One Family Christmas - Bella Osborne (Blog Tour & Review)

Date of Reading: 19/10/2020

Author: Bella Osborne

Publisher: Avon

Publication Date: October 15, 2020

Source: NetGalley

Rating: 4.5/5

(This review is part of the blog tour organised by Rachel's Random Resources)

About the book:

A big family. A whole lot of secrets. A Christmas to remember…

This year, Lottie is hosting one last big family Christmas at the home she grew up in – just like her Nana would have wanted.

But when her relatives descend on the old manor house, Lottie gets more than she bargained for. Every family has its secrets, but in this family, everybody has one!

So, between cooking a Christmas dinner, keeping tensions at bay and a stray dog out of mischief, she has plenty on her plate (and not just misshapen sausage rolls and a frozen turkey). And then her first love shows up – nine years after he walked out of her life.

Can Lottie make their last family Christmas one to remember… for the right reasons?

A festive treat to curl up with this Christmas, perfect for fans of Milly Johnson and Trisha Ashley.

Review:

        I am speechless! It is a known fact that miracle hands are needed to manage a festive family gathering, but to manage Collins family . . . we need something more. Talk about a crazy family, and adorable in their own ways too.

        To honour her grandmother's last wish, Lottie is hosting the last Christmas in the manor. Her career and love life is in shambles and she is going to be homeless soon, but she can handle one Christmas right? How naive she was!!! 

        On the one side, there are the pets, Duchess the cat and Dave the dog, turning everything topsy turvy (I was planning to buy a puppy for Christmas, now I am not so sure). Then the family secrets which decide this the perfect timing to come out of the closet; and yes, Lottie's old flame is back too. What is not to go wrong?

        Did I scare you enough? Aren't you curious how Lottie survive this messiness? Go ahead then. This hilarious, unforgettable family story will definitely bring back memories of bygone Christmases and anticipation for more.

Meet the author:

Bella has been jotting down stories as far back as she can remember but decided that 2013 would be the year that she finished a full-length novel. Since then she’s written six best selling romantic comedies and she’s been shortlisted three times for the RNA Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year Award. 

Bella's stories are about friendship, love and coping with what life throws at you. She lives in The Midlands, UK with her husband, daughter and a cat who thinks she’s a dog. When not writing Bella is usually eating custard creams and planning holidays.

For more about Bella, visit her website at www.bellaosborne.com or follow her on social media.

Social Media Links 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/osborne_bella

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/BellaOsborneAuthor/ 

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/bellaosborneauthor/

But for the Mountains - Erin Riha (Blog Tour & Review)

Date of Reading: 03/10/2020

Author: Erin Riha

Publisher: REUTS

Publication Date: June 3, 2020

Rating: 4/5

(This review is part of the blog tour organised by Favourite Pages Book Club)

About the book:

Arden Thatcher wasn’t meant to be chosen.

But when her name is announced, she’s presented with something she never thought she’d have: a future away from her abuser. Shuttled off to attend the prestigious National Women’s Institute, Arden will receive Nordania’s highest honour, studying with other elite candidates to become leaders, diplomats, and ambassadors on the world stage.

Only, the institute’s not quite what she expected. Paraded around in gown after gown, the tests seem less about educating and more about a different competition, with a very specific prize at stake—the Nordanian Prime Minister’s son. Despite the dean’s protestations that angling for an engagement leads to expulsion, Arden sees the truth. There’s a secret bubbling beneath the institute’s refined surface, and those who refuse to play along may well wind up dead.

With the danger escalating, and the return of her abuser on the horizon, Arden’s shiny future becomes a gilded cage. And this time, she’s going to need powerful allies to escape.

Political intrigue, swoon-worthy romance, and a dash of dystopian flare, But for the Mountains begs the question, how do you change the world when you’re not allowed to try?

Review:

      Fans of 'Selection' may find this story somewhat similar, but I can't be the judge of that since I never got to read the series. I might after this, as it looks like I am inclined to like this particular trope. It is not everyday one can find such a strong heroine who fights back even with all the mental and physical abuse she has undergone. Books like these are a necessity.

   Arden Thatcher doesn't have much to look forward to in her life. Her hopes of being selected to the Institute have been demolished long back, she has no way of escaping the clutches of her benefactor's son. Then the unthinkable happens opening an escape route to a better future. But is the life at the Institute is all that is promised? Is she just transferring her bronze chains to golden ones?

    Well, the story had me hooked from the beginning. Lots of intrigues, mishaps and a love triangle -- quite a page turner from start to finish. Romantic part didn't interest me that much (nothing is confirmed yet, by the way) as Arden is a force to be reckoned with. I don't think she even needs a man. Her resilience and strong will to survive is hardly ordinary. I can't wait to know what new adventures destiny plans for you. 

Meet the author:

Erin Riha writes young adult fantasy novels about ambitious girls who don’t know they’re not supposed to exceed expectations. She has an undergraduate degree in Political Science, a Law Degree, and a deep reverence for the power of using exactly the right word in exactly the right moment. She lives in wonderfully weird Portland, Oregon, with her super dreamy husband, where they’re raising a future train engineer and a future chicken whisperer. When not writing, she’s a music director for a teen theater company, traveling the world, or dreaming of traveling the world. But for the Mountains is her debut novel.

Favourite quotes:

"It doesn't matter what I do, I'm always stuck between the person who thinks I'm trash and the person who's drunk - or both".

"You are so damn optimistic," he says.

"Well, that's something I've never been accused of."

"It wasn't until I was older that I truly understood. I wasn't worth a pronoun. I was an "it," a dehumanized nothing"

The Coffer Dams - Kamala Markandaya (Blog Tour & Review)

Date of Reading: 10/10/2020

Author: Kamala Markandaya

Publisher: HopeRoad

(Re)Publication Date: September 30, 2020

Rating: 3.5/5

(This review is part of the blog tour organised by Random Things Tours)

About the book:

Clinton, founder and head of a firm of international engineers, arrives in India to build a dam, bringing with him his young wife, Helen, and a strong team of aides and skilled men. They are faced with a formidable challenge, which involves working in daunting mountain and jungle terrain, within a time schedule dictated by the extreme tropical weather. Setbacks occur which bring into focus fundamental differences in the attitudes to life and death of the

British bosses and Indian workers. A timely reminder of the British contempt for Indian lives and for nature.

Review:

       This book has been a part of my TBR for a very long time. How can it not be? When it comes to dissertations, Kamala Markandaya is always a student's favourite. Her books are testaments to the struggles of an early India that is trying to find its foothold in a modern world. 'The Coffer Dams' is no different.

    The entire novel revolves around a massive dam construction project planned with a major British company. In alternating perspectives, the author captures the forced co-operation between the two nations and also the undercurrents within Indian society. While the British constructors perceive India with a mixture of fear and wonder, the natives, still recovering from the impact of colonisation, approach the foreigners with doubt and suspicion. Weary of each other, they proceed with caution, united only with their common aim.

    As the discourses of marginalisation gain more importance each day, Kamala Markandaya's attempts to give voice to the helpless tribals pave a new direction which is continued by contemporary writers. Without a doubt, 'The Coffer Dams' will forever remain as a classic of Indian English literature.

Meet the author:

Kamala Markandaya is a pseudonym used by Kamala Purnaiya Taylor, an Indian novelist and journalist. A native of Mysore, India, Markandaya was a graduate of Madras University, and afterwards published several short stories in Indian newspapers. After India declared its independence, Markandaya moved to Britain, though she still labelled herself an Indian expatriate long afterwards.

Known for writing about the culture clash between Indian urban and rural societies, Markandaya's first published novel, Nectar in a Sieve, was a bestseller and cited as an American Library Association Notable Book in 1955. Other novels include Some Inner Fury (1955), A Silence of Desire (1960), Possession (1963), A Handful of Rice (1966), The Nowhere Man (1972), Two Virgins (1973), The Golden Honeycomb (1977), and Pleasure City (1982/1983).