Blog Tour Review: Bridesmaids by Zara Stoneley

Bridesmaids by Zara Stoneley

Published: 26th April 2019

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 5/5

Blurb

Meet Rachel, the beautiful bride with BIG plans for the perfect day! The venue is a castle and the dress is designer.  It’s just a shame her husband is a rat.

Maddie and Sally have only one thing in common – they both love the same man!

Beth is a newly single mum with a mystery baby daddy.  Surely the father isn’t someone the girls all know?

And then there’s Jane, the glue holding them all together, but being dumped doesn’t make her the happiest bridesmaid…especially with gorgeous flatmate Freddie complicating things.

Will the bride say, ‘I Do!’?  Or will her bridesmaids save the day…and find love along the way?    

The most hilarious, feel-good rom com of the year!

Review

Having read many books by Zara Stoneley and loving them all I’m getting cautious when she releases a new one just in case this is the once which disappoints me, but luckily for all us readers she’s done it again and created another fantastic story which will have you hooked and laughing from the start.

Jane is still getting over being jilted on her hen-do by fiancé Andy, so when her best-friend Rachel announces she’s getting married Jane’s not as thrilled as she should be. To make things worse Rachel’s soon to be husband Michael has previously cheated on Rachel, but she doesn’t know yet. She Jane confess what she knows, she’s not sure and things get even more complicated when Rachel asks Jane to be the “barrier” bridesmaid between old school friends Sally and Maddie who have their own romantic problems. Throw in flatmate Freddie who Jane thinking about in ways that are far too friendly and you have a whirlwind of romantic bubbles about to burst.

I loved Jane right from the start and her ability to not quite get the point and turn simple mis-understandings into chaos, but that’s why she’s so adorable so has no clue she’s doing it. As she works out her feeling for both Andy and Freddie, she also realises she’s talented and confident enough to give annoying Instagram wannabe Coral the push and lead her own life, yay you go girl!

On a side note if anyone knows where I can get a man like Jack send him my way. He must be one of the most caring and lovely guys out there, no wonder he had two women madly in love with him.

From the very first scene of this book I knew I was going to love it. Jane trying to get Instagram photos with lipstick, apples and kittens and the whole think descended in to chaos and started me laughing which didn’t stop until the end. There are so many twists and turns and complications between the bridesmaids and their partners that I wonder how even Ms Stoneley managed to follow who was doing what with whom. I loved it, full on fun from the very beginning.

Bridesmaids is a hilarious and heart-warming tale of friendships and love which is a must-read book for this summer. Once again Zara Stoneley has proved her place on my favourite author list so thank you Zara, I know this is one of those books I will again and again.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Impulse for sending me a copy to review and for Rachel’s random Resources for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the Author

Zara Stoneley is the USA Today bestselling author of The Wedding Date.

Born in a small village in the UK, she wanted to be a female James Herriot, a spy, or an author when she grew up. After many (many) years, and many different jobs, her dream of writing a bestseller came true. 

She writes about friendship, dreams, love, and happy ever afters, and hopes that her tales make you laugh a lot, cry a little, and occasionally say 'ahhh'.

Zara now lives in a Cheshire village with her family, a lively cockapoo called Harry, and a very bossy (and slightly evil) cat called Saffron.

Zara’s bestselling novels include 'No One Cancels Christmas', 'The Wedding Date', 'The Holiday Swap', 'Summer with the Country Village Vet', 'Blackberry Picking at Jasmine Cottage' and the popular Tippermere series - 'Stable Mates', 'Country Affairs' and 'Country Rivals'.

Where you can find her-

Website: http://www.zarastoneley.com
Twitter: @ZaraStoneley
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ZaraStoneley

Instagram: zarastoneley

Book Birthday Review: The Secret to Falling in Love by Victoria Cooke

The Secret to Falling in Love by Victoria Cooke

Published: 9th February 2017

Publisher: HQ Digital

Pages: 198

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 4/5

Blurb

Lifestyle journalist and thirty-something singleton Melissa hashtags, Insta's and Snapchats her supposedly fabulous life on every social media platform there is.

That is until she wakes up on her birthday, another year older and still alone, wondering if, for all her internet dates, love really can be found online? The challenge: go technology free for a whole month!

Forced to confront the reality of her life without its perfect filters, Melissa knows she needs to make some changes. But when she bumps into not one, but two gorgeous men, without the use of an app, she believes there could be hope for love offline.

If only there was a way to choose the right guy for her…

Review

Lifestyle journalist Melissa is content with her life of working hard and playing hard and documenting every moment through social media, that is until she wakes up her thirtieth birthday alone and wondering if she’ll ever find the one. Swiping left has been fun for a while but Mel’s ready to settle down, so when her boss challenges her to go technology free for a month Mel takes up the opportunity to access what her life’s really like.

Life without technology prevents Mel with a few problems but also some opportunities she would have completely missed had she been glued to her phone and when not one but two potential Mr Right’s walk into her life Mel’s left wondering how she will ever choose her perfect man.

Right from the start of this I was hooked on this story. It really makes you question just how reliant we’ve all come to be on technology and how sometimes taking time to look at the small everyday things we often take for granted can make us happier than endlessly scrolling through images of random strangers’ perfect lives.

Mel’s a very relatable character who is easy to like, her antics in her quest to find love made very entertaining reading. She has the typical relationship issues with her mother and sister and I’m glad her technology detox helped her to appreciate both a whole lot more.

I loved the way the story unfolded with some unexpected twists and some highly amusing scenes, my favourite was near the beginning and involved a doggy-door flap

This is the second book by Victoria Cooke which I have read, and I loved both this book and The Holiday Cruise which I read last year. As a debut book I think this is a great book and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author as she has a very honest and compelling writing style which is packed full of humour. 

Thank you to the publishers for sending me a copy to review in exchange for my honest opionions.

Blog Tour Review: Love Heart Lane by Christie Barlow

Love Heart Lane by Christie Barlow

Published: 11th January 2019

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 5/5

Blurb

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…

Review

I’m a huge Christie Barlow fan and Love Heart Lane sounded like the perfect read for those post-Christmas blues we can sometimes feel. It was the perfect uplifting novel and I think my new favourite novel by Ms. Barlow so far.

After leaving her home eight years ago in a whirlwind of heartbreak Flick Simons reluctantly returns to the small Scottish village of Heartcross to visit her mum who is struggling after the death of Flick’s grandmother. Coming home to Love Heart Lane has left Flick with a mixture of emotions including guilt, regret and uncertainty as she tries to make amends with those she left behind. Maybe her actions were selfish eight years ago when she left behind partner Fergus, but I really felt for her when she must face him again and learns his life has moved on without her.

A freak winter storm breaks the only bridge into the village soon after Flick arrives, leaving her and the rest of the village stranded from the nearest town. Needing something to do to stop herself brooding about the past Flick volunteers herself as village spokesperson and begins a campaign to get supplies to the village. Her well meaning actions don’t always lead to the desired results and as Flick finds herself falling for Fergus all over again, she wonders if he’ll ever find it in his heart to forgive her.

I connected with Flick straight away as a main character. Yes, she has her flaws mainly being she’s selfish and doesn’t always think how her actions will affect others; but given that she’s lived by herself for eight years then that’s understandable. I loved reading about her interactions with young Esme and I think these were my favourite parts of the novel as showed Flick at her best. The other characters added some depth to the novel and I loved seeing how much they all welcomed Flick back home.

I found Love Heart Lane an uplifting and inspiring novel with an over-whelming sense of community spirit throughout. The story develops at a good pace and some unexpected plot twists add some drama to this delightful tale. I think this is Christie Barlow’s best novel yet and I was gutted when I finished Love Heart Lane and Ihad to leave Flick and her friends behind. Luckily Christie Barlow is writing another book based in Heartcross and I for one cannot wait to read it.

About the Author

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 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 www.christiebarlow.com 

Twitter @ChristieJBarlow 

Facebook page Christie Barlow author

Purchase Links

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Heart-Lane-Christie-Barlow-ebook/dp/B07DX1YXKM/

US - https://www.amazon.com/Love-Heart-Lane-Christie-Barlow-ebook/dp/B07DX1YXKM/

A Clean Sweep by Audrey Davis

A Clean Sweep by Audrey Davis

Published: June 2017

Pages: 314

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 5/5 

Blurb

A CLEAN SWEEP is a laugh-out-loud tale of love, lies and second chances.
Love comes around when you least expect it. Fifty-something widow Emily isn't expecting romance. Nor is she expecting a hunky twenty-something chimney sweep on her doorstep.
Daughter Tabitha knows something isn't quite right with her relationship, while her boss – Abba-loving Meryl – thinks she's found the real deal. Are they both right, or pursuing Mr Wrong?
Emily's sister, Celeste, has the perfect marriage … or does she? Can a fitness tracker lead her down the path to happiness or heartbreak?
Susan is single, overweight and resigned to a life of loneliness. There was the one who got away but you don't get another try, do you?
Prepare for a rollercoaster ride of emotions in a book that will grab your heart, make you smile and wish you had a chimney to sweep.

Review

A Clean Sweep is a heart warming tale centred around the relationships of five women. Emily the main character is a fifty-something widow who on the outside appears to be fine on her own after the death of husband Jim, but deep down she’s looks for something to put the sparkle back in her life. Along comes Joe a thirty-something hunk who comes to sweep her chimney (yes really) and the pair just seem it to hit off. But can they actually have a relationship?

Emily’s daughter Tabitha is staring to find fault with her long-term relationship with boyfriend Tom, can they put the magic back in their relationship or is it time to call it done. Tabitha’s boss Meryl is still searching for her hero, but has she finally found someone who’s perfect for her in tall dark and handsome Miroslaw? Susan is an over weight and lonely woman who is approaching 50, she still dreams about the love she once had with Jonathon. When theirs paths cross again is it second time lucky for this pair? Emily’s sister Celeste believes she has the perfect marriage to Michael, but when a fitness tracker leads her to a hasty conclusion can she fight to get her perfect marriage back on track.

All of these women are very ordinary and experience highs and lows in their lives which many of us can relate to. This along with Audrey Davis’ fabulous comedy writing this made for an addictive and very enjoyable read. I laughed all the way through this book and can highly recommend it if your looking for something which will leave you with a smile on your face.

Everything ties up well at the end, which was good but left me a little sad as I’d love a sequel with these characters as they’d begun to feel like friends.

Thank you so much to the author for sending me a copy to review honestly, which is what I have done.

About the Author

Audrey Davis survived secondary school on the West coast of Scotland. Rubbish at science but not too bad at English, she originally wanted to be an actress but was persuaded that journalism was a safer option. Probably wise. She studied at Napier College in Edinburgh, the only place in Scotland at that time to offer a journalism course.

Her first foray into the hard-nosed newspaper world was as a junior reporter in Dumfriesshire. Duties included interviewing farmers about the prize-winning heifers to reporting on family tragedies. She persuaded her editor to let her launch an entertainment column which meant meeting the odd celebrity – or just the downright odd. From there, she moved to the loftier rank of senior reporter back in her home patch. Slightly more money, less farm animals but a higher crime rate. As Taggart would say: 'There's been a murrrrder!'

After a stint in London on a video magazine – yes, she is that old – Audrey moved to Singapore with her fiancé. She tried valiantly to embrace the stinking heat, humidity and lack of jobs, although she did work briefly on a magazine which was banned by the government for 'artistic' use of naked men's bottoms.

Next on her adventures was a land Down Under where her main focus was raising Cost Centre One (aka firstborn) and coming to terms with the imminent arrival of Number Two. Still, she loved the Aussie way of life – BBQs, beaches and bring your own booze to restaurants – so it came as a blow when OH announced a move back to the UK. Not a job between them, the climate a possible deal breaker and an Exorcist-style vomiting infant on the flight home didn't bode well …

Always a survivor, Audrey sought out similar-minded friends (i.e. slightly bonkers), got the children into a good school and thought about taking up writing again. Sadly, thinking about it was as far as she got, unless you count shopping lists. Then, hubby drops another bombshell. Switzerland. As in – it's packing time again. Off to the land of cheese, chocolate, scarily efficient trains and a couple of teeny, tiny issues. Like driving on the 'wrong' side of the road and speaking a foreign language (French). The former was conquered fairly quickly (we'll skip over the wall demolition in week two), the latter remains an ongoing battle of the hopeful against the hopeless. At least she provides amusement for the local workforce.

It wasn't until 2016 that Audrey rediscovered her writing mojo with an online Writing Fiction course. From there, her first novel – A Clean Sweep – was born, although it took a bit longer than nine months from conception. A short, darker prequel – A Clean Break – followed, and in November 2017 she published the first in a novella trilogy, The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part One. Part Two is published on 21 March 2018, with the conclusion following in May/June. After which she might have a wee lie down …

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/audreydavisbooks

Twitter- https://twitter.com/audbyname

Blog Tour Review: The Little Wedding Island by Jaimie Admans

The Little wedding Island by Jaimie Admans

Published: 2nd March 2018

Publisher: HQ Digital

Pages: 342

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 5/5

Blurb

‘Will you… pretend to marry me?’

Bonnie Haskett loves everything about weddings. She loves her job at a national bridal magazine and even has a deposit down on her dream dress. The only problem? She doesn’t have a fiancé!

So when Bonnie is sent to Edelweiss Island, known as ‘The Little Wedding Island’, it’s a dream come true. She’s heard the rumours, every wedding that takes place in the tiny chapel ends in a happy-ever-after.

But there’s a catch! Investigating the story, Bonnie needs to pose as a blushing bride – and the only man up for posing as her groom is her arch rival (and far too handsome for his own good) journalist Rohan Carter…

Review

The Little Wedding Island is the first book I’ve read by Jaimie Admans and boy what a treat, this is one of those books which I completely fell for. Firstly how can you see that cover and not want to read this book its just gorgeous and perfectly sums up how magical Edelweiss Island is.

Bonnie Haskett is a writer for Two Gold Rings bridal magazine, she’s a woman who is totally in love with all things love related and even has a down-payment made on her dream dress, there’s just one problem…she has no groom. Being a true advocate of love Bonnie believes everyone should have their special day, so when she sees arch-rival RC Arter a writer for The Man Land mocking someone’s wedding she feels she has to step in and champion the couples loves.  This lands Bonnie in big trouble as Two Gold Rings and The Man Land are fighting for survival, as punishment Bonnie is sent off to the elusive Edelweiss Island to get the scoop behinds rumours there’s a church with no divorces.

This is Bonnie’s dream job as Edelweiss Island is a wedding mecca, there’s just one problem, Bonnie will need to be engaged to get any kind of insider information as journalists are not allowed on the island. The only available man on the island is gorgeous Rohan….who Bonnie sadly realises too later is her arch enemy RC Arter, also here to bag the story of the century. These two agree to put their differing views aside and come up with a cunning plan to pretend to be engaged to get the story they need to try and save their jobs. But being engaged to each other doesn’t turn out to be quite as much hard work as they thought.

Can these two fool the locals and get their story? Is the “no divorce” story true? Why is Rohan so against marriage? And can Bonnie find her dream groom? Read this amazing story and find out and like me I’m sure you’ll not be disappointed.

Jaimie Admans The Little Wedding Island for me was a fantastic read. I loved Bonnie and Rohan so much. Despite initially disliking each other its obvious that these two have bucket loads of chemistry between them and it was a joy to watch them slowly falling for each other….predictable yes but written so well that you won’t mind.

In Edelweiss Island Jaimie has created the prefect wedding destination with the beautifully described church on the hill, the cliff-top walks, the sandy beaches and Carol’s ten flavours of wedding cake yes please!

With the perfect mix of romance, comedy and mystery this book is the prefect read for this time of year. It’s a book which made me happy while I was reading it so thank you Jaimie Admans for your lovely uplifting writing, I look forward to reading more very soon.

About the Author

Jaimie is a 32-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, watching horror movies, and drinking tea, although she’s seriously considering marrying her coffee machine. She loves autumn and winter, and singing songs from musicals despite the fact she’s got the voice of a dying hyena. She hates spiders, hot weather, and cheese & onion crisps. She spends far too much time on Twitter and owns too many pairs of boots.

She will never have time to read all the books she wants to read.

She is the author of chick-lit romantic comedies The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters, The Little Wedding Island, and Kismetology, and she has also written young-adult romantic comedies Afterlife Academy, Not Pretty Enough, and North Pole Reform School.

Author links:

http://www.jaimieadmans.com
http://twitter.com/be_the_spark
http://facebook.com/jaimieadmansbooks

The Little Wedding Island:

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074SD3RKH

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B074SD3RKH

Kobo: http://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-little-wedding-island

Also available from all other ebook retailers.

Giveaway

The Little Wedding Island themed goodie bag:

• The Little Wedding Island notebook
• The Little Wedding Island fridge magnet
• A signed postcard
• In honour of Puffin the dog, a pug fountain pen
• In honour of Edelweiss Island, a copy of The Sound of Music on DVD
• A ‘grow your own’ Edelweiss flower kit in a tin

Click link below to enter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you to Neverland Blog Tour for organising this tour and inviting me to be part of it.

Blog Tour: It Started With A Tweet, Guest Post from Author Anna Bell

It Started With a Tweet by Anna Bell

Published: 7th December 2017

Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre

Pages: 416

Available on Kindle

Pre-Order from Amazon

Blurb

Daisy Hobson lives her whole life online. But when her social media obsession causes her to make a catastrophic mistake at work, Daisy finds her life going into free-fall . . .

Her sister Rosie thinks she has the answer to all of Daisy's problems - a digital detox in a remote cottage in Cumbria. Soon, too, Daisy a welcome distraction there in Jack, the rugged man-next-door.

But can Daisy, a London girl, ever really settle into life in a tiny, isolated village?

And, more importantly, can she survive without her phone?

Today I'd like to welcome the wonderful Anna Bell to my blog to talk about one aspect of her fabulous new book It Started With A Tweet, out on Thursday. So over to Anna:

Social Media And Me

I adore social media. Being a British expat living in France I love the fact that I feel connected with the UK with a simple swipe. From a work perspective I love that I can talk to readers and other authors. From a personal perspective I love that I can lose hours watching Instagram stories and finding out everything I ever needed to know in an instant.  But I also hate social media. I hate the fact that I am always tempted to check my phone. I hate the fact it can cripple with me anxiety that my life doesn’t look as fun as everyone else’s. And I hate the fact that I ignore people who are actually in the room with me to speak to virtual strangers. I’ve started to wonder is it possible to find a balance between love and hate.

When I started to write my main character Daisy in my latest novel It Started With a Tweet, I was laughing at the way she acted when she was forced offline and the ridiculous lengths she went to find the internet. Only the more I started to write her, the more I started to see myself in her and I began to notice how obsessed with my phone I actually am. I started to track the time I spent on it and was amazed that those little email refreshes here and that scan of Twitter there actually added up to hours during a day.

Shocked to discover my addiction, I was determined to do something about it and I ended up doing a three day digital detox. I prepared myself for tears, tantrums and misery, only they didn’t come. It was as if I knew that I wasn’t allowed it so I didn’t even reach for it. I felt freer than I have in a long, long time and for once I didn’t have major FOMO (fear of missing out) as I wasn’t seeing what everyone else was up to.

Realising that I treated my phone like another person in the room - always giving it priority over everyone and anything else - I decided I needed to change. I’ve

now deleted Facebook off my iPad and phone. I’ve off all my notifications from all my apps and now the only way to know now if someone’s got in contact with me is if I check. I no longer jump to the beat of my phone as it’s pretty much silent all day. I’ve started to tweet more as I’m trying to be more of an active participant rather than just a reader, in the hope that I’ll get more out of it. I’m also trying to wean myself off Instagram stories, as yet with no success - but you’ve got to have one achilles heel, right?

I think writing the novel was great for me to remind me that there’s a world away from my phone. Life goes on whether I’m on or offline and I don’t always have to know what’s happening all the time. My great love affair with social media isn’t over, but like all love affairs I’m beginning to think perhaps it’s healthier not to spend all your time together!

Thank you so much Anna for sharing your social media thoughts with us and look out soon for my review of the hilarious It Started With a Tweet.