Yvonne
Showcasing this latest little selection of books, added to my virtual reading shelf, which has now become a TBR mountain in its own right!
This group are already scheduled for review, so not to panic too much!
This is another of those ‘right place, right time’ events for me. A NetGalley ‘read now’ opportunity, which I couldn’t resist
THE SKYLARK’S SECRET by FIONA VALPY
Loch Ewe, 1940. When gamekeeper’s daughter Flora’s remote highland village finds itself the base for the Royal Navy’s Arctic convoys, life in her close-knit community changes forever. In defiance of his disapproving father, the laird’s son falls in love with Flora, and as tensions build in their disrupted home, any chance of their happiness seems doomed.
Decades later, Flora’s daughter, singer Lexie Gordon, is forced to return to the village and to the tiny cottage where she grew up. Having long ago escaped to the bright lights of the West End, London still never truly felt like home. Now back, with a daughter of her own, Lexie learns that her mother—and the hostile-seeming village itself—have long been hiding secrets that make her question everything she thought she knew.
As she pieces together the fragments of her parents’ story, Lexie discovers the courageous, devastating sacrifices made in her name. It’s too late to rekindle her relationship with her mother, but can Lexie find it in her heart to forgive the past, to grieve for all that’s lost, and finally find her place in the world?
A complimentary copy of this book, for review, arrived thanks to the lovely Sarah, representing Bookouture, via the excellent team at NetGalley
THE NIGHT AWAY by JESS RYDER
Their baby was supposed to be mine…
No relationship is perfect. But since the birth of baby Mabel, seven months ago, Amber and George have been in desperate need of a night away. Mabel is all that Amber has ever wanted but she can’t deny that sometimes she struggles to cope. George has booked them into a luxury hotel and Amber’s sister is babysitting. Yet just as they are ready to leave, Amber can’t suppress a feeling of worry…
Amber is right to be anxious. Because as she and George sip cocktails at the hotel bar, what she doesn’t know is that her little girl is in terrible danger. Somebody has been following her every move, taking note of her habits. Somebody who desperately wants a child of their own. Somebody who believes that Mabel is supposed to be theirs.
When Amber’s sister reports that Mabel’s cot is empty, Amber’s world implodes. She knows that if her baby is not found, she will never forgive her sister.
But Amber also has a secret, hidden from those she loves. Is the only person who knows the truth out to make her pay? Amber will do whatever it takes to get her daughter back… but could her lies have put her little girl at risk?
A complimentary copy of this book, for review, arrived thanks to the lovely Sarah, representing Bookouture, via the excellent team at NetGalley
MY ONLY CHILD by SAM VICKERY
There he is, my baby boy. His eyes are closed, his tiny rosebud mouth is pursed in sleep. My eyes well up as I catch a whiff of his newborn skin and I swallow back a wave of emotion. I should feel happy, I should feel grateful, but all I can think about is everything I just lost…
It’s a miracle when Katherine’s baby boy Jamie is born healthy. He had such a slim chance of survival, and Katherine’s husband Davis and her mother Hazel are relieved to finally hold him in their arms. But then Katherine is told she can’t have any more children, and she can’t bear to tell Hazel what else she and Davis lost in order to save Jamie.
Jamie’s twin sister didn’t survive and, even as Katherine nestles Jamie’s body into hers, she feels like something is missing. As weeks turn into months, she is desperate for Davis to agree to adopt a sibling for Jamie. But Davis is concerned that Katherine isn’t coping, and even Hazel, unaware of the true depth of Katherine’s grief, can see that the pressure she is putting on herself is pushing her to breaking point.
Katherine won’t give up on the chance to have more children, no matter how challenging an adoption might be. But then Hazel reveals a devastating secret that changes everything Katherine thought she knew about her own childhood. And she realises that in her pursuit of another child, she could lose the family she has fought so hard to save…
…
Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share links to the books that came into their house during the last week.
This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well, after all you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!
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I love when a netgalley now calls out to me. I hope you enjoy it and the other new books.!
Hi Mary,
I think we all like to ‘win’ things, so those NetGalley words “read now for the first … readers”, are like music to my ears! When in reality, it is all down to luck and being in the right place at exactly the right time!
I have actually just finished one of the books, which earned 4 stars from me, but I’m not going to say which one just yet!
Thanks for stopping by and have a peaceful week 🙂
You received three terrific books this week. I like the sound of all of them. I hope they are all great reads for you.
Hi Veronica,
Two great psychological thrillers, although they both involve young children, which might make them a bit of a harrowing read, and a lovely World War Two story, which really captured my imagination.
I hope that you have some great reading ahead this week and thanks for stopping by 🙂
I’ve recently read three WWII novels one after the other. I do love them but I like to mix it up with some romance and thrillers. I will be adding The Skylark’s Secret to my TBR as it sounds like something I would enjoy.
I like to mix up my reading genres too, although until now, that has also been quite a narrow choice.
I have recently read a couple of romcoms, which is quite unusual for me though and I have just added a humorous fiction story to my list, which will be a challenge!
Perhaps I am getting more daring in my old age!
I shall look forward to seeing what you think of ‘The Skylark’s Secret’ 🙂
My goodness – these sound like three intense books.
It tempts me to visit NetGalley.
Happy Reading!
Hi Martha,
Oh Yes! NetGalley can become very addictive, although they do expect quite a high return rate of reviews in exchange for all the freebie downloads. They make that quite easy though by automatically posting your review to Twitter and Goodreads too!
Most of my titles I have to request from the publisher, however I am auto-approved by a couple of publishers, so that’s quite nice.
A great selection of varied genres are generally available, however I always enjoy a good thriller, which is what a couple of these are, so I’m all set up for a while now.
Thanks for visiting and I hope that all is good with you 🙂
The Skylark’s Secret is the one that appeals. I like these two time-line plotlines, especially if one of them is WW2. And Scotland. What’s not to love about a book set in Scotland? 🙂
Hi Cath,
I though that one might appeal to you and it is still available to request on NetGalley.
I really like that Loch Ewe is a real place and it looks really beautiful, although perhaps a little too remote for me and it is mostly Gaelic speaking, so maybe not very easy to fit into the community!
It will be interesting to be able to compare notes about this one 🙂
The Night Away sounds good to me. Hope you enjoy it and your other books, have a great week!
Hi Kay,
I have to admit that I am running quite a tight schedule with a couple of these books, so I have actually just finished reading ‘The Night Away’.
My review is to be published as part of the Blog Tour for the book and that happens at the beginning of November, so I can’t say too much until then.
I have awarded it 4 Goodreads stars out of 5, if that’s any help and I had to have the culprit revealed to me, so well was it written, with so may twists and turns. If it had been left to me, I would have had just about the entire cast in handcuffs before I got it right!!
Thanks for stopping by, it is lovely to touch base with you and I hope that you are keeping well 🙂
Fantastic books, I love a good thriller. The Night Away and My Only Child sound really good. Look forward to reading your reviews of them both.
Hi Sarah,
Welcome to Fiction Books, it is great to ‘meet’ you! I always look forward to receiving and always appreciate comments. Without everyone’s support things just wouldn’t be the same 🙂
I have quite eclectic tastes in my reading and both my real and virtual shelves are a really good mix up of genres. The only two genres I don’t really enjoy are science fiction and fantasy, although I have read one or two fantasy stories and quite liked them, but only as an exception to the rule!
I do enjoy a good murder mystery / psychological thriller, but I am wondering just where the genre is heading when all possible storylines have been exhausted, as the marketplace is becoming rather overcrowded with books right now!
Both of the books you mention, I am reading for Blog Tour Review posts, and those are happening on November 2nd and 4th, so not too long to wait!
Have a peaceful week 🙂
You have an emotionally charged trio of books here! Each is different and sounds interesting in its own way, so I’m not sure which appeals to me the most. I’ll admit the last one has me fairly curious.
Hi Kelly,
Funny you should pick ‘My Only Child’ out from the crowd, as I just started reading it today, ready for a Blog Tour review at the beginning of November.
Right now I don’t really know what to think about it, as I feel as though I have been through the wringer and hung out to dry and that’s after only the first 30% of pages!
Don’t get me wrong, this one is totally character driven at the moment and the writing is of amazing quality, however the emotional rollercoaster journey is almost too much and the storyline itself has me in bits.
You’ll have to await my final thoughts, as I don’t have any spare slots on the meme days, to share any extracts for this one!
Unless something goes drastically awry with the rest of the book, I shall definitely be recommending it – with a supply of tissues of course!! 🙂
Nice books. One Night Away sounds fascinating and frightening all at the same time.
Thanks for sharing. Hope you enjoy your new reads.
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Hi Cheryl,
Because I am a very tight reading schedule for Blog Tour Review commitments, I have already managed to power my through ‘One Night Away’ and made a start on ‘My Only Child’
‘One Night Away’ gets 4 out of 5 stars from me, although I can’t reveal too much until my early November post. I can say that this one has a quite frightening scenario, with some very creepy narrative. However the characters didn’t make me want to like or feel sorry for them at all, even the victims! Author Jess Ryder really gave them all some first rate scripts!
Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate your comments and support 🙂