Friday, August 28, 2009

Book Review: Do Not Disturb by Tilly Bagshawe

Tilly Bagshawe - Do Not DisturbDo Not Disturb is set in the world of hotels. Honor Palmer is a hotel heiress who is forced to take over the running of Palmers Hotel in East Hampton when her father dies. The local residents do not take kindly to this so Honor has to build up her reputation again. She has to do this in spite of her publicity-seeking sister Tina who is bleeding the sisters inheritance dry, and a new modern, sleed hotel ran by world-famous hotel Anton Tisch opening up down the road. Not to mention competing with the Spanish womaniser Lucas Ruiz who is running the new Tisch hotel, the Herrick.

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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Book Review: Who Gets Fluffy? by Judith Summers

judith summers who gets fluffyAnnie Curtis has decided enough is enough with philanderer husband Mark, and on Christmas Day tells him their marriage is over.

They decide to carry on living together with their dog Fluffy in order to maintain an amicable divorce, but that is thrown into chaos when Mark decides to go for full custody of Fluffy.

Annie is outraged because to her, the dog is her baby. Annie is determined to win the battle between the pair as several shocking truths come out, and Annie's life is turned upside down...

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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Book Review: Divas by Rebecca Chance

Rebecca - Divas

Lola Fitzgerald has a pretty charmed life. She has every designer piece of clothing she wants, holidays on tap and homes around the world courtesy of her rather rich father.

But Lola's world is thrown into disarray when her father falls into a coma and Lola's stepmother Carin cuts off all of her funds immediately. Her situation gets worse when Lola discovers the existance of her father's mistress Evie Lopez, and her fiance is thrown into rehab for drug addiction.

Lola wants back what is rightfully hers but she is forced to team up with Evie to catch Carin out and get her out of her life once and for all.

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Monday, August 24, 2009

Book Review: Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham

Holly's InboxHolly Denham works as a receptionist at a big bank in London, and is slowly getting used to her job, alongside her colleagues, keeping in touch with her ever eccentric family and her best friends Jason and Aisha.

The "story" unfolds through the emails sent between Holly, her friends and family and basically gives the ups and downs of Holly's life, from getting a new boyfriend, learning her job and trying to keep track of her Granny who is living it up at her OAP home.

The story does unfold quite slowly throughout the book but does work up to a nice and surprising climax at the end.

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Friday, August 21, 2009

Book Review: Step On It, Cupid by Lorelei Mathias

lorelai mathias step on it cupidThis book follows the main character of Amelie Holden, a woman who works in London in the competitive field of advertising. She and her best friend Duncan are assigned a new project involving Speed Dating much to Amelie's horror.

She decides to research Speed dating thoroughly and ends up on several Speed Dating nights. Her Aussie boss Joshua is driving her mad with his motivational speeches, her ex-boyfriend Jack is suddenly back on the scene and she begins to eye up an actor she met on a speed-dating night.

Will Amelie and her colleague Duncan be able to create the perfect slogan for Fast Love? Is Amelie destined to be alone forever?

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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Book Review: Vintage by Olivia Darling

Vintage - Olivia DarlingVintage follows three women who enter the man's world of wine-making, well champagne making to be exact. Madeleine Arsenault is the daughter of a French champagne-maker, and is left his vineyard when he dies. Madeleine wants to produce a vintage wine of her own, and is determined to prove her critics, who don't believe a woman can create a great wine, wrong and to rise to the top of her game.

Kelly Elson, a chambermaid in a hotel is also left a vineyard in a will, but unlike Madeleine, she doesn't want anything to do with it. Under the guidance of trustee Hilarian and and vineyard keeper Guy, she decides maybe there is something to be done in the wine business after all.

Finally, we have Christina Morgan, an American supermodel whose marriage is in tatters, much like her career. Christina only takes on the vineyard as she has nothing else to do, but quickly realises she enjoys the work of making a new bottle of wine, and is determined to make a success of her vineyard.

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Monday, August 17, 2009

Book Review: A Good Girl Comes Undone by Polly Williams

595042Annie Rafferty is a woman who has it all. She's just got the job of Deputy Editor at Glo! Magazine, has just bought a big house with long-term boyfriend Nick and life is all rosy.

But soon Annie's world is about to come crashing down around her when Nick resigns from his job, leaving her with the bills, a depressed sister and nagging parents who don't think she should have to be the bread-winner.

But Annie soon discovers who she really is, and ends up going in a totally different direction...

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Friday, August 14, 2009

Book Review: Star Struck by Anne-Marie O'Connor

Star Struck - Anne Marie O'Connor

Catherine Reilly still lives at home with her sisters and her father, for whom she is the carer. She's single and not particularly outgoing, which is why it is a complete shock for her family when Catherine applies to be on the global singing competition "Star Maker".

She auditions and amazingly makes it through - but Catherine really doesn't have a clue of the madness that awaits her as she carries on in the competition. Richard Forster, the worlds music mogul, has got his eye not only on Catherine but a few others in the competition too. Is it all going to be too much for the shy girl from Ireland or will she be able to make all her dreams come true and become a true star?

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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Author Interview: Sheila O'Flanagan



Sheila O'Flanagan, one of Ireland's best authors, has been writing books since 1999 when her first title Suddenly Single was published. 10 years and 15 books later, Sheila's new book The Perfect Man is due for release next month in the UK (September 2009), and the paperback of her 14th novel Someone Special (which I loved!) shot to the top of the UK bestseller's list! We had a chance to ask Sheila some of our burning questions, and she was lovely enough to answer them for us. So here is the our author interview with the lovely Sheila O'Flanagan!

Q1. Tell us about your latest book in a sentence.

Romy is very happy working in Australia and away from her difficult extended family, but having to come back to Ireland to take care of her mother after an operation means that the problems she'd left behind have to be dealt with.

Q2. What inspired you to write about an archaeologist in 'Someone Special'? Do you have an interest in this subject?

Actually yes. - I'm very interested in ancient civilisations like the Romans and the Egyptians. Programmes like Time Team have made archaeology more relevant to a lot of people too. But it can be very painstaking work and I don't really have the patience for it. I went to Egypt a number of years ago and there was something amazing about seeing all those ancient monuments and tombs, knowing that they were part of such an advanced society. And more interesting than tombs of the pharoahs  were the tombs of the workers which were painted with pictures of them going about their daily lives - so there were paintings of bakers carrying sheafs of wheat, for example. But the research I did for Someone Special was on the type of dig Romy does, which are very common in Ireland and the UK. Most local/national authorities now commssion digs before they allow new building projects or roads etc to go ahead so that historical remains aren't destroyed. As I mention in the acknowledgements, the archaeologists at the site were very helpful, but I visited in February which was really cold and not very glamorous but nevertheless very, very interesting.

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Book Review: Could It Be Magic? by Melanie Rose

Melanie Rose - Could It Be Magic?

Jessica Taylor was happily walking her dogs and meeting a nice man when she was struck by lightning and life as she knew it changed beyond belief. When Jessica wakes up, she finds she is now Lauren, a mother of four and married to Grant, whether she likes or not. She's not sure if it's a dream, but when she goes to bed as Lauren, she wakes up as Jessica. She soon comes to realise that she is living both lives - she's Lauren when Jessica sleeps, and vice-versa.

As she settles into the life of Lauren, Jessica starts finding out things about Lauren that she doesn't like, things that might tear her new family apart. Will she be able to keep up with living 2 lives, or is she going to ruin both without meaning to? Can Jessica convince anyone of her dilemma, or is the magic just for her?

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Monday, August 10, 2009

Book Review: Should I Stay Or Should I Go? by Jessica Adams

jessadamshouldistayAlice has agreed to move all the way to Australia with her boyfriend Nash, but there is a small problem - Alice isn't all that sure that she wants to be with Nash anymore. They don't get on anymore, they get on each others nerves and Alice is a bit fed up. So when she finds that Nash has been unfaithful, she knows her decision is made and decides to go to Australia by herself. Alice is a bit nervous and unsure of herself but with the help of her cousin Joel, she finds somewhere to live and begins to try to settle in Australia.

But there are certain things Alice can't get her head around - will she be able to let go of her English-ness and embrace her new culture, and will she be able to control her emotions towards her hunky cousin Joel?

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Saturday, August 8, 2009

Book Review: Recipe for Disaster by Miriam Morrison

Miriam Morrison - Recipe for DisasterTwo successful chefs, Jake Goldman and Harry Hunter are at war. Jake works hard for everything he has, working for the best chefs as a cleaner to learn his trade, and just about keeps his restaurant afloat. Harry on the other hand, has everything handed to him on a plate, and doesn't have to put too much effort into his work. Jake's new restaurant Cuisine is doing well, but he is angered to find out Harry is opening a restaurant in the same town, just as competition for him. Jake decides he has to work that bit harder to stay in business, but is Harry going to play fairly?

The other main character in the book is Kate Walker, a journalist who works for the local paper. After a disastrous relationship with her editor, Kate realises she needs a big story to keep her reputation. So she decides to do an undercover job to expose the bad side of the Restaurant buiness. She gets a job as a waitress for Jake's restaurant Cuisine, and soon befriends Jake and his staff, and actually enjoys being a waitress. But Kate keeps getting tangled in her lies about her fake life as a writer she invented to get the job at Cuisine, and finds more trouble when she finds herself finding Jake rather attractive...

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Friday, August 7, 2009

Book Review: The Making of Mia by Ilana Fox

making_of_mia_paperbackThis novel tells us the story of Jo Hill, a young girl whose dream is to work for a national glossy magazine as a journalist, but she is sure her appearance is going to stop her dream from becoming a reality. We first join the book when Jo is a schoolgirl taking her A-Levels at a posh school, although she is a London girl from near Peckham. Jo loves reading her magazines, eating chocolate bars and generally hiding herself away from the other girls, and gets a shock when her A-Levels do not go her way. Jo has to get a job working in a cafe, until her friend Amelia helps her out with a job at a restaurant.

Eventually Jo gets a job working as a secretary for the one of the glossy magazines, strangely enough called Glossy, and she believes this is the foot in the door to get her dream job of journalist on the magazine. The girls are incredibly to Jo because of her plump appearance and she is soon miserable. And even though she eventually gets promoted to PA of the magazines chief editor, Jo is still unhappy and ignored. After a showdown with her boss Joshua, Jo flees England to stay with her friend Amelia for a holiday in Florida. But Jo is not set to return the woman that she was, but will people realise that Jo has become Mia??

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Thursday, August 6, 2009

Book Review: How Not To Shop by Carmen Reid

carmenreidhownottoshopAnnie Valentine is back! Annie, a successful personal shopper at The Store has hit the big time. She's been offered a slot on a primetime TV show as a fashion advisor, and she can't wait. But things go slightly wrong when Annie realises she has a tiny budget, unwilling participants and a co-star from hell.

While she's trying to perform miracles, her ever patient boyfriend Ed is waiting for her at home with her 2 children... but Ed wants his own baby, even though it couldn't be further from Annie's mind. Is Annie able to handle the work and home pressures? Or is fame not all its cracked up to be?

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Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Book Review: The Best Day of Someone Else's Life by Kerry Reichs

662431Vi Connelly loves weddings, and it's a good job that she does really. She attended her first wedding when she was just 6 years old, and caught the wedding bug from there!

Vi knows that a wedding is meant to be the Best Day of Your Life, and can't wait for her own wedding. But now in her twenties, Vi finds herself becoming a bridesmaid over and over again for all of her friends, leaving Vi wondering if she'll ever get to be the bride.

Vi still loves loser ex-boyfriend Caleb, and can't seem to move on from him, so will she ever have the Best Day of HER Life?

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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Author Interview: Lindsey Kelk

Lindsey Kelk's first novel I Heart New York hit bookshops in July and has been a hit. I loved the book, and could fully imagine myself in poor old Angela's shoes, although I bet my luck wouldn't have been as good as hers! We were thrilled to see Angela's next adventure I Heart Hollywood is coming in January 2010, followed by the third installment I Heart Paris later that year. We managed to get an exclusive interview with Lindsey herself, and she gives fans a fab bit of news about her I Heart... books, read on to find out what!

Q1: Tell about us about your latest book in a sentence!
I Heart New York is a funny book about a girl who loses everything in London and has to find it all over again in New York.

Q2: Where did you get the inspiration for I Heart New York? Is Angela based on you and your experiences?
Unfortunately for me at the time, it was more based on what I wished was happening in my life rather than what was actually happening! I'd just got back from a holiday to New York, it was cold and horrible in London, I was broke after Christmas and everything in my life was just a bit generally rubbish and so I started writing the story as a way of escaping my every day life. I love New York, I love shopping and I love boys so it just made sense. Also, I think my bank manager was happier with this than another flight to New York ending up on my credit card.

Angela and I started out quite alike, we had the same job and the same hair but she went shorter and lighter and I went longer and darker. Weirdly, we're more alike now, two years after I wrote the book. I got dumped by my boyfriend of seven years and have moved to New York, so maybe I'm based on Angela? Life imitating chick lit. Although I'm not sure that's very healthy.

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Monday, August 3, 2009

Book Review: Return to Sender by Zoe Barnes

zoebarnesreturntosenderHolly has always known she was adopted by her parents, Maureen and Harry Bennett when she was a baby. But when her beloved mother dies, Holly decides she wants to know more about her biological mother, even though she doesn't know where to start. Her sisters Jess and Grace are a bit opposed to the search, but eventually come around when she meets Private Investigator Phil Connell.

Together the pair set out to find Holly's mum so she can put together the pieces of her life, but is it just going to be Holly's roots that the pair discover? Can the Bennett family help not only Holly in her quest, but each other in their own times of woe?

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