Today I have another blog tour for you. You know I’m a huge fan of Carole Matthews, and her newest book “Million Love Songs” was published as paperback few days ago. For the purpose of the blog tour, the lovely Carole has created her own Spotify playlist with her favourite love songs that you can listen to by clicking here.
Richard Marx, Right Here Waiting For You – I still can remember me, barely a teenager, listening with my ear close to the radio and dreaming about… hmmm 🙂
No Doubt, Don’t Speak – I was almost 18 years old, just got to know this guy at the disco and he told he’s going to call. He didn’t. I was sitting in my best friend’s room and playing it over and over again. I don’t think they like this song as much as did. PS. He called. we were together for 7 years.
After splitting up with her cheating ex-husband, Ruby Brown is ready for a change. She’s single again for the first time in years and she’s going to dive into this brave new world with a smile on her face and a spring in her step. The last thing she’s looking for is another serious relationship.
Mason Soames represents everything Ruby wants right now: he’s charming, handsome, and perfect for some no-strings-attached fun, and yet Ruby can’t help feel that something is missing. Joe Edwards, on the other hand, is also lovely and handsome but he comes with the sort of baggage Ruby wants to avoid: an annoyingly attractive ex-wife and two teenage children.
Ruby soon has some very tough decisions to make. Is she ready for a relationship of any kind, and what type of life does she really want? Because while Ruby may think she knows what she wants, is that what she needs to be truly happy?
Feel-good, wonderful and an absolute must-read from the queen of romance Carole Matthews, Ruby’s story will make you laugh, cry and leave you wanting more. It’s about to get emotional in Million Love Songs.
Carole Matthews’s books are your guarantee of wit, humour, some drama and romance. I’ve been reading her books for many years already and I’ve always enjoyed them, as she creates likeable characters, the writing style is so light and easy to follow and the stories are never too heavy even though there is always some seriousness and heavier stuff in them. The characters are believable, as well as the situations they find themselves in, and it’s the same with “Million Love Songs”.
In this newest release we meet Ruby Brown, freshly divorced from Simon, and actually coming to terms with this fact. They were five long years together and it’s hard to settle in but Ruby is determined to start afresh and you know what they say – when life throws you lemons, just make a lemonade (I should probably try to adapt this motto by myself as March was officially the worst month ever. And April won’t be better). She quitted her old job, moved to a small granny – flat, got a new job at a pub and some new friends, so it really is everything new and fresh for her.
Ruby was a great character and I hoped everything is going to pan out for her. She wasn’t afraid of new things, she was open to anything, she was cheery and optimistic and I grinned at her many antics, and she for sure was a part of many, many memorable scenes. The one thing that bothered me a little was the fact that she seemed to be all the time bouncing back and forth between two men, desperate for a man in her life and it seemed somehow so desperate, while I really liked her on her own. Well, it was just after her divorce that she’s decided she wants to be a little more impulsive and try many new things, right? That she’s ready for fun and new? She was also strong by herself. There was too much of Ruby’s going back and forth and her indecisiveness. She’s been changing her mind too many times and it irritated me sometimes because when you once say yes then please, stick to your word, especially when others warn you as well. And she kept changing her mind countless times.
And Mason. I’m not sure why but Mason is for me a serial killer – there is something in the name (sorry. Pay no attention, really). So it’s not a wonder that I didn’t warm to him completely, no? He was also a well – known womanizer with tons of money and too much spare time. Yes, I liked Joe better, although there were moments that I wanted to yell at him to make a decision. He seemed to blow Ruby hot and cold and I think she didn’t deserve it. But altogether, both men had their pros and cons and sometimes I wasn’t sure who I wanted her to end up with. Maybe adding a third male character would be an idea.
I loved the music and songs references – no matter if you were Take That fan or not, you know their songs and I found myself humming. But – I am not so sure what to think about the whole Take That obsession. On one hand it is great to have a hobby, and oh well, yes, I also have a crush on a music star, even at my age, but this here is taking it to another level. I mean, I have a life. The following seemed more like stalking for me and really, to be totally honest, I thought that Ruby deserves much more from her life, no? But it’s just me, as Ruby’s friend Charlie seemed really happy with living with a life-sized cardboard figure of Gary Barlow and the huge amount of events she was going to and hoping for potential sightings. Whatever you like…
The chapters, as usually, were short and snappy, which I really like in books as it makes the whole book quicker to read and the storyline keeps moving fast. And of course in such cases it is always one chapter more and you find yourself reading and reading, totally engrossed in this lovely story.
“One Million Love Songs” was a warm, uplifting read written with so much heart and understanding. I love Carole Matthews’s writing style, it immediately takes you into the heart of the story and then on a journey full of twists and turns, a journey that’s rather bumpy than flat. It’s charming and full of humour and poignant moment, that are, as always, so very well balanced and intertwined together. Altogether, I can only – and I do it very happily – recommend this novel to both the old as well as new Ms Matthews’s fans.