Showing posts with label Lucy Coleman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lucy Coleman. Show all posts

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


Wednesday, 26 September 2018

Blog Tour Review: Snowflakes Over Holly Cove by Lucy Coleman


Snowflakes over Holly Cove by Lucy Coleman
Published: 18th September 2018
Publisher: Aria
Pages: 426
Available on Kindle
Rating: 5/5

Blurb
As the snowflakes start to fall, Holly Cove welcomes a new tenant to the beautiful old cottage on the beach...

For lifestyle magazine journalist Tia Armstrong, relationships, as well as Christmas, have lost all their magic. Yet Tia is up against a Christmas deadline for her latest article 'Love is, actually, all around...'

So, Tia heads to Holly Cove where the restorative sea air and rugged stranger, Nic, slowly but surely start mending her broken heart. Tia didn't expect a white Christmas, and she certainly never dared dream that all her Christmas wishes might just come true...

Set in Caswell Bay on the stunningly beautiful Gower Coast, the cottage nestles amid the limestone cliffs and the woodlands, where the emotions run as turbulently as the wind-swept sea.

As cosy as a marshmallow-topped mug of cocoa, fall in love with a heart-warming festive story from the bestselling author of The French Adventure.


Review

I adored Lucy Coleman’s last novel The French Adventure, so knew it was in for another treat with Snowflakes over Holly Cove. How can not want to read this book with such a gorgeous cover which just evokes Christmas cosiness. I loved how despite being a Christmas novel this book could be read at any time of year as the story is spread over several months starting in springtime. The Christmas scenes were probably my favourites through.
After losing her mother, the person closest to her Tia is heartbroken and after a few weeks off work she’s unsure whether she’s ready to face life back in London as a lifestyle journalist. Her boss Claudia offers Tia the chance to spend three months in a quiet cottage in Holly Cove while she works on a report about what makes a good relationship. Being a topic Tia has little experience in she’s not thrilled at the idea but when she arrives at the cottage by the sea she feels safe and comfortable. 
Some of the local residents welcome Tia with open arms like the loving and full of life Olwen who immediately takes Tia under her wing and explains life is Caswell Bay to her. Other residents are more reserved such as local taxi driver Nic and the lonely old man living on the beach Max. But as Tia gets to know these characters her warm and loving nature helps them to open up and tell her their troubles. The longer Tia stays in Holly Cove the easier her heartache becomes and its not just her own heartbreak that begins to mend.
I loved this book so much, its such a beautiful tale of heartbreak, forgiveness and learning to love again and I think Lucy Coleman has done a wonderful job with it. The plot moves along at a steady pace slowing over-covering more secrets about our characters and moves towards an emotional and quite dramatic finale.  
Lucy Coleman’s writing really brings to life the sights and sounds of Caswell Bay and Holly Cove and its residents and I would love to have a stay in that gorgeous cottage myself. There is nothing I would change about this book and I’m really looking forward to what Lucy Coleman writes next.
Thank you to the publishers Aria for sending me a copy to review and for inviting me to be part of the blog tlour.

About the Author


Lucy lives in the Forest of Dean with her 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. She won the 2013 UK Festival of Romance: Innovation in Romantic Fiction Award. When she’s not writing, Lucy can be found in the garden weeding or with a paint brush in her hand.

Twitter- @LucyColemanAuth

Buy links


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



Friday, 16 February 2018

Blog Tour Review: The French Adventure by Lucy Coleman


The French Adventure by Lucy Coleman
Published: 1st February 2018
Publisher: Aria
Pages: 292
Available in Paperback and on Kindle
Rating: 5/5

Blurb
Suddenly unemployed and single, Anna escapes to her parents' beautiful house in France for a much needed recharge – and to work out what she wants to do next with her life now her carefully mapped out plan has gone out the window.

Anna gives herself 6 months to recuperate, all the while helping renovate her parents' adjoining gites into picturesque B&Bs. But working alongside the ruggedly handsome Sam on the renovation project, she didn't expect for life to take an unexpected, if not unwelcome, twist...

Review
When Anna witnesses her boyfriend of over a year Karl deny all existence of their relationship to get himself a promotion, Anna does the only self-respecting thing she can do and walks out of her job and out of a life with Karl. After renting out her house Anna sets off to spend six months in France to help her parents renovate their farmhouse B&B in the countryside, but also to figure out what to do with the rest of her life.

Anna is soon enchanted by life in France, the slower pace and beautiful countryside make her relax and enjoy the little things in life. It also helps that she’s working alongside sexy handyman Sam whose passion for his work hides his deeply tormented past. A past Anna longs to know more about, but Sam’s a very private person and doesn’t initially let Anna in, but slowly the two begin to form a solid friendship. A mystery surrounding the history of the B&B brings Anna and Sam even closer and soon Anna begins to realise that maybe her heart belongs in France not just for the summer.

The French Adventure is a beautifully written story about love, planning, and not letting the past control your future. Anna is a great character, she’s caring, and she’s not afraid to get stuck in and try something new and put her twist on it – rendering with a plastic knife and gloves for example. Anna needs to have a plan and needs to know the next step, that’s probably why working on the farmhouse suits her so much, this is the total opposite to Sam though. Sam prefers to live completely in the moments blocking out all traces of the past and not even planning for tomorrow, which drives Anna nuts but as they say opposites attract right?

I loved the way this book is written; the characters are well developed the plot is interesting, but I think my favourite part was the vivid images that were conjured up through Lucy Coleman’s writing. I would just have loved to have seen the beautiful field of sunflowers bobbing their heads at sunset and feel very jealous of Anna that she got to see this. The French Adventure is a beautiful romantic tale from start to finish and I loved every page.

Thank you so much to Aria for inviting me on this blog tour and sending me a copy of The French Adventure to review honestly.