Blog Tour: 'The Bookshop on the Corner' by Rebecca Raisin

Who said that only real heroes could be found in fiction?
Sarah Smith had an addiction – she was addicted to romance novels. The meet-cute, the passion, the drama and the gorgeous men! Now this wouldn’t have been such an issue if she hadn’t been the owner of the only bookshop in Ashford, Connecticut.
Ever since her close friend Lil, from The Gingerbread Café, had become engaged she had been yearning for a little love to turn up in her life. Except Sarah knew a good man was hard to find – especially in a tiny town like Ashford. That was until New York journalist, Ridge Warner stepped into her bookshop…
Love could be just around the corner for Sarah, but will she be able to truly believe that happy-ever-after can happen in real-life too!
Today I’m really excited to be part of the blog tour organised by the lovely girls over at Gosling Girls Book Tours for Rebecca Raisin’s latest novella, ‘The Bookshop on the Corner’, which was released on the 17th of June 2014. Some of you might have come across Rebecca’s name during the past few months in connection with her series about The Gingerbread Cafe. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to read those novellas yet, but I am familiar with Rebecca’s work, only under her pseudonym, Billie Jones. I got the chance to review ‘Mexican Kimono’ last year, a read I really enjoyed (click here to read my review), so I was excited to read something of Rebecca’s romance work this time around!
‘The Bookshop on the Corner’ tells the story of Sarah Smith who owns her own lovely book shop in Ashford, a small town in Connecticut. Sarah loves nothing more than making herself comfortable with a good romance novel in order to dream away about an attractive man who can sweep her off her feet. But, one day, when Sarah is stuck with her nose in another novel, an actual handsome stranger walks into her book shop. Ridge Warner is a journalist from New York who is writing an article about the small town of Ashford and Sarah and her bookshop have managed to get his attention. Will Sarah be able to step away from the pages of her beloved romance novels and take this chance to find love in the real world? 
This is a novella book lovers will undoubtedly fall in love with, just like I did. It was easy to warm to Sarah, because I could recognise myself in her. I’d do anything to be the owner of an amazing book shop like the one described in this story; it sounds like such a wonderful place, heaven on earth for book lovers! Rebecca Raisin’s descriptive writing style really made it easy for me to imagine everything in my head; not just the book shop, but the entire village and the cast of amazing characters. I loved Sarah’s friends, such as her best friend Missy, who runs the beauty salon in town, and CeeCee and Lils from the Gingerbread Cafe, and there’s also the handsome stranger, Ridge; I could completely understand why Sarah was swept off her feet by him!
I’m not familiar with Rebecca Raisins’ other novellas about the Gingerbread Cafe; this didn’t bother me while reading this particular story, so it definitely works as a stand-alone. It did make me curious, though, and I look forward to picking up Rebecca’s other stories in the near future! If I have to name one thing I thought was a bit of a shame, it has to be the fact that this is a novella. The story was quite short and I finished it rather quickly. I fell in love with the characters, the storyline, and the setting, and I definitely wouldn’t have minded if this had been an entire book, with space for more background information and more details. Overall, ‘The Bookshop on the Corner’ is a simply charming, wonderful, quick read; a story which any chick lit/romance/book fan will certainly enjoy. Rating:

9,0/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Tour: 'The Mysterious Bakery on Rue De Paris' by Evie Gaughan (2014)

This is the magical tale of Edith Lane, who sets off to find her fortune in the beautiful city of Paris. Fortune, however, is a fickle thing and Edith ends up working in a vintage bakery in the positively antique town of Compiègne. Escaping heartache and singledom in Ireland, Edith discovers that the bakery on Rue De Paris is not exactly what it seems and that some ghosts from the past are harder to escape than others.

Today I’m absolutely delighted to be part of the blog tour for Evie Gaughan’s novel ‘The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris’, organised by the lovely girls over at Gosling Girls Book Tours! I straight away loved the sound of Evie Gaughan’s second novel (the blurb intrigued me and I already love the fact that the story is set in a vintage bakery) and was curious to check out her writing. The book was released on the 9th of June 2014, and I personally would have already added it to my to-read list after seeing the beautiful cover... I’m sure many of you will agree!

Edith Lane has had it with her life in England and decides to take a leap into the unknown by moving to France. Even though this means leaving her father behind, Edith knows she needs a new challenge, one she might be able to find in the vintage French bakery she managed to get a job at. Yet, when Edith arrives at the small bakery on Rue De Paris in the antique town of Compiègne, she isn’t exactly welcomed with open arms by the owner. But Edith is determined to give it her best shot and before she knows it, she is learning all about the mysterious ins and outs of the bakery while trying to figure out her own life and wishes at the same time.

I loved the basic storyline of ‘The Mysterious Bakery on Rue De Paris’; Edith is unhappy with her life and decides to take on a job at a bakery in a small French village. I straight away admired Edith for her bravery, and I loved the sound of the small vintage bakery with its amazing smells and the setting of the pretty French village. Edith is a great heroine, and I really enjoyed joining her on her journey to building up a new life for herself in a strange place, which also includes a collection of lovely secondary characters (I particularly warmed to Madame Moreau, Edith’s boss at the bakery, and Nicole, the woman she meets at the local bar). 

I don’t want to give too much of the story away, but there’s a reason why the bakery is named ‘mysterious’ in the title of the book. I totally did not see this aspect of the story coming and I thoroughly enjoyed the uniqueness of it and how Evie Gaughan managed to use this element to really turn her story into something special. Next to that, her writing style is warm, well-paced and just really comfortable to read. I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to picking up Evie Gaughan’s other book, ‘The Cross of Santiago.’ ‘The Mysterious Bakery on Rue De Paris’ is an engaging, warm-hearted and thoroughly enjoyable novel which I can definitely recommend to readers who are looking for chick lit with a twist; you’ll adore this!

Rating:

8,5/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the author & blog tour organisers for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Promotion: 'To Tell a Tale or Two...' by Kelly Florentia

Today I'm delighted to be a part of a book promotion for Kelly Florentia's collection of short stories, 'To Tell a Tale or Two...', organised by the lovely girls over at Gosling Girls Book Tours!

Blurb:

A collection of ten contemporary short stories about love, betrayal and family drama, all with a subtle twist! 

Ideal for fans of chick-lit, these ten minute reads will take you through the pain of infidelity to the heartache of letting go of someone you love, the lightheartedness of speed dating to the chill of an encounter with a ghost. 

Can Rebecca forgive her husband for a drunken one night stand? Find out in Band of Gold. How does Jan react when she comes face to face with her psychic lover after fifteen-years? All is revealed in Waiting for Daisy. And just how did Rob end up in a pool of blood at his wife's feet? A Passionate Crime discloses all. 

Enjoy these bite sized tales during a coffee break, with a glass of wine in the evening or as a quick bedtime read. 

Author Biography:

Kelly Florentia is an author of women's fiction. Her short stories have been published in women's magazines worldwide and anthologised by Accent Press in their charity range. Her eBook, To Tell a Tale or Two, featuring ten of her short stories, was published in February 2014 and is available for download via Amazon.

Kelly is currently working on her second novel, a contemporary romantic drama with a supernatural swirl. Her first novel is awaiting publication.

Kelly lives in London with her husband. Hobbies include reading, jogging, cycling, Facebooking, Tweeting and yoga. Oh, and the odd game of Candy Crush Saga.

Links:

You can buy 'To Tell a Tale or Two...' from Amazon.

You can also find Kelly Florentia on Facebook, Twitter (@kellyflorentia), Goodreads and her personal website! 

Trailer:

Blog Tour: 'Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn' by Tilly Tennant (2014)

There’s only one man for Bonnie, and that’s Holden Finn.
The problem is that Holden Finn is a twenty-three-year-old pop megastar with his boy band, Every Which Way, and has no idea she exists. Not only that, but half the women in the world want to be Mrs Finn, including Bonnie’s teenage daughter, Paige. The real men in Bonnie’s life do nothing but let her down, but a man you can’t possibly have can never do that… right? She’s safe inside her fantasy bubble.
Then Paige wins a radio competition to meet Holden and the band, and Bonnie’s carefully-constructed world starts to unravel. She is about to find out that you should be very, very careful what you wish for...
Today I’m happy to be a part of the blog tour for Tilly Tennant’s novel ‘Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn’! Ever since the release of Tilly’s debut novel, I’ve seen numerous book bloggers and readers talking about it and most of them seemed to be really excited and positive about the book. So, when I was asked by Gosling Girls Book Tours whether I could fit in a review of Tilly’s book as part of the blog tour, I couldn’t pass up on the chance to discover this book and this new author everyone has been talking about!
Thirty-something Bonnie is a single mum to her 15-year-old daughter Paige who is obsessed with mega popular boy band Every Which Way. However, Bonnie has a little secret of her own, namely that she herself also has a big crush on one of the singers in the band named Holden Finn. She secretly fantasises about meeting him, knowing it is just a silly crush. But then Paige unexpectedly wins a radio competition to meet Every Which Way together with her best friend, and Bonnie will be there to supervise them. Suddenly, Bonnie’s fantasies of meeting Holden Finn aren’t just silly fantasies anymore...
I immediately warmed to Bonnie, the main character of this novel, from the first few chapters and really wanted her to get the happy ending she so deserves. Bonnie is a caring and warm person, and a single mum trying to deal with her teenage daughter Paige on her own. I think most readers will be able to relate to Bonnie in a way, because don’t we all have a secret celebrity crush? I know I do, and I loved reading about Bonnie’s secret obsession with Holden Finn and what happens when she actually manages to meet him. Next to Bonnie, the book is filled with wonderful secondary characters such as Max, the handsome deliveryman who seems to be kind of into Bonnie; Linda, Bonnie’s loud but loveable colleague; and Jeanie, Bonnie’s slightly eccentric but caring mother. A great bunch of characters who I instantly warmed to and wanted to learn more about.
Tilly Tennant’s writing is so easy to get into; it literally felt like I was flying through the pages of the novel, but definitely in a good way. I also want to mention the gorgeous and colourful cover, which I think will instantly attract any chick lit fan! If I have to mention one point of criticism, it’d have to be the choice of title for the book. I expected the story to be all about Bonnie’s infatuation with Holden Finn based on the title and the blurb, but the story was much more than just that and Holden was just one of the various aspects that is focused on. Overall, ‘Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn’ is a light-hearted, warm and fun debut novel, and I look forward to reading more of Tilly Tennant’s work in the future!
Rating:

   8,5/10

For more information about this book: Amazon UK / Amazon US / Goodreads    Thanks to the author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review, and thanks to Gosling Girls Book Tours for organising this blog tour!