#BlogBlitz A Cornish Summer at Pear Tree Farm by Angela Britnell

 It’s my turn on the BlogBlitz A Cornish Summer at Pear Tree Farm by Angela Britnell.

About the Author

Angela grew up in Cornwall, England and returns frequently from her new home in Nashville, Tennessee to visit family and friends, drink tea and eat far too many Cornish pasties! 

A lifelong love of reading turned into a passion for writing contemporary romance and her novels are usually set in the many places she’s visited or lived on her extensive travels. Thanks to over three decades of marriage to her wonderful American husband she’s a huge fan of transatlantic romance and always makes sure her characters get their own happy-ever-after.

She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. Her first novel ‘Truth and Consequence’ was published in 2006 and she’s now had over 30 novels published internationally and several short stories in women’s magazines.

If you’d like to find out more of what Angela gets up to (Advance warning: this may include references to wine, dark chocolate, Poldark and the hunky Aidan Turner) check out angelabritnellromance.com or follow her on facebook.com/angelabritnell, @angelabritnell on Twitter and on Instagram 

About the book

Cornish charm and a Tennessee twist – the perfect pair? Nessa Vivian is determined to keep her parents’ business afloat, but Pear Tree Farm near the backwater Cornish village of Polgarth didn’t do well as farm, and it’s not faring much better as a camp site. Maybe it’s due to Nessa’s habit of taking in troubled runaways, like ex-soldier Crispin, for next to nothing. Or perhaps her highly-strung sister Lowena is right – caravans named after Beatles’ songs and homegrown pears are not enough to turn the farm into a tourist haven.

Then another troubled runaway turns up, posing the greatest threat yet. Ex-musician Ward Spencer from Tennessee is certainly intriguing, but could his plans to put nearby Tregereth House on the map mean Pear Tree Farm is finished – or does his arrival signal a second lease of life, and not just for Nessa’s business?

Review

Pear Tree Farm is a haven – it’s supposed to be a profitable business, but it’s really become a place come to hide away from the world and their problems. Nessa needs it to be profitable enough to pay the bills, and yet she understands the need for a hiding place and has a lot of empathy for her strays.

The last thing she needs is to take in another one, according to her sister, especially one who has his own agenda. Ward has plans that could not only interfere with Nessa’s life, his plans could potentially destroy her dreams.

Britnell writes a story with flawed characters, but they are also the kind of characters you might meet and could relate to. Nessa and her misfits are like many other caravan or camping parks. Characters full of quirks, and you’re never quite sure whether or not you feel sympathy for them or want to thrown them into a quarry. It’s a lovely feel good read.

Buy A Cornish Summer at Pear Tree Farm at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Choc Lit pub date 3 Aug. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogBlitz Angel of the Lost Treasure by Marie Laval

 It’s my turn on the BlogBlitz Angel of the Lost Treasure by Marie Laval.

About the Author

Originally from Lyon in France, Marie has lived in the Rossendale Valley in Lancashire for the past few years. She writes both contemporary and historical romance. Her novels include best selling contemporary romantic suspense novels Little Pink Taxi and Escape to the Little Chateau, which was shortlisted for the 2021 RNA Jackie Collins Romantic Suspense Awards, as well as A Paris Fairy Tale and Bluebell’s Christmas Magic. 

Her latest novel, Angel of the Lost Treasure, was released in February 2021. Marie also contributes to the best selling Miss Moonshine’s Emporium anthologies together with eight author friends from Authors on the Edge. Follow @MarieLaval1 on Twitter, on Facebook

About the book

An ancient secret hidden within a mother’s song … When young widow, Marie-Ange Norton is invited to Beauregard in France by the mysterious Monsieur Malleval to collect an inheritance, she has no choice but to accept.

But when she embarks on the voyage with her fiery-tempered travelling companion Capitaine Hugo Saintclair, little does she know what waits for her across the sea in turbulent nineteenth-century France on the eve of Napoleon’s return from exile. When she arrives, she is taken aback by Malleval’s fascination with her family – seemingly inspired by his belief they are connected to a sacred relic he’s read about in coded manuscripts by the Knights Templar.

As it becomes clear that Malleval’s obsession has driven him to madness, Marie-Ange is horrified to realise she is more the man’s prisoner than his guest. Not only that, but Hugo is the only person who might be able to help her, and he could represent a different kind of danger.

Review

Marie-Ange has a certain degree of naïve innocence that makes her susceptible to anyone who tries to take advantage of her, and there seems to be plenty of them. She is being escorted to France to learn more about her mother, her roots and her inheritance. Hugo Saintclair is a dashing man who becomes her rescuer in many situations.

The two of them represent the division in France, the royalist and the Bonapartist. One enamoured by her mother’s heritage and the other very much aware of the differences between the two of them. As Marie-Ange slowly realises how much danger she is in she relies on Saintclair to help her, but are his loyalties divided between the beautiful stranger and the man who has the power to destroy him.

I don’t think Laval left out anything when it comes to this story. It has sort of dual timeline, romance, magical realism and a pinch of the supernatural, and the historical fiction element has an 80s regency vibe, but put together it may seem like a bit chaotic – it works though.

It’s historical fiction that goes all the way back the Knights Templar, to unexplained powers and the possibility of immortality. It’s certainly a creative read.

Buy Angel of the Lost Treasure at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎ Choc Lit pub date 23 Feb. 2021. Buy at Amazon com. At Kobo.

#BlogTour A Summer of Second Chances by Carol Thomas

 It’s my turn on the BlogTour A Summer of Second Chances by Carol Thomas.

About the Author

Carol Thomas lives on the south coast of England with her husband, four children and lively Labrador. She has been a primary school teacher for over twenty years and has a passion for reading, writing and people watching. When she is not in school, chasing after her children, or stopping her dog from eating things he shouldn’t, she can be found loitering in cafes drinking too much tea and working on her next book.  

Follow https://twitter.com/carol_thomas2 on Twitter, on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, Visit carol-thomas.co.uk/blog

About the book

Does first love deserve a second chance? Ava Flynn sometimes feels like the clothes donated to her charity shop have seen more life than her, but ‘maximum dedication for a minimal wage’ is what it takes to keep her mother’s beloved wildlife charity, All Critters Great and Small, running – especially in the village of Dapplebury, where business is certainly not booming.

But when Ava’s first love, Henry Bramlington, returns to the village, suddenly life becomes a little too eventful. Henry escaped Dapplebury many years before, but now he has the power to make or break the village he left behind – All Critters Great and Small included. Can Ava trust the boy who ran away to give both her and her charity a second chance? 

Review

The return of the boy who made Ava’s heart beat just a wee bit faster seems like a token gesture from the heavens at first, until she realises he has business in mind. The kind of decision making that could put her mother’s legacy at risk. Can she really keep attraction and business separated when it comes to Henry or will he use their connection to get what he wants?

Second Chance love stories are a bit of conundrum, because they are usually built on this fantasy of what would have been and has been denied. Having years or decades to pine over the apparently perfect partner one has been denied through fate or circumstance, well it gives the legend a chance to be fleshed out and sold to the people in question and to those around them.

Is the Henry we know now still the Henry who was ripped unceremoniously from Ava’s grasp? I very much doubt it and the same goes for Ava. Is the attraction based solely on nostalgia and imagined missed opportunities? Or do the two of them have a genuine connection that has lasted throughout the years, despite the intervention of others. 

I guess that is very much the core of this story, which is then combined with a colourful cast of characters, a tug-of-war of emotions and quaint surroundings as a backdrop to the tale. It’s the perfect escapism read.

Buy A Summer of Second Chances at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : Choc Lit pub date 27 April 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Hanukkah at the Great Greenwich Ice Creamery by Sharon Ibbotson

It’s the start of the BlogTour Hanukkah at the Great Greenwich Ice Creamery by Sharon Ibbotson.

About the Author

Sharon was born in Sydney, Australia but now lives in London with her husband, two small children and two black cats named for desserts. She started writing ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ fanfiction aged 15, which eventually transformed into the historical romance novels she writes today. She has two novels published by Choc Lit, and when not writing, can be found baking cakes badly or drinking wine well.

Follow @seibbotson on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit sharonibbotson.com, Buy Hanukkah at the Great Greenwich Ice Creamery

About the book

Cohen Ford is a man who could do with a little bit of sweetening up. It’s no surprise that when he walks into The Great Greenwich Ice Creamery on a typically gloomy London day before Christmas, he insists on a black coffee rather than his childhood favourite – strawberry ice cream.

But then he meets River de Luca, the woman behind the flavours. After their first encounter, Cohen begins visiting the ice creamery every Tuesday, gradually learning more about the intriguing River. Could her influence encourage cynical Cohen to become the man who embraces Christmas, Hanukkah and even strawberry ice cream?Hanukkah days, Christmas nights and strawberry ice cream …

Review

Cohen is on an errand. The kind of annoying errand only a parent can send you on, so he certainly isn’t expecting to walk into an Ice Creamery and make the kind of visceral connection that is very rare. An instant attraction – the knowledge that somehow you are meant to connect with a specific person that just happens to walk into your life.

The way Cohen talks about River to Rushi, and vice versa, in the first few chapters and in general – I found it uncomfortable. It’s as if everyone in her vicinity infantilises River, because of her deafness. Talking about her over her head, making decisions about her and for her as if she were a child. It wasn’t concern for her well-being, but rather an attempt to control in the name of concern.

Romanticising the behaviour felt wrong, and in a way I think the author calls attention to the attitude and behaviour of the hearing in regards to the deaf by doing this. The ignorance and arrogance that accompanies the treatment of the deaf when those who can hear find themselves in a position to have to move beyond their usual methods of communication.

The author also makes a point about how men are taught to curb and discount certain talents and things they enjoy merely because they could be seen as effeminate. Cohen is taught to feel shame and embarrassment for hobbies that bring him pleasure.

It’s romance that crosses the boundaries of the senses and communication to allow love to blossom. Ibbotson combines the early blush of attraction with the physical feelings of desire, which culminate in two people acknowledging a deep connection between the two of them.

On a side note: I think sign language, obviously which kind depends on the country, should be a made a compulsory part of curriculum to create an even playing field for all individuals both hearing and non-hearing.

Buy Hannukkah at the Great Greenwich Ice Creamery at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Choc Lit; pub date 4 Dec. 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Reach For A Star by Kathryn Freeman

Today it’s  my turn on the BlogTour Reach For a Star by Kathryn Freeman.

Enter the Giveaway below to Win a PB copy of Oh Crumbs by Kathryn Freeman (Open INT)About the Author

A former pharmacist, I’m now a medical writer who also writes romance. Some days a racing heart is a medical condition, others it’s the reaction to a hunky hero.

With two teenage boys and a husband who asks every Valentine’s Day whether he has to buy a card (yes, he does), any romance is all in my head. Then again, his unstinting support of my career change proves love isn’t always about hearts and flowers – and heroes come in many disguises.

Follow @KathrynFreeman1 on Twitter, on Facebook, on Goodreads, on Amazon,  kathrynfreeman.co.uk, Buy Reach For a Star

About the book

What if your dreams were so close you could reach out and touch them?

How could anyone resist Michael Tennant, with his hypnotic blue eyes and voice like molten chocolate? Jessie Simmons certainly can’t. But Jessie’s a single mum who can’t sing to save her life – there’s no way she’ll ever cross paths with the star tenor.

At least that’s what she thinks until she’s unexpectedly invited to take part in a new reality TV show. The premise? Professional singers teach hopeless amateurs how to sing. The surprise? Jessie’s partner is none other than Michael Tennant!

As she becomes better acquainted with the man behind the voice, will Jessie find out the hard way that you should never meet your idols? Or will she get more than she bargained for?Review

Jessie’s sons think they are doing their mother a favour by applying to a reality show.  Giving her a chance to sing with her idol, the singer Michael Tennant, in front of the whole world. She may sound like a rusty pipe with drainage issues, but what’s a little lack of singing talent matter in a singing competition, eh?

What starts as an opportunity to meet her crush and perhaps show everyone what she is made of quickly turns into something quite unexpected. Michael likes Jessie. Is that even a scenario worth considering? The star and the single mother of two teenage boys, could it really be more than just a short blip in the exciting world of Michael?

Freeman makes an important point about the desirability of women who aren’t super young and childless. Even if society, especially the patriarchal system, tries to convince women that being a mother and a caregiver also equates to being a non-sexual being. Nothing could be further from the truth. Taking care of tiny humans doesn’t lessen the desire to be wanted or considered an object of desirability.

Jessie has to confront her fears and needs simultaneously, and be honest about what she wants and deserves in her life. A message the majority of us can comprehend and relate to.

It’s a passionate story about love, family and romance. The normal Mom finding out love is written and spoken in the same language everywhere – no matter how rich, famous or everyday normal you or you life may be.

Buy Reach For a Star at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Choc Lit; pub date 24 Sept. 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

Enter the Giveaway to Win a PB copy of Oh Crumbs by Kathryn Freeman (Open INT)

Click here to Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

#BlogTour Make It Up To You by Lucy Keeling

Today it’s my turn on the BlogTour Make it Up To You by Lucy Keeling.About the Author

Lucy Keeling is an author writing fun, sexy, stories with all of the happily ever afters. When she’s not typing at the kitchen table, she’s arranging and then re-arranging to see her friends for the occasional spot of day drinking. Lucy is currently writing the third book in a Contemporary Romance series, the first of which has been Shortlisted by Choc-Lit ‘Search for a Star’ Competition.

Follow @Lucy_K_Author on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Amazon, Buy Make It Up To You

About the book

What do mascara wands and gardening shears have in common?

Absolutely nothing! At least that’s what wannabe beauty influencer Sophie Timney thinks when her friend Polly suggests involving her brother Marcus in Sophie’s make-up tutorials. She needs more views, Marcus needs promotion for his gardening business – in Polly’s mind joining forces will help them both. Sophie isn’t so sure.

Because Marcus Bowman has a habit of getting under her skin in a way that no exfoliating face scrub ever could. But, as the views and comments on her videos begin creeping up, it becomes increasingly obvious that Sophie’s subscribers like Marcus, and what’s even worse is that Sophie might be starting to feel the same way …

Review

Before I get to the core of the story I have to hand it to Keeling for creating a wee bit of a mystery. The kind of mystery that makes readers keep coming back to a specific character – what exactly does Mya do for a living?

Sophie is trying to carve out her own niche in the world of social media influencers, specifically in the arena of beauty, make-up and style. So far it has been an uphill battle, perhaps because the huge ocean of social media users is already filled with people who are doing it better than Sophie. Or is it just a question of attracting the attention of the right crowd of viewers at the right time?

When a friend suggests creating a better backdrop to her online tutorials and also giving the garden a new look by asking Polly’s brother Marcus to lend a hand, well Sophie isn’t exactly thrilled. She is even less thrilled when he ends up becoming a part of her videos and then flabbergasted when her viewers appear to like him a lot.

This is an amusing romcom, a feel good story set around relevant careers of our day and age. Social media has taken over a huge part of our lives, both in our private and public lives. There are new careers on the horizon for young people. Marketing via online presence, likes equating to popularity and hopefully eventually to sales. It’s a whole new ballgame.

It’s a contemporary romcom, an accidental love story with a focus on the world of social media.

Buy Make It Up To You at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Choc Lit pub date September 17, 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Magnolia House by Angela Barton

Today it’s a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Magnolia House by Angela Barton. It’s a story about moving on, romance and friendship with a little bit of mystery on the side.About the Author

Angela Barton was born in London and grew up in Nottingham. She is married with three grown up children and adorable four-year-old twin granddaughters. Angela is passionate about writing both contemporary and historical fiction and loves time spent researching facts for her novels. Having signed publishing contracts for three of her completed novels with Choc Lit’s new imprint, Ruby Fiction, Angela is excited to be working alongside such a lovely team.

Angela and her husband, Paul, recently moved to France and planted a lavender field. She’s looking forward to spending more time writing in the beautiful Charente countryside working from her new writing room, a beautiful shepherd hut. Angela is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and Nottingham Writers’ Studio.

Follow @angebarton @ChocLitUk on Twitter or Angela Barton on Facebook, Visit angelabarton.net

Buy Magnolia House

About the book

Rowan Forrester has it all – the happy marriage, the adorable dog, the good friends, the promising business and even the dream home after she and her husband Tom win a stunning but slightly dilapidated Georgian townhouse in London at auction.

But in the blink of an eye, Rowan’s picture-perfect life comes crashing down around her and she is faced with the prospect of having to start again.

To make ends meet she begins a search for housemates, and in doing so opens the door to new friends and new beginnings. But could she be opening the door to new heartbreak too?Review

Rowan and Tom add a dream home to their long list of successes. The perfect couple with the perfect life that suddenly comes crumbling down one day. Perhaps the facade isn’t so perfect after all.

Inevitably Rowan experiences what we all do in life at some point. The fact we don’t really ever know someone as well as we think we do or know all their secrets. She finds this out the hard way when her house of cards falls down unexpectedly.

Forced to reconsider her options and choices, she decides to change her dream home into flats and invite strangers into her home. Strangers who turn her world upside down and inside out. What seemed to be important during her life with Tom now no longer appears to have the same importance.

I thought it was interesting how Barton chose not to go down the most obvious happy to forgive and all is hunky-dory route. Instead the story takes a slight left turn towards the end. Probably a more realistic view of the situation.

Barton doesn’t concentrate on the misery or heartbreak of her characters, but rather on the fact that life must go on regardless of which hands we are dealt. Where one door closes another one opens, possibly even more than one.

It’s a story about moving on, romance and friendship with a little bit of mystery on the side. The author has a flair for authentic characters with realistic problems, which makes it easier for readers to connect with them. It’s a contemporary read with a cosy feel to it.

Buy Magnolia House at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Choc Lit; pub date 29 Jan. 2019.

Buy Arlette’s story here

#BlogTour The Daughter of River Valley by Victoria Cornwall

Today it’s my pleasure to help kick off the BlogTour for The Daughter of River Valley by Victoria Cornwall, which is the third in the Cornish Tales series. It’s a story about an unusual love growing from an unexpected and violent encounter.

About the Author

Victoria Cornwall can trace her Cornish roots as far back as the 18th century and it is this background and heritage which is the inspiration for her Cornish based novels.

Victoria’s writing has been shortlisted for the New Talent Award at the Festival of Romantic Fiction and her debut novel reached the final for the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Joan Hessayon Award.

Victoria likes to read and write historical fiction with a strong background story, but at its heart is the unmistakable emotion, even pain, of loving someone.

She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Follow @VickieCornwall  @ChocLitUK on Twitter

On Facebook On Pinterest Or Instagram

Visit victoriacornwall.com or victoriacornwall.com/news-blog-2/

Buy The Daughter of River Valley

About the book

Beth Jago appears to have the idyllic life, she has a trade to earn a living and a cottage of her own in Cornwall’s beautiful River Valley. Yet appearances can be deceptive …

Beth has a secret. Since inheriting her isolated cottage she has been receiving threats, so when she finds a man in her home she acts on her instincts. One frying pan to the head and she has robbed the handsome stranger of his memory and almost killed him.

Brought together by unknown circumstances, and fearful he may die, she reluctantly nurses the intruder back to health. Yet can she trust the man with no name who has entered her life, or is he as dangerous as his nightmares suggest? As they learn to trust one another, the outside threats worsen. Are they linked to the man with no past? Or is the real danger still outside waiting … and watching them both.

Review

Beth lives in the cottage that once belonged to her grandfather. She is in a vulnerable position as a single woman in a cottage in the middle of nowhere. Nobody to hear her screams if someone decides to harm her or try to take advantage of her. It isn’t much of a surprise that she feels she needs to defend her house and honour with any means possible, which is how an unconscious man ends up on the floor of her cottage.

Unfortunately the extremely well placed bash on the head has caused some damage to the intruder. He no longer remembers who he is, why he is there and where the heck he came from. The man without a name soon feels as if he needs to protect Beth, especially from the thugs who are trying to drive her from the only real home she has ever known.

This book is part of a series called Cornish Tales by Victoria Cornwall.The author combines the beauty of the scenery with tales of survival, despair and romance. You can feel the influence of Poldark and the unforgettable imagery of Cornwall, which flows into this tale of independence and the solitary struggle of a single woman in that era.

A tale that speaks of the divide between the rich and the poor, and the protection each of those groups gives to members of their own group or social class. However both groups still adhere to archaic societal rules, regardless of how hypocritical they may seem.

This is to romance what the romcom is to chic-lit. It’s an easy read, and the author tells the story without resorting to erotic encounters or gratuitous violence. This kind of read has a firm place in the romance genre, because it caters to readers who enjoy the spark without wanting the forbidden fruit of the breathless bodice-ripper.

Buy The Daughter of River Valley at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Choc Lit