BROOK COTTAGE BOOK TOUR: HEALED BY LOVE BY MELISSA FOSTER 15 – 26 JUNE, 2015

Posted on June 26, 2015June 26, 2015 by Jo Lambert - Author

HEALED BY LOVE

The Bradens (at Peaceful Harbor)

The Bradens at Peaceful Harbor are the newest addition to the award-winning Braden series and the Love in Bloom family, joining the Snow Sisters, the Bradens, the Remingtons, & Seaside Summers, (Voted BEST BOOK SERIES by Supportive Business Moms, UK).

Fall in love with Nate Braden & Jewel Fisher in Healed by Love.

Nate Braden has loved his best friend’s younger sister Jewel for as long as he can remember, but between their age difference and his respect for Rick, he’s always kept his feelings at bay. Now he’s back in Peaceful Harbor, and Jewel is no longer sixteen years old—but there’s an even bigger obstacle standing in his way. Nate and Rick joined the military together eight years earlier. Nate came home a hero, but Rick didn’t make it out alive.

MY REVIEW

It’s always a pleasure to join a book tour featuring one of Melissa Foster’s new titles and this is no exception. When best friends Nate Braden and Rick Fisher join the army and depart for Afghanistan, Rick’s sixteen year old sister Jewel is left with the indelible memory of Nate’s kiss. Six years later Nate is back…without Rick. Jewel realises her feelings for her brother’s best friend are still as strong. The family have been through a tough time; not only has their brother been a casualty of war, their father has also been killed in a fishing accident. As the Fisher family pull together in the aftermath of this double tragedy, Jewel has stepped in to help her mother with the younger siblings.

Nate too is suffering; not only has he lost the best friend he grew up with, he feels guilty that he is the one who came home alive. But worse still, he is living with the knowledge he gave the order for Rick to go on the supply run which saw him shot and killed by a sniper.

There are so many emotions in this book. I loved Nate; he was honourable, kind and, of course, very sexy. Just the kind of guy you want to fall in love with. Jewel longs to be with him but is unable to understand why he seems to be reluctant to move beyond friendship with her.

When Nate decides to open up to Jewel and tell her what happened in Afghanistan he believes his honesty will solve their problem. That he will be rid of the one barrier keeping them from being together. That Jewel will understand. Unfortunately his honesty backfires badly.

This story is about forgiveness and understanding. It’s sad at times, a reflection on how war can alter and impair lives. Like Melissa’s other books you find yourself wanting to climb into the pages and help these star crossed lovers solve their problems. A great read and highly recommended. I can’t wait for the next part of the series.

I would like to thank the author for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

BUY LINKS

ABOUT MELISSA FOSTER

Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women’s fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the World Literary Café and Fostering Success. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success. Melissa has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine.

Melissa hosts an annual Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.

Visit Melissa on social media. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.

Authors Links:

http://www.melissafoster.com/newsletter/

GIVEAWAY

For an opportunity to win one of 3 ecopies of GAME OF LOVE click on the link below and register your details.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4be0301779/?

Writing

ALMOST THERE…

Posted on June 19, 2015June 19, 2015 by Jo Lambert - Author

It’s party time – well not quite. I’m holding off breaking out the bubbly for a few more weeks. The good news is, however, that Summer Moved On is finished at last. It’s been a long hard slog but eventually, with the help of my brilliant editor Elaine Denning, it’s all come together.

This book was difficult to write probably because the last five were all connected. As a series of books following the lives and loves of several families writing each book came with an already established cast and setting. OK as the years rolled on we were introduced to new members of the family, but there were always the original characters in the background to provide structure and familiarity. Writing Summer Moved On at times felt like being out on a high wire without a net. New location (South Devon) and the need to get under the skins of another set of very different characters. It was a long, tough journey but eventually I got there and am now hopefully looking at a publishing date of late July/early August.

The next project is the sequel, working title Coming Home, although I’m not sure whether that will stay. This book will be easier because similar to the others in my first series, I’ve already done the ground work. I know the setting and the characters and it’s all about wrapping the story around them. I will be introducing one or two new individuals but they’ve been kept to a minimum. It’s all about the reader reacquainting themselves with the characters from book one and finding out what happens next.

This will be a two book project; no I’m not about to venture into another series. So what comes after? Well that’s all in the lap of the gods. When I finished The Other Side of Morning I had no idea what would come next, or if, indeed there was anything. All it takes is an initial thought and that can come from so many places – seeing something on TV, reading a book, even overhearing someone’s conversation in a coffee shop or restaurant. From that one germ of inspiration the writing begins. I always have an outline of the plot but my experience has shown not to tie myself to a strict pathway. Things can change as the writing progresses so it’s a case of always keeping an open mind and expecting the unexpected.

Writing

BROOK COTTAGE BOOK TOUR: WALKING IN THE RAIN BY JULIA IBBOTSON, 8 – 19 JUNE 2015

Posted on June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 by Jo Lambert - Author

Genre: Contemporary women’s romance fiction

Release Date: 30^th March 2015

How do you cope when your worst nightmare comes true?

Jess happily marries the love of her life. She wants to feel safe, secure and loved. But gradually it becomes clear that her beloved husband is not the man she thought him to be. She survived civil war and injury in Africa, but can she now survive the biggest trauma of her life?

This is the second novel in the Drumbeats trilogy but can be read as a standalone. However, Drumbeats is so amazing you should just read it too!

MY REVIEW

After reading Drumbeats I was really looking forward to this, the second book in the trilogy. I wasn’t sure where the story would take us this time. Would Jess return to Ghana to try to find her American love Jim? Or would she rekindle her relationship with Simon, the boyfriend she left behind? On her return home Simon breaks up with Jess but then returns unexpectedly to tell her he’s sorry and he wants her back. Feeling Simon is the man she wants to share her life with she accepts his proposal and they marry. For a while all is well, but as the marriage progresses and children arrive Jess finds herself caught in a nightmare as Simon personality begins to switch from Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde and back. The tragedy is that it appears nothing can be done to help her even when he becomes physically abusive. His parents, who have given in to his every whim since he was a child, turn a blind eye refusing to accept there is a problem and even the law, it seems, is unable to protect her. The writer really puts Jess through a roller coaster of an emotional ride and at times you are wondering how much more this poor woman can take as disaster after disaster strikes. Do things work out for her in the end? Will she free herself from this nightmare? Well you will just have to read it and find out – and please do read it. It’s a great book about a brave woman coping with both physical and mental abuse from her very damaged partner, trying to hold everything together for the sake of the children.

I would like to thank the author for providing a courtesy copy in exchange for an honest review.

Drumbeats: Walking in the Rain : Before I Die

Want to read Drumbeats first? Buy-link on Amazon for the first in the trilogy:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drumbeats-Julia-Ibbotson-ebook/dp/B00LLJVFRG/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404911650&sr=1-3&keywords=julia+Ibbotson

And, for a taster, the book trailer video for Drumbeats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OYlEXhHvsc&list=UUP3hKZjeUBuTMoyvZmBXbow

BUY LINKS

AMAZON UK

AMAZON.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Julia Ibbotson is an author and academic, and lives in the middle of the English countryside in a renovated Victorian rectory with her husband, an orchard, a kitchen garden and far too many moles. Their four children are now grown up and they have four gorgeous grandchildren. She was a school teacher for many years before becoming a senior university lecturer, researcher and writer. She loves reading, travelling, choral singing, theatre, walking, swimming and gardening, as well as cooking for family and friends. Her books include a memoir/recipe book, The Old Rectory: escape to a country kitchen, and a children’s book (9-14 year olds),S.C.A.R.S, a fantasy story of dragons, knights and a boy who slips through the fabric of the universe into a parallel medieval world threatened by the evil Myrthor, the heart of darkness.