Book Review: Daisy Does It Herself by Gracie Player

I am pleased to be welcoming Gracie Player to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Daisy Does it Herself.

Sometimes, the Last Place You Intended to Go is Exactly Where You Need to Be.

When 26-year-old Daisy’s life in London comes crashing down around her, the only thing she can think of is getting away – far away. That’s how she found herself stumbling off a train in England’s picturesque Peak District – 150 miles from home, with no idea why she’d gone there and even less idea how she intended to get home.

As Daisy explores the gorgeous village of Upper Finlay, she glimpses the possibility of a different life. The Derbyshire Dales offer up new friends, new opportunities, and a distractingly dishy object of attraction in the form of local bookstore owner Alex (and his bumbling Great Dane.) When Daisy discovers Alex’s business is in trouble she steps in to save the day.

But London’s Calling – literally. The life Daisy ran away from is calling her back. Why then, is she so reluctant to heed its call?

Daisy’s got a decision to make: Will she play it safe, and return to what she knew? Or is she brave enough to take a leap of faith and create a bold, new life for herself in the last place she’d ever expected?

Daisy Does it Herself is a sweet, uplifting romantic comedy about the power of self-confidence, friendship and of course love! Fans of warm and witty romantic comedies with a guaranteed happily-ever-after will be entranced.

*****

In one day, Daisy finds herself out of a job and out of a home. To make it worse, she walks in on her boyfriend kissing another woman. She leaves, just wanting to get away.

In her attempt to escape London, she finds herself on a train and eventually in Upper Finlay in Derbyshire.

Taken in by Alex, the handsome and friendly owner of the local bookshop, Daisy slowly starts to potentially see another life for herself. Will she go back to the familiar or jump into the unknown?

I am always pleased to discover a new author and was excited to read this debut from Gracie Player. The premise of this book sounded good and I couldn’t wait to get started.

Daisy was a strong, likeable and relatable character from page one. I adored her and became very much invested in her journey. I wanted her to be OK and I certainly didn’t want her to go back to Phil.

Oh Alex! Handsome and loves books. Enough said really. Haha. He’s the type of person you’d hope to meet in time of need and was the perfect gentleman.

The supporting characters were lovely and there was a great ensemble/mixture of people. Enough for more novels maybe? I certainly wasn’t ready to let go of Alex and Daisy. These two in a Christmas themed novel set in the bookshop maybe? Just saying? I had a book hangover and felt as though I was leaving friends behind by the time I finished.

The plot unveiled itself well and the pace was great. I couldn’t put it down in fact, reading it in pretty much one sitting. The writing style and characters made it easy to fall into this novel. It’s a sweet story that is full of charm and romance.

If you are looking to be whisked away from real life for a little while and let’s face it, with the current climate, who isn’t, then this book is perfect. It’s a whimsical, warm story that had me loving it from start to finish.

About Gracie Player –

Gracie is the author of the romantic fiction novel Daisy Does it Herself.

Gracie loves to create strong, quirky heroines and hopes to introduce you to your latest book-boyfriend crush.

She makes her home in the stunning Peak District in Derbyshire. Where she lives with her partner — amid ongoing negotiations over the size of her book collection and whose job it is to take out the bins!

Say hello to Gracie via Twitter and Goodreads. Click here to sign up to Gracie’s mailing list.

Click to buy on Amazon UK, Amazon US and Waterstones.

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.