Monday 12 March 2018

Review: Home With You by Shirlee McCoy



The Bradshaw brothers never dreamed they'd return to their hometown. But tragedy has brought them back together in Benevolence, Washington, where they’re finding generosity, surprising revelations—and unexpected love . . .  
Sullivan Bradshaw is in way over his head. A car crash killed his brother, Matthias, and critically injured his sister-in-law. It’s Sullivan's turn to care for the couple’s six children and the ancestral farm, but the die-hard bachelor and art professor is hardly family-man material. What he needs is the perfect nanny-miracle worker-saint. What he gets is pretty Rumer Truehart, a free spirit who will change everything he ever thought he wanted . . .

Rumer learned the hard way that nothing is for sure, much less forever. And she certainly  understands why Sullivan’s unhappy childhood makes him a strictly no-commitments kind of guy. But she can't help being drawn to this thoughtful, gentle man. And when trouble strikes, she’s determined to win his trust—and show him love can be a promise for keeps.


Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Published February 27th 2018 by Zebra


Terri's Thoughts

I had received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you.  This story came out at the end of February and I am just getting around to writing a review as life has gotten in the way of my reading time.

I went in to this story with somewhat low expectations.  The reason being is that the whole nanny-employer romance has been written a million times and I thought I had read them from every angle.  This story taught me not to judge a book by its cover (pardon the pun) as it soon showed me that there is still a fresh take on an old plot.

The main reason is the children.  Normally there is one or two super cute kids inserted in to the romance however in this case their were six.  These were six very different and all adopted children that had issues of their own.  This made the story more interesting for me as it really shifted the spotlight to them instead of Sullivan and Rumer and in my opinion this was a good thing.  It made their journey seem a little more natural and lets be honest was a refreshing change from the usual plot of attraction where we are subjected to numerous near kisses before submitting to their attraction and not much else.

This story taught me a lesson that you never really know what you are going to get until you read the story.  This is the second story I have read by McCoy and based on how I enjoyed this one, I really need to go and take a look at her other work.



About the Author



Tuesday 6 March 2018

Review: Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella

#1 bestselling author Sophie Kinsella's emotionally charged new standalone novel about marriage and family, and how those we love and know best can sometimes surprise us the most.

After being together for ten years, Sylvie and Dan have all the trimmings of a happy life and marriage; they have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs, beautiful twin girls, and communicate so seamlessly, they finish each other's sentences. However, a trip to the doctor projects they will live another 68 years together and panic sets in. They never expected "until death do us part" to mean seven decades.

In the name of marriage survival, they quickly concoct a plan to keep their relationship fresh and exciting: they will create little surprises for each other so that their (extended) years together will never become boring. But in their pursuit to execute Project Surprises, mishaps arise and secrets are uncovered that start to threaten the very foundation of their unshakable bond. When a scandal from the past is revealed that question some important untold truths, they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other after all.

With a colorful, eccentric cast of characters, razor-sharp observations, and her signature wit and charm, Sophie Kinsella crafts a humorous, yet thoughtful portrait of a marriage and shines a light on the danger of not looking past the many layers of the ones you love to discover how infinitely fascinating--and surprising--they truly are.


Kindle Edition, 448 pages
Expected publication: February 13th 2018 by The Dial Press
Genre: Womens Fiction/Chic Lit

Kristine's Thoughts:

** I received an advanced readers copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!**

After a visit to the doctor for insurance purposes Sylvie and Dan found out that they were both extremely healthy and that they should live very long lives. Another 68 years together according to the quirky and unusual doctor. This news would make most people happy but it put Sylvie and Dan into panic mode. How in the world would they keep things fresh and interesting for that many years? This was how Project Surprise came to be. It was a plan to execute a number of different surprises for each other to keep their relationship fresh and exciting. However, as all things in life, things didn't always go as planned and what started out as a series of surprises turned into secrets and discoveries.

This book started out in typical Kinsella fashion with a bunch of quirky characters and a humorous and somewhat outrageous plot. I was hooked immediately and I was thoroughly enjoying the blunders and missteps that went along with each surprise. However, it didn't take long for the book to shift and the tone to change. It started becoming a little more serious and a lot more dramatic but not in a funny way. Although I was still enjoying it, I missed the style that I have come to know and love from Kinsella. While I was craving some light hearted humour I was getting some pretty serious relationship drama with only a sprinkling of humour.

Fans of Kinsella's usual style may not enjoy this book as much as her others because it had a different feel to it. That was the case for me. Although I still liked it, it was my least favourite of her books to date. The characters were still unique and quirky but the plot wasn't as quirky as I was hoping. The very beginning and the very end were fabulous but the middle lacked a little of that special something that she is known and loved for. It was still very much worth the read but different from what you might expect from her.

  



About the Author

Sophie Kinsella has sold over 40 million copies of her books in more than 60 countries, and she has been translated into over 40 languages.

Sophie Kinsella first hit the UK bestseller lists in September 2000 with her first novel in the Shopaholic series – The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic (also published as Confessions of a Shopaholic). The book’s heroine, Becky Bloomwood – a fun and feisty financial journalist who loves shopping but is hopeless with money – captured the hearts of readers worldwide. Becky has since featured in seven further bestselling books, Shopaholic Abroad (also published as Shopaholic Takes Manhattan), Shopaholic Ties the Knot, Shopaholic & Sister, Shopaholic & Baby, Mini Shopaholic, Shopaholic to the Stars and Shopaholic to the Rescue. Becky Bloomwood came to the big screen in 2009 with the hit Disney movie Confessions of a Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.

Sophie has also written seven standalone novels which have all been bestsellers in the UK, USA and other countries around the world: Can You Keep A Secret?, The Undomestic Goddess, Remember Me?, Twenties Girl, I’ve Got Your Number, Wedding Night, and My Not So Perfect Life, which was a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for Best Fiction in 2017.

In 2014 she published a Young Adult novel Finding Audrey about a teenage girl with social anxiety and her madcap family, and in January 2018, Sophie published her first illustrated book for young readers about the charming adventures of a mother-daughter fairy duo, Mummy Fairy and Me (also published as Fairy Mom and Me).

Sophie’s next novel, Surprise Me, presents a humorous yet moving portrait of a marriage—its intricacies, comforts, and complications. Surprise Me reveals that hidden layers in a close relationship are often yet to be discovered, and will be published in February 2018.

Sophie wrote her first novel under her real name, Madeleine Wickham, at the tender age of 24, whilst she was working as a financial journalist. The Tennis Party was immediately hailed as a success by critics and the public alike and became a top ten bestseller. She went on to publish six more novels as Madeleine Wickham: A Desirable Residence, Swimming Pool Sunday, The Gatecrasher, The Wedding Girl, Cocktails for Three and Sleeping Arrangements.

Sophie was born in London. She studied music at New College, Oxford, but after a year switched to Politics, Philosophy and Economics. She now lives in London, UK, with her husband and family.


Connect with Sophie