Meet Sheryl Browne

Meet Sheryl Browne

Goodreads Review ~ A Year Like No Other

A Year Like No Other by Pauline Lawless

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

 A Year No Like Other brings together four women to live for a year in the beautiful city of Paris: Ashling, who loves all things French and can’t wait to go. Taylor, a prescription drug addict, spoilt and tolerated by her husband, is less thrilled. Felicity, a nervous unworldly woman dominated by her mother, is petrified at the prospect, but determined to do her duty to her husband. For beautiful, ambitious Jazz, who has relationship issues, the relocation is a career move and will also allow her space to take stock.

First off, I must congratulate Pauline Lawless on transporting the reader to the wonderful, eclectic city of Paris. From the cosy Parisian Café, Les Deux Magots, to the colourful Montmartre, I was there. To the story. What I wanted from the book was to see how the women changed in an environment vastly different from their own, as surely they must. Would they grasp the chance to grow and flourish? Or would they be unable to break free of ingrained traits and habits and flounder? Would their relationships be altered? The author didn’t fail to deliver. For some, it was a happy journey of personal discovery as they embraced opportunity. For one, whose weaknesses held her back, the journey was less fruitful. I enjoyed A Year Like No Other immensely. So much so, it sent me off in search of another of the author’s books. Thank you, Pauline, for an extremely pleasurable read.



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Goodreads Review ~ Faerytale

Faerytale by Rachael Fuller

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As a small child, I remember not being very impressed when the only book left on the shelf of our little primary school library was a fairy tale book. Ugh, not for me - a tomboy, and precocious obviously! Leafing moodily through the pages of Grimm's Fairy Tales, I reluctantly began to read, and my eyes grew wide with pleasure and surprise. I was engrossed, totally absorbed, mesmerised. Rachael Fuller's Faerytale, told in the truer, darker style of the Brothers Grimm, whisked me back to that childhood, spellbound behind the bookshelves, absorbed in the classical telling of mystical tales. No sugar-coated fairies here, oh, no. They're more like naughty little imps. Told in magical narrative rhyme, this is the story of Lucy - far too old to believe in wood nymphs, dragons and fairies, who is forced to follow her little sister down a rabbit hole, find her and bring her safely back home before the skies fade to black. Faerytale is traditional fairy-storytelling at its best - and you don't have to be a child to enjoy it.

My only regret is that I didn't buy extra copies for nieces and nephews. Two I have in mind I know will adore it. It's free at the moment on Amazon Kindle, but the cover is so beautifully illustrated, I'm going for hard copies. I did! And they do!


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Goodreads Review ~ Sometimes It Happens

by Pauline Barclay

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Feeling definitely off par, I curled up with my dog and reached for a pick-me-up - and what a fabulous antidote to post Christmas blues coupled with a nasty cold Sometimes It Happens was. Right from outset, I felt as if I was there, sipping champagne on my sun-drenched terrace at the exclusive Villas Bronitas, or lingering over my coffee whilst people-watching at the café in the Old Square. Pauline Barclay has a way of transporting you right to the location.

At first I wasn't sure about Doreen's propensity to giggle, but soon realised that this was who she was, a bubbly, big-hearted woman, a la a young Barbara Windsor, determined to laugh whatever the weather, but whose giggle sometimes masked an inner nervousness. Also a square peg in a round hole, it seemed, catapulted from her poor East-ender existence to the luxurious resort in Spain, along with her daughter, Trisha, who was obviously never starved of her mother's love. This is a true rags-to-riches story, the underlying message being that we are all the same beneath the veneer and that money can't necessarily buy happiness. Pauline brings us an eclectic mix of characters, some larger than life, but all with human traits and foibles we recognise. The Hoskins are typically full of airs and graces, Shelia Hoskins in particular, looking snootily down her offended nose at someone who clearly doesn't `belong'. Jack, for all his chauvinistic boorishness, I couldn't help cheering on the in the end. Gay barristers Simon and Chicky are quite delightful and probably the most functional couple - loved the beach scene - and the redoubtable Frau Hecks brought a tear to my eye. Patrick was perfect. In my minds eye, a cockney Don Draper from Mad Men, quiet, authoritative and definitely fanciable. In short, Sometimes It Happens ticked all my boxes.


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Wish I Was Here...

OMGosh! I already am! I’m the gorgeous beach-blonde with the sunhat and the Cosmopolitan cocktail, I wish.  Also Wishing I Was Here with…



*Sighs deeply*  Oh, and a...

...just in case George gets a bit... ahem ...tired.  Ooh, and something to distract me from gazing at gorgeous George's to-die-for dark eyelashes as he blissfully slumbers... and his lips, and his...  *Sighs very deeply and reaches for distracting good book.*

    
'Sorry, George, what did you say?  Oh, not now, darling.  I'm reading.'

Goodreads Review ~ Drowning Rose

Drowning Rose by Marika Cobbold

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I first read Marika Cobbold a while back when a publisher recommended her to me. I had yet to care for someone with dementia. When I had come through that life experience, ‘Guppies for Tea’ became all the more poignant for me. Simply, Marika Cobbold writes real people, beautifully, and always balanced with just the right amount of humour. People you can identify with and recognise your own strengths and weaknesses through. I always feel as if I’m settling down with a huge box of chocolates when I pick up one of MC’s books. But unlike Forrest Gump’s Momma, I do know what I’m going to get: a hugely satisfying read. I wasn’t disappointed when I read Drowning Rose – in one sitting. I was delighted by the switch of point of view from (present) forty-one year old Eliza, to Eliza at sixteen, the story narrated then by new girl to the school, Sandra/Cassandra, who is desperate to be seen as one of the inner circle of a group of more-privileged peers. A rather unique twist in the telling, then, and not easy to do, but Marika Cobbold pulled it off without a hitch. I’d rather not throw in spoilers – the book has to be read, so I’ll just say that the story looks at the cracks beneath the veneer (Eliza’s job as a ceramic restorer being a perfect metaphor). It examines how a traumatic event can shape one’s future, the tragedy, which is the drowning of Rose, rippling out to touch and transform the lives of all those who loved and lost her. It looks at guilt, at grief, the burdens we carry and the impact on future relationships. It looks at ‘what ifs’ and whys. I loved it, truly. Anyone aspiring to write should read it. Anyone who loves reading – you are in for a real treat!



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Goodreads Review ~ Bagpipes and Bullshot

Bagpipes & Bullshot by Janice Horton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you are so impressed by the important but unobtrusive detail of the story, you find yourself assuming the author has experience of the subject she is writing about, you know you are settling into a good book. Janice Horton has clearly done her research, all kudos to her.

So, to the story: The impressive, but rundown, Buchanan Estate needs a large injection of cash. Laird Innes Buchanan therefore seems duty-bound to marry into the wealthy neighbouring McKenzie family. Indeed, as far as his intended, the beautiful but manipulative Davina McKenzie is concerned, Innes is hers, bar the actual ceremony, which she immediately sets about arranging. Small problem, Innes doesn’t love her. His younger brother does. Deciding not to go through with the marriage, Innes embarks on a mission to save the estate by other means. To this end, he enlists the help of Texan cattle expert, Orley McKenna, to help him breed a hardy new herd of cattle, which might eventually generate enough income to sustain them. Innes, though, admires Orley for more than her brains and sassiness. He’s fallen for her, big time, and Orley’s heart belongs to Innes.

The course of true love never did run smooth though. Not only does Orley have to contend with disapproving Lady Buchannan’s haughty frostiness, local gossip, and the unforgiving climate of the Scottish Highlands, she also has to survive the vengeful plotting of a woman scorned: Davina, who still believes herself to be engaged to Innes, and whom Innes has neglected to mention.

All the elements for a terrific story, then. Throw some humorous escapades into the plot and some beautifully descriptive writing around the geography – and you have a hugely satisfying read. Loved it!



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