If Birds Fly Back by Carlie Sorosiak

In this book, Linny's sister Grace is missing. All Linny knows is she leapt from her bedroom window and hasn't been seen since.
Linny is a budding film student and we get to read scripted flashbacks between Linny and Grace to understand past events or potential fantasized scenarios. Linny has a passion for looking through old missing persons cases to try and work pout why Grace left.
Sebastian, whom has a passion for science, doesn't fit into his mum's new family, he feels a detachment as he doesn't know who his father is until his mum has a call which changes that. He heads out to a Miami care home where Alvaro has been spotted.

Alvaro Herrera, an old film writer but still very well known, has turned up after three years missing and is now living in a care home. Linny works there and Sebastian heads there to discover his father only to discover both of them.

Linny and Sebastian grow closer after realising they both know people who have been or still are missing. The two of them go on many little adventures in the book in order to piece together the history of what happened during Alvaro's missing years and embark on possibly piecing together clues to finding Grace too.

The friendships in this book show how everyone pulls together and how they grow closer and tighter together throughout trying to discover what happened to Grace. The book also deals with the feelings between family and when you come from a mixed family home setting with Sebastian's background in California.

This book was kindly sent to me to review by the publishers!

Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

For eighteen year old Alice, buying a lottery ticket for the first time she was shocked to hear just how much you could win, way, way up in the Millions.
Growing up since age nine with her cousin Leo's family after her parents passed away, Leo is like a brother and she looks out for him through all his boyfriend issues alike he looks out for her back with her college application and her huge crush on Teddy their other friend whom she buys the lottery ticket for as it's his eighteenth birthday.

The next day after the draw all their lives have changed and a kiss between Teddy and Alice keep us rooting for their budding romance.

Teddy does buy a lot and get swept up into the media spotlight and for a start, his gambling father reappears however Alice can spot trouble ahead after all the bad in hers and Teddy's pasts.

The novel was beautifully written and showed the good and bad of a young lottery win but proves that romance can hide itself well until situations reveal the real you to each other and you support each other through huge life changes.

It's heartwarming and a lovely read about the issues of gambling, luck, love and loss.

Many thanks to the publishers allowing me to review it for them!

I Have No Secrets by Penny Joelson

Jemma's fourteen and has cerebral palsy, all the children are adopted in their house and they all deal with separate issues such as autism and behavioral based problems too.

Ryan from their road was murdered, a teenager stabbed one night by an unidentified hooded figure.

Sarah her carer is seeing both horrible Dan and kind and caring Richard. Yet Dan is always turning up, wants Sarah to quit her job and whispered in Jemma's ear, he killed Ryan.

So for poor Jenna, who has also been hit by the fact she has a long lost twin Jodi to meet, dealing with going away to college, she now has a suspected murderer in her house and dating her carer!

Yet, the harsh reality is she can't tell anyone, Dan presumes as parts of her don't work or work right, nothing does in her like her mind. We witness that Jenna is a highly intelligent character and is very caring about those around her she loves.

This book is a read you can't put down, it's gripping and thrilling whilst also eye opening in a life with cerebral palsy.

Thank you to the publishers for allowing me to review this book!

Out Of Heart by Irfan Master

This book intrigued me from the start, for Adam's granddad has passed away leaving his heart as an organ donor.
Adam struggles with his feelings over his grandfather's passing but is strong for his mum, sister and extended family.
Then William lands on their doorstep, close to death and accepting of that fact, he feels connected to Adam and his family, which he is in a rather big way.
He has Adam's granddad's heart.
Him arriving causes friction before acceptance as well as Adam finally approaching his long term crush.

I really liked the fact that Adam relies on his drawing and graffiti as well as his sister also leaning on her sign language as she doesn't have anything right to say. William fits into the family and it shows how much we need each other.

The book tackles diversity, health and first love really well. It openly discusses feelings from all of these angles and how actions of the past can alter the future in such a huge way.
Thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Gilt Hollow by Lorie Langdon

Ashton has been stuck in prison for four years, he is now eighteen and being released from serving his manslaughter charge. His mum signed release papers but like the rest of his friends and family, didn't want to see him.

Willow is new to working in a coffee shop, yet an awkward scene occurs early on between her and a lady whose son, Daniel was killed by Willow's accused possible boyfriend Ashton.
At school she's best friends with Lisa, a new girl and mostly has her head in a book, she's super smart and wants to study biochemistry. She also testified Ashton was innocent at his trial as they had been friends for years, since she has suffered panic attacks and anxiety.

We also see Willow going on a few dates with Brayden who told her of Ashton's release originally to warn her. Ashton seems to accept that she needs to be happy and seems okay with her and Brayden as the book goes on initially.

There is also the factor that Willow keeps hearing creepy sounds and creaking around the house and woods which its seems her brother also hears too. Their mum doesn't believe them but it really freaks Willow and makes a lot of suspense and intrigue build up throughout the book.

It really keeps you guessing and especially to really find out what happened around the whole Daniel issue and how his death really occurred. Overall, it was a great book to read and especially when you read it at night as I did during this storm we have right now!

Thank you to the publishers for allowing me to review this book!

About Last Night... By Catherine Alliott

 

David dreamed of moving from London to live somewhere less hectic and so him and wife Molly moved to Herefordshire to indulge in country life, including living on a lovely farm.
However, Molly has the London townhouse left to her after David passes away and so is swayed to go back to her preferred good life she loved before as she has lived out in the country for five years so far with the children and farm to keep along with her money struggles and bailiff's.
So when and Uncle passes away leaving the townhouse supposedly empty Molly's mum tempts her to go and look at least which ensues into finding a strange man living there now.

I like how the book flashes back to how David and Molly were before he passed and how the true events surrounding their countryside move came about around the issue of a certain person they knew being involved. It was admirable hpow they stuck together for the children involved.

I truly loved all the elements to this book and how you think your life is sorted until someone causes it all to change. Molly was a likeable character who cares deeply about her children and didn't come across badly for how her past could've changed her. It's a great chick lit from Catherine yet again. Thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review it.

Paper Butterflies by Lisa Heathfield

At the start of this book, I was curious as to what was happening as our main character June pees herself on the school bus after drinking two cups of water given to her by Kathleen, who forbids her from going to the toilet. It becomes clear soon enough to us that her mum, Loretta drowned in the river by where she used to live with her mum and dad when she was younger.

As I read on through the book I found that the story was set between modern day and the events over the past few years of her life growing up from being ten to an elder teen. In the modern time, she meets Reverend Shaw and Mickey.

As the story continues, June receives a bike, her slip of freedom from Kathleen and her daughter Megan who submit June to a life of torturous abuse as well as force feeding, threatening behaviour most days just because of her race it is implied.

Whilst biking through the woods at a young eleven years old, she meets Blister, as she admires his paper shapes hanging up inside the family caravan, his parents Mr and Mrs Wick's and their array of adopted children. Their child Tom is also a sufferer of cystic fibrosis which comes up throughout the story.

June and Blister grow closer as the years go on and he is the only one who knows what her horrid home life is like. June can pretty much forget about the abuse when she's with Blister, but some events do of course trigger her to panic and have her memories effect her full force. A few brief events that occur are that at age thirteen June is bitten by snake, we witness step sister bully Megan lose best friend Anne. At fourteen June kisses Blister on his cheek as he made her paper butterflies. At fifteen the school bullying she has endured for years is still worsening as she and Blister try to go to a sixteenth birthday party after June gets a random invite which is a set up to embarrass June further in school. Blister and June endure a lot in this book as Blister is June's obvious only confidante in everything. But still a love grows which keeps June going through everything. As she grows up she faces situations at home with more guts and force but still her dad grows further away from her and unaware of the hidden problems poor June has faced.

This book is a great novel on discussing forms of trust, types of abuse, friendship, bullying and of course love.

Summerlypse by Gerardo Delgadillo

Colton likes Miranda, but she confides in him that she likes cheerleader Chloe before he has a chance to tell her how he feels.

To get away, Colton leaves town with his best friend Martin to go stay with Martin's grandma and meets Alex, a DJ who is deaf and upon meeting he mistakes for a boy, in a Mexican town.
There is a mystery around Sofi and her bodyguards as well as Alex needing a virtual stranger's help in the form of Colton.
Alex was in a horrific incident due to her dad's high powered business career, in which the bad guys killed her mum and left her deaf, she has a plan to restore her hearing with a special implant but she needs to raise the cash by winning a DJ contest first.
Colton gets taken to a secret meeting and comes face to face with Alex's dad whom forces him to help his daughter and offers a shocked Colton a gun, Car and phone on loan to enable him to help his daughter get treatment.

The book flowed really well and had some great numerous points made. I also enjoyed the Spanish words which were in the book as it made it more real to the setting being Mexico, they didn't just speak only English throughout. The relationships and emotions where truly believable and empathetic towards the situation they have found themselves in.

This book was kindly sent to me for review by the publisher's.

On The Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher

What a great novel from a great YouTube personality and west end actress Carrie Hope Fletcher! As a fan of Carrie's, thank you to the publishers allowing me to review her first novel and I have indeed previously read her debut All I know Now which was a book by Carrie about her life so far and the lessons learned.

Now, Evie Snow has ended up in a middle ground, back at her old flat, number 72 and aged just 27 again. She is still dead but stranded in a limbo between heaven and back to life.

With the help of her old friend Lieffe, who works the flats lift, she attempts to settle her past secrets to allow her to advance on to the other side.

Throughout the book we learn of strict parents with old fashioned ideas and tales of forbidden love as well as forced marriages. The ideas are both still old fashioned and yet still modern day problems which makes the book stand out as one of the best at challenging people's views who shall read this book.

There is a fairytale style to aspects of the book aside from the previous as there is an intriguing scene with a rather humongous cat and a messenger dove of which reminded me of Snow White and Alice In Wonderland by Disney and of course, Evie's surname is Snow as well as Vincent, her forbidden love's surname being Winters and alas both to do with the white, snowy season of the year.

Outside The Limelight by Terez Mertes Rose

Dena Lindgren is a petite dancer and three years younger than sister, Rebecca. Dena is asked to be a soloist but knows it'll hurt her sister as they both deal with their dad's divorce.

Now in their early twenties as the story flashes forwards in time, Dena has had a relationship with fellow dancer Nicholas, her best friends are Lana and Sylvie, her dad has remarried and Rebecca seems bitter towards her still at times as does her boyfriend, Boyd.

There's also the fact that she's having a battle with fatigue and dizziness and it's beginning to affect her performance. Pretty swiftly we discover the cause is a brain tumour and her dance teacher Anders suspected so secretly all along. As she undergoes hours of horrendous surgery, her sister and parents wait anxiously tension between them all after Rebecca tricked her father into telling her what was wrong with Dena and not allowing Dena time to inform everyone at the dance school as she passes on the news.

As Dena recovers, we watch her torment at not being allowed to perform again yet and watch as we find her sister in a love triangle of wanting to break up with Boyd, date Anders and not seeing how her college teacher of science, Misha feels towards her. Though, as the novel goes on Misha and Dene become close friends as she learns he left behind medical training to teach and he understands her emotional frustrations at how her body is back and forth with healing and then needing more procedures again.

Meanwhile, her sister goes through a rollercoaster of friendship and relationship problems although she does try more with Dena to repair the cracks in their rocky relationship. Especially with Rebecca being offered a bigger role and able to dance, whilst Dena is not able to at the standard the company takes people on for performance's.

The book is alike to Lurlene McDaniels books of which also tackle young love and medical problems combined and alike E4 show Stage School in the ballet setting. It's a very touching book and is actually the second in a series I have discovered of which both are available on Amazon to buy and read. I highly recommend you read them for yourselves but read them the right way round too, I'm sure going to read the first one too myself now after enjoying this one so much.

Thanks to the publishers allowing me to review this book for you!