BLOG TOUR Just Do It by Maxine Morrey

January 22, 2024January 22, 2024 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

And for the my final blog tour of the day, I am pleased to bring you Just Do It! by Maxine Morrey.

Lizzie Rose knows what she likes and likes what she knows.

Her role at the London Museum is more than a job, it’s her safe place and her passion. So when Lizzie is passed over for a chance in a lifetime opportunity in favour of her ex-boyfriend and fellow Egypt nerd Friedrich Klein, her heartbreak over their relationship pales into insignificance compared to her sadness at losing the project.

Best friend Colette thinks an evening of cocktails is just the medicine for a broken heart, and meeting dashing, charming, but very much ‘not her type’ Finn Bryson at the bar puts a smile on Lizzie’s face too. But Lizzie isn’t used to spending time outside of her comfortable world of academia and doesn’t believe in mixing business with pleasure. So when Finn’s job brings him to the museum, she’s determined to put an end to any notion of romance between them.

But what if Lizzie’s comfort zone isn’t that comfortable any more? Is it time for Lizzie to take the chance on love that fate keeps bringing her way – even if it means changing the habits of a lifetime?

Lizzie Rose follows the rules. She’s worked hard in her job at the London Museum, and she knows that she deserves the new role that she has gone for. However when she is passed over for her ex-boyfriend, she is devastated that her hard work and dedication has gone unnoticed. So when her best friend Colette insists that they go out for drinks to commiserate, Lizzie follows. Finn Bryson is not her type at all – he’s outside of her life in academia, but he’s handsome and charming, and he makes her forget all of her worries for just one evening. However when she turns up at work to find Finn standing there, she’s determined to ensure that their one evening together, remains just that.

Lizzie is all about remaining within her comfort zone. She adores her work and life in academia, and has never sought to look outside of that life for anything else. However living within her comfort zone hasn’t brought her the promotion that she so desired, and whilst her ex-boyfriend ticked all the boxes that didn’t work out either – maybe she should be venturing outside of her comfort zone!

Just Do It! is a novel all about a successful woman who needs to push herself outside of her comfort zone in order to be successful in all areas of her life – comfort doesn’t always equal progress, and knowledge/ability will only take you so far. Add in a swoonworthy man to unequivocally support her, and you have the makings of a great novel!

I am more than happy to recommend this novel to you all. It has great characters, some hot romance and successful women who support one another and strive to better themselves – what’s not to love!

Thank you to Maxine Morrey, Boldwood Books 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 Link

My Book

Previously Reviewed Titles

The Christmas Project

Winter at Wishington Bay

Winter’s Fairytale

#No Filter

Things Are Looking Up

Living Your Best Life

The Christmas Holiday (retitled to Around the World With My Ex)

Just Say Yes

You Only Live Once

Second Chance at the Ranch

No Place Like Home

Coming Home to Wishington Bay

Author Bio

Maxine Morrey is a bestselling romantic comedy author with twelve books to her name including #NoFilter and Things Are Looking Up. She lives in Dorset.

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BLOG TOUR Baby, One More Time by Camilla Isley

January 22, 2024January 22, 2024 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

Blog Tour number 2 on this bumper day takes us to Camilla Isley’s Baby, One More Time!

Driven and smart, Marissa Mayer has worked her way to COO at a major Fintech startup as well as launching her own successful app on the side. Now what she wants more than anything is a baby. And having given up on love after her heart was broken by the boy next door, she’s prepared to do it alone.

Recently returning to New York from LA, Dr John Raikes is an expert in his field of neonatal medicine. But when John introduces himself as Marissa’s doctor, sparks fly, and not in a good way. Because Dr John Raikes is no stranger: he’s her teenage sweetheart all grown up.

Marissa knows she should keep John at arm’s length, lest she have her heart broken again… But there’s something about a man in a white coat. And with John determined to show Marissa he’s changed, can she keep saying no when her heart is saying yes?

A gorgeously funny enemies-to-lovers, second-chance rom com, perfect for fans of Sarah Adams, Lynn Painter and Jo Watson.

Camilla Isley is fast becoming my favourite ‘enemies-to-lovers’ rom com writer! I am pleased to confirm that Baby, One More Time does not disappoint!

Marissa Mayer is a hard working, successful career woman – you could say that she has it all. Except that she doesn’t – yet. After having her heart broken by the boy next door she has little interest in being in relationship and falling in love, but she want a family of her own, and she is more than happy to tread that path alone.

Dr John Raikes is back in New York after years of living in LA. With a divorce behind him, and a young daughter in tow, he is ready to rebuild his life. What he doesn’t expect is to bump into the girl next door who he abandoned all those years ago. He certainly doesn’t expect to bump into her at work, and find her planning her future family.

This is a classic enemies-to-lovers novel. Marissa of course wants nothing to do with John after he broke her heart so badly. She has become such an independent woman, and incredibly successful in her career but she keeps her heart locked away so as never to hurt again as she did when John left her. Seeing him again brings back all the pain that she thought she had dismissed from her life. John however feels guilty for his treatment of Marissa and is keen to seek her forgiveness. Finding themselves thrown together in the most unexpected of ways, can they move beyond what happened to them in the past?

Marissa is such a great female character – the pain she feels after what John did to her is explicit, but her subsequent success is a positive force to read about. Whilst she has been keen to avoid relationships, it’s good to read about a female character who has used that pain to create a successful life for herself. She hasn’t spending the years moping, and for that I’m glad!

I am more than happy to recommend this novel to you – in fact I think you should grab a copy of this along with a couple from Camilla Isley’s back catalogue to see how an enemies-to-lovers novel should be written! So tuck yourself away, grab a glass of wine and lose yourself in Baby, One More Time!

Thank you to Camilla Isley, Boldwood Books 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 Link

My Book

Previously Reviewed Titles

Not in a Billion Years

Sweet Love and Country Roads (retitled Love to Hate You)

Home for Christmas

You May Kiss the Bridesmaid (retitled The Love Proposal)

From Thailand with Love

Author Bio

Camilla Isley is an engineer who left science behind to write bestselling contemporary rom-coms set all around the world. She lives in Italy and her first title for Boldwood, The Love Theorem, a Hollywood-meets-STEM romance, will be published in June 2023.

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BLOG TOUR Stand Up Guy by Nina Kaye

January 22, 2024January 22, 2024 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

Today is a bumper day for blog tours! The first stop of the day is with Nina Kaye’s new novel, Stand Up Guy!

Dumped by Instagram post. Not a whiff of a social life. Can it get any worse?

After a string of failed relationships – romantic and platonic – Lea’s had enough of watching life happen without her. When she bumps into Shep, a comedian at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in need of accommodation, it feels like destiny. And voilá – Lea now has a lodger and some company.
The two get on like a flat on fire, and Lea can’t resist falling for outgoing Shep. But she knows it’s a mistake that will cost her heart – he’s just another guy passing through, after all. And with Shep’s stand-up routine edging him closer to his big break, there’s no way he’ll stick around.
Love is no laughing matter as the Fringe draws to a close. Can Lea find the confidence to step up and confess her feelings to Shep? Will he want to stay?

A feel-good, heartwarming romance for anyone desperate to break out of their shell and find their true self.

Lea lives in Edinburgh, a city known for its vibrant culture and its nurturing of talent at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. However she is not living the life that you might expect of a young woman in a city such as Edinburgh; instead of living life to the fullest surrounded by friends, Lea finds herself alone in her flat with no one to call on. A chance meeting on an day where Lea finally decides to take control of her life by venturing out into the Fringe finds her life changing in more ways than one.

Shep is a comedian who is trying his best to achieve his big break with his stand-up routine. He knows his observational comedy is good, but with so many others trying to achieve the same thing, and with a family who doesn’t support his endeavours, Shep is up against it and time is running out. When he finds himself without a place to stay before the Fringe Festival has ended, he finds himself having to consider the possibility that he will have to return home with his tail between his legs. His chance encounter with Lea however opens up possibilities for both of them.

Loneliness is a key theme that runs through this novel, and it really highlights how easy it is find yourself alone despite living in a city filled with people. Lea is purely a victim of circumstance, with her closest friends having their own busy lives, and her embarrassment over her situation only growing more, and therefore holding her back from creating new connections to fill the void in her life. Shep on the other had finds it easy to meet new people however the lack of support he receives from his family has an overwhelming impact on him in other ways. Shep and Lea really are two very different people on the surface, but this novel highlights that first impressions can so easily be wrong – sometimes all you need is someone, or something to bring you out of your shell and into the light.

There is of course an added sprinkling of romance in this novel which is always nice, but this story is most definitely centred around friendship; of course any good relationship is formed around a solid friendship but it also highlights the importance of platonic friendships, and how they really can lift a person.

I loved the setting in Edinburgh, it’s a city I definitely plan on visiting and Nina Kaye has only ensured that it has moved up my travel list more quickly! She really captures the vibrancy of the city, and advocates beautifully for a visit to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – I look forward to making it there for a visit soon!

I am more than happy to recommend this novel to you all – it’s perfect for a stormy Sunday, or a sunny warm Saturday with a chilled glass of wine!

Thank you to Canelo, Nina Kaye 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

Nina Kaye is a contemporary romance author living in Edinburgh. She is author of three other books for Canelo – Take a Moment, One Night in Edinburgh, and Just Like That. She has previously been a contender for the RNA Joan Hessayson Award.

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BLOG TOUR Odd Mom Out by Sandy Day

January 12, 2024January 11, 2024 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

Today it is my pleasure to bring you my review of Odd Mom Out by Sandy Day.

Life just got life-y…

On the night that Trudy Asp discovers her ex is engaged to the same dental hygienist who’s been picking at her teeth for ten years, her daughter, Madison, suddenly announces that she too is getting married, in Europe.

Frumpy, floundering, and forced to live with her martini-swilling mother, Trudy is swamped by these revelations. And on top of it all, she’ll be wearing the second most scrutinized gown at the wedding.
Having packed on the pounds during the demise of her marriage, the idea of being eyeballed by her ex and his scrawny fiancée Zelda, is truly horrifying. To make matters worse, there’s the paralyzing fear of a transatlantic flight — something Trudy has avoided for decades.

When Zelda offers to stand in for her, Trudy is forced to confront the forces that stole her marriage and threaten to steal her daughter’s wedding too. With three months until the ceremony, Trudy must get to Europe, squeeze herself into a gown, and claim the role she wants more than anything: Mother-of-the-Bride.

Will this Odd Mom Out sink or swim? Or will she drown in a sea of humiliation?

When I heard about Odd Mom Out, I knew I wanted to read it – with such a relatable character and storyline, what was not to like!

Trudy Asp is our relatable Mum – a woman who finds herself back living with her mother after a brutal divorce, a daughter who is off travelling the world and regularly out of contact, and finally an ex husband who is marrying her dental hygienist. Add in a bakery business which is faced with a number of issues and Trudy most definitely does not find herself on top of the world.

When Trudy’s daughter Madison announces that she is getting married, and she’s getting married in Croatia, Trudy finds herself faced with a whole slew of new problems. A severe fear of flying along with the acute realisation that she will be Mother of the Bride – Trudy has three months to find herself and take back her life!

This was a very relatable story about a woman who finds herself at a crossroads in her life…she can either continue as she is, or she can make some changes and face her fears. Naturally Trudy’s story is not plain sailing (and quite frankly it would be a dull read if it was!), which is what really adds to this story. It’s an easy read, but it’s full of heart, angst and friendship. I actually really enjoyed the fact that this novel is not a romance – it is all about a Mum’s journey to carve out her place in the world in the face of a number of life changes.

I am more than happy to recommend this novel to you all. So grab yourself a hot chocolate, a blanket and cosy up this weekend with a copy of Odd Mom Out!

Thank you to Sandy Day 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 US

Amazon UK

Author Bio

Sandy Day is a recovering chatterbox and writer of riveting slice-of-life poetry, memoir, and fiction. She has authored five books to date, with two in the works. A graduate of Glendon College, she studied creative writing under Michael Ondaatje and bp nichol. A lover of cheese, coffee shops, and illustrations, she lives on the shore of Lake Simcoe in Georgina, Ontario, Canada. You can find and follow her on Substack and sandyday.ca – it rhymes!

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