Blog Tour Review | A Little Christmas Faith ~ Kathryn Freeman

If this posts, it will be nothing short of a Christmas miracle as I have uploaded this 4 times now and blogger is telling me the post is published, yet the content won't show live on my blog.

Knowing my luck, if and when this posts, it'll probably show up all 4 times! 

Aghhh!!

A Little Christmas Faith

Kathryn Freeman

Choc Lit

October 2017

Rating 4/5

Kindle

            

Faith Watkins loves Christmas, which is why she’s thrilled that her new hotel in the Lake District will be open in time for the festive season. And Faith has gone all out; huge Christmas tree, fairy lights, an entire family of decorative reindeer. Now all she needs are the guests … 

But what she didn’t bank on was her first paying customer being someone like Adam Hunter. Rugged, powerfully built and with a deep sadness in his eyes, Adam is a man that Faith is immediately drawn to – but unfortunately he also has an intense hatred of all things Christmassy.

As the countdown to the big day begins, Faith can’t seem to keep away from her mysterious guest, but still finds herself with more questions than answers: just what happened to Adam Hunter? And why does he hate Christmas?

            

A Little Christmas Faith is a wonderfully festive book that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.

Faith is just about to open her new hotel in the Lake District, she has one guest booked in for the festivities along with her own family.

Adam turns up and instantly groans at the Christmas decor, he's come to the hotel to escape the time of year.

There is an instant attraction between Faith and Adam - I like books where the couples meet early on as you can get a sense of their relationship - too often I find books leave the characters getting together at the end of the book and I'm left wondering about them, but I immediately warmed to both Faith and Adam.

Faith is super excited for Christmas, where as Adam tenses up and throughout the book we are given little snippets as to why he wants to hide away in his room. Only his plan to hibernate doesn't go as well as he wanted - it ends up better.

Faith and Adam do their own things during the day but spend the evenings and nights together whilst avoiding the subject of Adam's dislike for Christmas. There are a few comical moments along the way and Faith also hires her teenage niece who brings her own troubles. Christmas day also doesn't go to plan due to a snow storm bringing in extra guests that Faith ends up catering for.

Although the story line didn't wow me, I didn't dislike it either - there was a good amount of description to enable me to picture the scenes and the right amount of dialogue to counteract it.

I particuarly liked the layout of the book with various chapters counting down how many days to and after Christmas.

All in all, A Little Christmas Faith is an enjoyable, warm, festive read.

      

Blog Blitz ~ Promo Post | Christmas Secrets in Snowflake Cove ~ Emily Harvale

Due to health reasons my reading has taken a little slide of late, yet I've started Christmas Secrets in Snowflake Cove by Emily Harvale and so far I'm enjoying it so its with apologies that I haven't got a review up in time today - I'm really hoping that it'll be up for you to all read tomorrow. In the meantime below is the gorgeous cover to entice you, along with all the details you need.

Christmas Secrets in Snowflake Cove

Christmas is a time for family and friends, miracles and magic, falling snow and roaring fires, fun,

laughter and festive feasts. In Snowflake Cove, it’s also a time for secrets to be revealed…

Evie Starr is hoping for more than a sprinkling of magic this Christmas. The family-run Snowflake Inn is virtually empty and the Starr’s financial future isn’t looking bright. But Evie’s gran, Jessie has a secret that might help.Enigmatic, Zachary Thorn is every woman’s dream. He’s also ex-SAS, so his secrets are classified. The Christmas Special of his feel-good, TV show is set in Michaelmas Bay –

until a phone call means he’s spending Christmas in nearby Snowflake Cove.Evie’s best friend,

Juniper thinks boyfriend Darren has a secret. Evie knows he does. 

And Evie’s niece, Raven is hiding feelings for Juniper’s brother – who has a secret crush of his own.But the biggest secret in Snowflake Cove is the identity of Raven’s dad.With snow falling thick and fast and secrets being revealed one after another, will everyone be snuggling up by the fire on Christmas Eve, or are some secrets best kept hidden…?

Purchase on Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076G4DVZH

Author Bio 

Having lived and worked in London for several years, Emily returned to her home town of Hastings

where she now spends her days writing... and chatting on social media. Emily is a Member of the

SoA, a PAN member of the RWA and a Pro Member of ALLi. She's an Amazon bestseller and a Kindle

All Star. Emily loves writing and her stories are sure to bring a smile to your face and a warmth to

your heart.

Emily says, "I write about friendship, family and falling in love. I believe in happing endings." When

she isn't writing, she can be found enjoying the stunning East Sussex coast and countryside, or in a

wine bar with friends, discussing life, love and the latest TV shows. Chocolate cake is often eaten.

She dislikes housework almost as much as she dislikes anchovies - and will do anything to avoid

both.

Social Media Links – https://www.facebook.com/emilyharvalewriter

https://www.twitter.com/emilyharvale

https://www.instagram.com/emilyharvale

Promo Blitz | Ours is the Winter ~ Laurie Ellingham

Happy Publication Day to Laurie Ellingham!

Ours is the Winter is out today - everything you need to know about this gorgeous book is posted below!

Journeying across the Arctic, their pasts are about to catch up with them.

Erica, Molly and Noah are embarking on the challenge of a lifetime, driving Siberian huskies across the frozen wilderness of the Arctic. Cut off from the world and their loved ones and thrown together under gruelling conditions, it isn’t long before the cracks start to show.

Erica has it all. A loving husband, a successful career and the most adorable baby daughter. But Erica has been living a double life, and as she nears her fortieth birthday her lies threaten to come crashing down.

Molly was on her way to stardom. But when her brother died, so did her dreams of becoming an Olympic champion.  Consumed by rage and grief, she has shut out everyone around her, but now she’s about to learn that comfort can come from the most unexpected places.

Noah has a darkness inside him and is hounded by nightmares from his past. Tortured, trapped and struggling to save his fractured relationship, he knows this journey is not going to help, but try telling his girlfriend that.

As their lives and lies become ever more entwined, it becomes clear that in the frozen wilds there is nowhere to hide.

Trailer for Ours Is The Winter –  www.facebook.com/LaurieEllinghamAuthor/videos/764727783715328

Purchase from Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2h9G9ke

Author Bio

Laurie Ellingham lives on the Suffolk/Essex border with her two children, husband, and cockerpoo Rodney. She has a First Class honours degree in Psychology and a background in Public relations, but her main love is writing and disappearing into the fictional world of her characters, preferably with a large coffee and a Twix (or two) to hand.

Follow Laurie Ellingham on..

Twitter - https://twitter.com/LaurieEllingham

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LaurieEllinghamAuthor

Blog Tour Review | The Best Little Christmas Shop ~ Maxine Morrey

Today I'm sharing my review of Maxine Morrey's second helping of festive reading for this year -

The Best Little Christmas Shop.

Please make sure to scroll to the bottom as there's a gorgeous giveaway!

The Best Little Christmas Shop

Maxine Morrey

HQ Digital

November 2017

Rating 5/5

Kindle

              

Come home for Christmas to the Best Little Christmas Shop – the snowiest, cosiest place you can be!

​

Home for the holidays…

​

Icing gingerbread men, arranging handmade toys and making up countless Christmas wreaths in her family’s cosy little Christmas shop isn’t usually globe-trotter Lexi’s idea of fun. But it’s all that’s keeping her mind off romance. And, with a broken engagement under her belt, she’s planning to stay well clear of that for the foreseeable future…until gorgeous single dad Cal Martin walks through the door!

​

Christmas takes on a whole new meaning as Lexi begins to see it through Cal’s adorable five-year-old son’s eyes. But, finding herself getting dangerously close to the mistletoe with Cal, Lexi knows she needs to back off. She’s sworn off love, and little George needs a stability she can’t provide. One day she’ll decide whether to settle down again – just not yet.

​

But The Best Little Christmas Shop in this sleepy, snow-covered village has another surprise in store…

                 

I was a little apprehensive on opening up The Best Little Christmas Shop by Maxine Morrey as her alternative book this festive season, The Christmas Holiday, was completely up there as a perfect book for me and I didn't know if she could do it again having the two novels out so close together.

Part of me wishes I'd read The Best Little Christmas Shop earlier, the other part of me is glad I kept it until I did as it came just as my reading was taking a dip but the way Maxine writes literally pulls you in and submerges you like a great big warm blanket on a cold snowy day.

In The Best Little Christmas Shop we meet Lexi  who has returned to her family home after a troubling past year - she's lost her job and called off her engagement.

Her family own and run the Four Seasons shop which specialises in seasonal goods and they are deep in festive decorations. It is here in the shop that we first meet Cal and his son George who instantly took a shine to Lexi and will certainly pull on your heartstrings throughout the story. 

There is an instant attraction between Lexi and Cal and I love the way Maxine compels their dialogue - I felt like a gooseberry at times as I  felt I was there in the room with them and as with any good romance there is the drama of the will they/ won't they scenario and I felt the raw pain Lexi was feeling along with the heart ache Cal expressed at the same time as grinning at love being in the air! 

The Best Little Christmas Shop was full of warmth and had the right balance of drama and sub plots. Mixed with the festive elements, and magical snowy scenes makes this the ideal book to snuggle up with this year.

              

Giveaway – UK Only

Win –

Signed copy of The Christmas Project

The Best Little Christmas Shop notebook

Box of mini gingerbread men

A chocolate teddy bear

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c6949447/?

Review | Some Kind of Wonderful ~ Giovanna Fletcher

Some Kind of Wonderful

Giovanna Fletcher

Penguin - Michael Joseph

November 2017

Rating 4/5

Kindle | Hardback

             

Lizzy and Ian have been a couple since their first day at university. Now, after celebrating a decade together, everyone thinks they're about to get engaged. A romantic escape to Dubai is the perfect moment, but instead of the proposal Lizzy hopes for, Ian reveals he's not sure he even wants her anymore.

 Lizzy is heartbroken. But through the tears, she realises this is her chance to seize the opportunities she missed as Ian's other half. But what does she want? How much of her is really Lizzy, and how much was Ian's influence? Determined to discover who she is at heart, Lizzy sets out to rediscover the girl she was before - and in the meantime, have a little fun . . .

                

Ah, how nice is it to have Gi back writing fiction? It seems like ages ago I last read something from Giovanna Fletcher, so I was eager to get stuck in to Some Kind of Wonderful as soon as I was approved for an advanced copy.

Some Kind of Wonderful is written in the first person so Lizzie herself tells her story and the book starts off with her and her partner of 10 years, Ian, enjoying a luxurious holiday in Dubai.

From the outset, there are a lot of difference's between the couple but Lizzie's love for Ian is second to none, unfortunately it soon becomes clear during a very romantic dinner on the beach that Ian's feelings don't quite match Lizzies, and even though he has the ring in his hand ready to ask that all important question Lizzie is desperate to hear, she ends up flying home - minus an engagement ring and minus a boyfriend.

Moving back to her childhood home and living with her Mum and Stepdad isn't exactly how Lizzie planned to spend the rest of the year but as she embarks on trying to mend her heart, she also works discovering who the real Lizzie is and what she is meant to be doing with her life.

Giovanna writes with such warmth and humour it's easy to get lost in her novels, for me though Some Kind of Wonderful lacked just a little bit of oomph in the middle - I sped through the beginning and the ending but I felt like I was waiting for something to happen in between which didn't come.

Don't get me wrong, Some Kind of Wonderful is a great read - it had me laughing and welling up in equal measures and had some great sub plots (Lizzie's sisters wedding and her Dad's secret spring to mind) and secondary characters (Connie is a hoot!) and of course Gi's signature reference to a certain Billy Buskin (Billy & Me - what a book!) - but I just lost my way a little in the middle of the book.

Despite this, I truly feel that Some Kind of Wonderful will make a fabulous gift to yourself this Christmas ;-)

                 

Blog Tour Q&A | Christmas at the Candied Apple Cafe - Katherine Garbera

Today I'm delighted to bring you an exclusive Q&A session with Katherine Garbera as part of her blog tour with Rachels Random Resources for her latest novel, 

Christmas at the Candied Apple Cafe.

There's also a giveaway at the end of the post so make sure you keep scrolling!

Christmas at the Candied Apple Cafe

Katherine Garbera

Harper Impulse

December 2017

Kindle | Paperback

             

There’s nothing so magical as Christmas in New York…

Santa is coming to New York!

Snow is falling, excitement is high and the delicious scent of chocolate drifts along Fifth

Avenue – the Candied Apple Café is ready for Christmas! And no one is busier than publicist

Iona Summerlin. With so much to do, she doesn’t have time to think about men, dating, or

the fact her last boyfriend ditched her for her brother… Relationships are off the menu!

Hotel boss Mads Eriksson is not looking forward to the first Christmas since losing his wife.

His six-year- old daughter Sofia has lost her belief in Christmas magic along with her mother,

and he has no idea what to do. But an unusually festive business meeting at the Candied

Apple – and meeting the beautiful Iona – starts to defrost Mads’ frozen heart, and suddenly

life seems full of light and sparkle again.

If only they dare to believe, maybe all their Christmas dreams will come true!

Thank you to Katherine for taking the time to do a Q & A with Lozza's Book Corner.

How do you come up with your heroes?

I always start with what I find attractive in a guy. I like them strong, a little-bit alpha,

and determined to have the woman they want no matter the cost. Because family is

at the core of every story I write I sometimes am mean and make the hero feel

responsible for the loss of his family—trying to give him an extra barrier to overcome

while he is falling for the heroine.

How has Pinterest influenced your writing?

1) I love to find photos that really capture the emotion of my characters and

then I pin them to the board.

2) Then I add in quotes that capture what I think of as the core of my

characters.

3) I think Eve already covered this, but good-looking, hot guys. 

4) I love finding places that I didn’t know existed. Like for Whiskey River we

found fields of lavender in Texas even though normally you think of fields

of bluebells in Texas. 

How do you get the ideas for your stories?

The ideas for my stories come from everywhere. Usually from a combination of

interesting news stories I’ve read, conversations with my hubby and kids, movies I

watch, TV shows…pretty much everywhere. I have written a lot of books and so

sometimes people are surprised I still have stories to tell, but I don’t think I’ve even

come close to telling them all.

I’m also really nosey about people so I will watch them from behind my dark

sunglasses and try to figure out why they are doing whatever they are doing. I have

spent hours just watching people and being inspired by my version of their lives. 

Where do you work?

I work wherever I can. I have an office which I use most every day for my daily page

count, I either sit at my desk or in my big comfy chair. I’ve been using an app for the

iPad called Hanx Writer (it’s named after the actor Tom Hanks). The app turns my

iPad into a typewriter with the old typewriter sounds. I love it!

Sometimes I really need to get out of my regular space, especially if I’m distracted by

a new book being released and then I go to the café and write. I find that I’m

unwilling to sit on Facebook or play games when I think someone else might see me!

Describe your office

I have a huge counter top that I used as my desk. It’s set to my height and I have

two monitors on it. On my desk are post-it notes from my husband and my kids.

One reminds me to “stay fresh”—not sure what that means, but I do try! I also have

stuff my friends have given me over the years and little figurines I collect. Above my

monitor on the wall I have a quote by Carl Sandberg “Nothing happens unless first a

dream” and an affirmation.

I have a bookcase to the left of where I sit that is jammed full of my favorite books on

writing (Stephen King’s On Writing and Dwight Swain’s Techniques of the Selling

Writer) and then my binders where I keep everything that is involved in my story.

The synopsis, the letters from my editor, my research and then when it’s released

reader letters.

What is the "best thing about writing"?

Truth? It’s that I get to make up stories for a living. That’s it for me. I’ve always

loved telling stories and the fact that I get paid to do it makes me very happy.

Readers who take the time to write to me and let me know how my books helped

them or cheered them up make all those hours by myself in my office worth it. I also

really love that I am can call myself a writer. They are the most fascinating people

I’ve ever met and I like being part of that group.

When and how did you get the idea for the Candied Apple Cafe?

Like most of ideas this one came while I was eating chocolate. 

 For Christmas I

always start with family because it’s so central to my life and I like to create conflict

for my characters from that. Usually that means killing off someone important to my

protagonist so they have mixed feelings about the holidays.

Why did you choose to set the story in New York?

I love Manhattan. I wanted to explore the hidden neighbourhoods that exist within a

big bustling city and show the bonds between family and friends there. Also, all of

my picture perfect Christmas images involve New York City.

Giveaway

Giveaway - Win 5 x Signed Copies of Summer in Manhattan

5 lucky winners will win a copy of Summer in Manhattan, Katherine Garbera’s previous book

for Harper Impulse.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c6949448/?

Blog Tour Review | Christmas at Hope Cottage ~ Lily Graham

Today is my spot on the blog tour for the latest novel from Lily Graham - Christmas at Hope Cottage and I'm delighted to be sharing my review with you.

Christmas at Hope Cottage

Lily Graham

Bookouture

October 2017

Rating 4/5

Kindle | Paperback

               

In the little village of Whistling, with its butterscotch cottages and rolling green hills, snow is beginning to fall. Christmas is coming, and Emma Halloway is on her way home.

Emma Halloway gets dumped then knocked off her bike, she’s broken in more ways than one, and returns to her family’s cosy cottage in the Yorkshire Dales. Emma hasn’t been back in some time, running from her crazy relatives and her childhood sweetheart, Jack Allen.

Sandro, doesn’t believe anyone should have to choose between love and family. With a little bit of Christmas magic, can Emma and Jack find a way to be together, or will Emma find herself heartbroken once more?

               

Christmas at hope cottage is a lovely story about family and love, although there wasn't a huge amount of Christmas in it so could easily be classed as a wintery read - so grab a blanket, a mug of hot chocolate and settle down for a bit of magic! 

Emma has returned home to Hope Cottage so that her grandmother Evie can help her recover after a nasty accident.
Along with Evies sisters, Dot and Aggie, the three embark of nursing Emma back to health - easier said than done when your senses are in a complete muddle -
Things that should feel hot like a shower, feel painful and tingly, her vision is doubled and her taste buds are disengaged.

Over time we learn more about the Halloway family and their secret recipe book, one that is thought to have magic linked to it.
I don't want to give too much away about this as you really need to read the story to get a feel for the history and the way the recipes work, but what I will say is that things don't always work out as planned and this has caused a long feud between the Halloways, Allen's and Leas over the years.

This is all well and good except Emma's first love, Jack, Is an Allen and over the years his family have made things difficult for the pair.

Emma coming home encourages Jack to come to Hope Cottage and he tells her he was a fool to believe everything that was said and that he wasn't going to listen anymore.

Ofcourse nothing runs smoothly, especially with Jacks jealously coming into play around Sandro... the handsome Spanish lodger also at hope cottage! 

I enjoyed reading Christmas at hope cottage - this is the first book from lily Graham that I've read  - although I did find the first half a bit of a slow go, this is purely because the novel starts in the present day and we go back into the past a few times, this is is just a personal reading preference and nothing against the story, but I also felt that there could have been a little more spark or 'moments' between Emma  and Sandro which for me, would have made the ending slightly more believable.
Nevertheless I'm not put off and planning another book by Lilly soon!

           

Blog Tour Review plus Giveaway | Christmas at Butterfly Cove ~ Sarah Bennett

I'm delighted to be sharing my review today as part of the blog tour - please ensure you read to the end and take part in the giveaway!

Christmas at Butterfly Cove

Butterfly Cove, Book 3

Sarah Bennett

HQ Digital

October 2017

Rating 4/5

Kindle

               

When talented artist Nee Sutherland returns to Butterfly Cove for her sister’s wedding, it’s only a matter of time before she has to face her own bridegroom – Luke Spenser – the man she impulsively married, then left in the middle of the night.

Nee hasn’t picked up her paintbrushes in months, a part of her is broken. She knows Luke might never forgive her, leaving him was the biggest mistake of her life – but could coming home for Christmas be the best decision she’s ever made?

Maybe all she needs is a little Christmas miracle…

                

I absolutely loved the first two books in the Butterfly Cove series - Sunrise at Butterfly Cove and Wedding Bells at Butterfly Cove, Click Here to read my reviews - so was eager to get stuck in Christmas at Butterfly Cove, the third and final book.

Primarily this novel focuses on Nee and Luke  - to recap, Nee is the youngest sister to Mia and Kiki and Luke is Aaron's brother, Aaron is best buddies with Daniel

Mia and Kiki are settled in Butterfly Cove with Daniel and Aaron respectively and of course Kiki's two children, Charlie and Matty.

Christmas at Butterfly Cove picks up with Mia and Kiki closing down the guest house and cafe for the winter months, Nee is still with them having arrived in the summer but is at a lost as to what to do with her life... whatever happened to her in New York has resulted in her no longer having the ability to pursue her art career and it certainly wasn't worth her running away from her newly wed husband in the middle of the night.

Luke on the other hand is angry with Nee despite still loving her, and when the girls' mother sadly passes away he turns up to be there for Nee, giving them both hope that they can salvage their marriage.

As Luke hatches a plan to convince Nee they are meant to be together, Christmas draws closer and the gang - along with the familiar and lovable sub characters  from the previous two stories - all return to Mia's home in Butterfly Cove.

Just when you think things are going well for Luke and Nee, something happens to push them apart once again keeping the reader interested as Christmas passes and New Year approaches.

What I love about Sarah's writing is her ability to centre the story around Luke and Nee yet bringing us right up to date with Mia/Daniel and Kiki/Aaron with snippets and small chapter sections of their lives - and boy, is there some news to catch up on.

As before, Charlie and Matty play great roles tugging on your heart strings, and Meddling Madeline is still being her usual caring, loving, but interfering old self which brings some light relief and humour to the book.

I shall be sad not to be returning back to Butterfly Cove - the idyllic location and easy to read style has made this a thoroughly enjoyable trilogy - however I'm already looking forward to Sarah's next book, Spring at Lavender Bay.

           

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