Book Review The Summer Without You by Karen Swan

Synopsis

Rowena Tipton isn't looking for a new life, just a new adventure; something to while away the months as her long-term boyfriend presses pause on their relationship before they become engaged. But when a chance encounter at a New York wedding leads to an audition for a coveted house-share in the Hamptons - the beach scene for Manhattan's elite - suddenly a new life is exactly what she's got.

Stretching before her is a summer with three eclectic housemates, long days on white-sand beaches and parties on gilded tennis courts. But high rewards bring high stakes and Rowena soon finds herself caught in the crossfire of a vicious intimidation campaign. Alone for the first time in her adult life, she has no one to turn to but a stranger who is everything she doesn't want - but possibly everything she needs.

My Musings
Romance in the Hamptons, a perfect Summer read but as usual Karen Swan blends a richer story of friendship, loss, intrigue and murder set against an idyllic setting.

Ro is left in the lurch when her long term boyfriend decides to go off for 6 months with 2 days notice. By chance she ends up sharing a cottage in The Hamptons, play pad for the rich and famous, with Hump, Greg and Bobbi who's own stories interweave and evolve throughout.
Does Ro stop moping after her boyfriend, she she learn to be more independent and will she ever stop wearing his clothes? At first you feel sorry for Ro left in the lurch  then irritated she can be a big clingy and wet. You want to give her a kick at times.

Enter her gorgeous neighbor, Longstory who commissions Ro to put together a film of his family from old footage. This part of the book is the most poignant and heartrending as the description of the footage comes in diary form and you feel like your spying on their life as does Ro. She also warms to him through these snippets of his life as does the reader. This growing relationship between them is really endearing and a little tinged with sadness but the chemistry between Ro and Longstory is there for all to see.

Drop in some environmental issues, treachery and murder and you have the makings for a sparkling summer read that ticks all the boxes.

If you like this you will enjoy
Christmas at Claridges by Karen Swan +Review
Prima Donna by Karen Swan

Book Review Happily Ever After by Harriet Evans

Synopsis

You can’t escape the ties that bind. The past catches up with you no matter how far you try to run…

This is a story of a girl who doesn’t believe in happy endings. Or happy families. It’s the story of Eleanor Bee, a shy, book-loving girl who vows to turn herself into someone bright, shiny and confident, someone sophisticated. Someone who knows how life works.

But life has a funny way of catching us unawares. Turns out that Elle doesn’t know everything about love. Or life. Or how to keep the ones we love safe….

Absorbing, poignant and unforgettable, Happily Ever After is a compelling story of a fractured family and a girl who doesn’t believe in love.

My Musings
I always liked Harriet Evans especially after reading her first book, Going Home but this was far darker than her previous books which I wasn't expecting. It deals with Elle at different stages of her life and her alcoholic mum, how it effects her and her family and relationships. 
It does have have romance in it but I felt this dealt with Elle's growth and how she deals with the drama in her life. There are times you find Elle very irritating and I felt she brought the disasters on herself. Sometimes you want to shake her. But then you think well aren't we all guilty of doing silly things at the wrong time. It does deal sensitively with the scarring nature other peoples addictions can have I feel but someone who has dealt with this in real life may think differently. The romantic element is somewhat an afterthought although there are some really romantic moments. Its also a really big book and at times got a bit fed up and thought she may have needed a stricter editor. Its supposed to be Chick lit but I felt it was trying to be a more serious and the book cover did not portray this at all. This was  more about the struggle to lead a life after coming from a dysfunctional family. Not really the sort of escapism I was looking for or used to by Harriet Evans. It is worth a read but its not her usual light read which is why I rated it OK.

Review One Night in Italy by Lucy Diamond

Synopsis

If journalist Anna had to write up the story of her own life, it wouldn’t make for a great headline: Dull Journo Has Dull Boyfriend! The only mystery in Anna’s life is that she’s never known who her dad is but with her mum refusing to tell her more she’s at a dead end. When she accidentally comes across a clue that her father is Italian, it opens up a burning curiosity in Anna. Soon she’s cooking Italian food, signing up for an Italian class and even considering dusting off her passport to go and find her dad in person…

Sophie is serving gelato to tourists in Italy when she gets the call that her father has had a serious heart attack. In a rush, she grabs her well-worn backpack and heads back to the one place she’s been avoiding for so long – home. Living with her mum again while her dad recuperates, and taking a job teaching Italian to make ends meet, Sophie has to face up to the secrets she’s kept buried in the past.

Catherine has no idea what the future holds. Her children have left for university, her husband has left her for another woman and her bank account is left empty after dedicating her life to raising her family. She needs a job and an identity all of a sudden. At an Italian evening class she makes a start in finding new friends Anna and Sophie. And she’s going to need good friends when she discovers her husband’s lies run even deeper than his infidelity…

As Anna embarks on the trip to Italy that could answer all of her questions, will the truth live up to her dreams?

My Musings

Reading one of Lucy Diamond's books is like drinking a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream and this is no exception. Rich, satisfying and a bit naughty. This story has many different layers, it is not just a romance it is so much more. The three central characters, Catherine, Sophie and Anna,  all have to deal with completely different situations which will appeal across the board. Betrayal, insecurityand loss are balanced with new love and new friendships. Sophie has unresolved issues with her parents and struggles to find her place in life. Catherine is recovering for a double whammy of deception with her husband and Sophie is coming to terms with her past and needs help to forge her future. These three diverse ladies forge strong friendships in their italian language class that cannot be broken and are much needed.

 Lucy is so clever at taking an eclectic mix of complex characters and weaving them into an entertaining story that carry's you along at a rollicking pace. There is laughter,tears and romance and what I really enjoyed seeing was the transformation of the three women overcoming hurdles and keeping going.

 The motto for this book should be 

"If my ship sails from sight, it doesn't mean my journey ends, it simply means the river bends.”

A really great enjoyable read. I know this falls into the chick lit bracket but sometimes I feel the label undermines a book that has more to offer, which this definitely does.

One of her best!!

Lucy Diamond Official Website

If you like this you might like

Beach Cafe by Lucy Diamond and any other by Lucy Diamond!!

Christmas at Claridges by Karen Swan

Foster Husband by Pippa Wright

Book Review The Bookstore by Deborah Mehler

Synopsis

Love doesn't always go by the book Ardent and Idealistic, Esme Garland has arrived in Manhattan with a scholarship to study art history at Columbia University. When she falls in love with New York blue-blood Mitchell van Leuven, with his penchant for all things erotic, life seems to be clear sailing, until a thin blue line signals stormy times ahead. Before she has a chance to tell Mitchell about her pregnancy, he abruptly declares their sex life is as exciting as a cup of tea, and ends it all. Stubbornly determined to master everything from Degas to diapers, Esme starts work at a small West Side bookstore to make ends meet. The Owl is a shabby all-day, all-night haven for a colorful crew of characters, such as handsome and taciturn guitar player Luke and George, the owner, who lives on spirulina shakes and idealism. The Owl becomes a nexus of good in a difficult world for Esme-but will it be enough to sustain her when Mitchell, glittering with charm and danger, comes back on the scene? The Bookstore is a celebration of books, of the shops where they are sold, and of the people who work, read, and live in them. The Bookstore is also a story about emotional discovery, the complex choices we all face, and the accidental inspirations that make a life worth the reading.

My Musings

I loved the premise of  Esme, a young British woman making her way in New York, discovering herself, the city and new people. Littered with literary and art references with a strong romantic vein what could be more perfect for a rainy weekend?
So why by the end of it did I feel it was more like a deflated souffle?
It seems to have delusions of grandeur. The writer obviously bright and cultured peppers the story with her knowledge of New York and its culture which I should have found fascinating but instead felt patronised. The characters are all interesting and mostly likable but the story never, for me took off. It had a bit of eroticism thrown in, although it seemed like it was thrown in for the sake of it. Esme's love interest, Mitchell at the beginning was suitably caddish and shitty but Luke, her 'friend',  needed to be developed a lot more. There needed to be more chemistry and tension between Esme and Luke to offset the ghastly way Mitchell keeps treating her. Also Esme's constant insistence on going back to Mitchell even when he and his family treated her so badly really started to grate.. I kept wanting more but it never happened. I never really engaged which is a shame as this is just my sort of book.

It's good but could have been really great. The writer needs to work on the relationships in her next book and be a little less self indulgent.

Reviews: RNA Shortlist 2014 revealed!

Well worth a look and don't be put off by it being the Romantic Novelists Association. They really do pick some great books and always worth a look!

The shortlist for the 2014 Romantic Novelists Association Awards 

Contemporary Romantic Novel

Helen Chandler - Two for Joy

Susan Elliot Wright - The Things We Never Said

Veronica Henry - A Night On The Orient Express

Lisa J Hobman - Bridge Over The Atlantic

Lisa Jewell - Before I Met You

Pippa Wright - The Foster Husbandc Novel

Jessica Blair - The Road Beneath Me

Mary Fitzgerald - The Love Of A Lifetime

Emma Fraser - When Dawn Breaks

Kate Lord Brown - The Perfume Garden

Jennifer McVeigh - The Fever Tree

Lucinda Riley - The Midnight Rose

Historical Romantic Novel

Charlotte Betts - The Painter's Apprentice

Christina Courtenay - The GiLiz Harris - A Bargain Struck

Joanna Hickson - The Agincourt Bride

Carol McGrath - The Handfasted Wife

Annie Murray - The Women Of Lilac Street

Romantic Comedy Novel

Jenny Colgan - Christmas At The Cupcake Café

Jenny Colgan - The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris

Margaret James - The Wedding Diary

Milly Johnson - It's Raining Men

Ali McNamara - Step Back In Time

Fiona Walker - The Summer Wedding

 See more on Chloe's Chick Lit Reviews: RNA Shortlist 2014 revealed!: The shortlist for the 2014 Romantic Novelists Association Awards  has been revealed! There are some fantastic nominations on there, and...

The Foster Husband by Pippa Wright

Synopsis

In love and marriage, practise makes perfect

Kate left her seaside home town of Lyme Reggis for the bright lights of London when she was eighteen, and never looked back. She had it all: the glamorous career, the lovely house, the gorgeous husband.

But now she’s back: unemployed, separated, and holed up in her dead granny’s bungalow. Worse still, she’s forced to share the bungalow with Ben, the clueless and domestically challenged fiance of her bossy sister Prue.

Ben is a man in need of simple instruction. And Kate is a woman in need of a project. So she decides to secretly train Ben, her foster husband, as a selfless pre-wedding gift to her sister.

But Kate may still have a few lessons of her own to learn…

 

My Musings

A funny modern romance. Kate's story shifts between her past in London and present in Lyme Reggis. Kate is a girl about town, a laddette workaholic , not the usual heroine I would relate to but Pippa gives her vulnerability and likability . You relate to the fact we have all make mistakes and by trying to protect our loved ones from them can be an even bigger mistake which Kate learns the hard way. Her husband Mark whom she has left for reasons we will later find out is charming and lovable and you desperately want it to work out between them.as they lurch from one of Kate's hang ups to another. We see their love blossom and disintegrate. Fast forward to Lyme Reggis where Kate has holed up with her family and is intent on making her sisters boyfriend perfect by 'fostering ' him until he is trained properly. As you can imagine it doesnt' turn out well. her story unfolds and twists and turns until the climax and a satisfying if not open ended finally. I laughed out loud but found it more layered and with more depth than most other chick lit. I would recommend for holiday read or curl up book. I will definitely read her again.

Christmas at Claridges by Karen Swan

 

This was where her dreams drifted to if she didn’t blot her nights out with drink; this was where her thoughts settled if she didn’t fill her days with chat. She remembered this tiny, remote foreign village on a molecular level and the sight of it soaked into her like water into sand, because this was where her old life had ended and her new one had begun.’Portobello – home to the world-famous street market, Notting Hill Carnival and Clem Alderton. She’s the queen of the scene, the girl everyone wants to be or be with. But beneath the morning-after makeup, Clem is keeping a secret, and when she goes too far one reckless night she endangers everything – her home, her job and even her adored brother’s love.Portofino – a place of wild beauty and old-school glamour, and where a neglected villa has been bought by a handsome stranger. He wants Clem to restore it for him and it seems like the answer to all her problems – except that Clem has been there once before and vowed, for her own protection, never to return . . .

My Musings
Another huge romantic novel from Karen Swan with larger than life characters we would( ok me) all like to meet set in impossibly glamorous places. A truelly escapist novel to curl up with in the holidays.  I adored Christmas in Tiffanys (remains one of my favourite of this genre) and this one does not disappoint. I found Clem, the heroine , at the start unbearably annoying, spoilt and selfish, which I suppose was the point. (She does improve) I also like you were thrown a red herring in the shape of the first hero on the scene. The man with no name! I was quite partial to him though and the romantic first scenes were delicious. All the characters are endearing and there are twists galore. My only niggle, and this is on behalf of Karen Swan, is that by adding Christmas to the title it will only be stocked in bookshops in Christmas which I do understand due to the success of the Tiffany book  but being that a majority of it is set in summer in Italy it also makes it a very good summer read. Its just a thought as I would definately read this all year round!
Regardless I am sure this will be as popular as her others and definately one for the Christmas stocking.

Published Nov 7th 2013

If you like this try
Books- Jilly Cooper, Jackie Collins, Destiny by Sally beauman, God Children by Nicholas coleridge.
Films- Thomas Crown Affaire (pierce Brosnan), Breakfast in Tiffanys, Meet Joe Black. To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, High Society with Grace Kelly.

Trivia
Follow Karen on Twitter KarenSwan1
Karen Swan began her career in fashion journalism - working at Tatler, Vogue and YOU magazines, as well as consulting to companies like Thomas Pink - before giving it all up to raise her three children and ADHD puppy, and to pursue her ambition of becoming a writer. She moved out of London in 2006 and now lives in the forest in Sussex, writing her books in a treehouse overlooking the Downs.