#FridayReads – If you like #Romance then you might like these…..#AmReading

If you like reading #Romance then I can recommend these books

22038196Bella Abbascia has returned to Seaside Cottages in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, as she does every summer. Only this year, Bella has more on her mind than sunbathing and skinny-dipping with her girlfriends. She’s quit her job, put her house on the market, and sworn off relationships while she builds a new life in her favorite place on earth. That is, until good-time Bella’s prank takes a bad turn and a sinfully sexy police officer appears on the scene.

Single father and police officer Caden Grant left Boston with his fourteen-year-old son, Evan, after his partner was killed in the line of duty. He hopes to find a safer life in the small resort town of Wellfleet, and when he meets Bella during a night patrol shift, he realizes he’s found the one thing he’d never allowed himself to hope for—or even realized he was missing.

After fourteen years of focusing solely on his son, Caden cannot resist the intense attraction he feels toward beautiful Bella, and Bella’s powerless to fight the heat of their budding romance. But starting over proves more difficult than either of them imagined, and when Evan gets mixed up with the wrong kids, Caden’s loyalty is put to the test. Will he give up everything to protect his son—even Bella? Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

22845672Twenty-one-year-old Lizzie Adler had everything a young woman could want: she was beautiful, bright, and had both a faithful best friend and a handsome boyfriend with whom she was deeply in love. In one fell swoop, calamity strikes, stripping Lizzie of all that she holds dear. While driving with her best friend, Nan, en route to a party, Lizzie collides with another car.

The results are devastating: Nan doesn’t survive the accident, while Lizzie is forever crippled and disfigured. Lizzie undergoes scores of surgeries and endures ample physical therapy, which ultimately leave her with a face and body she can no longer recognize.

Meanwhile, Daniel has just recently left Lizzie to stay with his ailing grandparents in England. He intended to return to her arms after just one summer. Little did he know that, after months of silence from his beloved, he would receive a cold, curt break-up letter, devoid of explanation.

Unable to bear the pain brought on by memories of who she used to be, Lizzie casts her former identity aside forever and decides to go by the name of Beth.

Fast forward twelve years, and Beth is now an almost-happily-married stay-at-home mom with a five-year-old daughter, Stacy. Boredom and pressure from her husband, Alan prompt Beth to join Stacy’s school’s PTA. There, she meets Noreen: the first woman she is able to connect with since Nan’s death so many years ago. Beth is delighted to have finally found someone with whom to face the travails of womanhood.

Unfortunately, friendship with Noreen comes at an unexpected – and painfully high – price.   Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

22515690Erik “Fish” Fiskare loves the theatre, but he’s more intrigued by the wizardry behind the red curtain than the spectacle center stage. That is, until Daisy Bianco steps into the spotlight. The moment Erik lays eyes on this ballerina, his atoms rearrange and the young stagehand will never be the same.

For two years, the romance thrives within a tight-knit circle of artists and friends. Then, a newcomer arrives—James, a brilliant but erratic dancer with a misguided infatuation and a burning desire to belong. Rejection sets James on a course for destruction and when the smoke clears, Erik’s world is torn apart. He soon discovers that in the face of heartache, grief and betrayal, love is not always enough to make you stay. And sometimes, it’s the only thing that can bring you back.

Spanning fifteen years and following a man’s thrilling emotional journey back to the truth of himself, this award-winning novel has gripped readers and placed Laqueur as one of the most exciting debut authors of 2015. The Man I Love is an epic tale of love and forgiveness that will linger long after the last page is turned. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

22178905Discover beautiful South Africa in this sweet, heart-warming Cinderella story about a blogger, a billionaire, and one chance meeting.

When it comes to men, if physiotherapist Caitlin Sutherland didn’t have bad luck, she would have no luck at all. To help cope, Caitlin starts blogging in her spare time, about the types of men she meets and the bad dates she goes on.

While on duty during the annual Wines to Whales bicycle race, a gorgeous, sweaty cyclist walks in and sets her hormones dancing. But he is Don Cavallo; one of the four Cavallo brothers — hotel tycoons, famous as much for their business skills as for the number of beauties regularly seen on their arms.

Don Cavallo has his own issues with the other sex. He has yet to find one who is interested in him and not in his money or hotels. But when this sexy physio puts her hands on his back she not only touches his body, but also his heart.

They’ve both been burned before, but neither of them can stop themselves from playing with fire. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

25849896SCOTCH ON THE ROCKS
Where men are men and women are glad of it!

ISHABEL STUART is at the crossroads of her life.
Her wealthy industrialist father has died unexpectedly, leaving her a half-share in a ruined whisky distillery and the task of scattering his ashes on a Munro. After discovering her fiancé playing away from home, she cancels their lavish Christmas wedding at St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh and heads for the only place she feels safe – Eilean na Sgairbh, a windswept island on Scotland’s west coast – where the cormorants outnumber the inhabitants, ten to one.
When she arrives at her family home – now a bed and breakfast managed by her left-wing, firebrand Aunt Esme, she finds a guest in situ – BRODIE. Issy longs for peace and the chance to lick her wounds, but gorgeous, sexy American, Brodie, turns her world upside down.
In spite of her vow to steer clear of men, she grows to rely on Brodie. However, she suspects him of having an ulterior motive for staying at her aunt’s Bed and Breakfast on remote Cormorant Island. Having been let down by the men in her life, will it be third time lucky for Issy? Is she wise to trust a man she knows nothing about – a man who presents her with more questions than answers?
As for Aunt Esme, she has secrets of her own . . . Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

17863305Rose O’Carroll has been single for most of her 40 years. In her search for love she packs up her life in Melbourne and moves to London. Guided by her special friends – her angels, she soon lands a great job, makes great friends and begins her spiritual journey.

It doesn’t take long for Joe DeMarco, the handsome American, to turn Rose’s world upside down and change it forever. Rose intuitively knows she has met her twin soulmate. But how does she cope when he tells her “it’s just the wrong time.”

Everything happens for a reason and soon Rose discovers why she had to meet Joe DeMarco when the timing was wrong. She had someone else to meet first… and it wasn’t only the dishy Dr St. Claire!   Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

16301205Marianne Coltrane is a feisty, award-winning journalist who is far from lucky in love. Taking herself off to the wilds of the west of Ireland to recuperate, she literally runs into Ryan O’Gorman, the most conceited, infuriating man in the world.
He’s an actor who’s just landed the biggest role in movie history and he loathes journalists. One thing they do have in common is they both think their chance of true love has passed them by…but fate has other ideas!
Sexy, moving and funny, this heart-warming duo and cast of colourful characters will stay with you, long after the last page leaves you smiling. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

22368254Marcus has sworn to avenge his wife’s death—even if it takes an eternity to hunt down the vampire who murdered her. Once a Roman Centurion, Marcus is now immortal and, for the past two thousand years, impervious to human emotions. Until the night he rescues Diana…
Diana knew nothing of the paranormal world until her transformation into a vampling, a newborn vampire entirely reliant for survival upon the distant and seemingly emotionless Centurion, who found her in the throes of changing. Her protector turned her without her consent, but at his untimely death, she becomes the distant and cold immortal’s responsibility.
The entire vampire community is determined to kill Marcus as he protects one of their own. While Marcus and Diana travel the Italian countryside, being chased by their enemies, Marcus must choose between avenging his dead wife or saving Diana from the same vampire who ruined his life. Will the power of love win over his desire for revenge? Bewitched by the Amalfi moon, he soon discovers life might still surprise him. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

188786611924. The English Shires, after the Great War.
When her jazzing flapper of an aunt dies, Gerardina Mary Chiledexter inherits some silver-topped scent bottles, a wardrobe of love-affair clothes, and astonishingly, a half-share in a million-acre ranch in south-west Texas.
Haunted by a psychic cat and the ghost voice of that aunt Leonie, Gerry feels driven to travel thousands of miles to see the ranch for herself.
Against a background of big sky, cattle barons and oil wells, she is soon engaged in a game of power, pride and ultimately, love, with the Texan who owns the other half.
   Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT LETTING GO by @Kimberlywenzler

Today’s team review is from Judith, she blogs at http://judithbarrowblog.com/

Rosie's Book Review team 1

Judith has been reading Letting Go by Kimberly Wenzler

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I gave Letting Go by Kimberly Wenzler 5*

I loved Letting Go by Kimberly Wenzler It’s an easy read; one you can put down and look forward to picking it up again  – and be able to follow immediately.. It’s a book lightly touched by plot, threaded through by a mystery that is only revealed at the end, with various strands of relationships for the reader to follow with the narrator, Lucy. Lucy is also the protagonist and therein lies the shock. I don’t give away spoilers so I’ll leave that one hanging there

Based in Long Island, New York, USA there are enough descriptions of settings to show the ordinary lives of the characters. The conventional families, friendships, courtships are a backdrop against a dreadful incident some two years earlier.

And, for me, the strength of the book is in these characters; so rounded, so strongly drawn that I could see and believe in them immediately. The touches of characterisation, observation and human interaction are authentic and realistic. The conversations, together with  the internal dialogue work well, defining each of the characters and their narratives, each moving the story on..

  But what I really like is the way the darker themes, the story of Ben, a teenage neighbour, and the criminal world he is inevitably drawn into, are interwoven with the poignant and tender relationship between Max and Sammy, Lucy’s husband and son.

It’s not a fast-paced book but I think Letting Go is paced, I love the author’s writing style; so fitting for this kind of novel. A very satisfying and original read. One I can thoroughly recommend.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT LETTING GO by @kimberlywenzler

Today’s team review comes from Terry, she blogs at http://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Rosie's Book Review team 1

Terry chose to read and review Letting Go by Kimberly Wenzler

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Letting Go by Kimberly Wenzler

4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed by me as part of Rosie Amber’s Review Team

 

I was confused as to how to review this book as it’s difficult not to give the whole theme of the story away, so I’m going to tiptoe through it.  Suffice to say that there’s a great surprise very early on that made me think, “oh, clever!”, and I imagine it will have the same effect on you!

Set in Long Island, New York, Letting Go shows wife and mother Lucy observing how the shocking event of 2007 (I’m not telling you!) affects husband Max, son Sam, best friend Hope, and even the troubled babysitter, Benjamin, whose story runs concurrently.  It’s a great idea, and Kimberly Wenzler has made a good job of it.

The novel is very well presented and nicely written, the characterisation very good, particularly Max, I thought.  He’s a writer whose creativity is facing a brick wall; his emotions zigzag through many highs and lows.  I thought he was so realistically written.

The people in this story live a conventional, middle class life, with conventional attitudes, a little too much so for me; Lucy describes her ‘picket fence’ existence.  She’s quite a ‘girly’ sort of woman (who went down in my estimation when she described the brilliant ‘The Road’ by Cormac McCarthy as ‘incredibly dreary’!), but you couldn’t not like her.

The only problem I had with this novel was that it was a bit short on plot; not much happens.  It’s emotionally driven, an exploration of family relationships, to a large extent.  That’s not to say there isn’t a proper plot, there is, and it has several strands, but domestic detail, incidental conversation and Lucy’s observations/impressions form a large part of it; elements of conflict are touched on only lightly, and I kept thinking there was going to be something to get my teeth into only to find that the drama I hoped for didn’t happen.  However, it’s well put together and is a book you can put down and pick up again without having to remember the kind of intricate detail that has me searching back over previous pages.  There was one relationship I saw brewing very early on (and I was glad I was right, I wanted it to happen!), and a mystery is solved at the end in an unpredictable and very convincing way.

One very positive aspect of this story is that the subject could have been oozing with schmaltz, but it’s not.  I don’t do tearjerkers at all, and wondered if this might become overly so, but it didn’t, it’s the sort of book that makes you feel a little bit sad and smile a little bit, but doesn’t slap it on with a trowel.  

I think this will be greatly enjoyed by people who like a slow-paced, emotionally orientated study of family relationships, with plenty to ponder over.  It’s certainly an original idea, and is very well executed.  

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

 

 

 

 

#RomancingSeptember Day 17 Both Sides Of Love by Kimberly Wenzler @boys2mom

Welcome to Day 17 of #RomancingSeptember

2015 cover

Our guest today is Kimberly Wenzler and her book Both Sides Of Love

Both Sides Of Love

Where is your home town?

I live in a town called Northport, on the north shore of Long Island, New York. We love it here. Only one hour drive to New York City, and a few miles from beautiful beaches and harbors, it’s a great place to live.

How long have you been writing romance?

I started writing my first novel in 2005, when my children were young and I stopped working outside the home. Prior to that, I wrote poetry and essays and have kept journals through the years.

What is your favourite sub-genre of romance?

My favorite sub-genre is contemporary romance. I enjoy reading stories about love, friendship, and different relationships, so that’s what I write. I also love historical fiction – sinking my teeth into a good, juicy drama that takes place in another time.

Where and when is your book set?

Both Sides of Love is set in Hummelstown, PA, in 1990.

Tell us what happened to Lizzie.

In 1978, twenty-one year old Lizzie Adler was beautiful, in love, and embarking on her summer break before her final semester at college. Three days after arriving home, Lizzie and her best friend, Nan, were headed to a party. On their way, their car collided with a truck, killing Nan and crippling Lizzie.

What plans were destroyed on the night of her accident?

Lizzie was to graduate, start her career, and marry Daniel, the love of her life. After her accident, distraught over losing Nan, and trying to come to terms with the damage she sustained, she quits school and sends Daniel, who was caring for his grandparents in England, a Dear John letter without explanation. After numerous surgeries and therapies, Lizzie has changed, physically and emotionally. She abandons her former identity and decides to answer to Beth.

 

 

12 years later, how does Beth feel about herself?

Beth is introverted and hides in her well-played role as a stay-at-home mom. Even many years later, she is still uncomfortable in her “new” skin and allows her handicap to define her.

 

How does her new friend Noreen change Beth’s life?

When Beth meets Noreen, she is immediately taken with her. Noreen, who reminds Beth of Nan, is beautiful, outgoing and full of life. Though an unlikely pair, they bond immediately, and Beth feels truly happy to have found a friend to share the experiences of being a wife and mother. However, Beth soon learns that her new friendship comes at a high cost.

Tell us what you are working on at the moment.

I’m excited to tell you that my second book, Letting Go, is to be released early August. And I am working on my third book, tentatively titled Lucky Girl, which will be out in 2016.

Where can readers find out more about you?

Kimberly Wenzler

I have a website where I blog about life, reading and writing: www.kimberlywenzler.com or Facebook www.facebook.com/kimberlywenzler or Twitter @boys2mom. Please don’t be a stranger!

Find out more about Kimberly’s writing and her book from Stephanie in just a few hours  http://stephanie-hurt.com/

September Magazine #bookreviews @FleetLife

This month we have book reviews in http://www.fleetlife.org.uk

September FL

Go to the online magazine, click on online directory and once loaded find the reviews on page 28

This month’s featured books are;

The Cunning Woman’s Cup by Sue Hewitt

Both Sides Of Love by Kimberley Wenzler

The Last Gatekeeper by Katy Haye

The Lives Between Us by Theresa Rizzo

Lovers At Heart by Melissa Foster

Both Sides Of Love by Kimberly Wenzler @boys2mom #Romance #Bookreview

Both Sides of LoveBoth Sides of Love by Kimberly Wenzler

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Both Sides Of Love is a true Love Story. It is set in Pennsylvania and opens with a scene from 1978. Lizzie is 21 she has her life ahead of her studying environmental science, she has a wonderful boyfriend whom she plans to spend the rest of her life with and she has the support of her best friend Nancy.

With Daniel away in England, Lizzie and Nancy are off to a party when they are involved in a tragic traffic accident.

Fast forward to 1990 and we meet Beth, a shy woman married to Alan with a young daughter. Forcing herself out of her comfort zone Beth heads for her first PTA meeting. Very conscious of her limp, and scarring from the accident, Beth is a different person. She changed her name and after a long time was persuaded to pick up her life by her devoted father.

At the meeting Beth meets another new Mum, Noreen and the two soon become firm friends. They are both good for each other and the friendship blossoms. But it’s a friendship which will be greatly tested for more than one reason.

This is a classic love story, one which is very well written, it takes you on highs and lows, it brought tears to my eyes and definitely had me routing for Beth as she faced all her hurdles.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

View all my reviews on Goodreads