One Moment by Becky Hunter

One Moment by Becky Hunter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 306

Publisher - Corvus

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

An emotional, heart-wrenching and uplifting story about friendship, love and sacrifice, perfect for fans of David Nicholls and Holly Miller.

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. And now, she's still ... here - wherever here is - watching the ripple effect of her death on the lives of 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. Ways, perhaps, even those closest to her had long since given up on.

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



My Review

So as always no spoilers and the death is mentioned in the blurb and happens opening chapters so no spoilers guys don't worry. Evie and Scarlett are besties, they are polar opposites and we know early on Evie has some struggles but we don't know exactly what. The morning it happens the girls are awkward with each other but Scarlett has to rush off and they will make it up with she gets home. Sadly Scarlett won't get home, an accident will see her ripped out of Evie's life and Nate will be brought in. Evie can't bear to look at him and yet he has answers and Nate want's to help so fate has flung them together. Evie needs to navigate through her health issues/personal problems and Nate wants to be there for her. Between the two of them and Scarlett's ghost hanging around overseeing all we follow them from before the accident, to the accident and the ripples and aftermath of what follows.

Yeah we have a ghost in the book, taking us back in the past to her and Evie, following around from the accident and thereafter. Evie's personal journey through loss, grief, anger pretty much all the stages of grief but with the addition of the ghost of her pal (no one can see nor hear her it is just us readers who know of her presence and how she processes her sudden death).

The book is a bit bittersweet, Scarlett is such a force of life and Evie is so recluse, has issues and that is before the sudden devastating loss of her bestie. It is a journey of personal growth, acceptance and all the things we see and feel after such a huge and unexpected loss. The book gives sadness, loss, hurt, hope, joy even humour in some parts, it is a bit of a rollercoaster. I think depending on your own experiences and where you are at in life will see how you gel with the book. 3.5/5 from us this time, this is my first time reading this author and would read her again for sure.

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A Purrfect Alibi by Leighann Dobbs

A Purrfect Alibi by Leighann Dobbs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 219

Publisher - Bookouture

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Fortune tellers and mediums have descended on the Oyster Cove Guesthouse, determined to solve the mystery of local seafarer Jedediah Biddeford’s murder 300 years ago... especially if it leads them to the treasure he buried on the guesthouse grounds. New owner Josie Waters has suddenly got bigger problems than burning the breakfasts: she’s up to her elbows in tarot cards and tea leaves…

When one of the mediums is found dead with an ominous note nearby, everything points to Jedediah’s ghost being the culprit. Suddenly, Josie finds that the fate of her guesthouse depends on not one murder but two, and she’s not going to rely on a crystal ball for answers. Despite the fact that cookbooks and candlesticks keep mysteriously falling off tables, Josie is sure there’s no such thing as ghosts. But guesthouse cats Nero and Marlowe know better…

Aided by her mom and eccentric family friend Millie, Josie sets out to prove the identity of the killer without summoning any spirits. Luckily Nero and Marlowe know the truth about ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night and they are on the case! Can they make Josie realize she is scratching up the wrong tree before the killer strikes again?



My Review

I came to this series with book two, I still need to read the first one but this picks up from pretty much where book two left off. I would advise reading book two as so many characters from that book are in this one and totally relevant to just about everything in this book.


We are back at the Oyster Cove Guesthouse, after the body of Jedediah Biddeford’s was uncovered (he went missing 300 years ago) a bunch of mediums and psychics have descended to solve the murder or more likely, find clues of his hidden treasure. Tensions are high, Josie Waters - the new owner of Oyster Cove is glad of the business but just wants to get by with no murders, mayhem or trouble.

When one of the group is murdered Josie finds the police and press and her place, business is under threat and she is in fear of her loan being pulled. Her resident cats Nero and Marlowe are at the ready to help the clueless humans as well as a ghost this time!

I do love this wee series, the cats get some chapters too where they discuss the ongoing investigation, the police one and their own. Whilst this may be off putting for some I absolutely love it, I love animals and these two and their wee pals trying to help the clueless humans - whats not to love.

These books remind me of murder she wrote, a fair few suspects along the way, some personal aspects and there isn't gore or anything. Just a bit of crime with some attitudey cats and lets not forget Josie's mum and her pal who do a bit of amateur investigating of their own.

This wee book has everything, murder, secrets, lies, a ghost, investigating cats, meddling relatives, psychics and ever searching for Jedediah's treasure (from the previous book). 4/5 for me this time, this is absolutely a series I will be following and hope it runs for years.

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The Lost Ones by Anita Frank

You may have noticed a whole ton of us are sharing our review and love for this book today, enjoy my review.

The Lost Ones by Anita Frank
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - as able over 4 days

Pages - 464

Publisher - H Q Stories

Source - Review copies

Blurb from Goodreads

Some houses are never at peace.

England, 1917

Reeling from the death of her fiancé, Stella Marcham welcomes the opportunity to stay with her pregnant sister, Madeleine, at her imposing country mansion, Greyswick – but she arrives to discover a house of unease and her sister gripped by fear and suspicion.

Before long, strange incidents begin to trouble Stella – sobbing in the night, little footsteps on the stairs – and as events escalate, she finds herself drawn to the tragic history of the house.

Aided by a wounded war veteran, Stella sets about uncovering Greyswick’s dark and terrible secrets – secrets the dead whisper from the other side…


My Review

Stella is reeling from the loss of her fiance, mourning and still a bit lost when she is invited to go and stay at the mansion with her pregnant sister Madeleine. Not long after arriving she finds the house and people, bar her sister, to be unwelcoming. Strange happenings that are being dismissed and Madeleine is being more and more alienated when no one believes her. When Stella witnesses something she can no longer deny there is a presence in the house but what does it want and what secrets are the house hiding?

Ooooh I love a ghost story but even for those who aren't huge lovers of this type of stories this one has so much to offer. Tragedy, family, secrets, hostility between the servants and those they serve. Unexplained happenings and the ghost aspects are only small in relation to the whole story. There is so much emotion in this and I love love love Stella, for women of their time they are meant to be meek, serving and non opinionated, Stella doesn't fit into that box and she is a passionate live wire.

Some passages and scenes are so eerie you can't help but being drawn in, emotion is tangled throughout with some hints of unease/spookiness. It is the perfect read for someone who isn't into horror but wishes to dip their toe in. A dark tale intertwined with love, loss, relationships, family and secrets primarily based in a big old house. Perfect for an October read and ticks just about every box for most readers, check it out, something for everything 4.5/5 for me this time.

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The Glass Guardian by Linda Gillard

The Glass Guardian by Linda Gillard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 2 days

Pages -

Publisher - Self published

Source - Bought from Amazon (e book), Print copy from the author

Blurb from Goodreads

Ruth Travers has lost a lover, both parents and her job. Now she thinks she might be losing her mind...

When death strikes again, Ruth finds herself the owner of a dilapidated Victorian house on the Isle of Skye: Tigh na Linne, the summer home she shared as a child with her beloved Aunt Janet, the woman she’d regarded as a mother.

As Ruth prepares to put the old house up for sale, she’s astonished to find she’s not the only occupant. Worse, she suspects she might be falling in love...

With a man who died almost a hundred years ago.



My Review

Ruth Travers cannot escape death and loss in a short period of time. Her job, her partner, both parents are deceased and now her beloved aunt has passed. With her death comes the beautiful but in need of work Tigh na Linne located in the Isle of Skye. Ruth finds herself trying to sort her own life and through that of her aunt whilst back in a place she loved as a child. With a childhood friend who is now a rugged and handsome handy man, childhood memories flooding back and Ruth finds she isn't alone in the big house. Things are being moved around, the temperature drops suddenly and Ruth comes face to face with a ghostly presence that links to her childhood and the house.

So The Glass Guardian isn't your routine ghost story, for a start it is more about relationships, acceptance, love, personal growth and family. It is hard to go into too much detail without spoiling the story and I never do spoiler reviews. Ruth is in a world of hurt, she has lost much and isn't too sure of herself, her life and what she needs to recover. Coming back to the beautiful house that held so much happiness and security for her is bittersweet as it is yet another loss that brings her to it. She finds her world shook up a little more with her old childhood friend(s) and her now relationship with them. Tom is eager to help, pushy and at least one scene with them may make for uncomfortable reading, an element of sex but it is brief.

The book takes a look at family history, grief and how it affects us all differently. The characters are carved out beautifully, one we can love, one we can identify with, one we distrust and question their motives. Ultimately, even with a ghost we have a very human story, looking at love in its many forms, music and recovery. Gillard has a way of sweeping the reader into a world of characters you can easily envision and get quickly invested in their lives. I bought up most of her books after reading House of Silence but as I enjoyed it so much I kept them for a rainy day. After reading this I need to bump them up, I bought this as an ebook and got a beautiful print version from the author. 4/5 for me this time, at time of posting the ebook is only £0.99 on Amazon.

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Make A Christmas Wish by Julia Williams

Make A Christmas Wish: A heartwarming, witty and magical festive treat! by Julia Williams
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Publisher - Avon

Pages - 367

Blurb from Goodreads

Last Christmas, when Livvy was knocked down in the supermarket car park she certainly wasn’t ready to actually be dead! For months now she’s floated on the edge of the afterlife, generally making a nuisance of herself.


And she’s not ready to go just yet! She’s furious about the new woman in her husband’s life and she’s worried about her beloved son who doesn’t seem to be adjusting to life without her at all.


This Christmas, Livvy is given one last magical chance to make everything right. Will she take it and give her family the perfect Christmas?




My Review

Imagine finding out a betrayal by your husband just before Christmas, furious, upset and then to be hit by a car and killed! That is what happens to Livvy, however Livvy is earth bound for the foreseeable and she is enraged. Viewing her husband, the other woman and her son she struggled to accept she is dead and determined to get through to her family.

This is an emotive book, Livvy's son Joe has Asperger's, her and Adam (the husband) had a toxic relationship and the book takes us through their relationship in stages. We visit the past & present, seeing what Livvy's relationship was really like. Livvy is in denial and this is her chance at redemption, forcing her to examine her part in the breakdown in the marriage and deal with her unresolved issues. We hear from Joe in diary format and get to see Adams point on some things too, for this and with the time and character jumps you can dip in and out of this book without missing out on anything.

One major problem I had with this book is it states on the back "A hilarious and just a little heartbreaking festive treat..." I didn't laugh once at this. A lot of it is heartbreaking, I didn't laugh once and the main character really annoyed me with her selfish and destructive behavior. I understand she is mad and frustrated however causing more upset to people you love I just couldn't get on with. Some people loved the character though so it is definitely one you should read and make your own judgement on. I loved the character Joe, we see glimpses of his outlook from his diary entries and the interactions viewed by Livvy, I think they were quite emotive and he is a lovely carved character in some very unlikable ones. This was my first time reading this author, I would read her again, 3/5 for me this time.

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