Best Man by Matt Dunn

Adam is shocked to learn that best friend Nick is getting married and even more shocked to meet Nick's fiancee, Sandra. Clearly she is far from suited to Nick and only interested in his money but how can Adam persuade his best friend to see this, especially as he is asked to best man for their upcoming wedding?

Best Man is a well written, funny and crude story. Although the story is centred around Nick's wedding, it takes a closer wedding at Adam and his views on love & commitment, & how his world is turned upside down after meeting Charlie, an applicant for a PA role at his internet porn company. Adam's story is witty but emotional as he is faced with deciding what he wants from life. Although the themes and events are nothing new, this is a solid read from Dunn. 3 stars

Desperately Seeking... - Evelyn Cosgrave

Hurt by men in the past, Kate finds herself settling for Keith – a generous, nice kind man deeply in love with Kate and willing to care for her and be with her for the rest of their lives. Despite this, there is a major problem – Keith just doesn’t ignite that special spark within Kate’s heart. Nevertheless, Kate is determined to press on with a life with Keith and soon finds herself in the midst of planning her wedding to Keith. Everything would be fine, except  she soon has her head turned by someone she really shouldn’t…

It is an ok read, but the story feels a bit predictable and non-eventful. I was interested to see how Kate and Keith’s relationship would develop, and in the end, you feel quite sorry for Keith. Whilst Kate is a witty character, she can come across as selfish and irresponsible, and doesn’t know what she wants. The rest of the characters aren’t really developed enough for the reader to be engaged and fascinated with their stories. Another thing I would take issue with is that Kate and the man she ends up are meant to have been in love for ages, but this is only really established towards the end of the story, although there is obvious reference towards the man’s feelings earlier on in the novel. The man’s situation is bizarre and his love for Kate feels a bit forced, which is possible due to lack of development of the characters and narrative.

It’s an adequate read and I was interested to see how Kate’s situation would resolve itself, but Desperately Seeking is nothing special. 3 stars.

Tickling The English - Dara O'Briain

Popular host of Mock The Week and stand up comic, Dara O’Briain, takes a look at what makes the English so quintessentially English. What defines Englishness? O’Briain seeks to answer this taking a look at history and using is tour dates to provide a view of Modern England. It is a witty, interesting book, and the parts that include his gigs and sections of his personal life are often the most humorous and fascinating bits to read, which often had me laughing out loud. However, sometimes O’Briain’s writing feels a bit long-winded and heavy, especially with the large focus placed on history and geographical facts, which caused me to lose interest at times. O’Briain is a funny comedian, but this book is a bit hit and miss. 3 stars 

Millie's Fling - Jill Mansell

After preventing successful author, Orla Hart, from committing suicide, Millie couldn’t imagine how much her life changes after that. She loses her boyfriend, her job and her dignity after playing an unintentionally insensitive joke on the owner of a lost wallet she found. When Orla decides to base her next novel on Millie’s life, it marks a surprising turn of events, in more ways than one.

It is a well written story but it is largely uneventful for me. The relationship between Hugh and Millie was nice to read but ultimately bogged down by Hugh clinging on to his guilt and grief. The storyline between Hester and Nat seemed like a big anti-climax, and the way that the storyline was resolved was unbelievable. Hester’s one night stand with Lucas didn’t seem to have a big impact at all on matters. I liked the ending when Hugh and Millie were reunited but it felt like the ending was a bit rushed, leaving behind a lot of unanswered questions: did Con ever reveal the truth to his parents about his sexuality? How would Orla react to Millie concealing such a big secret about her love life? What happened to the book that Orla was writing about Millie?

A nice read, but there are some major weaknesses which mean that this isn't one of Jill Mansell's best works, 3 stars.

Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married - Marian Keyes

Lucy Sullivan and her co-workers go to vist Mrs Nolan, a fortune teller, and Lucy is stunned to hear that she is going to get married! She soon meets Gus, a wandering, charming but penniless musician whose views on life interest Lucy…and that’s not all she is interested in…Could Gus be the one? It soon transpires that nothing is as it seems…

This is a generally good story – I thought the way that Lucy’s depression and her father’s alcoholism were detailed was excellent. Lucy does have a tendency to be slightly overbearing and over-obsessive, especially when it comes to Gus, and a bit too willing to please everyone, which although it is connected to her personality, does come across as annoying, as is the fact it takes her to realise who she should really be with. On the whole though, Lucy is a likeable character, although it is questionable as to why she is friends with Karen (who needs enemies, eh?). Her best friend Daniel is a great character – he is the only one who is truly there for Lucy and their relationship and sparky interchanges was nice to read. Gus was a confusing character as the reader never got to learn much about him except that he was a crazy sponger. As you read on, it is hard to see the attraction of Gus, which Lucy is so blindly caught up in. It is a relief when she finally sees him what he is. The ending was happy and everything was resolved nicely. 3 stars.

Fairytale of New York by Miranda Dickinson

Rosie Duncan has been living in New York for 6 years after experiencing a painful heartbreak in the past that has caused her to lose belief in love. Things seem to look up when she meets Nate. Can she learn to love again?

I thought that this was the weakest of Dickinson’s books. The general premise is ok, but not perfect. It becomes blindingly obvious who Ed has fallen for earlier on, but Rosie is annoyingly slow to work out who it is. Nate is a confusing character - at the end, I couldn’t work out what kind of relationship he wanted with Rosie - love or friendship? Does he really love Caitlin? The idea that Nate realised that Rosie had feelings for someone else sits uneasy, as throughout the book, it isn’t made clear that Rosie does love Ed. The reader only gets glimpses of her real feelings at the end, and the actual ending itself rushes the story in my opinion. It would have been nice to read Rosie falling for Ed for definite rather than having fleeting thoughts of him. Another weakness is the James and his scandal storyline - this doesn’t add anything and made for a dull section of the novel.

I did like the core friendships and the sparky dialogue between the main characters (although the way confesses his feelings at the end was a bit cringe worthy) and the references to Mr Kowalski, their dearly departed friend and former boss were good.. Overall, an ok read, but not fantastic. 3 stars.

Practically Perfect by Katie Fforde

Anna's heart is set on redesigning and rebuilding a small cottage, investing her time, energy and money in it. She quickly makes friends with mother-of-three Chloe and acquires a new greyhound, Caroline. However, is the cottage too much work? Things aren't helped by buildings inspector, Rob Hunter, who stands in the way of building her dream cottage...

Practically Perfect is a sweet, charming story, yet I think it is overlong. At times, Fforde has the tendency to drag the story out, and it feels like there is no pace to the story at tall, and makes reading it difficult. Some people may enjoy the oh-so slowness of the narrative but for me, it doesn't always work. However, I did enjoy the story and the characters, although I thought that the argument between Anna and Rob after the fire felt a bit out of place, but this was soon resolved by a lovely ending. The appeal this story (and generally most of Fforde's work) is that you get drawn into the story of the main character - nothing eventful happens, it si a slow burner, although sometimes a little too slow paced for my liking. 3 stars.

I Heart Hollywood by Lindsey Kelk

The second instalment of the I Heart series sees Angela Clark being sent to LA, accompanied by best friend, Jenny, to interview British actor, James Jacobs, famed for his great acting talent, as well as his womanising. Struggling to find the courage to tell boyfriend Alex that she loves him, she leaves these words unspoken as she flies to LA, and worries that Alex might cheat on her. It soon turns out that she herself is the one that she needs to worry about, as she finds herself snapped in compromising photos with James, and the media comes to believe that the two of them are having a relationship, which far from impresses Alex, even though it couldn’t be further from the truth. Angela finds her reputation, her job and her love life on the line: can she salvage one of the these, if any?

I really enjoyed I Heart New York so I thought I would try reading the sequel. For me, it wasn’t as good – the story is nothing special and it is unbelievable to read as Angela lurches from one disaster to another, and is quite slow to grasp the obviousness of another disaster she Is about to head into (re. James and Joe). Everything did get resolved in the end although it felt uneasy when Alex seemingly forgave Angela and apologised for his trust issues despite Angela having her own trust issues and doing what she did. One character who I found irritating was Jenny and her double standards – one minute she is telling Angela to sleep with James, and then after James and Angela are photographed kissing, Jenny is chastising Angela for cheating on Alex. Her words are quite inconsistent and don’t make sense.

All in all, it is a fair story – the twist concerning James was good, but otherwise, the story fell flat and felt like an average read, although I did want to keep reading on to find out what happened to the characters I enjoyed reading about in I Heart New York.3 stars.

Wedding Season by Katie Fforde

Sarah is a driven career focused woman who works as a wedding planner, but refuses to believe in love herself after having her heart broken in the past, but dashing photographer Hugo is proving to be a bit of a distraction. Can he be the one to make her believe in love again? Her friends Bron and Elsa also have their own issues. Elsa is unconfident and shy, but a makeover and meeting Laurence promises to change all that. Bron is in a stale and loveless relationship with Roger and stuck in a job she abhors. Can she find the courage to break free?

Wedding Season is an easy, gentle story and the friendship between the three women is strong. Nothing momentous happens; it is a bit of a slow burner. In my opinion, it is a fine story although it takes too long to reach the ending, and this could have been tightened up in editing in my opinion. It is a story built on misunderstandings (which can be sometimes frustrating) and reluctances to move on from the past, but overall it is a pleasant, albeit slow in places, book to read. 3 stars.

The Way We Were by Elizabeth Noble

Susannah is coming close to her 40^th birthday and life as she knows it has been a bit of a disappointment. She is in a stale relationship with Douglas and playing step-mother to his three children. Everything seemed bright when she was younger but she hates life now. The re-emergence of her first love, Rob, turns her world upside down – she still loves him but he is married now. Can Susannah and Rob ever re-capture the way things were?

 

This is an ok story – you don’t particularly feel close to any of the characters but I did feel gripped with Rob and Susannah’s relationship in the past and present. The ending was quite sad as Susannah comes to grips with leaving happy memories in the past where they belong. I thought that half-telling the story from the past was good but Noble drops this method after Susannah’s deceit – it would have been interesting to see the immediate fallout from her confession. It is quite a bleak love story and very character driven. The frequent and explicit descriptions of sex were a little off-putting for me, but the story is a fair, if heavy, read. 3 stars.

An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell

17 year old Lola is blissfully in love with Dougie, but his mother is disapproving of their relationship. With Dougie about to go to university, his mother offers Lola £10,000 to break up with him, and she is aghast at this. Yet, new problems surface and Lola is forced to reluctantly take the money, breaking up with Dougie and starting a new life abroad. 10 years later, Lola returns to the UK and soon crosses paths with Dougie again. Upon seeing him, Lola realises that she still loves him, but Dougie seems far from forgiving. Lola sets her sights on winning him back, but can Dougie let go from the past?

The story is funny to read, and Lola is extremely likeable as the main character. Although you cannot always condone her actions, and her self-confidence is enormous, she comes across as a witty, smart and fun person. As a reader, you get gripped by her story. Some of the supporting characters were good, such as Blythe – her relationship with her daughter is a joy to read – loving but real, as Blythe is not afraid to confront her daughter at times. Sally is a good comical character although she can veer on irritating at times. One character that I have to criticise is Dougie. Mansell provides no insight into his character, so the reader is unaware that he still loves Lola until the very end, and throughout the story, he only really comes across as one-dimensional. He acts hateful towards Lola and there is nothing redeeming about him that the reader wants the two to get back together – in fact you think that Lola should find a new guy instead!

When it comes to the ending, as a reader, you are happy for Lola in that she got what she wanted, but it doesn’t seem to come together well. This is partly because there is no indication into how Dougie feels and he only decides to confront her towards the end about what happened in the past. Surely he would have thought to have done that earlier on in the story if he still loved her so much?! The part when he mentions that his mother approves of their relationship at the end seems tacked on. His mother spend so much effort and money in keeping the two apart and yet the reader is meant to believe that she is now ok with the whole thing?! The story resolves itself in a happy ending, albeit in an uneasy and uncohesive manner.

There are also issues in the story, such as Gabe and Sally’s romance. It was predictable but the way it was introduced into the story didn’t work for me. It seemed random and out of place. It isn’t really believeable that the two would become a couple. Similarly, I felt that the storyline between Gabe and Savannah was a bit of a distraction to the main story. It didn’t really add anything to the narrative and felt a bit tedious to read. I’m not criticising Gabe’s character completely though. I like the platonic friendship he shares with Lola, just not his romantic relationships.

Overall, it is a good story although let down by weak characterisation and poor plotlines. 3 stars (just)

Let's Meet on Platform 8 - Carole Matthews

This is Matthews’ first book – it’s not one of her best but she manages to craft a good tale exploring the beginnings of an affair and the repercussions it has for everyone involved. There are no unlikeable characters at all, which is surprising in a story – usually there is some sort of bad character, but whilst these characters are flawed, as a reader you don’t really hate anyone. There are times however, when you dislike Teri and Jamie’s actions as they are immoral due to the situation.

The meeting at the train station is quite romantic and sets the beginning of what is a beautiful relationship between the two main characters. Yet nothing is easy in romance, and there are complications – in the form of a wife and two kids. Normally with these types of stories you expect an happy ending, and as you read further towards the end, you can’t imagine how Teri and Jamie will end up together, and they don’t. In the end, Jamie moves away with his family. The ending is quite bittersweet as they part for the last time, and it makes you wonder if the story were to continue what would happen to the characters. Would Jamie being in love with another woman cause him to get depressed, or stop his marriage from ever being a happy one? Teri falls pregnant at the end – would she tell Jamie, and if Jamie’s family ever found out what would happen. The story seems to end at a unusual point, and it doesn’t feel resolved. Or perhaps that was Matthew’s idea – to end it in a way that would still ask so many questions, exploring how an affair doesn’t always end so clear-cut. 3 stars.

The Chocolate Lover's Diet by Carole Matthews

This is a follow up to The Chocolate Lovers’ Club, another popular story written by Matthews which follows the story of the main character, Lucy Lombard, and her three best friends, Chantal, Autumn and Nadia. I haven’t yet read the first book, but I was filled in on the events by my sister, who liked the first book enormously. However, it wasn’t too hard to get into the story, as important events were explained in the second book well, so I didn’t feel like I was missing out too much.

This book sees Lucy having to choose between two men, Chantal coping with impending motherhood, Autumn finding romance and having to deal with her drug-addicted brother Richard, and Nadia reacting to her husband’s gambling habit. What works is the friendship that these 4 women have – and this really shows throughout the book as they help each other deal with new crises that life brings, and culminates in a drug handover that Autumn gets herself involved in – showing the strength of the relationship.

What doesn’t work for me is the constant references to chocolate. I like chocolate. A lot. But it becomes frustrating to see it mentioned so often. I guess that it fits in with what brought these women together, but for me I didn’t like it so much. The main character, Lucy, is not especially likeable and her story wasn’t that great. In fact, I find myself more drawn to the stories of the women, which were more interesting, and these supporting characters were more likeable. Yes they were flawed but this added to their character.

All in all, I think it was a well written book, with its flaws. I don’t think there is anything special in the storyline but a solid effort from Carole Matthews. 3 Stars.