Guest Book Review: Alexandra Brown - The Great Village Show

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Tindledale is in a tizzy . . .

The Village Show competition is coming around again and after last year’s spectacular failure, the villagers are determined to win. Meg, teacher at the local school, is keen to help and to impose some much-needed order.

After a terse encounter with a newcomer to the village, Meg discovers that it is celebrity chef and culinary bad boy, Dan Wright. Meg thinks he is arrogant and rude but rumour has it that Dan is opening a new restaurant in the village which could really put Tindledale on the map.

As things come together, villagers old and new all start to come out of the woodwork, including new arrival Jessie who seems to have it all. But first impressions can be deceptive and Meg discovers that when it comes to Tindledale – and Dan – nothing is ever quite as it seems . . .

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

Christmas in July - Alexandra Brown - The Great Christmas Knit Off

Heartbroken after being jilted at the altar, Sybil has been saved from despair by her knitting obsession and now her home is filled to bursting with tea cosies, bobble hats, and jumpers. But, after discovering that she may have perpetrated the cock-up of the century at work, Sybil decides to make a hasty exit and, just weeks before Christmas, runs away to the picturesque village of Tindledale.

There, Sybil discovers Hettie’s House of Haberdashery, an emporium dedicated to the world of knitting and needle craft. But Hettie, the outspoken octogenarian owner, is struggling and now the shop is due for closure. And when Hettie decides that Sybil’s wonderfully wacky Christmas jumpers are just the thing to add a bit of excitement to her window display, something miraculous starts to happen…

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

Emma's Christmas Giveaway #1: Win a copy of The Great Christmas Knit Off by Alexandra Brown

As well as being a fabulous guest reviewer and great friend, Emma is also one generous lady as she has asked me to run two Christmas giveaways on her behalf for followers of the blog.  The first prize on offer is a copy of The Great Christmas Knit Off by Alexandra Brown and the other giveaway will be coming later this week.

Heartbroken after being jilted at the altar, Sybil has been saved from despair by her knitting obsession and now her home is filled to bursting with tea cosies, bobble hats, and jumpers. But, after discovering that she may have perpetrated the cock-up of the century at work, Sybil decides to make a hasty exit and, just weeks before Christmas, runs away to the picturesque village of Tindledale. 

Christmas Reading Challenge: Alexandra Brown - Christmas at Carrington's

Georgie Hart loves Christmas time at Carrington’s Department store. Running the luxury handbag department, Georgie adores helping customers in the hunt for the perfect gift for the perfect someone. And this year is no exception – now she has the hunky Tom, Mr Carrington himself, to spend the special day with.

But when Tom springs a surprise, Georgie’s plans are thrown into chaos. Carrington’s is getting a fresh lease of life in a hot new reality TV show, featuring formidable retail guru, Kelly Cooper.

As the first show airs, Georgie is shown in a far from flattering light. Worse is to come when Kelly’s vile daughter appears to get her claws into Tom. Georgie fears this will be the worst Christmas ever, but Santa still has a little surprise for her stocking this year – she’ll just have to wait until Christmas to find out…

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

Author Interview: Alexandra Brown

Today I'm interviewing Alexandra Brown as part of the blog tour for her latest book, Christmas at Carrington's, which I'll be reviewing as part of next month's Christmas Reading Challenge... and I can tell you that I loved it just as much as I did Cupcakes at Carrington's earlier this year.

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 
With hindsight, yes! But I had a lot of fun and heartache trying out other things first.

How long did it take you to get your first book published? 
Six years - I started writing seriously in 2006 and got my first book deal with Harper in 2012.

Can you tell us a little bit about Christmas at Carrington’s?
Christmas at Carrington’s is ultimately a comedy, with lots of snarky one-liners and cringe-inducing moments, and covers some serious topics too. It’s set in the run up to Christmas and there’s a surprise in-store when retail guru, Kelly Cooper, arrives to film her hot new reality TV show. Georgie is shown in a far from flattering light and ends up becoming a very reluctant reality TV star, and then when Tom, her new flame disappears; Georgie fears this could be the worse Christmas ever…. It's a warm funny Christmassy read with plenty of sparkle and lots of heart. 

If you were to work in one of the departments within Carrington’s, which would you choose and why?
Women’s Accessories for sure! Imagine being surrounded by all those lovely bags… that would be heavenly bliss for me.

Books Read: Alexandra Brown - Me and Mr Carrington

Georgie Hart can’t believe her luck. It looks like Tom, the hunky boss of Carrington’s Department Store, in the picture-postcard town of Mulberry-on-Sea, is as hot for her as she is for him. After a romantic Italian get-together leaves her on Cloud Nine, Georgie is brought back down to earth with a bump when she has to get back behind the counter of the Luxury Handbags section.

But when Georgie is left open-mouthed by a revelation from one of her well-heeled customers, it seems like Tom hasn’t been entirely honest with her. Has Georgie done her usual trick of adding two and two together to make five?

Ever wondered what happened when Georgie first got together with Mr Carrington himself? This deliciously funny short story is perfect for anyone who loved Cupcakes at Carrington’s, and for those discovering the lovable Georgie Hart for the first time.

Books Read: Alexandra Brown - Cupcakes at Carrington's

Georgie Hart loves her job--running the luxury handbag concession at Carrington's Department store in the pretty seaside town of Mulberry Bay, and treating herself (once too often!) to a red velvet cupcake with buttercream icing in Carrington's café. 

But Georgie is thrown into disarray when Carrington's is plunged into a recession-busting makeover, cueing the arrival of femme fatale Maxine, who wields the axe in her immaculately-manicured hands.

It spells a recipe for disaster for Georgie and soon she is fighting not only for her job, but also for the attentions of her gorgeous boss, James. And when hot newcomer Tom arrives, who may or may not be the best thing since sliced bread, Georgie must decide where her loyalties really lie...

Debut Spotlight: Alexandra Brown

One of the things I've loved since setting up this blog is discovering new authors, in particular authors who are publishing their debut books, so I've decided to launch this new feature to spotlight new authors.  First up is Alexandra Brown whose debut book, Cupcakes at Carringtons, is due to be published on 17th January.

Alexandra grew up in Brighton and left school at sixteen to run away to London with dreams of being a writer. On realising that she needed a proper job too, she went to work in an office.

Throughout her twenty year corporate career, she survived many dull meetings by writing a scene or two, until she could bear it no longer and collapsed in a heap and begged her husband to support her while she lounged on a chaise and waited for the muse to arrive. He’s now living in hope that she’ll become rich and famous so he can retire to sun himself by an infinity pool somewhere exotic.

After escaping office life, Alexandra won a competition run by The London Paper to write the weekly City Girl column, an expose of working life in the City of London. She wrote the column for two years before giving it up to concentrate on her first novel.

Alexandra lives in a rural village near Brighton with her husband, daughter and two very shiny black Labradors.