Book of the Month - June

The books I read this month:

-      Theo –by Amanda Prowse 4.5/5

-      The Little Cornish Kitchen –by Jane Linfoot 3/5

-      Daisy’s Vintage Cornish Camper Van –by Ali McNamara 5/5

-      Best Practice –by Penny Parkes 4.5/5

-      While I Was Sleeping –by Dani Atkins 5/5

-      The Cottage on Sunshine Beach –by Holly Martin 5/5

-      The Happiness List –by Annie Lyons 5/5

-      The Summer Getaway –by Tilly Tennant 4.5/5

Two of these books really stood out to me: 

Daisy’s Vintage Camper Van – Ali McNamara

The bit on the back:

Welcome to the gorgeous Cornish town of St Felix, where there's magic in the air...

When Ana inherits a broken-down camper van from her best friend, she takes the chance for a quick trip to Cornwall - some sea air and fish and chips on the beach is just the tonic she needs. 

But St Felix has bigger plans for Ana. She discovers a series of unsent postcards, dating back to the 1950s, hidden in the upholstery of the van. Ana knows that it's a sign: she'll make sure that the messages reach the person that they were meant for. And as the broken-down van is restored to gleaming health, so Ana begins to find her way back to happiness.

My opinion:

I went through all the emotions reading this book; I laughed, I cried, I felt happy, sad etc. Ali McNamara’s writing is full of passion and heart. I felt so close to the characters and I was really routing for Ana. The book includes mystery, romance, friendship, love, beautiful settings and amazing moments. 

Full review: http://simonascornerofdreams.blogspot.com/2018/06/daisys-vintage-cornish-camper-van-by.html

Ali McNamara on Twitter: @AliMcNamara

Website: http://www.alimcnamara.co.uk

Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

While I Was Sleeping – Dani Atkins

The bit on the back:

A brand new and brilliant emotional family drama for fans of Jojo Moyes and Dorothy Koomson, from the bestselling author of Fractured.

I don't remember what happened or what has changed.

I can still hear your voices but you can't seem to hear me.

I was about to be married and had everything to look forward to.

Now I have to find a way back - to you, to our family, to us.

My opinion:

This book absolutely touched my heart. I don’t think I ever cried so much, reading a book. It’s heart-breaking, poignant, moving and tear-jerking. 

The ending of the book made me speechless!!!

it was absolutely BRILLIANT!!! On so many levels…

Review: http://simonascornerofdreams.blogspot.com/2018/06/while-i-was-sleeping-by-dani-atkins.html

Dani Atkins on Twitter: @AtkinsDani

Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

Daisy's Vintage Cornish Camper Van - by Ali McNamara

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb: 

Welcome to the gorgeous Cornish town of St Felix, where there's magic in the air...

When Ana inherits a broken-down camper van from her best friend, she takes the chance for a quick trip to Cornwall - some sea air and fish and chips on the beach is just the tonic she needs. 

But St Felix has bigger plans for Ana. She discovers a series of unsent postcards, dating back to the 1950s, hidden in the upholstery of the van. Ana knows that it's a sign: she'll make sure that the messages reach the person that they were meant for. And as the broken-down van is restored to gleaming health, so Ana begins to find her way back to happiness.

My Opinion:

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

The book has a very sad beginning. Ana’s best friend Daisy dies and leaves her with big wish. It takes Ana to St Felix, a lovely little town by the sea in Cornwall. 

Ana should get Daisy’s Cornish camper wan and that leads her onto adventure, a big one. 

She finds letters of lovers Lou and Frankie, deals with the loss of her friend and gets to know some new people. Ana is determined to return the letters to the rightful owners and does a lot to find them. She gets help from Noah, who owns a shop in St Felix. Malachi does up her car and also spends a lot of time with Ana. 

The plot of this book is great and it flows beautifully. The characters well lined out as well and they are all so different from each other. 

St Felix is a lovely little town and has so much charm. Ali McNamara found a wonderful way to include it in the story and her descriptions are on point. 

I went through all the emotions reading this book; I laughed, I cried, I felt happy, sad etc. Ali McNamara’s writing is full of passion and heart. I felt so close to the characters and I was really routing for Ana. The book includes mystery, romance, friendship, love, beautiful settings and amazing moments. 

A definite must read!!!!

Rating:

Ali McNamara on Twitter: @AliMcNamara

Website: http://www.alimcnamara.co.uk

Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

The Little Flower Shop by the Sea – by Ali McNamara

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

Poppy Carmichael, 30, certainly never intended to own a florist. But when she inherits her grandmother's beloved flower shop on the beautiful Cornish coast, Poppy has no choice but to return to the pretty harbour town of St Felix where she spent much of her childhood.

Returning to St Felix brings back sad memories for Poppy. But when she makes new friends such as local flower grower Jake, a young widowed father of two teenagers, Poppy begins to overcome her fears, and discover for herself what's so special about this little flower shop by the sea.

My Opinion:

This book was waiting in my bookshelf for over a year, so it was about time. I love Ali McNamara’s books, so I was really excited to start this.

The story follows Poppy Carmichael, who comes back to St. Felix after 15 years, she’s inherited her grandmother’s flower shop. It’s hard for Poppy to come back, because of what happened in the past and on top of it all?! She doesn’t even like flowers. Her mother sends help in form of Amber, who works in their flower shop in New York. And then there is also Jake, the local flower grower. He is there to help her from the start and they start spending a lot of time together.

Jake is a young widowed father of two teenagers, Bronte and Charlie. Bronte and Charlie remind Poppy of herself and her brother when they were younger. Jake went through a lot in the past, so in certain ways he has difficulties to move on. Oh and I think he’s just fab: so caring, sweet, good looking, funny and much more, hello new book boyfriend ;).

I really adored the scenes between the two of them, because there were so many sparks. It wasn’t so easy though, both had these things from the past and some other things came in between as well. I don’t want to say more here, but when I was reading it I was hoping for something to happen between all the time. Let’s just say the storyline surprised me here, in a good way though.

St. Felix and the community there are amazing. All the characters are full of heart and passion and they are really there for each other. The location is wonderful as well and Ali managed to create this wonderful atmosphere around the characters and add a gripping storyline as well. I was hooked from the start and didn’t want to leave the story.

I like looking at flowers, but I barley know anything about them. I still really liked all the flowery descriptions and also the subtitles in the chapters. They all had a logic and sense behind them and it actually added some charm to the story.

There are a lot of feelings and emotions involved in this story with Jake being a widower and Poppy’s past. The way we got introduced to it all and slowly read about what happened was lovely. Ali captured the feelings of the characters beautifully. Yes, it’s all very emotional, touching and sad, but in the end it’s part of their lives and it makes them who they are now, ready to start something new.

I really love how all the characters got their story told as well and it was never too much, always a great mixture with Poppy’s and Jake’s story in the middle.

The Little Flower Shop by the Sea is fantastic on so many levels! A wonderful setting, an amazing mixture of characters, an intriguing storyline and much more. Ali just always manages to put a smile on my face.

Rating:

My possible cast:

Poppy: Meghan Ory

Jake: Gabriel Macht

Ali on Twitter: @AliMcNamara Website: http://www.alimcnamara.co.uk Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

From Notting Hill With Four Weddings…Actually – by Ali McNamara

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

Set in the world of all your favorite rom-coms, a gorgeously romantic new novel by the author of "From Notting Hill with Love . . . Actually" Movie addict Scarlett O'Brien is finally living the jet-setting life she's dreamed of, but it all hangs by a shiny, golden thread. Flying between London and New York, running two businesses, and planning her wedding to handsome fiance Sean along with her best friends Oscar and Maddie--life couldn't be better. Then Scarlett meets paparazzi darling Gabriella Romero, and life suddenly becomes even more extravagant and glamourous. But as she begins to experience the other side of being rich and famous, it's not only Scarlett's perfect wedding that's put in jeopardy, but her whole world.

My Opinion:

On to another Scarlett O’Brien adventure!!! You can’t even describe, how excited I was to read book #3 of the Actually series, I love the first two.

So, Scarlett is flying between London and New York, dealing with both her businesses. The Dragonfly Trust has become really successful; she was able to help a lot of people. This also puts her in contact with Gabriella Romero. She becomes her “life coach”, but there is more behind it than that. I enjoyed reading about their adventures, lots of fun and a cameraman we know gets to know Gabi as well. Scarlett gets to meet more celebrities and she has Oscar to accompany her to all these events. Oscar is still the same funny and unique person, always looking to talk to VIPs, and it’s great to see that he found someone as well.

Book #2 finished what a special proposal from Sean and now it’s time to plan that wedding. Scarlett is very stressed and busy though, her head is not really in it. Sean is worried and helps her wherever he can. The bond Sean and Scarlett have is amazing, such a wonderful couple with chemistry, connection, powerful and they share some pretty wonderful scenes in this book. Reading about Sean is always a highlight for me, he’s just great!!!

With the wedding comes best man Alex. Scarlett doesn’t like him from the start, there is a mystery behind him and I totally get why she can’t trust him. He is even there to help with the wedding venue, but what’s behind that?!

Her best friend Maddie is problems in her relationship and is secretive about it. Well, only later we hear why, which makes Scarlett even more suspicious of one person.

Suddenly everything is in danger, the wedding, the trust and also Gabi’s charity, and what about Gabi’s real reason to get in touch with Scarlett.

Sean takes over the wedding preparations and Scarlett is ready to fight and save everything.

It was great reading about New York, an awesome setting and a fabulous place.

Ali has a great way to hook the reader, her writing is bubbly, fresh, funny and really gripping!

Rating:

My possible cast:

Scarlett: Alexis Knapp (with dark hair)

Sean: Colton Haynes

Oscar: Chris Colfer

Gabi: Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Ali on Twitter: @AliMcNamara
Website: http://www.alimcnamara.co.uk
Goodreads- Amazon UK - Amazon US