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Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle by Jaimie Admans #Review

  Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle by Jaimie Admans was published by Boldwood Books on September 9th. A Scottish castle, a fake marriage… and one very real Christmas romance?   After a window display goes disastrously viral – thanks to a malfunctioning animatronic Santa and an unfortunate encounter with Paddington Bear – Lula Haines finds herself without a job just weeks before Christmas. So she jumps at the chance to decorate Hollybrae Castle in Scotland for the holidays. There’s just one complication: her handsome new boss, Oliver Bracewell, needs a fake wife for the festive season. To secure a promotion that could save his family’s castle, Ollie has been pretending to be a married father-of-two to impress the family-focused firm where he works. Now his bosses are coming to stay at Hollybrae over Christmas… expecting to meet his non-existent wife and children. At first, playing along is easy as Lula is swept up in the magic of turning Hollybrae into the perfect f...
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The Last Act of Adam Campbell by Andy Jones #Review

The Last Act of Adam Campbell was published as an ebook on the 9th January, and the paperback will be published later on the 28th May 2020.

Adam has twelve months to fix his life, before his time runs out.

A year can go quickly. Particularly when it's your last.

Adam had a pretty good life: a job he enjoyed, a nice house, a loving partner and a bright energetic six-year-old daughter. Then he cheated on his partner. Then she kicked him out of their home. And then he was given approximately twelve months live.

Despite the devastating news, Adam is determined to turn his life around before it finally runs out. Help comes in the form of an ex-junky, a cantankerous train driver, a nun experiencing a crisis of faith, and a teenager intent on losing her virginity - all living on borrowed time, all desperate to feel alive before their time is up.

 This beautifully written and heart-warming book is perfect for fans of Nick Hornby and David Nicholls. 

My Thoughts

This was a thought provoking and emotional read which took me by surprise. There is an element of black humour behind the story as most of the characters are faced by their mortality and the subject matter could be a trigger for some people. The people Andy meets are a richly varied bunch who all have a story to tell. However, it is Andy himself who takes centre stage and his relationship with his daughter and ex-partner is poignant and touching. 

    The group decide to put on a play based on a mash -up of deaths from Shakespeare plays. There are plenty of emotional moments and you can't help but empathise with the feelings of lost opportunities which Adam has to face up to. There is plenty to think about regarding what matters in life and the effect of terminal disease on the wider family and friends. This is an honest look at life which is raw at times but a rewarding read. 

In short: An emotional but never downhearted look at mortality.
About the Author

  In one form or another, Andy has always been a writer. At school, he passed notes in class and scribbled rude words on lamp posts. At university, he wrote a PhD in biochemistry and forged tickets to various balls, and as an advertising copywriter, he has written adverts for everything from baby food to booze. But it wasn’t until he was well into his thirties that Andy started writing fiction. If he could write a letter to his younger self, it would urge him to stop messing about and get on with it. Andy lives in London with his wife and two little girls. Chances are, he’s writing something.

Find Andy on Twitter and Instagram, and on Facebook.


Thanks to the author and Jenny Platt of Hodder and Stoughton for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

Follow the rest of the tour! 



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