NEW RELEASE
Some Like It Hot - Amanda Brobyn (2011)
This follows the lives of five very different women who come together every week to spice up their lives with curry and confidential confessions. Their curry club offers a lifeline to ladies who usually keep private matters exactly that - private - but when presented with the opportunity to discuss those things generally best left unsaid, the women jump at the chance to share their innermost thoughts and secrets - as long as nobody knows who those thoughts and secrets have come from. From one bowl a curry is served while in another, five anonymous questions sit tightly folded until just one is drawn out for discussion. Each question drawn brings with it excitement and heated opinions - with everyone wondering just whose life is being dissected this time round. And these ladies have plenty to hide and confess in secret, if only the others around the table knew it. Elegant, poised Jude has it all from the outside - the looks, the family, the lifestyle - but turning her back on her own career aspirations to support her husband's rise to the top has left her feeling emptier inside than anyone could ever imagine. Sexy Sophie uses and abuses men while she builds her business empire, but is an unthinkable secret driving her devil-may-care behaviour? Helena is stuck in a passionless relationship. Just how far will she go to get out of it and make a new life for herself? Filthy rich, stuck-up Roni feels trapped by her dull, safe existence with her husband Peter. When Peter hires a handsome young man to teach Roni how to swim, the way to spice up her life becomes obvious to Roni - and it doesn't involve curry. Fitness freak Kath is fond of alcohol and getting physical - in every sense. But although her married life is a happy one, that doesn't mean her family life is. Each week, one of the women gets free advice while keeping their problems completely confidential from those around the table. It's an intriguing premise and one that gives the reader a strong insight into the development of each character as we unravel the women's secrets and desires. Keeping the momentum up in a book when there are five main characters can be difficult, but the author carries it off with the aplomb of a much more experienced writer. The book overall marks a big departure in style from the author's debut, Crystal Balls, but Amanda's trademark risque scenes are prevalent in Some Like It Hot too - as you might expect from a book of this title! (SBB)
Amanda Brobyn's second novel Some Like It Hot is about a group of women given the opportunity to discuss those things generally best left unsaid. The synopsis says: "You're in your 20s, you've great career prospects, you're bright, articulate and effortlessly attractive. You see the world through rose-tinted glasses. You're practically invincible. Now try this ... You're turning 40 ... your Interior Design degree is nothing more than a sheet of paper gathering dust, and your place has been in the home for the past 15 years. Your husband works long hours, your teenage kids see you as a glorified domestic and you're not looking as youthful as once upon a time. In fact, what the hell just happened? In the blink of an eye your life has been swept from beneath you as motherhood manifested itself into martyrdom! The only lifeline you have is the Curry Club - where five friends come together to add spice to their life. From one bowl a curry is served, and from another five anonymous questions sit tightly folded until one of them is drawn out for reading. Share in the excitement of those things usually best left unsaid and open yourselves up to heated opinions, free advice and the constant wonderment of just whose life is being dissected this time around?" Some Like It Hot is out in November.