P
LIZA PALMER
Seeing Me Naked (2008)
Elisabeth Page is having a hard time living up to her wealthy family's expectations. The daughter of a legendary novelist and well-bred socialite and the sister of a literary wunderkid, she's just a pastry chef - even though she works in the hottest French restaurant in LA. Her five-year plan to open her own patisserie hasn't eventuated after 11 years and she is still dating (if you can call it that) her family-approved childhood sweetheart Will, a globe-trotting journalist who's rarely home. Elisabeth's life is going nowhere - her routine takes her from the food markets, to the restaurant and back home to catch up on TiVoed shows. But then she meets basketball coach Daniel Sullivan, who bids on a cooking lesson with her, and he's everything that her family and Will are not. Her career also looks like taking on a different direction when she gets approached to host a Food Network TV show. Can she find success - and love - on her own terms? A fully flavoured book about food, family dynamics and finding your way.
7/10
Also by author:
Conversations with the Fat Girl
Back to top
ARIELLA PAPA
Up & Out (2003)
TV producer Rebecca Cole is left without a job when a corporate takeover sees new boss Delores assume creative control of her cartoon creation, Esme. Rebecca now has two months to work out what she wants to do with her life. She moves back into her ex-boyfriend's place as she tries to find a way to afford her love of fine dining.
7/10
Also by author:
Bundle of Joy; On the Verge
Back to top
ADELE PARKS
Tell Me Something (2008)
All Elizabeth ever wanted in life was an Italian husband and lots of bambinos. She has found her man, Roberto, but after six years of marriage she is still desperately trying to fall pregnant. When Roberto loses his job in London, they head to Italy to help out his family business. Elizabeth is hoping the change of scenery will boost her chances of conceiving. But her dreams about an idyllic Italian lifestyle are shattered by the mother-in-law from hell. And with Roberto's ex living nearby, and Elizabeth's growing friendship with American teacher Chuck, their marriage is placed under even more strain.
8/10
Young Wives' Tales (2007)
Lucy has stolen her friend Rose's husband, Peter, but is now finding life may have been better as a mistress. With barely a maternal bone in her body, she often escapes to her stockbroking job to get away from her four-year-old daughter Auriol. Meanwhile, Rose is making sure she's the best mum possible, making organic meals, volunteering on school committees, not showing her two sons that their father's betrayal has devastated her - even though it was more than six years ago. To avoid rocking the boat, she even allows her friends and family to sign her up to a night course and starts dating again. Their friend Connie, happily married to Luke and a working mother, has managed to stay friends with both women. But her world is rocked when the man she had an affair with, John Harding, turns up at the school gates. The story is expertly told from the varying viewpoints of Lucy, Rose and John. It is the sequel to Playing Away.
8/10
Husbands (2005)
Bella has never told anyone about her registry wedding to Stevie, an Elvis impersonator. Not even when city trader Philip proposed to her. Nor when best friend Laura introduces Stevie as her new man and invites Laura and Philip to join them on a trip to Las Vegas for an Elvis competition. Could things get any more complicated?
6/10
The Other Woman's Shoes (2003)
Also known as Lust for Life
Martha has strived hard to create the perfect home with husband Michael and their two children, while sister Eliza lives with musician boyfriend Greg and enjoys a carefree life. When Michael announces that he's leaving after 10 years because he's not having any fun, Martha is shattered. Then Eliza leaves Greg, because she wants to settle down with a responsible man. Will each woman embrace their chance to walk in each other's shoes?
6/10
Playing Away (2000)
When happily married Connie meets John Harding at a work conference, she can't help flirting. He's just so confident, alluring and unscrupulous - so unlike her gentle husband Luke. This tells the tale of what happens when you've found Mr Right but can't help throwing caution to the wind with another man. The 2007 novel Young Wives' Tales is its sequel.
7/10
Also by author:
Happy Families; Still Thinking of You; Larger than Life; Game Over
Back to top
RACHEL PASTAN
This Side of Married (2004)
The three Rubin daughters from an affluent Philadelphian family have a domineering mother, an obstetrician, whose dearest wish is to see them happily married. And just like in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, there's an unsuitable suitor in the form of cardiologist Anthony Wolf who offers his hospitality when one daughter falls ill. There's his blunt friend, journalist Simon Goldenstern who seems to be interfering in the path of true love but is in fact saving their honour. There's even a long-lost cousin, Soren Zank, from a Swedish line of the family who comes to eye up the daughters, and a father, Judge Rubin, who largely stays out of the fray. The oldest daughter - dreamy Alice - falls into a speedy engagement with Anthony; the middle daughter - sensible Isabel - has already tied the knot with lawyer Theo but their marriage is under strain because of their inability to have children. And the youngest - beautiful Tina - has been planning her wedding for years.
5/10
Back to top
ANNA PASTERNAK
Daisy Dooley Does Divorce (2007)
“There's only one thing worse than being thirty-nine and single. Being thirty-nine and divorced.” And so begins the story of Daisy Dooley, who has just got divorced after a brief marriage to Jamie. Guided by friends Lucy, who's married with two children, and Jess, a single GP who has lots of one-night stands, Daisy embarks on dating again. She goes on a blind date with an older man, has a fling with a twenty-something guy, considers a relationship with her best male friend and even gets involved with her very rich former boyfriend and possible soulmate, who unfortunately is about to marry an heiress. Written by the author of the widely panned Princess in Love (about Princess Diana and her cad James Hewitt), I must admit I was very apprehensive about this book and after reading it I still can't say if I liked it or hated it. Inspired by Pasternak's own life, Daisy Dooley Does Divorce is based on her weekly column in the Daily Mail. It introduces a number of terms such as the sexual sorbet (first person you sleep with after a break-up; it removes the taste of a bad relationship) and PDD (post divorce date). A pilot TV show, produced by Ashton Kutcher's company Katalyst in the US, is in production for ABC.
5/10
Back to top
ALLISON PEARSON
I Don't Know How She Does It (2002)
This is a classic story about a woman who tries to juggle too much in an age where women are wondering about the myth of “having it all”. Hedge-fund manager Kate Reddy is a frazzled mother of two who's trying to make store-bought mince pies look homemade for the school Christmas party. Married to architect Richard, Kate feels endless guilt about not being a good-enough mother, especially because she has to travel a lot for work. When one of her trips brings her into contact with attractive client Jack Abelhammer, her family life is tested even more.
6/10
To come:I Think I Love You
Back to top
ALISON PENTON HARPER
Housewife Up (2006)
In this sequel to Housewife Down, widow Helen loses her $2 million windfall to a shonky investor, so she is forced to get a job. Her new boss, Rick, is a businessman who needs help handling his personal affairs. He keeps making huge demands of her but he may just come through for her in the end.
4/10
Also by author:
Housewife on Top; Housewife Down
Back to top
KAYLA PERRIN
How to Kill a Guy in 10 Days (with Brenda Mott) 2007
Hailey McGaw arrives back in Miami after her divorce and bumps into former best friend Lexie Muller at a bookshop. The pair hit the town to celebrate, and after a night at a male strippers club, they stumble across one of the hunks - dead in the car park. Discovering that the victim, Rafael, was the boyfriend of one of their school friends, Joey who has become transsexual entertainer Josephine, they start doing some sleuthing of their own. On impulse, they also agree to buy the bookstore from Josephine's aunt Gina, who seems very keen to leave town. As the case heats up, the women discover that stumbling across a dead body is becoming a nasty habit.
5/10
Also by author:
Single Mama Drama; Love, Lies & Videotape; We'll Never Tell; Getting Some; The Sweet Spot; Getting Even; Gimme an O!; Fool for Love; In a Heartbeat
Back to top
HOLLY PETERSON
The Manny (2007)
TV producer Jamie Whitfield is worried about how her husband's work-related absences are affecting her sensitive son, Dylan. So she decides to appoint a manny to help out - in addition to her nanny and cleaner. As Jamie's work life gets more hectic chasing a sex scandal story involving a right-wing politician, she finds Peter Bailey teaching kids to play chess in the park - the perfect guy to be a male role model for her son. Despite her husband's demands that she get rid of him, Peter develops a close bond with Dylan - and Jamie.
7/10
Back to top
SUSAN ELIZABETH PHILLIPS
Match Me If You Can (2005)
Annabelle Granger, who has inherited her grandmother's matchmaking business, runs late to her first appointment with Heath Champion, a wealthy, good-looking sports agent known as The Python. He already has the Power Matches agency working for him, but Annabelle's best friend, Molly, is married to his top client and convinces him to give Annabelle's business a go. Trouble is he demands that Annabelle sit in on all his matchmaking dates, and then they start falling for each other.
7/10
First Lady (2000)
Cornelia (Nealy) Case, widow of US President Dennis Case, is asked to stay on as First Lady beside the new president. Despite being raised for public service by her political adviser father, Nealy decides to break free of the White House regime. She goes on the run and hitches a ride in a campervan with Mat Jorik and his ex-wife's two daughters. As the Secret Service closes in, Mat uncovers her secret while she discovers he's a journalist.
5/10
Also by author:
Ain't She Sweet; Breathing Room; Glitter Baby
Back to top
RACHEL PINE
The Twins of Tribeca (2005)
Movie publicist Rachel Pine's tell-all novel is based on her time at Miramax Films and has very thinly veiled references to real-life movie stars. Anyone can't guess who Frederick “Fly” Faccione, who rose to fame and fortune through his portrayal of an underdog boxer and Vietnam vet, or Ronald Ululater, a European bodybuilder who became an action hero, are based on? Former CNN researcher Karen Jacobs gets a job as publicity assistant at Glorious Pictures, run by twins Phil and Tony Waxman. From announcing VIP guests at the studio's Oscars party, to dodging a mysterious washed-up journalist writing a tell-all Waxman biography, flirting with a Page Six columnist and covering for her missing boss Allegra, Karen finds out that work at the studio isn't all that glorious.
5/10
Back to top
JANE PORTER
Odd Mom Out (2007)
Advertising executive Marta Zinsser has moved from New York to Seattle to start a new agency and be nearer her mother who has Alzheimers disease. Her nine-year-old daughter Eva, who she conceived through donor sperm, really wants to fit in with the popular crowd in their affluent suburb (where people will behave better at breakfast if the Gates are nearby). Eva believes it would help if Marta was a bit more like the other immaculately groomed mums who are so involved in their children's school. Marta, who feels more comfortable in jeans and combat boots, joins in some of the PTA activities but struggles to keep up as well as run her agency, Z Design. Marta also believes she doesn't need a man but she soon runs into the irresistible Luke Flynn on her morning jog. A very convincing story about a working mother's relationship with her daughter, the pitfalls in the pursuit of popularity and why you should be leader of your own pack.
7/10
Also by author:
Flirting with Forty, The Frog Prince
To come:
Mrs Perfect
Back to top
ALEXANDRA POTTER
Me and Mr Darcy (2007)
New York book shop assistant Emily Albright finds that no modern man can live up to Pride and Prejudice's Mr Darcy. So when her friend Stella invites her on an 18-30s trip to Mexico, she instead books a guided tour of Jane Austen country in England. But she's hardly going to find her dream partner on a coach full of pensioners. The only eligible man is a prickly journalist called Spike Hargreaves who's purely along for the ride because he's writing an article about why women love Mr Darcy. And he wins no favour with Emily when he describes her as “pretty dull, average looking.” Then during a visit to one of Austen's homes, Emily finds herself face-to-face with a handsome stranger wearing beeches and a frock coat who calls himself Mr Darcy. What happens when her fantasy man comes to life? OK, so many critics hated it, the plot's totally predictable and you may get annoyed that the character is so slow picking up on the Pride and Prejudice parallels in her own story but I read it with a smile on my face.
6/10
Be Careful What You Wish For (2006)
When wedding photographer Heather Hamilton buys some lucky heather from a gypsy, all her wishes start coming true. She finds an elusive parking spot, scores a date with her hunky neighbour - she even wins a lottery. But as time goes on, are these wishes-come-true a blessing or a curse?
4/10
Also by author:
Do You Come Here Often; Calling Romeo; Going La La; What's New Pussycat?
Back to top
KATIE PRICE
Angel (2006)
Angel gets drawn into the glitzy world of celebrity fame and riches after becoming a Page 3 glamour model. She meets boy band singer Mickey but with their relationship clouded by infidelity and drug-taking, Angel discovers a rising star can fall just as quickly. Written by glamour model Jordan, who is married to singer Peter Andre.
5/10
Also by author:
Crystal
Back to top
MORAG PRUNTY
Dancing with Mules (2001)
Also known as Wild Cats & Colleens
Irish-American billionaire Xavier Big has advertised for an Irish wife, and is on his way to Ireland to choose from the finalists. PR queen Lorna, whose firm looks shaky after her accountant failed to pay her clients' taxes, is hoping this will save her day. Journalist Sandy isn't looking for a husband - she just wants to do a documentary on Mr Big's search. Gloria's hairdressing salon would be quite profitable if her ex-husband Frank stopped dipping his hand in the till - she's determined never to live in poverty again.
6/10
Also by author:
Recipes for a Perfect Marriage; Superstar Lovers; Poison Arrows; Disco Daddy