Tuesday 28 April 2015

A Review of No One Like You by Kate Angell - Five **

A Review of No One Like You by Kate Angell - Five **

Blurb:

No One Expects a Curveball

For Rylan Cates, the gloriously sunny beachside town of Barefoot William may be home, but the pro baseball player needs to focus on spring training. Hiring a personal assistant to keep him and his four dogs organized for the next eight weeks is the first step--and Beth Avery is the perfect pinch hitter. 

Beth is still looking for her place in the world, and a couple months caring for Rylan's two dachshunds, his golden retriever, and a Great Dane named Atlas should shore up her finances before she moves on. Except it's Atlas who won't budge, pushing her toward tanned, scruffy, sexy Rylan every chance he gets. One more strike and she's calling the dog out--unless she and Rylan admit that the attraction they're feeling is a game-winning grand slam. . .





Review:

This was a lovely story. Being English, the baseball side didn't mean much but that really didn't matter.

The growing attraction between Beth and Ry was very well written and told from both sides. The characters around the central pair were fantastic, particularly the other players in the team and I was delighted to find that this is the start of a series.

The dogs were amazing. I work with dogs so any book which has a larger-than-life dog with a larger-than-life character is always going to be hit with me!

It was a quick read - nothing too taxing and I enjoyed the setting too. Yes, they all seemed to lead somewhat charmed lives - but isn't that part of the reason for reading? To escape from our own realities?

I really look forward to reading the next book in the series and shall look out for more Kate Angell books.

Amazon UK: No One Like You
Amazon US: No One Like You



Friday 24 April 2015

Sue Moorcroft's first two Middledip series books are just 99p on Amazon UK: Starting Over and All That Mullarkey

Grab them while you can!!

Thursday 23 April 2015

A Review of Girls on Tour by Nicola Doherty - Five **

A Review of Girls on Tour by Nicola Doherty - Five **

Blurb: 

Four girls. One year.

Five fabulous destinations.

Poppy is bound for Paris, the City of Love. Could this be her chance to end her epic dry spell?

Lily is en route to her cousin's wedding in LA, where she's willing to break a few rules to land her dream role.

Maggie can't wait for her romantic ski holiday in Meribel - until it goes seriously off-piste.

Rachel packs for a glamorous Roman holiday, but a blast from the past is about to sabotage la dolce vita.

The girls get together and fly to Manhattan. But someone's been hiding a big secret in the Big Apple...

Hilarious, romantic and unputdownable, Girls on Tour is an irresistible series of interlinked stories about four ordinary girls who have extraordinary fun in faraway places. Follow them in an unforgettable year that includes breaking up, making up, new jobs and some big surprises ...


Perfect for fans of Lindsey Kelk's I Heart ... novels. Previously published as five e-novellas, now in one volume with fabulous brand new material.



Review:

What fun this book is! It is a travelogue, a collection of love stories, empowerment - all rolled into one! The central cast - Lily, Poppy, Maggie and Rachel are all very different women wanting very different things in life. 

As they travel the world and have new experiences, their views change - they gain friends and men and lose friends and men. The descriptions of their habits and characteristics make for some very funny reading! There are exes, current boyfriends and future boyfriends in the story - all crossing over in time and space! 

I loved Poppy and Charlie's story and enjoyed the ending for that reason. (No spoilers!) I'd read Maggie's skiing trip previously but it was still good second time around.

Amazon UK: Girls on Tour
Amazon US: Girls on Tour

A positive article about chick lit :)

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/22/is-romantic-fiction-a-dangerous-passion

Monday 20 April 2015

Special news!  

Feeling very happy that I've been auto-approved to review pre-publication books from Choc Lit on NetGalley!!

Review of Game of Scones by Samantha Tonge - Five**

Review of Game of Scones by Samantha Tonge - Five**

(Samantha has the honour of being the first UK author for whom I have reviewed 2 books!)

Blurb: 

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 Niklaus 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 Niklaus 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…

Don't miss this sizzling new summer read from bestselling author Samantha Tonge, perfect for fans of Mistletoe MansionAlways the Bridesmaid and Summer at Shell Cottage



Review: 

Oh wow! How I loved this book! Read it in two sittings and was so sad when it ended. It has everything - 2 leading men, a lovely heroine, beautiful setting, fabulous Greek families and a baddie! 
Halfway through the book, I could not see how the problems could possibly resolve themselves but Samantha put a couple of twists in the plot and hey presto! The tension builds slowly through the book and the end is such a relief! 

I would love to read a second book set in Taxos - with some recipes this time! Those scones sounded wonderful!

I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Amazon UK: Game of Scones
Amazon US: Game of Scones

Sunday 19 April 2015

Thanks to everyone who entered the competition on here and on Facebook. 

Absolutely right - Dog is a Border Collie!

Drum roll and Trumpet Fanfare....................... And the winner is.................

Kaewink!!!

Please email me your details and I will get the book in the post to you.

Saturday 18 April 2015

Last chance for entries into the Trisha Ashley Competition!

Win yourself a copy of her book Creature Comforts!!

Just tell me what dog does Trisha have?

Comment below or on my Facebook page: Annie's Book Corner

I will do the draw tomorrow evening :)

A review of The Edge of Dark by Pamela Hartshorne

A review of The Edge of Dark by Pamela Hartshorne - Five **

Blurb: 

Jane believes in keeping her promises, but a deathbed vow sets her on a twisting path of deceit and joy that takes her from the dark secrets of Holmwood House in York to the sign of the golden lily in London's Mincing Lane. Getting what you want, Jane discovers, comes at a price. For the child that she longed for, the child she promised to love and to keep safe, turns out to be a darker spirit than she could ever have imagined.

Over four centuries later, Roz Acclam remembers nothing of the fire that killed her family - or of the brother who set it. Trying on a beautiful Elizabethan necklace found in the newly restored Holmwood House triggers disturbing memories of the past at last - but the past Roz remembers is not her own . . .

A dark and twisted tale from Pamela Harshorne, author of The Memory of Midnight and Time's Echo, and a perfect read for fans of Barbara Erskine and Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.



Review:

Pamela has written another winner. Her books are time slip stories set in York in the present day and in Elizabethan times. The Edge of Dark is a real mystery thriller, both in the present and the past. Roz is the lead in the present and Jane in Elizabethan England. 

Their stories run parallel to each other and are full of tension and fear. I held my breath at times! 

Pamela offers a fascinating insight into the life and times in the 16th century - the first time we meet Jane is one of the most upsetting scenes I've ever read and I have no doubt that it is accurate!

The book is also about families and rejection and the consequences. If you have a fear of fire then this might not be the book for you!

Amazon UK: The Edge of Dark
Amazon US: The Edge of Dark

Sunday 12 April 2015

A Review of The Faerie Tree by Jane Cable - Three **

A Review of The Faerie Tree by Jane Cable - Three **

Blurb:

How can a memory so vivid be wrong? 

I tried to remember the first time I’d been here and to see the tree through Izzie’s eyes. The oak stood on a rise just above the path; not too tall or wide but graceful and straight, its trunk covered in what I can only describe as offerings – pieces of ribbon, daisy chains, a shell necklace, a tiny doll or two and even an old cuckoo clock. 
"Why do people do this?" Izzie asked. 
I winked at her. "To say thank you to the fairies." 

In the summer of 1986 Robin and Izzie hold hands under The Faerie Tree and wish for a future together. Within hours tragedy rips their dreams apart. 

In the winter of 2006, each carrying their own burden of grief, they stumble back into each other’s lives and try to create a second chance. But why are their memories of 1986 so different? And which one of them is right? 

With strong themes of paganism, love and grief, The Faerie Tree is a novel as gripping and unputdownable as Jane Cable’s first book, The Cheesemaker’s House, which won the Suspense & Crime category of The Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist competition. It is a story that will resonate with fans of romance, suspense, and folklore.




Review: 

This is the story of Izzie and Robin. How they met, split and re-met years later. It is a very emotional book and describes depression very well - particularly from the point of how people have come to have more tolerance and understanding of it as an illness.

Izzie has been recently widowed and when shopping with her daughter Claire,she bumps into a tramp and recognises him as her former lover, Robin. They meet again and restart their relationship. The interesting part is that they have completely different memories of their relationship at the beginning and this is not explained until fairly near the end.

I was, however, disappointed in the lack of magic/paganism in the novel, despite the promise of the blurb. It also seemed very long-winded in places and overly long as a whole.

Claire is a wonderful character - older than her years and a loyal supporter of both Izzie and Robin. Robin is also beautifully written and I felt so sorry for him as the depression overtook him time and time again.

But Izzie, who should have induced sympathy as well, just irritated me in the end. Her lack of understanding of other peoples' points of view didn't fit with the rest of her character. Her mental crisis is well written but the alcohol dependency was skimmed over.

Overall I was disappointed.

Amazon UK: The Faerie Tree
Amazon US: The Faerie Tree

Saturday 11 April 2015

An interview with Trisha Ashley and a competition!

Imagine The Trumpet Voluntary followed by a drum roll.......here is the eagerly anticipated interview with the wonderful Trisha Ashley!





Trisha was one of the first romance novelists that I read when I was thinking of changing genre and she is one of those directly responsible for that change! I had the great pleasure of meeting her last year in London - and she is truly a lovely, gentle lady :)


I reviewed her most recent book, Creature Comforts last month - here is the link to that review: Creature Comforts. Have a look at her website and you can learn more about her and all her books: Trisha's Website


Trisha has very generously given me a copy of her book to be given as a prize! 


The question is: What breed of dog is Dog? 


The answer is on her website - please comment below or on Facebook from Annie's Book Corner page - Annie's Book Corner. A winner will be picked at random :)


Anyway - here is the interview - hope you enjoy reading all about Trisha.



Annie Cooper Blog

1)  When did you start writing and what triggered it?
I knew that I wanted to be a writer and painter from being a little girl and thought that all I needed to do to be a writer was read a lot and get on with life (which turned out to be quite true), so I went to Art College.  I still paint, which gives me immense pleasure, but the writing has become the dominant strand. 
      I think being an early reader helped me become a writer – I quickly wanted to create characters and stories of my own.  Some of my poetry appeared in my local newspaper when I was ten or eleven and I won a prize for a short play a couple of years later.  I was also much encouraged by my brilliant English teacher at secondary school, Miss White.

  2) How important is Muse and would you ever tell him he was important?! 
   Here is the explanation about who (or maybe what) Muse is, that I send out with my newsletters:
The plot so far: Except when she is occasionally let out to enjoy a couple of days of frenetic partying in London, or to give a talk, Trisha lives in beautiful North Wales, together with the neurotic Border Collie foisted onto her by her son and an equally neurotic but also vain, bad-tempered and chancy Muse.  Muse, whose first name is Lucifer, slipped into her head and took up residence while she was reading Paradise Lost at school and refuses to leave.  He is male, steely-blue, wears a lot of leather, is winged, has talons (so that’s where her blue nail varnish went, then) and is devilishly handsome, if you like that kind of thing.  He only eats words, but gets through a lot of Leather Food and Trisha is starting to suspect that he does more with it than just rub it into his wings…  Lately, Muse has been writing a hiss-and-tell account of his life with Trisha, called The Muse Report, though due to the fact that he eats his words almost as fast as he writes them, it could be quite some time before this appears in print.
      People are always asking me if I really believe Muse is real, but of course I don’t!   (Trisha ducks her head as something large, blue, leathery and winged swoops overhead, ruffling her hair.   She tosses him a few crumpled pages of her manuscript to eat and after a few moments, he stops snarling and looks pensively at the work in progress…)

3)  Are Sticklepond and Halfhidden based on anywhere real?  How do you ‘design’ the villages?
I invent all the villages in my books, but I do mention nearby real places, like Ormskirk or Southport, etc. (But not all my books are set in Lancashire.)  I have them very clearly set out in my head while writing the novels, so they are real to me and, I hope, my readers. 

4)  An old chestnut – where do you get your ideas from?
I don’t see any point in writing a novel unless there’s something I’m burning to say, new ideas to explore.  And my characters experience all the ups and downs of life – for example you will find themes in my novels relating to divorce after a long marriage, infidelity, the death of a loved one, miscarriage, breast cancer, abusive relationships – a life is a journey through light and shade and a novel would be a mindless bit of froth if it only skimmed happily over the darker elements.  However, the resolution of my books will always be positive and, I hope, uplifting.  I want my readers to feel happy when they’ve had a little holiday in Trishaworld with me, not harrowed.
       As to inspiration – well, I am inspired by the power of friendship, which is often a strong theme in my novels and frequently also by the loving relationships within a family - perhaps dysfunctional, or not in the traditional mould, but loving relationships for all that.  I also love all animals and my latest book, Creature Comforts, is certainly full of dogs, since the heroine’s Aunt Debo runs a dog rescue centre.
      Other than these strands, I don’t know where my ideas come from- once I begin a new novel they just seem to weave themselves into the story and around the characters.  And the characters themselves also slowly weave themselves around my heart as I write each new book, so that I really care about what becomes of them.

5)  I know you’ve just finished one book, but what’s next for your fans?  Any clues?
      There will be a brand new novel out on October the 22nd this year, called A Christmas Cracker.  It’s set in the tiny hamlet of Godsend near Little Mumming, so readers who enjoyed reading the Twelve Days of Christmas will get a glimpse of some of those characters, too – one in particular.

6)  Would you like to see any of your books made into a film and if so, which one and who would you like cast in the main roles?
     Of course I’d love to see all of them made into a film!    But the one I’d like to be made first is Every Woman for Herself, because it has a wealth of character parts and the whole Bronte element is such fun.  I’ve always imagined Rufus Sewell playing the main male character, Mace, but now I’m thinking that Aidan from the new Poldark series would be rather nice, too!

7)   And on a more personal note, how’s Dog and his neuroses?

Dog’s first couple of years must have been hideous (he came from a dog rescue centre) so he’s always going to suffer from the effects. He loves routine and hates anything to be different, even down to his bowls being shiny after I’ve cleaned them. He’s extremely difficult to live with, but I love him anyway.  And he does have a name, by the way, it’s just that he’s such a private person, he prefers me to use his title on the internet instead.

Thank you so much, Trisha, for this insight into your world.

And don't forget - What breed of dog is Dog?





Wednesday 8 April 2015

A review of The Wedding Proposal by Sue Moorcroft - Five **

A review of The Wedding Proposal by Sue Moorcroft - Five **

Blurb: 

Can a runaway bride stop running? 
Elle Jamieson is an unusually private person, in relationships as well as at work – and for good reason. But when she’s made redundant, with no ties to hold her, Elle heads off to a new life in sunny Malta. 
Lucas Rose hates secrets – he prides himself on his ability to lay his cards on the table and he expects nothing less from others. He’s furious when his summer working as a divemaster is interrupted by the arrival of Elle, his ex, all thanks to his Uncle Simon’s misguided attempts at matchmaking. 
Forced to live in close proximity, it’s hard to ignore what they had shared before Lucas’s wedding proposal ended everything they had. But then an unexpected phone call from England allows Lucas a rare glimpse of the true Elle. Can he deal with Elle’s hidden past when it finally comes to light?




Review: 

Read this last year and absolutely loved it. Really complex characters and a fab storyline in a great setting! I couldn't put it down - and when I really had to, all I could think about was Elle! It grabbed me from the first page and it was a book that I read really slowly so I didn't reach the end too quickly! I've now read ALL Sue's books......roll on the next one! If you haven't read any of her books - then go get one quick!!


Friday 3 April 2015

Exciting News!!

Exciting News!!

I shall be interviewing the wonderful Trisha Ashley on here very soon - watch this space! You can read my review of her book Creature Comforts on here.

A review of The Wild One by Janet Gover - Five **

A review of The Wild One by Janet Gover - Five **

Blurb: 

Can four wounded souls find love? 
Iraq war veteran Dan Mitchell once disobeyed an order – and it nearly destroyed him. Now a national park ranger in the Australian outback, he’s faced with another order he is unwilling to obey ... 

Photographer Rachel Quinn seeks out beauty in unlikely places. Her work comforted Dan in his darkest days. But Quinn knows darkness too – and Dan soon realises she needs his help as much as he needs hers. 

Carrie Bryant was a talented jockey until a racing accident broke her nerve. Now Dan and Quinn need her expertise, but can she face her fear? And could horse breeder, Justin Fraser, a man fighting to save his own heritage, be the man to help put that fear to rest? 

The wounds you can’t see are the hardest to heal...




Review: 

I really want to visit Coorah Creek! The people there are wonderful and the characters in this book are prime examples. I love the way Janet always features two love stories which move at different speeds. Dan and Quinn have unresolved histories which threaten their happiness and Carrie has a real fear of the beautiful horses that she once loved so dearly. How these are resolved is the basis of the book and some of the history is explained early on, other tales are left until almost the end.

But the real stars of this novel are the brumbies. "What's a brumbie?" I hear you ask. No spoilers here - you'll have to read the book to find out ;)
I always finish one of Janet's novels wondering if I can afford a plane ticket to Australia - regrettably not yet. Maybe after the next one?

Amazon UK: The Wild One
Amazon US: The Wild One