Christmas Ever After By Sarah Morgan

Well my first Christmas book of the year had to be one of my favourite authors and boy I was not disappointed.

In this book the third from the Puffin Island series, but can be read on its own and you will want to enjoy the other two stories from the series.

This Christmas tale we meet with Sky, who for so long has been in a nonstarter relationship with Richard the perfect candidate for her parents. Which is why she thought she was in love with him, but they worlds are so far apart. Sky is not like her parents but is always trying to get their approval with her life as she was a disappointment choosing Art school over being a lawyer…

Art is Sky passion had been since a little girl full of imitation to fuel that passion and dreams. Far from what her parents would have liked, which is why she was dreading going back for Christmas, but for now she needed to think about her jewellery collection that was showing tonight. Sky was proud as punch that Richard took time out to fly over to support her for the weekend to be her for her meant a lot. But seeing him work the room him seemed more than happy to network than support her when she needs it. In a blink of an eye she catches a  slight of Alex and her world comes crashing down that’s all she needs tonight someone that hates her and what she stands for , but her best friends Brittany and Emily would have made him come has they could not. She would tell him that he didn’t need to be here long he show up and she will report that back, but before she could talk to him, Richard steps onto the stage in front of her and starts to make a speak thanking everyone for coming . Then her worst nightmare Richard proposes to her in front of everyone and the press!!!!!

If Richard really know her one bit that she would not want this public viewing to her question and her answer, so they go to a back room to discusses her answer he is waiting for the answer he wants to hearing and blocking out everything Sky is telling him and in that moment Sky realized that she was not in love Richard and never was and she only stayed with him to please her parents. But Richard is not walking away from her that easy and they have a heated row and in a split second Sky is hitting her head very hard on something, the man that states that she is the love of his life just walks over her when she need his help.

Knowing something is not right , Alex the knight in shining armour goes to investigate , as the girls would have his head on a chopping board if he walked away plus he is not sort of man. Sky insists that she does not need to go to hospital, but Alec tells her that is to stay with him so he can keep an eye on her head as she will not get checked out.

Why was he taking care of her? He hated her? Alec only puts up with her for the circles of friend’s that are both in. But he is here giving up his bed, siting Holding her hair while she is being sick!!!!! And even seeing her naked in the shower……

After a day and still feeling unsteady and refusing to go to hospital, Alec calls his doctor friend and was told that she must not been alone for the next couple days and if she gets worse straight to the hospital, so he is taking her to his parents for an earlier Christmas as they will be working on the big day. Sky was finding very hard to dislike this man more and more, he was there when she needed him and was seeing a different side to the badass guy she knew. Sky didn’t know what to expect when she arrived at Alec parents for their Christmas, as they were totally different to her parents as Christmas was just another business network opportunity to them not the joy of spending time with family and friends . On arrival Alec parents got hold of the wrong end of the stick!!!! And celebrating Alec bring a girl home to meet them after coming through a bad marriage but Alec went out of his way to tell them that they were friends, but something had happened he was letting his guard down and seeing Sky live her life and they land up in bed and having the best sex ever they both ever had…

It was decided that it was a onetime thing, but the spark  was still there and Alec insisted that she cancel her hotel for the night and stay with him just one more night as it was just sex right!! But Alec had booked a surprise for her the London eye which was on her wish list that’s means that all the times they have been together he didn’t hate her he listened to her, that night something changed in the both of them. Sky had to face up to her life and head come for a family Christmas with her parents and the fall out over Richard. Alec had a plan B while not spend Christmas with her real family and friends on Puffin Island.

Will she face the music or spend Christmas with her friends and have the best sex ever with a man that she didn’t even really like or does she, where that’s where you need to grab a copy and find out for yourself and enjoy every minute of this delightful tale.

Thank you again Sarah Morgan for a wonderful journey of a Christmas tale and look forward to the new book.

 

 

Pride and Prejuice By Katie Oliver

First I would Like to say a big thank you to Katie Oliver for going out of you way to send me a copy across the waters to me xxx

Omg if you love Bridget Jones and Becky Bloomwood, then you will love Natalie Dashwood!!!

From the first page this story has me hooked and was very addictive, you won’t want to put it down.

Natalie Dashwood is a shopaholic a woman after my own heart, but Natalie own a department stored grow up and into the family business. So her childhood was playing dress up with designer clothes..

We meet her when she is having a nightmare of the day or even week, she is helping out at the store for Christmas as its the busiest time of year for the store, But Natalie customer skills are a bit lacks. So when a young gentlemen comes to her counting wanting to buy a gift, she decides to take a call to your boyfriend while serving him, this puts the customer back up and becomes picky and into then puts up her back as she just wants to talk to her boyfriend. That was not the end of her nightmare day she was to attend an event while her so called boyfriend tells the all and the press that he is remarry his ex-wife, this presses her over the edge she can’t make a scene so she drinks, then decides that her ex needs a wash in her wine !!!  Then a hunk of a guy steps in the way and takes the full force of the wine, she is drunk and upset not a good combination for any man, but the stranger offer to take her home and sleep off the wine...But Natalie is not in the mood for sleeping and offers herself to the stranger, He was a gent and turned her down and makes sure she get home safely. So one bad day turns into a start of a bad week for Natalie walking into a board meeting with one thumping headache for the wine the night with minuets from being late, but her grandfather called the meeting and she adores him even thou she will be bored to death she there for her grandfather. With seconds of turning up she realizes that the man talking at the end of the table is the man she throws herself at last night!!!!

Rhys Gordon was brought into save the family business, and then a second wave hits her.... Rhys was her young picky customer that out her back up from then on she just wanted to hide, but it was time for Natalie to grow up and be an adult. Her grandfather tells her that she will have to get along with Rhys as he is here to try and save the company and that she will have to tighten her belt on spending!!!

They are thrown together to save the company, Rhys brought the best and the worst out in Natalie and before she had to start in her new job role she had spending day planned with her sister on the company money and when Rhys finds out he cuts credit to every card she owns and it was time for her to go cold turkey on the spending and live on a budget........

Natalie is in the zone her business head comes out to play and starts to warm to Rhys, she may have lost her way but is now trying to live on budget, so when her breaks down she borrows cash from the petty cash to pay the recovery man and is spotted taking the money by one of her late fathers good friends but hopes her secret is save and she will pay the money back as soon as possible. Ian who she thought was a good family friend uses this against her to meet him for drinks after work and then used it to blackmail her over her late father’s death and the mistakes that he made that lead him to take his own life...

Will Natalie go along with the situation or save  her new life and tell Rhys who she is falling in love with that she is being blackmailed and it could bring down all they hard work and destroy what they have built up in the business and in them.

I highly recommend that you get a copy and read this wonderful tale you won’t be disappointed.

I can now say that I am Katie Oliver fan and look forward to reading more...

All I Want by Jill Shalvis

Another five star read from the delightful author and must be added to everyone's read lists.

In this story we meet Zoe who hasn't had a date in a while, So her sister and friend decide to set her up on a blind date to get some action. Darcy tells her to throw caution to the wind and live her life.. When she arrives thinking the man before her is her date she goes in for a kiss, turns out to be her brothers friend that she offered a spare one too for a while. Zoe finds it highly embarrassing, but Parker seems delighted by her move. as her date was a no show she takes Parker home to show him where to lay his head and house rules . From the moment they arrive Oreo Zoe's rescue dog seems taken by Parker which annoyance to Zoe has Oreo hates men !!!!!!!!
Parker is on medical leave that's what he told his boss but has other reasons to be in town, Parker has obtained information that a man he has been chasing for along time is hiding out here.
Zoe is finding is it had have Parker around, she hasn't had to live with a man for sometime which has turned to stubbornness and takes it to heart when he offers help fixing up the house. Zoe has been the grown up to young siblings most of her life  as her parents suck so she is finding it hard to let anymore get close to her. Zoe has never meet a man that could get under her skin so much , so quick. She likes Parker but decides that he is not sticking around and decides to go on another Blind date that is a no show !!!!!
Zoe cant fight it any more and lets Parker in, but he made her no promises, stating no wishing, no worrying and no wasting time. Spending time with Zoe was changing Parker more than he wanted, he even took two kitten in that needed a home even thou he was not sticking around which he tried to tell himself, but was Zoe breaking that workaholic wall that he built around himself making him want more in this life.

That's where I leave you to grab your own copy and find out for yourself, I promise you wont be disappointed.

A Parcel For Anna Browne by Miranda Dickson

I have a list of my all-time favourite authors and this wonderful lady is on that list, when I knew her new book had been finished and of too the printers. I sat on my hands like a small child waiting for Christmas day!!!!!! And boy it was worth the wait another fabulous story that I got lost in…..

We meet Anna Browne, a Cornish girl that moved to the big city of London. She has been unstable most of her life, so living in London she just blends in with the London folk and that suited Anna just fine.

Anna works for the Daily Messenger, a national newspaper on the reception desk and again she just blends in. Till one day she receives a parcel at her desk she never receives gifts and a smile comes across her face.  Anna decides to save the parcel till she gets home to the annoyance of her work colleagues. When home she setups for the night so everything she needed to do was done; now she can take great care when opening her parcel and take time with it. Anna discovers she has been sent a beautiful scarf something she would not normally wear and surprise the way the scarf makes her feel. The next day Anna wears her new gift arrives to work earlier something new and arranges for her desk as today is swop job week and she felt different and liked the feeling of trying something new and people were starting to notice her more and felt like she didn’t need to hide in the corner anymore where she wouldn’t be seen. Then she received another parcel a few days later from her mystery sender and this time she was sent a beautiful owl broach which gave her an extra boast of confidence and people were seeing the change in her, also she was getting extra attention from Ben McArea while on job swop shadowing while he working as a reporter for the newspaper, so Ben took her to Anna first interview and was shocked when the client would only talk to her. This put Anna out of her comfort zone but the gifts has given the confidence to pull through the interview without a hitch and now she was sitting having coffee with Ben outside work!!!!!

Another gift arrives in an old record and for a place for it to be plated and heard, Anna really wants to know is sending theses lovely gifts so she can thanks them for want they have done. Few days later another gist arrives in a beautiful pair of shoes, she wears on her date with Ben to a Jazz club which she enjoys his company, the conversation and the dancing and felt at ease talking about her gifts that she has received and how they have made her feel , Anna starts to believe that more be more dates Ben until he publishes an article on her and the gifts and thus sends her world upside down and draws out her mother that she has not spoken too or seen in five years…..

So will Anna relationship her mother grow stronger after all this time, will she trust Ben every again and the most important who sent the gifts, so go get a copy of this fabulous story and find out you will not be disappointed.

Another wonderful story from the lovely Miranda, I will count down the days to your next book.

A Proper Family Adventure by Chrissie Manby

I am a chick lit girl at heart so it was great to dive into a fabulous story full of delight characters.

In this wonderful tale we meet the Benson family, we catch up at grandads Bill’s Birthday party with all his family around him celebrating his great day, all his grandkids had clubbed together to buy him lottery ticket which turns out he wins £50,000  which he splits between them..

They arrive the following Sunday and have a family roast to discuss the spending at Annabel, Jackie oldest who she gave up for adoption when Jackie and Dave where teenagers too young to have a child but they found their way back to bringing a family of sorts. After dinner, Grandad Bill decided with the money that was left that they should book a cruise for all the family to go on, but as soon as this was decided family members start dropping like flies. The first to drop is Annabel and her husband their daughter Sophie has not long had a liver transplant and wanted to stay closer to her if anything happens , as Sophie taken internship at a local law firm to gain work experience. The next to drop out was Izzy, great granddaughter who also booked an internship at a country magazine which is her dream job plus she gets too stay with Sophie which is an added bonus. Just before the rest of the family are set to sail, Grandad Bill fells ill and is also unable to attend the cruise, Jackie feels that her and Dave will have to give up the cruise to look after him as they are his full time carers. Annabel steps up and takes Grandad Bill in.

So the rest pf the family Jackie, Dave, Chelsea with her boyfriend Adam and his daughter, Lily, Ronnie, Mark and Jack head for the cruise…….

Also taking the same cruise are Kirsty and Jane best friends, Kirsty feels that Jane needs a break and different view and come out of her shell that she hiding in since the loss of her husband to be and needs to feel life again.

Once on the cruise we dive more into Chelsea and Adams relationship, they have been together for a year now and just before the Cruise he said her to move in with him and Lily. But Adam is living with his dead wife even thou he loves Chelsea, he still not ready to really let her go. Jackie has got into her head that Adam is going to put a ring on her finger so a chance meeting with a stranger lose or save his relationship with Chelsea.

What I loved about the book that it switches back and forth between the characters on sea and land but be papered with a box of tissues, but this book is every additive for the word so go grab yourself a copy and find out will she or wont she……

 

Taming Lily by Monica Murphy

Another new author to be added to my must list to read …..

In this delight take we meet Lily Flower one of the three sisters but we meet Lily travelling far away from her family and friends to hide from the world. What she does not know yet that Max is hot on her trails his has been hired to retrieve an item that states to belong to his client that Miss Flower has taken and they would like the item returned as soon as possible.

We see Lily run to Hawaii  and she hopes and prays that no one’s recognises her, as she is a bit of a party girl and is known more for her wild side of life from what is printed in the press gossip  are columns. Lily has come from a strict up bringing losing her mother at a young age and only having a over bringing father for a parent lily has also pushed boundaries where are sisters are settled  and are now running some of the family business but she has never really been a 9-5 kind of girl.

Even thou she had a plan set in place she felt that she had someone watching her from afar so she always looking over her shoulder.

Max had Lily in his sights at all times but at a distance not to be seen but from the moment he started this job with a magnetic pull for her. So when he sees her drowning in the sea his attraction for kicks in for her and jumps in to save her, but soon releases that he is stepping  over the mark he mustn’t get involved  in and out for the laptop he keeps reminding himself. She looked at him and saw his face felt the spark…….

A few days later, lily has cabin fever she has been locked up in her cabin for days heads out to the hotel nightclub hoping that no one recognises her looking for the man that saved her life but lands up having a drink with a complete stranger but it gets sticky when the he wants more than just a drink but that’s not why she was here well not with him, but her knight in shining armour comes to her rescue. The chemistry is so intense they can’t resist each other. They spend every minuet they have together. Lily is fighting a holiday romance or letting Max into the heart of the real Lilly Flower not the one the all the world see????? . Max is fighting falling in love or completing the job!!!!!

So will they time together be spoiled when Max takes the laptop in the middle of the night or bring they stronger together.

That where I leave you to get your hands on a copy and go and read and find out…

 

Trapped by Scandal Jane Feather

This is another new author for me Jane Feather is a delightful read...

In this story we meet Lady Hero Fanshaw who doesn’t live by the society rules, she is a very strong willed lady which does not all ways does as she is told. She lives with her twin brother in the heart of London, so When Alec goes missing to trip to find his fiancé. Hero thinks about nothing but getting them back on England soil and heads to Paris into the lion’s den to find them. Paris was at its height of the revolution so if she was to found of noble blood then her head would be off so Hero finds herself travelling as a young man, who manages to land up in jail within a short time of arriving in Paris. But before long she is not the only one in her cell and from the shadows a man appears and realizes that’s he is not sharing with a young man but a young lady and one pf noble blood too, He  introduces himself as William Ducasse, Viscount  st.Aubrey and comes up with a plan for them  to escape . Once safe away from the jail Hero explains her story and mission to return to England with her family. William explains that he might be able to find Alex but could not make any promises, but from the moment they eyes meet the chemistry started to boil…. When they arrive at the safe house that William has been using, Hero washes and feels a little human, while she eats they quiz her of how she travelled across the waters with she even had to draw what she saw and that was very little, from the information she had given they realized she travelled over with the “Lizard” Williams emery!!!!!

AS the night goes on more and more men arrive at the safe house for food and pass and receive information to fight the revolution and help the rich and noble escape France and the gelatine, then Alex walks in and Hero is so glad to see him… Alex is not so frilled that she travelled alone through France to find him... All is well when they retire to bed which she finds that she is sharing with William, but they lust boils over and they land up in each other’s arms!!!!!!!

The next morning plans were made the days gathering information for their next move. Hero was to return to women’s clothes but a more common style she was suited too, so she would not draw attention to the safe house. So back to the dress she goes but still wants to help to do her bit for the escape plan. William finds pout that Marie Claire is in prison waiting to be executed the next afternoon, but it was too late for her mother and father, the plan is set in place and everyone has a part to play. Hero play her part well integrating in the crowd to get Marie Claire attention that they were going to help her escape and make her way to end of the cart and they would do the rest. Once Marie Claire was safely from the cart, Hero left the crowds she felt that she was being followed and spent as very long time clucking and driving making sure that she does not lead anyone back to the safe house. When she arrives back after making sure she was not followed her, faces a very angry William which turns into pure passion, when they come up for air they return downstairs for Hero to be reunited with Marie Claire who she had dearly missed, that night the men planned the escape and Hero helped Marie Claire bath and sleep the she headed to bed herself making sure that Marie Claire made it through the night and dreaming that she could love again after losing her love six years ago.

Early hours of the morning they made their way out of the big city out of eye view and made it to the seas without much trouble, could Hero love someone that in a blink of an eye kill but times are kill or be killed… They made their way across the seas to safe waters; Hero and William spend three glorious days together never spending anytime apart,  and in a spilt second he gets up and gets dress and the atmosphere change the love affair was over William states that he did not make any promises and it was never a permeant arrangement  and leaves Hero with a broken heart.

12 months later their paths cross and the chemistry was still there and Hero is confused more than ever but the most of all she needed him to explain for his departure. William pulls her near and pushes her away again is this last or will they have their happy ever after. That’s where you will have to get a copy and find out for yourself...