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One Winter at the French Chalet by Mandy Baggot #Review

  We are travelling to France for Mandy Baggot's latest romcom, One Winter at the French Chalet which was published by Boldwood Books on October 4th. Things aren’t going well for travel writer Orla Bradbee. With Christmas fast approaching, her boss is insisting Orla must travel to a rural village in France to interview a man who doesn’t speak. But with trouble at home – her teenage sister Erin is in a ‘situationship’ with a man online – Orla’s only plan is to take Erin with her. Get the interview done, find out more about this online Romeo and still be back in time for Christmas dinner. Easy, right? Saint-ChambĂ©ry is a picturesque French village nestled in the snow-capped mountains, but Jacques Barbier – gorgeous and brooding, yet a man of few words – makes it clear that Orla is wasting her time here. Orla can’t deny that Jacques intrigues and infuriates her, but what is the mysterious Frenchman hiding exactly? And can she get close enough to uncover his secrets with

The Book Lovers Series Bk 1 The Book Lovers Book 2 Rules for a Successful Book Club by Victoria Connelly #Reviews

Today I am featuring the first two books in the Book Lovers Series: The Book Lovers and Rules for a Successful Book Club. They can both be read as standalones and centre around the bookish Nightingale family who live in beautiful Suffolk. 


Author Callie Logan never expected to swap her life in London for one in rural Suffolk but, after the breakdown of her marriage, she decides that a fresh start is just what she needs. Finding Owl Cottage in the tiny village of Newton St Clare, Callie determines to give up on love and throw herself into her work. But fate seems to have other ideas and she soon has two very different men vying for her attention.

First there's Leo who likes to live on the wild side which usually means taking his dates foraging in the local woods for their supper. Then there's Sam Nightingale, owner of Nightingale’s bookshop. Sam, recovering from a divorce, has also vowed to embrace the single life. That is, until he meets Callie.

But is Callie willing to risk her heart again and, if she is, will she make the right choice? 


My Thoughts

I was immdiately struck by this series of books when I opened the first one and began to read. I'm not sure if it was the setting or the characters but I immediately relaxed into the story and just knew that I wanted to find out how Callie and Sam's story was going to develop. This is a lovely introduction to the family of books and you are immediately struck with the feeling of togetherness which you find. Callie is not your usual celebrity author. She somehow fits into life in the village like a glove. You are in great hands with this author.  

 Everyone deserves a second chance at love, don't they?

Polly Nightingale never meant to fall in love again especially not with a biker thirteen years her junior. But then Jago Solomon enters her life with a guitar strapped to his back, and Polly and her six-year-old son, Archie, know that they’ve never been happier.

But what happened three years ago when Polly’s husband, Sean, went missing? And what will it mean for Polly and Jago if her past ever catches up with them?

Join the Nightingale family once again for the second in The Book Lovers series by the bestselling author of The Rose Girls.

My Thoughts

I had worried when I agreed to read both these books that I might be overstretching myself but I so loved the whole Nightingale clan at the end of the first book, that I couldn'r wait to carry on and find out what happened next. Polly turned out to have a few secrets which she had kept hidden from her family but she never lost that feeling of belonging and safety which the family stand for and you somehow hope that she will see the light and hold fast to her values. There are some quietly funny little asides in this story which I appreciated and it is lovely to catch up with Sam and Callie again. In all, I was willing the characters on to sort themselves out! Roll on Book 3! 

About the Author

 
Victoria Connelly studied English literature at Worcester University, got married in a medieval castle in the Yorkshire Dales and now lives in rural Suffolk with her artist husband, a young springer spaniel and a flock of ex-battery hens.


She is the author of two bestselling series, Austen Addicts and The Book Lovers, as well as many other novels and novellas. Her first published novel, Flights of Angels, was made into a film in 2008 by Ziegler Films in Germany. The Runaway Actress was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Romantic Comedy Novel award.

Ms Connelly loves books, films, walking, historic buildings and animals. If she isn’t at her keyboard writing, she can usually be found in her garden, with either a trowel in her hand or a hen on her lap.
Her website is www.victoriaconnelly.com  and readers can follow her on Twitter @VictoriaDarcy and on Instagram @VictoriaConnellyAuthor.
Thanks to Victoria Connelly, and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources  for a copy of the book and a place on the tour. 
Check out my reviews of Books 3 and 4 in the series on April 2nd!
                                                         Check out the rest of the tour!


 

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