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The Widow's Vow by Rachel Brimble #Review #PublicationDay

  Today's historical fiction takes us to Victorian England and Bath. Published by Boldwood  today on December 16th, A Widow's Vow is the first in the Ladies of Carson Street saga series by Rachel Brimble.   From grieving widow... 1851. After her merchant husband saved her from a life of prostitution, Louisa Hill was briefly happy as a housewife in Bristol. But then a constable arrives at her door. Her husband has been found hanged in a Bath hotel room, a note and a key to a property in Bath the only things she has left of him. And now the debt collectors will come calling. To a new life as a madam. Forced to leave everything she knows behind, Louisa finds more painful betrayals waiting for her in the house in Bath. Left with no means of income, Louisa knows she has nothing to turn to but her old way of life. But this time, she'll do it on her own terms – by turning her home into a brothel for upper class gentleman. And she's determined to spare the girls she sa...

The Never Have I Ever Club by Mary Jayne Baker #Review

Welcome to The Never Have I Ever Club which was published by Aria on 18th June. 

Robyn Bloom thought Ash Barnes was the love of her life – until one day he announced he was leaving her to fly halfway across the world.

Months later, Robyn is struggling to move on – but then she has a brainwave: The Never Have I Ever Club. Her handsome next-door neighbour Will helps her bring their fellow Yorkshire villagers together for some carpe-diem-inspired fun.
From burlesque dancing to Swedish massages, everyone has plenty of bucket-list activities to try, but it doesn't take long for Robyn to realise what – or who – her heart truly desires: Will.
There's just one problem: he's Ash's twin brother. 

Make that two problems: Ash is moving home... and he wants Robyn back. 

Mary Jayne Baker is the recipient of the RNA Romantic Comedy Award for A Question of Us

My Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed this romcom with its emphasis on second chances and testing the boundary between family and friendship. Robyn is a perfect central character, with a self-deprecating side and an independent but always kind approach to life.  You are also introduced to a range of characters. What they all have in common is a desire to be kind to their neighbours and to relish the feeling of community and friendship which seems to spread through the village. 
    The twins add a lot of interest to the story so that you can compare and contrast the two and see what is appealing to Robyn in the end. I also loved the humour in the story as the generations come together and make it clear that age is not always a barrier to trying out new things. This is a thoroughly enjoyable read which also involves you into the quandary which Robyn finds herself- which twin to choose?

In short: A rom com to savour.

About the Author

Mary Jayne Baker grew up in rural West Yorkshire, right in the heart of Brontë country… and she's still there. After graduating from Durham University with a degree in English Literature, she dallied with living in cities including London, Nottingham and Cambridge, but eventually came back with her own romantic hero in tow to her beloved Dales, where she first started telling stories about heroines with flaws and the men who love them.

Mary Jayne’s novel A Question of Us was the winner of the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year Award 2020. She also writes uplifting women’s fiction as Lisa Swift.
You can follow Mary Jayne Baker here:  Website  |  Twitter
                                                                 | Facebook


Book link: Amazon UK 
Thanks to Mary Jayne Baker, and Victoria Joss of Aria Books for a copy of the book and a place on the tour. 

 

 


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