Sunday 16 November 2014

Review ~ Three Little Birds by Carol E. Wyer.

CarolBanner

Fantastically fun author Carol E Wyer is flying high at the moment, as her latest release Three Little Birds soars into the ether to land at various different blogs over the coming weeks. There will be reviews, guest posts and giveaways along the way, and this life-affirming read is sure to set your heart a-flutter!
 

Title: Three Little Birds.
Author: Carol E. Wyer.
Publisher: Safkhet.
Genre: Women's Fiction.
Publication Date: August 15, 2014.
Source: Review copy.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Purchase: Amazon UK | Amazon US

If your friend challenged you, would you dare?

Charlie Blundell cannot get over the tragic death of her only daughter. She drifts between her job at the Art cafe and her hospital radio show, the only things which give her life purpose.

Her best friend, the madcap Mercedes, cajoles Charlie into writing a 'carpe diem' list, but then swaps Charlie's list with her own. Now, each must complete the other's challenges, and the outcomes will astound both of them. The challenges begin as a series of relatively harmless, fun activities. Soon, though, the stakes increase when Charlie has to complete her challenges to save the hospital radio station.

As the tasks become more demanding, a handsome stranger takes an interest in her, but he is not what he seems. One challenge causes a secret buried deep within her to surface, which may prove to be her undoing.

Three Little Birds is a story of love, friendship and discovery, laced with hilarity and topped by a wickedly funny parrot called Bert.





Three Little Birds is a thought-provoking read about facing up to your fears and choosing to live again. We meet Charlie, who years after the death of her young daughter, her marriage break-up and death of her mother is still struggling on the way through her life. Under the influence of maybe a little bit too much to drink with her best friend Mercedes, each create and swap 'carpe diem' lists. What follows is a series of challenges undertaken by the friends and rather than both characters dwelling on sad events in their past, they're both inspirational in the way they tackle the lists and there's plenty of laughter along the way. Carol E. Wyer has written the best kind of book, one which is perfect reading for a lazy day and then once it's finished, installs some get-up-and-go into you which makes you want to start living your life and overcoming your fears and anxieties. I love books which not only make you think about your own life but make you want to act on it too, and Three Little Birds is one of those books.

Carol's creation of characters was a joy to read - we meet a series of characters who are fun, dramatic, humorous and full of life. I loved the friendship between Charlie and Mercedes. They pushed each other to face the challenges, as tough as they might have been getting, but they were always supportive and understanding of each other too. They brought a lot of laughs and had the kind of friendship you would want to have when you reach that stage of your life, in a friends to grow old with kind of way. Through Charlie's tragic past and Mercedes disability, there was a lot of opportunity for them both to give up hope and ambition but right from the beginning, it's so easy to will them on and want them to succeed. Individually, Charlie was my favourite character. Right from the moment we first meet her, it seems everything she does in life is for the good of everyone else. She was really loving and caring and the type of character you can't help but want the best for and when there's the possibility of a little romance for her, you want to encourage it. Though even when anyone else was on the scene, it was Charlie and Mercedes' friendship that was ultimately lovely to read.

Though I loved the concept of this novel, it took me a little bit of time before I was fully engrossed in it. It was a bit different reading a book that didn't have actual chapters and it was a bit slow-starting but once the challenges are stepped up in an attempt to save the hospital radio station, I was captivated and the novel really began to stand out for me then. This was such an uplifting and satisfying read. I'm only young but seeing my mum not get to out-live her forties really made me think about appreciating my own life and Three Little Birds provides a lot of inspiration for ways to make the most out of every day and not let fear or any sense of limitations hold you back. There's a lot to get out of having a little positivity and Carol's writing inspires that kind of feeling. With a fun plot and an ending I loved, Three Little Birds is a memorable book that a few of the characters and ideas will stay with me for a long time to come. This was a super inspirational story and one everybody should read.



Review also posted on Goodreads | Amazon UK


CarolTour



I have always written stories. My early stories were for children and sported silly titles like Humphrey and the Dustbin Cats, Hurrah for Hugo! and Noir and Blanc – Two Naughty Cats. They taught French language to younger children and were accompanied by a tape of French songs, mercifully not sung by me.

I began writing for adults after my son left home. I converted his old bedroom into an office and set about writing humorous novels largely aimed at women of a certain age.

The rest is history. Following much media success with Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines, I signed the Amanda Wilson novels with Thornberry Publishing. In 2012, I was lucky enough to be offered a three book deal with Safkhet Publishing. They have published How Not to Murder Your Grumpy and Just Add Spice, and released Grumpy Old Menopause, the sister book to How Not to Murder Your Grumpy, in December 2013.

I now write full-time. When I am not working on a novel, I’ll be writing articles for magazines such as Woman’s Weekly, or blog posts for The Huffington Post and Indies Unlimited.

My books aim to encourage as many people as possible to age disgracefully and enjoy life. After all, life is short and ‘he who laughs…lasts!’



---


Watch the Apex Duck Movie, starring the Three Little Birds who accompanied Carol on her very own set of dare devil challenges:




IMG_4250
Carol diving with sharks!


---



To celebrate the tour, Carol has some brilliantly fun prizes to giveaway!

carpe diem journalkazoo
20140627_111440_resized
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and conditions: Giveaway is international and all prizes separate. Carol E Wyer and CandleLit Author Services reserve the right to cancel or amend the giveaway at any point and without prior notification.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...