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Book Review: Match Me If You Can by Michele Gorman

2/19/2016

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What They Say

Ever thought about recycling your ex?.
Best friends Catherine, Rachel & Sarah are fun, smart, successful and single – just like millions of women with a low tolerance for idiocy in their dates.
Mr. Right hasn't turned up yet, and Mr Right-Now isn't worth booking a wax appointment for. So when Catherine, London’s finest matchmaker, gets Rachel and Sarah to join her dating site where they can recycle their ex-boyfriends in exchange for an upgrade, they soon realise that anything could happen . . .
Three best friends, proving that sometimes it really isn't you… it's him.

My Review

I've read the majority of Michele Gorman's books and I generally really like them, so when I heard about Match Me If You Can, I knew I wanted to read it and it sounded hilarious. Unfortunately, the hype and build-up didn't really come across in the book - where was the hilarity? I genuinely thought Rachel and Sarah and Catherine were going to recommend boyfriends to each other, or something, but no. Instead it was just the story of three friends, who all happen to be single, and two end up joining the third's dating site. When I'm promised a funny read I imagine something like Sophie Kinsella or Lindsey Kelk, and while I enjoyed Match Me If You Can, there was no humour in the book.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed getting to know the three girls, they were amazing. How Catherine managed to face her ex and his new, younger girlfriend/fiancee every day was baffling, as they were partners at Catherine's dating website, you have to be brave to do that like. Rachel I loved, she was very ballsy (up until the end, when she turned into a silent wimp, my one fear for Chick Lit because GIRLS NEVER TALK TO EACH OTHER. They let things fester, with bad feeling, instead of just opening their gobs, sigh). By far my favourite character was Sarah. She was the most like me, bookish, indoorsy, happy to let the world outside fly past, until she decides to live a little. Mostly I enjoyed her interactions with her sister, Sissy. Sissy was a scene stealer! She was amazing. And she had me craving toast like you wouldn't believe. Seriously, if you read this book keep a toaster, a loaf of bread and a ton of butter handy. 

Match Me If You Can wasn't what I expected but it was a fairly decent read, I enjoyed it, and getting to know the girls was a pleasure. Getting to know Sissy was the icing on the cake, she was genuinely just that awesome. The book may not have been as funny as I would have wanted it to be, because I do love an author who can genuinely make me laugh and Michele can do that, it's happened before, and I may have gotten annoyed at Rachel's antics, but that's just Chick Lit characters. They don't bloody talk to each other, do they? But I really did enjoy the book. The fellas feature were completely out of this world, and Alis was by far the most bizarre. Honestly, not only do you have to read this book to meet the wonderful Sissy, but Alis has to be seen to be believed. 
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Mini Review: The Summer I Met You by Victoria Walters

2/17/2016

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What They Say

Escape to the West Country and meet the characters of Talting in this gorgeous short story: the prequel to Victoria Walters' debut, THE SECOND LOVE OF MY LIFE. "Brilliant and superior women's fiction" Heat

It wasn't love at first sight. It was a summer of love...

When Emma leaves her Cornish hometown of Talting for a summer in Devon, the last thing she dreams of is falling in love.
But sometimes the people who affect us the most come along when we least expect it.
As the summer comes to the end, will it herald the start of something that could last for ever?
*Contains an exclusive extract from Victoria Walters' captivating debut novel, THE SECOND LOVE OF MY LIFE*

My Review

This review will be short and sweet, pretty much like The Summer I Met You. A delightful little story, to whet the appetite for The Second Love of My Life which I both want to read IMMEDIATELY and DON'T WANT TO READ AT ALL BECAUSE LUCAS. I genuinely thought both books were about Emma, but this little novella is of how Emma met John and TSLOML is Rose's story. Not Lucas. *SOBS* Oh, Lucas. We hardly knew ye. 

Emma and John's story was so cute, who doesn't dream of meeting the love of their life and knowing almost immediately it's something special? Even more so when it's during the summer at a beach. Sigh. It's literally the perfect love story. I'm just going to spend this summer hanging around beaches, in the hopes of rescuing some poor child, despite my absolutely horrific swimming ability (it's really, really poor). It worked for Emma and John, damnit! The Summer I Met You was so cute, and I am absolutely raring to read The Second Love of my Life, and also terrified, but mostly SO EXCITED because this novella was delightful.
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Book Review: The Widow by Fiona Barton

2/16/2016

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What They Say

We've all seen him: the man - the monster - staring from the front page of every newspaper, accused of a terrible crime.

But what about her: the woman who grips his arm on the courtroom stairs – the wife who stands by him?

Jean Taylor’s life was blissfully ordinary. Nice house, nice husband. Glen was all she’d ever wanted: her Prince Charming. 

Until he became that man accused, that monster on the front page. Jean was married to a man everyone thought capable of unimaginable evil.

But now Glen is dead and she’s alone for the first time, free to tell her story on her own terms.

Jean Taylor is going to tell us what she knows.

My Review

The Widow is supposed to be 2016's Gone Girl, or The Girl On The Train. Can I be the millionth person to say I'm SICK of books being referred to like that. The Widow is nothing like either of those two books, it just so happens to be a psychological thriller which obviously is where the comparison comes from. Just let books be what they want to be, publishers. Stop making them all the same, or putting them in the same box.

Now that that's out of the way (I feel SO much better) I can talk about the book itself. The Widow is very much an intriguing read, because I've never read a novel before like this one, and you do wonder when it comes to people like the Taylors', what kind of wife or woman can stand by someone who's accused of something so horrific? A wishy-washy woman with no backbone is the answer, and so we have Jean Taylor. Not to be rude but when the book started, and she was talking about her simple life and simple job, I thought maybe there was something wrong with her? But no, she just lacks backbone, and while I enjoyed her narrative, I didn't like her. I genuinely expected some kind of mouth-dropping twist at the end, that Jean was not all she seemed, and I was kind of disappointed she was the same the whole novel.

The real story for me was that of Kate, the journalist trying to get to the bottom of Jean's story, and of Bob Sparkes, the detective trying to find Bella. You really root for both of them, because you really want to know what happened to Bella. Were they wrong about Glen? Right? Where did Bella go? A child doesn't just vanish into thin air. And Bob's dedication was to be applauded, because you want an officer to go as far as he can go to try and get answers. And I liked Kate, too. Her dogged determination was to be admired, and she seemed far nicer than your typical journalist. 

I've long said that authors who write psychological thrillers are crap at endings. They very rarely get it right, and usually leave you with a ton of questions and this was the case again. We got some sort of resolution, but I kinda wanted to know what happened after that. And I still thought there was something amiss about Jean Taylor. That she wasn't as sweet and innocent as she made herself out to be, and I just waited and waited for the gob-smacking twist that was never to appear. That's another problem with these books, you expect a twist and end up disappointed when there's a relatively mundane ending. For all that I've said I liked this book, it kept me reading, I just thought Jean Taylor was the most unreliable narrator I've ever met and I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her. 
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Book Review: Reader, I Dumped Him by Lorelei Mathias

2/11/2016

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What They Say

This story is a celebration of the people that bring you back to life when your world closes in: your mates.
Relationships come and go, but the Break-up Club membership never truly expires.
Holly Braithwaite and loveable loser Lawrence have been together for five years. But the obvious cracks in their relationship can no longer be ignored and Holly soon finds herself saying ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’
In the shock aftermath of their break up, Holly finds unlikely companions in Olivia, Harry and Bella. Together, they form the Break-up Club, as they support each other through their mutual melancholy and find ways to love, laugh and function as human beings again.
Break-up Club meets every Sunday. Each week, as the comedy and drama unfolds, they discover a new BUC ‘rule’. And, one by one, the rules become vital markers on their journey to recovery . . .
‘BREAK-UP CLUB’
To our members, we’re the first emergency service

My Review

Reader, I Dumped Him is one of those interesting reads. It's not a love story (LOOK AT THE TITLE), so it's not your typical Chick Lit novel - excuse me while I sob, because I love a love story, but it's actually a really great read. And it really should have been called The Break Up Club. I MEAN COME ON. Of course it should have been called The Break Up Club. It's about a break up club, so it's like sooo obvious! But Reader, I Dumped Him was super witty, too. 

The book itself is all about a group of friends - Holly, Harry, Olivia and Bella, who all happen to be dumped/dump someone around the same time and decide that to help each other get over their own heartbreaks, they'll start a BUC (break up club) with rules to help them keep away from their exes. It's literally ingenious. And I wonder why it isn't an actual thing, because that's AWESOME. Who better than friends to help you get over a break up? Or to stop you going into a Facebook ragey because you've seen something you don't like on your exes Facebook? It's genius, I tell you. 

I loved getting to know the girls - and guy - of break up club. Holly was the main character (which at times made me sad because Holly could be a sap; it makes me sad when someone dumps someone but is still crying over them 80% into the novel, because she dumped him, but maybe I'm heartless and mostly I did like Holly) but Olivia, Bella and Harry were awesome to get to know, too, and it would have been good if they'd got to have a bit of the book, too. If we could see Bella doing her weird, hippy thing; Harry training for his triathlons; and Olivia's real feelings on her break-up as she had quite a peppy veneer to her that never rang true. 

I really enjoyed Reader, I Dumped Him. It's a fairly long read, so ready yourself to settle in and really get to know these characters. You really do feel like you're part of their club, and I loved how different they all were, but how that didn't matter within their friendship with each other. I've always loved books about friends, because love isn't always everything and friendship is so important and often overlooked and it was nice to see it make a welcome return here! Here's hoping we don't have such a long wait for Lorelei's next novel (there's been a few years since her first two Little Black Dress books and this one!). 
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Book Review: A Sudden Crush by Camilla Isley

2/9/2016

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What They Say

oanna Price is a city girl with the perfect life. She loves her job as a book editor, she just married Liam, high profile bestselling author and the man of her dreams, and she’s headed to the Caribbean to enjoy two weeks of paradise for her luxurious honeymoon. 

Connor Duffield is a gruff, grumpy rancher from the Midwest. He is a country boy who has a no-nonsense approach to life, more scars than he’d like to admit, and he hates city girls. 

So it’s just a misfortune they have to sit next to each other for a six hour plane ride. Even more so when their flight is caught in the perfect storm and Joanna wakes up stranded on a desert island with Connor, the very man she hoped she would never have to see again. 

Why are they alone on this forsaken island? What happened to Joanna’s husband? 

When her dream honeymoon turns into a hilarious tropical nightmare, Joanna’s first thought is survival. However, she and Connor will quickly discover just how boring paradise can be. As the days turn to weeks, and then months, this mismatched pair will have to learn how to coexist and how to resist the sparkles of an attraction they weren’t prepared to feel. 

When they are finally rescued will Joanna’s marriage be saved as well, or will the life she knew and loved be in ruins?

My Review

A Sudden Crush is such a fun read! It reminded me a teensy, tiny bit of On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves which is one of my most favourite books EVER (seriously, go read it) but less intense. A more fun version, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it! Camilla is such a good storyteller, and while I reckon a few people will complain and say it's an unrealistic plot, I just went with the flow. That's the good thing about fiction, you can write whatever you want BECAUSE IT'S NOT REAL. So you CAN get stranded on an island with a man you can barely stand, and you CAN survive on said island, and you CAN make friends with a monkey called Manny. And it was delightful!

I dream of being stranded on a desert island. With books, sun, sea, sand, peace and quiet, and enough food to never run out, I'd be a pretty happy bunny. Not, however, in Joan or Connor's case, because their situation SUCKED. Literally sucked from an aeroplane, and landed on a desert island, with the slimmest possible hope of rescue. That's not how Joan's honeymoon was supposed to go. But I loved that they both made the best of it, foraging for food, making a fishing pole out of what supplies they had, having a phone that had solar power (who knew that was even a thing), making friends with a monkey, it was almost like an adventure. A thoroughly enjoyable one. 

What I loved even more, is that we got to see the aftermath of their adventure. We see them rescued, woohoo and everything that that entails. And it's not pretty, in fact I was quite shocked at how things had changed, especially for Joan. The time-jumps were even more impressive because they kept the story flowing nicely, without wallowing on any one time, and I really liked that. Joan was amazing, I really liked her, I liked how she just sort of got on with her life, no matter whether she was stuck on an island with a man she could barely stand, or whether it was after she was back and she was thrown more curve-balls than a baseball match. She's my kinda girl. And I loved Connor. Yes, he was grumpy and more than lived up to the first part of his second name, but he had some kind of charm to him and he sounded hot. That always helps.

This was such an enjoyable read. The kind of read you can finish in one sitting, and one you genuinely lose yourself in. I felt like I was there with Joan every step of the way, and I wanted nothing more than to go and get myself my very own Manny, because he sounded ADORABLE. A Sudden Crush was so much fun - and look at the adorable cover, too! I can't wait to go and read I Wish For You, Camilla is the newest author to my list and I officially love her books!
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    Welcome to Bookish Escapes! I am a massive reader, of all genres, a Taylor Swift fanatic, I adore dogs (I have two!), and I watch a ton of telly. 

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