Book Review: The Naughty Girls' Book Club by Sophie Hart

"A quaint suburb. A quiet little reading group. A very naughty reading list…

Estelle sets up a book group in order to increase custom to her struggling small town cafe, what follows is more scandalous than she could have ever imagined…

As the first book club meeting flounders, Estelle suggests a spot of erotica to spice up the members lives – with trepidation the decision is accepted.

Inspired by their sizzling reads, this group of shy suburban readers shake off their inhibitions and discover a new side to themselves with some tantalising results."

Rating: 5/5

You can buy The Naughty Girls' Book Club as a paperback or an eBook now.

I have to be honest and say that I hadn't heard about this book before a copy of it landed on my doormat, and I'm not sure why. When I took it out of the envelope, I'll admit I was slightly put off by the cover and the title, I had myself imagining all kinds of things and thinking it wouldn't be the sort of thing I would want to read. However, I read a few reviews on Amazon which made me think that maybe I should give it a try as it sounded like it wasn't all sex like the book title perhaps suggests it would be. I'm so glad I did give it a chance because it was an utterly brilliant read that I enjoyed from beginning to end, and is fantastically written too.

Estelle owns Cafe Crumb, and is struggling to make ends meet at the moment. When she spots the local bookshop closing its doors for the last time, she gets an idea - to run a book club all of her own in the cafe to help raise some money, and to indulge in her favourite passion too - reading. When 4 new members turn up, Estelle is unsure if she can make the club a success. But together with Gracie, Reggie, Rebecca and Sue, the foursome find that it isn't ordinary books that they want to read... it's erotic novels, but with a bit of a twist. Soon, the five members of the book club are allowing their lives to be more influenced by their reading material than they ever would have imagined...

Like I said, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I certainly didn't expect the fantastic story that I would get completely hooked on. Yes, there is some sex in there, but they are well written and fit in well with the theme of the book, and don't get too graphic and involved so I imagine most people wouldn't mind reading them. In fact, they're few and far between so it isn't too in-your-face at all which is good for those readers who would rather avoid scenes of that nature in a book. It was the lives of these 5 very ordinary people which drew me in and kept me wanting to read more, and find out what was going to happen to them next. Estelle, the lady who held the group together as the café owner, was fantastic, a hard-working single mother to a teenage son, and someone who is sure she'll never find love again. As the book progresses, you hope for her that she will, and I really enjoyed reading Estelle's parts of the book.

Gracie was probably one of my favourites, along with Rebecca. Gracie is a librarian with strong feminist views, and a love of all things 1950's, and I loved how Hart described her gorgeous outfits, and her bold attitude and how she isn't afraid to speak up for her beliefs. Rebecca is a teacher, and quite newly married but is worried their private life has gone stale. Rebecca got really into reading the books, and it was fun to read her attitude change. Reggie was the only male of the group, and I loved that Hart wrote a man into the book, he certainly added a new perspective into it. Sue, a newly retired married woman, is in a slump. Her husband doesn't want to do anything except sit and watch telly, but Sue is eager to get out and explore the world. The books they read change their perspectives on so many things, and I liked that they read lots of different types of erotica, just not the new stuff that's out, and it certainly enlightened me on books I've never read before!

The pace of the book was fantastic, and I enjoyed everything that happened as it went along. The scenes in the café were great, and I wish there was a local little café like that I could go to, it sounds so friendly, and the cakes sound delicious! The book isn't afraid to explore the sadder side of relationships as well as the naughtier and more fun sides, and I felt like there were lots of ups and downs, but I hoped these characters would get their happy ending, and I have to say there were a few scenes that were quite moving for me! I really did enjoy this book and thought it was so much more than what I thought it would be, and makes me look forward to reading more books from Sophie Hart! It's got a cast of characters that I really got to know and love, and some interesting looks at different erotica novels too, and I found Sophie Hart's writing style to be so easy to read. It was a really enjoyable book that I can highly recommend, I loved it!

Book Review: Two for Joy by Helen Chandler

"Julia and Toby have been friends for years, but apart from a couple of drunken snogs in their university days, there's never been anything more than friendship between them. It's only when Toby goes through a dramatic break up with his gorgeous ballerina girlfriend Ruby, that he and Julia realise they're meant to be together.

Then Ruby drops a bombshell - she's pregnant - and though he feels torn in two, Toby feels he has to give their relationship another chance.

Heartbroken Julia is left to lick her wounds in her little Walthamstow home, thinking she has lost Toby forever. But things soon become much more complicated . . ."

Rating: 5/5

You can buy Two For Joy as a paperback or an eBook now.

Helen Chandler's debut Two For Joy is a book I have been looking forward to reading for quite a while now. The cover is absolutely gorgeous, and when my review copy arrived, I was so excited to open it up and get stuck in. I don't what it was about it that made me really want to read it, but I loved the sound of the story and I was curious about the idea of things becoming more complicated for the characters... how could it get more complicated than how the story makes it sound?! I finished the book in just a couple of sittings, and here is why you must read Two For Joy this year!

Julia and Toby have been best friends for years, and Julia is sure she's always been a little bit in love with him, but is sure that he won't reciprocate her feelings. Toby's in a new relationship with dancer Ruby, but when it ends badly, he and Julia finally realise they are meant to be together and make things official between them. But soon after Toby gets a text that changes both his and Julia's lives forever - Ruby is pregnant. Toby feels he has to do the right thing and try to make things work with the mother of his child, and leaves Julia bereft. But when she makes a shock discovery, she realises things are going to get much, much more complicated...

I have to say that I really loved Julia from the beginning. She's a successful career woman, has got her ideal little house in London and is pretty content with her life, and her friendship with Toby, even though she wants a bit more from him. As the book progresses, and things happen between her and Toby, you feel happy along with her, her happiness really radiates from the pages and I love her optimism in the smallest things that happen. You then feel the real lows she feels, and I actually felt angry on her behalf at how Toby treated her once he had his news. I don't want to spoil the other twists and turns as I didn't expect them and enjoyed them being revealed in the book, but as Julia's other storyline develops, I just liked her even more, she was a really strong woman.

Toby, on the other hand, I really struggled to like. Yes, I know he was trying to do the right thing by Ruby and trying to support her through her pregnancy, but I felt the way he treated poor Julia was out of order and I disliked him because of that. Ruby was a bit of a complicated one - I really didn't like her attitude towards pregnancy and motherhood, but at the same time, you get a sense that there is something more going on with her and I really wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. We don't really see a huge amount of her in the book, but she doesn't come across in the best light throughout, even at the end when she made the decision that she did.

I have to say the idea of the story was a little bit unrealistic, that these things could happen as they did and the coincidences that do happen, but of course it just makes the book even more fun to read. I was happy for Julia because she got what she always wanted, but the way things happened weren't ideal. I also loved the inclusion of Julia's best friend Rose and her own story which was also very interesting. It certainly showed how marriage wasn't always all it cracked up to be, and that Julia's situation wasn't as bad as she may have feared. Their friendship was touching, and made a nice addition to the book. These are really the only 4 characters we meet in the book, but it works because they are all you care about and want to find out what's going to happen next in their inter-twined lives.

Chandler's writing was very easy to read, and I enjoyed how the story flitted about between Julia, Toby and Rub,y and Rose. Julia is certainly the main character, but the others are vital the story, and Chandler juggles them all with ease. She depicts scenarios which I am sure people will be able to relate to, and the emotions the characters go through in the book, especially Julia, are very real and you cannot help but feel them along with her. For a debut novel, this was brilliant, and I really did enjoy every page, I didn't want to put it down! Chandler is an exciting new voice in women's fiction, and this debut makes me very excited for what else she has to come. I hope you enjoy Two For Joy as much as I did, it was fantastic! 

Author Interview: Victoria Connelly

Today, I'm delighted to welcome the lovely Victoria Connelly to my blog for an interview. I recently read and really enjoyed her latest book Wish You Were Here,  an escapist read set on a Greek island with a little dash on magic thrown in too. Victoria was kind enough to answer some of my questions, thank you to Victoria for answering them!

Q1. Please tell me about your new book 'Wish You Were Here'.

Wish You Were Here is a romantic comedy about a plain Jane called Alice Archer who suddenly becomes irresistible to men after making a wish on a statue of Aphrodite whilst on holiday on a Greek island. Of course, the wish leads to all sorts of misunderstandings but will Alice find true love at the end of it all?

Q2. Milo is a fantastic and likeable male character - there aren't enough of those in chick lit I don't think! Was it important to you that both Milo and Alice are really likeable? Also, why are there no redeeming features for the horrid Stella?!

I'm so glad you liked Milo and Alice. I’ve had lots of lovely messages from readers who are falling in love with my gardener hero! As for Stella – she has a personality disorder - features of which include arrogance, self-absorption and a lack of empathy with others. I’m sure we’ve all met somebody who suffers from this condition and – believe me – they really don’t have any redeeming features. So, if you meet anyone like Stella, my advice is to run for cover!

Q3. The island of Kethos in your book is fictional - but did you base it on anywhere you have been to yourself?

I would love to visit the Greek islands one day but had to make it all up for my novel. But one of my favourite destinations is Italy’s beautiful Amalfi coast which has a similar landscape to Greece and there’s a fabulous place called the Villa Cimbrone which has the most glorious gardens and I was thinking about those as I wrote Wish You Were Here.

Q4. There's a bit of magic going on in the book - is that something you really enjoy writing into your stories?

It is – yes! Actually, my first three novels all had magic in them. The first, Flights of Angels, which was about a group of tiny guardian angels, was made into a film in Germany. The second, Unmasking Elena Montella involved a magical Venetian mask and the third, Three Graces, was about a very naughty ghost. All three books are available as ebooks now and I’d love to write more magical books one day.

Q5. The book cover for 'Wish You Were Here' is stunning... did you get much input into it or were you happily stunned when you first saw it?

I was, indeed, happily stunned. My publisher wanted a change in direction for my covers – focussing on my locations which readers always respond well to and I have to say that this cover simply took my breath away! Now, where’s my passport ...?

Q6. Could you pick a favourite of all of your books you have written so far?

I think it would have to be A Weekend with Mr Darcy which was the first in a trilogy about Jane Austen addicts. It’s special to me because it got me my first book deal in the US and Russia and I have met so many amazing people through my research. ‘Janeites’ are wonderful people and it’s also led me to writing novella sequels for Kindle which has been so exciting. I think I might be writing about these characters forever! Flights of Angels is very special to me too as it was the first book I got published and it was an incredible experience to see it being turned into a film.

Q7. Where did you get your inspiration for your stories?

All sorts of places. I often begin with locations which I love such as the Scottish Highlands for  The Runaway Actress and Venice for Unmasking Elena Montella. I also write about things I'm passionate about such as Jane Austen. However, I was once inspired by the fact that my husband was sent away with work in a war zone just a few weeks after we got married and I was terrified that I was going to become a widow. That idea inspired my novel, Flights of Angels.

Q8. You are quite active on Facebook and Twitter - do you enjoy social networking with your readers, and do you think it's an important tool for authors to use?

Writing is a very lonely business and it's so lovely to be able to connect with other writers as well as readers. I get so much joy when people tell me that they are enjoying my books and social media is a fantastic way to let readers know when your new book is out. I always run a few competitions around launch time via my newsletter http://victoriaconnelly.com/newsletter/ and Facebook. And it’s a great way to share all the very important things that are going on with my ex-battery hens!

Q9. What's next for you?

September will bring another Austen Addicts novella – Happy Birthday, Mr Darcy! And there’s going to be another short ebook in the ‘Mulberry Cottage’ series (even more hens!) And I’m working on my next novel too which is set in a big country house during a long hot summer in rural Norfolk. It’s going to be very romantic indeed!

Thanks so much, Victoria!

You can buy Victoria's latest novel Wish You Were Here as a paperback or an eBook now!

Book Review: You and I by Emily Gillmor Murphy

"Each September, thousands of students walk through the doors of University College and Trinity College, Dublin. This year, Olive and Tom will be among them.


Eighteen-year-old Olive is fresh from the country, and her eyes are opened wide by the big-city goings on of her new friends. When she starts to be pursued by Tom, the scruffy maverick who's seduced half the girls she's met, she's adamant he's not for her. But when a tragedy befalls her family, it's Tom who proves her best friend - until that is, she discovers his real motivations.


Tom has never thought further than the next party, the next girl, the next drink. But now, with his own broken family about to cast him off and his social habits spinning out of control, he seems to have destroyed his relationship with Olive. What started out as a stupid dare metamorphoses into something much more serious."

Rating: 4/5

You can buy You and I as a paperback or an eBook now.

Sometimes I am sent books to review that I quickly dismiss as not being something I would read as I don't think they are of the chick lit genre. Emily Gillmor Murphy's debut novels was one such book - on looking at the cover I didn't think I'd like it, but once I had read the synopsis, I was actually intrigued and thought it might be worth a try. Emily is a young, new Irish author , still studying herself yet signed to a big UK and Ireland publishing house, so there must be something pretty special about this book which makes it worth my while in reading it. I'm so pleased I did because this was a little gem of a read.

Young Olive has finally made the break away from home, and is going to University. She's excited to be starting a new chapter in her life, but nervous about leaving her parents and beloved brother behind. Then there's Tom. He's keen to move out of home, away from his depressed mother and father who would rather pretend he didn't exist. When Tom spots Olive one night, he's determined he must get to know this beautiful, yet shy young woman. When the pair strike a relationship and something tragic happens in Olive's life, Tom is the one she turns to in her hour of need. But one stupid mistake a few weeks ago just might destroy everything Tom has built up with Olive. Can he undone what has already been done?

This is quite simply a love story of two young people struggling to get on with their lives despite the troubles they each have in their personal lives, and I really enjoyed it. Gillmor Murphy, while a new author, seems to have honed in on the emotions, actions and general lifestyle of her characters so well, they could well be any two young people attending college. I daresay Gillmor Murphy has perhaps drawn upon her own experiences of college as well, it reads so realistically and while there are some dramatic moments as the book moves on, I was more interested in reading the day to day lives of Tom and Olive and finding out what they would do next. I haven't read a book where I really liked both characters and really rooted for them both for quite a well, and it was a fabulous thing to discover that in this book.

The backgrounds of both characters are very important, and revealed gradually throughout the book. Olive's was an interesting one, because of a more secret story we don't know about that is explored slowly, and is quite devastating as it reaches its climax. It moved me to tears in a few scenes, and I have to really commend Gillmor Murphy's writing here because it really gets to the heart of the emotion of it, and it felt utterly devastating to read it. Olive's reactions, too, are very realistic, you cannot help but feel sorry for her and it made me all the more determined she'd have a happy ending! Tom, too, was a troubled soul and I felt sorry for him so much, he was like a lost little boy, and was using drink and drugs to try and escape his awful life. As the relationships he has in life, especially with his divorced parents comes to light more, you can understand why Tom is how he is - emotionally shut down - and I hoped Olive would be the one constant in his life.

I liked how Gillmor Murphy juggled the story, alternating between Tom's story then Olive's story, and then slowly beginning to merge the two as it develops further. The book is told in the first person from both characters points of view, and I found Gillmor Murphy easily got into the heads of both characters, and I didn't struggle with Tom's narrative at all, sometimes a problem I find when women writers try to write from a male perspective, but this seemed very realistic and enjoyable to read. She covers all aspects of University life, from their studies to new and flourishing friendships, to their home lives and growing independence too. There's no stone left unturned, and I found it was a joy to read because of this, there was nothing missing or that left me wondering. There was also a little side story involving one of the characters, Olive's friend and I found this to be equally captivating, and also quite emotional too, showing love can transcend all class barriers if the two people want it badly enough.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book right from the beginning, and grew to love Tom and Olive as the book went on, despite the good and bad points about both of them. With her dual narrative story-telling, Gillmor Murphy allows you to get really invested in their stories, and while Tom does make some silly mistakes, you can't help but wish that Olive will forgive him and that they'll live happily ever after. It's a book about young love, and it explores all aspects of their life in a realistic and hard-hitting way, but in a form that you can enjoy, whatever your age. Yes, there's some sex, and drug use in the book but it didn't put me off at all, and just added to the atmosphere of the book for me. With likeable secondary characters, a great setting and a well told narrative, Gillmor Murphy's debut novel is one to really enjoy, and one that I will certainly recommend this summer. Brilliant. 

Book Review: The Lying Game by Tess Stimson

"There are some things we are never meant to know . . . Harriet Lockwood has never really bonded with her daughter, Florence, the way she has with her three sons. Then one day, she discovers why. The girl she’s raised for the last fifteen years is not her biological child. Zoey Sands is a single mother with a chaotic lifestyle. The one constant in her life is her daughter, Nell. Nothing can ever come between them – can it? When Harriet turns up on Zoey’s doorstep demanding to see her biological daughter, the two families are plunged into a storm of bitter rivalries… and unexpected alliances." 

Rating: 4/5

You can buy The Lying Game as a paperback or an eBook now.

I love novels that I can really get involved in, and have a story that is a little bit shocking as well. Tess Stimson is one of those authors who always delivers on those things for me, and I have really enjoyed all of the books I have read so far by her. Her publishers Pan have gone for a brand new cover look for her new book, The Lying Game, and while I don't really know how it exactly ties in to the story, I think it's a nice looking and striking book cover, it's certainly bright and colourful. The story itself sounded like every parent's worst nightmare, but I was intrigued to read more and find out which family's side I would come out supporting and why - I do love a good gritty novel!

Although Harriet loves being a mother, she's the first to admit that she hasn't really got a good bond with her eldest daughter Florence. Being her only daughter, Harriet wonders if it's something she's done that has stopped her bonding, or if it's her being too caring over her daughter's diabetes. Either way, she knows something is amiss. So when she finds out her baby was switched at birth for another woman's daughter, things start to fall into place for Harriet, and she realises why she has struggled to bond with Florence. Zoe Sands' daughter Nell, is the other baby who was switched at birth. The two are close, and are a small, tight family unit. But when Harriet suddenly appears on their doorstep one day, the lives of two families are thrown into utter disarray, and both women know that their lives will never be the same again. But has Harriet done the right thing by everyone in tracking down the daughter she never knew?

Thankfully, stories like this are not very common, especially in this day and age, but you do still read about the odd one, and yes, it is every parent's worst nightmare. You trust hospitals, you trust nurses and midwives and you know that the baby you take home from the hospital is yours. So Stimson has certainly chosen to write about a controversial issue here, and part of me was actually unsure I wanted to read it because I didn't know how it would make me feel as I read it. The two families, set in two very different parts of the world, couldn't be more different, and I think this not only highlights their lifestyle differences, but really emphasises the differences between Nell and Florence as well, and again makes for very interesting reading once you're involved in the book.

I have to confess that I didn't really warm to Harriet from the beginning. I found the way she was awkward with her daughter to be a bit awkward to read, and her blatant showing of it to Florence was to me awful. That said, you can understand why Harriet struggles, the lack of a bond between them is plain to read. One the other hand, you have Nell and Zoe, a very close mother and daughter who can share anything as it's always been just the two of them against the world. Stimson makes the families so incredibly different, and how they handle the news of their birth swaps is too very different. Harriet's happily married to husband Rob, Zoe is engaged to Richard but isn't sure he is 'the one' she's meant to be with. Either way, both women know the discovery and subsequent activities will impact on their relationships, but neither can forsee what happens. At times, I found Harriet's actions to be terrible, I found her selfish and entirely unrepentant, then suddenly I would dislike Zoe and hate what she did next, despite what else she was going through. I loved how Stimson made me unsure of who I was supporting, and keeps the story twisting and turning all the way to the final pages.

Stimson takes a while to set the stage of the story, and I enjoyed this because I felt like I really got to know the families and could feel something for them as their shocking news came to light. Harriet and her family live a very well-to-do life in Vermont in America, whereas Zoe and Nell live pretty much on the breadline in a flat in London. Their reactions to the news were hard to read, denial, acceptance, grief and excitement, I dread to think how it must feel to get that news. This must have been an interesting story to research for Stimson, and this comes across in her writing and how she deals with the issues and the characters after. In fact, the finding out about the baby swap is just the tip of the iceberg of this story, with lots more revelations appearing as you read on, but I don't want to spoil them because you simply have to read it to find out the shocking things that happen!

This is a fantastic book by Tess Stimson that you can really get taken into as you're reading, and it certainly made me glad that I will never be in that position with Harry, he's a carbon copy of his dad so no doubts for me! But the book highlights how easily these things can happen, and how catastrophic the consequences can be for those involved when things are revealed many years later. I found myself swinging between supporting Harriet, then Zoe, and it kept changing right up until the end when I just couldn't choose whose side I was on. You can see both women's side and whilst neither of them make particularly good decision, they do what they do for mainly the right reasons, and you can feel their pain and anguish in what they have been told. It's an emotional read, but one that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

Book News: Playing Grace by Hazel Osmond

I have read both of Hazel Osmond's previous releases, and am so excited to read her brand new book Playing Grace which is due out on 15th August. Hazel's books are always a great read, and it sounds like this one is going to be just as enjoyable, and I have to say I like the cover too, the colours work really well together. I'm looking forward to this one!

You can pre-order Playing Grace as a paperback or an eBook now.

"Grace Surtees has everything carefully under control - her work life, her home life and her love life - especially her love life.

But then her boss hires Tate Saunders, a brash American, to spice up the gallery tours his company provides. Messy and fond of breaking rules, Tate explodes into her tidy existence like a paintball, and Grace hates everything about him...

...doesn't she?

Because, for Grace, the alternative would be simply too terrifying to contemplate: to love Tate rather than hate him would mean leaping out of her comfort zone, and Grace's devotion to order hides some long-kept secrets... secrets she's sure someone like Tate Saunders could never accept or understand."

Book Review: The Bow Wow Club by Nicola May

"Ruby IS BACK and never expected to be starting over...but after a shocking bereavement, she begins to question whether or not she will ever be happy again.

A chance encounter with handsome author Michael Bell throws her fragile heart into turmoil. Plus, a dark family secret and completely unexpected love interest add to her confusion.

Encouraged to face her demons, she volunteers at The Bow Wow Club - (Boyfriends of Widows, Wives of Widowers).

In this charming sequel to Working it Out you will laugh and cry along with a myriad of eccentric characters as Ruby searches for her inner peace. But will she let love win? Or allow her past to continue to haunt her."
Rating: 3/5

You can buy The Bow Wow Club as a paperback or an eBook now.

I've been a big fan of all of Nicola May's previous novels, and have read them all on my Kindle so far. For a self-published author, she has made a real success of her work and has a loyal fanbase, and rightly so, some of her stories are excellent, if a little crude in parts for me. I was pleased that Nicola offered me the opportunity to read and review her latest novel The Bow Wow Club, which is a sequel to her previous book Working It Out. I enjoyed that book a lot, so I was looking forward to getting back with the character of Ruby and finding out what had happened with her. As it happened, Nicola has thrown this character a bit of a curveball and she's a different Ruby to the one we met before. And by the way, I just have to say how glad I am it isn't a novel all about dogs, which is what I had feared from the title lol!

Ruby thought she had it all, but when she is suddenly robbed of her happiness through a shocking and tragic bereavement, she begins to question everything about her life and what makes her happy. When she bumps into handsome stranger Michael Bell by chance, she wonders if she can open her heart again and perhaps begin to move on with someone who makes her happy. Ruby begins to volunteer at the local Bow-Wow club, and hopes that hearing stories of those like her can help her move on and get through her grief. But with every move she makes, she feels guilty, like she shouldn't be allowed to get on with her life. Will Ruby be able to find happiness in her future again?

If you haven't read Working It Out, you don't have to worry because enough things are referenced in this book that you'll be able to keep up fine, although obviously it does help if you've read and know the back story a little bit! Plus if you've read it, there's always that great things of catching up with characters you've read before. I always liked Ruby, even if she was a bit promiscuous for my liking, and sadly that isn't something that changed at all in this book. Actually, it felt worse in this book because of the storyline, and I actually cringed as I read a few scenes in this book, it just felt wrong and I didn't feel comfortable at all. Don't get me wrong - I'm not a prude, I've read and enjoyed the Fifty Shades books, and while this of course doesn't reach those levels, it was the setting and everything about those scenes in this book which just didn't wash with me I'm afraid.

Sadly, neither did the main male character in the book. I felt the scenes with him and his writing of his own book were just awful, they felt so wooden and out of touch, I actually skipped quite a lot of them, and didn't feel I missed much. Michael was a terrible character, I couldn't work out if he were a good guy or a bad guy, and consequently, I had no feelings about what would happen at the end for him and Ruby, I couldn't care either way. Now to the good. May's writing is really good throughout, except the pieces with Michael, but I can forgive that for the delicate way she deals with Ruby's grief and some of those scenes were very emotional and not easy to read. Hopefully it isn't a scene many readers will be able to relate to but May writes it so well, you almost feel Ruby's emotions along with her.

Being a Nicola May book though, it isn't all doom and gloom luckily, and there's a lot of humour in there to keep you smiling along as you're reading. Ruby can be very funny, as can her friends and family (we didn't get to see enough of her lovely brother in this book for my liking!), but there were a few scenes with her friends too that didn't sit quite right with me, despite the humour that tried to come along with it. Fi, her best friend, is a bit too raucous and rude for my liking, but some of her bits were funny, while others made me cringe but I expect a lot of people will like her. Ruby, though, for me, is the best bit of the book and I am glad May chose to bring her back in this book and tell more of her story in this book.

Overall, The Bow Wow Club was a good read, and I enjoyed most parts of it. However, as I mentioned there were a few areas which just weren't to my taste, and I couldn't overcome these as I often try to when I read a book. Ruby was a great character, and Simon was a fantastic addition to the cast, but sadly I cannot say the same for the awful Michael. May has certainly got a talent for writing very readable and enjoyable novels, and it's still a surprise to me she hasn't been snapped up by a big publishing house as she gets good reviews on Amazon consistently. Yes, parts of it weren't for me, and at times I found the writing didn't flow to my liking, but overall, I'd recommend this book to people who like a light-hearted read about a more serious topic, or if you've enjoyed Working It Out then you'll definitely want to grab a copy of this.