It’s a real pleasure today to join the blog tour for The Wedding Shop on Wexley Street – the third in the Westfield village series – by Rachel Dove, published on 10th August by HQ Digital. I’m sorry I don’t have a review to share, but I just couldn’t fit in the reading – I really enjoyed The Flower Shop on Foxley Street (you’ll find my review here), and love the author’s wonderful story telling. If you haven’t discovered Rachel’s books, I’d also highly recommend The Long Walk Back – something very different from the Westfield books – and you’ll find my review here. But let’s take a closer look at this new one…
Maria is ready to say ‘yes’ to the dress!
As owner of Happy Ever After, Maria Mallory is Westfield’s resident wedding planner, spending her days making dreams come true for future brides.
Maria even has her own perfect day planned out too, she just needs to find the right man. So when she falls in love with local celeb Darcy Burgess she can’t believe her luck – it was finally her turn for her Happy Ever After. Or so she thought.
Jilted at the altar, Maria can’t believe that her fairytale ending hasn’t come true. She’s ready to give up on love once and for all. But little does she know that once you stop looking for it, love has a way of surprising you…
A laugh-out-loud romance, perfect for fans of Holly Martin and Tilly Tennant.
Doesn’t that look just lovely? Go on, let’s try an extract too…
Two hours later, Maria found herself in Harrogate, squeezed into the red dress, heels pinching her feet, wondering why the hell she wasn’t sat on Cass’s couch eating ice cream and crying. She said the same to Cass as they walked on tottering heels to the nearest trendy bar, Ice, in the wine bar and posh eatery part of Harrogate’s city centre, which, coincidentally, butted up against the legal quarter of Harrogate, and no doubt the two sides kept each other in business quite well too.
Walking into Ice with Cassie, it was hard to ignore the stares that her friend attracted. Cassie Welburn was, let’s face it, sex on a twenty nine year old stick. She was always tanned thanks to her meticulous salon treatments, plucked and shaped to perfection, and tonight, as usual, was dressed to kill. Even Maria’s daring red dress looked tame in light of Cassie’s black and silver dress, slashed to the thigh, combined with sparkly silver heels that make Cassie even taller than her just under six foot frame. Maria blushed and nudged Cass’s elbow with her own.
“People are staring Cass.” Cassie shrugged.
“Let them stare, girl. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.” Maria belatedly realised that tonight, thanks to that ridiculous article, the stares may indeed be for her and not her glamorous friend. She cringed inwardly, and planted a smile on her face. She took her friend by the arm, and pushing her boobs out and her chin up, she headed to the bar. “Let’s get smashed,” she declared.
Giveaway
With thanks to the author and tour organiser Brook Cottage Books, I’m delighted to offer the chance to win a signed spiral bound paperback of the book, plus bookmarks (open internationally). Here’s the rafflecopter for entry:
A word from the author
I am a writer and teacher, living in West Yorkshire with my husband, our two sons, and our furry pets. In July 2015, I won the Prima magazine and Mills & Boon Flirty Fiction Competition, with my entry, The Chic Boutique on Baker Street, out now in ebook and paperback. The Flower Shop on Foxley Street followed this in 2017 and both books hit the Amazon top 200. Chic Boutique got to #2 in the rural life humour chart and is regularly in the top 100 of that chart. I am the winner of the Writers Bureau Writer of the Year Award in 2016 and I have had work published in the UK and overseas in various magazines. My next book, The Long Walk Back, was published in January 2018: my first book with Manatee Books, Nice Guys Finish Lonely was published in April 2018 in ebook and paperback.
I love to write romantic fiction, both rom-com and harder hitting women’s fiction. I am also a post 16 teacher and am undertaking an MA in Creative Writing at Teesside University. I love to chat on twitter so come say hi!