Book Review - A Summer To Remember by Victoria Cooke

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Amazon UK

Title: A Summer To Remember

Author: Victoria Cooke

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HQ Digital

Publication Date: 5th July

Rating: 5 Stars

Sam lives by the mantra that it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.  

After the tragic loss of her husband, Sam built a new life around friends, her cat Coco and a career she loves. Fending off frequent set-ups and well-meaning advice to ‘move on’, Sam is resolutely happy being single.

But when Sam gets seconded to her firm’s Boston office for the summer, it is more than her career that is in for a shake-up. A spur of the moment decision to visit the idyllic beaches of Cape Cod could end up changing her life forever.

One thing is for sure, Sam won’t finish the summer the same woman who started it…

8 years on from the tragic accident that took her husband, Sam still hasn't really moved on.  Well in some respects she has but in others such as even considering dating she refuses to do anything that may sully the memory of Kev.

As a slight workaholic she is desperate to get the 3 month placement in Boston, but when she's finally gets there things don't exactly work out as planned. 

It is the new friendships with Barney as and Harry that make things start to improve out in the States. But as a reader it was the rather rude stranger which she then keeps having encounters with that kept me glued to the book. 

I loved discovering the laid back life in Boston, and also the ideas for the campaign she's is working on in her job. 

The whole book had a wonderful vibe to it, and just kept me wanting more. 

I loved the location,  the writing, the backstories, the humour and they way that Sam and Ethan developed over the summer. 

It truly was an enjoyable summer to remember, and I would love to one day return to this setting and see how all the characters stories have developed - yet again from a Victoria Cooke book I would quite like a sequel!! 

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

Book Review - Who Needs Men Anyway? by Victoria Cooke

Amazon UK

Title: Who Needs Men Anyway?

Author: Victoria Cooke

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HQ Digital 

Publication Date: 2nd April 2018

Rating: 4 Stars

Don’t get mad, get even…
Thirty-something Charlotte’s Emsworth’s life is a sickeningly perfect round of charity events, hot yoga, and romantic gestures for sexy lawyer husband James. But, patiently waiting to get pregnant, Charlotte is bored. And when she’s bored, she has a tendency to meddle…

First, it’s her personal trainer Megan’s cheating fiancé, then the gardener Sam’s wife’s ‘late nights at the office’. But soon the meddling, however well-intentioned, lands Charlotte in way over her head, and all the time spent ‘managing’ other people’s lives makes her blind to the cracks appearing in her own…

Getting even is one thing, but what about getting happy?

As this story progressed I grew to love it more and more.  Its not that I disliked the opening chapters more wondering why on earth I was reading about such a kind hearted admittedly but shallow character.  In fact Charlotte at the start of the book reminded me in a way of Cher from Clueless (which I may have rewatched a day or two before I started this so was on my mind!). 

It seemed like everything had to be about Charlotte, even her friends seemed to call her out on her meddling needs. But when Charlotte gets the shock of her life, it is how she reacts to that and how her friends going through similar situations react that really enticed me in properly. 

I loved seeing Charlotte grow  in the way she deals with life into a far more rounded character, and the assorted meddling she was doing was all well meaning, and with some great after effects. 

What one thing is for sure about the strong women in this book is that they are all convinced they would be better off without men in their lives.  

This is a really entertaining story that once I worked out where it was going, I realised I was loving more and more with each page.  Although The Holiday Cruise will remain my favourite of Victoria Cooke's books, this one is still a fabulous story and for non cruise obsessed people will probably be a firm favourite of the authors work. 

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

Book Review - The Holiday Cruise by Victoria Cooke

Amazon UK

Title: The Holiday Cruise

Author: Victoria Cooke

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HQ Digital

Publication Date: 15th September 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

The high seas are calling!
As if it weren’t enough to be cheated on by her husband of ten years, Yorkshire lass Hannah Davis is losing her beauty salon business too. Luckily, her big sister is there to pick up the pieces, but Hannah is desperate to find some independence.

Impulsively, Hannah applies for a spa job…on a cruise ship! Christmas in the Caribbean, springtime in the Mediterranean, what’s not to like? But, despite being in her thirties, Hannah has never done anything on her own before, and she’s terrified.

As the ship sets sail, Hannah has never been further from home…or closer to discovering who she is and who she wants to be.

I demand a sequel! Those are the only rational and logical thoughts I can come out with at the second as I'm in awe of how much I enjoyed it. 

Actually enjoy was the wrong word, I think I lived Hannah's journey with her, and from my own experiences can I just say that the author was spot on in so many ways with this this book.  The descriptions of the ports, it was like I was there seeing them, taking me back to my own previous cruises that have visited some of these places. 

And then there is this big emotional I have been feeling for the last 10-15% which I'm not sure whether its due to the writing, or just knowing how it is when a seasonal contract ends, no matter what your future plans are, just how upset and lost you feel, and The Holiday Cruise has brought all of this and more back to me. 

It's not just about Hannah who goes to work on a cruise ship after losing her husband, home and beauty salon almost all at the same time. Its not just about the exotic locations, and living on board a ship for 9 months and the close friendships you make. It is a real journey of self-discovery for Hannah as she works out for the first time perhaps in her life what she really wants in life. 

I loved hearing about life in the spa on board the ship, I have had on board spa treatments in the past, and I know that Hannah's treatments would have been far better than any I had, if for no reason than there was no mention of the selling products at the end of a treatment, that and of course she is good at her job! 

I feel as though I have travelled a great deal just from reading this book, as when Hannah has the time to get off the ship in the various ports, they are described in detail. The unexpected overnight stay in Palma, Mallorca had me laughing in recognition at the messy night out in Magaluf, but since I am close in age to our main character, I completely agreed with her thoughts of the town too! 

Then there was the sail in to Kotor, which I experienced a year ago myself, and found it described really well including the early morning to watch it properly. Or there was the tour taken in St. Maarten that was similar to one I took a couple of years back. 

And that's not counting the close knit friendships that are gained when working abroad for a fixed period of time, its intense, emotions are heightened and I loved the friends Hannah made, and was also interested in the descriptions of the crew only areas onboard the ship. 

If all of that is not enough to entice you in, then the second half of the book has a slight shift in focus to a beautiful storyline, that I adored reading, and that is all I'm saying about it. 

I pretty much adored every single second of this book and didn't want it to end, I'm half tempted to go back to the beginning to read it again straight away, but that may just be because I don't have my own next cruise booked yet! 

The Holiday Cruise is one of a rare sort of book that spoke to me on so many levels and one I could thoroughly identify with.  It would work well as s holiday read, poolside read, cruise read, garden read, wintery read by the fire (and Christmas in the Caribbean does feature)...

....or in other words buy this book now and read it! I loved it and if you like travel, romance, finding yourself or generally just curious about life on a cruise ship then I can see no reason why you wouldn't enjoy it too. 

Thank you so much to HQ Digital and Netgalley for this copy of the book which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Happy Publication Day to Victoria Cooke - The Holiday Cruise is out now!