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Search Results for: the last time i saw you

The Last Time I Saw You by Eleanor Moran & Giveaway (US only)

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Today I’ve got a spotlight and giveaway for a book I recently listened to (my review) and enjoyed so it’s great to be able to share a copy of it with my readers.  That book is The Last Time I Saw You by Eleanor Moran and it’s a great read for those who enjoy women’s fiction!

saw you
 

The Last Time I Saw You

Eleanor Moran’s fourth novel takes readers on a deeply emotional journey of two best friends which begins when Olivia Berrington finds out her estranged best friend Sally passed away in a car accident. She begins the cycle of grief, takes a peak into her past, and finds her heart leading her to the one place that may be too dangerous to go. Moran takes on powerful female friendships and opens the door to our own vulnerabilities, confronts memories, and the true meaning of having a toxic best friend.

Buy at Amazon, Amazon Canada, B&N

 

Praise for The Last Time I Saw You

“Gripping, emotional – shows how losing a best friend can be worse than losing a lover.”
—Daisy Goodwin, author of My Last Duchess on The Last Time I Saw You

“Defiantly superior women’s fiction . . . “ —Independent on Breakfast in Bed

 

Eleanor Moran

Photo Credit: Charlie Hopkinson

 

Eleanor Moran is the author of three previous novels: Stick or Twist, Mr Almost Right and Breakfast in Bed, which is currently being developed for television.

Eleanor also works as a television drama executive and her TV credits include Spooks, Being Human and a biopic of Enid Blyton, Enid, starring Helena Bonham Carter. Eleanor grew up in North London, where she still lives.

 

 

 

Author Links: Website, Facebook, Twitter

 

GIVEAWAY – US ONLY

*Click Here* and fill out the form to enter

Draw Date June 18/14

Good luck everyone!

(comments are still welcome)

 

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The Last Time I Saw You by Eleanor Moran (Audiobook)

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saw youThe Last Time I Saw You by Eleanor Moran is a story about the friendships we have that may not be the healthiest for us and the secrets that lie below the surface of things that have the power to change what we think of our closest friends.

This story flashes between the past and present starting with Olivia and Sally as university roommates. Sally was one of those people who needed everyone around her to worship her and if that didn’t happen she got mean. For many years Olivia did just that though sometimes she knew it was craziness. Finally, after being inseparable for years, an unforgivable betrayal occurs and the friendship ends.

Fast forward to the present and we find that both women are living in different countries and have had virtually no contact. When Olivia learns that Sally has been killed in a cars crash she finds herself feeling regret over not having tried to mend her friendship with Sally. Most puzzling is that despite the women having no contact Sally chose to name her daughter after Olivia.

So when Sally’s husband asks Olivia to share her stories about Sally she agrees hoping it will help her to understand what happened with her and Sally better. While going through Sally’s things Olivia finds something that opens Sally’s life up to her in a way that shocks her while leaving her understanding her old friend in a different way. All the while she also finds herself becoming closer to Sally’s husband and daughter.

While I enjoyed this book I found that I couldn’t warm to Sally or Olivia maybe because of the choices they made. The story though is a good one with a troubled woman, mental illness, unhealthy relationships, and dealing with and moving on from a death with it all culminating in a story that definitely kept my interest.

The novel is a long one at almost five hundred pages but I listened to the audiobook which seemed to breeze by quickly. It’s narrated by Lisa Coleman who is a new narrator foe me but one I really enjoyed listening to. I felt she brought an added element to this story that kept me listening.

Recommended for readers who enjoy women’s fiction!

 

Buy at:  Amazon, Amazon Canada, B&N

 

Source:  Digital review copy was provided by the publisher however the audiobook is from my personal library.  No compensation was received and all opinions are my own.
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The Last September by Nina de Gramont (Audiobook Review)

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septemberBook Summary from Algonquin Books

“When I look back now, it hurtles toward us like a meteor. But at the time we were too wrapped up in our day-to-day life to see it. Charlie and I lived in a borrowed house by the ocean. Our daughter, Sarah, was fifteen months old. September had just arrived, emptying the beaches at the very moment they became most spectacular.”

Brett has been in love with Charlie ever since he took her skiing on a lovely Colorado night fourteen years ago. And now, living in a seaside cottage on Cape Cod with their young daughter, it looks as if they have settled into the life they desired. However, Brett and Charlie’s marriage has been tenuous for quite some time. When Charlie’s unstable younger brother plans to move in with them, the tension simmering under the surface of their marriage boils over.

But what happened to Charlie next was unfathomable. Charlie was the golden boy so charismatic that he charmed everyone who crossed his path; who never shied away from a challenge; who saw life as one big adventure; who could always rescue his troubled brother, no matter how unpredictable the situation.

So who is to blame for the tragic turn of events? And why does Brett feel responsible?

Set against the desolate autumn beauty of Cape Cod, The Last September is a riveting emotional puzzle that takes readers inside the psyche of a woman facing the meaning of love and loyalty.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this selection from The She Reads Books of Fall. I listened to the audio which is narrated by Rebecca Mitchell and I found her tone and different voices and emotions of characters very easy to listen to. Coming in at 10 hours and 19 minutes she definitely captured the essence of the story for me and the hours flew by.

Brett loved Charlie from the moment she met him. He was the brother of her friend Eli and he seemed to have it all – confidence, good looks, and Brett fell hard for him. Eventually they marry and have a child but what seems as though it should be a perfect life does have its flaws. The biggest of those is actually Eli, mentally ill now, who continues to show up in their lives and cause chaos. When an unthinkable tragedy occurs Brett finds herself lost and struggling. Looking back over the past and trying to figure out who she can blame for the tragedy Brett is faced with also trying to find herself and a way to move on.

The Last September is a beautifully written, emotional novel. One definitely worth reading. Readers of women’s fiction or mysteries would likely be drawn to this story. I look forward to more from this author in the future.

Other Reviews from She Reads Members
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Buy: Amazon, Audible

 

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Source: Digital review copy received from the publisher for an honest review. Audiobook personal copy. No compensation was received.
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Book Review: My Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young

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My Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young is a novel of war and it’s effects on those fighting it and those behind them like their wives, girlfriends, and children. While some of the subject matter can be disturbing the author’s writing is beautiful. She so vividly describes what a soldier is seeing and feeling that at times it’s hard to read and yet you can’t tear your eyes away from the horror of it all. Above everything else though it is a novel of everlasting love even in the face of the seemingly impossible.

In this novel we see the face of war that so many of us shy away from as it’s so far removed from us yet we know on another level what these soldiers are going through for us. As a young boy Riley certainly never thought he would be a soldier in WWI. Yet coming from the wrong side of the tracks no matter how hard he tries not to be will not get him the girl he loves who comes from a ‘posh’ family. While Nadine’s family did take to Riley as a young boy they don’t so much as he grows up and catches Nadine’s eye. After an incident that leaves Riley disgusted with himself he enlists. Once in the trenches though he can’t imagine why he did. He is horrified by what he sees, smells, and hears. The war is raging all around him and there is no escape.

Nadine comes from money and has never lived a life of not having what she wants and yet that isn’t who she really is. She wants more than anything to be an artist and be with Riley. Her mother though has other plans for her which are to be a wife to a proper gentleman and have a family. It isn’t what she wants though and as the war is raging she wants to do something on her part to help however she can so she becomes a nurse to the men injured in the war. And although her mother knows that Nadine loves Riley she still tries her hardest to convince her that he isn’t the man for her and that she’d be better off taking the path her mother wants her to.

Then we have Peter and Julia. Peter is Riley’s CO in the war and the two do develop a friendship. Before the war Peter adored his beautiful wife but as the war wore on and Peter saw the devastating effects of it he became a different man. At home, on leave, he couldn’t get the thought of losing his men out of his mind and essentially took it out on his wife who couldn’t believe this man could possibly be her Peter. For Julia, Peter was everything and she had always devoted herself to making him happy. Now though she begins to feel that maybe she isn’t beautiful enough anymore and for Julia that is a huge problem. Julia has always been very beautiful and she has been bred to be that way and to be a wife. She knows nothing else and as she looks around herself she sees the roles of women changing because of the war and yet for her she knows that nothing can be different.

I enjoyed My Dear I Wanted to Tell You. I have always liked to read novels having to do with the war and that was my reason for wanting to read this one. I found it very real, both in the descriptions of the war to the relationships of the people both in and out of the battlefield. As I said earlier it is very descriptive so if you’re not the type to be able to read that type of thing then this might not be the book for you. I also enjoyed the romance between Riley and Nadine especially as it goes to show that two people from opposite ends of the class system can have an everlasting love. I love how, though the circumstances were trying, they were still able to keep their love alive. This novel also deals quite a lot with the effects of war on a soldier. How they come home and may seem so normal on the outside while the inside is still raging. Many wounds heal without a trace left behind but the mental images and all that a soldier lives through doesn’t fade away with time and I like that this novel brings that to the forefront. If you enjoy novels of war and wartime romance then this is one to add to your list.

I read My Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young for her book tour with TLC Book Tours. Be sure to pop by the other tour stops to see what others thought of the book. Louisa Young can be found on her website and her novel can be purchased here in the US and here in Canada.

Source:  Review copy provided by TLC Book Tours and the publisher.  No compensation was received and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Book Spotlight: Last Snow by Eric Van Lustbader & Giveaway of First Daughter and Blood Trust

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In celebration of the paperback release of Last Snow by Eric Van Lustbader, which is the second novel in the Jack McClure/ Alli Carson Series, Forge Publishing is offering up for giveaway a copy of First Daughter and Blood Trust. Isn’t that awesome! But first let’s take a look at what Last Snow by Eric Van Lustbader is all about…

About Last Snow…

New York Times bestselling sensation Eric Van Lustbader created the legendary Nicholas Linnear of The Ninja and brought Jason Bourne into the twenty-first century. Last year, in First Daughter, Lustbader introduced street-smart ATF agent Jack McClure, who saved the President’s daughter from a criminal mastermind.

When an American senator who is supposed to be in the Ukraine turns up dead on the island of Capri, the President asks McClure to investigate. Jack sets out from Moscow across Eastern Europe, following a perilous trail of diplomats, criminals, and corrupt politicians. His task is complicated by two unlikely, unexpected, and incompatible companions—Annika, a rogue Russian FSB agent, and Alli, the President’s daughter.

Thrust into the midst of a global jigsaw puzzle, Jack’s unique dyslexic mind allows him to put together the pieces that others can’t even see. As he struggles to keep both young women safe and uncover the truth behind the senator’s death, Jack learns just how far up the American and Russian political ladders corruption and treachery have reached.

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Buy Last Snow on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Check out the book trailer…

About the Author


Eric Van Lustbader is the author of many bestselling thrillers, including the New York Times bestsellers The Testament and The Ninja. His first Jack McClure book, First Daughter, was also a New York Times bestseller. Lustbader was chosen by Robert Ludlum’s estate to continue the Jason Bourne series, and his Jason Bourne novels include The Bourne Legacy and The Bourne Betrayal. He and his wife live in New York City and on the South Fork of Long Island.

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GIVEAWAY DETAILS

I have one copy of First Daughter and one copy of Blood Trust by Eric Van Lustbader to share with my readers. I will give these books away as a set. To enter…

  • For 1 entry leave me a comment with an email address to contact you (no email address, no entry).
  • For 2 entries, follow my blog. If you already do, thank you, and please let me know in your comment so I can pass the extra entry on to you as well.
  • For 3 entries, blog or tweet this giveaway to spread the word!

This giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents only (no PO boxes) and I will draw for the winner on Saturday, June 11/11. Good luck everyone!

© 2010, Darlene of Peeking Between the Pages. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Peeking Between the Pages or Darlene’s Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

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Wednesday Book Love – The First Mistake by Sandie Jones

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I really enjoyed The Other Woman by Sandie Jones (review to come one of these days) so when I saw she had this new one out I knew I’d be adding it to my reading list.  It releases June 11 of this year and it’s yet another of my books that I’m anxious to start!

Book Description (from Goodreads)

From Sandie Jones, the author of the Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller The Other Woman, comes an addictively readable new domestic suspense about a wife, her husband, and the woman who is supposedly her best friend.

THE WIFE: For Alice, life has never been better. With her second husband, she has a successful business, two children, and a beautiful house.

HER HUSBAND: Alice knows that life could have been different if her first husband had lived, but Nathan’s arrival into her life gave her back the happiness she craved.

HER BEST FRIEND: Through the ups and downs of life, from celebratory nights out to comforting each other through loss, Alice knows that with her best friend Beth by her side, they can survive anything together. So when Nathan starts acting strangely, Alice turns to Beth for help. But soon, Alice begins to wonder whether her trust has been misplaced . . .

Her first mistake could be her last.

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