Posted on April 8th, 2010 by Leah
I’ve heard some fab things about Sarah Dunn’s novel Secrets To Happiness so when I saw it was going to be released in the UK, I was thrilled. It’s due out on 25th November and I can’t wait for it’s release. One of the things I fell in love with about the novel was the American cover so I’m rather disappointed that the UK version is a bit… well, crap. Having a proper girl, dog and taxi against a fake backdrop looks horribly tacky and I much prefer the simple dog on it’s back USA cover. (I feel a Cover Wars coming on!) Here’s the synopsis, anyway:
Holly Frick just went through the worst kind of divorce: the one where you’re still in love with the person divorcing you. Facing up to life on her own, she needs a distraction to keep her mind off her own non-existent love life.
Like Jane Austen’s Emma Woodhouse, Holly is intimately involved in the lives of those closest to her, and now she feels compelled to give advice with unwavering moral certainty. And, like Emma, she is often completely off the mark. Soon she’s in over her head, advising her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend while at the same time falling for her married friend’s new lover. Until, happiness arrives from a very unexpected source . . .
With a contemporary twist on Woody Allen’s Manhattan, Secrets to Happiness is a hilarious look at the things people will do to be happy.
Posted in 2010 releases, Book News | 5 Comments »
Posted on April 7th, 2010 by Leah
Veronica Czaplicki hasn’t had the greatest start to the year particularly since her husband Hank told her he had found the love of his life and it turned out not to be her. Veronica’s life is made that much harder when everyone keeps mistaking her for new Hollywood starlet Haley Rush.
It comes as a surprise to Veronica when Haley’s manager, Jay, offers Veronica the chance of becoming Haley’s double - attending film premieres, a-list parties and constantly being papped - however after the shock wears off, Veronica immediately agrees. Pretty soon her life has turned into quite a whirlwind, particularly since she also has to balance her new life with looking after her son Ben. But when sparks fly with Haley’s alleged ex Brady, just what is a girl to do?
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Posted in 2010 releases, Book Reviews, Rating: 4/5 | No Comments »
Posted on April 7th, 2010 by Leah
Amanda Hearty’s fab publishers Transworld have offered us FIVE copies of her new novel Positively Yours to give away to run in conjunction with our review of the book as well as our author interview with the lovely Amanda. We’re re-vamping the way in which we do competitions so instead of leaving a comment to enter, you now must email [email protected] to be in with a chance of winning a copy of Positively Yours (just a random email will do, feel free to include your postal address if you like as no one will see it). This giveaway is open to UK residents only and will close on Sunday 11th April. Good luck!
Beth Prendergast has fallen hook, line and sinker for her boss. But when Beth discovers she is pregnant he makes it clear that a baby was never part of his plan. Is Beth really ready to take on motherhood all on her own? Grace Miller’s life changed when fell in love with Ethan. A house in sunny San Diego is a far cry from where she grew up in North Dublin. But when Ethan’s firm offers a transfer to Ireland, Grace is unsure about moving back home. Erin Delaney has the perfect marriage, but still yearns for one thing - a child. Her husband John reassures her that this will happen in good time but Erin’s obsession is getting worse and soon puts a strain on their relationship. As Beth, Grace and Erin all face big choices and changes of the heart, they soon realize their lives will never be the same again.
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Posted on April 7th, 2010 by Leah
Ali McNamara’s debut novel seems to be about movies… don’t you think? From Notting Hill, With Love… Actually is due for release on 25th November and I think it sounds utterly fantastic! I absolutely adore the cover and I can’t believe I have to wait ’til November to read it! Here’s the synopsis:
Scarlett O’Brien is in love . . . with the movies.
Utterly hooked on Hugh Grant, crazy about Richard Curtis, dying with lust for Johnny Depp, Scarlett spends her days with her head in the clouds and her nights with her hand in a huge tub of popcorn. Which is not exactly what her sensible, DIY-obsessed fiancé David has in mind for their future. So when Scarlett has the chance to house-sit an impossibly grand mansion in Notting Hill – the setting of one of her all-time favourite movies – she jumps at the chance to live out her film fantasies one last time. It’s just a shame that her new neighbour Sean is so irritating – and so irritatingly handsome, too. As a chaotic comedy of her very own erupts around Scarlett, she begins to realise there’s more to life than seating plans and putting up shelves. What sort of happy ending does she really want? Will it be a case of Runaway Bride or Happily Ever After? The big white wedding looms, and Scarlett is running out of time to decide . . .
Posted in 2010 releases, Book News | 5 Comments »
Posted on April 6th, 2010 by Chloe
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!
It’s ‘Chick Flick Tuesday’ again, and this week I’ve chosen the fab 13 Going On 30! I love this film because of it’s light-hearted story which turns into a great romance, the lovely Jennifer Garner in the lead role who is always fun to watch, and the fabulous soundtrack too. It’s a really fun watch, and one I don’t mind watching again and again which is good as it always seems to be on the telly! Have you seen 13 Going On 30? If so, did you like it?!
“Jenna, a frustrated teenage girl, just wants to skip past all those annoying adolescent years and arrive at a glamorous adulthood-and thanks to some inexplicable wishing dust, she does. But once she re-orients herself to a life as a high-end magazine editor with a sports-star boyfriend, she discovers that in the 17 years she skipped she became a not-so-nice person, including casting aside her best friend Matt.”
Posted in Chick Flick Tuesday | 4 Comments »
Posted on April 6th, 2010 by Leah
I’ve read and enjoyed both of Amanda Hearty’s two novels Are You Ready? and Positively Yours so I was pleased when Amanda agreed to do an author interview with us. Enjoy!
1. Could you please tell us about your latest novel Positively Yours.
Positively Yours is a book about three very different girls who all have one thing in common – they are pregnant. From high-flying stockbroker Beth, to child-obsessed Erin, and a very un-maternal Grace – these girls are all experiencing the biggest change in their lives. But life is not always what you expect – and pregnancy doesn’t just affect your appetite and clothes size! The girls begin to realize that relationships can become strained, work difficult and the pressure can take its toll. From the first pregnancy test, to the ante-natal classes, from the cravings to the labour ward, we learn how Beth, Grace and Erin all cope with and learn to enjoy their pregnancy.
This book is about relationships – with the three women’s partners or lack of them, and with the people who know them best, their parents. The three characters are very different and they have completely different stories, yet their experiences connect them – from coping with pregnancy cravings and increasing bumps, to surviving work and antenatal classes, to picking cots and baby names.
Pregnancy is a universal theme and all women at some stage think about pregnancy - whether it’s because they want to get pregnant, or don’t, or they just find out they are and have to deal with it. And there is nothing like being pregnant and having kids to completely change your life!
I began writing the book when I was seven months pregnant, so naturally it has a lot of me in it – from my pain au chocolat cravings, to my quest to find maternity clothes for someone as tall as me! I really enjoyed writing the book and from that first pregnancy test, to the birth of their new children – this book follows the characters’ journey and relationships as their whole lives change.
2. Are you working on book number three? Can you tell us anything about it?
I am working on a new book….but it secret! It’s secret by name and secret by nature!!!
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Posted in Author Interviews | 1 Comment »
Posted on April 6th, 2010 by Chloe
When the hardback cover for Harriet Evans’ latest book I RememberYou was released last year (right), I loved it and thought it was quite pretty. However, I’ve just laid my eyes on the paperback version and I LOVE IT!! I think it’s so understated and gorgeous, I’m definitely going to buy a copy as I haven’t read it yet. Which do you prefer? Here’s the synopsis:
“For Tess Tennant, spring brings the promise of a fresh start. She’s moving back to her picture-perfect home town to take up a teaching job. Langford is a place of pretty stone cottages, friendly locals in oak-beamed pubs and of course Adam, her best friend since childhood. But Adam is preoccupied with a new girlfriend, and the past - which Tess thought she’d put behind her - is looming large again. So by the time she has to take her class on a trip to Rome, Tess is feeling reckless. She is swept off her feet by a mysterious stranger, and finds herself falling in love. But her magical Roman Holiday is about to turn into a nightmare… Back in Langford Adam is gone and everything has changed.Tess has to decide, once and for all, where she belongs and with whom.”
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Posted on April 5th, 2010 by Leah
For as long as she could write, banking analyst Laura McGregor has kept a diary. As the years have passed, her diary has changed from goold old pen and paper to an electronic diary she’s able to keep on her laptop.
She writes everything in her diary: from her lacking relationship with fellow banker Tom to her startling attraction to journalist Alex and also the fact that the numbers just don’t seem to be adding up in her boss Will’s accounts. When her diary is accidentally uploaded to the internet, though, Laura needs to find a way to delete the blog as quickly as she can but in the process, can she manage to juggle not only the stresses of her job but also her ever-changing love life?
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Posted in 2010 releases, Book Reviews, Rating: 5/5 | 3 Comments »
