Book Review: Love at First Flight by Tess Woods

Looking back at it now, I can see it was instant.
The second we locked eyes. Boom. Just like that.
The Me I had spent a lifetime perfecting began its disintegration from that moment. And despite the carnage it brought to all our lives, I still don't regret it.
What would you risk to be with the love of your life? And what if your soul mate is the one who will destroy you?
Mel is living the dream. She's a successful GP, married to a charming anaesthetist and raising a beautiful family in their plush home in Perth. But when she boards a flight to Melbourne, she meets Matt and her picture-perfect Stepford life unravels as she falls in love for the first time ever.
What begins as a flirty conversation between strangers quickly develops into a hot and obsessive affair with disastrous consequences neither Mel nor Matt could have seen coming. Mel's dream life turns into her worst nightmare. 

Publisher: Aus Impulse

Pages: 283

Tess Woods has written a very entertaining, sexy and thought-provoking debut in Love at First Flight. Mel is a happily married mother of two, working part-time as a GP. She is married to a very successful doctor and life couldn't be more perfect. That is until she meets Matt on board a flight to a weekend away with her best friend. They have an inst
ant connection and this leads her to question how happy she really is. When did her husband last pay her a compliment? When did they last have amazing sex? Matt is also taken, engaged and planning his wedding but he feels like his world has been turned upside down when he meets Mel, he can't get her out of his head.
It's pretty obvious form the blurb that Matt and Mel go on to have an affair. This is not a hearts and flowers ending though; the consequences of their actions are devastating. This, I wasn't expecting; when I started the book, I thought it might be a little predictable and I would be reading about them skipping off into the sunshine. Instead Tess Woods presents a very honest account of how individuals and families are affected by infidelity. I felt that she dealt with the situation very well, she doesn't set out wanting you to love her characters etc, she is just showing you how it is.
If I have one criticism of this book then it would be the front cover. In my opinion it looks a little whimsical which is why I was taken aback by the serious undertones in the book. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover but I think some may overlook this book as being a girlie, romantic read when in reality it is so much more.
Tess Woods is a new author to look out for and Love at First Flight is only £1.99 on Kindle at the moment so give her a go!

I read this book via NetGalley

Book Review: Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey

1943, in the ruins of Blitzed London...
Stella Thorne and Dan Rosinski meet by chance and fall in love by accident. Theirs is a reluctant, unstoppable affair in which all the odds are stacked against them: she is newly married, and he is an American bomber pilot whose chance of survival is just one in five.
He promised to love her forever...
Sixty years later Dan makes one final attempt to find the girl he has never forgotten, and sends a letter to the house where they shared a brief yet perfect happiness. But Stella has gone, and the letter is opened by Jess, a young girl hiding from problems of her own. And as Jess reads Dan's words she is captivated by the story of a love affair that burned so bright and dimmed too soon. Can she help Dan find Stella before it's too late?

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Pages: 546

You have to read this book! With a job, stressed husband and a demanding three year old, it is rare nowadays that I stay up until the early hours reading but I simply had to with this book as it was impossible to put down.
I kept on seeing Letters to the Lost popping up on blogs and in magazines and nobody had a bad word to say about it. I remembered that I had a review copy so decided to see what all the fuss was about.
Iona Grey has written a completely brilliant, beautiful, sweeping love story. The book flits between the early 1940s and 2011 and I loved both time periods.
Stella Thorne married Reverend Charles Thorne in 1942. She had been working as his housekeeper which was a huge opportunity after leaving the Poor School. It soon becomes apparent to Stella that their marriage is not to be full of the love and contentment that she had imagined. Charles only wants to spend time with his friend Peter and their wedding night is a disaster. Days after marrying, Charles reveals that he has signed up for the war and before she knows it, Stella's new husband has gone.
Stella, like many women during the war, struggles on and tries to make the most of it. On a trip to London with her friend Nancy, Stella meets American bomber Dan Rosinski and their attraction is instant. Stella falls in love with him and Dan promises that he will wait for her, no matter what happens in the war and her marriage to Charles.
In 2011, Jess Moran is squatting in a deserted house, hiding from her abusive boyfriend. A letter is delivered from Dan Rosinski  saying that he does not have long left and that he is desperate to find Stella; he has been waiting for her for over 60 years. Jess is intrigued and finds many more letters in the house between Stella and Dan; she is intrigued by their beautiful love story and determined to find out what happened to Stella, why didn't she wait for Dan? Jess is soon helped by Will Holt; he works for a firm placing heirs with lost estates and he comes across Jess when he is searching for Nancy Price who he believed was the owner of the house that Jess is squatting in. Will too becomes determined to find Stella and along the way he realises that he wants to help Jess too. He can see how hard her life has been and he wants more than anything to make her happy. As the story goes back and forth we learn more about Stella and Dan's relationship during the war and the circumstances which led to their estrangement.
Letters to the Lost is a book that will stay with me for a long time and I know that it is one I will re-read. The characters are just perfect; two believable and interesting female leads and two very genuine and lovable male characters.
So much is explored in this book; it was particularly interesting to read more about the position of women during the 1940's. Stella and Dan's relationship would have been very different if carried out now. I loved the mirroring of Will and Jess's relationship and I enjoyed reading about them as much as I did about Stella and Dan.
This book really is fabulous, the writing is beautiful and the plot expertly executed. Iona Grey has delivered an excellent debut and is very clearly one to watch out for.

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending me a review copy. 

Book Review: Fragile Lies by Laura Elliot

His name is Michael Carmody.
He is a writer and a father.
His son is lying in a coma, fighting for his life.
Her name is Lorraine Cheevers.
She is an artist and a mother.
An illicit affair has destroyed her marriage.
Michael is desperate to find the couple who left his son for dead, a victim of a hit and run.
Lorraine is desperate to start a new life for her and her daughter.
Michael and Lorraine are about to cross paths- damaged souls, drawn to one another.
They don't know that their lives are already connected.
They don't know the web of lies surrounding them.
They are searching for the truth. But when they find it, it could destroy them both.

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: 13th February, 2015

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, Fragile Lies by Laura Elliot drew me in from the very first page and I had read it in a couple of days.
Michael Carmody and Lorraine Cheevers are the main characters. Michael's teenage son is lying in a coma after being left for dead in a hit and run accident. Well-known artist Lorraine is moving to the countryside after her marriage was torn apart by her husband's illicit affair. Lorraine wants to get away from it all and concentrate on raising her daughter Emily. Yet Michael and Lorraine are both drawn together, having no idea that they are already linked. As Michael pursues the truth about his son's accident, Lorraine looks for the truth about the nature of her husband's affair.As the truth starts to be revealed, it is not certain if Michael and Lorraine's new love will take the strain.
Fragile Lies has a little bit of everything, love, tragedy, infidelity, lies and secrets. I thought that Laura Elliot set up the story perfectly at the beginning and then she kept the plot going at an excellent pace. The characters are quite complex and I think this added a real edge to the book; they felt very well thought out and I loved how the author weaved their separate stories together.
The family aspect of the book was also interesting. Lorraine and Michael are both very successful in their careers but if you strip everything away they are completely devoted to their children. Michael cannot rest until he gets justice for his son and Lorraine wants to do everything she can to protect her daughter,  no matter how much Emily resents it.
Laura Elliot is a new author for me but I would highly recommend Fragile Lies. Excellent plot, interesting characters and plenty of intrigue.

Many thanks to the lovely Kim at Bookouture for sending me a review copy, Fragile Lies is published on February 13th.

Book Review: The Lemon Grove by Helen Walsh

He is wearing a pair of plain blue swimming shorts, otherwise he is naked before her. He is muscular, but graceful with it, balletic. He is shockingly pretty...
Each summer, Jenn and her husband Greg return to Deia, on Mallorca's dramatic west coast. This year, the arrival of Emma, Jenn's step-daughter and her new boyfriend Nathan threatens to upset their equilibrium. Beautiful and reckless, Nathan stirs something unexpected in Jenn. As she is increasingly seduced by Nathan's youth and the promise of passion, the line between desire and obsession begins to blur.

This book is tense with a capital 'T', Helen Walsh begins building the tension from the very beginning and simply does not let up. The front cover of this book is stunning but don't be fooled by the blurb; it could come across as a bit of a beach romp but it is far more complex than your average holiday bonk buster.
Jenn and Greg holiday each year on the beautiful west coast of Mallorca, this year is going to be different as Jenn's fifteen year old step-daughter is bringing along her new boyfriend, 17 year old Nathan. Emma and Nathan's arrival awakens several different feelings in Jenn; a resentment of Greg; a sadness over what life could have been, tensions and deep-rooted issues with her step-daughter and more importantly, a deep desire for Nathan which she is unable to ignore.
The tension between Jenn and Nathan is immediately palpable. Helen Walsh is so good at building up the little details, a glance here, a touch on the arm there; it all builds up to several very passionate encounters. The author is quite explicit in her descriptions of Jenn and Nathan, she shows the carnal need of both of them but then we learn of Jenn's feelings about it; how she feels about being the older woman; how she views her body and these new feelings that have possessed her.
The Lemon Grove can be quite an uncomfortable read at times but I don't think Helen Walsh had any intention of putting her readers at ease. I can't say that I particularly liked any of the characters; they all seemed incredibly selfish in their own ways.
This is the first book that I have read by Helen Walsh, I found it riveting and would highly recommend The Lemon Grove.

Publisher: Tinder Press
Pages: 275

Many thanks to Georgina for sending me a review copy of this book, it is out now. 

Book Review: The Silent Wife by A.S.A Harrison

Todd and Jodie have been together for more than twenty years. They are both aware their world is in  crisis, though neither is willing to admit it.
Todd is living a dual existence, while Jodie is living in denial. But she also likes to settle scores. When it becomes clear their affluent Chicago lifestyle could disintegrate at any moment, Jodie knows everything is at stake. It's only now she will discover how much she's truly capable of...

The Silent Wife is being talked about a lot and after reading it, I can see why.
The beginning feels a little slow but once I had got into the book I could see how clever the beginning was. A.S.A. Harrison paints Todd and Jodie's domestic life in great detail. As we learn of Todd's infidelity you can understand why he has strayed yet also why he doesn't want to lose everything he already has.
Jodie is a fascinating character, she is very cold and calculated and although we learn a lot about her, I can't say that I grew to like her in any way. We learn of Jodie's past through the transcriptions of her therapy sessions. I don't this necessarily explains Jodie's behaviour though. I was left wondering if Jodie really was in control of her actions.
I loved the atmosphere that A.S.A Harrison creates in the book. There is an impending sense that something awful is going to happen, I couldn't stop reading as I needed to know how events would unfold.
The Silent Wife swaps between the perspectives of Jodie and Todd. Todd's narration felt a little more helpless though. His behaviour is inexcusable but as a reader I saw him as being quite vulnerable. He is going about his daily life with no idea as to what Jodie is thinking and working herself up to; you almost want to warn him to watch his back.
The Silent Wife is such an interesting read, I felt that it really explored the nature of relationships; the roles we fulfil and what we are capable of when hurt by those we love. I think that A.S.A Harrison has written a strong, psychological thriller. It's a great legacy but also a great shame that this will be her only book.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 4/5

Pages: 384

Publisher: Headline

Many thanks to the lovely Ben at Headline Review for sending me a copy of this book, The Silent Wife is out now.