Tag Archives: Rachel’s Random Resources

One Day Blog Blitz for Victoria Cooke’s It Started with a Note!

Today, I am excited to welcome Victoria Cooke to my blog, as part of her one day blog blitz, via Rachel’s Random Resources.

Victoria is celebrating the publication of her romantic comedy, It Started with a Note, and talking about her research and the inspiration behind the book. Over to you, Victoria …

Firstly, I’d like to say a huge thank you to you, for welcoming me onto your blog.

I’d never really thought about researching my family history. I knew a little bit about the two or three generations before me but that was about it. It wasn’t until we were approaching the centenary year of WWI that my mum told me her grandad was killed in The Battle of the Somme. I was on my second round of being eighteen at the time and was quite flabbergasted that I never knew this before, especially since there had been so much in the news about the battles 100 years earlier. It was my cousin who discovered that my great-grandfather was commemorated on The Thiepval Memorial to The Missing, in France and actually visited the memorial. This in turn, prompted me to plan a trip with my family. In 2017, we travelled to Arras (which features heavily in ‘It Started With A Note’ and is well worth a visit if you fancy touring the battlefields).

We visited many memorials, and what was staggering was the not just the number of names on a memorial or the headstones in the cemetery, but the number of memorials and cemeteries. It’s eye-opening and really puts into perspective how many young men were killed in the Great War. The Calais region of France is beautiful, but everywhere you look you’ll see the scars of war. The local people really do work hard to keep the memory of the soldiers alive and take great care of the memorials, cemeteries and museums and this was the same when we crossed the border into Belgium to visit Ypres and Passchendaele. Every town we visited had its own WWI story, many were destroyed then, and again in WWII which is truly unthinkable.

Being there was an incredibly moving experience and WWI was such an important part of our history that I knew I had to do something to mark the centenary in my own way. My genre is romantic comedy, and whilst it wasn’t immediately obvious how to weave factual WWI history into a rom-com, I gave it my best shot. The protagonist, Cath, embarks upon a similar journey to the one I took, but in her case, the trip is out of her comfort zone. Like her great-grandfather one hundred years before her, she isn’t used to travel and is embarking upon a journey of uncertainty (albeit a much safer one). The story is set in the present day and is a romantic comedy with historical reflection which I hope brings a unique flavour to the genre.

if you ever get the chance to go to Northern France to tour the museums and see the historical sights, I’d highly recommend it.

 Thanks for the great post. I have a passion for history and enjoy reading romantic comedies so you’ve got me hooked! (Heads off to download book.)


Discover more about It Started With A Note

One lost letter. A chance to change her life!

Superhero single mum Cath always puts other people first. But now that she’s seen her son safely off to university (phew!), life seems a little, well…empty.

So when Cath unexpectedly discovers some letters written by her great-grandfather during the First World War, she decides to take herself on an adventure to France to retrace his footsteps.

Cath expects to spend her holiday visiting famous battlefields and testing out her French phrase book. What she doesn’t anticipate is that her tour guide, the handsome Olivier, will be quite so charming! Soon Cath isn’t simply unearthing the stories of the past – she’s writing a brand new one of her own, which might end up taking her in a very unexpected direction…

Genre: Romantic Comedy
Published by: HQ Digital
Buy the book: Amazon UK | Amazon.com | Kobo


About the author

Victoria Cooke grew up in the city of Manchester before crossing the Pennines in pursuit of her 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 her 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 romantic comedy novel, ‘The Secret to Falling in Love,’ in 2016.

Cooke’s third novel, Who Needs Men Anyway? became a digital bestseller in 2018.

Find out more about Victoria Cooke and her work via: Goodreads | Facebook | TwitterInstagram |


 Giveaway to Win a Signed copy of It Started With A Note (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

A big thank you, to Rachel Gilbey whose super power is efficiency in the art of organising fabulous book promo, and to Victoria Cooke for the great post. x



Carol Thomas writes contemporary romance novels, with relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads. Discover more here.

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

Today, I am delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for Rosie Green’s Christmas at the Little Duck Pond Cafe. This is the third of Rosie’s Little Duck Pond novellas.


The blurb:

Fen has always hated being the centre of attention. She loves her new job, working behind the scenes at the Little Duck Pond Cafe and baking the scrumptious cakes that have helped its reputation soar. But frankly, she’d rather scrub the public toilet floor with a toothbrush than have to come out and talk to the customers.

She’s always been happy to stay in the background as long as she has a good supply of books to escape into. That’s her kind of romance – the fictional sort where she can read about other people taking a chance on love, but she doesn’t have to risk her own heart.
But that was before Ethan Fox arrived in the village and turned her world upside down. Ethan is a leading light in the local amateur dramatics theatre company and Fen knows he’s way out of her league.

But when the popular village Christmas pantomime hits a crisis, Fen and Ethan find themselves thrown together. Can Fen overcome her shyness and find the courage to step on stage and save the day?

Genre: Contemporary Romance / Romantic Comedy / novella

My review:

This was my third visit to the Little Duck Pond Cafe and so it felt like returning to catch up on old friends.

Christmas at the Little Duck Pond Cafe follows the story of Fen, who is introduced in the first novella. Fen has been a bit of a shy character in previous books, never really coming to the fore and so it was great to see her take centre stage and shine in this novella. It was good to get to know her better and to will her to find her confidence and the happy ending she deserved.

This was a lovely story about personal growth, finding love and discovering who your friends really are. Being a novella, it is ideal to fit in, during the busy lead up to Christmas and was a great way to escape for a few hours; I am always happy to lose myself in the warm and welcoming world of those who live in and around The Little Duck Pond Cafe and look forward to the next in the series.

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 café. The first two stories in the series are: Spring at The Little Duck Pond Cafe and Summer at The Little Duck Pond Café, you can read my reviews of these books here.

You can find Rosie on Twitter.

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

Review of Rachael Stewart’s The Good Sister

The Blurb:

HE WASN’T HERS TO LOVE … BUT HER HEART DOESN’T CARE…

When Isla Evans agrees to switch lives with her rising star of a twin for three weeks, she has no idea the move will thrust her into the same bed as her teenage celebrity heartthrob, Bradley King. Trapped there at her sister’s request, she gives her desire free reign and finds herself falling hard and fast.

And she’s not alone.

Bradley wants a wife to tick all the boxes, save for one: love. It’s not part of the deal, never was, never will be. But when he returns home early to find his hopeful-fiancée behaving all sorts of different, he likes it. A lot. Suddenly, he wants a real marriage, with all the trimmings, and he will stop at nothing until he gets it.

But this Hollywood HEA faces one big hurdle—she’s not who he thinks she is…

Genre: Erotic Romance
Published by: Deep Desires Press

My review:

It has been a while since I have read an erotic novel, so when I saw The Good Sister was up for a one-day blog blitz I thought, why not!

The Good Sister is one of those books that has plenty of wow factor in the opening chapter. Rachael Stewart doesn’t mess around when it comes to getting straight in there with the heat, the action and setting up the conflict. It was great and had me hooked from the start.

From then on the pace of the read steadied but the heat continued, as did the drive to solve the central conflict – should she / shouldn’t she and how can this possibly all end well? Bradley King is a likeable male lead with swoon appeal, who you have to feel for a bit as he is unwittingly drawn into the deception orchestrated by the two sisters. There were plenty of racy moments, but intimacy was also built into the story, which made the choices being made more credible.

Overall it was an enjoyable read. It was my first Rachael Stewart novel but won’t be my last.

Links to buy the book: Amazon.com | Amazon UK

About the author:

 

Rachael Stewart adores conjuring up stories for the readers of Harlequin Mills & Boon and Deep Desires Press, with tales varying from the heart-warmingly romantic to the wildly erotic.

Despite a degree in Business Studies and spending many years in the corporate world, the desire to become an author never waned and it’s now her full-time pleasure, a dream come true.

A Welsh lass at heart, she now lives in Yorkshire with her husband and three children, and if she’s not glued to her laptop, she’s wrapped up in them or enjoying the great outdoors seeking out inspiration.

Discover more about Rachael Stewart via her website | Twitter | Facebook

Giveaaway – Win an e-copy of The Good Sister by Rachael Stewart (Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions – Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter link 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 the right is reserved 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 that purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time data will be deleted. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Enter the giveaway here via RafflecopterGood luck!

Many thanks to Rachael Stewart for the great read, and thanks to Rachel Gilbey of Rachel’s Random Resources for enabling me to be part of this one day blog blitz. My reviews are added to Amazon UK and Goodreads. x

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

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