BOOK REVIEW - Dear Dad by Giselle Green

TITLE - Dear Dad

AUTHOR - Giselle Green

Handsome, 28-year old, Nate Hardman is a frontline reporter with a big problem. Suffering from shell-shock and unable to leave his house, he’s already lost his social life and his girlfriend. Now his career prospects are sinking fast.

9 year-old Adam Boxley who lives alone with his ageing nan, also has big problems. Neglected at home and bullied at school, he’s desperate to reach out to his dad – and that’s when he sends his first letter to Nate. Only Nate’s not who he thinks he is. Will he help? More importantly – can he?

Across town meanwhile, caring but impulsive teacher Jenna Tierney really wants to help Adam - except the feisty redhead has already had enough of teaching. Recently hurt by yet another cheating boyfriend, Jenna’s now set her sights on pursuing a dream career abroad ... only she’s about to meet Nate - her dream man who’ll make her re-think everything. 

The big question is; can three people desperate to find love, ever find happiness when they’re only connected by one big lie?  

MY REVIEW

I was looking for a light hearted, heartwarming read for a change. I'm usually a crime thriller type of girl. I was assured this book would tick all the boxes and from the blurb I thought it may well do. 

 I instantly warmed to Nate Hardman, feeling sorry for him and the situation he had been put in. When the letter turned up I was intrigued and this is how the book kept me all the way through.

I wanted to pick up little Adam and give him a big hug and tell him everything was going to be alright. I really connected with this little guy and I think it's down to the way the author really draws you into the story  and makes you connect with all the characters in the book.

The book did make you wish that Social Services would be as efficient as they were made out to be in this book and that things relating to child welfare would run so smoothly.  I won't say more because of spoiling the story.

There are many heart wrenching aspects to this story but you are really pulled in and it's hard to put the book down.  You may shed a tear if you're an old softy like me.

It is as I thought a great heart warming read. A great feel good book.

About the Author

Giselle Green was born in the UK but grew up in Gibraltar, where she has extensive family. Her debut novel, Pandora's Box, won the Romantic Novelists' Association New Writer's Award in 2008. Her third novel, A Sister's Gift, went to number one on the Amazon Kindle chart in 2012. She lives in Kent with her husband and their six sons.

www.Gisellegreen.com



"Wonder Cruise" by Ursula Bloom - Plus Guest blog post - My holiday read

Those who know me really well, know I love two things a lot (apart from My Husband and my cats), books and holidays! Well I am off on a road trip of the USA in a few days time and I wanted a travel inspired book to read that was nice and light hearted, to read on the plane. Who better to offer me a great read other than Ursula Bloom. This is her new book, Wonder Cruise, released on the 15th April. She was kind enough to do a blog post feature for me too. I'll be reviewing the book when I'm home and doing a blog post about my holiday. I am a bookalicious traveladdict after all. Please take a read ........

Wonder Cruise by Ursula Bloom
A witty, heartwarming read with great romantic and comic characters. This warm, feel-good tale will make you smile, and you’ll be rooting for Ann to find lasting love and happiness. A moving portrait of an unforgettable 1930’s woman; Ann Clements will stay with you long after the last page.

Ann Clements is thirty-five and single, and believes nothing exciting will ever happen to her. Then, she wins a large sum of money in a sweepstake and suddenly can dare to dream of a more adventurous life. She buys a ticket for a Mediterranean cruise, against the wishes of her stern brother, the Rev. Cuthbert, who has other ideas about how she should spend her windfall. Ann steps out of the shadows of her mundane life into the heat of the Mediterranean sun. Travelling to Gibraltar, Marseilles, Naples, Malta and Venice, Ann’s eyes are opened to people and experiences far removed from her sheltered existence in the offices at Henrietta Street, and Mrs. Puddock’s lodging house. As Ann blossoms, discovering love and passion for the very first time, the biggest question is, can there be any going back?

‘Brightly told and very readable.’ Woman’s Journal

‘… with every book she adds something to her reputation … related with all Miss Bloom’s liveliness and easy skill.’ Daily Telegraph

‘Ursula Bloom writes in a delightful way, with a deep understanding of human nature and a quick eye for the humorous things in life. Wonder Cruise … is one of the most entertaining novels we have read for a long time.’ Cambridge Daily News

‘Vividly entrancing.’ Scotsman

‘She has always been able to tell a story … Miss Bloom is to be heartily congratulated.’ Everyman

GUEST POST


You and Your Holiday by Ursula Bloom

One of the most annoying things in this life is that other people always return from their holidays declaring that they have spent quite the most marvellous time, and you yourself always seem to get landed with a tragic failure! Either these people are luckier than you are (which I beg to doubt) or they are more untruthful. Nobody likes to confess to the failure of a holiday; everybody likes to brag about the fun it has been and the wild success of that glorious fortnight. But they are not essentially truthful.
If you are honest, then you can probably only admit to one really marvellous holiday in your whole

life. I am not including the ones of your childhood when naturally they were always glorious and always a success. You need more as you grow older, for your standards are higher. I can only produce one truly marvellous holiday (a cruise to Norway in S.S. Orontes), and that is being honest. It hardly seems the qualification for writing this, when you come to think about it, but it is because I feel the tragedy of all those misspent holidays that I’ve got to do something about it.

So here we are!


We look forward to the precious holiday of a fortnight for weeks; we talk about it for weeks afterwards, trying to lend it some of the brightness it never really had, but when we look into our own hearts, most of us have to admit that the whole thing fell very far short of expectation.



And why?

Possibly we approached that holiday without giving it due consideration and forethought. I am convinced that the really entrancing holiday does not drop into your lap by accident; it has to be well planned. Possibly the venture was ruined because, although the place was well chosen and the weather propitious, loneliness crept into the picture, and loneliness in itself will ruin any venture of any kind, and anywhere. Or it may have been the right place but at the wrong time of year, and you went on the recommendation of a friend who had enjoyed it enormously, but had gone at the right time, which you never took into account.

Are you surprised when you really come to think about it? Of course you can’t be.

The key to a successful holiday is to know what you are seeking, and what you expect to get from it. The attitude of “ Really, I don’t mind where I go, or what I do, as long as it is a good holiday,” is quite a fatal one. Here is a questionnaire to help you, and I suggest that you are scrupulously truthful in your replies to each question, because those replies are the stepping stones to a really good time.



What do you actually want?

    Do you want a rest?
    A lively and well-entertained time?
    Do you want complete relaxation and peace?
    Are you seeking lovely scenery?
    Bracing air?
    Relaxing air?
    Do you want to meet a lot of new young friends?
    Or are you seeking older people?
    Do you want golf and tennis?
    Just a country holiday with games?
    Pleasant single companionship?
    Solitude?
    Or a love affair?



The point is that you will never get what you want unless you know what you want. Decide upon your essential need, because if you blind yourself to this, calamity has already overtaken your holiday and it may be utterly ruined from the outset.

So many people go away for a holiday, forgetful of the fact that change of conditions and climate can wreak havoc with the tummy, which immediately refuses to behave. They then fly to the other extreme and make themselves ill with dosing. Never take immediate strenuous exercise if used to a sedentary life, work up slowly to it.

Provided that you have made proper plans, and are taking the holiday seriously, it ought to be the happiest you have ever had.

I hope so.



Ursula Bloom
Bestselling author Ursula Bloom wrote over 500 books (her first when she was only 7 years old), a feat which earned her a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. She also wrote short stories, and radio and stage plays. Ursula was chief crime reporter for a national newspaper at a time when few women worked as Fleet Street journalists, and was also the agony aunt for a weekly magazine, and beauty editor for Woman's Own! Her books are now being reissued in paperback, and published as ebooks for the first time, starting with her witty holiday romance "Wonder Cruise". Ann Clements leaves behind her dull life to take a Mediterranean cruise, where she discovers more about life, love and herself.



http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wonder-Cruise-romantic-adventure-lifetime-ebook/dp/B01CWCD5UA

www.ursulabloom.com

BOOK REVIEW - The Thursday Night Club - Steven Manchester - A great short read

TITLE - The Thursday Night Club

AUTHOR - Steven Manchester

LENGTH - 152 pages

SYNOPSIS

Five college friends, three men and two women, have been getting together every Thursday night to share humble meals and an abundance of laughter. But when tragedy takes one of them, leaving the others to question the fairness of life, the Thursday Night Club decides to embark on a contest in the memory of the generous spirit of their fallen brother. The objective of the contest is simple: whoever performs the kindest deed by Christmas night wins the pot – four quarters. And there are only two conditions: the benevolent deed must be anonymous, and it cannot cost a single penny to pull off.

As the four friends undertake the contest, the healing begins and they become inspired beyond their expectations. There might be a winner in this competition, but it is very clear there will be no losers.

A story of Christmas spirit that will strike a chord in your heart any time of year, The Thursday Night Club will make you look at the holiday season in new ways

MY BOOK REVIEW

This is the second emotional read for me from this author within the space of a few weeks. He knows how to get the tears flowing. 

This is a short read but the author has certainly packed an awful lot into it, and I honestly think it's one of the best short reads I've actually read. 

Its a story of five friends, who, as the title suggests, get together on a Thursday Night every week. Suddenly, something happens to one of them, which leaves just four. Rather than just sit back and dwell on what has happened, they decide that they must each do something to honour their friend and there are a couple of conditions, one of them is that it can't cost anything to do. It becomes a competition between them all.

It is amazing what they come up with and very heart warming and inspires you to want to do something similar. I won't include spoilers as it really would spoil this heart warming read. 

The relationship that the author has written between all the friends is very honest and you warm to each character instantly. This is one of those reads that I couldn't put down as I couldn't wait to find out what each of the friends came up with. 

Thoroughly recommend and a great quick read.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steven Manchester is the author of the #1 bestsellers, Twelve Months and The Rockin' Chair. He is also the author of the award-winning novel, Goodnight, Brian, as well as the critically-acclaimed novel, Pressed Pennies, A Christmas Wish (Kindle exclusive), Wilbur Avenue (novella), Just in Time (novella), The Thursday Night Club (novella, released November 2014) and Gooseberry Island (novel, released January 2015).

His work has appeared on NBC's Today Show, CBS's The Early Show, CNN's American Morning and BET's Nightly News. Three of Steven's short stories were selected "101 Best" for Chicken Soup for the Soul series. When not spending time with his beautiful wife, Paula, or their four children, this Massachusetts author is promoting his works or writing. Visit: www.StevenManchester.com

Please check out my recent review of Steven Manchester's Gooseberry Island.
Click here