Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
You might have missed my #blogmas book review for the first novel in this series “A Family by Christmas” – wherein, two of my #ChristmasReads and library purchase requests were thankfully able to arrive in time for me to read ahead of Christmas week! Both this novel by Ms Royce and “Christmas Once Again” were the top favourites of my #blogmas reviews as I was able to settle into a few Christmassy stories despite being taken ill by a Winter cold!
You might recognise our featured guest today as she is the host of her lovely chat #HistFicChat wherein all of us who love to chatter about Historical Fiction come together to share and discuss the stories which are intriguing to us all within the scope of the historical past! You can see why I took to that chat like a duck to water – I practically time jump round History every month of every year – so it is true delight to get to engage with those authors & remain in the know about which new books are currently getting published which might tempt me to add to my #nextreads list!
On my connection to Vivian Conroy:
I am quite active on the socially bookish side of the twitterverse (ie. #bookishTwitter); a lot of the writers and readers I enjoy conversing with on a yearly basis were first ‘met’ somewhere in a chat or a serendipitously lovely convo – either organised through a Twitter chat or a randomly engaged convo between them and I. I do not recollect how I first came to find Vivian Conroy or if in fact, she originally found me – I do know I immediately took to liking her Historical Fiction focused Twitter chat: #HistFicChat. Similar to my passion for #HistoricalFix (hosted and founded by Erin Lindsay McCabe – of which, due to her return to writing has been on sabbatical for three years) – this is a chat where Historical readers and writers can happily find each other, interact and chatter their bookish hearts out about the historic past whilst discovering new #mustreads!
I had the chance to review two of her novels: “In Peppermint Peril” and “The Butterfly Conspiracy” whilst I also had the opportunity to have her as guest author via my chat @SatBookChat. Ahead of the New Year, I also received good news my purchase request for her first Romance novel was accepted by my local library (“A Family by Christmas”) which I enjoyed reading and asked them to purchase the sequel “A Valentine’s Proposal” which I spotlighted ahead of her second guest appearance on @SatBookChat!
I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with her through Twitter and have reviewed her novels; as I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time. And this extends into sharing my honest impressions, thoughts and views whenever I am hosting a guest feature or a promotional post on their behalf.
She was also one of our featured guests last year – you can read the transcript of our previous #SatBookChat (Part One & Part Two) wherein we happily were focusing on her Cosy Historical Mystery series: Merriweather and Royston wherein I read the first novel whilst we touched a bit on all her other series in-progress and of which were coming up to be published next. It was quite a well-rounded #SatBookChat!
If you’ve missed my previous ruminations about this series let me share this ahead of #SatBookChat this Saturday morning:
The Contemporary style is similar to what you’d find inside In Peppermint Peril as Royce loves using small towne life as an anchour to her character’s life – which of course, makes me especially happy as I love the ambiance of small towne culture and the aspects of how the community itself plays an important role in the life of a character. In this instance, she’s given us three newer residents (Casey and her father Grant as well as Emma herself) who are attempting to find their way in both the towne and in their lives.
Royce allows you to see the emotional anguish in Grant – of how the toll of losing his wife is affecting him not just on a personal level of dealing with the grief of her loss but how he’s having issues parenting Casey. Even the small joys of story-telling at night is a tricky operation for him and during the daytime he finds himself less anxious and less liable to give into his war of memories which is slowly eating him from the inside out. You can understand his struggles – the difficulty of resolving the loss and the transitions into being as single father without his wife by his side. Royce gives you this time in his life full justice without sugar coating it and honestly depicting the harder moments of a father struggling to resolve his heart as he recognises that he’s changed since his wife died.
Royce has a knack for writing Contemporary Romantic drama – for giving her characters the space and time they need to work through their own internal battles and to give a reader a chance to see peek into a community they would be grateful to call their own. This is definitely one story I am glad I heard about on Twitter and am dearly wicked thankful I could read as it is another reason why I am enjoying my discovery of Entangled Publishing as a new place to find the Romance novels I must enjoy reading!!
-a quote from my review of A Family by Christmas
I had mentioned on my review I would be seeking out this series continiously through my local library and I have wonderful news to share today! They accepted my purchase request for the sequel “A Valentine Proposal” and I am hoping it shall come into the library’s system in time for me to borrow it ahead of St. Valentine’s Day! Wouldn’t that be grand?!
Technically speaking – I’ve had a very good New Year’s via the library – they accepted 5 of 5 requests and I couldn’t be happier – not just for myself but for the other patrons who will be able to ‘meet’ these books after I’ve met them myself. I love encouraging new purchases for this reason – they do not just help us with ouer readerly pursuits, they help introduce others to stories & authors they might not have found without our requests to bring them into the library.
You’ll note throughout my Story Vault are mentions of Sweet Romances which are either mainstream releases like this one or INSPY releases – I happen to love the gentler side of Romance as much as I love curling into an INSPY Romantic Suspense novel – sometimes it is just lovely to tuck into a sweeter side of the genre where you feel like you’ve stepped through a Hallmark Channel Romance movie!
As a hybrid reader of mainstream & INSPY Fiction – I happily take a walkabout through both literary destinations frequently and happily love sharing the joy of the authors who are writing the stories I am enjoying to read. They give you a happy burst of happiness to find and their stories are blessedly heartwarming to read.
I hope you’ve brewed a cuppa to enjoy the information on this spotlighted post in conjunction with @SatBookChat whilst taking time to visit our past chats archived via the Moments on the chat’s feeds via Twitter. This chat will be archived after it concludes and a bit lateron from there to allow everyone the chance to interact, share and respond.
Without further adieu,
I give you the latest #SatBookChat spotlight
wherein you can learn a bit more about the author & her story.
The 2nd novel released 13th January, 2020!
The Synopsis for A Valentine Proposal:
Just as free-spirited bookstore employee Cleo Davis faces closure of her beloved shop, the owner informs her it will continue as part of the successful Stephens chain. When the chain’s risk assessor, the very reserved, very attractive Mark Stephens, enters the store to look over her business plan, Cleo clashes with him right away. Oil and water have nothing on them.
Mark has always followed the rules. But the minute he steps into vibrant and spunky Cleo’s store, he knows he’s in trouble. One moment he’s in her “craft corner” painting bookends with kids, the next in a bidding war with Cleo at a charity auction. He can’t deny that opposites attract, and Cleo’s vivacious personality has him rethinking his life in more ways than one.
But when Cleo’s store officially becomes part of the bookstore chain, Mark will become her boss…and completely off limits.
A Family by Christmas
