Book Review: A Place For Us – Part 4, by Harriet Evans

The day Martha Winter decided to tear apart her family began like any other day…

The house has soft, purple wisteria twining around the door. You step inside.

The hall is cool after the hot summer’s day. The welcome is kind, and always warm.

Yet something makes you suspect life here can’t be as perfect as it seems.

After all, the brightest smile can hide the darkest secret.

But wouldn’t you pay any price to have a glorious place like this?

Welcome to Winterfold.

Martha Winter’s family is finally coming home.

***

Book Review: A Place For Us – Part 3, by Harriet Evans

The day Martha Winter decided to tear apart her family began like any other day…

The house has soft, purple wisteria twining around the door. You step inside.

The hall is cool after the hot summer’s day. The welcome is kind, and always warm.

Yet something makes you suspect life here can’t be as perfect as it seems.

After all, the brightest smile can hide the darkest secret.

But wouldn’t you pay any price to have a glorious place like this?

Welcome to Winterfold.

Martha Winter’s family is finally coming home.

***

Thanks again to Headline Publishing for providing me with a review copy of the third instalment via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

You can read my review for part one here and part two here.

Sealed With A Kiss

Look out for my new rating – reserved especially for extra special books, where 5 stars don’t quite do it justice!

Reviews of my very favourite books will now be Sealed With A Kiss, to mark just how special they are.

(Here’s a tip – look out for the book that inspired my new, special rating being reviewed later today!)

Book Review: The Rosie Effect, by Graeme Simsion

The Rosie Effect is the charming and hilarious sequel to Graeme Simsion’s bestselling debut novel The Rosie Project.

With the Wife Project complete, Don settles into a new job and married life in New York. But it’s not long before certain events are taken out of his control and it’s time to embark on a new project . . .

As Don tries to get to grips with the requirements of starting a family, his unusual research style gets him into trouble. To make matters worse, Don has invited his closest friend to stay with them, but Gene is not exactly the best model for marital happiness. As Don’s life with Rosie continues to be unpredictable, he needs to remember that emotional support is just as important as practical expertise.

You may have recently seen my review for The Rosie Project, for which this book is the sequel. I absolutely adored the first book, so while I couldn’t wait to get started on this one, I did have that slight reservation we readers get of ‘what if it’s not as good?’

Book Review: The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion

An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don’s Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

I’ve seen a lot about The Rosie Project, but had never got round to reading it. When I saw The Rosie Effect was available on NetGalley, I swiftly requested it and immediately bought The Rosie Project in preparation. I’m so pleased I did.

Book Review: The Beginners Guide to the Birds & the Bees, by Sophie Hart

Let’s talk about sex… would you share your bedroom secrets if it meant saving your marriage?

Another big thank you to the lovely Bookouture for providing me with a review copy via NetGalley.

“A refreshingly open and uplifting romantic comedy about friendship, love and sex. Sometimes you need to step out of your comfort zone in order to give a relationship a good dose of TLC…

Sex therapist Annie Hall helps couples put the fizz back into their relationships. It’s a shame her own love life is non-existent. When Jamie who works next door catches her eye, she can’t ignore the spark of chemistry.

Most men would jump at the chance to skive off work for an afternoon quickie with their gorgeous wife, but Nick knows Julia is after only one thing – a baby. Sex shouldn’t be a chore. Can Annie help Julia see that?

Newly engaged Zoe and Simon can’t keep their hands off each other. They’ve decided to take a vow of celibacy until their wedding night. Will Annie help them stick to it?

Ray and Linda have been married for over thirty years but she’s more interested in the family business than getting intimate with him. Can Annie convince Linda to rediscover her passion for Ray after all this time?

While Annie begins to work her magic with the three couples, she soon discovers that she’ll need to take some of her own advice if she’s going to let a new man into her life. “

Book Review: Twitter Girl, by Nic Tatano

Meet America’s Tweet-Heart.

She’s network reporter Cassidy Shea, better known as @TwitterGirl, with more than a million followers thanks to her sarcastic tweets. One hundred forty characters that can take anyone down a notch.
But while brevity may be the soul of wit, it can also get you fired.
When a controversial tweet goes viral the snarky redhead finds herself locked out of the career she loves… and watches her boyfriend take a hike.
Alas, no industry values sarcasm more than politics, and Cassidy becomes a marketable commodity for Presidential candidate Will Becker, a squeaky-clean, stone cold lock to be the next occupant of the White House. This candidate is unlike any other; he’s the country’s most eligible bachelor. He’s also looking for a running mate, and we’re not talking about a Vice President.
Twitter Girl has caught his eye.
Cassidy finds herself swept up in a whirlwind romance that turns her into the next Jackie Kennedy and becomes the favorite to be the next First Lady. The country can’t get enough of America’s First Couple… will Cassidy and Will Becker bring back Camelot?
But an anonymous tip triggers her journalistic curiosity. Is Will Becker all that he seems? The search for the answer teaches Cassidy the meaning of love.

Thank you to Harper Impulse for approving me for a review copy via NetGalley.

You may have recently read my review for It Girl, by Nic Tatano, which was the first I’d read by him and I absolutely loved it; so Twitter Girl had some pretty big shoes to fill!

Luckily, this new, snarky redhead stepped into them with ease.

Book Review: It Girl, by Nic Tatano

Veronica Summer is stuck in the dream job from hell.

“The spunky New York reporter is offered the network’s morning anchor position, but she doesn’t want it because she’s a night person. Then the network plays a trump card, promising her the evening anchor chair in three years. So the fiery redhead takes the plunge, with the ultimate gig waiting down the road.

Problem is, that road is filled with two am wake-up calls and the only social life she has is one with bats and raccoons. She quickly realizes she’ll never survive the grind and decides the only way out is to get fired by being her snarky self on live television.

And the ratings skyrocket.

Veronica becomes the nation’s It Girl, so the network makes her a celebrity contestant on its most popular nighttime dance competition show, Dance Off. While her journalistic credibility is shot to hell by the show’s skimpy costumes, she’s thrown into close contact with two incredibly attractive men; her dance partner and the show’s sarcastic British judge.

And she soon discovers that love is the ultimate gig.”

Thank you to Harper Impulse for approving me for a review copy via NetGalley.

I’d never read any Nic Tatano before, so I honestly didn’t know what to expect. However, a cover that beautiful is not to be ignored, so after a quick read of the synopsis – which successfully piqued my interest – the request button was hit. Let’s be honest, if I don’t know the book or author, the cover is gonna be the first thing I judge. And when it’s such a goddamn beautiful piece, it deserves to be appreciated – then I just had to hope the story was just as good.

Book Review: Love, Lies and Lemon Cake, by Sue Watson

A laugh-out-loud, bittersweet comedy about taking your life back before it’s too late.

A big thank you to the lovely Bookouture for providing me with a review copy via NetGalley.

“Faye Dobson has lost her sparkle. Living on film star fantasies and vague memories of a marriage that once was, she can’t help feeling that life is passing her by. She dreams of being whisked to Paris for dinner, making three wishes at the Trevi fountain and having sex under the stars. But the wrinkles are multiplying, her husband’s passion is for plumbing, and the nearest she’ll get to Rome is a take-away pizza.

So when Faye meets Dan the gorgeous Australian surfer guy working in the local deli she can’t help but wonder what it would be like to see the world. He is blonde, tanned, ten years younger and bakes the most amazing lemon cake. Unlike her husband Dan actually listens to Faye, his smile makes her feel fizzy inside, and when he smiles… Oh. My. God.

But is Faye being silly? What would Dan see in someone like her? Even if he did have feelings for her, could she give everything up to be with him? ”

Book Review: A Place For Us – Part 2, by Harriet Evans

The day Martha Winter decided to tear apart her family began like any other day…

A big thank you to Headline Publishing for approving me for a review copy on Net Galley, in return for an honest review. This review is for Part Two in the four-part serialisation.

You can read my review for part one here.

The first part left you on one hell of a cliffhanger, and wow, Part 2 did not disappoint!