YOURS CHLOE: 2024

Review: The Upper Crush by Evie Alexander*

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format 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 Upper Crush blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.

Title: The Upper Crush
Author: Evie Alexander
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings: Parent Arrested, Children Taken Into Care

Rating: ★★★★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Explicit Open Door)

He wasn’t banking on someone else taking the reins…

Lady Estelle Foxbrooke is done cleaning up the mess left by her wild parents. She’s got a plan: take the reins and save the family estate her way. But then she’s saddled with a business partner she’s hated all her life. He’s her twin brother’s worst enemy and looms in her path like a six-foot-four hurdle.

After a catastrophic business failure, rich and successful James Hunter-Savage has watched his dream life in London crash and burn. Forced to ditch the city for the Somerset countryside, he’s now living with his parents and expected to work with the infuriatingly attractive Estelle. She’s sharper than a whip, pushes all his buttons, and seems determined to break him.

As Estelle and James jockey for position, their explosive personalities combust into passion, sending Estelle’s plans to the edge of ruin. With James’s flimsy reputation in tatters, and the biggest event on the Foxbrooke calendar on the brink of collapse, will they realise their love is worth fighting for? Or are their hearts and hard work heading for the ultimate fall?

The Upper Crush is the latest instalment in Evie Alexander’s Foxbrooke series. Fans of enemies to lovers, workplace romances, forced proximity and small country town settings, with tons of spice, laugh out loud humour and ‘Britishness’ thrown in for good measure, you will adore The Upper Crush just as much as I did.

I’m a sucker for a good enemies to lovers romance and Evie Alexander writes this trope impeccably well. It was combined beautifully with the forced proximity and workplace romance tropes through Estelle and James being forced to work together organising a new music festival. They start to try and get under each other’s skin by pulling pranks and jokes on each other and this really made me laugh out loud, as did their witty (and very British – which I loved!) banter. The increasingly sexual tension between them was also SUPERB.

The Upper Crush is a couple hundred pages longer than the romance books I am typically drawn to but I just could not put it down so completely flew through the story. Evie Alexander has such an engaging writing style that puts you right into the Somerset countryside setting and the story was brilliantly paced.

Although this is the third instalment of the Foxbrooke series, with all the books set in the fictional Somerset village of Foxbrooke and the characters from the previous books featuring in minor supporting roles, the story also works well as a standalone story. The Upper Crush was my introduction to the series but it has made me desperate to sink my teeth into the earlier books, particularly An Unholy Affair to find out more about Eveline and Jack’s love story.

Estelle and James have sizzling chemistry from the very start of the story so it came as no shock when the spicy scenes practically set the page on fire they were so hot. Something I really like in a romance story is when we get to explore spicy scenes from the perspectives of both partners and this was done really well within The Upper Crush. James’ perspective - and in particular the way he described Estelle in those moments – was incredible. I also loved the amount of variety we had within the spicy scenes, including some solo scenes from both James and Estelle.

Alongside all of this incredible steam, there are some really romantic heartwarming moments which just made me melt. If your love language is gift giving you’ll particularly love this story.

Estelle was a strong, badass FMC. I loved the little insights we got into the internal conversations she was having with herself when she was trying to be stubborn and not fall for James. James was your typical charming alpha MMC who had a softer side that you gradually got to see as the novel progressed. As I hadn’t met him before, unlike other readers who had read the earlier books in the series, I didn’t have that pre-judgment of him going into the story and that did mean that I did fall in love with him quite early on, without him having to redeem himself too much.

The Upper Crush also has a fantastic cast of supporting characters who brought so much to the story, particularly both James and Estelle’s families. We have diverse family types represented in the story, particularly through Estelle’s three parents who are in a polyamorous relationship. There’s also lots of scenes with dogs; enough said.

Overall, The Upper Crush is a gorgeous spicy romance read. I’ve been absolutely hooked on Evie Alexander’s writing and the inhabitants of Foxbrooke and can’t wait to read more of the series.

Review: Fake It 'til You Make It by Laura Carter*

*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 Fake It 'til You Make It blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.

Title: Fake It 'til You Make It
Author: Laura Carter
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings: Cheating/Affair/Infidelity

Rating: ★★★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️ (Closed Door)

Can a fake date fix everything?

On a day Abbey thought would be the best of her life – her boyfriend is surely going to propose tonight, right? – it all falls apart: he tells her he’s met someone else. And then to make things worse, she loses her job.

In an act of reimagination, she splurges her wedding savings on renting an apartment in a building she’s always dreamed of living in and kits out her wardrobe to match.

But when her family invites her ex – a close family friend – plus a date(!!) to her parents’ vow renewal, Abbey realizes her façade won’t be enough. There’s nothing for it but to fake one more thing – a romance. And she knows exactly who to ask... her hot new neighbor...

A laugh-out-loud fake-dating rom com, with a chemistry you’ll be thinking about long after turning the last page. Perfect for fans of The Hating Game and Elena Armas

Fake It ‘til You Make It is the latest rom com from romance author Laura Carter. Fans of fake dating, mistaken/hidden identity and a good slow burn romance, this is the book for you! Add in a geeky cinnamon roll hero, a dual POV narrative and a family vow renewal and you’ve got Fake It ‘til You Make It, the perfect feel-good Spring romance read.

This was my first time reading anything from Laura Carter (although some of her other books have been on my TBR for a while!) and as a fake dating girlie through and through I was instantly hooked by the plot, particularly as the fake dating was partially to spite a cheating ex. Fellow fans of a good slow burn romance will also absolutely love this because this is a true extreme slow burn where, despite lots of almost-kisses, it takes them until the last 25% of the book to actually admit their feelings.

Our story is told through a present-tense, first-person dual-POV narrative, told by both Abbey and Ted. The dual-POV aspect worked so well within the story, as did the first-person narrative as it gave us a peek into Abbey and Ted’s inner thoughts. This was particularly impactful as the novel really focuses on the idea of you not needing to change yourself in order to be loved and although both Ted and Abbey initially feel the need to reinvent themselves in order to find a partner, through their inner monologues we got to gradually see them find their self confidence and learn to love their true selves.

On top of the fake dating plot, mistaken identity and miscommunication play a key role in the story as Abbey mistakes Ted for his professional athlete brother Mike and he then just doesn’t correct her and continues to dig himself a deeper mistaken identity hole. Abbey also hides part of her identity and they both get stuck in this big situation where their relationship is built on lies but their true identities, personalities and eventually feelings gradually start to seep through. I’ll put my hands up and admit that miscommunication and mistaken identity aren’t typically my favourite tropes by all means but there was something about the way they were written within Fake It ‘till You Make It that just really worked for me. I was hooked seeing how it would play out and found myself shouting aloud at the book on more occasions than I care to admit.

Abbey and Ted both had wonderful depth to their characters and their responses to their respective partners cheating on them was really well explored. They had great banter throughout the novel and their relationship felt really realistic. I do normally prefer to see a bit of spice as opposed to a closed-door romance but the closed-door aspect actually really worked here, particularly as the romance was such a slow burn.

I loved Ted with my whole heart. He was the cinnamon roll hero we’re all looking for in a romance story. I’ll even excuse the whole lying about his identity thing because he was a total sweetheart. The way he spoke about Abbey had me smiling from ear to ear and his POV chapters were my favourite in the plot. I also loved the little peeks we had into his relationship with his brother and would have loved to have seen that play out in person, but I appreciate the practical issues with that given that Ted had assumed his brother’s identity!

Abbey was a wonderful FMC. She was witty and a total girl boss for how she responded to her breakup. Spending your entire wedding savings on an expensive new apartment and treating yourself to a brand new wardrobe? THAT is how you respond to a partner’s infidelity. Through Abbey’s character, Fake It ‘till You Make It explores parental expectations and the idea of trying to please your parents and this was done really well. I loved her family dynamic and the role that played in the story.

Laura Carter also writes antagonists very well and I absolutely hated Andrew with a burning passion.

I would have liked the ending to have been explored in a little extra depth - perhaps through an epilogue - as I was craving opportunity to see more of Abbey and Ted once they were actually together. I really just didn’t feel ready to part with them once the book ended so would love the opportunity to return to their story in some capacity, perhaps through a story focusing one of the supporting characters. I also found that the mistaken identity plot was wrapped up a little too quickly and neatly for my liking. But it is testament to Laura Carter’s engaging writing style that I just wanted more.

If you are looking for a feel-good romance which is packed full of your favourite tropes whilst still being closed-door, you will love Fake It 'til You Make It.

Review: Oar Than Friends by Lulu Moore*

Title: Oar Than Friends
Author: Lulu Moore
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings: Death Of A Sibling

Rating: ★★★★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

She's rowing for Cambridge. He's rowing for Oxford. But they just can't keep one another at oar's length . . .

Arthur Osbourne-Cloud has his future mapped out for him – graduate Oxford and follow his dreadful father into politics. Except Arthur wants anything but that. He’d rather spend his days rowing for gold at the Olympics,.

And this year he has the Boat Race to win.

Kate Astley also has her future mapped out. Fly half-way across the world, and win a scholarship at Cambridge University to study medicine. Oh, and crew for the legendary Boat Race. Seems simple enough.

But then she meets Arthur.

For Arthur, this feisty American challenges everything he's been taught to believe, while Kate battles between what she's expected to do, and what she wants to do.

The bitter rivalry between their universities ought to destroy them. Or will it just be a matter of time before they surrender to the sizzling chemistry between them?

But In The Boat Race, there can only be one winner. Who will sink and who will swim?

Oar Than Friends is the latest sports romance from author Lulu Moore and the first instalment in her new Oxbridge series. It is the love story between Kate and Oz, two athletes competing for rival university rowing clubs, set against the backdrop of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.

I grew up around 30 miles from Cambridge so have followed the boat race for years and it was the perfect backdrop for a rivals to lovers sports romance. If you’re unfamiliar with the Boat Race, it’s a set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club which take place on the River Thames in London and has been an annual event since 1856. Lulu Moore nailed the blend between the story being focused on the romance but also including a good amount of rowing content leading up to race day.

If you’re a sucker for a romance story where he falls first and harder, you’ll absolutely love Arthur Osbourne-Cloud (or ‘Oz’ as he’s known). I very quickly fell in love with Oz’s charm and when he said he had known Kate for “fifty-six hours, and I’d thought about her for every single one” he awarded himself the award for my absolute favourite book boyfriend of 2024 so far. He was a swoon-worthy MMC and his nicknames for Kate and little romantic gestures throughout the story completely stole my heart. Hearing his girlfriend cry on the phone and instantly jumping in the car to drive two hours to see her? Now THAT is what we’re talking about! I was really rooting for Oz and Kate right from their brilliant meet cute scene until the end of the book; they were a brilliant match.

Our story is told through a dual POV narrative and I LOVE this in a romance story. Hearing the MMC’s POV adds something so special to the story, particularly when it’s a ‘he falls first and harder’ story, and this was perfectly illustrated by Oz who spoke about Kate in the sweetest way. Oar Than Friends does also have some fab open-door spicy scenes but these felt really realistic which I loved.

Kate was a brilliant strong FMC and it was great to see her grow in confidence as the novel progressed and begin to really advocate for her own needs and dreams. The loss of her elder brother was well explored, as was Oz’s difficult family dynamic.

Oar Than Friends also has a fantastic cast of supporting characters who brought so much to the story and I’m excited to potentially return to them later in the Oxbridge series.

In Kate and Oz we have an American FMC and a British MMC and I loved this dynamic. It does mean that we see Kate use American terms rather than British ones (e.g. dorm, campus) which could be a bit grating for a British reader but I didn’t really mind it at all.

Humour was woven into the story brilliantly and I particularly loved how British the humour was. Kate and Oz had brilliant banter and we had some fantastic flirty moments in the early stages of their relationship. I also loved the individual chapter titles and they often made me giggle.

Overall, Oar Than Friends is a fantastic rivals to lovers sports romance novel which is packed full of witty banter, charm and loveable characters.

Review: Tour Wars by Carla Luna*

*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 Tour Wars blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.

Title: Tour Wars
Author: Carla Luna
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings: Sexual Harassment, Parental Loss, References to Stalking, References to a Car Accident

Rating: ★★★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Ten days, two rivals, and a busload of tourists. How bad could it be?

For archaeologist Emilia Flores, landing a fellowship to work at the ancient ruins of Pompeii in Italy is a dream come true. The only catch? She’ll be digging alongside her infuriating nemesis, TJ Mayer, who’s been a constant thorn in her side.

TJ isn’t about to pass up the Pompeii project. Sure, he’ll be stuck working with Emilia, but he thrives on challenging her. And he hasn’t forgotten that secret kiss they shared at an archaeology conference last winter.

Though unearthing Pompeii’s treasures might be a dream, student debt is a nightmare that never takes a vacation. So, when TJ and Emilia are offered a lucrative side job to lead a ten-day tour through Southern Italy, they grudgingly agree to tackle it together.

Forced to set aside their animosity and work as a team, they forge an unexpected camaraderie. As the sparks between them ignite, their rivalry gives way to passion, making it easy to forget their years of fierce competition. But what happens when the tour ends and the real world steps in?

Tour Wars is a rivals-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine romance featuring a nerdy cinnamon roll hero, a strong-willed Latina heroine, and plenty of hotel hijinks.

Tour Wars is the latest instalment in Carla Luna’s Romancing The Ruins series. Fans of academic rivals to lovers, forced proximity and reverse x sunshine with lots of spicy hotel scenes thrown in for good measure and all set against a beautiful Italian southern backdrop, this is the book for you!

Emilia and TJ were fantastic protagonists and I loved seeing their relationship blossom from academic rivals to reluctant friends to something more. They had great banter and really bounced off each other well. This is quite a slow burn so you have a whole books worth of beautifully written sexual tension before anything spicy but it was definitely worth it! The spicy scenes felt really realistic too which is something I really look for in a romance book.

Emilia was a fantastic FMC. She was driven, passionate and fierce when she needed to be. TJ was the cinnamon roll MMC of absolute dreams and I fell completely in love with him. We saw wonderful growth in both of them as the story progressed and they spent more time together and this was lovely to see.

We also have lots of fantastic supporting characters through the rather quirky bunch of tour guests. I particularly loved the Golden Girls and the brief backstory they were given.

Carla Luna’s vivid descriptions transported you to the beautiful southern Italian setting and it was the perfect backdrop for a romance story. I loved the snippets of history that were included in the story and finding out more about archaeological work; the author’s passion for archaeology was clear throughout the novel. She has a really engaging writing style and the story was very well-paced. I was so hooked that I read the entire book in a single sitting.

Tour Wars provides an important commentary on sexual harassment in the workplace, particularly focusing on the experiences of women in male dominated fields. These scenes made my blood boil, particularly seeing another woman being complicit in the harassment, but it’s a really important topic that it was great to see represented within the book.

Although this is the third instalment of Carla Luna’s Romancing The Ruins series and the characters from the previous two books feature in minor supporting roles, this was my first time reading anything from Carla Luna and the story worked well as a standalone story. It has made me really keen to explore the other books in the series though, particularly as each book focuses on a different popular romance trope.

If you are looking for a feel-good romance packed full of your favourite tropes and a gorgeous European setting, look no further than Tour Wars.

Review: When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein*

Title: When Grumpy Met Sunshine
Author: Charlotte Stein
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings: Parental Abuse, Childhood Poverty, Parental Alcoholism, Fatphobia

Rating: ★★★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Finding love was not the only goal . . .

When grumpy ex-footballer Alfie Harding gets badgered into selling his memoirs, he knows he’s never going to be able to write them. He hates revealing a single thing about himself, is allergic to most emotions, and can't imagine doing a good job of putting pen to paper.

And so in walks curvy, cheery, cute-as-hell ghostwriter Mabel Willicker, who knows just how to sunshine and sass her way into getting every little detail out of Alfie. They banter and bicker their way to writing his life story, both of them sure they’ll never be anything other than at odds.

But after their business arrangement is mistaken for a budding romance, the pair have to pretend to be an item to satisfy a public ravenous for more of this Cinderella story. And now they have to decide: is their fake relationship all for show or something so real it might just give them their fairy-tale ending?

When Grumpy Met Sunshine is the latest novel from romance author Charlotte Stein and the (you guessed it!) grumpy x sunshine romance between grumpy retired footballer Alfie Harding and his sunshine-personified memoir ghostwriter Mabel Willicker.

This book is packed full of all of your favourite romance tropes. Our grumpy x sunshine pair end up in a fake-dating scenario after Mabel is caught by the paparazzi leaving Alfie’s house and this was really well executed. If you like the ‘Hates Everyone But You’ and ‘Touch Her and You Die’ tropes you will LOVE Alfie Harding as a swoon-worthy MMC who was fiercely protective over Mabel, even when they were ‘just friends’. BookTok is going to absolutely love this pair!

The narrative is packed full of witty-banter between Mabel and Alfie which had me laughing out loud. It did take me the first five chapters or so to settle into the story and get used to how fast paced the story was, particularly during conversations between Mabel and Alfie, but once I was there I was HOOKED.

This is a slow-burn romance but boy is it worth the wait. If you like a spicy romance with lots of sexual tension and great dirty talk, this is the book for you. I’d rate this as a 4 out of 5 on the spice scale as there are multiple open-door intimate scenes (and in a variety of locations – car and kitchen counter included!).

Mabel and Alfie were brilliant protagonists and their relationship felt really genuine, which is not always the case with celebrity romances. I love plus-size representation within romance books and Mabel was an absolute queen who was unapologetically her sunshine self. Alfie was a really complex character who I fell completely in love with. The chapters are interspersed with extracts from articles, social media posts and press interviews which add further detail to both our present-day story and Alfie’s backstory. It was really interesting to see how Alfie’s famous footballer public persona differed to his true self and this was well written. The shared childhood trauma Alfie and Mabel have was also well and respectfully written.

This book does have a HEA despite a third act breakup. I’m never a massive fan of third act breakups, especially ones linked to miscommunication, but it resolved itself well with a grand gesture that melted my heart.

Overall, When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a gorgeous romance read, perfect for reading around Valentines Day. I’ve been absolutely hooked on Charlotte Stein’s writing and can’t wait to read more of her books.

Review: Girl Abroad by Elle Kennedy*

Title: Girl Abroad
Author: Elle Kennedy
Genre: Romance

Trigger warnings: Absent Parent, Drugs

Rating: ★★★
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

When nineteen-year-old Abbey Bly gets the opportunity to study abroad for a year in London, it's the perfect chance to finally slip out from under the thumb of her beloved but overbearing retired rock star father. She's ready to be free, to discover herself - but first off, to meet the girls she's rooming with. That is, until she arrives at her gorgeous new flat to discover those roommates are actually all boys. Charming, funny, insufferably attractive boys. And off-limits, with a rule against fraternizing between housemates after unwanted drama with the previous girl.

Abbey has never considered herself a rulebreaker. But soon, she's lying to her father about her living situation and falling for not one, but two men she can't have: her rugby-player roommate and a broody musician with a girlfriend. Not to mention, her research for school has gotten her tangled in a deeply hidden scandal of a high nobility family, surrounding her in secrets on all sides.

If there's any hope of Abbey finding love, answers, or a future in London, she'll have to decide which rules - and hearts - might be worth breaking . . .

Girl Abroad is the latest romance novel from New York Times bestselling author Elle Kennedy. Our protagonist Abbey moves to London from Nashville for a year studying abroad, moving into the shared house she thinks she’s sharing with four female roommates who turn out to actually all be attractive guys. Abbey then finds herself in a love triangle with one housemate – despite a strict no flatcest rule – and one of their friends – despite him having a girlfriend.

This was my first time reading anything from the author but based on other reviews it appears this isn’t her usual style. The book largely read as a mature YA story with a few spicy scenes thrown in.

I tend to not actually go for the love-triangle trope but something about this book really intrigued me and the trope did end up working quite well, definitely supported by the focus on all three parties not expecting commitment. I was incredibly conflicted for the majority of the book as to which MMC I wanted Abbey to end up with but (being mindful of avoiding spoilers) she did end up making the right choice in my eyes.

I had a real love/hate relationship with Abbey as a protagonist. I liked the banter she had with her flatmates and particularly her relationship with Mr Baxley the librarian (who, aside from their demon pet cat, was my favourite character) but aside from this she felt like a largely two-dimensional character so it was at times difficult to see why she had half of England falling at her feet. Morally it was quite difficult to get on board with her too as she spent half of the book preaching that she wasn’t the kind of girl to steal another girl’s boyfriend but then went and did it anyway, using the technicality that nothing physical happened between them whilst he was still in a relationship.

It did also feel like all of the male characters were quite two dimensional also and based around stereotypes. Jack was a blonde, tanned, muscular Australian rugby player who spent more time shirtless than not, Jamie was a posh playboy and Nate was a free-sprit motorbike-driving musician. They did start to explore Jack and Nate’s characters on a deeper level as their relationships with Abbey blossomed but I would have liked this to have been developed even further. The character I was most disappointed with was Lee who was portrayed as your stereotypical 00s rom-com gay best friend when he had the potential to be so much more than that, had he been better written.

In terms of spice-level this is probably a low 3 out of 5. There are a couple of open-door spicier scenes which are largely well written, but the majority of potentially good spicy scenes, especially involving Jack, had a fade to black which was a shame. It was disappointing that there wasn’t more of an even split of spicy scenes between the two love interests.

I do, however, want to praise the positive portrayal of female pleasure that we have within one of the scenes between Abbey and Nate, one of the male love interests. During a spicier scene, Nate actually asks Abbey “what do you need to come?”, acknowledging that few women can climax from penetration alone and that most will require another form of stimulation. We love respectful lovers like Nate who prioritise their partners pleasure alongside their own and actually understand how the female body works! This was ruined slightly later in the scene when it felt like Abbey mocked him for saying this but this largely felt like a really important portrayal of female pleasure.

I was disappointed with the fact that it felt like the UK university experience hadn’t been very well researched at all, which feels like a fundamental flaw in a book about someone studying abroad in London. In Girl Abroad, Abbey starts her first semester in August when UK university academic years don’t actually start until at least mid-September. There were also language choices which were incorrect, such as use of ‘spring break’ which isn’t a thing in the UK, we have an Easter break. The idea of university students living in Notting Hill was also borderline ridiculous and implied that the author’s only understanding of British life comes from 90s and 00s British romcoms and the Taylor Swift song London Boy. There seemed to be few other references to British culture – aside from a few pub trips – so it just didn’t feel authentic to British student life which was disappointing and a real missed opportunity.

I did largely like the historical mystery element to the novel – as Abbey tries to uncover the identity of the woman in a mysterious painting she picked up at an estate sale, as part of her studies – and the way it mirrored the love triangle Abbey found herself in but at times it felt like it took away from the romance plot.

Overall, this was a largely enjoyable read it just lacked quite a lot of the substance I was craving. Those who want an easy romance read, especially fans of the love triangle trope, will like this book.

How To Build A Calming Morning Routine When Working from Home

When you work from home, and therefore don't have a morning commute, it's easy for the line between home and work to be blurred. The morning routine you may have had previously can be lost to the pressure to wake up and immediately sit down at your computer. But ultimately this really isn't good for our wellbeing.

Taking the time in the morning to have a solid morning routine will not only set you up for a more positive day - and therefore a more productive day - but it will also support your overall physical and mental health.

If your intention is to curate a gentle morning routine to ease into the day with, one that helps you feel calm, centred and ready to take on the day, then you've come to the right place. In this post I wanted to outline some of the steps you can take to make your morning routine more purposeful and centred around self care.

Wake up gently

One of the best ways to begin your morning in a calm and gentle way is with a sunrise alarm clock, such as the Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300. It begins brightening thirty minutes before your alarm is due to go off and gets brighter and brighter before the alarm sounds. This wakes you up gradually which personally I've found to work wonders on my anxiety levels. Being woken up suddenly can leave me feeling so anxious and panicky but a gradual wake up combats this.-

Let in daylight and fresh air

Light is something which is really powerful in supporting a calm and positive morning routine. Open your curtains as soon as possible and - weather permitting - open the window too to let some fresh air in. I try to open the window in my home office first thing to let the fresh air circulate whilst I'm completing the rest of my morning routine.

Start the day with a morning affirmation
Start the morning with a positive affirmation to set the tone for the day. Repeating a positive statement to yourself first thing in the morning can really help to cast away any negative thoughts and vibes you've woken up with. My affirmation can change dependent on my plans for the day but my favourite choices are "I am strong enough to throw anything today throws at me" and (quite simply) "today is going to be a good day".

Schedule in gentle movement

Finding time in the morning to squeeze in some easy movement can have a really positive impact on how you feel starting your day. I don't know about you but I will never be one of those girls who is able to wake up at 5am and hit the gym before work, but finding ten minutes or so in the morning to complete some gentle yoga and stretching is much more manageable.

Take the time to shower, get dressed and complete your skincare routine

Everyone who works from home has at some point been guilty of working from their pyjamas. I'll hold my hands up and admit that I was practically the president of this club until I starting making a targeted effort to get dressed everyday. But taking the time to shower, get dressed and complete your skincare and/or makeup routine will definitely help you to feel more ready to take on the working day. It also helps to define the work/life boundary that can be lost when you work from home.

Personally I have a specific dresser drawer dedicated to comfy working from home clothes. Matching loungewear sets are a fabulous way of achieving that comfy yet chic work from home look that'll leave you always camera ready for those out of the blue teams calls.

Eat a good breakfast

One of the benefits of working from home is that you can have a later breakfast if you're someone who needs to wait a few hours between waking up and having your first meal. But whenever you choose to eat it, it's important that you make having breakfast part of your everyday routine to really set you up for the day.

I'm not saying you need to rustle up a full English each and every morning before work by all means, but try to have something planned which you actually will want to wake up to. For me I'm quite partial to a bowl of the chocolate crunchy nut clusters or some porridge or a delicious bowl of yogurt and fruit. I know I perhaps should be advocating the most healthy breakfast choices going but I like to think that whatever makes you want to eat breakfast and fills you up for the morning is good enough.

Prepare for your working day

Although it's always tempting to jump straight into the working day, it's a good idea to take five minutes in the morning to set up your workstation to make sure it's as purposeful yet calming as possible. For me this includes setting up an essential oil diffuser (using a diffuser blend designed to enhance focus), ensuring I have a full bottle of water so I stay hydrated throughout the day, writing out my daily plan and to-do list and turning on some music. What I listen to in the morning is entirely mood dependent but I tend to go for something uplifting and positive.-

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What does your morning routine look like?

Review: The German Child by Catherine Hokin*

Title: The German Child
Author: Catherine Hokin
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings: War, Antisemitism, Bombs, Child Kidnap, Forced Child Adoption

Rating: ★★★

Berlin, 1944. ‘No! Not my child!’ Annaliese screams, her voice breaking as she pounds the window uselessly. But no-one looks up as the man in the SS uniform cradles her precious baby and strides away…

She lies unmoving on the threadbare cot, her throat hoarse from long hours of screaming but her tears keep falling. Her heart has been cleaved in two, now the Nazis have taken the only thing she has left – her child. She is utterly powerless against them. But as Annaliese cries herself to sleep, she makes a vow - she will find her precious baby again. Whatever it takes.

Berlin, 1979. Lawyer Evie has come to the city to investigate the horrifying stories of infants torn from their mothers during the war. One of the cases is Sebastian, whose yellowing birth certificate tells a heartbreaking tale. Evie is drawn to this lost man, and vows to do all that she can to help him.

But poring through old records, it is Evie who recognises the faded photo in a newspaper article. Her heart stops as she realises her whole life has been a devastating lie – and that her and Sebastian’s pasts are impossibly, unimaginably connected…

The German Child is the latest novel from historical fiction author Catherine Hokin.

The story is told through a dual-timeline narrative, switching between chapters set in the USA in 1979/80 and chapters set in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War Two (WW2). In 1979/80, we follow Washington-based lawyer Evie as she investigates the Nazi Lebensborn programme on behalf of the newly formed Office of Special Investigations (OSI). I do find the work of the OSI and the history surrounding the number of former Nazis and their collaborators who ended up in the United States after the war to be truly fascinating so it was great to see this explored through historical fiction. The chapters set in the 1940s then supplement the information we’ve learnt through Evie’s investigating, in particular exploring life in the Lebensborn homes and the work of the notorious Brown Sisters who searched through villages and towns in Nazi-occupied countries looking for Aryan-looking children to kidnap and place in the homes of loyal Nazis.

I want to split my review into two sections, one focusing on the 1979/1980 timeline and one focusing on the WW2 timeline as I have vastly different views on each one.

To start with I will discuss the WW2 timeline, which was by far my favourite part of the story. The history was clearly very well researched and the compelling writing really captures your emotions as a reader and takes you on a heart-wrenching journey. Catherine Hokin does writes antagonists incredibly well and the character of Helene was a truly vile piece of work who made my blood boil whenever she appeared. The opening chapters set in WW2 were really powerful and hooked me into the story so I was disappointed when this interest was lost as the story progressed, for reasons I’ll explore below.

Unfortunately, the 1979/1980 timeline really let the rest of the book down for me. The chapters were quite try and slowly paced and I found myself longing to be back in the WW2 timeline. Evie felt quite unlikeable as a protagonist unfortunately, and don’t get me started on her beyond infuriating behaviour when they visited East Germany. Within this part of the narrative, we have a blossoming romance between Evie and Sebastian and I will say that unfortunately this was not an aspect of the book I enjoyed. Their romance felt quite forced and out of place against the rest of the story which did mean that it at times felt like it was taking away from the rest of the narrative.

At the forefront of focus in this later timeline is a big ‘twist’ regarding the connection between Evie and Sebastian but I found this to be very predictable from very early on in the story, as were many of the other twists. I did find that having predicted it so early on meant that the shock factor which gripped other readers to the story just wasn’t there for me unfortunately. But I will say that based on other reviews I’ve read of The German Child I do seem to be in the minority here.

It felt a real shame that so much of the book focused on the 1979/1980 timeline as it would have been better to structure the book in a way which focused on the more interesting WW2 timeline with then supplementary chapters set in 1979/1980 as Evie completes her investigation. Focusing so heavily on the 1979/1980 timeline meant that certain aspects of the WW2 story also weren’t explored in the depth I was craving. This is particularly true with Annaliese’s story as, despite her being implied as a main character in the book synopsis and playing such a significant role in the plot, we do see very little from her.

It's been a while since I’ve read a book I’ve had such mixed feelings about and it has taken me a week or so to process my thoughts enough to determine a fitting star rating. I was incredibly torn as for me the WW2 timeline gave the book real 5* potential but the other chapters really tarnished this rating and reduced it to a 3* read.

That being said, I do think The German Child would be good for readers who like historical fiction but want something different to your typical Second World War fiction books and are interested in a read which is predominately set in the 1970s/80s.

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

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

Trigger warnings: Antisemitism, War, Guns, Suicide Attempt

Rating: ★★★★

The soldier looks her dead in the eye, his weapon raised. “You must leave now,” he warns. But this is her last chance to save her husband, and she won’t be silenced…

1943. Fleeing Germany had been Edith Falkenstein and her Jewish husband Julius’s last hope, selling their remaining precious possessions to make the gruelling journey. But to their horror, they are turned away at the Swiss border. Devastated, they return to the tiny Berlin apartment they share with other Jewish families, with its peeling wallpaper and bare kitchen cupboards. It is a world away from the heady glamour of their lives before.

Edith’s worst fears come true when Julius is brutally arrested and imprisoned alongside thousands of other Jewish men, destined for the camps. When she hears the news, Edith feels her heart crack wide open with unbearable grief.

But then she hears of women gathering outside the prison in their hundreds—wives and mothers from every walk of life whose relatives have also been taken. They are united by a single, desperate wish. She links arms with the woman next to her and takes up the chant.

Standing among these brave women offers Edith a flicker of hope. But can they really save their loved ones? And as Edith faces the lines of German soldiers with cold savagery in their eyes, will she pay the ultimate price for this small act of courage?

The Berlin Wife’s Resistance is the latest powerful historical fiction novel by Marion Kummerow and the third book in her ‘German Wives’ series. I read and reviewed the first two books in the series ‘The Berlin Wife’ and ‘The Berlin Wife’s Choice’ in 2023 and rated them very highly so was eagerly anticipating the release of The Berlin Wife’s Resistance and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

The Berlin Wife’s Resistance follows on directly from the end of The Berlin Wife’s Choice, opening in 1943 as Edith Falkenstein and her Jewish husband Julius try to flee Germany. Our story is told through a fantastic fast-paced narrative, covering a much shorter time period than the earlier two books but still packed full of action. Marion Kummerow perfectly portrays the constant state of fear the characters would have been living in and her captivating writing style immerses the reader into the story, capturing your emotions and leaving you on the edge of your seat.

The German Wives series is definitely a very history intensive series, with each book taking a deep dive into the time period and covering many key events in great depth. This is something which I really think sets Marion Kummerow’s work apart from other historical fiction authors as there really is so much history packed into each novel and it is all clearly meticulously researched.

The primary focus of the narrative is the Rosenstrasse Protest. This was a public demonstration in February and March 1943 where thousands of the non-Jewish wives and relatives of Jewish men and their half-Jewish children staged a nonviolent protest outside of the site where their loved ones were being held awaiting deportation. This mass public protest received national and international attention, resulting in German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels ordering the release of the prisoners and largely permitting ‘intermarried’ Jews to stay with their families. Although the Rosenstrasse Protest was a really significant event in 20^th century Germany history, as the only mass public demonstration against the deportation of Jews that took place in Nazi Germany and an indication of what could have happened if more public opposition to the Nazi regime had been voiced, it is not a topic I’ve seen covered in Second World War historical fiction before so this was fantastic.

One aspect of the book I really enjoyed was the blossoming relationship between David and Roxi, a young Roma woman introduced within this book. I would have liked this to have been explored in more depth, as we’re largely told about their romance retrospectively and in quite a brief way, but I’ll be interested to see how this is further developed in the next book in the series.

Overall, The Berlin’s Wife Resistance is yet another fantastic historical fiction novel from Marion Kummerow and a brilliant continuation of the German Wives series.

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')

Click here to read my review of the second book in Marion Kummerow's German Wives series 'The Berlin Wife's Choice'

Review: I Have to Save Them by Ellie Midwood*

Title: I Have To Save Them
Author: Ellie Midwood
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings: War, Antisemitism, Eugenics, Suicide, Suicide Attempts, Torture, Mental Health Hospitalisation, Child Death, Child Murder, Amputation, Genocide, Guns, Starvation

Rating: ★★★★★

Auschwitz, 1942: Her entire body trembles as she stands in the infirmary and realises the horrifying truth. She’s a nurse, but instead of saving her fellow inmates, she’s about to be ordered to kill them…

Surrounded by thick fog from the nearby forest, Orli stumbles from the cattle truck onto the frostbitten grounds of Auschwitz. Betrayed by her own husband for being a German resistance fighter, she has no one left in the world, and this is now her home.

Orli breathes a sign of relief when her nursing skills mean she’s assigned to work in the infirmary. Even in this hell on earth, she can still try to save some lives. But when she’s instructed to assist Dr Josef Mengele, she soon learns that he is known as The Angel of Death, and is the most feared man in Auschwitz. At his evil hands, thousands of inmates are cruelly killed and experimented on. And if Orli is to survive, she will have to help him. But how can she live with herself if she sentences her fellow inmates to death?

As she stares into his eyes, she soon realises her resistance work is not over. She has to stay and find a way to stop this monster—even if that means she will pay the ultimate price.

I Have To Save Them is the latest novel from historical fiction author Ellie Midwood and an emotional adaptation of the incredible true story of Orli Reichert-Wald. Orli was a political prisoner in Auschwitz-Birkenau and worked in the infirmary, using her senior position to help as many other prisoners as possible. In I Have To Save Them, Ellie Midwood has created a compelling and emotional story which really honours Orli’s legacy and will mean that her story stays with readers for a long time.

Ellie Midwood has a captivating writing style which fully immerses you into the story and makes it therefore difficult to put the book down. She is the queen of the Second World War historical fiction world so I was highly anticipating the release of I Have To Save Them and it only exceeded my (already high) expectations. The narrative perfectly captures the incredible courage and strength shown by Orli and the woman alongside her in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Their female friendships were brilliantly written and I loved that we were able to gain some insight into their lives after the war.

As with all of her books, in I Have To Save Them Ellie Midwood definitely doesn’t shy away from featuring the dark reality of the Holocaust and the Second World War. This creates a gut-wrenching and haunting narrative which takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster between sobbing, holding their breath in scenes of perfectly written tension and smiling at the incredible strength shown by the prisoners who never gave up despite the bleakness of their situation.

The narrative is incredibly well-paced, primarily spanning the period of 1942-1945. There is a dual-timeline element to the book with occasional chapters set in 1961/62 to show the lasting impact her experiences in Auschwitz-Birkenau had on Orli as she is now an in-patient in a psychiatric hospital. These chapters are interestingly written in second person, contrasting with the third person narrative we see from the rest of the book. I was hesitant when I saw that Ellie Midwood had made this unique choice when writing these chapters as writing fiction in second person is largely a hard thing to do well but it ended up being really impactful. Referring directly to the reader in this way made us take on the role of the psychiatrist treating Orli in the early 60s, forcing us to start thinking about the impossible decisions that we would make in her care, knowing the horrors she had experienced over the course of the book.

Due to the dark subject-matter, this story is really hard-hitting but an incredibly powerful read which will stay with the reader for a long time. As I take my responsibility for highlighting potentially triggering content within the books I am reviewing very seriously, I want to signpost you to the trigger warning list at the beginning of the review and also detail some of the particularly graphic content themes here. We do have depictions of suicide and suicide attempts starting in the prologue. There are also scenes depicting the horrific human experimentation conducted by Josef Mengele in Auschwitz-Birkenau, including experiments performed on child prisoners.

Overall, I Have To Save Them is a powerful and incredibly gripping piece of historical fiction which is a hard yet important must-read story.

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