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Mar 31

The World At My Feet By Catherine Isaac

The World At My Feet‘The World At My Feet’ is the latest book by Catherine Isaac.

1990. Harriet is a journalist. Her job takes her to dangerous places, where she asks questions and tries to make a difference. But when she is sent to Romania, to the state orphanages the world is only just learning about, she is forced to rethink her most important rule. 2018. Ellie is a gardener. Her garden is her sanctuary, her pride and joy. But, though she spends long days outdoors, she hasn’t set foot beyond her gate for far too long. Now someone enters her life who could finally be the reason she needs to overcome her fears.

‘The World At My Feet’ is the third book by Catherine and just like her debut, it’s just as tearjerking and captivating.

The story is seen through the narrative of mother and daughter Harriet and Ellie. To the outside world, Ellie is a strong and powerful woman with a strong following on her gardening Instagram page but Ellie doesn’t move beyond her garden due to agoraphobia. Much as she’d love to step outside her garden, her fear and anxiety have prevented her leaving the house for a number of years, leaving her reliant on deliveries and support from her parents and younger sister called Lucy.

Although Ellie’s narrative is written in the present tense, her mother’s Harriet is written in the past tense at the height of her career when she was a war correspondent travelling to some of the most dangerous places in the world.  One place that particularly triggered an emotion and connection with Harriet, was the Romanian orphanages, were children with haunting eyes who were not only malnourished of food but also love and affection.

The story seen through Ellie’s makes for frustrating and sad reading, she’s a wonderful young woman who quite literally has the world at her end but is consumed by her fear that her life is in limbo. Aware that she needs to make changes before it’s too late, she become friends with Jamie, the garden centre delivery man who gently coaxes her out into real world with his kind and fun nature. Their friendship makes for lovely reading as they get to know each other and their interactions.

Harriet’s narrative makes for quite hard hitting reading as she travels to war worn torn and poverty stricken countries. Catherine vividly describes the desperation and desolation of the orphanages as the children long for love and are horribly deprived of it and this make upsetting reading at times.

Like her previous novels, Catherine’s novels really strike a chord with its reader connecting with them on an emotional level that really pulls its audience in. The story focuses on genuinely upsetting topics such as agoraphobia and the orphanages in Romania, but she writes with such sensitivity and warmth which really captures the readers heart. Even in the darkest moments of the story, there are elements of light with the beautiful descriptions of the gardens and the inclusion of a friendly canine called Gertie.

Beautifully written with thoroughly researched subjects, Catherine has created another soulful story that captivates the reader. ‘The World At My Feet’ is a stunningly written story of hope, courage and new beginnings.

You can buy ‘The World At My Feet’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

Sep 1

You, Me, Everything By Catherine Isaac

You, Me, Everything‘You, Me, Everything’ is Catherine Isaac’s debut novel.

Sick of her boyfriend Adam’s lying and cheating, Laura throws him out only months after giving birth to their son. While she brings up William with the help of her mum, Susan, Adam moves to France to follow his dreams. But ten years on, Susan is battling a debilitating disease, aged just 53, and she convinces her daughter that William needs his father in his life. So, in their first trip abroad in years, Laura and ten-year-old William set off to spend the summer at Chateau de Roussignol, in the sunlit hills of the Dordogne, where Adam now lives. Laura is determined is to make Adam fall in love with his own son. But the problem isn’t only that he’s an unwilling participant in this game. It’s that Laura is tormented by a secret of her own, one that nobody – especially William – must discover.

If you haven’t heard of Catherine Issac then I’m sure you’ve heard of her other writing name, Jane Costello. Jane has written nine novels, all filled with humour and charm that make for the perfect escapism read.

In her first book, writing as Catherine Issac, although there is the sharp injection of Jane’s humour, there is also a beautiful tenderness to this love story that made the book a struggle to put down.

In this story, we meet single mother Jess and her son, William who head off to France as Jess wants William to bond with his father. Even though, Adam broke Jess’s heart, she wants them to have a relationship and spend more time together despite the distance.

Jess isn’t entirely happy about this situation, but goes ahead with the plan, more so to keep her mother happy. Her mother, is terminally ill with Huntington’s disease, an illness that is rapidly taking over her body and one of her wishes, is that William has a relationship with his father.

The story is written in the first person and is seen solely through Jess’s narrative. She’s a kind hearted woman, who never really got over the heartbreak that Adam caused her and tries to hide her resentful feelings from William. Meanwhile, William is wildly curious about life and loves nothing more than sharing random facts. I loved the scenes with William and Jess, where they argued over ownership of the iPad and he battled with his occasionally embarrassing mother.

The main subject of the story is Jess’s mothers ongoing battle with Huntington’s Disease and regularly flashes back to when Jess was a teenager and her mother began to show symptoms of the illness. What’s terrifying to read is that in all the advancements in medicine and technology, there is no known cure for the illness and once contracted, the illness has a 50/50 chance of being passed onto a child. Catherine has thoroughly researched the illness and provides background information for those who have never heard of it.

To say that this story is beautifully written would be an understatement and it’s no surprise that it’s already being adapted for film.

It’s gentle, flows at a lovely pace and for every tearjerking moment, there’s a gentle joke to lighten the mood.

A story that stays with you long after you reached the final page, ‘You, Me, Everything’ is an enchanting tale about love, new beginnings and most importantly, hope.

You can pre-order You Me Everything from Amazon and will be available to buy from good bookshops from 20th September 2018.

Jun 16

Book News – You, Me, Everything By Catherine Isaac

You, Me, EverythingCatherine Isaac has revealed the cover to her debut novel called ‘You, Me, Everything’ which excitedly is being adapted for film, even though it won’t be out until 2018.

But for people not in the know, Catherine Isaac is actually Jane Costello, who already has nine books under her belt.

What the back cover says:

Sick of her boyfriend Adam’s lying and cheating, Laura throws him out only months after giving birth to their son. While she brings up William with the help of her mum, Susan, Adam moves to France to follow his dreams.

But ten years on, Susan is battling a debilitating disease, aged just 53, and she convinces her daughter that William needs his father in his life. So, in their first trip abroad in years, Laura and ten-year-old William set off to spend the summer at Chateau de Roussignol, in the sunlit hills of the Dordogne, where Adam now lives.

Laura is determined is to make Adam fall in love with his own son. But the problem isn’t only that he’s an unwilling participant in this game. It’s that Laura is tormented by a secret of her own, one that nobody – especially William – must discover.

With a beautiful cover and a heartbreaking synopsis, ‘You, Me, Everything’ sounds like a stunning story.

You can pre-order You Me Everything from Amazon and will be available to buy from good bookshops from 20th September 2018.

Nov 29

Jane Costello Returns With A New Book And New Name

Jane CostelloWhen you think of Jane Costello, you think of fun and romantic stories with humour throughout, but after ten years of writing as Jane Costello, the Sunday Times bestselling author has decided to release a new book under the pseudonym of Catherine Isaac.

In 2017, Catherine Isaac will be coming to our bookshelves with her debut book,’You Me Everything’.

The story of ‘You Me Everything’ is –

Sick of her boyfriend Adam’s lying and cheating, Laura throws him out only months after giving birth to their son. While she brings up William with the help of her mum Susan, Adam moves to France to follow his dreams.

But ten years on, Susan is battling a debilitating disease, aged just 53, and she convinces her daughter that William needs his father in his life. So, in their first trip abroad in years, Laura and ten-year-old William set off to spend the summer at Chateau de Roussignol, in the sunlit hills of the Dordogne, where Adam now lives.

Laura is determined is to make Adam fall in love with his own son. But the problem isn’t only that he’s an unwilling participant in this game. It’s that Laura is tormented by a secret of her own, one that nobody – especially William – must discover.

In a statement revealed on her website, Jane aka Catherine wrote about the exciting times surrounding the book, as it will be released around the world and even Holywood is interested in bringing it to the big screen.

For more updates on Catherine Isaac, check out www.janecostello.com