Book Review - Wildflower Bay by Rachael Lucas - #20BooksofSummer

Amazon UK

Title: Wildflower Bay

Author: Rachael Lucas

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Publisher supplied review copy

Publisher: Pan MacMillan

Publication Date: 11th August 2016

Rating: 4.5 Stars

This little island has some big secrets...

Isla's got her dream job as head stylist at the most exclusive salon in Edinburgh. The fact that she's been so single-minded in her career that she's forgotten to have a life has completely passed her by - until disaster strikes.

Out of options, she heads to the remote island of Auchenmor to help out her aunt who is in desperate need of an extra pair of scissors at her salon.

A native to the island, Finn is thirty-five and reality has just hit him hard. His best friends are about to have a baby and everything is changing. When into his life walks Isla . . .

I think I need to start by saying how good it was to return to Auchenmor, previously seen in Rachael Lucas' Sealed With A Kiss (& Christmas sequel), the rather remote Scottish island, full of warm hearted locals and we get to catch up with old friends too. 

That being said this is not a sequel of any sort, and although has the same setting as previous books, can easily be read as a book by itself, and what a book it is! I adored this story from its first rather funny incident, to Isla's initial opinions of the island and all the character development as the novel progresses. 

Isla makes a mistake in the first chapter which leads to her being put on gardening leave for 2 months from her top hair salon in Edinburgh. This coincides with her aunt needing someone to take over her salon in Auchenmor, somewhere that Isla has visited once and vowed never to go to again. 

Isla takes an instant dislike to the island and even buys a cheap calendar to count down the days, her aunt's salon is worse than she was anticipating, but after a couple of weeks you can see attitudes start to change. This is in part due to a growing friendship with one of her older customers, who she almost sees as a surrogate grandmother. 

Then there is Finn, who Isla keeps running into everywhere, and the scenes with the pair of them at Lilly's new retreat are hilarious, as are any involving Lily's son Lucien (although there is similar sounding name that describes him better!). 

This is a slow burning romance, with growing friendships, and personal growth foremost at the centre of this book, as well as small remote Scottish island life. I love the setting of Auchenmor, as well as its inhabitants, and I really hope there will be more books set here in the future. 

Wildflower Bay is a wonderful story that I found a pleasure to read, and gave me a warm feeling on a rainy & cold summer's evening. If you like warm hearted, cosy stories set in remote island locations then Wildflower Bay is definitely an excellent choice. 

Thank you so much to Lucie Twiggs at Pan for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

Book Review - Late Summer in the Vineyard by Jo Thomas - #20BooksofSummer

Amazon UK

Title: Late Summer in the Vineyard

Author: Jo Thomas

Format reviewed: Paperback 

Source: Bookbridgr

Publisher: Headline Review

Publication Date: 11th August 2016

Rating: 5 Stars

Emmy Bridges has always looked out for others. Now it's time to put down roots of her own.

Working for a wine-maker in France is the opportunity of a lifetime for Emmy. Even if she doesn't know a thing about wine - beyond what's on offer at the local supermarket.

There's plenty to get to grips with in the rustic town of Petit Frère. Emmy's new work friends need more than a little winning over. Then there's her infuriatingly brash tutor, Isaac, and the enigmatic Madame Beaumont, tucked away in her vineyard of secrets.

But Emmy will soon realise that in life - just as in wine-making - the best things happen when you let go and trust your instincts. Particularly when there's romance in the air...

Every now and then I will receive a book for review, that I know I have to start at the earliest possible convenience. At its always a pleasure when I follow my gut feeling like I did with Late Summer in the Vineyard as it was pure delight to read. 

I have spent a memorable half day, transported to Bordeaux, and been taught all about the wine making process, from Emmy who needs to learn to follow her instincts. 

Emmy is a wonderful main character, she makes a brave if not stupid decision as early as the prologue which acts as the catalyst for the rest of the book. She gets onto a work placement in France for 3 months, to learn how to sell wine, and gets into all sorts of situations. But she has a heart of gold, having seen an old woman leave her purse behind, she tracks down where the woman lives, and sets off to return it, regardless of the lady's reputation. 

Madame Beaumont is formidable, she runs the Clos Beaumont vineyard by herself, and keeps a low profile in her local town. However she seems to see something in Emmy and takes her under her wing, and starts to teach her about wine. 

With two leading men, neither of which I could really get to grips with, Emmy's family and the colleagues in France with her, there is an excellent set of characters that will keep you hooked. I lost all track of time as I found myself absorbed in the story. 

This is the third book I've read by Jo Thomas, and I can safely say  this is my favourite, and they are becoming more and more accomplished each time, and even more compulsive to keep reading,, which is saying a lot as I still remember the feeling of wonder after reading The Oyster Catcher, her debut novel. 

Don't let the vineyard setting put you off if you aren't particularly a wine fan, as there are all the trademark characteristics of a fabulous women's fiction novel, with romance, friendship and family all featuring highly. Late Summer in the Vineyard is a triumph, and I have no idea how my next book will compete in my affections with this! 

Thank you to much to Frances Gough and Bookbridgr for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

Book Review - Tenacity by J.S. Law - Rachel Reads Randomly Book #32 - #20BooksofSummer

Amazon UK

Title: Tenacity

Author: J.S. Law

Format reviewed: Paperback 

Source: Purchased

Publisher: Headline

Publication Date: 21st April 2016

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Two hundred metres below the surface, 
she will have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

A sailor hangs himself on board a naval submarine. Although ruled a suicide Lieutenant Danielle Lewis, the Navy's finest Special Branch investigator, knows the sailor's wife was found brutally murdered only days before.

Now Dan must enter the cramped confines of HMS Tenacity to interrogate the tight-knit, male crew and determine if there's a link.

Standing alone in the face of extreme hostility and with a possible killer on board, Dan soon realises that she may have to choose between the truth and her own survival.

The pressure is rising and Dan's time is running out...

Despite getting off to a slightly slow start, plus an incredibly engaging prologue, Tenacity soon ramps up the compulsiveness of reading, with its claustrophobic setting and no clue how on earth it would turn out.  

It's the location of this book that is the stand out and what attracted me to the book in the beginning. It is not often you get a book set on a submarine, written by an ex-Navy person. It is even rarer to be able to read a chilling murder and having just a singular Lieutenant carrying out all the interviews while the submarine is submerged, but that is exactly what is to occur on the HMS Tenacity. 

What makes things tougher is that Dan is female, and women are not generally submariners, and its a very close knit male community on board, as it has to be with the the ships company able to close ranks and make life very uncomfortable should they choose to. 

Now factor in that some crimes have been committed and the death count is at two, and Dan is alone beneath the ocean with a  potential murderer, and no escape, and you get just a small feeling of what it is like to read Tenacity. 

Right near the start I predicted what I thought would happen, and for a while, until the book got going fully, I was convinced that I would be right,, and then Dan boards the submarines and all my thoughts of predictions go out of the window, and I was completely wrong anyway. 

Dan Lewis is a determined investigator who works mainly on gut feeling. She is gutsy and highly intelligent, but has issues trusting people, and her last big case was one huge nightmare. Seeing her attempt to deal with life on a submarine, when her treatment isn't the best, and the sense of isolation, was made so clear with the writing, I really felt for her. 

Tenacity is an immersive experience, its compulsive with its need to make you turn pages, and to keep going. I am so impressed by this debut novel and am eager to see where the Dan Lewis series goes next. 

Thank you to everyone that voted for Tenacity. It had been very tight, and I had to recount a few times to make sure I had counted it all correctly.  I would also like to thank Headline for the Crime Rooftop Book Club where I met J.S. Law and it was listening to him, that made me want to buy Tenacity, so I'm just grateful all around my gut feeling that this was book worth reading, was in fact correct. 

Book Review - No Turning Back by Tracy Buchanan - #20BooksofSummer

Amazon UK

Title: No Turning Back

Author: Tracy Buchanan

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Supplied by publisher

Publisher: Avon

Publication Date: 28th July 2016

Rating: 5 Stars

You’d kill to protect your child – wouldn’t you?

FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF My Sister’s Secret

When radio presenter Anna Graves and her baby are attacked on the beach by a crazed teenager, Anna reacts instinctively to protect her daughter.

But her life falls apart when the schoolboy dies from his injuries. The police believe Anna’s story, until the autopsy results reveal something more sinister.

A frenzied media attack sends Anna into a spiral of self-doubt. Her precarious mental state is further threatened when she receives a chilling message from someone claiming to be the ‘Ophelia Killer’, responsible for a series of murders twenty years ago.

Is Anna as innocent as she claims? And is murder forgivable, if committed to save your child’s life…?

I had no idea what to expect when No Turning Back dropped through my letterbox the other day, I had not read any of Tracy Buchanan's books but had heard good things about them...and then I started No Turning Back. 

This book has kept me enthralled from its eventful opening, to its gripping conclusion that left me open mouthed. I just didn't see it coming. As I was reading, quite a few times various theories popped into my head as to various aspects of the large mystery and every time I was wrong about them all, I just didn't expect the book to conclude how it did. 

And with all the drama that occurs during the story, as well as some very chilling sections, I started to have my own doubts about the main character Anna. 

Anna in a rash moment to protect her baby from harm, reacts and unintentionally kills a school boy, who had a knife. From that time on her life is thrown into turmoil, and I found myself wondering if I would do the same thing to protect a loved one. Early on in the story there are a lot of thought provoking moments, that really do get you thinking outside the book. 

As is often the case with these thrilling suspenseful books I am reluctant to say much else about the story, as its far better for you to read it without too many preconceptions, so you can enjoy it fresh like I did. I really had no idea what to expect from this fabulous author, with her brilliant descriptions, and compulsive storytelling, that left me unable to put the book down. 

This is a triumph of a story, and one I think that may stick with me for a while, and has made me eager to read more of the author's books, to see what I have been missing out on. 

Thanks to Avon for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

Book Review & Giveaway - Third Time Lucky The Honey Trap by Victoria Browne - #20BooksofSummer

Amazon UK

Title:  Third Time Lucky The Honey Trap

Author: Victoria Browne

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Review copy supplied by author

Publisher: Neville House Publishing

Publication Date: 1st June 2015

Rating: 3 Stars

A fast moving witty chick lit drama that will take you on a journey of laughter and revelations. 

Good friends Sarah a sensible simple soul, Laura bitchy complicated, Beth a ‘too cool for school’ high school teacher, and Jess a funky hairdresser, decide to honey trap Jess's new American boyfriend Richard. How could such a simple plan go wrong? Just add Jess’s new flat mate, hot sexy Elise to the mix, a few glasses of wine and you have a cocktail fit for disaster – especially when Elise honey traps the wrong boyfriend! Good friends are all Sarah needs when her uncomplicated life is jettisoned into chaos. 

Dan, Sarah’s boyfriend makes some shady life choices. But who is friend and who is foe? 

Wealthy bachelor Lee Preston sets his sights on Sarah and all Lee wants is to make her happy. Life could be fantastic when money is no object and your closet is filled with designer shoes, Oh, and his with secrets. 

I can't help but feel slightly unsettled after finishing Third Time Lucky The Honey Trap, to say it didn't finish how I was expecting would be an understatement. I enjoyed though the journey of the story and its got a great tone to it. 

The book is well paced, and is about a group of friends, but mainly about Sarah, and her life. Sarah at the start has been with Dan for five years, and although is starting to be a bit fed up is relatively happy with life, she is working in the bed department of a furniture shop with a new friend and generally having a good time. 

When Jess decides to honeytrap her new boyfriend, as she has trust issues due to her father, Elise the new flatmate who hasn't met the lads yet, decides to do it free of charge but managed to trap the wrong man, which leads to all sorts of issues for the group of friends. 

There is also Lee Preston who is a rich man who has set his sights on Sarah, but you can't help but feeling he is far too good to be true. 

Third Time Lucky The Honey Trap is Victoria Browne's second book, but I much preferred Gut Feeling. This one although still very likeable, just didn't quite work for me as well, it was light hearted, but I just didn't get a proper sense of any of the characters, and didn't really connect with them properly. 

I felt that the honey trap was such a small bit of the book, I can't understand why its even referenced in the title, whereas the theme of Third Time Lucky made much more sense. Thinking about it, I much preferred the first half of the book, which felt more real and entertaining, whereas Sarah seemed to have a personality change once Lee became involved, and I just wasn't as keen. 

Thank you to Victoria Browne for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

Giveaway - Win a paperback copy of Third Time Lucky The Honey Trap (Open to Europe only)

I happen to have a spare copy of this book to giveaway to one lucky winner so they can make up their own mind about this book. 

Giveaway open to Europe only, all options are voluntary, but please do what they ask, as I will be verifying the winner. Giveaway closes 23:59 27/7/2016. Winner will be announced on twitter and emailed, 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.

Win a paperback copy of Third Time Lucky The Honey Trap (Open to Europe only)

Book Review - French Coast: a novel by Anita Hughes - #20BooksofSummer - Rachel Reads Randomly Book #31

Amazon UK

Title: French Coast: A Novel

Author: Anita Hughes

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Competition Win

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Publication Date: 7th April 2015

Rating: 4 Stars

Serena has the job she's always dreamed of and Chase, the man her heart never dared to. As a new editor at Vogue, she bags the biggest interview of the year with Yvette Renault, the infamous former editor of French Vogue, in The Carlton-InterContinental Hotel during the Cannes Film Festival. She eagerly jets off to France while Chase stays home, working with her father, a former senator, on his upcoming mayoral campaign.

Everything feels unbelievably perfect...until it doesn't. The hotel loses her reservation hours before her big interview. Serena fears that she'll have to go home without her story, but then she meets Zoe, a quirky young woman staying in the suite below Yvette's who invites Serena to stay with her. Serena is grateful for her mysterious roommate's generosity, but it seems that there's more to her story than meets the eye. To make matters worse, soon after arriving in Cannes, Serena learns a shocking secret about her parents' marriage, and it isn't long before she begins to question her own relationship.With her deadline looming and pressure mounting, Serena will have to use her investigative journalism skills, new 

friendships, and a little luck to get her life and love back on track. Fast paced and impeccably written, 
French Coast will draw readers in to the intoxicating world of the Cote D'Azur. Hughes' beautiful prose and sense imagery bring the food, fashion, and feel of the ocean to life in this audacious new novel.

I won a copy of French Coast around a year ago, and in the past year there have been a few times when I was going to pick it up to start reading, but something stopped me. After reading my first Anita Hughes book earlier this year I was even more apprehensive about starting French Coast, purely as I wasn't really sure what to expect...

...what I discovered very early on was that I was enjoying French Coast a whole deal and really felt as though I was reading a story, or in fact multiple stories set around Cannes, on the French Riviera. 

Serena is a journalist and in her biggest job ever has to interview former French Vogue editor Yvette, in Cannes for a month, to help write her memoirs. The hotel has no record of Serena's reservation and she ends up sharing a suite with a kind young women called Zoe Pistachio. But just why is Zoe willing to share a suite with a stranger?

I loved hearing Yvette reminisce about her love life to be precise, as well as Serena's time on the French Coast. Serena is having a mixed time of things, as she meets a new man who keep popping up, and both she and Zoe have a whole variety of family dramas to deal with. 

With a fabulous mix of glitz, glamour, sun and summer, this is a gorgeous summery beach read, especially if you are going on holiday to the south of France yourself. There are ups and downs and the book moves along at a reasonable pace, and its clear the author has been to the area, as I could just imagine myself in some of the locations. 

I enjoyed French Coast far more than I was anticipating, which just shows that even the books you can't recall why you bought and are languishing somewhere on a TBR list, are worth a try at some point. 

Thank you to everyone who voted for this, just shows that people read my comments and don't just go for the pictures posted on twitter each week! It was 4th time at least lucky on Rachel Reads Randomly for French Coast. Very curious as always to see what you will pick for me next, as you all seem to have impeccable taste. 

Book Review - Black Wood by SJI Holliday - #20BooksofSummer

Amazon UK

Title: Black Wood

Author: SJI Holliday

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Competition Win

Publisher: Black & White Publishing

Publication Date: 24th February 2015

Rating: 5 Stars

He spots the two girls through the cracked screen of beech, sycamore and leg-scratching gorse: a flash of red skirt and a unison of giggles . . . The smaller girl sees him first and she lets out a strange little squeak and jumps back, grabbing onto the other girl’s T-shirt, revealing a flash of milky white shoulder.
He grins.

Something happened to Claire and Jo in Black Wood: something that left Claire paralysed and Jo with deep mental scars. But with Claire suffering memory loss and no evidence to be found, nobody believes Jo’s story.

Twenty-three years later, a familiar face walks into the bookshop where Jo works, dredging up painful memories and rekindling her desire for vengeance. And at the same time, Sergeant David Gray is investigating a balaclava-clad man who is attacking women on a disused railway, shocking the sleepy village of Banktoun. But what is the connection between Jo’s visitor and the masked man?

To catch the assailant, and to give Jo her long-awaited justice, Gray must unravel a tangled web of past secrets, broken friendship and tainted love. But can he crack the case before Jo finds herself with blood on her hands?

I'm reeling from the ending of this book, not that I can talk about it, because it would spoil the review and the book for you. Rest assured that what starts as a griping story with quite a few threads, suddenly picks up the pace even more, and leaves you gasping for breath by the end. 

There are a variety of twists and turns in this, one or two bits I did suspect but not to the extent or the exact way things happened. I love it when an author can outfox the reader, and SJI Holliday definitely did that here. 

Claire and Jo are still both suffering since something happened in Black Wood when they were 12. Claire has been left paralysed and Jo has been affected mentally and its not the most reliable of main characters, or people in general. 

They live in Banktoun, which is a small town in Scotland, where everyone knows each others business, and the whole town tries their hardest to help Claire and Jo, even if neither of them can fully move on with their lives. Sergeant David Gray was the policeman who was trying to help solve the case of the Black Wood all those years ago, and now there is a man in a balaclava scaring young women up at the Track. Not to mention Jo thinking she has just come face to face with one of the people that was in the wood with her when they were children. 

From the first few pages I had a sort of creepy sense wash over me as I was reading, and it was at that point I had a good feeling about the book, and that it would live up to my expectations. It was a hard book to put down for any length of time, and I was kept interested in the story the whole time, as small hints of new information were revealed. 

This is the first book that I have read by SJI Holliday and the first thing I did upon finishing Black Wood was purchase the next Banktoun book, Willow Walk, which I am already eager to sit down to read. 

Book Review - Pretty Is by Maggie Mitchell - #20BooksofSummer

Amazon UK

Title: Pretty Is

Author: Maggie Mitchell

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Competition Win

Publisher: Orion

Publication Date: 21st April 2016 

Rating: 3 Stars

Lois and Carly-May were just twelve when they were abducted by a stranger and imprisoned in a cabin in the woods for two months.

That summer, under the watchful gaze of their kidnapper, they formed a bond that would never be broken.

Decades later, both women have new lives and identities. But the events of that summer are about to come back with a vengeance.

Lois and Carly-May must face the truth about their secret, shared past...

What really happened in the woods that summer?

There are some incredibly good bits to this book but unfortunately the rest I found to be quite confusing and not as impressive. I loved the whole of Part 2, which essentially tells the story of what happened when Lois and Carly May were abducted. It was gripping, and addictive to read. However I found most of the rest of the book to be slow and it felt like truth and fiction started to blur and get confused. 

This is about two girls who are now adults but when they were twelve they were abducted and imprisoned in a cabin for two months. I still don't understand the motivation behind the abductions, and it was different to see what the girls were like and how their lives changed after they were rescued. 

The story alternates between Lois and Carly-May who have radically different lives but still this really large thing in common. They haven't seen each other since the summer it occurred and we see how they adjusted in the aftermath, but yet I didn't really connect with either of the girls. 

At times there were some great descriptions, especially of the cabin in the woods, but for most of the book, I couldn't shake the feeling of not really knowing what was happening with the plot. 

It was a book that I had been excited at winning in a Goodreads giveaway, but just hasn't lived up to my expectations for it.  Fabulous in part, but duly lacking in others, makes this for me a mediocre book, that I'm glad I read, but feel there is definitely a lot better available in the genre. 

Book Review - The Weekend Wives by Christina Hopkinson - #20BooksofSummer

Amazon UK

Title: The Weekend Wives

Author: Christina Hopkinson

Format reviewed: Paperback 

Source: Bookbridgr

Publisher: Hodder

Publication Date: 30th June 2016

Rating: 4 Stars

A warm-hearted, funny and fondly-observed story about three friends united by a world where secrets abound and marriages are put to the test...

Weekend wife n. 1 a wife whose husband works away and only comes home at the weekends. 2 a wife who misses her husband when he's gone, but wants him gone when he's at home.

Emily's vision of country life was building dens with the children, walking a glossy hound and cosy nights in by the fire. But her kids are more interested in their smartphones, the family dog has 'issues' and she's permanently freezing. And when husband Matt is home, he still seems worryingly distant.

Sasha and her husband Ned used to have a great connection, but nowadays the only connection between them is via Skype. And when a woman from Ned's past comes with news that threatens the perfect life she's built for her children, Sasha feels further from her husband than ever before.

Tamsin's husband might be away during the week, but he's never truly gone. He seems to know her every move, which is fine, sort of - until her first love reappears in the most mysterious of ways...

The Weekend Wives is a thoroughly enjoyable story, about a group of three women, all with one main thing in common - they have husbands that work in a different city/country during the week only to return home at the weekend. 

By weekday they are in Emily and Sasha's cases single parents, and by the time the weekend rolls around their husbands are too tired from the week and travel, to be much more than in the way, once they are home. Tamsin's situation is slightly different, but is arguable the most interesting of them all. 

Tamsin has never really grown up from the teenager she was when she met husband John, and he makes the most of it, in the way he moulds their life. Sasha's husband Ned is hiding a deep secret from his past, before they even met, and it provides some interesting thought provoking questions once it is revealed. Then there is Emily who has three young children, a dog that may need therapy, and her husband Matt, seems incredibly distracted whenever he is home, with his eyes always on a screen, but what is he hiding. 

Three families, three secrets and a growing friendship between the ladies, once they all start seeing each other regularly after a neighbour's party. I loved the differences between their situations and it gave a good depth to the book, with the various strands. 

The Weekend Wives was an entertaining story that has some tense bits, and also touches in a degree of depth on some sensitive issues. This is not completely frothy chick lit, but in fact a well rounded story, with some romance, secrets, intrigue and a mad dog! This is the first book I have read by the author in many years, but its made more keen to check out some of her back catalogue to see what I have missed out on. 

Thank you to Rebecca Mundy and Bookbridgr for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

Rachel's Holiday Reading! - #20BooksofSummer

Wow what an amazing 12 night cruise that was. A lovely cruise ship, perhaps not my favourite, but still very enjoyable with plenty of entertainment. 

One of my personal highlights of the cruise was taking part in their version of Dancing with the Stars, where its all about entertainment value, instead of real dancing ability. Somehow I won, and as a result had people coming up to me throughout the rest of the cruise to congratulate me, I suppose this must be how famous people feel! 

With the various ports that I went to, I think Kotor in Montenegro was my favourite. I didn't have any specific plans for that day, but I ended up taking a taxi ride to view a large amount of the Eastern coastline which was very pretty, and then after lunch, took a boat trip to see the Western coastline, and also Lady on the Rock which is a church on a small island, with a great story behind it.  I was overwhelmed by the beauty of this relatively new country and the friendliness of the people. 

I also loved visiting Capri where I went up to the highest point in a chair lift, which scared me slightly, but the views were definitely worth it. Also did a lovely wine tour in Provence, where I learned about Provence wine making and also got to taste 10 different wines all before lunch, thankfully without having to say what flavours we could detect, because my palate isn't sophisticated enough, but I did enjoy it! 

Somehow within the 12 nights, I managed to read 14 books, despite spending a lot of time, trying to work out how I was going to fit in reading time, as I felt constantly busy with many great entertainment options in the evening, and chatting to new friends as well as looking around brand new ports. 

So here are some mini reviews of the books that I read, as I know that is what you are really looking at this post for!

Amazon UK

The Other Wives Club by Shari Low - 4 Stars

When Drew Gold decides to celebrate his birthday on board a med cruise, he is not just content to invite his current wife, but also his first ex wife and their children, as well as his second ex-wife and their family too. Within a fortnight there are all sorts of new friendships forged and lots of questions asked about their various relationships, as well as a fantastic cruise to be enjoyed. I loved reading about this at the start of my own Med cruise, and loved that some of the ports matched up to mine. Was a fantastic way to start my own holiday and was a very enjoyable story. 

Amazon UK

You Had Me At Merlot by Lisa Dickenson  - 5 Stars

This was the perfect book to read while I was docked in Tuscany. It is a splendid summery read, with plenty of sun, wine and of course the Italian location of Tuscany. I loved Elle and Laurie's friendship and reading about what they got up to on this singles holiday. My overwhelming feeling after reading the book was that I wanted to visit the vineyard featured for a holiday of my own, as its sounded wonderful. 

Amazon UK

An Autumn Affair by Alice Ross - 3.5 Stars

This was a really good introduction to the Countryside Dreams series, its four inter connecting storylines. There are many dubious morals that are discussed. The book is very amusing in places and generally is an easy book to read. I loved Josie's birthday party and the thought that went into that impressive. Easily one of my favourite scenes in the book. I'm really looking forward to returning to Buttersley in the next book of the series. 

Amazon UK

After the Storm by Jane Lythell - 4 Stars

After the Storm is a fabulous pool side read, that kept me gripped for the whole book. Two couples are on board a small ship and they are all hiding various things, and the revelations are surprising as everything heats up. Set to a back drop of great locations this is a gem of a book that I loved reading. 

Amazon UK

Tiny Acts of Love by Lucy Lawrie - 4 Stars

Tiny Acts of Love is a great book depicting the very real worries of first time mothers, with regards their precious little bundles of joy. Within the worries which are dealt with sensitively there is a great deal of humour in the book which makes the whole story really enjoyable and believable. 

Amazon UK

Tied Up With Love by Amelia Thorne - 5 Stars

I loved every second of Tied Up With Love from the mistaken identity kidnapping at the start of the book, to Ethan Chase's pure sex appeal. This story talks a lot about the sexual fantasies of rescue and dominance, in a fake set up kidnapping setting, and offered interesting insights into a fantasy that has never crossed my mind. I raced through the pages as I was excited by what I was reading and loving the whole story. Ethan Chase was a fabulous male lead, a sexy bad boy who has hidden depths. I am so glad I finally picked this book on my kindle to read, as it was fantastic. 

Amazon UK

White Lies by Emily Harper - 4 Stars

This was a really pleasurable way to spend an afternoon. Natalie is determined to meet her perfect man, and continually writes him letters as to the sorts of qualities she would like him to have. She also works for a shoe shop and I loved the shoe concepts that are created with Natalies input. This is a funny story with clear chemistry between two specific characters. 

Amazon UK

Tequila & Tea Bags by Laura Barnard - 4 Stars

I loved this book, the ladies in the care home that Elsie ends up volunteering at are all huge characters and even though Elsie isn't volunteering for the most selfless of reasons, its clear she starts to care about everyone involved in the home. This is a hilarious story with plenty to make you laugh out loud, and I loved Will, who manages the home. I found Else though was a bit too flakey for my liking but she grew on me regardless, and overall I found the book to be incredibly entertaining. 

Amazon UK

A Good Catch by Fern Britton  - 4.5 Stars

This is a story of two very close families, they grew up together interlocked in each others lives, and this is the story of just how their lives have developed from childhood to the present day. It is told from multiple view points and is a story of friendship and secrets. At times the book becomes impossible to set down for even a minute, and the story becomes compulsive, as you find out just how its all going to turn out. 

Amazon UK

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick - 5 Stars

Arthur Pepper is 69 years old, and the love of his life Miriam died a year ago. On the anniversary of her death, he starts to clear his house of her belongings and finds a charm bracelet that he has never seen before, and he decides to discover more information about each of the charms. This story takes him on a journey far out of his comfort zone, and involves elephants, tigers, Paris and the tales of the colourful past of his wife. I loved the narrative and the way the story was told, and its really inspiring. I loved hearing about Miriam in this highly enjoyable debut novel. 

Amazon UK

Summer Nights by Allie Spencer - 5 Stars

Summer Nights is very funny throughout although there are some hair raising moments. I loved the setting of San Francisco and any book with an Abba tribute band is always going to be a winner in my eyes. This is just a fun light hearted summery book and I'm so glad I finally read this as its been on my kindle for ages. 

Amazon UK

Career Game by Louise Mensch - 5 Stars

There are two very strong leading ladies in Career Game, Topaz Rossi and Rowena Krebs, both at the top of their chosen careers but having some recent troubles with work. This is a book that starts slow but soon drags you into a very gripping and dramatic story with lots of ups and downs. I found myself smiling my way through a lot of the book, and even if you haven't read Career Girls, this can definitely be read as a standalone book. 

Amazon UK

One Summer in Venice by Nicky Pellegrino - 5 Stars

Well I love Nicky Pellegrino's books and I happened to be in Venice when I started reading this. My only regret was not reading it slightly earlier in the holiday, as this gave me such a different view to the city, than the small touristy bit that I wandered around for a few hours. This gives a fabulous insight into the real Venice, and the way the Venetians live. I loved the Milongas (tango parties) and Dolly's friendship with Coco. This is a brilliant cast of characters and Dolly's search for true happiness is a pleasure to read about. I just wish this book didn't have to end, as I was enjoying it so much. 

Amazon UK

Twisted Justice by M.A. Comley - 5 Stars

I am a huge fan of the Justice series, and of DI Lorne Warner, so seeing this latest book in the series, which teams up with DI Sally Parker, whose series I am now very eager to start reading. This story features a different sort of criminal to the some of the series, and given half the the book was written from that point of view, it gave a great new insight into some very unsavoury people's thought processes. This may be book 13 of a series, but it can easily be read as a standalone and I'm already eager to read the next book whenever it comes out. 


Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Are you going anywhere on a summer holiday yourself? I would love to hear from you.