Author Archives: karenlouisehollis

2022 was a hard year on many levels. The War in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis made life worrying and stressful. TV was an excellent distraction and provided wonderful escapism from depressing times. Here are some of the best things I watched on TV in 2022. The absolute best thing was The TraitorsContinue reading “The Best TV Series of 2022”

This was such a hard category to judge! Out of the 129 novels I read in 2022, the majority were in the romance/romcom category and I loved so many books, but here’s a Top 5 for you – though in no particular order, but these all scored 9.5 out of 10. I have reviewed allContinue reading “My favourite romance novels of 2022”

Having read almost 130 books this year, these lists are so hard to do! So many wonderful books, but here are my top picks in these genres… My FAVOURITE book was Murder Most Royal by S J Bennett. The Queen investigates a murder. What more do you need to know?! A fabulous book and IContinue reading “The best crime/thriller/mystery books of 2022”

I have read a lot of books this year, almost 130, and historical fiction is one of my favourite categories. I couldn’t even narrow it down to a favourite THREE for the year, but I did manage a top FOUR! I gave all of these books 9.5 out of 10, so loved them all …Continue reading “The Best Historical Fiction Books 2022”

In 2022, after 20 years of writing and publishing non-fiction, poetry and short stories, my debut novel came out in May. This was followed by a blog tour in August organised by Rachel’s Random Resources and the book currently has 23 ratings on Amazon, averaging at 4 stars. Thanks to all the wonderful readers andContinue reading “Welcome to Whitlock Close”

I know it’s not quite the end of the year yet, but I’m not planning to read any more non-fiction in 2022, so it’s fairly safe for me to reveal my top picks here. In 3rd place… Yes, The Queen by Andrew Morton. A beautiful book and I did learn a lot about her life.Continue reading “My Best Non-Fiction Books of 2022”

The book begins with the prologue set in Nazi Germany, October 1944, where we meet Greta Strohm. We then go back to June 1944 to the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, where we begin the main story. The book is written in the first person from the viewpoint of former actress Anna Dankova, whoContinue reading “A Child for the Reich by Andie Newton”

I usually use my blog for book reviews, but this is an important topic and I wanted to write about it, so here we are. I was in a controlling relationship for 8 ½ years, though I didn’t realise it at the time. Some people tried to tell me, but I made excuses for him.Continue reading “Being in a Controlling Relationship”

I have previously read and enjoyed two of Helen Rolfe’s books – The Farmhouse of Second Chances and Finding Happiness at Heritage View but this one is the first of her books based in the USA that I’ve read. It is Book 7 of the New York Ever After series, but can easily be readContinue reading “Family Secrets at the Inglenook Inn by Helen Rolfe”

I am a big fan of Judy Leigh’s novels and love the mixture of comedy, romance and inspirational older heroines that you find in her books. I think the first of her novels I read was The Golden Girls’ Getaway back in December last year, and since then, she has definitely gone on my listContinue reading “The Golden Oldies Book Club by Judy Leigh”