Tag: contemporary fiction

One week in Italy. One week to make her dreams come true . . .

Romance is the last thing on Charlotte Alexander’s mind. Her perfume business is flourishing. And a glamorous new life in New York awaits. Just one more thing is needed: a supply of artisan lavender for her trademark scent.

But when Charlotte stumbles across the infuriating and infuriatingly handsome Alessio Rossini, her plans begin to fall apart. With New York finally in reach . . . should she follow her dreams or her heart?

A captivating, feelgood summer romance set in the beautiful Italian countryside.

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JANEY JONES is a full-time writer with a love for food, fashion and all things French and Italian. She is the author of the fantastically successful Princess Poppy series, with sales of over 4 million copies. Before Princess Poppy took over her life, Janey had always intended to write contemporary fiction, and Perfume Paradiso is her second novel after the very popular Secret Life of Lucy Lovecake (writing as Pippa James).

My thoughts:

A lovely summer romance set in Italy, complete with lavender fields and infuriating but handsome men. At the moment books like this are the closest most of us can get to a trip abroad and this slice of escapism is delightful.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

He never meant to stay.
He certainly never meant to fall in love…

Summer Island off the coast of Norway was the place London chef Jack Greene should have been from. He’s an outsider in the community that should have been his family, and now he’s setting foot on the strange land he has inherited for the first time.

Ninni Toft, his nearest neighbour, has come to the island to mend her broken heart. With her wild spirit and irrepressible enthusiasm, she shows city-boy Jack the simple pleasures of island life – and what it means to belong. To a place. To a people. To one person in particular…

Home is where the heart is, but is Jack’s heart with the career he left behind in London, or on the wind-swept shores of Summer Island, with Ninni?

Natalie Normann grew up in a shipping town on the west-coast of Norway and always wanted to be a writer. Actually, she wanted to smoke cigars and drink whiskey like Hemingway but settled for chocolate and the occasional glass of Baileys.

Her writing journey started with short stories in women’s magazines until her first book was published in 1995.

Summer Island is her first romance written in English.

My thoughts:

This was a sweet love story, not only between Jack and Ninni, but also between the residents and their island, a place Jack falls in love with too.

The traditions and food lure him in, along with the people. It was interesting to learn more about Norway along with Jack.

I really enjoyed this gentle, romantic story, the perfect balm to my lockdown easing worries, a place where everyone feels safe and at home, carefree. Lovely.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

Happiness is finally within reach for best friends, Amber, Dominque, Debra and Zya. But fate has other plans…

Pregnant and widowed, Debra is engaged to suave and charming Italian heartthrob Roberto. So why does her heart race when she thinks about her therapist, Brian? Has she said yes to the wrong man?

Dominque has found the love and acceptance she always longed for with Tad. But devastating news soon threatens their future together.

Successful fashion designer Zya has discovered her own unexpected happily ever after with Tina . . . until her daughter, Ashanti is bullied and becomes the focus of a police investigation and the media. Now Zya suddenly stands to lose everything she holds dear.

Finally, together with the only man she’s ever loved, Amber is determined to not let anything come between her and Patrick—not even her jealous and vindictive identical twin sister. But someone is watching . . . waiting for the right moment to destroy her . . .

Will the women get their happy ending, or is it déjà vu all over again? Find out in the dramatic and suspenseful second book of the Unbroken series

Find out in the dramatic and suspenseful second book of the Unbroken series

After 35+ years in operations for various businesses (including her own), Melody pursued her dream of writing a novel. Having written for business publications, local magazines and even publishing a poem, Chemo’s not for Sissies, during treatment after her first cancer diagnosis, it was time to finish the novel that was started many years ago. When she started writing, “Facade: Things Aren’t Always as They Appear,” she had no idea where her characters were going to take her. “The story basically wrote itself. It was like a movie projector playing in my mind,” is how she describes her experience. It soon became apparent, their voices were not to be silenced… “The Unbroken Series” was born. “Deja Vu: Here We Go Again,” Book II, to be released June 23, 2020, followed by C’est la Vie, Book III, in December.

Melody lives with her husband in her native home state Florida. She’s blessed to be alive today after two cancer diagnoses and enjoys watching her grandchildren grow up; something she doesn’t take for granted.

My thoughts:

This book is definitely an improvement on the first book in that the reader knows the characters and there’s not so much background to fill in. The characters are trying to move on with their lives but spanners continue to be thrown in the works.

As with Facade a lot of things happen very quickly and all at once sometimes, which can be a little confusing. The author certainly packs a lot into the plot. It’s nice to see the younger characters get a bit more of the storylines, and characters like Tina and Tad who were a bit underwritten in Facade.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

Cold Comfort Farm meets Adrian Mole in the funniest debut novel of the year.

Yorkshire, the summer of 1962. Sixteen year-old Evie Epworth stands on the cusp of womanhood. But what kind of a woman will she become? Up until now, Evie’s life has been nothing special: a patchwork of school, Girl Guides, cows, milk deliveries, lost mothers and village fetes.

But, inspired by her idols (Charlotte Bronte, Shirley MacLaine and the Queen), she dreams of a world far away from rural East Yorkshire, a world of glamour lived under the bright lights of London (or Leeds). Standing in the way of these dreams, though, is Christine, Evie’s soon to be stepmother, a manipulative and money grubbing schemer who is lining Evie up for a life of shampoo-and-set drudgery at the local salon.

Luckily, Evie is not alone. With the help of a few friends, and the wise counsel of the two Adam Faith posters on her bedroom wall (‘brooding Adam’ and ‘sophisticated Adam’), Evie comes up with a plan to rescue her bereaved father, Arthur, from Christine’s pink and over-perfumed clutches, and save their beloved farmhouse from being sold off. She will need a little luck, a dash of charm and a big dollop of Yorkshire magic if she is to succeed, but in the process she may just discover who exactly she is meant to be.

Matson Taylor grew up in Yorkshire but now lives in London. He is a design historian and academic-writing tutor and has worked at various universities and museums around the world; he currently teaches at the V&A, Imperial College, and the RCA. He has also worked on Camden Market, appeared in an Italian TV commercial, and been a pronunciation coach for Catalan opera singers.

My thoughts:

This was a funny, wry take on the wicked stepmother story. Evie is a determined person as she battles the loathsome Christine for her father and the family farm.

With her loyal friends and her belief in herself, despite Christine’s many attempts to do her down, Evie can accomplish anything.

A funny, smart heroine and an enjoyable, clever plot.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

Finding out her husband of over twenty years is cheating on her? Check.
Laid off from her job the very same day? Check.

Ari had a very bad day and flees to Moonshire Bay to relax, heal and figure out what she really wants. At least she knows what she doesn’t want – a relationship.Jack Callahan has been playing it safe in all aspects of his life after a failed business and a horrible misjudgement of someone’s character. Living in Moonshire Bay allows him to coast through life with his shields up and blinders on. So what happens when Jack and Ari start working on a project together? Can their newfound friendship and attraction overcome their lack of trust?

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Elle Sweet is the pen name of mystery author Laina Turner.

I started writing ten years ago, and it was always my intent and desire to write romance. However, in my first book, someone died. It just happened and turned the romance into a mystery.Twenty-some books later, and I decided enough was enough. I was going to do what I’d initially set out to do at the start of my writing journey. Write a book where no one died (It’s not as easy as you think). I can’t tell you how much fun I had writing Finding Rachel and the three others set in the small town of Moonshire Bay. Finding Rachel is out now and Ari’s Adventure will release in spring of 2020 with the third book set to follow in the early summer of 2020. How did I come up with my pen name? Elle for the “L” in Laina and Sweet was my grandfather’s last name. I wanted something that had a story. I originally wanted to call myself LuluBell after a pet cow I once had, but the family shot that one down.Born and raised in the midwest, I live in Indiana with my husband, three amazing children, and our dogs Duke and Macy.

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My thoughts:

This was a sweet and short read about finding your feet and moving on after the things you thought were secure end. Ari loses her job and her cheating husband at the same time, but a summer spent at a friend’s house in a small town bring new opportunities in love and life.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

Amber can’t get Patrick out of her mind. Night after night he haunts her dreams . . . teasing her . . . pleasuring her . . . owning her body . . . until her alarm rings. Left unsatisfied night after night, she devises a plan to bring her fantasies to life—with a platinum wig, blue contact lenses, and a new persona.

Stay-at-home mom Debra adores her husband, but wishes for a little more spice and adventure in her life. She’s not even sure she’s ever had an orgasm! But when tragedy strikes, her dreams come true in ways she never imagined…or wanted.

Despite a hard life as a single black Muslim mother, up-and-coming fashion designer Zya finally has a successful business and a sense of security, despite the increasing persecution she and her daughter experience. But then a mysterious stranger comes into her life, challenging everything she thought she knew about love. But can it be real?

Gorgeous Dominque likes sex—wild, kinky, and lots of it. Secretly longing for something real and lasting, she settles for less, burying her insecurity and self-doubt between late night trysts and anemia. But before long, she’s forced to face her fears, or succumb to them.

Four friends…each hiding behind a façade. But as fantasy clashes with reality, things aren’t always as they appear.

After 35+ years in operations for various businesses (including her own), Melody pursued her dream of writing a novel. Having written for business publications, local magazines and even publishing a poem, Chemo’s not for Sissies, during treatment after her first cancer diagnosis, it was time to finish the novel that was started many years ago. When she started writing, “Facade: Things Aren’t Always as They Appear,” she had no idea where her characters were going to take her. “The story basically wrote itself. It was like a movie projector playing in my mind,” is how she describes her experience. It soon became apparent, their voices were not to be silenced… “The Unbroken Series” was born. “Deja Vu: Here We Go Again,” Book II, to be released June 23, 2020, followed by C’est la Vie, Book III, in December.

Melody lives with her husband in her native home state Florida. She’s blessed to be alive today after two cancer diagnoses and enjoys watching her grandchildren grow up; something she doesn’t take for granted.

My thoughts:

Four friends with complicated lives, dealing with death, love, business and finding their places in the world.

A lot happens in their lives and I got a bit muddled up at one point about what was happening but that’s just me. There are three more books in the series to come and hopefully room for the characters to grow and develop further.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

There’s nothing like being told that in three months you’ll be dead to make you think about what you really want in life.

Jennifer Cole has just been told that she has a terminal blood disorder and has just three months to live–ninety days to say goodbye to friends and family, and to put her affairs in order. Ninety days to come to terms with a diagnosis that is unfair, unexpected, and completely unpronounceable. Focusing on the positives (she won’t have to go on in a world without Bowie or Maya Angelou; she won’t get Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s like her parents, or have teeth that flop out at the mere mention of the word apple), Jennifer realizes she only has one real regret: the relationships she’s lost.
Rather than running off to complete a frantic bucket list, Jennifer chooses to stay put and write a letter to the three most significant people in her life, to say the things she wished she’d said before but never dared: her overbearing, selfish sister, her jelly-spined, cheating ex-husband, and her charming, unreliable ex-boyfriend–and finally tell them the truth.
At first, Jennifer feels cleansed by her catharsis. Liberated, even. Her ex-boyfriend rushes to her side and she even starts to build bridges with her sister Isabelle (that is, once Isabelle’s confirmed that Jennifer’s condition isn’t genetic). But once you start telling the truth, it’s hard to stop. And as Jennifer soon discovers, the truth isn’t always as straightforward as it seems, and death has a way of surprising you….

My thoughts:

This was a funny wry book about death, or life.

Getting the news that you’ve got three months to live would probably affect different people in different ways, Jennifer decides to build some bridges, burn some others and generally do things her way for once.

A clever, witty look at truth telling and learning to live for now, I found this reaffirming and genuinely enjoyable reading.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

It was meant to be the party of the summer…

In Cedar Road, everyone is preparing for Lexi’s ‘White Hot’ summer party. For one night, parking squabbles and petitions are put aside as neighbours sip Prosecco under the fairy lights and gather by the hot tub to marvel at Lexi’s effortlessly glamorous life with Hot Hamish.

For Julia, it’s a chance to coax husband Charlie out of his potting shed and into a shirt so they can have a welcome break from the hellish house renovation they’ve been wrestling with. And it’s a chance for Julia to pretend – just for a night – that her life is as perfect as Lexi’s.

But when, during the party, one of Julia’s WhatsApp messages falls into the wrong hands and reveals her most intimate thoughts, things reach boiling point…

And when all the neighbours know exactly what you’re thinking, there’s only one thing to do.

Run away.

It’s going to be a summer Julia will never forget…

My thoughts:

The women at the White Party reminded me of high school girls – grow up! I can’t really understand why Julia was so desperate to be in with them. Amber was a way more interesting character and their adventure in France is a whole lot of fun.

The best beach read I’ve read recently, although I read it on the sofa because lockdown means stay off the beach!

A fun, crazy adventure in a dodgy van with antiques and secrets popping up everywhere.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.