BLOG TOUR: The Wedding Dress Repair Shop - Trisha Ashley

Can her heart be mended too?

Garland Fairford has her dream job as a historical Costumier in London and is engaged to a handsome and successful playwright, Marco.

Whilst working on an exhibition of dresses owned by a Victorian actress, Garland meets a long-lost relative - Honey Fairford. Having no family, Garland is delighted, and intrigued to discover Honey is planning to open a wedding dress museum in Lancashire.

When Garland loses her fiancée and her job in the same week, she is excited to accept Honey's offer to work at the museum. Escaping London, and her old life, Garland is then shocked to be confronted with a ghost from her past - Thom.

As Garland starts to repair the beautiful vintage wedding dresses for the museum, as well as her relationship with Thom, could this finally be the chance for her own happy-ever-after?

 

What did I think?

I am absolutely astonished that The Wedding Dress Repair Shop appears to be the first Trisha Ashley book I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It's incredibly heartwarming and very intriguing with a family mystery to uncover as well as the story of each wedding dress that has been donated to the museum.

Everything is going right for Garland Fairford and she must feel very lucky to have both a job and a fiancé that she loves, but it quickly becomes clear that not everything in Garland's garden is rosy.  Garland's fiancé Marco is a self-centred swearword of a man and I absolutely detested him and his treatment of Garland.  

Luckily for Garland, a distant relative (Honey Fairford) provides her with the perfect escape when her life in London goes pear-shaped.  You might expect from the book title that Garland opens a wedding dress repair shop but she doesn't, she ends up repairing wedding dresses for Honey's new museum.   Garland doesn't have a shop open to the general public so I have to say that I was a little perplexed about the choice of book title, however, it is a wonderful story and the Wedding Dress museum sounds amazing.

I loved the excerpts from Honey and Garland's ancestor's journal that are sprinkled throughout the book.  Rosa-May's story is set in 1815 as her new husband prepares to fight in the Battle of Waterloo and it ties in nicely with the wedding dress museum storyline.  The stories about each wedding dress are so poignant and one particular wedding dress story brought a tear to my eye, I feel emotional now just thinking about it.

Beautifully written and a joy to read, The Wedding Dress Repair Shop is a heartwarming and alluring novel that delighted me from start to finish (even the bits with nasty Marco in).  It may be my first Trisha Ashley book, but it certainly won't be my last - I loved it.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

About the author:

Trisha Ashley's Sunday Times bestselling novels have sold over one million copies in the UK and have twice been shortlisted for the Melissa Nathan award for Romantic Comedy. Every Woman for Herself was nominated by magazine readers as one of the top three romantic novels in the last fifty years.

Trisha lives in North Wales. For more information about her please visit www.Facebook.com/TrishaAshleyBooks or follow her on Twitter @trishaashley.

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BLOG TOUR: Christmas at the Cornish Confetti Agency - Daisy James

I absolutely love Daisy James books so I'm thrilled to be one of the bloggers opening the Rachel's Random Resources blog tour for Christmas at the Cornish Confetti Agency, the third book in the fabulous Cornish Confetti Agency series.  Read on to find out more about the book and what I thought about it.

It's Christmas at The Cornish Confetti Agency!

When Lexie Harrington is asked to choreograph Phoebe and Sam’s Christmas-themed wedding, she can’t wait to create the perfect winter wonderland - elegantly dressed fir trees, glossy garlands of holly and mistletoe, baskets of yule logs and pine cones, and the mouth-watering fragrance of gingerbread, cinnamon sticks and warm mulled wine floating through the air.

With handsome wedding columnist-cum-fledgling scriptwriter Theo Barker at her side, she’s confident that she can create the perfect festive ambience the bride and groom have been dreaming of since their engagement in the Swiss Alps; no rampant hosepipes, no mechanical mice, no confetti-filled hairdryers.

But this is The Cornish Confetti Agency, and the words ‘plain-sailing’ and ‘hassle-free’ do not feature in the promotional brochure. So, when a much-loved portrait of the groom’s father is adorned with pirate eye-patches and black plastic moustaches, and his expensive cologne is switched for toilet cleaner, Lexie and Theo must once again don their metaphorical deerstalkers and unravel the mystery before the wedding dissolves into Christmas-themed chaos and calamity.

A perfect Christmas wedding?

Is there such a thing for The Cornish Confetti Agency?

A glittery, feel-good story perfect for the festive season, and the third book in The Cornish Confetti Agency series.

What did I think?

As much as I like to read books in order, I jumped into the Cornish Confetti Agency series at book two in Summertime at the Cornish Confetti Agency.  I don't usually like starting mid-series but Daisy James writes so brilliantly that all of her books can be read as a standalone, so don't be put off if you haven't read the earlier books as I still haven't read the first one.  

Lexie is temporarily at the helm of the Cornish Confetti Agency whilst its owner is working in America.  Lexie may not own the business but she lives and breathes it, constantly striving to plan the perfect wedding for the brides who request her services.  Striving for perfection means that there's always something that goes wrong, although Lexie does seem to have more than her fair share of mishaps that result in her and her lovely boyfriend Theo doing some amateur sleuthing.

There are some wonderful character stories to read about from among the wedding guests and Lexie's friends.  I particularly enjoyed reading about Lexie's friend Freya and her wedding dress show that has been a life long dream for the two friends.  Lexie really makes it hard for herself by arranging a fashion show at the same time as organising a Christmas wedding, but it shows off her amazing organisational skills and quick thinking.  It's certainly double trouble and opportunity for more things to go wrong, which they inevitably do.

Christmas at the Cornish Confetti Agency is so festive that I felt I should have been having an eggnog and a sweet mince pie whilst reading it.  Daisy James’ writing is a feast for the senses; portraying all of the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Cornwall.  I often found my mouth watering as various baked goodies were mentioned, especially the gingerbread that sounded so yummy.  I think I put on a pound in weight just reading about it!

I absolutely adore Daisy James' writing and there's always something in her books that stands out and stays with me.  As much as I loved the sleep fairies in the previous book, I loved the reference to Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams and son of the god of sleep, Hypnos.  Travelling down Morpheus' highway is such a beautiful phrase for falling asleep and perfectly encapsulates the immense talent of Daisy James.

Fabulously festive, charming and entertaining, Christmas at the Cornish Confetti Agency is tremendously heart-warming.  It's the perfect book to read as the cold, dark nights are drawing in to add a bit of sparkle to your day.  It's wonderfully uplifting and guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

I received a gifted ebook for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the author:

Daisy James loves writing stories with strong heroines and swift-flowing plotlines. She especially likes to create sunshine-filled settings in exotic locations - the Caribbean, Tuscany, Cornwall, Provence - so she can spend her time envisioning her characters enjoying the fabulous scenery and sampling the local food and drink.

When not scribbling away in her peppermint-and-green summerhouse (garden shed), she spends her time sifting flour and sprinkling sugar and edible glitter. She loves gossiping with friends over a glass of something fizzy or indulging in a spot of afternoon tea - china plates and teacups are a must.

Social Media Links – 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/daisyjamesbooks

Twitter - https://twitter.com/daisyjamesbooks

Instagram - @daisyjamesbooks

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