Tag: romance

A charming literary-themed novel about a young woman determined to save her great-aunt’s beloved bookshop from extinction by the shiny new competition—which also happens to be run by the handsome son of her family’s rivals.

The cute, seaside town of Portneath has been the home of Capelthorne’s Books for nearly a hundred years… The shop, in the heart of a high street that stretches crookedly down the hill from the castle to the sea, may be a tad run-down these days, but to Jules Capelthorne, the wonky, dusty world of literary treasures is full of precious childhood memories.

When her great-aunt Florence gets too frail to run it alone, Jules ditches her junior publishing job in London and comes home to make the bookshop’s hundredth birthday a celebration to remember. Jules quickly discovers things are worse than she ever imagined: The bookshop is close to bankruptcy, unlikely to make it to its own centenary celebration, and the lease on the building is up for renewal. With a six-figure sum needed, the future looks bleak. To make matters worse, the owner of the property is the insufferable Roman Montbeau, from the posh, local family who owns half of Portneath.

The Montbeaus and Capelthornes have feuded for years, and Roman has clearly not improved since he tormented Jules as a child. Fresh from a highflying career in New York, he is on a mission to shake things up, and—unforgivably—proves his point about Capelthorne’s being a relic of the past by opening a new bookshop directly opposite—a shiny, plate-glass-windowed emporium of books.

Jules may not be able to splash the cash on promotions and marketing like the Montbeaus, but she’s got some ideas of her own, plus she has a tenacity that may just win the hardest of hearts and the most hopeless of conflicts. Let the battle of the bookshops commence…

Poppy Alexander is the author of The Littlest Library, Storybook Ending, and 25 Days ’Til Christmas. She wrote her first book when she was five. There was a long gap in her writing career while she was at school, and after studying classical music at university, she decided the world of music was better off without her and took up public relations, campaigning, political lobbying, and a bit of journalism instead. She takes an anthropological interest in family, friends, and life in her West Sussex village (think The Archers crossed with Twin Peaks), where she lives with her husband, children, and various other pets.

My thoughts: If you (like me) like You’ve Got Mail, you’ll love this. There are also plenty of Romeo & Juliet references too, because Jules and Roman are very aware of the whole star-crossed lovers from two warring families. Thing is, they’re not entirely sure why their families have this ancient feud.

Although Roman’s new bookshop right across the street from Jules’ hundred years old family run, slightly down at heel shop, is definitely going to reignite the family war. But then they realise how much they like each other. Even as they battle for bookshop dominance.

It’s cute and funny and a bit silly, and altogether rather charming. Perfect for a grey day’s 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.

From New York Times bestselling author Tricia O’Malley, Charmed meets The Pumpkin Spice Café in this cozy romantasy about a witch returning to Scotland to break a family curse—only to clash with one grumpy Scotsman determined to protect his town from her haywire magic.

She’s hexed. He’s vexed. And for Scotland’s most magical small-town, their feud might just spell disaster.

Sloane MacGregor swore she’d never return to Briarhaven, but with her twenty-fifth birthday looming—the day witches come into their magic—her grandmother summons her and her sisters back for one tiny task: break the centuries-old curse haunting their bloodline.

Knox Douglas, Briarhaven’s grumpy mayor, has worked tirelessly to make his town a haven for magical folk. The last thing he needs is a cursed MacGregor wreaking havoc. It doesn’t matter he once crushed on her. For the sake of Briarhaven, Sloane has to go.

But magic has other plans—and in Briarhaven, love really is a witch.

My thoughts: The MacGregor sisters have returned to their hometown of Briarhaven to take care of their grandmother, Broca, who is recovering from hip surgery. But in doing so they bring a spell of really bad weather, part of the family curse that generations of MacGregors have had to deal with, and Briarhaven isn’t happy about it.

Specifically the town’s provost – Knox Douglas, whose family have been looking after the town for about as long as the MacGregors have been cursed. But his teenage crush on the eldest sister, Sloane, hasn’t gone away, in fact it’s now full on lust.

And that doesn’t bode well, considering it’s his job to make them leave town.

Of course Sloane thinks he’s a nightmare…at first.

As the sisters attempt to find a way to end the curse, Sloane needs to learn to control her newly blossomed magick and stop Knox from making them leave. Sparks fly and things get spicy.

A fun, quirky rom com in a Scottish town replete with fae, dragons, witches and wood trolls, perfect for any Charmed fans (like my sister) or just lovers of a little romance.

Also, how do I get my own emberwolf? Half puppy, half dragon? Yes please!

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

In Wynbridge, the scent of autumn is on the breeze and love is in the air…
 
Clemmie Bennett has been renovating beautiful Rowan Cottage on the outskirts of the small town of Wynbridge, for eighteen months following a very public heartbreak back in her childhood hometown. The popular Instagram influencer, lost her husband, sold their home, and has been cosied up the Fens and living a very private life, but now she feels it’s time for a change.
 
A chance encounter with co-owner of The Cherry Tree Café, the bubbly Lizzie Dixon, pulls her into organizing Wynbridge’s first-ever Autumn Festival, and her once quiet life is soon a distant memory. With the whole town rallying behind the event, she discovers a new sense of purpose.
 
 And when local vet Ash falls hard for Clemmie, she begins to wonder if she’s ready to move even further on from her past and fall in love again…
 
This autumn, cosy up with Heidi and this perfect seasonal romance.

My thoughts: Heidi Swain’s books are basically a warm hug in paperback. This is no exception, we are back in Wynbridge, the setting of several of Heidi’s books, this time with Clemmie, who has spent a while in the village without actually being a part of it. Hiding out and decorating her new cottage means she doesn’t know anyone or anything about where she now lives. But that’s all about to change.

Asked to organise the inaugural Autumn Festival, she originally says no, but gallery owner Lizzie and hunky vet Ash win her over, as does her new sidekick, cute puppy Pixie.

Soon she’s coming up with lots of ideas, and for the most part, the community is on board. It all sounds fun, festive and pumpkin-fuelled. Not much like my autumn so far which seems mostly damp and windy, a conker hit me in the head the other day! Get me to Wynbridge!

This was a lovely romance, but also about being true to yourself, opening up and making friends, I liked Clemmie a lot, and empathised with her, Pixie was an excellent start in being willing to let others in again. A seasonal story full of charm to get you in the cosy mood.

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