#Blog Tour #Book Review of Painting Bananas by Amanda Paull @rararesources @Amanda Paull

Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for this entertaining and thought-provoking book.

Painting Bananas

Painting Bananas is all about love, dreams and taking stock.

Two happy couples, one person from each on the verge of change. But as paths cross and plans unfold, will their spouses reveal their true colours?

Alison struggles with insomnia. She also hates her job and fantasizes about throttling her irritating oaf-of-a boss. Thankfully, her lifelong plan to return to university will soon be realized. After supporting her husband in his career for over twenty years, it’s now her turn. He’s rooting for her every step of the way. Or so she thinks.

Meanwhile, Christopher has a wake-up call with his health. Somehow, pre-diabetes has replaced his six-pack. He must take stock immediately. He realises that the perfect solution is right under his nose. He can’t wait to share his brilliant idea with his wife. The future looks good. But does she agree?
Will the spouses show their support? Or will Alison and Christopher start to wonder whether they really know their other halves?

Painting Bananas was written and formatted with British grammar, punctuation and humour. It is the second novel in Amanda Paull’s Cherry Dene series but can be read as a standalone story.

Purchase Links

Amazon Uk:   https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08GCLSKTQ
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GCLSKTQ

My thoughts:

A friend of mine can’t live without her daily fix of ‘Eastenders’. She says it always cheers her up, because she can see that other people’s lives are also full of problems, but they are dealing with them and so can she. It also makes her appreciate the good things she has in life: her family, her friends, the job she loves doing, and her books. I know she is going to love Painting Bananas, because this is what she is getting for Christmas!

The protagonists of this book, Alison and Christopher are in their forties, work full-time, and are happily (?) married- just not too each other!  Alison is suffering from insomnia which is not helped by having to put up with her new boss Billy, who may or may not have lied about his qualifications and whose treatment of her is totally unfair. Alison is dreaming of going back to Uni and finally getting her physiotherapy degree. She had to put her career aspirations on the back burner when her twins were born and her husband needed his precious eight hours of sleep to be well-rested so that he could focus on doing well at his job. The money was always scarce, so Alison went back to work and now, although the twins have already left the nest, Alison still continues doing all the  household chores at night, while being an exemplary employee during the daytime. At least, by now, they must have put aside enough money in their savings account to pay her university fees and let them live comfortably until she starts earning money again. If only she didn’t keep getting blocked from entering the online account- must be a technical glitch!

Christopher is a bank manager who has to travel all around the country, solving problems and sorting out inifficiencies. And he is really good at his job. The only downside is that he never gets to see his own family: his wife Sandy and his now grown-up daughter Emily. When a grumpy NHS nurse suggests he should make lifestyle changes if he wants to stave off diabetes and blood pressure problems, Christopher knows he needs to find a systematic solution. He likes the latest branch he was asked to re-organise and he would like to stop living out of his suitcase for a change. But then he starts noticing that perhaps Sandy isn’t as thrilled with this change as he thought she was going to be.

If you ever felt you’ve begun to outgrow chick-lit, but would like to read something similar, here is a perfect book for you. It was so entertaining, I really couldn’t put it down. Alison’s in-laws and their antics, Alison’s co-workers, friends or foes, Christopher’s brand-new trainers and his constant battle with his slightly expanding waistline, Sandy’s token cooking attempts- Amanda Paull knows how to build up drama and make you ‘see’ things before the protagonists become aware of them. There is also wonderful humour that makes this all too realistic story so much fun to read!

This is indeed a story about dreams and how they fit in real life, about love and how important it is to care for and support your loved ones, about family and how it can build you up or let you down- there is something for everyone. Hope you pick your copy and love it as much as I did.

Thank you to Rachel and the author for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.

Author Bio

Amanda Paull is a writer of humorous romantic fiction. She lives in the North East of England with her husband and works in the public sector. The inspiration for her stories comes from real life, which she tries to show the funnier side of by embellishing to the hilt.

Social Media Links –  Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Apaullfiction/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/Apaullfiction

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