Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we're joining Rachel's Random Resources for a stop along their current tour featuring a new Romantic Comedy/Chick-Lit offering AVAILABLE NOW via HQ Digital! It stars a single woman who's found a way to love her new life that's about to have things SHAKEN not stirred. Sound good? Oh, it gets better! Ladies and gents, make way as today's title in the spotlight take the stage...
by
Victoria Cooke
HQ Digital
About the book...
Sam lives by the mantra that it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
After the tragic loss of her husband, Sam built a new life around friends, her cat Coco and a career she loves. Fending off frequent set-ups and well-meaning advice to ‘move on’, Sam is resolutely happy being single.
But when Sam gets seconded to her firm’s Boston office for the summer, it is more than her career that is in for a shake-up. A spur of the moment decision to visit the idyllic beaches of Cape Cod could end up changing her life forever.
Sam lives by the mantra that it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
After the tragic loss of her husband, Sam built a new life around friends, her cat Coco and a career she loves. Fending off frequent set-ups and well-meaning advice to ‘move on’, Sam is resolutely happy being single.
But when Sam gets seconded to her firm’s Boston office for the summer, it is more than her career that is in for a shake-up. A spur of the moment decision to visit the idyllic beaches of Cape Cod could end up changing her life forever.
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~~~ EXCERPT ~~~
This
is Sam’s first day in her dream secondment that she’d worked hard
for. It doesn’t quite go to plan. . .
The next morning,
I hit the ground running. Yesterday’s arsehole is today’s
motivation to be professional and great at my job. Oh, who am I
kidding? Ninety-nine per cent of my confidence was bought from Hobbs
in the form of the smart black skirt and burgundy blouse I’m
currently wearing. For added oomph, I’m carrying my ‘special
occasion only’ black Marc Jacobs handbag in an attempt to feel
every bit the city girl.
As I negotiate the revolving door to
the office, my insides are jelly. The receptionist takes me up to the
boardroom where I’ll meet the team. Four of them are my English
colleagues, who left the apartment earlier than me because they
wanted to go to Starbucks, and I wasn’t ready. They, being mostly
bald men, had considerably less hair to dry than I did.
As we approach the glass-walled
boardroom, I glance at them all sat around the table. My inner fire
dies a little when it registers that they’re all dressed casually.
The receptionist is smart in her cropped houndstooth pants and purple
sweater, so it makes no sense, unless we’re kicking off with some
practical hands-on work.
‘Hi,’ I say, feeling a little sick.
‘So, do you do casual Friday on a Monday here?’ I mean it as a
joke to laugh off my blunder but soon realise that my British accent
and power dressing probably made it sound like more of an underhand
dig, a notion affirmed by a few raised eyebrows and a bit of
uncomfortable throat clearing.
‘We always dress like this. Do you
have a problem with that, ma’am?’ the man at the top of the table
asks. I’m assuming he’s Patrick, the boss.
‘Er, no. No problem at all. I was j—’
‘Good,’ he says, before turning
back to the rest of the table. I slip into a chair and take out my
file. That wasn’t a great start, but I’m determined to make a
good impression.
‘As I was saying before Victoria
Beckham over here interrupted—’ he jabs his thumb in my
direction, as if anyone was in any doubt, and heat rises up the back
of my neck ‘—Rocks needs an international campaign for their
sneakers, so we really need to our heads in the game. This isn’t a
rebrand, this is a new brand so we have to get it just right.’
I glance at my watch and it’s only
8.55 a.m. My chest tightens. I can’t believe they started without
me. How rude! I look around the table. Tony, Dave, Carl and Steve –
my British colleagues – are all dressed down and look completely
mortified by my intrusion. The other four men are the Americans; I’ve
yet to learn names but they’re all equally unimpressed. But they
started without me.
I keep my mouth shut for the rest of
the day. Maybe it’s first day nerves or perhaps I’m still knocked
by that awful man I met yesterday but I can’t seem to unravel the
knot in my stomach. When the clock strikes five, I almost race out of
the door. Tony catches me up. ‘Sorry, Sam, I thought you knew it
was a casual office – I’d have said this morning if I saw you.’
He looks genuinely sorry.
‘It’s fine.’ I brush my hand
through the air. ‘Nobody mentioned it, that’s all.’
‘It was in the itinerary email.’ He
pulls out his phone and begins scrolling through.
‘Really, it’s fine.’ I don’t
need him to prove it, I need him to drop it. I’m mortified enough
as it is.
He looks up. ‘Here it is. “And
remember, the Boston office is CW.” Casualwear.’
‘What? Give me that.’ I take the
phone from his hand and read it for myself. ‘I had this email, but
how was I supposed to know CW meant casualwear? I thought it was a
direction, like “central west” or something.’
He furrows his brow. ‘I’m sorry. We
all knew. At least you do now, and tomorrow is a new day. We’re
going for beers; do you want to join us?’
‘No, thanks. I have some shopping to
do.’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the author...
Victoria Cooke grew up in the city of Manchester before crossing the Pennines in pursuit of a career in education. She now lives in Huddersfield with her husband and two young daughters and when she’s not at home writing by the fire with a cup of coffee in hand, she loves working out in the gym and travelling. Victoria was first published at the tender age of eight by her classroom teacher who saw potential in a six-page story about an invisible man. Since then she’s always had a passion for reading and writing, undertaking several writers’ courses before completing her first novel, 'The Secret to Falling in Love,' in 2016.
Her third novel, Who Needs Men Anyway? became a digital bestseller in 2018.
Her third novel, Who Needs Men Anyway? became a digital bestseller in 2018.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UP FOR GRABS...
A Summer to Remember by Victoria
Cooke and Chocolates!
(UK Only)
*Terms and
Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the
Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random
via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by
Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then
Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an
alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any
personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this
purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the
exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the
giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after
which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I
am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, this tour, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is AVAILABLE NOW via HQ Digital, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today! Be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun.
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
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