The Unmumsy Mum Diary by Sarah Turner

 

She's back! The Unmumsy Mum has put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard!) once more to bring you the next instalment of her life as mum to two young boys, documenting motherhood exactly as she finds it. Her words have made mums, dads and grandparents everywhere laugh and cry in equal measure. 

In The Unmumsy Mum Diary Sarah shares with us a year in her life as a mum, wife, blogger and bestselling author. With her trademark candour and wit, she documents the good days and the bad days, the giggles and the tantrums. She'll also share poignant, life-changing moments from her year, such as her older son heading off through the school gates for the first time.

The Unmumsy Mum Diary is as honest as it is hilarious and a peek into Sarah's innermost thoughts will leave you in no doubt that, on those days when you feel you are not quite cut out for the job, you are most definitely not alone

So I’ve not listened to Sarah’s podcast, or read any of her books before, so listening to this was new to me. It was hilarious. Sarah sounds great, shes a brilliant mum (we all are), and sounds like an absolute hoot. I loved listening to this and hearing her stories of life over a year, and I related to a lot of the mum stuff. I laughed quite a bit along with this one at the funny stuff, and felt solidarity with her during the hard times. A good read (or listen), I’ll be reading her other books.

The Puppet Master by Sam Holland

 

He watches your every move

We’ve all experienced it. That creeping sensation of eyes on your back, the faint echo of footsteps following yours.

He controls you

Across the country, a madman is carefully choosing his victims. Once he has you in his sights, he won’t let go.

He will make you pay

You think you’re in control of your own life? Think again. Because The Puppet Master is coming for you, and he won’t stop until you’re dead…

Thanks so much to Instabooktours, SandS, and Sam Holland for letting me be on the tour for The Puppet Master!!!! 

So I freaking loved Sam’s first two books, and while The Echo Man will always be my favourite, The Puppet Master was amazing. I was gripped from the get go, wondering what kind of person Cara would be dealing with this time. Turns out, she has another time of it, and has to deal with a lot of bodies, and another crazed killer on the loose. 

The Puppet Master was brilliantly written, had some great twists along the way, and Griffin is still there, which brightened my day right up! 

Thanks again to Instabooktours and SS for my copy of the book, and of course Sam Holland for keeping me so entertained with her brilliant stories!!

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

 

Lara Jean is having the best senior year a girl could

ever hope for. 

She is head over heels in love with her boyfriend, Peter; her

dad's finally getting remarried to their next door neighbor, Ms.

Rothschild; and Margot's coming home for the summer just in time

for the wedding.

But change is looming on the horizon.

And while Lara Jean is having fun and keeping busy helping plan

her father's wedding, she can't ignore the big life decisions she

has to make. Most pressingly, where she wants to go to college

and what that means for her relationship with Peter.

She watched her sister Margot go through these growing pains.

Now Lara Jean's the one who'll be graduating high school and leaving

for college and leaving her family—and possibly the boy

she loves—behind.

When your heart and your head are saying two different

things, which one should you listen to?

I’m so glad I read this series. I watched the movies before reading them, and I’m kind of glad I did, I can only see Noah as Peter.

So this is the final installment in the To All The Boys trilogy, and it was just a good as the others. I love LJ and Peter, the two main characters are totaly my favourites/ But I like all of the side characters too. Kitty and Margot (fab as usual, Jenny Han should really write books about Kitty, the Netflix show XO Kitty is really good), LJs Dad and Trina, John Ambrose, and Chris.

I love LJ and PKs relationship, I’ve been on their side the whole time, and loved reading how it played out in the end. I’ll treasure my physical copies of these, I can see these being comfort re-reads.

Escape by L.A Davenport

 

Why am I still alive? That is the question John, a trauma doctor, asks himself over and over as he mourns the death of his wife. Lost and alone, he wanders the streets of a glamorous Mediterranean resort trying to escape the pain. He drifts from bar to bar until he meets Jasna, a captivating hostess. She teases him out of his suffering and, against their better judgement, they fall in love. Then tragedy strikes, and John is pitched into a ruthless world of drugs, prostitution and murder, where life is cheap and nothing is as it seems. In this all-new edition, Escape, The Hunter Cut takes the classic tale of L.A. Davenport's debut novel Escape and retells it through John's eyes, as he battles with himself and the events that threaten to overwhelm him.

Thanks so much to Heather Fitt, P Wave Press, and LA Davenport for asking me to be on the tour for this!

I enjoyed Escape: The Hunter Cut, I wasn’t sure where it was going at first, but it all becomes clear. I liked how short the chapters are, it meant I could sneak one or two in while I had a couple of minutes. I’ve not read the original book Escape, but I don’t think that took anything away from this one.

I liked John, I felt bad for him about his wife dying. And when he met Jasna I was happy. Unfortunately the happiness is short lived as things turn badly quite quick, and a lot of dodgy stuff goes on.

Thanks again to Heather, P Wave Press and LA Davenport for letting me be on the tour!! 

Not My Fathers Son by Alan Cumming

A beloved star of stage and screen, Alan Cumming's life and career have been shaped by a complex and dark family past - full of troubled memories, kept buried away. But then an unexpected phone call from his long-estranged father brought the pain of the past hurtling back into the present, and unravelled everything he thought he knew about himself. Not My Father's Son is the story of his journey of discovery, both a memoir of his childhood in Scotland, and an investigation into his family history which would change him forever.

Right, we all know and love Alan Cumming right? Well now I love him even more. I listened to this on Audiobook and I’m so glad I did. 

Alan was asked to be on ‘Who Do you Think You Are’, the TV show where they help trace your family history. I don’t think he knew what he was letting himself in for when he signed up bless him. My heart broke for him in so many places, I was waiting for him to get answers , and was waiting for the phonecall between him and his father. It was full of shocks and surprises too, you’ll know what I mean if you’ve read it.

I liked listening to him talk about his heritage, his ancestors, and his mum. He’s funny, seems kind, and is very much loved. Brilliant guy, and a great listen.

Small Hours by Bobby Palmer

 

If you stood before sunrise in this wild old place, looking through the trees into the garden, here's what you'd see:

A father and son, a fox standing between them.

Jack, home for the first time in years, still determined to be the opposite of his father.

Gerry, who would rather talk to animals than the angry man back under his roof.

Everything that follows is because of the fox, and because Jack's mother is missing. It spans generations of big dreams and lost time, unexpected connections and things falling apart, great wide worlds and the moments that define us.

If you met them in the small hours, you'd begin to piece together their story.

I received a copy of this from Netgalley and the publisher Headline in return for an honest review.

Bobby Palmer writes with such beauty, it’s almost lyrical. I love the way he writes, which is what tipped me to a 4 star from a 3.5.

I think I was expecting to enjoy this more than I did, as I absolutely fell in love with Isaac and The Egg. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, I did, but the parts I loved the most were Gerry’s pov chapters. Again, I loved the way Bobby wrote from his pov, the words seemed to just flow across the pages (or screen in my case). 

I remember early in in the book, thinking I don’t understand what’s going on here. But if you’ve read Isaac, you’ll know this is Bobby's style, and by the end it just all clicks into place.

I’ll definitely read more of Bobby’s work in the future, he writes like no one else I’ve ever read before.

Thanks again to Headline and Netgalkey for my arc, and thanks to Bobby Palmer for sharing his beautiful writing with us all

The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas

 

Tasha has always felt in the shadow of her older sister, Alice. Their lifestyles couldn't be more different; Alice is married to wealthy entrepreneur Kyle and has a high-flying career, Tasha is married to her childhood sweetheart and lives in a Bristol suburb with their four-year-old twins.

When Alice realises that Tasha is struggling - with money, the kids, losing her identity - she suggests they do a lifeswap for a week. Alice and Kyle will come to stay at Tasha's terraced house to look after the twins, while Tasha and Harry spend the week in Alice and Kyle's Venice apartment.

But a few days in, it all goes terribly wrong. Tasha receives a phonecall to say Alice is in hospital and Kyle is dead after an intruder broke into their house. They think it must have been a burglary gone wrong.

Until a note arrives through the letterbox saying It was supposed to be you.

Who was there that night, and why?

Is it really Tasha they are targeting?

Thanks so much to Penguin Michael Joseph for my gifted proof of this one.

I’ve only ever read one of Claire’s books before (The Girls Who Disappeared), and her short story (The Text), but I was really interested in this one. I was not disappointed!!

Claire has a way with her books that make you want to keep reading into the early hours of the morning. I think I blasted through this in a few days. I was gripped, I really had no idea what was going on or who was behind anything. There were shocks and twists I didn’t see coming at all. 

I loved the relationship between Tasha and Alice, I’m close with my sister so I like reading about siblings who are close. I felt sorry for them all, but I couldn’t get over Alice seeing her husband attack and killed. I can’t ever imagine going through something like that. I felt sorry for their mother too, living in a different country, having to rush for flights to get back to your children who are hurt.

I’m definitely reading Claire’s backlog, and I have 2 already to read (The Sisters, The Couple at no9). I hope all her books are just as thrilling, I was glued to the pages!

Thanks again to MJP for my proof, and of course Claire Douglas for a brilliant story!

I loved seeing a little easter egg to one of her other books too, did you see it?

Girl Unmasked by Emily Katy

 

To the outside world, Emily looks like a typical girl, with a normal family, living an ordinary life. But inside, Emily does not feel typical, and the older she gets, the more she realises that she is different. As she finally discovers when she is 16, Emily is autistic. Girl Unmasked is the extraordinary story of how she got there - and how she very nearly didn't. Still only 22, Emily writes with startling candour about the years leading up to her diagnosis. How books and imagination became her refuge as she sought to escape the increasing anxiety and unbearable stresses of school life; how her OCD almost destroyed her; how a system which did not understand autism let her down; and how she came so close to the edge that she and her family thought she would never survive. In this simple but powerful memoir, we see how family and friends became her lifeline and how, post-diagnosis, Emily came to understand her authentic self and begin to turn her life around, eventually becoming a mental health nurse with a desire to help others where she herself had once been failed. Ultimately uplifting, Girl Unmasked is a remarkable insight into what it can be like to be autistic - and shows us that through understanding and embracing difference we can all find ways to thrive.

Trigger warnings for this book, review mentions the word suicide.

I’ve followed Emily on Twitter for a while now, and was really looking forward to reading her book when it was released. I bought this with my audible credit and I’m so glad I did. Listening to Emily read her story was probably the best way to read the book. I loved listening to the emotion in her voice. 

Our children are both autistic. We were lucky to have them diagnosed really early on (both 2 ½ years old), they are now 14 and 15, and doing so well. They’ve had their issues, and still do, but we manage it with different strategies. Listening to Emily talk about the difficulties she had in school, knowing something was different but not knowing what or why, made me think back to our kid’s time in primary school. I’m glad Emily did have people around her in school who had a feeling she was different, and had ways for her to cope, and places she could go if she needed to. But boy did my heart break for her talking about when she ran from school, the depression, the suicidal thoughts, attempts, and incarcerations. This lovely lady has gone through so much. I’m so happy that she feels better knowing about her autism diagnosis, and she sounds like she is doing really good. I love that she had a great group of friends looking out for her as they all grew into young women, and I hope they’re still all there for each other now.

I laughed out loud at so many things, and cried a few tears at certain points too. I’d definitely recommend reading this one, I wish more people understood Autism a bit more. 

Emily, you have done amazing, you are a wonderful lady, and I wish you all the best for your future. Thank you for sharing your story with us.

The Storyteller by Dave Grohl

 

So, I’ve written a book.

Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities (‘It’s a piece of cake! Just do four hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!’), I have decided to write these stories just as I have always done, in my own hand. The joy that I have felt from chronicling these tales is not unlike listening back to a song that I’ve recorded and can’t wait to share with the world, or reading a primitive journal entry from a stained notebook, or even hearing my voice bounce between the Kiss posters on my wall as a child. 

This certainly doesn’t mean that I’m quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it’s like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician. From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard, to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters…the list goes on. I look forward to focusing the lens through which I see these memories a little sharper for you with much excitement. 

‘There goes my hero, watch him as he goes, there goes my hero, he’s ordinary’

Dave Grohl is an absolute legend. This could be all I would need to say haha, but I will say a bit more. First off I’ve always loved Dave, and after reading this I love him even more. The lengths he will go to to make sure his children are his number one priority. The story he told of changing a concert date, flying from Australia to the UK, for one night, (actually it wasn’t even a night, it was a few hours), then back to Australia to do the final show the next day. All because he promised to take his girls to the daddy/daughter dance. Hes amazing. 

I flitted between reading this in hardback and listening on audio, and the narration was really good. Obviously it would have been as it was read by Dave himself, and he is really funny. I loved listening to him talk about the early days of his career, I didn’t know much about it. But the Foo Fighters era was the best. Oh talking about his falls on stage, the doctor who sat with him holding his foot in place while he finished a gig, he’s got a whole load of stories to tell. I could listen to him all day.

This guy is a genuinely nice guy, and I would love to meet him 9not gonna ever happen), or even see the Foos in concert.

If you like music bios, I’d recommend this one.

Drowning by T.J Newman

 

Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced to close the doors-but it's too late. The plane sinks to the bottom with twelve passengers trapped inside.

More than two hundred feet below the surface, engineer Will Kent and his eleven-year-old daughter Shannon are waist-deep in water and fighting for their lives.
Their only chance at survival is an elite rescue team on the surface led by professional diver Chris Kent - Shannon's mother and Will's soon-to-be ex-wife - who must work together with Will to find a way to save their daughter and rescue the passengers from the sealed airplane, which is now teetering on the edge of an undersea cliff.

There's not much time.

There's even less air.

With devastating emotional power and heart-stopping suspense, Drowning is an unforgettable thriller about a family's desperate fight to save themselves and the people trapped with them - against impossible odds.

This one was mine and Kaths March buddy read, we read Falling together last year and loved it, so I knew we’d enjoy Drowning.

Wow, TJ Newman can write. I don’t get how she wrote her books while being on a plane as a Flight Attendant though! Her books are loaded with fear, they keep you right on the edge of your seat or sure. I remember reading a certain part and gettin that awful feeling of claustrophobia, anxiety was definitely up! She knows how to get your imagination going, and I could picture it all so well.

I loved the characters, Will and Shannon were great, but Chris was one of my favourites. I can’t imagine working on a disaster like that, let alone knowing your child is down there. Such a brilliant book, I’d honestly recommend both of her books if you like thrillers.

Maman by F.E Birch

DS Joanna Armstrong, a top child protection detective, becomes the accused when one of her twin babies develops facial bruising - sending her into a spiralling post-natal psychosis.

Her life falls apart in an instant. Her team are torn, the doctors think she’s fabricating her illness, and even one of her own colleagues appears hell bent on destroying her.

Can Joanna to clear her name when everything seems stacked against her? Can she break through all the prejudice before time runs out? Or is she really mad like they all say?

HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!!!!

Thanks so much to Heather Fitt and Overview Media for asking me to join in the tour for Maman by FE Birch. Happy to be starting it off today!

So this book was not what I was expecting at all. I loved it! I was gripped from the start, wondering what on earth was going on. Joanna is going through so much, and it really shows bless her. I felt so bad for her, and was rooting for her the whole way through. 

A great story of absolute suspense, I’ll definitely read more of FE Birch’s work!

Thanks once again to Heather, Overview Media, and of course Ms Birch herself. Remember to check out the other stops on the tour.