Every Time a Bell Rings - Carmel Harrington

Today's review is part of the Around the World blog tour organised by Book Connectors in partnership with Trip Fiction and I'm delighted to be one of the first to share my thoughts on Carmel Harrington's new release Every Time a Bell Rings.

 

The Blurb

 

Belle has taken all the Christmas decorations down. This year they won’t be celebrating.
As foster parents, Belle and Jim have given many children the chance of a happier start in life. They’ve loved them as if they were their own. They shouldn’t have favourites but little Lauren has touched their hearts. And now her mother is well enough to take her back and Belle can’t bear the loss.

Hence, Christmas is cancelled.

So when Jim crashes his car one icy December night, after an argument about Lauren, Belle can only blame herself. Everything she loves is lost. And Belle finds herself standing on The Ha’Penny Bridge wishing she had never been born.

But what happens to a Christmas wish when an angel is listening…

Will Belle realise, before it’s too late, that her life is the most wonderful life of all?

Inspired by the timeless tale of beloved Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, Carmel Harrington’s next book tells the story of Belle, a young woman and foster carer from Dublin who faces the hardest decision of her life this Christmas on The Ha’Penny Bridge.

Full of Irish charm, magic, and the warmth of the festive season this is an emotional, heartwarming story that will stay with you long after you’ve reached ‘The End’. Perfect for fans of Cecelia Ahern & Jojo Moyes.

Carmel is the bestselling author of The Life You Left & Beyond Grace’s Rainbow, voted Romantic eBook of the Year 2013.

The Review
Oh why is it so hard to review a book you really loved?  It should be so incredibly effortless to string together a run of superlatives and reiterate the key points in a book in just the right way to create a review that encourages everyone who reads it that this is a book they must read.

But for me these reviews are the most difficult to write, maybe because of some inner pressure to do the book justice or because you don't want to spoil the story for anyone who does decide to pick it up.  As a book reviewer, I review books.  The clue is in the name.  So I'm just going to have to do my best and hope that it's enough.  Here goes nothing...

At first glance Every Time a Bell Rings is a Christmas book.  It's got a cover reminiscent of a classic Christmas card, a title taken directly from one of the most popular festive films of all-time and has plenty of references to the pop songs which are played on loop from the end of October through til New Year's Eve. 

However, this book is so much more than a Christmas romance. 

Set in Dublin, Every Time a Bell Rings is the story of Belle Bailey and Jim 'the big ride' Looney's relationship.  It follows their lives together from their childhood in foster care through to their reunion, marriage and their own parenting journey. 

Neither Belle nor Jim had an easy start in life and my heart broke for them as they came to terms with life in a foster family, but it's not all doom and gloom.  Carmel Harrington manages to fill even the most bleak scenes with a distant sense of hope and that's why this book has made such a lasting impression on me.  There are some upsetting moments, such as when Belle struggles with her mother's response to her letters, and another storyline later in the book had me sobbing uncontrollably. 

But overall the powerful message woven into every page of this story is that every life is important.  Every person has something to offer.  Your actions impact on others.  What you do, however small, has the potential to change the world, whether that's directly or indirectly.  You matter.

Belle and Jim's story is heartfelt and beautiful, gorgeously written in a way that tugged hard on my heartstrings.  Don't be fooled by the Christmassy exterior -  Every Time a Bell Rings is a novel that can help you reassess your place in the world at any time of year.  The famous quotes at the start of each chapter give even more food for thought.

I'm certain this is going to be another bestseller for Carmel Harrington.  Buy it.  You won't regret it.

Every Time a Bell Rings is released on October 15th in ebook format and November 19th in paperback, published by Harper Impulse.  Pre order here.

The author provided me with a copy of this book in return for my honest, unbiased opinion. 

 

The Around The World Blog Tour is a partnership between TripFiction and #BookConnectors ~ bloggers and authors, travelling the world through fiction.

 

TripFiction was created to make it easy to match a location with a book and help you select good literature that is most pertinent and relevant to your trip. A resource for armchair and actual travellers, it is a unique way of exploring a place through the eyes of an author. We blog, and chat books and travel across Social Media, and love to meet authors and bloggers as we take our literary journey.

http://www.tripfiction.com/

 

Book Connectors was created as a place on Facebook for Bloggers, authors and small publishers to share their news. 

We encourage book promotions; information about competitions and giveaways; news of events, including launch events, signings, talks or courses. Talk about new signings, about film deals .... anything really.

Book Connectors is a friendly group, there are no rules or guidelines - just be polite and respectful to each other. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1466353170351020/

 

Beyond Grace's Rainbow- Carmel Harrington

The Blurb

Winner of the March 2013 Kindle Book Award

Beyond Grace’s Rainbow is the deeply emotional and poignant story of young single mother Grace Devlin. With a wonderful cast of supporting characters and plenty of charm, this will have you laughing and crying at the turn of a page.

The Review

Grace Devlin is a single mother living in Dublin.  Her former partner is a recovering alcoholic and hasn't been part of their son Jack's life.  However, now he's sober and back on the scene.  But things have changed.  Grace may still have the same close knit friendship group and a positive outlook on life, but she's just been diagnosed with cancer. 

Grace needs a bone marrow donor if she's to be in with a chance of recovering, but she was adopted as a baby and her birth mother Catherine hasn't made contact.  In a desperate bid to prolong her life, Grace reaches out to Catherine, revealing her ill-health.  When they meet they get along well, but Grace doesn't understand why her birth mother won't share the details about her biological father when there's a chance he could save her life. It was this subplot that really had me hooked. I loved the secretive nature and especially enjoyed it when Grace's friends Tom and Gerry took it upon themselves to go undercover to find out more...

I'll admit, this wasn't always an easy book to read.  It deals with cancer, bereavement, adoption, addiction and other sensitive topics.  Really, it should be one of the most depressing books out there, judging on subject matter alone.  However, the book is built around Grace and her wonderful group of supportive friends.  I loved how they would genuinely do anything for each other.  They were a truly eclectic mix of characters with big personalities which only brought depth to their relationships.  I particularly had a soft spot for Abby and found her speed dating scenes cringeworthy-I wanted her to find a good, reliable man so much! 

It's the gentle humour and rock-solid friendships that stop this book from being overwhelmingly heavy going even in the darkest moments, and my only negative is that there were a lot of exclamation marks throughout- not just in the dialogue but in the narrative too.  When reading I take great note of the intonation, but for me they came around too frequently and I felt some of the impact of the heavy scenes was lost as they often ended on a light note. 

That said, by the time I got to the end of this book I was snivelling into a tissue.  The characters had been through so much and I honestly felt like I'd been through it with them.

I'm excited to read Carmel Harrington's second novel The Life You Left after reading this, because if the plot of Beyond Grace's Rainbow is anything to go by I'm in for a treat.  This woman knows how to tell a story!

Beyond Grace's Rainbow is out now, published by Harper Impulse.

With thanks to the author who provided me with a copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.

I read this book as part of #HIReadathon 2015. 

Waiting on Wednesday- Every Time a Bell Rings - Carmel Harrington

This is a Waiting on Wednesday first for me- there's not even a temporary cover for the book I've chosen yet, so I've used a still from the film it's inspired by!  As it's the #HIReadathon, I decided to go for a Harper Impulse book.  I love a festive read and am already excited about my annual Advent-ures in Fiction feature that runs here on Books with Bunny throughout December- and one I'll definitely be including is Carmel Harrington's Every Time a Bell Rings. 

The Blurb

An angel gets its wings…

Belle has taken all the Christmas decorations down. This year they won’t be celebrating.
As foster parents, Belle and Jim have given many children the chance of a happier start in life. They’ve loved them as if they were their own. They shouldn’t have favourites but little Lauren has touched their hearts. And now her mother is well enough to take her back and Belle can’t bear the loss.

Hence, Christmas is cancelled.

So when Jim crashes his car one icy December night, after an argument about Lauren, Belle can only blame herself. Everything she loves is lost. And Belle finds herself standing on The Ha’Penny Bridge wishing she had never been born.

But what happens to a Christmas wish when an angel is listening…

Will Belle realise, before it’s too late, that her life is the most wonderful life of all?

Inspired by the timeless tale of beloved Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, Carmel Harrington’s next book tells the story of Belle, a young woman and foster carer from Dublin who faces the hardest decision of her life this Christmas on The Ha’Penny Bridge.

Full of Irish charm, magic, and the warmth of the festive season this is an emotional, heartwarming story that will stay with you long after you’ve reached ‘The End’. Perfect for fans of Cecelia Ahern & Jojo Moyes.

Every Time a Bell Rings is due for release on 15th October 2015, published by Harper Impulse.

Guest vlog Q and A with Carmel Harrington! HARPER IMPULSE FORTNIGHT

I'm very fortunate to have the lovely Carmel Harrington on my blog today as part of #HIFortnight.  She's recorded a very special vlog interview just for Books with Bunny!  Find out how writing can affect her mood, what's coming up for Carmel and why she's thinking about her Christmas tree already...

 

Question- Does writing big emotional scenes affect your own mood/outlook?

 

 

Question- How does it feel to be compared to Jodi Picoult and JoJo Moyes?

 

 

Question- What is next for you?

 

 

Thanks so much to Carmel for taking the time to answer my questions!  What a lovely, as well as talented, lady!

 

Carmel Harrington is the author of Beyond Grace's Rainbow and The Life You Left, both published by Harper Impulse.  Her books are described as 'emotional and contemporary fiction.'

 

You can find out more about Carmel on her website, and buy her emotionally charged books here.

 

 

The book that changed me- Guest post by Emma Louise

When Kate kindly asked fellow book bloggers on Twitter to speak out a book which has had an impact on their lives, I jumped at the chance and quickly emailed her. In all my years of reading, I have never come across a book which has changed the way I value my life.

 

Let me introduce you to a very special woman in my life, my mum. She’s really the greatest person in my life – she cooks the greatest chicken Sunday roast and never fails to express how proud she is of me.

            In April 2013, my mum was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and our lives came crashing down when there wasn’t just one lump, there were two. Thankfully, it was caught extremely early and both lumps were successfully removed. Then came the start of the chemotherapy (ugh!) and once that was over, the radiotherapy began which she had to have every single day for just over a month (not including weekends, thankfully).

            My mum is now Cancer free and we’re looking forward to having a hospital free year or so we hope. Like most people, you feel scared when someone so close to you is diagnosed with Cancer because you aren’t aware of the outcome. Anything can happen at any given moment. For my family, we were always on pins and needles when it came to my mum having Cancer because my Nan (mum’s mum) sadly passed away of Breast Cancer which unfortunately worked its way up into her brain and ate her alive. It sounds horrible saying it like that, but it’s the truth. I was frightened that my mum would go the same way but thankfully, she didn’t.

            Her hair is now growing back and she’s racing alongside my nephew to see who has the most hair. At least it’s able to put a smile back on her face.

 

When Harper Impulse introduced Carmel Harrington to me, I instantly took a shine to her. Once my TBR pile reached a novel called Beyond Grace’s Rainbow, I didn’t know what to expect. Little did I know that I would be crying buckets of tears every single chapter. I’m forever grateful to Carmel for writing this novel because it’s allowed me to grow up and value my life. I read Grace’s story whilst my mum was having chemotherapy and it was like I was having my own therapy. Grace is a beautiful, strong woman and her story touched me far more than it did to any other reader.

            Since finishing the book, Carmel and I have bonded over Twitter and emails. She’s more of a close friend now than a fellow author. Because of Beyond Grace’s Rainbow, I’m more than happy to promote Carmel until I’m blue in the face.

            At the end of November 2013, I went to my local Waterstones in Liverpool One to explain how daft they’d be not to stock the touching and emotional novel. The manager took one look at me, realised I was passionate about the book and she’s given me her word that she’ll do her best to get hold of the book and allow Carmel to do a book signing.

 

Carmel, I can’t thank you enough for writing a beautiful novel. My words of praise will never do Grace’s story justice. Because of you, I’ve become a better person and I no longer take anything for granted. I love you more than Harry Potter himself (now, that’s a big deal!)

 

Emma Louise xxx

 

My Twitter: @EmmaLouAuthor       My blog: www.emmalouauthor.wordpress.com

 

Carmel’s Twitter: @happymrsh       Carmel’s: www.carmelharrington.com