BLOGTOUR: A Reason to Grieve - Mick Williams

Tom and Emma drift through life, both burdened with a heavy sense of grief. Both have suffered devastating loss and have closed themselves off to the possibility of happiness. Then, at a funeral, their eyes meet and they feel something neither expected.

Supported by their quirky friends and a ‘right to the point’ pensioner, will they overcome their fears and find the solution to the pain within each other, or will they give up and go their separate ways?

In turns funny and sad, A Reason to Grieve is a romantic tale about two people fighting their feelings, about love and loss. And about funerals. 

Purchase Links

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reason-Grieve-Mick-Williams/dp/1536957216/

US - https://www.amazon.com/Reason-Grieve-Mick-Williams/dp/1536957216/

My Review

A lovely read by Mick Williams that is full of funny and touching moments. A sweet romantic comedy, it’s not overly soppy or gushing but is really sentimental in some parts.

Emma and Tom are our main characters who meet each other in quite the unique situation. With an instant connection it’s nice to see their relationship develop but also the relationships they have with their friends. Cue a lot of banter, jokes and moments of unfiltered truth.

My favourite character is Doris. Like a Mum to the salon girls, what she imparts through hilarious stories is priceless. I wish I could pull off blue hair like her!

Emma and Tom’s relationship doesn’t always run smoothly – they have to work through their own insecurities, the ghosts from their past that they’ve held onto for too long. It did make for some fairly emotional moments and I’m sure most readers will connect to them in some way.

Very well written and nicely paced I think this is a funny read that will entertain.

About the author:

Mick Williams moved from Stoke-On-Trent, England to Kentucky, USA. Then, after almost a decade, he moved back.

In between reading, writing and listening to good music he still watches proper football and, for his sins, follows his local team Port Vale. He does also still cheer for the Indianapolis Colts.

He was adopted by two cats, Crash and Thud, and resides with his patient wife in Staffordshire.

Social Media Links – www.mickwilliamsauthor.co​m and mickwilliamsauthor on Facebook​               

The Hopes And Triumphs of The Amir Sisters - Nadiya Hussain

Synopsis:

Mae has watched as her three older sisters have gone through the process of finding their place in the world and faced the challenges of parenthood head on. Now ready to spread her wings beyond her close-knit family, Mae is ready to take the world by storm.

But a series of events will shake the strong self-belief Mae has always had in herself and will leave her questioning where it is she really fits in.

The Amir sisters will need to draw on all the love they have for each other, if they are going to navigate the challenges life has to throw at them and help Mae along the path to self-discovery.

My Review:

Thank you to HQ Stories and Jessica Lee for the opportunity to read and review this charming read. I must admit I didn’t realise this was part of a series at first and generally I always try to read books in order but my enjoyment or understanding of this book was hindered by this. There was enough backstory included throughout that added context where needed.

I really felt for Mae for most of the time, even if she verged on being a little selfish at times. Clearly surrounded by people who have a lot going on, the family is busy and chaotic, but they love each other and are all just trying to find their way through their lives the best they can.

Being 19 and unsure of where you fit in can be hard and this book delicately shows how it might not always go right, but you must push through, fight the battles and make the choices you need to in order to find your own way.

This is a lovely read, nothing too intense or that will leave you with many questions. I enjoyed how we gently navigated themes of family, love, sexuality and cultural traditions. It is well written with characters that are likeable and entertaining.

I’ll definitely recommend this book for fans of the author and those looking for a warm, funny read.

About the Author:

Nadiya Hussain is a British baker, columnist, author and television presenter. The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters is her debut novel.

Hussain was born to a British Bangladeshi family in Luton, where she grew up. She developed her interest in cooking while at school and largely self-educated herself in cooking by reading recipe books and watching instructional videos on YouTube. She married and moved to Leeds, where she began studying for an Open University degree. In 2015 she appeared on the BBC's The Great British Bake Off and won the contest. She was subsequently invited to produce a cake for the 90th birthday celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II and to present her own BBC documentary, The Chronicles of Nadiya.

Hussain is a columnist for The Times Magazine and Essentials magazine, has signed publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Hodder Children's Books, and Harlequin. She is also a regular reporter for The One Show and a guest panellist on Loose Women. Hussain was named by Debrett's as one of the 500 most influential people in the UK in 2016. Hussain was on BBC News' 100 Women list in 2016. Nadiya Hussain is a British baker, columnist, author and television presenter. The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters is her debut novel.

Hussain was born to a British Bangladeshi family in Luton, where she grew up. She developed her interest in cooking while at school and largely self-educated herself in cooking by reading recipe books and watching instructional videos on YouTube. She married and moved to Leeds, where she began studying for an Open University degree. In 2015 she appeared on the BBC's The Great British Bake Off and won the contest. She was subsequently invited to produce a cake for the 90th birthday celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II and to present her own BBC documentary, The Chronicles of Nadiya.

Hussain is a columnist for The Times Magazine and Essentials magazine, has signed publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Hodder Children's Books, and Harlequin. She is also a regular reporter for The One Show and a guest panellist on Loose Women. Hussain was named by Debrett's as one of the 500 most influential people in the UK in 2016. Hussain was on BBC News' 100 Women list in 2016.

Nadiya Hussain rose to fame after winning the sixth series of The Great British Bake Off. She was one of the most memorable contestants ever due to her captivating smile and inspirational winner’s speech. Since winning, Nadiya has presented the BBC documentaries The Chronicles of Nadiya, Nadiya’s British Food Adventure, Nadiya’s Family Favourites. She has also co-presented The Big Family Cooking Showdown and Junior Bake Off and is a regular guest on The One Show.

Her cookery books and cookery/story books for children have reached bestseller status and include Nadiya’s Family Favourites, Nadiya’s British Food Adventure, Nadiya’s Kitchen and the Nadiya’s Bake Me a Story trilogy. Nadiya has also written two novels – The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters and The Fall and Rise of the Amir Sisters. Her first picture book, My Monster and Me, is publishing in October 2019, as is Finding My Voice, an emotive look at the different roles Nadiya plays in her life and how they have shaped her.

Nadiya makes regular appearances at cookery events throughout the UK and abroad, including the BBC Good Food Show and many more, and has featured in the BBC’s 100 Most Influential Women list. She also features regularly in the media with columns in The Times and previously BBC Good Food Magazine and Essentials.

Nadiya lives with her husband Abdal and their three children in Milton Keynes.

It started with a secret - Jill Mansell

The feel-good novel of the year from the Sunday Times bestselling author of MAYBE THIS TIME. Everyone has a secret - and there's no knowing what will happen when those secrets start to come out ...

The trouble with secrets is that you can't guess what the consequences will be . . .

Lainey has just lost everything. Luckily one little fib (OK, quite a big fib) helps nail her dream job. Soon she's living in a stunning house by the sea, fending off obsessed fans for a retired - if far-from-retiring - actor and organising his charming but chaotic family. Yes, everyone thinks she's part of a couple and it's tricky keeping this secret. But at least she's not looking for love: with her disastrous relationship history, men are definitely off the agenda.

Except Seth, the actor's grandson, really is very attractive. There's growing chemistry and a definite connection between them. What would happen if he knew the truth?

But Lainey's not the only one with a secret - it seems everyone has them! And they're all about to start unravelling... 

My Review:

Jill Mansell has been a long-standing favourite of mine. Getting to cosy up with another book is a pleasure, an even bigger pleasure is to be able to be part of the blog tour for her latest release.  There has never been a Jill Mansell book that doesn’t draw me in and keep me hooked from the first word right until ‘The End.’

'It started with a secret' is another example of this. I was hooked as soon as I started reading, not wanting to put it down for a second.

I loved the fabulous array of characters, such a wild and varied bunch that gel together so

well throughout the story. Lainey and her (gay) ‘boyfriend’ arrive in St. Carys to work for a family, comprised of an older famous film star, his daughter in law, adult grandson Seth and several children. Here the adventure really begins and the lovely Lainey, who is managing this household, has her work cut out for her.

With some hilarious moments between Lainey and Richard, I really enjoyed their relationship. Her attempt at improving how well he treats his fans leads to a surprise discovery but a tender, life changing moment. I also found some of Majella’s dating disasters incredibly funny – that poor woman, putting herself out there only to end up opposite some real duds!

Lainey has a very special relationship with each member of the family, knowing each of their secrets and helping them along the way, whilst following her own heart. She’s one special lady. She brought out the best in each character.

I enjoyed how the threads of this book were interwoven into a beautiful tapestry, with so much happening it would be easy to get complicated or confusing, but Mansell executes it with ease.

The only disappointment? That it had to end. 

A wonderful read that I am sure will delight fans of the author and those who have yet to discover the delight of her work.  

About the Author:

Jill Mansell is the author of over twenty Sunday Times bestsellers including The One You

Really Want and Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay.  Take a Chance on Me won the RNA’s Romantic Comedy Prize, and in 2015 the RNA presented Jill with an outstanding achievement award. 

Jill’s personal favourite amongst her novels is Three Amazing Things About You, which is about cystic fibrosis and organ donation; to her great delight, many people have joined the organ donor register as a direct result of reading this novel.

Jill started writing fiction while working in the field of Clinical Neurophysiology in the NHS, but now writes full time. She lives in Bristol with her family.

BLOGTOUR: A Winter Wedding at the Little Duck Pond Café - Rosie Green

With Zak and Ellie’s wedding day approaching, there's high excitement in the pretty village of Sunnybrook, especially among the Little Duck Pond Café crew. Ellie is over the moon with her romantic surprise wedding gift from Zak, and Madison is promising to organise a hen party to remember. Everyone has high hopes for a magical Christmas Eve wedding celebration at gorgeous Brambleberry Manor. (Even Maisie-Moo has a sparkling new outfit.)

But sometimes, even the best-laid plans can go wrong. And with the journey to the altar turning out to be rockier than expected, it’s going to take nothing short of a Christmas miracle to ensure a happy ending . .

Purchase Links

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Winter-Wedding-Little-Duck-Pond-ebook/dp/B07YQB5HSV/

US - https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Wedding-Little-Duck-Pond-ebook/dp/B07YQB5HSV/

My Review:  

I often find myself here declaring how much I love this series, each new addition is much welcomed and I always find myself looking forward to the next.

This visit to our favourite Little Duck Pond Café does not disappoint in any way. I’m going to avoid saying too much plot wise as I am very keen not to give anything away. We get to see things from Elle, Jaz and Fen's perspectives and I really enjoyed getting back to seeing things from their points of view again.

I admit that although part of an on-going series, you could probably read and enjoy this as a standalone but I really would encourage everyone to go back and catch up on their adventures.

The wedding we have all been waiting for is finally happening, will it be smooth sailing or will it all end in tears?! It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. I do enjoy catching up with our eclectic bunch of characters who seem to all work well together. There are laughs, loves and misunderstandings but what a fabulous community. I say it every single time, I would love to be part of their gang!

Rosie Green has given us a loveable, laughable novella that I enjoyed from the moment I started to read. I cannot wait to be back again.

Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Rosie Green for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author: 

Rosie has been scribbling stories ever since she was little.

Back then, they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by 'the baddies'.

Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger involved at all - unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love. 

Follow Rosie on Twitter - https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green1988



                        

BLOGTOUR: The Place We Call Home - Faith Hogan

About the book:
 

Welcome to Ballycove, the home of Corrigan Mills...

 

Set against the backdrop of the beautiful Irish countryside the famed mills have created the finest wool in all of Ireland. Run by the seemingly perfect Corrigan family, but every family has its secrets, and how the mills came to be the Corrigan's is one of them...

Miranda and her husband were never meant to own the mills, until one fateful day catapults them into a life they never thought they'd lead.

Ada has forever lived her life in her sister's shadow. Wanting only to please her mother and take her place as the new leader of the mill, Ada might just have to take a look at what her heart really wants.

Callie has a flourishing international career as a top designer and a man who loves her dearly, she appears to have it all. When a secret is revealed and she's unceremoniously turfed out of the design world, Callie might just get what's she's been yearning for. The chance to go home.

Simon has always wanted more. More money, more fame, more notoriety. The problem child. Simon has made more enemies than friends over the years, and when one of his latest schemes falls foul he'll have to return to the people who always believe in him.

Ballycove isn't just a town in the Irish countryside. It isn't just the base of the famous mills. It's a place to call home.

My Review:

I’m a fan of Hogan’s work and jumped at the opportunity to get stuck into ‘The Place We Call Home.’ She is an amazing storyteller – whisking us to beautiful locations and giving us a fantastic array of characters, some you love the bones of but some you simply can’t stand, just how we do in life I think.

With this book, we have themes of family, friendships and deep-seated secrets and desires, as well as feeling like we belong. We are taken on quite the journey and are given some great characters; they are funny and successful, full of love and heart and of course have that Irish charm that can land them in a whole heap of trouble. Typically, they are all searching for their own happiness but are they going to find it back in Ballycove, back home.  

It is a nicely paced story, so well written especially moving between past and present. This gorgeous saga kept me engrossed for hours. I simply didn’t want to put it down once I’d started – so prepare, give yourself a whole afternoon and get cosy!

Buy links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2reRKDx

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2JZqjEn
Google Play: https://bit.ly/2X1zd9T

iBooks: https://apple.co/33oLQhm

About the author 

Faith lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and two very fussy cats. She has an Hons Degree in English Literature and Psychology, has worked as a fashion model and in the intellectual disability and mental health sector.

Follow Faith:   

Twitter: @GerHogan

Facebook: @faithhoganauthor

COVER REVEAL - The Secret Seaside Escape by Heidi Swain

It is an absolute pleasure to be able to reveal the cover for the upcoming release from the ever-so wonderful, Heidi Swain. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, here it is - The Secret Seaside Escape.

How gorgeous is this cover! I cannot wait to read this one. 

Following a shocking revelation within her family, Tess Tyler is looking to escape her hectic city life – and where better to hide than Wynmouth, the seaside town she visited as a child, with its sandy beaches, stunning rock pools and welcoming community. But little does she realise, Wynmouth isn't quite the haven she remembers it to be, and her real life is still threatening to catch up with her . . .
Also returning to Wynmouth is Joe. Having fled over a decade ago after an accident that changed his life forever, he’s back and is determined to face his demons. But, like Tess, Joe realises that the town is nothing like he remembers and quickly his arrival brings old tensions to the surface.
As the pair begin to familiarise themselves with the town they once knew, they each realise that the secrets they carry are becoming harder to conceal – but will revealing them bring the answers they’re looking for? Will Tess and her new friends finally get the second chance they’ve been hoping Wynmouth will give them?

PRE-ORDER NOW:
Links to Amazon

Paperback

E-book

Audio

Heidi Swain is the Sunday Times bestselling author of nine novels. She lives in Norfolk with her husband, two allegedly grown-up children and a mischievous black cat called Storm. She is passionate about gardening, the countryside and collects vintage paraphernalia.

To find out more, follow Heidi on twitter @Heidi_Swain or visit her website: www.heidiswain.co.uk.

The First Time I Saw You - Emma Cooper

From the author of The Songs of Us. Fans of Jojo Moyes and Lucy Dillon will love The First Time I Saw You by Emma Cooper. 

Six-foot-two Irish man who answers to the name Samuel McLaughlin.

Has weak shins and enjoys show tunes.

If found, please return to Sophie Williams.

Before Sophie met Samuel she saw the world in grey.

Before Samuel met Sophie, he never believed in love at first sight.

When they first meet, something tells them they are meant to be.

But fate has other ideas.

Now they have lost each other and can't see a way back.

But they've already changed each other's lives in more ways

than they could have predicted...

My Review:

Outstanding… what an utterly emotional gem of a book.

I loved Emma’s previous book ‘The Songs of Us’ so I knew to expect a rollercoaster of an emotional journey. Lets say – I wasn’t disappointed there. Goodness me, my heart was fit to bursting with every emotion going.

The First Time I Saw You is a beautifully special tale of love; a deep, soul entwined type of love, misunderstandings, losing love, losing yourself, fresh starts and new opportunities.

I absolutely loved the characters, not sure Sophie and Samuel, but the whole array of additional characters. Sophie is always on guard, professional and astute, she has built an armour around herself keeping her defences high but now, after a chance meeting, finally someone see’s through it, sees her and breaks her down. Samuel is charming, funny and confident. He knows Sophie is special and worth working for. He is in love and not afraid to follow his heart, even of it gets dented along the way. With a series of miscommunications altering the path of their love, can the two who were fated to be together find their way back?

My favourite character though is Mr McLoughlin – Samuels Da. Oh my goodness, I was laughing out loud at him on more than one occasion. He added some wonderful moments of humour at times in the book when it was most needed. Some of his insensitive yet endearing comments were unbelievable and completely added a lighter element to some serious moments.

Emma Cooper has a beautiful way with words, giving us a story with so much heart and covering so many important themes. I was absolutely enthralled by this gorgeous book – spending a glorious New Years Day reading it cover to cover. I didn’t want to put it down for a second.

This is a book that will stay with me for a long time. I cannot recommend this heartfelt book enough. Amazing. 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

About the Author:

Emma Cooper is a former teaching assistant, who lives in Shropshire, with her partner and four children. Her spare time consists of writing novels, drinking wine and watching box-sets with her partner of twenty-four years, who still makes her smile every day.

Emma has always wanted to be a writer – ever since her childhood, she’s been inventing characters (her favourite being her imaginary friend ‘Boot’) and is thrilled that she now gets to use this imagination to bring to life all of her creations.

She has three loves in life: reading, writing and her family…oh, and music, cheese, pizza, films – Maths is not one of her talents.

Emma keeps in touch with her readers and loves to hear from them on twitter @ItsEmmacooper and on her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/EmmacooperAuthor/