A Patchwork Family by Cathy Bramley

Gina is a woman who has had a lot of darkness in her life for the past few months, however, all is once again looking up as she starts a new chapter. Recently divorced, she now has the ticket to go out into the world and do something independent and follow her dreams as a childminder. However, as she begins to strive out into the world and become something for herself disaster strikes. The Evergreens, the place which she calls home has now been put up for sale. This is now Gina's fight for what is right for both her and friends. Does she have the confidence and tenacity to keep what is most important to her?

Gina has been living on The Evergreens estate for a while now, while renting Welcome Cottage and running her childminding business from there with great success. However, when the divorce comes through, she finally decides that it is time to branch out and expand. But this is left in tatters after her landlord unexpectedly dies and leaves the estate to both her great-niece and great-nephew, Rebecca and Dexter.

It is clear from the beginning what both Rebecca and Dexter's motivations are when turning up to their Great-Aunt's funeral. To make money and sell the estate, rather than giving much of a consideration to the people who have been living there, Gina and old pensioners, Bing and Delphine. But it is also highlighted that maybe all is not as it seems, with both of them feeling different towards the selling of the estate.

Can I just say from the moment that we were introduced to Dexter he seemed lovely? I mean really lovely. I feel like this male character compared to some of the others that Cathy has created feels really different somehow. It almost feels as though he is almost perfect. Seriously, what man goes about saying that they had a meet-cute the first time they meet a woman? It's adorable and strangely not something you hear every day from a man.

I think that it is important to note however, that in order to connect better with the story to read some of the other books by Cathy. But this is not essential, it is just that they have nice connections which you seem to appreciate much better. I might even be better if you read the other books after, because it doesn't really matter which order you read these books, because they are written so good.

It seems like there is a great emphasis on what community is and what it could be. The great thing is, Gina was a part of the community and not only did she get involved and be a part of it, but it also became her patchwork family. Sometimes we make our own families and they help us and make us stand tall in the face of disaster. This is a very important message to anyone who feels down or doesn't feel like they are appreciated in the way they should do, especially in the age of the Coronavirus. Even in such dark times, there is a guiding and shining light that makes you feel fuzzy and warm inside and that is definitely 'A Patchwork Family'.

There is little I find wrong with this book, so I have decided to award the accolade of 5 stars.

Literally a Fangirl

I'm so excited to talk you about this piece of fiction. Literally it is just a masterpiece! Genre: Contemporary, Romance Year Of Publish: 2013 (US), 2014 (UK) Publisher: St Martin's Press (US), Pan Macmillian (UK) I have found that throughout the whole of this book, the main character Cath has a lot of characteristics that i can relate to. She's antisocial, a fangirl(a bit obvious), scared of the real world and prefers the imaginary world of literature compared to reality. The whole time i couldn't stop reading wanting to find out more(which is kind of bad when i have tons of essays to finish). What is a ll about? Well, the basis of the story is that Cath is going to university, but she prefers to write fanfics of Simon Snow and Baz. They are kind of an imaginary fandom, which i heard from somewhere that Rainbow Rowell is eventually going to write books about them. So that will be quite interesting. But many have said that Simon Snow is v...

The Do-Over by Lynn Painter

If you are in the mood for a sweet romance that gives Groundhog Day and Ferris Bueller vibes then this book is for you. What happens if you wake up to the same Valentine’s Day and everything always goes not to plan? What if you are someone who likes to plan and not share how you are really feeling? Emilie, our female protagonist is very much a stickler for planning and keeping to societal norms. She never really speaks her mind. But this Valentine’s Day is different. She is different. I found that the book itself is quirky and fun. It does have moments of sadness but there is a lot of heart in terms of how it is done. There could have been more time with other characters that are mentioned throughout but at the end of the day it is very much a Young Adult piece. There is nothing wrong with that. Would I read it again? Possibly if I want a Valentines themed book. It was also very quick to read for those who are not into big tomes. Rating: 4 Stars

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

I’ve been following Ashley Poston’s work for a while. At first it was the comic con series back in 2020 when she first became known to me during COVID. After I read the series I forgot about her for a while. It was only when I went into my local Waterstones to pick up The Dead Romantics she came back under my radar. She is now one of my must buys if a new book comes out. Her take of the romantic genre has always been fresh and interesting with some form of magical realism. A Novel Love Story follows our heroine Elsy, otherwise referred to as Eileen. Unlucky in love she struggles to try new things. Instead, she is comforted by her favourite book series by her favourite author, Rachel Flowers. On her way to a cabin retreat by herself, she finds her car broken down in a town that is somewhat familiar to her favourite book series. I’m not going to lie, compared to Poston’s earlier novels this book took some time for me to get into. There have been numerous occasions where I’ve had to...