#BookReview A VACANCY FOR A VILLAGE VET by JOANNE BODEN

ABOUT THE BOOK

From big city high-flyer to little village vet …

Hannah and Daniel were teenage sweethearts, but then Daniel left their sleepy village of Middlefern and his grandfather’s veterinary practice behind for the bright lights of London.

Now, fifteen years later, the prodigal grandson has returned to temporarily take over the village practice with a veterinary qualification and his dog, Sammy, in tow. Daniel is ready for rabbits with tummy aches, guinea pigs who’ve lost their squeak, plenty of cow complaints and a whole lot of memories – both good and bad. But is he ready to see Hannah again?

Of course, a high-flying city vet like Daniel was never planning to stay in Middlefern for good – especially given his history with the place. But could another, even more important, vacancy convince him to change his mind?

PUBLISHED BY CHOC LIT

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vacancy-Village-Vet-wonderful-romance-ebook/dp/B09Z32NL42/

Apple: A Vacancy for a Village Vet on Apple Books

Kobo: A Vacancy for a Village Vet eBook by Joanne Boden – 9781781890059 | Rakuten Kobo South Africa

Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Joanne_Boden_A_Vacancy_for_a_Village_Vet?id=oCZwEAAAQBAJ&gl=GB

Nook: A Vacancy for a Village Vet by Joanne Boden | NOOK Book (eBook) | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)

MY REVIEW

All the fur-baby feels for this one!! When Daniel returns home after abruptly leaving 15 years ago, Hannah doesn’t know what to think! No contact in all that time despite swearing undying love to one another as teenagers! Trying to keep out of his way in a small village is impossible so it’s only a matter of time until their paths cross…. and we get to go along for the reunion ride. Hold on to your hats!!
Hannah is one of those characters that you just want as a friend! She’s the sweetest thing, and has a very caring personality and is always putting others first instead of herself. And that’s one of the main reasons she’s never left the village, as she stayed to nurse her mother when she was poorly with cancer. It’s been 18 months since her passing, and she’s still grieving but throwing herself back into her nursing work with the locals keeps her going and distracting her mind.

And then Daniel returns which stirs up all those old memories and they both have a lot to face together – and it seems the universe, and some of their friends, are doing all they can to keep throwing them into situations where they are together to confront those old feelings!!

I loved this story – the connection between the characters was sparkling and I loved the different scenarios they found themselves in that allowed the past to be confronted and, for a change, be honest with one another!! Hannah is one of those people who loves helping others, but not so good at accepting help from others so it was good to see how she had to hand over control sometimes to others! Fabulous stuff!!

★★★★★

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#BlogTour THE LOST PROMISE OF IRELAND by SUSANNE O’LEARY #BookReview @bookouture

Hello! Delighted to be with you today on the blog tour to share my thoughts on the wonderful new book from Susanne O’Leary – THE LOST PROMISE OF IRELAND. My thanks to the author and publisher for putting the tour together and letting me be part of it all!

About the Book: 

A completely gorgeous story about lost loves and small-town secrets that will sweep you away to the Irish coast.

Maggie remembers her summers in the village of Sandy Cove in Ireland like they were yesterday. She and her family would swim in the crystal-clear waters, collect beautiful seashells and relax on the sand. So when she sees that her family’s old coastguard cottage is available, she wonders if renting it for the summer will finally help her move on from the man who just broke her heart.

As soon as Maggie arrives she is delighted to find her childhood best-friend Sorcha and Sorcha’s cousin Brian still living in town. They enjoy cosy nights in the local harbour pub, with its stunning views across the ocean, as if no time has passed. And when Brian reveals he had a fierce teenage crush on Maggie, she can’t help but notice just how handsome he has become.

But then Maggie finds a worn metal box hidden in the attic of the house, full of love letters she exchanged with a sweet American boy she met one summer. During their last night together, star-gazing on the beach, they promised to find each other again. Soon it becomes clear that Maggie is not the only one returning to Sandy Cove.

Torn between her growing feelings for Brian and the romance she’s held in her heart for many years, Maggie realises that her summer may be more complicated than she’d expected. Will Maggie finally find a true love who can sweep her off her feet or will this holiday in Sandy Cove be her last?

Fans of Mary Alice Monroe, Sheila O’Flanagan and Debbie Macomber will fall head over heels for this enchanting, feel-good romance.

published by Bookouture

AUTHOR BIO

Susanne O’Leary is the bestselling author of more than 20 novels, mainly in the romantic fiction genre. She has also written three crime novels and two in the historical fiction genre.
The wife of a former diplomat, she has also been a fitness teacher and a translator. She now writes full-time from either of two locations, a rambling house in County Tipperary, Ireland or a little cottage overlooking the Atlantic in Dingle, County Kerry. When she is not scaling the mountains of said counties, or doing yoga, she keeps writing, producing a book every six months

 Buy Link: 

Amazon: https://geni.us/B09FY24WHKsocial 

Apple: http://ow.ly/xgFS50GaeQr 

Kobo: http://ow.ly/R4yh50GaeMY 

Google: http://ow.ly/FKQs50GaeRZ 

MY REVIEW

This is one of those ‘hug yourself’ books! Those stories that bring you comfort, whatever time of year it is, but makes it more meaningful in the run up to Christmas! And I found the story to be full of wonderful characters that made up a lovely community that you just wanted to be part of!

Maggie spots her old childhood family cottage up for rent, and makes a decision to move there for the Summer as she has nothing but good memories of the past.  She’s looking to get herself back on track after  a recent break up so this step back in time is hopefully going to be the reset she needs to get her spark back!

She notices a lot of changes in the area since she was last there, but the locals are all still very friendly and lots remember her from the past so she’s warmly welcomed home and soon finds herself involved in the daily goings on! She also unearths her old letters and diaries so that brings back fresh memories of her family growing up and her first love.

This was just so easy to read and to feel connection with the characters.  In Maggie, there’s a woman who has been hurt but knows how the past can heal and she soon finds her strength again and support amongst those who knew her a long time ago.    Then there is the power of community coming together when plans to change the local area forever threaten all they know and love.  

This was a wonderfully warm read and the author has done another great job of creating a comforting story that is delightful to read!

★★★★

#20BooksOfSummer21 THE ISLAND HOME by LIBBY PAGE #BookReview

This is book 14 of my 20 Books of Summer 2021

ABOUT THE BOOK

Alice’s world is tiny but full.

She loves the community on Kip, her yoga classes drawing women across the tiny island together. Now Lorna’s arrival might help their family finally mend itself – even if forgiveness means returning to the past…

So with two decades, hundreds of miles and a lifetime’s worth of secrets between Lorna and the island, can coming home mean starting again?

PUBLISHED BY ORION

MY REVIEW

This is a wonderful story of facing up to the past and reconnecting and in such a wonderful setting! It’s full of characters that you take to your heart, and understand their pain and frustration, and watching their story unfold just fills your heart with glee!

Lorna and her daughter Ella are leaving London and heading to a remote Scottish Island where Lorna grew up, but left in haste 20 years ago and doesn’t mention. Ella is excited to be meeting up with ‘family’ after so long, but Lorna is extremely anxious and unsure if they are doing the right thing. Immediately you are intrigued as to what happened 20 years ago that made her so desperate to escape.

Alice lives on the Island of Kip, with Jack (Lorna’s brother), and is desperate to meet her sister in law and niece for the first time as Jack never mentions them. He’s very reluctant to discuss what happened in the past and the events of recent years have made him even more reticent to discuss his sister and their childhood.

Seeing how Lorna reacts to being ‘home’ makes the story more intriguing and it doesn’t take long before she’s thinking about the past and her childhood, and how to talk to Jack about what happened when he was 14 and his big sister just upped and left him behind.

The community is so welcoming I wanted to move up there! It’s lovely to see how everyone helped everyone out, a big change from London for Lorna where she was on her own bringing up her daughter with very few friends, and only her job as a teacher to keep her going. The more time she spends on Kip, the more her old character is revealed and the dreams and passions she forgot about and time allows her and Jack to start to share memories – good and bad – and the truth of what happened finally begins to reveal itself.

This is a story that just shows how reconnecting with ghosts from the past and confronting those memories you tried to forget allows you to find ways to move on and I just loved it all!

★★★★★

#20BooksOfSummer21 HIDDEN SECRETS AT THE LITTLE VILLAGE CHURCH by TRACY REES #BookReview

This is book 13 of my 20 Books of Summer

ABOUT THE BOOK

‘This may just have saved my life…’ The hurried scribble in the dusty visitors’ book catches Gwen’s eye. Just like that, she is drawn into a mystery at the heart of the pretty village of Hopley, and her troubles seem to fall behind.

When tragedy strikes, Gwen Stanley finds herself jobless and heartbroken. With nowhere else to turn, she retreats to Hopley, a crumbling little village in the sun-dappled English countryside. Wandering the winding lanes and daydreaming about what could have been, Gwen feels so very lost for the first time…

Until one day she pushes through the creaking doors of a tiny stone church on the edge of the village, forgotten by nearly everyone. There she stumbles on a little book full of local secrets. It might just change her life.

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Cecilia Ahern and Fiona Valpy, this is a gorgeous, feel-good read from a Richard and Judy bestselling author.

PUBLISHED BY BOOKOUTURE

MY REVIEW

This is book 13 of my 20 Books of Summer 2021.

I love Tracy Rees and she hits the spot again with this wonderful feelgood story of hope, friendship and finding purpose in a world that seems to often be against you.

Gwen finds herself back in Hopley, the village where she grew up, and she’s feeling lost. But she finds solace at the little local church and becomes rather obsessed with the visitor book, connecting with the little messages that each visitor over the years has left. She’s living with her Aunt Mary and it’s proving a very stressful time.

Jarvis is also living in Hopley, and living with his parents, seemingly having no real plan for life, other than enjoying a drink or 3! To appease his parents, he finds himself volunteering to help out after a plea from the local vicar to raise much needed funds for the church. So that’s how Jarvis meets Gwen.

They soon become addicted to tracking down people who have put messages in the visitor book, in the hope that they might donate some money to the fund! And the feelings of self worth and joy it gives them to find someone and get a donation is truly heartwarming! And the more time they spend focussed on this and not all the negative things in their lives, it starts to make them both blossom as people and start to thinking about their own dreams and passions.

The characters in this book are just the loveliest! And it was wonderful to see how just a simple task could bring about such change in their fortunes. I loved hearing from the past visitors of how this little church had meant so much to them and stayed in their minds, and how their different stories helped open new doors of opportunities for Gwen and Jarvis.

A wonderfully uplifting read!!

★★★★★

#BookReview AWAY WITH THE PENGUINS by HAZEL PRIOR

ABOU THE BOOK

Veronica McCreedy is about to have the journey of a lifetime . . .

Veronica McCreedy lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she’s never seen without her ruby-red lipstick.

Although these days Veronica is rarely seen by anyone because, at 85, her days are spent mostly at home, alone.

She can be found either collecting litter from the beach (‘people who litter the countryside should be shot’), trying to locate her glasses (‘someone must have moved them’) or shouting
instructions to her assistant, Eileen (‘Eileen, door!’).

Veronica doesn’t have family or friends nearby. Not that she knows about, anyway . . . And she has no idea where she’s going to leave her considerable wealth when she dies.

But today . . . today Veronica is going to make a decision that will change all of this.

PUBLISHED BY TRANSWORLD DIGITAL

MY REVIEW

Stick a penguin in a book or on the cover, and I want to read it! And this was a little charmer of a book, complete with prickly main character who you grow to love and understand and share her obsession with penguins and their welfare!

Veronica is very set in her ways! She’s in her eighties and finds human company a bother, barely tolerating her cleaner, Eileen, when she visits – she’s someone who finds plenty to complain about in the world and keeps people at arms length! But her heart shows its’ softer side when she starts watching a documentary about Penguins and starts looking back over old diaries… something spurs her on to live a little differently!

And there is nothing more different than heading out to the research facility in the Antarctic to watch the penguins close at hand! The research team are very against the plan to begin with, but when money is added to the mix, who are they to say no!

Before she leaves, she gets Eileen – she does have her uses! – to help her on the internet and start searching for family she’d long forgotten about. And the first meeting with Patrick does not go well! He’s down on his luck, so closed off to the positives in the world and wonders just what this old lady wants with him – and why now!

What I enjoyed about this story was how just a change of outlook can start things moving in a different direction. She’d been stuck for so many years in the same mindset that many opportunities had flown by. But she seems determined to do right by penguins and watching them close up really gives her new perspective.

We see the story through the eyes of Patrick, as well as the research team she joins, and they all really add something a little extra to the story. AS Patrick reads her old diaries, we get to understand why she is the way she is and sees that it’s best to know the whole story about someone before judging them.

A real easy read, that is full of emotion and warmth… 

★★★★

#BlogTour SUMMER AT SANDCASTLE COTTAGE by CHRISTINA JONES #BookReview @AccentPress @ChristinaJ2021

A huge delight to be with you today to share my thoughts on the fabulous new release SUMMER AT SANDCASTLE COTTAGE by CHRISTINA JONES. My thanks to the author, publisher and Rosanna for letting me be part of the tour!!

ABOUT THE BOOK

After trials, tears and a torturous break-up, Kitty Appleby has finally found where she’s meant to be. Tumbledown Sandcastle Cottage, in the delightful seaside village of Firefly Common, is home, and Kitty’s eccentric band of friends and neighbours are enjoying a glorious summer.

There’s just one tiny little problem. Sandcastle Cottage doesn’t belong to them. And Mavis Mullholland, Kitty’s landlord, is on her way home from her round-the-world cruise . . .

Kitty can’t bear to lose the community that’s welcomed her in. But secretly, she can’t bear to leave Sandcastle Cottage without finding out more about the mysterious and enigmatic Vinny . . . Why can’t she stop thinking about him, when she’s faced with losing everything?

PUBLISHED BY HEADLINE ACCENT

Order Link

 Amazon UK

MY REVIEW

If you are looking for a read that will brighten up a grey day, then look no further! This book brought sunshine in to my life while I was reading it, and I was sad to stop being around the characters by the last page! I think I need a trip to Firefly Common to visit them all!

This is a follow up to the short story – CHRISTMAS AT SANDCASTLE COTTAGE – but you don’t need to have read that to catch up with the goings on! Kitty has found her happy place at Sandcastle Cottage, along with her friends and the lovely community around them. But that might all be about to change with the news that their landlord is on their way home – and the thought of having to move on again is not filling Kitty with pleasure!

What stands out about this book is how quickly Kitty and her friends became part of the village around them.  She’s always been fearful of change and making mistakes so to have this settled period in her life is lettng her be herself finally.  And there’s also the enigmatic Vinny who is still a mystery to them! He’s often spotted walking along the beach by himself, but nobody knows much more about him and Kitty is intrigued! I don’t blame her! 

As the events play out over the Summer, I found myself really bonding with Kitty and her friends as they try and work out their next moves, and deal with all that life throws their way in their professional and personal lives! You really understand their angst too at maybe having to move on from their happy, safe space and just keep hoping that a compromise can be reached to keep them all together!

A ray of sunshine in book form!!

★★★★★

#BookReview THE KINDNESS PROJECT by SAM BINNIE @HeadlineFiction

ABOUT THE BOOK

Help the baker’s ex-wife widow
Find the true calling for the village shop owner
Call a truce on a decades-old feud
Forgive me…?

The locals of the Cornish village of Polperran are grieving the sudden loss of Bea Kimbrel, a cornerstone of their small community.

Now her reclusive, estranged daughter Alice has turned up, keen to tie up Bea’s affairs and move on.

But Alice receives a strange bequest from Bea – a collection of unfinished tasks to help out those in Polperran most in need.

As each little act brings her closer to understanding her mother, it also begins to offer Alice the courage to open her clamped-shut heart. Perhaps Bea’s project will finally unlock the powerful secrets both women have been keeping…

THE KINDNESS PROJECT will draw you deep into the lives of two compelling women who should never have missed their chance to say goodbye. It will break your heart – and piece it back together again… 

ebook – out now

paperback – out 8th July 2021

PURCHASE LINK

Amazon

MY REVIEW

You can’t escape the message of ‘Be Kind’ all around right now, so it’s only right that you do yourselves a favour and treat yourself to this book as it will give you all the warm and huggy feels and being kind to yourself is a great place to start with your own kindness project!!

It’s an emotional story from the start as Alice is travelling home after hearing that she has lost her mum. They were never close and she never even got invited to the funeral, so it feels odd to her to be travelling back ‘home’ and starts her thinking about the relationship troubles that she had with her mother.

Alice and Bea are very chalk and cheese personalities. Bea was a free spirit, very outgoing and always willing to help others around her. Whereas Alice is very closed off, loves her routine, her little bubble and goes out of her way to avoid people. She was very much a Daddy’s girl and it seems that the troubles between mum and daughter started years ago, and we see why they made such an impact on Alice.

Bea’s final wishes were for Alice to continue with the Kindness Project she had set up – an alien concept to Alice! Bea had made a real impact on the community she lived in, and I think it overwhelms Alice a little to see what her mother was doing for others.

As Alice spends more time going through her mothers’ things, the memories start to flood back and the regrets begin to build. Just where had it all gone wrong for them both, and why had they not just faced up to the problems and talked it through. That’s a big thing you take away from this book – time gives you a different perspective on things that happened and you shouldn’t wait until it is too late to make things right, or clear the air. Through the letters that Bea leaves her daughter, and talking to the locals who knew and loved her mum so much, she begins to learn more of the past than she was aware of before.

I loved how Alice took so well to the tasks she was set and I think helping others ends up helping her more as she gets out of her own head, and out of the rut that she found herself in. She realises that she needs to take control of her life, and sometimes all it needs is just a little bit of kindness that can go a long way in brightening someones day!

A really touching and heartwarming story!

★★★★

#BlogTour COMING HOME TO HERITAGE COVE by HELEN J ROLFE #BookReview @rararesources

Delighted to be here today as part of the Blog Tour for the wonderful COMING HOME TO HERITAGE COVE by HELEN J ROLFE. My thanks to the author, publisher and Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources for letting me be part of the tour and sharing my review!

Coming Home to Heritage Cove

Welcome to Heritage Cove, the little village by the sea brimming with character, community and friendship, and the perfect place to fall in love this summer…

Melissa rushes back to Heritage Cove when Barney, the man who’s been like a father figure to her since she was a little girl, ends up in hospital. After an absence of five years, her return isn’t going to be easy, especially when she bumps into Harvey, the love of her life and the man she’s never been able to forget. 

For reasons he couldn’t explain at the time, Harvey changed his mind about going with Melissa to start afresh as they’d planned, and life moved on for the both of them. But with Melissa back in the village and determined to stick around to help Barney, they can’t avoid each other forever. Melissa knows she let so many people down by staying away for so long, but she and Harvey blame each other for what happened and neither of them is willing to admit to being in the wrong.

When Barney insists on cancelling the Wedding Dress Ball, the charity fundraiser he holds every year in the stunning barn on his property, Melissa and Harvey realise they’re going to have to pull together. Otherwise the man they once knew might be gone forever. And when they unearth a secret Barney has never shared with anyone, they go in search of answers to not only ensure the ball runs this summer, but to bring back the Barney they know and love. 

Back in the cove after all this time, Melissa gets to see the life she left behind and it’s time to deal with what it was that drove her away in the first place.

Beneath the summer sunshine in Heritage Cove, the sea sparkles, the heat rises and new love, reconciliations and the answers to an old love story could bring changes for everyone.

Purchase Links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B086YYZF27

US – https://www.amazon.com/Coming-Home-Heritage-Cove-delightfully-ebook/dp/B086YYZF27

About the Author

Helen J Rolfe writes romantic fiction and contemporary women’s fiction and enjoys weaving stories about family, friendship, secrets, and community. 

Location is a big part of the adventure in Helen’s books and she enjoys setting stories in different cities and countries where she thinks her readers might like to escape to. 

Helen J Rolfe also writes for Orion Books under the name Helen Rolfe. 

Born and raised in the UK, Helen graduated from University with a business degree and began working in I.T. This job took her over to Australia and it was there that she finally turned to what she loved and studied writing and journalism. She spent a while freelancing for women’s health and fitness magazines, volunteered with the PR department of a children’s hospital where she wrote articles and media releases, and eventually began writing fiction in 2011. And now, she thinks she may just have found her dream job. 

Helen currently lives in Hertfordshire, UK, with her husband and their children. 

Social Media Links – 

Helen loves to hear from readers so please don’t hesitate to get in touch. She can be found at: 

www.helenjrolfe.com 

https://www.facebook.com/helenjrolfewriter

Tweets by HJRolfe

www.instagram.com/helen_j_rolfe/   

MY REVIEW

I found this to be a perfect feelgood, escapism read and have taken Heritage Cove and its’ inhabitants to my heart!  

Melissa has to return to Heritage Cove after Barney, who is a real father figure to her, is taken ill. That means confronting the past she ran away from 5 years ago! And that past is Harvey, the love of her life who still lives there.  Their relationship had a sour end, mainly due to their stubbornness, so it’s going to be tough for her to face things again – all the good and bad memories come rushing back and it’s how she deals with them that shows if the time away has helped her.

Barney normally hosts a Wedding Dress Ball but he is adamant it won’t be going ahead this year, and gets very prickly when  pushed further on it so you are left wondering what he’s hiding.  He’s never been good at accepting help, but good at giving help to others, so Melissa and Harvey have a tough job on their hands trying to make him see sense.

I loved the story about reconnecting and seeing how time changes things, but I also really enjoyed the mystery side of the story as they look into the past when they make a discovery and start to delve into the past of Barney and why things have meant so much to him over the years.

The relationship between Harvey and Melissa is a complex one because of their pasts and I found them to be such endearing characters due to their life experiences and I think that’s why I felt so warmly towards them as they tried to forgive one another, and themselves, for what happened to their relationship all those years ago.  I am just hoping there’ll be a return to Heritage Cove very soon as I want more!!

★★★★

#BlogTour THE HOUSE THAT ALICE BUILT by CHRIS PENHALL @rararesources @ChocLituk @RubyFiction

A huge delight to be the latest stop on the Blog Tour for THE HOUSE THAT ALICE BUILT! My thanks to the author, publisher and Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources for putting this all together and letting me be part of it all!

Home is where the heart is … 

Alice Dorothy Matthews is sensible. Whilst her best friend Kathy is living it up in Portugal and her insufferable ex Adam is travelling the world, Alice is working hard to pay for the beloved London house she has put her heart and soul into renovating. 

But then a postcard from Buenos Aires turns Alice’s life upside down. One very unsensible decision later and she is in Cascais, Portugal, and so begins her lesson in ‘going with the flow’; a lesson that sees her cat-sitting, paddle boarding, dancing on top of bars and rediscovering her artistic talents. 

But perhaps the most important part of the lesson for Alice is that you don’t always need a house to be at home. 

Purchase Links 

Amazon UK

Ruby Fiction

Kobo

Barnes & Noble

Google Play

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris Penhall is a freelance writer and radio producer.

Her book, The House That Alice Built, won the Choc-Lit Search for a Star Competition 2019. 

Born in South Wales, she has also lived near London and in Portugal, which is where The House That Alice Built is set. It was whilst living in Cascais near Lisbon that she began to dabble in writing fiction, but it was many years later that she was confident enough to start writing her first novel, and many years after that she finally finished it! She is now working on her second. 

A lover of books, music and cats, she is also an enthusiastic salsa dancer, a keen cook, and loves to travel. She is never happier than when she is gazing at the sea. 

Chris has two grown up daughters and lives in the Essex countryside. 

Chris is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association. 

Social Media Links – 

Author Website

Twitter

Facebook

MY REVIEW

This was a wonderful read with a real feelgood factor!!  I can see why this story won the Search For a Star competition! It has all those elements that keep you as a reader rooting for the main character and cheering when everything falls into place!!

Alice is trudging through her life! Her work is miserable, her ex, Adam, is off round the world and she’s having zero fun! When her friend Kathy flies over from Portugal for a visit she pesters Alice to come and visit her but Alice seems so stuck in her ways that she’s reluctant to go, but things are about to change to leave her with no option but to get packing!! 

With the realisation that maybe it’s time to put herself first, Alice finds herself in Portugal to visit Kathy and ends up with a little house/cat sitting job to see her through this new little chapter in her life! What is she going to do with herself?! For someone who likes routine it takes a while to get used to the change, but with the advice of ‘go with the flow’ ringing in her ear she starts to embrace this new way of living!

Her friend Kathy is brilliant in helping Alice find her feet and try new experiences and also makes her remember just how creative she used to be, before life got in the way! She can’t believe how warm and friendly everyone is either! She seems to be getting quite a bit of male attention from very attentive drivers and waiters !! Never a bad thing to have too much attention!!

With new passions to explore and new relationships beginning to blossom, I loved seeing how Alice began to find her happy! She took  back control and even though she often found it easier to run away from her problems whenever the past reared its’ head again, the new confidence she found in herself seemed to make her ready to face anything life could throw at her and this story was just a delight to read throughout!

★★★★★

#BookReview Three Days in Florence by Chrissie Manby

When a mini-break becomes make or break…

Kathy Courage has never visited the famous Italian city of Florence before, so she’s thrilled when she and her boyfriend Neil are invited there for a wedding. Unfortunately, with Neil’s constant complaining and his teenage children in tow, it’s not exactly the romantic break Kathy was hoping for.

But when a mix-up with her flights leaves Kathy stranded in the city, she decides to embrace the unexpected and stay on alone.

What follows is a life-changing few days in the Tuscan sun, as Kathy begins to question the choices that have led her here. With the help of the colourful Innocenti family, who offer Kathy a place to stay, she gradually begins to realise that there’s a much bigger world out there, if only she can be brave enough to explore it.

Could Italy hold the answers to her future happiness? Or is Kathy destined to return to her old life? 

published by Hodder & Stoughton

MY REVIEW

This was a really fun and charming read, as we get to spend time in the company of Kathy and, unfortunately, her long term boyfriend and his kids (all of them are brats!!), as they are in Florence for his brothers’ wedding. It’s been a dream of Kathys for years to spend time in Italy and she’s hoping to make the most of her time there – shame Neil and his children seem to just want to make her life hell, and I found myself shouting at Kathy so many times to dump them and have fun on her own! The woman was a bloody saint for being so nice to them!!

And that’s what happens when there is a mix up over the flights home, and Kathy has to stay behind. Neil is very uncomfortable about leaving her behind as it’s messing his plans up and he even has to deal with his own bratty kids while she’s there – good!! Thankfully Kathy meets a lovely family who invite her into their home/hotel after a bad experience she has, and this time seeing the good in people really helps Kathy see what she is missing and she gets to explore and experience Florence in her own time – and without the constant moaning of Neil who is still trying his best to get her back home ASAP as he finds it a massive inconvenience. The more you read about Neil, the more you wonder what she ever saw in the man!!

I adored the setting, and just loved seeing Kathy get to spread her wings and stand on her own two feet – she’s always been a bit too happy to follow what others wanted but that never made her happy so when she finally starts doing what she likes, she discovers how much happier life can be! This was a real feel good story and I could have happily spent more time with Kathy in Florence!

★★★★