Review: The One That Got Away by Melissa Pimentel

Ruby and Ethan were perfect for each other. Until the day they suddenly weren't. Ten years later, Ruby's single, having spent the last decade focusing on her demanding career and hectic life in Manhattan. There's barely time for a trip to England for her little sister's wedding. And there's certainly not time to think about seeing Ethan there for the first time in years. But as the family frantically prepare for the big day, Ruby can't help but wonder if she made the right choice all those years ago? Because there's nothing like a wedding for stirring up the past . . .

Review: this is most definitely one of those books that sucks you right in from the word go. I knew as soon as I read abut Ruby and trying to finish up everything she had to at work so that she could get away for a couple of days to the UK for her sister's wedding that I was going to enjoy spending time with her. The whole book starts in this whirlwind way and then we get to know more about Ruby and her 'one that got away' via various flashbacks to her life as it was when she embarked upon this career which is keeping her so busy and what life was like when she moved to New York ten years ago. I really liked this structure and it was helpful in putting THEN and NOW between the flashbacks. Sometimes chapter started with email communication, something which is always fun to read and sometimes we were just thrust right into the action. 

I found myself really identifying with Ruby as a character, and not just because she is the same age as me, but also because she is doing what so many of us are doing right now, working ourselves silly because we are in our dream job in our dream city. I also like the fact that she has this front that she puts on, partly due to that one that got away, and slowly, we start to see her letting more and more into her life. I was really rooting for her and really liked the development that she had achieved by the closing stages of the book. 

There are, of course, some wonderful supporting characters too. I loved Ruby's BFF Jess, she was a real grounding influence, and again someone we will all be able to identify with. I also really liked the strong family values that run throughout the book. Of course, there being a wedding, family are going to be heavily involved, but I liked that way that the family unit developed as the book progressed. 

Of course I loved the setting. We switch between New York, Massachusetts and the North East of England, all places I cold picture well and the feeling of all the places featured was described very well and jumped off the pages and into my reading experience. A few of the phrases that Ruby used with her friends and family got a little repetitive but they kind of became her trademark so I came to overlook them. This book definitely had me on an emotional roller coaster, especially towards the end. I liked the settings, I loved the structure and I thoroughly enjoyed embarking on the journey of discovery with Ruby and the rest of the characters in this novel. Definitely one to add to your TBR this spring!

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Review: My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella

Everywhere Katie Brenner looks, someone else is living the life she longs for, particularly her boss, Demeter Farlowe. Demeter is brilliant and creative, lives with her perfect family in a posh townhouse, and wears the coolest clothes. Katie’s life, meanwhile, is a daily struggle—from her dismal rental to her oddball flatmates to the tense office politics she’s trying to negotiate. No wonder Katie takes refuge in not-quite-true Instagram posts, especially as she's desperate to make her dad proud.
            
Then, just as she’s finding her feet—not to mention a possible new romance—the worst happens. Demeter fires Katie. Shattered but determined to stay positive, Katie retreats to her family’s farm in Somerset to help them set up a vacation business. London has never seemed so far away—until Demeter unexpectedly turns up as a guest. Secrets are spilled and relationships rejiggered, and as the stakes for Katie’s future get higher, she must question her own assumptions about what makes for a truly meaningful life.

Review: It just felt so good to be back in the happy place that is a Sophie Kinsella novel. I was hooked right into this book straight away and literally read it in 2 sittings. This books just had me drawn so into Cat/Katie's world that even when I was waiting in line at Starbucks, I had this out, devouring pages, wanting to stay in Sophie Kinsella's world for just a little longer. 

I think one thing that I love about Sophie's writing is that she writes such great characters and so all of her novels are so character driven. Anyone who has read her shopaholic series will have Becky Bloomwood in their mind and once she's there, she's here to stay. And I think that the thing I loved so much about this particular read was that Katie is another character that really sticks with you. Katie is relatatble, because as you can see from the tittle, not everything in her life is going perfectly. I could so relate to Katy and her commute across London. Her fierce determination that she was going to live and work in a certain way, no matter what. I also really loved that we got to see aspects of her family life, her personal life and her work life, and that nothing was quite perfect in any of those aspects. 

The other characters in this book are great too. I loved Katie's dad and his attitude of bettering himself too, just in a very different way to Katie. I loved Katie's work friends and how they were just the kind of people I would imagine would work in an office that is all about branding and image. Of course there is the boss we love to hate, we've all worked for one of those after all and then there is the love interest. The love interest in this particular book is seriously swoon worthy, yet another thing that Sophie Kinsella creates so well!

I really liked that this book had multiple storylines and multiple settings. I like when I get to travel in the pages of a book and the setting descriptions are wonderful, whether you're in Chiswick or Somerset, you will b e transported there along with Katie. The storyline transports you as well and nothing about it is completely predictable. There is a level of familiarity that is just the right amount of comforting and yet there are definitely some unexpected events, for Katie and for you as a reader, along the way! 

If you're a fan of Sophie Kinsella then you definitely won't be disappointed by this standalone and if you are new to her writing then this is definitely one to pick up, welcome to the wonderful world full of fabulous characters. This is definitely something I would recommend adding to your TBR pile now!

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