Rhoda Baxter's Blog, page 9

Picture Perfect is available for pre-order

Did I mention that I have a new book coming out in October? The early reviews are coming in now. (Always a nerve-wracking time). Please pre-order it. Having pre-orders on the ebook means that the publisher can try and get the print book (out at the start of next year) into actual bricks and mortar shops.

‘I loved it! I read this book in a (very pleasant) day’

Sue Moorcroft, Sunday Times bestselling author

“Picture Perfect is the perfect fake dating novel! It packed emotion, tension a...

Book review: The Stand-In by Lily Chu

https://amzn.to/3w5Ial6

I picked this book up purely based on the cover. I’m so glad I did. I raced through it.
I loved how Gracie struggled with her to-do list (don’t we all) and how Sam annoyed her enough to burn through her normal people-pleaser tendencies.
The friendship between Gracie and FangLi was lovely. The whole story was a delightful read.

As an aside, I liked that there was a bit about what it was like being bi-racial and how Gracie felt bad about not embracing her Chinese heri...

Book review: The Water Witch by Jessica Throne

I love how Jessica Thorne weaves the supernatural and folkloric elements into a contemporary love story. I also like how a lot of the folklore in this story is based on actual folk tales.
Ari Walker is roped in, by her brother, to carry on the search for the City of Ys. A search that probably led to her late fiance’s death.
Raphael Du Lac is haunted by his family curse – which means that all men in his family die at the age of 35. And Raphael has a month left.

This book starts quietly and b...

Book review: Summer People by Julie Cohen

Summer people is about two marriages and, almost equally, about life on Unity Island. Julie Cohen captures the claustrophobic nature of living in an tiny, enclosed community as well as the sense of belonging that comes with it.
Vee and Mike are a golden couple. ‘Summer people’ who visit the island and bring with them valuable tourist income. Except Vee isn’t a summer person, not really. She grew up on the island, running wild with her best friend Sterling. But she left to make a new life for ...

Book review: Small Miracles by Anne Booth

I picked up small miracles after seeing Julie Cohen post about it. When I was a student, I used to live in a hostel run by the Convent of the Sacred Heart, so I always have a small, soft spot for religious sisters. When I saw a book that was about three of them fighting to save their convent from being closed down, it seemed like a book that was meant for me to read.
St Philomena’s is a small convent in the small town of Fairbridge. In fact, the order is very small now because there’s only ...

Book review: Love & Other Dramas by Ronali Collings

Women’s fiction with Sri Lankan protagonists? I am 100% in the target demographic for this book. It’s always nice to see people who look like me in a popular book.
The story follows the lives of Tania, her mother Helen and Tania’s best friend, Priya as they learn to love and discover their sexualities later in life.
Tania is recently divorced and finding her feet again. She’s even gone back to work. But she can’t just slip back into the life she gave up when she got married and had kids. The w...

Book giveaway (UK Only)

Over at my alter ego Jeevani Charika’s website, I’m giving away a bundle of three books + a funky tea towel to one lucky winner. Check out the details here.

Enter to win the book bundle

Book review: Newsletter Ninja 2 by Tammi Lebrecque

This is an interesting book – written in a very approachable style. It helps to have read Ninja 1 so that you have a lot of the basics already.
There are some interesting ideas in this, which I will put into practice as soon as I can (ahem … no, honestly!). All in all, it’s a very useful book, clearly written.

Buy your copy*

*This is an affiliate link. If you click through and buy, I get a few pence (literally, like 1p or 2p). It will not cost you anything extra.

Book review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

This is a book about book lovers – written for book lovers.

Nora is the woman who is so focused on her career that she doesn’t have time for love. Charlie is almost the male equivalent of her. I liked that they understood each other and that they traded barbs so well.
Sunshine Falls is … your typical small town romance setting. The writer plays with romance tropes with affection. The banter was wonderful. The darker moments where we see Nora’s sadness were handled beautifully.

Now I hav...

Book review: The Ghost of Ivy Barn by Mark Stay

Having read the first two books in the series, I was excited to read this latest instalment to see what trouble Faye got into (and out of) this time.

This one is a bit less dark than the others, but the threat was very real. I really liked the serial killer witch! The ghost was creepy – as is proper. My favourite thing was probably the flying machine (to say any more would be a spoiler).
I love the bickering witches. The nudist one was very funny. Bertie is adorable as always too.

Once ...