Easter Giveaway: 'The Dead Wife's Handbook' by Hannah Beckerman

It's Easter and those nice people at Amazon have reduced the price of both the Kindle version and the beautiful paperback of Hannah Beckerman's amazing read 'The Dead Wife's Handbook' (click here to read my review)! 

So to celebrate, we're combining the two things we all love the best - books and chocolate - in a great Easter giveaway.

Just purchase a copy of The Dead Wife's Handbook on either Kindle (£2.62) or in paperback (£3.49), tweet a proof of purchase to @hannahbeckerman on Twitter, and you could win this wonderful Hotel Chocolat Easter Bunny that will be delivered DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR (UK only).

What are you waiting for?! 

To buy the paperback version, click here! 

To buy the Kindle version, click here!

Good luck!

Playlist: 'The Dead Wife's Handbook' by Hannah Beckerman

Several weeks ago I reviewed Hannah Beckerman's amazing novel 'The Dead Wife's Handbook'; click here to read my review. The book is a truly wonderful and gripping read and I'm really excited to welcome Hannah to the blog today. She has put together a playlist with songs that play a specific role in 'The Dead Wife's Handbook' and I am sure readers of the book will thoroughly enjoy this musical journey!    

You’re Nobody Til Somebody Loves You - Dean Martin (Rachel and Max’s first dance at 

their wedding)

Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite - The Spaniels (the song Rachel used to sing Ellie at 

bedtime)

Disco 2000 - Pulp (playing at the beginning of Max’s 40th birthday party)

Like A Virgin - Madonna (playing at Max’s birthday party)

Never Forget - Take That (Max’s favourite song, playing at his 40th birthday party)

When Eve and Max first meet, they discuss their favourite teenage bands. These are just 

some of their favourite tracks:

She’s Electric - Oasis 

Parklife - Blur

It’s Tricky - Run-D.M.C

(You Gotta) Fight for your Right (to Party) - The Beastie Boys

And, just in case you want to know what song Max and Rachel first danced to at their 

friends’ wedding the night they met:

Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher - Jackie Wilson 

Thanks so much for putting together this playlist, Hannah! 

Be sure to order your own copy of 'The Dead Wife's Handbook' on Amazon now by clicking here!

Review: 'The Dead Wife's Handbook' by Hannah Beckerman (2014)

'Today is my death anniversary. A year ago today I was still alive.'
Rachel, Max and their daughter Ellie had the perfect life - until the night Rachel's heart stopped beating.
Now Max and Ellie are doing their best to adapt to life without Rachel, and just as her family can't forget her, Rachel can't quite let go of them either. Caught in a place between worlds, Rachel watches helplessly as she begins to fade from their lives. And when Max is persuaded by family and friends to start dating again, Rachel starts to understand that dying was just the beginning of her problems.
As Rachel grieves for the life she's lost and the life she'll never lead, she learns that sometimes the thing that breaks your heart might be the very thing you hope for.
‘The Dead Wife’s Handbook’ was one of those books everyone seemed to be talking about prior to its release on the 13th of February. I have to admit, I was straight away intrigued by the title and the blurb of the novel and was really excited when I was lucky enough to receive a review copy before the official release date (thanks so much, Hannah!). As an avid chick lit reader with a clear preference for happy endings, I was curious to discover what I would eventually think of this particular read because the topic of death and loss is something I try to avoid, if I’m completely honest. However, it is of course a part of life you cannot ignore, no matter how hard you might try, and I was interested to see what Hannah Beckerman had made of it and whether this book would live up to the hype that had been created around it during the past few months. 
Rachel had it all, until her heart unexpectedly stopped beating and she had no other choice but to leave behind her loving husband Max and beautiful daughter Ellie to fend for themselves. It has now been a year since Rachel passed away, and she is somehow still stuck somewhere between life and a possible afterlife. She is still able to watch occasional fragments of what is going on in the lives of Max and Ellie, but she has no control whatsoever over the things she is allowed to see and there is absolutely no way for her to get involved or show any sign of her presence. Rachel is forced to find a way to deal with the fact that Max might fall in love with someone else and Elsie growing up and overcoming hurdles in her life without her mum by her side. One thing quickly becomes clear: life moves on, it has to, and Rachel will have to find her own way to accept this, whether she wants to or not.
First of all, I’d just like to say: yes, this book definitely lives up to the hype that has surrounded it the past few weeks. From the first chapter I was completely taken in by Rachel’s story; I really felt for her, being able to see everything but all of it being absolutely out of her control, and I couldn’t help but go along on the rollercoaster of emotions of the various stages of grief. Imagine looking down upon your loved ones, being torn up between wanting them to remember you and wanting them to be happy and to go on with their lives. I couldn’t help but shed a few tears while reading this novel, not only because my heart ached for and with Rachel, but also because of Hannah Beckerman’s beautiful and gripping descriptions which made this quite an intense read.
The book has some wonderful characters at its center. Next to Rachel, there’s the handsome and dedicated Max, who is obviously struggling with trying to overcome his grief and deciding when it is time to move on with his life; their daughter Ellie is the cutest thing and I absolutely loved reading about her conversations with Max and how she is dealing with her grief in her own way; and I specifically loved Harriet, Rachel’s best friend, who is struggling with the loss of her closest friend. Overall, ‘The Dead Wife’s Handbook’ is an incredibly moving, thought-provoking and heartbreaking story that will not only stay with you but will also make you think twice about your own life, your loved ones, and possible what if’s. Definitely highly recommended!
Rating:

9,5/10
For more information about this book: Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

Upcoming release: 'The Dead Wife's Handbook' by Hannah Beckerman

 

A wonderful release is coming our way this week, namely Hannah Beckerman's debut novel 'The Dead Wife's Handbook'! I'm reading this at the moment and it's a heartfelt tearjerker and undoubtedly a book you don't want to miss!

 

Check out this special promo video for the book featuring book bloggers and others telling us how they would like to be remembered!  

 

    Be sure to get your own copy of the book as soon as it is available this Thursday the 13th of February!   Follow Hannah Beckerman on Twitter (via @hannahbeckerman), visit her website by clicking here, or pre-order the book now on Amazon!          

February 2014 releases!

And *snap*! That's how quick the first month of 2014 seems to have flown past, if you ask me! It's still cold and grey outside most of the time, so I can't help but look forward to those moments when I can curl up in my comfy reading chair with a blanket, a cup of cinnamon tea and a lovely book. February is of course the month of Valentine's Day, and sticking to the theme of hearts and love, the upcoming few weeks have some great chick lit releases in store to keep us company!

Harriet Evans - 'Rules for Dating a Romantic Hero' (3rd of February)

Do you believe in happy endings?

Laura Foster used to be a hopeless romantic. She was obsessed with meeting her own Prince Charming until she grew up and realised real life doesn’t work like that. Then she met Nick. A romantic hero straight from a fairytale, with a grand country estate and a family tree to match.

They’ve been together four years now and Laura knows that what really matters is the two of them, not everything else around them. She can’t imagine ever loving anyone the way she loves Nick. Now, though, people are openly asking when they’ll hear wedding bells, and Nick is keeping secrets from Laura. She’s starting to feel she might not be ‘good enough’ for his family.

Can an ordinary girl like Laura make it work with one of the most eligible men in the country?

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Katie Oliver - 'Love and Liability' (3rd of February)

Holly James is looking for her big break. A young journalist for BritTEEN magazine, she is dying to write about something more meaningful than pop stars and nail varnish. So when she spots a homeless teenager outside the office, she feels compelled to tell her story. But her evil boss Sasha has other ideas…

Holly is sent to interview a city solicitor she has never heard of. But Alex Barrington turns out to be the very opposite of fusty and boring and Holly’s interest struggles to stay strictly professional!

With Sasha sabotaging her every move, and her story about teens on the street leading her into London’s dark underworld, Holly is chasing both love and success at the same time. But happy endings like that only happen in books don’t they…?

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Jen Lancaster - 'Twisted Sisters' (4th of February)

Reagan Bishop is a pusher. A licensed psychologist who stars on the Wendy Winsberg cable breakout show I Need a Push, Reagan helps participants become their best selves by urging them to overcome obstacles and change behaviors. An overachiever, Reagan is used to delivering results.

Despite her overwhelming professional success, Reagan never seems to earn her family’s respect. Her younger sister, Geri, is and always will be the Bishop family favorite. When a national network buys Reagan’s show, the pressures for unreasonably quick results and higher ratings mount. But Reagan’s a clinician, not a magician, and fears witnessing her own personal failings in prime time. (And seriously? Her family will never let her hear the end of it.) Desperate to make the show work and keep her family at bay, Reagan actually listens when the show’s New Age healer offers an unconventional solution…

Record Nielsen ratings follow. But when Reagan decides to use her newfound power to teach everyone a lesson about sibling rivalry, she’s the one who will be schooled….

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Michelle Richmond - 'Golden State' (6th of February)

Doctor Julie Walker has just signed her divorce papers when she receives news that her younger sister, Heather, has gone into labor. Though theirs is a strained relationship, Julie sets out for the hospital to be at her sister’s side—no easy task since the streets of San Francisco are filled with commotion. Today is also the day that Julie will find herself at the epicenter of a violent standoff in which she is forced to examine both the promising and painful parts of her past—her Southern childhood; her romance with her husband, Tom; her estrangement from Heather; and the shattering incident that led to her greatest heartbreak.

Infused with emotional depth and poignancy, Golden State takes readers on a journey over the course of a single, unforgettable day—through an extraordinary landscape of love, loss, and hope.

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Jemma Forte - 'If You're Not the One' (7th of February)

Has she married the wrong man?

Jennifer Wright has a seemingly perfect life: a husband, two kids, a lovely house. She also isn't entirely sure if she's happy. Frustrated with her lack of career and a husband who barely seems to notice her, she can't help but wonder, is this it? At 38 she's hurtling toward middle age and a mid- life crisis. And she starts to think what her life would be like had she made different choices along the way...

Would she be happier if she d stayed with sexy, carefree, unconventional Aidan? Or fabulously wealthy Tim? Would she be living happily ever after with sweet, kind, harmless Steve? Jennifer's about to find out. After a terrible row with her husband she has a life threatening accident, and, whilst unconscious, is given the gift of seeing what would have happened if she'd stayed with each of these men from her past. And then Jennifer's left with the biggest decision of all...

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Hester Browne - 'The Vintage Girl' (13th of February)

When Evie Nicholson is asked to visit Kettlesheer Castle in Scotland to archive the family heirlooms, she jumps at the chance. Evie’s passion for antiques means that, for her, the castle is a treasure trove of mysteries just waiting to be uncovered.

But in each heirloom lies a story, and in the course of her investigations Evie stumbles upon some long-buried family secrets. Add handsome, gloomy heir Robert McAndrew and a traditional candlelit gala to the mix and Evie’s heart is sent reeling with an enthusiasm that may just extend beyond the Kettlesheer silver... 

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Sarah Addison Allen - 'Lost Lake' (13th of February)

It happens one morning - Kate finally wakes up from the slumber she's been in since her husband's death a year ago. Feeling a fresh sense of desire to take control of her and her young daughter's life, she decides to visit Suley, Georgia - home to Lost Lake. It's where Kate spent one of the happiest summers of her life as a child. She's not sure what she expects to find there, but it's not a rundown place full of ghosts and other curious oddities. Kate's Aunt Eby, Lost Lake's owner, wants to sell the old place and move on. Lost Lake's magic is gone. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake, can she bring the cottages - as well as her heart and the hearts of all the guests - back to life? Because sometimes lost loves aren't really lost. They're just waiting for you to find them again.

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Adele Parks - 'Spare Brides' (13th of February)

New Year's Eve, 1920. The Great War is over and it's a new decade of glamorous promise. But a generation of men and women who survived the extreme trauma and tragedy will never be the same.

With countless men lost, it seems that only wealth and beauty will secure a husband from the few who returned, but lonely Beatrice has neither attribute. Ava has both, although she sees marriage as a restrictive cage after the freedom war allowed. Sarah paid the war's ultimate price: her husband's life. Lydia should be grateful that her own husband's desk job kept him safe, but she sees only his cowardice.

A chance encounter for one of these women with a striking yet haunted officer changes everything. In a world altered beyond recognition, where not all scars are visible, this damaged and beautiful group must grasp any happiness they can find - whatever the cost.

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Laura Ziepe - 'Made in Essex' (13th of February)

Champagne, cat-fights and a very tricky love triangle …

Life is pretty good for Jade. She’s happily settled with her gorgeous boyfriend Sam and the bikini business she’s set up with her best friend Kelly is going from strength to strength.

You could say that Jade’s life is almost too good to be true – at least that’s what her old acquaintance Adele thinks and Adele is sick of Jade getting all the attention. But Adele’s not too worried – she has a secret – a powerful secret – one that could pull Sam and Jade apart and destroy everything that Jade has worked so hard for.

With friendships and relationships falling apart, just how far will Adele go to get what she wants?

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Clare Dowling - 'A Special Delivery' (13th of February)

Every family has its ups and downs ...

Aisling Brady is miserable. So is her husband Mossy. The three kids are too. Yet nobody dares say a thing. Instead the Bradys keep their heads down and grimly look forward to another miserable Christmas in Dublin.

What Aisling doesn't know is that this year, they will get the most unexpected gift of all. One that will bring joy and heartbreak, hope and a string of sleepless nights.

As their world is turned upside down, questions have to be asked. But are the Bradys ready to face the truth about themselves? And what each of them has done?

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Polly James - 'Diary of an Unsmug Married' (13th of February)

What happens to love when life gets in the way? A funny and perceptive book about real relationships. Perfect for fans of Dawn French, Sue Townsend and Bridget Jones’ Diary.

Meet Molly Bennett. Married to Max and mother to two warring teenagers, she’s just ‘celebrated’ a significant birthday. Bridget Jones would call Molly a “smug married”. So why doesn’t she feel it?

Is it because everyone seems to be having a better time of it than her? Or is it that Max has started showing more interest in ‘business trips’ and less interest in their sex life? Molly begins to despair. And then an old school friend starts flirting with her through Facebook …

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Hannah Beckerman - 'The Dead Wife's Handbook' (13th of February)

'Today is my death anniversary. A year ago today I was still alive.'

Rachel, Max and their daughter Ellie had the perfect life - until the night Rachel's heart stopped beating.

Now Max and Ellie are doing their best to adapt to life without Rachel, and just as her family can't forget her, Rachel can't quite let go of them either. Caught in a place between worlds, Rachel watches helplessly as she begins to fade from their lives. And when Max is persuaded by family and friends to start dating again, Rachel starts to understand that dying was just the beginning of her problems.

As Rachel grieves for the life she's lost and the life she'll never lead, she learns that sometimes the thing that breaks your heart might be the very thing you hope for.

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Jane Costello - 'The Mini Break' (14th of February)
An exclusive eBook short story from the bestselling author of 'The Wish List', Jane Costello.
When Sophie's friend Anisha is sent on her first foreign trip in her job at a travel agency - and gets to take Sophie with her - she jumps at the chance of some time away.
But what neither of them realise is that there is a catch - a rather large catch. The five-star hotel is also a world-renowned golf resort. And its owners have offered the holiday on the basis of the girls' golfing prowess. Of which they possess quite literally none...

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Various authors - 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' (21st of February)

From wedding days to special anniversaries, steamy one-night encounters to everlasting loves, Truly, Madly, Deeply takes you on an unforgettable romantic adventure where love really is all you need. 

This collection brings together all-new specially selected stories from star authors from the Romantic Novelists’ Association, including international bestsellers Adele Parks, Katie Fforde, Carole Matthews and Miranda Dickinson, and many, many more and is edited by Sue Moorcroft. 

The perfect indulgence to curl up with, Truly, Madly, Deeply is the ultimate romantic treat!

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Gemma Burgess - 'Love and Chaos' (A Brooklyn Girls Novel) (25th of February)

Wild child and secret romantic Angie wakes up in a hotel room with $3,000 and no memories of the night before. Her best friends aren’t talking to her, she can’t get a job in fashion, her parents are divorcing, and she’s about to turn twenty-three. And life is about to get much worse.

'Brooklyn Girls: Love and Chaos' continues the story of our five favorite grads sharing a brownstone and starting out in New York City through Angie’s eyes. On a journey from private jets and yacht parties to dirty subways and hipster bars via crazy storms, flash floods, and retail jobs from hell, Angie discovers who she is, what she wants, how she’s going to get it —and a crazy little thing called true love.

Meanwhile, her roommates lives are imploding, too. Coco’s self-medicating and self-loathing, Pia’s breaking up and cracking up, Madeleine’s finding her voice and Julia might—just might—have met someone she can actually date.

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Lucy Dillon - 'A Hundred Pieces of Me' (27th of February)
Letters from the only man she's ever loved. A keepsake of the father she never knew. Or just a beautiful glass vase that catches the light, even on a grey day.
If you had the chance to make a fresh start, what would you keep from your old life? What would you give away?
Gina Bellamy is starting again, after a difficult few years she'd rather forget. But the belongings she's treasured for so long just don't seem to fit who she is now.
So Gina makes a resolution. She'll keep just a hundred special items - the rest can go. But that means coming to terms with her past and learning to embrace the future, whatever it might bring...

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Louise Walters - 'Mrs. Sinclair's Suitcase' (27th of February)

Forgive me, Dorothea, for I cannot forgive you. What you do, to this child, to this child's mother, it is wrong...

Roberta likes to collect the letters and postcards she finds in second-hand books. When her father gives her some of her grandmother's belongings, she finds a baffling letter from the grandfather she never knew - dated after he supposedly died in the war.

Dorothy is unhappily married to Albert, who is away at war. When an aeroplane crashes in the field behind her house she meets Squadron Leader Jan Pietrykowski, and as their bond deepens she dares to hope she might find happiness. But fate has other plans for them both, and soon she is hiding a secret so momentous that its shockwaves will touch her granddaughter many years later...

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Karen Ross - 'Mother of the Year' (27th of February)

Despite giving birth at the age of fifteen, Beth Jackson’s professional life has gone from strength to strength. A successful TV journalist, she is celebrated for her parenting column and has won no less than three Mother of the Year awards.

Her daughter JJ is less inclined to agree. Underneath the surface, her relationship with her mother is far from award-winning, and as Beth misses yet another Mother’s Day to jet-set around the globe, JJ decides it’s time to persuade her into some good quality mother-daughter bonding.

But as unexpected events force JJ from her London flatshare back to her childhood home, she is unprepared for what she is about to learn about the true meaning of family…

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Jojo Moyes - 'The One Plus One' (27th of February)
One single mum With two jobs and two children, Jess Thomas does her best day after day. But it's hard on your own. And sometimes you take risks you shouldn't. Because you have to . . .
One chaotic family Jess's gifted, quirky daughter Tanzie is brilliant with numbers, but without a helping hand she'll never get the chance to shine. And Nicky, Jess's teenage stepson, can't fight the bullies alone.
Sometimes Jess feels like they're sinking . . .
One handsome stranger Into their lives comes Ed Nicholls, a man whose life is in chaos, and who is running from a deeply uncertain future. But he has time on his hands. He knows what it's like to be lonely. And he wants to help . . .

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Erica James - 'Summer at the Lake' (27th of February)

It was a wedding invitation that changed everything for Floriana...

If she hadn't been so distracted at the thought of having to witness the one true love of her life get married, she would have seen the car coming. 

If she'd seen the car coming, there would have been no need for elderly spinster Esme Silcox and local property developer Adam Strong to rush to her aid. 

And if Floriana hadn't met Adam and Esme she would never have had the courage to agree to attend Seb's wedding in beautiful Lake Como.

For Esme, Lake Como awakens memories of when she stayed at the lake as a nineteen-year-old girl and fell in love for the first time. So often she's wondered what happened to the man who stole her heart all those years ago, a man who changed the course of her life.

Now it's time for both Esme and Floriana to face the past - and the future - on the shores of this most romantic and enchanting of lakes.

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads

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Joanna Rees - 'The Key to it All' (27th of February)

When five random people simultaneously receive ‘the key’, they don’t realize that their lives are about to change forever. Shrouded in secrecy, the mysterious silver key is delivered to each of them along with a code, a web address and a promise that – if used wisely – it can unlock a door to luxury and privilege beyond their wildest dreams. However, as each of them begins to use the key, they are propelled into a world of hazy moral choices, and soon start to question their enigmatic gift. Who is funding the key’s lavish promises? And why have they been chosen to receive it? Only the bravest will use it to seek the truth...

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads