BOOKSIMO

It is two years since Eleanor Mace said farewell to her lover Christophe and returned to Devon.  Her bookshop in the sleepy seaside town of Combemouth has become the hub of the community and with the new love of her life, Daniel, everything seems to be blissfully plain sailing.  That is until Freya, Daniel’s ex-wife appears on the scene.  Hired as an architect for a major celebrity who plans to build an enormous new complex in Combemouth, Freya seeks Daniel’s help to get her ambitious scheme approved.  Outraged, Eleanor mounts a protest against the scheme – helped by some endangered local wildlife – that gets her noticed by the world’s media, but puts her at risk of losing Daniel.  As the campaign gains momentum, Eleanor is asked to speak at a conference in Spain, where she unexpectedly bumps into the handsome Christophe – a blast from her past.  Surely this must be fate?  Will Eleanor fall for the charms of her French ex-boyfriend, or can she find i...

As preparations for the 1893 World’s Fair set Chicago and the nation on fire, Louis Tiffany—heir to the exclusive Fifth Avenue jewelry empire—seizes the opportunity to unveil his state-of-the-art, stained glass, mosaic chapel, the likes of which the world has never seen. But when Louis’s dream is threatened by a glassworkers’ strike months before the Fair opens, he turns to an unforeseen source for help: the female students at the Art Students League of New York. Eager for adventure, the young women pick up their skirts, move to boarding houses, take up steel cutters, and assume new identities as the “Tiffany Girls.” Tiffany Girl  is the heartwarming story of the impetuous Flossie Jayne, a beautiful, budding artist who is handpicked by Louis to help complete the Tiffany chapel. Though excited to live in a boarding house when most women stayed home, she quickly finds the world is less welcoming than anticipated. From a Casanova male, to an unconventional married couple, and a conde...

How can a memory so vivid be wrong? I tried to remember the first time I’d been here and to see the tree through Izzie’s eyes. The oak stood on a rise just above the path; not too tall or wide but graceful and straight, its trunk covered in what I can only describe as offerings – pieces of ribbon, daisy chains, a shell necklace, a tiny doll or two and even an old cuckoo clock. "Why do people do this?" Izzie asked. I winked at her. "To say thank you to the fairies." In the summer of 1986 Robin and Izzie hold hands under  The Faerie Tree  and wish for a future together. Within hours tragedy rips their dreams apart. In the winter of 2006, each carrying their own burden of grief, they stumble back into each other’s lives and try to create a second chance. But why are their memories of 1986 so different? And which one of them is right? ---------- I have fairly eclectic tastes when it comes to reading but probably what underlies my reading choices...

What if you could ask God anything? What would you ask? And how would He answer? Chelsea Chambers is on her own. After a public split from her NFL superstar husband, Chelsea takes a bold step out of the limelight and behind the counter of the Higher Grounds Café, an old-fashioned coffee shop in dire need of reinvention. But when her courage, expert planning, and out-of-this-world cupcakes fail to pay the bills, this newly single mom finds herself desperate for help. Better yet, a miracle. Then a curious stranger lands at Chelsea’s door, and with him, an even more curious string of events. Soon, customers are flocking to the Higher Grounds Café, and not just for the cupcakes and cappuccino. They’ve come for the internet connection to the divine. Now the café has become the go-to place for people in search of answers to life’s biggest questions. When a catastrophe strikes and her ex comes calling, Chelsea begins to wonder if the whole universe is conspiring against her que...

What can rock your world faster than winning or losing a king’s ransom overnight?  Just as a huge financial scandal throws New Yorker, Olivia Wheeler, from wealth and success to bankruptcy and shame, struggling impoverished single-mother Rosie Dixon wins an unexpected million pounds. Good luck? Bad luck? Who can tell? Both women have more in common than they realize. While Olivia struggles to survive her humiliations, fleeing broke and homeless to London, shy unassuming Rosie discovers sudden riches arrive with their own mega-load of problems.  Can workaholic career-obsessed Olivia find a passion for something earthier and warmer than power and prestige? And can Rosie sift through envy and greed to discover true friends, true family and even true love?  Two strangers who’ve never met. Yet neither realizes how each is affecting the other’s destiny or the places their paths touch and fates entwine.  How will they surmount the pitfalls and perils of their outrageou...

The lovely Kerry Frith let me have a copy of this ebook to review - thanks Kerry. Hattie Carter was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She witnessed something she shouldn’t have and it changed her life overnight.  Now it’s time for Hattie to move on except it's not that easy when she's receiving death threats. On the advice of the DCI in charge, she finds herself in the exquisite village of Castleford in Wiltshire where the cottages are cosy, the locals friendly and never mind the charming Lord Ethan Parks and local sexy but grumpy DI Joe Walsh. Hattie starts to think maybe it's not so bad after all.  There's no sirens, smog or traffic and even the birds seem chirpier but when there’s a murder in the village, Hattie finds herself curious as to who poisoned Hillary Bishop. She has her suspicions but can she prove who did it all the while DI Walsh is keeping a very close eye on her? I devoured this book in one day - I had other things I needed to do, so...

Fay Merryweather runs her cake shop from her beautiful garden. She whips up airy sponges and scrumptious scones, while her customers enjoy the lovely blossoms and gorgeous blooms. Looking after the cake shop, the garden and her cantankerous mother means Fay is always busy but she accepts her responsibilities because if she doesn't do all this, who will? Then Danny Wilde walks into her life and makes Fay question every decision she's ever made. When a sudden tragedy strikes, Fay's entire world is thrown off balance even further and she doesn't know which way to turn. Can Fay find the strength to make a life-changing decision - even if it means giving up the thing she loves the most? Life, love and family are about to collide in The Cake Shop in the Garden. Well – what can I say – you had me at Cake and Carole Matthews! Where to begin, because I just loved so much about this book. I actually began to ration my reading towards the close of the book, because I...