It had been a while since I read a Lucy Diamond book and was surprised how her writing has evolved. The style has an element of maturity and depth I did not see in her previous books and I loved it.
This book is heaving with characters and it took me a while to get used to who was who but the story is one of imperfect families, secrets and family bonds.

Frankies mother dies, one last note from her reveals Frankie’s paternal side of the family, the Mortimer’s, a family that she was not aware of. Frankie sets herself on a quest to get to know her father and his family, but this does not have the desired effect and the Mortimer family dynamics begin to fall apart. Will the Mortimer family get over this shocking news? Will Frankie finally be reunited with her paternal side of the family?

I was lucky enough to be given a copy of this book from Netgalley and Macmillan publishers. As a big Lucy Diamond fan I was really excited to see this book and knew that I had to get my hands on a copy asap. Unfortunately I was disappointed. The premises of the book, the plot and the characters were great; but altogether it just didn’t work. There was far too much going on and I found myself confused with regards to who was who and what was happening. I also found that within chapters the scenes would change to different characters which was just too much to take in. I feel like this book would be brilliant in short stories or as completely different novels. I really enjoyed the story of Bunny and feel like this alone would have been great. I do really love Lucy Diamond and her books, and I’m all for books packed with drama but I felt like this went too far and I just did not enjoy it.

This enjoyable family saga is my final (and if I'm correct, 102nd!) read of 2018.

An easy, fairly light read that brings together the various strands of a family's lives. There are some great characters, and without giving away the plot, various problems and dilemmas to face and overcome.

Perhaps there will be further episodes about this family?

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for my honest review.

This book is like sitting down with a lovely cup of tea. It isn't gripping nor particularly thrilling, but pleasant and pleasurable to read. . There are a lot of characters which at times I found difficult to keep up with, however the characters are interesting well written. The storyline is simply about life and it's ups and downs. . And how we deal with its trials and tribulations.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, a real family oriented story about how much one past mistake can impact on multiple lives

I really enjoyed this book. This was my first Lucy Diamond and won’t be my last. The basic premise is Frankie finds a letter from her deceased mother revealing ego her father is. Frankie goes to visit him and accidentally walks in to her fathers 50th Wedding Anniversary party and to the family who know nothing about her. Each of her four siblings ar3 struggling with their own family issues as well. Each chapter is written from one of the characters POV.
A thoroughly enjoyable read.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for an ARC.
#NetGalley #SomethingToTellYou

There's something special about a book that manages to bring together a family of very different characters, each with their own issues, secrets and vulnerabilities, and makes you understand and sympathise with each character. This story nails it perfectly.
I found a lot of it achingly familiar and so well written; the bonds of love and support despite the dramas that weave across the book is endearing and absorbing.
This novel is an uplifting read that is very much worth investing in for the New Year.

To start with this book feels a bit overwhelming, there are a large number of characters, and the narrative swaps between focusing on a large number of the leading ladies at relatively quick intervals, so until I had worked out who was who and how they all fitted I was lost. In fairness I started this while on a long haul flight and was exhausted, so it may not be just the book that led to me feeling disjointed as I read this!

This is a book that explores family relationships, and proves that there is no such thing as a normal family any more.

Frankie never met her father, but when she discovers who he is, she decided to rock up in person, just a shame she had bad timing and it was Harry and Jeannie's Wedding Anniversary being celebrated that weekend.

This leaves the heads of the Mortimer clan, at odds and ends, and Jeannie is especially unhappy.

Meanwhile we get to know well other key women in this family dynamic too - Robyn who is married to John (one of Frankie's half brothers), Bunny who is going out with Dave (another of the siblings) and Paula (the half-sister). We also get to know Alison, Robyn's mother too.

All of the ladies have big struggles in their lives - John is hiding things from Robyn, Bunny has a huge secret she has been hiding, Alison really needs to shake up her life, as all she does is work and watch TV, and Frankie, well there is a blast from the past for Craig her other half, and it really shakes them up too.

There is conflict, secrets, lies, drama but also the good things about families too. There are some amusing parts to this book and some more serious moments.

I really enjoyed the variety of women that were featured, as well as learning about their families. I didn't really have a favourite character, but apart from John who I really disliked, and Julia I didn't hate many either. They are relateable too, especially if you have a large family and odds are you will recognise relatives within them.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I’ve read so many Lucy Diamond books and have loved them all, so was excited to have the opportunity to read her newest release! The description of the book sounded just so perfect and the book cover instantly drew me in, so bright and colourful in amongst all the doom and gloom of these cold winter months!

The story begins with Frankie, who has just found out who her father is following the death of her mother. When she travels from her home in London to York, she unknowingly gate-crashes her father’s wedding anniversary party. Harry Mortimer had no idea that she ever existed, but knew instantly that she was his daughter. As this sets off repercussions for Harry’s wife and his four other children, the book continues to tell theirs and Frankie’s stories.

I thought this was an absolutely lovely book! It is told from the points of view of each of the characters, and whilst there are a lot of characters, this didn’t appear confusing at all for me. Each character was so different from the next, and they were all going through their own personal problems, which had me hooked into their individual stories. The book also moves on a fairly fast pace, so you were never kept with one particular character for too long before moving onto the next part of the story for the next character.

The characters were all so intriguing with their own different back story, and the one I probably felt more empathy for was Bunny, with her storyline being the hardest one to read. Robyn, Paula and Frankie were probably the most down to earth characters, with all of them being the kind of people you would want know well. Jeanie, Harry’s wife, had to be my favourite character though. Having to put up with the humiliation of not only knowing her husband had an affair but that he had another daughter, Jeanie did probably exactly the same that I would have done, with her head held high and her dignity intact!

A wonderful story of family, relationships, betrayals, lies and secrets! It had me hooked and I flew through the pages, reading it at every opportunity. Would definitely recommend.

A brilliant novel which was my first from this author. Being part of step family this book is truthful as well as fun. It certainly gives a different perspective to 21st century family life. Whilst there is some moving around within chapters Lucy does this seamlessly so it’s really easy to follow each character and there are several. Each character is believable and it’s so easy to love or hate each one! I could easily imagine having coffee with several of the female leads. So I’m excited to recommend this book as I finish 2018 and look forward to reading more in 2019. Thanks Lucy Diamind and NetGalley.

A lovely story about family interaction
After Frankies mother died she found a letter from her telling her who her biological father is.
Determined to find him she can have no idea it has on both her father who did not know she existed or his family.
The story follows the fall out from her actions and who different members deal with the consequences.
Light hearted good feel read.

I have been a massive fan of Lucy’s books for a while so when I seen ‘Something to tell you’ for request on Netgalley I just had to request a copy. I had my fingers crossed I would be approved to read it and I was! Back when the cover of this book was revealed I fell in love with it. It’s bright and just draws you in from the beginning.

At first there are so many different characters to read about so it got a little confusing for me but as I read on I got used to each character more. I got 11% through and I found myself very amused (Go Jeanie!!) also by this point I didn’t want to put it down. Every single character has such a different personality. I love how strong willed Jeanie is, how brave Bunny is and how Frankie deals with her current family situation with Craig and Fergus. I really feel for Robyn and the situation she is in with her husband John. You end up willing for her to come out of this in a positive way. You will have to read the book to find out!

It is also brilliant to see how each character’s situation changes them as people and as a family. I love how Frankie deals with her family drama (you will see she has a lot on her plate!) she fights for what is right and she has courage.

You kind of come up with each character’s endings in your mind then you are surprised (I was!) when I got to the end of the book. I really enjoyed seeing different characters personalities evolve throughout the story, for example Robyn’s mother Alison.

Whilst reading ‘Something to tell you’ I found myself experiencing all sorts of emotions at different parts - sadness, happiness, amusement and empowerment. I wish I could go into way more detail with this review but that would involve spoilers!

Overall I absolutely loved ‘Something to tell you’ it has you hooked from beginning to end and I wish I could have read this in one sitting. It left me wanting to know more about each character’s future. It was an emotional, dramatic, uplifting feel good story. I give ‘Something to tell you’ a very deserving 5*/5* :)

Beautifully and wonderfully written book.
It’s a book that you can just sit and read with a cup of tea.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for my eARC of this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review

An absolutely beautiful read! Made me so happy reading this. Great characters! A great book to relax with. Fantastic!

What a lovely read, some wonderful characters that were easy to get to know, a great story that I just wanted to keep reading and not put down, a story about family and all that brings, loved it

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review.
I will be very honest, when I saw the email promoting this novel I was initially intrigued as it is set fairly local to me and I do quite like reading novels that are set in areas I am familiar with.

I feel like this has a lot of potential, I would have liked to have seen the letter left for Frankie as it essentially throws us in at Frankie on her way up to York.

I do normally enjoy books with multiple character POV's but I found it hard keeping track of who's POV I was reading from- especially when it would switch mid chapter without warning.

Paula may have been my favourite member of the Mortimer clan, I can't say I enjoyed her POV- as I mentioned it was a little difficult to note when the POV had switched.

As for secondary characters, I found myself very interested in Robyn and her mother.

I think one main theme throughout this novel is finding yourself, each character is facing their own problems yet they all manage to come out having learned something about themselves.

I did like the ending- it had almost come full circle from where we first met the Mortimers- the only thing I didn't like was the random time skip months ahead without letting the reader know that some time had passed.

This was definitely an interesting read- I liked the concept, but as I said at the beginning, the main thing that puts me off is the random POV switching.

I think this is the kind of novel you could read on a plane journey or lounging by the pool.

Thank you to netgalley.co.uk for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had heard a lot of good things about Lucy Diamond, so when I saw this book available, I had to try it out, and I'm glad that I did. However, when I started the book, I must admit the different characters made it confusing as there are about five of them. It took a while for something exciting to happen, but when it did about halfway through the book, I found myself glued to the book. However, I was still left disappointed as the book felt rushed as if Diamond tried to cram so much information into an already overflowing book.

I really liked the look of this book as I enjoy family stories where there are twists such as unknown children, parentage issues etc. Having been adopted myself, I feel I can relate in some ways . However, this book was a bit confusing. The initial chapter, where she crashed the family party would have been better at the end or middle once we had established the characters and their back stories.
. There were too many strands and I kept getting confused as to who was who. If it had focused on one or two scenarios. Say Frankie and the return of the 'Mum' and the unravelling of the long past affair of Harry's, then is would have been easier to follow.
It's an easy read with some likeable characters but a bit too busy with separate strands for me.

It's been a while since I read a book by Lucy Diamond - she used to be on my must read list and I'm not sure why she fell off. I suspect it is the fact I commute via car rather than train - my train buddy colleagues and I used to always swap books and I suspect a colleague was an avid fan. 

I did enjoy this book - the characters were well constructed and the scenario at the heart of the story plausible. There were a few incredible coincidences, which is par for the course in this genre. They didn't annoy me - I just noticed them. Nothing more. 

There were some serious takes on family and relationships, how different generations dealt with similar betrayals. The impact of domestic abuse and mental health. Broken families, blended families, parental abandonment. But none of these issues detract from the story being one of family. And who knows what secrets the perfect family is hiding...

An 8/10 for fans of chick lit. 

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review (through netgalley).

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

Everyone has secrets, and everyone in the Mortimer family certainly does! When Frankie's mum dies, she's left a letter revealing the identity of her father, Harry Mortimer. The only problem is Harry didn't know of Frankie's existence, and had kept his affair with her mother secret from his wife and oldest daughter and sons. The story focuses on the women in the family, his wife, daughter and daughters-in-law, all of whom are either hiding something or having crises of their own.

I warmed to all the characters, though due to there being quite a few I did take a while to work out who was who! The book took a while to warm up but as it went on, I got in to it and enjoyed the family drama unfolding!

A nice, easy read!