Review: Rescue Me by Sarra Manning

 Margot doesn't have time for love.

Will is afraid to love.

And neither of them are expecting to fall in love with Blossom: a gentle Staffy with a tragic past, a belly made for rubbing and a head the size of a football.

After their first meeting at the rescue centre, both Margot and Will want to adopt Blossom so reluctantly agree to share custody. But Will's obsession for micro-managing and clear-cut boundaries and Margot's need to smother Blossom with affection, means that soon they have a very confused and badly behaved dog on their hands.

Can they put their differences aside to become successful "co-pawrents" and maybe even friends? And meanwhile, does Blossom have plans of her own?

Review: Although it is right there in the tagline, this book was waaaaay more about dogs than I expected it to be. This book really is exactly as it says, two lonely people and one good dog and all three of them were truly wonderful, fully formed characters to read about. 

Will and Margot are so much more similar than they realise and the most important things about them that is truly key to this story is how strong and stubborn both of them are, just like their wonderful dog blossom. I really identified with Margot, not just because she is 36 and worried about her biological clock just like me. There are definite care warnings when it comes to being childless and reading this book, I did find it tough at times. But I also really identified with the fact that she has been living alone so long she sometimes cannot see that it is OK to ask for help with things. 

Will is such a cinnamon roll and so if you like your male leads like that you're going to love this book! He is so prickly and yet underneath it all he is such a family guy and Blossom really does help to melt that hard exterior shell. Speaking of loving male leads like this, there are some steamy moments in this book and when I say steamy I mean hot. I loved the romantic scenes in this novel, they were so well written and very female-centric and definitely got me hot under the collar-I loved that side of this book. 

Now if you're not a dog person, like me, and you're worried that there are going to be too many details about treats and dog bowls and picking up poo then fear not. There are a lot of details like that in this book but that is not the be all and end all of the storyline and each poo bag comes with a meaning behind it that moves the plot on or leads to a description of another wonderful midi dress or pair of fancy shoes! I love that this book shows that one can be a dog a person or one can be a fashionista and it isn't the be all and end all of your life, it is just a part of you. 

This book is also a love letter to London living. I so miss being able to walk out of my house or off a bus or a tube and get somewhere, I loved being able to get my steps in without having to walk on a treadmill and so I really enjoyed taking walks with these characters and exploring a part of my heritage at the same time. The description of their respective abodes and the changing weather was just stunning and so it was easy to immerse yourself in their world and just enjoy a really lovely story about some complex characters. Highly recommend!

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Review: Love Songs For Sceptics by Christina Pishiris

LOVE IS FOR SUCKERS . . . ISN’T IT?

My brother’s getting married in a few weeks and asked for help picking a song for his first dance. I suggested Kiss’s ‘Love’s a Slap in the Face’.

It didn’t go down well.

When she was a teenager, Zoë Frixos fell in love with Simon Baxter, her best friend and the boy next door. But his family moved to America before she could tell him how she felt and, like a scratched record, she’s never quite moved on. Now, almost twenty years later, Simon is heading back to London, newly single and as charming as ever...

With Simon back in town, Zoë is determined to finally pluck up the courage to tell him how she feels, but as obstacles continue to get in her way – Jess, Simon’s perfect ex-girlfriend, Nick, an obnoxious publicist determined to ruin Zoe’s career, and family pressure around her brother’s big(ish) fat(ish) Greek wedding – Zoe begins to wonder whether, after all these years, she and Simon just aren’t meant to be.

What if, instead, they’re forever destined to shuffle around their feelings for each other, never quite mastering the steps. Is Zoë right to be sceptical about romance, or is it time she changed her tune?

Review: This was such a great premise for a story. I love the idea of someone in the music industry having some sceptical love song choices-I actually really enjoys reading about an editor of a music magazine-a glimpse into that world was so fresh and full of entertainment.

Zoe was an interesting character to spend this novel with. She has a fiery personality and is passionately independent but she has a wonderful mix of friends and colleagues who all compliment her and are all fully developed and intriguing in their own right. I didn’t always agree with the choices that Zoe made and felt like I was often judge mental towards her but it really meant that you never knew what direction the story was going to take next.

Then there’s the romance in this novel, as if music industry gossip and a brothers wedding wasn’t enough. This novel features a love triangle situation that morphs into a variety of other shapes throughout the course of the book. I love this trope and really liked the way this author played with and manipulated it for her characters in this case. I could definitely feel the chemistry between the characters and was definitely willing the triangle to go in one direction way more than the others.

This story is structured around chapters with song titles and the chapters are a mixture of lengths, when you come across a short chapter you definitely find yourself wanting to read on and so go time and again for ‘one more chapter’ so it was definitely a fast-paced novel without lacking any depth that’s for sure. I enjoyed this read, it was interesting to read about a main character in a different field and the romantic aspect of it definitely kept me on my toes the whole way through! 

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK

Review: The Sunday Lunch Club by Juliet Ashton

The first rule of Sunday Lunch Club is … don't make any afternoon plans.
 
Every few Sundays, Anna and her extended family and friends get together for lunch. They talk, they laugh, they bicker, they eat too much. Sometimes the important stuff is left unsaid, other times it's said in the wrong way. 
 
Sitting between her ex-husband and her new lover, Anna is coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy at the age of forty. Also at the table are her ageing grandmother, her promiscuous sister, her flamboyantly gay brother and a memory too terrible to contemplate.
 
Until, that is, a letter arrives from the person Anna scarred all those years ago. Can Anna reconcile her painful past with her uncertain future?

Review: Even just the synopsis of this book made me laugh and made me very very intrigued as to what was going to down inside the pages of this novel, so you can imagine that that reaction was increased a hundred fold once I began reading. I was drawn into this book and this family right from the word go and I didn't want the adventure to end-ever!

Anna is a fabulous main character to steer this ship and she really is the main sail of her family too. We get to know so much about her family as the book progresses, I feel like I am part of their family too. They seem to welcome everyone into the fold, not always with open arms, and so you as a reader are definitely welcomed in as well. We all have a little bit of Anna in us, she is so fiercely independent, partly through choice and partly through necessity, but that doesn't always mean that she is safe from hurt and safe from generally bad things happening to her. The way she grows and changes over the course of this book was pretty spectacular and was heart warming to the very end. 

Each Sunday lunch club is an event in itself where secrets are unearthed, revelations are made and bonds are broken and mended. Each of these lunches could be a soap opera in their own right. At the heart of these gatherings though, is that family value that runs all the way through this book. No matter who is there, where they are, what is eaten, someone always leaves feeling a little better about themselves and problems are dealt with as a group, despite what each member of the family might reveal to the others over the course of the lunch. 

There were some really funny moments in this book, Anna's 'situation' provides some humour amongst her family and it is impossible not to laugh at other people's reactions when they experience their first Sunday lunch as a friend or a lover as one of the family members in attendance. There are also some lovely moments of family rallying round each other as the book goes on, this was really great to see because four bother's and sisters and a hell of a lot of secrets doesn't always mean that will be the case. And there were of course moments that had me in tears because it would't be a Juliet Ashton Novel without emotions that are poles apart. I cried with sadness and joy though and because I really did feel like part of the family. 

This was a truly wonderful read. I barely felt able to put it down and I ended up finishing it during my own Sunday lunch time, not something I planned to do. The story is gripping, the characters endearing and I am sure that you, too, won't want it to end!

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Top Ten Tuesday: YA Romance 13/2/18

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

I decided to do a quick top 10 YA romance because I have read some really fabulous romance in t young adult books recently. As always, this list is in no particular order. 

Guest Review: Suddenly Last Summer by Sarah Morgan

Fiery French chef Élise Philippe is having a seriously bad day. Not only have the grand opening plans for her beloved café fallen apart, but Sean O'Neil is back in town and looking more delectable than ever. Memories of the electrifying night they shared last summer leave Élise very tempted, but she knows all too well that eventually Sean will be leaving…again. 

Being back in Vermont—even temporarily—is surgeon Sean O'Neil's worst nightmare. Returning home to the Snow Crystal Resort means confronting the guilt he feels about rejecting his family's lifestyle years ago. But discovering that Élise is still in Vermont and still sets his blood racing is a very welcome distraction! Remembering last summer and how good they were together is going to make walking away more difficult than he could imagine….

Review: This is book 2 in the Snow Crystal trilogy. Having read book 1 (Sleigh Bells in the Snow), I was eager to read this story and catch up with the characters I had met there. Book 2 did not disappoint; I was engrossed from page 1. The only thing lacking was the snow. Although it is part of a series, this book could easily be read as a standalone. All the main characters, the setting and relationships become clear as the story progresses. 

In this tale, the 2 central characters are Sean O'Neil (part of the family running the Snow Crystal Resort in Vermont) and Elise (the French chef in charge of the popular restaurant and catering in general at the resort). Although Sean has not followed in the footsteps of his brothers, Jackson and Tyler, in living at the resort with the rest of the family and taking part in its operation, he keeps an eye on things there while continuing his job as an orthopaedic surgeon in Boston. He is not a frequent visitor to Snow Crystal due to friction between himself and his grandfather, Walter. However, when a family emergency calls him home, will the memory of a romantic evening he shared with Elise the previous summer make him want to stay?

I found this yet another compelling and extremely romantic story from Sarah Morgan. Although set in summer, the Snow Crystal resort still shines through as a lovely place to spend a vacation, with its marvellous scenery and comfortable lodges. The food prepared by Elise sounds delicious as well. I loved the main characters featured in this story and the romantic tension between them. Sean is a workaholic unable to make a lasting relationship, while Elise finds it difficult to make a commitment due to a disastrous incident in her past. I was rooting for them to get together but was kept guessing right to the end. Great story telling. 

This would be a great book to enjoy on holiday, in any season. As I have said, it stands alone nicely, but I think reading the trilogy as a whole would be very enjoyable too. 

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Guest Review: Sleigh Bells in The Snow by Sarah Morgan

Once upon a time Kayla loved Christmas

Now she’s more dedicated to her job than decking the halls, and can’t wait for the ‘most wonderful time of the year’ to be over.

Until she arrives at the enchanting Snow Crystal ski resort, determined to win gorgeous owner Jackson as a marketing client.

But wooing Jackson professionally quickly turns personal as they spend flirty festive nights in this glittering winter wonderland.

With snowflakes swirling and sleigh bells ringing…could Jackson be the one to make Kayla fall back under the Christmas spell?

Snow Crystal trilogy

Book 1 - Sleigh Bells in the Snow

Book 2 - Suddenly Last Summer

Book 3 - Maybe This Christmas

While the Snow Crystal novels can easily be read as standalone stories, you'll likely enjoy reading the earlier books in the series too!

Review: This title is book 1 in the Snow Crystal trilogy from the ever popular Sarah Morgan, one of my favourite Christmas story authors. I have read quite a few of her more recent books and was delighted to find some of the characters in those stories, and indeed the Snow Crystal ski resort, popping up in this one. I was drawn to this book by its excellent cover depicting a lovely snowy scene; once I began to read, I was hooked by the story as well. 

The main female character in the story is Kayla, an English PR executive working in New York. Due to a troubled past, she dreads the festive season and will do anything to avoid all the hype associated with Christmas. It seems that a perfect way of escaping all the fuss presents itself when she is sent off to spend Christmas at a prospective client's ski resort, where she has arranged to stay in the most secluded lodge available. However, she has reckoned without the appeal of the client in question, the rugged and handsome Jackson O'Neil, and, indeed, his whole family. Far from escaping Christmas, she is dragged reluctantly into the whole experience. 

I really enjoyed this story. It was an easy read and transported me off to this glorious ski resort in Vermont. The luxurious lodge where Kayla stayed was described in great detail, and all the activities available at the resort were brought to life by the skilful writing. I only wish it was all real so that I could book a holiday there myself. As well as the setting, I thought that the characters Sarah introduced were both interesting and believable. Jackson's family, although worried about the resort's future, are welcoming and understanding towards Kayla, even Grandfather Walter, who is so suspicious of change. Then, of course, there is the promise of romance; will Jackson and Kayla move their relationship from professional to something more personal? 

I would heartily recommend this book to anyone.  It is heartwarming and full of festive cheer, and couldn't fail to leave the reader feeling ready for Christmas. I am looking forward to reading the other books in this series. 

To order your copy, just click the link: UK or US

Guest Review: Moonlight Over Manhattan by Sarah Morgan

She'll risk everything for her own Christmas miracle…

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?

Review: This is book 6 in the From Manhattan With Love series written by Sarah Morgan. Although part of a series, it can easily be read as a standalone as any mention of characters or events from previous parts are explained along the way. I have loved every one of these books and find myself looking forward to the next each time I am nearing the end of my current read. This one was no exception. I was hooked right from page one, particularly as the author cleverly introduces us into an interesting situation. 

This book centres around Harriet, who, with her twin sister, Fliss, runs a very successful dog-walking business (The Bark Rangers) in Manhattan. Although very good with dogs, and animals in general, Harriet is shy with humans, and leaves most of the client contact to Fliss. However, we find Harriet on her own now that her sister has moved away, and determined to come out of her shell. In fact, she has challenged herself to do something that she wouldn't normally do every day for the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is why the reader finds Harriet at the start of the book doing something most un-Harriet like and at the same time hilarious. However amusing and ill-advised this escapade, it does lead to her meeting handsome and hunky Dr Ethan Black, one of the best ER doctors in the city. He turns out to be the brother of one of Harriet's clients, and through her client's dog, Madi, Ethan and Harriet are pushed together.  

This is yet another heartwarming and amusing tale from Sarah Morgan. Its setting, a snowy pre-Christmas Manhattan, is brought to life by her skilful descriptive narrative. I particularly enjoyed the banter between the main characters. I really wanted them to come together, but I was never absolutely sure how things were going to pan out. There was also some entertaining interactions between Ethan and his work colleague, Susan. Of course, as always in this series of books, there is a collection of cute dogs and kittens for all us animal lovers. I would heartily recommend this book for curling up with when it's cold outside. It's sure to give a warm glow for lovers of romantic comedy, medical romances, Christmas tales and animal stories alike. 

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Review: Some Like It Hot At The Picture House By The Sea by Holly Hepburn

Part Four in the brilliant new series from the bestselling author of The Star and Sixpence series. 
 
After several months in Cornwall helping her grandfather run the family business, Ginahas almost forgotten what London life is like, and her boyfriend Max has most definitely noticed.... With all her energy going into the newly renovated Palace picture house and the ever-successful Ferrelli's ice-cream business, he's not getting much attention. To make matters worse, Gina is spending more and more time with her friend and co-renovator, Ben, and old feelings are starting to resurface.
 
But as Gina's time in Cornwall draws to a close and she starts thinking about returning to life in London with Max, the cinema's very future comes under threat from a developer with greed in his eyes. Will Gina stay in Polwhipple? And can she help owner Gorran save the Palace before it is too late...? 

Review: Well the final part in the Picture House by The Sea series did not disappoint! This was obviously where all the story lines came to a head and things were resolved or not as the case may be. Because of that the plot is very much things coming together and so you can expect drama drama drama! I loved that it was structured like this because it made it super quick to read and I flew through this. There are romantic moments, there are heart warming moments and there are some tough moments too, very much reflecting Gina's life entirely and totally relatable!

Obviously Gina completely shines in this series. I love her as a character because she always wants to do the right thing and I find that admirable about her. She is down to earth and she is a strong woman who gets stuff done on her own merit-what more could we want for in a heroine? Ben obviously plays a big part in this final instalment too. I just love how laid back he is, he really is a tonic to the whole storyline, and yet that doesn't mean he doesn't have passion. He is so passionate about everything that he is into and I love that about him! Gina's family really come into play in this novel and It was great to see them altogether in one place. We also have the villains of the story, Rose and her mother. Rose doesn't play as big a role in this episode as she has in previous, but her nastiness still adds some fuel to the drama, as you might imagine. 

Of course there is a little bit of ice cream and a lot of movie magic in this book, as there has been in all the others. There are references to quite a few different movies throughout this book, and not just Some Like it Hot. That is one of the things I have loved about this series, it has definitely inspired me to go and watch the movies of the names of the episodes! Thankfully there wasn't quite as much Italian coffee and cooking in this one and so I didn't have to arm myself with an espresso and a bowl of pasta to read it but it was still just as much fun as the other books in this series. 

I cannot wait to see this book released as a whole as I think it will work really well following on from one another and I can't wait for everyone to start falling in love with Gina, Ben and the Picture House by the Sea just as deeply as I did. 

All four parts are available here

And you can pre-order the full novel (out on 10th August) here

Blog Tour! Review: The Summer of Serendipity by Ali McNamara

You'll find a warm welcome in the latest novel from Ali McNamara, bestselling author of The Little Flower Shop by the Sea and From Notting Hill with Love, Actually

One summer, property seeker, Serendipity Parker finds herself on the beautiful west coast of Ireland, hunting for a home for a wealthy Irish client. But when she finds the perfect house in the small town of Ballykiltara, there's a problem; nobody seems to know who owns it.

'The Welcome House' is a local legend. Its front door is always open for those in need of shelter, and there's always a plentiful supply of food in the cupboards for the hungry or poor.

While Ren desperately tries to find the owner to see if she can negotiate a sale, she begins to delve deeper into the history and legends that surround the old house and the town. But for a woman who has always been focussed on her work, she's remarkably distracted by Finn, the attractive manager of the local hotel.
But will she ever discover the real truth behind the mysterious 'Welcome House'? Or will the house cast its magical spell over Ren and help her to find true happiness?

Review: I was so excited to read Ali McNamara's latest novel. It has been a little while since I delved into her world and it was so great to be back. The stories that this author writes are feel-good reads with strong female leads with just a little hint of magic about them. This was no exception 

When I mention magic, this might be the fates aligning or might be something more but it really does give you, as a reader, a true sense of escapism. You have to put real life and any sort of cynicism or disbelief you have to one side for the duration of the book and let this author whisk you away into her world. I read this book in just 2 sittings and I'm sure I can say the same thing about her previous novels too because they really do just envelope you and allow you to hide away in whatever world lie within for 300 or so pages!

This is a little bit of a spin off from the last Ali McNamara that I read 'Breakfast at Darcy's' and it was great to be back in Ireland again and to revisit some of the characters from that novel. This is by no means a sequel though and you can definitely read this book despite not having read breakfast at Darcy's. For fans of that book though, it will be lovely to be back in that setting and surrounded by the same kind of Irish legends that we enjoyed in the first book. 

I really enjoyed getting to know Main character Ren over the course of this novel. She is incredibly easy to get along with and easy to relate to because she is her own person and has her own business but we know she has been hurt in some way in the past and therefore has her guard up. I loved reading about someone so really and yet someone I could so easily see myself being friends with. She and her partner Kiki are on this journey together and I loved meeting Kiki too, she is definitely the Ying to Ren's Yang and so the two of them really work well as a team. If anything I would love to read a spin off finding out what happens to Kiki now this novel is over-please?

There are of course a few male characters to get to know in this novel too, always a happy co-incidence. I loved hotel manager Finn and his fabulous dog Fergus. He is very like Ren and so I had high hopes for the tow of them from the start of the novel-not giving anything away though! There are also some real characters in the village and possibly some people to help Ren along her way. 

This is the perfect summer read because of the location and the little touch of magic that lies within the pages and so i highly recommend adding this to your summer TBRs. I am sure you will have just as much fun as I did hanging out with Kiki and Ren and helping them along on their quest to find the perfect house!

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Review: Persuading Austen by Brigid Coady

It is a truth universally acknowledged that working with an ex is a terrible idea…

Annie Elliot never expected her life to turn out this way: living with her dad, working as an accountant – surely the least glamorous job in Hollywood?! – and dodging her family’s constant bickering.

Landing a job as a producer on a new adaptation of Pride and Prejudice seems like the piece of luck she’s been waiting for. Until the cast is announced, and Annie discovers that the actor playing Mr Darcy is Austen Wentworth: the man she’s spent nearly a decade trying to forget.

Not only is Austen her ex – but while Annie’s life has stalled, Austen is Hollywood’s hottest property…and has just been voted World’s Sexiest Man.

With nowhere to hide, there’s just one question. Now the one who got away has come back, should Annie stand by her pride? Or give into Austen’s powers of persuasion?

Review: This book was such a fun read. It was full of family drama, work drama, relationship drama and then some. I love a read that is action-packed and fast paced like this but I need to have a character I can get along with at the heart of it all, someone to keep things a little grounded, and someone to champion and this book had that too. 

I loved getting to know Annie and it really did feel like she was Cinderella at the start of this book so I had to champion her, I didn't have the choice. Her mum is out of the picture, her sisters and her father are making her life a living nightmare and she is trying so hard to be the strong woman that she knows she really can be and say no to them but there are all sorts of family ties holding her back, including that prince charming she lost, the one who got away. I really did feel like Annie was easy to identify with, She was put upon but she had big dreams and I loved that about her, I got to know her right away and we stayed friends throughout the book!

The other characters in the book provide the drama and the comedy value. I loved Annie's boss Cassie and thought she was very grounding for Annie. But her Dad, her two sisters, her sisters in law and her cousin. Wow! So much drama here. If you could imagine it, it would happen to them and Annie was the one who had to sort it out. This is a character packed book and I have to admit that I did struggle to keep track of who was who in the beginning a little, but basically, if it was Annie's family, they were going to cause some sort of issue and that's all I needed to know!

There's a love interest of course, 'The One Who Got Away' and he comes flying back into Annie's life and I loved the romantic tension that this created. There are some classic, 'does he like me does he not?' moments and these were almost too much to handle. There isn't a steamy element to the romance in this book but fear not, there are some sweet sweet moments. 

I loved the fact that this book surrounded a film production and all the difficulties that come with that and it was a great setting for the book too, one that I haven't read enough of recently, so it felt new and fresh and posed problems of its own for poor Annie. Overall this was a really fun read. There are some great nods to Austen here, some funny moments and just the right amount of romance. It is fast-paced and definitely something to add to your beach reading this summer!

To order your copy now, just click here!

Review: Together by Julie Cohen

This is not a great love story. 
This is a story about great love.

On a morning that seems just like any other, Robbie wakes in his bed, his wife Emily asleep beside him, as always. He rises and dresses, makes his coffee, feeds his dogs, just as he usually does. But then he leaves Emily a letter and does something that will break her heart. As the years go back all the way to 1962, Robbie's actions become clearer as we discover the story of a couple with a terrible secret - one they will do absolutely anything to protect.

Review: Wow! I can tell that this is one of those books that is going to stay with me for a long time. This book is about Emily and Robbie and their story and its really hard to say anything else about the synopsis without giving any spoilers. Don't you just love books where you have to talk to someone else who has read the book in order to actually speak about it properly-so please let me know if you have read this book, I need to talk about it!

First of all the thing that I loved most about this book was the structure. This book is written backwards, yes backwards! Hats off to Julie Cohen for managing to write a book backwards and yet still filling it with so many details to keep even the most avid reader happy. This book begins in Maine in 2016 and then ends up all the way back in England in 1962 and follows Emily and Robbie over various points of time in between. 

Then we have the love. This novel is, as it says, about great love. We see Emily and Robbie's lives together and apart and how their love affects them when they are with each other and when they are not with each other. We also explore the love that they have in their own families and with their children and the lengths that they would both go to to protect their familial love. I love that these two characters are so passionate and such romantics and also so into the love for their children, it blew me away!

Emily and Robbie were really easy to like as characters even if they haven't always been open and honest with the rest of the world, they have always been open and honest with each other and once I saw that I could trust them as characters, I was ready to go on this journey with them! As I said, I loved that they were both such romantics, but Emily was much more practical than Robbie and their relationship needed that. Robbie is physically practical, a boat builder, but she kept their decisions practical and thought of the consequences of their actions and not just the here and now. They both have their faults but they have owned them and moved on from them and that's what makes them so real that they just jump off the page!

The beginning of this book is set in Maine and then moves from Miami to Cambridge to Norfolk. I loved that I could identify these settings and particularly loved that Maine was featured, having visited there recently. I could picture it all so well and the sea scenes in particular were described incredibly well by this author. 

I would definitely advise you to pick this book up. It is romantic but also real; it is covers serious issues but these characters are so much fun; it is full of detail but in no way confusing; it will sweep you away! If you are a fan of Julie Cohen then you will know the heart and soul that goes into her novels, and if you are new to this author then this will be a great place to start.

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Review: Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

If you could read my mind, you wouldn't be smiling.

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off.

Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist.

Caroline introduces Sam to Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear. 

Review: I don't know why it took em so long to get round to reading this book (do I start all my reviews like that) but having loved this author's previous two novels, and read them back to back, cover to cover, I really don't know why I bought this and then just left it sitting on the shelf! I really enjoyed this read although it was one of those that was actually really different from what I expected it to be.

This book deals with the issue of OCD because our main character suffers from OCD. She has various coping strategies including a new one which she discovers over the course of this book. I thought it was really good that we got to see what every day life was like for her because of her OCD and got to see her visiting her therapist and not being able to cope in certain situations. OCD is such a dismissive term these days, often used for people who like things clean or in order and so to see how it affects someone like this was really great to read. There is also a really good author's note at the end of the book which covers the OCD storyline so I definitely recommend reading that too!

There is also some lovely romance in this novel, as I would have expected from this author and I really enjoyed this aspect of it too. I like the fact that this follows a sort of enemies to friends to more kind of trope but with a little twist on the traditional. There is also an aspect of friends to enemies here and I enjoyed watching that develop too, perhaps I'm a little sadistic in that sense!

The main storyline concerns a group of people meeting up to perform their poetry and how that helps them deal with the other issues that are going on in their complicated teenage lives. This is all pointed out to Sam through her new friend Caroline, but like lots of others in the group, there is more to Caroline than meets the eye and this provides another branch of the storyline.

There are some very real issues covered in this book and also some magical elements, as this author does so well. The balance of real and fantastical/magical is just right for me because I am not usually a fan of things being not 100% real. Overall this was a really good read and I am sure that if you pick this one up, you will enjoy meeting Sam as I did. Obviously there is the OCD aspect of the storyline to be aware of and so you should definitely bear that in mind when choosing this lovely read.

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Review: Lobsters by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Sam and Hannah only have the holidays to find 'The One'. Their lobster. But instead of being epic, their summer is looking awkward. They must navigate social misunderstandings, the plotting of well-meaning friends, and their own fears of being virgins for ever to find happiness. But fate is at work to bring them together. And in the end, it all boils down to love.

Review: Why did I wait so long to read this book? I know I am always saying this but I bought this book when it first came out in the UK and so it has been sitting on my shelf that long waiting to entertain me. I loved this read right from the word go. It was entertaining, funny and relatable. I loved the fact that it is a YA novel but it is about grown up, British teenagers. Something which is often hard to find. This book is all about that summer between school and university when people are going off on group holidays, heading to festivals, travelling to their gap years, finding jobs and waiting for those exam results. Most people have gone through that time and so it is about time someone wrote a novel about how weird a time it is!

This is also a love story obviously. But, like all real relationships things aren't smooth and happy and jolly, there are some total cringe moments, as well as some hugely funny misunderstandings and I loved that about it. These characters of course, bring these situations to life and I loved spending time with Hannah and Sam and their groups of friends. Sam's group of friends felt just like watching an episode of the Inbetweeners and I think that's one of the reasons I found them so hilarious. Hannah's group is the usual frenemies situation and are always talking about sex and losing their virginity (remember when that's all you and your friends could talk about?). I really enjoyed the dynamic between them and any of them could have been the people I went to school with. 

I listened to this book on audiobook and because it is a dual narrative, this worked really well. The only aspect of the audiobook that let it down a little was the fact that the narrator gave Tilly a really squeaky voice so that she sounded 4 and not 18! The romantic aspect of the book isn't rammed down your throat, this is a funny story about growing up more than it is about relationships and so don;'t be put off by that. There are some very real relationship moments and I loved the bits that really were sweet in there, because that's real life isn't it? I just really loved this book, I loved what it stood for I loved the humour and I really want to know where these characters all are now!

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