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MORE ON MONDAY: Who Can Save Us Now? Ed. by Owen King and John McNally

I wrote about Who Can Save Us Now? back in July when Jennifer Weiner mentioned it on her blog. It is an anthology of short stories about super heroes and Jennifer has a story of her own in there. I was drawn to this book as I have my own little super heroine story I'm working on, plus of course, I'm a massive fan of Jennifer's. However, I'm not a big fan of the short story, don't know why, so it was going to be interesting how I got on with it.

There are twenty two writers who have taken part and written some very up to date and modern stories. Now I'm not one of these comic book superhero fans who can talk about genre, statistics and stuff with any degree of authority. In fact make that no degree of authority. Basically I don't have a clue. All I know is, I like a good story.

And in the anthology you will find good stories. But you will also find some mediocre ones. Some of them I started and struggled with, quickly moving on to the next one. But others had me gripped. (Obviously) Jennifer Weiner's was one of them. Her unusual superhero story had me intrigued and, indeed, gave me a few goosebumps along the spine.

It is difficult to rate an anthology as there is always going to be variations in quality. However I'll give this a three out of five on average, but please remember there are some fours and fives in there too. (As well as some ones and twos but that's by the by).

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try In Bed With...

BOOK REVIEW: It's A Kind Of Magic by Carole Matthews

What is it with Carole Matthews and her book titles recently? A few weeks ago I read All You Need Is Love (ta da da da daa) and now I have Freddie Mercury with his moustache and yellow jacket in my head. Not a bad image but quite distracting when you're trying to read and write.

As you may guess from the title, It's A Kind of Magic (gah! Every time I write this I'm doing the backing vocals) is a magical book. Chick lit with fairies. I am not averse to a bit of magical  fantasy in any of the books I read, as long as it is done well. I loved Garden Spells where the magic and fantasy was applied in such a subtle way, it was still believable. With It's A Kind Of Magic, the magic was applied with a sledgehammer. Nevertheless I still found it entertaining.

Emma and Leo have been on and off for around five years. Emma is a neat and control freak whereas Leo is untidy, unreliable and, if I'm honest, a right, royal pain. On Emma's thirtieth birthday he rolls up over two hours late, drunk and falls into her birthday cake. Emma breaks it off and this time she means it.

Or does she?

Walking home that night Leo meets a woman on Tower Bridge. She comes home with him and turns his life upside down. For she is not human. She is a fairy - with a wand and everything.

And I can accept that, for it isn't the magic I have a problem with. What didn't quite ring true for me were the characters of Emma and Leo. Emma whines a lot about Leo, saying she loves him, but most of the time she just hates being on her own. Leo was meant to be cute, in a childlike way, but I just found him irritating and certainly not likable enough to root for him.

Despite all this I still found the book entertaining enough to want to finish it which is great as I have plenty that I am struggling to start at the moment. Carole has that great ability to suck you in and, by keeping her chapters short, with a mini cliffhanger at the end of each of them, you just have to carry on. She also made me laugh out loud a few times. Not something I am prone to do.

I would, however, have liked a different ending. I love romance and the bit where you finally see which people get it together. But when I finally closed the book I felt like I had eaten too much toffee (and I hadn't even had my breakfast yet). The words that popped into my mind were "sickly" and "sweet".

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try I much preferred Carole's latest one (out in hardback) All You Need Is Love

BOOK REVIEW: Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch

I really enjoyed Allison Winn Scotch's debut, The Department of Lost and Found, and I'd been looking forward to her second book, Time of My Life for a while (particularly since I saw the beautiful cover).

It's another in a fairly long line of "what if" type books. Like Jenny Colgan's Do You Remember the First Time (in which a 30-year-old woman wakes up one day to find herself transported back to age 16). Or Catriona McCloud's almost-brilliant Growing Up Again, in which the main character also goes back in time to age 15.

Time of My Life has probably got the most in common with Mil Millington's Instructions For Living Someone Else's Life, in which Chris Mortimer goes to bed aged 25 in 1988 and wakes up aged 43 in 2006. But, you know, in the opposite direction.

Time of My Life's Jillian only goes back seven years, but they're an important seven years. In the present, she's married to Henry, living in the suburbs, a stay-at-home mom to eighteen month old Katie. She's not happy and more and more she finds herself thinking about her former life in New York, working as an advertising executive and living with the sexy Jackson.

And then - via a masseur unblocking her chi - she's back in her old life. At first, it's good. The sex is better than she remembered and, thanks to her future knowledge, she's kicking ass at work. But she misses her daughter. And, when she starts bumping into her future husband, Henry - and is able to directly compare him to Jackson - she's not sure which time she belongs in.

I enjoyed Time of My Life, but I found it a bit slow-going. Reviews on the back cover describe it as "a fabulous, madcap read". Also "funny" and "hilarious". I'm not sure they were reading the same book. I didn't find it funny at all and it's far from madcap. In fact, it's what I would call emotionally intelligent. Jillian looks deeply into the experiences that made her into the person she was (in the future, if you know what I mean). Her mother's abandonment at age 9. The death of her best friend. Her need to be popular.

Despite this, I never really felt I got to know Jillian as well as I would have liked. In fact, I was more interested in her friend Megan and I'd love to read a book from her point of view.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Growing Up Again by Catriona McCloud

BOOK REVIEW: The Overnight Fame of Steffi McBride

I wasn't exactly mad keen to read Andrew Crofts' debut novel, The Overnight Fame of Steffi McBride - I find it hard to maintain my interest in real dysfunctional soap stars, why would I want to read about a fictional one? But, despite that, I did find the premise intriguing and so I sat down to read...

... and I didn't get up again until I'd finished it. That makes it sound like a particularly gripping read and, while it *was* both gripping and entertaining, it was more that it was such an easy read. It would make a great holiday book.

Steffi wants to act, but her abusive father has told her in no uncertain terms that her doing so would bring shame on the family. So she has acting lessons in secret and it's at one of these lessons, when she gives a monologue describing her father beating her mother, that she is discovered by casting directors from Britain's biggest soap (which, unsuprisingly, sounds rather Eastenders-esque).

Steffi is thrown into the limelight and, despite basically playing a tart with a heart, apparently becomes enormously popular with the public. Next thing she's modelling for Elle (I found this a bit implausible - has anyone from Eastenders modelled for Elle?), being courted by a Max Clifford style PR guru and fixed up, both professionally and personally, with her childhood hero, former boy band singer, Luke.

Of course, her old life - her father's behaviour, the fact that she lived in a squat with her druggy boyfriend - is soon picked up on by the press who, as they do, take to hounding her pretty constantly. And then they get hold of an even bigger secret from her past - one that even Steffi's unaware of...

I really did enjoy this book. It found it convincing about the fake aspects of celebrity (although I found Steffi's mega-swift rise to fame a bit much) and how easily the people around you can change. What I didn't find entirely convincing was Steffi herself. I never really knew how she was coping with it all. I just didn't feel I'd really got under her skin. In fact, I didn't feel like I really knew any of the characters; they all could have been fleshed out so they felt more like real people.

Having said that, I'd quite like a sequel because I want to know what's next for Steffi!

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try The Secret Diaries of Abigail Titmuss by Abi Titmuss for a "real" version or The Truth About Ruby Valentine by Alison Bond for a fictional alternative

BOOK REVIEW: The Miracle Girls by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt

Reviewed by Jill Hart

The Miracle Girls is a sweet novel about second chances. Ana Dominguez has just moved to Half Moon Bay and is doing her best to fit in to her new life. Unfortunately, Riley, the most popular girl in school, has singled Ana out for her own brand of high school torture. When Ana and Riley end up in detention together, Ana is sure things can't get any worse.

God uses this bad situation to bring Ana together with a group of girls (Riley included) who, like her, are living their second chance at life. Ana realizes that they have been brought together for a purpose, but she must now convince the other "Miracle Girls" - maybe not Riley - that their friendship is meant to be.

I really enjoyed Miracle Girls and am already looking forward to the next book in the series. This is the type of novel that is timeless, that I'll want my daughter to read when she hits her teens (or tweens). I look forward to the day when I can share my love of reading - and clean, godly books like this one - with her.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try It's All About Us by Shelley Medina

MORE ON MONDAY: All Balls and Glitter by Craig Revel Horwood

I love Craig Revel Horwood. I know he's meant to be the Mr Nasty of Strictly Come Dancing, but I find him the most consistent judge and the most consistently hilarious.

I'd read a lot about this autobiography before it was published. The papers were full of lurid tales of Craig's time as a rent boy and a drag queen, so I was expecting it to be scandalous, juicy and, since Craig is so honest on Strictly, rather indiscreet too. Yeah. It wasn't.

It was a good read, I'm not saying that, and it was certainly considerably more entertaining than Lorraine Kelly's yawnfest, but there just wasn't actually that much scandal.

Craig wasn't *really* a rent boy (he allowed an older man he wasn't actually interested in to take him travelling), being a drag queen isn't particularly shocking anyway (and judging by the photos, he was a very good one) and apart from that it was mostly about his career. Which has been solid and accomplished.

I had to stop myself skipping to the Strictly section of the book, where I thought his lips might get a little looser, but, no, it was all on-message. Everyone gets on. It's a great show to do. No, the producers don't tell him to be nasty, he just likes to tell it as it is.

Like I said, it was, in the main, an entertaining read, but it wasn't a particularly exciting one. Maybe he should have got the Mr Nasty side of his character to write it...

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try My Booky Wook by Russell Brand (much juicier)

And don't forget about my Strictly Come Dancing reviews over on TV Scoop!

BOOK REVIEW: Seduction by Gemma Holliday

You know me, the words "erotic fiction" made me a teensy bit afraid. I'm not a prude (okay, I'm a bit of a prude), but I'm always wary of reading anything described as "erotic" and I'm certainly wary of reading anything with people in their underpants on the cover.

But Geneva Holliday's latest book, Seduction, while it is indeed erotic, is also great fun. I think I read it in two sittings and I was pretty much smiling throughout.

Seduction features Mildred Johnson. She works for the managing director of an investment firm and is, by all accounts, deeply unattractive and insecure.

Tony Landry is a player. Despite still living with his mother, he sleeps with a different woman every night (and sometimes more than one at a time) and is basically a moral vacuum.

So when Tony gets a job at the company where Mildred works, the reader isn't unduly worried. I mean, Mildred's certainly not his type. But then Tony's friend tells him how he can use his new job to steal money from the company and, for that, he needs to convince Mildred that he's in love with her. And he does. And poor Mildred falls for him too. Hard. (Fnarr.)

Tony, the swine, jilts Mildred on their wedding day and nicks off to Barbados with his ill-gotten gains.

Mildred, devastated, goes to Barbados on holiday. Well, she thought it was a holiday, but it turns out her friend has sent her to a weightloss boot camp. Mildred loses weight and becomes stunningly gorgeous.

And then she bumps into Tony and sees the chance for revenge...

(I know it seems like I've given away pretty much the whole book - and I kind of have - but that's no more than it says on the back cover!)

Like I said, Seduction is great fun... as long as you don't take it too seriously. (And, to be honest, I'm not sure you could.) At the beginning, Mildred is such a dope and so insecure that I just wanted to shake her, but then she changes quite dramatically and I'm not entirely confident it's for the better (I can't say any more than that because I don't want to give the ENTIRE book away!).

But bits of it *were* pretty sexy, so it would make a rather fabulous beach read, I think. And I'll definitely be reading more Geneva Holliday books.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Amorous Woman by Donna George Storey

BOOK REVIEW: Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs

I'd been looking forward to Kate Jacobs' second book for almost a year, so earlier this week, I made myself a cup of tea, got myself a packet of dark chocolate digestives (*my* comfort food) and curled up on the sofa to indulge... (I had the book as well).

It's the story of TV chef Augusta "Gus" Simpson who learns that her long-running cookery show is getting, in the opinion of the audience and the television station, stale. I'm afraid to say I found the book stale too. (The biscuits, however, were fine.)

Gus's producer tells her that they need to liven things up and so she finds herself agreeing to a live show with special guests. The original plan, basketball stars ("Hot guests and cool food") falls through when they are delayed by the weather and the head of the station instead brings, younger, hotter (and cooler) Spanish internet chef, Carmen Vega to cook alongside Gus. Gus, of course, can't stand Carmen, but the audience loves her and so Gus and Carmen are given a show to co-present.

Meanwhile, Gus is trying to control the lives of everyone around her - her daughters, their boyfriends, her best friend and neighbour, the reclusive Hannah - while refusing to live her own life (widowed more than twenty years earlier, she hasn't dated since).

But I'm afraid I didn't really believe a word of it. I didn't warm to Gus at all. I didn't find anything that happened particularly believable, plus it was all rather cliched (why did she dislike Carmen? Because she was younger and more attractive). The storyline that Hannah was hiding out after a scandal seemed to appear from nowhere.

I know I recently complained about criticisms of chick lit as predictable, but, seriously, the love interest in this book practically arrived with a flashing "LOVE INTEREST" light show above his head. And yet I didn't find myself rooting for he and Gus to get together because I didn't care enough about either of them.

I've also complained in the past when people call a plot "contrived" because, let's face it, all plots are contrived by the author - but I got the impression reading Comfort Food that Kate Jacobs was sitting and thinking, "Hm. What should happen next? Oh yes, I know, I'll send them all on a team building course." It just didn't seem natural to me and I found myself mostly scanning the entire second half of the book.

I was particularly disappointed because I enjoyed The Friday Night Knitting Club so much. Jacobs' next book is a sequel to that one, so here's hoping it'll find her back on form.

Rating: 3/5 (I toyed with a 2, but it *is* well-written, so I've decided on a 3)

Like this? Try The Perfectly True Tales of a Perfect Size 12 by Robin Gold (a similar idea, but so much better)

BOOK REVIEW: The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum

The first time I heard of Julie Buxbaum's debut, The Opposite of Love, was when I found out it was to be adapted into a film with Anne Hathaway playing the lead. When I received the book it had a quote, from Marian Keyes no less, on the front cover. "Gripping, wise and extremely refreshing. I loved it." Made into a film and Marian Keyes' endorsement. This book, I thought, must be great.

It is the story of Emily, a successful Manhattan lawyer, working for a prestigious law firm. Intelligent, well educated and in a relationship with a fabulous man, Andrew, whom she loves. After spending a great weekend together with him, she dumps him. Because she had an inkling he was about to propose. Her friends and Grandpa Jack are incredulous. They thought him perfect for her. But it seems Emily, like her friend Jess states, gets pleasure out of breaking her own heart.

We then go on an emotional journey with Emily as she is sexually harassed at work, is given a case at work that goes against every instinct in her body, faces a future with a confused Grandpa, a distant father and, also, motherless, as her mum died when she was only fourteen.

This is a book about Emily finding herself. We know the outcome of this as it is written in the prologue. But would the journey be interesting enough to keep you turning those pages? Well, I found the first one hundred pages great at first. Julie has a fresh writing style which I really admire. But it did begin to get a little dull and I was desperate for Emily to make something happen for herself. Eventually she does which keeps me reading for the rest of the book.

It was interesting to see how she puts herself back together again. As I got to the end I had a fleeting thought that maybe everything happens a little too conveniently. But I also found it powerful at times. My eyes were stinging with emotion right towards the end, then bizarrely, I also found myself skipping little bits. Again it was starting to get a little (tiny tiny) bit boring. I'm looking forward to seeing it on the big screen though and will definitely pick up her next book. I agree with Marian, it was wise and it was refreshing. I think this writer has a great future ahead of her.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try The Private Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca Miller

BOOK REVIEW: Just Say Yes by Phillipa Ashley

Just Say Yes is a contemporary romance, full of up to the minute cultural references, set in both London and Cornwall. Lucy Gibson is the girlfriend of Nick Laurentis, a popular winner of the reality TV show Hotshots (thinly veiled The Apprentice). Nick proposes to Lucy live on air in the final show, Lucy says no (they hardly know each other and the L word has never been mentioned) and is subsequently hounded by the paparazzi and treated like the worst woman in Britain.

Lucy has had enough of the paps stalking her on her doorstep, so she decides to flee to Cornwall and live in her friend Fiona's cottage for a month. Whilst she's down there she meets Josh and his girlfriend Sara, feels like a gooseberry but is also, disconcertingly, extremely attracted to Josh.

Josh is the sort of man who doesn't like being lied to, who likes the truth and doesn't give any second chances. The problem is, as soon as he says this, you know Lucy isn't going to tell the truth about why she is down in Cornwall. I've spoken about this kind of frustrating misunderstanding in books before, where she is obviously not telling him the truth just for the sake of the plot so it all reaches a climax towards the end. Last week, Keris spoke of predictability in chick lit. Whilst we often know in chick lit who is going to end up with who, it is the journey of how they get there that makes a great story. I knew who Lucy would end up with straight away, but slightly infuriatingly I also guessed how they would get there.

Also, as far as I can see, she has nothing to be ashamed of. So she turned down a chap's marriage proposal. Is that such a bad thing? Surely Nick was the one who should be ashamed for putting her in that position in the first place?

With the clunky plot in mind, there were a few other aspects of the story that didn't make it flow easily. One minute it is early evening and the next it is afternoon (on the same day). Then the spiky plant. One minute she has taken it home, then towards the end of the book it is back at the office...It is just little things, but mildly infuriating when you are opening up your imagination to believe the story and the characters.

Now that I've had my moan though, I did enjoy the book. It was a pleasant, easy read. There were great descriptions of Cornwall that made me want to pack my bags and live there immediately. Josh was a heroic swooning character ideal for a romance novel and Lucy was the sort of girl who doesn't recognise her own beauty. A bit dim at first but comes up trumps in the end.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Decent Exposure by Phillipa Ashley

BOOK REVIEW: Handbags and Homicide

An interesting title that managed to grab me straight away. I'm not a big handbag person but I do like a bit of mystery, so this seemed a perfect book for me to read whilst resting my bump. By Dorothy Howell, it is a Little Black Dress book, and I've enjoyed two of them recently so had high hopes for this one.

Haley Randolph is really into her designer handbags. Not fake, knock off ones, but the real thing. However, her expensive taste has led to very large credit card bills. She works in the accounting department for a well respected law firm, but has to take on evening  work at Holt's department store just to pay for everything. Then, a few days after starting work there, she walks into the stockroom and finds her boss lying dead on the floor.

The police are called, the owner of the store arrives but gradually the finger of suspicion starts to fall onto Haley as she found the body and no-one else appears to have been in the stockroom at the time. Then she goes to work at the law firm and finds out she has been put on administrative leave. There is a discrepancy that has to be investigated in her work.

All this would have me hyperventilating, but Haley appears to be such an airhead the seriousness of the situation kind of passes her by. She thinks the owner of the store, Ty, is pretty hot, carries on working at the store (this is now her only source of income) and takes it out on her credit card. Gradually though she wants to clear her name and starts some investigating of her own. She's a bit like a Clueless or Legally Blonde version of Meg Cabot's Heather Wells.

At the beginning her stupidness frustrated me. But. The book had that page turning factor so I kept going and the stupidness kind of fell into place. I enjoyed the last third of the book in particular, when she becomes a bit more clued up and is determined to clear her name. Then the book finishes. On a cliffhanger! How frustrating is that? So I googled the book, came across Dorothy Howell's website and find there is another Haley Randolph mystery coming out next year. Phew. That's alright then.

Breezy, amusing, with mystery. A great, light read. I look forward to the next one.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

BOOK REVIEW: Someone Special by Sheila O'Flanagan

Normally when I start to write a review I've already written it in my head and know exactly what rating to give it. But this one, Someone Special by Sheila O'Flanagan has put me in somewhat of a quandary. She is a great chick lit writer and I loved her previous book Yours, Faithfully but this one has left me shaking my head.

Our heroine is Romy, an Irish archaeologist living in Australia who is suddenly called home by her step brother, Darragh, because their mother is going to have a back operation. She has to leave her best friend Keith behind and then goes and confuses things by kissing him as she says goodbye to him at the airport.

Romy arrives back in Ireland and goes to look after her glamorous mother, Veronica. The two of them don't appear to get on and silences are loaded between them, issues are skirted around  and each one thinks the other doesn't like them.

We also meet Kathryn, Romy's step sister, who has a very successful career and marriage out in New York. Romy is irritated and upset as her family are dismissive of her own career and she always feels like an outsider. Her father is divorced from her mother and is now married again and it feels like it is just her, Romy. There are lots of family issues to be sorted out and many of them centre around the family business, which belonged to Darragh and Kathryn's deceased father, not Romy's.

As ever with a Sheila O'Flanagan novel, the scenes are well written and the characters are well described. I wrote some notes, however, whilst reading the book. The first one simply says "frustrated by Romy". Her step siblings think she has this chip on her shoulder and she does, but she doesn't do anything to help herself. She doesn't say what she feels, just wants to escape back to Australia. Eventually she does say what matters, but by then we are towards the end of the book and my frustration with her has been steadily building all the time to the point of not caring any more. Although the characters, including Romy, are well written, I didn't warm to any of them, except maybe Keith and he was barely in it.

Many of the chapters and paragraphs within the book are used to set the scene. Past history that has happened in the family. Whilst this was useful in order to understand what everyone was feeling, I was just itching to get on with the plot.

Once I had finished the book, I looked at it lying on the floor some ten minutes later and couldn't remember if I had finished it. I'm afraid that's the sort of impact it had.

Rating: 3/5 (I rounded up as I wanted to give it a 2.5)

Like this? Try How Will I Know? by Sheila O'Flanagan - she does write some great books.

BOOK REVIEW: Jack With a Twist by Brenda Janowitz

Jack With a Twist is Brenda Janowitz's second novel featuring lawyer Brooke Miller. In the first, Scot on the Rocks, Brooke's boyfriend dumps her just before her ex-boyfriend's wedding, which they were supposed to attend together.

In Jack..., Brooke is trying to arrange her wedding to her gorgeous fiance (um, Jack) at the same time as working on the biggest case of her career. Things are thrown into turmoil when Brooke finds out that Jack is working on the same case... but for the opposition.

Between dealing with her controlling mother, Jack's even more controlling family, and the enormous workload dealt to her by her future husband, Brooke is also trying to find a wedding dress and, you know, have some semblance of a life.

I enjoyed Jack With a Twist even more than Scot on the Rocks. As with Scot... there are some improbably situations that drove me a bit mad, but Brooke is such a sweet character and the supporting characters are such good value that I didn't mind as much as I might otherwise.

Brooke herself reminds me of a less daffy Becky Bloomwood or Lizzie from Meg Cabot's Queen of Babble series. And, yes, that's a compliment!

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot

BOOK(S) REVIEW: A Round-Heeled Woman and Unaccompanied Women by Jane Juska

I bought Jane Juska's memoir so long ago that, although the Waterstone's receipt was still stuck in the front cover, everything but the company name had faded away (I hate when that happens; how much better would that money have been in *my* bank account!).

Anyway, I finally started reading it and, after three chapters, loved it so much that I had to put it to one side so I could take it away with me. I loved Jane Juska's voice - wry, self-deprecating, honest - and I was desperate to read more about her adventures, but I am also always keen to have a good book to read on a plane, so I had to wait.

In case you've never heard of it, A Round-Heeled Woman is a memoir written after Juska decided to place the following advert in the New York Review of Books:

Before I turn 67 - next March - I would like to have a lot of sex with a man I like. If you want to talk first, Trollope works for me.

Incredibly brave, don't you think? Or, as Juska herself points out, foolish. I wanted her to find intelligent, entertaining, kind men and have, as she wished, lots of sex (great sex, in fact). This didn't exactly happen.

Juska's "sexploits" aren't the only focus of the book, though, she's also led an interesting life, teaching in high schools and San Quentin Prison and we learn a lot about this too, plus her family background, education in the fifties, marriage and problems with her son.

Of course, the dates with the advert's respondents and any subsequent sex are the bits that stick in the mind... actually, I'm not certain that's true. Some of the sex parts stick in the mind (ew), but I find myself thinking more about the way the men treated her. She falls in love (which she didn't intend to) with more than one of them and it doesn't work out well.

That was my problem with the book, really - and it's my problem, not the book's. I was hoping for a life-affirming memoir. I wanted Juska to get everything she wanted and more and she doesn't. In fact, she gets her heart-broken more than once. I found, as I read on, I was feeling sadder and sadder.

But not so sad that I didn't leap at the chance to read the follow-up - Unaccompanied Women - in which she's still looking for that elusive mate and, at the same time, somewhere secure to live. In fact, security is a major issue in both books, which made me worry for Juska even more. Security - financial and emotional - is one of my major driving forces and I'm "only" 37. I hate the idea that I will still feel the same in another 37 years.

I didn't enjoy Unaccompanied Women quite as much as A Round-Heeled Woman, simply because Juska reports the stories of a number of other women and I didn't find them quite as interesting as her own. Having read the books, though, I feel quite protective of Juska and hopes she gets at least some of what she really wants.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron (for wittily written essays on ageing) or My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler (for a sex memoir)

BOOK REVIEW: Sparkles by Louise Bagshawe

I've not read any Louise Bagshawe before, so this weekend, thanks to my husband's generosity, I settled down with one of her more recent books, Sparkles. It tells the saga of the Massot family, owners of the prestigious jewellery firm. Sophie, the wife and mother, Tom the son and Pierre, the husband and father who has been missing for seven years. Sophie, distraught, has decided she, Tom and the firm need to move on, so she has had Pierre legally declared dead.

Tom doesn't take this news very well and distances himself from his mother. In the meantime the knives are out at Massots the firm. There are hirings and firings aplenty and Judy, Pierre's mistress has got it in for Sophie. Then there is Katherine, Pierre's mother, a woman who hates Sophie and makes sure a gulf is driven between her and her son.

There are plenty of twists and turns in this story. There are also lots of holes and problems I have with it. The women are either career driven "working girls" or submissive and virginal. Of course, they also all hate each other, with this hatred stemming from the rivalry of one man, Pierre, where personally, I don't see the attraction.

But. Yes there is a but. This is a strangely gripping tale. Once I'd picked it up I could barely put it down. Admittedly the plot line is faintly ludicrous and Sophie is a weak heroine, but even so, I kept reading. And dreamt last night that I was the owner of a jewellery firm. Sparkles certainly has impact.

Like Keris with Glamour, I was expecting some "bonking". I had thought Louise's books were "bonkbusters". This was not the case, after all the heroine didn't believe in sex before marriage. Nevertheless, I definitely look forward to reading more of her books.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try An Absolute Scandal by Penny Vincenzi

BOOK REVIEW: The Secret Diaries of Abigail Titmuss by Abi Titmuss

For those of you who don't know who Abi Titmuss is, well, she shot to fame as the girlfriend of a well known TV presenter in the UK (an ex of Catherine Zeta Jones) when he was arrested over rape and sex allegations. She was a nurse at the time and loyally stood by him whilst the press went mad and he was left a broken man. Because of all this press interest in her boyfriend's story, Abi herself started to get attention. Then, bizarrely, the Richard and Judy Show called her in to screen test as a presenter.

The screen test went well and she was offered a job as a roving reporter. Meanwhile she was still working as a nurse at the hospital. She did a couple of pieces for the show, then disaster struck. Someone sold pictures of her with two men and a woman (you know what I mean). Then there were drug allegations. So she was dropped from The Richard and Judy Show. In our crazy media obsessed world, however, this didn't stop the job offers. She went to work for a fantasy channel for a lot of money, FHM the men's magazine wanted to shoot some pictures of her, the tabloids were printing stories about her all the time, and she sort of *fell* into the world of glamour modeling.

This is not an autobiography. As the title suggests it is actually a diary from the date she met her TV presenter boyfriend and when she had just gone part time as a nurse in order to study acting. Unfortunately for her, with the scandal that followed and the career choices she made, her dreams of being an actress were beginning to look less and less likely. I thought the diary extremely well written, but when I read the first page or so properly I saw it had been written "with" Lucie Cave, the talented features editor from Heat Magazine.

The diary shows the world behind the headlines. What is printed versus what actually happens, staged paparazzi shots, the inordinate amount of money to be made from photographs. To me though, this is actually a sad book. When I finished it I actually felt sorry for Abi. If what is said in the book is true or even remotely true, it is a terrible example of the price of fame and the way women in particular are built up by the media, only to be torn to strips a short while later. The sadder part is, women or girls actually aspire to be like her. As Abi says in her advice, are you insane?

From the headlines and the photographs you would think Abi is having a ball and milking it for all its worth. Whilst she may be doing the latter, the former is achieved through lots of alcohol in order to make her more confident. Most women deal with self esteem, weight issues and fat days. Abi is no different. But then I think, why put yourself out there? Why go on a reality TV show? Why expose yourself in such a way? She complains that she feels violated at times so why keep on milking the cow?

Even if you aren't interested in Abi, but are interested in the celebrity media and the way it works, this gives you a small slice of behind the scenes action. As celebrity books go, it's not bad, and as it's not an autobiography but a diary - it's an easy read.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Jordan: Pushed To The Limit by Katie Price

BOOK REVIEW: Chocolat by Joanne Harris

Finally I have managed to finish Chocolat by Joanne Harris. I tried to read this years ago, and struggled, but after reading Garden Spells, which had a sticker on saying "Adored Chocolat? You'll love Garden Spells," I thought I'd give it a go. After all I adored Garden Spells, but would I enjoy Chocolat as much?

The story revolves around the lives of Vianne Rocher, who arrives at the French village of Lansquenet with her daughter, Anouk. Her arrival and setting up of a chocolate boutique opposite the church at the beginning of Lent doesn't sit well at all with Father Reynaud. He believes she is a serious menace to the village, upsetting the status quo and encouraging women like Armande and Josephine to behave inappropriately.

Then there are the gypsies that come to the village on their boats, including Roux. The intolerance towards these people by the church, the narrow-mindedness, the secrets, including one big one. It is all very intriguing and we see it all through the eyes of Vianne and Father Reynaud.

I found it difficult initially to get into the rhythm of the book. I was also self conscious, I felt I had to enjoy it as so many other people had raved about it.

I found Joanne's style of writing evocative, but also a style that you have to really sink into, to forget everything going on around you. Once I had done this, by about page one hundred, I was comfortable with the writing, the characters, and I was no longer seeing the film in my head, I could really get into it.

However. Something didn't feel quite right. Whether it was the fact that this is supposed to be set in the present and not one hundred years ago. It wasn't until films and a big TV was mentioned in the story that I actually grasped that this was set in modern times, but the way people were acting, particularly the priest, felt quite backward and therefore rather cliched of a catholic village.

Then there was Vianne. I didn't feel I really understood her, to get what she was actually trying to do. It didn't delve deep enough into her character for my liking and Father Reynaud was just two dimensional.

Saying that, I enjoyed it, and certainly recommend it. I'm also looking forward to reading The Lollipop Shoes, but, controversially maybe, I can't give it more than 3 out of 5.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen - I preferred it.

BOOK REVIEW: The Love Of Her Life by Harriet Evans

Keris loved the cover and story of Harriet Evan's second novel, so I was quite excited to review her third, The Love of Her Life. With a similar (but not as stunning) cover, The Love of Her Life promised to be a "modern day love story jam-packed with humour hurt, hope and happiness". Everything you need really, so I was raring to go.

The heroine is Kate Miller, an English girl living in New York. Her father, living back home in London, is ill and she needs to come home to see him. The only thing is, she'll no doubt also see lots of reminders of what happened as well. Including the man who could, quite possibly, be the love of her life.

So she goes back home and sees her father, meets up with her best friend, and all the time references are made regarding something that has happened in the past. What could this be?  Harriet Evans definitely keeps the pages turning here, as we need to know what had made Kate run away to New York and take a job that is quite beneath her abilities.

The book then goes back in time and we find out some information. Then we come back to the present, then back again, which to be honest did confuse me slightly. But then I should have been paying better attention, but I was distracted by Kate. You see, I found her a bit frustrating. I wanted to give her a good shake at times, she just seemed a bit, well, wet.

I find it frustrating when the plot is based around a lack of communication and misunderstandings that are blindingly obvious to the reader. After all, if there were less of these issues in the book it could probably have been about one hundred pages shorter, yet still a good read.

Saying that though, I did enjoy the book. It was fun putting all the pieces of her life together and finding out exactly what happened in order for her to flee London. Everything then makes sense and I can almost (almost!) forgive her for being a bit of a drip.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Alphabet Weekends by Elizabeth Noble

BOOK REVIEW: The Darcys Give a Ball by Elizabeth Newark

Reviewed by Jill Hart

Touted as "A gentle joke, Jane Austen style," The Darcy's Give A Ball is a short, light-hearted novel centered around the lives of Austen's most loved characters.

Jane and Elizabeth are experiencing a small portion of what consumed their mother's thoughts in Pride and Prejudice - the romantic attachments of their children. To aid in this endeavor, they decide a ball is in order. Their children are of age to enter society and what could be more fun than a ball that includes all of their friends and loved ones.

This book is a lot of fun - a quick read, but well put together. There is a bit of romance, a bit of mystery and a bit of intrigue. Austen would have gotten quite a chuckle of what this author came up with to keep her character's lives exciting.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try A Walk With Jane Austen by Lori Smith

BOOK REVIEW: Other People's Husbands by Judy Astley

Some books, when you put them down, you physically itch to get back to and don't feel your life will be complete until you finish it. Others you'll look at but then you keep finding lots of other things to do before you return to it. Other People's Husbands was, for me, unfortunately the latter.

Sara is married to Conrad, an artist who is twenty five years older than her. Conrad has decided he would rather die than become seventy and Sara, a teacher at the local college, has plenty of male friends. Then she finds she is attracted to one of them.

Then there is Pandora and Cassandra, Conrad and Sara's twenty something children, Cassandra's baby and Sara's sister Lizzie with her son Jasper. There is a house full with lots going on.

This is, for want of a better description, a nice book. A book that doesn't tax you, an enjoyable one, but not one that leaves a lasting impression.  The relationships between the characters are played out well. Conrad is a bit "unusual", Sara seems to be having some kind of crisis of her own...but I don't feel I get to know the characters too deeply.

This is my first Judy Astley novel, so I don't know how it compares with her others, and it won't necessarily be my last. It's definitely one for when you just want a nice (there's that word again), light read.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Having a Lovely Time by Jenny Eclair

BOOK REVIEW: Thanks For Nothing, Nick Maxwell by Debbie Carbin

Thanks For Nothing, Nick Maxwell is the debut novel by Debbie Carbin. Using a rather unusual style of writing we follow Rachel Covington's life as she meets Nick at work, takes him home, gets pregnant but doesn't realise - then spends the next few chapters wondering what's wrong with her. When she finally does see the doctor, it is also, by coincidence the same day she has arranged to meet a man called Hector as she found his mobile phone and is returning it to him. She then ends up spilling her secret to him.

When I say unusual style of writing I mean Debbie has written this in the first person as though Rachel is talking directly to you. For example;

I'll show you my office later. Make sure you have a look at the performance tables. They're over by Jean's desk, pinned up on the wall. You'll see that my name is always in the top three, week in, week out.

At first this style of writing irritated me, but I got used to it, got stuck into the story and it didn't matter anymore. What was strange though was when Rachel went on to describe what other people were doing in the story, without actually being there herself. I had to get my head around that one.

When Rachel decides what to do about her pregnancy (and you can guess what she decides as she finds out early on in the book and the book goes on for another 400 or so pages) the stranger with the mobile phone becomes more involved in her life, we find out that they coincidently share the same circle of friends, then Hector happens to be involved with the IT at her work...

I really enjoyed this book. It was a page turner, was well written and I'm looking forward to Debbie's next book. However, there are rather a few too many coincidences throughout but especially near the end (which was, nevertheless, satisfyingly emotional). Then there is the plot. It is a plot built on confusion and misunderstandings. Woman gets pregnant with someone she's not serious about, doesn't realise for a while even though it's blindingly obvious to the reader, then meets another man but man thinks she is still involved with the father. Also, I can't help but think I've read a similar plot somewhere before.

This is a lovely debut novel and definitely one to pack in your suitcase, just don't expect too much in the way of originality.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella

BOOK REVIEW: Moose by Stephanie Klein

When I featured the video trailer for this book, I warned that it would make you cry... well, if you're anything like me, you'll find the book even more upsetting.

Subtitled, "a memoir of fat camp", it's exactly that - there's a little about Stephanie now at the beginning and end of the book, but the rest of it is about Stephanie's overweight childhood and summer spent at Camp Yanisin. The title refers to the fact that in eighth grade, boys at school started calling her "Moose". But not just Moose, a long, drawn-out, moose-call type of "Moooooooossse". I can't think about that without feeling utterly furious, so you can imagine how I felt when Stephanie reported that her father thought it was funny...

The book is filled with that kind of thing - Stephanie actually feels popular and relatively at home at fat camp, despite the fact that the camp itself sounds ridiculous and pointless (and that's assuming you don't find the very idea of fat camp offensive). The thing I found so depressing about this book was the relentless focus on Stephanie's weight - both by herself and her family. Yes, I know that's what the book's about, but it's just such a miserable thing for a child to have to spend her time worrying about.

Of course, it's certainly possible that I found this book so upsetting because I identified with it so much, but I've recently read two other weight memoirs - Shauna Reid's The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl and Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster - and, although I identified with those books too, I also found them amusing and entertaining (as well as poignant and inspiring); Moose made me sad and angry.

It's very well written and brutally honest (wincingly honest sometimes), but I was glad to finish it.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster

BOOK REVIEW: By the Time You Read This... by Lola Jaye

Lola Jaye's debut has certainly been eagerly anticipated by us here at Trashionista, since the author has been writing a monthly guest blog (and pre-publication diary) for us for ages (read the first here).

The premise of By the Time You Read This... is similar to that of Cecelia Ahern's PS I Love You - Lois's father died when she was a child, but then her Aunt gives her a book that her dad has written for her: The Manual.

The first rule of The Manual is that Lois must only read each new entry on her birthday from ages 12 to 30 and she's not allowed to read ahead. The book also contains sundry advice that she can read as and when she needs it.

And so, with The Manual for company, we follow Lois from age 12 to 30. We meet her friends, her family, her boyfriends. We follow her through changes of career, home and car.

I found it really interesting and entertaining to follow a single character through what are basically her formative years. Usually in chick lit you get a snapshot of someone's life, but By the Time You Read This... is more comprehensive and more involving for that. It's satisfying to witness Lois becoming a strong and independent woman.

I did sometimes find the advice in the manual too convenient and contrived - for Lois's father, Kevin, to have given the advice he did he'd had to be more than a good father, he'd have to have been a clairvoyant - but I didn't enjoy the book any the less for that.

I actually found Kevin's voice more convincing than Lois's and it is his voice that has stayed with me since reading the book. Having said that, I'd still love to read another book about Lois and find out how she's managing without The Manual...

All in all, an inventive and original book and a highly promising debut. Go, Lola!

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try PS I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

BOOK REVIEW: Filthy Rich by Wendy Holden

Filthy Rich by Wendy Holden is a hefty book. 598 pages long to be exact. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't put me off, it actually makes me look forward to a book more. For some reason I like a solid book in my hands - it makes me think I'm going to get a cracking story. So did Filthy Rich weigh up? Well some bits did and some bits didn't.

Based in a village in the East Midlands, there is a huge cast of characters that come together over the common ground which is to be made into allotments. There is Mary and Monty the aristocrats who live in the crumbling stately home, the American's Beth and Benny, who have decked out their cottage in head to toe Cath Kidston, Catherine, the new head teacher, Philip, who moved to the village after his wife died and Alexandra, a WAG and wannabe celebrity. Oh and Morag, a not very pleasant eco-warrior type person. Out of breath yet? There are even more characters but I haven't the room to mention them here.

The first 157 pages of this novel start out quite slow. There is lots of description, particularly about the stately home and how people look that it does become a little tedious. When I got to page 156 and was introduced to yet another character, this time the Reverend who I really didn't care less about, I was desperate for something to happen, sharpish, otherwise I was going to give up on the whole thing.

Thankfully the book then picked up pace, although for the plot it was still a little long winded. But still, I carried on, because now I was starting to enjoy the book. I liked Mary and Monty and Catherine and was amused by a few others. Not Morag though. I thought she was vile and wished some of the other characters would stand up to her more.

So there I was happily reading away, then it ended. The whole thing seemed to conclude in one chapter. Just before this we had one character behaving absurdly out of character - this annoys me as I feel it is something put in just for plots sake and doesn't feel natural. And the ending she gave for Morag, I didn't think that was fair. Not on Morag but on what she gave her.

It sounds, with all my criticisms like I didn't enjoy the book. I did enjoy it, but I think the first 150 pages could have been reduced and the ending maybe fleshed out a little more.

Like this? Try Kiss Chase by Fiona Walker

BOOK REVIEW: Johnny Be Good by Paige Toon

Reviewed by Kirsty Greenwood

In between all the celeb gossiping, it seems a few Heat Magazine journos (Jo Carnegie, Lucie Cave) have taken to knocking out the odd book – not least Paige Toon, Heat’s resident reviews editor.

I picked up Johnny Be Good after its sterling review in said magazine, and wanted to find out if it was worth the (possibly biased) five stars accolade they gave it.

Johnny Be Good begins when twenty-something Meg Stiles flies to LA after landing a dream job as PA to the worlds hottest rock star Johnny Jefferson (if only). Determined not to cross the boundaries of a working relationship, Meg vows not to fall under sexy Johnny’s spell. Until of course, she does.

Also residing at the LA mansion is down to earth, good guy Christian, an old friend of Johnny’s who is there to write his biography. (Can you tell what happens next?)

Swept up into the sometimes-bitchy world of LA celebrity, Meg is torn between two men. The moody, sexy bad boy who will inevitably break her heart, or the one who will always love her, but she just doesn’t fancy. In between all this Meg is trying desperately to keep Johnny from embarking on a path of alcoholic self-destruction, as well as trying to figure out whether the LA lifestyle really is for her.

Johnny Be Good is extremely well written. Meg is a likeable, relateable character and the book contains some real laugh out loud moments. It does, however, focus solely on her relationship with the two leading men, and although this is well done, it would have been nice to see a little more substance within the plot.

Without question, Johnny Jefferson is one of the sexiest chick lit heroes I’ve ever read, and the scenes between him and Meg are bursting with toe-curling anticipation.

The ending has a killer twist, which I’m hoping has been done to pave the way for a sequel. If not, then it’s just one of those annoying endings that leaves you feeling a bit “Huh??”

I’d recommend this novel for anyone who wants a relaxing, giddy read, without having to concentrate too much.

Rating: 3.5/5 [We don't do halves, so I've rounded it down, cos I'm mean like that! - Keris]

Like this? Try Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Krauss

BOOK REVIEW: Don't Make Me Choose Between You and My Shoes by Dixie Cash

Now this is an odd one. Dixie Cash is a pseudonym for two Southern sisters (one of whom is named, interestingly, Jeffery). Don't Make Me Choose ... is the fourth in a series featuring the "Domestic Equalizers" - two friends who are hairdressers with a sideline in private investigation.

So. The Domestic Equalizers are Debbie Sue Overstreet and Edwina Perkins-Martin and, in this book, they've been invited to New York to speak at the National Association of Private Investigators convention. Also attending the convention is Celina, a librarian from another small Texas town, who's always harboured ambitions to be a PI herself.

And then. Stuff happens. Okay, er, Debbie Sue and Edwina befriend Celina and they attend some of the conference. Plus Celina meets a hot policeman who the other two aren't sure can be trusted. And somewhere in New York there is a serial killer targeting prostitutes.

To use footballing terminology (sort of), this is a book of two halves. For the 150 pages, practically nothing happens in painstaking detail. Usually I would have stopped reading, but the writing is pretty engaging and I really liked the character of Celina and wanted to find out what happened to her.

The rest of the book loads happens, but I found it utterly unconvincing. Debbie Sue and Edwina are caricatures and I just didn't believe in them. Yes, it's far-fetched and kind of a farce, but it should still be convincing. I mean, Lula in the Evanovich books is over-the-top, but I totally believe in her.  I didn't believe in Debbie Sue and Edwina for a minute (I also struggled to keep straight which was which). That's probably why I liked Celina, because she seemed like a person, rather than a character. I ended up scanning the rest of the book and getting more and more irritated with the women's daffy behaviour.

And yet I'm giving it 3/5. I thought about giving it a 2, but when I think about this book, I think about it with fondness, rather than irritation, presumably due to the first half or the character of Celina. I don't know, it's not an exact science (that's for sure). So to sum up? It could have been really good. It wasn't. But it also could have been a lot worse. Hmmm. Maybe give Celina her own series..?

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

BOOK REVIEW: The Pemberley Chronicles by Rebecca Ann Collins

Reviewed by Jill Hart

[Make sure you read to the end of the review, since we have five copies of The Pemberley Chronicles to give away! - Keris]

Have you been longing to know what happens to Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy after the wedding? The answer has arrived. The The Pemberley Chronicles by Rebecca Ann Collins picks up where Jane Austen left off.

The book begins seven weeks after the wedding and finds Lizzie happily at Pemberley. She has endeared herself already as the new mistress of Pemberley and has acquainted herself with her duties and obligations as such. Life marches on and the author gives you glimpses, just as Austen did, into both the trivial as well as major events that take place in the lives of all the beloved Pride and Prejudice characters.

It's an enjoyable read and I was satisfied with most the events the author placed in the lives of Austen's characters. My one main complaint is the overwhelming praise of Mr. Darcy all through Part One. It got to the point that I literally skipped entire sections that rambled on and on about all of his wonderful qualities. It almost seemed that Collins was trying to make up for all of the insults Darcy receives in Pride and Prejudice. It was, however, very distracting and took away from the quality of the story.

That aside, I relished being back in Jane Austen's world. Collins' did a great job of staying true to the characters that we all fell in love with in Pride and Prejudice. It's definitely worth reading.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try A Walk With Jane Austen by Lori Smith

To be in with a chance of winning one of five copies, email editor@trashionista.com with your name and address and "Pemberley" in the subject line, before midnight GMT 30 June. This comp's only open to US entrants, I'm afraid.

BOOK REVIEW: The Chocolate Mouse Trap by Joanna Carl

Reviewed by Angela Richardson

The Chocolate Mouse Trap is the fifth book in The Chocoholic Mysteries series by JoAnna Carl. This is the first one I have read and I was very curious how Carl was going to mix chocolate and murder mysteries. The combination sounded as though it could be delicious or nauseating (personally I suspected the latter).

This book (and I am guessing the others, due to her frequent reminiscences of past murders) revolves around Lee Mckinney who works in her aunt's chocolate shop. After meeting a party planner, Julie, that has passed some business her way, she is now being inundated by her "inspirational"€™ emails. That is until Julie'€™s killed.

When all the people on her emailing list are plagued with computer problems and then more attacks start to happen, Lee feels she has to investigate. Why would a harmless food industry emailing list be the target of an attacker? She'€™s determined to find out, even if it means risking her own life.

I have to say, this book is quite bizarre. It's basically a cosy murder mystery, but Carl inserts these chocolate quotes between chapters and I wouldn't like to be caught with her main character Lee, when she'€™s on a chocolate lecture. All she has to do is name a chocolate and you get a detailed description of it after. It is all an extremely strange idea and definitely not very good to read while you are trying to diet. I bought 2 bars of chocolate in a day because of this book! Or perhaps that'€™s the idea and she gets commission from a chocolate company!

Overall, the basic book is a good one, it kept me interested, and although the pace did tend to lag occasionally, I thought it was a good read. I just found all the chocolate facts and details to be a bit strange, but then there must be a chocoholic market out there as this is the fifth in the series.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try The Forever Summer by Suzanne Macpherson

BOOK REVIEW: I like You: Hospitality under the Influence by Amy Sedaris

Reviewed by Diane Shipley (remember her?!)

I'd like to nominate Amy Sedaris as the anti-Martha Stewart. Although Amy has written a guide to entertaining and hospitality, it could possibly put any serious "homemakers" into an early grave. Like her brother David (who I love!) actress/author/comedian Amy is witty, intelligent... and more than a little strange.

I Like You... is made up of 29 chapters, giving advice on putting together different types of parties and get-togethers, from wakes to brunch. Plus there are recipes for quick and tasty meals for one and a number of cakes and desserts which sound positively mouth-watering. (Sedaris clearly knows her stuff: she has her own cupcake company in New York.)

Sometimes I couldn't work out whether the author was serious, such as when she talks about bringing home a group of Japanese business men she didn't know and cooking for them, or when she recommends holding impromptu twenty-five cent sales during a dinner party. But despite the sardonic tone, all of the recipes here are genuine and Sedaris is clearly enthusiastic about entertaining.

Unfortunately, the book reminded me of all the reasons I don't enjoy cooking or throwing parties (the effort, the clean-up, the small talk!) but that's a personal thing. It also made me laugh when Sedaris said she loved being a waitress, and would always rather eat at home than eat out. Reverse both those statements and you have my views exactly!

I do wonder if the wit and irony of the book might perhaps turn off people who don't realise the recipes should be taken entirely seriously. It might be better to have skipped the information on the best way to douche (!) and have made a few more concessions to conventionality... Also (picky, much?) I'd have preferred the book in an A3 format, that could have been laid flat so it was easier to follow the instructions. (I imagine...)

Despite a few reservations (and the caveat that this book is not for the easily offended!) I'd definitely recommend I Like You as a refreshingly modern guide to entertaining; an alternative to the likes of Martha Stewart and Delia Smith, who take it all too seriously for my liking.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

BOOK REVIEW: The Secrets of Married Women by Carol Mason

Reviewed by Helen Redfern

Jill is married to a lovely chap called Rob. Life would be perfect for them, if only they hadn’t been told that Rob wouldn’t be able to father children. Rob is distraught and understandably withdraws. His wife though thinks he is going off her.

Jill has two close friends. Leigh is bored with her own husband and decides to have an affair whereas Wendy has a seemingly perfect marriage. Whilst listening to Leigh in raptures about the man she has found to have an affair with, Jill can’t help but look at her own marriage and wish she had a bit of passion in her own life. Then she bumps into a Russian lifeguard.

I’m a bit confused about this book. A few of the characters, including the main one, evoked quite a few negative feelings in me, which is obviously skilled writing as I actually feel something for the characters. This also meant, however, that I didn’t feel any empathy for Jill. Her husband is reeling from the shocking news of his inability to have children, yet all she can think about is their sex life and lack of it. During the course of the book I found her uncaring, spoilt and undeserving of such a lovely man. If I’m honest I didn’t particularly care what happened to her until the end. Which is when I couldn’t put it down.

The writing style became different, quite deep, with not so much conversation taking place. I began to see a stronger side to Jill and actually started to care what happened to her. I would have liked to have seen this final Jill explored more thoroughly rather than just shoved into the epilogue as I thought it made her journey more interesting and made her less shallow.

Throughout the book the style of writing is great with some hooks to keep me reading. There were a few twists (one I saw coming a mile off but I won’t dwell on that). It is just this empathy issue. I wanted to root for her but she kept letting me down. I only carried on reading at some points to see how Rob would get on. I’m glad I did because the epilogue made it worthwhile.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Marshmallows for Breakfast by Dorothy Koomson

BOOK REVIEW: The Wrong Sort of Wife by Elise Chidley

Reviewed by Helen Redfern

Lizzie’s life starts to unravel when she unburdens herself in an email to Jane her sister. Starting with "Janie, do you ever feel you need a mini-break from being married – or is it just me?" She goes on to talk about the main thing she wants to do is sleep, she hates picking her husband’s soggy underpants up off the floor and basically she’d rather eat a box of chocolate digestives to "candles and music" with her husband any day. Unfortunately instead of sending it to Jane, she forgets to check the address and it automatically goes to James, her husband. Oops.

She doesn’t hear from him all day, then he comes home from work, goes upstairs, refuses to speak to her, then packs his bag and leaves. Un-be-lieve-able. Just from one email. Can I point out here that Lizzie is the mother of three year old twins. She hasn’t had a proper night's sleep since they were born and has no help from her husband as he works long hours and away from home. It’s pretty obvious from the email that Lizzie has lost her zest for life and needs help from her husband not the cold shoulder. Even my own husband could see that. I guess what I’m saying in terms of plot, this isn’t realistic. If it is then I’d say she’s better off without him.

However. Lizzie decides to move from their house to a completely different county where her best friend Tessa lives, rent a cottage and sort herself out, believing her husband will come to his senses and beg her and the children to return home. Whilst I have issues with the email - and the spineless husband who’d rather go to the divorce courts than talk to his wife - which is basically the whole premise of the book, I lowered my eyebrows and closed my mouth to read on. Then I really enjoyed it. I loved the character of Lizzie and the way she decided to tackle her new life. She begins to run and get fit, starts to write again and looks for a job, all the while looking after her twins. The book is well written and has that page turning factor.

We have tiny flashbacks to when she met her husband and he seems to be a nice, caring chap. Someone who adores her. So this leaving her over an email doesn’t fit in. Sorry to harp on about it but it did spoil the book for me.

Then we get to the end. I’m not going to give it away, but I’m reminded again of this email and how the whole of Lizzie’s new life is built from it. So whilst I enjoyed the middle of this book, and I really did, I’m marking it down because of this.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try Hens Dancing by Raphaella Barker

BOOK REVIEW: No Strings Attached by Clare Dowling

Reviewed by Angela Richardson

Claire Dowling is a scriptwriter for Ireland’s top soap (I’ll have to take their word for that as I haven’t seen it). This is her fourth venture into the novel writing world, so she’s not exactly a novice in this area either. I was understandably expecting great things from her new book, a romantic comedy called No Strings Attached, after hearing Dowling’s impressive CV.

No Strings Attached is based around Judy who is getting married on Saturday and it’s a military operation: the dress, the three-tiered wedding cake, the uncle that nobody will sit beside at reception. She’s determined it’s going to be the happiest day of her life. That is until her fiancé, Barry, mysteriously disappears wearing nothing but his pyjamas. However, when his credit card shows up two days later in the south of France, Judy has to admit that he’s walked out on her.

Fanning Judy’s fury is Lenny, Barry’s best man, who believes that you shouldn’t let commitment ruin a perfectly good relationship. With the love of her life romping around France, Judy might just be in the mood for a little romance – with no strings attached, of course…

This book started out great. It was fast and funny and showed just how well Dowling can write. Unfortunately, I found the middle of the book just concentrated on everyone’s unhappiness. The plot seemed to falter and all the energy and humour of the book was leeched out to a parallel universe.

It did recover itself for the last quarter and regained its star quality, however, I’m not sure that this was enough to save the book. There were a few subplots, which compounded the gloom, having several couples struggling with their relationships and generally being miserable doesn’t really fall into the genre of romantic comedy for me.

No Strings Attached ended up being a very average book in a genre that is already oversubscribed. If only someone had been brave with the editing then this would have been a great read.

Rating: 3/5

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