After growing up in privilege and marrying into money, Lila Alders has gotten used to the good life. But when her happily-ever-after implodes, Lila must return to Black Dog Bay, the tiny seaside town where she grew up. She’s desperate for a safe haven, but everything has changed over the past ten years. Her family’s fortune is gone—and her mother is in total denial. It’s up to Lila to take care of everything...but she can barely take care of herself.
The former golden girl of Black Dog Bay struggles to reinvent herself by opening a vintage clothing boutique. But even as Lila finds new purpose for outdated dresses and tries to reunite with her ex, she realizes that sometimes it’s too late for old dreams. She’s lost everything she thought she needed but found something—someone—she desperately wants. A boy she hardly noticed has grown up into a man she can’t forget...and a second chance has never felt so much like first love.
Why so excited? --> I honestly don't know why, but somehow I still haven't read one fo Beth Kendrick's novels. They always sound like great reads, so hopefully I will finally get to pick up one of her books, most specifically her newest release, 'New Uses for Old Boyfriends.' I love the sound of this one (and the fact that it includes a vintage clothing boutique!) and look forward to hearing more about it!
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With a baby on the way and her business starting to boom, has Penny finally found her happily ever after?
Things are looking up for Penny Robinson. She's kicked her gambling addiction and even started her own business: Princess on a Shoestring, an all-inclusive service for brides-to-be looking to pinch pennies on their big day. Between family fights and wardrobe calamities, wedding planning is no piece of cake, but Penny's got it all under control. That is, until a rival planner decides to take her down—one hard-won bride at a time. Now Penny must fight to save her reputation and her livelihood before it's too late. But when a romantic weekend away has some unexpected consequences, Penny's expectations for her career are brought back down to earth with a bump.
Why so excited? --> I've heard so much about this series by Anna Bell and I'm incredibly excited there's another part coming up, even though I haven't read the other books yet! I just love the sound of this series, sounds like the perfect chick lit read, so I definitely plan on picking up the books soon!
Millie was at one time quite well known for various TV and radio appearances. However, she now has no money, a best friend with a better sex life than her, a daughter in Papua New Guinea and too much weight in places she really doesn't want it.
When she's asked to be the front woman for a new diet pill, she naively believes that all her troubles will be solved. She will have money, the weight will be gone, and maybe she'll get more sex.
If only life was really that easy. It doesn't take her long to realize it's going to take more than a diet pill to solve her never-ending woes...
Why so excited? --> This sounds like a really funny read and it's one of the February 2015 releases I have high hopes for!
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Kate Marshall is slowly getting her life back on track after losing her fiancé. As an author she has been able to hide herself away from the world and its expectations – but now one of her books has been optioned for a film and Hollywood suddenly comes knocking on her door!
When Kate is given the opportunity to stay at a beautiful country retreat and concentrate on the screenplay, it’s an offer she can’t refuse. Encouraged by her best friend, sharp-tongued single mum Sarah, Kate sees it’s finally time to stop letting life pass her by.
Looking for confidence and inspiration in the idyllic Cotswolds countryside, the last thing Kate expects is for Timothy Calder, A-list actor and leading man in the movie adaptation of her book, to turn up on her doorstep, hoping to lie low after his latest tabloid scandal! But after a rocky start, with Tim narrowly avoiding death by watering can, they find they have a few things in common: a liking for Lady Grey tea, walnut whips and bad ‘knock knock’ jokes. Actually, the bad jokes are just Tim.
As an unlikely friendship begins to blossom, and with circumstances repeatedly throwing them together, is Sunset Cottage where both Kate and Tim’s lives will really start?
Why so excited? --> One of the 2015 debut novels I'm most looking forward to reading! I love everything about Bella Osborne's upcoming release: the cover, the blurb, the title... I already know this novel is not going to disappoint me!
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Beth, Rachel and Lindy are looking for new beginnings.
Beth is planning her sister's wedding via Skype in order to avoid their domineering mother. Rachel has decided to get on with her new life in the country post-divorce, and has just finished decorating her new home. And single-mother Lindy is looking for something creative to do with her time now that her young sons don't need her quite so much. They find themselves living in the same village in the country -- and decide to set up in business together, organising stylish and perfectly affordable vintage weddings. Soon they are busy organising other people's weddings. But will they have time to find their own Mr Rights? In Katie's world, anything is possible.
Why so excited? --> A new Katie Fforde novel, yay! I love Katie Fforde and her feel-good stories, and I really like the sound of 'A Vintage Wedding.' The three female characters sound fascinating and I look forward to reading their stories!
Love is on the menu. With a side order of lies.
When Laura Parker first crosses forks with Adam Bayley, she's only after one thing: his custard doughnut. But when she takes a closer look she sees a talented, handsome man who outshines the string of jokers she's been dating.
There's just one problem. Adam's job means Laura has to keep her job as restaurant critic for The Dish, a secret. Tricky for someone who prides herself on honesty.
Can the truth be put on ice long enough for love to flourish?
And how can you expect your boyfriend to be honest if you're not quite telling the truth yourself?
Why so excited? --> Another author who I'm not yet familiar with, but I'm definitely excited about 'The Dish.' It sounds like a really promising read and I can't wait to pick it up this February!
If you loved 'One Day' and 'The Rosie Project', you will fall head-over-heels for 'The Two of Us'.
Falling in love is the easy part. What matters most is what happens next...
Fisher and Ivy have been an item for a whole nineteen days. And they just know they are meant to be together. The fact that they know little else about each other is a minor detail. Over the course of twelve months, in which their lives will change forever, Fisher and Ivy discover that falling in love is one thing, but staying there is an entirely different story.
Why so excited? --> I am one of the lucky people who managed to get an early review copy of 'The Two of Us' and I am really looking forward to reading it! The e-book version will be released on the 12th of February, with the paperback version following in May 2015. I definitely have high hopes for this read!
Allison Darling, former foster child, now a stay-at-home mom of three, desperately wants to fit in with the organic latte drinking, hundred-dollar-yoga-pants-wearing moms who run Monrovia, her charming seaside village. Constantly feeling like an outsider, Allison dreams of more for her children.
When the Glamour Girls, a soap-selling company run by the most charismatic and powerful women in town, recruits Allison, she jumps at the invitation. The Glamor Girls have a hand in everything in Monrovia, from bake sales to business deals. This is what Allison’s wanted her whole life—to be liked. To be popular. To belong.
After Allison’s estranged mother passes away, she learns her family’s heartbreaking legacy and the secret Allison’s been fighting to suppress all her life emerges: she’s a witch. What’s more, she’s not the only one in town. There’s more to the Glamour Girls then it seems… and once you’re a Glamour Girl, there’s no going back.
Allison must use her rediscovered magic to defend Monrovia, protect her marriage and her children, and reclaim her legacy. Fighting tooth and nail for her family is easy, but what about for herself? Is it too late to confront her own demons and become the woman she dreams of being?
Why so excited? --> 'Housewitch' is Katie Schickel's first novel and I'm quite curious to check out this new author! I really like the sound of the story (especially the witch element sounds great) and I'm sure this will also catch the attention of other women's fiction fans!
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And the award goes to…
Not Nina Alexander that’s for sure. With her best gracious loser face firmly in place, Hollywood’s hottest starlet is hoping to end her evening of disappointment with a graceful exit stage left. Only an unexpected proposal and an awkward wardrobe malfunction mean that this is certainly going to be a night to remember… for all the wrong reasons! So what girl would resist the gorgeous Dominic Kelly coming to her rescue?! Especially when he’s whisking her out of the paparazzi’s prying eyes on the back of his motorbike – and wearing a tux to rival James Bond!
Nina soon realises that the only way to recover from such a scandal is to toughen up and snag the role of the decade in the year’s hottest YA screen adaptation. Who better to train her than her very own professional stuntman? Getting up close and personal with Dom will take Nina well out of her comfort zone – both professionally and in her closely scrutinized private life. But this A-list couple know only too well that’s it not all happy ever afters in Hollywood…
Why so excited? --> A fun Harper Impulse romance read to look forward to this month! I've heard lots of good things about Romy Sommer's other reads, so I can't wait to find out more about her upcoming release 'Not a Fairy Tale'!
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When Flora, James and their two teenage daughters are offered the holiday of a lifetime in a chateau in the South of France in return for one simple good deed, they jump at the chance to escape the confines of Clapham, the weight of the mortgage and anxieties over their future for a blissful break.
But Flora didn't anticipate a mysterious guest and a whole heap of family baggage coming along too.
And with James developing a schoolboy crush on a famous singer and Flora distracted by ghosts from her past, their dream holiday suddenly takes some very unexpected turns...
Why so excited? --> I love the colourful cover of 'Wish You Were Here', it makes me long for Spring! Catherine Alliott's novels are always great reads, so I'm sure this one won't be any different; can't wait to read it!
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Ashcombe was the most beautiful house Saskia had ever seen as a little girl. A rambling pink cottage on the edge of the Suffolk village of Melbury Green, its enchanting garden provided a fairy-tale playground of seclusion, a perfect sanctuary to hide from the tragedy which shattered her childhood.
Now an adult, Saskia is still living at Ashcombe and as a book restorer devotes her days tending to the broken, battered books that find their way to her, daydreaming about the people who had once turned their pages. When she discovers a notebook carefully concealed in an old Bible - and realising someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to hide a story of their own - Saskia finds herself drawn into a heart-rending tale of wartime love...
Why so excited? --> I love love love the blurb of 'The Dandelion Years.' I love gorgeous old country houses like Ashcombe and I can't wait to read more about Saskia's story; I have a feeling this is going to be an amazing read!
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Summer has arrived in the Cornish town of Mount Polbearne and Polly Waterford couldn't be happier. Because Polly is in love: she's in love with the beautiful seaside town she calls home, she's in love with running the bakery on Beach Street, and she's in love with her boyfriend, Huckle.
And yet there's something unsettling about the gentle summer breeze that's floating through town. Selina, recently widowed, hopes that moving to Mount Polbearne will ease her grief, but Polly has a secret that could destroy her friend's fragile recovery. Responsibilities that Huckle thought he'd left behind are back and Polly finds it hard to cope with his increasingly long periods of absence.
Polly sifts flour, kneads dough and bakes bread, but nothing can calm the storm she knows is coming: is Polly about to lose everything she loves?
Why so excited? --> The second part of Jenny Colgan's book series about the Little Beach Street Bakery, and also one of the first summery reads of 2015! I'm already craving yummy treats by just reading the title and blurb...!
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Izzy has broken off her engagement to her feckless fiancée Kieran and returned to her childhood home – the sleepy village of Halfhidden.
She soon realizes that life in the village is anything but peaceful – for one thing she’s living with her mad aunt Debo and her pack of dogs, and for another, Izzy has a lot of unanswered questions.
When she was a teenager, Izzy was involved in a terrible accident, involving various inhabitants of Halfhidden. As she sets out to discover what actually happened on the night of the accident, she realizes that her painful past is actually standing in the way of her future happiness. So when a handsome stranger comes to Halfhidden will she let love back into her life?
Why so excited? --> A new release by best-selling author Trisha Ashley is always something to get excited about! I love how warm Trisha's stories always are and I am already looking forward to getting lost in one of them!
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June 1963, Clematis Cottage, Stoke St. Mary, Herefordshire
I am really not sure why I am writing this. A foolish whim by a foolish old lady and it will probably sit in a box unread and decay much like it’s writer when Death makes his careless decision.
But perhaps someone will find it. Someone will care enough to read and somehow I know that will happen.
April 2000, Clematis Cottage, Stoke St. Mary, Herefordshire
Tired of her life in London, freelance illustrator Rachel buys the beautiful but dilapidated Clematis Cottage and sets about creating the home of her dreams. But tucked away behind the water tank in the attic and left to gather dust for decades is an old biscuit tin containing letters, postcards and a diary. So much more than old scraps of paper, these are precious memories that tell the story of Henrietta Trenchard-Lewis, the love she lost in the Great War and the girl who was left behind.
Why so excited? --> Another fab Harper Impulse read to look forward to this upcoming month! I'm not familiar with Georgia Hill's work, but I am quite curious to read 'While I Was Waiting'. I love historical romance stories, so I look forward to picking this up!
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