Lucy Mitchell's Blog, page 58

Giveaway! A Summer to Remember by Victoria Cooke @VictoriaCooke10 #bookish #books

I was thrilled to join this giveaway competition.

This book is one of my favourites for 2019.

It ticked all my book boxes:

Realistic heroine

Beautiful location – Cape Cod

Crush inducing male love interest

Funny

I found it hard to read other books after this one.

A Summer to Remember

Sam lives by the mantra that it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

After the tragic loss of her husband, Sam built a new life around friends, her cat Coco and a career she loves. Fending off frequent set-ups and well-meaning advice to ‘move on’, Sam is resolutely happy being single.

But when Sam gets seconded to her firm’s Boston office for the summer, it is more than her career that is in for a shake-up. A spur of the moment decision to visit the idyllic beaches of Cape Cod could end up changing her life forever.

Purchase Links

Amazon

Kobo

Author Bio – Victoria Cooke grew up in the city of Manchester before crossing the Pennines in pursuit of a career in education. She now lives in Huddersfield with her husband and two young daughters and when she’s not at home writing by the fire with a cup of coffee in hand, she loves working out in the gym and travelling. Victoria was first published at the tender age of eight by her classroom teacher who saw potential in a six-page story about an invisible man. Since then she’s always had a passion for reading and writing, undertaking several writers’ courses before completing her first novel, ‘The Secret to Falling in Love,’ in 2016.

Her third novel, Who Needs Men Anyway? became a digital bestseller in 2018.

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Social Media Links –

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16345710.Victoria_Cooke

https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaCookeAuthor/

https://twitter.com/VictoriaCooke10

https://www.instagram.com/victoriacookewriter/

Giveaway to Win A Summer to Remember by Victoria Cooke and Chocolates (UK Only)

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*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

For a chance to win this fabulous prize please click here.

OR if you don’t like html or are on WordPress. Please click here.

 Best of luck!

#BookReview Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple #TuesdayBookBlog #Bookish

People like you must create. If you don’t create Bernadette, you will become a menace to society.

Prior to reading this book I was suffering from Writer’s Block and to quote this book, I was becoming a menace; a little naughty, very mischievous and a big fan of sarcasm. I had also reached new levels in clumsiness and don’t get me started on my car parking abilities. Then I read this book and everything made sense.

This book is one of those which you read over the summer and you will still be thinking about it while shovelling in your Christmas dinner.

If you love a sassy voice, a story told through a lively mix of police and FBI reports, emails, school letters, a teenage daughter’s commentary and an unforgettable cast of characters then you will love this book.

Here’s the blurb: (taken from Goodreads).

Bernadette Fox has vanished.

When her daughter Bee claims a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for perfect grades, Bernadette, a fiercely intelligent shut-in, throws herself into preparations for the trip. But worn down by years of trying to live the Seattle life she never wanted, Ms. Fox is on the brink of a meltdown. And after a school fundraiser goes disastrously awry at her hands, she disappears, leaving her family to pick up the pieces–which is exactly what Bee does, weaving together an elaborate web of emails, invoices, and school memos that reveals a secret past Bernadette has been hiding for decades. Where’d You Go Bernadette is an ingenious and unabashedly entertaining novel about a family coming to terms with who they are and the power of a daughter’s love for her mother.

Here’s my review:

The humour in this is fabulous. Maria Semple is the queen of comedy. I particularly enjoyed Bernadette’s correspondence with Manjular, her ‘virtual assistant from India.’ The sublime plot thread about the blackberries was hilarious and Bernadette’s ex-friend, Audrey’s emails to Elgin’s (Bernadette’s husband) personal assistant are chuckle inducing.

I loved the voice of Bee, Bernadette’s plucky teenage daughter. Bee is a great character who decides to investigate the disappearance of her mother. There were times when I wanted to climb inside the book and hug Bee. The love she has for her mum is so adorable:

I can pinpoint that as the single happiest moment of my life, because I realized then that Mom would always have my back. It made me feel giant. I raced back down the concrete ramp, faster than I ever had before, so fast I should have fallen, but I didn’t fall, because Mom was in the world.

This is a hilarious but tragic and poignant story of a woman going through a personal crisis. If you have been through any form of personal crisis you will instantly warm to Bernadette. Her hell in suburbia is so relatable.

As you get further into the book you can see why she hates leaving the house and hates the other parents at her daughter’s school.

Reading this story is like following a trail of breadcrumbs. In every email, school letter and police report there is a little crumb of Bernadette’s journey into her crisis and you slowly get to piece together this amazing character.

The deeper I got into this book the more I loved Bernadette and her daughter.

This book is funny, witty, quirky and at times heartbreaking. It is an unforgettable reading experience.

Favourite quotes are:

That’s right,’ she told the girls. ‘You are bored. And I’m going to let you in on a little secret about life. You think it’s boring now? Well, it only gets more boring. The sooner you learn it’s on you to make life interesting, the better off you’ll be.

My heart started racing, not the bad kind of heart racing, like I’m going to die. But the good kind of heart racing, like, Hello, can I help you with something? If not, please step aside because I’m about to kick the shit out of life.

I also adored the cover and book spine – I love a book which looks good sticking out of a handbag.

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Go read it today, it’s fab!

If you fancy reading this click here. 

 

Hot news:

On Thursday I will be doing a special blog post for one of my favourite authors who is doing a giveaway. So don’t miss my post on Thursday! So exciting.

Things I Think Should Be Considered When Writing Relationship Breakups #AmWriting

Writing a relationship break up can be just as tricky as creating a romantic union between two characters.

In certain scenarios it can play havoc with your writer emotions. You might even find yourself reaching for the tissues, raiding the chocolate cupboard and compiling a sad songs Spotify playlist.

Back in the day, before I found my wonderful loved one, I endured a few break ups. For me the pain from a romantic split is horrid. It can make you cry for hours and the ache inside your chest feels like someone actually tore your little heart to pieces. In some cases the pain of a break up can be debilitating and prevent you from moving on with your life for weeks, months and even years afterwards.

My worst break up was with a life guard. I had met him in a nightclub and once I found out what he did for a living…I had mixed emotions. Yes, I dreamed about seeing him in his life guard outfit BUT I dreaded going near a pool with him on guard as I can’t swim very well. My arms and legs rotate at an astonishing rate and I create a LOT of white froth. One look at me and my white froth powering up the swimming lane and our love would have been over.

Anyway we dated for a few months and I thought he was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

In my head this was him at work.

In reality he was a life guard at a sports centre in Leeds.

In my head we’d already married in a country church, taken a honeymoon in a stunning location, with no water, so I didn’t have to showcase my swimming abilities, and had some gorgeous children, who could all swim like dolphins.

Even though he was stunning to look at he was a man of few words. On our dates he would just grin a lot and say ‘yep’ to every question. But, I was happy with limited conversation.

Who needs intellectual conversations when you have a tanned, hunky life guard sat opposite you in Pizza Express?

I reassured myself with writing in my diary…intelligent conversation is overrated in relationships.

Then he went on holiday with the lads AND he came back with some bad news. He’d met someone on a beach; a trainee hairdresser and according to him it was love.

He and this girl had sat up all night playing…travel scrabble. I did cast doubt on his claims they’d played Travel Scrabble till all hours and did nothing ELSE as he could barely string a sentence together in day-to-day life. *Sigh*

Anyway, I went through several stages of breakup and this is important for us writers:

Denial – still phoning him after we’d split up. He never returned my calls.
Anger – tore out the page in my address book (this was back in the day remember) and shoved it in the bin. Stamped on the mix-tape he’d made me, listened to a lot of U2 and refused to set foot in a swimming pool ever again.
Information gathering – my poor best friend was tasked with finding out as much as she could about this life guard. When she was out and spotted him, she would be tasked with giving me a detailed description of what he was wearing, what he was doing, who he was with and here’s the biggie – DID HE LOOK DEPRESSED WITH NEW GIRL?
Bargaining. I turned up at the club he used to frequent on the off chance we could still be friends and maybe his new girl could give me a cut and blow dry?
Depression. I cried for days, ate a lot of mashed potato (my go-to comfort food) and wrote him several lengthy letters which I never ended up sending.
Acceptance. A few weeks later and I was being chatted up by someone else in a Leeds nightclub. *sigh*

In my time I have read a few fabulously written break ups in books but these two have been unforgettable.

‘My Husband’s Wife’ – Amanda Prowse

Oh my goodness this left me tear stained! The heartbreak when Phil leaves his wife Rosie is real. I was a snotty mess. The good thing Amanda Prowse did was build up my connection with Rosie and Phil before the split. Lots of sweet family moments and heart tugging romantic scenes. They were so powerful I forgot what was going to happen.

‘Forever’ by Judy Blume.

I read this when I was younger but the literary pain still lives on. A sweet, slightly obsessive, teenage romance, packed full of awkward intimate moments and embarrassing conversations. The break up suffering is real and I don’t think as a reader you ever get over this one. Again what works is the way Judy Blume connects you to her characters before the split.

Here are the things I think should be considered when writing a break up:

You need to get the reader hooked emotionally before the break up. Let the reader get a glimpse into their relationship. Chuck in lots of sweet moments where they are nibbling on dough balls in Pizza Express and giggling whilst playing Travel Scrabble.
You must remember a romantic split is a process which your character must endure and there is not a straight line of travel to the other side. There are stages (as shown above), pitfalls, rebound issues, painful reminders and drunken relapses.
When it occurs one party needs to go into a state of shock. They didn’t see it coming. You need to write that stage of utter disbelief and show the shock taking hold of your character.
Think about your character motivations for break up. Why are they breaking up? What has driven them to this point?
You need to think about the denial stage. This is where one party won’t accept the heartbreak. In my case I did keep calling the life guard from the pay phone down my street. I sat waiting for him to come to his senses and I even went out and bought my own Travel Scrabble game. Your character needs to go a little crazy during this stage.
It’s important to think how your character reacts to the split, both physically and mentally. Remember you have to show the upset and not tell the reader your character is upset.
Remember to include the desperate information gathering stage. This is where you pester your friends, friends of friends, casual acquaintances who might have known your ex decades ago and anyone willing to listen to your troubles. During this stage all you want to know is why it happened, how it happened and any useful detail which might help your heartache.
How does the break up advance your story? Is it a major turning point in your main character’s life? You can’t just write a break up into your story because you feel like making your reader cry.
How does the break up happen and who does the breaking up? Do the actions from the person bringing the relationship to a halt reflect their character? If they are a coward you might have them do it via text, email or even just running off into the sunset, never to be seen again. If they are a kind and caring soul you might find they opt to tell the other in person

Take it easy out there, readers!

 

#BookReview Love and Other Words @ChristinaLauren #TuesdayBookBlog #Romance

This book made me pencil in a romantic date night with my beloved. Not many books make me do this. As a forty-something mother of teens, who is juggling two careers, four pets, a blog, an obsession with reading romance books and fluctuating hormones – unexpected date nights are a rarity. I read this book in about forty eight hours and then found myself…gazing longingly at my beloved.

I have not read a romance book crammed full of so much emotion, heartbreak and all the feels for a long time. PLUS THE CHARACTERS ARE BOTH BOOKWORMS! They have this gorgeous habit of asking each other what their favourite word is and this really did things for me. This was so romantic.

Macy and Elliot’s transition from friends to lovers is developed so sweetly and perfectly that by the time things get intimate, I guarantee your electric fan will be on FULL BLAST!

Timing is everything in this book and the author brings your emotions to the boil beautifully.

Here’s the burb:

The story of the heart can never be unwritten.

Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away.

But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother…only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.

Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.

Here’s my review:

I loved the way this story of second chance love / friends to lovers is told in alternating timelines. I became so close to these two characters over the years, I laughed and cried with them.

What I liked about this story was that the author kept me guessing about why things ended so abruptly all those years ago.

I fell in fictional love with Elliot. His devotion to Macy is so beautiful.

I loved how complicated life gets when these two start to reconnect. This story is about how complicated things can get when your greatest love is intertwined with your greatest loss.

There are some fabulous quotes in this book. Each one made me crank up that electric fan to another power notch:

I’ve been waiting for you to come home for  eleven years.

Limerence.’

There’s no other word like it. The state of being infatuated with another person.

How To Survive The Return of the Shelved Story #AmWriting

Picture this:

Your romance story died. The literary world cried out in frustration as you wiped away your tears, blew your nose and decided to shelve your story.

There were too many things that were not working with your fictional romance, about two emotionally broken food lovers finding each other on an online dating site for health conscious foodies.

Too many alarm bells ringing in your head when your hungry love birds came together.

No sign of any conflict and no matter how many times you instructed your brain to come up with beautiful and poetic ways to describe your characters kissing, it only offered you phrases such as ‘the thought of her kissing him made his stomach juices curdle,’ and ‘his snogging action was similar to her food blender on super fast speed.’

Wearing a sad writer face you closed down your document, muttered some thoughtful words about painful goodbyes, pinned a couple of writing failure quotes on Pinterest, tweeted some sad GIFs and buried your story in the writing folder titled ‘Story Graveyard.’

Time goes by…

A month later and you are busy enjoying a romantic date with your loved one.

He’s whispering sweet stuff in your ear. You, on the other hand, are busy trying to recall whether you put on your sexy knickers earlier or whether you are still wearing your washed out grey saggy grits.

“I’M BACK!” screams the shelved story, from inside your head, as your loved one goes to put on some Lionel Ritchie and lights a book scented candle (the smell of a paperback always gets you going).

By the time your loved one has returned to the sofa, has draped his arm across your shoulders and is telling you how gorgeous you look tonight in your jogging bottoms, baggy t-shirt and your fluffy socks, your head is AWASH with thoughts…about your shelved novel.

‘My food based romance story wasn’t that bad’. 

*Gasp*

‘Maybe I was writing about the wrong type of food?’

*Light sweat*

‘Maybe healthy food all the time wasn’t doing it for my characters?’

*Eyes get bigger*

Maybe they could come together over another type of food? Something naughty perhaps ?’

*Jaw drop*

‘OMG – I know how to get those characters in the mood for romance. A nice hearty steak and onion pie gets me going every time and a pie-based first date is my idea of true love.’

*Breathing quickens.*

‘So why can’t the inciting romantic moment be when they both confess to secretly wanting a hot pie from the local bakers. Yes!’ 

*Squeal*

‘The conflict could be that when they meet on this foodie dating site they make out they love eating nuts, berries, kale and drinking green smoothies, but both are secret pie lovers.’

*BAT AWAY LOVED ONE’S HAND.*

‘Kissing after devouring a fabulous savoury pie would be different for two secret pie lovers!’

*WRIGGLE AWAY FROM LOVED ONE*

‘OMG – this shelved story is back. I want to run upstairs and finish my newly titled book – SECRET PIE LOVE!’ 

*reach for tissues to dab forehead*

Your loved one switches on the football as you look like you have other things on your mind.

The return of a shelved story or one that you thought was dead and buried can be traumatic for any sort of writer. 

When a story comes back from the dead it does so with such force, things like date nights, family parties, supermarket shops and sorting out your kitchen cupboards can face unexpected disruption. 

So, how can a writer survive this situation?

Here are my top tips for surviving the return of the shelved story:

NEVER label an old story as ‘dead’. A good story never dies or stays shelved. Basically your brain has been working stuff out behind the scenes while you have been going about your daily life and that’s why the writer love disappeared.
Always be prepared for such game changing events by having a notepad and pencil on hand.
When it does decide to make a come back try to stay calm…like the writer in the scenario above

#BookReview One in a Million @LindseyKelk #TuesdayBookBlog #Books

When I saw readers referring to themselves as Kelkoholics, I knew I had to experience a Lindsey Kelk novel for myself. I love being a fan of someone fabulous and also a fan of someone who originates from the North of England (Lindsey was brought up in Doncaster and I was raised in Leeds).

Okay so I would now like to announce that I am on my way to becoming a Kelkoholic. *squeal* I am one book down (One in a Million) and have just ordered my next Lindsey Kelk. The term Kelkoholic suggests multiple books but it won’t be long before I am getting my t-shirt printed.

Praise to this author who took away all my ‘OMG – she’s such a queen at romantic fiction, I could never write like her,’ and ‘why wasn’t I born in Doncaster?’ thoughts and even made me forget I was a book blogger. By halfway I had stopped writing notes and was GLUED to what was happening in the life of Annie Higgins.

This is a cracking tale and I LOVE a heroine who aggressively dunks a biscuit and who, before starting her own business, on bad days, would phone in sick and take to her settee with a Terry’s Chocolate Orange and watch an entire season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. 

Firstly, as a professional biscuit dunker myself, I would like to thank Lindsey Kelk for acknowledging different types of dunking. In my experience you don’t just dunk a biscuit. There are a multitude of dunking techniques, from casual dunking to sexy dunking (maintain eye contact with loved one and dunk in a sensual manner). I am a big fan of aggressive dunking and find it is a useful stress busting technique in situations of high irritation.

Secondly, who doesn’t like shoving Terry’s Chocolate Orange segments into their mouth while lying on the sofa and watching RuPaul?

Anyway, let’s have a look at the blurb.

Everyone wants that special someone….

Annie Higgins has given up on love: she’s too busy trying to get her tiny business off the ground. Infuriated by the advertising agency across the hall making fun of her job, Annie accepts their crazy challenge – to make a random stranger Instagram-famous in just thirty days.

And even when they choose Dr Samuel Page PhD, historian and hater of social media, as her target, Annie’s determined to win the bet – whether Sam likes it or not.

But getting to know Sam means getting to know more about herself. And before the thirty days are out, Annie has to make a decision about what’s really important…

Funny, real and heart-meltingly romantic, Annie and Sam’s story is My Fair Lady for the social media age – and the perfect feel-good read.

Here’s my review:

This is a really fun read. I loved stepping into the shoes of Annie Higgins, a 30-something social media director who has to overhaul the image of grumpy, emotionally absent, not very social media skilled and lacking in personal grooming, Dr Samuel Page.

I loved Annie so much, her fledgling business challenges, how she had withered away in her last job before starting her own business, her dependency on social media, the banter she has with Miranda, Martin, Charlie, Brian and I loved how she never felt down on her luck.

Dr Samuel Page PHD – OMG I fell in love with you, your love of Britney Spears, your cooking, your airbed on the floor, how you work in your office in your pants and your love of cats.

Miranda – as Annie’s business partner – you are hilarious!

The standouts for me were the quirky and relatable characters, Lindsey Kelk’s humour and this quote:

Every once in a while, the universe steps up and, for a single day, everything in your life is amazing. 

I love a book which blocks out everything else around you and takes over your life for a few days!

Hope you enjoyed my review.

Take care out there – biscuit dunkers!

Link to this fab book – click here.

 

Dating & Coming Up With Ideas For Your Next Book – The Similarities #WritingCommunity

I am about to start searching for ideas for my next book. Instructions For Falling In Love Again is doing really well and getting some great reviews. Heartbreak Cafe (working title) has just been submitted to the RNA New Writers Scheme so I need something to keep me out of mischief.

Coming up with an idea for your next book or story is not easy.  Being a writer or an author doesn’t always mean you have a queue of ideas all waiting patiently for you to do something with them. No. A lot of the time it goes something like this. You spend ages twiddling a pencil while at the same time trying to think of an idea. You spend night after night waiting for the literary elves to show up clutching an amazing new idea, you tweet a lot about having zero ideas, pester writing friends and when none of this works you force yourself to go out and find new story ideas.

Things don’t run smoothly either when you do stumble upon a new story and get excited about it. Believe me, you can quickly lose that loving feeling for a story idea. It doesn’t take much for this to happen.

After many creative dalliances with new story ideas,  I can see some interesting similarities with dating.

Knowing your type

When you start dating you have a rough idea about the type of person you are looking for; gender, hair colour, personality, clothes, humour, income etc.

When you start story hunting you have a vague idea about what it is you are looking for. In my case I am looking for a romantic comedy with a devilishly handsome male character and a relatable female character who finds herself over the course of the tale.

Unrealistic Expectations

When you start dating someone you might have a head full of unrealistic romantic expectations; your date will definitely be ‘the one’, they will be perfect in every way and you will be living together in sweet harmony within a few months.

When you start work on a new story idea you might have a head full of unrealistic expectations too; you will write it in a matter of weeks, literary agents will be fighting each other to get their hands on it and your book signing event will definitely need some form of crowd control.

TryIng your hardest to ignore the niggling issues

When you start dating someone you will at first ignore niggling issues; your date’s love of bad jokes, your date’s secret nose picks when they think you aren’t looking, your date’s decision to give themselves a severe side hair parting on date 3 (without any prior warning to you) and your date’s insistence on talking about themselves for more than ten minutes. At first you dismiss these niggles, but after a few dates you can’t stop feeling irritated at the mere sight of that side hair parting and you find yourself seriously considering buying them a joke book. It’s at this point you ask yourself – can I carry on dating in view of these niggling issues?

When you start a new story you also ignore niggling issues; the male character is a bit of a drip, the opening chapter start sounds a bit dark and your plot has a moon crater sized plot hole which is getting harder to ignore. At first you also dismiss these niggles but after a few writing sessions you can’t stop shouting at your drippy male character, you wonder whether you should do a promotional link up with an emotional help line to help your readers get through the first chapter and you can’t get to sleep at night without thinking about that plot hole. It’s at this stage you ask yourself – can I carry on writing this story in view of these issues?

Going exclusive

When you start dating you might decide early on to go exclusive (stay true to one partner) or you might carry on seeing a couple of people at the same time.

When you start story hunting you might also decide to go exclusive (stay true to one story idea) or you might decide to play the literary field and work on a few ideas at the same time.

Fizzling out early

When you start dating things can get intense very quickly and then fizzle out. After date 2 you could both be considering booking a spring mini break together and by date 4 you might run for the hills at the mention of a long weekend in the other’s company.

When you begin a new story idea things can also get intense very quickly and then fizzle out. After laying down 4k words you could find yourself tweeting about how this will be a #literarygamechanger and by 10k words you could find yourself wishing you’d never even started it (deleting all your earlier tweets).

Excuses

You might make up some excuses in order to get out of going on a date; washing your hair, cleaning out the fridge or keeping your promise about playing scrabble with the cat.

You might also move make up some excuses about not writing some more of that new story; you need to tweet random stuff, you are desperate to pick fluff out of a jumper or you need to keep your promise about turning the cat into a star on Instagram.

Passion exhaustion

When dating you might come across someone who ticks all your boxes and treats you to nights of non stop passion. This will lead to you looking like a shadow of your former self within a few weeks, yawning all the time at work and relying on caffeine to get you through the day.

When looking for a new story idea you might also come across which ticks all your literary boxes. This idea will treat you to nights of non stop writing passion. Within a few weeks you will also be looking like a shadow of your former self; too tired to tweet, yawning a lot and finding you need an extra nap in the day.

Good luck out there!

Lucy x

A Romance Book Blogger’s Top 10 Fictional Male Crushes #Romance #Books ❤️

As a romantic book blogger I come into daily contact with some attractive fictional men. I have more fictional crushes with book characters in a week than you have hot dinners. It is a tough but very rewarding pastime.

So, it is time to compile my top 10 fictional male crushes.

This top 10 chart is based on:

The number of hot flushes a book character has given me.
Whether a book character has entered my dreams at night.
The power level on my electric fan I went up to while reading about them. For noting my electric fan has three levels; cooling, moderate & full blast.

Okay here we go in REVERSE order:

10. Bruce from Alix Kelso’s The Perfect Moment. With his thick dark hair, his grey-blue eyes and his great smile, he also made me think of the way the sky clears after a storm. When Alix’s character Laura said, Bruce, you make it hard for me not to fall in love with you, even though I already have, I was agreeing with Laura, dabbing my sweaty brow and muttering, ‘move aside, Laura.’

9. Ash from Sue McDonagh’s Summer at the Art Cafe. When Sue’s main character, Lucy, says, Ash, just take me to bed, will you? I was so jealous. With his lean torso, muscular arms, the urgency in his groin and his love of motorbikes, it is hard to read about Ash without an electric fan. As the main character shares my name, day dreaming about Ash was not difficult.

8. Josh from Sandy Barker’s One Summer in Santorini.  This handsome American did things for me. With his boyish good looks, his biceps and his scarily good dance moves, I was reaching for my electric fan and pushing it up a notch. There is one kiss which I enjoyed very much, the one where he looks at Sarah with such intensity that her breath caught and the tears spilt onto her face. The kiss was slow and sweet and perfect. 

7. Will from Zoe May’s As Luck Would Have It. Will Brimble is one of my fictional love interests. With his exotic eyes that inspired forlorn poetry and self indulgent angsty diary entries, his chest covered in a light dusting of hair I found myself wanting to swap places with Natalie. I loved how he made Natalie feel girlish and self-conscious all over again. Will – I am having lustful butterflies!

6.  Rupert from Rachel Burton’s The Pieces of You and Me. Oh Rupert Tremayne, please lean over me and whisper ‘what if?’ in my ear? We haven’t got any history but I could make some up just so that you can say that to me. My love for Rupert is strong. He brings coffee and croissants up to bed, he’s a good listener, likes clandestine meetings in an apple orchard (oh the dreams I had about this) and he’s always wrapping his arms around the love of his life.

5. Ethan from Victoria Cooke’s  A Summer to Remember. Oh my goodness, Ethan, what did you do to me! This fictional hunk smells all citrusy and delicious, has a honey tan and a mischievous grin. He’s so adorable I had dancing butterflies when he came onto a page. He heals Sam’s pain as well as his own, and in the bus journey scene he so wonderful and sexy I was an emotional hot mess. Heal me, Ethan!

4. Josh from Marian Keyes’s The Break. I had such a THING for Josh. With his low voice being full of sauce, his long, hard and passionate kisses,  this naughty male character who has a fling with Amy took me to new heights of book pleasure. He never seemed to hold back with his emotions, I loved him, his crumpled shirts, his wild eyes, which conjured up all sorts of things in my head, and his constant hunger for passion.

Okay so here are my top 3:

3. David from Anstey Harris’s The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton. I know he’s married to someone else in the book, I know he’s forbidden fruit and I know his morals are questionable, but David did things to me. In the book Grace talks about how David can bring things to life that she doesn’t know are missing and I totally agree! When David spoke about the coup de fondre – the lightning bolt. The French reckon it will hit everyone once in a lifetime. It could be someone you see on the other side of the street, maybe one time….your life is never the same again. It is an appointment with destiny, I was a HOT MESS! He is my coup de fondre with his dark lashes, his penchant for forehead kisses and the way he says, darling girl, Even though he’s a naughty character, David has a well deserved no. 3 spot.

2. Jakob from Pernille Hughes’s Probably The Best Kiss In The World. Jakob gave me one hell of a fictional crush! I went wild at the low growl he made while kissing, I could visualise the pure want in his face and his powerful and sensual kiss made Jess, the main character drop her Tupperware box. Actually it was his Tupperware box containing her phone. He’d put in rice after she’d dropped it in water, but I totally got why she dropped it. There’s something very sexy about a man who is in touch with his Tupperware side. I loved how the ghost of his aftershave lingered on her sheets, his shortish hair was rebelling, his eyes were a soft cornflower blue and his lips tasted of beer and soya sauce.

And my overall hot male character is …

1. Josh in Nicola May’s Cockleberry Bay series. I loved the character of rugby playing Josh right from the start. Even when he was Rosa’s landlord with benefits, I found him so attractive. He’s handsome in a big bear way and larger than life in personality. He’s got a way with words and says things like, get your beautiful little being up those stairs and I was thinking the other day just how beautiful our babies are going to be. His cheekiness, his humour, the way he bursts into Rosa’s shop to see her and his hunky frame makes him such a sexy male character.

Okay, I am now a hot mess after reliving my time with all those fictional men.

My thanks to all the authors above who created such fabulous male characters.

Take it easy, readers.

Lucy x

A Romance Book Blogger’s Top 10 Fictional Male Crushes #Romance #Books ❤️

As a romantic book blogger I come into daily contact with some attractive fictional men. I have more fictional crushes with book characters in a week than you have hot dinners. It is a tough but very rewarding pastime.

So, it is time to compile my top 10 fictional male crushes.

This top 10 chart is based on:

The number of hot flushes a book character has given me.
Whether a book character has entered my dreams at night.
The power level on my electric fan I went up to while reading about them. For noting my electric fan has three levels; cooling, moderate & full blast.

Okay here we go in REVERSE order:

10. Bruce from Alix Kelso’s The Perfect Moment. With his thick dark hair, his grey-blue eyes and his great smile, he also made me think of the way the sky clears after a storm. When Alix’s character Laura said, Bruce, you make it hard for me not to fall in love with you, even though I already have, I was agreeing with Laura, dabbing my sweaty brow and muttering, ‘move aside, Laura.’

9. Ash from Sue McDonagh’s Summer at the Art Cafe. When Sue’s main character, Lucy, says, Ash, just take me to bed, will you? I was so jealous. With his lean torso, muscular arms, the urgency in his groin and his love of motorbikes, it is hard to read about Ash without an electric fan. As the main character shares my name, day dreaming about Ash was not difficult.

8. Josh from Sandy Barker’s One Summer in Santorini.  This handsome American did things for me. With his boyish good looks, his biceps and his scarily good dance moves, I was reaching for my electric fan and pushing it up a notch. There is one kiss which I enjoyed very much, the one where he looks at Sarah with such intensity that her breath caught and the tears spilt onto her face. The kiss was slow and sweet and perfect. 

7. Will from Zoe May’s As Luck Would Have It. Will Brimble is one of my fictional love interests. With his exotic eyes that inspired forlorn poetry and self indulgent angsty diary entries, his chest covered in a light dusting of hair I found myself wanting to swap places with Natalie. I loved how he made Natalie feel girlish and self-conscious all over again. Will – I am having lustful butterflies!

6.  Rupert from Rachel Burton’s The Pieces of You and Me. Oh Rupert Tremayne, please lean over me and whisper ‘what if?’ in my ear? We haven’t got any history but I could make some up just so that you can say that to me. My love for Rupert is strong. He brings coffee and croissants up to bed, he’s a good listener, likes clandestine meetings in an apple orchard (oh the dreams I had about this) and he’s always wrapping his arms around the love of his life.

5. Ethan from Victoria Cooke’s  A Summer to Remember. Oh my goodness, Ethan, what did you do to me! This fictional hunk smells all citrusy and delicious, has a honey tan and a mischievous grin. He’s so adorable I had dancing butterflies when he came onto a page. He heals Sam’s pain as well as his own, and in the bus journey scene he so wonderful and sexy I was an emotional hot mess. Heal me, Ethan!

4. Josh from Marian Keyes’s The Break. I had such a THING for Josh. With his low voice being full of sauce, his long, hard and passionate kisses,  this naughty male character who has a fling with Amy took me to new heights of book pleasure. He never seemed to hold back with his emotions, I loved him, his crumpled shirts, his wild eyes, which conjured up all sorts of things in my head, and his constant hunger for passion.

Okay so here are my top 3:

3. David from Anstey Harris’s The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton. I know he’s married to someone else in the book, I know he’s forbidden fruit and I know his morals are questionable, but David did things to me. In the book Grace talks about how David can bring things to life that she doesn’t know are missing and I totally agree! When David spoke about the coup de fondre – the lightning bolt. The French reckon it will hit everyone once in a lifetime. It could be someone you see on the other side of the street, maybe one time….your life is never the same again. It is an appointment with destiny, I was a HOT MESS! He is my coup de fondre with his dark lashes, his penchant for forehead kisses and the way he says, darling girl, Even though he’s a naughty character, David has a well deserved no. 3 spot.

2. Jakob from Pernille Hughes’s Probably The Best Kiss In The World. Jakob gave me one hell of a fictional crush! I went wild at the low growl he made while kissing, I could visualise the pure want in his face and his powerful and sensual kiss made Jess, the main character drop her Tupperware box. Actually it was his Tupperware box containing her phone. He’d put in rice after she’d dropped it in water, but I totally got why she dropped it. There’s something very sexy about a man who is in touch with his Tupperware side. I loved how the ghost of his aftershave lingered on her sheets, his shortish hair was rebelling, his eyes were a soft cornflower blue and his lips tasted of beer and soya sauce.

And my overall hot male character is …

1. Josh in Nicola May’s Cockleberry Bay series. I loved the character of rugby playing Josh right from the start. Even when he was Rosa’s landlord with benefits, I found him so attractive. He’s handsome in a big bear way and larger than life in personality. He’s got a way with words and says things like, get your beautiful little being up those stairs and I was thinking the other day just how beautiful our babies are going to be. His cheekiness, his humour, the way he bursts into Rosa’s shop to see her and his hunky frame makes him such a sexy male character.

Okay, I am now a hot mess after reliving my time with all those fictional men.

My thanks to all the authors above who created such fabulous male characters.

Take it easy, readers.

Lucy x

A Romance Book Blogger’s Top 10 Fictional Male Crushes #Romance #Books ❤️

As a romantic book blogger I come into daily contact with some attractive fictional men. I have more fictional crushes with book characters in a week than you have hot dinners. It is a tough but very rewarding pastime.

So, it is time to compile my top 10 fictional male crushes.

This top 10 chart is based on:

The number of hot flushes a book character has given me.
Whether a book character has entered my dreams at night.
The power level on my electric fan I went up to while reading about them. For noting my electric fan has three levels; cooling, moderate & full blast.

Okay here we go in REVERSE order:

10. Bruce from Alix Kelso’s The Perfect Moment. With his thick dark hair, his grey-blue eyes and his great smile, he also made me think of the way the sky clears after a storm. When Alix’s character Laura said, Bruce, you make it hard for me not to fall in love with you, even though I already have, I was agreeing with Laura, dabbing my sweaty brow and muttering, ‘move aside, Laura.’

9. Ash from Sue McDonagh’s Summer at the Art Cafe. When Sue’s main character, Lucy, says, Ash, just take me to bed, will you? I was so jealous. With his lean torso, muscular arms, the urgency in his groin and his love of motorbikes, it is hard to read about Ash without an electric fan. As the main character shares my name, day dreaming about Ash was not difficult.

8. Josh from Sandy Barker’s One Summer in Santorini.  This handsome American did things for me. With his boyish good looks, his biceps and his scarily good dance moves, I was reaching for my electric fan and pushing it up a notch. There is one kiss which I enjoyed very much, the one where he looks at Sarah with such intensity that her breath caught and the tears spilt onto her face. The kiss was slow and sweet and perfect. 

7. Will from Zoe May’s As Luck Would Have It. Will Brimble is one of my fictional love interests. With his exotic eyes that inspired forlorn poetry and self indulgent angsty diary entries, his chest covered in a light dusting of hair I found myself wanting to swap places with Natalie. I loved how he made Natalie feel girlish and self-conscious all over again. Will – I am having lustful butterflies!

6.  Rupert from Rachel Burton’s The Pieces of You and Me. Oh Rupert Tremayne, please lean over me and whisper ‘what if?’ in my ear? We haven’t got any history but I could make some up just so that you can say that to me. My love for Rupert is strong. He brings coffee and croissants up to bed, he’s a good listener, likes clandestine meetings in an apple orchard (oh the dreams I had about this) and he’s always wrapping his arms around the love of his life.

5. Ethan from Victoria Cooke’s  A Summer to Remember. Oh my goodness, Ethan, what did you do to me! This fictional hunk smells all citrusy and delicious, has a honey tan and a mischievous grin. He’s so adorable I had dancing butterflies when he came onto a page. He heals Sam’s pain as well as his own, and in the bus journey scene he so wonderful and sexy I was an emotional hot mess. Heal me, Ethan!

4. Josh from Marian Keyes’s The Break. I had such a THING for Josh. With his low voice being full of sauce, his long, hard and passionate kisses,  this naughty male character who has a fling with Amy took me to new heights of book pleasure. He never seemed to hold back with his emotions, I loved him, his crumpled shirts, his wild eyes, which conjured up all sorts of things in my head, and his constant hunger for passion.

Okay so here are my top 3:

3. David from Anstey Harris’s The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton. I know he’s married to someone else in the book, I know he’s forbidden fruit and I know his morals are questionable, but David did things to me. In the book Grace talks about how David can bring things to life that she doesn’t know are missing and I totally agree! When David spoke about the coup de fondre – the lightning bolt. The French reckon it will hit everyone once in a lifetime. It could be someone you see on the other side of the street, maybe one time….your life is never the same again. It is an appointment with destiny, I was a HOT MESS! He is my coup de fondre with his dark lashes, his penchant for forehead kisses and the way he says, darling girl, Even though he’s a naughty character, David has a well deserved no. 3 spot.

2. Jakob from Pernille Hughes’s Probably The Best Kiss In The World. Jakob gave me one hell of a fictional crush! I went wild at the low growl he made while kissing, I could visualise the pure want in his face and his powerful and sensual kiss made Jess, the main character drop her Tupperware box. Actually it was his Tupperware box containing her phone. He’d put in rice after she’d dropped it in water, but I totally got why she dropped it. There’s something very sexy about a man who is in touch with his Tupperware side. I loved how the ghost of his aftershave lingered on her sheets, his shortish hair was rebelling, his eyes were a soft cornflower blue and his lips tasted of beer and soya sauce.

And my overall hot male character is …

1. Josh in Nicola May’s Cockleberry Bay series. I loved the character of rugby playing Josh right from the start. Even when he was Rosa’s landlord with benefits, I found him so attractive. He’s handsome in a big bear way and larger than life in personality. He’s got a way with words and says things like, get your beautiful little being up those stairs and I was thinking the other day just how beautiful our babies are going to be. His cheekiness, his humour, the way he bursts into Rosa’s shop to see her and his hunky frame makes him such a sexy male character.

Okay, I am now a hot mess after reliving my time with all those fictional men.

My thanks to all the authors above who created such fabulous male characters.

Take it easy, readers.

Lucy x