Tuesday 31 May 2011

I Heart Hollywood by Lindsey Kelk

As you would have seen from my previous reviews I didnt realise these books were part of a series and I had read the last one before the first!! I heart Hollywood is the second of three books in Lindsey Kelks I Heart series and having enjoyed the other two in the series I decided to read the middle remaining one.


The main character of the I heart books is Angela Clark. Angela has moved to New York after she found her husband having an affair in the back of their car at their best friend's wedding. She had to get away from everyone so she fled to New York which is where we left her in the first book building her new life, dating and writing her blog for the Look.


In I heart Hollywood Angela Clark is given a big opportunity to go to Hollywood and interview the gorgeous actor James Jacobs.
Things take a rollercoaster turn for Angela when Photographs of her and James are released making it look like they are an item this causes huge problems with her relationship with new boyfriend Alex, and with her work she is close to losing her job which also means losing her Visa and having to go back to her old life in England.

Angela has to try and prove that there is nothing going on between her and James but this is not going to be easy. No one believes her and she has to admit looking at the pictures it does paint a pretty convincing story. But Angela finds out some information which could save her but will she be able to prove it?



I really enjoyed this book although I have to say it was my least favourite out of the three books in the series. I didn't warm to Angela as much in this book as the other two but I do not feel this ruined the book. All the way through the book you are constantly hoping that things will turn around for Angela as she has so much to lose after she has built her life back up.


I would recommend this book but I would say make sure you do read the first book before as although you will still follow the storyline easily enough you may not like the character of Angela as her characteristics are built up to you in the first book. I have thoroughly enjoyed all three of the I Heart books.

I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk

Lindsey Kelk has wrote three books in the I Heart series
I heart New York,
I heart Hollywood
and I heart Paris.

If you have read my previous reviews you will know I was unaware of this as I read the I heart Paris which is the last book first and only once I started reading this book did I fall in that there were previous books.

I thoroughly enjoyed the last book and so I decided to go back and read the first one I Heart New York which I managed to find in the Library.


All of the I heart books look pretty much the same on the front cover with the big I Heart Title on the front and also the bright girly chick lit look to them.


Angela Clark has a life changing moment when she finds her boyfriend Mark with another woman in the back of their car at their bestfriends wedding. To make matters worse her bestfriends knew about it and after her relationship is clearly over and the wedding ruined with a groom with a broken hand Angela decides she needs to get away and flies for the first time to New York!!!


Through the rest of the book we watch Angela pick herself up from the disaster with the help of new friend Jenny and begin to make a life for herself writing for "The look" a blog about her days in New York and she also starts dating again. Only thing she doesn't know for sure is is this still a vacation or is this her new life, choices have to be made.

I enjoyed this book just as much as the last one. I was surprised that I seemed to warm to Angela's character more in the last book. I did not find this predictable which I have found so much in the recent Chick-lit books I have been reading.


The story line has you gripped as I think most girls can relate to the way Angela feels even if we didn't run off to another part of the world! The one character I changed my opinion of in this book was Angela's best friend Louisa who in the last book I felt quite sorry for her losing her best friend and also having her wedding ruined but after now reading the books in order I am surprised that they are still friends as it turns out in the beginning of this first book Louisa actually knew about Angela's boyfriend Mark having an affair!!


The ending of the book is left wanting more and is clearly left open for another book. I can not wait to read the next one I heart Hollywood.
I would recommend anyone who enjoys a light, warm, easy chick-lit read to read this book. Although I had read the books the wrong way around I don't feel that it ruined the story line in anyway.

I Heart Paris by Lindsey Kelk

I saw this book when I was looking in the library new books section and the cover shouted out to me even though it was an author I had not heard of before. The front cover looks like your typical fun, chick-lit style read.

The problem was it was not until I got home and started to read that I found out that this book was the third in the series after I Heart New York and I heart Hollywood.
I was unsure if to carry on reading as I was worried I wouldn't be able to fall into the story having not read the previous books. The trouble was I didn't have another book so I carried on.

The book is about Angela Clarke who writes her own blog. At the beginning of this book her boyfriend, Alex, suggests a trip to Paris which fits in nicely with a new job opportunity for Angela to write a piece for Belle magazine on Paris and also for Alex to play at a festival.

Trouble starts with the moment Angela gets on the plane and the disasters keep coming. When arriving in Paris Angela finds that her luggage has been blown up so she only has the items which she is standing in. If this was not bad enough when she walks into the cafe to meet Alex she sees a blonde bombshell sitting on his lap! Angela finds herself very isolated and a little home sick in this book when she finds out some truths about Alex's past, and finds herself at a point where her job, relationship, and friendships are all on the line.

What was meant to be a nice romantic break to Paris was actually the break from hell. You find when you are reading this book you keep thinking surely things cannot get any worse for Angela but something else always seems to happen.

As I said I didnt read the previous books but I have to say I still flowed along nicely with the story. There were a few references which kept coming up to do with a past relationship and a previous trip to LA which obviously I could not relate to. I would advise you to read the previous two books first!

I was surprised how much I warmed to Angela as a character as I would have thought with there being three books her personality would have to grow on you but I did not find that this was the case. You generally felt for Angela on many occasions .
There was a surprising twist towards the end of the book which I really did not see coming but had me on the edge of my seat! I do love a book with twists and not being able to predict what is going to happen in the next chapter. I do find many chick-lit books become repetitive but this book was defiantly not following in those footsteps.

I enjoyed this book so much I am now going to try and get the other two books to read. I can only hope that they are as good, if not better than this book.
This book is a light chick- lit read and would be an ideal holiday book. I still think that there could be another book released after this one as things were not tied up at the end of the book her life is still left hanging in the air.

Swimming Pool Sunday by Madeleine Wickham

I am a huge fan of all books by Sophie Kinsella. I have read every one of her books on more than one occasion. I was getting a little tired and impatient of waiting for her to release another book so I decided to visit her website to see if there was any information as to when she is due to release another book and what I found out to my surprise is that she writes under two names Sophie Kinsella and her real name Madeleine Wickham. I have now slowly started making my way through the books by Madeleine Wickham and I loved Sleeping Arrangements and Wedding Girl and have now picked up Swimming Pool Sunday to read.

The books written under Madeleine Wickham are a completely different style of book compared to Sophie Kinsella books. I think they feel more mature and more of a believable storyline but they do not hold the humour factor which the books by Sophie Kinsella have. Having said this I still have enjoyed both styles of books.

***PLOT***

Louise and Barnaby Kenmber have recently split up. Their two children Katie and Amelia still live at home with mummy Louise and Barnaby comes to see the girls once a week. When he arrives to take the girls fishing the girls do not want to go as it is the same day that Ursula and Hugh Delaney open up their swimming pool for all of the village to come for the day to raise money for charity. Although Barnaby is not happy about this it is what the girls want to do so they all head off to the Delaney's.

As the day begins to draw to an end Barnaby expresses his anger to Louise about not being able to spend enough time with the girls and it is whilst this happens that Katie has an accident and is rushed to hospital in a coma fighting for her life.

The new love of Louise's life is Cassian who works as a lawyer and he insists straight away the best thing to do for Katie's sake is to sue the Delaney's for the accident. Trouble is the Delaney's and the Kenmber's are friends and have had enough tragedy in their lives. Will Katie be ok and will the Kenmber's decide to take their friends to court?

** My Opinion**

As i mentioned this is a different style of writing compared to Sophie Kinsella books. There is no humour in this book at all. Aside from the plot I mentioned above there was also a side storyline about an older man Alexis who is friends with the Delaneys, who begins to have a relationship with 18 year old Daisy who has just moved to the village. I didn't really feel this fit into the book. I would have much preferred if they took the side storyline back into the relationship with Louise and Barnaby before they split so we could get to know their characters a little more.

I don't feel as though we was given enough connection with Louise she came across as quite a cold character so I didn't connect to her and feel the emotion we should feel for this lady who could be losing her daughter.
Before the accident the two sisters Katie and Amelia had such a close bond so Katie's accident must have affected Amelia in a big way this was slightly touched upon and I enjoyed this part of the book but I do think this could have been used a little more.

This book in my opinion is not a challenging read and the storyline slowly paces along. I do feel that this is a book which will be forgotten about in a few weeks as there was nothing shining about this book. Unfortunately this book is not in the same league as the previous Madeleine Wickham books or Sophie Kinsella books. It will not be a book which I shall read again and also not one which I would recommend in a hurry.

The Book Of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern

Before reading The Book Of Tomorrow I had only read one book by Cecelia Ahern which was The Gift. I did enjoy The Gift but it didn't make enough impression on me to put Cecelia Ahern at the top of my favourite authors list and so I did not rush out to find any of her other books. When searching for a book I always try my Library's returns section and this is where I found The Book Of Tomorrow. From the cover it looked to me to be a bit of a mystical book, and when reading the back for further information on the book it tells you very little but the little bit of information it does give is another to make you curious as it mentions a strange padlocked book. I thought I would give it a try as it sounded like my kind of book and it wasn't until I got home and started to read that I noticed from the inside of the cover that it was by an author I had already read.

**PLOT**
I am not going to give too much away when it comes to telling you the plot as this is why I loved this book as it felt like you were walking down a dark tunnel and not knowing what was going to come next.
Our main character is 16 year old Tamara Goodwin who has always had everything she could dream of and more due to her father's wealth. She lived in a glamorous home in the city, had many friends who she spent time with down on the beach and had many holidays throughout the year.
Tamara's life gets turned upside down when she walks in to find her Father dead on the floor after committing suicide. It later comes to light that her dad was in financial trouble which he couldn't get them out of and decided to take his life due to the pressure. Problem was this meant that both Tamara and her mum have nothing to their name so they have no choice but to go and stay with Uncle Arthur and Rosaleen in the middle of know where.
The story then comes to light due to the find of a locked book which has mysterious quality to it. Tamara's mum doesn't talk and sleeps nearly all day. Tamara feels Rosaleen has something to hide will Tamara get to the bottom of all the mystery.

**My Opinion**
I really enjoyed this book, and I find that all the books that I have read I cannot compare this book to any other that I have read. Personally I find that this book was in a completely different league to The Gift.
The main character Tamara took a little while to warm to as at the start of the book she is a typical selfish, spoilt teenager and I found myself gritting my teeth reading the first few chapters as I found her quite unbearable. Once she had moved to her uncle her character started to grow and you saw a change in her although she was still immature in some places which is only right for a teenager you actually started to enjoy her character.
As I mentioned earlier you have no idea what is going to happen next there is no inclination at all which I thoroughly enjoyed in this book. It was mystical but not magical and silly it was just enough to make the book still believable.
I found that the first few chapters slowly build you upto the pace of the book but then all the way through you are gripped there didn't seem to be any low parts in the book which you could skim over without missing anything. I also like the fact that the ending was tied up nicely without it feeling rushed.
I would highly recommend this book if you like a kind of mystical element to your books. I wouldn't say that this book was a light read as there is alot going on in the storyline which meant that you couldn't leave the book half way through a chapter.


This book gets a full 5 stars from me as there is nothing negative I can say about it and the way the book was wrote so you had no clue what would happen next was what made this book for me.

Sunday 29 May 2011

To Kindle Or Not to Kindle???

Thankyou to you all for following my review blog I thought it was time I had a discussion running and my topic is Kindle!

I am going away to Mexico for 2 weeks and as you can see from my reviews I read ALOT and FAST so I am thinking that maybe my luggage allowance may not let me take my supply of books!!

What are your thoughts on the KINDLE
Do you have one and do you think it is worth getting one ?

Posts below please!! xx

The Cat Club Welcome To Hollywood by Mandi Leigh

My latest novel I have finished is The Cat Club Welcome To Hollywood by Mandi Leigh. This is Mandi Leigh’s first novel. Taking a different direction in her career as a pop singer, the question in my mind was I wonder if her novel is as good as her songs?
Plot
Veronica Brooks, or Ronnie as we get to know her is a 19 year old singer and is at the top of her career. Life in the public eye is not all it is cracked up to be and one of the big problems is “The Cat Club” the group of jealous girls clawing for the spotlight. As Ronnie is living every girls dream and living the life of luxury, she soon finds herself wanting to take a step back in her career and have a taste of the real world when she meets a mysterious man who can offer her all she wants. With Ronnie out of the way this gives her rival Ashlyn a clear path to step up and try and take Ronnie’s place as the “Golden Girl” in the spot light. Thing is will Ronnie be able to face seeing Ashlyn in her place?

My opinion
I found the first part of the book a little slow to start but I am glad I persevered with the book as by the time I was half way through, the book was flowing at a nice pace. The main character of this book was the lovely Ronnie Brooks, I found I warmed to her character from pretty early on in this book. In my opinion she did seem a little grown up for a 19 year old girl but I assume this is because of the lonely but demanding job she has had for the past 3 years. I did find that I felt a little sorry for Ronnie all the way through this book as she seems to be surrounded by people but is actually very alone, this made me warm to the character even more. I felt in parts of the book it felt like I was reading a biography and part of me wonders if the author is putting some of her previous experience into the character of Ronnie as these parts where very believable to read which made the book enjoyable and not too farfetched. I do think there could have been a little more added to the storyline but I think this is something we will see in the next book that comes out. This book is an easy read not to challenging and I think is border line on adult novel and young adult novel. I found it an enjoyable read and the book is left at the right moment leaving you wanting more so I will defiantly be reading the next book in the series when it comes out early next year. I feel this Author is going to grow with each book she rights and we can already see from her first novel that there is a great deal of talent there.
You will find this little hidden gem of a book on Amazon or direct from LuLu.com
**Special Thanks For the copy sent to me by Mandi Leigh**

From Notting Hill With Love Actually by Ali McNamara

My recent book which I have just finished reading was something which I cannot compare to any other book which I have read before. I changed my opinion of this book so many times whilst I was reading it as I will tell you further into the review. This is a new author Ali McNamara, From Notting Hill With Love..... Actually is her first published book.

***PLOT***

Our main character Scarlett loves the movies, or as her loved ones would say "has a silly obsession" with the movies! Her life revolves around the movies with her job involving popcorn machines at the cinema which gives a good excuse for her to just pop in and watch the most recent film release! Everything that happens around Scarlett she compares to a film scene, and people around her she will compare them to actors and actresses. This is causing problems for Scarlett and her husband to be David. David and her farther suggests she goes away for a break for the few weeks before their wedding to put these silly thoughts aside, but all Scarlett has in mind is to prove that whilst she is away in Notting Hill is to prove that life can be exactly like a movie. Thing is Notting Hill seems to shacking Scarlett's life up with the help of her new next door neighbour Sean.
After weeks house sitting in Notting Hill will Scarlett return home and be able to put the obsession of comparing life to the movies and marry David or is Scarlett's life turning in a different direction?

***CHARACTERS***
SCARLETT:- It takes a few chapters to actually understand Scarlett as a person and to connect with her. She comes across as very immature and in her own little world. In the first half of the book I have to say I found her pretty annoying. As the book paces on her character develops you start to see a sweet vulnerable young woman who is trying to make everyone else happy but in the process is not actually making herself happy.

David:- I did not warm to this character from the word go. He seems boring and controlling. I was glad that once Scarlett went to Notting Hill he didn't appear much in the book until the end, but I think this is how the character was meant to come across.

Sean:- We see a character change in Sean when we first meet him he seems very aggressive and rude but as his friendship with Scarlett grows we see a completely different side to him he is really a very caring, considerate and generous man. I would say he was my favourite character of the book.

***MY OPINION***
I am really undecided on this book as there were parts of the book which I really didn't like and other parts which I really enjoyed which is a first for me. I felt like I was reading two different stories but in one book. This is going to be hard to explain without you reading this book so please bear with me. As I have said before Scarlett has a love of the movies and through this book everything that happens is constantly compared to one movie or another. At first this was fine but this continued all the way through the book and about half way through I was ready to give up as I was starting to get tired of the constant comparisons, I felt like it was smothering the true storyline. I would say every page, if not every other, has some reference to a film. This can be hard in some places for some people as a few times a certain film was mentioned which I haven't seen so I didn't quite understand what was going on in the story.

Ok that is my negative out of the way. It was a shame because underneath the "smothering" is quite a beautiful little storyline. Once you actually started to get into the underlying storyline the book was actually a joy to read. I would say the story started to become enjoyable from chapter 13 so if you are going to give this book a try do bare with it as it does improve. Ali has managed to bring a fresh style of writing in this book but I just think it was slightly over done in my own opinion. The chemistry she creates between Scarlett and Sean is wonderful and you do find yourself hoping that something will bring these two characters together. I loved the fact that right up until the last chapter the reader didn't know if Scarlett was going to marry David, so the suspense element which the author creates is brilliant as I do like this in a book it does keep you gripped and in my opinion I think this is what saved this book.

The Difference A Day Makes by Carole Matthews

I have recently read a number of Carole Mathew's books which I have thoroughly enjoyed. The latest one I have found is The Difference a Day Makes.


***PLOT***

We meet hardworking business couple Amy and William. They have a very busy life working in T.V and have the perfect nanny who looks after their children. Life couldn't be any better for this city couple until one day on the way to work together Will collapses on the train. This event makes Will assess his life and decides to up root his family to start a fresh with their lives in the country.
The problem is this is Williams dream and both Amy and the children are finding it hard to adapt. When things feel as if they couldn't get any worse for Amy when she goes to wake Will in the garden she realises her husband has died. Question is now does Amy and the children manage to carry on living Williams dream with the help of the local vet Guy or do they just pack up and go back to their old life?



***Characters***
This is going to be a first for me but I have to say I loved each and every individual character in this book. Unfortunately due to Will passing away early on in the book we didn't get to enjoy his character for long. We find that we just want to reach out to our main character Amy and just let her know that everything will be ok! My favourite character in this book has to be the local vet Guy who does all he can to help Amy after Will sadly passes away. His character is just so loving and caring we all need a Guy in our lives!


***My Opinion***
This storyline has everything thrown into it. A large part was emotional due to the loss of William but there was also a romance element, and some humour when it come to the antics that the dog had been up to! There is just a generally warm feel to this book. I was addicted to this book and actually finished it in under a day. I just couldn't wait to see what happens next. We as the reader just want to see what Amy is doing to help build their lives back after this tragedy and is she going to make the right decision. In no part of this book could you say that it was predictable, even down to the last chapter you could not anticipate what was going to happen which I feel was the reason the reader is kept hooked the whole way through this book. It does help that the chapters in this book are not long either so if you were going to read the book over a few days you are able to just read a chapter here and there as most chapters were only 3-4 pages long.

All Carole Mathews fans would love this book as it is as good as her other books I have read. It has got more of the country theme to this book which I haven't read a Carole Mathews book which has been based in the country. I cannot find any bad points to this book it was enjoyable from beginning to end.

The Sweetest Taboo by Carole Matthews

Every where I turn at the moment I keep finding more and more Carole Matthews books. I was shopping in Asda the other day and see they had The Sweetest Taboo by Carole Matthews for £1. Before any of you tell me to check what I have wrote I have not missed off a digit yes it was a pound!! How can you walk over a book by an author as good as this for a pound! I have to say it is the best pound I have ever spent!

The Sweetest Taboo is about Sadie Nelson, a single girl who has lost her high fly job and feels as if her life is going no-where. Whilst she is doing a little temp job she meets Gil McGann who is a Hollywood film producer and takes a shine to Sadie. When Gil goes back to Hollywood he misses Sadie and decides to ask her to just drop everything and fly out to be with him. This sounded like a chance of a lifetime and a chance to finally start living her life.
Things go from bad to worse when Sadie arrives at the airport and there is no sign of Gil. Many problems arise for this couple in particular Sadies friendship with the hot Tavis Jones.
Will Sadie be able to make a life for herself in Hollywood or will it soon be time to go back to London?

I love the character of Sadie in this book. I instantly warmed to her character, she felt like a true friend. Unfortunatly Sadie is not a lucky lady and trouble and messy situations seem to follow her.
The character of Gil was a little harder to like. I found my opinion of him change through the book. At times you felt like you just wanted to shake him to wake him up and finally see sense!
Tavis Jones is very misunderstood by Sadie and to be truthful also by the reader for about half of the book. He is a wonderful character, one that you have no trouble warming to. He brings a little humour to Sadie and to the book.

I really enjoyed this book. I found that there were no low parts to this book from the first chapter I was drawn straight into the story and I was hooked. I loved the fact that the book was in no way predictable you didn't know from one chapter to the next what was going to happen or how the story was going to end. There was also a nice touch of a humour in this book which mainly happened when Sadie and Tavis were out together which made it quite exciting when a chapter started off with the two of them meeting. I atuaslly found myself laughing at a certain part of the book involving a man in a green thong with a pipe!
Any Carole Mattews fans out there or any chick-lit lovers this book is for you and it will not disappoint. If you are after an easy read with a touch of romance and pinch of humour this is the next read for you!

It's Now or Never by Carole Matthews

I am gradually working my way through all the Carole Matthews books. I have enjoyed all of her books so far and so I decided to read It's Now Or Never, I was pretty sure I would enjoy it if it was as good as the previous books of hers which I had read! The front cover is very much the style of her previous books so it is easy to spot on the shelf.


The plot:
Twins Annie and Lauren are our main characters in this book. The book begins with Annie and Lauren at their elder sister Chelsea's 40th Birthday Party. The women look around them and compare their lives to the glamorous life of their elder sister. The women wonder why their lives are so different to their sisters and decides that it is time that they make changes to their lives.

Annie decides that she is going to make her life more adventurous and decides to start by going away to Peru on a charity hike, but as she begins training it is clear that her husband Greg doesn't like this new change in his wife, will Annie give up her new dream to please her husband?

Lauren however is sure what she wants and tells her boyfriend he has to make the choice now it is either her or his wife! Will he leave his wife like he has always said he would or will Lauren make different changes to her life?



Characters:
Annie and Lauren are our main two characters. I did find it took me nearly half of the book to work out which woman was Annie and which woman was Lauren so it did feel like real life when it came to the win situation! Both of the women's characters were both warm in their own ways, although they are twins their personalities are completely different.

Greg who is Annie's husband took a few chapters to warm to but then you started to like his character he was just a man who is scared of change. I wish I could say the same for Laurens boyfriend but from the start I didn't like him at all.


Overall Opinion:

Yes!! Carole has done it again!! Another well enjoyed book. It is ideal for a quick read or a holiday read. Each chapter alternated between Annie and Lauren so it was like reading to separate books which come together in many places. Carole Matthews has a way of writing her book and making the stories feel very genuine and real and she brings this across in great detail so I can only assume a lot of what she writes is based on personal experience or experiences of her friends.

The only part of the book I can give a little negative feedback on is the fact that I was constantly getting the women muddled up until about half way through the book, but other than this the book has got a big thumbs up from me. I like that although there is a serious storyline going on with the two women there are also many funny parts of the book which helps to make it an enjoyable read. I would defiantly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys easy chick-lit books.
Happy Reading!!!

All you need is Love by Carole Matthews

I have found myself reading a lot of books by Carole Matthews recently. I find them all easy reads which is the kind of book I like to read in between more in depth books. All You Need is Love was calling me from the shelf in Asda with a bright red £1 sticker! Now please tell me how could I walk over such a great authors book as new for £1? That is how I come to lay my hands on All you Need Is Love!


Plot

The story revolves around main character Sally Freeman who lives on a run down council estate in Liverpool. Sally is a young single mum who is determined to make a better life for both her and her son Charlie and to do this she thinks she needs two things number one to get off of the estate and two is to find a man to help her with this. Sally decides to join on a computer course in order to improve her skills. It is on this course that she meets the man she thinks is perfect to changing her life around as he can offer her the world. But how will the man in question, Spencer Knight, feel about having to give her son Charlie the world too?
Will Charlie be able to except the new man in his mother's life or will is hopes of his mum and her ex Johhny get in the way of a happy ending all around?


My Opinion

I felt the relationship between each of the characters in this book flowed together nicely which truly helped to make the book enjoyable. There were parts of the book which were a little farfetched but I do not think this ruined the book in anyway. The main character Sally, took me on twists and turns of my opinion of her throughout the book and even now I have finished the book I am still unsure if I did truly like her!! I found at the beginning of the book, roughly 4-5 chapters, I really started to warm to her character as she came across as some kind of superwoman helping the ladies in her community and trying to better herself. I then found my opinion of her starting to change when she starts to date Spencer and I actually started to dislike the character very much and preferred to read about her son and her ex partner while her character took this change, which I found happened often in the book.


I did enjoy this book although I did find it a little frustrating not being able to enjoy the main character. I cannot say that this is one of Carole Matthews best books I have read but even still I still feel it is worth giving it a go just do not have to high expectations of the book. For a £1 I think I got my monies worth! I would be a little disappointed paying full price for this book.

Wednesday 25 May 2011

Highland Fling by Katie Fforde

I have found that I have managed to clear my massive pile of books and the last one to be read was Katie Fforde with Highland Fling. The front cover of this book is very similar to her previous books I have read which I have always liked and I find they stand out when on a shelf of books.

Plot

Jenny Porter is a virtual assistant much to her partner Henrys disappointment. When one of Jennys clients ask her to travel to Scotland to find out what is going on in one of the businesses he is financially involved with, Jenny is excited even if she has not got the support of Henry. When she arrives in Scotland she finds that he mill which she is there to take a look out if in a bad financial way but rather than telling her client this she feels compelled to help get the business back on track.
Jenny finds herself constantly bumping into the character Ross Grant, they both take an instant dislike to each other but in the same breath find each other attractive. Could there be trouble up in the hills of Scotland ?


Characters

I found the character Jenny very likeable and easy to warm to from the first page. As the book goes on she starts to feel loving and caring like a friend. She was my favourite character in this book. Her partner Henry I took an instant dislike to from the first chapter I was quite glad that he wasn't a strong character all the way through the book as I don't think I would have enjoyed the book so much if I had to read too much about him.
I found Ross Grant's character very interesting and the relationship between him and Jenny was lovely to read as it was very on edge and you were not sure what they were going to say to each other next or if they were going to be hot or cold with each other.


My Opinion

I am yet to find a Katie Fforde book which I have not enjoyed. I must have enjoyed this one as I have finished it in a day so it is defiantly a real page turner in my opinion. It was nice to take her book to a new location which is Scotland with the snowy setting as all of the books I have read have been country bumpkin warm settings so it did make a nice change. Katie's style of writing makes you feel as if you know the characters and as if you are there in the story which I think helps with the way she describes the surroundings and the personalities of her characters so well.


I like the suspense element in this book I lost count how many times I changed my opinion of what I thought was going to happen this only made me want to carry on reading to find out which direction the story was going to take. I found the pace of the book kept on an even keel throughout the book which made it an easy and enjoyable read.

I would recommend this book for a cosy Sunday afternoon read, especially for any of you Katie Fforde and women's fiction fans.


Chocolate Wishes by Trisha Ashley

I have two favourite things in life and that is a good book and a bar of chocolate! This is why I decided to pick up the book Chocolate Wishes by Trisha Ashley. The cover of the book is your typical style for a chick-lit book with a cosy little chocolate shop on the front with Chocolate Wishes in big pink writing so as you can tell this is hard to miss whilst looking for a book on the shelf. I had fallen in love with the book before I had started to read it and I had high expectations.



Plot
The book is based in Sticklepond which is a quaint little village in Lancashire. The main character is Chloe who makes chocolates which contain little prediction (wishes) inside of them. Since her Grandad Grumps gave her a charm to recite over the chocolate bath the chocolates seem to taste even better and have some side effects. The chocolates seem to be the only thing which is going right in Chloe's life as she has been left broken hearted by her university love Raffy Sinclair when he went off with his rock band never to return. Her mum has up and left her which has meant Chloe has had to bring up her brother. Life is never easy at home as she lives next to the museum which her Grumps and her Aunt are about to open. Her aunt is a tarot reader and can also read tea leaves and her Grumps is a warlock so life is never ordinary!
Chloe's life is all stirred up when a blast from the past turns up as the new vicar of the village!



Characters

Chloe who is our main character is a very warm and loveable character. She seems to be very down to earth which is a surprise considering how the rest of her family are. She seems to have a very loyal and caring personality and I think this is why I found throughout reading the book that I wanted things to turn around for her to give her some enjoyment in life.

Poppy and Felix were Chloe's best friends who have also been brought up around the same kind of family member as Chloe so they all feel more like brothers and sisters to read about than friends. The relationship between the three of them was lovely to read.

Grumps who is Chloe's Grandfather made for a very strange character to read about and I have to say I could not connect to him at all during the book. I do not feel like his character was needed in this book



My Opinion

Ok I am sorry but judging by previous reviews I have read about this book I think I am going to upset the apple cart with my opinion on this review but let us all remember we all have different tastes.

I found it hard to work through this book as I was a little disappointed by the storyline. I have learnt one thing whilst reading this book and that is not to judge a book by its cover as this book is not all about chocolate! I found the story was taken over by more involvement with tarot reading, witch craft and religion which personally is not the topics I enjoy in a book and certainly not what I expected to be reading after looking at the front cover and reading the sympnosis.

The parts of the book which were revolving around Chloe and her friends Poppy and Felix and also around her love life was quite nice to read but each time I started to enjoy these parts the next chapter would involve more about warlocks and tarot which then put me off reading the book again.

Another point I must make is on the front cover it says "Full of Down to Earth Humour" I have to say personally I didn't find any humour in this book at all. I also did not like the way the book finished I had to check the spine to make sure no pages had been ripped out as the story seemed to come to an abrupt stop!.

There is a part in the 2nd to last chapter where a comment is whispered to Chloe which seemed of some importance and we never did find out what that was, I have got an idea what it could be but unless there is going to be a follow on book to this one then I think we should have been told what the comment was.

I was disappointed by this book I just wish there was more about the chocolate business and more about Chloe's life rather than all the warlock business as I really do not think that it was needed in this book in fact I have to say I think it was that that ruined the whole book for me.

Tuesday 24 May 2011

The One Before The One by Katy Regan

Katy Regan is a new author to me. After reading this book I googled her and have found that she has released a book before this one called One Thing Led To Another. Now that I have finished The One before The One I cannot wait to go back and read her first book. I am not sure why I hadn’t heard of her before as the book was a great read my only thing is I am not over keen on the cover of the book.


Plot
Meet Caroline who is our main character she has called of the wedding to her long term partner Martin and is ready to be free and enjoy life but has she made the right decision? A spanner is thrown in the works when her teenage sister Lexi arrives on her door step and announces that she is going to be staying with her for the whole of the summer! Unsure of how you look after a teenager Caroline tries her best to help her sister with her problems but having her around is making it hard to see Toby who is her married work colleague who she is currently sleeping with. Caroline realises with the help of her sister that she needs to make some decisions to get her life back on track but this only means a lot of changes need to be made which can only lead to some broken hearts.


My Opinion

When I first started to read this book I found it a little strange as my partner is called Martin and my sister is called Lexi so I felt like I was going warm to our main character Caroline from the start, oh how could I be so wrong! I found Caroline, hard to warm to at first especially as when we meet her and her fiancé Martin he seems so charming that you couldn’t help but give her the cold shoulder a little at first for breaking his heart. As the book progressed I soon started to warm more to her character and started to enjoy reading about her journey in life. I really did enjoy reading the character of Martin he just seemed to good to be true!  I enjoyed reading about the relationship between Caroline and her sister Lexi as where they had not been brought up together you found you was watching the relationship between the two grow. There was only one character in this book which I could not take to and found the more that the book went on I loathed him even more and that is the character of Toby. I found when we first met him to be smarmy and after that the feelings towards him grew worse!!

What really kept me on my toes with this book was the suspense as right until the last few chapters I was still not quite sure how it would end. I kept wondering would there be a happy ending and I think it was this which kept the pages turning for me.

I found that this book had a mixture of content to it. There was a few bits of humour put in which was a nice touch and made it a little light hearted after reading about some slightly deeper parts when it came to Lexi so the humour was a nice touch to still keep the book an enjoyable read.

I would defiantly recommend this book and as I mentioned before I will now be keeping a look out for her previous book and I suggest you all do the same to! I think this is going to be an Author to keep your eyes peeled for in the future.

Wedding Season by Katie Fforde

I have recently been reading many books by Carole Mathews and Katie Fforde. I am continually hunting for more of their books on my travels, which is where I found Wedding Season. I always find her books are an easy read but also a book which you cannot put down which I hoped would be the same with this one.

***PLOT***
This story is based around Sarah, a wedding planner who doesn't believe in forever in Love. At the start of the story, she is putting the finishing touches to a wedding, getting the bride ready for her big day doing what she does best with the help of new found friends who are the other two main characters of the book, Elsa and Bron. Elsa is a dress maker who has created a beautiful dress for the bride, but doesn't like the attention to fall on her which is a bit of a problem when she is selected to be the bridesmaid at the last minute. Bron is a hairdresser who also finds she is a dab hand at make-ip and cake making, is there no end to this woman's talent!

After the big wedding has come to an end Sarah is then given the opportunity of a life time, to organise a big wedding for a Celeb but with only 2 months to do it in and also to put a spanner in the works the wedding is on the same day as her sister's wedding. Will Sarah pull this off with the help of Bron and Elsa or will it become a total disaster.

***Characters***

I found with this book that I actually warmed to Bron and Elsa more than I did with the main character Sarah. I feel that Bron and Elsa have a warmer more approachable character to them where as with Sarah it felt as if we wasn't totally in touch with her character as if there was some kind of guard up between her and us, the reader. I also liked the male characters in this book who are the love interests in this book their characters were all very different but also gave us the same warm feeling to them.

***My Opinion***


Overall, this was a book which I really enjoyed. I didn't find that this story was predictable other than one part which was the relationship with the main character Sarah. Because of this I found like with previous books I have read by Katie Fforde that I couldn't put the book down as you continually want to know what is going to happen next in the story. As with many chick-lit book there is a big relationship story line ( or in this case three!) to go along side the main storyline. I found that the way the relationships were wrote into the storyline was quite different to many books which I have read as the relationships didn't take over from the main storyline but gave it a nice little twist alongside which made it enjoyable to read. I found that with this book it was on a steady pace not having low or high points during the book. We are taken straight in to the storyline from the first chapter. This book has many elements to it including, humour, relationships, romance, and emotion to name a few, which completes this beautifully written book. I picked up from reading this book that the author seemed to have an insight to the whole wedding planning topic as there was some parts of the book which was in great detail about the requirements the brides need the wedding planners to deal with.

I would recommend this book to chick-lit lovers. I cannot tell you anything negative about this book as personally for me it ticked all of the right boxes. If you are looking for an easy read to cheer you up on a down day this is the book for you.

Love Lies by Adele Parks

Adele Parks is a pretty new author to me. I have previously read one of her books which I enjoyed. I think it is the front covers of her book which stand out on the shelf and draw you in, as most of them are of long legs in grey and white with a bold bright pair os shoes! Not your usual chick lit front cover so they are hard to miss. I was recommended to read Love Lies by a friend who doesn't usually read but had been lent it and couldn't believe how good it was, so it was passed my way.


Plot
Fern, who is a passionate florist, is finding her 30th birthday creeping up on her. This gets her thinking about where she feels she should be in life and the one thing she is not happy about is her relationship with long term boyfriend Adam. She feels their relationship is stuck and needs to move forward she wants to move out and have their own house and most of all she wants him to POP the question!! She gives Adam an ultimatum, propose on her birthday or she is off!

Adam's gift for Fern was tickets to see her favourite rock star but the thing is once she meets him she cant stop thinking about him. What will she do fall for the man who can give her everything she wants or stay with long term love Adam?



My Opinion

I found this book as captivating as her previous book that I read. Adele Parks has a way of pulling you into the story in the first chapter which makes it hard for you to put the book down. It is your typical chick lit style read, easy, warm but a little farfetched in places but I think it is these parts that makes the book as good as it is.

I found the book similar in places to Paige Toons Chasing Daisy but instead of the love interest being a racing driver it was a heart throb rockstar. Any of you who was a fan of Chasing Daisy I am sure that you would also enjoy this book.

The book was split between England and LA. I found that the parts that were in England seemed more realistic compared to the parts in LA but I think this was done on purpose to show that it was like a dream living in LA.

The only thing I could say about the book on a lower note is that it would have been good to have got to know Adams character a little more as the book is written from Ferns point of you so we only read what she feels about Adam at the time.

I would defiantly recommend this book to any chick lit lovers out there and also this would make a superb holiday read. I will defiantly be looking out for more Adele Parks books after reading this one.

Sunday 22 May 2011

reabookreview: Meet Me at The Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

reabookreview: Meet Me at The Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan: "Meet Me at The Cupcake Cafe is the first book I have read by Jenny Colgan. I have found the last few weeks when I have gone in to Whsmiths t..."

Meet Me at The Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

Meet Me at The Cupcake Cafe is the first book I have read by Jenny Colgan. I have found the last few weeks when I have gone in to Whsmiths to find a new release book which I haven’t read I am stuck as there seems to be a bit of down time in the kind of books I like to read. What pulled me to this book was firstly there is a statement about the book from an author I enjoy ( Sophie Kinsella ) secondly the style of the front cover which is pink and cream which is very fitting considering the book is about cakes!!

Plot
Issy finds herself at a loose end when she is made redundant by her boss Graeme who is also her boyfriend. Heartbroken and jobless Issy needed to find a way to get her life on track and quick as she is not getting any younger. With a large redundancy package and the help of her Gramps who sends her the recipes for cakes he used to use when he was a baker she decides to take the plunge and open up her own Cupcake cafe. Issy has full support from her Gramps and from her bestfriend /flatmate Helena and also her new employee Pearl who faces her own troubles in life.  With the cafe up and running and word of the cafe getting around will Issy be able to find time for romance.  Will she pleased when Graeme arrives with an offer up his sleeve!!

My Opinion
Issy our main character is an absolutely joy to read about. She is very soft natured and seems to know what she wants in life but may just need a little push to get what it is she so desperately wants. As the reader we can only hope that things improve for her as the book goes along but this book just shows she is in for a bumpy ride! I felt like the character of Issy was very believable she could easily be the girl next door.
After reading the title to the book and reading the first few chapters I thought it was going to be a very basic and predictable storyline but I was wrong! There were a few twists and turns and some of the characters such as Graeme the ex and Austin the bank manager were hard to work out until the end of the book you wasn’t sure if they were hiding something.
Jenny Colgan had a way of describing the cafe which made you feel as though you were really sitting in this cafe with a coffee and cake in hand!
One of the things which has really stood out for me in this book and makes it different to all the other books out there is that at the beginning of each chapter there is a recipe for a variety of different cupcakes, I have never seem this in a book before so this is new to me and in my opinion was a nice touch although I have to say having these recipes to hand and reading this enjoyable book about this welcoming cafe did make you want to follow in Issy’s footsteps! The way Cohen talks about her cakes makes it seem as if she has a great passion for cakes either baking or eating!
I did find at a point in this book that I felt rather moved with the relationship between Issy and her Gramps and it was at this point I realised how real this book felt.

In my opinion this is a definite must read, a real page turner. There is a real mix in this book with a little humour, a lot of touching emotional parts with a little romance but not too much. After reading this book I will defiantly be on the lookout for more Jenny Colgan books in future.





Sunday 15 May 2011

Moonshine by Christina Jones

Christina Jones is the author of Hubble Bubble, Heaven Sent, Happy Birthday, Seeing Stars, and Love Potions.
Her books are based on different stories on the village folk in and around the villages of Bagley-cum-Russet and Hazy Hassocks. Each of the Characters in her book interlink into the next book but you do not need to read the books in any kind of order as the books are fresh new stories are not a continuing book.


I am a huge fan of Christina Jones books she has a way of writing that takes you into her magical little village and allows you to feel as though you are part of the towns folk. I have found with all of her books that they flow nicely and have no low parts of the books. Each of her books I have read in a day as it is so hard once you are wrapped up in the village world to put the book down.


When I was shopping in WHsmiths the other day I saw Christina Jones Moonshine which has recently been released and I did not hesitate to purchase it. Once I brought my book home my partner asked if he could go down the pub and I was over the moon as I knew I would have a chance to read my book in peace!!!


Moonshine opens with the main character Cleo Moon who has found herself newly single and unemployed. She moves into her new home, a caravan, and sets about getting work. She has an interview with Mimi Pashley-Royle to become her PA but it is known in the village that anyone who has ever become Mimi Pashley-Royle's PA becomes her slave driver as well!
Cleo gets the job and is informed that she will be taking care of the traditional Harvest Home party which has always been held at Mimi's and the village folk all come and bring home made food with them. It is down to Cleo to organise the whole party but also she has to bring her own home made contribution.

Whilst Cleo is at home thinking about what she could contribute to the party an incident happens which introduces her to Dylan who is a drop dead gorgeous guy who has a reputation for the ladies. They become friends but Cleo finds it hard to keep hidden her feelings for him.

Cleo finds some recipe books hidden at the caravan which belonged to the previous owner of the caravan. The recipes where for different kinds of wine which Cleo decided to attempt to make for the Harvest home. The only problem was there was some strange ingredients she hadn't heard of so with Dylans knowledge of the added ingredients they start to work on the wine making, but how will the wine turn out?


There are no predictable parts to this book the twists and turns are endless and you are genuinely shocked when some parts of the book are revelled as there was no hint that these events were going to happen. In my opinion Christina Jones has a wonderful way of writing about each character giving enough information on each character so you feel as if they are someone you actually know.


Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Moonshine as much as I did with the other books by Christina Jones. I can not wait for her next book to come out. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. At the end of this book ther is also a snipet of her previous book Happy Birthday for you to read.

If you are interested in this collection of books go to www.christinajones.co.uk and you can read the first chapter of all of her books. Just see how wonderful her books are from the first chapter they will have you hooked.

Sunday 8 May 2011

The Love Academy by Belinda Jones

I am sure many of you are chick lit lovers and I am sure that if you love chick lit then at some point you must have read Belinda Jones books! Belinda Jones has travelled to many different countries through her life due to her work and this shows in her books. She has a way of making you feel as if you are in the same country when you are reading any of her books and this book, The Love Academy is one of them. The book is set in Italy and after reading this book I feel a trip is in order for me!!

Kirsty Bailey is a reporter for Hot magazine, she has a new undercover report to do on The Love Academy. This is where all the single Brits who are unlucky in love and who I struggling to believe in that little thing called romance go to see romance first hand by the true romantics, the Italians!
The problem is for Kirsty is she is already in a relationship so she needs to put this aside in order to find out if The Love Academy is the real deal or if it is a glorified Brothel!!
Kirsty takes her newly broken hearted brother with her to get a brother/sister concept on The Love Academy. Unfortunately her brother is not overjoyed to be going back to Italy as this is where he had his heart broken question is will The Love Academy be able to mend his broken heart?

I love the character of Kirsty, she feels like your normal girl next door. She is in a relationship with Joe but like most of us the romance has sort of dwindled away leaving her wanting a little bit more. Her relationship with her brother comes into the story a lot which only helped to relate to her character making her feel real.

The book is very much romantic based which is to be expected from the title and from the location the book is set in but each part of the course at The Love Academy is also teaching them different aspects of romance which makes for a loving read. I didn't find that the book was predictable which helped to keep us as the reader gripped, I found myself closing the book at the end of a chapter only having to open it up again to read the next as I needed to know what was going to happen next!

I liked that the book was on an even keel from the first chapter we are brought straight into the story and even the ending was wrapped up nicely without it feeling rushed.
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The book is 400 pages long and it is defiantly a chick-lit, romance book but it does have a little more depth to the story than many other chick-lit books and I think this is due to the amount of information about Venice itself, the sights they see and the food they eat and even down to the little bits of Italian which is spoken.

I would recommend this book although I would put a warning with it as since reading this book I now have the urge to go to Venice!!

Room by Emma Donoghue

Room is not the kind of book I typically read. I try to read more light and cheerful reads as I feel there is enough heavy stuff going on in the real world so it is my little escape from the world when my head is in a book! It was after reading a review on dooyoo that I decided to give the book a try as it was highly recommended.

Room is written from five year old Jacks perspective which makes for a different read. Jack was born in Room and has never seen the outside world or felt the fresh air on his face. He describes to us his days in Room and tells us about Sunday treat which is when Old Nick brings them a treat they have asked for. Most of the outside world he thinks isn't real and is just on television until one day Ma, who has been living in Room since she was kidnapped by Old Nick, decides it is time to tell Jack about the outside world as she feels it is time to try to escape.
We read of Ma and Jacks plans to escape but if they succeed how would Jack cope in a world he never knew?

I really enjoyed this book. Having the story told by the five year old boys perspective gave the book a different but gripping edge. I do not have children so I did find it took me a while to get to grips with the way Jack talks, I assume it is very true to a five year olds speech. Every time Jack got in the wardrobe at night to sleep so Old Nick wouldn't look at him, when Jack tells us he hears the beep beep of the door I felt my body stiffen in anticipation of what he was going to do as we know and care for Jack by this point as we feel as though this little boy is talking to us and so you do not want anything to happen to him.
Although the book is by Jack we do also get to know Jacks Ma very well as this is the only person Jack has any contact with living in Room. We learn about how she come to be in Room and also about things which have happened whilst she has been in there.


I would highly recommend this book as the story is gripping the whole way through. Although it is not the kind of book I would normally read I am so glad I did and it was a shame when the book came to an end, I could have sat all day listening to how Jack feels about the world as some points he makes about our world is so true.
Do not hesitate go and buy this book!

The Way To A Womans Heart by Christina Jones

As most of you will know from my previous reviews I am a keen reader. My favourite Author by far is the lovely Christina Jones. I have read every one of her books and I can honestly say they have never disappointed me.

Christina's newer books such as Moonshine, Happy Birthday and Love Potions are all stories set around the surrounding villages of Bagley-cum-Russet, Fiddlesticks and Hazy Hassocks. Each book sees a new character brought in around these villages but characters from the other books all seem to make an appearance in each of the books. Although having said this I personally do not think you need to read any of these books in a particular order as they do all stand alone in their stories and are not a continuation series of books.

I have long waited for Christina Jones to bring out her new book The Way To A Woman's Heart to be released. As soon as I got home I started to read it....... oh ok and I finished it too!!!!

***PLOT***
Ella Maloney has come to a point in her life where she wants more in life. The job she has she doesn't enjoy, the relationship she is in is going nowhere. She finds a way out of this life after finding an advert in the paper to move to the country and help a lady, to look after her little boy George.
Ella knows she has made the right choice but when she meets Poll she reveals that there is more going on at this house which she hadn't informed Ella about. Poll is opening up her home to the lost causes who need a home, Ash, Billy and Trixie who each have their own unique characters but have two things in common, their love for cooking and their favourite T.V show Dewberrys Dinners.
The book comes into its own when the Dewsberrys Dinners show are looking for guests to compete on their show with a winning cheque and a chance to open their own restaurant.

***My Opinion***
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I could not put it down. Each of the characters I found I warmed to straight away. I also liked the way that the characters all flowed together nicely as there were quite a few strong characters in this book and I sometimes find with books that have too many lead characters I get a little confused as to who is who in certain parts of the book but I didn't find this happened in this book and I think that is because the characters personality where develop so well. This story is a light and enjoyable read. It is not to challenging and it holds a kind of humour I have read in no other authors books. Although there is a magical element in this book ( as there is with previous Christinas Jones books) this doesn't over power the book or make the book silly in any kind of way it just helps to bring more humour to the book and make it truly unique in its style of books.
I didn't find the book predictable which I enjoyed as you never know what is going to happen in the next chapter which keeps you guessing and page turning! I didn't find any low points to this book where you could just skim over a paragraph which to me makes this another excellent book of hers.
We meet a few of the characters from the previous books again in this book which gives it a nice familiar touch, but again with this book it stands alone and doesn't follow on from a previous book.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to try something a little different with a little humour included. It would be an ideal beach read although if you enjoy it as much as I did I would advise you to take her other books with you as you may need one a day!
I just hope it's not too long before her next book comes out!

A Perfect Proposal By Katie Fforde

I have recently found myself reading many of Katie Fforde books. She seems to have a easy style of writing which manages to keep your gripped. In Whsmiths at the moment you will find one of her more recent books Perfect Proposal and at the moment it is on offer for £3.99.

*Plot*
Sophie Apperly is the black sheep of her family, where her family are all very academic Sophie is better creatively. Her family take her for granted and soon pack her off to look after her rich uncle, which is where Sophie's journey in the story begins. While she is at Uncle Eric's she starts clearing out old letters only to find that he and some other family members have drilling rights which if they all pull together could be worth some money only thing is the member of the family who she believes has the remaining drilling rights is over in New York. It is while she is in New York on this quest that she befriends a rich elderly lady Matilda, the problem is her grandson Luke is not quite as and welcoming as Matilda. He is suspicious of Sophie he doesn't trust her when it comes to his grandma and his suspicions are only made worse when Sophie agrees to help find the old Cornish house that Matilda stayed in when she was younger back in England. Sophie is joined in England by Luke to help look for the house and to keep an eye on Sophie. Is Luke only interested in Sophie's actions when they involve his grandma or could there be more than meets the eye?

*My Opinion*
I have yet to read a book by Katie Fforde which I haven't enjoyed. What I found made this book different from the previous books which Katie Fforde has wrote is that half of the book is based in New York where as all of the books I have read of hers have all been based in the country all the way through. It was still a gripping book but you truly felt at home when she brings her characters back to the country it is in my opinion where her writing is the best. It was an easy read that had you gripped from the first chapter. There were just enough characters in this book without it getting confusing as to who is who. I loved the fact that there was a suspense factor to the story as right up until the last chapter you didn't know which way the story was going to go. Judging by the title I did think it was going to be a full on romatic book but I didn't find this the case. There was a romantic element to the book but there was so much more to the story than that. I found the book paced on evenly without having any low points to the book and I didn't feel at any point as if the boo was being rushed.

I loved our main character Sophie was she was a very down to earth girl who many people will relate to. From the beginning of this book you instantly warm to her character. It dad take me a while to get Luke's character he seemed very stand offish the first few chapters that we meet him but after a while you release it is only because he cares so strongly about his Grandma and doesn't want her getting hurt.

I would recommend this book for anyone looking for an easy, warm homely read. Anyone who is a Katie Fforde fan then read this book as it will not disappoint!

The Happy Home for Broken Hearts by Rowan Coleman

Rowan Coleman is an Author who I had not come across before. I was surprised when I googled the author to find that she has had many books published which I have not seen or heard of before. The front cover is your typical chick-lit style book which is what grabs us chick-lit lovers straight to it on the shelf.

Plot
Ellie has hit rock bottom. After losing her husband in a car crash she finds herself unable to leave the house, and in a serious amount of debt. Ellen needs to find a way to bring in the money to keep a roof over her and her son Charlie's head. Ellen's sister comes up with the idea of renting out the spare rooms of the house. A real mix of people came to rent the house an old lady Allegra who is an author, sexy Sabine who works with Ellen's sister and Matt a writer for a lad's magazine. Each of the new tenants bring with them the problems with their lives. With many secrets and twists and turns in the book will they all be able to help each other with the terrible mess they have made of their lives?

Characters
Ellen- Ellen is our main character in the book and from the first chapter I warmed to her. She is heavily grieving but at the same time she is trying to sort financial things out for her and her son. Through out the book we see Ellen's character grow and we as the reader hopes that she will be able to take steps to making her way back to happiness and more importantly to be able to leave the house giving her her life back.

Charlie- how can you not feel for this little boy. The poor lad has lost his father and now it feels like all to soon he is loosing his mother too. Charlie seems to be very wise and clued up for his age and he really cares about his mum and tries to help her to realise she has a problem. He has hit that point in a childs life where he has more questions but with his father not around he must be finding it very hard.
Hannah- This is the one character which I couldn't take to from the minute she appeared in the book. Hannah is Ellen's sister and I found that each time she cropped up I was wary of her
Matt- This guy is like an onion when you start to peel back the layers you find different parts to him. I have to say I loved his character. It was great to read the changes in his character.


My opinion

I have to say this now I really enjoyed this book. After reading this book I can not wait to get to the shops and hunt out another one of Rowan Coleman's books! This book had you gripped from the first chapter it was so hard to put down. I read the book in two days and when I finished I felt a little lost!!
The storyline stays on an even keel all the way through the book so at no time was there a part of the book which was low enough to make you feel like skipping a few paragraphs.

With a lot of the story being about grieving and broken hearts the story could have been quite depressing and challenging to read but Rowan Coleman cleverly put a light bit of banter here and there which helped to keep the book light hearted and enjoyable.

This book had everything you could want in a book, a touch of humour with a lot of emotion and a spoonful of romance!

I think I also found the book an enjoyable read as for a chick-lit book it was not farfetched which meant that you actually believed a lot of what you was reading was really going on which made you feel closer to the characters and hoping for the best for them.

I love the fact that the ending of this book was perfect. It did not feel rushed and it did not give too much away but gave us enough to answer all of the reader's questions there for not leaving us on a cliff hanger!
I would defiantly recommend this book and I would also say judging from this book Rowan Coleman is an author to look out for. I can only hope that her other books are just as good as The Happy Home for Broken Hearts. If you are looking for a well written chick-lit book this is defiantly one to give a go. Keep a look out in your shops over the next few months as I have heard there is also to be a new release from Rowan Coleman ;-)

More Information
ISBN 978 0 09 952522 6
www.rbooks.co.uk

also check out http://www.rowancoleman.co.uk/books-adult#book1rev iew this will give you a snippet from the book.

Look out for her other Adult books
Growing up Twice
After Ever After
River Deep
Woman Walks Into a Bar
The Accidental Mother
The Baby Group
The Accidental Wife
The Accidental Family.

The Sweetest Thing by Cathy Woodman

Two books which I really enjoyed last year were Trust Me I'm A Vet and also It Must Be Love both by Cathy Woodman. Both of the books were following Maz and Alex who were vets in the village of Talyton St. George. I have been keeping a close eye on Cathy Woodman's website waiting for the date for her new book to be released and at long last it has arrived. The Sweetest Thing is the title of her new book and for those of you who were fans of her previous books you will not miss this book as the front cover is much the same as the other two books.


Plot
This time our main character has changed, meet Jennie who is a newly divorced mum of three and has decided that now is time to live her dream and decides to up and move to the country. Jennie moves to the town of Talyton St. George. Jennie is looking forward to the tranquil life in the country and thinks it will be a great new start for her children although it is soon clear that life is not going to be so easy and tranquil as typical village gossip soon starts and Jennie's son Adam soon starts showing his distaste of country life. Jennie decides that she is going to need o bring in some money to be able to pay for the things the children want to help to settle them in so she decides to start her own cake business. Will the cake business work out and will she be able to help the children settle in the country or will they decide to go and live back in the city with their father?


Characters
I loved each and every one of the characters in this book. Jennie's relationship between her children and between the new love interest Guy in the book is brought across to the reader beautifully. From the first chapter we warm to Jennie's character and only hope for the best for her in her new start in life. The character of Adam who is Jennie's eldest son was very hormonal and emotional to read about. At times I felt annoyed with some of his actions and on over times I felt really sorry for the poor lad who is having a hard time adjusting to his new life after his parents split up and he is moved away from all he knows. The two daughters were a joy to read and we felt their excitement being brought to us through the pages of the book.


My Opinion
I have to say I actually enjoyed this book more than the previous two. I do have two problems with this book which I shall bring up now firstly I was so hungry reading this book after reading about a different kind of tasty cake in each chapter ( I can only say it seems as though Cathy Woodman has really done her homework on cakes!) and also that I am so in love with the village of Talyton St. George that I want to up and move to this place in the pages of my book!

Now that I have got my minor negatives out of the way I can tell you that this was a very enjoyable read, so much so I read this on my day off on Sunday it was a true page turner! The story felt quite real to me, which I feel is the reason why I struggled to put it down. The book is written from Jennie's perspective so we really get an insight in the way she feels and the way she is coping with her new life.

We do see the characters of Maz and Alex pop up briefly in this book which gives us a bit of familiarity but does not take over the story. We do have a new romance in this book between Jennie and her neighbor Guy which was lovely to read as unlike most books I seem to have read recently the romance between them is hard work due to the children and both Jennie and Guy's work I found myself all the way through the book wondering if they would eventually get together.

I would recommend this book (actually I already have my copy has gone to one of my clients already!) It would be an ideal holiday read or like me your lazy Sunday read. I can only hope that we do not have to wait too long for the next book and that it keeps on par with this book

Must Be Love by Cathy Woodman

One of my favourite books I have read this year was Trust Me I'm a Vet by Cathy Woodman. It was one of those books you just keep thinking I will just read the end of this chapter but that ends up turning into the end of the book!!

So you can imagine my delight when I was searching the new book releases and see Must Be Love by Cathy Woodman. It has a similar front cover to her previous book which is how I noticed it instantly, and after reading the back of the book to see if it sounded like a book I would enjoy, I was overjoyed to read that it was a carry on from the first book!

Must Be Love continues with the story of Maz the new vet at Otter House in the country. Maz has now become joint partnership of Otter House along with best friend Emma. Maz seems to be settling in very well and her love life with the lovely vet Alex is blossoming.
Relationships are tried and tested in this book when Maz finds out she is pregnant and has to break the news to her best friend Emma who has just lost a baby which makes for many difficult problems during the book.

I am glad to say I was not let down by this book being a carry on as I find often when you read a second in the series book it usually is a big letdown in story line compared to the first book but in this instance this is not the case. The story line is just as good in the first book and the characters are developed even more in this second book which helps us to relate to the characters and enjoy the book even more.
I found that this book had a lot more emotional quality to it compared to the first book and had a believable storyline to it which is one of the reasons I felt like I couldn't put the book down as I needed to know what happens next.

I have to say that also felt that there could possibly be a third in the series as the ending of this book was left open with big possibilities.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Trust me I'm a Vet and also to anyone who enjoys books by Katie Fforde as I feel that both of these Authors books seem to grab me in the same way, I feel they have a similar way of writing and feel as though they have really done their research before writing their books.

Trust Me I'm A Vet by Cathy Woodman

I came across this book when I was in the library, I have to say I would not usually go out of my way to read a book about animals as they are not a great interest of mine but a month or so ago I read a book about lost dogs and thoroughly enjoyed it so I thought I would give this one a go.



Our main character in this book is Maz Harwood. She is a vet who up until recent events have worked as a vet in the city. Her partner who also is her boss decides he wants to make another go of a relationship with his ex-wife which breaks Maz's heart and makes working in that environment hard so she decides to leave work.


An opportunity comes up for Maz to help out her old college friend Emma who has a vet practice in the country and it seems the right time for her so accepts Emma's proposal. Little does Maz know just how hard this will be as the vet clinic is in financial trouble which is left for Maz to sort out but does she manage this or does she just make things worse?

As you can expect there is a love interest in this book who comes by the name of Alex but like many romances things do not go smoothly especially due to the fact that part of the financial ruin of the vetinary clinic is thanks to Alex's family vet practice. It just goes to show you can not choose who you are going to fall in love with.

I found this book a light hearted read. There were many references to animals in the general running of a vetinary clinic so if you are in deed an animal lover I think you would thoroughly enjoy this book. I found many parts of the book very predictable but this didn't ruin the book it just had you gasping at the characters in the book saying how could you not have seen that coming!!


I found this a similar kind of read to a review I done a while back by Lucy Dillon called Lost dogs and Lonely hearts. The city heart broken girl who comes to the country to deal with animals and get her life back on track! There are many characters in this book both human and animals which you sometimes get muddled up but due to it being a light hearted read this does not ruin the story.


If you are looking for a book with humour this is really not the book for you as in my opinion there were no funny points in the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who liked Lost Dogs and Lonely hearts. It definatly would appeal to anyone who loves animals.
There is a follow on to this book called It's a Vets Life. The first chapter of this book is in the end of Trust me I'm a Vet so you can have a snippet before you buy.
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