Month: October 2021

Book Review: Beach Read by Emily Henry

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Today it is my pleasure to bring you my review of Beach Read by Emily Henry.

TWO WRITERS, ONE HOLIDAY. A ROMCOM WAITING TO HAPPEN…

January is a hopeless romantic who narrates her life like she’s the lead in a blockbuster movie.

Gus is a serious literary type who thinks true love is a fairy-tale.

But January and Gus have more in common than you’d think:

They’re both broke.

They’ve got crippling writer’s block.

And they need to write bestsellers before summer ends.

The result? A bet to swap genres and see who gets published first.

The risk? In telling each other’s stories, their worlds might be changed entirely…

Set over one sizzling summer, Beach Read is a witty love story that will make you laugh a lot, cry a little and fall head over heels. For fans of The Flat Share and If I Never Met You.

January Andrews is a romance writer with writers block. She has always had a romantic view of the world, despite the traumas she had faced with her parents, their love for each other never ceased to amaze or inspire her. A sudden loss made her question everything.

Augustus Everitt is also an author, and a successful one. He also just so happens to be January’s nemesis from college. Ever critical of her work, January can’t help but despise Gus, even if she can’t quite forget that one night…

When January and Gus find themselves living next door to each other, each with their own demons to fight and severe writers block, a flippant writing bet might be just the thing they both need.

Beach Read is not your typical romance novel. January and Gus are both troubled souls who are each trying to make sense of their pasts. The bet becomes a lifeline for them both, as they seek to learn each others chosen genres while spending more and more time together.

Beach Read is full of loss, anger and confusion. But it is also full of love, family and longing. There’s some hot and heavy scenes but also some tender and emotional moments that are beautifully captured by the author. I haven’t read anything by Emily Henry before but Beach Read will certainly not be the last novel of hers that I read.

I am more than happy to recommend this novel – if you want some serious character chemistry with great backstories, then this could well be the book for you!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Purchase Link

Amazon UK

*BLOG TOUR* Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop by Jessica Redland

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It is my pleasure to bring you my review of Jessica Redland’s Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop, as well as helping to kick off her fabulous blog tour!

Sometimes you just need a little Christmas magic to make your wishes come true…

When master chocolatier, Charlee, takes the leap to move to the picturesque seaside town of Whitsborough Bay, she is determined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps and set up a chocolate shop.

Luckily, she finds the perfect location for Charlee’s Chocolates on beautiful Castle Street… Now she just has to refurbish it in time for Christmas!

With a useless boyfriend and countless DIY disasters, Charlee doesn’t know if she’ll make it in time. With no ‘traditional’ family to support her, she feels lost in her new surroundings and the secrets of the past are weighing her down.

But the warmth and festive spirit of the Whitsborough Bay community will surprise her, and when plumber, Matt, comes to the rescue, it might be that all of Charlee’s dreams could come true this Christmas, and she could learn what family really means…

Escape to Castle Street for the perfect uplifting, festive read from top 10 bestseller Jessica Redland. Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop was originally released as Charlee and the Chocolate Shop. Now re-released with a new title and new cover, this version has been freshly edited and features several new chapters.

Firstly, I know what you’re thinking – it’s October. Christmas is so far away! Well that is simply not true, there’s only just over ten weeks to go until the big man makes an appearance down our chimneys! So with that in mind, I was more than happy to read my first official Christmas novel of the year!

Charlee has lost her grandparents, so with nothing holding her back, she finds herself following her boyfriend Ricky to the beautiful Whitsborough Bay. With her inheritance providing her with the opportunity to finally open her own chocolate shop just like her grandfather did, Charlee is so excited when the opportunity arises for a shop on the picturesque Castle Street.

With Ricky being less than helpful, and Charlee faced with numerous obstacles, she begins to wonder if her dreams of opening her chocolate shop before Christmas were misplaced.

Firstly I think I should say that whilst this novel is focussed on a chocolate shop opening at Christmas, it is not entirely a Christmas novel. So there should be no guilt felt when reading this book in October! I really enjoyed Charlee’s character – the way that she dealt with her relationship with Ricky was a little irritating (I think another person may have moved on a little sooner), but when you understand her position, that she has no family, you begin to understand why she is reluctant to let go of him. Her passion for her craft is lovely, and her ambition really drives her forward with the opening of her shop. Of course, Matt the plumber also adds a little something to the mix!

Whitsborough Bay sounds wonderful – it is the perfect location for Charlee’s Chocolates, and the atmosphere of Castle Street really comes across through the pages. The sense of community and belonging is exactly what Charlee needs in her life! In fact, we could all do with a Castle Street in our lives!

I am more than happy to recommend this novel to you all. It’s filled with chocolate, friendship, community spirit and Christmas! What more could you want as we enter Autumn and start the countdown to the Christmas festivities! Even better, Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop is book one in the Christmas on Castle Street series! I look forward to revisiting Castle Street soon.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Thank you to Jessica Redland, Boldwood Books 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

Jessica Redland writes uplifting stories of love, friendship, family and community set in Yorkshire where she lives. Her Whitsborough Bay books transport readers to the stunning North Yorkshire Coast and her Hedgehog Hollow series takes them into beautiful countryside of the Yorkshire Wolds. 

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*BLOG TOUR* Snug in Iceland by Victoria Walker

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Today it is my pleasure to bring you my review of Snug in Iceland by Victoria Walker on the first day of her fabulous blog tour!

Rachel Richards is stuck in a rut. Her boyfriend Adam barely notices her most of the time and her life in London isn’t as exciting as it should be. When the company she works for, Snug, asks her to oversee the opening of a new store in Iceland, she jumps at the chance for a change of scenery. Exploring Reykjavik with the help of Icelandic tour guide Jonas, Rachel discovers that life is out there waiting to be lived. As she falls in love with Iceland, she begins to see what is important to her and wonders whether the life she left behind is what she wants after all…

Rachel Richards loves her job. She also loves her boyfriend, Adam. But she’s feeling more than a little neglected, so when she is offered the opportunity to oversee the setting up of a new store for her company Snug, she jumps at the chance! Even better is that the new store is in Iceland! Excited to see a new city, and with high hopes that a little time apart will shake up her relationship with Adam, Rachel throws herself into life in Reykjavik. With the help of Icelandic tour guide Jonas, Rachel’s eyes are truly opened to a new way of life, forcing her to really think about what she wants from life. With Adam really lacking in the boyfriend department, maybe the handsome Jonas and her new surroundings will show Rachel that she needs a new direction for her life.

I was so excited to read this novel – Reykjavik and Iceland are at the top of my travel list (if I ever manage to get back on a plane – pandemics are the worst!), so I was keen to soak up every part of this novel in the hope that Victoria Walker would be able to transport me there. I am pleased to confirm that she succeeded. Her description of Reykjavik and its surrounding area were just beautiful. I wanted to be on the tours with Rachel as she explored the beauty of Iceland (I’d have also quite liked to have been with her tour guide – Jonas sounds delicious!)

The story though really was lovely. It was nice to follow a female character who was driven – rather than giving up the amazing opportunity in order to please her boyfriend, she grabbed it with both hands and really followed it through. Of course there is romance in this novel, but I really enjoyed how this was actually a novel about a woman looking for something more from her life, and actually making it happen for herself.

I am more than happy to recommend this novel – if the beautiful cover doesn’t draw you in, then I hope my review has!

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Thank you to Victoria Walker 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

Amazon US

Author Bio

Victoria Walker lives in the Malvern Hills with her husband and two teenage children. She is an avid reader of contemporary romance but tempers this addiction by being a member of a book club where she is often surprised by her enjoyment of other genres. She also loves sewing and knitting and Scandinavian dramas.

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