Reviewed by Emma Crowley
There’s nothing more magical than a winter wonderland wedding but when photographer Holly North returns to the cosy village of St Aidan she’s determined to avoid romance and the festive season full stop. She’s doing one small favour for a friend’s wedding and then her plans involve diving under her duvet and avoiding any sign of Christmas cheer – and gorgeous but insufferable Rory Sanderson – for the rest of December!
That is until Christmas arrives at Brides by the Sea, Cornwall’s enchanting and most adorable little wedding shop. The champagne is on ice while mistletoe hangs from every nook and Holly’s friends at the shop are determined she’ll live up to her festive name.
Reviewed by Emma Crowley
When the owner of Brides by the Sea, Cornwall’s cutest little wedding shop, offers Lily a job as their new wedding stylist, her first thought is – can she possibly pull it off?
Before she’s even sourced a fairy light or tasted a cupcake, Kip Penryn hires her services – but he’s opened an exclusive wedding venue in direct competition to her friend Poppy!
Lily feels like a traitor working for Kip, only everyone knows Penryn men are gorgeous but unreliable. All she has to do is sit back and watch him mess it up…doesn’t she?
Love is in the Cornish sea breeze this summer as the girls tackle their busiest wedding season yet. There’s plenty of bunting, bubbly and baking – but who is going to catch the bouquet?
Reviewed by Emma Crowley
The snow is falling around Brides by the Sea, Cornwall’s cutest little wedding shop, and wedding dress designer Seraphina East is in her cosy studio designing exquisite dresses to make even the most demanding bride’s dreams come true.
Unless the bride is her big sister Alice of course. Saying that the two sisters don’t always see eye to eye is an understatement. Alice hasn’t even asked Sera to design her wedding dress. But when an absent groom and ill-fitting dress threaten to ruin Alice’s happiness let alone her big day, Sera’s determined to give her sister the winter wedding of her dreams – even if that means keeping not one but two irresistibly gorgeous best men under control…
Is Sera going to end up being the maid of dishonour…Or will repairing her frozen relationship with Alice be the icing on the wedding cake?
Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Brides by the Sea, the cutest little wedding shop in all of Cornwall, has it all, including cake baker Poppy who lives upstairs. But wedding planning is not the piece of cake Poppy thought it would be, and when her best friend Cate’s wedding planner walks out, Poppy has to tie up the loose ends so her bestie can tie the knot.
Double-booked venues, ‘rustic’ locations and gorgeous but grumpy farmer Rafe have this wedding pro feeling like she could be Cate’s ‘something blue.’
Will the wedding, the shop and the cake all come crashing down on her? Or will Poppy pull it off to give Cate – and herself – the happy ever afters they deserve?
It's week two of the Happy Harper Christmas event organised by Katey Lovell and it's my pleasure to welcome Jane Linfoot, author of The Vintage Cinema Club, back to the blog to find out what she loves about Christmas.
What's your earliest or best Christmas memory?
As a child, our family used to spend Christmas with my grandparents on their farm, which was somewhere I loved. When we went to bed on Christmas Eve my grandmother always used to sneak out into the garden and ring bells. Once when I was quite small I remember looking out of the bedroom window onto a frosty moonlit garden, and seeing Santa flying past on his sleigh. Looking back, I think it must have been a lucky coincidence that a helicopter happened to be passing, but it had me convinced for years.
What are you most looking forward to this Christmas?
I’m looking forward to putting the tree up, because that’s when it feels like Christmas has begun. And I love helping my partner to decorate his house – he has thirteen boxes of Christmas stuff, and last year I counted seven Christmas trees at his. I hate taking the decorations down though, because everything looks so sad afterwards. Sometimes I accidentally-on-purpose forget to take down some of the fairy lights, because I love a bit of year round twinkle.
Do you have any family Christmas traditions that you follow?
We always decorate the tree with something home made - biscuits in festive shapes are a favourite, especially with the dogs, who sidle past and help themselves. And although the girls have their own places now, we all like to meet up early on Christmas morning, for a dog walk and present opening.
If you could invite one person, dead or alive, to celebrate Christmas with you, who would it be?
The fun answer to that is Johnny Depp, dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow, would make the party go with a swing. He’s very decorative, and I like his wry humour.
The sad answer is that I really wish my dad was still here – I’d give anything for Christmas with him.
Sadly I know exactly how you feel although for me it's my mum, Christmas has never been the same since we lost her so suddenly.
Reviewed by Tanya Phillips
Meet The Vintage Cinema Club….
Izzy is a wow at making unwanted things pretty, but with three brothers and her shabby chic furniture business to run she doesn’t have time to date. Could a fabulous French proposal change her mind?
Single mum Luce’s vintage bridal dresses are exquisite, but there’s no way she’s ever going to wear one or walk down the aisle for that matter. She’s a strictly no romance, one night kind of woman – or so she thinks…
Dida seems to have it all – a chocolate and banana cake recipe to die for, lovely kids (most of the time!) and a great lifestyle. But what good is a fabulous home, when your marriage has more cracks than a pavlova and your husband is having it off with half of Lithuania?
Three retro fabulous friends, in love with all things vintage, run their dream business from the faded grandeur of a rescued cinema. When that dream comes under threat, they’ll do whatever it takes to save it.
Today it's my absolute pleasure to welcome Harper Impulse author Jane Linfoot back to the blog so that she can tell us a bit about her latest book The Vintage Cinema Club which was published yesterday.
Meet The Vintage Cinema Club….
Izzy is a wow at making unwanted things pretty, but with three brothers and her shabby chic furniture business to run she doesn’t have time to date. Could a fabulous French proposal change her mind?
Single mum Luce’s vintage bridal dresses are exquisite, but there’s no way she’s ever going to wear one or walk down the aisle for that matter. She’s a strictly no romance, one night kind of woman – or so she thinks…
Dida seems to have it all – a chocolate and banana cake recipe to die for, lovely kids (most of the time!) and a great lifestyle. But what good is a fabulous home, when your marriage has more cracks than a pavlova and your husband is having it off with half of Lithuania?
Three retro fabulous friends, in love with all things vintage, run their dream business from the faded grandeur of a rescued cinema. When that dream comes under threat, they’ll do whatever it takes to save it.
Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book The Vintage Cinema Club?
The Vintage Cinema Club centres on Izzy, Luce and Dida, who have a fabulous vintage shop in a wonderful old cinema building. When their dream comes under threat they have to fight to save it.
It’s about the tangles of their very different lives and struggles, all bound together by their friendship. Think sassy, funny, warm hearted, happy...with a dash of sour to temper the sweetness.
If you fancy a summer hanging out with friends in country villages, with a great vintage vibe, a taste of France thrown in, and strands of love and heartache woven through, step this way. The only drawback is how much you might miss them when it’s over.
This morning I'm delighted to welcome author Jane Linfoot to the blog to talk about her latest book High Heels and Bicycle Wheels which Tanya reviewed earlier this month.
Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book High Heels and Bicycle Wheels?
High Heels & Bicycle Wheels is sexy chick lit, with a whole lot of humour and emotion thrown into the mix. It’s fresh, it’s different, it’s got explosive chemistry, and a fab summer feel, which makes it a great beach or poolside read, but it’s also fab to read when you’re at home and want to dream. Think camper vans, beaches, a hot successful, complex pro cyclist hero, Jackson, whose demons are overtaking him, and a determined heroine, Bryony, who is used to being in control, and isn’t going to give that up without a fight.
It’s two strong people, thrown together, on a road trip neither intended to go on, discovering a lot about themselves on the way, and finding that one summer will change their lives forever. And it’s about the last bit of growing up you have to do, before you’re ready to commit.
Reviewed by Tanya Phillips
Meet Bryony: she’s a fun-loving, very single TV production assistant whose idea of sport is the Jimmy Choo sales scrum.
Meet Jackson: Cycling’s bad boy superstar. Injured and out of a certain race this summer, without his training, he’s looking for another distraction…
Bryony’s facing a triple whammy – her last single friend just named the day, her mother’s offering to have her eggs frozen, and the guy she’s loved from afar, forever, has just got hitched. So she’s more than happy to accept the offer of a totally out of character but seriously steamy one night of no-strings fun. Especially when the guy in question is so attractive he even looks good in Lycra!
Jackson’s on the lookout for a new career but if the opportunity to work on TV means a fortnight with the most uptight woman in the world, he’d rather not bother. He never goes in for seconds – and who in their right mind would head off in a campervan, with a woman who irons her knickers?
Add in a tandem (yes a tandem) and fast forward to double trouble for a summer neither of them will ever forget!
One-off, moving on sex, wasn’t meant to be this hot…
When determined singleton Shea Summers is persuaded to become the “wife” of the Lord of Edgerton Manor, the last thing she wants to do is play house with a stranger.
Brooding playboy Brando Marshall is far from happy when Shea turns up at his sprawling estate with production crew in tow. Surely she’s just another woman after his wallet? And if she’s looking for Mr Right, she’s definitely hitting on the wrong guy. Then again, after catching an unscheduled glimpse of her knickers, perhaps Brando needs to teach this “gold-digger” a lesson!
She’s seizing the moment, he’s breaking the rules, and when bad boys can be so much fun, who can resist getting on the right side of Mr. Wrong…
