Cover Stars: You're The One That I Want by Giovanna Fletcher

 

Every month I choose my favourite cover from my TBR pile. Feel free to comment or add your own suggestions for ‘Cover Stars’.

 

 

Maddy, dressed in white, stands at the back of the church. At the end of the aisle is Rob - the man she's about to marry. Next to Rob is Ben - best man and the best friend any two people ever had.

And that's the problem.

Because if it wasn't Rob waiting for her at the altar, there's a strong chance it would be Ben. Loyal and sensitive Ben has always kept his feelings to himself, but if he turned round and told Maddy she was making a mistake, would she listen? And would he be right?

Best friends since childhood, Maddy, Ben and Rob thought their bond was unbreakable. But love changes everything. Maddy has a choice to make but will she choose wisely? Her heart, and the hearts of the two best men she knows, depend on it...

*     *     *     *     *

 

I absolutely adored the cover for Giovanna Fletcher's book, Billy & Me last year, so I couldn't wait to see what the next one would look like - and I wasn't disappointed. I love the colours used; the blues of the water against the pink of the sky, bleeding into the purple. The central figure is illuminated by the full moon, drawing attention to her and then the two figures beside her. Straight away we know there is going to be a love conflict within the book, but the question is, who will she choose? I like how the cover gives a flavour of what is to come, making me want to dive into the pages to find out what happens.

 

 

Click here to see all 'Cover Stars'

My Summer Reads: My Summer Reading List

 

For my first 'My Summer Reads' post, I thought I would share my summer reading list. It's quite big this year (bearing in mind I also review for Novelicious once a week), but they look like such fantastic books that I'm determined to get through them!

 

My Summer 2014 Reading List:

 

 

Click to see review [when available]

 

If I Could Turn Back Time by Nicola Doherty

 

A Jersey Affair by Georgina Troy

 

You Had Me At Merlot by Lisa Dickenson

 

The No-Kids Club by Talli Roland

 

No-One Ever Has Sex On A Tuesday by Tracy Bloom

 

Liberty Silk by Kate Beaufoy

 

The Unfinshed Symphony of You and Me by Lucy Robinson

 

It Had To Be You by Jo Carnegie

 

 

What will you be reading this summer?

 

If you'd like to share your summer reading list, please give me a shout! You can email me at jenniferjoycewrites@gmail.com or click here for more details

 

Blog Tour: The Bookshop On The Corner by Rebecca Raisin

Today I'm pleased to be taking part in the blog tour for The Bookshop On The Corner with a Q&A with the author.

 

Can you tell us about your new book?
Sarah is a quirky daydreamer who owns and runs a bookshop in a small town. She’s a little introverted, but close to the surface lays a very passionate heart! She ‘dreams’ in Mills and Boon and has a secret desire to be a writer. Nothing much changes in the small town of Ashford until one day Ridge a reporter from New York steps into The Corner Bookshop and into Sarah’s story.

Here is the blurb:

Who said that only real heroes could be found in fiction?

Sarah Smith had an addiction – she was addicted to romance novels. The meet-cute, the passion, the drama and the gorgeous men! Now this wouldn’t have been such an issue if she hadn’t been the owner of the only bookshop in Ashford, Connecticut.

Ever since her close friend Lil, from The Gingerbread Café, had become engaged she had been yearning for a little love to turn up in her life. Except Sarah knew a good man was hard to find – especially in a tiny town like Ashford. That was until New York journalist, Ridge Warner stepped into her bookshop…

Love could be just around the corner for Sarah, but will she be able to truly believe that happy-ever-after can happen in real-life too!

 

What was your inspiration for The Bookshop On The Corner?
Sarah was a character in Chocolate Dreams at the Gingerbread Café. She only played a very tiny role in that novella, and I immediately wanted to write more about her. I wanted to tie in all those experiences we have when we read a fabulous book, and Sarah is the ultimate bookworm, who weaves her real life with her fictional life.

 

What has been your greatest experience of being a published writer?
The amount of people I’ve met online, from other writers, to bloggers and readers -people you end up being very close to yet have never met!

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Read a lot. And write every day. I read somewhere that writing is like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets, and it’s true. Even if you can only spare ten minutes a day, you’ll be amazed if you make it a habit how it becomes natural.

What was the first book you ever bought yourself?
I adored the Baby Sitters Club books, so all my pocket money went on those!

What was the last book you read?
Boy, Snow, Bird. It was unusual but kept me hooked. Quite a different style of writing and I really enjoyed it.

Finally, what are you working on at the moment?
I’m writing the last book in the Gingerbread Series! I’ll be sobbing my way through this one I think, purely because I don’t want to say goodbye to these characters! I love them as though they’re real people!

Thank you for having me here!

All the best,

Bec 

The Bookshop On The Corner is available here

 

Book of the Month: June

 

If I Could Turn Back Time

 

by

 

Nicola Doherty

 

 

What if you found The One, then lost him again?

Or not so much lost him as became the neurotic, needy girlfriend from hell. The girl who tried to make him choose between her and his job, and got seriously paranoid about his relationship with his female best friend...

Zoë Kennedy knows she doesn't deserve another chance with David Fitzgerald. But if there's the tiniest possibility of making things right, she'll snatch it. Even if it means breaking the laws of physics to do so...

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

 

I'd been looking forward to reading If I Could Turn Back Time as I love stories with a sprinkling of magic, and it was definitely worth the wait. If I Could Turn Back Time is such a fun and charming read that is perfect for curling up with and losing yourself in a world where wishes come true. It's full of fantastic characters and I loved seeing how Zoe could change her past with her new knowledge of what happened last time, watching as she transformed the scene to make it better this time. The writing is light and humorous and I would definitely recommend to fans of chick lit/romantic comedies.

 

 

My full review of If I Could Turn Back Time will be on the blog soon.

 

Click here to see all Books of the Month



 

Blog Tour: One Hundred Proposals by Holly Martin

Today I'm delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for Holly Martin's new book, One Hundred Proposals with a review.

 

 

Suzie helps to create perfect proposals every day as part of her job running the.PerfectProposal.com with her best friend, Harry. But while professionally she is great at romance, the same can't be said for her personal life. For the past two years, Suzie has been in love with Harry and, unable to confess her feelings, she has had to watch as Harry dates a string of women.

 

And then Harry comes up with a plan to create more publicity for their business. He will propose to Suzie 100 times in an attempt to find her perfect proposal, documenting the proposal and Suzie's reaction on their blog. Suzie has dreamed of the moment Harry proposes to her, but knowing each one will mean nothing more than a PR stunt for Harry will be torture. As much as Suzie longs to say yes to Harry's question, she has to bottle up her true feelings and go along with his plan.

 

I thought the premise of One Hundred Proposals was fantastic. Imagine being in love with a man and having to endure romantic proposal after romantic proposal without being able to say yes. Poor Suzie has to go through this, pretending she sees Harry as nothing more than a friend and business partner as she can't reveal her love for him as Harry isn't interested in her that way. Harry is a great friend to Suzie and has supported her through some pretty tough times, but he doesn't believe in love and instead hops from one girl to the next, not knowing how much this hurts Suzie. I loved the close bond between Suzie and Harry, how they could have fun but also support each other emotionally. I wanted nothing more than for Suzie to tell Harry how she felt, but could understand her keeping quiet so she didn't potentially ruin their friendship for good.

 

One Hundred Proposals is definitely a fun read that had me giggling straight away, but there is also a serious, emotional side to Holly Martin's writing. Both Suzie and Harry have had a tough time during their lives, which both brings them together to create a tight bond, but Harry's past also keeps them apart. Although the majority of the book is told from Suzie perspective, I liked how we were given a glimpse into Harry's thoughts and feelings through his blog posts about the proposals.

 

There are so many proposals in the book, ranging from small gestures to hugely orchestrated events, but my favourite was the aeroplane proposal which takes place quite early on in the book. It's a fun proposal that, if it happened in real life, I could see being a huge YouTube hit!

 

Bio

Holly has been writing for five years, mainly chick-lit novels. Changing Casanova and The Chainsaw Masquerade were shortlisted for the Festival of Romance New Talent Award 2012. Her short story won the Belinda Jones Travel Club short story competition last year and was published in the first Sunlounger anthology. Her fantasy adventure young-adult book, The Sentinel, was published in October and hit three different bestsellers lists within twenty four hours. She won the Carina Valentine’s competition at the Festival of Romance 2013 and her novel The Guestbook was released on Valentine’s Day 2014. Her short story Beneath The Bay Bridge is in this year’s Sunlounger 2 anthology
 

Buy Links

Amazon UK http://amzn.to/1ouP9w0

Amazon US http://amzn.to/1pzKhVi



5 Book Recommendations

We're now half-way through 2014 (I know!) so I thought I would put together a list of books that I've really enjoyed over the past six months. I usually post a list of the top ten books I've read each year, so I thought I would do a smaller list of my top five of the year so far.
 

 

The One Plus One by JoJo Moyes

 

 

Click here to see my review

 

 

The Best Thing That Never Happened To Me

by Laura Tait & Jimmy Rice

 

 

Click here to see my review

 

 

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

 

 

Click here to see my review

 

 

Wake by Anna Hope

 

 

Click here to see my review

 

 

Keep Your Friends Close by Paula Daly

 

 

Click here to see my review

 

 

Which books have been your favourite so far this year?

Join In!

  

I love having people on my blog, whether it is through guest posts or taking part in features.

I'm always looking for guest posts, whether they're from authors or readers. You can find out more information here and you can find past guest posts here 

 If you would like a spot on the blog, give me a shout at jenniferjoycewrites@gmail.com