Review & Competition: Taking Charge by Mandy Baggot

I'm delighted to have been invited by the lovely Mandy Baggot to join her on her blog tour and hope that she's having a great time and is not too worn out.  The tour commenced on 2nd May and ends on 6th June.  I'm pretty sure she'll deserve a great big glass of wine when she's reached the end.  I do hope that she and everyone involved have had lots of fun.  You can find out more about the tour by clicking here.

Mandy has also offered one of my blog readers who comments on this post the opportunity to win a Kindle copy of Taking Charge.  To be in with a chance of winning, just leave me a comment telling me what you'd like to take charge of. 

Mandy's book Taking Charge is about a girl call Robyn Matthers who has been living in England for nine years, but is an all American born girl at heart.   When she finds out that her dad is in hospital awaiting bypass surgery, his roadhouse is struggling to survive and with the ice hockey team not performing at all well, she decides to go back and face her demons - she needs to take charge.  

At the airport, she meets Cole Ryan who helps her out with a broken bag and she finds out that he is a hockey player on a mission of his own. Robyn can't help but notice that he’s tall, dark, hot! (Well you would wouldn't you!)  They both know that there's a massive attraction between them, but surely after just a few days it is too soon!  And what will Cole think when he finds out the real truth about her and why she left? 

With so much going on when she returns, her best friend having emotional troubles, ex-high school boyfriend Brad wanting to be in a relationship with her now, having to refurb the roadhouse, give a good kick-start to the ice hockey team and worry about her dad, does she really have time for a relationship?  So - will they, and should they let their relationship develop?

I really enjoyed this book.  It was entertaining, page-turningly good, and a real pleasure to read.  The story was unusual, with twists and turns to keep your interest and it really drew you into plot, leaving you wanting to find out more.  Great descriptions and well created characters made you feel like you had joined them in the small American town.

It was a quick read at 271 pages and I loved the intensity of the relationship between Cole and Robyn, you almost wanted to kiss him yourself!   At which point, it might be the right time to share Mandy's inspiration of the character of Cole!

Mandy is an extremely talented author and Taking Charge has been snapped up by new US fiction publisher Sapphire Star Publishing and is due for release May 3rd 2012.

Mandy has been writing romantic stories since her school days. Her first book Excess All Areas was published in 2008. Breaking the Ice followed and shortly after that, the romantic comedy Knowing Me Knowing You. Her fourth novel Strings Attached was released in November 2011.

Mandy lives in Wiltshire, UK with her husband Mr Big, her two daughters and two cats. She is also a featured author with www.loveahappyending.com and will be appearing at the Summer Audience in Tetbury on 16th June.

When she isn't writing she loves to read contemporary romance, sing with vocal group Raise the Roof and newly formed duo Hard Drive, watch action/police dramas on television and travel as often as she can afford! She longs to duet with Bryan Adams, has soft spots for The Hoff and Dick Van Dyke and is an avid fan of World's Strongest Man. She's also partial to white wine, Frankie Dettori and ice dancing.

You can read more about Mandy at her website.

You can follow Mandy on Twitter

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You can follow Cole on Twitter too!