Once in a Blue Moon by Amanda Ashby – a Review

Once in a Blue Moon by Amanda Ashby – a Review

 

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Description:
Florist Laney George has a successful business, amazing friends and big, big dreams––oh, and a broken heart. But she’s working through that last one. Then the man she hoped to never see again shows up––and Laney’s carefully ordered plans are experiencing technical difficulties.

Celebrated Author Adam Fitzpatrick planned to be in St. Clair for no more than a day. Sign the books, and get out. Same story, different day. What he didn’t count on was Laney George, who happens to be the star of his somewhat fictional tale. She broke his heart years ago, and he’d gone a bit mad. Okay, maybe a lot mad––and he put everything in his book, never imagining it would be a world-wide best seller.

Now that he’s seen her again, he wants answers. But it isn’t just her that draws him in. It’s the town, something is happening and for the first time in years…he can write again. If only he could convince the woman who hates him most to start a new chapter in their story.

 

 

Review:

Once in a Blue Moon by Amanda Ashby is the 2nd book in her Belles of St. Clair series. Laney runs a flower shop in a small town, she loves the job and where she lives. But when Laney has an itch, she just has to scratch it, that leads her to all sorts of predicaments… adopting a dog, marrying a man after one date, and buying property to boost her flower sales. She’s also a widow, almost five years now, and she still misses him. 

Adam is a famous author, but he never forgot St. Clair or a certain someone in that little town. She broke his heart and he wrote about it…..

When Adam is seen in town, Laney panics, will the town put the clues together and find out she was the one who stalked? Except it wasn’t really her stalking him, everything he wrote about her was lies, (well some of the milder things were her, but only fun and silly things) it was his way of venting, she’d broken his heart and he’d been angry. She hadn’t let him explain himself. 

But that hasn’t stop Laney from worrying about the community putting all the clues together and working out that Laney was the infamous “Nina”. And I got the impression she was upset that he had twisted what they had into a story. But again I feel we were missing pieces but that they will be added along the way. 

The characters were nicely written. I had to laugh at Adam, realising he could write whilst being around Laney, but battling his anger and then guilt regarding Laney. Could he convince her to give him another chance? 

Laney was a hoot, she usually acts on itches she gets, but with Adam, she was determined not to. Her quirky manner was fun (weaving flowers through her dogs collar and painting it’s “nails”) regarding Adam with scepticism, if he wrote about them the first time, what’s your stop him from doing it again? 

This is book two in the series.  I’ve read the first book, but I don’t think it makes to much of a difference if read out of order. 

Reviewed by Julie B.

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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What Were You Thinking, Paige Taylor? by Amanda Ashby – a Review

What Were You Thinking, Paige Taylor? by Amanda Ashby – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / BAM / iTunes

 

Description:
After her carefully ordered world imploded, Paige Taylor cracks up. On her tenth self-help book, it seemed like a good idea at the time to reinvent herself––move from Manhattan to the tiny beachside town of St. Clair––and take over the local bookstore. But instead of discovering her spiritual Nirvana, she’s neck-deep in a floundering business, the locals treat her like a plague victim, and her mom’s suddenly decided to visit––with no end in sight––and keeps coming home with one surprise after the next. Added to that pot of crazy, the one guy who sets her pulse racing has sworn off women forever. He’s got a Samsonite filled with baggage, but damn he looks good hauling it down the street. And giving her those sexy half-smiles. And tempting her to take him for a test ride. Soon Paige discovers that reinventing herself takes more than just a change of address and a pithy quote on Instagram. She needs to face the truth about her life, and that’s something she can’t do alone.

 

Review:

What Were You Thinking, Paige Taylor? by Amanda Ashby is the 1st book in her new Belles of St. Clair series.

Sounds like heaven to me, relocating and opening a bookstore. But it wasn’t an easy choice for Paige. 

Paige has always been a “yes” girl, a pushover and pretty easy going. But after a disastrous relationship, she’s on a journey of self discovery, instead of “yes”, it’s going to be a “no” from Paige. And going to a small town to run a bookshop seems like an ideal solution, Paige intends to reinvent herself, and concentrate on her happiness and wellbeing. 

Reading the book, was a lot of fun, so many mishaps and accidents. The internal dialogue she had with herself had me smiling at odd moments. 

Her relationship with her mother was a nice touch (that parent who means well, but has no clue) the hostility that the town has for Paige at the beginning (a newcomer is always looked upon with suspicion) the bookshop that Paige pinned her new life on (not that easy to run when it’s not doing to good) and then we have Luke, the banter and chemistry was fun to read. 

So will Paige find happiness in St. Clair ? And if not, can I buy her bookstore? ?

Reviewed by Julie B.

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