Blog Tour: Secrets of a Winter Escape by Sue Moorcroft (includes a UK giveaway)

 

When Erin's life falls apart, she is not sure what to do. She's lost her job and realised that her relationship has no future. Her overbearing mother tries to help, but Erin needs time and space. 

Not that long ago she had met her half-sisters Jade and Rosalie for the first time and inherited a share in a beautiful pensione on the shores of Lake Como. Under the terms of her termination she gets paid for a few months on the condition that she doesn't undertake any work. What better way to fill her time than to go to Italy. It can only be for a short time as the pensione is booked out closer to Christmas but she has a few weeks at least.

Also spending time in the pensione is professional footballer Caleb. Or maybe that is former professional footballer. Caleb made a silly decision while on a stag weekend and has injured his knee. He is now in danger of losing his lucrative contract. He spends his days doing rehab at a local facility and avoiding attracting any attention. That isn't always easy as his glamourous ex WAG isn't averse to dragging his name out in the gutter press to further her career and raise her own profile.

When Caleb finds out that Erin has a background in media but with a focus on car racing, he is still wary of her. The last thing that he needs is another journalist poking around in his business but soon Erin is able to convince him to accept her help to try and rehabilitate his image, which is as necessary as the rehabilitation he is undertaking on his knee. As they work together, the spark between them grows but given that they both have issues can they see past those to what a future together might look like.

Once again, I enjoyed the way that Sue Moorcroft balances the stories of Erin and Caleb. They both have a complete story, with their own issues and they are both given the opportunity to learn more about themselves and what they may want for the future. For both of them, this means thinking about family, whatever shape it comes in. 

Whilst the title of this book doesn't scream Christmas, the cover gives a clue that it is, and it is part of what I loved about this book! I loved the way that we got to see Italian Christmas traditions as well as celebrate a Britmas (British Christmas). The town sounds so beautiful. I wish I could visit but we won't be doing another Christmas in Europe in the foreseeable future so I will just have to read about it!

I always know that I can rely on Sue Moorcroft for a really lovely read, and I am already looking forward to Rosalie's story which will be in the third book in the trilogy!

I am sharing this review with New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog. Thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. Be sure to check out other stops on the blog tour below. And if you are in the UK, enter the giveaway below! You have to be in it to win it!

Rating 4/5

About the Book

Secrets of a Winter Escape

Will this be a Christmas to remember?

Christmas should be the most wonderful time of year. But for Erin, who's just lost the job that she loves, it's anything but. Down on her luck, the only gift she wants is escape...

So, Erin returns to Lake Como, home to the pensione she inherited from the grandmother she never met. The city sparkles with the magic of the season, and the guests provide a welcome distraction from the life that Erin has left behind.

As the snow begins to fall, Erin finds herself staying in the room next door to Caleb, an injured footballer who's eager to avoid the prying eyes of the press. With emotional baggage bigger than his suitcases, he's a complication that her bruised heart doesn't need. But when Caleb lights Erin up like Como's illuminations, will she admit that all she wants for Christmas is him?

Purchase Link - https://geni.us/SecretsOfAWinterEscape

About the Author

Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times bestselling author. Her novels have reached #1 on Kindle UK and Top 100 on Kindle US, Canada, Germany and Italy. She’s won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Novel of the Year, Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award, two HOLT Medallions and the Katie Fforde Bursary. She’s a past president of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Her novels, short stories, serials, columns, writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared around the world.

 

Social Media Links –

Amazon page: Sue Moorcroft

Audible page: Sue Moorcroft

Website: www.suemoorcroft.com

Facebook author page SueMoorcroftAuthor

Twitter: @SueMoorcroft

Instagram: @SueMoorcroftAuthor

Linked in: Sue Moorcroft

Link Tree: linktr.ee/SueMoorcroft

Bookbub: SueMoorcroft1

 

Giveaway to Win Signed copy of Secrets of a Winter Escape and Sue Moorcroft pen (Open to UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Gleam box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Win Signed copy of Secrets of a Winter Escape and Sue Moorcroft pen (Open to UK Only)

Top Ten Tuesday: Author Names - Elizabeth!

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Book Characters I Wish Were Real People (And feel free to tell us why! Would you date them, be friends with them, etc.?) (Submitted by Lydia Schoch)

I am going off piste again this week. Not too long ago I did a post where I focussed on author's named Jane. This week I am doing the same, except the name that I am choosing is Elizabeth! I was a little bit surprised that I didn't even need to go and use any derivatives of the name! I got ten just using the name as it is!

Elizabeth Chadwick - I am such a fan of Elizabeth Chadwick's books. I have a few to catch up on though.

Elizabeth Vaughan - This is a blast from the past for me. I really enjoyed War Prize and the next two books when I read this series 20 years ago! Yes, really!

Elizabeth Hoyt - Another blast from the past. I don't read much historical romance these days, but I do remember Elizabeth Hoyt's books fondly.

Elizabeth Gilbert - I am not really that interested in reading most of Elizabeth Gilbert's books but I did  love this one!

Elizabeth Peters - The first series that comes to mind when I think of Elizabth Peters is the amazing Amelia Peabody series, but the Vicky Bliss series was a lot of fun too!

Elizabeth Acevedo - I loved loved loved this book, and I have bought a couple more of her books since then but still haven't read them. 

Elizabeth SaFleur - I had a lot of fun with this book too!

Elizabeth Gaskell - There are quite a few books that I could choose but I can't go past North and South.

Elizabeth Bard - Lunch in Paris? Yes please.

Elizabeth Jolley - I needed to get a least one Aussie author on the list!

Can you think of any other Elizabeths I have missed?

This week

I'm reading

I finished three books this week and started reading one other!

The first book I finished was Long Island by Colm Toibin for the GR challenge. I was sure that I had read Brooklyn years ago, but looking at my handy dandy spreadsheet, I think that maybe I only watched the movie. Anyway, I read this one and it was fine. 

Next up I read Secrets of a Winter Escape by Sue Moorcroft which is for a blog tour later this week! You always know that you can rely on this author for a good read!

I also read Every Day I Read by Hwang Bo-Reum. This is an unusual read for me. I can't think of the last time I read a non-fiction book that was originally published in a different language. This book was 53 very short essays on reading. Each essay talked about how to read more for example it talks about reading deeply, or reading in your comfort zone or outside your comfort zone. It was an easy read.

The book that I started was another blog tour. Mrs Clutterbuck's Christmas Emporium by Nicola May. I am having a lot of fun with it!

I'm watching


We had a public holiday here on Tuesday so we took advantage of the fact that we didn't have to go to work and went to the movies. We watched Pressure which stars Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser and is all about the role that a Scottish weatherman played in lead up to D Day. If you have any interest in WWII movies then give this one a go. Here's the trailer

I also watched You Me and Tuscany on Saturday night which is a bit of fun. It features a young woman who is broke but goes to Tuscany pretending to be engaged to a man. She then meets his brother and things get complicated.


Life


We had a really quiet weekend but things will start getting busier soon.

We did book our flights to South Africa for next year which is exciting!

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Succint!
Blog Tour: Stuck with you for Christmas by Jen Smith
A Short History of Longans by Mirandi Riwoe
In My Kitchen: October
Six Degrees of Separation: The Fish Wife to The Kamogawa Food Detectives




I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

Six Degrees: The Fish Girl to The Kamogawa Food Detectives

Welcome to this month's edition of Six Degrees of Separation, which is a monthly meme hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best. The idea is to start with a specific book and make a series of links from one book to the next using whatever link you can find and see where you end up after six links. I am also linking this post up with The Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz and A Good Book and a Cup of Tea hosted at Boondock Ramblings.

The starting point for this month is a novella that's on your reading list, in recognition of Novellas in November. 

I am starting with The Fish Girl by Mirandi Riwoe. I originally read this novella a couple of years ago and enjoyed it very much. I recently borrowed a story collection from the library and this is one of the entries in the book! (review)

The reason why this author came to mind is that I recently finished reading A Short History of Longans by Mirandi Riwoe. Now I am on a quest to read all of her books! (review)

I am using the word history as my link to my next choice which is Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens by David Mitchell. This link does double duty. Not only does it link through the word history, it also would be a great read for non-fiction November.

Spreaking of English kings, I read The King's Jewel by Elizabeth Chadwick a bit earlier in the year. The king in question was Henry I

Whilst there are a lot of jewels that I could have picked from but I am going to choose diamonds, and The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (review)

The last selection for Cook the Books was Mrs Quinn's Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford, which features an older lady who goes onto a Bake-Off style cooking show and changes her life. And what did I cook for this book - a delicious Black Forest Cake. (review)

The current selection for Cook the Books is The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai. I don't often reread books, but I did recently reread it to help with deciding what I was going to cook. I am now really tempted to reread the next two books in the series. The fourth book is out soon! (review from my first read)

And to see if we went full circle both the starting and end point are foodie. Does that work?

Next month, the starting point is Small Things Like These by Irish author Claire Keegan

Will you be joining us?

In My Kitchen: October

Welcome to the first Saturday of the month where I share everything I have made over the previous month. In the first half of the month, we did quite a bit of entertaining, which is reflected in the baking that I did. 

First though, I tried the viral chocolate and cherry 2 ingredient dessert. The idea is that you get a packet of chocolate ripple biscuits and a can of cherries, and you put them in the oven for 25 minutes and voila, dessert! I did make it a little bit fancier because we had some left-over sour cherry sauce from when I made Black Forest cake last month, and so I used those instead of a can. However, I made it a bit less fancy as I only made single serves. I broke up the biscuits into a ramekin and then added some of the sauce and cooked it for 45 seconds. It was so good!

Milk Tart - We had a family and friends event where all of our kids were together in one place. My youngest stepdaughter was back from the UK with her partner, and we also celebrated the older stepdaughter's engagement! We had a very South African barbecue including boerworst, pap and peppermint crisp tart (which I have posted about previously here). My contribution was to make Milk Tart which is like a custard tart but it stays a milky white colour. I have shared a recipe for that. I did have trouble getting the custard set this time, mainly because I didn't follow the instructions properly, but in the end it was set and it was very tasty!

Basque cheesecake with chocolate ganache - There were some family friends who couldn't make the barbecue, and so they came for dinner during the following week. I therefore needed something impressive that was low effort, and a basque cheesecake definitely meets the brief, given that you just have to line the tin properly, mix all the ingredients together in a mixer, cook it and let it cool. That's it! It was a hit. I have shared the recipe here. I served it with a chocolate ganache sauce. Yum!

Coffee cream cake - The final thing I baked this month was a Coffee Cream Cake. Again, this is a recipe that I have made before and uses my favourite technique for making chiffon cake, also known as angel food cake 

We did visit a new to us chocolate factory which we will definitely go back to. The decorated kangaroo at the top of this post is in the gardens at the chocolate factory along with a couple of others. We did buy some mint crisp which was delicious but I forgot to take a picture.

Finally, I entertained myself with the picture above. A friend bought us back some Mozart chocolates from Austria. When I took this photo I was reminded of the lyrics of a particular 80s song.

It went Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus etc etc! Thank you to Falco for the song Rock Me Amadeus.

I didn't particularly like the chocolates but they did make me smile!

New recipes

Quick salmon tray bake

Sardinian Chicken and Potatoes

Gyudon

Weekend Cooking posts from the last month

In My Kitchen: September

Afternoon Tea Diaries: Native High Tea at The Westin

The Slow Cooker Supper Club by Sue Heath

Che Dio perdona a tutti (Holy Cannoli)

Brown Rice Salmon Bowl with Asian Greens

Weekly Meals

Saturday - Baked Tuscan Chicken
Sunday- grilled cheese on toast
Monday - Korean Chicken Burger

Tuesday - Gyudon

I am sharing this post with In My Kitchen hosted at Sherry's Pickings.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page 

A Short History of Longans by Mirandi Riwoe

Last year I read Sunbirds by Mirandi Riwoe and I loved it, so I was very excited when I saw that she had a new book coming out. Everything I have read from her so far has been historical, so it was a bit of a surprise when this book started in 2049.

Daniel is an elderly recluse who lives alone by choice. His life was shaped by a great tragedy which he is happy to have relegated to the past, but unfortunately, every now and again, other people want to reexamine those events. He spends his days making sculptures which he creates by breaking and reassembling different pieces of china, often those that have come down through his family over the years.

On the day of the big storm, Daniel's longan tree is destroyed. As he tries to clear the tree from the path, his neighbour Olivia Chong visits, and soon Daniel can't keep her away. She is very surprised to find that he has a Chinese altar inside his small house which he explains by saying that it was his dad's and that a few generations back there was a Chinese ancestor, who allegedly was a bushranger, who had a child with an Irish woman.

From Daniel's story, we move back through the generations to his aunt Wendy who is battling dementia, to her aunt who had left Australia to try and be a movie star in Hollywood in the late 1940s. battling type casting. In each generation, some of the family members embrace their Chinese heritage, but others choose to focus on their Irishness. 

Eventually we get back to the story of Maria and Ah Yang, the place where the story started. The novel has an interesting structure in that the further we get back in time, the less page time the characters get. This makes sense because even now if you are doing family ancestry research it is easier to find details about the most recent generations than it is earlier generations where it becomes like a puzzle to put all the clue together. I found myself thinking that this is reflected in the art that Daniel creates - a whole piece made up of the small fragments of the past. 

I did find Daniel and Wendy's story moving, but the one that affected me the most was the story of Seamus and Annie from the early 1900s, which highlighted the unfairness of the white Australia policy that was in place and was developed to only bring in migrants from "acceptable" white countries. Anyone else was forced to undertake crazy tests to prove that they could enter the country. The story of what happened to Annie and Seamus made me mad and made me cry at the same time. 

A Short History of Longans opens with a family tree, which I guess isn't all that unusual in a historical novel that focuses on one family through time. However, in this case the family tree is very important and I found myself referring to it several times as I was reading. Of course, there is also the other family tree, the longan which met its end right at the beginning of the novel, and features at various points in the historical story. 

This is my third book by Mirandi Riwoe, and I have enjoyed them all. I am making it a goal to finish reading all her books over the coming few weeks. I have several coming from different libraries around the state. Let's hope they don't all arrive at the same time. I was also surprised to learn that before she started focussing on historical fiction, this author published a mystery series under the name M J Tjia. I have requested the first one of those too. 

I am sharing this review with New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog and the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host here. 

Rating 4.5/

Blog Tour: Stuck with You for Christmas by Jen Smith

 

Natasha Green knows that her Christmas is going to be different this year. Her two grown up kids have made their own plans in different parts of the world, she has had a friendship ending fallout with her best friends, she is trying not to get dragged into her ex-husband's messy life. She knows she is going to be lonely. Thank goodness for work!

Natasha will be spending the month leading up to Christmas in a small town called Wellcombe, known chiefly for being the UK's most Christmassy town. The problem is that the reviews were really bad last year, so the town has employed Natasha to revive it's reputation! Natasha is an events co-ordinator and it is her job to organise events such as the lighting of the festive lights, gingerbread house competitions, ice skating and more. It isn't always easy though. Things have always been done a certain way in Wellcombe and not everyone appreciates an outsider coming in and changing things up.

Daniel loves his hometown of Wellcombe. What he is does not love is Christmas. It is, however, good for business. Daniel works with glass, both blowing glass to make gorgeous one-of-a-kind ornaments, and restoring the stained-glass window in the church. If it was up to him, he would just stay inside during the Christmas period, but he is tasked with chaperoning three older women to all the events. They were there for him when his life changed, and now it is his role to be there for them when they need him. 

Natasha and Daniel were always bound to clash. After all, in the eyes of the town she is Christmas personified (even if she is faking it a bit) and his work equipment is spoiling her perfectly formed social media pictures. There is, however, an instant attraction between them both. Can they stop bickering and see the person underneath. They both have good reasons for feeling the way they do. Maybe if they take the time to understand, they will see the person underneath. 

I loved the community in Wellcombe from Lowenna, who has just returned to her hometown after a nasty breakup and now wants to make something of herself to the three elderly women, Kathleen, Olive and Betty who try to help Will get out of his own head and not to forget Chewbacca the dog.

I also loved the sound of the town, with all the different community events, the cold (including snow) and all the decoration. I do enjoy Christmas in my city, but it is a big city, and it is usually hot so Christmas has a different feel here than it does in this story.

This book was on the spicier side of the dial when compared to the Christmas books I usually read, and a bit swearier, but I still enjoyed it! I liked the banter, the setting and the characters and could absolutely to relate to some of the emotions that Natasha was feeling around the way that her life was changing.

I hadn't read Jen Smith before, but I am keen to read more! Now I just have to find the time!

I am sharing this review with New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog. Thanks to the publisher and Random Things Tours for the review copy. Be sure to check out other stops on the blog tour below.

Rating 4/5

About the Book

Stuck with You for Christmas

A deliciously festive enemies-of-Christmas-to-lovers romance – perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan, Heidi Swain and Milly Johnson.

Event planner Natasha needs a distraction this December...

With her grown-up children on the other side of the world, Natasha is facing Christmas alone. So when England's most famous Christmas town, Wellcombe, needs saving from a PR disaster, she packs her bags. She'll spend the season working, not wallowing – mulled wine strictly optional.

Stained glass restorer Will is counting the days until it's all over...

Since a terrible tragedy shattered his Christmas five years ago, Will wants nothing to do with twinkly lights, carol singers or festive cheer. But his biggest job this year is restoring a pair of ancient church windows in Wellcombe... at the heart of the very celebrations he's spent years avoiding.

Natasha and Will have one thing in common: they're both faking their way through the most wonderful time of year. Can gingerbread, mistletoe and a little festive magic thaw their frozen hearts? Or will it take a snowstorm to show them it's never too late for a second chance at love?

Purchase Link

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stuck-You-Christmas-enemies-lovers-ebook/dp/B0HHSHT631/

https://www.amazon.com/Stuck-You-Christmas-enemies-lovers-ebook/dp/B0HHSHT631/

About the Author

Jen lives in the Midlands with her two kids, where she dreams of living by the sea in the south of France. She is an audiobook narrator with an MA in Medieval History and loves castles and King John (possibly a smidgen too much). When not writing or narrating, Jen can be found planning the next family holiday, being taxi to the kids and giggling through her kickboxing lessons.

Social Media Links –

Instagram: @jensmithwrites

Facebook: Jen Smith Author

Top Ten Tuesday: Succint!

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is One-Word Reviews for the Last Ten Books I Read (This is a throwback to 2022.). I am going to add one more stipulation so it is actually ten books that I intended to review but haven't yet managed to do so yet. 

First Time Caller by B K Borison - Amazing 

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page - Emotional

The Model Murder by Amanda Hampson - Stylish

The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak - Deep

The King's Jewel by Elizabeth Chadwick - Reliable

Seascraper by Benjamin Wood - Short

The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson - Librarians!

The Story Collector by Evie Woods - Underwhelming

The Palace Women by Jennifer Ryan - Fine

How to Fake it in Society by K J Charles - unexpected