Showing posts with label The Vineyard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Vineyard. Show all posts

Wednesday, 27 August 2014

The Vineyard - by Karen Aldous + GIVEAWAY

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Original Cover
My own copy




















The blurb:

It’s been five years, and Lizzie Lambert has decided it’s time to try to make things right with her estranged mother. She’s made a success of things in Cannes, she’s bringing up a lovely little boy on her own, and she’s ready to put the past behind her.
But it seems Lizzie’s mother has moved on as well. She’s moved her toyboy – a muscle-bound vintner named Cal – into the family home, and given him the run of the land that was meant to be Lizzie’s inheritance!
Cal’s wine business frequently takes him to France, and suddenly wherever Lizzie goes, he’s already there – meddling, giving unsolicited advice, saving her little boy’s life and stealing her heart. But none of this changes the fact that he’s her mother’s lover…


My Opinion:

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

This book is definitely a MUST READ for summer!!!

Lizzie returns home after five years, a lot has changed. Her mother Caroline shocks her with news about her grandfather and the land she’s inherited and she seems to have a very hot toy-boy Cal… Or at least Lizzie thinks she does. They have a huge fight and Lizzie returns to Cannes, her new home.

Back there she has he absolutely adorable son Thierry, he’s almost 3 years old and just so cute. He brought so many great sparks into this story. With Marie-Claire Lizzie has a great nanny for Thierry as well and her salon is very successful. Lizzie’s best friend Sophie is moving to Cannes as well and they have big plans for the salon, but holidays first. They go away to the wonderful Provence for some days off, but…

Suddenly Thierry’s father Anton is back in the picture, he wants his son, but why this sudden interest?

When Anton comes to the hotel out of the blue, Cal is there to help. Somehow he’s always there and he’s so caring… I barley read a book, where the two main characters had so much chemistry like these two, but Lizzie was holding her feelings back, since she knew that he was with her mum. Lizzie also had a big problem trusting him, because of her past. But when he tells her about her mother’s illness.
Her is the chance to make peace with her, it’s harder than Lizzie thought, but once they had a break-through they were the cutest mother-daughter combination ever. Caroline fell in love with Thierry as well.
Cal and Lizzie had this connection, but they were both holding back until Michael, her mothers boyfriend came into the picture. I loved it when they both just let everything go and were through to themselves, it was also so sweet how Cal got on with Thierry.
However there was still Anton and Lizzie had to solve that problem. Her trust problem was also still there and I really hated the way she treated Cal at times. I just wanted her to see the light.

At the end there is a lot of action and drama going on and also a little surprise with a family member of Cal.

Sophie was an awesome best friend and I’m glad she found her luck as well. I loved following her story and Charles was a great addition t the characters. All characters were so well described and included to this story, just brilliant. The storyline was wonderful and well developed, the change of locations (between France and England) just added the right mixture to it.

I have to come back to Cal for a while. Oh my, he ‘s just PERFECT. Sweet, caring, funny, attentive, hot, sexy… I think I found myself a new BOOK BOYFRIEND ;)

A magical book about love, friendship and family. So touching, sweet, sensitive, romantic, sparkly… The landscape and the surroundings are absolutely gorgeous (like the cover) and Karen found the perfect, vivid and real way to describe the settings and of course also the story and the characters.

I FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS STORY!!! I really didn’t want to leave it and hope to see Lizzie, Cal and Thierry again <3.

Rating: 


My possible cast:

Lizzie: Tori Tracy



















Cal: Matt Bomer


















Thierry:


















Praise for Karen Aldous
'...you must read this wonderful debut from Karen, absolutely great.' - Cometbabesbooks
'Not since Peter Mayle has anyone captured the essence of Provence and Karen Aldous does it vividly. Settle back with a glass of wine and experience the Vineyard for yourself.' - Elder Park Book Reviews
'A delightful romantic comedy that tales place amidst the beauty of France, with plenty of wine and laughter.' - cayocosta72

ibookstore



About the Author

Karen Aldous enjoys village life on the edge of the north-downs in Kent with easy access to the buzz of London. Not only does she love the passive pleasures of reading and writing, she also craves the more active pursuits with her family and friends such as walking, cycling and skiing especially when they involve food and wine!

Karen gets much of her inspiration from her travels and if she had to choose, France, Greece, Switzerland and Italy would be her favourite. However, wherever she goes, she discovers a new character emerges in 'Karen's World'. She likes to write about strong independent women who can direct their own lives - but struggle to control them! And, of course there's always a gorgeous hunk or two!

Author Links


GIVEAWAY
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Monday, 4 August 2014

Book of the Month - July

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The books I read this month:

-       Written in the Stars – by Ali Harris 5/5
-       Taken by Love – by Melissa Foster 4/5
-       The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me – by Lucy Robinson 5/5
-       Suddenly Last Summer – by Sarah Morgan 4/5
-       Beautiful Bastard – by Christina Lauren 5/5
-       Reasonable Doubt Vol. 1 – by Whitney Gracia Williams 4/5
-       Reasonable Doubt Vol. 2 – by Whitney Gracia Williams 4/5
-       The Notting Hill Diaries – by Sarah Morgan 5/5
-       High Heels and Bicycle Wheels – by Jane Linfoot 4.5/5
-       The Vineyard – by Karen Aldous 5/5
-       My Sort-of Kind-of Hero – by Emily Harper 5/5
-       Strings Attached – by Mandy Baggot 5/5

Ali Harris you created a MAGICAL and BEAUTIFUL story and so did Karen Aldous, the stories are so different, they both deserve a place here:

Written in the Stars – Ali Harris

The bit on the back:


Bea Bishop is horrible at making decisions. Forget big life ones, even everyday choices seem to paralyse her. She's learned to live with this because experience has taught her that it doesn't matter what you do, no one has the power to control destiny. Anyone who believes they can is a fool.
But as her wedding day approaches, her years of indecision are weighing heavily on her, and she can't help but wonder, 'What if, what if, what if….'
What if she hadn't upped sticks and moved to London? What if she hadn't grabbed the first job that came along and settled down with the first guy who showed an interest? But all of her questions are silenced when she slips while walking down the aisle and is knocked unconscious. In this split second her life splits into two: in one existence, Bea flees back down the aisle and out of the church. In the other she glides blissfully towards her intended.
But which story will lead to her happily ever after?

My opinion:

I was taken into this beautiful and brilliantly written story immediately and I couldn’t put it down. WRITTEN IN THE STARS is a beautiful, romantic, magical and amazing story, showing what is important in life. The scenes Ali created were so vivid, emotional and real, I felt like being there with the characters all the time. Read my review here: Written in the Stars Review

Ali on Twitter: @AliHarrisWriter

The Vineyard – Karen Aldous

The bit on the back:


It’s been five years, and Lizzie Lambert has decided it’s time to try to make things right with her estranged mother.

She’s made a success of things in Cannes, she’s bringing up a lovely little boy on her own, and she’s ready to put the past behind her.

But it seems Lizzie’s mother has moved on as well. She’s moved her toyboy – a muscle-bound vintner named Cal – into the family home, and given him the run of the land that was meant to be Lizzie’s inheritance!

Cal’s wine business frequently takes him to France, and suddenly wherever Lizzie goes, he’s already there – meddling, giving unsolicited advice, saving her little boy’s life and stealing her heart. But none of this changes the fact that he’s her mother’s lover…

My opinion:

A sweet, beautiful, touching and sensitive story, set in wonderful places, I just loved the sceneries: A vineyard and Cannes <3. The Vineyard is a beautiful story about live, family and friendship, with a great couple in the centre of the story. They had so much chemistry and the little boy Thierry added some sweet sparks into this story. A story, you’ll never forget, I wanted to stay there. My review will be up at the end of the month for a blog tour.



Karen on Twitter: @KarenAldous_