Book Review: Priceless by Olivia Darling

Lizzy, Carrie and Serena all adore their art, but that's where the comparison between these three feisty women ends.

Lizzy Duffy works for Ludbrook's, a small London auctioneers and is a talented young woman working her way up through the ranks. She has a thing for her boss Nat Wilde, but is he giving Lizzy the chance to show off her real potential? Carrie Klein works for New York Auction house Ehrenpreis, and jumps at the chance to open their first London office, putting her in direct competition with Ludbrooks. But Carrie is determined to make it a success, whatever the personal cost to herself.

And finally Serena is an artist, a very good one in fact, living in Cornwall with her daughter after a messy divorce. But someone is about to get wise to Serena's talent for copying very old and famous paintings, and not necessarily for good...

Rating: 5/5

I am not a fan of art myself and I did wonder if this would impair my enjoyment of the book at all, but I am glad to say that it didn't! You don't need to know anything about art to enjoy this, because Darling has really done her research and explains everything you need to know about painting and the world of auction houses as she goes along. This allows you to just sit back and soak up the fantastic stories, and possibly learning a little something along the way as well...even better!

Olivia Darling has continued the format of her previous and debut novel Vintage, choosing to build a story around three different women all in the same world but without necessarily knowing each other. I found this worked well for her in that book, and it proved successful for her once again in this book, even more so perhaps. The books starts off very confidently, none of the slow start here that I found in Vintage. Darling has clearly found her flair for writing, and the story is incredibly readable, and I did struggle to put it down of an evening. One thing I really enjoyed was the references back to Vintage, such as the champagne used in this book, and a returning character as well, cleverly done by the author!

The characters were all well written, and I liked all of them for different reasons. Lizzy did annoy me at times as you can see she is more talented that she shows, but as of halfway through I enjoyed the different direction Darling took her in. Carrie was my favourite character, a ruthless businesswomen prepared to prove everyone wrong about how talented she is. Serena was completely different from the other two - she was far more vulnerable and perhaps the one most women reading this will be able to relate to, with a much more normal life and consequently I warmed to her quite quickly and easily. The men in the book were not nice people at all. Nat Wilde is Lizzy's boss and a complete sleaze, Julian Trebarwen is Serena's neighbour; an ex-con out to make as much money as he can, and Mathieu Randon, a character from Vintage makes a reappearance in this but is completely different to the Randon we knew from there.

I loved this book. I found myself getting into the novel extremely quickly and found the subject matter completely fascinating as well. Finding out about auction houses kept my interest, but the author has been careful not to bog you down with too much detail, just giving you enough information to understand the story and follow easily. I actually enjoyed the chapters about Serena the most, as it went into detail about painting and how things are achieved, and she has written this so well! The book is narrated in the third person, which I feel works well because of the three-part storyline, and allows the book to flit back and forth in time as well, as several characters make use of flashbacks in the novel.

If you're looking for a fun and exciting read, then I would definitely recommend you pick up a copy of Priceless. Darling has really honed her skill since writing her debut novel, and this shows in the easy flow and readability of the book. The characters are well crafted, all believable. I actually cared about what happened to them, and for me that's the sign of a very well written book. Darling has clearly gone to a lot of trouble to research the subject matter and that just serves to make an enjoyable book full of fun, sex (not too gratuitous!), travel around the world and a bit of fact too. Highly recommended.

Book Review: The Girl Next Door by Elizabeth Noble

Eve and Ed Gallagher have just moved to their new apartment in New York City after his job transferred him. He's eager, but Eve is feeling really lonely and a bit adrift.

But when she meets her elderley English neighbour Violet, a whole new friendship blossoms, and the Gallaghers begin to understand the other residents of their building and their lives too. Kim and Jason are struggling with their marriage and boisterous child Avery, Rachael and David seem to have the perfect family with their 3 kids; Emily is a single sportswoman but fellow resident Jackson is determined to crack her tough exterior.

Charlotte is a hopeless romantic and forever seeing the positive, and finally Todd and Greg are the apartment's gay couple and probably the happiest of the lot. "The Girl Next Door" delves deep into relationships, new and old, to weave a wonderfully engaging story.

Rating: 5/5

After the emotional but brilliant "Things I Want My Daughters to Know" , I was hoping that Noble would be able to get into the minds of her characters once more and give us a story that would stay with her readers long after we turn the final page. Rather than concentrating on a family dynamic as she did in her previous book, Noble chooses to broaden the scope of her story this time around by focussing on the tenants in one apartment block in New York City, and the relationships going on behind closed doors and how perceptions of people can be extremely different to their reality. Although this sounded like an interesting way of writing, I was concerned at the amount of characters but surprisingly I didn't struggle at all. Noble has included a "List of Characters" at the beginning, and this was a great reference point to flick for the first few chapters while you get to know the characters.

The main characters we see the most of are the English couple Ed and Eve who move over to NYC. One of the most enjoyable things for me was the way Noble writes the story of these two. The author herself is English, yet she writes New York with a real understanding of the city, but from a really English perspective. You can almost feel how Eve is feeling when she's stuck in a strange country all alone, and trying to adjust to the customs of a new place. Eve is very likeable, and a great leading lady, and when it comes to the very emotional story towards the latter half of the book, the reader is completely sympathetic to her and in fact, it struck a chord with me and was quite hard to read. The relationship between the pair is well explored too, and I came away feeling like I would miss reading about Ed and Eve.

Of course, there are plenty of other characters in the book too, but to write a bit about each would make this review far too long! Instead, I'll just mention some that stood out for me, and they were the complex family of Kim, Jason and their daughter Avery. It didn't seem like a happy story but Noble manages to put their emotions into words so well you can totally empathise with them and their current situation. I also liked Charlotte and Emily, the single girls of the apartment. Their stories also had me intrigued and drew me right into the book, and the underlying plots of the pair were very to read. Finally, I loved Violet and her wonderful stories. Noble has clearly researched the war years from both an American and English perception well, because Violet's war stories were amazing to read and added a whole new dimension the book.

I don't think that there are many authors out there who can write a faultless book, but Elizabeth Noble is one of those such authors for me. This book was such a delight to read for me, I just couldn't put it down at night as I was desperate to find out what was going to happen next. The book is what I call a "proper story", written in the 3rd person, and with so many characters, this was definitely the best way to go. Noble writes fantastically, and has a real talent for descriptive writing. Having been to NYC twice, her writing really brought back memories of what it was like to be there, and even for people that haven't been, they'll be able to picture New York from Eve's perspective easily.

For me, this is story-telling at its best. If you want a well written, enjoyable yet emotional novel, then I can't recommend "The Girl Next Door" highly enough. People would probably think that this is "chick-lit" but while I would agree its target audience is women, it's very deep and quite hard to read in parts, particularly the ending of the book (beware, there is a review on Amazon.co.uk which spoils the major storyline at the end of the book so steer clear of this terrible travesty). Noble has again delved deep into the complexity of relationships and come out on top once more. This book is a complete delight from the first page to the last, and you'll really feel like you've been on a rollercoaster with these characters. I was sad to turn the last page, and I know it'll be one I'll be buying when its out in paperback. Highly recommended!

Book Review: Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison

Lorna, Helene, Sandra and Joss all love shoes. But behind the addiction, all the women hide various secrets threatening to ruin their lives in different ways. Lorna has enormous debts, but just can't resist the latest Jimmy Choo's, piling them on yet another credit card. Helene is married to a politician, but behind the public face lies a very unhappy marriage, and secrets Helene is hiding from her own husband that she doesn't want to get out.

Sandra has a double life, she works as phone-sex operator called Penelope to get some easy cash, and this is how she funds her shoe addiction. Finally, Joss is a nanny for the most awful family and is so desperate to get out of the house she's willing to join any group.

The ladies meet at 'Shoe Addicts Anonymous', and realise they are all going to be friends for a very long time...

Rating: 5/5

As you can probably tell from the plot-line and its cartoony-style cover, this book is pretty fluffy chick-lit, and probably not one for those who dislike this genre purely because you probably won't enjoy it. However, I did find this to be better than some of the books I have read belonging to this genre, and the book did have some more serious notes weaved in the 'shoes addicts' storyline, which gave the book a bit of an edge. The book was very enjoyable, and mainly because of the author's really enjoyable writing style, it was a fun and easy going read with likeable characters whose world you quickly get absorbed into.

For me, it was the characters which made this book enjoyable for me. Although they all had their problems, they were all really normal and likeable sounding people and you quickly found yourself being absorbed into their different worlds. Although its centred on four different women, you never find yourself getting their stories confused because they are so different. All of their personal lives are equally interesting and fun to read, and Harbison's writing style adapts to each of the characters with ease, letting the story flow seamlessly, and develop in a natural path. With a story involving so many characters and plot-lines, there's a danger the reader could lose interest or become confused (as I have done with books in the past) with all the people you're reading about, but this definitely doesn't happen in this well constructed story.

Lorna's struggles with money is something that is quite a problem these days, although your electricity being cut off is pretty bad and I wouldn't let it get that far! Lorna was definitely the most likeable of the bunch, and I looked forward to her part of the story as I read about each of the others, she seemed like someone I'd want to be friends with myself! Helene's story was intriguing, you could tell there was more to it that met the eye and the way the story unfolded was good, and kept you wanting to find out more. She's a bit of an oppressed woman, and Harbison tackled the issue of her struggling relationship and Helene being paraded around very well, with real emotion and understanding. Sandra's life was amusing yet at the same time quite sad because she has bad agoraphobia, and I think the author tackled this issue very well, with realistic descriptions of Sandra's feelings and a few therapies she goes through as well. She was clearly the one you were meant to sympathise with, starting off as a quite tragic figure but by the end I had really warmed to her. Finally, Joss was probably my least favourite character, she seemed too weak to me compared to the other 3 and didn't seem to fit in properly. I got irritated with her quite a lot, and I actually think the book would have been fine without her in it to be honest!

This book was really enjoyable, and I thoroughly loved reading it. In fact, once I got into the story, which didn't take very long at all, I couldn't put it down as I was desperate to find out how it was all going to end! The story had a good momentum, not leaving any part of the story going too long so that reader doesn't get bored, and it was this which kept me reading as much as I did! The book is written in the third person, which works best for this type of story because of the multiple characters, and Harbison's writing style is easy to read and enjoy. For fans of chick-lit, this is definitely a must read, and I would thoroughly recommend you get hold of a copy. This is author Beth Harbison's debut novel, and I look forward to reading more of her books in the future!

Book Review: Before I Forget by Melissa Hill

Abby Ryan is quite happy with life, but all that changes when she's hit by falling debris when she's walking under a ladder on her way to work.

When she awakes, she finds out that her memory is damaged, and that she has lost much of her long-term memory. She's devastated, but also slightly in denial. So Abby sets about creating some new, fantastic memories with the help of her family and close friends, ones that she hopes she will be able to hold onto despite her declining health.

On her amazing adventures, Abby bumps into someone who soon becomes a close friend. But is she willing to let him into her life and let him become something more?

Melissa Hill always tries something different with her books, and explores areas that other authors in the genre probably wouldn't go down the route of. This books explores the aftermath of someone having an accident that will change the rest of their lives, and not only them but the people surrounding that person too. However, this book is a little different from other material the author has written in that it is focussed on one character and her life unlike other books which have chosen to focus on a group of characters, linked by some event or other. In another change from the norm, there isn't really a mystery element to this book, but still I was hooked and loved every page.

The lead character of Abby is very important, not only because she is the focus of the story, but because the audience has to like her and empathise with her, otherwise the book just wouldn't work. However, this wasn't a problem because of Hill's skill with writing and creating a character that just comes to life on the pages and into the minds of her readers. Abby was just a normal girl whose life took a shocking turn, and her accident was something that could easily happen to just you or me. This made it all the more believable and consequently I found myself getting involved in the story very quickly and in Abby's life as well. Abby's reaction to her situation is also very believable and I could see myself reacting the same way.

The reaction of Abby's family was also very important and played an integral part in the story. Finn was a great character who also reacted well to the whole scenario of Abby, and I instantly warmed to him. The rest of her family were also likeable, and that is why I like Melissa Hill's book so much. They are always completely focussed on the characters as well as the storyline and it always works so seamlessly to create a wonderful story and it makes her books so readable. The progression is good and doesn't move too quickly, instead choosing to focus on the events that Abby's family take her on and her visits with her therapist too. Hill has clearly done her research certain things in the book, such as the medical issues that Abby faces, and also New York too as this features largely in the book too.

This isn't my favourite book of Melissa Hill's as it doesn't have the major twists and turns that her other books do, but it still a great read and one her fans will definitely enjoy. She once again writes an excellent story that draws you in and keeps you hooked until the last page is turned. It doesn't get too heavy with medical jargon, but of course there is some in there because of the nature of the story. Hill manages to make it make sense though, and its all explained so you fully understand what each of these characters are going through. Although Abby is the main character, I really did love Finn because of his support and his own little storyline as well that was quite touching. As I said, its different from some of her other stuff, but its great and a very enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it to her fans, but also to anyone who just loves a really good book.

Rating: 5/5

Book Review: The Yorkshire Pudding Club by Milly Johnson

The Yorkshire Pudding Club is the debut novel by Milly Johnson, and what a stonker of a debut it is too. Elizabeth, Helen and Janey are all in their late thirties, and happily settled in their careers and in their relationships.

However, their lives are thrown into madness when after a visit to an ancient fertility symbol, all 3 women find themselves 'with child'!

Helen is thrilled to be pregnant after trying for a while, Janey is in shock as the baby will reck all plans of furthering her career, and Elizabeth is completely thrown, scared she won't love her baby and scared of being alone.

What I enjoyed most abut the novel was the easy way in which the author has weaved the stories of the three women with that of the other women. It reads so easily and wonderfully, you just can just lose yourself in the story, it is so absorbing and a simple joy to read! Throughout the book, the story switches regularly from focussing on one of the women then to another, and often with chapters containing them all together. This is a great technique in the book and makes it veryenjoyable for the reader.

Each of the characters are well written and you feel as if you know all of the women. You are given a history on all of them, and we fully go into their lives and feelings about being pregnant, from discovering they are expecting right up to the birth of one of the children. Helen's character started as being the one I disliked the most, but by the end I had the most respect for her and was willing it all to work out for her! Elizabeth was a very hard character to like, a woman who didn't like anyone getting close to her, and this is how the author has written her as well. And finally Janey is the comic relief throughout the book, and probably my favourite character. Each of the women are very different, yet all are fundamentally the same, experiencing everything together, and have a wonderful friendship which is lovely to read.

I also liked the human aspect of the story, watching each woman cope with the pregnancy and reading about how their feelings changed towards the baby by the end of the book. As well as the main 3 characters, there are several supporting characters too. John is the one Elizabeth let go, but he's moved back to town and befriends her once more. George is Janey's husband, a man so desperate to be a father he'd do anything to have a baby with his wife. Simon is Helen's slime-ball of a husband, and someone I absolutely detested. I found the scenes between these 2 particularly hard to read. There were also the work colleagues of the characters but they don't really need a mention! The male characters in the book were also well written and their feelings weren't left out which is a sign of a great writer.

For a debut novel, I think this one is amazing. I was hooked right from the start and just couldn't put it down. The story is a wonderful one to read and just reads so incredibly well. You are taken right into the lives of these women and so many emotions and secrets are revealed throughout the book, you are left guessing about certain things right up until the end. The author has a wonderful writing style which makes for easy and simple reading, yet managing to keep you hooked as well. The book is written in the third person which allows for easy switching between the characters. Simply superb, I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone. A pure joy to read.

Rating: 5/5

Read an exclusive interview with the author Milly Johnson here.

Book Review: Second Chances by Martina Reilly

Lizzie Walsh is happy with her boyfriend Tom, and her job as a counsellor at Life, a counselling centre in Dublin, where she lives.

But behind her happy facade lies a deep and painful secret - her sister Megan was murdered as a teenager and Lizzie and her family have never got over it. The murderer, Joe Jones, was sent to prison for life after the crime, but one day Lizzie is horrified to see Joe on her way home.

She makes a decision to follow him and this spirals into an out-of-control obsession with revenge and growing hate. But is it ever going to be enough for Lizzie?

Rating: 5/5

Martina Reilly used to write under the name of Tina Reilly, and her books were light-hearted and funny chick-lit novels, nothing too serious and an easy read. But she has released her last three under this name and they have all been far more serious and with strong subject lines. This one is her grittiest by far. The book covers some emotive subjects; murder, revenge, mental illness, and the effects that this sort of loss has on people, even twenty years on. Despite this, it wasn't a difficult read, just incredibly absorbing and hard to put down.

The book begins with the trial of Joe Jones and his conviction for murder. It then moves forward to the present day where we follow Lizzie who is our main focus throughout the book. I found her a very likeable person who seems really together and quite normal considering the bad things that have happened in her childhood. What I really liked was the way we see just how much Joe Jones and her obsession with revenge changes her, and Reilly writes this so well. She brings out Lizzie's feelings about Joe, and you can sympathise and see why she reacts in the way she does. This is important because Lizzie's actions are at times quite unsettling but because of the way it's written, it's all justified and seems to sit well within the story.

As well as the main plot, the book cleverly has several subplots going on at the same time to keep you interested, but they also serve to show you just how much the Walsh family has been affected by the tragedy. Billy and his girlfriend Aileen are expecting a baby but Billy isn't too pleased with the prospect. His reasons aren't clear but as the book progresses it soon becomes obvious that the loss of his twin sister has affected him more deeply than he wants to admit. Lizzie's parents are also having problems but neither is willing to admit to being wrong and the reasons for their problems. Lizzie's life is laid bare, both at home and at work so no stone is left unturned. But the knock on effect of her actions is intriguing and develops in the course of the story.

Reilly has chosen to tackle a difficult topic here, but she does so with real empathy and compassion towards her characters. It's easy to sympathise with them as you're reading because of what has happened, but it's good to see that they are trying to get on with their lives despite it all. Lizzie's is the hardest journey. Her actions did disturb me but I understood why she was doing what she did, and because of this I wanted everything to work out for her. But what really surprised me was how I felt sorry for Joe despite the fact he was a convicted murderer. It was refreshing to see how his life was after spending a lot of years in prison and how he was adjusting to the outside world again, in terms of jobs, relationships with people and general perception of life. This isn't something I have seen much in books but the way this was done was brilliant, and the blending of Joe and Lizzie together was gripping. You wouldn't expect these characters to be able to be together at all but Reilly tackled it in such a way that it worked, and it worked well.

This book was a fantastic read, and I did struggle to put it down because it was really gripping and fascinating. Reilly creates a realistic and believable story for her readers, and this one doesn't disappoint at all. I loved all of the characters, even, unexpectedly, Joe and I cared about what happened to them which is vital if you're going to enjoy a book. Reilly has tackled the subject carefully, yet doesn't shy away from the realities of murder and its after-effects on the characters which makes it stand out for me. The third person writing enabled the story to flip between characters seamlessly and with ease. It was a joy to read and I couldn't recommend it highly enough. If you like this, you'll definitely enjoy some of Reilly's other books. It's worth noting that this is fiction aimed at women, but it's not 'chick-lit' in the traditional sense, as it's more serious and gritty than the light love stories which typify the genre, and it's all the better for it. Definitely recommended.

Book Review: The Cradle Snatcher by Tess Stimson

Clare Elias is happily married to Marc, a banker. She runs a successful chain of florists across London and loves their luxury lifestyle.

However, their lives change dramatically when Clare gets pregnant and gives birth to twins, Rowan and Poppy. Clare struggles to cope with her babies and employs nanny Jenna to help out at home. The two strike up an unlikely friendship which Clare's husband begins to resent.

Clare realises that something is awry with her family life, and soon relies on Jenna more than she can imagine when things take a serious and shocking turn.

Rating: 5/5

The book has a nice purple cover which really does scream 'chick-lit' at you but this book is a lot deeper and more serious than its cover or indeed its blurb suggests. From the title, I expected this book to be about adultery and more focussed on Clare's marriage, but its clear that Stimson has chosen this title carefully so as not to give a clue to her readers about the story within. The writing style in the book is brilliant and immediately draws you in, so much so that you can't put it down because you just want to find out what happens next. Everything about this book makes it very readable, and the two main female characters were one of the main reasons.

I wasn't keen on Clare at the beginning. She seemed to be so set on her career and her children were a bit of an inconvenience to her. But Stimson really turned around that character for me very quickly and I soon began to sympathise with her. Clare had a traumatic birth and this is further shown when Stimson writes about Clare's different feelings to her 2 children because one was able to stay with Clare and the other was miles away in a Special Care Baby Unit. As a mum of a SCBU baby myself, I could relate to the feeling in the book and thought this was so well done. More serious elements of motherhood are covered, and they can become quite disturbing but its all done well in the context of the book. It certainly isn't light reading but that is what made it so compulsive to me. Clare is a lot more complicated than we first realise and that boded well for the development of the story.

Jenna is the other lead female, and is Clare's nanny. She's a very likeable person, bubbly and fun to read but its clear there is something going on behind the scenes which is hinted at throughout but takes a while to come to fruition.
It was bubbling under the main story during the book and this was great because it kept me guessing about Jenna all the way through. The depths of the female characters were very good, and so well written, its clear the author has really thought about these women before writing a story around them. Other characters include Clare's brother Xan, a character with a shocking secret, her mother Davina and Cooper, a customer at Clare's shop who knows as much about flowers as Clare does, and intrigues Clare from the off.

The thing I really loved about this book is the way Stimson has written it. She has used the first person to tell the story, but the narrator alternates at each chapter and the tone and pace changes accordingly. It wasn't hard to tell who was narrating and this really allowed me to get fully involved in the story. One thing I loved about this was the over-lapping Stimson uses. For example, she showed an argument between Clare and Marc from Clare's narration, and at the next chapter, the same thing is told from Jenna's viewpoint and carries the story on another tangent. It made it fun to read and keeps you updated on all areas of the story. Letters and emails etc were also used between the chapters to hint at things to come and these were fun to read and decipher as well.

This is intelligent chick-lit and totally absorbing. The book covers lots of issues from marital woes to post natal depression to domestic violence, so it isn't one for the light-hearted reader. But Stimson weaves a wonderful story which is very deep, extremely interesting and just a brilliant read. There is a lot of information about flowers and their meanings dotted throughout, and it was interesting to learn the origins of flower names and their real meanings. Clare and Jenna are fascinating characters, but the supporting characters are just as good; Xan in particularl had me hooked. Apparently several characters from this book appeared in her earlier stories, so I am quite eager to read those now and find out more about those people... a good idea of Stimson's! Lots of twists, turn and shocks...a brilliant read, and highly recommended.