A Summer To Remember by Victoria Connelly

Nina Elliot is tired of her life. She’s not sure how it happened but, somewhere along the way, she lost track of where it was all going. 

So one fateful day, she makes a brave decision: she’s going to leave it all behind. Taking a job deep in the English countryside, Nina does just that. Ensconced at the Old Mill, she settles into daily life with the Milton family, where she works as a researcher for author Dudley. 

With endless summer days stretching out ahead of her, Nina couldn’t be happier. But her quiet life is soon interrupted when the handsome Milton boys return home – for they plan to make sure this really is a summer to remember…

A Summer to Remember by Victoria Connelly is published by Avon Books on 5 June 2014.

This is Victoria Connelly's ninth novel. She has also written five books in the Austen Addicts series, and somehow, her books have passed me by before now.

A Summer to Remember is a perfect Summer read. Full of glorious sunshine, beautiful countryside, a rogue or two, and a couple of heroes - it was made for reading by the pool, or in the garden in the sunshine.

Nina has taken the plunge at last. Sick to death of being reduced to a hiccuping wreck by her boss and feeling totally unloved by her long term partner, she's given both of them the boot. She's not sure what she will do next, but whatever it is, it will be on her terms. She's going to leave the damp, dark flat she's currently renting too.

When Nina bumps into Olivia Milton at the local supermarket, it seems that her luck may be changing. Ten years ago Nina babysat Olivia's two youngest sons.  Dudley; Olivia's husband is writing a novel and is in dire need of a secretary. Nina always loved the Miltons, and their warm and welcoming home at the Old Mill. This really could be the answer to her prayers.

The long hot summer is ahead of Nina, she buckles down and starts trying to organise the chaos that is Dudley's study. She's also given the task of walking Ziggy; the Milton's untrained, totally bonkers Labradoodle - dealing with Dudley's fierce temper is easy compared to trying to keep Ziggy under control.

And then there are the two Milton boys. Now grown into handsome men; Dominic and Alex compete for Nina's attention, confusing her and making her wonder whether she ought to leave.

There are some great characters in A Summer to Remember. I love Dudley and his tentative experiments with the world wide web. There's Freya, the gardener, who yearns for a glance or a kind word from Dominic. Arrogant Alex, and dreamy Dominic, and Nina herself - wonderfully formed, realistic, but a little bit daft now and again.

Oh, and Justin ........... who is Justin?   Read it and see, I'm saying no more!

A really easy to read, happy, summery novel. Full of fun and joyful characters. There's no great passion, just a gentle, but well put together romance in a setting that will make you yearn for long summer days and sultry evenings.

My thanks to Olivia Wilson who sent my copy on behalf of the publisher.

Victoria Connelly was brought up in Norfolk and studied English literature at Worcester University before becoming a teacher in North Yorkshire. 
After getting married in a medieval castle and living in London for eleven years, she moved to rural Suffolk with her artist husband and ever-increasing family of animals. She has had three novels published in Germany – the first of which was made into a film. 

To find out more about Victoria Connelly please visit www.victoriaconnelly.com and her Facebook page    
Follow her on Twitter @VictoriaDarcy

Cold Steal by Quentin Bates

A successful housebreaker who leaves no traces and no clues as he strips Reykjavík homes of their valuables has been a thorn in the police's side for months. 

But when one night the thief breaks into the wrong house, he finds himself caught in a trap as the stakes are raised far beyond anything he could have imagined. 

Gunnhildur Gísladóttir of the Reykjavík police finds herself frustrated at every turn as she searches for a victim who has vanished from the scene of the crime, and wonders if it could be linked to the murders of two businessmen with dubious reputations that her bosses are warning her to keep clear of.

Cold Steal by Quentin Bates was published by Constable & Robinson on 1 May 2014.  Cold Steal is the fourth in the Officer Gunnhilder series, I reviewed the previous three books here on Random Things; Frozen Out - January 2011; Cold Comfort - April 2012 and Chilled To The Bone - April 2013.

Officer Gunnhilder Gisladottir, or Gunna as she is affectionately known, finds herself in the midst of yet another murder mystery.  A businessman has been shot dead, and Gunna must investigate his affairs. In doing that she also has to track down a very successful and as yet, unidentified housebreaker who has been on the Police radar for some time now.

Quentin Bates has yet again delivered a complex, well-written story that is as intriguing as it is exciting. Gunna's character develops more with each new episode of her story, and the reader learns more about her and her family, as well as following her through an incredibly difficult case. I like Gunna as a heroine. She's down-to-earth, sometimes very funny, intelligent and witty. She has a family problems and she has a difficult job, but she's always real. 

I was particularly interested in the inclusion of characters from Iceland's immigrant population, giving a different take on life in the country as they have to deal with language and culture that is not their own.

This is an intelligently written, complex thriller. Gritty and violent at times and of course those almost impossible to read and pronounce Icelandic names that have become a trademark of this series.

My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review.

Although born in the UK in 1962, through a series of coincidences Quentin Bates found himself working in Iceland in his gap year. The gap year then became 10 years, during which time he managed to get himself married, produce a family, and generally go native in Iceland. The family then moved back to the UK in 1990 where Quentin became a full-time journalist on a commercial fishing magazine. Frozen Assets was born through the author's own inside knowledge of Iceland and its society, along with exploring the world of crime. He and his (Icelandic) wife frequently return to Iceland, where they have many friends, including several in the Reykjavik police. 

For more information visit his website at www.graskeggur.com or his Facebook page
Follow him on Twitter @graskeggur

Twin Truths by Shelan Rodger

Jenny and Pippa are twins. 

Like many twins they often know what the other is thinking. They complete each other. When one of them disappears, the woman who is left behind must rebuild her life alone as she tries to find out what happened to her soul mate.

Her journey of discovery takes her to Argentina, Brazil, Greece and the UK. The truths she discovers about herself, her sister, their mother and their absent father are profound and deeply shocking ...

Twin Truths by Shelan Rodger is published by Cutting Edge Press in June 2014.

Truths. What is the truth? How do you know if the story you are being told is the truth? Maybe the person who is telling the story thinks it is the truth. Maybe they know that it isn't.

The reader meets Jenny, one of a pair of identical twins, in Argentina where she teaches English. Jenny tells many variations of the truth, depending on who she is talking to, and how much she wants to shock them. Jenny is in therapy, we are not sure why at first, and we certainly don't know if she is telling the truth. She soon ensures that her therapist becomes part of her life in a way that he never intended, but like most people around Jenny, he seems to fall for her stories.

Something bad happened to Jenny, something bad that involved her twin Pippa and when we meet Pippa, we hear her truth. Identical twins, but identical truths? Wait and see!

That's all I can say about the characters and the plot, any more and I'd tell too much.  Twin Truths is a complex, challenging and at times, difficult read. It is a story that examines relationships, devastation, loss and connections, it explores the bond between siblings and most importantly, between twins. That seemingly unbreakable connection that threads itself through everything that these women do.

Shelan Rodger is an author who conjures up evocative pictures with very few words, but each word is carefully chosen to form passages that are quite beautiful.

Twin Truths is a novel that will divide readers. It's difficult, yet satisfying.  A novel that sort of wraps itself around you and doesn't let go until the very last word.

A huge thanks to Hatty from Cutting Edge Press who sent my copy for review.

Shelan's life is a patchwork of different cultures. Born in Nigeria, she grew up among the Tiwi, an aboriginal community in Australia, and moved to England at the age of eleven.
After graduating in Modern Languages from Oxford, she travelled to Argentina, where she spent nine years teaching and setting up a language school. 
Another chapter in England was followed by six years in Kenya, where she got involved in learning and development, with an emphasis on anti-discrimination. 
She now lives in Spain, working in international education - and writing.
Follow her on Twitter @ShelanRodger

The Extra Ordinary Life of Frank Derrick, Age 81 by J B Morrison

Frank Derrick is eighty-one. And he's just been run over by a milk float. 

It was tough enough to fill the hours of the day when he was active. But now he's broken his arm and fractured his foot, it looks set to be a very long few weeks ahead. Frank lives with his cat Bill (which made more sense before Ben died) in the typically British town of Fullwind-on-Sea. He watches DVDs, spends his money frivolously at the local charity shop and desperately tries to avoid cold callers continually knocking on his door. 

Then a breath of fresh air comes into his life in the form of Kelly Christmas, home help. With her little blue car and appalling parking, her cheerful resilience and ability to laugh at his jokes, Kelly changes Frank's extra ordinary life. She reminds him that there is a world beyond the four walls of his flat and that adventures, however small, come to people of all ages. 

Frank and Kelly's story is sad and funny, moving, familiar, uplifting. It is a small and perfect look at a life neither remarkable nor disastrous, but completely extraordinary nonetheless. 

The Extra Ordinary Life of Frank Derrick, Aged 81 by J B Morrison is published by Pan Macmillan on 5 June 2014.

A first floor flat with possibly the only steps in the village. Tinned spaghetti, junk mail, cold-callers, charity shop pens and a cat called Bill. Those are the things that make up Frank's life. He does venture out; to Fullwind Food & Wine,  where he stocks up on spaghetti and cat food, the local charity shop to add to his collection of china animals and  DVDs, and on the bus to the big Sainsburys. Frank never actually gets as far as Sainsburys though, he gets off at Greyflick House and visits his friend; ex punk and star of the picture postcard Smelly John.

Frank is a widower, his wife Sheila died some time ago. His only daughter, Beth, lives in America with her husband and daughter. Frank's days are long, starting when he hears the first plane of the morning fly over the village, and ending as darkness falls again. Frank doesn't do much during the day, although he makes sure that he know what the date is.

A nasty incident with a milk float leaves Frank in need of a little extra care. Despite his determination that no 'Robin Williams in a dress' is going to start giving him a bath, his world is soon turned upside down by Kelly Christmas.  Kelly has a very straight fringe, is unable to park her little blue car and somehow gets herself right under his skin. In fact Frank doesn't know what he's going to do when he's better, and Kelly will no longer visit. And so, Frank embarks on a scheme to raise the funds to pay Kelly himself.

The Extra Ordinary Life of Frank Derrick, Aged 81 had me laughing out loud so many times. It's one of those books with some great one-liners and I found myself reading these out to my husband all the way through the book. The novel raises some really interesting questions and also reminded me of things that I've often pondered myself. Why do we assume that everyone in a retirement home wants to listen to 1940s sing-a-long songs? Will we suddenly stop listening to the music we love as middle-aged people and turn to the music of our own grandparents?  As someone who has been to see both The Who and Black Sabbath, live in concert this year, and looked around the audience, and noted the age of the majority of the fans; I'm hoping that I'll spend my retirement years still blasting out a bit of AC/DC and some old-school punk.

Frank's story is not only very funny, it's touching and warm too. J B Morrison has a way with words that draws the reader in so completely, and Frank becomes the centre of your world. With characters that are perfectly formed, such as the wonderful Smelly John, and the obnoxious Albert Flowers, this is a moving and uplifting tale that made me laugh and also made me feel a little sad.

The cover blurb compares this to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, unlike most people, I really didn't like Harold Fry. I found it overly sweet and a little too 'moral' for me. Give me Frank Derrick any day - he's really more my kind of guy.


Huge thanks to Pan Macmillan who sent my copy for review.


Born in London ages ago to his two parents, Frank and Jenny, J.B. Morrison is a musician and already the author of two novels -Storage Stories and Driving Jarvis Ham. Goodnight Jim Bob is an autobiographical account of his ten years as singer with punk-pop band Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine. That was when he was called Jim Bob. Like in The Waltons. With Carter USM Jim Bob had 14 top 40 singles and a number one album. He played all over the world, headlined Glastonbury and was sued by The Rolling Stones. He’s also made a ton of solo albums and written the screenplay for a film. Plus he was in a musical, in 2010 at the Edinburgh Fringe. Is there no end to his talents? Yes. Everything not mentioned here. Don't ask him to put up a shelf or cook you dinner. The shelf will fall off the wall and you won't like the food. J.B. Morrison has just finished his third novel.

For more information about the author, visit the website www.jim-bob.co.uk
On Twitter @mrjimbob   and   @Mr JBMorrison

Lincolnshire Foods ~ King's Garden Gourmet Kitchen

One of the best things about living in Lincolnshire is the food.   Lincolnshire has been voted the UK's Foodie Capital  and it's not just all about sausages!

From cheese, to award-winning pork products, Lincolnshire has it all. The local council do a great job in promoting the county's food producers too, producing a magazine and  dedicated websites Love Food Lincs and Select Lincolnshire.

Members of Love Food Lincs are awarded the Select Lincolnshire badge, and if you see that logo on any
products, or in a local cafe or restaurant you can be sure that you are going to get some great quality food.

Last week, I received a box of samples from King's Garden Gourmet Kitchen, based in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

King's Garden produce a versatile range of dressings and marinades. The range can be used for dipping, glazing, stir frying, roasting .....  the possibilities are endless.   The products can be traced right back to the seed (all the main ingredients are sourced within 10 miles, from local farmers).  King's Garden have a strong relationship with the farm shops and delis/cafes that sell their range - they are not just a business, they really are foodies who care.

Each product is hand made and hand bottled without a preservative or additive in sight, they even hand zest the oranges!

Their products are vibrant, versatile and free from colourings, flavourings and preservatives. Products have a 12 month shelf life and is best stored in an ambient temperature.
Not only do these taste fabulous, but they are healthier and safer too. High in omega 3, 6 & 9, vitamin E, and containing half the saturated fat of other oils, plus it can be used up to 220 degrees C, so really safe to cook with.

Just a few ideas of how to use the products:

• salad dressing
• stir frying
• glazing
• dipping
• cooking sauce 
• marinade

There are eight different flavours to try; Original, Caraway, Chilli, Garlic, Lemon, Orange & Ginger, Raspberry & Mint, Balsamic.   The Orange & Ginger flavour was the winner of a Great Taste Award in 2013.

New to King's Garden this is a range of nut free and dairy free Pesto sauces; Original, Garlic and Chilli.

Over the past few days, I've been trying out these really lovely products, and they really are so versatile. I especially enjoyed the Balsamic as a salad dressing and used the Lemon as a glaze for my chicken souvlaki - they are delicious.  Subtle, not overpowering at all, and add an extra zing to the dishes.

The Balsamic is a 10 year old oak aged Modena vinegar with no added caramel (unlike the majority of Balsamic dressings). This keeps the product the original dark colour and gives an amazing taste.  The Balsamic has been entered into the Great Taste Awards 2014 - good luck!

The Lemon is very summery and fresh and bursts lemon flavour.  It's really well balanced with a gentle flavour.

I was really impressed by the Pesto too, it's so fresh and colourful looking, and unlike some bottled Pesto it's thick and not in the least watery.  I made a really simple dish with the Garlic Pesto.  I roasted some veggies, then put some of the Pesto underneath the skin of chicken leg pieces, popped them on top of the vegetables and roasted them all together - and for a little extra flavour I drizzled some of the garlic marinade over the chicken as it cooked.   It was just delicious.  

All of the Pestos are nut free, cheese free and rennet free, making them suitable for vegetarians and anyone who has a nut or dairy allergy.  I don't think there is another Pesto that is free from both.  The Garlic Pesto is not overpowering at all, and again this one has been entered into the 2014 Great Taste Award - it really deserves to win!

I'm so looking forward to trying out the rest of my samples.  If my first experiments are anything to go by, I'm in for a real treat.

A few ideas that I have up my sleeve for the products are:

• Garlic - marinade chicken, cook, slice and wrap with a salad
• Chilli - glaze sausages and grill
• Original - mix with cous cous
• Lemon - with salad and fish
• Orange & Ginger - pour over gammon and grill, or stir fry pork
• Caraway - pour over vegetables and roast
• Raspberry & Mint - with roast lamb
• Balsamic - glaze a salmon fillet

The whole range is stocked countrywide, not just in Lincolnshire - lucky you!   

Check out the King's Garden website at www.saladsandmore.co to find out more about the products and where you can buy them locally.

King's Garden also have a Facebook page, and you can follow them on Twitter @KingsGardenInfo

Soldiers' Wives by Fiona Field

This page-turning soap opera interweaves the stories of three women trying to get to grips with military life. 

Chrissie, orphaned young, finds solace in her career as a medic in the regiment, but will love for a married man prove her undoing? 

Maddy, a brilliant Oxford graduate, is bogged down with a fretful baby and a super-ambitious officer husband. Will she be able to stand life as a regimental wife? 

And Jenna - glamorous, bad girl Jenna, who doesn't believe in rules and regulations. Will she destroy her husband's career? Or will it destroy her?

Soldiers'Wives by Fiona Field is published by Head of Zeus in paperback on 22 May 2014.

Three women, very different women, who find themselvs flung together because of the Army. Each of these women play their own individual role in Soldiers' Wives; a story that reveals the intricacies of living in a military community.

Chrissie is dedicated to her career in the Army, she's training to be a medic and takes it very seriously. Determined to stay fit and active, and to be a success, she tries her best to fight her feelings for a man who is really out of bounds.

Maddy is struggling.  Struggling with life in a new posting, with a new baby, and with the expectations that come from being married to an officer. Maddy really feels as though her own life and career have been forgotten, are of no relevance and no importance and that her main role is to be the model, supportive officer's wife.

And finally; Jenna.  Jenna has her own agenda. She refuses to conform to expectations, she is strong-willed and determined, but can't see the danger that lies ahead.

Soldiers' Wives is an easy to read, often funny and very human look at life on the patch. The author spent time in the Army herself, was married to a soldier and her son has served in Afghanistan. Her inside knowledge shines through in her writing, creating a totally believable and intriguing insight into what Army life is like for the women who serve, or are there because of marriage.

The three characters are cleverly created, with each of them giving a different perspective of the often stifling and claustrophobic way of life. Whilst the story centres around the military life, the three lead women clearly still have worries, concerns and feelings that every wife, mother and lover has, whether in the military or not, and it is this that makes the book so accessible to all readers. Despite the use of Army slang, Solidiers' Wives is a story with themes that are familiar to all.

Well paced, great characters, some fabulous dialogue; Soldiers' Wives is an enjoyable read. The author brings the camp to life.

My thanks to Becky from Head of Zeus who sent my copy for review.

Fiona Field joined the army at eighteen, married a bomb disposal expert at twenty-one and then, at twenty-six, got thrown out for getting pregnant.
Her youngest child is a soldier just returned from Afghanistan.
She began writing a column for army wives magazine and is now a full time novelist.
Follow her on Twitter @fiona_field

For more information about Head of Zeus, visit the website www.headofzeus.com
Follow on Twitter @HoZ_Books

The Unwitting by Ellen Feldman

In The Unwitting betrayal comes in many forms.

At the height of the Cold War, words are weapons and secrecy reigns. These are challenging times to be a writer and a wife, as Nell Benjamin knows only too well.

One bright November day in 1963, the dazzling young president arrives in Texas and Nell receives a phonecall that overturns the world as she knows it. In the shocking aftermath, whilst America mourns, Nell must come to terms with both a tragedy and a betrayal that shatters every illusion of the man she thought she knew better than anyone else.

Resonant, illuminating and utterly absorbing, The Unwitting is about the lies we tell, the secrets we keep and the power of both truth and love.

The Unwitting by Ellen Feldman was published in the UK on 8 May 2014 by Picador (Pan Macmillan).

Set during the Cold War of the 1950s and 60s; The Unwitting is the story of Charlie and Nell Benjamin, both are successful in their respective careers. Charlie is a magazine publisher, and Nell is a writer.

The story opens on the day that President John F Kennedy is assassinated whilst visiting Dallas, this tragic event shocked the world, but for Nell it changed everything. Her world is shattered by the betrayal that she uncovers. She believed in her marriage, in her husband. She thought she knew everything about him, and about their life.

The story skips back to the time when Nell and Charlie met and fell in love. They are both complex characters, a little out of the ordinary, with strong beliefs that keep their relationship vibrant. Along with their numerous friends and associates, they find themselves caught up in the paranoia and moral questions that make up the Cold War. McCarthyism, JFK, protest marches and questionable media reports are examined in detail within the story, the research is impeccable and the attention to detail can be challenging at times, but portrays the tensions of those times perfectly.

The Unwitting appears to be a curious title for a novel, but it soon becomes clear that there are many who were unwitting during these times, and so the title becomes as clever as the rest of the story.

There is a delicacy about Ellen Feldman's writing that is quite intriguing, the focus of the story is politically charged world-changing events, yet the overwhelming feeling is that of the love story, of the personal betrayals and the incredible hurt.

An evocative and compelling read from an author who writes beautifully and creates characters who the reader can believe it.

My thanks to Francesca from Pan Macmillan who sent my copy for review.



Ellen Feldman, a 2009 Guggenheim Fellow, is the author of The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank, Scottsboro, which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction, and Next To Love.

She lives in New York City with her husband.

For more information about the author, visit her website www.ellenfeldman.com