#BlogTour The Summer We Ran Away by Jenny Oliver

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour The Summer We Ran Away by Jenny Oliver.

About the Author
Jenny Oliver is a bestselling author of contemporary fiction. She has been an elf in the Disney Store, a personal trainer, journalist, editor and, by far the best, a writer. Twice nominated for the RNA Best Contemporary Novel award, Jenny’s books explore the ups and downs of relationships and an unwavering belief in happily ever after. In her spare time, she can be found cajoling her family out to car boot sales, trying to reign in her competitiveness on the netball court and subtly eavesdropping on strangers’ conversations as inspiration for her next book.

Follow her on Twitter @JenOliverBooks, Instagram @JenOliverBooks, and Facebook @JennyOliverBooks, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit jennyoliverbooks.com, Buy The Summer We Ran Away

About the book
It was meant to be the party of the summer…
In Cedar Road, everyone is preparing for Lexi’s ‘White Hot’ summer party. For one night, parking squabbles and petitions are put aside as neighbours sip Prosecco under the fairy lights and gather by the hot tub to marvel at Lexi’s effortlessly glamorous life with Hot Hamish.

For Julia, it’s a chance to coax husband Charlie out of his potting shed and into a shirt so they can have a welcome break from the hellish house renovation they’ve been wrestling with. And it’s a chance for Julia to pretend – just for a night – that her life is as perfect as Lexi’s.

But when, during the party, one of Julia’s WhatsApp messages falls into the wrong hands and reveals her most intimate thoughts, things reach boiling point…
 
And when all the neighbours know exactly what you’re thinking, there’s only one thing to do. Run away.

Review
Julia spends the majority of the time trying to be like someone else. Buying the same clothes, shoes and doing the same activities. When her neighbour Lexi says jump she asks how high. Julia also has an unhealthy obsession about her neighbour's husband. The kind that gets her pulse rising.

At a summer garden party everything goes pear-shaped when one of her racy Whatsapp messages gets sent to the wrong people. Suddenly everything she thought was important becomes nothing more than white noise. Her husband is devastated and her friends aren't so friendly anymore.

She ends up on a spontaneous trip that not only opens up her eyes, it also gives her an entirely new perspective on her marriage and life in general.

It's women's fiction, a story of finding yourself and friendship where you least expect it.

Oliver creates an interesting like-for-like picture when it comes to women and the way they often take their high school personas out into the big world with them. Mean girls become even meaner women and their victims often need a rude awakening to comprehend that they no longer have to live with the imbalance of power.

Learning to appreciate what you have and experience life the way you want it, as opposed to the way others may want you to experience life is just one of the messages in this book.

Buy The Summer We Ran Away at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ; pub date 11 Jun. 2020. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Waterstones.

#BlogTour How To Say Goodbye by Katy Colins

Today it's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour How to Say Goodbye by Katy Colins. It's women's fiction with a lively tone and an emotional thread woven throughout.

About the Author
Katy Colins is a qualified journalist with articles published in Company Magazine and The Daily Star she crossed sides to work in Public Relations before selling all she owned to backpack solo around South East Asia and finally put her thoughts into words, writing as she travelled.

Her experiences inspired her to pen 'The Lonely Hearts Travel Club' series and saw her labelled the 'Backpacking Bridget Jones' by the global media.

Katy currently lives by the sea in France where she is on a one woman mission to educate the French about the necessity and technicalities of making a good cup of tea. When she is not writing about romance, travel and adventure, she loves travelling, catching up with family and friends and convincing herself that her croissant addiction isn't out of control - just yet.

You can find out more about Katy, her writing and her travels on her blog www.notwedordead.com

Follow Katy Colins - @Notwedordead on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon,
Buy How To Say Goodbye

About the book
No-one is ever happy to see Grace Salmon.
As a funeral arranger, she’s responsible for steering strangers through the hardest day of their lives. It’s not a task many would want – but, for Grace, giving people the chance to say a proper goodbye to the ones they love is the most important job in the world.

From the flowers in the church to the drinks served at the wake,Grace knows it’s the personal touches that count – and it’s amazing what you can find out about someone from their grieving relatives … or their Facebook page. But when she accidentally finds out too much about someone who’s died, Grace is finally forced to step out of the shadows… and start living.

Review
I'm not sure a lot of us give any thought to the people who ensure our loved ones get a good send off. It's really the last thing you want to think of. The thought of somebody you love dying and then having to arrange how everyone else gets to say goodbye to them. In a way the funeral isn't for the dearly departed, but rather for the living who grieve them.

I'll admit I have asked my mother to plan her funeral. I was pulling her leg a little, but it actually gave her the chance to think about the way she wanted people to say goodbye to her. Her playlist is something else I tell ya! Saying that, lately she has been telling me it's perfectly fine to pop her in a cardboard box and whip her round to the crematorium and Bob's your uncle. (Apparently that's legal here).

Grace is the kind of character readers tend to warm to, because she is like all of us. She is perfect with all of her imperfections. Part of her is afraid to live and to love. Hindered by the memories of a lost love and unwilling to confront what is keeping her from moving on.

I'm intentionally not going to go into the most emotional part of the book. I think It's best readers experience that for themselves. What I will say is that it makes this more than just Chick Lit and it ventures soundly into women's fiction.

The group meeting aspect of the story is emotional and heartfelt. In fact the whole book is, despite the light-hearted humour and the realistic characters. It's women's fiction with a lively tone and an emotional thread woven throughout.

I think one of my favourite paragraphs by far is the last one. It just speaks volumes about how far Grace has come and the difference in the way she sees life and lives it. Something so simple, and yet perfect in every way. It's a lovely read.

Buy How To Say Goodbye at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.