 ‘Step into Limehouse Wharf, the new, uber-luxury apartment building in Canary Wharf where celebrities who have had 'work' done can hole up until they have healed and which is about to see its most glamorous and scandalous Christmas yet. Staying there over the festive period is Melody Down, an actress whose career is in tatters after too much plastic surgery and who has fled LA to get her body and her boyfriend back. But is a 'well-meaning' friend about to sabotage all of Melody's Christmas wishes? Meanwhile, Aniela Fatyga, the nurse in residence, finds herself falling for the unlikely Jon Jordan, an assassin for hire who is also convalescing there. Will her feelings be reciprocated or will their sizzling relationship remain purely physical? And who is he on the run from? And then there's oligarch Grigor Khalofsky, the owner of Kensington football team, whose legendary Christmas party is about to get a whole lot more exciting when murder, blackmail and scandalous revelations decide to pay a visit along with Santa.’
Set over Christmas and New Year at Limehouse Reach, an extremely exclusive apartment building in London, ‘Bad Angels’ follows the escapades of its residents. First is Christmas-loving Russian oligarch Khalovsky, who enlists the help of concierge Andy to give the building some proper festive spirit. Then there’s actress Melody, and ex-assassin Jon, who are both recovering from extensive plastic surgery and are being tended to by Polish nurse Aniela.
Despite their luxurious surroundings, Christmas is going to be far from relaxing for those at Limehouse Reach, thanks to Khalovsky’s soon to be ex-wife Dasha, who’s not prepared to allow her marriage to end without a fight, a fight that looks sure to end in rather a lot of blood-shed!
I wasn’t too sure about either Jon or Melody at the beginning of the story – Jon seemed too surly and Melody too whiney, but they quickly grew on me and I soon changed my opinion. Jon’s relationship with Aniela was lovely, and I was rooting for them to work as a couple.
The character I enjoyed the most was undoubtedly Dasha: she’s clever, ruthless and completely bonkers; in fact she was an absolute joy to read about. Chance really knows how to write a fantastic villainess!
The descriptions of the ridiculously luxurious apartments in Limehouse Reach were wonderful to read, Khalovsky’s home was my absolute favourite with its completely over the top furnishings and decoration. Everything is hilariously ostentatious!
A word of warning: if anything ‘Bad Angels’ is even more risqué than Chance’s previously novels, it really is no holes barred (literally!), and so won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.
‘Bad Angels’ was entertaining and often surprising, with a brilliantly fast-paced ending that certainly kept me on the edge of my seat. A very alternative Christmas story, Rebecca Chance has produced another wonderful piece of fun escapism, just perfect for the festive season.
4 stars
 ‘Starry-eyed ingenue Coco Raeburn is passionately ambitious. She will do anything - and anyone - to get her own editorship at a top fashion magazine. And her ruthless boss Victoria Glossop, editor at top UK fashion magazine Style, will do everything in her power to stop her...But Victoria has her own ambitions - she wants the top job at Style's US headquarters, and nothing will come between her and her dream. Uber-svengali Jacob Dupleix, media magnate, owner of Style, and one of the most powerful men in New York and London, is used to controlling all he sees. But when Victoria demands that he give her the US Style editorship, he gives in, little realizing that his empire could be about to fall apart. In New York, mentor and voice of calm in a storm, Mireille watches the shifts of power with detached amusement. If only they knew quite how much power she could wield if she had to...’
Coco Raeburn longs to be the editor of a fashion magazine, so much so that her whole life is focused towards her ambition. When she lands a job as assistant to her idol, Victoria Glossop, the woman in charge of Style magazine’s UK edition, Coco knows she’s on her way to realising her dream – so what if she has to lose a couple of stone and most her morals to become a success? But just how far is Coco prepared to go for what she wants? Is she capable of being as ruthless as Victoria and even knocking her mentor off her throne?
What a fantastic assortment of brilliant females Chance has created - Victoria in particular was a very cleverly written character: at first she comes across as completely heartless and merciless, but on closer examination she does have her soft moments. It’s like she’s built a wall around herself to ensure she does what she needs to do to succeed in her all-important career. There were certainly some surprises when we find out what Victoria’s weak spots are!
I also absolutely loved fashion editor Mireille, and especially the way she deals with Victoria. She oozed French-ness and some of the scenes between the two women were very amusing. There’s a bit of a shock concerning Mireille, which I really didn’t see coming.
Unfortunately, I felt a little let down by the ending of this novel. It seemed like it was all set up for a grand finale, but that Chance had maybe taken on a little more than she could chew and, as such, it fell a little flat. Victoria’s ending really was actually quite silly and too unrealistic even for this type of fun read I thought.
A word of warning for readers who haven’t previously experienced the delights of Rebecca Chance: some of the sex scenes in ‘Killer Heels’ really aren’t for the fainthearted! They’re pretty full on and can appear OUT OF NOWHERE! Keep your wits about you!
Rebecca Chance is very good at what she does, and consistently produces extremely readable books. ‘Killer Heels’ was ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ with saucy bits, and was definitely the engaging read I was expecting, although I was a little disappointed by the last few chapters. It was the ultimate bonkbuster, full of naughty secrets, handsome men and power hungry women in ridiculously high heels. Great fun.
3 and a half stars
 “International singing star Cosima has it all. Talent, fame and a super-sized overdraft. Will the promise of a big pay-day tempt her to embark on a six week tour where she'll be forced to share the stage with her ex-husband, the only man who ever broke her heart?
For the past five years, high-flying banker Juliet has been sleeping with her married boss. She thinks it's love, but when his empty promises are revealed, will she be tempted to risk her life to use a dangerous secret against him?
Mercy is struggling to make ends meet as an office cleaner while longing to follow in Cosima's footsteps and make it big as a singer. Will she be tempted to break the law to take the first step towards her dream?
Three very different women set their worlds on a collision course when they give in to their desires. Love, jealousy and intrigue are all-consuming in Olivia Darling's sexy, glamorous new novel.”
“Tempation” stars three women, each from different walks of life, but connected by some very fine opera. Firstly, enter the flamboyant Cosima, star of a new production of ‘Tosca’ which is touring Europe throughout the Summer. Cosima is forced to take the role because she really needs the money but is worried about singing alongside her co-star and ex-husband, Nolan, the only man to ever break her heart. How will she cope when feelings for Nolan that she’d thought were long dead are reawoken?
Juliet is a banker who’s been having an affair with her boss. Their business trips to Italy, where they use the opera to smooze clients, provide a perfect cover for their liaisons. When she finds out something she shouldn’t, will Juliet be strong enough to turn against her lover?
Finally, there’s Mercy, a cleaner with one GCSE in music to her name; she works in Juliet’s offices and dreams of becoming an opera singer like her heroine, Cosima. Can she find a way to make her dream come true?
I thoroughly enjoyed so many aspects of this book, it really was a great and entertaining read.
Cosima was the archetypal spoilt and volatile diva; a fantastic protagonist – fiery, passionate and talented, she was a joy to read about. She and Nolan are obviously meant for each other but their relationship is so turbulent that I couldn’t help but wonder if really they’d be better off staying apart!
I really liked Juliet as a character: she’d obviously made a very big mistake when she started an affair with a married man, but she was intelligent, strong, and stood up for what was right, even if that meant getting herself in trouble.
The opera world made a really fascinating backdrop to this wonderfully entertaining story full of colourful, engaging characters. I was hooked on the each of heroines’ tales from the word go, and loved the intertwining of the three, seemingly very different lives of opera star, banker and cleaner. Mercy in particular is so perfectly contrasted with the glamorous and privileged opera world that it seems almost impossible that she could ever be a part of it; she’s just such an engaging character that, despite the odds, I couldn’t help rooting for her!
The outline of ‘Tosca’ is provided in the book, which I thought was a great idea, but I felt it would have made more sense to put it before the story begins rather than at the end of the book, so a reader unacquainted with the opera can get to grips with it before it’s referred to in the novel.
It’s well known that Olivia Darling is a pen name of the very successful romantic comedy author Chrissie Manby. ‘Temptation’ is a very fine, and entertaining example of the bonkbuster genre which retains a lot of the elements which I enjoy in Manby’s work – great characters, interesting settings and intriguing storylines – but with an added extra big dollop of sex and glamour – just fabulous!
4 stars
|
RSS Feed