January 23, 2026 – My Sanctuary

How To Be Fabulous By Carmen Reid

Family, fashion, fiascos—this is how to be fabulous. 💃🏼

Busy mum. Fashion guru. Domestic disaster waiting to happen?

When Annie Valentine agrees to help her best friend Svetlana pull off a charity fashion show, she thinks it’ll be a breeze. After all, no one knows couture quite like Annie, so how hard can it be?

Answer: very. With no venue, no clothes, and definitely no showstopper, Annie’s in danger of her first ever fashion fail.

And just when the wardrobe rails are about to collapse, her family life does too. Daughter Lauren is home from New York with a broken heart, son Owen is off to university with an empty wallet, and Annie is hanging on by a thread.

But when a mystery donation arrives in to save the day—and Annie—it feels like she might just pull it all together. That is, until Owen goes AWOL and everything unravels.

No Strings Attached By Christy McKellen

A revenge vacation with her hot billionaire ex-fling? Upgrade accepted ✅

Chloe Dasher has spent years saving for the honeymoon of her dreams—private hot springs, silk kimonos, and five-star room service in Kyoto. The wedding? A disaster. The groom? Gone. But she’s not giving up the trip she worked so hard for… even if she has to take it solo, with a broken heart.

What she doesn’t expect at the world’s most luxurious hotel? Kit —her once-upon-a-time college fling turned maddeningly handsome, self-made billionaire—checking into the same romantic resort, also nursing a freshly broken engagement.

Neither expected a trip down memory lane with the one that got away, but old sparks ignite instantly…. So why not have a little fun and agree to enjoy a week-long holiday fling with a side order of payback on their exes! The only rule – keeping their hearts out of it. Chloe and Kit are absolutely not looking for love. Yet sometimes, the road to happily ever after starts with a no strings fling in paradise.

What if the answer to one little question could change your whole life?

Soon after Anna goes on the best date of her life with a man called James – she and her best friend Nia visit a fortune teller. Who tells Nia that she will have one great love. But all she tells Anna is that her future is with a man whose name begins with a J.

It won’t be James though – he never calls. And then Anna meets Edward – gorgeous, kind, loving. He’s all she’s ever dreamed of. Until he asks her to make a choice about their future.

If Anna says ‘yes’ to him, her life will go one way. If she says ‘no’, it’ll go another. Both of the worlds could be happy. Both of the worlds could be heartbreaking… But as Nia meets her one great love in both worlds, which of Anna’s answers – yes or no – will bring her life together with the person who she’s fated to be with?

About The Author

My Review

This is a tender and thought-provoking exploration of fate, choice, and the many possible versions of a life. At its heart is Anna, a woman at a crossroads, where a single decision has the power to set her on one of two very different paths.

The story opens with a hopeful date and a fortune teller’s prediction: Anna’s future lies with a man whose name begins with J. When James suddenly disappears and Edward—kind, steady, and dependable—enters her life, Anna is left with a choice that reshapes everything. Pearson crafts a beautifully layered dual narrative, showing us two possible futures that are equally compelling, filled with moments of joy, heartbreak, and quiet revelation. What makes the novel shine is Pearson’s warm, lyrical prose and her ability to bring authenticity to her characters. Anna feels deeply relatable, and the themes of love, friendship, identity, and self-acceptance are interwoven with tenderness. Rather than simply posing a “what if?” scenario, the book asks a more profound question: what truly matters when we decide how to live?

Overall, this is an uplifting yet contemplative read—a gentle reminder that every path holds its own kind of magic.

My Rating