Review: Sealed with a Kiss by Rachael Lucas

Title: Sealed with a Kiss 

Author: Rachael Lucas

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Genres: Women's fiction, Chick Lit

Published May 8th 2014

Format: Paperback, Won

Goodreads/Amazon/Book Depository

Description from Goodreads:

* The Top Ten Kindle bestseller, now with brand NEW material! *

Kate is dumped on her best friend's wedding day by the world's most boring boyfriend, Ian. She's mostly cross because he got in first - until she remembers she's now homeless as well as jobless. Rather than move back home to her ultra-bossy mother, Kate takes a job on the remote Scottish island of Auchenmor as an all-round Girl Friday. Her first day is pretty much a disaster: she falls over, smack bang at the feet of her grouchy new boss, Roddy, Laird of the Island. Unimpressed with her townie ways, he makes it clear she's got a lot to prove.

Island life has no room for secrets, but prickly Roddy's keeping something to himself. When his demanding ex girlfriend appears back on the island, Kate's budding friendship with her new boss comes to an abrupt end. What is Fiona planning - and can she be stopped before it's too late?

This funny, big-hearted novel is the perfect read for fans of Carole Matthews, Trisha Ashley and Katie Fforde.

My Review:

Sealed with a Kiss follows Kate, a woman who has always chosen the "easy option"; she settles down with a guy (Ian) out of convenience, and not because she has affectionate feelings for him. And when her relationship went downhill, she grabs the opportunity to escape to a remote Scottish island, and figure out where to go from there.

Kate is an adorable character. I like that she's silly in a cute way, but doesn't make stupid choices. She has a really tender and sweet personality which makes it easy for you to adore her. On the other hand we have Roderick who's another character I really loved; he is Kate's employer, and the owner of the island. He's a gorgeously handsome guy who has lots of responsibility thrust upon him, and I love how he and Kate work together to save the decaying island.

As you can deduce from the title and the beautiful cover, this book focuses on the romance. But unlike other novels with a not so believable insta-love, Sealed with a Kiss has a slow building romance. It takes things really slowly, and makes you savour every moment. I've lost count on how many times I re-read some parts and dialogues because they were extremely romantic, and made me smile.

The setting is wonderful, the book beautifully describes Scotland in its winter glory. I can imagine myself in one of those cottages with a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter's day. *Sigh*

This book makes you feel warm inside, and I'd say it's a great book to read during winter holidays.

Blog Tour (Review & Giveaway): The Right Design by Isabella Louise Anderson

The Right Design is Isabella's debut novel. Check out my review below!

Full tour schedule here.

The Right Design

by Isabella Louise Anderson

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Genres: Women's fiction, Chick Lit

Published March 8th 2014 by Chick Lit Goddess

Format Read: Ebook, CLP BT

Purchase: Amazon - UK, CAN, B&N, Kobo

Description from Goodreads

Interior designer Carrie Newman could not have envisioned a more perfect life for herself. She had a great job doing what she loved, wonderful friends, and a close relationship with her sister and brother-in-law. Add in an amazing man who she’d hoped would soon become her husband, and her life was perfect. Until one devastating decision ruins her relationship and changes the course of her life.

Determined to make a new start, Carrie leaves Texas and heads to Palm Beach to pick up the pieces of her shattered and broken life. The last thing she expects is to find herself attracted to her first client at her new job—Brad Larson, who has proven himself time and time again to be cad.

But there’s something beneath the surface of Brad’s arrogant exterior that keeps her craving more of him—something almost sweet that Carrie can’t seem to resist.

Is Carrie ready to take another chance on romance? And will this new design of her life prove to be the right one…?

My Review:

I was in really a bad mood when I decided to read this book, and all I wanted to do was dive into a new story, get invested with new characters, and just forget myself. So, I clicked with Carrie almost immediately, and was entirely absorbed in everything that was happening in her life.

Carrie had been dating Rodger for 6 years, he was everything to her, and she knew that he was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She was hoping that he would finally propose to her, so that they could live a happy married life. But as expected, that didn't happen because on their 6th anniversary, Carrie found him cheating on her with another woman, and that obviously lead to the end of their relationship. After her break up with Rodger, Carrie moved to Florida to start over, and find what to do with her newly single life. I think moving to Florida was a great thing to do, she needed to run away from home to forget all the lies. I like how she didn't look back and didn't forgive Rodger for what he'd done. She figured that he didn't deserve her, so she moved on with her life.

Carrie is truly passionate about home decor, she loves her job as an interior designer and she's really good at it. She takes her job seriously and doesn't play around with her clients, but moving to Florida changes a lot of things. Everything was different from what she's used to; huge projects, amazing people and lots of new experiences awaited her.

The romance played a huge part in this book, and although I believe that Carrie fell in love with Brad a little too soon, I think they were cute together. The fact that he was her client should have urged her to slow things down between them, but as I said earlier a lot of things changed when she moved to Florida. There is also a lot of focus on family, which is another reason why I thought it was a great read. I really like Carrie's relationship with her sister, the two are best friends and don't hide anything from each other. They are so alike, both are confused and all, and it was nice to read how they overcome their fears.

The Right Design has the perfect mix of family drama and heartbreaks! I think it's a great summer book to read on the beach. I highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys reading chick lit!

I received this book from CLP Blog Tours in exchange for an honest review. 

About the Autor

Isabella grew up with a book in her hand, and to this day nothing has changed. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America and has been featured on several blogs. While Isabella doesn't blog a lot, she focuses her time on featuring other writers, along with writing and editing. Isabella Louise Anderson created Chick Lit Goddess to share the love of the following genres: Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance, Romance, and Romantic Comedies! She loves featuring authors and their books. She lives in Dallas with her husband and cat. She enjoys spicy Mexican food and drinking margaritas, and can be found spending time with family and friends, cheering on the Texas Rangers, and reading. Isabella's short story, Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, was featured in Simon & Fig's Christmas anthology, Merry & Bright, in November 2013. The Right Design is her first novel.

Website - Twitter - Goodreads - Facebook - Pinterest

Chick Lit Goddess: Website - Facebook - Twitter

Get THE RIGHT DESIGN for just 99 cents during the tour!

**Everyone who leaves a comment on the tour page will be entered to win a The Right Design prize pack! Prizes include an eBook of The Right Design, plus a mug and pen! Please note this is open to US/CA residents only!**