 ‘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
 “Three ambitious, rivalrous sisters. And a deadly secret, which one of them is determined to keep buried at any cost ...Deeley is the fake wife of a Hollywood TV hunk, who is secretly gay. But Deeley's five-year contract is up, and his cut-throat publicist wants Deeley out. So, dejected and penniless, Deeley wends her way home to London, hoping to re-establish links with her two estranged elder sisters ...Devon is married to the nation's-favourite-rugby-hunk Matt, and has her own highly successful TV career, as the sexy hostess of her own cookery show. But behind her buxom facade, Devon is lonely and frustrated, and when a live celebrity cook-off shows her up as a fraud, she leaves sweet Matt and runs off to Tuscany, to learn a few lessons - not just in cookery - from an Italian master. Lastly, there's Maxie: a politician's wife, Maxie is fiercely ambitious. She's furious when Deeley, hard on her luck, sells the sisters' childhood story to a tabloid newspaper, revealing their impoverished roots and unsavoury parentage. The story undermines Maxie's carefully cultivated image, and the fallout threatens to be devastating. But Maxie is only too aware that there is much more Deeley could yet reveal. What murderous secret lies in the sisters' past? And just how far will Maxie go to keep it buried?”
Maxie, Devon and Deeley form our eponymous ‘Bad Sisters’, three siblings who are far from close, divided rather than bonded by a dreadful childhood secret. The trio follow very different paths: Maxie is an incredibly ambitious politician’s wife, Devon is a TV cook and Deeley lives in LA, paid to pretend to be the girlfriend of a very famous, and secretly gay, actor. However, when Deeley’s ‘boyfriend’s’ publicist decides that the time has come for her relationship to break up, Deeley returns to London - unsure what to do with her life and knowing no one apart from her sisters, neither of whom are especially keen to have her around. Maxie, in particular, is determined to ensure that her silly little sister never gives away any clue as to their terrible past, and to make mattes worse, Deeley soon falls madly in love with Devon’s rugby player husband.
Deeley was the most likeable of the women – she’s very sweet and tried hard to please, she hasn’t been as affected by wealth as her sisters. However, she also lacks their ambition - both a good and bad thing: without Devon’s vanity or Maxie’s cunning, she’s certainly a more pleasant person, but with the absence of their drive, her character has no real motivation in life.
I did enjoy reading about all three of the leading ladies, but there were points where some of the characters – such as Devon, in many ways a parody of Nigella Lawson, and the ex-public school boy Tory MPs - were such caricatures that it was a little off-putting; they just didn’t come across as ‘real’ enough to completely engage me.
I appreciate that no novel of this genre is going to be completely realistic – that’s surely the point, they’re pure escapism - however, particularly towards the end of the tale, I felt that the storyline was verging on ludicrous. The whole thing was completely improbable and the ending much too convenient. But having said this, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, and ended up staying awake far, far too late one night because I couldn’t bear to put it down – it was completely addictive reading.
‘Bad Sisters’ is a classic ‘bonkbuster’- it has it all: glamorous, wealthy characters, gorgeous settings, intrigue and lots and lots of sex! The story was compelling and the action was well-paced. Whilst I’d have liked a touch more realism and greater originality with the characterisation, the novel was great fun and would make an absolutely perfect beach read this summer.
3 and a half stars
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