Summer Night at the Moonlight Hotel - by Jane Costello

Original Cover

The blurb:

'LEARN TO SALSA DANCE,' the card in the shop window read. 'Experience the red-hot vibes of Latin America right here in the Lake District. Beginners and singles welcome.'

Lauren Scott lives in 'The most romantic place in Britain', but her love life is about as successful as her mountain climbing skills. The man she's obsessed over for two years has proposed to someone else - and her only solution is to save up for six months to go travelling, so she never has to set eyes on him again.

But when her friends sign her up for a dance class - in the same historic hotel where her beloved dad worked and her most precious childhood memories were formed - Lauren makes a horrifying discovery. It's been sold to a faceless budget chain, which has depressing plans in store. Worse, the entrepreneur behind it all turns out to be among a group of guys her friend Cate roped in to join the very same salsa class they've signed up for....

Jane Costello's funniest book yet - a story of love, friendship and some serious hip action . . . Get in the mood to mambo!

My Opinion:

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

Jane Costello is my queen when it comes to funny, hilarious and heart-warming stories and of course she did it once again.  

I saw myself laughing out loud so much during this book, especially at the beginning, but Jane covers so much more in this story. It’s about love, friendship, memories, decisions and so much more.

Lauren is a great character, I warmed to her instantly, probably because she is a teacher ;). She is in love with her colleague Edwin, but he just proposed to someone else! Her friends Cate and Emily take her to salsa lessons. These happen to be at the Moonlight Hotel. Lauren has a lot of memories connected to the place, because her father worked there.

The story gets more intense and complicated when a guy who is about to “destroy” this historic place is part of her new group of friends from the dancing lessons. Lauren spends more and more time with Joe and suddenly realises what has actual plans are and also how she feels about him.

There is still Edwin though. When he breaks up with his fiancée things change and then he asks her to join him in Singapore for a new teaching job. They also go on a few dates, which were not what Lauren expected. Feelings change and so do plans, so there are a lot of twists and turns, surprises and other exciting things in this story. 

Cate and Emily have their own story to tell, which I found great. The friendship between them is deep and strong. What they all go through is a lot and very hard, so I was glad they had each other. 

I adored the ending and of course I was also hoping for it ;). 

I really really enjoyed this book, Jane is just such a talented author. She knows how to attract readers, hook them and also surprise them. So here we go again, another fab book by Jane Costello, she just knows how to write!!!

Rating:

My possible cast:

Lauren: Melissa Benoist

Jane on Twitter: https://twitter.com/janecostello
Website: http://www.janecostello.com
Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

The Love Shack – by Jane Costello

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

Life's great when you're 29 years old with a gorgeous girlfriend and fulfilling job. Until you have to move back in with your mum . . .

Dan and Gemma have found their dream first home, but the asking price is the stuff of nightmares. The only way they'll ever save enough for the deposit is by moving in, rent-free, with Dan's mum.

It's a desperate solution, but it's only for six months. And Gemma's determined to

make it work, no matter how bad things get.

But between Dan's mum's kitchen karaoke, her constant innuendos, irrepressible argumentative streak and - worst of all - her ham and pineapple curries, life back at home would test the patience of two saints. Which Dan and Gemma most definitely are not.

Then, as they're trying to convince themselves it will all be worth it, Gemma's past comes back to haunt her. And suddenly the foundations of their entire relationship are shaken to their core…

My Opinion:

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

Oh look, it’s another Jane Costello book, yay!!! I love Jane’s books and her writing, so I couldn’t wait to dive into this one.

The story follows Dan and Gemma, a young couple who is looking for their perfect dream house, but that is not easy…

Everything is so expensive or just not what they want. They fall in love with Pebble Cottage and the only way they can come up with the deposit is selling everything and moving in with his mum. Dan is NOT thrilled and their everyday life changes dramatically. They don’t have any couple time and his mum has her drama as well.

On top of that Gemma’s past is going to haunt her, in form of her ex Alex. Let’s just say Gemma spends time with him and gets confused.

There are also issues about the cottage, connected to other people who are interested and the owners.

The Love Shack is a real test for Gemma and Dan’s relationship. They go through a lot and also get to know each other from a different side. It includes their careers, their love, their families and much more.

The storyline is gorgeous and cute. It’s written in alternate chapters, so we get to experience both Gemma’s and Dan’s feelings. I always love reading a story from a man’s perspective; it just gives you another insight.

Gemma and Dan are a great couple and wonderful characters. However, the character I loved most was Dan’s mum Belinda. She was so much fun to read about and she had her own story to tell. The thing that made me feel close to all characters was, that they were not perfect at all, so genuine and real.

Jane’s writing is great. Full of funny moments, although I have to say I didn’t have as many LOL moments as in Jane’s previous books. It’s a light-hearted, feel-good novel, combined with some deeper and soulful elements. Sometimes I wasn’t happy with Gemma and her actions and I felt that at times, the story didn’t really move, so I can only give 4 stars. It’s still a wonderful book, the catching spark was missing for me though.

Rating:

My possible cast:

Gemma: Rachel Bilson

Dan: Adam Brody

Jane on Twitter: @janecostello

Website: http://www.janecostello.com

Goodreads - Amazon UK

The Time Of Our Lives - by Jane Costello

Original Cover

My own copy

 The blurb:

Imogen and her friends have had their fill of budget holidays, cattle-class flights and 6 a.m. offensives for a space by the pool.

So when one of the group wins a VIP holiday at Barcelona's hippest new hotel, they plan to sip champagne with the jet set, party with the glitterati and switch off in surroundings of unapologetic luxury.

But as they mingle with movie stars, mafia bosses and millionaires, it becomes clear - with riotous consequences - that even in the most glamorous of locations, things can go wrong. Very wrong . . .

Hilarious and heart-warming by turns, The Time of Our Lives is Jane Costello at her very best.

My Opinion:

I was so excited for this book, I love Jane Costello’s style and her books are awesome! Another addictive and gripping book! So here it goes.

The story follows Imogen and her two friends Meredith and Nicola. I really liked Imogen, such a likable and down to earth character and a wonderful mum. The father of the girl is not around anymore and we only learn some pages into the story what happened to him. It’s clear that Imogen loved him very much and he’s still in her thoughts.

The three friends wind a VIP holiday in Barcelona, but we find out soon that it’s not really a holiday, especially not for Imogen, since she is confronted with work all the time. She hasn’t got a free minute and everything goes wrong, not only on the working front, but also other things. I felt really bad for Imogen and I’m glad that she had her friends, who were there for here all the time with good advice. Meredith and Nicola brought a great spark into the story and we also learnt a little about their story, which was lovely.

Of course there was also a gorgeous male character and guess what he made it to my book boyfriends list. He’s charming, gorgeous, sexy, caring and a real gentleman. He was always at the right place. Imogen was attracted to him from the start, but them a really long time to get closer, with a lot of drama and misunderstandings in between.

This is an awesome book with a lot of LOL moments and light hearted humour, as well as a journey of a character to find herself and learn more about love, friendship and most of all to learn how to let go.

Jane’s writing is lively, gripping, catchy and so easy to read. I loved the descriptions of Barcelona and the surroundings, so vivid and real, I really wanna go there now!!!

Thank you Jane for another wonderful and gorgeous novel, full of love, drama, action and friendship. A great summer read with some sparky twists and turns.

Rating:

My possible cast:

Imogen: Mary Kate Olsen

Harry: Johnathan Patrick Moore

Meredith: Holland Roden

Nicola: Jana Kramer

Jane Costello on Twitter: @janecostello
Website: http://www.janecostello.com