Review: 'Christmas at Lilac Cottage' by Holly Martin (2016)

Snow is falling on the charming seaside town of White Cliff bay, where Christmas is magical and love is in the air...
Penny Meadows loves her cosy cottage with its stunning views over the town of White Cliff Bay and her job as an ice-carver, creating breathtaking sculptures. Yet her personal life seems frozen.
When Henry and daughter Daisy arrive at the cottage to rent the annex, Penny is determined to make them feel welcome. But while Daisy is friendly, Henry seems guarded.
As Penny gets to know Henry, she realises there is more to him than meets the eye. And the connection between them is too strong to ignore . . .
While the preparations for the ice sculpting competition and Christmas Eve ball are in full swing, will Penny be able to melt the ice and allow love into her heart? And will this finally be the perfect Christmas she's been dreaming of?
On October 20th Holly Martin's lovely Christmas novel 'Christmas at Lilac Cottage' was released as a paperback by publisher Bonnier Zaffre. I already got the chance to read and review the book last year and really enjoyed it, so when I received a stunning paperback copy of the book I couldn't wait to share my review with all of you again! I read Holly Martin's 'Fairytale Beginnings' (click here to read my review) last year, which was a great read, and have really enjoyed all of her other books since. If you're a chick lit fan, definitely don't hesitate to pick up one of Holly's novels; trust me, you won't be disappointed!
Penny Meadows hasn't always had it easy. After some difficult years, she has managed to build a life for herself as an ice-carver, a job she loves, in the lovely village of White Cliff Bay. However, Penny hasn't been lucky in love, so she decides to rent out the annex of her cottage in order to surround herself with some more people. The rooms are rented by Henry and Daisy, whom Penny expects to be a married couple but are actually a single father and his 16-year-old daughter. The sparks start flying between Penny and Henry as soon as they first meet, but Henry is guarded, not wanting to disrupt his daughter's life too much after some bad experiences, and Penny isn't sure she is ready for romance, after everything that has happened. Will the two be able to find some happiness together or does this Christmas have other plans in store for them?
I've seen other readers comparing Holly Martin's novels to Disney films and I understand the comparison; cute and simple stories with a guaranteed happy ending. I am a big Disney fan and also thoroughly enjoy Holly's books, including the first part of her new White Cliff Bay series, 'Christmas at Lilac Cottage.' At the core of the novel there are some simply wonderful characters that I easily warmed to. Protagonist Penny is just lovely and I wanted nothing more than for her to find love; Henry and Daisy are both warm and interesting characters as well, and I couldn't help but fall in love with Penny's dog, Bernard, and the whole town of White Cliff Bay.
The storyline of this book is quite basic and not too complicated; great for a festive chick lit novel like this one. However, what makes this novel such a good read are Holly Martin's storytelling skills; she is wonderful at setting the scene, making it easy for readers to imagine everything, and I fell in love with the community spirit that she managed to convey with her writing. I did personally think everything went a bit fast (the story is set over the time span of a week), but this didn't really influence how much I enjoyed the book. Overall, 'Christmas at Lilac Cottage' is a really cute, simple, festive romance that will undoubtedly warm your heart during the cold winter days before Christmas. A great start to this new series and I'm already excited about picking up the second book!

Rating:9/10

  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.

Review: 'Seven Exes Are Eight Too Many' by Heather Wardell (2010)

Madeleine-Cora Spencer is the last person who should be on reality TV, but when she's shunned by a friend's new wife because "you can't trust desperate single women", her pain and humiliation drive her straight to the "Find Your Prince" dating show. But when she arrives to meet her potential loves, she gets dumped... on a remote island with seven ex-boyfriends. Seven exes! Could this be any worse?
Quite some time ago I managed to get a NetGalley review copy of Heather Wardell's novel 'Seven Exes Are Eight Too Many', a romantic-comedy-meets-reality-TV read that was first released back in 2010. The book is actually the first instalment of a three-part series, and it's also my first experience with Heather's writing, which is always quite exciting! I have to admit I am not the biggest reality TV fan, but I was straightaway intrigued by the plot of this novel and curious to see how the author would manage to make this concept, including a deserted island and a whole load of exes, work in the form of a book...!
So far, Madeleine-Cora Spencer, known to her friends as MC, has had no success in finding her very own Prince Charming. There have been different guys, but with none of them it really worked out in the end. Madeleine decides to hand over the reins of her love life to someone else by taking part in a reality show that will help her find the right guy. However, a surprise is waiting for her in the form of seven of her exes when she shows up on the first day. The show is going to be slightly different from what Madeleine expected: together with seven exes she will need to survive on a deserted island, while competing with another team consisting of that one ex-boyfriend she never quite forgot about and seven of his ex-girlfriends... Let the games begin!
I can honestly say I've never read a novel like Heather Wardell's 'Seven Exes Are Eight Too Many' before, which is basically a season of a reality TV show written down on paper. The novel focuses on main character Madeleine-Cora, also known as MC, who finds herself taking part in a show that is a combination of 'The Bachelorette' and 'Survivor'. Together with several ex-boyfriends she needs to form a team and survive while competing with a team of women led by that one ex she never quite managed to get over. Definitely an original plotline to start a story with and even though I am not a big reality TV fan, I was intrigued and curious to check it out and see what would happen to MC and the other characters.
While the book is a fun and fast-paced read, I couldn't help but be confused by the large group of characters. There's MC at the core of it all, but we have her 8 exes and another 7 women, the presenter of the show, a few family members and friends... Overall it was just a bit too much and I felt a bit lost until the end of the novel, also because the characters weren't described in a lot of detail and had no clear background story. I definitely think the potential is there, though; I enjoyed the author's writing and am curious to read the other parts in this series. On the whole, 'Seven Exes Are Eight Too Many' is a novel that quite confused me at times, but it's also a fast-paced, fun and original read and I look forward to checking out the sequel!

Rating:8/10

  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 Christmas Promise' by Sue Moorcroft

For Ava Bliss, it’s going to be a Christmas to remember …
On a snowy December evening, Sam Jermyn steps into the life of bespoke hat maker Ava. Sparks fly, and not necessarily the good ones.
Times are tough for Ava – she’s struggling to make ends meet, her ex-boyfriend is a bully, and worst of all, it’s nearly Christmas.
So when Sam commissions Ava to make a hat for someone special, she makes a promise that will change her life. She just doesn’t know it yet…
Today I'm incredibly excited to share a bit of early Christmas cheer with all of you by being part of the blog tour for Sue Moorcroft's newest book 'The Christmas Promise', which was released by Avon UK on October 6th! I have no idea why, but this is actually my first Sue Moorcroft novel, and I was really looking forward to finally checking out her writing after many years of hearing about her lovely books. Next to that, the book already sounded like a great read I definitely would have picked up myself, and not just because of it's Christmas theme! If you want to read more about this title, be sure to check out some of the other blogs taking part in the blog tour, you can find all the links on the blog tour poster!
Ava Blissham is trying her best to get by on what she earns as a hat maker. She loves the fact that she set up her very own business, but would be lying if she said it made her life easier. Next to that, it's almost Christmas, a time she isn't the biggest fan of because of her parents who never really felt the need to celebrate, and her ex-boyfriend Harvey keeps on popping up in her life unwanted. When Ava joins her best friend and room mate Izz as a plus-one to a work party, she meets Sam Jermyn, and she can't ignore the sparks between them. However, Ava doesn't want to date anyone right now. But when Sam asks her to make a hat for a special someone in his life, Ava can't possibly say no...
Oh, what a lovely December read! I really enjoyed everything about 'The Christmas Promise' and am so glad I finally got to check out Sue Moorcroft's writing. Even though I know absolutely nothing about the art of making hats, I straight away loved the fact that Ava, the main character, is a milliner and it was really interesting to read more about it and see how happy Ava can make people with a new hat that suits them. It was easy to warm to Ava, and I also instantly liked Izz, Ava's best friend, and Sam, who really is the knight-in-shining-armour type which I'm sure many readers will fall for, just like me. I love it when a book has a good and convincing romance at its core and that was definitely the case here.
While the novel is a lovely read with a good dose of Christmas cheer, it is not as festive as some other holiday reads out there and deals with a few quite serious topics in the various plotlines (another thing which I loved about this novel; more than enough to keep my interest!). However, the author really manages to do this in a suitable manner and doesn't make the read an incredibly heavy/dark one. I really enjoyed Sue Moorcroft's writing and hope I'll be able to read more of her work. Overall, 'The Christmas Promise' is a heartwarming, festive, and well-written read; perfect for this time of year and well worth picking up!

Rating:9/10

  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.