Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for All you need is Love by Jessica Redland. The book is set in Whitsborough Bay and has been previously published as Bear With Me.
All You Need Is Love
When you’ve loved and lost, how do you find the strength to let love in again?
Jemma thinks she’s found the love of her life. Scott is everything she ever dreamed of and she can’t wait to begin the next stage of their life together. But just as she is heading for her happy ever after, a shock revelation shatters Jemma’s life as she knows it. Left to pick up the pieces, Jemma’s friends and family rally round to help her find the courage to move on.
Sam think he has his future all worked out. A thriving career, lovely home and an amazing fiancée. But when tragedy strikes, he finds himself alone, far from everyone he cares about. Did he do the right thing by running away and trying to rebuild the tatters of his life alone?
This is the story of Jemma and Sam. Two lost souls, desperately trying to find closure and happiness. When a chance meeting brings them together a friendship is formed, but the guards are up.
Will it finally be their turn for a happy ever after? Or will the secrets from their pasts prevent them from moving on?
Escape to Whitsborough Bay for an emotional, uplifting story of love and friendship from top 10 bestseller Jessica Redland.
This book was previously published as Bear With Me.
Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/2XgHkjt
My thoughts:
This was my first visit to Whitsborough Bay, but I was already a big fan of Jessica Redland’s Hedgehog Hollow series and this one was just as entertaining and uplifting!
To be honest, I don’t know how much I can tell you about the plot without giving the story away. There are plenty of twists and turns, which is a part of the book’s charm. Jessica Redland does plenty of foreshadowing, so you do know or rather feel in your heart what is going to happen. And when it does you are still swept away by all the emotions the ineviatble drama creates.
28-year-old Jemma is a museum curator, taking care of the children’s section, which is pretty much a dream job who grew up helping her mum with her business of designing and making teddy bears. She is the sweetest person imaginable and has wonderful flatmates/flatmates, plus her childhood bestie Karen. Karen is a girl after my heart- she will tell you the truth when you are making a mistake, but will stand by you, while you are waiting for your broken heart to heal.
Sam Jones is also trying to recover from a personal tragedy. The cover of this book isn’t just gorgeous, it is also incredibly meaningful, but you will have to discover its significance and the significance of the title (actually both titles, the old and the new one are perfect) by reading. Suffice it to say that yes, Jemma and Sam both need love and maybe they can find it with each other, if they allow themselves to hope again.
Did I say how much I liked the characters, primary and secondary? There’s a very special thread in the book and although I know it’s a spoiler, I have to mention it. One of the characters has a neurodegenerative disorder and it is clear that the author did a huge amount of research to describe what it’s like to live with it both for the person affected and their family. My grandfather had it and I cannot thank Jessica enough for raising awareness of this disease.
Jessica’s trademark sense of humour makes the reader empathise with the narrative even more. Some moments and experiences will make you tear up, but bear with the book as there is a happy ending (onceagain my intention to write a spoiler-free review goes out of the window, but I just can’t help myself).
I’m really glad to have discovered the wonderful world of arctophilia and I totally agree that hugging teddy bears (as well as giving them and getting them as a present) has numerous therapeutic properties and makes countless people happier every day.
Hope you pick up this book and get a wonderful escape from reality into this gripping story, full of love and hope.
Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources and Jessica Redland for the review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.
Author Bio:
Jessica Redland is the author of nine novels, including The Secret to Happiness, which are all set around the fictional location of Whitsborough Bay. Inspired by her hometown of Scarborough, she writes uplifting women’s fiction which has garnered many devoted fans.
Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaRedlandAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaRedland
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicaredlandauthor/
Newsletter Sign Up Link: http://bit.ly/JessicaRedlandNewsletter
Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jessica-redland
Thank you for reading the post! Have a great Sunday!
Ifyou would like to see what other bloggers thought of Jessica Redland’s book, here is the full blog tour schedule:
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You reviewed this book very well 😊😀
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Thank you very much! I really enjoyed the book and hoped to encourage more people to read it.
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Yup
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Thank you for your gorgeous review and I’m so delighted you loved your first trip to Whitsborough Bay as much as you loved Hedgehog Hollow. Thank you for the no spoiler review. Don’t worry – saying there’s a happy ending doesn’t give anything away as it’s one of my guarantees to my readers. I may put my characters through some tough times but the story will always be uplifting and end happily. As for Parkinson’s, I’ve mentioned it several times myself so, although we don’t specifically mention it in the blurb, it’s absolutely fine. Thank you for not covering what I would consider are the major unexpected reveals. Thank you for your kind comments about Parkinson’s. I did undertake a huge amount of research and it was important to me to break some of the myths. I certainly learned a lot during my research. Thanks for finding the arctophilia love. Bears are so wonderful. I just need to glance at any of the bears in my collection on a down day and I’m lifted xx
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Thank you very much for your kind words! You did a wonderful job showing what it’s really like to live with PD and I will definitely recommend reading this book to anyone who has a newly diagnosed family member or simply would like to know more about it.
Looking forward to your next book xx
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What an amazing review Toni. I loved this book and it is my favourite of the Whitsborough Bay stories, although they are all good.
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I must check this series out!
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It is a great series. I did not read them in order and had no issues. They were all available on Hoopla through my library in both ebook and audiobook.
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