publication Day for Roman Mornings by Matson Taylor a compellingly witty and emotional summer read full of friendship and more… #bookreview by Lou @matson_taylor_ @simonschusterUK #RomanMornings #summerread #romanmornings

Roman Mornings
By Matson Taylor

review by Louise Cannon

Matson Taylor is back!!! His debut novel shot up the charts and introduced readers to Evie Epworth. His debut was the very funny and poignant The Miseducation of Evie Epworth with a strong follow-up, All About Evie, set in Yorkshire and London. Now, he has a new character and is transporting readers to Italy in his 3rd fabulous book, Roman Mornings.

Some books are worth their weight in gold, this is one of them. It was worth the wait and it, for me, came along at the best possible time. It’s one for cat lovers, the holiday adventurers, readers of Kate Atkinson and Sarah Winman and for those who just need a little healing and a spot of heartwarmth in their books.

It was a delightful surprise when an opportunity to review Roman Mornings landed in my inbox from Simon & Schuster. Check it out below the cover you can just walk into for a perfect summer escape and my review and blurb below.

Full of heartwarming wit and encounters as an adventure on a mint-green Vespa ensues to seek out hope and new way of living life.

Roman Mornings takes readers between 1952, Trastevere, Rome and 1976. The sense of place draws you into the old narrow streets, adding an air of intrigue and mystery and wonderment as to who lives in these crammed streets and what are their stories. This is when readers meet some rather interesting eccentric characters.
Clementine Severs is the main character, who in 1952, arrives with a certificate in teaching and a whole lot of idealism, enough to fill many Grecian urns, certainly more than realism. She has many hopes, dreams and an urn-full of spirit.

By 1976, times from those days of surviving through World War 2, she is wilting, she and readers are reminded we all need something fun and happy in our lives. For Clemmie, it comes in the form striking up an unlikely friendship with young carpenter, Mongomery Marsh and a journey to find new hope and new ways of living life.

They also meet a cat called Octavian, who, if you’re a cat-owner, is so recognisable in manner and behaviours right down to a whisker twitch. Readers can be right into this feline and understand exactly what it’s doing and thinking, just like how cats communicate with humans in real-life and in some mysterious way, we understand them. Octavian is a great cat character.

Well-observed, are the changing times in culture and how young and older people can be both seeking out something similar and also become friends. The writing style has you hanging on every word as, cleverly he ensures his reader is absolutely with them every bit of the way, through potholes, the surrounding scents, food and growing friendship.

Roman Mornings is immersive, full of universally, heartstring tugging and heartfelt relatable themes that are emotional yet also upbeat, full of humour, hope, poignancy, whilst encompassing some healing along the way.

Roman Mornings may well make you want to wake up in Rome. If you don’t find yourself in Italy, it still may we’ll have you wake up to searching for hope and a new life.

I highly recommend Roman Mornings for your summer read or anyone looking for a heartfelt pick-me-up, perhaps with your favourite Italian food and tipple.

Blurb

A glorious novel of hope and healing for fans of Armistead Maupin, Fredrik Backman, Kate Atkinson and Sarah Winman.

1952, Trastevere, Rome. An idyllic maze crammed full of narrow streets and eccentric characters. A young English woman, Clementine Severs, arrives armed with a teaching certificate and enough idealism to fill a host of Grecian urns.

By 1976, she finds herself wilting, her youthful dreams squashed by time and tide. A chance encounter between an angel and a speeding mint green Vespa brings her into contact with a troubled young carpenter called Montgomery Marsh. Clemmie and Monty forge an unlikely friendship that takes them on a magical ride through the Eternal City in search of fresh hope and a new way of living.

Fun, spirited and full of heart, Roman Mornings, like the city of Rome itself, is a novel of mysterious beauty that you will want to revisit time and time again.

#Review of Roman Mornings by Matson Taylor #bookreview by Lou @matson_taylor_ @simonschusterUK #RomanMornings

Roman Mornings
By Matson Taylor

review by Louise Cannon

Blurb

#Celebrations at the Toffee Factory by Glenda Young @flaming_nora @headlinepg #bookreview by Lou of a compelling trilogy #historicalfiction #CelebrationsAtTheToffeeFactory

Celebrations at the Toffee Factory
By Glenda Young

review by Louise Cannon

Join the toffee factory girls in their celebrations in what is a delightful final book in the trilogy by Glenda Young, who brings believable characters to life on the page for an immersive read. In a world of much technology, it occurs to me, and not many UK based factories left, she takes readers who know about factory life into something they can reminisce over, or compare to work today or introduce those who don’t know first or even second hand about certain time periods and that type of working life to that world.
Her books are well constructed and feel well researched. I feel this series could be made into a Sunday night tv drama. It has that feel to it.

The Toffee Factory Girls is set in the North East of England. Now WW1 has ended, we see, what in someways isn’t always considered, the toll the necessary rationing took on businesses. From that point, it is a refreshing look on this time period as we see Jack’s toffee factory struggling and you can’t but hope it survives, whether you have a sweet-tooth or not as from the first book to now, investment in this series was quickly established by the quality of writing and the characters created.

Both Elsie and Anne are so relatable. Elsie longs for freedom and a man to capture her heart and you can’t help but hope she finds someone who is good enough for her. Got to feel for Stan, who may just be what she needs, contradicting what she wants in spontaneous excitement. This complexity of human life is fascinating and universally relatable.
Hetty also has man trouble as to what she does when someone returns from the front and another may well leave for his home country. She is at a crossroads as to what to do for best.
Going back to Anne, her determination to keep the toffee factory going is admirable and shines through. She’s not one for letting someone emerging from Jack’s past to get in the way of her aspirations. You can’t help but root for her to find a way to success through all the tangled relationships.
What the question is, can they find more beyond the end of war times to celebrate?

Celebrations at the Toffee Factory is a fitting end to this compelling trilogy.

Blurb

Discover the gripping conclusion to Glenda Young’s Toffee Factory trilogy, set in a WWI toffee factory in the North-East!

The Great War has ended, but Jack’s toffee factory struggles after years of sugar rations and its troubles are far from over.

Fun, feisty Elsie longs for freedom and excitement. Hoping to meet the man of her dreams, she spurns the attention of dependable Stan. Will she realise that what she wants and what she needs are different things?

Efficient Anne takes control at the factory to change its fortunes after the war. She creates a new line of toffee. However, an unwelcome blast from Mr Jack’s past tries to jeopardise the factory’s success.

And Hetty is torn when her sweetheart Dirk prepares to leave for his hometown in Belgium. At the same time, her old boyfriend Bob returns from the Front, determined to marry her. Who will Hetty choose?

As the toffee factory girls celebrate the end of the war, they are more determined than ever to face the future with courage and hope.

#Review of The Castle of Stories by Matt Cain like The Durrells meets Italy @MattCainWriter #TheCastleofStories #Bookreview by Lou #holidayread #summer

The Castle of Stories
By Matt Cain

review by Louise Cannon

If you’re a fan of The Durrells or Italy or just seeking something where you can escape into pretty countryside to discover all it holds then delve into the Castle of Stories and see what emerges.

Adam is 45 and unexpectedly inherits a rundown farmhouse and castle in Tuscany from a great uncle he doesn’t know existed. It seems mysterious, but all seems above board. Bravely he undertakes all the renovation work. It’s quite a leap of faith and courage as Tuscany is rather far from Manchester, where he had a job that he quits.

His boyfriend, Theo joins him as he is now newly divorced from his wife and he ends up having to take his kids for the summer. The children’s moods are understandably cooler than the Tuscan temperatures towards Theo. They’ve had their lives turned upside down in a way that’s changed everything they thought they knew and understood in their family dynamics.
It’s interesting to see how that plays out as time moves onwards.

Castle of Stories is heartwarming as it immerses you into the Tuscan sunshine and changes in the characters lives.

What becomes apparent is the quality of the storytelling and writing that you can tell comes somewhere from the soul. There’s something quite palpable that emerges.

If you enjoyed The Darrell’s, this is one for you.

Blurb

Modern Family meets The Durrells in this life-affirming, poignant and evocative novel set against the idyllic beauty of the Tuscan countryside.

Stories don’t always unfold the way you expect them to…

When 45-year-old Adam inherits a rundown farmhouse and castle in Tuscany from a great uncle he didn’t know existed, he quits his job in Manchester to renovate the property. He’s thrilled his boyfriend of two years, newly divorced and out-of-the-closet Theo, is joining him. But Theo’s ex-wife says she can’t take their children for the summer, so they come too. As the temperature rises, so does the tension. The kids are hostile to Adam, immune to the beauty of the rural location – and scared of the resident lizards.

As Adam explores the crumbling walls of the castle and sorts through his uncle’s possessions, he discovers some dark family secrets. But could they finally allow him to break free from the pain of the past, start building a new family and open a life of queer joy?

THE CASTLE OF STORIES is a moving, heartwarming and uplifting novel about modern family in all its forms, what it means to love, and the importance of understanding your own story.

#Review of The Boy in the Photo by Hilly Barmby #HillyBarmby @HobeckBooks #psychologicalthriller

The Boy in the Photo
By Hilly Barmby

The Boy in the Photo is an incredible psychological thriller. If you like Gillian Flynn and/or Freida McFadden this is one I highly recommend you pick up.

When is a car accident perhaps not so clear cut? When events happen that bring about other suspicions.

Kaz Emmerson, her brother Mark and sister Livy are devastated when their parents both die in a car crash. You can’t help but feel the emotion and the hardship of trying to re-discover and rebuild life after the funeral. Livy is married and has a child, so that’s where her energies go, as well as escaping for a holiday with her best friend to Spain, where it’s all sun and sangria. It can be a small world at times as they discover when they meet Ryan, who happens to live close-by in the UK. Both start to build a connection and find him handsome.
Mark buries himself in work, but also re-emerging at certain points to try and rebuild and maintain his social life. So far, so normal.

When the 3 siblings meet in a lawyers office, everything changes. The pace and suspense increases and the twists start to appear as things don’t all add up. A mysterious photo emerges and someone is oddly taking photos around the property. What feels normal to begin with becomes darker as the unexpected of events occur.
The intrigue runs deep as does a sense of uneasiness when it becomes apparent that you don’t know who can be trusted and who cannot. That feeling can be deeply felt within the various big emotions that weave themselves into this story as everything that was once hidden away or glued together unravels and there could be someone out to cause destruction.

The Boy in the Photo is revealing about how precarious some aspects of life can be. What it can be to have everything feel certain and then discover strange things later on.

Hilly Barmby has written a page-turner of a psychological thriller that hooks and grabs in an immersive sense throughout.

Blurb

This unbelievably twisty read will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves Freida McFadden and Gillian Flynn won’t be able to put down The Boy in the Photo!

Kaz Emmerson, brother Mark and sister Livy are devastated after the death of their parents in a car crash. Surely it was just a terrible accident, wasn’t it?

After the funeral, the three try to rebuild their lives as best they can. Livy turns her focus on her husband and young son. Mark immerses himself in work and rebuilding his social life. Kaz escapes the pain with bestie Elise, taking off to Spain for a couple of weeks for sun, sand and sangria.

While on holiday, Kaz and Elise chance upon the mysterious and handsome Ryan. They both like him. As it turns out, he lives rather close to home and when they return to the UK they meet up. But who will he pick?

The three siblings gather with their family lawyer who leaves them with a deep sense of unease. What is he not telling them? Curious, Kaz ploughs into the family paperwork stored in the attic of their parents’ grand country home. After a shocking discovery, she is embroiled in a family mystery that threatens to unravel everything. Who exactly is the boy in the photo with their father? Why is there a man sneaking around their garden taking photos? When more horrifying things happen, who can they trust? Is there someone who will stop at nothing to destroy them?

#Review of Octagon by C.J. Merritt – A Gripping Espionage Thriller Published Today! #Octagon #ChrisMerritt @MichaelJBooks #Thriller #SpyThriller #politicalthriller #crimethriller

Octagon
By C.J. Merritt

review written by Louise Cannon

Octagon is rather different for C.J. Merritt in that it isn’t psychological, it’s a fast-paced politcal/espionage thriller that’s also very much worth picking up and reading. The quality of writing and story-telling is just as high as any other book he has written previously. Today, I have a review and blurb on publication day for Octagon, thanks to Michael J. Books.

There are secrets, confessions and murders galore. A Russian Scientist, practically on his deathbed has a deep, dark confession to make. There is also a murdered spy, a ritual killing and a former MI6 Agent Runner and former SAS Operator to get to know. There are a mix of backdrops of calm, including English countryside and Swedish forest to be lured into, but hang on tight, there is a lot of action in this tightly written plot. Readers are taken on a big high octane, big stakes journey as Octagon, the name of a plot against the West, which if pulled off in its entirety, will have devastating consequences.

Stella McCrae left MI6 on not exactly the best of terms and set up an investigation company, which unfortunately struggles. Fortunately she finds herself deep in a rather dark mystery to solve and that’s where Tommy Kane, internally, a complex man, comes in with just the expertise and experience she needs to really get going on the case. There is also Hoss who Stella set up the company with. Each of them have differing, but complimentary skill sets. It’s interesting to watch how they relate to each other within their professional capacity and work.
They are up against time to stop plot Octagon from becoming a horrific reality and someone instrumental to it is already on a key train.

Octagon is so fast-paced with unexpected twists and turns and depth that it’s easy to find yourself racing along to discover where it takes you next and which direction it ends in.

For a thriller that takes you on an unexpected journey of high danger, intriguing characters and a compelling plot, I highly recommend Octagon.