Who Do You Think You Are Maggie Pink? by Janet Hoggarth REVIEW

 Who Do You Think You Are Maggie Pink?

by Janet Hoggarth

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Blurb

Maggie is a mother to a stroppy teenager, a wife to a befuddled husband, and a daughter to two very different women. She has always known she’s adopted, but has she ever understood what that means? Not really. Following the death of her mother, Maggie finally feels able to go in search of her birth mother Morag, and heads to the Highlands of Scotland with her disgruntled daughter Roxie in tow, leaving her crumbling marriage to worry about another day. The family reunion is bittersweet, but everything is blown wide open when Roxie unearths Morag’s explosive teenage diaries. Why did Morag give Maggie away? What really happened all those years ago, and how have the echoes of the past resounded through the generations, like ripples in a puddle? And when all the secrets and promises are out in the open, will Maggie finally have an answer to the question – who do you think you are Maggie Pink?

Purchase Links

https://amzn.to/3uF3D2U

Review

Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources and the author for having me on this blog tour and my gifted copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Maggie Pink was placed up for adoption at birth. When she finds herself with both parents gone and a not so great relationship with her own daughter, Maggie decides to explore her roots and find her birth mom. Secrets are revealed and betrayals are uncovered. Can Maggie finally fix what is broken in her life or will everything completely fall apart for good?

This was such an enjoyable read for me. I felt like I got to know and connect with all the important characters on a personal level. Getting to hear their backstories and finding out what made them who they are really added depth and understanding to each one of them. The story itself was enjoyable and realistic. The pacing was perfect keeping the story moving steadily without information dumping or dragging. I was completely captured into the story and wrapped up in the characters. Reading this book was simply a wonderful experience.

There is a lot of heavy content and generational trauma in this book. I think the author did a great job at fleshing out these characters and their individual struggles. The story is heartwarming and bittersweet. If you're looking for a book to touch your heart and leave you feeling satisfied this is certainly a good option.

Author Bio

Janet Hoggarth is the number one bestselling author of The Single Mums’ Mansion and the highly successful Single Mums’ subsequent series. She has worked on a chicken farm, as a bookseller, a children’s book editor, a children’s author, and as a DJ (under the name of Whitney and Britney!). She
lives with her family in East Dulwich, London. Her first book for Boldwood will be published in 2022.

 
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Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire REVIEW

 Every Heart a Doorway

by Seanan McGuire

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Blurb

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

Review

I absolutely adore this series! The first time I read it I binged the entire thing in under a week. Naturally all the books blended together so I'm rereading them to properly review them. (I know, it's literally the perfect excuse to reread them again so soon!)

This book is everything I never knew I needed. I love the idea of a world where a door can just appear and inside the door is a world where you fit perfectly. When the children have to leave their worlds for whatever reason the way their feelings are described sounds to me like the ache you get from missing a dream you wish was reality.

Describing my thoughts and feelings about this book is so difficult because I simply love it. There's something about it and the entire series that just has me completely captivated.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness REVIEW

 A Monster Calls

by Patrick Ness

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Blurb

At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd-- whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself-- Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.

Review

My heart was just destroyed. This book is absolutely incredible. It is so beautifully written with amazing insight of grief and the complexity of human nature. Patrick Ness is able to capture the pain of grief in a truly remarkable way. Anyone who has ever lost someone close in their lives will relate to the despair and desperation of these characters. I ugly cried three separate times before I was able to finish it.

Everything in this book just fits so well together. The dark pictures throughout the book enhance the gloominess and despair of the story despite the actions of the main character.

A Monster Calls is an insanely well told novel that will shatter your heart in a million pieces. If you're looking for something to completely destroy you I recommend picking up this one.

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling REVIEW

The Ex Hex

by Erin Sterling

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Blurb

Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.

That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.

Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.

Review

When heartbroken Vivienne Jones casts a small spell on her ex she never expects anything major to happen. And nothing major does until years later when Rhys Penhallow returns to town for a simple recharge and festival appearance. Now all of a sudden the town is under attack and Vivi finds out her hex may not be as harmless as she first thought.

This was so good! I thought the story was light and fun with the perfect amount of adult entertainment. The characters were incredibly charming and delightful. The relationship between Vivi and Rhys was so cute. Their back and forth banter was absolutely perfect!

The only thing I thought could have been done differently was the conflict resolution. It seemed slightly rushed and a little too simple at the end.

I absolutely adored the fun 90's witchy vibes. My first impression was this is the literary equivalent to Halloweentown for adults and I am living for it. Think Hocus Pocus, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Halloweentown all rolled up into one glorious bundle of laughs, spells and kisses.

Overall, this was a great time. It's perfect for October or any time you want a fun Halloween fix. I now need to find more books like this one.

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover REVIEW

 It Ends With Us

by Colleen Hoover

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Blurb

Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up
— she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

Review

The main thing I found when reading this book is how majorly cringy it is. From characters names to the relationships themselves there were so many "wtf seriously?" moments. Beginning with Lilly Blosson Bloom wannabe florist and our main character it really just stays at a steady cringe through a good portion of the book. And, I'm just going to say it. Lilly and Ryle's relationship is so cringy it gives me secondhand embarrassment. I just... yuck.. no thanks. At one point he monitors her heartbeat while he pleasures her so he can get her heart up to a 140 bpm, like what?

So why keep reading if I spent most of the book shaking my head? Well, because mixed in with all that is the story of a woman who watched her mother suffer from abuse at the hands of her father and how that impacted her life as she got older. This book really is more than a woman chosing between two men. This is a book where actions have consequences and where sometimes rainbows are hard to find. Yes, this book has so many cringy parts, but there are also funny parts, sad parts and even scary parts. So would I give this book 5 stars? No, I actually gave it 3 stars. But would I say this book is worth reading? Yes, what it does wrong doesn't cancel out what it does right and this book shines a rare light on abuse and the impact it takes on those involved.