#Blogtour Should I Tell You? by Jill Mansell

A bit late, this is my turn on the Blogtour Should I Tell You? by Jill Mansell.

About the Author

Jill Mansell is the author of over twenty Sunday Times bestsellers including The One You Really Want and Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay.  Take a Chance on Me won the RNA’s Romantic Comedy Prize, and in 2015 the RNA presented Jill with an outstanding achievement award. 

Jill started writing fiction while working in the field of Clinical Neurophysiology in the NHS, but now writes full time. She lives in Bristol with her family. Follow @JillMansell on Twitter, Visit jillmansell.co.uk, 

About the book

Amber, Lachlan and Raffaele met as teenagers in the seaside home of kind-hearted foster parents. Arriving in glorious Cornwall was the best thing that ever happened to them – and now, as adults, their bond is stronger than ever.

But Amber has a secret. She’s in love with Lachlan. She can’t confess her feelings because that would never work. Restless Lachlan dates a lot and definitely isn’t the settling-down type. Surely it’s better to keep him as a friend than to risk losing him for good?

Raffaele has his own dilemma. He had the dream girlfriend in Vee, until it all went horribly wrong . . . and he still can’t understand why. Is Vee hiding something from him?

Now their widowed foster dad Teddy thinks he’s found love again. Younger, charming and strikingly beautiful, is Olga as perfect as she seems? Or will she end up breaking Teddy’s heart?

Against a backdrop of sparkling seas and sunny skies, the unexpected is always just around the corner. Welcome to Lanrock!

Review

Amber, Lachlan and Raffaele have the kind of bond that endures anything. Brought together by the isolation in their lives, and the people who were kind enough to take them on and show them love and respect. It’s easy to see why they might struggle individually with decisions in life, especially when it comes to experiencing love, friendship and genuine emotion from someone.

It makes it harder to be honest when relationships change from friendship to romantic love. It’s even harder when life has taught you that trust is something earned, especially when a lack of it is at the core of your very structure.

There is this scene in the last few chapters, which is probably supposed to be an amusing incident with the intent to show the level of anxiety and lack of confidence Amber has in herself and Lachlan. I didn’t think it was funny, quite the opposite really, and I am sure if the roles were reversed there would be an outcry.

It’s a light read. One that is steeped in insecurity and with an air of juvenile carelessness. Life is chaotic and so are relationships sometimes. Messy, complicated, and often never run in a straight line. If you doubt something or someone so much, the question is whether you should open yourself up wide enough to let them in – they might hurt you.

Buy Should I Tell You? at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publishing in paperback by Headline Review on 9th June 2022, £8.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour And Now You’re Back by Jill Mansell

 It’s my turn on the BlogTour And Now You’re Back by Jill Mansell.

About the Author

Jill Mansell is the author of over twenty Sunday Times bestsellers including The One You Really Want and Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay.  Take a Chance on Me won the RNA’s Romantic Comedy Prize, and in 2015 the RNA presented Jill with an outstanding achievement award. 

Jill’s personal favourite amongst her novels is Three Amazing Things About You, which is about cystic fibrosis and organ donation; to her great delight, many people have joined the organ donor register as a direct result of reading this novel.

Jill started writing fiction while working in the field of Clinical Neurophysiology in the NHS, but now writes full time. She lives in Bristol with her family. 

Follow @JillMansell on Twitter, Follow on Goodreads, Follow OfficialJillMansell on Facebook, Visit jillmansell.co.uk, 

About the book

One magical winter’s night in Venice, Didi fell in love. But it ended – and he left without even saying goodbye. Now, thirteen years on, Shay Mason is back.

The old spark is still there, but Didi’s determined to ignore it. As manager of a stunning Cotswolds hotel, she’s happy at last, and soon to be married. Anyway, Shay isn’t staying. He’s made a promise to his father. He’s going to keep it. And then he’ll be gone.

But Shay’s return stirs up long-forgotten emotions, and the scandal that led him to leave raises its head once again. It’s time for buried secrets to come to light. And it seems that this was someone’s intention all along . . .

Review

It’s like a scene out of a Christmas romance movie. Boy and girl meet under the stars, play in the snow and fall helplessly in love. And so begins a story of disappointment and heartbreak, but also a story everyone tends to look back on with fondness.

Based on Didi’s track record there seems to be a subconscious part of her which hasn’t let go of her teenage romance – the idea of those moments of romantic perfection. The wistful feeling of nostalgia that keeps her from committing or is it the fact she has reason not to trust men, and that reason is Shay.

It’s unfortunate that Shay seems to be playing up to what people expect of him. The guy who doesn’t fit with the more privileged and wealthy crowd he was hanging out with. The man who broke her heart – the question is whether he is back to do it again?

The secondary characters kind of steal the limelight a bit, and make Didi and Shay fade into the background a little. I kind of enjoyed it, because it gave the story a fresher feel in a story with an outcome you can kind of see coming. The strong cast surrounding the main characters drive the read and keep this tale of push and pull going strong. Mansell delivers a lovely escapism read.

Buy And Now You’re Back at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏ : ‎ Headline Review pub date 21 Jan. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour It Started with a Secret by Jill Mansell

It’s a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour It Started With a Secret by Jill MansellAbout the Author

Jill Mansell is the author of over twenty Sunday Times bestsellers including The One You Really Want and Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay. Take a Chance on Me won the RNA’s Romantic Comedy Prize, and in 2015 the RNA presented Jill with an outstanding achievement award.

Jill’s personal favourite amongst her novels is Three Amazing Things About You, which is about cystic fibrosis and organ donation; to her great delight, many people have joined the organ donor register as a direct result of reading this novel.

Jill started writing fiction while working in the field of Clinical Neurophysiology in the NHS, but now writes full time. She lives in Bristol with her family.

Follow @JillMansell @headlinepg on Twitter, Follow on Goodreads, Follow OfficialJillMansell on Facebook, Visit jillmansell.co.uk, Buy It Started With a Secret

About the book

The trouble with secrets is that you can’t guess what the consequences will be . . .

Lainey has just lost everything. Luckily one little fib (OK, quite a big fib) helps nail her dream job. Soon she’s living in a stunning house by the sea, fending off obsessed fans for a retired – if far-from-retiring – actor and organising his charming but chaotic family. Yes, everyone thinks she’s part of a couple and it’s tricky keeping this secret. But at least she’s not looking for love: with her disastrous relationship history, men are definitely off the agenda.

Except Seth, the actor’s grandson, really is very attractive. There’s growing chemistry and a definite connection between them. What would happen if he knew the truth?

But Lainey’s not the only one with a secret – it seems everyone has them! And they’re all about to start unravelling…

Review

Lainey finds herself out of a job and applies for a new one as one part of a happy couple. The only problem is she isn’t part of a couple. So she needs a man who will pose as her happy ever after asap. Her friend is willing to do the honours, except his small catch is that he likes his romantic interests tall, dark and handsome.

They get the job based on a lie, which is a bed of quicksand waiting to suck them both under. Lainey feels comfortable with the eccentric family. The unpredictable grandfather, the sulky teens and the attractive and very suspicious step-son – they are all chaotic and yet simultaneously incredibly entertaining.

It’s about forgetting the construct of family as we know it and as society has taught us. It isn’t about being genetically related, it’s about emotional bonds. Family is the people you let surround you, especially in times of joy or sorrow. It doesn’t have to be mother, father and 2.5 children. It can be any combination you want, as long as it makes you feel safe.

I loved the way Mansell gave every character the same kind of reverence and attention, which doesn’t always work by the way. No person is left behind and all the threads are tied up neatly by the last page.

Mansell delivers a lovely feel good read – a contemporary romance with family at the core. There is this general aura of warmth and love regardless of whether the characters are going through painful or emotional moments. It’s Mansell moments of magic that makes the read.

Buy It Started With a Secret at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publishing in hardback by Headline Review on 23 January 2020 – priced £14.99. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my review of This Could Change Everything by Jill Mansell.

#BlogTour This Could Change Everything by Jill Mansell

Today it’s the last day of the fantastic BlogTour for This Could Change Everything by Jill Mansell. This book is a chocolate button in a world full of carrot slices, a little bit of sugar in a bitter tasting environment. It reminds us of the fact we control our own destinies and that we should all make the time for small acts of kindness.

About the Author

Jill Mansell is the author of over twenty Sunday Times bestsellers including The One You Really Want, To The Moon and Back, You and Me, Always and Meet Me At Beachcomber Bay. Take a Chance On Me won the RNA’s Romantic Comedy Prize, and in 2015 the RNA presented Jill with an outstanding achievement award.

Jill’s personal favourite amongst her novels is Three Amazing Things About You, which is about cystic fibrosis and organ donation; to her great delight, many people have joined the organ donor register as a direct result of reading this novel.

Jill started writing fiction while working in the NHS, after she read a magazine article that inspired her to join a local creative writing class. Her first book was published in 1991 and she is now a full-time novelist. She is one of the few who still write their books by hand, like a leftover from the dark ages. She lives in Bristol with her family.

Follow @JillMansell @headlinepg on Twitter

Follow OfficialJillMansell on Facebook

Visit jillmansell.co.uk

Buy This Could Change Everything

About the book

On the one hand, if Essie hadn’t written that letter – the one that only her best friend was meant to see – then she’d still be living like an actual proper grown-up, tucked up with Paul in his picture-perfect cottage, maybe even planning their wedding…

On the other hand (if her true feelings hadn’t accidentally taken the internet by storm, that is) she wouldn’t have moved into the attic flat on the square. She would never have met Conor. Or got to know Lucas…

And she wouldn’t have found herself falling in love with someone she really, really shouldn’t fall in love with…

Review

Have you ever watched hyperlink cinema, a film with multiple interrelated storylines? This Could Change Everything is exactly like that, a book where characters occupy independent stories, but are connected via common links or a character. The author weaves these stories, as if she is creating a perfect basket of emotional turmoil, kindness and love.

The star of this memorable set of characters is most definitely Zillah, and one of the most important themes of this book starts with her. It’s the concept of paying it forward. Doing a good deed and not expecting anything in return for it, but instead expecting the benefactor of the deed to do something kind for someone else in return and so on.

Her need to help others is probably driven by a feeling of guilt she has about her own sometimes selfish choices in life. All of that seems unimportant in comparison to all the people she is helping in the here and now. Including a young woman called Essie, who doesn’t recognise the abusive traits in her boyfriend, a young thief who needs a push in the right direction or a young man who can’t see the forest for all the trees.

It’s a read I know I will be recommending, especially to readers who seek a little respite from the stark reality of life, and who need to believe in love and the nicer side of humanity. Mansell knows how to present the messier side of relationships, which includes the mistakes and the wrong paths we take, but ultimately brings the threads together to create a smorgasbord of hope.

This book is a chocolate button in a world full of carrot slices, a little bit of sugar in a bitter tasting environment. It reminds us of the fact we control our own destinies and that we should all make the time for small acts of kindness.

Buy This Could Change Everything at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Publisher: Headline