Amanda James (1)

I discovered Amanda James when I read the amazing Summer in Tintagel a few years ago. Since then I have not hesitated to pick up more of her books as you are guaranteed a brilliant read with her suspenseful storylines set against a backdrop of dramatic and evocative Cornish scenery.

I wasn't sure where the story was going to go at first as we meet Anya who is being held against her will and forced to work as a prostitute. Enter DI Bryony Marshall who has been waiting years to take down Kenny show more Ransom, despite recently reconnecting with his daughter Imogen through Facebook. Bryony is shocked by what Imogen has to say but it makes her one step closer to putting Kenny Ransom away for good. The only trouble is, if Kenny finds out that Imogen has helped Bryony, both girls could be in danger as Kenny will be out for revenge.

I don't usually quote from books but I just have to share some of the exquisite prose from Rip Current. I absolutely adore the way that Amanda James has written about Bryony's concerns about meeting Imogen after so many years. We often look at our past through rose coloured spectacles and find that we have little in common with people from whom we were once inseparable. Just take a look at this magnificent sentence that says all of that using a weather analogy:

I worry that, once held to the light, scrutinised and poked, our sunny past will turn overcast, begin to rain, and I'll have no umbrella.

I did pick up a few other beautiful sentences but I know I will have missed some corkers as the pacing is so fast and the story so compelling that I found myself racing through the book.

I love how family features heavily in Amanda James' books, not always in a good way, of course...there are always some bad eggs. I couldn't help but draw a comparison between Bryony's father, a policeman who was killed on duty and Imogen's father, Kenny, who is cruel and ruthless. The stories of the two men appear separate at first but link very nicely as Amanda James has a few surprises up her sleeve.

Rip Current is as dark and disturbing as it is gripping and addictive. It's a non-stop enthralling thriller that turns the old proverb, 'blood is thicker than water', on its head.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. show less

The Garden of Memories by Amanda James is an uplifting story that revolves around themes of friendship and community, self-discovery and personal growth, new beginnings and the therapeutic power of nature.

Widowed after her husband Glen passed two years ago and with her daughter Bella busy with her own family, sixty-two-year-old Rose Lanyon is trying to figure out how to fill her days after retiring from her nursing career of forty years. Rose finds herself drawn to her garden, which used to show more be Glen’s pride and joy. As she begins to tend to her garden, she is comforted by happy memories and soon her garden begins to attract the attention of friends, neighbors and new acquaintances – among whom are her childhood friend Daisy, her former colleague Sally and her neighbor Flora, a retired schoolteacher - who share their own memories and/or knowledge of gardening with her. With Rose’s encouragement, they begin to participate in the care of the garden, planting flowers/decorating the garden in ways that they associate with their own significant memories. Soon, her “memory garden” becomes a sanctuary for those looking for friendship, solace, or a safe place to ponder over their own life difficulties.

As the narrative progresses, we follow the characters as they build a supportive community around their memory garden and how the same inspires them to effect positive changes in their lives.

The narrative, shared from multiple perspectives, is slower-paced yet immersive with characters you would want to root for - relatable and well thought out with backstories as distinctive as their personalities. The author addresses several important issues such as loneliness, addiction, dysfunctional family dynamics, infidelity, emotional abuse and mental health, among others, realistically and with compassion. I loved the vivid descriptions of the garden and the stories behind the personal connections between the characters and their favorite flowers. Full of heart and humor with a splash of romance, this is a beautifully penned, evocative story that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. I also must mention that I loved the cover art!

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK /One More Chapter for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. show less

I've become quite a fan of Amanda James over the years, since discovering the amazing Summer in Tintagel that was published in 2016. So I was eager to read her latest book, Another Mother - the title alone gave me shivers as I envisaged jealousy and manipulation of a woman caught between her two mothers, however, nothing could have prepared me for the book I was about to read...

Lucinda has an awful situation to deal with when her mother, Hannah, is killed in a road accident. Her grief brings show more to the fore something she has been considering for a while: the search for her birth mother. Although I can understand Lu wanting to fill that mother shaped hole in her life, I found it hard to empathise with her as I felt her timing was way off. It's not long before Lu leaves her grieving father in Sheffield and heads off to Cornwall to meet her birth mother, Mellyn.

What a character Amanda James has created in Mellyn! Mellyn seems desperate for Lu to call her 'Mum', despite knowing that the woman that Lu has called 'Mum' all her life has just died. Ok, so selfish springs to mind, but I thought 'like mother like daughter' with Lu appearing so intent on replacing her adopted Mum so quickly. It quickly comes to light that all is not as it seems when Lu often sees flashes of anger in Mellyn's stormy eyes and I was pleased that Lu seemed to be a bit wary and decided to keep Mellyn at arms length. It did feel like Lu had fallen down the rabbit hole and landed in the Mad Hatter's tea party as Mellyn is entirely BONKERS!

With Mellyn being such a volatile and unpredictable character, I was completely intrigued to see how this story would play out. I loved how Amanda James created a backstory for Lu so we could see how her character developed into the woman she is today. It resulted in me reading with my fingers crossed for a happy ending for Lu but you'll just have to read the book to find out whether she gets her happy ending or not.

Another Mother is an intense family drama that will get into your head and under your skin. It left me feeling quite emotionally wrung out with so many ups and downs and it is the quality of Amanda James' writing that evokes such emotion in the reader. A compelling read from start to finish.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. show less

This light-hearted time travel romance story is a sequel to the author's A Stitch in Time that I read back in 2020. The romance elements are more than I would normally be entirely comfortable with as a perhaps slightly jaded middle-aged man (!), but I do love a time travel story. I found the central character Sarah's constant impulsiveness and headstrong attitude increasingly irritating, though her husband John's over-protective attitude was also annoying, albeit more understandable after show more Sarah becomes pregnant with their twins. My favourite character was Veronica, though I also like John's dad Harry, who came across to me as probably the most rounded and believable character in the novel.
The time travel adventures were all within the mid to late 20th century this time and included: late 1939, just after the war starts; the punk era in 1979; 1955 Alabama the day of Rosa Parks's famous act of resistance that led to the bus boycott that started the civil rights movement; a devastating tornado in Kansas in 1955; the Southampton blitz of 1941; and back to 1966 for a brief interlude just before the World Cup final where John replaces Geoff Hurst's bootlaces with new ones! Overall, I thought the novel was probably somewhat too long and I was well ready for it to end, though overall still quite enjoyable. show less