All Books Considered

The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella Blurb from Goodreads : Sasha has had it. She cannot bring herself to respond to another inane, “urgent” (but obviously not at all urgent) email or participate in the corporate employee joyfulness program. She hasn’t seen her friends in months. Sex? Seems like a lot of effort. Even cooking dinner takes far too much planning. Sasha has hit a wall. Armed with good intentions to drink kale smoothies, try yoga, and find peace, she heads to the seaside resort she loved as a child. But it’s the off season, the hotel is in a dilapidated shambles, and she has to share the beach with the only other a grumpy guy named Finn, who seems as stressed as Sasha. How can she commune with nature when he’s sitting on her favorite rock, watching her? Nor can they agree on how best to alleviate their burnout ( manifesting, wild swimming; drinki...

The Only Way Is Up by Heidi Stephens Blurb from Goodreads : Twenty-five years in showbiz is a good run, right? Because after tonight, when her small (read: huge) wardrobe malfunction was broadcast to the nation's living rooms, Daisy's time in the spotlight might be over. It's all about damage control now, and Daisy needs an escape route. Fast. Especially when her sporting hero boyfriend publicly announces their engagement - the one she hasn't actually agreed to tell the world about. All she needs is space from prying eyes and time for the press to get bored and move on. But the only place she can run to at such short notice is the Cotswolds cottage she used to own with her ex-husband. Not ideal, but at least it's in the middle of nowhere and close to her teenage daughter. Seems like a perfect plan, apart from the person selling stories to the tabloids about her and Tom, the local headmaster. But tha...

The Man I Never Met by Elle Cook Blurb from Goodreads : Is it possible to love someone you've never met? A young woman finds out in this sweeping will-they-or-won't-they love story that begins with a chance wrong number dial. . . . When Hannah picks up a call from an unknown number, she doesn't imagine it will change her life. After all, it's just an easygoing American named Davey who misdialed her while calling into a job interview. And when Hannah jokingly wishes him luck after clearing up the confusion, she never actually expects to hear from him again. Then she gets a text saying he got the job and he'll be moving to London, and she can't help but smile. As they continue to message and their texts become phone calls that become video calls, their friendship becomes a relationship that they can't wait to start in earnest ...

Just Haven't Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens Blurb from Goodreads : Laura's business trip to the Channel Islands isn't exactly off to a great start. After unceremoniously dumping everything in her bag in front of the most attractive man she's ever seen in real life, she arrives at her hotel only to realize she's grabbed the wrong suitcase from the airport. Her only consolation? The irresistibly appealing contents of the case: a copy of her favorite book; piano music; and a rugged, heavy knit fisherman sweater only a Ryan Gosling lookalike could pull off. The owner of this suitcase is Laura's dream man--she's sure of it. Now, all she has to do is find him. The mix-up seems written in the stars. After all, what are the odds that she'd find The One on the same remote island where her mom and dad had first fallen in love, espe...

T he Summer Job by Lizzy Dent Blurb from Goodreads : Have you ever imagined running away from your life? Well Birdy Finch didn't just imagine it. She did it. Which might've been an error. And the life she's run into? Her best friend, Heather's. The only problem is, she hasn't told Heather. Actually there are a few other problems... Can Birdy carry off a summer at a luxury Scottish hotel pretending to be her best friend (who incidentally is a world-class wine expert)? And can she stop herself from falling for the first man she's ever actually liked (but who thinks she's someone else)? My Review:   I wanted to love this because the premise sounded so promising and fun and it was compared to Sweetbitter , which I loved!  However, I just found myself cringing so hard and almost unable to finish this book from secon...

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella Blurb from Goodreads : Fixie Farr has always lived by her father’s motto: “Family first.” But since her dad passed away, leaving his charming housewares store in the hands of his wife and children, Fixie spends all her time picking up the slack from her siblings instead of striking out on her own. The way Fixie sees it, if she doesn’t take care of her father’s legacy, who will? It’s simply not in her nature to say no to people. So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, Fixie not only agrees—she ends up saving it from certain disaster. Turns out the computer’s owner is an investment manager. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, Sebastian scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card. But Fixie laughs it off—she’d never actually claim an IOU from a stranger. Would she? Then Fixie’s childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into h...

One Way or Another by Colleen Coleman Blurb from Goodreads : Twenty-nine-year-old Katie Kelly is at an all-time low. The love of her life, gorgeous Ben Cole, took a job abroad and broke her heart, the restaurant she’d put her all into went bust, and now she works in a retirement home, cooking beige mush for the residents.  Not exactly the life Katie had dreamed of…  So when the opportunity comes up to work for one of the best chefs in the country – Katie’s idol – she is determined to get the job, no matter what. But then she discovers who she’s competing against: Ben, who Katie still isn’t over.  As the competition heats up, Katie and Ben spend more and more time together, and it’s clear the old spark is still there… But only one person can win their perfect job. Can Katie have it all, or will she have to choose between the man and the career she loves?...

Recipe for Love by Katie Fforde Blurb from Goodreads : Take one aspiring cook. When Zoe Harper wins a coveted place in a televised cookery competition, she can’t wait to put her cooking skills to the test. Add a very desirable judge. But as the competition heats up, she realises she’s developing an inconvenient crush on one of the judges, the truly delicious Gideon Irving. Stir in a heaped tablespoon of romance. All too soon there’s more than canapés, cupcakes and cordon bleu at stake. Will Zoe win the competition, or is Gideon one temptation too far? My Review:   Although this was my least favorite of the three re-released books for kindle by Katie Fforde this summer, I still enjoyed this one.  This book is essentially a romance taking place between a contestant and a judge on a cooking reality show: think Top Chef meets The Great British Bake Off.  It was fun with the reality sh...

Little Beach Street Bakery (Little Beach Street Bakery #1) by Jenny Colgan Blurb from Goodreads : Polly Waterford is recovering from a toxic relationship. Unable to afford their flat, she has to move miles away from everyone, to a sleepy little seaside resort in Cornwall, where she lives alone above an abandoned shop. And so Polly takes out her frustrations on her favourite hobby: making bread. But what was previously a weekend diversion suddenly becomes far more important as she pours her emotions into kneading and pounding the dough, and each loaf becomes better and better. With nuts and seeds, olives and chorizo, with local honey (courtesy of local bee keeper, Huckle), and with reserves of determination and creativity Polly never knew she had, she bakes and bakes and bakes.... And people start to hear about it. Sometimes, bread really is life...and Polly is about to reclaim hers. My Review:   This was a cute...