The Backup Plan by Jill Shalvis - Blog Tour!

 

Publisher: Headline Eternal

Publication Date: 17th January 2023

Genre: Romantic Fiction

Summary:

Could an unexpected windfall be the gift of a lifetime?

Alice never expected to inherit the falling-apart-at-the-seams old Wild West B&B she once considered home, nor did she expect that she'd have to share it with two strangers.

Except they weren't always strangers. Once upon a time, they were friends.

One is her ex-BFF Lauren. The other is Knox, the only guy to ever break her heart.

Years ago, each of them independently helped the same woman, never expecting that it would link them together forever. And now Alice, Lauren, and Knox, all broken in their own ways, must find a way to get along with each other. According to the woman's will, they must renovate the inn as a team for one year, or else lose their inheritance.

Stuck together, they make a list of rules to keep the peace. The rules may not be that effective, but if they can weather the storm, they might find something they didn't even know they were looking for - acceptance, real friendship, and maybe even true love.

Review:

So I have to start off by saying thank you to Headline Eternal and Jill Shalvis for having me on this blog tour and sending me a beautiful copy of the book to review! 
And now it's a matter of where to start....because I loved this book! I read it in two sittings, and I actually got up early because I wanted to be able to read in peace before the small ones got up because I was so drawn into it!
The Three main protagonists Lauren, Alice and Knox are just really enjoyable people to read about, and I so enjoyed (and occasionally laughed out loud at) the banter between them! Jill Shalvis created them so well and made them so rounded it was fantastic to read.
One of the best parts for me was the emails! I thought it was a really clever way to fill us in on their backstories (which are quite important to what's going on) without having to do chapters that jump back in time.
The friendship between Lauren and Alice is so damn sweet at times, the way that despite not really being friends anymore they still make sure to look out for each other is lovely. And the way that they gradually repaired their relationship was nice, I think if they'd done a forgive-and-forget at the start it wouldn't have felt right.
Now the sparks between Alice and Knox, combined with the banter was a really lovely slow-grow romance! And that ended perfectly for me. Sometimes with romance books, the author wraps everything up too quickly in a neat bow and it feels forced but not so here. It felt like a really lovely organic ending, there were still loose ends and I really liked that. I hope eventually somewhere in the series they come back into play, but you can bet ill keep reading to find out!

Krystina xx

The Way Back Almanac 2023 by Melinda Sailsbury

 

Publisher: Watkins Publishing

Publication Date: 9 Aug. 2022

Genre: Stars & Interstellar Matter

Summary:

The Way Back Almanac, the first almanac designed for modern city-dwellers, returns in 2023!

The traditional almanac is a month-by-month prompt to the transformations of nature that offer a magical and poetic way to celebrate the year. The Way Back Almanac is a modern twist on the conventional almanac, an accessible and truly contemporary guide back to natural rhythms, designed for those who feel most removed from the old ways and cycles.

Beautifully illustrated throughout, each month includes sections on stargazing, gardening tips, seasonal vegan recipes, home organization or crafting ideas, digital wellbeing practices, rituals, book club reads, folklore or ancient wisdom as told by modern people from different walks of life, and free space for your own writing, notes or recipes.
- Harvest your own home-grown micro greens, windowsill radishes or rooftop carrots.
- Celebrate seasonal citrus with Piña Colada Bars or relieve the heat of midsummer with Lithuanian beetroot gazpacho.
- Sew your own foraging pouch for May-time foraging or make a bee bath for thirsty July bees.
- Create a phone photo journal of your favourite patch of local green.
- Make your own Wake-Up Shower Fizzers or May Day Dew Face Wash.
- Watch the 120-meteor-per-hour Geminid Shower to see out the year in Way Back style.
This interactive and treasured item will gently encourage creativity, fulfillment and ultimately a way back to yourself.

Review:

I have to start off by thanking Watkins Publishing because they sent me a physical copy of this book, and what a beautiful book it is! I fell in love with the cover, it's a beautiful hardback book and I love the blue and pink illustrations on it, and the lovely images don't just stop at the front cover it had fabulous little black and white illustrations peppered throughout the pages. Now I've only read to April, but hear me out, it's not because I don't like the book(spoiler alert I love the book) it's because I actually want to read it month by month next year.

I really love each chapter/month and the way she's laid it out, from the little monthly intro to what's happening in the skies, in the soil etc it all being broken into sections meant that I took a little more time to go through it and genuinely made me reconnect with nature. I think my favourite part is the "What's happening in the skies", past there being stars, the moon and planets my knowledge of the night sky is limited at best, so I loved that I could learn a little more about it month by month and it's encouraged me to find more out and maybe try and learn the constellations with my little one.

Now as you know I run a book club, so you'd think id have my fill of having set reads each month, but I'm actually planning to read along with the Way Back Almanac book club! I'm always keen to expand my reading so having these books that are from a wide range of authors and genres appeals to me, ill let you know how I get on!

Krystina x