Grumpy Darling by Alexandra Moody

SHE’S NEVER BEEN KISSED. HE’S NEVER FELT THIS WAY ABOUT ANYONE.

Paige has ticked off everything on her senior year bucket list except one tiny thing ― she’s never kissed anyone. And her best friend, Grayson Darling, is to blame.

Grayson is the school hockey team’s notorious enforcer, and he’s been scaring away any eligible bachelors that so much as look in Paige’s direction. With time running out, she demands that Grayson stop defending her honour. Instead, he’ll become her dating coach, training her to win the guy of her dreams.

But Grayson has plans of his own. He’s been in love with Paige since they were kids, and his clock is running, too. Coaching Paige might be his last chance to show her how good they’d be together. After all, practice makes perfect.

 

I can't say sports romance are usually my go to reads but after reading Rival Darling last week I surprised myself with how much I actually enjoyed it and having loved Reed and Violets story I was more than a little tempted to pick up Grumpy Darling because I found Grayson an intriguing character and was looking forward to seeing if there was more to his and Paige's friendship.

This storyline looks at the blur of male female friendships when you think you have been friend-zoned but secretly underneath there is a bubble of chemistry waiting to explode. Yes the outcome of this book is certainly predictable but did this ruin my enjoyment of seeing Paige and Grayson slowly discover their feelings for each other? No not at all I enjoyed every cringey awkward moment of poor Paige learning to flirt alongside Grayson finally opening up and trying to navigate how to tell and show his true feelings for his best friend without ruining their years of friendship.

Both Grayson and Paige were both likeable characters even if they were polar opposites with Paige being a bright positive "rainbow" and Grayson being a "Grumpy Panda"! 

This is a great read for students this time of year too because it does touch on career paths and shows how some people have a clear passion and a career path ready to follow by the time they leave school whereas for others it isn't always clear what path they want to take and that is ok you will find your way when you stop putting pressure on yourself.

Having just finished a really deep emotive read before starting this book this was definitely right book right time as it was light hearted, uplifting and romantic which is the perfect tonic to repair a readers heart. Now let's hope we don't have too long to wait for Parkers story.

Available to buy here

Regretting You by Colleen Hoover

 

Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.

Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.

With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.

While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.

I am relatively late to the Colleen Hoover party and I have read some so far that I have loved and some not so much but having just finished Regretting You this is firmly going on the books I loved list.

This book follows a family who are navigating grief after the loss of a Father/Husband and Auntie/Sister and this highlights how differently people deal with grief but also especially for Morgan looks at dealing with grief when secrets are revealed leaving you to deal with grief, heartbreak, trust and the ultimate betrayal. So often when someone passes they are put on a pedestal and people only remember and reminisce on how wonderful the deceased are but there are often more to the person and with both Chris and Jenny they have turned Morgan's life upside down and my heart really went out to this poor lady as her whole life as she knows it is ripped away from under her feet whilst she also has to be there for her daughter Clara who is dealing with the loss in a challenging way.

Clara finds comfort and love in the form of Miller but she is going through the motions of a new romance whilst dealing with the loss of her aunt and dad whilst also batting heads with her mother and having this overwhelming thought of being responsible for their deaths.

I was really taken in by these characters and this touching storyline, it doesn't sugar coat the challenging issues that are faced during grief and I was wishing for both Clara and Morgan to come together and get through this devastating time together and sometimes although you may have all the best intentions of keeping secrets to protect the people you love ultimately truth is always the best outcome.

The romance that builds around our characters felt genuine and honest, I was really routing for a happy wholesome outcome for all of our characters involved. I definitely recommend this book and I can't wait for this one to make it to the big screen because I will definitely be grabbing the popcorn.

Right Place, Right Time by Ali McNamara

 

Eve has always loved antiques.

She loves the way an item from the past can offer a glimpse of another world, of another time. It's why she painstakingly researches the stories behind every item in Rainy Day Antiques, her little Cambridge shop, to share with their new owners. It's her way of honouring the past and cherishing the present.

Adam is firmly focussed on the future.

He's only in town to sort his late grandfather's affairs. When he discovers that his grandfather hired Eve to manage his house clearance, he can only hope her methods don't delay his return to London.

What neither of them know is that Adam's grandfather chose Eve for a reason. It's finally the right place and the right time for the two of them to meet. But what did he have planned for them?

I have enjoyed many books by Ali McNamara so I was looking forward to her new release Right Place, Right Time.

This story line follows Eve who runs a little antiques shop called Rainy Day Antiques which is set in the quaint little  square called Clockmaker Court in Cambridge. Their is a close knit community in the court, all supporting each others businesses and providing friendships alongside which I love and before long you want to be a part of the court.

Eve meets Adam who is the love interest in this storyline but sparks don’t fly instantly as Eve is called in to hold the house clearance as requested by Adams late Grandfather. 

I was thoroughly enjoying this storyline learning more about Adam and Eve and I was becoming intrigued by this mysterious quest that seemed to have brought them both together. I can’t lie I was a little surprised when suddenly around 3/4 of the way through the book it took an unexpected turn and the revelation seemed so out of place with the rest of the book it felt for a while like I had picked up another story!

My attention did waiver a little at this point but I persevered with it and luckily my attention was piqued again and I enjoyed the bizarre remainder of the book.

This was unlike anything I have read before it began with a cute cosy vibe with a blossoming romance developing and later turns into something more “out there” and questionable is probably the only way I can explain it without giving away the storyline.

The Next Chapter by Rebecca Ryan

 

Lily Brown is ready to turn the page and see what adventure awaits . . .

Lily Brown prides herself on her organised, surprise-free life. Whether it's charity yoga for polar bears or crafting a ninety-six-piece balloon arch, Lily always goes the extra mile. But when her adoptive father asks her to reconnect with her birth mother, Lola Starr – a legendary pop punk singer who vanished from fame – Lily decides to venture off the well-trodden path.

With her best friend Seb, Lily tracks Lola to her humble hotel on the beautiful Isle of Skye in Scotland, far from the glamorous life she imagined. Hiding the truth, Lily gets to know Lola and finds a kind, free-spirited woman. If life wasn’t complicated enough – she meets Noah, a charming travel writer on a quest to discover hidden gems.  

As Lily takes a chance and embraces new possibilities, she begins to question whether the safe rules she’s built her life around are what she really needs.

This is my first book by Rebecca Ryan so I wasn't sure what to expect but one thing I can definitely say is her style of writing certainly appeals to me as she held my attention from start to end meaning I finished this book in one greedy sitting.

This is perfect beach reading because it is fast paced and easy reading as we watch Lily as she connects with her birth mother Lola. Lily was incredibly easy to like and is an overthinker like myself so she was easy to relate to and she is a people pleaser too so she finds herself in some situations that are out of her comfort zone that also provides a little humour to the story.

There is a little romance blossoming on the sidelines with the handsome and adventurous Noah which I loved but it was the parts involving Lola and Lily that I really enjoyed as Lily began to build a picture of her birth mums life and also get some answers to those long lingering questions that had been rolling through her mind over the years.

The setting of this book was on the Isle of Skye which just seems to be breath-taking, a real place of peace and calm to escape the rat race of life and I am definitely putting this on my bucket list of places to visit.

I really enjoyed this book and watching Lily grow as a person as she slowly peels back some of those safety guards she has put herself behind giving her a chance to actually take a chance and live a more fulfilled and exciting life, letting people in and creating her own new family was so heartwarming.

Available to purchase here

The Girl with the Suitcase by Lesley Pearse

 

London, 1941

When Mary meets a glamorous stranger named Elizabeth she realises their lives couldn’t be more different. Elizbeth is beautiful and charming, about to set off on a dazzling adventure to Ireland where she’s inherited a grand house. Mary, shy and meek, has nothing to look forward to but the dreary life of a maid in Hampstead.

But when an air raid forces them to take shelter underground Mary’s life is suddenly changed forever. After waking up in hospital, injured but alive, the nurse mistakes her for Elizabeth and hands over her suitcase with Elizabeth’s money and tickets to Ireland inside.

This is Mary’s chance to escape the hardship of her life and start afresh.

Will she take it and what could go wrong?

I am a big Lesley Pearse fan and have read the majority if not all of her previous books so I picked up her new release A Girl with the Suitcase without hesitation.

When I read the synopsis for this novel I was instantly intrigued and when I began reading this book being introduced to both Mary and Elizabeth I soon found myself engrossed in the story and was surprised how quickly events took place leading to the death of Elizabeth. When Mary took her identity it wasn’t done in a way that made it feel wrong but ultimately it was illegal and as we watch as Mary or as she became known as Beth as she navigates through the following years of her life with her new identity we are always waiting with bated breath to see if the truth will catch up with her eventually.

I was hooked from start to finish and Beth was an easy character to like. With the book being set in war times we get to see how rationing and romances were navigated in life. Abuse is a part of this book too which I feel needs mentioning incase this is a trigger for you.

Now as much as I enjoyed this book and at no point did my interest waiver I have to be honest and say that the first quarter of the book is when it feels like all the action happens and the remainder of the book felt a little like we were floating along in life with Beth with not a lot happening.

It didn’t put me off because I loved watching Mary reinvent herself as Beth creating a life she deserved but was denied because of her dreadful upbringing.

This is a captivating wartime novel with a main character who you are routing for from start to finish, a heart-warming novel to come out of such tragic events.

Available to buy HERE

The Wildest Dreams Bookshop by Gracie Page

 

Seventeen-year-old Anna is not having a good summer. She’s pretty sure she’s flunked her exams and to make matters worse, her boyfriend, Max, has unceremoniously dumped her. All her friends have incredible summers lined up, while her diary is looking worryingly empty. So when her aunt invites her to stay at her bookshop by the sea for the summer, she reluctantly takes her up on her offer. 

If nothing else, at least she can hide out there and ignore the fact her real life is quickly going down the drain. What Anna didn’t factor into her summer plans was the oh so irritating but distractingly good looking local surfer, Jacob, who keeps crossing her path and who she finds herself inexplicably drawn to… 

When disaster strikes the bookshop, Anna has to work with Jacob if she’s to save the bookshop’s end of summer party. Along the way she might just discover that real life can be a whole lot sweeter than fiction…

This book arrived at the perfect time having just finished a couple of heavy books back to back I needed something light and uplifting and The Wildest Dreams Bookshop was a pure tonic. This is more of a YA romance but I know many of you who interact with my reviews have commented recently how romance books all seem to be full of spice recently well this one is perfect for you because there is zero spice in this book just a touch of romance running alongside the main storyline.

Being a big bookworm running a bookshop is a dream so I was certainly envious of Anna heading off to work in her aunts bookshop and I was pulled right in as she began making changes to make this bookshop turn a corner and start bringing in a profit. 

Anna seemed a lot older than 18 in this book especially how capable she was in tackling the publishing event and whole bookshop make over! I love how it touches on the pressure and stress of exam results when your at that scary point in life where you need to find out what path your going down.

I actually really enjoyed this book it was such a light easy read that I flew through in a day so this is a perfect Summer beach read.

Love at First Sight by Laura Jane WIlliams

 

 

He’s the perfect guy. There's just one problem...

Jessie knows that love at first sight doesn’t exist. But, one sunny Saturday in London, a fire alarm in Whole Foods throws her into a stranger's arms. Cal is charming and funny: their chemistry is instant.

Quick-fire flirting turns into the most enchanting day of Jessie’s life. But that evening they're forced apart before swapping numbers. Jessie is devastated – what if she’s just lost the one?

After weeks of searching, imagine her surprise when Jessie opens the door at her nannying job to Cal holding two dozen red roses.

 

The only thing is, they’re not for her…

This is my first read by Laura Jane Williams but I am incredibly thankful to her as Love at First Sight has just pulled me out of a big reading slump. This is a fast paced romance that will divide readers as you choose if your team Cal or Team Leo! 

I was firmly Team Leo.

Jessie really kept me on my toes not quite knowing if she was going to end up with either guys or if she was going to end up on her own.

Alongside the romantic side of this novel we also get to see Jessie who is so passionate about the care and growth of children and has a brilliant idea for a new community idea but she lacks the confidence to make it happen. 

This book does show the effects that rejection and also poor work relationships that overstep the mark can have on someone's confidence and the importance of surrounding yourself with supportive people to help find confidence and belief in yourself.

This is certainly an ideal beach read it is an enjoyable easy read that will keep you guessing on how the book will end and I for one couldn't guess what way things were going to go.

Available to buy here