When Ceri Price arrives in the small seaside village in West Wales, she only means to stay for a couple of nights - long enough to scatter her mother's ashes, and then go back to her life as a successful make-up entrepreneur.

But when a case of mistaken identities means she lands a job as the barmaid in the local pub, she unexpectedly finds friendship, and perhaps a chance at love.
But when the plans for a new housing estate put the local woodland under threat, she fears the way of life here could disappear.

Then mysterious acts of kindness start springing up around the village - a string of bunting adorns the streets, a new village signpost appears out of nowhere and someone provides paint to spruce up the houses on the seafront. Who is behind these acts of kindness and can they help in the race to save the village from the faceless developers…?

Welcome to the Village of Love. Where friendship flourishes and love blossoms…

Title: The Year of Surprising Acts of Kindness
Author: Laura Kemp
Series: /
Pages: 392
Genre(s): Contemporary, UK
Hot Buttons: Death/Grieving

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This is a sweet and enjoyable tale that is more than a romance - it touches on subjects of grief, hope, love, friendship and belonging.

I really liked the character of Ceri although it did annoy me that she took such abuse from her sister in the first chapter. I mean, you’re not a bad person just because you make a lot of money and others around you are struggling. It wasn’t that Ceri didn’t try to help. This was just the explanation of why she took that first trip to Wales but it just irked me some. At least it made me root for Ceri, and angry on her behalf, rather than put me off her.

The story meandered along nicely. It’s a sweet tale with lots of interesting characters and lots of little twists and turns. The random acts of kindness made me smile and gave a nice little happy buzz to the book. Very uplifting.

The setting of a small, forgotten village in Wales is done nicely. I’m not sure if the author is Welsh but regardless, she clearly has a love of the country and people - but can make fun of them just as well. To be fair, I’m not Welsh, so I’m not sure if, for them, it would be as cringe as when I read a book set in Scotland or with Scottish people.

I could have done with things being wrapped up a little bit earlier than 5 bloomin’ pages before the end of the book - enough to give me anxiety. But by the end, I was smiling - and closed the book with a happy sigh.

This is a fun, light and easy-going book that I would recommend to chick-lit readers. It’s uncomplicated, not too deep but gives you enough story to get your teeth into. An enjoyable 4 star read.

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Title: Windswept
Author: Sabrina Jeffries writing as Deborah Martin
Series: Wales Series
Pages: 344 
Genre(s): Historical, Regency
Hot Buttons: /

Welsh widow Catrin Price is haunted by a family death curse. Any man whom she marries without first drinking from an ancient Druid chalice sold by her ancestor long ago is unquestionably doomed. But when she hunts it down to purchase it, the chalice’s former owner ends up dead. Who will believe her innocent with the man’s treasure in her hands? Now she lives in fear of discovery, afraid to trust, afraid to give away her heart…

Evan Newcome, a scholar struggling to overcome a difficult past, travels to Wales to find the mysterious woman last seen with his murdered friend. So when the lady proves to be a beautiful yet shy creature who shares his love of Welsh mythology, he’s torn between believing her guilty and trusting the passion blazing between them. But as unscrupulous men seek the chalice for their own devious purposes, will Catrin and Evan let their wall of mistrust stand between them? Or will they defeat their enemies together and embrace the love intended for them since time immemorial?

This is another of Sabrina Jeffries’ reissues from her days writing as Deborah Martin. These books aren’t as light and humorous as her later works but still retain her unique writing style and delightful love and passion.
This is the second book in the Wales series, after Stormswept, but each book does stand alone. Evan featured in the first book as a young boy, and the couple from Stormswept - Rhys and Juliana - feature in Windswept albeit slightly older.

I’m already a huge fan of Sabrina Jeffries so immediately the writing style appealed to me. It’s descriptive without being flowery and pulls you into the story from the first page.

I also adored Catrin from the very first page. I could hugely relate to her and I loved the way that she was portrayed as very strong but also shy and a little bit geeky. It also made me laugh that she often cried throughout the story (but not in an annoying, weak way) as I am also a complete watering pot on occasion. Okay, all the time!

Now, don’t get me wrong with what I’m about to say next but I didn’t really like Evan quite as much as I did Catrin. I did like him, but there were times that he annoyed the socks off me. I don’t mind that he had a temper and I understood why he jumped to conclusions at times. I just really didn’t like the ultimatums he kept giving Catrin - for good things as well as bad. She can do this or she can do that. Um - how about she can do whatever she wants?! It just irked me some, if I’m honest.

I honestly did like him and I liked the pair together. It was nice the way that each thought they were unworthy of the other for the same reasons - it was cute and I was happy when they got their happily ever after. And that first scene at the lake - oooft!

The mystery element was also a nice touch. There was a small cast of characters to play with but I honestly wasn’t sure who was the ‘big bad’ until it was revealed at the end. It’s not a whodunit as such but it was a nice gentle mystery that only added to the love story as a whole.

I did really enjoy this book and would recommend it to fans of historical romances, Sabrina Jeffries or those who just want to read a love story with a little something extra.

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* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

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