#Review of Dead Festive By Peter Buckman @peterwordofmouthbooks @RandomTTours #PumpernickleMysteries #DeadFestive #Christmas #BlogTour

Dead Festive
By Peter Buckman

Review by Louise Cannon

Dead Festive is a book to get cosy with this Christmas season, well almost cosy with the cute dog, except there is a body count!
I’m on the Random T. Tours blog tour reviewing Dead Festive, A Pumpernickle Mystery today. Check out the blurb and my review below…

Blurb

“Everyone needs a Marion and Leo in their life. They are warm, kind, reassuring and funny.”
Patrick Neale
——
Murder, mince pies, and mayhem—a family Christmas takes a deadly turn.

For veteran lawyer Leo, Christmas Day is going according to plan. His vegetarian Wellington has been well received; his beloved partner Marion has finally introduced him to her dress-wearing brother Harold, who seems very happy with his partner Julian; Leo’s granddaughter Jazz is behaving impeccably; and his oldest friend Dennis, the doyen of crime journalists, is being kept under control by his wife Susan, helped by large quantities of wine. Even Leo’s dog Pumpernickel joins in the fun.

Until Julian, a reluctant player of charades, lies down to enact his last word, and fails to get up again. Suddenly, the festive mood turns dark. Was it a heart attack, something he ate, or could it be murder?

As they wait for the police to turn up, the tension isn’t eased by the arrival of Leo’s sister Becky with her husband and moody son. Family rows erupt and secrets jostle to the surface.

Why did the victim hide away a box of champagne truffles?

Who was really meant to receive Harold’s glittering bracelet?

Was Pumpernickel right in detecting the presence of poison?

Answers are provided in this romp of a story featuring all the main characters of Peter Buckman’s romantic cosy crime series The Pumpernickel Mysteries. This novella is a tale of love, greed, death, devotion, and brandy butter.

Review

Christmas seems normal as the festivities and joyous fun begins. There’s food, traditional family games and more… There are also the rows that families have at this time of year. The one problem is that those tensions don’t stay contained. They explode into a death that leaves so many questions unanswered over the course of a few hours. That is until the police show up and as you immerse yourself into this novella, you’ll also be guessing what happened to Julian.

Dead Festive is a cosy Christmas read with both a good festive atmosphere and an air of mystery and a cute dog called Pumpernickle.

For an extra book for a stocking or a treat for yourself, this is a great entertaining short, but perfectly formed Christmas book to take time out with and relax.

#Review of Life Begins at the Cornish Cottage by Kim Nash review by Lou @KimTheBookworm @Tr4cyF3nt0n @RandomTTours @Rararesources #ZoolooBookTours #CompulsiveReaders #FeelGoodRomance #Christmas #LifeBeginsAtTheCornishCottage

Life Begins at the Cornish Cottage
By Kim Nash

review by Louise Cannon

Life Begins at the Cornish Cottage with this first love, revisited book with a gorgeous scenic look at Cornwall. It is also special in that some of you may recognise the location of Standpiper Shore from previous books, but this particular story is Stand-Alone. It’s a beauty for this Christmas. See the blurb and my full review below
Thanks to Compulsive Readers, Random T. Tours, Rachel’s Random Resources, Zooloo Book Tours, I am on what is an exceptional digital blog tour, which all those aforementioned top blog tour organisers have teamed up with a host of us reviewers, which I am proud to have a space on. Check out my blurb and review below and then follow the rest of the tour…

Blurb

Set against the sparkling shores of Cornwall☀️, this BRAND NEW heartwarming, uplifting and gorgeously romantic tale of second chances is perfect for fans of Veronica Henry, Trisha Ashley and Cathy Bramley. ✨
When life gives you heartbreak 💔, sometimes it also gives you a second chance… 💕

When Tom Sullivan returns to the quiet village of Sandpiper Shore, Emma can hardly believe her eyes. She hasn’t seen him since they played Romeo and Juliet in their school play – a lifetime ago, before real heartbreak, and long before she ever imagined life as a widow.

The last thing she wants is to relive the past, especially with someone who once made her teenage heart flutter. But when Emma agrees to put on a charity pantomime to raise money for the air ambulance service that helped her late husband, she’s thrown firmly back into Tom’s path.

As rehearsals begin and the local community rallies around her, Emma finds unexpected joy in bringing people together – and a surprising connection with Tom that feels far too real to ignore. Maybe it’s time for Emma to become the leading lady in her own life, not just for the show, but for herself.

Full of warmth, humour and heart, this is a story about letting go and discovering that it’s never too late to take a chance on love.

While this novel is set in the same village as the other books in the Sandpiper Shore series, it can be read as a STANDALONE

Review

On first entering the gorgeous Cornish scenery, it becomes apparent it’s going to be a slow-burn, but in a luxurious reading way. The way that immerses you and really get to know the characters and the place.

Tom Sullivan was Emma’s first love who has returned to Sandpiper Shore. It’s a fascinating angle on the romance story and poses the question of will they still like each other and how will both of these characters react? They haven’t seen each other since school and now they’re both rather grown-up. It makes for a rather interesting plot shape.

Like Iris in the film, The Holiday, Emma decides it’s high time she was the leading lady of her own life and develops some gumption as opportunities are presented and memories of her younger days come flooding back, not all are those she wanted to come to the forefront of her mind…

The opportunity she grasps, however is to put on a Pantomime with her friends to raise money for charity, specifically, the Air Ambulance. This is when Tom enters the scene, but what will she do with the feelings she still seems to hold for him, even though he broke her heart many years ago?

Life Begins at the Cornish Cottage has all the warmth of a cosy fleece, heart that lightens whatever is going on around in real life, just for a moment, beautiful scenery to fall for and a joyous community you want to be part of.

Life Begins at the Cornish Cottage is one for cosying up on a dark Christmas night with hot chocolate or any other warming beverage, or doing an act of kindness and gifting it to someone.

#Review by Lou of The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen @antti_tuomainen @OrendaBooks #TheWinterJob #ScandiNoir #Christmas #ChristmasRead

The Winter Job
By Antti Tuomainen

Review by Louise Cannon

Winter is upon us and the temperature is dropping, at least where I am, it’s a bit chilly, bordering on a bitterness in the air. There can be dark humour in these darker nights and it comes in the form of The Winter Job. A great Road Trip and Crime Christmas Read.

Antti Tuomainen is an interesting Scandi-Noir author and brings surprising twists and turns. If you know Scandi-Noir, it’s often quite dark in the themes and what happens. Antti Tuomainen cleverly turns some of this on its head. I first read The Rabbit Factor trilogy and saw this and he has written others that are stand-alone books, but this is the author who makes me want to read this genre. So, what did I think of this latest book that was a surprise gift left at Bloody Scotland Festival for me by Orenda Books? Find out below…

Review

There’s a Christmas promise to fulfil, a fabulous road trip which brings some unexpected people into the journey along the way, some with friendship, others with danger and there is a death.

There’s an important Christmas mission to avoid disappointment on Christmas Day. Ilmari has a piano to pick up for his daughter. There’s an important agreement to be made and he needs it for his daughter in 6 days time. It shouldn’t be too hard, but there is some poor driving and the transportation of something unexpected that defies the anything like any type of normal things that get moved. There are also suspicious businessmen along the way.

The Winter Job is not your usual Scandi-Noir nor your usual Christmas book. It’s quirky, it’s full of humour combined with dangerous twists. The big question is, will the piano get to where it needs to be in time?

For fun this Christmas with a crime theme, The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen is a great treat for readers either for yourself or a present for someone.

#Review By Lou of This Year’s For Me and You By Emily Bell #EmilyBell @PenguinRandom @MichaelJBooks

This Year’s For Me and You
By Emily Bell

This Year’s For Me and You is heart-warming and just gets you into the festive spirit and ready for ringing in the bells for the new year.

Blurb

When Celeste loses her best friend Hannah, she’ll do anything to keep her spirit alive.

So when she uncovers her friend’s old list of New Year’s resolutions, Celeste vows to complete them all.

One adventure at a time, she rediscovers how wonderful life can be.

But when one resolution leads her to someone from her past, Celeste can’t help but wonder . . .

Could the biggest adventure of all be falling in love?

Review

This is a heart-warming story that is great for seeing in the new year. It’s full of tradition like making new year’s resolutions and the warmth of hope and wonder of what’s to come.

Hannah was Celeste’s best friend and it is heart-wrenchingly emotional to learn that she dies. This is when the almost magical part comes in, where memories are re-ignited and new hope comes and surprises spring into life – there’s a new year’s resolutions list that was Hannah’s that gets discovered. What follows feels bittersweet and tender. Celeste vows to honour her friend and do everything in the list. It sends her on quite an adventure of discovery, and re-discovery as one resolution brings her back to an old flame. The ‘will they won’t they’ scenario kicks in and by this time, I’m so invested in the characters that I find myself rooting for Celeste’s love to come alive again as grief and peace circle.

Go on an adventure of a lifetime to bring you in the new year and be inspired to carry out your own resolutions. This book sure does the job and will leave a fuzzy warm glow inside, quite the contrast from the wintry temperatures outside.

You can buy at Waterstones
Please not I am not affiliated to Waterstones in any way.

#BookReview By Lou of That Festive Feeling By Heidi Swain @Heidi_Swain @simonschusterUK @RandomTTours #BlogTour #ChristmasReads #Christmas

That Festive Feeling
By Heidi Swain

Review By Louise (Lou)

This Christmas, cosy up with That Festive Feeling, a seasonal book that will melt the iciness outside and the heart inside to get into the festive spirit. Today, I am on the blog tour, thanks to Random T. Tours for inviting me. Discover the blurb, my review and a bit about the author below.

Blurb

Holly has the place to herself this Christmas. It’s not her place, though – she is house-sitting for friends who live on Nightingale Square – just there to keep the place warm and cosy and only for long enough for her to sort her life out. Newly single and finding herself unsure about next steps for her career, she plans to hunker down and make some life decisions.

To clear her mind, she sets off on early morning walks around a nearby lake and bumps into May, an older lady who is also new to the area, and her dapper Dachshund Monty. Quickly, a firm friendship blossoms. Then when Holly meets Bear, a rather large and rather attractive man, at the local pub, and his rescue dog Queenie, her stay at Nightingale Square suddenly feels even more appealing.

As the community comes together for the season’s festivities, Holly must start thinking about where her life will take her next. Some big decisions need to be made, but distractions close to home make thinking about the future more tricky than ever…

Will she get that festive feeling this Christmas…?

Review

That Festive Feeling brings that feeling of wrapping up in a cosy fleece blanket with a mug of hot chocolate and marshmallows, hunkering down the house and indulging in some you time with a great book to sweep you away.

The book can be read as a standalone or as part of the series. Essentially the stories are complete within themselves, whether you are returning to the warmth of Nightingale Square or are a newcomer, like Holly, who is housesitting for a friend. By the end, you leave, not only with a real sense of the character and scenery of the place, but also where people live, in the detailed writing that has a light touch.

Nightingale Square is painted as a wonderful place to live in, even through its challenging times as a community or for individuals living there, it has some of the best spirit. It’s a generational rom-com, which is brilliant for readers of many ages.

This time, readers meet Holly, an inescapably befitting name for this new Christmas book. She’s newly single and housesitting, which gives her a change of scene to work out what she truly desires as her next stage in life. As a reader, we can enjoy Nightingale Square when Holly takes to her walks. Upon meeting May and her Dachshund, a new friendship sparks and we see Holly fitting in pretty well. She also meets Bear, a rather attractive man in the local pub and the feeling of romance is in the air.
Life isn’t as easy as that. This in someways has thrown a curveball for Holly as she has decisions to make about what she wants out of life and what to do as time marches on. She has her future to work out as festivities happen all around her, which she may or may not be quite in the mood for.

That Festive Feeling is a snug book to cosy up against the fierce wintry weather or how about buying it for someone as a present this Christmas to bring them joy and comfort.

About the Author

Heidi lives in beautiful south Norfolk with her family and a mischievous cat called Storm. She is passionate about gardening, the countryside, collecting vintage paraphernalia and reading.
Her TBR pile is always out of control!

#Review By Lou of Keeping A Christmas Promise By Jo Thomas @Jo_Thomas01 @TransWorldBooks #Christmas #RomanticFiction #ContemporaryFiction @alisonbarrow #KirstyDunseath

Keeping A Christmas Promise
By Jo Thomas

Keeping A Christmas Promise is the latest festive offering by Jo Thomas to whisk readers off on an adventure of a lifetime with lifelong friends to keep a very important promise. This is one of the best books I’ve read by Jo Thomas yet! Discover the blurb and my review below, thanks to Alison Barrow and Kirsty Dunseath at Transworld Books.

Blurb

A Christmas to remember for a friend they’ll never forget

Four friends
Twenty-five years ago, Freya and her three best friends created a bucket list. The future seemed bright, full of hope and most importantly guaranteed . . .

One promise
Now they are travelling to Iceland in memory of the friend they’ve lost, determined to fulfil her dream of seeing the Northern Lights at Christmas.

A life-changing adventure
They didn’t count on an avalanche leaving them stranded! Handsome local, Pétur, comes to the rescue, showing them how the community survives the hard winter. With Christmas approaching, Freya and her friends throw themselves into the festivities, decorating and cooking for the villagers using delicious local ingredients.

But will the Northern Lights appear so they can honour their friend’s wish? And can Freya’s own dreams come true, this Christmas?

‘A deliciously festive treat bursting with Icelandic flavour, adventure and romance’ RUTH JONES

‘Sparkling, romantic, magical – and delicious’ MILLY JOHNSON

‘Heart-warming, moving and romantic, with a beautiful setting – what could be better?’ KATIE FFORDE

Review

Bucketlists, they make us think of our mortality, what’s important to us and what new experiences we should try in our lives. They make us get out there and instead of only existing, they can turn life into a rich tapestry of adventure that also brings excitement and an air of optimism.

4 friends created a bucket list 25 years ago. Their friendship stood the test of time and they still have that zest for adventure. There’s poignancy, which really comes across as one of the friends has died, so they are now living out her wish – to see the Northern Lights in Iceland at Christmas time. I loved that real care and loyalty to their now dead friend, to carry out her wish in her memory. It oozes warmth amongst heartbreak and the genuine determination they have to do this.

There is a lot of Christmas fun to be had with spreading a bit of joy and mucking in with an Icelandic community to ensure this, after some rather serious danger due to an avalanche, putting everyone and everything at risk.

It’s a very endearing book that will warm anyone’s heart and soul and show the way of true and everlasting friendship and some romance along the way.