A nice, easy, quick read. What I would call a palette cleaner. The characters were interesting and I found myself rooting for a particular one from the beginning.

It’s easy to see yourself in the main character. A woman of a certain age, growing older and finding that her life hadn’t gone quite as she’d expected or hoped. That loneliness was a very real thing.

It so easily could be any of us, if life had taken certain turns.

Definitely recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC. Here’s my honest review.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Rating 3.5/5

After having read a few of Cathy Hopkins books I knew that if I wanted something a bit lighter then I was coming to the right place and since I was looking for something that would make me smile after reading the blurb I knew I had found the right book to do it.

I am definitely like Bea, very cynical about clairvoyants and psychics, so I really felt as if I was going through everything with her as she experienced it. It was like meeting someone that you feel like you’ve known for years although you’ve only just met and then getting to experience a crazy adventure with them. The set up of the book was really good for that as well told both in the present and as insights into Bea’s former relationships it gave me a really good idea of how she had evolved throughout the years.

Apart from a similar cynicism, I felt like I could really connect to Bea with certain aspects of her life, feeling alone and not able to find what makes her happy, she was a very accessible character without being overly morose about her situation. I also loved her friendships, there is nothing that puts a smile on my face more than really fun friends in a story and watching them push Bea past her limits and further down the rabbit hole of tracing her past life.

I actually quite enjoyed how different this storyline was, I’m not sure how much credence I would give it in real life, but I was very interested in how they tracked down Grace and Billy and finding out about their story, and the experience of the hypnosis for Bea. I don’t think I was expecting it to go quite into so much detail about it, I thought maybe it would be almost like a starting point for the story and then not really be explored but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked weaved in with the story.

Obviously, there is a lot of fun to be had as Bea delves back into her past relationships trying to figure out if any of them are her soulmate and this had some very comical moments. Although I felt like sometimes there was a lot of overthinking from Bea about this which at times drew the story out a bit too much. There was also a little insert now and again from Bea’s soulmate, meant to tease the reader into wonder at who it is which I also felt I could have used a little less of, although I had kind of figured it out after reading the first one so maybe that’s why I felt that way.

Blast From The Past is a warm and lighthearted book that will lift your spirits and take you on a bit of an adventure.

Bea celebrates her fiftieth birthday, with her friends Marcia and Pete, in India. As a gift, Marcia arranges for Bea to meet with a famous clairvoyant and the results of this encounter change Bea's life. During the session with the clairvoyant, Bea learns that she is the reincarnated soul of a deceased woman whose true love died during WWII, but is now reincarnated again as well. She begins her quest to determine if this is in fact true.

This was a wonderful, well written and very entertaining read. I enjoyed the characters, the romantic story line and definitely recommend this.

Thank you very much to Netgalley, the author Cathy Hopkins, and the publisher Harper Collins UK, for the delightful opportunity to read an ARC of this charming novel.

"A Blast from the Past" was an uplifting, warm, feel-good read. I have previously read 'The Kicking the Bucket List' and this book was the same good quality read that I was expecting from Cathy Hopkins.

It was a glorious romantic read that bravely and satisfyingly touched on topics associated with psychics, meditation and life after death. Warm, inspirational and written in the author's familiar friendly and witty style. this novel was full of romantic promise for the older person, but still young at heart. A heartfelt and refreshing read, the characters were well developed and likeable and the story moved along at a good pace. The story was well balanced with many amusing moments as well as poignant ones. In addition, there was a great sense of mystery and intrigue as I was left guessing until the very last minute who 'Mr Perfect was going to be.

I would thoroughly recommend this book as it was a hugely enjoyable read,

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from HarperCollins UK/ HarperFiction via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Brilliant. I loved it. The characters are superb, an unusual plot and very “readable “. I could empathise with the main character.

I got to the end of this bit it was rather out of curiosity to see if it got better or not. What started out as promising was a bit of a damp squib.

I enjoy books by this author and this book was no exception. It is easy reading with good story telling and makes you care about the characters as they are captured on the on page.

Will be look out for more by her.

A lovely light, amusing read full of many twists and turns. The 50th birthday present Ibrings hope to someone who is 50 and still single. Trying to go back through her old flames brings very amusing scenes. The story centres on Bea after seeing a clairvoyant and not believing in reincarnation or her prophesised future and how she eventually turns everything around and does indeed find the soulmate that was told about. I love this author and highly recommend Cathy to anyone who likes funny situations as this is what Cathy is noted for. The book brings joy to the reader.

Blast from the Past is another great book by Cathy. Easy to read and before I knew it several hours had passed. A great plot that I am interested in so I loved this book.

I have read all of Cathy Hopkins' books and this was probably the one that required me to suspend belief the most. It includes an investigation into reincarnation, which you may or may not believe in, but that doesn't detract from the storyline. It is also interesting to read a book about a 50 year old woman as so many are about females in their 20s or 30s. The suspense is kept up through the book as you try to guess who has their sights on Bea. A charming and well-written tale.

Bea & her two best friends go on a trip to India to celebrate their fiftieth birthdays. Bea is also given a reading with a celebrated Indian mystic. Although she has always professed to find this sort of thing a load of rubbish, the revelation that the love of her life is out there. That she has loved & lost him in a previous life & has the chance for this time to make a happy ending.

Her business is about to go under & she will need to rethink where she is going from here. Her mystic meeting preys on her mind. After a hypnotist session she sets out to find out what tragic story is in her past & who is the man of her destiny.

This was a fun read. I'm not a big romance reader but I enjoyed this one. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

When Bea goes on a trip to India with her two best friends to celebrate their 50th birthdays she isn't expecting it to change her life. As a birthday present her friends gives her a session with the area's most celebrated clairvoyant, who tells Bea that her soulmate is out there she just has to find him and that they had met in a previous life. Bea then has to go back through her little black book and revisit past conquests in her search........ but who can he be!

A lovely warm book and I loved the concept that there is someone out there for everyone regardless of your age...... there's hope for me yet! I loved the character of Bea and was rooting her to find her man, and we were definitely kept guessing

I loved this story and Bea. Three life long friends had ventured to India all celebrating their fiftieth birthdays. On the last day they all exchange gifts. The gift from her best friend is for them all to visit a clairvoyant while they are in India. Not Bea’s thing at all but she goes along with it. Bea is told that she has to meet her soul mate, who she may already know from her past. They had fallen in love in a previous life but both died too young. Now she had to find him to achieve true happiness. I loved this book already and I had only read a couple of chapters.
What follows is at times hilarious, sad, beautiful and totally swoonable, as Bea makes a list of all her past lovers, crushes and possible matches to try to track down this perfect partner for her. I loved going with her on these dates and discovering her memories of what they were like to who they had now become all these years later. At times it was quite sad at how many dreams and hopes had been crushed. As the list got shorter I had my favourite as to who it could be.
There is also the story running side by side from the past as she was determined to discover if the names of the couple she had been given by the clairvoyant, really had existed. This was a beautiful story in itself. This is an all round totally good feel story that makes me quite fuzzy every time I think of it. Just lovely!
A super ending, loved the concept of it all.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

Bea and two of her best friends travel to India to celebrate their joint 50th birthdays. Bea has been single for most of her life. Her friend buys her a session with an Indian clairvoyant, she tells her her soul mate is out there somewhere and they have met in a previous life and it sets out the basis for the story.

This story was an enjoyable read, with likeable characters and a unique storyline. It was a bit repetitive at times but on the whole I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

A lighthearted read with a bit of a nod to a past life. Plot slightly telegraphed early on. A good summer holiday read.

This is a great story of Bea Brooks reaching her 50th birthday a milestone for anyone but for her it' is a time for reaching decisions which will impact on her life. Whilst celebrating her birthday in India with friends, she has her future told which she does not believe but after coming home things start to happen and she is not so sure .
I enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.

To celebrate her 50th birthday, Bea and two of her best friends travel to India. It's not your usual trip, as they usually avoid the touristy places, and enjoy it very much. At the end of the trip the befriended three exchange their birthday presents and one of Bea's is an hour reading with India's most popular and celebrated clairvoyant. To say that she's sceptical would be an understatement but nevertheless she goes there with an open mind and is told that her true soul mate is out there somewhere and she only must find him. Moreover, they have met in the previous life already - the only thing Bea has to do now is to recognise him in her present life.

And here the book takes us on a bitter - sweet, funny and poignant journey as Bea decides to revisit the men that were significant in her life and to reconnect with her past loved ones. Some of them are single, some not, some of them changed, some of them didn't and she's in for all sorts and kinds, and we together with her. What she doesn't know is that there is a man who's desperately in love with her - is it one of the past lovers? The chapters told from Bea's point of view were interspersed with some told by the mystery man, and let me tell you, the author didn't make it too easy for us to guess who it was. There was a character that I wanted Bea to end with together but I couldn't be sure that it's going to happen, and I really liked this feeling of uncertainty and unpredictability.

The retrospections of Bea's previous relationships were so very well written. It was simply like it is in real life, with all the ups and downs and all kind of relationships and how Bea felt about them. It was realistic and genuine and also entertaining - some were truly disastrous, also in a funny way, but also in a more serious way, and I liked how well the author mixed them all together and perfectly balanced humour with sadness and seriousness.

Sadly, this time, the book felt a little too flat for me, and very repetitive. I had a feeling that we're repeating the same thing, over and over again and that we're not moving forward. I liked the idea of reincarnation, it was something totally new and refreshing but I couldn't engage with it somehow and it didn't keep my attention as much as I thought it's going to. It simply felt too slow - but, having said that, I must also admit that this book was full of warmth and brilliant characters and I liked the message that it's never too late to find your true love. What was so exceptionally brilliant and unique in the book was the idea of past life and the way the author explored this topic - even if I couldn't fully get into it. No matter what your thoughts on it, it was written in a special, well - researched way and I had a feeling that Cathy Hopkins isn't trying to convince me there is a past life and it's possible to meet your soul mate again, no, she's giving me a choice to believe in it or not. I'll be honest, I still don't know what to think about it but it was great to read about it, about the possibilities and oh well, there is something in it, right, those feelings of deja vu that we're experiencing, seeing people for the first time in our lives and thinking that we know them for ages.

Altogether, "Blast from the Past" is a book about second chances, about grabbing life by the horns, having fun and about not being afraid to have dreams. It was warm, uplifting and with some sad moments as well, and I'm sure we all be able to find something we can relate to in this story. Even though it may not be my favourite Cathy's novel, I still enjoyed it whole - heartedly, it was refreshing and unique. Recommended!

A nice feel good book that gives hope to us all. Although I thought the parts where the man 'Stuart' was talking to us were a little bit creepy.

Bea is drawn into a search through the past by an encounter with a psychic whilst away in India. She is at a crossroads in her life, the business she has worked so hard to establish is facing an uncertain future and she looks back at the men in her life to see if she can identify the true love of her life. Interesting and entertaining; a bit of a mystery with a trail of clues to follow. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.