When life goes off track sometimes the only thing you can do is go back to where it all began…

Emmy Palmer is the star of Bragadon Forest, the biggest fantasy series on TV; adored by the public, living the life of glamour and luxury in London.

But when scandal strikes, Emmy must escape the city and return to her seaside hometown to lie low and wait for the storm to pass.

Emmy’s agent decides it would be a good look to star in the community Christmas pantomime, but who else could be playing her leading man but her ex-boyfriend who she may or may not have ditched to move to London a decade ago…

As the show approaches, love and friendships blossom and the real question is – Will they? Won’t they?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Off the record, it’s one of those places where everybody knows everything about everyone. No matter how quick you are to clean your dirty laundry, there will always be a gaggle of locals who remember the stink, and you can see the repulsion on their faces.

Mum and the aunties are talking funeral arrangements… It’s absolute mayhem. Honestly, there is just no defusing them, if I had a gun with two bullets my only option would be to shoot myself twice. The last woman standing would probably argue with herself.

Oh boy, is her face red. So red and puffed up it’s as though I can hear the blood boiling underneath her skin. The kids are just paralysed with fear, they know they’re in big trouble for this.

‘So, what do you do?’ I ask Mike, changing the subject, hopefully dispelling some of the awkwardness. ‘I make the little things count,’ he replies. ‘Mate,’ Karl interrupts. ‘ That is so cheesy. He’s a maths tutor for kids.’

‘Well, you know what they say, what doesn’t kill you makes me disappointed,’ I reply. I look at the watch I’m not actually wearing. ‘There’s a bus back to London in half an hour, why don’t you go lie under it?’

 My Review:

I revel in this author’s wry wit and cunningly amusing yet insightful observations. Her writing style  is pleasantly familiar and easy to fall into with amusing characters that are also a bit edgy and more than a bit quirky. Written from a first-person POV, the comedy rolls through every scene while laced with clever perceptions and inner musings that pull at the feels.

During an extended trip home, the character of Emmy was secretly dealing with personal and career displacement during a “what now?” life transition and was hit with every type of family drama including grief for her beloved grandfather, unabashed cougar aunties, snarky and surly step-siblings, and manipulation to share the shine of her fame. She also found time to reconnect with her nerd friends and an unresolved crush from high school while participating in a fund-raiser one-night-only comedic production of Cinderella, which sounded brilliant. I would have loved to attend but had to settle for adoring the cleverly crafted storylines this skilled and wily wordsmith wove together for a highly satisfying and contented sigh-provoking conclusion.

About the Author

Portia MacIntosh is a bestselling romantic comedy author of 16 novels, including The Plus One Pact and My Great Ex-Scape. Previously a music journalist, Portia writes hilarious stories, drawing on her real-life experiences.

 

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

‘Mr Pickles? Is that really his name?’ Jake grimaced. ‘You think Mr Pickles is bad? His full name is Mr Piccalilli Marmaduke Fluffington the Third.’ I had no idea how to respond to that. That was surely bordering on animal cruelty.

People can still be in love but not like each other very much and sometimes they can like each other but not be in love.

My Review:

I adore Jessica Redland’s books. She is a master storyteller and has a knack for thoroughly enmeshing me into her poignant tales during perusal.   At one point, I looked up and felt a bit muddled as I was expecting to see the snow the characters were experiencing, rather than the tropical plants in my yard. So imagine my delight in beginning a new series laced together with endearing and admirable characters who find each other to be exactly what they needed, yet the timing was a bit off with a few complications tossed in to be considered and worked through. The writing was thoughtful, observant, and perceptively insightful with a comfortable balance in emotional tone, and of course, my highly prized and required HEA. I am looking forward to my next visit with my new friends in the quaint British resort village by the sea of Whitsborough Bay.

And score, I found an addition to my Brit Words and Phrases List with “bricking it” which is an informal and nice way of saying they were so anxious or panicky they were shitting bricks. I’ve certainly been there and find this phrase highly useful!

Julie Houston, bestselling author of A Village Affair

Once upon a time, twelve women joined the hottest reality TV show looking for love. Except one had a secret identity . . .

Abby Jones is a serious writer. Or at least she will be, one day. Right now, she spends her time writing recaps of reality television under a secret identity.

When a recap for The Stag – the must-watch dating show – goes viral, her editor thinks she should be on set, writing the drama as it happens. The good news: the next season will be filmed in Sydney. Sun, sea, and a glamorous trip abroad, this could be Abby’s big break.

The bad news: the producers don’t just want Abby to write the recaps, they want her to be on the show. Abby can’t think of anything worse than being undercover and followed around by cameras. But her career depends on it, and when she meets gorgeous producer Jack, Abby begins to wonder if this job might not be so bad after all . . .

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

…your laugh sounds like a donkey going through menopause…

I’m not one of those women who gets a natural blush of pink on the apples of her cheeks. When I blush ―or flush, as in the case of a near-panic attack― my cheeks could be used to guide the aeroplanes landing at Heathrow.

My mind wants to grasp onto words like ‘adventure’, ’escapade’, or ‘jaunt’, but settles on ‘utter debacle waiting to happen’.

All things considered, I would make a terrible spy. I’d be given a state secret and be busting with it before I left MI6, blurting it out to the security guards in the lobby.

Aunty Lo took one look at him and said in an incredibly loud stage whisper, ‘Ooh, he’s a bit of all right.’

My Review:

This was an endlessly entertaining, enjoyable, and relatable tale with well-fleshed characters, keenly honed and cleverly amusing storylines, and well-detailed scenes that evoked sharp imagery and smoothly flowing visuals through my gray matter. This was only my second time indulging in this skilled wordsmith’s craft and I snickered and smirked my way through her cunningly insightful and perceptive observations hidden in snarky levity.

Ms. Barker has a rapier wit that I connect with on all levels. The fiendishly clever shenanigans she came up with for the contestants on and off camera, which her character equated to “The Hunger Games,” was a constant delight woven into a rich and vibrant narrative of snarkalicious inner musings. I am now one of Ms. Barker’s most avid fangirls and quite eager to see what she conjures next.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Denise wrinkled her nose. ‘This is hardly a booze cruise, Cassie. I think it’s a mistake to imply that it is. While we’re enjoying the cultural richness of each place we visit, our interest in the alcohol is purely intellectual.’ She held up her beer, then took a deep draught. Her glass was almost empty.

Lil caught her breath. ‘Maggie, we’re in the middle of the red-light area.’ Maggie stopped and stared at her friend. ‘Oh, no – should we go back?’ ‘Why ever would we do that?’ ‘Someone might proposition us.’ Maggie was aghast with fear. Lil laughed. ‘I’m eighty-two and you’re only a few years younger, Maggie. We’d have more chance of being propositioned if we paid the clients.’

‘Fifty euros for fifteen minutes?’ Maggie marvelled. ‘And I’ve done it for nothing all my married life.’

Lil pressed her lips together, trying not to burst out laughing. It was most entertaining, the way others’ secret lives and liaisons were unfolding on this trip. Lil was enjoying it almost as much as her romance novels.

My Review:

What fun! Every time I pick up a book by this clever wordsmith I find a new favorite octogenarian. I want to be just like her Lil when I grow up, she is eighty-two years young and proudly and unapologetically reads “bonking books,” performs random acts of kindness, is up for all types of shenanigans, and flirts outrageously every morning with the much younger tattooed man who owns her favorite breakfast eatery.

The writing was well-honed and shrewdly paced with original and engaging storylines that were relatable and entertaining while packed with wry smirk-worthy humor. The book featured an interesting cast of oddly beguiling characters of various ages and walks of life from common to snooty while traveling together on a coach tour of Europe.

I adore and revere this author’s skills as she covers all the feels with smart observations and keen perceptions while keeping a smile on my face during the vast majority of my perusal. Plus, she had me Googling a giggle-snort-worthy exchange between the elderly ladies involving a “posing pouch.”

Favorite Quotes:

After an initial glance in the mirror I had to steel myself before I could face a closer inspection… if you could find a foundation to match this skin-tone it would have been called ‘hint of corpse’.

Kathy deigned to glance across at me. ‘That hair tone is upsetting. I didn’t think they sold such dismal shades outside Eastern Europe.’ ‘This is my natural hair colour!’

I could feel him smiling against my hair. How could one moment be so full of horror and so deliciously lovely all at the same time?

My heart was flapping like a demented chicken.

My Review:

Oh, happy, day!  I have a new author to fangirl and add to my favorites list. Beth Moran was found treasure and I have entered her entire Goodreads listing to my TBR.   Her characters were exceptionally endearing while her writing style was easy to fall into, shrewdly paced, engaging, and poignant.   But it was her well-crafted storylines that ticked all my boxes, as they were relatable, realistic, and unfailingly entertaining while touching on several prickly social issues with generous servings of wry levity, internal tension, perceptive inner musings, clever humor, a blossoming romance, and a bit of peril and intrigue to round out all the feels. I enjoyed her uniquely quirky villagers as they waged a decades-old and pointless feud but I reveled in Eleanor finding her footing while also helping everyone she met find theirs as well.

A Dollop of Delight
(A Recipe for Love Novel Book 5)
by Kelly Collins

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

On the outside, she was smiling, but inside she was cussing like a sailor— a drunk sailor who’d stubbed his toe.

All this woman was missing was a wart on her nose and a broom.

I heard about his disappointment all my life. Pleasing Dad was like petting a porcupine. It was impossible and painful.

She remembered her grandma Mavis once telling her that love is defined not by what you get but by how much love makes you want to give.

My Review:

This was a tasty treat from beginning to end and I was smacking my lips and savoring every sweet and amusing morsel. The storylines were entertaining and easy to follow with the perfect mix of levity and external tension. The characters were relatable and quick-witted and gave good banter as they teased and flirted their way into a blossoming and supportive romance.   They were also endearingly earnest humans and people I’d enjoy spending time with, even if only to sample their outstanding culinary skills. Their conflicts were seldom with each other, which is always a refreshing change. I adored Gage and wish men like him existed outside of a book but alas, he was far too perfect to exist out in the wild so I enjoyed him while I could and will keep him on my Kindle.

ABOUT KELLY COLLINS   

  Goodreads  / Website  / Amazon / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Bookbub

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

The meeting room was a swirl of people, all milling about on the static-filled carpet like restless wild ponies before the roping started.

Although office gossip has it that Zac is fancied by over half the female staff, and his going may cause a backwash of oestrogen and eyeliner that carries us to the brink of destruction.

‘I hope he gets syphilis and his willy rots off!’ Sophie called back cheerily, and went back to her phone call.

It gave me a chilly feeling in the pit of my stomach. As though we were being picked off, one by one, vanishing one day never to be seen again. It was either a ruthless management style at work or ritual sacrifice.

Unresolved sexual tension. The air was so thick with it in here that I could only get in with scissors.

You disappoint me. I thought I was going to have to fight off hordes of disappointed women, I was going to buy a special stick.

My Review:

I adored this cleverly perceptive and wittily written tale. I guffawed and chortled as I dove between the pages laced with Ms. Lovering’s smirk-worthy levity, sharp comedic visuals, and head-nod inducing snark. I was totally engaged and fully present with them in the midst of their office chaos, clearly hearing the shuffling of papers and squeaking of office chairs over the drone of Christmas carols. The characters were endearingly quirky and struggling to do their best while in a difficult squeeze whilst in competition with each other for the same desperately needed job. The storylines were relatable as well as entertaining while striking all the feels and eventually igniting an unexpected fledgling romance. I reveled in the perfection of the epilogue.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

My mama always said that you need to let people have whatever fiction makes their life tolerable. And I agree. There’s no use in churning up the past.

This man could make her feel like this— like a shook-up bottle of pop or the time she’d put regular dish soap in the dishwasher in her first apartment instead of dish detergent and the kitchen had flooded with suds.

No one from her father’s family had ever said the word depression or suicide—Mamaw’s tolerable fiction was an accident while Sam was cleaning his firearm, but accidents didn’t usually come with a goodbye note.

He moved out immediately, ignored her calls and texts, and fell into a new life without her like in his life story she was written in pencil and he’d decided to make revisions.

Her accent was thick like it was an elixir she’d swallowed whole and it was coating her throat and mouth.

My Review:

This was my introduction to the wily craft of Emily Bleeker so I had no idea that I was stepping into a book tornado, as fact – her storylines tossed me around but good. The feels were going in every direction but my heart was battered and bruised by her poignant threads concerning Evelyn. It wasn’t until after I had finished reading that I learned the book was a mixture of fact and fiction and Evelyn’s half was not only based on fact, it packed an even more powerful punch as it was close to home.

At various times while reading, my palm itched to give the main character of Hannah more than a few pops to the back of the head for being so tiresome and self-involved; but depression does that, a condition the author truly captured well. Hannah was deeply and realistically flawed, childish, and often annoying, yet her tale was intriguing and I had a hard time not being snappish when my perusal was interrupted.

All of Ms. Bleeker’s characters were well-contrived and held my interest and curiosity. I enjoyed the colorful descriptions and snarky inner musings as Northern Hannah arrogantly appraised those around her in her new transplanted environment of Mississippi while staying with her paternal grandmother. Yet her superior attitude had a false bottom as even if her current position at a small newspaper was beneath her, she also knew it was the only one that would currently have her and she was in danger of losing it with her continual cock-ups.

The writing was perceptively observant and hit upon various social issues old and new, as some problems such as abuse of power and privilege and racism are deeply rooted and most likely will never go away and have unfortunately been resurrected to be far worse than a mere five years ago.