prettylittlewriter

This book was the loveliest celebration of life and of death wrapped in one.

Our lovely MC Florence has her fair share of heartbreak in this novel, from losing her father, to her vile ex who stole her life and memories, and then to top it off, her new editor who had potential to be something more.

After the shit meeting Florence has with her new editor regarding the half-finished manuscript, she goes on a night out with her best friend Rose, and she ends up bumping into her ex who destroyed her belief in romance, and then her new editor Benji ends up in front of her too! Just when you think she’s going to perhaps find her love for romance again after a little smooch with Benji, she gets an earth shattering call from her mum.

Upon returning to her hometown after her Father’s death, Florence has some figuring out to do, mainly in the way of what the hell she’s going to do about this half completed manuscript she needs to finish for Anne Nichols, the author she is ghost writing for. As planning her Father’s funeral gets underway (he has some very specific instructions for it, including Elvis!) editor Benji rocks up to cause even more chaos.

Ghost Benji isn’t sure why he’s still around, and what unfinished business he may have, and Florence believes it’s to help her finish the manuscript, but as she has no motivation for completing it at the present moment, Benji is just there to help her through this incredibly difficult time, and he becomes a source of comfort for Florence quite quickly.

I love that both Florence and her Father had the gift of being able to see and communicate with ghosts, it was a really special bond between them, but I must admit I was waiting for her Father to also pop up at some point as a ghost to offer her some Fatherly advice.

I managed to guess the twist to this story quite early on, as I picked up on something that best friend Rose, DIDN’T say, along with a couple of other hints from Poston about it, which I really enjoyed seeing play out. The only thing that upset me a little was how late on in the novel that this happens, as I would have liked more scenes from ‘after’ between Florence and Ben.

The relationship between Florence & Ben was the sweetest development. With Ben being a ghost, it was quite heart-breaking watching them both start to fall for each other, when they knew they couldn’t ever really be together, even if Ben managed to stick around as a ghost (although it didn’t stop them from having a couple of very sexy encounters; Ben certainly has a way with words!). Although they knew they couldn’t be together properly, they were both there for each other in the best ways they could be, especially Ben for Florence, as he became a beacon of light for her whilst she was wading through the depths of despair surrounding her Father’s death.

Florence’s ex Lee was the most infuriating character ever. I HATED him for destroying so much of her life, including her belief that she would ever find love again. So seeing his novel based on her life being published almost led me to throwing the book across the room a few times! I really wanted karma to come along and bite him in the ass.

Seeing Florence come back together with her remaining family was lovely, her relationship with her sister albeit complicated, was filled with so much love, that it was nice to see them find their way back to each other. The dynamics of the family were very different, with them also basically living and breathing death due to running a funeral home, it was nice to see them celebrating life in different ways, including dancing around the morgue to her Father’s favourite CD. It was a breath of fresh air.

There was a lot of love within the story, not just between Florence and Ben and her family, but also from friends around her. Although she had been away from her hometown for many years, the relationships she had with certain people in the town, including Dana and their partner John, were still very much in play, with some lovely interactions between them.

I also love that the Mayor was a dog! This was a very cute addition to the story.

There were quite a few pop culture name drops within the story (other authors mainly) and also my fav Taylor Swift, which I also really enjoyed.

This review is probably very scatty, I’m struggling to cohesively put one together as I just have so many random thoughts about it, but overall I really did love it and would highly recommend it to anyone that loves a rom-com with a difference. The only reason I’m not rating this 5/5 stars is I just wish the resolution of the story happened sooner, so we had a few more interactions between Florence & Ben afterwards.

4/5 stars

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?’

This book had me hooked from start to finish! It was so good!

Pippa is the best MC, confident in her ability and not afraid to go against the grain. She’s also incredibly bubbly and I loved this about her! She definitely gets it from her family, as they are also incredibly fun and I loved her Dad!

When she begins her investigation for her school project, she starts off by visiting Sal’s family, and actually bonds with Ravi, Sal’s brother, and they team up as a double act to solve the case.

I was unsure how this was going to pan out, as one, she’s a teenage girl, how can she really expect to solve a murder that was an open and shut case with the police? And two, I just couldn’t picture what had really happened. There were multiple suspects for the murder of Andie, and let’s be honest, we don’t blame any of them as she seemed to be a complete bitch! But I found it incredibly difficult to pinpoint who I thought it was going to be. This is a sign of a brilliant mystery though, as it’s not quite as thrilling when you can guess who it was!

There were so many twists and turns, one minute you think it’s Andie’s dad, then maybe it was Sal? But then you’re back to another suspect because Pippa has discovered some new evidence. It honestly was incredibly well written, and I enjoyed that it was split into Pippa’s notes for her school work as well as the main story, as we got to see Pippa’s thought process whilst analysing the information she’d found.

There also wasn’t any waffling, I find that some murder mystery books can bombard you with lots of descriptive stuff to create atmosphere, but this was just bam, bam, bam with something new! It might be as it’s a YA novel, but I certainly enjoyed this more as it kept me wanting to read more.

I honestly can’t fault this novel in any way.

If you’re a fan of YA crime, then PLEASE read this! It was brilliant, and straight after I’d finished it, I ordered the next two books! Highly recommend!

5/5 stars

 

I cannot believe how this ended. Thank you Stephanie for making me so desperate for the next book that I don’t think I’ll survive the wait!!

Ballad starts right where Broken Heart left off, Evangeline having been betrayed by Jacks and feeling alone.

The entire story is Evangeline deciding whether to help Jacks open the Valory Arch, and locating the stones that are required for this. With new curses put upon Evangeline and Apollo, she is eventually persuaded to help. She has no idea what will happen when the Arch is opened, or why Jacks wants to open it up, but she goes along with it in the hopes there will be something within the Arch that can save Apollo.

Now, I will say this. Evangeline actually irritates me quite a bit. Jacks is mean, manipulative and deceitful, yet she is constantly finding a reason to still care for him and want to be with him. I understand that the enemies to lovers trope is massive (I enjoy it myself too) however, her need to find a tiny shred of humanity within him is just infuriating. Apart from saving her life a couple of times, he treats her very shitty and I just don’t think he deserves it. I think I’d much rather her end up with Apollo or even Luc at the moment (but I think we can all agree that that’s not where this story is going!)

Stephanie’s writing is just so brilliantly done, she keeps you hooked right from the start, and after every chapter you find yourself saying, ‘just one more’ until you’ve actually finished the book without realising! It also helped that none of the chapters were ridiculously long (I like them short and snappy!).

Each individual character is incredibly interesting, from LaLa to Chaos, I wanted to know more about them and their pasts, and some unexpected characters were involved quite a lot too, which I enjoyed. Chaos was especially interesting, and his story takes a turn I did not expect!

I love the ideas within the book, including the story curse, that changes all stories after each time they’ve been read, so the truth can never really be revealed. It’s very cleverly done.

Without going into the storyline too much as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone that has yet to read Ballad, I think it’s a brilliant sequel with some great twists and turns, and the ending shocked me TO THE CORE.

I now desperately need to read book #3 to find out how Evangeline’s story is going to end!

 ps. how beautiful is the fairyloot edition?!

5/5 stars

 Synopsis
‘Beverley Wilson has always loved the Beatles but kissing a poster goodnight isn’t really an option when you’re a fifty-something mum of three. So when she decides it’s time to get back into the dating game, she turns to a dating agency for help.
But the long and winding road to real love is littered with dating disasters – the pantyhose pervert being the real low point and in Bev’s opinon it’s all too much. But meeting fellow Beatles fan Scott Smith changes everything…’

The pure nostalgia in this novel is incredible. If you’re a Beatles fan, or from Liverpool, this will be a delight!

When Suzan offered to send me a copy of her first novel, I was very excited as I love anything that surrounds music and dating. But I had no idea just how hilarious the book was going to be! There are some absolutely hilarious anecdotes from Beverley, and I just loved her passion for her Beatles, especially Paul!

As someone who admires and loves a couple of celebrities TO DEATH, I understand her passion!

I loved that Beverley was over 50; there certainly aren’t enough books out there written from that perspective, so it was very refreshing! She is a wonderful and hilarious person, with an unintentional comedic personality, that I just kept giggling to myself throughout.

Poor Bev had been through the ringer; her life is turned upside down by not one, but two traumatic events within the novel, and you really do feel terrible for her!

Without going into too much detail as I wouldn’t wish to spoil it for any potential readers, but I will say that I am certainly glad she manages to have a happy ending, even if the journey was a bit of a Helter Skelter!

A special little cameo from Sir Paul McCartney himself was also a lovely little treat!

Overall I thought this was a lovely, heart-warming and hilarious novel full of quips and brilliantly clever references to The Beatles throughout! I'm looking forward to reading Suzan's next novel, that has recently been published, Rock 'n' Rose. 

4/5 stars

 Synopsis
‘Two lives are about to be changed by one phone call...
When Davey misdials Hannah's number, at first they think nothing of it.
After all, Davey lives in Texas and Hannah lives in London.
But when Davey gets a job in London, their paths are sure to cross. As messaging turns to video calling, this feels like the start of something.
Weeks later, Hannah is waiting for Davey at the airport, but he never walks into Arrivals.
When Hannah finds out why, her world is turned on its head. And with their future so uncertain, each must pick up the pieces of their lives.

Will fate intervene once more to bring them together? Or will Davey always be the man that Hannah never met?’

This is such a unique romantic story that I absolutely loved throughout, and I was so invested in Davey and Hannah’s relationship from the start!

The main antagonistic storyline within this novel is quite a hard-hitting topic, and if you struggle with reading novels that surround life or death medical issues, then this may not be the book for you.

When things started to get in the way of Hannah and Davey’s romance, I was aching for things to hurry the hell up and let them be together; they were just so perfect for one another!

Hannah’s character was very relatable, I found parts of myself within her, which helped me empathise with her and the struggles she was going through throughout the book. Davey is the perfect book boyfriend, someone who you wish was a real person (or that men could at least learn from in real life!!) and I was really heartbroken for him when his life was turned upside down.

I also loved the side characters, Miranda, Paul and Joan specifically, were great additions and made me feel all warm and fuzzy that Hannah had such amazing friends and family around her.

I liked George at the beginning of the novel, when he and Hannah first started out, but then he soon starts to show his true colours (not caring about the things Hannah loves, judging her friends, judging her on what she eats!!).

The only thing I did not enjoy about this novel was the ending. It felt rushed and I really wanted a bigger and more in-depth resolution for Hannah and Davey, they'd certainly earned it!

Without saying anything else that may risk spoilers, I would definitely recommend this to any romcom lovers & I look forward to reading more books from Elle! 

4/5 stars

 Synopsis
‘For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Kya Clark is barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect her.

I’ve had this book on my tbr pile for over a year now, and in anticipation for the movie coming out this month, I thought I’d better get on and read it!

4/5 stars