BOOKSIMO

Description In a cosy corner of Paris, a delicious little patisserie is just waiting to be discovered. And romance might just be on the menu… As the youngest of four, Nina Hadley has always had her big brothers telling her what to do. So, when she’s given the chance to move to Paris and help run a patisserie course, she can’t say  au revoir  quick enough! There’s just one problem: high-flying chef Sebastian Finlay is the owner of the patisserie. He’s also her brother Nick’s best friend – and the man she has secretly been in love with since forever. Amongst the mouth-wateringly delicious eclairs and delicate macarons, Nina’s culinary creations aren’t the only tempting thing she’s working with… Review Once I got this book for review it leapfrogged over many books on my TBR pile. Julie Caplin is I have to say now one of my favourite authors. This is the third book of hers I have read and it was just as wonderful as the previous two. It's a standalone book so you...

Description Two people. Ten chances. One unforgettable love story. Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn't exist. After all, life isn't a scene from the movies, is it? But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there's a moment of pure magic...and then her bus drives away. Laurie thinks she'll never see the boy from the bus again. But at their Christmas party a year later, her best friend Sarah introduces her to the new love of her life. Who is, of course, the boy from the bus. Determined to let him go, Laurie gets on with her life. But what if fate has other plans? Following Laurie, Sarah and Jack through ten years of love, heartbreak and friendship,  One Day in December  is a joyous, heart-warming and immensely moving love story that you'll want to escape into forever, for fans of  Jojo Moyes ,  Lucy Diamond  and  Nicholas Sparks .  ...

Description On a leafy suburban street in Dublin, beautiful, poised Stella Greene lives with her successful husband, Matt. The perfect couple in every way, Stella appears to have it all. Next door, at number 72 however, lives Rea Brady. Gruff, bad-tempered and rarely seen besides the twitching of her net curtains, rumour has it she’s lost it all…including her marbles if you believe the neighbourhood gossip. But appearances can be deceiving and when Stella and Rea’s worlds collide they realise they have much in common. Both are trapped in a prison of their own making. Has help been next door without them realising it? Review I haven't read any of the author's books before and was settling in for rather more of a cosy read than some of the dark stuff that the pages contained. To begin with I really wanted to read something else as it was a little too realistic in places to enjoy. There are three stories told  - Rea, Stella and Skye. I wasn't sure where th...

Description Academy Award-winning screenwriter and director Nora Ephron ( When Harry Met Sally ,  Heartburn ,  Sleepless in Seattle ,  You've Got Mail ) turns her sharp wit on to her own life. *  Never marry a man you wouldn't want to be divorced from *If the shoe doesn't fit in the shoe store, it's never going to fit *When your children are teenagers, it's important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you *Anything you think is wrong with your body at the age of thirty-five you will be nostalgic for by the age of forty-five *The empty nest is underrated *If only one third of your clothes are mistakes, you're ahead of the game Review I love Nora Ephron films and thought that I should read this book - it's been on my tbr list for so many years. I guess I was putting it off in case it wasn't as good as the films - sometimes writers just aren't as funny. I'm pleased to say it did not disappoint me, I really liked this ...

Description Claire Wright likes to play other people.   A British drama student, in New York without a green card, Claire takes the only job she can get: working for a firm of divorce lawyers, posing as an easy pick-up in hotel bars to entrap straying husbands. When one of her targets becomes the subject of a murder investigation, the police ask Claire to use her acting skills to help lure their suspect into a confession. But right from the start, she has doubts about the part she's being asked to play. Is Patrick Fogler really a killer . . . Or the only decent husband she's ever met? And is there more to this set-up than she's being told? And that's when Claire realises she's playing the deadliest role of her life . . . Review I was attracted to reading this book as I loved the previous novel by J P Delaney, The Girl Before. It turns out that this book was actually his first book. However, he totally rewrote it, keeping just the overall premise of the ...

Description Meet private detective James Leipfold, computer whizzkid Maile O'Hara and good-natured cop Jack Cholmondeley in the first book of the Leipfold series. A car strikes in the middle of the night and a young actress lies dead in the road. The police force thinks it's an accident, but Maile and Leipfold aren't so sure. Putting their differences aside, and brought together by a shared love of crosswords and busting bad guys, Maile and Leipfold investigate. But not all is as it seems, as they soon find out to their peril. Review I've followed Dane Cobain through social media for some time and so when he quit his day job to become a full time writer I was intrigued what his books would be like. I've had this book on my personal tbr list for some time and am so glad I finally got around to reading it. It really was a cracking read. I loved the characters, especially Maile with her bang up to date internet sleuthing  skills. In fact the book was full ...

Description With nearly 60 per cent of us living in cities, the mega-city of Tokyo, through centuries of raze and rebuild, is surely the guiding light for how we can live together amicably in an ever-urbanising world.   Not only is Japan the mother of all metropolis’ but with two thirds of the country covered in forest, there is still much respect and celebration of the natural world, with people perfectly placed to make the most of the green space around them. From the art of making tea, to going for a hike, or celebrating imperfections, there are ceremonies the Japanese have been honing for centuries that thrive alongside modern traditions and practices of well-being.   From Miyazaki to mountains, sake to sparking joy, find your Zen and make time to learn about how to live Japanese. Whether it’s the cutting edge of film-making, revolutionizing the whisky market or competing with parents on lunchboxes, you’ll be all the better for some time spent with  How to Live J...