Coming Home For Christmas by Julia Williams

In this lovely book we have three friend that are dreading Chirstmas for three different ways ......

we meet Cat a mother, wife, Tv cook, caretaker and grandmother her life is busy . Her Tv career has taken a step back lately and spending more and more time with Lou Lou her granddaughter who came into this world a two Christmases ago....

Cat is best friends with Pippa and Marianne who all live I a lovely village called Hope Chirstmas .

Pippa and Dan her soon to be ex husband own a farm that over looks the wonderful woods that are in the village right next to them is Marianne and Gabriel farm. Pippa and Dan have three children two boys and a girl Lucy who has Cerebal Pulsey and is wheelchair bound Pippa is also her full time carer. Last year Dan and an accident falling out of a tree with left him a different person so he decided that Pippa would better off without him and moved out of the family home but still shared the workload and running of the farm with her this left her heartbroken but found that she could not do this emotionally and meet Richard but always kept him at arms length , but Richard was planning they future .......

Marianne is married to Gabriel they have two twins under three and Stepthen from Gabriel first marriage , but events take they faith out of they hands has Eve , Gabriel's ex wife is taken ill and Gabriel feels he needs step up and help her out so she moves in with them !!!!!!!! This puts a lot of pressure on they marriage to the degree that Marianne takes temping teaching jobs for the extra money and also to escape Eve but the jobs take her miles away from her family ....

Through out this book all the friends comes together in the time of need to fight off developers taking down the woods and building a Spa resort that will kill off they lively hood and they children's future .
What I also like about they book through out they are diary enteritis from Dan his therapist recommending writing down his feelings and how he was going to deal with things and seeing what a mistake letting Pippa go, but do they get back together, does Cat get her TV career but on track and does Marianne get her left back and does there free friends save the Woods from evil developers while you will just have to read the book you will not be disappointed.

The French Christmas by Fiona Valpy

I would like to say a big thank you to Kim @ Bookouture , for this wonder book and my first book review by this author.

 We meet Evie in this story and chistmas is not her favourite time of year, hearts he struck her and her life has not been the same since I felt that she was putting living life on hold . Depression strike and Evie is given a chance to escape to a place where no one whos she is and finds herself in the middle of France at.Chirstmas time .

After visiting a French local farmers market , Evie finds a glimmer of light through the looking of cooking good food discovering new recipes and old ones from her grandmothers cookbook !!!

She finds opening up about her loser her still born baby to the locum Doctor  Didier ( I pictureed Bradley copper in this part !!!!) when they come too a aid of a horse in trouble labour and help give birth the a health horse ....

We find that Evie is not the only one running away from they past , so will Doctor Didier put faith back into happy ever after or will his past break they future of happiness together and that's all the spoilers I'm afraid you will have to read the book.

What I loved about this book my imagination went wild with the descriptions of the French countryside and the wonderful descriptions of food throught the book , I felt like I hada hoilday with leaving my chair .

It must have been the mistletoe by Judy Astley

This is the first book I have read by this author and I look forward to read her summer read in my to read pile .

In this story we meet a great family celebrating Chirstams away from home and there's some big announcements along the way.

Thea is nursing a broken heart from longing for the baby she lost that was due on chirstmas day too
the ex boyfriend that left her for his pedigree dogs and finding hard to ,let him go completely form
mind and heart.

Emily is the baby of the family but is the worrier but only truly in control when she is counting
number at work, she is married to Sam is the calmer one of the partnership and is a stay at home dad too they two children.
We also meet Jimi the bigger brother but he does have any dramas but always there at the right time to say the wrong thing to stir things up like all brothers !!!!!!
Mike and Anna are the parents who have been living separating for a year both still not sure if it's the right thing as they have been together for so long .......
They decide to book a holiday home in Cornwall for chirstmas  to softnen the blow of they  marriage breaking up and they moving on and hope the children take the news well.
They all arrive that they destination one by one when Thea arrives she bumps into  Sean the owner  after a little chat she comes away feeling that Sean was flirting and not sure if he asked for a drink, so
after a few hours of her family Thea she feels the need to escape  so goes and has a drink with Sean but still can't make her mind up but him so goes with Gay from the minuet !!!!!


What I like about his book I was not just reading Thea story but Emily's , Mike and Ann's too.

So Chirstams eve arrives so does the Snow to add to family drama!!!!!
So when Anna's "friend" decides to take up Anna's offer to come and visit if he has no else to go his does.... but Mikes " friend" cholotte is preforming in a near by town and decides to meet him for sneezing drink but that when in her getting stuck and Mike has to invite to have chirstmas with his soon too be ex wife that he is not sure of he wants her as an ex also the kids .
While this is all going off E,ily is working herself up with the sown storm thinking they are all going to be trapped for days /weeks also she has it in for Cholotte from the moment they meet , but Thea thinks there something going on that Emily doesn't want to share but that comes later in the book.

Within the madness Thea manges to escape on a mission with Sean to get fresh Mistletoe from the

forest which turns out to be a great date even thou she thinks he gay  but came away confused again
!!!!
Does the Mistletoe have sercert powers for chirstmas and the family well you will have to read the book to find out.

The Christmas Party by Carole Matthews

Well another 5 stars for this chirstmas book by a great author , I always find it hard to put her books down this one was no different.

In this book we meet Louise Young a single mother to Mia who is her world , but Louise has a broken heart and pile of debts to her name by her ex partner who did a runner the minuet he found out she was broken so Louise was left picking up the pieces and bring up Mia with the help of her partners that she lives with but she so needs her own place .louise works hard for Fossil Oil which she is very great ful for her job there's just one problem her boss Tyler who every minuet of the working day he try's to grope her or invade her personal space she even wears the most boring clothes for work this still doesn't put him off !!!!!
So when the chirstmas party comes round Louise hides from decides to go with a little black dress and having her done she feels a million dollars but will she be able to handle her boss with this look...

In This book we also meet Tyler and his wife Kirstein the loyal corprate wife always looking her part , but under that perfect look is a very lonely and heart broken lady. Years after years promise from Tyler they would start a family but the year never comes and Kirstein feels she has missed the boat on family and happy ever after as Tyler can never keep it in his pants !!!! We also meet Melissa an older lady but also Loyal wife to Lance who has been with Fossil Oil forever which it shows in his marriage and family life ..

As the evening starts we see Louise dressed to impress but has sworn of men but never finds someone like Josh Wallance they hit off  form the start but then she is pulled into the world of corporate workd with her latching boss and his wife who thinks they are having an affair !!!! That's not the worst of it a very drank Lance makes a christmas speech in spilling the beans that the company is not doing as well and in the new year they will be job losses and Louise believes she will be out as this job keeps her head above water.

what I love about this book is that Carole has got the surrounds down to a tee I have had many chirstmas party that have tales to tell so everyone should rate to this book also she has written three takes woven into one gripping story  which is hard to put down so will Louise let her price charming in to her life ? Will Tyler and Kirstein marriage survive the party and will Melissa have the strength to leave her husband .......

Well you will have to read the fabulous book to find out .

Maybe This Chirstmas by Sarah Morgan

Sarah Morgan Is one of many must read authors and I always count the days down till the next one sad I know but I always love reading christams books and start earlier and earlier each year !!!

 In this christmas read we catch up with the O'Neil family at Snow Crystal resort, I loved last years with Jackson and Kayla story , if you have not read this one then you should go and get a copy.

 It's the turn of Tyler's O'Neils to find love being a single dad of a teenage daughter is hard at the best of times after only having her full time for a year ago everything is still new and they are finding their way,malus Tyker finds it hard to let anyone get close to him. Tyler is on a mission to give Jess the best christmas after last years but the power of love and a little help from Kayla marketing skill the resort is fully booked ,Tyler is thrown together with best friend Brenda under one roof for the chirstmas. Tyler and Brenda both found it hard to live together to many sercert being held form each other but time is a great healer and we see Tyler deal with his past and also Brenda's broundages are pushed and brings them together and things seem to be god g perfect until Brenda tells her deep long held sercert that she loves him and also has Tyler can't cope inturn brings up fears from Brenda's childhood being told "he will never love her". Will Tyler and Brendalive happy ever after or will this tear they relationship part for good so that where the spoilers end you will have to read the book to find out !!!

The Little Shop of Hopes and Dreams by Fiona Harper

This is the second chirstmas book this year I have read and there are many more too come !!!!!!

I came across this author two years ago and I always count down the days to the next chirstmas book arrives and I'm never disappointed, even thou it took me longer to read as my head not in the zone it still deserves 10 out of 10 stars .

In this book we meet Nicole an organiser a true romantic for everyone but herself , but has built up a business  making everyone's hopes and dreams come true and out of this world. Nicola has a broken heart  and with which she has built an ice wall around it , her friends feel different there's a Prince Charming out there for her so on New Years Eve they go out partying Nicola hits the bottle hard with her friends watching there's a man on the other side of the bar that has been watching Nicola all night so they push her to have a New Years Snog , but after the clocks strike midnight and she has mother of all , eath moving kiss........ When she comes round ice queen has kicked in and gives Alex a fake name as she fills that she will never meet again .......
Nearly a Year passes and Nicola is throwing her self into jobs so when she meets a high profile celeb Stafforn  in her office she feels all her hardwork might save her Business . Stafforn wants to proposal to boyfriend , Nicola jumps at the chance to seal the deal? So Nicola like to meets both clients needs so she goes get some information on the boyfriend to design the proposal yo meets both they needs but when she sees the clients boyfriend she gets the shock of her life it's Alex that made the earth move in one single kiss....
Nicola can't revel who she is so to cover herself she tells Alex she is an journalist and  is writing an artical on weddings !!!!!! Alex can't help himself  there's something about this girl that he wants to know more so offers to help her and tells her he has to photograph a weeding at weekend would she like to come along and watch his work and do research into weddings for her artical but this is pulling Nicola into deeper waters. Nicola tells herself she will cancel but then she realises she needs more information to help meet her client needs  must come befor her own  and finding it hard to fight the Alex magic of taking the right photos , calming the bride and groom at the right times.

Through the book we see that the wall Nicola has built its not just for men  but to Procter herself from bullies  from school who made her feel less confident and through the story we see that she realising that they have a problem not her and she is not hiding anymore , which most people who read this  book will relate too sometimes in they life .

Nicola digs herself a big deep hole by keep meeting Alex to keeping up her cover as Stafforn is her client and still has to p,an a christmas proposal for the man she is  falling in love with . Nicola has planned everything down to the detail ed instructions of Stafforn but will it go to plan or will she get the man ............

I'm afraid you will have to read the book to find out the answer so go grab a festive read you want be disappointed. For me I'm counting down the days till next year festive read from Fiona Harper .

Books update

Life has throw me upside down and sideways so my reading is now little and when my mind is in the right place but trying my hardest to got through my TRB but I need some comfort in my life right now so bring on the chirstmas books trying to read as many as possible before New Year now who's with me with me !!!!!!

A Place Called Home by Carol Matthews

Another 10/10 stars from me once I started this book I really hated when I had to put it down, I was hooked from page one . If you ever come across one of  Carol Matthews books please read you will not be disappointed and never want the book to end.

In this book we meet Ayesha who has been trapped in a dangerous and loveless marriage, so one night she drugs her husband with sleeping pils and takes her daughter and escapes into the dark of the night that she has planned for months so she and Sabina and never be found and start to live life free and safe. They have been through so much , so much gnat Sabina will not talk which breaks her heart but hope one day she will find it again. They make there way to London unseen, but she knows once her husband wakes he will hunt her and she Sabina down ......
They make they way to the women refuge but all is not good as they are no places leave but Ayesha refuses to leave as it's not safe the women takes pity and contact s a friend to call in a favour and they are in luck the very last place is this the fresh start she needs to be truest happy.

So they arrive at the safe house more like a mansion and they meet Crystal who is the total opposite to Ayesha and is a little crazy and is also a lap dancer but they come the best of friends from the first word spoke. The house is so big even her room is bigger than the house she left behind but Ayesha still doesn't feel safe , she meets Joy another lodger taken under the wing of Hayden who is a former pop star that locks himself away from people and the world and is nursing a broken heart for too long.

Over the days the house becomes a family unit , Sabina is rolled into a local school and even Hayden is pulled out if his hole more and more to face the world, Even joy coming round to fresh food with spices being cooked for her every day!!!!!

Over the weeks you see Ayesha and Hayden relationship become stronger and she found true love , will her husband find her secret hiding place well I'm afraid you will have to buy the book to find out the ending but you will not be disappointed .

Amelia Grey's Fireside Dream by Abby Clements

This is the second book by Abby as I loved her first book so I was looking forward to this one and I was not disappointed.

In this book we meet Amelia Grey who has always had a dream of living in a cottage in the countryside , but in real life she lives in a tiny flat in Hackney with Husband Jack. She is about to turn thirty and realise she wants to live her dream , so when fate throws them a card of head of the English department they start looking for cottages and find her dream home but as u know fate can be cruel and Amelia doesn't get the head Job and she leaves her job that she put her heart and soul into but could no longer work there, the drops when her dream bubble burst due to the bank with drawing they funds due to low income.....
Jack steps up as he see that it's Amelia dream and he started to like this dream so they start looking again when Amelia is struck down with the flu Jack is left to house hunting and finds they a cottage and they buy without really looking at it......
So when they arrive the whole house needs a makeover and they have a very small budget !!!!
Amelia throws herself into doing up the house and she will find another job in a small school and she will feel settled. As Jack in the only one bring in wages he works more and more to will contacts to keep the wages coming in and the cracks being to show in they marriage will this house bring them back to together or tear them apart .....

Well you will have to read the book to find out .

Here's looking at you by Mhairi Mcfarlane

This is the first book I have read by thins author as it was a Xmas present.

I found this book very easy to read and found myself reading this book in a couple of days if you like chic lit them it is just down your street...

In this book we meet Anna Alessi who is an history expert who is looking for mister right to have some Mills and Boons moments with , we catch up with her when her dates are getting wired and wired by the day , but all in all Anna is happy she has a job she loves doing and her life is ten times better than it was when she was in school which she try's and forgets everyday but something scared her for life will she ever be able to let it go !!!!!!

So when is goes to her school reunion she has been dreading  but she has changed so much since school that no one recognises who she is , especially James Fraser her school crash who hurt her the most, but when she runs out of the reunion she thought that she will never have to see anyone again until she is  paired up with James Fraser on a project for her university !!!!!!!!

But is not the hot shot he was at school but he is in a great job but could be doing a lot better and his wife has left him for a young model ........

Through the book you see they get closer and closer together on every page you are on tender hooks  to is feels the past comes to the surface and James will find out who Anna really is but you will have to read the book to find out if they both find a happy ever after .

A winter flame by Milly Johnson

I know it's summer and this has winter in the title but it was my next book to read in my pile and I adore Milly's books.

This  book is based around chirstmas but is a fabulous read any time of the year......

In this book we meet Evie she have like chirstmas from when her mother crashed the father chirstmas dream ( p.s he is real !!!!!!!!) and even more when her fiancé who went to war was killed on chirstmas day so she blocks everyone and everything chirstmas out of her life . That's until her aunt dies and leaves half a theme park to her and another partner and her wishes for it to be a chirstmas park !!!!!!!!

Evie knows nothing about the other partner but the more she learns the more she feels that her aunt was tricked into handing it over .

Evie has her own business running events so she keeps her self busy and has not time for family or grieving but she has family that still ove her even she has pushed her self into work and forgotten the real world and her cousin Voilet from the white wedding book who owns her own ice cream shop in town who fell in love with a lover man after findin herself trapped in a one side  relationship. ( no more spoiler just in case you have not read that book if not it's a must ).

So when Evie is given this oppuntity to run this park of nightmares she finds herself turning to Voilet for advice and guidance  to dealing with the other partner the very handsome Jacques Glacé  and he is not what he seems in Evie's eyes plus he loves chirstmas and made a promise to Evie Aunt that he when put her plans in motion the more Evie pushing Jacques the more he pushes the Chirstams button.

Being force to work with Jacques and dealing with the theme of the park Evie finds herself fighting within herself of finally letting her dead fiancé go and let someone new in as well has giving chirstmas another go.

I have said to much no more spoilers especially if you have not read the book yet so go and get a copy and read it ...

Another outstanding 10/10 from Milly Johnson you will not be disappointed when reading her books looking forward to the next one ..

The Beach Cafe by Lucy Diamond

This is the first book from this author that I have read, but so many of  my fellow bloggers have had preview copies and loved it so I had to hunt it down and read it for myself !!!!

With a new author it takes me a good couple of chapters in to know if I'm going to like it but with this book I was hooked from page one ..

In this book we meet Evie Flynn she is a dreamer and sometimes a drifter from place to place and job to job not like her over achieving sisters which make her the black sheep of the family and they do not let her forget it  even thou she has been settle for a while with boyfriend Matthew and his son they see every other weekend who Evie  loves it bits  and stays in a temp job from hell and is being pushed from all sides into teacher training.

so when Evie Aunt Louise dies and leaves her the beach cafe everyone is in shock  especially Evie . at first she hasn't decided what to do  it she bows down to pressure more everyone to call an estate agent to get heads up on the beach cafe  is worth but shortly decides not to sell when she finds out that it won't stay the beach cafe and that who ever buys it could just knock it down and build on the land she has so many brat memories of Louise and the beach cafe so she quits her job and heads down to see what's what....

From the minuet she arrives they is trouble brewing as the cafe is in a small beach village the word as got around she is selling up before she has had a chance to work at it . When she finally arrives at the cafe all the memories come flooding back she had to make this work but the staff are pants , stock going missing and the cafe is not even busy as it should and most of all there is no cake aunt Louise  always had cake . Evie soon gets her hand in even thou she is the worst cook in the world and the place starts to look and feel better. Evie lists Annie Louise dearest friend  to all the baking for the cafe as her cakes are to die for which will bring back old customers  with a cuppa and great slice of cake  which is how she remembers her aunt Louise and the beach cafe the most.

Just when Evie gets things back under control with the cafe she heads back to the real world and a new temp job and Matthew, but it's not long before she gets a call that all has gone wrong and she needs to head back down again and she quits her job again and getting this one pass Matthew wasn't going to be easy, but he lets her go Ashe knows where her heart  so she as a another shock in as many months but this make Evie realising that she didn't really love Matthew bout she loved being a step mum to Saul more . So she packs up with her best friend in tow  she heads to beach cafe for a new life !!!

once she down they and she knows what she wants in life  she finds her grove and the beach gets back on the map and is busy 24/7 with the up of the mystery Ed who is also a local newbie and lends a hand in the kitchen till she finds a new chef. Everything is falling into place  Evie is also helping a young homeless girl  that reminds her of herself and finds she doing what Aunt Louise did for her but that's where my spoilers  end  you will have to buy the book and find out the ending ......

I really enjoyed reading this new author and will be adding to my reading wish list for more books .

A Cottage by the Sea by Carol Matthews

OMG the more I read. Carol Mathews  books the more the bigger fan I become become if you love chick lit then this is a author not to be missed. I fell in love with this book after a few pages in and found it very hard to put down!!!!! Thank goodness for the World Cup final.

In this book that you will get hooked from page one we meet Grace who has been friends with Ellen and Flick since University an they friendship has stood the test of time . so when Ellen invites them down to her family cottage by the welsh sea  they jump at the chance of all three of them together for a whole week, but Grace's husband Harry is not frilled at the holiday as he is a sun worshiper and. Like to be waited on hand and foot so he does nothing but relax. Grace hope this holiday brings them back together as they are falling part from each other.

When they arrive from a long and painful journey  Grace can't wait to catch up with Ellen and her band managed boyfriend Art who is also staying for a week . Once Harry gets over the shock that's no phone coverage or no TWITTER to Grace's delight  he founds he gets on with Art as they a common ground the love of drinking and Harry has brought a whole winery in his boot of his Bentley. So on the Que. Ellen takes Grace on a beach tour while they wait for Flick and what an entrance she makes with her new boyfriend in toe , Noah which put's Harry's back up and makes Grace's heart melt  which you find out later in the book.....

Through the book it starts to break down into three relationships of Grace and Harry's marriage  now they spend more time in the cottage the more Grace fears that they are very different people and this holiday will change her life for ever.

Then there is Ellen and Art long distance relationship will they spilt or stay strong as they want different things .

Then there is. Flick who has her fair share of men is this turkey the one for her!!!!!!

This book is additive  and there's so much more I could write about his book (spoilers ) but if you have not read then go and get a copy you will not be disappointed .

And I so hope that they is a follow up book as these characters Can so tell more story's and have you giggling in your seat x

Summer Loving by Allie Spencer

A friend both me this book as she knows I love to read!!!!!! So I must confess this is the first book I have read from this author. I'm so glad I did as it was a ball from start to finish with Abba playing in my head while reading Mama Mia all over again.

The book is set around four friends heading on a girls holiday of sun, Sea and partying !!!!
So when they arrive they holiday takes a different turn of events.

So me meet Beth, Kirstein, Anna and Ginny, they all land on the Greek island of Liminaki hoping to all have fun and forget all they troubles  for a few weeks .

Beth is running away from a business she lost and job that leaves her no time for a life, but maanges to have a boyfriend Jack who she loves but is not the love of her life like Nick was who Ginny took from her many years ago so this holiday is all about getting her head back on straight , but when she is involved in near fatal accident in the sea by the evil hatch man which seems to keep bumping into on the island but doesn't realise she has fallen for him at first sight but keeps any emotions close to her heart.

Kirsten who is the best friends with Beth more than Anna and Ginny and puts act on through out they stay so she doesn't have to deal with being fired and living in the states with the love of her life Nate if they no job she will be sent home !!!!!!!!

Ginny should be happy as she is the only one with a ring on her finger has she keeps reminding the group through out the holiday but is she really happy as she seems and how long can she keep this high maintance party girl act up for ......

Now we come to Anna who is not hiding anything from anyone but has a crush on the waiter Nick, who family own the local tavern they all eat all through out the holiday will she make her move or not ??????

Through out this book they are loveable characters and great story but also tells that you should share your troubles with your friends and not hidden away.

Also will all four girls leave or stay with they love of they lives .

This book had me in giggles , angry and tears  it was pure fun and can't wait to read more from this author .

The Playgroup by Jenny Fraser

Well I have missed being chick lit world after reading some different gene and this book brought me back to what I love best.
This is the first book I have read by this author and so glad I did and will looking out for further books.
So so related to this as being a mother of two girls and my youngest will starting in this year into pre school and I will be the mother with the child that screams don't leave me !!!!! But I also have worked in a school to so I reacted to the main characters Gemma and Joe.
Gemma is the Playgroup leader and this her first year and so ready for this but seems to keep hitting hurdles in the form of Joe Balls the new head of reception they both have different approaches to teaching  but over time they come round to each other ideas and get on the same path. Both characters have pasts in ex husbands and wives so I left that spoiler out as it needs to be read . The book also hits a subject of  mothers with different issues with parenting shows that friendships are the best support and advice ..
If you are a mother or teacher in a school and have not read this book then you should as you will not be able to put it down..

Succession by Living Michael

I was very lucky to sent this lovely book from Penguin to review and I glad they did this is the first book I have read by this author and I was hooked from page one if you like the White Queen and the Game of Thrones then you love this book.
This book is based round the war of the roses and two strong female characters which make this story easy to read and fall into .
The first is Margaret of Aryou a French princess sent across the waters to marry Henry VI I really felt for this character being young and sent away stripped from family, friends and everything she has know into a world of the unknown, I felt the author had wrote this with great feeling and understanding of the time .
  The second character is Margaret Beaufort is the strongest character by the age of thirteen and before her death is married one more time !!!!! Margaret's Beaufort is the mother of Herry VII.
Through out the book both women fight for position and they sons to become king if England.

I loved this book from start to finish and is another book that has open my eyes to a different gene.

The Separation by Dinah Jefferies

This is the second book this year that is out of my comfort zone of chick lit and it moved me just as much as the first book and had me hooked from the first page and was felt very honoured that I was sent the book to review .

This is the first book of Dinah Jefferies  and I was not disappointed  the book is set the 1950's when the world is just get over world war two and the story was you to Malaya, We met Lydia Cartwright is married and has two beautiful girls Emma and fleur who are her world . Lydia has been away looking after her sick friend she is taken away from her family for some time which is very hard for her but on her return she faces a an empty home and a mothers worst nightmare her girls are gone !!!!

Dianh has beautiful wrote this book with much detail and with two views  from a mothers live serching for her girls too Emma's a 11 year old who never gives up on her mum even thou she doesn't know where she is ....
In each chapter there is great detail of they surrounds they emotions I was strongly connect to Lydia as I'm a mother of too beautiful girls  and I felt her pain (tissues may be needed).... But I also Emma world rocked me too the way this story is told you get lost in both the worlds and is very hard too put down.

 The story tells of a mothers search and a daughters love and hope that battles to bring them back together.

Well Lydia is just finding out that her family are gone , Emma and fleur are taken by they Father on a shill to England they are not the only people on the ship and you meet some chapters for they journey but two that they father warm too are Veronica and her brother Oliver that are also returning to England they spend sometime with them and the journey so they become friend one night Emma is not feeling well and misses dinner and returns too they cabin too rest so when Oliver has comes too the cabin she thinks her father has sent him to check on her but he is not he is they for things that no man should want to do to a eleven year girl !!!!!! Emma keeps quite hopping that she never see him again and believes that she will not be believed. When they arrive  back in the England her father told them that they mother was missing and that she would not becoming to them and soon started dating Veronica who was very nice  but Emmma did not understand why her father moved on soon quickly and started to play up but one afternoon she came home late from playing out and she knew that they where having visitors Veronica and Oliver she was only a little late but her father was very mad and sent her too her room with no tea she nears her father take Veronica and Fleur out and she is left with Oliver in the house and she hopes and prays he stays down stair s but he does not and enters her room with only one thing on his mind she tells him no but he just her to lay still and that no one will believe her she finds the strength and gets hold of her writing set and stabs her in the neck and manages to get away from her and runs away but later that night she is found by her father but she still does not tell him and he is at his wits end and send her to boarding school for trouble girls.....

On the other side of the world Lydia is finding to hard to accept that her family are gone and is finding clues to where they may be she visits Alec boss to find out that he has been sent up north to work in a different branch and that he would be in a rest house waiting for a house to be allocated to them so she asks plans to reach them whem she goes to they bank to be informed that Alec had with drawn all they money apart from 30 dollars she realised that she was broke and no way of getting to her family what was her husband up to and finds a friend who leans her some money to make the journey up north so she gets a bus that a very long journey but is the cheapest way but the bus is hijacked by rebabs and she tired to a tree for days with a little boy called Maz but when they getaway the lady asks Lydia to take the boy with her to they family up north as he will be safe....
She manages a strange man but he offers to help her get to her family but does know why this stranger would her her or that the importance he would make late in her life . When she arrives at her desination she comes face to face with so make pain that her heart breaks her family had reached the rest home safely but the house was bombed burn down by rebabs and they were only a few survivors and they where not her family her world was gone in a heart beat....

I will stop there with the spoilers this is story is gripping and outstanding and has to be read through your own eyes , I found this book very hard to put down and would highly recommend that everyone should read this story it will take your breath away.

A Seaside Affair by Fern Britton

I was very lucky to win a copy of this fantastic book by Fern Britton  so it had to queue jump my to read pile which has more of her books in to read.

In this book me so many fabulous characters which bring the book together and you actually feel that you are staying in this lovely seaside village life.But in the first half of the story we meet Jess who is a struggling actress with an successful actor boyfriend who is going places , then we meet Brooke  who is very beautiful and is the new model for a coffee chain and has a famous boyfriend we also meet Ollie who is a theatre actor just finishing his current show and is in a relationship with a rock star Red. And is that's not enough people,  then we meet the heart of the story the people of  Pendruggan  who are out to save the old theatre from the coffee chain , Cafe au Lait.  The head of the the complain is Penny Leighton a hotshot tv producer who is married to the town vicar !!!! An then there is Helen her best friend who is seeing  Piran the local historian who heart is not really in saving the Trevay but does has he is told then we met dear old Colonel Walter Irvine who has been with the Trevay from the day it opened and was the ordinal actor and then moved to stage manager.

 As you read this book your fall in love with the characters  and they all gel together in this little seaside town as the complain gets going we meet up with Brooke who is on a night out with her famous boyfriend and the mangers of the huge coffee chain finds herself in a bad situation  at the end if the night  but in the morning her life turns into a nightmare and she really finds out the her relationship was only for status and that her agent has dropped her as well her new contract and that she might never work again until  she see  watching the news on Travey and saving from the clutches of  Cafe au Lait and they she pulls her self together and joins the complain and holds some important cards in her hands to play against them but she does more than that through they book you see that you never judge a book by its cover that is true in Brooke's case !!!!!

The the first half we meet Jess who is stuck in a runt in her acting career until she goes for a casting for a new comedy and gets the part and the show is a hit but she is still alone at home while handsome boyfriend is acting in his hit Tv show he tells her all the things she wants to hear even when he asks her to marry him..... But Jess finds she is sent an invites to save the Travey by playing in production so Jess packs herself and the her two little dogs and head to Travey and a life change but she doesn't know it!!!!!

When we meet Ollie he is just on the end of finish a play in London and is waiting for new jobs to come in and his income is very low but his rock star girlfriend wants him with her but for some reason he stays in the Uk and moves down to see his more in the seaside town for a few days and before he knows it he is Travey show and fighting the complain .
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In the second half of the book we see the fight take hold the Travey is being restored as the village pulls together and miracles do had from finding old films with stars from the past to save the future new relationships and friends are made but I'm not going to give to many spoilers from the second half of the books and it's a must read to find out the outcome but Fern Britton held my imagination from page one to the very end I hope to meet the characters again in her future books.

Open house by Jill Marsell

This is the first book by Jill Marsell that I have read, so when I read the back I was hooked and had to read !!!!!!!
In this book we meet Neil O'Driscoll who since forever has had a crush on Marcus Kilburton according to her diary, so when Marcus opens the castle to the public Neil has to be his to because his  personal assistance to save her mother house from being sold from under her....

Neil is not like everyone in her family she studied at school when to university  so when she got the job she had to proof she was good at it and stay away from Marcus !!! But Neil has served secrets from her past is about to catch yo with one which is being her special gift of fortune telling from her gypsy roots but is there a part of her past that doesn't want to let go can she see her future with!!!!!

But her best Hetty as stuck by her , so now she needs her best friend as her world is falling apart as her husband has left her from a younger model moved in down the road in the same village!!!!!
Hetty is a wonderful cook and in the end gets her revenge as the new girl friend as put dear old Tony on a diet so when visit they daughter tony is craving her food and soon fells into bed with his ex wife that he left and then comes an affair but Hetty has a good heart and stops it as she feels sorry for the growl friend but also gets her confident back that tony took when he left her and towards the end of the book we find Hetty being talked up by the new local doctor ..........

Through the book we have bits and piece of Neil's life but it soon comes together the there is a dark sercert in Neil's heart that when she went away to university she feel in love with a Ben but they was one little problem Ben lived off his parents which Neil so when they had a mother of all rows over a holiday Neil had enough and left Ben but he decided to go away with another girl instead and that night they were involved in a very bad car crash   and Ben was left with not much life at all Neil stood by he sat by his bed everyday till he came around even thou his parents had given up hope months ago on they son. Ben doesn't not remember  breaking up with her so Neil so treats it like it over time Neil's love turns to guilt and is staying for all the wrong reasons does she let Marcus know her dark secret will she open her heart to her and will Ben let her go , that you will have to find out by reading the book but you will not be disappointed .

I'm looking forward to reading more books from this great author .

Ghostwritten by Isabel Wolff

There are so many books out there that left an impression in our lives the first book was The Colour Purple and now I can add this to my list the book is so beautifully written that I felt I was there at it has made an impact and everyone should read this book but warning you will need tissues....

In this book we meet Jenni and ghost writer who has kept a dark sercert for twenty fives years she doesn't even tell anyone not even her best friends or the love of her life Rick !!!!!

Rick and Jenni and rick are at a crossroads in there relationship Rick wants children but Jenni doesn't so when Jenni is approched at her best friends wedding by she and Rick decide sometime apart will do them good but when Jenni finds out where the job is she starts to panic but decides to face her demons head on.

When she arrives at Polvarth, Cornwall the place she vowed never return too as it was too painful and now everything she pushed to back of her head was coming rushing back over and over again.....
But Jenni was here to do a job and pushes throughout it to meet Klara her client for the next few days.

As Jenni starts to record Klara story she finds that they share the same grief for a lost brother and opens wounds that Jenni doesn't  want to deal with from chapter five Klara starts to talk about her children hood and her family moving to Java on a plantation farm they are all close and family life is grand but as Klara opens up more about her family and the war moving to Java and book travels through the time of the war moving to Java, this book is beautiful written. Into great detail of the time Klara , her mother brother in war camps I really felt the I was there too as the story pulled me in I felt like I was Jenni listening to the detail but as the Klara story comes to and end Jenni opens up about what happen to her brother and Klara and Jenni find a bond that will never break and Jenni starts to heal and I not saying to much as this book needs to be read by your own eyes and I hope it leaves a mark in your reading history as a book that must be read.

White Wedding by Milly Johnson

I'm now a hard core Milly Johnson fan and need to read all her books before anymore new ones come out !!!!!!!!!
As you can tell this book is based around weddings , in this book we are introduce to three brides Bel, Max and Violet who meet by chance and become close friends. the first wedding we visit is Bel's to
Richard. Bel has control on her she not even let her step mum help her even thou she has been there all her life but she still can't let her in due to her dead mother,  Bel as arrange everything to the 'T ' for her big day. Bel is very calm up till the day when she puts on a very pain dress but nit her mothers one that was left to her she has a moment where she feels is she doing the right thing but she has come this far it's just getting through the day. The wedding is a very plain occasion  as did Vicky and Max felt something was not right !q but everything was revel at the reception as to why it was very pain and low key in cost. Bel takes the stand at the speeches and informs her family and friends the new husband had been having an affair which her cousin Shaden for many months and had made a special cake showing exactly what they had been doing .Bel walked out of the reception and runaway too her fathers cottages but before she went she let notes for her friends and dad explaining why she had to go through with the wedding. All Bel wants is to be alone but when she arrives she finds that one of the cottages has been rented out all Bel wants is a place to hide and cry out her broken heart but there is the most ignoring man staying in the cottage will he leave her alone with her broken heart or will he be the one to fix it!!!!
The next wedding we visit it is Max's to Stuart , Max is a high powered business women how runs her own business and is not short of money Stuart is school teacher on a normal wage stuart wants a small do which his wages can cover, But Max secretly wants a big fat gypsy wedding and starts planning behind his back knowing that she will be her way in the long run, closer to the wedding stuart starts to feeling that no longer belong to together as it will not work they are too different people and his head is turned by an old friend from school but dies not do a thing as he loves Max until he finds the wedding folder hidden with a lock on it once he is indies it proves that they are not meant to be together but Max still goes ahead with the wedding hope that he meets her at the church but he doesn't so Max is left heart broken but Max a friend waiting in the background will he be team. Stuart or will he mend her broken heart and become team Max.
The third wedding is Violet and Glyn , Violet is the distance from all the girls when it comes to planning of the wedding  she still doesn't have a dress up in till the month if the wedding but Violet hiding a secret she is marry Glyn for all the wrong reason but feels trapped in her own life but is still going through with it !!!! Violet lives with Glyn in his flat but Glyn lost s job and had a nervous brake down and is now house bound and all he needs is Violet 24/7 and she could breath so she escapes to her mothers and her new business for an ice cream shop but Glyn phones every second she is not with him. She finally finds a dress but it still doesn't feel right on even every dress fitting  the dress feels tight but really it's lose and has to be taken in from losing weight. Violet business is her only escape leading up to the wedding but she is not alone in the shop as she has a painter in to decorate the shop she starts  to have feeling for him and knows that she does not love Glyn and hadn't for many years but stay with him because if she left again he would try and kill himself  but she makes the break this comes at a cost as Glyn leaves the flat and need to the shop where he finds Pav working in the shop and he see red and hurt hi and sets fire to the shop!!!!! Violet world is turned upside down but knows that all she wants is her Prince Charming will Pav be that guy you will have to read all the book to the very end to get all the twist and turns in the girls life's . another 10  out of 10  everyone must read.

A hopeless romantic by Harriet Evans

This is the first book I have read by by this lovely lady and probably the longest book I have read to date but loved every page.
Laura foster is the hopeless romantic who falls in love at a drop of a hat and this is how the story starts will Laura fallen for off on Dan who is in a relationship but they have been off on for so long that it seems he has a relationship with Dan  which is kept a secret even from her best friends paddy, Jo and Hilary but then one bad day turns into a bad week as Jo finds out about the affair and then Laura finds out that dan is never leaving his girlfriend especially now she is pregnant and too top this off her job that she has worked at so hard but in the last months as gone down hill she gets herself  suspended!!!!!!!
Laura world falls apart and she trows all her rom con films books out the window as they is nothing of Prince Charming and happy endings anymore.
In part two we see Laura coming out of her self pity pit and going away with her parents and gran to theory holiday home in Norfolk to turn clear her head. While there to please her parents she visits a stately home charley hall for the day she was not really in the mood but was trying to keep her parents happy when she bumps into nick and cheeky groundsman who after a few minuets asks her out for drinks that night the new Laura tells herself that it is just a friends things but they got it off like a house on fire and before she how's she fallen for nick against all her rules with the new Laura , then Laura finds out as secret that Nick is not a cheeky groundsman but the Marquis of Ranlagh and runs has she knows that they are from different worlds and that it would not work but it has change her and realised that Dan was never going to be Prince Charming  and is strong for it she comes home after her grand party ready to get her job back and move on with her life just with no men in it for awhile , while on a job do she bumps into Nick and he is cold a brass and Laura confirms that they are from different worlds she try's to leave but nick insist on taking her home this does nit go while and Laura insist at getting out half way home and again she is not with her Prince Charming but she moves on with her life in work no one knows her secret apart form gran . So when she gets a text saying they need to talk and that he wants her to attend a n autumn ball from advice of gran that life is too shirt and too see what she might want she goes to find out that his best friend has set the whole thing up and she is thrown in the deep end and she can't cope and it only confirm her fears that they r from different worlds but before nick could tell her any different her worst nightmare had happened her fear gran had dead from a heart attack but she never got to say goodbye but her dear gran  wrote to her when the days where coming near and told her that life is too short to have the worms man in it and to chase those dreams of Prince Charming and there is one out there for everyone so does Laura get her Prince Charming  by following her heart nit her head you will just have to read the book to find out .

Take a Look at Me Now by Miranda Dickinson.

This is the first book by Miranda Dickinson I have read. I added this book to my reading pile due to my fellow bloggers giving it a great review and I was not disappointed.
If I did not have my lovely daughters and housework to deal with I would have read this book in one sitting !!!!!! It's that good.
Thus story is based alround Nell Sullivan, she works for the council in the planning department and has been there for mny years. Nell has always stuck to her five year plan in work and relationships or should I say relationship with Aiden who is on off boyfriend material .
Nell walk into work one morning think that Aiden had a change of heart and that they are meant to be together but hits her with the blow that she is losing her job there and then due to downsizing. Nell stocked then mad then calm as the information sets in Nell starts to think that she wants to do something special with her payout. As they leave the office most of the group head to the pub to drown they sorrows but Nell's as other ideas and walks into a travel agents and out of the blue she decides to visit her cousin Lizzy in San Francisico for 8 weeks !!!!!
As soon as Nell arrives she knows she made the right choice, after spending a week sight seeing with Lizzy the city starts to feel like home. While in this lovely city  meets some great characters in the way from Annie a crazy diner owner that dishes up the die for waffles to Prince Charming Max Rossi.
Being in San Francisco Nell has a clear head and realises that Aiden really isn't the love of her life and also starts to think about her future and realising that she has been putting her dream on hold  her live for cooking, so Nell volunteers at Annie's for the rest of her stay to get work experience  and soon loves working there but that's  not the only thing Nell is falling in love with......
But before she knows she fallen in love with Max and it's time to go on the eve of her return to the Uk Nell discovery the max has a daughter and he is still live his wife!!!!!!
When home Nell has no time for tears as she is making her dreams comes true and along the way Aiden gets her on the way to her dream we'll she thinks it's her dream will she open her diner in  the UK or will Nell find her way back to the heart of San Francisco!!!!!

I live this book from ten first Chapter and it reminds me of all the places I visited on my honeymoon so if you have not read this book then go get a copy and read xxxxx

It happened in Venice by Molly Hopkins

This is the first book I have read by this author. I found this book very enjoyable  and hard to put down !!
This book is based around Evie Dexter who's heart was slightly broken by her two timing Rod the Fiancé , Evie takes him back but promises to never bring up the affair again which Evie finds hard.
After spending a weekend away Rob he moves in and is planning they future telling her , where and when to work Evie feels things are going to fast and that she loves her jobs and does not want to change especially her tour guide job that takes her around the world and meeting new people and seeing new things .
In time Rob runs away with his plans for they future and takes Evie to meet his parents!!!! In one evening she finds out they his parents do not live in Spain he has a wife already and he has a son. Evie world falls apart.
Her friends rally round John her friend / client from the holiday tours takes her away to Dublin and supports her through the bad times!!!!!!!!
After months of crying and self pity Evie is ready to face the world, she looking for tours again and  her hrs at the bar that Nik her best friend owns to help him out.
Evie is sent to a mystery guest review in Venice siting in the hotel bar drinking her gin and tonic that costs the earth!!!! But all the places and all the hotel who walks into hers......
Is Evie ready to look for love or is it right under her nose you will just have to read the book to find out.

A Spring Affair by Milly Johnson

This is my third book by this author . I must say it was a nice surprise to have the book based around  one character instead of four from the last four books I have read, but was not a disappointed .

A spring affair is based around Lou Winter who life consist of a mother that is never satisfied with her choices and actions in life and a unfaithful, ungrateful husband Phil. Lou life wasn't always about running around pleasing people needs once she had her own dreams and plans , Lou thinks it's all forgotten !!!!! Until she comes across an article on clearing clutter, unwanted and unused items from your home. as lout starts to clear  her home she realises she has more clutter than she thought and oders a skip in walks Tom Bloom with his lovely dog Clooney into her life.

The more she clears the houses the more the stronger she gets and opens her eyes to her life. the past comes to head of Phil unfaithfulness to her and Lou feels that the only personal she needs is her best friend Deb who she lost during her Split from Phil. Once Deb is back on the scene her life gets stronger by every hour in the day. once she has finished clearing her house  of clutter and her new business is on the move. Lou takes ajob on clearing someone's else clutter out  that she did not love her husband anymore and her marriage was over from the minuet she took back her husband so the only thing left to clear out of her life was Phil.

From that moment Lou life changed forever but you will have to read the book to find out how.

Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber

On valentines day a book shop owner Anne. Marie and some of her window friends meet and decide to make list for themselves if twenty wishes things they had always dreamed of wanted to do but never did. Anne is recently window and never felt alone but after she stays to write the list her life begins to change forever.....
Anne decides she would like to help out at the local school as a lunch buddy that's where she meets Ellen who is a very bright but lacked social skills , Ellen lived with her grandmother who had custody as her mother is addicted to drugs more than her daughter .Anne and Ellen becomes friends but one night her grandmother calls and asked Anne to look after while she is in hospital as if she went back into care she would lose her again. Anne takes Ellen in to her home it take a while for both of them settle but should become to peas in a pod .
Anne teaches Ellen to knit from teaches she started as stated on her twenty wishes and Ellen teaches Anne that she can love again...
I love reading Debbie Macomber books as I always fall into the stories and never find hard to read her books.

summer Daydreams by Carole matthews

This is the second book By Carole Matthews and I hooked from the first page like calling Mrs Christmas I found it hard to put this book down.

In this book we meet Nell McNamara how is happy in life she is with Olly her patter of ten years and they lovely daughter Petal. Nell's life is Olly and Petal she works happily in the local Chip shop but the shop days are number as sales are down till Nell thinks that it needs a makeover to solve its problems and she jumps at the chance. 

While working in the makeover on the shop she realises that she dreams of a better life for family and decide that her life path should be design school. Her dear old boss gives her the money to go to design school , but working and family life takes its toll after a few weeks she asked to leave the course as she can't met the demands, but support from family and friends Nell designs her one luxury bags!!!!!!!

Her bags her are a hit and fly off the shelves but life for Nell is not plain sailing she has some troubles on the way from her designs being poached to fraud tv sells programme but will Nell finally get her life her family deserves well then you will have to read the book to the end I promise you will not be disappointed and I look forward to my next read from Carole Matthews!!

A Mothers's Gift by Debbie Macomber

This lovely book is based on to single mothers with sons who decide its time to find a father.

The book is split into to story's .

The first story involves Dori and her son who wants a father and writes a list to find a new one . So when fate pushes her into Gavin Parker's way she not sure if he is a prince or a frog , she and Gavin make arrangement as Gavin's daughter wants him to find a wife so she can finally have a mother she dreams off, but just as Dori falls in love Gavin and his daughter , Gavin digs his heels in saying she has broken the arrangement by falling in love with him . At the start of this story you feel that Dori is holding back but by the end it Gavin the one holding back will she get her prince in the end.

The second story involves Carol and midwife with a teenage son who was hurt by an early marriage but fate is on her side and her sons best friends dad Peter comes into her life, Carol has trust issues from the past can Peter meltthat ice heart that has protected her for many years....

I love to read Debbie's has the story are so easy to fall into look forward to many more by this author .

Wish Upon a Star by Trisha Ashley

I saved the best till last for my christmas books, Trisha Ashley is one of my top authors that I count the days down till they next book is out ( sad I know ) and I was not disappointed .
The best thing about Trisha 's books that from the first book I read 12 days of Christmas all the characters she writes connect in her books even if they are from Sticklepond, Middlemoss or Neatslake you always feel like you are pooping to see old friends when reading her books.

Wish upon a star introduces  Cally Weston a single mum who's world is her little girl called Stella, who was born with heart condition , Stella gets sick cally's world starts to fall apart but then she moves in with her Ma in Sticklpond and sells her flat to fund a life saving trip to the states. As well as being a full time single parent Cally is a cake baker/maker and writes her own column for a magazine so she is baking cakes every day.
Sticklepond pond welcomes them with open arms and is soon on the case to rise the money to send Stella to Boston to mend her heart, and if not Cally's life is not busy enough for Cally she meets Jugo in a cake shop !!! they both connect as if they have know each other for ever but does Cally have time to fall in love has her life is full to the rim but before she knows she fallen in love with him will they all get they happy end you will have to read the book to find out but Trisha as not  left any of her christmas magic out of writing this book.