An Almost Perfect Summer by Jill Mansell

 

Nick is the most intriguing man Nella has met in a while. He's a 9 in the looks department (no one gets a 10), he makes her laugh, and he keeps her company when she ends up in A&E. But they live hundreds of miles apart.

Then Nella loses her job. There's a perfect role on offer at a Cotswolds holiday retreat. The catch is that her boss would be Nick. And that makes Nick the one man she can't risk falling in love with.

While Nella struggles with her feelings, a Hollywood star has found a haven at the retreat. Lizzie's sworn off people - especially men - until her friendly new neighbours entice her out of her shell. Maybe she needs a flirtation - with gorgeous Nick, perhaps? Not with taciturn local Matthew, though, who definitely isn't a member of her fan club. Then an astonishing secret revealed changes everything . . .

It has been a couple of years since I have dived into a Jill Mansell novel but by the time I had finished the first chapter of her latest book An Almost Perfect Summer it felt like I was back home in my happy place because her writing is so easy to get wrapped up in as she envelopes you in a whole new group of characters with various woes and whose stories all begin to merge together.

Set in the Cotswolds in a village called Starbourne where a range of high end holiday cottages are let we spend the Summer with a wide range of characters from the glam side of actors and painters to the more basic side of life to the cleaners and runners but it just goes to show no matter how much money you have or don't have in your pocket one thing remains the same we all have our problems and a heart that just wants to love and be loved!

The main storyline follows Nella as she moves to Starbourne to begin work there after an unfortunate accident and some would say a touch of fate lead to her meeting the gorgeous Nick who is the owner of the luxury cottage rentals. We also have a strong storyline that follows Lizzie who is a well known actress who has hit burn out and needs time to get her head straight whilst also working on her book and so gradually more characters are then weaved into these threads to open up more stories along side so there is always someone new to meet or something new going on. Jill Mansell has such a skill when building her characters because they are all so well developed and I never find myself muddled between who is who.

With so many characters comes so many troubles and emotions but also a lot of new beginnings and romance too which is just the kind of story I want to read in January when we all reset and recharge and have an air of positivity to start a fresh. This is a great feel good read by Jill Mansell and a great book to start the year.

Available to purchase here on Kindle or Hardback

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Promise Me by Jill Mansell

 

One minute Lou is happily employed, with a perfect flat. The next, her home and job have gone. Suddenly she has to start over.

The last thing Lou wants is to move to a tiny Cotswolds village. She certainly doesn't intend to work for curmudgeonly eighty-year-old Edgar Allsopp. But Edgar is about to make her the kind of promise nobody could ignore. In return, she secretly vows to help him fall in love with life again.

Foxwell is also home to Remy, whose charm and charisma are proving hard to ignore. But Lou hasn't recovered from the last time she fell for a charmer. She needs a distraction - and luckily one's about to turn up.

Secrets never stay hidden for long in Foxwell, nor are promises always kept. And no one could guess what lies ahead...

Jill Mansell is a incredibly talented author who has delivered flawless books over and over again and her latest novel Promise Me is no exception. We have the warmth and depth of emotion that we are accustomed to in Jill’s novels but there is also a modern spark to this storyline too.

The characters are all so well developed and they are not all perfect either they each have their flaws, may that be with our grumpy old Edgar who many find rude or the lovable Lou who although hardworking and caring only took Edgar up on his offer for her own gain but she was not the only one. I had such conflicted thoughts and emotions throughout this storyline, how I could love a character so much but not be onboard with their actions.

This really was a captivating read that held my attention the whole way through and there were predictable and unpredictable parts in equal measure which just made the book such a joy to read. I was championing the outcome of this book and I was so pleased that the author chose to end the book the way she did, I do love a dose of Karma!

The romance is plentiful and a rollercoaster of emotions for many added to that we have strong friendships too.

Kindle                       Hardback

Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay by Jill Mansell

Love is in the air in St Carys, but you'd never know it - the people of this seaside town are very good at keeping secrets... 

The man Clemency loves belongs to someone else. She has to hide her true feelings - but when she ropes in an unsuspecting friend to help, wires start to get crossed. 

For the first time in Ronan's life his charm has failed him in winning over the woman he wants. Loving her from afar appears to be his only option. 

Belle seems to have the perfect boyfriend, but something isn't quite right. And now a long-buried secret is slowly rising to the surface. The truth has a funny way of revealing itself, and when it does St Carys will be a very different place indeed...

The start of the year always means a new Jill Mansell book for me and this year we have Meet me at Beachcomber Bay which has got the reading off to a great start for 2017.

When Clemency and Sam meet on a flight they have a great connection and Clemency hopes that she will get to see him again but when she gives him her number he throws it in the bin, turns out his married!

Three years later when her sister Bella comes to introduce the new man in her life Clemency gets quite the shock.

This is definitely my favourite book by Jill Mansell, from the minute I picked this book up I couldn’t put it down. There is a large group of characters in this book all whom I grew to love quickly other than Bella who is like a spoilt little princess. Considering the amount of characters there were they were all really well developed and there was no confusion as to who was who and each character brought something to the storyline.

The author threw a couple of surprises my way later in the novel which I had no idea were about to be revealed which was great as I love a book that has little unexpected twists and surprises.

Although this was a great light read which I have come to know and love with this authors books this book felt like it had a little more depth to the storyline thanks to a number of issues that were weaved into the storyline and dealt with in an informative but delicate matter and yet the book still had a wonderfully uplifting and heart-warming feel that brought a smile to my face.

Top marks from me on this one, these are characters that I will think about for sometime yet and it is a book I knw I will revisit in the future and I really hope Jill Mansell revisits these characters again too.

Hardback                 Kindle

You and Me, Always by Jill Mansell

I am thrilled to be a part of the Jill Mansell blog tour today, You and Me, Always is Jill's new release and I am so pleased to share my review of this book with you today and to top it off I also have a Giveaway for you too!



On the morning of Lily's twenty-fifth birthday, it's time to open the very last letter written to her by her beloved mother, who died when she was eight.

Learning more about the first and only real love of her mum's life is a revelation. On the same day, Lily also meets Eddie Tessler, a man fleeing fame who just might have the ability to change her world in unimaginable ways. But her childhood friend Dan has his own reasons for not wanting Lily to get too carried away by Eddie's attentions.

Before long, secrets begin to emerge and Lily's friends and family become involved. In the beautiful Cotswold village of Stanton Langley, nothing will ever be the same again...

I am a big Jill Mansell fan she always gets it spot on, delivering a book which you find impossible to put down and yet at the same time a book you never want to end which was exactly what I found again with her new release You and Me,Always.

Lily has been raised by the village of Stanton Langley since the death of her mum at a young age, everyone is very protective of Lily and as she reaches her 25th birthday there are big changes in her life, she receives the last letter her mum left her where she finds out more about the man who her mum left her heart with and Lily is determined to track him down. Romance finds Lily too in the shape of a hidden celeb, Eddie Tessler but Lily's best friend Dan is less than pleased with the new romance, but for what reason?

I read this book in one greedy siting, every time I put this book down to do something I found myself gravitating back to the book for another cheeky chapter much to the amusement of my husband who declared I must have my reading mojo back!

Right from the first chapter I was hooked, I was laughing away at Lily's friend Patsy and her awful date. From that first chapter alone which is only 5 pages long I had already warmed to our group of characters and I couldn't wait to see what other antics would occur in this group. 

There are a lot of characters in this book but each and everyone of them were so well developed and were so endearing, the bond between the characters surrounding Lily could easily be felt and you could see how well loved and protected she was.

Jill Mansell always sets the scene perfectly with the cosy and quaint little villages in her storylines and Stanton Langley has to be my favourite. The romance has little twists and turns not only for Lily but her friends too all of which had a predictable outcome and yet this didn't matter because I couldn't work out how events would unfold to reach the outcome so this kept me entertained and intrigued.

There was a poignant part of the book which struck a cord with me which was the letters which Lily received from her mum each year on her birthday, I lost a dear friend of mine in 2015 who has done the same thing for her little girl and I hope her daughter gets as much joy and comfort out of the letters  as Lily did.

This is a wonderful cosy, romantic and witty read by Jill Mansell that didn't disappoint and it came very close to knocking my favourite, Three Amazing Things About You off the top spot.

Hardback                Kindle




Thanks to the lovely team at Headline we have a copy of You and Me, Always up for grabs! This giveaway is open to the UK only.
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Three Amazing Things About You by Jill Mansell

Hallie has a secret. She's in love. He's perfect for her in every way, but he's seriously out of bounds. And her friends aren't going to help her because what they do know is that Hallie doesn't have long to live. Time is running out... 

Flo has a dilemma. She really likes Zander. But his scary sister won't be even faintly amused if she thinks Zander and Flo are becoming friends - let alone anything more. 

Tasha has a problem. Her new boyfriend is the adventurous type. And she's afraid one of his adventures will go badly wrong.

THREE AMAZING THINGS ABOUT YOU begins as Hallie goes on a journey. A donor has been found and she's about to be given new lungs. But whose?

The best thing about starting a new year is the release of a new Jill Mansell book. I was so excited to start this author’s new book that I didn’t even read the synopsis before I started this book so I had no expectations s to what the storyline was going to be about.

The book follows three storylines, we have Hallie whose life is at a standstill as she waits for a transplant, we also meet Flo who has recently found herself a lodger to a cat! Looking after the Cat brings Zander into Flo’s life much to his sister Lena’s disgust. Then we have Tasha and Rory who become romantically involved after quite a unique meeting but they are polar opposites of each other, is their love made to last?

I loved each of the three storylines and I thought it was very clever how the author managed to weave each of them together so beautifully. Hallie’s story I found I warmed to more, I found her story very touching and her character was so string, caring and hopeful. I think because she was closer to my age I seemed to latch onto her story more so because it really makes you take a step back and realise how lucky we are and not to take things for granted. Each of the other characters were all developed so well even the little madam Lena who I just wanted to throttle.

The author brings awareness in the importance of organ donation in this book and she manages to do this is a careful and yet informative way which left me with strong thoughts and feelings about organ donations and the impact it can have on not only the people receiving the organs but also in the family and friends of those who have lost someone to know that a part of them still lives on.

There is a big twist in this book that I didn’t see coming until the moments before and I have to say this did bring a lump to my throat. This book is one that will pull at your heart strings one minute but will have you chuckling at the next minute. This is a poignant and yet uplifting read that is certainly up there with my favourite by this author.

Kindle                    Hardback

The Unpredictable Consequences of Love by Jill Mansell

When Josh Strachan, newly returned to his home in north Cornwall from sunny California, first meets Sophie Wells, he's immediately smitten. Sophie's pretty, she's funny, she has lots of friends and she clearly loves her job as a photographer, despite the sometimes tricky clients. There's just one problem: Sophie has very firmly turned her back on love. It's nothing personal, she tells Josh, but she just doesn't do dates. And no one - even Sophie's scatty best friend Tula - will tell him why. Josh is sure Sophie likes him, though, and he's just got to find out what's put her off romance. And then put things right...

After thoroughly enjoying Don’t Want to Miss a Thing last year I was looking forward to reading another book by Jill Mansell.

The Unpredictable Consequences of Love follows a large cast of characters but each of their stories all weave around each other effortlessly. As you can imagine from the title the book is full of troubled romance.

Because the book had such a big cast of lead characters it did take some time getting to know each of them but because each of them were so well developed I didn’t have any trouble remembering who was who.

Sophie has absolutely no interest in men much to Josh’s disappointment, something has clearly happened in her past to put her off men for life and Josh is determined to get to the root of the problem.

The gorgeous babe magnet Reily has a big crush on Sophie’s friend Tula but she keeps knocking him back which has never happened to the surfer dude before.

Reily’s aunt is a successful author and she has eyes for Josh’s grandfather but it looks like he still holds a torch for his ex-wife Dot.

So much love is flowing in this little seaside town and each of the characters were all loveable and entertaining. I picked this book up at every spare moment I got as I was hooked and couldn’t put it down, eager to see what was going to happen next and if any of these romances were going to blossom.

My favourite thing about this book is that there is one almighty twist that I really didn’t see coming. I am not going to say any more about this or who it involves otherwise you will be watching out for it and not seeing it coming was what made this such a shock as there were no clues that made this obvious!

This was a perfect read with no flaws and had me hooked from start to finish, one of my favourite reads in a long time.

Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Jill Mansell

I have only read a couple of books by Jill Mansell, the covers always appeal to me and although I enjoyed her previous books they have never seemed to leave a lasting impression on me.

I loved the synopsis of the book it sounded like my kind of read and again the cover of Don't Want to Miss a Thing is one that would reach out to me from the shelves.

Dexter Yates loves his fun, care-free London life; he has money, looks and girlfriends galore. But everything changes overnight when his sister dies, leaving him in charge of her eight-month-old daughter Delphi. How is he ever going to cope?

Comic-strip artist Molly Hayes lives in the beautiful Cotswold village of Briarwood. When it comes to relationships, she has a history of choosing all the wrong men. Leaving the city behind, Dex moves to Briarwood - a much better place to work on his parenting skills - and he and Molly become neighbours. There's an undeniable connection between them. But if Dexter's going to adapt, he first has a lot to learn about Molly, about other people's secrets...and about himself.

This is by far my favourite book by Jill Mansell. I was hooked throughout the whole of thisbook. I found it impossible to put down cooking the dinner became an inconvenience! The story line was so fresh it wasn't similar to any book I have read.

We have two main characters in Dexter and Molly, as well as a few other characters who have smaller parts on the book such as the lovely Frankie who also brings a smaller storyline alongside the main plot but I found this storyline just as entertaining.

There was also some great humour weaved in between the romance and troubling situations some involving baby poo and my favourite was to do with the YMCA song! These incidents gave the characters a realistic feel to them and managed to keep the book lighthearted.

The book was packed with romance, humour and a cosy country storyline. The book flowed at a perfect pace with no low points where you would usually feel like skim reading.

This was a warm and touching read and one whose storyline and characters will stay with me long after the book is finished. This is definitely one for your to be read piles.

Hardback                Kindle

To The Moon And Back by Jill Mansell

This is my first book review for a Jill Mansell Book. I have picked up a Jill Mansell book before which off the top of my head I cannot remember what the title was but I only managed the first chapter before passing it onto a friend. I never tried one of her books again as I know not everyone likes the same author and it just didn’t seem to be my cup of tea. Many of you who follow my reviews will know if I am not interested by the end of the first chapter I move onto another book as there are so many books out there I want to read the ones that are of interest to me. So how come I ended up with another Jill Mansell book? I was having the same discussion with a client of mine who loves Jill Mansell books and she couldn’t understand what there was for me not to like. So I said I would give another one a try as long as she tries another Carole Matthews book as she tried one and felt the same as I did about Jill Mansell !!

Plot

Ellie’s world has come crashing down around her, after her husband Jamie dies as a result of a car crash. Life seems to be such a struggle having people at work constantly tip toeing around her and struggling to keep up with her inhabitable flat which she is trying to keep hidden from her father in-law Tony. When Tony finally gets round to see the flat he is horrified and encourages Ellie to move into Primrose Hill to look after his new house.

This gives Ellie a chance for a new chapter in her life a new house a new job and new friendships will she be able to put the past behind her and make a new life for herself?  

My Opinion.

At the start of To The Moon and Back we meet our main character Ellie and her husband Jamie. They both seem like warm down to earth characters, blissfully in love and enjoying their lives together until Jamie has a car accident which results in him dying. The story then jumps forward 15 months which I am quite please about as once I read the part where Jamie had died I thought the rest of the book was going to be quite morbid and was going to be a challenge to read, but luckily we meet back with Ellie when she is reaching the stage in her grieving process where she is ready to take the next step and move on with her life.

 As we watch Ellie’s journey in the new chapter in her life you can’t help but routing for her and hoping that she can find happiness again. What I loved about this book was although our main storyline was about Ellie moving on with her life each character that came into the story had their own story going on which Jill manages to weave into the main story line making it more interesting and bringing more to the book. Having said this the main plot was not very challenging so it would defiantly make for an easy read.

I have to say my favourite character was Zach who is Ellie’s new boss, he seemed so charming I wish we could have seen a little more of the relationship between Zach and Ellie.

I did find that book seemed to flow at such a slow pace which at a point I was unsure if I was going to be able to carry on with the book but luckily I persevered with it and it did pick up again. I enjoyed the last part of the book and in my opinion the last few chapters of the book was the best part of the book and I wish we could have read more about the relationship at the end.

After reading this book I would give another book by Jill Mansell another go but I would like the plot do be something a little more challenging to keep me gripped.