Sal by Mick Kitson

Sal is 13 years old; her sister Peppa is just 10. Sal’s young life has been torn apart by the actions of her mother’s predatory, drunken boyfriend and she cannot allow Peppa to befall the same fate. Armed with knowledge gleaned from YouTube videos and Wikipedia, Sal is forced to stretch her resourcefulness to the limit, fleeing with her sister into the depths of the Galloway forest to escape her pursuers.

I’ve had this book on my shelves for ages and I’ve always fancied reading it. It was so good. This is a story about Sal and Peppa, sisters who run away from home. Their home life isn’t great, from their mothers alcoholism, leaving the girls to fend for themselves, to the men she brings home. Sal has enough and takes matters into her own hands.

I thought the book would be quite hard to read, we get to know exactly what Sal has went through at the hands of her mothers boyfriend, but even though it was filled with a lot of the bad stuff, it was also a beautiful story about sisters. I loved living vicariously through the girls, living in the forest, building a tent and a fire. Sal knows a lot about survival, and looks after her sister so well. It’s like an adventure for them. And they love each other so dearly.

If you haven’t read this one I’d suggest you give it a go, it’s a short book at around 250 pages I think, but leaves a lasting impression.

Final Lullaby by Sasha Lauren

 

Angela Alexander, a New England bookshop owner and support talk-line volunteer, is dedicated to listening to people without her own filter getting in the way. Though her life is full and satisfying, she faces the ultimate dilemma after her husband Tucker - an exuberant bird photographer and blues musician - is harmed by medical malpractice during a routine hernia repair. Left in intractable pain, he struggles to focus on any shred of quality of life. When Tucker expresses the desire to end his life before he loses full autonomy, Angela has to decide to support him in that decision, or not.

So this was Tsundoku Squads February read, I went into this one not reading the blurb so I honestly had no idea what to expect. I really enjoyed it. I gave it 4 stars. 

The book starts out a bit slow, but it picks up quite quickly after the first chapter. The second chapter had me in tears, I was quite shocked and wasn’t expecting what happened. I loved the parts of the book with the support line, learning about the people who call, and why they sometimes just need a friendly voice to talk to.

But the underlying theme of the story is dying with dignity. It’s very interesting, I’ve always been in agreement with it, I know people who aren’t. 

What a good book, it had me in tears, and had me smiling. 

Thanks to Tsundoku Squad for another good read. 

What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan

Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his family’s cabin in Vermont, and only Simon comes home.

WHAT HAPPENED TO NINA?

Nobody knows. Simon’s explanation about what happened in their last hours together doesn’t add up. Nina’s parents push the police for answers, and Simon’s parents rush to protect him. They hire expensive lawyers and a PR firm that quickly ramps up a vicious, nothing-is-off-limits media campaign.

HOW FAR WILL HIS FAMILY GO TO KEEP HIM SAFE?

Soon, facts are lost in a swirl of accusation and counter-accusation. Everyone chooses a side, and the story goes viral, fueled by armchair investigators and wild conspiracy theories and illustrated with pretty pictures taken from Nina’s social media accounts. Journalists descend on their small Vermont town, followed by a few obsessive "fans".

HOW FAR WILL HER FAMILY GO TO GET TO THE TRUTH?

Nina’s family is under siege, but they never lose sight of the only thing that really matters — finding their daughter. Out-gunned by Simon’s wealthy, powerful family, Nina’s parents recognize that if playing by the rules won’t get them anywhere, it’s time to break them.

I was so happy to join in with the book tour for this one, so thanks to InstaBookTours for letting me join, and thanks to Harper Fiction for my gifted copy of the book.

Wow this book was brilliant. I loved every second of it. Nina goes missing, and we read at the start of a bit of a funny relationship between her and her boyfriend Simon. Then things get strange. Everyone, in my eyes, was a suspect in the story, I thought I had it cleverly figured out, then a shocking twist came and threw me for six. Then I thought I knew what was going to happen… no I did not! 

My heart broke for Leanne and Andrew, Nina’s parents. I can’t imagine one of my children going missing, so it was gut wrenching reading about how full of sadness they were. I did like their characters, and Grace, Nina’s Sister, was lovely too. 

The story is told from quite a few different perspectives, I’m not sure I’ve read anything with this many POVs before, but once you get to grips with who is who, I liked it. It was different seeing the story through the eyes of around 8 people.

All in all, a great book, and I’m so glad I got to read it! 

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey

Yorkshire, 1979.

Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family down South. Because of the murders. Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn't an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv's mum stopped talking.

Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all? So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don't. But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families - and between each other - than they ever thought possible.

What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?

This book has been all over social media for a while, and was getting absolute rave reviews, so I knew I needed to read it. What a book! I wasn’t sure what to expect really, I went in without reading the blurb, but I knew it had something to do with the Yorkshire Ripper. The author note at the start got me really intrigued (I still want to ask Jennie if it’s true), so I dove straight in. 

Miv, the main character, and her best friend Sharon decide to try to figure out who The Ripper is, and I loved going on that journey with them. I loved them both so much, Miv was an absolute character and a half, and Sharon complimented her personality brilliantly. I also liked Omar and Ishtiaq, and feel like we had friends like that in a local shop too. I just loved the community in the story, but I was dying to know if one of the locals was The Ripper (even though we know his name etc). 

Although this was set before I was born, it was very nostalgic (I was born 1985), bringing back memories from my childhood. Playing board games, sherbert fountains from the paper shop, roaming the streets with my friends.

There was tears, some smiles, love and heartbreak. An absolute brilliant book, and I hope Jennie writes more! Hope she is also enjoying the praise as it’s well bloody deserved.

Me, Myself and Mini Me by Charlotte Crosby

The one where I became a mother.

Charlotte Crosby is a woman of many talents - reality TV star, CBB winner, businesswoman extraordinaire, social media queen, star of the BBC's Charlotte in Sunderland - and now a MAM ! Since her number 1 Sunday Times bestseller Brand New Me, she has travelled the world, started a new family business, met the love of her life, supported her mum through breast cancer, suffered the loss of her beloved Nana Jean, and had baby daughter Alba, her perfect bundle of joy.

In Me, Myself and Mini Me, Charlotte talks us through the rollercoaster of these last few years and opens up about the realities of pregnancy and parenthood, with her trademark warmth and humour. Packed full of heartfelt poems, flashbacks to hysterical life plans from years gone by, and touching letters to her younger self, Charlotte invites you to join her for the latest chapter of life in Crosby Manor.

Charlotte is fab, I loved her through Geordie Shore, and have loved her since. I really enjoyed listening to this one, even though Charlotte wasn’t narrating it, and learned a few new things about her. I love hearing about her becoming a mam, her little Alba is gorgeous. I was really sad to hear about Charlotte's Mam, Letitia, discovering she had breast cancer, I knew about this through social media before I read the book, but it was so sad listening to Charlotte talking about it and the effect it had on them all. 

A great book, funny stories and life lessons as told by Charlotte, a great read.

I Promise It Won’t Always Hurt Like This by Clare Mackintosh

Grief is universal, but it's also as unique to each of us as the person we've lost. It can be overwhelming, exhausting, lonely, unreasonable, there when we least expect it and seemingly never-ending. Wherever you are with your grief and whoever you're grieving for, I Promise It Won't Always Hurt Like This is here to support you. To tell you, until you believe it, that things will get easier.

When bestselling writer Clare Mackintosh lost her five-week-old son, she searched for help in books. All of them wanted to tell her what she should be feeling and when she should be feeling it, but the truth - as she soon found out - is that there are no neat, labelled stages for grief, or crash grief-diets to relieve us of our pain. What we need when we're grieving is time and understanding. With 18 short assurances that are full of compassion - drawn from Clare's experiences of losing her son and her father - I Promise it Won't Always Hurt Like This is the book she needed then.

I received a copy of this from Netgalley and the publisher Little Brown in return for an honest review, thank you. I also purchased a beautiful personally signed copy too which I received on release day with a special message from Clare.

This book is beautiful. I cried, I smiled, I laughed, and I hurt reading it. But it was something that was needed. Clare talks about losing her twin son at only 5 weeks old, add having to navigate life and grief while still raising her twin boy who survived. And it’s not pretty most of the time. She talks in raw detail about the grief, the sadness, not being able to get out of bed, wondering how she could carry on and love her children while she has so much loss in her heart. 

We all have loved and lost, and we will go through it all again. I have lost people, but losing My Grandma back in 2004 when I was 19 hit me the worst of all. It’s something I still struggle with sometimes, but it does get easier with time, it just never goes away.

I can’t even imagine losing a child, my heart broke for Clare reading this, and I cried multiple times. But this book is so honest, I really think anyone can read it and relate to different parts throughout. I highlighted so many parts in the ebook, and one quote that stood out to me massively was this:

A goodbye is more than a moment, and you’ll find the right time – and the right way – to say yours.

Only I know how and why this resonated with me so much, but it’s true.

Clare, thank you for writing this, thank you for sharing your story with us all. I know Alex would be extremely proud of you.