Another week down, today I’m on the tour for romance In The Land Of Milk And Honey before I bring you my thoughts here is what the book is about.
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When Gabrielle “Bree” Valentine awoke in a hospital bed with a newborn baby, she centered herself and rebuilt. Bree didn’t think about her mental breakdown, lost memories, or the features of a stranger emerging daily in the face of the son she is raising alone. Five years later, on a weekend in the Hamptons, a chance encounter with a man unlike any other jars her—bone deep.
Daniel Hawthorne Baird II, wealthy, dangerous, British aristocrat, gravitates to Bree like caviar on crostini. In his relentless obsession with Bree, their lives entwine despite Bree’s resistance. With the unconditional support of friends she calls ‘family’, Bree confronts the most difficult questions of her life. Unearthing the painful mysteries behind who fathered her child, who the real Daniel Baird is, and the irrepressible desire driving her towards a man destined to be the end of them both.
Amazon UK | Goodreads | Amazon US
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This book has been a very difficult book to rate it has changed quite a few times, there was so much I enjoyed about it but there were other parts that really could have knocked it down a little, hopefully I’ll be able to let you know why without spoiling anything.
What I will start with saying is that I had a hard time putting this book down, I really got absorbed into the story and I have definitely been thinking about it since I finished reading it. It was a bit of a rollercoaster at times and it surprised me in a lot of ways because there were some parts that I really was not expecting.
Gabrielle was a great character, she was very strong and I like that she didn’t bend her will to suit other people. I liked that her friends who were all a bit different were her family, I loved August especially I feel like there should have been more spotlight put on that relationship than the one with Zack, who wasn’t that interesting in my opinion he only really served one purpose.
The chemistry between Daniel and Gabrielle was brilliant, you could sense there was something different about them when they were together and I liked that the history of their relationship was revealed slowly. Daniel was a hard character, at first I felt like I could totally get behind him but then he does something pretty irredeemable and at the end I was still almost wondering whether it was right that he could get a second chance. He did manage to win me over again but only just, I think maybe he could have done with a bit more time after that just to make the character arc more solid.
Something that I did have a little trouble with throughout the story was on the odd occasion it felt like I was missing something like I hadn’t been given all the details but it was assumed I had, and so when I was reading I had to re-read to try and understand what was happening. Also at times, the writing was a bit too much, almost like it was too clever for its own good, it would go from flowing really well to me having to constantly go over sentences to make sure I had the gist of what was being said.
I mentioned earlier that this book surprised me and there were points in the story where I felt like I had to check I was reading the same book. It somehow felt like it had kind of taken a turn into somewhere that it didn’t need to be, it didn’t help with character development and felt a bit unnecessary. I won’t say too much but as an example, there’s a scene with Gabrielle and Daniel in the back room of a bar and whilst I was reading it I kept thinking that it seemed so against what I’d thought of Gabrielle that she would have let anything get that far and then how really the scene does nothing for the story.
So I’m sure you can see why I’ve had trouble rating this one, the bare bones of the story the second chance romance and the characters are what really stand out and I enjoyed that aspect of it. Even though I had some niggles with the other bits I think I would still say that you should give this one a go.
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If you are feeling lucky and fancy a copy of the book and want to treat yourself to some books or…well I don’t know what else you’d be buying…but anyway click the link below to win…
a $10 Amazon gift card & kindle copy of In the Land of Milk and Honey
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Nell E. S. Douglas has possessed a deep, abiding love for written words since childhood. The transition from reader, to writer, was a natural one. Her first stories, penned on the lined pages of class notebooks, were inspired by her mother’s poetry and epic tales of travel, and a professorial inquisitiveness inherited from her father. Following college in Florida, Nell exited the world of pure imagination, and entered the one of business, successfully establishing a career in sales, and developing a cup-a-day habit (of coffee). Today, Nell writes everything from story ideas to essays during the spaces in-between domestic goddessing, and contributing as a managing partner to a thriving small business. Nell resides in Florida, with her husband and their children, passing on the traditions of her mother, and sinking her feet in the sand whenever possible.
Her favorite books are Pride and Prejudice, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Her favorite movies are Gladiator, anything by Scorcese, The Time Traveller’s Wife, and Bridesmaids.
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everywhere-and-nowhere.com 
Thanks for hosting today, Kate! Great review! 🙂
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