This One Life by Amanda Prowse

This One Life by Amanda Prowse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 364

Publisher - Lake Union Publishing

Source - ARC

Blurb from Goodreads

She wants it all. But life has other plans…

After years of hard work, Madeleine’s life is very nearly perfect. She’s about to move to LA to pursue her dream job—and there’s a new man on the scene too. But when her mother falls ill, pulling her back to the world she’s tried so hard to leave behind, the repercussions of a life-changing decision Madeleine made seven years ago resurface, threatening to jeopardise everything she’s worked for.

Faced with the promise of her new life, and the pull of her old, she has to ask herself some tough was what she did then right for her family? How do you know when it’s okay to put yourself first? And what’s the cost of happiness?

Heartfelt, provocative and emotional, this is a gripping look at the choices women have to make, and whether we really can have it all…


My Review

Then and now, we meet Madeline, successful, driven, very particular about how she likes things, her home is pristine/perfect and her job is pretty much everything. When her mum takes unwell Madeline needs to go home and that means back to the place she spent her whole life wanting to escape from. We flip between present day and the past, getting to know Madeline, what makes her the way she is and seeing her struggle going back to her hometown, her past and things she would much rather forget.

Oh I think this may well be a marmite book for some because Madeline is the antithesis of what society expects she should be. Prowse has carved a character who if she was male, not too many eyebrows would be raised but because she is a female backs will absolutely be raised. She isn't the most likeable either, is it because she is selfish (because I think it is safe to say she is), driven, career focused, quite cold too. There is a moment, back in the then, between her and her friend and wow, I gasped out loud. Friends is family for me and ooft some of Madeline's choices and actions are shocking, again because we don't do certain things/cross certain lines/say certain things.

Madeline's family are so lovely, they don't have a lot financially and struggled a bit when she was growing up which is largely why she is the way she is. The contrast between to two timelines and Madeline's life to her life then and her parent's still living that way. Family, relationships and ambition are integral to the story, there are a lot of emotional moments and likely triggers because of some of the themes within the book. I know that is vague but to mention them would be spoilers and we don't do spoilers here.

I think if you grew up with financial difficulties the book might hit a wee bit differently to someone who has never had money worries or grew up in that type of environment. I also think how you respond to Madeline will again depend on how your financials were/are.

I really liked it, a lot of food for thought and although I did not like Madeline nor a lot of her choices, I get it. The book is a lot of actions/consequences and the ripples they can have not just on the person but everyone around them. I think the reason we like Prowse's stories so much is it lets you escape your life for a wee bit and delve into others. Whether you like the characters or not you become invested and encapsulated quickly even if the story starts as a slow burner, 4/5. Out to buy Jan 7th 2025.

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Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 250

Publisher -

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

“Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.”

So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who traveled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us. . . and so much more.

In an extraordinary story that only he could tell—and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it—Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he’s found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends, sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way. Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humor, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fueled it despite seemingly having it all.


My Review

I know Matthew Perry from Friends and maybe seen him in one or two others things, I loved and watched FRIENDS for a few series (until the Rachel/Joey thing but I have the boxset). I loved his character and obviously heard about his addictions in later years. The book is pretty brutal graphic and honest, he almost died and he goes into his multiple slips and battles with addiction. I also thought it was just alcohol until his passing and everything that transpired/came out.

If you have issues/triggers to do with substance abuse, self harm with substances, rehab stints, the steps towards sobriety etc. He catalogues it all and is very frank in it, it is so sad and quite heartbreaking. I think it also sheds a huge light on the whole someone can look like they have the world, fame, fortune, everything you could seemingly want and be struggling, have everything and nothing.

Lots of celebrity bits in it, his story from childhood, time on friends, things he did before and after, I was more than a bit shocked when he mentioned the loss/deaths of Heath Leger and River Phoenix yet Keanu Reaves walks amongst us (or something similar to that). Like there was no mention of Keanu before, no hint of issues they had and it was such a dark thing to put. I can only assume maybe he wrote that when in a dark place? Apparently he came out later after backlash and said he hadn't meant anything against Keanu or something and it wasn't personal, it was just so out of the blue.

I think the book is important for opening folks eyes to the battle with addiction and how much it can take from you. I felt so sad reading this and more so knowing he died because of drugs, more so because he mentions Ket in the book and how it was not for him (I think a bad experience, I can't mind now) and then for what happened, just so so sad.

He was also a bit of a Lothario, I didn't know that and he goes into reasons of why he was the way he was and some of his linked partners and romances. I feel for anyone with addictions, I think the book is really informative, emotive, shocking and eye opening on so many things, 4/5.

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Plague by Dean Koontz

Plague by Graham Masterton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 384

Publisher - Head of Zeus

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

-A horrifying story, a deadly prophecy

Oceans are infested, beaches turn black, cities reek with poisonous pollution. The entire eastern seaboard of the United States has been sealed off - all those attempting to flee the contaminated zones will be shot!

As men, women and children murder and loot in a world gone mad, one man and his daughters struggle to survive. The bond of love between them strengthens and grows as they fight desperately to keep their fragile hold on hope - and life.

Father and daughter - caught in a terrifying world ravaged by an unknown, virulent, super-plague. Will an antidote be found... in time?


My Review

Echoes of the stand and a crossover of Covid - despite this being written in the 1970s that is the vibes I was getting. A small child infected, potentially patient zero with what turns out to be highly infectious and huge kill rate. Set in America, kicking off in Miami, when the medics try to warn the government they of course know better and give faff and lip service to the media. By the time they actually pay attention it has spread far and wide, society as we know it has gone to pot and every man is for themselves.

Ooft guys this is a very very dark read and will have multiple triggers for folks to approach with caution. Like I read loads of horror, true crime, dark stuff (in amongst fluffy/light) but I was a bit like God this is rough. I think maybe because we went through (and even now) such a lackadaisical/selfish response/period when the pandemic hit and even now you still see people very me me and not caring about their fellow man. So I think that hit a bit hard for me. You have chaos as society falls apart, folk robbing the dead, lack of care for human life and then the degenerates who use/abuse people they come across. Like there are no morals (well some of the characters do) and there are episodes of abuse/desecration of bodies, SA so just go into it knowing it is dark/dark themes and quite brutal.

Koontz really does create very believable worlds/characters and shows the good and bad sides of humanity. I thought it was well written, kept you hooked with a mixed bag of characters but it was pretty dark, soulless and some will love how it wraps up, some not so much, 3.5/5.

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November Giveaway

Happy November beautiful people ❤️ November competition is now open, hurrah.

up for grabs is x1 £10 Amazon voucher. As the prize comes straight from Amazon it is UK only. Amazon won't let me gift outside my own country guys but we will get another comp up soon.

As always use the Rafflecopter below to enter, please only select entries you have completed. Good luck toots. xxx

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Fir by Sharon Gosling

Fir by Sharon Gosling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 384

Publisher - Stripes

Source - Gift from a friend

Blurb from Goodreads

We are the trees. We are the snow.

We are the winter.

We are the peace. We are the rage.

Cut off from civilization by the harsh winter of northern Sweden, the Stromberg family shelter in their old plantation house. There are figures lurking in the ancient pine forests and they’re closing in. With nothing but four walls between the Strombergs and the evil that’s outside, they watch and wait for the snows to melt.

But in the face of signs that there’s an even greater danger waiting to strike, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish reality from illusion. All they’ve got to do is stay sane and survive the winter…


My Review


Teenage girl is our main character/protagonist, uprooted from her home/friends/school to a place that almost gives The Shining vibes, a plantation house surrounded by old old trees. When the snow comes you are hemmed in, surrounded by trees and something unsettling and threatening in the woods. The house comes with Dorothea, a house keeper who is neither friendly nor seemingly happy. She herself is quite a threatening force merely by her presence and hostile attitude.

We the reader learn quickly that there is more to the surrounded woods and trees and it isn't long before the family, certainly the daughter picks up on the creepy/eerie vibes. As teenagers are, actually to be fair I think most of us are, drawn to the things left behind by previous occupants the wean starts to explore and nosey about. Clearly the house and forest has secrets, there is dangerous, threats abound and the family are none the wiser.

I think the atmosphere was brilliantly done, creepy throughout and you knew the danger was pending but not overly sure why, when or how. I think a lot was implied and the reader picking up on things as the story developed. I would have loved to get more of and about the housekeeper as she certainly has seen a lot over the years and been central to some of the happenings.

The creepy forest passages/chat was different and I liked how a lot was show not tell so your imagination got to go a bit wild. I did feel I was left wanting a fair bit though too and so so many questions. I think this would be a perfect tale when you are surrounded by snow and or visiting somewhere a bit isolated, that would drive the creep factor right up. This was my first time reading this author, I would read her again, 3.5/5 from us.

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