Book Review: The Beginner's Guide to the Birds and the Bees by Sophie Hart

"Sometimes you need to step out of your comfort zone in order to give a relationship a good dose of TLC…

Sex therapist Annie Hall helps couples put the fizz back into their relationships. It’s a shame her own love life is non-existent. When Jamie who works next door catches her eye, she can’t ignore the spark of chemistry.

Most men would jump at the chance to skive off work for an afternoon quickie with their gorgeous wife, but Nick knows Julia is after only one thing – a baby. Sex shouldn’t be a chore. Can Annie help Julia see that?

Newly engaged Zoe and Simon can’t keep their hands off each other. They’ve decided to take a vow of celibacy until their wedding night. Will Annie help them stick to it? 

Roy and Linda have been married for over thirty years but she’s more interested in the family business than getting intimate with him. Can Annie convince Linda to rediscover her passion for Roy after all this time?

While Annie begins to work her magic with the three couples, she soon discovers that she’ll need to take some of her own advice if she’s going to let a new man into her life."

Rating: 5/5

You can buy The Beginner's Guide to the Birds and the Bees as an eBook or a paperback now.

I read Sophie Hart's debut novel The Naughty Girl's Book Club last year and absolutely loved it, so I was thrilled when I was offered the chance to review her newest book with brand new publishers Bookouture called The Beginner's Guide to the Birds and the Bees. Again, Sophie Hart has tackled a bit of a taboo subject, sex therapy, and I was wondering where this story was going to go! However, it was an utterly brilliant book that I loved from start to finish, the story was fantastic and I can't recommend it highly enough!

The main character is Annie, who works as a sex therapist. Despite being able to right the wrongs in other people's relationships, she can't seem to make a success of her own, and is perpetually single much to the chagrin of her parents and her happily-loved-up sister. I loved Annie, she was such a nice person, good at her job and unafraid to help even the toughest of cases, and I admired her for that, and her job overall actually! Reading about Annie's job was eye-opening, I think I had envisioned it to be a bit naughtier than it was, but as it happened I enjoyed reading about Annie's sessions with her clients, and finding out about their various problems.

The other characters in the book happen to be Annie's clients that she meets at her office. There's newly engaged couple Zoe and Simon, who are attending Annie's therapy for a different reason to most, but they are sure it's the way to a successful marriage together. There's married couple Nick and Julia who are trying for a baby, but it's starting to affect their marriage and their sex life, can Annie help them get things back on track? The last couple to see Annie are Roy and his wife Linda, they've been married for many years and things have got a bit stagnant. Ray wants more from his marriage, but is that more than Linda wants to give?

As you can see, there's a lot of different characters in the book, but they are all so different that it's easy to differentiate between them all. I loved Zoe and Simon's story, it was really touching and I enjoyed the fact it was very different to the other couples who are having trouble in their marriage. I also enjoyed how Annie handled the troubles between Ray and Linda, and Nick and Julia. I did feel sorry for the males in this book, Nick and Ray, they just want a happy marriage but their wives are just unhappy for different reasons. Nick and Julia are affected by infertility, and the way this was explored in the book was really touching, and very well written.

For me, this was a fantastic story that was so well written, I couldn't stop reading and did not want to put down until the end. I enjoyed following these characters of their journey, whether it was to solve their marriage problems, or to find some sort of happiness for poor Annie, who seems to sort everyone else's love woes apart from her own! There was a great cast of characters here, lots of fun and laughs as well as some tears and sadness, but this just adds to the brilliance of the book. A lot of what happens to these couples is very relatable, you can imagine yourself or people you know going through these problems and that's what made it so enjoyable for me. The writing flows so well, the narrative worked perfectly for the multiple characters, and overall this was a superb read. I won't forget this book for a long time, and I can't wait to read more from Sophie Hart. A must-read!

Book Review: It Started With Paris by Cathy Kelly

"It all started with Paris. At the top of the Eiffel Tower, a young man proposes to his girlfriend, cheered on by delighted tourists. In that second, everything changes, not just for the happy couple, but for the family and friends awaiting their return in Bridgeport, Ireland...

Leila's been nursing a badly broken heart since her love-rat husband just upped and left her one morning, but she's determined to put on a brave face for the bride. 

Vonnie, a widow and exceptional cake-maker, is just daring to let love back into her life, although someone seems determined to stop it.

And Grace, a divorced head teacher, finds the impending wedding of her son means that she's spending more time with her ex-husband. After all those years apart, is it possible she's made a mistake?"

Rating: 5/5

You can buy It Started With Paris as a hardback or an eBook now.

I've read a few of Cathy Kelly's books and while they have been enjoyable, none have really stood out to me as reads I would want to go back to once I had finished. I was really excited to receive a signed proof copy of Cathy's new book It Started With Paris from her new publishers Orion, complete with a brand new cover look too. I have to be honest, the cover is far more something I would pick up over her older covers, and so I eagerly began the 500 page novel, hoping for a brilliant story and luckily Cathy didn't disappoint!

There's quite a few characters in this book to get your head around but once you get them set in your head, it's easy to follow and work out who is who. The characters are all inter-linked, whether it's by friendship or family links, and I enjoyed this aspect of the book very much, and how Cathy Kelly brings them altogether throughout the book too, to weave a wonderful tale. It begins with a proposal at the top of the Eiffel tower, and the story slowly continues from there. It does move at a relatively slow pace, but it works because there are so many separate stories going on, and you need the detail in each of them for the book to work effectively.

One of my favourite characters in the book was Leila. She's recently separated from her love-rat husband and is struggling to get over him, despite what he did to her. She's also ended up moving into her elderly mother's house to look after it and her dog after she has a terrible fall, and she's forced to face some shocking home truths. Leila does struggle with her emotions in the book, with her relationship with her sister and lots more but I enjoyed reading her story, and seeing her character develop. The different relationships she has within the story had me fixed, from the tentative one with her mother, to the close one she has with her best friend Katy.

Katy and her family also feature heavily in the book. Katy is the character who got engaged, and the upcoming wedding is a big part of the book. We meet her parents, and her fiancé Michael and his divorced mother and father. Michael's mother Grace, a headteacher at a primary school, was another of my favourite characters in the book. She's totally passionate about her job and I loved that, as well as being a devoted mother, and maintaining a good relationship with her ex-husband too. Her story was intriguing, and I was desperate to finish it to find out how things would end up for these characters. As you can see, there are lots of different stories and characters to get your head around, but I love a good family drama and that's exactly what has been delivered here.

Cathy Kelly's writing in this book was brilliant, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it from start to finish. She manages to weave many different tales together seamlessly, with the book easily switching from one character to the next smoothly, leaving the reader easily able to follow. There's a lot of emotion in the book too, and Cathy chooses to tackle some quite hard-hitting themes, from illness to eating disorders, failed marriages and single parenthood, all within one book, but it worked for me. Yes, the title hints at a romance, but there's a lot more going on in this book than the cover and title would suggest. For me, this is Cathy Kelly's best book out of all the ones I have read, and when my mum read it, she told me that this is Cathy Kelly 'back to her best'. I loved this book, it's definitely on my keepers shelf and I'm very much looking forward to Cathy's next book.

Blog Tour: It Started With Paris by Cathy Kelly

I am really excited to be part of Cathy Kelly's blog tour for her brilliant new book It Started With Paris, which I read and loved a few weeks ago. Cathy was kind enough to write me a short piece on engagements in Paris for my blog tour stop so please enjoy it! I will be reviewing It Started With Paris later on today. The book is out tomorrow!

You can pre-order It Started With Paris as a hardback or an eBook now.

"Romance, lights, the Eiffel Tower and a man with a ring…. Yes, it’s the beginning of It Started With Paris and it can only mean one thing: an engagement! When I was younger, engagements on the Eiffel Tower were very popular – cheap flights, you see. And now, we’ve got cheaper flights so I began to think about where you could go for a fabulously romantic engagement in Paris. Obviously, you need to get your man/woman to read this first…

1. Along the banks of the Sene, with glorious honeyed stone buildings rising up behind you and the scent of romance in the air. People will queue to take your photo. 

2. In the Louvre – think about this one. It’s such a thrill to descend beneath the amazing glass pyramid in the first place, but imagine telling people that you stood in front of the Venus de Milo in the Greek and Roman ceramics and your beloved sank to his knees?

3. At night, as you walk in the Jardin de Tuilerie, with the Louvre behind you, the marvellously wild Parisian ferris wheel glittering on one side, and the scent of roses in the air…?

4. Find a lovely dark restaurant (they understand the need for lovely darkened lighting in Paris), where you can get a quiet booth at the back, people will be all around you murmuring in their own languages, or French (even better) and your darling murmurs: ‘will you marry me?'

Girls, would there be anything better? I don’t think so!!

Love, Cathy

Thanks so much, Cathy!

eBook Review: A Place for Us (Part 2) by Harriet Evans

"The day Martha Winter decided to tear apart her family began like any other day. 

The house has soft, purple wisteria twining around the door. You step inside.

The hall is cool after the hot summer's day. The welcome is kind, and always warm.

Yet something makes you suspect life here can't be as perfect as it seems.

After all, the brightest smile can hide the darkest secret.

But wouldn't you pay any price to have a glorious place like this?

Welcome to Winterfold.

Martha Winter's family is finally coming home."

Rating: 5/5

You can buy A Place for Us (part 2) as an eBook now.

I'm not usually keen on book serialisations, I would prefer to sit down with the entire thing and enjoy reading it in one go. However, I have been looking forward to each part of the serialisation of Harriet Evans' new book A Place for Us, so it must be pretty good so far! This review is of the second part of the series, you can read my review of the first part here. However, I will give you a quick recap. In the first part, we met the Winter family, the many members of them, and their receiving of their annual party invitations from matriarch Martha Winter. We know that there is a secret that Martha is hiding, and it's going to be revealed at the party, and we get a hint right at the end of part 1 what that secret is. This is where part 2 picks up.

The extended Winter family have gathered for the party, looking forward to being reunited and sharing some laughs and secrets together as well... although some have more secrets to indulge than others. Things aren't well with all of the Winter's, son Bill's marriage is crumbling before his very eyes as his wife Karen reveals a shocking secrets, Cat's bringing along a brand new member of the family that no-one knew existed before, and Florence is hell-bent on getting some revenge against those who have wronged her. Combine this with the reveal of Martha's big secret and you're in for an explosive read...

As I mentioned previously, there are a lot of characters in this book to get your head around, but once you have worked out who is who, it's an easy read. It's just a matter of working out where they come in the family, and how they are related to one another! This is definitely a book you can't just dive into, you need to have read the first part for this to make sense. In this book, we find out much more about the secret that Martha has been hiding, and it was a shocking one. None of the Winter family had a clue about the secret either, and it was interesting to read their individual reactions once the secret had been exposed to all of them. Of course, this wasn't the only secret in the book and this made it all the more fun to read.

One thing I enjoyed about this part of the novel was that I felt we saw a different side to a few of the characters. Florence was a much stronger character in this book, keen on getting revenge for what has happened to her by her colleagues, and her brother Bill is also far stronger, standing up to his wife and finding out about her secret too. I also liked the introduction of a young character called Luke, a breath of fresh air in an older family, and he's fun to read. As always, Harriet Evans' writing is brilliant, very emotive and draws you in to the book, making you want to keep on reading and find out what is going to happen next. Although this part saw the big reveal, I have a feeling there are a lot more revelations to come for the Winter family, and I cannot wait to read part three! The end of this part literally leaves you begging for more. Bring on part three!

eBook News: Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake by Sue Watson

I might have only just read Sue Watson' last book Love, Lies and Lemon Cake but already I am excited to read her brand new Christmas novel too! It's published on October 17th and is called Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake! I am in love with this cover, and the book sounds fab too - if it's half as good as the last one I read, we are in for a real treat! I can't wait!

You can pre-order Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake as an eBook now.

"For Tamsin Angel, Christmas is always the biggest and best… chic parties and a little showbiz sparkle are a must. This year though, things aren’t going quite as planned…

With bailiffs suddenly at the door and her husband nowhere to be found, it looks like Christmas just got downsized. Moving into her sister’s one-bedroom flat, she wonders whether things will ever be the same again.

After losing her husband on Christmas Eve, Sam Angel has rebuilt her life around her son Jacob and her new business – The White Angel Bakery. She’s also found herself a very handsome, loving boyfriend, but is struggling to let go of the past.

Thrown together with a sprinkle of Christmas magic, Sam and Tamsin might just learn a little more about each other – and themselves. But when disaster strikes at the bakery, will they be able to save the day in time for Christmas? "

eBook Review: Love, Lies and Lemon Cake by Sue Watson

"Faye Dobson has lost her sparkle. Living on film star fantasies and vague memories of a marriage that once was, she can’t help feeling that life is passing her by. She dreams of being whisked to Paris for dinner, making three wishes at the Trevi fountain and having sex under the stars. But the wrinkles are multiplying, her husband’s passion is for plumbing, and the nearest she’ll get to Rome is a take-away pizza. 

So when Faye meets Dan the gorgeous Australian surfer guy working in the local deli she can’t help but wonder what it would be like to see the world. He is blonde, tanned, ten years younger and bakes the most amazing lemon cake. Unlike her husband Dan actually listens to Faye, his smile makes her feel fizzy inside, and when he smiles... Oh. My. God. 

But is Faye being silly? What would Dan see in someone like her? Even if he did have feelings for her, could she give up everything to be with him? "

Rating: 5/5

You can buy Love, Lies and Lemon Cake as an eBook or a paperback now.

I have had Sue Watson's latest book Love, Lies and Lemon Cake sitting on my kindle for a good few months now. I really had no idea what to read next a few days ago, and decided that it sounded like my sort of read. I eagerly began, hoping it would be a read that I could lose myself in and enjoy. Luckily, Sue Watson has definitely delivered a superb novel here and now I can't wait to read more from this author, she's brilliant!

The book is about Faye Dobson, who is unhappily married to her husband, and is sure she can't go on being miserable in her marriage. Her daughter Emma has gone away to University, and now Faye knows it is the time to break away from her dull life, and find something better for herself. She moves in with her friend and boss at the hairdressers where she works, and sets about bettering herself at last. She meets Australian surfer Dan at the local deli where she goes to collect her lunch, and she is sure there's a spark between the two of them, despite the fact he's 10 years younger than her. Will Faye be able to see past the age gap and allow herself to be happy with Dan?

I love it when I can rave about a book, and that's exactly what I am going to do with this book. Right from the first few pages, I loved this book and found it so easy to read. I loved the main character of Faye from the start, miserable from being stuck in a loveless marriage, and I really did want her to find some happiness and the man she deserves to have. Yes, it's sad her marriage broke down, but you can see how truly happy she is once she moves away from it and I loved that for her. I also loved how she found a new side to herself when her friendship grew with Dan, she was so insecure about their friendship and it was sweet reading Dan try to bring Faye out of herself a bit more. Dan was a fantastic character too, you could see why Faye warmed to him so quickly.

I loved the different settings for this book as well. A part of the book is set at the hairdressers where Faye works, with her boss Sue that she eventually moves in with after she leaves her husband. Through this part of the book, we also meet Mandy, one of the other hairdressers at the salon and her sad backstory, and I liked how this was approached in the book and how it fitted in with the other stories, but there is a bit of a lighter side to her as well which had me laughing out loud! There was also a lot of story set at the deli were Dan works, and the descriptions of all the amazing food there were so mouth-watering! You could see why Faye kept going back agian and again, both the food and the company sounded pretty amazing!

This was a fantastic read, and I honestly loved everything about it. Sue Watson's is so fantastic to read, I could completely lose myself in the novel and felt absorbed by Faye's story. I liked the fact the story is based around an older woman finding a new happiness for herself after the death of her marriage, and it's not like any other book I have read before either. This book is laugh-out-loud funny, poor old Faye manages to get herself into a few funny situations, but I loved that she often saw the bright side in it all too! The book certainly lives up to its title as well, with lots of love, lies and lemon cake making an appearance in the book! This is a fantastic feel-good read, I loved it and would whole-heartedly recommend it. Brilliant.

eBook News: Escape for Christmas by Ruth Saberton

One of my favourite summer reads this year was Ruth Saberton's eBook Escape for the Summer. So imagine my delight when I saw on Amazon that there is a second book in Ruth's 'Escape' series called Escape for Christmas. I can't wait to catch up with Gemma and Cal, this is sure to be a brilliant read, especially as it's based around Christmas! It's due out on 30th October from Notting Hill Press.

You can pre-order Escape for Christmas as an eBook now.

"Gemma Pengelley is looking forward to a romantic Christmas with her boyfriend Cal, far away from the chaos caused by their well-meaning family and friends. After a whirlwind of a year some quality time in a picturesque Cornish cottage is exactly what they need. 

But when ghosts of partners past, a tangled web of secrets and the demands of a reality television show strike at the very heart of Gemma’s plans, her dreams of the perfect Christmas crumble. Will she still find her Christmas escape? Or is Gemma just running away? "