Book Review - An Italian Island Summer by Sue Moorcroft

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Title: An Italian Island Summer

Author: Sue Moorcroft

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Avon

Publication Date: 25th May 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

Will one summer in Sicily change her life for ever?

After her marriage falls apart, Ursula Quinn is offered the chance to spend the summer working at a hotel on a beautiful island off the coast of Sicily, Italy. Excited by a new adventure, she sets off at once.

At Residenza dei Tringali, Ursula receives a warm welcome from everyone except Alfio, son of the Tringali family. He gave up his life in Barcelona to help his mother Agata with the ailing business, and is frustrated with Ursula’s interference – and she in turn is less than impressed with his attitude. As they spend more time together, though, they begin to see each other in a different light.

But what with Ursula’s ex-husband on her tail, family secrets surfacing and an unexpected offer that makes Alfio question his whole life, there’s plenty to distract them from one another. Can she face her past and he his future, and together make the most of their Sicilian summer?

Once again the immensely talented Sue Moorcroft has written a rather addictive story that took me no time to devour.

I loved the Sicilian setting, especially in a part of the island that is off the beaten track, thus giving us a glimpse into a lesser known part of the island.

And I loved Ursula's change of career and learning about ceramics with her.

Ursula's family dynamics are rather tricky, which leads to all sorts of great moments.

I loved the B&B she was working at, and getting to know Agata and Alfio especially. 

A story that transported me to Italy and beyond, with links to Under an Italian Sun (which will please any fans of that book too) and made me wish I could get on a plane and soak up the Sicilian way of life. 

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

Book Review - The Vanishing of Class of 3B by Jackie Kabler

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Title: The Vanishing of Class 3B

Author: Jackie Kabler

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source:Netgalley

Publisher: One More Chapter

Publication Date: 11th May 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

One spring morning, a bus full of children and their teachers from a Cotswolds primary school head off on a much-anticipated day trip.

But as night falls and the well-heeled parents – one or two of them famous, as well as wealthy – wait at the school to collect their weary offspring, it soon becomes clear that something has gone very wrong.

The children and their teachers simply do not come back.

What’s happened doesn’t seem possible.

How can an entire class of children simply vanish?

It must be a parent or teacher's worst nightmare, going off on a school outing and not returning home.  But just how can a school bus of 10 children and 4 teachers just disappear without a trace?

Surely it has to be impossible, and the reasons behind it are pretty unguessable. 

It is an incredibly well crafted, well plotted, and very clever premise to this story, that had me under its spell. I was reading into the early hours until my eyes couldn't stay open any more and then had a disturbed night's sleep a result. 

It is also clear quite early on that various parents are hiding things, but as a reader I only got to work out some of the secrets, a few beats before the characters, they seemed that well concealed. 

I was open mouthed for a lot of the time I was reading this, in part due to the parents, which although I felt sorry for them all, I also didn't seem to like most of them, baffled as to how on earth the police were ever going to figure this case out, while in fear that pure innocent children may be harmed. 

It was such a fiendishly clever, well thought out plan from the villains of the piece, that I was in awe of them, 

Another truly spectacular story from Jackie Kabler. 

Thank you to One More Chapter and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - Sunshine and Secrets at Blackberry Beach by Holly Martin - Blog Tour

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Title: Sunshine and Secrets at Blackberry Beach

Author: Holly Martin

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Author supplied copy

Publisher: Self published

Publication Date: 7th July 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

Welcome to Apple Hill Bay, where the emerald sea sparkles, golden sands glitter and sunshine and romance sizzle. From the bestselling author of The Christmas Tree Cottage comes this summer’s hottest love story.

From the moment Fern Lucas arrived at its stunning shores, she knew Apple Hill Bay would forever be the place she calls home. Living in her little beach hut with her beloved dog Bones, and her artist business on the verge of taking off, life couldn’t be more perfect. Or so Fern thinks…

When a competition for a mural commission at Blackberry Beach pits her against the gorgeous Fletcher Harrison, sparks fly instantly. Within days their electric chemistry has them tumbling deep into love. Within weeks they can’t imagine a future without each other.

But Fletcher has a secret, a past he can’t escape, a past that he believes means he can’t give Fern the life they’ve dreamed of. And that past is about to catch up with him…

Get ready to fall head over heels this summer with this scorching romance, guaranteed to set hearts on fire. Perfect for fans of Jo Thomas, Sue Moorcroft and Phillipa Ashley.

I don't know how Holly Martin continually does it, but once again she has hooked me into the most special little story that I felt right at home with from the first few pages.  And I especially was hooked on Fern and Fletcher, plus Bones.

From the first couple of pages and their first meeting, I could tell I was reading a special story, asFern and Fletcher had such an immediate connection, it had me wishing that sort of feeling was in fact real. 

They have instant chemistry, and their first date is really romantic. They are down to earth people that have both had tricky pasts, which they are trying to overcome, but whether love really does conquer all, remains to be seen. 

I also loved their various creative skills, how much they are loved within their small community and I really loved Fletcher and his work at Reloved. 

There is just something so special about this authors writing ability. I was drawn into the community, and was rooting for Fern and Fletcher the whole time. Add in Bones who has his own big storyline too, which I suspect will raise awareness of a canine issue that I definitely didn't know existed,  some good friends, and some fantastic chemistry and you have an incredibly enjoyable story. 

I just adored this book from its gorgeous cover to the end page, it's just everything I want in a romantic story and I can't help but think it would make a great film too. 

Thank you to the author for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - The Christmas Postcards by Karen Swan - #ChristmasInJuly #HolidayReading Mexico

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Title: The Christmas Postcards

Author: Karen Swan

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: MacMillan

Publication Date: 27th October 2022

Rating: 5 Stars

The right words can change everything . . .

It had been a make-or-break Winter holiday for their marriage, but Natasha and Rob’s rekindled romance is short-lived when their daughter’s beloved soft toy disappears on the journey home. As Natasha comforts her distraught child, she turns to social media for help. Miraculously, the toy is found, but it has become the lucky mascot of a man named Duffy, who is thousands of miles away trekking in Nepal.

When Duffy promises to keep Natasha updated with pictures, a correspondence begins that soon becomes more meaningful. Sometimes, Natasha feels this stranger half way across the world understands her more than the man lying next to her.

But as the weeks pass and Duffy heads deeper into the mountains, Natasha notices a change in him. Then one day, the messages stop. Too late, Natasha wonders why he had ever needed a lucky mascot at all.

Set in a snow-covered Cotswolds village, The Christmas Postcards is a cosy, escapist festive delight from Sunday Times bestseller Karen Swan.

It's not a festive reading season without a new Karen Swan novel and I'm delighted to say this is another winner from her. 

Couldn't put it down, was completely hooked on Duffy's chapters, and his trek in the Himalayas. 

And I loved the "postcards" he sends to Mable from Moolah, utterly adorable, as is Mable. 

Nats we get a couple of timelines from, and I enjoyed seeing the lead up to her marriage as well as how things are with her now, 

She's a complex character, who its hard to get a complete handle on at first, but I soon grew to care for her too. 

And there are many curveballs thrown at us, the reader, to keep us on our toes and had me gasping at times. 

I always enjoy my Christmas books with a spot of something different which the Himalayas gives us plenty of, plus a side order of peril. 

Was completely hooked on another wonderful festive Karen Swan novel. 

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

Book Review - A Snowfall By The Sea by Isla Gordon - #HolidayReading Mexico - #ChristmasInJuly

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Title: A Snowfall By The Sea

Author: Isla Gordon

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Sphere

Publication Date: 24th November 2022

Rating: 4 Stars

Cleo loves winter in Wavebreak Bay. The tourists leave as the temperatures drop, the fairy lights go up and it really starts to feel like home again. It also happens to be the time of year that her best friend Eliot comes back from San Francisco.

Though the seasons change, not much else in Cleo's life does. She's in a people-pleasing rut taking the worst shifts at the family restaurant, pet-sitting for her parents and making little time for herself. Cleo has spent so long thinking about everyone around her that she's lost sight of what she wants. And she wants Eliot. And she's decided that, this year, she's finally going to tell him.

But as the snow settles on Wavebreak Bay, Cleo's Christmas-for-two is disrupted by the arrival of her entire family - and more guests keep arriving. As Cleo works hard to make sure everyone else is having the most wonderful time of the year, will she finally pluck up the courage to stand up for herself . . . and to follow her heart?

Filled with beach walks, hot chocolates and a will-they-won't-they romance, this is the perfect festive treat for fans of Sarah Morgan and Heidi Swain.

Really nice story about Christmas in Devon, and about Cleo finding herself and getting herself out of  a rut 

For a fair amount of time Cleo's inner voice drove me bananas. She is a big time people pleaser, and procrastinator (although thinking about it, both of those could apply to me to!). 

It's a will they, won't they get it together sort of a book, and from the flashbacks of Cleo and Eliot's friendship, we get to see clearly how everyone has felt over the years. 

Once the story got going and we approached Christmas and Cleo's self imposed deadline for a few things the book picks up speed, and became are more compelling to read. 

I could picture the setting and everything so vividly and I absolutely adored the story once we got to Christmas, where nothing goes quite according to plan. 

It's highly enjoyable and kept me entertained throughout. 

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

Book Review - The Gingerbread Cafe by Anita Faulkner - #ChristmasInJuly

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Title: The Gingerbread Cafe

Author: Anita Faulkner

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Spheree

Publication Date: 27th October 2022 

Rating: 5 Stars

CAN GRETEL FIND THE RECIPE FOR THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS?

The Gingerbread Café is always full of Christmas magic. Come rain or shine (or even a July heatwave), there's always a hot chocolate bursting with cinnamon and marshmallows waiting for you. For introverted Gretel, it's been the perfect escape from 'real life'. The owner, Nell, is Gretel's last link to her late mum, and hiding out at the café feels so much safer than making new friends.

So when Nell suddenly passes, Gretel is left heartbroken. Then she discovers that Nell has left the café to her - but there's a catch. Gretel has to share the running of The Gingerbread Café with the least festive person ever: Nell's nephew, Lukas. Head chef at the local fancy restaurant, Lukas makes it clear he has no time for the café, Gretel or even Christmas itself, and Gretel's too busy struggling to save her burnt batches of gingerbread to work out why.

Gretel is determined to keep Christmas alive and make the café a success before Lukas hands the keys over to the scrooge-like developers. But she can't do it alone; besides an over friendly ferret and a waitress with a secret, the only person she has now is Lukas. Will it take a Christmas miracle to get the pair to finally see eye to eye, or could the ice already be melting?

Packed full of sugar and spice, The Gingerbread Café will tick all the wishes off your Christmas list this festive period. Perfect for fans of Heidi Swain, Jo Thomas and Bella Osborne.

A truly lovely story full of personal growth, moving onward with life, a great sense of community, new friendships and above all gingerbread.

Well and Christmas which is a big theme throughout and by the end you are left with a sense of the true meaning of the Christmas spirit.

I enjoyed trying to work out the truth about Amber,  seeing how Gretel grew in confidence as the story progressed, and all of the other fabulous shop owners in the small town. 

It's heartwarming and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this story. This may be the first book I've read by this author but if she writes more with sense of place, and more delicious sounding sweet treats then count me in for more. 

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

Book Review - Christmas Eve at Cranberry Cross by Kate Forster - #ChristmasInJuly

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Title: Christmas Eve at Cranberry Cross

Author: Kate Forster

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Aria

Publication Date: 29th September 2022

Rating: 5 Stars

No one loves Christmas more than editorial assistant Eve Pilkins.

But when her boss hits her with a huge deadline on Christmas Day, it looks like Eve's favourite time of the year might be cancelled. Armed with as much enthusiasm as she can muster, she travels to the coldest part of England, tasked with ensuring brooding author Edward Priest finishes his latest novel on time.

The festive spirit at Cranberry Cross is as dark as the house itself; without a fairy light in sight, it looks like only a Christmas miracle can save this one. Will Eve be up to the task?

What a wonderful story, I couldn't help but absolutely fall for Flora and Myles, and was incredibly caught up in their story and hoping that they would get what was so sorely missing in their lives. 

I really felt for them, as they don't have the best of mothers, and a workaholic father and it takes for Eve to come to edit Edwards new book, for them to start to change. 

Eve is the real catalyst in this story and I really enjoyed getting to know her, seeing how she was dealing with Edward and his writers block.  The more I got to know her family the more I loved them. 

I just really found myself hooked on life at Cranberry Cross, and caring about all of the characters. Seeing the children come out of their shells and develop was really heartwarming as were the festive touches featured. 

A very fast to read book, from an author I always enjoy this was fabulous. 

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

Book Review - Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

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Title: Role Playing

Author: Cathy Yardley

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Montlake

Publication Date: 1st July 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

From Cathy Yardley, author of Love, Comment, Subscribe, comes an emotional rom-com about two middle-aged gamers who grow their online connection into an IRL love story.

Maggie is an unapologetically grumpy forty-eight-year-old hermit. But when her college-aged son makes her a deal—he’ll be more social if she does the same—she can’t refuse. She joins a new online gaming guild led by a friendly healer named Otter. So that nobody gets the wrong idea, she calls herself Bogwitch.

Otter is Aiden, a fifty-year-old optimist using the guild as an emotional outlet from his family drama caring for his aging mother while his brother plays house with Aiden’s ex-fiancée.

Bogwitch and Otter become fast virtual friends, but there’s a catch. Bogwitch thinks Otter is a college student. Otter assumes Bogwitch is an octogenarian.

When they finally meet face to face—after a rocky, shocking start—the unlikely pair of sunshine and stormy personalities grow tentatively closer. But Maggie’s previous relationships have left her bitter, and Aiden’s got a complicated past of his own.

Everything’s easier online. Can they make it work in real life?

This book spoke to me on so many levels, but it especially appealed to my inner game geek. I only hope I am still as into games as I currently am, when I get to Maggie's age, although I suspect I will be, as they are a part of me. 

And all the ingame chat, and talk of raiding guilds, boss runs, loot, and roles such as tanks and healers is all such familiar language to me and reminded me of my own time raiding while playing a massive MMORPG for a few years that I was addicted to. 

Thus I could completely understand and empathise with Maggie wanting to not necessarily be an obvious female gamer, and I loved how she dealt with the youngsters in the guild. 

And Aiden is just lovely, he grew on me big time, he is struggling with his family and it turns out a whole lot more too.  Both are adamant they have no interest at all in dating generally and given they grew to be friends initially online, without having any idea who the other really is, the eventual meeting was gold! 

Neither Aiden or Maggie are overly social beings, much to the confusion to just about everyone in their small town, and many humorous attempts to "make them more normal" were things that the two leads could have done without. 

I loved seeing how they connected both online and in real life and was hooked on finding out just what would happen.  I couldn't get enough of this book, and I'm surprised I've never encountered this authors wonderful writing before.  Something I will clearly need to change in the future, if these are the sorts of books she writes. 

Utterly fabulous, loved every second of it. 

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

Book Review - A Vintage Vacation by Maddie Please

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Title: A Vintage Vacation

Author: Maddie Please

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 30th May 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

Clover Harrington might be sixty-one, but she’s still bossing it in the corporate world and can still run rings around her younger colleagues. And then she is made redundant….

Devastated and now suddenly the wrong side of sixty Clover doesn’t know what to do with her life or her corporate wardrobe! What does she wear if not red lippy and a power suit?! Rather than offer her any support, her partner, Jack announces he's off on a golfing weekend, leaving Clover completely adrift.

Desperate to get away from it all, Clover decides to visit her cousin Zoe at her small taverna in the gorgeous Italian Lakes. There she can rest and recuperate and plan the next stage of her life.

Until Clover’s eighty-year-old mother, Eleanor decides to turn up for the holiday too! Instead of gentle ambles around the lake, Eleanor seems more interested in late night poker and swigging Prosecco and Clover can’t quite believe her mum is having more fun than she is. But as the saying goes - if you can’t beat em, join em!

But is Clover brave enough to live La Dolce Vita?

I felt totally transported to the Italian Lakes in this gorgeous story, about how life is to be lived, and that age really doesn't matter. 

When Clover is made redundant and her partner is rather unsupportive, Clover decides she need a change of location and jets of to Italy to visit her cousin who she hasn't seen that much of.  She is though rather used to the corporate world. so doubts herself almost immediately as she realises she is now in rural Italy. 

This is a story of great character development for both Clover, and her mother too. As I have come to expect from Maddie Please, the main characters are in the advanced years of their lives, which always makes a nice change of pace from some of the other books I read. 

And the adventures these ladies get up to while in Italy, especially for affairs of the heart, are rather special. Just goes to show you can teach an old dog new tricks not that any of the silver foxes in this story are dogs!  

I especially love Clovers mother's antics on arriving in Italy, as well as her thoughts of the other people in her assisted living facility.  

There is a new lease of  life for both ladies that is incredibly pleasing to see, with a spattering of Italian words, and plenty of great Italian food. This was a joy to read. 

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

Book Review - Adrift by M. A Hunter

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Title: Adrift

Author: M. A. Hunter

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 4th May 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

A stag do, six old friends … and a secret they’d all kill to protect.

When Pete and his friends set sail on a private yacht in the Balearics to celebrate Fergus’ upcoming wedding, they’re all looking forward to sun, sea and copious quantities of alcohol.

But there’s a reason they are still entwined in each other’s lives a decade after leaving university. A terrible event they’ve all been trying their hardest to forget.

They say you can’t outrun the past … And these six friends are about to find that out the hard way.

What a rather impressive story. I literally didn't see that ending coming, nor did I predict any of the twists. 

It's a fairly claustrophobic thriller with the action mainly set on a yacht, but we also have flashbacks to how the friends met and just what binds them all together.  Some of the past action was tricky to read due to its content. 

I was completely hooked on the action in this story,  I had slight reservations during the first couple of chapters, but then it all clicked and it was a rather addictive read from then on. To the extent I was reading for far longer than I should have done in bed, as I had to know what was going on. 

At times I think I suspected everyone, there are motives all over the place and I even invented a possible motive for one person that I'm still half surprised wasn't there at all.  

What I do know is this is one luxury yacht trip that I'm incredibly glad I wasn't on.  

I loved the writing and storytelling and am so pleased I gave this book a go. I'm excited to see what the author will write next. 

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