Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh | Book Review

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Title & Author: Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh 

My rating: 4/5

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication date: 4th October 2022

Blurb:

Molly and Andrew are just trying to get home to Ireland for the holidays, when a freak snowstorm grounds their flight.

Nothing romantic has ever happened between them: they’re friends and that’s all. But once a year, for the last ten years, Molly has spent seven hours and fifteen minutes sitting next to Andrew on the last flight before Christmas from Chicago to Dublin, drinking terrible airplane wine and catching up on each other’s lives. In spite of all the ways the two friends are different, it’s the holiday tradition neither of them has ever wanted to give up.

Molly isn’t that bothered by Christmas, but—in yet another way they’re total opposites—Andrew is a full-on fanatic for the festive season and she knows how much getting back to Ireland means to him. So, instead of doing the sane thing and just celebrating the holidays together in America, she does the stupid thing. The irrational thing. She vows to get him home. And in time for his mam’s famous Christmas dinner.

The clock is ticking. But Molly always has a plan. And—as long as the highly-specific combination of taxis, planes, boats, and trains all run on time—it can’t possibly go wrong.

What she doesn’t know is that, as the snow falls over the city and over the heads of two friends who are sure they’re not meant to be together, the universe might just have a plan of its own…

Review:

I have been wanting to read as many festive books as I can this Christmas and this one had been on my radar for a while. Although I'm not usually a fan of friends to lovers, I absolutely loved this.

Molly is a lawyer from Ireland working and living in Chicago. Every year she flies back home to her family for Christmas. The first year of doing this, her best friend (who she is definitely going to stop being friends with) has informed her of her decision to split up with her boyfriend, Andrew. Who is sitting next to Molly on the flight? Yep, Andrew, who is also Irish and flying back home for Christmas.

After that first flight, Molly and Andrew have made it a tradition to fly back home together and it is now their tenth year of doing so. A storm has hit Chicago and Molly knows how much Christmas means to Andrew and his family so she will do anything to get him back to Ireland. So off they go to Paris, London then on the ferry to Ireland.

I loved how this was written. We have the story of their long winded trip back home in the present but also glimpses from the past ten years of flying together and you can really see their friendship building. After reading about all their journeys together over the years, Andrew delivers a wonderful monologue that really gripped my heart.

There is some really brilliant Irish humour in here too with fantastic characters. I am excited to read more by Catherine Walsh.

Dashing All The Way by Chelsea Curto | Book Review

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Title & Author: Dashing All The Way by Chelsea Curto 

My rating: 5/5

Publication date: 1st December 2024

Blurb:

MARGO

After an ex-boyfriend told me I’d never be able to run a half marathon, I did what any logical woman would do: I set out to prove him wrong.

We’re going to pretend like I didn’t collapse at the finish line of the race.

It’s a good thing the hot paramedic caught me before I could fall.

It’s an even better thing I ran into him at the bar the next night.

He might be my ex’s dad and sixteen years older than me, but that won’t stop me from wanting to enjoy some holiday cheer with the man I can’t stop thinking about.

FINN

I knew who she was when I caught her, but she didn’t know who I was.

When her initial shock of my identity wore off, she came home with me.

I gave her the best night of her life.

It makes sense that I found her again at the finish line of another race, and now I’m determined to keep her around for longer than a night.

Forget the age gap. Forget her history with my son.

She might be the best Christmas present I’ve ever received, and I’m in no hurry to say goodbye.

Review:

I love Chelsea Curto's books so much. This was promoted as a novella with more spice than plot but honestly I thought it was so much more than that.

Margo is a twenty-four year old teacher and after her ex-boyfriend (who she caught cheating on her) tells her that she would never be able to run a half marathon, she decides to prove him wrong and do it.

She makes it to the finish line but after feeling a bit wobbly, she ends up in the medical tent. She instantly has an attraction to Finn, the hot paramedic but it turns out that at forty years old, he is sixteen years her senior but is also her ex-boyfriend's dad.

I love an age gap/forbidden romance and I just adored this. Curto writes amazingly with the absolute best characters but there is always a serious aspect in her books too - this time around women and staying safe whilst running. I am not a runner, I have never ran but I learned so much from this novella.

What The Nanny Saw by Kaira Rouda | Blog Tour Book Review

[ad/gifted - I received an eARC copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

Title & Author: What The Nanny Saw 

My rating: 4/5

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication date: 13th November 2024

Blurb:

I keep all her secrets. She thinks she can trust me…

Cecilia has it all. The house on the beach. The cute figure. The beautiful baby. But she’s a long way from perfect.

She’s let me into her gorgeous house as her nanny because now she’s on her own, she needs a little help with her baby daughter Peyton. She barely notices me. But I see everything.

While Peyton naps, I rifle through her drawers and discover the dark secrets in her past, the threatening letter from her ex-husband.

It's a shame that Cecilia doesn’t have my powers of observation. If she took some time, she might just recognise me. I’ve been following her for a while, after all.

If she knew who I was then I don’t think I’d be so invisible. And she wouldn’t be so surprised one morning when little Peyton’s cot is found empty…

Review: 

I didn't realise before I started reading this that it was the third book in a series and I wish I had read those first! I don't feel like I needed to but I always think it's adds more background to the story.

Cecelia is a wealthy woman who has a five month old baby with her partner Evan. She throws him out after having enough of his laziness when it comes to looking after their daughter Peyton and finding out that he is having an affair with someone at work.

Cecelia was previously married to Paul, who is currently imprisoned, and he has now reached out to her via letter. I believe the previous two novels focus more on him so I will definitely be going back and reading those!

Meanwhile, Lizzie is the nanny for the Johnsons who live next door to Cecelia. Their children are teens and preteens and Lizzie is fed up with their spoiled attitudes and how the Johnson parents treat her. She has been watching Cecelia, eager for a nanny job with her and is delighted when Cecelia finally contacts her offering her the role of Peyton's nanny.

I remember reading Favourite Daughter by Kaira Rouda back in 2019 and I loved it. I felt the same reading What The Nanny Saw. Rouda is fantastic at popcorn thrillers, I flew through the pages, gripped from the beginning. I love unreliable narrators and dark female characters, add the amount of tension and you have a great thriller. I would definitely recommend!