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Showing posts from April, 2015

It Started at Sunset Cottage by Bella Osborne

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Hello all, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Kate Marshall is slowly getting her life back on track after losing her fiancé. As an author she has been able to hide herself away from the world and its expectations – but now one of her books has been optioned for a film and Hollywood suddenly comes knocking on her door! When Kate is given the opportunity to stay at a beautiful country retreat and concentrate on the screenplay, it’s an offer she can’t refuse. Encouraged by her best friend, sharp-tongued single mum Sarah, Kate sees it’s finally time to stop letting life pass her by. Looking for confidence and inspiration in the idyllic Cotswolds countryside, the last thing Kate expects is for Timothy Calder, A-list actor and leading man in the movie adaptation of her book, to turn up on her doorstep, hoping to lie low after his latest tabloid scandal! But after a rocky start, with Tim narrowly avoiding death by watering can, they find they have a few things in common: a liking for Lady Grey tea, w

Silent Scream by Angela Marsons

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Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Even the darkest secrets can’t stay buried forever… Five figures gather round a shallow grave. They had all taken turns to dig. An adult-sized hole would have taken longer. An innocent life had been taken but the pact had been made. Their secrets would be buried, bound in blood … Years later, a headmistress is found brutally strangled, the first in a spate of gruesome murders which shock the Black Country. But when human remains are discovered at a former children’s home, disturbing secrets are also unearthed. D.I. Kim Stone fast realises she’s on the hunt for a twisted individual whose killing spree spans decades. As the body count rises, Kim needs to stop the murderer before they strike again. But to catch the killer, can Kim confront the demons of her own past before it’s too late? MY REVIEW : This is Bookouture's first crime novel and everywhere I look on Twitter somebody is talking about this book and with such great reviews

The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance by Kirsty Greenwood

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Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Jessica Beam is a girl who knows how to party. Only lately she's been forgetting to turn up for work on time. Or in clean clothes. Down on her luck, out of a job and homeless, Jess seeks the help of her long-lost grandmother. Things aren't going well for Matilda Beam, either. Her 1950s Good Woman guide books are out of print, her mortgage repayments are staggering and her granddaughter wears neon Wonderbras! When a lifeline from a London publisher arrives, the pair have an opportunity to secure the roof over their heads – by invigorating the Good Woman guides and transforming modern, rebellious Jess into a demure vintage lady. The true test of their make-over will be to capture the heart of notorious London playboy Leo Frost and prove that Matilda’s guides still work. It's going to take commitment, nerves of steel and one seriously pointy bra to pull this off. MY REVIEW: I am bursting with excitement about this book! I cannot begi

Return to Mandalay by Rosanna Ley

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Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Eva Gatsby has often wondered about her grandfather Lawrence's past, and exactly what happened to him in Burma during the Second World War. But it is only when Eva's job as an antiques dealer suddenly requires a trip to Mandalay that Lawrence finally breaks his silence and asks her to return a mysterious artifact of his own - a chinthe - to its rightful owner. As Eva arrives in Burma her mission soon proves dangerously complicated, and the treasure she is guarding becomes the centre of a scandal that will have far-reaching consequences. Caught between loyalty and integrity, Eva is determined to find the truth about her grandfather's past, of her own family origins, and of the red-eyed chinthe itself - enigmatic symbol of the riches of Mandalay. MY REVIEW: Well this was the first book I have read by Rosanna Ley and I cannot wait to read her others! Our story begins in Bristol, England where we meet Eva Gatsby who repairs and resto

The Day We Disappeared by Lucy Robinson

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Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION : Annie has a secret. But if she's not going to tell, we won't either. It's a heart-breaking secret she wishes she didn't have - yet Annie isn't broken, not quite yet. Especially now there's someone out there who seems determined to fix her. Kate has run away. But she's not going to tell us why - that would defeat the point of running, wouldn't it? It's proving difficult to reinvent herself, however, with one person always on her mind. Scratch beneath the surface and nobody is really who they seem. Even Annie and Kate, two old friends, aren't entirely sure who they are any more. Perhaps you can work it out, before their pasts catch up with them for good . . . A gripping and unpredictable story of two young women running from their pasts. We defy you to guess the twist . . . MY REVIEW : I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this book. I mean wow - where to start! This is one of those books that

I Do Not Sleep by Judy Finnigan

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Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION : From bestselling author, broadcaster, journalist and Book Club champion Judy Finnigan comes an unputdownable and wonderfully moving story of the enduring power of a mother's love. Do not stand at my grave and weep  I am not there; I do not sleep. Five years ago, Molly Gabriel lost her 20-year-old son, Joey, to a terrible sailing accident. His empty boat was found washed ashore on the rocks -- but his body was never found. Now, Molly has returned to the sands of Cornwall haunted by his death, unable to accept he is gone. Joey was an experienced sailor and died on a calm sea -- things just don't add up and Molly cannot let it go. Desperate for answers she turns to Joey's best friend, Ben, to go back to what really happened that day. MY REVIEW: This was a beautiful and sensual novel about a mother grieving for her suposedly dead son. Five years ago Molly lost her son Joey in a tragic sailing accident. Now Molly has returned to Cornwall

The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies

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Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Nineteen-year-old Gwendolyn Hooper is newly married to a rich and charming widower, eager to join him on his tea plantation, determined to be the perfect wife and mother. But life in Ceylon is not what Gwen expected. The plantation workers are resentful, the neighbours treacherous. And there are clues to the past - a dusty trunk of dresses, an overgrown gravestone in the grounds - that her husband refuses to discuss. Just as Gwen finds her feet, disaster strikes. She faces a terrible choice, hiding the truth from almost everyone, but a secret this big can't stay buried forever . . . MY REVIEW: First off I want to thank Dinah Jefferies for sending me an early copy of The Tea Planter's Wife to review. Wow what a story! I immensely enjoyed this sensitive, thought provoking narrative which was beautifully told. We meet nineteen year old Gwen Hooper who has just arrived in Ceylon to join her new husband at the tea plantation. The year

Lizzie Marshall's Wedding by Emily Harvale

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Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION : Can love set you free? Becky Cooper hasn’t got time for romance. She’s a thirty-two year old widow, struggling to raise her daughter and come to terms with the past, so a man is the last thing she needs. Her friends disagree, and when Max Bedford arrives in the village, they decide he’s perfect for her; he’s gorgeous, rich and divorced. But Becky’s already met him and feels he’s far from perfect; he’s rude, arrogant and annoying – and anyway, he wouldn’t be interested in her. To his surprise, Max is very interested in the feisty woman he’s just rescued and whilst he’s not looking for a serious relationship, dating her could be a lot of fun. When Becky is employed to organise Lizzie Marshall’s Wedding, introducing her to Max’s ex-wife and a group of people whose lives seem even more complicated than her own, she begins to discover she’s not the only one with ‘baggage’ . Can love set her free, or will Max Bedford break her heart? MY R

Highland Fling by Emily Harvale

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Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION: Sometimes a weekend can change your life. Lizzie Marshall left London, and her husband Max, after his affair. But running a B&B in the Scottish Highlands is not as easy as she’d hoped – and using her maiden name doesn’t mean she’s over him.  Max Bedford can still twist her around his little finger – most of the time. Jack Drake’s getting married in two weeks, but he’s having doubts about his fiancée, Kim Mentor. A weekend in Scotland with five of his friends will cure his pre-wedding nerves – won’t it? Jane Munroe’s too busy sorting out her friend Lizzie’s love life to worry about her own. Besides, the man she’s fallen for, clearly isn’t interested. Perhaps she should look elsewhere for love? Iain Hamilton vowed he’d never marry again after his wife’s death, and as a forty five year old farmer, a thirty two year old woman from London is the last person he should be interested in – so why can’t he stop thinking about her? Highla

Croissants and Jam by Lynda Renham

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Dear Reader, BOOK DESCRIPTION : Annabel Lewis (Bels) has two days to get to her wedding in Rome but her journey is beset with one disaster after another as fate takes its turn. Will the stranger she meets on the way get her to her wedding on time or will he change her life forever? Come with Bels on her humorous romantic journey to see if she marries Mr Right or if destiny takes her in different direction... MY REVIEW : This was the first book that I read by Lynda Renham and it will not be my last! This book has all the ingredients of good chick-lit, the heroine who is a walking disaster, the domineering, uptight fiancé, the best friend and the interfering mother, for whom no one is good enough for her daughter except Mr Right.  It is jam packed (pardon the pun!) with humour and if you want something that will make you laugh your socks off and you are in need of some serious cheering up, then this is the perfect book for you.  Most of the book was set i

Christmas in the Snow by Karen Swan

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Dear Reader, Book Description : No secret stays buried forever... In London, the snow is falling and Christmas is just around the corner - but Allegra Fisher barely has time to notice. She's pitching for the biggest deal of her career and can't afford to fail. And when she meets attractive stranger, Sam Kemp, on the plane to the meeting, she can't afford to lose her focus either. She learned to shut off her emotions long ago and only her sister and best friend Isobel knows why. But when Allegra finds herself up against Sam for the bid, their passion quickly turns sour. In Zermatt in the Swiss Alps, a long-lost mountain hut is discovered in the snow after sixty years and the last person expecting to become involved is Allegra - she hasn't even heard of the woman they found inside. But it soon becomes clear the two women are linked and, as she and Iz travel out to make sense of the mystery, hearts thaw and dark secrets are uncovered, long buried by the