Author: bookafterbook

Publication: 7th November 2019 – Boldwood Books

In an Instagram world, can you find love just by being yourself…

Popular lifestyle blogger, Libby Cartwright, is being boggled by business when help shows up in the shape of gorgeous but shy, Charlie Richmond. Libby’s determined to keep it at ‘just good friends’ – she’s dated someone from ‘Corporate Land’ before and it didn’t end well. As she and Charlie begin spending more time together, Libby is starting to waver  – until she discovers something which makes her question if she’s ready for love.

Still reeling, she suffers another blow as her blog is attacked in a national newspaper, for promoting unachievable perfection. Libby knows it’s not true – but the only way to prove that is to strip off the armour she’s been wearing for years.

Is she brave enough to show the world she’s far from perfect? And will Charlie be by her side if she does…

A gloriously funny, wise, heart-warming and romantic read for all fans of Lindsey Kelk and Mhairi Macfarlane, from the author of the bestselling Winter’s Fairytale

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I am delighted to welcome you on my stop for #No Filter, the engaging new novel by Maxine Morrey. The protagonist of the novel is Libby Cartwright, a lifestyle blogger who lives in Brighton. In need of help with her taxes, thanks to her best friend, she meets Charlie who not only helps her figure out her taxes, but who also becomes a very close friend. The more time they spend together, the more it is clear that between them there is something more than friendship, but, being very different people, are they mean to be together?

I really enjoyed reading this novel. I thought that it would be a lot about blogging and social media, but I was pleasantly surprised how the author focuses on friendship, mostly, and then love and romance. I loved seeing how Libby and Charlie started as friends and reading how their friendship developed. I really liked these two characters. Libby is full of life and she has “no filters” when she talks. Charlie is more reserved and very shy and it was fun watching him blush every time a woman hit on him.

#No Filter is a fun and entertaining read, an enjoyable romcom that I devoured in two days and introduced me to a new author that I am looking forward to read in the future.

Thank you to Boldwood Books for inviting me to join the blog tour and for providing me with a copy of the novel.

Maxine Morrey is a bestselling romantic comedy author with eight books to her name including Winter’s Fairytale and the top ten hit The Christmas Project. She lives in West Sussex. Her first novel for Boldwood, #No Filter, will be published in November 2019.

Maxine’s Twitter: @Scribbler_Maxi

Maxine’s profile on our website: https://www.boldwoodbooks.com/contributor/maxine-morrey/

Maxine’s Instagram: @Scribbler_Maxi

Amazon link to #No Filter: https://amzn.to/2KArY2M

 

Publication: 31st October 2019 – Quercus

It’s nearly Christmas in York, but it seems the season of goodwill hasn’t touched everyone…

When DS Charlotte Banks is suspended from the police on suspicion of assaulting a suspect in the burglary of a local bookshop, librarian Kitt Harley and her friend Evie Bowes refuse to believe she is guilty. But why is she being framed?

With Charlotte’s boss DI Malcolm Halloran unable to help, Evie decides to take matters into her own hands. Kitt takes little persuading to get involved too – after all, as well as Charlotte’s career to save, there are missing books to be found!

From the tightknit community of York’s booksellers, to the most gossipy bus route in the country, Kitt and Evie leave no stone unturned to get at the truth behind the burglary.

Then the discovery of a body raises the stakes even higher. For Evie, and now Kitt, this case is as personal as it gets. Can they catch the murderer in time to turn a bleak midwinter into something merry and bright?

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A few weeks ago I was invited to join the media blast for the first novel in the Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mystery series and I enjoyed reading about this librarian turned investigator. So, when I found out that the second book in the series, A Body in the Bookshop, was coming out on 31st October I knew I had to read it right away. Not only because I really love the title (it’s great, isn’t it?!?), but because I fell in love with the characters, the setting of the books, and I enjoy the author’s clear and flowing writing style.

So, in A Body in the Bookshop, we find the three funniest and smartest amateur detectives back for another case. It all starts with the robbery of some valuable first editions at Kitt’s favourite bookshop and the suspension of DS Charlotte Banks for assaulting a suspect. Feeling protective and grateful to DS Banks following the case in Murder by the Minster, Evie convinces Kitt, once again, to do their own investigation in the case. This case gives Kitt the excuse to visit all bookshops in town in search of clues, while Evie is determined to find out the truth and help DS Charley Banks. Helping them are the always loyal assistant librarian and online genius Grace and the 85-year-old psychic Ruby who reads tarots and gets her info on the bus 59.

While Murder by the Minster was more Kitt’s story, A Body in the Bookshop focuses more on Evie. She is still processing the events of the first book and its consequences. On the romantic side, she is struggling with her unexpected feelings for someone and we get to read more about her friendship with Kitt. I wish there had been more about Kitt and detective Halloran’s new romance (I love this couple!), but I enjoyed getting to know Evie better. Once again, Kitt is full of literary references that make me like her more and more (and increase my TBR pile) and I love the character of Grace. She is such a fun character, so smart, resourceful, and full of life and she always makes me laugh.

With good pacing and a few twists, the author addresses themes of police corruption, blackmail, secrets, and, of course, murder. Even though it is the second book in the series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone, but I highly recommend you read the first book, too, not only because it’s a fantastic read, but to better understand the characters and their story. A Body in the Bookshop is an engaging, thrilling, and addictive cosy mystery and I am already looking forward to the third book in the series which is out next March!

A huge thank you to Quercus and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the novel.

Publication: 31st October 2019 (eBook); 12th December 2019 (paperback) – Headline Review

Do you need to find out where you’ve come from before you can know what the
future holds?

Ruby’s singing career is on the verge of hitting the big time, when her voice breaks.
Fearing her career is over, she signs up for a retreat in Tenerife to recover.

But an unexpected call from a stranger on a remote Scottish island takes her on a short
trip to sort out some family business. It’s time to go and see the grandfather she’s never met.

City girl Ruby knows she will be happy to leave the windswept beaches behind as quickly as she can, especially as a years-old family rift means she knows she won’t be welcome at Teach Mhor.

But as she arrives at the big house overlooking the bay, she finds things are not as
straightforward as she might have thought.

There’s an unexpected guest in the house and he’s not planning on going anywhere any
time soon…

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It’s my pleasure to welcome you on my stop for the blog tour of Coming Home to Winter Island, the new festive novel by Jo Thomas. A huge thank you to Anne Cater for inviting me to join the blog tour and to Headline for providing me with a copy of the novel.

Ruby is having the chance of her lifetime: singing in front of a music producer to get a record deal and become a famous singer. This is what Ruby, her band, and her boyfriend Joe have been waiting for. The only problem is that Ruby’s voice doesn’t come out. The doctor recommends her to rest, so she books herself to a retreat in Tenerife to get her voice back. But first she has to make a stop to Winter Island, a small island off the Scottish coast to visit a grandfather she never met. As his only living relative, Ruby is responsible for him and while she would like to send him to a nursing home where he will be well taken care of, there is someone in her grandfather’s house who doesn’t agree with her. So Ruby’s stop will be longer than she expected.

Coming Home to Winter Island is heart-warming and entertaining story: there are regrets, new beginnings, the importance of family, friends, and love, and  coming to term with one’s past while figuring out the future, regrets, new beginnings. The emotional moments don’t lack, but there is also some fun. I liked the characters, especially Ruby who, at the beginning, I found a bit annoying and self-centered but I liked how she develops. And I loved the setting and the evocating and close-community atmosphere of the island that makes you understand why the residents love it so much and wouldn’t want to leave it.

Jo Thomas did it again and created a beautiful and uplifting novel that will keep you glued to the pages.

Jo Thomas worked for many years as a reporter and producer, first for BBC Radio 5, before moving on to Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Radio 2’s The Steve Wright Show. In 2013 Jo won the RNA Katie Fforde Bursary. Her debut novel, The Oyster Catcher, was a runaway bestseller in ebook and was awarded the 2014 RNA Joan Hessayon Award and the 2014 Festival of Romance Best Ebook Award. Jo lives in the Vale of Glamorgan with her husband and three children.

 

 

 

Publication: 1st July 2019 – Panther Publishing

Two victims. Brutally murdered in their own home. Body parts taken.

D.I. Graves is back on the case to face his toughest challenge yet. A case with no motive and no suspect, nothing at all that could explain why someone would kill innocent people in such a way.

Then the next victims are discovered. Another pair of bodies. New body parts taken. Again in their own home.

Someone is breaking into houses across the city at night, leaving horror in their wake. It seems to Graves that this could be two serial killers, working together. But how are they choosing their victims? Is any house in London a target? Is anyone safe?

To make matters worse, a journalist is threatening to cause more harm than good with her obsessive push in covering the story to further her career, and someone is targeting Graves personally, seeking revenge against him in relation to an old case.

Can Graves keep himself safe long enough to stop the serial killers before they strike again?

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Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for From Inside The House, the latest twisty novel by W.D. Jackson-Smart. A huge thank you to Emma for inviting me to join the blog tour and to Panther Publishing for providing me with a copy of the novel.

Our houses are supposed to be a safe place where we can relax and we should feel secure. However, someone is somehow getting inside people’s houses in London and brutally murdering its residents. D. I. Daniel Graves and his partner Charlie work hard to find the killer before he murders someone else, but it’s not easy when the murderer leaves no traces and it doesn’t seem there is a connection between the victims. In the meantime, Kelly is a journalist who is ready to do anything to have her articles on the front page, even if it means to risk her own life.

From Inside The House is the second novel featuring D.I Daniel Graves and, even though it is easy to read it as a stand-alone if you haven’t read the first novel, I recommend you do read The Demons Beneath as some of the storyline follows what happened in that first book. D.I. Daniel Graves is still facing the demons from his past and a killer who is haunting him. I loved reading about his relationship with his partner Charlie. Even though they have been working together just for a few months, they are like old friends and I enjoyed their banter. Let me tell you that the murders are very gruesome and detailed so this novel is not for everyone. The plot is dark, claustrophobic, and chilling and the suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat. The characters are multi-layered and complex and the story ends with a cliff-hanger that leaves you holding your breath and eager to see what happens next.

Follow the rest of the blog tour

 

WD Jackson-Smart, 35, is a London-based horror and crime fiction author who has been writing crime and horror fiction since 2011. His novel Red Light was self published on Amazon and charted in the top twenty best selling Suspense / Thriller Kindle books on release.

His horror short story, What’s Yours Is Mine, was shortlisted for the Horror For Good anthology.

His first crime thriller Slasher, about a serial killer targeting slasher movie actresses in Hollywood, is out now, and he has launched a brand new crime series set in London and starring D.I. Graves. The Demons Beneath is the first in the series, and the sequel From Inside The House was published on July 1st 2019.

As well as his passion for horror and crime thrillers in all forms, WD Jackson-Smart also loves art and design, having studied Fine Art and Art History in Leeds and Toronto and working as a graphic designer for the majority of his career.

Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wdejackson

Website: https://www.wdjacksonauthor.co.uk/

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inside-House-Thriller-British-Hardboiled-ebook/dp/B07QFBGJ9R/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1571859152&refinements=p_27%3AWD+Jackson-Smart&s=digital-text&sr=1-2&text=WD+Jackson-Smart

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Inside-House-Thriller-British-Hardboiled-ebook/dp/B07QFBGJ9R/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=from+inside+the+house+wd+jackson-smart&qid=1571859372&sr=8-1

Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/from-inside-the-house/w-d-jackson-smart/9781527243378

Foyles: https://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/fiction-poetry/from-inside-the-house-a-di-graves-har,wd-jacksonsmart-9781527243378

Publication: 12th September 2019 (eBook); 7th November 2019 (hardcover) – Hodder & Stoughton

From the Sunday Times-bestselling author of The Memory Book, Rowan Coleman, comes a special new series featuring the Brontë sisters, written under the name Bella Ellis

Yorkshire, 1845

A young woman has gone missing from her home, Chester Grange, leaving no trace, save a large pool of blood in her bedroom and a slew of dark rumours about her marriage. A few miles away across the moors, the daughters of a humble parson, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë are horrified, yet intrigued.

Desperate to find out more, the sisters visit Chester Grange, where they notice several unsettling details about the crime scene: not least the absence of an investigation. Together, the young women realise that their resourcefulness, energy and boundless imaginations could help solve the mystery – and that if they don’t attempt to find out what happened to Elizabeth Chester, no one else will.

The path to the truth is not an easy one, especially in a society which believes a woman’s place to be in the home, not wandering the countryside looking for clues. But nothing will stop the sisters from discovering what happened to the vanished bride, even as they find their own lives are in great peril…

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A crime to solve and my favourite writers turning detectives? Count me in! When I heard that The Vanished Bride, written by Bella Ellis (a brilliant pseudonym for author Rowan Coleman) featured Anne, Emily, and Charlotte Brontë together with their brother Branwell investigating a gruesome crime I knew I had to read it and I couldn’t put it down.

It’s the year 1845, and it’s the first time that all Brontë siblings are together at Haworth. Following the Robinson scandal, Branwell and Anne had to resign their posts and move back home, while Charlotte is back from Belgium and away from her feelings for Monsieur Heger. They still haven’t published their novels under the pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, when they become involved in a mysterious case.  Their school friend Mattie is a governess at Chester Grange. Following the suspicious death of his wife Imogen, Robert Chester remarried, but now his second wife, Elizabeth, has disappeared and in her room is found a worrying quantity of blood. Is she still alive? Curious and determined to find out the truth, the Brontë sisters start investigating even if it means putting their own lives at risk…

I am a huge fan of the Brontë’s novels. I have read all Anne, Charlotte and Emily’s novels and it was fun to see the famous novelists turn into detectives to solve a dark and creepy mystery. I loved how the author mixed well-researched real life events with fiction: Charlotte’s feelings for her professor, Branwell’s love for a married woman and his downfall, Anne’s resentment at being forced to leave her post as a governess following her brother’s scandal blend well with the mystery of the story. Emily is described as curious and impulsive, while Charlotte is more cautious and a leader of the family. Within Anne’s chest beats “the heart of a fierce warrior” and Branwell is fun and witty, although, following the scandal of his affair with Mrs. Robinson, he spends his nights drinking and gambling and his sisters are worried about him.

The plot is gripping, suspenseful and gothic and there are a few twists that will take you by surprise. Although, The Vanished Bride is mostly a mystery novel, the author perfectly manages to insert social themes in the story. Through the female characters in the novel, the author captures the frustration of the women who don’t have any status in society and are expected to obey their husbands or their father, to have no education or job.

I loved the surprising and well-executed ending, the bleak atmosphere and the slow pace of the story and now I am looking forward to read the next book in the series!

A huge thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few weeks ago I took part in the blog tour for The Christmas Calendar Girls, the latest novel by Samantha Tonge. I really enjoyed reading about this group of women coming together to save the local food bank and TODAY this entertaining and festive novel is at only 99p in eBook! So don’t miss the chance to read an uplifting and amazing novel that will make you look forward to the Christmas season.

This Christmas fall in love with the town of Chesterwood…

Christmas is meant to be a time of giving, so with Chesterwood food bank under risk of closure Fern knows just what to do to save it. She’s going to get the town to create a living advent calendar.

Fern, and her best friends, call for help from the local community to bring this calendar to life. When Kit, the new man in town, offers his assistance Fern’s heart can’t help but skip a beat (or two).

As they grow ever closer, Fern must admit that Kit’s breaking down the barriers she built after the death of her husband. But his past is holding him back and Fern doesn’t know how to reach him. No matter how hard she tries.

In this town, Kit’s not the only one with secrets. Domestic goddess Cara is behaving oddly, burning meals in the oven and clothes whilst ironing, and Davina’s perfect children are causing trouble at school leaving her son, Jasper, desperately unhappy.

Can the Christmas Calendar Girls find a way to bring the community together in time to save the food bank, while still supporting their families and each other? Can Fern find love again with Kit?

This is a story about kindness and letting go of the past. It’s about looking out for your neighbours and about making every day feel like Christmas.

Heart-warming, cosy and charming, get The Christmas Calendar Girls for just 99p for a limited period!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2YAAmUI

Google Play: https://bit.ly/2YBNoBH

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2SUjoPS

iBooks: https://apple.co/2YwUjfd

In case you need more convincing to read this fantastic novel, here is my review of The Christmas Calendar Girls:

The protagonist of the novel is Fern. A freelance journalist with a young daughter, she moved to Chesterwood three years earlier after the premature death of her husband. Although part of her is still grieving, she thinks it is time to move on, especially as her friendship with Kit seems to become something more. However, Fern has other things to worry about besides her love life. The local food bank is about to be closed because the rent is too high. To try and save the place that is so important for many people around the area, Fern organize a living calendar event around town to raise money. Also, she is worried about her two best friends. Perfect wife and mother Cara who has always everything under control has become very forgetful and distracted while Davina is worried about her children’s strange behaviour. Will Fern be able to make it to Christmas without much drama? (Don’t count on it!)

October is the month of Christmas reads and I lost count of how many Christmas books I have read so far, but I enjoyed each one of them including The Christmas Calendar Girls. The author created a protagonist that feels authentic and relatable from the very beginning. You can feel her pain as she remembers her husband, but you also cheer her on as she tries to build a new life without him. She is compassionate and caring, working hard to help the homeless of the village. She is always ready to help others and, in the meantime, she has a job to do and a daughter to raise.

I loved the community feeling and the Christmas atmosphere that together make a fantastic Christmas novel. An enjoyable and uplifting novel about friendship, family, love, loss, and new beginnings, The Christmas Calendar Girls is one not to miss this Christmas season!

Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK with her husband and children. She studied German and French at university and has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris. She has travelled widely.
When not writing she passes her days cycling, baking and drinking coffee. Samantha has sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines.
She is represented by the Darley Anderson literary agency. In 2013, she landed a publishing deal for romantic comedy fiction with HQDigital at HarperCollins and in 2014, her bestselling debut, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award. In 2015 her summer novel, Game of Scones, hit #5 in the UK Kindle chart and won the Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category. In 2018 Forgive Me Not, heralded a new direction into darker women’s fiction with publisher Canelo. In 2019 she was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association romantic comedy award.

http://samanthatonge.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamTongeWriter
Instagram: @samanthatongeauthor 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaTongeAuthor

Publication: 1st July 2019 (eBook, hardback); 31st October 2019 – Quercus

Meet Kitt Hartley: librarian, trilby-wearer, Lady Grey tea-drinker, taker of no nonsense… detective?

It’s a perfectly normal day for Kitt Hartley at her job at the University of the Vale of York library, until Detective Inspector Halloran arrives at her desk to tell her that her best friend, Evie Bowes, is under suspicion of murder. Evie’s ex-boyfriend Owen has been found dead – with a fountain pen stabbed through his heart – and all the evidence points to her.

Kitt knows there is no way Evie could murder anyone – let alone Owen, who she adored. Horrified that the police could have got it so wrong, Kitt decides there’s only one thing to do: she’s going to investigate Owen’s murder herself. She’s read hundreds of mystery novels – how hard can it be?

With the help of her assistant Grace, and the occasional hindrance of the library’s eccentric regulars, Kitt summons up all her investigative powers (absorbed over years of reading everything from Agatha Christie to Ian Rankin) and gets to work.

She soon discovers that down the quaint streets and snickelways of York lie darker doings than she’d ever dreamed, but she needs to watch her step: the murderer is watching her. And they haven’t finished killing yet…

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I’d like to thank Ella Patel and Quercus book for providing me with a copy of the novel and introducing me to this engrossing series. I devoured Murder by the Minster, the first novel featuring Kitt Hartley, a librarian who finds herself investigating a murder.

After a weekend spent drinking with her best friend Evie, Kitt is still recovering on Monday morning when two detectives arrive at her place of work, the library of the University of York. They are investigating the murder of Evie’s ex boyfriend and they suspect that Evie is somehow involved. Eager to prove her best friend’s innocence, Kitt starts investigating on her own, uncovering a truth twistier and more dangerous than she thought.

I loved the protagonist, Kitt Hartley, librarian during the day, detective during the night (and sometimes even during working hours). She is smart and down-to-earth and like Sherlock Holmes, she has her own Watson to help her, or Watsons, plural. Her assistant Grace, a genius in finding out other people’s information online, Evie, suspected of murder, but also ready to prove someone else’s innocence even if it means she may end up in jail, and Ruby, an eighty-something woman who believes to have psychic powers and gets her information on the bus 59. There is no stopping these women as they search for the truth and they create some entertaining and funny moments that made me laugh.

The story is twisty and addictive. I didn’t figure out who the killer was until it was revealed and it was suspenseful until the end. Being a librarian and a bookworm, Kitt makes many literary references which I enjoyed and I also wrote down a few books that I haven’t read and that now I am curious to read.

Crime fans will highly enjoy this engaging cozy mystery and I am already looking forward to reading the second book, A Body in the Bookshop (love this title!!!).

 

Publication: 19th October 2019 (eBook); 12th December 2019 (paperback) – One More Chapter

A December to remember…

Christmas in a Cornish castle? Sign Ivy Starforth up! Hired to kit out the holiday rental as the world’s most Instagramable festive dreamland, there’s only one thing standing in the way of her hefty paycheque – the lord of the manor.

Bill Markham could give Scrooge a run for his money but Ivy is firmly #TeamChristmas…even if her handsome host seems to be doing everything he can to sabotage her staging. Maybe she shouldn’t have stumbled in on him starkers in the hot tub?

As the temperature outside cools, things inside the castle heat up. It’s been a long time since Ivy allowed herself to give in to temptation…surely one little kiss under the mistletoe won’t hurt?

Purchase Links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cosy-Christmas-Cornwall-heartwarming-Cornish-ebook/dp/B07TVZ8VYV

US – https://www.amazon.com/Cosy-Christmas-Cornwall-heartwarming-Cornish-ebook/dp/B07TVZ8VYV

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I am delighted to welcome you on my stop for the blog tour of A Cosy Christmas in Cornwall, the fantastic new novel by Jane Linfoot. A huge thank you to Rachel for inviting me to join the blog tour and to One More Chapter for providing me with a copy of the novel.

A Christmas atmosphere, a castle in Cornwall, and fun and engaging characters. What more would you want? A Cosy Christmas in Cornwall is my first novel by Jane Linfoot and I really enjoyed it. The plot is fantastic, the engaging storyline that you would find in an entertaining romcom to enjoy during the Christmas period. The protagonist, Ivy Starforth, has been hired by her best friend’s sister to create a Christmas atmosphere worthy to be shared to her millions of followers on Instagram. However, when she arrives to the Cornish castle they rented, she finds out that she has more work to do than expected. And Bill, the owner of the castle, seems keen to make it even more harder… Ivy not only has to come to terms with a past that keeps haunting her, but also with her feelings for Bill who is not a total stranger.

Jane Linfoot described a Christmas that is enjoyable and perfect not only for Instagram. The festive atmosphere really got me in the Christmas spirit and the setting is simply beautiful. I liked the characters, they feel authentic and entertaining and they made me often laugh.

In A Cosy Christmas in Cornwall, Jane Linfoot puts together family, romance, and friendship surrounded by a festive atmosphere that will make you wish it was already Christmas.

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Giveaway to Win a signed Jane Linfoot Book and some chocolate (Open INT)

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494290/?

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Jane Linfoot is a best selling author, who lives in a cottage on a Derbyshire hillside with her family and their pets. Although she loves seeing cow noses over the garden wall, she’s happy she can walk to a supermarket.

Jane grew up in North Yorkshire where she spent a lot of her childhood avoiding horizontal gales blowing off the sea and wrote her first book by accident. While she loves to write feel good books that let readers escape, she’s always surprised to hear her stories make people laugh, admits to (occasionally) crying as she writes, and credits her characters for creating their own story lines.

Jane’s garden would be less brambly if she wasn’t on Facebook and Twitter so often. On days when she wants to be really scared, she rides a tandem.

Her recent stand alone novels are all set in and around the (imaginary) seaside village of St Aidan in Cornwall. They are: Ivy’s Cornish Christmas, Edie’s Browne’s Cottage by the Sea, The Little Cornish Kitchen. Her four book Little Wedding Shop series are standalone stories, also set in St Aidan. They are: The Little Wedding Shop by the Sea, Christmas at the Little Wedding Shop, Summer at the Little Wedding Shop and Christmas Promises at the Little Wedding Shop. They are all published by the Harper Impulse and One More Chapter imprints of Harper Collins.

Follow Jane on Twitter @janelinfoot, or find her on her Author Page Facebook or her Personal Page Facebook. She’s also on Instagram, and has lots of Pinterest boards relating to her novels.

 

Publication: 11th October 2019 (eBook); 12th December 2019 (paperback) – One More Chapter

It’s mayhem in Bethlehem…unless they can work together!

Viola Smith plays the viola in an orchestra (yes really!), but this year she’s been asked to stretch her musical talents to organising Notting Hill’s local nativity.
Nate Williams isn’t looking forward to Christmas but as his small daughter, Grace, has the starring role in the show, he’s forced to stop being a Grinch and volunteer with Viola.

With the sparks between them hotter than the chestnuts roasting in Portobello market, Nate and Viola can’t deny their feelings. And as the snow starts to fall over London, they find themselves trapped together in more ways than one…

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I am delighted to welcome you on my stop on the blog tour for Notting Hill in the Snow, the festive and entertaining new novel by Jules Wake. Thank you so much Rachel for inviting me to join the blog tour and One More Chapter for providing me with a copy of the novel.

Last year I read my first Jules Wake’s novel, Covent Garden In The Snow, and I loved it so I was thrilled to see some of the characters make a few appearances in her new fantastic Christmas novel. The protagonist, Viola Smith, plays the Viola for the London Metropolitan Opera Company and following a chance encounter with a handsome man on the tube she finds herself helping organising the nativity at a local school. She was supposed to help just for a few hours a week, but soon Viola finds herself involved not only in the school’s nativity, but with the Williams family, the young adorable Grace and her attractive father Nate.

I ADORED this novel. First of all, I loved the characters. The author made them very realistic and relatable. Viola is altruistic and so authentic. She can’t never say “no” to her family and she is always helping others. I enjoyed her festive mood and her love for Notting Hill and her talks with Grace were my favourite part of the story. Nate is a wonderful prince charming, but my favourite character is Grace. She is smart, wise for her age, and sensible, and, like Viola, I just wanted to hug her and make her happy. 

Another thing I loved about this novel is the setting. Notting Hill is one of my favourite areas in London. I used to go there often and just walk around looking at the streets and the shops. I never had the pleasure to see it covered in snow, but I bet it’s magical.

The plot is romantic and addictive. A young woman falls in love with a single father and his daughter and, of course, it won’t be easy. I enjoyed every moment of the story and the ending was fantastic.

Notting Hill in the Snow is an amazing and refreshing story that will keep you captivated from the first to the last page, a perfect read to enjoy this winter season!

Jules Wake announced at the age of ten that she planned to be a writer. Along the way she was diverted by the glamorous world of PR and worked on many luxury brands and not so luxury brands. This proved fabulous training for writing novels as it provided her with the opportunity to hone her writing and creative skills penning copy on a vast range of subjects from pig farming and watches, sunglasses and skincare through to beer and stationery.

She writes best-selling warm-hearted contemporary fiction for One More Chapter as Jules Wake and under her pen name Julie Caplin, she writes the Romantic Escapes series.

Between them, the two Js have written twelve novels, Notting Hill in the Snow being the latest.

Social Media Links –

Twitter: @Juleswake

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juleswake.co.uk/

Instagram: juleswakeauthor

Purchase Links

UK  – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Notting-Hill-Snow-heartwarming-uplifting-ebook/dp/B07RNFF9Q1/

US – https://www.amazon.com/Notting-Hill-Snow-heartwarming-uplifting-ebook/dp/B07RNFF9Q1/

Publication: 5th September 2019 – Simon & Schuster UK

A young mother’s sacrifice. A child’s desperate search for the truth . . .

London, 1917

When nineteen-year-old Alice Copeman becomes pregnant, she is forced by her father and stepmother to give up the baby.  She simply cannot be allowed to bring shame upon her family. But all Alice can think about is the small, kitten-like child she gave away, and she mourns the father, a young soldier, so beloved, who will never have the chance to know his daughter.
 
Edith and Philip Burns, a childless couple, yearn for a child of their own. When they secretly adopt a baby girl, Irene, their life together must surely be complete. Irene grows up knowing that she is different from other children, but no one will tell her the full truth.
 
Putting hopes of marriage and children behind her, Alice embarks upon a pioneering medical career, striving to make her way in a male-dominated world. Meanwhile, Irene struggles to define her own life, eventually leaving her Suffolk home to find work in London.
 
As two extraordinary stories intertwine across two decades, will secrets long-buried at last come to light?

**********

This is such a beautiful read. Set between the two World Wars, it’s the story of two women and the challenges they have to face. Alice Copeman was a nurse in France during World War I when she meets and falls in love with a soldier. Forced by her stepmother to give up for adoption the baby they conceived, Alice throws herself in her studies and in her work. Irene Burns always felt she didn’t belong in her family and she feels different from the other children. As time goes by, Alice works hard to become a successful doctor while Irene moves to London to find herself and her real parents.

I loved the author’s attention to details. Her descriptions are vivid, the historical facts are accurate, and she perfectly captures the society of the time. Both Alice and Irene come from good families. Alice is forced to give up her daughter because her stepmother fears the shame that it would bring to the family. Irene can’t spend time with her only friend Tom because his family is not very respectable. And there is the role of the women and what it is expected from them. Alice’s refusal to change her name after marriage or her role as a doctor helping pregnant women are very inspiring and fit with a time when women where fighting for equal rights.

In The Love Child there are themes of love and friendship, but family is at the centre of the story, especially the relationship between a mother and her daughter. Alice and her stepmother Gwen are completely different character. Gwen is more conservative and disapproves of Alice’s choices, but, even though they are not blood-related and they often argue, we see some kind of close relationship between them. Irene has always felt that her adoptive mother Edith loved her less than her brother Clay (because he is her real son), but their relationship is more complicated than that. And then there is the relationship between Alice and Irene. Who can Irene call her mother, the one who gave birth to her or the one who raised her?

The story is beautiful, moving, and real. I loved the characters, so authentic and engaging. And I loved the author’s writing style. The story and the characters come to life and I could almost imagine it as each scene unfolded. The Love Child is an absolute must-read!

A huge thank you to SJ and Simon and Schuster UK for providing me with a copy of this stunning novel!