Are you a leader or a follower?
It just depends on the situation. We are all leaders sometimes and followers at other times. Anyone that tells you they are a leader 100% of the time is not telling you the truth. We all go through this journey called life learning from our experiences and as we do we are following. When we are the teachers we are leading. It’s give and take in this life.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Grace Kelly can’t escape the draws of Emerald Bay; the sweeping cliffs, the sparkling sea… and her gorgeous new flatmate. The problem is, she has to keep him a secret from her family. And she isn’t the only one in the village with something to hide this summer…
Grace really needs someone to help cover the rent for her London flat, but Christopher Dorrance? Everyone in the little Irish village of Emerald Bay knows about the feud between their families, though no one knows how it started. But, both being in a tight spot, they try and make it work, swearing to tell no one back home. Until a mutual friend and her son in the bay are left homeless after a storm. Grace and Christopher must head back to Ireland to help… together.
As they flesh out their idea to raise money for their friend with a village charity concert, Chris’s blue eyes light up. Even though they have to hide out for every planning session, and after all her father has said about the Dorrances, Grace can’t believe how kind he is. Soon sparks are flying as they laugh together, chasing dairy cows from a field to set up the stage. Could Chris be more than just a flatmate?
But their hopes that a good cause will soften the hostility between their dads are dashed. The two men still argue constantly. And with a happy future for their friend depending on the concert running smoothly, the truth behind the feud threatens to come out and destroy everything…
Could the events of the past destroy any chance of a future for Chris and Grace? Or, if Grace follows her heart, could she finally heal the rift between their families?
You’ll love Michelle Vernal’s stunning new book set in the Little Irish Village. This gorgeous and unputdownable Irish small-town romance is perfect for fans of Nicola May, Trisha Ashley and Debbie Macomber.
MY THOUGHTS
We are once again swept away to Ireland and the beautiful Emerald Bay. The sparkling sea, waves crashing and breathtaking view are more than enough to make anyone want to stay.
Grace Kelly has memories of the geeky, awkward glasses wearing chicken legs boy she knew back in school. This fine specimen that is built, a handsome hunk and without glasses surely could not be who she thinks he is, but it is and he’s her flat mate helping to pay the rent. One look and she’s convinced she’s fallen in love if only the sad reality didn’t exist that he has a girlfriend.
Over the years when she’d mention Christopher Dorrance or his family’s name to her father, he’d get furious but would never tell her what the family feud was over.
When it seems the possibility of a romance is ready to develop as they spend a lot of time together at a fundraising concert her hopes come crashing down as their fathers still argue constantly neither wanting to give an inch.
When the cause of the rift between families is finally revealed will it cause it to continue or will forgiveness and understanding take place?
Once again, I loved spending time with the Kelly family. This series is so heartwarming and Emerald Bay just pulls me right in. Sounds like the perfect relaxation spot. I’m hooked on this series and can’t wait to read more.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
Buy link: https://geni.us/B0CVYKMMM9social
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Vernal is a New Zealand author who writes stories that will take you onto the page with her characters and make you feel part of their lives. She writes with humour and warmth, and her readers describe her books as unputdownable, feel good and funny. Her writing has been likened to Maeve Binchy but with a modern-day vernacular. In 2015 she was shortlisted for the Love Stories Award. In 2020 she won the Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal Award for Chick lit, and in 2021 was shortlisted for the Page Turner Book Awards.
Author social media:
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Website: https://www.michellevernalbooks.com/
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Have a wonderful day. Thank you for stopping in.
List your top 5 favorite fruits.
This is an easy question for me today. Being a vegetarian I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. More vegetables than fruit though since you shouldn’t eat too many fruits.
Today I bought my first whole watermelon 🍉 of the season. It was on sale for $3 off and at $5.99 for a whole one I thought it was a worthwhile price.
I really enjoy cherries 🍒 too but they are not in season yet here.
Strawberries, 🍓 don’t even get me started. I’ve already bought countless containers of them. They don’t stay in season long enough.
Green grapes are another delicacy. I don’t like concord grapes. They are so strong. I remember driving through New York and smelling the concord grapes 🍇 growing in the vineyards.
Mango 🥭 and papaya are so delicious and juicy.
I enjoy buying a whole pineapple 🍍 and preparing it. It’s so fresh and delicious.
I used to like red delicious apples 🍎 more than I do now. When I was younger the red delicious had more flavor now more often than not the apples will feel firm on the outside and taste mushy on the inside. I like Honey crisp, Fuji and Gala apples.
I don’t like fresh pears, they’re too soft and mushy. 🍐
Banana 🍌 is good but I don’t like them overly ripe.
Blueberries 🫐 are great on cereal or just eaten by the handful.
What’s one small improvement you can make in your life?
I had gotten into a good eating habit, gave up sugar and was feeling so much more energetic. Then my husband got bronchitis and I took care of him. Being in close contact with him I got it myself. With bronchitis, I had extreme fatigue and lost my sense of smell and taste. Unfortunately this made my healthy eating quest go out the window. I’ve regained my sense of smell and taste now and the healthy eating is again taking priority. Being a vegetarian it can be hard to get enough protein day in and day out so I have an app on my phone I add my meals to and it tracks it for me.
Luckily I like tofu a lot and make delicious stir fry meals with it
Share a story about someone who had a positive impact on your life.
My grandmother was like a second mother to me. I could talk to her about anything, she was always so encouraging. I wish I had asked her more questions about our ancestors as I’m so interested in history but you just don’t think about those things to talk about when you’re so young. Her mother sailed unchaperoned from Ireland when she was 16 which you just didn’t do back in those days.
Happy Mother’s day Mom’s, grandma’s, great grandma’s, moms to be, mothers of adoptive children and those special women who are just like a mom to us. You all deserve the best today and every day.
Thank you for all you do to make this world a much better place.
319 pages Berkley publisher October 24, 2023 publication date
ABOUT THE BOOK
San Francisco book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright and her hunky security-expert husband, Derek Stone, face a locked-room murder mystery during the holidays in Scotland.
In the middle of a wonderful Christmas holiday in Dharma, Brooklyn and Derek receive a frantic phone call from their dear friend Claire in Loch Ness, Scotland. The laird of the castle, Cameron MacKinnon, has just proposed to her! They plan to be married on New Year’s Day, and they want Derek and Brooklyn to be their witnesses. And while they’re visiting, Claire hopes that Brooklyn will be able to solve a little mystery that’s occurred in the castle library—twelve very rare, very important books have gone missing.
Once in Scotland, Brooklyn starts working on the mystery of the missing books but is soon distracted by all of the thumping and bumping noises she’s been hearing in the middle of the night. You’d think the Ghost of Christmas Past had taken up residence. But when one of the guests is poisoned and another is killed by an arrow through the heart, Brooklyn and Derek know this is not the work of any ghost. Now they must race to find a killer and a book thief before another murder occurs and their friends’ bright and happy future turns dark and deadly.
MY THOUGHTS
I really enjoyed the setting of this one, a wonderful sounding castle in Scotland and even better the description of the library in the castle was swoon worthy.
Though this is the seventeenth book in the series, it’s the only Christmas themed one and I’m all for Christmas books.
Book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright and her husband are enjoying their holidays when they receive a call from Brooklyn’s friend Claire in Loch Ness, Scotland. She is so excited at having just received a proposal from laird of the castle Cameron MacKinnon.
With a New Years wedding to take place they want Brooklyn and Derek to be their witness.
When they arrive, they are tasked with helping to solve the case of twelve missing books, these are rare and irreplaceable books.
If that isn’t enough their sleep is disturbed by loud bumping and crashing noises and several guests have hit their expiration dates a little early.
I want to visit the library in this Scottish castle, especially at holiday time.
The mystery was mostly about the missing books not the murder. The book moved at a decent pace though and I enjoyed the character development. The husband-and-wife team made for an interesting read especially with him being a security-expert and having all the investigative tools needed.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
300 pages Berkley publisher November 1, 2022 publication date
ABOUT THE BOOK
When a member of an exclusive book club is checked out, spunky librarian Trudell Becket must sort fact from fiction to solve the murder.
The Cypress Arete Society is one of the town’s oldest and most exclusive clubs. When assistant librarian Trudell Becket is invited to speak to the group about the library, its modernization, and her efforts to bring printed books to the reading public, her friend Flossie invites herself along. Flossie has been on the book club’s waiting list for five years, and she’s determined to find out why she’s never received an invitation to join.
But not long after Tru and Flossie arrive for the meeting, they’re shocked to find the club’s president, Rebecca White, dead in the kitchen. Rebecca was a former TV actress and local celebrity, but was not known for being patient or pleasant. She’d been particularly unkind to the book club’s host for the evening, who also happens to be the mother of Detective Jace Bailey, Tru’s boyfriend. And Rebecca had made it clear that she didn’t think Flossie was book club material.
With her boyfriend and one of her best friends wrapped up in a murder, Tru has to work fast to figure out who cut Rebecca’s story short before the killer takes another victim out of circulation….
MY THOUGHTS
A cozy mystery series involving a library and a cat? Yes please, sign me up.
Tru, an assistant librarian, runs a secret library checkout room in the libraries’ basement with discarded books because the library has decided to go with digital books only. I hope this never happens to the libraries I go to.
The book checkout doesn’t involve technology just the old-fashioned cards you sign books out with.
The Cypress Arete Society invites assistant librarian, Trudell Becket to speak at their book club. After Tru informs her friend Flossie of this, she won’t take no for an answer and invites herself to the meeting. Now Flossie has been trying to join this book club for five years and there’s never been an opening yet.
In the kitchen, club president Rebecca White is found dead by Flossie and Tru. Not known to be overly friendly she has been rude to Tru and holds steady on her insistence Flossie is not getting into the book club. Is it a matter of sour grapes that has this former TV actress and local celebrity found stone cold on the floor? Fast paced mystery that kept me guessing and enjoying this book.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping in today.
Vegan Book Blogger