The Wedding Proposal by Sue Moorcroft

Can a runaway bride stop running?

Elle Jamieson is a private person, in relationships as well as at work - and for good reason. But then she's made redundant and with no ties to hold her, Elle heads off to sunny Malta.

Lucas Rose hates secrets - he prides himself on his ability to lay his cards on the table and he expects nothing less in return. He's furious when his summer working as a divemaster is interrupted by the arrival of Elle, his ex, all thanks to his Uncle Simon's misguided attempts at matchmaking.

Forced to live in close proximity, it's hard to ignore what they had shared before Lucas's wedding proposal scared Elle away. But then a phone call from England allows Lucas a rare glimpse of the true Elle. Can he deal with Elle's closely guarded past when it finally comes to light?

The Wedding Proposal by Sue Moorcroft was published by Choc Lit in paperback on 5 September 2014.  I reviewed Is This Love? by Sue Moorcroft here on Random Things back in November 2013.

Set on the sunny island of Malta, Sue Moorcroft has written a feel-good story featuring a host of eclectic and diverse characters.

Elle has been made redundant from her steady job in IT, she makes a huge decision. She will go to Malta and stay on a boat whilst earning some spending money and volunteering in a centre for young people. This sounds like a fine plan until Elle arrives at the boat to find that it is already occupied. The occupant is none other than her ex boyfriend Lucas. Awkward!

Neither Elle or Lucas are prepared to find alternative accommodation, and despite their past history, each one of them is determined to stick this out.

Whilst The Wedding Proposal is in the main, the story of Elle and Lucas, Sue Moorcroft has created an accompanying cast of characters who bring so much more to this book. There are some that are annoying, irritating and irksome, some who are downright horrible, and a couple that will steal your heart. Lets just say that Lucas is not the only hero of this story; I defy you not to fall for Carmelo too!

I particularly enjoyed the Maltese setting, and the author is adept at bringing the island to life, using descriptive prose that really made me want to visit this island of sunshine.

A real feel-good read that you can easily lose yourself in for a day or so - a finely tuned and well-paced plot featuring great characters.

My thanks to Choc Lit who sent my copy for review.  Check out another review of The Wedding Proposal over on Anne's blog Being Anne

The Wedding Proposal is one of nine contenders in the Best Romantic Read category at the Romance Readers Awards.

The awards, part of the Festival of Romantic Fiction, began in 2011. 

The winner will be announced at a festival in Leighton Buzzard on Saturday, September 13.

Sue Moorcroft writes novels of dauntless heroines and irresistible heroes. Love & Freedom won the Best Romantic Read Award 2011, an award for which Is this Love? and Dream a Little Dream were subsequently shortlisted in other years.Dream a Little Dream was also shortlisted for a Romantic Novel Award in 2013. Sue is a Katie Fforde Bursary Award winner, a past vice chair of the Romantic Novelists' Association and editor of its anthologies.

Sue also writes short stories, serials, articles, writing 'how to' and is a competition judge and creative writing tutor. 

For more information visit her website www.suemoorcroft.com

Follow her on Twitter @suemoorcroft