Tag Archives: Carol Thomas Author

Review of Rosie Green’s Summer at the Little Duck Pond Cafe

Blog Tour Review, Book Review, , , , , , , , , , ,

The blurb:

Jaz Winters stuck a pin in a map and fled to the village of Sunnybrook, looking for a brand new life – and after a rocky start, it’s beginning to look as if she made the right decision. Her blossoming friendship with Ellie and Fen has seen her through some dark times, and she’s managed to land two jobs – waitressing at The Little Duck Pond Cafe and working as a weekend tour guide at Brambleberry Manor, the country house that’s been in Fen’s family for generations.

Sure, life isn’t totally perfect. There’s the irritating know-it-all guy who keeps popping up on her manor tours, for a start. He seems determined to get under Jaz’s skin whether she likes it or not. But she supposes he’s a small price to pay for the relative peace she’s found, living in Sunnybrook.

But just as Jaz is beginning to think rosier times are on the horizon, a shock encounter looks set to shatter her fragile happiness.

Will she be forced to flee from Sunnybrook and everyone she’s grown so fond of? Or will she find the strength to stand her ground and finally face up to the nightmares of the past?

Genre: Contemporary Romance / Romantic Comedy / novella

My review:

I enjoyed my first visit to Sunnybrook, and so I was looking forward to my second; I was not disappointed.

Summer at the Little Duck Pond Cafe follows the story of Jaz Winters, who is introduced in the first novella. It was good to get to know her better, to learn her backstory and to witness her growth as the story progressed. I also enjoyed revisiting other characters from the first book and discovering how their lives had moved on in the passing months.

Those who live in and around the Little Duck Pond Cafe are warm and welcoming, making it easy to lose yourself in the story as you happily become absorbed into the world of this lovely community. I liked Jaz and was willing her to achieve her happy ending, even if I wasn’t always sure about the way she was going about it.

Rosie Green writes novellas with a fast pace, plenty of plot and delightful characters. They are quick reads, with a big heart, leaving you with a warm, happy feeling, long after the last page is read. I look forward to reading the third in the series.

Click to buy the book.

Back in May, I also read Spring at the Little Duck Pond Cafe, but as I knew this lovely blog tour was coming up I thought I would save sharing my review until now:

The Blurb:

Fleeing from a romance gone wrong, Ellie Farmer arrives in the pretty little village of Sunnybrook, hoping for a brand new start that most definitely does not include love! Following an unscheduled soak in the village duck pond, she meets Sylvia, who runs the nearby Duck Pond Cafe. Renting the little flat above the cafe seems like the answer to Ellie’s prayers. It’s only for six months, which will give her time to sort out her life, far away from cheating boyfriend Richard.

But is running away from your past ever really the answer?

Clashing with the mysterious and brooding Zack Chamberlain, an author with a bad case of writer’s block, is definitely not what Ellie needs right now. And then there’s Sylvia, who’s clinging so hard to her past, she’s in danger of losing the quaint but run-down Duck Pond Cafe altogether.

Can Ellie find the answers she desperately needs in Sunnybrook? And will she be able to help save Sylvia’s little Duck Pond Cafe from closure?

Genre: Contemporary Romance / novella

My review:

This lovely novella provided a wonderfully entertaining read that made me smile a lot. I’ve read some novellas that feel too short or light on plot but this certainly wasn’t one of them. I loved it and it had me hooked throughout (no duck pun intended).

The characters were likeable, believable and warm, and the setting was gorgeous. I fancy a trip to the Little Duck Pond Cafe myself!

Click to buy the book.

About the author:

Rosie Green has been scribbling stories ever since she was little. Back then they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’. Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger involved at all, unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love.

​Rosie’s brand new series of novellas is centred on life in a village cafe. Summer at The Little Duck Pond Cafe, published on 18th June 2018, follows the first in the series, Spring at The Little Duck Pond Cafe. Don’t miss Christmas at the Little Duck Pond Cafe now available for preorder.

You can find Rosie on Twitter.

Thank you, Rosie, for two great reads! Thank you, also to Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources for the advance copy of Summer at the Little Duck Pond Cafe, and for having me along as part of the blog tour.

My reviews are posted on Amazon UK and Goodreads. xx

 

An interview with Christine Stovell.

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Today, I am delighted to welcome Choc Lit author Christine Stovell to my blog. Thank you for agreeing to join me Christine and for answering my questions, aimed at discovering more about you and your novella, Moonbeams in a Jar.

For those who haven’t yet encountered your wonderful, stand-alone novella, Moonbeams in a Jar, give us your elevator pitch:

Control-freak Chloe and adrenaline-junkie Ryan have fallen hard for each other, but neither is willing to compromise their lifestyle until fate intervenes in the form of their dogs, Wilma and Fred.

This was my first visit to your fictional seaside town, Little Spitmarsh, and I loved it. If Chloe wrote a postcard home, how might she describe the location?

“No wonder so few people have heard of Little Spitmarsh! It’s a really isolated seaside town divided from its neighbours by miles of salt marsh and hemmed in by the sea. I love the sense of loneliness about the landscape, but apparently the place was struggling to survive until a smart restaurant opened. There’s a story that the woman who runs the boatyard here was bitterly opposed to the guy who opened the restaurant but now they’re married! These days, Little Spitmarsh retains its salty character but also has a smattering of galleries, cool vintage shops and even an annual film festival. For me, though, the backwaters here will always be very special; in winter the raw north wind can cut you to the bone, but in summer the sky over the marshes shimmers with heat and birdsong. Most importantly, of course, it’s the place where I first met Ryan!”

I enjoyed Chloe’s trip to Hong Kong and recently read that you visited with your hubby. For those planning to go what three romantic musts, would you recommend?

Yes, you’re right – it was a fabulous holiday of a lifetime to a city of dramatic contrasts. Anyone who reads Moonbeams in a Jar might spot one or two of my favourite romantic musts, but it won’t spoil the story to tell you that I absolutely loved crossing Victoria harbour on the Star ferries, especially under a full moon. Seeing the city in the glow of first light from our hotel room was rather wonderful as was soaring through the sky in a crystal cable car. Like Chloe, I also had my fortune told… but I’m still waiting for fame, wealth and the shedloads of sales for my books I was promised. I suspect the fortune teller might have been pulling my leg just a little.

Where did the inspiration come from for your swoon-worthy leading man, Ryan Green?

I honestly don’t know! I can say, hand-on-heart, that I never set out to ‘create’ a leading-man and I only meet them when my heroines do. I was delighted to meet Ryan as he happens to be rather lush, lucky Chloe!

I have a soft spot for dogs, real and fictional. Wilma, the dachshund, and Fred, the basset hound, were both great contributors to the action. Were they based on furry friends in your life?

Wilma and Wurst, a dachsie who makes a guest appearance in my novella, Only True in Fairy Tales, both share character traits with Zorba (pictured above) a miniature dachshund who was the great dog love of my life. He was a renowned hunter and destroyer of footwear and was the only living creature to stick his nose in Dad’s slippers and survive. It broke my heart when we lost him.

What a great picture, Zorba looks a fabulous character and I completely understand the heartbreak of your loss.

Finally, five for fun:

  1. Sweet or savoury? Dark chocolate – I’m an addict!
  2. TV or radio? Spotify; I love a good Spotify-fest
  3. Paperback or e-reader? E-reader – I know that causes people a sharp intake of breath, but I’m a fast reader and I like having lots of books at hand to choose from.
  4. Posh frock or joggers? Skinny jeans and running leggings (not at the same time!).
  5. Sun or Snow? Sunshine all the way.

My review:

Moonbeams in a Jar is a lovely story, with likeable lead characters, great settings, and dogs (always a plus)!

I hadn’t read Christine Stovell’s previous Little Spitmarsh stories, but it didn’t matter, I soon felt right at home in the seaside town. I was drawn to the characters, especially the rather lovely Ryan who has plenty of swoon appeal.

I particularly enjoyed the trip to Hong Kong, not just because it was delightfully romantic but also because it was an unexpected location. I read many romance novels and haven’t been transported to this setting before. It was a real treat as the author brought the city to life and wowed me with its charms.

As a novella, this was the ideal length for reading en route to my holiday and made my time away start with a smile. A fab little holiday read!

Publisher: Choc Lit
Genre: Contemporary romance, novella

Links to buy the book Amazon UK | Amazon.Com | Kobo | 

About the author:

Winning a tin of chocolate in a national essay competition at primary school inspired to Christine Stovell to become a writer. Setting off, with her husband, from a sleepy seaside resort on the east coast in a vintage wooden boat to sail halfway round Britain provided the inspiration for her ‘Little Spitmarsh’ series of novels, but never cured her seasickness although she continues to sail.

As well as writing long and short contemporary romantic fiction and poetry, Christine has written features for various magazines and is a regular contributor to The English Home magazine.

Christine lives on the beautiful west Wales coast where long-distance running helps her plan her plots. Half marathons, she thinks, especially when the going gets tough, are like novels; both begin with small steps.

You can discover more about Christine and her writing here: Blog | Twitter | Facebook |

Thank you for taking part in my Q&A and for the great read, Christine. My reviews are added to Amazon UK and Goodreads. xx

 

Umbria here I come!

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It’s incredible to think that when I started my blog in January, I was talking about trying new things and my trip to Umbria for Sue Moorcroft’s writing retreat. Well, now that retreat is just days away, eeek!

On our recent family holiday to France, I tested out my summer clothes; I wore shorts on two occasions and a skirt on another. Like my body, my general wardrobe is best suited to autumn and winter. With the exception of the Chindi bookstall at the Arundel Festival, which sees me standing outside for ten days in August to raise funds for Cancer Research, I avoid the sun and usually hide in the shade. So Umbria at the end of June will be interesting!

Testing out my summer wardrobe in Samoëns, France. The legs are hidden but I have shorts on, honestly!

Last week, I attended the Romantic Novelists’ Association lunch for the southern chapter. It was lovely to get together with other authors and to chat about books. I drove and gave Sue Fortin a lift. Sue is a USA Today and Amazon best selling author who writes mystery, suspense and romance; she has also been on the Umbria writing retreat before. With this in mind, I seized the opportunity to ask her a few all-important questions, such as: Will I have all day access to tea making facilities? How hot was it? And will I need any posh clothes?

Her answers – yes to tea, it’s very hot but there is shade, and no to the posh clothes – were helpful. However, she also mentioned that she had a scorpion in her room one night! Despite the fact I worked in primary schools for many years, where mini-beasts always seem to loom large on the curriculum, bugs are not my friend. Wish me luck, and I’ll let you know upon my return how I fared.

The lovely ladies of the RNA Southern Chapter: Back row – Rosie Travers, Sue Fortin, Me, Lyn Liles, Rosemary Ann Smith, Charlie Place (book blogger). Front row – Charile Cochrane and Liv Thomas.

In other news, in case you haven’t seen me shouting about it, I have an office. It is located in Arundel and from my window I can see a lovely expanse of higgledy-piggledy rooftops as well as the castle above the tree line. It is peaceful and a great working base. The only issue is that Arundel has many cafés and I start every morning opening my window to the smell of bacon sandwiches. I like bacon sandwiches, so I don’t mind, but it does make my tummy rumble.

My office view, on a day I was sure I was being watched!

My current work in progress is at 12242 words. This is a sequel to The Purrfect Pet Sitter, which my publisher suggests should be a novella (30000-70000 words). I hope to get a good chunk of it written while on the retreat. It will be a challenge, as I haven’t written one before – sequel or novella – but I am quite excited by it.

I have another work in progress, at around 11000 words, which I am ignoring while I work on the sequel. This will be a contemporary romance with new characters, that will be a full-length novel (around 85000 words).

With three festivals coming up with the Chindi Authors I must focus my time to get all of this done. To find out more about the events we are hosting during the Littlehampton Arts Festival and the Festival of Chichester take a look at the events page of our website, where you will also see that for the third year running, we will be supporting Cancer Research UK throughout the Arundel Festival.

Finally, I am off to the cinema tonight to see Book Club it looks a good laugh. But I am also interested because I read a very good book, years ago by Sophie Hart, called The Naughty Girls Book Club, her characters were great and the story well constructed. This book, on a similar theme, will be hard to beat, but it will be interesting to see how this new film compares.

Anyway, next time I write a post I will have been to Umbria, my children and puppy will have hopefully forgiven me for deserting them for a week, my husband may have recovered, and my work in progress should have dramatically increased. I’ll let you know how all of that goes.

In the meantime, I have a couple of book reviews to share over the coming week and an interview with Choc Lit author Christine Stovell, who talks about her new novella, Moonbeams in a Jar. xx

 

Review of Sarah Morgan’s Moonlight Over Manhattan

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Moonlight Over Manhattan by Sarah Morgan

The Blurb:

Determined to conquer a lifetime of shyness, Harriet Knight challenges herself to do one thing a day in December that scares her, including celebrating Christmas without her family. But when dog-walker Harriet meets her newest client, exuberant spaniel Madi, she adds an extra challenge to her list – dealing with Madi’s temporary dog-sitter, gruff doctor Ethan Black, and their very unexpected chemistry.

Ethan thought he was used to chaos, until he met Madi – how can one tiny dog cause such mayhem? To Ethan, the solution is simple – he will pay Harriet to share his New York apartment and provide 24-hour care. But there’s nothing simple about how Harriet makes him feel.

Ethan’s kisses make Harriet shine brighter than the stars over moonlit Manhattan. But when his dog-sitting duties are over, and Harriet returns to her own home, will she dare to take the biggest challenge of all – letting Ethan know he has her heart for life, not just for Christmas?

Genre: Contemporary Romance | Women’s Fiction
Publisher: HQ

My review:

I have been a Sarah Morgan fan since discovering the Snow Crystal series and always enjoy her books. I didn’t know that Moonlight Over Manhattan was the 6th book in a series (not sure how I missed that) and read it as a standalone. It didn’t matter, and it certainly didn’t disappoint, and now I know I have the treat of five more books to get stuck in to.

I read the story with a smile and enjoyed getting to know Harriet, her family and friends, as well as the animals in her care. Ethan Black, as you’d expect from Sarah Morgan, had plenty of swoon appeal. I loved the locations and almost burst when Snow Crystal and the fabulous O’Neil brothers were not only mentioned but visited too!

If you are a lover of a good romance read, Sarah Morgan books are a must.

Click to buy the book.

About the author:

USA Today bestselling author Sarah Morgan writes commercial women’s fiction and her trademark humour and warmth have gained her fans across the globe.

Described as ‘a magician with words’ by RT Book Reviews, she has been nominated four years in succession for the prestigious RITA© Award from the Romance Writers of America and won the award twice; in 2012 for her book ‘Doukakis’s Apprentice’ and 2013 for ‘A Night of No Return’. She also won the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award in 2012 and has made numerous appearances in their ‘Top Pick’ slot.

Sarah lives near London with her husband and children, and when she isn’t reading or writing she loves being outdoors.

Discover more about Sarah Morgan here: website | Twitter

Thank you for another great read, Sarah, and I look forward to catching up with the rest of the From Manhattan With Love series.

My reviews are added to Amazon UK and Goodreads. x

Review of Tracy Bloom’s The Last Laugh

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The blurb:

Jenny discovers her days are numbered at the same time she discovers her husband is having an affair…

Frankly, she had enough on her plate already. Two tricky teenagers, her mother’s constant complaints, friends who aren’t up to the job and a career which has been spiralling downwards since she won ‘Sunseeker Tour Rep of the Season’ twenty years ago.

And now this. Enough is enough! Jenny vows to keep both revelations a secret. She takes her life into her own hands and decides to live as she did when she was happiest… in 1996. She plans a spectacular 1990s themed party in place of a wake that she herself will attend. But will she be able to keep her secrets for long enough to have the party of a lifetime?

Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Literary humour

My review:

I am a Tracy Bloom fan, when I first saw this book advertised I wasn’t sure how the subjects would fit with Tracy’s fabulous down to earth, rom-com style, and so wasn’t sure I would enjoy it. Well, it turns out I was proved wrong for doubting it would be anything but great and should have trusted in Tracy’s fabulous storytelling ability.

Once I started I couldn’t put it down; it was compelling reading. Soon after I had finished, I tweeted: ‘Gosh, wow, crying, laughing, frustrated, touched and well and truly hooked from start to finish.’ This sums up my reading experience.

The Last Laugh was beautifully written, relatable, and a great read. It was all the things I love about Tracy’s other books while tackling deeper subjects – the things that happen that are beyond our control, and can turn life round in an instant.

Click here to buy the book:

About the author:

Tracy Bloom started writing when her cruel, heartless husband ripped her away from her dream job shopping for rollercoasters for the UK’s leading theme parks, to live in America with a brand new baby and no mates. In a cunning plan to avoid domestic duties and people who didn’t understand her Derbyshire accent, she wrote her romantic comedy, No-One Ever Has Sex on a Tuesday. This debut novel went on to be successfully published internationally and became a #1 Best Seller.

You can find Tracy via her website | Facebook | Twitter

Thank you for the great read Tracy, my reviews are added to Amazon Uk and Goodreads. x