Fix You by Carrie Elks

Synopsis
You've found the one, but what if life has other plans?

London, 31st December 1999
At a party to toast the new millennium, Hanna meets Richard. He is a gorgeous, wealthy New Yorker. She is a self-assured, beautiful Londoner with no interest in clean-cut American men. They are from different worlds and have nothing in common... except for their instant - and mutual - attraction to one another.
As the clocks chime midnight it is a new year and the beginning of a wonderful romance.

New York, 12th May 2012
Hanna, the girl who broke Richard's heart, walks into his Wall Street office - and back into his life - to reveal an explosive secret.

He was sure they were meant to be together forever, but she broke his heart so completely the last time, can he find a way to let her mend the pieces?

Warm, witty and a perfect piece of modern romance, Fix You is a love story to melt your heart.

Review

This book’s cover is incredibly pretty, combining the two cities where the book takes place and it has an snowy magic-like feel that I really like and would make me pick it up from a bookshelf without hesitation. Combine this with the most important bit, the content inside and you get an un-put-downable read. The writing is really friendly, and invites you to read on finding out what will happen next.

I really warmed to the characters, they are so delightful, especially the lead Hanna, so bubbly and fun, I really routed for her throughout the book, even during the difficult time she suffers after Hanna and Richard reconnect, despite it being a mistake, it was completely understandable.

Then there is the Larsen’s. Where do I begin? They are so loving towards Hanna from the very start and just the kind of people you would want to know and have as a surrogate family. They lit up every scene they starred in. Then there was Richard Larsen. Just utterly brilliant from the first time you read him and I think he acted such the gentleman the whole way through. One wonders if he is too good to be true?!

The epilogue on this book was so wonderful, longer than most epilogues you get, and satisfied all of my questions. Overall this book was such a charming read, it is the perfect book to snuggle up with when you have an evening spare with nothing but a hot chocolate or glass of wine to keep you company! This book is just outstanding, absolutely adore it beyond belief!

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Published by: Corvus
Gratefully received from the Publisher for review.

Dying For Christmas by Tammy Cohen

Synopsis
I am missing. Held captive by a blue-eyed stranger. 

To mark the twelve days of Christmas, he gives me a gift every day, each more horrible than the last. The twelfth day is getting closer. 

After that, there’ll be no more Christmas cheer for me. No mince pies, no carols. No way out …

But I have a secret. No-one has guessed it. Will you?

Review

I read this book for Thriller/Mystery week on #SundayChallenge, I had really enjoyed ‘The Broken’ earlier this year and with the Christmas theme, this was the perfect choice for that.

Tammy’s writing is utterly gripping and it was hard to put it down. Reading about Jessica’s captivity was really spine chilling, and learning about Dominic’s past was both creepy and sinister in equal measures. The way he called Jessica ‘Sweetheart’ made my skin crawl. While you read Jessica’s story, it is interlaced with Kim, the police officer who is working on the case. At first it isn't clear exactly who she is and how she fits in, but it soon becomes clear and it is important to her story Arc.

I don’t want to speak too much about the plot, as I feel I could give it away. The twist is incredible, at one point I thought ‘could it be this’ and then put it out of my mind as a ridiculous thought, but I was partially there with it, and I couldn't believe it when it happened. There was a couple of things I am puzzled about, maybe I missed something in the book that explains them, and will definitely make sure to look out for them if I re-read this. Also it is one of those books that leaves you wondering, and I would have liked a more definite conclusion, or a bigger hint if what I think it means is what happens. I NEED TO READ MORE OF THIS!!!!!!

Despite these small issues, and I really do mean small. This is an amazing read, and will stick in my mind for a long time. Definitely a different take on the usual Christmas book I read.

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Published by: Transworld
Gratefully received from the Publisher for review.

Top Ten Books I Read In 2014

 Top Ten Books I Read In 2014

Hosted by The Broke and Bookish!

Well, after a long break of Top Ten Tuesdays, I would really like to start this blog meme again!
So here it is, in no particular order, my Top Ten Books that I have read in 2014. 

The Memory Book - Rowan Coleman

Wow, what can I say. This book had me in tears quite alot of the time, it was so amazing. This is my favourite book of all time, so it was an easy pick for this list. 

The Time of Our Lives - Jane Costello

The first book of Jane's I have read and I can't believe I missed out for so long! Absolutely hilarious, and Barcelona has certainly been added to the list of places I want to visit!

A Proper Family Holiday / A Proper Family Christmas - Chrissie Manby 

OK OK, I realise this is too books, so technically I am cheating, you caught me! In my defence, they are two books of a series, both published this year, and some of the timelines are shared! Anyway this book is so full of lovable characters I cannot help but grin while i read this book :)

The Christmas Party - Carole Matthews

Simply, I loved this book! A really interesting set of characters, and was my first christmas read of this year, a perfect start to the season.

One Night in Italy - Lucy Diamond

Really enjoyed this book, a really heart warming read about friendship, and delicious recipes in the back!

The Accident - C. L. Taylor

The first thriller I read this year, and it has stuck with me for the whole year, really intriguing!

The Best Thing That Never Happened To Me - Laura Tait & Jimmy Rice

This book has convinced me that books written by two authors can work (previous experiences had been bad). It is such a charming book.

Breaking Nova - Jessica Sorensen

I have read quite a few new adult books this year, and they have all been superb, but I think this one really stood out to me, and I cannot wait to read the follow-up.

  

What Would Mary Berry Do? - Claire Sandy

One of the funniest book I've ever read, and really loved reading about Marie's journey on becoming a great baker!

Thirteen Weddings - Paige Toon

I love Paige Toon's books, and this one is no different. Gorgeous male lead, great friends and a great protagonist, another great summer read from Paige!

What books have you enjoyed reading this year?

Nine Lives of Christmas by Shelia Roberts

Synopsis

In this Christmas tale, two people are about to discover that when it comes to finding love, Christmas magic isn't enough . . . sometimes it takes a pesky orange cat named Ambrose

When a guy is in trouble, he starts making deals with his Creator . . . and Ambrose the cat is no exception. In danger of losing his ninth and final life, Ambrose makes a desperate plea to the universe. He'll do anything if he can just survive and enjoy a nice long, final life. His prayer is answered when a stranger comes along and saves him-and now it looks like he has to hold up his end of the bargain.

The stranger turns out to be a firefighter named Zach, who's in need of some serious romantic help. If Ambrose can just bring Zach together with Merilee, the nice lady who works at Pet Palace, it's bound to earn him a healthy ninth life. Unfortunately for Ambrose, his mission is a lot harder than he ever thought. Meriliee is way too shy to make the first move on a ladies man like Zach, and Zach thinks he's all wrong for a nice girl like Merilee. Now it's going to take all of Ambrose's feline wiles-and maybe even a good old fashioned Christmas miracle-to make them both realize that what they're looking for is right in front of their eyes.

Review

What most attracted me to this book was that the book was from the point of view of a cat. I adore cats, they are just so cute, and often hilarious, as documented by the many GIFs found online! This book seemed unique so I couldn't wait to dive in.

This book isn’t just from the sole voice of Ambrose the cat. You also get viewpoints from Zach, Ambrose’s saviour and also Merilee, a cat lover who Ambrose plans to set up with Zach as his good deed, in exchange for Zach saving his life against a vicious dog. 

I thought this book was written very well from all characters. Ambrose was so hilarious, obviously being a cat he has a very different outlook on life from humans which makes for many giggles. His quips about dogs and some of his thoughts on human actions etc was really fun to read.  The whole gift scene was one of the stand outs for me! Zach and Merilee’s viewpoints helped move the story along, and seeing how each of them reacted to the situations they were put in, mainly by Ambrose made this book even better.

Zach seemed genuinely a sweet bloke, despite the hardened exterior I felt he sometimes put on. I have no idea what he ever saw in Blair (or ‘Blair Baby’ as Ambrose knows her). She was really unair to Ambrose, and even excluding that, she seemed really snobby and stuck up, thankfully Ambrose saw through her!  His kindness also shone throughout the book, the way he helps Ambrose, and Merilee when they are both in trouble. Really sweet and touching. 
This goes perfect with Merilee who is adorable, and I found myself willing Ambrose to succeed in his task from the instant the two met.

This book has charm in bundles. It is funny, romantic, the perfect book for cosying up infront of the fire! The book says that it is perfect for fans of Debbie Macomber, and I couldn’t agree more, it creates the same lovely warm feeling you get from her books! It just makes you want to go ‘Awwwwwe’ at the end!

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Published by: Paitkus
Gratefully received from the Publisher for review.

Want to wind down after a long day of Christmas shopping with
a good book and a glass of Christmassy goodness? 

Well this book suits the Christmas classic 'Mulled Wine' perfectly! It makes you feel warm and cosy, and the gentle spiced warmth of the mulled wine echoes that perfectly. I used a wine from Beaujolais in France, which is mega fruity as well. Absolutely Amazing! I used the recipe from Schwarz and used their sachets, and it was sooo nice, I did chuck in a couple of extra cinnamon sticks in as well though. It went far too quickly, maybe we need 2 bottles of wine next time :) 

One Day This Will All Make Sense : Excerpt

I am so happy to have an excerpt from 'One Day This Will All Make Sense' by Katie Jansson Shahin for you today. It sounds great and has such a pretty cover :)

Synopsis 
In the three years since Emma, Human Resource professional by trade and writer at heart, moved to Los Angeles from Sweden it has been anything but smooth sailing. When she was offered a new job Emma thought she had finally found the security she’d been looking for since moving to the city of her dreams.

The bliss is short-lived as Emma struggles to adjust in her new role and environment. She fails to learn how to play by the unwritten rules and office politics of corporate America, leaving her defenseless against a new boss who soon makes it clear that he wants her gone. After having put her writing before her HR career for so long, Emma knows it was just a fluke when she was hired and is determined not to let it slip away. But she cracks under the pressure and is ultimately fired. Will she be able to dig herself out again? Or has she peaked at 27? More importantly, will she survive in the city that represents everything she has dreamt of becoming?

Excerpt from novel written by Katie Jansson Shahin

Not one day had passed since I had moved to LA two and half years earlier when I wasn’t grateful and aware of what city I was in. Not one morning had passed that I had driven to work, which was usually around six forty-five a.m., when my mind hadn’t gone completely quiet and at ease at the sight of Vine Street, coming off of the 101 South. I knew I was fortunate. Many young people in Sweden dreamed of moving to LA and tried so hard to find ways to stay once they made it here on a student visa. For the most part, people either got married or never found a way to stay. I, on the other hand, had gotten a green card through my dad since he’d become a naturalized citizen before I turned twenty-one. I continued down Vine Street and saw the W Hotel sign up in the sky, and a few blocks farther down I passed the bright red building that housed The Redbury hotel, with the world famous Capitol Records Building on my right side.

As I got on to the 101 North, driving ten miles an hour in Friday traffic, I wondered to myself what it was about LA that had me so wrapped around its finger. The first time I fell in love with California was when I watched The O.C. Shortly thereafter my dad moved here from Wisconsin, and I was able to go visit the place I had only seen on TV. Of course, the entire show was filmed in LA, but I didn’t know that back then. I then discovered the show Entourage, and that’s when real things started to happen inside me. I couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. Was it the beautiful weather and the smell of freshly-cut grass all year round? Was it the wide streets you could barely cross in time before the streetlight turned red for the pedestrians again? Was it the buildings that on the outside looked like nothing more than a chunk of cement, but on the inside were beautifully decorated lounges? Was it the powerful rush I had gotten the first time I went ninety on the empty freeway at three a.m.? Or was it simply the fact that I knew I was in the same city where all the Hollywood movies came from?

While I saw all the beauty that L.A had to offer, I wasn’t oblivious to all the things that other people usually saw as the downside of moving to LA: the constant sound of traffic and honking; the fuel-filled air and the fog; the enormous city where everything was separated by insane distances; the huge freeways; the above-ground electrical lines; the cracks in the pavement left by earthquakes. I saw all those things too. But my love for this city was an unconditional kind of love—I didn’t love LA despite its flaws. I loved it even more for them. We could be flawed together.

Buy this book from Amazon: UK | US

About The Author
Katie’s love for writing is versatile. Before taking the big leap into novel writing she focused mostly on screen writing. In addition to that, she has a blog where she writes book reviews and articles on writing: An Authorista’s Blog.
Katie is originally from Sweden but moved to California four years ago and currently resides in the North Bay area just outside of San Francisco. When she’s not working on her writing, she is an HR and recruiting professional. Although her debut novel is not a biography, as you may have guessed One Day This Will All Make Sense is heavily inspired by her own experience moving from Sweden to Los Angeles and her life there.
Blog: http://anauthoristasblog.blogspot.com
Twitter: @KJanSha

The Stall of Second Chances by Dana Bate

Thank you to the publisher for inviting me to be part of the Blog Tour. See the poster after the review, and make sure to check out the other participants!

Synopsis

Sydney Strauss is obsessed with food.

Not just with eating it - though she loves that too - but with writing about it as an aspiring cookery reporter. But food journalism jobs are more coveted than cupcakes, and so Sydney is stuck working for one of TV's biggest egomaniacs - until she's left scrambling for shifts at the local farmers' market.

Selling muffins at the Wild Yeast Bakery is hardly going to make her the next Nigella. But soon Sydney is writing the market's weekly newsletter, and her quirky stories gain attention from a prominent food columnist. After years of being left on the shelf, she's even dating again. And then Sydney gets a shot atthe story, one that could either make her career or burn it to a cinder - along with her relationship and her reputation . . .

Review

When I was offered this book, I jumped at the chance, Dana’s first novel was really good, so I had high hopes for this one. I read this as my ‘Laugh out Loud’ book for a #SundayChallenge, and was so happy that the opening scene was just one of the many funny moments in this book. The scene was so funny, and a little bizarre, Charles is exactly the personality I can imagine being on TV. Poor Sydney for having to produce his antics, however it makes sure you’re hooked by the end of chapter one.

This book, unsurprisingly talks about food more than the average book, and it all sounded so delicious. I really want to try an authentic ‘Hoagie’. I have made the recipe from the back of the book, and it does make a tasty dish (see below), however I am sure the ones from Philadelphia taste better. 

I really liked Sydney’s confidence and her passion for food. I also loved that she blogged about it, I would have liked to had more about this before she was put back in touch with a well-known newspaper, but I guess with her previous contacts this isn’t entirely unexpected, and may have made the book a little too long if you weren’t interested in blogging. 

What I wasn’t keen on about Sydney was her lack of consideration for other people, just to further her career. You see herself feeling slightly guilty about what she is doing, but then when it inevitably blows up in her face, her main defence is that the people she hurt wasn’t supposed to know it was her, as if that makes it any better. Yet she was quite judgemental on someone who had also made a mistake in their past. This didn’t make me enjoy the book any less as it was an interesting situation, and while I may not have done things in quite the same way, I understand why she did it, and the aftermath was really interesting to read, I wasn’t sure how it would all pan out in the end.

The supporting cast were all great, but I feel I need to mention Rick. Rick ‘The Prick’ was a real fun character, just absolute perfection, he made me laugh in almost every scene. He was so forthright, and everything he baked sounded amazing.

The book was an absolute delight to read. It was funny, covered a really interesting dilemma and had Jeremy, who may be one of the most perfect men ever in a book. He put so much effort in on his dates with Sydney, while Drew sounded HOT, there is only so much albatross talk a girl can take!

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Published by: Corsair
Gratefully received from the Publisher for review.

For my 'Hoagies' I have to admit, I strayed from the recipe slightly, I couldn't find the exact cheese and one of the meats in my local supermarket, so I had to compromise!

I got a similar looking meat from the deli counter (though the name of it fails me) and apparently cheddar is a similar cheese to Provolone, but I opted for the milder and creamier Gouda, which is one of my favourite cheeses.

They were simply DELISH! My boyfriend has now added that to his list of favourite dishes I make. so will no doubt be making many more in the future :)

Want to wind down after a long week or day with a good book and a glass of wine?
I have chosen a delicious wine to suggest accompany this book!

I chose a wine that is one of my favourites for this book. A Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. This book is about food, and this wine I think goes well with lots of different dishes, and equally as well on it's own. Incredibly fruity and delicious!