You Are Viewing 2007 releases

Eve knows what she wants. After nine good years and two kids together, it’s about time Liam made an honest woman of her.Eve’s sister Sam knows more than she should. Sam’s always thought Eve was too good for Liam. Then she learns the truth about his business trips to Australia, and her suspicions are confirmed. And Brooke, safe on the other side of the world; knows nothing. Until a mysterious delivery arrives for her and promises to change her life forever. It seems someone doesn’t want Brooke to be the last to know . . .

(more…)

As Gus Curtis approaches thirty, she has everything that she feels she needs to really become a proper grown-up. She has a great job, good friends and a good boyfriend. Until she walks in on her so-called ‘good’ boyfriend Nate lip-locked with her so-called ‘good’ friend Helen sending Gus’s life into a bit of a tailspin.

Gus keeps telling everybody that she’s fine but it’s proven that she’s clearly not when she makes a fool of herself one night, all thanks to Janis Joplin. One inadvertent hook-up later and Gus’s life is looking more like a teenage drama than the grown up life she’s trying to achieve. Is the reason for Gus’s lack of adulthood really down to Nate and Helen’s betrayal, or does Gus need to look closer to home to learn what it takes to become an adult?

(more…)

To: Chick Lit Reviews
From: Leah
Subject: Holly’s Inbox

Dear Readers,

Have you met Holly? She works as a receptionist for a big firm in London, despite the fact she has little experience. Her entire life is conducted through her inbox, offering an insight not many books are able to pull off. As she navigates her new waters, making new friends, getting back in touch with old ones, we get to see what it’s really like to work for a big firm. Throw in a couple of secrets Holly’s keeping and life is about to get a lot more interesting as they threaten to be let out.

I think that if you haven’t already met Holly, my fellow Chick Lit fans, then I think you really should. Only, it has to be said, if you’re a fan of books told entirely via email. The book came to life after the success of the website http://www.hollysinbox.com which is set up like a real email inbox, honestly, it’s brilliant and you can actually read the entire book on the site. At least I think you can, so please don’t hold it against me if you can’t. The book is fiction, and it was revealed a while back that the author is actually Bill Hutton-Surie, but never fear the book is based on Bill’s own experience.

Now, dear readers, I know what you’re thinking: How are you supposed to get to know a character through emails? For me, that’s easy because you can learn a lot about a character not only through their own emails but through that of their friends. So although I didn’t know what Holly looked like, I was able to know her through the emails she sent and through her friends and family. Along with Holly we also meet her two best friends Aisha and Jason, along with Holly’s completely madcap family and believe me, they are utter nutters, Holly’s family.

Holly’s Inbox is a book you should be reading - or a website you should be visiting, there’s no doubt about that. I fell in love with her, and you will as well. The book is an absolutely mammoth 700 pages but don’t let that fool you, the pages whizz by so fast you’ll barely believe the speed with which you finish the book. I started reading it and the next time I checked my page count I was 100 pages in. I like it when a book can capture you so easily and I’ll be buying the sequel there’s no doubt about it. I don’t know what you’re doing still reading my email to you, readers, you should be buying this book immediately.

Love Leah xxx

PS: If you’re looking to buy me a present for bringing you this brilliant book, I like more books! Thanks!

Chick Lit Classics is a regular 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!

This week I’ve chosen the 2007 release The Motherhood Walk of Fame by Shari Low. I read this book a couple of years ago, and it really is laugh out loud funny which is fab, not many books make me laugh out loud! It’s about a housewife, Carly Cooper who finds herself in Hollywood with her young family unexpectedly. It’s a great romp through Hollywood, and of a British housewife trying to fit in in a whole new world to her. Low’s writing is really quick and witty, and if you love light-hearted and funny books, make sure you pick up a copy of The Motherhood Walk of Fame!

“Carly Cooper, harassed mother and disillusioned writer, has often been tempted to head for the hills. She just never imagined they’d be the Hollywood ones! A hilarious romantic comedy for anyone who’s ever had their head in the clouds! Carly’s living the dream. Almost. She has the kids, the husband, the lethargic sex life, and who cares if her novels aren’t exactly bestsellers — pole-vaulting her ironing pile is excitement enough. Just when she’s resigned to domestic mediocrity, a phone call from Hollywood changes everything. Carly is off to Tinseltown! As she arrives in LA, Carly knows life will be transformed!but she doesn’t count on marital disaster, a career roller-coaster and an A-list movie star who wants to offer her more than just a friendly welcome. Carly Cooper is strutting along the Hollywood Walk of Fame but can she get to the end without falling flat on her face?”

Chick Lit Classics is a regular 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!

This book might only be 3 years old, but I think it’s a great read and one worthy of the ‘Chick Lit Classic’ position this week! It is author Jane Fallon’s debut novel, and really came to promenence because of it being featured of Richard and Judy’s Book Club in 2007, and that’s how I found out about it. It sounded perfect for me, and I quickly got a copy from the library and I loved it. It’s the story of Helen and Matthew, a couple who have been having an affair for several years, but their relationship is turning a bit stale. Helen decides to get rid of Matthew but it isn’t as easy as it seems. It’s a very different view point of an affair, and I surprised myself in feeling sorry for the mistress as well as the wife in this tale! Brilliant reading, recommended by me.

“What to do if Matthew, your secret lover of the past four years, finally decides to leave his wife Sophie and their two daughters and move into your flat, just when you’re thinking that you might not want him anymore . . . PLAN A Stop shaving your armpits. And your bikini line. Tell him you have a moustache that you wax every six weeks Stop having sex with him Pick holes in the way he dresses. Don’t brush your teeth. Or your hair. Or pluck out the stray hag-whisker that grows out of your chin. Buy incontinence pads and leave them lying around PLAN B Accidentally on purpose bump into his wife Sophie Give yourself a fake name and identity Befriend Sophie Actually begin to really like Sophie Snog Matthew’s son (who’s the same age as you by the way. You’re not a paedophile) Buy a cat and give it a fake name and identity Befriend Matthew’s children. Unsuccessfully Watch your whole plan go absolutely horribly wrong Getting Rid of Matthew isn’t as easy as it seems, but along the way Helen will forge an unlikely friendship, find real love and realize that nothing ever goes exactly to plan . . .”

Becky’s life is blooming! She’s working at London’s newest fashion store The Look, house-hunting with husband Luke (her secret wish is a Shoe Room)…and she’s pregnant! She couldn’t be more overjoyed - especially since discovering that shopping cures morning sickness. Everything has got to be perfect for her baby: from the designer nursery…to the latest, coolest pram…to the celebrity, must-have obstetrician. But when the celebrity obstetrician turns out to be her husband Luke’s glamorous, intellectual ex-girlfriend, Becky’s perfect world starts to crumble. She’s shopping for two…but are there three in her marriage!

Leah: I’m fairly sure that all of my reviews of the Shopaholic series are starting to sound a bit same-y. Generally because I keep going on and on and on about how much I love the series, and Becky, and Sophie Kinsella… I think you get the point. Now, after having read the first five books, there’s no doubt in my mind that this is my favourite series period. I could probably write a degree of the Shopaholic series. It wouldn’t do me much good, but that is how much I love it. I always remember little tidbits from the books and Shopaholic and Baby is responsible for one of the most hilarious quotes ever. I’m not going to tell you it, but once you read it you’ll understand and probably love it (unless you’re a red-head). I found the entire book funnier than the previous one, although they do all make me laugh out loud most of the time! It leads us perfectly into the next Shopaholic book.

Chloe: I adored this book. When I found out Sophie Kinsella was going to make Becky Bloomwood a mother, I knew it would be a hoot right from the off because the idea of Becky as a mum was hilarious! I loved Becky and Luke house-hunting because it was really funny, and what girl wouldn’t love a shoe room… for once I agreed with Becky! The hilarious storyline with Becky, her celebrity obstetrician who happens to be Luke’s ex-girlfriend is simply comedy genius, and I was laughing out loud throughout the whole book, right up until the end. This has to be one of my favourite books in the Shopaholic series, and is simply brilliant. I loved it!

Chick Lit Classics is a regular 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!

I have to say I did struggle to pick a classic this week, so I went off upstairs and had a look at my bookshelves to see if there was a book that would jump out at me. One did, and although it’s only a 2007 release, I think The Yorkshire Pudding Club by Milly Johnson is a must-read for anyone who loves brilliantly written heart-warming books. My nan actually lent me this one and told me I’d love it, and she was right. Milly’s easy to read writing style and characters that you’ll care about ensure you won’t be able to put this down, and for a debut novel, it’s just superb. I love the look of the cover though, and they are redesigning it which I wish they wouldn’t because I think it’s so different! Anyway, if you haven’t read any of Milly’s book before, pick up a copy of The Yorkshire Pudding Club. You won’t regret it.

You can read my review of The Yorkshire Pudding Club here.

“Three South Yorkshire friends, all on the cusp of 40, fall pregnant at the same time following a visit to an ancient fertility symbol. For Helen, it’s a dream come true, although her husband is not as thrilled about it as she had hoped. Not only wrestling with painful ghosts of the past, Helen has to deal with the fact that her outwardly perfect marriage is crumbling before her eyes. For Janey, it is an unmitigated disaster as she has just been offered the career break of a life-time. And she has no idea either how it could possibly have happened, seeing as she and her ecstatic husband George were always so careful over contraception. For Elizabeth, it is mind-numbing, because she knows people like her shouldn’t have children. Damaged by her dysfunctional childhood and emotionally lost, she not only has to contend with carrying a child she doubts she can ever love, but she also has to deal with the return to her life of a man whose love she must deny herself.”

All I Want Is You tells us the story of Poppy Furlong. Poppy has grown up in a wealthy family, always having the best of whatever she wanted and never having to work for it either. But Poppy gets a shock when her husband Pete comes home one day with a shocking revelation about his successful Architects business. Poppy’s life is thrown into disarray as she has to give up her beautiful house, settle in to a more surburban area than she is used to, as well as coping with her wild and difficult 6 year old. Poppy isn’t used to being challenged, but she’s about to face some pretty big ones…

(more…)