Book Review - The Grand Reopening of the Dandelion Cafe

 

The Grand Reopening of the Dandelion Café by Jenny Oliver

Published: 27th March 2015

Publisher: Carina UK

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

 

Blurb

Welcome to the brand new Cherry Pie Island series from Jenny Oliver!
Home, Sweet Home….?

When Annie White steps back onto Cherry Pie Island, it’s safe to say her newly inherited Dandelion Café has seen better days! And while her childhood home on the Thames-side island idyll is exactly the same retreat from the urban bustle of London she remembers, Annie’s not convinced that Owner of The Dandelion Cafe is a title she’ll be keeping for long. Not that she can bear the idea of letting her dedicated, if endearingly disorganized staff lose their jobs. Plus café life does also have the added bonus of working a stone’s throw away from millionaire Matt and his disarmingly charming smile!

One (shoestring budget) café makeover, a few delightful additions to the somewhat retro menu and a lot of cherry pie tastings later, The Dandelion Café is ready for its grand reopening! But once she’s brought the dilapidated old café back to life, Annie finds herself wishing her stay on the island was just a bit longer. She always intended to go back to the big city…but could island living finally have lured her back home for good?

The Grand Reopening of Dandelion Café is Book 1 in The Cherry Pie Island series. Each part of Cherry Pie Island can be read and enjoyed as a standalone story – or as part of the utterly delightful series

 

Review

The Grand Reopening of the Dandelion Café is the first book in Jenny Oliver’s new Cherry Pie Island series. It is also the first book I’ve read by this author, which is shocking seen as she’s been popping up on my Amazon recommendations for months.    

Annie White has returned to Cherry Pie Island after inheriting the Dandelion Café from her father. Annie has not been on the island for a while after a miss-spent youth and mistakes she’d rather forget led her to move away. The café has seen better days and initially Annie is convinced the best thing to do is sell up and continue her life back in Hampstead. However the café  slowly charms her,  and along with memories of childhood and the close-knit community giving her a sense of belonging which she hasn’t felt for a long time, Annie decides to give the café a chance.

Annie is an instantly likable character and I liked that we were given hints at trouble in her past, which we are slowly made aware of as the story unfolds. I loved the other characters too, Martha who’s very possessive of the café her mother used to run, young River and his estranged father Matt, and even Annie self-important brother Jonathon. The sense of community oozes of the pages of this book and like Annie found, it was hard to resist the charms this lovely café and its delicious sounding cherry pie, I’ll have mine with ice-cream please!

Although this is a short story I thought it was perfect and really enjoyed the couple of hours it took me to read it. It’s a story out fining out where you belong and believing you can leave the past behind you. The budding sparks of romance between Annie and Matt were lovely and I can’t wait to see what happens next for them. I loved the hints of mystery and secrets some of the characters have and look forward to finding out more about these in the following books of the series.

This was a lovely introduction to Jenny’s Oliver’s writing for me and I’m definitely going to be reading more from this lady very soon. If you love the writing style of Milly Johnson or Rebecca Raisin I’m sure you will love Jenny Oliver as she has the same sense of community and descriptions of delicious sounding food.

Thank you to Carina UK and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. I’d rate it 5/5 it was just scrummy!

Book Review - Bewitched,Bothered and Bewildered

 

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered by Kerry Barrett

Published: 31st October 2013

Publisher: Carina UK

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

 

Blurb

Part-time witch, full-time glamorous high-flyer Esme Mcleod rubs shoulders with celebrities for a living, has a sort-of-boyfriend …and just enough magic in her fingertips to solve life’s little irritations; why shouldn’t she cast a little spell to catch the busy barman’s attention, or to summon a latte to aid her all-nighters?

Called back to her small Scottish home town and meddling family, stiletto-clad Esme is way out of her comfort zone… But Esme must embrace her abilities as a witch, or watch her family lose their beloved café.

Except Esme has never claimed to be a whizz at witchcraft, and her charms are starting to go awry - she certainly never meant to cast a love spell on her ex-boyfriend Jamie! It’s time for urgent lessons in magic as well as love – it seems there’s only so much that muttering a few words over cupcake batter will fix…

 

Review

I was kindly sent the third book in the Could It Be Magic series by Kerry Barrett to review, having not read the first two I decided to start at the beginning of the story with Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered as it sounded like a series I would love.

 

Esme Mcleod is a witch who works as a family lawyer in London. She has been away from from her family up in Scotland since she was a teenager. She had a disagreement with her mother over the use of magic, which Esme is not a fan of, except for when that coffee cup just needs to come a bit nearer or the barman aren’t looking her way. Her family practise magic on a daily basis in their café, helping people whether they ask for it or not.  When her cousin Harry (Harmony) asks her to come home and her run the family business as her Aunt Suky is ill with cancer Esme has no choice but to return to the home she fled from years earlier.  Esme soon realises it’s not just Suky’s illness which is making the café business suffer and the only way she can help her family is to put her magic skills to good use.

I really liked the main character Esme; I loved the way that she defended her family from outsiders even though she didn’t completely agree with what they were up to herself. She also had a way of getting into scrapes with her magic which were quite funny, such as turning one of the villagers into a frog. My favourite scenes with Esme were when she got drunk in the pub with her old friend Chloe and tried to convince her old boyfriend to date the much younger barmaid, really funny!

This is a story filled with heart-warming characters full of family loyalty, a little romance and some quite sad parts with Suky’s storyline. The story moves at a fairly fast pace and is sprinkled with magic and humour throughout which will leave you, like me wanting to find out what happen next for Esme and her family.

Rating 4/5

 

Book Review - Mistletoe Mansion by Samantha Tonge

 

Mistletoe Mansion by Samantha Tonge

Published: 10th November 2014

Publisher: Carina UK

Pages: 384

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

 

Blurb

Kimmy Jones has three loves: cupcakes, gossip magazines and dreaming of getting fit just by owning celeb workouts.
When Kimmy’s Sensible Boyfriend told her he didn’t approve of her longing for the high life or her dream of starting a cupcake company Kimmy thought she could compromise – after all, she did return those five-inch Paris Hilton heels! But asking her to trade in cake-making for a job sorting potatoes is a step too far.

So, newly single - and newly homeless – Kimmy needs a dusting of Christmas luck. And, masquerading as a professional house sitter, her new temporary home is the stunning Mistletoe Mansion. Soon she’s best buds with glamorous next door golf WAG Melissa, and orders are pouring in for her fabulous Merry Berry cupcakes! The only thorn in her side is handsome handyman Luke, a distraction she definitely doesn’t need. And talking of distractions, something very odd is going on at night…

Kimmy is finally living the life she’s always wanted. But will her glimpse into the glittering lifestyle of the rich and famous be as glamorous as she’s always imagined…?

 

Review

 

Firstly I would like to thank Samatha Tonge for sending me an advanced copy to review. I’d never read anything by her before but the cover of this book was so lovely I couldn’t resist.  I have to say I think I’ve found another favourite author as this book was jam packed with lovely characters and I just loved the plot, it was hilarious.

The story begins with Kimmy being thrown out of her shared flat by boyfriend Adam because she won’t give up her dreams of a baking business and go and work in a potato factory with him. Kimmy is a baking whizz and is hoping to build her own cupcake business, she’s had a few jobs through friends but not enough to give Adam the confidence to believe in her.  Kimmy begs him to give her more time to allow her to make her business work, but Adam’s having none of it and out she goes.

After meeting up with friend Jess, who has just been thrown out by her brother, they manage to blag themselves the position of house sitters for Mistletoe Mansion. The girls can’t believe their luck, set in a quiet cul de sac Mistletoe Mansion is everything Kimmy has dreamed of but is everything exactly as it seems? Hot handyman Luke seems initially very standoffish and neighbour Terry can’t wait to leave as soon as its gets dark, so what is going on?

Kimmy meets celebrity WAG Melissa from next door and gets her first job catering for one of her coffee mornings, as Kimmy makes a new friend she realises the celebrity lifestyle isn’t as glossy as the magazines make out.

Mistletoe mansion is full of great characters and I loved that they all seemed just slightly over the top. There’s Kimmy with her gold parka jacket that you just can’t help but like and who are longing to see succeed with her business, just to prove Adam wrong.  Jess, her  vegetarian best friend who is gardening mad, handsome handyman Luke with his sexy cords, who Kimmy might have a little crush on, Melissa the stylish but kind celebrity wife who’s longing for a baby and Terry the eccentric, celebrity gossip loving,  next door neighbour  with his micro-pig, yes you read that right PIG, Frazzle.

The thing I loved most about this book was the relationships. Especially the little love triangle between Kimmy, Adam and Luke. Kimmy’s so focused on proving to Adam that she’s worthy of his love and support by making her business a success. Initially she can’t stand how arrogant he is around her, but when she gets to know him she realises that he believes in her and gives her encouragement and support without question. Will she pick solid, reliable, sensible Adam or sexy, cheeky, risk-taking, Luke?

With the delicious descriptions of cupcakes, the slightly spooky goings on and the misbehaving celebrities this book is the perfect treat for a cozy Christmas read and I loved every single page.  I give this book 5/5 and think everyone should add it to their reading list this year.

 

 

Book Review - Driving Home For Christmas by A L Michael

 

Driving Home For Christmas by A L Michael

Published: 28th October 2014

Publisher: Carina UK

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

 

 

Blurb

Megan McAllister is home for Christmas…whether she likes it or not!

Christmas is about family…and for Megan family means two people: herself, and her daughter Skye. It doesn’t mean her parents who, ten years ago, saw her pregnancy as anything but a miracle. And it definitely doesn’t include her irresistible ex-boyfriend Lucas Bright.

So ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ has never been top of Megan’s festive playlist. But for Skye, she knows she needs to spend the holiday season with the people she’s left behind. She can do this. Even if the thought of meeting Lucas under the mistletoe still has her feeling like she’s drunk one-too-many Snowballs!

But somewhere between the hanging of stockings and the crackle of wrapping paper, Christmas starts to sparkle. And Megan begins to wonder if family could be bigger than her and Skye after all…

 

Review

Megan McAllister has been living with her estranged Aunt Anna and her lodger Jeremy ever since she ran away from her family when they found out she was pregnant.  Now ten years on she’s been persuaded to head home for Christmas and make amends with her family.  Arriving back home with daughter Skye evokes all kinds of memories for Megan and as Christmas day comes closer family secrets and old feelings which have been hidden for years start to surface, but will they bring this family close again.

After reading the blurb for this book I knew I had to read it, any book in which the characters have some kind of mystery in their past draws me in and A L Michael has done this brilliantly. It’s the type of story that slowly unravels and gives the reader questions:  Why did Megan leave? Why hasn’t she been back? How did she end up living with Anna? And probably the question we all want to know the answer to who is Skye’s father?

Luckily for us as we keep reading we find out the answers to these questions and also a couple of little surprises, some which I totally wasn’t expecting and some which you could guess.  This is done really well through the use of flashbacks in the narrative which help us build up a picture of Megan as a teenager and show the strained relationship she had back then with her mother.  These were slightly confusing to me at first as the flashbacks do chop and change years between 2001 and 2004 but once I had read a few chapters and had more knowledge of Megan I found they really helped build up a picture of Megan and what led her to run away.

A L Michael has created some really great characters in this book, Skye has to be my favourite, what a brilliant little girl she is, so intuitive and clever but not in that annoying know it all way that some kids can be.  She is hoping to be detective when she is older and I could just imagine her hiding under tables and writing down notes in a little book.  I loved the way she seemed to weigh people up and instantly get their measure and then just carried on with whatever she was doing. I think is she was my daughter I would be very proud of her.

I wasn’t sure about Megan; I did feel that she brought a lot of the problems with her mother on herself by not opening up to her at the time. I did like the way that she didn’t let having a baby so young stand in the way of her dreams and she was able to find a fulfilling career. The thing that stood out the most about Megan was that she was so focused on Skye’s happiness and making sure she was loved that I felt Megan herself might be a little lonely, so when she finally let her family into her daughter’s life I was hoping Megan would put herself first just once.  I loved Lucas, just the image of him with a Where’s Wally scarf round his neck was enough to melt my heart, he just seemed such a lovely guy and although I understand why Megan let him go when she was younger I don’t think I would have been able to.

Driving Home for Christmas is a wonderful story full of Christmas spirit which helps to bring a family closer once again. I laughed, I cried and I was left with that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you read something wonderful.  Add this to your Christmas reading shelf and you won’t regret it.

Rating 5/5

 

Book Review - Christmas Wedding at the Gingerbread Cafe by Rebecca Raisin

 

Christmas Wedding at the Gingerbread Café by Rebecca Raisin

Published: 15th October 2014

Publisher: Carina UK

Pages: 304

Available on Kindle

Order a copy now from Amazon

 

Blurb

You are invited to the wedding of the year!
Snow is falling thick and fast outside the Gingerbread Café and inside, its owner Lily is planning the wedding of the year. Her wedding! She never dreamt it would happen, but this Christmas, she’ll be marrying the man of her dreams - in a Christmas-card-perfect ceremony!

The gingerbread is baking, the dress is fitted and the mistletoe’s in place – for once, everything’s going to plan. That is until her mother-in-law arrives... Suddenly, Lily’s famous cool is being tested like never before and her dream wedding is crumbling before her eyes.

In the blink of a fairylight, the Gingerbread Café has been thrown into chaos! Lily thought she had this wedding wrapped up, but with so much to do before she says ‘I do’, can Lily get to the church on time – and make this Christmas sparkle after all?

 

Review

Christmas Wedding at the Gingerbread Café is the third and sadly final book in the Gingerbread Café series.  It’s a year since they’ve been together and Lily and Damon are busy planning their Christmas Eve wedding. Everything is all set out to be perfect, until Damon’s parents arrive earlier than expected and everything that can go wrong does, can Lily pull it all together before the big day?

After seeing the stunning cover for this book I couldn’t wait to read it and the book itself is every bit as beautiful as its cover. I loved the first two Gingerbread Café books and didn’t think they could be beaten, but Rebecca has done it again, it’s even more wonderful.

As well as Lily, Damon and CeeCee this book also has more background story from other characters such as both Lily and Damon’s parents and Lily’s friends Sarah and Missy as well as little Charlie joining them all just before the wedding. I think having theses extra characters really added depth to the story and made Ashford more of a real place and one I’d definitely want to live in. Sarah and Missy sounded like the perfect girlfriends to have around and share the joy of planning your wedding with.  I really liked the way Damon’s mum Olivia opened up to Lily, as at first when she was trying to meddle I really didn’t like her, I mean why couldn’t she see Lily and Damon are perfect for each other!

Again Rebecca has described some delicious food that just makes this book scrumptious, the description of the wedding cake that Lily and CeeCee was wonderful and I would love to have had a slice. I also think a recipe for butterscotch pie should have been included as this just sounds amazing.

The wedding was simply stunning and Rebecca’s writing really made you feel like you were experiencing it for yourself. The wedding dress sounded like a dream and I would love to wear the same one for my own wedding one day.  The best thing about the wedding was it was very emotional and touching, I was actually crying happy and sad tear as Lily and Damon exchanged vows.

Christmas Wedding at the Gingerbread Café was the perfect book to end a lovely trilogy. I will really miss Lily, CeeCee and the gang as I felt like I knew them and I’m sad that I have to say goodbye.  I hope there are more books from Rebecca on the horizon.  If you want to share a few hours with a lovely bunch of characters wrapped up in festive cheer than add this book to your collection this Christmas.

Rating 5/5

Release Day Round Up #7

After last week's mega release there doesn't seem to be much going on this week, here is what I've picked for this week:

 

 

Christmas Wedding at the Gingerbread Café by Rebecca Raisin

Released: 15th October 2014

Publisher: Carina UK

Pages: 304

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

You are invited to the wedding of the year!

Snow is falling thick and fast outside the Gingerbread Café and inside, its owner Lily is planning the wedding of the year. Her wedding! She never dreamt it would happen, but this Christmas, she’ll be marrying the man of her dreams - in a Christmas-card-perfect ceremony!

The gingerbread is baking, the dress is fitted and the mistletoe’s in place – for once, everything’s going to plan. That is until her mother-in-law arrives... Suddenly, Lily’s famous cool is being tested like never before and her dream wedding is crumbling before her eyes.

In the blink of a fairylight, the Gingerbread Café has been thrown into chaos! Lily thought she had this wedding wrapped up, but with so much to do before she says ‘I do’, can Lily get to the church on time – and make this Christmas sparkle after all?

 

I'm currently about a third of the way through this and it is brilliant, I really enjoyed the first two Gingerbread Café books but this is so much better, I love it! Also does this book just have the most beautiful cover, its truly gorgeous!

 

 

 

Forever His Darling by Sarah Randall

Released: 16th October 2014

Publisher: Carina UK

Available on Kindle

Order from Amazon now

 

A little Christmas love in the country
Anastacia Harper is at the top of her modelling career - famous simply for being beautiful. But as Christmas approaches Ana can't face another holiday alone in the fake celebrity world she inhabits. She's desperate for a change of scenery and desperate to find the girl she once used to be...

Brooding and gorgeous, all Matt Darling wants to do this Christmas is lock the doors of Melville House and keep the world at bay. The last thing he needs is a model flouncing about in sequins pretending to be a country girl, but it looks like he doesn’t have a choice.

When the snow falls suddenly Ana and Matt find themselves trapped at Melville House with only each other for company. But there is magic in the air at Christmas that might just help Ana and Matt find exactly what they are looking for under the tree…

 

This looks like a really cute festive read, I love stories where initially people don't tend to gel and then they magically fall in love.

 

 

Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake by Sue Watson

Released: 17th October 2014

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 254

Available on Kindle

Pre-Order from Amazon now

 

For Tamsin Angel, Christmas is always the biggest and best… chic parties and a little showbiz sparkle are a must. This year though, things aren’t going quite as planned…

With bailiffs suddenly at the door and her husband nowhere to be found, it looks like Christmas just got downsized. Moving into her sister’s one-bedroom flat, she wonders whether things will ever be the same again.

After losing her husband on Christmas Eve, Sam Angel has rebuilt her life around her son Jacob and her new business – The White Angel Bakery. She’s also found herself a very handsome, loving boyfriend, but is struggling to let go of the past.

Thrown together with a sprinkle of Christmas magic, Sam and Tamsin might just learn a little more about each other – and themselves. But when disaster strikes at the bakery, will they be able to save the day in time for Christmas?

 

I've almost finished reading this and when I have I will be sad, this book is brilliant, I've laughed all the way through and will be sad to leave Tamsin and Sam behind. I will have a full review of this book up on my blog tomorrow, so come back if you want to know more.

 

 

 

 

Beneath the Moon and Stars by Amelia Thorne

Released: 18th October 2014

Publisher: Carina UK

Available on Kindle

Pre-Order from Amazon here

 

Joy Cartier has been to some of the most beautiful places in the world – but none of them have ever felt like home. So moving into a tiny cottage in the idyllic village of Bramble Hill, walking distance from her childhood home, seems like the perfect plan.

That is, until she gets there. The surly inhabitants of Britain’s Friendliest Village are anything but welcoming. Even her neighbour, reclusive Hollywood star Finn Mackenzie, takes one look at her and walks in the other direction.

But when the village animosity steps up a gear, it is the infuriatingly brooding Finn who keeps coming to her rescue. Slowly Joy begins to realise that maybe a happy home isn’t about where you live, but who you’re with…

 

This looks like it has a little bit of mystery about it and I think it could be quite good, hopefully I will get a chance to read it at some point. So there are my picks for this week, what have you got your eye on this week?

Book Review - Chocolate Dreams at the Gingerbread Cafe by Rebecca Raisin

 

Chocolate Dreams at the Gingerbread Café by Rebecca Raisin

Published: 20th March 2014

Publisher: Carina UK

Pages: 72

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

 

Blurb

 

Chocolate…the most irresistible temptation?The Gingerbread Café is all a buzz! This Easter, Lily and the rest of the town of Ashford, Connecticut are planning a truly decadent Chocolate Festival. Cooking up a storm, CeeCee and Lily are not just baking a batch of their sinfully delicious chocolate-dipped gingerbread men, but an excess of chocolate truffles, squidgy, cinnamony hot cross buns and melt in your mouth chocolate eggs. The Gingerbread Café staff have definitely enjoyed the tasting process!

Add in Damon’s cute-as-a-button seven year old daughter, Charlie, up for a visit and Lily’s perfect Easter may just be around the corner. Until her ex-husband Joel turns up demanding twenty thousand dollars… Suddenly the future of the Gingerbread Café is not so clear…and Lily finds herself eating far more of The Gingerbread Café’s treats than her skinny jeans allow…

Can Lily concoct a brilliant plan to save her beloved café, convince Damon she has no feelings for Joel and still throw a Chocolate Festival the town will be talking about for years? There’s only one way to find out...

 

Review

 

Chocolate Dreams at the Gingerbread Café is the second book in the Gingerbread Café trilogy and it is just as scrumptious as the first.

This time its Easter and Lil and CeeCee are preparing for Ashford’s first Chocolate Festival so they are creating all kinds of yummy chocolate treats including hundreds of chocolate eggs for an Easter egg hunt. In this book Lil’s ex Joel turns up demanding money which Lil just doesn’t have, how will she find a way to pay him off and rid herself of him for good?

I loved this book even more than the first, for me it had more of a background plot and more characters.  I loved CeeCee even more in this book, she had me laughing one minute and then crying the next. I want this woman as my grandma!

The only thing I didn’t like in this book was Joel, he’s a really nasty piece of works and I’m not sure what Lil ever saw in him, glad she moved on and found someone better.  Just hoping he doesn’t come back in the third book.

The ending to this was perfect; it tied things up in this book brilliantly but left the reader wanting more. 

If you liked the first Gingerbread Café book you will love this, be warned though you will want to eat chocolate while reading it!

Rating 5/5

 

 

 

 

Book Review - Christmas at the Gingerbread Cafe by Rebecca Raisin

 

Christmas at the Gingerbread Café by Rebecca Raisin

Published: 12th November 2013

Publisher: Carina UK

Pages: 64

Available on Kindle

Order from Amazon here

 

Blurb

Christmas is the season the Gingerbread Café was made for…but owner Lily couldn’t be feeling less merry if she tried. She’s spent another year dreaming of being whisked away on a sleigh-ride for two, but she’s facing festive season alone – again. And, just to give her another reason to feel anything other than candy-cane perky, a new shop across the road has opened… Not only is it selling baked goods, but the owner, with his seriously charming smile, has every girl in town swooning.

But Lily isn’t about to let her business crumble — the Gingerbread Café is the heart of the community, and she’s going to fight for it! This could be the Christmas that maybe, just maybe, all her dreams – even the someone-to-decorate-the-Christmas-tree-with ones – really do come true!

 

Review

I was kindly sent this and the following Gingerbread Café stories from Rebecca in exchange for an honest review. I was really excited to read them as the covers of all three books are just beautiful and just make you want to dive straight in.

 

In Christmas at the Gingerbread Café we meet Lil who owns the café, CeeCee  her employee and friend and Damon the handsome newcomer to Ashford.

 

Lil is still suffering from heartbreak after her husband Joel left her two years ago and is struggling to get into the Christmas spirit, which the café was made to embrace. Along comes Damon with his super sexy bum and opens a shop across the road, initially selling small goods items but it turns out he has similar items to the Café. So Lil and CeeCee begin scheming against Damon to get their customers back.  CeeCee begins to see a little spark between Lil and Damon and gently pushes them together, will the Christmas spirit finally find its way back into Lil's heart?

 

I really enjoyed reading this novella, the descriptions of the food that Lil and CeeCee baked were delicious and made me very hungry...gingerbread coffee, butterscotch pie...yes please!! My favourite character was CeeCee, I just imagined her always with a huge mixing bowl and wooden spoon and a great big smile on her face, I also loved that she was a little sneaky they way she put ideas into Lil's head.

 

Overall this is a lovely little Christmas read, which makes me wish I had my own Gingerbread Café to visit as I'm sure I'd be a regular. It did leave me wanting more from the characters as I wanted to get to know them more, so I'm glad I have book two and three to read straight after.

 

Rating 5/5

 

Book Review - Hopelessly Devoted to You by Jill Steeples

Publisher: Carina UK

Published: August 14th 2014

Pages: 304

Available on Kindle

Order from amazon here.

 

Blurb

Meet Ruby’s fiancé, Finn. He’s gorgeous, thoughtful, successful and adoring – pretty much anyone could ever want in a man. In fact, he’s perfect. The catch? He’s just not perfect for her. But when Ruby finally plucks up the courage to come clean, Finn’s so furious that he misses his footing as he runs down the stairs – and suddenly, it’s not just his heart that’s broken!

When Finn wakes up, he can’t remember a thing. Not that Ruby dumped him – not even that they were ever engaged! It’s on the tip of Ruby’s tongue to come clean, but somehow, it never seems to be the right time... And as the weeks pass, she sees a new side to Finn. Arrogant and a shameless flirt, he’s irresistibly bad, and the chemistry between them is explosive!

It’s not that Ruby’s lying… she’s just withholding the truth. And seeing as things are going so well, perhaps there’s no need for Finn to have his memory jogged… The trouble is, there’s every chance that Finn might remember for himself!

 

Review

Firstly I would like to thank Carina UK for allowing me to read this via NetGalley.

 

To be totally honest I knew nothing about this book or its author before I requested it, I just saw that beautiful cover and was instantly drawn to it. I'm so glad I read it because I devoured it in one sitting, which doesn't happen often. The story really drew me in and I just couldn't put it down.

 

At first I didn't warm to the character of Ruby, she has this perfect boyfriend in Finn who is sexy, polite, considerate and even brings her flowers when its not her birthday but Ruby  feels she can't marry him because she doesn't love him. The first couple of chapters are just about Ruby trying to work out how to get rid of Finn and I just found Ruby to by whiny and annoying at this point, luckily after Finn has his accident  she changes and becomes a lovely caring person who I would actually like to be friends with.

 

I loved that this book had a couple of unexpected twists so wasn't as predictable as I thought it might be, this made for a story which I wanted to keep reading as I wanted to know if things would happen in the way I expected or not. Jill's style of writing flows really well and with a few unexpected plot twists and characters which became really quite loveable it makes reading this book a joy.

 

I will definitely be reading more of her work as her writing suits me perfectly when I just want a heart warming tale to curl up with. If you enjoy Milly Johnson or Katie Fforde then I'm sure you will enjoy this book. I give this book 5/5