Friday, 24 November 2023

Welcome to The Cornish Country Hospital - Jo Bartlett

 

A new start…

When Danni Carter moves to Cornwall from London, she hopes it will be the fresh start she so desperately needs. She’s nervous, but hopefully the change of scene will help her to finally forget her feelings for Lucas Newman, a man she can never be with, because he’s already engaged to Danni’s best friend, Esther.

An Impossible Dilemma…

But when Lucas and Esther decide to follow Danni to Cornwall, and both announce they will be working with her at the new St Piran’s hospital, Danni is thrown into turmoil again. She can’t lose Esther, but being near Lucas is getting harder to deal with. Will she have to give up her new life before it’s even started?

A chance to start again?

Throwing herself into work, Danni finds herself drawn to new patient, Connie Berrycloth, a woman Danni knows has dark secrets of her own. Secrets that are about to be revealed….

As the two women form a friendship, Danni begins to realise that letting go of her dreams might be the only way of holding on to the people she loves.

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

My Review:

Jo Bartlett does it again. The start of a brand-new series and I am already invested in the people and the place!

Danni Carter is looking for a fresh start after moving from London to Cornwall. She’s running away from Lucas Newman, the man she has loved for years and a man she can never be with. He is engaged to Danni’s best friend Esther and Esther means the world to her. But Lucas and Esther decide to follow Danni to Cornwall, announcing they will be working with her at the new St Piran’s hospital. Will she have to give up her new life before it’s even started?

 After a big accident, Danni gets to know patient Connie, very well. With both women sharing their secrets, how long will it take for them to be revealed and their lives changed dramatically.

A gorgeously heart warming read, friendship, family and long lost love. I love how Jo builds a wonderful community, with descriptive settings and brilliant characters who you will just love, well perhaps except for one – who thoroughly deserves anything that comes to them.

When secrets are revealed and hearts broken, will both women have a happy ever after? With some interesting twists along the way, there is romance, drama and light relief. A great first book in the series, I already cannot wait to return for the next book!

Author Bio:

Jo Bartlett is the bestselling author of over nineteen women’s fiction titles. She fits her writing in between her two day jobs as an educational consultant and university lecturer and lives with her family and three dogs on the Kent coast. Her first title for Boldwood is The Cornish Midwife – part of a twelve-book deal.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: Jo Bartlett - Home | Facebook

Twitter: Jo Bartlett Writer (@J_B_Writer) / Twitter

Instagram: Jo Bartlett (@jo_bartlett123) • Instagram photos and videos

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/JoBartlettNews

Bookbub profile: Jo Bartlett Books - BookBub



Wednesday, 15 November 2023

A Cosy Cottage Escape, Little Duck Pond Café - Rosie Green

 

Autumn is here and the Little Duck Pond Café crew are looking forward to spending a relaxing week in the country. That’s the theory, anyway. Because when they arrive, they quickly become immersed in village life after a power cut, only to find themselves spooked at every turn by mysterious goings-on, all of which seem to be connected to the creepy old house next-door. Is someone playing scary Hallowe’en tricks on them? Or is there something rather more sinister afoot…? 

My Review:

A series that goes from strength to strength, book 30! Wow. What I enjoy about Rosie’s Little Duck Pond books is that we have variation, location, main character, theme but they are always an entertaining and familiar read.

It is also nice to know a bunch of characters and their back stories, even though you don’t need to have read any previous books to enjoy each one. This time the I Little Duck Pond ladies are off on a little trip to a cottage in a small village. They soon discover this cottage is next door to a so called haunted house, with some fears starting to surface, tensions mount and things start happening – well it is Halloween after all!

The girls, in typical style befriend locals, including the resident of the house next door, and when spooky figures are seen – in the garden, flying overhead; they try to figure out what exactly is happening and whether there is hauntings or other explanations.

As always the story includes details on how their lives have progressed, there are changes afoot for many of our favourite characters, some don’t seem to be their usual selves and we discover that they are holding on to secrets.

Such an entertaining read, I was trying to stay logical in piecing out the mystery events but you never know! It all came together nicely though, and was fun to have the girls in a different setting. I’m not a fan of Halloween but I did enjoy the spookier elements to this one.

I love this series so it’s a pleasure to read. Fun and engaging writing with great, likeable characters. I look forward to the next one! 

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C6B1Y1KW

Author Bio:

Rosie’s series of Little Duck Pond Café novellas is centred around life in a country village cafe. ‘A Kiss under the Stars’ and ‘A Cosy Cottage Escape’ are out now. Look out for ‘A Winter Wonderland’, a heart-warming will-they-won’t-they romance for Christmas, out in November 2023.

Follow Rosie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green88


Wednesday, 1 November 2023

That Festive Feeling - Heidi Swain

 

Holly has the place to herself this Christmas. It’s not her place, though – she is house-sitting for friends who live on Nightingale Square – just there to keep the place warm and cosy and only for long enough for her to sort her life out. Newly single and finding herself unsure about next steps for her career, she plans to hunker down and make some life decisions.

To clear her mind, she sets off on early morning walks around a nearby lake and bumps into May, an older lady who is also new to the area, and her dapper Dachshund Monty. Quickly, a firm friendship blossoms. Then when Holly meets Bear, a rather large and rather attractive man, at the local pub, and his rescue dog Queenie, her stay at Nightingale Square suddenly feels even more appealing.

As the community comes together for the season’s festivities, Holly must start thinking about where her life will take her next. Some big decisions need to be made, but distractions close to home make thinking about the future more tricky than ever…

Will she get that festive feeling this Christmas…?

My Review:

Want to get into the festive spirit? Heidi Swain’s books will always leave you feeling ready for the season and ‘That Festive Feeling’ is just perfect for doing just that.

Having created many wonderful settings for us, Nightingale Square is so special and even more so at Christmas time. It’s a strong community with a great cast of characters (or friends as us Swainettes see them).

Holly is a great addition to the characters we love so much. She is housesitting for characters we already have come to know a little about and all she wants is to hide herself away, have a quiet time to evaluate her life/options for roving forward. She is adamant that she will not be drawn in to all the frolics and activities in the square, not matter how much any of the neighbours try to cajole her. Even I know this is not realistic with the Nightingale Square residents and soon Holly is finding herself getting involved.

Holly does strive for some quiet independence and soon becomes friends with a dog walker called May. May is the absolute best, what a colourful breath of fresh air she is, I adore her and would love to have her tenacity and character. The bond formed between these two characters is gorgeous, really so heart warming and it’s very clear both are helping each other in so many ways.

After a collision with Bear, Holly’s festive season is about to get busier and perhaps a little more complicated than she expected. Bear lives in an ‘alternative’ home and is quite keen to show Holly she has options she had never considered.

An absolutely gorgeous story with friendship at the heart of it all. Encouraging people to take chances, make changes and putting a bit of trust in other people again. Although it is a romance, it gives us so much more – comedy, drama, heart warming messages of kindness and compassion. A story to inspire people to follow their hearts and dreams, think outside the box and to always add a little more colour to their lives.

Left me feeling all warm and fuzzy. Another Heidi Swain classic!!

Buy a copy - HERE

Heidi Swain - X , Facebook