Sizzling Summer with Allie Spencer

Last week I reviewed Save the Date! by Allie Spencer. I have loved all of the books by this author and I love to keep up with her on Twitter and Facebook to see what treat she has in store for us in her next book. One thing that always comes to mind as soon as Allie Spencer is mentioned is glorious locations, as each of her books are set in a different tantalising country, I have always wondered what Allie Spencers holidays are like compared to her characters. I have Allie Spencer on the blog today to answer some Sizzling Summer Quick Fire Questions.

SIZZLING SUMMER WITH ALLIE SPENCER!

Pool or Sea? Sea

Relax or Explore? Explore, preferably somewhere with a lot of history 

Favourite Holiday Drink? Margaritas - yum

Favourite Holiday Destination? Would love to go to Venice - not managed it yet! 

City Break or Beach Break? Can I have a city next to the beach(!)

Kindle or Paperback? Paperback 

All Inclusive or Self Catering? Self Catering - more chance to try the local restaurants

Romantic break or girly break? Romantic!

Don't forget to grab your copy of Save The Date! to take away with you this Summer.


Kindle

Save The Date by Allie Spencer

Family weddings can be hell. ...and, marooned in Italy for her cousin's nuptials, Ailsa can be forgiven for thinking that this one is worse than most. With the bride and groom at loggerheads and the guests in uproar, it is a million miles away from the rest and relaxation she'd been hoping for. And then suddenly, in the middle of the mayhem, she comes face-to-face with Nick, the man she walked out on just a few months earlier.

How can Ailsa help get the wedding back on track when she and Nick can't stop arguing? But if they do, she might remember why she fell in love with him in the first place - and then there really would be trouble.

I have loved Allie Spencer’s previous books and her new release Save The Date is yet another enjoyable and entertaining read by this wonderful author. With my Wedding plans sizzling my brain at the moment it was time to take a break and see how traumatic other Weddings are!

What a perfect setting for a family wedding, beautiful Italy. But just because the setting is picturesque doesn’t mean everything else will be perfect in fact it seems with Alicia’s cousins wedding that everything is a drama, and if there are not enough problems with the wedding then try adding to the drama the unexpected arrival of Nick, Alicia’s partner whom she had only walked out on a few months before. This looks like it will be a wedding to remember!

After finishing this book I actually feel quite calm now about my big day! This was an exciting and enjoyable read that I devoured easily in one sitting. The book flowed at a fast pace and there seemed to be more and more drama as the book progressed. 

There are a great mix of characters in this book some such as Jess and Alicia who I loved from the start, then others who I was a little wary of such as Kitty and Charles, and of course a lovable but mischievous little canine friend who was a lovely addition to the two legged characters!  

Romance fans will love this book as there are relationships aplenty in this book but what I loved was the light hearted feel to the book and the humour, I felt like I had a constant grin on my face the whole way through reading this book.  Every time I thought nothing else could possibly go wrong with this disastrous family wedding something else happened to top it all!

The first thing that comes to mind when Allie Spencer is mentioned is glorious destinations, her descriptive writing when it comes to setting the scene always makes you want to jet off to the destination in her books and this was the same with Save The Date, I feel as though Italy is calling me now. If the descriptions are not tantalising enough then I am sure the beautiful cover will sway you, I think this is one of the best covers of 2013 so far.

Allie Spencer has given us another sizzler of a read. If you want humour, romance, a gorgeous location and not forgetting drama, drama, drama then make this your next read.

Paperback             Kindle

Summer Nights by Allie Spencer

One of the best Summer reads for me last year was Summer Loving by Allie Spencer. When I was looking through Amazon to see what new up and coming books were coming out I was shocked to see that Allie Spencer was releasing another book this time called Summer Nights. The book covers are very similar and very appealing perfect for a summer read if ever the sun does decide to come out but just remember to be careful you pick up the right book!

Flora is holidaying in San Francisco and she is eagerly awaiting her boyfriend’s arrival to join her in celebrating her 30^th birthday but things don’t go to plan when he dumps her leaving her alone in San Francisco. With only one option Flora seeks out her cousin Bella who lives in San Francisco but Bella has been keeping secrets from her family when it comes to her job with them thinking she is working as a nurse when in fact she is currently singing in an Abba tribute band. It looks like the girls need each other help to get over the difficulties in their lives.

Firstly I was a little surprised by this book as I thought because the title and the cover of the books were so similar I thought it was going to be a carry on from Summer Loving but this wasn’t the case.  We are introduced to a whole new bunch of characters all of whom I loved. Flora was easy to warm to after having her heart broken early on in the book although it is quite clear she is upset she doesn’t mope around for long as her cousin Bella and her friend Lisa soon take it upon themselves to cheer her up and encourage her to get back out on the dating scene again.

If there are any Abba fans out there you will also enjoy this book as Bella is part of an Abba tribute band and you soon have the songs playing in your mind! I love how light hearted the book felt until a certain point where out of nowhere the book takes an emotional turn which only makes the book more appealing. I love the romance in this book to it wasn’t rushed and it was great to read the build up to the relationship between Flora and her love interest.

Another great read from Allie Spencer which will make your perfect holiday read.

Paperback                  Kindle

Summer Loving by Allie Spencer

This week I finally got up to date with my reading and finished reviewing the last of the books which had been sent to me so it was time for me to hit the shops for a spot of retail therapy and pick up a few books which I have been waiting to read. One of the books I have picked up is Allie Spencer Summer Loving. With this appalling summer us Brits seem to be having at the moment and my holiday still 6 months away I felt it was time to read something to give me the summer feeling!

Plot

There comes a point in a girl’s life when she just needs to hang out with her girlfriends – preferably in Greece – so they can laugh, reminisce and perhaps indulge in a holiday romance or two. Beth has reached that point, and being a woman who likes to organise things, she arranges the holiday of her dreams for her and her three best friends. However, the bars, clubs and wild nights of their imaginings are a far cry from the slow, quiet pace of life on Liminaki. But if they thought that meant they were in for a peaceful time, they soon discover their mistake. For a start, Ginny drives everyone mad talking about her bleeping wedding. Anna falls hook, line and sinker for the waiter. Beth succumbs to the charms of a handsome sailor. And something is definitely Up with Kirsten. And then Beth’s boyfriend turns up at a Very Bad Moment… surely things can’t get any more complicated?

My Opinion

This is the first book I have read by Allie Spencer and what a great start it was for me. The story is set in Liminaki in Greece, which is a quiet village not quite what the ladies were expecting and although it was a shock to the ladies as this was not the holiday they were planning they gradually started to fall in love with the island and so did I and this is thanks for Allie’s creative writing which described the idyllic scene of a perfect holiday destination. The way in which she describes Liminaki makes you feel as if you are there with the girls and makes you feel as if you really get to know the island. It was a similar style of writing to Belinda Jones.  This gorgeous setting made a great base for a beautiful book.

Our main character in this book is Beth who I found to be a very likeable character and it didn’t take long to warm to her.  Although I did love Beth my favourite female character in this book was Anna and I really wish we got to read more about her as she seemed like such a warm gentle and genuine character who never sees the bad in anyone. My one down point to this book is the character Ginny. I didn’t like her from the moment she arrived in the book and I didn’t enjoy any part of her in the book I don’t think her presence was really needed in this little gem of a book. Allie got the male characters of this book spot on having both a true English gentle man and a gorgeous Greek piece of eye candy to keep us  ladies entertained. I enjoyed both of their characters but I have to say that Bick the Greek guy had the slight edge for me as I always find Greek and Italian men a bit mysterious and charming!

I found with this book rather than there being one main story line there were many different things going on as each of the girls seem to have their own problems going on which all come to light in the book. I did find that the book was predictable but this didn’t ruin the book for me I still flowed along with the story.

This is defiantly one to take on holiday with you as it really gets you in the holiday mood. You do get lost in the story which was a bit of a shock for me when I finished the book then looked out the window to see the rain and realised I am not in sunny Greece!! I would defiantly recommend this book and I eagerly await the next novel which I hope Allie has already made a start on!