Having previously enjoyed Anne John-Ligali’s lovely novella The Big Event, my review of which you can read here, I’m delighted to be part of the launch celebrations for her latest story, The Weekend Spa Break, thanks to fellow blogger and tour organiser Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources. Not only do I have my review, but there is a very special giveaway message from Anne too!

Part Two in the Friendships Online Series The Weekend Spa Break is available for purchase here.

The Weekend Spa Break

After finally meeting in person at the publishing party of the season, Constance and Estelle are determined not to let their friendship return to mere virtual champagne bottles and uploaded pictures of food.

It’s been a busy year, and Constance feels it’s time to reward herself with the spa break Estelle gave her for Christmas. Naturally, Constance wouldn’t dream of taking anyone other than Estelle, and this will provide the perfect opportunity to bond with her new chum.

As the excited pair spend some quality time together, they realise it’s not just writing books they have in common, but something that goes much deeper. After a few Jacuzzi sessions, facials, pedicures, and a massage by sexy Senior Therapist, Julio, everything seems to be peachy until an unexpected visitor turns Constance’s weekend of bliss … on its head.

A two-day spa break.

Sparkling water on tap.

And the perfect massage.

But who’s rubbing who up the wrong way?

You can see a smashing trailer for The Weekend Spa Break here.

My Review of The Weekend Spa Break

Constance is in need of a treat and a weekend spa break with Estelle seems just the thing.

Although it would be good to have read the first in the Friendships Online Series, The Big Event, because it’s lovely to continue the story, it really isn’t necessary. Anne John-Ligali drops in just the right level of information so that The Weekend Spa Break works just as well as a stand alone read as it does as part of a series.

I love how Anne John-Ligali packs so much into a novella and she doesn’t stint on the appeal to the senses either. It’s the attention to detail from the aroma of a burning cake to an expensive perfume, or the texture of a fur coat to the taste of champagne that gives a liveliness and vivacity to the story. She includes vivid colour and texture so that reading The Weekend Spa Break is a very stimulating experience.

The plot of this novella is packed with interest with some surprises too and I can’t wait to read the continuation to see what happens next in Constance’s life. However, despite an interesting storyline, for me it’s the pleasure of the underpinning themes and messages that I so enjoy about Anne John-Ligali’s writing. She has great insight into how we think and behave as humans and her writing illustrates the basic human need for friends and family, the difficulties of being a single parent with a challenging child, our reliance on social media and our basic requirement to look after ourselves as well as others. ach of these elements is woven into the narrative in a natural and engaging way so that I found myself nodding in agreement with Constance at times.

I really recommend the Friendships Online Series. In the same way Constance took a short break out of her life to enjoy (most of the time!) her spa break, reading The Weekend Spa Break gave me time out from my busy life and I enjoyed the process very much.

About Anne John-Ligali

Anne John-Ligali is a writer and the founder of Books and Authors UK, a popular website featuring author interviews and book reviews.  She loves all things books: reading, writing, going to book events, and meeting other book lovers. She has written a series of short stories and is currently writing her first novel.

Anne has always loved stories and read many books as a child, including the entire Sweet Valley High and Caitlyn series.  Her interest in writing fiction came years later, when she began writing for pleasure in 2007.

Originally from Peterborough, Anne now lives in London. After moving to London, she studied graphic design at the University of Arts and has held a number IT administration jobs in the city. Anne continues writing and aspires to write more women’s fiction books, a non-fiction book and several children’s books.

You can find out more about Anne on her blog, on Facebook, Instagram and by following her on Twitter @AnneJohnLigali.

There’s a special message to follow from Anne John-Ligali:

Giveaway

To mark the release of part two in the friendships series, I’m giving away a Sanctuary Spa gift set and a signed printed and bound copy of The Weekend Spa Break to one lucky winner.  At present, there are no physical copies of The Weekend Spa Break available, so this is a treat.

To enter you only have to do is visit my Twitter page https://twitter.com/AnneJohnLigali and retweet the pinned tweet showing this GIVEAWAY.

A winner will be chosen at random by Tweet Draw and announced on Saturday the 19^th of May at 20:00hrs.

Competition is open worldwide.

Good luck

(Linda’s Book Bag readers please note that this giveaway is totally independent of the blog!)

There’s more about Anne with these other bloggers too: