Saturday 30 April 2022

PUBLICATION DAY: The Wednesday Morning Wild Swim - Jules Wake


 
The Wednesday Morning Wild Swim

She’s trying to figure out her future.

He’s trying to forget his past.

But with the help of some unlikely friends, young and old, and a scruffy dog who just can’t help getting into trouble, a new community is formed – just when they all need each other the most.

Purchase Link - http://mybook.to/WednesdayWildS


My Review:

There isn’t a Jules Wake book that I don’t rave about – I can’t help it; I genuinely love them all. Jules has such a great style of writing, realistic and combining humour and wit with a down to earth feel. This allows us to relate to the characters, love them and take them to our hearts.

The Wednesday Morning Wild Swim is quirky, jam packed with great characters and a heart felt story of acceptance. Accepting who you are, accepting the challenge of moving past your fears and accepting that you are enough.

If you are a fan of Jules’ books, you may remember (one of all time favourite old ladies) – Hilda. She was a force to be reckoned with in The Saturday Morning Park Run and here she is again, being her fabulous self.

Ettie, our dynamic main character, has stumbled from career to career, not fully settling. When her latest job blows up she returns home, back to her family. Finding work locally at a soon to open hotel, Ettie soon finds the pull of the lake calling her. Swimming helps her mentally and she soon discovers that others have that same desire too. Wild swimming is new to Ettie but soon becomes something she craves – and she isn’t the only one. Unfortunately, it’s banned and the owner is absolutely against anyone swimming in his lake.

As Ettie settles into her new role she finds herself getting closer to her new boss, she starts to understand why he doesn’t want anyone near the water. Will Ettie and her new friends be able to curb their desires or will Ettie make him change his mind. When Dominic discovers the biggest lies are the ones told by those close to him, he really sees no way back to trusting them again.

Ettie is a breath of fresh air; funny, random and really not afraid to put herself out there. She is a little economical with the truth, but not in a malicious way, in fact it’s usually to help others. She learns a lot about herself as the story progresses, but she is also instrumental in helping others do the same. She is kind, considerate and a little bit sassy.

Dominic sounds dishy, he’s been through a lot and doesn’t suffer fools. He isn’t overly impressed with Ettie but her confidence and charm win him round to giving her a chance. Ettie surprises him a lot, it’s clear he struggles to hide how entertaining he finds her but he is holding back some truths of his own. I loved seeing him start to open up and I always believed he would end up doing the right thing by everyone around him.

Reading this book has been the highlight of my week – its full of friendship, romance and humour. A feel good story that will leave you with a smile on your face. Great characters and superb writing, I highly recommend to all.

Author Bio:


Jules Wake is the internationally bestselling author of over ten books including The Saturday Morning Park Run. She also writes as Julie Caplin and her Romantic Escapes series has hit the bestseller charts around the world.

After reading English at the University of East Anglia, Jules Wake worked in PR where she honed her fiction writing skills on press releases.  She’s now a full-time author and what better job is there than making stuff up! It certainly beats housework.

Social Media Links – @Juleswake Twitter

https://www.facebook.com/juleswakewrites/

Instagram: juleswakeauthor


Saturday 2 April 2022

The Village of Happy Ever Afters - Alison Sherlock

 

Molly Hopkins has happily watched all of her friends’ dreams come true on Riverside Lane.

Deciding to follow her passion for baking, Molly with the help of her friends takes the plunge and opens a Tea Garden in the village hoping to make it a summer to remember!

Meanwhile, after a rather public end of his marriage, Logan Armstrong trusts no one but his beloved Grandad. He just wants his brief stay in Cranbridge to be as quiet as possible. But his Grandad has other ideas; he dreams of seeing the old watermill working again which might just mean Logan has to ask the village for help.

Can Molly finally overcome her lack of confidence and believe in her abilities to make the tea garden a success?

Will Logan discover that Molly might just be the one to mend his broken heart? And will both of them realise that life is for living and loving?

Over a long hot summer in Cranbridge, perhaps everyone’s dreams of a happy-ever-after can finally

Purchase Link - https://amzn.to/3rb1z0I

My Review:

I really enjoy this The Riverside Lane Series by Alison Sherlock. This is book4 but if you haven’t enjoyed the series so far you needn’t worry, each book does work as a standalone (I highly recommend reading the others though too).

This book we focus on Molly, one of the friendship group we have come to really love. She has shown many times just how lovely she is, but we see a side to her during this story that is how vulnerable and ‘taken for granted she can feel, that she’s just the one who always does everything for everyone else and nothing for herself.

This is such a good story about putting yourself first, having faith in your abilities, taking a chance, and using some grit, determination, and perseverance to achieve your dreams.

Logan is a great contrasting character to Molly, admittedly at first, I thought he needed a kick up the bum but he has a kind heart, confidence in Molly and does want to help those he cares about. He’s working to get over past hurt and it’s understandable he wants to keep his head down, go about his business without too much of a fuss.

Loved catching up with all the characters within this idyllic sounding village – it sounds such a picturesque setting.  There is some comedy from Del, as always.

A story that captures true friendships, romance and a community who will go out of their way to support their own, welcome new faces and celebrate everyone’s abilities and talents.

Alison Sherlock writes such believable characters in realistic situations; you can’t help but become absorbed in their lives. Highly recommended!

Author Bio: 

Alison Sherlock is the author of the bestselling Willow Tree Hall books. Alison
enjoyed reading and writing stories from an early age and gave up office life to follow
her dream. Her new series for Boldwood is set in a fictional Cotswold Village and the
first title was published in July 2020.


Social Media Links:

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Bookbub profile:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/alison-sherlock