BLOG TOUR Daisy’s Dilemma by Debbie Viggiano

May 29, 2021 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

Today it is my pleasure to bring you my review of Daisy’s Dilemma by Debbie Viggiano as part of her fabulous book tour!

Florist Daisy is loved-up and blossoming. Boyfriend Dominic has proposed marriage!
However, Dominic isn’t in any rush to buy a ring, and meeting the parents is looong overdue. What is the problem? After all, Daisy’s mum has already bought her big hat and wants to know the wedding date!
Then careless words plant seeds of doubt and, like weed, Daisy’s concerns begin to multiply. Is Dominic hiding something?
Meanwhile, sexy ex Harry is back on the scene and begging Daisy for a reconciliation. He thought the grass was greener with HER but now says he made a mistake. Is Harry – for once – being genuine, or simply leading Daisy up the garden path?
New neighbour Seth seems like a fun guy, but a single throwaway comment has Daisy mimicking a species of Calla Lily – Red Alert! It’s time to do some digging. But even she never anticipated a mad car chase across London or unearthing a shocking secret that changes everything.
Sparks are set to fly in this gorgeous romantic comedy about love, trust, and new beginnings.

Daisy is currently living her perfect life, after coming through a particularly difficult breakup with her husband Harry. She runs her own perfect little florist shop, and she is engaged to the wonderful Dominic. Even the fact that he hasn’t yet bought her ring, or that she hasn’t met his mother yet can bring her down. However knowing that her best friend Becky is less than keen on Dominic, and with a few comments making her start to doubt him, is her relationship with Dominic as perfect as she thought? Throw in an ex-husband who is now convinced that he made a mistake leaving her, and a new gorgeous neighbour moving in next door, Daisy’s life has gone from perfect to complicated in seconds!

There are no surprises in this novel but please don’t see that as a bad thing. Sometimes a novel just works for us due to the lack of surprises…it provides comfort and ease of reading! Which is exactly what Debbie Viggiano provides us with in this novel, Daisy’s Dilemma. Daisy and Becky are a great duo – wonderfully different as characters, but they just compliment each other beautifully. Daisy does of course have her rose tinted glasses on when it comes to Dominic which in a novel can sometimes come across as a little annoying – I’m pleased to confirm though that this is not the case in this novel. Instead, it is clear that the pain her ex-husband Harry caused her just makes Daisy want to be loved. She loves Dominic, and so she is a little blinkered when it comes to him. However the arrival of her new neighbour Seth gives her all the feels, and forces her to see the cracks in her relationship with Dominic, even if she doesn’t really want to.

This is a great novel from Debbie Viggiano – it’s a nice easy read that is perfect for those summer days ahead of us. The characters are fun and relatable (I’m a big fan of best friend Becky), and the story is a good one. Naturally we get a nice dose of romance thrown in, but rather than all-encompassing romance, it’s more of a sweet slow burner. I really enjoyed this novel, and I am more than happy to recommend it to you all. So please, go and grab yourself a copy!

Thank you to Debbie Viggiano and Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour, and for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Author Bio

Prior to turning her attention to writing, Debbie Viggiano was, for more years than she cares to remember, a legal secretary. She lives with her Italian husband, a rescued pooch from Crete, and a very disgruntled cat. Occasionally her adult children return home bringing her much joy… apart from when they want to raid the fridge or eat her secret stash of chocolate. Tweet @DebbieViggiano or follow her on Facebook!

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BLOG TOUR Things Are Looking Up by Maxine Morrey

May 26, 2021May 25, 2021 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

Today it is my pleasure to bring you my review as part of Maxine Morrey’s fabulous blog tour for her new novel, Things Are Looking Up.

What if what you really need is right there in front of you, if you just take a moment to look up?
Milly has been waiting for this moment forever and finally it’s just an hour away – an interview with Vogue magazine and the opportunity to get her Louboutin-clad foot in the door. There’s just one problem – totally engrossed in her mobile phone, Milly doesn’t see the bus that is fast approaching – until it’s too late…
When Milly next opens her eyes, the consequences of her accident become clear. Everything she has worked for and dreamed of suddenly feels out of reach. But there is one bright spot on her horizon – the reappearance of her ex Jed, in all of his six-foot-four, broad-shouldered glory, with the most piercing ice blue eyes Milly ever saw.
Once used to working in a whirlwind, Milly now has the chance to reconsider how to live. Will she rush back to the treadmill, get her head down and back to business, or is there a whole other life waiting for her, if she’ll just look up to see it?
‘Read yourself happy’ with Maxine Morrey’s latest uplifting, page-turning, heart-warming romance, guaranteed to brighten up your day.

I’m feeling confident that the blurb has drawn you in…in a world where we all spend far too much staring down at our phones, we meet Milly, a woman who can’t tear her eyes away from hers. Her job is her everything, to the detriment of her relationships with both partners and her family. She’s never really truly present in her own life, and is not really able to give 100% to anything outside of her job.

Milly is a fashion journalist, and the chance of a lifetime is within her reach; a job at Vogue, the ultimate fashion magazine. The years of hard work and loneliness were finally going to pay off until the one important moment she spent her staring at her phone. Waking up in a hospital bed after her very close encounter with a bus, Milly is forced into a new life – one with significantly less money, less work but more time. Time to spend with loved ones and time to re-evaluate what was really important. I’m pleased to confirm that we have also a delightful romance with an incredibly handsome man thrown in for good measure!

Maxine Morrey has yet again provided us with an excellent novel – I’m not sure she can write a bad one! Our phones are such an integral part of all of ours lives that I think we sometimes forget to look up, just like Milly. Enjoying your job is for many people a rare thing, but we have to remember how important relationships are to us all – the people in front of us are, social media and our phones do not always depict real life. Maxine captures this perfectly, and highlights the fact that we should all be focusing on our real relationships.

I am more than happy to recommend this novel. If this is your first Maxine Morrey novel, you will read this and be left wanting to read more! So please do! Grab yourself a glass of wine, a blanket (yes I know its May, but the sunshine still hasn’t made an appearance!!) and settle in for an evening with Milly and the delicious Jed!

Thank you to Maxine Morrey and Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to be a part of this fabulous blog tour, and for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review!

Purchase Link

Amazon UK

Author Bio

Maxine Morrey is a bestselling romantic comedy author with ten books to her name including Winter’s Fairytale and the top ten hit The Christmas Project. Her eleventh book is being released by Boldwood in 2021. She lives in West Sussex. Her first novel for Boldwood, #No Filter, was published in November 2019.

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Book Review: Bridgerton: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

May 6, 2021May 5, 2021 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

Today I am pleased to bring you my review of Bridgerton: The Duke & I by Julia Quinn.

Can there be any greater challenge to London’s Ambitious Mamas than an unmarried duke? Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers, April 1813
By all accounts, Simon Basset is on the verge of proposing to his best friend’s sister, the lovely – and almost-on-the-shelf – Daphne Bridgerton. But the two of them know the truth – it’s all an elaborate plan to keep Simon free from marriage-minded society mothers. And as for Daphne, surely she will attract some worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her desirable . . .
Their ruse works like a charm – at first. But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, it’s hard to remember that their courtship is a complete sham. Maybe it’s his devilish smile, certainly it’s the way his eyes seem to burn every time he looks at her. It wasn’t the plan, but it seems she’s falling for the duke, for real. And amidst the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule . . .

I’m going to assume that you know all about Bridgerton – if you don’t, have you been living under a rock?! Bridgerton, series one, was the Netflix hit of lockdown. If you don’t want to marry the Duke of Hastings then I don’t know what is wrong with you! Anyway, after falling in love with the Bridgerton family thanks to Netflix I just knew that I had to dive into the novels!

Having already seen the series (over the course of two days, I really binge watched it!), I already knew the premise of this first novel. But as we all know, movies and tv series will never include all the finer details included within a novel, so I was keen to dive right in.

The Duke and I focusses on Daphne Bridgerton, the eldest daughter in the Bridgerton family. She has been on the debutante circuit for a while now, without any suitable marriage proposals. She’s forthright, and knows what she wants; she’s also lucky enough to have supportive brothers who won’t palm her off on the first man to propose.

The Duke of Hastings has returned to England following the death of his father. With his new title, he is the most eligible bachelor in London, with mothers everywhere desperately pushing their single daughters towards him, hoping to secure their futures. Naturally, Simon has a secretive past that has him convinced that he needs to remain single – he will never marry, and no one can persuade him otherwise.

When Daphne and Simon come up with a mutually beneficial fake courtship, everything seems perfect for them – Daphne is now attracting suitors and Simon is no longer constantly surrounded by meddling mothers. As we all know though, the route to love is never a smooth one, especially when you have the elusive Lady Whistledown providing a very thorough commentary…

Based on the assumption that you have watched Bridgerton (and loved it – what’s not to love?!), then it is safe to assume that this is the novel for you. It’s got all the little details that are missing from the series, but includes all the handsomeness, sauciness and amazing costumery. Plus, we all know that we’re going to have to wait for series 2…no need to wait for the novels though! I shall be diving into The Viscount Who Loved Me as soon as I am able to, I can’t wait to learn more about Anthony, the eldest Bridgerton, and his rakish ways! So go and grab yourself a copy of this book, a large glass of wine and get ready to devour the naughtiest book of the season!

Purchase Links

Obviously this book can be purchased at all good bookshops, but personally I’m rather attached to my local independent bookshop – so if you want to support a local business, then please follow the link below when buying your copy (not an ad, I just happen to love that I have a local independent bookshop!)

Maldon Books

BLOG TOUR Primrose Park by Christie Barlow

May 1, 2021 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ 2 Comments

Today it is my pleasure to bring you my review of Primrose Park by Christie Barlow as part of her fabulous Blog Blitz!

Vet Molly has always been career driven and focussed on caring for her animals, but when she meets a gorgeous Mystery Man at a conference and their connection is off the charts, well, one night off work won’t hurt anyone…except the next morning he’s vanished and all Molly knows about him is his first name.
Three months later, back in Love Heart Lane, everyone loves the story of Molly’s amazing one-night stand. It’s so unlike her! But when Mystery Man turns up walking his dog through Primrose Park and their night together seems to mean nothing to him, Molly needs her friends and neighbours more than ever. And especially when she’s left with the most unexpected of surprises…

Molly is a career driven, independent woman. She loves being a vet, and her veterinary practice is her sole focus, caring for the animals in her community. When the opportunity to do some new training comes up, she jumps at the chance – she is keen to ensure that everyone has the opportunity for a loving relationship with their dogs, even the more difficult ones! A random encounter with a handsome stranger at the training conference makes her question if she actually does want something more in her life, but her night of passion ends abruptly when he vanishes the next morning, leaving Molly with nothing but his first name – Cam.

Three months later, Cam is never far from her thoughts. Whilst she is not one for one night stands, she knows they had an amazing connection – so when he turns up in Heartcross Molly cannot believe her luck! Until of course, he makes it quite clear it really was just a one night stand…for Molly though it will never just be a one night stand, when she finds her situation changing dramatically – it could be said that she finds herself with a lifelong commitment thanks to their one night together!

I was so excited to revisit Love Heart Lane – this is a series that I love. It is full of characters that we know and love, whilst learning more about a character that we are aware of, but know nothing about yet. It’s like putting on your favourite jumper – its warm and comforting, and that is how Heartcross feels to me. Yet again, I was lucky enough to get an early copy of this novel, so I was able to make my sisters jealous again as they waited until publication day to get their hands on it!

Molly is such a lovely character, although I did find her a little needy at times when it came to Cam – this is easily forgiven though when you consider her raging hormones and her own upbringing. She is keen to create her own family, and I can understand her reasons for wanting Cam to be a part of that.

Primrose Park is an excellent addition to the Love Heart Lane series, and I am more than happy to recommend it to you all! So grab yourself a hot chocolate (because quite frankly it’s still chilly, despite now being May!), a blanket, and a copy of this lovely book!

Thank you to Christie Barlow and Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting to me a part of this Blog Blitz, and for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Author Bio

Christie Barlow is the number one international bestselling author of fifteen romantic comedies including the iconic Love Heart Lane Series, A Home at Honeysuckle Farm and Kitty’s Countryside Dream. She lives in a ramshackle cottage in a quaint village in the heart of Staffordshire with her four children and two dogs.

Her writing career has come as a lovely surprise when Christie decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. Christie’s dream was to become a writer and the book she wrote to prove a point went on to become a #1 international bestseller in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia.

When Christie isn’t writing she co-presents The Book Show on Radio Northwich, enjoys playing the piano, is a keen gardener and loves to paint and upcycle furniture.

Christie is an ambassador for the @ZuriProject alongside Patron of the charity, Emmerdale’s Bhasker Patel. They raise money and awareness for communities in Uganda.

Christie loves to hear from her readers and you can get in touch via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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