Sheryl Browne

#Review : A CORNISH AFFAIR by Jo Lambert. #romance with page-turning suspense. @Jolambertwriter @RubyFiction

A Cornish Affair

A Cornish Affair by Jo Lambert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It’s no secret that I love this author’s writing. Her characters are compelling. I do have to admit to falling in love with her male characters. Yes, even those who are seemingly bad news. So, in The Cornish Affair, set in a family hotel with the evocative Cornish landscape as a backdrop, we have lustworthy Luke Carrack. With heartbreak and scandal in his background and turning local female heads, we just know he spells delicious trouble – cue the gossipmongers. Also, that his story is going to be a poignant one. His first encounter with Cat Trevelyan doesn’t go well. Let’s just say that Cat had one of those ‘please beam me up’ moments. As a result, Luke is less than impressed, rude and abrasive, in fact, which of course, rubs Cat up entirely the wrong way and causes the friction to fizz between them. Like I say, delicious. How could you not want to get your teeth into that?

A Cornish Affair, however, is about much more than the romance. Mystery and family secrets abound, and there are some fabulous twists, together with a thriller edge that really make this book stand out. Add that to Jo Lambert’s superb characterisation, and you have a story with real depth. Look out for Aunt Emelia – definitely a case of appearances deceive. As always with this author’s books, the resolution is perfect.

If you want cleverly written romance with intrigue and page-turning suspense, I would highly recommend A Cornish Affair.



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#Review : Amazing Grace. Kim Nash. Gorgeous. Poignant. @KimTheBookworm @HeraBooks

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace by Kim Nash

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If you want to be smiling 2% into a story, Amazing Grace is the book for you. I was totally empathising with Grace immediately and wanted to beam myself into the kitchen when she was agonising over the dreaded invitation and give her a firm hug. As a single mum, I found Grace’s angst about her looks and her identity crisis totally relatable to. However, I think most women would, mother, married, single… whatever. Grace is real, someone you could easily imagine meeting in the supermarket. Or the swishing shop! What a brilliant idea! Grace’s story is about a woman who is full of self-doubt and needs to learn to love herself. It’s also about the loneliness of single-parenthood and the grief that never quite goes away over the loss of a mother, particularly when you might have lost her at a time when you needed her most. The letters from Grace’s mum are poignant tearjerkers. Trust me, you will go through the whole gamut of emotions reading this book, from chuckling out loud to weeping. As many would know, learning to love yourself is not so easy when your self-confidence has been corroded away by a twit of an ex who didn’t appreciate the gorgeous, loving, intelligent woman he had. And then he wants her back? Ride on, Mark. Thank God for best friends who are there with a shoulder and skills to give Grace a successful makeover. Best show them the door when they suggest the internet dating though. And then we have Vinnie, the very worthy gardener, and you so want Grace to choose him, providing he can prove himself worthy in her son Archie’s eyes. He’s a gem. You can see why any mum would pour her love into him.

Amazing Grace is a delightfully refreshing, funny, heart-warming and poignant story. The author’s voice is distinctive and honest. I loved it and would highly recommend it.




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Guest Post. Anneli Purchase shares her new book, MARLIE @anneli33 #Romance #Books #mondayblogs

Welcome Anneli Purchase.

I’m showing off Anneli’s beautiful cover for her latest novel, Marlie, which I must say looks hugely intriguing. Anneli’s joined me today to share a little bit about the book.

MARLIE

Hooked up with the wrong guy, Marlie stumbles through the first few years away from home. When the leg breakers come looking for payment of her partner’s debts, she has had enough. Marlie takes a teaching job in the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) on the west coast of British Columbia.

Starting over, and determined to make it on her own, she tries to fit in with the small northern community. But the rules are more lax here, and there seem to be fewer of them. Her easy-going nature and her good looks work against her again, as she attracts the attention of a local artist named Clancy, “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Marlie is a great teacher, kind and fun-loving, but perhaps too trusting. The wolf is often at her door and soon shows his teeth. In spite of trying her best, Marlie finds hersrelf on a slippery slope again.

“Marlie” will take you to the remote islands of Haida Gwaii to experience life away from urban centers. You’ll find yourself on boating adventures to both heaven and hell.

Is this rough life too much for a young woman take on alone?

Read “Marlie” and find out her fate as she searches for happiness in these harsh, yet beautiful islands.

Author Bio:

Anneli Purchase lived in the Queen Charlotte Islands for several years and has a special fondness for them. She now lives on Vancouver Island and spends her time writing and copy-editing when she is not pursuing her other hobbies of mushroom picking, photography, gardening, and sewing.

“Marlie” is her fifth novel.

Sounds fab, Anneli! I couldn’t resist purchasing after having a peek inside.

You can purchase Marlie for Kindle and in Paperback from:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.ca

For e-books other than Kindle go to:

Smashwords.com

To find out more about Anneli Purchase and her books visit:

https://wordsfromanneli.com/

Follow Anneli on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/anneli33

@anneli33

#BOOK #REVIEW ~ The Girl on the Beach ~ Morton S. Gray @MortonSGray #Romance #Suspense #Booklovers

The Girl on the BeachThe Girl on the Beach by Morton S. Gray
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The title, The Girl on the Beach, and the gorgeous cover promise a certain amount of intrigue. I was surprised and thrilled by just how much intrigue Harry Dixon held for me. Harry stayed with me after the last page and does still. Proof of an immensely satisfying read. We have suspense, drama, a burgeoning romance that you are desperate to see flower but with so many obstacles in its path you wonder, how? Harry Dixon isn’t who he seems to be. Forced to change his identity after an undercover drugs operation that saw him a marked man, Harry can never reveal he was once Ben Rivers, the carefree surfer found beaten and supposedly drowned on a beach with no memory of how he got there; no recollection of the heated sex with the girl on the beach preceding his assault.

Single mother to teenager Tom, Ellie Golden remembers Ben, though, the man who touched her to the core. And Harry Dixon is too much like Ben Rivers for her heart or mind to ignore. After an abusive marriage that left her physically and emotionally scarred, her son traumatised, Ellie doesn’t trust easily. She certainly can’t trust a man, now headmaster at her son’s school, who isn’t who he claims to be. Nor can Harry trust Ellie with his secret even though her suspicions threaten to expose him. They both need to forget their former lives and move on, but the arrival of Ellie’s abusive ex-husband, a stark reminder of their shared past, isn’t going to allow that. There is another superb twist here, but … I think that would be a massive spoiler. I suspect you might have gathered that I was definitely intrigued and enmeshed in Harry and Ellie’s story hook, line and sinker. If you like your romance with a bit of bite, this is a book for you. Highly recommended.

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#Books #Review : Watercolours in the Rain by Jo Lambert @Jolambertwriter – Powerful #Romance

Watercolours in the Rain (The South Devon Duo Book 2)Watercolours in the Rain by Jo Lambert

Watercolours in the Rain follows on from Summer Moved On, a beautifully written story, looking at love, life, prejudice and preconception, which left me with such a strong sense of the characters, they stayed with me. Jo Lambert has excelled herself with this next book in the story of Talún, Jess and Lily, set in the village of Lynbrook in South Devon. I truly had an ‘ah’ moment when we saw Talún seated at a bar. Even I recognised him from behind. By then, knowing his upbringing, how difficult it was to imagine himself worthy of love, aware of the latest devastating trauma in his life, my heart immediately went out to him. He’s defensive, yet caring, naïve to a degree, and – vulnerable, particularly to someone as manipulative and scheming as Lily, whose desire to steal Talún away from Jess years ago was born of spite and jealousy.

I love that we had, in fact, moved on and that the main characters had matured, yet were still susceptible to their insecurities. This is a wonderful strength of Jo Lambert’s writing, she brings to life real people with distinct voices and strong narrative, not to mention the beautifully painted backdrop. Love, hope, deceit and disappointment are all part of the human condition and the author leads us through the emotions alongside the characters enchantingly. Ultimately, we want the journey to go full circle when fate brings them all back together, for Jess and Talún to find each other again after the bitterness and betrayal that ended their youthful relationship.

The question is, can they? At first glance, Lily also appears to have matured. Now a mother, she has responsibilities. She’s secured herself a steady job. Fundamentally, though, she hasn’t changed. Can anyone at the core? Knowing the deceit the woman is capable of and learning of the loss that Talún has suffered since losing Jess (trying not to give spoilers here, but imagine the worst loss a husband and father can suffer), you have an inkling of how far Lily will go to trap him and secure her future.

Watercolours in the Rain can be read as a standalone, the backstory is very cleverly drip fed throughout. I would highly recommend reading Summer Moved On, too, however. Like me, you really will want to ‘move on’ to the next book and follow the characters’ stories. A definite five star read for me. Oh, and those covers. A perfect package.

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