#BookReview Single by Christmas by Rosa Temple

Single by Christmas
by Rosa Temple

Genre: Chick Lit, Romance, Friendship, Christmas
Publication: October 3rd, 2016
Format: ebooks, ARC
Source: Author, Publisher
Connect: Website | Twitter | Goodreads

You’ve heard the saying, ‘opposites attract’ haven’t you? Well meet 27 year old Alex Marshall, a party girl with a penchant for free flowing Prosecco, and her devilishly handsome scientist boyfriend, Charlie, who loves jazz and dinner for two.

Alex and Charlie are together for 11 blissful months until Alex goes out of town and does something she will later regret. Was she drunk? You bet. Does she want Charlie to know? Well what do you think?

With the couple about to spend their first Christmas together will Charlie be the forgiving kind or will Alex be Single by Christmas?

This is a feel good, Christmas novel with very few mince pies, not much snow and absolutely no mistletoe – just a couple of best friends, a sociopathic nemesis and a lot of drinking.

Alex had a good life. She had her friends and a wonderful boyfriend. Alex and her boyfriend, Charlie may have different personalities and they have been together for a while. They were happy, but, their relationship is slowly slipping with Alex's priorities sets on something else.

I love this book. I admit that I wasn't a big fan of Alex. She loves partying and was a bit of an airhead. She may not be a good girlfriend, but she is definitely a good friend. Alex would always try to be there with her friends whenever they had issues. I love Charlie. He's really nice and patient to Alex. There have been a few times when I thought that he may be too good for Alex. But I'm really happy with how the story wrapped up too.

I love Rosa Temple's writing style. It was really easy to get into. The plot is straightforward but enjoyable. I love Alex's interaction with the people around her. And I definitely enjoy watching how Alex grew up in this book.  

The book didn't have a lot of Christmassy feeling to it, but still, if you're looking for a light romance, I would definitely recommend this book.

I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher in exchange for my review.

#OnTour Single by Christmas by Rosa Temple #Excerpt + #Giveaway

Rosa Temple is now on tour with her book, Single by Christmas from 17th October to 28th October. I'm posting the excerpt and hopefully, the review in a few more days. Don't forget to enter the giveaway to win ebook copy of the book!

Single by Christmas
by Rosa Temple

Genre: Chick Lit, Romance, Friendship, Christmas
Publication:  October 3rd, 2016
Connect: Website | Twitter | Goodreads

You’ve heard the saying, ‘opposites attract’ haven’t you? Well meet 27 year old Alex Marshall, a party girl with a penchant for free flowing Prosecco, and her devilishly handsome scientist boyfriend, Charlie, who loves jazz and dinner for two.

Alex and Charlie are together for 11 blissful months until Alex goes out of town and does something she will later regret. Was she drunk? You bet. Does she want Charlie to know? Well what do you think?

With the couple about to spend their first Christmas together will Charlie be the forgiving kind or will Alex be Single by Christmas?

This is a feel good, Christmas novel with very few mince pies, not much snow and absolutely no mistletoe – just a couple of best friends, a sociopathic nemesis and a lot of drinking.

Single by Christmas by Rosa Temple

Excerpt

You might be wondering what I was doing, sitting in a graveyard at five minutes to midnight on Christmas Eve. And if you guessed gravedigger or graverobber, you’d be wrong. But ask yourself, who sits in a graveyard when it’s cold and out and out spooky unless it’s absolutely critical? The church, where I attend Midnight Mass with my family every year, is just across the way. But sitting on that particular bench just inside the graveyard was absolutely critical.

You see, in the lead up to Christmas I managed to lose something. Well, not something, someone. Charlie; my reason for living, my heart, my soulmate … you get the idea. And before you start crying, don’t worry, he wasn’t buried there. At the time, I wasn’t exactly sure where Charlie was, but he knew I was there. Waiting.

By the stroke of midnight I would have known for sure if I’d truly lost him. I’d asked him to join me and my family for the service. They’d arrived earlier. I smiled and greeted them all – Mum, Dad, big sister, Elise, and her husband and my younger sister, Jo-Jo. They asked where Charlie was and I managed to hide my worst fears and say he’d be along soon, that he was held up. So they just kissed me and piled inside with the rest of the congregation.

My family had been looking forward to seeing Charlie, even more so than they were me. You see, like everyone who meets Charlie, they’d fallen in love with him. Who could blame them? He’s charming, he’s intelligent, he’s sweet, kind, generous. The list could go on. I admit those things weren’t what first attracted me to Charlie. No, the attraction was pure lust and desire. He walked into that New Year’s Eve party the year before and I was stunned into silence. And I’m never silent. Tall, well dressed, mesmerising looks and those dimples that appear every time he smiles, which he does a lot by the way.

And I love Charlie’s family, too. His mum, Leeza, his dad, Don, who Charlie gets his looks and sense of humour from, and his brother. I wasn’t sure Leeza approved of Charlie having a white girlfriend, at first, but I realised that was just paranoia on my part. His family are not like that. His mum, who I grew to admire and love, was just being protective, the way some mothers are.

But, I digress. My family had no idea that I’d seen Charlie twenty-four hours prior to the service and that we’d had a heated argument and that Charlie had practically slammed a door in my face. Minutes before that I’d made a complete and utter fool of myself in front of his wonderful family and he’d walked away with such disgust and disappointment in his face my heart broke in two. He’d closed the door on me but I hadn’t stopped sending begging texts and hysterical voicemails just so he would show up on Christmas Eve – like he’d promised me. I wasn’t expecting a miracle, just praying for one. Because it would have taken a miracle for Charlie to walk towards the church, bypass the tall wooden doors, see me on the bench, push open the graveyard gates and tell me he’d forgiven me.

With everyone nice and warm inside the church, I continued to sit watching puffs of vapour appearing in front of my face from every exhale, brimming with an apology that may never be heard.

You might be saying, “If Charlie’s that wonderful, why couldn’t he just come to the church, it’s Christmas after all?” You have to know, he’d never be that unforgiving without very good reason.

Honestly? It took a whole year of knowing Charlie to finally understand what it is to love someone completely and to be loved the very same way in return and just one month to lose it all.

And this is how …

About the Author

Rosa Temple is a writer of romantic comedies, chick-lit and contemporary romance. To date she has published one novella, Sleeping with Your Best Friend, and her first full length novel, Natalie’s Getting Married, was published on 14th March 2016.

She has tried her hand at various occupations, from tea lady (albeit for one morning only after being returned to the agency because half an office block suffered caffeine deprivation) to supervising the office running the London Bar Exams.

Rosa is a Londoner born and bred and still resides in West London with ambitions to escape to the country when a suitable country pile becomes available.

In 2014 she was awarded a Distinction in her Creative Writing MA from Brunel University.

Rosa admits to being a reluctant keep fit addict. She owns a yoga mat, a pair of trainers and a spin cycle that gathers dust in the corner of her writing room. She vows that she will run the London Marathon again but has been saying this since her first and only marathon, run in 2010. Hence the trainers.

Having been a ghostwriter for several years, Rosa has written several magazine articles and has penned a multitude of one off novellas and novella length series in the romance genre and in its various sub-genres to include: contemporary romance, historical, adult only, romantic comedies and sweet romances.

Rosa is a member of a writing critique group who meet monthly. This lively and hard working group keep her on her toes as she hones her writing, listening and editing skills.

Rosa’s husband and eldest son are both musicians, her second son swims at a National level for his London team.

Before devoting the majority of her time to her writing of romantic comedies and chick-lit, Rosa was a singer (that’s how she met her husband) and still continues to perform and write songs.

Early reviews show that Natalie’s Getting Married is a favourite of many readers and book bloggers and she follows it with Christmas romantic comedy novel, Single by Christmas, with plans to publish a book series in the very near future.

Rosa loves to chat (about anything really) so follow her on Twitter @RosaT_Author or visit her blog, Rosa Temple Writes, on rosatemplewrites.blogspot.co.uk

Read an excerpt of Natalie’s Getting Married on Goodreads or Facebook

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#BookReview Natalie's Getting Married by Rosa Temple

Natalie's Getting Married
by Rosa Temple

Genre: Romance, Chick-lit
Publication: March 14th, 2016
Format: ebooks
Source: Author/Publisher
Connect: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Career minded, Natalie Spencer, had never been in love. She could never understand what all the fuss was about. But when she met Jackson Humphries during Fresher’s Week at university, that all changed.

Utterly infatuated, Natalie quickly discovers the meaning of love and, before she knows it, she's heading up the aisle – for the first time, that is.

This is a tale about four wedding dresses, a runaway groom and a girl who got so carried away, she couldn’t see true love staring her right in the face.

This was a story about Natalie and her journey to find her true love. Natalie Spencer was career minded and has never been in love. But once she laid her eyes on Jackson Humphries, everything changed. 

It was hard not to like Natalie. She was independent, brave and this was the first time found out that she like someone. I like how she had her crush on Jackson but never had her courage to go after him. Jackson was a nice guy with a few problems with her mom.

Natalie also met Gabriel during the Fresher's Week and they have been best friends ever since. I enjoyed the interaction between the two of them. Gabriel may not like Jackson so much, but, he was always there when Natalie needed him. He was really sweet and I wanted to root for him.

Reading the story also made me frustrated with the characters. There were a few times when I feel like throwing away my e-reader because of this frustration. I wanted Natalie to turn around and see that the man she was waiting for was there for her from the very beginning. I got frustrated when the characters seemed to  always miss their chance to tell what they wanted to say.

Natalie's Getting Married was definitely a fun read. I like Rosa Temple's voice and writing style. The pace was great at the beginning but felt a bit rushed towards the end. 

I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher in exchange for my review.