Book Review - The Wedding Planner by Eve Devon

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Amazon UK

Title: The Wedding Planner

Author: Eve Devon

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Publication Date: 3rd May 2019

Rating: 4 Stars

Wedding bells are ringing and gossip is spiralling in Whispers Wood…

Single mum Gloria Pavey has a bad habit of saying exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time. Determined to make a positive change she can’t say no when her best friend, Emma, asks her to take on the role of her wedding planner. The only problem? Gloria’s co-planner – best man Seth Knightley.

Gloria is on a self-imposed man ban but pulling together the most beautiful wedding Whispers Wood has ever seen alongside gorgeous Seth is pushing her to her limits. As every interaction increases the tension between them Gloria finds herself wondering…could the happy ever after she never thought she’d have be in her future after all?

It was such a delight to be back in Whispers Wood, after what felt like a long gap between the releases of books 2 and 3. 

Really didn't take long to feel back at home amongst the characters, especially with the very handy character list as the start of the book - great for those new to the series, to get to know a small bit about the key players before you start - and for a returner to the series, a nice handy reminder, with enough of a hint that had me remembering. 

 This time our main character is Gloria, who we saw quite a bit of in book 2 if I recall correctly, and she was rather unlikable then, however she is on a journey to stop being a complete bitch and to embrace her own happiness, which means I really started to warm to her. 

Although she absolutely hates romance and weddings, can't see any more of that in her future, and the last thing she wants is to be named a bridesmaid at Emma's wedding, much less be in charge of wedding planning with Seth.   That is Seth, younger brother to the groom, and man that Gloria has struck up a friendship with - but is denying her true feelings for. 

It was great to catch up with Oscar, Emma, Jake, Juliet and Kate and everyone involved in the Clock Tower, and in Whispers Wood.   I'm loving how this friendship group of ladies is growing, and how Gloria fitted into it. 

I also loved Persephone, Gloria's daughter, and just how concerned she clearly is about her mum, and the purity of mother and daughter love that is inspiring Gloria to change for the better. 

I was completely and utterly in love with Seth, he is sexy,  and just wonderful, he couldn't put a foot wrong as far as I was concerned.  Certainly my latest book boyfriend, long before any romance develops in the book. 

Another lovely addition to this story, I just hope the next book doesn't take so long to appear, as I really want more!! 

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

Book Review - Christmas at the Little Clock House on the Green by Eve Devon

Amazon UK

Title: Christmas at the Little Clock House on the Green

Author: Eve Devon

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Publication Date: 3rd November 2017

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Welcome back to the village of Whispers Wood where Christmas magic is in the air…

After giving his heart last year only to have it given away the very next day, Jake Knightley is opting out of Christmas—permanently! But then a beautiful new village arrival sets mayhem in motion, upsetting all his carefully laid plans.

Emma Danes has said goodbye to Hollywood and will do anything to help make the clock house a success, even working closely with the tempting Mr Knightley.

Now, as snow starts to fall and romance starts to bloom, Emma and Jake may just find themselves repeating Whispers Wood history beneath the mistletoe…

At times this book was completely hilarious, it was just so, so enjoyable, and there are a few scenes that will stay with me for a while. 

You definitely need to keep an eye open for a rather special "reindeer" which was one of the funniest things I've read for a while.  It isn't just all laughs though as there is a story too, and the hope of a romance between Jake and Emma. 

Jake is hoping to avoid Christmas this year, for reasons best explained by the Wham song Last Christmas, whereas Emma has come to Whispers Wood to forge a new path, after falling out of love with acting. There are instant sparks between them, at least they seem to rub each other up the wrong way. 

Having read the first book, I'm not even going to try and claim if this one works as a standalone as I was so happy to be back in Whispers Wood, and excited to see how plans for The Clockhouse on the Green are progressing.  We also get to catch up with all the key characters from the first book, some more so than others, and see how their stories have continued. 

I loved Emma's character, she is so warm hearted and helpful towards others, completely selfless. She is an excellent bar manager and has all manner of great ideas to help her friends and the business.  She is like an extra best friend to everyone. 

I all around just really enjoyed this book and am already looking to book 3 featuring these characters. I can't wait to see where they go from here. 

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

Spotlight on The Little Clock House on the Green by Eve Devon - Blog Tour

Hello everyone and thank you so much for stopping by. 

I thought I’d share an excerpt today. Kate Somersby and Daniel Westlake are competing to put on the best summer fete Whispers Wood has seen. They’ve both been working hard to come up with a theme for the fete that they’re going to present at the village meeting…

Excerpt:

After a few moments Kate gave up staring at Crispin’s hair and tried to read some of the print in Daniel’s presentation.

‘I see you went Old School instead of embracing modern technology,’ she whispered out of the side of her mouth as she indicated the papers on his lap.

 ‘You’re going Powerpoint?’ he gave her a look that suggested he was impressed and a little nervous. 
‘All will be revealed.’ 

‘Which one of us is going first?’ 

‘You are.’ 

‘Because Daniel comes before Kate?’ 

She placed a hand on his arm and said, ‘You know there are things that can help with that, these days.’ 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Juliet bring her hand up to her mouth to hide her smile. 

Daniel rolled his eyes. ‘I meant in the alphabet. Is that how it was decided?’ 

‘Sure. If that’s what you want to think.’ 

‘Honestly,’ Mary turned around again in her seat. ‘The pair of you are like children at assembly! Can you not save your chatter for persuading us which theme to go with?’ 

‘Sorry Mary,’ Kate said. 

‘Sorry Mary,’ Daniel said. 

After a few moments, Daniel leaned in and when she automatically leaned away with a suspicious look in her eyes, he grinned and beckoned her closer so that he could whisper to her. 

Wow. 

Okay. 

Did he really think a sexy grin and a forefinger beckoning her closer was going to bend her to his will? 

Apparently he knew her body better than she did because in the next moment she found herself leaning towards him so that the Village Fete Whisperer could work his magic into her ear. 

‘So, what should I be thinking?’ he asked. 

Kate shivered as the warmth of his breath became heat snaking from his mouth into her ear canal, and slithering straight to all the needy parts inside of her. She swallowed and tried to remember the question. Oh yeah. With a smile, she said, ‘I bribed Crispin to let you go first.’

 ‘What with?’ He moved his head back to stare at her lips and she couldn’t have answered if her life depended on it. But then he was moving to whisper against her ear again, ‘What with?’ 

This time it was her mimicking him by beckoning him closer so that she could whisper into his ear, 

‘Juliet’s going to teach him to cook something nice for Mrs Harlow.’ 

He groaned low and gruff and Kate would have given anything to know if his response was from what she’d said or how she’d said it because, okay, her lips may have deliberately brushed against the outer shell of his ear as she’d spoken.


Blurb: The Little Clock House on the Green

An absolute must-read for fans of Gilmore Girls!

Welcome to Whispers Wood, a cosy little village in the heart of the English countryside, where everybody knows everybody and rumours are spread thicker than jam on a scone…

When a rival village is awarded Best in Bloom, the residents of Whispers Wood are determined to regain their former glory – and with Old Man Isaac finally selling the clock house on the village green, with two potential buyers, operation ‘Summer Fete’ is on!

For Kate Somersby, the very bricks that make up the clock house hold precious memories of her childhood. Now she’s finally returned home after years of running away, she’s here to make Isaac an offer and ensure her and her beloved sister’s dreams come true. Only entrepreneur Daniel Westlake is standing in her way.

To prove they have the village’s interests at heart and in turn become the proud new owner of the clock house, Kate and Daniel must compete to raise funds for the Whispers Wood Summer Fete.

Over one glorious English summer, friendships are forged, secrets are revealed and romance delightfully bursts into bloom.

LINKS:

AMAZON             GOOGLE PLAY                iTUNES                KOBO                   NOOK/Barnes&Noble     

Author Bio: 

My name’s Eve Devon and I write sexy heroes, sassy heroines and happy ever afters…
I kind of secretly believe it’s not too late for me to train as a professional dancer, MMA expert, or win an Oscar. I know! This is why writing fiction is for me!

Growing up in locations like Botswana and Venezuela gave me a taste for adventure and my love for romances began when my mother shoved one into my hands in a desperate attempt to keep me quiet during TV coverage of the Wimbledon tennis finals. 

When I wasn’t consuming books by the bucket-load, I could be found pretending to be a damsel in distress or running around solving mysteries and writing down my adventures. As a teenager, I wrote countless episodes of TV detective dramas so the hero and heroine would end up together every week. As an adult, I worked in a library to conveniently continue consuming books by the bucket-load, until realising I was destined to write contemporary romance and romantic suspense myself. I live in leafy Surrey in the UK, a book-devouring, slightly melodramatic, romance-writing sassy heroine with my very own sexy hero husband! 

Where you can find me:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

If you liked the look of that excerpt and want to see more from the lovely Eve Devon, then please check out the rest of the blog tour. 

Book Review - The Little Clock House on the Green by Eve Devon - #AroundTheUKIn144Books #WestSussex - Fab Firsts

Fab Firsts is my new 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!

This is the first book of Eve Devon's new Whispers Woods series, and I'm already looking forward to the Christmas sequel! 

Amazon UK

Title: The Little Clock House on the Green

Author: Eve Devon

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Publication Date: 23rd March 2017

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Welcome to Whispers Wood, a cosy little village in the heart of the English countryside, where everybody knows everybody and rumours are spread thicker than jam on a scone…

When a rival village is awarded Best in Bloom, the residents of Whispers Wood are determined to regain their former glory – and with Old Man Isaac finally selling the clock house on the village green, with two potential buyers, operation ‘Summer Fete’ is on!

For Kate Somersby, the very bricks that make up the clock house hold precious memories of her childhood. Now she’s finally returned home after years of running away, she’s here to make Isaac an offer and ensure her and her beloved sister’s dreams come true. Only entrepreneur Daniel Westlake is standing in her way.

To prove they have the village’s interests at heart and in turn become the proud new owner of the clock house, Kate and Daniel must compete to raise funds for the Whispers Wood Summer Fete.

Over one glorious English summer, friendships are forged, secrets are revealed and romance delightfully bursts into bloom.

In a charming West Sussex village setting, of Whispers Wood there is a clock house. For Kate is a long held dream of hers to open up day spa in that very building. For Daniel he has chanced upon the clock house and come up with a business idea himself. 

They both want to own the Clock House on the Green which has come up for sale. Kate hasn't lived in Whispers Wood for four years, she left with good reasons but now it seems like it could be a good time for her to return and mend some bridges, if only everyone could believe she won't run again. Daniel on the other hand only discovered the village when his car broke down, and then it was clear he only discovered the clock house when he spotted Kate going into it, and clearly let his heart rule the rest of his decisions! 

However the current owner of the Clock House wants them to prove themselves to the village and the one that raises the most funds for the Summer Fete will be the new owner. Which is where the book starts to get really fun! 

I loved a lot of the various fund raising ideas, that were come up with by both Kate and Daniel, as well as the fact they seemed to be unsteady on their feet around each other, leading to some amusing situations. 

It was Kate's story that intrigued me the most, especially the reasons she has for being nervous at returning home, and how her family react around her. It is poignant, but also shows enormous personal growth as she settles back into life in the village. 

I also loved the storyline between Oscar and Juliet, and was really rooting for the right outcome there. 

The Little Clock House on the Green is an entertaining story, in a charming setting, full of great characters, easy to read writing, amusing incidents and the promises of a couple of big romances. It is an enjoyable book and one that I am already looking forward to the Christmas sequel of, as I would love to see more of the residents of Whispers Wood. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Impulse for this copy of the book that I have reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

Book Review - It's In His Kiss by Eve Devon

Amazon UK

Title: It's In His Kiss

Author: Eve Devon

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Publication Date: 21st April 2016

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Who do you turn to when things go wrong?

Your best friend. Obviously.

Sephy King’s worked flat-out to make her new lingerie business a success, only there’s a tiny snag – the marketing photos for the launch party are a disaster.

Luke Jackson will help her, won’t he? They just need to strip off, model gorgeous, sexy underwear together and take more photos! So what if the stunning body he’s been hiding makes Sephy’s eyes pop out? And when he holds her, she suddenly wishes they were in her bedroom…alone? He’s her best friend.

Then Luke asks Sephy for a return favour: to pose as his fake fiancée to get his parents temporarily off his back. It’s a risky strategy – but she’s sure she can pull it off.

Until he kisses her…

It's In His Kiss is a very enjoyable romance, which is high in sexual tension, and had me really wanting to Sephy, so that I could have Luke Jackson in my life too. Luke is a gorgeous video game designer, that doesn't look like a nerd, and is good friends with Sephy. 

However things start to get heated between them when Sephy asks Luke if he could help with a photo shoot, for the new lingerie line she is setting up, and Luke agrees so long as she agreed to be his fake fiancee when his parents are in town. 

Given their base reactions the first time sex was mentioned - in fact the first line of the book features a misunderstood proposition about selling sex, it's clear to the reader that their will be fireworks between the pair before long - and very enjoyable it was too. 

It is very clear that Luke cares deeply for Sephy and is watching out not just for her, but her five year old daughter, Daisy, too. Daisy is a little star in this book, and she loves performing weddings between her toys, and just seems like a well rounded child. 

There are some scenes where Sephy is modelling her own lingerie where I think a fire could have been lit from the heat coming from the pair, and they weren't even doing anything sexual at that point. I would have loved to see the photos from that shoot, as they sounded brilliant. 

Sephy has a tricky relationship with her family, and its due to that she doesn't always make the best decisions, and fights against what is clearly going to happen with Luke. 

I loved every minute of It's In His Kiss, even if the title did have me singing a sony lyric over and over again, and although its the first book I have read by Eve Devon, it certainly won't be the last. A very fun book, that was a very quick read, and definitely up to the normal standard of the romances you expect to see published by Harper Impulse. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Impulse for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

Guest Post - Eve Devon's inspiration behind The Dress, featured in Magical Weddings

‘Fashions fade, style is eternal.’ –Yves Saint Laurent

Hello everyone, and thank you Rachel, for inviting me to talk about the inspiration behind my latest book ‘The Dress’, which is one of the novellas included in the Magical Weddings box-set.

When you write romance, half the fun is writing about metaphorical magic and its Happy Ever Afters. With the theme of Magical Weddings I got double the fun by venturing into the world of real magic too, to see what it could bring to my story.

Maybe it was ‘magic’ at work, or maybe it was Google knowing how much I love internet window-shopping(!), but one moment I was researching wedding traditions and folklore…the next I’d clicked on an entry about fashion in wedding dresses.

There amongst the glossy photographs of fairy-tale gowns in familiar fashionable silhouettes was a photograph of Grace Kelly in her wedding gown. The gown, designed by one of the costume designer’s at MGM film studios, had the most exquisite lace bodice and veil. You can find out more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_dress_of_Grace_Kelly

I was so struck by the timelessness of the gown and the romance of the lace that I started jotting down everything I could find about lace-making. My research journey took me to 17th century Venice, and exceptionally skilled lacemakers producing beautifully intricate and detailed work. 

And that was all it took—a photograph of Grace Kelly’s wedding gown and an article on the history of lace in romantic Venice, for me to start wondering what would go into creating a wedding dress that remained timeless through fashion forever? Probably a mixture of adventure, love, and a touch of magic, I thought ;)

The Dress 

Venice, 1615 and instead of the man her father wants her to marry, lacemaker Caterina dreams of Matheo. But when she dabbles with magical lace, she falls foul of the ruling family, altering not only her destiny, but Matheo’s too, and now imprisoned, Caterina must design a way to entwine their fates again. 

England, 2015 and when Cait bumps into Matthew, back from his travels for their friends’ wedding, the spark between them flares instantly. But is it another case of the right place at the wrong time for this bridesmaid and best man, or can a dress from Cait’s lace exhibition at the Museum of Fashion weave its magic through the fabric of time, and unite their destinies, too?

Magical Weddings

15 Enchanting Romances: Whether real or only in the hearts of the bride and groom, the magic of weddings is undeniable. And irresistible! As these 15 enchanting happily-ever-afters by bestselling and award-winning authors prove.

From sweet to spicy, the romances bundled into this set, 14 of them new releases, cross time and unite hearts, cast spells of laughter, battle wedding jitters and fight back tears, while weaving love’s hopeful magic throughout 1400 pages.

Purchase Links:-  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo

About Me:

Growing up in locations like Botswana and Venezuela gave me quite the taste for adventure and my love for romances began when my mother shoved one into my hands in a desperate attempt to keep me quiet during TV coverage of the Wimbledon tennis finals!

When I wasn’t consuming books by the bucket-load, I could be found pretending to be a damsel in distress or running around solving mysteries and writing down my adventures. As a teenager, I wrote countless episodes of TV detective dramas so the hero and heroine would end up together every week. As an adult, I worked in a library to conveniently continue consuming books by the bucket-load, until realising I was destined to write contemporary romance and romantic suspense myself. 

I live in leafy Surrey in the UK, a book-devouring, slightly melodramatic, romance-writing sassy heroine with my very own sexy hero husband!

You can find out more about me here: Website | Twitter | Facebook

Thank you so much Eve, for taking the time to share your inspiration with us, and Magical Weddings sounds like a great bundle of stories. At the time of writing this, 99p for 15 stories is fantastic value for money, and well worth a look.