Upcoming release: 'The Travelling Tea Shop' by Belinda Jones

Laurie loves a challenge. Especially if it involves anything beautiful, baked and frosted. The brief is simple: With three other women, Laurie will board a London bus - kitted out as an English tea shop - on a deliciously different road trip of the USA. 
Their mission: To bring home-grown classics like Battenberg, Victoria sponge and scones to the land of cupcakes, whoopie pies and gold-leafed chocolate sundaes. 
And to show them how a real cup of tea is made. All of the women have their own secrets and heartaches to heal. As well as a grand appreciation of cupcakes, there's also the chance for romance...
But will making whoopee lead to love? 
On the 22nd of May several fabulous books will be released, including this pretty one by chick lit author Belinda Jones! I love love love the sound of 'The Travelling Tea Shop' and honestly can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this novel. I love stories about baking and yummy goods, and the idea of a road trip around the USA to compare British and American treats... It sounds absolutely brilliant!
You can pre-order your own copy on Amazon by clicking here!   

The Book Blogger 'Get To Know Me' Tag!

Another book tag, yay! As I mentioned before, I love book tags, so I'm really happy the lovely Laura over at She Loves to Read tagged me to do this super fun book tag in order to get to know each other a bit better!

Tell us five random facts about you. 

• I’m ¾ Dutch and ¼ Welsh, and it’s particularly the ¼ Welsh which I’m incredibly proud of. My grandmother was Welsh, and since I’ve been a little girl I’ve been spending lots of time in Wales and other parts of the UK. I absolutely love it there and it feels like home, more than the Netherlands does.

• I went to university and have 1 Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Culture, 1 Master’s degree in Western Literature and Culture, and a Research Master’s degree in Literary Studies. I love books and I love researching literature, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a job within this particular field when the economic crisis hit. I now have a job doing something completely different, but I sincerely hope I will be able to do what I love with all my heart one day... Fingers crossed!

•     I’m quite a girly-girl when it comes to clothing: I almost always wear dresses, preferably ones with cute patterns, flowers, skirts I can twirl around in. I used to work in a supermarket where I was forced to wear jeans, so I’m glad I have a more formal job now where it’s okay to dress up!

•     I’m a true sucker for anything romantic. I adore love stories and I always want stories to have a happy ending in one way or another. That’s also how I picked the name for my blog: A Spoonful of Happy Endings (which is also a reference to Mary Poppins, one of my favourite films of all time!

•     I’m a really big Jane Austen fan. I love her six novels and collect almost anything that is in a way related to her or her work.

When is your birthday?

The 27^th of May. I’m not a big fan of birthdays, even though I love presents and cake, like most people, haha. I just never feel like really celebrating my birthday by having a party and I also never take the day off because it’s my birthday. It’s just another day!

What is your favourite colour?

I know this is supposed to be a simple question, but it’s a question I always answer differently or don’t answer at all! I guess I don’t really have one specific colour I love the most. I really like pink, but at the same time I also love royal blue, emerald green, ochre yellow... So, I honestly can’t pick just one!

What is your favourite memory?

All the memories I have of the holidays I spent at my grandparents’ house in the Gower, in the South of Wales. They used to have this amazing house, right next to the beach, and I had some of the best and happiest times of my life there: playing in the garden, waking up really early to watch CBBC, building sand castles on the beach, going shopping with my mum, taking walks with my dad, helping my nanna in the kitchen... I’d do anything to go back to those days.

Describe a day in your life.

Well, on an average weekday I get up at 6:15 and leave the house at about 6:45 to catch my train to work (I have a full-time job working as a policy officer within the field of education). It’s a 2-hour commute to get to my office building, which I always spent reading. You could say I have a typical desk job, so I spent most of my time sitting behind a computer. Occasionally I have meetings in other cities, which means I get to travel around the country a bit every now and again! At the end of my day, generally somewhere between 17:00 and 17:30, I get on the train again and I’m usually home around 19:00. My lovely boyfriend usually makes sure dinner is ready as soon as I get home, so then we have dinner together and spend the rest of the evening being lazy and watching telly, unless we have other things planned, such as dinner with friends.

Name five of your favourite songs.

Hmmmm, I have to pick 5 good ones! *rubs chin*

Phil Collins – Can’t Hurry Love

Busted – You Said No

The Beatles – Let It Be

Taylor Swift – Red

The Beach Boys – God Only Knows

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I think I’d have to go for Italian in general, because I couldn’t possibly choose between pizza or pasta. I love both, yummmm, SO good!

What is something you really dislike?

Spiders. I hate spiders, from the really tiny ones to the incredibly scary larger ones, and I’m really scared of them. Next to that, I really dislike conceited people and people who take credit for other people’s work.

Summer or winter?

I have to go with winter, because winter means Christmas, my favourite time of the year! I’m not a big fan of warm weather, so while I love a nice Spring day with lots of sunshine, I’m not really the summer type.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where you would live and why?

I’d like a lovely cottage or pretty country house somewhere in Wales or England, close to the beach, somewhere slightly in the middle of nowhere but not too far from a big city. I’ve always wanted to live in the UK, so having a beautiful house there would be a dream come true!

Name five of your favourite films.

Just five?! I love all romantic comedies and chick flicks, so it’s difficult to name just 5 favourite films. Alright, here we go: Love Actually, Mary Poppins, Notting Hill, The Wizard of Oz, Grease. 

If you won the lottery what would you buy?

I’d immediately give up my job and buy that amazing house in the UK (with a large library in it!) I just talked about! I’d also probably go on a nice, long holiday, just to get away from it all for a bit. Oh, and I’d definitely give a large part of the money to my parents, because they deserve it!

Favourite day of the week?

It has to be either Friday (because it’s the start of the weekend) or Sunday (because it’s always a lazy day I usually spent blogging and reading, which I love!).

What three things would you take to a desert island with you?

My favourite book, my boyfriend, and a lamp with a genie in it who can grant me three wishes, so I could get out of there if I really wanted to!

Sweet or savoury?

Savoury, even though I looooove home-made goods like cookies, cheesecake, brownies… But at the end of the day, I’d have to go for savoury!

Early bird or night owl?

Early bird, definitely. I love getting out of bed early and making something of my day. I can't stay up too late because I just get really sleepy. 

Name five of your favourite books. 
Once again, it's difficult to only name five!

Louisa May Alcott - 'Little Women'
J.K. Rowling - 'Harry Potter' series
Nicholas Sparks - 'A Walk to Remember'
Jane Austen - 'Pride and Prejudice'
Emily Giffin - 'Something Borrowed'

Favourite drink?

Chai Latte, yummm!

Favourite animal?
At the moment, I'm just a tiny bit in love with Boo the pomeranian. He's just the cutest dog EVER, and I'm not a big fan of dogs at all, but I just want to take this one and hug him all day long, I can't help it!

Who do you tag next?

Jo @ Cometbabesbooks
Isabell @ Dreaming With Open Eyes Reviews
Eve @ Eve's Chick Lit Reviews
Kim @ Kim the Bookworm

Upcoming release: 'One Night in Italy' by Lucy Diamond

If journalist Anna had to write up the story of her own life, it wouldn’t make for a great headline: Dull Journo Has Dull Boyfriend! The only mystery in Anna’s life is that she’s never known who her dad is but with her mum refusing to tell her more she’s at a dead end. When she accidentally comes across a clue that her father is Italian, it opens up a burning curiosity in Anna. Soon she’s cooking Italian food, signing up for an Italian class and even considering dusting off her passport to go and find her dad in person… 
Sophie is serving gelato to tourists in Italy when she gets the call that her father has had a serious heart attack. In a rush, she grabs her well-worn backpack and heads back to the one place she’s been avoiding for so long – home. Living with her mum again while her dad recuperates, and taking a job teaching Italian to make ends meet, Sophie has to face up to the secrets she’s kept buried in the past. 
Catherine has no idea what the future holds. Her children have left for university, her husband has left her for another woman and her bank account is left empty after dedicating her life to raising her family. She needs a job and an identity all of a sudden. At an Italian evening class she makes a start in finding new friends Anna and Sophie. And she’s going to need good friends when she discovers her husband’s lies run even deeper than his infidelity… 
As Anna embarks on the trip to Italy that could answer all of her questions, will the truth live up to her dreams?
Last year I read my first Lucy Diamond novel, 'Me and Mr. Jones', and I fell in love with her writing style and captivating storytelling. So, it's no wonder that I'm incredibly excited about her next novel, 'One Night in Italy', which will be released on the 5th of June! First of all, the cover is absolutely gorgeous, I love the gold and blue colour combination, and next to that, the three characters Anna, Sophie and Catherine already intrigue me and I can't wait to find out more about them! 
Be sure to pre-order your own copy on Amazon now by clicking here!