BLOG TOUR If the Ring Fits by Camilla Isley

January 25, 2025 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

Today it is my pleasure to help kick off the blog tour for If the Ring Fits by Camilla Isley.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Fake an Engagement
When investment banker Adrian and software engineer Rowena started the day, they didn’t expect to end it engaged! But Adrian has invented a fake fiancée to impress his CEO, regretting the lie almost immediately, and now he is in hot water. Meanwhile, Rowena’s career has just gone up in flames, leaving her unemployed, unexpectedly expecting with no father in the picture, and short of options. When fate throws these two hot messes into a meet-cute of epic proportions, it’s a match made in rock-bottom heaven. They say love is blind, and with nothing to lose, Adrian gets down on one knee… and Rowena says yes!
The rules of engagement are simple:
Pretend to be madly in love
Keep their real lives separate
Absolutely, positively do NOT catch feelings
However, faking it is harder than they thought, especially when every overnight stay comes with only one bed and zero personal space—blurring that imaginary line between ‘just business’ and ‘definitely personal.’
Soon, their carefully constructed charade starts to feel alarmingly… real. Can Adrian and Rowena stick to their engagement pact, or will their fake relationship graduate to something authentically messy, complicated, and wonderful?
Find out in this hilarious, heartwarming tale of two strangers who said “I do” before they even said “Hello.” Because sometimes, the worst day of your life just might lead to the best mistake you’ll ever make.
If the Ring Fits is an age gap, marriage of convenience rom-com with a multi-millionaire MMC and a STEM FMC perfect for fans of Lynn Painter, Sarah Adams and Fallon Ballard**

I am always excited to find out that Camilla Isley has a new release on the way, and I am pleased to confirm that her latest offering, If the Ring Fits, does not disappoint. We have a strangers-to-lovers/marriage of convenience rom-com on our hands which features an incredibly handsome millionaire in need of a wife, and a beautiful, intelligent woman in need of a bit of stability as her circumstances change.

Rowena is a down-on-her-luck Software Engineer. When she meets Adrian she is newly pregnant, and newly unemployed. She knows she will be unable to afford to stay in the city that she loves with a new baby even if she is able to find a new job whilst pregnant, and so their meet cute finds her sick and upset in a toilet stall.

Adrian is an incredibly successful investment banker, who is seeking to take over as CEO when his boss announces he will be retiring. However all his hardwork has meant that he has had little time for a personal life, something that has not gone unnoticed by the outgoing CEO. What follows is a declaration that he has a fiancee with very little time to actually find one! When he finds himself faced with Rowena, beautiful but pregnant and alone, he may have just found the answer to both of their problems.

This novel includes a lot of tropes that you would expect and want to find in a rom-com. But what I particularly loved about this novel, (and all of Camilla Isley’s novels) is that it’s never about a strong hero saving a damsel in distress. Rowena is a strong, independent woman with a career who would have figured it all out without Adrian’s help. If anything, Adrian is the one that needed saving. He may had all the money and career success, but he couldn’t climb that final rung of the ladder without someone by his side, showing him what it’s all for. He needed Rowena in order to share and enjoy his successes, as well as to show him that there is more to life outside of work if he is just willing to look.

Adrian and Rowena’s romance in this novel is inevitable, but I really enjoyed following their story as they each tried to improve the others life, whilst applauding and supporting their individual needs to succeed. Whether that be at work, in their personal relationships, or finally as parents. They start as strangers, but they build a strong team filled with love, support and compassion. Of course there is some doubt and a downward spiral thrown in for good measure, but who said the path to love was easy?!

If the Ring Fits is a fabulous, light hearted novel that is perfect for a cosy weekend spent inside hiding from the storms. So get the fire roaring, grab a chilled glass of wine and curl up with this novel. It is the perfect way to spend your weekend!

Thank you to Camilla Isley, Boldwood Books and Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Purchase Link

Amazon UK

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 Reach for the Stars by Maxine Morrey

December 10, 2024December 9, 2024 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

Today it is my stop on the blog tour for Reach for the Stars by the fabulous Maxine Morrey!

Felicity was never meant to end up with a money-pit farmhouse to renovate and a broken heart to heal…
But when Fliss attempts to drown the sorrow of seeing her ex-fiancé and his new wife’s magazine-worthy wedding all over social media, one rash decision loses her a job and gains her a doer-upper in the blink of an eye.
The only bright spot of living in the country is the very dishy and very handy loveliest-man-ever Jesse Woods. And when Fliss’s new roof has an ill-advised meeting with a tree in the middle of the night resulting in her literally seeing stars, there’s only one thing for it. She’s going to have to accept Jesse’s help and a place to stay.
City girl Fliss is at rock bottom but if anyone can teach her to turn her gaze from the gutter to the stars it’s Jesse Woods. She’s been burnt trusting men before, but Jesse may just be worth breaking her own rules for…
A smart, romantic, relatable and laugh-out-loud funny romcom perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk and Sophie Ranald. ‘Read yourself happy’ with Maxine Morrey.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you will know that I am a big fan of Maxine Morrey – I am pleased to confirm that her latest novel, Reach for the Stars, does not disappoint!

Felicity finds herself in the country with a falling down farmhouse, purchased on a whim following the breakdown of her relationship, and then the loss of her job. She has no experience of living in the country, and she certainly has no experience dealing with farmhouses that have trees falling through their roof! Thankfully her very attractive and very practical neighbour Jesse is there to help her get her farmhouse liveable, whilst offering her a place to stay in the meantime – who knew that rural villages lacked hotels and taxis!

Felicity is such a great character – she’s independent, both emotionally and financially. She absolutely does not need a man in her life. Her experience of men is that they cannot be relied on. In fact, her experience of friends is not much better. As a result, she has spent her life building walls to protect herself, whilst creating a career that she adores and ensuring that she is financially stable independently.

Jesse Woods is a successful businessman who feels more than a little responsible for the falling down farmhouse that Felicity finds herself with. As a property that had always been in his family, he is shocked that his cousin had happily sold it in such a state of disrepair. He wants to help Felicity put it right, whilst helping her see what a lovely community she has moved to.

This is such a lovely novel – Felicity and Jesse both have great character arcs, and it’s nice to see such an independent woman (without being annoying) work hard to build herself back up in the face of adversity. I’m not sure I would have dealt with a tree in my bedroom quite as well as Felicity did! Jesse is the perfect love interest – he’s attractive, capable and encouraging. He helps Felicity without trying to take over. There are no surprises in this novel, but that is not what I was looking for! What I wanted was an easy read novel, full of love, chemistry and growth. And I am pleased to confirm that Maxine Morrey delivered!

I am very happy to recommend Reach for the Stars – it’s the perfect novel for a story Sunday afternoon, with a glass of wine in front of a roaring fire! So grab yourself a copy and relax!

Thank you to Maxine Morrey, Boldwood Books and Rachel at Rachels Random Resources for inviting me on this 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 wants to encourage everyone to ‘Read Yourself Happy’. She is the best selling author of ‘Things Are Looking Up’, ‘#NoFilter’, and the Kindle UK top ten read, ‘The Christmas Project’ among others. In 2024, her book ‘You’ve Got This’ won The Romantic Comedy Award at the Romantic Novelists’ Association award ceremony in London.

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Book Review: The Best of All by Karla Sorensen

October 23, 2024October 22, 2024 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

He’s commitment phobic. She believes in happy endings. The twist of fate that binds them is a surprise they never saw coming in a bittersweet romance about instant family—and not-so-instant love.

A decade-old animosity is the only thing Liam Davies and Zoe Valentine have in common. Until their mutual best friends pass away and they’re appointed co-guardians of the trusting couple’s precocious toddler, Mira.

Liam is committed only to professional football. Relationship-wise, he’s even better at defense. Still wrestling with a tough childhood, he’s not cut out to be a father. Why his late best buddy believed in him, Liam has no idea.

An optimistic romantic, Zoe has always dreamed of a fairy-tale life. But even though Liam’s biceps make her dizzy and she can’t stop thinking about his lips on hers, he’s not exactly Prince Charming. With or without that brooding Brit, she is determined to make good on her friends’ last wish.

Forced into a predicament they never expected, Zoe and Liam are discovering things about each other that could scorch through boundaries, warm hearts, and change minds. And best of all, with their shared love for a pint-size surprise like Mira, they might just turn a house into a home.

So it has been a while since I have read an American, small town, enemies to lovers novel, and I had forgotten how much I loved them! As with any small town American novel, we’ve got an incredibly handsome, muscly, strong and silent type, as well as a beautiful woman looking for her fairytale ending. Throw in the tragic loss of their best friends, and these two enemies find themselves thrown together as they navigate a new world with their young god daughter.

Liam is the strong and silent type; a man that grapples with his past, and avoids relationships so that he doesn’t have to address his emotional issues. When he loses his best friend in a tragic accident, he shuts down as he discovers that he has been entrusted with the life of his young god daughter, Mira. The last thing he has ever wanted is to be a family man and he just cannot understand why Chris would trust him with something so important.

Zoe is an old school romantic – even her divorce hasn’t made her lose her belief in fairytale endings. When her best friend Amie dies, Zoe automatically moves her god daughter Mira in. She knows that her role in life now is to make sure that little girl get the best life that she can after the loss of her parents, and despite her own grief she throws herself into her new role. However things come crashing down when she finds out that Chris and Amie wanted her to share that responsibility with Liam – the man she has not been able to see eye to eye with for all the years she has known him.

There is nothing new or surprising with this novel – but sometimes what you need is a novel that gives you exactly what you expect. This is one of those novels! I loved the characters of both Zoe and Liam – wildly different but complementing each other in so many ways.

This is a great, easy read novel full of passion, with a great enemies to lovers storyline. I am more than happy to recommend this novel if you’re on the lookout for your next Sunday afternoon read!

BLOG TOUR Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel by Rebecca Raisin

September 27, 2024September 24, 2024 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

Today it is my stop on the blog tour for Rebecca Raisin’s latest novel, Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel.

Turn a tumbledown Paris hotel into a perfect boutique, bookish retreat, and have it open for Christmas? What could possibly go wrong?

When Anais receives a near-derelict Paris hotel in her divorce settlement, her first thought is to tidy it up and sell it immediately. All she wants is to move on and forget her disaster of a marriage ever happened.
But selling it proves impossible, so she has only one option: to make it gorgeous and open by Christmas… when her funds will almost certainly run out.

She’s not counting on the grumpy American bar-owner next door, Noah, coming and interfering at every moment though. Nor is she expecting to find a mysterious room – which holds the key to a one-hundred-year-old secret – about a woman who chose love against the odds.

One thing’s for sure… as the fairy lights twinkle all over the city of lights and the first snowflakes start to fall… this will be a Christmas in Paris to remember.

A totally gorgeous, escapist romantic comedy, with an unforgettable mystery! A perfect festive read for fans of Emily Henry and Sarah Morgan to curl up with this winter.

Yes we are still in September, and yes this is my second festive novel review this month – sorry not sorry!

Rebecca Raisin takes us to the city of love for her latest novel, Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel. Romance author Anais finds herself lumbered with an unloved hotel, after losing everything else in her divorce from her cheating husband Francois-Xavier. Her marriage breakdown, a hotel that needs a lot of work in order to become sellable and a looming deadline with her Editor can only equal one thing: severe romance writers block! Anais finds that all of her written characters meet a deadly end which is not exactly what anyone expects in a successful romance novel! With the help of her cousin Manon, Anais finds herself renovating her hotel with a very limited budget whilst trying to get over her broken heart.

Noah is Anais American next door neighbour. He owns a bar, and their first meeting ensures that Anais is well aware that he is an interfering know it all! So we have a slightly geeky, very attractive know-it-all neighbour and a heartbroken hotelier – you can see where this is going! Throw in a full blown literary mystery within the hotel and you have the ingredients for a cozy novel with some heartbreak, slow burning love, a project and some mystery. Add in the bookish element that this novel has lashings of and you’ve got a lovely festive novel!

I am more than happy to recommend this novel to you all – its the perfect way to get yourself into the festive spirit as Christmas edges ever closer!

Thank you to Rebecca Raisin, 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

Author Bio

Rebecca Raisin writes heartwarming romance from her home in sunny Perth, Australia. Her heroines tend to be on the quirky side and her books are usually set in exotic locations so her readers can armchair travel any day of the week.

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BLOG TOUR This is Not a Holiday Romance by Camilla Isley

September 4, 2024September 3, 2024 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

Today I am very happy to help kick off the fabulous blog tour for Camilla Isley’s latest novel, This is Not a Holiday Romance.

Two sworn enemies, snowed in over Christmas with chemistry that will melt the ice!

Nina Thompson has one Christmas wish: to avoid her brother’s obnoxiously handsome best friend, Tristan, like the plague. From the moment he humiliated her as a teenager to their escalating revenge schemes, Nina and Tristan’s relationship can only be defined as an all-out prank war! And there is yet to be a winner.

But it just so happens the ghost of Christmas present has other ideas. When Tristan unexpectedly crashes her family’s Christmas, Nina’s dreams of a peaceful holiday vanish faster than Santa up a chimney. Determined to end their rivalry for good, she braces herself for one last prank-filled showdown.

But when they find themselves snowed in, with no way of avoiding each other amongst the holiday festivities, they discover their heated exchanges have been masking a different kind of sizzle. Caught in a snow globe of holiday romance, they decide to let their fiery chemistry burn bright—but this is absolutely and unequivocally nothing more than a secret fling destined to melt with the snow, this is not a forever romance…

Firstly I have to apologise…I appreciate that it is only the beginning of September and here I am talking about festive novels! But back to school is in full swing, which means Christmas is coming! Sorry – I am one of those people that starts counting down to Christmas as summer comes to an end!

This is Not a Holiday Romance is a great way to kick off the festive novel season! Camilla Isley really knows how to write an enemies to lovers book, and she proves it yet again with her latest novel.

Nina Thompson despises her brothers best friend. He humiliated her once, many years ago, and since then they have spent every opportunity pulling pranks on one another and generally going for revenge!

Tristan finds himself spending Christmas with his best friend Dylan’s family…and his sister Nina. They have had a long running feud although he’s a little unsure how it really started. What he does know is that she gets under his skin like no one else could. But she’s his best friends sister, and he owes Dylan a lot – some lines should not be crossed.

This is such a great, light hearted Christmas based enemies to lovers novel. If you are ready to immerse yourself in some relationship pettiness, some fiery moments between two people who are clearly hot for each other, and the inevitable falling in love then this novel is for you. Throw in some festive spirit and you’ve got yourself a great first read of the Christmas season! So if you can’t wait any longer, and like me, you have decided that the build up to Christmas starts now, then go grab yourself a copy of this novel! It is literally out today!

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

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.

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BLOG TOUR It Started With a Book by Camilla Isley

July 5, 2024 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

Today it is my pleasure to help kick off the blog tour for It Started With a Book by Camilla Isley.

Lose yourself in Lakeville Hills in this gorgeous new romance from bestselling author Camilla Isley…

When she’s ghosted by yet another Tinder match, Leighton swears off dating for life. Who needs apps and blind dates when she has the perfect-in-every-way (apart from being fictional) heroes of her beloved romance novels?

That night Leigh finds a second-hand book on her TBR pile, which transports her to the small-town of Lakeville Hills, where the heroines wear shorty-shorts and the men drink bourbon. And as Leigh drifts off to sleep, she dreams of billionaire cowboy Killian St Clair, who could win a gold medal for smouldering and bicep flexing.

For a while, Leigh finds it easier to stomach misogynistic supervisors, newly coupled friends, and extravagant bridesmaid duties knowing she can return to Lakeville Hills each evening. Until one day, she wakes up to find she’s brought a bit of Lakeville Hills back with her: the impossible sexy and entirely implausible Killian St Clair is in her apartment.

Now Leigh must help Killian navigate the real world. But as she gets to know the man behind the trope, can she keep her heart safe, or does she risk falling in love with her book boyfriend in real life?

I think we can safely say that I love Camilla Isley’s novels and so I am always keen to get my hands on a copy of her latest offering at the earliest opportunity, and it was no exception with It Started With a Book! I think we can all look back on a time when we’ve read a book, and the leading man is just so perfect that we wish he was real – well Camilla Isley agreed and has brought us the story we never knew we needed!

Leighton is embroiled in the often tedious world of online dating – after yet another disastrous match, she decides to go it alone, swearing off dating even though she is surrounded by friends in love. When she comes across a second-hand book on her bookshelf that she’s sure she didn’t buy, she decides to immerse herself in the fictional world of Lakeville Hills. With Lakeville Hills and the very sexy, very wealthy cowboy Killian St Clair dominating her dreams, the escapism she experiences makes her real life just a little more bearable. Until she finds her dreams becoming a reality!

With Killian St Clair now inexplicably very much a part of her real world, Leighton finds herself falling for a man who just cannot be real – can he?!

This is a novel that is very much relatable to those bookworms amongst us that have spent our evenings dreaming about the men we meet in the fictional worlds created for us by some amazing authors. How often have we wanted to open our eyes and find him there, right in front of us, exactly as we had imagined? Well Camilla Isley has shown us how that would play out if it really happened! It’s not without its trials and tribulations, along with some practical issues surrounding a man just appearing out of nowhere, but I loved following Leighton’s uncertainty about whether he was real or if he would stay, and the acceptance that maybe this fictional man could be the man for her.

This is a lovely novel full of great characters. It is pure escapism, and sometimes that is exactly what we need. So I am very happy to recommend this to you, on this very wet, less than summery day! The weekend is almost upon us, so grab a copy of this book, a glass of wine and immerse yourself in a story that we all sometimes wish would come true!

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 providing me with a copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

Purchase Link

Buy Here!

Author Bio

Camilla is an engineer who left science behind to enter the whimsical realm of romantic fiction.

She writes contemporary rom-coms. Her characters have big hearts, might be a little stubborn at times, and love to banter with each other. Every story she pens has a guaranteed HEA that will make your heart beat faster. Unless you’re a vampire, of course.

Camilla is a cat lover, coffee addict, and shoe hoarder. Besides writing, she loves reading—duh!—cooking, watching bad TV, and going to the movies—popcorn, please. She’s a bit of a foodie, nothing too serious. A keen traveler, Camilla knows mosquitoes play a role in the ecosystem, and she doesn’t want to starve all those frog princes out there, but she could really live without them.

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BLOG TOUR The Love Algorithm by Camilla Isley

April 28, 2024 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to day three of the blog tour for the fabulous Camilla Isley’s new novel The Love Algorithm!

At 28, with a Ph.D under her belt and a meteoric rise to head of Research and Development at Mercer Robotics, Reese feels her decision to put her career first has worked out pretty well for her. Sure, she doesn’t have many personal relationships to speak of, but she does love her team and they like her too.
So when she’s called to the Big Boss’s office and told she will be looking after his son while he does a rotation in her lab, she’s not thrilled that her hard work and achievements have boiled down to being a glorified babysitter – especially to a billionaire playboy with zero experience of mechanical engineering.

But then tall, blond Thomas walks into her office, and Reese realizes this assignment is going to be even harder than she thought. Because the CEO’s son is not only extraordinarily gorgeous, chiseled, and charming… he’s also on course to become her new boss one day, and so extraordinarily out of bounds. As the pair get to know each other, can Reese hold her nerve and her beliefs, or will she fall victim to the billionaire charm?

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

I’m on a bit of a run with Camilla Isley at the moment, and for good reason! She really knows how to write an enemies to lovers rom com!

Reese has worked hard to get to where she is, particularly given the fact that she is working in a male dominated industry. She loves her job and she loves the people she works with, so finding out that she is going to have to babysit the CEOs son, a billionaire playboy with zero experience in her field feels more than a little demeaning.

Thomas, the CEO’s billionaire playboy son is surprised to discover that he is expected to shadow the leads for each department in the company, as part of his progression towards taking over his father’s company. When he walks in on Reese getting changed in her office, he finds himself immediately attracted to a woman who he will eventually be expected to manage. Naturally, he is incredibly attractive, smart, and charming. He is exactly the kind of distraction that Reese does not need – she doesn’t want anything that could jeopardise her career.

This is the ideal enemies to lovers rom com. We have a beautiful, smart, career driven women and a handsome, charming man with bundles of sexual tension. They have such a great will they/won’t they relationship, and I love how the story places so much importance on Reese and her career – whilst there are some waves created by their relationship (lab security cameras cause a few issues!) I like how much emphasis is placed on the need to ensure that Reese should not have to compromise in her personal or professional life. Women in male orientated industries have to work so much harder in order to be taken seriously, and this novel acknowledges that fact whilst giving us a hot and heavy relationship!

This is yet another great offering from Camilla Isley, and I am more than happy to recommend it to you all. On a rainy Sunday afternoon such as this, it is the perfect novel to curl up with under a blanket with a cheeky glass of wine whilst your roast is cooking!

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.

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BLOG TOUR It’s Complicated by Camilla Isley

February 24, 2024 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

Today it is my pleasure to bring you my review of It’s Complicated by Camilla Isley as part of her fabulous blog tour!

Lori has been in love with her best friend Aiden since college. Now Aiden (handsome, fair, All-American dream doctor) is getting married, and Lori desperately needs a date to the wedding.

So she asks the best man, Jace (tall, dark, and brooding), to pretend their platonic friendship is something more not to have to face the worst day of her life alone.

Fake dating one best friend to forget the other should be easy… Plot twist—it’s not. When Jace starts acting like the sweetest, most attentive boyfriend, Lori begins to wonder if she’s been seeing him wrong all this time?

They’ve been an inseparable trio since freshman year, but now everything is changing — and that’s not even bringing Jace’s feelings into the mix.

Basically? It’s complicated.

As I have already previously mentioned, Camilla Isley is fast becoming my favourite enemies to lovers rom-com author! Whilst It’s Complicated is not technically an enemies to lovers novel, it does involve some complicated, long term relationships, unrequited love and some good old fashioned fake dating thrown into the mix so I had no complaints when I picked it up.

Lori has two best friends, Aiden and Jace. When Aiden announces that he is getting married, Lori is naturally devastated, having been in love with him since the moment she met him. Jace has always been her shoulder to cry on, and now is no different. Except this time round, she realises that time is running out for her and Aiden, so she does the only sensible thing she can think of; fake date Jace to make Aiden jealous, or at the very least not have to face the stark reality of Aiden’s impending marriage alone!

There are no surprises here, but that is not why I picked up this novel. I grabbed it and devoured it because it’s full of love and friendship, misunderstandings and handsome men! The characters in this novel are well rounded and likeable – there are moments of frustration with Lori, but as we all know, love can blind you to everything else around you!

Camilla Isley is fast becoming my go-to author when I want a lovely novel that’s easy to read with engaging characters and a great plot! It’s Complicated is a lovely easy read – perfect for a lazy Sunday. So grab yourself your favourite chocolate and large glass of wine, and get stuck in! It’s Complicated might even be one of Camilla Isley’s best novels yet!

Purchase Link

Follow the link to grab yourself a copy!

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BLOG TOUR Last Orders at Mulberry Lane by Rosie Clarke

February 3, 2024 ~ ChapterAndCake ~ Leave a comment

Today it is my pleasure to bring you my review of Last Orders at Mulberry Lane by Rosie Clarke, the final instalment of the Mulberry Lane series.

The final book in The Mulberry Lane Saga series from Rosie Clarke.

Sweeping changes are on the horizon and Mulberry Lane is in for a shock…
London 1962

At first it was a rumour that Peggy Ronaski and Maureen Hart could hardly believe. If true, it would turn the lives of everyone on Mulberry Lane upside down.

Peggy could lose her beloved pub. Maggie her acclaimed restaurant. Maureen her business and her home. Everyone had something to lose.

Whilst old friends try to come to terms with the shocking news, the younger generation continue to forge ahead in the swinging sixties. Relationships flourish and new opportunities blossom; the ever changing world becoming their oyster. But family bonds remain strong, after all, it’s people that matter not the buildings.

Could this be the end of Mulberry Lane or a new beginning for everyone?

So I have been with the ladies of Mulberry Lane from the very beginning, so I certainly wasn’t going to miss finding out how it all ends! Last Orders at Mulberry Lane is bittersweet; I knew it had to come to an end but I wasn’t sure that I was ready for it. All of our favourite characters are back, with Peggy and Maureen leading the way. With their children all grown, or nearly grown, and forging their own paths in the world, Peggy and Maureen are looking to now find their own way. With Mulberry Lane under threat, they need to look outside of the lanes that have always been their to home work out what they each want from life.

I have so loved following these characters over the course of the last few years. They are strong independent women who fight for, love and support their families with everything they’ve got. I originally started this series because I have a particular love of novels focussed around women during World War II, but these characters have been so well rounded and enjoyable to read, I couldn’t help but continue to follow them through the 50s and into the 60s. Rosie Clarke knows how to create a continuing saga that you can’t help but fall in love with. I’m disappointed that I won’t learn anything new about these women and their families now that the series has ended, but I will look back on them with fondness. I am more than happy to recommend this novel to you all, but I must insist that you read them all – you need to connect with these characters from day one (and I can promise that you will). Such a fitting ending to such a lovely series. So go grab yourself a copy of The Girls of Mulberry Lane (if you haven’t already – and if not, why not?!) so that you can finally see how it all ends when your reach Last Orders at Mulberry Lane. It will be worth your time – so grab yourself a glass of wine and settle in with the lovely Mulberry Lane series!

Thank you to Rosie Clarke, 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

Amazon UK

Previously Reviewed Titles

The Girls of Mulberry Lane

A Wedding at Mulberry Lane

Mulberry Lane Babies

New Arrivals at Mulberry Lane

The Women of Mulberry Lane

A Reunion at Mulberry Lane

Stormy Days on Mulberry Lane

A New Dawn Over Mulberry Lane

Life and Love at Mulberry Lane

Author Bio

Rosie Clarke is a #1 bestselling saga writer whose most recent books include The Mulberry Lane series. She has written over 100 novels under different pseudonyms and is a RNA Award winner. She lives in Cambridgeshire.

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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.

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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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