This week in Books

This week has been a bit lazy in terms of reading, I have been trying to make more positive choices, which include meal planning and cold-weathered evening walks. I feel so much better, but I’ve been to tired to read. Also, I find that I am more attached to my phone than ever as of late, which again is eating into free time. I’ve decided to start to leave my phone outside of the bedroom and instead #takeabooktobed, by doing this I’m hoping I will manage to hit my 52 book target this year!

I have read two books this week and I enjoyed both, although at times I found myself having to push to read them, but that was more me feeling as though I was falling into a book reading slump (Instagram scrolling did not help!)

The first book that I read this week was One Little Lie by Sam Carrington.

‘My name is Alice. And my son is a murderer.’
Deborah’s son was killed four years ago. Alice’s son is in prison for committing that crime.
Deborah would give anything to have her boy back, and Alice would do anything to right her son’s wrongs.
Driven by guilt and the need for redemption, Alice has started a support group for parents with troubled children. But as the network begins to grow, she soon finds out just how easy it is for one little lie to spiral out of control…
They call it mother’s intuition, but can you ever really know your own child?

Review

This book hooked me from the first sentence “It took approximately eight hours for Sean Taylor to die”.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, mainly because there are several characters but they are all entwined in a web of deceit and lies that they have built to protect themselves and the ones that they love. It will make you question how far you would go to protect your child. The storyline follows that of the different character with their own chapters, voicing personal events, thoughts, feelings etc. As you read, each characters personality is developed vividly through the words of he author. For example, I found Connie a little needy but when you learn of her history you completely understand why, whereas Tom was a strong character who I felt had a little sprinkle of Brady Hartsfield (Stephen King fans will know!) in his DNA.

Although the storyline follows multiple characters, the writers attention to the lives of individuals is great, as always it takes one or two chapters to realise who is who but when you do you can’t help but to be invested in the storyline.

I also liked that the touched on online grooming of violent behaviour, which I feel more people should be made aware of! *Supervise your kids internet time people*

So if you like edge of your seat reads with lots of gasp out load moments, click the book title and you’ll be swiftly transported to amazon for your purchase! Kindle versions of this fictional read is only 99p at the moment, so treat yourself you deserve it!

The second book that I had the pleasure of reading this week due to a bookish friend Rachel (you should check out her blog!), was Miss Marley by Vanessa Lafaye.

“Before A Christmas Carol there was… Miss Marley
A seasonal tale of kindness and goodwill
Orphans Clara and Jacob Marley live by their wits, scavenging for scraps in the poorest alleyways of London, in the shadow of the workhouse. Every night, Jake promises his little sister ‘tomorrow will be better’ and when the chance to escape poverty comes their way, he seizes it despite the terrible price.
And so Jacob Marley is set on a path that leads to his infamous partnership with Ebenezer Scrooge. As Jacob builds a fortress of wealth to keep the world out, only Clara can warn him of the hideous fate that awaits him if he refuses to let love and kindness into his heart…”

This prequel of A Christmas Carol was written by Vanessa Lafaye, who unfortunately passed away in February of this year before seeing her book being published. The book was completed by Becca Mascull.

Book Review

Wow! This was the most beautifully written novel that I had the pleasure of reading in a long time. You can tell that the storyline has been written with love from beginning to end. I finished the book (including the afterword) under a duvet with lines down my face where the tears travelled.

I haven’t read A Christmas Carol, because of that I feel this book can be read alone with little knowledge from the original story. Both authors have done a tremendous job following the story created by Charles Dickens, without trespassing on the initial storyline. They have succeeded this by writing the novel through the eyes of Clara, Jacob Marley’s sister.

The book saddened me, while making me realise that life isn’t about how much money we have, or to what extent we succeed in life but rather it’s about love, family and happiness. The storyline is perfection! A perfect Christmas season read, partnered with or without A Christmas Carol, whatever way you decide to read it you will love it!

Available to buy on Amazon now, perfect stocking filler gift for that special bookworm in your life.

*All blurbs taken from Amazon*