Reading Round-Up: May/June 2022

We're midway through the year already - can you believe it? I've been struggling to find time to read with all the wedding planning, days out, and fun stuff I've had planned this year, so my reading has sadly fallen by the wayside a little recently. 

Of course, though, that certainly doesn't mean there aren't plenty of books I've got my eye on!

Book Review: A Golden Cornish Summer by Phillipa Ashley

AD* | Under the golden Cornish sun, buried treasure and family secrets will change Emma’s life forever...

Emma loved her life in the seaside village of Silver Cove. But when the discovery of sunken treasure ignited a feud between her family and that of Luke, her first love, everything fell apart. Heartbroken and betrayed, she fled.

Now, as she wades into the sparkling surf for the first time in fifteen years, she remembers everything she loved about this beautiful place. Then a huge wave knocks her off her feet. Wet and dripping, Emma is rescued by none other than Luke – who is, to her dismay, even more handsome than ever.

As their paths continue to cross, and Emma is reminded of everything she ran away from, she starts to wonder if returning home was a huge mistake.

Or could the real treasure have been waiting here for her all along?

Book Review: From Fake to Forever by Laila Rafi

AD* | Love was never part of the deal...

Jiya Ahmed has a dream: she wants to complete her MBA and get a job in the city. The problem is that her parents think it's high time she put her books away and focused on becoming good wife material - but surely there's more to life than finding the right boy?

Ibrahim Saeed has a goal: he wants to avoid marriage but more specifically, he wants to avoid the arranged marriage his father has planned for him. Why would he want to end up like his (clearly unhappy) older brother with a partner of his father's choosing?

Ibrahim's cheeky brother introduces them to the perfect setup: a fake relationship to stall their parents. As they embark on their plan, the attraction they set out to fake starts feeling all too real... but love was never part of the deal.

Book Review: Acts of Love and War by Maggie Brookes

AD* | 1936. Civil war in Spain. A world on the brink of chaos...

21-year-old Lucy feels content with her life in Hertfordshire - not least because she lives next door to Tom and Jamie, two very different brothers for whom she has equally great affection.

But her comfortable life is turned upside down when Tom decides he must travel to Spain to fight in the bloody Spanish Civil War. He is quickly followed by Jamie who, much to Lucy's despair, is supporting General Franco.

To the dismay of her irascible father, Lucy decides that the only way to bring her boys back safely is to travel to Spain herself to persuade them to come home.

Yet when she sees the horrific effects of the war, she quickly becomes immersed in the lifesaving work the Quakers are doing to help the civilian population, many of whom are refugees.

As the war progresses and the situation becomes increasingly perilous, Lucy realises that the challenge going forward is not so much which brother she will end up with, but whether any of them will survive the carnage long enough to decide...