#BookReview by Lou of Hot Desk by Zara Stoneley @ZaraStoneley @0neMoreChapter_ @HarperCollinsUK #Romcom #Fiction #OfficeReturn #OfficeRomance #Humour #Uplifting

Hot Desk
By Zara Stoneley

Hot Desk provides great escapism that is packed full of delightful entertainment with really good humour and romance.

Thank you to One More Chapter (Harper Collins UK) for gifting me a copy of Hot Desk and giving me the opportunity to review.

Follow onto the blurb and my full review below.

Blurb

Same desk, different days. A post-it note is just the beginning…

A must read for fans of Beth O’Leary, Mhairi McFarlane and Sophie Kinsella!

Alice loves her job and wants to keep it – whatever the price. But then she’s told the company is switching to flexible working and hot desking…Alice’s desk might look a mess, but she knows exactly where everything is. Or she did. Until she found out she’s going to share it with the most annoying guy in the office.

Jamie can work from anywhere. He’s quite happy to sweep his work life into a box at the end of the working day. But can sharing a desk with Alice be as much fun as teasing her in person?

With no option but to try it and see, will their relationship turn into open warfare or will it ever progress beyond a post-it note?

Review

Hot Desk is set post Covid-19 and people are adjusting to being back in the office with new working practices. Something so many office workers would now be able to relate to. This reality is there, but it’s not all about Covid-19. This is about Alice and how she handles going back to the office of ‘We Got Designs’. It presents itself, even from the first page, to be a very funny book indeed. The comic-timing in the writing is divine. A little bit further in and there is the clear signs of romantic frission between her and fellow colleague – Jamie and it is so well written. It’s great that this is set out near the beginning and then to see how this progresses. It’s a bit like listening into office gossip when reading Hot Desk. It’s all rather a deliciously enticing book that is so entertaining that it compels you to read to see how it all plays out.

There are serious notes to the story too, one being the real fear of the office’s future. There is also the whole fear of hot desking looming and then becoming a reality, with all the terms and conditions attached and the emotion that goes with it. Readers will be able to relate to how things can be when a desk is no longer your own. Alice finds out she has to hot desk with Jamie, so confides in her friend Lou quite a bit.

There is a sweet growing romance that sprouts in the office and yet in a light way, also brings endangered animals and conservation into the conversation. It’s lovely to organically watch Alice and Jamie getting to know each other.

Ultimately this is a rom-com that is properly funny and properly romantic. The mix of these ingredients with the premise of returning to the office and having to share a desk works wonderfully well and makes me smile. Readers can watch this office to see if the spark of their romance grows further into a sizzle or not, even with all the new things to get to grip with, this element still lives on.
After a hard day’s work, whether you’re in an office or not, Hot Desk provides entertaining, sweet and touching escapism that hits the spot very well indeed.

#Review By Lou – Alice, Shaken and Definitely Stirred by Paula Smith @PaulaSmith2424 @lovebooksgroup @lovebookstours

Alice, Shaken and Definitely Stirred
By Paula Smith

Food, Films, Famous People, Romance and a lot of fun… What more can a girl ask for? This book is jam-packed full of all of that. Thanks to Love Books Group for inviting me to review and for The Conrad Press for gifting me the book. The book was published in 2020 and I am delighted to be part of this blog tour.

Blurb

This uplifting romantic comedy takes you on Alice’s journey, interweaving her relationships with real-life characters and dreams involving her favourite romantic screen idols.

Lamenting the loss of her long-term partner and having been made redundant, Alice makes a New Year’s Resolution to get on with life, and definitely without a man. But things don’t quite go to plan. As her Aunty Betty says, ‘Men, dear, are like buses, there are none on the horizon then three come along all at once.’ Alice certainly is shaken and definitely stirred.

Review

The tone of friends who are also related together (Alice and Sue), just chatting, reminiscing, gossiping is just pure fun and something to relax into from the start.

There’s humour to be had and a dream that starts off exquisitely and romantically… until it starts to come tumbling down, down, down, until reality totally hits and there’s work to go to. Alice works for Mr Frobersham as a director and is in the business of buttons for all the top named stores and brands… until things changed when she was off work.
She also has a social life of sorts, involving all sorts of food and drink. This is a book you may want to prepare a snack and a drink before you sit back and relax in the summer sun with.

The interweaving of real life and dreams is quite different and is easy to differentiate from the two, one because of the famous people’s names, two, because it says when she’s having a dream, three, the style of text changes slightly. They are also pretty outlandish and definitely odd, but adds to the fun of Alice. If you enjoy films you’ll enjoy this book, with its references, . In a way the book almost plays out like a film within a book, or a tv show in a book as there are some references and names from tv too and the fact it’s a romcom makes it more so.

When practically swearing off men, 3 enter her life – Ollie, Malcolm and Alistair and it’s rather a conundrum for her to choose which guy would be more suitable for her and to work out who may have a bigger chance of breaking her heart. Mixed in with this, is the hard truth that she needs to find a new job, which brings more than a dose of reality to the book.

The book is set at Christmas time, but not too many references to it. It’s one of those that doesn’t feel like it matters too much when you read it. It’s just a feelgood, cosy rom-com, that I think will make people feel warm inside and can have a very nice time with.

Lillian White’s Journey by Karen Kelly @karenlindakelly #Fiction #Romcom #Uplit

Lillian White’s Journey
By Karen Kelly
Rated: 4 stars ****

Be prepared for humour in Lillian White’s Journey. It’s bursting full of fun, heartwarming entertainment. It is brimming full of life and there’s a wedding which may or may not go ahead….
Find out more in the blurb and my review below.
Thanks to the author Karen Kelly, who kindly got in touch with a request to review her book and to send me a copy.

Blurb

On the morning of her wedding, Lillian White awakes with a hangover from hell, a naked stranger and no recollection of the previous night. As her eyes become focused the panic sets in as the once intimate, romantic Bridal Suite resembles the aftermath of a wild, drunken party. Unread messages flood her inbox from her soon Husband-to-be but with only hours to spare, can she still go through with the wedding?

Review

Right from the prologue, I had a good vibe about this book. Readers meet the main protagonist, Lillian White on the morning of her wedding to Robert Lomax, who sounds very handsome and the man of her dreams. The book gets off to a flying start, not by its humour, but also the intrigue as to who exactly was in bed with her. Then comes a bit of back story that will be relatable to many singletons to some extent or another. Lillian has been on some pretty funny dates and some right disaterous ones.

Tom and Jess are in a relationship and they are friends with Sam, Sally and Lou, who know secrets about Tom’s lovelife, that soon comes out to Jess with a revelation from Tom.The friendship between them and Lillian is heartwarming and absolutely lovely.

As one romance ends, there’s sizzling intrigue to see if another begins… It turns out jogging has its hazards, but then again, the paramedic who comes to the rescue, resembles the man of a lot of women’s dreams!

The book is set in Sedley, Cheshire and sounds idyllic, with the sound of a woodpecker for an alarm clock, which knows no bounds and will have the tendency to hammer away, even when on holiday time, as Lillian is, from her family’s business – The Whyte Shed. Readers can then travel with her in her snazzy new job as an Air-hostess and those first day nerves of training, which would be familiar to many people. There’s plenty that pregnant women and women who have had babies, will recongnise and it is written with good wit, as much as, at the same time readers will be able to empathise and sympathise with Lillian. It’s what makes this book so good and so easy to get caught up in. The book moves at quite a pace and once again, Lillian is off to work for a bit, leaving baby Freddie and an excellently stocked goody cupboard and fridge behind, with Sam, so he can be looked after. Later she and Freddie land in Florida and the situations they get into adds further humour. Lillian’s relationships with men are complicated though, as is the wedding day.

The book is as down-to-earth as you can get and is highly entertaining, addictive and engaging. It’s perfect for these brighter days with the promise of more warmth. It would make a lovely relaxed few days to read with a glass of wine, or whatever beverege, in the garden or lounging on a sofa.

Happy Publication Day for Photographed In The Writer’s Room by Michelle L. E. Price A #NewBook for #ValentinesDay @MichelleLEPrice @rararesources #Fiction #RomanticFiction #BlogTour

Photographed in the Writer’s Room
By Michelle L. E. Price

Come and check out Photographed In The Writer’s Room by Michelle L. E. Price. It is published today and will be a lovely read for and after Valentines Day. Read further to find out about this author and about her book. I have a blurb and links to her social media and her book too. It makes you wonder if the main character Brandi Tyler will find her new life and if it really can be a happy one. Can she also find some romance along the way…. Find out a bit more below…

Purchase Links

US – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08T6HGFG6

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08T6HGFG6

About the Author

Born in Montreal but raised in New England, author Michelle L. E. Price has been writing as long as anyone can remember. An avid reader who was on the verge of losing her mind as a mom to two small children, Michelle began writing her first book, Hidden in the Writer’s Room, as an escape… at least her characters would do exactly what she told them to do and she could always count on a happily ever after ending. She also enjoys wine, re-watching 90’s sitcoms and occasionally running, but heavily relies on writing to stay sane. Michelle is a firm believer that laughter and love are the best parts of life.

Social Media Links –

https://www.instagram.com/michelleleprice/

https://twitter.com/MichelleLEPrice

Blurb

Former TV star Brandi Tyler’s big screen debut crashed and burned amid rumors of an affair with her married co-star… Now, she wants nothing more than to quietly slink away from Hollywood. When she’s offered an opportunity to get out of town and work on a project involving the photographer that launched her career, it seems like the perfect escape! Unfortunately for Brandi, her famous face makes hiding out even a huge city like Houston a little tricky.

When the celebrated photographer’s son offers to let her use his home for privacy, it seems like everything is falling into place. Little does she know that Michael Ames a gorgeous best selling author, and he comes with the package! As Brandi makes her way through old photographs and new scandals, Michael struggles with his next project, and they both fight the growing attraction between them.

Maybe a posse of new girlfriends, some Texas-sized boozy brunches, and a little private time in the writer’s room will help this leading lady find her path back onscreen. And, if she can just picture it, maybe this time she’ll even find love?

Purchase Links

US – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08T6HGFG6

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08T6HGFG6

#Review by Lou of -The Summer Job by Lizzie Dent @lizziedent @EllieeHud @VikingBooksUK #Fiction #ContemporaryFiction #BookReview

The Summer Job
By Lizzie Dent
Rated: 5 Stars *****

The Summer Job by Lizzie Dent is a joy for anyone’s spring/summer book collection. It’s moving, funny, great scenery and food. It’s such good entertainment and fun which is so uplifting. It’s a great plot for a relaxed weekend or evening. It’s one to watch out for this spring!
Thank you so much to Ellie Hudson at Viking Books for gifting me a copy of this joyous book and for inviting me to this very exciting blog tour.
Find out more in my blurb and the full review. Check out the unique cover too, which is also fun…

Blurb

Have you ever imagined running away from your life?

Well Birdy Finch didn’t just imagine it. She did it. Which might’ve been an error. And the life she’s run into? Her best friend, Heather’s.

The only problem is, she hasn’t told Heather. Actually there are a few other problems…

Can Birdy carry off a summer at a luxury Scottish hotel pretending to be her best friend (who incidentally is a world-class wine expert)?

And can she stop herself from falling for the first man she’s ever actually liked (but who thinks she’s someone else)

The Summer Job is a fresh, fun, feel-good romcom for fans of The Flatshare, Bridget Jones and Bridesmaids.

WANT TO ESCAPE REAL LIFE FOR A WHILE? RUN AWAY WITH BIRDY FINCH, A MESSY HEROINE WITH A HEART OF GOLD. THE SUMMER JOB IS THE HOTTEST DEBUT TO LOSE YOURSELF IN THIS YEAR.

Review

The Summer Job is such a glorious book. I was thoroughly entertained and the food and wine all sounds absolutely, mouthwateringly delicious, set in Scotland amongst the pretty scenery, especially around the loch. It is such fun and really lifts the spirit.
Birdy Finch is such a unique character, who isn’t perfect and she hasn’t worked out all of life yet, but she has heart, which makes her so brilliant to read about. The premise of running away from your life is written in such a way that you can’t help but want to join her. The humour in this book is devine and provides a great time for escapism as Birdie Finch, in her early 30’s escapes London to a lovely hotel in Scotland and ends up pretending to be a sommelier, with funny consequences as she pretends to be Heather, her best friend, who is the expert in this area, but wanted to spend time travelling with her boyfriend. It’s a great plot to easily slip into for a relaxed weekend or evening.

Lizzie Dent has produced a character who is so readable and feels authentic in such a delightful, feel-good rom-com. The sort that would be great, translated onto screen as well.
She has insecurities and feelings of being self-conscious that come flooding in here and there and that makes her seem so real and so many people will be able to relate on some level, but also has spirit in character and humour in the situations she finds herself in.
She is a bit like a contemporary of Bridget Jones in some ways and is very engaging and a great debut!
Lizzie Dent is an exciting author to watch!