GOOD BOOKS. GOOD VIBES. HOLIDAY CHEER & GIVEAWAYS GALORE!
I’m part of a HUGE DAY OF GIVEAWAYS and want you to join in the fun and a chance to win books from over 50 authors. My Book Friends is hosting their annual SEASON OF GIVING BOOKAPALOOZA on Sunday, December 3rd!
Tell all your reader friends and join My Book Friends today and then mark your calendar for the fun that takes place all day long. #MBFBookapalooza2023 I’m so excited to be part of THE SEASON OF GIVING BOOKAPALOOZA over in My Book Friends.
You don’t want to miss this fun-filled day of giveaways from dozens of authors! Tell your reader friends and join My Book Friends today and mark your calendar for Sunday, December 3rd. #MBFBookapalooza2023
Get yourselves over to the page and request to become a part of this great group, and you could win the above, as well as so many other giveaways that are happening!
Can you believe we are one month away from another year?
Okay, so I got through all the arcs I had been sent by November 5th… Will I have managed to not say yes to anymore? Will that TBR pile get any smaller? BEcause I need to be writing my own book, too!
This is a simple, sweet addition to the Soul Sisters collection, where we focus on Leslie and the rekindling of her romance with her ex-husband Eric. It can’t be easy, living in the same small town and avoiding one another, but somehow she has managed for three years, then fate takes charge, and she ends up with a Christmas wish come true, as well as helping to make the wish of another a reality too. Sweet story.
We are all flawed. We, our parents, and our children will be too. The thing is, some of our flaws will inevitably hurt those we love, even if that is not the desired effect. Back To Her Future is a deep story of culture, identity and the need to conform. Meryam is estranged from her whole family, yet on his deathbed, her father calls for her. He imparts a secret buried thirty-odd years previously that impacts everything Meryam’s adult life was built on. I don’t want to go into detail. Still, the story deals with the sometimes stifling expectations of certain cultures, the necessity of conforming when moving to different countries, and the need to maintain one’s culture. She’s been through hell as she grew up, but Meryam is unaware of certain reasons behind the decisions that shaped her future. As she goes on a journey of discovery, she rekindles friendships lost many decades before and learns some upsetting truths. Sensitively done.
Another fantastic Cathy Kelly story. Lou’s life turns upside down on her fiftieth birthday as her mother reveals a huge secret. Together with her sister, Toni, Lou heads off in search of the truth, as well as to find herself and build an inner strength that she had lost. There were plenty of twists within this tale, but the character development was fantastic. There could have been a simple HEA, but the way Kelly took the story meant the characters and we, the readers, must work for it. Lou is there for everyone. She helps to keep her whole family on an been keel, from her husband to her mother, as well as being the organised brain behind the company she works for. Tori is that confident woman who appears to have it all. Both sisters learn disturbing facts about their families and lives, which means they end up on a trip to Sicily to find out what the truth is. Their mother, Lillian, is a nasty piece of work, though. So many women out there end up like Lou, taken for granted. The ones who keep everyone else going, anticipating all needs, and dropping everything at the drop of a hat to make life easier for others. I love that this ends with Lou finding herself and realising she can still be there for others without losing herself. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for an ARC.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Cherry Blossom Lane series and was eager for this third instalment, where the story develops between the third friend in the group, Demi, and the third of the brothers, Miles. Right from the previous stories, I have wanted to shake Demi. Her relationship with her long-term boyfriend appears a bit toxic, and we see the extent through this book. Miles’ unrequited love for his best friend, Demi, has been noted throughout the last two books, and his friends are aware, too. Pretty much everyone can see, apart from Demi. It was great to see Demi’s character develop over this story, and we visibly see her backbone gaining strength as she navigates a breakup, leaving the one job she thought she would do forever and begins to understand the feelings of her best friend and the fact that she may just feel the same way. Miles is a great character. He’s been touted as the playboy kind, but he has a heart of gold. The best thing about a series is that you get to revisit some of the characters from past stories, and though this can be read as a stand-alone, it’s always great to find out what is going on with other favourites! Exactly the HEA we all want, with a few spanners thrown in, because it can’t be that easy, can it? I don’t know if there is scope for any more books in this series, but there are a few side characters who deserve a happy ending, too! (Hit hint, Lizzie Chantree!)
A lovely, easy read about a single mum who finds herself lost in this new world of not being a traditional family unit. Having lost contact with the ‘friends’ she had with her ex-husband, Steph is struggling. A chance encounter with a neighbour she barely passes time with starts a chain of events that lead to them starting their own little book club, which, over the story increases in size as they find more and more women whom it will help. Along the way, Steph finds herself and a new love interest, too! I enjoyed reading this. It cheered me up no end.
Stand Up Guy: The most uplifting romance you’ll read this year by Nina Kaye My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Nina will be on a blog tour stop in January when I will share my review, and possibly a Book & A Brew, too!
A-Z of Warwick: Places-People-History is a fascinating alphabetical collection of facts about Warwick. I have always enjoyed SCSkillman’s Warwick-related books as I grew up not far from there, and many places she mentions are places I have visited. It is an interesting read, where we learn many facts about the important people of Warwick, little tidbits of information about historical aspects and some wonderful stories about key locations. I always enjoy reading about Warwick Castle as we visited there many times as a family. It’s an interesting read with plenty to enchant you! https://www.amberley-books.com/az-of-warwick.html
Releasing 7th December, 2023
Blog Tour post will include the review in December.
Charlie Brown is an in-demand make-up artist with fantastic friends, a home of her own, Mabel the cat, and the perfect partner she is off to visit in New York right after her current job ends. Only, when she gets there, do things start to go wrong. Stranded in New York, Charlie ends up on a strange journey, meeting handsome strangers, discovering horrifying secrets, and leaving there even more confused than before. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I won’t say it was a light-hearted read, as there are some more delicate matters within, but it was a good read, and I have to say I loved Pete and his family. Charlie’s support network in London and at home with her parents is awesome, and Mabel the cat is just wonderful.
Enemies to Lovers gives the game away with the title from the off. Yes, this is a story, and the trope is exactly that. Enemies to Lovers. Two people who have an age-old vendetta against one another, Lara and Sonny, work together as journalists in the same role, but for two separate magazines. There is plenty of one-upmanship going on all the time. One such occurrence goes a step too far and their editors decide to send them off on a secret mission, where they will need to spend a lot of time together, which is not something either of them want to do. The concept is there. It’s an easy read. They hate each other, then they fall in lust/love. With a job to complete on the side! Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.
Releasing 4th January, 2023
Releasing 23rd January, 2024
Blog tour appearance in January will contain my review.
Wait for January when Jeevani is visiting my blog for a Book and a Brew. I’ll share my review, then!
Releasing 11th January, 2024
So, tell me what you have been reading, and what caught your eye from the above!
I hope you are well. Sorry I haven’t been around much, but I have some bigger, tough things to deal with now, and regular blogging hasn’t been at the forefront of my mind. However, today, a little thing popped up on my notifications.
Nine years!
I mean, wow!
That time has flown. I remember starting this little blog, not knowing what a blog was, slowly building my Blogily, and making some lifelong friends along the way.
I have got to know so many people. You have shared so much of my life journey with me, too.
When I started, I never thought I would become a ‘writer’ let alone a published Poet and Author!
And, yet, here we are.
So, I hope I can be back more often soon, to share lots of joy with you, but for now, thank you for being on this journey with me, interacting with me, and letting me be a part of your lives, too.
Another repeat offender, today! Jodie Homer has popped over to talk a little about her Christmas inspiration, since she has a lovely Christmas story out!
Hello, and welcome back to But I Smile Anyway,Jodie! I think we should skip the choices and have a huge hot chocolate with whipped cream, and a few gingerbread me, what do you think?
Thank you so much for having me Ritu.
Can you tell us why Christmas means something special to you?
So I absolutely love Christmas. I love Christmas music more than any other music and when the shops have all their cards in them with the music playing it’s my favourite time.
Me, too! Recently, my daughter has become quite partial to Christmas-related music, too, however, she draws the line at me singing along in the shops!
It all started when I was younger and every year we would go to my Nan’s for Christmas. We’d leave our house on Christmas Eve and my Nan would have a table full of goodies laid out for us all to have and that would be chocolates, nuts just all sorts of things.
I wonder if she stockpiled them in advance, and had to hide everything from the rest of the household? I know I have to do that!
Christmas morning I would have a huge stocking at the end of my bed full of presents which I brought downstairs and opened with the family and then we would have dinner in the backroom. My Nan’s Christmas dinners were always the best.
Since we aren’t Christian, Christmas isn’t something we celebrate for religious reasons, however, we have always loved to take part in any festive seasons, and for me, the Christmas dinner is one of the best things about this time of year! I am rather naughty, and end up eating one at least three times; at school with the kids, on our Christmas do, and on Christmas day! Sometimes we have two, if we go and see my parents in the following days!Here, my sister-in-law and I cook for the family, then, if we are at my parents, I help my mum, who is a fantastic cook!
Later on in the day the rest of the family would come around and I would see cousins and aunties and we would just celebrate us all being together.
That sounds like a wonderful festive season. I can see why it brings back such lovely feelings, Jodie!
Thank you so much for sharing your Christmas joy, Jodie!
Thank you so much for having me today. 😊
Good luck with your latest release!
The Blurb
Holly loves Christmas but when she comes home and catches her boyfriend in bed with her boss she escapes her life and ends up in a village called Christmas. When she meets the Claus family she begins to realise it definitely does take a community to celebrate Christmas as she gets stuck into the village festivities can the dashing single farmer Joseph Claus fix her heartbreak? Is the answer to Holly’s broken heart hidden in a village called Christmas?
I love a bit of Christmas, and Jodie Homer’s latest story is packed with all the festive feels you could want! Holly loves Christmas, but her latest one looks set to run a bit flat, what with a broken relationship as well as sudden unemployment under her belt. She finds herself in this quaint little village and decides to give it a chance. But will it give her a chance? Who wouldn’t want to stumble upon a village called Christmas, where everything and everyone has a Noel-themed connection? I enjoyed this easy read, filled with all things Christmas, including a wonderfully sweet romance. A whimsical tale jam-packed with positivity and festive miracles – truly feel good!
About the Author
Jodie lives in a small village in Solihull with her husband and two children. She loves nothing more than dancing around embarrassingly to 90s music and eating mint chocolate. Jodie enjoys reading and writing books full of romance and swoon-worthy fictional men.
But I Smile Anyway... 