Books Read: Three Days in Florence by Chrissie Manby

When a mini-break becomes make or break...

Kathy Courage has never visited the famous Italian city of Florence before, so she's thrilled when she and her boyfriend Neil are invited there for a wedding. Unfortunately, with Neil's constant complaining and his teenage children in tow, it's not exactly the romantic break Kathy was hoping for.

But when a mix-up with her flights leaves Kathy stranded in the city, she decides to embrace the unexpected and stay on alone.

What follows is a life-changing few days in the Tuscan sun, as Kathy begins to question the choices that have led her here. With the help of the colourful Innocenti family, who offer Kathy a place to stay, she gradually begins to realise that there's a much bigger world out there, if only she can be brave enough to explore it.

Could Italy hold the answers to her future happiness? Or is Kathy destined to return to her old life?

Amazon Affiliate Links: Kindle or Paperback

Giveaway: Win a signed copy of Three Days in Florence by Chrissie Manby & a Rooftop Book Club tote bag

Today it's my stop on the blog tour for Chrissie Manby's latest book Three Days in Florence for which I'll be hosting a review as well as a giveaway.  I've decided to run the giveaway post first separately rather than as part of the review which will be uploaded later as having a few laptop issues today.

On Wednesday night I headed up to London for the latest Rooftop Book Club event which featured Chrissie Manby, Sheila O'Flanagan and Beth O'Leary talking about their books with Nina Pottell, the Books Editor at Prima magazine.

I've been to several of these evenings since the Rooftop Book Club was set up a few years ago, although this was the first one I have been to this year due to work commitments, and they're always fun and entertaining. I love hearing authors talk passionately about books, their writing and inspirations/research for their novels and this Girls' Night In was no exception.

Chrissie Manby Book Launch & Giveaway for a copy of A Proper Family Adventure

It's not very often that you get invited for a VIP tour round a luxury cruise ship so when I received an invite to the book launch for Chrissie Manby's latest book, A Proper Family Adventure, which was taking place on board the Royal Princess in Southampton it was too good an invite to turn down especially as it was so close to home.  So having swapped my day off work, this morning I headed off on the train to Southampton for what was to be a fantastic event.  Thank you Hodder Books & Chrissie for the invite and Princess Cruises for the wonderful hospitality.

Sadly the weather wasn't playing ball today and it was a dreary grey day but the Royal Princess still shone in all her glory as you approached the docks.  

Having never been on a cruise ship before I had no idea what to expect but it was luxury overload from the very moment we boarded. 

Books Read: Chrissie Manby - A Proper Family Christmas

Take one Queen Bee: Annabel Buchanan, with a perfect house in the country, a rich husband and a beautiful daughter, Izzy . . . 

. . . and one large, loud family: the Bensons. What happens when their worlds collide? 

When Izzy suddenly falls dangerously ill, adoptee Annabel has to track down her biological family to see if they can help her daughter. But can she see past the Bensons' brash exteriors to the warm, loving people they are at heart? 

With December just around the corner, is it too much to hope that the Bensons and the Buchanans can have a proper family Christmas?

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

Books Read: Chrissie Manby - A Proper Family Holiday

Could you survive a week-long holiday with your entire family?

Newly single magazine journalist Chelsea Benson can't think of anything worse.

Your grubby small nephew torpedoing any chance of romance with the dishy guy you met on the plane...

Your eighty-five-year-old granddad chatting up ladies at the hotel bar...

Getting nothing but sarcastic comments from your older sister, who's always been the family favourite...

And all this is before your parents drop their bombshell.

Is a week enough time for the Bensons to put their differences aside and have some fun? Or is this their last ever proper family holiday?

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback 

Author Interview: Chrissie Manby

I first discovered Chrissie Manby as an author after being given a copy of Running away from Richard and over the years I've now read most of her books, including those written as Olivia Darling, apart from her Stella Knightley trilogy.  

So it was a huge delight to meet Chrissie in person a couple of weeks ago at an author/reviewer event for the Sunlounger 2 anthology which is published later this month and chat to her briefly. Afterwards Chrissie kindly agreed to do a Q& A to talk about her latest book, A Proper Family Holiday, which I'm hoping to finish reading this afternoon so hope to upload my review soon.

Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book A Proper Family Holiday?
A Proper Family Holiday is the story of the Benson family, who go to Lanzarote en masse to celebrate the matriarch Jacqui’s sixtieth birthday. The family party ranges from Granddad Bill, who is in his eighties, to Jack, who is only six. Though all the family members have a role to play, the novel really centres on adult siblings Ronnie (Veronica) and Chelsea. As children, the sisters were close, but as adults they lead very different lives. Ronnie became pregnant as a teenager. As a result, she dropped out of school and is now a full-time mum in Coventry. Chelsea went on to university and has a high-flying job at a glossy magazine in London. 

When the novel begins, Ronnie and Chelsea are estranged after an argument at a previous family barbecue. They promise their mother that they will try to get along for just seven days. But the sisters find still find it difficult to see eye-to-eye, until Jacqui reveals a secret that will either bring the family together properly at last or blow it apart forever. 

Where did the inspiration come from to write about an extended family going on holiday together? 
I’ve been writing about twenty-somethings falling in and out of love for almost two decades. I wanted to try something new and write from the perspective of the kind of characters you don’t often get in a rom-com, like pensioners, young children and teenagers. Creating a family is the perfect way to do it all at once! And who doesn’t love a holiday setting? Sunshine, swimming pools and sangria. Though when I went to Lanzarote, it rained non-stop for a week. The locals told us they had never seen weather like it. Normally, they said, it’s beautiful here. Great…

Christmas Reading Challenge: Chrissie Manby - The Christmas List

It’s the 1st of December and Milly Arnold is facing a miserable Noel. Newly single, the last thing she wants to do is join her settled sister and her young family for the first of their traditions: the writing of the Christmas lists. However Milly’s nephews have other ideas and insist she writes a list of her own (with illustrations to help Father Christmas decipher her terrible handwriting). Milly duly makes a request for a bunch of roses, some chocolate and a new pair of shoes. She doesn’t expect to get any of it. 

However, that very day, a box of chocolates appears, swiftly followed by the roses. And when Milly wins a voucher to buy a pair of shoes, she begins to wonder if there’s something in this Christmas cosmic ordering after all. She quickly amends her first letter. However, as Christmas gets closer and the items she requested appear in increasingly unexpected ways, Milly starts to worry that Santa might be taking her list just a little too literally...

Amazon link: Kindle 

Books Read: Chrissie Manby - What I Did On My Holidays

Source - Received from publisher to review
 

When Callum dumps Sophie the night before they were meant to go to Majorca together, she has a choice.  Completely forget about the holiday, or go without him?

In a show of bravery and independence, Sophie says she'll go to Majorca alone.  But actually she hides in her London flat.  And when her friends and family (not to mention Callum) seem impressed by her single girl courage, Sophie decides to go all out and create the 'fake break' ... with hilarious results.