Tigers In Red Weather * Liza Klaussmann

Tigers In Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

Nick and her cousin Helena have grown up together and shared long hot summers over at Tiger House. With husbands and children of their own, the girls keep returning. But against the background of parties, cocktails, moonlight and Jazz, how long can perfection last? 

There is always the summer that changes everything. 

Set int the elegant 1940's Nick and Helena have always been close family members and best friends, spending hours chatting and having cocktails in the hot summer sun, to spending every summer holiday together in their Holiday home - Tiger House. 

All goes to plan, Nick falls madly in love with Hughes, a fighter in the war but soon feels disengaged and lonely when he is hardly ever there, searching for more glamour and romance in her life, Nick decides to go in search for it, but going in completely the wrong direction. 

Helena on the other hand has married into a disastrous marriage, even though madly in love with him, she just can't seem to get away from her obsessed and a little unnerving husband. Soon she starts to despise of her cousins relationship with her husband, her wonderful, romantic and glamorous marriage, but the grass isn't always greener on the other side. If anyone knows this, it's Nick. 

Fast forward to a few years and both cousins have children, Nick has a lovely young and beautiful daughter Daisy. Who is head strong and knows what she wants, even if she does get a little bit blind sided along the way, but her best friend and cousin also, Ed; there as thick as thieves and no one can stop them. 

But Ed has other ideas, ideas that only he knows. Suspicions of people's lives, how his family live theirs. He analyses them one by one, picking out flaws and things that they are unhappy with in their small and meaningless lives. 

He doesn't understand for example, why his mother stays with his Father, constantly giving him money for this "business" of his and why all those nights ago she slept with another man. Or how Daisy loves Taylor, a boy from the tennis club, but not him. 
Why his Aunt Nick has a better life than his mother and him, why she's perfect and gets everything and his mother has had to suffer. 

Or how his uncle Hughes is always watching him, like he doesn't trust him at all...
and he shouldn't for that matter. 

Tigers In Red the Weather by Liza Klaussmann, is the first novel by this wonderful author. The book is very well written (Which I appreciate) the story line was great and the plot always thickened. 

I'm slowly starting to really enjoy books that are set in the 1940's and on wards, the love I have for their fashion back then is overwhelming and everything about it is just beautiful!

I must admit, this was the first ever book I bought for my Kobo and he's been sat on the shelves of it for quite some time collecting dust. So, since I started the To Be Read Pile, challenge I decided to dust the ebook cover off and give it a whirl, and I was not disappointed. 

The book is set out about a different character per so many chapters and is told through different different years, so you have to pay more attention to detail and where the story is going, who your reading about and the year. I found this a bit difficult if I'm honest, took me a while to understand it and even near the end of the book I was flicking back to the contents to see who was matching up with who and what year. 

Nevertheless it was a great read and had such twists and turns in, which by the end I was quite shocked if I'm honest and quite dark in some places all the while making me want to read it in the sun with a nice glass of wine by the beach. Portrayed in the elegant and glamorous years, full with dinner parties, cocktails and fabulous dresses. 

I would happily read this book again, even if it may confuse me a little bit again! I recommend this book for this summer, a great summer read sat outside in the sunshine. A historic book in someways, filled with romance, lust and mystery and suspense I was very eager to turn the pages to find out what happened next! I was a slow start I must admit but I'm glad that I perused with the book otherwise I would of found this author! 

I will give this book 8 out of 10

Operation Sunshine * Jenny Colgan

Operation Sunshine by Jenny Colgan

Sun, Sea, Sangria and...

Evie is desperate for a holiday - a good one. Not only from working all hours as a receptionist but also because every break she's ever been on has involved sunburn, arguments and projectile vomiting - sometimes all at once. Why can't she have a holiday like everyone else? Peaceful sunbathing and (fingers crossed) some much needed sex. 

And then Evie's employers invite her to a conference in the beautiful South of France. At last, the chance to party with the rich and glamorous. It's the holiday of a lifetime - but things don't work out in quite the way Evie imagines...


Evie can't seem to get away, she's always working, being pestered by her idiot brothers and is still single. But when her employers talk about going away for a conference  Evie  can't help but jump at the chance to go on a holiday of a lifetime. Even if her employers have other things for her to do whilst she's there, like still doing all the paper work.  

Though after booking the flights, hotel and the places of fine dining, Evie finds she has got more than she bargained for when she arrives in the sunny paradise. 

To start, she wasn't booked in on first class like everyone else, she wasn't in the same hotel as everyone else and to top it all off the other receptionist, Lydia is in tow, will the holiday get better? 

To somewhat does, she meets wonderful and sexy Tom another Dr amongst the mist of all the others, but his bright orange hair changes her mind and it looks like that she will finally be getting her summer romance. 

Soon everything starts to spiral out of control, everyone isn't who she thought they we're, the holiday turns into something out of a James Bond movie and her brothers are acting strange.

Follow Evie with her sunburns, bad romances and over all her mad holiday of a lifetime. 

Operation Sunshine by Jenny Colgan, is the second novel that I have read from this amazing woman. I managed to read Operation Sunshine in under a week, it was such a quick summer read. Though apart of me wishes I saved it for when it got really sunny, needs to be read during the summer, just perfect!

The book is hilarious in places and I felt like it had such a good storyline! I've seen other people's reviews and they thought it was a bit bland. I can't possibly understand why, there's so much going on all the time you don't know where the book will turn. 

From first reading the book to the end, I did not think it would end like that at all! It had such a twist, was hilarious and had some good action as well as romance. Just what you need for the summer. 

I loved Evie's Character, Tom was a nutcase but was hilarious and Dr. Benentt changed from Dr.Good to Dr.Evil in a matter of seconds, which was quite funny! Be warned though, if you are partial to animal harming then you may need to take this book with a pinch of salt. 

It doesn't word it all in a good way, they all rebel against the "scientists" and save the animal rights so it's quite heroic! Just a warning that is all!

All in all I thought the book was great! I can't wait to read more of Colgan's books this summer, I think I would definitely read this book again at some point. If you're wanting a quick summer read this summer, I suggest reading this book! 

Quick, fast paced, action, humorous and full of romance, perfect for the beach or the park. 

I will give this book 8.5 out of 10.