Review: Turning forty by Mike Gayle

How to turn forty:

1. Set yourself a personal challenge.

2. Clear wardrobe of all age-inappropriate clothing.

3. Relax.

How not to turn forty:

1. Have a complete meltdown . . .

High flier Matt Beckford's sole ambition is to turn forty with his life sorted. And with a Porsche on the drive and a job that requires him to spend more time in BA's club lounge than his own lounge, it looks like things are going in the right direction. But when Matt's wife unexpectedly calls time on their marriage, a chain of events is set in motion that very quickly sees him facing forty broke, homeless and completely alone.

But all is not lost because Matt has a plan . .

Review: I got this book on audiobook after enjoying one of Mike Gayle's previous novels on audiobook. I really liked the idea of the storyline, a guy who thinks he has every but as he approaches forty it all egging to unravel. This is a reality facing a lot of people as they reach milestone birthdays. There is high redundancy and a high rate of divorce in th country and so people find themselves starting from square one again more often than we realise. 

The book got off to a really good start, it made me laugh in several places. When Matt returns home he finds himself in his local supermarket bumping into people left right and centre, I know that every time I return home, this happens to me and so I found myself really chuckling at these parts of the book. Other parts of the storyline were much more touching and I found a different kind of emotion being evoked. Some of the scenes where he is speaking to his soon to be ex wife are particularly touching, and the reconciliation he attempts to have with his childhood girlfriend made me feel quite uncomfortable and almost sorry for him. 

The characters in this book were all easy to get along with and, although I didn't particularly like Matt, I found myself sympathising with him and wanting to succeed in his goals. His parents are absolutely hilarious and somenofthe friends he catches up with along his journey provide some hilarious moments too. All the characters were realistic and all supported the storyline in their own way. 

I found this a particularly pacey read and it didn't take me long to get into it. I really liked the ending, it was totally realistic and not the cop-out I was worried might bring the novel to a close. I didn't fall in love with the book but I found it very entertaining and am glad I got it off my wish list and onto my read list. I have a few more Mike Gayle novels sitting on my shelf and I am very much looking forward to reading them having enjoyed two of his novels in fairly close succession! 

Review: The Proposal by Tasmina Perry

Just say yes to this unforgettable read and take a spellbinding, romantic journey from the dazzling days of the debutantes in 1950s London to glamorous modern Manhattan.

When Amy Carrell's wealthy boyfriend ends their relationship just before Christmas, she's left to nurse her broken heart alone. With nothing to lose, she replies to an advertisement requesting a companion for a mysterious 'Manhattan adventure'. 

Whisked off to New York with eccentric British aristocrat Georgia Hamilton, Amy experiences a glamorous side of the city that she's never seen before. Along the way, Georgia initiates her protegee in the arts of old-school elegance. 

But as Georgia shares her life lessons, Amy discovers a painful secret in her mentor's past. A secret that shattered her future. A story of love and betrayal that only Amy has the power to put right.

Review: this was a bit of a mixed one for me. I was lucky enough to receive an advance proof copy of this which was present beautifully and tied with a blue ribbon. I love the cover of the book, I love the concept but the inside just didn't really wow me. The book was split into two time zones, 1958 and 2012. I found myself rushing thought he 1958 sections to try and find out what was going to happen in the 2012 sections...

I thought the concept of the book, the American younger dancer, Amy, becoming a companion to older, wiser Georgia and them going on a trip to New York together. I really liked this aspect but I was disappointed that more wasn't made of their time in New York, I expected a brilliant description of the setting, or their outings, and whilst there was definitely some of this, there just wasn't enough for my liking. I really liked then storyline with Amy and her old fiends and old boyfriend and would've liked to have seen more made of this. The storyline with Georgia in the 1958 had a lot more description. I liked reading about her time in Oxford, being able to spot places she was visiting in modern day Oxford, her relationship with Edward also received a lot more detail, I just didn't enjoy these sections as much as the modern day sections. 

I thought the idea of Georgia having a secret in her past and this only being released at the end of the novel was a really good idea, however I felt that after her secret was revealed, the novel just ended. We didn't really get to find out what happened to Amy and her potential romances. This novel had. Great potential and was a really lovely concept but it was just lacking in a couple of parts for me. It was any enjoyable read and one I sped through really quickly, but I definitely want to find out what happened to Amy and whether she got her proposal or not!

To order a copy for yourself, just click here

Review: Tempting Fate by Jane Green

When Gabby first met Elliott she knew he was the man for her. In twenty years of marriage she has never doubted her love for him - even when he refused to give her the one thing she still wants most of all. But now their two daughters are growing up Gabby feels that time and her youth are slipping away. For the first time in her life she is restless. And then she meets Matt . . .

Intoxicated by the way this young, handsome and successful man makes her feel, Gabby is momentarily blind to what she stands to lose on this dangerous path. And in one reckless moment she destroys all that she holds dear.

Consumed by regret, Gabby does everything she can to repair the home she has broken. But are some betrayals too great to forgive?

Review: I was quite excited to start this new novel by Jane Green, the blurb sounded great and, unsurprisingly, I was drawn in as soon as I began to read. Now I have a bit of a mixed relationship when it comes to Jane Green novels. She deals with some tough issues in her novels and she deals with them so well and so realistically, that I have been known in the past to really struggle to continue reading a book, or have had to overcome part of it to get to the end. This is no exception and I did find parts of this book making me cry, making me feel tense and reminding me of parts of my own life. This shows, however, just how well she writes. She can make things seem so real, and draw the reader in so much, that emotion and pain is evoked just through her words and her characters.

I really liked the main character, Gabby. She was a mom of two, she felt slightly guilty for not working, was struggling to get on with her elder teenage daughter and has to overcome an awful lot in this novel. But all of this meant that she came across as extremely real. You could genuinely picture her talking things through with herself, she could be that mum you see in the playground, the woman doing her Christmas shopping at the next till. I thought that she had integrity and courage and I really liked her. Her family are all gorgeous, even her slightly eccentric mother and I found myself liking all of them too. There appears in the book, a rift between her and her best friend Clare and I found myself disliking Clare immensely because of this, but again, all of this was very real and very believable. 

As I have already mentioned, this book deals with some tough issues. I don't want to give anything away so I won't go into it, but the storyline did have me shedding a few tears at various points along the way. There were also some genuinely heartwarming moments that made me go aww, and all of it seemed like it could have actually happened which was great! Gabby is an English woman who moved to the states and most of the story is set in Connecticut. I loved the setting and the descriptions of Main Street and of the various houses and other settings in the book were written beautifully so you could really picture yourself there.

Despite the book dealing with some tough issues it still kept a good pace. I read this novel in a couple of days and found it to be a real page turner, I wanted to know how Gabby was going to deal with the next issue she faced, and I did really enjoy it. If you are a fan of Jane Greens style and her other novels then this is very much in the same vein and you will not be disappointed. If you are looking for something overly sexual or something very lighthearted then you're probably best not to start with this novel. This is definitely one that should be enjoyed with a big cup of tea or coffee on a crisp autumn day and will definitely keep you warm against the British winter! 

If you fancy grabbing a copy of this for yourself, just click here 

And don't forget you can follow this author on Twitter @JaneGreen

Review! A Good Girl Comes Undone by Polly Williams

She's on a roll. A glamorous job at a glossy magazine. A home of her own. A cute live-in boyfriend. Annie Rafferty has worked damn hard for all of it. If demands are made, she delivers. If people need her, she's there. And if she suspects something is missing? Well, she ignores it. 

But cracks start to appear. Her boyfriend quits his job and leaves Annie paying the bills. Work descends into a handbags-at-dawn struggle for survival, and there's a new exec in the office - rude, unreconstructed, but strangely attractive - questioning exactly what she's trying to prove. 

As Annie discovers her true desires, her meticulously planned life begins to unravel and darker, unexpected forces pull things in a shocking new direction...

Review: this was a classic chick-lit story about a young woman on a journey of self-discovery with some fabulous mis-haps and friendship along the way, and of course a love interest or two. It was an easy read and very predictable but neither of these things made it any less enjoyable. There were plentry of twists and turns in the story to keep the reader guessing all the way through as to what was going to happen. There was also the wonderful aspect of having several stories going on at once, adding more depth to this novel and making it even more enjoyable. I really enjoyed the story about Annie's challenges at work, and her challenges within her love-life. I found the story involving the challenges within her family rather Difficult and therefore not as enjoyable, even bringing me to tears at one point, but nevertheless adding another dimension to this well-written tale.

I liked Annie as a character initially although I did loose some respect for her because of her inability to say no and to ignore things when things were going wrong. She certainly redeems herself towards to end of this novel and I am aching to find out what has become of her. I strongly disliked Nick from the start if the novel but this shows how well written he was, that I found myself shouting at him sometimes because of his actions or words. I didn't like many members of Annie's family either, and I found new character Don fairly hard to take too. The interactions that Annie had with some of her work colleagues were seriously funny and had me laughing out loud, I think this particular part of the storyline was my favourite. 

There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader occupied and although the majority of the novel is set in London, Annie travels to New York, her parents move from the Cotswolds to Brighton and so there are plenty of 'scene changes' too, all of which are well-described, so much so that I wanted, myself, to sink down into Annie's new sofa when it was delivered. This would make the perfect addition to your beach bag, and is another great novel from this wonderful author. An easy read but with plenty to keep your attention, this is definitely a book which I would have loved to have a sequel to, I definitely need to know what happens next...

Review! The French For Love by Fiona Valpy

Gina has lost her perfect job, her boyfriend and her favourite aunt all within the space of a few months.

So when she inherits her aunt’s ramshackle French house, Gina decides to pack her bags for the Bordeaux countryside – swapping the miserable English weather for blue skies, sunshine, great wine and a fresh start. 

What she hasn’t factored in is a hole in the roof, the most embarrassing language faux pas, and discovering family secrets that she was never supposed to know.

Suddenly feeling a long way from home, Gina will have to rely on new found friends, her own hard work – and Cédric – her charming, mysterious and très handsome new stonemason. 

But whilst desire needs no translation, love is a different matter. Can Gina overcome the language barrier to make her French dream come true?

Review: this is the perfect summer read! It was just the right amount of warmth and exotic location for this British summer. I loved the idea of the story, someone escaping to France and it was just as enjoyable as I expected! We are introduced to Gina and her hopeless situation straight away, and I loved her as a character. She is a strong person who knows that she has to get away in order to sort her life out. I like the fact that she has lost her job and so she is trying to further her education as well-an admirable quality! 

At the start of the book, the plot does tend to jump from time zone to time zone, moving back to moments before Gina had lost her job and before she had come out to France. Initially I found this to be a little confusing, but after a while the book got into its flow and told Gina's story in a more chronological way. The ending of the book was a slight down point for me, however, I felt like the events that happen at the end of the story, where everything is being resolved, could have been stretched over a longer time, it all felt a bit rushed. In other words, I think that this book could have been another 50 pages or so long. Although this part of the book did feel a little hurried, it didn't affect my enjoyment overall...

Of course the real star of this book is the setting! I love books with well-described settings and this is no expception to that. The French landscape is described in detail, as is the house/villa that Gina has inherited from her aunt. As there is building work going on in the house and as Gina travels around the region visiting people and tasting wines, we are treated to even more fabulous description-lucky us! 

I would definitely recommend this book as a summer read to anyone. The heat of the sun here would combat any british summer blues, or indeed compliment an unexpected heat wave. This is definitely one to pack in your suitcase. A little bit of romance, a nice glass of wine and a wonderful summer setting. A good summer read! 

Review! No-one Ever Has Sex on a Tuesday by Tracy Bloom

Never has a late-night stand led to such chaos!

Childhood sweethearts Matthew and Katy agree they must never see each other ever again after they end up in bed together following a school re-union.

So all is forgotten...until eight months later when a shock meeting at an antenatal class forces them to confront the fact that Matthew could be the father of Katy's baby. Oblivious to the mayhem unfolding, Matthews highly strung wife frets over giving birth to twins and Katy's much younger boyfriend refuses to take fatherhood seriously.

Love and life are messy but Katy and Matthew take things to a whole new level as deep emotions begin to resurface and hormones run riot.

How will they navigate their way through this almighty pick-up?

Review: wow, what an unexpected gem! I downloaded this book after hearing some good things about it on twitter. I love the title, I think it's definitely something to get head turning in a bookshop or online, straight and to the point, so that, initially, was what attracted me to the book. But when I started reading I actually found it to be a real page turner! Right from the word go, we find out that our heroine Katy isn't exactly happy to be pregnant, and underneath it all, she isn't really looking forward to the prospect of motherhood, and the changes it will bring...

But the book is about so much more than that. We get to travel back in time to when Katy met Ben, back to school where she met Matthew, and where Matthew met his wife Alison. What follows is a twisted romp of a novel involving all four of them in ways you would never expect! It's so well written because I really felt like I was there with the characters, in the antenatal classes, at disaster out weddings and even on the labour ward! I also like that fact that it was set mainly in Leeds, I like a northern novel-but them I'm entirely biased! 

Katy was a fabulous character. A really strong female. And yet, as I said, she seems almost in denial about the baby coming and her complicated situation entirely! She has bought some of the baby stuff but it still sits in bags in the bedroom. Despite being strong, she does succumb to the hormones of pregnancy in some parts, there are some very funny moments when this happens! Her boyfriend Ben, who is 8 years younger than her, also seems in denial about the baby, he goes through a lot over the course of the story and becomes a much stronger person because of it. I started out disliking him but by the end of the book I was rooting for him all the way!

Initially I liked Matthew but the more I got to know him, find out about his relationship with Katy and his relationship with Allison, I really began to dislike him, he and Ben switched places by the end of the novel for me. I felt really sorry for Allison throughout the whole thing, and not just because she is expecting twins! I really hope that she has a happy ending. The fact that I felt worried for her by the end of the book shows how well written the whole thing was.

I think that this book would be a fabulous addition to anyone's summer reading list, add it to your kindle now. It's fast-laced and fun, but at the same time, very real. I think there is something in here for everyone, and will be looking forward to hearing much more from this author in the future!

You can follow this author on twitter @TracyBBloom

Or click here to buy this fabulous novel!

Review! Lucy in the Sky by Paige Toon (Paige Toon Review number 3!)

Settling down for a 24-hour flight to Australia, Lucy finds a text message on her phone from a woman claiming to have slept with her boyfriend, James, four times in the past month. Trapped above the Pacific, she questions everything about their relationship, but when she finally calls him, James reassures her that it was only his friend playing a joke. James is gorgeous and successful and Lucy adores him, yet at her best friend Molly’s wedding in Sydney, she finds herself having doubts and is keeping an eye on Molly's brother-in-law Nathan. Nathan is a happy-go-lucky surfer boy with no prospects, no place to live, and an almost-girlfriend in tow. Suddenly, Lucy finds herself caught between two distant continents and two very different men.

Review: this was the second novel that I started by Paige Toon but the third novel I finished (life did the annoying thing of getting in the way) and just like her other novels, I was gripped from the word go! Unfortunately the ending was slightly spoiled for me because I read Pictures of Lily before finishing this, Paige Toon's first novel, so take care not to fall into the same trap as I did!

The novel begins with Lucy boarding a 24 hour flight to Australia to see her friends get married but then she gets a text which suggested her boyfriend is cheating on her. There is a lot of tension at the beginning of this novel but this is incredibly effective as it hooks you in straight away, no questions asked. I was dying to see what happened and how the text was resolved and so I was literally raving though the pages. The general pace of the story does slow down considerably when Lucy returns to London, and I think that is maybe why I found my reading pace slowed a little from that point onwards. You are left wondering the whole way through the book, however, which route Lucy is going to take-thrilling!

Lucy as a character was your typical insecure woman. She struggled quite often throughout the novel with the decisions she had to make, but I really enjoyed her fun-loving attitude to life, although I found her too accommodating when it came to boyfriend James. James was a thoroughly dislikeable character. If this had been a pantomime, the audience would have booed as he came onto the stage, showing how cleverly he is written. The real star of the novel is Nathan, I had a total crush on him, he's just so thoughtful and caring and yet has the laid-back surfer attitude which is completely irresistible. As leading men go, he was just perfect.

There were a host of supporting characters as well who, I have no doubt, may crop up in Toon's later novels as I work my way through them. The general theme of escapism which can be found in most of Paige Toon's novels was prevalent too. Overall I thought this was a great read for a first novel and a superb concept to get readers hooked in right from the word go. I would say be prepared for a slight dip in the middle, but that might just have been me! Now it's onto the next instalment from the fabulous Paige Toon!

Review: All The Single Ladies by Jane Costello

Samantha Brooks’ boyfriend has made a mistake – one everyone knows he’ll live to regret. Jamie, the love of her life, has announced he’s leaving, out of the blue. Jamie is gorgeous, loving, intelligent and perfect for Sam in every way but one – he’s a free spirit. And after six years in one place, doing a job he hates, he is compelled to do something that will destroy his relationship with Sam: book a one way flight to South America. Only Sam isn’t giving up without a fight. With Jamie clearly still in love with her, she hatches a plan to make him realise what he’s giving up. A plan that involves dirty tricks, plotting and a single aim – to win him back. Only, by the time the tortured Jamie finally wakes up to what he’s lost, a gorgeous new pretender has entered Sam’s life. Which begs the question . . . will she still want him back?

Review: I really really want to read Jane Costello's new novel The Wish list but I knew that I had  couple of her previous novels sitting on my bookshelf unread, so last weekend I decided to have a bit of a Jane Costello Marathon BEFORE purchasing her new book. This is the first of her books that I finished, having only read one of her previous novels-My Single Friend.

As soon as I began this novel I knew it was going to be so much fun! Straight away I could identify with the neurotic nature of main character Sam, and yet knew what she was doing was wrong, just like her friends try to warn her. Her friends in the book are all very likable characters as well and the issues they have to deal with are all incredibly realistic and well written. Most people will be able to recognise the character of Jamie, possibly as someone they have dated themselves, he too is incredibly well written, and I found myself getting angry at points in the book because of the way her was treating Same. Of course this is a love story too, and so Sam does acquire a rather lovely love interest at one point, not before meeting a few dodgy ones that is, and I am sure that most of the girls out there will find this one difficult to resist!

I love the fact that it deals with a break up like this and found the writing to be very true to life, Jane Costello has really hit the nail on the head with this one. Sam is the exact same age as me, and like me, is and independent woman who knows what she is doing with her life and where it wants her to go. The love of her life breaking up with her interrupts this life plan, and she has no control over it, is is any wonder she goes a bit off the wall?

Not only are the characters in this book fabulous, and the storyline true to life, but it is absolutely hilarious, I found myself laughing out loud at so many points, and in public nonetheless! Just like the previous novel that I had read for this author, it really is a total pick me up. I am sure that if I were in Sam's shoes, juts reading this novel would be a start at getting myself together again after such a mammoth break-up. Some of the things that Same attempts to do in order to win her love back are serious desperate but oh so funny, and I am sure that many readers out there will be able to recognise the things she is doing as thing they have done themselves!

All in all this was a seriously fun read and highly recommended to anyone who could do with a good pick me up. There is humour and laughter and love, but at the same time some very real issues of friendship, infidelity and alcoholism are dealt with. The fact that the book does deal with some more serious issues (and very well indeed I might add) does not take away in any shape or form from the enjoyment of this brilliantly written, light-hearted tale. I can't wait to read the next one now!

Review! Never Google Heartbreak, Emma Garcia

After her ex-fiancé Rob breaks off their engagement for the third time, Viv knows she needs help to get over it. And, as she searches through tales of heartbreak online, inspiration strikes - she needs to set up her own website! A one-stop shop for the broken-hearted.

However, the advice she begins getting on it doesn't seem to be helping her win Rob back. On the contrary, it seems to be pointing her in the direction of her best friend and partner-in-crime Max.

But where is Max when Viv needs him most? Will Rob ever see the error of his ways?
And, ultimately, is there a search engine powerful enough to stop us getting our hearts broken... or to stop us breaking anyone else's?

Review: the blurb of this book told me thank would love this book if I liked bridesmaid and Caitlin Moran. And it was absolutely right! I stroked my way through this fabulous debut novel because it was just so witty and easy to read! It had disasters a plenty, romance, sex, humour-the full package! Main character Viv is so easy to identify with, I felt like I was her best fiend, or better still, that she was actually me!

We encounter Viv just as she is about to break up with fiancée Rob. He has postponed the wedding twice already and she thinks that by leaving him, that's the way to get him to finally commit. But what she does in the end is actually take a massive step in the right direct in order to get her life back on track! Rob is a very hard character to like, he seems smarmy and selfish and I think this makes for great reading-everybody loves a good villain! Max and Lucy (Viv's best friends) are also great supporting characters. Sex-obsessed Lucy is straight talking and a good counter to Viv's constant crisis mode and and Max too provides a calming effect to Viv with his cool, laid back, artistic personality.

There are some lovely messages about family values in the story too, with the relationship between Viv and he Nanna. Her Nanna is a great strong, female and I think that this sends out a really good message about older members of today's society, as well as the message that we need to look after our loved ones.

The storyline flows really nicely, it is incredibly well-paced and has a great balance between Viv's work life, her personal life, and her relationships with her family and friends. It deals with the issue of heartbreak in a humorous way, taking into account every aspect of what one might be feeling at those times, and any reader who has ever had their heartbroken will be able to find aspects of their own process of recovery within the pages of this novel. The sex scenes aren't shoved in your face, they are salt with tastefully and not everyone gets what they want in the end, which I LOVE in a novel!

This novel represents a really strong debut by this author. I think it could be enjoyed by men and women alike and whether you've been the dumper of the dumpee, you'll be able to find something to identify with when it comes to the break-up process. There is a lot of humorous moments, as well as some thought provoking messages and cringeworthy scrapes that Viv gets herself into. A thoroughly enjoyable read!