Book Review: Single for the Summer by Mandy Baggot

The Blurb

Tess Parks is on the rise. A high-flying marketer before her thirtieth birthday, she puts work before life, content with flings and dates – and once a relationship survives six weeks, she ends it. Tess has made up her mind: love isn’t for her.

 So when her heartbroken best friend Sonya invites her to Corfu for a girls’ holiday, Tess is happy to throw herself into sampling the local delights – except Sonya makes her promise to stay single for the summer. It starts to look like a really bad decision when she meets sizzling, divorced restauranteur Andras.

To keep his overbearing mother off his back, Tess agrees to pretend to date Andras, but as the two spend time together, Tess begins to realise that this fake relationship is starting to feel like the best one she’s ever had…

Single for the Summer is a feel-good escapist beach read full of family drama, dating disasters, real-life issues and a heart-warming romance, all set against a beautiful Greek island backdrop.

 My Review

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Ebury, for the ARC. This review is my honest opinion and I was not paid for it. No money or baklava exchanged hands.

Mandy has done it again. She's written another sun-soaked Greek tale of mythical proportions which had me howling for my Retsina. The sights, sounds and smells of the Greek Island of Corfu are brought to life in this hilarious tale of one woman and her fear of commitment.

It's normally the guys who are the commitment-phobes in most books; it's refreshing to meet Tess, who loves romance, sex, hot guys... just as long as it doesn't progress into a relationship. Cos Tess doesn't do relationships - she simply can't.

When Andras blurts out to his mother that Tess is his girlfriend, for some mad reason Tess goes along with it. It's just a bit of fun, after all - and Andras is hot! Not that she's looking, of course - she promised Sonya she would stay away from men. She is there for Sonya, after all.

The physical attraction between Tess and Andras is obvious to them, but they know it cannot go any further. To watch - sorry, read - as they do everything they can to avoid falling for each other is hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud in several parts of the book.

The characters of Andras's bossy mother and sister are brilliant; endlessly conniving to pair Andras off with his pretty cousin, and treating Tess, a non-Greek girl, with disdain and distrust. If only they knew... 

Mandy writes with a down-to-earth humour that just makes you feel good reading her books. You'll also want to book a Greek holiday after reading this. 

Single for the Summer is available here for pre-order - it is published on 27th July.

About the Author

Mandy Baggot is an international bestselling and award-winning romance writer represented by The Kate Nash Literary Agency. In 2017 she was signed by Ebury Publishing (Penguin Random House).

The winner of the Innovation in Romantic Fiction award at the UK’s Festival of Romance, her romantic comedy novel, One Wish in Manhattan, was also shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year award in 2016.

Mandy loves the Greek island of Corfu, white wine, country music and handbags. Also a singer, she has taken part in ITV1's Who Dares Sings and The X-Factor.

Mandy is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association and the Society of Authors and lives near Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK with her husband and two daughters.

Visit Mandy’s website at http://www.mandybaggot.com/. Follow her on Twitter: @MandyBaggot

Book Review: Annie's Lovely Choir by the Sea by Liz Eeles

The Blurb

When twenty-nine-year-old Annie Trebarwith receives an unexpected letter from a great-aunt she’s never known, she leaves her shoebox-sized flat in London and catches a train to the rugged Cornish coast.

Salt Bay is beautiful and Annie begins to kindle a bond with her great-aunt Alice. Even though there is zero phone signal and the locals – including the gorgeous but brooding Josh Pasco – can be decidedly grumpy at times, Annie starts to feel at home in Salt Bay.

Soon Annie’s love of music leads her to relaunch the Salt Bay Choral Society, and she’s surprised to see how just much the choir means to the community – and she even starts to break through Josh’s surly exterior…

But London is calling Annie back, and she has to make a decision. Give up her old life completely, or leave Salt Bay, her new-found family – and the choir – behind?

Annie’s Lovely Choir by the Sea is a heart-warming story about family, belonging and the healing power of music, perfect for fans of Jo Thomas, Holly Martin and Carole Matthews.

My Review

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher, Bookouture for the ARC. Apologies to them and the author for being late with my review - unfortunately real life sometimes gets in the way!

Oh what a lovely heartwarming story this is! I really, really enjoyed this book - oh God, here she goes again, loving all the books she's reading - well, I'm sorry, but it's true. It's not my fault I keep picking the most excellent books to review!

I have to confess I wasn't sure this book would be anything special. There are after all, many books set 'by the Sea', and choirs aren't particularly my thing. But I'm so happy I was wrong.

Annie's Lovely Choir by the Sea is a wonderful stories of family, secrets and community. Oh, and romance, of course. Not that Annie is looking for it - she's only come to meet Alice, the great aunt she had never met. Alice reminded me so much of my own great aunt Rene; now sadly in a better place. Reading about Alice was like getting a hug from Rene! Instead Annie finds a real sense of belonging, and makes some great friends.

The plot is expertly drawn and there are many elements to Annie's story. The characters are well written and believable, the narrative fresh and humorous and the descriptions of Salt Bay so good I want to go and live there myself. I'd even sign up for the choir!

It's a great summer (or whenever) read and I genuinely enjoyed it immensely. I cannot wait to visit Salt Bay again!

You can buy Annie's Lovely Choir by the Sea here.

About the Author

Liz began her writing career as a journalist and press officer before deciding that she’d rather have the freedom of making things up as a novelist. 

Being short-listed in the Corvus ‘Love at First Write’ competition and the Novelicious search for a new women's fiction star gave Liz the push she needed to keep putting pen to paper …. and ‘Annie’s Lovely Choir by the Sea’ (her first published novel) is the result. 

Liz lives on the South Coast with her family and, when she’s not writing, likes to spend time walking by the sea, and trying to meditate. Her ambition is to be serene one day …. she’s still got a long way to go.

You can contact Liz on Twitter: @lizeelesauthor, Facebook: www.facebook.com/lizeelesauthor or Instagram: lizeelesauthor

Book Review: Then. Now. Always. by Isabelle Broom

The Blurb

Are you ready for an adventure?
Hannah Hodges certainly is. And so when she is offered the opportunity to spend a month filming a documentary in Almeria, a magical village hidden away on the south-east coast of Spain, she grabs it. Almeria was where she spent a large part of her youth; where she made so many of her memories, and her mistakes.

But now she is twenty-eight and this time it is going to be perfect. Because she is not only going with her best friend Tom but also with her gorgeous boss, Theo. And this unforgettable place with its snowy white buildings, mesmerizing sunsets and deep blue sea is the perfect location to make Theo finally fall under her spell.

But Hannah's past is everywhere she looks, Tom is acting strangely around her, and her awful (half) sister appears determined to ruin everything, again. Even from a thousand miles away . . .

Hannah has just a month in paradise to secure the happy future she knows is waiting for her. Will Almeria work its magic? And will that future look exactly as she always thought it would?

My Review

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reading copy. All opinions are my own.

Isabelle Broom's books should come with a warning on the front cover: ADVISORY: READING  THIS BOOK WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO BOOK A HOLIDAY RIGHT AWAY!

Ahh this book is so lovely. As ever, Isabelle immerses the reader in beautiful, warm and sunny surroundings, and reading this is the next best thing to being in the Spanish village of Mojacar. It's descriptive without bogging the story down with too much detail, but enough to evoke the sights, sounds and smells of the setting perfectly.

The characters are written equally well. I felt I was Hannah, and could see why she was so in love with Theo. 

The awkward relationship between Hannah and her half-sister Nancy is very poignant. Despite blaming Nancy for her father's indifference, Hannah still feels the responsibility of an older sister and feels she has to look out for Nancy - even though she annoys the hell out of her.

Then there's another fly in the ointment; the beautiful Claudette, whose flirty French accent and high maintenance winds Hannah up further. But then best friend Tom is always on hand to calm things down, but then he starts acting a bit weird too. 

Of course the main reason for them all being in Mojacar is to film a documentary which could make Hannah's career. She meets the wonderful Elaine, an artist who has adopted the Spanish village as her home. But there's more to her story than the artist's community which existed years ago.

Of course the inevitable happens in the end, but the journey there is not always straightforward, and it is a great fun read that had me pouring wistfully over travel websites.

Isabelle Broom has filled me with wunderlust yet again...

Now. Then. Always. is published on 20th April, and you can pre-order it from Amazon or other retailers. It's the next best thing to an actual holiday!

About the Author

Isabelle Broom was born in Cambridge nine days before the 1980s began and studied Media Arts at the University of West London before starting a career first in local newspapers and then as a sub editor at heat magazine. Nowadays, when she’s not writing novels set in far-flung locations, Isabelle spends her time being the Book Reviews Editor at heat and walking her beloved dog round the parks of north London. 

Her novels My Map Of You and A Year And A Day (published by Penguin Michael Joseph) are out now. The third, Then. Now. Always. will arrive in April 2017.

If you like pictures of dogs, chatter about books and very bad jokes, you can follow her on Twitter @Isabelle_Broom or find her on Facebook under Isabelle Broom Author.