Book Review: What Happens at the Beach by T.A. Williams

Kindle Edition, 276 pages

Published July 11th 2016 by Carina

Buy on Amazon

For the perfect summer romance…

It’s finally time for Natalie Dryden to decide what she really wants! After ditching her sparkling engagement ring, and her ghastly fiancé, she jets off for the sun-kissed shores of Southern France – the only place that has ever truly felt like home. For the first time ever, Natalie is determined to forget all about men and follow her dreams!

…head to the French coast!

Only, avoiding the male population isn’t quite so easy, especially when she meets smooth-talking Philippe and gorgeous fisherman, Remy! But then Natalie, quite literally, bumps into brooding millionaire Mark whilst swimming in the glittering azure-blue bay – and her life is turned upside-down.

Love might be off the cards for Natalie, yet suddenly she finds herself in her dream job and working with her dream man! But is it all too good to be true…? 

                                                               MY REVIEW:

What Happens at the Beach... by T.A.   Williams

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Natalie breaks off her engagement from a stuffy fiance and heads to France. She decides to stay with her grandmother and swear off men for awhile but then she meets Mark, Phillipe and Remy.
First of all I am really glad that we didn't need to read more of Natalie's life with the ex as I did not like him or his mom and sister, They were such snobs. Natalie recently got her degree in Medieval History and is seeking for job opportunities and the ex and his family did not think she could make a career of it and wanted her to stay home and be a wife and raise children. Why can't she have a career too?
When Natalie meets Mark and his dog, Mark hires her to help him write a book and she will be using her degree,
We get to "visit" France while these 2 are discovering France. I had never wanted to visit France before but while reading this I thought well maybe it would be fun to visit,
I received this from NetGalley for review.

T.A. Williams

Born

Exeter, The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.tawilliamsbooks.com

Twitter

tawilliamsbooks

Genre

Humor and Comedy, Historical Fiction, Ebooks

Influences

Tom Sharpe JPDonleavy ...more

URLhttps://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomtawilliams                                                          

Firstly, my name isn't T A. It's Trevor. I write under the androgynous name T A Williams because 65% of books are read by women. In my first book, "Dirty Minds" one of the (female) characters suggests the imbalance is due to the fact that men spend too much time getting drunk and watching football. I couldn't possibly comment. Ask my wife...
I've written all sorts: thrillers, historical novels, short stories and now I'm enjoying myself hugely writing humour and romance. Romantic comedies are what we all need from time to time. Life isn’t always very fair. It isn’t always a lot of fun, but when it is, we need to embrace it. If my books can put a smile on your face and maybe give your heartstrings a tug, then I know I’ve done my job.
I‘ve lived all over Europe, but now I live in a little village in sleepy Devon, tucked away in south west England. I love the place. That’s why you’ll find leafy lanes and thatched cottages in most of my books. Oh, yes, and a black Labrador.
I've been writing since I was 14 and that is half a century ago. However, underneath this bald, wrinkly exterior, there beats the heart of a youngster. My wife is convinced I will never grow up. I hope she's right.

#whathappensatthebeach  #netGalley  #tawilliams 

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Book Blitz: Media Queen by Michelle Prak

  HollyAnna, Book 2

  Contemporary Women's Fiction, Chick-lit

  Published: June 2020

  Publisher: Independently Published

   

  Jordyn Fairweather has worked hard to reach the top of the magazine world,

    but now she’s in trouble.

  Younger stars are scrambling to steal her crown, and media companies are

    collapsing around her in the face of a new threat - the internet.

  She’s come a long way from small town Beddo, where she obsessed over

    teen glossies until pushing her way into an internship with Sixteen

    magazine. But if Jordyn’s empire is going to survive, she needs to

    move fast and keep reinventing herself.

  Spanning the late 90s and 2000s, Media Queen is a compulsive read with an

    outrageous main character. It comes with the essential ingredient that

    Jordyn demands of all her stories: juice!

   

  Book No 2 in the #HollyAnna series – following Goodbye Newsroom

    – Media Queen can also be enjoyed as a standalone novel.

   

   

  Excerpt

Chapter 1

   

  Jordyn Fairweather knew one thing for sure. She never wanted to clean

    another toilet in her life.

  She shouldered open the door to the stall and dumped the tin pail onto the

    floor. Warm air rushed in from the toilet block windows above, really just

    rectangular gaps in the red brick building. She could hear girls calling out

    goodbyes to each other, and car doors slamming. The tennis squad was going

    home after practice. Jordyn wished she could go home, too.

  ‘Still here?’ a voice sang out, followed by a giggle.

  Jordyn didn’t respond. She didn’t even bother looking around.

    She knew who her interrogator was. She wiped the toilet cistern with an old

    blue cloth, secretly wishing she could shove it down someone’s

    throat.

  Tina appeared in the doorway behind her.

  ‘I don’t know how you do this job,’ she said.

  Jordyn splashed detergent into the bowl, flushed, and backed out of the

    stall, hoping to crash into Tina and slop bucket water over her.

  No such luck. Her tormentor moved away to lean against the row of

    sinks.

  Tina Goodman was a head taller than Jordyn, even though she was a grade

    lower in high school. Her dark hair was tied in a high ponytail and her

    short skirt barely covered her golden legs. She was a gladiator and this

    toilet was one of her many arenas.

  ‘Goody wants to know if you want a lift home,’ Tina said.

  Jordyn scowled. ‘I’m getting a lift home with my mum – he

    should know that.’

  Tina shrugged slowly, as if wearing a heavy fur coat. ‘That’s

    what I told him, but he wanted to check.’

  Jordyn watched Tina appraise herself in the mirrors – her tanned face

    free of any teen blemishes. Her vicious, vacant eyes.

  ‘If you’re hangin’ around, it must mean you wanna take

    over the cleaning …’ Jordyn said.

  Tina tipped her head back to laugh. ‘No way! I’m never gonna

    clean a toilet.’

  With a speed propelled by fury, Jordyn grabbed the mop propped in a corner

    and thrust its handle beneath Tina’s chin. The girl froze, her eyes

    round.

  ‘Are you crazy?’ Tina croaked. ‘We’re not in

    prison!’

  ‘Start mopping,’ Jordyn hissed.

  Tina shoved her and used the newfound space to wriggle away and flee

    through the toilet block door.

  ‘Cow!’ she shouted.

  Jordyn laughed, clutching the mop like an old friend. She wished Tina had

    struggled for a little longer; she was in the mood for a fight. She often

    felt like that these days.

   

   

About the Author

Michelle Prak is an indie author and university teacher who runs her own PR

    agency. She loves creating energetic and ambitious characters who will make

    you laugh and inspire you at the same time.

   

  Contact Links

  Website

  Twitter

  Facebook

  Instagram

  Promo Link

   

  Purchase Links

  Amazon

  B&N

  Kobo

  IndieBound

#RABTBookTours #BookBuzz #HollyAnna #MediaQueen #MichellePrak

Book Review: One and Only by Jenny Holiday

Miss Responsibility meets Mr. Reckless
With her bridezilla friend on a DIY project rampage, bridesmaid Jane Denning will do anything to escape - even if it means babysitting the groom's troublemaker brother before the wedding. It should be a piece of cake, except the "cake" is a sarcastic former soldier who is 100% wicked hotness and absolutely off-limits.

Cameron MacKinnon is ready to let loose after returning from his deployment. But first he'll have to sweet talk the ultra-responsible Jane into taking a walk on the wild side. Turns out, riling her up is the best time he's had in years. But what happens when the fun and games start to turn into something real? 


                                   MY REVIEW:

One and Only by Jenny Holiday
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Jane is a bridesmaid for one of her best friends, who has turned into Bridezilla. So the bride told Jane she is on babysitting duty to her future BIL who is a troublemaker even though he is an adult. Cameron, as we find out, was blamed for things he didn't do or things he got into trouble for that he really shouldn't have. But people don't know that. Jane has always been miss responsibility so she is not sure what to expect but the heat between her and Cameron is hot. She had a long term relationship go bust and that was 5 years ago. She doesn't want the marriage or kids. Cameron was in a relationship that went south and he doesn't believe he is relationship material. But these 2 get together and end up on adventures and Jane does things she never thought she would. Loved the scenes between these 2. The Bridezilla on the other hand really expected a lot from the women in her bridal party and I felt she thought she was entitled. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will continue on with the series.

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Book Review: Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum might not be the world’s greatest bounty hunter, but she knows when she’s being played. Ken Globovic (aka Gobbles), hailed as the Supreme Exalted Zookeeper of the animal house known as Zeta fraternity, has been arrested for beating up the dean of students at Kiltman College. Gobbles has missed his court date and gone into hiding. People have seen him on campus, but no one will talk. Things just aren’t adding up, and Stephanie can’t shake the feeling that something funny is going on at the college—and it’s not just Zeta fraternity pranks.

As much as people love Gobbles, they hate Doug Linken. When Linken is gunned down in his backyard it’s good riddance, and the list of possible murder suspects is long. The only people who care about finding Linken’s killer are Trenton cop Joe Morelli, who has been assigned the case, security expert Ranger, who was hired to protect Linken, and Stephanie, who has her eye on a cash prize and hopefully has some tricks up her sleeve.

                               MY REVIEW:


Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another funny laugh out loud Stephanie Plum book. This time there is a fraternity called Zeta and the Dean is trying to shut it down. Gobbles supposedly beat up the Dean and was arrested and then split. Stephanie keeps looking for him and as she investigates she seems to think something is going on at the college. Then Linken is gunned down and her and Ranger have to do security. All kinds of shennanigans go on in this book of course. With the grandmother being in date sites online and using Stephanie's photos as being her and of course Stephanie's crazy sidekick, Lula, you just have to read it all in one sitting.


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Blog tour: sorry Not Sorry by Sophie Ranald Excerpt

Title: Sorry Not Sorry    

Author: Sophie Ranald  

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://geni.us/B07KKJVBLTSocial

Apple Books: https://apple.co/2Swginz

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2TxfmfT

Googleplay: http://ow.ly/75i330nB33M 

Publication Day: Feb 13^th  2019

Description:

A fabulously feel-good novel that will make you laugh till you cry and leave you living life to the full, margarita in hand! 

Is this all there is? I scraped the last dregs of Caramel Chew Chew ice cream out of the bottom of the tub with my finger and licked it. It left a sticky smear on my phone’s screen when I typed into Google, “How to find love, sex and happiness.”

Charlotte has always been a good girl. But being good is getting boring…

She’s not just stuck in a rut – she’s buried in it up to her chin. The only company she has in bed is the back catalogue of Netflix and falling in love feels like the stuff of fairy tales. So when she stumbles across a popular podcast, ‘Sorry Not Sorry’, which challenges women to embrace their inner bad girl, she jumps at the chance to shake things up.

Old Charlotte would never ask for a stranger’s number, go on a blind date or buy lacy lingerie… But New Charlotte is waving goodbye to her comfort zone (with a side order of margaritas). And it turns out that good things happen to bad girls…

If you’re a fan of romantic comedies by Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk or Matt Dunn, and love TV shows like Girls, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin, you won’t be able to put down this hilarious read!

Chapter One – Extract

When I got in from work, Maddy and Henry were still there –

just. Their hired van was parked in the street outside the house,

and they were standing in the hallway surrounded by their stuff.

I wondered whether they’d decided not to wait for me but then

changed their minds – the same way I’d almost gone for a drink

after work but decided to come home instead, to say goodbye.

‘Oh, you’re here, Charlotte!’ Maddy said, with a cheerfulness

that sounded a bit forced.

‘Yes!’ I said, with equally forced cheerfulness. ‘I mean, Briony

and Alice were going to go to Quag’s for a cocktail, but I didn’t...

I couldn’t...’

I stopped. I tried to meet Maddy’s eyes, but somehow I couldn’t

do that, either. There she was, my best friend, her face as familiar

as my own, standing in our familiar hallway wearing the 7 For

All Mankind jeans we found in TK Maxx six years ago, which I’d

watched go from new to worn to distressed, and fished out of the

washing machine more times than I could remember. There were

her green eyes behind the cat’s-eye glasses, her dark, cropped hair,

the dimple on her left cheek that was almost always there, because

she was almost always smiling.

Not now, though.

Henry cleared his throat. ‘We left the keys on the hook in the

hallway,’ he said.

‘We were going to drop them off at Wankerson’s,’ Maddy said,

smiling as she used our joke name for the letting agent. ‘But we

ran out of time, and they’ll be closed now.’

‘It’s no problem,’ I said. ‘I’ll do it tomorrow.’

‘And we’ve done all the stuff with the bills,’ Henry said. ‘Council

tax, water, Npower, broadband – and we’ve signed up for three

months of mail forwarding. But just let us know if there’s anything

we missed.’

‘Odeta’s coming to clean the place on Monday,’ Maddy said.

‘Remember, she’s going back to Romania for two weeks after that,

but the agency said they’ll send someone else. I told them you’ll be

in touch about the direct debit.’

‘Ollie at Wankerson’s called to say the landlord’s arranged for

someone to come round tomorrow and do some stuff in the garden,’

Henry said. ‘Cut back that tree, hopefully. But he might not turn

up. You know what they’re like.’

Maddy said, ‘Our new fridge freezer isn’t coming until next week,

so we’ve left some stuff – ready meals, and that chilli I cooked the

other night. It’s all yours. You’re so busy, Charlotte, I know you

don’t have time to cook.’

‘And it’s not like we’re moving to Siberia,’ Henry said. ‘We’ll

only be in Bromley. It’s only, like, an hour and a half from here

on the train.’

An hour and a half on three separate trains and a bus, I thought.

It might as well be flipping Siberia…

If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read, you can grab your copy of Sophie Ranald’s

SORRY NOT SORRY here:

Amazon: http://geni.us/B07KKJVBLTSocial

Apple Books:  https://apple.co/2Swginz

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2TxfmfT

Googleplay: http://ow.ly/75i330nB33M

  

Author Bio:

Sophie Ranald is the youngest of five sisters. She was born in Zimbabwe and lived in South Africa until an acute case of itchy feet brought her to London in her mid-20s. As an editor for a customer publishing agency, Sophie developed her fiction-writing skills describing holidays to places she'd never visited. In 2011, she decided to disregard all the good advice given to aspiring novelists and attempt to write full-time. After one false start, It Would Be Wrong to Steal My Sister's Boyfriend (Wouldn't It?) seemed to write itself. Her second, third and fourth novels followed, and The Truth About Gemma Grey was released in summer 2017. Sophie also writes for magazines and online about food, fashion, finance and running. She lives in south-east London with her amazing partner Hopi and Purrs, their adorable little cat. 

To find out about Sophie's forthcoming releases and get access to free books and special offers, sign up to her newsletter at sophieranald.com or

Author Social Media Links:

Website: sophieranald.com

Twitter: @SophieRanald

 https://twitter.com/SophieRanald

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SophieRanald










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