Thursday 14 February 2019

Blog Tour Review: Summer on the Italian Lakes by Lucy Coleman


Summer on the Italian Lakes by Lucy Coleman
Published: 5th February 2019
Publisher: Aria
Pages: 404
Available on Kindle 
Rating: 5/5


Blurb

The feel-good read of 2019, perfect for fans of Lucy Diamond and Karen SwanBestselling

Brianna Middleton has won the hearts of millions of readers with her sweeping - and steamy - love stories. But the girl behind the typewriter is struggling.... Not only does she have writer's block, but she's a world-famous romance author with zero romance in her own life.

So the opportunity to spend the summer teaching at a writer's retreat in an idyllic villa on the shores of Lake Garda - owned by superstar author Arran Jamieson - could this be just the thing to fire up Brie's writing - and romantic - mojo?

Brie's sun-drenched Italian summer could be the beginning of this writer's very own happy-ever-after...

Escape the January blues with this sun-drenched, heart-warming story from the bestselling author of Snowflakes Over Holly Cove. What readers are saying about Lucy Coleman...


Review

Summer on the Italian Lakes is the third novel by Lucy Coleman and personally I think it is her best yet. The cover is beyond gorgeous and I’m sure enough to entice anyone to read and once you get past the first page you’ll be as engrossed as I was.
Brianna Middleton is a romance writer who’s well-known for her saucy sex scenes and more recently her failed relationship with heart-throb Paul. Burying herself in her cottage is all Brie’s done for the last few months but now its time to face the world again and after a make-over from best friend Mel Brie’s ready to pick up her healthy lifestyle once more and find some inspiration for her next novel.
Her editor Carrie has just the solution, four weeks spent in on the shores of Lake Garda helping fellow writer Arran Jamison run his writing retreat. A change of scenery is just what Brie needs but when she arrives in Italy its not just the beautiful countryside which makes its way into Brie’s heart.  
Anything which is set in Italy is a winner for me as its somewhere I long to go and in this book Lucy Coleman has really brought a sense of the relaxed Italian way of life into the book and I would just adored it if I could go stay in Arran’s villa as it sounds like an absolute dream, especially that library.
I loved the chemistry between Brie and Arran and how their relationship grew but for me the best aspect of this novel was perhaps the whole writing process which Brie and Arran explain through their retreat, I found it all fascinating. Don’t worry if this is not your thing though as it doesn’t overwhelm the romance, for me it just made it more interesting.
Like any relationship Brie and Arran have their ups and downs and Lucy Coleman has made theirs interesting by adding one or two unexpected twists.
I loved everything about this book, for me it was perfection. I adored Brie from the start as I could totally relate to her weight concerns and loved how she would help those around her instantly when they needed her. The setting is gorgeous and the whole story flows beautifully. It’s a book filled with different emotions and had me both laughing and crying in places, a truly marvellous story and I’m so looking forward to her next one.
Thank you to Aria for sending me a copy to review and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.

About the Author


Lucy lives in the Forest of Dean in the UK with her lovely husband and Bengal cat, Ziggy. Her novels have been short-listed in the UK's Festival of Romance and the eFestival of Words Book Awards. Lucy won the 2013 UK Festival of Romance: Innovation in Romantic Fiction award.


Follow Lucy:  

Twitter: @LucyColemanAuth

Facebook: @LinnBHaltonAuthor

Buy links:
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Mba8DC

Follow Aria
Twitter: @aria_fiction
Facebook: @ariafiction
Instagram: @ariafiction


Saturday 9 February 2019

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
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.