Novelicious.com | The Women's Fiction Blog for Readers and Writers

Review - The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

REVIEWED BY CESCA MARTIN  

This book comes with a warning: DO NOT be put off by the mad title.  I have recommended this book to friends/family/hairdressers/perfect strangers and there is a universal reaction when I say the title.  They wrinkle their nose, nod and smile and secretly inside are thinking “I’m not going to read that”.  This is frankly one of the best books I have ever read.  And I’m not that into over-stating things.  It was a book that was so warm and funny that when I finished it I felt sad because I wanted the characters to be real, I wanted to meet them and hang out with them on Guernsey. 

The book is set just after the Second World War and is arranged as a series of letters.  The central character, a female author called Juliet Ashton, is looking for her next book subject.  A letter arrives from a man she has never met, Guernsey islander Dawsey Adams, and so begins an incredible correspondence between the two strangers.  He tells her about the experiences on the island that was under German occupation during the war, and the story behind the creation of a book club – the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  Her interest piqued Juliet starts to write to other members of the society and we are introduced to a colourful host of characters – from pig farmers to children whose mothers were sent away to concentration camps in Europe.  Well aware that she has found the next subject of her book Juliet sets sail to Guernsey... 

Review - Last Dance With Valentino by Daisy Waugh

REVIEWED BY DEBS CARR   

Last Dance With Valentino is written as a diary and moves back and forth from 1916 when the protagonist, Jenny Doyle (also Lola Nightingale) first meets Rodolfo Guglielmi (later known as Rudolph Valentino) at the estate of Mr and Mrs de Saulles who have employed her father, an unreliable artist to paint Mrs de Saulles portrait. Jenny and her father leave England and arrive in America to take up this new post and no sooner have they arrived at the lavish home, The Box, when Jenny discovers that she is to be nanny to the couple's son, Jack.

Rudolfo is at the estate as a dance teacher, although it seems he is also more intimate with the hostess than Jenny would like. She is smitten when he discovers her outside and asks her to dance with him out on the terrace. Jenny's father falls in love with the unhappy mistress of the house, who is in turn in love with Rudolpho. When Mrs De Saulles walks into the nursery and catches Rudolpho and Jenny together, she retaliates by taking Rudolpho (Rudy) with her to New York and insists that Jenny's father is paid for the work he's done and is fired. He is told to leave the property immediately, but Jenny must stay and work for them. As her father needs the money to survive, she relucantly agrees to their terms.

The Secret Dreamworld of an Aspiring Author by Anna Bell - Self Publishing = Self Defeat?

You can listen to Anna’s podcasted novel over on her website www.annabellwrites.com and follow her on twitter @annabell_writes

For those who don’t read the column regularly, last year I put on iTunes an audiobook that I recorded chapter by chapter, releasing it every few weeks as a podcast. I decided that I wanted to put myself out there, and I guess in that way it is no different to those that have self published.

 I’d had a few email comments on my website asking whether I was going to release the podcast as a book or an e-book so people could read the story too. And I began thinking, what have I got to lose? The novel is unpublishable anyway as it has already been available for free in the public domain and with the arrival of e-books it seemed like a great way to self publish without having to do an expensive print on demand option.

Novelicious Chats To... Jenny Colgan

Jenny Colgan's latest novel is the delicious MEET ME AT THE CUPCAKE CAFE. 

1. Can you tell us a little about your average writing day?

 Yes, it’s quite regimented. We live in France because that’s where my husband works. We’re up, get my two boys to school, then hand over the baby to  a nice lady who comes round and does the housework and looks after her, then I go for a run along the beach near where we live, shower, change, write one project (normally an alternative writing pitch) from about 10.30 to 11.30 then go to my local coffee shop, have a coffee and a pain au chocolat and write my current novel till about 1pm. I’ll write 2000 words of it, usually. If I have time before my help leaves at 1.30 I try to do my piano practice. Then in the afternoon I hang out with the baby, shop, cook supper, see friends etc till it’s time to pick up the boys at 16.30; they often bring friends home to play in the garden. Supper is ideally outside when my husband gets home, quite early, then kids to bed by 7.30, some box set telly for us, then I like to read for an hour or so in the bath then we go REALLY early to bed- 9.30 is not unusual for us at all!

 

2. When you are writing, do you use any celebrities or people you know as inspiration?

 Sometimes I do, usually for the men if I am looking for a particular type of romantic hero; someone boy bandish, or a kind of science geek or someone like that. For Do You Remember the First Time, Justin Timberlake was just getting famous whilst I was writing it, so I made the young hero quite a lot like him.  Sometimes you see a picture in the paper of someone who looks just like the person you’ve imagined in your head; that’s always really weird.

 

3. What is your favourite Women’s Fiction book of all time and why?

 That’s a hard question to answer. If you mean any novel written by a woman I suppose it would be something like The Fortunes of War, which I love like a bunch of friends I actually know, or Middlemarch. If you mean more ‘chick-litty’, then like a lot of people I adored I Don’t Know How She Does It, and The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic.

 

4. What is your writing process? Do you plan first of dive in? How many drafts do you do?

 I don’t plan, it always changes. I get on with it, then rewrite it as many times as I have to. I hate rewrites, but they are so necessary to get where you want to be. And my editor is brilliant, which always helps. Whatever she suggests is nearly always right.

 5. What was journey to being a published author?

 Everyone’s journey is different. My masterplan was to fail at almost everything else- sketch writing, stand up, poetry, cartooning, children’s books- then when I wrote the novel it got picked up and sold very quickly- I was taken on by the second agent I wrote to- but I had had a million people say no to me about other things first. My real fantasy was always to be Charles Schultz.

Review - Baby Be Mine by Paige Toon

REVIEWED BY KIRA SLAUGHTER

‘He’s not mine is he?’ That’s the question I fear the most.

You see, I have a secret. My son is not fathered by my boyfriend, but by one of the most famous people that ever lived. And he doesn’t even know it.

Meg is terrified. She lives in the South of France with her doting boyfriend Christian and their beautiful son Barney who has just turned one. Life should be idyllic. But she is living a lie- a lie that will turn their lives upside down and inside out. Because, as every day goes by, Meg’s son looks less and less like Christian.

How much longer can she keep her devastating secret from him, from their friends and family, from Barney? How much longer before the whole world realises that the father of her child is none other than Johnny Jefferson, wild boy of rock, constantly in the headlines, constantly in Meg’s thoughts?

I’m a massive fan of Paige Toon's books. They’re the perfect blend of classic chick lit with a deeper, emotional story behind the main character. In this instance it’s Meg, who we’ve met before in Johnny Be Good (Paige Toon's second novel). She was PA to rock-god Johnny Jefferson, who she then went on to have a brief relationship with until he messed her around.

Fast forward a year or two and Meg is now living with Christian and her son, Barney, in a quaint house in the South of France. Christian is busy writing a biography for a rock band, so when Meg regularly finds herself on her own, she can't help but constantly think about the events of a year ago, and the last time she saw Johnny.

Review - Lucky Bunny by Jill Dawson

REVIEWED BY DEBS CARR 

It’s wartime in the East End of London and Queenie Dove is only six when she firsts steals something. Okay it’s only a pint of milk from someone’s doorstep, but she soon realizes that her need to provide for her brother and younger sister is something that develops into a habit and, let’s face it, how else is she going to get all the necessities she feels she needs.

Her mum has already pretty much given up on life and spends most of her time in a drunken stupor, her dad is in and out of the nick and although her gran does her best, there’s only so much the old woman can do to try and look after Queenie and her siblings.

One day Queenie arrives home to discover a tragedy that will haunt her for the rest of her life. She feels guilty for not being able to stop it from happening and as she grows up, suffering more loss and heartache, when her gran is trampled to death in the Bethnal Green tube disaster during the Blitz, Queenie has to find a way to survive without her. She is taught how to get what she wants from the women her father associates with and eventually falls in love with Tony, a bad boy with dark and sultry looks that she can’t resist. Even her father warns her off him, but she doesn’t want to listen, until one day she realizes that she has to make a decision that will devastate her little daughter, whilst at the same time save her from leading the life Queenie has endured.

Review - California Dreamers by Belinda Jones

REVIEWED BY JULES ABSALOM

Ever wished you could make-over your life? 

Make-up artist Stella is an expert at helping other people change their images, but when it comes to transforming herself, she doesn't even know where to start. 

So when her new friend, glamorous Hollywood actress Marina Ray, summons her a movie set in California, Stella can't resist the chance to start afresh - it is the land of sunshine and opportunity after all!

But are they really friends or does Marina have an ulterior motive? What is the secret that both women are hiding about the nautical (but nice) men in their lives? And what will it take to really make both of their California dreams come true? 

In a Pacific Coast journey that takes in Los Angeles, the world's most romantic ranch and California's very own castle in the sky - this story of friendship, long-distance love, kissing (and making up) is the perfect escapist read.

“Every morning before I even open my eyes I make the same wish: please let this be the day that something happens.”

Stella has a life that she doesn’t love, she is lonely and stuck in a job that is slowly turning from her dream into a daily grind that passe the hours, stuck working under a contract that she can’t break free from. Well, that is until she meets Marina Ray, superstar and maybe less of a diva than people suspect. My favourite relationship in California Dreamers wasn’t the love interests, which were everything you’d expect from Belinda Jones – steamy and a bit saucy, but the friendship that grew between Stella and Marina. Marina gave Stella what she needed in a huge career changing boost, but they were both lonely in their own ways and I don’t want to sound clichéd because their story didn’t read that way, but they turned out to be one another’s rock.

Lisa Jewell's Top 5 Writing Tips

Here are Lisa's top tips for the writers among you.  Keep an eye out for our interview with Lisa coming very soon too.

Lisa's latest book is the marvellous THE MAKING OF US.

1)    Carve out some time, at least an hour a day, preferably more.

2)    Start. Keep going. Finish

3)    Have some champagne.

4)    Buy the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook and find some agents who represent writers you like. Send them a synopsis, three chapters and a friendly, unpretentious letter.

5)    Keep sending it out for as long as you can bear it, taking on board any advice given to you in rejection letters. Advice in rejection letters is a good thing.

The Secret Dreamworld of an Aspiring Author by Anna Bell - Repetition, Repetition, Repetition.

You can listen to Anna’s podcasted novel over on her website www.annabellwrites.com and follow her on twitter @annabell_writes

There seems to a be a fine line for me when reading novels between getting to know the quirks of a character and repetition of an author. Have you ever read a book where one little buzz word of the main character or an action they do drive you potty as they do it over and over again? Or is that just me?!

 I like it when I get to know a character in a novel, and when you read the words you can really imagine how they’d speak, but every so often authors can over do it, and it drives me bonkers. Now you’d think because this is one of my pet hates that I would be well and truly honed on to this, and I would hear alarm bells in my head if I did such writing, but I am just as guilty.

 The problem I think, comes from writing a book over a series of months, and especially if you’re an aspiring author who works as well, you’re not writing your book 24/7. Which means you don’t see the repetitions creep in as much as you might if you were writing over a short space in time.

Novel News - Breakfast At Darcy's by Ali McNamara

Following last year's fantastically successful From Notting Hill with Love...Actually, Sphere will be releasing Ali McNamara's second novel, Breakfast at Darcy's on 24th November this year.

I love the sound of this...

When Darcy McCall loses her beloved Aunt Molly, she doesn't expect any sort of inheritance - let alone a small island. Located off the west coast of Ireland, Tara hasn't been lived on for years, but according to Molly's will Darcy must stay there for twelve months in order to fully inherit, and she needs to persuade a village full of people to settle there, too. Darcy has to leave behind her independent city life and swap stylish heels for muddy wellies. Between sorting everything from the plumbing to the pub, Darcy meets confident Conor and ever-grumpy Dermot - but who will make her feel really at home?

Find out more about Breakfast at Darcy's

Visit Ali Mcnamara's Website

Hidden Gems #8 Misbehaving by Sarah Harvey

Have any of you read this? It's flippin' great.

Published back in 1999 by Headline, Misbehaving is one of those novels I re-read when I want a good dose of classic, old school chick lit to curl up with.

When Alex Gray finds her boyfriend in bed with her gym instructor, she turns to her best friends, Emma and Serena, for advice. They challenge her to a competition to seduce as many men as they can within two months. But Alex can't seem to find anyone worth her while. That is until she meets Jake.

Oooh, I've just been googling this book and found that Sarah Harvey has written three books under the name of Sarah Monk  for Little Black Dress. Hurrah!

Misbehaving has second hand copies available on Amazon.

Review - The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

REVIEWED BY CESCA MARTIN

A lot of you might be familiar with this book and will therefore be picturing Kate Winslet in a bath at this moment in time.  She plays Hanna, a rather stoney-faced late thirties German woman living a quiet existence in 1960’s Germany. 

Part 1 of this book deals with the relationship between Hanna at this time and the 15 year old Michael Berg who injures himself near her flat and is the recipient of her attention.  Hanna’s act of kindness is the start of a strange and toxic relationship between the young boy and the older woman.  They fall into a cycle; Michael appears at the flat, they shower, they sleep together and then Michael reads to Hanna.  Then one day Hanna has gone.  Years later, when Michael is a law student, he attends a trial for some female ex-SS officers on trial for war crimes.  Hanna is one of them.  The book follows the trial, Hanna’s behaviour and then lastly the consequences of that trial and the outcome on their relationship.

Bid on a Fabulous Signed Book Bundle

BY AMANDA KEATS

Donate and Win!!

In trying to come up with a new and exciting way to raise money for Cancer Research UK in addition to my running this year's Race for Life it occurred to me that if I could get a publisher to donate a cool signed book then people could bid their donations and win it! And thanks to the fabulous people at Ebury Press and Little, Brown, I now have TWO amazing books to offer the person with the highest donation for this life-changing charity... and they're both SIGNED BY THE AUTHORS :)

 BOOK 1:

SIGNED COPY OF

AFTERWARDS by Rosamund Lupton

 

There is a fire and they are in There. They are in there . . .

Black smoke stains a summer blue sky. A school is on fire. And one mother, Grace, sees the smoke and runs. She knows her teenage daughter Jenny is inside. She runs into the burning building to rescue her.

Afterwards, Grace must find the identity of the arsonist and protect her family from the person who's still intent on destroying them. Afterwards, she must fight the limits of her physical strength and discover the limitlessness of love.

This is the new book from Richard and Judy approved author Rosamund Lupton, author of Sister. It's a gripping read from start to finish. Thanks to the lovely folks over at Little, Brown for this one.

 

BOOK 2:

SIGNED COPY OF

The Best Friends' Guide to Life

by Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton

What makes a great friend? Has Facebook ruined dating? What's the secret to effortless style?

'Hello! This is a book written by proper best friends - us! - who have been hanging out together for over ten years. We thought that if we shared some of our own experiences and views on friendship, relationships, leaving home, studying or starting a new job, then it might help you on your own journey.

Inside you'll find loads of stories - some funny, some sad, and some that make us cringe with embarrassment - as well as tips and advice on things like dating and looking good. We've included our best photos from over the years (even the dodgy ones!) and drawings that Fearne has done especially.

Let's face it, life isn't easy at times so we hope that this book will make you laugh, entertain you, but most of all that it might be a bit like talking to your very best friend.'

You can tweet me (@filmvsbook) the amount you would like to donate with the hashtag #bookforlife and follow its progress. For those not on Twitter, leave a comment at the bottom of this post with the amount you want to bid. The person who has the highest donation bid at midday on Sunday 17th July 2011 will be sent the book as soon as possible after the deadline. Please donate at the page below.

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/keatswomen

(UK entrants only please!)

Thanks SO much

 

Amanda Keats

 

Review - Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton

REVIEWED BY AMANDA KEATS

I personally requested to read Afterwards as Lupton's debut book Sister was easily my favourite book of the last few years and I was excited to see what her second book would be like. I am happy to say that, despite her having set the bar so high with Sister, Afterwards manages to hold it's head up high throughout. The one thing I would say is that the information about it on the blurb and press info etc does something not normally found with book releases - it holds too much back.

 

So I will break with tradition and actually tell you the plot of the first couple of chapters (spoiler alert). All that is said about the book is that there is a fire and Grace runs into the building to rescue her daughter Jenny who she knows is inside. Then afterwards (hence the title) she must find the identity of the arsonist and protect her children. What isn't said is that Grace blacks out amongst the choking fumes of the fire when something falls on her and wakes up walking around a hospital. A little odd you might think until she begins searching for her daughter and gets angry as nobody responds to her pleas. Then she sees her daughter lying in a hospital bed and covered in horrific burns. Then she hears a voice behind her... “Mum?”