Follow a star - Christine Stovell

Sometimes your heart's the only navigator you need...

May Starling's had enough of her demanding career and even more demanding ex. Responding to a 'crew-wanted' ad, she follows her dreams of escape only to find herself at sea with red-haired Bill Blythe.

Bill warns May that close-quartered living can create a boiling pot of emotions, but even May is surprised by the heat building up inside the vintage wooden boat. And when May and Bill tie up at Watling's Boatyard in Little Spitmarsh, May's determined to test her new-found feelings on dry land.

But May's dream of escaping her former life is in danger of being swept away when several unwelcome blasts from the past follow her ashore, all seemingly hell-bent on reminding her that it's never that easy to clear the decks.

My thoughts:

A romance at sea, a romance at land, but a romance that never really blooms before the end. Oh people, you got issues.

May is hiding something, little by little we do get what she is hiding and from whom. And then she gets on the boat with Bill and can't help it, she fancies him.

Bill, I mean he was nice and all. But I do think he jumped to conclusions way too fast, and way too much. Itwas like, do not give him any more chances! I did want them together, I just wished he had talked to her before accusing her or walking away. Men! Yes they are idiots aren't they?

This is book two in a series, but trust me, you can read it as a stand alone. It's about two people meeting, slowly falling in love and learning to trust each other. She has baggage, he does not know what to think.

Conclusion:

A romance that builds. And romance should take time, and not be rushed.

Cover

Cute in a way

Paperback, 336 pages
Published July 7th 2014 by Choc Lit (first published June 3rd 2014)
Little Spitmarsh #2
Romantic Fiction
For review

Author Post. Christine Stovell

Today's guest is Christine Stovell and she will be sharing her favorite scene from her new book, Follow a Star.

Follow A Star: My Favourite Scene

I loved writing Follow A Star, perhaps because the two main characters May Starling and Bill Blythe suggested themselves to me very quickly.  I knew exactly how each of them would set the other off, so I put them on a small yacht together and had a lot of fun creating sparks and misunderstandings between them.  It’s hard to pick out one scene in particular, but as someone who went from novice sailor to sailing half way round the British coast in a little wooden boat, there’s one scene where I was able to draw on my own experience of almost getting us sunk by a French Navy vessel to ramp up the tension between May and Bill. Like me, May was ordered to retrieve the grab bag – the survival kit filled with emergency supplies.  Here she is preparing for the worst:

‘Is it going to hit us?’ she asked, hoping that Bill would laugh and tell her not to be such a silly girl; couldn’t she see it was miles away? But Bill remained silent, keeping his eye on the huge great monster slicing almost malevolently through the water towards them.

‘Is it—’

‘I heard you,’ Bill snapped tersely. ‘Just get ready.’

Ready for what? Ready to fall cleanly over the side only to be shredded by the prop shaft of the container vessel? Ready to be horribly mangled, caught between steel and wood like a clove of garlic on a chopping board? Ready to drift for days in her life jacket and finally be washed up on some distant shore where they’d shake their heads and say ‘Poor girl, if only she’d been able to get at her Mars Bar.’ How could she get ready to die when she hadn’t had sex for weeks? She was practically a virgin again. She hadn’t even had time to be kissed by Bill!

‘Bill! Kiss me, Bill!’

He shot her a look of sheer exasperation. ‘May, this is no time to do your Nelson impression. If you think I’m letting go of anything until this thing’s gone past you’ve got to be joking.’

You did say “gone past”, didn’t you?’

Bill grinned. ‘Just look, will you? But make sure you’re braced until we’re clear of the wash.’ 

Sure enough the massive stern was gliding slowly by, close enough to make out a few tiny faces aboard, but far enough away for Lucille to be out of danger. Only when it finally dwindled to bath tub size in the distance did May’s nerves feel convinced. Sinking back into the cockpit she thanked her lucky stars, and anyone else who might have an interest, for her deliverance. She could breathe! Flex her toes and fingers! Feel the sun on her face! Hear Bill saying—

‘What?’

‘I said, about that kiss …’

And in case you’re wondering, the French Navy vessel squeezed past us too, and as for my skipper?  Reader, I married him!

Thank you Christine for this post :)

PS. Stay tuned for my review of Follow a star tomorrow :)

Follow a star is available in paperback tomorrow and out now on all eBook platforms.' Amazon UK  / US

Sometimes your heart’s the only navigator you need .
May Starling’s had enough of her demanding career and even more demanding ex. Responding to a ‘crew-wanted’ ad, she follows her dreams of escape only to find herself at sea with red-haired Bill Blythe.

Bill warns May that close-quartered living can create a boiling pot of emotions, but even May is surprised by the heat building up inside the vintage wooden boat. And when May and Bill tie up at Watling’s Boatyard in Little Spitmarsh, May’s determined to test her new-found feelings on dry land. 

But May’s dream of escaping her former life is in danger of being swept away when several unwelcome blasts from the past follow her ashore, all seemingly hell-bent on reminding her it’s never that easy to clear the decks. 

You can find Christine on her blog Home Thoughts Weekly, tweet her at @chrisstovell and find her on Facebook.

Early Review: Move Over Darling - Christine Stovell

When is it time to stop running?

Coralie Casey is haunted by her past. Deciding it’s time for a fresh start, she sets up ‘Sweet Cleans’, a range of natural beauty and cleaning products, and escapes to Penmorfa, a quiet coastal village in west Wales.

Gethin Lewis thinks he’s about to put his home village Penmorfa behind him for good. Now an internationally-acclaimed artist living in New York, he just has to return one last time to wind up his father’s estate.

But the village soon disrupts their carefully laid plans. As truths are uncovered which threaten to split the community apart, Gethin is forced to question his real reasons for abandoning Penmorfa, and Coralie is made to face the fact that some stains just won’t go away.

My thoughts:

Romance in a quaint Welsh village, filled with gossiping ladies.

Coralie is running from her past, what past we do not know, but we learn. Sure it was...something, but I did feel she made too much of a big deal of it. But she is sweet, loves her new place and is just nice you know.

Gehtin hates the same village, he wanted out and out he went. Famous painter and disliked by certain people in Penmorfa. But he also is a nice guy. He had reasons to get out. These two together works, they are both not looking, so we know something will happen. The road there takes awhile. A bit of talking, which leads to flirting, which leads to talking. Yes no rush here. You can't rush love, not even lust at times.

Even with the gossiping old ladies this was a nice village. People felt close, even if they talked dirt behind each other's backs. There is a family that gets a backstory too as they know Coralie, and Gehtin. The parents have marital issues and their daughter is back and preggers. A sidestory that gives warmth and drama to this story.

Conclusion:

Romance that takes time, a village that I want to visit. That is this story.

Cover
Eh

Genre: Women's fiction
Pages: 336
To Be published: October 7th 2012 by Choc Lit
Source: For review

Amazon US
AMazon UK 

Review: Turning the tide - Christine Stovell

Genre: Fiction
Pages: 336
Published: June 2010 Choc Lit

All's fair in love and war? Depends on who's making the rules. Harry Watling has spent the past five years keeping her father's boat yard afloat, des...more All's fair in love and war? Depends on who's making the rules. Harry Watling has spent the past five years keeping her father's boat yard afloat, despite its dying clientele. Now all she wants to do is enjoy the peace and quiet of her sleepy backwater. So when property developer Matthew Corrigan wants to turn the boat yard into an upmarket housing complex for his exotic new restaurant, it's like declaring war. And the odds seem to be stacked in Matthew's favour. He's got the colourful locals on board, his hard-to-please girlfriend is warming to the idea and he has the means to force Harry's hand. Meanwhile, Harry has to fight not just his plans but also her feelings for the man himself. Then a family secret from the past creates heartbreak for Harry, and neither of them is prepared for what happens next.

This one was another lovely story, and it had this kind of calm pace that fitted it. Things happened and all that (arson for instance), but there was a nice lingering feeling over it all. It was like you were there in this run-down town where people struggled to go on and there was no hope for the town. But then something started to build, and build.

The story is about Harriet, aka Harry who took over her father's boatyard when he died. It's not easy, and the bills are piling up. In waltzes Matthew Corrigan with big plans. He has bought a place nearby and is turning it into a fancy restaurant and now he wants her land to build luxury houses. She is not happy since this is all she has left and Matthew seems to be turning the whole town around to his way of thinking. But she is standing her ground, even when all falls apart around her.

Harry was one tough woman, she works day and night trying to keep the place alive, her only help is George, an old buddy of her dads. This place is everything to her, and later she does seem that Matthew is bringing life to town, but her land, she wants to keep it, and have it to be a seafront for everyone, not just a chosen few. She is stubborn, and underneath it all she is really vulnerable, but I come to understand her.

Matthew is all money and ideas. At times he charms me, at times I growl at him. But he really thinks this is best for all. He has a good heart in the end. And he is also fighting this odd attraction for the angry girl at the shipyard. They have such a hate love thing going on. Hating each other, but at the same time the attraction is there.

There is also the family secret in the book, and without saying anything more. It made sense, and there was finally peace.

There is a varied cast of characters in this book. The young woman who wants something more from life, the guy couple who owns the florists, and of course George, who wants the best for Harry.

It was a warm community and it was lovely to see it start to blossom again. As for romance, oh that was not an easy part, and Stovell really made them work for it, I mean really. But that was great cos like they were, all cat and dog, it had to be hard for them to see each other in a more romantic light.

The place is a character in itself, and in the end I am happy to see it survive, and wish it the best.

Blodeuedd's Cover Corner: Lovely and true to the book

Reason for reading: From the publisher

Final thoughts: A lovely book about a seaside town, a woman fighting to keep what is hers, and a man slowly loosing his heart.

PS. Milka over @ ReadReadRead is giving away this book. Open until September

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