What Happens at the Beach by T A Williams

I needed a light hearted romance after a few heavy reads and this fitted the bill very well.

Natalie is at the cross roads of her life. Her fiancee does not seem to live upto her expectations, her career is non existent and she decides to go visit her grandmother in France. This step takes her on another path, helpful to her career a stepping stone almost, and  also puts a few very attractive, eligible men her way. Now Natalie has to decide what she wants and take a few decisive steps.

Light hearted, fun, romantic and at the same time beautifully descriptive of the geography of the area (makes you want to immediately fly out there), I liked the book. It took the subject matter of Natalie's dissertation seriously and I did learn a lot of French history enroute. Always interesting to learn something new.

Sent to me by Netgalley courtesy of Carina UK for an unbiased review this was a very pleasant read.

Girl in the Afternoon by Serena Burdick

Aimee is young, quite naive but she wants to be a painter in a predominantly male dominated industry in France in the 1870s. It is not a period where such a thing would be encouraged and she is fortunate that her father does allow her some leeway in this.

Her attraction to Henri, the boy who came over from London and is brought up like a brother in the
Savaray household adds to the conflict. Henri is also deeply attached to Aimee but of a sudden he disappears and no one knows why. Fast forward a number of years Aimee herself is deeply sorrowful, maintaining a facade of normality in the face of a very troubled household. The reason for Henri's sudden disappearance becomes known and certainly understandable but Aimee's position both in the Savaray household and in Henri's life is in turmoil.

It was quite an emotional roller coaster this one, but not in a gruesome, harsh way. You felt for Aimee who was torn apart by people and circumstances not of her choosing. Fate played a role in this life and her love could never be freely expressed or shown without hurting many people around her. Aimee was restricted not just by her own character but also the behaviour of the times. Delicately told not intrusive at any times, the story slowly unfolded amongst a backdrop of war and strife in France.

Sent to me by Netgalley, courtesy of St. Martin's Press for an unbiased review.

Throw Away Girls by Jennifer Vaughn

Jaycee is a hard headed journalist aiming for the big time. Though young, she has had several credits and awards and is considered one of the top journalists in LA. Along with Ben her partner for photo credits they make an awesome team.

A series of murders of young women with a message from the murderer calling them Throw Away Girls hits an inner chord in Jaycee's mind and she is determined to track the killer especially after she interviews Zoe's parents. Zoe was a seventh grade teacher. The other two victims were equally innocuous. Their common denominator was their deadly pursuit of anonymous sex.

A good psychological suspense mystery thriller (it needs all those words to describe the book!) the pace of the story is steady and builds up but we are all going elsewhere so that the climax of the story hits you unawares. It did me anyway.

A very good suspense filled novel.

Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review courtesy of Waldorf Publishing.

Two Across by Jeff Bartsch

Stanley is brilliant but not street smart, kind and caring but these come across as being quirky. Having a parent whose life is within four walls and who has a phobia about stepping out adds to the eccentricity. Stanley lives in a hotel suite, albeit a small one with his mum, after his father's death. His father was a concierge in the hotel and the hotel offers this facility to them.

Vera is also very clever, her mother is a secretary trying to upgrade her life. They have no fixed home, a series of motel rooms.

Vera and Stanley meet in the National Spelling Bee and end up as joint champions. This starts them on a lifelong journey which is quirky, strange but suits them down to the ground. Fooling both sets of parents, they decide to get married in a sham wedding purely for the financial benefits that would come to them and scrupulously divide the gains into two!

Added to the story is that they are actually in love with each other but both pretend that it is not so and pursue other interests and other lives. How the two finally meet and mesh through the world of crossword puzzles of which Stanley becomes a master and Vera becomes the one who can solve them all.

It was rather prosaic at times but was a different read.

Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Grand Central Publishing.

Lie with Me by Sabine Durrant

We have all been guilty of this little crime. We tell a small lie to impress someone and then you find that this one lie spirals out of control. It may include just that person or it could go to a whole group of people. In this case it was the beginning of an end.

There was a lot going on in this book. Difficult, unlikeable people, dysfunctional families, and all set in Greece - everyone is in holiday mood and we have our author Paul himself a character that you would dislike from the beginning and you wonder why doesn't everyone else see through him. His character and his spiel is so flawed but he is a past master at this lying game and will do anything to further his own interests. He seems shallow and manipulative but the twist is in the tail.

Go read this book to know how it ends. Quite superlative!!!

Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review courtesy of Hodder & Stoughton.

The Cavendon Luck by Barbara Taylor Bradford

I am sorry that the story has finished (hopefully temporarily). I was enthralled throughout the earlier two books and the third did not disappoint.

The two families of the Inghams and Swanns are stronger than ever. The families are still firmly entwined by feelings of love, loyalty and service. The time frame moves from the sedate times of the past to the beginning of WWII and what it will entail for not just the two families but for all their dependants and for England in general.

For those who like to read about this period, this is another evocative read. WWI and II have thrown up so many novels but each one is so different and gives us another perspective of how these wars affected the average person not just in England but around the world.

The Cavendon family was no different and apart from the romance and stature of the family very descriptively told in this story, the heartache of war affects all of them as well.

The book was sent to me by Netgalley, for an unbiased review courtesy of St. Martin's Press.

300 Days of Sun - Deborah Lawrenson

Set in two time frames which is always intriguing, we have two distinct story lines. One is from our present times where Joanna is in Portugal, trying to decide what she wants for her future and also to escape an over-whelming relationship. The other story is set in decades past in a time when Portugal was neutral during WWII and faced with many intrigues - from spies, to vast corruption and to a sorrowful story of child abductions.

The child abductions becomes the link in the two time frames and we slowly unravel a heart breaking story of Josh or Nathan or the future Rafael. There are many people who do not want these old stories brought to the forefront again and who have a lot to lose if they do come out. They are still powerful cabals in Faro and they will do anything to make sure that the past stays firmly in the past.

Joanna's encounter with a long standing English expat in Faro and his cryptic message of the story being in the book given to her is not easy to link or understand at the beginning but as the story goes on the pieces start coming together.

The story and characters are complex, the unraveling slow but it brings about a story of immense interest.

This was sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review courtesy of Lawsome Books.