BLOG TOUR: THE BEACH READS BOOK CLUB BY KATHRYN FREEMAN @rararesources

 

The Beach Reads Book Club

Welcome to the Beach Reads Book Club…where love is just a page away…

When Lottie Watt is unceremoniously booted out of her uptight book club for not following the rules, she decides to throw the rulebook out the window and start her own club – one where conversation, gin and cake take precedent over actually having read the book!

The Beach Reads Book Club soon finds a home for its meetings at Books by the Bay, a charming bookshop and café owned by gorgeous, brooding Matthew Steele, and as the book club picks heat up, so too does the attraction between Matt and Lottie.

If there’s anything Lottie has learned from the romances she’s been reading, it’s that the greatest loves are the ones hardest earned.

A love letter to chicklit, romance, romcoms, whatever you want to call them!

A romantic and enjoyable read!!

The Beach Reads Book Club was a whole lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story.

Lottie, bored with the heavy books chosen by her book club decides to start a book club of her own called the Beach Reads Book Club. Upon returning a book at the bookstore by the Bay she is captivated by the book club's new owner Matt who apart from being a mystery is also very handsome. Meanwhile Matt is in the process of starting over, and thought that buying the bookstore will be a good place to start. Lottie with her golden curls has his attention, but is he capable of being happy again. As Matt deals with his past Lottie brings the Beach Reads Book Club to his store this changed everything..

I have always wanted to join a book club and honestly I had so much fun reading about The Beach Reads Book Club. I love the chemistry of the women in the club. Audrey was a hoot.!!! I loved the element of the book club being not like a literature class but as a place where readers can really discuss their love of reading.

I think Matt was an interesting and very relatable character, Ms. Freeman was skilled in her writing of his character because I really understood the impact that his past had on how he approached his relationship with Lottie. Oh and how could I forget the ex boyfriend Henry. His appearance in the book,,,,,

Well you can read it for yourself

I really enjoyed this book and now let me join a book club myself.

Purchase Links

AMAZON UK / AMAZON US

Author Bio – 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 sexy hero. 

With 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.

Social Media Links –

Website:  http://kathrynfreeman.co.uk

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/kathrynfreeman

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/KathrynFreeman1

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BOOK REVIEW: History of Silence by The Vandi Show

Synopsis:

What does a hard-nosed detective, a flying hooker, naked dwarfs, a screwy ladies' room, and a smart-mouth attorney have in common? Seemingly nothing, but they all come together quite insanely in this sometimes quirky, sometimes tragic, always sexy, disjointed tale of love and betrayal.

Sylus is the detective with a penchant for cracking skulls. Cashmere is the girl-turned-woman from his past destined to bring him to his knees.

He broke her heart once. She'll be damned if she lets him do it again...no matter what that fragile organ tells her.

My thoughts

A book with everything romance, drama, suspense.... A gripping story from beginning to end.

I received this book a while back from the author and just got around to reading it. Let me tell you I could not put it down. From the very start when Cashmere stepped in that precinct as the new district attorney and Sylus couldn't as we say in Trinidad "catch himself." I knew immediately I wanted to know why.

This book in my opinion was about secrets and why secrets could really be dangerous. Like the secret Cashmere's mom Mona kept from her daughters that impacted Cashmere's entire life and her relationships. Sam's, whose secret had fatal implications and of course we cannot forget Sylus. The author did a fantastic job with the storyline making the characters and the story believable and entertaining. 

I absolutely loved the ending,  Sylus' speech I would call it ….

I tell you if you are the emotional type it would bring you to tears.

All in all I loved this story...….

Much thanks to the author for sending me a copy of the book to review. It was truly enjoyable.

Are you interested in purchasing??

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Book Review: Mr. Loverman by Bernadine Evaristo

 

Synopsis

Barrington Jedidiah Walker.

Barry to his friends.

Trouble to his wife.

Seventy-four years old, Antiguan born and bred, flamboyant Hackney personality Barry is known for his dapper taste and fondness for retro suits.

He is a husband, father and grandfather.

And for the past sixty years, he has been in a relationship with his childhood friend and soulmate, Morris.

Wife Carmel knows Barry has been cheating on her, but little does she know what is really going on. When their marriage goes into meltdown, Barrington has big choices to make.

Mr Loverman is a groundbreaking exploration of Britain's older Caribbean community, which explodes cultural myths and fallacies, and shows how deep and far-reaching the consequences of prejudice and fear can be. It is also a warm-hearted, funny and life-affirming story about a character as mischievous, cheeky and downright lovable as any you'll ever meet.

My Thoughts

After reading Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo I was excited to finally pick this one up. 

Although this one was a decent read I did not love it as I thought I would have. In my opinion this book speaks to the danger of keeping secrets which I personally do not care for. It speaks to a long marriage between two people Barrington and Carmel that should not have lasted as long as it did. 

What I liked about the book was the message that life should not be based on a lie and in spite of the consequences that may occur individuals need to be true to who they are.

Barry was a complicated character. I think that Ms. Evaristo wrote this character well mainly because his attitude towards his marriage to Carmel, and his relationship with Morris throughout the years is how I would picture Caribbean people dealing with this situation. 

I always enjoy reading about the Caribbean diaspora that live abroad , in this case it was Antiguans that migrated to the UK. Aspects of the culture was well represented in the book and that was appreciated. 

I became angry with Barrington's family in this story because I think deep down they all knew the truth, (I don't know somehow I got that nagging feeling) but is like they didn't not want to face the truth. I felt so much emotion for Carmel and even Morris, is like everyone even Barry's children was just going through the motions waiting for the ball to drop.

The ending though!!! What a surprise!!! In all this is a well written story full of themes and drama and comedy too. While I didn't LOVE it. It was a decent read.

Blog Tour: The Orchard Girls by Nikola Scott

The Orchard Girls

London, 2004. Frankie didn't always have it easy. Growing up motherless, she was raised by her grandmother, who loved her – and betrayed her. For years, the rift between them seemed irreparable. But when their paths suddenly cross again, Frankie is shocked to realise that her grandmother is slowly losing control of her memory. There is a darkness in her past that won't stay buried – secrets going back to wartime that may have a devastating effect on Frankie's own life.

Somerset, 1940. When seventeen-year-old Violet's life is ripped apart by the London Blitz, she runs away to join the Women's Land Army, wanting nothing more than to leave her grief behind. But as well as the terror of enemy air raids, the land girls at Winterbourne Orchards face a powerful enemy closer to home. One terrible night, their courage will be put to the test – and the truth of what happened must be kept hidden, forever . . .

My Thoughts

   I love books that take me on a journey to the past. Especially a past that I had little knowledge about and this book did that for me. I really enjoyed this story. I especially loved the switching between the time periods and learning about Violet's past I do not think every author has that ability to do that skillfully enough to make a story interesting so this aspect for me was good. Frankie was a very interesting I think readers will connect with her personality on many levels. This is the type of story that should play out on the screen as a movie or a TV series. Fans of Historical Fiction would be thrilled with the detail of the time period. I am certainly appreciative of the learning that I gained with this story that I now have a renewed interest in learning more about life during the war years. 

All in all a great story, A must read.

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Author Bio –

Nikola Scott started out in book publishing and worked as a crime fiction editor in America and England for many years. Turning her back on blood-spattered paperback covers and dead bodies found in woods, she sat down at her kitchen table one day to start her first novel — and hasn’t stopped writing since. Obsessed with history and family stories (‘How exactly did you feel when your parents gave the house to your brother?’) she is well-known – and feared – for digging up dark secrets at dinner parties and turning them into novels. 

 

Her first two books, My Mother's Shadow and Summer of Secrets, have both been international bestsellers and were translated widely around the world. Nikola lives in Frankfurt with her husband and two boys (and a kitchen table). 

Once a month, Nikola sends out a popular newsletter about writing, reading, book news, freebies and loads of therapeutic baking. Join in here if you’d love to be a part of it all: bit.ly/NikolaScottNews

For more info on Nikola, visit her website at www.nikolascott.com  

Social Media Links –

https://www.facebook.com/NikolaScottAuthor/

https://twitter.com/nikola_scott

https://www.instagram.com/nikolascottauthor/

 https://www.pinterest.de/nikolascott/pins/

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Audio Book Review : The Man I Married by Elena Wilkes

 

THE MAN I MARRIED by ELENA WILKES

You love him. You’ll do anything for him. But do you really know him?

This is the story of Lucy and Paul.

They met. They fell deeply in love. They got married.

Lucy thought that she had everything she wanted.

Until she found the photograph from Paul's past life, read the text messages he's so desperately trying to hide. Until she uncovered Paul’s darkest secrets.

Now Lucy realizes she doesn’t really know her husband. She doesn’t know if she can trust her own mind. She doesn’t know the lengths Paul would go to keep his perfect life.

And worst of all, she doesn’t know that she’s in danger...

A gripping, dark psychological thriller with an absolutely nail-biting ending that will keep you hooked - the perfect read for fans of Behind Closed Doors, Mark Edwards, and Lisa Jewell.

MY THOUGHTS 

While listening to this book I kept thinking about women in general and the choices that we make sometimes when it comes to love relationships . 

Here was Lucy, at a stage in her life where she was looking at having a happy life and of course this is what drew her to the handsome Doctor Paul Webb. But was this handsome man too good to be true?

Paul's character was well written because I was able to picture him as that perfect person from the beginning.

I think Lucy became really blinded by love or infatuation perhaps that she was unable to trust her instincts about him and like most people in love she was in denial.

Towards the middle to the end of the book I thought her friend Emma did not really stand up for her as I would have expected but then again that was part of Paul's manipulation. The ending of the book was a bit shocking to me as well I really did not expect that outcome. I will have to ponder on that for a few days. The audiobook was very well narrated, very easy to understand and very entertaining as well. I enjoyed this book very much.