Sam is an oyster farmer who dodges a Christmas lunch to play his favourite online game with "Velebit", another user he has a connection with. He's in a small town so he doesn't expect Velebit to be the local newcomer. Mick is a paramedic with a troubled past and he isn't sure he should let anything with Sam develop. But they have one heck of a connection already...

This was a very cute and enjoyable read. Sam was so adorably awkward. He and Mick were both fleshed out very well in such a short space of time. I needed something light after my last read and this certainly delivered. I did feel extremely put out, however, by the complete and utter lack of Christmas in its pages - well, Christmas was mentioned a couple of times but had no bearing on the plot.

Polly feels alone in her large ex-B&B house, haunted by the past. Erica is struggling to balance her career with her daughter and her often-missing husband - and now the nanny has just quit. Louise loves her husband, but maybe it's best if they spend some time apart. The solution to all their woes is unusual: they all move into the B&B with their kids. At first, it's perfect. And then it's very, very not...

This was quite a solid debut and had a fascinating premise to kick things off. I did find it difficult, however, to become invested in the book since there were simply no likeable characters. Could I understand these women and their actions? Yes. Did I want to spend hours with them in my head? Good Lord, no. But I can still appreciate how this story was crafted. It hits all the notes it needs to.

Rosie Thorn met a wonderful guy whose name she never learned and whose face she never saw. So it's back to reality, which involves school and an unwritten college essay...and now Hollywood bad boy Vance Reign. Vance is just trying to make it until his eighteenth birthday, when he can go back to his LA life. But add in a library with rare Starfield books...and that's where magic can happen.

I really needed something to heal my heart today and this book was the perfect antidote. I love Rosie! I totally get her - I have a wide 7-foot bookcase stuffed full of out-of-print Star Wars EU books and I could never part with them. Rosie's friends... I need them in my life. Rosie's dad... he's fantastic and I was shipping him with a certain character before they even met!

Squee overload. Take one of these and see me in the morning.

Laura's sister, Polly, has a wedding to prepare for and so Laura is put in charge of looking after Hunter, the old school friend of Polly's soon-to-be husband - and a surprise guest. Hunter and Laura immediately clash. Having to share space with him is bad enough...how is she supposed to keep him a secret from the groom? And will the groom even want to see him?

This...just wasn't as interesting as it sounded. The leads had no chemistry, the story felt flat and it was hard to find much of the goings on believable. I don't think it was terribly objectionable, though. And if some parts had been developed better then I might have enjoyed it.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

​Madeleine has lost her mother and braved the seas to come to the hot, untamed Hunter Valley. Within a day of her arrival, she loses her father - and discovers that he has omitted many things in his letters home. There is no grand house. There is back-breaking work to be done, especially if she wants to hold onto her father's land and his dream. But help can come from unexpected places - and so can love.

A stunning debut novel - and I certainly hope it isn't Beavan's last. I stayed up way too late just to finish this, because I enjoyed the book so much (though now I wish I had savoured it a bit!). A lot of research went into this and it shows. The writing itself is superb and flows so well, which is part of the reason I couldn't put it down. I will admit that I was easily enthralled by the setting because my own ancestors arrived near the area at practically the same time as Madeleine!