February 2023 – Page 2

Review Card – The Wrong Bridesmaid By Lauren Landish

Opposites don’t just attract—they ignite—in a flirty against-all-odds romance by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Lauren Landish.

Wyatt Ford hightailed it out of Cold Springs to get away from his influential family and the unwanted privilege that came with it. Returning for his brother’s wedding dredges up every reason he left. One unexpected bright spot: a curvy knockout who slings burgers, hustles pool…and hates the last name Ford.

Hazel Sullivan is fiercely independent and happy to be maid of honor for her best friend’s wedding, but she isn’t looking for romance. Especially not with a man whose family is dividing her town into a battleground with their development plans. Fighting the family is easy. Fighting Wyatt? Not so much. Why does the enemy have to be so drop-dead gorgeous?

The sparks that fly between Hazel and Wyatt might start out as combat, but one kiss and it’s total surrender. How is a happy ever after even possible for two people with so little in common? Except, of course, for an overwhelming attraction and that growing temptation to say “I do” themselves.

About The Author

Lauren Landish is a WALL STREET JOURNAL & USA TODAY bestselling author and her books have garnered a legion of praise from her readers.

When she’s not plotting about how she will introduce you to your next sexy as hell book boyfriend, you can find her deep, deep in her writing cave, furiously tapping away on her keyboard, writing scenes that would make even a hardened sailor blush.

Lauren, who lives in NC with her boyfriend and fur baby, warmly invites you to her worlds of rock hard abs, chiseled smiles, and men with deep, fat pockets…but beware! These stories are guaranteed to have you addicted and needing your next fix!

Link To Purchase

Book Review – Just Say Yes By Maxine Morrey

Wedding planner Madeleine lives in a picture-perfect thatched cottage, in a picture-perfect English country village.

There’s only one problem – dream cottages take a lot of work, and with a leaking roof, and not enough money to pay for it, what Maddie needs now is a big wedding to plan.

So she’s delighted when she takes on the wedding of Californian heiress Peyton, to all-round good guy Patrick. She’s less delighted to find out that she’s going to have help – from the admittedly gorgeous, but equally maddening, tall, dark and handsome best man Lorcan.

The wedding is set to take place in a castle in rural Ireland, and so, in no time, Maddie and Lorcan are on their way to Ballalee. Life hasn’t always been easy for Maddie, and work has become her refuge. But soon the warmth and humour of Lorcan’s Irish family and friends start to chip away at Maddie’s walls. And as the big day approaches, it might be time for Maddie to focus less on her clients’ love life and more on her own…

Published Date: 8 November 2022

My Review

Madeline is a wedding planner who was engaged by Peyton to plan her wedding to Patrick. As they are around for the wedding, Patrick’s good friend Lorcan agreed to help with the wedding detail. As they travel to Ireland and spending time together, they get to know each other and not long after, Madeline found herself to be attracted to him.

The characters are well developed with great chemistry. Madeline is strong l,focused and determined character who thrives on routine while Lorcan is laid back and compassionate. They have this wonderful opposites attract. Overall it is a light hearted relationship romance that i enjoyed.

My Rating

Happy Publication Day – 16 February 2023

Rainbows Over Puddleduck Farm By Della Galton

Don’t dream your life, live your dreams….Phoebe Dashwood is a passionately committed vet who’s living the dream. She’s about to open her own small animal practice at her grandmother’s animal shelter, Puddleduck Farm in the New Forest.
Phoebe is helped by her two oldest friends. Her best friend Tori is a mix of hard-headed journalist and hopeless romantic, who thinks love will conquer all when she finds the right man!
Then there is Sam, Phoebe’s staunchest ally, whose integrity and selflessness mean he would do anything to make Phoebe happy, no matter what the cost to himself.
Very soon Phoebe discovers that fantasy and reality don’t quite match.
An unscrupulous bunny breeder, a poisoned stream, and a complicated attraction all conspire to throw her dreams in a spin.
Events come to a shocking climax at the New Forest Show where Phoebe’s world is turned upside down and she has to make some life changing decisions.

Review Card – Just Say Yes By Maxine Morrey

Wedding planner Madeleine lives in a picture-perfect thatched cottage, in a picture-perfect English country village.

There’s only one problem – dream cottages take a lot of work, and with a leaking roof, and not enough money to pay for it, what Maddie needs now is a big wedding to plan.

About The Author

Maxine has wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember and wrote her first (very short) book for school when she was ten. Coming in first, she won a handful of book tokens – perfect for a bookworm!

As years went by, she continued to write, but ‘normal’ work often got in the way. She has written articles on a variety of subjects, as well as a book on Brighton for a Local History publisher. However, novels are what she loves writing the most. After self publishing her first novel when a contract fell through, thanks to the recession, she continued to look for opportunities.

In August 2015, she won Harper Collins/Carina UK’s ‘Write Christmas’ competition with her romantic comedy, ‘Winter’s Fairytale’.

Maxine lives on the south coast of England, and when not wrangling with words loves to read sew and listen to podcasts. As she also likes cake she can also be found either walking or doing something vaguely physical at the gym.

Link to Purchase

Happy Publication Day – 14 February 2023

The Devine Doughnut Shop By Carolyn Brown

Three women are torn between traditions of the past and unexpected new beginnings in a warmhearted novel by Carolyn Brown about family, romance, and the best pastries in Texas.

For Grace Dalton, her sister, Sarah, and her cousin Macy, the Devine Doughnut Shop is a sweet family legacy and a landmark in their Texas town. As the fourth generation to run the Double D, they keep their great-grandmother’s recipe secret and uphold the shop’s tradition as a coffee klatch for sharing local gossip, advice, and woes. But drama brews behind the counter, too.

Grace is a single mother struggling with an unruly teenage daughter. Heartbroken Sarah has sworn off love. Macy’s impending wedding has an unexpected hitch. And now charming developer Travis Butler has arrived in Devine with a checkbook and a handsome smile. He wants to buy the shop, expand it nationally, and boost the economy of a town divided by the prospect.

With the family’s relationships in flux, their beloved heritage up for grabs, and their future in the air, it’s amazing what determination, sass, a promise of romance, and a warm maple doughnut can do to change hearts and minds.

Book Review – The Lost Letters Of Ireland By Susanne O’Leary

Edwina is looking for a fresh start. So when a friend suggests she renovates a series of coastguard cottages in the tiny village of Sandy Cove, she wonders if the beautiful Irish seaside town might be her chance for a new beginning.

Soon after she arrives, Edwina meets Shane O’Flaherty, a charming local doctor, with whom she feels an instant connection. As the pair walk the streets of the picturesque village together, Edwina’s feelings grow stronger, and she begins to wonder whether Sandy Cove might be the place she can finally call home.

But when Edwina discovers a message in a bottle, written twenty years ago and washed ashore at Wild Rose Bay, she is haunted by its contents. Touched by the heartbreaking letter, Edwina resolves to find the person who wrote it.

As she begins to uncover the identity of the person who wrote the letter all those years ago, everything Edwina thought she knew about Shane changes in an instant. Has she unearthed a secret that should never have come to light? And does her heart still lie in Sandy Cove?

Published Date: 20 October 2022

My Review

Edwina is at a cross road that is her life. Edwina just resigned from her job and broke off with her boyfriend. On advice from her financial consultant, Edwina purchased five cottages in Sandy Cove to renovate and refurbish. She does not want the people to know as she foresee the people in town will double the integrity and purpose for the purchase. She also does not want to face her brother Max. She meets the town’s Doctor, Shane and his teen son Daniel whom she find an instant connection. She found a message in a bottle from a young man named Pearce and together with Daniel, she uncover the story of the bottle

This is a story about a new beginning and finding a place to call home.I was drawn to Edwina story as she discovers family secret and along the way finding the true meaning of family and love. Overall, it is a good read to me.

My Rating

Review Card – The Lost Letters Of Ireland By Susanne O’Leary

A captivating story about long-lost family secrets that will whisk you away to the village of Sandy Cove on the gorgeous Irish coast.

About The Author

Susanne O’Leary is the bestselling author of fifteen novels, mainly in the romantic fiction genre. She has also written three crime novels and two in the historical fiction genre. She has been the wife of a diplomat (still is), a fitness teacher and a translator. She now writes full-time from either of two locations, in a ramshackle house in County Tipperary, Ireland or in a little cottage overlooking the Atlantic in Dingle, County Kerry. When she is not scaling the mountains of said counties (including MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, featured in her recently published crime novel, Full Irish), or keeps fit in the local gym, she keeps writing, producing a book every six months.

Link to Purchase

Book Review – A Second Chance In Valentine Valley By Emma Cane

Steph Brissette is inching back to life after losing her high school sweetheart husband in a tragic accident. Between her family, her work at the Sugar and Spice Bakery, and helping the Valentine Valley widows save an historic schoolhouse, her days are full. It’s only in her dreams that she revisits the accident – one that she can’t quite convince herself was not her fault.That is, until Jeremy Chen comes back to town.
Jeremy left Valentine for medical school and has now returned to take his place as the town’s new doctor. He first knew Steph as the bratty little sister of his best friend. Then, in one heartbreaking moment, she became the woman he saved – and the widow of the man he couldn’t help. Still searching for his new place in town, Jeremy now sees Steph as a desirable woman. But can she ever look at him without seeing everything she lost? The only certainty is that in a town called Valentine, love is always worth a second chance.

Published Date : 8 November 2022

My Review

Steph is a young widow who lost her husband in a skiing accident. She blamed herself for the accident as she was the one who insisted to go for the holiday even though her husband rejected at first. Steph is still recovering from the loss.

Jeremy, a doctor, on the other hand, was there when the accident happened to his best friend’s little sister and was on the ski Petrol that saved Steph but didn’t get to her husband in time. He is now back to Valentine Valley to replace the town’s retiring doctor.

It is a short story about sweet second chance story in a small town with complicated issues that Steph is carrying in her. As Jeremy and Steph started to spend time together, they come to realize their feelings for each other and help each other to heal emotionally from the accident.

My Rating

Review Card – A Second Chance In Valentine Valley By Emma Cane

About The Author

Emma Cane grew up reading and soon discovered that she liked to write passionate stories of teenagers in space. Her love of “passionate stories” has never gone away, although today she concentrates on the heartwarming characters of Valentine Valley, her fictional small town in the Colorado Rockies.

Now that her three children are grown, Emma loves spending time crocheting and singing (although not necessarily at the same time), and hiking and snowshoeing alongside her husband Jim and their rambunctious dog Uma.

Emma also writes USA Today bestselling historical romances under the name Gayle Callen.

Link To Purchase

Book Review – Queen Of Hearts By Whitney Dineen

Queen Charlotte of Malquar has a talent. She’s already helped two of her children find mates, and now she’s convinced her daughter’s new secretary would be a perfect partner for her remaining single son.

Agnes Dupuis has a plan. She’s going to work for the royal family for a couple of years before opening her own upscale employment agency. When she starts her job with Princess Aubrey, she knows everything is on track. After a short time, she gets transferred to the crown prince’s staff, and she couldn’t be more ecstatic.

At thirty-five, Prince Andrew knows it’s past time for him to find a bride. Unfortunately, it’s a nearly impossible task. While he would like to marry for love, it doesn’t look like that will be an option. His future wife will be queen one day and she must have all the necessary skill sets to thrive in that role.

Sparks fly when Agnes and Drew start to work together. Drew fights his attraction for his new secretary as hard as he can. Meanwhile, Agnes doesn’t know what she’s doing wrong. She can’t seem to do anything to make the prince happy.

Will Queen Charlotte be responsible for another match? Or are Agnes and Drew destined to forever butt heads.

Published Date: 14 October 2022

My Review

Andrew is next in line to be king and he really take it seriously to the extent he willing to date someone suitable to be the future king. He set high standard on women he date and no women thus far good enough to date more than theee time. Agnes is his new private secretary whom he finds very attractive. This make him in a crossroad as he don’t know how to handle his feeling when Agnes is around especially whilst Agnes trying hard to set boundaries between them.

I love how Agnes goes against and won’t put up with Andrew’s crap. The meddling between their mothers leading the way to make a match between them is really fun to read.

My Rating