Christmas at Woolworths

Christmas at Woolworths

by Elaine Everest

Even though there was a war on, the Woolworths girls brought Christmas cheer to their customers

Best friends Sarah, Maisie and Freda are brought together by their jobs at Woolworths. With their loved ones away on the front line, their bonds of friendship strengthen each day. Betty Billington is the manager at Woolworths, and a rock for the girls, having given up on love . . . Until a mysterious stranger turns up one day – could he reignite a spark in Betty?

As the year draws to a close, and Christmas approaches, the girls must rely on each other to navigate the dark days that lie ahead . . .

With so much change, can their friendship survive the war?

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35078050-christmas-at-woolworths

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07258TTJR

Author Information

Elaine Everest, author of Bestselling novel The Woolworths Girls and The Butlins Girls was born and brought up in North West Kent, where many of her books are set. She has been a freelance writer for twenty years and has written widely for women's magazines and national newspapers, with both short stories and features. Her non-fiction books for dog owners have been very popular and led to broadcasting on radio about our four legged friends. Elaine has been heard discussing many topics on radio from canine subjects to living with a husband under her feet when redundancy looms.

When she isn't writing, Elaine runs The Write Place creative writing school at The Howard Venue in Hextable, Kent and has a long list of published students.

Elaine lives with her husband, Michael, and their Polish Lowland Sheepdog, Henry, in Swanley, Kent and is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Crime Writers Association, The Society of Women Writers & Journalists and The Society of Authors as well as Slimming World where she can been sitting in the naughty corner.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/elaineeverest

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElaineEverestAuthor/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elaine-Everest/e/B003LTXNN8/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1508176086&sr=1-2-ent

 My Review

Another excellent read from Elaine Everest just in time for Christmas. I enjoyed reading about the friends and the story set against the backdrop of WW2. It was also nice to see that romance isn't just for the young 'uns as Betty Billington begins to wonder if she could ever love again. As I read the book I could easily see it unfold as a TV drama. Wonderfully evoked and some great characters.

5/5

The Betrayal

                                                                                    



        The Betrayal - Anne Allen                                         

Treachery and theft lead to death – and love

1940. Teresa Bichard and her baby are sent by her beloved husband, Leo, to England as the Germans draw closer to Guernsey. Days later they invade…
1942. Leo, of Jewish descent, is betrayed to the Germans and is sent to a concentration camp, never to return. 
1945. Teresa returns to find Leo did not survive and the family’s valuable art collection, including a Renoir, is missing. Heartbroken, she returns to England.
2011. Nigel and his twin Fiona, buy a long-established antique shop in Guernsey and during a refit, find a hidden stash of paintings, including what appears to be a Renoir. Days later, Fiona finds Nigel dead, an apparent suicide. Refusing to accept the verdict, a distraught Fiona employs a detective to help her discover the truth…
Searching for the rightful owner of the painting brings Fiona close to someone who opens a chink in her broken heart. Can she answer some crucial questions before laying her brother's ghost to rest?
Who betrayed Leo? 
Who knew about the stolen Renoir?
And are they prepared to kill – again?


About the author



                                            


Anne Allen lives in Devon, by her beloved sea. She has three children and her daughter and two grandchildren live nearby. She was born in Rugby, to an English mother and Welsh father. As a result she spent many summers with her Welsh grandparents in Anglesey and learnt to love the sea. Her restless spirit has meant a number of moves which included Spain for a couple of years. The longest stay was in Guernsey for nearly fourteen years after falling in love with the island and the people. She contrived to leave one son behind to ensure a valid reason for frequent returns.
By profession Anne was a psychotherapist but has long had creative ‘itches’, learning to mosaic, paint furniture, interior design and sculpt. At the back of her mind the itch to write was always present but seemed too time-consuming for a single mum with a need to earn a living. Now retired from the 'day job', there’s more time to write and Anne has now published five books in The Guernsey Novels series (as at August 2016). A sixth will be published in 2017

My Review

I am a huge fan of Anne Allen's Guernsey series in which various locations are lovingly described. With the 'suicide' of her twin brother, this book has a orally different feel as Fiona tries to get to the bottom of it. With an undiscovered Renoir and links to WW2 this book has a much darker feel to it. I have also noticed a supernatural element apparent in the later novels and I enjoyed catching up with characters from previous books; the way in which they are interconnected is very cleverly done. The tone of this book is rather different though, somehow bleaker yet it seems to feature all the key elements of the others; a mystery to solve, a historic connection and of course, romance. These all come together brilliantly in this book with an added touch of a fast-paced thriller.

5/5

Christmas at Conwennna Cove

A heartwarming, romantic and Christmassy novel set in the gorgeous Cornish village of Conwenna Cove.

When Grace Phillips travels to Conwenna Cove to help her parents move there 30 years after their honeymoon in the village, she sees why they fell in love with the place. The festive decorations, carols in the air and constant supply of delicious mince pies certainly make it hard to leave. Grace soon meets local vet Oli Davenport and initially finds him rude, but learning about his passion for animals and how much he cares for his two kids helps Grace to see a softer side to Oli.

It’s been two years since Oli lost his wife to cancer. Though he loves eleven-year-old Amy and five-year-old Tom more than anything it’s hard to be mum and dad. He has no interest in romance until he crosses paths with beautiful and kind-hearted Grace. The sparks fly but both Oli and Grace are holding onto fear about letting someone into their heart. 

As the snow falls and Christmas wishes come true can Conwenna Cove work its magic and help Grace and Oli find the happiness they both deserve?

Author Bio:

 Darcie Boleyn has a huge heart and is a real softy. She never fails to cry at books and movies, whether ending is happy or not. Darcie is in possession of an overactive imagination that often keeps her awake at night. Darcie fell in love in New York, got married in the snow, rescues uncoordinated greyhounds and can usually be found reading or typing away on her laptop.

Author Social Media Links                                                                                                           

Website: https://darcieboleyn.wordpress.com/

Twitter: @DarcieBoleyn

My Review

This is such a lovely book to put you in a Christmassy mood with just the right amount of poignancy too. One bit did make me cry but overall it's really uplifting with some great characters. I warmed to both Oli and Grace even though they are each coping with grief in their own way. Lovely supporting cast from Grace's parents too and I loved to see what her father would whip up in the kitchen next. This book really made me want to spend Christmas in Cornwall, or rather in Conwenna Cove.


 5/5

The hygge holiday

The perfect recipe for hygge this autumn: make a hot chocolate, draw the curtains, snuggle under a blanket and read your way to happiness!

It's autumn in Yulethorpe and everyone is gloomy. It's cold, drizzly and the skies are permagrey. The last shop on the high street - an adorable little toy shop - has just shut its doors. Everything is going wrong for Yulethorpe this autumn. Until Clara Kristensen arrives.

Clara is on holiday but she can see the potential in the pretty town, so she rolls up her sleeves and sets to work. Things are looking up until Joe comes to Yulethorpe to find out exactly what is going on with his mother's shop. Joe is Very Busy and Important in the City and very sure that Clara is up to no good. Surely no one would work this hard just for the fun of it?

Can a man who answers emails at 3 a. m. learn to appreciate the slower, happier, hygge things in life - naps, candles, good friends and maybe even falling in love?

About the author

 

Rosie is an author of comic commercial fiction. She spent her university years writing pantomimes based on old classics and has written features for Cosmopolitan, The Lady, The Sunday People, Reveal and Best Magazine. Her first rom com HOW TO GET A (LOVE) LIFE was published in 2014 and Corvus Books signed her for two more: HOW TO STUFF UP CHRISTMAS and HOW TO FIND YOUR (FIRST) HUSBAND.

Rosie likes baked items, taking long walks by the river and speaking about herself in the third person.


My Review

In the past I used to dread winter but thanks to this book it has changed the way I think. I am now going to embrace it with warm blankets, soft cushions, scented candles and hot chocolate. Of course, the story is just as heart-warming as you might imagine as it reaffirms what is important in life. If you read nothing else this winter, then make sure that this book is at the top of your list - I absolutely loved it. It will suck you in, wrap you up and leave you with a happy feeling of contentment, exactly like a good book should.

5/5

Losing myself

Since Kat made her decision, everything around her seems to be falling apart. Not only is she dealing with family’s secrets, lies and deceit but the salon, which is opening around the corner, threatens her livelihood.

To make matters worse her relationship with Max is on the rocks. Although her relationships with Max’s mother, her step-mother and her sister have grown stronger, are they strong enough?

Working tirelessly to save her salon and save her relationship with Max, she is battling everyday to stay focused on her future. But what will the future bring?

Author Bio:

Victoria J.Brown has always had a passion for writing. When asked at the age of 9 years old, what she wanted to be when she grew up, her reply ‘an author’ was met with a disheartened response, ‘that jobs like that, don’t happen to people like us!’

Luckily, Victoria didn’t listen to this advice and never gave up on her passion.  She continued to write while perusing a career in Marketing after gaining a BA (Hons) in Business and Marketing.

In 2006 her eldest daughter was born and then two years later her 2^nd daughter came along. Victoria realised in the midst of the mummy madness, that she’d let her writing dwindle and that nappy-changing, sleepless nights and not being able to go to the toilet in peace could not stop her fulfilling her writing dreams. So when her girls were 3 years old and 18 months old, she decided that sleep was over-rated and enrolled at Teesside University. A year later she proudly left with a MA in Creative Writing, some wonderful friendships and a passion for therapeutic writing. While studying for her MA she was also delighted to win a short-story competition judged by Adele Parks, to which she received publication and mentoring from Adele.

After her MA, Victoria concentrated on writing women’s fiction. She loves writing stories that women can relate to. The Chaos Series grew from her own experience of pregnancy, motherhood and life.

Victoria is also passionate about mental health and likes to write of such issues in her stories. Her dedication to mental health and living life to the full has led her down a spiritual path. Through her learning of spirituality she qualified as a Law of Attraction and NLP Practitioner, which she integrates into her writing. Her inspirational blog includes an A-Z motivational journey with weekly therapeutic creative writing exercises. She has developed this further and will soon launch her inspirational shop. The shop has been created to pass on positivity and love to others … you never know when someone may need to see those messages.

Being accepted by Bombshell Books is a dream come true for Victoria, she hopes that her mantra for giving love always and never giving up will inspire others to follow their dreams and passion.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Victoria, her inspirational blog and shop you can visit www.victoria-brown.com, plus you can follow her on:

FB: www.facebook.com/vicjbrown/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/victoriajbrown

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriaj.brown/

Pintrest: https://uk.pinterest.com/victoriajbrown/

My Review

It was lovely to catch up with Kat in the second book of the series but my, what a rollercoaster of a ride ahead she has. I can't believe what is happening at the salon and on top of that Kat is expecting twins! Surely her boyfriend Max will rise to the challenge? All I can say is that it didn't pan out the way I expected so I'm now hanging on for Book 3 to see how Kat's life turns out. A really enjoyable if unexpected read.
5/5