Friday 10 January 2020

Book Blog Tour Stop and Review: Single in Buenos Aires by Roxana Valea



Single in Buenos Aires, The Polo Diaries Book 1 by Roxana Valea

Roxy plays polo... but dreams of love. Forty-one-year-old polo player Roxy arrives in Argentina with
a to-do list that includes healing from a polo injury and falling in love with a handsome Argentine. From polo boots to tango shoes, the adrenaline of riding horses to glamorous after-game parties, Roxy learns to navigate this unfamiliar landscape with the help of new friends who teach her to take life as it comes. But will she find true love? Over three months in Buenos Aires, nothing goes according to plan, and yet, all the items on her list mysteriously get ticked off in the end. Just not the way she had imagined.
Fans of the Bridget Jones series will love the blend of humor, travel, and romantic comedy at the heart of Single in Buenos Aires, all topped off with the unforgettable flavor of life in one of the most sensual and passionate cities in the world.

Amazon UK            Amazon US 

I've had a fascination for Argentina for as long as I remember, so jumped at the chance to read Single in Buenos Aires because I thought it was a sports romance novel. So, I was a bit surprised to find out it's written as a memoir. 

Diving in, it took time to get used to the writing style as I was expecting a narrative full of romantic emotions, however, Roxy's adventures managed to keep me entertained throughout her documented time in this South American country. 

Written in the style of entries of a diary, Polo games are featured, yet, there's so much more to this story which focuses on a single woman obsessed with the sport and her determination to find love. With the Argentinian backdrop and captivating culture details, Roxy's exploits are humorous and realistic. The characters feel authentic in a way, I felt transported to the city I've longed to visit. 

I've always liked reading fictional books where I can learn something new. In this first instalment of Ms Valea's Polo Diaries, I've achieved that goal and look forward to where Roxy ventures to next. 

Overall an enjoyable, quick read and perfect for readers who like a mix of intriguing characters within a plot set in a far off land. 

***Review copy received courtesy of the publisher via Rachel's Random Resources***

About Roxana Valea
Roxana Valea was born in Romania and lived in Italy, Switzerland, England and Argentina before settling in Spain. She has a BA in journalism and an MBA degree. She spent more than twenty years in the business world as an entrepreneur, manager and management consultant working for top companies like Apple, eBay, and Sony. She is also a Reiki Master and shamanic energy medicine practitioner.

As an author, Roxana writes books inspired by real events. Her memoir Through Dust and Dreams is a faithful account of a trip she took at the age of twenty-eight across Africa by car in the company of two strangers she met over the internet. Her following book, Personal Power: Mindfulness Techniques for the Corporate World is a nonfiction book filled with personal anecdotes from her consulting years. The Polo Diaries series is inspired by her experiences as a female polo player--traveling to Argentina, falling in love, and surviving the highs and lows of this dangerous sport.

Roxana lives with her husband in Mallorca, Spain, where she writes, coaches, and does energy therapies, but her first passion remains writing.



A Horse Called Bicycle, The Polo Diaries Book 2
Roxy found love . . . but is it enough? In the second installment of the Polo Diaries series, polo player
Roxy goes back to Argentina a year after the events in Single in Buenos Aires, filled with dreams of settling down with the man she loves. This time, once again, Argentina is full of surprises and things are not what they appear to be. Or maybe they’re exactly what they’re meant to be, as a fortune-teller informs her.
Roxy takes a leap of faith and follows her dreams once again. She spends time at glamorous party venues of Buenos Aires and travels to the rough and wild pampas. Along the way, Roxy’s friends support and champion her quest for love, but when things get out of hand, Roxy realizes she needs to listen to her own inner voice and must make a hard choice. Two paths open in front of her, each one with far-reaching consequences. Which will she choose?

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Release Day Spotlight: The Cake Fairies by Isabella May



The Cake Fairies by Isabella May

1960's Somerset is no fun for cousins Polly and Annabelle Williams. Mourning their non-existent love lives, and the mundanity of village life, their only pleasure is baking - until a chance encounter has them magically transported to the bright lights of London... in 2019!
Promised a chance of love, first they must teach the people of the future about the simpler pleasures of life by becoming Cake Fairies. Over the course of a year they set off on a delectable tour of the UK, dropping off cakes in the most unexpected of places and replacing the lure of technology with much sweeter temptations.
But will their philanthropical endeavours lead them to everlasting love? Or will they discover you can't have your cake and eat it?

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Isabella May lives in (mostly) sunny Andalusia, Spain with her husband, daughter and son, creatively inspired by the mountains and the sea. Having grown up on Glastonbury’s ley lines however, she’s unable to completely shake off her spiritual inner child, and is a Law of Attraction fanatic.
Cake, cocktail, churros, ice cream and travel obsessed, she also loves nothing more than to (quietly) break life’s rules.
The Cake Fairies is her fifth novel.

Twitter - @IsabellaMayBks