Kate Hewitt has been a must-watch author for me since I read her book This Fragile Life a few years back. It was such an emotional read, it made me cry, even about a subject that's something so far away from my own life, which I always think is a good thing. So I've tried my best to keep up with her novels and nowadays she's writing a series set in Hartley-by-the-Sea, in Cumbria. I haven't actually read Rainy Day Sisters, and I don't think you particularly have to, although Juliet & Lucy are in this book, but not a lot is mentioned of the plot, what happened, etc, so you can easily read these books as standalones. 

Now and Then Friends tells the story of two girls who used to be friends, Claire and Rachel, and their very different lives in Hartley-by-the-Sea. Claire finds herself there after an incident with her fiance in Portugal, and Rachel finds herself stuck there permanently due to family health issues, the two were best friends way back, but not any more, and it's fair to say Rachel holds a bit of a grudge about it all. In fact, Claire's brother Andrew, was spot on when he said Rachel had a chip on her shoulder. It was the size of Great Britain, in fact. Though I will say, for everything that Rachel went through, I could understand why she had a chip on her shoulder. I could understand why she nagged her sister's, Meghan and Lily to do better, to help her out, to tidy up. 

This really wasn't a cheerful read. Rachel is downtrodden, rightly so, and I felt stressed on her behalf. Everything in her life was fraught with worry, and Meghan and Lily irritated the living daylights out of me, with their inability to just bloody help. Or for Meghan to actually take care of her son, Nathan. If I was Rachel my head would have exploded in anger, I'm not even kidding. It was Claire's story that I really enjoyed though, I mean I liked Rachel, but her chapters always had me fretting for her, whereas Claire's story actually saw her stand on her own two feet for once, and see how she liked it, including getting a job in the local shop-cum-post-office. After a lifetime of being told what to do, by everyone, it was really nice to see her do her own thing, and realise what she wanted in life.

I really enjoyed Now and Then Friends. It really wasn't the most cheerful of reads, at times, but it was nice to see Claire and Rachel's friendship re-blossom. It was also lovely to read a book set in Cumbria. This was such a good read, and I'll definitely have to go back and read Rainy Day Sisters, and here's hoping there'll be a third Hartley-by-the-Sea novel soon. 

Life’s tricky for Melody Bittersweet. 

She’s single, she's addicted to sugar and super heroes, her family are officially bonkers and ... she sees dead people. Is it any wonder no-one’s swiping right on Tinder? 
Waking up lonely on her twenty seventh birthday, Melody finally snaps. She can’t carry on basing all of her life decisions on the advice of her magic 8 ball; things have got to change. 

Fast forward two months, and she’s now the proud proprietor of her very own ghostbusting agency - kind of like in the movies but without the dodgy white jumpsuits. She’s also flirting with her ex Leo Dark, fraternising with her sexy enemy in alleyways, and she’s somehow ended up with a pug called Lestat. 

Life just went from dull to dynamite and it’s showing no sign of slowing up anytime soon. Melody’s been hired to clear Scarborough House of its incumbent ghosts, there’s the small matter of a murder to solve, and then there’s the two very handsome, totally inappropriate men hoping to distract her from the job… 

Welcome to Chapelwick, home of the brand new and hilarious Girls Ghostbusting Agency series, where things really do go bump in the night. ​

Melody Bittersweet and the Girl's Ghostbusting Agency is one of those books I feel like I've read before - don't ask me when, or what it was, because I've got no idea, but there's some kind of familiarity about this book that gave me a very weird sense of deja vu. It's actually one of my favourite new books - there's just something about this book that gives it so much heart, so much joy, so much laughter, and warmth. It's funny one minute, and has you tearing up the next, and I can't wait for Melody Bittersweet #2, because this is a series that can just run, and run, I can see it now. Melody Bittersweet and her co-cast will never get old.

I wasn't sure at first how the book would go - would there be multiple ghosts being busted? Would it be like Ghostbusters, not that I've SEEN ghostbusters, but I know they were funky suits and have hoovers. But it seems to be one-case-per-book format, which is actually pretty amazing, because I actually loved the Scarboroughs. Actually, that's a lie, I loved Douglas and Isaac. Lloyd was a jerk. A grade-A jerk. But their story was intriguing, and Melody tries to find out who actually killed Douglas - was it Isaac, as everyone believed, or was it Douglas's twin Lloyd? It's actually a really sad story and as it all came out at the end, I did find myself becoming quite teary-eyed, because, like Melody, I had become attached to these charming, wise-cracking ghosts. 

I also absolutely loved Melody, Artie and Marina. They make the most amazing ghostbusting team, you've got no idea. Melody is just awesome full stop, the way she's not afraid of anything (and when you can see dead people you kinda wouldn't be afraid, ever, would you?) and I love how she and Marina are the two tightest people you will ever meet, they're so close, like sisters, and they both support each other and it's amazing. But Artie! OH MY GOD, ARTIE. He was so sweet! So lovely. And call me crazy, but I kinda saw some sparks between Artie and Marina, which would be INSANE. But I'm calling it. I'M CALLING IT. MARTIE IS A GO. (Or maybe it's just in my head.) I loved the team and Melody's mum and Grandma (her Grandma in particular was HILARIOUS). 

Now there's a bit of a love triangle - I say a bit, because Leo Dark is no match for Fletch. I'm sorry, but he couldn't hold a candle to Fletch, and for me Melody/Fletch is the way Kitty French has to go. Leo had his shot, he hurt Melody, and he can never be allowed back in her heart again, do you hear me? Plus he's an idiot. He's an IDIOT. Fletch is not, Fletch is awesome. And his and Melody's chemistry is off the freaking charts. I mean, Melody went out and bought a DOG because that's what she told Fletch she'd done, who does that?!??!! But that was amazing, because Lestat is amazing (not Parsnip, although that, too, was hilarious). 

Melody Bittersweet and the Girl's Ghostbusting Agency had it all. I just knew right from the off that this was the book for me, that I would absolutely love this book, and I did. I loved it all. The characters, the plot, the romance/sparks, the dog, the ghosts. There was not a bad thing in this book, except the Fembots, who needed a slap and Lloyd Scarborough who needed a punch. This was a genuinely brilliant read - funny, flirty, emotional, heart-warming, all the superlatives you can think of should be levied at this book because it was amazing. But, there's only one teensy-tiny problem: I need book two now, Kitty French. Now. 

Here's a confession, folks: I wasn't sure if I was going to write a review of this book, but I decided to because I feel like this is a book that needs to be spotlighted, that people need to read, because it's important. But this won't be a long review, because it's really, really hard to review someone's personal memoirs, to say what you loved and hated when this is someone's actual life, although I will tell you, I hated no part of this book (except the odious Rex and those boys at Lucy's secondary school). 

Girl Hearts Girl is one of those books that every school, library, any place that involves kids should stock, because it's such a hopeful, uplifting book, and I think it would help a lot of kids who struggle with whether they like boys or girls, and whether there's a right answer to that question or a wrong answer, much like Lucy early on in the book. The struggle is clearly real, but to see more books out there dealing with being gay is amazing, and will hopefully help a lot of people the way Lucy intends. 

I flew through this book. I picked it up just before the final of Euro 2016 started (because I literally couldn't care less who won, but I wanted it as background noise anyway) and had finished it before the game had finished. It's a quick, short read, with snappy chapters (with gorgeous headings! and the little planes on the pages were a lovely touch, too), and I really loved Lucy's voice. Lucy talks a lot about being anxious, and not all that confident in herself (although she uses Hermione Granger as a great way to buck herself up for scary things) but she comes across as really confident, really at home in her skin, at least by the end of the book and that was delightful. I really, really hope Lucy turns her hand to fiction next, because I would read that, because she has such a good voice. 

Just read this book. 

Eighteen-year-old Moira Mitchell grew up in the shadows of Vegas’s stage lights while her father’s career as a magician soared. More than anything, Moira wants to be a magician too, but her father is dead set against her pursuing magic.
When an invitation to join the Cirque American mistakenly falls into Moira’s possession, she takes action. Instead of giving the highly coveted invitation to its intended recipient, Raleigh, her father’s handsome and worldly former apprentice, Moira takes off to join the Cirque. If she can perform alongside its world-famous acts, she knows she’ll be able to convince her dad that magic is her future.
But when Moira arrives, things take on an intensity she can’t control as her stage magic suddenly feels like…real magic. To further distract her, Raleigh shows up none too pleased at Moira’s presence, all while the Cirque’s cocky and intriguing knife thrower, Dez, seems to have it out for her. As tensions mount and Moira’s abilities come into question, she must decide what’s real and what’s an illusion. If she doesn’t sort it out in time, she may forever remain a girl in the shadows.

When I signed up to take part in the blog tour for Girl In The Shadows, I thought it sounded amazing, but by the time it came around to actually read the book, I wasn't entirely sure it would be my cup of tea, but, actually, this was a wonderful read. There are not many books about magicians around - or that I've come across, and I would absolutely love to read more, because I find the whole idea of magic tricks fascinating. It was also refreshing to see a girl magician, something that is a rarity. I cannot name one female magician, although I'm not much better for male magician's - there's Houdini, obviously, but the more recent ones are David Blaine and the absolutely fantastic Dynamo. 

What I liked most about Girl in the Shadows is it blended illusion and real magic, to make a very captivating novel. I loved Moira from the word go - anyone who will defy their parents wishes, to make it on their own, gets the thumbs up from me. Especially since her Dad just seemed to be saying no for no reason (although as it turned out...???). Seeing her make her own way was fantastic and some of the illusions she pulled dazzled me. I genuinely wanted to see them being performed, they sounded that good. And the romance with Dez was cute. He charmed me from the very start, with his patter and rakish ways. 

There was definitely a lot going on in this book (some of which was most likely covered in the first book Girl On A Wire, which I am desperate to read now!) and it seems like the mystery of the coin goes back to that book, too, and it added another dimension to Girl in the Shadows, and I really enjoyed losing myself in the story, it was like it was taking place in a different world and I lapped it up, being able to escape into a different reality is one of the greatest things about reading, and always will be. I really, really enjoyed Girl in the Shadows, and I am definitely going to have to go and read more of Gwenda Bond's books, she's a brilliant storyteller, and you just lose yourself in her books. 

See the first few questions: 
Q.1 : Page to Stage Reviews
Q.2 : Linda's Book Bag
Q.3 : Alba in Bookland
Q.4 : Laura's Little Book Blog
Q.5: Jaffa Reads Too