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22 June 2016

Blog Tour: 'A Family Holiday' by Bella Osborne!

She’ll do whatever it takes to keep this family together…

As the nanny to four quirky but loveable children, Charlie French has learnt that if there was ever a cement shortage Weetabix would be a viable substitute and that YouTube videos can go viral in seconds, much to her horror. But, most importantly, she's learnt that whatever happens you stick together as a family.

When tragedy strikes, Charlie is forced to decide whether it’s time to move on or fight to keep the children she loves. With the distraction of the children's gorgeous Uncle Felix and the chance of a holiday in stunning Antigua, she’s left wondering if turquoise seas can wash away their present troubles. Is the pull of white sand beaches too tempting to resist or will paradise fail to keep them all together?

Last year I was introduced to author Bella Osborne when I got the chance to read and review her debut novel ‘It Started at Sunset Cottage’ (click here to read my review) which I really enjoyed. A few weeks ago I was contacted by Bella herself with the question of whether I would be interested to be part of the blog tour for her newest release ‘A Family Holiday’, and of course I said yes, so here we are! I’m incredibly excited to not only share my review of ‘A Family Holiday’ with all of you today, but I also have an exclusive guest post from Bella herself and a give-away for UK readers to win a special ‘A Family Holiday’ tote bag. Be sure to scroll down to go through all the blog tour content and visit some of the other blogs on the tour to get to know everything about this exciting summer release! 

Twenty-something Charlie French has made her fair share of mistakes in life, but starting working as a nanny for the Cobley family is definitely not one of them. Charlie loves the four kids with all of her heart, so when their parents unexpectedly pass away and a new guardian needs to be appointed, Charlie is anxious and unsure about what will happen to her. The only two possibilities are the kids' aunt Ruth, who seems to be more concerned with getting rid of Charlie than what is best for the kids, and their absent uncle Felix, who has built a life for himself abroad and isn't about to give everything up for a family he hardly knows. Charlie decides the best thing to do is to go on a family holiday with the kids; the perfect chance to relax and forget about everything that's been happening back home. Because even though Charlie doesn't want to think about it, this could be her last chance to spend some quality time with the kids she loves so much...

I was introduced to Bella Osborne's writing last year when I read and reviewed her debut novel 'It Started at Sunset Cottage.' I was curious to see what Bella would treat us to next and I'm happy to say 'A Family Holiday' has definitely managed to even exceed my expectations; what a fantastic and thoroughly enjoyable read! I was hooked from the first few chapters onwards and the story managed to keep my full attention until the very last page. One of the absolute strengths of this book is the collection of characters; I simply fell in love with all of them. Protagonist Charlie is the kind of heroine you easily find yourself rooting for, she has a great best friend in the form of Fleur, and I loved how the four kids Ted, George, Eleanor and Millie all had their own personality and were very different from one another. A special mention goes to Millie who just cracked me up with all her great one-liners and actions; I really fell in love with her!

I want to applaud Bella Osborne for managing to make a great and convincing mix of humour, realism and emotions. The kids in this book have experienced something horrible and while they are still dealing with their grief, Charlie tries to help them in whatever way she can, and the story made my eyes water every now and again but also made me laugh out loud. If you ask me to describe what a perfect summer holiday read looks like, it's a novel just like this one. It really has everything I look for in an enjoyable romantic comedy read and it's the perfect read for a day at the beach or in the garden/park. 'A Family Holiday' is a stunning, well-written, warm-hearted book about family and friendship which I loved from start to finish; without a doubt worth picking up this summer!
Rating:10/10
 
For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

Thanks to the publisher and author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.



Guest Post by Bella Osborne!

I'm really excited to welcome Bella Osborne to the blog today with a special guest post as a part of the blog tour for her new novel 'A Family Holiday.' In the post below you'll find Bella's answer to the following question: if ‘A Family Holiday’ were made into a film who would play the main characters?

I love this question because it does open up the idea that somewhere in a rose tinted future that could actually happen! So here are my thoughts on who I would like to cast:

Charlie - Emilia Clarke has starred in Game of Thrones and the film Me Before You. She is a versatile actress and with her big dark locks has the right look for Charlie and I think she could pull off Charlie’s strength, sassiness and stubbornness very well too.

Felix - Dan Stevens of Downton Abbey fame. He has the accent, the body, the blonde wayward hair and most importantly the stunning blue eyes! He also does pensive rather well, so a great choice for my male lead.

Fleur – Bonnie Wright. I am being led a little by the hair colour, to be honest, but I think now that Ginny Weasley is all grown up she could potentially make a good Fleur. We’d need Bonnie to show us her more ditzy side but I’m sure she’s more than capable of that.

Jonathan - Matthew Lewis. I know it’s another Harry Potter actor, for which I make no apology. Seriously - have you seen Neville Longbottom now he's all grown up! He reminds me of a young Jack Davenport, which was who I had in mind when I wrote Jonathan but sadly the lovely Jack would now be a little too old to play the role.

Ted - Rhys Matthew Bond. A young actor best known for the TV series The Ties that Bind and a great fit for the teenage Ted.

So there you have it my main cast for A Family Holiday now all I need is a Hollywood director to knock on my door – I can but dream!



Give-away!


Be sure to enter the give-away below to win an exclusive 'A Family Holiday' tote bag! The give-away is UK only and will be open until Friday 1 July. Good luck to all! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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