CURRENT
NEW RELEASES
The Opposite of Love - Julie Buxbaum (2008)
Manhattan lawyer Emily Haxby is confused about her life. Just as her boyfriend Andrew is on the verge of proposing, she breaks up with him with that famous line: “It's not you. It's me.” Working on a multi-million-dollar lawsuit that she morally disagrees with and trying to avoid a lecherous boss, Emily also wonders if her professional life needs a shake-up. But it's not long before she is wondering if she's made the mistake of her life. With her mother dead and her father emotionally distant, her closest ties are with her fast fading Grandpa Jack and Ruth, a former judge who lives in the same retirement home. This book has received high praise from many readers and is finely written with believable characters and emotional depth. However I'd lost interest by the second half. But maybe it's a case of “It's not The Opposite of Love. It's me.” So the best advice would be to try it out for yourself - you may just love it.
6/10
TAKE TWO
Maggie Marr's Hollywood Girls Club girls are back. In Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club, out this month, actress Carrie, agent Jessica, producer Lydia, screenwriter Mary Ann and publicist Kiki are set to collaborate on another film and help each other weather some scandals, including a sex tape, a stalker and a blackmailer. Los Angeles-based Marr is a writer and producer who also once worked as a Hollywood agent.
WEDDING BELLES
The Importance of Being Married - Gemma Townley
Workaholic Jessica Wild is resolutely single. But she tells Grace, who lives at her grandmother's nursing home, that she has a fiancé called Anthony Milton (the name of her real boss). When Grace dies, leaving her a huge inheritance in the name of Jessica Milton, she has to get her boss to fall in love and marry her - all within 50 days.
Questions to Ask Before Marrying - Melissa Senate
Stella, a professional muse and face reader, thinks her twin Ruby is making a big mistake by marrying her buttoned-up fiance. The sisters take off on a long and bumpy road trip to Las Vegas, where a wedding may or may not happen in an Elvis wedding chapel.
Killing Bridezilla - Laura Levine
When freelance writer Jaine Austen agrees to write Romeo and Juliet-inspired vows for the ultimate Bridezilla, her high school nemesis Patti Devane, the “I do's” soon become “I wish I hadn't's”. And with the bride racking up a long list of enemies - from the mother-in-law to the ex-wife of her groom - it's hardly surprising when sabotage sees Patti plunge to her death during the balcony scene.
Remember to check out Club Challenges next month for our theme of wedding planners.
HOLIDAY READ
Summer Blowout - Claire Cook
Bella Shaughnessy works at Salon de Paolo, her Italian family-run beauty salon, along with her four half-brothers and sisters. When her marriage disintegrates when her half-sister runs off with her husband, Bella makes a vow: no more men. But then she meets a cute entrepreneur, who gives her a great business idea: a make-up kit for everyone. When the whole clan heads to Atlanta for a big wedding, sparks fly - in a summer blowout no one will ever forget. And as you'd expect from the Must Love Dogs author, there's a cute dog. Summer Blowout is out in June.
AUTHOR NEWS
The female half of the successful Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees writing partnership has a new book out in May - this time under the name of Jo Rees. Platinum is about a prostitute, a maid and a socialite who unite in their hatred of one man. LA's most influential madam Peaches Gold, South African yacht stewardess Frankie Willis and English socialite Lady Emma Harvey have every reason to distrust and despise each other, but their hatred for Yuri Khordinsky will unite them. He is typical of the newcomers to the ranks of the world's super-rich - a rich, handsome and ruthless Russian with a murky past, desperate for acceptance in society. Platinum is out in May.
AUSTRALIAN MADE
When Australian journalist Holly Hill (not her real name) found herself jobless and penniless after the end of her relationship with a wealthy boyfriend, she advertised for a sugar daddy - and the 2007 book Sugarbabe was the result. In the sequel, Toyboy, out in June, she decides to turn the tables and advertises to pay a younger male companion. The 40-year-old was after an accomplished cook, confidante and lover. “Whilst not essential; humour, looks and intelligence will be well-regarded,” her ad said. But not only did she have a lot less applicants for the position of toyboy than she'd had for a sugar daddy but a lot of them lied about their age and relationship status. Oh, and their height, weight and physical attractiveness. Just as her cause seemed hopeless, though, a chance encounter sends Holly down a road she had never considered travelling.
TAKE TWO
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Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez's sequel to The Dirty Girls Social Club is coming this year. Dirty Girls on Top continues the story of the six Latina women - Usnavys, Lauren, Rebecca, Sara, Cuicatl and Elizabeth - five years down the track when the women are 33 years old. It's out in July. A Dirty Girls movie is currently in development. |
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NEW RELEASES
It's A Kind of Magic - Carole Matthews
When Emma's irresponsible but loveable boyfriend Leo turns up to her 30th birthday dinner very late and awfully drunk, she can't help wishing that he was different. And after realising she'll never change him, she tells him that the magic is gone and so begins the next phase of her life without him. That night Leo runs into the mysterious Isobel and falls under her spell. As this fairy girlfriend waves her wand and sprinkles her fairy dust around, Leo starts becoming more like the man Emma wished he was. Even if you don't like books with magical themes, read it for the hilarious cardboard box scene.
6/10
MAKING HER DEBUT
Kent-based author Miriam Morrison's first novel, Recipe for Disaster, is about local newspaper reporter Kate whose one hope of salvaging her career is to do a tell-all feature about the seedy underbelly of the restaurant business. Jake Goldman and Harry Hunter, rivals since culinary school, have opened their first restaurants in the same small town. When one of Jake's waitresses deserts him to join Harry's team, Kate applies for the job, hoping to do an undercover investigation. Little does she know, when she follows the alluring smells into Jake's kitchen, that she is in for a major surprise. Morrison has worked as a journalist and also ran a country inn in the Lake District.
INDUSTRY NEWS
The shortlist has been announced for the 2008 Melissa Nathan Awards for Comedy Romance. The books are Merde Happens, by Stephen Clarke; A Girl's Guide to Kissing Frogs, by Victoria Clayton; 31 Dream Street, by Lisa Jewell; Heaven Sent, by Christina Jones; Mrs Zhivago of Queen's Park, by Olivia Lichtenstein; and The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy, by Fiona Neill. The winner will be announced at a London ceremony on June 18.
SNEAK PEEK
Going it Alone - Clare Dowling
As Millie's 40th birthday approaches, her biological clock starts ticking loudly. And after months of fruitless trying for a baby, her husband Andrew is feeling like a walking sperm bank and their marriage is in crisis. Matters come to a head when Andrew's job relocates to London and Millie decides that if he won't stick around to get her pregnant, then she'll do it without him. Setting her sights on Spain, Millie embarks on a voyage of discovery.
Check out our Sneak Peek section, where you can now find 150 of the hottest new releases.
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