Tag: romance

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Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog My Greek Island Christmas (Holiday Reading Selection) by Effrosyni Moschoudi (@FrostieMoss)

Hi, all:

I bring you a very seasonal novel, one I’ve picked up from Rosie’s book review team list, although I have read and enjoyed other books by the same author before.

Oh, and I’m adding some links at the end of the post so you can see some of the things Sants 3 Ràdio (the local radio station where I volunteer) and I have been busy with over the holidays.

My Greek Island Christmas by Effrosyni Moschoudi


My Greek Island Christmas (Holiday Reading Selection) by Effrosyni Moschoudi

Two die-hard cynics when it comes to love meet on a small family farm on the alluring Greek island of Santorini, and the magic of Christmas goes to work.

Cathy Roussos, a Greek-American single mom, swore off love many years ago after a painful breakup. Her nine-year-old son, the energetic but rather shy Leo, is everything she lives for. When she takes a temp job as a housekeeper for the Christmas season at a small family farm on the island of Santorini, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with the standoffish son of the owner.

Alex Rallis, a veterinarian living in Athens, is a sworn bachelor. As Christmas draws near, he is offered an ideal job abroad. Before taking it, he has to sell the family farm in Santorini and find a new place for his elderly father. The last place Alex wants to be at Christmas is the farm that holds painful memories, but he can’t avoid it. His father will only agree to sell the farm and move out if Alex spends one last Christmas with him there. It seems the old man has a ploy in mind, and a string of adorable locals have their parts to play, too. Next thing you know, Christmas cheer is shared all around, old sad tales are retold in different ways, and romantic love swirls through the air deliciously, like the aromatic steam of hot chocolate.

Can these two wounded souls find happiness together? They say Christmas holds its own magic, and Santorini can be just as enchanting. Even in the midst of winter, its allure remains—enough to give anyone a chance to heal and open up their heart.

About the author

Effrosyni Moschoudi was born and raised in Athens, Greece. She writes books for the romantic at heart, and for all readers around the world, who love her country and its vast culture.

Her stories are set in alluring locations around Greece and tend to feature supernatural creatures such as angels, ghosts or witches, as she believes our world is magical and not as mundane as we think.

She writes clean and sweet romances that are peppered with humour and a touch of family drama, offering the reader an emotional rollercoaster ride with perfect happily-ever-after endings.

Effrosyni lives in a quaint seaside town near Athens with a British husband, two mischievous cats, and a vast collection of books. Her little town is heavenly enough, yet her mind forever drifts to her beloved island of Corfu.

The Ebb, her new adult beach romance that was inspired by her summers in Corfu in the 1980s, was a Q-Finalist for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards in 2014. Her debut novel, The Necklace of Goddess Athena, won a silver medal in the 2017 book awards of Readers’ Favorite. Her supernatural suspense novella, The Boy on the Bridge, was a Top 10 winner of the “50 Best Indie Books” awards of Readfreely in 2021.

Effrosyni’s books are Amazon bestsellers, having hit #1 several times, and are available mainly in kindle and paperback format.

What others say about Effrosyni’s books:

“Effrosyni layers her words on the page like music.” ~USA Today bestselling author Jackie Weger

“Very few writers have such a gift for realism.” ~Kelly Smith Reviews

“I was glued to the pages by the author’s vivid descriptions and her beautiful, almost poetic way of writing.” ~Angel Sefer, author of The Greek Isles series

“Moschoudi’s writing is impressive; sweet and delicate yet powerful, like a punch rolled up in silk.” ~Nicholas Rossis, author of The Pearseus sci-fi series

Visit her website, Effrosyniwrites, for her travel guide to Corfu, delicious Greek recipes, and a plethora of blog posts about her life in Greece.

You are welcome to join her bimonthly newsletter for free books in every issue. You may also contact her via her website or her favorite social medium, Facebook, with any comments or just to say hi. She loves to hear from her readers!

My review:

I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (author, check here if you are interested in getting your book reviewed) and thank her and the author for this opportunity.

I have read several novels by Moschoudi, and they are sure to be favourites among the fans of romantic novels, especially those who like to travel thanks to the stories, as they tend to be set in wonderful holiday locations. Here, the reluctant couple meet in Santorini, and although it is winter, the island is depicted as a paradise, as enjoyable in Christmas as it is in the summer, only cosier, with fewer tourists and with the added magic of the season to look forward to.

We meet Cathy, who is travelling with her young son Leo, as she is about to take up a brief assignment as the housekeeper for the Christmas holidays at a Santorini farm. She is half-Greek and half-American, but had been living in Athens when the story starts. She plans to go back to the USA to live with her parents and her son after Christmas. A man mistakenly takes her suitcase at the airport, and there is a nasty misunderstanding before things are cleared out. To her surprise, she discovers that the stranger who took her suitcase, Alex, is the son of the man she is supposed to be keeping house for, and they are all going to be living under the same roof.

Most readers will imagine that, despite the inauspicious beginnings, Alex and Cathy will end up finding each other. I won’t confirm or deny that, but one of the many strong points of the story is the way the two characters seem to be total opposites to begin with, but they have more in common than they imagine, as we discover as the story progresses. Both of them are traumatised, both of them have suffered betrayals and feel abandoned, have issues of trust, and find it difficult to confide in others. Alex has a difficult relationship with his father, whom he hadn’t visited for years, and the complex story behind that is slowly revealed. There are secrets, lies, and even more misunderstandings. There are also third parties involved, future plans, and life in general, which might have other plans for them both.

Added to the central romance, there are some wonderful secondary characters (Mr. Stavros, the father; Mrs. Marianna, a friend of the family and owner of the bakery; Mr. Nikos, a friend and colleague of Mr. Stavros; Leo, Cathy’s son, who is a wonderful child and loves the farm animals and any other animals and people in need of help, and more) and all of them are changed by the experience. Traditional families might not always work as they should, but found and chosen families can bring unexpected happiness to people who have given up hope.

For readers looking forward to discovering new things about Greece through this novel, there is also plenty of Greek food, all of which sounds delicious. I am not sure this book shouldn’t come with a warning, because it is impossible to read it and not feel hungry and eager to try many of the wonderful dishes mentioned.

The story is written in the third person, with Cathy as the main narrator of the story, and we see things mostly from her point of view, although there are also some scenes from Alex’s and Leo’s perspectives, and that gives us a better understanding of the characters and how they truly feel. But I must warn readers to prepare their handkerchiefs, as Moschoudi has written a very moving story, and it is impossible not to grow fond of the main characters and feel for and with them by the end.

This is a great read for this time of the year, especially for readers who miss a bit of sun and enjoy sofa-travelling, those who prefer a romance where the protagonists are grown-ups with emotional baggage, lovers of Greek food, and anybody looking for a different kind of Christmas story in a glorious setting and with a big heart.

Thanks to Rosie and her team for their support, to the author for another enjoyable story, and to all of you for reading, commenting, liking, and sharing, and before you go, as I promised…

Here you can see the party Sants 3 Ràdio organises every year on New Year’s Eve:

https://www.el3.cat/noticia/105765/la-bordeta-dona-inici-al-2026-amb-les-campanades-del-barri-al-campanar-de-la-parroquia-de-

Here, and in the whole of Spain, it’s common to celebrate the Epiphany, when the Three Wise Men (the Kings of Orient here) visited baby Jesus with gifts. The children write letters to the king of their choice, asking him for presents. Several organisations of the neighbourhood, with the support of the town hall, create what they call a Royal Encampment, so the children can visit, see the Kings, and give them their letters. My mother and I helped decorate the place, and we also dressed up for the event itself. (I played one of the royal pages, and I didn’t mind the feather on my cap, although it isn’t exactly a cap, but…)

https://www.el3.cat/noticia/105766/mes-de-5.000-persones-han-visitat-els-reis-dorient-al-campament-reial-de-sants-hostafrancs

And here, we also participate in a parade the day before Epiphany (6th of January):

https://www.el3.cat/noticia/106853/la-cavalcada-de-reis-de-sants-les-corts-emplena-els-carrers-i-balcons-del-barri-per-54e-an

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Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog The Nurse: Love shines bright, even when memory fades (Beyond Memory’s Veil) by Joyce Kostakis (@Jhk1263) (@newbooksplease)

Hi, all:

I bring you a book from BooksGoSocial on NetGalley, with an interesting story, not only inside its pages but also behind its creation.

The Nurse by Joyce Kostakis

The Nuse: Love Shines Bright Even When Memory Fades by Joyce Kostakis

What if the person you love most is slowly slipping away, their memories fading into oblivion, and you are powerless to stop it?

Jill Bish has built a beautiful life with her husband, Jim. When he is diagnosed with dementia, their world shatters. As Jim’s memories fade, Jill becomes his caregiver, pouring all her love and strength into cherishing every precious moment they have left together.

Determined to care for Jim at home, Jill faces the overwhelming challenges of caregiving head-on. The simplest tasks become monumental efforts, and the weight of Jim’s condition threatens to crush her spirit. Jill refuses to give up on the man she loves. With the support of a unique memory care group, she embarks on a journey of resilience, hope, and unwavering devotion.

As Jim’s condition progresses, he forgets Jill is his wife. Yet in a heartwarming twist of fate, Jim falls in love with Jill all over again. Their love story takes on a new meaning as they rediscover the depth of their connection. Simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking, “The Nurse” is a powerful exploration of the enduring nature of love in the face of a devastating illness.

Author Joyce Kostakis has crafted a memorable story that evokes deep emotions. This extraordinary novel is a testament to the unbreakable bonds of love, the resilience of the human spirit, and the profound truth that even when memories fade, the heart never forgets.

About the author:

Award-winning author and screenwriter Joyce Kostakis weaves compelling stories across genres, creating emotionally resonant tales that keep readers turning pages late into the night.

Joyce Kostakis spent her childhood exploring storybook castles and wandering charming German villages while moving between military bases with her family. Those early adventures sparked a lifelong love of storytelling that followed her from the sun-soaked beaches of Florida to the misty mountains of Oregon, before she finally found her home in Ohio.

Now she balances her days as a project manager with moonlit writing sessions, creating worlds of mystery and romance with her faithful companions – an amazingly patient husband, a playful pup named Max, and a cat named Sissy who firmly believes she should be the true main character of every story.

Her rich tapestry of life experiences – from being raised an Army brat and serving in the Air Force to working as a legal assistant – weaves through her writing, bringing authenticity to every page.

In 2023, Joyce’s creative journey took an exciting turn when “The Nurse,” her debut as both writer and director, captivated film festival audiences and garnered multiple awards. The success of this short film inspired her to expand it into a novel, proving that powerful stories can find their way to readers’ hearts through multiple paths.

Whether she’s crafting upmarket commercial romance that makes hearts melt or paranormal mysteries that keep readers guessing until dawn, Joyce brings emotional depth and relatable characters to every story. Her first novel, “Streaming Sarah,” is now being adapted for the screen, with filming set to begin in early 2025 – a testament to her ability to tell stories that resonate across mediums.

When she’s not writing or managing projects, you might find Joyce curled up with a good book, plotting her next story over a cup of coffee, or sharing writing tips with aspiring authors. Her graduate degree in project management might help her plot the perfect novel, but it’s her passion for authentic storytelling that truly brings her characters to life.

Notable Achievements

Screenwriting Success

“The Nurse” (2023) – Award-winning short script, writer and director. Now expanded into a novel.

Upcoming Projects

“Streaming Sarah” adaptation into feature-length script, filming to begin in early 2025.

Professional Background

– Project Manager – Air Force Veteran – Legal Assistant – Graduate Degree in Project Management

My review:

I thank NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me with an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review.

I was in two minds about reading this novel because my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s over a year ago. Although I’ve been reading nonfiction books about it, I wasn’t sure I was ready for a novel. But the focus seemed interesting, very different from my personal situation, and I was intrigued by it.

Also, the story of how the novel came to be is quite interesting in its own right. The author had to write a script as part of a course; the script won a contest, and the prize was getting it produced. The short was so well received that the author decided to turn it into a novel. And this is it.

The book centres on a couple, Jim and Jill. They met through work (as they were both working in the same school), fell in love and got married. Although Jim had been married before, they seemed to have been made for each other, and everybody who knew them thought they were the perfect couple. Unfortunately, fate decided to put them to the test, and by the time the story starts, Jim suffers from dementia and Jill is his full-time carer. She accepts it, tries her hardest to make things easy and to keep the house running smoothly, but Jim’s memory takes a turn for the worse, and, as the description explains, Jill suddenly becomes a stranger that he doesn’t want in the house any longer.

How she goes about getting back into his life is what makes up most of the novel, that is full of beautiful and inspiring moments, many of them involving a unique Memory Group that offers practical and emotional support to people with Alzheimer’s and their carers. Many of the activities involve both of them, and they are creative, imaginative, inspiring, and positive. In many ways, the novel is a breath of fresh air and a different take on this cruel illness. We see people struggle and face heartbreak and difficulties, but there are also moments of enjoyment, fulfilment, and discovery.

The novel combines the love story of the two characters, a love that survives challenges and tough trials, with the experience of people with Alzheimer’s and their carers, as there are chapters from Jill’s point of view and others from Jim’s, both in the first person, and they give readers some sense of what the experience might be like.

I missed knowing a bit more about both characters’ lives before the events we read about, and before they were a couple. We learn some things about Jim later on (I won’t reveal anything about it. You’ll have to read the novel to find out more), but not much about Jill, and although there are brief mentions of her interest in her work, she doesn’t seem to have anybody she has any kind of relationship with, friends or family, and other than a visit to one of Jim’s relatives, the story centres almost exclusively on the two of them (with brief appearances from staff and users of the Memory Group) and the way they deal with Jim’s condition. And I guess that, in itself, is quite telling when it comes to dementia and caring full-time for somebody who suffers it, as sustaining a semblance of ‘life as usual’ gets increasingly hard as the illness progresses.

In my opinion, the view the book provides is slightly idyllic and idealised. There are some issues and problems reflected in the novel, but Jill is almost saintly: she never (she gets close to it, but the issue that brings it about is not related to dementia) loses her patience, is always ready to do anything necessary to make Jim’s life better, and is selfless, never putting herself first. There are a couple of moments of crisis, and she gets support at those points. Still, I suspect most carers struggle and have a harder time than what is reflected in the novel. However, some other carers and secondary characters in the novel do mention some difficulties that will sound familiar to many in similar circumstances. Of course, the Memory Group described (based on a real group, as the author mentions in her note at the end of the novel) sounds wonderful, but, sadly, not everybody will be lucky enough to have something similar available where they live. Having said all that, it is unfair to expect a fictional book to be totally realistic and to reflect everybody’s experiences. That wouldn’t be possible, and it wasn’t the intention of the author, who talks about her inspiration and the guidance she got when writing the book in her author’s note, which I recommend paying attention to, as it includes links to extra materials.

This is a wonderful romantic novel in which the “in illness and in health” promise is put to the test, and the relationship is reinvented and strengthened by the trials and tribulations the protagonists endure. Its positive outlook on dementia is bound to inspire and give hope to readers who might face a similar challenge at some point in the future.

I recommend checking the short movie as well. It is beautiful.

And I wanted to share a quote from the author’s note I particularly liked:

Remember to reach out for support when you need it and prioritize self-care. You can’t pour from an empty cup.

If you’d like to learn more about the project, you can check the book trailer here:

And you can watch the short film (it is 16 minutes long) and well-worth a watch:

Thanks to the author, to NetGalley, and to BooksGoSocial for this opportunity, and special thanks to all of you for reading, sharing, liking, commenting, and clicking. Have a wonderful week and keep smiling!

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog The Song of Youth by Effrosyni Moschoudi (@FrostieMoss)

Hi, all:

I bring you a new novel by an author whose magical and romantic novels set in Greece are great reads any time of the year when we need a bit of sun and cheer.

The Song of Youth by Effrosyni Moschoudi

The Song of Youth by Effrosyni Moschoudi

Emilia wished to be young again… and then, it happened.

Emilia Paschos is feeling distraught on her 45th birthday. Believing that she’s lost out on life, she makes a wish to be young again. And then, a mysterious gypsy called Esmera offers her the chance to become younger at will, simply by singing a song. Soon, unexpected news sweeps Emilia off to the island of Milos with an opportunity to start her life anew.

A nosy neighbor, a flirtatious ex, and an obnoxious cousin cause trouble, but then two strange girls, Elise and Chloe, turn up and begin to help in miraculous ways, being just as magical as Esmera. They are all angels, except Emilia has no idea…

Being young again whenever she wishes it makes Emilia feel exuberant, but it pales in comparison to the way Andreas, a handsome widower and newly established restauranteur on the island, makes her feel. Together, they rescue a puppy, and now she feels like she is being rescued too.

Because Andreas, who is in his 50s, has eyes only for the real her, not for her younger self. The only problem is, her angelic gift keeps expiring in the most awkward moments!

How much longer can she keep her secret? And, what will she choose? The exhilarating gift of youth… or the sweetness of love?

Order now this hilarious supernatural romantic comedy and get ready for a fun romantic escape on a Greek island paradise… but keep the hankies at the ready. And, whatever you do, do not read when hungry. You have been warned!

About the author:

Effrosyni Moschoudi was born and raised in Athens, Greece. As a child, she loved to sit alone in her garden scribbling rhymes about flowers, butterflies and ants. Today, she writes books for the romantic at heart. She lives in a quaint seaside town near Athens with a British husband, two naughty cats, and a staggering amount of books and DVDs. Her little town is heavenly enough, yet her mind forever drifts to her beloved island of Corfu.

The Ebb, her new adult romance that was inspired from her summers in Corfu in the 1980s, is an ABNA Q-Finalist. Her debut novel, The Necklace of Goddess Athena, won a silver medal in the 2017 book awards of Readers’ Favorite. Her ghost romance novella, The Boy on the Bridge, was a Top 10 winner in the “50 Best Indie Books” awards of Readfree.ly in 2021.

Effrosyni’s books are sweet romances (low heat and no sex scenes). Running Haunted, My Corfu Love Story, and The Necklace of Goddess Athena are clean & wholesome. All the books are Amazon bestsellers, having hit #1 several times, and are available in kindle and paperback format.

Go here to download FREE books by this author: http://effrosyniwrites.com/free-stuff/

Visit her website for her travel guide to Corfu, delicious Greek recipes, and a plethora of blog posts about her life in Greece: http://www.effrosyniwrites.com

**Like her on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/authoreffrosyni

**Follow her on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/frostiemoss

**Find her on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7362780.Effrosyni_Moschoudi

My review:

I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (author, check here if you are interested in getting your book reviewed) and thank her and the author for this opportunity.

I have read several novels by this author and have come to look forward to the magic, the light, and the wonderful landscapes she peppers her stories with. And this novel is no different.

We have a protagonist, Emilia, who has reached 45, has spent her youth looking after others, and feels she is far too old now to have a chance at love and happiness. If she were only twenty years younger, all of her problems would disappear and she could be happy!

This being a novel by Effrosyni Moschoudi, a fairy godmother (well, Esmera, a mysterious gipsy woman who has otherworldly powers and qualities) comes and gives her the chance to try out what it would be like to be younger again, and see if that life suits her better than her current one. But “the gift” that allows her to go back in time comes with some conditions and provisos. And, to make matters a bit more complicated, Emilia’s dear aunt dies in the island of Milos, a place full of good memories for her, and her passing gives her an unexpected opportunity. It also means that Emilia has to interact with some people she isn’t that fond of, and her experience of being young again gets more and more complicated. One thing is to become young again in a place where nobody knows you, and quite a different one is to do it where people know you and remember you as a young woman. How will she manage to pull that off, and what will happen when she finally meets somebody who might be the right one?

I am not going to reveal all that happens, as you can probably imagine that there will be romantic events, more than one close call, and complications galore. Emilia is accompanied by some collaborators of Esmera (a young woman with an old-fashioned hairstyle and a young child), but even with their guidance, things aren’t easy.

This novel, told in the third person, mostly from Emilia’s point of view, but also from Esmera´s and her two helpers, has all the elements one could wish for in a romantic comedy: misunderstandings, handsome strangers (Andreas is a wonderful character, even though he comes with some baggage), a puppy, wonderful food, a beautiful island… and it reminded me of farces, where there are people pretending to be somebody they are not, wearing disguises, hiding and disappearing in the last minute, a lot of close calls, enemies and their machinations (in this case, Emilia’s nasty cousin and a former boyfriend who cheated on her with said cousin), plenty of coincidences, and some hurdles. Because, as we all know, true love never does run smooth. Emilia has to face some hard truths and heartaches; there are lessons to be learned, not only by her, but by some of the other characters too. And there are plenty of hilarious moments as well. I particularly enjoyed the epilogue, where some characters get their more-than-deserved comeuppance. (And a couple of owls play an important part, so, of course, I loved it!)

Even readers who don’t have much in common with Emilia will warm to her, because she has endured some terrible losses, and she’s a very relatable and understandable character. Who wouldn’t want to get a new chance at life if they’d gone through what she did? I loved the “magical” characters as well. A bit like Greek gods, they aren’t beyond playing pranks or making mistakes, and thanks to Chloe, we get to understand how they gain their knowledge and learn the ropes. We even see her undertake another mission, one that will take us back to our school days and will make us smile.

The book is full of delightful descriptions of the island, its people, its food, its smells… and the writing vividly captures the atmosphere and the landscapes of the Greek islands, transporting the reader there. This is a gentle romance, with no explicit sex, and despite the main character’s age, I think it is suited to all young and older readers. Anybody who has ever wondered what they would do if given a second chance at life, lovers of romance and stories with a magical twist will enjoy this novel and are likely to start thinking about spending their future holidays in Greece and its islands.

Oh, do read the author’s note at the end. I found it very moving, and it reminds us of the healing power of writing and stories.

Thanks to Rosie and all the members of her team for their support, thanks to the author for the opportunity, and thanks to all of you for your patience, for reading, writing, liking, sharing, and for being always there. Keep smiling!

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes (@PenguinUKBooks)

Hi, all:

I bring you the review for a book by a very well-known author. Although there are some long books one feels sorry to see the end of, this wasn’t the case for me. I didn’t hate it, and I enjoyed some of it, but it didn’t work as it seems to have for some people. Perhaps it wasn’t the right time for it, at least for me.

My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes

My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes

THE HILARIOUS AND HEARTWARMING SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER MUST-READ OF THE SUMMER

Anna has just lost her taste for the Big Apple…

She has a life to envy. An apartment in New York. A well-meaning (too well-meaning?) partner. And a high-flying job in beauty PR. Who wouldn’t want all that?
Anna, it turns out.

Trading a minor midlife crisis for a major life event, she switches the skyscrapers of Manhattan for the tiny Irish town of Maumtully (population 1,217), helping old friends Brigit and Colm set up a luxury coastal retreat.

Tougher than it sounds. Newflash: the locals hate the idea. So much so, there have been threats – and violence.

Anna, however, worked in the beauty industry. There’s no ugliness she hasn’t seen. No wrinkle she can’t smooth over.

There’s just one fly in the ointment – old flame Joey Armstrong.

He’s going to be her wingman.
Never mind their chequered history. Never mind what might have been.

Because no matter how far you go, your mistakes will still be waiting for you . . .

About the author:

Marian Keyes is the international bestselling author of Watermelon, Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married, Rachel’s Holiday, Last Chance Saloon, Sushi for Beginners, Angels, The Other Side of the Story, Anybody Out There, This Charming Man, The Brightest Star in the Sky, The Mystery of Mercy Close, The Woman Who Stole My Life, The Break and her latest Number One bestseller, Grown Ups. Her two collections of journalism, Making it up as I Go Along and Under the Duvet: Deluxe Edition are also available from Penguin.

My review:

I thank NetGalley and Michael Joseph (Penguin Random House UK) for providing me with an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review.

I’m not a big follower of Marian Keyes. I’ve only ever read one of her novels previously, not long ago, and was curious to check another, but when I started reading this one, I didn’t realise it was book number 8 in The Walsh Family series. Not that it matters, though. I can reassure readers that one doesn’t need to have read the rest of the books to be able to follow and enjoy the adventures of Anna Walsh, the main character in this one. (I wondered if the opposite might be true, because there is a lot of information readers gather about the character’s life while reading this lengthy novel, and I wasn’t sure if people who had read the rest reasonably recently might not be a bit put off by being reminded of a lot of what they already know. But, of course, I might be wrong and it might be that some of it is new to all readers, and I imagine that people who’ve read the previous stories some time ago will be grateful for the reminder).

In brief, the Walshs are an Irish family with five daughters and their widowed mother, and each one of the first five books covered the life and circumstances of one of the sisters when they were in their late 20s. Book 6 seems to be a guide to the family penned by the mother, firmly tongue-in-cheek, book 7 revisits one of the sisters 25 years later, and this novel does something similar with another one. Anna, who has been living in New York and works as a successful PR for the beauty industry, shortly after COVID suffers something akin to a mid-life crisis. She decides she cannot cope with the stress of her job anymore, her age and her pre-menopausal symptoms are taking a toll, and following what she feels is a sign from the long-ago dead husband, she leaves her job (in theory for a year with the possibility of going back) and New York (renting out, not selling, her apartment) and goes back to Ireland. There, she discovers that life can be complicated when you are trying to reinvent yourself in your very late forties in a new(old) country, and fitting back into her large family and renewing her old friendships can prove challenging as well. Then, she gets offered a temporary job in a small coastal town, helping some friends of the family who are going through a health crisis, and she is put to the test in more ways than one.

The book is narrated in the first person, which might be an issue for some readers. It also relies on people liking (or at least enjoying) the character’s way of expressing herself. I found her amusing, to begin with. I do enjoy books with older female protagonists, and Anna has a funny turn of phrase and is quite witty. She has no children, is self-deprecating, and although she tries to remain positive, she has a penchant for paranoia and for being suspicious (often rightly so) about other people’s motives and intentions. There is a fair amount of baggage she carries with her, and we soon discover there was something that happened with one of the people she is forced to work with now (although we don’t find out what that thing was until very late) which puts a spanner in the works. And some bridges need to be rebuilt with her best friend.

The book deals with quite a variety of topics: bereavement, regret, love, guilt, friendship, family relationships, growing up, biological clocks, getting old (there is much talk about menopause), old families, new families, and new models of families, traditional life versus modern life, art, fame, the price to pay for developing tourism in small places, moving back home later in life and adapting to life at a different pace (from New York to rural Ireland), and what does it take to forgive, be forgiven, and give somebody a second chance, to name only some.

I’ve already said that this is a long book, and not all the topics are given equal weight. Anna’s whole family descends on the town where she’s working (Maumtully) a few times and they’re a force of nature, but although amusing, there isn’t enough time given to each one of them for those who haven’t read the other books to know them well. (I guess the answer might be reading the rest of the books). There is a bit of a mystery surrounding the development being built, as there has been damage done to it, but I found this part of the story disappointing and there were no big surprises or reveals to keep the story moving. There was much more emphasis placed on the will-they/won’t-they part of the story between Anna and Joey, an almost old flame, but I personally found it dragged on a fair bit, and I was more interested in some of the other characters from the town who played a smaller part, and in the relationship with her best friend, Jacqui. I didn’t find it too confusing, but people who enjoy a story being told in strict chronological order will be disappointed here, because, although the present is told in the right order, Anna keeps remembering things that happened before, and those memories can go back and forth sometimes, from the time she first met somebody, to her school days, to living in New York, back to Ireland… Eventually, we get a pretty full picture, but it is not straightforward.

Oh, and for those who mind (and I do as well), there was some erotic content in the book. Most of it is not too explicit (or rather, mostly deals with the erotic powers of imagination), and some readers will think it was more than due, but I wouldn’t have missed it if it wasn’t there. Quite the opposite. (But I know that is me).

The ending is as it would be expected in a book that could be defined as an adult coming of older age story or a second chance romance or both. So, I imagine fans of the series will be happy with it. I wasn’t surprised.

For me, the book could have been shorter without losing much of what I enjoyed about it, but people who’ve been following the series might feel different.

If you are a fan of Marian Keyes, you should give it a go, especially if you have read and enjoyed other books in the series. If not… Well, you can check a sample and see if it suits you.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity, thanks to all of you for reading, sharing, liking, and commenting, and remember to always keep smiling and having fun. ♥

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog The Women: A Novel by Kristin Hannah (@panmacmillan)

Hi, all:

I bring you a book by a very popular author I hadn’t read before. I’m sure it will do very well, but I wasn’t totally convinced by it. I’ve never been too partial to the romances thrown into some genres, but many readers like them, so…

The Women by Kristin Hannah

The Women: A Novel by Kristin Hannah

From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah’s The Women—at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.

About the author:

Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels. Her newest novel, The Women, about the nurses who served in the Vietnam War, will be released on February 6, 2024.

The Four Winds was published in February of 2021 and immediately hit #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Indie bookstore’s bestseller lists. Additionally, it was selected as a book club pick by the both Today Show and The Book Of the Month club, which named it the best book of 2021.

In 2018, The Great Alone became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller and was named the Best Historical Novel of the Year by Goodreads.

In 2015, The Nightingale became an international blockbuster, was Goodreads Best Historical Fiction novel for 2015, and won the coveted People’s Choice award for best fiction in the same year. It was named Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week.

The Nightingale is currently in pre-production at Tri Star. Firefly Lane, her beloved novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix series around the world, in the week it came out. The popular TV show stars Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke.

A former attorney, Kristin lives in the Pacific Northwest.

www.kristinhannah.com

My review:

I thank NetGalley and the publisher (Pan MacMillan) for providing me with an ARC copy of the book, which I freely chose to review.

I had read many comments about Kristin Hannah and her novels, but I hadn’t read any yet, so I can’t compare it to her previous work. I have been interested in the Vietnam War and the role the United States played in it for a long time, and I’ve read books (both, fiction and non-fiction), and watched movies, series, and documentaries about it, so this novel seemed a good fit for me.

As the description explains, the novel centres on Frankie, a girl from a navy town in California, whose father has never lived up to his disappointment about not having been able to serve his country, and who worships everything military, in particular, navy-related. He is very proud when his son goes to Vietnam. Unfortunately, things don’t go according to plan, and by the time Frankie has decided to enlist as a nurse, tragedy has already fallen on the family.

The war is a shock for her, but thanks to two of the veteran nurses (Ethel and Barb) and the patience and understanding of the rest of the staff, she develops into a great nurse, and she ends up signing up for a second tour of duty. She is a religious (Catholic) girl, and pretty conventional and naïve, so she tries to keep men at bay at first, following her strict moral standards, but eventually, she ends up having a relationship with a young man she knew from before, and they make plans for the future.

When she returns to the US, she doesn’t get the hero reception she had heard about from WWII. Instead, she is spat on and called names. She had heard of the anti-war movement, but the reality of it hits her hard. That, together with flashbacks and other clear symptoms of PTSD, and a serious loss shortly after her arrival, make her reintroduction into civil life very complicated. Despite the support of her two nurse friends (who’ve both made new lives for themselves), she doesn’t manage to fit in and find her place, and events (and to a certain extent, her own choices and her way of dealing with things, or trying not to deal with them) keep conspiring and take her to breaking point.

This novel is a mixture of historical fiction (it captures well the atmosphere of Vietnam, especially the hospitals, although it doesn’t dedicate much space to the Vietnamese people other than in passing), coming-of-age story, and romance/melodrama. In many ways, Frankie is a typical protagonist of a romantic novel: beautiful, naïve, principled, quite green… All the men she meets fall for her, but she sticks to her rules of conduct, at least initially. She falls in between two eras: her mother (and father) expect her to marry somebody of her upper social class, have babies, and have a full social life, taking an interest in some good causes. At the same time, the Hippy movement has arrived, the Civil Rights Movement is in full swing, and so is the Women’s Liberation Movement. Women are demanding more freedom and taking their destiny in their own lives. Frankie doesn’t seem happy in either of these two worlds, and although she tries to get help for her trauma, nobody acknowledges that there were women in the war, and the veteran services and hospitals are only set to look after those who saw action (as if nurses hadn’t seen more than their fair share of it).

The story is interesting and it’s difficult to put down once you get into it. On the other hand, I never felt too attached to the protagonist, although I empathised with her and felt quite moved by the way things developed towards the end. I would have liked to get to know more about her two friends, Ethel and Barb. We don’t see or hear things from their perspective, and they are never the focus of the novel, although they represent the support and sisterhood well. The part of their experiences in Vietnam and also what Frankie experiences when she gets back home felt realistic and gripping, but the parts related to her relationships felt overdone and melodramatic. There were many coincidences, many tragic events one after another, and I ended up feeling as if I were watching a soap opera gone to extremes for effect. The other aspect that I thought worked well was the coming-of-age side of things, and how Frankie manages to find a way to become independent and to find a meaningful outlook in life. I would have preferred it if the author had avoided the last twist (this is another case of ‘a twist too far’, in my opinion) but I’m sure readers who like romantic novels will enjoy it.

Hannah includes an author’s note, where she explains her interest in the subject and the process of creation of this novel, and a section of acknowledgements which is particularly interesting, as she mentions the people she consulted and recommends some books written by people who survived the experience and others she used as a source, and those will be of interest to people who want to deepen their knowledge of the Vietnam War and the experience of the (western) women who joined the war effort.

In sum, this is a book suited to those interested in historical fiction about the Vietnam War, the role of women in that war, and particularly readers who enjoy a good dose of romance and melodrama mixed into their historically inspired novels.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this novel, thanks to all of you for visiting, reading, sharing, commenting, and liking this post, and remember to keep smiling!

Categories
Book reviews TuesdayBookBlog

#TuesdayBookBlog SNOW ANGELS by Jenny Loudon (@jenloudonauthor) Grief, family, the healing power of nature, and gorgeous writing #RBRT #grief

Hi, all:

I bring you another fabulous find from Rosie’s Book Review Team. Thanks to her for her hard work and to the rest of the team for their ongoing support and inspiration.

Snow Angels by Jenny Loudon

Amelie Tierney is working hard, furthering her nursing career in Oxford. She has a loving husband and a small son, who is not yet two. She jogs through the streets of her beloved city most days, does not see enough of her lonely mother, and misses her grandmother who lives in a remote wooden house, beside a lake in Sweden. And then, one sunny October morning, it happens—the accident that changes everything and leaves Amelie fighting to survive. Set amid the gleaming spires of Oxford and the wild beauty of a Swedish forest, this is a story about one woman’s hope and her courage in the face of the unthinkable. Praise for Jenny Loudon: ‘The writing is superb—literary in many ways—with vivid settings, filled with quite exceptional descriptions of the natural world… There are moments of lightness and humour—those slices of life that make the whole feel so real—and others when you feel at your core the frustration, the despair, the sheer impossibility… quite stunning.’ Anne Williams, Romantic Novelists Association Media Star of the Year, 2019

Author Jenny Loudon

About the author:

Jenny Loudon is a British novelist whose work includes SNOW ANGELS, a moving and uplifting tale of recovery after loss, and the bestselling love story FINDING VERITY. She read English and American Literature at the University of Kent in Canterbury and holds a Masters in The Modern Movement. She lives with her family in the English countryside.

Learn more about Jenny Loudon at

https://www.jennyloudon.com/

 My review:

I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (author, check here if you are interested in getting your book reviewed) and thank her and the author for this opportunity.

I had never come across Jenny Loudon before, but I don’t think this will be the last of her books I read. This is a beautiful, poignant, and moving novel, and I do not hesitate to recommend it, despite it being also terribly sad at times, and people who have experienced a recent loss might find it a bit hard to read (although, it is also inspiring and full of light).

Amelie, who lives in Oxford and was born there but whose mother is Swedish, has visited Sweden often and speaks perfect Swedish, suffers a terrible loss. She loses her family, almost in full, and although she tries, going back to work seems impossible to her, and she decides to give up her profession as well. She finds refuge with her Swedish grandmother, Cleome, who lives in a lovely cottage by a lake, close to a forest, and this is the story of her (and their) grief, their healing process, her acceptance of the situation, and the eventual rebuilding of her life, a new beginning, and a recovery of sorts.

This is not only the tale of these people. The story is told in the third-person, mostly from the point of view of Amelie and Cleome, but also of some of the other characters, and the author does a great job at describing their emotions, their thoughts, their psychological makeup, and making us feel as if we were inhabiting their skins. There are quite a few secondary characters, all interesting in their own right, and some we get to know better than others, but nature and the seasons play a fundamental part in the story. Cleome is very attuned to the rhythms of nature, the land, the lake, the trees, the creatures, and she picks up herbs, goes foraging, and engages in little ceremonies to give thanks for the many gifts the land bestows on her. The descriptions of the landscape are as good, if not better than those of the characters, and the healing powers of time and nature play an important part in the novel. I’ve never visited Sweden, but after reading this book, I am eager to do so.

I have mentioned grief before, and it is accompanied by survivor’s guilt, a desperate search for a guilty party, for meaning, and for an explanation, creating a totally realistic picture of two women confronting a tragedy beyond their imaginations. Apart from this, the novel also explores other themes, like motherhood, conventional and chosen families, secrets, political changes in Europe, immigration policies, in Sweden in particular, how to adapt to a new culture, prejudice (both, from a different culture and within one’s own culture), intolerance, romance, and love… Helen, a close friend and neighbour of Cleome, is a doctor and volunteers working with immigrants, and although this is only a small part of the story, there is one of the main characters, Tarek, who gets to explain his experience as an asylum seeker (from war-torn Syria) in a compelling way, and he shows an understanding of loss and love which inspires Amelie in many ways. I did learn about something called ‘resignation syndrome’, which seems to be a unique phenomenon suffered by some young immigrants in Sweden, and a very challenging one. (Helen compares it to Snow White, and it makes sense if you remember when Snow White is given the poisoned apple and falls into a kind of deep sleep, still alive but with no external signs of it).

I have already mentioned the effectiveness of the descriptions, and the style of writing is gorgeous, lyrical, poetic, and packs a big emotional punch. It conveys images of breathtaking beauty together with truly heartbreaking moments, although, thankfully, there are also bright and hopeful moments, and those increase as the novel progresses. Readers experience the landscapes, the sensations, and the emotions vividly, and there were moments when I was transfixed by my immersion into that magical world. The author’s deep knowledge of Sweden and her connection to it are explained in the author’s acknowledgements, which, as usual, I recommend reading.

The ending is perfect for the novel, and it will please particularly those who like to have everything tied-up, as we get to catch up on all the characters more than a year after the end of the story, and that answers many questions most readers might have.

So, as I have said at the beginning, I recommend this novel to anybody who enjoys beautiful writing, contemplative stories, and those where emotions and psychological insights take precedence over adventures and action. I have mentioned recent grief, and I know that each individual going through it has a very different way of coping with their emotions, but those for whom reading about the subject is useful, will find much to inspire them and bring them hope in this novel.

 For those of you who enjoy a little sample of the writing, here are a few paragraphs:

Tiny, fairy-like, nameless insects danced in a pale sunbeam that pierced the tree canopy. The air was full of music—cheerful tunes from a multitude of hidden birds. The sounds were beautiful and heartfel, and her grandmother was right to question it: why did they sing like this? Why bother?

 ‘You know, all these people in power? They think one more bomb will bring peace. All we ever hear is that they are killing people to get peace, using chemical weapons to secure peace. One more war will bring peace. Are they crazy? Do they not listen to themselves? How did a bomb ever bring peace, I ask you?’

 ‘Grief is like a rucksack. You might have to carry it for a long time. Sometimes, when you have had enough though, you can take it off and put it down. And sometimes, you can take things out of the rucksack and leave them by the roadside. You won’t have to carry everything forever but you will probably always be carrying something.’

 If you want to know a bit more about Resignation Syndrome, I found these two articles, and some of the things described in the first article appear in the novel.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/03/the-trauma-of-facing-deportation

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-41748485

Thanks to the author for this wonderful book, thanks to Rosie and her team for keeping us going, and thanks to all of you, most of all, for reading, sharing, commenting, liking, blogging, and being there. Keep smiling!

Categories
Reblogs

#NewRelease #Romantic #Crime #Thriller Parallel Lies by @GeorgiaRoseBook #TuesdayBookBlog | Rosie Amber

Check out this new book by Georgia Rose. It comes very highly recommended!

Today is release day for Parallel Lies I’m hugely grateful to all the bloggers and reviewers who have been so generous offering their time and space on their blogs.   Readers get the chance to…

Source: #NewRelease #Romantic #Crime #Thriller Parallel Lies by @GeorgiaRoseBook #TuesdayBookBlog | Rosie Amber

Categories
Novedades literarias

#NovedadLiteraria ‘Jodidamente especial’ de Teresa Guirado (@Teresa_Guirado). Porque todos lo somos, ¿o no?

Hola a todos:

Hoy es viernes, y como sabéis toca autora invitada y nuevo libro. Acabo de conocer a la autora, Teresa Guirado, en Twitter, pero cuando descubrí su libro, tuve que traéroslo, porque tiene un título iressistible y muy buenos comentarios. Así que, aquí está:

Jodidamente especial de Teresa Guirado
Jodidamente especial de Teresa Guirado

Jodidamente especial  Teresa Guirado 

¿Qué haces cuando encuentras a alguien ‘jodidamente especial’?

Amat es el máximo responsable de su empresa en España. Da siempre la impresión de tenerlo todo controlado. Tiene un trabajo envidiable, una novia guapísima y una casa magnífica aunque, quizás, no sea eso exactamente lo que anhela.
Vera es como una gata, nunca sabes si va o viene. Pequeña y de aspecto dulce esconde una gran fortaleza y muchos secretos. Cree tener las cosas muy claras. Está convencida de que tiene que pagar las fatales consecuencias de sus actos.

Ambos parecen tener el camino trazado: una existencia tranquila, repetitiva, sin sobresaltos… pero algo cambia en ellos cuando se cruzan en la bonita ciudad de Valencia
Tendrán que colaborar para cumplir su objetivo, sólo tienen 15 días.

Dos semanas y un puñado de canciones que pondrán sus vidas del revés.
*     *     *
El amor en la vida real es más complicado de lo que nos gustaría.
Los romances están llenos de dudas e indecisiones, de alegrías y anhelos, de desilusiones y nuevas esperanzas.
Vera y Amat están dentro de todos y cada uno de nosotros y, ahora, puedes escuchar sus voces, más claramente que nunca, en este libro.

Los blogs cuentan…
“Algo debe tener esta novela que siendo la opera prima de Teresa Guirado se ha estado moviendo entre los Top 10 de los bestsellers del Concurso Indie de Amazon. ” ERIGINAL BOOKS

“Saber reconocer a tiempo nuestro sincero deseo nos aventura un futuro de felicidad. ”    LIBREANDO CON CRISTINA PARDO

” Es una bonita, divertida y desastrada historia sobre amor.”  EDUCACION 2.0

Los lectores opinan…

“Leído de una sentada! muy bello, muy humano, muy real.”
“Necesario para todas esas personas que dudan de la posibilidad de amar.”
“Adictiva. Enamora con unos protagonistas deliciosos, un lenguaje cuidado y una historia magnífica.”
“Te engancha, te atrapa y te lleva con los personajes hasta el último capítulo.”
“Un libro 100% recomendable, en el que viajas con los personajes, te mezclas con su entorno, oyes su música, en una mezcla perfecta de descripción y narración”
“Sencillamente nuevo. Creo que inédito. Me ha sorprendido la composición de la narrativa”
“Me ha cautivado con la magnífica descripción de los personajes.”
“Gracias por haberme devuelto la pasión por la lectura.”
“Preciosa historia ambientada en Valencia que engancha desde el primer momento por su excelente narrativa.”
“Invita también a la reflexión personal. No me ha dejado indiferente”
“Recomiendo 100% la novela.”
“Los personajes están muy bien definidos y quedan perfectamente reflejados”.
“Bonita historia de amor a “fuego lento” que atrapa con unos personajes cercanos y muy reales”

Enlaces:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011EEXGTM/

http://www.amazon.es/dp/B011EEXGTM/

http://www.amazon.mx/dp/B011EEXGTM/

Y aquí un poco de información sobre la escritora:

Autora Teresa Guirado
Autora Teresa Guirado

Teresa Guirado nace en Madrid y se traslada a Valencia a la edad de ocho años, ambas ciudades en España. A pesar de sus estudios de ingeniería siempre ha amado la literatura. Lectora voraz y gran viajera, su fantasía finalmente toma cuerpo en su primera novela , ‘Jodidamente especial’, que ha logrado posiciones lideres en las ventas de Amazon.es durante semanas.

http://www.amazon.com/Teresa-Guirado/e/B0125LIP9O/

Muchas gracias a Teresa Guirado por traernos su libro, gracias a vosotros por leer, y si os ha interesado, dadle al me gusta, comentad, compartid, y haced CLIC!

Categories
Novedades literarias

#Novedadesliterarias. ‘El contrato’ de Pilar Lepe (@deseos_12) y Pacto de Silencio de Concepción Marín Albesa. Dos romances de época.

Hola a todos:

Hoy como todos los viernes tocan novelas nuevas. Estaba en Amazon.com y se me ocurrió mirar qué aparecía si seleccionaba libros en español, y los dos primeros me llamaron la atención por las portadas, y los argumentos, que tienen algo de parecido (aunque uno es en Inglaterra y el otro en Barcelona), y me pareció una buena oportunidad para conocer a un par de autoras a las que no he leído todavía.

El contrato de Pilar Lepe
El contrato de Pilar Lepe

El Contrato: Romance Histórico de Pilar Lepe

Randall es hijo de uno de los hombres más ricos, si no el más, de Manchester: Connor Bennet, amo y señor de Bennet & Son, la fábrica textil más grande de la ciudad. Al no tener hermanos, Randall será quien herede la cuantiosa fortuna familiar, pero su padre está preocupado porque a los treinta años aún no sienta cabeza. Él teme que al morir, terminará por dilapidar todos los ingresos en los prostíbulos y mesas de juego de la ciudad. Por esta razón casi todos los días tienen la misma discusión a la hora del desayuno: debe casarse y darle nietos para asegurar que la empresa no desaparezca en cuanto él se haya marchado de este mundo. Randall, cansado de los sermones, decide salir del paso lo más rápido posible, y sin tener que sacrificar su vida licenciosa.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01636I8L2/

http://www.amazon.es/dp/B01636I8L2/

Y la página de la autora:

Autora Pilar Lepe
Autora Pilar Lepe

Pilar Lepe comenzó, hace algunos años, escribiendo relatos eróticos en su blog, y poco a poco fue adentrándose en el mundo de la literatura. Siempre estaba participando y enviando sus escritos a blogs donde sabía que podía ser evaluada, y luego al tener la oportunidad de participar con un relato en una antología publicada en Amazon, sintió que era una primera piedra para comenzar a forjarse como escritora.
Esto le dio valor para escribir su primera novela, y enviarla a un concurso editorial. El no resultar seleccionada, no le quitó las ganas de perseguir su sueño, decidiendo publicar en forma independiente. Hasta ahora ha publicado cinco novelas: Amar otra vez, Heridas del pasado, No confíes en extraños, La joven del jardín, y Nunca te olvidé.
Pilar es una escritora bastante versátil, que no solo escribe romance, sino también ficción histórica y suspenso.
Heridas del pasado, también ha sido traducida al portugués, alemán e italiano; y La joven del jardín ya tiene su versión impresa en Inglés.

http://www.amazon.com/Pilar-Lepe/e/B00CBVR0IQ/

Pacto de silencio de Concepción Marín Albera
Pacto de silencio de Concepción Marín Albesa

Pacto de Silencio de Concepción Marín Albesa

Gisela es una mujer influyende de la alta sociedad de Barcelona.Su reputación es intachable.La noche de Sant Joan descubre que su hermana Isabel, que está a punto de casarse es la amante de uno de los obreros de su fábrica. Decide despedirlo. Pol se enfurece con esa mujer fría como el hielo y poco atractiva. Ella le ofrece dinero y él lo rechaza y asegura que no dejará a Isabel. Pero dispuesto a darle una lección a esa gran dama, idea un plan loco. Le propone derretir ese hielo que la envuelve a cambio de callar. Ella se horroriza, pero como está en juego la reputación de la familia, acepta el pacto de silencio.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015KZZHW0/

http://www.amazon.es/dp/B015KZZHW0/

Autora Concepción Marín Albesa
Autora Concepción Marín Albesa

Y la página de la autora:

http://www.amazon.com/concepcion-Marin-Albesa/e/B00LZR752S/

De Concepción Marín Albesa en la página de Amazon no dice gran cosa aunque hay varios vídeos. Y encontré ésta entrevista radiofónica con ella:

http://www.canalextremadura.es/alacarta/radio/audios/entrevista-concepcion-marin-autora-de-la-hilandera-de-flandes

Creo que tendré que traerlas a las dos más veces, que me han intrigado.

Gracias a las dos autoras por sus novelas, gracias a vosotros por leer, y si os ha gustado, dadle al me gusta, comentad, compartid y haced CLIC!

Categories
Blog Tour Book launch

‘Spanish Bay’ #Book Tour Launch + $50 #Amazon GC Giveaway + #LBGT #Romance @hans_hirschi. Plus review. The Queen of Unconventional Happy Endings Does it Again.

Spanish-Bay-Tour-Banner

Hi all:

Today I’m taking part in a blog tour for the new novel of an author whose work I’ve shared a few times before (and have always enjoyed), Hans Hirschi. His new novel, Spanish Bay is now available, and I could not resist but share it with all. Ah, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

Spanish Bay by Hans Hirschi
Spanish Bay by Hans Hirschi

Synopsis

Spanish Bay is a feel-good novel about two young men who, despite having the odds stacked against them, never give up, always see the silver lining, work hard, and are committed to their families, come what may.

Chris, a Texan native who recently moved to Carmel, rescues wheelchair-bound Neil from bullies. Neither question the love that develops between them, although their life together is not without challenges. When Chris’s parents die in a car accident, their young love faces the ultimate test. Will they be able to cope with the additional responsibility of raising Chris’s baby brother Frank, who is also confined to a wheelchair?

Spanish Bay is about love, overcoming obstacles, and finding happiness, wherever you are.

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Oct 19th Art, AIDS, & Others Author Q&A

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Oct 22nd De-Blog Review

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Oct 26th For the Love of Men Unique Excerpt

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Oct 28th The Story of Being Dark Spotlight Special

Oct 29th Kelly S. Gamble Guest Post & Playlist

Nov 2nd Caddy Rowland: Slice of Life Guest Post

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Nov 9th Kryssie Fortune Spotlight Feature

Nov 10th Nic Starr Guest Post & Music Playlist

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Nov 13th Happy Geek Media Review & Closing Special

 

Video Trailer

Just in case you can’t access the embedded version, here is the You Tube link:

https://youtu.be/uwzgjRMdUSM 

And an excerpt.  I had plenty to choose from and I found it hard, but here it goes… This is a conversation between Neil’s mother (Sarah) and her own mother, his grandmother (the fabulous Sue).

Excerpt From: Hans M Hirschi. “Spanish Bay.” iBooks.
“Sarah scowled at her mother. “That’s not the point, Mother, and you know it.”
“Then what is, dear? You keep fighting this, even though I know you think they are perfect for each other.”
Sarah broke out in tears. “I know, Mom. I’m just scared to lose my baby. Ever since he ended up in that chair, I’ve been so afraid of something bad happening to him, and look at him now. All grown up, responsible, and a father. It’s all happened so quickly.”
Sue got up and walked over to her daughter to hug her. “I know, baby. I know. But look at the two of us. You’re my only child, and you still come over here for dinner once a week. The harder you hold on to them, the more they’ll pull away. After all, I tried to let go, but you stayed. Maybe that’s the ticket?”

Spanish-Bay_about-author

Author-Hans-Hirschi

Hans M Hirschi (b. 1967) has been writing stories ever since he was a child. Adulthood and the demands of corporate life efficiently put an end to his fictional writing for over twenty years. A global executive in training and channel development, Hans has traveled the world and had previously published non-fictional titles.   The birth of his son and the subsequent parental leave provided him with the opportunity to unleash his creative writing once again. With little influence over his brain’s creative workings, he indulges it, going with the flow.   A deeply rooted passion for, faith in a better world, in love, tolerance and diversity are a red thread throughout both his creative and non-fictional work. His novels might best be described as “literary romance, engaging characters and relevant stories that won’t leave you untouched, but hopeful.”   Hans is a proud member of the Swedish Writers’ Union and the Writers’ Center in Sweden.

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Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

spanish-bay-giveaway

The giveaway for Spanish Bay has 11 randomly chosen winners; 1 will receive a $50 Amazon gift card and 10 will receive a $10 gift code to the author’s shop,

http://giveawaytools2.com/share.php?giveaway=88346493105

Here, my review:

Spanish Bay by Hans Hirshi. The Queen of Unconventional Happy Endings Does it Again.

I obtained an ARC copy of his book in exchange for an honest review as part of the launch blog tour of the novel.

This is the fourth book I have read by Hans Hirschi. I also read his blog regularly and I’m aware that another author bestowed upon him the title of ‘Queen of Unconventional Endings’ and he has taken proud ownership of the same. And in this book the author lives up to the title.

Spanish Bay is a young adult love story between two young men, Neil and Chris, who meet in very special circumstances. Neil is disabled due to a rare muscular disease and he has to mobilise using a wheelchair. He is being bullied in front of Sally’s, the café where Chris works, and he comes to his rescue. It is love at first sight. Neil is still in school, due to the time he had to spend in hospital (he is already nineteen) and both he and Chris are outsiders. Chris was thrown out of the ranch where he lived with his family when they discovered he was gay. Neil feels invisible, as people see his chair instead of him, and although he knows he is attracted to men, he’s never had the confidence to explore it any further. He worries that nobody will see past his chair.

Chris and Neil, despite their different origins (Chris’s parents are a bit of a disaster, whilst Neil’s are enlightened and supportive most of the time, if a bit overprotective, understandably), are made for each other, and they are both aware of it from the very beginning. Their love story encounters many complications and hurdles to overcome, but there are no misunderstandings, jealousy, or difficulties within the couple. All the problems come from outside, mostly through life and their families, or rather, Chris’s family. Every time things seem settled, something new comes up. The beauty of the novel (and it is a pretty short one), that made me think of a fairy tale, is that together, they are strong, they complement each other beautifully, and they conquer everything that life throws in their way. Chris has a huge heart, and Neil is mature and determined beyond his years, and they are better for being together.

There are characters that act like fairy godmothers (or godfathers), like Sue (Neil’s fabulous pot-smoking grandma), Sally (the owner of the coffee shop), Junior (Chris’s oldest brother), and Old Mr Murphy (Steve). There are some characters that do bad things, like Alexandra, but they aren’t true villains, more victims of circumstances and misguided. Everybody roots for the young couple, and not only are they happy, but they irradiate happiness around, and help create strengthen both their families.

Spanish Bay is a book that will make you feel at peace with the universe, and you’ll wish you could move and live in Carmel with the characters. If you’re looking for gritty realism and deep psychological studies full of angst-ridden characters, this is not it. But if you want a heart-warming read that will put a smile on your face while touching on matters like family relationships, disability, diversity and choice, you’ve come to the right place.

Thanks so much to Hans Hirschi for sharing his new book with me, thanks to Amberr Meadows for organising the blog tour, and thanks to you all for reading. And  you know… please, like, share, comment and CLICK!

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