Blog Tour: Meet Me at the Lighthouse by Mary Jayne Baker

 Welcome to the tour and ...

"Meet me at the Lighthouse"!

  Meet Me at the Lighthouse by Mary Jayne Baker

Blurb:
 
'The day I turned 28, I bought a lighthouse and met the love of my life’
Bobbie Hannigan’s life in a cottage by the sea with her dog and her twin sister is perfectly fine … until she decides the logical thing is to buy a lighthouse and open a music venue with Ross Mason, the first boy she ever kissed.
Bobbie tries to be professional with Ross, but the happily-ever-after they’re working toward is too good to resist. That is until someone from his past crawls back to cause trouble. Can Bobbie look past the secrets Ross has been keeping from her? Or will the boy, the lighthouse and the dream all slip away?
Escape to the Yorkshire coast this summer with this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy from Mary Jayne Baker!


Yup, Bobbie, our heroine, is indeed special or who else do you know who would spontaneously buy a lighthouse?

That's the kind of woman she is - and I must admit that I'd love to get a lighthouse of my own if it comes with a Ross like him! Ross, our hero, didn't come back to his hometown to co-own a lighthouse but, well, when Tequila is involved and a woman like Bobbie, a man might do some stupid things especially when he is falling for said woman.

When Bobbie and Ross try to turn the lighthouse into a unique music venue, they discover that it's not just the lighthouse bringing them together but that those sparks that they felt right from the start are real! With some exes coming up and life getting in the way, will they be able to keep those sparks between them flying? 

This wonderful story made me laugh out loud, I cried, I giggled and I worried. I can't exactly say what makes Meet me at the Lighthouse special but it is different from your regular small town romance. Good different. It is a very warm story set in a cozy little town where everybody knows everybody. Part of its charm are certainly the somewhat down to earth characters. No mincing of words, no distinguished sherry sipping, just ordinary, slightly rough people talking, drinking (too much) Tequila and trying to - well, okay, let's skip Elvis, okay? 
But we shouldn't skip Travis, I mean, how could we? Someone like him is absolutely unforgettable!
Apart from the main characters, there's quite a number of amazing and very loveable characters. The characters are well-developed and feel very much alive and kicking. 

I really enjoyed reading this book and will definitely check out Mary Jayne Baker's first book, The Honey Trap, another romantic comedy set in London.

★★★★

By the way - a sneak peek of *the first chapter* is just a click away!  

Do you want to know what other reviewers 

wrote about the book?

 

The Blog Tour:

Friday 30th: Harper Impulse
Saturday 1: By the Letter Book Reviews
Sunday 2: The Writing Garnet
Monday 3: Mama Life Magazine
Tuesday 4: The Reading Shed
Wednesday 5: 😊
Thursday 6: Jane Hunt
Friday 7: Books and Me
Saturday 8: Love Books Group
Sunday 9: Word Enlightenment

The Wicked Heir (Spare Heirs #3) by Elizabeth Michels

 

 The Wicked Heir by Elizabeth Michels

Blurb:

The Spare Heirs Society Cordially Invites You to Meet Fallon St. James: The Mastermind

When the love of Lady Isabelle Fairlyn's life is betrothed to her twin sister, Isabelle vows to find a suitable replacement before the end of the season. He must be a talented dancer, have a keen fashion sense, and be perfectly dashing in every way.

Fallon St. James is the farthest thing from perfectly anything. As head of the secretive Spare Heirs Society, he must stick to the shadows...even as Isabelle's friendship pulls him reluctantly into the light. But when Isabelle gets involved with the one man who could destroy Spares, Fallon must decide between protecting his life's work―or risking everything to save the woman whose warm smile leaves him breathless.


Okay, I must admit that sometimes I was a bit furious with the hero because dear Fallon St.James shouldn't meddle that much with other people's lives especially if those people are of the female variety and he doesn't want to marry. 

I mean, alright, he is, at least according to Isabelle's definition of a bachelor, available for marriage but he simply doesn't want to marry, does he? And if he doesn't want to marry, shouldn't he better guard a certain young woman's reputation? 

So, you see, I'm not completely happy with our hero and I must further admit that the heroine's naiveté was sometimes somewhat exasperating but I loved her sunny and optimistic view of life nonetheless. Apart from that, though, their chemistry was great and I loved how Isabelle muddled through, straight under our hero's skin.

 I laughed and I shed some tears and on the whole, I really enjoyed this book. It is different, there is no real hero and our heroine has much to learn about black and white and all the different shades of grey in between the black and the white. Not everyone who is bad, is really bad and not everyone who is good, has always been good. And not everyone who says that he (or she) is not in love, is really not in love, right?

I am really looking forward to the next book in the series!

★★★★

BLOGTOUR: The Once in a Blue Moon Guesthouse by Cressida McLaughlin #BlueMoonGuesthouse

The Once in a Blue Moon Guesthouse

Robin Brennan has come home to Campion Bay. Now her parents have retired, she’s set to become the new landlady of The Campion Bay Guesthouse.
Bookings have been as thin as the hand towels, and it doesn’t take long for Robin to realise that the place needs a serious makeover. Perhaps throwing herself into the task will help to heal her sadness at the tragic end to her dreams in London.
As she gives the guesthouse a new lease of life, Robin encounters old friends and new, including old flame Tim, who’d clearly like to reboot their romance. But what about Will, the new arrival at No. 4, who’s rocked up with the cutest dog ever?Caught up in a flurry of full-English breakfasts and cream teas, Robin’s never sure what, or who, the next check-in will bring…

✮✯✰🌒✰✯✮

Oh, what a wonderful, warm and summery book that was! I really enjoyed reading this heartwarming story about family, love, friendships and the love of life!

Robin, our heroine, still tries to come to terms with the tragic death of her friend Neve's one and a half years ago but when her parents want to retire and close down their family's guesthouse, Robin embraces the opportunity to make their guesthouse her own. A very serious makeover is in order and Robin uses her chance to turn the guesthouse into something special, something as special as a blue moon. 

Anyway - Robin's enthusiasm and her dedication to her work are definitely infectious. We are also renovating our place at the moment and I found myself thinking of themes and stars and blue moons ...

Not just I fell for Robin's charm and enthusiasm but Will, her new neighbor, falls for her as well - and he is not the only one. Tim, the "ex-love of her life" and a property developer is also interested but he is not just interested in her but he also wants to invest in the house next to hers to turn it into something...well, completely different.

I loved to read about Robin caring about her guests, touching their lives and making things special and I loved to see how she fell in love, how she was finally able to move forward and to heal from her loss. And I loved to read about Will and  - well, let's just say that Will is another wonderful character.

So, this well-penned story with its loveable characters, with things like porcelain sheep and fluffy handcuffs (kidding!) and with lavender lace inspiring the most delicious cookies, is a very charming, funny and romantic read and the perfect choice to read on a nice and lazy summer day!

 

Robin’s Lavender Cookies

Robin is inspired to make lavender cookies after seeing Mrs Harris in her lavender night wear. They’re very simple to make and a hint of lavender gives them a refreshing, flowery taste.

Ingredients

• 225g butter, at room temperature
• 110g caster sugar
• 275g plain flour
• 2 tablespoons fresh lavender flowers

 Method

• Preheat your oven to 160°C / gas mark 3, and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
• In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, then mix in the lavender flowers and the flour until the mixture has a smooth consistency.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the mixture until it’s about 5mm thick, and use biscuit cutters to make your desired cookie shape – Robin has a moon-shaped cutter as she puts them in jars labelled ‘midnight cookies’ on each floor of the guesthouse.
• Put your cookies onto the baking tray, allowing room in between each one as they expand slightly, and cook them for 15 to 20 minutes. 
  
  
   
• Leave them to cool, sprinkle with decorative sugar or extra lavender flowers and then tuck in!

Bon appétit!

Just don't leave them unattended, they tend 

to disappear rather quickly!

Oh, if you want to enjoy some music with your cookies, perhaps you‘d like to listen to the song that Robin very often plays on her piano:

HAVE A WONDERFUL SUMMER!

Coming soon - Blogtour "Meet me at the Lighthouse"

Coming Soon:

The Sheikh's Pregnant Fling (Azhar Sheikhs Book 2) by Leslie North

  The Sheikh's Pregnant Fling by Leslie North

 Blurb:
 

Matchmaker Cassandra is a pro at finding her clients that perfect person—but unfortunately her talent doesn’t extend to her own love life. She's too busy for romance, and she’s guarded her heart ever since her parents’ nasty divorce. So a man like Nasir seems the perfect choice for a casual fling—handsome, successful, and not interested in a relationship. But things get complicated quickly when Cassandra realizes not only that Nasir is her new client…but that she’s pregnant with his child.  
 
Nasir has always been a dutiful son. Like his brothers, he gives his all to the family business, which leaves little time for love. His mother, though, is eager for her sons to settle down. When she drags him to a matchmaker, Nasir can hardly believe that Cassandra is the woman hired to find him a wife. After the unforgettable night of passion they shared, Nasir isn’t sure how to react. But Cassandra seems determined to keep things professional, and before Nasir knows it, she’s arranged his first date.  
 
Nasir is soon caught up in business and blind dates, and yet he can’t get Cassandra off his mind. Although Cassandra is convinced she’s not the woman he wants, Nasir has other ideas. But with a baby on the way and pressure mounting from Nasir’s mother, will her fear of repeating the past stand in the way of a perfect future?

This book is a sweet and nice read. I've read other books by the author before which is the reason why I took a chance on a book with a Sheik in its title. I must admit that I as a bit weary as I read some books by other authors with a Sheik as a romantic hero and ended up fuming and, well, let's just say that my e-reader survived, barely. 

Knowing the author's other books. I couldn't imagine that this would be another one of those books where the modern heroine is deliriously happy to be kept in a harem and never be allowed to get out again - yay. Not.
This is definitely not the case in this book and I really enjoyed reading this sweet and charming story!

"The Sheikh's Pregnant Fling" is a strong woman who knows what she wants, it takes her some time to get there and to realize what is really important but she gets there. The mysterious Sheikh, on the other hand, is a charming modern man who respects her as a woman and as an equal. No bad clichées here, simply two people who fall in love, have to overcome some hurdles and finally get their HEA.
I was also very happy to find that it's not too long-drawn-out and hasn't too many dramatic scenes, just exactly the necessary amount of everything.

It is a simple and somewhat light read but definitely one that I will reread and that made me look for the first book in the series "The Sheikh’s Fake Fiancée".

★★★★

RARE 18....in London and in Rome.....

AND I WILL BE THERE!

and today I got my tickets for 

RARE Roma

Lord of Lies (Fallen Ladies #3) by Amy Sandas

                                 Lord of Lies by Amy Sandas

Blurb:

“You do strange things to me, Dell Turner. Tell me I am not alone in what I feel.”
His voice was low and rough. His eyes burned. “You are not alone,” he said.
Portia Chadwick longs for a life of adventure. When a dangerous moneylender kidnaps her sister, she dares to seek help from a man known only as Nightshade. Soon she finds herself charging headfirst into his world of intrigue and danger—and unexpected passion.

Dell Turner grew up in London’s back alleys and gin lanes. Vowing to escape his low beginnings, he hires himself out to society’s elite. When he accepts a job from a beautiful debutante, he doesn’t anticipate her relentless determination to join his mad occupation…or her unnerving ability to inspire emotions he thought long buried. She’s as dangerous to him as his world is to her, and yet Dell can’t bring himself to turn Portia away—even if it means risking her life.

I loved the characters because, well, you just have to love a girl like Portia who knows what she wants and who goes for it, don't you? Apart from that she is charming and smart and a lot of other great things and of course, Dell Turner is also a very interesting character even though we don't get to know him that well. Somehow, despite many descriptions how he feels and so on, his character remains somewhat shallow. Portia is the only character with a bit more substance and the only one who leaves the reader, me in this case, with more than a passing interest. 

It might have been easier to fill out the blanks - alright, that would have been much easier- if I had read the other books in the series first that tell Emma and Ivy's stories but I think that I would have been as frustrated reading those books as I was now. There was too much going on with the other sisters and reading it I knew that it was important but, well, it made me curious but it also made me feel rather annoyed. 
The problem was that it all happend at the same time and the author was very careful not to include much of one sister's story in the book of the other sister - understandable but in this case something was definitely missing.

The story itself was rather unbelievable even though well plotted and despite that definitely interesting and fast-paced, sweet and romantic  - and that's what made me decide on three stars for this book because despite everything that I was missing in this book, I enjoyed reading it and would read it again. Not right now but eventually. 
So, not one of my highlights but not a case of "wasted-time" either. Those who have read the other books in the series will enjoy reading what Portia has been up to while her sisters went and found themselves husbands. 

                                                           ★★★