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Arden by G D Harper #Review

  We start 2025 by visiting the sixteenth century and meeting two remarkable people from the time, one of whom happens to be William Shakespeare. Arden by G D Harper was published on October 1st by Ginger Cat .   The astonishing untold story of Shakespeare's first play Alice Arden, idealistic and wealthy beauty, burnt at the stake for killing her husband, the former mayor of Faversham in Kent. But was she really the one responsible for the most scandalous murder of the sixteenth century? William Shakespeare, Englandā€™s greatest playwright, born thirteen years after Aliceā€™s execution. Why does his first-ever play, written about this murder, not bear his name? This is a story of two people ā€“ one reviled, one revered ā€“ whose fates become linked in a tale of corruption, collusion and conspiracy. Based on historical documents and recently published academic research, Arden unveils shocking new evidence about the murder of Thomas Arden and reveals, for the first time...

The French Chateau Dream by Julie Caplin #Review #RomanticEscapesBook10

 

Today I am delighted to be featuring the tenth in Julie Caplin's Romantic Escapes series : The French Chateau Dream.  It was published  by One More Chapter on June 30th.

 
When wedding planner Hattie signs up for her dream job, organising her cousinā€™s wedding in France, it offers the perfect escape from a relationship thatā€™s been going south for a while.

Unfortunately when she arrives at the idyllic Chateau St Martin, not everyone is as enthusiastic about the forthcoming wedding, including Luc Bremont, son of the owner of the chateau. 

Luc has finally been given the chance to make his own champagne at the family vineyard and everything rests on making it a success, the last thing he wants is the distraction of a big wedding at the chateau.

Will Hattie be able to build bridges between the inhabitants of the chateau in order to allow the wedding to go ahead?


 My Thoughts

This was such an enjoyable story to read, with a gorgeous setting and a rich cast of characters. Having met some of the characters in The Christmas Castle in Scotland, I loved seeing why Hattie and Fliss did next. Hattie  has escaped to beautiful France, to follow her ambition of being a wedding planner. Luc has also returned to his Chateau home to pursue his dream of setting up the production of Champagne once more, at the vineyard in the grounds. There is a huge mystery at the centre of the family which remains hidden for most of the story. 

    There are some amusing moments, to go alongside the rich seam of romance. The antics of the brides and Hattie's attempts to get the chateau ready are quite comical at times. I did find myself getting impatient with Hattie at one time, when her loyalty to people in her past life seems to dominate her thinking. The commonsense of Luc's grangmother and the housekeeper keeps the story grounded, as does Flissā€™s love of cooking. However and throughout, you are hoping that the budding romances will bear fruit.

In short: romantic moments and bridal dramatic

About the Author

Julie Caplin, formerly a PR director, swanned around Europe for many years taking top food and drink writers on press trips (junkets) sampling the gastronomic delights of various cities in Italy, France, Belgium, Spain, Copenhagen and Switzerland. It was a tough job but someone had to do it.

 

These trips have provided the inspiration and settings for the highly successful Romantic Escapes series which have hit the best seller charts in Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic and have sold a million copies worldwide.

The first book in the nine strong series,The Little CafƩ in Copenhagen, was shortlisted for a Romantic Novel of the Year Award.

You can follow Julie here: Twitter @JulieCaplin  
                                        |  Twitter @Juleswake |    Facebook 
                                        |  Instagram

Book link: Amazon UK  
 
Thanks to Julie Caplin, One More Chapter and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources  for a copy of the book and a place on the tour. 

Follow the rest of the tour!
 

 

 

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