The Vineyard - by Karen Aldous + GIVEAWAY

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

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Please click here to read Chapter One

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

Karen Aldous Amazon Author Page

KarenAldousWebsite

Goodreads

KarenTwitter

KarenAldousFacebook

GIVEAWAY

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Q&A with Georgina Penney

About The Author: Georgina Penney has lived all over the world including Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and presently, Brunei Darussalam. She shares a jungle stilt house with her wonderful husband and opinionated cat and spends her days writing emotional, humorous novels featuring heroines who tackle life head on. 

Interview

1.   Did you always dream of being a writer?

I did! Well actually I think I dreamed about being a girl detective, a cowboy and maybe superman but with boobs (I liked his costume better than I liked Wonder Woman’s). But when I really think of it, I wanted to be able to write all along.

2.   Can you tell us more about your novel Irrepressible You?

It’s about Amy Blaine, a lady barber with a penchant for pin up clothes who runs into Ben, a charming British satirist who’s spent his entire life pulling the piss out of people for a living.

Ben falls head over heels for Amy and writes column after newspaper column about her, not realising that she might not be as happy with his brand of comedy as all of his previous girlfriends. High jinx ensue;)

There’s also an outhouse named Harvey and a narcoleptic bulldog called Gerald thrown in the mix as well. When the book first came out, I couldn’t believe how much people loved Gerald! All he does is drool and sleep!

3.   Your next book Unforgettable You is coming out soon, what is it about?

I’m so chuffed to be able to say that it’s been unleashed on the public. It’s actually a prequel to Irrepressible You and features the story of Amy Blaine’s sister, Jo.

Jo’s a kickass lady who works as an engineer on oilrigs and one day she comes home to find a naked man in her bed and learns that Stephen Hardy, her childhood crush is now living in her house. As Stephen was one of the reasons Jo had to run away from home as a kid, she’s not too happy... at first;)

4.   You also have a blog, what do you blog about?

I have two blogs. One is called Steamy Puddings which is all about my love of all things slightly dodgy in romance. I feature book reviews, information for other authors, topical rants and try to share a little of what it’s like to be a romance writer living in the middle of Borneo with my readers.

My second blog, Naughty Ninjas.net is one big site devoted to all things hilarious in romance and I run it with a bunch of other awesome author broads. It’s a little hard to describe it all, so it’s probably best to just check it out, particularly Lady Fluffy Beaver’s Advice Column For Discerning Lady Ninjas.

5.   What are you working on right now?

Lots! I have one more release this year, All or Nothing, and another five books in various stages of drafting. It’s a little crazy.

6.   Why do you like the romance genre so much?

It honestly saved my life. Not to get too dreary but I grew up in a pretty intense household and if it hadn’t been for a lady from my church giving me my first bodice ripper at age eleven, I wouldn’t have had a mental or emotional escape from all the craziness around me. I love the strong heroines, I love a good hero who’s a bit of a bastard but grovels in the end and I adore the happy ever afters.

7.   Where and when do you write your stories?

If you can imagine Gollum from Lord Of The Rings in his cave, yeah... that’s me. When I’m writing a story, it’s full time. I pretty much lock myself down in my study every day for up to seven weeks and bang out a first draft. I have two massive whiteboards behind my desk where I record all my ideas as I go and usually there’s a lot of swearing on them by the end of it!

8.   What do you do and enjoy when you’re not writing?

I travel a lot. I currently live in a very religiously conservative country so I try to get out as much as I can. I also love reading, talking with friends (I could talk the backside of a seated elephant... seriously). I love cooking as long as there’s great conversation and wine involved... and eating... eating good food with friends is possibly one of the best things in the world.

9.   Who is your favourite author and why?

Gah! Such a hard question. Okay if I’m going with my absolute all time, universal bestest favourite, I’d have to go Susan Elizabeth Phillips. She’s one of the most amazing writers and every time I read her I learn a little more about writing technique and how to get some awesome characters onto the page.

10.                 If you were shipwrecked on a desert island what 3 books would you want with you?

Another super hard questions... hmm... Kiss and Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantell aaaaannnnd, something by P.G. Wodehouse... maybe A Pelican At Blandings.

11.                 How would you describe your style of writing?

Swearing, wine guzzling, neurotic joy. Well, that’s only in the evenings. During the day I’m a respectable tea drinking broad who just tries to get in her wordcount without getting too distracted by weird stuff on YouTube.

12.                 You lived in a lot of places already, like Australia or Saudi Arabia. Can you tell us a little more about living in these countries?

I was born in outback Australia and I’ve lived in a crazy number of places. Saudi was a total learning curve but I made some of the best friends I could ever wish for there and found the inspiration for a novel that will be coming out next year. I think the main thing that came out of living in all the places I’ve been, including Brunei where I am now, is a whole lot of fabulous stories. For example I saw a construction worker walking down the side of the road here the other day with a water monitor (looks a bit like a komodo dragon) strutting along behind him like it was a pet. There’s always something going on.

13.                 You got a Communication and Cultural Studies degree, you study Psychotherapy and learn all about Hypnotherapy. What do these subjects include?

When you get down to it they’re all about people, how they behave towards each other, how they communicate, how they conflict. That’s what drew me to them and they’ve proven really useful in my writing when it comes to characterization I think. (I hope!)

14.                 If you could change something about your life, what would you change?

I would... you know what, I don’t think I’d change anything. Can I change something about the world? I’d love it if people took themselves a whole lot less seriously. That’d probably fix most if not all the problems in my life and a lot of other people’s.

15.                 I read that you also paint, do you do it regularly?

I used to paint a lot. I love pastels and acrylics. I used to do a lot of portraiture but it’s hard to get the painting supplies here in Brunei. Maybe I’ll pick it up the next place I go.

16.                 Coffee or tea?

Tea.

17.                 Paperback or e-reader?

I buy almost all my books on e-reader and then buy the ones I love in paperback.

18.                 Mountains or the sea?

Can I go with both? If I had to choose, probably mountains.

19.                 Summer or winter?

Another really hard one! There aren’t really any seasons where I currently live past wet and dry. Can I go I love Australian winters and English summers?

20.                 Sweet or salty?

Definitely salty