Laura Barnard

This book is beyond hilarious. Laura has taken everything funny or disastrous that could ever happen in a group of friends and piled it onto Poppy and her lot. I was hooked from the beginning and often giggling aloud, with the mishaps being so funny I just couldn't remain silent.

I was won over by Poppy in this story. She has the best attitude, and even if she can sometimes come off as a prude, she has genuine care, kindness and love for those around her. She is such a good person, at heart, show more that she befriends, takes in and assists even those she hates. However, she has problems with accidents. If something goes wrong in this story, 75% of the time it is Poppy who has either caused, had the incident occur to her or something mad has happened to her. From drugs and ex finances to making babies and posh people, with even some stalking and detectives thrown in, if you can think of something that you would die if it happened to you, it happened to this group.

With the group being from all walks of life, in different points in their life and at different levels of success, we have a mixed group of a bit of everything. Some of the craziness is within Poppy's mental family and some between her friends. These lot seem to attract everything, good and bad.

I loved the characters that Laura created. It is the continuation of a series, and was full of depth and detail. Each character is hurting with personality, and there are good mixture of them. Some are loud and ostentatious, while others are more reserved. I thought this made it easy to connect with a character and really join in to the story. I liked how the characters were all dealing with things that we would encounter in every day life. Each time, they and their friends did their best to carry on and keep the lot happy. I found this admirable and also enjoyed that even the darkest moments had a hint of laughter to them, to keep everything light-hearted and in perspective.

From house details to locations and surroundings, their world was depicted perfectly. Even someone who has never been to St. Albans, London or Chelsea would feel as if they could see it. I loved that parts of the areas were used to the T, and really brought in some of the local sites, tales and stereotypes.

The pace of the book was brilliant. I felt swept up in everything, and flew through the story just as I would real life. There weren't major pauses that resulted in boredom or a feeling of fictional life. I actually felt that the story carried on just like problems in life seem to occur. Yes, some of the 'issues' are a little mental and don't happen to the layperson, but they are excellent.

I highly recommend giving this book a read. It is very enjoyable and really gives you a much needed laugh. You are able to feel a bit whimsical and joyous about some of life problems, and learn to deal with them by looking at a lighter side. Laura has written a book that should be atop best seller lists. It is brilliant and I feel most readers will enjoy it immensely.

**I received this book for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion. show less

I absolutely LOVE this book! It is epitome of the quality and style of read I have come to love and expect, from Laura. Over time I have really found her niche of writing to be absolutely perfect for an evening read, especially as we approach the colder months, and need a giggle and a bit of warmth in our books.

Alice is a lovely character, filled with flaws, ambition, strength and is attempting to build a new self, after her livelihood and professionalism have been shatter by a devious show more ex-lover. As we watch her world crumble, we see her spirit and fun nature rise from the ashes, just in time to invite in a new, and very sexy roommate, who may have more on the books for them than share a toilet and kitchen! I also really liked his character, even though I am not normally one for the ‘player’ types. Something about him screams that he wants something more in life, but only knows the ways he’s been in the past. It is lovely to read along as he discovers there is so much more to life and just how fun a cheeky photographer can be.

The pace of this read is perfection. We are carried along on their journey, as they basically create new lives for themselves, and never rushed. Don’t get me wrong, there are fast-paced, sexy and steam filled moments, as well as moments of laughter and blunders, but there are the essential slower moments to really give us time to get to know the characters and their stories.

Overall, this is a brilliant read. It is definitely the best book I’ve read this year and I truly loved every page. It is a definite must read! show less

I really enjoyed this holiday romance. At first, I admit I was a little thrown off with the British single quotations... it's the first book I've read that has used this format so I actually had to Google to see if it was an error. But I was quickly immersed in the story and forgot all about it.

While a little cliché, this nanny-boss romance was a fun read with good character development. I enjoyed the relationship Ruby had with the girls and that she always put their needs first. I won't show more say much more as it would be considered spoilery, but the Ruby-Barclay dynamic was very fun to watch develop and I loved their tension.

As for steam level, Once Upon a Wish-mas was a holiday romance more intense than your typical Hallmark movie. There are some steamy scenes and adult language, so I probably wouldn't recommend it to grandma. I would, however, definitely recommend this one to anyone looking for a good holiday smut-mance.

Steam Rating:

Merged review:

I really enjoyed this holiday romance. At first, I admit I was a little thrown off with the British single quotations... it's the first book I've read that has used this format so I actually had to Google to see if it was an error. But I was quickly immersed in the story and forgot all about it.

While a little cliché, this nanny-boss romance was a fun read with good character development. I enjoyed the relationship Ruby had with the girls and that she always put their needs first. I won't say much more as it would be considered spoilery, but the Ruby-Barclay dynamic was very fun to watch develop and I loved their tension.

As for steam level, Once Upon a Wish-mas was a holiday romance more intense than your typical Hallmark movie. There are some steamy scenes and adult language, so I probably wouldn't recommend it to grandma. I would, however, definitely recommend this one to anyone looking for a good holiday smut-mance.

Steam Rating: show less

This was such an entertaining read for me and this author is new to me, but I was not disappointed at all. The book starts with sisters that inherit a pub from their estranged aunt and the youngest sister Ella thinks they should give it a go and try to get it up and running again. Phoebe, the older and more practical sister knows this is probably going to be a disaster but decides they should try it at least, but life keeps throwing so many twists and turns into their plans it seems like show more they are doomed to fail. With so many things that go wrong Phoebe becomes more and more distraught, but she doesn’t give up. Then we are introduced to Clooney Breen, the cocky playboy with secrets of his own. Clooney and Phoebe don’t know if one second, they want kiss or argue, and it makes the tension so tangible. Clooney has so many sides to him that I often wondered if he had multiple personalities because one second, he could be sweet and charming, then the next he could snap at Phoebe for no reason at all. This back and forth of emotions had Phoebe questioning if she could really trust him, if he were just another playboy out to hurt her or was there more to him than meets the eye. There is a fun little unexpected treat for readers that helps break up the tension between the main characters and was fun to read about when Phoebe must do some crazy tasks. These two fought their attraction for as long as they could be could they let go of insecurities, secrets, and their pasts to make something out this or were they doomed to fail? This book had me laughing, swooning, and boy those steamy moments were amazing. Definitely will read more. show less