All She Ever Wished For by Claudia Carroll

Marriage. It’s a dream come true. Isn’t it?

One wet winter night, two women meet on a bridge. One is Tess Taylor, a personal trainer on the way to meet her boyfriend for date night. The other is Kate King, a celebrity married to a handsome billionaire who just happens to make her cry. In the cold dark evening, there is nothing to link them together but the bridge they shiver on. Little do they know they’ll both hold the key to each other’s future marriage…

The cover for All She Ever Wished For is such and alluring and festive delight that catches the eye instantly and it holds an equal delightful storyline inside.

The chapters alternate between Kate and Tess's point of views and both their individual storys are weaved around the main storyline that connects the pair. Kate has lead a glamourous and full life but things have taken a downward spirial but se is not going down wihout a fight. Tess is the bride to be and as she is counting down the last few weeks until the big day there is still so much to be done and to top it off she receives a letter that is about to put more pressure ont the bride to be.

What I loved about this book was the set in a court hearing which is a first for me and I think this is what had me hooked is having this original storyline.

I found the relationship between Tess and Bernard quite cringey at times especially with his pet name for Tess but at the same time their relationship brought a touch of humour to the storyline too especially with the dreaded in-law introductions!

I found myself gripped by this storyline as I loved Tess and was also intrigued by Kate and as each part of her back story was revealed I grew to love her character too and was routing for her by the end.

The one thing I would say was I was expecting such a heart warming wintery and festive read judging by the cover but this was non existent in the book so if you are looking for a book to get you in the festive spirit then this book wouldn't be what you are looking for and yet it was still a romantic and entertaining read with a touch of light humour too.

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Meet Me in Manhattan by Claudia Carroll

Today it is my stop on the Meet Me in Manhattan Blog tour I am joined by Claudia who is talking to us about which Literary worlds she would want to live in. Please stop by the other blogs on the tour to see what their thoughts on Meet Me in Manhaatan are.

If you could be taken into a book's world, which world would it be? 

I'm highly suggestible and so automatically find myself inside whatever world the author has created for us. Reading Persuasion and suddenly I'm strolling through the Crescent at Bath in a corset and bonnet on my way to 'take the waters' at the Pump Room. Ditto with anything by the Brontes; suddenly I'm back in the Yorkshire moors in the wild wind and rain running away from Hindley Earnshaw. As you do. 

 One of the most perfectly evoked worlds to me though, has to be Oxford during the early 1920's in Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisted. I was a student in UCD at the time I first fell in love with the book and can still remember cursing the whole 'concrete jungle' feel of the Belfield campus and longing for the spires of Oxford with boys in straw boaters and jackets punting past on the river. Dream on, says you! 

 Nancy Mitford is another author who excels at creating her own perfect little Mitford-ian sphere too and her characters, all loosely based on her own large and eccentric family are so vividly realised, that you're right in there with them. And I'm also a big fan of Young Adult books too and the more dystopian the better. I'd challenge anyone to read Susan Collins' The Hunger Games series and not imagine that you're marooned on that awful district with a gang of other teens, all of whom are after your blood. And of course I'd have to give special mention to the Harry Potter books, which I adored too. I've got seven Godchildren and each and every one of them fell in love with reading thanks in no small part to the genius of J.K. Rowling. They all want to go to Hogwarts and be taught by the likes of Severus Snape and Professor Minerva McGonagall, presided over by a wise and benign Dumbledore. 

 Mind you, kids books in my day were very different. I grew up on Enid Blyton's Famous Five and all I wanted to do was have adventures and solve mysteries with my brothers. I was a great comic reader too as a kid, although I did keep a few of my old Bunty's and Judy's and can't get over just how many heroines there were who fought crime in what looked suspiciously like their underwear. The Adventures of Valda in Mandy comic, anyone?

My Review

I have such a longing to visit New York so I can not get enough of books that are set there so you can imagine how thrilled I was as I was working my way through the Christmas books on my TBR pile and found Meet Me in Manhattan by Claudia Carroll. 

Holly Johnson has turned to the world of internet dating to try and find romance and as she gets talking to pilot Andy McCoy she starts to believe she may have found someone. After their arranged meetings hot some problems she beginnings to suspect something isn’t quite right so she decides to surprise him by flying over to Manhattan but will she be welcomed with open arms or will they both receive a surprise of their lives?

I did actually find this book a little difficult to get in with and I have to say twice I started reading this book and put it aside thinking it just wasn’t for me but I think this is because I have never done or had any interest in the whole online dating thing. I am so glad that I picked this book up again as once the storyline progressed to Holly jetting off to Manhattan the book really picked up the pace and took me in hook line and sinker. 

The author takes us on a journey of New York but not just our typical iconic landmarks but some pretty impressive hidden gems too which really got me hankering after New York even more. The way she described each of the places made it feel so life like and magic just reading about it I felt like I was there. 

There was a journey of emotions in this book, I was in complete shock with what Holly discovered on arriving in Manhattan I couldn’t have predicted what was revealed. As we get to know Holly a little more we begin to see her background story and this pulled at the heart strings and explained the reason why Christmas is not an exciting time of year for her and also shows the reason why she has built up so many barriers. There were exciting and humorous parts in the book alongside showing the dangers and repercussions of internet dating and identity fraud.

There was a lovely amount of festivity in this book with the book being set completely over the Festive period so it was a perfect read for this time of year. I am so pleased I gave this book another chance as I thoroughly enjoyed it after the slow start. 

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Love Me or Leave Me by Claudia Carroll

Chloe Townsend was dumped at the altar.
But now she's landed an incredible new job. She’s running a pioneering boutique ‘divorce hotel’. It will make every aspect of breaking-up pain-free – all in a single weekend. No one is better qualified than Chloe to deal with relationships at crisis point, but, with three unhappy couples needing her help, she's forced to tackle her own secret heartbreak. 

Can she hold it together and prove that she's over it and up to the job?

The opening weekend approaches, and it soon becomes clear that some endings can be VERY exciting new beginnings…


When I read the synopsis for this book I was instantly intrigued as this sounded like a fresh original idea for a storyline and I assumed this book would be full of flawed characters, thunderous rows and heartache, I mean a divorce hotel that is just asking for trouble!

Chloe was jilted at the alter and in her bid to start a fresh she gets a job that couldn't suit her more, she will be running a new hotel but this isn't your standard hotel, this is a divorce hotel! As the hotel is about to open for its first weekend of guests Chloe hopes that she has got what it takes to pull this job off.

This was such a fantastic idea for a plot. There was total mayhem at this hotel that it actual felt comical as you keep thinking what drama is going to occur next.

Each of our main divorce couples have completely different characteristics as well as their reasons for wanting a divorce so I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters as well as their relationships.

Although the whole book was quite predictable it really didn't put a downer on this storyline as there was so much going on in this book so every chapter had me entertained. Although the characters were dealing with very emotional problems it didn't make the book fell deep it kept a lighthearted humorous feel to it.

Our main character Chloe was a little sweetie she was very sympathetic to the guests and was very loving, supportive and extrememly hard working you couldn't help but hope that she would get her happy ending.

Claudia Caroll is a fabulous author and she has won me over with this storyline, I loved this book and finished it in one sitting so I had a numb bum so I won't forget this book in a hurry!

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Me & You by Claudia Carroll

I’m fine. I’m sorry. Please take care of him for me. And maybe one day I’ll get to explain. Angie knows a lot about her best friend Kitty. She knows Kitty is mad and wild and loves to wear clashing colours. She knows she’s incredibly funny and generous but also very unreliable. And she knows that there is a perfect explanation for Kitty standing her up on her birthday. She thinks she knows everything about Kitty, except she doesn’t. Kitty knows that she is the happiest she has ever been. She knows she’s so lucky to have a lovely boyfriend, Simon and a best friend like Angie. But what she doesn’t know is that on this night, her past is finally going to catch up with her and change everything.

When Claudia Carroll's new book Me and You arrived though my letter box the first thing I though was I love the new look to the cover which is a softer look to the authors previous books.

When Angie is stood up at the spa for her birthday treat from best friend Kitty she knows something  is wrong, unable to make any contact with her friend she calls Kitty's boyfriend Simon together they work hours, days , weeks to try to find Kitty, when the police arrive with shocking news.

Kitty loves Simon and Angie but now her past is catching up with her she is worried the effect it will have on them.

When I read the synopsis of this book I was eager to make a start as I do love the sound of hidden secrets and puzzles to be solved. I have enjoyed all the authors previous books so I was looking forward to this book.

The beginning of this book really didn't grip me at all, in fact, I had to put the book down a couple of times but because I enjoyed the authors previous books I was determined to pick the book back up and carry on as I was hopeful that the book would improve, which by Part 2 in the book it had began to pick up when Kittys past begins to unravel. The characters were all lovable, ordinary characters which is something I always find in this authors books the characters are always a great bunch.

Angie's part in this book is set out in time entries similar to a diary entry which is the first time I had come across this type of writing style but it did seem to work well although the continual use of .v. for Very soon became a little irritating. If you are looking for a light easy read with lovable characters then you will like this book, I just misses the depth to the storyline that is usually present in this authors storylines. Although this is not a favourite of mine by Claudia Carroll I will still be picking up her next book.

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A Very Accidental Love Story by Claudia Carroll

A Very Accidental Love Affair is the first book I have read by Claudia Carroll, after hearing so many good things about this author I was looking forward to finally getting on board and trying out one of her novels.

With Eloise Elliot it was all work and no play and it wasn’t until her 30^th birthday party when hardly anyone turned up that she realised that she was lonely as her whole life revolves around work she has no friends no partner and hardly any contact with her family.

After three years things have changed somewhat for Eloise as she is now a mother to a beautiful little girl but one thing still has yet to change and that is to get some kind of balance between work and social balance. It is when little Lily starts questioning about her Daddy that Eloise has no option but to slow down at work and try to find Lily’s Daddy she longs to meet.

The first thing I have to say is that I love the cover of this book it gives a kind of fairytale feel to it, and is definitely one that would catch my eye on the book shelf.

Our main character Eloise was quite a hard character to warm to at first and that is because her character is cold and hard. The only thing to her personality is that she is a workaholic but that is as far as her personality goes. When the book then fast forwards to three years later when she has become a mum she still doesn’t seem to have developed at all and that is when I began to worry about this book as the most important thing to me in a book is that I can either relate to the character or at least like the character.

It is Jake who saves the day in this book because as soon as Eloise meets him she starts to blossom as a character and he is a lovely male character too. By the time Eloise finds Jake the pages seemed to be turning themselves and I found myself getting lost in the storyline wanting to see how it pans out but as I got closer to the end it was a little sad to find it was nearly finished!

It seemed as though Eloise’s daughter Lily had her mum wrapped around her little finger which was quite funny to see that this hard woman could have her hard exterior broken down by this adorable little girl. I was surprised that my feelings towards the main character turned full circle by the end of the book and I actually really liked her character and was only hoping for the best for her.

I enjoyed Claudia’s writing style which flowed so effortlessly I am looking forward to picking up some of the authors previous books after reading this one.

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