3/5

Synopsis from Goodreads:

As the snow flutters down in the little village of Linnetford, escape to a cosy farmhouse kitchen, scented with the rich aromas of fruitcake and gingerbread, where a love of baking is about to unite two lonely hearts…

Cathy cooked at her mother’s side her whole life and could bake a fairy cake before she could ride a bike. Now she is facing her first Christmas without her beloved mother, she’s determined to use her memories for something positive. She decides to organise a weekly cooking class, sharing her mother’s precious recipes with other lonely souls.

There’s just one small spanner in the works: teenager Tansy, who attends Cathy’s classes even though she’s rude to everyone there and seems to hate every minute. Cathy is poised to ask Tansy to leave, but her uncle, physiotherapist Matt, begs her to give the teenager another chance. And Cathy can’t resist Matt’s sparkling hazel eyes and incredibly kind heart…

But just as Cathy is feeling she might find joy again, her ex returns to Linnetford, desperate for a second chance. With Matt becoming distant as his life gets more complicated, it seems so easy to return to the safe embrace of someone she knows so well. Can Cathy avoid the temptation of falling back in love with the man who broke her heart and let Christmas bring her the greatest gift – that of happiness?

My Thoughts: 

I had high hopes for this one – baking, romance, Christmas…it sounded like a great escape.  I did enjoy the setting and all the secondary characters were a lot of fun.  And I definitely craved more baked goods that I should as I was reading.  But the main character, Cathy was sorely lacking in self-confidence and that really bothered me.  It also felt as though the story had trouble focusing on one plot line – maybe it was just me because the book gets great reviews on Goodreads.  =)

4/5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Three months after four-year-old Holly Gebhardt was kidnapped, she was inexplicably returned to the same park from which she’d vanished…with no memory of the ordeal. Though a local handyman was convicted, suspicion also fell on his friend—Holly’s mother, Cecily. The troubling doubts about her involvement shattered the family, forever driving a wedge between mother and daughter.

Twenty years later, another girl goes missing under eerily similar circumstances. It’s just the latest in a series of kidnappings that Detective Jason Guidry thinks Holly can help solve. Though Holly has tried to move on with her life, a young girl’s life hangs in the balance. All she has to do is try to remember…

With her memory still mostly blank, Holly is missing vital pieces of the puzzle, and she believes her mother can put them in place. In desperation and fear, Holly and her mother come together again. But in a chilling rush toward the past, Cecily still has secrets she’s yet to share with her daughter. Should she dare to breathe a word, she could lose Holly all over again.

My Thoughts:

I’m not a huge fan of thrillers – they send to cause me more anxiety than reading should.  😉 But the description of this one on Netgalley suckered me in.  I really enjoyed meeting these characters and learning about their relationships.  The relationship between Holly and her mother was especially interesting – how in the world does a mother continue a “normal” life after her child has been kidnapped?  This novel kept me guessing almost until the end and I definitely recommend it if you’re looking for something in the thriller category.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book broke my heart and then put it back together again at least twice.

Martha is a single mom to twins Molly and Jacob.  It isn’t safe for the twins to live in their London suburb during World War 2 so the children are sent to live with strangers in the countryside.  In The Lost Children, we learn what it was like for mothers {and fathers} to make this sacrifice to keep their children safe.  The horrible war just kept battering families over and over but we watch them remain resilient and strong.

I loved this story and all the characters we meet have depth and a story all their own.  I definitely recommend this novel for anyone who likes a great setting and excellent character development!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Have you ever done something stupid that you wish you could undo? In this fun, Christmas themed novel, Maelyn gets that chance. She’s living the same Christmas vacation over and over until she makes the right choices. Along the way she finds out what will happen when she takes the chances she’s always wanted to. She might just discover what really matters and have the time of her life.

– Thank you to NetGalley for this Advanced Reading Copy. Thoughts and opinions are my own.