Mango Bay by Serena Fairfax @Sefairfax #bookreview #contemporaryfiction

Mango Bay written and self-published by Serena Fairfax is available NOW in ebook and paperback format.

Book Blurb

Jazz clubs, yacht clubs, aunty bars and a Bollywood beauty shadowed by her pet panther. This is glamorous Bombay in the late 1950s.

Love has blossomed in London between vivacious Scottish Presbyterian, Audrey, and clever Indian lawyer, Nat Zachariah.

When the happy newlyweds move to Nat’s exotic homeland and the striking family villa, Audrey must deftly navigate the rituals, secrets, intrigues and desires of his Bene Israel Jewish community, and adjust to perplexing new relatives.

In time, the past unlocks, old family ties unravel, lies are exposed and passions run high as different generations fall out. Then something shocking happens that undoes everything. Will this marriage that has crossed boundaries survive?

REVIEW

I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book. All opinions are my own and no content may be copied. However, authors and publishers may use elements of my reviews for quotes.

This is the first book I’ve read by Serena Fairfax and what I really enjoyed about Mango Bay is the author’s vivid descriptions of a land and culture that is filled with an assault of the senses. India is filled with life, colour, tantalising tastes and aromas and this certainly came across with the author’s words.

Mango Bay is a family saga that started it’s joruney back in London in the 1950’s when a young couple fell in love. Nothing unusual in that but Audrey, a young woman from Scotland and Nat, a young Indian lawyer, knew that their coupling would shake a few feathers. Back in the 1950’s mixed race marriages in the UK were quite rare but when Audrey moves to India to be with Nat as his wife this mixed race marriage sets the gossip train going.

For young Audrey to leave her family back in the UK and move thousands of miles to India takes some adjusting. The structure of an Indian family is very formal and decision are mostly overseen by the head of the family. Audrey soon worked out the relationships and status of each family member and found herself adjusting to married life. However, now Nat was back in the bosom of his family and homeland he seemed a little aloof with Audrey.

India in the 1950’s was filled with colour and the nightlife was bewitching, glitzy and often the rich and famous could be seen hobnobbing with the locals. The youngsters of India devoured this nightlife with relish but to some it opened up a darker side of life.

Mango Bay follows Audrey’s life from moving to India; we learn of her adjustments, her enlightenment to new foods and rituals. We also learn about the family and friends in Audrey’s new circle and life becomes quite fascinating at times. But Mango Bay is not full of the wealthiest families and Audrey feels compelled to help those in need.

A story filled with an array of interesting characters amongst a culture and heritage that is fighting the old ways with the new. Mango Bay opens your eyes to all this and more.

About the Author

I spent my childhood in India, qualified as a Lawyer in England and joined a London law firm.
Some of my novels have a strong romantic arc although I burst the romance bubble with one quirky departure. Other novels pull the reader into the dark corners of family life and relationships. I enjoy the challenge of experimenting and writing something different.
My short stories and a medley of articles feature on my blog, and I review crime fiction and thrillers for Promoting Crime Fiction.
Fast forward to a sabbatical from the day job when I traded in bricks and mortar for a houseboat which, for a hardened land lubber like me, turned out to be a big adventure.
A few of my favourite things are collecting old masks, singing and exploring off the beaten track.
My golden retriever, Inspector Morse, who can’t wait to unleash his own Facebook page, and I live in London.

Website http://www.serenafairfax.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/serenafairfax

Twitter: @Sefairfax

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A Kiss in the Snow (Little Duck Pond Cafe 13) by Rosie Green @Rosie_Green1988 @rararesources #blogtour #bookreview #festivereading

A Kiss in the Snow (Little Duck Pond Cafe 13) written and self-published by Rosie Green is available NOW in ebook format.

Book Blurb

After a cruel twist of fate sends her hurtling into a black hole of despair, Carrie is absolutely dreading the festive season – especially with sister, Krystle, being even more demanding of her time and energy than usual. But then friend Maddy offers Carrie a lifeline: the chance to get away from it all in a holiday cottage in the gorgeous little village of Silverbells. Deciding that a few weeks of tranquillity – reading, baking and going for long walks in the countryside – might just restore her mood, Carrie is quick to take up the offer. But on arriving, it very soon becomes clear that this break is going to be anything but peaceful!

An unwelcome houseguest proves unsettling enough – especially one who whistles loudly first thing in the morning and is far too cheerful for his own good – but finding herself drawn into the spooky mystery of her missing neighbour means there really isn’t much time for personal reflection. And then love comes knocking, and Carrie is forced to decide exactly where her heart lies.

Will this festive season be the disaster Carrie predicted? Or will Santa be good to her and deliver her heart’s desire? One thing’s for sure – this will be a Christmas Carrie will never, ever forget…

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/32VMJjD

I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book. All opinions are my own and no content may be copied. However, authors and publishers may use elements of my reviews for quotes

I’m so pleased to be involved in the blog blitz celebrating and promoting the launch of book 13 in the Little Duck Pond Cafe series: A Kiss in the Snow. Each instalment in the Little Duck Pond Cafe series can be read as a standalone as they are focused on one character however, they do feature characters from all the novels. I would therefore, suggest reading all the novels in the series in order to experience a wonderful feelgood reading experience as I’ve fully enjoyed this series and always look forward to more.

To learn more about the series please check out the author’s amazon page: https://amzn.to/2JWhMVX

A Kiss in the Snow is Carrie’s story. We learned a little about Carrie in book 12 and it is lovely to be able to learn more about her. Carrie is a twin, she is quiet, reliable, kind and considerate and often feels overshadowed by her exuberant sister Krystle. Carrie has a secret crush and her friendship with her crush is becoming stronger but when her heart gets broken and her sister becomes more demanding she decides she needs to get away from them both.

Carrie travels to a remote village called Silverbells just over an hour away from her home. The village sounded wonderfully idyllic with little country cottages and a small community shop. Staying in a friends cottage sounded the perfect escape to reassess her life by clearing her head with country walks and baking cakes galore. However, Carrie didn’t expect to have a fellow houseguest who was also experiencing heartbreak. Her time in the village gave her opportunities to make new friends and also enemies. I think being an outsider she could see how the personalities of the villagers work and found herself many a time a listening ear for them all.

With the snowy weather now blocking the village to all incoming and outgoing vehicles the community and temporary residents had to learn to occupy themselves and help each other.

Author, Rosie Green has written another wonderful instalment in The Little Duck Pond Cafe series. I felt welcomed to Silverbells as much as Carrie and hope that the author will return to the residents we have grown to love and write a little spin-off series. Writing that warms your heart and is perfect cosy reading time material.

Author Bio

Rosie has been scribbling stories ever since she was little.

Back then, they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’.

Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger involved at all – unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love.

Her series of novellas is centred around life in a village cafe. The latest, ‘Lucy’s Great Escape’, is out now.

Rosie will be revisiting the Little Duck Pond Café with a beautiful story of love and friendship at Christmas time, entitled A Kiss in the Snow, out in October 2020. Follow Rosie on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green1988

The House in the Hollow by Allie Cresswell @alliescribbler #guestpost #extract #historicalfiction

The House in the Hollow written and self-published by Allie Cresswell is available NOW in ebook and paperback format.

Book Blurb

The Talbots are wealthy. But their wealth is from ‘trade’. With neither ancient lineage nor title, they struggle for entrance into elite Regency society. Finally, aided by an impecunious viscount, they gain access to the drawing rooms of England’s most illustrious houses.

Once established in le bon ton, Mrs Talbot intends her daughter Jocelyn to marry well, to eliminate the stain of the family’s ignoble beginnings. But the young men Jocelyn meets are vacuous, seeing Jocelyn as merely a brood mare with a great deal of money. Only Lieutenant Barnaby Willow sees the real Jocelyn, but he must go to Europe to fight the French. The hypocrisy of fashionable society repulses Jocelyn—beneath the courtly manners and studied elegance she finds tittle-tattle, deceit, dissipation and vice.

Jocelyn stumbles upon and then is embroiled in a sordid scandal which will mean utter disgrace for the Talbot family. Humiliated and dishonoured, she is sent to a remote house hidden in a hollow of the Yorkshire moors. There, separated from family, friends and any hope of hearing about the lieutenant’s fate, she must build her own life—and her own social order—anew.

To buy link: https://amzn.to/32UYCG2

I am so pleased to welcome the author, Allie Cresswell, to my blog today sharing an extract with a brief explanation. Thank you for joining my blog Allie …

The House in the Hollow has as one of its themes the idea of things that are concealed beneath the veneer of Regency respectability. To this end I decided to introduce characters who work for the Talbot family in the capacity of servants; those who, out of sight, make their elegant lifestyle possible. Researching what life was like for Regency servants, and how a large country house functioned with what seems to be smooth and effortless efficiency, was very interesting. Obviously life was much harder for servants than it was for the wealthy and privileged but the tenets of essential morality remained the same, and this included the appalling way that women were victimised for moral lapses whereas men were forgiven. Girls who were compromised by men always got the blame, and had to suffer the consequences alone. This was true for women at all levels of Regency society.

Here a servant girl, Sally, has been found injured and unconscious in the middle of the night by Annie, another maid.

‘You did right to wake me, Annie,’ the housekeeper said, ‘although I wish Miss Nugent had been here. She is more practiced than I. Now we must examine every inch of Sally to see where her injuries are. You begin at the head and I will start at her feet.’

Annie ran her hands carefully over Sally’s skull, feeling for swellings or cuts. Sally’s hair was badly matted and tangled with straw—she would be upset, Annie thought, to have it so. Sally’s one vanity was her lovely, lustrous hair. Annie could feel no contusions, however. She inserted a finger into Sally’s mouth, feeling for loose teeth. One on the left felt spongy but otherwise all were firm. She leant closer and smelled Sally’s breath. Cider.

‘Is she intoxicated?’ she asked Mrs Butterwick. ‘Perhaps she drank too much cider, and fell? She may have hit her face …’

‘I don’t think so,’ Mrs Butterwick said grimly. She had lifted Sally’s wounded knees and now peered up beneath the material of her chemise. ‘There is much swelling here, bleeding and bruising. I think she has been forced.’

‘Forced?’ Annie’s mouth was dry.

‘Yes. A man has forced her.’

Mrs Butterwick turned to Sally’s hands. ‘Her nails are broken. I think she tried to defend herself.’ She felt gently up the length of Sally’s arms. ‘No bones broken, though, and no fever that I can discern.’

Annie thought of Jackie Silver, but did not voice her thought.

‘Her knees,’ Annie said.

‘Yes, she has crawled on them. There is gravel in them that will have to be got out.’

Between them they managed to lift Sally on to Annie’s bed. It was unusual for Annie to see the housekeeper engage in any physical endeavour. Her habit was to direct and supervise and then to confirm that her orders had been carried out. She might sweep a hand over furniture that should have been dusted, pull back a sheet to ensure that a bed had been properly made. But now Annie found Mrs Butterwick quite capable of the lifting and shifting required to settle Sally comfortably, by no means shirking of what needed to be done.

They removed the rest of Sally’s clothes and bathed her body, applying salves to her injuries and packing the place between her legs with some of the rags the girls used for their courses. Mrs Butterwick picked the gravel from Sally’s knees and cleaned them with liniment. Sally winced and whimpered, but did not wake. Annie washed the dirt and crusted blood from Sally’s eye and put a pad of clean material over it. She combed the worst of the straw from her hair. All the time she murmured reassurance although Sally made no sign of being able to hear. If anything the girl looked worse rather than better. Her jaw and cheek became blacker and more bloated as the night went by. She spoke no sensible word. Her good eye was glazed and unfocussed.

‘I fear concussion,’ Mrs Butterwick said, ‘and her jaw may be broken, but I cannot tell.’

They worked in the light of a single candle. Its flame flickered in the draught as they moved about their task, throwing shadows across Sally’s distended features, rendering them even more horrific. Annie’s throat was clogged, tight with anxiety, and tears pressed the backs of her eyes. Beneath her concern lay a ventricle brimming with caustic anger at the man who had done this.

‘Will she live, do you think?’ Annie asked when they had covered Sally with a clean sheet and managed to dribble a little willow bark tea between her poor, swollen lips. They sat either side of the little bed. A greyish glow divided the square of skylight from the gloom of the rest of the room. Above them, in the eaves, the first sparrows began to stir.

‘She will, if there are no injuries that we cannot see. If she is not awake and sensible by morning the surgeon must be called. She has been badly used, that’s clear enough. But Sally’s character speaks against her.’

‘Because she is a flirt?’

Mrs Butterwick nodded. ‘We must hope and pray there is no child. However it is come by, whether Sally be guilty or no, she will be dismissed.’

‘And the man who did this to her? I believe it might have been Mr Silver. I know he has hurt her before. I saw the bruises on her arms. Surely he’ll be sent packing?’

Mrs Butterwick pressed her lips together but did not reply.

About the Author

Allie Cresswell was born in Stockport, UK and began writing fiction as soon as she could hold a pencil.
She did a BA in English Literature at Birmingham University and an MA at Queen Mary College, London.
She has been a print-buyer, a pub landlady, a book-keeper, run a B & B and a group of boutique holiday cottages. Nowadays Allie writes full time having retired from teaching literature to lifelong learners.
She has two grown-up children, two granddaughters, two grandsons and two cockapoos but just one husband – Tim. They live in Cumbria, NW England.

Social Media Links –

Website – http://www.allie-cresswell.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/alliescribbler/
Twitter – @alliescribbler

The Tokyo Bicycle Bakery by Su Young Lee @rararesources #blogtour #bookreview #japaneseromance #indieauthor

The Tokyo Bicycle Bakery written and self-published by Su Young Lee is available NOW in ebook and paperback format.

Book Blurb

Fluttering cherry blossoms, gorgeous kimonos and sweet and sorrowful love.

For cake-loving college girl Hana, Japan was the romantic destination of her dreams. With boyfriend Jin she planned an exciting new life in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. But when she finally arrives after months of planning, Jin isn’t there. 

Hana is left broken-hearted on a rainy Tokyo street. Jin left no note. One day he just walked out of classes and disappeared. 

Hana begins her new life alone. Watching cherry blossoms fall into the Tokyo river. Working hard and delivering her lovely home-baked cakes by orange bicycle. Then she meets handsome young farmer Hikaru, and glimpses a new way forward – in an alien place where she doesn’t know a soul.

The Tokyo Bicycle Bakery is a sweet romance with a hint of magic realism. It’s a perfect book to carry with you and read on holiday or weekends.

Purchase Links – Amazon US here / Amazon UK here

I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book. All opinions are my own and no content may be copied. However, authors and publishers may use elements of my reviews for quotes

I am so pleased to be involved in the blogtour celebrating and promoting the launch of Su Young Lee’s debut novel: The Tokyo Bicycle Bakery.

Reading Su Young Lee’s story felt like a grown up modern day Japanese fairy tale. There were elements in the story that set your imagination free and felt almost other worldly but I believe this enhanced the theme of the book.

This is a story about a young Korean girl wanting to surprise her boyfriend who is currently living in Tokyo but when she arrives in Japan she finds her boyfriend has disappeared without leaving any note of explanation. Heartbroken and now homeless in a strange city leaves Hana feeling very low but as she looks around she starts to see little light and wonder around her. The beauty of the cherry blossom trees, a peppermint plant that smells divine, a bright pink house like a beacon of hope for her.

Hana soon finds temporary accommodation and work and starts to build a new life meeting people and gaining new experiences and knowledge. The community she builds around her are as diverse as they come but Hana’s youth and spirit fits in well and whoever she meets gives Hana encouragement and inspiration. Hana loves baking and she finds during these trying times that creating delights with the produce around her gives her comfort and joy.

We follow Hana on her journey of enlightenment in life and love and I was charmed by this endearing story. The bakes Hana creates sounded absolutely delicious and I was in awe of her ingenuity. I also enjoyed reading about the Japanese culture surrounding food and tea and I found myself googling for more information regarding the teas and produce used.

The Tokyo Bicycle Bakery is a sweet, endearing romance that has a touch of magic and mystery about it.

Author Bio –

Su Young Lee is a Korean romance author who lived in Tokyo, Japan for 10 years and now lives in London, England with her husband and two lovely cats. 

Su works in academic publishing and loves baking, playing piano and working on her calligraphy.

Check her blog here. 
https://suyoungleesblog.wordpress.com

The Cornish Key to Happiness by Laura Briggs @PaperDollWrites @rararesources #bookreview #PublicationDayPush #ALittleHotelinCornwall

The Cornish Key to Happiness written and self-published by Laura Briggs is available NOW in ebook format.

Book Blurb

Past secrets return to complicate Maisie’s future with the charming Sidney Daniels in the final installment of the Cornish romance series.

Picking up where book seven left off, Maisie’s plans to celebrate her book’s thrilling news remain on hold after Sidney has vanished from Port Hewer overnight, following a brush with his secret past. His departure leaves Maisie with a head full of questions and a heart torn in two, made even worse by the rumors flying about him through the town. Where and why has he gone? Will he ever come back again? And—foremost in Maisie’s mind—was the heartache from his younger days somehow to blame for his sudden and mysterious flight?

But when Dean convinces her that Sidney may be facing a choice that could ruin his life, Maisie must set out to find him, once again leaving behind the Cornish seaside haven of Port Hewer she’s come to think of as home, and leaving behind the answer to a secret she’s been longing to know since the beginning. Not knowing when or if she’ll return, she’s taking the biggest risk with her heart so far…and the truth she discovers waiting for her at the end of her journey will make her wonder if things can ever possibly be the same as they were before.

Questions are answered, secrets are spilled, and the biggest reveal of the series is finally unveiled as A LITTLE HOTEL IN CORNWALL reaches its exciting conclusion.

Purchase Link – https://smarturl.it/cornishroad

I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book. All opinions are my own and no content may be copied. However, authors and publishers may use elements of my reviews for quotes

I am so pleased to be involved in the Publication Day Push for The Cornish Key to Happiness, the final instalment in the A Little Hotel in Cornwall series written by Laura Briggs.

The Cornish Key to Happiness is Book 8 in the A Little Hotel in Cornwall series, a series I’ve enjoyed learning about Maisie’s plight to find her favourite author and fulfil her dream to become an author. There’s been plenty of twists and turns along the way for Maisie but with all good series there has to be a finale.

I felt that this instalment held a bit of a foreboding atmosphere and I couldn’t guess which way the author would take lovely Maisie next. After the last instalment when we saw Sidney flee after a startling surprise from his past, understandably Maisie is very upset. She doesn’t know what to think, she doesn’t know where or why or for how long he has gone. Their blossoming relationship was doing so well and now the past that Sidney kept so well hidden has made itself known to him, is this the end for Maisie and Sidney?

Dean, Sidney’s best friend, persuades Maisie to find Sidney as he believes she is the only one that can talk to him. Maisie’s journey to find Sidney takes her to places she never dreamed of and she feels like her voyage has been wasted when she is met with obstacle after obstacle.

Laura Briggs takes the reader on an emotional trip with Maisie seeking out the truth of what the last 12 months in Cornwall have been about. Will Maisie find Sidney? Will we find out who the elusive author is?

A Little Hotel in Cornwall has been a charming read; full of hopes, dreams, adventure and romance.

Author Bio –

Laura Briggs is the author of several feel-good romance reads, including the Top 100 Amazon UK seller ‘A Wedding in Cornwall’. She has a fondness for vintage style dresses (especially ones with polka dots), and reads everything from Jane Austen to modern day mysteries. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, caring for her pets, gardening, and seeing the occasional movie or play.

Social Media Links –

Author Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1JjeMoI

Twitter: http://bit.ly/1ME9ivJ

Log Fires and Toffee Apple Cake at the Little Duck Pond Cafe by Rosie Green @Rosie_Green1988 @rararesources #blogtour #bookreview #romcom

Log Fires and Toffee Apple Cake at the Little Duck Pond Cafe written and self-published by Rosie Green is available NOW in ebook and kindleunlimited format.

Book Blurb

Get set for a wonderful celebration of autumn with all your favourite characters at the Little Duck Pond Cafe!
An autumn fair is coming to Sunnybrook, much to the delight of the villagers. But for Madison, whose personal life seems to be spinning out of control, a roller-coaster is the last thing she needs – especially when it’s her emotions at stake.
Can she convince the delectable Jack that their relationship is worth another shot? Or has their romance ground to a permanent halt like a faulty big wheel? Will she solve the mystery of the missing name on her birth certificate? Or will her discoveries take her on a journey even bumpier than the dodgem cars? One thing’s for sure. Madison is going to need more than a fairground fortune teller to find the answers to her questions, if she’s going to ‘waltz-er’ into the happiest of sunsets…

Purchase Link –  https://amzn.to/38v98Fz

I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book. All opinions are my own and no content may be copied. However, authors and publishers may use elements of my reviews for quotes

I am so pleased to be involved in the blogtour celebrating and promoting the launch of book 12 in the popular Little Duck Pond Cafe series. I would highly recommend reading all the books in the series in order as to be frank it’s wonderful, you won’t be disappointed!

I have loved everything about the Little Duck Pond Cafe series and I’m hoping author, Rosie Green, will keep on writing lots of new stories for us. Can you get bored of a series, no I don’t think you can especially when it’s written with realistic characters, with heart, with humour and the setting is perfect with lots and lots of cake?!

This instalment focuses of Maddy’s story, Maddy is a complicated character and she is her own worst enemy. She loves dearly but doesn’t trust her own feelings and those of others and ends up ruffling a few feathers with her friends and loved ones along the way. Maddy is still heartbroken over her breakup with Jack and she’s desperate to prove him wrong and that she is good for him. Maddy also needs to uncover the truth about an important part of her life that has been kept hidden by her parents.

When Maddy finds out the truth about her parentage she goes on a journey of finding her birth father and becomes a little obsessed by this new information. With this shiny, new person in her life she becomes distracted and dismisses what she has held dear to her heart all this time and tempers become frayed between many.

Jack has also returned back in Maddy’s life but not in the way she wants and he has a sidekick in tow. Maddy is confused, distraught and is once again hellbent on destroying her chances of happiness.

Log Fires and Toffee Apple Cakes is filled with lots of soul searching for Maddy but it’s a fun filled romp of a read and has the heart of friendship and community at it’s centre.

Author Bio –

Rosie has been scribbling stories ever since she was little.

Back then, they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’.

Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger involved at all – unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love.

Her series of novellas is centred around life in a village cafe. The latest, ‘Lucy’s Great Escape’, is out now.

Rosie will be revisiting the Little Duck Pond Café with a beautiful story of love and friendship at Christmas time, entitled A Kiss in the Snow, out in October 2020.

Follow Rosie on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green1988

A Stargazy Night Sky by Laura Briggs @PaperDollWrites @rararesources #blogblitz #bookreview #ALittleHotelinCornwall

A Stargazy Night Sky written and self-published by Laura Briggs is available NOW in ebook format.

Book Blurb

Starry autumn nights are bringing a rare celestial event and exciting new guests to the shores of the sleepy hotel Penmarrow.

Maisie is happy to be back among its staff, even with the question of its future ownership still in the air and the fate of her unpublished manuscript soon to be in the hands of London acquisitions editors. More than anything else, she’s happy to finally be in a relationship with Sidney Daniels, the sparks between them no longer denied. She’s excited for the future and things couldn’t be better with regards to romance … except for those lingering little questions about Sidney’s uncertain past, that is.

Meanwhile, the staff at the Penmarrow is tasked with hosting a special celestial conference where stargazers are gathering for a glimpse of the much-anticipated comet. The ever-timid maid Molly is flustered by the return of charming astronomer George and seems to need a little advice on how to rekindle the spark they shared last autumn. Hotel porters Gomez and Riley vie for the attentions of a mysterious female guest, the eccentric ‘Megs’ Buntly pays another visit, and a dramatic revelation about someone on staff will leave Maisie and everyone else reeling from the unexpected news. Is this the moment for the revelation Maisie has been waiting for since her Cornish journey began?

Brimming with humor, romance, and the kind of surprises its fans have come to expect, the seventh book in the series brings a twist at the end that’s sure to leave readers excited — and anxious — for the conclusion of Maisie’s original gorgeous Cornish adventure.

Purchase Link – https://smarturl.it/stargazynight

I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book. All opinions are my own and no content may be copied. However, authors and publishers may use elements of my reviews for quotes

I am so pleased to be invovled in the blog blitz celebrating and promoting the launch of Book 7 in the A Little Hotel in Cornwall series. I would highly recommend reading all the books in order to enjoy a full reading experience. Please visit the authors amazon page for more details of the books:

Author’s amazon page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laura-Briggs/e/B004LY01E6/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

I’ve enjoyed reading this series by Laura Briggs about American Maisie who has dreams and aspirations to be an author. Maisie flew to Cornwall in the hopes of tracking down her favourite author, the last known details she had of the author was at the grand hotel Penmarrow on the Cornish clifftops. Maisie became a waitress at the hotel still in search of her dreams and of the author but she learned to love her job at the hotel and she soon became friends with another outsider to the area, Sidney Daniels. Maisie and Sidney’s relationship has left the readers with food for thought as each new episode reveals a little more about life and loves in Cornwall.

Maisie and Sidney have now taken the next step in their friendship and a courtship has bloomed, I love this tentative steps to a new life for them Sidney shows a new side to Maisie he is sweet and caring but there is still something in his past that Sidney is afraid to reveal.

This instalment in the series sees the hotel in chaos again as an astronomy conference is about to take place with the forthcoming comet due to light up the skies with clear views across Cornwall. Lots of new and interesting characters are arriving but astronomers are not the only interesting guests at the hotel, there’s a revelation or two to be discovered which could change the future for all concerned.

Another lovely instalment in this romantic saga set in Cornwall. Will Maisie’s dreams become a reality and will we get to find out who the reclusive famous author is? There’s intrigue and mystery, warmth and humour and a lovely romance on the Cornish clifftops.

Author Bio – Laura Briggs is the author of several feel-good romance reads, including the Top 100 Amazon UK seller ‘A Wedding in Cornwall’. She has a fondness for vintage style dresses (especially ones with polka dots), and reads everything from Jane Austen to modern day mysteries. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, caring for her pets, gardening, and seeing the occasional movie or play.

Social Media Links –

Twitter: http://bit.ly/1ME9ivJ

Author Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1JjeMoI

Blooms of War by Suzanne Tierney @notajaxgirl #blogtour #bookexcerpt

Blooms of War written and self-published by Suzanne Tierney is available NOW in ebook, kindleunlimited and paperback format.

Book Blurb

In war, she fell in love.

Vera Betts shouldn’t be falling in love with the enigmatic doctor she suspects of espionage. Reeling from her family’s betrayal, she’s faked her nursing credentials, invented a new name, and run away to the frontlines of the French battlefield. Four years into the Great War and she knows who she is and what she’s meant for—to save the living and sit vigil by the dying. When the cagey-yet-earnest Dr. Nicholas Wallace arrives, so do mysterious explosions destroying hospitals. Even as Nick raises her suspicions, he lowers her defenses. He wants the war to end. Are his acts of sabotage politically motivated or a desperate attempt at peace?
​
In peace, she fell apart.

A year later, Vera is back with her oppressive family, living under her real name, and Nick is on trial for murder. Trapped in grief and guilt, she cannot speak about the past and does not believe in the future. With Nick refusing to defend himself, she ventures to London to understand why he is so willing to embrace the hangman’s noose. Who is he trying to protect? What secrets does he plan to carry to his grave? And why does Nick insist upon hiding her true identity? To save the man she loves, Vera must tear open the past and confront the tragic price for peace.

Purchase Links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blooms-War-Evocative-Emotional-Story-ebook/dp/B08CY87LW9/

US – https://www.amazon.com/Blooms-War-Evocative-Emotional-Story-ebook/dp/B08CY87LW9/

I am so pleased to be involved in the blogtour celebrating and promoting the launch of Suzanne Tierney’s latest novel: Blooms of War.  I have the pleasure of sharing an excerpt from the novel.

Blooms of War

Chapter Eight

Wimereux, May 15, 1918

[Vera and Nick meet by chance at the beach and engage in their first flirt. A letter slips from Vera’s pocket and the wind picks it up, scattering it about. The two chase down the pages, turning the capture of the pages into a game.]

*    *     *

He and I kick up our pace. My skirt shortens the length of my stride. I grab a handful of fabric, bunch it above my knees.

“No fair,” decries Colonel Wallace, giving my legs an exaggerated ogle.

We keep running and both leap, trying to grasp the stubbornly airborne page, and end up colliding into each other. Midair, his arm goes around my waist, my arms around his neck, and when we tumble, we do so like lovers falling from the sky. We land, a soft thud on soft sand, and he’s careful to release me, letting me roll off of his arm like I am too precious to tether. I lay back, squint up at the baby blue sky. Something vibrant and alive forms a ball in my stomach, flares through me and bursts out.

Laughter.

I love the sound of this novel, one to definitely add to my TBR

Author Bio –

Writer of lush, historical happily-ever-after tales, Suzanne Tierney believes in true love. But she takes delicious pleasure in making her characters fight, flutter, and find their way to each other. Her books have won numerous awards and she has twice been a Golden Heart Finalist® with the Romance Writers of America.

Suzanne grew up in Oregon, adulted in the San Francisco Bay Area, and somehow ended up in Florida, where she is very much a cold-water fish learning to navigate humid, salty seas. She loves chatting with readers.

Social Media Links –

Instagram: @notajaxgirl

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notajaxgirl/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Twitter: @notajaxgirl

Website: suzannetierney.com

Giveaway – 3 Winners each win a Donation of $15 to designated winner’s choice of frontline healthcare worker organization in the name of the  designated winner – for example it could be the American  Red Cross; etc. (Open INT)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494385/

 

 

 

 

Lucy’s Great Escape (Little Duck Pond Cafe) by Rosie Green @Rosie_Green1988 @rararesources #feelgoodfiction #bookreview #summerreading

Lucy’s Great Escape written and self-published by Rosie Green is available NOW in ebook and kindleunlimited format.

Book Blurb

Lucy never wanted to abandon her friends and family, and travel to the other side of the country to start a new life. And all without telling anyone where she was going. But these are desperate times. And finding herself with a nightmare of a dilemma, fleeing her home town seems like the only way she can protect herself and those she loves.

The Cornish town of Pengully Sands holds happy childhood memories for Lucy and seems the perfect place to escape to, although having little money and no friends, life at first seems grim.

But a chance meeting with Madison and the rest of the Little Duck Pond Café girls, plus a decidedly attractive local guy who won’t take no for an answer, gives Lucy a glimmer of hope for the future. Could she really settle in Pengully Sands and make a living by selling her watercolours?

But just as life is starting to look a little rosier, it becomes clear that someone back home – the last person she ever wanted to see – has tracked her down…

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/2xGW5mJ

I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book. All opinions are my own and no content may be copied. However, authors and publishers may use elements of my reviews for quotes

I am so pleased to be involved in the blogtour celebrating and promoting the launch of Book 11 in the Little Duck Pond Cafe series; Lucy’s Great Escape.

The Little Duck Pond Cafe is one of my favourite series of feelgood fiction and Book 11 sees us return to Cornwall to Pengully Sands.  We briefly met Lucy, the shy artist, in the last novel (A Cornish Summer Holiday) but this is the chance to learn of her back story and why and how she ended up escaping her life in London to start afresh in Cornwall.

Lucy is still grieving the loss of her mum, it’s a year since her mum sadly passed away and life will never be the same again.  Lucy’s dad has become friendly with a woman called Eleanor and Lucy feels more at ease knowing her dad has found some happiness again.  However, since Eleanor has appeared on the scene little things have started happening making Lucy doubt her own thoughts and actions.  When Lucy can’t take anymore of her life at home with her dad and his new love she feels the only option is to to take herself away from the situation.  She goes to Cornwall in her late mum’s campervan to a place that holds so many lovely memories for her.

However, bad luck seems to have followed her to Cornwall and Lucy is desperate for money.  A kindly lady offers her work but is this offer too good to be true?  As Lucy’s new life in Cornwall unfolds we learn of how her vulnerability is targeted.  A chance encounter with Madison from the cafe gives her the much needed boost she requires and a handsome stranger helps her in more ways than one.

The Little Duck Pond Cafe series is wonderful, heart-warming, feelgood fiction with realistic storylines.  The author has created such a myriad of characters to fall in love with and leaving you with thoughts of hopefulness and joy.

Another gorgeous instalment in a must read feelgood series.

Author Bio –

Rosie has been scribbling stories ever since she was little. Back then, they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’. Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger involved at all – unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love. Rosie’s Little Duck Pond Cafe series of novellas is centred around life in a village cafe. Each book can be read as a stand-alone story. The latest, ‘Lucy’s Great Escape’, is out now. Watch out for further tales of the Little Duck Pond Cafe, including the delicious ‘Log Fires & Toffee Apple Cake’, which will be published in autumn 2020.

Follow Rosie on Twitter – @Rosie_Green1988

 

 

 

 

Rose’s Choice by Chrissie Bradshaw @ChrissieBeee @rararesources #TheCollieryRows #blogtour #bookreview

Rose’s Choice written and self-published by Chrissie Bradshaw is available from tomorrow, 17th July 2020, in ebook and paperback format.

Book Blurb

Rose’s Choice – a heart-wrenching wartime saga of love, family and secrets

Rationing, bombing, disease and pit disasters are part of Rose Kelly’s World War 2 childhood. When the spirited coalminer’s daughter discovers a family secret, she makes a choice that overshadows her teenage years. Rose tries to make the most of post-war opportunities but family tragedy pulls her back to a life in the colliery rows. She relinquishes her bright future for domestic duties because her family comes first. Will family ties get in the way of her dreams?

Purchase Links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B088FY2P8Z

US –  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088FY2P8Z

I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book. All opinions are my own and no content may be copied. However, authors and publishers may use elements of my reviews for quotes

I am so pleased to be involved in the blogtour celebrating and promoting the launch of Chrissie Bradshaw’s latest novel: Rose’s Choice.  Rose’s Choice is my first introduction to the work of Chrissie Bradshaw and her words captivated me from the start.  Chrissie Bradshaw has written a wartime saga filled with wrought emotion throughout.  I have to confess I shed a tear or two many a time but the story isn’t all sad and sorrowful there are wonderful endearing moments that will lift your spirits.

Rose’s Choice is the first book in a new saga series by Chrissie Bradshaw called The Colliery Rows.  I’m a pitman’s daughter myself and was brought up in a small mining community so I knew from the start that I wanted to read this novel.  I was to learn that the storyline resonated with me on so many lives.  There is a real sense of authenticity about the story with the use of local dialect that draws you in to the location and to the era.  The dialect at times is raw and honest but northerners have never been shy of speaking before thinking.

Rose was the first child of local pitman John Kelly and his wife Ginnie.  As soon as Rose was born the couple were enchanted with her and Rose was a child loved by all.  As Rose grew up she became inquisitive and had a thirst for knowledge and had a wonderful empathy with animals.  As John and Ginnie’s family grew Rose was to take on some of the household tasks to help her mother who was increasingly busy with the younger siblings.  However, Rose was no young aspiring housewife, she knew what she wanted to do in the future and it wasn’t what her mother did.

With the wartime struggles the family learned to cope with rations and make do and mend however, when a widespread contagious disease wreaks havoc through the village many are left devastated in it’s wake.  Life sadly had to move on and Rose’s future looks brighter as new opportunities are opened.  Along the journey of life Rose becomes embroiled in a secret that could rip her family apart and she is torn to how to proceed.  Tragedy alas is not too far ahead and Rose is left with an unfortunate choice.

An endearing coming of age family saga that is filled with heightened emotions with the highs and lows of wartime England.  Life is tough but the community of Colliery Rows have coped with worse and pull together through hardship, tears and smiles.  I can’t wait for more from this series and from Chrissie Bradshaw.

Author Bio – Chrissie, 2016 winner of the Romantic Novelist’s Elizabeth Goudge writing trophy, is a seasoned tea drinker and a tenacious trainer of her welsh terrier, Oscar. She has always loved match-making a book to a reader. Writing the kind of book she loves to read takes this a step further. She has written two contemporary sagas, A JARFUL of MOONDREAMS, a contemporary story about family relationships, secrets and how dreams can come true, and THE BARN OF BURIED DREAMS, a contemporary story about two sisters who are struggling after the death of their mother. ROSE’S CHOICE is her first historical saga and is set where Chrissie lives in Northumberland. When she is not writing or reading, you will find Chrissie walking Oscar on the beautiful Northumbrian coastline, travelling or spending time with her family and friends.

Social Media Links –

Chrissie enjoys tweeting to readers on @ChrissieBeee
Her instagram account is chrissie_bradshaw_author
Her blog is http://www.chrissiebradshaw.com/
and she has a Chrissie Bradshaw author page on Facebook.
She would love to hear from readers