Book Review: The Scandalous Lady Mina By Lara Temple
I am very excited to be welcoming Lara Temple to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, The Scandalous Lady Mina.
A Victorian enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity romance
Lady Wilhelmina, once the darling of the ton, fled England in shame after jilting her fiancé. Following a decade in disgrace, Mina’s returning to Society’s ballrooms on a luxury steamship…and encounters her ex-fiancé’s distractingly handsome cousin, Max Cavendish—her once friend, now enemy!
Max’s guard is up, yet being in close quarters with Mina sparks a wave of dangerous attraction that makes him want to discover the truth behind the scandal. Wealthy engineer Max is used to being in command of his world and his emotions, but his complicated feelings for Mina are making him feel decidedly out of control…
*****
It is 1880. Mina is on her way back to London aboard the SS Aquitania. Having escaped scandal ten years before, the last thing she wanted to do was to see Max Cavendish again. Can they make it back to London in relative harmony, or will old emotions come to the surface?
I was delighted to be invited onto the blog tour for The Scandalous Lady Mina by Lara Temple. This book was my introduction to this author, but it’s not going to be the last book I read from her.
I’m not going to lie. I loved this book from beginning to end. It was entertaining, and isn’t that one of the best things you can get from reading a novel? There was a deliciousness to it. There were moments where I smiled, cheered, swore at some of the characters out loud and couldn’t wait to find out what happened whilst, at the same time, not wanting it to end. The plot is fun, flirty and full of little twists and turns. It was easy to fall into. I am hoping it’s not the last we see of these characters.
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Book Review: The Secret Dressmaker By Jenny O’Brien
I’m so excited to be welcoming Jenny O’Brien back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her new book, The Secret Dressmaker.
Shelves of sequins in a kaleidoscope of colours. Bolts of silk and tulle against the back wall. The sewing room was the last place anyone had seen her daughter alive.
Northern Ireland, 1942. Flora Toussaint packs parachutes for the RAF, haunted by the twin daughters she was forced to give up eighteen years ago. When British intelligence shows her photographs of her girls – now young women in occupied Paris – her world shifts. One is safe. One has vanished. And their father, the celebrated couturier Lucien Lumineau, is suspected of collaborating with the Nazis.
Flora agrees to a dangerous mission: parachute into France, pose as a seamstress at the Moulin Rouge, and uncover the truth. Lodging above a brothel where Edith Piaf sings after hours and where Pablo Picasso still holds court, she mends costumes between shows, searches for any trace of her missing daughter between curfews, and circles closer to Lucien.
But Lucien isn’t the man she remembers. Neither is their history. And what Flora discovers will unravel everything she thought she knew – about Lucien, about her daughters, and about the night she gave them away.
A sweeping tale of wartime Paris, family secrets and impossible choices. Fans of Kate Quinn, Pam Jenoff and Kristin Hannah will be mesmerised by The Secret Dressmaker.
*****
Flora Toussaint is haunted by the choices of a past where she was persuaded to give up her twin daughters eighteen years before. When a secret mission gives her the opportunity to go back to Paris, her focus is on finding her girls, even when her simple presence in the city puts her in danger.
Having loved the first book in this series, The Resistance Knitting Club, I couldn’t wait to get going on this one. I am a big fan of novels based on true events, and I’m always intrigued to see how the author builds the fiction around the fact. In my opinion, Jenny O’ Brien is a master at it.
by Book Review: If Could Be With You By M W Arnold
I am so happy to welcome M W Arnold back to Novel Kicks as we take part in the blog tour for If Could Be With You.
May 1944, it’s the build-up to D-Day, for which the girls of the Air Transport Auxiliary Mystery Club are busy delivering the aircraft sorely needed, and the search goes on for a Nazi spy, who has information which cannot be allowed to get into the enemies hands.
For one of the girls, her husband in badly burned after his Mosquito is shot down, bringing the war closer to home than it’s ever been before.
With danger at every corner, the girls unbreakable bond is put to the test like never before. Through it all, they stand firm, taking all the war can throw at them, before daring it to try again.
*****
The girls of the ATA are back, and they have new challenges to face. When two of the girls hear devastating news, one is fighting old memories, and the hunt for a Nazi spy intensifies, the gang must pull together as D-Day approaches.
Oh, it’s so good to be back with the girls of the Air Transport Auxiliary Mystery Club. I know I have said this before in other reviews from this series, but it really is like going back to visit old friends and being welcomed with open arms. It’s for this reason that I always jump at the chance to join the blog tours for the Broken Wings series and why I couldn’t wait to get started – and it’s a chance to welcome Mick Arnold back to Novel Kicks too.
by Book Review: Escape to the Turquoise Seas By Carrie Walker
Is there a better way to kick off a new week than by welcoming Carrie Walker to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, Escape to the Turquoise Seas? No, I don’t think there is either.
Kat Brennan has always been the work-hard, play-harder type, navigating single life in London and the chaos of her job at Northstar PR. So when Excalibur Cruises invite her aboard to pitch for their account, she jumps at the chance to prove to her boss she’s indispensable… and to finally relax a little.
But the last person she wants to get stuck on a boat with is industry hotshot Leo Kendrick, the CEO of rival agency Amplify – and Kat’s nemesis. When Leo bagged a coveted marketing internship 15 years ago, Kat vowed never to let him win anything again. She is not about to break that promise, even if Leo has become a distractingly attractive opponent.
As the Esmerelda sails the seas, from the Azores to Lisbon via Madeira, the two agencies must battle it out to present the best pitch. But in such close quarters, the sea might not be the only thing rocking the boat…
PERFECT for fans of:
Forced proximity
Enemies-to-lovers
Workplace romance
A dash of spice
Beachy destinations
*****
Kat has always loved her life. She’s living in London, working at Northstar PR and doesn’t necessarily mind that she’s single. However, when she hears that her biggest account, Excalibur Cruises, are considering another agency, she and her colleague, Heidi, go into crisis mode. They agree to go on a cruise in order to know the product they are pitching for. What Kat doesn’t count on is seeing her PR nemesis, Leo, who also happens to be on the cruise. Can Kat and Leo bury the hatchet, or will there be trouble at sea?
I have been a fan of Carrie Walker since reading the previous novel in this series, Escape To The Northern Lights. Don’t worry. You can read Escape to the Turquoise Seas as a standalone. I couldn’t wait to get started on the latest instalment in the Holiday Romance series and was honoured to be part of its blog tour.
by Book Review & Giveaway: Secrets of the Italian Guesthouse By Sue Moorcroft
We are so pleased to be welcoming Sue Moorcroft back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her new book, Secrets of the Italian Guesthouse.
Two sisters she’s never met
A first love who’s impossible to forget…
For Jade, life in Lake Como is la dolce vita. Until her beloved grandmother passes, leaving Jade not just the family’s bustling guesthouse to run, but two life-changing secrets to confront…
The pensione hasn’t just been left to Jade, it’s also been inherited by her sisters – who she had no idea existed. As Erin and Rosalie arrive in Italy, Jade is forced to face the heart-wrenching prospect of sharing her last remaining tie to the woman who raised her.
Jade is desperately trying to hold on to the past, but there’s one person she would prefer to leave firmly behind: her first love, Leo. He’s back in the city that is filled with the memories they once made together. But as Jade fights to take control of her future and her heart, why do all cobbled roads lead back to Leo?
Lose yourself in the first, utterly romantic novel in a brand-new trilogy, filled with new beginnings and second chances. Perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan and Milly Johnson.
*****
Well, here we are on a new book blog tour for the wonderful Sue Moorcroft on this, the first of a new trilogy for her new publisher.
I’m so happy that she’s taken us back to Italy and to another location that I now, of course, want to go to more than I can explain. Welcome to Jade’s home in Lake Como! Right, quick synopsis, without giving too many things away – Jade’s life is pretty perfect, running a beautiful, cosy hotel that she inherited from her grandmother, albeit whilst missing her desperately. Her life is thrown by not only the reappearance of the man who chose work over love, but by the sudden appearance into her life of two half-sisters she had no previous knowledge of. To make matters worse, her grandmother left the hotel to all three sisters equally.
by Book Club
