It’s a real pleasure today to be joining the blog tour for Maybe Baby by Carol Thomas, and sharing my review. Published as an e-book by Ruby Fiction on 2nd April, the book is now available for kindle via Amazon in the UK and US, on all other major e-book platforms. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to join the tour, and to those lovely people at Ruby Fiction for providing me with an advance reading e-copy. This book is the sequel to The Purrfect Petsitter – that was one I just couldn’t fit in to my reading list, but I have noticed it’s out in paperback and audio on 6th August. Carol joined me here on Being Anne in May last year (you’ll find the post here), and you might remember too that I featured her as one of authors behind Apricot Plots (you can read again here).
Just when you thought you had it all worked out …
Best friends Lisa and Felicity think – maybe, just maybe – they finally have everything sorted out in their lives.
Lisa is in a happy relationship with her old flame, and busy mum Felicity has managed to reignite the passion with her husband, Pete after a romantic getaway.
But when Lisa walks in on a half-naked woman in her boyfriend’s flat and Felicity is left reeling from a shocking discovery, it becomes clear that life is nothing but full of surprises …
I’ll admit I wasn’t at all sure that this would be a book for me – I’m considerably older than its likely target audience (more granny Winnie than Lisa!), I wasn’t too sure about taking on a sequel, and then there was the mention of “busy mum” (and the inevitable children…). But how wrong can you be – I decided to give it a try, and found it an absolutely lovely read.
That has so much to do with the writing – there’s a real lightness and ease about it, a perfect balance between the gentle humour and the characters’ issues, and the dialogue is quite perfectly done and so very natural. There’s absolutely no need to worry about this being a sequel (although I did wish I’d read the earlier book, because I can tell I’d have enjoyed that one too): this one’s quite complete in itself, and it took no time at all for Lisa (and Felicity) to win my heart. That friendship is just wonderful – real warmth and support for each other – but I took equally as much to lovely Dom and Nathan.
There are children – Felicity’s large and unruly family – but (although they’re something I’d sometimes prefer to avoid) every one is a distinct little personality, and some of their antics and interventions are very funny indeed. There’s much humour from the pet-sitting too – from hard-to-handle rabbits to escapologist kittens Kit and Kaboodle. But there’s a lot more to this book than the laughs – there’s a really pleasing depth to the story too, as it delves into the real sadness in Lisa’s past and when it looks as if there might be a real threat to her future happiness too.
It’s a shorter book, and it was a delight to read it in a single sitting. I’m going to avoid telling you too much about the story lest I spoil it, but it certainly left me with a big smile on my face and a warm glow inside. Very much enjoyed this one!
About the author
Carol Thomas lives on the south coast of England with her husband, four children and lively young Labrador. She has been a playgroup supervisor and taught in primary schools for over fifteen years, before dedicating more of her time to writing. Carol is a regular volunteer at her local Cancer Research UK shop. She has a passion for reading, writing and people watching and can often be found loitering in local cafes working on her next book. Carol writes contemporary romance novels, with relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads.
Congrats on a fab article and review and much success in the future.
Thank you for the lovely review, Anne. I am so pleased you enjoyed Maybe Baby. x