Always With Love - Giovanna Fletcher

Giovanna Fletcher is one of my favourite authors so it's safe to say I was very excited when my preorder of her latest novel, Always With Love arrived yesterday. Each of Fletchers novels just keep getting better and better and Always With Love didn't disappoint, in my opinion it is her best book to date. 

Always With Love is the sequel to Fletcher's debut novel Billy & Me. Sophie May is just a normal girl living in a small little village, the only not normal part of her life is the fact that she is dating the biggest movie star in the world Billy Buskin. In this book, Sophie is thrown more into Billy's world than ever before, flying to LA, meeting his very controlling mother, dealing with intense paparazzi and more. Billy's acting career means that he has to stay in LA for an extended period of time, leaving Sophie on her own in England. Will their fairytale romance be able to survive a long distance relationship?

I absolutely adored this book! The storyline really kicks Billy and Sophie's relationship up a notch as there commitment to each other is really put the test in this novel. Sophie really grows as a character in this novel. She seems to grow up, become independent and realise exactly what she wants from her life. I also love the fact that no matter her feelings she never holds Billy back and even if acting means he has to stay in LA, she still encourages him to do it. Of course everyone who reads these books will love Billy too. His love for Sophie is so sweet to read and I reckon he will make most readers lists of fiction people you wish were real. Being introduced to Billy's family was an interesting addition to this book too. They were fascinating to read about especially as his family are completely the opposite to Sophie's. 

The storyline is fantastic and is the perfect progression from Billy & Me. It's no secret that I really enjoy Fletcher's writing style and this book is no exception. The ups and downs of a long distance relationship are so wonderfully written about and once again some fantastic descriptions appear throughout the book. If this book doesn't make you smile/cry by the time you get to the last page, I think you must have a heart of stone! I love books that provide closure to a story too and Always With Love certainly provides that! As much as I loved reading Always With Love, I would highly suggest reading Billy & Me first. I feel that getting the full backstory of Billy and Sophie will only enhance your enjoyment of book two. 

Slightly unrelated but a YouTube video made by Giovanna Fletcher was the inspiration I needed to start writing my own book. What's scary is how much her writing has obviously influenced by own as whilst reading Always With Love I experienced so many deja vu moments to my own story. If you have aspirations to be an author, I highly recommend watching her video entitled Coffee With Gi - Becoming An Author.

If like me, you love romance novels between a normal person and a famous person, I can guarantee Always With Love will be one of your new favourite novels. The storyline is great, the characters are a pleasure to read about, it provides some super sweet romantic moments and as ever the cover just screams read me. Always With Love is just an all round incredible book. A must read.

Synopsis -

The next much-anticipated romantic chapter in Billy and Sophie's love story from bestselling author Giovanna Fletcher.

Sophie's got used to being the girlfriend of Billy Buskin, the biggest movie star in the world. Sort of.

But when she and Billy take a trip to visit his family in Los Angeles, she quickly discovers she's totally unprepared for the chaos of Hollywood, the paparazzi and Billy's controlling mother.

And when Billy extends his stay in LA, leaving Sophie to fly home to Rosefont Hill alone, it seems there's more than just miles between them.

Now Sophie must decide if they can overcome their differences for good. Because not every love story lasts the distance . . .

The Randy Romance Novelist - Meghan Quinn

Rosie lost her virginity to her dream guy, Henry. Flash forward a bit and she has turned into a sex addict taking every opportunity she can to try new things she's read in books. Despite a lot of her time being taken up with sex she still manages to squeeze in writing her novel and planning the best hen party of all time for her best friend. 

The book comes with a warning and I definitely think you should read that before choosing to read this book. It's not a completely serious romance novel and at times it really is a little over the top but truthfully that is what makes this book brilliant. I genuinely found myself almost crying with laughter at certain points of the book.

I actually liked the storyline and watching Rosie's insane reactions to life spiralling out of control. In most books I don't think I'd like her but her character just works so perfectly in this book. I also liked the fact she herself was writing her stories in a romance novel (the book you are reading?) and attends a very critical writing club meeting. Henry on the other hand is the complete opposite to Rosie. His reactions are calm and composed. He doesn't once react impulsively and is constantly looking out for Rosie and their potential future together.  

When I started reading this book I had no idea that it was in fact book number two in the series. Although it is perfectly fine to read without reading book number one I personally feel as though I would've got more out of the book of I knew about the back story. Certain things were mentioned which so clearly happened in book one at various points in the book. However, not reading book one first isn't necessary. I will be picking up the first book now though!

If you're looking for a romance novel that doesn't take itself too seriously this is the book for you. It was a fairly quick read scattered with multiple laugh out loud moments. However, my advice? Although I've not read it yet I do think you should pick up book number one in the series first as I think this book will follow up wonderfully.

Synopsis –

It finally happened, I lost my virginity. Cue applause and cheers.

For a while life was all rainbows and kittens prancing in a sky full of cotton candy clouds…that was until the demands of the real world set in.

My best friend is getting married and she asked me to be her maid of honor. She’s not worried about flowers, or the dress, or the food at the venue. No, she’s worried about the bachelorette party, what kind of penis crown she will wear, and the nipple size of the stripper who will be attending.

I’m in way over my head trying to balance life with a boyfriend, planning a penis party, and writing my romance novel. Something is bound to give.

This is my life after my happily ever after…

*** Warning: The Randy Romance Novelist is over the top, ridiculous, and is meant to make you burst out in laughter. Question the sanity of this author, and welcome over-dramatized comedy into your life. Please proceed if you would like to read about absurd tomfoolery type events, be exposed to the book world and other authors, as well as see that even in the midst of a comical combustion of nonsensical craziness (and naïve characters) love will always prevail. ***

 

Remember My Name – Abbey Clancy

I've made my opinions quite clear on this blog before how I’m not overly keen on books written by celebrities as frankly a lot of them are a little rubbish. Remember My Name however got my attention from the cover alone and then once I read the blurb I knew it would be exactly the kind of book that I would love to read. 

Jess is a completely normal person from Liverpool except for the fact she’s determined to be a star. At 22, the only stardom her life has brought her is a child’s entertainer where she dresses up as Disney princesses. Then one day everything changes when she meets Jack, the birthday girl’s uncle at one of the princess parties, he also just happens to work at a record label and spots potential in Jess. Jess uproots from Liverpool to London and life as a star just isn’t as she imagined when she’s spending her days as the office tea maker.

When reading this book I did on many occasion wonder if Clancy wrote exaggerated truths about what happened to her when she was in the early stages of her career. It’s hard not to perhaps draw parallels between Jess and Abbey as they’re both from Liverpool. It was very tough on Jess to begin with when she initially moved to London and as you’re reading you can slowly see her start to change. Ultimately the strong message of staying grounded to your roots is portrayed wonderfully in this book. 

I loved the settings in the book too, from Jess’s dingy flat above a kebab shop to the showbiz parties she was invited to. They’re all fantastically described and it was interesting to see a glimpse into the world of the rich and famous. The places Jess goes are also filled with highly realistic characters that you can easily imagine to be real people, from the bitchy girls in PR to her family members to the friendly owners of the kebab shop. Toss in a few potential love interests and I’d say Remember My Name has everything you want from this kind of book.  

Honestly, I really enjoyed Remember My Name and for a celebrity debut novel I thought it was a great read. Regardless of if you like Abbey Clancy or not if you love romantic comedies that are set in the world of showbiz you will absolutely adore this book. 

Synopsis -

Model and TV presenter Abbey Clancy’s debut novel is a romantic comedy about a girl from Liverpool who dreams of hitting the big time….

From the moment Liverpool teenager Jess stars in the school musical, she knows that she’s GOT to be a star. Fast forward a few years and the closest the now 22 year old Jessica has got to stardom is as a children’s entertainer – which is where she meets Jack , uncle to the spoiled 5 year old birthday princess who spots Jessica’s talent and offers her a job with a record label. But that means that she’ll have to leave her family and her home and move to London – where she quickly finds that the streets aren’t quite paved with gold. And as she spends her days making tea for bitchy PR girls and her night in a mouldy studio flat, Jessica wonders if leaving Liverpool for London has been a terrible mistake.

Attending an industry party – unfortunately only to serve canapes – Jessica’s fortunes suddenly change when Vogue, the singer due to perform at the event drops out. Before she knows it, Jessica volunteers to stand in and takes centre stage. After a dazzling performance, she is surrounded by people wondering who this amazing new talent is. What’s more, her star turn has been captured by the press and she has become an overnight sensation.

Plunged into the crazy world of glitz and glamour, Jessica’s life is transformed but as her star rises, she loses touch with her roots. Jessica’s teenage dreams of stardom may have come true, but at what cost?

Like A Virgin - Paige Nick

Honestly, when I read the synopsis of this book I knew that it would be one of those books that is like marmite, I was either going to absolutely love it or hate it. I was pleasantly surprised that after reading Like A Virgin by Paige Nick, that I have tossed this book in my loved books pile.

Grace Hendriks lives a pretty average life. She’s passed her training to become a teacher, she’s engaged to her long term boyfriend and are planning the perfect wedding together, she barely every toes out of line. Grace’s sister, Natalie on the other hand is the complete opposite and spends her days earning money by being a Rihanna impersonation. Unfortunately, one day Natalie breaks her leg so she can’t fly to Amsterdam to be Rihanna at a club and begs Grace to take her place as she also bares an uncanny resemblance to the singer and Natalie desperately needs the money to pay for her education. Grace lies to her fiancé about why she is going to Amsterdam and before you know it she’s on a plane pretending to be her sister. It doesn’t take long for Grace to realise that the job Natalie does it actually a stripper and is thrown straight into the deep end.

I’ve never read a book like, Like A Virgin before. Grace is somewhat uptight and she would never, ever in a million years voluntary go to be a stripper in a seedy Amsterdam club. I think a lot of people will be able to relate to Grace’s reluctance to step out of her shell which makes the book only more enjoyable. The fact that even though stripping is completely against her morals, the thought that doing it would earn money to help her sister is enough to make her continue. Her loyalty to her family is a wonderful trait. She is a great character to read about.

I read Like A Virgin in a day. I became completely and utterly obsessed; it was just so engaging I could not put it down. I found the story fascinating and it had so many twists and turns that I think no one would be able to see coming. Grace’s fellow impersonators such as Paris Hilton, Marilyn Monroe and Madonna also make the book fantastic. They provide humour when needed but at the same time the book offers some serious moments. I know that I personally have quite a negative view of strippers so it’s quite fascinating to read about how they are just normal people trying to earn money, they all turn out to be incredible friends to Grace as well.   

For me, Like A Virgin was a real page turner and an eye opener about the world of stripping. The storyline came as a complete shock to me particularly towards the end. It made me laugh, it made me shocked, it was just a great all round book. A must read.

Synopsis –

Hilarious, sassy, fresh and at times completely outrageous, this is an utterly unputdownable feel-good debut from Paige Nick.

Grace Hendriks has led a pretty sheltered life. So when her sister Natalie begs Grace to take her place as a Rihanna impersonator at a seedy club in Amsterdam, she has no idea what she’s letting herself in for . . . until she ends up onstage with only a pole for support and her lacy knickers in a knot!

Thrown into strip-club life, and forced to share an apartment with an exotic troupe of impersonating divas with Lady Gaga-sized egos, Grace has to learn some hard lessons fast. One: living with Marilyn Monroe and Madonna isn’t easy. And two: transformations don’t happen overnight – especially when your bra is determined to sabotage your dance routine.

Mayday - Olivia Dade

As it's the Mayday bank holiday weekend it only seems appropriate that I post up my review of Mayday by Olivia Dade.

Mayday is book number 3 in the Lovestruck Librarians series, however each book in the series is standalone so it isn’t necessary that you have read the previous two books as each book is telling the story of a different librarian. If you have read the previous books in the series, I think you will enjoy the fact that the characters are weaved into this book.

Mayday is the turn of librarian, Helen. Helen is back living at home as her part time librarian job doesn’t give her enough money to afford to move back out. On a night out with her fellow librarians she see’s Wes, the guy who she fancied the pants off in school, except now he’s the town mayor. The only problem is, he barely noticed her existence throughout school – what chance did she get of getting the majors attention now? Unfortunately for Helen, he catches Wes on one of the worst nights of his life so he eagerly jumps at the chance to take her home which ends up ultimately driving Helen away.

In my opinion, Mayday is the most realistic story yet of the Lovestruck Librarian series. Helen is a normal person that you can very easily relate too which only adds to the stories likability. I absolutely love the fact that after Wes essentially had a one night stand with her, she made him work to gain even a friendship from her, he also went through a journey himself both of which I feel is a refreshing change in this genre of books. I adore Olivia Dade's writing style and it only helps you gel with the characters.

Yes at times this book is a little far fetched. In real life would Wes really chase after Helen so much? He couldn’t remember her from school and he’d only known her a few hours. It took me a while to get past that but once I did I really loved this book. Wes really tries to make an effort with Helen and ultimately they both adore each other and would literally do anything to help the other which helped cement this book into my favourite in the series so far.

I really enjoy this series of books and Mayday is such a great addition to the series. It's refreshing to see more of the librarians out of the library environment. I've really enjoyed the other books in the series but personally Helen's story has been my favourite so far.

Synopsis -

Helen Murphy loves her supportive family, her close-knit circle of friends, and her part-time job at the library. What she doesn't love: the fact that she's a thirty-six-year-old near-virgin who lives in her parents' house. Eager to move out and reclaim her independence at long last, she's determined to get the library's new Community Outreach Coordinator position. Even if that means working side-by-side with the one man she desperately wants to avoid--Niceville's ambitious mayor Wes Ramirez, who happens to be her only previous lover, and the source of her greatest humiliation…

Wes needs to make up for his disastrous one-night--actually, make that one-hour--stand with deliciously nerdy librarian Helen. As they plan the city's upcoming May Day celebrations together, he'll try to prove he can do better, in bed and out. It may take every bit of his creativity and determination, but their budding romance has already gone down in flames once...and he'll be damned if he'll let Helen go a second time.

Mayday - Olivia Dade is released 10th May. Click here to preorder from Amazon

Truth Or Date - Portia MacIntosh

Ruby Wood dates a lot. Except she isn't having a lot of luck. Ruby is happy enough dating until she has a sex dream about her polar opposite flatmate, Nick. Now Ruby is comparing every man she meets to Nick despite the fact she absolutely, definitely does not want to date him and Nick certainly doesn't want to date her. 

From the minute I saw the lovely cover of this book I just knew it would be one I would enjoy and it did not disappoint. From just a few chapters in and even from the synopsis I feel like the whole plot is fairly obvious. It didn't surprise me one bit how the book played out. Honestly though, that didn't matter. I found the characters engaging and every page was a pleasure to read. It's my first book I've read by this author, but as I loved the way that characters are written/story is told I'm going to definitely be picking up her other novels. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the all of the characters. Ruby is easy to like and her fumbling through life makes a very amusing read. At some points I was literally chucking to myself in public as I found it so amusing. Her best friend Millsy whom she works in a coffee shop with provided some equally funny moments. Although in real life Millsy is the kind of person I'd find very irritating, in Truth Or Date I found his presence to only add to my enjoyment of the book. I even loved the more minor characters such as Ruby's brother who only added to the books many funny moments. My only gripe about the characters really is that I wished we had seen a little more of Nick but other than that they are all wonderful to read about.

What I particularly loved about Truth Or Date that it is set particularly local to me, to the extent I'm fairly certain the characters travel on the same train I do at one point. Did I maybe go on a train to Leeds just so I could feel more like the characters I was reading about...yep that's how obsessed I got with this book!

The romance levels in this book are kept to a minimum in comparison to other novels of this genre. To be honest I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing but if you're wanting a real romance novel this probably isn't for you. However, if you're looking for a book with a independent female lead, that provides some hilarious moments throughout then you must pick up Truth Or Date as your next book to read. 

Synopsis -

Ruby Wood is perfectly happy playing the dating game – until she has a red-hot dream about her very attractive flatmate, Nick. He might spend every day saving lives as a junior doctor, but he’s absolutely the last man on earth that fun-loving Ruby would ever date!

The solution? Focus on all of Nick’s bad points. And if that fails, up her dating antics and find herself a man! So what if she manages to make disapproving, goody two-shoes Nick jealous in the process…

Only, after a series of nightmare first dates, there’s still just one man on Ruby’s mind. Maybe it’s time to admit the truth and dare to ask Nick to be her next date?

How Many Wrongs Make A Mr Right? - Stella Hervey Birrell

How Many Wrongs Make A Mr Right sounded just like my kind of book, I liked the synopsis, the main character is called Melissa and the book cover is wonderful. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy reading it half as much as I expected too.

How Many Wrongs Make A Mr Right? tells the tale of Melissa. Melissa is stuck in a dead end job at a pub and just wants to find her Mr Right. Of course every guy she meets turns out to be no Prince Charming!

I just didn't gel with the characters. I found Melissa to be extremely unlikable and a tiny part of me felt like she didn't deserve to one day find her Mr Right. She doesn't treat potential suitors well and I don't particularly think she's nice to her friends either. Admittedly she does start to change as the book progresses but for me personally I found it too little too late, I already disliked her too much by this point in the story. I don't think her friends are particularly nice either and as much as I didn't like Melissa, I wanted her to get a new friendship group more!

Although slightly confusing at times (however it doesn’t take too long to understand what is going on) I did like how the book glimpses into Melissa's past, future and present. Every few chapters or so alternates between a different time period of her life and I thought it worked really well. The snippets of Melissa's future throughout certainly were enough to keep me reading on. I also really enjoyed the last chapter. It just tied the entire story together perfectly. 

How Many Wrongs Make A Mr Right? Is the author’s debut novel. Her descriptions in this book, particularly of Edinburgh are simply wonderful. I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for future books by this author in the future as I think with the right characters I will love any future novels that she writes as I enjoyed her writing style.   

Ultimately How Many Wrongs Make A Mr Right? just wasn't for me. I enjoyed the storyline but personally my hatred of the characters just ruined my overall enjoyment of this book. The storyline is a good one and its fascinating to read past/present and future of characters and I think if you can get on with the characters as people in this book you will absolutely love reading it.  

Synopsis –

A story about frog-kissing, bed-hopping, sliding off your lily-pad with embarrassment, and croaking with joy.

Sneak a look into Melissa’s present, past and future…

Her present: Living in Edinburgh certainly beats working two dead-end jobs, in a dead-end town, and staying with her Mum.

And thank goodness for her friends: Julie – her bestie – always has her back, even if she does have a new, boyfriend-shaped growth. Gerry regularly introduces her to eligible men, so it’s OK to ignore his belief that women belong in the kitchen. And the new guy James…perhaps he could be more than just a friend?

Her past: Melissa can’t stop thinking about things her dad said when he was alive. Re-playing warnings about teenage boyfriends and the over-use of the phone might not help, but it’s all she has left of him. Will obsessing about her past block the path to happy-ever-after?

Her future: Stressful days with a toddler, filled with love, paint, wee (or is it just water?) and ‘I’m not eating that!’ Is every day to be a solo-parenting day for Melissa?

It’s hard work searching for The One when you’re a modern, independent, strident, lonely feminist.

From noisy pub to folk club, from broken heart to new start, you’ll end up rooting for Melissa, despite her despicable decisions and massive mistakes.