If you could meet a historical figure, who would it be and why?
I would enjoy talking to an ordinary woman living in Gettysburg during the civil war period and hear about her day to day life and how the war affected it.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Santa Maybe
Have yourself a merry little fauxmance—with a dashing Santa who just might make it real.
Rosie Gonzalez isn’t having a wonderful Christmas time. Not when she’s at risk of losing her job as assistant manager of the Duchess—Victoria’s oldest boutique hotel. If she and her team can’t bring in more guests by the end of December, she’ll be let go. Adding to her stress is a calendar filled with family gatherings where her mom will inevitably nag her for still being single.
Drew Richardson isn’t faring much better. As if working alongside his ex at Northlife Fitness wasn’t bad enough, now she’s invited him to her December wedding. And since all his coworkers will be there, bailing isn’t an option. To get through it, he’ll need a plus-one for moral support.
So, when Rosie recruits him to play Santa for her hotel’s activities, he also proposes a fake-dating scheme to benefit them both. Just for the holidays—nothing more. But as things between them turn from nice to naughty, they’ll have to decide whether a real relationship could be the best Christmas gift of all.
MY THOUGHTS
Who would have thought a book taking place in a hotel could be so entertaining. Now this is what a Christmas book should be.
I loved the mmc, he’s humorous, entertaining, hot, generous, to sum it up, just about the perfect guy but with enough faults to be likable. Not to mention he loves children and is a volunteer Santa for them.
The Duchess Hotel is in Victoria, the provincial capital of British Columbia. It’s located on the West Coast of Canada.
Though not an actual hotel the descriptions of this old past its prime boutique hotel makes me think of it in its former grand days with all its elegance.
Rosie works there and has been there for quite a while, frankly she enjoys her job and works hard at it. With a new GM in she’s worried she and her coworkers will lose their job if hotel business doesn’t pick up drastically during this holiday season like it has at the competition, the Duke Hotel.
The holidays are something she’s starting to dread; all the family plans she must be present for, and her family is expecting her to bring a boyfriend.
A former love interest comes to the rescue, he needs a plus one for a wedding and she needs a few dates for holiday family gatherings. I love this couple, Rosie and Drew. Let the fake dating begin.
This rom com kept me in stitches, their interactions with each other was great and the other characters were just as entertaining. I loved seeing the plan they came up with to save the hotel. The book was so festive, it really had Christmas written all over it.
Hot chocolates, children’s crafts, holiday breakfast, beautiful decorations, cookies, I mean they thought of everything, and it makes the book so festively warm and welcoming.
What’s going to happen when the holidays are over, and the fake dating can end? Can they just go back to the way things were?
Fully supportive family and friends make this a holiday read you’ll be sure to read more than once.
I am looking forward to the next book in this series and it has a Fall theme.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
Purchase Link – https://books2read.com/u/bMB0Z8
MEET THE AUTHOR
Carla Luna writes contemporary romance with a dollop of humor and a pinch of spice. A former archaeologist, she still dreams of traveling to far-off places and channels that wanderlust into the settings of her stories. Her books have been called “escape reads,” ideal for perusing during a beachside vacation, a long flight, or a relaxing weekend at the lake. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading, baking, and taking long walks while listening to pop culture podcasts. Though she has roots in Los Angeles and Vancouver Island, she currently resides in Wisconsin with her family and her feisty Siberian cat.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://www.carlalunabooks.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/casacullen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarlaLunaAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlalunacullen/
Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/3temHlw
BookBub Page: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/carla-luna
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Do you trust your instincts?
I think I have a pretty good sense of letting my instincts work for me but we’ve all been wrong a time or two.
320 pages Allison & Busby publisher September 19, 2024 publication date
ABOUT THE BOOK
Pippa Mason is ready for a fresh start. She has bought Pumpkin Cottage in the picturesque Wye Valley village of Riverdean, where her late mother grew up, and plans to renovate the run-down bed and breakfast into the business of her dreams. Adjusting to her new life on the Welsh-English border might take time, but Pippa is settling into village life and starting to fall for the charms of local Jake when problems start coming thick and fast …
Jenny Foster has enough on her plate running Riverside Lodge as well as managing her husband Phil’s diagnosis of early-onset dementia. She did not need the threat of another B&B on her doorstep. When a spat between Pippa and Jenny escalates and an autumn storm brings matters to a head, they will have to see if Riverdean is big enough for the both of them.
MY THOUGHTS
Wye Valley village of Riverdean is the village where Pippa’s late mother grew up, she believes it’s as good a place as any to make her new start and she does so by buying Pumpkin Cottage which she is about to turn into a bed and breakfast after its remodel.
The other bed and breakfast owner. Jenny in this small village is jealous and doesn’t want the competition from another bed and breakfast owner. A rivalry starts though Pippa, the newcomer wants to become friends with everyone.
A romance starts when she meets Jake, someone Jenny is very familiar with. With so many new friends who could be sabotaging her new business?
A fun and heartwarming women’s fiction book with a slow start. The characters have their ups and downs, and the book has a nice solid ending.
Nice autumn seasonal read.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my won.
THE AUTHORS
Jacqui was born into a very humble working-class family, and brought up on a council estate. Her parents were avid readers and books provided an escape, offering a ticket to a better life. She studied English Literature at university and has spent a life teaching in secondary schools. She loved words and has always dreamed of being a writer. She brought her daughter up on her own and they both loved books and films, and shared the same sense of humour. They are very close, speaking every day and enjoying annual holidays together. It was on one of these trips, a cruise where they visited Montenegro for the first time and had the gem of an idea for a book. The rest is history, as they say…
Anna grew up in South Wales, close to the beach, and loved taking long walks before coming back to snuggle up with a good book. She has always enjoyed reading and writing, as well as crafts such as painting and baking. Despite being creative, at school she performed well in Science and went to Birmingham to study Medicine at the age of 18. She chose to specialise in Psychiatry as she loves getting to hear people’s stories and help those struggling with mental illness, and is hoping to train in forensic psychiatry in the next few years. She currently lives in Derbyshire with her pilot boyfriend and cat Socks.
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Only pink pumpkin tag I have. I know I’m a bit late with it. I hope you’ll overlook it 🙂
ABOUT THE BOOK
Second Chances at Hollyhock Farm
Festival season has come to Hollyhock Farm…
Since his sister Lettie took over their parents’ farm on the beautiful island of Jersey at the start of the year, Zac Torel’s life has changed completely. Zac loves Hollyhock Farm, and he’s determined to help Lettie succeed, but when their insurance company refuses to pay for the restoration of one of their barns in time for winter, the clock is ticking for the Torrels to raise the money themselves.
The siblings decide to host a wellness festival, but with the summer already well underway, they’ve got their work cut out to get everything ready before the season ends. Lettie recruits the help of Melody, a yoga teacher from Edinburgh. New to the island, Melody is determined to shake things up and make a success of Lettie’s festival.
But Melody has come to Jersey with more baggage than her small backpack implies. And as her friendship with Zac grows, will her past catch up with her?
Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/chanceshollyhock
MY THOUGHTS
When I read Welcome to Hollyhock Farm I eagerly awaited the publication of Second Chances at Hollyhock Farm. Though it was worth the wait, I can’t say it was easy. I was so eager to start this next book in the series. The book so seamlessly follows the first book with many of the same characters returning but we do get to meet, Patsy who is Melody’s grandmother. I’ll admit I do enjoy reading about mature women characters. Patsy has a wonderful sense of humor, is pretty hip and a bit quirky. To sum it up, she’s an entertaining character and I hope to see her returning in future books.
This is Zac and Melody’s story, both characters who I loved.
Returning character Lettie is in for a surprise when she finds out the insurance, she has for one of the animal barns doesn’t fully cover the replacement cost of repairs needed on the building. Winter is almost here, and the animals need the shelter and quickly.
When a plan is quickly gotten together to have a fundraiser for the barn repairs it sounds like a delightful plan. The fundraiser is to be a wellness festival revolving around taking care of yourself and healthy eating. This festival sounds like so much fun that I would have loved to attend.
Zac is Lettis’s brother and will do all he can to help his sister with the planning of the fair. Yoga instructor, Melody wants to put some oomph into the fair and has a plan to do so. I loved seeing Zac and Melody’s interactions and how their relationship progresses. Once again Jersey sounds so beautiful, the island a place I want to visit especially with the rescue animals.
Zac and Melody are getting along splendidly but each seem to have a little something they’re hiding from the other. I sure hope they can bring things out in the open because I want to see this lovely couple stay together. Realistic and heartwarming I’m already looking forward to the next book in this marvelous series!
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
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MEET THE AUTHOR
Georgina Troy writes bestselling uplifting romantic escapes and sets her novels on the island of Jersey, where she was born and has lived for most of her life. She has done a twelve-book deal with Boldwood, including backlist titles, and the first book in her Sunshine Island series was published in May 2022.
Social Media Links –
Facebook: @GeorginaTroyAuthor
Twitter: @GeorginaTroy
Instagram: @georginatroyauthor
Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/GeorginaTroyNews
Bookbub profile: @GeorginaTroy
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I am excited to share the cover reveal with you today of LIFE BEGINS, which is being published on 30th January 2025 by Orion.
About the book:
What if the life you’re living isn’t the one you want?
Jessica and Robin have been best friends since university. For his fortieth birthday, she plans an elaborate surprise trip to Italy with his closest friends and family. Sometimes it feels like everyone knows how much she loves Robin… everyone except Robin himself.
Laura has two beautiful children, a stylish London home and a thriving career as a deputy headteacher. But she also has a secret. One she’s been keeping for thirteen years. And now it’s time for the truth to come out.
Actor Robin is looking forward to being the centre of attention once more, as those he loves most come together for a week-long getaway. But as long-simmering desires rise to the surface and tensions reach breaking point, he begins to wonder…
Could life really begin again at forty?
From the Richard & Judy Book Club author Kate Eberlen, Life Begins is an emotional relationship drama set in the Italian countryside.
Isn’t this a beauty?
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ABOUT THE BOOK
The Little Christmas Library: A warm and cosy romance to curl up with this festive season
Molly McGinley has had enough of London and, feeling like a failure, heads home to the unremarkable Northern town of Merry-le-Moors, to move back in with dad Jack for Christmas.
Jack, still mourning the loss of his wife and Molly’s mum ten years ago, nevertheless maintains a positive outlook on life, and to lift Molly from her slump insists she goes out with him on his daily rounds driving the town’s mobile library.
When an elderly man, Cliff, starts coming into the library for warmth and companionship, Jack and Molly provide tea and sympathy… and begin to attract the lost, lonely and jaded people of Merry-le-Moors, who gather each day at the mobile library to talk about books, life and love. Each of them is searching for something in life, and Jack and Molly know just how to find it in the library.
As friendships – and more – begin to form, Christmas approaches… and so does a dark cloud on the horizon. The library is under threat, and so too the fragile friendships that have been formed.
But this is Christmas, after all, and magic – like love – can be found in the most unlikely places.
MY THOUGHTS
Reading this brings all the memories of my childhood back. I was introduced to libraries at a very young age and still love to go to them today.
One of the libraries I went to was a mobile library just like in The Little Christmas Library, it was called a bookmobile, and we still have them here in the rural area where I lived. Oh, the nostalgia has a lot to do with helping people connect with certain books. This was such a lovely read set at Christmas time. I felt right at home amongst the shelves of books on the bus.
Jack, the bus librarian loves suggesting books from the shelves for patrons though he may not always know what a book is about to make the best suggestion his heart is still in the right place. I enjoyed Jack’s character.
His daughter Molly moves back home to Merry-le-Moors after a relationship breakup for Christmas. Molly soon finds herself going with her father on his daily mobile library bus runs. These runs are beneficial not only to Molly and her father but the companionship they bring to some down on their luck folks whose spirits are lifted in friendship by daily talks about books and life in general. When there is a threat to the continuation of the library itself will this holiday spirit ring true for these folks who need it so much? Just lovely, I enjoyed the book so much.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
BLOG BLITZ PARTICIPANTS TO VISIT
MEET THE AUTHOR
David Barnett is an author, journalist and comic book writer based in the North of England. Writing as David M. Barnett, his novels include CALLING MAJOR TOM, THE GROWING PAINS OF JENNIFER EBERT, THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER and in 2021 THE HANDOVER, to be published in the US in 2022 as SAME TIME, SAME PLACE. In December 2021 he pubished on Kindle the novel NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH. He is also the author of ALIEN: COLONY WAR and the GIDEON SMITH series of steampunk novels. His comics work includes, for IDW, EVE STRANGER and PUNKS NOT DEAD, for DC’s Sandman Universe BOOKS OF MAGIC, and he has also worked for Archie and 2000AD. As a journalist he writes mainly long-form features for the UK press including the Guardian, Independent, Big Issue, Tortoise, BBC Culture and more. He can be contacted via his website davidmbarnett.com or Twitter, @davidmbarnett
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If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I know there are many beautiful places to live that have many benefits but I can’t really answer this question accurately. Visiting a place and enjoying it and actually living there and enjoying its ups and downs are two different things. So for now I’ll enjoy being here in my beautiful home state of Pennsylvania.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Christmas at Polkerran Point
An accident and a lost passport mean Gemma’s six-month sabbatical to go travelling is not off to a strong start. She heads to Polkerran Point to stay at her aunt’s while her new passport is processed and to find temporary work in the meantime.
Enter musician Matt. Newly moved into a secluded, renovated mill – complete with a recording studio – Matt is preparing for his band’s big reunion tour. Focused on writing new music for the album, he needs a live-in housekeeper.
Even as sparks fly, Gemma can sense Matt’s keeping secrets and with her role ending once Christmas is over, will there be anything to keep her in Polkerran?
A cosy, festive Cornish romance for fans of Phillipa Ashley and Cressida McLaughlin.
Purchase Link – https://geni.us/CAPP
MY THOUGHTS
Do you have favorite places you enjoy traveling to? So do I but I also have favorite places I love traveling to through the books that I have to always read the latest when it releases. As I real I feel as though I’m on a grand vacation visiting the characters who are best friends with me.
I’m always so excited to see when Christmas books start releasing every year as they are one of my favorite types to read and this one is full of holiday spirit.
I love the author’s books and her writing style and was so happy to be back in the world of Polkerran Point. We meet a few new characters this time around, one of them being Gemma. An accident has her spending the holidays in Polkerran Point and taking a job with boyband member, Matt as his housekeeper.
Now we have a grumpy meets sunshine here, Matt being the grumpy one here. Gemma takes a dislike to Matt, and I’ll say he didn’t really have a lot to recommend himself with at first. After all, how far do good looks go if you don’t have the personality to back it up.
I loved watching Gemma and Matt’s relationship grow and evolve as they came to understand each other and start getting on better with each other. A slow burn romance that you’ll love snuggling in with while getting lost in it.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
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MEET THE AUTHOR
Author Bio – Cass began her writing life in Regency England, enlisted Jane Austen’s help to time-travel between then and the present day and is now happily ensconced in 21st century Cornwall.
Well, in her imagination and soul; her heart and physical presence reside in northern England with her ever-patient husband and Tig and Tag, their cute but exceptionally demanding moggies.
A bit of a nomad, Cass has called three countries home, as well as six different English counties, but her aspiration is to one day reunite with her beloved West Country.
In the meantime, she writes feel-good contemporary romances set in Cornwall and, in doing so, manages to live there vicariously through her characters and settings.
An Ambassador for the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation, Cass is also a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Jane Austen Society UK and the Society of Authors.
Social Media Links –
FB – https://www.facebook.com/cassie.grafton
X – https://twitter.com/CassGrafton
Insta – https://www.instagram.com/cassgraftonwriter/
Giveaway to Win a paperback copy of Christmas at Polkerran Point along with a small gift bag (Open Int)
The gift bag contains a pack of Christmas post-it notes, a Cornish coaster, a gingerbread tree ornament and some festive-wrapped Tic Tac mints!
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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What part of your routine do you always try to skip if you can?
Well I believe that’s why it’s called a routine because you do it daily and maybe in a certain order as well, maybe even at a certain time too. There are certain things I have to do daily, it would be irresponsible not to. Like feeding my cats, scooping their boxes and getting the kids up for school. Other things I wouldn’t mind skipping would be doing the dishes or a general clean up of my house. I won’t let myself do this though, it’s not responsible and I really do prefer sanitary living conditions.
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