Love Blossoms at Puddleduck Farm - Della Galton

How can life be too busy for love?

Phoebe Dashwood is living the dream. She’s running her own successful vet practice, Puddleduck Vets, alongside her grandmother’s animal sanctuary.

She’s also dating the gorgeous, yet slightly broken Rufus Holt, the most eligible bachelor in the New Forest.
So why isn’t she blissfully happy?

Both Phoebe and Rufus are consumed 24/7 by their own commitments. Their relationship is always last on the list.
Phoebe juggles quirky, yet demanding clients and their pets whilst widowed Rufus is consumed by his anxieties, responsibilities of fatherhood and the unenviable tasks of being a Lord in waiting with a huge estate to manage.

Phoebe knows that when you’re a vet, there isn’t always a happy ending. But will there be a happy ending for Phoebe, Rufus and everyone else at Puddleduck Farm?
Is it ever really possible to have it all?

Purchase Link https://mybook.to/loveblossomssocial

My Review:

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series by Della Galton. This is the third book in the series although you could read it as a standalone (I recommend the other books though – they are wonderful!)

Finally, Phoebe and Rufus have got together, after an instant attraction they took a long time in actually making a go of things. I do like this coupling; I was hoping they would be together and all would be well, but we realise throughout this book that life just gets in the way. Both are guilty of prioritising other things and not committing to the relationship enough for it to work. I was massively disappointed, even though it makes complete sense, I just feel like their attraction could have developed into something amazing. Phoebe does make some romantic decisions and honestly, I think it was the easy way out. I will probably be in the minority, and it will be an unpopular option but to me it felt like she took the easy option.  

As always there are funny moments that had me giggling as I read, Saddam is hilarious really and I’d welcome hearing more of his crazy antics! Will anyone ever be able to tame that cat!

It was lovely to see some of the other characters developing and having wonderful things happening – proposals, pregnancies and business success.

A great read, a chance to escape and catch up with lovely characters. Highly recommended read.

About the Author:

Della Galton writes short stories, teaches writing groups and is Agony Aunt for Writers Forum Magazine. She lives in Dorset.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DailyDella

Twitter https://twitter.com/DellaGalton

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dellagalton/

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Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/della-galton

The Beach House - Nina Manning

 

It should have been the perfect weekend…

Work colleagues Nicole, Margo, Paisley and Audrey all appear to be looking forward to a weekend away at Nicole’s luxurious beach house on the Dorset coast. It should be a chance for the women to kick back, relax and regroup after a stressful moment at work.

But this is no normal girls’ getaway. And the beach house is no normal home. This place holds dark secrets for Nicole, which threaten to be revealed when its doors are opened.

And unbeknownst to host Nicole, each of the three other guests all have secrets of their own…and some of them could be deadly.

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/beachhousesocial

My Review:

When a group of employees plan a weekend away to “brainstorm” ideas to save the business, something a little more sinister is afoot. A group of people, each with their own secrets, some wishing to reveal all whilst others desperately hoping to keep theirs to themselves.

Honestly, none of the characters were that likeable (which added the intense atmosphere), all are very selfish in their own ways, all in it for their own benefit, although there is one who you may be surprised with by the end, I genuinely didn’t have them down as doing something to help another. I couldn’t really see a genuine friendship connection between them, even for a group of employees – it read as them being awkward around each other, which added to the tense and uncomfortable feel of the book.

The story was told from multiple points of view, which I like and really brought the story to life as each character gave a different twist on what was playing out.

I found the story played out quite slowly, it took quite a while for anything to really happen but once it did everything started unravelling quite quickly, culminating in dramatic events.

I wasn’t overly surprised with the outcomes, the clues are there all the way through, but I did like how it was put together, how the setting enhanced the mood of each character.

An interesting, tense read.

Author Bio:

Nina Manning studied psychology and was a restaurant-owner and private chef (including to members of the royal family). She is the founder and co-host of Sniffing The Pages, a book review podcast. Her debut psychological thriller, The Daughter in Law, was a bestseller in the UK, US, Australia and Canada. She lives in Dorset.

Social Media Links:

Twitter https://twitter.com/ninamanning78

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ninamanning_author/

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Another Time Another Place - Jo Lovett

 

Has someone ever come into your life and you thought, what if you’d had the chance to get to know one another better? Would we be together?

When Liv finds herself locked in a shed with handsome stranger Ben (after both trying to rescue the same cat), the instant connection they make feels like fate had a hand in it. Has Liv finally found her perfect match?

But everything about the timing means there’s no way they can be together. Not least because Ben has a girlfriend and Liv is moving to Paris the next day.

Over the coming years their paths weave in and out of each other’s lives – together, but always fleetingly.

If only they could stop missing each other, who knows what fate may have in store for them…

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/anothertimesocial

 

My Review:

An adorable rom-com that actually pulls an emotional punch every so often. With a funny “meet-cute” (sounds like a nightmare but with added good looking benefits!) we chart the ups and downs of the lives of both Ben and Liv. We see how their stories play out, charting disappointments, highs and low. With both characters moving forward over the following months and years, we see how friendships, love interests and careers change. At various, random moments they come across each other, a bar at New Years, a work meeting; the connection and chemistry is electrifying. Something is holding them both back and timing always seems to be off, maybe both should forget the other and the connection they seem to share. 
The story plays out from both characters perspectives, we know that they are both not entirely being honest with the other. Drama, longing, missed chances all play a vital role in this story. It’s well written, and the pace is good so much so you won’t realise just how quickly you are reading, you will be so engrossed in the characters and the will they wont they plot. 
A cosy read, heartfelt yet funny – I could see it play out as a film!

Author Bio:
Jo was runner-up in the Good Housekeeping/ Orion First Novel Competition 2018 and shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Award 2019. She lives in London with her family. She started writing romantic comedy when she realised that she was regularly begging her oldest son to let her do his English homework but wasn't actually very interested in haunted houses or Macbeth analysis. When she can escape her laundry mountain, she enjoys reading, tennis and wine

Social Media Links:

Twitter https://twitter.com/JoLovettWrites