But I Smile Anyway…

May – one of those weird months as a teacher. It is short in that we have two bank holidays, plus the half-term week is at the end, but hectic down my end as we have all the new places filled, paperwork to do, transitions to organise, reports to write, as well as it being exam season, and Lil Princess started her A-Level exams too!

Another big event was that Pops turned 80 this month, which is HUGE, and a family wedding to attend after a drought of invites!

The books are out there! The Rishtay Series – new edits – are back in the world with fresh new artwork, if anyone wants to pop over to Amazon and have a read!

https://mybook.to/RishtaySeries

So I read and listened as best I could. I am actively trying not to sign up for too many more ARCS, unless I REALLY want to read it, as I have so many books on my TBR – books I bought because I wanted to read them, so hopefully, by the summer hols, I will be reading more of the books I own! And I got through the month only adding a couple more arcs to my list, so, for me that is pretty good!

Wild About You: A BRAND NEW unforgettable romance of second chances from Jo Lovett for 2026 by Jo Lovett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an easy second-chance romance read.
Flavia and her family are still getting over the loss of her father and recovering from a broken marriage, and as they gather with friends, she finds herself face-to-face with someone from her past, someone who may have altered her whole way of thinking about love and romance.
Dominic cannot commit to anyone. He’s a good guy, but doesn’t think he’s good for anyone, long term.
Seeing Flavia after many years stirred emotions he didn’t realise were still active.
They find themselves both winners of a prize to Cape Town, South Africa, a trip originally booked for Flavia’s parents before her dad passed away.
And there we have the discomfort of being within close proximity with someone you really don’t want to be near, but actually kinda do, as well as all the feelings that go with that.
You know when you are already pretty sure what the ending will be, but you enjoy the journey to the destination? That is this book!

Old Girls Go Off the Rails by Maddie Please
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having already read some of Maddie Please’s older-gen stories, I was eager to enjoy this next story about school friends Lizzie, Harriet, and Anna.
In their 60s, they reunite via Facebook and decide to relive their youth with a short Inter-railing trip to Europe – a trip both Harriet and Anna had already taken part in as teenagers, but one which Lizzie had missed, because of having to work that summer.
Lizzie and Harriet are both divorced. Anna is leaving her husband behind for two weeks. A week of reminiscing, and another on a cruise to relax.
Inter-railing and the more mature woman is not a usual combination, but who am I to say what people can do as they get older!
The trials of this very situation provide some funny moments.
During the trip, Lizzie notices a face that keeps cropping up wherever she goes, and that individual ends up providing more entertainment and a little gentle romance.
It was like a whirlwind stop-and-go mini European tour of a few places in France and Italy, with a cruise around the Croatian islands, making me want to go visit!
An easy-to-read, fun read with mature characters proving that life doesn’t simply stop at retirement.

Drop Dead by Lily Chu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An easy-to-listen-to enemies-to-lovers romance with closed-door spice.
Two journalists, who were students together at college and are now vying for the same success, find themselves embroiled in a mystery after the death of a flamboyant author.
Nadine and Wesley have hated each other for a long time, and now they are living together for three weeks, in Dot Volene’s mansion, as they try to unpick a mystery surrounding one of the author’s books.
You can feel the underlying chemistry pulsating between the two characters, and it’s only time before they cave.
The mystery is interestingly revealed.
One thing I loved was the little snippets about Wes’s home life, as he is cast as the henpecked son of a Chinese family, and the expectations put upon him to constantly pander to his mother’s never-ending demands. The pressure to constantly be there is something he finally pushes against at the end.
Easy to listen to.

Every Time We Touch by Lucy Mitchell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ooh! An all-new Lucy Mitchell with a bit of magical realism thrown in!
I am a huge Lucy Mitchell fan, as it is, and when I heard she was mixing things up a bit from the more rom-com style to this borderline paranormal genre, I was intrigued. And a bookshop plays a huge part, so that was me sold! I tell you what… I was not disappointed!
Nelly has distanced herself from love and all it entails because of her curse. From a young girl, every time she touches someone, she sees a flash-forward to their future, and it almost always seems to end tragically. Seeing images of her friends and loved ones has already cost her a dear friendship, so she does everything she can to physically keep away from people.
She leads a lonely life with just her and her cat, Lenny, until financial troubles force her to find a flatmate.
Enter romantic novelist Oliver, an acquaintance of her bookshop employer, and all manner of flutterings begin. Oliver has his own demons, and Nelly finds herself slowly pulled towards him. And why ever not? He sounds rather hot!
There are so many barriers, but Lucy manages to create a brilliant slow burn between them both, and the addition of ‘sharing a bed’, albeit with the world’s biggest pillow wall, is a great way for them to build trust.
Alongside Nelly’s story, we have her visits to her Aunt Polly, who pretty much raised her and supported her in so many ways. Her car, Nigella, features heavily, too!
This isn’t just a romance. There is much to learn about processing grief and understanding that love isn’t just about the end result but, more importantly, about all that comes before.
A beautiful read with a sprinkle of magic!

The Tea Room Inheritance by Hannah Langdon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bella is just about to get married, in just over a week, when her fiancé says he can’t go through with it.
Plenty of emotions later, including trying to cancel everything because she has an inept ex-fiancé, her godmother, living in a tiny place called Spindrift Bay, invites her over to have some time to herself, and to come to terms with the break-up.
She arrives to chaos as a tragic accident means her godmother is no more. However, she leaves Bella with a beautiful house and ownership of her tea rooms.
A cryptic message relayed to Bella by the woman who was with her godmother at the end leads her on a bit of a mystery as she uncovers little secrets that add up to a huge one.
On the way, Bella meets some real characters, like Gloria, the B&B owner, and also someone who takes her breath away, though she’s not sure whether it is too soon after her broken engagement.
Bella is very emotional and prone to crying a lot, but she ends up in a wonderful situation with an entire community behind her.
I enjoyed this slow-burning romance with a dash of mild mystery, and plenty of kittens in it! I think I’d rather like some tea rooms … shame I don’t have a Godmother!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an ARC.

Road Trip to the Riviera by Gillian Harvey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another fabulous story by Gillian Harvey!
This second-chance story takes place in a pretty much vintage VS campervan called Betty, as the two MCs travel from England to France.
The little twist is that the two travellers are on their way to their son’s wedding; however, they are not together and have not been since their son was born when they were both very young.
Sarah is in a bind. She’s hurt her leg and cannot fly, but needs to get to France for her son’s wedding. Trains are too much faff with a leg in an (ugly) boot. The only other solution that comes to mind is to go with Hal, her son’s father. Only he’s planning to take the scenic route in his beloved 20-year-old camper van, Betty.
I loved the slow burn in this story, as the route is travelled. You can feel there is an underlying chemistry between the two. It’s the epitome of the right people, wrong time for them, the first time around, and you find yourself vying for them to make it the right time for them now.
As always, Gillian transports her readers to France as she describes the different places Hal and Sarah drive through on their way.

25 Days in Athens by Jack Strange
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, what a blast!
Jack Strange has written another brilliantly funny MM romance in 25 Days in Athens.
Will is a decidedly chaotic character, but so lovable. Stuck in a dead-end job, with no prospect of a decent promotion, he whiles the time away, talking to his friend Willow, a spider on the wall, as well as the main character on an animated story he is working on.
An invitation to the wedding of his ex, Ollie, the one that got away, sets off a chain of events, including booking himself into a hotel in Athens for the best part of a month – 25 days, and then, intent on getting his man back, he finds out he made a bit of a mistake with his hotel booking and meeting a real blast from the past, who rekindles others emotions.
I have to admit to laughing out loud a few times as I read this brilliant story of a second chance romance, confusion, and a nudist hotel!

Wife Support System by Kathleen Whyman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have not long discovered Kathleen Whyman’s books and have thoroughly enjoyed what I have read and listened to so far. Stories about working mums – needed!
The Wife Support System centres around three women, each a mother with their own struggles.
Erika is a working mother running an independent business, with a partner who thinks his career is much more important, leaving Erika to do the heavy lifting surrounding the housework and their daughter, Jasmine. (Okay, so the nanny does a lot, but if they are let down, which they are, it’s Erika’s job to sort things.
Louise is in her high-flying job, with a husband who is an editor and is writing his first novel. Louise feels she is parenting not only her two children but also her husband.
Polly lives in a crumbling B&B, a widow with two children, lonely and with a huge secret.
Situations escalate, and a suggestion is made that they all live together, mothers and children, during the week, with Polly in her B&B, to support each other with childcare and give the men a chance to miss them.
Sounds ideal, doesn’t it?
But even though there are pluses to the idea, there are plenty of clashes, as well as realisations.
It was a great story, showing the strengths and weaknesses of female friendship, and how facades are put up, but are hard to live with 24/7, as reality slowly creeps through the cracks.

How to Ruin the Holidays by Becky Monson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A cute Festive romance, with all the makings of a Christmas movie!
Mara has been tasked with going to Carole Cove to secure a land sale for her father. She ends up in this kitsch town, all things Christmas around here, including the names of many who live there. Not being much of a Hallmark movie fan, she just wants to do her job and leave, but her best friend, who is in regular contact with her, constantly parallels her daily life there with the plot of a proper HEA-style festive film.
Of course, there is mistletoe, being snowed in, sleigh rides, and a swoonsome hero called Noel… as well as some well-meaning locals, but there is always a twist.
This was a lovely, easy listen, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Romantic Hero by Kirsty Greenwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A great rom-com with just the right spice and intrigue to keep you turning the pages!
Gertie Bickerstaff has a terrifying bout of writer’s; block her deadline is looming, her agent is gently trying to coax her finished manuscript from her but her inclination is to drown her sorrows every night.
A traumatic relationship breakup has drained her of any creativity. While her ex is happily going about his writerly life, Gertie is stuck. Until she finds a stranger in her living room. Someone she doesn’t know, but still familiar to her.
The appearance of one of her characters, namely River Oakley, the villain in her fictional world, into her reality puts her in a tailspin and confuses him, too.
I loved the entire premise of fiction coming to life, as well as the possibility of there being a parallel universe somewhere where all our stories are actually reality!
And Gertie’s neighbours, Mrs Casablancas and her dog Squish, are an adorable set of additions to the characters in this gorgeous story!

A Wedding Under the Cornish Sky: The unputdownable new romance and escapist beach read from the Sunday Times bestselling author by Phillipa Ashley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another gorgeous read by Phillipa Ashley!
Our FMC, Zennor, lives in St Ives and is a successful business owner, scouting and representing local entertainment acts with her business partner, Roo. She has come a long way from the heartache of a broken marriage and the memories of a fraught wedding day five years previously. Just as her life is coming together, her past comes back in more than one way to haunt her.
Her first love, Matt, reappears and is rather close for comfort, now the owner of the building her offices are in; then her ex-husband, Trey, turns up, having bought the very hotel where their disastrous wedding took place, with every intention of staying close by.
Anything set on the Cornish coast gets my approval as it sounds beautiful, and I am ashamed to say that despite 50 years on this earth and in this very country, I have never been! I will go one day, even if it is just to pay homage to all the gorgeous literature based there!
This was a wonderfully comforting read, with a foregone conclusion, but plenty of its own little twists and turns to keep a reader turning pages.

Pumpkin Spice and Not So Nice by Becky Monson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jenna is convinced she attracts emotionally unavailable men, so she decides enough is enough. She’s got enough on her plate supporting her family on their pumpkin farm while they fundraise for work on their barn, and her day job at a spa. Counting up donations one evening, she finds a note on a $50 bill and is compelled to try to find out who the owner of this donation is, as it seems it may not have been donated.
Through this, she meets Aiden. A hot, but what seems like another emotionally unavailable man, who ends up asking for her help.
You know when you can sense the ending, but you enjoy the build-up? That was my feeling as I listened. Jenna is so unaware of things, I wanted to shake her sometimes, to see what was in front of her, and to stop second-guessing everything!
Another cute listen from Becky Monson.

The Secret Library by Amanda James
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yet another corker by Amanda James!
Lucy is an editor in London with a publisher, desperately trying to find the diamond in the slush piles.
She has loved books since she was a child, heavily influenced by her editor grandmother, Morwenna.
When Morwenna passes, she leaves everything to her darling granddaughter, so Lucy becomes the owner of a beautiful Cornish home with a magical library.
She finds a box filled with unfinished manuscripts and a note from her grandmother to read and edit these old works, and in doing so, she unleashes something magical.
I loved the entire premise of this story, and right now, I want a magical library, too!
All of us readers know the magic of a good book, and this story captures that feeling and multiplies it t

Love Songs Suck by Becky Monson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another easy to listen to Romance by Becky Monson.
This time, we have Louella, newly engaged to Kurt. She finds herself thrust into the limelight when it comes to light that a popular song was written with her in mind.
She ends up in close quarters with pop star Finn, hounded by paparazzi, with a supportive family and friends, but a fiancé who wants nothing to do with this infamy.
A gorgeous, slow-burning romance where you already know where you want it to end, but you keep going for the journey!

The Love Potion by Becky Monson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another super-sweet romance from Becky Monson.
Ally walks into work accompanied by an awful smell… a love potion she bought at a fair. She is quickly reminded that its potency is more smelly than sexy, so she attempts to remove the stench… only to attract the attention of her work crush.
But she also notices a change in the behaviour of her work bestie, Josh, and not for the most positive of reasons.
Okay, so this was another lovely, easy listen with a most satisfying end, and what was even better was that there was a character in here from one of my previous Becky Monson listens, Chase from The Accidental Text, and I love it when there is a little appearance of characters I have already met before!

Hit or Miss by Elle Kelk
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lyndsey Kelk writes as Elle Kelk with a college romance that is a tad spicier than usual!
Mia has moved to England for a year to attend a prestigious university, Hemden. She’s ready to shed her ‘librarian’ tag and try to build her individuality after being constantly mollycoddled by her parents. New start, new friends, no one to remind her of her old self.
Then Ethan arrives. Typical all-American college sports hero. He’s transferred to Hemden for the soccer team, as well as to get away from the gossip and constant backlash from his father over an incident that occurred back home.
The thing is, they are both from the same American university.
And that’s not great for Mia. Neither is it fantastic for Ethan.
Both of them have pasts they are trying to shrug off, but now there’s a chance that things they didn’t want people here to know about might come to light.
I really enjoyed this story, and the uni vibe really resonated. Even though I was at uni 30 years ago, the whole concept of it, the culture of UK uni experiences still hit a note.
I related to Mia in more than one way, being a bit of a ‘librarian’ geek, before leaving home, and then coming into my own when I gained my independence.
Ethan came across as a typical sports-mad lad, but the heart shone through brightly.
It was a full-on enemies-to-lovers thing for Mia, yet for Ethan, it was a slow burn, but definitely him falling for her first.
The way they finally opened up together was brilliantly done, and the chemistry between these two characters simmered with something spicy as they built up to finally admitting their feelings to one another!

I managed to read and listen to 16 books, write 39 reports, and republish my books! I think that is a win, don’t you? Which one sounds like something you would read?