Day two of the #BringMeSunshine blog tour is here! Seeing as the weather is pretty darn cold here, I am so excited for a little bit of sunshine, even if it is merely book form! Many thanks, as always, to Orion for the blog tour invite and ARC. Here is my review:
Charlotte Bold is nothing like her name – she is shy and timid and just wants a quiet life. When her job doing the traffic news on the radio in London is relocated to Sunshine FM in Mumbles, she jumps at the chance for a new start in Wales.
But when she arrives she discovers that she’s not there to do the travel news – she’s there to front the graveyard evening show. And she’s not sure she can do it.
Thrust into the limelight, she must find her voice and a way to cope. And soon she realises that she’s not the only person who finds life hard – out there her listeners are lonely too. And her show is the one keeping them going.
Can Charlotte seize the day and make the most of her new home? And will she be able to breathe new life into the tiny radio station too…?
What does TWG think?
I have no idea how I am going to do Laura Kemp’s novel justice with my review. I mean, really, the book literally does bring you sunshine, so my words saying how much I loved the story aren’t going to win against sunshine, now are they?
Well, I’ve said it already so I may as well cement the fact that yes, I did indeed LOVE ‘Bring Me Sunshine’, what with its uplifting storyline, flawed and fabulous characters, and humour which makes you channel your inner seal. Perfection? I think so!
Charlotte is one for planning. She likes to know what she’s doing pretty much all of the time, and if ‘routine’ could be her middle name, I really think that she would lap that up. Before anyone says anything, no, there isn’t anything wrong with wanting to live life by a strict plan. Nothing wrong with it all, however life itself doesn’t stick to a plan and is far to quick to throw hurdles any time it chooses. Just like it did to Charlotte’s life. She’s got the option to build a brand new life in sunny Wales, so why isn’t she over the moon?
Simple – it’s the fear of change, and the fear of trying something new in case her past comes back to bite her on the backside. Unfortunately for us readers, we don’t get the nitty gritty details on what happened in her past until much later on in the book, and we have to keep our opinions to ourselves (yeah right) in regards to her boyfriend, Jonny. Spoiler – he’s a cactus. Wales ends up being Charlotte’s saving grace in a way which completely blindsided her. She was adamant that Wales would be a waste of her time, and her new job at Sunshine FM would end before it had even begun, but once Charlotte began to believe in herself just a teeny bit, her life seemed to reward her in the best way possible; with confidence.
Whilst Charlotte’s life is the biggest focus of the storyline, there are two other characters which share the limelight of ‘main character’ with Ms.Bold; Delme, and Tina. Delme has his own skeletons in his closest, some of which make for quite an emotional read and, to be perfectly honest, I didn’t like Delme at first because of his arrogant bravado. However, it didn’t take long for me to realise that he was in fact, hiding behind that and wasn’t at all arrogant. He actually had quite a big heart and was willing to help anyone out. He was just afraid of being hurt. Can’t really fault him for that, eh?
And then there was Tina. Her story was very complex and contained a lot of heartache and emotion, yet watching her blossom throughout the book made me feel like a proud parent. I won’t delve into why her situation was so heartbreaking as it definitely is a spoiler, however it’s one which will make you think. Actually, all three of the main characters have stories which will stop you in your tracks, and no doubt look at the bigger picture of life.
We often get told, when sad or down, that we should take time out to do something for ourselves. A task that is so simple to say, yet one of the hardest things to actually do. That said, before reading ‘Bring Me Sunshine’, I took self care for granted because I felt selfish for doing something for myself instead of doing something for other people. Yet funnily enough, it seems to be the most underrated solution to rebuilding your confidence – by doing something for yourself, taking time out to try something new, doing something that YOU want to do, even if its just cooking a meal that you haven’t had in ages. Such a simple, simple thing.
I can guarantee that a lot of readers will find themselves relating to the characters in this book, whether it’s Charlotte, Delme, Tina, or even Leonie. Every single character in this book has their own story to tell, and it was such a joy to be able to learn from them. I loved being able to watch them spread their wings once they realise they deserve happiness in their lives. Again, something a lot of us take for granted because we don’t believe that we deserve anything.
‘Bring Me Sunshine’ does exactly what it says on the tin, so to speak. It brings sunshine to readers from the very first page, until the very end. I loved Laura Kemp’s wisdom and warmth which made the story come alive beautifully. Honestly, the humour throughout the book was hysterical, and the entire storyline made me feel as though I was being hugged from the inside out. I have no idea how Laura Kemp does this, but she fills my little heart with joy with each and every one of her stories. However, I have to say that she has raised the bar incredibly high with ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ and the way she gave her characters, and readers out there too afraid to speak up, the voice that they so desperately crave.
If you’re in need of a little sunshine in your life, you sure as hell would NOT go wrong with Laura Kemp’s ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ – a heartfelt, heartwarming, and picture perfect read which made my heart soar. Utterly divine.
The Writing Garnet 