#Review By Lou of The Man I Met On Holiday By Fiona Gibson @FionaGibson @AvonBooksUK #ContemporryFiction #Romcom #HolidayRead

The Man I Met On Holiday
By Fiona Gibson

I have a review on a lovely holiday read – The Man I Met on Holiday. Thanks to Avon Books.

Blurb

A hilarious and heart-warming tale of second chance love, perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Kristen Bailey and Jill Mansell.

Is he just a summer fling? Or the one she’s been waiting for?…

How Lauren thought her summer holiday would go: Priceless mother-son memories of swimming and sunshine before Charlie leaves for university.

How things actually are, now they’re here: Charlie refusing to speak to her, locked in a darkened room in their Corsican cottage, and a creeping sense of dread contemplating the rest of her life alone.

Although Charlie has decided that holidays with Mum are now deeply uncool, Lauren is determined not to waste this trip. Then she meets James, who was supposed to be holidaying with his daughter but is now, like her, unexpectedly flying solo.

Lauren is soon sneaking away for romantic dinners under the stars. Instead of the end of something, she hopes this could be a new beginning.

But what happens when Lauren and James pick up their emotional baggage back home? And what will their kids make of their mid-life rom com in the making?

Review

The Man I Met On Holiday is a book to easily relax to, whilst on holiday.
There is the holiday fling and the aftermath of it. Lauren and James are in their 50s and with kids, who really don’t think holidaying with parents is cool anymore. It is interesting to see how each person relates to each other. There is humour to be had there.

There is the emotional side laid bare as to what happens when they return home and the question of whether they get it back together in their main parts of their lives or not, when reality hits home again. There’s the emotional baggage of family, the possibilities of complications and of previous relationships and the busyness of everyday life, including work to contend with as they decide what path to go down.

It took me a little while to get into, but once I did, it is a book to sit back, kick off the shoes and relax into and is quite a fun read to be immersed in.

#Review By Lou of – The Fixer Upper By Lauren Forsyth@LaureF_writer @LittleBrownUK #RomFic #ContemporaryFiction

The Fixer Upper
By Lauren Forsyth

Thanks to Little Brown Group UK, I have a review of the wonderfully originally written – The Fixer Upper. There’s more to this rim-com than meets the eye and is sure to be identifiable to many readers. Find the blurb and review below…

Blurb

An astonishingly relevant, funny and heartfelt romantic comedy about a universal experience that is yet to be explored in fiction: the emotional labour of dating men.

Ever since she can remember, Aly has tried fixing things: her parents’ marriage, colleagues’ work problems, and all her friends’ love lives. But when she bumps into her ex – who has gone from a living in his parents’ basement to a happily-married success – she realises she’s been fixing her boyfriends, too . . .

Her best friends call it ‘The Aly Effect.’

When an in-joke with her friends at the office spirals out of control, Aly uses her talents to set up THE FIXER UPPER- an exclusive underground service for women who are tired of mothering, nagging and coaching their boyfriends through life.

Before long, a mysterious celebrity client hires them for their biggest challenge yet: turning her boyfriend into the perfect fiancé in three weeks.

There’s just one catch . . . He’s Aly’s first love.

And he’s not at all pleased to see her.

Review

The Fixer Upper is feminist, original and humorous. It has a similar vibe to the film – The Wedding Planner. Ally sets up her own business in the romance sector. She, herself wants her forever happily ever after, but the way things go, well, there are some humorous things that happen along the way. Aly is the ultimate “Fixer Upper”, who has had boyfriends and yet they all need something fixing and that is something she can do. The only thing is, once fixed up, they then become more desireable men and end up with someone else. I’m sure there are many women who can relate and have been in that position of having to “mother” men and teach what I would call advance life-skills to and such like and find that either they move on, or you do. Aly is that person who does this, she fixes men up and makes them into better people, but she also at times seems to forget about taking care of herself. It’s a book that resonates. Alys’s life path is an interesting one. Things get even more juicy when her first love comes along and there’s quite a twist in the tale when he isn’t pleased to see her. This was quite different from how things normally go and I liked that.

This rom-com is sure to reel readers in on a brilliant route to pure escapism in areas of life lived by many, but rarely talked about and not particularly written about, until now.

#Review By Lou of The Cornish Hideaway by Jennifer Bibby @jennyfromthewr1 @simonschusterUK @BookMinxSJV @#TeamBATC #TheCornishHideaway #Blogtour

The Cornish Hideaway
By Jennifer Bibby

Enter sun-drenched Cornwall in the Cornish Hideaway. Discover more in the blurb and review below.
Thanks to Books and the City – Simon and Schuster for inviting me on the blog tour with a book in-exchange of an honest review.

Blurb

All Freya has ever wanted to do is paint. So when she fails her Master’s Degree in Art, on the same day that her boyfriend decides he needs a ‘more serious’ partner, to Freya it feels like the end of the world.

Luckily, she has a saviour in the shape of best friend Lola, who invites her to the sleepy Cornish village of Polcarrow, to work in her café. With nothing keeping her in London, Freya jumps at the chance of a summer by the sea.

Freya needs time to focus on herself. But then dark and mysterious biker Angelo blows into town on a stormy afternoon, with his own artistic dreams and a secretive past, and Freya’s plans of a romance-free summer fly straight out of the window…

Heart-warming, heartfelt and romantic, The Cornish Hideaway is a novel of community, friendship and learning to love again, for fans of Jenny Colgan, Cathy Bramley and Heidi Swain.

Review

The Cornish Hideaway is a bit of lovely escapism to curl up with after a busy day. There isn’t anything keeping Freya in London and Cornwall is the place of choice, when a friend practically rescues her and offers her a job in a cafe. This is when her life changes, from going from thinking it is the end of the world to being in a village by the sea. It was then going to become her coastal hideaway, after all, what could happen in somewhere that seems so sleepy? A new lover for starters, someone who is arty and is unlike the previous guy in her life, who was way too serious for her anyway and possibly not helped that she didn’t pass her art course. I quite like that she isn’t some high-flyer because not everyone can be, nor is in real life (the world just as not cope for a start if everyone is) and it gives a small sense of reality and shows that for the few, that they can get lucky and it at least provides escapism.

Alongside what seems like a perfect idyll, is her new romance entering Freya’s life, who has secrets and quite the dark past for her to learn. There’s quite a rocky road ahead…

It is time to be whisked away to Polcarrow in Cornwall and all its beautifully described scenery an uplifting characters with quite the past and quite the present.

About the Author

As a lifelong lover of stories, I spent my teenage years wowing various teachers with historical epics before finding my feet writing modern love stories. I enjoy exploring the lives of women as they set out on life changing adventures, which usually lead them somewhere picturesque and full of new friendships and of course, the promise of romance. I adore a romantic hero with a dark backstory, the typical bad boy turned good.

In addition to being a bibliophile (my to be read pile is embarrassing stacked all around my house) I love classy cocktails, cake and dressing in the vintage style – never leaving the house without my signature red lipstick. I’m happiest by the sea, or stomping around a muddy field and I love to travel (Venice is my absolute favourite place, it’s so enchanting and calls to the artist in me.) I love medieval history, steam trains and firmly believe dinosaurs improve everything.

The Cornish Hideaway is my debut novel and I hope you enjoy your trip to Polcarrow. Please feel free to follow me on twitter for sea, scones and story inspiration @jennyfromthewr1 Happy reading!

#Review By Lou of A Season For Love By Ally Sinclair @HeraBooks #AllySinclair #Romcom #ASeasonForLove is inspired by #JaneAusten in the modern world

A Season For Love
By Ally Sinclair

Today I thought I’d share a review of A Season For Love. Let’s take a look at the blurb and then I have my no spoiler review.

Blurb

Can old-fashioned courtship survive in today’s dating world?

When Emma Love’s mother retires, it is time for her to take the reins of the family dating agency and build on its success. And she has a fresh new idea: to host a Jane Austen-style Regency Season of glamourous events where potential lovers can actually take the time to get to know each other in person, with no apps in between.

As the round of glamourous social events begins, we meet some of Emma’s new clients, and see her matchmaking skills in action.

Annie, who has a romantic soul but believes she lost her chance at love a long time ago; recently divorced Jane, who is not quite ready to see what her new love life might look like, and wild child Lydia, who is more interested in hooking up than finding her Mr Darcy.

All is going swimmingly but as the Season unfolds, there is a fly in Emma’s ointment – the irritating Mr Knight, with his casual attitude and gentle cynicism. Why is she allowing him to ruffle her calm, ordered life and why can’t she stop thinking about him? She has no intention of becoming romantically involved herself, of course; she is far too sensible to take a chance on love – isn’t she?

Jane Austen meets Sophie Kinsella.

Review

A Season for Love is very much in the territory of Jane Austen, in-fact so much so that it practically delves into the territory of Emma in both character and premise. It has Emma setting up a dating agency so she can play matchmaker professionally and host regency style balls.

It is witty in places and very much feels like Emma in contemporary times. The best concept in the book is to see whether, what would be considered old-fashioned dating can actually work in today’s modern, high-tech world.

Overall, it is a pleasantly entertaining rom-com.

Thanks to Hera Books for a copy in exchange of an honest review.

#Article by Lou – Celebrating Authors – Fern Britton @Fern_Britton #HarperCollinsUK @fictionpubteam #CelebratingAuthors #ContemporaryFiction #LiteraryFiction #RomanticFiction #HistoricalFiction #TV #ReadingCommunity #WritingCommunity #CelebratingAuthors

Celebrating Authors – Fern Britton
By Louise – Lou

As part of my blog in 2023 until it reaches 5 years old in September, I will be celebrating an author or publisher every so often. Join me as I celebrate works of Fern Britton in this part of my series of blog posts. Find a short article and a bit about a couple of her books and links below.

Fern Britton is a well-known TV presenter and author. She has successfully published over 15 books – stand-alone books, novellas and non-fiction over many years and at least one was a Quick Reads book in the Reading Agency scheme. She is also known for her tv presenting on programmes such as Ready Steady Cook, This Morning, Watercolour Challenge (rebooted), My Cornwall and many more.

I’ve read a number of books by Fern Britton, most pre-blog, so one day I will write reviews of more as I highly recommend her; but whilst writing my blog, I have had amazing opportunities such as to review her books and during lockdown, be part of a small group of people on Zoom to interview her in a Q&A set up by her publisher, all of which you can find in the links below in this short article. I was fortunate enough to attend an in-person talk at Good HouseKeeping magazine a couple of years later where she talked warmly and intelligently about The Good Servant as well as candidly about her life, including gardening. She also gave people opportunity to have a signed book and to meet her, which was fortunate for me as her kindness has been beyond and I like to thank people in person. I highly recommended her books, tv programmes and her talks.

Fern Britton’s tv programmes are inspiring, interesting and warm. Anything she touches, her passion and genuine curiosity oozes, pulling in her audience. It’s a great skill and no mean feat, considering the amount of programmes made on many channels.
Her books are excellent for curling up with for all year round reading with your favourite snack and drink, whatever the weather. They are evocative and compelling, whether it is romantic fiction, such as A Seaside Affair or historical such as The Good Servant. She has the mystique in her writing to enthral and enchant as she envelopes the reader in the scenery and gives them a clear window into many characters lives. She also has the ability to use facts as a base and fictionalise a story just enough to steer away from it becoming non-fiction as she has in Daughters of Cornwall and The Good Servant.

Daughters of Cornwall is fiction, but was inspired by her own family. It’s a fascinating story across the generations, taking in 1918, 1939 and 2020. It truly is a compelling read with bloodlines and secrets from start to finish.

Within the link for the blurb and full review, you will also find a write-up of the Q&A and about the online book launch. Daughters of Cornwall

The Good Servant is a fictional story based on fact about Marion Crawford (Crawfie) is a young Scottish woman who becomes a governess to two princesses – Princess Margaret and the princess who became our queen – Queen Elizabeth II. It is a thoughtful, interesting book that now holds a deeper poignancy than ever before.
There are twists and motives uncovered and a sense of duty revealed in this engaging read.

Find out more about the fascinating, well researched book in the blurb and review within the link. The Good Servant

#Review By One Moment By Becky Hunter Bookish_Becky @CorvusBooks @RandomTTours #ContemporaryFiction #BlogTour

One Moment
By Becky Hunter

One Moment is perfect for David Nicholl’s fans. I have the blurb and my blog tour review that I am closing the tour with, thanks to Random T. Tours for inviting me onto and the publisher – Corvus for the book in exchanges for an honest, non-biased review.

About the Author

Becky Hunter lived and worked in London for several years before moving to Mozambique to volunteer

with horses and try her hand at writing. A few years, a few destinations, and a few jobs later she had the idea that would become One Moment. Alongside writing, she now works as a freelance editor and publicist, splitting her time between Bristol and London, and constantly trying to plan the next adventure.

Blurb

One moment in time can change everything…

The day Scarlett dies should have been one of the most important of her life. It doesn’t feel fair that she’ll never have the chance to fulfil her dreams. And now, she’s still … here – wherever here is – watching the ripple effect of her death on the lives of those she loved the most.

Evie cannot contemplate her life without Scarlett, and she certainly cannot forgive Nate, the man she blames for her best friend’s death. But Nate keeps popping up when she least expects him to, catapulting Evie’s life in directions she’d never let herself imagine possible. Ways, perhaps, even those closest to her had long since given up on.

If you could go back, knowing everything that happens after, everything that happens because of that one moment in time, would you change the course of history or would you do it all again?

Review

One Moment is sure to have readers taking a sharp intake of breath as the words on the first page tumble out. It also has some One Day vibes about it, not a bad thing at all. Becky Hunter’s book is about how everything can change in One Moment and in the most shocking of ways.

It is a highly charged emotional read about grief and you see the impact death has on those left behind, especially in Evie’s life and then Nate keeps appearing, further changing her life.

The book also talks about MS – (Multiple Sclerosis – a disease with no cure and affects everyone differently), being an unpaid carer to someone with this, of course it piqued my attention further and scrutiny heightened. I will add that it isn’t mentioned lots and isn’t the whole story, but as part of this story and the way it fits in, it is done well.

Scarlett also has a pov in this book, yes, she is dead, (as the blurb says) but she in a state of limbo. It almost asks the reader to imagine what it would be like to witness what happens after your death, would you want to and would you change certain events? It’s an interesting concept in what is a fittingly emotional journey that shows all of life, how in a moment it can all change, so basically, perhaps not take it for granted, and so much of life’s connection.

This is a quick paced, compulsive read that packs a punch with a most unexpected ending!