Ailish's Book Reviews

Book Description: Snow is falling thick and fast outside The Gingerbread Cafe and inside, its owner Lily is planning the wedding of the year. Her wedding! She never dreamt it would happen, but this Christmas, she'll be marrying the man of her dreams - in a Christmas-card perfect ceremony! The gingerbread is baking, the dress is fitted and the mistletoe's in place - for once, everything's going to plan. That is until her mother-in-law arrives... Suddenly, Lily's famous cool is being tested like never before and her dream wedding is crumbling before her eyes. In the blink of a fairylight, The Gingerbread Cafe has been thrown into chaos! Lily thought she has this wedding wrapped up, but with so much to do before she says 'I do', can Lily get to the church on time - and make this Christmas sparkle after all?  MY BOOK REVIEW: We are back with the residents of Ashford following Lil and Damon in the run up to their Christmas Eve wedding. I loved catching up with everyo...

Dear Reader, Another instalment from The Gingerbread cafe series by Rebecca Raisin. This is to be read as book 3.  BOOK DESCRIPTION: Sarah Smith had an addiction – she was addicted to romance novels. The meet-cute, the passion, the drama and the gorgeous men! Now this wouldn’t have been such an issue if she hadn’t been the owner of the only bookshop in Ashford, Connecticut. Ever since her close friend Lil, from The Gingerbread Café, had become engaged she had been yearning for a little love to turn up in her life. Except Sarah knew a good man was hard to find – especially in a tiny town like Ashford. That was until New York journalist, Ridge Warner stepped into her bookshop…   Love could be just around the corner for Sarah, but will she be able to truly believe that happy-ever-after can happen in real-life too!   From the brilliant author of The Gingerbread Café trilogy don’t miss this linked novella to get a sneak-peek at how Damon and Lil are getting on be...

BOOK DESCRIPTION: The Gingerbread Café is all a buzz! This Easter, Lily and the rest of the town of Ashford, Connecticut are planning a truly decadent Chocolate Festival. Cooking up a storm, CeeCee and Lily are not just baking a batch of their sinfully delicious chocolate-dipped gingerbread men, but an excess of chocolate truffles, squidgy, cinnamony hot cross buns and melt in your mouth chocolate eggs. The Gingerbread Café staff have definitely enjoyed the tasting process! Add in Damon’s cute-as-a-button seven year old daughter, Charlie, up for a visit and Lily’s perfect Easter may just be around the corner. Until her ex-husband Joel turns up demanding twenty thousand dollars… Suddenly the future of the Gingerbread Café is not so clear…and Lily finds herself eating far more of The Gingerbread Café’s treats than her skinny jeans allow… Can Lily concoct a brilliant plan to save her beloved café, convince Damon she has no feelings for Joel and still throw a Chocolate Festival ...

Dear Reader, Love this time of year when you get to read Christmas themed books! Thanks to twitter came across The Gingerbread Café Series by Rebecca Raisin. If you are looking for something rosemantic this season read on Genre: Contemporary Romance Publisher: Carina Published: 12th November 2013   BOOK DESCRIPTION: Christmas is the season the Gingerbread Café was made for…but owner Lily couldn’t be feeling less merry if she tried. She’s spent another year dreaming of being whisked away on a sleigh-ride for two, but she’s facing festive season alone – again. And, just to give her another reason to feel anything other than candy-cane perky, a new shop across the road has opened… Not only is it selling baked goods, but the owner, with his seriously charming smile, has every girl in town swooning. But Lily isn’t about to let her business crumble — the Gingerbread Café is the heart of the community, and she’s going to fight for it! This could be the Christmas that may...

Dear Reader, Let's meet Lawyer, Mickey Haller,  a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car - his office. He defend clients of every kind from con artists to drunk drivers to drug dealers.  In this first instalment of the series, a Beverly Hills playboy is arrested for attacking a woman who he picked up in a bar and of course chooses Haller to defend him, resulting in Mickey having his first high-paying client in years. As the evidence stacks up, Haller comes to believe that this may be the easiest case of his career. But then someone close to him is murdered and Mickey discovers that his search for innocence has brought him face-to-face with evil. To escape he must deploy every tactic, and instinct to save his own life.  A great fast pace thriller with some great court scenes. Looking forward to the next instalment. Enjoy! Regards, Ailish 

Dear Reader, The story begins with Misha who is an antiques-dealer in Manhattan. He discovers that his beloved dying mother, Anouk, possesses a Titian masterpiece when she tries to donate it to the Met, but they cannot authenticate the painting’s rightful owner. Misha’s stepfather Coyote, who abandoned Anouk and Misha 30 years earlier, reappears but Misha turns him away. Immediately full of questions, Misha decides to find out about the painting and to uncover the truth about his own history. He returns to Bordeaux, the village he and Anouk left when Misha was seven. Until the war, Anouk had been a nanny at a private estate. After the war, the villagers denounced Anouk as a traitor for marrying Misha’s father, who was a German officer. Witnessing her brutal humiliation caused Misha to become mute. Anouk continued to work at the estate until the handsome American Coyote arrived. Anouk and Coyote fell in love and the affectionate attention that he gave to Misha help...

Dear Reader, Started reading the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. The first book is Killing Floor.  We meet Reacher for the first time as he arrives in the small town of Malgrave after walking fourteen miles to get there. His anonymity is challenged  when the town has just had its first homicide in thirty years and as he is the only stranger in town, he is hauled in by the police for questioning. The Chief of Police has decided that Jack is guilty. It's Friday so while his alibi is being checked he faces a night in jail with another detainee by the name of Paul Hubble, a banker and they are then taken to the state run facility in Warburton. They are caged with the hard-core lifers. Jack's military background comes in handy for them as he ends up defending Hubble. Earning Hubble's trust Reacher learns that Hubble fears for both his life and his family. He is so afraid he can't give Reacher too much information. Reacher is anxious to get out of the place but t...