Monthly Archives: April 2026

Review Card & Book Review – Starlight Over Hollyhock Farm By Georgina Troy

Will sparks fly at Hollyhock Farm this summer?

When a hit TV series sets up camp at Hollyhock Farm, Jersey’s tranquil lanes are turned upside down. Radio DJ Callum Preston is used to high-maintenance guests – but nothing prepares him for interviewing the star-of-the-hour actor Riley Sharp, or meeting his beautiful, overworked PA, Tasha Dodds.

As Callum and Tasha grow closer in the island sunshine, the farm becomes the backdrop for more than just the cameras. But with paparazzi scandals brewing and Callum’s family thrust into the spotlight, will their Jersey summer end in heartbreak – or be the start of something wonderful?

About The Author

My Review

This is a charming, sun-soaked romance that blends coastal escapism with heartfelt emotion and just the right dash of drama. Set on the picturesque island of Jersey, Georgina Troy crafts a story that feels both soothing and sparkling, inviting readers into a world where summer skies, sea breezes, and small-town connections shape every moment.

At the centre are Callum Preston, a charismatic radio DJ seeking calm after upheaval, and Tasha Dodds, a capable and quietly endearing PA who prefers to stay out of the spotlight. Their chemistry develops with delightful subtlety—shared smiles, easy conversations, and the unexpected upheaval of a film crew descending on their tranquil corner of the island. Troy balances humour, warmth, and a touch of scandal, weaving in paparazzi mischief and tangled family secrets while keeping the emotional heart of the story front and centre.

This novel is effortlessly comforting, perfect for readers who enjoy feel-good romances with atmospheric settings. Fans of Phillipa Ashley, Sue Moorcroft, or Virgin River will find themselves transported by this gentle, luminous tale of second chances and new beginnings.

My Rating

Link To Purchase

Happy Publication Day – 7 April 2026

The Summer I Found You By Jennifer O’Brien

When Dahlia Newberry escapes her terrible marriage and returns to Long Island’s North Fork to put her family’s beach house on the market, she discovers the property has fallen into disrepair, and she has no idea how she’ll get it from fixer to fabulous in a month’s time.

Things start to look up when she discovers her neighbor is Noah, a handsome reality TV star known for his Hamptons-set home renovation series. Noah turns out to be quite handy and pitches in to help Dahlia with the renovations and, as chemistry sparks between them, her self-discovery too.

Meanwhile, Dahlia discovers a letter from her Aunt Lil, whose dying wish was for Dahlia to find a key that unlocks a mystery spanning three generations. Soon Dahlia is unearthing mysterious clues buried in the garden that threaten to upend everything she believes about her world.

The truth is supposed to set her free, but excavated secrets have a way of shattering an already fragile life—unless Dahlia can find a way to bloom into the woman she was always meant to be.

Review Card & Book Review- Mending Lost Dreams At The Highland Repair Shop By Kiley Dunbar

🧵🪡 Welcome to the Highland Repair Shop, where mending broken things – be they clocks, compasses or hearts – is a way of life.

After a gruelling few years in city hospitals, trainee doctor Alice hopes a new, small-town post will bring quiet to her racing mind. Instead, she finds a place brimming with eccentricity and curiosity, and people who seem to see straight through her carefully controlled facade.

Murray has returned to his hometown with a broken heart and his tail between his legs. Volunteering at the family-run repair shop is meant to be temporary… until a chance encounter starts to crack his emotional armour.

Meanwhile, mountain ranger Finlay lives for solitude and the wild and rugged scenery. But when a broken compass draws him reluctantly into town life, he finds himself pulled not just into a community project, but into the kind of tangled feelings he’s spent a lifetime avoiding.

As a new garden is built and winter weather rages, lives will be patched, polished and set on entirely new courses. Can these lonely hearts be mended, and finally find happiness and love?

About The Author

My Review

This is a tender, whimsical, and quietly uplifting story that blends small-town warmth with gentle romance and a touch of Highland magic. Kiley Dunbar creates a captivating setting in Cairn Dhu, a remote village at the end of the train line, where newcomers and locals alike are searching for purpose, healing, and connection.

Dr Alice Hargreave, fragile after upheaval and unsure of her place, brings a relatable vulnerability to the tale as she adjusts to life far from Manchester. Her encounters with the eccentric residents—Murray, nursing a bruised heart; Finlay, the reclusive off-grid ranger with a sweet tooth; and Cary, the charming “clock-wheelbarrow man”—provide both humour and heart. Each man is drawn with depth and quirks, adding richness to the village tapestry.

Dunbar excels at portraying community: nosy neighbours, cosy shops, and tender moments of support that slowly help Alice rediscover her courage. Woven through it all is a subtle thread of folklore that gives Cairn Dhu its own enchantment.

Warm, character-driven, and full of charm, this novel is a delightful celebration of second chances, self-discovery, and finding where you truly belong.

My Rating

Link To Purchase

Review Card & Book Review- Paradise By Julie Cohen

Katie never stops moving – constantly changing her address, her boyfriends, her life. But every June, for a month, she goes back to Maine. To the old lake house her family calls Paradise.

But one day Katie wakes up in a hospital bed in Maine, with no memory of the last eighteen months. From her current boyfriend to the global pandemic, Katie is lost. And everything at Paradise has changed, too… including her best friend in the world, Nic.

Nic puts down deep roots. She still lives in the house where she grew up. She’s the memory keeper of her family. And she’s been in love with her best friend Katie for almost her entire life. Now Katie’s claiming not to remember the night that destroyed their friendship forever. Is her amnesia real? Or does she just want to forget?

And how can either of them move on, if only one of them remembers the truth?

About The Author

My Review

This is a beautifully written, emotionally layered novel that delves into the complexities of friendship, identity, and the choices that shape who we become. Katie and Nicole have been inseparable since childhood, their bond tested by time, ambition, and the diverging paths of adulthood. When their dreams and desires begin to clash, the two women find themselves at a crossroads, questioning not only their friendship but also their own sense of self.

Cohen’s storytelling shines with empathy and depth, exploring how even the strongest relationships can falter when life pulls people in different directions. The Maine setting adds a serene yet poignant backdrop to the emotional turbulence, capturing both the beauty and isolation of self-discovery. The characters feel incredibly authentic—their pain, confusion, and loyalty leap off the page, making it impossible not to root for them.

With its honest portrayal of love, friendship, and growing pains, Paradise is a tender, thought-provoking read that lingers long after the final page. A heartfelt, soul-stirring novel perfect for readers who enjoy emotional, character-driven stories.

My Rating

Link To Purchase

Happy Publication Day – 6 April 2026

The Islander’s Daughter By Patricia Wilson

A letter from the past. A wartime secret buried on a Greek island. A truth that will echo across generations…

When Trisha receives an unexpected letter to her Liverpool home, it opens a decades’ old mystery, drawing her back into her family’s forgotten past, the horrors of war, and a small island off the coast of Greece…

Eighty years earlier, on the island of Milos, Dora is dreaming of a better life, free from the oppression of the occupying army and, closer to home, the brutal rule of her father, an infamous horse breeder.

Then a German cargo ship is bombed in the harbour, killing dozens of the men on board. The islanders trawl the waters for spoilage from the wreckage – finding among the debris a badly injured man, who may just hold the awful truth about what happened.

Dora soon finds this man under her care, and it changes her life forever, introducing her to the possibility of love and freedom for the first time… But Dora cannot know, as she nurses the stranger back to health, that her actions will have devastating consequences for her beloved island. Consequences that will last for generations…

On the island of Milos, one act of compassion will change a life forever – and leave consequences that last for decades.

Can’t Shoot Whiskey By Zoe Forward

Josh Hurst was supposed to be my forever. Instead, he became the villain in my origin story.
I gave him my heart. He broke it without flinching. So, I did what any self-respecting, heart-shattered girl would do—I declared war.
Our revenge game? Legendary.
Until I left for college and swore I’d never look back.

But life doesn’t care about vows made in the dark.
When my father dies unexpectedly, I’m dragged back to the hometown I outgrew, handed guardianship of my grieving kid brother, and forced to take over my father’s struggling veterinary clinic.
And waiting for me—like karma with a smirk—is Josh.
Not as a memory.
Not as a ghost.
But as my new business partner.

Avoiding him? Impossible.
Forgetting what we were? Laughable.
He still looks at me like I’m his. Like we’re a story paused instead of over. Like one spark is all it would take.
And God help me, the spark is still there.
But we don’t do soft. We don’t do safe.
We do oil and fire. War and wreckage.
Whatever we once were—
Whatever we still could be—
We’re enemies.
And this time, nobody’s walking away unburned.

Review Card & Book Review – Protected Hearts By Cissy Mecca

The Rules of the Bachelor Pact: Never date the neighbour…

Beck

It’s probably a bad idea to fall for the one woman I was never supposed to touch. Mae O’Malley. . . my childhood best friend and the reason for Rule #1 of the Bachelor Pact: no dating the girl next door.

Following the rules has never been hard. Until Mae walks back into my life, fresh off a broken engagement and looking like a complication I want to make. She’s sexy, smart, and more off-limits than ever. But I’ve never been one to give up easily, especially not when it comes to the only woman I’ve ever loved.

Mae

Coming home with my heart still broken from Paris wasn’t part of the plan. But being surrounded by family, and Beck makes it easier. Or so I thought.

Because now he’s looking at me like I’m something more than a friend, and suddenly I’m feeling things I never thought I would again. Butterflies. Hope. Beck’s made it clear he’s not the settling-down type, and I’ve been burned before. So why can’t I protect my heart from the one person who’s always had it?

About The Author

My Review

This is a warm, slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance that beautifully captures the fear and excitement of taking a lifelong friendship to the next level. Beck and Mae have been inseparable since childhood, their bond rooted in shared memories and unspoken feelings. Beck, the humble bartender at O’Malley’s, has always felt unworthy of Mae, the talented pastry chef whose dreams once took her to France. When Mae returns home heartbroken after her fiancé’s betrayal, she’s unsure where her life—and her heart—belong.

As they reconnect, their easy banter and undeniable chemistry make it impossible for their friends not to notice what’s brewing beneath the surface. Cissy Mecca writes with warmth and humor, balancing heartfelt emotion with witty, sarcastic exchanges that make the friendships feel real and alive. Beck’s quiet devotion and Mae’s vulnerability create a deeply relatable love story about risk, healing, and realizing that sometimes the person you’ve always loved has been beside you all along. Charming, heartfelt, and full of small-town charm—this is a must-read for contemporary romance fans.

My Rating

Link To Purchase

Review Card & Book Review- Single Dad Dilemma By Karla Sorensen

You’d think it was the perfect setup: living next door to the grumpy single dad who needs my help with his troublemaking kids—just until football season is over. Swoony stuff, right?

You know who’s not swooning? Me.

I’m as grumpy as he is, and I’m fairly certain that for NFL Coach Barrett King, it was hate at first sight. It’s nothing I’ll lose sleep over because 1) the feeling is mutual, and 2) I’m not a people person. Just me and my dog, Larry, moving around when the mood strikes, is what I prefer.

Except I start getting attached. First to the kids. Then to their father. I don’t know why. He’s overbearing. His attempts at flirting are just growls and glares. But if I ever see that man smile…well, I might tear all his clothes off.

I don’t do forever. And Barrett—serious, thoughtful, sexier than he has any right to be—doesn’t do short term. We’re headed straight for disaster.

But if we’re willing to take a risk, maybe this story won’t end in heartbreak. Maybe what started as the perfect setup for two imperfect people just might end in love.

About The Author

My Review

This is a tender, slow-burn romance that balances humour, heart, and healing with effortless charm. Barrett, a disciplined NFL coach and single dad, has his life running like clockwork—until Lily, his free-spirited neighbour, unexpectedly becomes the one person who can keep up with his spirited kids and quietly transform his world.

The dynamic between Lily and Barrett’s children is delightful—genuine, funny, and full of heart—and it’s through them that Barrett’s guarded heart begins to thaw. Sorensen masterfully builds tension between the leads, crafting a slow-burn connection that feels both believable and deeply satisfying. Their chemistry simmers under layers of emotional baggage, vulnerability, and quiet moments that speak louder than words.

While the ending feels a touch rushed, the emotional journey more than makes up for it. Sorensen excels at portraying the beauty of found family and the courage it takes to open your heart again. Single Dad Dilemma is charming, heartfelt, and profoundly moving—a story that celebrates love in its most unexpected, healing form.

My Rating