Tuesday 29 December 2015

Cover Reveal | Time To Say Goodbye ~ S.D. Robertson

Ahhhhh I'm so excited for this book despite the numerous warnings from publishers Avon that it will break my heart. I first spotted this book on Avon's twitter page, @AvonBooksUK in a photo and the colours caught my eye, so when I have the chance to help with the official cover reveal, I just couldnt not resist (even though I'm on my Blogiday!)

So without further ado...


A heart-rending story about the unique bond between a father and his daughter, for fans of JOJO MOYES and JOHN GREEN.

HOW DO YOU LEAVE THE PERSON YOU LOVE THE MOST?

Will Curtis's six-year-old daughter, Ella, knows her father will never leave her. After all, he promised her so when her mother died. And
he's going to do everything he can to keep his word.

What Will doesn't know is that the promise he made to his little girl might be harder to keep than he imagined. When he's faced with an impossible decision, Will finds that
the most obvious choice might not be the right one.

But the future is full of unexpected surprises. And father and daughter are about to embark on an unforgettable journey together . . .

Saturday 19 December 2015

A Message From Me To You... | 2015 Wrap Up....

Wow - where has the year gone again? I can't believe I've been blogging for nearly a year either, and its taken off in a way that I completely wasn't expecting!

I decided to start my blog as I was fed up with reading the same books over as I'd forgotten I'd previously read them, and this seemed a great way to keep track of them as I could write a 'mini review' to look back on.
Well, the mini reviews didn't stay very mini for long and I quickly got into full scale book reviewing. Over 100 posts and almost 15,000 page views later, I never ever thought for one second that my blog would get 100 page views, so I am totally amazed and totally grateful for everyone who has clicked through.

I had planned to do a Christmas book review per day during December but time has completely run away with me - I'm so very sorry to those Authors and Publishers whom have sent me Christmas books - I'm just not going to get around to them all now.

This week alone I have done over 47 hours with work, and I shall be working right over the Christmas festivities too with only a few hours off both Christmas and Boxing Days - for those of you unaware, I am a home carer, primarily working with Dementia and Alzheimer's clients, as so as opposed to an office job where if someone is off the work can just pile up and wait. In my job it can't - people still need to get up, washed and dressed whatever day of the year it is. We are incredibly short staffed too at the moment and so I have been filling in left, right and centre.

I am also due to become an Aunty again within a matter of weeks, with my nephew due early January. I can't wait to meet him, I adore my four beautiful nieces even though I only see two (that's a story I may write into a book one day!) but I'm excited to buy all things blue!

So with everything going on right now, I have decided to take a 'Blogiday' and have some time off.
This shall be my last post for near on a month, apart from a small cover reveal here or there. I shall be  back fully blogging and reviewing on February 1st 2016.
I shall still me contactable on email and twitter, although social interaction will be limited.

I've seen many bloggers post their top ten books of 2015 and thought it sounded like a great thing to do, only I have been totally unable to narrow it down so here is a wrap up of various categories....

As it is the season to be jolly, let's start with my favourite festive reads! (Please click on book titles to read my reviews)


Christmas At Lilac Cottage and Snowflakes On Silver Cove both by Holly Martin, were the first books of the season I read and even now, almost 2 months on, I can recall their stories and characters like it was yesterday, I cant wait for book 3 in the White Cliff Bay series!
Wish Upon A Christmas Cake by Darcie Boleyn and Winters Fairytale by Maxine Morrey were both debut authors and reading these two books just gave that warm fuzzy festive feeling - I'm looking forward to what they publish next!
Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses by Jenny Hale was the first book of hers, and was perfectly romantic -I do have the others which I cant wait to read.
Dream A Little Christmas Dream is a short novella sequal by Giovanna Fletcher and I loved seeing how the characters moved on.
Julia Williams' Make A Christmas Wish was completely different to what I expected with the main character being a ghost but had a great story line to it,
Carmel Harrington's Every Time A Bell Rings made it to my Special Books page of the blog as it just had that something extra magical for me - if you haven't read any of above I would certainly make this one as priority!




Also making it to my extra special books page this year was See Me by Nicholas Sparks. See Me was the first book by this popular US author and I absolutely loved it!




Being a blogger and reviewing books has enabled me to discover some amazing new authors this year.
My Sisters Secret by Tracy Buchanan was utterly captivating whilst The Tea Planters Wife by Dinah Jefferies was beautifully written.
Nigel May also had me gripped with his bonk-buster Scandalous Lies.



2016 is sure to be a fab year of new books and I've been lucky enough to read two already.
Our Song by Dani Atkins moved me to tears but was a brilliantly written story.
You and Me, Always is quite simply classic Jill Mansell - Jill is a absolute favourite author of mine and I'm looking forward to attending her book launch in January!

During my Blogiday, I shall be reading and hopfully making a dent within my TBR pile, below is just a few that I'm looking forward to, of which reviews will be up and posted on my return.





To finish this post and completely wrap up 2015 I need to say a few Thank You's!

Firstly to me fabulous guest reviewers - Katrina, Nicole, Samantha and Ellisa. Your reviews have been amazing and I look forward seeing what your reading next year!

Zsa, Tracey, Karen, Gillian, Joan, Alison and Lulu for your fab support on the Facebook page - the input you guys give keeps the page ticking over!

To all the amazing publishers and authors who have so kindly sent me ARC's and filled my email inbox with FUN and EXCITING info - I look forward to working with you again in 2016!

To my fellow bloggers - Aggie, Hayley, Rea, Sharon, Becca, Sophie and Rachel for your endless support and answering my blogging questions - you are all stars!

And, finally, to everyone and anyone I've forgotten to mention or who has clicked through the blog, left comments and RT'd me on twitter - Thank You!

All that is left for me to say, is that I wish you all a lovely Christmas full of mince pies and mulled wine, fun and laughter. I'll see you all in the new year!

Lots of Love 
& Reading,
                         
 Laura
        XX

Friday 18 December 2015

Blog Tour | Excerpt: Follow Me by Angela Clarke

Today is my stop on the Follow Me blog tour, and althoigh I have started and enjoyed what I have read so far of this book, sudden work commitments have literally stopped my reading process :(

HOwever...

The lovely, lovely team at Avon have provided me with a really exciting excerpt of the book for you to enjoy...



LIKE. SHARE. FOLLOW . . . DIE
The ‘Hashtag Murderer’ posts chilling cryptic clues online, pointing to their next target. Taunting the police. Enthralling the press. Capturing the public’s imagination.
But this is no virtual threat.
As the number of his followers rises, so does the body count.
Eight years ago two young girls did something unforgivable. Now ambitious police officer Nasreen and investigative journalist Freddie are thrown together again in a desperate struggle to catch this cunning, fame-crazed killer. But can they stay one step ahead of him? And can they escape their own past?
Time's running out. Everyone is following the #Murderer. But what if he is following you?
ONLINE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM …


Excerpt

IDK – I Don’t Know
19:26
Saturday 31 October

Alun Mardling’s face, his eyes wide and bloodshot, loomed. His
hand, bloody and cold, reached for hers. There was a thud. Freddie
jolted. It was dark. She was sweat-soaked. Fabric was wrapped
around her, a shroud. Her eyes struggled to focus. 

Where was she?

Freddie could hear Mardling’s blood dripping onto the floor. No!
No, it was the kitchen tap. She was home. Alone. Another boom
shook through her skull. Ajay? They’d left the bar. There’d been
a bottle of wine in the park. Some cans. How’d she got home?
She groped for her glasses. 

Her head reverberated with another
bang. 
The door. 
Someone was hammering on the door. Ajay? Her
flatmates? She stumbled out of bed, grabbed the nearest thing:
her H&M Espress-oh’s shirt, still half-buttoned, she pulled it over
her head. Dizzying herself with the effort.

Her eyes were stuck at the corners, she followed the crystallised
salt tracks with her fingers. Peeling her Sellotaped tongue from the
roof of her mouth, she managed: ‘Coming!’ The word was wet,
sodden, heavy, though her mouth was dry.
 Everywhere was darkness.
Another thud landed on her like a punch. How much sleep?
Still drunk. 
Boom: her mind shook with fragments of memory.
She tried to rub the image of Mardling’s body from her eyes with
her fingers. 

Would a murderer knock?

‘Freddie Venton!’ a male voice shouted from the other side.
Bailiffs? 
Like before. She tried to formulate her thoughts, sort them
into order. What was she to say? The Mac was P-something’s. A
flatmate’s. They couldn’t take it.

‘Freddie Venton, open up!’ The noise crashed like thunder over
her head. Stumbling, she got a hand on the lock, pulled.

Light from the hallway sent her reeling back.
Nas was there, in a black trouser suit, white shirt. Her dark hair
swept up away from her face. 
Chocolate eyes flashing in creamy
whites. She had chunky boots on. 
Next to her: the blue puffa
jacket guy who’d been with her at St Pancras. 
Up close, Freddie
could see his blonde hair was silvering, thinning, probably why
he had it shaved to a bristly number one. Unfortunately his closecropped
hair accentuated the square shape of his head. He looked
like a Lego man. He was in pale pink shirtsleeves, jeans, glowing
white trainers: ready to pounce. She could see their mouths open
and close like fish. 
The air pressed upon her, heavy, as if she were
underwater, words bubbled toward her. 

Don’t. Be. Sick.

‘Venton…you…connection…harm…defence.’ Their fish
words didn’t fit together.
‘Nas?’
What was puffa saying? Concentrate on breathing. 

Don’t. Be. Sick. In. Out. In.

Nas’s hands gripped her shoulders. Anchoring her. ‘Freddie? Do
you understand? You have to come with us?’ Freddie nodded. Her
brain shrank away from her skull, dehydrated, a husk. Nasreen’s
face came into focus. 
She looked older. Colder. Distant. ‘Put some
trousers on,’ Nasreen said.






Wednesday 16 December 2015

Guest Post: Christmas Tips by Lola Smirnova

Christmas festivities are well and truly under way - trees are up, cards are written and presents are wrapped, however if you still have some gifts to buy then read on... especially if you know a writer! I'm delighted to be joined in my Book Corner today by Lola, who shares her Christmas Gift Tips for Writers!



Christmas Gifts for Writers

If you’re stuck on what to get the writer in your life this Christmas I think this list will help; these unique gifts are sure to bring a smile to any author’s face!
Writing can be a tough, thankless task so gifts which are witty or offer a little motivation during the hard times are idea.


Mugs and Coffee
There are all manner of mugs which have comedic messages written on them for writers; pick one of these up and why not team it with some heavy duty, high caffeine coffee for those tricky, tiresome moments when the brain just stops working!


I’m Writing: KEEP OUT!
A sign for your writing space is a great buy as it has a humorous element, but also a practical application in that you can use it for time and space when you need it most.


Writing Software
For writers who write every day, the risk of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) is very real, so you can give your loved ones a welcome break from this by investing in a voice typing software.  Dragon Naturally Speaking is one of the market leaders and even has an App for writing on the go!
Dragon speaking and writing software
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a serious health risk for writers who write every day. I say one of the best gifts for writers is Dragon Naturally Speaking – it converts your writer’s spoken words to text. This reduces the amount of typing your writer has to do, which relieves the strain on thumbs, wrists, and arm muscles. It’s probably number one on my list of “best gifts for writers” (Baby, are you reading this?!).

Tickets Please!

Tickets to a writers’ conference is a super-special gift to buy; the writer in your life will be able to get away and network with like-minded individuals.  Often they happen in far flung places, but there are always more local events too depending on your budget.



Craved, by Lola Smirnova, is the highly anticipated sequel to Twisted. It was published in August 2015 and is available for sale on Amazon. Genres: New Adult / Suspense




Synopsis:
Having been to hell and back, the eager sisters from Ukraine - Natalia, Lena and Julia - decide to retire from selling sex and walk the straight and narrow path back home. But when an old friend calls them with an opportunity to make buckets of ‘easy’ money in South Africa, they find it impossible to refuse.

Return to the nightlife of the entertainment business brings along all the old familiar temptations - alcohol, drugs, and prostitution.

Can the girls resist their vices and stay together? Or will this industry destroy their sanity and their family?

Inspired by real life events, Craved is a fascinating story of addiction, survival and the art of making a living in the sex trade.

About the Author:
 Lola Smirnova is an author from Ukraine. Her novels are inspired by real-life events. They are meant for the open-minded readers who are not afraid of a little blood, sweat and semen.

Lola’s debut novel Twisted was released in 2014. The book placed as Honorable Mention in the General Fiction Category of The 2014 London Book Festival’s Annual Competition.

Lola released Craved, the highly anticipated sequel to Twisted, in August 2015.

Lola has fascinating stories to share about the experiences of women in the global sex industry. Her thrilling tales will surely shock and surprise you, with both the storyline and literary value.

Lola lives in South Africa, and is currently working on the third book in her trilogy. To learn more, go to http://lolasmirnova.com/

Readers can connect with Lola Smirnova on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.


Tuesday 15 December 2015

Review: The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Lisa Dickenson


BUY


*WINNER OF THE NOVELICIOUS DEBUT OF THE YEAR AWARD*
At thirty, Claudia's life is stale and the romance with long-term boyfriend, Seth, has disappeared. Determined to inject some festive spark back into their love life, Claudia and Seth go on their first date in a very long time. But when the night ends in disaster, Claudia suddenly finds herself facing life - and Christmas - alone.
Life alone is exciting, scary and full of soon-forgotten exercise regimes and ill-advised attempts at crafting sexy underwear. It's also filling up with dates, surprisingly. With best friends Penny and Nick at her side, a surplus of festive markets, mulled wine and Christmas tunes, Claudia attempts to face all this change with gusto. One thing's for certain: this year, Christmas is going to be very different . . .
This is the story of Claudia and her twelve dates of Christmas. Hilarious, uplifting and romantic, it's a story about losing love, finding love, and discovering what's been there all along. Expect Christmas sparkle, butterflies-in-your-stomach romance and a lot of very funny moments in The Twelve Dates of Christmas.

The Twelve Dates Of Christmas is a fun festive read that will have you laughing out loud at every chapter.. or date!

Claudia has been with Seth for 5 years, they don't do much as a couple any more - other than sex, which in Claudia's opinion isn't all its up to and the book starts with them going on a date to watch a play edition of The Nutcracker, in which her best friends, Penny and Nick, are lead ballerina and stage set designer respectively. Claudia and Seth's night, which is date 1, turns a bit south when Seth gets his willy out in the toilets during the interval - Claudia, determind not to give him want he wants as she is aiming for a bot of romance to be injected in their relationshiop, refuses, resulting in a barny causing them to split up.
Seth leaves in a huff, but its not long before Claudia spots him with another girl at the local pub.

Over the course of the next few chapters, which are devised up as dates, Claudia tries to get over Seth with various other men - Billy, the guy from the bar who is nothing more than a hang out buddy, a blind date set up up from Penny which ends in total disaster and a couple from Nick which are full of flirty banter!

Claudia is baffled between her feelings for Nick and maournung Seth and the last few dates see's her struggle with this - until she has an almost perfect date with Nick that has a bit of a sour end after cross communications. It takes right up until the 12th date for Claudia to realise who she really loves and wants to be with.

The Twelve Dates of Christmas was full of humour and banter, I liked how the book's chapters were made up of Dates and various locations yet kept the story flowing nicely.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read for this time of year!



I would like to thank the publisher, Little Brown, for a review copy via NetGalley of 
The Twelve Dates of Christmas.
This has been my honest review.

Monday 14 December 2015

Guest Review: Christmas Ever After by Sarah Morgan



Jewellery designer Skylar loves living London, especially as the glittering Christmas lights sparkle all around. 
But when a surprise proposal goes wrong she finds herself fleeing home to remote Puffin Island. Of course, the last person she expected to see was TV historian Alec.

Burned by a terrible divorce, Alec is dazzled by Sky’s blonde beauty and so cynical that he assumes that’s a bad thing! 
Luckily she’s on the verge of getting engaged to someone else, so she won’t be a constant source of temptation on Puffin Island...but this Christmas, can Alec and Sky realise that they are what each other was looking for all along?


Skylar is a dreamer, following her love of art, ceramics and jewellery she has her first collection on show in London where she would be joined by her high flying political boyfriend Richard, which her parents were overwhelmed she landed a successful boyfriend like that. 
On the day, things do not go as expected and we see Skylar go on a journey which involves someone who turns up her show; that someone Alec who would be the last person she expects to see.

This book had be gripped from the get go. 
I really liked how the book flowed and Skylar as a character, she had the girl power which I admired that if she wanted something she would go and get it. 
Yes, there is a certain insecurities which made her feel more real, that she really wanted to make her parents proud. 
The book itself is a bit of Christmas magic and sparkle which made me feel all warm and fuzzy. 

Definitely five flowers for a great ending.


I would like to thank Nicole for a fab Guest Review and the Publisher for a review copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Sunday 13 December 2015

Cover Reveal: Match Me If You Can by Michele Gorman

I'm thrilled once again to be helping the team at Avon Books with a cover reveal - however this one is a little different!

As you can see from the banner below, I can reveal the UK and US cover for the new book by Michele Gorman,

Avon have asked which of the covers I prefer and honestly I just can't decide - I adore the blues and greens of the UK cover, yet the patchwork heart on the US is adorable!

Which do you prefer?!





MATCH ME IF YOU CAN
Michele Gorman
14th January – EB & PB

What if Mr Right was just a click away?

Meet best friends Catherine, Rachel and Sarah.

Yet to find Mr Right, they’ve been settling for Mr Right Now.

But when Catherine, London’s finest matchmaker, gets the girls to join her dating site where they can rate and recommend their ex-boyfriends, they soon realise that anything could happen . . .

There’s someone for everyone, right? These best friends are about to find out for themselves!

Review: You and Me, Always by Jill Mansell

You and Me, Always is published by Headline January 2016.
Pre-Order Kindle
Pre-Order Hardback

On the morning of Lily's twenty-fifth birthday, it's time to open the very last letter written to her by her beloved mother, who died when she was eight.
Learning more about the first and only real love of her mum's life is a revelation. On the same day, Lily also meets Eddie Tessler, a man fleeing fame who just might have the ability to change her world in unimaginable ways. But her childhood friend Dan has his own reasons for not wanting Lily to get too carried away by Eddie's attentions.
Before long, secrets begin to emerge and Lily's friends and family become involved. In the beautiful Cotswold village of Stanton Langley, nothing will ever be the same again...

For a long time now, Jill Mansell has been a favourite author of mind.. She's kind of like my go to lady. If someone wants a book recommended, I say 'Have you read one of Jill Mansell's? You so should!' 
If I'm finding myself in a little reading slump then its Jill's books I turn too - I can read them over and over again and never get bored.

There's something magical about Jill's writing, the way she takes a handful of characters and gives them all a unique storyline, yet having them all come together in one way or another, and the way that the reader is just aching from smiling the whole way through.

In You and Me, Always the story is very Classic Jill, and I mean that in a totally good way - its what she does and she does it simply brilliantly. 
Lily is the prime character, she's had a good life but its winged with sadness as her mother passed away when she was young. She was brought up by her mothers friend, Coral and her late husband Nick. Lily's best friend is Dan, the younger brother of Patsy who was her babysitter and now good friend.

The books takes us on a journey of the characters finding love, Lily and Dan in particular who are both hiding their true feelings from the world, Coral who is wondering on whether she can love again after losing Nick and Patsy who has had a string of dates what are comical and awful yet always an experience.

When film star Eddie walks into their lives he forms an instant attraction to Lily, but this leads to events about her biological father that she would rather not have to deal with, especially as he remembers nothing about her mother - unlike Declan, her mothers first love and someone who remembers everything!

Each of the character's are linked in someone and the story flows perfectly as we get to know them. There are some really comical scenes such as Patsy's date with the bike and Lycra, and some really moving parts such as Lily getting the final letter from her mother.

Although there are a few characters each with a story to tell, Lily as I said is the main one and I adored her and Dan, both as teenagers when the book took you back, to the great friends theu are with loads of one liners and plenty of banter - I was just willing them to just be honest and tell each other how they really felt throughout and kind of did a 'air fist pump' celebratory motion when the book took us there.

You and Me, Always is an adorable story about love, life and friendship - and enjoyable all rounder. If you haven't read any thing from Jill Mansell then I have to question why and can 100% recommend this book (and all her others of course!)



I would like to thank Headline and NetGalley for a review copy of You and Me, Always.
This is my honest opinion.

Saturday 12 December 2015

Promo Post | Callies Christmas Countdown by Julia Ryan

Today I'm helping with a very festive promo post -



Callie is an event planner, organising weddings and corporate parties. What she'd really love however, is to organise the perfect Christmas. How difficult can it be after all? She simply needs to get her divorced parents talking to each other, sort out a Christmas Eve wedding for the daughter of a millionaire and wait for her hunky, rich boyfriend to propose. What could possibly go wrong?

BUY LINKS




Julie was born and brought up in a mining village near Barnsley in South Yorkshire. She graduated with a BA (hons) in French Language and Literature from Hull University. Since then she has lived and worked as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language in France, Greece, Poland and Thailand. She now lives in rural Gloucestershire with her husband, son and two cats, a rescue cat and a dippy cat with half a tail.  She is so passionate about books that her collection is now threatening to outgrow her house, much to her husband’s annoyance, as she can’t bear to get rid of any! They have been attempting to renovate their home for the last ten years.
She is the author of the Greek Island Mystery series, Jenna’s Journey, Sophia’s Secret and Pandora’s Prophecy, each of which can be read as a standalone. She considers Greece to be her spiritual home and visits as often as she can.

Twitter  @julieryan18


Giveaway!

1.£5.00 amazon giftcard uk OR $10.00 paypal int
2. ebook Callie's Christmas Countdown


Review: Dashing Through The Snow by Debbie Macomber


BUY


Ashley Davison is desperate to spend the holidays with her mother in Seattle. Dash Sutherland has an interview for the job of a lifetime in Seattle and must arrive by 23 December. Both frantic to book a last-minute flight out of California, Ashley and Dash collide at the airport to learn that there are no flights and only one rental car available. After a rocky start, the two reluctantly agree to drive to Washington together. But their journey isn't without obstacles, and a misunderstanding with the law threatens to ruin their holiday plans altogether.
Will Ashley make it home in time to surprise her mother? Will Kevin report to duty as expected? And most importantly, will they both have the opportunity to discover the greatest gift of all?

Dashing Through The Snow was a quick light read that had everything in its making that you would expect to be in a festive book...

Ashley has been given Christmas off work at the very last minute and in a mad panic she is desperate to get a flight home to spend the festive period with her mum. The air flight attendant say's she 'can't' supply Ashley with a ticket but wont give an answer as to why and the customer behind is getting irate.
Walking away, Ashley decides to try the rental company, only for them to have a policy of not renting to under 25s. Irate man from earlier is conveniently going to the same destination and so after a lengthy debate they decide to car share, as they leave the airport grounds a pool of police cars arrive - it is from here that we see the other side of the story. Ashley has 'no fly' against her name which is why she couldn't purchase a ticket, and is wanted by the FBI.

Unbeknown to Ashley and her driver, who we now know as Dash, the chase is on and during a 48 hour period they adopt a puppy, are pulled over by state police for expired license plates, hit a snow storm, and come across Stan the Man who talks to cars! It's fair to say that its a crazy few hours and when they are finally pulled over by the FBI, who of course have got the wrong Ashley, they realise that there is more to their flirty banter.

Dashing Through The Snow was a fun read, I really enjoyed the relationship between Ashley and Dash.. It was one of them where you can feel the tension rising and just will them to get together.

Although this was a short book, it took me just 2 hours to read, it was full of action and romance and was well written - ideal for a cold Sunday afternoon in the lead up to Christmas, the only problem for me, and the reason why it only gets 3 flowers on the ratings, is purely due to the feeling that the story was rushed in places. I felt that the author could have filled in a bit more as to why there was a no fly rule for Ashley, particuarly after her arrest - she was arrested and released with not much in between, and also I would have loved to have seen a bit more of Stan the Man and his fruit loop ways!



I would like to thank the publisher for a review copy of this book via NetGalley. 
This is my honest opinion.

Friday 11 December 2015

Blog Tour | Review: The Accidental Guest (Once Upon A Winter, Book 1) by Tilly Tennant

Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Accidental Guest which is the first part of a four piece novella by Tilly Tennant from her new series - Once Upon A Winter.
Below you will find not only the gorgeous cover for this, but the blurb, my review and a give-away.
I would like to thank Tilly and Brook Cottage Books for the review copy.



BUY LINKS


From the author of the much-loved, best-selling Mishaps in Millrise, a brand new four-novella-part series, Once Upon a Winter - come and fall in love this Christmas!
Soulmates don’t just fall from the sky… do they?
Hannah Meadows doesn’t believe in fate or destiny, or any of the other things people reach for when they lose control of their lives. That is, until a man arrives on her doorstep on Christmas Day begging for help. Hannah’s not the sort of woman to turn her back on someone in need, but this isn’t what compels her to aid the handsome stranger, nor is it his intense dark eyes, or the inexplicable feelings she quickly develops for him.
Something magical is coming her way, something that will turn her life completely upside down. Hannah Meadows may not believe in fate or destiny, but they seem to have other ideas…

I haven't read any of Tilly's work before now, I think I came onto the blogging scene part way through her last series, Mishaps In Millrise, but have seen lots of good things about her, so when the chance came to join in with the blog tour hosted by Brook Cottage Books, I jumped at the chance.

Being a novella this was a quick read, in fact I finished it in just over an hour, but that didn't mean that the story lacked in anyway - it was full of exciting and lively characters, mystery and wonder on the plot, and an idyllic setting which just so happens to be covered in gorgeous white, fluffy snow!

We are quickly introduced to Hannah on Christmas morning who has her sister and niece, Gina and Jess, to stay. The three characters together just bounced off each other and I quickly got a soft spot for them. Their Christmas day doesn't quite got to plan when a mysterious man knocks on the front door, frozen and nursing a head injury, and not knowing who he is, how he got there or any other details!
As he is carted off via ambulance, Hannah can't help wondering about him so decides, much to Gina's dismay, to go to the hopsital on Boxing day and see if he he has his memory back. Being snowed in they are offered a lift by the hunky farmer in his tractor which seems to cheer Gina right up!

I really enjoyed the start to this story and can't wait to see what happens in the next part!



About The Author




Tilly Tennant was born in Dorset, the oldest of four children, but now lives in Staffordshire with a family of her own. After years of dismal and disastrous jobs, including paper plate stacking, shop girl, newspaper promotions and waitressing (she never could carry a bowl of soup without spilling a bit), she decided to indulge her passion for the written word by embarking on a degree in English and creative writing, graduating in 2009 with first class honours. She wrote her first novel in 2007 during her first summer break at university and has not stopped writing since. She also works as a freelance fiction editor, and considers herself very lucky that this enables her to read many wonderful books before the rest of the world gets them.Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn was her debut novel; published in 2014 it was an Amazon bestseller in both the UK and Australia. It was followed by Mishaps and Mistletoe and The Man Who Can't Be Moved. Find out more about Tilly and how to join her mailing list for news and exclusives at www.tillytennant.com
www.tillytennant.com
https://twitter.com/TillyTenWriter
https://www.facebook.com/TillyTennant



GIVEAWAY
Amazon gift card £10 / $15


a Rafflecopter giveaway