Escape to Giddywell Grange by Kim Nash

Maddy Young thought she had it all.

Swanky city apartment? – yep. Fancy car? sorted. High-flying career? – tick.

Even if she’s lost most of her friends because of spending all her time at work, and can’t remember when she last had fun, it’s worth it.

Until she’s suddenly made redundant. Now she’s 37, jobless, and after the breakup with the former love of her life, unhappily single.

Enter Maddy’s childhood friend, Beth, the owner of Growlers, the doggy daycare centre at Giddywell Grange, on a mission to make Maddy see there’s more to life than work.

Soon, Maddy is swapping spreadsheets for volunteer duty at the library, daily Starbucks for cups of tea with elderly neighbours, and her Prada handbag for doggy poo bags… And with Beth’s gorgeous brother, Alex, back from the States, Maddy starts to think that Giddywell Grange might just be her happy place.

But when her old life – and her old boyfriend - comes calling, will Maddy go back to the job she loved so much? Or will she discover that the key to happiness lies in making others happy? 

Title: Escape to Giddywell Grange

Author: Kim Nash

Published By: Hera Books

Publication Date: 18th September 2019

Links: UK:   Amazon    US;   Amazon

Our Review

What strikes me most when writing a book review is how the book made me feel and Escape to Giddywell Grange made me feel happy and content. In fact just looking at the cover made me feel all warm and cosy and I loved the title too.

Maddie is living the life everyone dreams of with a fancy apartment, fabulous job, expensive car and enough money to buy whatever she wants. So it comes as a huge shock when she is made redundant and loses the lot.

When she meets up with Beth, her best friend from school, she realises how much she’s missed out on by not having time for anyone over the years. Beth needs to go into hospital and Maddie finds herself taking over her job at the kennels at Giddywell Grange.

Maddie loves being back at Giddywell as it brings back lots of happy memories from when she and Beth were at school together. Beth has other ideas for Maddie too and signs her up for lots of other activities that she normally does.

Maddie finds herself totally out of her comfort zone but discovers that helping others is the key to happiness and fulfilment and all the money in the world can’t buy that.

This story follows Maddie on a journey of self discovery and is filled with acts of kindness which give the reader that feel good factor. I loved her reacquainting herself with her mum who she simply never had time for when she was working in her high powered job and their relationship blossomed nicely although with a few hiccups on the way.

The thought of doggie daycare filled me with joy as we have a puppy and my daughter is working in kennels and she loves the characters of the dogs she looks after so that part of the book was very sweet.

I also enjoyed how each person Maddie met along the way gave her a little piece of a much greater message and helped her to discover who she really was deep down.

I especially liked the cameo from Grace who was the star of Kim’s previous book.

Escape to Giddywell Grange is gentle, heartwarming and brimming with kindness. 

Sincerely

Book Angel x

About the Author

Kim Nash lives in Staffordshire with son Ollie and English Setter Roni, is PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture and is a book blogger at www.kimthebookworm.co.uk.

Kim won the Romantic Novelists Association's Media Star of the Year in 2016, which she still can't quite believe. She is now quite delighted to be a member of the RNA.

When she's not working or writing, Kim can be found walking her dog, reading, standing on the sidelines of a football pitch cheering on Ollie and binge watching box sets on the TV. She's also quite partial to a spa day and a gin and tonic (not at the same time!) Kim also runs a book club in Cannock, Staffs.

Amazing Grace was her debut novel with Hera Books and came out in April 2019.



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The Nursery - Guest Post by Asia Mackay

KILLING EVE MEETS MICK HERRON IN THIS GRIPPING AND WITTY PAGE-TURNER ABOUT HAVING IT ALL, KEEPING IT ALL AND SURVIVING IT ALL.

Lex Tyler is trying to have it all, but being a working mother is so much more difficult when you're a secret agent for an underground branch of the security services.

Platform Eight have been tasked with tracking down and eliminating the traitor in MI6 who has been selling information to the highest bidder through a headhunting website for the criminal underworld that connects intelligence operatives with all manner of bad people with a simple right swipe.

Deals get made. Secrets get sold. Missions fail. Agents die.

It's down to Lex and her team to identify and eliminate the traitor before they assassinate China's Minister of Commerce and ruin relations between the UK and China forever. But when your husband doesn't know exactly what your job entails and the future of the intelligence services rests on your shoulders, can one working mother save the day?

This is one mission that Lex cannot afford to fail.

Title: The Nursery

Author: Asia Mackay

Published By: Zaffre

Publication Date: 5th September 2019

Link:     Amazon

We are delighted to welcome Asia to Sincerely Book Angels blog.

Asia Mackay Guest post on Giving comedy more praise in women’s writing. 

Why are ‘Dad jokes’ a thing and ‘Mum jokes’ aren’t? I can make jokes just as lame as the next Dad. Is this because women aren’t considered funny? Or that we’re considered so funny our jokes aren’t lame and therefore can’t be mocked? Yes that’s it. We’re so hilarious they are just normal jokes. Just like how ‘Mum dancing’ isn’t a thing as it’s just normal cool dancing whereas the men are the embarrassing ones flailing around on the dance floor.

Women can often find their wit undermined. A lot of hilarious books written by women can get written off as a ‘guilty pleasure’. First of all, we shouldn’t ever be made to feel guilty about a book, film or TV show that gives joy. Have you seen the state of the world right now? It should be called ‘absolutely necessary pleasure’. And what people should be focusing on is bravo to that writer for actually giving you pleasure - rather than feeling the need to excuse liking it.

Women’s comedy writing is also often under-appreciated for how it can broach serious topics. Marian Keyes’ last book The Break covered issues from marital fidelity to abortion in Ireland. Yet she still made us laugh. My own books (Killing It, The Nursery) feature a protagonist who is just returning from maternity leave to her job as a trained assassin. Following her attempts to complete her latest mission of international importance with rushing home for bath-time might provide some amusing moments – but they also draw attention to sexism in the workplace and the difficulties of being a working mother. Finding the funny in any given situation can help you cope with it. Motherhood can be isolating yet books like The Unmumsy Mum and Gill Sims’ Why Mummy Drinks bring everyone into the club of we’re all just muddling through, let’s at least have a bloody laugh as we do it. Caitlin Moran in her ‘How to be’ books tells us about feminism and many other big topics all whilst making us cackle at her wit.

Being able to laugh at serious issues isn’t making light of them, it can help draw attention to them in a little more palatable and easy-to-digest manner. And women writers are more likely to draw attention to subjects that matter to women.

The comedian, actress, author, general force-of-nature that is Helen Lederer set up the Comedy Women in Print Prize (which I was thrilled to be first runner-up for) in response to ‘looking around for a female comedy literary prize to win and discovering there weren’t any’. A prize specifically for funny women is a huge step in recognising women’s comedy writing. Prizes are a big deal – they help validate your writing, they bring attention to it and they make fierce Chinese aunties finally think that you have a real job…

Taking women’s comedy writing seriously is important - the more praise it gets the more it encourages new writers and shines a light on seasoned ones. It’s all the more reason to never feel guilty about enjoying it. Laugh away and tell everyone else to try it. 

Thanks so much for joining us Asia and good luck with the book.

Sincerely

Book Angel x

About the Author

Asia does not enjoy talking about herself in the third person but she understands it's expected for author bios. Asia studied Anthropology at Durham University, and despite people fearmongering that a random degree would mean she'd never get a job, she managed to start a career in television. But had to move to China to do it. She presented and produced lifestyle programmes in Shanghai, went out a lot and failed to improve her Mandarin. Returning to London she worked for (name drop) Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman as Project Manager on their round the world motorbike documentaries - her fleeting appearances on screen wearing headbands and earnestly discussing visas continue to be a source of great enjoyment for her friends. Asia started writing 'Killing It' on maternity leave and undertook a Faber Academy course to help her finish it.

'Killing It' was the Runner Up in Richard and Judy's Search for a Bestseller competition and Runner Up/ Exceptionally Recognised for the Comedy Women In Print prize. Her second book 'The Nursery' is out September 2019. Asia lives in London with her husband, four young children and two dogs - she never succeeds in calling any of them by the right name. She is always very very tired.

Asia is rubbish on Twitter and Instagram as mostly lurks and rarely posts but please do follow her to help get her follower count to double figures

Twitter: abmackster Instagram: asia.mackay 

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The Sleepover by Carol Wyer

She said she’d gone to a sleepover. But she never made it. Someone must know why…

When Detective Natalie Ward is called to the home of fourteen-year-old Roxy Curtis she can’t help but empathise with Roxy’s distraught mother Cathy. Roxy hasn’t come home, last seen heading next door for a sleepover with her best friend Ellie. As the mother of two teenagers herself, Natalie knows that this is every parent’s worst nightmare.

But when Roxy’s body is found in the basement of a beautiful Victorian mansion on the other side of town, Natalie’s darkest fears are confirmed. What was Roxy doing there? The people who knew her best should know – but Cathy seems evasive, and Ellie refuses to talk. Natalie is determined to find out what secrets they are keeping…

Then Roxy’s mother Cathy disappears.

When her body is found two days later, Natalie is forced to face the fact that Roxy’s loved ones are in real danger. Things take a more sinister turn when Ellie vanishes, her mobile phone switched off. Is Ellie hiding something about the night Roxy died that could put her in terrible danger? And can Natalie work it out before another innocent life is taken?

Gripping, fast-paced and nail-bitingly tense, this book will keep you flying through the pages long into the night. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott and Karin Slaughter.

Title: The Sleepover

Author: Carol Wyer 

Published By: Bookouture

Publication Date: 5th September 2019

Links:  Amazon

Our Review

Another fantastic thriller from Carol Wyer. DI Natalie Ward is faced with a new case as a girl’s body is found in a burnt out house. Questions are raised as to who was she? What was she doing there? And more importantly who killed her?

Natalie and her team have a tough job as they unpick the clues one by one until they can solve the investigation. For the first time with Carol’s books I didn’t feel any sympathy with the perpetrator, normally I've been able to empathise with them, only slightly, because of what has happened in their past to make them the way they are but not in this case.

Once again we meet a variety of unpleasant characters and each one is shady enough to have been a suspect. The whole story kept me gripped throughout and I imagined how the characters must have been looking over their shoulders, worrying that they'd be next.

I love how Natalie is completely flawed and her family life is a disaster area, she really cant seem to find a work/life balance. I’m enjoying learning more about the private lives of her and her team although her husband drives me mad. This book was left on a cliffhanger in that respect and I’m eager to know more.

Roll on the next Natalie Ward book as I really can’t get enough of them.

About the author

Carol Wyer is an award-winning author and stand up comedian who writes feel-good comedies and gripping thrillers.
Her book, GRUMPY OLD MENOPAUSE won The People's Book Prize Award for non-fiction 2015.
Carol moved to the 'dark side' in 2017 with as series of thrillers. LITTLE GIRL LOST became the #2 best-selling book on Amazon, #9 best-selling audiobook on Audible and a Top 150 USA Today best-seller.
The DI Robyn Carter and DI Natalie Ward series have sold over half a million copies, earning her acclaim as a crime writer.
2019 sees the release of two romantic comedies and three DI Natalie Ward novels, including the much anticipated THE DARE and THE SLEEPOVER.
Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ''Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly' featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and the Huffington Post.

To learn more about Carol, go to www.carolwyer.co.uk or follow Carol on Twitter: @carolewyer.

Carol also blogs at www.carolwyer.com

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