5* review: Wickham Hall: Part One - Hidden Treasures by Cathy Bramley

Buy HERE from Amazon.co.uk

Holly Swift has just landed the job of her dreams: events co-ordinator at Wickham Hall, the beautiful manor home that sits proudly at the heart of the village where she grew up.

Her first major event is a spring wedding of royal proportions. Holly has every detail covered, so all she has to do is keep calm and carry on… Easier said than done!

As the church bells ring, little does Holly know that come Monday, she’ll have a new boss. And it might not exactly be a match made in heaven…

Wickham Hall is an utterly feel-good story told in four parts – following Holly Swift’s attempt at organising her own happy-ever-after, one catastrophe at a time – beginning with Hidden Treasures.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first installment of Wickham Hall with its wonderful array of characters (love Holly!), the stately home and gardens are described intricately and with such beauty I could even smell the flowers. 

There are family secrets beginning to unfold, a potential love interest in the form of the handsome and intriguing Benedict (I hope) and a full events calendar to look forward to, especially if they are anything like the magical society wedding in Hidden Treasures.

Cannot wait for part two, I know it's going to be fabulous! A perfect start to another wonderful series from Cathy Bramley.

See my reviews from Cathy's other work here:

 

Complete paperback: Ivy Lane
Appleby Farm: Part One - A Blessing in Disguise
Appleby Farm: Part Two - A Family Affair
Appleby Fam: Part Three - Where The Heart Is
Appleby Farm: Part Four - Love is in The Air

Follow You Home - Mark Edwards - 5* Review

Buy HERE from Amazon.co.uk

It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, a final adventure before settling down.

After a perfect start, Daniel and Laura’s travels end abruptly when they are thrown off a night train in the middle of nowhere. To find their way back to civilisation, they must hike along the tracks through a forest…a haunting journey that ends in unimaginable terror.

Back in London, Daniel and Laura vow never to talk about what they saw that night. But as they try to fit back into their old lives, it becomes clear that their nightmare is just beginning…

I have spent this last week engrossed in Mark Edwards novels. I have read and really enjoyed his past work with Louise Voss and decided to read The Magpies which had remained unread on my Kindle, I just could not move on after this and was jubilant to find I had Because She Loves Me (not a sequel, but good to read after The Magpies) nestled in a to-be-read folder too. I shared my love for these most excellent reads on Twitter and Edwards very kindly offered to send an ARC of his latest work, Follow You Home. Overjoyed to say the least!

I read this one even faster the the previous and was quite gutted when my husband suggested we go out Saturday night (didn't he know that Daniel's fate was in hanging in the balance?). But this has to be my favourite and in my opinion, Edwards' darkest book yet.

It begins with Daniel and Laura halfway through their Grand Tour, an extended holiday before they settle down, marry and have children. Daniel buys the cheapskate tickets to travel through Romania, Laura is bone weary so the friendly couple they meet suggest a quite nap in the empty sleeper carriage. A move they will regret for the rest of their lives.

After being thrown off the train they become lost in a Romanian forest. What they witness will shatter their world and as they return home it is evident things can never return to normal.

Instead of putting the past behind them and moving on, however, it seems that someone is targeting them. They realise they are not safe, and as the death toll mounts around them it would appear that whoever has followed them is intent on not letting them tell their stories...