YOURS CHLOE: 2023

Reflecting On My 2023 Bookish Resolutions

Way back in January, I started 2023 by setting seven bookish resolutions and sharing them in a blog post. Click here to read it. Now we've reached the end of the year and that little lull between Christmas and New Year which is the perfect time to pause and reflect, I thought I'd review them and share how I've got on.

I will also be sharing my 2024 bookish resolutions in a post in the coming weeks so stay tuned!

These were my 2023 bookish resolutions:

Read 52 books

I am very proud to say that, for the first time ever, I have not only reached my 2023 book goal but I have also surpassed it. Although I'm hoping to squeeze an extra book or two in before we ring in 2024, to date I have read 72 books!

One thing which has really helped me to increase the amount I am reading was reading more e-books. Prior to 2023 I was a firm member of team 'I can only read physical books' but reading more ARCs this year has meant that I've had to make a switch to e-books, all read on my iPad. I don't know what the science behind it is but I read so much quicker when reading electronically so have been able to whizz through so many extra books this year!

Read One Chapter A Day

This is a goal which I have mostly stuck to. There have been odd days where I just haven't felt up to reading but for the majority of the year I have stuck to my aim of reading at least one chapter a day. Making a hot drink, grabbing a biscuit or two and cosying up in bed to read has become a permanent part of my daily night-time routine and this is something I plan on continuing into 2024.

Branch Out And Explore New Genres

In 2023 I wanted to expand my reading repertoire and explore a range of genres, rather than sticking solely to my beloved historical fiction. After consulting my trusty StoryGraph app, I can confirm that I have read the following genres this year: romance, historical fiction, young adult, contemporary fiction, LGBTQIA+ fiction, graphic novels, thrillers, mystery, middle grade, self help and memoirs. Not a bad range!

Diversify My Reading List

In this resolution I aimed to read more books written by BAME authors, books featuring BAME characters, books with trans and non-binary representation and books with disabled representation. I have succeeded in reading more books with a range of representation, and even added in an option on the right hand side of my blog for readers to sort my book reviews by different representation. But I would like to continue to diversify my reading even further in the next year particularly in regards to BAME authors and characters. If anyone has any book recommendations please let me know!

Create A Physical TBR Database

My next bookish resolution was to create a database of the books I own, which can be sorted by author, genre and whether or not I have read it yet. Although it was a timely process, I completed this earlier in the year and have continued to add to it and when I've purchased new books. It's been an incredibly useful resource already for referring to when I'm out book shopping and can't remember if I already own a particular title.

Publish Regular Bookish Blog Posts

One of my biggest goals of 2023 was to maintain a regular posting schedule here on Yours, Chloe, including posting regular bookish content. I've posted a grand total of 55 book reviews this year, definitely achieving that goal. You can find all of them in my blog archive on the right hand side of my blog.

Moving forward into 2024 I am aiming to extend my bookish blog posts outside of book reviews into other content such as monthly reading roundups and book suggestions linked to different themes.

Did you sent any bookish resolutions this year?

Review: Christmas with the Lords by Hannah Langdon*

Title: Christmas With The Lords
Author: Hannah Langdon
Genre: Holiday Romance

Trigger warnings: References to a mental health breakdown

Rating: ★★★

URGENTLY WANTED: a nanny for Christmas. Seeking an adventurous nanny to work for the aristocratic Lord family at their country estate. Must love naughty dogs, mischievous children and have a high tolerance for Christmas chaos. Room and board provided.

Penny Windlesham is stunned when her long-term boyfriend suddenly dumps her, leaving her with a broken heart just in time for Christmas. At a loose end, she accepts a job as a short-term nanny to a family she’s never met. Climbing aboard a train bound for the Dorset countryside, a tear rolls down her cheek. Alone, working and amongst strangers… could her Christmas be any less magical?

As she crunches up the family’s frost-covered drive, Penny’s spirits lift when she glimpses her home for the next month: an enormous manor house, its windows glowing with firelight and festooned with twinkling holly. And, as she settles into her role caring for the adorable Lord children, she finds herself surrounded by a quirky cast of characters, including loveably frazzled Spanish chef Pilar and the children’s grouchy uncle, Lando Lord.

Despite Penny’s attempts to avoid him, the darkly handsome Lando seems to be everywhere – hanging around like Scrooge amidst the happy present-wrapping and gingerbread baking. Apparently he wasn’t always this way… is there some secret reason he’s so cranky at Christmas?

When Lando is commissioned to carve a beautiful new Nativity scene for the local church, Penny blushingly agrees to be his model, and a sudden spark flickers between them. But it’s not long before the past comes knocking, and Penny discovers exactly why Lando left his old life behind…

Christmas with the Lords is the debut novel from Hannah Langdon. It’s a cosy festive romance which is an easy read, perfect for fans of a cheesy Christmas Hallmark movie.

Penny was a lovely protagonist and it’s nice to have a 30-something FMC in a festive romance. She was wonderful with the children she was nannying for and I loved their relationships. It was also great to see Penny really grow in self-confidence as the novel progressed and start to see her own worth again.

I loved the Lord family and the chaotic energy they brought to the book. It was lovely to see Penny find a family in the Lords as the novel progressed. Most wealthy families you see in contemporary fiction tend to be written as a tad on the pretentious side but the Lord family were so far from it. I’d love to return to them in a future book in some way as I really didn’t feel ready to part with them when the book ended. Exploring all of their family Christmas traditions made the book feel really cosy and festive, perfect for getting you in the mood for the holiday season. The beautiful setting of their gorgeous historic home and quaint small-village was also perfect for a cosy festive story; it sounds like an absolutely dreamy place to spend Christmas!

At the heart of the story is a grumpy x sunshine romance between the cheerful Penny and the grumpy Lando. Fans of a true slow burn romance will love this book as you are left waiting for most of the story for them to sort themselves out and actually get together. However, the one thing that dropped the book from a 4* to a 3* for me was the fact that I was really craving a few more romantic scenes between Penny and Lando once they had got together. Although the scenes we did get were lovely, there was just too few of them to fully satisfy me after such a slow burn romance story.

If you’re looking for a cosy Christmas story with a slow-burn romance and lots of festive family antics, you’ll love Christmas with the Lords. I’m definitely also excited to see what comes next from Hannah Langdon.

Review: A Concert for Christmas by Helen Hawkins*

Title: A Concert For Christmas
Author: Helen Hawkins
Genre: Holiday Romance

Trigger warnings: Car Accident, Miscarriage (Second Trimester), Bullying

Rating: ★★

Schoolteacher Sophie Lawson has fled to the Cotswold countryside after a tragic break-up and is throwing herself into dating and organising Cranswell’s annual Christmas concert. The festive fun is marred by the arrival of a handsome but surly musical director, tricky pupils and concert preparations falling into disarray. Disaster strikes, but the show must go on. Will the concert bring Christmas harmony to Cranswell and will Sophie end the year on a high note?

A Concert For Christmas is the debut novel from author Helen Hawkins and a cosy Christmas contemporary romance set in the fictional Cotswold market town of Cranswell. It’s an easy read which you could fly through in a day and great if you like books with a cosy community theme.

I want to preface this review by saying that I did want to like this book. I always try to support new authors and hate having to give negative feedback on a debut book where possible. But, although it did have some strengths, I largely didn’t get on with A Concert For Christmas and hope that this review explains my reasoning for this well.

To start with the things I enjoyed about the book, I did really like the cosy small-town setting of Cranswell and it was nice to meet the different inhabitants of the town. A particular shoutout goes to my personal favourite character: the eccentric Lulu. The focus on the choir and their Christmas concert felt lovely and festive so it was a great setup for a cosy Christmas novel.

Sophie was a nice-enough protagonist. She made me laugh at times and it was sweet how much she cared about everyone around her. I liked following her day-to-day life as a primary school teacher and thought this was a nice touch as primary schools can be lovely – yet busy – places to work over Christmas. The trauma she has following her miscarriage and subsequent relationship breakdown was largely well written also. However, I was absolutely infuriated by her for dating the parent of a child in her class. I am an ex-teacher and that is a total no-no, particularly in the way Sophie went about it. She was over-familiar with Liam’s daughter Cassie and it just all completely went against teacher professionalism. I also didn’t like the relationship between Sophie and her mum. I appreciate that difficult parent/child relationships do exist but this felt too much and it seemed unrealistic that Sophie’s mum would run a charity supporting those who have experienced child loss yet be completely oblivious to how Sophie was struggling.

The primary issue with the book is Liam’s character. He treats Sophie really poorly and is blowing hot and cold throughout the whole story so it really hard to root for their romance. All I wanted was for Sophie to run for the hills. I appreciate that something could be said for Liam’s untreated trauma following the death of his wife but if anything, he needed therapy not a new girlfriend to take on the brunt of his trauma responses. It was extremely difficult to celebrate a HEA between them when we’d seen awful anger issues in Liam that had not been addressed.

Unfortunately, I did find the narrative structure difficult to engage with also. We had frequent chapter breaks in the middle of scenes and chapters repeatedly switched focus between our two POVs – Sophie’s and Liam’s – and this overall just made the narrative feel really disjointed and difficult to follow.

Overall, this book would be good for anyone wanting a easy-read Christmas book with a small-town setting and community feel, but it just wasn’t for me.

Review: Make You Mine This Christmas by Lizzie Huxley-Jones*

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the Make You Mine This Christmas blog tour organised by Hodder & Stoughton.

Title: Make You Mine This Christmas
Author: Lizzie Huxley-Jones
Genre: LGBTQIA+ Romance / Holiday Romance
Trigger warnings: -
Rating: ★★★★

It's the golden rule of pretending to be someone's girlfriend: don't fall for their sister.

After a year from hell, Haf is ready to blow off steam at a Christmas party: a kind stranger, a few too many drinks and suddenly she's kissing Christopher under the mistletoe - in front of his ex-girlfriend.

The next day the news is out that they're apparently a couple, madly in love and coming to Oxlea to spend the festive season with Christopher's family. But Haf doesn't have better holiday plans and to save her new friend from embarrassment, she agrees to pretend to be Christopher's girlfriend for Christmas.

It has the makings of a hilarious anecdote they'll be telling for years. Until Haf meets Christopher's sister: the mysterious, magnetic and utterly irresistible Kit. Maybe love was waiting for Haf in this quiet little town all along ...

Make You Mine This Christmas is the latest heartwarming novel from author Lizzie Huxley-Jones and the must-read queer rom-com of this festive season.

The plot is packed full of all of your favourite romance tropes set against the backdrop of a snowy UK Christmas. Although a fake dating plot is at the forefront of the story, we also have a fantastic queer meet cute in a bookshop and the forbidden love trope is explored through Haf’s attraction to her fake boyfriend’s sister Kit. Lizzie Huxley-Jones has a really engaging writing style which you can just sink into like a big hug and I read the entire book in one sitting. I just couldn’t get enough!

I loved how much representation we had within the story and this is really something which I think sets Make You Mine This Christmas apart from other books. This includes neurodivergent, disability and chronic pain rep, a curvy and body-positive FMC and a range of LGBTQIA+ representation including characters who were non-binary, bisexual and lesbian.

This book is perfect if you want a really Christmas-heavy read packed full of festive cheer to cosy up with this holiday season. It really gave off Hallmark-movie vibes with everything from questionable Christmas jumpers and handmade decorations to kisses under the mistletoe and a cosy community Christmas fair with real (albeit unpredictable) reindeer.

One of the things which stood out within the story was how loveable and relatable all of the characters were. Haf was a truly fantastic protagonist and, as someone who was diagnosed as autistic in adulthood, I loved that she was written as an autistic character whose autism had been missed but probably explained a lot of the aspects of her character. This representation is so important and really made me feel seen so I want to thank Lizzie Huxley-Jones for including this in the story. Haf’s fake-boyfriend Christopher was a total sweetheart and, whilst being mindful of avoiding spoilers where possible, I loved the journey his character went on towards starting to advocate more for his wants and dreams rather than feeling like he has to confirm to the expectations set of him. I honestly don’t know where to begin with talking about how much I loved Kit’s character. I fell in love with her the minute we met her in the bookshop and this love only grew the more we got to know her. Her relationship with her brother felt like a really authentic sibling relationship and, as I’ve already said, I thought her disability and linked chronic pain were really well portrayed and some of the best disabled representation I’ve seen in any book. The romantic and sexual tension between Haf and Kit was well-written, as were the (spoiler alert) romantic and spicier scenes when we got to them. If anything, one thing I would have liked in way of improving the narrative was if we’d had even more stolen romantic moments between Haf and Kit to build up their romance gradually. Although it’s a slow burn prior to their first kiss, after that it feels like we go from 0-100 and I would have liked a few more stolen kisses here and there to increase the tension even further by the time we get to the spicier moments.

We also have a fantastic cast of supporting characters and I loved every single one of them, from Laurel the fake boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend to the queer meet-cute obsessed bookseller and the ever-present Bryn. Ambrose, Haf’s flatmate and best friend, had to be my favourite though and they made me laugh out loud almost every chapter with their witty remarks and hilarious use of twitter polls. I loved that although Ambrose was non-binary, they weren’t defined by their gender identity and aside from use of they/them pronouns throughout the narrative, their gender identity was only referenced briefly and the focus was more on their other character traits.

Overall, Make You Mine This Christmas is a charming festive sapphic romance packed full of Christmas spirit, witty characters, laugh-out-loud moments, cute romantic scenes and truly incredible disabled and LGBTQIA+ representation. It’s a must-read this Christmas.

Review: The Berlin's Wife Choice by Marion Kummerow*

Title: The Berlin's Wife Choice
Author: Marion Kummerow
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings: War, Antisemitism, Violence, Guns

Rating: ★★★★★

Berlin, 1939. Edith Falkenstein once lived a fairytale life. Falling in love with Julius introduced her to a world she had only dreamed of. She wore the finest silk dresses to host parties in their historic mansion home.

But those days are a distant memory. Under Nazi rule, her Jewish husband Julius has been stripped of everything. Now the couple share a cramped apartment with other destitute families, and the priceless jewels that once adorned Edith’s neck have been sold to buy food on the black market.

Julius was lucky to escape being imprisoned once, and Edith knows he won’t be so fortunate a second time. The echo of boots marching across the city is a constant reminder of the danger they face. She begs Julius to flee the country, while they still can.

But as war rages across Europe, the journey will be fraught with peril. All Julius has ever wanted is to keep Edith safe. He knows there is only one way to truly protect the woman who stole his heart all those years ago—even if it means breaking hers.

Time is running out and Edith must decide: let Julius go or follow her heart and her husband into the danger that lies ahead…

The Berlin Wife’s Choice is the latest compelling historical fiction novel by Marion Kummerow and the second book in her ‘German Wives’ series. I read and reviewed the first book in the series ‘The Berlin Wife’ (previously published as The First Spark of Fire) earlier in the year (click here to read my review) and it was one of my standout historical fiction novels of the first half of 2023 so I was eagerly anticipating the release of The Berlin Wife’s Choice and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

Our story follows on directly from the end of The Berlin Wife in 1938 and takes us on a journey through the events leading to the outbreak of war and then into the early years of the war. One of my favourite thing about Marion Kummerow’s novels is the way they take a deep dive into the time period in question and cover many key events in depth. As the narrative spans a shorter timeline than was covered in The Berlin Wife (which was set between 1923 and 1938) we do see a smaller number of significant events but those which were featured, which included The Gleiwitz Incident and the continuing introduction of antisemitic laws in Germany, were explored well. As with the previous book, the history was all clearly meticulously researched.

In The Berlin Wife’s Choice, we continue to follow the stories of Edith and Helga, two non-Jewish women supporting their Jewish husbands (and in Helga’s case, also her half-Jewish children) through the introduction of antisemitic laws. They are both fantastically written characters and it is brilliant to explore this unique perspective on the rise of antisemitism in Germany. Through Edith’s husband Julius, who has recently been released from Sachsenhausen, we get a fantastic portrayal of his lasting trauma following his experiences of being arrested and spending two days in the concentration camp. We also continue to follow Edith’s brother Joseph as he rises through the SS ranks, gaining further insight into how indoctrinated he has been into the Nazi regime. He is extremely well written as a truly vile character and his sense of self-importance was sickening, even describing himself as “omnipotent” at one point.

Overall, The Berlin’s Wife Choice is another powerful historical fiction novel from Marion Kummerow and a fantastic new instalment of the German Wives series. The series is a must-read for those with an interest in Second World War history and I’m eagerly anticipating the release of the next instalment ‘The Berlin Wife’s Resistance’ in early 2024.

Click here to read my review of the first book in Marion Kummerow's German Wives series 'The Berlin Wife (previously published as The First Spark of Fire'

Review: The Orphans on the Train by Gill Thompson*

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the The Orphans On The Train influencer tour organised by Headline.

Title: The Orphans On The Train
Author: Gill Thompson
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings: War, Antisemitism, Death Of A Parent, Domestic Violence, Drowning, Attempted Rape, Guns

Rating: ★★★★★

Two orphaned girls are separated in the most heart-wrenching way in this gripping story of loss, friendship and the need to belong, inspired by real events.

1939.

A girl with auburn hair looks anxiously out of the train window, watching the mountains of Europe pass by. War is on the horizon at home, and Kirsty finds herself heading to neutral Hungary to help in a school for Jewish children. Little does she know that in leaving everything behind, she is about to find the most precious gift of all - a true friend in school pupil Anna.

1943.
When the Nazis invade Budapest, Kirsty and Anna are on their own, and Kirsty worries desperately for her Jewish friend. What lengths must they go to in order to survive, and, when they are separated, can the guiding light of friendship bring them back to each other?

The Orphans On The Train is the latest gripping historical fiction novel from author Gill Thompson. It is a heart-wrenching story set in war-torn Budapest exploring themes of love, loss, found family, resilience and healing. The narrative is perfectly paced and had me hooked from the very first page, making this a must-read for fans of World War Two historical fiction.

Gill Thompson has an incredible ability to craft compelling stories which perfectly capture the emotions experienced by the characters in a way which truly tugs on the heartstrings of every reader. I had previously read her 2019 novel The Child on Platform One so was highly anticipating the release of The Orphans On The Train and this poignant and powerful story was truly worth the wait.

The focus of The Orphans On The Train is on the horrific experiences of Jewish people in Hungary during the Second World War. The history of the Holocaust in Hungary tragically isn’t as widely known as that in other countries in Central and Western Europe so it’s fantastic to see this represented within historical fiction in such a powerful and moving way. The history was clearly very well researched and the story is inspired by real events, with the characters of Kirsty, Anna and Jean all based on real people and other characters such as Raoul Wallenberg and Carl Lutz fictional depictions of real individuals who saved thousands of Jews in Hungary during the Holocaust. The author’s afterword is a must-read to find out more about the history behind the book. I found it truly fascinating and it has inspired me to research the events of the story in detail and educate myself further on what the country of Hungary went through during the war.

Kirsty was a fantastically written character who made a wonderful protagonist. She is only fourteen years old when our story begins in 1939 and we follow her through her teenage years into early adulthood. At every point in the story she felt authentically written as a young person in that era of their life and it was wonderful to see her gradually mature into an incredible courageous young woman. Anna and her brother Endre were also brilliant characters and I thought the portrayal of Endre’s PTSD was incredible. The friendship between Kirsty and Anna was really well written and felt like an authentic teenage friendship. I loved that they found family in each other when they’d both lost everyone else in their lives and the bond this created between them. The central role swimming played in the story was also really impactful as it was powerfully used to help the characters to gradually heal from the tragic losses and trauma they experienced at such young ages.

Overall, The Orphans On The Train is a really powerful and moving novel which had me truly engrossed from cover to cover to the point that I read (and wept) through the story in a single sitting.

Review: The Tuscan Orphan by Siobhan Daiko*

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the The Last Train From Paris blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.

Title: The Tuscan Orphan
Author: Siobhan Daiko
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings: War, Antisemitism, Death Of A Partner, Guns, Bombing, Torture, Sexual Assault (Forced Kiss)

Rating: ★★★★★

1944 - When an air raid strikes the hospital she’s been working in, Carrie’s life irrevocably changes. But as a nurse in the middle of wartime, she has no time to grieve, as she has too many people relying on her.

For resistance fighter, Vito, nothing is more important than seeking vengeance for the atrocities his fellow comrades have suffered. But when he liberates a convent, finding a group of Jewish children in hiding, he suddenly has even more to fight for.

Little Mimi is injured, scared and alone. Together Carrie and Vito vow to find her parents, a loving home. But under the shadow of war, is it wise to make promises you’re not sure you can keep?

The Tuscan Orphan is the latest captivating novel from historical fiction author Siobhan Daiko. I was hooked from cover to cover and completely enchanted by Carrie and Vito’s powerful story set against the beautiful setting of Tuscany. Siobhan Daiko truly is one of the queens of World War Two historical fiction and The Tuscan Orphan joins the list of her incredible novels which should be read by every fan of the genre.

In our story we get to see both Carrie’s work as a nurse in the US army and Vito’s partisan work, including seeing how they overlapped in certain parts of the Italian Campaign along The Gothic Line. Maintaining the high standard we see in all of Siobhan Daiko’s novels, the story was clearly meticulously researched and her knowledge of the Italian campaign of World War II is truly outstanding. The Italian settings came alive on the page and it was fantastic to travel with Carrie’s unit across Italy and see how different towns and cities were impacted by the war.

Both the prologue and the epilogue are written from Mimi’s POV and are the only two chapters written in first person. Bookending the main narrative, which is written in third person, in this way shaped the novel in a beautiful way and it was wonderful to start and end the novel focusing on the character who gives it its name.

Both of our dual protagonists – Carrie and Vito – were fantastically written with such depth to their characters. Carrie was a brilliant strong female protagonist and her courage, empathy and selflessness amazed me throughout the novel. Vito was also a fantastic character and I think we see the most character development from him over the course of the novel as his partisan activities, blossoming feelings for Carrie and paternal relationship with Mimi mature him. Mimi was a truly wonderful young character who was fantastically written as a realistic child. Her resilience at such a young age was inspirational and she brought sunshine to every page she appeared in, even against the darkness of war-torn Italy. We do get a blossoming romance between Carrie and Vito and this is well-written to compliment the main narrative whilst not taking away from the gripping, and at times hard-hitting, story of war. I’m a sucker for any romance where he falls first and harder and this was beautifully written.

Overall, The Tuscan Orphan is a truly fantastic piece of World War Two fiction and a story which will stay with me for a long time. I really didn’t feel ready to part with any of the characters and would love for Siobhan Daiko to find some way for us to return to Carrie, Vito and little Mimi in another book.

Review: The Last Train From Paris by Juliet Greenwood*

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the The Last Train From Paris blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.

Title: The Last Train From Paris
Author: Juliet Greenwood
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings: War, Antisemitism, Suicide, Death Of A Parent, Guns, Bombing, Murder

Rating: ★★★★★

For Iris, each visit to her mother in St Mabon’s Cove, Cornwall has been the same – a serene escape from the city. But today, as she breathes in the salt air on the doorstep of her beloved childhood home, a heavy weight of anticipation settles over her. Iris knows she’s adopted, but any questions about where she came from have always been shut down by her parents, who can’t bear to revisit the past.

Now, Iris can’t stop thinking about what she’s read on the official paperwork: BABY GIRL, FRANCE, 1939 – the year war was declared with Nazi Germany.

When Iris confronts her mother, she hits the same wall of pain and resistance as whenever she mentions the war. That is, until her mother tearfully hands her an old tin of letters, tucked neatly beside a delicate piece of ivory wool.

Retreating to the loft, Iris steels herself to at last learn the truth, however painful it might be. But, as she peels back each layer of history before her, a sensation of dread grows inside her. The past is calling, and its secrets are more intricate and tangled than Iris could ever have imagined.

The year is 1939, and in Paris, France a young woman is about to commit a terrible betrayal…

The Last Train From Paris is the latest compelling novel from historical fiction author Juliet Greenwood. This was my first time reading any of her work but her engaging writing style had me hooked from the very first chapter and I’m now excited to sink my teeth into the rest of her books. It’s been a while since a historical fiction book has truly made me cry but this gut-wrenching story had me sobbing throughout.

Our story is told through a dual-timeline third-person multiple POV narrative, alternating between Iris’ perspective in 1964 and Nora and Sabine’s perspectives between 1938 and 1945. The two timelines work beautifully together in progressing the story, with tension created through us learning things in Iris’ chapters which have not played out yet in our wartime chapters. All of the wonderful settings (including pre-war Paris, wartime Cornwall, 1960s Cornwall, war-torn France and London at the height of the Blitz) truly came alive on the page and the perfectly-paced narrative explores thought-provoking themes such as sacrifice, mother-daughter relationships, love, adoption, friendship, separation and revenge.

All of the characters in The Last Train From Paris were beautifully complex and our protagonists were all wonderful strong female characters who demonstrated such tenacity and strength throughout the story. The story was a beautiful ode to the love of both biological and adoptive mothers, with Sabine forced to make a heartbreaking decision in the best interests of her daughter and Nora taking on another women’s child and loving her as her own. The primary antagonist in the story Karl Bernheim was also fantastically written and a truly vile piece of work who made my blood boil whenever he appeared. Whilst being mindful of avoiding spoilers, I thought the portrayal of Sabine’s husband Emil and his gradual development into the character he becomes by the end of the story was also really well written.

The section focusing on Nora fleeing France when Europe found itself on the brink of war and catching the last train from Paris (hence the book’s title) and last ferry to Dover was incredibly powerful and had me on the edge of my seat. Juliet Greenwood explains in her author afterword that this was based on the real experiences of her Mum who, like our character Nora, had been studying in Paris when war broke out and was forced to hurry back to England before the borders closed. The chapters exploring Sabine’s story as her family were forced to flee their home on the outskirts of Paris and join the millions of refugees travelling south with nothing more than they could carry were also incredibly powerful and based on the true experiences of the friends and relatives of Juliet Greenwood’s mother. Using genuine accounts as inspiration in this way really made the story feel so authentic and helped the narrative to perfectly capture the emotions the characters would have been feeling. The story was clearly meticulously researched to support the genuine accounts used as history just seeped through the pages.

I found the exploration of 1930s attitudes to disability to be a really interesting aspect of the story. The despicable Nazi eugenics policies which saw the murder of thousands of mentally and physically disabled children are infamous and this is explored through Sabine’s daughter Violette who is born with a cleft lip. Sabine has to make heartbreaking decisions to protect her daughter from the Nazi regime and this sets up our story. We also get an exploration, albeit a brief one, of attitudes to disabled children in the UK through Nora’s nephew and this was also really interesting.

I would have liked each chapter heading to have detailed the month as well as the year and location so we could track the build up to the outbreak of war and then the progression of the war but this is a minor detail for the history-geek in me and the only criticism I could find in an otherwise excellent story.

Overall, The Last Train From Paris is a really powerful and compelling piece of historical fiction and has been one of my standout historical fiction books of 2023. It is a story which is equally as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking and it’s truly going to stay with me for a long time.

Review: Holiday Star by Melissa Dymond*

Title: Holiday Star
Author: Melissa Dymond
Genre: Holiday Romance

Trigger warnings: Death Of A Parent, Alcoholism, Car Accident

Rating: ★★★★

One doctor. One movie star. One house. One month until Christmas. What could go wrong?

Dr. Gwen Wright is having a not-so-merry Christmas. For the month of December, she’s alone, house-sitting for her mother and new stepfather.

Her surgically precise world gets a plot twist when Caleb Lawson—world-famous movie star on the run from the paparazzi and his secrets—crash lands in her kitchen.

Besides being a Hollywood heartthrob, Caleb is also her stepdad’s nephew. He thinks he has as much right to stay in the house as she does, but as far as Gwen’s concerned, she’s the landlord and he’s the squatter.

The more they are forced to share the small space, the more Gwen is drawn to the moody celebrity. Sure, sometimes he can be a Grinch, but when Caleb finally touches Gwen, it makes her jingle bells ring.

But the future looms like a foggy Christmas Eve. With no red-nosed reindeer to guide them, can Gwen and Caleb overcome their differences? After all, she’s ordinary, and he’s… a star.

Holiday Star is a forced proximity celebrity romance set at Christmas from author Melissa Dymond. It was an easy page-turning heartwarming read which I just sank into. It reminds me of a grown-up version of the early 2010s Disney movie Starstruck which provided a lovely bit of nostalgia for me as someone who was in my early teens when it came out.

Caleb is a totally swoon-worthy MMC. I’m not surprised he swept Gwen off her feet because he did the same to me. Gwen and Caleb had undeniable chemistry which was really well written and there was witty banter between the two of them. The spicy scenes were well-written and HOT. The build up to their relationship was also well-written and it was a joy to slowly see them start to fall for each other as Gwen gets to know Caleb and see the man behind the celebrity persona. Gwen was a wonderful protagonist who was so likeable and we love a woman in STEM! We also have some fantastic supporting characters and I particularly loved Alvina, Gwen’s friend.

Holiday Star has been published in two variations: one spicy open-door version and one clean closed-door version. I read the spicy edition which contains graphic sex scenes and explicit language but the clean version contains only kissing and no explicit language. I love Melissa Dymond’s commitment to making her books accessible to all readers in this way and personally think we should see more of this in the world of romance novels so that every reader is comfortable.

The book does also tackle some difficult subjects very well. We have good mental health representation through Gwen’s experience of panic attacks. There is also a good portrayal of Caleb’s alcoholism and the treatment he receives.

My one potential criticism is how much of the novel takes place after the festive period as, for a book marketed as a holiday read, I just needed a bit more Christmas spirit. Whilst the first half of the novel is set around the holidays and we have a brief closing chapter set at Christmas the following year, the majority of the second half of the book is set outside of the festive months. Whilst I recognise the importance the non-holiday chapters played within the progression of the story, it would have been nicer for the second set of Christmas scenes to have been that bit longer so we could pack more festive magic into the book and really sandwich the novel with holiday scenes.

Holiday Star is a heartwarming, fun modern romance which is the perfect easy festive read for fans of celebrity romance novels or the forced proximity trope.

Review: One Sweet Holiday by Lucy Day*

Title: One Sweet Holiday
Author: Lucy Day
Genre: Holiday Romance

Trigger warnings: Death of a Family Member, Emotional Abuse

Rating: ★★★★

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…unless you’re me.

Hold the hayrides, keep your cocoa, and don’t put me within a country mile of mistletoe. This year, Christmas means chaos. My sister’s getting married and I—Gwen Griffin, perfectionist extraordinaire—will make sure her wedding is flawless. That includes doing the impossible: finding myself a wedding date. But in my tiny hometown of Jasmine Falls, South Carolina, I’ll have better luck winning the lottery.

I may be awesome at running my cafe, but I’m terrible at men. And after my last epic breakup, everyone in town knows it. That’s why I need a plus-one—even a fake one—so that when my sister gets married, everyone’s attention is on her, where it belongs.

The guy next door is perfect for the job. Gorgeous and charming, Logan Fyfe is only here for a few weeks. He’s also a hot Scottish bazillionaire who’s totally out of my league—so my risk of falling into a relationship with him? Less than zero.

Pretending to date Logan is the perfect plan—until it isn’t. Beneath his devilish smirk and delicious brogue is a big-hearted man who makes me feel the one thing I never believed to be true—that I’m enough, just the way I am.

With the wedding approaching, there’s nothing fake about my feelings anymore. When he slips his arm around my waist and whispers into my ear? Yeah, I’m a goner.

We may be worlds apart, but I’m done pretending. It’s time to get real…even if it means risking my heart.

One Sweet Holiday is a new cute small-town festive romance novel from author Lucy Day. It’s the latest instalment in her Jasmine Falls Love Stories series but each book can be read as a standalone and has a guaranteed happily ever after. This was my first festive read of 2023 and boy has it got me in the Christmas spirit!

Our story is told through a dual POV and this worked so well in the story. I loved seeing instant attraction experienced by both Gwen and Logan and explored in their respective chapters. I also loved the banter between the two of them. The forced proximity was explored in a different way to the typical bed/room/house sharing that you might typically see through Logan moving next door to Gwen and this really made the story feel more realistic.

One of the things that I think sets One Sweet Holiday apart from other romance novels is the fact that the characters aren’t who you might typically see in this genre. Both protagonists are in their 30s and this makes their relationship feel so much more mature. On top of this, Gwen was the curvy queen that I’ve always wanted in a festive romance protagonist. I loved that the book celebrated body positivity by acknowledging her size and it being one of the things that attracted Logan to her. The way Logan talked about her curves and meeting her for the first time just made me melt.

If you are after male romantic interest who is the definition of swoon-worthy and will make you fall in love with him instantly, look no further than Logan Fyfe. He is a complete gentleman who is so respectful of Gwen and it was amazing to read. At one point in the story I worried that the miscommunication trope I have a vengeance against would rear it’s ugly head but Logan being the mature man he was any chance of this was eliminated immediately. I loved how supportive Logan was of Gwen, he had an absolute heart of gold.

The book also provided an unexpected but really interesting commentary on mental wellbeing and avoiding burnout which is so relevant to so many adult readers. The bakery setting added a really different angle to the story and we love a female entrepreneur who gives off total girl boss vibes! The family drama for both characters was also really interesting and it was great to be able to see how they tackle it as couple who are still in the early stages of a relationship.

One of the things that did take away from this being a 5* read for me was that the ending felt rushed. I felt that Gwen and Logan were owed a little more depth to their happy ending so this was a shame. I would like to be able to return to their story, ideally in a sequel but even just briefly as passing minor characters in a later book set in Jasmine Falls just to check in with them and see where they’ve ended up.

I will also say that the fake dating trope felt misplaced within this story. There was instant attraction and a blossoming relationship so having them fake dating for the sake of appeasing Gwen’s mother, who (potential spoiler alert) wasn’t appeased by it anyway, felt like an unnecessary way to add in an additional trope. I think the story was enough on it’s own as a small-town forced-proximity instant-attraction story. It’s also interesting that the book is marketed as an opposites-attract story when I found that Gwen and Logan were actually pretty similar apart from being from different countries. But this is more of an issue with the marketing rather than the story itself so it hasn’t impacted on the star rating for me.

This is a closed-door romance and whilst I fully respect that and recognise that not everyone wants spice in their romance novels, I do wish we’d been given a little bit more and had even just the indication that sex had taken place. Instead, it was very much completely glossed over aside from some passionate kissing and this felt unrealistic.

These things aside, I still absolutely loved the story and it was the perfect Hallmark-movie style romance to get me in the festive spirit. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants an easy christmassy read, packed full of sweet moments, witty banter and relatable characters.

One Sweet Holiday will be published on 6th November 2023.

Review: The Midwife Of Berlin by Anna Stuart*

Title: The Midwife of Berlin
Author: Anna Stuart
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings: War, Antisemitism, Rape, Suicide, Guns, Domestic Violence, Forced Adoption/Women Forced To Give Up Their Children

Rating: ★★★★★

Auschwitz, 1943: I stroke my beautiful baby’s hair. It’s a miracle it’s blonde because it will keep her alive, it will keep her safe. Soon they will come and take Pippa out of Auschwitz-Birkenau – and out of my arms. But while there’s life, there’s hope I might find my daughter again…

An incredible story of one woman’s courage and determination to reunite her family in the aftermath of surviving Auschwitz.

1945, Berlin: Ester Pasternak walked out of the gates of Auschwitz barely alive. She survived against devastating odds, but her heartbreaking journey is only just beginning. In the camp, Ester gave birth to a tiny fair-haired infant, only for her precious baby to be snatched from her and taken to a German family. Now the war is over, Ester longs to find her little girl.

But Europe is in chaos, Jewish families have been torn apart and everyone is desperately searching for their loved ones. In every orphanage and hospital she visits, Ester searches the faces of tear-stained toddlers; each mop of blonde hair and pair of blue eyes she sees sets her heart racing…

But as the months and the years tick by, the possibility of finding her daughter shrinks smaller and smaller. And Ester starts to wonder if little Pippa is even safe, or whether the miracle that saved her has now put her in even more danger?

Will Ester ever be able to find the child whose tattoo matches her own? Or is she already too late…

The Midwife Of Berlin is the latest powerful page-turning novel from historical fiction author Anna Stuart. It’s a heartbreaking story primarily set in 1961 Berlin, the year the Berlin Wall was constructed, with occasional flashbacks to Auschwitz in 1943 and Berlin in 1950. Anna Stuart’s engaging writing style made the setting come alive on the page and I was utterly hooked from prologue to epilogue.

I did start reading the book without realising it was the sequel to The Midwife of Auschwitz, a book which has been on my TBR list for a while. But I was surprised with how well easy the story was to follow despite this, and this is credit to Anna Stuart’s incredible writing ability, so I continued reading and I would say that the book does largely work as a standalone story. It has made me excited to read The Midwife of Auschwitz though to gain a more in-depth understanding of Ester’s wartime story.

Something which stood out from even the early chapters of The Midwife of Berlin was how clearly meticulously researched the history was and how history was just seamlessly woven into the story. With every historical fiction novel I read I start a list of interesting historical events and ideas featured in the story which I would like to research and educate myself further on. And there was so much packed into this one book that my list became quite extensive. Alongside the primary focus on Holocaust-survivors trying to reunite with the children who had been taken from them and adopted into Nazi Germany, the books provided an interesting insight into life on either side of the wall. Through Olivia’s story we get an insight into the decades-long athlete doping programme that existed in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and it was fascinating to read this from the perspective of one of the athletes themselves. Another really interesting aspect of the story was the exploration of East German/socialist attitudes to sex and relationships being more relaxed than in traditional Western relationships.

I really appreciated the choice of when to set the story as it meant that we were able to explore life in both East and West Berlin before the construction of the wall, on the day it went up, in the months and years following the construction and also in the aftermath of the fall of the wall. Typically fiction books I’ve read surrounding the Berlin Wall have been set at some point during the 28 years the wall stood so to get the full breadth of the wall’s history from a single story was fantastic. The history-geek in me particularly loved the use of dates are the beginning of each chapter which allowed us to track the build up to the construction of the Berlin Wall.

The Midwife of Berlin has an ensemble of wonderful characters who were all written with such depth to their characters. Olivia and Kirsten were both fantastically written realistic teenagers and it was fantastic to see their character development throughout the novel from naïve teenagers to mature self-aware young women. Their romantic relationships with their respective partners were also wonderfully written and I also loved the strong sibling bond between Olivia and her brother Uli that withstands the revelations in the story. Although the majority of the characters are fictional, we also had a powerful portrayal of the heroic actions of Dieter Wohlfahrt, a real person who worked with other students to get people out of East Berlin.

This is a hard-hitting story with potentially triggering content including rape and women forced to give their children up for adoption. I have provided a full list of content warnings at the beginning of this review. Although these topics are hard-hitting, I found them all to be explored in powerful ways which did justice to the real European women who experienced these horrific acts in the 1940s and the lifelong trauma they experienced as a result.

Overall, The Midwife Of Berlin is a really powerful piece of historical fiction and has been one of my standout historical fiction books of 2023. It is a story I will truly never forget and one I’ve been recommending to anyone who will listen.

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