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See the Stars by Eleanor Ray #Review

  See the Stars by Eleanor Ray will be  published on February 5th 2026 by Piatkus .  Do you ever feel that life isn't going to plan?   When Alice Thorington collapses in the street after a particularly hellish day at work, she must finally admit to herself that her outwardly happy life - steady relationship, well-paid job, beautiful flat in the city - isn't everything she'd hoped it would be. Burnt out by long hours and living a life that doesn't fulfil her dreams, Alice returns home to Yorkshire.  Her childhood home brings complicated family dynamics, a rediscovery of her passion for stargazing and two new friends: Berti, a boy who finds it easier to count the stars than interact with people, and Matt, her brother's best friend and Alice's teenage crush. With each of them facing their own struggles, can the stars that meant so much to Alice in her past help them to find their way in the present?  Filled with heart and warmth, this uplifting novel...

Dreaming of Italy by T A Williams #Review #Publication Day

I absolutely love T A Williams' Dreaming of... series and I am delighted to be taking part in the Publication Day celebrations for his latest, Dreaming of Italy


Up for a dream promotion, Emma won’t let anything get in her way – not even love.

Working for a major Hollywood film company isn’t all glitz and glam. But when Emma gets sent to tour around Italy to scout the perfect location for a new blockbuster movie, she’s not going to complain. Especially when it could make or break her career…

Historical adviser for the project Mark is a distraction that Emma does not need. As they explore the beauty of Italy, Emma starts to fall for the mysterious Mark, and soon finds herself torn between her job and her heart.

From the wild, northern mountains of Piedmont, down the vibrant coast of Cinque Terre and through the rolling hills of Tuscany, Emma’s journey becomes one of self-discovery as she questions her priorities in life.


                                                                                     My Thoughts

One of the high points of a T A Williams book is the gorgeous setting but I do think he has excelled himself this time. Not content with setting his novels in one beautiful Italian place, he has given us a whole tour of the country and it sounds stunning. I particularly enjoyed the story within a story format we have this time. Emma is researching places for the filming of a new film, Dreaming of Italy, so parallel to Emma's story, you also get the storyline her party are following. 

    Emma and Mark both have things to come to terms with. Mark has a slightly mysterious past. Emma has spent her whole adult life being focussed on her career to the exclusion of everything else. They both have decisions to make. They aren't the only couple with decisions to make. There are other romances blooming in the Italian countryside. I was waiting for an adorable labrador to make an entrance and she did not disappoint. Food and water, as always, turned out to be this ladrador's passions. All I can say is - where next?

In short: Italy shimmers as romance blooms.
                                                                              About the Author


I’m a man. And a pretty old man as well. I did languages at university a long time ago and then lived and worked in France and Switzerland before going to Italy for seven years as a teacher of English. My Italian wife and I then came back to the UK with our little daughter (now long-since grown up) where I ran a big English language school for many years. We now live in a sleepy little village in Devonshire. I’ve been writing almost all my life but it was only seven years ago that I finally managed to find a publisher who liked my work enough to offer me my first contract.

The fact that I am now writing romantic comedy is something I still find hard to explain. My early books were thrillers and historical novels. Maybe it’s because there are so many horrible things happening in the world today that I feel I need to do my best to provide something to cheer my readers up. My books provide escapism to some gorgeous locations and, as a writer, I obviously have to go there in person and check them out first. I love my job…

You can follow Trevor here: Twitter | Website | Facebook 
Book links: Amazon UK
You can read my reviews of some of Trevor's books here: Dreaming of Christmas |  Dreaming of Florence   |   Dreaming of St Tropez| Dreaming of Rome | Dreaming of Verona
 
Thanks to T A Williams and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the event.


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