Novelicious - The Female Fiction and Chick Lit Blog

Review - Confessions of a Karaoke Queen by Ella Kingsley

REVIEWED BY KIRSTY NICOLE POLE

‘Total Eclipse of the Heart.’…that’s it…my karaoke song. We’ve all got one, though we like to pretend that we’d never possibly be persuaded to blare into a microphone in front of a room full of strangers and embarrass ourselves, we’ve all been there before…and I had downed at least three glasses of Pinot Grigio to get me up there.

However, not even three glasses of France’s finest grape juice would be enough to get our protagonist, Maddie Mulhern, up on the microphone in ‘Confessions of a Karaoke Queen’. The daughter of cheesy 80’s pop duo Pineapple Mist, Maddie can’t sing a note (and is in no rush to prove it either!) so when Maddie’s parents announce that they are heading off on a reunion tour around Europe and Maddie is left in charge of their ailing karaoke bar ‘Sing It Back’ and it’s staff she can either pray to one of her parent’s life sized David Bowie cut outs or sign ‘Sing It Back’ up to take part in a fly-on-the-wall reality television series and pull them back from the brink of karaoke chaos….!

I had high hopes for ‘Confessions of a Karaoke Queen’ so I settled down, with a cup of tea instead of a microphone, to indulge. But was it a karaoke hit or a karaoke miss…

Maddie is a fun, friendly, laugh out loud central character and this theme continues with all of the characters that we meet, Ruby de Jour (‘Sing It Back’s’ resident drag Queen), Lou, Jaz, Simon and Andre…the guinea pig, but as I continued reading I struggled to relate to the numerous 80’s themed references and as Maddie searched for a solution to the club’s problems I found myself feeling a little bit like I’d read the story before.

Review - The Magic of Christmas by Trisha Ashley

REVIEWED BY DEBS CARR 

Lizzie Pharamond spends her time trying out new recipes, taking care of her son and putting up with her increasingly distant husband, Tom. She's also a member of the Christmas Pudding Circle, who meet from August until Christmas in their small village of Middlemoss.

When Jasper is rushed to hospital with meningitis, Tom takes his time going to visit his son. Nick, on the other hand, races across Europe to get to the hospital as soon as possible. When Tom does eventually arrive, he finds Lizzie being comforted by Nick and instead of asking how his son is, demands to know what his cousin is doing there. It's then that Lizzie realises it's time to put her miserable marriage behind her. 

Tom spends as little time with her and Jasper as possible. He insinuates that Jasper is Nick's son rather than his own and when Tom loses his temper and Lizzie ends up with bruising to her face, she turns to her best-friend Annie. She tells Annie that as soon as Jasper leaves for university she's going to have to move out of her cottage and away from Tom to go and find somewhere new to start again. So far, Tom hasn't told Jasper of his suspicions about his parentage, but she knows it's only a matter of time and can't bear the thought of Jasper having to deal with such an accusation.

Novelicious Chats To...Miranda Dickinson

INTERVIEW BY CESCA MARTIN

Could you briefly tell us about your book 'It Started with a Kiss'?

 It Started With a Kiss is all about following your heart. It’s the story of Romily Parker, a jingle writer for a local radio station, who sings with her friends in a wedding band at weekends. On the last Saturday before Christmas, she has a brief encounter with a handsome stranger (shortly after disastrously declaring her love to her best friend Charlie). He kisses her and then disappears – so Romily pledges to spend the next twelve months searching for him…

Where did the inspiration for 'It Started with a Kiss' come from?

I wanted to write about ‘what-if’ moments and see what could happen if someone decided to pursue them rather than letting them pass. My favourite quote is from Emily Dickinson (no relation!): ‘I dwell in possibility’ – which I’ve actually included at the start of the novel – and I wanted to write about chasing possibilities in life. Romily is a sane individual, but the magical encounter with the handsome stranger at a time when she least expected it is enough to make her embark on a crazy quest to try to find him again. At the same time, Charlie, the guy she has been secretly in love with for three years, then begins to see her in a different light because she’s looking in a different direction (typical men!).

You have been vlogging your journey to publication, what has been the best moment so far?

There have been so many! What I’ve loved about vlogging this year is how involved everyone has been with it – asking brilliant questions and really deciding where I go and what I talk about for each episode. I think the big highlight for me was when I was asked to give an author talk at Kingswinford Library. If you know my books, you’ll know that my writing dream began at the age of five to write a story that would be good enough to grace my small local library’s shelves. It was probably my most emotional vlog – not least because the last thing they asked me to do that night was sign the library’s copies of Fairytale of New York and Welcome to My World. It was amazing to finally fulfill a lifelong ambition! 

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers? 

Just write. Don’t worry about whether you’re allowed to, or whether anybody will want to read it, or sabotage your efforts with self-doubt. Write because you love it and write stories that entertain you. I wrote Fairytale of New York completely for me and never thought anyone else would ever read it – but when I uploaded the manuscript to Authonomy.com it was noticed by my publisher and now it’s my career. I honestly believe that if I’d tried to write to a formula, or write what I thought a publisher wanted to read, my book wouldn’t have been picked up. Listen to advice from other writers about how they do it, then find your own way that works for you. And whenever those pesky doubts creep in (which they will), repeat this mantra: I am good enough, I can write and my stories are worth reading!

What is your typical writing day? 

I don’t have one! I would love to be the kind of writer who gets up early, works a nine-to-five writing day and then reclines with a glass of wine. But my brain doesn’t work like that, unfortunately! I work three days a week for a food research company, so for two days a week, plus evenings and weekends, I write. Frustratingly, I always seem to hit my stride after 9pm, so even on my two writing days I’ll invariably not be productive until then and end up writing late at night (or sometimes right through, if there’s a deadline looming). But then some of the scenes I’m most proud of (like Harri’s Kefalonia scenes with Blanche and the big final scene in Welcome to My World) have been written at some ungodly hour in the morning, so it obviously works for me! 

Do you read when you write and, if so, who? 

It’s always a tricky one about whether to read when I’m writing. I’m always scared that, (a) the great idea I have for my book has already been written by someone else; or, (b) I’ll unwittingly end up assimilating someone else’s great ideas into my novel because I’ve just read them! For that reason I never read chick-lit or romantic comedies when I’m writing, but I might read something by Jasper Fforde (whose wonderful, artfully constructed books I’m completely in love with) or Sir Terry Pratchett (who is the master of comedic timing, so great inspiration). I’ve also just discovered Ben Aaronovitch, who is fast becoming a favourite author. And I watch Gilmore Girls – a lot – because the pace of its script is brilliant and great inspiration for when I’m writing dialogue (that’s my excuse, anyway!)

What are you expecting later at your launch party? 

You know, I have no idea! I’ve only ever had one launch party before, which I organised myself for Welcome to My World’s launch last year. It was brilliant but a lot of hard work because I was signing books, checking that all the guests were having a good time and keeping an eye on the catering all at once! The best thing about the launch party this year is that I’ve been able to invite thirty people who watch my vlogs, follow me on twitter and facebook and receive my newsletter, so it will be a fantastic way for me to thank them in person for all their support which means so much to me through the year. 

What can you tell us about your next novel? 

My fourth novel will be called When I Fall in Love and features a motley crew of characters in a choir, rivalry, romance and the last item on a very important list. There may also be the odd jazz hand thrown in for good measure, too… I’m going to be vlogging about it (after my vlog viewers demanded I continue next year), so I’ll be sharing exclusive excerpts along the way.

Thanks for speaking to Novelicious Miranda! 

My pleasure, thank you so much for having me! x

It Started With A Kiss is published TODAY and you can find out more about Miranda from her  Coffee & Roses blog, website and follow her on Twitter @wurdsmyth  

To celebrate the publication of this fabulous novel, we have not one, but two giveaways! To be in with a chance of winning a signed copy of It Started With A Kiss & a signed copy of Miranda's album, please leave a comment telling us about your most memorable kiss.

If that wasn't enough, we're giving you a second chance to win a signed copy of both Miranda's book and album and all you have to do for this is re-tweet this interview. (Winners to both will be announced next Thursday).

You can buy, It Started With a Kiss at Amazon UK, Waterstones, The Book Depository (shipped worldwide), Play.com.

Miranda's other novels: Welcome to My World: The Book Depository & Fairytale of New York Amazon

Review - Never Can Say Goodbye by Christina Jones

REVIEWED BY DEBS CARR                

Francesca Meredith, Frankie, can't believe it when her boss, Rita announces that not only is she leaving Kingston Dapple to go and live the life she's always fantasized about in the sun, but she's also giving Frankie her shop which is to be renamed, 'Francesca's Fabulous Frocks'. Once Frankie recovers from the shock, she decides it's time to follow her own passion and donate all the tired clothes from the hire shop and open her own retro dress shop to sell the vintage dresses that she has always adored.

Kingston Dapple might be a quiet Berkshire village, but there's a handsome newcomer in town. Dexter Valentine, who Frankie discovers is running away from some dark and mysterious past, has taken over his uncle's business selling flowers. Lilly, Frankie's dizzy flatmate, can't believe her eyes when she spots Dexter and is determined to get to know him as well as she possibly can. Frankie, however, has listened to Dexter's uncle when he hinted at his nephew's secret past before leaving the village with Rita. She soon finds out that Dexter is helping out local housewives with flower deliveries and decides that as gorgeous as he is, he's better kept as a good friend rather than someone to fall in love with. After all, the reason she came to Kingston Dapple in the first place was to escape her own heartbreak and humiliation. 

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.

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 - Here Come The Girls by Milly Johnson

REVIEWED BY CESCA MARTIN

   
For me a good book is all about characters and this latest effort by Milly Johnson has some very likeable characters.  You WANT them to succeed, you WANT the happy ending. 

The book centres on four friends who are turning 40.  Friends since school they had once dreamed of their bright futures and glamorous lifestyles.  Now twenty-five years on things haven’t quite panned out as expected.  Ven has lost her house and her husband to a younger model, Roz is making an unhappy marriage even worse, Frankie has fallen out with Roz.  Olive spends her entire time cleaning people’s houses or cleaning up after her good-for-nothing husband with his “bad back” and her equally lazy mother-in-law with her “bad legs”.  The group has fractured.

When Ven wins a trip for four on a cruise ship it seems like a chance to escape their lives for a little while.  We follow the girls through numerous destinations in Europe.  They eat, they explore, they dance and... they eat.  They attend formal dinners, meet fellow guests, hark back to some old memories, visit old friends.  They sail on blue seas in glorious sunshine.  But the cruise is sixteen days long and it has to end sometime.  Or does it?

Review - The Perfect Hero by Victoria Connelly

Reviewed by Kira Slaughter

The Perfect Hero by Victoria Connelly

The circus has come to town...

Die-hard romantic, Kay Ashton, runs a B&B in the seaside town of Lyme Regis and is dumbstruck when the cast and crew of a new production of Persuasion descend. Kay can’t believe her luck- especially when she realises that heart-throb actor, Oli Wade Owen, will be sleeping under her very own roof!

Meanwhile, co-star Gemma Reilly is worried that her acting isn’t up to scratch, despite landing a plum role. She finds a sympathetic ear in shy producer Adam Craig, who is as baffled by the film world as she is. Kay thinks the two are meant for each other and can’t resist a spot of matchmaking.

Then, when Oli turns his trademark charm on Kay, it seems that she has found her real-life hero. But do heroes really exist?

 After reading Victoria Connelly’s previous book, A Weekend With Mr Darcy, I couldn’t wait to read her new offering. The Perfect Hero centres around main character Kay, who after losing her mother and a very good friend within months of each other, decides to up sticks and change her life. She has been left some money by her friend, and after quitting her job, she moves to Lyme Regis to open a B&B.

A few months after opening, she receives a knock on the door from a woman looking for rooms to rent. Kay agrees to it but little does she know that she’ll be renting her B&B out to a load of film stars. Now Kay is a daydreamer and one of life’s great romantics, so when all of these actors turn up on her doorstep, she can’t help but get a little carried away with herself.

Once everyone has been settled in, Kay is introduced to the actors and more importantly, the leading man, Oli Wade Owen. She has had a crush on him ever since she seen him in one of his previous films. I’m all for romantic heroes, I love a book even more if the leading man appeals to me, yet I couldn’t really take to Oli, he seemed a bit too quick to show Kay the charm and pay her compliments, and with me that doesn’t sit right. Adam, the shy producer, was more my type of romantic hero. He’s sweet, unassuming and the perfect gentleman. Listen to me, it sounds like I should be living in Jane Austen’s era the way I’m going on!

Hidden Gems #7 Waiting in the Wings by Donna Hay

Released way back in the year 2000, Waiting in the Wings is the first novel written by Donna Hay. I think it won some kind of award back in the day...I've just checked and it did win the RNA's New Writer of the Year award!

I remember this book being wonderfully written, feel good, escapist chick lit in a similiar vein to Jill Mansell.

I've read quite a number of books by Donna Hay, and it constantly surprises me that she's not more widely known...

Anyhoo, if you've read this, let me know what you thought!

The blurb for Waiting in the Wings...

Actress Annie Mitchell is devastated. Her husband Max has run off with her best friend, leaving her with a stack of unpaid bills and the self-esteem of the last sandwich in a railway buffet. But salvation is on the horizon care of her agent, Julia, who has a tall, dark and disconcertingly sexy surprise up her sleeve. Protesting madly, Annie finds herself bound for Yorkshire and a starring role in rep'. The only problem being that Much Ado About Nothing has nothing on events at the Phoenix Theatre. Not only is Annie forced to work with Nick Ryan, Julia's surprise and the man Annie ditched for Max, but something or someone is determined to see the Phoenix reduced to ashes...

Visit the website of Donna Hay

Hidden Gems #6 The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank

As far as I'm aware The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing is a popular book the world over, however, those of you who are new to chick-lit (and it IS chick lit in one of its many forms) will probably not have come across it...

We're going against the rules slightly here as this is more of a collection of shorts than a full on novel, although each story is linked and chronologically follows the life of protagonist, Jane Rosenal.

Atmospheric, smart and punchy, this book is one that I've re-read at various times over the past ten or so years and often use as a marker of how to write.

 

The synopsis reads...

Jane Rosenal's entrée to the world of significant relationships begins with her older brother's older woman. The bewildered teenager's naive understanding and disbelief as the relationship disintegrates before her eyes should have served as a mighty warning on the perils of the mating game. But, hey, what's a little knowledge without bitter experience? As Jane grows into, and out of, a career in publishing, so she melts into, and out of, a series of pointless affairs. Throw in a few life- shattering personal experiences along the way, a near- disastrous encounter with a self-help manual, How to Meet and Marry Mr Right, and finally, Jane learns the secret that has eluded her for so long. Elegantly written and searingly honest, Melissa Bank's debut novel is one to recommend to all your girlfriends--single or not.

You can find out more about this book here

Hidden Gems #5 Kiss Him Goodbye by Victoria Routledge

This book was released 10 years ago, and is still a firm favourite of mine. Please do ignore the cover, because it IS fugly. But what lies inside is a completley engrossing, jampacked chick lit bonanza.

I wonder how many of you may have read this (it does have a lot of excellent reviews on amazon), I'd be interested to know. If you haven't, I would definitely recommend.

The synopsis reads...

Kate Craig has many pet hates but top of the list is London. Dirty, smelly, unfriendly and unreasonably expensive beer. She's steered well clear for 21 years. But then her gorgeous Europhile boyfriend, Giles, invites her down to his palatial Chelsea house before he launches his international banking career: posh dinners out, cosy evenings in. It would be rude to say no. In fact, Kate's week of high-class indulgence is so idyllic that she's almost relieved when it turns horribly wrong. Giles's training course is in Chicago. It's four months long. And he wants her to wait in London for him. In a daze of anger, misery and deep subconscious disbelief, Kate suddenly finds herself cleaning her new cupboard in the first flat she sees. If it were just the filthy cupboards she had to contend with, she'd be OK. But there are flatmates: twins Dante and Cressida Grenfell have had a fairy-tale upbringing. Of the Grimm variety. He's a permanently hungover layabout, she's a control freak style queen. And the light relief is Harry, who gives upper crust blondes a bad name. All this and a bewildering new job, a sudden addiction to espressos, and the District Line - Kate's sixteen Mondays are looking like a lifetime.

To buy this book click here!

 

Hidden Gems #3 and #4

It's a double whammy! I appear to have missed last week's Hidden Gems feature so here we go with our next two books you may not have read yet, and probably should!

Hidden Gems #3 Playing James by Sarah Mason

I came across this book a couple of years ago (not sure how) and it has since become a firm favourite. It's reminiscent of Sophie Kinsella in its style. The protagonist is cute and funny, and it's full of zany escapades and originality.

The official blurb reads...

Holly Colshannon is a young journalist who thinks her career is about to take a terminal nosedive when she is moved from covering 'pet deaths' for her local Bristol paper and made Crime Correspondent - a poisoned chalice if ever there was one. However, a brilliant idea from the new police PR officer sees Holly shadowing a detective and writing a diary column about his working life. Detective James Sabine is bit of a sour puss - although he does have very nice green eyes - and he's furious that he has been landed with magnificently accident-prone Holly especially since her arrival comes six weeks before his wedding to faultless Fleur. Holly, however, has a career to think about and this infuriating man is not going to stand in her way. Meanwhile, her bosses at the newspaper realise that the column is proving extremely popular with the readers who are waiting for something romantic to happen between the handsome detective and the nice young reporter. With only days to go to the wedding Holly realises she's been waiting for the same thing...

HIDDEN GEMS #4 Snap Happy by Fiona Walker

This is the second Fiona Walker book I ever read and it's just brilliant. It's crammed full of Walker's trademark wit and dramatics, and if my memory serves me, it has some cracking sex scenes. If you haven't read any Fiona Walker stuff, then this is a good place to start. The protagonist, Juno is one of my stand out female fiction heroines. The fact that I remember her so vividly (given how much chick lit i've read) is testament to Fiona Walkers ability to produce characters you can really believe in.

The blurb reads...

A budding stand-up comic, Juno is voluptuous, hedonistic, funny and terminally untidy. On her thirtieth birthday, she decides to have a wild one-night-stand to mark the occasion. But seducing her new flatmate before he's had a chance to unpack his belongings is not a wise move.

Just over from New York, Jay Mulligan is intense, mysterious and, as Juno joyously discovers, far better than breakfast in bed. It's only when they both get out of that bed on the wrong side three days later that the problems start ...

Have you read any of these books? Do you have your own suggestions for future Hidden Gems? Let us know (you don't have to, but it would be nice of you did!).

Hidden Gems #2 - Come Together by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees

Hidden Gems is a brand new weekly feature here at Novelicious. It allows us to cover, review or suggest books that our readers may not have happened upon.

 It's so easy to miss out on older releases, or books that weren't publicised heavily, and this seems such a shame. We hope to rectify this this with our suggestions of books you may not have read and probably should!

COME TOGETHER was first published way back in 1999 and was the first book Emlyn Rees and Josie Lloyd wrote together. The pair have since gotten married and Josie Lloyd is now known as Jo Rees, who wrote the recent (excellent) bonkbuster, Platinum.

I'm featuring this book for those who are relatively new to the chick lit genre, and may not have noticed this book. It really is a must read - classic chick lit!

Meet Jack:

 Jack Rossiter. I'm twenty-seven years old, single, and live with my best mate Matt. Matt and I started hanging out when we were eight. Life was simpler then. Our idea of fashion was polyester. I told him I wanted to be a spy and he asked me who I'd marry. I imagined falling in love with a girl so perfect I couldn't even guess her name. Things have changed since then. I did fall in love for a while but it didn't work out. And single is good, single is fun.

Meet Amy:

Sometimes, in my darker moments, I've thought about trying internetdating. But surely it can't be that hard to find what I'm looking for? All I want is the right job and the right man. But all I ever manage is the wrong place at the wrong time. It's been six months since I last had sex. Six months! Well, enough is enough. This is the year I'm going to sort it all out for good. This year Amy Crosbie's going to have it all. Now find out what happens when they meet each other ...

You can buy this book by clicking here

Classic Chick Lit - Amanda's Wedding by Jenny Colgan

It's no secret that I'm a massive Jenny Colgan fan, and her debut novel ' Amanda's Wedding', published back in 2000, is a real classic.

90s girl-about-town Mel is adjusting to life without posh-boy Alex, whose attempts to make it big in the music biz have propelled him to the land of the free and Bruce Springsteen. Having omitted to mention his grand tour to Mel however, he has left our heroine a tad disturbed--grounds indeed for taking comfort in the arms of smelly, over-sized accountants with juvenile tendencies. Alex's emotional return coincides with the news that Mel's old "friend" Amanda, social-climber pas excellent (sic), has succeeded in getting herself hitched to Scottish laird Fraser for whom Mel has long harboured feelings of an X-rated nature. Before long, Fraser's brother Angus and Mel's friend Fran--an evil-mouthed, scary, man-hater--join forces in an attempt to rescue the scruffy Scot from the talons of the wannabe "It" girl, whose only interests lie in a double-barrelled aristo title and an ancestral pile.

This was the first chick lit book in which I felt I could truly relate to the characters. The protaganist of Mel isn't just a dull, 'nice' girl to whom something bad happens. She's self deprecating, sometimes sarcastic and has a bit of 'oomph' about her.

This book has it all. Wit, an excellent plot, emotion, and lots of gorgeous Scottish Men. As soon as I read it, I became a confirmed Colgan fan. I would completely recommend it to those of you who have not yet read it. It will have you laughing out loud by the end of the first page.

Rating 5/5

Buy this book here  (and if you don't believe me,just look at all the great reviews!)