Book Review: You Don't Have To Say You Love Me by Sarra Manning

Neve Slater is a thin girl trapped in a larger girl's body. Despite losing 13 stone, she still can't get into her head the fact she now has a great figure, and is convinced that no man will ever find her attractive. No man except her beloved William of course. He lives in America but is returning home soon and Neve can't wait to surprise him with her new look. However, she realises she has no experience in relationships at all, and together with sister Celia sets about getting some. She meets Celia's editor Max, a man Neve is convinced wouldn't look twice at her. But when he appears interested, Neve decides to use him for practice for her upcoming relationship with William. But when Neve starts to develop deeper feelings for Max, is she going to cut and run or stick out her "pancake relationship" permanently?

I haven't read anything by author Sarra Manning so far, You Don't Have To Say You Love Me is Manning's second adult novel following 'Unsticky', but she has also written a host of teen novels too. The cover of this book isn't exactly my thing - I far prefer the supermarket versions with the petals which you can see here, but of course I tried not to judge the book by its cover as we're always told not to do! I was a little unsure about the book's premise - is it right in this day and age to be writing about women changing their figures just to make men fall in love with them? Either way, I hoped Manning had a trump card up her sleeve with this book and sat down to read the 500+ page novel.
The character of Neve is our leading lady. I have to say while I liked Neve at the beginning of the book, I found myself disliking her more and more as the book progressed. She was absolutely fixated with her weight and her appearance, to the point where it became incredibly irritating to hear her harp on about it although its made clear by the narrative she is far from either of these things. I know myself that when a woman feels bad about herself, nothing is going to change her mind, even if she really did look like Claudia Schiffer, but for some reason with Neve I found myself much like Max - getting irritated and impatient with her. I think this therefore put my mind in a negative thought throughout the book - lack of sympathy for the lead character is always a problem for the likeability overall.

The other characters were much more pleasing to me. One of my favourites was Celia, Neve's younger sister. She's slightly mad, loving her funky fashion and not really having any responsibilities, but she was such  a welcome change from Neve's constant diatribe that I really enjoyed everytime she popped up in a scene. Likewise Max. He was clearly written to be the boy we all love to hate, but I found myself liking him despite this. I could see his predatory side wasn't particularly good, but when he was with Neve, he was very different and I loathed Neve for how she was treating Max. I was actually wishing Max would just tell Neve to shut up sometimes, I was egging him on in my mind anyway! The final character, and one I disliked again, was William. I couldn't stand his arrogant letters to Neve, and could see how the whole thing was going to end up immediately, there was no surprise element there at all for me.

While it might sound like there was nothing I liked about the book thus far, that isn't true. I thought the book itself was well written. The narrative from Neve's perspective was easy to read, and Manning's first person narrative was enjoyable, albeit annoying at times when she is being self-deprecating. The story itself was good - I could see how it was going to end up, but I liked the journey it took to get there. I did find it a little slow at first and I found it hard to get into the book initially, but once I was around 1/3 of the way in, it did pick up and I really did start to enjoy the pace of the book and the story itself. I especially loved Manning's brief detour into the world of WAG's with Neve, this was humorous and enjoyable and a nice change from Neve's day to day life as an archivist.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, but I do have reservations about it. I did find the whole plot line of losing weight to impress a guy a bit too shallow - I certainly expect more from today's chick lit and I was a bit surprised to see Manning go down this route. I believe Neve was written to be a sympathetic character,  but I just couldn't feel sorry for her at all. She was too negative all the time for me, and it grate on my nerves, to the point where I didn't want to pick the book up at times. There are a couple of other storylines in there that were very well done, especially the one with Neve and her sister-in-law Charlotte, but the one between Neve, Max and William just seemed a bit trite to me, and I wonder whether Manning missed the mark with this one. The writing is good, the plot was at times good also but my problem with the basic premise of the book still stands, as did my dislike of the main character Neve.

Rating: 3/5

Book Review: Love Is On The Air by Jane Moore

Cam Simpson's life is pretty steady. She's been in a good relationship with boyfriend Dean for 7 years, but they seem to have settled into a pattern of drudgery and boredom. He's happy to sit and watch the football or CSI for hours on end, but Cam is fed up - she doesn't want to be sat around waiting for him, she wants fun and excitement. She and her 2 best friends Ella and Saira take a girls-only holiday,and by chance bump into a couple of British guys, Tom and his mate Jake. Cam doesn't expect anything to come of it, but when she returns, she hears a radio message that turns her world upside-down. Suddenly, Cam begins to doubt everything about her life, but especially her relationship with Dean. But can she hurt the man who has been with her for 7 years? Which decision will Cam make, and will it be the right one?

I love Jane Moore's novels and have read everything that she has written so far, so I was pleased to find out Jane was back this year with a new book as it's been a couple of years since her last, Perfect Match. The cover of this jumped out at me immediately - it's lovely and bright and summery, certainly making a change from all of the wintery books we are seeing around at the moment, and it made me want to pick it up and devour it straight away. Jane's last book was a very serious one about a couple making a child to save the life of another, so it seemed like this book was going to be a lot more light-hearted, albeit still about a serious subject, so I sat down, eager to read more.

Book Review: To Touch The Stars by Jessica Ruston

Violet Cavalley is the owner of a world famous hat company that she has built from scratch herself, she's raised the three children whom she adores more than anyone in the world and she's now retiring from the world she knows and adores, ready to leave her multi-million pound empire for her children to carry on in her name. However, despite the outward glamour and glitz of the Cavalley family lies some deep and dark secrets that are threatening to come out and ruin the family's reputation for good. Is Violet going to be able to stop the rumours from entering the public domain, or is the secret the beginning of the end for Cavalley's?

This is author Jessica Ruston's second novel, and whilst I haven't had the oppotunity to read her first, Luxury, just yet, after thoroughly enjoying To Touch The Stars, I certainly want to read that as soon as possible because Ruston is certainly a great talent within the women's fiction genre, and it certainly makes me look forward to reading more work from this author. I was drawn to this book immediately by the beautiful cover - the shiny silver stars combined with the vivid blue imagery is beautiful and certainly complements the book itself perfectly - this is a fantastic cover, and it's great to see a publisher getting it spot on for a cover.

Book Review: The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson

Libby always thought that she was happy in her marriage with husband Jack. She knows he has a past with his former wife Eve, but as he's reluctant to ever talk about it, Libby doesn't want to go to there. There's also the fact that in the back of her mind that she thinks Jack is still in love with Eve, and there's nothing that she can do about it. When an accident occurs, it leaves Libby wondering even more if Jack really does love her, or whether their whole marriage is a sham. Soon, she finds out some shocking truths about Eve, things she's not sure even Jack knows about his other wife, and Libby starts to wonder if she is going to end up just like Eve too... Libby's scared and frightened and feels stuck in a circle of hell with no way out...

Dorothy Koomson has quickly worked her way up to my top few chick lit authors of all time, and I eagerly await the release of any book that she brings out, simply because they have all been brilliant and Koomson hasn't let me down so far! Koomson's books always seem to have an element of mystery to her books - we know certain things about the characters and certain events, yet there is always something in the background we don't know everything about, and this is usually the crux of the story, and ends up shocking the reader, something I love about her books. Her last novel, The Ice Cream Girls, certainly didn't disappoint on this front, and now this one manages to trump even that, I was absolutely glued to this book from start to finish.

Book Review: A Valentine's Kiss by Lucie Hart

Imogen is feeling a bit trapped looking after her brothers and sisters at home in England, so when she is offered the chance to go and live in France and work as a trainee chef, she grabs it with both hands. She soon finds herself settling in in France, making brand new friends and enjoying life again. But when her American friend Bunny throws a lavish party and the guests all play Blind Man's Buff, Imogen gets kissed and she can't believe that it's the best kiss she's ever had. The only problem is that Imogen has no idea exactly which man kissed her. With the help of her friends, she's determined to find her mystery kisser, and sets out to eliminate the men she knows one by one. Which man is Imogen's mystery kisser, and has she found more than a dream career in France?

A Valentine's Kiss is author Lucie Hart's debut fiction novel, and certainly sets to be poised as the chick lit title for Valentine's Day this year. It's gorgeous purple cover and romantic title certainly pave the way for its target audience, and I was looking forward to a romantic and fun read. I have to say it looks like the sort of book I would seek out in a shop, but I couldn't help but feel once I had finished it that I was pleased it was over rather than being sad it was over, and it isn't often I feel like that about a book. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the book but I just found it hard-going at times and somewhat of a struggle, but the basis was there for a good story.

Book Review: Friends, Lies and Alibis by Debby Holt

Alison and Leah were upset when their best friend Merrily disappeared at the height of their friendship when they were teenagers. They never heard a peep from Merrily until Alison makes a chance sighting on a train station and spots the woman that has been missing from their lives for many, many years. When they are finally reunited as a group, Leah and Alison are horrified to see the situation that their best friend has got herself into. Her husband treats Merrily like a second class citizen, and puts down his wife at every opportunity much to her friends horror. Alison and Leah are determined to help their friend escape from her self-inflicted prison, but is it really what Merrily wants, or what her friends want for her? And will Alison and Leah realise that they aren't exactly leading the perfect lives themselves and should start fixing their own before trying to interfere in others...

I have read a few of Debby Holt's books in the past and really enjoyed them, so when I received a review copy of her latest book Friends, Lies and Alibis from the publishers to review, I was quite eager to do so, hoping it would be as good as her previous books that I have enjoyed. I really like the covers of Debby's books and this one is no exception, the bright pink writing contrasts well with the white and blue imaging on it, and I think it's quite nice looking! Overall, I was definitely looking forward to this one and luckily for me, it didn't disappoint!

Book Review: Postcards From The Heart by Ella Griffin

Saffy finally feels like everything in her life is going right for her. She's got a great job that she loves, a beautiful expensive apartment, best friends and she is sure her boyfriend Greg Gleeson is going to propose to her at last! Greg, however, seems a bit more focused on his television career and cracking Hollywood than he is settling down anytime soon but he doesn't want to tell Saffy that. Their best friends Conor and Jess have it pretty good too. Jess doesn't ever want to get married but is happy in her relationship with Conor and their twins, and despite the fact Conor would love nothing more than to make Jess his wife, he's happy just being with her and trying to write his book. But there are secrets all around that are threatening to ruin everything the four friends have ever worked for - will the truth make or break these friendships and relationships once and for all?

This is Irish author Ella Griffin's debut novel, and a very good one it is too! I was impressed when I received the book because there on the front cover was a quote from Marian Keyes saying what a good author Griffin is, so that's a pretty good recommendation to go by, especially for a debut author! I have to say I really don't like the cover - it is quite bland and dull, and certainly doesn't stand out against some of the other books I have received lately which is a shame, but as the age old adage goes... never judge a book by its cover and I am glad I didn't on this case. Inside is a really good debut novel and it certainly makes me keen to read more from Griffin, a new promising voice in Irish chick-lit!