Sun, Sea and Sangria by Victoria Cooke

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Escape to the palm-fringed beaches of the Canary Islands and wash your worries away.
Kat swore off dating many years ago, after her marriage ended in a catastrophic mess. Having moved to the Canary Islands for a fresh start, she has never had much time for romance, channelling all her energy into managing all-male dance troupe – the Heavenly Hunks.

With golden beaches, sparkling blue water and relaxing after work with a glass of sangria – or three – for Kat, it’s summer all year round. But despite life being postcard perfect, Kat can’t help but wonder if she is missing out on the most important thing of all… love.

The dancers are all well-known for their flirtatious antics and aren’t looking for anything serious… except Jay. Sitting by the pool, watching the sun reflecting in the water, Kat feels like she can tell him anything.

Handsome, caring and a good listener, he ignites a fire in Kat’s heart that scares her witless. But her relationship with Jay should stay strictly professional… right? There is absolutely no way that she can be his boss and his date.

As the temperature rises, will Kat be able to take the plunge, let go of her past and find romance in paradise? 

Source: ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review


Kat's history is interesting albeit sad that has made her a fighter. Through flashbacks we're shown that she was in a bad marriage where her husband spent the entire time gaslighting her. Once her marriage was over she took off for the Canary Islands to build a new life. It's here that she has found her independence, gained back her confidence and is now a stronger person. As a business woman who's responsible for one of the area's must-see entertainment attractions - Heavenly Hunks - she's done well for herself and she can be proud of that. Everything is going swimmingly until Jay joins the Hunks and provides a new kind of emotional connection that she hasn't had in years. He tests the boundaries that she's firmly set since her divorce. Being attracted to Jay is one thing - she can control how far that goes - but falling in love, being in a relationship signals giving up control which is frightening for someone who survived an abusive marriage. Then there's also the question of the Heavenly Hunks future - whether the show can go on as is on their island paradise or if they need to dream bigger.

Let's get this out of the way - Kat's a freaking warrior to get where she is today! It's taken so much out of her to achieve her independence and learn to rely on herself. Her recollections of her husband are heart-rending but they explain why she's hyper sensitive or quick to draw conclusions when she senses even a hint of the mistreatment she received in the past. I'm glad she and Jay became friends and gradually developed a level of intimacy that they were both in need of. The pair come with burdened hearts that require a lot of patience and sympathy, and most of all, trust - something that they're both attempting to be better at.

All that being said, I'm sad to admit that I didn't quite feel the story pull me in completely. Sometimes it felt like Kat was listing things she was doing or feeling. It's a bit confusing, really because the flashbacks from her marriage felt more poignant compared to what felt kind of robotic in the present. It seemed like whatever was going on with her took me to just the very surface without allowing me in any further so it felt more like I was observing the motions rather than experiencing along with her. It's odd that I felt that difference but that's how I interpreted things. 

Overall, Sun, Sea and Sangria was fine. Aspects of it were interesting like the behind-the-scenes workings of the Heavenly Hunks, their camaraderie, and of course, Kat's metamorphosis from victim to being her own heroine. The island life is an obvious draw. It's just that I wanted something more in the in between; to delve deeper into Kat's mindset but that would probably have taken the story in a different direction than what the author intended. It's still a good read for anyone looking for fun and island love.

~ Bel

Grown Up Pose Blog Tour

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A delightfully modern look at what happens for a young woman when tradition, dating, and independence collide, from acclaimed author Sonya Lalli.

Adulting shouldn’t be this hard. Especially in your thirties. Having been pressured by her tight-knit community to get married at a young age to her first serious boyfriend, Anu Desai is now on her own again and feels like she is starting from the beginning.

But Anu doesn’t have time to start over. Telling her parents that she was separating from her husband was the hardest thing she’s ever done—and she’s still dealing with the fallout. She has her young daughter to support and when she invests all of her savings into running her own yoga studio, the feelings of irresponsibility send Anu reeling. She’ll be forced to look inside herself to learn what she truly wants.


Source: advance e-galley provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review


Anu questioning her life and what has become of it is nothing out of the ordinary. I think many of us do that at some point when we finally have a moment to look around and take stock of things. For Anu it was realizing that everything she had built thus far was because it was expected of her, simply doing things to make her parents happy. She felt stifled in her marriage and got to a point where she didn't know who she was. Separating from her husband and making space for herself was the first step in whatever journey she was about to embark on. Except now months later she's still drifting because she hasn't yet found the answers.

A chance meeting outside of a yoga studio initiates a change. Making a new friend and then stumbling upon the opportunity to run her own yoga studio might come from left field but it also makes some sense as she's always loved yoga and this could be a way for her to create something of her own. She makes an impulsive decision which immediately sets her anxiety loose. Being that she's still kind of a mess emotionally, it takes a few starts and stops before she finds her footing.

I think Sonya Lalli has a knack for writing characters who are at difficult crossroads in their lives. Grown-Up Pose has echoes of her first novel, The Matchmaker's List. In both cases, she’s not afraid for her protagonists to be flawed, flounder or fail because after much soul-searching they’ll eventually pick themselves up. Grown-Up Pose spoke to me on so many levels and I enjoyed going along on Anu’s journey. Anu got so lost in the routines and going through the motions that she lost sight of the good things she had. She needed to sort of lose all that before she could fully appreciate the choices she'd made. 

Grown-Up Pose is a very grown up book about the difficulty of adulting and responsibility. It's not all dower, though because it's also about making space to create good things in your life. We're always growing and evolving, and as Anu discovers for herself, having the right people beside you make all the difference in the world.

~ Bel