Highlights from May’s Blog Tour

A huge thank-you to all the readers and book bloggers who made The Crinkle Crankle Wall Blog Tour a success!

Here are some of the highlights and reviews from the #bookstagram community. To get great book recommendations, follow these bloggers on Instagram.

Also, note that my author Instagram handle has changed to @sabina.author to separate the posts from Cortijo Berruguilla which now has its own Instagram account @cortijo.berruguilla.

And finally, the good news is that Book 3 in the series is finished and we are working hard to have it ready in August. I will post the release date soon. Subscribe to my Mailchimp audience below not to miss it.

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A Cottage Full of Books @acottageofbooks

Instagram @acottageofbooks

https://acottagefullofbooks.blogspot.com/2023/05/review-of-crinkle-crankle-wall-by.html?m=1

Salboreads @salboreads

“Mr Salboreads and I are not very practical – that’s an understatement. We depend on companies like ‘the man who can’ and ‘the man with the van’ – not sure why there aren’t female equivalents 🤔 We watch programmes like Grand Designs with total admiration of people’s capacity to take on big projects!

Sabina (the author) and Robert have a dream of starting a new life in rural Spain. A dream which involves olive trees, sunshine and cold white wine, a gorgeous home amidst the olive groves with space to provide holiday accommodation. Optimistically, they embark on househunting with enthusiasm, some naivety and not very much Spanish. After a succession of disastrous properties and some bizarre vendors, they settle on the house of their dreams…But moving in isn’t quite what they expected and their work has only just begun!

For all you lovers of programmes like Grand Designs, A Place in the Sun, DIY SOS etc….this is for You!! There are lots of references to Grand Designs in the book as Sabina frequently wishes she had absorbed some of the lessons of those owners who overspent their budget, dreamed too big; planned inadequately..

This is a blow by blow account warts and all – incidentally the house is called Cortijo Berruguilla which means ‘little wart’! – of the first two years in Andalusia. There are highs – drinking wine on their terrace, eating their own fruit and vegetables and some really incredible and supportive neighbours! And the lows! Oh my goodness the lows! A swimming pool that turned green, living without a roof or water, running out of money and living on tomatoes. When things go wrong the couple learn building techniques on Youtube…

This is a funny and fascinating account and very probably a cautionary tale for anyone who shares similar dreams! In the first few years the couple have so much to navigate. Undoubtedly they were a little naive and ambitious but their ingenuity, determination and sheer blooming hard work are remarkable.

And the ‘crinkle crankle wall’ of the title is apparently an architectural term for a wall that curves! What a perfect title for this book.” @salboreads

Paula Learmouth @paulalearmouth

“Sabina and her husband Robert had lived and taught in the UAE for 7 years before deciding to move to Andalusia, Spain. They started looking for somewhere in 2012, even though they hadn’t been to Andalusia, this is where they decided to look. I loved about the renovations and how they watched YouTube for help, (I think we’ve all used YouTube for help). I loved Sabina and the way she tells the story, she made me laugh so many times. This is an easy read and a lot of you will able to relate with parts of the book.” @paulalearmouth

Kath Vickers @KathvBooks

“If you like watching Grand Design’s or A New Place in the Sun, this memoir is for you.
Having lived in the UAE for years, Sabina and Robert moved to Spain to renovate a rural cortijo near Monte Frio (cold mountain) in southern Spain – you can guess how the first winter went – freezing!
Completely rebuilding part of their house and (quite literally) raising the roof whilst still living in it; this is the sort of story we all love to read about but not actually want to experience ourselves (a waterfall down the stairs during a storm – eek!).
I loved reading about Sabina and Roberts naive enthusiasm such as hiring an English builder who plucked a quote out of thin air and stopped building a set of steps 1m above ground level before disappearing, to the disaster of a green swimming pool and a burst water pile in the height of the Andalusian summer. I was chuckling all the way through and celebrating when they finally welcomed the first guests to their Casa Rural.
I have close family who were part of the ex-pat community in Spain so a lot of this sounded very familiar from the unexpected cold winters to going to the local English shop for help with almost everything.
I wish good luck to them with their life in Spain and having already bought book 2 (The Hoopoe on the Nispero Tree) and I am looking forward to reading how the adventure continues. Who knows I might be able to persuade hubbie we need a little holiday in Casa Rural ourselves!
With thanks to Random Things Tours and the author for a #gifted copy of the book in return for an honest review.”

@kathvbooks

https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/kathvbooks