Synopsis
Take a ride with Love Taxis, the cab company with a Heart …
Rosalie Heart is a well-known face in Irlwick – well, if you drive a bright pink taxi and your signature style is a pink anorak, you’re going to draw a bit of attention! But Rosalie’s company Love Taxis is more than just a gimmick – for many people in the remote Scottish village, it’s a lifeline.
Which is something that Marc Petersen will never understand. Marc’s ruthless approach to business doesn’t extend to pink taxi companies running at a loss. When he arrives in Irlwick to see to a new acquisition – Raventhorn, a rundown castle – it’s apparent he poses a threat to Rosalie’s entire existence; not just her business, but her childhood home too.
On the face of it Marc and Rosalie should loathe each other, but what they didn’t count on was somebody playing cupid …
Marie Laval
Originally from Lyon in France, Marie now lives in Lancashire with her family. She works full-time as a modern languages teacher, and in her spare times loves writing romance and dreaming about romantic heroes. She writes both historical and contemporary romance, and her historical romance The Lion’s Embrace won the Gold Medal at the Global eBook Awards 2015 (category Historical Romance). She is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Authors. Her native France, as well as her passion for history and research, very much influences her writing, and all her novels have what she likes to call ‘a French twist’!
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Absolutely fabulous, really enjoyed the whole book, great characters and a good story.
Thank you
Read over a couple of warm summer nights of 2018 for sanity, and as a backdrop to end of school term shenanigans accompanied by my current tipple, Seville Tanquery Gin and Tonic, blissful!
Synopsis
Rosalie Heart drives a pink taxi, servicing the community of Irlwick, but its more of a charity than a business. Marc Petersen heads a multinational company, which ruthlessly buys up failing companies, breaks them apart and sells them for a profit. Marc has come to take stock of a new acquisition, which also happens to be Rosalie’s home.
Review
The obvious conflict of interests of the two main protagonists, added to a mix of folklore and legend, whisked me through this lovely story. The background of the Scottish weather was perfect, even though I read this on warm summer evenings, I was transported to the snow and hills of the Cairngorms.
The characters come alive with their descriptions and dialogue, there is a real sense of community portrayed, it made me want to live there and have these people as friends! I could easily visualise Ravenscroft Castle from the description which helped me imagine I was there and not a reader with a page. I loved that, perfect escapism. This was a story that I did not want to end.
Rating 5*’s
It is simply a love story, beautifully told.
Boekenfans panel
By Just Jessica
Summary
Take a ride with Love Taxis, the cab company with a Heart …
Rosalie Heart is a well-known face in Irlwick – well, if you drive a bright pink taxi and your signature style is a pink anorak, you’re going to draw a bit of attention! But Rosalie’s company Love Taxis is more than just a gimmick – for many people in the remote Scottish village, it’s a lifeline.
Which is something that Marc Petersen will never understand. Marc’s ruthless approach to business doesn’t extend to pink taxi companies running at a loss. When he arrives in Irlwick to see to a new acquisition – Raventhorn, a rundown castle – it’s apparent he poses a threat to Rosalie’s entire existence; not just her business, but her childhood home too.
On the face of it Marc and Rosalie should loathe each other, but what they didn’t count on was somebody playing cupid …
First, I fell in love with the cover of the book. A little pink taxi, who doesn’t feel the urge to read it.
And I’m glad I did! Finished the book in 3 days, and for me, that’s fast, with long working hours and 3 kids to raise I really was interessed in the mysterious Mr. Petersen and loved to read how he opened up his heart not only for Rosalie, but also for the whole community. And Rosalie herself is just adorable, independent, strong woman with her heart on the right place.
Nice plot twists, love story, funny and some dose of tension to. It’s has everything I like in a story.
Love to read more of Marie Laval
By Ilse Van Thielen
I wanted to read this story because the short summary said it was about Scotland. And that’s exactly where I am heading in August. I liked how the writer described the Scottish landscape and really felt like I was there. There was also a mention of ghosts in the summary. I do not like that kind of stories but I am glad I decided to read this book. The ghosts were just a little part of the story.
The story tells about Rosalie Heart who lives in a castle in Raventhorn and owns a taxi company, Love Taxis. I can not tell too much about the story because i twill give away the ending. But when the owner of Raventhorn ends up in hospital her company and eventually her life is in danger. Then a stranger arrives in Raventhorn and puts her life upside down.
This story has friendship, loyalty and love in it. But also some suspence and detective kinda stuff. I liked it very much. At some point I thought I wasn’t going to get through it in time because of deadlines at work and I only had some time at night to read on. But to my own surprise this book read very fluently and in no time I was at the next chapter. The chapters aren’t too long and I like that about book. I was also very easy to get back into the story when I hadn’t read fot a couple of days. The story flashed back into my head when I read the first sentence of a new chapter and that made ita lso very enjoyable to read.
I liked this book very much. And I thought the cover was beautifully made. The castle with the taxi is exactly what it is about. With some difficulties along the way, because otherwise you don’t have a story. Great read.
By Lie Frooninckx
What a nice book with different exciting effects.
Scotland, the land of castles and ghosts, is a beautiful setting to tell this romantic story.
Take two nice, strong characters, Rosalie and Marc, a town in Scotland, Irlwick and the Raventhorn Castle.
Throw in some blows and injuries and you have an exciting-story.
That the main characters find each other “nice” makes it a love-story.
Mix tension and romance and ….. you have this story!
Lovely to read, thanks for letting me Choc Lit !!
Rosalie earns her living with a “pink taxi”, the company she founded after the death of her mother. She is not only a taxi-driver but also a helping hand in the town, driving around crying toddlers and old, reliefful grannies.
Marc bought Raventhorn, wants to convert it into a hotel and sell it with profit.
And he also bought “pink taxi” ….
To prove that her business is profitable and that there is a need for public transport, Rosalie let Marc drive her pink taxi.
The cold businessman slowly thaws under the charms of Rosalie …
By Tiziana Langone
I don’t know why, but I had a totally different story in my mind after I’ve read the summary.
I thought that the ghosts would have a bigger part in this story.
So what did I think about this story? Well, I’m still not sure what I think of it. It didn’t get me all warm but it didn’t leave me unmoved at all. I wanted to know what was going to happen but not at such point that I dropped everything so that I could continue reading.
Rosalie is a sweet girl, always ready to help other people. Then her world get knocked over when Marc Petersen arrives at Raventhorn an arrogant man who only thinks about money.
Marc learns about the ghosts living around Raventhorn, but dismisses this immediately as a myth. Because ghosts aren’t real… or are they?
Like I said, I’m not sure what my final thoughts are… there was enough drama, but it was a little too predictable. When the strange things happened, I already had an idea who was responsible for it (of course not about what the ghosts were doing, as ghosts do always mysterious things ).
But it was well written, in such a way that I kept reading until the end.
Perhaps that other people will be more into this story, but for me it was ‘Ok, I’ve read the story but I won’t be inclined to read it a second or third time’ like I have with books that really peeked my interest.
By Patsi Demarsin
Okay, this one was a bit difficult to review. The cover, I don’t really like but it said “ghosts” so that got me interested. I started to read with big expectations and I must admit, I was a bit disappointed. Not that it wasn’t a good story, a bit long maybe, for me there were too many side ways that were not necessary. When there was first spoken about the ghost, I got curious especially when a bit later they talked about more ghosts. But at the end the ghosts were just a side part and actually it came down to just one lady ghost…to cut a long story short: this book is exactly what the cover lets us believe it is… a love story on a bumpy road. Not my favorite until now, but certainly not bad neither. My opinion: when you advertise ghosts, you really need to have ghosts to play a much bigger part.
By Kim Claes
Little Pink taxi By Marie Laval
I will keep it short this time. I really loved this book. I think it is amazing.
Once you start reading you will be immediately drawn into the story. To me, it is book that you’ll want to read fast. You want to go completely into the story. And it will be a simple thing to do, because with a little bit of imagination you can easily place yourself inRaventhorn Castle and live through it, as if you were there.
Our heroine, Rosalie is a real nice fun character. It feels like she could be a friend of yours. You sympathize with her during her introduction to Marc Petersen. the stiff businessman who suddenly shows up in her life. Who just takes control of her life, her business and her home.
Gradually you’ll find out more about Marc and Rosalie, the story builds up nicely and everything fits together.
I really enjoyed reading this book. If I have to rate it, well it would be a 9/10.
It is great. I’m a fan.
I loved this book set in Scotland which has mystery, intrigue and love. Marc Petersen has arrived in Scotland following the purchase of Rosalie’s home Ravensthorne Castle by his recently deceased Dad. His timing follows a series of mysterious events which have led to hospitalisation of the man that Rosalie sees as a Father Figure.
Rosalie owns the little pink taxi and is at the heart of the community barely scraping a living because she does the job for the love of the community. With the sale of the castle this means that her business is at risk and the loss of her home. Can she thaw Marc’s heart so that he will help her keep her business?
This book has wonderful characters and the Scottish landscape is delightfully described and I would definitely recommend reading it.
Thanks to Choc-Lit for providing me with a review copy of this book in return for an honest review which is completely my own opinion.
When generous, caring Rosie meets cold hearted, merciless businessman Marc, there is an immediate clashing of opinions. Set in the middle of winter, in a Scottish castle complete with resident ghosts, emotions soon get the temperature rising.
An entertaining read with several mysteries running throughout the plot. A romantic thriller and a thrilling romance, Little Pink Taxi is a delight to read.
The cover may be pink and fluffy but there is more to this story than most and I loved every page. Rosalie Heart lives at Raventhorn castle, so when its sold to Marc Petersen, she’s not happy, especially as the new owner is the also owner of her Little Pink Taxi company and well aware that while it might be a public service it is not making any money. The new owner Marc Petersen is a cold hearted businessman who buys and sells businesses but Raventhorn is different. This one is personal, not least because his feelings for Rosalie are seriously affecting his judgement. I loved everything about this book, great characters, great storyline. A page turner from beginning to end. I really hope Marie writes more and soon.
Great story with strong characters. Could Marc and Rosalie ever agree on anything, let alone fall in love? They have such different views, backgrounds and lives, but against the backdrop of a ramshackle castle, and with family feuds and even ghosts interfering, who knows what might happen next?! A great read, highly recommend.
Taxi business owner Rosalie enjoys helping her Scottish community (even if she isn’t making any money), until Marc Peterson shows up and threatens to take it all away. Marc, a successful businessman himself, finds his softer side with Rosalie. They need to band together to save not just their businesses but their lives as well.
I LOVED this novel!! It was sweet, funny, mysterious (with a few ghosts thrown in for good measure), and romantic. I highly recommend to anyone who likes these three elements in a story.
I was provided a free advance copy of this book in return for an honest review and I have to say, I really loved reading this novel and would absolutely read another by this author.
This is the debut novel with Choc Lit for Ms Laval – I can’t wait for another one!
Rosalie runs her Love Taxis firm in the Scottish Highlands, from an old castle where she has lived and been brought up for as long as she can remember. It is not at all a profitable business, but provides a much needed social service for the surrounding countryside. Although not going particularly smoothly anyway, things go from bad to worse when her mentor, the owner of Raventhorn, has a bad car accident, and while he is in hospital, the gorgeous and brooding businessman, Marc Petersen arrives, with the news that he is the new owner of Raventhorn.
I really enjoyed this story, spending a fair bit of time on the edge of my seat and telling Rosalie to take care, watch her step – I would definitely call this a romantic suspense, with added danger. If you like your heroines a bit ditzy, and pretty feisty, with a hero to die for – then this is one for you. Please keep writing Ms Laval – I am looking forward to reading your next book!
Take a girl who loves pink, add a cold businessman, some ghosts and a thug and you end up with a story full of love, friendship, suspense and intrigues. I loved it from the first letter until the last full stop. It’s a fluently wirtten story and I could hardly put it down. I know I ask it often, but is there any chance we can have a sequel, please?
Absolutely loved this book. At the centre is the sale of Ravensthorn Castle, a place Rosalie Heart has always called home. But with the arrival of new owner Marc Petersen, her whole life, and that of the small Scottish village of Irlwick is threatened. Marc – half French/half Danish – is a cool no-nonsense business man whose world is about balance sheets and profit. As part of the sale, Rosalie’s taxi business is under threat. It doesn’t make a profit and Marc is unable to understand that she’s someone who believes the needs of her small isolated community are more important than income .
For Rosalie, Marc’s arrival unsettling. Why did Geoff McBride, currently his hospital after a car crash, decide to sell, and to this man of all people? Then there are the strange things that have been happening to her recently– hoax calls requesting taxis, threatening notes and a dark four by four shadowing her.
I particularly loved the way Marc and Rosalie’s romance was drip fed through the book. Their relationship moved from dislike to a wary companionship. Constantly thrown into each other’s company it wasn’t long before they were both trying their hardest to resist each other. But of course the inevitable happened – helped along by some ghostly happenings courtesy of Isobel McBride.
When Kirsty Marsh, Marc’s right hand woman, discovers what is going on she’s determined Rosalie won’t get the man she’s set her sights on. Devious and clever, she sets out to wreck their relationship.
And last but not least I have to mention the setting – the mountains, the loch, the forest, the snow (lots of it) and the wonderful, sometimes quirky, inhabitants of Irlwick.
There is so much more I could say about Little Pink Taxi, but it would be giving far too much of the plot away and that’s the last thing I want to do. All I will say is that it is a great read which includes romance, mystery, ghosts and a mythical treasure. It’s also a thriller with some scary moments for both Marc and Rosalie. All in all another winner for Choc Lit.