Recently I signed up to an organisation called Rachel's Random Resources. Rachel organises blog tours for book reviews and was recommended to me by an author friend who makes use of her services. Basically, I get sent books and in return I write reviews, or host a guest blog post, or do an author Q&A. A lot of independent authors use this service and I thought it would be a way of reading some authors I wouldn't necessarily be aware of otherwise.
So it's fair to say I was quite excited to receive my first book to review and wow, what a start!
Can even the most seasoned traveller find a home on Rendezvous Lane? ‘Community spirit’ is not a phrase in travel junkie Taran Rossi’s vocabulary. As a former ‘third culture kid’ and now spicy street food connoisseur and social media influencer, he’s never really stayed in one place long enough to feel part of a community. And that’s just the way he likes it. But a springtime stint house sitting for his grandmother on Rendezvous Lane in East Nashville could lead to a long overdue wake-up call. With the help of single mum Sandy Warner and her young son Chip, can Taran come to understand that sometimes it’s not about the place – it’s about the people?
The main characters in the book have both had difficult childhoods and troubled romantic histories, but through their love for each other they are able to overcome these. What makes this book stand out however, is that both the characters and their actions are absolutely grounded in reality and everything about them and their situation is believable. Yes, they are flawed, but they are likeable both because of and in spite of these flaws, just the same as everyone else. I love it when romantic comedies dip into slightly deeper territory and Rendezvous Lane explores the darker side of love and considers the difficulties of single parenthood, poverty, childhood trauma and neglect. In less skilled hands any or all of these aspects could have become clichéd or detracted from the tone of the book. However, Britnell skilfully weaves them into the fabric of the plot without ever allowing them to overtake it or overshadow the central romantic theme. The book draws on all the traditional elements of a book of this genre and of course, there is a happy ending, but in the case of these characters it is most definitely a well deserved one and they've had to work hard to get there, both making compromises along the way.
To put my reaction into context - I don't read a lot of romantic comedies and they tend to be things I turn to when I'm in need of some light relief. Sometimes, book in this genre can be a little bit too saccharine sweet and divorced from reality for my tastes - which is often precisely the intention, but it doesn't always work for me. Therefore, I'm always on the lookout for authors who can deliver that uplifting feeling without losing the plot's grip on real life. In Angela Britnell, I've found another one to add to my list.
Angela grew up in Cornwall, England and returns frequently from her new home in Nashville, Tennessee to visit family and friends, drink tea and eat far too many Cornish pasties!
A lifelong love of reading turned into a passion for writing contemporary romance and her novels are usually set in the many places she's visited or lived on her extensive travels. Thanks to over three decades of marriage to her wonderful American husband she's a huge fan of transatlantic romance and always makes sure her characters get their own happy-ever-after.
She is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association. Her first novel ‘Truth and Consequence’ was published in 2006 and she’s now had over 30 novels published internationally and several short stories in women’s magazines.
If you'd like to find out more of what Angela gets up to (Advance warning: this may include references to wine, dark chocolate, Poldark and the hunky Aidan Turner) check out www.angelabritnellromance.com or follow her on www.facebook.com/angelabritnell , www.twitter.com/angelabritnell and on Instagram as Angela Golley Britnell.
Full details of Angela's blog tour can be seen above if you would like to read any of the other reviews of the book and the book itself can be purchased here:
Thank you so much for the lovely generous review and I'm happy that Spring on Rendezvous Lane was a hit! You summed up the book so well and I hope you go on to enjoy more of my stories.