My review of The First Date by Zara Stoneley.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this title from The Book Club Review Group over on Facebook. I have read several of Zara's books so I knew to expect a fun read which I think is just what I was needing in thee trying times.

Right place.

Right time.

Wrong guy …

‘The novel equivalent of binge watching a tv series…"just one more chapter, who cares if it's 2am!" It's exactly the sort of novel you need with so much chaos in the world’ Sarah, Reader review

After breaking up with her childhood sweetheart, clueless dater Rosie has found herself in a boyfriend-drought. So when she finally swipes right on a guy who seems interested, she can’t wait to meet up in person.

Until she’s left standing alone. In a bar. Stood up.

Enter Noah. Confident, funny … and a serial first dater. Offering to give Rosie a crash course in seduction, this could be just what she needs. Until her matchmaker turns out to be the best date she’s ever had – and Rosie wonders if she wants the fake dates to be the real ones after all …

I really enjoyed this witty book - the weather was glorious so I sat out in my garden to devour it. Poor Rosie has been stood up but luckily for her Noah shows up with an offer she cannot refuse - he will coach her in dating so she can secure that first date she so wants.  I think we know the outcome but that didn't detract in any way from the story - which drew you in and you have to keep reading. Some fabulous characters are written into the story which both boost Rosie up and bring her down - not all relationships run smoothly. Loved Hugo too!
This was a perfect piece of escapism which is what we might all need in the current times.

If you need cheering up you can bag yourself a copy of the book on Amazon.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

My reading mojo has definitely returned although I'm not sure trying to read 4 books at the same time is the was forward!!

What I Read Last Week:

What I'm Reading Now:

What I'm Going To Read Next: 

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

I hope everyone is keeping well.

I've been reading more - sitting out in the garden as the weather has been gorgeous for this part of Scotland. I've also taken part in several blog tours - catching up with those I missed whilst I was ill.

What I Read Last Week:

What I'm Reading Now:

What I'm Going To Read Next:

Blog Tour for Meet Me at Pebble Beach by Bella Osborne

Once again here is my contribution to the above bog tour. I was mean to be taking part last week but unfortunately I have been unwell. Only I could go and pick up a completely different virus which ended up in a visit to accident and emergency and wiped me out for a fortnight. But I am now fit and well and here is my review better late than never.

Regan is holding a winning lottery ticket.
Goodbye to the boyfriend who never had her back, and so long to the job she can’t stand!
Except it’s all a bit too good to be true…

When Regan gets pranked, she finds herself jobless, homeless and boyfriendless in one fell swoop.

Luckily her friendly seaside community provides a beacon of hope, proving to Regan that sometimes you really can rely on the kindness of others – and one local in particular, a handsome fireman called Charlie, helps Regan realise that this could be her chance for a fresh start.

Armed with a list of ways to change her life, Regan decides it’s time to step out of her comfort zone. Because – as Charlie knows all too well – life is for living . . .


This is the first installment in a brand new series from this author. It was a strong opener to the series and introduced u to the main character Regan - a girl with a big heart whose life appears to have touched the self destruct button. I don't want to spoil the story for anyone but it's a great light read and luckily for me part 2 In Too Deep is already out and will be my next read.

You can buy part 1 here and part 2 here. Part 3 will be available on 30/04/2020 and Part 4 on 14/05/2020.

Blog Tour for Aria's Travelling Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin.

I am a bit late sharing my review for this delicious book I am afraid because I have been ill. Only I could go and get a completely different virus at this difficult time. A trip to my local accident and emergency department for fluids and morphine and a couple of weeks recovering I am now fighting fit and trying to catch up with what I have missed.

With her merry band of Van Lifers, Aria heads to France in her travelling bookshop, best friend Rosie by her side for a summer they’ll never forget!

Hopeless romantic Aria vowed never to love again after losing her husband, TJ, but fate has other ideas and keeps throwing the bespectacled, booklover Jonathan in her path. When a memento from TJ turns up it brings Aria’s past back to the fore.

Nomadic by nature, Aria can’t see how love could work anyway when home is always at the end of a new patch of road…

A long, hot summer travelling off the beaten track, surrounded by newly loved up couples reminds Aria of what she’s missing.

Will she bookmark her love life at the point her husband left, or she will begin a new chapter under the sizzling sun of the Cote d’azure…?

This is the second book in a series but it also works wonderfully as stand alone title. The first book followed Rosie and her travelling tea shop as the band of van lifers travel round the country to festivals and events. This book follows her best friend Aria and her travelling tea shop as they venture further afield. This second book really felt like coming home and being reunited with dear friends. Aria is still grieving for TJ her husband who passed away and feels like noone can ever take his place. But romance does come knocking and she doesn't quite know how to deal with it and turns to her best friend for help and advice.

This is a lovely feel good book and makes perfect reading in these strange times we find ourselves in - it can transport you to France and a completely different way of life.

Author Info:

Rebecca Raisin is a true bibliophile. This love of books morphed into the desire to write them. She's been widely published in short story anthologies, and in fiction magazines. And now she is focusing on writing romance.

Rebecca aims to write characters you can see yourself being friends with. People with big hearts who care about relationships and believe in true love.

Author Links:

Website: http://rebeccaraisin.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RebeccaRaisinAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/jaxandwillsmum

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6915386.Rebecca_Raisin

Book Links:

Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arias-Travelling-Book-Shop-uplifting-ebook/dp/B07XNNW1PW/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=rebecca+raisin&qid=1570436644&sr=8-12

Amazon US https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XNNW1PW?pf_rd_p=2d1ab404-3b11-4c97-b3db-48081e145e35&pf_rd_r=BPQPWBSEZQCEP4RJG4RB

Amazon Aust https://www.amazon.com.au/Arias-Travelling-Book-Shop-uplifting-ebook/dp/B07XNNW1PW/ref=sr_1_15?keywords=rebecca+raisin&qid=1570436737&sr=8-15

Google Play https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Rebecca_Raisin_Aria_s_Travelling_Book_Shop?id=yDauDwAAQBAJ

iBooks https://books.apple.com/nl/book/arias-travelling-book-shop/id1480201611

Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/arias-travelling-book-shop-rebecca-raisin/1133411763?ean=9780008282172

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48221850-aria-s-travelling-book-shop?from_search=true

Blog Tour for My Greek Island Summer by Mandy Baggot

About the book

Two weeks. One unforgettable trip to Corfu. A chance to change her life.

 

Becky Rose has just landed her dream job house-sitting at a top-end villa on the island of Corfu. What could be better than two weeks laying by an infinity pool overlooking the gorgeous Ionian waters while mending her broken heart.

Elias Mardas is travelling back to Corfu on business whilst dealing with his own personal demons. Late arriving in Athens, Becky and Elias have to spend a night in the Greek capital. When they have to emergency land in Kefalonia, Becky's got to decide whether to suck up the adventure and this gorgeous companion she seems to have been thrown together with or panic about when she's going to arrive at Corfu...

Finally reaching the beautiful island, Becky is happy to put Elias behind her and get on with her adventure. Until he turns up at the villa...

About the author

Mandy Baggot is an international bestselling and award-winning romance writer. The winner of the Innovation in Romantic Fiction award at the UK's Festival of Romance, her romantic comedy novel, One Wish in Manhattan, was also shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists' Association Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year award in 2016. Mandy's books have so far been translated into German, Italian, Czech and Hungarian. Mandy loves the Greek island of Corfu, white wine, country music and handbags. Also a singer, she has taken part in ITV1's Who Dares Sings and The X-Factor. Mandy is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association and the Society of Authors and lives near Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK with her husband and two daughters.

What Did I Think:

I was really chuffed to be offered a place on the blog tour for Mandys new book - just look at that cover - does it not make you want to dive straight in and start reading?

We are in strange times at the moment and one of my first thoughts when lockdown was announced was that I would have plenty of time for more reading - and due to the contents of both my bookcases and kindle I was never going to run short of reading material. But then my reading mojo packed it's bags and off it went and I just couldn't concentrate on anything. Then I got ill - a trip to A and E with severe abdominal pains (worse than childbirth!!) and a diagnosis of a stomach virus had me laid up in bed and the following 2 weeks vanished in a blur. But I am pleased to say that I am almost back to fighting fit and 9 pounds lighter (every cloud and all that!) and best of all I am now finding time to read again and enjoy it.

This book was made for enjoying lying on a beach - or for being confined to barracks reading on your sofa as it transports you to warmer climes and maybe a place where we would all rather be right now. It is a wonderful feel good story - I could feel myself in the tavernas as I was reading - the writing was witty, the setting sounded like bliss, romance and a hot man. What more could you ask for!!

I was shocked to read that this is Mandys 20th book. When I checked my Goodreads account this is only the second book of hers that I have read. How is that possible? On a positive note this means that I still have 18 of her books still to read - a win win situation in my mind.

 Follow Mandy:   

Facebook: @mandybaggotauthor

Twitter: @mandybaggot

Pre-order links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/390yIkN

Kobo: https://bit.ly/31gYsH5

Google Play: https://bit.ly/2tfyjMi

Follow Aria

Website: www.ariafiction.com

Twitter: @aria_fiction

Facebook: @ariafiction

Instagram: @ariafiction

 

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

It is actually Tuesday and I'm a day late. I had all good intentions of doing this post yesterday but the time just got away with me despite being in the house all day. I did some reading, baked a couple of cakes and made a pan of soup. I class that as quite a productive day in the grand scheme of things.

What I Read Last Week:

What I'm Reading Now:

What I'm Reading Next:

I feel like my reading mojo is slowly returning. I have been ill with a stomach virus so the past couple of weeks have passed me by and I had no inclination to read despite being laid up in bed or on the sofa. 

Blog Tour for The House at Silvermoor by Tracey Rees

I was delighted to be invited to take part in the blog tour for Traceys new book and I am the first to put my hand up and say this is the first book of hers that I have ever read. I am running a bit behind with this one as despite now seemingly having all the time in the world to read my reading mojo has completely left the building and I cannot concentrate on much. 

The 5^th novel from the author of the winner of the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller Competition, Amy Snow. Perfect for fans of Katheryn Hughes, Lucinda Riley and Dinah Jefferies.

1899

Josie has never questioned her life in a mining village on the South Yorkshire coalfield. But everything changes when she meets Tommy from the neighbouring village. Tommy has been destined for a life underground since the moment he was born. But he has far bigger dreams.

Josie and Tommy become fast friends, united by their desire for something better and by their fascination with the local gentry who have their keeping. Wealthy and glamorous, the Sedgewicks of Silvermoor inhabit a world that is utterly forbidden to Tommy and Josie. Yet as the new century dawns, and the pair become entangled with the grand family, they discover a long hidden secret and learn that nothing is impossible. 

o   Amy Snow was a winner of the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller and sold more than 175,000 copies across formats

o   Set in Victorian Yorkshire, this book introduces a mystery element for the first time in Tracy’s writing

o   Film/TV rights are being optioned

o   Tracy Rees is available for events, to write short stories and features on writing historical fiction and her research of Victorian mining villages in Yorkshire. 

  

Praise for Tracy Rees

‘Atmospheric and elegantly written, The Hourglass is an evocative story of 1950's Wales, filled with the in-depth historical detail that has become Tracy Rees's trademark’ – Lucinda Riley

‘Tracy Rees writes from the heart and with an obvious passion for her characters’ – Kathryn Hughes, bestselling author of The Letter

‘An enjoyable and intriguing read’ – Trisha Ashley

‘This moving tale has warmth and wisdom galore, and shows it's never too late for new beginnings’ – Psychologies

About the author

Tracy Rees was born in South Wales. A Cambridge graduate, she had a successful eight-year career in nonfiction publishing and a second career practising and teaching humanistic counselling. She was the winner of the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller Competition and the 2015 Love Stories 'Best Historical Read' Award. She is based in Swansea.

What I Thought:

This book had a bit of everything I thought - friendship, love and families. I spent some time living near Swansea when I was first married so found the are slightly familiar and it was good do discover more about the coal mining industry at that time. I will definitely be reading more by this author as having had a quick look on Amazon they do look like my kind of books and it's aways exciting to find a new author to enjoy.