Book Review - Wedding Bells at Butterfly Cove by Sarah Bennett

Amazon UK

Title: Wedding Bells at Butterfly Cove

Author: Sarah Bennett

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HQ Digital

Publication Date: 26th June 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

A second chance by the sea?
When Kiki Jackson’s marriage falls to pieces, there’s only one place that she knows she can escape to – her sister’s little guesthouse in Butterfly Cove.

But she’s worried that turning up on bride-to-be Mia’s doorstep, especially with her two adorable children in tow, will spoil her sister’s imminent wedding plans!

Luckily, handsome neighbour Aaron Spenser offers to share his new cottage with Kiki until she’s back on her feet. And as the wedding draws closer, Kiki realises that Butterfly Cove may be offering her little family more than just a new home…

Maybe this is where her new life begins…?

Chapter 1 captured my attention, and had me really, really disliking Neil from the outset, while feeling sorry for Kiki. Chapter 2 reminded me quite quickly about the bones of the story from book 1 just by mentioning certain key things, which is always helpful in a series, to feel right at home in the next book as quickly as possible. 

Although the continuation of Mia and Daniel’s story is present in this second book, the book is actually about Kiki, one of Mia’s sisters and Aaron, Daniel’s best friend. Kiki is taking the scariest step in her life and trying to escape a horrific marriage, and Aaron offers her a house to stay in not far from Butterfly Cove and her sister. 

I was only a few chapters in when the thought struck me that this book had far more emotional depth in it than I was perhaps expecting, and it was made all the richer for it. Kiki has had a very tough time and Aaron is just what she needs, even if neither of them can see it for themselves. 
Aaron is a man who takes in not just Kiki but her two children too, does everything he can to be the opposite of Neil, and to make them all feel welcome in his new home. There are some lovely sweet touches from him, some great gestures and Aaron also goes on a journey of self-discovery after a few home truths are pointed out to him. 

This is the second story set in the gorgeous location of Butterfly Cove, and could be read as a standalone. However I am so glad that I have read both books in this series by talented author Sarah Bennett, whose writing seems to be going from strength to strength, and that’s just after two books. 

I was simply unable to put down Wedding Bells at Butterfly Cove for even a second, and read it, in one sitting. I lost track of time while reading it, as I was so absorbed, while feeling very pleased I was able to return to such a great cast of characters, in a setting where I felt even more welcome second time around. 

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - Copycat by Alex Lake - Blog Tour

Amazon UK

Title: Copycat

Author: Alex Lake

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Harper Collins

Publication Date: 7th September 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

Imitation is the most terrifying form of flattery…

Which Sarah Havenant is you?

When an old friend gets in touch, Sarah Havenant discovers that there are two Facebook profiles in her name. One is hers. The other, she has never seen.

But everything in it is accurate. Photos of her friends, her husband, her kids. Photos from the day before. Photos of her new kitchen. Photos taken inside her house.

And this is just the beginning. Because whoever has set up the second profile has been waiting for Sarah to find it. And now that she has, her life will no longer be her own…

Completely spellbound from the first page as Alex Lake crafts an incredibly complex tale that keeps you guessing right until the end.  I had many theories as I was reading it as to what was happening in Sarah, but was never going to guess the motivation, nor the complexities of the deception. 

In the four to five hours I was reading Copycat, I completely lost track of the real world, I barely paused for breath, as I was so utterly gripped with the story that was going on.

It starts of relatively simply, but in still a rather creepy manner, when Sarah discovers a fake Facebook account has been set up in her name, and updated with recent occurrences in her life.  When she receives a friend request from herself it starts to feel weird and this only the start of the unsettling events for Sarah and her family. 

What strikes me about Copycat, other than the immensely twisted psychopath at work, and their motivations, is the message from the book about social media. It is so easy nowadays to pretend to be something you’re not, when online, and with the advent of smart phones it’s even easier to potentially mess with something in a joking or more sinister way. Besides potentially having a disturbed night’s sleep after Copycat I really think I’ll take my online security more seriously, just to try to reduce the risks of a real life version of this book happening to me. 

This is the second book I have read by Alex Lake and I am so impressed with this author’s storytelling, their writing style that has me on the edge of my seat very early into the book, and the short chapters from an alternative perspective, never giving much away other than the implication that more weird stuff is round the corner for Sarah. 

In those short chapters from the “villain” there is an ongoing analogy for the situation Sarah finds herself in, which I was rather impressed with. 

For me, Copycat is one of the best psychological thrillers I have read this year. 

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

Please follow along with the rest of the blog tour for this fabulous book.  

Rachel Reads Randomly - Vote #68

 

Thank you everyone for your input last time. The results of the last vote were:

0 Votes - One Kiss in Rio... by Various 

0 Votes - The Bum Magnet by K L Brady

3 Votes - The Memory Box by Sarah Webb

6 Votes -  The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters by Nadiya Hussain

6 Votes - The Waiting Game by Jessica Thompson

Wow I haven't done this for months. Last time it was a tie, and I picked Nadiya's book purely as I had been incredibly curious about it since I won it in a competition. Thank you to everyone that voted back in June, and let's see what this week has to offer! 

Below is my initial theory for this feature, and then a bit further, what you are all waiting for... This weeks's vote! Enjoy!

I am also awful at deciding what book to read next, as I often have about 10 titles or authors jumping into my brain at any time, shouting at me to read them, and I tend to worry I have made the wrong decision while reading a perfectly good book. I am hoping this will save me having to make at least 1 choice a week, while possibly providing a review to the site of a book you all either love or are curious about yourselves. 

So what I am proposing, is my lovely loyal readers of Rachel's Random Reads, select one book for me to read a week, and I will post the review the following week. 

This week's random numbers are...

And the books these numbers correspond to are...

So the 5 choices with my gut feeling responses are:

5 - The State We're In by Adele Parks - I haven't read a book by this author for many years, I know I still enjoyed her at the point I bought a whole bunch of the back catalogue! 

24 - Summer Loving by Allie Spencer  - Well my true gut feeling was to start singing that song from Grease, but not sure its helpful. I've started to read Christmas books, so a summer one would be a nice contrast! 

219 - The Story of Us by Ellen Faith - Not read the author, and don't recall this book at all but have a feeling I'd enjoy it! 

695 - Breaking Hollywood by Shari King - Why didn't I remember I had this while I was on holiday, it screams beach read at me! Loved the previous Shari King book, and the author is Shari Low writing with Mr King, and I love Shari Low! 

715 - If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon - I borrowed a couple of books by this author from my dad I believe when I was a lot younger, and enjoyed them. This has been on my kindle for ages and have no idea past that! 

Well I have no clue whatsoever how this will turn out, which is all part of my fun of this feature. To me it looks like an interesting mix and I'd hope that some of the books may be familiar to you, and that others may just intrigue! 

Pick your favourite or the one you most want me to review, or just the one you are curious about, and leave me a comment below, before midnight on Wednesday. 

I look forward to seeing what I will be reading over the weekend, courtesy of you all. 

And authors, if its your book up on this feature, feel free to take part, vote for yourself, or stir up excitement amongst your fans! 

The explanation if you haven't seen the feature before. 

How is this going to work?

Every Monday, I am going to have a post like this, which is going to have some choices on it. I am planning on using random.org to select 7 random numbers, to coincide with my spreadsheet of unread books.  

I will from that produce a list of hopefully 5 books, I reserve the right to veto any books, and will give reasons for them, if it occurs.

I will take screenshots and post them, of the chosen books, and also give you my instinctive reactions to the choices (without checking blurbs or any other info about them, which could be interesting as there are probably many forgotten about books on my spreadsheet!). 

Your task is to post a comment on this post, with the book you would like me to read this week. At midnight on Wednesday I will take a tally of the votes and the book with the most, I will read and review for the following Monday, where you will also get a new choice post. 

In the event of a tie, I will chose which one appeals most, for the Monday review, and possibly try and read and review the other to appear when I can. 

I am hoping this will provide some variety to the books appearing, and will let me potentially read or discover some great authors that I have wanted to read but not got around to yet.

Book Review - Confetti at the Cornish Cafe by Phillipa Ashley

Amazon UK

Title: Confetti at the Cornish Cafe

Author: Phillipa Ashley

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Avon

Publication Date: 29th May 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

Cal and Demi are preparing to launch their beloved Kilhallon Resort in Cornwall as a wedding venue. With the cliff-top setting and coastal views, it's the perfect place for a magical ceremony.

But their first clients are no ordinary couple. The bride and groom are internationally famous celebrities Lily Craig and Ben Trevone. As secrets surface and truths are told, can Demi and Cal ensure that Kilhallon's first wedding is a success? One thing’s for sure, this will be a Cornish celebration to remember . . .

What a way to round up a trilogy, this book covers all the loose ends and in such a great way. There is plenty of drama throughout the book to keep you on the edge of your seat. 

I have absolutely loved the Cornish Café series, and it was great to see this latest instalment in Cal and Demi’s lives.  This could be read as a standalone and the prologue gives plenty of either recap for existing readers, or a good summary of the key points in their story leading up to the start of this book. 

Kilhallon is gearing up for the wedding of the year, and also the first wedding held at the glamping site, and it’s for famous actors Ben and Lily. They seem nice enough, just want a down to earth wedding that looks like it was thrown together naturally at the last moment. 

Of course its not that simple, and Demi has to hire a wedding planner to help out, and between them all they have to weather large amounts of speculation as to whether the wedding is really being held there. 
As the book progresses there are moments of high action and drama, there are moments of laughter and romance and generally there is the feeling that that book is building to a crescendo. And what a finale sequence it was, the last perhaps quarter of the book was in some ways completely unpredictable, in fact I was expecting some completely other unexpected occurrences, which didn’t happen! 

I love Demi, and have done since the first book, and I’m so pleased for the range of character development there has been through, and her various continuing storylines are wrapped up really well in this book. As is Cal’s biggest long term storyline. 

Confetti at the Cornish Café is a celebration of a quirky wedding with some rather unique ideas, some adorable dogs, and the romance between Cal and Demi. It is a really great story and as a fan of the series I think it’s a great way for it to wind up. 

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

Fab Firsts - Q&A with Emily Williams

Fab Firsts is my regular Sunday feature, that is going to be highlighting books that are firsts. When interviewing authors, it will be about their first book, as well as other firsts in their lives. When reviewing books for this feature, there will be a mix of debuts, first books in a series, the first time I read an author, and possibly other firsts depending on what I can think of!

If you are an author wanting to take part in Fab Firsts then please do email on gilbster at gmail dot com and I'll whizz the questions over to you.

I hope you enjoy this look at a variety of hopefully fabulous firsts, while making some sort of dent in my review and paperback TBRs which are my current main focus!

Emily Williams lives by the seaside in West Sussex with her family and a large menagerie of pets. After graduating from Sussex University with a BA in Psychology, Emily trained as a primary school teacher and teaches in a local school. Emily always wrote short stories and ‘pony’ related books as a child and finally (as an adult) put pen to paper and wrote her debut novel Letters to Eloise.

Thank you for featuring me on your blog, I am really excited to be here and talk about my fab firsts!

Can you tell us a bit about your first book?

My debut novel is called Letters to Eloise, which is ultimately a love-story. I wrote Letters to Eloise four years ago, when at the time I really wanted to settle down and start a family and used the novel as an outlet for these pent up emotions inside. In Letters to Eloise the protagonist, Flora, is in her final year as a postgraduate PGCE student and she falls pregnant. Struggling to come to terms with this and her confused emotions surrounding the men, or lack of, in her life, Flora documents her journey by writing letters to her unborn baby. 

Flora is torn between chasing a relationship with her first love, River, who seems to have moved on, or pursuing a recent affair with her handsome and mysterious university lecturer.

Letters to Eloise is the heart-wrenching debut epistolary novel by Emily Williams; a love story of misunderstandings, loss, and betrayal but ultimately the incredible bond between mother and child.

What was your original inspiration to become a writer, and to write your debut?

I always remember writing, as far back as the start of primary school. I wrote hundreds of pony stories and have still kept some to this day. In my first year of secondary school, I wrote a story called ‘Outbreak’ about the spread of a deadly disease. I remember the teacher commenting that he really enjoyed the story and not to stop writing, so I never did! I always carried a notebook around with ideas for the first elusive novel, but never thought of a story that compelled me enough to finish. 

Then suddenly the idea for Letters to Eloise arrived and I noted down the plot, set myself a deadline, and finally finished!

How long did it take you to write your first book?

Even though the idea for Letters to Eloise came to me quickly and night after night I became engrossed in the storyline, finishing the novel was another matter! I finished the first draft within three months, but then, unexpectedly, I fell pregnant. As Flora, my lead character, was also pregnant and writing about her experience, I found this really difficult. 

As my pregnancy was unexpected and medically complicated, I couldn’t face reading and editing the novel until a couple of years later, after I had my second child, a daughter, in July last year. Letters to Eloise therefore took around three years longer than expected to finish! This time away from the novel gave it time to breathe, and I believe, gave the emotions behind the characters more depth.

If you could do anything differently in retrospect, what would you change about your debut, or how you went about writing it?

I would probably finish the novel a lot quicker, but I am not sure I could change that due to circumstances. 

I have learnt so much throughout this process but there are many formatting mistakes that I made and had to spend laborious hours correcting. I learnt how to indent and set the pages properly, use the correct em/en dash, format for speech, etc. Both kindle and paperback versions needed different settings, page margins, headers and footers and images for example. All of these things took a lot longer to do than I initially thought and next time I would do before I write the novel, and not afterwards!

Do you have any tips for other first time authors?

For the writing process, I had a big board up on the whole wall in my bedroom, which was great for throwing ideas down onto. I drew up a map of the story, with drawings, and stuck post it notes all over it! I used the reverse side of wrapping paper for the board. I then used all the ideas to form a grid and timeline for each letter that Flora wrote to Eloise. 

For procrastination, a bigger issue for me than writers block, I wrote Letters to Eloise in a random order. I could just pick and choose what I felt like writing. Checking for plot errors was important after this though!

And finally, definitely check the formatting before writing, not to use tab for spaces etc. I had to strip out incorrect spaces after punctuation, check ellipsis, change all speech marks and so on. A lot of this could have been researched and eradicated before even starting! 

I have really enjoyed answering your questions for my debut novel Letters to Eloise, thank you. Letter to Eloise is available to buy on kindle and paperback.

You are very welcome Emily, and good luck with your book

‘Receiving a hand written letter is something that always puts a smile on my face, no matter who the sender is.’ Flora Tierney.

When post-graduate student Flora falls unexpectedly pregnant during her final year studies she hits a huge predicament; continue a recent affair with her handsome but mysterious lecturer who dazzles her with love letters taken from the ancient tale of ‘Abelard and Heloise', or chase after the past with her estranged first love?

But will either man be there to support her during the turmoil ahead?

‘Banish me, therefore, for ever from your heart’ - Abelard to Heloise.

UK – http://amzn.eu/5TW3alx
US-  http://a.co/4C78iVd  

Fab firsts about Emily Williams!
Tell us about your first…

1) Book you bought – The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans. I was a horse obsessed child, teenager and then adult!
2) Memory – The big storm (hurricane) of 1987 whilst living on the Isle of Wight. I remember the noise and braving finding my parents room upstairs; we lived in a dormer bungalow. There were trees down everywhere and the school was closed for the day.
3) Person you fell in love with – That would be telling! Probably my first boyfriend as the rest were unrequited crushes!
4) Holiday you went on – Many summer holidays spent in France with my parents.
5) Prize you won – a hamper in primary school for a drawing competition. Out of school, I won a competition to meet a famous racehorse, can’t remember which one now, maybe Red Rum! But the horse died, so just got my drawing on a t-towel!
6) Album you purchased - Dido
7) Sport you enjoyed participating in – hurdles, long distance and high jump.
8) Embarrassing moment you can remember – There are many of these moments. My first would probably be falling over on the way home from school and everyone chanting ‘Emily’s fallen over!’ I worried about it all night but at school the next day, no one even remembered!
9) Pet – We had two cats, Florence and Rupert and then the pet numbers grew and grew!
10) Time you were in trouble – I was a good girl and hated getting into any kind of trouble. Me and my best friend at school were always getting in trouble for talking though.
11) ..choice of alternative career if you weren’t an author – Vet
12) …toy that you recall loving – Morris and Larry my mouse and lion teddies!
13) … time you felt like an adult – Drinking Tia Maria before a night out with the girls! Now its just wine, I was way more sophisticated back then!
14) … time you were really scared – When I fell pregnant!

Book Review - Her Last Breath by Tracy Buchanan

Amazon UK

Title: Her Last Breath

Author: Tracy Buchanan

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Avon

Publication Date: 12th June 2017

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Food writer Estelle Forster has the perfect life. And with her first book on the way, it’s about to get even better.

When Estelle hears about Poppy O’Farrell’s disappearance, she assumes the girl has simply run away. But Estelle’s world crumbles when she’s sent a photo of Poppy, along with a terrifying note: I’m watching you. I know everything about you.

Estelle has no idea who’s threatening her, or how she’s connected to the missing teen, but she thinks the answers lie in the coastal town she once called home, and the past she hoped was long behind her.

Estelle knows she must do everything to find Poppy. But how far will she go to hide the truth – that her
perfect life was the perfect lie?

Well this was certainly a book that kept me guessing throughout. There are two perspectives in this book, Estelle a food blogger who is launching a book, and then another person who pops up now and then that is written very cleverly.

For it is this mystery person that is clearly behind all the weird things occurring in Estelle’s life but for most of the book I was left wondering who they are, and just what they are trying to achieve.

Oddly I enjoyed reading about Estelle’s childhood, its gritty and very real, from a 7 year old until placed into foster care and then the main story features around one of her foster families while she was 15.

For during that year there were two main events that left their mark on young Estelle and shaped her into the woman she is now.  And it is these events that seem to have come to the surface and are the focus of the book.

I am sorry to say that I didn’t find this book anywhere near as gripping as I had hoped, although I did enjoy reading the story.  The characters on the whole I just found incredibly hard to like and for me that makes it harder to read. 

I was intrigued to find out what was happening, and there is a storyline that takes in landslides that definitely kept me reading. There is plenty of deception and mystery to this book to keep you guessing.

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

Book Review - Breaking All The Rules by Rachael Richey

Amazon UK

Title: Breaking All The Rules

Author: Rachael Richey

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Author supplied review copy

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press Inc

Publication Date: 5th May 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

Kate is getting married in a month. Richard, her fiancé, is a lawyer: rich, successful, and very good-looking. She’s definitely in love with him. No doubt about that. 

So when Sam, a good friend and her high school crush, returns after eight years of traveling, she doesn’t care. After all, he never actually asked her out, and then he went traveling without her, contrary to their plans. She only agrees to go to dinner with him in order to hear all his news, so why doesn’t she tell him she’s getting married? And is he still bothered by the tragedy eight years ago? 

Sometimes life just gets too complicated, and Kate finds she keeps having Very Bad Ideas, which lead to even more complications. Just three days before her wedding, she finds herself in a situation that demands the biggest decision of her life.

Kate is absolutely playing with fire, in under a month she is due to marry Richard, and then Sam comes back into her life after 8 years, and suddenly Kate's brain has turned to mush. 

Instead of being 100% convinced Richard is the man of her dreams she starts realising everything that has ever niggled her about him, and she even agrees to go to dinner with Sam, which is the start of a very slippery slope. 

The entire way through I really wasn't sure which way Kate's heart would go, but I will say that by the end I was almost crying at the anguish that Kate is in, as she has to decide whose heart she needs to break - Richards, her own or Sam's. 

Despite thinking that Kate is making some rather wrong decisions,  I kind of liked her, and really enjoyed seeing her dilemma (which is perhaps a bit mean of me). I loved her conversations with Jenny her best friend, and yet I also found myself really warming to Sam, although whether that is because Richard really didn't sound that great is another thing. 

I really enjoyed reading Breaking All The Rules, it is definitely funny in places, and was quite entertaining. There were a few hidden secrets which added a bit of flavour to a few of the characters, and I just found this to be a lovely way to escape my life for a few hours, while I was absorbed with Kate's problems instead. 

If you enjoy books where the main character seems deeply unhappy and some of it is entirely of her own making, and seeing them agonize over decisions which to a reader seem really obvious then you will absolutely adore Breaking All The Rules. 

Thank you to Rachael Richey for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Introducing Rachel's Random Resources....plus some celebratory #giveaways

We've made it, its September, and if you recall at the start of the summer I apologised that my blog would be a bit less busy than normal potentially, and that I was also working on setting up a new business. 

Well the house move went ok, and after a week without internet, I was finally back online, and after two weeks I was fully back in the 21st Century when my new Sky Dish was installed!  Since being back online, I have been incredibly busy and the result is Rachel's Random Resources is now real and as of today live! 

Some of you may know that in February 2016 I was working on an internship with Clink Street Publishing, which turned into a freelance job as a blog tour organiser for them. Fast forward to September 2017, and I am finally ready to strike out on my own and organise blog tours, cover reveals, blog blitzes and more, in addition to creating graphics for authors too. 

As this is my new business, and I'm hoping my new full time job, I will be charging authors a fair fee for the privilege, but all the while hoping to create a small business that is a friend to both authors and book bloggers. 

If you have a blog and love books and would like to follow me on my new journey, and see what fabulous authors I manage to attract the attention of then please do sign up to be a blog tour host. 

To any authors reading this, please take a look at my new venture, and if you like the look of what you see, then get in contact with me, and we can look at working together. 

And finally to the readers of Rachel's Random Reads, don't worry my blog is going nowhere. I still intend to post incredibly regularly book reviews, guest posts and more. I continually have ideas of new features that I may introduce in the future, and even with a new business to take up my time, I'm a book addict, I will still be reading. And if I'm reading then I'll be reviewing too! 

Of course as you may already know I need very little reason to give things away, and today is no exception... I have 3 great giveaways for you to celebrate the birth of Rachel's Random Resources (please enter as many as you wish), so good luck...

....or wish me good luck on what could be my maddest plan to date, or fingers crossed most successful!

Giveaway to Win a £10 / $10 Amazon Voucher

First up I'm giving away a £10 / $10 Amazon voucher to one lucky winner. 

Win a £10 / $10 Amazon Voucher

Giveaway to Win a Paperback copy of A Wedding in Cornwall by Laura Briggs

Laura Briggs is also celebrating currently, and is about to release the first 6 novellas of her A Wedding in Cornwall series in one handy paperback. She has also very kindly donated a copy to one lucky winner. 

I have reviewed each part separately over the past year and really enjoy this series, so hope you will too. 

Win a Paperback copy of A Wedding in Cornwall by Laura Briggs


Giveaway to Win a Signed copy of After She's Gone by Sheryl Browne

Amazon UK

Sheryl Browne is another author who is currently celebrating. Her latest book in the DI Matthew Adams series, Deadly Intent is out on Tuesday.

So in order to celebrate properly she is giving away a paperback copy of the first book in the series After She's Gone to one lucky winner.

I am a huge fan of this series, so know you are in for a treat!
Win a signed copy of After She's Gone by Sheryl Browne

Giveaways are open internationally, all options are voluntary, but please do what they ask, as I will be verifying the winner. Giveaway closes 23:59 15/09/2017. Winner will be announced on twitter and email, and they will need to reply within 7 days, or forfeit the prize, and I will re-draw for a new winner.  Good luck everyone.

Guest Post - The Story of Rosie and Pete by Jon Rance - Blog Tour

This is the story of Rosie and Pete. From the beginning until the end.

Hello! I’m very excited to be here as part of my blog tour for, About Us. Thanks so much Rachel for having me. Let’s crack on, shall we.

About Us, is my sixth novel and it’s the story of Rosie and Pete, from the beginning until the end. The book goes backwards and forwards in time to show Rosie and Pete as teenagers in the 90’s right up until present day when they’re early forty somethings living in south London with three children. I loved writing this book because it gave me the chance to look back over my own life. I’m forty-one (forty-two next week!) and so the time frame the characters go through is very similar to mine. Obviously my life is very different from the characters in the book, but the idea of making decisions is something that affects all of our lives.

How every decision we make changes our life is one of the big themes of the book. I’ve always loved reading biographies because it isn’t until we read the whole thing that we understand how every tiny decision made changed something else and it made a whole life. It’s something I think about a lot, because I’ve made a lot of decisions in my life that have changed it so much. I met my American wife while backpacking in Australia. We met, fell in love, and I ended up moving to California where we now live with our two children. So many small decisions ended up with me meeting my wife, but meeting her changed my life forever. It’s one of the parts of being a writer I love. I get to create characters, lives, worlds, and all of it is at my mercy. I can make anything happen and it’s wonderful to imagine all of the possibilities.

In, About Us, Rosie is faced with a number of huge decisions that change her life. Probably the biggest decision comes right at the end of the book and it was a decision I laboured over a long time. I had to put myself in her shoes. Rosie is a strong, ambitious woman at the start of the book. She’s optimistic and brave, but as the years go on, she becomes less so and so when she has to make a decision, she finds it incredibly hard. She also has her three children to think about. I’m not going to spoil the ending, but it’s an ending I love and that I’m incredibly proud of. I think it’s some of my best writing to date. I hope you love it too!

About Us, is a dramatic comedy about life, about love, about us, and it’s out now exclusively on Amazon. Grab your copy now for just 99p for a limited time!

Thank you so much Jon for talking to me about Rosie and Pete. I purchased my copy the other day and am really looking forward to reading About Us when I have time. 

Amazon UK

It's about life. It's about love. It's about us. 

HILARIOUS AND HEARTBREAKING.

From the bestselling author of Sunday Dinners and Dan And Nat Got Married, comes a bittersweet comedy about a marriage, about how it begins, how it falls apart, and the choices we're forced to make. Perfect for fans of David Nicholls, Jojo Moyes, and Mike Gayle.

Rosie Willis isn’t happy. Her once perfect marriage to husband, Pete, is falling apart, her mother is dying, and her three children are starting to feel like strangers. At forty she feels like she’s stuck, but then she meets handsome widower, Mark Hornby, at the school gates and he makes her feel alive again.

As she drifts further from Pete, she gets closer to Mark, but approaching Christmas she realises she needs to try to save her marriage and keep her family together. Despite her feelings, she can’t have an affair. Unfortunately, Pete has news of his own that throws everything into doubt. 

Rosie must choose a new life. There’s Pete, Mark, or going it alone. It isn’t easy when you’re forty, when you have three kids, when you feel past it, when your mother is dying, but life isn’t meant to be easy.

Please follow along with the rest of the blog tour

Book Review - The Big Little Festival by Kellie Hailes

Amazon UK

Title: The Big Little Festival

Author: Kellie Hailes

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HQ Digital

Publication Date: 19th July 2017

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Join the whole village at The Big Little Festival for the perfect summer day out!
With only weeks until the little Devon village of Rabbit’s Leap holds its first ever festival, Jody McArthur is desperate. She – more than anyone – wants to raise the funds to rebuild the local swimming pool and when she fell pregnant with her twin boys, it was the village who was there to support her. So, to stop disaster in its tracks, she brings in bigshot London events manager Christian Middlemore to make The Big Little Festival the huge success everyone deserves.

But Jody is totally unprepared for the impact reserved-but-gorgeous Christian has on Rabbit’s Leap – and her heart! Except Jody has avoided relationships for so long, and anyway, she’s sure romance between a country-born-and-bred single mum and a career-focused city boy would be impossible – wouldn’t it?

As tensions rise along with the home baked scones and miles and miles of bunting, Jody is about to find out!

The second book set in the picture-perfect Rabbit’s Leap, this little village is where love blooms!

From the first few lines, I was reminded what I liked so much about Kellie Haile’s first book, which was the sense of humour and her writing style. I was smiling and giggling throughout this book at plenty of witticisms and some of the things the children came out with. 

For Jody is a single mum of 9 year old twin boys and has closed her heart off to finding a man ever. She is also determined to make up for an error in her past for which she fears the whole town of Rabbit’s Leap would hate her for, if it was every made public. As a result she is determined to organise a fundraising festival to rebuild the pool in the village. 

Just one thing, with 3 weeks to go until the festival all the committee made of her and two of the towns busybodies have agreed on is welly wanging. Enter Christian a proper event planner, who has some great ideas for turning the Rabbit’s Leap festival into the biggest little festival ever, well once he can get anyone in the town onside. 

This is the second book set in Rabbit’s Leap and despite there being some familiar characters if you read the first book, this can easily be read as a standalone novel. 

I really loved how devoted Jody is to her town and her children, and just how hard she attempts to fight some of the most obvious chemistry I’ve read about! Jody’s past was very interesting and she has some good motivations for acting the way she does.  I also quite liked seeing just what Christian was hiding, as he also wasn’t quite as straight forward as you may think. 

The Big Little Festival will certainly put you into an upbeat small town festival mood, and feels like a great story to read in the summer. I am already looking forward to my return to Rabbit’s Leap in the Christmas book, and curious to see whose story we will be learning this time. 

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.