blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Love Theorem – Camilla Isley


Are a rocket scientist and one of Hollywood’s brightest stars a match made in heaven or is it a catastrophe headed for a crash landing?
Lana loves four things: science, her cats, her friends, and her books. She’s on her way to earning her professorship when she finds out her long-term boyfriend has been sleeping with her best friend!
That discovery has her hiding in the broom closet at a posh hotel.
Only, it turns out broom closets are the place to be these days.
Christian Slade, America’s sexiest man alive (as voted by fans), in a desperate attempt to escape the paparazzi finds himself in a broom closet with one sobbing occupant. Unable to leave a damsel in
distress, he offers help, only to realise she has no idea who he is! It’s like he’s been given a gift. A smart, beautiful woman, who isn’t after him for fame and fortune . . .
Soon Christian is buying a Tesla to impress his scientist with his eco credentials and taking her on dates where no one will recognise him.
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Camilla Isley is an engineer who left science behind to write bestselling contemporary rom-coms set all around the world. She lives in Italy and her first title for Boldwood, The Love Theorem, a
Hollywood-meets-STEM romance, will be published in June 2023.

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My thoughts: this was a fun LA set rom com about the world’s most handsome man, actor Christian Slade, and a clueless but super intelligent scientist, PhD student Lana. She doesn’t own a TV so has no idea who he is, preferring to read a book and hang out with her cats. A girl after my own heart.

When they accidentally hide in the same broom cupboard – for very different reasons – there’s a spark. Cue romantic picnics and over the top presents.

Things don’t go as smoothly as you’d hope, there’s a few bumps in the road, but as they’re both genuinely nice people, and it’s a love story, it all eventually works out for the best. But getting to the HEA is lots of fun. With a great set of supporting characters, and obviously two cats (who doesn’t enjoy feline friends?), this is a sweet and enjoyable, Notting Hill-esque, romance.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: A Vintage Vacation – Maddie Please


Clover Harrington might be sixty-one, but she’s still bossing it in the corporate world and can still run rings around her younger colleagues. And then she is made redundant….
Devastated and now suddenly the wrong side of sixty Clover doesn’t know what to do with her life or her corporate wardrobe! What does she wear if not red lippy and a power suit?! Rather than offer
her any support, her partner, Jack announces he’s off on a golfing weekend, leaving Clover completely adrift.
Desperate to get away from it all, Clover decides to visit her cousin Zoe at her small taverna in the gorgeous Italian Lakes. There she can rest and recuperate and plan the next stage of her life.
Until Clover’s eighty-year-old mother, Eleanor decides to turn up for the holiday too! Instead of gentle ambles around the lake, Eleanor seems more interested in late night poker and swigging Prosecco and Clover can’t quite believe her mum is having more fun than she is. But as the saying goes – if you can’t beat em, join em!
But is Clover brave enough to live La Dolce Vita?
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Maddie Please is the #1 bestselling author of novels including The Old Ducks’ Club and Sisters Behaving Badly. Having had a career as a dentist and now lives in rural Devon where she enjoys box sets, red wine and Christmas. She will be taking a new direction in her writing for Boldwood with
joyous tales of older women.

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My thoughts: this was a lot of fun to read and a good reminder that you’re never too old to start again! Or to have fun.

Clover is sixty-one, redundant, and done with partner Jack, who doesn’t seem to see that she needs his support – he’s more interested in playing golf. So she tells him to get out and hopes on a plane to Italy, where her cousin runs a trattoria with her husband. And a hunky local painter, Gio, picks her up from the airport.

Before she knows it, she’s helping in the kitchen, getting messy and finally learning to let go and enjoy herself. Then her hilarious mother rolls into town (I found her antics so funny), getting drunk and cheating at poker, having a little romance with Uncle Franco and generally having a merry old time.

Clover doesn’t want her old life anymore, it doesn’t fit with who she is in Italy, possibly who she’s always been, deep down, and it’s time for a different life. A better, happier one. A lesson for us all there.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Troy Story – Carla Luna


The friendship that launched a thousand adventures is about to embark on the greatest one of all…
Ever since Stuart Carlson and Dusty Danforth met as kids on a dig in Egypt, they’ve been best friends, supporting each other through heartaches, triumphs, and countless archaeological expeditions. So
when Stuart gets hired to help run the American excavations at Troy, he asks Dusty to join him as the site illustrator.
For Dusty, the Troy project isn’t just another adventure. It’s the chance to tell Stuart how she really feels. After years of pining for him, she’s ready for more than friendship.
But soon after they arrive at the site in Turkey, they’re caught up in a feud with a group of German archaeologists. While both teams are eager to make a major find, Stuart’s boss is so determined to beat his rivals that he’s willing to break a few rules. Or laws.
As Stuart and Dusty work together to keep the dig on track, they give in to the passion that’s been simmering under the surface. But will their romance survive when their boss’s scheme puts the entire project in jeopardy?

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Carla Luna writes contemporary romance with a dollop of humor and a pinch of spice. A former archaeologist, she still dreams of traveling to far-off places and channels that wanderlust into the settings of her stories. When she’s not writing, she works in a spice emporium where she gets paid to discuss food and share her favorite recipes. Her passions include Broadway musicals, baking, whimsical office supplies, and pop culture podcasts. Though she has roots in Los Angeles and Vancouver Island, she currently resides in Wisconsin with her family and her feisty Siberian cat.

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My thoughts: my friend’s mum is a doctor of archaeology and wherever I went to their house as a kid, she’d be cleaning up trays of potsherds, little broken pieces of ancient pottery. I love history but archaeology didn’t appeal a huge amount as some of it seemed really boring – mostly the cleaning of bits of pots!

In this book however, an archaeological dig in modern Turkey, at the site of Troy, is full of incidents, arguments, a bully for a boss, thefts of artifacts and love.

It’s also great fun to read, and highly entertaining as Dusty and Stuart finally admit they’re in love amid the goings on at the dig site and at the German site across town. Most academics are obsessive about their subject (I’m an academic, I know this all too well) and these archaeologists are no different. What they don’t tend to do is what ghe ghastly Dr Hughes does – steal from another dig, threaten his employees, sexually harass his grad students and any other women, bully his way through life and basically be a turd of a human being.

Thankfully Dusty has a strong backbone and the support of her academic parents, the rest of the dig team and the person funding the trip, Mort, when she faces off against the unpleasant man.

I really enjoyed this book, the history stuff, the romance, the scumbag getting his comeuppance, the whole thing really. And I think you will too. Plus it’s made me want a holiday in Turkey even more than I already did!

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

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Blog Tour: Love & Other Scams – PJ Ellis

Cat has a dangerously dwindling bank balance. She also has:

· a month before her landlord kicks her out
· a surprise wedding invitation from rich mean girl, Louisa
· a secret talent for con artistry

A priceless jewel the size of a cocktail olive is glinting on Louisa’s finger. And when Cat meets her ideal plus one, Jake – who’s gifted at hustling and posing as the perfect boyfriend – this wedding becomes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After all, how hard can a diamond heist be?

PJ Ellis is a journalist who writes for Men’s Health, GQ and Teen Vogue, covering relationships, pop culture and LGBTQ+ issues. He lives in Birmingham and tweets  @Philip_Ellis.  Love & Other Scams is his first novel.

My thoughts: this was a lot of fun. From the very first moment when Cat swipes a drunken lech’s wallet at a wedding, I knew I was going to enjoy this book. With two chancers out to swipe a very expensive diamond from the finger of Cat’s old uni pal Louisa (whose fiance calls her “Wee” – no, yuk, cringe) on her wedding day, this is a tremendously enjoyable, funny, clever book.

Cat’s 30 and going nowhere fast, no proper job, no home of her own, no partner. And she’s feeling like a failure – I felt for her and empathised big time. Teaming up with fellow thief Jay is the perfect way of distracting herself from her life and hopefully making enough money she never has to worry again. It helps that he’s gorgeous, charming and has a really great mum.

They pull some audacious stunts – the stealing of the 3D printer is inspired. And I just had a ball reading this. It could definitely be a series as these two heist and scam their way around the world, but it’s also great as it is. The story of two people with little to lose who aim to pull off an outrageous theft. And fall in love. As you do.

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

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Blog Tour: One Moment in Time – Shari Low


Sometimes the best surprises reveal the most shocking secrets.
After three decades of marriage, Brenda Jones has decided to leave her husband, just as soon as they both return from a mystery trip with their daughter Zara. But she has no idea that Zara is flying them
to Las Vegas to renew their vows.
Zara Jones has recreated almost every detail of her parent’s original wedding – now her only challenge is tracking down the two friends who were pictured with her mum and dad back in 1993.
Aiden Gregg is dealing with his own relationship woes when he receives an unexpected message from a complete stranger. WIth the help of Facebook, Zara has tracked him down and is asking if his
parents are the other couple in the old photo? And if so, could he bring them to Vegas for a surprise reunion?
What Zara and Aiden don’t know is that thirty years ago, One Moment In Time changed everything.
Will rewinding the clock right the wrongs of the past?
Or are they all counting down to a rendezvous with disaster?
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Shari Low is the #1 bestselling author of over 30 novels, including My One Month Marriage and One Summer Sunrise and a collection of parenthood memories called Because Mummy Said So. She lives near Glasgow.

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My thoughts: another charming, funny book from Shari Low, this time about making mistakes and having lived with them, realising it’s time to make some changes.

Zara and Millie have organised the trip of a lifetime to Las Vegas, so their parents can renew their wedding vows in the place they got married thirty years ago. Except they don’t have the full story.

Aidan’s parents are divorced, and can’t stand each other. Taking them with him on a family trip might not be the best idea.

Turns out Vegas is the perfect place for the truth to come out and for the younger generation to learn the story of their parents mistakes and transgressions. Oh, and maybe some people will find love. And “Elvis” will host a rather unusual wedding.

Great fun as always, smart and with real heart, an entertaining and enjoyable read, that’s just the right amount of silly and serious. Lovely.

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

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Blog Tour: Always on my Mind – Beth Moran


Sometimes when you can’t see the way forwards, the best thing to do is to look back…
When Jessie left home at eighteen, she swore she’d never go back. But when life takes a turn for the complicated, she’s forced to move in with her twin, Isaac, and his two best friends. To her dismay, one of these is Elliot, the boy Jessie once loved, until his life was changed forever by a terrible accident that Jessie still blames herself for.
Cohabiting with three alarmingly unhouse-trained males was not in Jessie’s life plan so when Isaac, Elliot and Arthur offer her a generous rent discount if she’ll help them with their ‘Boys to Men Project’, designed to end years of disastrous dating, she reluctantly accepts the challenge.
As Jessie embraces the comfort of being home, revelling in her new job at her parents’ day centre, full of people determined to grow old disgracefully, she realises her housemates aren’t the only ones needing to make some changes. And maybe, if she can finally forgive herself for Elliot’s accident, she can start to look forward to a future, with or without him by her side.
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Beth Moran is the bestselling author of romantic novels including Christmas Every Day and Just The Way You Are. She regularly features on BBC Radio Nottingham and is a trustee of the national
women’s network Free Range Chicks. She lives on the outskirts of Sherwood Forest.

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My thoughts: this was lovely, I want to be an Outlaw now, please don’t tell me I have to wait till I’m older! Jessie moves home after things take a downturn and into the house her twin shares with his two equally hopeless housemates and best friends. Honestly I knew a few men at uni that were like this – the never washed multi cooker might even be a gross thing too far for them. These three, Isaac, Arthur, and Elliot are hopeless. Not at everything, but their home is a pit, they’re all single and not thrilled about it, and they dress like teenagers (and a funeral director).

They ask Jessie to help them out of their life slump, and in the process the four become closer and Jessie realises a few things about her life too.

Her job as the activities manager at the day centre is hilarious, those Outlaws are a handful, but what joy! Even if they drive everyone crazy, throw water fights at a Jubilee picnic (I always thought the Queen had a gleam in her eye, she might we have joined in), dye their lifelong nemesis’ hair green, potentially run away and give the centre’s cook a breakdown, but they’re having a great time.

The friendships between Jessie, her housemates, Connie, Wilf, and the football team are delightful. This is just a rather lovely book with a sweet and charming cast, and some love stories too!

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

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Blog Tour: The Little Venice Bookshop – Rebecca Raisin

A bundle of mysterious letters. A trip to Venice. A journey she’ll never forget.
When Luna loses her beloved mother, she’s bereft: her mother was her only family, and without her Luna feels rootless. Then the chance discovery of a collection of letters in her mother’s belongings sends her on an unexpected journey.
Following a clue in the letters, Luna packs her bags and heads to Venice, to a gorgeous but faded bookshop overlooking the canals, hoping to uncover the truth about her mother’s mysterious past.
Will Luna find the answers she’s looking for – and finally find the place she belongs?

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Rebecca Raisin writes heartwarming romance from her home in sunny Perth, Australia.
Her heroines tend to be on the quirky side and her books are usually set in exotic locations so her readers can armchair travel any day of the week. The only downfall about writing about gorgeous
heroes who have brains as well as brawn, is falling in love with them – just as well they’re fictional.
Rebecca aims to write characters you can see yourself being friends with. People with big hearts who care about relationships and believe in true, once in a lifetime love. Her bestselling novel Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop has been optioned for film with MRC studios and Frolic Media.

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My thoughts: grab some tissues, this starts with a sad thing and then there’s some cute, happy bits that, if you’re a bit of a sap like me, will also make you cry. In a good way.

Set in one of the most interesting places I’ve ever been – Venice – in a bookshop filled with cats (yes please, can we go there now?) this is a heartwarming and tear jerking book about finding your family, your home, your person and your happiness.

Luna loses her freewheeling mother Ruby to stupid cancer and finding a bundle of mysterious letters from a Giancarlo in Venice, who owns a bookshop, hidden in her mother’s home, she decides to head there, with pal Gigi, to see if he might have some answers about her mother. Is he her dad?

There’s adventures, a bit of smooching, lots of pizza and vino, the righting of wrongs, cuddling of cats, tidying of a very messy bookshop and just general idyllic loveliness in one of the most beautiful places in the world. And a grumpy Spaniard called Oliver, who is either the one or a massive pain. Did I mention the many, many literary named shop cats?

Luna gets some answers, but they might not be what she’s expecting, and maybe sees her mum a bit differently afterwards. But she resolves a few personal questions and discovers more about herself too. It’s a really lovely read and like a big hug in book form.

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

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Blog Tour: The Cornish Hideaway – Jennifer Bibby

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…

My thoughts: if anyone has a Cornish cottage I could run away to – please let me know. I love Cornwall (I have West Country roots and it feels so much like coming home being there) and I felt like I knew Polcarrow – it reminded me of several of the lovely villages I’ve been to – and made me weirdly homesick for the county.

I wanted to give Freya a massive hug, a Masters degree is sodding hard work (I’ve done one) and to be told you’ve failed would be heartbreaking. Then to be dumped. Ouch. No wonder she ups sticks to lovely friend Lola and the beautiful Cornish landscape. I would too.

Then there’s hunky, mysterious Italian Angelo on his motorbike, riddled with his own sorrows and need to escape. Of course these two lost souls connect. Cornwall has inspired so many artists, especially St Ives, that it’s not surprising it inspires these two to create.

I loved the villagers, and obviously a certain cheeky cake begging dog, as well as his retired fisherman owner. The slow-burning romance between Lola and the vicar was an added treat. And the gossipy WI women, never sure whether they approve or not (do they vote on what they agree on?). Basically it’s a whole heap of charm and cream teas (with locally produced clotted cream!) Lovely.

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

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Cover Reveal: New Normal – Michelle Paris

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We’re thrilled to present the cover for an up-and-coming release called New Normal by Michelle Paris! Read on for more details!

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New Normal

Expected Publication Date: Spring 2023

Genre: Women’s Fiction/ Light-Hearted

Publisher: Apprentice House Press

After the sudden death of her husband, Emilie Russell just wants to feel normal. But being a middle-aged widow doesn’t come with a how-to manual. Her well-meaning friend, Viv, believes the cure to all that ails is simple: a new man. So, she sets Emilie up with her handsome and charming new neighbor, widower Colin. There’s only one problem with the plan—Colin is gay.

Emilie embarks on a rollicking journey of self-discovery with Colin as her mentor and best friend. From learning to swipe right without cringing while midlife dating in constricting shapeware to cougar moments in Key West, Emilie reenters the dating pool with both humorous and soul-crushing results.

With the encouragement of her friends, including a new furry one, plus a little therapy, Emilie begins forging a new life, one where she exchanges tears for laughter, and one that maybe—just maybe—includes the courage to find love again.

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About the Author

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Michelle Paris is a Maryland writer who believes laughter can heal the heart. Her debut novel, New Normal is loosely based on her own experience as a young widow. Her personal story of overcoming grief was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. And her essays about grief and mid-life dating have appeared in multiple editions of the Chicken Soup for the Soul inspirational book series as well as in other media outlets. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America, the Maryland Writers’ Association, and the Women’s Fiction Writers’ Association. Currently, Michelle is enjoying chapter two of her life with her new husband, Kevin, who keeps her from being a cat lady but only on technicality.

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Blog Tour: The Good News Gazette – Jessie Wells

Because we all need something to smile about!
She may be down but don’t count this determined single mum out just yet…
Nine years ago, Zoe Taylor returned from London to the quiet hamlet of Westholme with her tail between her legs and a bun in the oven. Where once her job as a journalist saw her tearing off to Paris at a moment’s notice after a lead, now the single mum covers the local news desk. At least, she did…until she’s unceremoniously let go.
When Zoe invites her friends over to commiserate, wine and whining soon turns into something more… and before the night is out she’s plotted her next step: The Good News Gazette.
Now, as a developer threatens to force Westholme into the twenty-first century, Zoe’s good news movement finds her leading a covert campaign as a community crusader. She may have started The
Good News Gazette as a way to save herself, but she might just be able to save Westholme in the process…

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Jessie Wells lives with her husband and two children in Merseyside. She has always written in some form, and previously worked as a journalist on the Liverpool Echo and Sunday Mirror and as a freelancer for various national women’s magazines and newspapers before moving into finance. She loves nothing more than getting lost in her imaginary worlds, which are largely filled with romance, communities bursting with character and a large dose of positivity.

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My thoughts: this book is such a joyful hug of a read, I loved Zoe and her determined attitude, she will find good news stories, she will save the Parade, and she will support herself and her son Charlie. And so she does. With the support of her mum, her pals and the new friends she makes as she goes about finding the positive things for the Good News Gazette’s pages, she discovers she can do pretty much anything she puts her mind to.

Funny, entertaining and with lots of heart, this was a cheering sort of book, with a dash of romance, the righting of a few wrongs, and a happy ending all round. Definitely the antidote to all the grim realities at the moment.

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