Author: Fiona McCallum
ISBN: 9781489246776
RRP: $29.99
Publisher: Harlequin – HQ Fiction
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
Making Peace is the sequel to Finding Hannah, which we read for book club last year. It is also McCallum’s 10th novel, congratulations on the milestone. I have read most of McCallum’s books, and one day plan to go back and catch up on the ones I have missed.
Making Peace takes us back to Hannah Ainsley who lost her husband and parents in an horrific Christmas morning car accident a year ago. Through her total devastation Hannah has managed to carry on and put her life back together with the support of a group of loyal friends.
Finally Hannah is beginning to look to the future with excitement but she is worried that there is a crisis in the life of her best friend Sam. Now it’s her time to offer support.
Hannah returns to work, to a job that she loves and has done for a decade; a job that offered her strength through her grief. She’s not the same woman she was before the accident and she can’t seem to settle.
Details of the accident and investigation were never going to give Hannah the only thing she wanted so she avoided discovering any of them but in the long run could having the answers help her to recover?
In Making Peace McCallum brings us a tale of friendships, the new and the old; a tale of letting go of the past and embracing the future.
I read Finding Hannah last year and quite enjoyed it so I am eagerly awaiting the opportunity to look back in on Hannah and see how things are going for her after such a tragic loss. In the meantime our readers are already checking out this book so you can read what they think below.
Fiona McCallum can be found on Facebook and her website.
Making Peace is published by HQ Fiction and is available now from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to HQ Fiction 20 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members will be reading Making Peace so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
It wasn’t till I was reading this novel that I realised that it was a sequel to Finding Hannah. I know I read the book in between my other novels but only remembered snippets as I read along to her latest book. In knowing this though, reading Making Peace on its own does not subtract from the story.
The story revolves around this gorgeous beautiful woman called Hannah Ainsley who tragically loses the love of her life Tristan and her adored parents on the morning of Christmas Day. It’s not hard to find yourself, the reader, really liking Hannah and feeling emotional of her ups and downs.
Hannah takes a year off work to deal with life in general. Since losing her loved ones, Hannah avoids any details of the accident or the ongoing investigation.
She starts to think that she is ready for work again when she becomes concerned about a very good friend called Sam. Sam was there for Hannah the past year and now Hannah needs to be there for Sam.
This truely is a divine book about very close friendships, finding new friends and dealing with loss.
There were pages that I shed tears and of course smiled.
Towards the end of the book, I actually got choked back with tears because the storyline was so uplifting. I found myself holding the book to my chest waiting to read on.
Do have tissues handy when reading. I found myself being totally absorbed in the whole storyline that I actually felt I was a part of the story. The characters become your friends as well.
Thank you to Harper Collins and of course Beauty & Lace for giving this beautiful heart warming story to read.
Thank you to Fiona McCallum for writing this very moving novel. I absolutely loved reading this book and all the believable characters. The cover is so divine and seeing the bee on the cover means more to me now.
I would highly recommend for anyone that loves reading to read this book.
I still can’t believe how it took nearly a decade of knock backs for Fiona McCallum to get published!!!! All us fans would have been robbed of a beautiful writer who takes you in almost instantly! Even though I didn’t realise this was a sequel to Finding Hannah it wouldn’t have mattered if I hadn’t read it before this one as I was quickly run through the characters again and to a new reader they would have understood who was who. I am glad that I did read Finding Hannah first though, even though it was a while back as I felt they were in my heart already. Loved the title and the significant bee meaning, which you’ll come to know about reading this book. I adored her friends, new and old and loved the ripple effect that was unfolding throughout this book. I never thought this book got off track or boring as some can, even good books. I read it in no time considering and was excited to pick it back up every time. The story really made me evaluate different aspects of my life and how we should all do more good for others even if it’s only small. I took away a lot of heart and soul away from this book so thankyou to Fiona, you are truly a legend! Harlequin books are a favourite of mine as they know true talent and have some fantastic Australian writers. Times like these when I really love and appreciate Beauty and Lace Book Club. Also can’t wait to one day read Fionas other series of books. XO
An absolutely adorable book.
I must confess that I read this book nearly through on the first night .
Having read Finding Hannah some time ago it was surprisingly easy to just slip back into Hannah’s life in Making Peace by Fiona McCallum.
After having tragically losing both her parents and the love of her life on Christmas morning, Hannah takes a year of work to deal with her life.
Hannah has a close friend Sam who she becomes concerned aboutand decides that Sam has been there for her for the past year as she navigated through life again so now it is time for her to be ther for Sam.
A beautiful book exploring friendships and family and loss.
I honestly couldnt put this book down and when I did so it was very reluctantly .
I would highly recommend Making Peace by Fiona McCallum .
Thankyou to Beauty and Lace and HQ Fiction for allowing me to read and review this wonderful novel .
What a wonderful story!! I couldn’t put it down. I will definitely have to read Finding Hannah at some stage. I loved this book!!
When I read that this book is a sequel to Finding Hannah I was a little concerned that as I hadn’t read it I would struggle to follow the story and feel I missed out by not reading the earlier book.
I shouldn’t have worried; this is a lovely novel, the main character Hannah is still recovering from the tragic loss of her husband and parents in an accident. She seems to be coping but there is much simmering below the surface still. She is an incredibly caring, loving character whose view on life is why would you not be caring and supportive? It seems strange to her to not automatically help people if you can, and not just your close friends and family. By accident she meets someone who many people would think she should be angry with or unpleasant to but she is caring and supportive.
Throughout the story Hannah is concerned about her friends, who she clearly loves and they love her, I must admit I was half expecting at least one of her friends to turn out to be a nasty bit of work and while there are characters that make mistakes most of the characters are genuinely nice people.
The story is based in Melbourne and as I’ve just returned from a trip there I could really picture Hannah as she gets around the city on the tram and visits the mansion in Toorak (I saw a few of those but from the outside only!).
This is a love story in many ways but not just romantic love – the love between friends, relatives, pets and colleagues. I was left with the feeling that if more of us were like Hannah and her friends then the world would definitely be a much nicer place.
I was a bit worried when I first got this book as I had read it was a sequel to ‘Finding Hannah’ which I had not read. Once I was a chapter into the book I realised it didn’t matter at all and picked up the storyline very easily and immediately feel in love with the main character Hannah.
The story begins with Hannah and follows her as she is trying to piece her life back together and return to work after losing her husband and parents. Hannah seems to have her life back together as best she can when her friend Sam starts to need her more than ever when her life starts to fall apart.
I feel the way the author, Fiona, writes about how Hannah deals with her life and grief is written extremely well. The story deals with grief, friendship and love and it is all intertwined so nicely.
I found this book a great read and easy read too.
Thank you Beauty and Lace and HQ fiction for giving me the opportunity to read this great book!
Thankyou Beautyandlace, Harlequinbooks and of course Fiona McCallum for the chance to read this delightful book Making Peace.
I so enjoyed catching up with Hannah Ainsley after reading Finding Hannah which I also read thanks to Beautyandlace,and after following her horrific story to travel with her to find new beginnings with her and her oh so delightful friends. Such a strong compassionship character it was impossible not to cheer Hannah on with every step forward and also to be devastated with the occasional slump.
Although dealing with these complicated emotions Hannah never failed to be there for her friends who also had their own struggles and the ever comforting and darling neighbor Beth.
A wonderful book and highly recommended.
Right from the start I felt almost like I was reading about one of my close friends!. The story is so real , so well written its almost difficult to think of the book as a work of fiction! The close knit friend circle with all its nuances and support is beautifully described. The book celebrates the huge gift of friendship between women and the massive support system this can be when life throws its worse at you.
Being from Melbourne myself the city really comes to life beautifully in the book. The vibrant eclectic art market is brought to life superbly.
In times of grief the support that friendship brings to Hannah and her friends especially Sam is so true and beautifully portrayed.
A beautifully written book! Was a great read and highly recommend it!
Fiona McCallum you’ve done it again.
This book is so beautiful that I was sad when I turned the last page.
There is a warm with Fiona McCallum’s writing style that allows you to fall in and feel the story with the characters.
Making Peace begins where Finding Hannah left off but is just as good as a stand alone book.
A year has passed since the most major of all tragedies has happened and Hannah’s journey has taken the next step as she is learning to find herself and find her place in the world again.
It is a story about moving on after a tragedy and shows how well people can and do support and give strength to each other through love, family and friendship. Support networks are a wonderful thing to have and this is shown with lots of love in Hannah’s story.
Heartwarming, feel good, light, nice…these are some of the words I would use to describe the book. Strengths and weaknesses, good times and bad, love and laughter, tears and sadness are all packed into the most perfect ‘girls night in’ story.
I have seen the Fiona McCallum plaques at the AWL and having a cat myself that has come from there I adored the parts the cats playing in the story. Anyone with pets knows how they can help cheer you up on the not so good days.
Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Harlequin Australia for giving me this book to read.
Making Peace is the follow on story from Finding Hannah but it can be read as a stand alone book as it is easy to fall into the story.
Fall into the story is what you will do. Fiona McCallum writes with such warmth that you fall in love with her characters and their stories.
Hannah has just survived a year after the biggest tragedy of her life, the loss of her husband and parents on Christmas Day.
The time has come for Hannah to step back into the life she had before the tragedy.
This is a story about Hannah finding herself and her place in the world again.
Through the story we learn how wonderful it is to have a support network or trusted and loved family and friends. It tells of how people support and give strength to each other and how being there for someone can help them in life.
Making Peace is a nice, feel good, heartwarming story. I’d call it a ‘girls night in’ book.
I have been to the AWL and have seen Fiona McCallum’s plaques on the doors and having a cat from there myself I adored reading the bits about the cats. All animal lovers will understand the power that unconditional love from an animal gives you.