What’s more to say about my blog about books I’ve read?
Well, this is my blog about books I’ve read 😀.
I always liked reading books, and it all started on a very silly way… It’s always good to blame my dad, so he is the cause of my reading addiction.
When I was still a little girl, a looooooong time ago, I saw him always going to the bathroom with the newspaper. One day I wondered why he did that, so I took a book and tried to see the fun of that.
And since that day, you can find everywhere in the house a book of mine.
A while ago, I had the opportunity to review some books, and now a new opportunity came to post them on an own blog.
So here we are, my own blog!
I read books, and I will post my thoughts about them.
Some books I’ll like, some I won’t like that much…. but you can be sure that I’ll give you my personal and honest opinion about them.
Lady Beatrice should be finalising her wedding vows — not investigating murder.
With just weeks to go before she marries Richard Fitzwilliam, Bea is helping put the finishing touches to Three Lakes, a rehabilitation centre for veterans, when a senior staff member dies in a late-night lift malfunction.
At first, it looks like a tragic accident. Until the toxicology results suggest otherwise.
With the centre’s opening looming and scandal threatening to overshadow both Three Lakes and her wedding, Bea can’t help getting involved. While Rich helps with the official investigation, Bea and the others have a few theories of their own. And while Perry obsesses over lift mechanics and Simon insists he’s staying out of it (he isn’t), Daisy uncovers a clue everyone else missed.
As they dig deeper, they discover buried secrets, old resentments, and a grievance someone may have carried for years.
Some loyalties last a lifetime. So do some grudges.
A warm, cozy mystery with loyal friends, buried secrets, a determined little dog, and exactly the sort of trouble Bea should be avoiding before her wedding.
The extract
Intro
With the grand opening of Three Lakes, a new rehabilitation centre for military veterans, just weeks away, everything appears to be falling into place. Lord Frederick Astley, Duke of Bute, is visiting the centre to check on progress with its director, Matt Renshaw. But as the two men make their way through the nearly completed building, they’re about to discover that not everything is running quite as smoothly as they’d hoped…
Extract
“It’s all on track then,” Lord Frederick Astley, Duke of Bute, confirmed.
Matt Renshaw nodded. “The accommodation is complete apart from a few snagging issues that Perry Juke and your sister are dealing with. The clinical rooms are ready. The kitchens passed their final inspection last week. Hydrotherapy is waiting on one part, but I’m assured it’s coming today.” Matt hesitated. “I’ve learned not to ask which today. Apparently, that irritates suppliers.”
Fred’s mouth twitched.
“We’ll be ready,” Matt stated confidently.
They circled back and entered the building through the automatic doors, which slid open with a soft sigh. Warmth met them at once along with the faint smells of fresh paint, new flooring, and industrial-strength cleaning products.
The reception area was broad and light, with a curved desk positioned to be visible but not imposing. Behind it, the wall bore the Three Lakes crest: three simple overlapping circles above the words: Recovery. Strength. Purpose.
Matt gestured towards the desk. “We’ll have staff here from seven until seven every day and security overnight.”
Fred nodded, taking it in. “You’re doing an excellent job, Matt,” he said after a few minutes.
The words were low and matter-of-fact. Matt looked away first, pretending to examine a stack of papers on the reception desk. “Thank you,” he said. “That means a lot.”
Fred said nothing more, which was one of the reasons Matt liked him. The duke understood when to leave a sentiment alone.
Matt glanced at his watch. “There’s one more thing I’d like you to see,” he said. “The residents’ mess room on the first floor. It was still being fitted out last time you were here. It was only finished on Wednesday, and I don’t think you’ve seen it since the furniture went in.”
“That would be great,” Fred said as he followed Matt across the foyer. “Press coverage has been fairly decent so far.”
“Better than decent,” Matt replied. “On the whole, it’s been very supportive. We’ve had some regional news pieces that were very positive. The national papers are circling now too.”
“Of course they are,” Fred agreed dryly.
“They like the story,” Matt told him. “Veterans’ rehabilitation. New model of care. Public-private partnership. Royal connection and led by a handsome duke with a philanthropic mission.”
Fred gave him a look.
“I’m quoting the press office,” Matt said innocently as they passed the reception desk.
“I’m sure you are.”
Matt pressed the lift button.
For a second nothing happened, then the doors slid open.
They saw the shoes first.
Polished black shoes, one of them at an odd angle.
Then a trouser leg.
A hand resting palm-up against the floor.
And finally the man himself, crumpled inside the lift as if he’d folded where he’d stood, never to rise again.
Neither Matt nor Fred moved.
Neither spoke.
The lift’s interior light hummed overhead, unwavering, illuminating the scene before them.
Then the doors began to close.
Matt’s hand shot out—not panicked, not rushed, exactly as fast as it needed to be—and caught the edge of the door before it could seal. The mechanism whirred in protest, then yielded, sliding open again to the same tableau.
When your dislike of Christmas is something you have in common
Synopsis
A deliciously festive enemies-of-Christmas-to-lovers romance – perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan, Heidi Swain and Milly Johnson.
Event planner Natasha needs a distraction this December…
With her grown-up children on the other side of the world, Natasha is facing Christmas alone. Sowhen England’s most famous Christmas town, Wellcombe, needs saving from a PR disaster, she packs her bags. She’ll spend the season working, not wallowing – mulled wine strictly optional.
Stained glass restorer Will is counting the days until it’s all over…
Since a terrible tragedy shattered his Christmas five years ago, Will wants nothing to do with twinkly lights, carol singers or festive cheer. But his biggest job this year is restoring a pair of ancient church windows in Wellcombe… at the heart of the very celebrations he’s spent years avoiding.
Natasha and Will have one thing in common: they’re both faking their way through the most wonderful time of year. Can gingerbread, mistletoe and a little festive magic thaw their frozen hearts? Or will it take a snowstorm to show them it’s never too late for a second chance at love?
My review
This year, Natasha is not looking forward to Christmas. Not only are her grown – up children on the other side of the world, her best friend betrayed her in a terrible way. The perfect solution: working to avoid all the festivities. Weren’t it that she has been just hired to fix the PR disaster for Wellcombe, England’s most famous Christmas town. But not everyone in Wellcombe is excited for Christmas. Because for Will, Christmas will always be connected with a tragedy that happened five years ago. Yet with his job as stained glass restorer, he cannot escape all the festivities. So even if they initially are clashing, and Natasha is on a real emotional roller-coaster due her menopause, that shared feeling over Christmas is what is slowly bringing them closer to each other. But after Christmas, the plan for Natasha is to return back to London. So where will that leave them once that dreadful Christmas has passed?
Sometimes, when you start a book, you already have a feeling how it will progress. And you don’t have any big surprises. Not that it is a bad thing, especially as after the end you still feel happy the story. But sometimes there are books that you do see how it will end, but you have no idea how the story evolve and how that predicted ending will be reached.
And with this book, I knew the start, I hoped I knew how it would end, but what would be taking place in the middle? 😊 The only way to know all of this, just read! 😊
At the start of this story, I felt truly sorry for Natasha. Because her relationship ended in the worst possible betrayal, her children are living abroad and she feels more alone than ever. So of course she isn’t looking forward to this Christmas, which she will spend all on her own. Isn’t there anything sadder than that?
While Natasha isn’t an all – round – Christmas hater, this one for sure is a difficult one. Understandably, she wants to hide from all that is Christmassy, but of course Life and Fate have other plans, making her needed to fix the disaster occurring in the little town of Wellcombe.
What I did admire in Natasha is how she does not let her personal feelings interfere with her new task. She wants to do what she has been hired for, and do it right. But she also stands her ground when there are people of Wellcombe having their own opinions and ideas how things should have been done.
This may sound a little bit weird, but I also liked reading how Natasha is facing or at least trying to face her hormonal turmoil. I found it great of the author that we get a clear view and idea of what is happening to Natasha, and how she cannot always control her emotions and reactions. It would be easy to dismiss or diminish what is going on with Natasha at this certain period in her life in her body, but showing it all, makes the story somehow more realistic. And it made me think what I will have to endure in hopefully many many many years from now 😊.
It also makes it understandable how the initial clash with Will starts.
Because Will is the kind of person that helps everyone, whether it is always with great pleasure or not, I leave that in between. Not that Will doesn’t want to help, but there are many moments where he finds himself doing things that he in fact just wants to escape from, but as the ‘requests’ come from people who were there for him in the past, it is impossible for him to decline…
Because if Nastasha wants to hide from Christmas, perhaps she could take some lessons from Will, who absolutely wants to avoid everything Christmassy.
And while I can understand that not everyone is into Christmas, it is obvious that there is a deeper trauma with Will, causing such strong feelings about the holiday.
As a reader, of course I found the clashing between Natasha and Will just so hilarious. Yes, I know I am evil😊. But that clashing also shows us how wrong first impressions can be and how meeting at the wrong time, can turn a molehill into a mountain.
Because we know that both characters aren’t bad people, but they just have a bad moment, making the meeting awkward and a bit hostile too. But that doesn’t reflect their true characters.
So with each of them having their own struggles, it was truly sweet to read how Natasha and Will are slowly getting closer. And in a way, it was refreshing to see how there are still moments that are awkward or uncomfortable between them. Not because they are somehow a mismatch, but because how sometimes people in general misunderstand and misread a situation.
It also warmed my heart reading how ‘at home’ Natasha felt in Wellcombe. How lonely a life in the city can be, how inclusive, how accepting, how warm it can be in a town. And that for me is a more important message than the blooming romance between Natasha and Will.
Because of course the romance will bloom, but with a deadline for Natasha, how will it all be solved? But there is also the matter of having closure over the past, forgive yourself even. And more than that, it is about finding a place that feels like your place, your town.
I absolutely enjoyed reading this story, as it shows the difficulties and traumas people can have in their lives. But is also shows how a community, or how loyal friends, can help you (perhaps not always in the way you want too 😊 ). And we see how perhaps the most unexpected person can be the most understanding one.
I had the best of times reading this book, I laughed, I smiled, I felt the love, but I also was a bit shocked with some revelations. But in the end, the story gave me everything I needed!
When you can follow your dream, but which one exactly, the past one or the present one?
Synopsis
Good tidings…
Of second chances!
Sullivan MacKay knows destiny’s wicked humor firsthand. At seventeen, Sully’s plans to run away with his orphanage sweetheart, Trudy, were interrupted by a life-changing discovery—he’s a duke’s lost heir! Knowing his title could give Trudy a better life, he left to claim it, but vowed to return…
Years later Trudy has made a vow of her own: She will never marry, instead dedicating herself to her scientific pursuits. Following an unexpected Christmas reunion with old flame Sully, not even the December chill can disguise the burning embers of their lost love, awakening glimmers of a second chance…
My review
After getting her heart broken as a 17 – years old orphan, Trudy vowed to never fall in love again or marry. Instead she dedicated her life to science. As her mother died of consumption, Trudy is determined to not only raise more awareness, but eventually hopes to even find a cure. So even if she is over the moon to see her friends – that – are – more – sisters both have found love, she secretly feels herself more alone than ever, even more alone than at the orphanage. To make her life even more complicated, it is not easy for a woman to secure a job in the scientific world. So when there is the request for an aide to help curate an upcoming exhibit on Modern Medicine and Disease, Trudy does not hesitate to apply for the job and isn’t adverse in using a little scheme to show her worth. However, Trudy is shocked upon learning that her boss will be no one else but the same person that broke her heart. While she knew him as Sully MacKay, now he is actual Sullivan MacKay Alington, Duke of Pentworth. Sully, who at seventeen decided to not run away with Trudy but to discover if he was truly the son of a Duke. As an orphan he did not have a lot to offer, but he hoped that with a title, he could give Trudy the kind of life she deserved. But ten years have passed, does time heal all the wounds? Or is it all just a little too late?
I have already had the pleasure to get to know Ophelia and Hattie, so obviously I could not wait to read what this author would come up with for Trudy. Eagerly I started with this next chapter of a lovely series.
Now, I grew up in a loving family, so I can only try to imagine how it feels to grow up in an orphanage, feeling unloved and unwanted. At the same time, and also from the previous books, it warmed my heart reading how the three women found each other at a young age and have become real sisters, even if they in fact don’t share any blood. For me, it shows that blood isn’t what connects people, it is love…
Right at the start, in the prologue, we learn how Trudy’s heart gets broken by Sully and how adamant she becomes to never get married. And it saddened me, reading how she lost her faith in love. And it made me realize why she shifted her focus and her passion to science. And reading how she wants to do it in honour of her mother, made me in a way proud of her. Trudy does not do things just for doing it, but there is always a meaning behind her actions.
It would be easy to condemn Sully with his actions. But I kept in mind that he was only seventeen, and that he broke Trudy’s heart with the right intentions. Perhaps not the right actions, but the intentions were right…
I have to admit, that I initially thought, especially as the book was progressing, the main event would be making the exhibit a success. So I was wondering how would the mistletoe in the title appear? Yes, those are a few things that I wonder about 😊.
And yes, I was very curious to read how Trudy and Sully would meet again, and how things would go.
It needs to be said, I was proud of Sully, how he does not let the ‘rules of society’ have their way. Trudy is the best candidate for the job of an aide, and Sully knows that no one will be better than the woman who stole his heart many moons ago.
Of course that first encounter, it is written in the stars that it won’t go smoothly. And it gave me the best of times! It is awkward for both Sully and Trudy, as their past looms over their heads, and it changed the both of them.
And even later on, while working together, both their stubbornness make sure that there are moments that make them clash. Also the fact that the air has not been cleared between them, makes sure that things aren’t always easy.
But I found it heartwarming to read how their common interest and their common goal makes great minds think alike. They both want the museum to succeed and together they come up with great ideas to make people interested.
While I understand that Trudy wasn’t initially all that thrilled to meet Sully again, I found it great how Ophelia and Hattie were absolutely delighted to be reunited with their old friend.
As I said earlier in this review, I thought that Trudy and Sully would be mainly working in the museum. So I was a bit lost reading how at the end of the year, the issues with the museum were no more, and I had more than half a book still to read!
However, Jeanine came up with a great second storyline for the main characters, also making it possible for them to get to know each other better, as they have both matured. But also for us, a way to get to know the real personas of Trudy and Sully, what they have been through in the past, how it affected their present.
Perhaps, reaching this point in the story was what made me love this book even more. Because we see how not only things start to shift between our beloved main characters, but also we get a better understanding of this pair.
We see how a young Sully found his roots, and how he became the man he is now. And we learn how Trudy, already heartbroken, has to face something unexpected, making her resolute into refusing love ever again.
But most important, we see how it is possible that a love at that young age can still affect you in the present. And that fear is never a wise advisor. Because the only way to move forward, whether it is to give love another chance or just put the past behind you, is talking about what happened all those years ago. Talking about how it affected you, how it changed you and why you built walls so high.
This was a lovely story to read, with hardships of the past, but also with letting go of that past, forgiveness and giving love a second chance. And no matter whether this story takes place n the past, its message is still applicable in the present too!
Jeanine wrote an amazing story that I found nearly impossible to put away. A beautiful way to close the story about three young women that have become sisters and somehow all found their ways to happiness.
When a final goodbye in Cornwall is only the beginning…
Meredith Tremayne Russell has spent her life mapping the world, first in intelligence during WWII, and later as a professor. But at ninety-eight with time running out, she faces a journey she cannot chart, a return to her old Cornish home to sell it and to scatter her beloved husband’s ashes.
With her is her twenty-five-year-old granddaughter, Grace, a dyslexic who believes she is a failure in a family of academics. For Grace the trip is a welcome escape from her mother’s demands. But when she unlocks her great-grandmother’s abandoned art studio, she finds a legacy of a passionate artist and a French resistance fighter.
As Meredith relives the frozen December of her 1946 wedding, she understands her final mission isn’t to say goodbye to her old home, but to draw one last map—showing Grace how to navigate a life of her own making.
Extract
This is an extract from Chapter One. Merry is travelling home for the last time and with her is her twenty-five-year-old granddaughter Grace. I have loved writing about the relationship between them especially as I’m now a grandmother. Both my grandmothers had died before I was born so I never had the joy of this special relationship. The bond between Merry and Grace is important to them both and I loved the way that Merry reveals her past to Grace.
Glancing around at the imposing building, I asked, ‘Was this where you worked before you came to America?’
‘Yes,’ she said, heading straight through the arch to a gravel-filled open space which was flanked with buildings on three sides. It would have been good to stop and take it all in, but she carried on. Old people were supposed to walk slowly, but not my grandmother.
‘There.’ She pointed up to the corner of the building on the right. ‘That’s where my boss, Ian Fleming, worked.’
‘Wait, what?’ It couldn’t be.
‘Commander Fleming was my boss for part of the war.’
‘The James Bond author?’ The opening notes of the films filled my head.
She nodded.
‘You never said you knew Ian Fleming.’ I stared at her.
‘Well, I did, and rather well,’ she said with a hint of a blush on her cheeks.
‘You slept with him?’ Who was this woman? On the outside, she was the Gran I’d always known; fashionable, but not flashy in any way. Her navy-blue wool coat fitted her slim frame and the red silk scarf at her neck matched her bold lipstick. Maybe it was the lipstick that should have alerted me to something more than the clever professor.
‘Never, although he tried to at the start. He soon realised it wasn’t going to happen.’ She laughed.
I lifted my camera and snapped another photo of her. Her expression was wicked. How had I not known that my grandmother worked for Ian Fleming? The woman standing in front of me suddenly looked somehow different from the one I’d grown up with for the past twenty-five years.
‘That’s where I actually worked.’ She pointed to a block-like building with no windows. ‘The Citadel was the beating heart of Naval Intelligence. Later in the war, I then worked in a small office in Whitehall.’
‘Gran, what exactly did you do during the war?’ I should know this.
‘Made maps of course.’
I rolled my eyes. Stupid question. She was an emeritus professor of geography.
‘Including the ones used on D-Day.’
This I hadn’t heard. My grandmother had been important to the war effort, but no one in the family had ever said anything about it. ‘And Grandpa?’
‘Did not make maps, he wrote propaganda, and blew things up when they allowed him to do so.’
I shook my head. Grandpa, originally from Maine, had been a foreign correspondent, a Pulitzer-prize winning one. He’d written ten novels and countless short stories. But he’d never mentioned blowing things up. That I would have remembered.
‘Gran, maybe I wasn’t listening when you spoke of this before, or…’
‘No one mentioned that I didn’t sit and knit socks during the war.’ She drew a deep breath. ‘My mother, your great-grandmother, Elise, didn’t either.’
‘The artist?’ I asked.
‘Indeed. She was also a French resistance fighter.’
‘Wow.’ Mum and Dad had a few of my great-grandmother’s paintings. I’d always loved her work, and I’d done a talk about her in school, but my parents had never told me she’d been a resistance fighter too. Did they know?
Gran stared at me and I flushed. Caught out again not knowing things I should.
‘I think we need that drink.’ Gran took my arm and led me to the Mall, where she flagged down a taxi.
An unexpected bid for something special this Christmas
Perpetually single events manager Tiffany Barlow is used to being in control. So when she agrees to take part in the Holly Dates Auction at Thistle Lodge, it’s with a very specific goal in mind: to catch a respectable date for a high-profile event at a nearby castle. What she doesn’t expect is a last-minute twist…
Reserved English teacher Isaac Emery is looking forward to a peaceful, cosy winter at his grandpa’s Christmas Cottage, pretending he’s perfectly content with his books for company. When he accidentally wins a Holly Date experience at a festive fundraiser, he finds himself committed to a date with Tiffany – someone way out of his league.
As the glittering winter ball at the castle approaches, Tiffany is torn between what she’s been brought up to desire and an unexpected attraction to Isaac.
With a little seasonal nudge from his grandpa, Isaac might risk stepping away from the safety of his solitary world, giving both himself and Tiffany a chance to unwrap true love this Christmas.
My review
Tiffany Barlow enjoys her job as an events manager at Briar Rose Events. So when there is an auction at Thistle Lodge, Tiffany suggests to her boss to add Holly Dates. Whereas auctions are often interesting for couples or families, why not organize something that singles will enjoy? People can bid on an experience, like a hike, or ice skating,… And it comes with a companion, or a date. So that the winner won’t have to feel awkward about doing the won activity on their own. When Tiffany herself offers to be the companion, she does with a second agenda. She hopes this way to chat a respectable date for a high – profile ball at an actual castle, as her mother is best friends with the Countess of Dairvin. But things don’t go as expected, because the winner of the auction is English teacher and rather reserved Isaac Emery. Not that he placed the bid himself, but a colleague of his did it in his name. Isaac would rather spend his free time in his grandpa’s Christmas Cottage, with a good book. Not only did he already dread going to the fundraiser, but now he must also go on a ‘date’ with Tiffany. What Isaac never expected that he would truly enjoy his date with Tiffany and that they have a connection, even if he believes that Tiffany is truly out of his league. And when Tiffany asks him to join her at the ball, after the initial dismissal, he agrees to be her date. Could it be that this Christmas both Tiffany and Isaac something that they weren’t asking for, but what they actually needed?
It may not come as a surprise for you to read that I could not wait to start reading this new chapter in a series that just keeps on being greater and greater! 😊
I have to admit, that it took me a moment to truly like Tiffany. Not that she is a bad person that redeems herself, but because she suggest the Holly Dates for her personal benefit. So as I am single myself, I truly applauded the idea Tiffany came up with. But as she wants to use to find a respectable date herself, I found it just a tiny bit dishonest. However, the better I got to know Tiffany, the more I understood where she was coming from.
Because the better I got to know her, it becomes clear that her idea came from the fact that her family, especially her mother has extreme high expectations. And as Tiffany does not want to be a disappointment to her family, she knows that only finding a respectable match with a status will be sufficient.
Tiffany is in fact a ‘normal’ young woman, perhaps growing up with people with an actual title. But Tiffany doesn’t look down on people, she is a kind, gentle and understanding person. In fact, she also senses that Isaac is out of his depth at their date and she wants to make sure he just feels at ease and that he will enjoy their date.
I have to say, I connected very easily with Isaac. Meaning that I could totally understand how he enjoys more an evening at home, cosy, with a good book to read. For me, that is heaven on earth!
And his awkwardness, his shyness, is also something that I recognized. Because while people that truly know me would say that I am an extrovert, in a large group or new situations, I wish I could hide too.
I found it also so sweet that Isaac made the choice to live with his grandpa Jim. Not only because it is easier for his teaching job, but also and most important, he feels more at ease. Isaac is overwhelmed by his family, the competitiveness of it all. And while his family do love him, it is Grandpa Jim that truly gets him and understands him.
Obviously, I was very curious to see the dynamics between Tiffany and Isaac, as they couldn’t be more different from each other.
However, even if their worlds couldn’t be further apart, there are immediately some sparks between them. Tiffany and Isaac truly have the best of times on the ice, even if they land on hard ice literally 😊.
It was once again sweet reading how Isaac is able to let go of his ‘stiffness’ when he’s around with Tiffany. And how Tiffany is able to see behind the awkwardness and even clumsiness. It made me realize that sometimes, meeting the right person, no matter how mismatched it may initially seem, can make you feel more confident about yourself, how it can give you the right amount of courage to just go for it.
On paper, Tiffany and Isaac would not work. But on paper isn’t the reality (even if indeed their story is on paper and they are fictional characters 😊). Because let’s also be honest here, often we are prejudiced and it is only after truly getting to know a person, that we know one’s real character. And that also gives us the also the courage to stand up for ourselves, for the person we love and to give love a chance.
I absolutely loved this story, perhaps my favourite one thus far, because it shows different personas of characters, yet somehow it all just works. Of course there are ups and downs and even some fearful moments, but I found this truly a heartwarming story to read, with laughs, smiles and ‘aaaaw’ moments! 😊
How much can change in ten years when it concerns matters of the heart?
Synopsis
Ten years. Two hearts. One love story that never forgot how it began.
Ten years ago, Erin Campbell left Texas without saying goodbye to the only boy she’d ever loved.
Ten years later, he’s the biggest name in country music… and every song he’s ever written is about her.
After losing her mother at eighteen, staying meant facing a life she no longer recognized. So Erin left – her hometown, her grieving father, and Jake Ingram, her best friend, first love, and the future she’d always imagined.
A decade later, Erin has built a successful career as one of New York City’s most sought-after photographers, creating the life she always thought she wanted. But no amount of distance – or success – has been enough to silence the memories she left behind.
When her father needs surgery, Erin returns to Texas expecting to stay only long enough to help him recover.
Instead, she comes face to face with Jake.
The boy she left behind is now one of country music’s brightest stars, known for writing songs that have captivated millions. Fans have spent years wondering who inspired the heartbreak woven through every album.
Only Erin knows the answer.
As old memories resurface and long-buried truths finally come to light, Erin and Jake must decide whether the love they never stopped carrying is strong enough to overcome the heartache they never healed from – or whether ten years is simply too much time to ask two hearts to begin again.
Play It Back is a heartfelt second-chance romance about first love, grief, forgiveness, and finding your way home.
Because some love stories don’t end, they simply wait for you to come home.
My review
Ten years ago, Erin Campbell lost her mother and the only way to cope with that loss, was leaving everything and everyone behind in Texas. Not only her father and her friends, but also the boy she loved, Jake. Now Erin has a successful career as a photographer, but the memories and the pain never truly left. And Jake has become a famous country music star, winning award after award with his heartbreaking songs, all about Erin. When Erin’s father needs surgery, Erin decides that the time has come to return home to help her father with the recovery. What Erin did not expect, is that she would face Jake, and that perhaps the time has come to face the past and how much heartbreak everyone has endured by her leaving. And with old memories resurfacing, Erin and Jake have to decide if their lost love is strong enough for a new chance, or if it is too late…
This is the first book I’ve read of this author, and starting with someone new, it always fills me with a little bit of trepidation. Because even if the blurb of a book looks good, will the story itself capture me? Will I like/love the characters? So many questions and only one option to have the answers: just start reading.
And I have to admit, it was a little struggle at the start. I didn’t feel that immediate connection with Erin. Was it because our worlds couldn’t be further apart? Or was is because I haven’t yet faced a grief that big as Erin’s that I couldn’t understand her need to escape ten years ago? I cannot pinpoint it exactly, but those first chapters were not that easy to get through.
But I am a stubborn woman, and I don’t give up that easily, not even on a book. So I kept reading, and suddenly there was a shift and I found myself totally captured by the story and its characters!
Like I said, I haven’t been through a grief like Erin, so I don’t know what my reaction would be in the case of losing my mother. But as Erin sees no other option than leave her home and family and friends, must truly mean that she cannot cope with her heartbreak. How must it feel for someone to not be able to handle the grief, that the only way is to escape?
And being away for ten years… Now perhaps that is something I could comprehend easier, because once you leave, you can make up different ‘excuses’ for not returning. A career that is taking off, not the right time,… and the more you postpone a return, how temporary it may be, the easier it is to keep on having a reason for staying away.
Now, I need to make it very clear that Erin is not a bad person at all. It is just her coping mechanism that made her leave home. Because we see that in fact when her father tells her about his surgery, Erin knows without a doubt that going back home is the only right thing to do.
It is also obvious with a fearful heart that Erin returns to Texas. Because she knows that she hurt people all those years ago, and confrontation is not something she is all that happy d have, with any of them.
I have to admit, that Erin’s father is exactly how I imagined him to be. Because he lost his beloved wife too, and we learn also later on in the book that he struggled with the grief too. But he is also the kind of parent that understands why Erin had to leave. And he more than happy to have Erin back, even if it is just for a short period.
What I also loved about him, is how Jake is still part of his life. Just because Erin left, it doesn’t mean that there is genuine love and care between the two men. And I could clearly see how is was more a substitute father – son relationship.
While I absolutely sympathized with Erin, my heart went out to Jake…
Ten years is like I already said, a long time. And you would think it would be more than enough to get over someone. But with Jake we see that when the feelings are so pure and genuine, heartbreak is not so easy to overcome.
And the songs he has written, what we read about it, for sure are a punch in the gut, so raw, so real and so just Jake…
So Jake, which is also a genuine, caring person. Even ten years ago, while hurt, he comprehended Erin. And upon Erin’s return, he doesn’t behave like seeking for revenge. He still is that kind person to Erin.
Of course the first encounter Erin and Jake have, is an awkward one. It would be strange if it would be all rainbows and unicorns. They did not expect to see each other, especially not at the bar and like that. So of course the both of them do not know what the right thing to say or to do is.
But how awkward that first meeting is, how clear it is that the air needs to be cleared between Erin and Jake. And I found it sweet to read how the initial discomfort from both sides shifts into moments of deep reflection, clearing the air and finding each other again, that bond that there once used to be (and I am here just talking about the bond where they can be honest to each other, to have someone to confide in).
Often and in real life, our first love isn’t the love of our lives, the love we end up spending the rest of our lives with. So seeing how a heartbreak can last over ten years and how it impacts your present life.
This wasn’t always an easy story to read, as it talks about grief and how it can push you away from your loved ones. But it is also a beautiful story to read, as we see how finding the courage to return back home, can turn into a healing process and makes you realize not only what you have been missing, but also what you truly cannot live without…
She has spent fifteen years learning how to need no one.
Nora Sterling is the Cruise Director of the Vesta. She runs a department of a hundred, remembers nine hundred guests by name, and can talk a shipful of frightened people through a mid-ocean helicopter evacuation without once raising her voice.
She has no address. She has never slept on a mattress that was not somebody else’s first. She has spent her entire adult life at sea and she has been perfectly, deliberately fine.
Then the ship takes on a new Music Director.
Erland Isbister is Orcadian, unhurried, and quietly immovable. He does not perform, he does not push, and he notices everything. He also reports directly to her, which puts him squarely on the wrong side of the company handbook and squarely in her path ten hours a day, months at a stretch.
On a ship, there is nowhere to put a thing like this.
Nora has spent her whole life being the person everybody relies on and nobody worries about. She has never once, in thirty-three years, said out loud that she wanted something.
She is about to find out what it costs her not to.
An Orkney Hearth is a slow-burn, closed-door cruise ship romance set aboard a luxury liner and on the windswept islands of northern Scotland. Forbidden workplace romance, forced proximity, found family, and an unhurried hero who says almost nothing and means all of it. No explicit content. Guaranteed happily ever after.
Book One of Love and Other Ports, for readers of Jenny Colgan and Susanna Kearsley. Written by Sara Romera, a former Cruise Director who spent fifteen years at sea.
About the author
Sara Romera is a writer and former senior cruise ship officer. She spent more than fifteen years at sea, working her way up from entry-level roles to senior officer across multiple vessels and cruise lines, leading guest experience and entertainment for thousands of guests at a time.
She writes about the world behind the voyage. Inside the Floating City began as a survival guide she wrote for new crew and grew into a portrait of life aboard a modern cruise ship. The Discerning Voyager is a senior officer’s guide to choosing a cruise well. The Lantern of the Sea, a picture book for children, began with the families ashore when a parent goes to sea, but speaks to anyone who has ever missed someone: partners kept apart by distance, children waiting for someone to come home, anyone holding the light while a person they love is away.
Her romance series, Love and Other Ports, is set in the world she spent her career inside: shipboard lives, where people meet on the move and every arrival already carries its departure. The stories turn on what that closeness leaves behind, and on whether something formed at sea can hold once the ship has sailed on.
She also writes the monthly Ask the Officer column for Euro Weekly News, and is the founder of Sea Lantern Studio, her independent literary imprint.
Christmas is coming… and so is the biggest rift this tiny flat has ever seen.
When Daisy and Kate’s glamorous new housemate is announced, they picture another girl.
Instead, they get Maxi.
A ridiculously handsome male model with an ego the size of Lapland, an appetite that empties the fridge daily and a nasty habit of encouraging two best friends to compete for his attention.
Before long, Daisy’s mentally picking out wedding dresses, Kate’s having far less wholesome thoughts and the flat has descended into festive warfare.
Watching every drama unfold from the safety of the skirting board is Nigel, the house’s delightfully eccentric resident mouse. Sporting an abandoned contact lens as a monocle and never knowingly short of an opinion, he’s firmly convinced humans are the daftest creatures ever created.
He’s probably right.
A laugh-out-loud Christmas comedy about friendship, festive disasters and why some housemates really should come with a warning label.
My review
Daisy and Kate are best friends, living together. They may be broke and both single, but their friendship makes it more agreeable to live in their London flat that is not really in the best of state. There is also Nigel, the resident mouse, stealing their cheese whenever the opportunity rises. And then their landlady decides to help the ladies out with a new flatmate, Maximilian Taylor, Maxi for the friends. Daisy believes that she has found The One, Kate feels more of a physical attraction but Nigel is the only one that sees Maxi for who he really is. Tension only keeps on rising even if Christmas is approaching. Could this Christmas be one filled with only disaster, and the rift between Daisy and Kate is beyond repair?
When I started reading this book, I had a different story in mind. Not that the rift between Diasy and Kate would be about something else, but at the start, I would have imagined that Maxi would truly be this amazing man, and that somehow, he would be worth of the rift he is causing between the two best friends. (not that a person is ever worth of a rift between best friends…)
Before there was a rift, I found that Daisy and Kate had a wonderful friendship. They are very different from each other, and they may not be living in luxury, but together they have a lot of fun, lots of laughs and having each other is more than enough.
I found it funny reading how they even respect(ed) Nigel The Mouse. I don’t know if I would be that happy with a mouse at my place, but as he was there before Daisy and Kate made the move, they respect him. Even if he is a cheese – thief! 😊
Even if the ladies are having financial difficulties, I liked it how they make the best out of it. Being creative with gift, recycling gift wrapping paper etc. In a way, it shows us that even when things aren’t that easy, you can make the best out of it.
So it angered me reading how Maxi’s arrival changes everything between the ladies. Especially as Nigel already understands right from the start, that Maxi isn’t all that great as he may seem!
And to be honest, I hated the guy. Not only is he a liar, but he is superficial, dishonest, sneaky and disgusting! While I can understand the initial attraction, I could not understand how bright women like Daisy and Kate could not see behind the façade.
Often people say that women can be nasty in a fight. And we see that also in this story. Not that Daisy or Kate have become evil, but while fighting, they know what to say to TRULY hurt each other…
It is hard to not spoil too much about the story, but while the approach to Christmas is a disastrous one, at Christmas day itself, with a landlady that is a bit crazy as a guest, everything will culminate in unexpected ways, exposing truths and lies, with the help of Nigel. And realizations dawns what and who truly matters in life.
While perhaps at moments the characters were frustrating, I found it also a hilarious story and yes, Nigel despite being a rodent, stole my heart a little bit! 😊 This was an easy story to read, and the length of it also made it a quick read, with the ending putting a smile on my face! 😊
When doing a favour for a friend changes everything for you
Synopsis
if your best friend wanted your new life too?
Sammy Jenkins only comes to Brambleton because her best friend Chloe needs a favour. Again.
One shift serving canapés at a North Devon country mansion. Then it’s back to mounting bills and a life that’s going nowhere. Except the owner of the estate sees something in her.
Suddenly, Sammy is being offered a full-time job as housekeeper, complete with a cottage of her own. It’s more than she ever dreamed of, even if Chloe thinks it should all have been hers.
But settling into life at Brambleton Hall isn’t easy. Magnus, the butler, demands perfection. And Nate, the handsome, reserved gardener, gives nothing away. Somehow, though, Sammy is making it work. She has a home that’s just for her, a job she’s good at and Nate might not be quite as distant as he first seemed.
Then Chloe comes to stay.
And while Sammy understands the rules that keep Brambleton Hall running smoothly, Chloe doesn’t see why any should apply to her…
My review
Once again Sammy Jenkins finds herself doing a favour for her best friend Chloe. But what is one shift serving at an actual country mansion? What Sammy didn’t expect is that after a canine incident the owner of the estate sees something in her and suddenly Sammy has a full – time job as a housekeeper, on probation though, with her own cottage where she can reside. Sammy is filled with courage but also quickly learns that the job of a housekeeper cannot be underestimated, and Magnus the butler for sure makes sure Sammy understand the responsibilities. Sammy also finds it difficult to connect with not only Magnus, but also with gardener Nate, who is handsome yet very reserved. However, somehow Sammy starts to find her feet at Brambleton Hall, and things for sure start to look good, and even with Nate a bond is being made. And then Chloe appears, risking to jeopardize everything Sammy has slowly been building on her own…
Having read several books of this author, I was very curious to read what adventures Sammy would have.
At the start, I have to admit that I found Sammy perhaps a little bit of a doormat. Because it is obvious that even if Chloe is her best friend, Chloe takes advantage of Sammy’s kind heart. Of course as an outsider it easy to say that Sammy perhaps should grow a pair. But I also know how difficult it can be to refuse someone, especially someone like your best friend who has been there for years. As a former people – pleaser myself, I recognized the struggle Sammy had in that aspect.
But of course, if Sammy weren’t Sammy, she wouldn’t end up with a brand new job after one shift at Brambleton Hall. And then we wouldn’t have this book, would we 😊.
Now, I have to admit again, it was a bit strange how Sammy is able to get the offer for a job as housekeeper, after one evening only. Okay, yes, I could understand how she saved the evening when there is a dog with the super funny name Stop It on the loose. And again, it works for the story 😊.
It is clear from the moment that Sammy starts, that she truly underestimated what the job would truly entail and the responsibilities that come with the job. But also how strict things are, how things must be done and no other way.
While Mr. Magnus, the butler, may seem to ‘reign’ with a strict hand (which is also needed in a place like Brambleton Hall), he is also very patient with Sammy, and even if he doesn’t show it, he believes that Sammy will manage it all.
Talking about Mr. Magnus, his eyebrows – language is hilarious! And I found it also funny how Sammy with time learns to interpret what each raise means, and what each short word that Magnus says, truly means.
And it was just so lovely to see how Sammy, even with some ups and downs, starts to feel at home, that she has found a place where she truly belongs. And it was just great to see that no matter how distant and cold some of her ‘colleagues’ may appear, Sammy is able by just being her, everyone around her starts to soften, even Nate who has been trying to keep his distance.
Yes, Nate could or could not be Sammy’s love interest in this book. But for me, this book is more about the growth Sammy goes through and not about romantic feelings between her and Nate.
Because there is no doubt that Sammy grows and matures a lot in this book.
We see her not only learning to do the task that the job requires, but she also becomes more confident in her actions. She understands what she is doing and the importance of it. Even if maybe there is someone sabotaging her progress?
And then Chloe appears… a moment I was dreading myself, because I already did not have the greatest opinion of her…
I truly got angry during her stay, because not only does it seems that Chloe drags Sammy down, Chloe does not understand that Sammy loves her job. But also Chloe does absolutely not respect the boundaries set by Sammy and Magnus. If I were Sammy, I honestly would have kicked her out after the first strike.
Perhaps here is where Sammy’s most important growth comes, because while she truly loves Chloe as a sister, she has to stop helping Chloe out. Because you can help someone once, but it is wrong when that person relies on the fact that you will help every time.
Again, easier said than done of course, but Sammy has to learn to draw the line at some point, because as we see in the story, and several times already, it is Sammy that has paid or has to pay the price for Chloe’s recklessness…
I found this a wonderful story to read, because like I said before, we truly see the growth that Sammy goes through. We see how it is possible to find your place and your home in an unexpected place, in an unexpected way. And in an inspiring way, we see how Sammy learns to stand up for herself, how she becomes more confident. But she also never loses the essence that makes her Sammy. She grows, changes even a little bit, but she remains always Sammy.
I have read now several books of this series, that can perfectly read as a standalone. But because of Sammy and her growth, her new life she creates at Brambleton Hall, this may be my favourite one!
Returning to Sydney, Detective Ramesh Ryan is promoted to the Homicide Squad. Zoe Yang joins him there. Now a detective herself, she is assigned as his junior partner. Straight up, the cops are off and running—investigating the discovery of a murdered company director. Following the clues, Detective Ryan finds that this and a second murder may be linked to past events.
As the pressure mounts for a quick solution to the case, the detective finds that he too, is in the killer’s crosshairs. But Ryan is distracted from the investigation by a romantic encounter with an old university friend. He also worries about his mother, Mumta, and her new obsessive desire for grandchildren from her only son. Could this be linked to her recent medical tests? And there’s another pressing problem—the plague of rats in his apartment block.
Detective Ryan’s hands are well and truly full.
Extract
Context:
A worried Detective Ramesh Ryan has driven down at high speed to the local hospital, having just discovered that his mother Mumta has checked herself in because of ‘a woman’s problem’.
Extract:
“Oh,” said Detective Ryan. “Mom, what are you doing here?”
“Didn’t Agnes tell you?”
“She said something about a woman’s problem. But why didn’t you tell me you were coming here today? You knew I’d be calling…. Oh, and happy birthday, by the way.” He frowned. “Damn.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I left your present in the car.”
Mumta smiled. “That’s nice. I appreciate presents. When you get to my age, you are grateful for anything.”
“Your age. You’re fifty-nine. Sorry, sixty today, and hardly …” Detective Ryan began.
“Shh.” Mumta put her finger to her lips. “Don’t go around telling everyone my age.”
“Oh … okay.” Ramesh peered at his mother. Her black hair framed an attractive, symmetrical face and bright, shining brown eyes. “You know you look good for your age.”
“Must you, Ramesh. I’m not too fond of that expression. It makes me feel like a horse about to be put down.”
Ryan shook his head. This always happened with his mother. She had a habit of taking the conversation completely off-base. It was time to return to the slopes.
“So, Mom, my question was, what are you doing here?”
Mumta leaned forward and whispered. “I came for a biopsy on my br—” She hesitated. “I don’t like talking about this with you. That’s why I never mentioned it.”
“Your breast? You just had a breast biopsy?” The detective’s face registered his concern.
Mumta picked up a cup from the table and sipped tea. “Yes. But it’s nothing to worry about. I’ll get my results in a few days, and I’m sure everything will be fine.”
Ryan studied his mother. He was trained to spot deceit, and what his mom had just said was a blatant lie. She was worried. If she was concerned, so too should he be.
“What exactly did they say?” Ryan asked.
“If you had become what I wanted you to become, a doctor, you would know.” Mumta waved her hands around. “They’re all here.”
“Who?” asked Ryan, confused.
“Doctors, of course. And you could have been one of them if you hadn’t decided to become a policeman.” Mumta spat the word out like a piece of dirt from her mouth.
