I’m delighted today to be helping launch the blog tour for the latest book from Maggie Christensen, and sharing my publication day review – Celebrations in Bellbird Bay is published today (15th November) and is the eighth book in this lovely series, set within a small community on the Queensland coast (and I’m one of many who would really love to live in Bellbird Bay!). It’s now available both as an e-book (free via Kindle Unlimited) and in paperback via Amazon. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to both Rachel and Maggie for my advance reading e-copy.
This time the author promises “an uplifting, emotional and festive read” – my goodness, I always so enjoy her writing, whatever the season. She writes so perfectly about second chance romance, with more mature characters it’s so very easy to identify with, the loveliest setting, and her fine emotional touch – I know I’ll be meeting old friends again, but they’ll very soon become your friends too, even if this is your first visit. You’ll find my reviews of the earlier books in the series (and of many of Maggie’s other books too, including her lovely Granite Springs series) if you pop her name into my search box on the right hand side of the page. So, two new characters this time in Sandy and Rob – and I’m looking forward to meeting them…
Sandy Elliot is devastated when a fire destroys her new business and doesn’t know how she can go on. When she receives a call from her grandmother’s old friend seeking her help, a trip to Bellbird Bay seems like the answer to a prayer.
Rob Andrews is proud of what he has achieved with Bay Bikes, the business he set up when he returned from Afghanistan. But the memory of his time there still plagues him and has always prevented him from forming any close relationships, afraid his deep-seated guilt and recurrent nightmares would scare off any woman foolish enough to become involved with him.
Upon meeting, it’s certainly not love at first sight. Sandy hates his beard and tattoos while Rob, though attracted to Sandy, doesn’t believe he deserves to find happiness.
But Bellbird Bay is a small town, and their paths continue to cross, making it impossible for them to ignore each other or to deny the attraction between them.
With the festive season approaching, can Sandy and Rob overcome their pasts and enjoy a celebration of their own?
Ruby has been a background character throughout this lovely series – welcoming guests to her home on the headland, delivering her delicious cakes for everyone to enjoy at the Pandanus Cafe (and producing them for special occasions too), and sometimes making some people feel just a little unsettled by her enigmatic pronouncements about the future. But this time, after a freak accident, she’s in need of a little help – and the call couldn’t have come at a better time for Sandy, her Sydney cake shop having suffered what looks like an arson attack, leaving her with real concerns about the future. Along with slightly reluctant fifteen year old daughter Fliss, she’s happy to help out – the insurance will take a while to sort out, and she’s always been fond of Ruby since she taught her to bake on childhood holidays with her grandmother.
As Sandy takes on Ruby’s commitments and finds everyone loves her baking, Fliss discovers she enjoys the lifestyle and local company too – and when it begins to become clear that Ruby might just need some ongoing assistance, she has decisions to make about her future. No-one else provides occasion catering, and that was her speciality back in Sydney – she even has the van for deliveries, bright pink and emblazoned with her company “Celebrations” logo (to the embarrassment of her trying-to-be-cool daughter). With a bit of free publicity, endorsements from happy customers, and new friendships in the community, might she be able to start again?
And one of those new friendships is with Rob, the tattooed Afghanistan veteran who runs Bay Bikes – and although he has a number of issues of his own, and they’re both quite clear that they’re only looking for companionship, their feelings for each other begin to grow. Could he become another good reason for her to stay?
As always, I really enjoyed being part of this lovely community – feeling the warmth of its welcome, meeting old friends again, catching up on their lives. And I really enjoyed the developing relationship at the centre of this story – both individuals damaged in different ways, with real emotional depth to their personal stories, making it easy to become invested in the possibility of them finding a happy future. And I do really love being on the Queensland coast at Christmas – the sunshine and seafood dinner might be unfamiliar, but the spirit of the season is every bit as present in this lovely setting with the special events that the community pull together to organise. And that table for two on the beach that features on the book’s cover? Well, that was just perfect…
This was another really lovely addition to a series I’m so enjoying – with all the elements that have made Maggie Christensen one of my favourite authors. I’m looking forward to my next visit already – very much recommended.
About the author
After a career in education, Maggie Christensen began writing contemporary women’s fiction portraying mature women facing life-changing situations, and historical fiction set in her native Scotland. Her travels inspire her writing, be it her trips to visit family in Scotland, in Oregon, USA or her home on Queensland’s beautiful Sunshine Coast. Maggie writes of mature heroines coming to terms with changes in their lives and the heroes worthy of them. Maggie has been called the queen of mature age fiction and her writing has been described by one reviewer as like a nice warm cup of tea – warm, nourishing, comforting and embracing.
From the small town in Scotland where she grew up, Maggie was lured to Australia by the call ‘Come and teach in the sun’. Once there, she worked as a primary school teacher, university lecturer and in educational management. Now living with her husband of over thirty years on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, she loves walking on the deserted beach in the early mornings and having coffee by the river on weekends. Her days are spent surrounded by books, either reading or writing them – her idea of heaven!
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