Delighted today to be joining the blog tour for The Heat is On by Helen Bridgett, to be published for kindle by RedDoor Books on 5th July, with the paperback to follow on 2nd August. This book is the follow-up to the excellent The Mercury Travel Club that I first reviewed in March 2017 – you’ll find the review here – but totally readable as a stand-alone. I really enjoyed that book – and, do you know, I think I enjoyed this one even more. My thanks to Kelly at Love Books Group Tours for my invitation to join the tour, and for my advance reading e-copy.
‘And have you booked in your vejazzler?’
‘My what?’
‘You can’t roll up with your grey wire wool when he’s expecting rhinestone!’Angie Shepherd is back and this time she means business!
Life is perfect for Angie Shepherd. Her dreams of becoming an entrepreneur have come true, business is booming, and her best friend Patty is back in town. So when the opportunity of investing in a luxury hotel comes up, it seems like a no-brainer. It’s all going swimmingly until a rival travel agency opens up across the street. Before long, The Mercury Travel Club is undercut, double-crossed and in deep trouble. It’s time for Angie to up the stakes. But with costs mounting up, sales going down, and her personal life suddenly in freefall, can Angie and her friends weather the storm?
Witty and charming in equal measure, this feel-good novel shows that when the going gets tough, the tough definitely get going.
It was such a pleasure to be able to spend more time with Angie and the wonderful cast of characters introduced in the author’s earlier book. The Mercury Travel Club has gone on from strength to strength, under the management of Angie and the lovely Charlie, with the support of Josie’s innovative and clever marketing. Angie’s life has settled down a little, although her relationship with Michael (what a lovely man!) hasn’t moved on as fast or as far as they might have liked it to – but best friend Patty is on hand to help out with that (or maybe not!). But things start to go a little pear-shaped when an exciting new travel agency opens up over the road, with an owner (a wonderful boo-hiss villain) who’s only too happy to try every dirty trick in the book to grab the business. But the Mercury have a plan that might just turn their fortunes around – if they can only manage to make it happen.
The author is just excellent at drawing characters – Angie very quickly became my best friend again, and Patty is just wonderfully OTT and unpredictable, while being the most supportive person you could ever wish to have in your corner. The dialogue is consistently superb – real and natural, sparkling with wit when it’s called for, touching and gentle when it’s needed too. You’re never that far away from the next laugh, but this book also manages to be a real page-turner, as the loss of everything they’ve all worked for begins to look like a real possibility. And as a passionate traveller, I love the way the book gives insights into the holiday business – if someone could guarantee the weather, I’d be signing up now for that Scottish treasure hunt they came up with. And yes, I did google hotels on Formentera too… they make it sound so wonderful.
I really recommend this one – a perfect summer read that’s guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face. However long the series, I’m in for the duration…
About the author
Helen Bridgett was born in the North-East and now lives in Manchester having stopped off at a few places in between. Following a career in Marketing, Helen took an MA in TV and Radio Scriptwriting and created short films before writing her first novel. She loves nothing more than a glass of wine and witty banter with friends; her love of dialogue feeds into her work and has given her the perfect excuse to eavesdrop on conversations. Helen lives with her husband and their chocolate Labrador, Angus; all three can often be found wandering the Cumbrian hills or in country pubs.
Follow Helen on Twitter: and you’ll find RedDoor Publishing on both Twitter and Facebook.
I haven’t read the fist one yet and now I want this one too!
So cute and funny.