Book after Book

By Mike Gayle Published by Hodder & Stoughton   Synopsys: In weekly phone calls to his daughter in Australia, widower Hubert Bird paints a picture of the perfect retirement, packed with fun, friendship and fulfilment. But Hubert Bird is lying. The truth is day after day drags by without him seeing a single soul. Until, that is, he receives some good news - good news that in one way turns out to be the worst news ever, news that will force him out again, into a world he has long since turned his back on. Now Hubert faces a seemingly impossible task: to make his real life resemble his fake life before the truth comes out. Along the way Hubert stumbles across a second chance at love, renews a cherished friendship and finds himself roped into an audacious community scheme that seeks to end loneliness once and for all ... Life is certainly beginning to happen to Hubert Bird. But with the origin of his earlier isolation...

Finders, Keepers by Sabine Durrant Published by Hodder & Stoughton   Synopsis: Ailsa Tilson moves with her husband and children to Trinity Fields in search of the new. New project - a house to renovate. New people - no links to the past. New friends - especially her next-door neighbour, the lonely Verity, who needs her help. Verity has lived in Trinity Fields all her life. She's always resisted change. Her home and belongings are a shield, a defence to keep the outside world at bay. But something about the Tilsons piques her interest. Just as her ivy creeps through the shared garden fence, so Verity will work her way into the Tilson family. And once they realise how formidable she can be, it might well be too late. How did this book end up in my hands? I was kindly gifted a copy of this novel ahead of publication in exchange for my honest opinion. One look at the promotional blurb and I knew I had to read it. Was it a page-turner? The book...

By David Nicholls Published by Hodder & Stoughton One Day . The number of prizes that it was shortlisted for or which it won is countless. One Day is one of those novels that, over the past year, everyone seemed to be reading and talking about at one point or another. It might make not much sense but, for this very reason, I was slightly put off. How wrong I was. I am so grateful to all the friends that nagged me until I read it and I hope that this review will help any of you sceptics out there to pick up this novel. Made even more famous by its film adaptation, One Day narrates the rollercoaster relationship between Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew. Intellectual and idealistic the former, fun-loving and commitment-phobic the latter. We meet them as they spend their first night together on 15th July 1988 - the night before their graduation - and we follow them as, year after year, they become best friends, fight their mutual attraction, fall out, make up again and, basically, do al...

By Jodi Picoult Published by Hodder & Stoughton Being a fan of Jodi Picoult’s novels – and having always received positive feedback from friends whom I had recommended them to – I couldn’t wait to read her latest work, Sing You Home . Now that I have, I remember all that makes her a great writer: an elegant style, thorough research, tri-dimensional characters and, last but not least, a good story. Always thought-provoking, Sing You Home is no exception. At the beginning of the novel we meet Zoe and Max Baxter. They have been married for nine years and have spent the best part of them trying to conceive a baby; naturally at first and then through assisted conception methods. Zoe’s last miscarriage, however, marks a turning point for their relationship. Zoe wishes to undergo a new cycle of IVF treatment, while Max is unwilling to face further stress and disappointment. They divorce. At this very delicate time in her life, Zoe - a professional music therapist - is asked to help with ...