Spring Blogger Evening 2018

On Thursday 22nd March I was invited by the lovely Sara-Jade Virtue to attend one of the highlights of my year, it was of course The Simon & Schuster, Books and the City Spring Blogger Evening.

Three years ago I was invited to my first ever one of these events and I didn't know a soul but I bravely went along and had an amazing time and met some wonderful people who are now great friends, especially Vicki Bowles, Mary Lewis and Heidi Swain who was a debut author at the time.

The 2018 event was like no other as we had ten, yes ten amazing authors who were there to share their wonderful creations with us, this time I didn't have to go alone as I met up with Vicki and other lovely bloggers Sharon Wilden and Super blogger RNA Media Star of the year Linda Hill. After we'd had a catch up and some cake we made our way along Greys Inn road which didn't seem as long with such great company and as we were a little early we popped into the pub for a cheeky little drink beforehand.

On entering Simon and Schuster's head office we were welcomed warmly by Team BATC members who were very proud to show off their lovely new offices. We had some time to mingle and catch up with fellow bloggers and other friends from the world of publishing such as the hugely talented Izzie Broom and enjoy the delicious buffet and amazing cupcakes which were decorated in keeping with the wonderful books that we would be hearing about.

Authors listed from right to left below with links to buy/pre-order books

The author table was very long and Jo Dickinson from S&S introduced the authors and asked each one questions relevant to their books and then they read a sample for one minute.  A couple of the books I'd already read and they were amazing, these included Our House by Louise Candlish which is a total shocker and You, Me, Everything by Catherine Isaac which is an emotional weepy with an uplifting feel to it and The Sunday Lunch Club by Juliet Ashton which is a lovely story of the highs and lows of family life and love, told around the dinner table every Sunday.

One of my favourite things about being a book blogger is the privilege of reading these books ages before they come out, it's a huge thrill to be involved at such an early stage and to be trusted with these precious books that these authors have poured their hearts into, and the cherry on top of the icing on the cake is when you are quoted in one of the books by your favourite authors which I am very proud to have been on these books.

After listening to the authors reading from their books I can tell you that this coming year is going to be amazing as each of these books is released, they are all so different and wonderfully fresh, there really is something for everybody. I love creatives, they are amazing.

Huge thanks once again to the A.M.A.Z.I.N.G Sara-Jade Virtue and the whole of the Books and the City team for another fabulous night and a goody bag to die for.



Here are the links to the books for 2018/19 in order of their release.



Random Acts of Kindness - Part 3 - Crossroads by Victoria Walters

Our House by Louise Candlish


The Sunday Lunch Club by Juliet Ashton

You, Me, Everything by Catherine Isaac


Starry Skies at Castle Court by Holly Hepburn


Five Years from Now by Paige Toon


Sunshine and Sweetpeas in Nightingale Square by Heidi Swain


Best Practice by Penny Parkes


The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore


The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton by Anstey Harris

 Sincerely
Book Angel x

The One We Fell in Love With by Paige Toon

Phoebe is caught between a rock and a hard place. Settle down and get married, or return to the French Alps to pursue her passion?

Eliza is in love with someone who is no longer hers. In fact, he probably never was… And her dream of becoming a successful musician seems to be vanishing before her eyes.

Rose is out of a job and out of a boyfriend. To make matters worse, she’s been forced to move back in with her mother…

But these very different girls have one thing in common. Angus. The one they fell in love with…

Title:        The One We Fell in Love With
Author:    Paige Toon
Published By: Simon & Schuster
Date:        May 19th 2016
Link:        UK: Amazon  US: Amazon

My Review

I heard about this book at the Books and the City Spring Blogger event where I was lucky enough to hear Paige read a chapter from it and it sounded fantastic so I pushed it to the top of my ever growing TBR pile and devoured it in just a few hours. I love Paige's refreshing style of writing and actually was inspired to take up photography from one of her previous books called thirteen weddings which you can find here.

The one we fell in love with is the story of three identical triplets who all manage to fall in love with Angus, the young man who moves in next door. Although the three girls are identical their personalities couldn't be any more different. Phoebe is the one who holds them all together as Eliza and Rose are both in awe of her but don't really get on that well with each other. Phoebe has first dibbs on Angus because she says she saw him first, much to the chagrin of the other two girls. Angus loves Phoebe and convinces himself that he alone can tell the difference between the girls however whilst in the middle of a snog at a party he discovers he may not be so clever after all. 

Soon wedding plans are being made and Phoebe goes away on a hen weekend with her best friend. She decides to go to the place in the French Alps where she worked in a ski lodge when she was younger but soon finds that her ex is also there and temptation soon rears it's ugly head.

I liked the way the other girls had to accept that Angus couldn't be theirs and both tried to find new interests and new directions in their lives. This lovely story starts with innocent teenage angst and follows these characters as they grow into young women who manage to discover what is important in life and Angus manages to play a part in all of their journeys. It's heartbreaking watching the characters try to cope with a whole tangle of emotions including guilt which sometimes seems to be the biggest shadow hanging over them all.

This is actually one of the hardest reviews I've had to write because I really don't want to give anything away but ultimately this book shows that nothing can come between the bond that these sisters share, not even Angus.

This is a really touching and heartbreaking story about sisterly love which will make you laugh and cry, the last line just broke me as it was so beautiful. (Don't peek though or you will ruin the whole experience.)
Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster for the copy that was in my goody bag.

Sincerely

Book Angels x

About the Author

Paige Toon was born in 1975 and grew up between England, Australia and America, following her racing driver father around the globe. A philosophy graduate, she worked at teen, film and women's magazines, before ending up at Heat magazine as Reviews Editor. Paige is married, has two small children and lives in Cambridge.
The Sun in Her Eyes, out 21 May 2015, is her tenth book.

Visit Paige's website at paigetoon.com to sign up to her free book club, 'The Hidden Paige', and say hi to her on Twitter @PaigeToonAuthor and Facebook.com/PaigeToonAuthor

Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Cafe - Milly Johnson

Love, laughter, friendship and chocolate. The heartwarming new novel from Sunday Times top 10 bestseller, Milly Johnson
Her marriage is all washed up. It's time for a clean start…

Connie Diamond has always been her husband Jimmy's 'best girl' - or so she thought. But then she discovers that he's been playing away for the past twenty-four years, and that the chocolates she believed he bought her as a sign of his love were just a cover-up, and she is determined to get revenge.
Along with Della Frostick, Jimmy's right-hand woman at his cleaning firm, Diamond Shine, Connie decides to destroy Jimmy's life from the inside. Together they will set up a rival business called Lady Muck, and along with the cleaning ladies who meet at the Sunflower Café, they'll make him wish he had never so much as looked at another woman.
Then Connie meets the charming Brandon Locke, a master chocolatier, whose kind chocolate-brown eyes start to melt her soul. Can the ladies of the Sunflower Café help Connie scrub away the hurt? And can Brandon cure her affliction and make her smile again…?

Author: Milly Johnson

Title: Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Cafe

Publishers: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 18th June 2015

Link: Amazon

My Review

I actually think that Milly Johnson is a genius! I have loved every single one of her books and they just keep going from strength to strength. Milly is able to write about ordinary things and everyday situations but she gives them an extraordinary twist which draws you in from the beginning and doesn't let you go, until you have; laughed out loud (on numerous occasions); felt extreme anger; had a good cry; drooled over delectable chocolate flavours and fallen head over heels in love! There is such a great depth to the characters and a rich quality of writing in this book. Milly manages to pack so much into the story that I feel it's great value full of entertaining content. 

Jimmy Diamond is a sexy lovable rogue, women find him completely irresistible, however his wife and daughter see a completely different side to him. 

Connie was a downtrodden wife who accepted the life she had until she snaps and is driven to commit the most bittersweet act of revenge and comes out of it all a completely different woman. She had always been grateful that her husband bought her expensive boxes of chocolates from his trips away until she found out that he actually got his office manager to buy them for her whenever he was having a fling. She decides to give up chocolate there and then as all she can taste is deceit. However, can Brandon Locke tempt her back into the world of melt in the mouth indulgence as he is every woman's dream man, after all, who could resist a handsome chocolatier?

Della has worked for Jimmy for years and has secretly been in love with him the whole time but when she finds out he is having an affair with the office junior, she sees that as the final straw and decides to tell his wife. This is what sets the whole ball in motion and leads to the introduction of the elusive 'Lady Muck' who manages to change all of their lives for ever.

I thoroughly recommend this book to everyone and I would like to see it on the big screen, if not a movie then a comedy drama series which would keep us waiting impatiently each week for our fix.

I love how each book focuses on building strong friendships and always has a special touch of Milly's mystical magic.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Milly and am proud to be a member of #teammilly which I can honestly say has changed my life. Click here to read about my first meeting with Milly.
I was also lucky enough to be invited to the exclusive Champagne afternoon tea, launch party for Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Cafe, click here to see how it went.

Sincerely

Book Angel

About the Author

Photo from Millyjohnson.co.uk

Milly Johnson was born, raised and still lives in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. As well as being an author of 11 published novels, 2 short story books and a novella, she is also a copywriter for the greetings card industry, a joke-writer, a columnist, after dinner speaker, poet, BBC newspaper reviewer and a sometimes BBC radio presenter.
She writes about love, life, friendships and that little bit of the magic that sometimes crops up in real life. She likes owls and meringues and hates marzipan. She is very short.