Day: May 5, 2020

Posted in Blog Tour, Book Review, Family Drama, Friendship, Holiday Romance, Romance, Travel

One Italian Summer Lori Nelson Spielman 5*#Review @lnelsonspielman @AvonBooksUK #Romance #Travel #FamilyDrama #Italy #secrets #BlogTour #BookReview #TravelTuesday

Posted on by jolliffe01

Three women. One family curse. The summer of a lifetime.

For generations, no second-born daughter in the Fontana family has married. Lucy desperately wants to find love, but for her cousin Emilia, their family curse is a blessing in disguise.

But then their Great Aunt Poppy declares she’ll reunite with her long-lost love on her eightieth birthday – and break the curse once and for all.

And so the three women embark on a journey to Tuscany to fulfil Poppy’s last wish. But the secrets they uncover there could change their family forever…

A gorgeous story about love, family, and finding yourself in the unlikeliest of places

Amazon UK

I received a copy of this book from Avon Books UK via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

My Thoughts…

An engaging romantic story that spans familial generations from post-war Italy to North America.The Fontana family curse still prevails. Aunt Poppy is determined to end it with the help of her great-nieces Emilia and Lucy on a life-changing trip to Italy.

The story reveals family secrets told from Emilia’s and Poppy’s points of view. The family dynamics and individual characters are authentic and relatable. The settings are vivid and bring the story to life.

This is a charming, poignant romantic story. Full of humour, misunderstandings and self-sacrifice.

Posted in Book Review, Fantasy, Magic, Young Adult

Magical Intelligence M. K. Wiseman 4*#Review @FaublesFables @rararesources ​ #YA #NA #historical #fantasy#BlogTour #BookReview #RachelsRandomResources #MagicalIntelligence

Posted on by jolliffe01

When you are a member of Britain’s first team of wizard spies, every mission might be your last. But as the dawning of the 20th century draws ever nearer, magic grows weak. Violectric Dampening, the clash of man-made electricity with the Gifts of magekind, threatens M.I.’s existence. And if that isn’t enough, they’ve now been discharged from their own government. Obsolete. Distrusted.

And now hunted by one of their own.

Myra Wetherby has always feared her so-called fits, strange visions of people and places that she cannot explain. It is the emotional manipulation, however, a strange empathic connection to those around her, which threatens her very sanity. A danger to her family, Myra runs away, falling straight into the hands of the newly ousted Magical Intelligence team. Who just so happen to need an ability like hers.

Which makes Myra one of them . . . whether she likes it or not.

Amazon UK

Magical Intelligence Cover

I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.

My Thoughts…​

The opening chapter of this book evokes confusion and mystery. It’s unsettling for the reader. It gives an early insight into Myra’s life. Myra’s abilities and her meeting with Aiden introduce her to a dangerous, magical world and the magical intelligence team.

The historical late Victorian setting makes the battle of industrialisation and magic relatable. There is some world building in this first book of the series, but it also relies on the reader’s knowledge of the era.

Aimed at the young and new adult audience Myra makes a good protagonist she presumably grows with her audience throughout the series. There is a good mix of action and internal reflection.

This series has potential.

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M K Wiseman Author Photo
M.K.Wiseman

M. K. Wiseman has degrees in animation/video and library science – both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Today, her office is a clutter of storyboards and half-catalogued collections of too, too many books. (But, really, is there such a thing as too many books?) When she’s not mucking about with stories, she’s off playing brač or lying in a hammock in the backyard of her Cedarburg home that she shares with her endlessly patient husband.

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