HI Readathon: From Italy with Love by Jules Wake

Home-loving Laurie thinks she’s happy – she has a safe, reliable boyfriend and working in her local library is what she thought she always wanted. That is until she inherits a vintage Ferrari from her eccentric Uncle Miles and the conditions of the inheritance are far from simple. To keep the car Laurie will have to drive across Europe with the gorgeous but unreliable Cameron Matthews as her guide… and Cam’s motives for helping are not all that altruistic.

Cam isn’t particularly thrilled about escorting his late pal Miles’ dull mouse of a niece on this wild goose chase but all he has to do is get Laurie safely to Italy and he’s sure the Ferrari is his.

But Uncle Miles had a few tricks up his sleeve and the route he’s planned takes Cam and Laurie on a road trip they’ll never forget. From sampling the delights of the Loire Valley to the breathtaking beauty of Lake Garda, this is one journey that has more twists and turns than either of them could ever have imagined…

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

HI Readathon: One Fine Day by Teresa F. Morgan

Just a boy standing in front of a girl…

Steve Mason returns from Hollywood after 15 years to catch up with his sister, Ruby. He’s miserable because the woman he was planning on marrying has dumped him.

He’s now worried that with his A-list celebrity status he won’t find a woman who genuinely loves him. Ruby devises a plan to disguise Steve, so that he is unrecognisable as the famous Hollywood actor, in a hope to help him find true love. It worked for Clark Kent, right?

As Steve searches for his not-so-perfect woman and has a taste of normality, his relationship develops with his sister. But will he find the right woman before he has to head back to his real life in Hollywood?

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

HI Readathon: The First Christmas Without You by Michelle Betham

Reviewed by Louise Wykes

A story of love and hope at Christmas, The First Christmas Without You is an emotional and poignant novella. A truly magical Lapland fairytale…

Jessie Collins has always wanted to visit Lapland. But this Christmas, more than any other, it’s the place she feels she really needs to be as she tries to come to terms with a future she really needs to start living.

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

HI Readathon: While I Was Waiting by Georgia Hill

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

June 1963, Clematis Cottage, Stoke St. Mary, Herefordshire

I am really not sure why I am writing this. A foolish whim by a foolish old lady and it will probably sit in a box unread and decay much like its writer when Death makes his careless decision.

But perhaps someone will find it. Someone will care enough to read and somehow I know that will happen.

April 2000, Clematis Cottage, Stoke St. Mary, Herefordshire

Tired of her life in London, freelance illustrator Rachel buys the beautiful but dilapidated Clematis Cottage and sets about creating the home of her dreams. But tucked away behind the water tank in the attic and left to gather dust for decades is an old biscuit tin containing letters, postcards and a diary. So much more than old scraps of paper, these are precious memories that tell the story of Henrietta Trenchard-Lewis, the love she lost in the Great War and the girl who was left behind.

Amazon link: Kindle

HI Readathon: Say It with Sequins by Georgia Hill

Slip on some dance shoes and step up to love!

Who Dares Dances is a reality TV show with a difference. Not only do contestants have to learn to dance, they also face a series of bizarre challenges. But these challenges are nothing compared to the scandals happening on – and off – the ballroom floor!

As the celebrities get closer to both the winners’ trophy and their professional partners it’s all to dance for… Will they score the perfect ten or is romance destined to be a dance disaster?

Amazon link: Kindle

HI Readathon: A Cottage in the Country by Linn B. Halton

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

What do you do when your best friend has an affair with your husband of twenty-five years?

Well, you pack your bags, grab half of the equity in the house you've both lovingly restored and run away to an idyllic little cottage in the country.

Only, it’s not quite so idyllic when

1) Rustic charm sounds rather romantic, but the reality is something else …

2) The heavens decide to open on moving day and the rain just keeps on coming

Maddie Brooks grits her teeth and hires the highly recommended 'man who can', ex-soldier, Lewis Hart. As he rips out the very shabby, and decidedly not-so-chic kitchen, reality sets in. Not only is he the most abrupt person she's ever met, but the man is a Neanderthal!

As the flood waters rise, and the village is cut off, everything that could possibly go wrong, does.

Hitting the big five-o is the final straw. No presents, family or friends—just infuriating Lewis, who can’t leave because the flood has now cut off his exit. How on earth is she going to get through this and put her life back together?

Can Maddie Brooks become that ‘fifty-and-fabulous’ woman of her dreams?

Amazon link: Kindle

HI Readathon: Meet Me at the Honeymoon Suite by Charlotte Phillips

Happy ever after…?

Fascinated by weddings since her mother was jilted at the altar when she was seven years old, Amy Woods is a brilliantly efficient wedding organizer, thanks to her ability to see past all the emotion and magic of ‘the big day’. Now, after years of being the assistant, she’s landed her dream job as Wedding and Events Manager at exclusive boutique hotel The Lavington. All she needs to do is pull off her first wedding weekend without a hitch…

Unfortunately the groom turns out to be her own marriage-phobic ex-boyfriend, proving yet again that Amy is good enough to be the warm up act but never the real deal. Then she breaks all her own rules and sleeps with the delicious but definitely off limits best man! To pull off the perfect weekend now, she will need to be her most clear-headed and emotionless. But as she gets to know best man Owen outside the bedroom, keeping herself focussed on the task isn’t so easy anymore.

Amazon link: Kindle

HI Readathon: The Kiss Before Midnight by Sophie Pembroke

Heading home to Liverpool for Christmas, Molly Mackenzie isn’t just looking forward to the mulled wine and mince pies – she’s got high hopes for who she’ll find under the mistletoe this year!

Unable to forget the delicious near miss with her brother’s best friend, Jake, last New Year’s Eve, Molly’s got a new resolution at the top of her list: seduce Jake and get this crazy chemistry out the way before it has serious repercussions on the rest of the Mackenzie family.

Only Molly has underestimated the magic of the holiday season… The more stolen moments in the snow that she shares with Jake, the more determined she is to make it a whole lot more than just a kiss before midnight.

Amazon link: Kindle

HI Readathon: Cold Feet at Christmas by Debbie Johnson

Running out on your wedding shouldn’t be this much fun!

A remote Scottish castle on a snowy Christmas Eve. A handsome husband-to-be. A dress to die for. It should have been the happiest day of Leah Harvey’s life – but the fairytale wedding turns sour when she finds her fiancé halfway up the bridesmaid’s skirt just hours before the ceremony!

Fleeing the scene in a blizzard, Leah ends up stranded at the nearest cottage, where she collapses into the arms of its inhabitant – a man so handsome she thinks she must have died and gone to heaven!

And when Rob Cavelli suddenly finds himself with an armful of soaking wet, freezing cold, and absolutely gorgeous bride on the run, he’s more than happy to welcome her into his snowbound cottage this Christmas…

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback 

HI Readathon: It Started at Sunset Cottage by Bella Osborne

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Kate Marshall is slowly getting her life back on track after losing her fiancé. As an author she has been able to hide herself away from the world and its expectations – but now one of her books has been optioned for a film and Hollywood suddenly comes knocking on her door!

When Kate is given the opportunity to stay at a beautiful country retreat and concentrate on the screenplay, it’s an offer she can’t refuse. Encouraged by her best friend, sharp-tongued single mum Sarah, Kate sees it’s finally time to stop letting life pass her by.

Looking for confidence and inspiration in the idyllic Cotswolds countryside, the last thing Kate expects is for Timothy Calder, A-list actor and leading man in the movie adaptation of her book, to turn up on her doorstep, hoping to lie low after his latest tabloid scandal! But after a rocky start, with Tim narrowly avoiding death by watering can, they find they have a few things in common: a liking for Lady Grey tea, walnut whips and bad ‘knock knock’ jokes. Actually, the bad jokes are just Tim.

As an unlikely friendship begins to blossom, and with circumstances repeatedly throwing them together, is Sunset Cottage where both Kate and Tim’s lives will really start?

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

HI Readathon - Pippa's Cornish Dream by Debbie Johnson

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Every summer has a story…

Since Pippa Harte was forced to take over her parents’ farm, she’s barely had time to shave her legs let alone make time for a date. Now she’s more likely to be getting down and dirty mucking out the pigs – and avoiding those of the human male variety.

When Ben Retallick walks out of her childhood and back into her present it seems that perhaps Pippa has more time than she thought. All Poldark smoulders and easy-going charm, Ben’s definitely worth whipping her wellies off for!

But Ben is a man with his own past and his own issues – and as much as she’s enjoying having him around, she’s got to get a grip. After all life isn’t always a beach … Then again, this is Cornwall.

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

HI Read-a-thon list & giveaway

Over the next couple of weeks Emma, Louise and I will be reviewing a few Harper Impulse titles as part of the HI Read-a-thon organised by Katey at Books with Bunny.  Between us we've built up quite a selection of eBooks over the last few years that have sadly been overlooked so now is the perfect time to read and review them.

Below is a list of some of eBooks that we are hoping to read between us although it's highly unlikely that we'll manage them all! 

Aimee Duffy - Trouble in Tinseltown http://amzn.to/1JXPwVM

Aimee Duffy - Misbehaving in Miami http://amzn.to/1Ig1Sbz

Bella Osborne - It Started at Sunset Cottage http://amzn.to/1gyyVRx

Brigid Coady - The First Kiss http://amzn.to/1StptzH

Brigid Coady - The Last Kiss http://amzn.to/1eKWBAd

Charlotte Phillips - Your Room or Mine? http://amzn.to/1Ic5UE1

Charlotte Phillips - Meet Me at the Honeymoon Suite http://amzn.to/1MEdJGC

Debbie Johnson - Cold Feet at Christmas http://amzn.to/1HfkJlp

Debbie Johnson - Pippa's Cornish Dream http://amzn.to/1LWQmqb

Erin Lawless - Somewhere Only We Know http://amzn.to/1OI8CTw