With Or Without You - Carole Matthews

Lyssa and Jake have been together for 4 years and are trying for a baby, something that Lyssa desperately craves. However, countless unsuccessful IVF attempts and big lifestyle changes put pressure on their relationship. One morning, Jake drops a bombshell on Lyssa – he is unhappy with their relationship and he is leaving her. Lyssa is devastated and even more so when she discovers the secret that Jake has been hiding. Lyssa attempts to rediscover herself by going to Nepal, and soon realises what is truly important in life.

This is a great story, some of the IVF and trying-to-conceive description is a bit graphic, but it is inspiring to read about Lyssa and her journey, and her acceptance with not being able to conceive. Jake seems like a cruel character although a little down that line, you feel some sympathy for him too. The expedition to Nepal was fascination – reading the descriptions and about the culture was great. The comparisons that Lyssa makes between Nepal and England are interesting although she does overdwell on the consumerism culture of our nation a little too much for my liking.

Pip’s role is a bit unknown – what purpose is he meant to serve, but you feel sorry for him as the one who has fallen in love with doesn’t reciprocate his feelings. In addition, the abortion that Lyssa had is depicted as something that will become a major bombshell to be revealed later on, but is quickly forgotten in the narrative. That being said, overall, this is a great read. 4 stars!

All The Single Ladies - Jane Costello

Sam Brooks thinks she has it all but is left stunned when her boyfriend Jamie suddenly announces that he is dumping her as he wants to move to South America. Jamie insists that he still loves her but this is something that he has to do. Sam sets her sights on trying to win him back using seduction, a little bit of stalking, a fabulous makeover and sighing up to a dating agency to find men to make him jealous. Jamie soon decides that he has made the wrong choice and wants Sam back, but is that what she really wants?

This is a hilarious read as Sam enters mishap after mishap in her quest to win Jamie back. Jamie is a frustrating man and it becomes incredulous as to how Sam is over-focused on winning him back. Jamie is a selfish ditherer and coupled with another revelation later on in the novel, make you sympathise with Sam, which is testament to what a great character she is. She is warm, funny and real. Sam’s encounters with her dates were also great to read, and she meets one date in particular who changes her outlook on life. The ending was fantastic as Sam decides what she wants, and the final scene is sweet. The concurrent storylines about Julia’s parentage and Ellie’s alcoholism provides a serious contrast that also complements that frivolity and light heartedness of the main narrative.

A good read, although Bridesmaids still ranks as Costello’s best novel. 4 stars.

California Dreamers - Belinda Jones

Stella is nursing a broken heart after boyfriend Jonathan chooses the Navy over her. Unable to let go of the past, she is offered a make-up artist job for famous actress, Marina Ray, in California, and the two of the become good friends. Yet, can leaving her old life really help her to move on, and does Stella really want to move on in the first place?

This is a great, witty story with a very likeable main character in Stella, and you really want her to find happiness as she starts her journey to find out what she really wants from life. It could be argued that she never moves on from her past relationship, but in the end, her journey leads her to find out what is most important in life, and it is truly interesting to read. California Dreamers provides a great insight into the world of Hollywood, the pressures of enlisting in the Navy and how a love so strong can withstand any barriers. The characters that Stella meets are fascinating too, especially Bodie the dog! My only gripe is the sudden change in Milo, who changes from dream guy who seems to genuinely have feelings for Stella to a drunken playboy only interested in a fling. This change seems very sudden, and paves the way for a predictable, although lovely, ending.

All in all, California Dreamers is a dream of a story! 4 stars!

Bridesmaids - Jane Costello

Evie is a serial bridesmaid who has never come close to tying the knot herself - her relationship rarely last that long and she has never fallen in love in all her 27 years. At Grace's wedding, Evie meets Jack, who could change all that, except there is one problem - he is her friend Valentina's date. Yet their paths keep crossing: are Jack and Evie destined to be together?

Evie seems to be a popular name for the chick lit books I have read recently (Molly Hopkins, Jenny Colgan...). I thought that this was a fantastic read. The blurb hints significantly at Jack and Valentina's relationship but it seems to be a minor point in Bridesmaids. Nevertheless, I thought that this was a fantastic read. There is always the issue that the "misunderstanding" could have been avoided - if Evie didn't like about Jimmy and revealed her past to Jack, I'm sure he wouldn't have stopped falling for her, but I guess it doesn't make as good a story. I like the relationship between Evie and Jack, and the ending where they reunite was sweet. The storyline surrounding Charlotte's affair was no surprise but the fallout was well crafted. Bridesmaids is a well written, smart, hilarious read which highlights the importance of relationships between friends, family and lovers. It more than makes up for the disappointment of The Nearly-Weds. 4 stars

31 Dream Street by Lisa Jewell

There’s a house that Leah has noticed opposite her house – it is a curious house and she wonders who lives there. An old man dying outside the house leads her to meet Toby, who lives in the house with his sitting tenants that he has allowed to live there whilst they figure out how to achieve their dreams. This chance meeting also allows Leah and Toby to fulfil their own dreams too…

This is a fantastic read. Toby is a generous and kind character, who manages to get himself into the strangest of situations, with hilarious consequences, and he makes a great pairing with Leah. Their relationship is funny, warm and bubbly. The book also focuses on this different stories of the tenants, such as Con and his relationship with a co-worker who has cystic fibrosis, which makes him question everything he once thought about life, Joanna and her tragic past and Ruby, who uses men to get what she wants. Each of these stories are interesting to read without ever deflecting attention from the main story. The  reference to Indian values and cultural norms was also an interesting feature of the book, as was the use of letters and other media at the start and end of the book.

Loved 31 Dream Street although it felt like it ended too soon for me, I would have loved to carried on reading it more!  4 stars

My Legendary Girlfriend by Mike Gayle

It’s been 3 years and teacher Will still can’t let  go of his past relationship with Aggi. Worried that no other girl can match up to her, does this mean that Will can never find love again?

This reminds me of The Ex-Boyfriend’s Handbook by Matt Dunn in that the male protaganist is dwelling over the “rosy” past he once shared with a former girlfriend, which threatens to harm his present and future relationships. Like Dunn’s work, I also enjoyed reading this. Gayle doesn’t present something that is glossy and perfect -reading this we get a full and frank account of the dire state of Will’s life. It is a humorous piece on the whole with the moments of Will’s self-reflection of his life providing more poignant moments in the book. From early on, it is easy to predict who Will will end up with, but the journey to that is full of twists and turns, and I was captivated in reading Will’s story. 4 stars.

Solo by Jill Mansell

 

Struggling artist, Tess Duvall, gets more that she bargained for when she agrees to attend a party with her friend Holly at the hotel where she works. Tessa meets notorious womaniser, Ross Monahan, and both are instantly drawn to one another, and after a night of passion, Tessa falls pregnant. Can Ross convince Tessa that he truly loves her and their baby, especially as his reputation threatens to prevent their relationship from developing. Holly has her own romantic troubles. She has been in love with Ross’s brother, Max, but eh doesn’t see her anything more than a member of staff. She starts yo wonder is he should give up on him, especially as Adam starts to enter the picture.

I thought this was a great read - I really like the way that Mansell portrayed the relationship between Tessa and Rob - sparky, fun, but at times serious and emotional. All of the characters are given enormous depth and detail, apart from Antonia, who is your stereotypical bitch, who plays her part well. The storyline itself is great: the central story of Tessa and Ross falling in love was really enjoyable, as were the other storylines concerning Holly and Mattie. Mansell keeps the reader entertained with a strong way of storytelling, throwing in a few twists and turns along the way that kept me gripped. 4 stars.

The Love of Her Life by Harriet Evans

Kate is an office assistant living in New York but soon she has to travel back to London, where her ill father lives, and where she ran away from 8 years ago and hasn’t looked back. Can Kate make things right again?

Having read A Hopeless Romantic, I was slightly apprehensive in reading another Evans book, and when I started reading this, I thought I had good reason to. Yet after a slow start, the book started to gather pace and I began to get drawn into Kate and her back-story, which was intriguing, shocking and emotional. The characters are fully developed and seem “real”, and the plot was excellent, and after Kate’s return to London, the bid to rebuild broken relationships was crafted well by Evans. A great read. 4 stars.

Bookends by Jane Green

Cath, Si, Josh and Portia were best of friends at university, until something happened that caused their friendship to change. Ten years later, Cath, Si and Josh have lost contact with Portia, until she returns unexpectedly, sparking off changes in the lives of the three friends.

This is a gripping story as I wanted to read about what had happened to separate Portia from the group. After that, Green presents the stories of Cath, who is unwilling to find love, Si, who falls in love too easily, and Josh , who is happily married to Lucy. Their stories are fascinating to read, and the return of Portia shakes things up, as Cath and Si are suspicious about Portia. Green writes moments of humour, friendship and love well, as well as creating the right tone for Si’s illness storyline. The dialogue is excellent and bubbly, and Green manages to produce a chemistry between the friends that is believable. A great read. 4 stars.

Welcome To My World by Miranda Dickinson

27 year old Harri is a travel advisor yet she has never set foot outside of the UK. She wishes to see the sights around the world, in particular, Venice, which she deems is the perfect place for lovers. She finds a kindred spirit in Alex, an old school friend who has returned to town after spending the last 10 years travelling. He constantly regales Harri with stories about his adventures to her enjoyment.

Despite Alex enjoying his travels, one thing he yearns for is to find love. One romantic disaster to another, he soon asks Harri to help him. Around the same time, Alex’s mother, Viv, asks Harri to help her submit Alex into a magazine feature to find him a date (or many). Can any good come of this?

These events and many more soon lead to trouble. Harri soon feels her world crumble around her, and something has to change, but is she brave enough to take a risk?

I really enjoyed this story by Dickinson, yet it isn’t perfect. Much like It Started With A Kiss, there are parts which I glossed over, such as Harri visiting Viv at the allotments. These parts were less interesting and interrupted the flow of the story. Another thing I tired of was Harri’s constant thinking about how she never gets to travel, and yet she sees everyone taking a risk in their lives but fails to do so the same, and she always agrees to what boyfriend Rob wants too easily in their relationship (even though this is integral to the plot). Yet, as the story moves on, Harri starts to realise what she wants to do and takes action, earning a “yey” from the reader.

I think that the plot was really good, and I liked the main characters and friendships. The narrative is well crafted; at the beginning of each chapter, it flashes to a future event where Harri is in great turmoil, and as the story continues, it leads up to this event, which I was intrigued to discover. It all becomes clear as the book culminates in a fantastic ending, well worth reading. 4 stars!

I Heart New York - Lindsay Kelk

Angela Clark’s perfect world is thrown into chaos when she discovers her boyfriend Mark is a man misbehaving badly at her best friend’s wedding. Humiliated, Angela decides to take a drastic course of action and flies to New York, where the city, new friends and a beautiful Marc Jacobs bag make New York seem a more attractive city compared to London. Life gets even better when she gets a job as a blogger for a top magazine and meets two fantastic men who are interested in her, but is New York everything that she wants?

Similar to A Single Girl’s To-Do List in that it follows the main character who has recently become single and tries to reinvent herself to become a better person, the change that Angela makes also occurs over such a short space of time. Like Rachel, Angela attracts many handsome men in her new life change. Life seems to fall in place so easily that it may seem strange, but this is a minor quibble. Kelk crafts a great story in I Heart New York, although it was slightly uncomfortable for Angela to be dating two men at the same time. Nevertheless, it is well written, and the moments between Angela and Alex, for example, the Empire State Building part, were really touching to read. The vivid description of New York and American culture really add to the tale. Kelk put a lot of effort into researching New York, and it shows when you read the book. The main characters are extremely likeable, and I cannot wait to see how they and their stories develop over the rest of the series. 4 stars.

Recipe For Disaster - Miriam Morrison

Morrison whips up a stroy of the culinary world which is full of fierce rivalry, love, life issues, violence and the odd raspberry souffle. It primarily focuses on Kate, an undercover journalist who aims to expose the seedy and corrupt world of restaurants yet she finds Cuisine, the new restaurant at which she becomes a waitress at, to be completely different to her previous expectations. The owner and the head chef, Jake Goldman, prdies himself on his great standards and passion for delivering fantastic food rather than making mony. A tough but caring boss, he goes from crisis to crisis, mainly due to the work of culinary college rival, Harry Hunter, who, jealous at the praise lavished on Jake, soon opens a rival restaurant nearby. Kate findself embroiled in this strange new world and finds herself in too deep, especially as she makes great friends with the staff of Cuisine, and becomes more that friends with Jake. Can Jake succeed with his new restaurant? Will Kate manage to carry through with her lie without getting caught out? Will Harry manage to achieve his goal of destroying Jake?

The plot is hardly original and it feels quite soapy, but Morrison offers a story of pure escapism which is enjoyable to read. I revelled in the stock villain, Harry's, attempts to derail Jake's path to success. He becomes a character who you love to hate. One thing which was negative was the description of Harry and Georgia's affair - it was a bit too explicit and bizarrely written, and it didn't really make sense how Harry fell for Georgia. It was refreshing, however, not to see Harry suddenly become a good guy at the end of the book and redeem himself, which is quite common in other books.

The blossoming relationship between Kate and Jake was superbly written, and the stories of the supporting characters are also fascinating - in particular, Tess is a great character. In fact, all of Morrison's characters are built up well that you love to follow the journeys that they take within the story. Morrison has cooked up a light delicious tale that will whet anyone's appetite for a good romantic story. 4 stars.

My Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook - Matt Dunn

This story slightly parallels Lindsay Kelk’s “A Single Girl’s To-Do List” in that it follows a break up of a relationship and the main character’s journey into transforming themselves to be a different and stronger person. Instead, it follows a man’s journey, Edward, who has been “dumped” by his girlfriend, Jane. His womanising minor-celebrity friend, Dan, takes it upon himself to produce an Excel spreadsheet listing the changes that Edward must go through in order to become more attractive and win Jane back, and agrees to help him personally to achieve this. Dan is a horrible character in terms of his attitude towards women, but at times, his stupidity can be endearing, and it is shown that he really values Edward as a friend, despite his clumsy attempts to help him. Dan’s interaction with the barmaid Wendy, who is angry with Dan for the way he mistreated her flatmate, is spiky and punchy, and did lead me to wonder whether the two would get together at the end of the book. What eventually happens to Dan and who he ends up with at the end is a surprise.

Edward is a character you can sympathise with, and as the story goes on, and more about his relationship with Jane is revealed, you do start to wonder whether Edward should be concentrating on winning her back, and it is a question that Edward does come to ask himself. Dunn has managed to craft a great story and good characters who gel really well together. The different things Edward does as part of the Excel spreadsheet are hilarious and the dialogue is well written. By the time Edward sees Jane again, what happens is quite a poignant moment. This book is a great read, I couldn’t put it down and managed to finish it in a day! It is interesting to see how a failed relationship plays out from a male perspective. 4 stars