Category: Lucy Diamond

Christmas At The Beach Cafe by Lucy Diamond

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Synopsis: A Christmas short story from bestselling author Lucy Diamond, revisiting her Beach Café characters.

After a hectic summer running her beach café in Cornwall, Evie Flynn is looking forward to her first Christmas with new boyfriend Ed – she’s determined that it’s going to be the most perfectly romantic one ever. Cosy nights in front of the fire, spicy mulled wine, mince pies . . . what’s not to love?

But the peace is shattered when Ed’s ex suddenly gets in touch again, and then some unexpected guests arrive: Ed’s surly brother Jake and Evie’s heartbroken best friend Amber. Add in the stress of trying to finish her very own recipe book, snow blizzards and family dramas and Evie’s Christmas starts to look as if it’ll be a total turkey. Will any of her festive wishes come true . . . or is this Christmas just a recipe for disaster?

*Note: If you plan to read The Beach Café first please do not continue to read my review as it will inevitably contain spoilers*

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: Just recently I have been ploughing through all my novella’s and short stories, as they are never my first choice. Although I say that and it’s usually the case, this novella was absolutely wonderful. It didn’t take me long to get reacquainted with Evie in her beautiful café in Cornwall. This will be her first Christmas there and now she has her boyfriend Ed around the excitement gets to her.

Evie is a funny character and one that you fall in love with quite easily. In this latest short story her ideal Christmas is planned out in her head. Evie and Ed, all alone in front of that log fire, except her Christmas is going to turn out far from what she imagined. We meet Ed’s brother Jake, Evie’s friend Amber as well as half the people living in Evie’s village.

The story is witty, warm and full of magic. Although it’s only 100 pages long it makes me realise how much I love Lucy Diamond books. I am so pleased she has since released another Beach Café ‘Christmas’ Novella so I know what I will be reading shortly. Absolutely loved this!

One Night In Italy by Lucy Diamond

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My Rating: 4/5

Availability: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle, Audio,

Synopsis: Is Italian really the language of love? A new class of students hopes to find out. Anna’s recently been told the father she’s never met is Italian. Now she’s baking focaccia, whipping up tiramisu and swotting up on her vocabulary, determined to make it to Italy so she can find him in person. Catherine’s husband has walked out on her, and she’s trying to pick up the pieces of her life. But she’ll need courage as well as friends when she discovers his deception runs even deeper than infidelity. Sophie’s the teacher of the class, who’d much rather be back in sunny Sorrento. She can’t wait to escape the tensions at home and go travelling again. But sometimes life – and love – can surprise you when you least expect it. As the evening class gets underway, friendships form and secrets from Italy begin to emerge. With love affairs blossoming in the most unlikely places, and hard decisions to face, it’s going to be a year that Anna, Catherine and Sophie will never forget.

My Review: Three women are the focus in this latest Lucy Diamond release. Catherine is the first and when her husband ups and leaves she feels like she is starting all over again. We also meet Anna who has recently discovered her father who she has never known is Italian, and then Sophie who has returned from her many years abroad to see her ill father. The three women will meet through the Italian language course they all decide to be a part of.

The three women’s stories are told individually and you really get to know each of them before they eventually meet. Anna and Sophie I instantly liked, but for some reason I wanted Catherine to grow a backbone and she annoyed me for the first few chapters. However, when she starts to make changes to her life I warmed up to her. Sophie was my favourite and I loved the way the reader gets to discover slowly why she left the UK, and why her relationship with her parents had gone so wrong. Anna was a funny and warm character and you couldn’t help but get swept along with her in her dream to find out about her Italian roots. 

The story flowed beautifully and I was transported into all of their lives and willing them to all get what they wanted out of their classes. In addition to the three main characters we also meet some of the characters at their class, and they definitely made the book complete in my eyes. Once again Lucy Diamond has managed to create a heart-warming story, which takes you away from reality for a few hours. I read this in just under 2 days and really enjoyed it. Certainly a recommended read, although ‘Summer With My Sister’ will always remain my absolute favourite!

Me and Mr Jones by Lucy Diamond

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My Rating: 5/5

Synopsis: Meet the women in love with three very different brothers . . .

Izzy’s determined to escape her troubled past with a new start by the sea – but flirtatious Charlie Jones is causing complications.

Alicia’s been happily married to loyal Hugh for years but secretly craves excitement. Maybe it’s time to spice things up?

Emma’s relationship with David was once fun and romantic but trying for a baby has taken its toll. Then temptation comes along . . .

As the future of the family’s B&B becomes uncertain, Izzy, Alicia and Emma are thrown together unexpectedly. It seems that keeping up with the Joneses is harder than anyone thought . . .

My Review: I started reading Lucy Diamond I think two years ago now. I have been trying to get through her back catalogue but when I got a review copy was dead chuffed and took it with me as my holiday read. Sadly, the book only got me as far as the airport and a 4 hour flight! Having said that, you may well realise I really liked it having finished it in such a short space of time.

As the title suggests, we meet Mr Jones; well actually we meet all the Mr Jones! Three brothers and their family are the heart of this latest story. Charlie Jones is the flighty brother who has trouble keeping his attention for longer than an advert. He is certainly the charmer of the group and when he meets Izzy, it seems he may well cause her trouble. Hugh Jones has been married to Alicia for years and although their relations ship has longevity, it seems that something is afoot as Alicia starts to secretly crave some excitement in her life. David Jones is married to Emma, but with the recent redundancy he suffered and Emma’s need for a child, things aren’t looking too rosy for them. Finally we meet the parents Eddie and Lillian. Eddie and Lillian run Mulberry House which is a guest house and the boys home they grew up in. When they decide it may be time to retire they look to the boys to see which one of them may be interested in taking it over.

Right from the outset I got drawn into this story. The three brothers are so different to each other and we get to see not only them but each wife in turn and what is going on with them. Within the first quarter of the book you are drawn into the family to the extent that you almost feel part of it! In addition to the family, we meet Izzy and her two girls. Izzy was quite simply a wonderful character even though her situation seemed so perilous all the time. For each family member I liked them the more I read about them. This was especially the case with the mother Lillian. By the end of the book I simply loved her and felt for her situation.

There are lots of issues dealt with in this book and as usual Lucy Diamond has dealt with all of them wonderfully. For some reason, every time I read a Lucy Diamond book, it makes me feel kind of inspired. I can’t quite put my finger on why or what it is exactly, but I always feel better about most things I think are un-manageable prior to reading one of her books. This wasn’t better than her last, but then I think Summer With My Sister will always be my number one LD book. Having said that I cannot see how anybody would be disappointed with this book and would highly recommend it!

The Beach Cafe by Lucy Diamond

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Star Rating: 4/5

I have been book reviewing for a few years now and only recently picked up my first Lucy Diamond book. However, I had no idea how much reading one of her books would change things for me. The second book I picked up was her most recent release Summer With My Sister. The book was a brilliant read and as I was reading it, something strange happened. It started the cogs in my brain turning and an idea for a new business has come out of it (but more on that later!). Having enjoyed the first two books of hers, and being so inspired by one I was keen to pick up a third to see how that fared against the other two. This book, the Beach Café sounded like a good read and I was hoping it would help me get out of my feeling of `being in a rut’.

Evie Flynn has always considered herself the `black sheep’ of the family. Her two older sisters always seem to get it right, while she seems to be permanently stuck in a rut. Whilst Evie is stuck in a very depressing temp job, and her `sensible’ boyfriend plans their future, her beloved Auntie Jo dies leaving the family shocked. Jo was always the life and soul of the party and Evie was incredibly close to her. When Evie realises that her Aunt has left her the little Beach Café she owned in Cornwall she has no idea what she is going to do. Evie was a character I liked immediately and the first few chapters really give you an idea of the sort of character she is. She is a little bit of a flapper and spends many an hour with her head in the clouds and you can’t help but wish for better things for her.

Her boyfriend Matthew I just wanted to throttle. He was so sensible and boring and seemed to be doing nothing but holding Evie back. After a lot of dithering Evie decides that she will go to Cornwall and spend the summer deciding what to do with the café. It’s the start of a journey that is funny, disastrous and interesting all at the same time! The only criticism I could really find with this book was that it seemed to take a long time for Evie to make the decision and actually get down to Cornwall and work at the Beach Café. Other than that, as soon as the transition happened the book was brilliant. We meet lots of characters that feature heavily including Rachel the waitress, Ed the chef and Phoebe, a young girl who makes an impact on Evie.

Apologies if people think this review is long but I feel like I need to explain something about reading Lucy Diamond books. Although this wasn’t my favourite I have read of hers, by the end of the book I had that `feel good’ mood back and my positivity had gone through the roof. I don’t know what it is about the way she writes, but it has the profound effect of making you feel like if you keep on chipping away things will work out and you just need to keep at it. The reason I highlight this, is that reading a LD book started me off on a new (albeit small) business venture that I am hoping to launch by later on this year. However, I was having a bit of a wobble moment and wondering if I had gone bonkers. Having read another of her books, I now feel a lot more confident and think if you don’t give it a go, you will never find out!

Overall, not my favourite but a great feel good easy to read book that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Summer With My Sister by Lucy Diamond

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My Rating: 5/5

I am ashamed to say that I only picked up my first Lucy Diamond book last month. I was so glad that I did because I loved that book and made sure that I had her new one ready to read. Sue Mongredien (the author’s real name) has produced another fantastic book with this latest release. Polly has always been the sister that `made it’. With her high flying career she is lucky if she can even make time for her family, let alone friends and a social life. So when she loses her job and her home she is awoken from her idealistic bubble with a very sharp shock! On the other end of the scale you have Polly’s sister Clare, a single mum who struggles to make ends meet. Clare still lives in the village she grew up in and although nearly always broke she has her friends and family close by.

Polly has to face up to things and eventually returns to her home village and she ends up living with Clare and the two kids. The story drew me in almost instantly and I found myself disliking Polly and falling in love with Clare. The two sisters are poles apart and as a reader you can see Polly’s demise coming. When it does happen and the two sister’s end up living together the story takes an interesting turn. As the story goes on you begin to see the reasons that the two sisters have different outlooks and their past family history becomes clearer.

Although I originally disliked Polly you can see the changes in her as time goes on and before too long I was rooting for both sisters to work things out. The writing flows so easily that before I knew it I was into the last quarter of the book and once again chastising myself for reading too quickly. I really liked the odd character that was thrown in as well such as Clare’s slightly barmy next door neighbour as well as her work colleague Roxie. Towards the end, the only thing that I can honestly say was a negative was the final three or four chapters. I felt like things had wrapped up too quickly and I could have easily read another 60-70 pages with the conclusions drawn out a little bit more.

Overall, this particular book is one that is perfect for the current climate that we live in. It makes you realise that there are many `Polly’s’ in this world and maybe you should just appreciate what you have (there’s nothing quite like a good `moral to the story’). I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it was a pleasure to read. The only reason I knocked a star off was because the ending was far too quick and I could have easily read more; other than that just brilliant!!!

Sweet Temptation by Lucy Diamond

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My Rating: 4/5

I vaguely recall reading a Lucy Diamond (by the way that’s not her real name, its Sue Mongredien) that’s her book a while back, but couldn’t remember. I therefore decided to buy her fourth book that was published Sweet Temptation and try another one. I was extremely pleased that I did and now I know why her name rang bells! This book is based around three women, Maddie, Lauren and Jess. All three of them meet once they commit to both losing weight and getting fit. What they don’t realise is that the three of them will become such good friends that their lives will change because of it.

Maddie seemed to be the most central character, well at least for me she was. She was certainly the most memorable! Maddie has a husband, two kids and a job working for Brum FM. Although her job may sound glamorous, her boss is awful and with both her boss and her Mum pressuring her to lose weight she finally gives in. In addition to Maddie there is Jess who works in a beauty salon and is engaged to Charlie. All Jess wants is to lose a little weight for her big day. The last character is Lauren who is a bitter divorcee who runs her own dating agency.

The book drew me straight in and I adored Maddie and Jess. I liked Lauren but after around a quarter of the book she just seemed to pale in comparison to the other two. What I think made this book so readable is the basis for the story. Weight loss is something the majority of women have experience with. Lucy Diamond has told their stories in such a way that you can laugh, cry and most certainly empathise with all three women. It took me just over a day to read this book as I was so engrossed. The author has made the characters easy to like, easy to read and most of all an enjoyable experience.

I absolutely loved this book and found it an absolute joy to read. We had nice characters, awful characters (I swear I knew a woman like Jess’ boss!) and great storytelling. What more could we ask for?