Book Review - Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake by Sue Watson

 

Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake by Sue Watson

Published: 17th October 2014

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 232

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon here

 

Blurb

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.

Review
Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake follows the story of the two Angel sisters Tamsin and Sam. Tamsin is living a glamourous life which involves spending her husband’s money and planning her next fabulous interior. She spends most of her time creating the most fabulous parties for her rich friends and neighbours.  Sam’s world is completely different she spends all her time making cakes for her White Angel bakery trying to scrape enough money together to meet her next rental payment. One night Tamsin’s perfect world comes crashing down on her when the bailiffs come knocking on the door and she finds out her husband has scarpered. Forced to move in with sister Sam the two sisters soon realise that deep down they are not as different as they first thought.

This is the first book by Sue Watson that I have read and I absolutely loved it, I was almost in stitches laughing at the comical exchanges between the two sisters. The chapters alternate between their viewpoints and for the first few chapters I found this a little repetitive as the same scenes were described by both sisters, but once I got my head around it I loved it, it was brilliant to see how they interpreted the same things in such different ways and this made for a very funny read.

Sue has created two really great characters in Tamsin and Sam and I loved the way they interacted with each other and did a little bit of subtle meddling to help their sister out. At first I thought I wouldn’t gel with Tamsin but she turned out to be such a sweetheart by the end I wanted to give her a great big Christmassy hug. Initially she comes across as someone who is just focused on having the best and being the best but as the story unfolds we learn that she is just looking to be accepted for who she is and to find somewhere to call home.  When disaster strikes and Sam needs her help she puts on her designer shoes, an old pair of jeans and dives right in to do what she can to help her little sister.  Sam’s still nursing a broken heart from the death of her husband and is unwilling to commit to boyfriend Richard, with some heart to heart’s with Tamsin she learns to leave her rose-tinted view of the past behind her and begin to focus on her future.  

I loved this book; it has some truly hilarious scenes and some wonderful characters each adding their own little bit of sparkle to a wonderful heart-warming tale. Its book which shows that the true meaning of Christmas is not who has the biggest turkey, the most decorated tree or the most glitter its about spending time with family, friends and those who love you for who you are not what you have.

Thank you to Sue Watson and Kim at Bookouture for sending me an arc copy to review, I truly enjoyed every page and recommend that everyone adds this little gem to their Christmas reading list.

Rating 5/5

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?

 

 

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 - A Christmas to Remember by Jenny Hale

 

A Christmas to Remember by Jenny Hale

Published: 10th October 2014

Publisher: Bookoture

Pages: 249

Available on Kindle

Order from Amazon here

 

Blurb

A beautiful story about the magic of childhood Christmas memories, the strength of family and falling in love when you least expect it.

Everyone loves Christmas – don’t they?

Carrie Blake loves her job as a nanny but, while her friends are settling down, all of Carrie’s spare time is spent with other people’s families. Though it breaks her heart, her New Year’s resolution is to embark on a new career and fix her love life.

As Carrie starts her last job, she’s sure she’ll be going out on a high – the house is amazing , the kids are adorable, and she’s in charge of decorating the tree!

The only problem could be her boss… single-dad Adam Fletcher might be both handsome and successful, but he’s always working. Doesn’t he realise he’s missing out on precious moments with his son and daughter?

As Adam’s family arrive for Christmas including his sensitive sister, Sharon, and his fun-loving elderly Grandpa, Walter, Carrie realises that she might just have found the perfect allies in her quest to persuade Adam to loosen up. There’s still time for Carrie to make this the best Christmas ever… after all, Christmas is the time for miracles, isn’t it? Let the festivities begin! 

 

Review

 

Carrie Blake is a full-time live in nanny who spends all her time helping other  people’s families, she has finally decided that the job she is about to start at the Fletcher household will be her last and then she will take control and live her own life.  As soon as Carrie sets eyes on Adam Fletcher she is struck with butterflies in her stomach, something she’s never felt before. She’s also struck with how reserved and formal Adam and his children are with each other. She vows before she leaves to inject some fun and love into the household. With the help of Adam’s family she begins to help Adam see that work isn’t the most important thing in the world.

I instantly fell in love with this book and its characters, especially Carrie. She reminded me a bit of Mary Poppins with her bag and tricks, like the food colouring for snow volcanoes. I loved the way that she injected fun and Christmas spirit into the children and eventually Adam. The way she was with Adam was just lovely to read about, I loved the way he made her nervous whenever he was around and she really wanted him to work less and see what wonderful children her had. The romance was perfect for the story as it was so innocent and gradual that you were just hoping that Adam would have feelings for Carrie too. She was also so caring with other members of the family I really loved the way she played cards with Walter and how she wanted to help Sharon but she was unsure about whether that would be interfering as she wasn’t part of the family.

Adam is also a great character too; obviously he’s extremely good-looking and very successful as he lives in a huge house. I think the most adorable thing about him is that he’s kind of shy of his children, it’s like he doesn’t want to get too close in case he hurts them.  The scene where he takes Olivia up to bed and reads her a story and she falls asleep on his shoulder is probably my favourite in the book, Adam was just so cute!

This is the first Jenny Hale book which I have read but I will definitely be picking up her other Christmas story Coming home for Christmas as I believe that it will be just as good and features two characters mentioned in this book Robert and Allie Marley, so reading more about them would be good. Her writing is easy flowing and very comforting and makes you feel like you’re living the story yourself.

This is a book that made me feel warm  and cosy inside and I know I will want to read it every Christmas, it has the perfect mix of elements for a Christmas story including family visiting, Christmas decorating, old wounds being healed, love and friendship blossoming and of course plenty of snow.  So get on your big Christmas jumper, make yourself some hot cocoa, curl up by the fire and read it too!

Rating 5/5

Showcase Sunday #12

 

Showcase Sunday is a weekly event hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea where book bloggers share what books they have added to their collection in the previous week. This week I'm also going to do a weekly round-up where I share what I have read and reviewed. Firstly here's what books I've added to my ever increasing tbr pile:

 

 

These have all been lent to me from my friend Jane:

 

A French Affair by Katie Fforde

The Holiday by Erica James

The Beach Café by Lucy Diamond

The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell

Summer at the Lake by Ericia James

 

 

I also bought some books this week:

 

What Would Mary Berry Do? by Claire Sandy

The Seafront Tearooms by Vanessa Greene

Biscuit by Miranda Gore Brown

 

 

 



I also received a copy of The Marriage Mender by Linda Green from Quercus for a Goodreads giveaway, super excited to read this one.

 

I also had some super books sent to me through Netgally this week:

 

Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake by Sue Watson

Mistletoe Mansion by Samantha Tonge

Christmas Wedding at the Gingerbread Café by Rebecca Raisin

Cold Feet at Christmas by Debbie Johnson

Mr Miracle by Debbie Macomber

A Christmas to Remember by Jenny Hale

As Good as it Gets by Fiona Gibson

The Mysterious Miss Mayhew by Hazel Osmond

Baby It's Cold Outside by Kerry Barrett

 

I started reading Baby It's Cold Outside and realised it was a series I would really enjoy so I bought the first two books for my kindle:

 

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered by Kerry Barrett

I Put a Spell on You by Kerry Barrett

 

So I have a lot of reading to do! This week I read:

 

A Week in Paris by Rachel Hore

The Heart of Winter by Emma Hannigan

A Christmas to Remember by Jenny Hale

Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake - just started

 

This week on the blog

 

Monday - Review Fool's Gold by Zana Bell 5/5

Tuesday - Top Ten Tuesday - Character Driven Novels

Wednesday - Review A Week in Paris by Rachel Hore 5/5

Thursday - Release Day Round-Up # 6

Friday - Review The Heart of Winter by Emma Hannigan 4/5

 

 

Book Review - The Heart of Winter by Emma Hannigan

 

The Heart of Winter by Emma Hannigan

Released: 9th October 2014

Publisher: Headline Review

Pages: 439

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

 

Blurb

Holly Craig's family have lived happily in Huntersbrook for generations but when times grow hard, even she must admit defeat and sell off their once-successful stables.
The three Craig children, Lainey, Joey and Pippa find themselves locked in a fight to keep their beloved Huntersbrook; dare they transform it into one of Ireland's most sought after countryside venues?
Renovation work is well underway when life rears its ugly head and everything stops in its tracks. The Craig family is forced to reassess what matters and although they no longer live at Huntersbrook, can the house work its magic even so ... and lead them into the light once more?

 

Review

 

The Heart of Winter is set in the county house of Huntersbrook which has been owned by the Craig family for three generations, now Holly Craig and her children must pull together to save the family home they adore.  Although none of the children currently live at home they are drawn back to help transform the home they love into a house that can host upmarket country events. 

Lainey the eldest lives with husband Matt and young son Ely in a farmhouse on the edge of the estate she is longing to expand her family and her home to fulfil her dreams. Joey is on the verge of being made a partner at his Dublin accountancy firm, is he on the edge of great things or about to lose what is most important to him? Pippa the youngest has no intentions of settling down like her sister, she’s living life in the fast lane, living a very fine line between work and too much play, will she slow down before it’s too late?

The Heart of Winter is told mainly from the perspectives of the three Craig children in alternating chapters.  Initially I found it hard to get my head round who was who and how they fitted into the story, once I had it worked out the story flowed at a good pace and kept my interest. I found the characters not very likeable at the start. Lainey comes across very angry and bitter towards her mother because she feels she was unloved as a child, this made me feel sorry for Holly as she clearly loved all her children. Joey seems to be letting his new role in the firm go to his head and I didn’t like the way he kept breaking promises and becoming too busy for his family. At the beginning  I really struggled to find anything likeable in Pippa, she comes across as selfish, silly and easily led into things which are bad and I just wanted her to stand up for herself and be strong.

As the story progressed and unfortunate events start to happen the family did start to unite and come together and support each other and by the end I did enjoy the family spirit in the story and this was highlighted most in the family Christmas scenes. I really liked the way each of the children overcame their difficulties and were able to become in my opinion better, stronger more likeable characters. I also like the way that there were enough hints at the end of the book that I could see another book with these characters being written, I don’t know if that was intentional or not.

The Heart of Winter is essentially a family saga that will warm your heart and make you want to let your own family know you love them. With a Christmassy ending it is a good book to start your festive reading. I would give this book a rating of 4/5 as it took me awhile to relate to the characters.

Thank you to Headline Review and bookbrigr for my review copy.