Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer E Smith*

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it. 

This book has been on my TBR for a while and with a long-haul flight coming up I decided to save it to read on the plane. I know, I'm too cool for school, right?

Review: Love Me or Leave Me - Claudia Carroll*

‘Welcome to the Hope Street Hotel – where you check in married, and check out single.’ 

Two years ago Chloe Townsend was dumped at the altar and had to leave behind everything that mattered to her. Even now she’s finding it hard to move forward. That is until she lands an incredible job, running a brand new boutique hotel. Suddenly she’s starting to put her life back together, and, apart from the fact that her hard-to-please new boss is breathing down her neck, things are looking good. 

But what goes on in the Hope Street Hotel is a far cry from anything she’s ever dealt with before. This is a pioneering ‘divorce hotel’ designed to make every aspect of breaking up efficient and pain-free. In one single weekend, Chloe’s team promises to take care of everything – legal, technical, emotional – and guests check out carefree and single. 

No one is better qualified than Chloe to understand what couples need when their relationship is at breaking point, but she soon finds herself having to tackle the heartbreak she’s tried to bury. In particular three couples need her help – Jo and Dave, Lucy and Andrew, and Kirk and Dawn – and the opening weekend is full of revelation, trouble, memories happy and sad, facts that need facing, and some very big surprises. 

It’s time to move on. And it soon becomes clear that some endings are, in fact, very exciting new beginnings …

How do these brilliant authors keep escaping me? I don't know either, but you can be assured that I'm very excited about reading the rest of Carroll's books.

Review: Trapped at the Altar - Jane Feather*

Headstrong Ariadne Daunt is convinced she loves handsome Gabriel Fawcett, but her grandfather has other plans for her. He decrees that she marry Ivor Chalfont, thus forging a powerful alliance between the two warring families who share ownership of their valley. Given no time to plot an escape, Ari finds herself standing reluctantly at the altar, swearing to honor and obey a man who is not her choice. 

Ivor has treasured Ari as a friend ever since he was brought to the valley as a child, but now he feels a man's desires. He longs to take the beautiful young woman to his bed and make their marriage more than an empty vow. Ari may believe she loves another man, but Ivor believes otherwise—and he will not rest until he gains her heart, her trust . . . and her passion.

On reading the synopsis for Trapped at the Altar I couldn't wait to get stuck into the book. I love the friends to lovers trope and the fact that Feather's novel is set in the not often featured 1600s really piqued by interest.

Spotlight: All Souls Trilogy - Deborah Harkness*

A Discovery of Witches* - 

In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and the descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont.  

Shadow of Night* -

Shortly after Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont timewalk to London, 1590, they discover that the past may not provide a safe haven after all. Reclaiming his former identity as poet and spy Matthew Roydon, the vampire falls back in step with a group of radicals known as the School of Night who share dangerous ideas about God, science, and man. Many of his friends are unruly daemonsn - the creative minds of the age who walk the fine line between genius and madness - including playwright Christopher Marlowe and mathematician Thomas Harriot. Matthew, himself, is expected to continue to spy for Queen Elizabeth, which puts him in close contact with London's cutthroat underworld. 
Together, Matthew and Diana scour the bookstalls and alchemical laboratories of London where they follow the elusive trail of Ashmole 782 - and search for the witch who will teach Diana to control her powers. 

The Book of Life -

After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

The last in Harkness' best selling All Souls trilogy, The Book of Life, was released last week and having devoured them all I thought I should share my love for the series with you.

Review: Rogue with a Brogue - Suzanne Enoch*

A Rogue For Every Lady
London, 1817: Stuck in a Mayfair ballroom, thanks to his lovestruck brother, Highlander Arran MacLawry wants nothing but a bit of distraction from an arranged betrothal—and a clever auburn-haired lass in a vixen's mask promises just that . . . until he discovers that she's the granddaughter of the Campbell, chief of clan MacLawry's longtime rival. Despite their families' grudging truce, falling for fiery Mary Campbell is a notion too outlandish even for this Highlander…
The Thrill Of The Forbidden
Raised on tales of savage MacLawrys, Mary is stunned to realize the impressively strapping man in the fox's mask is one of them. Surely the enemy shouldn't have such a broad chest, and such a seductive brogue? Not that her curiosity matters—any dalliance between them is strictly forbidden, and she's promised to another. But with the crackling spark between them ready to catch flame, love is worth every risk…

It wasn't until starting Rogue with a Brogue that I realised how long it's been since I've read a historical romance, and boy am I glad that I started again.

Review: The Country Escape - Fiona Walker*

Hidden amid lush Herefordshire parkland, Eardisford is the ultimate English country retreat and it's just been sold for the first time in its history. Romantic daredevil Kat Mason has been bequeathed the estate's lakeside sanctuary, Lake Farm, until she dies or marries. But the new owners want her out now . . .  

In rides charming playboy Dougie Everett, the man hired to sweep Kat off her feet and off the property. Although pursuing the Hollywood dream has not been all he'd hoped, Dougie loves nothing more than the thrill of the chase, but does he risk losing his heart along the way?

Anyone who's been reading my blog for a while will know that Fiona Walker was one of the first romance authors I read and her books hold a special place in my heart (if you missed this you can read those posts here and here). You can imagine my excitement when I received an advanced copy of Walker's latest.

Review: Thirteen Weddings - Paige Toon*

Last year, Bronte left Sydney for a wedding in England, where she met newly single Alex. After a night of passion they parted ways, and Bronte returned to Australia.

Now working on a picture desk for a magazine in London, Bronte is about to meet her new colleague, who turns out to be all too familiar. Although awkward at first, as Alex is now engaged to the girl he was on a break from when they met, they soon become friends.

But as the two get closer, and the wedding day looms, it is clear that Alex and Bronte have unfinished business

I read Thirteen Weddings when it came out back in May, May! and yet I've never seemed to get round to talking about it and how much I love it. I feel very Austen-esque, maybe if I loved it less I could talk about it more.

Review: The Wrong Knickers: a decade of chaos - Bryony Gordon*

For years, women have been told that their twenties are their golden years, filled with fun, parties, sex and glamour. Countless TV shows and movies tell us the same story: this is your perfect decade - don't waste it! You'll never be so happy - or thin - again. 

Here, in her hilariously honest memoir, Bryony Gordon gives us a fresh perspective. Like Carrie Bradshaw, she may have had a column in a national newspaper, but her twenties weren't one long episode of Sex and the City, instead they were a decade of hangovers, heartbreak, and hideously awkward mornings-after, all over her overdraft limit.

Something a bit different on the blog today with a review of a memoir from Bryony Gordon,  a coloumnist for The Telegraph and one of the paper's best loved writers. As I'm sure we'll soon be hearing from everyone, Gordon has produced the Bridget Jones for the noughties with the added bonus that it is all hilariously true.

Review: Once Upon a Kiss (Book Club Belles Society #1)- Jayne Fresina*

These Book Club Belles are ready to put down their novels and find some real-life leading men!

In the sleepy village of Hawcombe Prior, five young ladies of the local book society are reading a salacious romance called Pride and Prejudice. Upon finishing the book, the ladies race to find their own Mr. Darcy, and the handsome, mysterious Darius Wainwright is the perfect mark. 

Justina Penny can't understand why her fellow Belles are starry-eyed in the newcomer's arrogant presence. But if the town's only eligible bachelor marries anyone, it should be her sweet, beautiful sister. And it's up to Justina to make it happen. How could this plan possibly go wrong?

How has it been so long since I've read a historical romance? I know, I know, it's terrible. But you'll be pleased to hear that I've put an end to this drought and have read and reviewed the first in a wonderful new series from Jayne Fresina.

The Troublemaker Next Door (the MacCauley Brothers #1) - Marie Harte*

Flynn McCauley never thought he’d be so cliché as to fall for the girl next door. But when Maddie calls him over to help fix her faulty sink, he’s a goner. Too bad the fiercely independent interior designer wants nothing to do with him. Even worse, he’s forced to rely on the advice of his nosy brothers—and his five-year-old nephew!—to figure out how to make her give him a shot.

It feels like a long time since I've been introduced to a new contemporary romance author and I can't think of a better addition to my digital shelves than Marie Harte. Having never read any of Harte's books before I wasn't hundred percent sure what to expect, what I got was an enjoyable erotic romance.

Review: Nobody (Men of the White Sandy #3) - Sarah M. Anderson*

Nobody Bodine came from a nobody and will always be a nobody. He can disappear into the shadows—no one can see him if he doesn’t want them to. He exists on the edge, in neither the white man’s world nor the tribe’s, dispensing vigilante justice when he sees fit. There’s no other place for a man like him in this world. 

Until Melinda Mitchell shows up on the rez. From the first moment he lays eyes on her, he can tell there’s something different about her. For starters, she’s not afraid of him. She asks where his scars came from, and why he has so many. But more than that, she sees him. For the first time in his life, Nobody feels like a somebody in her eyes.

Melinda has come west to run the new day care on the White Sandy Reservation. She’s intrigued by this strange man and his tattered skin, and when she discovers that he’s a self-appointed guardian angel for the boy in her care, she realizes that there’s more to Nobody than meets the eyes. But how far will he go to keep the boy safe? And will she be able to draw him into the light?

If you follow me on twitter you'll know that recently I've been going through deadline hell so I haven't had much time for reading or reviewing, and then I moved! I was worried for a while that I'd never be able to read again.

Anyway, what you might now know is that Nobody was the best companion through this deadline hell. I was only able to read the book in little snippets here and there and it took me a whole two weeks to finish the book, but I looked forward to each five minute snippet that I grabbed.

Review: The Geography of You and Me - Jennifer E. Smith*

Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and -- finally -- a reunion in the city where they first met. 

A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith's new novel shows that the center of the world isn't necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.

At the moment I am really enjoying the YA scene which, I've said before and I'll say again, is going from strength to strength of late and is becoming increasingly prominent in the book world. Jennifer E. Smith is a new author to me and having adored this, her latest novel, her previous books are going straight onto my somewhat bulging TBR (to be read) pile.

Review: Animal Attraction (Animal Magnetism #2) - Jill Shalvis*

She’s tempting his basic instincts…

Sunshine, Idaho, is a quiet ranching town, a perfect place to give injured animals a refuge…or to find one yourself. Veterinarian Dell Connelly suspects there’s a reason his clinic’s uber-efficient receptionist has taken shelter here.

Jade Bennett couldn’t be happier to escape the big-city jungle to work with hurt animals, and have a forlorn stray kitten make its home under her desk…or enjoy the gorgeous views of her ruggedly sexy boss.

Jade is used to planning everything in her life, but Dell’s seductive, alluring ways have sparked an uncontrollable desire. And though Dell has never had time for love, Jade’s strength and sass is the kind of call no red-blooded male can resist…

Last month I reviewed the first in the Animal Magnetism series by Shalvis and since then I've been off devouring them all and I have to say I am loving this series. Shalvis is quickly becoming one of my go to authors for a quick, heart-warming romance with added steam and emotion.

Bargain Read: If I Could Turn Back Time - Nicola Doherty*

What if you found The One, then lost him again? 

Or not so much lost him as became the neurotic, needy girlfriend from hell. The girl who tried to make him choose between her and his job, and got seriously paranoid about his relationship with his best female friend... 

Zoe knows she doesn't deserve another chance with David. But if there's the tiniest possibility of making things right, she'll snatch it. Even if it means breaking the laws of physics to do so...

Is it just me who wishes that authors would stop using titles similar to popular songs? I haven't been able to get If I Could Turn Back Time out of my head all week and I think my sister has had enough of my Cher impressions.

Review: Run to You - Rachel Gibson*

Ex-marine Beau Junger likes fast cars and loud music. His body is covered in tattoos and makes girls go weak at the knees. But Beau's not interested in love this year: No women. No sex. No complications. His only worry is saving Stella Leon.

Stella doesn't need saving. She's always been independent, confident, strong. At least on the outside. And she definitely doesn't need a man. After all, she's never known one she could depend on.

But when Beau turns up and spirits her across state to meet her estranged sister, everything changes. They've both got their demons to face, but as the southern heat brings tensions sizzling to the surface, something sparks between them. This tough guy has finally met his match - and they're both about to fall harder than a ton of red-hot bricks...

Rachel Gibson is one of my go to authors as she always guarantees a fun and romantic read and Run to You is no different.

Mini-view: Animal Magnetism (Animal Magnetism #1) - Jill Shalvis*

Co-owner of the town's only kennel, Lilah Young has lived in Sunshine, Idaho, all her life. Pilot-for-hire Brady Miller is just passing through. But he soon has Lilah abandoning her instincts and giving in to a primal desire.

It's Brady's nature to resist being tied down, but there's something about Lilah and her menagerie that keeps him coming back for more.

I seem to have been on a bit of a Jill Shalvis splurge of late and I have to say I've been loving it! Animal Magnetism is the first in another astoundingly successful series of Shalvis's and, I believe, new to paperback in the UK.

Review: The Bride Insists - Jane Ashford*

When governess Clare Greenough learns she's inherited a fortune, the good news comes with a catch: it will be held by her cousin until Clare can find a husband. 

To stave off ruin, Jamie Boleigh, the seventh Baron of Trehearth, agrees to marry Clare under the condition that she keeps the money, a provision he hopes to overturn. Their passionate relationship becomes a battle of wills. 

When the cousin tricks Jamie into betraying his wife, he'll have to prove the truth or lose her forever.

Recently I've been craving a good historical romance to offset all this contemporary romance I've been reading. I needed some rich and sumptuous dresses and a man in breeches to lighten up my life, but don't we all?