Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
I am wicked delighted to be featuring a lovely #newtomeauthor today – as I recently had the chance to select quite a few Head of Zeus and Aria Fiction novelists to be spotlighting throughout the Spring months this year – wherein I was rather delighted finding so many keenly interesting stories to start seeking out to read! These are stories which dance between Romance & Women’s Fiction – from Contemporary to Historical settings. Being an avid reader of these genres I couldn’t miss the chance to bring the JOY of discovering these lovely authors to my readers of Jorie Loves A Story!
It is my intention to start requesting these novels via my local library if they are not available in audio formats via Scribd. At the moment my library is experiencing an unprecedented sabbatical on requests which put me in a bit of a pickle as I’m an active patron whose constantly requesting purchases every month – which is why I’m simply saving my queue lists and will turn them in once the services resume. For now at least – I can champion the discoveries and the joy of finding the stories whilst hosting the blog tours!
Why I wanted to host a spotlight & extract
for “Starting Over at Acorn Cottage”:
As the founder and host of @SatBookChat – I am constantly seeking to find new stories featuring strong women in the centre of Romance & Women’s Fiction. I read an equal amount of Contemporary and Historical stories within these genres of interest whilst encompassing all the lovely sub-niches of their literary styles as well. This New Year 2020 I am also seeking out Feminist Lit which celebrates the kind of stories I am enjoying to discover as well. All of which I try to champion and showcase in the chats I host on Saturdays – wherein writers, readers, book reviewers, book bloggers and the rest of the bookish community on Twitter get to engage with one another. Thereby as a regular reader of these stories I was delighted to find a #newtomeauthor to start seeking out to read!
I *definitely!* feel drawn to plots which evolve through a lens of ‘new beginnings and second chances’ – there is a lot of hope inside those kinds of stories. Especially of how characters are striving to seek a different way of life and/or want to find a way to restart their path somewhere else. Having had the joys of living in different environments throughout my life – knowing the excitement of a high paced city and the slower pacing of a country setting – I can attest there is a bit of unexpected reprieve in being able to find yourself ‘elsewhere’ than where you might expect to find happiness. As both settings provide their own joys but its the loveliness of exchanging one for the other where you can discover the most about yourself.
*laughs!* I also have a soft spot for stories which remind me of “Under the Tuscan Sun” – where there is this seemingly *large!* reno project that is going to take half of forever to resolve and as you’re watching the character go through those hours & moments, life has resumed for them in uniquely different ways. It is the ending of that film (which yes, I realise was a book as well but I never read it) which has the best capstone of the story – how even when you think you’re life hasn’t resolved in a way you had projected or hoped – things have a way of being brought into your life in a way which renews your faith in serendipity. Which is the best way I can describe the ending without having it spoilt for someone who hasn’t yet seen it!
Reading the premise of this novel feels like a cuppa of comfort – just to tuck close to Clara and observe how she’s going to react to all the unexpected joys awaiting her as she undertakes the renovation of the cottage which of course most likely will serve as a renovation of her life!
Did I grab your eye and attention?
Sound like the kind of bookish read you’ve been needing?
Be sure to brew your favourite cuppa and enjoy this extract from the novel.
Starting Over At Acorn Cottage
by Kate Forster
Buying a thatched cottage in the country may not be the usual cure for a broken heart. But after Clara Maxwell finds out her boyfriend and best friend have been sneaking around behind her back, packing her bags and leaving everything in London behind feels like it's the only way forward.
Clara knew Acorn Cottage would be a fixer-upper... Yet in person, the cottage is less charmingly ramshackle and more a real health and safety concern. When Henry Garnett, her (rather handsome) new contractor, turns up with his little daughter Pansy and a van shaped like a cottage in tow, she isn't sure whether to laugh or cry. What on earth has she gotten herself into?!
Still, there is something strangely lovable about the people in the little village of Merryknowe, from Rachel Brown, the quiet, lonely girl who bakes magical confections for the tearooms, to Tassie McIver, a little old lady with a lot of wisdom and a penchant for reading tea leaves. And Clara can't deny that Henry and Pansy are quickly worming their way into her heart...
With all the heartbreak of the year behind her, could Acorn Cottage be the fresh start Clara so desperately wants?
Places to find the book:
ASIN: B083NZMXH3
Also by this author: Finding Love at Mermaid Terrace
Published by Aria Fiction
on 19th March, 2020
Published By: Aria Fiction (@Aria_Fiction)
a Digital First imprint of Head of Zeus (@HoZ_Books)
Available Formats: This is a Digital First Release
Converse via: #StartingOverAtAcornCottage, #Contemporary #WomensFiction Read More
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