Book Review: The Ballroom Class by Lucy Dillon

"When three couples join a new ballroom class, they're all looking for some magic in their lives.Lauren and Chris are getting married, and Lauren's dreaming of a fairytale wedding with a first dance to make Cinderella proud. Not wanting to be shown up on the dancefloor, her parents Bridget and Frank have come along too. They normally never put a foot wrong, but Bridget's got a secret that could trip them up unexpectedly. Meanwhile Katie and Ross are looking for a quick-fix solution to their failing marriage even though neither is quite sure who's leading who anymore.As friendships form over the foxtrot, the rumba rocks relationships, and the tango leads to true love, all the students in the Ballroom Class are about to face the music and dance..."

As a fan of dancing shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, the recommendation on the front and inside few pages from Arlene Phillips, judge of Strictly, pleased me and made me think that this would definitely be one for those of us who love to watch dancing shows. I found Dillon has written a book here with a great insight into the world of dance, although perhaps not as much as would be suggested by the title and cover of the book. I would have liked to have a lot more about Angelica's life as a dancer, and the short parts where the book flashes back to this time are too few and far between for me!

The dancing which occurs in the book is good, but isn't anything overly special. She does use a bit of technical language, but for those of us who don't understand it, don't worry as it is explained. Because of the characters, most of the dancing is very simple and you almost learn the dances along with them which I think made it a fun read. It did make me want to jump up off my seat and do a little box-step for myself a few times, but I managed to restrain myself! The great description of the dance nights held at the hall, the costumes and music did bring it all to life in a wonderful way, and I so much wanted to be there with them.

Dillon's characters are all well-written, and you can see feel compassion for all of them, despite their individual circumstances. I found myself caring for all of them, and wanting them to all work it out and be happy! I particularly felt for Katie who was struggling as a working mum, and I can only imagine how hard it was for her to leave her children. The relationship between her and Ross was so well written, you do feel like a fly on the wall in their home, which shows how good Dillon's writing is! The other characters were just as enjoyable, with Lauren and Chris' mad wedding plans coming to life and Bridget's inner turmoil affecting all parts of her life. Of course, I can't not mention Angelica, the dance teacher, and her story is an intriguing one! Her story gets revealed as the book goes on, and this little mystery is enough to keep you reading up until the end! Brilliantly done by Dillon.

This is a novel that really gets to grips with human relationships, their ups and downs, but of course love that will get you through anything, as long as that love is there. As well as the woes, there are plenty of laughs courtesy of Lauren and mother-in-law Irene's elaborate wedding plans, and these two never failed to make me smile! The dancing element really served to bring all of the characters together in one place, and to develop the individual storylines, and I loved the dancing scenes. They were so well written, you could clearly visualise that big old Glitterball on the hall ceiling, and the swishy dresses they wore for the classes! A really wonderful piece of escapist reading, a definite much for not just fans of dance, but also for those who love a fantastic read! For a debut novel, this is superb, and I do hope Lucy Dillon continues to write brilliant books. 


Rating: 5/5


You can buy The Ballroom Class as a paperback or as an eBook now.

Book Review: Any Way You Want Me by Lucy Diamond

Sadie is happily settled in her relationship, engaged to her lovely fiancé Alex with their 2 young children. But Sadie is convinced that there must be more to life, and begins to exaggerate the truth about her life in emails, meeting new people and catching up with old friends. But things take a massive twist for Sadie when she embarks on an affair with Mark, a distant friend. Can Sadie juggle her own family life, and the secret life she is hiding from her children and Alex? And will Sadie ever learn things don't always go to plan when it comes to relationships and families?

This is most definitely a chick lit book, but where it differed for me was the way the whole thing was written, and the attitude towards Sadie throughout the book. Being written in the first person, you got to hear Sadie's innermost thoughts and desires, and also her hates as well, and to be honest, from these I thought she was a pretty horrible person. At the beginning, she clearly loves her children and Alex, but soon the cracks begin to show and it was from then I really disliked her. I don't normally take a dislike to characters in books, but I made an exception for Sadie!

The idea for me that a woman could threaten her family life by having an affair is terrible, and perhaps this is why I couldn't like her. I didn't like the way she thought about her life, about her fiance and how she seemed to think she was stuck in a rut with her life... sacrificing a few personal freedoms is all part and parcel of being a mum, and I just couldn't understand why Sadie was so negative about her life. The author has clearly thought about the turns she wants this novel to take, because everything seems to happen to perfect timing and you could definitely guess what was going to happen, it was slightly predictable.

The characters themselves were all very well written. Although I didn't like her, Sadie's narrative was good fun to read, she was very bubbly and friendly sounding, and she certainly didn't hold back on her feelings. The way she described her other half Alex made him sound lazy and horrible, but I think he was probably a very nice guy! Mark was the only other main character, and I could smell him a mile off, not a nice chap at all. I could see how he was going to develop and was frankly a bit annoyed that Sadie couldn't! Overall, none of the characters were particularly nice people, all deceiving each other and not being honest, but I guess that is what some people can be like!

Although the main characters were good, there were far too many sub-characters for me to keep track of and this affected my enjoyment of the book a bit. I did find myself flicking back through the book to see who someone was and this was a pain. There were too many of Sadie's friends who popped up to irregularly for me to know or care about them, her sisters again weren't there much and I easily confused them, and there were too many of Alex's colleagues to keep track of. This was a pity, as with less characters, I may have enjoyed the book a bit more.

Overall, this is an okay chick lit book which does the theme of the book on a slightly different way to other books in the genre, but for me it wasn't something I could relate to at all, and consequently I found myself disliking the characters because of their actions. The story was relatively predictable, with a few bits along the way which surprised me but nothing major. A good writing style really saved this book for me, and I have got Diamond's second novel to read, so I do wonder whether it'll be an improvement on this. A good book, but definitely has its niggles for me.

Rating: 3/5

Book Review: The Second Husband by Louise Candlish

Kate Easton is divorced, and lives with her 2 children, 17 year old Roxy and 9 year old Matthew. They are struggling financially so decide to split their house up and have a tenant. Davis Calder decides to move in, and he and Kate strike up a friendship which soon becomes something more. But Kate is about to unleash a secret set to devastate the whole family, and rock it to its core. Can relationships survive the fall out, and will Kate ever get over the betrayal?

I thought the premise of the book sounded good, but judging by the tag line on the cover of the book, and the blurb on the back, I realised after I started reading it that I had probably guessed the twist that was going to appear in the book. When I realised this, I was actually pretty annoyed because this sort of thing shouldn't be spoilt, let alone on the front cover of the book. I think its a bad decision to have used the tag line they did as it is definitely too obvious (and I have asked a few people about this who have agreed), so for this I have had to take stars off the book rating overall.

Story-wise, this is the first Louise Candlish novel I had read, although I do have another of her books on my shelf, I just haven't gotten round to reading it yet. I found her writing very enjoyable, and the first half of the book was very enjoyable, covering all the background that sets up the story well. Maybe the background was a bit too long, she could have got to her destination much faster but I actually enjoyed the read. It was the second half to do with the secret I had more of a problem with. As I had guessed the secret, there was no shocking moment, and the rest felt like a bit of an anti-climax and I think Candlish could have done a lot more with these characters and the situation.

The characters themselves were well written and I did find myself thinking all the right emotions towards them. Kate, the main character, was a very nice woman and you could warm to her and sympathise with her situation and dislike of men due to her ex-husband. Alistair, her ex, was a slimy creature although towards the end of the book I did find myself liking him a bit more. Davis was completely suspicious, I didn't like him at all and you could tell something was a biit funny there. And finally, Roxy and Matt her children were typical child charcters, well written and did their job in the story well enough.

To be honest, although I had guessed the story, I was quite cross at Kate for not guessing it! There were really obvious hints being dropped throughout, and some of them were so blindingly obvious, it was quite daft she didn't suspect something. I don't know why Candlish chose to do it this way, because I found her non-suspicion a tad implausible and it did impair my enjoyment of the novel because of it. I feel that what could have been a good excitable plot turned into a bit of a farce. Key plots twists are revealed on the cover, the main character doesn't get anything until its front of her face, and it seemed to take a bit long to get where it was going, with the end half of the book really a bit rushed.

Don't get me wrong, this is a good enough read, because Candlish has a nice easy to read writing style, but I just feel there are too many factors which annoyed me to give this book a high star rating. I am so disappointed that the publishers chose to put the tag line they did on the cover, and consequently the novel didn't have the shock factor that I believe was intended. Good characters make up a bit for this, but not enough to save the story completely. A real shame, but still a good read if you have the time.

Rating: 3/5

Book Review: It's A Kind Of Magic by Carole Matthews

Emma and Leo are complete opposites. Leo is unreliable, a bit childish and doesn't take life, love or his job all too seriously, yet his girlfriend Emma is strict, reliable, tidy and enjoys her life being in order. This is why, when Leo turns up at Emma's 30th birthday drunk and incredibly late, she decides the pair are splitting up. But on his way home, a newly single Leo bumps into a lady on Tower Bridge named Isobel. Strange things then start happening to Leo and Emma, but neither can work out what is going on. Emma realises she wants Leo back but is it too late? And just who is the mysterious Isobel?

I haven't read a Carole Matthews book before, so I was interested to see what her story writing was like, and how well she wrote her characters. As you can see from the plot, there are two main characters, Emma and Leo. You are meant to like both of these people, as opposite as they are, but I just couldn't warm to Emma as much as I could Leo. Although Emma is the character who is the most wronged, I just found her slightly annoying and a bit irritating, although I can't really put my finger on why! Despite all his bad points, Leo is the loveable rogue of the story, and it's his character which kept me reading the book even when in parts I was getting a bit perplexed by the whole thing.

I don't want to say too much about Isobel as I don't want to spoil it for anyone who is going to read this book, but she isn't the sort of character I would expect to find in an adult's novel to be honest. I can see that Carole Matthews has gone for a different type of novel here, but for me it just didn't really work properly. The main storyline is an enjoyable one, but it is the twist involving Isobel which made the story less believable and bordering a bit on the ridiculous, which is a shame. I like my novels to be a bit realistic, with good characters and a good writing style, but Isobel and her storyline seemed out of place in this book unfortunately.

Matthews' writing style is very likeable and easy to read, which made the book an enjoyable and pleasant read for me. As she had two main characters, she has used two different writing styles to differentiate between the two. This wasn't confusing at all, and actually made it easier in places for the reader. Emma's chapters of the book are written in the first person, so we get a much deeper and more personal look at her feelings, whereas the Leo and Isobel chapters are in the third person, like an observer's point of view. Despite this, Leo is well-written, and probably the most realistic character in the book, and his feelings and personality are well captured by Matthews. Leo's friends Grant and Lard are two fantastic secondary characters, likeable and very funny, and the friendship between the three is very touching, particularly towards the end of the book.

It's A Kind of Magic was definitely not what I expected from this well-known Women's Fiction writer, but it was still an enjoyable read all the same. It's a good basic storyline, one which has been done many times before but this one has a surprising twist, even though I myself wasn't keen on it. 'Matthews' clearly had strong ideas on where this book was going, and although I did enjoy it, the Isobel element of the book was just a tad too strange and out of place for my liking, but I am sure there are plenty out there who will love it! The book made me smile a lot, it is a happy and upbeat book, and this adds a charm to it as well. It's very well written, with likeable characters, good narrative voices and nice small chapters (93 in total in the book!), it's an easy and pleasant read.


Rating: 4/5

Book Review: The Model Wife by Julia Llewellyn

Poppy Norton is a bit of a cliché, even she admits it. She was unlucky in love until she met News Presenter, father of 3 Luke Norton. The two begin a relationship on the sly, and accidentally Poppy falls pregnant. Luke decides to leave his wife Hannah to set up home with Poppy but soon finds out life with a young model and their newborn daughter doesn't quite match up to his twenty-year marriage. Fast forward 2 years, and Poppy's fed up of being ignored and left at home with daughter Clara so looks for a job herself. Things are not rosy in the Norton garden, but are they going to get better or worse?

I was quite surprised with this book to tell you the truth, it really didn't pan out as I had expected it to. From the start, it seemed like it was going to be a run-of-the-mill chick lit book about Poppy's life as a stay at home mum and perhaps getting her relationship to work again with Luke. But the book wasn't quite that at all, it was much more focused on Poppy as a person, and the effects that the affair and consequent marriage and baby had on everyone around them, including their friends and families.

I did like the character of Poppy at first, but for some unknown reason I found myself disliking her as I got further into the book. I did feel sympathy for her being married to a man who worked all hours God sent, and was often alone with her baby, but lets face it, that is life for a lot of families! I don't know why the author made such a big deal of that when it's a normal occurence. Daddy2harry works all day, comes home and Harry goes to bed, and I don't sit feeling sorry for myself like Poppy does!

But everything else in the book was enjoyable and fun to read. Luke's ex-wife Hannah has a column in a national paper in which she routinely slags off her ex-husband and his new wife, whom she fondly names 'the Bimbo'. These columns, which are dotted throughout the book are very funny to read, and provide a welcome relief from Poppy's moaning and whinging! Cleverly, the author has written this in the first person like a real newspaper article, with the main story being written in the third person so more like a story and made it easy to differentiate as you were reading.

I did enjoy the turns that the book took throughout which mirrored how things do indeed change in real life for people. Poppy managed to get her own job, and the story changed from there and I felt it was much more enjoyable. Poppy became much more edgy and interesting, and the way this affected not only her but Luke as well was good, and to be honest he deserved it! It was nice to see both sides of Poppy; the loving wife and mother, and also the party girl and model. The change of pace was a good feature of the book, and kept me very interested as you could tell something was brewing and I was desperate to know what it was! Cleverely done by the author, and a nice twist too.

The other characters throughout the book were also brilliant and added a lot to the story. Thea was Luke's colleague at the news station who has had a lifelong crush on him which has been unrequited. She's a strong career woman but when it comes to her private life, she's a mess. I wish she had been featured more in the book as I loved her scenes, and think she would have been good as a main character. Luke, Poppy's hubby, was just awful and God knows why any woman would be attracted to him to be frank! Hannah only appeared via the columns but was fantastic and it was nice to see her getting on with life.

At just under 500 pages, this is a bit longethe average chick-lit books I read, but the author has managed to fill all of those pages with a fantastic story which kept me interested all the way through. The way she changed the characters throughout was very good, and I liked this as it totally changed the book. Also, I liked how she set the scene of the book, and then went 2 years into the future to really explore how the relationship has changed, rather than trying to do it all in a matter of months. Good characters, a well written story and a very entertaining read. Recommended to chick-lit fans.

Rating: 4/5

Book Review: Pastures New by Julia Williams

Amy Nicolson is a young widow who has recently lost her boyfriend and father of her son Josh in an accident. She wants to make a fresh start away from the memories and the mother-in-law Mary so moves to Nevermorewell, a small village miles away from home. Amy soon settles into village life and life on the allotments and makes some new friends for her and Josh along the way. Amy is just settling in when local Doctor Ben Martin stumbles into her life and leaves her all confused. Will love begin to grow on the allotments? Or are the secrets that bind them pull them apart?

I know that the story doesn't sound like the most exciting in the world, and it certainly isn't, but what it is is a lovely, heart-warming story of love, confidence, discovery and trust all stuck together by the wonderfully indulgent and enjoyable setting of Nevermorewell and a cast of lovely characters. The author Julia Williams has really opened the eyes of the reader when she created this little world, and totally allows you to lose yourself in her words and feel yourself being sucked into lifen the allotments with a warm cuppa in your hands!

This was what I really loved about the story to be honest. I do love a book where you can just close your eyes and imagine yourself there, sitting alongside the characters, and this is exactly what this book delivered on for me. I could imagine the little houses of Nevermorewell, the muddy but cared for allotments, and Amy's little terraced house, and this just added to the charm and authenticity of the story itself. Williams really has the knack for writing places that you can instantly imagine yourself in from the first few pages of the book.

As well as wonderfully written settings, Williams has created a likeable and funny group of characters to follow through the story. Being the main character, Amy was the main focus of the book and she was definitely a loveable character. I sympathised with her circumstances, losing her partner and having to leave all her memories behind, but this made me warm to her much more quickly and I therefore wanted things to work out for her. Together with her son Josh, the pair made a lovely family and Williams has written a brilliant relationship between the pair which is touching and heart-warming.

There are other characters throughout that play their own important part as well. Harry, an elderley gentleman who owns an allotment near Amys, is Amy's first friend in Nevermorewell. He also hits it off with her son Josh, and he features strongly through the book and is the sort of neighbour we would all want! Ben is Amy's love interest and close friend, a real man's man who loves his GP practice, his motorbikes and looking after his friends. He was so much like Amy that the pair were perfectly written and seemed so perfect for each other! Caroine is the town vamp and an awful woman but equally laughable, she provides a bit of welcome comic relief into the book. And finally Saffron, Amy's new business partner and stressed mother of young children, she's trying to rebuild her marriage as well as her business.

But what I really loved about this book was just the way it plodded along in its own little pace, but it never seemed boring! It was a slightly predictable love story with a somewhat inevitable outcome but that didn't bother me at all. I could really sit down and immerse myself in this fictional little world, and I came to really care about these people and this village. Williams clearly has a knack for writing things that will touch people, and this is certainly a great debut novel. The third person narrative is enjoyable and easy to read, sweeps all over the countryside and its ways of life, and draws you into Amy's world of love, discovery and finding your old self. Definitely recommended, a lovely read especially for these coming cold winter months, one to curl up with.

Rating: 5/5

Book 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 leaves his job, and Annie paying the bills. Work descends into a handbags-at-dawn struggle for survival, and there's a new exec in the office - rude, opinionated 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 . . . 

Sometimes you have to lose everything to get what you really want. 

As soon as I started this book, I knew that I was going to really enjoy it. It was much more along the style of her fantastic debut which I just couldn't put down with likeable characters, a great story and a brilliant first person narrative which just draws you into the story immediately and without taking too much time to warm up and really get going. Williams narrative is very engaging, a friendly voice which is fun and easy to read, without being too ridiculous in any aspect. As was the case in her previous novels, we are also introduced to the other 2 main characters within the first chapter, given a really good outline of the main character herself and a stonking first chapter which makes a great start to the book.

Williams has a knack for writing great characters which are realistic, funny and endearing to the reader. She knows what demographic are going to be reading her books, which is generally going to be woman aged between 18-40 years old, and thus makes her characters appeal well to the this range. The main character of Annie is a career-girl, proud of her job and proud of working her way through the ranks, loves her boyfriend and their brand new house, and also loves her family. She's got it all, and despite this, she's a lovely character who isn't at all unlikeable. She talks about her job at length in a funny humourous way, and you can really visualise her workplace and the characters there as well. The other characters are also well written, from her out-of-work boyfriend Nick who seems to resent Annie for having a job she loves, to her hopelessly in love sister Georgia who crashes at Annie's house after her latest love crisis.

The book goes along at a great pace, throwing you in at the deep end with Annie and Nick, and then moving along as their life continues and their roles chop and change. Williams has grasped human emotion fantastically in this book, from Annie's exasperation at Nick's lack of motivation through to Nick's annoyance at being nagged to get a job, and even to Annie and Georgia's parents, particularly their father who wants the best for his girls and will speak his mind to Nick about not having a job! She's created a great balance of humour within the story, mainly based around the offices of Glo! and Annie's job there, and also love, sorrow and confusion. Williams explores these throughout the book in a gentle way which is in keeping with the storyline, and never too heavy either.

The book is a great read, and I just wanted to keep reading it to find out what was going to happen to Annie and how things were all going to turn out. Williams has this talent of making you want to read on, engrossing you with the story and the characters, giving you twists and turns along the way as well to keep things fresh. Her narrative is a joy to read, with great descriptive writing, yet very realistic narrative as well, endearing you to the main character fantastically well, so you feel you almost know her! I loved the story, although it sounds like it may not be the happiest, it is an uplifting book which is a fun and fantastic read for anyone who loves a great story of change, love and finding yourself somewhere you didn't expect. 


Rating: 5/5