#BloggerDay One Moment by Becky Hunter

Life or death. Love or loss. It can all happen in One Moment.

About the Author

Becky Hunter worked for many years in London in the publishing industry, before taking a career break in Mozambique, where she volunteered with horses and decided to give writing a go. She now works as a freelance book publicist. One Moment is her debut novel. Follow @Bookish_Becky on X (formerly known as the artist called Twitter).

About the book

One moment in time can change everything... The day Scarlett dies should have been one of the most important of her life. It doesn't feel fair that she'll never have the chance to fulfil her dreams - all because she stopped to help a stranger. And now, she's still... here - wherever here is - watching the ripple effect of her death on those she loved the most.

Evie cannot contemplate her life without Scarlett, and she certainly cannot forgive Nate, the man she blames for her best friend's death. But Nate keeps popping up when she least expects him to, catapulting Evie's life in directions she'd never let herself imagine possible.

If you could go back, knowing everything that happens after, everything that happens because of one choice you made, would you change the course of history or would you do it all again?

Review

I was pleasantly surprised by this book - it wasn't at all what I was expecting. A serious note on death, sisterhood and friendship. The realisation that our lives can change in the blink of an eye. One choice, one path taken - just one moment in time. In this case Evie makes a choice that leads to her death, and peculiarly she or her soul is left to see the aftermath of her tragic end.

See the reaction of people to her death, which is a bit of an eye-opener at times. In a way she is narrating her own death throughout the book. An unexpected event that opens up Evie, and her way of perceiving the world around her,  and gives her a new perspective. On the life she no longer gets to life, to finish with her goals achieved and all her dreams fulfilled. 

It's emotional and simultaneously beautiful - it captures the relationship between the two of them perfectly. Evie and Scarlett, best friends and roommates, but even best friends fight. Evie wonders whether she wants to be able to change the status quo if it changes things for the worse for her friend.    

It's a wonderful read about embracing what we are unable to control, and realising that sometimes some things are meant to be and should be left to evolve or not.  I look forward to reading more by this author in the future. She has a knack for spinning the kind of yarn readers really want to experience.

Buy One Moment at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : ‎Corvus pub date 31 August 2023. Buy at Amazon com.

#BloggerDay Summer in Mayfair by Susannah Constantine

Today is Blogger Day for the delectable Summer in Mayfair by Susannah Constantine.

About the Author
Susannah Constantine is a television presenter and journalist. She lives in West Sussex with her husband and three children. She has co-written nine non-fiction books with Trinny Woodall. Summer in Mayfair is her second novel.

Follow @snhconstantine on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Buy Summer in Mayfair

About the book
Secrets are hidden around every corner…
Summer, 1979. - Twenty-two-year-old Esme Munroe has finally left the Scottish Highlands for the excitement of London.

Working at a prestigious art gallery in Mayfair, she meets gorgeous, worldly Suki, who takes her to the most exclusive bars and clubs in the city.

But it’s easy to get lost in London’s glamour and chaos, especially when a long-hidden secret looms – will Esme discover it and who she can really trust, before it’s too late?

Review
Esme isn't a complete nube when it comes to the world of the upper echelon. In fact it's fair to say her life has been influenced and determined by her mother's friendship to a member of the gentry and her past of living her best life. Esme and her sister have gotten used to getting the short end of the stick, both in regards to their mother and the way they are treated by her so-called friends.

Esme is off to make her own way in life in London and quickly gets sucked into the glam, glitz and exclusivity. Old emotions about belonging and being unwanted surface as she slowly unravels secrets that have been hidden for a long time and for good reason.

It was quite interesting how well Constantine invoked the atmosphere of a certain era - not the late 70s it is set in per se, although the clothes and surroundings fit. It has a Golden Twenties feel to it. It has a very distinctive cultural edge combined with a certain economic prosperity. The world of landed gentry and those who inhabit their orbit crash into the world of plain old normality - more like being sucked into the Thunderdome also known as London.

In essence it's a story about coming-of-age and comprehending that family isn't always made up out of genetic connections, but rather a strong emotional connection.

Constantine delivers a story with depth, and yet also keeps it amusing, interesting and fun at the same time. I'd love to see that knack she has for creating a specific atmosphere create the story that is obviously just waiting to be told.

Buy Summer in Mayfair at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ; pub date 25 Jun. 2020. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Waterstones.