The Mysterious Miss Mayhew by Hazel Osmond

Tom doesn't need any more women in his life. He already has a five-year-old daughter, an estranged wife who keeps blocking his efforts to get divorced and a mother who might be having an affair with the vicar. 
So when Fran Mayhew turns up - years younger and with all the tact of a dinosaur with its backside on fire - she's just another tricky person to deal with. ...
And what's she doing in his remote part of Northumberland crawling around in graveyards anyway? But soon Tom discovers that there's more to the mysterious Miss Mayhew than meets the eye - and that it's not just his heart he's in danger of losing.

I have read all of Hazel Osmond’s previous books and I have loved each and every one of them because they are beautifully written and full of emotion. The Mysterious Miss Mayhew shows a different side to the authors writing and she shows that she can write comical novels as well as emotional ones too.

Fran is new in town and it isn’t long before she meets Tom who is raising his daughter alone. Tom and Fran seem to be bumping into each other more often but Fran is keeping her private life hidden and the reason as to why she is in town but before long attraction begins to grow between the couple but what mystery is Fran hiding?

Our mains character are Tom and Fran, the book alternates between the two characters with the majority of the book told from Tom’s point of view which is rare to see but worked extremely well in this book. We got to know Fran by her daily diary entries where she lists 10 thoughts on the day and I was surprised how just with these 10 points how well we actually got to know her character. I also have to mention Tom’s daughter because she was a little ray of sunshine she was involved in a lot of the humorous parts to this book and her relationship with her dad was so believable and natural.

The storyline was more light hearted than the authors previous reads and at times I did find myself chuckling away so I did enjoy this side to her writing. It took me quite a long time to start getting an idea as to what Fran’s secret was so it was rather unpredictable for a good part of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I did find that I was engaged with the storyline and the characters all the way through. I enjoyed seeing a different side to the author’s usual writing style it just shows what a talented author she is, but I still favour her deeper more emotional books but I will still be recommending this book.

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Playing Grace by Hazel Osmond

Grace Surtees has everything carefully under control – her work life, her home life and her love life – especially her love life.

But then her boss hires Tate Saunders, a brash American, to spice up the gallery tours his company provides. Messy and fond of breaking rules, Tate explodes into her tidy existence like a paintball, and Grace hates everything about him . . . . . . doesn’t she? 

Because, for Grace, the alternative would be simply too terrifying to contemplate: to love Tate rather than hate him would mean leaping out of her comfort zone, and Grace’s devotion to order hides some long-kept secrets . . . secrets she’s sure someone like Tate Saunders could never accept or understand.

I absolutely loved Hazel Osmond’s two previous books, they have left a lasting impression on me and I often recommend both Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe and The First Time I saw Your Face to people who are looking for a fantastic read. I have been eagerly awaiting the release of Playing Grace so as soon as it arrived on my door step I couldn’t wait to get started.

Grace has everything in order, she likes her routines and feels settled when things are going smooth, but when her boss employs Tate who is polar opposite to Grace he comes in like a whirlwind and puts Grace on edge. With conflicting emotions her heart was falling for live wire Tate but her head was screaming at her to keep to her calm and stable ways something that doesn’t seem possible with Tate around.

Grace was like a delicate wall flower and I think me and her have more in come than I would like to admit there were a couple of times during the book where her barriers began to crumble and one particular time involving the office chair did show a more fun loving side to her.  Tate was an entertaining and slightly mysterious character who I loved. The supporting characters in this book were fantastic and a little quirky, and the shocking twist surrounding Alistair was unpredictable and was a great part of the book. My favourite part of the book though was when the story turned to Violet who was only a small character in this book but an intriguing character none the less and I was left wanting to know more about her story.

The story is based around the art world which is not an interest of mine so when the book began I was unsure how I was going to find this book but I was determined to keep reading. I did enjoy this book but I wasn’t blown away with Playing Grace like I was with the previous two books. It was still an enjoyable read and I found myself easily flying through the pages so there was nothing bad about the book but it is just not one that has left any lasting impression on me.

I would recommend reading this book as it is a light enjoyable read with some fantastic characters and some great twists and turns. 

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The First Time I Saw Your Face by Hazel Osmond

I have been waiting for what seems like forever for Hazel Osmond’s new book to come out as I loved her previous book Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in on her new book The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.

Meet Jennifer she had her life planned out with her main ambition in life to be an actress but her plans take a nose dive after a serious accident which leaves beautiful and confident Jennifer with a horrendous scar across her face and her confidence has gone.

Mack arrives in Jennifer’s home town and with time and perseverance manages to get Jennifer to start gradually living her life again rather than sitting in sorrow but Mack has a hidden secret which could see Jennifer hurt all over again.

This book really is impossible to put down. Osmond’s delicate and yet detailed writing skills are back in full force in this beautiful read. The author has created two well developed and loveable characters in both Mack and Jennifer. The book is told from both of the characters points of view which allow us to get to know the characters on a deeper level.

I loved the unexpected twists in this book, the author leads us down a path of believing one thing and out of nowhere hits us with a complete shocker on more than one occasion. I also loved the romance in this book it wasn’t rushed and this is what appealed to me the gradual build up of attraction which was beautiful to read. Although the cover of the book is not one that would jump out at me from the shelves the cover is quite fitting with the storyline.

This beautiful and delicate read is one I think many of you will find you will be adding to your To Be Read piles!

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You may also want to give Hazel Osmonds previous book a try as it is a perfect read and a great price on kindle at the moment

Who's Afraid of Mr Wolfe? by Hazel Osmond

Ellie Somerset is a great advertising copywriter going nowhere fast - a boyfriend who is always at work, a tendency to dress like a short-sighted bag lady and a Creative Director who rejects her fresh ideas - they all conspire to keep her just treading water. Even her Great Aunt Edith, a demon at filthy scrabble, has a better social life than she does.


All that changes when Jack Wolfe becomes her boss. Whilst everyone else at the agency thinks he's Heathcliff in jeans, Ellie just sees a stalking, scowling Alpha male with a nasty redundancy plan up his sleeve. As Jack makes it his mission to smarten up Ellie's attitude and her appearance, it's time for her to prove herself. But that means getting closer to this very sexy, very wicked man, and as she does Ellie discovers that this particular Heathcliff has an awful lot to hide.


My Opinion
This is Hazel Osmond’s first book which is quite hard to believe as it really is a wonderful book and a great style of writing. This is one book you cannot walk past in the shop for although you wouldn’t have heard of this author before the stunning cover alone will call out to you, the twinkling purple title will have you entranced.

The book starts off at a comfortable pace introducing us to our characters of which there are not many, this I found perfect for the book as it made the book fully focus on the strong characters Hazel Osmond creates without us becoming too distracted with minor characters. Although there are very few characters in this book the characters we do have each provide us with different character traits from eccentric Edith to the loveable Ellie, and the strong, handsome Jekyll and Hyde character of Mr Wolfe himself, Jack.

I could hardly put this book down as it was a real page turner. It was a beautiful storyline and I loved the build up to Ellie and Jacks relationship which seemed to flow like a rollercoaster ride. There is a great sense of down to earth humour which at one point made me spurt my cup of tea out as it was so unexpected!

There are strong sex scenes half way through the book which I know some of you have said before you do not like but in this book it is all done in a very tasteful way so you won’t feel like you need to skip the chapter.

I would definitely recommend this book it easily gets the full 5 stars from me. I will be putting Hazel Osmond’s next book on my to be read list I am looking forward to see how she can improve on her debut book.