Emma Whittaker - Chalk Hearts

Emma Whittaker - Chalk Hearts

4⭐

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Romance

Pages: 326

Format: Paperback

Publisher: SRL Publishing 

Date Published: 6th December 2022 (Hardback), & 28th February 2023 (Paperback) 

Huge thank you to SRL Publishing for sending me a copy of the Chalk Hearts to read and review. 

 

Book Blurb: 

Amy escapes her violent boyfriend with a job at Woodbrook Primary School, the place of traumatic memories that still plague her twenty years on.

Secretly ashamed of her loser reputation, Amy hides her ex-pupil status from the staff, even pretending that she has never met Joel, the once-cherished teacher who unexpectedly becomes her colleague.

Under the guise of a confident woman, Amy is determined to eclipse her troubled past. But when she hooks Joel into a deep and passionate relationship, the fear of bursting his bubble with her true identity pushes her ever closer to being exposed.

My Review: 

Such a feel-good book Chalk Hearts was! I really enjoyed reading it! I  wanted something easy and cosy during long autumn nights and this book ticked all those boxes. It was easy to read, cosy, and had romance in it but also explored other significant topics, such as insecurities, trust, personal love and acceptance.

This story follows Amy who struggles to deal with past trauma from a violent boyfriend.  With her parent's push, she decides to apply for a teaching job at her old Primary School, Woodbrook. She gets the job but decides she needs a fresh start, including not telling anyone at her new job that she is local and that once she attended Woodbrook Primary. That is until she is faced with another challenge, one of her current colleagues is her old and favourite PE teacher, Joel. To her surprise, Joel doesn’t remember her and with growing attraction towards each other Amy tries her hardest not to reveal her past to him…

I liked that this book was much more than just a romance. It was also a story of personal acceptance and love. Amy throughout the years, especially in her primary school felt insecure and unworthy, as well as numerous times was a laughing stock of pupils and the only person who ever believed in her was her favourite teacher. Throughout the book Amy grew so much as a person and as a teacher, she believed in students who other teachers branded as no good, she stood up for herself and her beliefs and she became more confident in herself by starting to love herself and feel worthy enough. I liked that aspect of this book a lot.

For me, this book was about Amy finding herself and her place to belong. Also at times, I wanted a bit more romance in this book, just like a few chapters more, however, it is still a beautifully written novel. 

Overall: Very cosy and easy read for long autumnal evenings. I enjoyed the storyline and characters, even though it was a bit different from the romance books that I am used to. This book also has some brilliant and likeable characters that would make you laugh and love. 

About the Author:

Emma Whittaker has had a lifelong obsession with words, composing poetry and stories from a young age. With a BA (Hons) in English and Creative Studies, she has enjoyed a career in magazine journalism as the Editor of various craft and hobby publications.  

In her novels, Emma explores emotions, behaviour, and relationships, bringing a voice to the issues we encounter in life that all too often go unnoticed. She blends these themes with descriptive settings, fuelled by her passion for nature, and as an avid reader of romantic fiction, she champions sweeping love stories.  

Her home in West Sussex, sandwiched between the coast and the countryside, provides endless inspiration for her writing. She lives with her husband, two children, and a houseful of dogs and cats. Chalk Hearts is her debut novel. 

twitter.com/emmalwhittaker1

Lucy Dickens - The Holiday Bookshop

Lucy Dickens - The Holiday Bookshop 

4⭐

Genre:  Romance, Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Travel Reading, Women's Fiction

Pages:  416

Format: Paperback 

Publisher: Penguin Books 

Date Published: 21st July 2022 

Huge thank you to Penguin Books UK/ Cornerstone for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. 

Book Blurb: 

Role: Bookseller wanted! (3-month fixed-term contract)

Location: A luxury resort on the island of Bounty Cove Cay.

Skills required: The ideal candidate will have experience in a retail environment, preferably within the book industry.

Desired qualities: This role will appeal to a book lover with an adventurous streak who is looking for an escape from their everyday life.

What to expect: Sun, sea, and a bookshop that is far from thriving. No one said it would be smooth sailing.

Please note: You may fall in love with more than just our island along the way...

Looking for your next beach read? Look no further! Escape with The Holiday Bookshop, perfect for fans of Jo Thomas, Phillipa Ashley and Jenny Colgan.

My Review: 

I love stories that contain at least some of my favourite topics. The Holiday Bookshop had travelling, exotic settings and books! Yaay! It was also a very cute and relaxing summer read, that made me want to have a holiday in the Maldives instead of sitting in my back garden in a very gloomy England. Oh, and the dream to work in a bookshop just grew tenfold after reading this book, too.

The book is about two best friends Jenny and Marianne, who open a bookshop in a small coastal town in North Cornwall. They both have completely different personalities, with Marianne being a risk taker and Jenny being someone who only takes very calculated and well-thought steps in life. They both complement each other, whisht running the bookshop, with Marianne being responsible for event organisation and the social aspect of running a bookshop, whereas Jenny is more behind the scenes with spreadsheets, orders and organisation. Jenny wants to be more adventurous like Marianne but she also can’t leave her only stable thing in life, her bookshop. That’s until one day she stumbles across this advert for a 3-month contract in the Maldives to open and run a bookshop. She reluctantly applies and….Next thing she knows she is jetting off to the Maldives! However, that doesn’t come without consequences. Will Jenny lose her friendship with Marianne and will she lose a person she loves the most if she leaves her small town in Cornwall or will she find a new purpose in life in the exotic Maldives? What follows next is dual timelines of both Jenny and Marianne exploring their new lives without each other in different parts of the world…

This book is very quirky, and I think it is because of the very relatable writing. For example, Dickens mentions Love Island, popular music, social media, basically all the things that we as readers can relate to on a day-to-day basis. Quirkiness aside, I loved the holiday atmosphere, especially Jenny’s timeline in the Maldives. I mean, who doesn’t like exotic destinations and loads of books? I didn’t like Marianne’s storyline in Vegas as much, as I felt that most of the time, she just took risks and then blame destiny for everything going wrong. I didn’t mind it the first few times but at times she was a rather annoying character.

Although marketed as more of a romance book, both storylines, Jenny’s and Marianne’s are much more than that. They both grew as characters, explored their lives without each other, discovered their different skills and strengths, as well as learned so much about themselves as individuals. Jenny and Marianne needed a break from the very close friendship that they had had since a young age. Also, they both needed a change of scenery from their business venture that both started together a few years ago. Foremost, they needed to learn how to live without each other. I liked this side of the story since as a reader you see that as the book progresses both Marianne and Jenny grow as individuals, whilst exploring their personalities and dreams, realising that they need to be less reliant on each other as they used to be before.

I do wish this book had more romance in it because the setting and the premise of the book were so perfect for some more romance. I mean there was some romance in Marianne’s storyline but I felt that Jenny deserved some romance in the Maldives, too. Oh, and the ending was abrupt when it came to Jenny’s storyline. I wished there was more on how she got on with her love interest during the last few weeks in the Maldives and then after the Maldives.

Overall: Very cute and quirky summer romance, with the scenery that just relaxes you and makes you want to go on an exotic holiday to the Maldives. I liked the writing too, as it was relatable and made the book flow very well, capturing the perspectives, changes and growth of both main characters. If you are searching for a great summer read or just want a relaxing read that would take you to some exotic shores, then this book is definitely it. I can’t wait to read more books by Lucy Dickens, as I am definitely putting her other books on my TBR list. 

About the Author:

Lucy Dickens is the pseudonym for Lisa Dickenson. Lisa lives by the Devon seaside with her husband and one incredibly boisterous Bernese Mountain dog. She spends her days writing the kind of hilarious women’s fiction that sets the world to rights.

https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/245417/lucy-dickens?tab=penguin-biography