Simona's Corner of Dreams: The Vintage Guide To Love and Romance

Thursday, 2 April 2015

Book of the Month - March

The books I read this month:

- People We Love – by Jenny Harper 3.5/5

- A Mother’s Story – by Amanda Prowse 5/5

- Cocktails in Chelsea – by Nikki Moore 5/5

- Creature Comforts – by Trisha Ashley 3/5

- Chloe’s Rescue Mission – by Rosie Dean 4/5

- The Life Intended – by Kristin Harmel 5/5

- The Vintage Guide To Love and Romance – by Kirsty Greenwood 5/5

- Ivy Lane – by Cathy Bramley 5/5

- Lost – by Elle Field not finished yet

Not as many as in the last two months, but some wonderful ones, I picked two this time, one really emotional and touching one and the other one is very entertaining, funny and brilliantly written:

The Life Intended – Kristin Harmel

The bit on the back:

After her husband's sudden death over ten years ago, Kate Westhoven never expected to be lucky enough to find another love of her life. But now she's planning her second walk down the aisle to a perfectly nice man. So why isn't she more excited?

At first, Kate blames her pre-wedding jitters on stress. But when she starts seeing Patrick, her late husband, in her dreams, she begins to wonder if she's really ready to move on. Is Patrick trying to tell her something about his death and is there a chance his nighttime visits could be more than just wishful thinking?

My opinion:

What a WONDERFUL book! This story is beautiful, poignant, heart breaking, wonderful, touching and so much more. The writing is brilliant, the characters are authentic and real and the scenes are so vivid and detailed. The story has a beautiful flow and it’s full of love and care. It’s thought provoking and gives a whole new light on life. I think the title is perfect; it fits the story in the most wonderful way.

Read my review here: Review - The Life Intended

Kristin on Twitter: @kristinharmel

Website: http://kristinharmel.com

The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance – Kirsty Greenwood

The bit on the back:

Jessica Beam is a girl who knows how to party. Only lately she's been forgetting to turn up for work on time. Or in clean clothes. Down on her luck, out of a job and homeless, Jess seeks the help of her long-lost grandmother.

Things aren't going well for Matilda Beam, either. Her 1950s Good Woman guide books are out of print, her mortgage repayments are staggering and her granddaughter wears neon Wonderbras!

When a lifeline from a London publisher arrives, the pair have an opportunity to secure the roof over their heads – by invigorating the Good Woman guides and transforming modern, rebellious Jess into a demure vintage lady.

The true test of their make-over will be to capture the heart of notorious London playboy Leo Frost and prove that Matilda’s guides still work. It's going to take commitment, nerves of steel and one seriously pointy bra to pull this off...

My opinion:

HILARIOUS, YOUNG, FRESH, EXCITING, VIVID...

Kirsty is a wonderful writer, who writes with passion and heart. The storyline has a beautiful flow and the scenes are vivid and detailed, I enjoyed every single second of this book! GRIPPING, FABULOUS AND AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

Read my review here: Review - The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance

Kirsty on Twitter: @KirstyBooks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KirstyGreenwoodBooks

http://www.novelicious.com

Monday, 30 March 2015

The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance – by Kirtsy Greenwood

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

Things aren't going well for Matilda Beam, either. Her 1950s Good Woman guide books are out of print, her mortgage repayments are staggering and her granddaughter wears neon Wonderbras!

My Opinion:

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

When this book arrived at my door I squealed with excitement!!! Beautifully rapped, a red lipstick and more… Thanks again Kirsty and Lucie Twiggs for sending me a copy.

The blurb of this book sounds awesome and it sure is, more than that actually!!! And the cover is just GENIOUS!

Jessica Beam is a blogger, she leaves with her boss, who is her best friend at the same time. The get invited to London and might get a book deal soon. At a bookish event in London everything goes wrong though. Jess makes a fool of herself and is mean to Leo Frost, the bachelor... Her best friend Summer gets so mad that she throws her out and fires her...

The only possibility now... Her grandma Matilda Beam, so Jess is off to London again. New opportunities open up for her and ger grandma and they start a project. Getting a man in 50ties style... And who is best victim? Leo Frost if course. He's Valentina's ex, the girl from the publishing agency. From Valentina Jess learns a lot about Summer and what that girl pulled, let's just say I hate Summer and I'm glad Jess didn't have anything to do with her anymore.

Jess changes her behavior, her hair and name to get to Leo Frost. She doesn't liek him at all, or better she thimks that. getting to know him better and in an emotional way, she suddenly sees a different side to him, she likes him. But she doesn't want to like him. Their scenes were fresh, flirty, fun and full of memorable moments.

She is nit the relationship type anyway, so she also has something going on with the sexy doctor from downstaurs, Jamie. Jamie has been great to her throughout the book, I liked him and I'm glad he is part of Jess' life.

She also gets to know Peach, she is Matilda's assisstant and is originally from America. The two of the, become friends and have a lot of fun together.

Jess' mum died when she was 18 years old and through living with her grandma, Jess discoversthe truth of her mother's past and more. It's shocking and puts a bad light on her grandma. DRAMA ;)

And let's not forget she is lying to Leo, what will come out of that?!

This wonderful book is full of drama, excitment, fun, flirting, passion and so much more. I loved following Jess' journey of finding what she really wants and being honest to herself. It's such a light hearted, sparkly and ... Read with a lot of spark, emotions and vivid scenes. Jess' world just sounds great and she is an awesome character to follow. Sometimes a bit unorganized and weird, but everything comes from the heart and makes you smile. I can't wait to read more if this series. Another thing I liked is the chapter beginnings, which vintage romance advice from Matilda and we also got to read part of Jess' mother's diary, which opened up a lot about her past. And you don't really know until the end, what was going to happen - which builds up the excitement ;)

Rating: