Raincoats and Retrievers (Primrose Terrace Series, Book 3) – by Cressida McLaughlin

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

Hilarious and touching, Primrose Terrace will appeal to fans of Lucy Diamond, Cathy Bramley and Trisha Ashley.

'A gem…I loved it’ Alexandra Brown

It’s autumn and Primrose Terrace has never looked lovelier. But things are far from rosy for the Barker’s at No.6. Cat’s been walking their pair of gorgeous Golden Retrievers and she’s noticed that things are distinctly chilly between owners Juliette and Will. For Cat, things are coming to a head with Mark, but is he the right man for her? Especially as she is getting closer to flatmate Joe. Cat thinks she must be able to do something to stop autumn falling on the Barker’s marriage, but is there anything she can do to resolve her feelings about Mark?

Raincoats and Retrievers is the third part of a serialized novel told in four parts – all set in Primrose Terrace.

My Opinion:

Raincoats and Retrievers is the third part of this series. It was lovely getting back to Primrose Terrace and seeing all these lovely characters again.

Cat finally goes on a date with Mark, they have a wonderful time, but then suddenly the day after he is all weird and goes to London for several weeks. That made me grow even more suspicious on him and there was just something I didn’t like.

In the meantime Cat got to spend a lot of time with Joe. He is really nice and always there for her. That also means that they get closer and it makes Cat feel great. I was actually secretly hoping for something to happen between them.

Mark comes back and afterwards something more and deeper happened between them, I’m still not sure if I’m happy with that. I’m just really curious how it all will turn out in the last part of the series.

In this part Cat’s parents turn up as well and we get to read about her best friend Polly a bit more as well. We also get to know some other inhabitants of Primrose Terrace as well. 

Cat is just great and she shows a lot of strength and determination in this book. She has to fight for her little dog walking business once more, but she just does a great job.

Cressida continues her fabulous writing, with her unique and fresh voice once more. The setting of Fairview and Primrose Terrace is beautiful, perfect also for all these dogs. Her style is sparkly, young, magical and really vivid and she just gives you this warm and fuzzy feeling inside. I’m so excited for part 4 now!!!

Rating:

My possible cast:

Cat: Emily Blunt

Mark: James Marsden

Poppy: Kate Hudson

Joe: Oliver Hudson

Cressida on Twitter: @CressMcLaughlin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CressidaMcLaughlinAuthor Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

The Story of My Book Corner - Alba

Signed Books

I have always loved reading so at my parent's place I have a huge collection of books, all my children and teen books are there. Actually, there's a room at my parent's where there's a huge bookshelf (it covers one of the walls completely) and I'd say three quarters of all the books are mine. But when I started university, I moved to Barcelona so I had to leave all my book behind. From that moment, my life became a bit chaotic. I lived in Barcelona for a year, then Liverpool for six months, then Barcelona again for three years, then London for a year, then Barcelona again for two years and finally I've been living just outside Barcelona, in Tarragona for the last two years. All this with changing flats every time or more than once every time, so as you can imagine I couldn't take all my books with me.

For some years, especially after getting my kindle, I didn't buy many physical books because I never had enough space. When I moved here in Tarragona two years ago with my boyfriend, I started building my collection again. And since becoming a book blogger it has spiralled a bit out of control. The problem is we don't really have a big bookshelf in the flat so I have book scattered everywhere. Most of them are in the living room. But a lot of them are hidden in a cupboard, not because I'm ashamed of them but because I don't have anywhere else to put them! 

I actually follow no order in storing my books. I just leave them where they fit. But I do have my special bookshelf where I keep all my signed books. I love looking at them. 

And given that we are moving again in two months to Munich and I cannot take all the books with me, I have been trying (and failing) to get less books these past few months. But! The boyfriend has agreed to get me a huge bookshelf in the flat we get in Munich and I cannot wait to make my own reading space there.

There are so many amazing reading corners I've seen on the internet. Actually I need to get a pinterest board going to get ideas, but I will try to finally have a nice and cozy corner there. Now I usually read on my bed or in our couch, but mainly our bed. There's something about reading in bed that cannot be beaten. 

Thank you so much Simona for inviting me to this lovely feature. I love reading about other people's bookshelves! ;)

Cover Reveal - Make a Christmas Wish by Julia Williams

Aww, I love it! So festive!!!

Summary: 

Last Christmas, when Livvy was knocked down in the supermarket car park, she certainly wasn’t ready to actually be dead! For months now she’s floated on the edge of the afterlife, generally making a nuisance of herself.

And she’s not ready to go just yet! She’s furious about the new woman in her husband’s life and she’s worried about her beloved son who doesn’t seem to be adjusting to life without her at all.

This Christmas, Livvy is given one last magical chance to make everything right. Will she take it and give her family the perfect Christmas?

Perfect for fans of CAROLE MATTHEWS, TRISHA ASHLEY and JENNY COLGAN.

Author Bio:

Julia has always made up stories in her head, and until recently she thought everyone else did too. She grew up in London, one of eight children, including a twin sister. She married Dave, a dentist, in 1989, and they have four daughters. After the birth of the second Julia decided to try her hand at writing. Since then she has written 8 hugely popular novels, selling over a quarter of a million copies in the UK alone, and hitting the Sunday Times bestseller list.

Christmas at Lilac Cottage – by Holly Martin

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

Welcome to the charming seaside town of White Cliff Bay, where Christmas is magical and love is in the air…

Penny Meadows loves her home – a cosy cottage decorated with pretty twinkling fairy lights and stunning views over the town of White Cliff Bay. She also loves her job as an ice-carver, creating breathtaking sculptures. Yet her personal life seems frozen.

When Henry and daughter Daisy arrive at the cottage to rent the annex, Penny is determined to make them feel welcome. But while Daisy is friendly, Henry seems guarded.

As Penny gets to know Henry, she realises there is more to him than meets the eye. And the connection between them is too strong to ignore…

While the spirit of the season sprinkles its magic over the seaside town and preparations for the ice sculpting competition and Christmas eve ball are in full swing, can Penny melt the ice and allow love in her heart? And will this finally be the perfect Christmas she’s been dreaming of?

Like a creamy hot chocolate with marshmallows, you won’t want to put this deliciously heartwarming novel down.

Spend the perfect Christmas in White Cliff Bay this year. Snowflakes on Silver Cove coming very soon.

My Opinion:

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

Yay, another Holly Martin treat! I always get really excited when I get to read her books and once again she has proven that she is a fabulous author! Let me tell you why.

Christmas At Lilac Cottage follows the story of Penny, a lonely ice carver who spens her spare time at home and with her dog Bernard. She decids to rent out part of her gorgeous cottage. That’s when she meets Henry and his daughter Daisy, not without a small misunderstanding though ;)

Penny and Daisy get on really well and I loved watching their relationship develop, they both found a real friend in each other. Now let’s talk about Henry though. Penny is a bit unsure about him at first and doesn’t like his behaviour, but then she gets to know him better and well starts to fall for him. And I really can’t blame her, because he’s pretty amazing! He is full of heart and passion, good-looking, caring, sweet, the perfect guy!

Their connection is deep from the start and even though Penny wants to move slow, things happen pretty quickly between them. There are some misunderstandings, challenges little fights between them. One oft hem concerning his job and him fighting for it and the other one involving Daisy. He is very protective of his daughter, which is of course understandable, especially after reading about their past as well.

We also get to learn about Penny’s past, which made her behavior pretty clear. She went through a lot and needs to learn to open her heart again. Henry seems tob e the one to be able to do that, even with some stones in the way.

All the characters are so lovely in this story, well lined out, relatable and fun to read about. I just really loved all the scenes involving Penny with either Daisy or Henry and also the three oft hem together, they built a really strong bond.

All I wanted was for Henry and Penny tob e together and form a family with Daisy and also having kids of their own. Such a beautiful relationship to see develop in memoable and wonderful scenes.

The setting and the atmosphere in this book are just amazing! SO festive, perfect to curl up to with a hot chocolate on the sofa. White Cliff Bay sounds like a beautiful place and Holly made it seem so real with her writing. I’m excited that her second Christmas book this year is also set in the same place, I can’t wait!!!

Well, as I said Holly Martin has once again managed to create a magical, romantic story with a wonderful storyline, awesome characters, unique moments and an authentic setting. Her voice is amazing and really enables the reader to dive into the story!

Rating:

My possible cast:

Penny: Hilary Duff

Henry: Jamie Dornan

Holly on Twitter: @hollymartin00
Website: https://hollymartinwriter.wordpress.com
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