Don't Stir the Goldfish - Eileen Wharton

Meet Amy, who’s juggling a bustling household with five children, a job organising historical re-enactments, and a broken heart caused by her husband’s betrayal and abandonment.

As she navigates the emotional rollercoaster of the break-up, Amy finds solace and guidance in her unique bond with Gupta, her AI confidante. Is artificial intelligence the answer? Can a woman really fall in love with a robot? Or will her manny steal her heart?

 

What did I think?

I love Eileen Wharton's books and, having had a cousin who did actually stir the goldfish with a wooden spoon, I just knew that I would love Don't Stir the Goldfish and indeed I did.  What I didn't expect was to feel such a wealth of emotions for Amy and her brood as I laughed, cried and felt everything in between while I was reading this fabulous book.

Single mother Amy's life is a bit like the circus as she juggles all of her commitments and tries to tame her five children.  Thank goodness she has Gupta (her AI assistant) to add a sense of calm to her busy life.  Amy is approaching her 40th birthday and the book is set out as a sort of diary as she counts down to the big day.  A lot can happen in a year and it certainly does for Amy.

This is easily the funniest book I have read this year but it's also the most poignant.  I totally expected to laugh out loud (and I did many times) but I didn't expect to cry too.  I know this is a book I will read again as I loved all of the characters and I was thoroughly entertained by all of their shenanigans.

Laugh out loud hilarious and tearjerkingly poignant, Don't Stir the Goldfish is a book I will be recommending for a long time.  It's completely unmissable and it's an easy five stars from me.

I chose to read a digital ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

The Gift of Friends - Emma Hannigan

Kingfisher Road - a leafy, peaceful street in the town of Vayhill. But there are whispers behind closed doors. Who is moving into Number 10?

Engaged to handsome, wealthy Justin Johnston, Danielle appears to her new neighbours to have the perfect, glossy life. But not everything is as it seems...

In fact, each of the other four women who live close by has a secret, and each is nursing their own private heartache.

But could a gift be waiting on their doorsteps? And, by opening their front doors, and their hearts, to each other, could the women of Kingfisher Road discover all the help they need?

What did I think?

The book world lost an absolute treasure when Emma Hannigan lost her brave fight with cancer in 2018 but it is testament to her spirit that she kept writing right up to the end of her life.  It would be easy to assume that Emma's final novel would be a weepy but it is in fact an effervescent story brimming with hope, love and friendship.  I was actually crying before I started the story, just from reading the letter to the reader from Emma's publishing family at Headline.  I wiped my eyes and put my tissues away as I let Emma Hannigan transport me to Kingfisher Road.

Kingfisher Road has some amazing characters living there, with so much laughter, tears and drama it reminded me of an Irish Coronation Street.  It all starts with a new resident, Danielle, moving into the street and the ladies welcome her into their fold.  Danielle seems to have it all, engaged to what is seemingly Ireland's most eligible bachelor, but Danielle is full of insecurities as she doesn't feel like she fits into Justin's posh horses and hairbands life.  Her insecurities aren't helped by her evil mother-in-law to-be who is definitely the villain of the piece, or at least one of them.

As we get to know each of the women, we realise that life isn't quite so rosy as it first appeared as each of them struggle with their own problems.  It just shows how quick we are to make snap judgements based on appearances, when you don't know what is lurking beneath the surface or behind that shining front door.  Even with their own personal struggles, what doesn't falter is their friendship for each other and we all know that a problem shared is a problem solved.  The strength and fortitude of these women constantly amazed me but I shouldn't have been surprised as they all have a little bit of the amazing Emma Hannigan in them.

The Gift of Friends is an absolute pleasure to read from start to finish; somehow it's equally serious and lighthearted as some stressful issues are dealt with but it seems to have a sprinkle of magic in the pages as we know that everything will be ok in the end.  The Gift of Friends is a beautiful sparkling addition to Emma Hannigan's everlasting legacy to the literary world.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon