Author Marathoning Wrap Up...

Ok so my author marathoning month didn't go as well as I'd hoped, best laid plans and all that... The thing is though, I really really REALLY want to read all of the books that I listed at the beginning of March, so I've decided to extend my author marathon month until the end of April. As you know I am on a book buying ban until Easter and that is actually going really really well. I've used my library to get myself a an audiobook for the car and I still have library books out to read as part of my author marathons so I'm finding it really easy not to buy any books. There are a few books out on 10th April which I need to read and review, but apart from that, I really will try and stick to the authors I want to marathon.

In march I actually ended up marathoning an author I hadn't planned to, and you can see th results of that marathon later on this week actually. I read the finding sky series by Joss Stirling, all three books plus the novella... Such fun! 

Although I didn't read all the Rebecca chance novels I wanted to read, I did read her latest novel which I also reviewed for you and that was Bad Brides. I still may go back to the other books I've have of hers because I do want to read them all! 

I read two books by Jane Costello but still have the only book of hers I haven't read, Nearlyweds to read. I know this will be a quick and easy read because I absolutely love her books so I may just add that on to my April reads meaning that ill have read three works by Jane by the end of the marathoning period! The books I read by her were, the Mini Break and The Time of Our lives, both of which I reviewed for you as well! 

I got round to reading one of the Malorie Blackmans that I own, but not both of them. I read Noughts and Crosses in the Month of March and my review of that will be up next week! 

I also read 2 episodes of The Arcad which, I suppose, could count as marathoning as well...

The other books I read this month were Take Mum Out by Fiona Gibson, which I reviewed...

The Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgane, which I also reviewed...

And Finding Colin Firth by Mia March, again I reviewed this for you guys too...

I am currently reading The Accident by CL Taylor and listening to A Hundred Pieces of Me by Lucy Dillon (loving both and over halfway through both as well!)

I will definitely try and read my Jennifer E Smitth collection next month which now has The Geography of You and Me added to it. I also want to read some more of my Rebecca Chance collection. I would love to read the Keris Stainton books I showed you and the David Levithan books as well. Here's hoping I might get round to some of them. 

You can also expect reviews of The Accident by CL Taylor and A Hundred Pieces of Me by Lucy Dillon.

Let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like me to read and review next and I'll try and prioritise that/those books for you! 

Happy reading!  

Hove Book Festival!

Something exciting is happening next weekend...

The inaugural Hove Book Festival, founded andcurated by bestselling author, Dorothy Koomsonwill run from Thursday 3rd April to Saturday 5th April 2014. Created to celebrate great storytelling for all ages, the launch line-up includes authors Lynne Truss, Alexandra Heminsley, Bethan Roberts, Araminta Hall, Simon Toyne and Eleanor Moran and a range of events including ‘Write by the Sea’; ‘The Big Book Quiz’ hosted by BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey presenter, Sarah Gorrell, appearances from‘Stripy Horse’ and a series of ‘How to...’ writing sessions.

Talking about the Festival, Dorothy Koomsonsays:

“I wanted to celebrate and share my love of reading, books and really good story-telling so thought it’d be a great idea to start a festival near my home. We’re very fortunate with the line-up for the Festival – we have brilliant authors and experts on board, so I’m really excited to get the opportunity to buy their books and have them signed for me. Setting up Hove Book Festival has been a labour of love and I’m looking forward to hearing what all of the authors and experts have to say.”

Events will take place at Hove Library and The Hove Centre, Hove Town Hall, with support for TheNational Literacy Trust, the charity dedicated to raising literacy levels in the UK. WHSmith andBritish Bookshops, Hove are confirmed as the official Festival booksellers.

The Festival in brief:

Thursday 3rd April at 7pm, Hove Library

Write By The Sea With Simon Toyne, Bethan Roberts & Dorothy Koomson

Three best-selling authors talk about how they got published, how they come up with ideas for their books and what it’s like to be a writer who lives near the sea.

Friday 4 April at 7.30pm, Hove Library

The Big Book Quiz With Lynn Truss, Tom Bale, Joanna Rees, Mark Barrowcliffe and Alexandra Heminsley

5 well-known, local authors will head up 5 teams to find out who knows the most about books. BBC Sussex & Surrey radio host Sarah Gorrell will be asking the questions and interviewing the authors.

Saturday 5 April at 10.30am, The Hove Centre/Hove Town Hall

Stripy Horse Comes To The Seaside

Award-winning children’s authors Karen Wall and Jim Helmore bring their most famous creation, the lovableStripy Horse to the seaside. They’ll be reading from their first story Who Are You Stripy Horse? and involving the children in discussions about the book. (For 3-5 year-olds)

Saturday 5 April from 1pm, The Hove Centre,Hove Town Hall

How To Write A Bestselling Fiction Series With Elly Griffiths 1pm

Elly Griffiths, the bestselling author of a series of crime books currently in development with the BBC, shares her secrets on how she puts together her complex, linked series of stories.

How To Get Published With Jo Dickinson 2:30pm

The Publishing Director of adult fiction at Simon & Schuster (one of the world’s biggest publishing companies) explains what she looks for when deciding to sign up an author and their book

How To Find Your Writing Voice With Lizzie Enfield & Araminta Hall 4pm

These experienced authors and writing coaches will explain the importance of finding your own ‘voice’ when writing and how you can put that story bubbling away inside down on paper in your own unique way.

How To Write For TV With Eleanor Moran5:30pm

Not only is Eleanor Moran a bestselling author, she’s also a TV drama producer who’ll be revealing how you can put together a story for the small screen.

For tickets and further information please visitwww.hovebookfestival.co.uk

About The National Literacy Trust:
The National Literacy Trust is a charity dedicated to raising literacy levels in the UK. Their research and analysis make them the leading authority on literacy. They run projects in the poorest communities, campaign to make literacy a priority for politicians and parents, and support schools. Visit www.literacytrust.org.uk to find out more For further information about the National Literacy Trust, please contact Claire Nevill, Media Manager on 0207 820 6275 or atClaire.Nevill@literacytrust.org.uk

The Hove Book Festival runs from 3rd – 5th April in Hove Library and The Hove Centre, Hove Town Hall.

For further information on authors, events or to speak to Dorothy Koomson please contact Emma Draude at ed public relations on

020 8299 4541 or email emma@edpr.co.uk

www.hovebookfestival.co.uk       @hovebookfest

Review! Bad Brides by Rebecca Chance

Good brides promise to obey. Bad brides wouldn't dream of it… 

Milly Gamble is an up-and-coming actress, and the perfect English flower child. At 23, she's always been cast as the innocent heroine. But looks can deceive. Calculating and fiercely ambitious, Milly is determined to be the most famous star in England. And how better to achieve her goal than by dating Tarquin Ormond, lead singer of the biggest folk band of the moment? Tarquin is madly in love with Milly; Milly is only in love with herself. 

Brianna Jade is an all-American pageant girl. The daughter of Tamra Maloney, a stunning billionairess, Brianna is a sweet, pretty girl who is more than happy to go along with her mother's ambitious plans for her. Now Tamra's brought her to the UK and hooked her up with an Earl. He has a crumbling stately home and needs a rich wife to help restore it to its former glory. Tamra is as ambitious and determined as Brianna is sweet and innocent - is this more a case of mother-in-law-zilla than bridezilla? 

Both Milly and Brianna's upcoming weddings will be huge, lavish events that garner national press. But with the cover of the biggest magazine in the country to be won, things are about to get very dirty…

Review: this is such a fun idea for a book, two brides battling it out, not only to be the cover star of a magazine, but also to find their place in a higher class of society that they are used to. I enjoyed reading this book, I found it a little slow in parts but that didn't make me want to stop reading on. I think sometime the lack of pace that I found was due to the wonderful descriptions that this author included and I wouldn't have wanted those left out for the world-she describes everything from passionate sex scenes to the fabric on a new sofa, right down to the smell of rotting fish-there really are some vivid descriptions in this novel which I loved! 

The two characters are fairly interesting, I found myself really loving the American Bride-Brianna Jade but really disliking the British bride-Milly. Brianna-Jade had some wonderful storylines and had a lot of common sense for someone so you, her fiancé I could take or leave, but I was really interested in her storyline and loved the ending that she got! Milly I thought was seriously spoilt and couldn't see what was plainly right in front of her nose. She clearly reminded me of selfish friends that I have and that is why I couldn't warm to her but she was still excellently written and had some seriously funny moments. Her fiancé, on the other hand, was rather lovely and I really loved the ending he got  as well. 

There were some very important secondary characters in this move, who all had fabulous storylines in their own rights. I loved Milly's assistant Eva, and BJ's mother Tamra. They were wonderfully strong female characters. There were those characters who were out to sabbotage everything as well of course which added that extra bit of drama! Then there was the pig farmer-oh the pig farmer. His scenes were truly spectacular and he'd definitely be the one I'd want my magazine cover with! 

Which leads me on nicely to the sex scenes. As usual, Rebecca Chance has written some seriously hot sex scenes! The attention to detail is fabulous. The heat is off the scale and everyone gets a bit of a look in when it comes to the action, something which I think it truly democratic! There are scenes between men and women, men and men and women and women and all are very realistic, laid bare in front of you, so if you are of a sensitive disposition, maybe this book isn't for you! I loved them though! 

Overall this book was an enjoyable read and definitely something to take your time over. It would be the perfect read for lazing on the beach in the summer, or taking with you on a long haul flight, or even on the dirty weekend in the countryside somewhere. It has likeable characters, characters you love to hot and enough passion to get you seriously hot under the collar. The ending is just perfect and I defy anyone to disagree with me on that front! If you're a Rebecca Chance fan, you'll not be disappointed with this new offering! 

Britain's Next Bestseller

There's something fairly exciting Launching today-Britain's Next Bestseller is a new publishing revolution that puts the readers & the authors at the helm of the publishing process. I was fairly intrigued when I heard about this new phenomenon so I decided to do this post to let you guys know all about it & also to ask some questions about the ideas behind it...

What was the inspiration behind creating BNBS?

About 2 years ago when I was on holiday in Corsica, I was reflecting on the
injustice of the publishing world. The fact that there are some fantastic
authors out there but many don’t get a look in because they are not already
published or they're not a celebrity with a vast following. They say over
95% of manuscripts sent to literary agents and publishers end up in the
slush pile. There will be a lot of books hitting the slushpiles that could
be the great reads of the future but were never given half a chance. I
wondered what our world would have been like without Harry Potter or the Da
Vinci Code. These may not be literary masterpieces but they have captured
the imagination and quickened the pulse of millions. Surely a great book is
one that is loved by readers not necessarily one that is written the most
eloquently. I began to imagine what it would be like if there was a fairer
way for authors to get published and it struck me that 'fairness' comes by
taking the decision out of the publishers' hands and instead allowing
readers to decide the books that get published. 

Why is BNBS different to other publishing opportunities out there?

We are different because we trust the public to make the publishing
decisions for us. If an Author can prove the demand for their book, by
securing a minimum number of pre-orders, then we publish it, market it and
distribute it. Not only that, we offer our Authors industry beating
royalties and the more pre-orders a book receives the more we invest in the
marketing and promotion of that book. Authors also benefit from being part
of a community with great support from our Publishing Mentors - every single
one of our Launch Authors has stated that even if they don’t land the
publishing deal they have loved working with the team and learnt so much
that will help them in their future writing/publishing endeavours. For
readers it’s a great proposition too:

- They get access to books that otherwise may have never seen daylight
- They get advance copies of the book with their name printed inside as a
'thank you'
- If know that their money is safe because it is going to the publisher and
not the author. 
- And if the pre-order target is not achieved, the reader gets a 100% refund

We just want to offer Authors and Readers something new, that is innovative
and can create the next generation of books that become our bedside
favourites.

What would be your dessert island books?

Can I have a Kindle with Wi-Fi access? I rarely read the same book twice so
have ended up with quite an extensive book collection - majoring on the
non-fiction. I'm also quite practical so if I was limited to 1 book I might
choose an intensive language course book - something complex like Mandarin -
to keep my mind engaged all those lonely months. I can just imagine myself
walking round an island muttering gibberish to myself in another language.

What author do you wish you'd published?

There is no author I wish we had published. My wish is that we discover new
talent that otherwise would have gone un-noticed and that in the future,
someone answers this question, choosing our book titles as ones they wish
they had published! 

Thanks so much to Murielle for answering my questions. I also received info with a link to the website & this exciting information about the launch today...

"We have already received a lots of manuscripts – many of which have the makings of Britain’s Next Bestseller. Our websitewww.britainsnextbestseller.co.ukgoes live on 28th March 2014 with a group of talented authors that we have cherry picked for our launch – books covering a vast range of genres – chick lit, children’s picture books, paranormal romances, inspirational life stories, self-help, thrillers, historical novels, science fiction and fantasy… something for every taste. Once the website is live, all UK authors will be able to register and ‘pitch’ their manuscript to the public. Britain’s Next Bestseller will be the place where readers decide the books that get published and where authors can land a publishing deal.

Here is a link to a 1 min film that explains how it workshttps://vimeo.com/88330897 feel free to share with them. You’ll also find us on Facebook!"

I think it all sounds quite exciting and will definitely be checking out their website now that it is live-best of luck to all involved!

Happy Reading!

Review: The Time of Our Lives by Jane Costello

Imogen and her friends have had their fill of budget holidays, cattle-class flights and 6 a.m. offensives for a space by the pool.

So when one of the group wins a VIP holiday at Barcelona's hippest new hotel, they plan to sip champagne with the jet set, party with the glitterati and switch off in surroundings of unapologetic luxury.

But as they mingle with movie stars, mafia bosses and millionaires, it becomes clear - with riotous consequences - that even in the most glamorous of locations, things can go wrong. Very wrong . . .

Review: oh it was so nice to get back into one of Jane Costello's books again, it felt a bit like coming home. All of her books are the perfect mix of humour, love, real life and just the right percentage of eventfulness! This book was no exception! I raced through this novel because I was pulled in right from the word go and wanted so badly to find out what was going to happen that I ended up staying up really late just so I could finish it. I laughed really hard, I cried and I awed...

Imogen is just a gorgeous character, so down to earth and real it's actually amazing. I could identify with her so much. She is stressed out by work, loves her mates, loves her daughter and is a little bit scared of getting Into another relationship after her last big affair. I think it's just so great to read about a real character going through the kinds of things we all go through. Her friends on the trip are lovely as well and each have their own secondary story lines going on which is fabulous! Of course there is some male action too and there are one or two scenes which got seriously steamy thanks to the gorgeous hunk in glass Harry (loved him) he is a true gentleman and definitely my new book boyfriend! 

The storyline itself is light-hearted and yet seriously stressful at points. Because of Imogen's job, she seems to be constantly on call and at some points I really did want to just dump her phone in the sea! I was feeling the stress for her, but at the same time revelling in the sunshine and laughing at the capers her and her friends got into. There are more serious issues dealt with in the book and Jane Costello has written these very well indeed and intertwined them perfectly amongst the more serious storylines. 

Whilst I couldn't picture the setting as I haven't been to Barcelona, there was some wonderful description by the author that totally made me want to be there right now. The thought of an infinity pool, a sunny beach and a sun terrace filled me with energy, but because of that it was the perfect escapism from the British weather! This book would be a great introduction into Jane Costello's work if you've never read anything from this author before. If you are a fan of her work then you will love this new offering, the perfect summer affair and I guarantee you will not want to out it down! 

Blog tour! Hopelessley Devoted to Holden Finn By Tilly Tennant

There’s only one man for Bonnie, and that’s Holden Finn. The problem is that Holden Finn is a twenty-three-year-old pop megastar with his boy band, Every Which Way, who doesn’t even know she exists. Not only that, but half the women of the world want to be Mrs Finn, including Bonnie’s teenage daughter, Paige. But the real men in Bonnie’s life only let her down, and a man that you can never have can never let you down… right?  When Paige wins a radio competition to meet Holden and his band, it seems all that is set to change. Bonnie is about to find out that you should be careful what you wish for, and that happiness can come in the most unexpected shape…

I'm lucky enough to have a gust post from this fabulous author today. Her books has been causing quite a storm in the blogosphere, I'm sure you've seen the rave reviews all over twitter and she's here on the blog today. Without further ado I'll hand over to her...

More of a fan and less of a girl.

When I was a teenager, the internet was the stuff of science-fiction. There was no web to connect us all. Mobile phones were brand new, let alone all-singing and dancing smartphones. Sure, we had computers (I’m not that old) but they were clunky affairs – black screens with green type that needed lines of complicated code just to open a page and very much the preserve of the well-off. I remember seeing our newly installed IT lab at school and thinking how dull they looked. Even duller when I was asked to use one.  Then my brother got his Commodore 64. We’d sit, eageranticipation on our faces as he slid the cartridge to his latest game into the slot. Then we’d wait. And wait. And wait. After something that felt like three years the home screen would appear. It looked a little bit like Minecraft, if Minecraft was really rubbish. Hardly enough to inspire me to get techie. If you wanted to fangirl someone back then, with so few of these stone-aged computers in circulation, all you could do was scour the shops for the latest merchandise/ magazine feature/ video tape. Or you could, with some luck if it was a popular celebrity, find a like-minded individual on the school playground to share your obsession with. If it wasn’t, you were simply on your own – a weird island out in a sea of anonymity.

Things have moved on so fast and now, of course, computers are everywhere, the omnipresent internet in every dark corner of our existence. We even think in computer-speak these days.  So it’s easy for the object of our desire to be everywhere. We can observe, engage with other fans, even interact with the celebrity in question. We are witness to the minutiae of their public lives and a fair bit of their private ones too.  Now, more than ever, it’s tempting to think that we form a significant part of their lives if we so much as receive a favourited tweet from someone. The blurring of the dividing lines between those in the public eye and the rest of us mere mortals can be very exciting but it can be just as damaging.

For Bonnie in Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn, it fuels her fixation on twenty-three-year-old pop megastar, Holden.  A world famous heartthrob, every girl knows his face and almost all of them would like to know it better. For Bonnie, he’s always tantalisingly just out of reach – but only just.  He’s close enough to imagine their relationship could become reality, but far enough away that his inevitable faults will never be a real issue so that he won’t let her down, unlike the ‘real’ men in her life. Until, of course, the day that fate plays a hand and throws them together.  Can Holden live up to the image of perfection that Bonnie has created in her mind? Can she deal with the real Holden? Or will she find that behind all the glitz and glamour, he’s just an ordinary man?

Author Bio:

Tilly Tennant was born in Dorset but now lives in Staffordshire with her slightly nutty family.  Tilly is married to Mr Tennant (not that one, though a girl can dream). She likes nothing better than curling up in a quiet corner with a glass of wine watching the world go by, but can more usually be found taxiing her daughters to parties or taking them on emergency shopping trips. After a huge list of dismal and disastrous jobs over the years, including paper plate stacking, shop girl, newspaper promotions and waitressing, she began working as a temporary secretary in a hospital to boost her income whilst doing a degree in English and creative writing. This job lasted nine years. Not terribly temporary. But it does mean that she knows just what it’s like to make monumental admin cock-ups, spend the month’s wages in the hospital coffee shop and fall in love with all the doctors. As she’s a smug married, however, it’s fortunate that the doctors in question don’t usually feel the same way.

Tilly is represented by the wonderful, gorgeous Peta Nightingale at LAW.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Things on My Bookish Bucket List 25/03/14

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over there at The Broke and the Bookish. I'd love to share my lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

This list is quite appropriate for me because I was so going to make a bucket list of things I wanted to do before I was thirty but I still haven't got round to making it (and it's 9 months away!) so here is my bookish bucket list, I'll trying and think of a mixture of things for you so it's not all authors I want to meet! 

1. Write my own novel. So I've started this and I stopped at about half way. I know where it's going and I want to get back to it but...

2. Buy more books from other countries. So I've bought books when I've been in the states and when I I went to Sicily last year, I bought an Italian copy of 50 Shades, it would be great to add to this list. 

3. Get my Netgally percentage higher. I know this is kind of boring but I have all the best intentions of getting the % up but then I succumb to requesting more and it goes shooting down again until I review them all. 

4. Meet Sophie Kinsella. The queen of chick lit, I so have to meet this fabulous author. 

5. Have one of my reviews quoted in a book jacket. This would be AMAZING!

6. Make a book tube video. This is kind of scary but it seems to be the way forward, mixing a bit of blogging and vologging, I know I'll dabble eventually but putting it off for a bit yet! 

7. Meet Jane Costello. I'm a massive fan of hers and so to meet her would also be amazing. 

8. Attend an authors award ceremony. I think some sort of book awards ceremony would be so so exciting! 

9. Meet Holly Smale. A massive fan of this author and she was on my authors I most want to meet list. I would also love to get her into school to inspire my kids! 

10. Attend a book festival. Yes, I've never been to one so that has to be the ultimate on the bookish bucket list! 

So there you have it! I've crossed a lot of other things off my mental list because I've been very lucky with my blog so far so this was kind of hard to come up with. What's on your list? Let me know in the comments below! 

Mini review: The Mini Break by Jane Costello

An exclusive eBook short story from the bestselling author of The Wish List, Jane Costello. Featuring an exclusive extract from Jane's new novel The Time Of Our Lives. 

Review: this is a teeny tiny taster from a fabulous author nd includes a much bigger tastes of her wonderful new novel The Time of Our Lives. 

The thing I love about Jane Costello's writing is how witty and funny it is. You only need to sample a couple of pages of her work to realise what a fab writer she is. This novella showcases that brilliantly. It's a cute little story about a couple of girls who end up unwittingly on a golfing holiday. Of course there are many mishaps and some girly bonding and that's all you really need in a sassy short story like this right? The fab thing is that this little treat introduces us to James who actually pops up in Jane's new novel. I would definitely like to her more from James. 

This is the perfect treat for a lunchtime read or to fill those last few bus stops on the train to work. Or better still, do like I did and read it as a teaser for her new novel before you delve back into the wonderful world of this authors writing! 

A lot of people don't read short stories or novellas because they seem pointless or simply gap fillers but I think that this little treat showcases exactly what a short story from an author you're familiar with can be. This is something to wet your appetite before their next novel comes out. This has prepared me perfectly for Janes new novel since its been a nearly year since I read something of hers. It doesn't matter that it's shorter than the books I normally read, it gave me a little hit of a lovely author I really enjoy. It was refreshing to begin something and actually finish it in the same sitting. I'm a busy person and sometimes I just need that satisfaction of starting something I know I'll finish before I have to go to work, or before I have to finish my lunch. I think novellas and short stories have a definite place in any readers bookshelves and I very much enjoy them! 

Kept by Elle Field Promo Blitz

Elle Field’s fab and quirky debut novel Kept, published last April, made it to #1 in the Amazon.com Best Sellers (free) chart this week, as well as #1 in the Literature & Fiction, Women's Fiction, Romance and Humorous Fiction categories . It also reached #5 in the Canadian Best Sellerschart and #13 in Australia.

This was the last time Kept will ever be free on Amazon but, to celebrate the huge demand, Kept will now be available for the next five days at the bargain price of 99p/99 centsfor all those who didn’t get their free download. With an average rating of 4.5/5 on Amazon.co.uk, you need to read this book!

Kept’s sequel - Lost - will be out in summer 2014, but if you fancy reading another fabulous novel by Elle Field before then, Geli Voyante’s Hot or Not is available worldwide onAmazon in Kindle and paperback formats.

 

About Kept:

'Did she really just say that? I am fifteen again, except the reality is I am experiencing full parental horror, aged twenty-five. I want to die.'

Life hasn't quite worked out how Arielle Lockley imagined it would. Becoming the next Coco Chanel was always her childhood dream, but she's spent the past four years living a dizzying whirl of glitzy parties, luxurious holidays and daily shopping sprees - all paid for by boyfriend Piers - and not doing anything to make her Coco dreams happen.

When the recession hits, it's not just the economy that takes a tumble and Arielle finds herself living back with her parents, on bad terms with Piers, and having a CV that's as welcome as a pair of knock-off Jimmy Choos. And maybe it's the location, but she's also finding unwelcome thoughts of her childhood sweetheart are popping into her head...

What's a girl to do? Can Arielle figure out what it is she now wants to do with her life and move on, or will she be doomed to spend the rest of her life dwelling over her worst mistakes, stuck listening to her parents' embarrassing dinner table talk each night?

 

Praise for Kept

"Quirky, original chick lit with brilliant characters and a fab heroine. I really enjoyed the author's writing style and loved that the story didn't end up going where I was expecting... Highly recommend this and looking forward to reading more from Ms Field. " 
~ Shalini Boland, Author


"Kept is a brilliant debut novel from Elle Field... Kept will appeal to readers of chick-lit and I felt that it had a similar feel to some of Marian Keyes' early books. I think that Elle Field is one to watch out for and I would definitely read her next book." 
~ Dot Scribbles, Book blogger

 

About the Author

Elle Field is a twenty-something chick lit author who lives in London. She enjoys exploring and photographing Blighty's capital, seeing far too many musicals, and eating her way around London's culinary delights.

 

To find out more about Elle, please read her blog: http://www.ellefield.co.uk; follow her on Twitter: @ellefie or like her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ellefieldauthor

 

 

 

Links:

 

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Kept on Amazon.co.uk - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kept-ebook/dp/B00CHCOO7E

 

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Kept on Amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/Kept-ebook/dp/B00CHCOO7E

 

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Add Kept on Goodreads -https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17914601-kept

 

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Geli Voyante’s Hot or Not on Amazon.co.uk - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Geli-Voyantes-Hot-Not-ebook/dp/B00FY12QUM

 

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Geli Voyante’s Hot or Not on Amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/Geli-Voyantes-Hot-Not-ebook/dp/B00FY12QUM

Guest review: The Perfect Match by Katie Fforde

It's a sad fact that my mum read this book faster than I could and so she sent me a lovely review of this gorgeous new hardback from Katie Fforde. When I get round to reading the rest of this novel, you'll have a review from me too I'm sure. But for now I'll give you her review (I think she quite liked it!)

Three years ago Bella Castle left her home town nursing a broken heart over Dominic Thane, the man she fell in love with but couldn't have .

Now she's made a new life for herself in the country, working as an estate agent.

Bella loves her job and she loves her boyfriend Nevil. But recently he's been preoccupied, and she's starting to question if his future hopes and dreams are a perfect match for hers.

And when Dominic turns up unexpectedly in search of his dream house, she begins to wonder if home is really where the heart is. But she's over him, isn't she?

Review: Wow, what a great book this is!  It had me hooked and reeled in right from page 1.  The talented Katie Fforde has provided us with all we could want within these pages.  There is romance, intrigue, likeable characters, great-sounding houses and gardens, and even a trip to an exotic foreign land. I couldn’t wait to see where the storyline was going to go next.

The central character in the story, Bella, is an estate agent who is dedicated to helping her clients to find their ideal homes; she is very perceptive, and lends a hand in other ways as well. I felt sure that I would be in safe hands if she was trying to find me my perfect residence.  She is in a relationship with someone not quite so caring - in fact,seemingly quite unsuitable.  She seems to deserve so much better.

The main character’s story is intertwined skilfully with those of two olderfemale friends, giving the reader some added interest that is still relevant to Bella’s tale. It was unusual and refreshing that one of these storylines followed a romance developing between one of these older women and a younger man.  It reminds us that people can fall in love at any age, not just when you are young.

Katie Ffforde fans are sure to love this new novel.  For those unfamiliar with her books, this would make a great introduction.  It is easy to read, virtually impossible to put down, and almost guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face.