BOOK REVIEW ONE NIGHT IN ITALY BY LUCY DIAMOND

Is Italian really the language of love? A new class of students hopes to find out.

 

Anna’s recently been told the father she’s never met is Italian. Now she’s baking focaccia, whipping up tiramisu and swotting up on her vocabulary, determined to make it to Italy so she can find him in person.

 

Catherine’s husband has walked out on her, and she’s trying to pick up the pieces of her life. But she’ll need courage as well as friends when she discovers his deception runs even deeper than infidelity.

 

Sophie’s the teacher of the class, who’d much rather be back in sunny Sorrento. She can’t wait to escape the tensions at home and go travelling again. But sometimes life – and love – can surprise you when you least expect it.

 

As the evening class gets underway, friendships form and secrets from Italy begin to emerge. With love affairs blossoming in the most unlikely places, and hard decisions to face, it’s going to be a year that Anna, Catherine and Sophie will never forget.

 

I LOVE LOVE Lucys books ,they  always leave me with wet eyes and a warm heart .

This book surprised me as I assumed it was to be set in Italy but its set in Yorkshire .

It tells the story of 3 different women who are all discovering themselves at different times in their lives and how they are all connected through the language of love .

It is a great mixture of ages ,romance, heartbreak and lifestyles .

A great book of friendship and love .

 

 

BOOK REVIEW DEAREST ROSE BY ROWAN COLEMAN

‘You are a remarkable woman and you deserve all the happiness, contentment and love in the world. I, for one, know that I have never met anyone quite like you.’

 

When Rose Pritchard turns up on the doorstep of a Cumbrian B&B it is her last resort. She and her seven-year-old daughter Maddie have left everything behind. And they have come to the village of Millthwaite in search of the person who once offered Rose hope.

 

Almost immediately Rose wonders if she’s made a terrible mistake – if she’s chasing a dream – but she knows in her heart that she cannot go back. She’s been given a second chance – at life, and love – but will she have the courage to take it?

 

I am quickly learning that Rowan is one of life’s most fantastic and inspiring writers. I only discovered her this year from the praise on tiiter surrounding the memory book which i reviewed here https://charlenejess.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/book-review-the-memory-book-by-rowan-coleman/ .

I now plan on reading ALL of her books ,although i think Dearest Rose will be the one that affects me most . I have been in a abusive marriage and i left it with my 2 kids and reading this book was at times like reading a diary of mine. It is packed with raw emotion and captures the fears women feel when in these relationships .

This is a beautiful book but harrowing to read at times especially with my connection to Rose.

We see her grow in strength and confidence and we cheer her on along the way !!

A must read and im now off to buy my next rowan coleman book .

I have decided i want to write a novel centred on my life and I have tweeted Rowan today and said when i grow up can i write like you lol

I

Exhausted mummy ……

I am tired today in every sense,physcially and emotionally.I look awful and am in a bad grumpy mood. I coueneld very easily sleep all day !! Half term is approaching and don’t I know it .The last couple of weeks have been full on .counselling ,swimming ,appointmnets and general mummy duties .Not to mention having lynx who doesn’t like to sleep and is quite demanding .

Last week was a whole week of meetings ,phone  calls and emails regarding lynx and his autism .And quite frankly I feel wiped out !!

It would be nice to have someone take care of me for  a change .

Even housework and cooking is getting to me as its the same every day !!!

Tday I really struggled to get up and then  Estelle txts me to say she has left her pe kit on the bus,on top of losing her keys !! Well that just made me feel very pissed off as that’s something else to sort out.

I could do with doing nothing today  but I have my counselling appointment and no doubt tears will come as im crying so much lately.My periods have stopped but still getting emotional so that frustrating .

So yes a very negative post but this is one shattered spotty run down mummy .

 

 

 

Letter writing challenge letter 3 ..to an online friend you have never met

Well I thought it was quite fitting to write to the lovely jenny herself who has set  this challenge up and you can find her blog at jennyinneverland.wordpress.com

Dear jenny,

hello how was your Monday been ? Do you enjoy the heat ? I was thinking of choosing you anyway for this letter and then I read one of your tweets tonight which confrmed my choice . Your tweet being about doing things wrong because people around you of similar age are having babies etc . Now listen here young lady there is no right or wrong way of how we live our lives and what age things happen. The main thing is we are happy and living life to its potential .I am going to be very honest now in what I say …I have  2 children and I often feel MY life and opportunities are passing me by .I had my daughter at 18 was married and had another child by 23 ,yet now im 31 and im a single parent on benefits .

In life there are no guarantees and there really is no rush .Take this time to find who you are ? Because when you becoming a wife or a mother it can take some of our identity away .Enjoy having the choices you have ,lie in ,watch adult tv ,see the world and BE YOU !!

I love my kids but when I was younger  I didn’t even want kids ,I planned on being a holiday rep and escaping my family asap. Then love happened …. I thought I was so wise and I wasn’t .

Life is a funny old thing and in the words of forest Gump its like a box of chocolates … You know the rest lol

Aside from all that I am pleased to know you via twitter 🙂

Feel free to write to me back even if its to tell me to butt out lol

GO BE YOUNG AND FREE IN THIS STRANGE WORLD

from Charlene xx

Letter writing challenge letter 2 …To my children

Here is the second letter given to me by jenny over at jennyinneverland.wordpress.com and this one is for my children .

Dear Estelle and Lincoln (Lynx) ,

I write this to you with a heart full of pride and love for you both .You have given me a family unit and a place to belong that I never quite had and for that I say thank you  .

I will admit I struggle being a mummy some days and when you Estelle was born I didn’t have a clue what I was doing and was very unwell .I have always been very honest that mummys head is often cloudy and muggy which can affect my mood . I am always questioning if im good enough as a mum to you both ,feeling guilty when ive snapped to much or that I cant give you everything I want to .And I don’t just mean materlistic things I mean a 2.4 family and loving grandparents .

Though I promise to always be there rooting for you as I always have !!

When I say your amazing , beautiful/handsome ,talented ,clever I mean all these things and I long for you to see yourself as I see you .

You give me hope and love and I am so proud of who you are both becoming .

I love you both very much

Love your mummy xx

 

Bout of books wrap up

Well I did my first readathon and loved it .I set a goal of 3 and read double that so feel like ive achieved something.It was a hard stressful week so was great to just escape in lots of books ,I also read a few which ive been meaning to for ages !! It was also greta to connect with more book lovers

Day 7 I finshed a special delivery by clare dowling 335 pages so in total I read 6 books and finished a few ages of another .

I look forward to taking part next time 🙂

I have included a picture of my books I completed.

 

letter writing challenge .letter 1 ……to an alien

 

A big thank you to the lovely jenny over at  www.jennyinneverland.wordpress.com for letting me take part in this challenge .

I will be writing 10  letters and its something very different  in each one .

So the first one is to a alien

Dear alien,

You may have a actual name sorry if you have and ive just called you alien .You can call me human if that makes it any better .Im  Charlene 31 ,how do you do ages where you come from? Where is it your from ? Tell me how its different to what you know of earth .I have 2 children so im a mum ,again how does that work where you are?

Are you to be feared as some people believe or do you fear us?

Describe a day in your life ?  Its actually quite hard to write to someone you have no knowledge of .

Write back or communicate how you do ….

From Charlene

BOOK REVIEW A SPECIAL DELIVERY BY CLARE DOWLING

Every family has its ups and downs…

Aisling Brady is miserable. So is her husband Mossy. The three kids are too. Yet nobody dares say a thing. Instead the Bradys keep their heads down and grimly look forward to another miserable Christmas in Dublin.

What Aisling doesn’t know is that this year, they will get the most unexpected gift of all. One that will bring joy and heartbreak, hope and a string of sleepless nights.
As their world is turned upside down, questions have to be asked But are the Bradys ready to face the truth about themselves? And what each of them has done?

 

I had this sitting in my tbr pile for ages so while I was whizzing thrugh my books doing the bout of books readathon I grabbed the perfect oppournity to read it . I won this on twitter and thanks to Clare for signing it .

I have read several of her books loved them .

I  found this hard to get into at first but that may been due to the amount I  had read this week.Straight away though we know the family is unhappy and has a secret and I was thinking what is it ??

Then there lives are turned upside down and there are twists and turns along the way.

This is a story of emotion ,secrets ,love ,loyalty and family.

At times it felt quite busy and hard to keep up with but I think that was a essential part of telling everyone’s side of the story .

I really enjoyed watching the relationships change and grow with the new arrival of Darren .

This book will surprise you in many ways .

 

 

Progress for day 6 bout of books

Finished dear thing by Julie Cohen 186 pages
Started book 6 a special delivery by Clare dowling 8 pages

Book review dear thing by Julie Cohen

After years of watching her best friends Ben and Claire try for a baby, Romily offered to give them the one thing they most wanted.

But Romily wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming feelings that have taken hold of her and which threaten to ruin her friendship with Ben and Claire – and even destroy their marriage.

Now there are three friends, two mothers and only one baby, and an impossible decision to make

From what I can remember I haven’t read any of Julie’s books previously so I was excited to discover a new author .
This covers a very controversial subject and one that everyone has a opinion on .
This book is very clever in that it shows you the thoughts and feelings of all those concerned and not just focusing on the surrogate or the mother to be .
Her writing really reminds me of rowan Coleman whose work I have only discovered this year.They write beautifully and with great depth .
This book gave me a greater understanding of a subject I’m very unlikely to be in and in which I was very ignorant about .
I assumed it was quite clear cut but with most subjects it’s really not .
You can relate to both the women but I did relate more to Romily who was bit all over the place and did remind me of me .

All throughout I was trying to figure out how it would end and at one point thought I was right ….

This is cleverly written to make you think and question your own beliefs.
I look forward to reading more of Julies books .