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Welcome to New York #bookreview

Author: Luana Ferrez

Publisher: Independently published

Published: January 17, 2018

Genres: Romance

Date read: September 10, 2019

Number of times read: 1

Format: E-book

Source: Book Sirens

Summary

Harry has a secret.
He led a well-planned life and knew exactly what he wanted. Until...
Something chased him away from his hometown in England. He arrives in New York wishing to erase his past, eager for a fresh start. A new life. Everybody here was someone else before.

Alana has a secret.
She left her small town in the Midwest chasing a dream. She arrives in New York determined to see her name flashing in bright lights on Broadway billboards. Everybody here wanted something more.
She was on the right path, but then...

When Harry and Alana meet, they recognize each other’s scars. They bond over the things they don’t say. They find comfort in long silences. But as they learn how to deal with life’s plot twists, they find out the Big Apple has its own plans for them.
For how long can they hide? How long can they keep everyone else at a distance? How long until their past catches up with their present?
Their lives are about to get irreversibly intertwined. Do you want to know how?

First of all, welcome to New York!-- via Goodreads

Review

What a wonderful adventure through New York, Oklahoma, London and Oxford.  Both Harry and Alana are wonderful characters, both troubled by their pasts yet find themselves drawn to each other, revealing more and more about themselves as they get closer and closer.  Just when you think the mystery has been solved, something else is revealed to keep you reading.

Yet this story never seems to be drawn out or over padded.  The pace was just right, the surprises just with the right amount of credibility, never far fetched and always neatly rounded out with the right level of realism.

New York is somewhere I have longed to visit and this book encourages me to go all the more.  The bright lights of Broadway, the hustle and bustle of the streets and the beautiful scenery of the parks and commons.

Thank you to Luana Ferraz for Welcoming me to New York, I look forward to exploring more of this authors work in the future

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A very warm welcome to the Big Apple and a real temptation to stay

Overall Rating

5 out of 5

The Cornish Cream Tea Bus #bookreview

Author: Cressida McLaughlin

Publisher: Harper Collins UK

Published: August 8, 2019

Genres: Women’s fiction, romantic comedy

Date read: September 5, 2019

Number of times read: 1

Format: E-book

Source: Netgalley

Summary

Next stop, Cornwall! Hop on The Cornish Cream Tea Bus for a delicious, romantic adventure…

Baking fanatic, Charlie Quilter, is surprised when her late uncle bequeaths his vintage bus to her in his will. Keen to give the bus a new lease of life, Charlie thinks it will be the perfect mobile café for afternoon tea, and when her friend, Juliette, suggests Charlie comes to stay with her in the picturesque Cornish village of Porthgolow, she’s thrilled at the chance of a new start.

Charlie and her cute dog, Marmite, make new friends wherever their bus stops – except for the sexy but reclusive owner of the posh spa up on the hill, Daniel Harper, who isn’t very pleased that her bus is parked outside his lovely hotel.

Has Charlie’s Cornish dream developed a soggy bottom? Or can she convince Daniel that her bus could be the start of something wonderful for the little village – and for them?-- via Goodreads

Review

As a huge baking fan, I was drawn to this story straight away.  I'm also a big fan of Cressida McLaughlin after reading her Canal Boat Cafe series.  This had a similar premise, a cafe or eatery set on an unusual setting.  In this case, it's an old Routemaster bus left to our heroine Charlie by her late uncle.  After a bit of a disastrous start to her cream tea bus, she relocates to Cornwall for a fresh start.

Not all the locals are pleased with the idea, they don't like the idea of someone new coming in and taking over and Daniel, the owner of the Crystal Waters Spa seems intent on rubbing her up the wrong way.  But with the help of her friends and some of the more affable locals, Charlie takes her bus 'Gertie' on the road.

The setting is beautifully described, Cornwall is a place I really want to visit one day and this book only helped fuel that desire. The village of Porthgolow is a sleepy town, almost a ghost town but still such beautiful scenery. With Charlie's help, the village comes alive and brings more tourists in and helps the villagers and their businesses, despite some initial objections.

But it also has secrets.  Who is maintaining the Instagram account, anonymous beautiful images of the town and no-one will admit to sharing them?  What is Oliver, the bartender of the Marauding Mojito, hiding?  Is there really a mermaid living in the little yellow house? Who is trying to sabotage Charlie and shut her bus down? All signs point to Daniel, but is it really him? And how can she be attracted to him if it is?

With equal parts of romance, intrigue and baking, this cake is meant for sharing.

A double-decker ride of laughs and misunderstandings served up with tea and scones

Overall Rating

5 out of 5