NEW RELEASES: You, Me and Everything in Between by Helen J Rolfe

You, Me and Everything in Between is the new novel from Helen J Rolfe, author of Handle Me With Care and In a Manhattan Minute. Lydia's life is changed completely, leaving her wondering whether she should finally move on...

Can you ever rewrite the past?

Lydia and Theo face the unthinkable when a knock at the door changes everything. 

As Theo lies unconscious, Lydia begins to pick up the pieces, but not every part of the puzzle fits together as neatly as it did before. And when Lydia begins to move on, what happens when Theo wakes up and realises she didn’t wait for him?

Theo and Lydia have a history together, but do they still have a future? Or has too much happened to be able to forgive and forget? 

NEW RELEASES: Hello Sunshine by Laura Dave

Sunshine is a vlogger who appears to have it all in life - that is, until her true identity is revealed. In Hello Sunshine, the newly-released novel by Laura Dave, author of The First Husband and Eight Hundred Grapes, Sunshine has to navigate life in the downfall of the identity she has built up online.

Sunshine Mackenzie truly is living the dream. A lifestyle guru for the modern age, Sunshine is beloved by millions of people who tune into her YouTube cooking show, and millions more scour her website for recipes, wisdom, and her enticing suggestions for how to curate a perfect life. She boasts a series of #1 New York Times bestselling cookbooks, a devoted architect husband, and a reputation for sincerity and kindness--Sunshine seems to have it all. But she's hiding who she really is. And when her secret is revealed, her fall from grace is catastrophic. What Sunshine does in the ashes of destruction will save her in more ways than she can imagine. 

In our modern world, where celebrity is a careful construct, Laura Dave's compelling, enticing novel explores the devastating effect of the secrets we keep in public...and in private. Hello, Sunshine is a fresh, provocative look at a woman teetering between a scrupulously assembled life and the redemptive power of revealing the truth.

BLOG TOUR: Half a Sixpence by Evie Grace

Half a Sixpence is the new book by Evie Grace. This historical novel, set in Kent in the 1800s, focuses on Catherine, a woman who is forced to keep her family together in a time of tragedy.

Catherine Rook takes her peaceful life for granted. Her days are spent at the village school and lending a hand on her family’s farm. Life is run by the seasons, and there’s little time for worry. 

But rural unrest begins sweeping through Kent, and when Pa Rook buys a threshing machine it brings turbulence and tragedy to Wanstall Farm. With the Rooks’ fortunes forever changed, Catherine must struggle to hold her family together. 

She turns to her childhood companion, Matty Carter, for comfort, and finds more than friendship in his loving arms. But Matty has his own family to protect, and almost as quickly as their love blossomed their future begins to unravel. 

With the threat of destitution nipping at her heels, Catherine must forge a way out of ruin...

As part of the Half a Sixpence blog tour, Evie Grace has shared with us a character profile. Read on to find out more about Catherine Rook!

Half a Sixpence will be released tomorrow.

Character Profile: Catherine Rook

Thank you very much for hosting today’s stop on my blog tour with Half a Sixpence, the first book in a new series, a Victorian family saga set in East Kent. Half a Sixpence is the story of Catherine Rook, a country girl born in Overshill, East Kent in 1817, and I’d love to tell you a little more about her.

I took inspiration for Catherine’s character and way of life from my family tree, anecdotes passed down from my grandparents and great grandparents, and my experiences of the countryside. I was born in Kent and one of my earliest memories is of picking cherries with my grandfather in an orchard near Selling. He was a farm manager, and Wanstall Farm, Catherine’s home in Half a Sixpence has echoes of the place where he worked.

Catherine lives with Ma and Pa Rook and her brother, John. Her older siblings have already left home. She enjoys feeding the hens, collecting their eggs and looking after the pigs, especially when they give birth to their piglets. Pa is a great believer in the value of education, sending her to the village school where she learns the three R’s with her best friend, Emily. She aspires to marry for love one day, in spite of Ma’s rather embarrassing conviction that she should marry up.  

Catherine’s life follows the seasons that come and go the same, year after year, punctuated by the regular sowing, harvesting and threshing of the corn, followed by rowdy harvest suppers and the hop picking. When Catherine needs new clothes, Pa Rook says she can have them ‘after ‘op-picking’, a saying that has been passed down through my family. My mum remembers her mother taking her, her brother and sister hop picking every summer to bring in desperately needed cash. My grandmother also went fruit-picking, taking a pram with a false bottom under which she hid apples to take home.

Catherine helps the Rooks’ maid in the kitchen, pickling and preserving the produce from the land, and learning to make the perfect pastry for plum pies. Living on the farm is hard, but in many ways Catherine leads an idyllic way of life that comes under threat when her father decides to invest in a threshing machine.

The fresh challenges facing the farm and her family serve to strengthen Catherine’s resourceful character, a recurring feature of my Victorian ancestors. One of my great-grandmothers had a reputation for being a particularly determined lady who brought up seven happy children in a tiny house on very little money with the help of her husband who grew and sold fresh vegetables from the garden to make ends meet. However, her background was tainted by rumours of illegitimacy, the consequences of which I have introduced into Half a Sixpence.

Catherine is resourceful, loyal and caring, and even at her lowest ebb, she finds the strength to carry on.

I hope you enjoy reading her story.

x Evie

BLOG TOUR: Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall - Q&A and Extract

This year has seen so many great debut novels - one being Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall. The book focuses on two best friends whose friendship is tested by the arrival of a newcomer to their small island.

Kate has stopped by for a Q&A on Skylarking, to tell about her new novel and the inspiration behind it.

Click here to read an extract of Skylarking!

Kate and Harriet are best friends growing up together on an isolated Australian cape. As the daughters of the lighthouse keepers, the two girls share everything, until a fisherman, McPhail, arrives in their small community.

When Kate witnesses the desire that flares between him and Harriet, she is torn by her feelings of envy and longing. An innocent moment in McPhail's hut then occurs that threatens to tear their peaceful community apart.

Inspired by a true story, Skylarking is a spellbinding tale of friendship and desire, memory and truth, which questions what it is to remember and how tempting it can be to forget.

Tell us about your latest novel in 15 words or less.
A remote lighthouse. Best friends growing up. A fisherman. A gun…

What inspired you to write Skylarking?
While on a camping trip with my family and best friends, I stumbled upon an old grave. It belonged to a young woman who had lived at a nearby lighthouse in the 1880s and I was immediately captivated by the information that hinted at a bigger story, including her friendship with the daughter of the Head Lighthouse Keeper, and a terrible event that occurred at a fisherman’s hut nearby. I began to dig into the history of the lighthouse and eventually became obsessed with imagining the lives of these two best friends and what became of them.

Where do you do most of your writing?
I occupied a corner of the lounge room by surrounding it with bookshelves so I have a little nook with a sunny window and a desk amid towering piles of books. But, as I have two young children, I also write wherever I can – on the train, in the car outside dancing class, dictating notes on my phone while waiting at traffic lights!

What is your favourite book?
This question is like asking which of my children is my favourite! As a child, Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery, as a student Cloudstreet by Tim Winton, as a writer The Writer’s Room: Conversations About Writing edited by Charlotte Wood.

Which part of Skylarking did you enjoy writing the most?
In the beginning I had no idea I was writing a novel, let alone that it would be published – so that was incredibly liberating. I avoided writing the climax of the novel for many, many months, and when I finally did, I sobbed all the way through. That part wasn’t enjoyable but it was certainly an experience I’ll never forget.

Who is your favourite literary heroine?
Again, so many! But Anne of Green Gables and Grace Marks from Margaret Attwood’s Alias Grace influenced me both in my life and writing.

Do you have any tips for readers who are looking to become published writers?
Keep reading widely and voraciously! And sit down and DO the writing. Your novel can sound wonderful in your mind but you’ve got to take the risk to actually put it down on paper. Be brave!

Are you working on anything else at the moment and if so, can you tell us?
I’m in the middle of writing my second novel. It’s a more contemporary story and as part of the research I’m hitching a ride on a yacht from Darwin to Indonesia. I’m enjoying pushing myself to take new risks in this work!

Thanks, Kate!

You can find out more about Kate Mildenhall by visiting her website, Facebook, or by following her on Twitter.

BOOK REVIEW: My Favourite Manson Girl by Alison Umminger

I'm not normally a big reader of YA fiction, but now and again I'll delve into it. Over the past few months however, I've come across some titles that have been hard to pass up. one of them being My Favourite Manson Girl by Alison Umminger, in which a teenager experiencing family issues heads to Hollywood and finds herself researching the girls of the notorious Manson family.

Ever since my younger years, hearing about Charles Manson and the killing spree of his 'family' in the 1960s, I've been intrigued by the girls that followed him, and often found myself interested in how the girls that followed Manson so adoringly allowed themselves to become killers. This is what attracted me to My Favourite Manson Girl - it made for a a VERY interesting plot.

Fifteen-year-old Anna, after some trouble at home in Atlanta, steals the credit card of her mom's new wife and heads to LA to visit her older sister Delia. Delia is a young actress, a star in the making (or so she would like people to believe), living a charmed life in glamorous Hollywood.

Anna's plan is to stay with Delia until her mom ceases being mad, and also until she can pay back the stolen cash for her plane ticket. When Delia's ex Roger, an eccentric film producer, offers to pay her to research the Manson girls for an upcoming movie, Anna can hardly turn it down.

As the weeks pass, Anna spends her summer reading and hanging out on set with the actors of Chips Ahoy! - a cheesy kids' sitcom of which Dex, Delia's new boyfriend, is one of the writers. There she meets Jeremy, star of the show alongside his brother Joshua, and they start to hit it off. However, as her life is going relatively well for a change, Delia's may be at risk - from a stalker who keeps appearing at the house, leaving notes. Delia is secretive about most things in her life, leading Anna to believe that the Hollywood dream she seems to live in may be far from reality.

Admittedly I have mixed feelings about this book. I'll start with the cons: first of all, pretty much all of the characters were awful (besides Dex and Lynette. Jeremy too, maybe). Don't get me wrong, this isn't necessarily a bad thing - this is Hollywood. The book explores the reality behind the glitz. I hardly expected every character to be lovely and sweet. However, Anna herself was incredibly selfish, often mean, generally unlikable. It was just hard to relate to her at all.

Secondly, the plot didn't really go anywhere. I guess I felt that, due to the Manson research Anna was carrying out (I really enjoyed these parts), that the Manson plot would inevitably lead somewhere. But it didn't. Nothing really happened in this book, even though the blurb seemed (to me, anyway) to hint at a bit of a mystery, and I felt a bit let down at the end. It wasn't too compelling either - I found it easy to put down and didn't feel excited about picking it back up again. I'm glad I finished it though.

As for the pros? Well, this book doesn't focus heavily on romance, which is something I really liked about it. It's refreshing in that way. There is no big love story here.

And it's unique. Like I mentioned before, I'm not a big YA reader. But this did stand out as a very different, very real novel. It's not a glam tale of Hollywood life; it focuses on the reality. I did like the idea that Hollywood isn't perfect, that you have to be careful who to trust. Just like the Manson girls; girls who were once normal, who had parents, who went to Homecoming and wanted to be pretty, to be loved. And eventually, they killed for it.

This seemed like a promising read, and there were elements I enjoyed, but in the end it was just 'okay'. However, that's just my verdict. This is one of those books that I'd strongly urge you to check out for yourself.

Rating: 3/5

UNCOVERED PICKS: Five July Releases

Is it that time already?! July's here, and with it comes some great new novels! Read on for this month's selection from the Austen-inspired book from Brigid Coady to new releases from Rebecca Chance and Melissa Pimentel.

If you're specifically looking for holiday-themed reads, check out part one and part two of this year's summer picks!

Persuading Austen by Brigid Coady
It is a truth universally acknowledged that working with an ex is a terrible idea…

Annie Elliot never expected her life to turn out this way: living with her dad, working as an accountant – surely the least glamorous job in Hollywood?! – and dodging her family’s constant bickering.

Landing a job as a producer on a new adaptation of Pride and Prejudice seems like the piece of luck she’s been waiting for. Until the cast is announced, and Annie discovers that the actor playing Mr Darcy is Austen Wentworth: the man she’s spent nearly a decade trying to forget.

Not only is Austen her ex – but while Annie’s life has stalled, Austen is Hollywood’s hottest property…and has just been voted World’s Sexiest Man.

With nowhere to hide, there’s just one question. Now the one who got away has come back, should Annie stand by her pride? Or give into Austen’s powers of persuasion?

Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza
When Janey Sweet, CEO of a couture wedding dress company, is photographed in the front row of a fashion show eating a bruffin--the delicious lovechild of a brioche and a muffin--her best friend and business partner, Beau, gives her an ultimatum: Lose thirty pounds or lose your job. Sure, Janey has gained some weight since her divorce, and no, her beautifully cut trousers don't fit like they used to, so Janey throws herself headlong into the world of the fitness revolution, signing up for a shockingly expensive workout pass, baring it all for Free the Nipple yoga, sweating through boot camp classes run by Sri Lankan militants and spinning to the screams of a Lycra-clad instructor with rage issues. 

At a juice shop she meets Jacob, a cute young guy who takes her dumpster-diving outside Whole Foods on their first date. At a shaman's tea ceremony she meets Hugh, a silver fox who holds her hand through an ayahuasca hallucination And at a secret exercise studio Janey meets Sara Strong, the wildly popular workout guru whose special dance routine has starlets and wealthy women flocking to her for results that seem too good to be true. 

As Janey eschews delicious carbs, pays thousands of dollars to charlatans, and is harassed by her very own fitness bracelet, she can't help but wonder: Did she really need to lose weight in the first place? A hilarious send-up of the health and wellness industry, Fitness Junkie is a glorious romp through the absurd landscape of our weight-obsessed culture.

Killer Affair by Rebecca Chance
Stunning, charismatic Lexy O’Brien is the reigning queen of British reality TV. Her life in front of the camera is planned and manipulated as successfully as any military assault.

But success breeds jealousy. When you’re on top, the only way is down and there’s always someone standing by to give you a shove...

Dowdy Caroline Evans, a part-time blogger and writer of erotic fiction, is brought in to chronicle Lexy’s life. Being taken under Lexy’s wing is a dream come true for Caroline. But sampling the star’s lifestyle is like tasting the most addictive of drugs, and it’s not long before she is craving what she can’t possibly have – or can she?

And as Caroline and Lexy’s lives and loves become increasingly entwined, it’s only a matter of time before the hidden rivalry becomes a powder keg waiting to explode...

Jenny Sparrow Knows the Future by Melissa Pimentel
Jenny Sparrow can tell you her future:

1. Meet soulmate at 25 
2. Move in with him
3. Marry him this year...

According to the plan Jenny made at thirteen, it's time for her to get married. But when her boyfriend proposes a break instead of a wedding, a girls' weekend in Vegas is the only solution...until she wakes up in a stranger's bed, and discovers that this is the year she gets married - to the wrong man.

Jenny wants a quick divorce and her old boyfriend back. But what if her accidental husband has other ideas?

So Happy It Hurts by Anneliese Mackintosh
'I want to be a good person. And I want to be happy. So happy it hurts. I need you to help me with that.’

Ottila McGregor is thirty years old and has decided it’s time to sort her life out. She’s going to quit drinking, stop cheating and finally find true happiness. Easy, right?

Of course not.

For a start, there’s Grace, her best friend, who believes self-improvement is for people in their forties. Next there’s Mina, her sister, who is mentally ill, and it might be Ottila’s fault. And then there’s Thales, the Greek guy who works in the hospital cafeteria. He's probably the best, most dangerous person Ottila’s ever met.

To make sense of it all, Ottila keeps a scrapbook of everything: emails, receipts, tickets, letters, her therapy transcripts, a boyfriend's note rescued from the bin... The result is an infectious one-off of a novel that makes you wince and laugh in equal measure, and which asks the question: what does it take to be so happy it hurts?

BLOG TOUR: The Second Chance Cafe in Carlton Square by Lilly Bartlett - REVIEW

The Second Chance Cafe in Carlton Square is the new novel from Lilly Bartlett, author of The Big Little Wedding in Carlton Square and The Big Dreams Beach Hotel. Lilly is the pen-name of bestselling author Michele Gorman, whose books include Single in the City, The Curvy Girls Club and Weightless (which is one of my favourite novellas). Michele is a fabulous writer and so I feel honoured to be taking part in the blog tour!

Everyone expects great things from Emma Billings, but when her future gets derailed by an unexpected turn of events, she realizes that getting back on track means traveling in a different direction.

She finds that new path in the closed-down pub on Carlton Square. Summoning every ounce of ingenuity, and with the help of her friends and family, she opens the Second Chance Café. The charity training business is meant to keep vulnerable kids off the streets and (hopefully) away from the Metropolitan Police, and her new employees are full of ideas, enthusiasm … and trouble. They'll need as much TLC as the customers they’re serving.

This ragtag group of chancers have to make a go of a business they know nothing about, and they do get some expert help from an Italian who's in love with the espresso machine and a professional sandwich whisperer who reads auras, but not everyone is happy to see the café open. Their milk keeps disappearing and someone is canceling the cake orders, but it's when someone commits bloomicide on all their window boxes that Emma realizes things are serious. Can the café survive when NIMBY neighbors and the rival café owner join forces to close them down? Or will Emma’s dreams fall as flat as the cakes they’re serving?

The Second Chance Cafe is the second in the Carlton Square series, following on from The Big Little Wedding. I actually haven't read the first book, however there were no issues in starting with the second. The book can be read as a standalone novel, though after reading Second Chance Cafe I'm going to be reading the first book immediately as I would love to read more about the cast of characters in Carlton Square!

Emma Billings is determined. Being a mother of two young twins, life is already demanding, but Emma insists on putting the degree, that she worked very hard for, to use. With the help of her in-laws, Emma has secured the lease on an old pub in Carlton Square, which she plans to turn into a cafe, and helping to at-risk youths in the community by taking them on as trainees.

After some rather unique (and hilarious) interviews, Emma finally hires two new teenage staff - the sweet yet overly-confident Joseph and the secretive and feisty Lou, who has already been in trouble with the law. Emma's intention is to provide the teens with work experience, and customers with a lovely cafe to have tea, coffee and cake.

With a host of helpful family and friends, getting the cafe ready for opening is going well. With its outside flowers courtesy of her mother-in-law, gorgeous cakes by local supplier Cleo, and the staff ready and raring to go, the Second Chance Cafe looks set for a successful venture. But when the grand opening pulls in no new customers, it appears that something's wrong.

Someone isn't happy with the new cafe on Carlton Square, and is out to destroy Emma's hard work. It's up to Emma, her loyal staff and her friends to try and save her beloved cafe from a competitor who will stop at nothing to put the new cafe out of business! Meanwhile, Emma is finding it hard dealing with the twins as well as the work that the cafe brings, and wants husband Daniel to take more responsibility. But broaching the subject can be harder than it seems...

The Second Chance Cafe on Carlton Square is an absolutely wonderful read. I read it in a day, as it's quite hard to put down. It has a host of wonderful and funny characters, including Daniel, Emma's friends (including fellow mums Emerald and Garnet and their hilarious sibling rivalry), and of course, Joseph and Lou. I especially loved Lou's story. Emma is a great heroine; ambitious, kind, caring, a hardworking wife and mother. She sticks up for herself, and for Lou. Basically, she's the kick-ass heroine that we all need.

Packed with Michele's usual humour and lovable characters, The Second Chance Cafe is a feel-good novel about not just focusing on family and romance, but also the importance of friendship and community.

Rating: 5/5

About Lilly Bartlett

Lilly Bartlett’s cosy romcoms are full of warmth, quirky characters and guaranteed happily-ever-afters.

Lilly is the pen-name of Sunday Times and USA Today best-selling author, Michele Gorman, who writes best friend-girl power comedies under her own name.

Blog Tour!

BLOG TOUR: Beneath a Burning Sky by Jenny Ashcroft - REVIEW

Today is rather exciting as it's day one of the blog tour for Beneath a Burning Sky, the beautiful new historical romance novel from Jenny Ashcroft.

When twenty-two-year-old Olivia is coerced into marriage by the cruel Alistair Sheldon she leaves England for Egypt, his home and the land of her own childhood. Reluctant as she is to go with Alistair, it's in her new home that she finds happiness in surprising places: she is reunited with her long-estranged sister, Clara, and falls - impossibly and illicitly - in love with her husband's boarder, Captain Edward Bertram.

Then Clara is abducted from one of the busiest streets in the city. Olivia is told it's thieves after ransom money, but she's convinced there's more to it. As she sets out to discover what's happened to the sister she's only just begun to know, she falls deeper into the shadowy underworld of Alexandria, putting her own life, and her chance at a future with Edward, the only man she's ever loved, at risk. Because, determined as Olivia is to find Clara, there are others who will stop at nothing to conceal what's become of her...

When I was told about this book, I was instantly drawn in by the cover. It's captivating. Just like the book itself, which is set in Egypt in the late 19th century.

After a troubled childhood, Olivia is twenty-two when she's forced into marriage, and has to leave her home in England and head to Egypt - a place she already knows having spent her childhood there with her now-deceased parents and the sister from whom she was separated. Having to endure the cruelty of her new husband, there is some positivity in returning to Alexandria; seeing her sister Clara again. And, unexpectedly, meeting and falling for a charming Captain.

However, things change when Olivia's sister disappears. Olivia is determined to find her, even to the point of putting her own life, and love, at risk.

Beneath a Burning Sky may be described as a historical romance, but it's much more than a that; it's full of intrigue and mystery that makes it such a great read. It has aspects of a thriller, with Olivia's determination to find out what's happened to her sister. This is Jenny Ashcroft's debut novel, and it is a wonderfully written book that's very hard to put down. I don't read a lot of historical novels, but found myself completely immersed in Beneath a Burning Sky. 

Rating: 5/5

Check out the other stops on the Beneath a Burning Sky blog tour!

UNCOVERED INTERVIEWS: Ruth Kaufman

Joining me on the blog today is Ruth Kaufman, author of new novel My Life as an Extra. Ruth was inspired by her experiences as a film and TV extra, and she's already working on the sequel!

Tell us about your latest novel in 15 words or less.
Rebuilding her life after divorcing, Marla learns to feel special when she’s not the star.

What inspired you to write My Life as an Extra?
I've worked as an extra on more than 70 movies and TV shows filmed in Chicago, and thought that world would make an interesting backdrop because of the lengths people  often need to go to complete a film and the various personalities that inhabit it.

Where do you do most of your writing?
I usually write at my desk in my home office because I prefer the larger monitor and better ergonomics. But sometimes I take my laptop to a quiet coffee shop or a friend's place for a different atmosphere.

What is your favourite book?
That's a tough question because I have so many on my keeper shelf! I love Margaret George's The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers: A Novel.

Which part of My Life as an Extra did you enjoy writing the most?
I had so much fun writing a scene later in the book that takes place at Marla's day job. I'm a panster (meaning I don't plot first), so I kept laughing out loud as developments unfolded. And when a certain event took place, it was quite the "aha" moment. I don't want to give any spoilers....

Who is your favourite literary heroine?
I'd say whenever I'm reading a book I love, that heroine is my favorite.

Do you have any tips for readers who are looking to become published writers?
So many! The first would be to learn about and stay on top of changes in the market. The second is to be aware that nowadays one book isn't usually enough for those who want to sell, so it's helpful to have a career plan and know how fast you can write.

Are you working on anything else at the moment and if so, can you tell us?
I'm finishing revisions on the sequel to MLE, My Life as a Star, in which Marla learns be careful what you wish for when her acting career and feelings for a hot, famous director skyrocket.

Thanks, Ruth!

You can find out more about Ruth Kaufman by visiting her website, blog, Facebook, or by following her on Twitter.

My Life as an Extra

Chicagoan Marla Goldberg must rebuild her life at forty-one after an unexpected divorce. While adjusting to singlehood, trying to improve conditions at the radio station where she's an account executive and fit in with her successful family, she dips her toes into the daunting dating pool. 

Marla yearns to fulfill her long-held dream of being a full-time, working actor, yet can't quite believe, "Leap and the net will appear." Being a movie and TV show extra teaches her meaningful lessons, but she must learn what for her is the hardest lesson of all: how to feel special and valued when you’re not the star. 

BOOK REVIEW: The Beta Mum: Adventures in Alpha Land by Isabella Davidson

The Beta Mum: Adventures in Alpha Land is the newly-released debut novel by Isabella Davidson, popular blogger at Notting Hill Yummy Mummy (check out her recent blog tour to find out more about Isabella!) I was pretty excited about this book as soon as I heard about it. A new city, rivalry, anonymous blogging...it seemed like a promising debut!

When her husband lands a job opportunity that's hard to turn down, Sophie Bennett begins to prepare the family's big move from Toronto to London. Moving to a new city is hard enough, but heading to a new city halfway across the globe is even more difficult - especially when there's Sophie's four-year-old daughter Kaya's schooling to consider.

Luckily, Michael's contacts have landed them the services of a nursery consultant who manages to get Kaya a place at Cherry Blossoms, one of the most exclusive nurseries in Notting Hill. Sophie is sure that taking Kaya to her new school will provide the perfect opportunity to talk to the other mums and make new friends - but as it happens, she couldn't be more wrong.

The mums at Cherry Blossoms are not what Sophie expects; incredibly wealthy, beautiful (one is an actual supermodel) and just a bit judgmental, Sophie's first interactions with the 'Alpha Mums' doesn't exactly go down too well. Feeling self-conscious and out of her depth at the school gates of exclusivity she has not fully experienced before, Sophie vows to try again.

However, she soon becomes certain that she won't fit in with these high-maintenance mums who are always fighting for the top spot in the Alpha Mum roster. Rude, cliquey and fiercely competitive in everything they do, these 'yummy mummies' are desperate to outdo one another and take down anyone who gets in their way.

Lonely and homesick, Sophie takes out her frustration on a blog. Naming herself 'Beta Mum', she anonymously chronicles her day to day life at the school gates, noting some of the conversations and goings-on at some of the vast Cherry Blossoms events. Pretty soon Sophie is gaining followers from all around the world, who are stopping by to share their own amusing tales of school-run woes.

As the blog gains more attention - especially from one man who might just be married to one of the Alphas - Sophie becomes more content, making sure she documents her new life full of overachieving competitive mums for the world to read about. With her blog, people are finally listening to her, making her realise that she's not alone.

That is until one day, when she accidentally reveals the location of the London nursery, and it's only a matter of time before the Alpha's work out the mystery blogger's true identity...

I'm going to stop there in case I spoil any more, and I certainly don't want to do that because this book is downright brilliant. I was hooked from page one, and it didn't take me long to finish because I could hardly put it down. Isabella is funny, with sparkling wit, and her fun writing style shines through. I was rooting for Sophie since the very beginning of the novel.

I'm not a mum, and thus have never experienced the kind of behaviour Sophie has to endure at the nursery, however I have heard similar stories from others who have! It reminds me of high school, where classes were dominated by the typical cliques and bullies. Some people just never seem to grow up, often concealing their own problems and insecurities beneath a false layer of confidence, and I think Isabella has captured this brilliantly.

The Beta Mum: Adventures in Alpha Land is an absolutely wonderful, unputdownable debut.

Rating: 5/5

BLOG TOUR: Q&A with Jill Steeples, author of Summer at the Dog and Duck

Jill Steeples joins us today as part of her blog tour for new novel, Summer at the Dog and Duck. The novel is available from Aria and focuses on Ellie Browne, landlady at the pub in idyllic Little Leyton. Want to know more about Jill and her novels? Then read on!

Tell us about your latest novel in 15 words or less.
Cider, sunshine, love and sizzling secrets. It’s all happening at The Dog & Duck this summer!

What inspired you to write Summer at the Dog & Duck?
It’s the second in the series of books base around a cosy fictional pub called The Dog and Duck set in the idyllic English village of Little Leyton. My family are from the East End of London and the local pub was always at the heart of the community.  I’d always been fascinated by the different characters who came together at the pub and wanted to tell some of their stories.

Where do you do most of your writing?
Curled up on my sofa, overlooking the garden, with my dog, Amber, at my side.

What is your favourite book?
This is always such a difficult question because there have been so many I’ve loved, but I always come back to The Country Girls by Edna O’Brien. It’s a beautifully written coming of age story set in rural Ireland.

Which part of  Summer at the Dog & Duck did you enjoy writing the most?
In this book, Max’s younger sister, Katie turns up in the village, full of angst and attitude.  I adored writing her scenes because although she’s clearly troubled, she’s gutsy, funny and has a huge heart.

Who is your favourite literary heroine?
Bridget Jones! Just hearing her name makes me smile.  She is so funny, down-to-earth and, for a whole generation of women, very relatable.

Do you have any tips for readers who are looking to become published writers?
Join a writing group where you can meet like-minded people.  Writing can be such a lonely business, especially when you’re starting out, that you need to find others who will encourage and support you during the bad times.  I joined a creative writing class and the people I met there gave me the confidence to take my writing seriously.  There are so many great online groups too and societies such as the Romantic Novelist’s Association, which I belong to.

Are you working on anything else at the moment and if so, can you tell us?
I’m currently writing the third in the Dog and Duck series. It’s still early days, buts it’s always very exciting to return to the characters to see what they’re up to.  All I can say at the moment is that it’s going to be a very busy time for Ellie at The Dog and Duck.

Thanks, Jill!

To find out more about Jill Steeples, you can follow her on Twitter, via Facebook, or visit her website. Jill's previous novel, Winter at the Dog & Duck, is available now.

About Jill

Jill Steeples lives in a small market town in Bedfordshire with her husband and two children. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, baking cakes, eating them and drinking wine.

Summer at the Dog & Duck

The perfect summer read. Continuing the light hearted, uplifting dramas around the 'The Dog & Duck' pub and the life of its landlady Ellie Browne.

Ellie Browne  has found happiness running The Dog and Duck pub in the idyllic village of Little Leyton, and her blossoming romance with tall, handsome property developer,  Max Golding, is going swimmingly. With her new best friend,  Digby, the black Labrador at her side, life just couldn't be sweeter.  

But their peace is shattered when  Max's younger sister,  Katy, turns up unannounced with a whole heap of attitude. And  Max's loyalties are stretched further when his glamorous ex,  Sasha, re-appears with her own burgeoning secret.  

With the master of the manor preoccupied with the demands of his 'other women',  Ellie's forced to consider if she has any role to play in  Max's life or in the village of Little Leyton.  

Can Ellie get her life and relationship back on track in time for the summer charity ball at Braithwaite Manor?

UNCOVERED INTERVIEWS: Sherill Turner

Sherill Turner is a New York-based actress and author who has just released her debut novel Him Downstairs - a romantic comedy in which Lucy has to get over boyfriend Tom - but it's not easy when he lives in the flat below! Sherill joins us this week for the Q&A, to tell us more about the novel, her writing life and projects.

Tell us about your latest novel in 15 words or less.
Him Downstairs is about the hilarity and heartbreak of navigating modern-day life and love.

What inspired you to write Him Downstairs?
Some hilariously disastrous dates! I also wanted to explore how dating in our 30s is different these days. So many people are separated or divorced now, have children to consider, are balancing one or two mortgages – there are so many other factors that contribute to if a relationship works.

Where do you do most of your writing?
Coffee shops are great (especially if there’s cake!). Libraries are my favourite. I moved to New York last year and am obsessed with the gorgeous Stephen A. Schwarzman library. I always say this, but the reading rooms are like a Harry Potter set!

What is your favourite book?
To Kill a Mockingbird. I read it in school and although I’d always loved reading as a child, this was the first book that made me realize how a story can take you to a totally different place, but you still recognize yourself in the people there.

Which part of Him Downstairs did you enjoy writing the most?
I think the Singles Night episode. I had so much fun with Lucy’s friendship with Caz and Becs and taking them on a girls’ night out was a blast to write! Plus, I did actually go on this "interesting" dating experience!

Who is your favourite literary heroine?
Oh, do I have to pick just one? Moll Flanders – what a resourceful woman and a riot to read! Elizabeth Bennet, of course! She’s so fabulous and flawed, which makes her more relatable.

Do you have any tips for readers who are looking to become published writers?
Him Downstairs is my first novel and I deliberated for a long time before self-publishing it. I’m glad I waited because I got to keep making it better. Am also glad to have published the eBook version myself, it’s very empowering. We need stories that are entertaining, that are relatable and inspiring more than ever, so whether you go the traditional publishing route or self-publish, your work has value.

Are you working on anything else at the moment and if so, can you tell us?
I’ve just written a couple of comedy sketches for a friend who is putting together a TV anthology show.  I'm in the editing process for a short film. It’s a comedy that I co-wrote and produced with a partner in the U.K. and is my film directing debut. Am also narrating the audiobook of Him Downstairs and wondering why on earth I made one of the characters Welsh! It’s a wonderfully creative and busy time and I'm consuming a lot of tea and cake!

Thanks, Sherill!

You can find out more about Sherill Turner and her books at her website, or by following her on Twitter.

Him Downstairs by Sherill Turner

How do you get over someone who lives under you?

Life for Lucy Jenkins is going OK … ish. Yes, she’s thirty-three, single, and has had to work as a waitress and children’s party entertainer since her social worker salary suffered from budget cuts, but she stays positive and manages to pay the mortgage on her flat. Her home is her sanctuary – until Tom moves in downstairs. Lucy and Tom quickly fall in love and into a serious relationship, which is complicated by Tom’s recent separation from his wife, who he has two young sons with.

Lucy is heartbroken when Tom breaks up with her, saying that something has to give in his busy life. Encouraged/coerced/badgered by her friends into getting ‘back on that horse’, Lucy finds herself at a tacky Singles Night; dating Danny, a Justin Timberlake impersonator; and attempting a rendezvous with her ‘special friend’. Lucy’s quest to move on from Tom would be a whole lot easier if she didn’t have to hear everything he does.

After all, how on earth do you get over someone when you can hear them peeing?

UNCOVERED PICKS: Five new releases for May!

It's the start of a new month which, of course, means some fab new books! This month sees the release of new novels from Sian O'Gorman, Sue Watson and more, and so as the monthly tradition goes, here's the Uncovered selection of five!

Always and Forever by Sian O'Gorman
How can you find yourself again, when you can't face what you've lost?

Joanna Woulfe is looking to get her life back on track after her husband John leaves their family home. Once a high-flying PR Director, Jo now looks after her son Harry and seeks support only from her mother Marietta and her best friend Nicole. But Nicole's own marriage is facing its greatest ever crisis, and Marietta, too, is distracted by the reappearance of an old flame, ex-Showband-singer and lothario Patrick Realta.

Soon Jo enrols with a colourful local amateur dramatics group and begins a flirtation with the handsome young Ronan Forest. But is she really ready to move on from her old life – and from her years of marriage to John? And what was it that happened three years ago that sent the couple into free-fall?

Before long Jo will realise that is only by looking back that she will ever truly be able to move forward...

The Other Us by Fiona Harper
If you could turn back time, would you choose a different life?

Forty-something Maggie is facing some hard truths. Her only child has flown the nest for university and, without her daughter in the house, she’s realising her life, and her marriage to Dan, is more than a little stale.

When she spots an announcement on Facebook about a uni reunion, she can’t help wondering what happened to Jude Hanson. The same night Dan proposed, Jude asked Maggie to run away with him, and she starts to wonder how different her life might have been if she’d broken Dan’s heart and taken Jude up on his offer.

Wondering turns into fantasising, and then one morning fantasising turns into reality. Maggie wakes up and discovers she’s back in 1992 and twenty-one again. Is she brave enough to choose the future she really wants, and if she is, will the grass be any greener on the other side of the fence?

Two men. Two very different possible futures. But is there only once chance at happiness?

The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman
One moment Lili is arguing with Dan, her husband, the next he is killed in a terrible car accident right outside their family home.

Three years later and Lili has managed to resume her day-to-day life as a mother of two girls and a successful textbook illustrator. But despite her outward appearance, she feels an aching loss. 

However, when she is commissioned to illustrate a series of horticultural books, Lili is forced to take gardening class and the wilted roots of her life finally start to blossom. The class provides Lili with a new network of friends - friends with their own heartaches and problems - and, maybe, another chance at love...

Just for the Holidays by Sue Moorcroft
In theory, nothing could be better than a summer spent basking in the French sun. That is, until you add in three teenagers, two love interests, one divorcing couple, and a very unexpected pregnancy.

Admittedly, this isn’t exactly the relaxing holiday Leah Beaumont was hoping for – but it’s the one she’s got. With her sister Michele’s family falling apart at the seams, it’s up to Leah to pick up the pieces and try to hold them all together.

But with a handsome helicopter pilot staying next door, Leah can’t help but think she might have a few distractions of her own to deal with...

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend.

Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything.

One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted – while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she’s avoided all her life.

Change can be good. Change can be bad. But surely any change is better than… fine?

BLOG TOUR: Q&A with Beezy Marsh, author of Mr Make Believe

Beezy Marsh is the author of Mr Make Believe, a romantic comedy about a journalist turned stay-at-home mum. Mr Make Believe was released today, and as part of her blog tour, Beezy has stopped by to answer a few questions about her new book, and life as a writer...

Tell us about your latest novel in 15 words or less.
Daydreaming mum loses husband and career, writes blog, burns tea, meets movie star crush and...

What inspired you to write Mr Make Believe?
Well, I'm a mum-of-two who used to regularly write the front page for a national newspaper, a bit like my main character, Marnie Martin, and I know lots of mothers who are struggling to hold it all together at home; trying to have some kind of career while looking after the children and to strike a balance between it all. It can be isolating to be at home all day with the kids and I have always been a dreamer and asking around, I found lots of my mum friends had secret crushes on movie stars, which they used to keep themselves going when reality was tough. I picked up that theme and took it to an extreme, playing with the notion of what would happen if a mum whose life wasn't turning out the way she'd hoped got to meet her Mr Make Believe. The whole interplay between our real lives and our social media lives is endlessly fascinating to me so that was a big part of it too.

Where do you do most of your writing?
Sometimes I edit pages and write notes on the train if I have to go up to London from my home in Oxfordshire but most days I sit in a spare bedroom in my house and bash away at my keyboard. The letters have worn off it  - I must get a new one.

What is your favourite book?
I find it really hard to pick just one book! I love absolutely everything that Jilly Cooper has written. I would read her shopping list if she published it  - I bet even that would be brilliant. But if I were only allowed one book, I would probably take Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. Everything about it is perfect, starting with that first sentence - "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." I immediately want to read on.

Which part of Mr Make Believe did you enjoy writing the most?
Well, I loved writing all of the book; it was like a roller coaster ride and I didn't want to get off. But the best bit for me was definitely when Marnie got to know her Mr Make Believe a little better...

Who is your favourite literary heroine?
Becky Sharp, Vanity Fair. What a woman!

Do you have any tips for readers who are looking to become published writers?
Getting published is a long, hard road and rejection is a part of the process. Listen carefully to feedback and try to learn from it, especially if you are lucky enough to get criticism from people who actually work in the industry because they know the market. Keep believing in yourself.

Are you working on anything else at the moment and if so, can you tell us?
Yes, I'd love to tell you about my next projects. I am editing a prequel to Mr Make Believe, called Ten Easy Steps To I Love You, which features Marnie Martin but tells the story of how her best mate Belle Devine, the showbiz journalist, gets to meet her Mr Right. I am still in love with all the characters in Marnie Martin's world, so there may be a sequel to Mr Make Believe before too long as well. With my non-fiction hat on, I have a historical memoir coming out with Pan Macmillan at the end of July, which covers the lives of three sisters from London during the 1930s. It's called Keeping My Sisters' Secrets and it's a really moving story about them overcoming poverty and adversity, finding love as the Second World War looms on the horizon.

Thanks, Beezy!

Mr Make Believe by Beezy Marsh

Marnie Martin’s formerly perfect life is not quite going to plan. 

Hard-hitting newspaper journalist turned stay-at-home mum and part-time failing food columnist, Marnie is wondering when her life went so wrong.

While her husband Matt’s career takes off, she’s left with the impossible task of pairing socks and locating Lego. His late nights at the office are turning into late nights who knows where else and they haven’t had a proper conversation in weeks, sex in months, or a full night’s sleep in years. 

On the brink of losing everything when a fantasy about movie star Maddox Wolfe leads to a missed deadline and a disastrous case of food poisoning, Marnie becomes Mrs Make Believe: anonymous blogger, secret spiller, and voice of imperfect mums everywhere. 

However, Marnie Martin could never have imagined that her movie star daydream would walk off the screen and into her reality, turning her already muddled world totally on its head.

Will Marnie find happiness in the arms of the (literal) man of her dreams? Or will she find that true love is just make believe?

BOOK REVIEW: Stuck With You by Carla Burgess

What's can be more scary than being stuck in a lift? (Okay, okay. Many things. But still.) How about being stuck in a lift with the college crush you stalked adored?

This is exactly what happens to Elena in Stuck With You, the new novel from Carla Burgess (author of Marry Me Tomorrow). Can we just appreciate the prettiness of this cover for a moment?

The cover and premise are what attracted me to this novel. It seemed quite fun, even though I'm not normally one for overly-sweet romances. 'But,' you may ask, 'you blog about chick-lit. How can you not like romance?!' This is true, and I do enjoy romance in my reads - I just like more to a story than two people falling in love.

Which is probably why I didn't enjoy this novel quite as much as I'd expected.

Elena has fantasised over colleage heartthrob Daniel Moore for years. In fact, she constantly replays in her mind the moment of his prom-night kiss to this day, even though she's older and in a long-term relationship with boyfriend Alex.

However, things haven't been too good with Alex for some time, and this lack of passion is confirmed when Alex, quite horribly, dumps her. Forced to live with her parents again in her teenage room (which amusingly contains the 'Daniel Box' full of colleage mementoes...), Elena intends to embark on a new Alex-free life.

But things soon change when she gets trapped in a supermarket elevator...with none other than Daniel Moore.

The chance encounter leads to some interesting conversation and reminiscing (after the initial awkwardness) - after all, which girl didn't fancy the sexy, confident aspiring rock star Daniel? Soon they're meeting up, and on a journey that'll determine whether or not their lift experience was a crafty act of fate...

This was a sweet book. If you like boy-meets-girl, getting-to-know-you stories, then Stuck With You should be on your reading list. To me, however, it was just 'okay'. I think I just expected more from it, maybe more humour or events - something other than a predictable romance. I found myself skim-reading a lot of chapters, and only because I wanted to find out what happened at the end - mainly with Alex (who, I have to say, is horrible. Almost TOO horrible. I don't think I've ever wanted to punch a chick-lit character more than this guy). I wanted to know if he might get some sort of comeuppance, if just for the way he treated Elena. At first I felt that she could have stuck up for herself a bit more, but I know that sometimes it's best to just move on.

I liked Elena, and after her lack of luck at the beginning of the book, I wanted her to find happiness. I found her lift encounter with Daniel to be sweet and a bit funny (I think for some of us, bumping into your teenage crush would be horrifying!)

Stuck With You is a good read for romance fans. I wish I could say I enjoyed it more, but I just think it fell flat after a certain point, and there wasn't much to the story besides the two of them getting to know each other as they went about their day-to-day lives. That said, I don't think this was an issue with the book or the author (especially seeing as most readers have loved the novel, and it's gained some great reviews). I think it was just down to personal preference - I only took a chance on this obvious love story because it seemed more interesting than others. I know this may seem like an odd review, but I aim to be fair to both readers and authors in my reviews, and I truly feel that this was not a bad book, it just wasn't my kind of thing.

Rating: 3/5

UNCOVERED PICKS: Three New Thrillers

For the fans of psychological thrillers with some great twists, here's another selection of new and upcoming novels to look out for!

The Darkest Lies by Barbara Copperthwaite - released on 12th May
A mother desperate for the truth. A daughter hiding a terrible secret.

Melanie Oak appeared to have the perfect life. Married to her childhood sweetheart, Jacob, the couple live with their beautiful, loving, teenage daughter, Beth, in a pretty village.

Nothing can shake her happiness - until the day that Beth goes missing and is discovered beaten almost to the point of death, her broken body lying in a freezing creek on the marshes near their home.

Consumed with grief, Melanie is determined to find her daughter’s attacker. Someone in the village must have seen something. Why won’t they talk? 

As Melanie tries to piece together what happened to Beth, she discovers that her innocent teenager has been harbouring some dark secrets of her own. The truth may lie closer to home and put Melanie’s life in terrible danger…

When I Wake Up by Jessica Jarlvi - released on 1st June
'Why won't Mummy wake up?' 

When Anna, a much-loved teacher and mother of two, is left savagely beaten and in a coma, a police investigation is launched. News of the attack sends shock waves through her family and their small Swedish community. Anna seems to have had no enemies, so who wanted her dead?

As loved-ones wait anxiously by her bedside, her husband Erik is determined to get to the bottom of the attack, and soon begins uncovering his wife's secret life, and a small town riven with desire, betrayal and jealousy. 

As the list of suspects grows longer, it soon becomes clear that only one person can reveal the truth, and she's lying silent in a hospital bed...

Lie to Me by Jess Ryder - released 19th April
Three minutes. That’s all it takes for Meredith’s entire world to fall apart when she watches the videotape of her four-year-old self with Becca, the mother who abandoned her.

Meredith can’t believe what her eyes have seen. Yet what if her memory has locked away the painful reality of her childhood? Can there be any truth in the strange and dangerous story her mother forced her to tell on camera? 

The search for answers leads Meredith to Darkwater Pool, the scene of the murder of a young woman, Cara, over 30 years ago. What could possibly be the link between her mother and the victim?
To find the truth Meredith must search through a past that is not her own. The problem is, she’s not the only one looking…

BLOG TOUR: The Bluebell Bunting Society by Poppy Dolan - Extract!

The Bluebell Bunting Society is the brand new novel from Poppy Dolan. Set in a little village, the book focuses on Connie, caretaker of the village's Bluebell Hall. Connie and her friends find themselves up against property developers who are threatening to take over the Hall, which is not only a piece of Hazelhurst history, but also meant a lot to Connie's much-loved Gran.

As part of Poppy's blog tour, here's an extract of the lovely new book!

The Bluebell Bunting Society

A familiar face gives me a big shock as I’m waiting for the class to show up. ‘Susannah! You’re here!’

‘Of course I am, dear.’ She smooths her charcoal grey pencil skirt underneath her and sits on a plastic stacking chair. ‘I’ve brought my own sewing kit, to boot.’

‘But you said hells bells to it!’

She blinks coolly at me. ‘No, Constance. You asked me what Rosemarie would have said, and I told you. But I will support whatever you do to meet new people, and try new things.’

‘For the good of the Hall.’

‘Yes, that too. Besides, I remember your GCSEs, and that apron. I thought you might need some help.’

Why hadn’t I thought of it before? Susannah was a card-carrying old lady with all the handicraft skill that went with it – she’d be a whiz on Gran’s machines and could make sure I wasn’t using bias binding instead of elastic, as I had in my first abysmal attempt.

‘Well, I’m very happy to have you here. Can I get you tea while we wait for the others? I have five definites and I hope some drop-ins. More next week if it all goes to plan and Flip can help spread the word.’

As I’m boiling the kettle for two teas, I hear our PR guru clatter in lightly on heels, put down something with a clunk (I’m guessing her sewing machine) and launch into a conversation with Susannah about how she started sewing. She’s running through the courses she’s taken, from adult evening classes to an intensive week at the WI college, as I come back in with the drinks. I had no idea such a place existed but it sounds pretty cool. ‘My mum absolutely hated anything close to a domestic science!’ she hoots. ‘But in her defence, she was a radical. It just screamed oppression and stupefaction to her. To me, it just means half an hour of headspace and clothes that actually fit my breasts!’

Neither of us can now help but look at Flip’s impressive bosoms, clad in what must be a hand-knitted pea-green cardigan.

She’s thundering on, really enjoying her subject. I just get the impression Flip enjoys everything to the maximum, and I love that about a person. Gran used to say ‘some people are drains and some people are radiators. The drains just suck up everything good that comes their way and all they do is give back a bad feeling in return. But radiators make a place more comforting, they make people feel warm and welcome. Some people can’t help being drains but it doesn’t mean you have to fill your house with them.’

I tune back into Flip’s chatter. ‘But any skills women can teach women are a joy, and an essential part of how we shore up the generational relationships, stay strong as a community, share our strengths and cover our weaknesses. That’s why I was so keen to join the WI when I moved here. And when it comes to sewing, well, my daughter Melody and I might row about the Wi-Fi code – I reset every day at 10 p.m.,’ she nods conspiratorially, ‘but we can come together over making her a prom dress from scratch. And it’s much cheaper to boot!’ Cackle cackle.

‘There is something special about being in the company of women, almost sacred.’ Susannah nods.

And that’s just when Dominic arrives.

ABOUT POPPY DOLAN

Poppy Dolan lives in Berkshire with her husband. She's a near-obsessive baker and a keen crafter, so on a typical weekend can be found moving between the haberdashery and kitchenware floors of a department store, adding to her birthday wish list. She has written three novels: The Bad Boyfriends Bootcamp, There's More to Life than Cupcakes and most recently The Bluebell Bunting Society. The Bad Boyfriends Bootcamp made it into the Amazon top 100 bestseller chart, so clearly someone other than her mum must have read it. She's currently working on her fourth novel – it's about friends, siblings and crafty things – and drinking far too much tea.

UNCOVERED PICKS: Five April Releases

It's a new month! Spring is here, and the sun is out (at the moment, anyway!) There's nothing better than relaxing with a drink and a good book, so here's a selection of five new women's fiction releases for April.

A Life Without You by Shari Low
30 year old Dee Harper and her husband, Joe, are blissfully happy. Every day she makes her loyal parents Val & Don incredibly proud. Jen has been her best friend and 'adopted sister' since their days of teenage crushes, bad 90's make-up and huge hair. They are just like any other group of family and friends, living life, getting by with equal measures of love and laughter. Until one day everything changes. 

Dee is gone, killed by a reckless driver, leaving the people she loved to deal with their grief in different ways. A marriage is rocked as a parent becomes consumed with seeking justice. A husband struggles to accept the loss of his wife and their future. And a friend discovers that there were shocking secrets that went unshared. But all of them have to learn that the only way forward is to let go of the past.

The Woman Who Met Her Match by Fiona Gibson
What if your first love came back on the scene...30 years later?

After yet another disaster, Lorrie is calling time on online dating. She might be single in her forties, but she’s got a good job, wonderful children and she’s happy. This, Lorrie decides, is going to have to be enough.

That is, until she receives a very unexpected request from France. Antoine Rousseau, who had once turned a lonely French exchange trip into a summer of romance, wants to see her – after thirty years.
But Lorrie is a responsible woman. She can’t exactly run off to Nice with the man who broke her teenage heart...can she?

Lost for Words by Stephanie Butland
This bookshop keeps many secrets...

Loveday Cardew prefers books to people. If you look carefully, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But there are some things Loveday will never show you.

Into her refuge - the York book emporium where she works - come a poet, a lover, a friend, and three mysterious deliveries, each of which stirs unsettling memories.

Everything is about to change for Loveday. Someone knows about her past and she can't hide any longer. She must decide who around her she can trust. Can she find the courage to right a heartbreaking wrong? And will she ever find the words to tell her own story?

It's time to turn the pages of her past...

Lost and Found by Danielle Ryan
Can true love prevail when the real and online world collide? Melissa Riva works in Milan as a university researcher. After buying an iPad at auction, she finds it contains files belonging to its previous owner. Fascinated by the beautiful photographs of romantic landscapes and views of the city, she starts her search for the previous owner. Locating him through Facebook, Melissa can't resist contacting him. Melissa and Riccardo begin chatting online. Both of them becoming increasingly dependent on this strange relationship, though acutely aware that it's only likely to remain a virtual one. But when real life bursts in on their digital world, they can't resist revealing their true feelings...

The Cows by Dawn O'Porter
COW [n.]
/kaʊ/
A piece of meat; born to breed; past its sell-by-date; one of the herd.

Women don’t have to fall into a stereotype.

Tara, Cam and Stella are strangers living their own lives as best they can – though when society’s screaming you should live life one way, it can be hard to like what you see in the mirror.

When an extraordinary event ties invisible bonds of friendship between them, one woman’s catastrophe becomes another’s inspiration, and a life lesson to all.

Sometimes it’s ok not to follow the herd.

The Cows is a powerful novel about three women – judging each other, but also themselves. In all the noise of modern life, they need to find their own voice.