The Toymakers is a long, sweeping story, following the life of young runaway Cathy from 1907 to 1953. Pregnant, she flees home, answering an advert in the paper asking for shop-hands at Papa Jack’s Emporium, a magical toy shop open only from first frost to first thaw. Rescued by Papa Jack’s two sons, Cathy is […]
book review
A Monster Calls
It is the 27th of December, and as we spent the 26th flying from Yorkshire to Northern Ireland, then doing a second Christmas celebration with my husband’s family, it somehow feels like double Boxing Day. It is one of those cosy, comfortable mornings where no one is doing anything in particular so you can read […]
Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land
With Good Me Bad Me, Ali Land has given us the perfect psychological thriller. Annie’s mother is a serial killer. For years, she’s been killing little children and getting away with it. But one day, aged 15, Annie can’t take the horror of her mother’s actions any more and turns her into the police. Annie […]
Book Review – Christmas At The Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan
This charming page-turner is a true delight. The third in the Little Beach Street Bakery series, this book follows feisty baker Polly, her fiancé Huckle and their pet puffin Neil through a sweet and amusing account of the run up to Christmas, dealing with the pressures of work, the problems of their friends and the […]