Showing posts with label fiction addiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fiction addiction. Show all posts

Monday, 4 August 2014

Coco Pinchard,The Consequences of Love and Sex - Robert Bryndza Blog Tour


Blurb:
Since Coco Pinchard found first husband Daniel in bed with another woman, she hasn’t just picked up the pieces: she’s now a best-selling author married to her hunky soul-mate Adam. She feels stronger and wiser and surely the second time round she’ll have learnt from her mistakes?

But things aren’t going quite according to plan... Adam has lost his job, Coco’s grown-up son Rosencrantz seems to have derailed his life in spectacular fashion, and ex-mother-in-law Ethel keeps letting herself into the house thanks to an endless supply of spare keys. When literary agent Angie takes on Coco’s arch rival, the indomitable Regina Battenberg, it looks as though things can’t get any worse. And then Coco discovers she’s pregnant; at 44.

Can she really go through it all again? Sleepless nights, stretch marks on top of stretch marks, and poo as a normal topic of conversation?

The third and final book in Robert Bryndza’s bestselling series is a hilarious diary with Coco’s trademark wit and honesty, tracing the raging hormones and extraordinary twists that take her to motherhood for the second time.

*Coco Pinchard, The Consequences of Love and Sex can be read as a stand-alone*


Extract:

Hi and thanks for welcoming me to your blog as part of the Coco Pinchard, The Consequences of Love and Sex blog tour!

For today’s stop I’d like to share with you an extract from the book, where Coco Pinchard tells her literary agent Angie Langford that she is pregnant… at 44…

Monday 6th February

I left Adam this morning uploading his CV to job search sites, and took the tube over to see my literary agent Angie. She has finally finished re-modelling her house, a beautiful four-storey home in a quiet, elegant terrace in Chiswick. She opened the door wearing pyjamas, holding a cup of coffee, with a cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth.

‘Hi Angie… We have got a meeting today?’

‘Course Cokes,’ she said using the free side of her mouth. ‘This is the joy of working from home: you only need to get dressed up when it’s something important.’

I wiped my feet and gave her a look.

‘Of course love, you’re important. But you’re a mate too,’ she said.

She gave me a tour of the finished house. The basement has been excavated, and she now has a home cinema, underground parking, and her own spa with a jacuzzi. We finished the tour at the swimming pool. The huge expanse of water rippled softy under a vaulted sandstone ceiling. The bottom of the pool was tiled with a mosaic of her family.

‘I didn’t bank on the rippling water making me look so fat,’ she said, as we peered down at the bizarre Disney-esque cartoon mosaic of Angie, her fifth husband Mark, and her kids.

‘Course the kids all wanted to include their fathers in the mosaic, but why would I want to go for a swim with those bastards every morning?’ Angie is a proud four-by-four-er. Four kids by four different

fathers. I often wonder if it’s her skill as a literary agent that has landed her this luxurious lifestyle, or her skill at negotiating a divorce settlement.

We came up to Angie’s office via a sweeping staircase. The walls were adorned with photos of her kids, every Madonna concert she’s been to and, I was flattered to see, a big poster of my proudest triumph, ‘Chasing Diana Spencer: The Musical’, which was adapted from my novel of the same name.

Angie’s new office was lined with bookshelves containing the work of all her authors. I spied Recherche Lady Di, the best-selling French edition of Chasing Diana Spencer. It gave me a thrill to be getting back to work again after a few months away from it all. I took a squashy chair in front of her desk. Angie lit a cigarette and sat opposite. Behind her was a beautiful view of rooftops and the Thames in the distance.

‘What happened to your old assistant?’ I asked.

‘Brenda took me to a tribunal,’ said Angie.

‘That’s a shame, what happened?’

‘You know when they dug out my basement, they found that Roman settlement and the plague pit?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Brenda started taking tea down to the builders, but the daft cow didn’t wear a facemask. She caught the bubonic plague.’

‘That’s terrible.’

‘Oh, it’s nothing these days, Cokes. She had to take a course of antibiotics, and she was fine. But the cow got greedy and wanted more than statutory sick pay. I said to her, ‘Did they get statutory sick pay in 1665? No they bloody didn’t. They all died.’’

‘And what did she say?’

‘Well she repeated that at the tribunal, and it cost me a bloody fortune. So for now Chloe is working for me.’ Angie’s daughter Chloe came in with two coffees.

‘Right,’ she said composing herself. ‘I’ve got a release date for

Agent Fergie. Your publisher, The House of Randoms, is looking at April 16th, so we really need to start things moving.’

‘There’s just one other thing,’ I said. ‘I’m pregnant. I’m going to have a baby in August.’

‘Bloody hell!’ said Angie. She sat back and puffed on her cigarette, then as an afterthought waved the smoke away from me. ‘You know, that could be a brilliant promotion angle. Old mum.’

‘Old mum?’

‘Have you got an ultrasound?’ I started to get it out of my coat.

‘No give it to Chloe to scan. It would be good to have on record if the press need it. This is such good news Coco! We could get Heat magazine to do a folic acid themed, ‘What’s in your fridge?’ You could recommend stretch mark cream in Boots Magazine. We could pitch something to Grazia or Cosmo about female incontinence – Ulrika Johnson has paved the way with that one. It’s perfect! Your readership is women over thirty five – and of course poofters. Could we do a mum and son thing in Gaytimes? Rosencrantz topless, and you in maternity gear?’

‘Hey! Angie!’

‘What?’

‘I’ve just told you I’m pregnant.’

‘I heard you love.’

‘And what do normal people say in response?’

Angie looked confused. ‘Um. Whose is it?’

I shook my head.

‘Are you gonna to keep it?’ Then it dawned on her. ‘Shit, congratulations Cokes.’

‘Thank you.’

I showed her my scan and she became human again. She even asked if I wanted to be put in touch with her Harley Street gynaecologist.

‘He’s great,’ she said. ‘Got me into a private hospital that lets you smoke. I could choose when I had my Caesarean, and they did a bit

of liposuction at the same time.’

I lied and said I’d think about it.

‘Well when you get the next bit of your advance through you can afford it love.’



You can read more about Coco Pinchard’s adventures in pregnancy in Robert’s book Coco Pinchard, The Consequences Of Love and Sex which is available now.


About the Author:


Robert Bryndza was born in the UK and lived in America and Canada before settling in Slovakia with his Slovak husband Ján. His debut novel The Not So Secret Emails of Coco Pinchard became an Amazon bestseller and two sequels have followedCoco Pinchard’s Big Fat Tipsy Wedding and Coco PinchardThe Consequences of Love and Sex. A Very Coco Christmas, is a delightful introductory novella to the Coco Pinchard series.  When he’s not writing Rob is learning Slovak, trying to train two crazy dogs, or watching Grand Designs – all in the hope that he’ll be able to understand his mother-in-law, build his dream house, and get the dogs to listen.



Website www.robertbryndza.com



Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bryndzarobert



Robert Bryndza on Goodreads



Robert Bryndza on Twitter @robertbryndza


Overall tour giveaway is 3 x signed copies of Coco Pinchard, The Consequences of Love and Sex plus Coco Pinchard bookmarks.

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Wednesday, 9 July 2014

Return to Love - Kathleen Shoop Blog Tour

Fiction Addiction Book Tours



April and Hale Abercrombie’s love is tender and sweet. While he serves in Vietnam, their marriage is marked by trust and the belief that they will grow old together with a gaggle of grandchildren at their feet. But, their charmed marriage changes in the face of losing their newborn daughter.

On leave from his tour, Hale can barely wait to hold his wife and her help her heal. When he arrives, his embrace, his touch, and his love are as perfect as April remembered. Their reunion is passionate and their physical connection is strong and soothing. But, April’s heartache remains.

Hale stumbles through his attempts to prove to April that their future will be rich and full of wonder. His good-hearted, but take-charge approach causes her to retreat. Even in grief, April can see Hale’s earnestness, yet she finds solace in putting space between them. They must learn trust that real love will endure even in the face of all that has gone wrong.

Set on the beaches of the Outer Banks, Return to Love is the second book in the Endless Love series. Book one, Home Again, was named a finalist in the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.





Buy link for Home Again

US http://www.amazon.com/Home-Again-1-The-Endless-Series-ebook/dp/B00ERBKQSO

UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Again-Book-Endless-Love-ebook/dp/B00ERBKQSO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400607229&sr=8-1&keywords=home+again+kathleen+shoop





Excerpt:



Chapter 1


Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Autumn 1970



Hale’s lungs were tight as he gripped his duffel in one hand and held his uniform over his shoulder with the other. He flew up the steps of the small fishing cottage that his wife was renting from the Shelby family and arrived on the wide porch. He had imagined the moment he’d see her so many times that he felt like he was performing a play. He dropped the duffel right there and knocked on the screen door. Why was he knocking? She knew he was coming. He threw the door open and walked into the small entry. It opened into the family room. He wiped his feet while he scanned the space. “April!”

His heart beat fast and heavy. Yes, he was home under difficult circumstances. Hale’s wife was having difficulty coping with the stillbirth of their daughter. He was worried for her and knew if his skipper granted hardship leave that things must be bad. Yet he was determined, sure as he had finally arrived at the Outer Banks, he was confident that he could make her well. He just needed to see her, to hold her, to tell her everything was going to be okay.

The Guess Who’s “No Sugar Tonight” was playing on the radio. The tune brought a smile to his face. He rushed down the hallway and poked his head into two bedrooms and a bathroom before finding the room April had been using. He tucked his naval uniform into the closet, went back to the kitchen, and turned off the radio, straining to hear any noise that might signal April’s location. He went back outside, inhaling the salty air.

Where was she? He leapt off the porch and crossed the gravelly lane called Beach Road stepping onto the sand, craning his neck to catch a glimpse of her. A seagull clipped Hale’s head as it landed off to the side then flipped a whitefish into its mouth. As far as he could

see, the beach was empty, yet he thought he should walk it, search for April. He didn’t know which direction she would have walked, but he started out anyway.

Heading south, a flock of black birds escorted him from above. Scores of them moved together like one great wing flapping in the wind. The whoosh of their collective descent was punctuated by their coarse, throaty screams.

The sand worked into Hale’s shoes, each particle stabbing at the skin below his ankles. He pushed one shoe off and then the other, leaving them near a smattering of driftwood that had been pushed ashore by high tide. The birds dropped, their calls growing louder, drowning out the surf. One by one the black skimmers rained from the sky like bombs, their red beaks bright against the gray sky that had crept in with Hale’s arrival. Some of the birds landed in the shoals and poked and prodded at the sand.

He came upon the largest cluster of birds, the beige sand peeking out in small patches among the blackness, and his eye went to a different form, a woman sitting rod straight, motionless in the center of the black avian shroud. Her blonde hair whipped in the wind like the sea grass at his feet. Hale stopped. His heart thumped. April. He willed himself to breathe, to move toward her. He’d never seen such a sight, the way she seemed partly born of the sand, partly able to sprout wings and fly away.

“April!” he said, waving even though her back was to him.

She did not respond. He called again, his words turned back to him by the stiff ocean gales. He jogged toward her, weaving in between napping skimmers, hopping over those that were too busy eating to move out of his way.

When he had nearly reached April, he halted again. He suddenly felt nervous about his excitement; he felt her sadness as though they shared the same soul. He’d never seen such a stunning sight in his life. Her elegance was apparent even sitting on a beach, in the middle of birds. She turned her head slightly, her profile facing him. His stomach flipped. Oh my God, is she beautiful. The wind tossed her hair, making her appear as though she were posing for a magazine shoot.

Even from a distance, even from the side, he thought he could see the sparkle of her blue eyes. The way they were set, wide on her face, made it seem as though he saw something slightly different every time he looked at her, something more, something alluring, hypnotizing. Those eyes.

There was no woman more captivating, he was sure. Or more lonely. Her sadness seemed to leap over the sand to him, to well up from the soles of his feet, filling him, squeezing the breath from his suddenly heavy lungs. If he felt this, then her pain must be far greater, her emptiness more profound. He’d helped her create life, but he hadn’t been there when it ended.

He moved closer to her, yelling her name again. She sat, splashed by the surf, her shorts and sleeveless t-shirt clinging to her body. Her legs were pretzeled beneath her, her arms outstretched, resting on her knees, her palms turned skyward. Seaweed had wrapped

around her fingers, dangling from them, the ends washing around her with the surf. She appeared fragile, even more so than the year before.

He finally reached her and dropped to his knees. Her eyes met his and he saw a spark in her expression, as though it took her a few heartbeats to realize who he was. She threw her ice-cold arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. Oh, God. The thrill he felt to hold her again shocked him, and the worry crashed away like a spent wave.

He kissed her cheeks and forehead and chin then ran his hands over her arms. “What are you doing out here like this? It’s so cold.” Hale didn’t wait for answers. He gathered her in his arms.

She drew back. “Wait.”

His chest heaved, wanting to wrap her up tight. He leaned in, and she put her hand against his chest, stopping him.

“It’s you, it’s you, it’s you.” Her gaze penetrated his, her words were thin against the noisy surf. Her smile turned electric. He was struck by the thought that his wife was all right, that she had weathered the stillbirth better than he’d been told. He exhaled, not realizing he’d been holding his breath.

Inches apart, they stared at each other. He grabbed her hands as a wave broke, drenching them. The tension dissolved and they laughed, falling into each other, running their hands over every bit of skin they could reach, marveling like they had discovered the lost tombs of Egypt.

“Let’s go.” He squeezed her hands.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. He stood and she latched her legs around his waist.

Hale moved down the beach, holding her. His excitement, the love he felt for her, spread throughout his body as she pressed her hips into him. He threaded his way toward the cottage, disturbing slumbering birds, whispering to April that all would be well now that he was back, that he would take away the hurt and make everything perfect again.

And as he headed back to the cottage, April nuzzled into him. “I love you, I love you,” she said, her lips moving against his neck, thrilling him. It had been nearly a year since he’d pulled April from the chilled water of the Albemarle Sound, since he had rescued her body and she had rescued his heart. Last year, back home on leave, he’d felt as though somehow he was starting over again, but had been lost, needing to find her as much as she had needed to be found.

She squeezed her legs tighter, finding his lips with hers. He stopped walking and set her down, continuing the kiss.

She pulled away, touching his arms, his chest, his cheeks, her eyes filled with tears. “You’re here, you’re here, you’re here. I can’t even believe it,” she said.

Hale dug his hands into her hair. “You’re okay?” After seeing her so solemn at the edge of the surf, he hadn’t expected her to be gleeful, as though his presence had snapped her awareness to on. She kissed him again.

Hale laughed, talking into her kiss. “Thank God.” He laid his forehead on hers.

She nodded, grabbing his backside, pulling him to her. “Let’s make love. Right here.”

His excitement grew, but in the back of his mind, even with this thrilling greeting, he wasn’t sure they should make love. Had he returned from Vietnam under any other circumstances, he wouldn’t have hesitated. But this was different.

He traced his finger over her lips. He had forgotten just how tall she was until she stood there in front of him. She went up on her toes and kissed him. “Please, Hale. Please. I need you. Please. You’re not going to make me wait? Not after being gone so long. Don’t tease me like this.” She played with the hair at the nape of his neck with one hand and moved her other hand between his legs.

She sat down, pulling him onto the sand with her. “No one’s here. Just us.” She leaned back on her elbows, her eyes full of flirty mischief.

He looked around as he knelt between her legs, caressing her knees, her thighs. “But what about—”

“It’s okay. It’s fine. I am.”

Hale licked his lips. “You’re sure? Usually, I like to woo you first. At least a little, if you recall.”

April threw her head back. “You call fixing my roof an exercise in wooing? No roof to fix here.” She met his gaze again, flinty desire making his stomach flip.

“Consider me wooed, my love,” she said.

Hale shook his head, his cheeks hurting from his wide grin. He held up his finger. “Be serious, for just one second.”

“Oh, serious Hale.” She rolled her eyes, chuckling.

He scoffed at her mocking, their little joke. She seemed like herself. Perhaps she was stronger than everyone thought she was. He finally let the full force of joy and lust hit him. “There’s no one like you, April Abercrombie. No one in the world.”

She sat up and laced her hands around his neck, pulling him down on top of her. His lips met hers. He wanted to take his time and explore her body, take in every bit of her with his eyes, with his fingers, so he could savor the experience once he was back overseas. But even as he kissed her, she was fumbling with the button on his jeans and shimmying out of her shorts. She’s okay, Hale thought, relief rushing through him. Her passion and desire for him nearly made him laugh out loud. He’d been so afraid for her, worried that he wouldn’t know how to talk to her. But here she was, overwhelming him with her excitement, with her resilience.

“Please. I just want you close to me.” She wrapped her hand around him, stroking, making him gasp. She was no longer just part of a scene in his memory. She opened a door that he was free to run through. He kissed her neck, tasting the salt that had dried there. She pushed his pants off and grasped his ass.

He wanted to savor every moment, to slow down time. They pushed against each other, the tingling lit through him like fire, her arousal fueling his. His heartbeat sped up making him think he couldn’t slow things down.

She put her hand on his shoulder, shifting her weight so that she could straddle him. She pulled off his shirt and he leaned back. She bit his ear then kissed him from his neck to his shoulder, onto his chest and belly before taking him into her mouth. “Oh God. April.”

She kissed her way back up his body, every bit of him shuddering as she slipped into his lap. The loose neckline of her t-shirt fell to the side. He kissed her collarbone and ran his hands around her back, unhooking her bra as she moved against him. He lifted her shirt over her head, flung the bra to the side and kissed her breasts. She grasped him at the back of the neck and paused before wrapping her hand around him. She lifted onto her knees and guided him inside her. Hale gripped her hips.

His vision blurred as the warmth of her body around his shocked him. She rose up and down and in a few moments he was close to the end. She dropped her head back, her hair swinging behind her. He pulled her to him, wanting to feel her against his chest. With her in his lap, her arms and legs clamped around him, holding him so tight he could barely find his breath, they finished.

Breathing hard, Hale turned April onto her back, her body nestled under him as though they’d never been apart.

The happiness. It was alive in him, coursing through his veins. His eyes burned. Warm tears slid down his face onto her cheek. He watched her heaving breath settle into unison with his, her face placid with her eyes shut, lips slightly parted. He brushed her hair from her face.

Having her under him, their hearts and bodies joined in this moment of sheer release was what he’d imagined the entire time he was in Vietnam. And best of all, she was okay. He couldn’t believe it, but they had all been wrong about April. She was fine. Thank you, God.




Guest Post:

Love, Romance, and a Little Bit of Strife… That’s what romance novels are made of.

Okay, so I’ve always been a fan of sappy romantic comedies. I used to binge on romance novels. And, I’ve adored history since I first noticed my parents’ bookshelves bursting with thick hardbacks; I love the dark, digging into the nitty-gritty details of facts and research. But for some reason I’d never merged romance and history into my writing—well, not until a little over a year ago.

I was invited to contribute a novella to a romance anthology called Bliss. Each author would contribute a story that was set in the same house on the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. But, each story would be set in a different era. I’d never written romance before, although I’d say that some of my novels definitely had elements of “love” woven into them.

Could I do it? Did I want to? Well, I gave it a shot and fell madly in love with writing love. My first draft of Home Again (book one in the Endless Love series) was bulky even in its novella length. My editor, Sue, sent the manuscript back to me with the note “get rid of nearly everyone and everything that is not related to the main characters falling in love.”

Whaaat? Well, okay, I thought. Then what? I was used to shaping and molding 120,000 word historical novels that embodied entire worlds for each character including the secondary ones. I didn’t even know what she meant—how could there be a story without all that other stuff unrelated to falling in love? I panicked. I went for a cleansing walk. And, I felt a calm settle over me as my mind unwound and I realized what she meant. My mind traipsed back through all the books I’d read, the movies I’d seen, my own experiences with falling in love. It was simple and clear—when people are falling in love, there IS nothing else in life for them.

What fun it became to craft this first novella. These characters had lives, of course. Set in 1969 in a place in that which I was unfamiliar, I still needed to do my trusty research. I still needed to build atmosphere and tone into each scene, and my characters still needed something to do. I felt such freedom in crafting a story that always needed to circle back to just two people—falling in love, encountering obstacles, the passion, the worry if they should really be together… the water, the warm North Carolina air, Vietnam, Woodstock, April and Hale—always going back to them.

Well, I wrote the novella, it sits among its sibling novellas in Bliss and it also went into the world on its own, being named a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. It’s been rewarding. But, the real reward has been that I fell in love with April and Hale and I knew their story would not end with that short, but lovely first tale. I’ve written the next chapters of their lives in the novel, Return to Love.

This young couple is separated by war and though the book doesn’t cover them first meeting (that’s in the novella), their love is always fresh and new because each time

they come back together when Hale is on leave, they find familiarity in their embrace, in their touch, in each kiss, but there is an ocean of emotional distance to cross each time. Yes, this couple fascinates me. Writing light, writing romance is just as fulfilling as the heavier, “deeper,” historical fiction stuff. I just hope that readers find April and Hale as fun and captivating as I do.
About the Author:



Amazon Top-100 Bestselling author, Kathleen Shoop, holds a PhD in reading education and has more than 20 years of experience in the classroom. She writes historical fiction, women’s fiction and romance.

Shoop’s novels have garnered various awards in the Independent Publisher Book Awards, Eric Hoffer Book Awards, Indie Excellence Awards, Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the San Francisco Book Festival. Kathleen has been featured in USA Today and the Writer’s Guide to 2013. Her work has appeared in The Tribune-Review, four Chicken Soup for the Soul books and Pittsburgh Parent magazine. She lives in Oakmont, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.


 For more information, 
visit www.kshoop.com
FACEBOOK-- Kathleen Shoop
TWITTER--  @kathieshoop

Overall tour giveaway is 3 x $15/£10 Amazon Gift Cards plus 1 x recipe book (ties in with Return to Love) Renewal “Anytime” 10 Day Detox by Lisa Consiglio Ryan. For a chance to win just enter the rafflecopter below and good luck!!!

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Tuesday, 17 September 2013

A Jersey Kiss - Georgina Troy

A Jersey Kiss Blog Tour:
Publication Date: 16th August 2013
Green Shutter Books

Blurb:

Living in the 'sunny isle' it's hard not to fall in love and even though Bea Phillips is still reeling from a nasty divorce, the loss of her beloved god-mother and inheriting a legacy that includes something mysterious no one seems able to locate, she still has to find a way to fight a court case that threatens to take away everything she owns. The last thing Bea needs is a distraction in the form of surly builder Luke, or old flame Tom.

Will Bea find a way to keep her dream home and maybe fall in love?

And what exactly is, ‘A Jersey Kiss?'


My Review:

4* out of 5*

Bea is left broken hearted when her grandmother passes away, she had been like a mother to her, supporting her through thick and thin even when her marriage broke down; Annabel stood by her. When Annabel died, she left Bea her house as well as The Jersey Kiss, but no one seems to know what The Jersey Kiss is....

This is a story that takes you on a journey, trying to discover The Jersey  Kiss; as well as trying to sort out a nasty divorce, Simon insists he is entitled to half of Annabel's house as they were together when Bea inherited it. And what story would be complete without a love interest? Bea develops a new love interest to make matters even worse! This has just come at the wrong time, but perhaps its what she needs?

The story had brilliant characters in it, and they are all developed well. I love the fact we know so much about the other characters and get to read about their life's too. Georgina Troy has managed to develop characters that you have a connection with and passion for them. You hate Simon and you are desperate for Bea to sort things out as she is such a likeable character. 

This story is about friendships,  coping and being a strong independent woman. Bea was a likable character and she was developed well, I loved all the different genres within this book, mystery, romance and drama; I can not wait to see what Georgina Troy brings out next!

I love books set abroad as I have a real interest in travel. Jersey is a place I have never been to but after reading about idyllic settings and beautiful surroundings; this is a place I wish to visit in the future.  





About Georgina Troy:

Georgina Troy lives in Jersey near the sea - well, most people do in an island only 9 x 5 miles. She's always wanted to write and being an impossible romantic is always falling in love with heroes both real (hopefully), in fiction (definitely) and those of her own creation (absolutely). 

She's now written two romantic novels based in Jersey, A Jersey Kiss and A Jersey Affair.

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Tuesday, 3 September 2013

Do You Remember? - Mandy Baggot

Do You Remember? Blog Tour. 


Release Date: 25th July 2013
Harper Impulse
Blurb:

‘First Love. First Loss. Last chance?
2005 was the most traumatic year of Emma Barron’s life. It was the year her mother died and the year she met Guy Duval. Eight years on, she’s an English teacher with a doting boyfriend and a young son. Life’s been hard but now it’s comfortable. She’s settled and content…so why would she risk it all for another chance with the man that broke her heart?
Guy’s an international renowned footballer newly signed to a top UK team. But behind the confident facade is a man determined to drown the horrors from his childhood with fame, success and money.
Unable to confide in her best friend, Ally, Emma tries to hold her life together as her heart is pulled apart. Did she turn her back on love too soon?
Neither of them know what really happened on 5 September 2005 and as events are slowly revealed can anyone cope with the truth?’


My Review:

I would give this book a 4* out of 5*

This was the first of Mandy’s books I have read and I was lucky enough to be part of the blog tour for this book.

This is an emotional romantic story, normally I do not enjoy books that begin with heartache due to relatives/friends passing away as I find them depressing reads and hard to get into. This was not one of these books, right from the start it was a page turner and I did not want to put it down.

The story is set in the past and the present; Baggot cleverly makes the story flow between the two smoothly. This is a love story to stand the test of time; the characters were thought out well and were strong. You had a relationship with the characters and got caught up with their stories.

I loved that this story I didn’t find predictable and as the story developed I became shocked by parts as I didn’t see things coming. I don’t want to say too much about this book as it is so well written you should read it for yourself. It has twists and turns throughout. This is a must read!



About Mandy Baggot:

Mandy Baggot brings you award-winning fiction! In 2012 she won the coveted Innovation in Romantic Fiction award at the UK's Festival of Romance. Her novel Strings Attached was also short listed for Best Author Published Read!

Mandy writes strong contemporary romance and characters you'll fall in love with. Previously self-published, she was traditionally signed by US publishing house Sapphire Star Publishing in January 2012. Shortly afterwards she became a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association.  She has recently signed a two book deal with Harper Collins’ Romance Imprint, Harper Impulse. 
She regularly writes of writing magazines and blogs and is a regular contributor to online magazine, Loveahappyending Lifestyle.
Mandy lives near Salisbury in Wiltshire, UK with her husband, two daughters and two cats called Kravitz and Springsteen.
She is an advocate for women in business and belongs to the networking group Women on Wednesdays.


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