Book Review: Beautiful Creatures by Lulu Taylor

Octavia and Flora Beaufort were born into an enormous fortune, but until now have had no idea exactly what they are worth. They have been hidden away at home by their aunt until their release into society on the 21st birthday, much to Octavia's delight and Flora's sorrow. Octavia loves the attention from the rich men and women she is now partying with, but her twin Flora struggles with the enforced focus on the girls and begins to shrink back into herself. The girls buy a house in London and start going about their lives - Octavia with a group of fashion obsessed models and designers who love living life to the full and spending money, and Flora with her tall, dark and handsome stranger who she quickly falls deeply in love with. However, the girls don't see what is coming... heartbreak, sorrow and a danger that they just don't see coming. They're in too deep and don't know how to get out again.. what will happen to the Beaufort twins now they are all alone?

This is the third book Lulu Taylor has released, and the third that I have read, so I was really looking forward to reading this. I was surprised when it arrived in the post because at nearly 700 pages, it was an enormous book  but with a gorgeous striking red cover that really drew my attention to the book. Taylor is known for her glamorous stories set in high society, a world which most of us will never be able to immerse ourselves in, so it really is escapist literature that I enjoy very much. Even though the book was really long, I found that it flew by because it was so enjoyable, and by the end I was disappointed that it was all over!

Book Review: New York Valentine by Carmen Reid

Annie Valentine is back, and this time things are feeling a bit different for our favourite fictional fashionista! Annie thought her TV show "How Not To Shop" was going well, but when it's suddenly dumped by the channel without warning, Annie feels like she is up the creek without a paddle. When her business partner Svetlana comes calling with a problem with the "Perfect Dress" business, Annie knows she has to do what she can to help out. However, she also knows this means that she has to leave her lovely husband Ed and twin babies at home while she jets across the world to New York City with teenage daughter Lana in tow. Can Annie bring herself to leave her young family, and be miles away from them, all the while enjoying the shopping capital of the world?


Amazingly, this is the fifth book in the "Annie Valentine" series by author Carmen Reid, and I still look forward to the release of a new Annie adventure each year. I wasn't overly keen on the first in the series, The Personal Shopper, but I feel the books have got better as the series has progressed and now they are certainly ones to look out for on my releases calendar. The fifth outing sees Annie Valentine, a superb chick-lit character who a lot of women will be able to relate to, jet across to the other side of the world New York. I've been lucky enough to visit there twice, and so it was great to read about one of my favourite cities in the world again!

Book Review: The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean

Dora is stuck at University, she's in love with a man that doesn't realise she fawns over him and she doesn't like dressing for anything except comfort, much to the annoyance of her grandmother Mimi. Mimi owns a vintage fashion store back where Dora grew up with her, and she hates the fact her grand-daughter won't wear any of her beautiful dresses. When Mimi suddenly becomes seriously ill, Dora is forced to return home and look after the shop, which brings back lots of her own memories. Together with Maux and Gabby, the three women rally around to look after Mimi and her shop, as well as trying to sort out their own lives. Is Dora going to realise her heart really lies in vintage clothing, and that there are men out there who are interested in her? And is she ever going to find out what the "secret lives" are that keep appearing within the vintage dresses she is starting to fall in love with?

I was sent this book to review by the publishers as an ARC and the pink and black cover really struck me straight away, it made me want to pick up the book and read it because it was so pretty! When I received a finalised copy, the swirls and book title were all gold foiled and made the book look even more gorgeous, I certainly think this is one of the prettiest covers I have seen in a long time! The book is by author Erin McKean, and this is her debut fiction novel based loosely on her website www.dressaday.com, something Erin runs herself. I do sometimes struggle with books written by American authors, but I was instantly consumed by this one, and it was certainly a great start to my 2011 reading list!

Book Review: The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes

Ellie is a journalist who is at a loss at to what to do for her next article. Her editor is on her back for something special, but she really is stuck. Then she comes across some love letters from the 1960's, and is sure she can make an article out of them somehow, but she's got to find out who the recipients are first. How is Ellie going to be able to trace these people from nearly 50 years ago? Back in 1960, Jennifer wakes up from a car accident and worryingly has no idea who or where she is. She certainly doesn't recognise the man everyone tells her is her husband, and feels like a visitor in her own grand home. When she meets a journalist, Anthony, by chance, the pair strike up an unlikely friendship which quickly develops into something neither of them expected. How much is Jennifer willing to risk to be with Anthony?

I have never actually read a Jojo Moyes novel before, but I'm  not entirely sure why. When I received this one in the mail, it was wrapped in brown paper with a gorgeous pink ribbon, and it really made it stand out in my memory when I was looking for something new to read. It's quite a chunk of a hardback book, something I quite enjoy because that means there is a nice long story to get stuck into, and I was hoping that my first foray into Moyes' work would be a successful one that would introduce to me to a not-so-new author that I could begin to love with.

Book Review: Walking Back to Happiness by Lucy Dillon

Juliet is hiding away again. It wasn't even a  year ago that she lost her beloved husband Ben to a young and tragic death, and Juliet just wants to shut the world out and go about her grieving in her own way. However, her mother Diane and sister Louise have different ideas about what Juliet needs, and manages to get her a job as the neighbourhood's unofficial dog-walker. Reluctantly, Juliet agrees, and finds that the fresh air and dogs are all she needs to finally start coming out of her shell. She's sure it doesn't mean she is ready to start talking to people again, let alone about her lovely Ben, but she's more open to getting out, and even speaking to her mad Irish next door neighbours Emer and Lorcan. Will Juliet find her own way back to happiness or is her life destined to be one long, lonely road?

This is Lucy Dillon's third novel, and she is certainly one author who seems to be getting better with every book. Her last title, Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts which I really enjoyed, won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year 2010, and while I think that was deserving, I would say that this book also deserves that title! The cover is absolutely gorgeous, and I think it certainly adds to the books appeal, especially at this wintery time of year. It seems that dogs are pretty important to Dillon as its her second book in a row to feature them, so canine book fans will undoubtedly be looking out for this one too.

Book Review: No Ordinary Girl by A. M. Goldsher

Abbey Beynam has super powers. No really, she does. She is super strong, she can fly, she can read people's minds and many more things that Abbey hasn't even discovered about herself yet that choose to present themselves at the weirdest of times. Abbey chooses to hide her "weird stuff" (her name for her super-powers) from everyone except her direct family, but when her FBI employed boyfriend Murphy admits he knows about Abbey's weird stuff and they want her to come and work for them, she suddenly becomes very unsure. She doesn't want her powers to be widely known about, and she just wants a normal life...except for the occasional night time flight which she really rather enjoys.

I am quite a fan of the Little Black Dress range of books, they are always quirky and fun to read, and when I pick one up, I generally know what I am going to get. With this one, the cover really enticed me in and I thought it was thoroughly gorgeous... the bright blue with the girl on the front really works, and I think it's a great cover. I was really surprised to find out that A. M. Goldsher is actually a male author, Alan Goldsher, and this is probably why they've chosen to abbreviate his name, so readers wouldn't be put off by a male author writing for LBD. In my opinion, a male or female writer certainly wouldn't deter from picking up a book, and I wonder why LBD weren't keen to put Alan's full name on the front rather than hide behind initials!

Book Review: Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley

Christmas has recently been a sad time for Holly Brown. Her beloved husband Dan died at Christmas after falling into a frozen lake, and therefore Holly has decided she doesn't actually want to celebrate the festive season anymore. So when she gets a call from her house-sitting boss about a remote house in the middle of nowhere for the Christmas period, Holly jumps at the chance of being alone so she can ignore it altogether. However, when she gets there she discovers that the home of the Martland family isn't as deserted as she thought, and that are quite a welcoming family who like to get involved with their guests. Couple that with Holly's gran's diaries that she is reading, and Holly doesn't have the quiet festive season that she anticipated... not to mention the fact that it seems Holly has more of a link to the Martland's than she ever could have imagined. Will Holly finally be able to enjoy the Twelve Days of Christmas?

I absolutely adore festive reads at this special time of year so when a copy of the gorgeous looking Twelve Days of Christmas landed on my doorstep a few days ago, I couldn't help but pick it up and start to read the first few pages, and it had me hooked! There's something nice about reading about characters celebrating the Christmas period along with us, and it's cosy to read about cold winter scenes when we are going through them too! I wondered if Ashley's take on her Christmas tale would be slightly depressing due to the main character Holly not liking the festive season, but instead I was greeted with a warm and wonderful tale of a family taking a lonely young widow under their wing at the most fabulous time of year!