Archive for October, 2011

Cathy Woodman’s fourth novel to be set in the village of Talyton St George and the third to feature Maz Harwood It’s A Vet’s Life is due out on 10th November 2011, just in time for Christmas! Cathy’s Talyton St George series has become a favourite with me and I can’t wait for this new book in the series and to catch up with Maz again. I adore the cover - not only is it Christmassy, but it’s also in keeping with the other books in the series(!). Here’s the synopsis:

Long, irregular hours; occasional risk of injury; often smelly and dirty. Job satisfaction guaranteed. This is the life Maz Harwood signed up to when she became a vet, and she has never regretted it. She now has a beautiful baby boy, George, and she will be marrying fellow vet, Alex Fox-Gifford, at Christmas. But recently things have become difficult. Because between arranging the wedding, performing life-saving animal surgery, and taking care of George, there hasn’t been much time left for poor Alex. So Maz decides to take things into her own hands - with terrible consequences for all concerned. As Christmas draws near, Maz realises that she’s going to need more than a miracle for her and Alex to make it up the aisle and rekindle the love they had once shared.

I was shopping this morning and this book cover really caught my attention, so I had to post about it as I think it’s rather a fitting time of year for such a book! Wish Upon A Star is one on Mills & Boon’s Special Releases, and I think the cover is so pretty and festive, there’s actually a few books which look amazing. I also think this story sounds lovely - I’ve never read a Mills & Boon book before but this might be my first! It was released on 7th October 2011 and here’s the synopsis:

Love is in the air this Christmas! Christy was hoping to skip Christmas this year. Her kids have other ideas - they’ve put their dad’s name at number one on their Christmas list. So it looks as if Christy will be hightailing it up to the Lake District to play happy families with her ex! Snow-capped mountains and roaring log fires - Alessandro’s home is like walking into a Christmas card. Is it really safe for her to spend Christmas with her dreamy, funny - no! - entirely infuriating ex-hubby? Miranda has completely the opposite problem. Being single and pregnant at Christmas was certainly not her wish come true. She doesn’t believe in miracles, but then resident hunk Jake sweeps her off her snow-covered shoes. Come Boxing Day dare she dream that Mr Sex-on-Legs might be for more than just Christmas?

Colours & Fonts:
Graphics/Pictures used:
Overall design:

Why we like/dislike it: I’m still a little unsure on how I feel about this cover. On the one hand, I like it because it’s snowy and pretty and wintery looking, but on the other hand, it is a bit plain and bland compared to some of the beautiful Christmas covers we’ve had this year (Miracle on Regent Street, The Night Before Christmas, Something From Tiffany’s). The use of the bold red to pick out the title and the girl’s umbrella is a nice touch, but for me there’s a little too much grey/white courtesy of the snow, and the New York scene at the top isn’t prominent enough. It’s a nice enough cover, but it just doesn’t stand out enough for me.
Overall mark out of 10:

Would we buy this book based on its cover? Yes.

Do Judge A Book By Its Cover is a new feature on Chick Lit Reviews, where we take a look at some of the best (and worst) Chick Lit covers in existence. No synopsis, no hint of the story, just plain old book cover judging, with marks out of 10!

The Camera Never Lies by Tess Daly
Publisher: Coronet
Release Date: 13th October 2011 (hardback)
Rating: 4/5
Source: Received from the publisher for review.
Amazon Summary:

Britt Baxter is unaware of the effect she has on people. A big-hearted, no-nonsense northern girl, she naturally looks for the best in everyone she meets, but in her attempts to make it as model she finds she struggles against being pinned down on the casting couch by the most unlikely people…

So when a happy accident lands her a career as a presenter on breakfast television, it looks as if she has made it out of the modelling world of close-ups and cattle calls and into the big time - or at least daytime TV.

But scarcely has Britt had time to wonder at how far she has come, when backstage machinations propel her with ever increasing speed through a series of trapdoors and she soon realises that the drama backstage far eclipses anything that happens in front of the camera.

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Talli Roland - author of The Hating Game and Watching Willow Watts - will release her third novel this year, titled Build A Man. It’ll be out in e-book format on December 7th 2011 with a paperback release in the New Year. I really love the sound of the book, it sounds so intriguing and I can’t wait to see how it all plays out. Here’s the synopsis:

Slave to the rich, rude and deluded, cosmetic surgery receptionist Serenity Holland longs for the day she’s a high-flying tabloid reporter. Unfortunately, every pitch she sends out disappears like her clients’ liposuctioned fat, never to be seen again. Then she meets Jeremy Ritchie — the hang-dog man determined to be Britain’s Most Eligible Bachelor by making himself over from head to toe and everything in between — giving Serenity a story no editor could resist.

With London’s biggest tabloid on board and her very own column tracking Jeremy’s progress from dud to dude, Serenity is determined to be a success, even going undercover to gain intimate access to Jeremy’s life. But when Jeremy’s surgery goes drastically wrong and Serenity is ordered to cover all the car-crash goriness, she must decide how far she really will go for her dream job.

The Time of my Life by Cecelia Ahern
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: 13th October 2011 (HB)
Rating: 3.5/5
Source: Received from the publisher for review.
Amazon Summary:

The stunning and magical new novel from the Number One bestselling author. Lying on Lucy Silchester’s carpet one day when she returns from work is a gold envelope. Inside is an invitation – to a meeting with Life. Her life. It turns out she’s been ignoring it and it needs to meet with her face to face. It sounds peculiar, but Lucy’s read about this in a magazine. Anyway, she can’t make the date: she’s much too busy despising her job, skipping out on her friends friends and avoiding her family. But Lucy’s life isn’t what it seems. Some of the choices she’s made – and stories she’s told – aren’t what they seem either. From the moment she meets the man who introduces himself as her life, her stubborn half-truths are going to be revealed in all their glory – unless Lucy learns to tell the truth about what really matters to her. Lucy Silchester has an appointment with her life – and she’s going to have to keep it. Touching, warm, funny and poignant, Cecelia Ahern’s new novel explores what happens when you stop paying attention to your life.

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Lindsey Kelk is back with her latest book in the ‘I Heart…’ series, and it’s back with a real bang! The cover for the upcoming release I Heart Vegas is drop dead stunning, and I can’t wait to see if it looks as gorgeous in real life! It’s due out on 8th December (nicely early Christmas present!!) and here’s the synopsis… I can’t wait!

Angela Clark loves her life in New York. She a Brit who’s conquered the Big Apple. Unfortunately, she’s also a Brit who’s lost her job. And when, just a couple of weeks before Christmas, the immigration department gets wind of this, Angela needs to find a new job urgently. Or a husband. And she doesn’t think her boyfriend Alex will be keen.

A girls’ weekend in Vegas with her best friend Jenny seems the perfect way to forget her troubles. From the minute they arrive Angela is swept up in a whirl of cocktails, outrageous outfits, late nights and brushes with the chapel of love. But rather than escaping trouble, Angela is up to her neck in it….

But what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas – right?

Commercial women’s fiction author Tilly Bagshawe has extended her publishing deal with HarperCollins, signing a contract for three new books and two short stories. Publishing director Sarah Ritherdon bought UK and Commonwealth rights through Tim Glister and Luke Janklow, of Janklow & Nesbit. The first short story from the new deal will be published as a digital exclusive in December 2012 with the second to follow at a later date. The first novel will be published in May 2014.

Ritherdon said: “Tilly is an absolute joy to work with, she has huge support and many fans in-house, and we are determined to work with her to ensure she becomes the bestselling brand name author she deserves to be. We have an exciting future to look forward to.”

(Taken from the Bookseller)

I’m thrilled about this news. I read my first Tilly Bagshawe book, Fame, this year and I loved it and it’s great she’ll be bringing out novels year after year! You won’t need to wait until 2014 for the next Tilly B book, though, as Temptation is out in July 2012, hurrah!