What if you met the one a week before your wedding to another man?

When Tilly meets Adam, just a week before she’s about to marry Gareth, she knows it can never be. She’s made a commitment, and it’s one she knows she has to stick with, however strong the pull is between them.

Tilly and Adam’s paths will cross, again and again, over twenty years. But Tilly’s a wife now, a mother too, not to mention a person looking after her ailing parent… Sometimes it feels like she’s forgotten how to be herself. It’s only when Gareth drops a bombshell about their marriage, that she decides to put herself at the centre of her own story.

So she books a one-way ticket to San Jose – a place she’s only heard about in a song. But fate seems to be leading her in another direction… and perhaps to exactly the place she’s meant to be, and to the person she’s meant to be with.

My Thoughts:

Once you pick this book up. trust me when I say you will not want to put it down. I loved the sound of this story but there is so much more to it when your reading it. It was a raw and compelling story all about love, grief, but also about so much more, Debbie has done a wonderful job about keeping the sensitive parts honest and open. Tilly and her family go through a lot in this story and I am sure some parts may be relatable to whoever is reading it. I love the way the story was written with flitting back to the past, it felt as though I was inside Tilly’s head. It was a powerful story and one I don’t ever want to forget. It makes you think about what you are grateful for in life and that there is always someone worse off than you. Absolutely brilliant. This is going to be a huge hit when it comes out.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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Sometimes you need to get lost to find your way…

Marnie is stuck.
Stuck working alone in her London flat, stuck battling the long afternoons and a life that often feels like it’s passing her by.

Michael is coming undone.
Reeling from his wife’s departure, increasingly reclusive, taking himself on long, solitary walks across the moors and fells.

When a persistent mutual friend and some very English weather conspire to bring them together, Marnie and Michael suddenly find themselves alone on the most epic of walks and on the precipice of a new friendship.

But can they survive the journey?

My Thoughts:

I read this book whilst having a holiday in The Lake District so I found it quite fitting. Marnie and Michael are the main characters and I love the dynamic between them, it was a lovely story to connect with and also I liked the different parts of the walks that David described as I have been on some of them and they are breath taking beautiful. David has such a lovely way of connecting to his readers by adding warmth and comfort and also by writing so freely that the words flow so beautifully. It was a captivating story that I will treasure forever.

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When Brooke and Matt are cast as romantic leads in their drama group’s theatre performance of Romeo and Juliet, they don’t mean to actually fall in love. Secrets and lies seem a small price for Brooke to pay for an older boyfriend, until they take their relationship to the next level one night in an empty auditorium. After she learns of the illegality of Matt’s actions, Brooke’s anxiety reaches breaking point and she makes a decision that changes her life forever. Years later, Matt is reunited with Brooke, desperately seeking redemption. But what sense can they make now of a love that never did run smoothly?

Exploring mental health, co-dependency, and the blurred lines of sexual consent, this captivating debut recounts a young woman’s journey to independence as she strays beyond all she has ever known to confront her traumatic past.

My Thoughts:

This is about Brooke and Matt who are in their drama group and both get cast for the lead roles but little did they know how close they would get whilst practising. But things change and neither one is ready for the consequences. They both go and lead their separate lives and when years later they are reunited, there are so many questions left unanswered but they are back where they belong or are they? The story explores sensitive topics about mental health and sexual consent. It is quite a hard hitting story about two young people not really knowing what is right and wrong and then to see the impact it has on both of them. It is a YA novel but I think it has tackled the sensitive topics very well. I feel as though I need to read a light hearted book now.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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My life is perfectly fine.

Alex has pretended this for years―despite an emotionally absent father, a best friend drifting away, and a floundering dog-training business. At least Alex has her sister, Meredith, a driven polar opposite. But both their lives are upended when their estranged mother dies of a genetic condition that the sisters have a fifty-fifty chance of inheriting. For Alex, a world without her mother is uncomfortable. But a world without Meredith is unthinkable.

Alex suggests a pact to which Meredith tentatively agrees: In three months they’ll get tested. Until then they go after everything they’ve ever wanted. Alex is finally stepping out of her comfort zone and opening herself up to new relationships. Or maybe reconnecting with an old one. Nathan, a boy who once broke her heart, needs a trainer for his mixed-breed rescue. Alex can’t resist.

As sparks rekindle, and time passes much too quickly, Alex discovers more about herself, her sister, and her mother than she ever imagined. And that everything in life―especially happiness―comes with a risk worth taking.

My Thoughts:

This is a story about how life can change in an instant. Alex and her sister Meredith are complete opposites but when their mum dies, the sisters never realised how much of an impact it would have on their lives, especially when they find out that it was a genetic condition that took their mum away. The girls have a 50-50 change of inheriting it. So they decide they are going to do everything they have ever wanted to do and go with the flow and forget about it for three months and then get testes. But what does it mean for the sisters? and can they ever truly forget about it for three months? it was a whirlwind of a story, it is thought provoking and tense, but full of love and the great thing of having a sister beside you every step of the way. It was a good read.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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Two broken hearts. One magical Christmas by the sea.

When Jess calls off her wedding just weeks before the big day, she escapes to the coastal village of Sturcombe Bay for a fresh start.

Swapping wedding plans for Christmas preparation at the fading Carleton Hotel, she’s not looking for love — until she meets Paul Channing, a rugged local with secrets of his own.

Shelley doesn’t let people in — not even at Christmas. But when kind-hearted Canadian pilot Daniel Crocombe steps in to defend her at the Carleton Hotel, his quiet warmth begins to break through her walls. With Christmas approaching, can Shelley believe she’s worthy of the love she’s always longed for?

As fairy lights go up around the village and snow dusts the bay, Jess and Shelley must find the courage to let go of the past — and discover that love often arrives when you least expect it.

My Thoughts:

Jess has a need to escape from her old life, with everything going wrong she goes to Sturcombe Bay to hopefully start afresh. Will she find her happy ever after there? Also Shelley is quiet and shy until she meets Daniel can he help her to turn her life around? can the two women find love at Christmas when they least expect it. I like how the two women’s intertwine with each other. It is a slow burner of a story. I liked how the story flowed and to see the outcome at the end. It was a light hearted story that is full of friendship, romance and Christmas festivities.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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Laura was all set for a quiet solo Christmas – just her, a bottle of wine, and flat-sitting for a stranger. But when the stranger’s parents mistake her for his mystery girlfriend, she’s swept off to the snowy Scottish Highlands with Callum and his whole family.

Between the cosy sleeper train, charming pubs and breathtaking views, this could be the no-strings-attached Christmas of Laura’s dreams.

But stranger Callum is hot, hilarious and their ‘fake’ chemistry is off the charts.

So is this just a Christmas fling? Or the start of something more?

My Thoughts:

I have not read a book by Lindsey for a very long time and I don’t really know why. This was everything and more. It is about Laura who has decided for Christmas she is going to flat sit for a stranger, but nothing is as it seems and before she knows it she is being mistaken for this really hot guy’s girlfriend and being whisked away to his home in the Scottish Highlands. This is not what Laura had intended but at least it should makes for some interesting stories. It was funny, relatable and there was great character building. I did not want to put this book down. Now I need to go and read more of Lindsey’s books as I fear I have been missing out. I would highly recommend this book.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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One snowy village. Two guarded hearts. A Christmas they’ll never forget.

After a year of burying her heartbreak in endless work, Jessica Stewart returns to her childhood home in the Scottish village of Rowan Bay. She hopes the Christmas lights and familiar faces will help her rediscover the woman she used to be.

She doesn’t expect Reuben Campbell.

Once her brother’s infuriating best friend — the boy who teased her endlessly — Reuben is now a ruggedly handsome architect with an easy charm. And he’s suddenly everywhere Jessica turns.

As the village prepares for Christmas, Jessica and Reuben find themselves sharing frost-bitten walks, fairy-lit evenings and gingerbread house disasters. The spark between them is impossible to ignore and Reuben’s steady presence begins to melt the walls Jessica has spent so long building.

But Jessica came home to escape complications — and Reuben, for all his warmth, is hiding heartbreak and secrets of his own.

As Christmas approaches can two people with every reason to resist each other finally give in to a second chance neither saw coming?

My Thoughts:

Jessica has been through a lot so when she returns home, she hopes this will help her to revaluate her life and work out where to go from here. But when she sees a familiar face from the past in the form of her brothers best friend, she cant help but notice him in different eyes. As the pair start spending time together, Jessica wonders if this is her happy ever after. It is a light hearted and easy read. I felt sorry for Jessica at the start and then was hoping she would find her happiness. It is a predictable story but one I really fell in love with. A great Christmas read to snuggle up with.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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