Book Review: Christmas at Holly Tree Cottage by Eliza J. Scott
I’m so incredibly happy to be welcoming Eliza J Scott back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Christmas at Holly Tree Cottage, the latest in the Life on the Moors series.
It’s Christmas time in Lytell Stangdale!
When Romy Stainthorpe sees Holly Tree Cottage staring back at her from the pages of a magazine, she’s sure it’s a sign. The quaint property is situated in Lytell Stangdale, a village in the heart of the North Yorkshire Moors. Her time there is steeped in happy memories of carefree days with the moorland wind blowing through her hair. And not just that, it’s where she had her first kiss and where she first fell in love.
It was her perfect place, where she felt most at home. Until her family’s hasty departure years twenty-one years earlier. Since that day, Romy has never been back, but the cottage has regularly crept into her thoughts. And now it’s available to rent for the festive season…
Could it be the perfect getaway Romy needs to get her life back on track, not to mention escape her friends’ well-meaning attempts at matchmaking since her divorce from Russ?
Local farmer, Finn Tindall is struggling to navigate the first Christmas since his ex-wife took herself and their sons to live in the US. He’s thrown himself into his work at Castlegate Farm and rarely ventures out, unable to face the pitying glances thrown his way. His only company is his loyal black Labrador Ted.
Convinced that fate is talking to her, Romy heads back to a snowy LytellStangdale. Once there, she’s thrilled to see the village is looking Christmas card-pretty and has embraced the festive period. The only place where there’s no Christmas cheer is Finn’s heart.
It doesn’t take long before Romy and Finn’s paths cross, setting long-hidden emotions stirring once more. Suddenly Christmas doesn’t seem so gloomy after all.
Could this be the exciting fresh start each of them deserves?
Will Finn and Romy decide their second chance at love is worth fighting for? Or will the obstacles put in their way make them think it’s time to say goodbye?
Why not take a trip to festive Lytell Stangdale where a warm welcome awaits and happy-ever-afters are guaranteed?
*****
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Book Review: Maddy’s Christmas Wedding by Rosie Green
I’m delighted to be welcoming Rosie Green back to Novel Kicks and the blog blitz for her book, Maddy’s Christmas Wedding, the latest in the Little Duck Pond series.
With the wedding of the year approaching, excitement is running high at the café! But there’s just one problem. Maddy is grappling with a secret.
Could it derail all of hers and Jack’s glorious plans for their big day? Will there actually be a wedding?
*****
Maddy is close to having the winter wedding she’s always dreamed of. Before marrying Jack, she and her friends head off to Lapland for her hen weekend. However, recent news has her keeping a secret. Is it big enough to stop the wedding and how long can Maddy keep it to herself?
I have read previous books in this series and loved them. I therefore jumped at the chance to be part of the one day blitz for Maddy’s Christmas Wedding, book 37 in the Little Duck Pond series. This, like many in the series can be read as a standalone.
by Book Review: Reach for the Stars by Maxine Morrey
I’m so pleased to be welcoming Maxine Morrey back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Reach for the Stars.
Felicity was never meant to end up with a money-pit farmhouse to renovate and a broken heart to heal…
But when Fliss attempts to drown the sorrow of seeing her ex-fiancé and his new wife’s magazine-worthy wedding all over social media, one rash decision loses her a job and gains her a doer-upper in the blink of an eye.
The only bright spot of living in the country is the very dishy and very handy loveliest-man-ever Jesse Woods. And when Fliss’s new roof has an ill-advised meeting with a tree in the middle of the night resulting in her literally seeing stars, there’s only one thing for it. She’s going to have to accept Jesse’s help and a place to stay.
City girl Fliss is at rock bottom but if anyone can teach her to turn her gaze from the gutter to the stars it’s Jesse Woods. She’s been burnt trusting men before, but Jesse may just be worth breaking her own rules for…
*****
Felicity not only has to deal with her ex’s wedding being everywhere, she also loses her job. Learning that alcohol and the Internet shouldn’t mix, she soon finds herself the owner of a renovation project. Is it too much or can Jessie help her?
I am a fan of Maxine’s novels and I was so pleased to be part of the blog tour her latest book, Reach For The Stars. It has a cute cover and I couldn’t wait to get started.
by Book Review: Starting Over at Starlight Cottage by Debbie Viggiano
I’m delighted to be welcoming Debbie Viggiano to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Starting Over at Starlight Cottage.
49-year-old Tilly Thomas would never have known any different if she hadn’t unexpectedly turned up at hubby Robin’s office to surprise him with an off-the-cuff evening at the theatre. Instead, the surprise is on Tilly when she interrupts Robin and his young PA in a compromising position.
Stumbling from the office, blinded by tears, Tilly thanks God she was never gifted the children she once craved and is spared explaining why Mummy and Daddy will now be living apart. Instead, Tilly has an adopted daughter – but this little girl has a wet nose and warm heart.
Mongrel Cindy is privy to all her mummy’s hopes and dreams as Tilly prepares to start over in the village of Starlight Croft. Thank goodness a dog can’t speak because Cindy knows things her mistress has never shared, including a secret that once broke Tilly’s heart.
As Tilly prepares to embrace an unknown future and make peace with her past, she discovers that sometimes difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations…
*****
Tilly is 49, works for an estate agent and believes she is happy…ish married. When she finds her husband with his assistant, she doesn’t know what to do. Then, she finds Starlight Cottage. However, has someone else got there first?
I believe this is the first novel I’ve read by this author. I loved the cover and the premise intrigued me a lot especially the fact that she had a dog by her side. Although my companions are feline rather than canine, I still related to Tilly in regard to talking to them and hearing replies back. Hahaha.
I couldn’t wait to get started.
by Book Extract: Casa Paradiso – 300 Years in the Life of a House by Francesca Scanacapra
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming Francesca Scanacapra back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Casa Paradiso – 300 Years in the Life of a House which is book four in the Paradiso series.
Lombardy, Northern Italy, 1637
Cristó Lovetta, a skilled stonemason, arrives in the rural village of Pieve Santa Clara to work on a nobleman’s house.
Haunted by a tragic past, Cristó wonders if he will ever find happiness again. However, as he immerses himself in his work, the warmth of the community and the beauty of the landscape convince him to begin a new life there.
Cristó designs and builds his own house, which he names Casa Paradiso. Over the centuries, Casa Paradiso becomes home to many generations, standing testament to lives beginning and ending, and witnessing the everyday challenges and triumphs of its inhabitants – from love lost and found, to the tragedies of war, the far-reaching consequences of political decisions made by powerful men and the evolving role of women in Italian society.
Casa Paradiso – the fourth instalment of the Paradiso Novels – is a shining, evocative saga spanning three hundred years in the life of a very special house, and a book that explores the enduring strength of the human spirit, contrasted with the transient nature of life itself.
Francesca has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy it.
*****beginning of extract*****
This is the start of the third story in the book, beginning in 1680. Carolina Lovetta has inherited Paradiso and the house’s colourful and rich history is being formed bit by bit, as fascination people visit this strong, independent woman in her home.
1680
CAROLINA LOVETTA
Casa Paradiso was a respectable establishment of excellent reputation, catering for select paying guests. It was both owned and run by Carolina Lovetta, now in the thirty-sixth year of her life. She was a woman of many talents – resourceful, industrious and highly-esteemed within the community.
Carolina had written signboards placed along the Via Postumia advertising rooms to let, which worked well to attract the right calibre of clientele, because only those who were able to read could follow them. Her lodgers included merchants, members of the clergy, men of law and men of letters, as well as a regular traffic of artisans, particularly those associated with the luthiery crafts. With Pieve Santa Clara being situated not quite twenty miles from Cremona – a city world-renowned for the manufacture of the finest stringed instruments – Casa Paradiso was perfectly positioned as a rest-stop. Even Maestro Antonio Stradivari himself, the most famed of Cremona’s violin-makers, had stayed with Carolina on numerous occasions. His employees and fellow luthiers were frequent guests, and Maestro Stradivari even recommended Casa Paradiso to his clients.
That crisp late autumn morning Carolina was seeing off Signor Zucca, a cordaro by profession, procurer and spinner of strings for musical instruments. He always overnighted at Casa Paradiso to rest both himself and his horses on his way to and from the sheep pastures of Colazzo. Sheep gut made for the most prized strings, not just for the bowed instruments, such as violins, violas and cellos; but also for lutes, guitars and mandolins, all of which were produced in Cremona.
by Book Club
