How I Cook by Skye Gyngell

Skye Gyngell's skill in combining ingredients in a way that heightens their freshness and flavour is second to none. Her cooking at Petersham Nurseries has won many awards and her previous two books have been highly acclaimed. Now, Skye turns her attention to home cooking. In How I Cook she focuses on the food she cooks for friends and family, with an original collection of over 100 recipes based around meal occasions - breakfast, Sunday lunch, alfresco eating, afternoon tea, simple weekday dinner, late night supper and celebrations - such as Christmas and Easter. Skye's home cooking is influenced by the seasons but it is also the sense of occasion that inspires her creativity. The layers of flavour that typify Skye's dishes are evident throughout, but recipes are more straightforward and based on ingredients that are easy for the home cook to obtain. All techniques are carefully explained and illustrated, and Skye reveals the secrets of her success, based on her years of experience in the kitchen. In addition, Skye provides menu suggestions throughout the book to create beautifully balanced meals. The final chapter 'Time to spare' presents a lovely selection of original preserves and other food that can be prepared ahead to enjoy later.

This cook book is one which I can see being used in our house, although I admit, by my husband - the main cook! It is definitely not a book to be looked through when you are hungry though, the food in the high quality, colour photographs which accompany most of the recipes look delicious and there were many recipes I would love to try. The pictures look like I would imagine them turning out at home, not too 'cheffy!'.

There are eight sections to the book: Breakfast, Sunday Lunch, Alfresco eating, Afternoon tea, Simple weekday dinner, Late night supper, Special occasion and Time to spare. Each section is full of delicious sounding recipes, complete with recommended serving numbers, full ingredient list and easy to follow instructions. Each recipes begins with a short introduction, which gives useful tips and possible alternative ingredients or accompaniments.

The recipes all include ingredients which should be easy to source. There are traditional recipes, with old fashioned style along with modern twist or updated old favorites throughout the book.

This is a great book which would be an useful addition in any kitchen, for novice cooks through to confident cooks who enjoy throwing dinner parties.

Thank you to Quadrille Publishing for sending me the book to review.

Signing Hands; Baby Signing Basics by Lizzie Betts

*British Sign Language *Suitable for everyone wanting to know more about baby signing or starting to sign with their deaf child. Babies are able to make simple gestures many months before they are able to speak. By introducing just a few simple signs, a baby can learn how to communicate their needs and wants. Baby signing reduces guesswork for parents and carers. The proven benefits are calmer, more contented and confident children. This beautifully illustrated guide to baby signing has been produced in conjunction with experienced baby signing teachers at Little Signers Club and leading British Sign Language author, Cath Smith. With first signs, engaging pictures, tips and exercises, this book will quickly and simply show you and your baby how to communicate through sign. Who wouldn't want their child to be the first amongst their peers to be communicating, to be the most chilled out, to be happier, to have a real head start? Ben, signing daddy to Fin FINALIST; Most Innovative Baby Product 2010, The Baby Show for Trade

Baby Signing is something which I never tried with my children, however my son had speech difficulties and was at an Ican speech nursery (great charity) and he was taught some sign language and he picked some up with Mr Tumble on Something Special (CBeebies) and used it at times and I can see the benefits.

This book is a really good idea. It is a small book but includes lots of information within it. There is a basic introduction which gives the good reasons for baby signing and the one I would like to highlight is that signing is beneficial from the age of 12 months, when toddlers have an inability to express themselves clearly and tantrums can develop. Signing gives toddlers the ability to convey what they want or need.

There are a list of benefits to both parent and child learning sign language - increased confidence, reinforces creative and memory skills and the ability for a young child to express their wish or discomfort before language takes over.

The book contains 38 basic signs, those most commonly used and taught. Each page teaches a sign and also has a diagrams showing someone doing the sign, as well as directions in words. There is also a large picture of what the sign means - these are of a collage effect and are beautiful to look at and eye catching for babies too.

The book also has many tips included and these are recommended by expert teachers. It also discusses if your child is ready to start signing and some tips of getting your child ready to learn signing. The book also has a very useful page entitled 'signing hands - helpful tips for hand shapes' which has diagrams for 10 different hand shapes as described in the book.

There are 8 sections into which the 38 basic signs have been split: first signs (milk, eat, drink, more, all gone), family and home (mummy, daddy, baby, home, work); getting ready (get dressed, nappy change, bath, splash and duck); bedtime (sleepy, bed, cuddle, teddy bear and star); I'm feeling (happy, sad, help, doctor, poorly); pets (cat, dog, rabbit, fish); exploring (out and about!., out, car, walk, sun and rain); and exploring (garden, spider, bee and flower). At the end of each section is a song suggestion for learning/practicing the signs in each section.

This is a really great book, a useful resource for people thinking about doing baby signing with their child and gives lots of useful hints and tips throughout the book. I recommend it to all mums to be and new mums.

Thank you to Michael from The School Run forum for sending me this book to review.

Please don't stop the music by Jane Lovering

How much can you hide? Jemima Hutton is determined to build a successful new life and keep her past a dark secret. Trouble is, her jewellery business looks set to fail - until enigmatic Ben Davies offers to stock her handmade belt buckles in his guitar shop and things start looking up, on all fronts. But Ben has secrets too. When Jemima finds out he used to be the front man of hugely successful Indie rock band Willow Down, she wants to know more. Why did he desert the band on their US tour? Why is he now a semi-recluse? And the curiosity is mutual - which means that her own secret is no longer safe ...

This is Jane Lovering's first book to be released in the UK and is a great read! A story about a young woman, who is hiding her past from all who know her. She has her own business - designing and making jewellery and belt buckles, which she sells on line and in a small shop in town, the contract of which is cancelled abruptly, however her flat mate continues to supply the shop with handmade cards in huge quantities.

However, a chance find of a small guitar shop willingly to sell her buckles leads to a relationship developing between her and the owner, who also seems to have a past and secret to hide. Will Jemima and Ben manage to trust each other and reveal their pasts to each other.

Although the story includes this love story, there are many other strands to this story. The owner of the shop, Saskia, appears to have the perfect life, a loaded husband, a perfect child who is given every opportunity and money thrown at it every day, but is their trouble in paradise? Jemima's flatmate, Rosie is a new mum, finding juggling motherhood with her own card making business, being inundated with orders from Saskia and feeling she is not able to be a great mum to her son. Ben, the guitar shop owner, has secrets, he was in a successful band, why did he suddenly leave?

The story has many twists and turns, Ben, Rosie and Jemima seem to have a run of bad luck - social workers turning up, Ben's shop burning down and Jemima's business being blacklisted around York. Jemima finds it hard to settle, never unpacking her belongings, always ready to move on quickly.

I really enjoyed this book, enjoyed discovering the secrets that have been hidden by both Ben and Jemima, watching their relationship develop and then hit rocky patches. A great book to slip in your bag to take out and devour a chapter whenever you have opportunity, easy to pick up whenever. I also enjoyed the diary entries by Ben at the end of some chapters - finding out what he really thinks.

I hope this is the first of many books to hit UK bookshelves by Jane Lovering.

Thank you to ChocLit Publishers for sending me this book to review.

The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson

Libby has a nice life with a gorgeous husband and a big home by the sea. But over time she is becoming more unsure if Jack has ever loved her ? and if he is over the death of Eve, his first wife. When fate intervenes in their relationship, Libby decides to find out all she can about the man she hastily married and the seemingly perfect Eve. Eventually Libby stumbles across some startling truths about Eve, and is soon unearthing more and more devastating family secrets. Frightened by what she finds and the damage it could cause, Libby starts to worry that she too will end up like the first woman Jack loved...Tense and moving, The Woman He Loved Before explores if the love you want is always the love you need ? or deserve.

Dorothy Koomson has done it again! I loved The Ice Cream Girls and was looking forward to her next book as soon as I had finished it. This book certainly does not disappoint.

This book is told primarily, from the point of view of Libby and her husband Jack. The book opens with a letter which says 'if you are reading this, then it is likely I'm dead, probably murdered'. Intrigue from page one!

The story is told, primarily, from two viewpoints - Jack and Libby. There has been a car accident and Libby is seriously hurt. The story flits between the present day, the accident and the treatment and stay in hospital, and the past, Libby and Jack's chance meeting at a car dealership. As the story progresses, we learn that Jack has been married before, to Eve, who died in suspicious circumstances, and the police reappear to ensure that the car accident was in fact an accident, caused by a driver distracted by a mobile phone and not, as the police suggest, Jack removing another wife from his life. Following many unanswered questions and an inquisitive dog wanting to get into the house's cellar, Libby discovers Eve's hidden diaries which hold many hidden secrets and also dangerous information which could lead to Libby risking her life ending in similar suspicious circumstances similar to Eve. However, there is a twist at the end of the book which is brilliant - Koomson manages to pull one out of the bag again, and this one I didn't see coming!

The story covers many themes within the book; a schoolgirl making a heartbreaking decision - should she stay at home with her mother's abusive partner or make her own way in the world, leaving school; her fight for survival finding employment and the lengths she goes to when money is tight; life as a lap dancer, life as an escort and the decision to leave that world behind and trust one man to spend her life with, and then a figure from her past coming back and making an appearance in the worse possible situation. There is also Jack, who married his first love, lost her and then found someone else, who he loved, but wasn't Eve, his first love and Libby, who found love but always felt there were three people in the marriage, the wife who had died always seemed to around.

I thought Libby was a very strong woman, she had to be to recover from her accident, to rebuild her life, however, when she discovered Eve's diaries, should she have read them - I think this is temptation that many of us would have difficulty in turning away from, however the secrets which were revealed would change life for everyone involved if she revealed all she had found out.

I absolutely loved this book and I would recommend it to all - however, it is one of those books, that once you have started, you are unable to put down, it is addictive and I wanted to keep reading to find out as much as possible. It is a great read to take away on holiday and get lost in!

Thank you to Sphere and Little Brown for sending me the book to review.

Summer of Love by Katie Fforde

Sian Bishop has only ever experienced one moment of recklessness - a moment that resulted in her beloved son Rory. It's not that she doesn't love the outcome of that wild night, but since then she has always taken the safer route. So when dependable, devoted Richard suggests a move to the beautiful English countryside, she leaves the hustle and bustle of the city behind, and she throws herself into the picture-postcard cottage garden, her furniture restoration business, and a new life in the country. Her good intentions are torpedoed on a glorious summer's evening with the arrival of Gus Berresford. One-time explorer and full-time heartbreaker, Gus is ridiculously exciting, wonderfully glamorous and a completely inappropriate love interest for a single mum. But Gus and Sian have met before...Sian has no use for a fling, she simply mustn't fall in love with the most unlikely suitor ever to cross her path - even if he has now crossed her path twice. But who knows what can happen in a summer of love...

I am a great fan of Katie Fforde's books and always look forward to her new releases. This book was no exception. As soon as I started this book I was drawn into it and found it difficult to put it down.

The story is a love story, however it is more than that. A single mum who has been single since a one night stand at a party which could not develop further as the man, Gus, was going away. Sian has looked after her son from day one on her own, although a close male friend, Richard, has proposed and has promised that she and her son will want for nothing - except Sian is not certain that she loves him.

The story starts with Kate moving to a small village from London, to provide a better life for her and her son, enrolling him in a local nursery, run by Richard's sister, in a small cottage. Her first visitor, Fiona, welcomes her to the village and she becomes a confidante, a friend and introduces her to village life. Imagine Sian's shock when, at a dinner party arranged to introduce her to other villagers, her son, Angus, returns from his latest exploration trip - he is Sian's son's father!

The story explores this unusual turn of events, from Fiona's point of view, the grandmother who never knew he existed, Angus, the father who never knew he existed - how will Fiona tell him that he has a son; Sian's mother, who is the grandmother and has been there to help Fiona; and also Richard, who loves him like a son, is an old school friend of Angus's and does not realise the feelings that are rebrewing between Angus and Sian.

There is also a light humour side to the book, Angus's mother, Fiona, has signed up to Internet dating and goes on a few date but then finds love closer to home - how will Angus react to his mother's new relationship and sex life!

As I said, I always enjoy Katie Fforde's books and this one is no exception. It was an easy read, it is to be promoted as a Mothers Day read and is a perfect present for mums everywhere of any age - there is something for everyone, young mums and grandma's alike, everyone will enjoy it!! The book is one which draws you in and would be great to read curled up in the winter or also read while sunning oneself on a beach in the summer.

Well done Katie on another brilliant book.

Thank you to Random House for sending me the book to review.

A Year Without Autumn by Liz Kessler

If you could see into the future - would you look? Jenni Green doesn't have a choice. On her way to visit her best friend, Autumn, Jenni suddenly finds she's been transported exactly one year forward in time. Now she discovers that in the year that's gone by, tragedy has struck and her friendship with Autumn will never be the same again. But what caused the tragedy? How did Jenni skip a year? And can she find her way back to the past to try to change what lies ahead? With humour - and her customary light touch - the author of the EMILY WINDSNAP books plays a fascinating game with time, and explores the changes that take place in friendships and families in the aftermath of a disaster.

I really enjoyed this book, something a little bit different for children to read. Jenni and Autumn are with their families at their annual holiday park. The girls are inseparable and do everything possible together, however, the trip to the local stables for an afternoon of hacking leads to an accident, the events of which lead up to and follow it mean life will never be the same again.

The book is a great read for girls, I would recommend about 9 years. The story talks about friendships and also the long term effects that can follow tradegy. The story does touch on 'time travel' but not in a doctor who sort of way.

I really like Liz Kessler's style of writing, easy to read but is descriptive and well written. I recommend this book to anyone buying for a confident reader aged 9 years +.

Thank you to Michael from The School Run Forum for sending me this book to review.

Raising Children; The Primary Years by Liat Hughes Joshi

Expert knowledge, real-life experiences and enlightening research specifically carried out for the book, all combine to create a unique view on what it takes to be a parent of primary school children. Covering the issues that will affect you and your children during their primary school years, you will find yourself armed with knowledge, tips, tricks and advice that will help you both through even the most challenging times. With every topic discussed you'll discover valuable specialist opinion and guidance, as well as quotes, clever know-how and insights from real parents who've already been through it. From mealtimes and bedtimes, tricky questions and homework, all the way through to sex and drugs, you'll soon discover you're not the only parent grappling with all this stuff. And with Raising Children on your side you'll be well-informed, well-prepared and well-equipped to handle any problem big or small.

This book is really well set out. Split into eleven sections; general behaviour management; friends and foes; school and after school; food, glorious food; sleep; growing up fast;gadgets and games; tricky questions (sex and drugs); financial matters; difficult times and other little challenges (including lies, bad habits and fear), this book covers everything that parents may need help with in the bringing up of their children (age 4-11 years).

Each section details the big issues within the subject, some background info into the subject, the opinions and common answers by professionals in the field (psychologists, nutritionists etc) and most importantly what you can do about it. There are also ideas for further reading at the end of each section.

The book is set out in a reader friendly way, in easy to understand English, without long, scientific or technical jargon. The advice given is helpful and friendly and is practical, things which can be done by everyone and not just the 'ideal' family. The author is also British and so has relevant and useful advice.

While looking through the book I found many topics covered which will be helpful to me; talking about a family bereavement; how should I decide upon pocket money, fussy eating and homework and also topics to swat up on for the future: sex, the need for a mobile phone, drug prevention, disagreements about clothing and sleepovers.

The only downside or negative that I have found about the book is that there is no index. There is a contents page but this is not detailled enough to find a specific topic quickly.

I think this is a book that would be a book every parent would have the need to consult at least five times in their child's primary years. A great resource and reference for parents everywhere.

Thank you to Michael from The School Run forum for sending me the book to review.