Review: The Bow Wow Club by Nicola May

Ruby is back and never expected to be starting over…

…but after a shocking bereavement, she begins
to question whether or not she will ever be happy again.

A chance encounter with handsome author Michael Bell
throws her fragile heart into turmoil. Plus, a dark family secret
and completely unexpected love interest add to her confusion.

Encouraged to face her demons, she volunteers at the Bow Wow Club – (Boyfriends of Widows, Wives of Widowers).

You will laugh and cry along with a myriad of eccentric characters as Ruby searches for her inner peace. But will she let love win? Or allow her past to continue to haunt her?

Review: Now I am a MASSIVE Nicola May fan, having literally inhaled all four of her previous novels at the start of the year. Not only did she kindly agree to do an interview with me about her novels and her career as a writer, but I was also lucky enough to receive a copy of her brand new novel The Bow Wow club in advance of it being published to review. And what a gorgeous thing it is too. A beautiful pink cover that gives absolutely none of the story away. I was very excited to find out what Ruby from Nicola May's first novel Working it Out, had been up to and I certainly wasn't disappointed!

I loved Ruby in Working in Out. She wasn't over powered by anything. She was a strong independent woman who knew what she wanted and went for it. She is certainly back with a bang in this novel. She is still the same strong independent woman, but time has moved on. She has taken a few hits in the time since we last heard from her and now she is moving on with her life. The same mix of characters are there as in the first novel, wild child, best friend Fi and her lovely boyfriend James. Nosey neighbour Margaret who always has a few words of wisdom for our lovely heroine Ruby's family and even comedy character Tony Choi who worked with Ruby at the sex clinic in Working it Out. The characters are all just as well written as in this author's previous novel, and I think its great that they are all quirky characters who you might not necessarily expect to find in a romantic comedy novel. I think that this is one of the reasons I like Nicola May's novels so much-they don't contain cookie cutter girls and boys, there's space for the social outcasts as well as the typical guy next door, its a great mix!

As I said at the start of this review, Ruby has grown up and is moving on with her life. This must have been a big decision for Nicola May to make, to pick up the novel a few years down the line, rather than carry on from where she left off in Working it Out. I think it is a decision which has really paid off though. It makes sense for Ruby to have changed and evolved and the issue dealt with in the novel are more grown-up issues and have moved on from the first novel. I like the fact the The Bow Wow club itself deals with grief and yet in a light-hearted and realistic way. Infertility is dealt with as is the issue of infidelity. And yet May still manages to get some wonderful sex scenes in there, as she has done in previous novels. There is a new character Michael, an author funnily enough, who continuously breaks off from writing his own sex scenes to masturbate. I found this really funny, and yet totally believable! There is a lovely bit in the book from his perspective where he is described as such: "He wanted to squeeze her everyday and tell her everything would always be alright. Yes, she was independent, but also vulnerable. Like everyone was on a way."

Having been anxiously awaiting the release of this novel. I was not disappointed at all. Having been expecting a straight sequel to Ruby's story i was surprised to find the jump in time, and yet I was really pleased with the result. The fact that Ruby and the other characters have grown up and moved on with their lives was a great step, and made for a nice meaty read. The usual elements of Nicola May's other novels are still there so fans will not be disappointed and yet I think it also works well as a stand alone novel, and so if this is your first foray into this authors writing, you are in for a treat! A great sequel, Ruby has successfully been resurrected for our enjoyment!