Book Love ~ June

This months book reads have been a joy, I have travelled to New York, Turkey, as well as some gorgeous fictional villages in England. They have featured Cake, Fairytale castles, Shoes and lots of gorgeous men!
Heidi Swain – The Cherry Tree Café - Lizzie Dixon thinks that her boyfriend is about to propose but instead she finds herself dumped and heading back home to a village that she grew up in and thought that she had left a couple of years previously. Jemma her best friend is delighted to have her back and gets her helping her to restore the run down little cafe in the village that she has bought.  Jemma's high school crush Ben is also back in the village and the spare bedroom of Jemma and her husband and also is thrown into help restore the cafe. Utilising her sewing skills she starts to transform The Cherry Tree Cafe and also slowly starts to build her broken heart.This along with a budding friendship with Ben, Lizzie needs to decide if the village is a short term stop or a long term plan. - this is a delightful read and I only wished that there was a Cherry Tree Cafe near me!..

Caroline Roberts - The Cosy Teashop in the Castle  – Ellie takes a big gamble and bluffs her way into securing her dream job of running her own tea rooms in the grounds of a Claverham castle. Escaping from the humdrum of office life, her secure little family unit and nursing a broken heart she moves into a room within the towers of the castle and sets about living her dream and that of her beloved Nanna. Armed with her Nanna's trusty recipe & baking book Ellie sets about convincing both her family and the rather old fashioned traditional Lord Henry, owner of said castle that not only is she capable but can run a profitable business. Slowly with slices of cake, kindness and lots of hard work Ellie starts to win over the locals, Lord and Tourists visiting the tea rooms. As with all recipes, a cake isn't perfect without a little love and a sprinkle of magic and Ellie finds this start to bloom with the brooding estate manager Joe. Can Ellie find the show stopping success that she deserves both in and out of the kitchen… This is a lovely easy read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Caroline narrates in a way that you feel like you are living the life at the castle alongside Ellie. The characters are funny and you see the work family develop as the story unfolds, along with a couple of twists and surprises. Ellie is a delight and I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

Jill Mansell – You and Me Always – Lily lost her mum at a young age, she has been bought up by her mums best friend Coral and her old baby sitter Patsy, surrounded by love in a village that has really taken her to all their hearts. Her best friend is Dan, Patsy's naughtier younger brother who is incorrigible with the ladies, but always finds himself falling back to Lily's friendship.

 We meet Lily on her 25^th birthday where she is given the last letter that her mum wrote to her before she died. Here Lily's mum reveals the surname of the man (Declan) that was her one true love , (alas not Lily's dad) and a bracelet that he gave her – Lily embarks on tracking him down to find out more about her mum. On the same day Lily also meets a famous film star actor Eddie who Patsy is harbouring secretly in her house and suddenly Lily's world in the quiet village of Stanton Langley is suddenly turned upside down. Jill Mansell has been one of my favourites and never disappoints, I really liked Lily and loved the story and adventures that she had.

A.L. Michael – Goodbye Ruby Tuesday - Four friends; Ruby, Evie, Mollie & Chelsea were the bad girls at school, thrown together as the misfits, of all the girls Ruby was the baddest. Often in detention they dreamed of bigger & better things; Ruby a singer, Evie as an artist, Mollie as a baker and Chelsea as a dancer. 10 years later the girls meet up at the funeral of Ruby a pop star who died at the height of her fame. It seems that only Ruby fulfilled her dream, and in her will she leaves the girls a house in Camden with conditions. This is book 1 in the Camden Square series and I am avidly looking forward to book 2. The characters are complex and interesting and have good back stories as well as the story of making Camden square a success and fulfilling their dreams. This book resonated lots with me as I am still friends with my 2 besties from school and related to lots of the school girl humour within this. 

Debbie Johnson – The Birthday that Changed Everything - Sally Summers knew that her husband wasn't likely to surprise her with an amazing birthday present, what she didnt expect was that he would leave her for a Latvian lap dancer half her age. With her life a complete mess she books a holiday to the blue bay resort in Turkey with her reluctant kids for some sun, sea and relaxation. Here she meets a group of people that meet up the same 2 weeks every year at the Blue Bay, one being a gorgeous Irish man James. It seems that all of the friends have secrets but take Sally to heart and encourage her to become part of the group. This book is funny, heartwarming and a great holiday read relaxing on a sun-lounger - if you have ever wondered about the friendships created lounging around the pool this is perfect for you.
Marcie Steele - The Second Chance Shoe Shop -  Riley Flynn manages Chandlers show shop in the town centre, Sadie works for Riley and is slowly trying to build her and her daughters life after the death of her husband. Riley is desperate to bring Chandlers into the 21st century but is being met with resistance from the owner who is threatening the shop with closure. Riley starts a social media campaign to attract some interest for the shop and through this she crosses paths with a freelance photographer Ethan. Riley is recovering from a broken heart and resists Ethans advances, however as her social media profile builds, she finds herself struggling with the realities of what that brings and suddenly the shoe shop that she loves is in jeopardy. This is a fun read and fans of social media and shoes will adore this.

Sarah Morgan – Sleepless in Manhattan - ok I've thoroughly enjoyed all the books that I have read this month, but Sleepless in Manhattan just tips the rest as my favourite. Great friends. Amazing Apartment. An incredible job. Paige has ticked off every box on perfect New York life checklist. Until disaster strikes and instead of shimming further up the career ladder, Paige is packing up her desk.

Her brother’s best friend Jake might be the only person who can help her put her life back together. He also happens to be the boy she spent her teen years pining after, and Paige is determined not repeat her past mistakes. But the more time she spends with Jake, the more Paige realises the one thing that was missing from her world all along: The perfect New York love story… Oh I loved this book and Jack really is the most gorgeous hero. This book is a must for anyone who loves New York and dreams of living in a Brooklyn Brownstone. All the characters are great and cant wait for the next instalment.

Jo Jo Moyes – Me before You – a re-read after seeing the movie at the beginning of the month. A book that stayed with me on reading the first time and continues to leave a mark on my heart on the 3rd read and the seeing the movie. Heart-breaking love story that makes you want to live every day as if its your last and urges you to #Liveboldly. 

Thankyou authors for 8 fab reads for June, I've loved them, definitely a pile that have featured some of my favourites; New York, Shoes, Cake & castles!...I am now 41 books into my 75 book reading challenge….Here's the previous 33 from 2016.

Book Love - May

My reading challenge continued in May with 5 books completed, a little bit of a slowdown from April. This was partially due to the fact that I am walking more after work which cuts into my reading time on the tube as I am now walking from Bond Street to Liverpool Street a couple of times a week when the weather is fine.

This months reads are a mixed bag of mystery, murder, love and friendship and have taken me to Italy, Jersey, 'Up North' the South of France and the English countryside.

Last month I waxed lyrically about a new author that I had discovered Helen H Durrant, May saw me continue with the Calladine / Bayliss police partnership in the 4^th book of this detective series with Dead Lost. The pair find themselves investigation a series of events which lead to a group of homeless people that have set up camp in a disused cotton mill, which as the story develops becomes more horrific. Alongside this the pair have to juggle their personal lives alongside their professional, as the investigation develops they find that the crimes are are further reaching than they imagined. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and with each story they become a little more darker and complex. D.I Calladine is definitely becoming a little bit of a guilty pleasure and look forward to reading the next in the series.

My next read saw be hoping the channel to Jersey for Georgina Troy's – A Jersey Kiss – here we meet Bea who along with dealing with a messy divorce is learning to live without her beloved god mother. Bea's god mother has left her, her beautiful home along with "A Jersey Kiss" which is proving to be a bit of a mystery. At work an old flame Tom reappears in her life, along with a gorgeous builder Luke who she hires to action some repairs to her home. With her ex-husband threatening court action for half of her home, Bea's life is a little chaotic, with the thought of losing her home, and some serious trust issues she has little time for romance, however things aren’t always as they seem and the mysterious legacy could be the thing that saves it all. This is a lovely story and I really liked Bea, being familiar with Jersey having spent some time there in my teens it was easy to visualise some of the places within this book. Having enjoyed this book I immediately downloaded the 2^nd book within the series which is loosely connected to book 1.

A JerseyAffair is Georgina's 2^nd book and features Paige. Paige is jilted days before her wedding and decides to spend her honeymoon for one in Sorrento. Paige is a shoe designer and has a small shop within one of Jersey's old department stores. Whilst on her 'onemoon' she meets Sebastian Fielding, a wealthy entrepreneur, he spends a platonic 2 weeks with Paige showing her the sights and sounds of Sorrento and its surrounding coastline and Paige's broken heart slowly begins to mend. On returning to Jersey Paige finds out that her department store is being taken over and the mystery buyer is none other than Sebastian, can their budding romance survive the threat of Paige losing her shop and  dealing with the press intrusion. Another delightful read from Georgina and had me scouring travel sites for a short stay in Sorrento. Sebastian is quite delicious and I enjoyed catching up with some of the characters from the previous book…. Book 3 is now downloaded and sitting in my "to read" list.

My 4^th read of the month is a Jill Mansell novel – Three Amazing things about You. Jill is one of my all-time favourite authors and yet again she didn’t disappoint with this book. In this book we meet 3 women, Hallie, Flo and Tasha unbeknown to each of them they will all become connected in ways that they never would have thought of; Hallie is a young women who is on a donor lost awaiting a lung transfer having suffered with cystic fibrosis all her life. We meet Hallie as she is heading for the hospital having received the call that a donor has been found. Hallie for the past few years has been hiding a number of secrets; 1. She is the author of a blog which answers peoples problems via 3 things about you, what she has never shared is who she is and the condition she has, she shares her secret on route to the hospital. Her other secret is that she is in love with the most perfect man, something she has never shared with her best friend or even him an now time is running out should she share that secret too? Flo has met Zander through the most bizarre circumstances, Zander's scary sister loathes Flo and the thought of them becoming friends would send her apoplectic, anything more would send her crazy. Tasha meets her perfect man and the only issue is that he is a bit of an adrenaline junkie, the complete opposite to safe, planned Tasha. She spends her tome apart from him worrying that something terrible is going to happen. One day all these womens lives collide and their lives will be intricately woven for ever more. This was a thought provoking emotional read, and Jill manages to make you laugh, cry and think in every chapter. I loved Hallie and desperately wanted her life to be better… I will leave it up to you to read to find out if she got her happy ending and got the courage to share her secrets.

My final read for the month is The Little French Guesthouse by Helen Pollard – Emmy Jamieson books a fortnights escape to a guesthouse in the French Countryside with her boyfriend Nathan. After 5 years their relationship has become a little dull and Emmy is hoping a couple of weeks in the south of France will inject a little life into their lives. Having barely unpacked Emmy's holiday takes a turn when she finds her boyfriend with his pants down with the owners cougar wife Gloria and the owner Rupert collapsing with a suspected heart attack unaware of his wifes antics. Nathan & Gloria scarper and leave Emmy holding the fort at the guesthouse and gites. With Rupert convalescing, Emmy agrees to stay and help out for the remaining holiday. She finds herself thrust into the heart of the local community which involves a sexy young gardener, and a infuriating delicious accountant. Emmy finds herself extending her stay and with Ruperts support she has some decisions to make about her future. This is a lovely read and one that I devoured whilst travelling through the French countryside on Eurostar with a large coffee and croissant. I loved Emmy and the characters were delightful. I do hope that Helen does a follow-up as I am sure that there are future stories with some of the supporting cast.

Thankyou authors for 5 fab reads for May, I've enjoyed travelling in Italy, France, Jersey alongside some heartache, murder, mystery, fun and friendship…. I am now 33 books into my 75 book reading challenge…. Here's the previous 28 from 2016.

Book Love - April

The book challenge continued in April, this month saw another 8 books read whilst on my commute in and out of London.
This months reads took on a darker edge with me discovering a new detective murder series which I have loved and a political thriller. Light relief was provided via the mishaps and fun across the worlds of journalism, house selling, coffee shops and chapters of fun in a toy store.
* Dead Wrong ~ Helen H Durrant - Dead wrong is the 1st book in the series of D.I Calladine & D.S Ruth Bayliss, set in the fictional town of Leesdon in the north of England. Calladine is a divorced 51 years old married to his job, Bayliss is mid 30's She uses her demanding workload as an excuse not to try too hard with the men she meets. 
Early one morning in a child's playground on the outskirts of the Hobfield housing estate a bag of severed fingers is found. This starts an investigation which feels like the killer is always one step ahead of the police in both the investigation and forensics. Juggling the investigation and his personal life Calladine continues to hunt the serial killer as more body parts appear across the estate. I was gripped with this book from the start which culminated in me reading 3 of the series within the month. Fans of Mark Billingham's Tom Thorne will love Tom Calladine as much.
Finding Home ~ Lauren Westwood - Amy Wood finds herself temping in an estate agents and living back at her parents, a far cry from her perfect job, boyfriend and life in London. Broken hearted and jobless she is now entrusted to help sell a crumbling mansion Rosemont Hall, riddled with dry rot and secrets. Can Amy save it from the developers, bull dozers and her greedy boss and can a crumbling mansion heal a broken heart? - this was a lovely debut novel, good characters, feel good fun and entertaining read. 
Prime Deception ~ Carys Jones - John Quinn, an investigative journalist on England’s biggest-selling and most notorious tabloid newspaper, is about to write the story of his life – a kiss-and-tell with one of the country’s most powerful men at its heart. But the story dies when Lorna Thomas, the kiss in his kiss-and-tell, kills herself on a quiet country road. Unable to accept her twin’s suicide, Laurie Thomas follows in her sister’s footsteps to London and to the heart of government. And as she becomes more involved in Lorna’s world, she grows more convinced than ever that Lorna did not take her own life. - This is a great political thriller that has front page headlines written all over it, great twists and surprises, perfect for anyone that loves the intrigue of downing street.
Mishaps in Millrise ~ Tilly Tennant - Phoebe's life was a mess; her boyfriend was killed in an accident and she lost her job. When she wishes for a new start she meets Jack and his adorable little girl, 5 months on and life is looking up. She's still with Jack, has landed a dream job in a toy store and Jack's little girl adores her. Phoebe is convinced that her happiness cant last; with Jacks mum on a vendetta against Phoebe, His brother Archie causing trouble, the toy-store going into financial decline and the boss's son hitting on Phoebe, life suddenly becomes complicated for her. This was a fun read, Phoebe is a sweet character and the supporting cast are a great ensemble, a fun read.
Dead Silent ~ Helen H Durrant - A body is found in a car crash, but the victim was already dead . . . Women are going missing and no-one has noticed; Police partners, D.I. Calladine and D.S. Ruth Bayliss race against time to catch a vicious serial killer.  Calladine's personal life has got a little more complicated and this along with female university students going missing adds to his stress levels. This was a thrilling read and as enjoyable as the 1st book, great characters and plot if not a little disturbing.
The Last Word ~ A.L.Michael - Tabby Riley’s online life was a roaring success. Her blog had hundreds of followers, and legions of young fans ardently awaited her every Tweet. Her real life was a bit more of a disappointment. Living in a shared flat in North London, scratching a living writing magazine articles on ‘How To Please Your Man in Bed’ wasn't where she thought she’d be at twenty-six – especially when there was a serious lack of action in her own bedroom.Although that might all be about to change when she’s offered a position at online newspaper The Type as a real journalist – and gains a sexy new editor, Harry Shulman, to work with. Harry’s confident, smooth talking, and completely aware that he drives Tabby mad. Which is fine, because Tabby’s dated an editor before, and it’s never happening again. Ever. But as her reputation at the paper grows, Tabby has to wonder: is it time to get out from behind the screen and live her life in the real world? - Tabby is a dream character, funny, a little bit of a clutz and lacking confidence in her real life the complete opposite of Harry; who is just is delicious, confident and a little naughty!. I really enjoyed this book and have already downloaded another of her books.

Catch a Falling Star ~ Emily Harvale   - Catch a falling star is the 2nd book in the Hideaway series and features Laurel. She’s young, free and single; she owns The Coffee Hideaway, lives in the prettiest village in East Sussex and is surrounded by friends… she may also be a suffering from some unrequited love with her friend Ned; Jamie McDay is miserable. Hollywood has become a gilded cage. The paparazzi are snapping at his heels, and since he dumped his co-star girlfriend in a spectacularly stupid public display, he’s been dropped from the Vampire series that made him a heart-throb, movie star. Visiting his friend, Gabriel Hardwick will cheer him up. Hideaway Down may be a bit ‘twee’ but local stunner, Ivy Gilroy could definitely put a permanent smile on Jamie’s face. That’s if he can persuade her to dump her boyfriend, Ned. This was a welcome return to Hideaway and its villagers, Laurel finds herself the attention of a movie star and his attempts to befriend her. Its a fun light hearted read and a perfect pick you up for a miserable commute.
Dead List ~ Helen H Durrant - the 3rd book in the Calladine series and this one features a killer that seems to have a 'kill' list. With no apparent connections to the victims or methodology of death, the only thing linking the deaths are 'tarot' cards left with the bodies. Calladine is perplexed and with 2 small girls missing and a new and upcoming DI from a neighbouring station stepping on his toes he has a host of things to deal with at both home and at the station. A great read, book 4 is on my To read list for May!.
Thank you authors for 8 fantastic reads, I've loved the thrills, fun & mystery from this months reads... I am now 28 books in of my 75 book reading challenge; here's the previous 20 from 2016.

Book Love - March

So my book challenge continued in March, with 8 books read.... that tells you how well my commutes have been, when I can  read 8 books travelling into and out of London.
This months reads have been a welcome relief from the city taking me to the countrysides of the Cotswold's, Suffolk, Roxborough, Swell Valley and Dartmouth along with the coast of Cornwall.

* Rules for a Successful Book Club - Victoria Connelly  - this is Victoria's 2nd book in the book club series and here we pick up on the story of Polly Nightingale. Polly's husband walked out of the house 3 years ago; leaving behind his wife and 3 year old son. Polly finds herself spending time with neighbour Jago; a guitar playing biker, 13 years her junior who her son finds himself delightful. With life looking on the up, Polly's life takes a turn when she starts to believe she is being watched. can the past come back to haunt her?  I loved catching up with the Nightingale family in the lovely countryside of Suffolk having read book 1 in january.... now looking forward to book 3!
* The Woman who Upped and left - Fiona Gibson - this fun read features Audrey a divorced mum to an 18 year old teenage son Morgan... juggling jobs and picking up dirty pants is as thrilling as life gets for Audrey, unless you count romantic trysts in motorway service hotels with her salesman boyfriend. When she is offered an opportunity to escape for a week to a gorgeous hotel for a cordon bleau cooking course she grabs it with both hands and runs away. Life catches up with her and it becomes even more complicated, with laugh out loud moments and a great supporting cast this is a fun read, perefct to escape with on a rainy afternoon.
* Rumour has it - Jill Mansell - Tilly quits her job in London after being dumped by her boyfriend Gavin for a 'girl friday' job in the village of Roxborough working for Max and his daughter Lou. She is quickly ensconsed into the charm & gossip of village life. Tilly also meets Jack best friend of Max a widower and the man who has broken hearts all across the village. I loved this book, Jill is definitely one of my all time favourites. The village of Roxborough was so much fun and this book covers so many topics, a great read with a very delicious leading man!

* Riders - Jilly Cooper - sometimes you have to re-visit a classic!... picked this back up after reading Tilly's & Lucy's books which both feature horses and stables. It's over 25 years since I last read Riders and 25 years later Rupert Campbell- Black still has the swoon stakes in the equestrian world. I was always a Jake fan and it was great to re-visit the world of show-jumping. Even though this book was written 30 years ago it still holds its own in today's world. A fantastic retreat into the Cotswold countryside and the bitter rivalry in the show-jumping ring..
* Summer at Tiffany's - Karen Swan - SaT is the sequel to Karen Swans Christmas at Tiffany's and we join Cassie and Henry 18 months on, when life seems ideal. However although Cassie wears Henry's ring on her finger she is reluctant to set a date.Henry is still an explorer and finds himself skippering an expedition across the Pacific, Cassie decamps to Cornwall to spend time with friends and family. Here she finds herself in the company of a blast from her past which makes her question where her future lies. She is also finds herself presented with one of Henry's infamous lists. Life suddenly becomes a little more serious and she has some big decisions to make. I loved catching up with Cassie and Henry and the family & friends from the Tiffany books. I do hope that Karen writes another. (Fitz was as equally hooked on this book along with me - he took much delight in page turning on the ipad!)
* The Show - Tilly Bagshawe - this is the 2nd book in the Swell series and we join Gabe and Laura Baxter on their farm nestled in the chocolate box valleys of Swell valley. Prior to marrying Gabe Laura worked in the Tv world and with them struggling financially she pitches an idea to film a 'on the farm' reality series. With a protest group led by the vicar, an exiled PM turned TV financier  and a sexy driven american female Tv presenter to deal with Laura and Gabe's idyllic country life soon starts to show a few cracks. A great return to the village of Swell and I am looking forward to the 3rd book later this year.

* The Day we Disappeared - Lucy Robinson - a thrilling read by Lucy Robinson and in typical Lucy style, not everything is as it seems. We meet Annie who is holding a really big secret and we also meet Kate who has run away from her life in Ireland to a stable yard in the depths of Devon. Both girls are friends having met many years ago whilst travelling around Thailand. Kate starts a job as a trainee within the stable yard and trying desperately to hide that she has no stable experience from the owner and famous equestrian rider Mark. Annie finds her life changing when she meets Stephen who offers her the perfect job. Plagued with bouts of anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress Annie finally feels her life has turned a corner. We follow both girls lives and as their lives become more complicated so it reveals that not all is as it seems.... a great read full of twists and surprises all the way through.
* The Undomesticated Goddess - Sophie Kinsella - its been some time since I read a Sophie Kinsella book and this has been languishing in my "to read" pile. Its a fun read that finds us meeting Samantha a high powered lawyer who thrives on pressure. One day when it seems that Samantha is about to receive the job that she has dreamed and worked for she finds that she has made a colossal mistake, resulting in her walking out of a job and jumping on a train. She finds herself in the middle of nowhere and mistakenly caught up in the interviews for a housekeeper in the countryside. With an IQ of 158 Samantha can deal with all calamities in the courthouse but has no idea how to turn on the oven. Hiding out in the kitchen Samantha finds herself falling in love with both the countryside and its inhabitants and her life in London seems a long way away. However life has a funny way of catching up with you. A delightful read and a welcome change for Sophie Kinsella away from her shopaholic series.
Thank you ladies for 8 fantastic reads, I've loved visiting the countryside of England in this months reads... I am now 20 books in of my 75 book reading challenge; here's the previous 12 from 2016.