This is one of my favorites. Beautiful pictures. Easy to catch the principles. Recommended for anybody who would like to learn about feng shui from a beginners perspective.

When Rosie Hopkins moves to Lipton to take care of her great aunt, she expects to make a speedy return to London, her boyfriend Gerard and her job as an auxiliary nurse. She thinks what needs to happen is that she sells the sweetshop and finds a suitable care home for her great aunt. That is not exactly what happens.
I love the way Jenny Colgan writes about this tight knit community in Darbyshire and the characters who live there. It feels like I’m part of little Lipton myself, where everybody knows everybody else and where there doesn’t seem to be much going on unless you look really closely.
Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams is highly recommended for fans of Jenny Colgan’s other work as well as readers of the chick-lit genre.
(All opinions in this review are my own)

Klassisk norsk barnekultur på sitt beste.

I really love the way Becky approaches sisterhood. Hilarious!

Klassisk, norsk barnebok. Fine sanger. Gode illustrasjoner. Et spennende univers for barn. Handlingen er ca 1950-60, men aktuell også i dag. Kan anbefale både denne boken og andre av Thorbjørn Egner.

This is a very funny and entertaining read. Just what we come to expect when we pick up a book by Sophie Kinsella. I totally enjoyed the way workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting turnes her life around after she experiences a bit of a crisis at work. A break in the country seemed to be just the thing.

Waking up in hospital after a car accident, Lexi realizes everything has changed. She used to be this 25 year old happy-go-lucky girl with crooked teeth and a disastrous lovelife. Now she realizes it's 3 years later. She looks at herself in the mirror and sees a 28-year-old with a super-toned body, her teeth are straight and she wears designer clothes. The also discovers, she is the boss of the apartment and her friends hate her. On top of it all she is married to a good-looking millionaire and lives in a trendy new loft apartment. How could life possibly get any better than this?

I found it absolutely hilarious to follow Lexi along on her journey, as she gradually discovers what's important in life. Kinsella is my all time favorite chick-lit author and this release, for me, is impossible to put down.

I would highly recommend this, or any other of Sophie Kinsella's books, to chick-lit fans.
(All opinions in this review are my own)

Historien handler om Evie Flynn som arver sin tane’s kafe i Cornwall. Evie må finne ut hva hun egentlig vil. Skal hun flytte til Cornwall og drive kafè uten kjæresten Matthew eller fortsette som før i en jobb hun synes er meningsløs.

Handlingen tar oss med i prosessen med å finne ny retning og mening i livet. Hvordan Evie kjemper med seg selv i de store avgjørelsene hun trenger å ta. Hvordan det føles å bli en del av en landsby av mennesker i Cornwall som hadde et nært forhold til hennes tante.
Så dukker Ed opp som en super hjelp i kjøkkenet. Evie’s forhold til ham bidrar til et mysterie ettersom han ikke vil åpne opp om hvem han er, hvor han kommer fra eller hva hans plan er. Evie skjønner fra måten han lager mat på at han må ha god bakgrunn fra enten kafè eller restaurant, men hun får ham ikke til å snakke om det i første omgang.

Etter hvert som historien utvikler seg blir det mer klart hva Evie vil med kafèen og hvilke valg hun føler er riktig for fremtiden. Hun tilpasser seg nærmiljøet i Cornwall og ikke minst blir bedre kjent med Ed.

Standkafèen kan anbefales til alle som liker Lucy Diamond’s bøker og generelt til lesere som liker chick lit bøker.
(Omtalen inneholder kun mine egne meninger).

This book was important in my life because it taught me to not stress about what had already happened which I could not do anything about, and not worry about the future which was not even here yet. Just stay in the present, breath deep and feel the stress melt away. I found it helpful in a way that seemed to last a long time. This is the first of two books I have read by this author.

Becky is back with a hilarious bag of new Christmas related tricks!
Following her parents surprising move to Shoreditch, Becky is now hosting Christmas for family and friends and she is not exactly relaxed about it -or on top of everything. She has her very own take on Christmas shopping as well as life in general, which makes this a hilarious read. I must say she is impressively creative in the mad situations she gets into and never gives up no matter how bad it gets.

Even if she tries to be organized and do things early she keeps getting distracted, and leading up to Christmas Day she is pretty stressed out. Her guests seem demanding and ungrateful in the beginning of the story. They don’t exactly hold back on unreasonable expectations. Becky tries to do it all on her own, trying to make everybody happy, make all the guests’ special requests happen. I felt for her as she really does not assert herself. As the story progresses, they seem to get more understanding as to what pressure Becky feels being a first-time Christmas host.

I’m impressed by husband Luke. In all the craziness he keeps his cool and calms Becky down. Through a number of twists and turns and involving influential people’s help, Becky manages to secure the most magnificent Christmas present for him. The story also includes a touching idea for Christmas presents suitable for any age group or gender. I really enjoyed that.

Christmas Shopaholic is a great pre-christmas read for fans of Sophie Kinsella’s work or readers of the chick-lit genre.
My rating: 4 stars /5
(All opinions in this review are my own).

Emily Radley, Thomas Pitt’s sister-in-law, leaves her family just before Christmas to go to Ireland because her aunt is terminally ill. On arrival she discovers that there is something sinister and strange going on in the village and people are too afraid to talk about it.

Perry’s writing is magnificent as always. I feel drawn in like I am actually in Ireland 1895.
The beginning and ending as well as reference to weather conditions in December I think add to the Christmas feel of the story. I quite enjoyed the surprise ending. Didn’t see that coming at all.

As this is a novella, the plot progresses quite quickly with just enough information along the way. It’s a good companion on a little break in the Christmas preparations

A Christmas Grace is recommended for fans of Anne Perry’s other work as well as readers of history crime fiction in general.
(All opinions in this review are my own)

Seemingly entangled and confusing events in a right old mess with an ending I didn’t see coming.
Simon Walden is the victim of a brutal murder on the beach at Crow Point, Barnstable, North Devon. He is an army veteran who has severe alcohol problems and depression following a car accident where a little girl died. Volunteering at the Woodyard Day Centre for people with learning disabilities, he seems to get on ok working as a chef. He is temporarily renting a room with two other women in town, but as the case progresses it is found he hides plenty of secrets.
This was quite a confusing mess to deal with from the get go, not made any easier by Venn’s own troublesome connections to several persons of interest. Venn’s husband Jonathan manages the Woodyard Day Centre, which makes Venn’s feel too closely connected to the case. He considers withdrawing from the investigation. DCI Oldham, however, persuades him to stay on.

DS Jen Rafferty is a single mother who is an experienced police sergeant. Because of her superb people skills she is boss’ go-to person when he wants to have sensitive and vulnerable people questioned. She is divorced following violence in her marriage, has relocated from Liverpool and has a hard time taking care of her two teenage children while working long hours as a police. I find her character really easy to like. She has struggles many women can relate to, including me, and she uses these experiences to do a brilliant job as a police.

DS Ross May is boss’ golden boy and DCI Joe Oldham’s eyes and ears within Barnstable Police. He has a nervous energy which irritates Venn. To be honest it irritates me too! In the beginning of the story, his people skills appear to be seriously lacking as he prefers to be on the go at all times. He doesn’t care overly much for details in the investigation. I find his character develops positively and towards the end I feel more sympathetic towards him.

Must say I worried along the way if Venn and his team would manage to solve this case. The long call of the seagull, high and deafening, could be read as a metaphor for a wake-up-call of something sinister going on. Simon Walden’s murder a symptom of something very wrong surfacing, impossible not to notice.

I liked that we get to learn something about how a care center for people with learning disabilities might work and what protective measures would need to be taken to make sure vulnerable users were safe in public. We get to follow the lives of two women with Down’s Syndrom, Lucy Braddock and Chrissy Shapland who attend Woodland Day Centre.

This work deals with issues not only with murder, but also, sexual and domestic abuse, alcoholism and mental health issues. Last, but not least, religion, as it relates to sexual orientation. Cleeves manages to tie it all up and include it all in the story in an impressive way.
I highly recommend this work for readers of Ann Cleeve’s work and readers of crime fiction in general.
All opinions in this review are my own.

In #6 of the Seven Sisters Series, the youngest of the sisters we know so far, Electra, faces some serious issues. She deals with major challenges directly or indirectly affecting many, many people all over the world today. We get to follow her as she deals with consequences of lifestyle choices. I felt for her in the description of loneliness in her Park Avenue penthouse apartment and find it understandable that she feels vulnerable and tries to distance herself from everybody in her life. I enjoyed following her in her journey throughout the book and found her to be a complex and well developed character even if she really is not the most likeable in the beginning.
Proud, sensitive and trying to not show weakness, I felt relieved when her biological grandmother showed up, even though it took some time before she was actually appreciated and welcome as family.

Morphing from sad, recluse, to a person with a tribe of good people around her, she learns who she really is through her biological background and upbringing. Having good role-models and support, I fell glad and relieved that she develops into a force for good in the area she is passionate about.

I have read all the sisters’ stories and they all face challenges in their own ways, but this is certainly next level challenges. I appreciated all the research that shines through in this work. I don’t feel I know much about African history, so I enjoyed the part of the story set in Kenya 1938-39. The vivid descriptions of the culture and lifestyle of The Happy Valley Set I found slightly off-putting from my own perspective, but probably a really realistic addition to the story. The part about Maasaian life and culture turned out to have a major effect on the development of the plot and I found it an interesting twist how the mindset of the tribe could have panned out like the plot describes.

I think Electra’s story is a bit different from the other sisters’ stories. Being complex and dealing with serious issues, it adds something extra while still keeping the trademark feel we have come to love as readers of the Seven Sisters Series.
You would have no problem reading this as a stand-alone work, but I think if I were to start out fresh, I would consider reading #1 to get a background to the story of the sisters.
Readers who like dual-time novels would love this. Fans of Lucinda Riley’s work have probably waited for months (like I have) and will be thrilled to read this new release in the series.
(All opinions in this review are my own)

About the book

Set in Edwardian England and ideal for readers who enjoy Julie Klassen novels, this romance about an English aviation pioneer and the girl who falls in love with him is filled with adventure and faith.

Isabella Grayson, the eldest daughter of a wealthy, English newspaper magnate, longs to become a journalist, but her parents don't approve. They want her to marry well and help them gain a higher standing in society. After she writes an anonymous letter to the editor that impresses her father, her parents reluctantly agree she can write a series of articles about aviation and the race to fly across the English Channel, but only if she promises to accept a marriage proposal within the year. When James Drake, an aspiring aviator, crashes his flying machine at the Grayson's new estate, Bella is intrigued. James is determined to be the first to fly across the Channel and win the prize Mr. Grayson's newspaper is offering. He hopes it will help him secure a government contract to build airplanes and redeem a terrible family secret. James wants to win Bella's heart, but his background and lack of social standing make it unlikely her parents would approve. If he fails to achieve his dream, how will he win the love and respect he is seeking? Will Bella's faith and support help him find the strength and courage he needs when unexpected events turn their world upside down?

Likte skrivestilen. Spesielt at hver karakter ble grundig beskrevet. LItt som små historier inn i den større helheten. Følte medlidenhet med hovedkarakteren, selv om jeg kunne oppleve henne som i overkant blåøyd i begynnelsen. Det tok seg opp etterhvert. Overraskende vendinger som gjorde at jeg levde med inn i og følte meg engasjert i handlingen fra begynnelse til slutt. Vil anbefale denne til enhver som liker å tilbringe noen timer med "høye skuldre".

Omtale fra forlaget

From the No.1 bestselling author comes a gripping new crime thriller featuring Will Trent and Sara Linton

It begins with an abduction. The routine of a family shopping trip is shattered when Michelle Spivey is snatched as she leaves the mall with her young daughter. The police search for her, her partner pleads for her release, but in the end...they find nothing. It's as if she disappeared into thin air.
A month later, on a sleepy Sunday afternoon, medical examiner Sara Linton is at lunch with her boyfriend Will Trent, an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. But the serenity of the summer's day is broken by the wail of sirens.
Sara and Will are trained to help in an emergency. Their jobs - their vocations - mean that they run towards a crisis, not away from it. But on this one terrible day that instinct betrays them both. Within hours the situation has spiralled out of control; Sara is taken prisoner; Will is forced undercover. And the fallout will lead them into the Appalachian mountains, to the terrible truth about what really happened to Michelle, and to a remote compound where a radical group has murder in mind...

About this book
When struggling actress Heidi has a life-changing accident aged 32, her world falls apart. Stuck in hospital and unable to walk, her only companion is Maud, the elderly lady in the bed next to hers. Heidi misses her flatmate, her life, her freedom - surely 32 is too young to be an amputee?

But when Maud's aloof but attractive grandson Jack pays a visit to the ward, Heidi realises that her life isn't over just because it's different. It might not look like the life she dreamed of, but it's the one she's got - and there's a lot she still wants to tick off her bucket list. With Jack at her side, will Heidi take the first step back to happiness? Or is there one more surprise still in store...?

Synopsis
Dronningsagaen: I nærheten av Skara i Vester-Gøtland bor to dronninger: den svenske enkedronning Gunnhild og den norske dronning Astrid, enke etter Olav den Hellige. Gunnhilds bokkyndige trell Kefse blir satt til å skrive ned dronning Astrids historie om hennes samliv med kong Olav, og her møter vi en annen person enn heltekongen fra sagaen. Trellen har en fortid som irsk stormann, men han opplever trelldommen som bot for synder i et ansvarsløst liv og skjuler lenge sin identitet.

Kongespeil: I denne romanen samtaler dronning Ellisiv med stesønnen, den senere Olav Kyrre, om kongen og hans bedrifter. Og fortellingen søker ned til en dypere forståelse av menneskene i én tid, i ett miljø - og i alle tider. Den har noe vesentlig å si om mann og kvinne, om makt, avmakt og ansvar, om krig og fred.

Runekorset: Eirik Raudes sønnesønn, Torkjell, kommer til Island for å gjenforenes med moren Gudrid, som forlot ham da han var 5 år.Han møter også sine halvbrødre og oppdager at det hersker fiendskap mellom disse to. I håp om at de vil forstå og tilgi hverandre forteller Gudrid om sitt mangfoldige liv - om hennes tre ekteskap, hennes reiser til Grønland og Vinland, hennes pilgrims ferd til Roma. Parallelt med denne historien skildres forholdet brødrene imellom. Romanen har brytning mellom hedenskapets skjebnetro, trolldom og hevnplikt og kristendommens kjærlighet og håp.

Synopsis
Having drawn comparisons to Gone with the Wind and Out of Africa, The Fever Tree is a page-turner of the very first order.
In London she was caged by society.
In South Africa, she is dangerously free.

Frances Irvine, left destitute in the wake of her father’s sudden death, has been forced to abandon her life of wealth and privilege in London and emigrate to the Southern Cape of Africa. 1880 South Africa is a country torn apart by greed. In this remote and inhospitable land she becomes entangled with two very different men—one driven by ambition, the other by his ideals. Only when the rumor of a smallpox epidemic takes her into the dark heart of the diamond mines does she see her path to happiness.

But this is a ruthless world of avarice and exploitation, where the spoils of the rich come at a terrible human cost and powerful men will go to any lengths to keep the mines in operation. Removed from civilization and disillusioned by her isolation, Frances must choose between passion and integrity, a decision that has devastating consequences.

The Fever Tree is a compelling portrait of colonial South Africa, its raw beauty and deprivation alive in equal measure. But above all it is a love story about how—just when we need it most—fear can blind us to the truth.

Synopsis
In the village of Lauscha in Germany, things have been done the same way for centuries. The men blow the glass, and the women decorate and pack it. But when Joost Steinmann passes away unexpectedly one September night, his three daughters must learn to fend for themselves. While feisty Johanna takes a practical approach to looking for work, Ruth follows her heart, aiming to catch the eye of a handsome young villager. But it is dreamy, quiet Marie who has always been the most captivated by the magic—and sparkling possibilities—of the craft of glassblowing. As the spirited sisters work together to forge a brighter future for themselves on their own terms, they learn not only how to thrive in a man’s world, but how to remain true to themselves—and their hearts—in the process.