You Had Me at Merlot: Part 2

The second part in this hilarious four-part digital romantic comedy, from the author of The Twelve Dates of Christmas - winner of the Novelicious Debut of the Year award.

It took some convincing for Elle to come away on this singles' holiday and now her MD has turned up! As the matchmaking activities begin, from blindfolded wine tasting to crushing grapes barefoot, Elle tries her best to enjoy herself but it's not easy with her boss around. Nor is it that easy when she's being set up with every man on the holiday. All in all, this isn't turning out to be the fun break Elle was hoping for. Thank goodness for Jamie, the vineyard owners' son - he's exactly the kind of company Elle needs right now because he's not interested in finding a partner either. So what if Jamie is delicious to look at and his dad thinks they're perfect for each other? They're just friends. Nothing more. And that's all there is to it . . .

You Had Me at Merlot is the kind of love story that will have you crying with laughter one moment and nodding your head in agreement the next. Full of sultry summer nights, hilarious moments and plenty of wine, it will warm even the most cynical of hearts and have you believing in the magic of romance (and the power of a decent glass of Merlot).

My opinion: I was lucky enough to already have this second part on my Kindle when I read part 1, so was able to dive right into this one!

Elle is trying to deal with the fact that her MD Donna has turned up at the vineyard, so she now not only has to try and enjoy a singles holiday which she doesn't really want to take part in, but has to do it with her boss! An awful American staying at the vineyard is trying his best to woo her in the most unromantic way ever so things seem to be going from bad to worse. Enter Jamie from stage left. He's the hot son of the vineyard owners and not interested in the desperate girls on holiday. He just wants to make wine and help keep the family business going. As two single people not interested in getting into a relationship, Elle and Jamie become friends, much to the dismay of a couple of the girls staying at the vineyard.

This next installment is just as good as the first. We get to know a bit more about some of the holiday makers and there are certainly some interesting sorts there! The setting just seems to get even more beautiful and in this part of the story, there is a trip to Florence to see the sights. Hot Italian Jamie is a very welcome addition to the story. And her makes his own wine and chocolate. Why don't all men do this?! They certainly don't seem to have those skills in south Wales! You are lucky to get a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich! Anyway, I digress. I may have fallen a little bit in love with Jamie already...

I forgot to say in my first review, but I love Laurie. She is a brilliant character, outrageous and so funny. I love the friendship between Laurie, the maneater, and independent woman Elle. It shouldn't work, but only goes to show that opposites attract as friends, as well as partners! I couldn't put my Kindle down until I got to the end of this part of the story and there is one hell of a twist at the end. You'll get to see my review of part 3 tomorrow, but I had to wait for part 3 to be published to find out what happened next!

My rating: Five stars

This week I will be posting reviews of all four parts of You Had Me at Merlot, and will be culminating the week with a special interview with the author, Lisa Dickenson.

You Had Me at Merlot: Part 1

The first part in this hilarious four-part digital romantic comedy, from the author of The Twelve Dates of Christmas - winner of the Novelicious Debut of the Year award.

Elle and Laurie are the last ones standing: they're single, they're not having babies any time soon and their weekends aren't filled with joyful meetings about mortgages. For Elle, this is fine - she likes her independent life, she loves her job, and she has no desire to walk down the aisle anytime soon. But Laurie wants love and she wants it now.

So when Laurie begs Elle to come with her on a singles holiday to a beautiful vineyard in Tuscany, Elle is reluctant. You Had Me at Merlot Holidays promises crisp sunshine, fun and a chance to stir up some sizzling romance. Elle has no intention of swapping her perfectly lovely life for someone else's idea of her Mr Perfect, but ten days under the Italian sun with her best friend and lashings of wine? How bad could that be?

You Had Me at Merlot is the kind of love story that will have you crying with laughter one moment and nodding your head in agreement the next. Full of sultry summer nights, hilarious moments and plenty of wine, it will warm even the most cynical of hearts and have you believing in the magic of romance (and the power of a decent glass of Merlot).

My opinion: This is the first book I have read by Lisa Dickenson, and boy was it a good 'un!

Elle is an independent woman who is single, but quite happy as she is, thank you very much. Why would she want to get in a relationship and lose the time she has to do what she wants and learn the dances to Beyonce songs?! Her best friend Laurie books them on a Tuscan singles holiday and Elle vows that this is just a holiday to relax and drink lots of wine as she's not interested in meeting anyone.

I was drawn into this book straight away and have to say that it is hilarious! I was sat out in the garden chuckling to myself when reading this. I liked Elle right from the beginning and felt that I could really connect with many aspects of her character. She is a workaholic, desperate to get noticed and as a result spends far longer than anyone else in the office, working like crazy. Despite this, she hasn't quite been able to put her head above the parapet and get herself noticed yet, particularly by Donna, her MD and idol. I've seen this happening to others throughout my career, and it was a great detail to put into the story.

Tuscany is an amazing setting for the book. I love a book set in Italy (although I am yet to visit in real life as yet) and I couldn't wait to read more, both about the beautiful vineyard setting and the shenanigans from the singles holiday. There is a great twist at the end of this book which leads perfectly into the next one and will leave you chomping at the bit to read part 2!

Fab characters, great writing and a hilarious storyline. Let's see what part 2 brings us....

My rating: Five stars

This week I will be posting reviews of all four parts of You Had Me at Merlot, and will be culminating the week with a special interview with the author, Lisa Dickenson.

From Paris With Love

Every girl dreams of hearing those four magical words Will you marry me? But no-one tells you what’s supposed to happen next….

Fun-loving Gemma Goodwin knows she should be revelling in her happy-ever-after. Except when her boyfriend Lord Edward popped the question, after a whirlwind romance, although she didn’t say no….she didn’t exactly say yes either!

A month-long cookery course in Paris could be just the place to make sure her heart and her head are on the same page… And however disenchanted with romance Gemma is feeling, the City of Love has plenty to keep her busy; the champagne is decadently quaffable, the croissants almost too delicious, and shopping is a national past-time! In fact, everything in Paris makes her want to say Je t’aime…. Except Edward!

But whilst Paris might offer plenty of distractions from wedding planning – including her new friends, mysterious Joe and hot French rockstar Blade - there’s no reason she couldn’t just try one or two couture dresses is there? Just for fun…

My opinion: I loved Samantha's first book, Doubting Abbey, so I jumped at the chance of reading an advance copy of her new book, From Paris with Love.

We catch up with Gemma and Edward about six months after Doubting Abbey ended, and they are off to Paris to live for a month. Gemma's cooking skills are going from strength to strength and she is attending a month long cookery course in Paris, and Edward is coming with her to work as a waiter at the restaurant, and build on the popularity of his blog by writing some travel articles relating to the centenary of the beginning of the First World War. Before leaving the UK, Edward popped the question, but Gemma still hasn't given him a response. The romantic setting of Paris only serves to put additional strain on their relationship, along with their new friends, bitchy Monique, hot and mysterious Joe and glam rockstar Blade.

It was great to catch up with Gemma and Edward, although I would have liked to have seen them back at Applebridge Hall as I loved the setting in Doubting Abbey. I soon got over that as Paris is a wonderfully romantic setting and really suited this story. Gemma is still very much herself - athough a slightly more refined version after taking up residence at Applebridge Hall, and still gets herself into a number of scrapes. This time around, she gets herself into a potentially dangerous situation early on after meeting mysterious Joe who swears her to secrecy about what he asks her to do. Gemma is a lot more trusting of other people than me, but it is touch and go whether she can pull off what Joe has asked her to do without blabbing to anyone.

This was a lighthearted read and I loved the theme in it - it was very different to most chick lit/romance novels and made the book really interesting and more adventurous. I wasn't able to guess how the book would end and it kept me guessing right up to the final chapters about what would be the outcome of the month in Paris. I loved the detail about the cooking in Paris, some of the detail made my mouth water! We also meet some great new characters like rockstar Blade, slimy John and all of the staff at Chez Dubois.

This books would work well as a standalone book, but I would recommend reading Doubting Abbey first, partly so that you can understand the references, but also as it is just as good a read as this one. Another fab book, and I look forward to reading more from the author, and hopefully more about Gemma and Edward!

You can read my review of Doubting Abbey here.

My rating: Five stars

I received an advance copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review

From Paris with Love is published by Carina UK on 30th July 2014

Calling All Services

Alex Frey, successful businesswoman, wife and mother to a busy and demanding family, doesn't find it easy to take a break. So when she's hospitalised with a mysterious illness, paralysed and afraid of what the future might bring, frustration meets fear and she can't wait to escape the hospital, get back in control of things and return her family to the normality of salmon paste sandwiches. At home, her husband Grant is determined to manage the kids, Alex's parents, his sister and anything else life can throw at him while his wife is away recuperating. But what else can possibly go wrong while Alex is in hospital? The Frey family is about to find out.

My opinion: We meet Alex as she is admitted to hospital. A busy businesswoman, she doesn't expect to be floored by a mystery illness that creeps up on her. Her husband is left to look after the kids and manage his mother in law while Alex is in hospital which can only end badly...

Although the book could be thought to touch on a few slightly depressing subjects (sudden illness, hospitalisation etc), it is far from it. Tara Ford has a talent in being able to turn a bad situation into a funny one, something which often happens in real life but can be difficult to replicate in writing. Tara really hits the nail on the head with this funny, fast paced story that has some great characters. I really liked Alex and could feel her frustration at having to stay in hospital and leave everything to her husband.

I'd like to read more about the Frey family so hope that we get to read more about them in the future, although I'm not sure that there is anything left to go wrong!

A good storyline, great characters and a real laugh out loud book. I'd recommend this for anyone looking for a bit of light relief!

My rating: Four stars

I received a copy of this book from the author in exhange for an honest review

Road to Rouen

Ben Hatch is on the road again. Commissioned to write a guidebook about France (despite not speaking any French) he sets off with visions of relaxing chateaux and refined dining. Ten thousand miles later his family's been attacked by a donkey, had a run-in with a death-cult and, after a near drowning and a calamitous wedding experience involving a British spy, his own marriage is in jeopardy. A combination of obsessions about mosquitoes, French gravel and vegetable theme parks mean it's a bumpy ride as Ben takes a stand against tyrannical French pool attendants, finds himself running with the bulls in Pamplona and almost starring in a snuff movie after a near fatal decision to climb into a millionaire's Chevrolet Blazer.

Funny and poignant, Road to Rouen asks important questions about life, marriage and whether it's ever acceptable to tape baguette to your children's legs to smuggle lunch into Disneyland Paris.

My opinion: I have been looking forward to this book ever since I read Hatch's first travelogue offering, Are We Nearly There Yet, last year. When this one came out I was in the middle of a book buying ban, but managed to convince myself that ebooks that are non-fiction and about France don't count so downloaded it to my Kindle!

This book runs along vaguely the same lines as the last, the Hatch family driving around to tourist destinations and ending up in mad cap situations. But this time round, the children are older, the family has changed and is wiser and there are LOTS of cheese references!

We get to know Ben and Dinah a lot better in Road to Rouen, and become more understanding of their relationship and how they function as a couple. A few bits were in a bit too much detail, but I wouldn't expect any less after the previous account of the toothbrush incident!

We also get to share in the Hatch kids growing up and their own quirks and hilarious moments. I feel like it is a privilege to be able to share in this and hope we can continue this in future. Ben's writing makes me feel like part of the family and his children now feel a bit like the niece and nephew I've never had!

Another fantastic book laden with both hilarious and heart wrenching moments. I now can't wait for the next instalment! How about the Hatch family do Route 66?

My rating: A fabulous four stars