Dahlia’s Bouquet by Tammara Aguado

Daisy and Joseph have settled down, making their home on some land that Joseph won in a bet. They plan to grow a few crops and to raise a family. The future is looking good until one tragic night Daisy’s life changes forever.

Lilly identity is often mistaken. Sometimes the incidents were small sometimes there was a big commotion when people realised that the pale skinned Lilly has a black mother. When the depression hits and Lilly’s mother’s small dress business can’t survive the blow, Lilly and her mother take work amongst the rich doing domestic work.  Lilly’s mother encourages Lilly to leave to use her skin colour to get a decent life. To go to a place were nobody knows her parentage. Doing this she becomes friends with a socialite called Doris who introduces Lilly to Stewart who Lilly falls for and she looks to have her future secure and settled.

Will Lilly be able to keep her true identity hidden and be able to enjoy a privilege life?

Violet is going to visit her granddaughter who is going through a difficult time. She has not seen her sixteen year old granddaughter for ten years. At the reunion Violet reveals to her granddaughter about their families past of tragedy, secrets and bad decisions that had pulled the family apart.

This is the debut novel from Tammara Aguado. It is a really moving, powerful and emotional family saga. I found myself getting really attached to the characters and really caring about what happens to them. I would read more books by Tammara she is a wonderful writer. This is a five star book well worth reading.

For more information about the author, click the following link: http://www.tammaraaguado.com/ 

Hidden Earth

Volume 1

Maycly

By Janet Beasley

Illustrations by Dar Bagby

This is the first volume in a six volume series, of epic fantasy novels.

Iona has been happily married to Cole for the last five years. They live close to Iona’s parents Ann and Leonard. Over the past several months Iona had become the victim to several chronic health issues, so she depended on her husband and parents help. But when Iona’s family mysteriously go missing, Iona is forced to fend for herself. She has not been able to hold a job since the start of her illness and as time goes by she falls on hard times and loses everything. She has reached the end of her stash of emergency money and now she is about to be made homeless.

She had not given up on trying finding out what had happened to her family but she was becoming bitter. She had trusted SUL (Sorcerer of Unequivocal Leadership). SUL is a grand wizard creator of planets Earth and Maycly. Iona no longer trusts or believes in SUL.

When she is about to be evicted from her home a puppy called Wiskee is left on her doorstep. She becomes attached to the dog and keeps him. They are forced to sleep rough until a stranger offers them an apartment that they can stay in.

This is where the story begins to change and develop suddenly we go back to one hundred years ago and we learn all about Maycly. Giving the reader the background to what is Iona’s destiny. There is a fierce battle going on between good and evil.

Iona had longed for adventure but this was not exactly the adventure she had in her mind.

Will Iona discover what happened to her family?

Will she be strong enough to face her destiny?

Good or Evil which will prevail?

This epic book is packed full with action, adventure, twists and turns and recipes!

It is a bumper of a book over three hundred pages long. There is a lot of detail and characters to take in and to help the reader do this there are some beautiful full colour illustrations. This is a brilliant idea because the reader gets to see just what Maycly is like and there so many wonderful characters and creatures, that it would be difficult to keep up with all the information with out the pictures.

I liked the character Iona and I will look forward to reading the other books in this series and seeing how Iona’s character develops. Maycly is a magical book it takes you back to that lovely childhood feeling of when you still believed in the tooth fairy.

For more information about the author click the following link: http://www.jlbcreatives.com/ 

Holiday Magic – The Gift of Love

A two story emotion – packed Christmas anthology.

By Laurie Ryan and Lavada Dee

This is a delightful book which is perfect for the Christmas holiday season. Holiday Magic – The Gift of Love contains two beautiful told stories about love and romance.

Healing Love by Laurie Ryan

This is the first story in the book.

Nicole Milbourne is on day six of her residency. She wanted to become a doctor because she has an interest in researching oncology. The reason why she selected oncology was due to losing her mother to ovarian cancer when she was just ten years old. Right now she needs to focus on getting through her residency and settling into her research.

Dr Damien Reed was respected by his peers and admired by all the women due to his good looks.  When Nicole makes a rookie mistake diagnosing a patient she expects Damien her boss to take her off the residency but he surprises her when he goes easy on her and she can’t understand why. Nicole is usually very good at the diagnosis part of her job she is doing really well. The part of her job that she finds hard is spending time in one to one conversations with patients. Nicole had a shyness that bordered on painful for years and she knows her people skills are lacking.

When a young woman comes in with similar symptoms to what her mother was diagnosed with cancer Damien tells Nicole that she might find it tough and that she will be put in this situation a lot and that she will have to decide if she can handle it. To which she shows him her determination to go into research and find a cure for this dreadful disease.

Then when Nicole helps diagnose one of Damien’s patients they become closer and Nicole finds herself falling for Damien. Something she feels would complicate her life right now.

So what will she do when Damien invites her to spend Christmas with him?

This is a really beautiful, moving and inspiring read by Laurie Ryan. I wish there was more people in the world as dedicated and caring as Nicole Milbourne.

The second story in the book is Priceless Love by Lavada Dee

Taylor Hamilton is from a wealthy family. She appreciated all the advantages she had every material thing that you can imagine. She knows she lives what some might call a dream life, but she was not happy. Her father wants her to marry Frederick. He wants to announce their engagement and to make Frederick a full partner in the firm. In Taylor’s world she has to do what ever her father wanted and he wanted anything that benefited his firm. Taylor had spent her whole life trying to please her father. She does not love Frederick but she likes him and she knows if she marries him it would be good for her fathers firm.

When Taylor travels to help with her friend Caroline’s wedding she meets Caroline’s brother Gabe. Gabe has been a widower for the past three years. He has got a six year old daughter called Mandy. He feels lonely, he has not been out with any other women since his wife died and he feels lonely and misses sharing his life in a relationship. He has been thinking that it is time for him to move on and for him to find someone to have a loving relationship with. When Gabe meets Taylor he can’t take her eyes of her and Taylor is attracted to Gabe too.

Could Gabe ask her to change her life, give up the big city and her family for him?

Will Taylor find happiness for the first time in her life or will she decide to marry her father’s protégé Frederick?

An excellent read all about love, this is a truly wonderful story by Lavada Dee. I really enjoyed this book. It makes a nice change to have two completely different stories in the one book. This book is the perfect feel good read for the festive season.

For more information about Laurie Ryan click the following link http://laurieryanauthor.com/

For more information about Lavada Dee click the following link http://lavadadee.com/

Build a Man by Talli Roland

Serenity Holland is working at her boyfriend Peter’s cosmetic surgery clinic on reception. It is not a job she is enjoying doing, it was only supposed to be temporary. Serenity had moved from America to London with all the ambition and determination to become a successful journalist and to land a job working in the tabloid world as a reporter. But six months later after trying really hard sending out many resumes and article pitches she is still working at the clinic. She’s got a successful man who cares about her, a great new life in London. Now all she needs is the job of her dreams and everything will be perfect.

While she is working at the clinic she meets Jeremy Ritchie who after a bad experience with love he decides he wants to have cosmetic surgery to make him more attractive to women. Serenity thinks that this would make a really good pitch by writing about Jeremy and the way he his prepared to go to extreme ways to change is appearance to attract women. So she pitches the idea to ruthless editor Leza Larke of The Daily Planet Britain’s biggest tabloid. Leza likes her pitch and wants Serenity to write a column all about Jeremy following his progress for a new health and beauty website. Serenity decides not to tell Jeremy that she is writing about him and to do this undercover, so all real names are changed and she writes the column under another name. If the column gets a lot of hits and she can keep up the pace Leza tells Serenity that they will then consider her for junior position on the staff. Serenity could be on the way to landing her dream job at last.

However when there are complications when Jeremy has the surgery and it goes badly wrong Serenity must choose between following her heart or her dream job.

This is the third and brand new Chick lit novel by Talli Roland. I have read one of her other books Watching Willow Watts which was excellent and this book is just as good. It is a fabulous, fun romantic comedy that’s got really great characters, a great story line and Jaffa cakes! 

Talli Roland has three loves in her life chick lit, coffee and cupcakes. Born and raised in Canada. Talli now lives in London where she savours the great cultural life (coffee and cupcakes) despite training as a journalist Talli soon found she preferred making up her own stories complete with happy endings. Her debut novel The Hating Game was an Amazon UK best seller remaining in the top one hundred for over two months.

For more information on books by Talli Roland visit her website http://www.talliroland.com/ 

Alison Wonderland by Helen Smith

When Alison suspects that her husband is been unfaithful to her, she hires a private detective agency to follow her husband for the next two weeks. When she has her suspicions confirmed. After destroying her wedding dress with a not so nice to put it polite leaving note to her husband she then goes to work for the very same detective agency that she hired. The all female Fitzgerald Bureau of Investigations in London where she works doing research and is given assignments.

It is important for me to say at this point that this is not a detective genre or a mystery but an originally written literary novel about a memorable heroine coping with the complexities of life. The story is more about the wonderful characters in Alison’s personal life than her work at the detective agency. They include her eccentric best friend Taron who believes her mother is a witch, her boss Mrs Fitzgerald, Jeff her love-struck poetry writing neighbour, a psychic postman and a strange creature called a Shig!

I have never read a book like Alison Wonderland before, the story drifts you along in an almost daydream feeling pace keeping you entertained, intrigued  and a little baffled at times in a good way. The book as got a very odd mix of characters but it works making the book a likable and unique read. It is a quirky story about love and friendship. Written with deadpan humour that makes this book is an amazing read and just like the play on the title I think I may have just stepped through the looking glass and found a brand new genre.

Helen Smith is a novelist and playwright and the recipient of an Arts Council of England Award. In addition to Alison Wonderland she is the author of Being Light, The miracle Inspector and two children’s books. Her plays have been produced to critical acclaim in the United Kingdom. She has travelled all over the world and currently lives in London.

For more information on the author click the link: Helen Smith

Total Blueprint for World Domination by Jolene Stockman

Total Blueprint for World Domination is a self-help book to inspire you to get the best out of your life. The book is written in a positive jolly, happy way with good humour that gives you tips in a step by step approach on how to turn your dream world into a reality by creating your own blueprint by finding out what makes you tick and why you do what you do. It encourages you to design your perfect world by setting goals and targets about what you want out of life and where you are going and by getting motivated and taking action, reading this book can bring you closer to your dreams by aiming to get what you want out of life. Helping you to face your fears and overcome them. It helps you to get on your own personal journey to find happiness and fulfilment in your life.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought the title really sums up what the book is about, how we each have to find our own place in the world and are indeed in charge of our own destiny. I was able to read the book in one sitting. It is an easy guide book to follow and gives you a chance to stop and reflect and even to take notes and make plans about the steps you wish to take with your life.

So if you want to change your life what are you waiting for? Get yourself a copy of this brilliant book and you will soon be smiling and you could soon be on the way to living your dream life.

For more information about the author, click the following link Jolene Stockman

Where the Rain is Made by Keta Diablo

Ethan Gray works as an assistant curator at the National Museum in Washington DC.  Ethan’s job provides him with the opportunity to see and touch everything he cherished, artefacts of the Cheyenne people.

Much to his supervisors joy Ethan is able to name and identify all the unidentified Native American artefacts in the museum. Ethan tells his supervisor he knows what the artefacts are because he has studied everything Native American and that the origin of his roots is Cheyenne.

The reason why Ethan can recognise and name all the artefacts is because he had used them in battle, ate with them and even played with them in past journeys because Ethan spends his time travelling through time to help his people, he becomes Meko leader of the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers. Sent back in time by the Sacred Council of Arrows he as always completed his missions successfully but while on his latest mission he kidnaps the beautiful Francesca Duvall and finds himself attracted to her will he win the battle of his heart? 

This is an erotic paranormal novel. A love story full of passion and there are some steamy scenes. Nice to have a story that’s got time travel and romance, together, making this a great story.

Keta Diablo lives on six acres of beautiful woodland. When she isn’t writing, she loves to read, garden and spending time at her local animal shelter trying to wrangle a way to bring them all home.

For more information about the author click the following link Keta Diablo

Inside Out by Mary O’Sullivan

For the past twenty years Meg Enright has been married to John the couple met when Meg was on a night out with her best friend Lynn Rooney and the three have remained close friends ever since.

John and Meg now have two children who are now almost grown up and fully independent. Meg and Lynn are running a successful business together and John is running a storage company. John lives and breathes for his job, his whole life now revolves around his work and he is spending less and less time with his family.

When Carrie, Meg and John’s daughter seems to be missing while on a trip abroad and Meg becomes concerned about her daughter’s well being, she finds that she does not get the support she needs from John.  Not knowing that John had got his own concerns due to  the fact that the receptionist at the company that John is running Francine Keyes has accused John of sexual harassment and is now blackmailing John for her silence. So Meg turns to her oldest friend Lynn for help. But Lynn’s got things on her mind she has been keeping a secret for almost half her life,  she is in love with a man and living with the pain of knowing that her love will never be returned and must remain a secret.

Can Meg find the strength to cope when the truth begins to unravel without the people she thought she could count on in difficult times?

For those of you that read my blog regularly you will be probably be able to tell by now that I am a big fan of Mary O’Sullivan books. Inside Out is the fifth book I have read by this brilliant author and I can tell you that Mary O’Sullivan books do not disappoint each book is just as good as the last. All Mary’s books are completely different stories about peoples lives. Told by a fantastic storyteller that really makes you feel for the characters that she really brings to life. Each page of her words drawing you into the characters world that you almost feel you can reach out and touch them.

For more information on books by Mary O’Sullivan visit their website http://www.maryosullivanauthor.ie/ 

Ebb and Flow by Mary O’Sullivan

Since she had been involved in a car accident a year ago, life had not been the same for Ella Ford. Before the accident Ella had a good life running a successful auctioneering business with her husband Andrew.

Now a year since the accident Ella’s personality has changed. She is still withdrawn and depressed and is haunted by images of Karen Trevor the women who lost her life in the crash with her young son. The inquest had concluded that the accident was not the fault of Ella but she is finding it hard to come to terms with what happened and her husband is losing patience.

When Karen Trevor’s house is put up for sale and Ella is asked to take care of the house sale. She decides that by going to see the house that Karen Trevor lived in this would be her chance to confront her fears so she can start living again, but when villain Jason Laide decides he wants to buy Manor House and is prepared to go to great lengths to get what he wants and when her husband Andrew begins an affair with a supermodel called Maxine. Ella believes that it’s the Manor House that is the cause, affecting her life and the lives of the people closest to her.

Can Ella escape the nightmare her life has become and start living again?

A well written storyline that keeps you intrigued making it a book that you just can’t put down. All the characters are really strong forming a brilliant cast that make this book a five star read. 

For more information on books by Mary O’Sullivan visit their website http://www.maryosullivanauthor.ie/ 

The Weeping Sands by John Wheatley

This historic novel is set in three different time periods the seventeenth century, nineteenth century and in the present day.

In the seventeenth century the story is set in the time of the civil war Thomas Cheadle takes up duties as Sir Richard Bulkeley’s secretary and agent of the Baron Hill estates. There were hardly any aspects of the estate business with which the capable Thomas could not be trusted. But Thomas Cheadle is in love with another man’s wife and what will become of Thomas when he his put on trial for murder?

In the nineteenth century Emily and her sister Isobel are going to stay at the remote Baron Hill, after Isobel formed an attraction to James Pennington an artist who was employed to paint her portrait. Knowing that due to their different social standing that they could not be together the couple had tried to elope to France but had been caught and stopped. Fearing for Isobel’s health since then it had been decided it in her best interest for her to travel with Emily to Baron Hill in the hope that the tranquillity and beauty of Baron Hill will be a suitable place for convalescence and recuperation for Isobel and for her to be away from the distractions and recent difficulties she as been through.

In the present day thirty-one year old Jenna Shaw who was a popular children’s TV presenter in the 1990’s and now is presenting the BBC’s Country Retreat agrees to take part in the TV programme “What’s my Linage” a reality TV show that traces ancestors of TV stars. This would bring Jenna great exposure on national television. One of the places she visits is an old ruin called Baron Hill what will she uncover?

Reading this novel is like reading three different stories each of which are equally as good. This is a really original way of writing a story. The flow between the different times is written so well that the reader does not become confused and the stories link together beautifully bringing the story to a satisfying conclusion with a few twists thrown in to make this novel a compelling read.

For more information on books by the author, visit their website: http://www.john-wheatley.blogspot.com/

Food Solutions Eczema by Patsy Westcott

This is a really handy book to have if you suffer or know someone who has got the skin condition eczema.

The book gives really helpful advice on how to manage the symptoms of eczema. Looking at how lifestyle can affect the symptoms. The book covers self-help, orthodox remedies, complementary therapies and nutrition and much more. It gives tips on how to identify foods that inflame the skin. The book also includes sixty recipes for a healthy diet to help boost the immune system.

The book does not provide a cure for eczema because there is no cure this books purpose is to help eczema suffers manage their condition and to help keep their symptoms under control.

This book gives good practical advice. It is written in a nice and easy way no long medical jargon. A really useful book to read and to keep for future reference and for the recipes.

HOW TO DO EVERYTHING AND BE HAPPY by Peter Jones

Have you ever thought that you are not satisfied with the way your life is going? Would you like to do something about your situation and work to become happier?

If you are looking to improve your life and get the best out of it and to make life happier, then this is the book for you.

Peter Jones writes this self-help book in a simple easy to follow step by step guide. It is written with good humour that makes it an enjoyable read and learning progress thanks to the warm and witty words. It has some great visual aids that keep you interested throughout the book. Peter Jones teaches techniques in a practical down to earth way. The methods he uses are really unique and will have you walking down the yellow brick road of happiness in no time.

Learn how to take the control back in your life by turning wishes into goals.

For more information on books by Peter Jones visit their website http://peterjonesauthor.com/

All Because Of You by Melissa Hill

Tara Harrington is a life coach whose life is going really well. She has got the great job, the flash car and a nice home that she shares with Glenn. When her younger sister the troublesome Emma becomes pregnant and decides to keep the baby’s father’s identity secret from all. It is a mystery to who the father can be. Then when Emma starts to spend a lot of time with Tara’s best friend Liz’s husband both Tara and Liz become suspicious.

Natalie is a successful PR girl who works in London. Although she has a brilliant career she does not have much luck with her love life and finding the perfect man to settle down with and marry is all she wants to do. So she turns to Tara to life coach her, so she can hopefully have better luck finding and keeping the man of her dreams. However Tara is going to find that she has much more in common with Natalie than she thought.

A really enjoyable chick lit book that is full of twists and turns that add more drama and suspense to the story.

Renovation, Renovation, Renovation by Nell Dixon

Renovation, Renovation, Renovation is a thrilling tale all about Myrtle cottage which is owned by Kate and Steve. Now that their seven year relationship has come to an end they want to do up Myrtle cottage by undertaking much needed renovation work on the property so that they can put the cottage on the market and move on.

Kate never had a good feeling about the cottage. It was Steve who had bid on Myrtle cottage and bought it. She had an uneasy feeling about the place she always thought that the cottage had a strange atmosphere and weird things are happening that she can not explain like a creepy feeling comes over her when she enters certain rooms in the cottage and the temperature drops. She has heard strange noises like footsteps then goes to look and there is nothing there. Is the cottage haunted? Kate begins to think so decides to research the history of the cottage and also calls on the help of a local paranormal investigator to carry out an investigation on the cottage.

Will the paranormal investigation be able to help Kate and Steve to find help with their unfortunate happenings?

A haunting story, about life and death living together in an old run down cottage. Which is well written and the human spirit shines through to create a beautiful story.

For more information on books by Nell Dixon visit their website http://www.nelldixon.com/