#Book #Review & #Giveaway: The Llama Farm on New Moon Lane by Laura Briggs

27 June 2023 by Melissa

About the Book, The Llama Farm on New Moon Lane

Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 27, 2023
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1213 KB
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Young and quiet, Lucy Granger leads an introverted life in Reading, living in a flat and working in design at a graphics company—
until it is upended when she both sells her idea for a mobile game and suffers an unexpected medical diagnosis shortly afterwards.

Facing a mandated medical rest period, she decides to use her windfall earnings to take a year’s holiday, renting a farm on New Moon Lane in a country village in Yorkshire.
As Lucy settles into her holiday home for some tranquility, she soon learns that she is not the only tenant, when a llama named Llarry strolls out of the farm’s supposedly-derelict barn.
He is shortly followed by others in a menagerie of abandoned animals left behind—from a sickly donkey who likes eating crisps to a flirtatious cockerel sleeping in the back garden.

To Lucy’s consternation, no one is willing or able to take them on, leaving her with a strange mix of furry and feathered friends to find homes for.
Reluctantly adapting to her circumstances in order to deal with this problem, Lucy will discover other surprises about the animals in her care,
and the place she is temporarily calling home. About herself, as well.

Will her ordinary life ever be the same after her experience on New Moon Lane? More importantly, should she really want it to be?

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Purchase Link | Goodreads

About the Author, Laura Briggs

Laura Briggs is the author of several feel-good romance reads, including the Top 100 Amazon UK seller ‘A Wedding in Cornwall’.

She has a fondness for vintage style dresses (especially ones with polka dots), and reads everything from Jane Austen to modern day mysteries.

When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, caring for her pets, gardening, and seeing the occasional movie or play.

Connect with Laura:

Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

The Llama Farm on New Moon Lane is a delightful read, light enough for a summer weekend, and definitely a feel-good story, but not terribly fluffy or frothy.

I love that the protagonist, Lucy, is a woman with a job in a STEM field. She codes for one company as her day job, but also designs video games. One, in particular,
which follows the life of a hedgehog, ought to be real, because I think every reader would want to play it. As well, her submission of that game to a contest by a game
publisher is what gives Lucy her second career, and provides the funds for her medical break to the titular Llama Farm .

As someone who is always telling her husband whenever there’s a donkey, llama or (because we live in Florida), sugar glider, in need of rescue, I understood
Lucy’s initial trepidation at caring for the unexpected animals that came with her new, rural, home, and the way she grew to love them. (My husband has limited
our livestock acquisitions to dogs).

I also loved her interactions with her neighbor, Fran, and with Liam, an apparently autistic boy for whom visits to the animals are a form of unofficial
therapy.

Author Laura Briggs has given us a vivid story replete with charming animals, and a lovely landscape. (I’ve only ever been to London, never Yorkshire, and this
book has reminded me how much I’d love to visit there). All of the characters – human and animal – felt very real, and I enjoyed this escape into a quieter,
gentler live very much.

Goes well with hot tea and cucumber sandwiches.

Giveaway

Giveaway – Win an e-copy of The Llama Farm on New Moon Lane (Open Internationally)

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Book #Review: One Summer in Sicily by Nancy Barone

10 June 2023 by Melissa

About the book, One Summer in Sicily

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aria; 1st edition (June 8, 2023)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 8, 2023
Print length: 347 pages

A new fun and fresh rom-com set in Sicily by Canadian-Italian author Nancy Barone.

In an attempt to resuscitate her twenty-five-year-old marriage, aerophobic Gillian Dobson knocks down a few tranquilisers and takes a dreaded flight to the Sicilian Island of Lipari to surprise her husband, away on a business trip. But her troubles are just about to begin…

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Aria Publishing | Purchase Link | Goodreads

About the author, Nancy Barone

Nancy Barone grew up in Canada, but at the age of 12 her family moved to Italy. Catapulted into a world where her only contact with the English language was her old Judy Blume books, Nancy became an avid reader and a die-hard romantic. Nancy stayed in Italy and, despite being surrounded by handsome Italian men, she married an even more handsome Brit. They now live in Sicily where she teaches English.

Nancy is a member of the RWA and a keen supporter of the Women’s Fiction Festival at Matera where she meets up once a year with writing friends from all over the globe.

Connect with Nancy:

Twitter

Connect with Lorella Belli Literary Agency

Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

I always love a novel where the protagonist isn’t a twenty-something girl with very little life experience. In Gillian Dobson, the lead character of One Summer in Sicily, author Nancy Barone has given us a brilliantly flawed, mature (but not old) woman. Married for twenty years, she visits Sicily to surprise her husband only to find that the surprise is on her, and it’s not a happy one.

Subsequently we get to see Gillian, who already conquered aerophobia to get to Sicily in the first place, deal with all the issues women deal with when they are in transition: self-esteem, body image, loneliness. While she challenges herself to conquer these issues, it’s the journey that makes the story, and author Barone has crafted an excellent plot.

I enjoyed the language choices the author used, and the way Sicily seemed like a character in the novel. rather than merely a setting. I liked Gillian, and rooted for her. But, speaking as someone who is about to turn 53, forty is not old, especially in today’s world, and the younger woman (the surprise she finds her husband with) is only a few years younger – in her mid thirties. Making Gillian truly middle-aged – mid forties to mid fifties – and/or making the younger woman significantly younger would have given the story more impact and made Gillian even more sympathetic.

Over all, though, this was a satisfying read, and I will happily read more of Barone’s work.

Goes well with: espresso and a cannoli with citron.

Book Review: The Cruise, by Caroline James

2 May 2023 by Melissa

About the book, The Cruise

Publisher ‏ : ‎ One More Chapter (April 20, 2023)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 20, 2023
Language ‏ : ‎ English

Three women.
One widowed.
One unmarried.
One almost divorced.
All aged 63, but not ready to give up on life!

Leaving behind the heartache, guilt and disappointment of their real lives, three friends decide that now they’re in their sixties, it’s time they finally did something for themselves!

Swapping Christmas turkeys and BBC reruns for crystal waters, white sandy beaches and smooth golden rum, Anne, Jane and Kath throw caution (and tradition) to the wind as they set sail on a luxury two-week Christmas cruise around the Caribbean.

Will the three friends find the comfort and joy they seek aboard the Diamond Star?

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Purchase Link | Goodreads

About the Author, Caroline James

Best-selling author of women’s fiction, Caroline James, has owned and run businesses encompassing all aspects of the hospitality industry, a subject that often features in her novels. She is based in the UK but escapes whenever lockdown allows. A public speaker, which has included talks and lectures on cruise ships worldwide, Caroline is also a consultant and food writer. Caroline writes articles and runs writing workshops, is a member of the Romantic Novelist’s Association, the Society of Women’s Writers & Journalists and the Society of Authors. In her spare time, Caroline can be found walking with Fred, her Westie and in summer, wild water swimming. In winter, when not working, she relaxes with her head in a book and hand in a box of chocolates.

Connect with Caroline:

Website | Amazon | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

My Thoughts

In Caroline James’s fabulous new novel, The Cruise, Jane, Kath, and Anne are three single women in their sixties who decide to ditch the winter weather in the UK and go on a Caribbean cruise for singles over fifty.

While I am not single (I’ve been married forever), I fit the over-fifty demographic, and I really appreciated this fun, feisty, sometimes flirtatious story. Fifty may not quite be the new thirty, but contemporary fifty- and sixty-year-olds are definitely healthier, more energetic, and ‘feel’ younger than they did when our grandparents were that age. It was so refreshing to read a story that really understands that, that I was hooked just from the concept.

More than that, though, I loved the premise. Cruise ships are the perfect microcosms of society, and time aboard one is like living in a heightened reality for a week or two. (Having come off a cruise in March, I’m still wistful for morning coffee on my balcony and free mimosas at brunch.)

I liked that the author gave each of these women her own story, though Jane’s arc was the most dramatic, and I appreciated that she was able to truly find herself on her voyage. I also liked the way the friendship between all three women was depicted. Too often women in novels are catty to each other. These women tease each other but are also supportive, which is how the best friendships should be.

The male characters aboard ship are vivid and interesting as well. Setwyn, traveling with his deceased wife’s ashes (and leaving them in the various ports he visits) had such a poignant story. I’d read a whole novel just about him. And Dicky, the ultimate lounge lizard-type cruise entertainer was deliciously smarmy.

Despite being set at Christmas, this novel is the perfect beach read. (After all, it’s always summer in the Caribbean!) It’s substantive enough to be satisfying, and light enough to zip through in a weekend. Great read!

Goes well with: any rum-based cocktail that comes with a paper umbrella.

Book Review: A New Year for the Seaside Girls, by Tracy Baines

18 April 2023 by Melissa

About the book, A New Year for the Seaside Girls

Publisher: ‎ Boldwood Books (April 14, 2023)
Language: ‎ English
Paperback: ‎ 304 pages
Series: The Seaside Girls (Book 3 of 3)

Cover: A New Year for the Seaside Girls

Can the Seaside Girls embrace the new year with courage…

Cleethorpes – 1940

As the new year dawns the show at the Empire comes to an end and it’s time for the girls to move on.

Years of struggle are over for Frances O’ Leary when Johnny Randolph returns to make things right for her and their daughter – do they have a chance of happiness? of being a family after so long?

But their good fortune is fraught with complications when sister Ruby Randolph decides to have her last hurrah, leaving a trail of devastation in her wake.

Jessie Delaney is afraid to follow her dreams and leave those she loves behind – can she really have it all?

All the seaside girls have their own battles to fight. And while they figure things out it’s time for them to do their bit for the war and keep Britain smiling.

A gritty and heart-warming saga perfect for readers of Elaine Everest, Nancy Revell and Pam Howes.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Goodreads

About the author, Tracy Baines

Tracy Baines

Tracy Baines is the bestselling saga writer of The Variety Girls series, originally published by Ebury, which Boldwood will continue with. She was born and brought up in Cleethorpes and spent her early years in the theatre world which inspired her writing. The first title of her new saga series for Boldwood – set amongst the fisherfolk of Grimsby – was published in October 2022.

Connect with Tracy:

My Thoughts

MissMeliss

I’m late to the party on the Seaside Girls trilogy, so before I say anything else, please know: while reading the first two books would likely be helpful, A New Year for the Seaside Girls works just fine as a stand-alone novel. There was enough backstory, both explicit and in context, that the continuing elements were easy to follow, the the events specific to this novel were interesting and well written.

As a former theater kid, I always love stories that are set backstage and in the wings of performance spaces, and this novel is a perfect example of that. Set in 1940, against the early days of World War II, this book looks at what happens to working performers when theaters go dark, but bills still have to be paid, and life must continue. While this is, at heart, a family story with a hearty splash of romance, author Tracy Baines did not shy away from the gritty reality that comes with the theatrical life. Sometimes, accommodations can be sketchy. Sometimes gigs can be slightly unsavory. This book doesn’t soft-pedal those things, but it also isn’t a tragedy, and it does soften the edges somewhat to serve the story.

Frances, former lover of Johnny (and mother of his unknown-to-him child) and Ruby, Johnny’s sister and stage-partner, are the real stars of this novel, and it is their stories we follow. Both women are strong, capable, and determined, but they handle challenges in different ways. Where Frances builds a network of other performers, including a dancer who took care of her daughter for a long while, Ruby is the type to retreat. She comes out of her emotional hibernation when necessary, but her first reaction is to shield herself, and there is nothing wrong with that. What I liked about both characters is that they are loving and giving, each in her way, and they are never pitted as adversaries, just different personalities with different needs.

Johnny is the male lead, and he’s forced to be “the man” of both the performing family he has with his sister, and their parents (who are off-stage in many ways) and of the family he has formed and is rediscovering with Frances. What I liked about him was that he didn’t rush into his lover’s life and dictate changes. Instead, he supported her choices, even when his own desires were delayed.

Author Baines handles all the characters deftly, letting us see what teach is thinking and feeling while balancing plot and exposition.

Overall, this novel is a satisfying conclusion to a series that was clearly written with both love and expertise. It’s an historical family saga that mixes drama, romance, filial love, and “that business we call show,” into a meaty, satisfying story that should entertain any reader.

Goes well with: hot chocolate spiked with a splash of rum.

Book Review: Death at Crookham Hall, by Michelle Salter

18 January 2023 by Melissa

About the book, Death at Crookham Hall

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Boldwood Books (January 18, 2023)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 18, 2023
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print Length: 319 Pages

A fatal jump. A missing suffragette. An inexplicable murder.

London, 1920. When she catches news of a big story, reporter Iris Woodmore rushes to the House of Commons. But it’s a place that holds painful memories. In 1914, her mother died there when she fell into the River Thames during a daring suffragette protest. But in the shadow of Big Ben, a waterman tells Iris her mother didn’t fall – she jumped.

Iris discovers that the suffragette with her mother that fateful day has been missing for years, disappearing just after the protest. Desperate to know the truth behind the fatal jump, Iris’s investigation leads her to Crookham Hall, an ancestral home where secrets and lies lead to murder…

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Goodreads

About the author, Michelle Salter

Michelle Salter is a historical crime fiction writer based in northeast Hampshire. Many local locations appear in her mystery novels. She’s also a copywriter and has written features for national magazines. When she’s not writing, Michelle can be found knee-deep in mud at her local nature reserve. She enjoys working with a team of volunteers undertaking conservation activities.

Connect with Michelle:

Website | Bookbub | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

My Thoughts

I love a good mystery, and I love a good period mystery even more, and if there’s a feminist theme running through it so much the better. Death at Crookham Hall is all three of these, and I enjoyed the author’s crisp prose and 1920s London setting very much. As an American, my only real reference to the women’s suffrage movement in England is limited to fictional media like Mary Poppins and Downton Abbey, so I can’t speak to whether the history depicted was accurate, but the emotional truths of the story rang true.

This book is marketed as the first Iris Woodmore mystery. Like many protagonists in cozy mysteries, Iris plays amateur detective throughout the novel, but it’s a conceit of the genre, and far more plausible for a journalist covering politics than, say, a cafe owner or bookseller (referencing two of my favorite contemporary cozy series). I liked that we saw her on the job first, and diving into the mystery – one with very personal connections, as it revolved around the apparent suicide of her own mother several years before.

I really appreciated that the titual Crookham Hall was almost a character in its own right, as old buildings tend to be, especially when they serve as a focal point for a story. Author Michelle Salter’s eye for details really sang in the descriptions of this and other locations. At one point I had to remind myself that smoking was common behavior in the 1920s, and that even today Europeans smoke far more than Americans seems to. (At least in my experience.)

I also liked that we got a glimpse into what it was like to be one of those trailblazing women who were among the first in Parliament. Specifically, the commentary about how what they wore often got more attention than that they said really struck me. (Sadly, the way media portrays women in politics has not changed appreciably in either of our countries since then. )

Part mystery, part courtroom drama, part period study, part cultural commentary, this novel was a rich and rewarding read. I hope to follow Iris Woodmore as her life and career develop. I’ll definitely read more of Michelle Salter’s work.

Goes well with: a glass of perfectly chilled champagne.

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Review: Happy Endings at Mermaids Point by Sarah Bennett

12 October 2022 by Melissa

About the book, Happy Endings At Mermaids Point

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Boldwood Books (October 3, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 308 pages

Music sensation Aurora Storm finally has her career back on track, but then she’s caught up in a media storm. Desperate to distract from the story, she enlists the one man she trusts to pretend to be her boyfriend.

Meanwhile, in the small seaside village of Mermaids Point, Nick Morgan never expected to see Aurora again. When she calls out of the blue needing his help, he agrees at once. It feels like she’s back in his life for a reason, and he’s determined to make the most of it.

Aurora joins Nick and the rest of his family for their festive celebrations and, as the snow falls, Aurora finds herself caught up in the romance of Christmas. But having tasted worldwide fame, can she ever be content with village life?

Two weeks is all Nick has to prove to Aurora that there’s a happy ending for them both in Mermaids Point.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon (USA) | Amazon (UK) | Goodreads

About the author, Sarah Bennett

Sarah Bennett is the bestselling author of several romantic fiction trilogies including those set in Butterfly Cove and Lavender Bay. Born and raised in a military family she is happily married to her own Officer and when not reading or writing enjoys sailing the high seas.

Connect with Sarah:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

My Thoughts

Having never read the four previous Mermaids Point novels, I was a little concerned that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the characters and situations in this novel, Happy Endings at Mermaids Point, but my fears were put to rest immediately. This book works perfectly well as a stand-alone story. And what a charming story it is. Early chapters include a lovely beach proposal for two of the older characters in this novel, and when we get far enough in that Aurora enters the story, we are ready for romance.

Aurora and Nick themselves are fantastic characters. She’s a singer working in an ensemble tour in Las Vegas, and reflecting on her earlier relationship with Nick. Nick, meanwhile, has just finished remodeling a warehouse into luxury apartments, and is searching for his next venture for when the last apartment sells. Naturally Aurora returns to Mermaids Point – and Nick – when her world falls apart mid-tour, and we get to see what happens. Both characters are incredibly dynamic and very human, and author Sarah Bennett’s dialogue feels completely organic. I was rooting for these two, but I was also happy to follow wherever the story went.

The other characters in this novel were equally well drawn, and rounded out Nick’s family, and the only reason I’m not naming all of them is that I don’t want to get details wrong that might have been explained in earlier novels in this series. What I will add is that Mermaids Point is, itself, a sort of character in this novel. Having grown up in one beloved (American) seaside town, and having just moved to another, I know how close-knit such places can be, especially for the locals or townies who remain through the off-season. Author Bennett really made me feel as if I were reading her book while lying on the beach, and I’m pretty sure I can still smell the salt air.

As a side note, I downloaded the audio version of this novel as well as reading it and want to note that the narration is perfect, so if you prefer audiobooks, you can trust this title.

If you’re looking for a feel-good read that still feels plausible, Happy Endings at Mermaids Point is the book for you.

Goes well with: tuna salad sandwiches wrapped in waxed paper, and mostly-still-cold lemonade.

Review: The House on the Hill, by Chris Penhall

9 July 2022 by Melissa

About the book, The House on the Hill

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ruby Fiction (a Choc Lit imprint) (June 28, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 247 pages

The House on the Hill: A Summer in the Algarve

Layla is calm, in control and is definitely not about to lose her serenity for the man next door!
Surely it can’t be hard to stay peaceful at one of the oldest yoga and mindfulness retreats in the Algarve, surrounded by sea, sun and serenity? Mostly, owner Layla Garcia manages it – with the help of meditation and plenty of camomile tea, of course.
But keeping her grandparents’ legacy alive is stressful, and Layla has become so shackled to the work that, for her, The House on the Hill is fast becoming ‘The Fortress on the Hill’.
Then writer Luke Mackie moves to the villa next door, bringing with him a healthy dose of chaos to disrupt Layla’s plans, plus a painful reminder of a time when she was less-than-serene. But could his influence be just what Layla needs to ‘dance like no-one’s watching’ and have the fun she’s been missing?

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Click to Purchase | Goodreads

About the author, Chris Penhall

Chris Penhall won the 2019 Choc-Lit Search for a Star competition, sponsored by Your Cat Magazine, for her debut novel, The House That Alice Built. The sequel, New Beginnings at the Little House in the Sun was published in August 2020. Both are available in paperback, e-book and audio and are part of the Portuguese Paradise series. Finding Summer Happiness, which is set in Pembrokeshire in South West Wales is available in e-book, audio and paperback, and The House on the Hill – A Summer in the Algarve, the third novel in the Portuguese Paradise series, is published in e-book on 28th June 2022.

Chris is an author and freelance radio producer for BBC Local Radio.

She also has her own podcast – The Talking to My Friends About Book Podcast in which she chats to her friends about books. Good title!

Born in Neath in South Wales, she has also lived in London and in Portugal, which is where The House That Alice Built is set. It was whilst living in Cascais near Lisbon that she began to dabble in writing fiction, but it was many years later that she was confident enough to start writing her first novel, and many years after that she finally finished it!

A lover of books, music and cats, she is also an enthusiastic salsa dancer, a keen cook, and loves to travel. She is never happier than when she is gazing at the sea.

Connect with Chris:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

My Thoughts

Whenever I acquire a new Chris Penhall title, I know I’m in for a great read. The third installment in her Portuguese Paradise series, The House on the Hill did not disappoint.

This multi-generational novel focuses on Layla and her Aunt Minnie who run a yoga retreat in Lagos. Each is competent, vivacious, dimensional, but neither has a love interest who will stick – at least when we meet them. But this isn’t a book just about romantic love. It’s about the love we have for our true passion, whether it’s health food (Layla), dance (Minnie) or yoga and general wellness (both). It’s also about the familial love that exists between aunt and niece, and the strong friendships each forms in their community.

Okay, yes, there’s also romance.

What I love about all of Penhall’s books is that they’re never too fluffy. Yes, they exist in a somewhat heightened version of reality where the bougainvillea flowers are a bit bigger, the limoncello is a bit stronger, and the sun shines a bit brighter, but overall the events in The House on the Hill, as with the author’s previous works, are plausible. And that makes the reading so much better, because you can be an armchair tourist in Layla’s (or Minnie’s) life, and never have to expend energy on willful suspension of disbelief.

What really sells this book is the way the author differentiates these characters of such disparate ages. Layla is more focused, and uses more contemporary language, while Minnie is slightly scattered and uses slightly “vintage” syntax. It’s subtle, but it really makes each woman truly breathe.

I should mention that the actual house is also a character in a way, as it plays host to the bulk of the story, and is really the heart of the family – both blood and chosen – that Layla and Minnie have created in Portugal.

I recommend this book for anyone who wants a summer read that feels like a summer vacation. It’s well written, perfectly paced, and leaves the reader truly satisfied (but not so much so that a fourth book in this series wouldn’t be welcome).

Goes well with: a fruit plate that includes pinapples, passion fruit, and plums. Or a green smoothie.

Review: The Storm Girl, by Kathleen McGurl

17 May 2022 by Melissa

About the Book, The Storm Girl

The gripping new historical novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Girl from Bletchley Park and The Forgotten Secret.

A heartbreaking choice. A secret kept for centuries.

1784. When Esther Harris’s father hurts his back, she takes over his role helping smugglers hide contraband in the secret cellar in their pub. But when the free traders’ ships are trapped in the harbour, a battle between the smugglers and the revenue officers leads to murder and betrayal – and Esther is forced to choose between the love of her life and protecting her family…

Present day. Fresh from her divorce, Millie Galton moves into a former inn overlooking the harbour in Mudeford and plans to create her dream home. When a chance discovery behind an old fireplace reveals the house’s secret history as a haven for smugglers and the devastating story of its former residents, could the mystery of a disappearance from centuries ago finally be solved?

Sweeping historical fiction perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley, Kathryn Hughes and Tracy Rees.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon (UK) | Amazon (US) | Goodreads

About the author, Kathleen McGurl

Kathleen McGurl lives near the coast in Christchurch, England. She writes dual timeline novels in which a historical mystery is uncovered and resolved in the present day. She is married to an Irishman and has two adult sons. She enjoys travelling, especially in her motorhome around Europe but home is Mudeford, where this novel is set.

Connect with Kathleen:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

The Storm Girl is my first Kathleen McGurl nsovel, but it won’t be my last.

A dual-timeline story, this book follows Esther, in 1784, beginning with an opening faintly reminiscent of Alfred Noyes’s “The Highwayman,” though it quickly moves beyond that trope. Our historical heroine is no lovestruck maiden idly braiding her hair in moonlit windows; rather she is a vibrant and dimensional young woman, acting with her own agency.

Similarly, recent divorcee Millie, our present day heroine, is bright and curious, and game for minor adventures. We first meet her as she is rescuing kittens (and a mama cat) from a blocked off fireplace, and her helper Nick, sparks her love of a good mystery when he suggests that said fireplace would be worth restoring (something she was already considering.)

Both women end up tangled in a mystery involving smuggling, which we modern audiences think of as a romantic form of crime, but is really very violent and dangerous, still, the puzzle that begins in the past is resolved in the present in a gripping story that is well plotted and perfectly paced.

What I especially loved about this book was that the author captures the language and tone of each period with great accuracy. You really don’t need to be told the date of each chapter; rather the writing makes it obvious where the story is in time.

I also loved that there were equal parts suspense and romance. Nothing ever got TOO tense or TOO fluffy; instead there was balance, and that made for a delightful read.

I’ve long been a fan of parallel narratives. Now I’m a fan of Kathleen McGurl and The Storm Girl as well.

Goes well with: hot tea and blueberry cobbler with a dash of firelight.

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Review: Finding Summer Happiness, by Chris Penhall

2 August 2021 by Melissa

About the book, Finding Summer Happiness

You won’t find happiness without breaking a few eggs …
Miriam Ryan was the MD of a successful events and catering company, but these days even the thought of chopping an onion sends her stress levels sky rocketing. A retreat to the Welsh village of her childhood holidays seems to offer the escape she’s craving – just peace, quiet, no people, a generous supply of ready meals … did she mention no people?

Enter a cheery pub landlord, a lovesick letting agent, a grumpy astronomer with a fridge raiding habit – not to mention a surprise supper club that requires the chopping of many onions – and Miriam realizes her escape has turned into exactly what she was trying to get away from, but could that be just the thing she needs to allow a little bit of summer happiness into her life?

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon (USA) | Amazon (UK) | Goodreads

About the author, Chris Penhall

Chris Penhall won the 2019 Choc-Lit Search for a Star competition, sponsored by Your Cat Magazine, for her debut novel, The House That Alice Built. The sequel, New Beginnings at the Little House in the Sun was published in August 2020. Her short story, Lily McKee’s Seven Days of Christmas appears in Choc Lit and Ruby Fiction’s Cosy Christmas Treats anthology.

Her new novel, Finding Summer Happiness, which is set in Pembrokeshire in South West Wales was published in May 2021.

Chris is an author and freelance radio producer for BBC Local Radio.
She also has her own podcast – The Talking to My Friends About Book Podcast in which she chats to her friends about books. Good title!

Born in Neath in South Wales, she has also lived in London and in Portugal, which is where The House That Alice Built is set. It was whilst living in Cascais near Lisbon that she began to dabble in writing fiction, but it was many years later that she was confident enough to start writing her first novel, and many years after that she finally finished it!

A lover of books, music and cats, she is also an enthusiastic salsa dancer, a keen cook, and loves to travel. She is never happier than when she is gazing at the sea.

Connect with Chris:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

Something I’ve learned in the last few years is that if a book has Chris Penhall as the author, it’s going to be a fabulous read. Finding Summer Happiness, the author’s most recent title completely supports my initial statement. Charming, with a bit of romance and a bit of intrigue, it came into my life when I really needed it, and put a smile on my face.

Protagonist Miriam is quite possibly my favorite Penhall lead so far. Savvy and smart, she’s burnt out with her business, and finally agrees to have her personal assistant arrange a break for her. Six months in a cottage by the sea. When she learns the actual terms of said break, I felt her disappointment, displeasure, and confusion, and wanted to rush in and help her out. Her work ethic and sense of honor merge with her attorney’s advice, and the story really takes off

A former business-owner myself, although not professionally, I really resonated with Miriam, especially since I’ve been through the experience of leaving the corporate world, but I enjoyed the characters of Jim the pub owner, Rhiannon the realtor (sorry, letting agent) and Alan the unwanted sort-of guest, and the largely offscreen Justin. These characters were all funny and interesting and felt the like odd assortment of friends and cohorts many of us tend to collect.

I also appreciated the various guests and villagers who rounded out the story. Penhall has a knack for creating vivid and dimensional characters and communities, and in this book she excels at both. I wanted to knock on the door of Miriam’s rented cottage and demand a seat in her supper club.

This is a light read that is grounded in serious topics, like how to change your life and when to make the leap and follow your dreams.

Goes well with: A rainy day, a glass of wine, and a bowl of onion soup.

Review: Blooming Murder by Simon Whaley

8 July 2021 by Melissa

About the book, Blooming Murder

MURDER IS BLOSSOMING IN THE WELSH BORDERS.

Aldermaston’s having a bad day. A falling hanging-basket has killed the town’s mayor, and a second narrowly missed him. His wife wants him to build her new greenhouse in three days, and some nutter is sending him death threats.

This isn’t the quiet life he expected as the new Marquess of Mortiforde.

It’s the annual Borders in Blossom competition, and Mortiforde is battling with Portley Ridge in the final. But this is no parochial flower competition. The mayor’s mishap looks like murder, and there’s another body in the river. Someone desperately wants Portley Ridge to win for the fifteenth successive year.

So when a mysterious group of guerrilla gardeners suddenly carpet bomb Mortiforde with a series of stunning floral delights one night, a chain reaction of floral retaliation ensues.

Can Aldermaston survive long enough to uncover who is trying to kill him, and why? And can he get his wife’s greenhouse built in time?

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Goodreads

About the author, Simon Whaley

Simon Whaley is an author, writer and photographer who lives in the hilly bit of Shropshire. Blooming Murder is the first in his Marquess of Mortiforde Mysteries, set in the idyllic Welsh Borders – a place many people struggle to locate on a map (including by some of those who live here). He’s written several non-fiction books, many if which contain his humorous take on the world, including the bestselling One Hundred Ways For A Dog To Train Its Human and two editions in the hugely popular Bluffer’s Guide series (The Bluffer’s Guide to Dogs and The Bluffer’s Guide to Hiking). His short stories have appeared in Take A Break, Woman’s Weekly Fiction Special, The Weekly News and The People’s Friend. Meanwhile his magazine articles have delighted readers in a variety of publications including BBC Countryfile, The People’s Friend, Coast, The Simple Things and Country Walking.

Simon lives in Shropshire (which just happens to be a Welsh Border county) and, when he gets stuck with his writing, he tramps the Shropshire hills looking for inspiration and something to photograph. Some of his photographs appear on the national and regional BBC weather broadcasts under his BBC WeatherWatcher nickname of Snapper Simon. (For those of you who don’t know, they get a lot of weather in Shropshire.)

Connect with Simon:

Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

I love getting into a series when it’s brand new. I get to meet all the main characters and then look forward to their returns in future novels. I’m not spoiling anything when I tell you, I’m really looking forward to seeing where Simon Whaley’s new “Marquess of Mortiforde Mysteries” go from here.

But let’s talk about the beginning. Blooming Murder is the opening novel of what I hope will be a series of many books. Whaley’s writing style is straight-forward and hooks you instantly, and his plot builds steadily from there. Aldermaston, the Marquess, is one of the first characters we meet, of course, and it’s clear that he’s going to be our POV character, after all, it’s “his” series.

Characters abound in this novel, many of whom are involved either in local (village) politics, or in the politics of a gardening club, or both, and Whaley describes them vividly (dainty feet stuck in my head) and writes them with just as much care. This novel takes place in Wales, and the author doesn’t write in dialect, but he still manages to convey where each character hails from and how they sound, as much as how they look.

What I really loved about Blooming Murder is that the murder in question felt really organic, not just shoved in as a plot contrivance. I also appreciated that there are touches of humor throughout the book, lightening some of the more serious moments. (A character hoping the body won’t be in frame for a photo opp is just one example.)

Overall, Blooming Murder is a charming, engaging novel, and I am looking forward to the series continuing.

Goes well with: a glass of Prosecco and a salad that includes edible flowers.