Tag Archives: Rachel’s Random Resources

Review of Eliza J Scott’s A Christmas Kiss

With the start of my Christmas Countdown underway, I am delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for Eliza J Scott’s festive, feel good read, A Christmas Kiss.

The blurb:

A sparkling festive romance that will warm your heart this Christmas.

The week before Christmas, GP Zander Gillespie finds his festive plans in tatters. He’s supposed to be flying out to his parents’ chateau in Carcassonne with his high-maintenance girlfriend, Melissa. But she has other ideas. She wants to spend Christmas in London with her party friends – and he’s not invited. The prospect of facing his family, with their questions and their sympathy – not to mention the ‘I told you so-s’ – just isn’t an option. Instead, Zander decides to head to his holiday cottage in the quaint moorland village of Lytell Stangdale, where he intends to hide away with his faithful rescue Labrador Alf.

Eighty miles away, Livvie’s world has come crashing down. With plans to cook a romantic meal for her boyfriend, she heads home early and walks in on him in a compromising position with their neighbour. Fed-up of his lies and philandering ways, this is the final straw. With her Christmas plans up in smoke, the thought of spending it with her parents and her smug, married sister with her pompous husband in tow, is enough to bring Livvie out in hives. So, when she fires up her laptop and finds the perfect little holiday cottage in Lytell Stangdale available to rent over the festive period, it seems the perfect solution. Or is it…?

Zander didn’t believe in love at first sight until he set eyes on Livvie. Livvie had sworn off men until she met Zander. The pair may be reluctant to give in to temptation, but fate seems to have other ideas…

Join Livvie and Zander – and all the usual characters – for a magical Christmas in Lytell Stangdale.

Genre: Romance

My review:

A Christmas Kiss is Eliza J Scott’s fourth book in the Life on the Moors Series – but the first I have read. While I could tell there was some referencing to previous novels and characters, this book read perfectly well as a standalone novel.

I liked the characters of Zander, Livvie and, of course, Alf – the Labrador who had a big heart and lots of love to give despite his earlier misfortunes. The village of Lytell Stangdale provided an ideal setting. The scenes in the pub and other village gatherings gave it a wonderful community feel; it’s a place where everybody looks out for each other, and family and friends are paramount.

A Christmas Kiss is sure to get you in the festive mood, with snow, love and friendship aplenty, carol singing, and a whole Christmas pud sized helping of community spirit.

Overall it was a fabulously festive read, where I found myself willing Xander and Livvie to find their happy ending (even if Zander’s choices didn’t always make that easy).

Buy the book Amazon.UK | Amazon.com
Check out the Life on the Moors series here:  Amazon UK | Amazon.com

Follow the tour:

About the author:

Eliza J Scott is proud to be a member of the RNA. She lives in a 17th-century cottage in a village in the North Yorkshire Moors with her husband, their two daughters and two mischievous black Labradors. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found with her nose in a book/glued to her Kindle or working in her garden, fighting a losing battle against the weeds.

When she’s not reading or gardening, Eliza also enjoys bracing walks in the countryside, rounded off by a visit to a teashop where she can indulge in another two of her favourite things: tea and cake.

Her biggest weakness is ginger biscuits dunked in tea.

Eliza is inspired by her beautiful surroundings and loves to write heartwarming romance stories with relatable female characters. She enjoys exploring the dynamics of female friendship, with a key feature of her books being how women pull together and support one another when things get tough.

Eliza’s novels will always have happy endings.

You can find Eliza via: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Blog | Goodreads | Bookbub

Thank you, Eliza, for a great read! Thank you, also to Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources for the advance copy of A Christmas Kiss, and for having me along as part of the blog tour.

My reviews are posted on Amazon UK and Goodreads. xx


Review of Rosie Green’s Bonfires and Hot Chocolate at the Little Duck Pond Cafe

Today, I am taking part in the blog tour for Rosie Green’s autumnal feel good read, Bonfires and Hot Chocolate at the Little Duck Pond Cafe.

The blurb:

If you love all the colours of autumn, you’re sure to warm to this uplifting story of love, loss and starting over.

Primrose Wilkins arrived in Sunnybrook with a burning desire to find the family she’s never known. But after a heart-breaking false start, she’s beginning to have second thoughts. Can she find the courage to battle on in her quest? And with her romantic life at an all-time low, will meeting the intriguing and attractive Callum Davy be just what she needs to renew her faith in love?

Meanwhile, Fen is also finding it hard to be brave. She’s made it through to the final of TV show ‘Battle of the Bakes’ (thanks to Ellie entering on her behalf), but she’s always shied away from being in the spotlight. How will Fen cope now that she’s a famous ‘celebrity’, recognised in the street everywhere she goes?

Genre: Contemporary Romance / Romantic Comedy / novella

My review:

I love autumn and so I was very happy to see this addition to the Little Duck Pond series. Regular inhabitants of Sunnybrook all get a mention, but this book focuses on the character of Primrose and her continued search for her grandmother. It made for  a cosy read on an autumnal evening.

There is a gentle love story that unfolds as Primrose establishes herself within the community, and while there are two possible suitors it soon becomes apparent who is the right choice. As for who Primrose’s grandmother is, Rosie Green does a good job of keeping you guessing until almost the end of the book. But needless to say, you’ll be left feeling as warm and cosy as those who enjoy the bonfire and accompanying hot chocolate!

I have always liked Fen (introduced in earlier books) so I was delighted that this book provided the opportunity to see her character develop further too; discovering who won the battle of the bakes and what happens next for Fen, was a real treat for me.

Bonfires and Hot Chocolate at the Little Duck Pond Cafe could be read as a standalone book, but I think you’ll enjoy the characters and their development more if you follow their stories through the series.

Buy the book Amazon.UK | Amazon.com

Check out the entire Little Duck Pond series here.

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 around life in a village cafe. The latest, ‘Bonfires & Hot Chocolate at the Little Duck Pond Cafe’, is out now.

Watch out for ‘A Winter Wedding at the Little Duck Pond Cafe’, which will be published Christmas 2019.

Rosie is also writing a full-lengths, standalone book for Christmas 2019, entitled ‘Snowflakes over Moondance Cottage’.

You can find Rosie on Twitter.

Follow the tour here:

Thank you, Rosie, for another great read! Thank you, also to Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources for the advance copy of Bonfires and Hot Chocolate 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



Extract from A Summer to Remember by Victoria Cooke

Today, I am delighted to welcome Victoria Cooke to my blog, as she celebrates her paperback publication day, and shares an extract from A Summer to Remember.

Victoria says, “This scene shows protagonist Sam’s arrival in Boston. It marks the start of a huge change in her life and it’s what she’d spent years working towards but it all turns a bit sour quite quickly. The unpleasant encounter sets the tone for Sam’s first few weeks away from London which pushes her to escape to Cape Cod for the weekend.”

“The sky is the most intense blue I’ve ever seen. Shimmering light bounces off the windows of passing boats and hits the top of the water as I sit looking out across Boston Harbor. The horn of a departing ferry blasts. This place is insane, and I’ve only been here a few hours. I’m alone, outside a bar watching the boats come and go. The other four members of the team went straight to the company apartment we’re staying in, saying they wanted to go to bed, but they’ve all been here before. It’s my first visit, so I’m determined to take everything in and enjoy each second that I’m not in the office. I flick through the pictures I’ve taken on my phone since I arrived. There’s one of theCheers bar. My dad used to watch the TV show religiously when I was a kid, and before I can talk myself out of it, I send the picture to him and my mum with a brief message.

Arrived safely

I feel guilty that I can’t write any more but hope they’ll see it as me reaching out.

Once I’ve finished my drink, I walk to the harbour wall and hold my phone up high to try and take a decent selfie to send to the girls. The sun is starting to sink close to the horizon, casting beautiful swaths of pink and orange across the sky which are reflected in the water. It’s no use; I’d need Inspector Gadget’s arms to be able to capture the beauty and not just a close-up mugshot of myself. As I stretch and twist, I notice a man a few feet away, staring out across the water. ‘Excuse me,’ I say, flashing my most charming smile. He turns to me with a look of disdain, as though I’d just insulted his dear granny’s baking or something. He doesn’t reply but he stands there, continuing to look at me with increased impatience.

‘I…’ His thunderous face causes me to falter. ‘I wondered if you wouldn’t mind taking a quick picture of me, please?’

His eyes flick over me then he turns back to the water. I pause, momentarily unsure of what to do next. I could walk on and pretend I’d not asked, but then I wouldn’t get the picture and I’m sure he probably just hadn’t heard me. Perhaps he thought I was talking on my phone or something.

‘Sorry, I was wondering if you’d mind taking a picture of me with the harbour in the background? It’s so beautiful.’

 ‘No,’ he says, turning away.

‘No?’ I blurt. I mean, he’s well within his rights to say no but it’s just a two-second snap and click. Why won’t he just do it? ‘No, you don’t mind?’ I ask, hoping some English charm works on him.

‘Yes, I mind, and no, I’m not taking the picture.’ His words are made harsher by his Boston twang.

He starts to walk away. I stand there embarrassed and dumbfounded for a moment, but his rudeness rubs at me like sandpaper in the seconds that pass and I can’t let it go. I call after him before I’ve taken time to think it through. ‘Excuse me?’

‘Go away!’ He doesn’t even turn to look at me.

‘No! I shan’t. Where I’m from, we don’t speak to people like that.’ That isn’t strictly true, you only have to be out of change when you’re passing a panhandler or caught standing on the left-hand side of an escalator at any tube station to encounter much worse in London. Perhaps I’m jet-lagged or something but I’m so flabbergasted by his attitude over something so small that I can’t let it go.

‘I don’t care.’ He makes a flappy shooing gesture with his hand.

Heat intensifies in my chest. I jog after him until I’m beside him, matching his pace. ‘There’s no need to be so rude. I’m a visitor to the States. Do you know how much money tourism brings in to your country each year?’ I really am clutching at straws, but I’m in such complete disbelief, it’s lucky I can construct a sentence at all. Why are my legs still moving?

‘Go away, lady.’ He continues to walk. I’m incensed.

‘What exactly is your problem?’ I prod his shoulder – I don’t mean to, it just sort of happens, but finally, he stops walking. He turns to face me, and I’m knocked sideways. I hadn’t noticed before because I was so taken aback by his attitude but he has the most compelling sapphire eyes I’ve ever seen and I’m not prepared for them when they bore into me.

‘It’s not really any of your business.’ He clenches his jaw and the muscles twitch beneath his skin. ‘and youwon’t leave me alone.’ He runs his fingers through his brown hair, and I try to ignore the fact he’s incredibly attractive, because beauty comes from within, and there’s a gargoyle residing inside him.

‘I… I just wanted you to take a quick photo of me, I’m here in alone and… Do you know what? You’re not a nice person.’

‘And do you know what? I don’t really care. I’m sure with your pretty doe-eyed routine you’re used to guys running around after you, but today, you picked the wrong guy.’

My eyes feel hot and damp. That hurt because he couldn’t be further from the truth. I take a breath to steady my voice. He will not see me cry. ‘You have no idea how wrong you are. I’m sorry I asked you.’ He shakes his head and walks off.

‘I hope you’re the only arsehole in Boston,’ I yell after him. He flips me the middle finger without so much as a backwards glance, and I’m left to simmer.”


Loved the extract and you’d like to know more? Here’s the blurb:

Sam lives by the mantra that it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

After the tragic loss of her husband, Sam built a new life around friends, her cat Coco and a career she loves. Fending off frequent set-ups and well-meaning advice to ‘move on’, Sam is resolutely happy being single.

But when Sam gets seconded to her firm’s Boston office for the summer, it is more than her career that is in for a shake-up. A spur of the moment decision to visit the idyllic beaches of Cape Cod could end up changing her life forever.

Click to buy.


Enter this fab giveaway!

Giveaway to Win A Summer to Remember by Victoria Cooke and Chocolates (UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize. Enter here.


About the author:

Victoria Cooke grew up in the city of Manchester before crossing the Pennines in pursuit of a career in education. She now lives in Huddersfield with her husband and two young daughters and when she’s not at home writing by the fire with a cup of coffee in hand, she loves working out in the gym and travelling. Victoria was first published at the tender age of eight by her classroom teacher who saw potential in a six-page story about an invisible man. Since then she’s always had a passion for reading and writing, undertaking several writers’ courses before completing her first novel, ‘The Secret to Falling in Love,’ in 2016.

Her third novel, Who Needs Men Anyway? became a digital bestseller in 2018.

Discover more about Victoria and her work via: GoodreadsFacebook | Twitter | Instagram


Thank you for stopping by my blog, Victoria, and for sharing an extract of A Summer to Remember. Thank you, also to Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources for having me along as part of Victoria’s publication day push. xx

 

Review of Holly Tierney-Bedord’s The Worst Couple in the World

Today, I am delighted to be sharing my review of Holly Tierney-Bedord’s satirical novella, The Worst Couple in the World.

The blurb:

No longer content to just be Snappigram sensations, folk hop singers Zeke and Angelique are ready to move up from coffee house performances to the big stage. With songs like “Uh Huh, Future Baby Mama” and “Don’t Worry About the Bills, Little Missus” there’s pretty much no way they can fail. But if they make it big, will there still be room in their lives for each other?

My review:

I haven’t read a satirical novel for a long time and so it took me a while to get into step with the irony and humour with which Holly Tierney-Bedord relates the life of Zeke and Angelique – a couple whose habits are purposefully as annoying as their rhyming names.

The novella follows the fame-hungry couple as their determination to achieve and maintain a popular social media facade increasingly becomes the driving force in their relationship.

As we follow their follies, the horrors of a life lived in this vacuous manner are gradually revealed. Through Holly Tierney-Bedord’s use of hyperbole the vanity, as well as the lack of connection with family, friends and what is acceptable behaviour, is exposed. I kept waiting for the punch line, or the moment of self-realisation – did it come, and who learnt more, them or me?

It is not a comfortable or cosy read, but of course, it is not supposed to be; this is a modern-day satire and a must-read for all those who care more for their social media presence than their reality. It is unlike the previous book I read by this author, and to that extent, it was unexpected but intriguing. As a novella, it is the ideal length for this type of satirical exposé.

Buy the book: Amazon.UK | Amazon.com

Giveaway to Win a $5 Starbucks Gift Card (Open to US Only) *Terms and Conditions –US entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize. Enter here.

About the Author:

Holly Tierney-Bedord is the author of over twenty books ranging from serious women’s fiction to romantic comedies, domestic thrillers, humor, and cozy mysteries. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

Discover more about Holly and her work here: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bookbub | Goodreads | Website | AmazonLinkedIn | Pinterest |

Thank you, Holly, and thank you, also to Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources for the advance copy of The Worst Couple in the World, and for having me along as part of the publication celebrations.

My reviews are posted on Amazon UK and Goodreads. xx

The Christmas Calendar Girls by Samantha Tonge

I am delighted to be sharing this fabulously festive cover for The Christmas Calendar Girls, the latest novel from Samantha Tonge. I’m sure you’ll agree, it’s gorgeous!

About the book:

The Christmas Calendar Girls

This Christmas fall in love with the town of Chesterwood…

Christmas is meant to be a time of giving, so with Chesterwood food bank under risk of closure Fern knows just what to do to save it. She’s going to get the town to create a living advent calendar.

Fern, and her best friends, call for help from the local community to bring this calendar to life. When Kit, the new man in town, offers his assistance Fern’s heart can’t help but skip a beat (or two).

As they grow ever closer, Fern must admit that Kit’s breaking down the barriers she built after the death of her husband. But his past is holding him back and Fern doesn’t know how to reach him. No matter how hard she tries.

In this town, Kit’s not the only one with secrets. Domestic goddess Cara is behaving oddly, burning meals in the oven and clothes whilst ironing, and Davina’s perfect children are causing trouble at school leaving her son, Jasper, desperately unhappy.

Can the Christmas Calendar Girls find a way to bring the community together in time to save the food bank, while still supporting their families and each other? Can Fern find love again with Kit?

This is a story about kindness and letting go of the past. It’s about looking out for your neighbours and about making every day feel like Christmas.

Publication Date: 3rdOctober 2019
Genre: Romance | Romantic Comedy

Preorder available now: Amazon | Google Play | KoboiBooks
About the author

 

Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK with her husband and children. She studied German and French at university and has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris. She has travelled widely.

When not writing she passes her days cycling, baking and drinking coffee. Samantha has sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines.

She is represented by the Darley Anderson literary agency. In 2013, she landed a publishing deal for romantic comedy fiction with HQDigital at HarperCollins and in 2014, her bestselling debut, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award. In 2015 her summer novel, Game of Scones, hit #5 in the UK Kindle chart and won the Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category. In 2018 Forgive Me Not, heralded a new direction into darker women’s fiction with publisher Canelo. In 2019 she was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association romantic comedy award.

Discover more about Sam via: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram| website

Many thanks to thanks to Samantha Tonge, and Rachel Gilbey of Rachel’s Random Resources, for inviting me to be part of this fabulously festive cover reveal. x x