Fake – dating your nemesis, just perfect…

Synopsis

Love was never supposed to be part of the deal…

Independent and free-spirted Annika has no plans to settle down anytime soon… if only her parents felt the same way. But when her father unexpectedly falls ill, she’ll do anything to make things better. Even if it means suddenly blurting out she has a boyfriend.

The only issue is, he doesn’t exist.

Then, by chance, she bumps into handsome entrepreneur Rav, and she can’t believe her luck. He’s single, sworn off relationships and looking for a date to attend work events with. He’s the perfect solution to her troubles. Or is he?

Because there’s just one slight catch – he also happens to be her childhood nemesis.

It was only ever supposed to be a simple, temporary arrangement. Nothing more. Certainly love was never part of the terms and conditions. But Annika’s about to discover that some deals are made to be broken…

My review

Annika loves her work, that brings her all around the world. She would never give up her independence or her free – spirit, especially not for a man.
However, her parents would love to see her get settled, rather sooner than later. And with her father’s poor health, Annika does not want to add extra worries.
So a fake boyfriend is what Annika needs. But where does she find one? For sure making an agreement with Rav is a bad idea. Not only because he is handsome and successful, but he is also Annika’s nemesis, as while growing up, her parents compared her and her siblings to the great achievements of Rav.
But Rav also needs a fake date, to attend work events… And the more the two of them have to pretend to be madly in love, the more they realize that the thin line between pretend and reality is starting to disappear…
But love was never part of the arrangement… 

I have always loved reading books about fake dating but also about enemies to lovers. So reading this book just perfect to me, as it combined two of my favourite tropes. 

Annika is a very free – spirited woman, living literally from one bag. While that lifestyle would not be something for me, I could understand her wanderlust and I admired her desire to do some good in the world.
Even if she feels that her parents don’t understood or support her (while they let her live her life like she wants), it’s obvious that she truly loves her family and she doesn’t want to cause them any pain.
Her love goes even that far that she makes up a boyfriend, as it stops her family worrying about her.
However, no matter how much she loves her family, she isn’t the kind of woman to just give up on her dreams. 

And oh, how much did I enjoy reading whenever Annika and Rav are together! Despite her dislike of him, she knows she needs him for her schemes, and he needs her too. And while they are on the same page on the relationship – part, I found it sweet to see how Annika slowly discovers how she got Rav totally wrong. She has an opinion of him, based on their past, but it only shows that sometimes how we remember things, isn’t always the truth! 

Obviously I found it amazing seeing Annika wondering if Rav was truly such a great pretender or of there was some truth in the things he was saying.
Turning page after page, discovering how their feelings and emotions grow and develop warmed my heart, as the both of them deserve to find their perfect match, without having the feeling to give up a piece of yourself.
And when Annika and Rav both realize that no matter what you plan beforehand, love comes whenever it wants, even when you least expect it, involving the person you least expect. But it’s in the unexpected that the greatest things emerge…

This could have been the kind of story you could have read a dozen of, but having these two strong characters, both passionate about what they do, but are also loving and caring added extra layers to make this even a greater book.
And having both main characters being from a foreign descent was not something that was strictly mandatory to elevate this lovely book, showing the cultural differences but also showing the similarities, made my awe only grow.
Because it doesn’t matter where your origins lay, after all, we all love our family and would do anything for them, without losing ourselves. And love doesn’t follow your strict plans, or doesn’t demand to make you give up on your dreams, love just makes you realize that dreams can change…

The magic of Christmas works even when you don’t understand or like it…

Synopsis

She can’t abide Christmas. He’s not sure what it’s all about. Together they’re in for a festive surprise.

Ambitious software developer Holly may have a festive name but the connection ends there. She despises the holiday season and decides to flee to the remote island of Mull in a bid to escape from it.

Syrian refugee Farid has made a new home in Scotland but he’s lonely. Understanding Nessie and Irn Bru is one thing, but when glittery reindeer and tinsel hit the shelves, he’s completely bemused. Determined to understand a new culture, he asks his new neighbour to educate him on all things Christmas.

When Holly reluctantly agrees, he realises there’s more to her hatred of mince pies and mulled wine than meets the eye. Farid makes it his mission to inject some joy into Hollys’ life but falling for her is an unexpected gift that was never on his list.

As their attraction sparkles, can Christmas work its magic on Holly and Farid, or will their spark fizzle out with the end of December?

My review

Holly is an ambitious software developer and while her name suggests the opposite, she hates everything that involves Christmas. Christmas songs? She hates it. Mince pies? She hates it. Christmas songs? She hates it.
What she needs now the most, is to escape from everything and everyone and the best place to do that, is the remote island of Mull in Scotland.
But what she didn’t need, was to have Farid as a neighbour. Farid is a Syrian refugee, making a new home in Scotland. Adjusting is not easy, especially with his family still so far away and not understanding all the traditions of Christmas.
And is there a better person to explain him everything than his new neighbour Holly?
While reluctantly, Holly agrees with Farid’s proposition. And slowly, beside all the sparks flying around, Farid learns the reason of Holly’s despise of this holiday. And maybe Holly can appreciate the holiday again by seeing it all through someone’s eyes? 

I love Christmas stories and I don’t care where in the world the story is taking place, as long as we have easy – to – love characters and I can feel the Christmas feelings flying around!

I don’t go big myself around Christmas, but I decorate the tree, buy the gifts (or let Santa know what to deliver 😊), prepare all the required dishes and spend the actual day with my family.
I do all the basics, but I don’t overindulge in it.
I understand the people who go all crazy about it, but I also understand the people who don’t. 

So even if I didn’t know all the details of Holly’s past, I comprehended that she was the kind of person who just doesn’t like the holiday.
And beside the Christmas – issue I could also understand why she wanted to just get of the radar for a moment.
I can only imagine the peace when you are unreachable or only reachable on your terms. 

It’s obvious that something happened to make her dislike the holiday so much, but before we know the whole truth, the author managed to trick her readers by making it appear something complete opposite.
But once the truth was revealed, my comprehension only grew more! 

Farid is the kind of person you can only admire for his courage. Not only did he have to escape his home, but he also has left his family for their protection. Yet he is making the best of his current situation. And even if he cannot use his skills and knowledge anymore, he appreciates the fact he is still alive and has found people willing to help him. 

I found it sweet how Farid was confused about the whole hype around Christmas. And it sure doesn’t help when he hasn’t mastered the English language and all its saying. I have to admit, I had a few laughs when he got confused!
But we see what kind of man he is, kind, gentle, open, loving and also curious and ready to learn new things. 

When Holly and Farid meet, it was an immediate attraction. And while this bothered me tiny bit (I understand attraction and lust, but for a Christmas love story, I was hoping for something on a deeper level), I quickly understood that this instant attraction was just a way of the author to make things work. 

I loved to read how Holly tries to explain everything to Farid, even if it goes against her nature in a figure of speech.
But what I loved the most was the enthusiasm Farid kept showing, making Holly thinking more about the true meaning of Christmas and the way how things work around this festive holiday, how nothing is impossible. 

It warmed my heart how these two persons, totally different in every possible way, find each other and learn from each other and learn to love (again).

This was a lovely, heart – warming story to read, showing us that while we sometimes take things for granted, that is not the case for everyone (shouldn’t we all reflect on this a little bit more?).
But also that no matter what our visions and thoughts are of Christmas, or even how we lack in the knowledge, its magic always finds a wonderful way…

Everyone has a different life and feels it differently

Synopsis

This collection of short stories gives a glimpse into life, love, loss, and the inexplicable in between.

Including themes of grief, finding hope and second chances, facing the consequences of your actions and getting help from the unlikeliest of places.

·        As Cecilia helps the dying, she questions what happens to their spirits. But is she ready to find out?

·        Can a mother’s race through the New Forest save her son?

·        Will visiting a medium bring Christina the closure she needs?

·        Can an intruder help an old lady with her loneliness?

·        Will the start of another wet and miserable Monday morning end with Maeve’s happy ever after?

This anthology includes the prize-winning flash fiction story – ‘Spirit Song’.

Judge’s critique – ‘Unusual, emotional, warm, surprising — a warm, unusual story. It moved me when I read it.’

Full story list:

Spirit Song

Goodbye Forever

Garden Therapy

Starting Over

A Cat-Shaped Hole

The Phone Call

Knocked Off Her Feet

Catalyst

Not Just For Christmas

A Mermaid’s Tail

From the author of fantasy novels Visions of Zarua and ‘Silent Sea Chronicles trilogy’, this short story collection features multiple genres including romance, supernatural and thriller.

My review

A collection filled with short stories, showing how each person react or experience life, love, loss and the inexplicable differently. 

Full story list:
Spirit Song
Goodbye Forever
Garden Therapy
Starting Over
A Cat-Shaped Hole
The Phone Call
Knocked Off Her Feet
Catalyst
Not Just For Christmas
A Mermaid’s Tail

What I like about short stories, is how easy it is to read them even if you only have a short free moment.
And with such subjects, I was for sure intrigued.
While I just said what the advantage is of a collection of short stories, I have to admit that I finished the whole book in one session… 

But I also have to admit that reading each story put me on a rollercoaster of emotions. There were sweet stories in it, heart – warming ones, heart – breaking ones, hopeful stories. But there was also one story that gave me the creeps… So that one story I was glad I finished it quickly! 

What touched me in this collection, is that life passes by for everyone, and everyone is faced with moments of love and loss. Each moment is different from what you have read before. And that is good for the reader, as you don’t have the feeling that the author is falling back to what has been written earlier. 

Of course, with short stories, I sometimes wished they were longer, as I would have loved to get more details or glimpses of ‘what next’.  That obviously doesn’t apply to each story (as one, as stated before, was gruesome enough with what I’ve read). 

There were some fantasy bits in it, and I wouldn’t have minded if they were completely absent as I am not such a fantasy fan myself, but even with my reluctance, I could appreciate their presence in some of the stories, as I felt how they helped the characters. 

I was positively surprised by this author with this first encounter. She managed to find different perfect blends to show us how life can turn around and define us, in a good way or unfortunately also in a bad one…

To experience a real Christmas…

Synopsis

She’s here for the perfect Christmas escape…

When Sharmila discovers her late friend, Thomas, has gifted her the holiday of her dreams, she can’t pack her bags fast enough. Arriving in Pineford, it’s everything she’d ever hoped for and more.

But she’s in for another surprise, because Thomas has left her with one last request: if she completes his Christmas wish list of festive activities, her chosen charity will receive a big donation. Or so Sharmila thinks.

…He’s there to reclaim his family’s legacy

Little does she know, she’s set to inherit Thomas’s estate too, much to his nephew Zach’s disbelief. Determined not to see his family’s legacy left to a stranger, he’s come to Pineford to do whatever it takes to stop Sharmila from fulfilling that list.

When Sharmila and Zach meet, neither are prepared for sparks to fly. For Sharmila’s sworn off love, and Zach doesn’t trust her. But with every passing wish they find themselves growing closer. And amongst the twinkling town lights and fallen snow, Sharmila can feel her heart opening up to Zach. But when she learns he’s been keeping a secret from her, can Sharmila forgive him and get the happy-ever-after she’s always wished for this Christmas?

The Twelve Wishes of Christmas is the perfect book to snuggle up with on those cosy wintry nights. Perfect for fans of Heidi Swain and Jo Thomas.

My review

Sharmila never expected that her friendship with Thomas would result into experiencing the real feeling of Christmas and all its festivities. She always enjoyed those Christmas movies with an unsurprising ending, and with Thomas’ gift of spending a holiday in Pineford, is the perfect way to experience those clichés herself as Thomas has made a Christmas Wish List she must complete in order that a charity of her choice will receive a big donation.
But what she doesn’t know is that Thomas left her also his estate. And his own family, included his nephew Zach won’t allow a stranger to get their hands on the family’s legacy.
Zach is determined to sabotage the Christmas wish list, but what he didn’t expect was to find that sparks fly around whenever Sharmila and her look on the Christmas festivities are around… 

This book is a perfect book filled with clichés about Christmas romance that can easily be turned into a perfect Christmas movie too! 

What I liked about this book, is that our main character Sharmila in some ways isn’t the typical heroine that you would expect yet in so many other ways she just is.
The close friendship she had with Thomas, was so sweet to read about, and it warmed my heart to see how two persons in a total different stage in their lives, found each other and learned from each other.
Sharmila and Thomas found each other, in a total innocent and genuine way, at a moment they needed to find each other. 

And reading how Thomas became a part of Sharmila’s family, meeting her parents, and even going to India, shows us that cultural differences can only expand our perceptiveness of the world.
Not only because Sharmila and her family come from originally from India, but also because they are living in the United Kingdom while Thomas is typical American.
It was also interesting to see how Sharmila used to celebrate (or rather not celebrate) Christmas yet how much she wishes to feel that experience herself. 

That brings us to Pineford… Because this place for sure is the most welcoming, helping place in the whole world! Even some (smaller) strings are being pulled to make it possible to complete the Wish List.
And while Sharmila is a rather closed person due a past event, she finds herself opening up little by little. 

Of course there has to be a love interest in this story. And while it did not come as a total surprise, I was glad that the love interest was Zach and not his cousin Lucas. While Lucas is for sure the most friendly, open, nicer character of the two, it’s always those intriguing characters that make me swoon.
And while it was wrong of the cousins wanting to sabotage Sharmila, I could also understand them, as they didn’t know the whole story. 

Even if Zach may seem like a real Grinch or Scrooge, we also see bits of this kind persona, who has been hurt in the past too and his determination of not getting fooled again, makes him also kind of blind to see how genuine Sharmila is. 

Of course you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to guess how this story will end, but that doesn’t mean you should just ignore this book.
I loved reading it, bringing me totally already in the Christmas spirit, even if it’s so far away yet. I loved reading how Sharmila checks of her list, discovers new times, but also learns to open her heart again.
This was a lovely, Christmassy story, to read while sitting in front of a fireplace, enjoying a hot chocolate and swoon away over lovely characters, maybe predictable yet not less lovable!

With Christmas on its way, will everyone get their wish granted?

Synopsis

Winter has arrived in Primrose Woods bringing with it new loves, new adventures and warm hugs on cold days.

Abbey Carter, her boyfriend Sam and their trusty canine companion Lady, relish living in the picturesque village of Wishwell at the edge of their beloved Primrose Woods.  The woods and the country park are full of activity as the festive season approaches.

Lizzie Baker is flat out at the Treetops café, serving all sorts of winter warmers, festive goodies and lashings of hot chocolate. And when her daughter and grandchildren arrive to stay, the run up to Christmas is set to be even more magical than she had expected.

Rhianna West has finally found the perfect man to fall in love with – if only Luke wasn’t moving away in the New Year. 

As the snow falls on Primrose Woods, and the village of Wishwell sparkles with Christmas lights, could this be the year that every wish comes true for the three friends?

Snowflakes Over Primrose Woods is the perfect feel-good love story to snuggle up with this winter. Just right for fans of Cathy Bramley, Heidi Swain and Julie Houston.

My review

Abbey Carter cannot grasp how much her life has changed over a year… Not only did she not get married, she even ended her relationship and is now deeply in love with Sam. And she absolutely loves her friends Lizzie and Rhianna, even if on paper they couldn’t be more different.
Lizzie Baker loves working at the Treetops café, with her new friend, and Abbey’s father, Bill and is over the moon when her daughter Katy and her grandchildren stand in front of her doorstep.
And Rhianna West has returned from her trip to Australia, even more certain of her feelings for Luke. Only, she seems to have friend – zoned and to make things even worse, Luke is moving away in the New Year.
With Christmas approaching, will the three friends have their greatest wishes granted? Or should they just enjoy all the wonderful things they already have? 

I was over the moon when I could finally start reading this book, as I fell completely in love with Primrose Woods with the first.
Now, you can read this as a standalone, as the necessary bits are shortly explained, but I truly recommend you to read book 1 too. And not only for being completely up to date, but because it is a wonderful book! 

While the focus is again mainly on Abbey and Sam, I felt my heart grow with love for each woman and her partner in crime.
While they are very different from each other, I recognized bits of each woman in myself too, making it even more easier to like and love them. 

I loved reading how perfect Abbey and Sam were together, with the sweet presence of Lady too! It’s obvious from every interaction that this couple is endgame, as I could see the love in their eyes from each look they give each other, every hug, every kiss,…
But no matter how perfect they are for each other, what made these marvellous even more real, was that despite everything going so well, doubts sometimes keep creeping in. It can be from a ghost from the past, a found gift that has not been given, or just doubting yourself being right for the person you love.
Those bits show us that even the most perfect characters have so much in common with the real people out here.

But even I was happy with Abbey’s and Sam’s part, I was the most curious about Rhianna…
I knew her feelings for Luke and I was very eager to know if they would or wouldn’t. And seeing how Rhianna is being friend – zoned, which breaks her heart, is also something many of us can relate to. Yet I admired her for valuing her friendship with Luke so much. While it breaks her heart for not being together – together with him, she wants to be his friend anyway. If that isn’t love… 

And Lizzie… she is just the perfect (grand)mother. She loves her daughter Katy deeply, even if she misses her and the children so much as they live in Australia. I could feel her happiness emanating from the pages when Katy stand in front of the door. I loved her for understanding Katy’s issues, for offering Katy a helping hand whenever needed. And Lizzie finding also her own happiness was the cherry on top of an amazing cake.  

The focus of this book is obviously romance, but even if I loved every bit of that romance, it was the friendship and other versions of love that made me adore this book. The author managed perfectly to make us fall deeper in love with each character, but also made us appreciate those we have around us even more.
The setting is around Christmas, and that added an additional, special, magical layer over this story. But I have no inch of a doubt that I would have adored this story in any season!

Sometimes we need a pretend to see the reality

Synopsis

An heiress to a fortune, Ren’s home-from-home is the Ritz, while the handsome and brooding Sacha has grown up in Paris’s less salubrious suburbs.  So when an accident brings them together, romance seems an unlikely outcome.

When Ren’s society engagement reaches a very public end, Irena’s over-protective grandmother wants her home in London.  Ren needs an excuse to stay in Paris, and so after some persuasion, Sacha agrees to pose as her new boyfriend. But only for the twenty-one days Ren’s grandmother has allowed her to nurse her broken heart before heading home to face the music.

Over the course of three weeks, Ren realises the world outside her exclusive bubble is more beautiful than she could have imagined. While Sacha reluctantly begins to see the goodness of the woman behind the wealth. When their time is up, will Ren want to return to her gilded cage, and will Sacha be able to let go of the woman he’s been ‘pretending’ to fall in love with…

My review

Ren is known as an heiress to a fortune, with a society engagement to be the cherry on top of a cake – merger.
Even if the engagement is over for a while, when it’s made public, Ren’s grandmother wants her to fly over from Paris back to London.
But Ren is not ready to leave Paris, and needs an excuse to stay. And when her car door smashes literally into Sacha on his bike, she persuades him to pose as her new, ‘inappropriate’ boyfriend for three weeks. 21 days is all Ren’s grandmother allows her to spend with Sacha, before she has to return to London and back to business as usual.
21 days, where Ren realizes that the world outside her bubble is much grander and expectantly more beautiful than imagined.
21 days, where pretend starts to shift into something else, despite their differences.
21 days, which once ended, Ren is to return home, because happy endings are after all just things from fairy tales…

Having read several books from this author, I knew I would enjoy this one from the very start till the very last punctuation mark.
Having read several books from this author, I had a small fear that this book wouldn’t live up to the extremely high expectations I had.
Knowing this author, I shouldn’t have had an inch of a doubt about how much I just loved this book! 

First of all, I found it refreshing reading about a sort of reversed Pretty Woman. Having a heroine that is rich and wealthy, and a hero that isn’t, was exactly what the world needs more of. Because why couldn’t be women being as successful as man? 

Ren is the kind of character you know isn’t very happy, as not only her engagement ended, but she also has to live up to the high standards her grandmother dictates. I can only imagine the horror of not being allowed a biscuit when I want, out of fear that my waistline would be too big for the fancy clothes I wear!
There is also something else that scarred her, but we don’t know what that is until later on the story. 

But when she decides to stand up for herself, even using Sacha in her schemes, and her being determined to stay in Paris, that is the point that my admiration for her just started to grow. And seeing Ren feeling free, made me see the real Ren. 

I liked how Ren starts to discover the real Paris, with the help of Sacha. And not only… she sees that richness and wealth doesn’t mean happiness. She also learns that she doesn’t has to pretend with Sacha and his family, but she can just be herself, as that is more than enough. 

While reading, I also had so many laughs. It was jut hilarious to see how many ‘accidents’ can happen in such a short time.  

But overall, the main facial expression I had while reading, was that of a smile… This was just an amazing, wonderful, sweet, romantic book, showing us not only the beauty of a place like Paris, but also the beauty of two people meeting literally by accident, being complete opposites from each other, but being also utterly perfect for each other.
And isn’t that in the end what truly matters? Your background doesn’t matter when it comes to love. Your background made you who you are now, but when love enters the equation, that doesn’t matter as much as the love, passion and feelings you develop for the person standing by your side.

Pebblestow, where everyone fits in

Synopsis

Sometimes, the dream we think we don’t deserve is the one that’s trying to come true…

Esme Blythe has led a nomadic existence for the last ten years, never thinking she fits anywhere, and never feeling she’s earned the right to. But when she moves in above Percival’s, the charming old toy shop in Market Square, Pebblestow, it seems the village is about to weave its signature fairy-tale magic.

Surrounded by wooden toy soldiers, rocking horses, and vintage doll’s houses, not to mention the locals who seem determined to be part of her life – from her endearing grumpy uncle, to warm-hearted co-worker Blodwyn, and smouldering single dad Seth – Esme has to face up to everything she’s been missing, or turn her back on an incredible opportunity.

New friends, formidable foes, and the thrill of a budding romance, conspire to make this the most bittersweet December ever. But when she finally learns the truth about the toy shop’s owner, her elusive benefactor, the mysterious Mr Percival, is it already too late for Esme to change her mind… and heal her heart?

My review

Esme Blythe has never felt at home in any place, that made her live a nomadic life for the last ten years.
Her latest escape brings her to live above  Percival’s, a wonderful old toy shop in Market Square in Pebblestow, where also her uncle lives.
While she has no intention of turning Pebblestow into her permanent home, she finds herself surrounded by the locals who wouldn’t love to have Esme be turned into part of the community too.
But no matter how lovely everyone seems to be, will they also accept Esme the way she is, as her way of looking at the world is not how everyone else seems to see it. And will Esme realize that she deserves her share of happiness too, perhaps even with single dad Seth and his little girl Tamika, who has a lot in common with Esme? 

Returning to Pebblestow was for sure a pleasure! I loved seeing the characters of the previous book again and to learn how things were going for them.
But if you haven’t read the previous book, do not worry, as this story can be perfectly read as a standalone! 

From the very start, my heart went out to Esme, even before I knew what her ‘situation’ was. Because with or without that ‘condition’, if we can call it like that, it broke my heart to read how she feels like an imposter somehow, that she doesn’t deserve anything good in her life.
I could sense her fear of moving to Pebblestow, and I understood her feelings so well. We all are who we are, but what if people won’t accept us for who we are?  

But Pebblestow didn’t disappoint me at all, as Esme quickly learned all the wonderful people there, like her co – worker Blodwyn, Cara (who we all know already) and Seth with Tamika…
It warmed my heart to read how everyone just opened their arms and heart to Esme, wanting to help her, and make her feel that Pebblestow is ready to welcome its latest inhabitant. 

But what made my heart melt the most, was the interaction between Esme, Seth and Tamika. Seth has been through something terrible not so long ago, and Tamika is a very withdrawn little girl. The bond between Esme and Tamika made me ‘aaaawww’ several times.
And it’s with Tamika that I understood better Esme. 

I found it refreshing and more correct in a way how the author let us know Esme and her struggles. Way too often we get to know about those struggles but we do not always comprehend how it is for those people to live with them.
I was a bit surprised to discover the truth about Esme, because I never linked the two dots together. Just showing us the wide spectrum that there is. Not everyone is the same, and that for sure also applies for people in the spectrum. That was truly opened my eyes. 

While it was important to know more about Esme, the author didn’t put the focus too much on this point. The story she wanted to tell was one about finding love, finding home and finding yourself (again). No matter what happened in your past, in Esme’s or Seth’s, if you have found the perfect person for you, it doesn’t matter if there are prejudiced (and even overprotective) people who don’t understand you. As long as you find that one person that does…

To fall in love while breaking up

Synopsis

Ellie Shaw loves love. Unfortunately, she’s also an expert in break-ups. When a friend needs help with her ‘too nice to dump’ boyfriend, Ellie agrees to help. What she doesn’t expect is for American Dan to be kind, caring, to love dogs and look like a Disney hero. In other words, completely too good to be true.

She lets him down with grace and, encouraged by her friends, sets up Softer Landings, offering kinder, gentler break-ups.

A year later American Dan reappears in her life. With a new girlfriend. One who also decides he’s not the one for her.

The team hatch a plan to let Dan down easy, but while Ellie attempts to lead him gently away, real sparks start to fly. There’s just one big problem she can’t ignore. Can Ellie reveal that their romance is the result of an elaborate con without it feeling like a huge betrayal? Or is she about to star in the most awful dumping of all time?

My review

Ellie Shaw never expected to run a business specialised in breaking up. Whenever someone wants to break up with their partner, they can hire Ellie and her team of Softer Landings to break things up kindly and gently.
Ellie’s business started all when a friend needed help with her ‘too nice to dump’ and American boyfriend. And American Dan is just too good to be true.
When one year later, American Dan returns, Ellie is shocked when his girlfriend hires her to break up with Dan too.
While working on the best plan to ‘dump’ Dan, sparks start to fly around. But how can Ellie tell Dan the truth without breaking his heart? And convince him that she wasn’t pretending? 

A book with this title, how cannot it not trigger my interest? We have had all a break – up that didn’t go that well, so having a agency like Ellie’s for sure would have come in handy in those moments! 

And Ellie is also talking from experience, as her own break – up was a shocking one, and knows also from helping out her sister that there is a gentler way of breaking up.
Not only from knowing that she has helped her sister, and also her friend, it’s easy to see what kind of character Ellie is.
She is kind, caring and loving. Who else would agree to take a dog in house while the righteous owner is going away for a year?
But she is also insecure, which is shown in several occasions, like not telling her own family she is no longer in a relationship and not being sure that her colleagues are also real friends.  

She has met her perfect man in ‘American Dan’, but she knows he is of limits. Not only because you don’t start something with a former boyfriend of your friend, but also because when he returns after a year, he is in a relationship.
And I admired her how she respected those boundaries, even when it’s clear that he will be single again very quickly… 

Dan couldn’t be more perfect, just like Ellie says, he is the perfect Disney Hero. They like the same things, and the two of them just click somehow. And the way he fusses over lovely Gus the Dog, well, ovaries exploding alert!
However, there is something he is hiding. And while during the whole story we know something happened to him, but it’s only in the very end that we know the full details.
And while I felt sad for him, I also had to admit to have full admiration for how he has been and is still handling his situation. 

While I had my doubts about the agency itself (because no matter how handy it would be to have someone doing the breaking up for you, it also shows a level of maturity doing it yourself), this story shows us that your perfect match sees you and loves you for just the way you are. And while keeping something hidden, as you are afraid of the reaction is understandable, but you should never underestimate the understanding of the person you love. 

But in this story we see also each character, not only Ellie and Dan, mature, evolve in this story. Ellie learns to be more confident and open her heart, Dan learns that not everyone will pity him, but also the other side characters learn important lessons about living in the now, enjoying the time together and the true meaning of friendship.

I enjoyed reading this story, about lovely characters who deserve the world but have to learn to open up. And with some twists in this tale, it shows us to treasure what we have and enjoy all the beautiful bits. But most important, to just be yourself and trust those around you, because they love anyway, even when you don’t expect them to…

Will an offering hand be healing two hearts?

Synopsis

Music sensation Aurora Storm finally has her career back on track, but then she’s caught up in a media storm. Desperate to distract from the story, she enlists the one man she trusts to pretend to be her boyfriend. 

Meanwhile, in the small seaside village of Mermaids Point, Nick Morgan never expected to see Aurora again. When she calls out of the blue needing his help, he agrees at once. It feels like she’s back in his life for a reason, and he’s determined to make the most of it.

Aurora joins Nick and the rest of his family for their festive celebrations and, as the snow falls, Aurora finds herself caught up in the romance of Christmas. But having tasted worldwide fame, can she ever be content with village life? 

Two weeks is all Nick has to prove to Aurora that there’s a happy ending for them both in Mermaids Point.

My review

Nick Morgan never expected to be pining for music sensation Aurora Storm after their short fling. Especially has she seems to be ghosting him.
But when Aurora finds herself in a media storm, she needs the help of the one man she felt safe with, Nick.
Nick agrees at once to pretend to be her boyfriend and offers her accommodation at Mermaids Point.
Aurora finds herself joining Nick and his family with all the festive celebrations around Christmas, and realizes what she has been missing, both in romance and family aspect.. But is a simple life enough for someone who is used to stand literally in the spotlight?

I have to be honest, from what I have read in the previous parts of this series, I didn’t really like Aurora and her behaviour.
So Sarah Bennett had an almost impossible task to make me like Aurora… But she did it!

Mermaids Point is definitely a lovely place, with wonderful characters. And seeing these wonderful people getting together previously, warmed my heart.
Yet if there was one character that saddened me, it was Nick for sure. I can imagine how hurtful it can be seeing everyone around you being all happy and in love, while you are also in love, but heart – broken.
However, despite his own feelings, we see how great he is. Not only is he an amazing brother, friend or son, but he is always ready to help out when needed, even without having been asked for help.

Like I said, I didn’t like Aurora from what I have read before, but getting to know her better in this book, made me realize how wrong my impressions were of her. It only shows how much people hide to the outside world!
I admired her determination how she followed her passion of making music. But I also liked how despite all the glitter and glamour, she just enjoyed wiping all the make – up of her face and sit back in her hoodie and leggings…

But she is also a gentle character, wanting to please her fans, and longs for the love of her parents. But her past is also a bit of a dark one, as she has been hurt by love tremendously. And reading about that past made me understand her character, her behaviour, and her fear of opening up much better.

It was lovely to see how Nick is ready to help Aurora out, despite her behaviour. And it’s for sure a good sign that Aurora thinks of Nick when needing someone to feel safe with.
While everything start as a pretend, it’s impossible to ignore the sparks that fly around with these two persons.
And I found it really sweet to see how not only Nick’s family, but the whole community made Aurora feel welcome, even if they had their own suspicions if it were the right thing to do…

In this book, Aurora realizes that she missed something in her life, and now that she has found it, has to make a life altering decision. Is music something she can give up? Or can she give up on Nick? I for sure wouldn’t want to be in her shoes!
Nick doesn’t have a doubt what he wants in his life, but the choice is up to Aurora, and he gives her the space and time she needs. And while we know it would break him completely if Aurora would leave again, he will respect her decision anyway, because that’s the kind of man he is.
If there somewhere a mold I can use to create my own Nick?

And obviously, I loved reading how my old friends were doing! And how united they all are as a family (truly related or not!). This unit of family member show us the real meaning of loving and accepting each other unconditionally!

This was a wonderful, heart-warming, lovely, Christmassy story to read. I enjoyed reading every page of this book! It saddens me a lot to say goodbye to Mermaids Point, but on the other hand, it couldn’t have been a more perfect ending!

Christmas, where anything can happen

Synopsis

Snuggle up for the holidays with 12 very different tales of love that will have you dancing under the mistletoe!

The Mistletoe Mixtape, the second anthology from The Christmas Collective, is a diverse and inclusive mix of stories, with more swoon-worthy characters, second chances and happy endings.

Amongst these twelve Christmas music inspired stories you will discover long lost love, festive fantasy, LGBTQ+ love stories, witty one liners and holiday romances. There really is a story to capture every reader’s festive spirit. So grab yourself a hot chocolate, pop on your favourite festive tunes and immerse yourself in the magic of The Mistletoe Mixtape.

My review

Twelve short stories, all about Christmas and music inspired. Stories about lost loves, magical loves, LGBTQ+ loves, they all have one thing in common in this collective, they all take place around Christmas and in all shapes and forms. 

Sometimes, you just need a short story to lift your spirits. And other times you need a collection of short stories to lift your spirits even higher.

Twelve stories, each was different from the previous one, yet I cannot pick a favourite one. I didn’t care if it was a story about new loves, long lost loves, or love between men, I loved them all equally.
Because I felt that the message of love was more important than who was the one feeling all the love. 

It happens that with short stories, you sense that there is so much more potential in the development of characters or storyline. And I felt that these stories COULD have been longer, but as Christmas is only one day in a year, I found it also fitting that we only have a glimpse of the lives of the characters. 

Each story warmed my heart, as they all show us that how impossible it may seem, one day it all it can take to find your perfect match. And even if some magical bits were causing strange movements from my eyebrows, they also fitted perfectly in the special feelings surrounding Christmas. 

And it was a nice touch of the authors to have a song to use as inspiration for the tale.  

This ‘mixtape’ is perfect to read while sitting under a blanket, with a hot chocolate and marshmallows, and dream away and hoping of finding your own magical moment of love at Christmas!