Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson | Book Review

[ad/gifted - I received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.]

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

My rating: 3/5

Publisher: Hutchinson Heinemann 

Publication date: 13th April 2023

Blurb:

Old money. New family...

Pineapple Street in Brooklyn Heights is one of New York City's most desirable residences, and home to the glamorous and well-connected Stockton family...

Darley, the eldest daughter, has never had to worry about money. She followed her heart, trading her job and her inheritance for motherhood - but ended up sacrificing more of herself than she ever intended.

Sasha is marrying into the wealthy Stockton family, who are worlds apart from her own. She feels like the outsider, trying to navigate their impenetrable traditions and please her new mother-in-law - plus her hesitancy to sign a pre-nup has everyone questioning her true intentions.

Georgiana, the youngest, is falling in love with someone she can't (and really shouldn't) have - and is forced to confront the kind of person she wants to be.

Review:

Pineapple Street is a character driven book so if you are looking for fast-paced plot, this maybe isn't for you. In saying that, it is written in a way that totally immersed me and I felt like I knew the characters well.

Pineapple Street is told from the points of view of three women, Darley and Georgiana who are sisters and Sasha, their sister-in-law (married to their brother Cord). The Stockton family are very well-to-do and are in the 1%. They live in the Fruit Streets area of Brooklyn Heights, hence the title.

Darley is married to Malcolm and gave up her inheritance to be with him, although his career in banking means that they aren't stuck for money.

Sasha grew up in a middle class family, and this causes a bit of a rift between her and Cord's two sisters, especially as they believe she didn't sign a pre-nup. 

Georgiana is the baby of the family and at 25 following the death of a married colleague that she is having an affair with, decides that she wants to be a philanthropist and donates her inheritance.

The plot doesn't really go anywhere but the writing is entertaining. I read this whilst on holiday and I feel like it was the best way to read because I could fully relax. If you like reading about the lives of the rich, you will like this one.

A Wedding In Provence by Katie Fforde | Blog Tour Book Review

[ad/gifted - I received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.]

A Wedding in Provence by Katie Fforde

Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Publisher: Penguin 

Publication date: 10th November 2022

Blurb:

Late summer, 1963.

Fresh from London and a recent cookery course, Alexandra has always loved a challenge.

Which is why she now finds herself standing outside an imposing chateau in Provence.

Waiting for her inside is three silent, rather hostile children who are to be her charges for the next month.

They will soon be more friendly, she tells herself. All they need is some fun, good food and an English education.

Far more of a challenge though is their father - an impossibly good looking French count with whom she is rapidly falling in love...

Review:

I loved this book!

It is 1963 and twenty year old Londoner Alexandra is in Paris ahead of going to Switzerland where her relatives live in order to attend finishing school. After receiving a job offer in Provence, she becomes a nanny to Félicité, Henri and Stéphie, the children of French count Antoine. She has however lied to Antoine, claiming that she is five years older than she really is.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Alexandra is an heiress due to receive a fortune when she turns 25 or when she gets married, whichever comes first. Her family are trying to get her to marry her cousin Hubert so that the money stays in the family but Alexandra has fallen in love with her boss. He is older, he is rarely there and surely it is not right for them to be together.

I absolutely loved the setting of the chateau in Provence. The addition of David and Jack, Alexandra's acquaintances from London who come to tutor the children, were wonderful. They are such fabulous supporting characters.

I honestly felt like I was there in France due to the descriptions and mentions of food and I had a huge smile on my face by the end. A wonderful read!  

A Wedding in Provence is out now, published by Penguin in paperback, priced £8.99.

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A massive thank you to EDPR for having me on the blog tour. You can find information about the other bloggers taking part in the tour in the graphic below.

Scorpion by Christian Cantrell | Blog Tour Book Review

[ad/gifted - I received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.]

Scorpion by Christian Cantrell

Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Publisher: Penguin Michael Joseph

Publication date: 14th April 2022

Blurb:

All over the world, random people are being brutally assassinated.

Each death is unique, but they all have one thing in common: four numbers branded or carved into the victims' flesh.

What does it mean?

For the brilliant and haunted CIA analyst Quinn Mitchell, it means leaving a safe and predictable desk job as she tries to track down a global serial killer.

What she doesn't know is that nothing about this mission - her handlers, the intelligence, even the laws of cause and effect - can be trusted.

And her target has saved his most shocking murder for last..

Review:

Scorpion is one of those books that you need to read with no distractions. It is a sci-fi thriller which is set in the near future with a lot of focus on technology and things like cryptocurrency. There is a lot of jargon which was clearly very well researched.

The story itself focuses mainly on three characters; Quinn, Ranveer and Henrietta. Bodies are piling up with the killer, or killers, branding each with a four digit code. There is seemingly no link to the victims and the CIA task Quinn Mitchell to try and work out the pattern and find out who is doing it.

It is a fantastic cat and mouse type chase with massive twists thrown in. I was on the edge of my seat for most of it and really enjoyed being in this world and following along for the ride. I really liked the depth that each character had which really made me understand them more before they came together for the main plot. It is clear that it was very well planned and well executed. 

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A massive thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph for having me on the tour. You can find more information about the other tour participants in the graphic below.

The First Day Of Spring by Nancy Tucker | Book Review

[This post contains affiliate links.]

The First Day Of Spring by Nancy Tucker

Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Publisher: Penguin

Publication date: 18th May 2021

Blurb:

'So that was all it took,' I thought. 'That was all it took for me to feel like I had all the power in the world. One morning, one moment, one yellow-haired boy. It wasn't so much after all.'

Chrissie knows how to steal sweets from the shop without getting caught, the best hiding place for hide-and-seek, the perfect wall for handstands.

Now she has a new secret. It gives her a fizzing, sherbet feeling in her belly. She doesn't get to feel power like this at home, where food is scarce and attention scarcer.

Fifteen years later, Julia is trying to mother her five-year-old daughter, Molly. She is always worried - about affording food and school shoes, about what the other mothers think of her. Most of all she worries that the social services are about to take Molly away.

That's when the phone calls begin, which Julia is too afraid to answer, because it's clear the caller knows the truth about what happened all those years ago.

And it's time to face the truth: is forgiveness and redemption ever possible for someone who has killed?

Review: 

This book is just all kinds of heartbreaking. It opens with the line "I killed a little boy today," then when you discover that the narrator is an eight year old girl, you are drawn in.

The story follows the life of the aforementioned eight year old, Chrissie. She chokes a toddler to death and everyone is shocked at the thought of a child killer being amongst them.

We learn that Chrissie's home life isn't the best. It is clear that she is very neglected by her mother. She is left to fend for herself most of the time which has obviously affected her. She just wants to be loved.

These chapters of Chrissie's childhood are interspersed with chapters from Julia's point of view, Chrissie's new identity. She is a mother herself now but how can she be the perfect mother to her daughter given her childhood?

The First Day of Spring is shocking and I went from feeling angry and disgusted at Chrissie's to genuinely feeling sorry for her. It's an emotional one! 

Autism Awareness Month with Pablo

[AD/Gifted - We received the books mentioned in this post in exchange for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

April is Autism Awareness Month and it is one that is close to my heart. My eldest child, C, is autistic and when he was first diagnosed. We had a lot of mixed emotions. 

Not long after C got his diagnosis, we heard that a new TV show called Pablo was due to air on CBeebies and not only is the main character an autistic boy, but the production company, Paper Owl Films, are based in my home city of Belfast. Double excitement for us.

Pablo really quickly became a favourite children's show for us because we were eager to show C someone who represented him. We have always been open with C about his autism and at the age of 8, he is well aware of it and understands what that means.

When we received these two books in the post - Pablo Picks His Shoes and Pablo's Feelings - C was delighted. He said "Pablo is autistic and I am autistic. He goes on adventures in his head and maybe that is why I can't turn my brain off at night." He then went off to read them straight away.

Upon reading Pablo's Feelings, he shouted to me, "Oh, Pablo's face sometimes forgets to show what he's feeling. Maybe that is what happens to me!" It was like a light had switched on in his head. He completely understood that and resonated with it.

I knew exactly what Pablo Picks His Shoes was going to be about before we'd even opened it as it is something that C has trouble with himself - making decisions. Pablo is choosing which shoes to wear but is afraid he will hurt his other shoes' feelings. For us, C is always afraid that he will make the "wrong" decision, no matter how many times we tell him that there is no wrong choice. He is worried that the choice that he doesn't make will be better and he will have no way of knowing what would have happened. I think it was nice for him to read about someone else having this issue too.

These books are fantastic to read with any child, not only autistic ones, to help them understand a bit more about how autistic brains work.

You can purchase these Pablo books from Penguin.