It always makes me smile when I see that cover quote from Katie Fforde – that one that says “I love all of Sue Moorcroft’s books” – because it makes me want to shout “so do I!”. And that’s why I’m so delighted today to be joining the celebrations as her 25th book, A Skye Full of Stars, is published (if you missed my review last week, you’ll find it again here). My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation, support and wonderful planning. My allocated task is to share a spotlight post for Sue’s ninth book, Just for the Holidays (just 99p for kindle at the moment, I see – might it be one you missed?) – and I will, I promise, but I must just add a bit of a tribute of my own to one of my very favourite authors.
I think that the very first book of Sue’s that I read was Uphill All The Way – at a point when I’d decided that the literary fiction I used to choose was getting a bit too heavy, that reading really didn’t need to be that challenging, and that it was something you could really enjoy. I’m confusing the timeline no end, but I do know that book went out of print with the demise of publisher Transita, was self-published for a while, and finally reappeared in 2021 as A Home in the Sun, a massive best seller in Malta for most of a summer.
And I did smile when I found my 2009 review (they were a bit shorter in those days!) of her official first book, Starting Over…
Haven’t read this much chick lit in ages, and this is a really good one. Strong characters, a lovely country setting, a superb villain in Olly, a to-die-for romantic lead in Ratty, twists, turns, nearly heartbreak, tears, funny bits, and the best of endings. If you like Veronica Henry or Katie Fforde you’ll love this one…
Starting Over was, of course, our introduction to Middledip – a village I could have found my way around without any help from the map Sue later produced, and it’s been a sheer delight to revisit several times and catch up with some of the characters that first made me love her books. But enough of the history – I’m still here, reviewing her wonderful writing 25 books later, and I haven’t missed a single one.
I’d half-planned to tell you about a few of my personal favourites, but I’ve given up on that idea – in the last ten years they’ve all been a sheer delight. I used to think the Christmas books were the ones I liked best – only to so enjoy the sunshine of her lovely summer reads that I’d equally recommend them. And why do I love her books so much? Her characters are always quite wonderful, real people who it’s so easy to identify with and care about – and she’s one of the best storytellers I know, never afraid of including sometimes quite challenging but always engaging contemporary themes. And then there are those beautifully drawn locations no matter if it’s a snowy Norfolk or somewhere else in Europe (and now, of course, the beautiful island of Skye) – and the romance, it goes without saying, is always something very special indeed.
But let me do as I’m told now, and tell you more about Just for the Holidays…
In theory, nothing could be better than a summer spent basking in the French sun. That is, until you add in three teenagers, two love interests, one divorcing couple, and a very unexpected pregnancy.
Admittedly, this isn’t exactly the relaxing holiday Leah Beaumont was hoping for – but it’s the one she’s got. With her sister Michele’s family falling apart at the seams, it’s up to Leah to pick up the pieces and try to hold them all together.
But with a handsome helicopter pilot staying next door, Leah can’t help but think she might have a few distractions of her own to deal with…
But I think that’s a bit of a thin description though, don’t you? I’ve had a search through my files, and I’ll share my 2017 review again too…
I immediately took to Leah, the book’s central figure, dragged to France on a family holiday when her preference would be for her own company. Her sister Michele dumps her with looking after the family, and things go from bad to worse when Michele’s estranged husband becomes incapable of providing any support. Mind you, the gorgeous guy next door – a helicopter pilot, no less – makes life rather more bearable, even if all those darned teenagers make moving things any further well nigh impossible.
I’ll readily admit that a book that focuses so closely on its teenage characters might not be a natural choice for me, but the author’s strength – well, one of her many strengths! – is in writing about real people in recognisable situations, handling all those twists and turns in relationships that bring both joy and pain. And the emphasis there is on “real people” – the teens are as complex and well drawn as the adults, with believable emotions and reactions triggered by events as diverse as family conflict or first love.
There were so many things I enjoyed about this book. The “foodie” side of Leah – always a good way to win over teenagers – was really well done, as she casually throws together family meals from a handful of ingredients. Then there’s the well drawn backdrop of Alsace, the insights into chocolate making, and the vast amounts I learned about text-speak. Oh, and how to do a handbrake turn in a Porsche in a DIY store car park!
I think it’s probably fair to say that although this is largely a novel about the course of love and life refusing to run smoothly, there’s a great deal more in there too – the complexities of sibling relationships, broken families, fractured friendship, jealousy, manipulation, deception, and an excellent thread dealing with corporate shenanigans in the world of aviation.
Sue’s writing is as effortless to read as ever, and this is a book you’ll race through as I did – lighter reading at its very best, but with an occasional sharp edge to throw you off-balance when her people behave badly, as real people sometimes do.
Have you been reading Sue’s own series of 25 blog posts to celebrate her anniversary? They’ve been such fascinating reading (you’ll find them here). There’s even one about the lengths she went to in researching helicopter crashes for this book – now that’s dedication to your craft!
Sue, many congratulations on this significant anniversary – and I’ll be looking forward to reading the next twenty-five…
About the author
Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times bestselling author and has reached the coveted #1 spot on Amazon Kindle UK as well as top 100 in the US, Canada and Italy. She writes two books a year for publishing giant HarperCollins and has won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year Award, Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award, two HOLT medallions and the Katie Fforde Bursary. She’s the president of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, and her short stories, serials, columns, writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared around the world.
For more information on Sue and her books, she has an excellent website, a Facebook author page, and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Lovely post celebrating an amazing achievement!