Book Review - It Started With A Secret by Jill Mansell - #HolidayReading Mexico - Blog Tour

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Title: It Started With a Secret

Author: Jill Mansell

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Random Things Blog Tours

Publisher: Headline

Publication Date: 23rd January 2020

Rating: 5 Stars

The trouble with secrets is that you can't guess what the consequences will be . . .

Lainey has lost everything. Luckily one little fib (OK, quite a big fib) helps nail her dream job. Soon she's living in a stunning house by the sea, fending off obsessed fans for a retired - if far-from-retiring - actor and organising his charming but chaotic family. It's definitely worth the challenge of keeping her secret.

At least Lainey isn't looking for love. It's time for a break from all that. And yet . . . Seth, the actor's grandson, really is rather attractive. There's growing chemistry and a definite connection between them. But how would he react if he knew she hadn't been honest with him?

Lainey's not the only one with a secret, though. Seth has one of his own. And everything's about to start unravelling . . .

It is always a pleasure to sit down and read a brand new Jill Mansell book, and this was no exception. 

I was drawn into the story immediately, and couldn't help bu keep turning the pages to see what would happen next. 

The book returns to a familiar sounding area of Cornwall for Jill Mansell fans, St. Carys, which is made up of some bays that I definitely recall seeing as settings before. However if you have never read a book from the author don't fear it truly is 100% a standalone, I've never met any of these characters before. 

Lainey and Kit are good friends but pose as a couple to get a new job looking after a large family which includes a famous older relative, a single mother,  teenage twin girls, an 11 year old son and a gorgeous adult step brother - who need organisation, odd jobs and generally managing. 

I loved all the members of this family, some of which get far more of of a story than others, but I loved Richard and how he doesn't or does treat his fans!  And I loved Kit and Lainey for various reasons and actually well all of the characters . 

All had their upsides to them, well apart from some of the people Majella tries dating!

I loved every moment of this, including the couple of family secrets, the way Lainey is with everyone especially when helping Seth out on a couple of key occasions. 

A truly enjoyable story that only upset me because I reached the end and would have happily kept on reading for a lot longer. Means I'll probably ave to wait another year for the next book from one of my all time favourite authors, which is just far too long, but great stories do take time to write, so I'm happy to try to be patient!!

Thank you to Anne Cater for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Please follow along with the rest of the blog tour to hear more about this fabulous book

Q&A - Would You Rather? with Emma Cooper - Blog Tour

I'm incredibly excited to welcome Emma Cooper to my blog today, with my rather fun Q&A (that I think I forgot to use at all last year!).  I have met Emma at a couple of author / blogger events in the last few months and she is utterly lovely, so hope you enjoy getting to know her too.

Would you rather only read your genres you write in, or all other genres for the rest of your life?

My own because Women’s Fiction covers such a broad range of styles: rom-coms, historical, uplit; it’s such a diverse genre that I wouldn’t ever get bored.
  
Would you rather eat sweet or savoury food?

Savoury.  My go to comfort food is an Asda create your own pizza.  I’m a creature of habit and always choose the same four toppings! Spicy chicken, pepperoni, peppers and Jalapenos.  I do love cake and chocolate too but could go my whole life without eating sweet-shop sweets, they really don’t appeal to me. 

Would you rather pick all future books to read by their covers only, or their blurbs?

I’m a sucker for a good cover, title and tag line.  The Man Who Didn’t Call, for example, has a cracking cover and tag line, I would have bought that without turning the book over and reading the blurb!

Would you rather read ebooks, audiobooks or physical books?

Now this is a hard question to answer because I do all three at the same time! I usually have a paperback proof on the go; I’m currently reading The Sight of You by Holly Miller which is beautiful.  I have One Winter Morning by the gorgeous Isabelle Broom on my Kindle, so I don’t have to turn on the bedside lamp and wake my other half! And I have Mike Gayle’s Half a World Away on audio for car journeys … I’m a recent convert to audiobooks.  There are parts in The First Time I Saw You audio where I listened and cried to scenes that I hadn’t before, just because the narrators brought my characters to life so brilliantly.  I think if I had to choose one though, I think paperbacks.  There is nothing better than seeing a bookshelf groaning with them.

Would you rather be rich but unhappy or poor and happy?

My partner Russ and I have been together for twenty-five years and we have four amazing children.  For most of our lives, we have been a low-income family, in fact, the day I found out The Songs of Us had been pre-empted, my debit card was declined in Aldi!! But we always played board games every Sunday, laughed every day and have lots of family traditions … that always seemed more important to us than the fact that our wing mirror was being held on by duct tape!

Would you rather play or watch sports?

Watch!! My idea of sport is speed-walking into the kitchen to grab another beer during half-time! I’m a huge rugby fan and when I was watching The Six Nations, I knew that Samuel McLaughlin had to be a rugby player. I wanted him to be a larger than life character, who led a really active lifestyle, so that when he had a life changing event that affects the way he sees the world, it would have the biggest impact on him and the reader.

Would you rather always have to tell the truth, or always have to lie?

Russ and I have had a heated discussion over this question!! But for someone who lies for a living, I would have to go with that! If I had to spend the rest of my life doing one or the other, I would rather say I was late because an Arab prince swept me off on his private helicopter for a weekend on his yacht, than I was late because they had run out of pile cream in Asda so I had to go to another pharmacy.

Would you rather have your own luxury car, or private plane?

Oh, a private plane!  As I’ve mentioned, I have four children so a holiday abroad was a little out of our reach for a long time, so I’m not very well travelled! I would love to be able to hop on a plane and go to Italy or Mauritius, or New York, Australia, the Bahamas…   

Would you rather look like a fish or smell like a fish?

I would love to look like Angelina Jolie’s character in Shark Tale, Lola. She’s pretty gorgeous for a fish!!

Would you rather have free books for life or free food for life?

Free food, I pretty much have an entire library of stories in my head!

Would you rather give up social media or alcohol?

I love talking and chatting to authors and readers online, it’s one of the best parts of my job … but I do so love my wine in the evening! When it comes down to it though, I think I’d give up wine, my friends and supporters on social media are often what keep me going when the words just won’t come. 

Thank you so much for having me Rachel, this has been great fun!

You are very welcome Emma, I have loved your answers, but please can I join you on your private plane!! 

Please do take a look at Emma Cooper's new book The First Time I Saw You

Amazon UK

Lost:

Six-foot-two Irish man who answers to the name Samuel McLaughlin.

Has weak shins and enjoys show tunes.

If found, please return to Sophie Williams.

Before Sophie met Samuel she saw the world in grey.

Before Samuel met Sophie, he never believed in love at first sight.

When they first meet, something tells them they are meant to be.

But fate has other ideas.

Now they have lost each other and can't see a way back.

But they've already changed each other's lives in more ways

than they ever expected...

More about Emma Cooper

Emma Cooper is a former teaching assistant, who lives in Shropshire with her partner

and four children. She spends her spare time writing novels, drinking wine and

watching box-sets with her partner of twenty-four years, who still makes her smile

every day. Emma has always wanted to be a writer - ever since childhood, she’s been

inventing characters (her favourite being her imaginary friend ‘Boot’) and is thrilled that

she now gets to use this imagination to bring to life all of her creations. Find her on

Twitter at @ItsEmmacooper and on Instagram at @itsemmacooper

Please do follow along with rest of this blog tour for reviews and more from other fabulous book bloggers. 

Book Review - Coming Home To Winter Island by Jo Thomas - Blog Tour

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Amazon UK

Title: Coming Home To Winter Island

Author: Jo Thomas

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Publisher supplied copy

Publisher: Headline Review

Publication Date: 31st October 2019

Rating: 5 Stars

Wrap up warm and prepare to explore the breath-taking beauty of a remote Scottish island and an old house waiting to unlock enchanting family secrets.

Fans of Jill Mansell and Milly Johnson will love this irresistible new winter novel from Jo Thomas.

Do you need to find out where you've come from before you can know what the future holds?

Ruby's singing career is on the verge of hitting the big time, when her voice breaks. Fearing her career is over, she signs up for a retreat in Tenerife to recover.

But an unexpected call from a stranger on a remote Scottish island takes her on a short trip to sort out some family business. It's time to go and see the grandfather she's never met.

City girl Ruby knows she will be happy to leave the windswept beaches behind as quickly as she can, especially as a years-old family rift means she knows she won't be welcome at Teach Mhor.

But as she arrives at the big house overlooking the bay, she finds things are not as straightforward as she might have thought.

There's an unexpected guest in the house and he's not planning on going anywhere any time soon ...

I'm now convinced that Jo Thomas books should come with a warning - not to be read on public transport as there is a very real chance you will become oblivious to the world and possibly miss your stop.  They really are just that good.

It also seems like I should warn you that there are nowhere near enough pages in this book, I could have happily read for much longer.  I was hooked and couldn't devour this wonderful story fast enough. 

I'm pretty sure I had that slight problem with my last book from this author too, I just seem to be able to read them so fast and get so into the story,  that they really don't last long enough and I struggled to get off a train too! 

And what a great story it is, of connecting with the past,  working out how to make a rather special gin, and for Ruby to recuperate her singing voice. 

I loved Winter Island, and the sitting tenant of Hector's house Lachlan. It is very clear that Lachlan cares a lot for the older man and also about life on the island. 

Ruby was hoping to sign some papers and be on her way to Tenerife,  but nothing every goes according to plan. 

Despite being set in winter,  in a cold house, this is a story that is full of warmth.  I adored the descriptions of Winter Island and seeing just how everything would work out.

A fantastic story with a great setting, fabulous characters,  a man I really disliked and a very touching story line involving hector, this is a perfect book to curl up with by the fire,  and just loose yourself within.

A gem of a book from one of my favourite authors 

Thank you to Headline and Anne Cater for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Please do follow along with all the other fabulous bloggers on this tour

Book Review - Love, Unscripted by Owen Nicholls - Blog Tour

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Amazon UK

Title: Love, Unscripted

Author: Owen Nicholls

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Headline Review

Publication Date: 1st June 2019

Rating: 4 Stars

Owen Nicholls' Love, Unscripted follows film projectionist Nick as he tries to understand the difference between love on the silver screen and love in real life. Perfect for fans of romcoms, David Nicholls and Nick Hornby.

For film projectionist Nick, love should mirror what he sees on the big screen. And when he falls for Ellie on the eve of the 2008 presidential election, it finally does.

For four blissful years, Nick loved Ellie as much as he loved his job splicing film reels together in the local cinema. Life seemed... picture-perfect.

But now it's 2012, Ellie has moved out and Nick's trying to figure out where it all went wrong.

With Ellie gone and his life far from the happy ending he imagined, Nick wonders if their romance could ever again be as perfect as the night they met.

Can love really be as it is in the movies?

What would you do if you had one perfect night, that was movie-esque in its specialness? Would you hope that you could live happily ever after with that new person in your life, or would you attempt to walk away knowing that nothing may ever compare to that first meeting?  

Nick meets Ellie on the night of the 2008 US Elections at a party, and is torn whether to risk his heart on more than just one night. 

He is a geeky film nerd, who is working as a projectionist in a small cinema, and that makes awkward jokes and seems to reference most things in terms of films.   Had I watched or even heard of a large number of the films mentioned, I would have potentially connected with the book on a whole other level, but a fair amount of the references went over my head. 

This is the story of Nick and Ellie's relationship told through flashbacks to that first night, and other key moments, told  as a part of a possible screenplay or so it seems, plus what is happening to Nick in the present day, as he comes to grips with why they appear to have broken up. 

It is a story of self realisation, self discovery, some incredibly funny bits, a large number of films,  and is written in an unique style that I would love to read more of.   In fact I'd quite like a sequel. 

I'm a huge fan of romantic comedies, and there just aren't enough about written by men from the male perspective, which added to the rather endearing qualities to Nick, turns this into quite a delightful read. 

I'm just incredibly sorry to say that my real life got into the way far too much while I was reading this, and thus made my reading experience a bit more disjointed than it should have been. It is not the books fault,  and whenever I could sit and read for more than 20 mins at a time, I was completely absorbed in the pages. 

A lovely debut novel, full of promise, and an author I would happily read more from.


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

Please take a look at the rest of the stops on this blog tour 

Book Review - Tell Me Your Secret by Dorothy Koomson

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Title: Tell Me Your Secret

Author: Dorothy Koomson

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Headline Review

Publication Date: 27th June 2019

Rating: 5 Stars

Pieta has a secret.
Ten years ago, Pieta was kidnapped by a man calling himself The Blindfolder who said he wouldn't kill her if she kept her eyes closed for 48 hours. She never told anyone what happened to her, vowing to move on with her life. But when The Blindfolder starts hunting down his past victims, Pieta realises she may finally be forced to tell her deepest secret to stay alive . . .

Jody has a secret.
Fifteen years ago, policewoman Jody made a terrible mistake that resulted in a serial killer known as The Blindfolder escaping justice. When Jody discovers journalist Pieta survived an attack by him, she realises she may finally have found a way to catch him. But that would mean endangering at least two innocent people . . .

They kept quiet to protect themselves.
Will telling all save or sacrifice each other?

What an utterly sick and twisted mind Dorothy Koomson must have, to have come up with this unputdownable and completely original book. 

I've never heard of, or read a crime just like this one, and it is rather horrific, and the amount of years The Blindfolder has been at it is staggering.  

Imagine you were kidnapped, told you would live but only if you could keep your eyes closes for 48 hours no matter what you may feel or hear. No matter what torture may occur or atrocities.  Well this is what this sick bastard of a villain does, or did. 

For it is now back, hunting down past victims, ones that had obeyed and then not gone to the police and had tried to move on with their lives, and killing at regular intervals. 

This is a police investigation on a clock before the next body appears like clockwork in a park either in London or Brighton. 

This is the story of three women, although we only get two perspectives.   There is Callie who we only really get to see from the other women, she is determined to put her experience out there, and to help other women to come forward to help the police with their investigations. 

But the main two focal points are Pieta, the journalist who is being asked to write the story, and Jody, the police detective who has been working on the case and is determined to solve it before anyone else is hurt. 

Let's just say that there are many many secrets in this book, some more deadly than others, some more chilling than others, and this is a story that has got under my skin and frankly terrified me that these sorts of crimes could be happening. 

I really can't say much else about the characters or plot other than it starts of feeling ominously creepy and the tension ramps up as the book progresses.  I don't want to risk giving away any vital hints as to even my opinions on the main people but will say keep your eyes open and take in everything. 

It is a masterpiece of a book, dark, thrilling, scary, incredibly well written, engaging, had me feeling great sympathy and shock at some points, while at others not really wanting to empathise with the characters, out of fear myself. 

I'm a massive fan of Dorothy Koomson's books, and have been reading them for many years and noticed that they appear to be getting darker with each release. And this must be the darkest, most despicable of crimes yet, but still with her trademark style of making you care deeply about the various characters. 

This is one amazing book, and I literally can't wait to see what the author writes next 

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

Book Review - My Lemon Grove Summer by Jo Thomas - Blog Tour

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Amazon UK

Title: My Lemon Grove Summer

Author: Jo Thomas

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Headline

Publication Date: 6th June 2019

Rating: 5 Stars

Could the lemon groves of Sicily be the perfect place to start over? The irresistible new novel from Jo Thomas, the author of Sunset Over the Cherry Orchard, will transport you to the island of mountains and sparkling blue seas.

When life hands you lemons ... is it ever too late for a second chance?

Zelda's impulsive nature has got her precisely nowhere up until now. A fresh start in a beautiful hilltop town in Sicily looking for new residents, together with her best friend Lennie, could be just what she needs. And who better to settle down with than the person who knows her best?

But the sun-filled skies and sparkling seas can't hide the shadow hanging over Citta d'Ora, which means not everyone is pleased to see their arrival. The dreams Zelda and her fellow new residents had of setting up a new life might be slipping away. But a friendship with restauranteur Luca could be about to unlock the possibilities that lie in the local lemon groves. And there's a wedding on the horizon that might be just what the town needs to turn it around...

Could a summer in Sicily help Zelda learn to trust her instinct and follow her heart?

Simply Scintillating in Sicily!

I absolutely adored this book, from the first few pages,  to the location, the story, the writing and just about all the characters. 

What a fabulous premise,  a group of strangers all needing a second chance in life enticed to relocate to a small village in Sicily as part of a revitalisation project.  They even get paid for the privilege.

Sounds to good to be true,  well it definitely isn't as easy as it sounds.  It appears the locals aren't as welcoming as you would imagine. 

Zelda and Lenny agreed as teenagers that they would marry age 40 if neither had found true love, and well it's clear they care for each other. 

I loved getting to know all the people involved in this project,  the variety of characters is fabulous and everyone is very believable. 

What amazed me was how fast I read this book, just a few short hours while I was on some trains. I was so absorbed in the first 15% that I almost missed my stop. 

Feel good summer reading at its best. Another complete an utter gem of a book from Jo Thomas.  You won't regret this virtual trip to Sicily. 

Infused with the warmth of a Sicilian summer,  with helpings of fabulous sounding food,  limoncello and a spattering of Italian phrases, this really is another amazing book that touched me in all the right places from one of my favourite authors. 

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

Book Review - Just My Type by Hannah Doyle - Blog Tour

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Amazon UK

Title: Just My Type

Author: Hannah Doyle

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Headline Review

Publication Date: 18th April 2019

Rating: 5 Stars

He's my type on paper . . . but IRL?

Meet Jasmine.
- The quirky/cool photographer to a superstar blogger
- She's going on a date with a SUPER hot guy on the London Eye tonight
- Best friend Mila is her wifey for life
- This millennial is #LivingHerBestLife

But fast-forward a few hours, and the reality isn't quite so picture perfect. Jasmine hates her stuck-up blogger boss. She can barely afford rent in her stupid London flat. Her best friend seems to have all her sh*t together. Oh, and that date she was so excited about? She got dumped. On the London Eye. In the middle of a thunderstorm. With a bunch of tourists watching...

Best friend Mila decides that Jasmine needs a new 'type on paper', because Jasmine's current criteria is so off that her dating history is one long line-up of fools. So Mila challenges Jasmine to look once, if not twice, at the guys who wouldn't normally fit her 'type'. With nothing to lose, Jasmine accepts. Maybe, just maybe, she'll surprise herself.

You might be looking at the blurb and thinking that this is just another one of those always funny rom coms where the main character goes on a series of unfortunate dates with completely ridiculous situations where you end up rolling you eyes and being thankful you aren't on Tinder yorself! 

Well if you were thinking that - then stop as this is so much more original than that, and the dates involved well I loved every single one of those men!  It is though still really funny, but it is so much more than that. 

For most of the book I was wondering just what was so awful that Jasmine couldn't speak or think about her dad.  I had jumped to what I thought was a logical conclusion to be relieved that I was very wrong, and very surprised. 

It's a story where Mila, Jasmine's best friend insists that Jasmine go on seven dates all with men who don't fit her normal dating "type on paper", convinced that is where she is going wrong.   Watching Jasmine not only date outside her comfort zone, but also gain confidence, and start making the most of her working life too is really encouraging to see. 

I loved that due to her being a photographer to a superstar blogger, she was getting to visit assorted countries, but the travel lover in me would have loved to spend more time in each destination, but the quick glimpses were definitely good and gave a good feel for each country. 

The men she dates, well you may not come across all of them yourselves, but they didn't feel too stereotypical either, but just really great blokes with some incredibly interesting ideas for their dates.  

This is the second book I've read of Hannah Doyle's and just like The Year of Saying Yes,  I could barely put it down and was enjoying every last word of it. 

I found it the perfect book to read in my garden at the start of the Easter heatwave! I can't wait to see what this talented author writes next. 

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

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Book Review - Never Be Broken by Sarah Hilary

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Amazon UK

Title: Never Be Broken

Author: Sarah Hilary

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Headline

Publication Date: 16th May 2019

Rating: 4 Stars

Children are dying on London's streets. Frankie Reece, stabbed through the heart, outside a corner shop. Others recruited from care homes, picked up and exploited; passed like gifts between gangs. They are London's lost. 

Then Raphaela Belsham is killed. She's thirteen years old, her father is a man of influence, from a smart part of town. And she's white. Suddenly, the establishment is taking notice.
DS Noah Jake is determined to handle Raphaela's case and Frankie's too. But he's facing his own turmoil, and it's becoming an obsession. DI Marnie Rome is worried, and she needs Noah on side. Because more children are disappearing, more are being killed by the day and the swelling tide of violence needs to be stemmed before it's too late.

NEVER BE BROKEN is a stunning, intelligent and gripping novel which explores how the act of witness alters us, and reveals what lies beneath the veneer of a glittering city.

Kicking off with a prologue that will instantly draw fans of the series straight into the pages, and make you wonder just what Sarah Hilary has come up with for us this time, , with such a clever opening that had me worried. 

In fact I was worried about DS Noah Jake throughout the book, as he is not handling the events at the end of the previous one that well, although its hardly surprising. 

I would say that this book can't be read as a standalone, and that if you are new to the series to pick it up from Book 5 at the very least, just so that this, book 6, will make that much more sense. The story lines that have been running through the series are incredibly apparent in this instalment. but we also have fresh crimes to turn our attention to. 

This is where I struggled slightly initially as there were a bunch of names that kept cropping up, for deaths that we didn't fully learn about but seemed relevant somehow.  And then there are two deaths within 24 hours, seemingly at first unconnected, but as crime readers know its very rare for their not to be a connection, the question was what and how. 

And that is what stumped me and kept me reading, while I learnt along with the police just what was happening. Because the Marnie / Noah dynamic was different in this book, I felt less connected, as it was so hard seeing Noah like he was,  yet there was still evidence at how great a policeman he his. 

This is another solid book in the series, I just didn't feel it was the best, but still very enjoyable and had me wanting to continue reading even when real life intervened.  

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

Please follow along with all the other wonderful bloggers on this tour 

Book Review - Friend of the Family by Tasmina Perry - #HolidayReading Mexico

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Amazon UK

Title:  Friend of the Family

Author: Tasmina Perry

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Headline Review 

Publication Date: 16th May 2019

Rating: 4 Stars

She thinks your life is perfect. She thinks you don't deserve it.

Your job
Amy is more than happy to offer the daughter of an old friend work experience at her London magazine. Josie is young and ambitious. She just needs a foot in the door.

Your home
When Josie arrives, she swiftly makes herself indispensable at work and at home. And when childcare falls through before a long-awaited university reunion in Provence, it begins to look as if Josie may be staying longer than Amy had bargained for.

Your husband
In the heat of Provence, Josie's presence starts to unsettle Amy, especially around her husband. As cracks begin to appear in Amy's perfect life, she cannot shake the feeling that the family friend may not be a friend at all...

Don't miss this gripping, addictive read. It will make you think twice about who you invite into your home...

When Amy invites the daughter of an old friend of hers to do work experience at her magazine, little did she know her world was going to be turned upside down. 

Josie's arrival is the catalyst for a whole heap of disasters, and just shows you should never let a young girl who has stated she wants to be you, into your house!

Although that is simplifying it a bit, and there is far more too the book than just that, 

I liked how Amy's university times were interspersed into the present day, strengthening the readers bonds with all the characters by showing some of their shared history. 

From around the midway point, once I knew the characters, I found the plot picked up pace and it was at point I found myself really loving the book. 

I didn't see most of what was going to happen coming, so was pleased to be surprised greatly by the end. 

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

Book Review - Maybe This Time by Jill Mansell - Blog Tour

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Amazon UK

Title: Maybe This Time

Author: Jill Mansell

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Publisher supplied copy

Publisher: Headline Review

Publication Date: 24th January 2019

Rating: 4 Stars

Mimi isn't looking for love when she spends a weekend in Goosebrook, the Cotswolds village her dad has moved to. And her first encounter with Cal, who lives there too, is nothing like a scene in a romantic movie - although she can't help noticing how charismatic he is. But Cal's in no position to be any more than a friend, and Mimi heads back to her busy London life.

When they meet again four years later, it's still not to be. Cal is focusing on his family, and Mimi on her career. Then Cal dives into a potentially perfect new romance whilst Mimi's busy fixing other people's relationships.

It seems as if something, or someone else, always gets in their way. Will it ever be the right time for both of them?

I spent a large majority of the book wondering if Mimi was ever going to get together with the man she blatantly has a massive crush on. After all her timings with him whenever they meet are always off.  Either there is another relationship, or they aren't even in the same country let alone anything else. 

However before we even get to that, we are introduced to Goosebrook in the Cotswolds with Mimi attempting to visit her dad there for the first time, and not realising just how rural it would be.   The first few chapters are her first visits to the village and her getting to know in passing the various locals. 

In fact there is quite a bit of drama in the first quarter of the book, and it sets the rest of the story up really nicely. 

What I loved was for a period of time Mimi was working in Puerto Pollensa in Mallorca. I lived there for a few months 9 years ago, and since that time I have barely ever heard the town mentioned anywhere ever, so imagine my shock to see a second mention of it in two weeks for me already this year.  

From what I recall of the town, Jill's descriptions match up, I recall the big square, and also the Wednesday market, as I had to walk past it to get the bus to work.  It all really rang true to me, and I enjoyed Mimi working for CJ the big thriller writer.  

I really enjoyed this latest book from one of my auto read, drop everything for authors and although I found this to be a very enjoyable book, I thought it was missing perhaps a spark that some of her others recently have had.  It's still a very good story, great writing,  and I was always keen to return to the book to see what happened next.  

Maybe This Time left me with a smile on my face, but not before giving you assorted highs and lows, some real depth to some of the characters, and some fabulous settings.  

Thank you to Headline and Anne Cater for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Please do follow along with the rest of the stops on this blog tour