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The Ugly Sister by Jane Fallon
Publisher: Penguin UK
Release Date: 29th September 2011
Rating: 3/5
Source: Received from the publisher for review.
Amazon Summary:

When it comes to genes life’s a lottery . . .

As Abi would the first to know. She has spent her life in the shadow of her stunningly beautiful, glamorous older sister Cleo.

Headhunted as model when she was sixteen, Cleo has been all but lost to Abi for the last twenty years, with only a fleeting visit or brief email to connect them. So when Abi is invited to spend the summer in Cleo’s large London home with her sister’s perfect family, she can’t bring herself to say no. Despite serious misgivings. Maybe Cleo is finally as keen as Abi to regain the closeness they shared in their youth?

But Abi is in for a shock. Soon she is left caring for her two young, bored and very spoilt nieces and handsome, unhappy brother-in-law - while Cleo plainly has other things on her mind. As Abi moves into her sister’s life, a cuckoo in the nest, she wrestles with uncomfortable feelings.

Could having beauty, wealth and fame lead to more unhappiness than not having them? Who in the family really is the ugly sister?

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It’s A Man’s World by Polly Courtney
Publisher: Avon (A division of Harper Collins UK)
Release Date: 15th September 2011 (PB)
Rating: 3/5
Source: Received from the publisher for review.
Amazon Summary:

This is women’s fiction with bite! Join Alexa as she battles her way through the chauvinistic lads mag’s industry and makes real progress - it might be a man’s world, but it takes a woman to run it. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em… Alexa Harris loves a challenge. So when she’s asked to head up lads’ mag, Banter, she doesn’t need much persuasion. But life on the all-male editorial team proves harder than Alexa had imagined – and not just because of her ambitious targets. As Alexa battles with a testosterone-fuelled office, she decides to play the boys at their own game. As success hits, she’s forced to look at who she has become. Has she forfeited her principles in return for praise from the lads? And what price will there be to pay? An addictive page turner with a hard-hitting meaning.

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Lucky Girl by Cate Lord
Published by Entangled Publishing
Release Date: September 5th 2011
Rating: 3/5
Source: The author, thank you!
Publishers Summary:

Jessica Devlin isn’t looking for love. Heartbroken after being dumped by her unfaithful ex-fiancé, she’s determined to have a fabulous time during her vacation in England where she’ll be maid-of-honor at her cousin’s wedding. After working overtime as beauty editor of Orlando’s O Tart magazine, avoiding dating, and putting on ten pounds, Jess is ready to toss her past like an empty lipstick tube and party like a single gal.

But when she steps into the church on her cousin’s wedding day, she sees the one man who could sabotage her plan—James-Bond-gorgeous Nick Mondinello. She’s never forgotten the London marketing exec who held her in his arms after her beloved grandfather’s funeral two years ago. Ambitious, and lusted after by women everywhere, Nick is completely wrong for guarded, Plain Jane Jess.

Could Spy Man Nick ever fall for her? Nope. Not unless Jess is one lucky girl.

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Watching Willow Watts by Talli Roland
Publisher: Prospera Publishing
Release Date: 15th September 2011 (ebook)
Rating: 3/5
Source: Received from the author
Amazon Summary:

For twenty-five-year-old Willow Watts, life has settled into a predictably dull routine: days behind the counter at her father’s antique shop; nights watching fuzzy telly whilst the elderly residents of Britain’s Ugliest Village bed down for yet another early night. But everything changes when Willow’s epically embarrassing Marilyn Monroe impersonation is uploaded to YouTube. A canny viewer spots Marilyn’s ghostly image hidden in the film and Willow becomes an international sensation. Her dire little town is suddenly overrun with fans proclaiming her to be the ‘new Marilyn’. Egged on by the villagers - whose shops and businesses are cashing in - Willow eagerly embraces her new identity, dying her hair platinum and scoffing cakes to achieve Marilyn’s legendary curves. But when the only man she has ever truly loved returns, seeking the old Willow, it’s decision time. Should she risk stardom and the village’s new-found fortune on love? Or is being Marilyn Willow’s real ticket to happiness?

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The Bentleys Buy A Buick by Pamela Morsi
Publisher: MIRA
Release Date: 23rd August 2011 (paperback)
Rating: 3/5
Source: Received from NetGalley
Amazon Summary:

Think you can trust your husband? Think again! That’s what the gossipy types at Erica Bentley’s new job say. Even her (multi–divorced) mom agrees. But Erica’s sure she knows her husband, Tom, better than that. He says he loves her, and shows it in a million ways. Except…he has been working extra–late these days. And he’s been kinda quiet. Even secretive. Happily married Tom Bentley never thought his head could be turned—until he saw Clara. Her sleek body has him longing, and he can’t get her 127″ wheelbase out of his mind. That’s right. Erica’s “competition” is…a car. The beautiful Buick has Tom completely car–crazy. And Erica’s sleuthing is making her just plain crazy. One of them needs to come clean with their newest obsessions, before Clara drives their happy marriage into a ditch!

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The LA Commandments by Gillian Duffy
Publisher: Book Republic
Release Date: 4th August 2011
Rating: 3.5/5
Source: Received from the publisher for review
Amazon Summary:

Joanne Kavanagh and best friend Suzie pack their bags and swap dreary, depressing Dublin for the cool Californian coast. Both are determined to start a new life in the land of opportunity, leaving behind the recession and their complicated families. They make a pact at the airport to stick religiously to the ‘LA Commandments’, a list of ten ‘Thou Shalt Nots’ for their new life in LA, including ‘Thou Shall Not Fall in Love,’ but when Jo befriends sexy, shy musician Marc, and Suzie falls for womanizing bar-man Chris, not only are the commandments at risk of being broken, but also the girls’ hearts… With all California has to offer —sunshine, shopping, killer nightlife, and drop-dead-gorgeous men, will the girls stay faithful to the LA Commandments?

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A Year Like No Other by Pauline Lawless
Publisher: Poolbeg
Release Date: 27th June 2011
Rating: 3/5
Source: Received from the publisher for review.
Amazon Summary:

Four women arrive in Paris to spend a year there. Each has different expectations, fears and dreams of what this year will bring. Ashling is thrilled when her banker husband is asked to relocate to Paris to work on a financial project which is all very hush-hush. She has always loved France and feels she will be living a dream come true. New Yorker Taylor has no choice but to join her husband when he too is posted there. A spoilt, prescription-drug addict, the only thing that makes the move bearable for her is all that designer shopping on Rue St Honoré. Felicity is devastated at the thought of leaving London when her husband is chosen to work on the project. Nervous and uptight, how can she face a whole new world? Jazz is a beauty. She is also clever and ambitious but her biological clock is ticking loudly. Then in Paris she meets the man she once loved and lost. He’s married but surely this is her last chance of happiness. Yet Paris manages to surprise them all . . .

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Wrapped Up In You by Carole Matthews
Publisher: Sphere (An imprint of Little Brown Book Group UK)
Release Date: 25th August 2011 (Hardback)/27th October 2011 (Paperback)
Rating: 3/5
Source: Received from publisher for review
Amazon Summary:

A Christmas fling, or has Janie found the real thing? Thirty-something hairdresser Janie Johnson’s single status is a constant source of gossip for her friends and clients. So after too many nights in with her cat, a blind date disaster and news that her ex is getting married, Janie realises it’s time to do something dramatic with her life. It’s time for an adventure! Leaving winter behind, Janie takes the plunge and books an exotic trip to Africa. Her friends think she’s mad and Janie thinks they may very well be right …but then she falls head over heels for her tour guide - and fully fledged Maasai Warrior - Dominic. But can Janie now face spending a snowy Christmas back home without him? Packed with unforgettable characters, romance and laughter, Wrapped Up In You is your very own perfect Christmas Carole!

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