#Blogtour You're a Dream to Me by Samantha Kay

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour You're a Dream to Me by Samantha Kay.

About the Author

Samantha Kay is an author of contemporary women’s fiction.  Her titles include, Found, Good People, and her newest release; You’re a Dream to Me. 

Samantha has been studying human behaviour and dysfunctional family dynamics at the University of Life for almost twenty years, with many of her findings inspiring her stories and their characters. Samantha Kay was born, raised and still lives in East London. Follow @Samanthakay21 on Twitter

About the book

After the suicide of her husband, Lydia Green’s life is turned upside down. In the aftermath of Steve’s death, the secrets he kept begin to surface, resulting in Lydia having to say goodbye to her easy carefree lifestyle; and is forced to rebuild her whole life again from scratch.

Lydia is constantly haunted by the memory of Steve as she sleeps. The shame and anger Lydia feels surrounding her husband’s death means she constantly experiences disturbing nightmares that she struggles to make sense of.

Embarrassed by Steve’s choice to end his own life, Lydia is often quick to fabricate tales to others regarding the circumstances of his death. During her journey home from a disastrous first day back at work, Lydia, quite literally, falls into the life of handsome rail engineer Scott.

Unable to come to terms with the unsettling facts of her past, while Lydia and Scott’s budding romance begins to blossom, Lydia fabricates a fictitious tale surrounding the reasons behind her newfound widowhood.

With the help of her best friend Ruth and an unlikely bond found in her new boss Jon, can Lydia find the strength to eventually be honest with Scott, and finally put the ghosts of her past to rest?

Review

I have to say this has a lot more depth than one might surmise when you take a quick glance at the surface. The core conversation revolves around suicide, so that could be triggering for some readers. I think it was done in a really subtle and sometimes humorous way.

From a outside point of view the reactions of Lydia could be viewed as chaotic, frivolous or possibly even as disengaged from the reality of her situation. Even when she connects with other men after the death of her husband.

In fact what the entire story reflects is the pain, guilt, the confusion, the sadness, the panic, the despair and also the anger of Lydia. The chaos and confusion, and yet the firm determination to sort through and recover from the mess her husband left behind. Left with nothing, and yet still feeling a responsibility to make his name and legacy less negative, especially because no person likes to blame the person who took their own life, she is pulled between two masters.

The dreams that speak of complex guilt, the imagining of the emotional distress she missed, which is presented as a contradiction to the lived reality she experiences every day. I enjoyed it. I think this is one of those reads that may be underrated and deserves a wee bit more attention.

Buy You're a Dream to Me at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell

This is the type of book that tends be the opposite of what you were expecting. Is it about family? Absolutely. Do they have many secrets? Certainly.

The focus and entire plot revolves around the house the children of this family grew up in, more importantly it is also about the woman of the house. The mother, their mother, their father's wife and the grandmother of their children.

Lorelei draws such an intense line around her own personal world, often there isn't much space left for anyone else. Not even those closest to her.

Throughout the duration of the book it becomes apparent that the downwards spiral of Lorelei is linked to Rhys and his tragic death. Indeed everyone seems to carry such a heavy layer of guilt because of his death. All roads seem to lead back to him.

I really enjoyed the complexity of this story.We tend to see hoarders in a certain light on television. Jewell gives the reader a well researched insight into the mind-set and struggle of a hoarder, and their family members.

In the book the'why' of the hoarding is described in a really sweet way, but very specific to Lorelei. She needs to hold on to everything, because each item is attached to a memory and to hold on to the memory she has to keep the item in question. Seems completely logical when you think about it, however when those items start filling up each space in the house.

When it came to the family dealing with Lorelei the sense of utter helplessness and of giving up was really sad. Obviously dealing with their own problems has to come first, despite that there seems to a level of disconnect between all of them and perhaps they even neglect their mother. Neglect is a really harsh word, especially when you consider how hard it must be for all of them to deal with her obsession.

Overall I think this book was a surprise, it had a layer of depth and sincerity to it I just wasn't expecting.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.

Quarter Past Two on a Wednesday Afternoon by Linda Newbery

I found it hard to sympathize with Anna. There seems to be this underlying selfish narcissistic personality trait, which seems to influence a lot of her decisions.

It isn't so much the fact that she isn't sure or she wants change, it is more about I want and I want it now.

In that respect she resembles Rosa, although it doesn't become apparent till a lot later in the story.

This is especially apparent in her relationship, interactions and conversations with Ruth. When the oldest son returns home to find Goldilocks sleeping in his bed and eating his porridge, Anna looks to Ruth as if to say now what shall we do?


What one earth does she think Ruth should do? First of all there is no 'we' where Ruth and Anna are concerned they're not a couple. Anna is the intruder and Patrick is simply returning home. There is no question of what needs to happen next.

To me it seemed as if Ruth at some point in time became an excellent substitute for Rosa or at least Anna perceives her that way subconsciously. The level of intimacy, the natural assumption Ruth will drop everything at once for Anna. The almost inappropriate and highly unusual relationship they have, despite Ruth being the ex to Anna's boyfriend and the mother of his son.

By inappropriate I mean Anna making Ruth more important than her current boyfriend. Not that ex's and new partners can't be friends, in this it is more about Anna not understanding the boundaries she is clearly overstepping. Wrapped in her bubble of me there is little space for others.

Simultaneously the reader learns about Sandra, mother to Rosa and Anna, and the tragedy that shaped her past and future. Proving that secrets are like weights tied to the bottom of our boats sailing across the unpredictable waters of life.The kind of secret than can cause implosions and the destruction of family units.

One of the more important sub-plots threaded through the story of the people left behind after a loved one has gone missing. Obviously the actual missing person gets all the attention, and leaving aside the tragedy connected to a scenario of this sort or possible fates of the missing persons, this focuses on their loved ones.

The not knowing, the constant fear, the images of possible pain being inflicted upon the missing person, but in the end the just not knowing what happened to them causes inexplicable grief.

This story is about the aftermath of such an event and way it shapes each day for those left behind from that day forward.
I received a copy of this book via Netgalley.