Monthly Archives: July 2023

Review Card – An Island in the Sun By Kate Frost

Running away is easy, until saying goodbye becomes too hard…
When successful songwriter Tabitha Callahan swaps a summer of sadness for pet sitting around the world, she intends to use the time to heal her broken heart.

Tabitha can’t believe her luck when she picks up a housesit on the rugged and beautiful Portuguese island of Madeira.
The villa is luxurious, the views breath-taking and her charges, a gorgeous but aloof cat and two cute and friendly Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, are perfect companions while she works on some new material and attempts to reconcile her past. However, her peace is shattered when an unexpected house guest puts paid to her much-needed time alone, forcing her to confront not only her feelings but what she actually wants from life.

New friends and old dominate her time on the island, along with deep-rooted regret and unspoken sorrow.
Will a year of running away be enough to put the past to rest and allow someone new to inch into her heart?

About The Author

Kate Frost is the author of best-selling romantic escape novels (The Baobab Beach Retreat, A Starlit Summer, The Greek Heart, The Love Island Bookshop and The Amsterdam Affair), character-driven women’s fiction (The Butterfly Storm series and Beneath the Apple Blossom), and Time Shifters, a time travel adventure trilogy for children. She has a MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University, where she also taught lifewriting to creative writing undergraduates.

Link To Purchase

Happy Publication Day – 15 July 2023

Sunny Days On The Boardwalk By Georgina Troy

Slip on your sunglasses, Spring has sprung on the Boardwalk! When artist Jools Jones’, new man Finn Gallichan, leaves the Boardwalk to go travelling for several months she’s not too worried.
She has her paintings to keep her busy and helps her grandmother run their second hand bookshop, Boardwalk Books.
She’s happy to wait for Finn’s return, to pick up where they left off, as absence makes the heart grow fonder – right?
She’s soon drawn into helping Alan Hidrio trace a copy of a book he wrote years before and meets glass artist Marius Arnesen, who, fascinated by her paintings, offers her a place in an art exhibition.
When she begins to suspect that Finn isn’t quite the person she had hoped and Marius steps up to save someone close to her, she wonders if maybe she’s made the wrong decision…
Can Jools rely on her instincts? Or should she risk the chance of a future with Marius?

Book Review – Thirty Days In Paris By Veronica Henry

Because Paris is always a good idea…

Years ago, Juliet left a little piece of her heart in Paris – and now, separated from her husband and with her children flying the nest, it’s time to get it back!

So she puts on her best red lipstick, books a cosy attic apartment near Notre-Dame and takes the next train out of London.

Arriving at the Gare du Nord, the memories come flooding back: bustling street cafés, cheap wine in candlelit bars and a handsome boy with glittering eyes.

But Juliet has also been keeping a secret for over two decades – and she begins to realise it’s impossible to move forwards without first looking back.

Something tells her that the next thirty days might just change everything…

Published Date: 13 April 2023

My Review

Newly divorced after an amicable end to her marriage, Juliet is in early fifties decided to visit Paris, the place she fell in love thirty years ago and left behind her love of the life. Being a freelance writer she planned a thirty-day visit to rediscover Paris, reminiscing and reconnecting to put things rights and to finally write her own story.

It is a story of first love, heartbreak and friendship with Juliet as a strong character. The story alternate between the present and past where Juliet is concern and it gave us the insight what happened in the past. The author did a superb job in describing the city. Overall it is lovely love story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My Rating

Happy Publication Day- 14 July 2023

Second Chances For The Lifeboat Sisters By Tilly Tennant

In the tiny village of Port Promise, where the wind tangles your hair and the cobbled streets twist down to the honeycomb beaches, Clara Morrow is planning her wedding.

After a whirlwind romance, Clara is excitedly planning her wedding to her handsome fiancé Logan in the picture-perfect Cornish village of Port Promise, with her mother and three sisters at her side.

She will never forget the day when she first caught sight of artist Logan, the sea-mist curling the ends of his dark hair, as he strode across the gorse-covered cliffs near the village. She feels so lucky that Logan seems happy to make her home his own, painting on the windswept Cornish beaches and calling in for lunch at the fish shack where she works with her best friend.

But when Logan inherits a beautiful house in London and reveals that he wants them to build a life there, it’s a huge shock for Clara. She knows it could be an amazing new start, but when she thinks about leaving her family behind, her heart aches.

Suddenly it seems like she and Logan have very different dreams. Can they find a way back to their happy ever after or will the mismatched lives they want threaten everything they have built together?

Review Card – Thirty Days In Paris By Veronica Henry

Because Paris is always a good idea…

Years ago, Juliet left a little piece of her heart in Paris – and now, separated from her husband and with her children flying the nest, it’s time to get it back!

So she puts on her best red lipstick, books a cosy attic apartment near Notre-Dame and takes the next train out of London.

Arriving at the Gare du Nord, the memories come flooding back: bustling street cafés, cheap wine in candlelit bars and a handsome boy with glittering eyes.

But Juliet has also been keeping a secret for over two decades – and she begins to realise it’s impossible to move forwards without first looking back.

Something tells her that the next thirty days might just change everything…

About The Author

Veronica Henry is a highly successful scriptwriter who has written for The Archers, Family Affairs and Heartbeat. Her first novel, Honeycote, was published in July 2002. She lives in Worcestershire with her husband and two sons.

Link To Purchase

Book Review – Love Begins On The Boardwalk By Georgina Troy

Bella is happiest running her tiny antique business from the front room of her cottage on the Boardwalk. To ensure she has enough income coming in, she also rents out two of her bedrooms to paying lodgers.But she didn’t count on having a secret crush on Jack Collins, one of her lodgers and her best friend’s brother…As if life wasn’t complicated enough,her world-travelling mother appears on her doorstep on the same evening that Jack’s ex-fiancée arrives on the Boardwalk determined to win him back. Bella has a lot of thinking to do and soon discovers that not all gems sparkle.

Published Date: 2 March 2023

My Review

Bella have long time crush to Jack, the brother of her best friend but she would not risk her friendship to date Jack. She doesn’t think Jack feels the same way about her. He on the other, trying hard not to let himself to notice her. When they begin to spend time together this summer, Bella thought she is making progressed but Jack’s girlfriend turned up to cause havoc to their relationship.

This book tells the story of friendship, love and family ties. I like how the author build the main characters which are so lovable and I totally in love with the ending of the story where both Jack and Bella finally acknowledged their feelings for each other at the end. Overall, it is a heart-warming and cosy read to me.

My Rating

Review Card – Love Begins On The Boardwalk By Georgina Troy

Bella is happiest running her tiny antique business from the front room of her cottage on the Boardwalk. To ensure she has enough income coming in, she also rents out two of her bedrooms to paying lodgers. But she didn’t count on having a secret crush on Jack Collins, one of her lodgers and her best friend’s brother… As if life wasn’t complicated enough,her world-travelling mother appears on her doorstep on the same evening that Jack’s ex-fiancée arrives on the Boardwalk determined to win him back. Bella has a lot of thinking to do and soon discovers that not all gems sparkle.

About The Author

Georgina Troy writes uplifting contemporary romance series for Boldwood Books. She was a finalist in the Contemporary Romance Category, Romantic Novel of the Year Awards 2016 (RoNAs) with A Jersey Kiss, Book 1 in her Jersey Scene series. She was also a finalist in the Joan Hessayon Award for New Writers 2015. 

She sets her books on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands where she lives near two beaches with her husband and three rescue dogs.

Link To Purchase

Happy Publication Day – 11 July 2023

A Month In Provence By Gillian Harvey

Interior designer Nicky always used to know how to make the best of things. Ever since she lost her husband though, things haven’t been easy. She’s had to raise her two daughters alone and she’s so proud to see them all grown up, and she knows that’s down to her. But she can’t help but feel like she doesn’t know what to do with her life now…

But then her best friend begs her to help out. Jenny is a TV exec and her new renovation show is in peril. Only Nicky can help.

The catch – Nicky needs to fly to Provence… tomorrow. To renovate a tumbledown B&B. Jenny doesn’t mention the fact that the grumpy B&B owner Robert seems to need a makeover too. Or that the budget is next to nothing…

Will Nicky be able to turn the B&B’s fortunes around, save her friend’s job, and maybe even find some happiness for herself, under the blazing hot French sun this summer…?

The Wedding Gift By Carolyn Brown

A week before your wedding is one heckuva time for your ex to ride back into town, stirring up trouble. But that’s exactly the predicament Darla McAdams finds herself in. Darla’s on the verge of breaking up with her fiancé, Will Jackson—only a week before the wedding. Her parents would disown her, but Darla’s sure that her Granny Roxie will understand when Darla tells her that her first love, Andy, has come back to town. Thank goodness for a wise granny’s reminiscences of her own sassy wedding at just the right moment…

The Agent By Kimberly Kincaid

Nothing rattles stone-cold FBI Agent Kai Roman. Not chasing down ruthless criminals. Not the grief of losing his wife years ago. Not even inadvertently being caught in the middle of a bank robbery.

Except Camila Garza is right beside him when danger strikes, and suddenly he’s the only person who can protect the off-limits beauty. No matter how much her older brother hates him.

And no matter how much he secretly wants her.

Camila knows she should hate Roman. He’s made it clear he doesn’t like her—or possibly anyone— one bit. But when they have to go on the run to save their lives, she begins to see past his icy exterior to the man who would do anything to keep her safe.

Including risk it all…

Forever Hold Your Peace By Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke

Father of the Bride meets Bride Wars in Forever Hold Your Peace, in which two ex-best friends find themselves shockingly entangled after more than two decades apart, for fans of Good Company.

When their newly engaged kids ask all four divorced parents to meet each other over brunch, everyone RSVPs yes–secretly hoping someone at the table will get to the bottom of the bottomless mimosas fast enough to say what they’re all thinking: that this engagement, coming after a whirlwind romance between two people barely out of college, is too much too soon.

But at that brunch it’s not the impulsive couple’s decisions that end up under the microscope, as it turns out June, mother of the bride, and Amy, mother of the groom, certainly do know each other–they’re ex-best-friends who haven’t spoken since their explosive falling out more than twenty-five years ago. Reeling from their unwanted reunion and eager to shift the spotlight off their past as decades-old secrets and rivalries come to light, the two moms battle it out for the prize of Most Enthusiastic About This Wedding.

But when their history—and their present-day shenanigans—threaten to crack the foundations of the happy couple’s future, June and Amy find themselves becoming unexpected allies in an all-hands-on-deck effort to get their kids (and themselves) a happily-ever-after two generations in the making.

Book Review – Wedding Days At Halesmere House By Suzanne Snow

The last thing on Lizzie’s mind is catching the bouquet… 

Events planner and maid-of-honour Lizzie Martin knows her best friend Gemma is making the right decision for her wedding. After the original venue catches fire, and a space opens up at Halesmere House, it makes complete sense to move the wedding to the Lake District artists’ residence. But Lizzie has painful memories of Halesmere…

When she bumps into Cal, her first love, she is forced to confront the past. Now a sought-after blacksmith, Cal has his own studio at Halesmere (based on Halecat House in Cumbria) and the two must find a way to get along if this wedding isn’t going to be a complete disaster.

It soon becomes apparent that their attraction hasn’t waned, but can Lizzie put their shared past behind her and learn to trust the man who left her once before?

Published Date: 2 February 2023

My Review

Lizzie found herself to be back to the Halesmere House to organised her best friend’s wedding. Given a choice she would not step into the house where she has many memoriesof Cal, her first real love who leave her. She has been avoiding going back there since the fateful day. Yet, she know deep down that Gemma is making the right decision for her wedding. Upon arrival, she found herself come to face to face with Cal, now a sought after blacksmith. Lizzie is forced to confront the past. Cal has his own studio at Halesmere and both of them need to find a way to get along to make the wedding a success.

The book has a very engaging story plot that really grab my attention. I fell in love with both Lizzie and Cal. Both of them had their own distinct personality. As a reader, you feel their love from the moment they met up and still am after so many years. Overall, it is an enjoyable read to me.

My Rating

Review Card – Wedding Days At Halesmere House By Suzanne Snow

The last thing on Lizzie’s mind is catching the bouquet… 

Events planner and maid-of-honour Lizzie Martin knows her best friend Gemma is making the right decision for her wedding. After the original venue catches fire, and a space opens up at Halesmere House, it makes complete sense to move the wedding to the Lake District artists’ residence. But Lizzie has painful memories of Halesmere…

When she bumps into Cal, her first love, she is forced to confront the past. Now a sought-after blacksmith, Cal has his own studio at Halesmere (based on Halecat House in Cumbria) and the two must find a way to get along if this wedding isn’t going to be a complete disaster.

It soon becomes apparent that their attraction hasn’t waned, but can Lizzie put their shared past behind her and learn to trust the man who left her once before?

About The Author

Suzanne writes contemporary and uplifting fiction with a vibrant sense of setting and community connecting the lives of her characters. A horticulturist who lives with her family in Lancashire, her books are inspired by a love of landscape, romance and rural life.

Her first novel, The Cottage of New Beginnings, was a contender for the 2021 RNA Joan Hessayon Award. Her seventh book, Starting Over at Halesmere House, will be published by Canelo in October 2023.

Link To Purchase