women’s fiction

The Getaway Girls by Dee MacDonald @DMacDonaldAuth @bookouture #blogblitz

~ noveldeelights ~ 8 Comments

Delighted to join the blog blitz for The Getaway Girls by Dee MacDonald today! My thanks to Kim Nash at Bookouture for the invitation to join and for my review copy, which I received via Netgalley.

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Author : Dee MacDonald
Title : The Getaway Girls
Pages : 314
Publisher : Bookouture
Publication date : July 30, 2018

aboutthebook

Connie McColl is finally free to make her own decisions for the first time in decades. And when she meets glamorous Gill and downtrodden Maggie, at a rather dull flower arranging class, it seems that she’s not the only one dreaming of adventure. The three very different women all agree it’s about time they had a holiday to remember.

So they make a pact for this summer to be their best yet – and drive off into the sunset together…

As they meander their way along the beautiful beaches of France and onto the glorious delights of Italy in their luxury campervan, the new friends have plenty of fun and frolics in the sunshine. But the vacation isn’t quite what they expected…

Gill will do anything to have one last holiday romance, Connie has a surprise inheritance awaiting her in Italy, and Maggie has a secret that is going to catch up with them all…

In the end, all three women discover that the journey they thought would be their last really is just the beginning…

mythoughts

Three years after events from the previous book, The Runaway Wife, Connie is starting to feel a little restless. Time for another adventure then. So when she finds a box that seems to show her paternal grandmother originally came from Italy, Connie decides that’s where she will go.

Joining her on her road trip are two ladies she met in a flower arranging class, Maggie and Gill. These two couldn’t be more different if they tried. Gill is lonely and desperate for a new man after two failed marriages. Maggie would like nothing more but to feel free. Somehow these three ladies strike up the most amazing friendship on their journey to Italy in a motor home.

There will be lots of amazing experiences, new people to meet and even Cupid may make himself known at some point. The adventure isn’t all plain sailing though. Maggie is carrying a secret around with her that may catch up with them all. And what will Connie find out when they reach their destination? Whatever it is, this trip will change their lives forever.

This story made me incredibly nostalgic for all things Italy, which has always felt like home to me. It was huge fun to recognise so many places I’ve visited myself. But more than anything, it made me envious as I’d love to do something like this. Just jump in a motor home or a car and take off, not necessarily knowing where you’ll be spending the night or even if you’ll be coming back to the life you’ve left behind.

I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with these three amazing women. There’s something to admire and like about each and everyone of them. I can only hope that I’ll be as healthy, adventurous and fun as they are when I am that age. This is a truly inspirational, delightful and uplifting story with plenty of chuckles but also rather moving at times.

A heartwarming, entertaining and perfect summer read! I loved being a part of another one of Connie’s adventures and I do so hope there will be more to come. After all, it’s never too late for another adventure and you’re never too old to live life to the fullest!

The Getaway Girls is available to buy!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Googleplay | iBookstore | Kobo | Goodreads

abouttheauthor

The Runaway Wife is Dee’s first (published) novel but in fact she wrote her very first book – at around seven years of age! This was a love story which she duly illustrated before sewing all the pages together up one side. Writing was what she ‘was good at’ in school and she won several essay competitions, but then life got in the way and she didn’t pick up a pen again until after retirement.

Dee left Scotland and headed for London at the beginning of the swinging sixties. After typing her way round the West End she became an air stewardess on long haul routes with BA (then BOAC) for eight years. After that she did market research at Heathrow for both the government statistics and for BA, she became a sales rep., and was the receptionist at the Thames Television Studios in Teddington when they had the franchise.

She then ran a small B&B for ten years in Cornwall, where she lives with her husband. Dee has one son and two grandsons who live locally.

Author links : Facebook | Twitter

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The Memories of Us by Vanessa Carnevale @v_carnevale @AvonBooksUK @Sabah_K #blogtour

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Delighted to join the blog tour for The Memories of Us by Vanessa Carnevale today! My thanks to Sabah Khan at Avon UK for the invitation to join and the beautiful review copy!

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Author : Vanessa Carnevale
Title : The Memories of Us
Pages : 336
Publisher : Avon UK
Publication date : July 12, 2018

One moment can change your life.

When Gracie Ashcroft wakes after a crash with severe amnesia, she must choose whether to live a life through other people’s memories or to start a new life all her own.

Discovering her late mother left her an old flower farm, Gracie leaves her fiancé, best friend and the home full of forgotten memories behind, hoping to learn who she is now.

Torn between wishing she could remember and afraid of losing what she now has, Gracie starts to wonder: if you had your time over, would you live the same life twice?

If the past determines our present, what happens when we lose our memories of who we are? When you can’t remember what you like or love, from breakfast to the man you’re supposed to be marrying?

If memories are the delicate threads that knit our souls together and make us who we are, who can we be without them?

After being involved in a car accident, Gracie wakes up suffering from amnesia. She can’t remember her own name, her best friend or her fiancé. Gracie is adamant nobody should tell her anything about what her life was like. She wants to find things out on her own because suddenly her job as an interior designer, for instance, doesn’t sound so appealing. So with a clean slate, so to speak, will the choices Grace now makes bring her back to the life she used to have or will things turn out completely differently?

Gracie returns to the flower farm her mother used to own. A place that should feel familiar to her but does nothing of the sort. Yet, it’s through the language of flowers, the stunning power of Mother Nature, that Gracie finds out a bit more about herself and may even find love again. I must say, I really enjoyed spending time at Summerhill. The beautiful descriptions almost made it sound magical. I’d move there in a heartbeat!

The Memories of Us isn’t quite my typical sort of novel. But I was swayed by the beautiful cover and the intriguing description. I soon found myself completely immersed in Gracie’s circumstances and I think the author handled the issue of Retrograde Amnesia quite wonderfully. It was easy to sympathise with Gracie, to imagine what her life was now like, how frustrating it must be when you realise you can’t even remember how to tie your shoelaces. Of course, there’s a dash of romance. While this usually makes me cringe, I actually quite enjoyed this part of the story as well and found myself rooting for a happy ending.

A wonderfully warm and beautiful story about love, heartbreak and hope that even almost left me with a lump in my throat. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

The Memories of Us is available to buy!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Kobo | Goodreads

Vanessa Carnevale is a freelance writer based in Australia, who has contributed to The Green Parent, The Huffington Post, Muse, and Italy magazine, among others. Her debut novel, The Florentine Bridge, was published in 2017 by HQ in Australia. She was a finalist in the Best New Author category for the AusRom Today Readers Choice Awards 2017.

Vanessa is also the host of Your Beautiful Writing Life Retreats held in Tuscany and Australia.

Author links : Facebook | Twitter

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Happily Never After by Emma Robinson @emmarobinsonuk @bookouture #blogblitz #HappilyNeverAfter

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It’s a real pleasure to host one of the stops on the blog blitz for Happily Never After by Emma Robinson today! My thanks to Kim Nash at Bookouture for the opportunity to join and for the review copy, which I received via Netgalley.

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Author : Emma Robinson
Title : Happily Never After
Pages : 296
Publisher : Bookouture
Publication date : July 10, 2018

aboutthebook

Rory doesn’t believe in love. She’s got far too many real problems to deal with.

She’s just bought a tumbledown house. Her mother is generally behaving like a wicked witch, insisting on calling her Aurora, and generally interfering in her (admittedly pitiful lack of) love life. And her 16-year-old daughter has finally grown out of Disney princesses and discovered dating…

But Rory’s adamant that she doesn’t need saving. In fact, the only thing she’s wishing on a star for is a bit of practical help. However, when she meets a builder whose name is John Prince and who seems to be in the habit of rescuing her (right down to finding her lost shoe one evening) she might have to face a truth as uncomfortable as hobbling home barefoot – that maybe there’s something enchanted in the air.

Her mother, daughter and friends are convinced her prince has come, but Rory just wishes everyone could let it go. Especially when she hears a story that makes her question whether he is really the hero everyone thinks he is.

mythoughts

No, you have not accidentally stumbled upon the wrong blog. I can see why you might think that as this is quite clearly not something I’d normally read. However, I rather enjoyed Emma Robinson’s previous book, The Undercover Mother, and sometimes it’s just nice to step away from all the dark and disturbing stories I usually read.

Rory has a lot on her plate. She’s just bought a rundown house that will surely make a fabulous home in time. But time is exactly something Rory doesn’t have in abundance. Her job as a teacher is increasingly demanding, not helped at all by the new deputy head, who’s more interested in statistics and spreadsheets than anything else. On top of that, her sixteen year old daughter Belle has just discovered dating. Rory doesn’t have time for anything, least of all finding love. She’s perfectly fine without a knight in shining armour coming to her rescue, even if his name happens to be Prince. Or is she?

These characters are all delightful and it was such a joy to get to know them. Rory is fiercely independent, to the point of being stubborn. Her colleagues Susi and Penny are very different as both seem to think the only thing that can make them happy is a man in their lives. Susi especially comes across as rather desperate. But the one who elicited some chuckles from me was Sheila, Rory’s mother, and her gossip about the retirement home she lives in.

Even though there are some funny moments, I wouldn’t exactly call this a laugh-out-loud comedy though, to be honest, but I did thoroughly enjoy it. It’s sweet and a little dramatic and sometimes even a little sad but also realistic as it tackles numerous topics from teenage drama to illness.

Not quite as light and fluffy as I expected it to be but a wonderfully entertaining summer read nonetheless, and for me, the perfect palette cleanser before diving back into the gruesome crime genre.

Happily Never After is available to buy!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Googleplay | iBookstore | Kobo | Goodreads

abouttheauthor

Emma Robinson thinks of herself as one of the ‘Bridget Jones generation’ – who are now grown up and having children – and writes novels for women who feel the same.

She also has a blog, Motherhood for Slackers, which takes a humorous look at parenthood, and includes poems such as ‘Dear Teacher’ about her son starting school which has been shared around the world. Emma is an English teacher and lives in Essex with a patient husband and two children who are an endless source of material.

Author links : Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Website

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Missing Pieces by Laura Pearson @LauraPAuthor @AgoraBooksLDN #blogtour #MissingPieces

~ noveldeelights ~ 15 Comments

Delighted to host a stop on the blog tour for Missing Pieces by Laura Pearson today! My thanks to Lucy Irvine at Agora Books for the invitation to join and the wonderful review copy!

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Author : Laura Pearson
Title : Missing Pieces
Pages : 277
Publisher : Agora Books
Publication date : June 21, 2018

aboutthebook

All Linda wants to do is sleep. She won’t look at her husband. She can’t stand her daughter. And she doesn’t want to have this baby. Having this baby means moving on, and she just wants to go back to before. Before their family was torn apart, before the blame was placed.

Alienated by their own guilt and struggling to cope, the Sadler family unravels. They grow up, grow apart, never talking about their terrible secret.

That is until Linda’s daughter finds out she’s pregnant. Before she brings another Sadler into the world, Bea needs to know what happened twenty-five years ago. What did they keep from her? What happened that couldn’t be fixed?

A devastating mistake, a lifetime of consequences. How can you repair something broken if pieces are missing?

mythoughts

Good grief. I am broken. Absolutely in bits.

The lovely ladies at Agora Books were kind enough to include the most thoughtful care package with this review copy, intent on dealing with your emotions while reading the debut novel by Laura Pearson. Now, I consider myself quite tough as boots so I laughed in the face of the “might make you ugly cry” warning. However, after reading just a few pages I already panicked, realising the tissues that were provided would not be sufficient at all.

Missing Pieces is written in two parts. Part one is set in the 1980’s. A time when Tom and his wife Linda are supposed to be happily awaiting the birth of their new baby. But something has happened and Linda is not the woman she used to be. She can’t stand her daughter, won’t even look at her husband and really, really doesn’t want this baby to be born at all.

Part two is set decades later, when daughter Bea discovers she’s pregnant. This prompts her to try and find out what happened all those years ago because the secrets and the guilt have affected this entire family. Even Bea, who has no memories of those days at all. And no, I’m not telling you why this family was torn apart. You don’t have to wait long to find out and I’m sure, like me and the Sadler family, you too will feel the impact to your very core.

This is an absolutely heartbreaking and devastating story about family, love, loss, grief and guilt. The Sadler family are highly realistic and believable characters and there is no hardship at all in becoming invested in them and feeling utterly bereft right alongside them. It’s hard to talk about them without giving anything away. My heart broke for Linda as she struggled to cope. Tom, who has his own issues to deal with, somehow manages to keep going, to take care of his family and despite showing he’s not at all perfect, he is the most wonderful father and the stories he tells his children managed to put a smile on my face, which was much needed!

Missing Pieces is beautifully written, highly moving and emotional. Even when I couldn’t see properly as the tears streamed down my face rivalling the force of the Niagara Falls, I couldn’t put this novel down. It is raw, it is devastating (yes, I’m aware I’ve used that word before but it is!) and yet, it’s wonderful and I absolutely loved it!

I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to get to know this family and even more so, to discover what an amazing new talent Laura Pearson is.

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

abouttheauthor

Laura Pearson lives in Leicestershire with her husband and their two children. Missing Pieces is her first novel.

Author link : Twitter

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A Mother’s Goodbye by Kate Hewitt @bookouture #blogblitz

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Truly delighted to be one of the blogger who gets to kick off the blog blitz for A Mother’s Goodbye by Kate Hewitt today! My thanks to Kim Nash at Bookouture for the invitation to join and the review copy, which I received via Netgalley.

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Author : Kate Hewitt
Title : A Mother’s Goodbye
Pages : 348
Publisher : Bookouture
Publication date : June 13, 2018

aboutthebook

Heather is devastated. There’s no way she can keep her baby. She can barely pay the bills as it is. But when she meets Grace, a wealthy, single career woman, who wants a baby more than anything, Heather believes she has found the perfect adoptive mother.

As Grace and Heather’s lives become entwined, they are tested to breaking point, though neither can deny the other’s love for the child. But just when they think they are learning how to live with each other, they receive devastating news that turns their fragile world upside down.

Will either mother know what is the right thing to do for the child they both love?

mythoughts

Stock up on tissues, chocolate and/or ice cream or whatever comfort food takes your fancy because believe me, you are going to need it!

When Heather discovers she’s pregnant, there are no tears of joy. With a husband off work and three other children to feed, life is hard enough as it is and the bills keep piling up. Heather decides to give her baby up for adoption and thinks single career woman Grace might just be perfect.

Grace is terribly lonely after the death of her father. Her job has always come first and now she realises she doesn’t really have anyone in her life. A baby seems the best option to fill that gap.

Another unlikely choice of book for me but this is the thing I like so much about blog tours. Stepping in to fill a gap and be surprised you’ve actually discovered something truly special. I had braced myself for a certain level of predictability but things didn’t at all turn out the way I expected them to.

A Mother’s Goodbye is quite a raw and incredibly emotional story. I didn’t always particularly agree with some of the decisions that were made or the attitudes of both Grace and Heather but you know, walk a mile in someone else’s shoes and all that. We never really know how we’ll react to certain situations until we find ourselves right in the middle of them.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot. The book description clearly tells you there is devastating news that will turn lives upside down, even more so than they already were. I’m not someone who cries easily but I often found myself desperately trying to fight back the tears and thought this book might just break me into tiny pieces.

This is an incredibly moving, powerful and heartbreaking story about motherhood, love and loss that will pull at your heartstrings. It left me tearful and in need of a massive hug and a stiff drink. Beautifully written and extremely evocative, I have a feeling this one will stay with me for a long time to come.

A Mother’s Goodbye is published today!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Kobo | Goodreads

abouttheauthor

Kate Hewitt is the author of many titles of women’s fiction and romance. Whatever the genre, she enjoys telling an emotionally compelling story. An American ex-pat, she now lives in South Wales with her husband and five children. You can learn more about her and her books at www.kate-hewitt.com.

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The Forgotten Guide to Happiness by Sophie Jenkins @sophiejenkinsuk @AvonBooksUK @Sabah_K #blogtour

~ noveldeelights ~ 10 Comments

I’m delighted to join the blog tour for The Forgotten Guide to Happiness by Sophie Jenkins today! My thanks to Sabah Khan at Avon for the invitation to join and the review copy!

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Author : Sophie Jenkins
Title : The Forgotten Guide to Happiness
Pages : 320
Publisher : Avon UK
Publication date : May 28, 2018

aboutthebook

Twenty-eight-year-old Lana Green has never been good at making friends. She’s perfectly happy to be left alone with her books. Or at least, that’s what she tells herself.

Nancy Ellis Hall was once a celebrated writer. Now eighty, she lives alone in her North London house, and thinks she’s doing just fine. But dementia is loosening Nancy’s grip on the world.

When Lana and Nancy become unconventional house mates, their lives will change in ways they never expected. But can an unusual friendship rescue two women who don’t realise they need to be saved?

mythoughts

Once again, I find myself reviewing a book I wouldn’t normally pick up. But I was swayed by the pretty cover and the book description and I’m chuffed to bits I decided to give this one a go.

Lana Green is an author who has written a romantic novel based on her own relationship with Mark. Unfortunately, writing the sequel turned into a bit of a nightmare when her soulmate abandoned her and her publisher rejects her manuscript. Lana needs a hero, a muse, and quickly before she runs out of money. As such, she is always looking for inspiration and setting the scene, so to speak, and it was fun following her thought processes and imagination.

Then Lana meets Jack, whose stepmother used to be a writer. Now eighty years old, Nancy Ellis Hall sadly suffers from dementia. When Lana moves in with her to keep her safe, an unexpected friendship develops that might just help Lana find happiness again. And a new novel.

Having a grandmother with dementia herself, I often found myself with a lump in my throat. However, this novel isn’t overwhelmingly sad. It is actually quite witty, most definitely uplifting and even more so, incredibly heartwarming. The author managed to tackle a serious illness like dementia in a light-hearted way that just felt right. Yes, there are tears but there is also laughter, as there is in real life, and ultimately it left me with a big smile on my face.

Sure, there were a few predicable moments but who cares? I most certainly didn’t  because this wonderful novel is filled with the most fantastic, colourful and slightly quirky characters that each warmed my heart in their own very special ways and I thoroughly enjoyed the time I got to spend with them. Not just Lana and Nancy, but the secondary characters as well. Each and every one of them stands out in a way that adds that little something extra to the story.

The Forgotten Guide to Happiness is a truly delightful story about love, friendship and figuring out what matters the most. It wraps itself around you like a warm, comforting blanket and it made me chuckle, a little emotional at times but in the end, pretty happy.

The Forgotten Guide to Happiness is now available to buy in ebook format!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Bookdepository | Kobo | Goodreads

abouttheauthor

Sophie Jenkins is a serial joiner of writing groups and workshops and a prolific short story writer. To encourage her creativity she regularly enters half-marathons and trains by running from her home in North London to breakfast in the centre of town with a notepad.

The character of Nancy in The Forgotten Guide to Happiness is based on her experiences with her own mother, who was diagnosed with dementia fifteen years ago.

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What Holly’s Husband Did by Debbie Viggiano @DebbieViggiano @bookouture #blogblitz

~ noveldeelights ~ 8 Comments

It’s such a pleasure to welcome you all to my stop on the blog blitz for What Holly’s Husband Did by Debbie Viggiano. My thanks to Kim Nash at Bookouture!

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Author : Debbie Viggiano
Title : What Holly’s Husband Did
Pages : 328
Publisher : Bookouture
Publication date : May 29, 2018

aboutthebook

Holly Hart has been married for fifteen blissful years to hubby Alex. Well … if you don’t count last Christmas, when she accidentally found a load of flirty texts on Alex’s phone. But every marriage has its ups and downs and Alex had a perfectly reasonable explanation … so why can’t Holly forget what she saw?

With the help of best friends Jeanie and Caro, as well as their handsome neighbour Jack, Holly resolves to settle her mind once and for all with a bit of sneaky detective work. So what if her husband isn’t exactly Brad Pitt? He’s hers, and if someone else is trying to steal him she wants to know who…. But the truth is way more shocking than Holly ever anticipated. Can Holly, let alone her marriage, ever recover from what she discovers?

mythoughts

No, you are not visiting the wrong blog. Yes, I’m quite aware that this isn’t my normal sort of read at all. In all honesty, I tend to shy away from pretty much anything romantic or something that promises to make me laugh out loud. Which is like the evil stepsister of that twist you won’t see coming. More often than not, I do see it coming and don’t laugh out loud.

So why pick up something like this, I hear you asking? I don’t really know but let’s call it a broadening of the horizons, cleansing the palette, having a change of scenery, whatever. Truth be told, I actually really enjoyed this one. Go figure. You just never know.

Holly and her husband Alex have been married for fifteen years. Everything seemed to be going perfectly well until Holly finds flirty texts or “sexts” on her husband’s phone. Alex has a perfectly reasonable explanation but Holly isn’t convinced and she can’t forget what she saw. Of course Alex isn’t Mister Perfect but he’s Holly’s and if someone else has her eye on him, Holly is going to find out who it is.

Ever notice how when you think something is going on, everyone around you suddenly starts to act incredibly suspiciously? Holly is convinced her husband is having an affair but just when she starts to zero in on a viable suspect, someone else pops up who may be hiding a thing or two. All this does is fuel Holly’s belief something is amiss but is she on the right track though? One thing is for sure, flowers will most definitely not fix this one.

This has all the elements you’d expect from this genre. Unruly teenagers, a fabulous group of friends, a husband who isn’t exactly going to win any awards, a delightfully camp gay brother and of course, a dashing man to muddy the waters and a rather surprising conclusion. Despite the heartbreaking issue of infidelity, this still managed to be a fun, entertaining and enjoyable story. If chick-lit is your thing, then I have no doubt you’ll enjoy this one.

Perfect for those summer days by the pool with a yummy cocktail.

And in case you wondered, yes, I may have laughed out loud a few times. But you can’t prove it. 😉

What Holly’s Husband is available to buy!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Kobo | Goodreads

abouttheauthor

Prior to turning her attention to writing, Debbie Viggiano was, for more years than she cares to remember, a legal secretary. She lives with her Italian husband, a rescued puppy from Crete, and a very disgruntled cat. Occasionally her children return home from uni bringing her much joy…apart from their gifts of dirty laundry.

Author link : Blog | Facebook | Twitter

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Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling by Sarah Breen & Emer McLysaght @MichaelJBooks @JennyPlatt90 #blogtour #OMGWACA

~ noveldeelights ~ 4 Comments

It’s such a pleasure to join the blog tour for Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen today! My thanks to Jenny Platt at Michael Joseph for the invitation to join and my review copy!

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Author : Emer McLysaght & Sarah Breen
Title : Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling
Pages : 368
Publisher : Michael Joseph
Publication date : May 3, 2018

aboutthebook

Everyone knows an Aisling.

Loves going Out Out, but secretly scared of liquid eyeliner.
Happy to drink the bar dry, but will bring her own coaster if necessary.
Would rather die than miss a cooked hotel breakfast, but can calculate the Points in a Snickers at fifty paces.

Aisling’s the girl with a heart of gold, but a boyfriend who still hasn’t made a peep about their Big Day even after seven years.

But then a disastrous romantic getaway shows Aisling that it’s time to stop waiting around and leave John behind for the bright lights of Dublin. After she’s wailed her way through Adele’s Greatest Hits, that is.

Between glamorous new flatmates, a scandal at work and finding herself in a weird love square, Aisling is ready to take on the big city. So long as she has her umbrella with her.

mythoughts

Aisling is at that age where all around her people are getting married. Surely she’s next. After all, she and her boyfriend John have been together for seven years. When a romantic getaway turns into a disaster, Aisling decides it’s time to move on. Leaving John behind, she moves from her tiny village to the bright lights of Dublin.

I must say this didn’t at all turn out the way I expected it to. Yes, there are some funny and chuckle-worthy moments, but there were also some really rather moving and sad emotional bits. Myself not being Irish, I think there may have been a few references that went completely over my head but that didn’t ruin my enjoyment at all. If anything, it’s rather refreshing and the story wouldn’t at all be the same without some Irish mixed in.

Aisling is the type of girl that captures your heart right from the start and I thought she was a true delight. It was quite easy imagining myself sitting down somewhere with a cup of coffee and a piece of cake and have Aisling tell me all about her family, flatmates, colleagues and friends. This story is full of witty observations and descriptions, from the excitement of an Aldi store to being stuck in the loo when other women are obviously talking about you.

So maybe a few things were slightly over the top, some a tad stereotypical and some a bit predictable, but it really didn’t matter. This is just one of those stories where you go with the flow, don’t overthink things and let the wonderfulness that is Aisling fill your heart with joy. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting her, her family and her friends and I’m quietly hoping that maybe there may be a sequel some day. I have no doubt Aisling has many more stories to tell!

A fun, light, heartwarming and entertaining novel, perfect for those summer days!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Bookdepository | Kobo | Wordery | Goodreads

abouttheauthor

Emer McLysaght is the former editor of The Daily Edge and has worked extensively in journalism and radio.

Sarah Breen is a journalist whose work has appeared in Stellar, Image, U, the Irish Independent and The Gloss.

Emer and Sarah conceived the character of Aisling in their sitting room in 2008, when they began to observe the many traits, characteristics and quirks of a very particular type of Irish girl; one they identified around them and one they identified with.

Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling was an instant sensation in their native Ireland and the Number One bestselling adult fiction title of 2017.

Author links : Emer on Twitter | Sarah on Twitter

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Meeting Lydia by Linda MacDonald @LindaMac1 @matadorbooks @annecater #blogtour #RandomThingsTours

~ noveldeelights ~ 1 Comment

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Meeting Lydia by Linda MacDonald! My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the invitation to join and to the publisher for my review copy!

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Author : Linda MacDonald
Title : Meeting Lydia
Pages : 321
Publisher : Matador
Publication date : March 22, 2018

aboutthebook

When Marianne comes home from work one day to find her husband talking to a glamorous woman in the kitchen, insecurities resurface from a time when she was bullied at school. Jealousy rears its head and her marriage begins to fall apart. Desperate for a solution, she finds herself trying to track down her first schoolgirl crush: Edward Harvey. Even thinking his name made her tingle with half-remembered childlike giddiness. Edward Harvey, the only one from Brocklebank to whom she might write if she found him.

mythoughts

Meeting Lydia is a thought-provoking and sometimes moving account about relationships and growing old(er). At an age where you’re supposed to have it all figured out, insecurities crop up. Never mind a grey hair or two, what’s with all these wrinkles and saggy bits? Not helped by the fact that you feel time is running out. Is your life all you thought it would be? What happened to your ambitions and dreams? What if you’d done this or said that when you were younger? Would your life have been different?

Marianne’s concerns and feelings are undoubtedly familiar to quite a few of us. She was bullied quite severely as a young child, an experience that still affects her to this day. So when she returns home one day and finds her husband, Johnny, in the kitchen talking to a glamorous colleague, all her old insecurities resurface. Is she not beautiful or sexy enough anymore? Jealousy rears its ugly head and while Marianne is also forced to deal with the dreaded menopause, her marriage begins to fall apart.

In her time of need, Marianne turns to an old classmate. A boy she used to have a crush on, one who didn’t bully her. It is in talking to him and facing her past that she and her husband may still have a future together. I must say that this correspondence didn’t quite turn out the way I expected it to and while it is explained why Marianne decides to turn to this person, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around that. The more interesting conversations are the ones Marianne has in her head, where she talks about things she doesn’t communicate in person.

Meeting Lydia covers a variety of interesting topics. From relationships both in “real life” and online, to menopause, to bullying and its effects. It explores human behaviour, not just through Marianne’s life but also through the psychology lessons she teaches her students. You’d think Marianne would follow her own advice but as they say “those who can’t do, teach”, I suppose.

Relationships take work and communication is key. Nobody is a mind-reader and that’s probably for the best. But in this case, I’d say Marianne’s struggles put a strain on her marriage that could possibly have been avoided if she’d known how to talk about and tackle her feelings. Will she be able to find some self-confidence and stand up for herself? Can her marriage be saved? And who is this Lydia? You’ll have to find out for yourself when you read this honest, realistic and relatable story about how the past and unresolved issues can affect your future, no matter how old you are.

Meeting Lydia is available to buy!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Kobo | Goodreads

abouttheauthor

Linda MacDonald was born and brought up in Cockermouth, Cumbria. She was educated at the local grammar school and later at Goldsmiths’, University of London where she studied for a BA in psychology and then a PGCE in biology and science. She taught in a secondary school in Croydon for eleven years before taking some time out to write and paint. In 1990 she returned to teaching at a sixth form college in south-east London where she taught psychology. For over twenty-five years she was also a visiting tutor in the psychology department at Goldsmiths’. She has now given up teaching to focus fully on writing.

Author link : Twitter

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Nineteen Letters by Jodi Perry @JLPerryAuthor @millieseaward @LittleBrownUK #blogtour

~ noveldeelights ~ 4 Comments

It’s my pleasure to host a stop on the blog tour for Nineteen Letters by Jodi Perry today! My thanks to Millie Seaward at Little Brown UK for the invitation and the beautiful review copy!

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Author : Jodi Perry
Title : Nineteen Letters
Pages : 381
Publisher : Sphere | Little Brown UK
Publication date : April 19, 2018

aboutthebook

What would you do if the love of your life had no memory of you?

The 19th of January, 1996 . . . I’ll never forget it. It was the day we met. I was seven and she was six. It was the day she moved in next door, and the same day I developed my first crush on a girl.

Then tragedy struck. Nineteen days after our wedding day, Jemma was in an accident that would change our lives forever. When she woke from her coma, she had no memory of me, of us, of the love we shared.

That’s when I started writing her letters. The stories of our life. Of when we met. About the happier times, and everything we’d experienced together.

mythoughts

Lately I’ve been very much about broadening my horizons where my reading is
concerned. Of course, I love my crime fiction but sometimes it’s quite nice to try something different and cleanse the palette, so to speak. Hence why I gladly accepted the invitation to read Nineteen Letters.

Admittedly, there were a few moments at the beginning where I wondered what I’d gotten myself in to. I’m not really the romantic type, I’m married to an even less romantic guy. Surprise bouquet of pretty flowers, what’s that? And surely when you book a weekend away, that’s just an excuse to bring a suitcase of books?

So when I started this story and realised there was quite a lot of that “sappy stuff” going on that almost made me cringe, I thought I’d made a huge mistake. However, I actually soon found myself completely immersed into the lives of Baxter, Jemma and their families.

Retrograde amnesia sounds positively scary. Imagine waking up and not remembering the person next to you, your parents, the life you’ve led so far or even yourself. Do you like wine or ice cream, for instance? What’s your favourite colour, your favourite song? When was your first kiss? What do you do when the essence of “you” might be gone forever?

This is what happens to Jemma after she’s involved in a car accident. Luckily for her, she has Baxter and he is determined to make sure Jemma will one day remember their lives and the intense love they shared. He does this by writing her letters. Nineteen to be exact, a number that holds special meaning to them. Through those letters, he hopes to rekindle the magic he and Jemma had and we, the reader, get to know both of them as Braxton takes us all down memory lane.

“What we had is far too beautiful to be forgotten”

While I found some things a little predictable, I was rooting for the entire cast of characters all the way. Because not only does Baxter have the situation with Jemma to deal with. There is a lot going on in all of their lives. Jemma’s parents have split up but clearly still love each other. Baxter’s father is in a care home and what on earth is going on with Lucas and Rachel?

Nineteen Letters is a moving, sometimes heartbreaking and yet heartwarming story about love, loss, grief and second chances. I smiled. I chuckled, I even had a massive lump in my throat and the overwhelming urge to hug someone tightly. It brings home how short and fragile life is and how quickly things you take for granted can change. There’s a vital lesson here, to take life as it comes and make the best of every day. If you do have that romantic bone in your body, I’m sure you will enjoy meeting Baxter and Jemma.

Nineteen Letters is available for purchase!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Bookdepository | Kobo | Wordery | Goodreads

abouttheauthor

Jodi Perry is a wife and mother, and was born in Sydney, Australia. She has lived there her whole life. Under the name J. L. Perry, her previous four novels have all been #1 bestsellers in ebook.

Jodi travels annually to the UK and US to promote her books at romance events and to meet her readers.

Author link : Twitter

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