Book review of My Lucky Night by Olivia Spring

My Lucky Night by Olivia Spring

My Lucky Night: Romance Can Happen When You Least Expect It…

She hates Christmas. He’s about to change her mind…

 

Cassie isn’t a fan of Christmas. After a string of unlucky incidents during the festive season—including getting dumped—this year she decides to spend the day at home. Alone. No men. No complications. 

 

But then her nightmare boss demands she track down this year’s most coveted Christmas gift—and the only person who can help is an annoyingly sexy Frenchman she’s just met.

 

Nicolas might look hot, but Cassie can tell he’s also arrogant, irritating and in love with himself. Exactly the kind of guy she hates. Plus, he’ll only help her find the gift if she helps him with something in return... 

Could Cassie’s festive fortunes finally be about to change? Can she learn to love Christmas again? And will Cassie get lucky in more ways than one?

 

Set against a gorgeous London backdrop with sparkling lights, Christmas markets and mistletoe, My Lucky Night is a fun, sexy enemies-to-lovers romcom novella that will give you all the feels! Ideal for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Mhairi McFarlane.

 

Read as a standalone novella or as book two in the My Ten-Year Crush series.

 

My Lucky Night by Olivia Spring

My review

This book is a quick and easy read that took me to London for some festive fun, bringing back some lovely memories of enjoying the London lights at Christmas, something we’ve not been able to do for the last few years. Add a gorgeously handsome Frenchman to the mix of ice rinks, mulled wine, markets and grottos, and I was one very happy reader.

 

Cassie knows London and more importantly, she knows where to find all the magic and sparkle of Christmas, even if it’s not her favourite time of year. Despite her initial annoyance at bumping into Nicolas, she is determined (in the spirit of Christmas) to help him tick off his festive wish list on his short visit from Paris. Her story melted my heart and I really hoped she’d be able to find some Christmas cheer once more.

This book is a great reminder that we are never too old to believe in Father Christmas.

 

Nicolas has escaped his hectic life and after an unexpected meeting with Cassie, hopes they can help each other out – one impossible last minute Christmas gift in exchange for a personal tour of London. Let me just say, despite the chill in the air, temperatures rose, and things certainly got quite personal. 

 

This book was just what I needed to lift my mood during a particularly difficult week. I laughed a lot; I fell in love with both the characters, and it left me with a huge smile on my face. I haven’t read the first book in the series, but I can’t wait to read the next one.

 

As life gets hectic in the run up to Christmas, treat yourself to this romantic mini break in London, it will do you the world of good.

 

Purchase Links  

Amazon UK 

Amazon US 

 

Author Bio

Olivia Spring is a British, London-based writer of contemporary women's fiction, sexy chick lit and romantic comedy. Her uplifting debut novel The Middle-Aged Virgin, which was released in 2018, deals with being newly single in your thirties and beyond, dating, relationships, love, sex and living life to the full.

In addition to The Middle-Aged Virgin, Olivia has published The Middle-Aged Virgin in Italy, Love Offline, Losing My Inhibitions, Only When It's Love and the sequel When’s The Wedding?

Olivia’s seventh novel, My Ten-Year Crush, was published in September 2021 and book two in the series, My Lucky Night followed in November 2021.

When she's not writing, Olivia can be found enjoying cupcakes and cocktails and of course, seeking inspiration for her next book!

 

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My Lucky Night by Olivia Spring

Beyond This Broken Sky by Siobhan Curham

Beyond This Broken Sky Siobhan Curham

Beyond This Broken Sky by Siobhan Curham

 

Book Description

 

1940, London: An unforgettable novel about the strength of the human spirit in the face of war and the remarkable women who put themselves in danger on the front lines during the Battle of Britain.

As a volunteer for the ambulance service, Ruby has the dangerous task of driving along pitch-dark roads during the blackout. With each survivor she pulls from the rubble, she is helping to fight back against the enemy bombers, who leave nothing but destruction in their wake.

Assigned to her crew is Joseph, who is unable to fight but will stop at nothing to save innocent lives. Because he is not in uniform, people treat him with suspicion and Ruby becomes determined to protect this brave, compassionate man who has rescued so many, and captured her heart. Even if it means making an unthinkable choice between saving her own life and risking everything for his…

2019: Recently divorced Edi feels lost and alone when she moves to London to start a new life. Until she makes a discovery, hidden beneath a loose floorboard in her attic, that reveals a secret about the people who lived there in the 1940s. As she gradually uncovers a wartime love story full of danger and betrayal, Edi becomes inspired by the heroism of one incredible woman and the legacy that can be left behind by a single act of courage…

A sweeping tale of bravery and self-sacrifice that shows that even in the midst of war, hope and love can bloom. Perfect for fans of The Alice Network, The Secret Messenger and The Lost Girls of Paris.

 

Beyond This Broken Sky Siobhan Curham

My review

Having really enjoyed An American in Paris by Siobhan Curham, I couldn’t resist Beyond This Broken Sky, even though it’s set in London, during the Blitz, rather than in France. It was a wise move on my part. 

 

This is another gripping historical novel from an author who I can’t wait to read more from. 

 

We join Ruby, Kitty and Joseph, three very different personalities, from different backgrounds, all living in converted flats in the same house in Pimlico. As Hitler launches his daily bombing campaign on London in 1940, to begin with there is fear and fatigue at the nightly disruptions, but it doesn’t take long for their fighting spirit to come into play, and thrown together by the Blitz and their volunteer work, they soon start to bring out the best in each other. 

 

These three are great fun characters, especially the almost-irritating quirkiness of Ruby, who gave me many smiles as I was reading, even in the darkest of situations where my heart was in my mouth. We all need a bit of Ruby in our lives and her way with words and outlook on life will, I am sure, stay with me. My heart went out to Kitty, who just needed friendship and love to free her from her fears, something Ruby is determined to achieve, and Joseph was in some ways an unlikely hero, but just right in others. Ruby and Joseph were so different, yet so similar, and her journey as she discovers what really matters in life, thanks in no small part to his influence, really warmed me. 

 

There were many white-knuckle moments as I gripped my kindle, almost afraid to carry on, and my stomach dropped into my boots at one point, as I really couldn’t believe what I’d read. I got so engrossed in the events happening in 1940 that I totally forgot there was also the 2019 storyline to follow too. Here, the more Edi discovers about her new neighbours, the more convinced she is that there is a mystery to solve. 

 

This book gave me so much in terms of emotions, suspense and humour, as well as clever twists and turns before the plot revealed itself, it left me with a big smile on my face and a contented, happy feeling.

 

If you enjoy emotional, historical novels, with that magic touch of something different, I am sure you will love Beyond This Broken Sky. Currently priced only 99p. 

 

Purchase Links 

Amazon 

Apple 

Kobo 

Google 

 

Siobhan Curham

 

Author Bio

 

Siobhan Curham is an award-winning author, ghost writer, editor and writing coach. She has also written for many newspapers, magazines and websites, including The Guardian, Breathe magazine, Cosmopolitan, Writers’ Forum, DatingAdvice.com, and Spirit & Destiny. Siobhan has been a guest on various radio and TV shows, including Woman’s Hour, BBC News, GMTV and BBC Breakfast. And she has spoken at businesses, schools, universities and literary festivals around the world, including the BBC, Hay Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Bath Festival, Ilkley Festival, London Book Fair and Sharjah Reading Festival.

 

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French Village Diaries Book Reviews

Book review of An Ordinary Life by Amanda Prowse

An Ordinary Life, Amanda Prowse

An Ordinary Life by Amanda Prowse

From the bestselling author of The Girl in the Corner comes a tale of love, loss—and one last extraordinary dance.

Christmas Eve, 2019. Ninety-four-year-old Molly lies in her hospital bed. A stroke and a fall may have broken her body—but her mind is alive with memories.

London, 1940s. Molly is a bright young woman, determined to help the war effort and keep her head up despite it all. Life becomes brighter when she meets and falls in love with a man who makes her forget everything with one dance. But then war forces her to make an unforgettable sacrifice, and when she’s brought to her knees by a daring undercover mission with the French Resistance, only her sister knows the secret weighing heavily on Molly’s heart.

Now, lying in her hospital bed, Molly can’t escape the memories of what she lost all those years ago. But she is not as alone as she thinks.

Will she be able to find peace—and finally understand that what seemed to be an ordinary life was anything but?

 

Blog tour An Ordinary Life, Amanda Prowse

My review

In the 1940’s, Molly was an independent young woman, determined that the life of housewife and mother, tied to a kitchen sink and sticky toddlers, wasn’t for her. She embraced the opportunity to work that the war had provided, and with excellent language skills, knew she was making a difference. A chance meeting, a dance with a young man and a walk along the Embankment, changed her ideas, her dreams and her life. 

Looking back with Molly, we move through the years, visiting the defining moments in her life; the happy times, the sad times and the difficult ones where the decisions she made had far reaching consequences. We meet those she loved, those she lost and those she made sacrifices for. We join her during the bombing raids in London, in Occupied France and at her cosy cottage post-war. With each new decade, we subtly notice how life, society and the expectations of the new generations of her family are changing.

This is a book that dragged me into its pages. The vivid descriptions, especially of the traumatic events, left me feeling like I was there. I felt Molly’s grief and anger at the injustices of what she went through, and the hurt when those who should have supported her, turned her away. I even woke one morning recalling that my dream had mirrored the chapter I’d read the night before. 

This is also a book filled with love and a strong sense of family that packed such a punch of emotion it will take some time to diffuse. 

There were times it felt like a knife in my heart or a blow to my stomach, other times, there was so much love it was like I was wrapped in a warm hug.

If you are looking for an emotional page-turner with strong characters, family secrets, social history and more, look no further.

 

Purchase Links

 

 https://bit.ly/_AnOrdinaryLife_

 

Amanda Prowse

Author Bio

Amanda Prowse is an International Bestselling author whose twenty six novels and seven novellas have been published in dozens of languages around the world. Published by Lake Union, Amanda is the most prolific writer of bestselling contemporary fiction in the UK today; her titles also consistently score the highest online review approval ratings across several genres. Her books, including the chart topping No.1 titles 'What Have I Done?', 'Perfect Daughter', 'My Husband's Wife', 'The Girl in the Corner', 'The Things I Know' and ‘The Day She Came Back’ have sold millions of copies across the globe.

A popular TV and radio personality, Amanda is a regular panellist on Channel 5's 'The Jeremy Vine Show' and numerous daytime ITV programmes. She also makes countless guest appearances on BBC national independent Radio stations including LBC and Talk FM, where she is well known for her insightful observations and her infectious humour. Described by the Daily Mail as 'The queen of family drama' Amanda's novel, 'A Mother's Story' won the coveted Sainsbury's eBook of the year Award while 'Perfect Daughter' was selected as a World Book Night title in 2016.

Amanda's ambition is to create stories that keep people from turning the bedside lamp off at night, great characters that ensure you take every step with them and tales that fill your head so you can't possibly read another book until the memory fades...

An Ordinary Life, Amanda Prowse tour banner

Praise for Amanda Prowse:

'A powerful and emotional work of fiction' - Piers Morgan
'Deeply moving and emotional, Amanda Prowse handles her explosive subjects with delicate skill' - Daily Mail
'Uplifting and positive, but you will still need a box of tissues' - Hello!
'A gut-wrenching and absolutely brilliant read' - The Irish Sun
'You'll fall in love with this...' - Cosmopolitan
'Deeply moving and eye opening. Powerful and emotional drama that packs a real punch.' - Heat
'Magical' - Now magazine

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French Village Diaries book reviews

Celebrating my Brompton bikeversary

Riding my Brompton is the best

Today I am celebrating the second anniversary of wheeling #KTTinyTourer out of the cycle shop in London and looking back on two years of fun, fitness and freedom on my brompton.

 

In our time together Katie the Tiny Tourer and I have cycled almost eight thousand five hundred kilometres, in three different countries, (the UK, France and Spain) and turned heads wherever we’ve been. I’ve earned a lot of respect from the cycling community as an almost fifty-year-old woman, on a Brompton, climbing mountains alongside younger men on high end road bikes, and the incredulous looks on some of their faces will stay with me forever.

 

Having a bike that is comfortable and fun to ride has given me the confidence to go further and push myself to achieve more, as well as the ability to enjoy long days in the saddle.

 

Climbing mountains on my Brompton

Some of our rides have been in full lycra with clipped in cycle shoes, some in dresses and normal shoes, with a picnic in my pannier. We’ve followed off-road cycle paths, quiet back roads, pilgrimage routes, mountain passes and conquered Tour de France epic climbs, including Mont Ventoux, the Col d’Aubisque and the Col du Tourmalet.

Boulangerie stop on my Brompton

 

We’ve enjoyed the flexibility of the folding frame and being able to put the bikes in the car for airport runs, so we can set off for morning coffee or a sunset apéro somewhere special before heading home. 

 

Cycling the lavender fields of Provence

The bikes have been there for the recycling and the shopping as well as days out, holidays and our legitimate daily exercise during confinement. They have taken us to the Atlantic coast, the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees. We have followed rivers and waterways, including the Thames, the Lot, the Garonne, the gorges de la Nesque and the canal lateral that runs between Bordeaux and Toulouse.

 

We have taken part in organised events including London Brompton Club social rides, and closed road sportives like Ride London and the col climbing Pyrénées Cycl'n'Trip.

 

For the last two years I have set myself cycling challenges on my Brompton, smashing my first target of 2019 kms last year so upping it to 2019 miles (3230 kms) and smashing that too. This year I set myself a series of challenges, and despite a difficult year with over one hundred days living in lockdown, I’ve achieved almost all of them. 

 

5 consecutive days on the bike, cycling a minimum of 50kms each day. Yes, in August.

 

5 trips to the supermarket using the bike instead of the car. Oh yes.

 

5 mountain cols or passes climbed by bike. Last count was thirteen.

 

5 days cycling 100kms in a day, as opposed to once a year for my birthday. Yes.

The seventeen departments I've cycled in this year

 

The only one I’ve not quite managed is to cycle in twenty different French departments (counties) this year, but we did manage to tick off seventeen and have cycled over five thousand kilometres in 2020. I’m definitely fitter than I’ve ever been and six kilos lighter than two years ago, in that bike shop, in London.

 

The uncertainties of living with Covid-19, possible travel restrictions or future lockdowns, aren’t making it easy for me to visualise being able to do a dream cycle tour across France next year, but I can’t let 2021, the year I turn fifty, go by without some form of challenge (or celebration on two wheels). Maybe it will have to be another series of challenges, but that raises my game from those I set this year. When I’ve decided what they will be, I’ll let you know. If you have any ideas, I’d be happy to hear them.

 

  

Book review of Stonechild by Kevin Albin

Stonechild by Kevin Albin

Stonechild by Kevin Albin

Where do we go to when we die? Imagine human consciousness embedded in the molecules of a statue. So, when the statues of London come to life, it is a spectacle like non other, and they come with a specific message, and an offer we cannot refuse.

 

As the world reels in this wonder of science and religion, Molly Hargreaves has other plans and she sets out to prove that things are not as they seem. 

 

Chased, captured and confined, Molly confronts the statues and her own fears. But who can she convince? The people are welcoming, the Government has succumbed, and the police try to act, but how do you shoot stone and metal? Be prepared to be run ragged around London on a mystery worthy of the great Sherlock Holmes.

 

Stonechild by Kevin Albin tour banner

My review

This book may not be set in France, but I couldn’t resist reading it as Kevin, the author, until recently lived in the same village as me here in France. I also have rather a soft spot for London and loved the idea of statues coming to life, with a message for us.

 

Molly Hargreaves is 15, well travelled, well read and thanks to her parents, pretty clued up on conservation too. As certain statues come to life on the streets of London, claiming to have done so in order to save the planet, Molly isn’t convinced and the statues she first encounters only make her more suspicious that something else is going on. While tourists flock to see the spectacle and London goes mad, alone and with no one prepared to believe her, Molly tries to discover the truth. 

 

This book might be aimed at younger readers, but there was certainly enough to keep my interest, and not only did we get a tour around the main sights of London, we were taken to more hidden locations where statues are to be found too. Kevin gave just enough detail about the figures from history to add to the story, without it feeling like a school textbook, and it was obvious that a lot of thought had gone into which statues would be used, and why. The race against time for Molly to uncover what is really going on just added to the drama and sense of adventure. It may be fiction, but as we live through a global pandemic, there was a lot here that rang true and certainly made me think about the changes we all need to make to ensure the planet has a future.

 

 

Purchase Links 

https://amzn.to/2BfnoWs

On Kevin's website you will find a word puzzle for the readers of Stonechild, with a prize to be drawn on the 10th December, which is Human Rights Day. Click here for further details. 

 

Kevin Albin

Author Bio 

I served 25 years with the police in the UK, eight years of which were with a tactical firearms team. In 2002, I took a career change, and retrained as an International Mountain Leader working across the globe guiding on mountaineering trips and expeditions. 

 

I have led many trips to the jungles of Borneo, my favourite destination, an enchanting place that has sadly seen much deforestation. My trips were based on education and conservation.

In 2011, I won the Bronze in the Wanderlust Magazine World Guide Awards for my work..

 

It was whilst working on a corporate training day in London, when I pictured a statue coming to life to give my clients the answer to the clue they were working on. The rest grew from there. 

My hope is that my writing will continue to spread the word on conservation and protection of all species.

 

I live in France.

 

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Stonechild by Kevin Albin

Feeling awesome on my bike

Along the Thames with London skyline in the background

Hey Britain, you don’t need Brexit to distance yourself from the EU, take it from me, your overnight road closures for Smart Motorway upgrades are doing a pretty effective job of blocking the access to your major ports. After a return trip using Dover and Portsmouth, to say I’m sick of the sight of road cones is an understatement and the only journey I enjoyed in the ten days was our adventure into London; two days, one night and 107kms – by bike.

The safe cycle way over Blackfriars Bridge in London

With river towpaths, Quiet Ways and Cycle Super Highways, cycling in London is exhilarating, far easier than I expected and much cheaper than taking the train or the car. Having commuted the 50kms from Woking to London by train for many years, making the journey by bike was awesome. I saw places and buildings up close that I’d only ever seen whiz by through a train window, as well as discovering new corners of London and rediscovering old haunts from my working years there. Making the journey by bike was something I never dreamed I’d ever do but is now up there on my top bike experiences to date.

The irony is that after years of disruptions and millions of pounds invested in upgrading to Smart Motorways (that I’m sure by the time the last stretch is finished the first areas to be completed will be out of date) traffic congestion will still be an issue. The only way to relieve the roads of cars is to make the alternatives more appealing. While many cycleways are well marked and safe, many more are on narrow roads with huge potholes and dangerous drain covers that force the cyclist to weave around them. This is where the investment needs to happen, not on roads exclusively for cars and lorries.

Along the Thames in London

Sitting in my elevated window seat enjoying breakfast in London and keeping out of the way of the rush hour, it was obvious commuting by bike is popular for both men and women. As Adrian regularly commutes by bike all over the UK, I needed no convincing, but this is a fact that is worth sharing. You can be female, work in an office and arrive by bike.

With the catastrophic bush fires and soaring temperatures in Australia and the extreme rainfall and flooding in parts of France, climate change must now become something we all consider when making our daily choices. It must not just be an item on a political agenda, it is real life and we can all make a difference if we try.

I do appreciate cycling isn’t for everyone, but aiming to make less car journeys, by combining tasks in town with shopping, or car sharing with friends will also help. I’d also like to point out age shouldn’t be an issue as my neighbour Pierrette will soon celebrate her 80^th birthday, had a hip replacement last year, but still rides her bike every week and Robert Marchand, who we met whilst cycling in the Ardeche a few years ago, is still riding his bike, and setting records, despite being a mere 108 years old. Awesome!

I’m making 2020 my year of being Awesome and I’d love you to join me. Take it from me, one journey by bike instead of by car will mean you are awesome too.

 

Thanks to the Pimlico Plumbers for their Bollocks to Brexit slogan