Cover Reveal - Game of Scones by Samantha Tonge

It is with great pleasure that I can help Samantha Tonge reveal her cover of her newest book 'Game of Scones', which is simply gorgeous! Oh how I wish I had even half the talent of the cover's designer and illustrator!

Game of Scones - Released 20th April 2015

A story of icing and flour…and how love doesn’t always go to plan!

Growing up, Pippa Pattinson’s summers were spent in the idyllic Greek island fishing village of Taxos. There she spent many long hazy days determinedly ignoring thoughts of the life her parents had mapped out for her (a dreary-but-secure accounting job and obligatory sensible husband!) Instead she daydreamed of running her own tea shop – serving the perfect scones –with mocha-eyed childhood friend Niko by her side…

Arriving back in Taxos for the first time in years, with suave boyfriend Henrik, Pippa barely recognises the tired little town – but is relieved to catch glimpses of the quaint, charming village she’s always loved. Together Niko and Pippa put together a proposal to save Taxos from tourist-tastic ruin, and at the heart of their plan is Pippa’s dream project - The Tastiest Little Tea Shop in Taxos. It’s time for Pippa to leave her London life behind and dust off her scone recipe that’s guaranteed to win over both locals and visitors. And amidst the rolling pins and raisins, it seems romance is blossoming where she’s least expecting it…

If you’re a fan of Lindsay Kelk or Lucy Diamond then don’t hesitate to step into Samantha Tonge’s truly delightful tea shop.

Author Bio:

Samantha lives in Cheshire with her lovely family and two cats who think they are dogs. Along with writing, her days are spent cycling, willing cakes to rise and avoiding housework. A love of fiction developed as a child, when she was known for reading Enid Blyton books in the bath. A desire to write bubbled away in the background whilst she pursued other careers, including a fun stint working at Disneyland Paris. Formally trained as a linguist, Samantha now likes nothing more than holing herself up in the spare room, in front of the keyboard. Writing romantic comedy novels and short stories is her passion.

Samantha has sold over 80 short stories to mainstream women's magazines. Her debut romantic comedy novel from CarinaUK Harlequin, bestselling "Doubting Abbey", was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award, 2014. Its fun sequel is From Paris With Love. Mistletoe Mansion is a fun standalone Christmas novel.

http://samanthatonge.co.uk/

http://doubtingabbey.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter: @SamTongeWriter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaTongeAuthor

Order the book:Amazon UK  |  Amazon US\

Top Ten Books You Recently Added To Your To-Be-Read List

 Top Ten Books You Recently Added To Your To-Be-Read List

Hosted by The Broke and Bookish!

Bridesmaids by Jane Costello

I was gifted this on the latest Ninja Book Swap, and is the first book by Jane, so I cannot wait to read this as I love the last one she published and am so excited for ‘The Love Shack’ in April. Thanks to the ‘Books and The City’ blogger event earlier this month, I also have quite a few of Jane’s other books, maybe I should have a Jane Costello Week?!

The Two of Us by Andy Jones

I’ve been on a ‘real book’ ban due to the netgalley challenge over the past month or so, and I’ve been sorely tempted to break it for this book, and hearing Andy read out an excerpt made it even harder for me to keep to this, so this will most likely be one of the first ones I read during the paperback challenge month.

Welcome To Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop Of Dreams by Jenny Colgan

Having recently read ‘The Little Beach Street Bakery’ and the sequel, I instantly put this book on my wishlist, as both those books were wonderful and I have an insane sweet tooth, so this is perfect for me, and a massive thank you to Tanya who sent me this book!

Coming up Roses by Rachael Lucas

The author shares my name, so automatically gains bonus points! Seriously though, the cover for this is so cute, and I’ve heard nothing but good things about Rachael’s previous book ‘Sealed with a Kiss’.

The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance by Kirsty Greenwood

I loved Kirsty’s debut novel (and infact was the second book I reviewed on this blog when I tried blogging the first time around – but the review is terrible so have unpublished that to avoid embarrassment lol), and this one sounds just as good, if not better. I cannot wait to dive in!

Winger by Andrew Smith

I have wanted this book for I cannot remember how long and was so happy when I won it in a giveaway! Another YA book for me to get my teeth into. Absolutely cannot wait to read this, I know, I’m saying that for all these books, but it’s genuinely true for them all!

The Valentine’s Card by Juliet Ashton 

Another book that has been on my wishlist for an absolute age (Thanks Suus!!) the cover has pretty pinky red foil and the synopsis makes me want to just weep, so I can tell that this one will pull on the heart strings!

The Sculptor by Scott McCloud

I’ve never read a graphic novel before and this one has really intrigued me with the synopsis and beautiful art style! Just beautiful, it is possibly another one that will get me emotionally.

Someone Else’s Life by Katie Dale

I hadn’t heard of this book before I picked it up on my visit to Waterstones Piccadilly, but it really stuck out on the shelf and after reading inspired me to buy it. Another young adult book to add to my ever growing collection.

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Young Adult. Sophie Kinsella. Do I need to say any more about how flipping excited I am about this book?!

Books and the City Spring Blogger event!

I apologise in advance for the lack of photos from the event, I was on emergency battery power and needed to conserve some incase there was a problem on the way home! However I am looking in investing in a portable charger as a consequence :) 

17th of March means St. Patrick's day for many, but for this year at least, to me it meant only 1 thing -my first blogger event, which was Books and the City's Spring Blogger Event, and I was lucky enough to be invited.

Of course this gave me the opportunity to spend the day in London, so I got up at the crack of dawn and did just that! I wanted to visit the British Library but somehow I managed to fill my day just book shopping. First stop was Waterstones Piccadilly where I bought a signed copy of 'Under my Skin' by James Dawson and 'Someone Else's Life' by Katie Dale.

After a stop of for a mango fruit cooler and reading session at Costa I stopped off at the mothership... uh I mean Foyles, where I bought 'Vendetta' which is book 1 in the Blood for Blood series which I confess, I bought solely because of the beautiful side, I'm so fickle!

After stopping for a late lunch I made my way to Books and The City HQ, and was welcomed by the very lovely Sara-Jade and was led into a room full of biscuits and, more importantly, book bloggers! After chatting for a bit, we took our seats and the main event began. We had 5 wonderful authors introduced to us and they all read an extract from their book and answered a few questions.

First up was Jane Costello with her book 'The Love Shack'  which is out April 23rd. This was fricking hilarious from beginning to end, a well picked extract and I need to devour this book pronto, Jane is without fail one of the funniest authors I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I can only imagine how moving in with the mother-in-law would be. My mother-in-law is lovely, but me and Simon almost had to move in there for a week between moving houses, and that was enough to scare me, let alone months!

Next was Iona Grey with her debut novel 'Letters to the Lost' (released 23rd April) is set during the present as well as the past, but mostly focusing on two people in WW2. This sounds beautifully romantic, and I heard from Alba (from Alba in Bookland) that it was extremely good and very sad. Hearing Iona read it only made me want to read it more, and I know when I next feel like a book to make me emotional, this will be my first stop.

The third author to read and speak was Andy Jones, whose debut book 'The Two of Us' is available as an ebook now and as a paperback on May 7th. I have been eagerly anticipating this one and the section Andy read to us only made my enthusiasm sky rocket. Hearing a book like this from a mans perspective is really quite unusual, and I really need to read this book now!

Our fourth author is Heidi Swain her book 'The Cherry Tree Cafe' is out on the 16th July and is the first Books and the City digital original, and what a delicious treat it sounds. It just sounds the exact book you want to read from start to finish in one go with a slice (or two) of cake!

Last but by no means least we have Milly Johnson and her new book 'Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Cafe' released on the June 18th. I've read a couple of Milly's books before and this one definitely sounds like it's going to be exactly the funny and often touching read I've come to know from Milly's books.

After all that it was time for some fizz, some food (though i was still pretty stuffed from lunch so only had a sausage roll) and a chance to meet the authors. We also had the opportunity to pick up some books, which was very generous indeed. Thank you so much Sara-Jade, all the authors and all the team at Books and the City for making my day Simply fabulous!

Me and Mr J by Rachel McIntyre

Synopsis

Fifteen-year-old Lara finds her soulmate. There’s just one problem – he’s her teacher.

Lara's life has changed radically since her father lost his job. As the eldest, Lara tries to keep upbeat, and the one outlet for all her problems is her diary where she can be open about how dire everything is at home, and worse, the fact that she’s being horrifically bullied at school. 

And then a shining light comes out of the darkness – the new young and MALE teacher, Mr Jagger. The one person who takes Lara seriously and notices her potential. The one person who is kind to her. The one person who she falls madly and hopelessly in love with. The one person who cannot reciprocate her feelings … can he?

Review

As I’ve mentioned before I want to get into reading more Young Adult books and this one really attracted me with the synopsis. Lara’s perspective was really interesting hearing her thoughts in both justifying the relationship and how deeply she fell for Mr Jagger. It’s a situation that isn’t right or allowed, so can you empathise with the characters and understand how such a situation can come about?

I would say yes, while obviously Mr Jagger and Lara’s relationship is obviously wrong, I would be lying if I said I didn’t empathise with them, wishing it was a different situation. The way the relationship was written made it so that, if you didn’t know they were teacher and student, you would be rooting for them.

The relationship doesn’t start properly till quite a way through the book; the lead up is learning what leads up to Lara and Mr J getting closer. Lara doesn’t seem like the sort of girl who would intentionally go after a teacher. Yes, she fancied him, but didn’t seem to actively try to make herself sexier or more attractive/interesting. She only got closer to him after seeking refuge from the other major plot in the book, the bullying she endures.
The bullying she goes through is terrible, not helped by losing her best friend to the ringleader of the bullies. She also loses her favourite items that help her escape from the bullying either mentally or physically. It was truly horrid the things she went through! Add to this, her family's troubles where she is relied on to look after her younger brother while her mum works and her dad seems to just be depressed. She is going through a lot and I really felt for her.

This books ending was quite short, but it tied everything up, and actually I really enjoyed it. It was incredibly honest, I imagine that would be exactly what Lara would feel like if she wasn’t a fictional character. This book has it’s characters written very well, you really feel you understand them, and that is the beauty of this book.

Buy on Amazon now! 

Published by: Electric Monkey
Gratefully received from the Publisher for review.

Goodread's Book Club

I was speaking to my good friend Tanya the other day (you'll find her on twitter @tanyainwales) and she mentioned wanting to join a book club, which got me thinking... I used to belong to a book club but i only really enjoyed a a few of the books, one of which was one I chose and had already read beforehand. I think the books I choose to read myself aren't usually the types of books that are generally selected in book clubs. Of course there are a few, but you don't see 'The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic' on any book club lists do you?! I'm not talking exclusively Chick Lit/Women's Fiction, as I do enjoy other genres and want to try new books, so please suggest any book you like but I know I am a lot more compatible in book selection with my friends that I've made through blogging and twitter.

I have taken matters into my own hands and have started a Goodreads group to discuss books in general but also have a monthly read along where we can all discuss one book in particular. This month's book choice is 'Little Beach Street Bakery' by Jenny Colgan.

Synopsis:
Polly Waterford is recovering from a toxic relationship. Unable to afford their townhouse, she has to move miles away from everyone, to the sleepy little seaside resort of Polbearne, where she lives alone above an abandoned shop.

And so Polly takes out her frustrations on her favourite hobby: making bread. But what was previously a weekend diversion suddenly becomes far more important as she pours her emotions into kneading and pounding the dough, and each loaf becomes better and better. With nuts and seeds, olives and chorizo, with local honey (courtesy of local bee keeper, Huckle), and with reserves of determination and creativity Polly never knew she had, she bakes and bakes and bakes . . . And people start to hear about it.

Sometimes, bread really is life . . . And Polly is about to reclaim hers.

Check out the group on goodreads, and please feel free to join in our chat :)

Rachel's Book Club and Discussion Group
20 members After my friend Tanya mentioned wanting to join a book club, I mooted the idea of creating a good...

Books we've read

View this group on Goodreads »

Blog-versary Giveaway of 'The Storyteller'!

Yesterday was my 1 year anniversary for my book blog, so am celebrating by hosting a giveaway! I thought I would repost my first review and offer a copy of the book up for grabs!

Synopsis
Sage Singer has a past that makes her want to hide from the world. Sleeping by day and working in a bakery by night, she kneads her emotion into the beautiful bread she bakes.But when she strikes up an unlikely friendship with Josef Weber, a quiet man old enough to be her grandfather, and respected pillar of the community, she feels that finally, she may have found someone she can open up to.

Review

I’ve read quite a few of Jodi Picoult’s books, and generally have really enjoyed them, the last few however I have been slightly disappointed with. Jodi is right back on track with this one though, it definitely shares the thought provoking, often moral situations that is a common theme throughout her books.

This story had 4 different viewpoints, and two different time periods. I really liked this aspect, and while, personally I could have done without Leo’s perspective (and the predictable relationship with Sage), the others were done really well, especially Minka’s account of what had happened to her and her family. It was very harrowing, and really made me think about the atrocities that happened in World War 2.

I thought this book was very moving at times, and could never quite guess how Sage was going to react, and as a consequence her reaction did shock me. I feel I should talk more about Sage, but I didn’t really connect with her, which actually suits her self-conscious character well.

As I said above, Jodi’s books mostly involve some sort of moral/thought provoking themes, and most of them, I know where I would stand, however this one has me flummoxed. I really hope this gets chosen at my bookclub at some point, it would be interesting to hear other people’s views on it.

Rating - 4.5/5

Published by: Hodder & Stoughton

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Three Amazing Things About You by Jill Mansell

Synopsis

Hallie has a secret. She's in love. He's perfect for her in every way, but he's seriously out of bounds. And her friends aren't going to help her because what they do know is that Hallie doesn't have long to live. Time is running out...

Flo has a dilemma. She really likes Zander. But his scary sister won't be even faintly amused if she thinks Zander and Flo are becoming friends - let alone anything more.

Tasha has a problem. Her new boyfriend is the adventurous type. And she's afraid one of his adventures will go badly wrong.

THREE AMAZING THINGS ABOUT YOU begins as Hallie goes on a journey. A donor has been found and she's about to be given new lungs. But whose?

Review

While I have a few Jill Mansell books on my virtual Kindle bookshelf to be read, I’ve only ever read one of them. When I saw EVERYONE on twitter raving about this book I moved it to the top of my TBR pile, and I’m immensely glad I did!

Three Amazing Things About You follows the lives of 3 women, Hallie, Tasha and Flo. All of their lives are completely separate bar a few brief chance encounters. This book has all the basics I like in a book covered. Emotional? Yup. Heart-warming? Check. Funny? Most definitely. This book made me smile, laugh and cry. Truly Outstanding!

What surprised me about this book is just how funny it was. I wasn't expecting many laughs but there were a good number of times where I either smiled to myself insanely or laughed out loud. Lots of these scenes seemed to involve food of some kind. The tomato soup incident sticks in my mind for me. It was absolutely hilarious, but at the same time was honourable and lovable, the essence of who Flo is and what she stands for. The restaurant scene with Flo, Lena and Giles also had me in stitches. Also I have to say I love Jill for referencing one of my favourite scenes from Fawlty Towers, this made me go onto youtube to watch the scene in question, and a load more as well. The list of laugh out loud moments could go on and on!

However, this book isn't just funny, it has a real emotional side on all 3 stories. At one point Hallie's ex-boyfriend was so nice, my heart just melted and I couldn't help but cry a little. We learn in the beginning that Hallie is about to have a lung transplant as she has Cystic Fibrosis, which I've never read about in a book before. This was really interesting to read about, as I am a strong believer in organ donation, since my Dad had a kidney transplant about 35 years ago.
**Fun Fact: Because of this, I was classed as a 'miracle baby' and had a news article on page 2 of the times when I was born - It's a shame my 15 minutes of fame was used up so early in life**
Anyway, as I said I was really interested to see Hallies perspective on this, and I was fascinated to learn about the domino effect that happens when people need lung transplants!

The characterisation in this book was fantastic, the 3 leads were so loveable and you really cared for them. The men in this book are al wonderful, though I was a bit suspicious of Zander to start with - I blame his sister for making me too paranoid, who is for the most part just really annoying and you just want to scream at her!

If this book is anything to go by, I am going to have to read more of Jill's work pretty sharpish! This book is so amazingly fantastic I cannot recommend it enough!

Buy on Amazon now! At time of publishing this review it is only £4.99 for the lovely Hardback, yes you read correct HARDBACK! Go buy nooooow!!!

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

Saving Grace by Jane Green

Synopsis

A perfect stranger wants her perfect life. Grace Chapman has the perfect life, living comfortably with her husband, bestselling author Ted, in a picture-perfect farmhouse on the Hudson River in New York State. 

Then Ted advertises for a new assistant, and Beth walks into their lives. Organized, passionate and eager to learn, Beth quickly makes herself indispensable to Ted and his family. But Grace soon begins to feel side-lined in her home - and her marriage - by this ambitious younger woman. 

Is Grace just paranoid, as her husband tells her, or is there more to Beth than first thought?

Review

I've mentioned before on my blog that Spellbound By Jane Green was one of the first adult books I read and helped get me hooked onto my favourite genre. Jane has become one of my favourite authors and I have loved every book of hers that I've read.

This book is quite alot darker than I've found Jane's previous books which I loved. It starts at a nice easy pace, but as soon as Beth enters Grace and Ted's house it really gets into action and the tension builds. What I found particularly great in this book was that despite me really liking Grace and wanting to trust her point of view as I could see where she was coming from, at times it had me second guessing myself and maybe it was Grace being paranoid. 

I think the way Jane wrote the part of the book where Grace was seeing the doctor was outstanding and I could really empathise with what Grace was going through, especially given her family history. 

The book has some time spent in the UK as well as the US. One part had me especially excited, Grace visits her friend/surrogate mother and they mention going shopping in Sherborne. SHERBORNE. May not sound exciting to you, but I live very close to Sherborne, and this is the first time I've actually seen anywhere in my area mentioned in a book. I know simple things right, but that's what living in a relatively rural area does to me. It makes me nerd out at the mere mention of a small town I know. You think I'm crazy? You don't want to see my reaction to seeing the above sign on the film 'Four Weddings & a Funeral' merely hours after finishing this book :)

Anyway I digress...

When Grace is in Dorset you really feel that for once she's at 'home', it suits her personality to a tea. Helped by Lydia and Patrick.

All the characters were well written, they each filled their role in the plot. I really disliked Ted and his temper, especially when he mentions walking on eggshells around Grace. Pot meet Kettle! Just...Argh! 

This book is another hit for Jane. A gripping plot with the great characterisation that you come to expect from Jane's novels. 

Order on Amazon now!

Published by: Pan Macmillan
Gratefully received from the Publisher for review.