The Switch by Beth O’Leary

Happy Tuesday booklovers! I hope everyone is doing ok and plodding along as best they can 🥰 Today I’m delighted to share my thoughts on The Switch by Beth O’Leary with you ✨ 

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Synopsis

Leena is too young to feel stuck.
Eileen is too old to start over.
Maybe it’s time for The Switch…

Ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, Leena escapes to her grandmother Eileen’s house for some overdue rest. Newly single and about to turn eighty, Eileen would like a second chance at love. But her tiny Yorkshire village doesn’t offer many eligible gentlemen… So Leena proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love, and L Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire.

But with a rabble of unruly OAPs to contend with, as well as the annoyingly perfect – and distractingly handsome – local schoolteacher, Leena learns that switching lives isn’t straightforward. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, and with the online dating scene. But is her perfect match nearer to home than she first thought?

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My Thoughts

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I approached the Switch with a swirling mixture of excitement and trepidation.  As some of you know, The Flatshare was one of my top reads of last year and I still think about it often, so I was (mildly) concerned that O’Leary’s next offering would be disappointing in comparison.  Well I couldn’t have been more wrong. Reading the Switch was like being wrapped in a huge, fluffy friendship duvet with a steaming mug of hot chocolate – it was an absolute joy.

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O’Leary introduced some wonderfully memorable characters in Eileen and Leena and also in their village and city chums, and this whole story centres around kindness and friendship; both important and emotive themes during the strange times in which we currently find ourselves.

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I loved the descriptions of Leena’s London life and was transported right back to when I was part of the same rat race many years ago, but equally, I loved Eileen’s village life, as this really resonates with my current situation!  Full of adventures and projects galore, The Switch gallops along and utilises change as a catalyst for love, new beginnings and so much more.

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Quirky yet funny; both sharp and witty; The Switch made my heart soar and my soul sing with laughter as I turned the pages.  I fell in love in love with Eileen and Co and I’d love to know what they’re all up to right now!

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Tender, charming and wonderfully uplifting; The Switch has been one of my favourite reads of 2020 so far.

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The Switch is out this month in stunning hardcover and you can buy it here and my thanks go to Hannah Robinson, Ella Kroft Patel and Quercus for sending me an early proof – I loved it so much, I’ve accidentally ripped the flappy doors 🚪 on it 😩🤣

Until next time! Have a wonderful day!

@mrscookesbooks

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In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

Happy Wednesday lovely bookish friends!  So I may not have my reading ability quite back up to speed, but I’m certainly catching up on outstanding reviews at a fair pace! Today I’ve plucked yet another title from the #bookbasketofshame and am delighted to be sharing my thoughts on In Five Years by Rebecca Serle ♥️

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Synopsis

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan has been in possession of her meticulously crafted answer since she understood the question. On the day that she nails the most important job interview of her career and gets engaged to the perfect man, she’s well on her way to fulfilling her life goals.

That night Dannie falls asleep only to wake up in a different apartment with a different ring on her finger, and in the company of a very different man. The TV is on in the background, and she can just make out the date. It’s the same night – December 15th – but 2025, five years in the future.
It was just a dream, she tells herself when she wakes, but it felt so real… Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind.

That is, until four and a half years later, when Dannie turns down a street and there, standing on the corner, is the man from her dream…

In Five Years is a love story, brimming with joy and heartbreak. But it is definitely not the love story you’re expecting.

My Thoughts

I picked up In Five Years on a Saturday and had finished it by the Sunday.  Yes, it is that compelling. Admittedly, for the most part I had no idea where the story was going, but I just HAD to know where it would end up.

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Beginning with a strange premonition, In Five Years is clever and artfully original; a totally unexpected story; fully of love, friendship and the element of chance.  I was assaulted with a swirl of emotion as I read this smart, yet heartbreaking story of the future.  And when I finished it, I sat back in a daze; so taken aback by how it had ended.

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I’ll be honest and say that it took me a while to warm to Dannie; she is exceptionally driven, headstrong and focused, and these qualities, whilst extremely admirable, sometimes manifested themselves quite differently and in a harsher way (to me anyway).

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In Five Years is really not your typical romance novel and it was so refreshing in that respect.  Very much a “stop and think book”; at times I felt goosebumps as I turned the pages, digesting Dannie’s situation of slowly letting life pass her by.

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Tender, unusual and beautifully written; In Five Years is perfect lockdown reading.

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In Five Years is out this month in stunning hardcover and you can buy it here.  My thanks go to Milly Reid and Quercusfor sending me an early proof.  If you like the sound of this one, why not join in with the Quercus book club over on their insta page tonight at 8pm UK time, where Rebecca Serle will be answering your questions 💫

Until next time! Have a wonderful day!

@mrscookesbooks

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The Book of Wonders by Julien Sandrel

Hello and happy Tuesday  🌞

I’m delighted to be sharing my thoughts on The Book of Wonders by Julien Sandrel today 💫 

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Synopsis

Open your heart to the most life-affirming and uplifting novel of the year…

Thelma and Louis, it’s always just been the two of them, Thelma and her beloved son, Louis.

But when Louis is involved in an accident, their lives are turned upside down, as Louis falls into a coma. Feeling lost without him by her side, Thelma finds Louis’ book of wonders – a bucket list of all the things he wants to accomplish in his life. She suddenly sees a way to feel close to him: she will fulfil Louis’ dreams, living them out for him, in the hope that it will inspire him to survive.

Thelma is about to set off on the adventure of a lifetime… and in a way, so is Louis…

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My Thoughts

The Book of Wonders is a rare breed of book; it is one that I tried to stop myself from finishing too quickly.  It is a heartbreaking story that really does make you stop and think and appreciate everything you have.  Yet it is also heartwarming; making you realise that “normal” is good; that life doesn’t have to be extraordinary to be perfect; because the mundanity of everyday routines is in fact, truly perfect.

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If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from reading this, it is that you should say what you feel.  Always.  The Book of Wonders makes you realise that the past will always be present.  It is a devastating journey of self discovery; and really makes one sit up and contemplate life’s “if’s, but’s and maybe’s”.

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Sandrel’s storytelling is smooth and effortlessly consuming.  I felt every syllable of his prose; which was written in a familiar yet delicately detailed tone.   The sadness of Louis talking in his coma washed over me as I contemplated life, hope, happiness and everything in between.

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Despite its melancholic subject matter, The Book of Wonders is compulsively morale boosting; literary uplift if you like; full of rediscovery and reinvention, kindness and transformation, love and laughter.  I was so overwhelmed with positivity as I turned the pages.

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A true tonic for the testing times in which we find ourselves; The Book of Wonders left me mooney and wistful, with my heart full of love: everyone should read it.

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The Book of Wonders is out now is out this month in paperback and you can buy it here and my thanks go to Milly Reid and Quercus for sending it to me. 💫

Until next time! Have a wonderful day!

@mrscookesbooks

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Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins

Hello and happy Monday  🌞

I’m excited to be sharing my thoughts on Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins, today 💫

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Synopsis

When the eight-year-old daughter of an Oxford College Master vanishes in the middle of the night, police turn to the Scottish nanny, Dee, for answers.

As Dee looks back over her time in the Master’s Lodging – an eerie and ancient house – a picture of a high achieving but dysfunctional family emerges: Nick, the fiercely intelligent and powerful father; his beautiful Danish wife Mariah, pregnant with their child; and the lost little girl, Felicity, almost mute, seeing ghosts, grieving her dead mother.

But is Dee telling the whole story? Is her growing friendship with the eccentric house historian, Linklater, any cause for concern? And most of all, why is Felicity silent?

Roaming Oxford’s secret passages and hidden graveyards, Magpie Lane explores the true meaning of family – and what it is to be denied one.

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My Thoughts

Magpie Lane is a book that I knew very little about, yet one that I knew I absolutely had to read (and I freely admit to being totally seduced by the stunning book jacket)! 🤩

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Magpie Lane is a domestic noir, written from the point of view of an unreliable narrator; giving a patchy and drip-fed account of the months leading up to the disappearance of an 8 year old girl.  I read it with niggling doubts and uncertainties; was the Nanny telling the truth?  Was she even of sound mind?!  And what about her dubious back story?

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For what is essentially a mystery (and a very skillfully written one at that), I throughly enjoyed the ghostly elements introduced by Atkins and revelled in the creepiness of the Master’s Lodgings and the various eerie going’s on there.

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Magpie Lane has a couple of really blood-boilingly hateful characters; they made me quite mad at times and I thoroughly enjoyed the slow teasing, tension with which Atkins revealed their characteristics and traits.

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Atkins has written intelligent, thoughtful prose and I particularly enjoyed immersing myself in the details of her setting; Oxford, as I myself once lived there, many moons ago!  Other specialist subjects that this novel centres around include: mathematical proofs, bone collecting and wallpaper restoration!  I find myself infinitely more knowledgeable in all three areas thanks to Magpie Lane!

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Tense, dark and superbly unsettling; with a genuinely jaw dropping ending, for which I was totally unprepared; Magpie Lane is an excellent read.

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Magpie Lane is out now is out now in stunning hardcover and you can buy it here and my thanks go to Ella Kroft Patel and Quercus for sending it to me.

Until next time! Have a wonderful day!

@mrscookesbooks

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The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

Hello and happy Monday   🌞

Today I’m delighted to be sharing my thoughts on The Flatshare by Beth O Leary 💫

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Synopsis

Tiffy and Leon share a flat
Tiffy and Leon share a bed
Tiffy and Leon have never met…

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.

But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven’t met yet, they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window…

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My Thoughts

Where to even begin with reviewing the book that I know most of you have read and loved?!  I’ll start by saying that The Flatshare was one of my top books of 2019; I absolutely adored it.

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Quirky and funny; The Flatshare is essentially a romantic comedy; but it is also so much more!  It is full of heart and emotion and also tackles serious issues sensitively and with warmth (one of which is emotional abuse and gaslighting).

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O’Leary has cultivated a wonderfully unique and imaginative premise, that as an aspiring writer myself, still has me thinking about how she came up with it! With a cast of the most captivating and likeable characters (I am of course in love with Leon 🥰), The Flatshare is a total joy to read.

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O’Leary has a beautiful, easy, writing style; her prose flows quickly and naturally, making for an engaging and satisfying story which is both brilliantly executed and perfectly polished.

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Gorgeously uplifting and full of long, loud belly laughs; The Flatshare is a must read for everyone.

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The Flatshare is out now is out now in paperback and you can buy it here and my thanks go to Hannah Robinson and Quercus for sending it to me. 💫

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Check out Quercus’ insta page for more info on The Flatshare – as it was last week’s book club read ♥️

Until next time! Have a wonderful day!

@mrscookesbooks

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