BLOG TOUR: The Bookshop Ladies - Faith Hogan

Bestselling Irish writer, Faith Hogan, has created another gripping saga of friendship, betrayal and secrets in this story of a widow in search of answers to a shocking confession by her dying husband.

Joy Blackwood has no idea why her French art dealer husband has left a valuable painting to a woman called Robyn Tessier in Ballycove, a small town on the west coast of Ireland, but she is determined to find out.

She arrives in Ballycove to find that Robyn runs a rather chaotic and unprofitable bookshop. She is shy, suffering from unrequited love for dashing Kian, and badly in need of advice on how to make the bookshop successful.

As Joy becomes entangled in the daily dramas of Ballycove, uncovering the secrets behind her husband's painting grows increasingly challenging. When she finally musters the courage to confront the truth, her revelation sends shockwaves through the tight-knit community she's grown to love.

 

What did I think?

Faith Hogan is one of my favourite authors and I didn't think I could love one of her Ballycove books more than I already do and then she goes and writes one set in a bookshop.  As well as books, it is of course filled with drama, secrets and the wonderful Ballycove community spirit.

I had tears in my eyes before I had even finished the dramatic prologue as Joy's life changed forever in the blink of an eye.  Not only does Joy have her own grief to deal with, she is rocked by a confession her husband made with his final breath.  Joy leaves her home in Paris and sets of to Ballycove in Ireland to hand deliver a painting that her husband has bequeathed in his will.

Joy is rightfully angry but her anger vanishes almost instantly the moment she steps inside the bookshop owned by Robyn Tessier.  Robyn assumes that Joy has come to volunteer for work and Joy is too polite (and a little shellshocked) to set Robyn straight.  It's not ideal to start a friendship with secrets and it gets harder to find the right time to be honest as time goes on, but I could tell that Joy's heart was in the right place and that Ballycove had a firm grip of Joy's heart.

The wonderful community of Ballycove once again plays a huge part in the story and it was lovely to see some old faces that I have come to know and love over the years.  The Bookshop Ladies is a standalone novel though, so you don't need to have read any of the other books to enjoy it.

A book set in a bookshop is a book lover's dream and The Bookshop Ladies is a wonderfully heartwarming and engaging read.  There are books aplenty to delight the bookworms among us but it's the characters who leave a lasting impression on the reader in this very highly recommended read.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

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BLOG TOUR: The Ghostlights - Gráinne Murphy

 

Can we ever truly escape our past?

The Ghostlights is the poignant story of a family of Irish women who are each looking for the real meaning of home. This is a novel about family, obligation, identity and small-town life, written with deftness and sensitivity by the author of Where the Edge Is.

When a stranger checks into a family B&B – in a small village in rural Ireland – no one takes too much notice... at least until his body is found in the lake four days later.

The identity of the unknown guest raises questions for polar opposite twin sisters Liv and Marianne and their mother Ethel, all of whom feel trapped by the choices they made earlier in life. They each find themselves forced to confront their past, their present and what they really want from their future.

The new novel from Gráinne Murphy, whose short fiction has been longlisted for 2021 Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award.

What did I think?

Gráinne Murphy's debut Where the Edge Is is a beautiful novel that has stayed in my mind since I turned the final page over a year ago, so I was eager to read her second novel, The Ghostlights.  Inspired by a true story, The Ghostlights captured me in its spell and my eyes refused to leave the page as I devoured every single beautifully written word in just two sittings.

I continue to be absolutely gobsmacked by Gráinne Murphy's stunning characterisation.  The characters are so well developed that they feel like real people and I felt as if I was peeking into their lives through a hidden camera.  Twins Liv and Marianne, their mother Ethel and Liv's son Shay are completely unforgettable as they were brought to life before my eyes.  They could certainly be described as a dysfunctional family as they all have a lot going on behind the scenes, but I won't spoil the plot by saying any more than that.

It's sad to think that the story of the stranger checking into the B&B before committing suicide is based on a true story but it really makes you wonder how frequently this sort of thing occurs.  I'm sure a lot more than I can even imagine.  As to what lures people to their deaths, could it be the mysterious ghostlights of folklore?  

I loved the references to the changelings and ghostlights of Irish folklore as Gráinne Murphy reminds us that 'real' fairies are nothing like the Disney version.  I also couldn't help smiling at the story about the swaying Virgin Mary statue, mainly because I remembered the hilarious episode from Father Ted, but I didn't realise that the famous reports of moving statues in Ireland all occurred during the summer of 1985.  Of course, I was off googling for hours after this!

Beautifully written with subtle notes of Irish humour, The Ghostlights is a mesmerising and immersive novel.  It's a 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars from me and I'm sure it will be another Gráinne Murphy that I will never forget.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

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