Maybe Tomorrow by Penny Parkes

 

What a difference a year could make…

Jamie Matson had once enjoyed a wonderful life working alongside her best friend, organising adventures for single-parent families, and her son Bo’s artistic flair a source of pride rather than concern.

She hadn’t been prepared to lose her business, her home, and her friend. Not all in one dreadful year. And now she finds herself reeling - rebuilding her world, with Bo at its heart - swallowing her pride and asking for help.

Jamie certainly hadn’t expected to find such hope and camaraderie in the queue at her local Food Bank - thrown together with an unlikely and colourful group of people - all of them struggling to get by, yet still determined to reclaim their lost careers and agency over their lives. Even if just choosing their own groceries again is a goal they can all share.

As their friendships flourish, they quickly find it’s easier to be objective about each other than about themselves, and decide that - when you’re all out of options - it’s okay to bend the rules a little and create your own.

A story of friendship, possibilities, and hope, that maybe tomorrow will be brighter than today...

Today I am really pleased to be taking part in Book and the City's blog tour to celebrate the publication of Penny Parkes latest novel, Maybe Tomorrow.

I first became aware of Penny Parke's great storytelling as I visited The Practice in Beckerford and really enjoyed the Larkford series of books set in a small doctor's practice, where a cast of doctors and their patients went through everyday life. However, following that series, this is Penny's second standalone novel and I really think her writing is just getting better and better.

Maybe Tomorrow is a novel, set in current times, where many are having to close their small businesses and face the struggle of increasing rent and food prices and just getting by with a boring, minimum wage job, while trying to make ends meet as life throws obstacles in the way.

Meet Jamie, a single parent to her son, Bo. Jamie was a woman who loved life, enjoyed being self employed but unfortunately she has found herself in a damp flat, which is causing her son to have regular nightly hospital visits, which in turn make it difficult for her to work in the upmarket supermarket, where it is too expensive for her to shop herself, and each month struggles to pay her bills. That is before you meet the creepy landlord. This all culminates in her loosing her job and being faced with an impossible rent increase. Regular trips to the local foodbank provide food, warmth and increasingly a circle of friends who all look out for each other. A chance spotting of a property for rent in the local estate agents window leads to Jamie making a phone call to enquire, which literally changes her life for the better.

I really enjoyed Maybe Tomorrow. It is a story that is relevant to so many of us following the pandemic. I really enjoyed Penny's story telling and the cast of characters were a perfect mix of people, who could be found in any neighbourhood in the UK today. It shines a light on foodbanks, highlighting that they are more than just a building to get free food - there are communities being built in them, they can be a one stop shop for getting help and advice. 

The book gives everyone hope, that their are people around who are willing to help others, that help is available to all at this time and most importantly that it is ok to ask for help, to visit foodbanks and to offer to support others during this time. As a well known supermarket says.'Every little helps' and it is ok to ask for help and that this help may come from the most unusual places. 

The book also imparts the important message about giving back, once you are back on your feet, repay the generosities of others and offer support and advice to others in similar situations.  

As mentioned above, the book has many themes and messages, but they are all dealt with in a sympathetic and non-condescending manner. Maybe Tomorrow is a lovely story that can be read in one sitting, on a sun drenched sun lounger or a wet summer's afternoon. It another brilliant read by Penny Parkes and I recommend it to all.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster, Books and the City and Netgalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

One Enchanted Evening by Katie Fforde (Blog Tour)

What does March mean to me? It is my mum's birthday, mother's day and time for a new Katie Fforde hardback release!!!!  

Regular readers of my blog will know that I am a huge fan of Katie Fforde. I always look forward to  it with great anticipation and when I heard that 2023's release was going to be the third book (previous titles were A Wedding in the Country and a Wedding in Provence) featuring  Meg, Lizzie and Alexandra , a group of girls who met on a cookery course in London. The book series is set in the 1960's, a different style of novel from Katie Fforde, but it is full of Katie's usual easy to read style of writing with strong female characters and the perfect book to curl up with in the cold winter afternoons or to relax on a sun lounger under the hot summer sun. 

Ever since she can remember, Meg has wanted to be a professional cook.

But it's 1964, and in restaurant kitchens all over England it is still a man's world.

Then she gets a call from her mother who is running a small hotel in Dorset.

There's an important banqueting event coming up. She needs help and she needs it now!

When Meg arrives, the hotel seems stuck in the past. But she loves a challenge, and sets to work.

Then Justin, the son of the hotel owner, appears, determined to take over the running of the kitchen.

Infuriated, Meg is determined to keep cooking - and soon sparks between them begin to fly.

Will their differences be a recipe for disaster? After all, the course of true love never did run smooth...
____________

I was very happy to find that One Enchanted Evening was again, a brilliant read. I loved meeting back up with Alexandra, Lizzie and Meg and to find that Meg was going to take centre stage, helping her mum out in the small hotel in Dorset, where the running of the hotel was left to her mum following the owner's trip away due to a death in the family. On the first day Meg was confronted by the owner's son, Justin, who did not appear to like Meg's ideas for the kitchen and the menu for an upcoming banquet.  Of course, this is the 1960's where women in professional kitchens, in the top positions were not veryj often seen. There appears to be an ulterior motive in Justin's behaviour but will there be a happy ending for Meg, her mum and Justin?

I really recommend this book to all book lovers who enjoy Katie Fforde's books or those who enjoy women's fiction in general. Although this is the third book featuring the three ladies, this book can be read as a stand alone book or in order but nothing is lost from not reading the others first. 

There are so many good characters in this book. I really liked the French chef, who Meg was due to work with, under his tutorage before she had the call from her mum asking for help. One of the hotel's residence, Ambrosine, was a fascinating character, who's back story began in WW2 and was a key part of the story's end. 

I don't know what Katie has planned for her next book but I have really enjoyed this trip back to the 1960's. I know Katie was nervous of taking her writing in this style, but I really hope she has had lots of readers expressing their love for these stories and that she may consider writing more set in the 1960's or 1970's. I would love to see where Meg, Alexandra and Lizzie's lives go next. They each have their own storylines, with them living in different countries and have families of their own but i am sure that they have many more stories to tell.

One Enchanted Evening by Katie Fforde is out 2^nd March, published by Century in hardback, priced £16.99

Thank you to both Random House and Net Galley, along with Ed PR for inviting me to take part in this blog tour and for sending me a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Blog Tour - Never Go Back by Jessie Keane

 

Today I am really excited to be taking part in the blog tour for Jessie Keane's hard back publication of Never Go Back, which features book lovers' favourite gangland drama families, The Carters.

Jessie Keane is a Sunday Times bestselling author and has written 17 books, all of which are bestsellers.

Gangster Max Carter and his ex-wife Annie Carter are leading separate lives – Annie in New York and Max in London; their tempestuous relationship and past hurts too much to bear. But after news of a tragic death, both are forced to question everything they know about each other, and their colourful past. 

Max had two brothers – both are now dead. His closest friend has been found hanging from a London bridge. As the police wrestle with a seemingly unsolvable case, Max is forced to find answers to a mystery that seems to make no sense at all. Who is targeting his family and why? 

Annie Carter is at a crossroads in life. She has a luxurious lifestyle but no one to share it with, and Max clearly thinks she is in danger too. Her daughter, Layla, has left her mafia lover Alberto Barolli and is back in London, stumbling into the police investigation and making waves. You should ‘never go back’, so the old saying goes. But then, the Carter women don’t follow the rules, they make them. 

When the truth is finally revealed, will the Carter family stand together – or will it finish them for good?

I have read a couple of Jessie's back catalogue but haven't caught up on them all yet, however I found this book a great read without knowing all the background of previous books. It can be read as a standalone book, however it has whetted my appeitite to go back and read them all so I know who's who and the history of the gangland history that surrounds the Carter family.

I loved so many of the themes that are included within this book, the dark and intense gangland scene, the subsequent violence that it involves and the strong family loyalty that lies within. There is, of course, betrayal and divided loyalty behind much of the action and Jessie really draws the reader in and places them right in the heart of the story, amid the violence and old family values that are found in the London gangland scene. 

If you are looking for a gritty, hard hitting and unputdownable read I highly recommend Never Go Back, but be warned, it is one of those books that you have to read just one more chapter at night.

Never Go Back by Jessie Keane is out 2^nd February, published by Hodder in hardback, priced £16.99.

Thank you to EDPR for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.