Category: Uncategorized

Categories
Uncategorized

Paris, Pumpkins, and Puns: A Sweet Fake Dating Romcom

325 pages Cinnamons Rolls and Pumpkin Spice series September 24, 2024 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

n a city known for its romantic clichés, can reality surpass the fantasy?

Paris in the fall.
The Eiffel tower, the blanket of colorful leaves on the ground of the Jardin du Luxembourg, the picturesque cobbled streets of Montmartre.
Sounds amazing, right? That’s exactly what I thought when my boss offered me to come here to critique restaurants.

Well, the reality is a completely different beast.

There is no accordion music playing in the street, the city smells like smoke, and I have yet to see a single guy wearing a beret! This was all a lie.

To top it all, I’m now a prisoner of this city because of a national strike keeping all planes on the ground and flooding hotels capacities. At least one cliché wasn’t false.

Enter Olivier Brun, chef of a Michelin star restaurant and as hot as a pizza oven who offers me a room and even cooks me breakfast.
So, when he asks me to pretend to be his date for his matchmaking mom’s birthday, I return the favor.

As we get to know each other through pun-filled cooking lessons, farmer’s market outings and autumn festivals, I start to fall in loaf with Paris… and Olivier.
Suddenly, the idea of relocating here isn’t as crazy.

But does Olivier feel the same? And if he does, will he be able to get past the fact that I lied about my job?

Paris, Pumpkins & Puns is a closed-door romcom with cozy autumn vibes, plenty of cooking puns and an irresistible Frenchman.

Fans of Fake Dating and Secret Identity, you’ll enjoy this standalone novel full of laughs and sizzling chemistry without the explicit scenes!

Enjoy the other full-length books in the Cinnamon Rolls and Pumpkin Spice series, which can be read in any order:

Hating the Cinnamon Roll CEO by Camilla Evergreen
Falling for Autumn (Again) by Jen Atkinson
Paris, Pumpkins & Puns by Marion De Ré
Fall With Me by Amanda P. Jones
Cinnamon & Spice Conundrum by Leah Busboom
Cinnamon Roll Set Up by Genny Carrick
Coffee Break with the Billionaire by Holly Kerr
The Friendly Fall by Kristine W. Joy

MY THOUGHTS

It’s almost Fall so what am I doing? Reading Fall themed books of course and this one hits the nail right on the head. Who doesn’t love a rom com with the cutest Fall cover?


An American food critic is sent to Paris to do food reviews for her work. Now a person dining alone in Paris maybe should set off bells but after taking over his dad’s restaurant head chef, Oliver doesn’t think anything about it he just wants to impress his customers. He can’t help thinking how pretty this American customer is but she’s less than impressed with this bland cooking.

When she can’t find a place to stay at a hotel he offers her a room at his house. She takes it on a friends only basis. But when his mother tries once again to matchmake for him he tells her he has a new girlfriend, let the fake dating begin.

What happens when your fake dating rules seem to become more of a bother as each day comes along. This foodie rom com is filled with delicious sounding food preparations on every page, the essence and elegance of Paris, and marvelous Fall vibes. What happens when you want to stop the fake dating and for it to become the real thing?

When Oliver realizes she has kept a huge secret from him will she have to leaf? Filled with fun puns and lots of French language which only added to the charm of the story. I’d love to read more by the author.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Marion De Ré is an Amazon Bestelling author of closed-door romantic comedies with sass, swoonn and sizzle. She lives in the French countryside with her husband and adorable cat. You can expect all your beloved tropes in her writing as well as a good dose of humor and all the feels. When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her on a plane to a far-away destination or in a Champagne cellar, indulging in a tasting of her favorite drink. 

Get a free story by susbcribing to Marion’s newsletter directly on her website!

Thank you for stopping in. Share a smile today.

Categories
Uncategorized

Blog Tour for A New Arrival at Duck Pond Cottage

My apology to Della Galton and Rachel’s Random Resources for my late review and posting.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A New Arrival at Duck Pond Cottage

A story of love, second chances and the wonderful start of a BRAND NEW series from Della Galton featuring Duck Pond Lane Animal Rescue.

It’s not just animals who need to be rescued…

Following the unexpected death of her mother, and the breakdown of her relationship, animal loving idealist Jade Foster, uses her inheritance to buy a smallholding in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside hoping to realise her dream of providing a sanctuary for unloved animals in need of a new home.

Jade employs the enigmatic Finn McTaggart to help out at Duck Pond Lane Rescue and forms a friendship with both Finn and her local Vet, Aiden Southerland. But Finn is running from his own demons and Aiden longs for a more romantic relationship with broken-hearted Jade.

Romance is not on the cards for Jade, but as both men fall for her natural beauty, the rivalry between them hots up. But can any of them heal enough to find lasting love?

What none of them realise is that a devastating secret from the past has the power to destroy the present and that love, however wonderful, isn’t always enough.

Previously published as Passing Shadows by Della Galton

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/newarrivalsocial

MY THOUGHTS

A New Arrival at Duck Pond Cottage is the start of a brand-new series featuring Duck Pond Lane Animal Rescue. I’m not one who’s able to resist an animal rescuer story. This animal rescue story is adorable with animals of all sorts getting a second chance at their best life.


I enjoyed reading about the antics the animals got up to and the variety of animals rescued from domesticated animals to birds and farm animals. I connected with one of the main characters running the rescue center because we had a lot of similarities in caring for animals and she’s a vegetarian like I am.


Rescuer Jade has two men falling for her and they have such different personalities. She’s plenty busy though with her rescue center and not looking for love. But will this jealous rivalry end up on the right side of a romance? The beautiful Wiltshire countryside setting has me dreaming of a visit. A romantic and uplifting page turner for animal lovers and romantics alike.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

VISIT OTHER BLOGS ON THE TOUR

MEET THE AUTHOR

Della Galton writes short stories, teaches writing groups and is Agony Aunt for Writers Forum Magazine. Her stories feature strong female friendship, quirky characters and very often the animals she loves. When she is not writing she enjoys walking her dogs around the beautiful Dorset countryside.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: @dailydella

Twitter: @DellaGalton

Instagram: dellagalton

Newsletter Sign Up: http://bit.ly/DellaGaltonNewsletter

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/della-galton

Thank you for stopping in.

Categories
Uncategorized

Blog Tour for Snow is Falling by Sarah Bennett

ABOUT THE BOOK

Snow is Falling

When Sadie Bingham’s life takes an unexpected turn, her children treat her to a well-earned break at Juniper Meadows, the gorgeous Cotswolds estate owned by the Travers family.

The festive season is in full swing, and Sadie throws herself into the packed Twelve Days of Christmas programme, relishing the opportunity to make new friends and new memories.

Single father Dylan Travers hasn’t been to his childhood home of Juniper Meadows for decades. Estranged from his cantankerous father Monty, he has made a happy life for himself in the States. But now with teenage children keen to know more about their roots, Dylan has brought them back to the Cotswolds to meet his family.

As Sadie and Dylan both navigate a Christmas very different from the ones they had expected it’s soon clear that, geography apart, they have a great deal in common. And as Dylan confronts his past and Sadie contemplates her future, perhaps the miracle of this Christmas will be the happily-ever-after they both deserve.

Let Sarah Bennett whisk you away to a snowy Cotswolds for the perfect winter romance. A Sarah Bennett book is guaranteed to brighten any day, perfect for all fans of Cathy Bramley, Katie Fforde and Phillipa Ashley.

MY THOUGHTS

Sarah Bennett is another automatic read author for me. This is the fourth book in the Juniper Meadows series, and I’ve enjoyed my visit there every time.


Sadie was comfortable in life; her children and grandchildren keep her happy and she visits her mother as often as she can though her mother doesn’t have the best attitude. She more than anyone else is shocked when she finds her no good husband cheating on her and knows it’s time for him to go.


As a way to get her mind off of matters and relax, her children treat her to a twelve day stay at Juniper Meadows over Christmas holiday. Packed with winter activities even a murder mystery dinner she knows it’s going to be a blast and a way to make new friends and new memories as she greatly looks forward to it.


Dylan Travers, a single father with two teens has had enough. He hasn’t been back to his childhood home, Juniper Meadows in years but for the sake of his children he knows it’s time for a reunion. His children need to meet his side of the family as it’s not fair on them and he’s going to try to reconcile with his father.


As Dylan and Sadie meet, they realize they have much in common and as they get to talking about their similarities, they realize they enjoy each other’s company immensely. As the fun continues each day it brings them closer to returning to reality and Sadie leaving this little love nest. Can they make a long-distance romance work, or will it eventually crash and burn like so many long-distance romances do after a while?

What a delightful book, I enjoyed reading about the celebration of the holiday and the snow activities that I could picture being done. Christas is the time for miracles, maybe they’ll find a few at this time of year. What a delightful and heartwarming continuation of the Juniper Meadows series. I hope it will continue.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

VISIT OTHER LOVELY BLOGS ON THE TOUR

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/snowisfallingsocial

MEET THE AUTHOR

Sarah Bennett is the bestselling author of several romantic fiction trilogies including those set in Butterfly Cove and Lavender Bay. Born and raised in a military family she is happily married to her own Officer and when not reading or writing enjoys sailing the high seas.

Social Media Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahBennettAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sarahlou_writes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah_bennettauthor/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/SarahBennettnews

Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sarah-bennett-b4a48ebb-a5c3-4c39-b59a-09aa91dc7cfa

Thank you for your visit today. Enjoy your day.

Categories
Uncategorized

Happy Publication Day and Book Spotlight: Bella’s Countryside Christmas is out today! 

Congratulations Author Claire Huston on the release of the second book in the Haileybrook Village series, Bella’s Countryside Christmas. Unfortunately, I was unable to get in on the blog tour. The spots filled up just like that.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Fleeing her heartache and horrendous job, Bella stumbles upon a December wedding in the beautiful village of Haileybrook and the spirit of the season moves her to act as a fake date to handsome stranger Jack.

Jack and Bella hit it off, but Bella has to leave in a hurry and their magical evening soon becomes nothing more than a blissful memory.

A year later, Bella is returning to Haileybrook, seeking a fresh start and a quieter life. With a new job close to her cosy cottage home, a peaceful Christmas is surely only days away.

But it’s not long before family surprises, small-town feuds and romantic drama disrupt Bella’s plans, and she has to wonder if being alone is what she really wants for Christmas …

Bella’s Countryside Christmas is available in ebook and paperback. The ebook is on Amazon for 99p for UK readers and if you have Kindle Unlimited it’s free to download. The paperback is available at Amazon or, if you’re in the UK, you can order it from your preferred online or high street book store. You can also send the author a message if you’d like to buy a signed copy. Grab a copy here 2.99 US

FIRST BOOK IN THE SERIES

ABOUT THE BOOK

Haileybrook, a beautiful village in the peaceful Cotswolds countryside, is most people’s idea of heaven on earth.

Born and raised in this small slice of paradise, Elle Bea can’t wait to leave.

It should be easy, but every time she packs her bags for exotic adventures, old loves and loyalties pull her back.

Will Elle be forced to forget her dreams of far-flung places and epic romance, or can she grab one last chance to have it all?

An uplifting, romantic story about friends, family and the relationships that make a place a home. Perfect for fans of Jill Mansell, Katie Fforde and Phillipa Ashley.

Grab a copy here.

Have a fabulous release day, Claire.

Thank you for stopping in. Have a great day.

Categories
Uncategorized

Daily Prompt: Celebrating holidays

How do you celebrate holidays?

Not all holidays are of equal importance. Depending on what they are I do it with the deepest respect for my country or happy holidays with the greatest of joy in my heart.

Categories
Uncategorized

Daily Prompt: Cooking or baking fail?

Write about your most epic baking or cooking fail.

Before I got married I lived at home and didn’t really do much cooking or baking. I didn’t need to. Well my first mess up meal wasn’t really a cooking fail but a dishwashing fail I guess you could say. It was a very short time after we were married and I made steamed broccoli for my husband, he loved broccoli 🥦. In the early days I wasn’t overly confident about my cooking and tasted the broccoli before I called him to the table, it tasted soapy. 🧼🫧 I figured out I had not properly rinsed the strainer when I washed it and there was a soapy residue still on it which transferred to the broccoli. I never gave him the broccoli or told him I had even made it , we just had the rest of the dinner which I can’t even remember what it was but I do remember being very embarrassed 😳.

Categories
Uncategorized

Blog Tour for The Sticky Toffee Pudding Club: (Little Duck Pond Café)

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Sticky Toffee Pudding Club

After bonding with the lovely Jensen as they save a dog in trouble, Annalise – new to Sunnybrook – is gutted when they part without swapping numbers. She’d had the weirdest feeling he could be The One but now she might never see Jensen again. When she loses her new job in a wedding boutique, her week goes from bad to worse – until Maddy and the café crew come to her rescue with an exciting solution. The Pudding Club. Can Annalise rise to the challenge and – with the help of the Little Duck Pond Café crew – start teaching others how to make her glorious puds? And could The Pudding Club be the key to finding Jensen again?

MY THOUGHTS

The Little Duck Pond Cafe series is right up there amongst my favorites of series, which of course means I have to read every one of them.
Look at it this way, can you really go wrong with a book filled with everything pudding?
I was smiling my whole way through the book, what’s not to love, a mischievously adorable rescue dog named Barley, a granny so kind that you’re rooting for, laughs, charming characters and glorious puddings. Though a novella length story this has all that’s needed for a fabulous storyline.
The romance was such a fun addition and really hope to see these characters included in another book by the author. Having a pudding shop sounds like so much fun and the pudding demonstrations were making me hungry with the mention of so many different types of pudding. I’m always happy to see authors mention the adoption of animals and hope this encourages someone to rescue their forever pet. Love the author’s books and it’s such an exciting time to read them.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own

VISIT OTHER BLOGS ON THE TOUR

Purchase Link

Author Bio – Rosie Green’s Little Duck Pond Cafe series of novellas is centred around life in a village cafe and most can be read as stand-alone stories. (‘The Sunshine Sisters’ is a trilogy within the Little Duck Pond Café series and it would benefit from being read in order: Aurora, Skye and Blossom.) Look out for ‘Cosy Nights & Snowball Fights’, and ‘Maddy’s Christmas Wedding’, both out later this year in time for the festive season!

Follow Rosie on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green88

Thank you for stopping in. Have a lovely day.

Categories
Uncategorized

Happy Publication Day and Blog Tour for The Paris Daughter: An absolutely unforgettable page-turner full of family secrets (The Lost Daughters)

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Paris Daughter: An absolutely unforgettable page-turner full of family secrets (The Lost Daughters)

Paris, 1939: Gazing out at the glittering skyline, Evelina clutches the letter from her love in shaking hands. “I know I do not deserve you, my darling, but I pray that you will change your mind. You have my heart, and I hope that nothing will keep us apart…”

London, present day. Blake gazes down at a scrap of shimmering silver velvet attached to a faded dress design, tracing the details with wonder. They were left with her grandmother at Hope’s House, a home for unmarried mothers, before she was adopted. Now her beloved grandmother has passed, the beautiful fabric and the designer’s signature are the only clues Blake has about her biological family. Will she be able to unravel the decades-old family secret?

Blake can’t get the intricate drawing, and what it could reveal about her family, out of her head. Armed with a plane ticket, a Paris address and the details of a handsome fashion curator named Henri, Blake is determined to find out the truth about her talented great-grandmother Evelina’s life. Perhaps doing so will help Blake get her old spark for designing back, after her dreams have sat forgotten for so long.

Soon Blake is walking down the Champs-Élysées and enjoying intimate dinners with Henri,who is researching Evelina’s work as one of Paris’ most celebrated designers, whose bold designs rivalled Coco Chanel’s. As Henri and Blake grow closer, they uncover Evelina’s legacy, and her forbidden romance that set the fashion world ablaze.

As Blake discovers the impossible choice that caused Evelina to flee the most romantic city in the world, she wonders if she too could risk everything for love. Could hearing tales of her great-grandmother’s bravery encourage her to take a chance on a new life with Henri? Or will the fallout of Evelina’s heart-wrenching past drive Blake back home?

A completely addictive and emotional novel about family secrets, forbidden love and having the courage to follow your dreams. Perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Victoria Hislop.

Buy link: https://geni.us/B0CX299KJWsocial

MY THOUGHTS

Written by one of my favorite authors of historical fiction. When she has a new book publishing, I greatly look forward to reading it.
The Paris Daughter is the fifth book in the Lost Daughters series, of which I have read all of the books. This is such a beautiful story, told in a time-slip manner.

1939 Paris: Evelina comes from a working background of farmers; it is to be her lot in life to become a farmer’s wife like her mother and grandmother have before her, but she wants something more in life. She has a secret notebook with sketches of stunning evening dresses of the highest fashion. Her dreams are hers and hers alone as she’s not supported in her dreams by her parents so she must leave home. Becoming a well-known fashion designer is an accomplishment she has worked years towards, and it is finally hers.

Modern times London: All women adopted from Hope House a helpful home for unwed mothers is given a box filled with precious mementos from their mother to help the now adult child find their parents if they want to. Blake has her grandmother’s box, and it has items connecting her to a famous fashion designer of some years back. She is desperate to find who this woman is as she travels to the city of love and finds love there herself, unexpectedly. Will being surrounded by high fashion houses and designers bring the spark back into Blake’s life and give her the courage to design again?

Upbeat, romantic, encouraging, a real page turner that I couldn’t put down.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

VISIT OTHER BLOGS ON THE TOUR

MEET THE AUTHOR

Soraya Lane graduated with a law degree before realising that law wasn’t the career for her and that her future was in writing. She is the author of historical and contemporary women’s fiction, including the #1 Kindle bestselling novels The Last Correspondent and The Secrets We Left Behind. 

Soraya lives on a small farm in her native New Zealand with her husband, their two young sons and a collection of four legged friends. When she’s not writing, she loves to be outside playing make-believe with her children or snuggled up inside reading.

Author social media

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SorayaLaneAuthor

Twitter:

Instagram @SorayaLaneAuthor

Website: www.sorayalane.com

Newsletter sign up:

https://www.bookouture.com/soraya-lane-email-sign-up/

Thank you for stopping in today.

Categories
Uncategorized

Daily Prompt: Lesson learned

Share a lesson you wish you had learned earlier in life.

You can’t please everyone all the time and not to feel guilty when you don’t.

Categories
Uncategorized

Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee

352 pages Tyndale Fiction October 3, 2023 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

Forever within the memories of my heart.

Always remember, you are perfectly loved.

Bertie Jenkins has spent forty years serving as a midwife for her community in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Out of all the mothers she’s tended, none affects her more than the young teenager who shows up on her doorstep, injured, afraid, and expecting, one warm June day in 1943. As Bertie and her four sisters tenderly nurture Songbird back to health, the bond between the childless midwife and the motherless teen grows strong. But soon Songbird is forced to make a heartbreaking decision that will tear this little family apart.

Thirty years later, the day after his father’s funeral, Walker Wylie is stunned to learn he was adopted as an infant. The famous country singer enlists the help of adoption advocate Reese Chandler in the hopes of learning why he was abandoned by his birth parents. With the only clue he has in hand, Walker and Reese head deep into the Appalachian Mountains to track down Bertie Jenkins, the midwife who holds the secrets to Walker’s past.

MY THOUGHTS

A beautiful historical fiction time-slip novel, taking place in the 1940’s and 1970’s
1940’s: A young woman, little more than a child without the best upbringing wants to show her boyfriend how much she loves him before she moves away from North Carolina to Tennessee. At 14 she’s pregnant, her mother is dead, her father shoots her because of the pregnancy, and she runs away. The Appalachian Mountains are beautiful, wild and a good place to hide in the 1940’s but not for a 14-year-old pregnant teen shot by her father. Midwife Bertie hears her dog making a fuss in the woods and she finds the girl. Bringing the girl inside she and her five sisters live in the cabin her father built for his family of eleven but now all are gone but the five sisters living together that nurse this young girl back to health. As time goes on, she gives birth to a healthy beautiful baby boy, but she can’t stay as her father knows where she is and as she is unmarried and she’s underage he’d bring her and the baby home where she’s not wanted. This beautiful young, frightened girl develops a real affinity for her midwife as she becomes the mother she doesn’t have. The time comes for Songbird to leave, so named for her beautiful, melodious songs she treats the baby to.

1970’s: Thirty years later. A young man experiences the death of his father and learns he’s adopted after that, when his mother tells him. Feeling hurt, confused and bitter. Why didn’t they want him, wasn’t he good enough he wonders.
As he explores his adoption records with the help of an adoption advocate, they go back to where it all started tracking down Bertie Jenkins, his mother’s midwife, now long retired. So much has changed in the wild Appalachian Mountains but time has also stood still in many ways. The old cabin Bertie has lived in with her sisters still stands with no electricity as things meander along here at a slower pace. Bertie holds the keys to the questions this man who became a famous singer, Walker Wylie but will she trust this stranger enough to meander back in time to a slower pace and give him the missing pieces to his puzzling questions?

This story is so beautiful so heartbreaking yet so healing and time marches on. I just could not stop reading and shed a tear or three while reading. I really enjoy reading about the olden days of Appalachia.
Highly recommended!

MEET THE AUTHOR

Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels, including COUNT THE NIGHTS BY STARS, winner of the 2023 Christianity Today Book Award in Fiction, and UNDER THE TULIP TREE, a Christy Award and Selah Award finalist. As a woman of mixed heritage–her father’s family is Hispanic and her mother’s roots go back to Germany–she has always celebrated diversity and feels it’s important to see the world through the eyes of one another. Learning from the past and changing the future is why she writes historical fiction.

With both her sons grown, Michelle and her husband make their home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about.

Michelle loves hearing from readers! Connect with her at http://www.MichelleShocklee.com

Thank you so much for stopping in today. May your day be blessed with goodness.