Lark Song

For some reason I couldn't open this on my Kindle but managed to read it on the Kindle App on my phone.

I only managed to read halfway and gave up on it. It is probably a very good book but just wasn't for me.

I'm afraid I didn't like this one. Very light despite the subject matter and it read like a YA novel which I'm sure it's not. The language is simplistic and cutesy at times with the name of the cat, the chapter headings and the parents trying to be cool. I'm afraid I found it very soapy and not for me.

Having never read anything by Jane Bailey before I was interested to see how I would get along. I really liked the idea of the story being told through the eyes of each character. There were some shocking twists and turns along the way. Found Reuben to be a real piece of work Sympathy went to his wife (Freya) and her daughter Sophie. The story did not just tell the one story it told you the life of each of the characters, and I loved that part of the book. The ending however, for me personally, was a little bit of an anticlimax, but, maybe there will be a follow up book

I really enjoyed this book. The climax was easy to guess but i still found it fascinating. Great read

Jack is plump, Sophie has no eyelashes, execution day. What? Yes, the thrills just start here.

Duncan helps a young stranger (Freya) who is soaked by an oncoming bus. They have coffee as she tells him that she has three children she needs to pick up from school. Sophie is 5, Jack is 11, and Will is 17. She is a widow-her husband died in an accident. Duncan is divorced and lives with his cat. They both leave with each other's coats. Freya fantasizes about Duncan and emails him. They agree to meet up, again. This leads to more dating as Duncan slowly becomes enthralled with Freya. A major obstacle for Duncan is that Freya continues to sing her late husband's praises, a bit too much. Freya invites Duncan to meet her family - he brings Sophie a stuffed crocodile and she goes bonkers. Why? Because her father died due to being eaten by a crocodile. Later, Freya learns that Will is gay. What she doesn't know is that Reuben (her late husband) has tried to talk Will out of saying he was gay.

Duncan suffers through a party from hell at Freya's in-laws, Will gets driving lessons and further tells Duncan that his dad would not let him major in Art.

Little by little the 3 children of Freya warm up to Duncan and eventually confide in him. Freya and Duncan eventually express their love for each other. As things unfold, Freya is forced into realizing that Reuben was a selfish person who looked out for himself.

Sophie innocently tells her teacher that there is a secret that no one can know. So, Social Services questions the little girl about Duncan. Sophie has seen her father "tupping" a girl called Matilda. The truth comes out and Duncan is exonerated. The five of them go on holiday to Italy. They see Reuben with Matilda, yet.! Sophie locks in when he says her name. Will is fit to be tied when his father says that he had amnesia. Yeah, right, Reuben. For some reason, Freya is angry at both Duncan and Reuben.

So as not to be a spoiler - Sophie goes missing because she needs to be listened to and she does NOT want her daddy to come back and live with her...

Things happen that you do not see coming! An lot of great detail and information unload. A great summer, or anytime read!!! Many thanks to Amazon (UK) and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this gem!

An affecting, beguiling, emotional and captivating read, Lark Song is an enthralling family drama that will get under your skin and keep you riveted from beginning to end.

Life as a widowed mother of three is anything but easy and nobody knows this better than Freya. Juggling the demands of three children with the daily challenges that life has to offer is no walk in the park and the last thing Freya is expecting is to find herself falling in love. But that looks set to change when she meets Duncan, the first man she has met in a long time who has made her feel alive again. However, moving on and leaving the past behind is not going to be so straightforward, especially when there are secrets, lies and deceptions cluttering up the family vault that threaten to destroy any chance they might have of their relationship flourishing…

Another major stumbling block for Freya and Duncan’s relationship is the disapproval and disdain their children are showing their fledgling romance. Their only cheerleader is six year old Sophie who helps Duncan to find a place in the family home and does not make him feel like a pariah. With memories and pictures of Freya’s husband and the children’s father dotted all around the house, getting everyone to accept the new man in Freya’s life starts to get harder and harder with each passing day. And if that wasn’t enough to contend with, young Sophie begins to harbour fears and anxieties that begin to trouble Freya and Duncan. Why is this little girl so worried and gripped by panic? What has happened to make her worry so much? Will Freya and Duncan manage to get to the bottom of what is troubling Sophie?

As Duncan begins to dip deeper into the mysteries of the family he hopes to be part of, he starts wondering whether Reuben was really the perfect husband and father everyone makes him out to be. As his investigation into this man’s life takes an obsessive turn, will Duncan end up jeopardising not just everything he has built up with Freya, but the family’s second chance at happiness?

Jane Bailey is a phenomenal talent who plumbs the depths of the human heart and soul with sensitivity, flair and compassion. Lark Song is cleverly written, densely plotted and wonderfully told and it is not only a perceptive exploration of the ties that bind, family secrets and the bonds that break, but an intriguing and gripping domestic mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Lark Song is a terrific novel full of wonderfully rendered characters, believable drama, searing emotion and nail-biting intrigue you will not be able to stop reading. With this book, Jane Bailey continue to affirm her position as one of the most gifted and talented writers writing today and I cannot wait to see what else this master storyteller has in store for us in the not too distant future.

Haven't read anything by this author before and found this an enjoyable of predictable read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the ARC.

An absolutely beautiful story that kept me wanting to turn those pages until I had finished it. Devoured it in one sitting. Would highly recommend this author's works.

An easy read. The story is a bit predictable. This is more of a young adult read. I would have liked more depth to the story and the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

When I first started reading this I felt like it was moving very slowly but about 1/3 of the way in I realized that this was a love story that needed to be told slowly. You'll come to love the characters, especially Duncan.. Anyone who has lost a spouse knows how difficult it is to move on and anyone who falls in love with that person knows how difficult it is to compete with a ghost. Freya wants to live again but her heart is holding her back. Duncan loves her and her children and want to move forward with them. When helping her clean the attic Duncan stumbles across something shocking! Freya's dead husband may not be what she believed he was. Should Duncan tell her? Will it destroy their relationship if he does? Will it hurt the children? About 1/3 of the way in, the book that I felt was moving so slowly, suddenly became "unputdownable" ! I think the ending sets it up for a sequel! I hope there is a book 2 that allows us to share the culmination of this complex relationship. I recommend this to lovers of adult romance with a little bit of mystery thrown in.

To be honest the story does start out a little slow but it's a love story that should be told slowly, like a slow burn. I love character development anyway.

The charactures were absolutely lovable. I've lost a spouse so I know how difficult it can be to move on. Anyone who falls in love with that widow(er) would know that it can be difficult to have to compete with the ghost of the deceased.

Freya wants to live again but her heart is holding her back. Duncan loves her, her children too. He wants to build a life with them as a family. However, when Duncan helps Freya clean out the attic he finds something surprising, in fact, it's shocking.
Freya's dead husband may not be who she believed he him to be.

Duncan is torn whether he should tell Freya what he's found or keep it secret. He worries that what he's found might ruin the relationship.

It's about this point in the book that the pace really starts to pick up.

Based on the ending I'm wondering and hoping the writer plans a sequel so we can learn more about these charactures.

If you're a fan of adult romances and enjoy a dash of mystery woven in then definitely give this a read!

Freya a widow with 3 children meets Duncan when a passing car drives through a puddle and drenches her, he acts like a gentleman and offers to take her to a cafe to dry out before she picks her children up from school. They start dating.

Loved it when Duncan gave Sophie a toy crocodile and she runs away crying as her dad was killed by a crocodile, that is classic and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud!!

This is beautifully written, funny and sad, about the children’s grief after losing their dad and trying to accept the fact that their mother is dating again. Mother in law Sylvia has a tongue on her that is sharper than a knife and twice as painful!!

Poor Duncan he seems like the perfect gentleman, kind, generous and really caring towards Freya’s children, but it’s hard when Reuben, Freya’s husband is made out to be some sort of modern day saint with his charity work. Duncan investigates and slowly reveals he may not be the saint they remember him as but as the saying goes “Don’t shoot the messenger”. This could ruin his chances of a happy ending with Freya.

Thoroughly loved this book and was totally absorbed with this lovely family and hoping they all have a happy ending!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

what an amazing book. Loved it from beginning to end
I loved the authors style of writing and will be looking for other books by this author.
I would recommend this book to friends and family

This book was added to my shelf without me requesting it. I have tried to have it removed so it doesn't count negatively towards my ratio however Netgalley say they can't do anything about it which means I will never reach 100%. I feel that this is unfair so I an leaving a review without reading the book. I will leave 5 stars so that I don't have a negative impact on the book's score but for anyone reading this I want to make clear that I haven't actually read the book. I have done this to save my ratio. I never requested the book, I never had any intention of reading it and I have tried everything to get it removed. This was a last resort.

As emotional of a read as I would have hoped for from the title and cover. Lark Song just gives off a very moody and emotionally driven feeling as a title. And in that way I wasn’t disappointed. The main characters, Freya and Duncan, were certainly like able enough to root for but maybe too stereotypical. This book fit well for me between chick lit and drama. However it wasn’t something that just greatly stood out to me, so a little forgettable for me.