Jenny Lopez Has A Bad Week - Lindsey Kelk

This is a short story following Jenny Lopez, best friend of Angela Clark in the popular I Heart Series. Set after I Heart Paris, Jenny is feeling disillusioned with life, love and career. Things soon look up with the prospect of a new job, and potentially a new lover…

It is an average tale, although I am still not convinced by Jenny’s character. She provides the voice of reason to Angela but often, she seems to be hypocritical, fickle and selfish. To read a book entirely from her point of her view therefore, can be frustrating to read (thankfully it is a short story). As it is a short story, not much really happens, but it ends on a nice note, and provides a adequate bridge and set up between I Heart Paris and I Heart Vegas. 2.5 stars.

I Heart Paris - Lindsey Kelk

Angela is feeling very lucky right now – she is happy in her relationship with Alex and plans to move in with him very very soon, has been whisked away to Paris, the city of love, by said amazing boyfriend and she has been headhunted to write an article about the city for Belle magazine. Yet as soon as she arrives in Paris, she starts to feel very very unlucky, as her suitcase is blown up, she soon meets Alex’s former girlfriend in Paris and sabotage is afoot in her job. How can Angela reverse her misfortune?

I was disappointed by I Heart Hollywood but I Heart Paris, I really enjoyed. I thought it was really funny, especially the scene at the festival when Angela confronts Solene. I also liked the way that Alex and Angela’s relationship developed and deepened, and managed to survive all the obstacles thrown their way. The way Paris was described was beautiful and  glorious, painting a vivid background for Angela’s story. One thing that I thought was a bit strange is the large amount of times that Angela seems to get herself injured, even after tripping over some shoes she manages to acquire a gift of one black eye. Surely no one can be that clumsy?!

Nevertheless this was a great read, although I still prefer I Heart New York, but this is almost as good. Almost. 3.5 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.

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.