If there's one book I'm most excited about reading this year, it's Victoria Walters' debut novel The Second Love of My Life. I adored her prequel novella The Summer I Met You, and I am legit excited to dive in to The Second Love of My Life. The cover has been updated to include a FANTASTIC quote from the lovely Giovanna Fletcher and I'd love to hear what you think of this stunning cover!

In the Cornish town of Talting, everyone is famous for something.
Until recently Rose was known for many things: her infectious positivity; her unique artistic talent; and her devotion to childhood sweetheart Lucas.
But two years ago that changed in one unthinkable moment. Now, Rose is known for being the young woman who became a widow aged just twenty-four.
Though Rose knows that life must go on, the thought of carving out a new future for herself is one she can barely entertain. Until a newcomer, Robert, arrives in Talting for the summer...

Can Rose allow herself the chance to love again?

​Favourite baking related movies & why?
 
·         Okay, sorry, I really can’t think of any movies with baking in I have watched – maybe it’s time for one… the film of The Cosy Teashop anyone!
 
·         It’s got to be favourite baking programmes. The Great British Bake off has to be Number 1 – such a fabulous programme to sit down and relax to, get inspired, and drool over!
 
·         Anything by Mary Berry – she’s a baking legend and has such a lovely friendly manner. I’d love to go for tea at her house – I imagine you’d have the most wonderful food and a really homely chat.
 
·         I also like Nigella’s programmes, naughty but nice. (My husband particularly likes these shows – can’t think why!!)
 
·         And for bread baking it has to be Paul Hollywood. (My next baking venture is to try making bread!)

When Ellie Hall lands her dream job running the little teashop in the beautiful but crumbling Claverham Castle, it’s the perfect escape from her humdrum job in the city. Life is definitely on the rise as Ellie replaces spreadsheets for scones, and continues her Nanna’s brilliant baking legacy.

When Lord Henry, the stick-in-the-mud owner, threatens to burst her baking bubble with his old-fashioned ways, Ellie wonders if she might have bitten off more than she can chew. But cupcake by cupcake she wins the locals over, including teashop stalwart, Doris, and Ellie’s showstopping bakes look set to go down in castle history!

Now all that’s missing in Ellie’s life is a slice of romance – can Joe, the brooding estate manager, be the one to put the cherry on the top of Ellie’s dream?

Daisy knows a thing or two about love and romance. She’s surrounded by it – in fact, there’s no escape! Not only are her parents childhood sweethearts turned soulmates, they also run the very successful wedding agency 'Something Borrowed', helping couples to tie the knot in whatever frilly, quirky, tasteful, outrageous way they choose. So it's no surprise that Daisy has a pretty clear vision of how her life with boyfriend Matt is going to pan out.
There’s one major flaw in this plan – Matt and Daisy have split up! Determined not to brood, Daisy sets out to re-invent her life and her dreams. And that’s when Toby enters the scene, who appears to be perfect, but is turning all the Rules upside down...
An irresistable exploration of post break-up life featuring Rachel McIntyre's trademark wit and observation.

Last year I read Me & Mr J by Rachel McIntyre, and it was probably one of my favourite reads of the year. It was the kind of book that you just love despite it's subject matter and I thought it was SUCH an important book. If you haven't read it, you must, and it immediately put Rachel McIntyre on my must-buy list forever. 

The Number One Rule For Girls is vastly different to Me & Mr J, but it's just as important, because what happens in the book can very easily happen to anybody, and it's the little things that make you wonder what on Earth is going on, and that's definitely the case for Daisy and Toby. At first, I imagined Toby to be like Pretty Little Liars Toby, whom I LOVE by the way, but he just so wasn't. I felt so sad for Daisy, because having split up with Matt, after he decided to move to Spain, she needed some fun, a bit of light, something to help her get over him, and Toby seemed amazing at first, but there were tiny little instances that had me wondering if all was as it seems. Little throwaway comments, the kind that can do total damage to someone's self-esteem if they let it; like not liking Daisy's boots, or making her feel bad for enjoying eating, and I just couldn't help wondering if Toby was just being sincere, or if it was something more.

I loved Daisy. Her witty one-liners, her love of all things multi-coloured and crazy, the outfits she wore, her friendship with Ayesha and Beth, it was all amazing. The kind of voice that resonates with teens everywhere. I just wanted her to be happy, whatever that meant, whether it was with Toby or not. She'd had so many upheavals and changes, and she'd had to start college, without her friends, who had stayed on at their old school for Sixth Form, and I just wanted to give her a hug. But do you want to know what I loved most? Daisy's relationship with her folks. Most YA novels feature non-existent parents or at least one non-existent parents, but Daisy's parents were front and center in her life, she helped them with their wedding business, she could talk to them about anything, it was amazing. 

This was such a good book. I think I preferred Me & Mr J more (and I'm still wanting a Mr J-narrated companion/sequel etc ahem) but this was a solid read. I finished it in a couple of sittings, wanting something completely different to my previous read (The Teacher by Katerina Diamond) and this did the trick nicely. It made me cringe, giggle, angry, but mostly I wanted to be friends with Daisy and her friends. I can't wait for Rachel's next book, she's become one of my favourite authors and it's nice to see UKYA author flourishing, we need more UKYA! 

Enough is enough! The always perfect Laurie Chapman had jumped in her car and raced as fast as she could from London heading to Sunset Bay and (she hopes!) the open arms of her estranged sister…
Mia Chapman loves running Dolly’s Diner in the picture-perfect coastal Cornish town of Sunset Bay. Now that her and Grandma Dolly’s dream is finally a reality Mia has never been prouder! Until Laurie suddenly turns up on her doorstep… How can she forgive the sister who walked away?
​Once upon a time Mia and Laurie were best friends. Back together after so long, the time has come for the sisters to figure out what went so wrong all those years ago – and whether they can ever put it right!

A Home In Sunset Bay is one of the cutest books I'll read this year, Becca herself has confessed she writes whimsical romances, and they're my favourites, I love a whimsical romance, with a gorgeous setting and characters you adore, and I was dying for some pancakes and a shake from Dolly's Diner. Plus Sunset Bay sounded like the most gorgeous place on Earth, I adore being by the seaside and Sunset Bay sounded simply amazing.

I loved both Laurie and Mia, and didn't know they were sisters as I hadn't read the synopsis before reading, so I only found out when Laurie rocked up in Sunset Bay. There's clearly tension between the pair, but thankfully they get that out of the way fairly quickly, instead of just letting it stew and simmer between them, there's nothing like resentment in a Chick Lit novel to drive me up the wall, and this was a refreshing change.

This was honestly such a lovely read, getting to know the folks of Sunset Bay was amazing and I adored Laurie and Mia, they were delightful, and I loved the romances in the book, they were lovely, genuinely lovely, without any of the angst you come to expect, and I freaking LOVED Cal. I want a Cal for myself, where on Earth can I find one? Rebecca is such a delightful writer, and her storytelling abilities make me smile with happiness.