But I Smile Anyway...

The Cornish Cottage By The Sea by Kim Nash #BlogTour #BookReview #RachelsRandomResources @rararesources @BoldwoodBooks @KimTheBookworm

12 May 2025 4 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blog Tour, Blogger, Blogging, Boldwood Books, Book Tour, Kim Nash, Rachel's Random Resources, review, The Cornish Cottage By The Sea

Very happy to be a part of the book tour for my friend, Kim Nash, and her newest release, The Cornish Cottage By The Sea.

The Blurb

A gorgeous, uplifting, romantic read from the author of the Cornish Cove series, Kim Nash A new start by the sea…

For Jo Jenkins, life has always been about putting others first. But with her children grown and her ex-husband as rotten as ever, she knows it’s time to put herself at the heart of the story. So, when she inherits a beautiful beachside cottage in Cornwall, she grabs the chance to start over.

The crumbling old cottage needs a little love, but so does Jo. And with the help of her new friends – a kind-hearted jeweller, a no-nonsense businesswoman, and a local Jack of all trades with a past of his own – Jo begins to rebuild more than just bricks and mortar.

But tucked away inside the cottage is a secret that could change everything. As the waves roll in and the sea air clears her mind, Jo must decide if she’s ready to let go of the past. Will she finally learn to embrace the life she truly deserves?

My Review

The Cornish Cottage by the Sea by Kim Nash
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love Kim Nash’s books. Always a focus on a slightly older FMC and second chances.
In The Cornish Cottage By The Sea, Jo Jenkins is a divorcee and mother to two grown-up daughters. She’s stagnating in her little flat, in a place that only holds sad memories, staying there in case her family wants to come ‘home’.
An inheritance she never expected leaves her as the owner of a Cornish cottage owned by her ex-husband’s aunt, which she coveted when she first. It’s a big move. The cottage is not quite what she remembered, but the place is still beautiful with idyllic surroundings and views she could stare at forever. Knowing there are members of her family who weren’t on board with the move, Jo carries on, hoping for the best, but doubting she will perform miracles.
I loved that Jo found terrific, supportive friends from the beginning, conquering her reluctance to talk to people she doesn’t know, after advice from her mum, and beginning every friendship with simple conversations.
The way she builds her new gang of ‘people’ is lovely. It gives hope that there is a way to move forward positively even when everything you lived for has changed.
Jo meets Seamus, a local handyman, through his father, and one of her new “I am brave’ conversations with strangers. He is friendly, helpful, and somewhat handsome, but Jo is so used to seeing herself as the frumpy middle-aged mother figure that she can’t believe he would be interested in her.
Her new friends help to build her self-confidence back up to where it should be, and they even form a Friday Club, which sounds like a blast, and support others around them.
A mystery that she didn’t even know she wanted to solve also presents its solution to her towards the end.
Such a wonderful story. I read it in a day!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/CornishCottage

About The Author

Kim Nash is an author of uplifting, romantic, feel-good fiction, having wanted to write books since she was a little girl. She works as both Digital Publicity Director for publisher Bookouture. She lives in Staffordshire with her son Ollie and English Setter rescue dog Roni. When she’s not working or writing, Kim can be found walking her dog and reading, as well as running a book club in Staffordshire and organising local and national reader/author events.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kim.nash.10

Twitter https://twitter.com/KimTheBookworm

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kim_the_bookworm/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/KimNashNews

Bookbub profile: Kim Nash Books – BookBub

You Can’t Hurry Love by Susan Buchanan #BlogTour #BookReview #RachelsRandomResources @rararesources @Susan_Buchanan PLUS a GIVEAWAY!

11 May 2025 3 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blog Tour, Blogger, Blogging, Book Review, Rachel's Random Resources, Susan Buchanan, You Can't Hurry Love

I’m back with another great blog tour review for my friend, Susan Buchanan and her latest release, You Can’t Hurry Love!

The Blurb

A delicious friends to lovers, forced proximity, workplace romance for 2025.

A 30th birthday celebration. A sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica. A split-second decision.

When Kat MacDonald takes the trip of a lifetime to Costa Rica, she doesn’t count on ditching her dead-end job, sending her uber-controlling boyfriend packing and volunteering at a sloth sanctuary.
But when she finally meets the swoon-worthy assistant manager Dexter, the chemistry between them is unmistakeable and sparks fly. Despite a rival for his affections, and her ex’s inability to know when to give up, she and Dexter are drawn to each other like magnets.
Just as she’s settling into life at the sanctuary and making friends, a letter arrives from back home in Scotland. A letter which could both upset her new plans and give her everything she has ever wanted. Everything except Dexter.
Kat is should she stay in the tropical rainforest paradise with her beloved sloths, new friends and the delectable Dexter or pursue her lifelong dream? Or can she find a way to have it all?

A fun, escapist read full of romance, beautiful scenery and humour, perfect for fans of Emily Henry, Beth O’Leary Leonie Mack and Portia MacIntosh.

My Review

You Can’t Hurry Love by Susan Buchanan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I must admit wanting to move to Costa Rica and see the Sloths!
That, Susan Buchanan, is because of you and your fantastic book!
Kat is in Costa Rica on the holiday of a lifetime. True – she’s not there with the person she wanted. That would have been Dad, with whom she shared many passions, including travel and sloths. She should have been there with her best friend in his absence, who ended up in a cast at the last minute and could not travel. That left her boyfriend, Aiden.
Sounds like a dream holiday. Beautiful tropical beaches, fantastic food, the love of your life by your side… However, things go awry when a particular person begins to show his true colours.
In Costa Rica alone, Kat wants to continue to honour the memory of her dad by doing all the things she promised herself she would do, including going to the Sloth Sanctuary.
I’m not going to recount the whole story for you now.
Kat’s adventure is longer than planned, and she finds herself in many beautiful places, in fantastical situations with someone rather gorgeous!
It’s never smooth sailing for her, though.
Kat ends up with some decisions to make, and because of being burned far too much in her near past, she sometimes allows that to dictate her plans, without putting the proper thought into things.
I don’t envy Kat. Well, the Kat at the beginning, anyway. Grief is complicated to deal with, and a broken relationship on top of that is not going to make it any easier. But, as she grows within the story and begins to experience things she never would have thought possible, that Kat, I envy!
The Gorgeous person I mentioned earlier, Dexter, is a beautifully sensitive soul, and a typical man. Seriously, why can they never say what they mean?
Still, everything was described in such a way that as I said at the start, I just want to go and see this gorgeous country, and get to know some sloths, with whom I had no affinity before!
A wonderful read!

Purchase Link – https://books2read.com/u/mKG0p5

About The Author

Susan Buchanan writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction, usually featuring travel, food, family, friendship and community.

She is the author of The Leap Year Proposal, The Christmas Spirit, Return of the Christmas Spirit, A Little Christmas Spirit, Just One Day – Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn, The Dating Game and Sign of the Times.

As a freelance developmental editor, copyeditor and proofreader, if she’s not reading, editing or writing, she’s thinking about it.

She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Society of Authors and the Alliance of Independent Authors.

She lives near Glasgow with her husband, two children and a crazy Labrador.

When she’s not editing, writing, reading or caring for her two delightful cherubs, she likes going to the theatre, playing board games, watching quiz shows and eating out, and she has recently discovered a love of writing retreats.

Social Media Links –

Website – www.susanbuchananauthor.com

Instagram – authorSusanBuchanan

Facebook – www.facebook.com/susancbuchanauthor

Twitter – susan_buchanan

Threads – AuthorSusanBuchanan

Bluesky @susanbuchanan.bsky.social

Giveaway to Win a paperback of You Can’t Hurry Love (Open to UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter 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.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494612/?

The Start Of Something Wonderful by Jane Lambert #BookReview @JaneLambert22 @HQStories

10 May 2025 6 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Book Review, Book Reviews, books, Fiction, JAne Lambert, romance, The Start of Something Wonderful

Thrilled to share my review of the lovely Jane Lambert’s book The Start of Something Wonderful. This is a relaunch by Jane’s publisher, HQ, of what was previously debuted as Learning to Fly.

The Blurb

It’s never too late to follow your dreams…

Forty-year-old air stewardess, Emily Forsyth, thought she had everything a woman could wish for: a glamorous, jet-set lifestyle, a designer wardrobe and a dishy pilot boyfriend. Until he breaks up with her…

Catapulted into a mid-life crisis she wishes she’d had earlier, she decides to turn her life upside-down, quitting her job and instead beginning to chase her long-held dreams of becoming an actress!

Leaving the skies behind her, Emily heads for the bright lights of London’s West End – but is it too late to reach for the stars?

My Review

The Start of Something Wonderful by Jane Lambert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I do love a book with a relatable FMC.
Emily is a woman in her early 40s, recently single after being in a long-term relationship, and in need of a change.
She quits her career in the air as a flight attendant, and embarks upon a lifelong dream – to become an actress.
And why shouldn’t one aspire to make those dreams come true?
Emily is lucky to have supportive friends, but her mother does not necessarily believe that Emily is doing what is right for a woman of her age.
Emily meets some wonderful people who become a second family to her in a small Italian restaurant, where, like most jobbing actors, she has found a job to keep her head above water, until she lands the perfect role. And she also meets someone rather special too.
Let me not regurgitate the story here, but in a nutshell, we have a lovely story of second chances in both love and life.
Remember, it’s never too late!

About the Author

Jane travelled the world as cabin crew before making the life-changing decision to become an actress. She has appeared in Calendar Girls, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Deathtrap and True West in London’s West End. She is currently adapting The Start of Something Wonderful into a 6-part comedy drama for TV.

Taking Back Control – Update #2! #WayOfLife #WalkingToWellness #SlimPod

04 May 2025 17 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Health, Life, mental-health, Slimpod, Taking back control, Weight Loss, writing

Hello my lovely Peeps!

It’s been around a month since my last update, and I am now beginning Week 10 of my Slimpod journey.

I listen to my Pods every day, and most days, I listen twice. I now have four in total: the original Slimpod, then Chilpod, Sugarpod and now Fitpod.

Fitpod does what it says on the box. Its job is to encourage movement.

Again, all four are not essential to listen to. You an pick and choose which ones you want to, but I listen to them all. Slimpod is the one recommended to listen to every day.

I’ve watched the weekly videos, too, with lots of advice on how to deal with how your mind is processing the changes to emotional eating.

I am eating much better. I cook more, even on school days, so I can use more proper foods. And I am experimenting more, too!

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I’m still walking, daily, and in the Easter holidays, I even walked twice a day! I’ve enjoyed observing the changes around me as Spring really kicks in. The leaves on the trees burst out in glorious greens, and the wildflowers are growing and changing. I love seeing the swathes of bluebells that carpet the floors of the various woodlands around us. Plus, I am enjoying seeing the animals. There are sheep, and one ram who is always in a paddock alone. He stops and stares at me every time I pass him. I have named him Sheep, and I say hello whenever I pass. Then there are the horses in their paddocks. I am lucky enough to see a beautiful white foal with his mother most days, and I’ve seen him grow, from a wobbly-legged baby, to a stronger one, practising how to gallop! It’s just glorious where I live, and the sunshine makes it such a positive place to live!

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And the changes in me?

Well, I hit a bit of a plateau with the weight loss initially, but I stayed positive, and now I have lost 12lb, as well as 2 inches off the waist! I feel more energetic, and the daily walks are so good for my mental health!

I appear to have fallen into a natural 14:10 fasting day, as I am eating when hungry, and I rarely feel hungry at breakfast time. My first meal of the day is lunch, and it is always healthy, nutritious and filling. I may snack but equally I don’t always feel the need to reach for sweet stuff. And I eat a good dinner and maybe a take away once in a while.

And I feel good!

So, yup right now, I am two weeks from finishing the initial programme, and I can say I 100% advocate it!

I’m sharing this link, only if you feel like having a go. It gives you 10% off if you wish to continue with Slimpod after your 10 day free trial, and you also get 30 days after, to get money back, if you don’t feel it is for you, so essentially, you have 40 days to try it out!

https://30116thinkingslimm.refr.cc/gold-referral/u/ritubhathal?s=sp&t=cp

I’ll leave you with a picture of a happy me on one of my walks, because I am feeling happier about many things in life, right now, and I also feel like I have the mental strength to deal with things that are not so easy, right now, too.

Now enjoy your day, everyone, and be happy!

Oh, and May the 4th be with us all!

The House at River’s Edge by Rachel Burton #BlogTour #BookReview #RachelsRandomResources @rararesources @BoldwoodBooks @RachelBWriter

04 May 2025 4 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories

Another timeless, beautiful read by Rachel Burton!

The Blurb

914: Anticipating a long summer of freedom at her friend’s family estate in Cambridge, Grace Villiers is disappointed by an unexpected addition to their party. Then the new arrival offers to teach Grace to swim, and she is forced to see there is more to Algernon Lake than his reputation. But, with war brewing across Europe, this will be a summer that changes everything.

1997: Following her father’s sudden death, Barbara finds herself living with her mother in a house that is, literally, falling down around them. As she tries to put their new home in order, she discovers a photograph of her grandfather as a young man with his friend – two soldiers at the start of the First World War. Setting aside her grief, Barbara becomes determined to uncover their story, hoping it will bring her closer to the family she feels slipping away.

But when her search for answers opens up truths she isn’t prepared for, Barbara will come to realise that some secrets may be best left alone.

My Review

The House at River’s Edge by Rachel Burton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A beautifully told dual timeline story by the fantastic Rachel Burton!
Set in both 1914, before WW1 started, and in 1997, The House at River’s Edge tells the story of a family and unearths secrets that rock and could shatter many.
In 1997, Barbara is helping her mother deal with her father’s death and coming to terms with her own premature widowhood. They end up moving into her mother’s ancestral home in Cambridge, and along with Barbara’s daughter, Penny, they find subsidence that threatens to cut their stay short, and a trunk filled with paperwork that could prove all they know about their lives was built upon lies.
In 1914, we meet Grace, who is summering at her friend’s house in Cambridge, not wanting to go back to France where her mother is continually trying to marry her off to one eligible bachelor or another. Here, she enjoys a blissful summer, filled with an innocence that is snatched away as the announcement of war is made.
The earlier story spans six years, and each section drips more information about Barbara and her mother’s heritage as the more modern timeline entwines perfectly with the discoveries.
I was engrossed in this book and loved the subtle romances within.
Burton dealt with the way young people must have felt as they either signed up during the Great War, or if they were a person sat at home, anxiously waiting for news of a loved one who had been called up with great sensitivity.
Themes of sexuality, hiding your own self, and suicide feature within.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/houseatriversedge

About The Author

Rachel Burton is the bestselling author of historical timeslip novels and romantic comedies. Rachel was born in Cambridge and studied Classics and English Literature before starting a career in law. She lives in Yorkshire with her husband, a variety of cats and far too many books.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: @RachelBurton74

Twitter: @RachelBWriter

Instagram: @RachelBWriter

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/RachelBurtonNews

Bookbub profile: @RachelBurton