Book Review - The Wedding Date by Zara Stoneley

Amazon UK

Title: The Wedding Date

Author: Zara Stoneley

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Publication Date: 20th April 2018

Rating: 4 Stars

One ex.
One wedding.
One little white lie.

When Samantha Jenkins is asked to be the maid of honour at her best friend’s wedding, she couldn’t be happier. There are just three problems…

1) Sam’s ex-boyfriend, Liam, will be the best man.
2) His new girlfriend is pregnant.
3) Sam might have told people she has a new man when she doesn’t (see points 1 and 2 above)

So, Sam does the only sensible thing available to her… and hires a professional to do the job.

Actor Jake Porter is perfect for the role: single, gorgeous and cheap! Sam is certain it’s the perfect solution: no strings, no heartbreak and hopefully no chance of being found out.

But spending a week in the Scottish Highlands with Jake is harder than she imagined. He is the perfect boyfriend, charming, sexy and the hottest thing in a kilt since Outlander! And his dog Harry is quite possibly the cutest things Sam has ever seen!

As the wedding draws closer, Jake plays his part to perfection and everyone believes he is madly in love with Sam. The problem is, Sam’s not sure if Jake is acting anymore…

This is a lovely and enjoyable story,  that I think would make a great film. However that may be because I years ago watched a film with the same basic premise and in fact same title, ao although I enjoyed the journey and writing, I wasn't overly surprised about the overall story arc. 

Ok there are differences between the film and the book as you would hope being completely different but there was that sense of familiarity with the thoughts that Sam was having throughout. 

Putting all that to one side, this is a book filled with amusing moments, and I think I fell in love with Jake almost instantly. I do love a book with eye candy, and he is more than just a gorgeous actor willing to be a fake boyfriend. 

He is hiding the true reason he is willing to go along with the the charade of being Sam's boyfriend and a date for a week long wedding in Scotland.  I loved how he slipped into the role perfectly and seemed a natural at the various activities on offer, while also absolutely hating on sight Sam's ex-boyfriend who is the best man. 

I really enjoyed the character of Sam too and completely understood her need to go to these lengths, showing just what a good friend she is.   

And of course this wouldn't be a Zara Stoneley book if there weren't horses and dogs involved somewhere, and the two dogs featured are fabulous.  Tank is exactly that and Harry is a larger than life dog who may be very keen on human food, despite the regime he may be apparently on.   The scene involving horses too was great 

Despite my initial thoughts this is easily a book I would recommend to others, it really has everything I look for in a romantic comedy - romance, comedy, gorgeous man, some fabulous scenes, an ex worth hating, funny parents and animals.  This is pure enjoyable escapism and I did really enjoy the whole book. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Impulse for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Funday Friday - Truth or Lie? - Jennifer Joyce - Month 1 Week 3

Welcome to the second ever edition of Truth of Lie. My name is Rachel and I will be your host, for this exciting new game show. Each Friday, I will have one contestant, and they will be answering at least 14 questions. There is of course one small twist, 

For three of the answers, they have to lie. It is your task as the viewer to guess which three answers are lies. You are allowed 3 guesses and I want them posted into the comments field. 

Every 4 weeks, I will close the guessing, count up how many correct answers each of you has, and create a leaderboard. Anyone who is top of the leaderboard, will go into a draw for a paperback of the winners choice (open internationally). 

Please do include a way for me to contact you (email or twitter or similar), so that I can let you know if you have won. 

The weekend after a 4 week period closes, not only will I produce a leaderboard, and announce a winner, I will also let you know into the true answers, and which were the lies.  

Closing date for the first month is 11pm on 19th May 2016. 

So without further ado, let's meet today's contestant. 

Good morning Jennifer Joyce, please can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

I’m a writer of romantic comedies who lives in Manchester with my husband and our two daughters. We also have a Jack Russell called Luna and two bunnies called Cinnamon and Leah. If I’m not writing, I can usually be found with my nose in a book or loitering on social media.

Please to meet you Jennifer, we definitely have something in common already, I seem to be loitering on social media a lot

Now onto the show, and remember everyone, Jennifer hasn't been entirely truthful with three of these answers, so it is up to you to guess which ones they are (only 3 guesses per person though). 

1) Who is your favourite author?

I love Dorothy Koomson’s writing. It’s beautiful and evocative and hooks me in immediately.

2) What book do you wish you had written?

Bridget Jones’s Diary. Like most authors, I’d love to see my books transferred to the screen but there’s always the fear it won’t live up to what you imagined in your head while writing it. For me, Bridget Jones’s Diary is just as fabulous as the book and I could watch it over and over and never get bored.

3) What was your most memorable holiday ever?

We went to Egypt for our honeymoon in 2012. I’ve always been fascinated by the pyramids so it was amazing to actually see them for myself. Unfortunately, my husband was pretty ill for most of the week (you don’t want any details, trust me) so it wasn’t such an amazing holiday for him!

4) If you could be an animal what would you be and why?

A cat because they have a great life: strokes whenever they want some fuss (and only when THEY want to be stroked – everything is on their terms), free to roam or laze wherever they want, the cute factor so they can be fed at multiple houses. It’s idyllic.

5) What superpower would you love to have?

The ability to stop time. Imagine being able to pause time when the alarm clock goes off in the morning, only restarting it when you’ve had a lengthy enough lie in!

6) What is your dream job, and have you tried to achieve it?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer, from a young age. It took years of writing and submitting before I was published but it was worth it.

7) If you could only read one author for the rest of your life (and I’m aware that’s a very scary world), who would you choose and why?

It’d be Lisa Jewell because I love to re-read her early romantic comedies, like Thirty Nothing. I never, ever get bored of re-reading them.

8) Besides reading, which I am guessing is a given, what other hobbies do you have?

I’ve played the violin since I was nine, though I don’t play as much as I used to. My youngest (who’s seven) is starting to take an interest so if she starts having lessons, we can play together, which would be lovely.

9) Who is your ideal Disney character?

Frozen’s Olaf because he is cute, lovable and funny.

10) What would your ideal pet be?

A dog because they make great companions. They’re fun, playful and loyal – and adorable. Luckily I happen to have a dog, who is all those things.

11) What is your guilty pleasure when it comes to music? 

I have a varied taste in music and don’t feel any guilt (although maybe I should…) I love anything from cheesy pop like The Spice Girls and S Club 7 to T-Rex.

12) Who is the most important person in the world to you?

I have two – my daughters, Rianne and Isobel.

13) If you won the lottery, how would you spend the money?

I’d love to travel the world. There are so many places I’m itching to experience. Australia and New Zealand would definitely be at the top of my list as they both look like such gorgeous countries and I’ve never been that far from home before.

14) What are you most scared of?

I’m scared of a LOT of things: spiders (obviously), most other creepy-crawlies and flying bug-type things, snakes, horses, my own imagination. They’re all tied, fear-wise. 

Thanks so much Jennifer for taking part on Truth or Lie? I also love your favourite author, and Olaf is definitely the best! 

I hope you have enjoyed this edition of Truth or Lie? I will be back next week with another episode, and in the mean time...

Don't forget to guess the lies, to be in with a chance of a prize! 

Jennifer Joyce is a writer of romantic comedies who lives in Manchester with her husband and their two daughters. Her latest novel, The Wedding Date is out now. You can find out more about Jennifer and her books on:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jenniferjoycewrites 
Twitter: www.twitter.com/writer_jenn 

Blog: www.jenniferjoycewrites.co.uk 

Book Review - The Wedding Date by Jennifer Joyce - Blog Tour

Amazon UK

Title: The Wedding Date

Author: Jennifer Joyce

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Carina

Publication Date: 28th March 2016

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Will you…date me?

Delilah James, singleton and smoothie-addict, has six months to find a date for her oldest friend’s wedding. Oh, and to prove to her ex, best man Ben, that she has totally moved on since he dumped her out-of-the-blue nine months, eight days and seventeen hours ago…

So, with her two BFFs playing Cupid, Delilah launches herself into the high-tech, fast-paced and frankly terrifying world of dating. Luckily there’s the hot new guy at work, Adam Sinclair, to practice her flirting on – even if, as a colleague, he’s strictly off-limits!

Yet time’s running out and date after disastrous date forces Delilah to tell a little white lie – and invent a fake boyfriend! But will her secret crush on Adam ruin everything? Does she even care about Ben anymore? And is it too late to untangle her web of lies and take a real date to the wedding…?

The Wedding Date is another really enjoyable and entertaining story by Jennifer Joyce. If you don't like large webs of lies then this may not be the story for you, as it did get a bit confusing at one point, trying to remember who was aware of which lies that Delilah couldn't help but tell. 

It all started with one small omission of fact, where Delilah implies she has got over her ex of 9 months and is also moving on and dating again. And somehow she is persuaded to bring the new man as her plus one to an old friends wedding. The only small problems are that Delilah is not over Ben, and she has no interest in dating again at the moment. 

And so project Wedding Date is born, between her and her two best friends Ryan and Lauren. Between them they try all manner of ways to meet men for Delilah to make the lie true, and have a date for the wedding. 

The first half of the book is filled with some truly horrifying but hilarious dates, as all sorts of stereotypical male characteristics are on display, from the sore loser to the one very much not over his ex and a whole variety of others. 

To my eyes there are two potential men that Delilah was likely to end up with, either the best friend or the colleague, and for a long time I really wasn't sure which way the story would go. Of course I won't spoil the ending by telling you, but would be interested to see how many predict accurately. 

Despite Delilah not really liking her job, I must say I did enjoy seeing her at work as there were just enough mentions of biscuits and possible recipes including biscuits to make me very peckish. 

I loved the light hearted feel to this feel good romantic comedy, with each chapter starting with a text message exchange either past or present that is relevant to the upcoming chapter, between Delilah and her friends. Even her name is made fun of many times, and if you think one of the jokes is about to start wearing thin, think how it must be for any real person with that name, and how often they must hear the same comments/songs. 

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Carina for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

Thank you to Jennifer for inviting me to be part of her blog tour. 

About Jennifer Joyce

Jennifer Joyce is a writer of romantic comedies who lives in Manchester with her husband and their two daughters. Her latest novel, The Wedding Date is out now.

You can find out more about Jennifer and her books on:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jenniferjoycewrites 
Twitter: www.twitter.com/writer_jenn

Blog: www.jenniferjoycewrites.co.uk