Those Summer Nights by Mandy Baggot

Those Summer Nights

Mandy Baggot

Rating: 4.5 stars

Amazon UK (K £1.99 / P £8.99)

Sunshine, soft white sand and a sizzling hot millionaire - you don't get trouble in paradise, right?

Imogen Charlton is sorted. Dead-beat husband? History. Dream job? Application sent. But then her impulsive brother, Harry, spends every last penny on a Greek restaurant in Corfu, and is determined to run it himself. It's up to Imogen to bring him to his senses.

When sexy millionare Panos Dimitriou offers to buy back his family taverna, Imogen wonders if all her prayers have been answered (and all her fantasies about to come true). But Harry won't budge, and his enthusiasm is infectious.

Bright pink bougainvillea tumbling over whitewashed walls, endless blue skies, the sparkling Mediterranean; it's hard not to fall for Corfu. And that's not all Imogen is falling for...

As the sparks fly between Imogen and Panos, is Imogen having second thoughts on selling the restaurant? And will she have to choose between love and a new dream?

This summer, spend long sunny days on the beach, and balmy nights in Greek tavernas on the gorgeous island of Corfu. Perfect for fans of Lucy Diamond, Miranda Dickinson and Lindsey Kelk.

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To put it lightly, I think main character Imogen got a bit of a shock when her brother Harry announced that he just bought a restaurant - in Greece! This novel is humorous, romantic and overall just another really lovely and enjoyable story by Mandy Baggot.

I will say that I found it a bit slow to start with, but once the restaurant started getting up and coming and Panos and Imogen started to get a bit closer the book flew by and I loved it. The ending was a little predictable but I still loved every minute of it! Sometimes the predictable ones are the best ones. As mentioned above, the story follows Imogen on her working holiday to Greece to help brother Harry open a run-down restaurant he's just bought.

Imogen thinks that Harry is slipping back into the dark place he's just managed to get away from but as the story goes on, she finds that Harry is the happiest he's ever been. And I think it's just such a lovely story about love, family, and friendship. It's beautifully written and as always I love a good Mandy Baggot book!

The relationship between Imogen and Panos is sizzling to say the least! And the novel will certainly make your mouth water (by the delicious sounding food that is!!), the descriptions of the Greek food just sounds delicious and I was desperate to eat everything that was written about! The sun shining every day, the flowers, the sand, everything just sounded so perfect and like a dream holiday. If you want to wish for sunshine and be jealous about the food in this novel, then this is the story for you!

Once again, Mandy Baggot didn't disappoint. I can't wait to read more from her! (although I think I'm closing to having read everything now!) A brilliant novel that I would recommend to get you in the mood for Summer.

Spring at Lavender Bay by Sarah Bennett

Spring at Lavender Bay

Sarah Bennett

Rating: 4 stars

Amazon UK £2.99

A season for change...?

Beth Reynolds loved growing up close to Eleanor's Emporium - a brick-a-brack shop full of wonders on Lavender Bay. Devestated to learn that Eleanor has died, she returns home from London immediately and is shocked to discover that the elderly lady has left the shop to her!

Vowing to restore it to its former glory, she only intends to stay until the end of the season. Although the longer she spends in the colourful seaside town, the more she falls back in love with everything she left behind...and quite possibly, with her best friend Eliza's older brother, local chef Sam Barnes!

Why didn't she notice he was quite this gorgeous before? And will their spring fling be enough to convince her to stay?

Don't miss Spring at Lavender Bay, the first book in the enchanting Lavender Bay triology! Perfect for fans of Trisha Ashley, Rachael Lucas and Hilary Boyd.

Book 1: Spring at Lavender Bay

Book 2: Summer at Lavender Bay

Book 3: Snowflakes at Lavender Bay

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What a lovely start to a new series by Sarah Bennett, I haven't read many of her novels but the ones I have got my hands on I have really enjoyed. As always with Sarah's books, the covers are beautiful and really draw you in. There are so many colours and of course the red shop in the middle really stands out. I love the lavender on the sides of the cover and the sea in the foreground - so stunning and pretty!

The story itself is just as lovely as the cover. The characters are all wonderful and there's a real sense of a tight-knit community in the air! They all seem really friendly and it made me wish I could live somewhere like this amongst friends and people who genuinely care about you. The story follows main character Beth, who finds out that she's been left a shop in her hometown. Of course, this comes as a huge shock to Beth but she's touched that Eleanor (the shop owner) has passed it down to her and vows to turn the shop back around.

You can tell that Beth is happy to be back in Lavender Bay and it was really nice to read about her learning to love her hometown again. And of course, it was interesting to read about Beth and Sam's relationship! Sam seemed like a lovely lad and I was hoping it would all work out well for Beth - but I needn't have hoped! It was a great start to a new series and one that I throughly enjoyed.

Overall, a really enticing and lighthearted novel. Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

Spring on the Little Cornish Isles: The Flower Farm by Phillipa Ashley

Spring on the Little Cornish Isles: The Flower Farm

Phillipa Ashley

Rating: 5 stars

Amazon UK (K £1.99 / P £7.99)

Jess has lived at the idyllic flower farm on the Isles of Scilly her whole life, but when her boyfriend Adam leaves without explanation, Jess discovers that even her little slice of Cornish heaven can be lonely.

For the first time in Will's life, he's met someone he can't stop thinking about. But nothing is simple when the woman of your dreams is working for you.

Gaby is running away from painful memories, and where could be more perfect than a remote island off the Cornish coast? But to put the past behind her, she must keep moving ... however much she might want to stay.

Nothing is simple, even on paradise. Will love bloom for the residents of the little Cornish Isles?

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I really, really enjoyed this book. If possible even more so than the first of the series! The cover itself is absolutely beautiful and the pink sky, sandy beach and flowers in the foreground make it really stand out and draws you in. I love the style of writing that the title is in too!

The story itself was really lovely and easy to read - I personally found Jess' story the most interesting as I just really wanted to get to the bottom of why Jess' boyfriend Adam left the island. It was so gripping! The other stories around Gaby and Will were equally as enjoyable and I really hoped that there was a happy ever after with them. Will seemed to be like such a closed book, it was nice that when Gaby started working that they had banter and you could see Will starting to gently come out of his shell.

I also felt awful for Gaby and what she had been through that had made her want to flee to the quiet island. I had a few tears at some points! Just a warning that you may need to get your tissues out! Having said this, I found that the book had a really lovely heartwarming feel to it and I felt happy whilst reading about what was going on at the Flower Farm. I just really loved the story! It was nice as well that even though the story wasn't directly about Maisie, it was still nice to read about Maisie (from the 1st book) and find out how she and Patrick were getting on.

The location of the story sounded beautiful and it's now made me want to visit these islands! They sound really charming and the community side of it sounded more like family than just neighbours! Overall, I would really recommend you picking up this novel (and the first) and giving it a go. You won't regret it! It's a happy and heartwarming story that I throughly enjoyed.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

Publication Day Review: A Country Escape by Katie Fforde

A Country Escape

Katie Fforde

Rating: 4 stars

Amazon UK (K £7.99 / H £9.99)

A Year in the Country. A Year to fall in love.

Fran has always wanted to be a farmer. And now it looks as if her childhood dream is about to come true.

She has just moved in to a beautiful but very run-down farm in the Cotswolds, currently owned by an old aunt who has told Fran that if she manages to turn the place around in a year, the farm will be hers.

But Fran knows nothing about farming. She might even be afraid of cows.

She's going to need a lot of help from her best friend Issi, and also from her wealthy and very eligible neighbour - who might just have his own reasons for being so supportive.

Is it the farm he is interested in? Or Fran herself?

Warm, funny and wonderfully romantic, this is Katie Fforde at her very best.

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This is the first novel I've ever read by Katie Fforde (and have plenty more on my TBR pile!) and I must say that I was really enjoying it. I loved the setting so much and really enjoyed that it started in the country and I felt as though the story got started straight away and was really easy to read.

The story follows main character Fran, who gets a letter from a distant relative asking her to come and trial running the farm. If she manages to make the farm earn money and does so for a year, then Amy (her relative) will think about handing over the farm to Fran. Of course, Fran feels out of her depth with this, but she soon decides to give it a go and she quits her job and moves out to the country.

Best friend Issi is by her side when she moves in to the cute little cottage and they soon set about making the cottage more liveable and better looking. The setting itself is idyllic and I loved it. These type of books always make me want to quit my own job and start running a farm! But I think I'd be more like Fran and not know where to even start!

When the truck that takes the milk lets Fran know that they can't come due to the farms broken track, Fran realises that this is where the farm is going wrong. Tig (the one who helps with the cows) says to just chuck the milk away but Fran has other ideas. As she was a chef before she came down to help Amy, she decides to make cheese with the surplus milk. And honestly, some parts of it left my mouth watering!

I really enjoyed reading this story and getting to know all of the characters. I really loved Issi and found myself relating to Fran and her struggles. I was a bit dubious of Anthony to begin with but it still made a lovely story! Overall, a lovely romantic novel which you will lose yourself in.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

Blog Tour: Prosecco and Promises by A.L. Michael

Prosecco and Promises

A.L. Michael
Previous books: If You Don't Know Me By Now, Goodbye Ruby Tuesday, Cocktails and Dreams
Release Date: 12th of February

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher: Canelo

Meet Mia: an unforgettable heroine learning the meaning of life and love on a beautiful Italian island. Perfect for fans of Mhairi McFarlane, Lindsey Kelk and Lucy Vine.

Mia's dad has always been her idol. Now, she faces losing him and he is insisting that she leave England to visit her mother's family on the Italian island of Ischia.

Arriving on the island, Mia is embraced by the warm, crazy relatives she hardly knows. Despite her doubts about the trip, it is in Italy that Mia discovers connections to a part of her life that's been missing, and during the sun-soaked days and steamy nights Mia falls for handsome local Salvatore. But as the day of her departure draws nearer can she risk having her heart broken twice in one summer?

If you love Prosecco and Promises, why not read more about Mia's best friend Savvy in Cocktails and Dreams? Out now!

Amazon / Kobo / Google Books / Apple Books

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A.L. Michael is hurtling towards the end of her twenties a little too quickly. She is the author of 10 novels. Her most recent collection of books, The Martini Club Series, started with Cocktails and Dreams, to be followed by Prosecco and Promises, and Martinis and Memories.

She likes to write about difficult women. Well, they say to write about what you know. Andi works as a Content Writer, as well as a therapeutic facilitator. She has a bunch of degrees in stuff to do with writing, and wrote her MSc dissertation on the power of creative writing in eating disorder recovery. She truly believes stories can change your life.

Website / Twitter / Facebook

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Uh, what a refreshingly beautiful novel to read in this bleak January we're currently experiencing. I really enjoyed this novel.

The cover in itself is very beautiful and colourful but doesn't give much away so I was so intrigued when this popped up in my inbox so decided to give it a go! And I'm so pleased that I did. There's something so enjoyable and fun about it. Even though I hadn't read the first one in the Martini Club series, it was so easy to read as a standalone, as this story was concentrating on a different main character than the first. Although this book and the first have character cross-overs, it wasn't confusing and it was nice to read about the characters in this book.

I did find the storyline regarding Mia's dad terribly upsetting though. So I might have got a bit teary on a few occasions! But other than that the book was a great read. I loved the fact that we are so similar to Mia in this book. Mia and the reader are both meeting her mum's side of the family with fresh eyes, where she doesn't know them and I think that shows her vulnerable side, making Mia easy to relate to.

However, the storyline was interesting and I absolutely loved the setting. It had me wishing for warmer weather and a pool to dip my feet in whilst reading it. It was heartwarming and emotional all at once. It had a great pace and I found myself smiling at parts. All the characters I found really welcoming and it was like I was there as part of the long-lost family.

One thing that I enjoyed about this novel is that it's heartwarming and enjoyable but there's also the emotional and heart-wrenching side too, with a bit of a deeper storyline. This added so much depth and I think that's what swung it for me! The characters were all lovely, I loved the location and found myself relating to main character Mia. So overall, I really ended up enjoying this novel. Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

Ottercombe Bay, Part Two: Gin and Trouble by Bella Osbourne

Ottercombe Bay, Part Two: Gin and Trouble

Bella Osbourne

Rating: 5 stars

Amazon UK £0.75

Escape to the Devon coast, with Part Two of a brand-new four-part serial from the author of Willow Cottage.

Daisy Wickens has returned to Ottercombe Bay, the picturesque Devon town where her mother died when she was a girl. She plans to leave as soon as her great uncle's funeral is over, but Great Uncle Reg had other ideas. He's left Daisy a significant inheritance - an old building in a state of disrepair, which could offer exciting possibilities, but to get to it she must stay in Ottercombe Bay for twelve whole months.

With the help of a cast of quirky locals, a few gin cocktails and a black pug with plenty of attitude, Daisy might just turn this into something special. But can she ever hope to be happy among the ghosts of her past?

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Oh, if possible I enjoyed this one even more than the first! I feel like in this second instalment we got to know the characters so much better and I loved reading more about them and their pasts in the cute little village. The story follows on from the first cliff hanger and I was racking my brains to try and come up with a solution with who could do such a thing to Daisy!

I really enjoyed reading more about the railway station and what Daisy's plans were for it. I also enjoyed reading about her and Max's days working together - it was nice to see them finally getting on better after coming to loggerheads more than once in the first novella. Daisy's idea for the station is brilliant and I love the idea of being something during the day and then changing of a night! It sounds exciting and I can't wait to read about further developments.

As with the first one, the second one was also left on a huge cliffhanger (perhaps an even bigger one than the first!) where we actually end up fearing for Daisy's life and wondering what was going to happen next. I don't want to give too much away but lets just say that I can't wait to read the first instalment!! If you haven't yet picked up the first in the Ottercombe series then I urge you to. You won't be able to put it down!

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

Runaway Bride by Mary Jayne Baker

Runaway Bride

Mary Jayne Baker

Rating: 4 stars

Amazon UK (K £2.99 / P £7.99)

A heart-warming novel about love and new beginnings, this is the perfect book for spring!

Here comes the bride... but how long can she hide?

When Kitty Clayton fleers her wedding with no money, no bank card and no phone, her life seems worryingly futureless. All she knows is, she'd rather sleep on the streets than go back home to cheating Ethan.

After picking her up hitch-hiking, widowed children's author Jack Duffy takes Kitty under his wing, looking out for her until she gets back on her feet. And it's not long before the two grow close...

But with Jack struggling to recover from the guilt he feels over his wife's death and Kitty refusing to face up to the problems she's running away from at home, will the two ever manage to share a happily ever after?

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I feel like I start everyone of my reviews by: 'I've never read a book by this author before...' and this is the same for this one (hides behinds hands). I'm shocked I'd never read a novel by this author before! It was refreshingly fun and easy to read and overall a really enjoyable book to sink into.

The cover is what drew me in, the colours are bright and eye-catching and I love reading any sort of stories about weddings (even if technically they don't happen), so I was really excited when I got accepted for this one. The beginning of the story is really gripping, it starts with Kitty running away, although we have no idea why or where she is running away too. This for me made me not want to put the book down! I was addicted to finding out what happened next!

When we first meet Jack I was a bit dubious. How could one man care so much for someone he has only just met? However, as the story goes on and we get to learn more about his background and what has happened to him, I started to feel incredibly touched by his kindness and felt so sorry for him! Jack and Kitty have both been through so much hurt that it was fate that pushed them together and I really enjoyed reading about their 'relationship' and how it evolved. You really start to see them both come out of their shell.

I loved how the story ended, and even though I had a bit of an inkling of how it would end, I enjoyed it all the same. It's heartwarming and just a really lovely romance story with a bit of humour thrown in! Overall, I really enjoyed reading this novel by Mary Jayne Baker and look forward to reading more of her books. Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a chance to read this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.