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Bea has managed to keep her divorce amicable so Jimmy can maintain a good relationship with their three daughters. Then he announces that he's seeing someone - Tessa King - and it's serious. This news sends Bea into a freefall - to the outside world she's looking good but that's only because she's swapped binge eating for drinking. Tessa, meanwhile, has to win over the girls, particularly the oldest daughter Amber. Told from both women's viewpoints, this sequel is better than the original tale about Tessa as the godmother.
7/10
Lawyer Tessa King has nothing tying her down - she's single, has just returned from a retreat in India and is without a job after quitting over her stalker boss. Even as godmother to four children, including teenager Caspar and twin babies Bobby and Tommy, she gets to play then hand them back. While her friends are envious that she can be a free spirit, Tessa finds herself brooding for their settled-down lives. Then her wish for domestic bliss is granted - motherhood could be hers if she wants it.
6/10
Jessica Adams is an astrologer for several magazines and lives between Britain and Australia.
The book opens with a bang, with psychic Luke Gabriel gazing into a bucket of sea water and hearing a voice as he predicts a number of events destined to happen in 2006. It is a test to figure out which event each rambling refers to - and some of them will definitely stump international readers. (But that may be why Adams also wrote a version for the British market with Brighton journalist Katie Pickard and Australian psychic Jim Gabriel.) Coffs Harbour newspaper journalist Jo Delaney is sent to interview the English psychic and ends up with a shocking prediction of her own - he foresees that he's going to marry her by winter. Then Luke's other predictions start coming true - a scorching New Year's Day, Italy winning the World Cup, cyclones Monica and Larry hitting Queensland, and stingrays and blood in the water signalling the death of Croc Hunter Steve Irwin. Meanwhile, Jo is still coming to terms with the death of her depressed boyfriend Andrew in a car crash; has a crush on ageing rocker Gram Nixon (who Luke predicts will have a No. 1 hit) and is facing the possible closure of her newspaper Coffs and Coast Courier. Throw in hundreds of missing cats and a witches' coven and you start to wonder if the psychic will ever get it wrong. Adams' career as an astrologer no doubt helped make the psychic aspects of the book believable.
6/10
Take yourself back to the world of the 1990s, when the internet was still a strange world understood only by computer boffins and it was rare to have an email address. Touted as the Down Under version of Bridget Jones's Diary, this book is based in Sydney, so there's lots of local flavour for Australian readers but it is still written in a way to have universal appeal. Dumped on her 30th birthday by Dan, the man she thought she was going to marry, Victoria Shepworth is feeling so desperate she cuts her hair (you know the rule: new haircut = new life), has a fling with an advertising colleague and spends a fortune of fortune tellers - one of which tells her that she'll meet her soulmate through computers. With the help of neighbour Bill the Boffin, Victoria goes online where she meets Pierre Dubrois, an Englishman in Paris. But things start going awry one night when she finds out her mystery man isn't all that he first appeared.
8/10
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Venus Gilroy is the girl with three ex-husbands, two fathers and a mother who hates to fly. When her faux pa Whitman, a travel writer, introduces her to Susanna Hyde, author of a sex advice column and new editor of Aura magazine, Venus decides it's time she gets a career and move to New York, so she takes a job as Susanna's lowly paid PA. Somehow she has to keep on the right side of her power-hungry boss as she begins ghostwriting the sex column and meeting up with Susanna's latest toyboy. This is one of three books about Venus (which I didn't realise before I started reading but it becomes very obvious at the beginning that another story had been told about her marriage to eco-crusader Tremaynne). This book just feels like the author is dragging out yet another story on the character. More tired than wired.
5/10
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Delia Bennet is a domestic advice columnist who is about to write her last household guide . . . on dying. Diagnosed with breast cancer two years earlier, the prognosis now is not good. The idea for the final guide came to her as she was writing lists to help her husband and two young daughters cope after her death. The highly organised, ever-efficient Delia prepares by teaching her daughters how to make the perfect cup of tea, writing out a cake recipe for their weddings, ordering her coffin and choosing the last book to read. But Delia also needs to put some issues from her past to rest so she heads back to the town where she lived as a teenage mother. Told with humour, gutsiness and emotion, it is a gripping book. And the impending death of the main character isn't even the part that will have you sobbing the most. Don't let the drab cover, grim title or even the details about chickens, pegs and blood sausages put you off, this is one book you won't regret reading.
9/10
Joyce Conway is given a blood transfusion after falling down some stairs and losing her unborn child. Justin Hitchcock is in Dublin to give an art lecture when he is persuaded to give blood. When Joyce finds she now knows all about architecture, can speak several languages and has memories that aren't her own, she begins to wonder about the person who helped save her life. Will they ever meet? There's no big twists but it's an enjoyable read. And Joyce's dad, Henry, is such a character (just loved the airport scenes) you'll be wanting to get along to his Monday Club.
7/10
Interior decorator Elizabeth Egan likes to keep everything organised. She has lots of responsibilities in her life, including bringing up her six-year-old nephew, Luke - son of her wayward sister Saoirse. Then Luke is befriended by Ivan. Elizabeth thinks he is one of his friend's fathers but there are much more magical elements at play.
5/10
Rosie Dunne and Alex Stewart have been friends since childhood. Just as they are reaching their final year at school, they are separated when Alex's family moves from Dublin to America. Rosie finds she's lost without him and applies to go to college in Boston so they can be reunited. Except on the eve of her departure, something happens that changes her life forever. Through marriages, divorces and work trials, Rosie and Alex are there for each other. But are they meant to be more than just good friends? One of my all-time favourite books.
9/10
Holly's husband, Gerry, dies from a brain tumour, just as she is about to turn 30. Her parents pass on a parcel from him, which has 10 envelopes in it - each one listing a monthly mission for her to get her life back on track. With some help from her friends and family, Holly finds she can still laugh, sing and be brave - as the love of her life helps her learn that life goes on.
6/10
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Amelia is married to wealthy, eccentric wine buyer Ed. He's very set in his ways and has always made it clear he's not interested in being a parent. Trouble is now Amelia finds herself wanting a baby and thinks the matter should be reopened for discussion. As her over-the-top friend Kiki sets her up with a new career as clutter-clearer to the rich and disorganised, Amelia needs to decide whether she is going to stay in her marriage or take the chance on meeting someone else. Because it's a Maggie Alderson book, of course there's a gay friend and a glamorous social scene. Plus throw in a wise old neighbour, a gorgeous gardener, an intimidating father and the return of the first boy Amelia ever kissed - and it all adds up to her best book yet.
7/10
Stella Fair, luxury reporter for a London newspaper, knows all about elite brands but somehow starts dating Jay Fisher, without realising the renowned playboy is the billionaire heir of an American banking group. Then her six-times married father Ham doesn't want her seeing Jay because he dislikes his family. Throw in some work problems alongside romantic tensions with a colleague and stepbrother, and Stella finds that money might make the world go round but it doesn't make the path to love any easier to tread - even in Prada wedges.
7/10
Magazine fashion stylist Emily Pointer has a rule about fashion: never wear anything older than six months . . . unless it's so old you can pass it off as vintage. From Milan to London, Paris to New York, Emily tries to keep her affair with Australian photographer Miles a secret - especially from her husband. But she starts to discover that even the designer clothes in her closet won't contain the skeletons lurking inside.
5/10
When Antonia Heaveringham's aristocratic husband Hugh tells her he's gay and moving in with his hairdresser boyfriend, she finds she is increasingly snubbed by the social set in her adopted city of Sydney. But Ant refuses to fade away . . . instead she goes into the antiques business and joins a gym to lose her post-separation podge where she meets the mysterious James.
5/10
Magazine editor Georgia Abbott arrives in Sydney from London to work on Glow magazine, leaving behind a philandering ex-fiance. She is introduced around town in a whirlwind of A-list parties. But her dreams of being whisked away by a Akubra-hatted man are dashed when all the blokes she meets are either gay, married, unfaithful or just plain unworthy. Or are they?
6/10
Evie certainly has a comfortable life with her Oxford university don husband Ant and 14-year-old daughter Anna. While her brother Tim and his gung-ho wife Caro have taken over the struggling family farm, she isn't really doing much with her life. Then a letter arrives, with information that will shake up her small family. It's all an enjoyable read as Evie careens from one mishap to another - from car prangs and wedding punch-ups to underwear flashing and gropes in the stables - but the story also has heart and soul. And the best bit, it wasn't predictable at all.
7/10
Painter Imogen Cameron knows her family has to move out of London to help their financial situation. But does it have to be into a cottage owned by her husband Alex's former girlfriend, Eleanor - the woman who broke up his first marriage? Despite being married to stuffy Piers, Eleanor is still overly chummy towards Alex - making Imogen suspect they're having an affair again.
6/10
Lucy Fellowes lost her husband, Ned, in a car crash as he was on his way to the birth of their second son. Years later, his rich parents, Rose and Archie, offer her a home on their estate. She takes up their offer for her sons' benefit - the fact that her secret crush, Charlie, lives nearby simply sweetens the deal. It's just a shame he's married.
6/10
Polly Penhalligan has given up her advertising career and moved to her husband Nick's farm in Cornwall. But things start to go awry when her best friend convinces Polly to allow the farmhouse to be used for a commercial dog food shoot - and she gets a bit too close to film director Sam.
6/10
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Nina Kurtz is a bartender at a comedy club but her dream is to be up on stage performing a stand-up act. She's got the quick wit and hilarious lines just keep tripping off her tongue but she just can't overcome her stage fright. Nina's love life has similar woes - all the boys love a funny girl but only as a friend. So when she gets an invitation to her 10-year high school reunion, she wonders whether this is the perfect time to find out what she did right with her former boyfriend, Jacob.
4/10
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The pseudonym of a best-selling author who is keeping her identity under wraps.
Becca Orchard is known as the Bride Hunter, as she helps London's rich bachelors find the perfect wife. With psychology training behind her, she began her business after her boyfriend, Marcus, the boss of her head-hunting company, dumped then sacked her. Up to now she has a 100 per cent matchmaking record but her latest clients include Dwight, a divorced man looking for a sweet Scottish lass rather than a gold-digger; Edward, a shy banker who doesn't realise his boss has engaged her services; and Sam, her first female client who won't take no for an answer. Along the way she meets Adam. But is he a potential match for Sam or the man who will teach this love-shy Cupid to love again?
7/10
Holly Evans has just been watching her own funeral (and she certainly wouldn't have wanted to have been caught dead in that particular polyester dress). The 22-year-old drowned in her bathtub on the night her boyfriend Todd was going to propose. Unable to keep her mouth shut in heaven and with much mortal baggage still to deal with, Holly's spiritual realigner decides to send her back to earth in the body of another recently departed. As luck would have it, one of Holly's work colleagues, IT geek Vince Murphy, shows signs of dying and she is put into his six-foot body. But Vince had only fainted and wakes up to discover he has to share his body with someone with only two days to sort out her life. As Holly embarks on a mission to prove she didn't kill herself, she discovers that not everyone in her life was who they seemed. An engaging, comic read that keeps you turning the pages to find out if Holly will resolve her issues and find out why she died in time. And Holly just seems made for the big screen.
7/10
It has been six months since Lucy left her much older husband after he admitted that she was far from the only woman in his life. Then she gets the call to return to Archie's deathbed. With her hands on his little black book, she decides that all his other sweethearts should be here for the bad times too. And one by one, they show up for their final farewell. Some visitors stay longer, including Elspa, the former drug addict whose life he saved; and John, the son Artie always wanted. As time runs out, will Lucy be able to forgive him? Original premise with quirky characters.
6/10
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Lucy Gibson becomes public enemy No. 1 when she turns down the on-air proposal of her boyfriend of six months. Nick had just been announced as the winner of an Apprentice-like reality TV show called Hot Shots. Hounded by the press, Lucy heads to her friend Fiona's cottage in Cornwall where she falls for Josh. But he unfortunately has a not-very-nice girlfriend called Sara, who shares his passion for yachting. He also likes people to be upfront with him, which means there's gonna be trouble when he finds out Lucy hasn't been honest about why she is in Cornwall. So ho-hum predictable, with some confusing consistency errors and the usual cheesy dialogue, this is the third Ashley book I have tried but from now on I will Just Say No.
4/10
When Beth Allen applies for a job with specialist travel company Big Outdoors, she's unaware she's about to face its new CEO, Jack Thornfield - a man she'd had a holiday romance with eight years earlier. He'd proposed but then disappeared. Although she doesn't want to spend time with the man who broke her heart, Beth takes the job, relieved she is able to help out her injured father and aspiring drama student sister Louise. She heads to London, leaving behind boyfriend Marcus. Will she find out what made Jack disappear and could they finally be in the right place at the right time? With the dialogue in this book so forced and the plot lacking any surprises, it was really a case of 'wish I'd never heard of this book'. But if you can't get enough of lines like: 'Why? Is the boss a prick?' 'Lou!' exclaimed Beth. She swore herself, but couldn't really complain. It was the thought of Jack and that part of his anatomy together that had shocked her . . . then throw this in your suitcase for a holiday read.
3/10
Emma Tremayne has moved to the Lake District after losing her boyfriend and her high-flying PR job in London. Trying to convince the men of the local mountain rescue team to pose for a naked fundraising calendar, Emma butts heads with handsome entrepreneur Will Tennant. Bit too cheesy for my tastes but this book won the Romantic Novelists' Association Joan Hessayon award for new writers.
4/10
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Australian-born author Amanda Ashby's debut novel, You Had Me at Halo, is best described as paranormal chick lit. Amanda, who has lived in England for several years, has recently moved to Napier, New Zealand, with her husband and two children.
