Secrets at Maple Syrup Farm - by Rebecca Raisin

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

Secrets...we all have them.

Clay’s inheritance of Maple Syrup Farm came at the perfect time. Leaving city life behind he headed for maple-tree surrounded Ashford, Connecticut. Getting the farm in working order again might be back breaking work – but it seems to be the only way for Clay to finally forget about the girl who once broke his heart…

Lucy’s had enough of rules and the stress of planning her life down to the very last detail. Looking for an adventure she stumbles upon Maple Syrup Farm and its gorgeously gruff owner. This could be the perfect place to hide out…!

But the tranquillity and warmth of Maple Tree Farm is enough to heal even the most battered of hearts. There are very few problems in life that can’t be cheered up by maple syrup!

The new standalone novel from bestselling author of the Gingerbread Cafe trilogy and The Bookshop on the Corner, Rebecca Raisin.

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Secrets at Maple Syrup Farm brings us back to Ashford, not right from the start though. The story follows Lucy, who is looking after her mum. her mum wants her to go and travel the world and especially finally follow her dream. Only after a lot of convincing she takes the first bus and ends up in Ashford.

Being back in Ashford is great, I love this little city with it's unique charm. Arriving there Lucy soon meets all the lovely characetrs we already know, especially Lily and CeeCee and later also Sarah. I adored them all, so it was great to have them back. It also allows us to see how their lives developed.

Lucy is looking for a job and finds one at the maple syrup fram a bit outside of town. The owner Clay is nit what she has expected and like everybody said in town he's a bit if a rude loner. He doesn't even want to take her on at first, because she's a girl. It is hard work, but Lucy is determined and wants to make her dream true of going to Paris for studying.

At the farm there is also a hidden secret, about the orevious owner, Clay's uncle. At first Clay is distant and doesn't want to find out anything, but after a while he opens up and the relationship between him and Lucy also changes. Before that I have to be honest, I didn't really enjoy the stiry and couldn't properly get into it. Afterwards ut changed though and I saw another side if Clay. I also really liked the idea of Clay and Lucy as a couple, so I was eagerly waiting for something to happen between them. Of course they had their ups and downs, but they were just so adorable together.

Rebecca created another wonderful story set un Ashord and her beautiful writing always adds this unique atmosphere. It's not my favourite of her stories, but still worth it, even if it's just to catch up with the other characters.

Rating:

My possible cast:

Lucy: Shantel VanSanten 

Clay: Robert Buckley

Rebecca on Twitter: @jaxandwillsmum Website: https://rebeccaraisin.wordpress.com Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

The Piano Man Project – by Kat French

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

Finding love isn’t always black and white…

You: kind, piano-playing sex god

Me: hopelessly romantic charity shop manager

Honeysuckle Jones has a problem, and her best friends Nell and Tash are on a mission to help her solve it. She needs a man – a caring, intelligent, funny man. But most importantly, a man who’s good with his hands…

Luckily Honey’s new neighbour – moody, antisocial ex-chef Hal – fails on almost every count. Even though the chemistry between them is electric, he’s obviously wrong for her in every way.

But when Honey discovers the devastating reason for his moods she decides to give him another chance. And discovers that the best songs aren’t always in tune…

A hilarious, feel-good, sexy romantic comedy for fans of Lucy Diamond, Paige Toon and Giovanna Fletcher.

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Honeysuckle Jones has a problem. She has never had an orgasm during sex. Her friends finally want to help her and since Honey seems to like men, who play the piano, that's what she'll get. The dates she's on are funny, weird, entertaining and very diverse and the men couldn't be more different.

Then she meets moody and arrogant Hal, her new neighbour. They, or should I rather say she talks to him in the hallway and like this they spend a lot kf time together. Their chemistry is electric and intense from the start though. I liked the scenes between them, the were passionate, fun and really tense at times. I just wanted for something to happen between them, but Honey had other things in mind at first and thought Hal was a bad influence on her and he struggled with his sudden change in life and his accident.

Only after a while we learned what really happened to him and ut made a lot of things clearer. I thought it was cute, how he always helped her out and then I was sad again, because he backed out again. A story full of twists and turns, surprises and ups and downs. Kat's writing is fun, light hearted and really entertaining. I thought that the characters were really well lined out and the stiry had a great flow.

There was a subplot as well, which was great, but sometimes it overtook too much for my liking. Of course ur was part of Honey's stiry and Hal was included as well, but they were the main focus, so I eanted to rad about them. I like it when the story is told in the 3rd person and usually I enjoy having the male's perspective as well, but the transitions for didn't run smoothly for me.

The Piano Man Project is a bubbly, charming and great book, written in a young, fresh and entertaining way, I definitely look forward on reading more of Kat's books.

Rating:

My possible cast:

Honey: Ashley Benson

Hal: Diego Boneta

Kat on Twitter: @KatFrench_ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kat-French/472044706183507?ref=hl Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

Release Day Blitz - Up To I Do by Samantha March

About the Book

Emerson Sinclair, twenty-seven year old hotel heiress, has said yes. With just over a year to plan her extravagant, over the top nuptials to Logan Worthington, it’s all hands on deck with the wedding plans. A Sinclair marrying into the Worthington family is the talk of their small New Hampshire town, and ideas include filming the wedding for a TV segment. But as the items get checked off the list, plans start to go ... not as planned. From not getting a designer dress to a selfish bridesmaid and unaccountable best man, Emerson is afraid her wedding will be more a joke than anything. 
When both her mother and sister seemingly begin to lose interest in her wedding plans in favor of their own personal lives, Emerson fears her big day will turn into the forgotten wedding. With the pressure to pull off a beautiful and elegant event that everyone expects from their respectable families, Emerson starts to forget the reason why she is saying I Do in the first place.

Author Bio

Samantha March is an author, editor, publisher, blogger, and all-around book lover. She runs the popular book/women’s lifestyle blog ChickLitPlus, which keeps her bookshelf stocked with the latest reads and up-to-date on all things health, fitness, fashion, and beauty related. In 2011, she launched her independent publishing company, Marching Ink, and has four published novels—Destined to Fail, The Green Ticket, A Questionable Friendship, and Up To I Do. When she isn’t reading, writing, or blogging, you can find her cheering for the Green Bay Packers. Samantha lives in Iowa with her husband and Vizsla puppy.

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Book Links

http://amzn.to/1IpcPLh

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/up-to-i-do-samantha-march/1122377630?ean=2940150767386

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/up-to-i-do

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25548799-up-to-i-do

The Story of My Book Corner - Simona Elena

Welcome to another series of guest posts, this time the title is „The Story of my Book Corner“ , thought it would be appropriate with my blog name ;).

Every Tuesday there will be another blogger/author sharing their story, if you wanna be part of it, don’t hesitate to contact me.

The Story of my Book Corner is about telling my lovely readers about your bookshelf and your favourite places to read. Here is my story...

Before I was even able to start writing this post, I had to rearrange and reorganise my bookshelf. It was a huge mess and I had books piling up on the floor and by the window, my overview was gone.

So in the first week of my summer holidays I spent a whole morning doing just that. There is no real structure behind it, so that made it even harder. I’m not a big fan of colour coding and different shelves for different kinds of books just doesn’t work with the books I own. My bookshelf is a bit special, because you can only see half of the books, the other half is hidden behind the others. At the books there are books I have read at school and some I have already read and that are not that special too me, like others.

At the back in the first row there is the only important collection forced to be at the back. It’s all my Harry Potter books, in German and also English, they take up the whole row.

So now let me take you through my bookshelf. The first row, the lowest ones, consists of my favourite authors and stories: Paige Toon, Aven Ellis, Holly Martin, Jenny Hale, Hannah Beckerman, Lori Nelson Spielman, Lucy Robinson, Kirsty Greenwood, Ali McNamara and Giovanna Fletcher. On top there are also some I’m either really excited about or books I’ve really enjoyed (like Ali Harris).

Of course not all of my favourites had space in the first row, so it continues in the second one. There are Lindsey Kelk, Jane Costello, Alexandra Brown, Miranda Dickinson, Jojo Moyes and Anna Bell. In addition there are some I’m also really excited about, especially Iona Grey’s Letter to the Lost.

Row 3 – More beauties here of course. I’m especially proud of my beautiful Series by Christina Lauren. There are also Sophie Kinsella and Melissa Hill and some other wonderful books. I said there is no structure behind it, at least, I was able to keep books by the same author together ;).

The top is just the top. I have a lot of review copies there, books I received from publishers, but also books I bought in the UK.

I have the overview again, but I really don’t know where to put the books I will buy from now on, I think I need an extra room.

My bookshelf is right behind my bed, so it’s no surprise that on of my favourite reading spots is my bed. It’s comfy and close to my books. I love the looks at this colourful selection of books. My second favourite place to read or let’s say my favourite place when it’s nice and warm outside is our garden. Deckchair, book and a refreshing drink that’s all I need. During holidays I love to read at the beach, I just like the sound of the waves in the background.

Now, last but not least, my dream book corner would be one like you see on the picture on top. A room full of books with a place to read right be the window, with a nice view of course. A comfy hammock or lounge area (with a little bed) outside or by the sea would also be nice. I also found found a nice picture of a comfy little book corner <3. 

So that was the first post of my “Story of my Book Corner series”, up first in August will be the lovely Jenny from Jenny in Neverland, make sure you check it out.