Kate Harrison (1) (1968–)

When I was Tracey Mortimer, the whole year group belonged to me. Kids gossiping on the bus would say, 'Guess what happened in Tracey's year . . .' Once a teacher told my Mum, 'we're all hoping that Tracey's year is a bit of a hiccup. Half the staff-room would retire tomorrow if we thought this was the way children were going to be from now on.'

Now that she is in her thirties, unhappily married with two children and no friends, life is very different for Tracey Brown. She volunteers for a show more television show that involves organising a school reunion and slowly comes to realise why her schooldays were the happiest days of her life, and how badly her behaviour affected some of her fellow pupils. I liked the slow blossoming of the friendship between Tracey and Boris (whose real name is Helen), the first of her classmates to be tracked down. At first Tracey is just relieved that someone else is interested in the reunion even if it isn't someone she was close to at school, but she gradually realises that Boris has other qualities apart from being good-natured; she has a strong character, is much more competent than Tracey and people actually like her. It is only towards the end that you realise why Boris too needed to find a new friend at that particular time. A quick and entertaining read, skilfully written so that you come to feel sympathy for an initially unlikeable anti-heroine. show less

My sincere thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read Owner of a Lonely Heart and give my unbiased opinion of it in the following review.

Owner of a Lonely Heart by Eva Carter is told from three different perspectives. Gemma is a young widow who is preparing for IVF with embryos she and her husband had frozen before he got sick and died of cancer. She also volunteers along with her dog Bear at a children's hospital that works show more with young cancer patients. It is near the hospital that she meets Dan who is on the way to meet his 12 year old daughter Casey for the first time as she undergoes treatment for a brain tumor. Casey is determined to meet her father, spunky, and deals daily with her germ obsessed mother. If these characters don't sound complicated enough, throw in an instant attraction between Gemma and Dan along with them not telling some important truths to each other. Dan has quite a few things he is hiding from both Gemma and Casey that we learn about in snippets.

While I found parts of this book a little slow going, I was drawn into it by the characters. I wanted to see them come out on the other side stronger and walking together into a happier future. My favorite part of the book was watching Dan and Casey build their relationship. The writing was very good and we are given a deep look into each of the three narrators thought processes as they cope with their feelings. I couldn't help but keep reading. 4 stars show less

(03 July 2013 – gift from my friend, Verity)

This was one of a pair of books my friend Verity kindly sent to me back in July. She said she’d enjoyed it, and it looked to be based around exercise, so that’ll do me! Steph, Darcy and Vicki attend a boot camp in the countryside (one that promises – but spectacularly fails to deliver – luxury alongside the sweating and lycra) for very different reasons. What will they learn about themselves, their reasons for being there and the two show more ex-Army chaps running the fitness side of things? And will the snow that’s threatened trap them there forever?

Well-written and funny, there’s a range of different characters, with different voices, and although romance is present, it’s not the sole focus of the book. Different topics, for example Afghanistan, are skilfully woven into the story without being gratuitous or jarring, and the men are written as well as the women, and there is a satisfying and believable amount of information about the exercise regime. Funny and heart-warming, and I would read more by this author.

Releasing via BookCrossing with my friend's permission. show less

A story that focused on the lives of three people over a long time period. I wanted to find out how their stories turned out, but I confess, I like a tighter story line. This one extended over 18 years. Many parts of the story line seemed unlikely to me, but it held my interest.