BLOG TOUR: Always By Your Side - Julie Haworth

When school teacher Rose loses her dream job at a London primary school, her self-confidence takes a knock. Worse still, her stockbroker fiancé, Ollie, sees it as the perfect opportunity for her to join his firm, which only adds to the feelings Rose has that their relationship might be coming to an end.

 

An unexpected phone call, and an elderly aunt who’s taken a fall, means Rose must drop everything – including Ollie - and return to Blossom Heath, the Sussex village she grew up in.

 

With no job to rush home to, Rose decides to stay in Blossom Heath for the Summer, trading London for the idyllic countryside. Here Rose finds herself reconnecting to the village life of her childhood in more ways than one, including falling head-over-heels for local farmer, Jake.

 

So when her London life comes calling, Rose is faced with an impossible choice… to return to the high-pressure life of her past, or embrace the joy of a new life in the country.

 

What did I think?

Oh I really enjoyed this!  It's an absolutely gorgeous heartwarming read that left me with a huge smile on my face.

I adored everything about the main character of Rose.  Rose is a marvellous teacher and it's no surprise that she has lost confidence in her ability with a demonic headmaster and a selfish fiancé constantly pecking away at her dream career.  Getting the call to look after her elderly Great Aunt Jean in an idyllic country village gives Rose the perspective she needs to find out what is really important to her.

Rose's fiancé Ollie is my idea of a nightmare partner.  He doesn't support Rose and thinks she's wasting her time teaching when she could be working in his firm, doing a meaningless job that she would hate.  Farmer Jake, on the other hand, shows Rose that the right man will be supportive and loving, without having to make huge gestures or buying expensive gifts.

Of course, the star of the show has to be Scout, the dog that Rose rescues.  Scout has a huge impact on Rose's life and helps her to make some difficult decisions.  I was on the edge of my seat when Rose and Scout's perfect relationship was threatened and I loved this tense addition to the story.

Julie Haworth very cleverly shows the stark contrast between town and country throughout the book; it's not just the pace of life, it's people, schools, jobs, homes and communities that are completely different.  As much as I would hate everyone knowing my business, I would much prefer to live in Blossom Heath than London.

Beautifully written, incredibly uplifting and completely heartwarming, Always By Your Side is a delightful debut novel and a worthy winner of the Romantic Novelists' Association Katie Fforde Debut Novel Of The Year 2023.

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

Follow the tour:

Point of No Return - Diana J. Febry

The significance of the noose left hanging outside James Palmer’s barn is obvious to everyone in the village. When threats turn to violence DCI Peter Hatherall has to unmask a master of disguise determined to have their revenge.

What did I think?

I have to say, I wouldn't have picked up this book if I had seen it on a bookshelf, mainly because I though it looked like it was about something to do with the circus.  Some people see a noose, I see trapeze artist!  Having the read the book, the cover now makes perfect sense so Point of No Return is a perfect example of the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover".

There's so much going on in this book that it can't help but be a page-turner.  With an eerie solitary farm in the countryside setting and a cast of characters who wouldn't look out of place in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, I was completely captivated from the start.

James Palmer is not a well-liked resident in the area - not only is he labelled as the local ladies man but he has also been blamed for a past accident.  An accident that the town will never forget as its repercussions were felt far and wide.  It felt like any one of the villagers could have been out for revenge, but just how far they were willing to go was anybody's guess.  With a nail-biting showdown at the end I thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish.

This is my first Diana J. Febry and I am keen to read the others.  Her writing is vivid, suspenseful and enthralling; Point of No Return kept me on my toes and held my interest throughout.  A top class murder mystery with a colourful, diverse bunch of characters - 5 stars all round.

I received this e-book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon