Under a Siena Sun

Under a Siena Sun

Lucy needed a change of scene. She didn’t expect the change of a lifetime.

Doctors Without Borders has been Lucy Young’s life for the past four years. After being rescued from a conflict zone, she’s making a change from saving lives under gunfire to practising medicine in safe, serene Siena.

Now treating wealthy patients at a private clinic, she's never felt less comfortable. She’s used to helping those in dire need – not those in need of a nip and tuck. Her turmoil grows when she encounters injured tennis star David Lorenzo, whose smiles make Lucy forget her aversion to the rich.

She’s soon falling for the sportsman but is she losing herself in this world of excess? All she’s ever wanted was to help the underprivileged, so can her future lie in Siena at the clinic – with David?

This sunny romance is the perfect summer escape for fans of Lucy Coleman and Alex Brown.

Purchase Links 

http://mybook.to/SienaSun

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/under-a-siena-sun

Author Bio – I’m a man. And a pretty old man as well. I did languages at university a long time ago and then lived and worked in France and Switzerland before going to Italy for seven years as a teacher of English. My Italian wife and I then came back to the UK with our little daughter (now long-since grown up) where I ran a big English language school for many years. We now live in a sleepy little village in Devonshire. I’ve been writing almost all my life but it was only seven years ago that I finally managed to find a publisher who liked my work enough to offer me my first contract.

The fact that I am now writing romantic comedy is something I still find hard to explain. My early books were thrillers and historical novels. Maybe it’s because there are so many horrible things happening in the world today that I feel I need to do my best to provide something to cheer my readers up. My books provide escapism to some gorgeous locations, even if travel to them is currently difficult.

Social Media Links – 

Website: www.tawilliamsbooks.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tawilliamsbooks

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

MyReview

Another fabulous book from this author and very topical to have a doctor as the main character. This may be an easy-to-read romance but at its core, there are some burning ethical questions that the heroine has to deal with. The luscious descriptions of the Italian countryside are as near as I'm going to get to foreign travel this year but brought back many memories of Siena. A great read that will linger long after you finish the last page.

Some like it Greek

There’s nothing like a summer escape. A sun-kissed story about living life to the full.

In the month from hell, incurable optimist Anna has lost her father and her job, and her trademark smile is dimming. Clearing out her dad’s house, she discovers a postcard of a beautiful sandy beach and a map with a route plotted to the Greek island of Kefalonia. With an empty summer stretching ahead, Anna’s eyes stray to her father’s old camper van. Next thing she knows, she’s hitting the road with friend Demi in tow, on a course from Salford to Skala!

Over one unforgettable summer, Anna and Demi make their rickety way along the sparkling Mediterranean coast, the hot sun shining down on their frequent mishaps with cheerful local characters. It’s the trip of a lifetime, and the scent of lemons in the air – as well as an unexpected romance – are just what Anna needs to awaken her inner Greek goddess.

But there are big surprises in store when they arrive at the island paradise, which could change both women’s lives forever. And as summer comes to an end, Anna has to decide whether she has had enough of the Greek life, or whether this is only just the beginning…

A joyful, hilarious summer read, perfect for fans of Carole Matthews, Jenny Colgan and Sophie Kinsella.

Author Bio:

Sue Roberts lives in Lancashire with her long term partner Derek and has had a lifelong love of writing, encouraged by winning a school writing competition at the age of 11.

She always assumed that ‘one day’ she would write a book, always having a busy household and a job, the idea remained firmly on the back burner but never forgotten.

The inspiration for her first novel came to her on a holiday to a Greek village. Her daughters had left home and suddenly the time had come to write that book!

https://twitter.com/suerobertsautho

Buy Links: 

Amazon: https://bit.ly/2XYA7FF

Apple: https://apple.co/3bsfipU

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2xVk69N

Google: https://bit.ly/2WMA26C

My Review

This book really helped fill the gap caused by my holiday to Kefalonia being cancelled. Instead, I got to travel vicariously through Anna and Demi's trip.This is a lovely story with a few twists and turns along the way as Anna follows in her father's footsteps taking Greek neighbour Demi along for the ride. Beautifully told and the next best thing to being there.

Vintage Crime

Vintage Crimes will be a CWA anthology with a difference, celebrating members' work over the years. The book will gather stories from the mid-1950s until the twenty-first century by great names of the past, great names of the present together with a few hidden treasures by less familiar writers. The first CWA anthology, Butcher's Dozen, appeared in 1956, and was co-edited by Julian Symons, Michael Gilbert, and Josephine Bell. The anthology has been edited by Martin Edwards since 1996, and has yielded many award-winning and nominated stories in the UK and overseas.

This new edition includes an array of incredible and award-winning authors:

Robert Barnard, Simon Brett, Liza Cody, Mat Coward, John Dickson Carr, Marjorie Eccles, Martin Edwards, Kate Ellis, Anthea Fraser, Celia Fremlin, Frances Fyfield, Michael Gilbert, Paula Gosling, Lesley Grant- Adamson, HRF Keating, Bill Knox, Peter Lovesey, Mick Herron, Michael Z. Lewin, Susan Moody, Julian Symons and Andrew Taylor.

About the author

Martin Edwards (editor) is the author of eighteen novels, including the Lake District Mysteries, and the Harry Devlin

series. His ground-breaking genre study The Golden Age of Murder has won the Edgar, Agatha, and H.R.F. Keating awards. He has edited twenty eight crime anthologies, has won the CWA Short Story Dagger and the CWA Margery Allingham Prize, and is series consultant for the British Library’s Crime Classics.

My Review

Spanning over fifty years, this collection of crime stories s exceptional. Each one seems to have been specially chosen and delights the reader. This anthology is perfect for dipping into, one or two with a coffee or several at bedtime, the choice is yours. One thing is for sure, these stories will stay with the reader and continue to delight for some considerable time to come. The variety is such that no matter your favourite crime genre; just deserts, a sting in the tail, a shock ending, there is something for everyone. Unusually for an anthology, there wasn't one story that disappointed. A great collection.

Jigsaw Island

Jigsaw Island by Lynne McVernon

· Paperback: 231 pages
· Publisher: Independent Publishing Network (6 July 2020)
· Language: English
· ISBN-10: 1838533435
· ISBN-13: 978-1838533434

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jigsaw-Island-Know-your-friends/dp/1838533435

BLURB

On a holiday escape to the Greek islands, Annie Buchanan discovers what – and then who – is missing from her life… When single mother, Annie, and son Jude take a break away from Scotland to stay with her brother and friends on Symi, they find the warmth and support they need. As they ease into the relaxed rhythm of island life, old and new acquaintances change the course of their vacation. Whether it's for better or worse, Annie will discover when she visits the island of Leros. There she may be able to put together some of the missing pieces in her life and learn who her friends really are. But she cannot be prepared for some uncomfortable truths about the past and the dramatic way in which they will change the present for her... and Jude


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lynne's writing career got off to a precocious start when, aged eight, she was commended for a short story by head teacher, Mr Barker, a success crowned by winning threepence, less than 1p today, for spelling 'sphere'. Thereafter, it all went downhill. At nine, she sent a short story to The Evening Standard. It was rejected. At ten, she entered BBC Children's TV Write A Play competition. Got nowhere. After fifteen years, following art school, university, a trainee directors' bursary, and with a lot of stage sweeping and making tea for actors along the way, she (partially) recognised defeat and became a theatre director, directing a range of plays from Dario Fo to Shakespeare. Still unable to let go of the compulsion to write and, inspired by Mike Leigh, she produced many devised, co-written and self-penned productions. She also taught at drama schools, dramatised 3 Dickens novels for the stage, adapted classics for BBC Radio and founded a young people's creative writing company, Fable Productions. Her first novel, Terrible With Raisins, was self-published in 2013; Jigsaw Island, published 30 June 2020, is her second. Both books were inspired by the endlessly captivating Dodecanese Islands and their people.

Follow Lynne here: http://www.lynnemcvernon.com/ Twitter @lynnemcvernon

My Review

At first, it took me a while to get into this book. However, once Annie arrives in Symi the pace quickens and by the time she's on Leros, I couldn't put this book down. All the seemingly inconsequential events in the first part suddenly make sense and are masterfully brought together in the climax. This book is so well structured and touches on many of the topics that are all too often brushed under the carpet. Just as the Greek islands can easily get under your skin, I have to confess that so has this book. I find myself thinking about Annie weeks later. Inspirational!

The Ferryman's daughter

Can Hester help her family escape desperate poverty and fulfil her dreams?

1908: Hester always loved her mother best, her father had always been a hard man to like, spending more time (and money) in the local than with his family. After her mother's sudden death, followed by an injury forcing her father to give up his job as the ferryman, Hester is placed in the position of care-giver for her young brother and sister.

As the years pass Hester must row the ferry night and day to keep them all from starvation, while her hopes of working in a kitchen and one day becoming a cook, slip further and further away.

But just how far is Hester willing to go to make her dream a reality? And as the threat of war comes ever closer to the Cornish coast, will it bring opportunities or despair for Hester and her family?

About the author

Website

https://julietgreenwoodauthor.wordpress.com/

Twitter

julietgreenwood

Juliet Greenwood writes sweeping historical family sagas for Orion, based around determined young women fighting to make their own futures against the odds.

Juliet has always been a bookworm and a storyteller, writing her first novel (a sweeping historical epic) at the age of ten. She is fascinated both by her Celtic heritage and the history of the women in her family. Her great-grandmother was a nail-maker in Lye, in the Black Country, and her grandmother worked as a cook in a large country house.

After graduating in English from Lancaster University and Kings College, London, Juliet worked on a variety of jobs to support her ambition to be a full-time writer. These ranged from running a craft stall at Covent Garden to workshops in story-telling, along with spells of teaching and charity fundraising, and more recently as a freelance editor and proofreader.

Juliet has previously written stories and serials for magazines, as well as three previous historical novels, two of which reached the top #5 in the UK kindle store.

Juliet now lives in a traditional quarryman’s cottage between the mountains and the sea in beautiful Snowdonia, and is to be found dog walking in all weathers, always with a camera to hand…

My Review

I really loved how this book highlighted the predicament of women in the early nineteenth century. The unfulfilled dream of Hester's mother to run her own restaurant is heartbreaking, especially when it seems that Hester will also fail in her desire to control her own life. It is hard to imagine these as fictional characters, so strongly did they jump off the page and embed themselves in my consciousness.
Life was hard in the Cornish community but sometimes fate can lend a helping hand. The idea of having little or no control over who a girl must marry seems anathema to us now but it really isn't that long ago. All the way through this book I was keeping my fingers crossed for Hester to find a solution. 
The background of rowing the ferry really places this book in context as well as showing how reliant on the weather and the tides the people were. It only takes one misfortune to change lives and likewise one piece of good fortune to change them for the better.
This is a thoroughly absorbing read and when I'd finished, I really didn't want to come back to reality.

Wedding bells in Merriment Bay

Change is in the air as wedding bells ring out in Merriment Bay 

Cat’s determined to propose to Amias. Well, it is a leap year so it’s fine for women to do the asking, and besides, it took him eighteen years to tell her how he felt. She’s not going to wait for him to pop the question. All she needs to do is find the perfect time and place.

Kyra’s fallen for Francis Raine, who seems happy to flirt and exchange banter but hasn’t actually asked her out. Does he reciprocate her feelings, or is he this way with every girl he meets? There’s only one way to find out. She’ll ask him on a date … as soon as he returns to Merriment Bay.

Mary’s leaving Devon Villa after a lifetime spent in the house. She’s never lived alone so it’s both an exciting and a terrifying prospect. But change is good, isn’t it? Perhaps it’s time she tried a few other new things too. 

The Devon women want to move on to the next chapters in their lives. And as Viola Devon used to say before she died, “The only one who can write your own life story as you want it, is you.” Although Viola’s didn’t work out too well. Will Cat, Kyra, and Mary have better luck with theirs?

Purchase Link - mybook.to/WeddingBellsinMB

Author Bio 

Emily writes novels, novellas and short stories about friendship, family and falling in love. She loves a happy ending but knows that life doesn't always go to plan. Her stories are sure to bring a smile to your face and a warmth to your heart.

Emily loves to connect with her readers and has a readers' group in which many have become good friends. To catch up with Emily, find out about the group, or connect with her on social media, go to her website at www.emilyharvale.com.

Having lived and worked in London for several years, Emily returned to her home town of Hastings where she now writes full-time. She’s a member of the SoA, an Amazon bestseller and a Kindle All Star. When not writing, she can be found enjoying the stunning East Sussex coast and countryside, or in a wine bar with friends, discussing life, love and the latest TV shows. Chocolate cake is often eaten. She dislikes housework almost as much as she dislikes anchovies - and will do anything to avoid both. Emily has two mischievous rescue cats that like to sprawl across her keyboard, regardless of whether Emily is typing on it, or not.

Social Media Links –  https://www.facebook.com/emilyharvalewriter

https://www.twitter.com/emilyharvale

https://www.instagram.com/emilyharvale

My Review

I love the way in which EmilyHarvale has expertly woven together all the threads from both series.Although each series is independent the do overlap so I would recommend reading both to get maximum benefit. Of course, we are all hoping for a happy ending and in this book you get several - I did think towards the end it should have been called 'Four weddings and a baby' but as always with this series there are shocks and surprises in store. I read this in one sitting in the garden and it was a perfect feel-good end to the series. 

A wedding at Wynter House

A Wedding at Wynter House
Wyntersleap series - Book 3
Not everyone at Wynter House is thrilled about this wedding.

Secrets have been revealed and new relationships begun. Now it’s time to look to the future. Neva and Rafe are in love and so are Adam and Hazel. Jo’s love life leaves a lot to be desired, although Gavin could remedy that.

But Rafe’s grandmother, Olivia still hopes that something will tear Rafe and Neva apart. Hazel’s new assignment means nursing someone back to health … and there’s history between them. And Jo’s receiving texts from her ex-fiancé.

Then Rafe’s first wife, Pippa – the woman who broke his heart, unexpectedly arrives. And she’s even more beautiful and irresistible than Rafe remembers.

When everyone is looking to the future, will the past prove to be too strong? 

There will be a wedding at Wynter House … but who will be the bride and groom?

Purchase Link - mybook.to/WynterHouse3

Author Bio – 

Emily writes novels, novellas and short stories about friendship, family and falling in love. She loves a happy ending but knows that life doesn't always go to plan. Her stories are sure to bring a smile to your face and a warmth to your heart.

Emily loves to connect with her readers and has a readers' group in which many have become good friends. To catch up with Emily, find out about the group, or connect with her on social media, go to her website at www.emilyharvale.com.

Having lived and worked in London for several years, Emily returned to her home town of Hastings where she now writes full-time. She’s a member of the SoA, an Amazon bestseller and a Kindle All Star. When not writing, she can be found enjoying the stunning East Sussex coast and countryside, or in a wine bar with friends, discussing life, love and the latest TV shows. Chocolate cake is often eaten. She dislikes housework almost as much as she dislikes anchovies - and will do anything to avoid both. Emily has two mischievous rescue cats that like to sprawl across her keyboard, regardless of whether Emily is typing on it, or not.

Social Media Links –  https://www.facebook.com/emilyharvalewriter

https://www.twitter.com/emilyharvale

https://www.instagram.com/emilyharvale

 My Review

I really enjoyed watching Neva and Rafe's relationship develop only to find his first wife reappear to put a spanner in the works. I found Neve's friend Jo hilarious and was shouting in my head 'don't reply to his texts.' When she goes to the chippy I was laughing aloud - the first meeting is so funny. Add in Olivia, Rafe's authoritarian grandmother, and you have another winner.