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Wish You Weren't Here by Portia Macintosh #Review

  I am delighted to feature a laugh outloud romcom by Portia Macintosh . Wish You Weren't Here was published on January 8th by Boldwood Books .   Don’t get mad, get Ethan! Lana has had enough. Her ‘perfect’ sister is getting married. In Australia. On Lana’s 30th birthday and no one seems to have noticed. To make matters worse, she’s been given a list of rules she must follow so she doesn’t upstage the bride. Well, rules are meant to be bent right? She’s found a killer dress, now she just needs the most inappropriate wedding date she can find. But where to start? All her attempts at online dating are simply disasters, and not in the right way! Too boring/married/easily intimidated! But then her drop dead gorgeous ex Ethan suddenly reappears in her life. With the power to make her dizzy with excitement she reminds herself why they broke up. Together they literally attracted chaos until their relationship imploded. They couldn’t make it work. But could Lana make this work ...
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The Start of the Story by Jane Lovering #Review

 

We are back to the Yorkshire Moors for an uplifting story from Jane Lovering. The Start of the Story was published by Boldwood on September 17th.

 
Rowan Thorpe can be forgiven for living with one foot in the past.

Since having to say goodbye far too young to the future she had planned, moving on still feels a daunting task. So, when historian Connor O’Keefe strides purposefully into her office and life, looking far too handsome for his own good and threatening to undermine the local legends she holds close to her heart, she is more than a little unsettled.

Connor has a past too, and his own reasons to keep his heart under wraps. But when a combination of fate and an unexpected snowstorm mean that Rowan and Connor have all the time in the world to swap stories, it may finally be time for an end and a new beginning.


 My Thoughts

This is a story with real bite. Rowan is living a semi-reclusive life in her cottage up on the Yorkshire Moors. Her work in academia researching folklore puts her apart from history approaches, based as it is on oral traditions rather than written evidenced facts. A visiting historian, Connor, is researching possible roman links on the moors. This brings him into  confrontation with Rowan, When they end up sharing her cottage, Rowan's life gets very complicated. 

    As the story develops you learn more about both Rowan and Connor's pasts and previous relationships. There is a lot of sadness in Rowan's life which takes Connor by surprise but which shows his empathy. The mystery of a stone slab up on the moors is a source of conflict between them. When you find out the actual reason for its existence, it is quite a shock. This story does draw you in and is a rewarding read. 

In short: new beginnings which are hard won.

About the Author

 


Jane Lovering is the bestselling and award-winning romantic comedy writer who won the RNA Contemporary Romantic Novel Award in 2023 with A Cottage Full of Secrets. She lives in Yorkshire and has a cat and a bonkers terrier, as well as five children who have now left home.

 

You can follow Jane here:  Twitter  | Facebook |  Website   |  Bookbub  |  Newsletter Sign up

 Purchase links 

Thanks to Jane Lovering, Boldwood Books and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour. 

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