The Place We Met - by Isabelle Broom

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

Lucy may have suffered her fair share of bad men, but now she has Pete. Finally, a man worth sharing her favourite place with, Lake Como. That's if she can put mysterious phone calls and glamorous ex-girlfriends out of her mind.

Taggie is rushed off her feet, but distraction is exactly what she needs to forget why she fled England and the sadness she left behind. She certainly doesn't have time for infuriating stranger Marco. A man is the last thing she needs right now.

Lucy and Taggie might not know it, but their lives are about to collide. The New Year might begin with fireworks - but how will it end?

My Opinion:

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

Isabelle Broom has fast become one of my fave authors. I adore her books and was obviously very excited for this book. The fact that it is set at the Lake of Como just added to it.

The story follows two women: Lucy and Taggie. Taggie moved to Como to heal her broken heart. Lucy decides to take her boyfriend Pete to her beloved Como. Their lives collide and they actually have something in common.

I loved following both storylines and when they come together it gets of course more interesting. Taggie is also surrounded by a nice Italian man called Marco. Both women have their mysteries and secrets in the plot and some unexpected twists make this story unputdownable.

The highlight for me was the setting, because I knew all the places and I think Isabelle Broom captured it beautifully.

The characters are great and very authentic. A heart-warming and romantic read!

Rating:

Isabelle Broom on Twitter: @Isabelle_Broom

Website: https://isabellebroom.com

Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

A Winter’s Tale - by Carrie Elks

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

Struggling film student Kitty Shakespeare is determined to make the most of her new job as nanny to major producer Everett Klein's son, Jonas. It might not be exactly the career she'd hoped for when she moved from London to LA, but thanks to her habit of freezing up in interviews, this is her last chance to impress a key player in Hollywood - if she can get this right, then surely he'll take a moment to look at her work. However, what Kitty hasn't allowed for is Everett's sexy-as-hell brother, Adam - but love at first sight this is not.

Adam Klein may be sexy, but he's also gruff and rude and in no way ready to make a fool of himself over the nanny - not after the year he's had. All he wants to do hole up in his cabin and hide from the brother who destroyed his life. If only he could find it easier to ignore the way Kitty makes his heart race . . .

As Christmas approaches, Kitty and Adam come to realise that the course of true love never does run smooth - and just maybe, it's more interesting that way...

A heartwarming Shakespeare Sisters Christmas romance from the bestselling author of Fix You. 

My Opinion:

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

A Winter’s Tale is book two in the Shakespeare Sisters series. This time we are following Kitty Shakespeare, who lives in LA and is a film student. She is struggling to find an internship and then jumps at the chance of being a nanny for the Klein family over Christmas.

Everett Klein is a major producer, so the job might take her to the right direction eventually. Everett has a brother called Adam. They don’t have a great relationship, but live close to each other. This way Kitty gets to meet Adam.

They are not off to a great start. He seems rude, moody and arrogant. However, sparks definitely fly and they grow closer and closer. Things are not easy though, especially with Adam’s family involved.

The story is full of ups and downs, which makes it really exciting of course. I adored the scenes and moments Kitty and Adam shared and sometimes Jonas was there too, so wonderful.

Carrie Elks has a very smooth and heart-warming writing style. You get sucked into the story immediately and never want to leave again. The storyline has several levels and in the end everything comes together, it’s so gripping.

We also get to read about the other Shakespeare sisters as well, so we get to catch up with Cesca and I’m really looking forward about the other two sisters now. Can’t wait for their books.

This book is full of romance, passion, love and excitement. Carrie Elks is one talented author.

Rating:

Carrie Elks on Twitter: @CarrieElks

Website: https://carrieelks.com

Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

Musical Review - WICKED

About the show:

Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz is a Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, an alternative telling of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz; its plot begins before and continues after Dorothy's arrival in Oz from Kansas, and it includes several references to the 1939 film and Baum's novel. Wicked tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (whose name later changes to Glinda the Good Witch), who struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace.

More information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_(musical)

My opinion:

Last weekend I saw Wicked fort he second time in Zurich. My first time was 9 years ago in London. It’s my favourite musical together with Les Misérables, so when I heard that the touring company was coming to Switzerland, I booked the tickets immediately.

We had great seats, right in row 6 in the middle. Row 6 is the best one in the “Theater 11” in Zurich, because it’s a bit higher up than the rows in front.

The music of this show is brilliant! I get goose bumps every single time, when hearing the opening and seeing it on stage makes it even more special. The costumes are absolutely stunning and so is the set. Of course they have many great effects to, which makes it more exciting.

I really like the story of the musical. I think it’s very gripping and full of ups and downs. I had to cry several times and I just didn’t want it to end. Defying Gravity is a fabulous and powerful song and Amy Ross sang it beautifully. Her voice is absolutely incredible! I also really liked all the ensemble numbers, not inly because of the costumes, but also because of the staging and the choreography. The sound of the ensemble was wonderful too. The harmonies and the melodies are magnificent.

I have never been a big fan of Glinda’s character. She is obviously part of the story and needs to be like that, but I never warmed up to her. Helen Woolfe is a good actress (but I don’t think the role is challenging when it comes to acting), but I didn’t like her singing. Her voice is squeaky and just doesn’t have a pleasant sound for me.

Fiyero (Aaron Sidwell) and Elphaba had great chemistry on stage. He is a brilliant actor, but yet again the singing didn’t convince me. I lost my heart to the first Fiyero I saw (Oliver Tompsett) anyway ;).

This musical is marvellous on so many levels. It’s great for families as well and I love the little references to The Wizard of Oz (still have to see that musical).

It was absolutely WICKED!!!!!!