Archive for May, 2010

Lucky Santangelo fans should really hold onto their hats because I’ve got some exciting news: she’s coming back! Yes, Jackie Collins will be bringing out a new Lucky novel on 1st November 2010 called Goddess of Vengeance. I’ve never read any of the Lucky books myself but my mum has and she enjoys them! Here’s the synopsis and we’ll hopefully have the cover soon, too!

Lucky Santangelo, owner of the luxurious and exclusive Keys complex in Las Vegas, comes up against Armet Askarani, a ruthless middle-eastern billionaire potentate with three wives, who has little regard for women except as sexual playthings or breeding mares to increase his already substantial amount of offspring.

Armet wishes to purchase the Keys, and is shocked to hear that Lucky Santangelo has no desire to sell – whatever the price. That a mere woman would turn him down is insulting and unthinkable, so Armet determines to force her hand.
And so the battle for power begins…

Chick Lit Classics is a new feature on Chick Lit Reviews where we highlight the books we feel are classics of the chick lit genre. Feel free to discuss our choices in the comments section!

Another Thursday afternoon means only one thing: a new Chick Lit Classic pick. This week I’ve gone for a relatively new book, it was only released in 2008 but I’ve read it three times now and I figure it’s definitely a classic. That book is Paige Toon’s second novel Johnny Be Good. I’ve read all of Paige’s books - Lucy In The Sky (twice), Chasing Daisy (once) and the aforementioned Johnny be Good (three times) and I am eagerly awaiting Paige’s fourth out in July (is it July yet?!). If I had to pick a favourite of the three, as I’ve loved all three, Johnny would be my pick because it was just a fantastic read. The ending was questionable the first time I read it, however, after Paige revealed that the ending is dealt with in Chasing Daisy I was happy. Even more so when Paige mentioned a potential sequel (which I SO hope is going to happen).

If your boss was the hottest rock star on the planet, would you mix business with pleasure? I’m Meg Stiles. This is my leaving party. And that song we’re making a mockery of? That’s written by one of the biggest rock stars in the world. And I’m moving in with him tomorrow. Seriously! I am not even joking. Well, maybe I’m misleading you a little bit. You see, I haven’t actually met him yet …No, I’m not a stalker. I’m his new PA. His Personal Assistant. And I am off to La-La Land. Los Angeles. The City of Angels - whatever you want to call it - and I can’t bloody believe it! Celebrity PA to wild boy of rock Johnny Jefferson, Meg’s glam new life in sun-drenched LA is a whirlwind of showbiz parties and backstage passes. Cool, calm Christian, in town to write his famous friend’s biography, helps keep Meg’s feet firmly on the ground. But with Johnny’s piercing green eyes and a body Brad Pitt would kill for, how long will it be before she’s swept right off them again?

I very much enjoyed Deborah Wright’s latest book The Celebrity Mother so I was really chuffed to see she has another book coming out later this year too. Swimming With Dolphins is due out on 11th November 2010 and sounds like a book I’d really like, so I’ll be reading this. Here’s the synopsis:

“Why wait to make your dreams come true? When the bottom falls out of Julia’s world, she makes a wish list that will change her life for ever.

Julia is thirty years old and fiercely ambitious. But when the credit crunch wipes out the US bank she works for overnight, she finds herself unemployed and utterly lost. Her flatmate and best friend, Reece, advises her to make a list of all the things she’s always wanted to do before she dies – and use her redundancy money to do them. Feeling she has nothing to lose, Julia embarks on a big adventure across countries and continents, armed with her list. She becomes involved in exciting love affairs, enjoys new experiences and heals old family wounds. Ultimately Julia realises she is searching for happiness and a meaning in her life she has always craved…”

Here is the cover for Katie Price’s next novel Paradise. It’s out on 22nd July 2010. I think the cover looks OK but the name puts me off so much I wouldn’t even dream of picking it up. I respect her ghostwriter Rebecca but even so, I just wouldn’t pay money for something with Katie Price’s name on!

When glamorous model Angel was forced to make a life-changing decision and choose between a Ethan, the laid-back Californian baseball player, and giving her marriage to football star Cal another go, many were stunned when she picked Ethan. But life in LA is good: Ethan adores her and Honey and their life could not be more glamorous. But nothing is perfect, and after a year together problems are beginning to surface: a stalker seems to have singled out Angel; Ethan’s agent Benny despises her, and isn’t always good at hiding it; and when Ethan faces financial ruin the couple are forced to star in a reality TV show about their life together. Despite everything, though, Angel is convinced that Ethan is the man for her. So why does she always feel breathless when Cal is around? And why can’t she stop thinking about him and his new girlfriend? But as the tabloid headlines have always been quick to point out, the path of true love for our sexy celebrity has not always been smooth. So when her dad falls dangerously ill Angel rushes back to England to be by his bedside, throwing her and Cal back together. But Ethan loves her and Cal has a girlfriend, and she made her choice a year ago. It’s too late to go back now, isn’t it…?

When they were children, Caz, Beth, Sarah and Doris all made a pact together that they’d be each other bridesmaids, no matter what. But as we all know, the path from childhood to adulthood doesn’t run smoothly, and this definitely the case for these 4 girls. When we meet them as grown ups, Caz is no longer a part of the group, Beth is having problems conceiving a baby and not talking to her friends about it, Sarah’s marriage is in real trouble and Doris is hiding a terrible secret that might change the group before her special wedding day. But has Doris got what it takes to reunite the group once more and let them finally be able to deliver on the pact they made all those years ago?

(more…)

Not sure how this one has passed us by, but Allison Pearson has a brand new book coming out on 24th June called I Think I Love You. First thing I have to say is that I love the cover, its really fun looking and would definitely be one I’d pick up off the shelf! The story sounds fantastic too, so I hope I get a chance to read this one! Here’s the synopsis:

“Meet two unforgettable friends: thirteen-year-old Petra and Sharon, stoking their dreams in 1970s Wales, and whose screams can be heard in California when they receive the midriff portion of their life-size poster of their teen idol, David Cassidy. Said midriff is stapled into the official fanzine, an almost-Bible for the girls; and they memories David’s ‘letters’ to his fans, hoovering up apparently insignificant details, in the hope it will help them qualify as a future Mrs Cassidy. But unbeknownst to Petra (and the thousands of other hopefuls) David’s ‘letters’ are all penned in a grotty London office, miles from the LA set of the Partridge Family. Bill Finn, English graduate turned reluctant pop impersonator, is forced to compile the Ultimate David Cassidy Quiz which Petra and Sharon enter, in the hope of winning the trip of a lifetime to meet their crush…

Some twenty years later, bruised by grief and her husband’s departure, Petra is living with Molly, her thirteen-year-old daughter (whose bedroom walls are papered with the new boy on the block, Leonardo DiCaprio). Petra discovers a decades-old letter addressed to her from the now defunct David Cassidy fanzine, informing her that she was the winner the Ultimate Quiz back in ’74. Nearly a quarter of a century late, with her dreams in tatters, Petra decides to claim her prize. It’s not long before Bill is forced to confront the obsessions of her youth with a confession of his own…”

The bestselling author of The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy, Fiona Neill, has moved from Random House to Penguin for her next two novels, in a deal struck by United Agents’ Simon Trewin.

Michael Joseph publishing director Mari Evans bought UK and Commonwealth rights in two novels by Fiona Neill for an undisclosed sum. The first, What the Nanny Saw, is the story of a young woman who comes to work for a wealthy, privileged London family, but finds herself “unwittingly embroiled in a scandal that threatens to ruin everyone caught in its wake”. What the Nanny Saw will be published next summer.

Evans said: “I’m absolutely over the moon to have Fiona joining the Michael Joseph list, she writes timely and compulsive novels that appeal to the zeitgeist and she’ll be a perfect complement to our women’s fiction portfolio. We feel incredibly lucky to have her and can’t wait to begin working with her.” North American rights in the first title have gone to Sarah McGrath at Riverhead.

Taken from the Bookseller.

I’ve not read any of Fiona’s books, but I have to admit I quite like the sound of What The Nanny Saw and I’ll definitely be on the look out for it on Amazon!

Chick Flick Tuesday highlights the best chick flicks in the movie world as well as bringing you news on upcoming chick flick releases as well as letting you all know about which chick lit books are being made into chick flick movies!

This week I’ve gone back a few years to 2000 to pick our Chick Flick title for this week. I was reading an article about the lovely Sandra Bullock, and was reminded of her fantastic comedy movie Miss Congeniality. I first saw it at its first DVD release, but it is a movie I can watch again and again, knowing it’s always going to make me laugh, and I never get bored of it either! Sandra is perfect as tomyboy FBI Agent Grace Lou Freebush, and its a fab one for when you want a night in with a funny and light-hearted film!

“Sandra Bullock stars as a bumbling female FBI agent assigned to go undercover as a participant in the Miss United States beauty pageant when it is discovered that one of the contestants is being targeted for murder. Benjamin Bratt leads the undercover team, while also playing the reluctant love interest. Candice Bergen and William Shatner manage the pageant and hire Michael Caine to turn Bullock from rough and tumble agent to stunning beauty queen. The physical transformation is impressive, although the klutzy personality remains. Everything seems to be fine once the killer is suddenly caught, but Bullock suspects there is more to this story, and the truth eventually unfolds with an unexpected twist.”