Mick Arnold

Mick reviews books and will also be chatting about his experience as a male author in the romantic genre. Mick is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association, New Writers Scheme. He lives in Northamptonshire and is the proud keeper of two cats, Gus and Elphaba. When he’s not trying to write books, Mick has a deep-seated love of reading that he’s brought from his teens to the current day with no signs of waning. He’s also mad on the music of the Beach Boys and enjoys the theatre and humouring his Manchester United supporting wife. Mick can be followed on Twitter: @mick859

Book Review: A Christmas Gift by Sue Moorcroft

Published November 1, 2018 | By Mick Arnold

A big lovely welcome back to Sue Moorcroft. We are very happy to be the first stop on blog tour for her new novel, A Christmas Gift which has been released today by Avon.

Georgine loves Christmas. The festive season always brings the little village of Middledip to life. But since her ex-boyfriend walked out, leaving her with crippling debts, Georgine’s struggled to make ends meet.

To keep her mind off her worries, she throws herself into organising the Christmas show at the local school. And when handsome Joe Blackthorn becomes her assistant, Georgine’s grateful for the help. But there’s something about Joe she can’t quite put her finger on. Could there be more to him than meets the eye?

Georgine’s past is going to catch up with her in ways she never expected. But can the help of friends new and old make this a Christmas to remember after all?

Welcome to a Middledip Christmas! Yes, it’s ‘that’ time of year again and we can rejoice with the release of the latest novel from Amazon and Sunday Times best-selling author, Sue Moorcroft. And, even better, for long-standing fans, she’s taken us back to Middledip! Don’t worry if you’re new to reading this author, by the time you’ve finished reading this book, you’ll be dying to check her back catalogue to discover more of this enchanting village she has created.

So, what do we have here? Well, I’ll start by stating that you won’t get too much about the story itself from me, as I don’t believe in giving too much away (you’ll find that on other reviews), I prefer to concentrate on other things.

A wee snippet of story – Georgine France isn’t having the best of times since her boyfriend walked out on her, leaving her to deal with his debts, and when her sister comes to stay after splitting with her husband for reasons she doesn’t quite reveal, the prospect of producing the Christmas Play for the Performing Arts College she works for, suddenly turns into more work than she’d like. Throw in a blast from the past in the form of the enigmatic Joe Blackthorn, who has more than a few secrets of his own to sort through and you’ve got the enthralling tale of the year!

Sue is a (and I hope she’ll pardon me the choice of word) mistress of emotion, and she takes us through the wringer here, to be sure (Georgine’s father is not in the best of health either). All the main characters are beautifully rounded and, as is always the case with Sue’s novels, she has some of the best secondary characters that could be written. I always feel like I’ve been introduced to a new family by the time I’ve finished reading a Sue Moorcroft story, and that is just the same here.

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Mick’s Musings: A Catch-Up

Published October 2, 2018 | By Mick Arnold

I shall start by saying, sorry; then sorry; then sorry again. Sorry for not having written for a long, long time. I’ll start by explaining, a little, why that’s been the case.

Just after last New Year, I fell ill, and fell hard. I’m still trying to recover and there’s no date when I can think that will be the case yet. Because of this, I’ve hardly done any writing, though I’ve been advised by my many author friends that if I can, this would be a helpful thing…I’ll see what I can do and you’ll find out the results here. I’ll really try to make that before too long.

So, what have I been doing these long months? And they have been long, believe me. I don’t think I’d have made it this far without all the kind thoughts and support that I’ve had from too many individuals to thank here. Hopefully though, you’ll know who you are, but again, you don’t know how much you’ve all meant to me.

Basically, I’ve been doing a lot of reading, and I mean a lot, though not doing as many reviews as perhaps I should. I’ve seen a few movies too, not anything heavy as I can’t take that right now. I’ve watched the entire series of Star Trek Enterprise and found it was much better than I remembered. So there’s a recommendation for you.

I’ve watched as friends of mine from the Romantic Novelist’s Association have gained their first contracts and releases as well, and I couldn’t be happier for them. You’ll have to forgive my memory as I can’t remember you all, but a shout out to you: Tora Williams for ‘Bound to Her Blood Enemy’. Also a forthcoming Christmas novella, ‘The Gift of Time’.

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Book Review: Spring on the Little Cornish Isles: The Flower Farm by Phillipa Ashley

Published May 4, 2018 | By Mick Arnold

Jess has lived at the idyllic flower farm on the Isles of Scilly her whole life, but when her boyfriend Adam leaves without explanation, Jess discovers that even her little slice of Cornish heaven can be lonely.

For the first time in Will’s life, he’s met someone he can’t stop thinking about. But nothing is simple when the woman of your dreams is working for you.

Gaby is running away from painful memories, and where could be more perfect than a remote island off the Cornish coast? But to put the past behind her, she must keep moving … however much she might want to stay.

Here we are with the second book of Phillipa Ashley’s second series to be set around Cornwall, in this case, we are based on the Scilly Isles, the Cornish Isles of the title. For this title, we focus on Jess and Will who run the Flower Farm of the title. Twins whom we met in Book 1, both were obligated to give up growing up dreams when their father ran off and so have made the best of the situation to run a very successful business. Despite the normal sibling arguments, both are devoted to the farm and each other.

Basic rundown – Jess is dumped by Adam, the man she hoped to marry whilst Will’s world is turned upside down by the arrival from the mainland of a whirling dervish of a lady, Gaby, who is hiding demons in her own life she’s trying to work through, that he fights so hard to resist. The path of true love can never run smooth in stories (or they’d be very short), such is the case here as we follow the twins fencing with their prospective partners, with Jess being wooed by a visiting businessman. Characters from the first book in the series, especially Jess’ best friend Maisie crop up through this story, nicely linking the series.

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Book Review: The House of Hopes and Dreams by Trisha Ashley

Published March 18, 2018 | By Mick Arnold

It’s Sunday. It’s snowing. Therefore it’s the perfect time to snuggle up with a Trisha Ashley novel and it’s lovely to welcome Trisha and the blog tour for her latest book, The House of Hopes and Dreams to Novel Kicks today.

When Carey Revell unexpectedly becomes the heir to Mossby, his family’s ancestral home, it’s rather a mixed blessing. The house is large but rundown and comes with a pair of resentful relatives who can’t be asked to leave.
Still, newly dumped by his girlfriend and also from his job as a TV interior designer, Carey needs somewhere to lick his wounds. And Mossby would be perfect for a renovation show. He already knows someone who could restore the stained glass windows in the older part of the house…

Angel Arrowsmith has spent the last ten years happily working and living with her artist mentor and partner. But suddenly bereaved, she finds herself heartbroken, without a home or a livelihood. Life will never be the same again – until old friend Carey Revell comes to the rescue.

They move in to Mossby with high hopes. But the house has a secret at its heart: an old legend concerning one of the famous windows. Will all their dreams for happiness be shattered? Or can Carey and Angel find a way to make this house a home?

As a long time follower of Trisha’s novels, I was delighted to receive a copy of her new novel from the publisher. I had intended taking my time, rationing myself, savouring each page so the experience would take a week or so, so much for good intentions as I started this on a Friday and was finished on Sunday evening.

What to tell you about the story? Well, as little as I can get away with, as I don’t like giving away too much.

Angel Arrowsmith’s life is thrown into confusion by the sudden death of her partner, causing her to lose her home and livelihood. Her best friend Carey Revell is recovering from a bad accident that lost him his job when he is bequeathed a slightly run down ancestral home.

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Book Review: The Little Village Christmas by Sue Moorcroft

Published October 30, 2017 | By Mick Arnold

Welcoming Sue Moorcroft back to Novel Kicks is a lovely way to kick off a Monday morning. She’s here with the blog tour for her latest novel, The Little Village Christmas which has recently been released by Avon digitally with the paperback release following at the beginning of November.

Alexia Kennedy – interior decorator extraordinaire – has been tasked with giving the little village of Middledip the community café it’s always dreamed of.

After months of fundraising, the villagers can’t wait to see work get started – but disaster strikes when every last penny is stolen. With Middledip up in arms at how this could have happened, Alexia feels ready to admit defeat.

But help comes in an unlikely form when woodsman, Ben Hardaker and his rescue owl Barney, arrive on the scene. Another lost soul who’s hit rock bottom, Ben and Alexia make an unlikely partnership.

However, they soon realise that a little sprinkling of Christmas magic might just help to bring this village – and their lives – together again…

Christmas wouldn’t feel like Christmas, even in October, if there wasn’t a new Sue Moorcroft novel to enjoy – I was not disappointed.

Will that do? It should suffice as the line above should be all you need to know, assuming you’re familiar with the stories of Ms Moorcroft. If you’re not, then read on, but by the time you get to the end of this review and have then purchased the book, savoured the beautiful front cover and finally sat down to read said story, I’m certain you’ll be in agreement with my succinct review above.

Still not convinced? Very well, but be warned, if you want a more complete story outline, I suggest you go elsewhere. That’s not my style. I tend to give a brief overview of what happens, and concentrate on the writing style and characterisation, plus a small deal of procrastination thrown in for you fellow writers out there.

So, who do we have here? Our main characters are Alexia, an Interior Decorator who’s taking on one final project in her home village of Middledip (hurrah!) before, she hopes leaving for bigger things in London. However, as they do, the best laid plans fall apart when conmen steal all that’s worth stealing from The Angel Community Cafe she’s thrown into a steamy relationship with Ben, relatively new to the village who’d previously kept to himself for reasons that become clearer as the story progresses, that flounders and very nearly burns before it’s had time to get started.

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