Review: The Clockmaker’s Wife

You all know I love my historical fiction, especially when it’s set during WWII. I thought The Clockmaker’s Wife sounded interesting but I really didn’t expect to be completely captivated by Daisy Wood’s first adult novel. There was no real reason for that expectation but I am SO glad this book exceeded those expectations. I didn’t want it to end!

Here’s the book’s description:

The world is at war. And time is running out…
London, 1940. Britain is gripped by the terror of the Blitz, forcing Nell Spelman to flee the capital with her young daughter – leaving behind her husband, Arthur, the clockmaker who keeps Big Ben chiming.
When Arthur disappears, Nell is desperate to find him. But her search will lead her into far darker places than she ever imagined…
New York, Present Day. When Ellie discovers a beautiful watch that had once belonged to a grandmother she never knew, she becomes determined to find out what happened to her. But as she pieces together the fragments of her grandmother’s life, she begins to wonder if the past is better left forgotten…

I actually ended up listening to the audiobook of this novel – since it had been so long since it had been released (oops) and I needed something to listen to while driving to and from work. I kept finding excuses to listen to it because I couldn’t put it down. A lot of that had to do with the narrator. Sophie Bentinck was great with this novel and I’ll definitely be looking up more books that she’s narrated. She was able to move between English and American accents seamlessly and neither grated. I could have listened to her all day!

I’m always so intrigued by the stories that dive into a family’s history and expose secrets that had been hidden since the war. I wonder how many of those stories have died with the people who experienced them, especially now as their descendants are dying as well. How much don’t we know about what happened during the war, specifically? And just…generally? I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I wish I had asked my grandma more about her life. You don’t care as much as a youth and then, suddenly, it’s too late. All that to say – I really enjoyed reading as Ellie put together the mystery of her grandmother’s life and I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped as the final puzzle piece was revealed.

The plot Wood laid out in this novel – that Big Ben was going to be attacked during the Blitz – is totally fictional. She notes that right off the bat, lest anyone think the clock was ever in grave danger. But, with a typical writer’s brain, she thought…well, it could have happened. And I agree. I’m sure there were plans to bomb the buildings that never materialized. I was anxious as the story went on and Nell got closer to danger and Ellie got closer to the truth. I found it really well done. It may not have been real but Wood did the research and the rest of the story – the setting and so on – rang true.

All in all, I enjoyed The Clockmaker’s Wife. Daisy Wood’s first foray into adult novels was well done and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for her next. This one wasn’t perfect but it kept me entertained and that was good enough for me!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Christmas Village

After Christmas 2020 I told myself I would do Much Better when it came to reviewing Christmas 2021 books. I would be on top of it and get the reviews up in a timely manner. Reader, that did not happen. No, I simply couldn’t keep up with full time work and full time school and reading and reviewing All of the Books. So, here we are, over a month after the Big Day and I am still reviewing Christmas romances. Woohoo! The Christmas Village by Annie Rains was a sweet romance read that was, unfortunately, completely forgettable. Seriously. I couldn’t remember a thing about it when I sat down to write this review. *cringes*

Here’s the book’s description (which did, thankfully, remind me what the book was about):

Lucy Hannigan has inherited her mother's bulldog, Bella, and her childhood home, the only pink house on Gingerbread Lane. With the holidays coming up, the pressure is on to decorate the house for the annual lights competition and maintain her parent's winning streak. But Lucy already has her hands full as a midwife and a new landlord-to her ex-fiance.
When Miles Bruno is suddenly asked to move out of his rental home, he's grateful to Lucy for taking him on as a tenant. But their broken-off engagement doesn't make it easy to live next door. Sparks still fly between them, and he'd give anything to get back in Lucy's good graces. But to do that will take much more than just tree trimming and house decorating and contest winning. Will one wildly grand romantic gesture on Christmas Eve finally soften her heart?

Once again, the small town + second chance got me. With a bonus Christmas storyline! How could I turn it down? I didn’t and maybe I should have. I’m finding I’m totally over the whole “we were so in love but were torn apart by Circumstances and now we’ve been thrown back together and we remember why we were in love and we’ll live happily ever after” storylines when they were So In Love when they were, like, children (or, you know, eighteen). I love romances. I love the predictability and warmth and loveliness of the stories. I don’t love when I don’t care one iota for either of the leads and have a hard time understanding why they broke up in the first place. And don’t seem to actually work through the “issue” in the end anyway. That’s what happened with Lucy and *checks description again* ah yes, Miles. The reason they broke up was valid enough but there was SO much happening with it that just got brushed aside when they really should have had more conversations about it. It blew my mind a little, to be honest. You can’t just start over, friends!

I also admit I wasn’t expecting such a chaste storyline. I’m fine with all sorts of steam levels but considering what had happened in the couple’s past, I kind of expected more than just handholding (I think there were kisses too but please see: “Kaley doesn’t remember anything about this book” as discussed above). And, for some reason, it irked me a lot and my poor little romance reading mind was a bit boggled.

Now, the Christmas element was lovely. There’s Christmas in the title and there’s Christmas in the story. Most notably, the light decorating competition. I LOVE Christmas lights so it was really fun to read as the pair decorated the house. Christmas spirit was also found in the storyline about family and how sometimes your found family is just as important as your blood relatives.

So…no. I didn’t like The Christmas Village. I’m sure there are fans of Annie Rains out there and I do really wish I had become one of them but I will never again think of this novel once I press publish on this post. I know you can’t win ‘em all but it really does make me sad!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Forever, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Midnight in the Snow

I always love getting a new Karen Swan books in my hands. She has a summer and a winter book out every year and they’re stories that whisk you away to another part of the world – which is great for these times of no travel. Midnight in the Snow took me to a location that may have been just as chilly as what is outside my own door but was full of snowboarders and the cutthroat competitions in that world – not something I see in my neighbourhood!

Here’s the book’s description:

Award-winning director Clover Phillips is riding high when she encounters Kit Foley; a surfer and snowboarder as well-known for controversy as he is for winning championships.
Involved in an accident that had devastating consequences for a bitter rival, Kit has never spoken about what really happened that day. Determined to find out the truth, Clover heads to the snowy wilderness of the Austrian Alps, sharing a romantic winter wonderland with a man who can’t stand her.
But as she delves deeper, Clover finds herself both drawn to Kit, and even more convinced he’s hiding something. Is Kit Foley really as cold as he seems?

I am very particular when it comes to enemies to lover stories. I just cannot understand when hatred turns to attraction and I realized early on in this novel that some of my worst fears would be realized when it comes to this trope. Clover and Kit hate each other. Hate. Kit thinks Clover ruined his professional life and Clover thinks he’s 100% responsible for the accident of his fellow surfer, Cory, who Clover had just done a documentary about. Kit doesn’t do himself any favours since he doesn’t talk about the accident or his part in it and just takes the blame. The reader knows there’s more to the story, there has to be, and so does Clover. That’s part of why she’s now doing a documentary on Kit. But she’s biased. Again, that hatred. Sure, she can be professional about it and she is trying to get to the bottom of the story even if Kit won’t give it to her. But how did their hatred turn into a Happily Ever After? I couldn’t buy it and it just made me feel…ew.

An aside, Midnight in the Snow is the first title of Swan's winter novels that doesn’t either outright mention Christmas or something related to the holiday (like presents). I’m glad someone made that decision because I was pretty tired of reading these books and the holiday not featuring much at all. Publishers take note: if Christmas is in the title, we expect all holiday, all the time. So, if you were wondering if you could read this one outside of Christmas the answer is a resounding yes. There’s a bit of lead up to the holiday but the last scenes are on Christmas Eve Eve with the Big Day happening after the end of the book. It’s a great winter book since so much of it takes place at ski and snowboard resorts in Europe. I just don’t really know what the heck the title is referring to in the story…

Where Swan excelled, in my opinion, in this novel was in the setting. I really felt like I was on the mountain with Clover and her crew, observing the boarders and trying to get to the bottom of Kit’s story. If I hadn’t felt like I was really “there”, I honestly don’t know if I could have kept at the book since all the emotional parts of the story were not working for me. I don’t snowboard (despite growing up close to a lot of hills) but the world is interesting to me so I really did enjoy being immersed in a story like this one. Made me even more excited for the Olympics, honestly. You know, when everyone becomes an expert at every sport? The best! Anyway…I appreciated that Swan made me feel like I was experiencing the setting right alongside the characters and very much enjoyed that part of the story.

Midnight in the Snow was not a win for me. I’m going to give Karen Swan one more chance, though, because I'm intrigued about the new series she’s working on – a five book historical series set in Scotland.

*A copy of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Publishers Group Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.* 

Review: Running Wild

You already know I’m a major K.A. Tucker fan so it really shouldn’t surprise you that I loved reading Running Wild. Like many readers, I thoroughly enjoyed the world Tucker created in Alaska with Jonah and Calla in The Simple Wild. I was interested to see what she would do with Jonah’s friend, Marie, the heroine of the latest novel in the series, in Running Wild. I ended up really liking Marie’s story and I’m glad Tucker gave us another wonderful novel to read.

Here’s the book’s description:

Veterinarian Marie Lehr knows unrequited love all too well after pining for her best friend, only to watch him marry another woman. It’s a mistake she will never make again, especially not when she can practically hear the clock ticking on her childbearing years.
The trouble is, she can’t seem to find anyone who appeals to her even a fraction as much as that burly bush pilot did. Competitive musher Tyler Brady certainly doesn’t, especially not after the heated altercation with the handsome but arrogant, spiteful man.
Or so she thinks.
While volunteering at the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, Marie discovers that first impressions may have been false, and her attraction to Tyler is very real. But his heart belongs to someone else, leaving him with nothing to offer but friendship. Marie’s been down this road before and knows how that ends. Yet, no matter how hard she works to keep from falling for Tyler, it seems she’s doomed to follow her own trail once again.

I’ll read anything Tucker writes so I’m the first to admit I am a wee bit biased when it comes to her novels. I find that I don’t pay as much attention to issues some readers might have when I’m reading some of my favourite authors, like Tucker. I’m also one that rates a book based on my enjoyment of a novel, not necessarily if it was “good” or issue free. And maybe I’m feeling a bit precious about this book and Tucker because I’ve been reading her books for so long that I know what she’s capable of. Her novels may all seem similar on the surface but they’re nuanced and each one is a little different. I didn’t expect another The Simple Wild when I came into reading Running Wild and I think others’ have expected that. It’s OK to have expectations. I get it because I’ve been there. With Running Wild I expected an Alaskan setting, a romance that would tug at my heart in some way, and damn good writing. I got it all with Running Wild and I enjoyed the hell out of the book.

Marie’s a little bit older than your typical romance heroine as she turns 38 over the course of the novel. She mentions her age a lot which got a bit tiresome but then I realized that maybe it was tiresome because I do that too, at just 34. There’s something about being in your thirties that seems to make you want to defend your choices or something. Like, I am an adult and I have had life experiences but you also have a ton of life ahead of you. It’s a weird place to be. I don’t have a biological clock ticking away like Marie does (pretty sure mine is broken or maybe didn’t even exist in the first place) but I could understand how anxious she would be about not having a child and not knowing if she’d ever be able to have one as she expected she would. All that to say: I’m here for more stories about heroines in their thirties.

I personally found all the talk about the dog racing pretty fascinating. There’s a lot of it but I could appreciate that Tucker wanted to do justice to the sport and the controversy around it. And I think she did do justice to it. I liked that she showcased the dogs who were currently athletes and the retired dogs that were living the life of leisure as house dogs. Definitely made me wish I had a giant husky hanging out with me (Tonks would likely not appreciate one in the house…something tells me those dogs might not get along with rabbits).

Now, for the romance! I was really happy when Marie and Tyler were able to make it through their initial issues. They did NOT get off on the right foot! I did find myself wishing that they would just listen to the other but they were both pretty stubborn (this wasn’t the typical miscommunication of romance novels…just general human miscommunication when you allow your emotions to get the better of you and you can’t have a logical discussion to find that, just maybe, your first impressions were wrong). They were able to find some respect for each other which lead, of course, to some romantic feelings. Tyler had a lot of issues that he needed to work out and I respect that he was honest with Marie once he realized that it was not fair to her to pursue a relationship when he was still too wrapped up in his past. What bothered me was how he kind of ended up jerking her around and he never really gave Marie (or, more importantly, the reader) a good enough answer when he finally realized he was an idiot needed to be with Marie. Tucker writes angsty relationships so very well so I was feeling All the Things right alongside Marie. Painful, yes, but that does make for an enjoyable read for me.

Readers of the rest of the series will be happy to know there are lovely scenes with Jonah and Calla, as well as the rest of the crew from the previous books. I felt there was just enough to satisfy series readers but not enough to take away from Marie’s story.

All in all, Running Wild was a win for me. K.A. Tucker writes stories that always suck me in. They’re emotional and so well written. I didn’t want the story to end and already can’t wait for her next book.

Content warnings: death of a spouse and child prior to start of story, miscarriage, yearning for a child, unrequited love, abuse and harm of dogs off the page.

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About the Author

K.A. Tucker writes captivating stories with an edge.

She is the internationally bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series, He Will Be My Ruin, Until It Fades, Keep Her Safe, The Simple Wild, Be the Girl, and Say You Still Love Me. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, Publisher's Weekly, Oprah Mag, and First for Women. 

K.A. Tucker currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto.

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My review of The Simple Wild

My review of Wild at Heart

My review of Forever Wild

*An advanced egalley of this novel was provided by Valentine PR in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Duke, Actually

Somehow I managed to miss reading A Princess for Christmas in 2020. I saw Jenny Holiday’s book, wanted to read it and then…didn’t. So, when I realized it was a sort of but not really series and Duke, Actually was releasing in 2021, I jumped at the chance to review it. And, oh boy, am I glad I did. I absolutely loved it. I laughed. I swooned. It was an absolute delight.

Here’s the book’s description:

Maximillian von Hansburg, Baron of Laudon and heir to the Duke of Aquilla, is trapped. Under pressure from his domineering father, he must marry a suitable bride before he inherits a title that feels like a prison sentence. In New York to meet a prospective wife, he ditches his responsibilities and appears on Dani Martinez’s doorstep. He’s been intrigued by the no-nonsense professor since he met her at the Eldovian royal wedding and is determined to befriend her.
Newly single Dani is done with love—she even has a list entitled “Things I Will Never Again Do for a Man”—which is why she hits it off with notorious rake Max. He’s trying to escape relationships, and she’s resolved to avoid them at all costs. All they want from each other is friendship and a distraction from their messy lives.
As their bond begins to deepen, so does their attraction, until they end up in bed together. Falling in love was never part of the plan—Max’s family doesn’t see Dani as a perfect match, even as his heart tells him she’s the one, and Dani isn’t sure she can make it in Max’s world. Can they find the courage to live they life they desire, even if it means risking everything?

First things first…you don’t have to read this one 1. At Christmas or 2. After A Princess for Christmas. Will you perhaps get more out of it if you do that? Hmmm…maybe a bit. But the main couple from the first book isn’t really in the second book all that often and the story does start and end at Christmas but there’s a lot going on in between. Buuut if you want to be true to the series and the season, there will be a third book coming out this fall so you can binge all three leading up to Christmas this year!

I loved loved loved Dani and Max’s relationship. It is a sloooooow burn but, my god, I have never read a sexier slow burn. And Holiday makes sure we get a great payoff when the pair finally get together. So. Satisfying. A bookstagrammer friend of mine, megmcreads, is always searching for Hallmark After Dark reads around Christmas and this one definitely fits the bill. It’s sexy and steamy and definitely not rated PG. *fans self* What made the sexy times so satisfying (for me, anyway) was the fact that the emotional relationship between Dani and Max had been solidified over the course of the year. They were getting to know each other and there was trust between them that translated into a romantic relationship. (And then a break up and then a reconciliation. We can’t be reading a romance novel without those elements!)

Duke, Actually is so much more than a romance, which is part of why I loved it so much. Dani and Max as people were so great to read about. They’re both wicked smart and funny so the banter between the two was a delight to read. They’re also so very loyal to the people they care about so the reader knows they’re great people and deserve each other and a Happily Ever After. Their careers (or lack thereof) are important to them and they help each other focus on career goals, instead of how to hop into bed with each other. The balance between real life events and romance made for an amazing reading experience.

Read Duke, Actually. That’s all you really need to hear me say about Jenny Holiday’s novel. But if you need a bit more, know that it’s funny, smart, well-written, romantic, and so freaking good. Just read it, already!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.* 

Review: Meet Me In London

I really wasn’t sure what to expect with Meet Me in London, Georgia Toffolo’s first novel. But the description sounded like fun and who doesn’t want to spend some time, albeit through a book, in London, leading up to Christmas?

Here’s the book’s description:

What do you do when your fake engagement starts to feel too real…
Aspiring clothes designer Victoria Scott spends her days working in a bar in Chelsea and her evenings designing vintage clothes, dreaming of one day opening her own boutique. But these aspirations are under threat from the new department store opening at the end of her road. She needs a Christmas miracle, but one is not forthcoming.
Oliver Russell’s Christmas is not looking very festive right now. His family’s new London department store opening is behind schedule, and on top of that his interfering, if well-meaning, mother is pressing him to introduce his girlfriend to her over the holidays—a girlfriend who does not exist. He needs a diversion…something to keep his mother from meddling while he focuses on the business.
When Oliver meets Victoria, he offers a proposition: pretend to be his girlfriend at the opening of his store and he will provide an opportunity for Victoria to showcase her designs. But what starts as a business arrangement soon becomes something more tempting as the fake relationship starts to feel very real. But when secrets in Victoria’s past are exposed, will Oliver walk away, or will they both follow their hearts and find what neither knew they were looking for…?

I liked that this book kind of played on the same storyline as You’ve Got Mail but, dare I say it, better. I adore the movie but I am always so bummed that (spoiler alert) Kathleen’s store has to close down in the end. In Toffolo’s novel, Oliver is doing his best to make sure his family’s department store doesn’t run anyone out of business, especially after Victoria lays out all of the potential harm the store can do in the neighbourhood. Oliver and Victoria seem more like equals and there were no hidden identities in this story.

There were however, some secrets, particularly on Victoria’s part. I wasn’t totally thrilled with how her past was revealed because I hate when there are little hints when there is absolutely no reason for them. Tell me the whole story so I don’t have to wonder (this isn’t true for all genres or storylines, of course). I could understand completely why she kept it from Oliver because he really didn’t need to know. They were strangers who were just pretending to be in love so he didn’t need to hear about her past. But the reader should know and I wish Toffolo had told us up front.

Fake dating is usually always a fun trope and this one delivered. Sure, Oliver and Victoria know absolutely nothing about each other but the reader can tell immediately that they have some chemistry and you can’t help but hope for them to realize they’re so much better off together as a real couple.

Meet Me in London isn’t super Christmassy but the Happily Ever After you expect from such a story does happen on Christmas - which is always lovely! I’m not sure yet if I’ll read the next books in the series but I still found Georgia Toffolo’s debut novel entertaining enough for a pre-holiday read.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*