_ ‘Jenna Jenkins was getting married to her long-term boyfriend, Adam, and she was sure her life was all coming together. Until Adam left her for a twenty-three-year-old yoga instructor. To ease the pain, Jenna threw herself into her teenage memories of the late, great Tommy Seer, killed when his car crashed off a bridge in 1987, when she was just twelve, and focusing on the man who has been - and always will be - the true love of her life, however worrying that may seem to her best friend, Aimee. One day, working late, or thinking about Tommy at her office after dark, a freak accident sends Jenna back to 1987. It's a few short months before Tommy will die and Jenna's job is apparently working as his assistant. But Tommy is not the guy she imagined. He's mean and rude and obnoxious. But he is still deliciously good-looking. When Tommy takes her into his confidence, she starts to see the real him beneath the image and finds herself more in love than ever. He suspects someone is trying to kill him - and she knows it won't be long before they succeed. Why is she here? Is she meant to save his life? But how can she without revealing the bizarre, unbelievable truth’.

Jenna Jenkins loves everything about the eighties: the clothes, the music, the hair, and especially pop star Tommy Seer, who died in 1987 when he drove his car off a bridge. As Jenna’s life fails to inspire her, she spends more and more time immersed in her obsession with her favourite decade. One day, an accident in work sends Jenna back in time to 1987, just a few months before her beloved Tommy will die. Jenna now works as Tommy’s assistant, but whilst he’s very handsome, he’s nothing like she thought he would be; in fact he’s generally mean and unpleasant. He does, however, believe that someone is trying to kill him. Jenna now sees it as her destiny to uncover who would want him dead and save Tommy’s life.

Although I was born in 1980, and so was a little young to fully experience all that the eighties had to offer, this book still provided plenty of opportunity to reminisce. It was fascinating to have a picture painted of how New York has changed; it’s certainly been cleaned up a lot! From other things I’ve read I believe Crane’s descriptions to be pretty accurate, she’d obviously done her research.

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Jenna at the beginning of the book, but agreed with her friend that she’d taken her obsession too far. Although Jenna is in her 30s, she acts very immaturely, like a teenager in many ways; this was a little infuriating. However, she does change during the story, and manages to put her obsession with the 80s and Tommy Seer into perspective.

Crane really manages to tap into every girl’s love of a rock star, especially one who’s a little grumpy to begin with! Tommy was so cool; it was easy to see why Jenna had such a crush on him, bad boys appeal to even the best of us! He made a good male lead, and I enjoyed his changing attitude towards Jenna as he gradually learnt to trust her.

In general, I either love or hate books about time travel. The complexities behind Jenna’s journey through time weren’t really explored as deeply as I felt it could have been, but then I suppose the point is what happens to Jenna in the 80s, not necessarily how she gets there.

The storyline was a little predictable, with a few holes if you looked close enough, but this was real light-hearted escapism, letting us remember our wildest dreams growing up as we fell in love with whichever pop star was currently in vogue. There was plenty of romance, fun, and enjoyable eighties references, which made this story stand out from the crowd. This was my first Megan Crane book, and I’d definitely be interested in reading her others.

3 stars

__'Kidnapped!

Or that’s what it feels like to Kizzy Dean when a business disagreement with arrogant Greek lawyer Andreas Lazarides leaves her no choice but to accompany him to the Greek Isle of Rhodes. It doesn’t help matters this sexy brooding stranger, who is unaccustomed to the word No and the very idea of commitment, shows her what it feels like to be truly desired.

Amidst the ancient myths and alleyways, tensions run high as Kizzy feels an immediate attraction for the man she wants to both ravage and strangle.

Accustomed to gold-digging women, Andreas is mesmerized by Kizzy’s feisty nature and Gypsy beauty. Guilt and sorrow have been his only bedfellows since his sister’s death, but Kizzy stirs up a desire he’s unwilling to succumb to... until she makes him an offer he simply can’t refuse.'

Kizzy Dean is desperate: she’s in danger of losing everything if she can’t get hold of her boss, a very handsome, wealthy and powerful Greek lawyer named Andrea Lazarides. She’s never met him, but she’s already formed a rather bad opinion of him through his business dealings involving the restaurant he owns and Kizzy manages and lives above.

Kizzy has no partner and no family left, her life focuses on this restaurant which Andreas is going to close down. Kizzy needs to convince Andreas that she can save the business; the problem is that Andreas isn’t interested in her ideas, he has his own, very private, reasons for closing the business, and he is completely unwillingly to change his plans.

In return for her co-operation in not telling certain people about what’s going on with the restaurant, Kizzy is promised a job – only she doesn’t get a chance to check what the job will be before she’s whisked off by Andreas to Greece, where Andreas shows that he’s more than a little interested in becoming closer to Kizzy – by making her his mistress. Kizzy knows that she could never bring herself to be just his lover and so vows not to become emotionally attached, but it soon becomes apparent that this is one vow that will not be easy to keep.

Both of the main characters are brilliantly infuriating, and it’s only towards the end of the book that the reader understands completely why they are this way. Andreas is most women’s idea of a tall, handsome, brooding hunk: it’s no wonder that Kizzy falls for him so quickly. Kizzy, meanwhile, is immediately likeable for the way that she stands up to Andreas, determined not to allow herself to become his mistress, despite her feelings for him; she wants to work and be able to support herself, something that Andreas finds hard to cope with.

It would have been nice to have seen Kizzy in her home environment, which might have further emphasised how quickly and dramatically her life changes once Andreas is on the scene. But one of the challenges of writing romance is keeping to the very strict guidelines on length, meaning that it just isn’t possible to include everything

The book contains some truly inspired locations, including a wonderfully dramatic scene on the London Eye. What makes these settings even more spectacular is that Rachel Lyndhurst’s descriptions of the landscapes are so very good; you can practically feel the heat of the sun blistering over the beautiful Greek landscapes.

Romance books are not perhaps my favourite genre, but I have been known to indulge from time to time, and ‘Kidnapped by the Greek Billionaire’ is certainly one of the best I have read. . Something I particularly loved, and my favourite aspect of the romance genre, is very apparent in this novel – the perfect happy ending! If pure escapism is what you’re after then you really can’t do much better.

And finally, a word of warning to readers: there are some very, shall we say, racy scenes in this book. Be wary of Chapter 6 if you tend to go very red when embarrassed in public places – it even made my husband blush when I read some out to him!

4 stars

_'Liza Haven couldn’t wait to escape the small village where she grew up with her perfect identical twin sister, Lee. Her life in LA as a stunt woman is reckless, fast and free – and that’s just the way she likes it. But when a near-fatal mistake drives her home, she finds Lee gone and everyone in the village mistaking her for her twin sister. Liza has to deal with her ailing mother, the family ice cream business, and Lee’s dangerously attractive boyfriend. Liza’s always been the bad twin, but as she struggles to keep up the masquerade and puzzle out where her sister has gone, she realises it’s not so simple. She’s spent her whole life getting away with it – is it finally time to face up to who she really is and where she really belongs?'

Lee and Liza Haven are identical twin sisters, but appearances are where the similarities between the two end.

Liza lives in L.A. and is a film stuntwoman; she loves danger and adventure and does everything she can to stay away from her childhood home of Stoneguard, the cosy little town where she built up quite a reputation as the bad girl.

Lee, meanwhile, still lives in Stoneguard. She’s the exact opposite of her twin – responsible, organised and loved by everyone who knows her. She’s constantly busy: running the family ice-cream business, caring for her mother and helping out in the local community.

The story begins with Liza losing her job after making a major mistake which almost costs her her life. She soon finds that news travels fast in the film world and no one will employ her. When Lee begs Liza to return to Stoneguard for a visit she reluctantly agrees, but when she gets there she discovers that Lee has disappeared, leaving Liza to cope with all of her twin’s, often over-whelming, responsibilities.

When everyone assumes that Liza is Lee, Liza decides to carry on the charade and discover what it’s really like to be the ‘good’ twin. Liza thinks it’ll be easy enough to be Lee for a while, until that is, she discovers that Lee’s dating the irresistible Will Naughton.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Liza’s experiences as she lives her sister’s life and how they change her. My only quibble being that I would’ve liked the same amount of attention to have been paid to Lee, who also goes through a lot emotionally whilst she’s away and is a very interesting character in her own right.

Cohen really has created a wonderful cast of characters living in Stoneguard; I particularly liked Ma Gamble, with her attempts to keep the whole town regular and her earthworm preservation meetings. The townsfolk are wonderfully nosy and old-fashioned, and very cleverly written – you can understand why Lee adores them and Liza hates them, at least to begin with.

Another noteworthy aspect of Cohen’s writing was the way she dealt with and made use of the twins’ mother having Alzheimer’s: this really was a brilliant way to soften their mother’s character, and it also served to bring out a little more of Liza’s good qualities. There’s one scene in particular which is particularly touching where Liza’s finally understands and comes to terms with her mother’s illness.

I became really immersed in this book, which to me is always the sign of a very good story. Some of the passages describing the English countryside were very beautifully written and the description of Liza’s accident is very dramatic and intense -  there was no way that I could have stopped reading until I knew the outcome.

This is a lovely, really heart-warming story with a superb compliment of characters, and it came with the added bonus that I now know how to make a crop circle – I’ll definitely be on the look out for more of Julie Cohen’s books in the future.

4 stars

‘Neil and Nat seem to be perfectly matched. They hate Marmite and the opera. They love reality TV and the missionary position. And they both absolutely do not want children.

At least that's what Nat thought. But now Neil seems to have softened to the prospect and he's practically begging her for a baby. Nat tries to ignore his change of heart and won't explain her reasons for hating the idea; she can't. Are they that compatible after all? As the cracks start to show, Nat wonders if Neil really is the man of her dreams. Or is it possible that someone from her past could actually be 'the one'?’

It’s not only outsiders who think Nat and Neil’s marriage is pretty much perfect,  they believe their relationship is rock solid; they agree on everything that’s important, including that neither of them want children. However, the couple are thrown into turmoil when Neil suddenly becomes desperate for a baby. Confused, Natalie turns to her Little Black Book for comfort and begins meeting up with old flames in an attempt to discover whether she’d made a big mistake marrying Neil in the first place.

I was definitely intrigued after reading the blurb: we’re used to the idea of a woman unhappy because her husband doesn’t want children, it’s more unusual to see it the other way around. I was a little disappointed that Nat’s reasons for not wanting children, in particular the importance of her career, turned out not to be the truth. I thought this let the strength of the character down somewhat: not all women want babies and felt it would have been more convincing just for Natalie not to feel that maternal, but completely satisfied with her life, and not wanting to be pushing into something she neither needed nor wanted. It also seemed improbable that at no point during all the years they’d been together had Nat told Neil the real reason why she didn’t want children. Why would she feel the need to keep it such a secret from the person she was spending her life with?

I didn’t really click with either of the two lead characters; they both came across as very selfish and immature. Neil’s behaviour when he didn’t get what he wanted was extremely childish, and some of the things he gets up to are pretty unforgivable. I did, however, enjoy Parks’ descriptions of how Neil felt being childless; it was interesting to see this from a male perspective.

Neil’s friend Karl was a complete caricature of the eternal bachelor; I thought that more could perhaps have been done with his character, particularly drawing comparisons between him and Neil and the way they dealt with their problems.

The idea behind this book was very good, but I felt the leading pair let it down a little; I just couldn’t seem to ‘bond’ with them and became very frustrated by the way in which they dealt with their situations. Having said this, I haven’t read an Adele Parks book for a long time, and I’d forgotten how much I enjoy her writing style. She’s easy to read and writes romantic relationships very well, often concentrating on small habits or incidences that actually tell us an awful lot about a couple and how they work together. Parks’ methods mean the reader gets to know her characters very quickly and swiftly becomes enveloped in their lives and problems, making for a very engrossing novel.

3 and a half stars

_ ‘I've lost it. :( The only thing in the world I wasn't supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It's been in Magnus' family for three generations. And now, the very same day his parents are coming, I've lost it. The very same day. Do not hyperventilate, Poppy. Stay positive!! :) A couple of glasses of bubbly with the girls at a charity do and Poppy's life has gone into meltdown. Not only has she lost her engagement ring, but in the panic that followed, she's lost her phone too. As she paces shakily round the hotel foyer she spots an abandoned phone in a bin. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number with the hotel staff. It was meant to be! Except the phone's owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn't agree. He wants his phone back, and doesn't appreciate Poppy reading all his messages and wading into his personal life. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, phone messages and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents, can things get any more tangled?’

‘I’ve Got Your Number’ begins with physiotherapist Poppy losing her very expensive engagement ring, a family treasure given to her by her professor fiancé Magnus. Things swiftly become worse when Poppy has her mobile stolen. Desperate for a contact number to give out to everyone searching for the ring, Poppy spots a phone lying in a bin and claims it as her own. The only problem is its owner, businessman Sam Roxton, wants his phone back. Poppy manages to convince Sam to let her borrow it, promising to forward any messages addressed to him, but soon discovers several ways she could improve Sam’s life for him, with just a few emails and texts - sent in-between organising her wedding, searching for her ring and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents who still don’t know Poppy’s lost their heirloom.

I am a big Sophie Kinsella fan, and her latest offering didn’t fail to live up to expectations. ‘I’ve Got Your Number’ is a stand-alone novel, and I know many readers feel that Kinsella’s individual titles aren’t as strong as her famous Shopaholic series. I would say that I adore Becky Brandon nee Bloomwood and her adventures, but some of this author’s other heroines are also absolutely fantastic and well worthy of being included in a Chick Lit Hall of Fame.

Poppy is a physiotherapist, an interesting and original choice of career for a chick lit heroine, I thought. At first I wasn’t too sure it was a job I’d necessarily want to read about, but Kinsella doesn’t overplay it - the main point being that Poppy does something which helps people, thus highlighting an important aspect of her character.

I really enjoyed seeing Sam’s character develop from a grumpy workaholic to a kind, funny Scrabble expert. His relationship with Poppy was very cleverly constructed; I loved the brilliant use of email and text messages: these mediums often make us more relaxed and honest in our communications and so were a perfect means to help Poppy and Sam open up about their feelings for one another.

Some of the mad situations Poppy managed to get herself in had me snorting with laughter, much to my husband’s amusement. Kinsella is at her element when writing comic scenes; she’s a genius when it comes to getting her heroines into wonderfully hilarious situations and then gently allowing them to dig themselves even deeper into their predicament. The current queen of her genre has produced another dazzling read that will delight her die-hard followers, and ensure that any readers just discovering Sophie Kinsella will remain life-long fans.

4 and a half stars

‘The first in Heather Killough-Walden's fantastic new paranormal series, THE LOST ANGELS, features Uriel, the Angel of Vengeance
Four thousand years ago, four archangels were cast down to Earth in human form. The Old Man's favourites, they came to find their mates, the other half of their souls made only for them, without whom they will ever be complete.
Uriel, Gabriel, Azrael and Michael, however, were not alone. They were followed by another, determined to find the archesses for himself, and whose power cannot be underestimated. But after centuries of fruitless searching, the archangels - and their enemy - have all but given up hope.
Until one day beautiful and gifted Eleanore Granger crosses paths with Uriel, the Angel of Vengeance. And as a storm rages, outside forces conspire together, initiating an age old battle of good versus evil to win the first archess’.

Uriel and his brothers Gabriel, Azrael and Michael are extremely powerful archangels sent down to Earth four thousand years ago by The Old Man to search for their lost soulmates, four archesses. However, they were followed by fallen angel Samael who’s determined to steal an archess for himself. After centuries of searching, the angels are close to giving up until Uriel meets Ellie and instantly recognises her as his other half; but can Uriel convince Ellie they are destined to be together before Samael throws a spanner in the works? And just who are the mysterious men who have been trying to capture Ellie ever since her own supernatural powers came to light?

It took me a while to get the four angels and their characters straight in my mind, but once I had, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about all of them. They were all very individual, as well as brilliantly strong and sexy. I can’t wait to see the others meet their archesses in later volumes.

Samael was entertaining and everything a decent villain should be: shrewd, greedy, and extremely  intelligent, he should be good fun in the sequels. I also thought Ellie was great, she was very likable but had led such a bizarre life, constantly trying to hide her gifts and afraid she’d be locked away and experimented on. I thought the inner conflict between her immediate attraction to Uriel and her naturally cautious nature was very well played out.

There was quite a bit of background information which needed to be got across to explain the characters and their peculiar situation. I appreciated the way these back stories were given a little at a time, meaning the pace of the novel didn’t suffer.

Unfortunately, I did feel that the novel contained some sexual situations and references which were slightly unnecessary, especially as this book, whilst aimed at adults, would definitely appeal to teenage readers. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this book for under sixteens.

‘Avenger’s Angel’ is a great start to what I’m sure is going to be a hugely entertaining series. It’s exciting and original storyline combined with some fantastic characters and I’m really looking forward to the next book by this very talented author. I’ll be recommending Heather Killough-Walden to plenty of my paranormal book loving friends.

4 stars

_ ‘Puddleducks Playgroup has been run successfully for several years. Now, with an opportunity to prove herself Gemma Merryfield can't wait to take over running it in September. But the arrival of the new head of the infant school, Joe Balls soon tempers her enjoyment. Ex-banker Joe has been employed to bring the school back up to scratch, and that includes intefering with Gemma and her playgroup. Gemma adores her unruly group of children, and she can even find affection for the parents, but Joe's inteference is the last thing she needs.

Meanwhile, Nancy is in turmoil. Her only son has just started playgroup and her husband has taken a temporary posting to Vietnam. Even before he left, there hadn't been much hope of conceiving her much-wanted second child. And with Danny gone for most of the day, what on earth is she meant to do now? Does she have the strength to find herself again, and maybe make some friends along the way?

Little do any of them realise what a tumultuous term it is going to be...’

Acting supervisor at Puddleducks Playgroup, Gemma Merryfield, can’t wait for term to start so she can set all her plans for fun and learning into action. But it’s not long before her enthusiasm is dampened by the criticisms and interference of Joe Balls, the new, very handsome, teacher at the infant school connected to the pre-school. Joe’s brash manners immediately rub Gemma up the wrong way and relations between the two worsen when Gemma discovers that Joe has rented a room right across the hallway from hers. Can the two learn to get along for the sake of their jobs, or even let down their barriers enough to become more than just friends?

I’m afraid I didn’t find a state pre-school to be a particularly exciting or inspiring setting. A lot of the story takes place actually in Gemma’s workplace, which I personally found a bit boring – I have four small children and do plenty of painting and playdough already without reading about other people doing the same things. However, one advantage of this location was that it gave the heroine ample opportunity to prove how kind and good she was with children.

As for Gemma, she was very sweet and her relationships with the children she works with were pleasant to read about, but she lacked ambition in her life: for example, she appeared perfectly happy to just carry on lodging in a single room with a shared bathroom, which seemed quite unusual for a woman of her age.

Of the secondary characters, Nancy, one of the pre-school mothers, stood out. Her marriage is in trouble, mainly because her husband feeling neglected due to her pouring all her love, and many neuroses, into their little boy. Nancy’s worries were both touching and occasionally very funny - we all know at least one mother like her.

I enjoyed the Fraser’s writing style and found her prose easy to read and enjoyable, although I got a little fed up of the author constantly trying to trick and tease me with red herrings and misunderstandings - to be completely honest, whilst I like the occasional piece of misdirection, I would rather she’d just got to the point.

The pleasant storyline of ‘The Playgroup’ strolled along at a gentle pace and I enjoyed the writing style. However, for me the book seemed to lack a little originality and spark, which I felt was mainly due to the setting used. Having said that, the leads were generally likeable and I was entertained by the variety of characters within the collection of mums.  Fans of Polly Williams and Julia Williams should enjoy this and I’ll be very interested to see what Janey Fraser produces next.

3 stars

_ ‘Samantha Brooks' boyfriend has made a mistake. One his friends, family,and Sam herself know he will live to regret. Jamie has announced he is leaving, out of the blue. He is loving, intelligent and, while he isn't perfect, he's perfect for her - in every way except one: he's a free spirit. And after six years in one place, doing a job he despises, he is compelled to do something that will tear apart his relationship with Sam: book a one-way flight to South America. But Sam isn't giving up without a fight. With Jamie still totally in love with her, and torn about whether to stay or go, she has three months to persuade him to do the right thing. With the help of her friends Ellie and Jen, she hatches a plan to make him realise what he's giving up. A plan that involves dirty tricks, plotting and a single aim: to win him back. But by the time the tortured Jamie finally wakes up to what he's lost, a gorgeous new pretender has entered Sam's life. Which begs the question ...does she still want him back?’

Jane Costello throws us straight into our heroine’s anguish from the very first page: events organiser Samantha Brooks’ car has broken down and she’s sitting by the side of the road sobbing her heart out because she’s been dumped. Sam’s boyfriend of six years, Jamie, has decided he’s far too much of a free-spirit to stay living with her in Liverpool and so has booked himself a one way flight to South America. However, all is not lost; once Sam’s friends, Ellie and Jen, calm her down, the three women come up with a pretty complicated but, they think, fool-proof plan to make Jamie realise just what he’ll be missing if he goes. But will the three months Sam has before Jamie leaves be enough time to change his mind?

I read the blurb to this book and to be honest I wasn’t completely enamoured, it sounded like a story that’s been done many times before, however, my misgivings proved to be unfounded: ‘All The Single Ladies’ proved to be intelligent, witty and actually pretty original!

The novel had great pace, there really wasn’t a dull moment. Costello creates some wonderful tension leading up to the conclusion. The ending itself was very unexpected, but I must admit that I was a little disappointed: it seemed to miss a little something from the happy ever after which I was after. I didn’t think that it achieved what it seemed to be trying to do, instead it sort of strayed into a middle area between what I think Costello wanted for her character and what she worried her readers expected.

The relationship between Sam and Jamie was very cleverly written. In her turmoil at the outset of the story, Sam focuses mainly on Jamie’s good points and everything she’s losing, it’s only much later, and little by little, that we discover what a useless bum this man actually is and what Sam has been putting up with! They’ve been together for so long that Sam hadn’t realised just how much their relationship had already eroded away and how much better she’d be without him. They were a couple completely stuck in a rut.

Jane Costello really seems to be going from strength to strength; ‘All The Single Ladies’ is her first hardback release, a real testament to her saleability. I thought it was an extremely readable tale which touched on some serious issues such as adoption and alcoholism but balanced this with many lovely comic touches. It’s wonderful to see such a talented writer gaining the popularity she so justly deserves –Costello is certainly shaping up to be a worthy rival to Sophie Kinsella.

4 stars

_ ‘If you found yourself glued to David Nicholls's One Day or belting out the lyrics to Amy Winehouse's Back to Black then you'll love this book. Girl meets boy. Girl loses boy. Girl loses mind. Sophie Klein walks into a bar one Friday night and her life changes. She meets James Stephens: charismatic, elusive, and with a hosiery model ex who casts a long, thin shadow over their burgeoning relationship. He's clever, funny and shares her greatest pleasure in life -- to eat and drink slightly too much and then have a little lie down. Sophie's instinct tells her James is too good to be true -- and he is. An exploration of love, heartbreak, self-image, self-deception and lots of food. Pear-Shaped is in turns smart, laugh-out-loud funny and above all, recognizable to women everywhere.’

Pudding developer Sophie Klein’s life is turned upside down when she falls in love with seemingly-wonderful James Stephens. Although James appears perfect, Sophie’s friends can’t warm to him and he seems to be keeping Sophie at a distance. Pretty soon Sophie becomes consumed with trying to work James out, little realising how dangerous the hold he has over her is. James gradually chips away at Sophie’s confidence, in particular by making her feel very self-conscious about her weight. When the couple break up Sophie falls apart and she’s not certain she has the strength to pull herself back together again.

Oh my goodness, this novel is worth reading purely for the descriptions of the desserts – absolutely amazing! I’ll definitely be trying some of the recipe suggestions made by the author at the end of the book. Newman’s complete love affair with all things edible provides a wonderful backdrop to the story. I loved reading about Sophie’s job – spending all day tasting desserts and thinking up new yummy combinations of chocolate and cream is my idea of heaven!

This book was expertly written; I adored the character development and the subtle ways in which the protagonist felt her confidence being eroded by. I really felt for Sophie and liked her as a heroine. James was a total swine, yet I could see why she’d fallen for him, but at the same time knew that he was wrong for her and their relationship was doomed to heartbreak. James could be so charming at times that I found myself doubting my negative feelings towards him, much like Sophie herself. I was as confused by his actions as Sophie at some points!

This debut seemed to have more meat to it than a regular chick lit novel, and delves into some tricky aspects of emotional abuse, whilst remaining very entertaining. Alternately very witty and very sad, I absolutely adored some of the episodes at the fitness retreat Sophie takes herself to and literally couldn’t put this novel down until I knew that Sophie was going to be alright. As soon as I was reassured, I felt a sudden urge to make a celebratory batch of brownies.

4 and a half stars