I am a huge Hellenophile and this book is an amazing debut from Carol Kirkwood. She manages to get under the skin of Greece and the story is beautifully told. How could you not like a book set under the Greek moonlight and fengari just happens to be one of my favourite Greek words.
The story is emotional and carries the reader along. One of those special books that you can't wait to finish but don't want to end. Brilliant.

I really like Carol Kirkwood and I so wanted to like her debut novel but I'm afraid I had to give up on this story. I'm all for a nice spot of imagination but this just seemed to far-fetched. It's a story of a nice girl from rural Ireland who manages to catch the eye of a Greek shipping magnate, set in the 1980s then becomes a successful Hollywood actress. There is a tad too much name-dropping (Farah Fawcett here, someone else there) but the bit that made me stop reading was when she allegedly lost out to Gwenyth Paltrow as the lead actress in Shakespeare In Love!!! Hopefully the story improved but I just couldn't take any more.

If this is carols first novel I want more.!! It was warm funny feel good and a feel good tale with just the right of romance and love that wasn’t predictable and a great easy holiday read

Chick lit for the mature chick
This is TV weather woman Carol Kirkwood’s debut novel and it‘s choc-a-block with luxury product placements (and no, unfortunately Anya Hindmarsh is not a dress designer), huge lots of sloppy famous ‘70s-name dropping (hm, the ‚German kings, the Hapsburgs’ are actually Habsburgs and Austrian, as is the late race champion Niki ‚Lauder‘ Lauda, to name but a few).
No cliché is left out: Irish girls of cold strict mothers, unwanted teenage pregnancies resulting from mediterranean one-night-stands, babies put up for adoption, late regrets, their mothers transmogrify into fashion mogul and Hollywood star respectively, navigate their lives’ gazillion ups and downs with aplomb, get cheated on, revisit the haunts of their youths after 20 years, find their first loves are of course still pining for them, rekindle their inner fire and by sheer chance encounter their formerly abandoned offspring. Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for letting me read an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Easy light read but I would not say it had much complexity to it and too predictable. However, it was nicely written and the characters had depth to them.
I enjoyed the book and would be a lovely summer holiday book

Sometimes, when you think about reading a debut novel, you have apprehensions, thinking "are they jumping on the bandwagon". Well I can honestly say that this is a wonderful debut read, and I absolutely loved this book.

It is I suppose, a typical love story, that's set in a stunning location, but it is full of tension and drama.

I loved Shauna, the main protagonist and felt that she had many great qualities, as a person, a friend and a lover. She had it all.

Escaping her life to travel with her friend Roxy, ending up working on a yacht for a Greek family, sounded idyllic. I loved the relationship between Roxy and Shauna, and how it developed. Then throw a gorgeous Greek man into the mix and you have it all.

I couldn't put it down and hope that the Author writes another novel in this genre.

Easy reading perfect for relaxing and getting lost in the story.
Set in present day and flashbacks it follows the friends and their lives

This really wasn’t my cup of tea. I could see that it would be appealing to other readers and possibly a good holiday/escapist read, but I didn’t connect with the book from the beginning. So, after reading a quarter of the book I didn’t finish. It simply didn’t ‘grab’ me and I need that. There was an awful lot of emphasis on the glamorous exterior of characters rather than their personality, with lots of designer product placement. I’m sure that characters probably developed further later in the book, but it had lost me by then.

I loved this book. A really lovely story, with great well-written characters. A perfect holiday read for the beach. Highly recommended.

Under a Greek Moon is the debut novel by Carol Kirkwood. I will admit that I totally picked it to read because I love Carol's cheery weather forecasts in the morning. I must say that her sunny personality definitely shines through in her writing too.

Carol has woven a story that spans two decades. A story that is filled with love, loss, family drama and hope.

The characters in this book are really well written and come alive on the page. Other than Shauna and Demitrious my favourite has to be Roxy. She's funny and is a rock to Shauna throughout the decades.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think its a great summer read. Particularly if you are longing for a holiday in Greece.

I really loved this story.
It follows Shauna, Roxy and Demetrious story, which takes them through different flash back decades to fill in present day gaps.
Shauna and Roxy are out there travelling when Roxy meets and older man and Shauna finds a seasonal job on a yacht, where she meets Demetrious.
Love, loss, successful acting and designer careers all lead back to a small Greek Island, where hearts may be healed in more ways than one.
I recommend this book. Thanks #netgally

This is a romance with plenty of twists and turns.

Clearly very well researched it weaves the stories of the main characters together through the years. A lovely style of writing and a great debut novel!
I adored the setting of Ithos as well.

A perfect summer read. Full of sunshine, love and the glitz of Hollywood.
This story is full of engaging and interesting characters and I especially liked Roxy and Grace. Although not the main protagonists, they both added such warmth to the story in their own way and I would have like to have seen them develop further.
A fun and heartwarming debut.

I had no idea who Carol Kirkwood was as I do not watch a great deal of TV. But if this is her first Novel I do hope she goes on to write more. I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful romp through the glamour of old Hollywood , plus the beautiful descriptions of the Greek Islands somewhere I would adore visiting but sadly I don't think my health & funds would ever allow it , so thanks to writers like Carol I am able to travel . There is love, passion & greatest of all amazing friendships within this Book .so I recommend you pick up a copy & read it .#FB, #Instagram,#Goodreads, #NetGalley,# Amazon.co.uk, #HarperCollins, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/c566f42be23a0e25d120e78a3454e2d427c4beee" width="80" height="80" alt="50 Book Reviews" title="50 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>,#<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>.

Well done on a lovely debut novel, Carol Kirkwood! Thoroughly enjoyed this book - great use of settings, particularly Hollywood and the Greek Islands - you got the glamour vibe and a desire for cocktails and canapés! The nod to reality with the inclusion of Princess Grace was a lovely touch. Shauna was an interesting and well-developed character with a great back story. It took me a while to guess the denouement but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment. I’d love to read more like this.

Carol Kirkwood is a familiar and cheery face on BBC Breakfast where she presents the weather forecast. This is her debut novel and would be a perfect beach read.

Shauna Jackson is a well-known Hollywood actress but there is a sad story behind her success, linked to a visit she made to the Greek island of Ithos in her youth. Whilst working for the rich Theodosis family on their private yacht, she fell in love with Demetrios but was fired by his mother who wanted her son to marry a rich heiress instead in order to save the family business.

Twenty years later, Shauna is newly widowed and, reeling from a scandal involving her late husband, decides to return to Ithos where Demetrios is rebuilding his own life after divorcing his wife; however, his headstrong teenage daughter Ariana is proving a handful.

The setting of Ithos provided a perfect backdrop to the story and Shauna was a likeable main character. I also liked her friend Roxy who remained loyal throughout, but Shauna's mother proved to be cold and unfeeling - you won't see that at first but it becomes clear later. The introduction of Grace was also good, although it became obvious where she fitted in as events unfolded; however, this didn't detract from my enjoyment.

Carol's sunny personality comes across in her novel, which made it easy and enjoyable to read.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by HarperCollins UK, in return for an honest appraisal.

A great debut novel from Carol Kirkwood. It has romance, escapism, great characters, a beautiful location and also a bit of scandal. The book is written in a way that we get to know the individual characters and their background and I like the way their paths all cross at some point. A great summer read and look forward to more from Carol.

I usually bypass novels written by celebrities but I’m glad on this occasion I had a change of heart. It’s a wonderful read – for me a breath of fresh air - and I honestly could not put it down.
Shauna and Demetrios’s romance is bitter sweet. He has been born into wealth, but that comes at a price. And Shauna's ‘'Cinderella’ moment with him is soon curtailed by his mother Elana.

Shauna returns back to the UK with her aspiring fashion designer friend Roxy – someone who will stay true to her throughout the book – and continues with her degree.

Fast forward twenty years. Shauna is now a Hollywood A-Lister who has made a decision to return to Demetrious’s island home to see him.

Under a Greek Moon is beautifully written with a great plot. The story centres on Shauna journey to stardom. It also shows that fame and fortune very often come at a price. The characters are strong, some likeable, some not so (especially Elana). The backdrop of the Greek islands – blue skies and sandy beaches – I really felt I was there. I look forward to more from Carol Kirkwood. A great debut!
I would like to thank Carol Kirkwood, Harper Collins and Netgalley for an ARC of Under a Greek Moon in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this debut novel and it made we want to travel to the Greek islands and enjoy the sea, food and sun. The love story was beautifully told with enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested.

Would have been lovely to read on a sunny beach as opposed to a rainy sofa!

I love Carol Kirkwood, she is a ray of sunshine whatever the weather. I was surprised that she had written a book, but it is a good read. Perfect for a holiday reading session whether at home or abroad.
Sunlit romance, great relationships and a hint of mystery about it. Well done Carol, where are we travelling to next?