Name: Handle Me with Care
Author: Helen J. Rolfe
Format: ebook / also available in paperback
Pages: 294
Release date: 30th June
Publisher: Fabrian Books
Teaser
Does true love come along more than once in a lifetime?
Maddie Kershaw doesn’t think so. She lost the love of her life in the 9/11 attacks, and since then has hopped from one casual fling to the next. But when she delivers an erotic cake to a one-hundredth birthday party by mistake, she meets Evan and starts to believe in second chances … until she realises there’s a risk of getting hurt all over again.
Evan Quinn is serially single, yet when he meets Maddie he feels an instant connection, so much so that he confesses on their first date that he may have testicular cancer. Was it a mistake to tell her? He wants Maddie more than he has ever wanted any other woman. But he doesn’t want her pity.With the odds stacked against them both, finding love won’t be easy. But beneath the Australian sun, a Happy Ever After could be worth fighting for.
Name: Drawn to Life
Author: Elisabeth Wagner
Format: ebook
Pages: 273
Release date: 28th April 2015
Publisher: AmazonCrossing
Teaser
Mia Lang always thought
she could brave any storm, until a frightening turn of fate caused her
to lose everything she once held dear - her best friend, her boyfriend,
her career, and even her desire to live.
Hoping to heal her scars
and find the will to face the world again, Mia embarks on an adventure
across Europe by train. But when she meets Samuel Winter—on the run from
his own troubled past—her whole world is turned upside down again.
Perhaps this time, though, the pieces will fall where they’re meant to.
Armed with the sort of courage that only comes from having nothing to
lose, Mia is about to find out, in this beautiful story of resilience
and discovery.
Why I wrote a novel about running away
I have always been fascinated by people who run out on their lives. Especially when it’s done as a way to rediscover themselves. Mostly it occurs at a point of major conflict in their lives. Real life examples are Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat Pray Love who ran away after her painful divorce, needing to find herself again. Another example is Rina Huber and her husband who decided to quit their jobs and sail the Mediterranean after he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at the age of 60 as a way to make their last years together more precious.
I started writing what would later become
An Invincible Summer seven years ago when my mother was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. It was one of the hardest times in my life. My mother is one of the most important people in my life and the idea of living without her was excruciating. I battled depression and crippling anxiety as a result. Later my anxiety morphed into what I was doing with my own life. Till then I’d been happily going with the flow but this was a wake-up call, a cliché I suppose, but one that kept me up every night with full blown panic attacks.
When my mother got better after a very long road to recovery I began thinking of running away. Not as a means to abandon your life, but to embrace a new one. I left my well paying job, complete with resident pyscho boss similar to Ria’s from
An Invincible Summer where she quits on the spot. I took a 60% pay reduction to work as a journalist for a local newspaper. It was a leap of faith, but one I’ve never regretted.
During my depression one of the few things that made me feel better was writing. I started writing a book about a woman who instead of going to work one day, decides to hop on a plane instead. Of course, the first rendition was awful. Truly. I set it in Mauritius. Yes, Mauritius. Which is probably why I abandoned the book for seven years. As it didn’t really work. Then last year I picked it up again. The idea really. I was inspired by my best friend who encouraged me to relook at my old story as the premise was still there. At some point the idea really took form when I came across the legend of Ariadne – the Cretan princess who saves Theseus from the Minotaur only to be abandoned by him in a cave and how with the help of Dionysus (the god of madness and wine) she starts over.
Name: On The Edge
Author: T.S. Krupa
Format: ebook
Pages: 318
Release date: 9th June 2015
Publisher: LLC
Teaser
Andy
Parker is a war widow raising her fifteen-year-old daughter on her own.
Hayden Grace dreams of becoming a professional snowboarder, and Andy is
doing everything she can to make that happen. When Hayden Grace’s
passion begins to falter, Andy is at a loss for how to re-inspire her
daughter.
Andy
does her best balancing Hayden Grace’s competition schedule, practice,
and school with her own work schedule at home, in the city, and on the
mountain. But work starts to demand more from Andy. Then, Andy receives
an opportunity of a lifetime. An opportunity that will turn their lives
upside down. But is it too good to be true?
Soon,
mother and daughter find themselves in Aspen for Hayden Grace’s first
national competition when a chance encounter brings Andy into a
passionate, unexpected romance, a romance that could change everything.
Will Andy be able to find the happiness she deserves?
Name: An Unexpected Affair
Author: Jan Ellis
Format: ebook
Pages: 92
Release date: 9th July 2013
Publisher: Endeavour Press Ltd
Teaser
Hearts have a mind of their own
After her divorce, 40-something Eleanor decides it is time to begin again. She leaves behind her busy London life, and moves to a quiet seaside town in Devon. There she opens up a bookshop, The Reading Room, on the local high street and makes quite a success of it. But can Eleanor make a success of her love life as well?
When her sister suggests they take a trip to the South of France to track down her gorgeous ex, Eleanor leaves her beloved shop and lime-green camper van in the care of an eccentric cast of friends and family, and hits the road.
Will she discover what happened to her great love, Christophe? Does Eleanor's heart still belong in France? Or is there something, or someone, she's been missing in Devon?
Name: The Definition of Icing
Author: Aven Ellis
Format: ebook
Pages: 264
Release date: 27th May 2015
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing
Teaser
Kenley Hunter finally
has everything sorted out. Fresh from studying chocolate making in
Europe, she's gambling everything on her new business, Confection
Consultations.
All Kenley wants in life is people to take her
seriously, to see the person on the inside rather than the blond beauty
on the outside. While pursuing her passion of chocolate, Kenley
discovered people seek her knowledge. They see past the exterior and
fall for the chocolate delights in front of them.
So with work
as her focus, Kenley is ready to start her career in Dallas. Men are out
of her recipe, because she fears that once they get past her looks,
they’ll be disappointed in what they find. Kenley decides she's all
about the chocolate now.
Or is she?
Because a chance
meeting with new Dallas Demon hockey star Nate Johansson might change
everything. Sent to Dallas in a blockbuster trade, Nate is somewhere he
doesn't want to be, for reasons that have caused him heartbreak on
multiple levels. Nate knows he will never trust a woman again after what
happened to him in Minnesota.
But when he meets a woman with an
intriguing name and a passion for chocolate, Nate isn't so sure about
his theory. And he might just learn a definition of icing other than the
one used in hockey with Kenley as his guide...
#PaperbackSummer is here! Sorry, I know I am a week late to this, anyway I wanted to share my thoughts and my book pile with you. #PaperbackSummer gives you the perfect opportunity to get down your TBR of paperbacks. The challenge is running through June, July & August. You simply need to read as many paperbacks as you can. Thank you to the lovely Sophie from
Reviewed the Book and Suze from
Librarian Lavender for coming up with another brillant reading challenge I'm happy to take part in.
At the moment I have approximately 75 paperbacks to choose from and of various genres. Sounds crazy but I know I am not the only one with this huge amount of books. I've gone through my paperpacks no matter if I have bought them myself, been given them for a review or won them in a giveaway I want to read them all. Surely I am not expecting to read all of them as I am sure there will be other books I
will get and want to read. Therefore I choose a pile of 25 books for my personal paperpack summer. Most of these books have been sitting on my shelf forever and waiting to be read because I became more and more attached to digital copies this year. I want get back to read more paperbacks as I have just read three (that sounds even more insane!) in 2015 so far.
Here are the books im hoping to read this summer
I'm honored to reveal the cover of Rebecca Pughs
Return
to Bluebell Hill today. Isn't this such a beautiful cover? The book doesn't come out till June 18th June but it is available for pre-order. I can't wait to read this book!
As sweet and satisfying as strawberries and cream! This British summertime, get out in the garden with Rebecca Pugh’s sparkling debut novel.
Home is where the heart is…
Jessica McAdams has never belonged anywhere; never truly felt at home. Of course, what did she expect from parents who never made her feel welcome in her own house? Leaving her life in London to return home to the charming country village of Bluebell Hill is harder than she thought. Especially as she never considered she’d be returning under such heart wrenching circumstances…
Clearing out the stunning and imposing Bluebell House after her parents’ death is difficult for Jessica—they never had the best relationship and now it’s too late. Yet spending time in the house that was never a home, having afternoon tea with dear old friend Esme—and sharing hot, sizzling kisses with delectable gardener Rueben!—opens Jessica’s eyes to the potential of Bluebell House… Could this big old, beautiful manor really be her forever home? Is Bluebell Hill where her heart is, has always been?
Jessica soon dares to dream of her very own home with delicious Rueben by her side. But when a deep, dark secret of Bluebell House is unearthed, Jessica’s world is turned upside down…
Will Jessica ever find where her heart truly lies?
An emotional tale of self-discovery, taking chances and romance! Rebecca’s unique British voice feels like coming home again and again.
Hello woderful people and readers of Dreaming With Open Eyes
I'm happy to share some good news with you. My blogging break is officially over! After being away for almost 2 and a half months I'm finally back. I’ve missed blogging so, so much.It's so good to be back with you. I hope you all remember me ;) I'm looking forward to go back to the things I love. Reading and Blogging! So let me tell you how I've been in the past few weeks. On this part, I unfortunately have not such good news.
I went on a blogging break because of my final exams to complete my media designer apprenticeship. During my preperation for the exams a few unexpected things happend which completely pulled the rug out from under my feet. I'm not sure if this is the right place to share this with you but I thought a long time about this. I think I can tell you what happend in the past weeks because you all are a wonderful understanding and supportive community. I'm not much going into detail. It's about a mothers health condition. My mother has been fighting cancer for the last fifteen years (diagnosed with breast cancer twice). She was always strong and a fighter, so she won this fight every time. With the years her condition became better and better and she had no more carcinogen in her body. A few months ago she had to do new tests. The results came in, and I'm saddened to tell that my mom has been diagnosed with cancer again. They found metastases on her spine and rips.
From the present point of view,
there are lukily good news to tell. The doctors have hope that they can get in
under control with a hormones therapy. For now, we hope for the best. I know she is strong, she will make it through another time. All of this happened just a few weeks before my final exams. I was shattered and I couldn’t concentrate on my studying anymore, at least not as much as originally I planned. Therefore the exams didn’t go so well as I hoped. I’ve written eight
written exams in total. Some went really well and some were a disaster. I hope
it will be enough to make it through and pass it in the end. The exams
are not completely over yet. A practical exam in July is still a head of
me.
At the end of July I'll receive my official results. Cross your fingers!