Written by Samantha Henthorn⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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Once again, my thanks to author Samantha Henthorn for a free digital copy of this book for my review. The Harold and Edith Adventures is Book 2 in the The Terraced House Diaries series following on from Curmudgeon Avenue.
The blurb:
The Harold and Edith AdventuresWhen we return to Curmudgeon Avenue in book two, Harold and Edith embark on their romantic adventure, Ricky Ricketts continues his on/off entanglement with Wantha Rose, Edna is missing presumed living in France, and the house itself is still exasperated - but wait! Who is this mysterious man driving his expensive car up and down Curmudgeon Avenue?
For readers who enjoy the delightful Manchester sense of humour, this book will make you smile.
Fiction
Humour
My thoughts:
Another simple but eye-catching cover belies the mayhem unfolding within!Once again, the story is told mainly from the perspective of the house itself. The house has its own personality and particular way of delivering the story - it is chatty, upbeat and sometimes sarcastic. I feel it delivers its story almost manically at times, likely driven to insanity by its occupants and strange array of visitors.
In this book, there is a new character, 'a tall, handsome man who drives a well fancy car', who appears to be stalking Toonan... or possibly Harold, or even Ricky Ricketts. He pops up frequently but remains an enigma, right to the last minute, and thus provides a suspenseful link to the next book in this series.
Toonan and Wantha's mother, Patchouli, is a stand-out character for me. Nothing gets past her, and she has got Harold's measure. She is supposed to need a carer, a role Wantha fills, yet she is certainly on the ball, and out the door, when it comes to shoplifting. She provides Edith with much-needed support and friendship throughout.
I do feel for Edith. She finds herself in some uncomfortable situations, and Harold really does not put himself out to help her, and often only ends up making matters worse.
I love that the house still thinks of Harold as a nincompoop - although I would personally use harsher words about him - the loathsome individual! In his attention seeking, he finds himself proposing marriage, and surprisingly, at least to me, he follows through. I will have to give him a point - well half a point - for trying to give Edith a lovely surprise with his choice of wedding breakfast venue; but he even manages to mess that up!
We get a glimpse of Edna and Genevieve on Curmudgeon Avenue to whet the appetite for Book Three, Edna and Genevieve Escape from Curmudgeon Avenue. There is also a brief sighting of Georgina Foote in Northumberland - the tenant who stole the rent money. The cheeky madam has given her prospective landlord Edith's name for a reference! But I think there might be an interesting coincidence concerning the cottage which Georgina Foote is attempting to rent... Although it is not directly mentioned, I'm putting two and two together and hoping this will be addressed in Book Three.
All-in-all, another quirky, tongue-in-cheek funny story, that had me feeling sorry for Edith, in that she is much taken advantage of by Harold, and also her son Ricky. Yet there is a real warmth of friendship through Edith's interactions with Toonan, Wantha and Patchouli which I found heart-warming.
| Author Bio – Samantha Henthorn |
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 Samantha Henthorn was born in 1970-something in Bury, England. She has had short stories and poetry published in magazines. Her books include the Curmudgeon Avenue series (The Terraced House Diaries and The Harold and Edith adventures). '1962', 'Quirky Tales to Make Your Day' and 'Piccalilly' She has two cats, one dog, one gorgeous grown up daughter and one husband. When not reading or writing, she is listening to heavy metal and would be thrilled to bits if someone read her books. |
| Social Media Links – | |
| Web site | https://samanthahenthornfindstherightwords.blog |
| https://www.instagram.com/samantha.henthornauthor/ | |
| Goodreads | https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16004689.Samantha_Henthorn |
| Facebook Author Page | https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaHenthornAuthor/ |
| X | https://twitter.com/SamanthaHfinds |
| Newsletter | https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/d0q2h7 |
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