Wednesday 30 January 2019

Dreaming of Tuscany by T.A. Williams


Dreaming of Tuscany
T.A. Williams
Rating: 5 stars

The glamour of Hollywood. The magic of the Tuscan countryside. One big decision...

Beatrice Kingdom (Bee to her friends) wakes up in hospital in Tuscany. After an accident on a film set leaves her burned and scarred, she feels her whole life has been turned upside down.

Bee is offered the chance of recuperating in a stunning Tuscan villa in the company of a world-famous film star, the irascible Mimi Robertson. Here amid the vines and olive groves, Bee quickly finds there's more to the place than meets the eye, not least a certain Luca (and Romeo the dog).

As she comes to terms with her injuries and her new life takes shape, Bee will have to travel a road of self-discovery. . . and make a huge decision.

A joyous, funny and moving tale, Dreaming of Tuscany is a triumph, perfect for fans of Holly Martin, Tilly Tennant, and Jenny Oliver.

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I can't tell you how much I absolutely fell in love with this book. It was heartwarming, an easy and very enjoyable read. I fell for the cover as soon as I saw it, the picture even looks hot! I love the beautiful flowers, the villa in the background and of course the really cute labrador at the front of the cover. This cover screams summer and will instantly make you want to go on holiday. I absolutely adore it.

For the story, I really loved it. And I mean, really, really loved it. I really enjoyed Bee's character, she seemed sensible but very easy to relate to and I adored her relationship with the famous Mimi by the end of the novel. Another character I found myself warming too was the brilliant Riccardo, I really felt for him - he had been through so much in his life and I was happy with how his life turned out in the end. And of course, I loved Luke (or Luca) and his dog Romeo (who was possibly my favourite character ever), every character was just lovely and I very much enjoyed reading about their blossoming relationships.

The storyline was fantastic, Bee woke up in an Italian hospital after she was involved in an accident on the film set she was working on, as compensation the company invited her to spend a few months recuperating in a beautiful Tuscan villa in the middle of nowhere. Bee automatically falls in love with the place and the people who love there, and with one more than the others - Luke the estate manager. As the days get hotter, Bee realises that she doesn't want to get into any sort of relationship, leaving her heart breaking at the prospect of leaving Luke in Italy.

The storyline gets better and better as the pages go on, and whilst nothing huge nor significant happens, it's still just a beautifully written novel and I absolutely loved every minute of it. Thank you to Netgalley for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

Monday 28 January 2019

Blog Tour: Love Heart Lane by Christie Barlow


Love Heart Lane
Christie Barlow
Rating: 5 stars

Welcome to Love Heart Lane...

When Flick Simons returns to the small village of Heartcross she only expected to stay for a few days. The white-washed cottages of Love Heart Lane might be her home, but the place holds too many painful memories, and of one man in particular - Fergus Campbell.

When a winter storm sweeps in, the only bridge connecting the village to the main land is swept away! As the villagers pull together, Flick finds herself welcomed back by the friends she once left behind. And as the snow begins to melt, maybe there is a chance that Fergus's heart will thaw too...

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Oh I do love a Christie Barlow novel! I've read a few others by her and I have really enjoyed them but this one was probably my favourite. The cover is absolutely stunning, I love the colours, they go together so well and the village looks so cute!

The setting of this book just sounds beautiful. The thick snow, the mountains and all other kinds of bad weather makes me feel so cosy when I'm warm and dry wrapped up on the sofa! I also absolutely loved main character Felicity. She pulled on my heartstrings on more than one occasion and I couldn't even begin to feel what she had gone through that made her escape Heartcross for eight years. As well as Felicity (or Flick as some of the characters call her), I really loved the secondary characters as well. I think Flick's mum was adorable and so loveable and I really liked Isla as well, she was so kindhearted!

As well as the characters, the whole novel had a wonderful community spirit, and even though quite a few things kept going wrong (mainly due to the bad weather!), they stuck together and had each others backs. I loved this so much and I wished on more than one occasion that I lived somewhere like Heartcross! Fergus was another one of my favourite characters, I really felt for him in everything he had been through. Not just with Felicity but also with his family. I could feel my heart aching on more than one occasion whilst I was reading this novel!

I feel like there was loads of action throughout this book, straight from the start there were things happening that I just couldn't put it down! I was eagerly awaiting the next time I could pick it up to find out what happens next. It was exciting, heart warming and quite simply unputdownable. This is by far my favourite novel by Christie Barlow right now! It had everything you could possibly want from a story, great community spirit and friendships, drama, romance and some humour too! I really, really enjoyed reading this book and I was sad when it came to an end!

I noticed on Goodreads that this was the 1st in the series (I hope this is true!) so hopefully we hear more about Heartcross in the future! Thank you to the publisher and Rachel from Rachel's Random Resources for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

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Christie Barlow is the author of A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother, The Misadventures of a Playground Mother, Kitty's Countryside Dream, Lizzie's Christmas Escape, Evie's Year of Taking Chances, The Cosy Canal Boat Dream, A Home at Honeysuckle Farm and Love Heart Lane. Her writing career came as somewhat as a surprise when she decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. The book she wrote to prove a point is now a #1 bestseller in the UK, USA & Australia.

Christie is an ambassador for @ZuriProject raising money/awareness and engaging with impoverished people in Uganda through organisations to improve their well-being as well as Literary Editor for www.mamalifemagazine.co.uk bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the book world.

Website | Twitter | Facebook


Saturday 12 January 2019

Wildflower Park, Part Three: Oopsy Daisy by Bella Osborne


Wildflower Park, Part Three: Oopsy Daisy
Bella Osborne
Rating: 5 stars

Escape to Wildflower Park with Part Three of a brand new four-part serial from bestselling author Bella Osborne.

Life's not always a walk in the park...

When Anna is dumped by her fiancé, she moves in to her own place on the edge of the gorgeous Wildflower Park and pledges to stay off men and focus on her career, but a handsome new colleague seems to thwart her attempts at every turn. And when she receives an accident text from a mystery man, could it be the new start she needs? Or someone she really shouldn't be falling for?

Anna's neighbour Sophie is a stressed-out mum-of-two with a third on the way. Her husband is a constant frustration, and their children are a regular source of newly-invented swear words and unidentifiable sticky surfaces.

Luckily, Anna and Sophie have each other - and Wildflower Park proves to be a sanctuary as they map out a path to find happiness they both deserve...

Fantastically funny, this irresistibly heart-warming novel will charm fans of Milly Johnson and Jill Mansell.

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This series is seriously hotting up! I've really enjoyed this new series by Bella Osborne. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I think it's her best one yet! As I've said with all my other reviews on this new series, I absolutely love the cover. This one in particular is possibly my favourite, the blooming flowers and all their colours just make it so eye-catching and beautiful!

Onto the story itself, this one is where it really hots up. And in this one I absolutely fell in love with Bert! He broke my heart and I found my eyes welling up on more than one occasion with this lovely elderly man. As well as Bert, I also feel that we got to know all the other characters a whole lot more as well. I find myself relating to both Anna and Sophie on a much bigger scale than I was before and I'm enjoying reading about their issues and dramas!

I also find myself loving Maurice the cat and some other characters as well such as Hudson. However, I will say that I am a bit weary of Connor - I feel like he's hiding something big and I think we'll finally get to find out what in the final instalment! Which might I add, seriously cannot come quick enough. These novella's are so easy and enjoyable to read. They're quick and I find they're the perfect way to while away a few hours.

Overall, a fabulous addition to the series and I absolutely cannot wait to read the final one! I'm a bit gutted because I feel it's ended so quickly but so excited to see what's going to happen in the final novella! Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read this novel via Netgalley, which I have reviewed honestly.

Wednesday 9 January 2019

Wildflower Park, Part Two: A Budding Romance by Bella Osborne


Wildflower Park, Part Two: A Budding Romance
Bella Osborne
Rating: 5 stars

Escape to Wildflower Park with Part Two of a brand new four-part serial from bestselling author Bella Osborne.

Life's not always a walk in the park...

When Anna is dumped by her fiancé, she moves in to her own place on the edge of the gorgeous Wildflower Park and pledges to stay off men and focus on her career, but a handsome new colleague seems to thwart her attempts at every turn. And when she receives an accidental text from a mystery man, could it be the new start she needs? Or someone she really shouldn't be starting for?

Anna's neighbour Sophie is a stressed-out mum-of-two with a third on the way. Her husband is a constant frustration, and their children are a regular source of newly-invented swear words and unidentifiable sticky surfaces.

Luckily, Anna and Sophie have each other - and Wildflower Park proves to be a sanctuary as they map out a path to find the happiness they both deserve...

Fantastically funny, this irresistibly heart-warming novel will charm fans of Milly Johnson and Jill Mansell.

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I'm really enjoying this series now! The first one didn't give much away but when you think they're just over 100 pages long, it would be a bit hard for tons of action to start then! We're only just getting to know the characters. I really adore the cover of these series too. They're so colourful, bright and just really draw you in. I love the flowers, the swans and the pretty houses, everything just comes together perfectly and makes you want to read it.

I really like Anna's character. She seems to have gone through a lot in her life and I really feel for her. I also feel equally as sorry for Sophie, she's got a lot on her plate and her husband Dave seems to be a constant disappointment! I love the area in which they live, it sounds like a dream to back on to your own private park where only a handful of people are able to visit.

In this series, it's starting to heat up a bit and Liam arrives back in Anna's life with a big bang. She starts pretending to be in a relationship with Hudson (whom she still has some disagreements with) but since pretending to be in a relationship, the pair seem to be getting on a lot better. As well as this, poor Sophie seems to still be having troubles with her crush on Hudson and cannot get him out of her head, causing her and Dave to have a huge bust up. The main question at the end of this novella is whether they will get back together again!

It's a great addition to the story, and as the second and third novella was uploaded onto Netgalley at the same time I was able to start reading the third one in the series straight away which was lovely! I'm now halfway through the third and loving it! Seriously cannot wait to read the fourth in the series. Overall, a really enjoyable addition to the series, would 100% recommend giving this a read. Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read this novel via Netgalley, which I have reviewed honestly.

Monday 7 January 2019

Christmas at the Little Cornish Gift Shop by Rachel Griffiths


Christmas at the Little Cornish Gift Shop
Rachel Griffiths
Rating: 5 stars

Following a series of disastrous dates and losing her job as a room attendant at a top London hotel, Ruby Penrose heads home to Cornwall. Her dreams of making it as a screenwriter failed and she has no idea what to do next.

Reality TV star Jake Woodhouse was delighted to find a small, isolated Cornish cottage to rent for the holidays. He aims to spend his days there in peace and quiet, licking his wounds - his only company his faithful, but stubborn, British bulldog, Sherlock Bones.

But as Ruby and Jake are drawn together by the magic of the festive season and the Little Cornish Gift Shop, they both begin to realise that sometimes it is possible to learn to trust again, and that friendship can be the most valuable Christmas gift of all.

This is the first of three short stories in The Little Cornish Gift Shop series.

Look out for Spring at The Little Cornish Gift Shop coming in 2019.

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Rachel Griffiths has done it again! This was a delightful and festive heartwarming story and I loved every page. If you wasn't in the festive mood before you saw the cover, then you certainly would be once you saw this one! I love the falling snow, the cutest little cottage with the wreath on the door, the Christmas lights and of course the two cutest little doggies at the front of the cover! It's delightful and if you ask me, it's everything you want in a cover.

Onto the story itself, it starts with Ruby working in London and being set up for cleaning 'accidents' that she didn't do. However, being the caring person that she is, she took the blame for a heavily pregnant single mum and got fired in the process. So not the best end to the year for Ruby, but having said that, this was just what she needed. She desperately wanted to get home to see her nanna and spend Christmas with her loved ones.

What I love about this novel is that we also get to see everything from a male perspective as well. We get to read about Jake and what's going through his past relationships and his urgent need to get away from London. He was a great character with hidden depth and I could just feel that connection between Ruby and Jake straight away. I loved reading about their growing relationship and I was sad when I came to the end of the novella!

I absolutely loved where this was set, the location sounded idyllic on a winters day and it desperately made me want to move or visit somewhere similar! It was so Christmassy and festive that I devoured this book in such a short time and I'm so looking forward to reading the rest in the series. Thank you to Rachel Griffiths for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.