Tag: life

A Sprinkle of Sweet Serendipity by Rachel Linden

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Rachel Linden’s latest book A Sprinkle of Sweet Serendipity is well…just delicious! The story is about a single mother who must come back home to help her ailing parents and keep their fudge shop afloat all the while trying to keep her head above water and not being able to fulfill her own dreams let alone find a companion. But as the women in her family know it’s only when on their birthday, just once they will be given a glimpse of what their future will hold. In her thirties she is still waiting for her vision. Be careful what you wish for!

Emmie had a wonderful life in Paris, just beginning to create a name for herself as a chocolatier until suddenly her world came crashing down. Six years ago, she found out she was pregnant, discovered her father was very ill and her mother could not take care of him and their chocolate store where they served a very special fudge created by her father.

Now, years later her father has passed away, and her mother is now having medical issues, so Emmie has become immersed in taking care of her son Gus who is still mourning the passing of his grandfather, and her mother’s limited ability to help at the store and making all the chocolate.

But her birthday is coming up, and she just hopes this year will be the year she will get her magical vision of her future. All the other women have gotten their visions and what they have seen has come true. But for Emmie the wait is becoming unbearable! She needs a bit of good news!

And this year, well let’s just say she gets the vision of a lifetime! She will be able to make her own chocolates, as well as fall in love with no other than a celebrity. This can’t be real… until said celebrity walks into the shop!

Things seem to be going well until the shop begins to fall apart, literally! She sees an old friend from high school who unfortunately she hurt back then and the building the shop is in now must be upgraded to code which means she needs even more money! With no way near the amount of cash and very little time Emmie feels like her vision was just a magical joke! But she refuses to sell the family business no matter what.

But although Emmie can’t see the light of day yet, she will learn many valuable lessons, and soon she will discover what she wants for her future may not be exactly what was planned for her. What should she do? Who knows better the vision or Emmie? She just wants to find a balance and more importantly some time and happiness!

A Sprinkle of Sweet Serendipity is an uplifting, adorable, charming, should I actually say it?…sweet story about those who do for so many being able to finally find not only their own voice, but realizing you must be able to take care of yourself before you can attempt to take on those you love so much.

Thank you #NetGalley #Berkley #RachelLinden #ASprinkleofSweetSerendipity for the advance copy.

Amazon.com: A Sprinkle of Sweet Serendipity: 9780593816660: Linden, Rachel: Books

A Sprinkle of Sweet Serendipity | Goodreads

The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick

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The Time Hop Coffee Shop is an uplifting dare I say magical, imaginative story! For those of us who wonder or perhaps wish their lives could be different or they had made other decisions years ago, a character actually gets that chance. What if we could get go back? Would we take it? This wonderful novel will give you a glimpse at someone who gets the chance in this truly delightful novel!

Gerta Perks is an actress a bit past her prime. Her whole family including her teenage daughter are famous for their Maple Gold coffee commercials which actually chronicled their lives together. But for years there have been no family commercials and Gerta’s acting career has faltered. Her daughter who Gerta knows is a good actress will have nothing to do with the industry and that seems to be what the two of them fight about each day. And her husband, who still gets worked has moved out of their house so they can make the decision whether to stay married or not. In other words, her life is falling apart.

One day as Gerta once again has failed at her attempt to get her career started again, she finds a flyer on a sidewalk with a bunny logo. It’s directions to a coffee shop she has never heard of. She ends up going. As the owner explains she blends special brews for each client, you drink the coffee and make a wish.

Gerta decides to make the wish that life go back to being simple again when they were just a happy family living together and enjoying each other. Just like the time years ago when they were making Maple Gold commercials.

And just like that, she wakes up in a town called Mapleville where it is always sunny, everyone is friendly and everyone is happy. Oh, and everyone drinks a lot of coffee! As she begins to enjoy her time in Mapleville and to make friends, she hates the fact that she must go back to her reality.

Gerta wants to stay in Mapleville but realizes it’s not her life, but someone else’s. When she gets back to her real life, things seem to be getting worse. More fighting with her daughter and she feels her husband slipping further away.

Now she is given one more chance. Should she stay in Mapleville or stay and fight for the family she is barely hanging on to?

The Time Hop Coffee Shop is an exceptional read with so many lessons to be learned all the while rooting for a family who seems to be coming apart at the seams. There is also an incredible mystery element which I certainly did not see coming!

Park Row

The Time Hop Coffee Shop: A Novel – A Charming Magical Realism Story of Second Chances and New Beginnings: Patrick, Phaedra: 9780778310907: Amazon.com: Books

The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick | Goodreads

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg

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Sometimes, timing is everything, but in Maybe Once, Maybe Twice timing is heartbreaking. The story follows the joys and sorrows of a woman who has three great loves in her life. Her dream to become a singer/songwriter, and two relationships which somehow keep falling to pieces. The story is told by jumping in time backward in age to now explaining how all these second chances have come to fruition and the risks involved in each decision she makes.

Maggie finds herself at a pivotal point in her life. She discovers on her 35th birthday that she may not be able to get pregnant, something she really wants although there is no man in her life, and she certainly can’t afford any help in that area. Oh, and her music career is in the dumps. Her only salvation is she and her best friend Garrett have always said if they were not married by the age of thirty-five, they would marry. Which for Maggie is very pleasurable as she has secretly loved her him since they first met. Yes, they have had their ups and downs over the years and yes, they have not seen each other in a while but she knows he’s coming to her party, and she knows she can make everything all right.

So, when they finally meet up, Maggie is devastated to learn Garrett is engaged to be married to someone else. Especially after he gave her an amazing kiss at the party! Heartbroken she begins to look back at their relationship as well as her first love, Asher whom she met at summer camp who was also the first person to break her heart.

But when Garrett invites her to his engagement party, which turns into a nightmare with them confronting each other, she realizes she can’t continue like this. So, she decides to look up Asher, an actor and is surprised at what she finds.

As they reconnect, and with his help realizes she is on the edge of fame, Garrett makes an unexpected announcement. So does Asher. And someone from her past she hates has come back to haunt her. Overwhelmed by all of this, she must decide what she wants knowing she will hurt them both.

Is there a true love of your life? Can there be two? How do you break someone’s heart knowing this could be the end of the relationship. How do you decide to finally, for once worry about yourself instead of all the others. How does she finally find the happiness and peace she needs.

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is a funny, emotional rollercoaster of falling in love, memories and learning to let go. It’s about being strong for yourself and others, not ever realizing you can be able and still be in control of your own life as you reach the top of the mountain.

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sGriffin # AlisonRoseGreenberg #MaybeOnce,MaybeTwice for the advanced copy.