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A Fresh Start on the Bridle Path by Margaret Amatt #Review #TheGlenbriarSeriesBook12

  We are back in the beautiful Scottish Highlands for Margaret Amatt's twelfth in her Glenbriar  Series, A Fresh Start on the Bridle Path. This latest  novel was published on 28th February by Leannan Press .   A missed path. A lost love. And a second chance to get it right.   James Charlton may be second-in-command at his father’s lucrative business, but, according to his parents, he’s just not ‘posh’ enough for the kind of woman they expect him to marry. When they decide he would be perfect for the horse-mad daughter of a local earl, James needs to up his game. First step, learn to ride… But James has never even sat on a horse before. Dagmar Ingenfeld’s life revolves around horses. She barely has room to breathe, running the stables on a country estate while desperately trying to help her mother save her cafĂ© from foreclosure. When a rich and handsome man from her past arrives back in her life, she wants him straight back out again. James Charlton is...

The Good Enough Mother by Anoushka Beazley **Blog Tour Giveaway **

Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour to celebrate The Good Enough Mother by Anoushka Beazley. If having read my review, you decide you'd like your own copy to read, there is a fantastic giveaway where 10 lucky people can win a signed copy of the book! Just follow the link at the end of this post.


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The Blurb


Gatlin - a leafy, affluent town: Chelsea tractors and ladies who lunch. However, all is not as it seems. Drea, a most unnatural mother, struggles to find private school fees for her step-daughter Ava after her boyfriend leaves her for another woman. Watching the yummy mummies she becomes inspired, hatching a daring and criminal plan...unleashing all hell in the quiet town of Gatlin. Can Drea survive the fallout and the wrath of the PTA? A satirical and hilarious black comedy about love, motherhood and the human condition.

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My Thoughts

    Once I had got the measure of the book and realised that, just as the blurb had promised, it was indeed a black comedy, I really enjoyed this read. Taking the plot with a pinch of salt, I learnt to suspend belief and take each point in the plot as it came.The humour in this book is what carries the reader along. Dry and sarcastic, the view of affluent Gatlin rings true as anyone who has driven through the leafy suburbs during the school run will testify.  Drea is an entertaining central figure but underneath, you realise that there is a lot of heartache which she is carrying with her in adulthood. Drea's view of herself as a mother is complex and leads you on to think about what makes a mother and what keeps a family together.

    Mental health issues are central to the story, with accounts of depression, suicidal thoughts and panic attacks. Drea gives us her inner thoughts in a straightforward and unselfconscious way and there is a great contrast between the humour of her observations and the inner feelings which she must have. Although there are some serious issues dealt with, the overall tone is never heavy or depressing. It is quite a feat to do this without the humour ever becoming jarring. 

In short: A book full of light and shade where dark issues lie beneath a humorous surface. 

The Author


 Anoushka Beazley has a film degree, an acting diploma and a masters in creative writing. She is a full time novelist, lives in North London with three little witches, a lawyer and a Maine Coon.

You can connect with Anoushka on Twitter
 Facebook  Goodreads and Instagram.  

Thanks to Jenny at Neverland Tours for a copy of the book and a place on the Blog Tour.
  

 Giveaway!

Would you like to win a signed copy of the book? There are ten lucky people who are going to do just that! Just follow the link below:

  a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

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