Halle may be a Domestic Diva on British TV but privately she’s also a single mum to two kids – from two separate fathers. She only speaks to Luke – the father of her teen daughter Lizzie – via her lawyers and neither she or son Aldo see his father at all. Luke, a journalist, is working on an expose about an American guy – the self-named “Love Surgeon” - who runs a boot camp for celebrities with relationship troubles. He needs Halle’s assistance to infiltrate one of his counselling retreats in Tennessee to get the real scoop. This story started strong as Rice is a witty writer who infuses her characters with plenty of spirit. I was looking forward to a rollercoaster ride of amusing scenes at the American camp. Unfortunately, the story got bogged down in predictable ‘rekindling a romance’ territory and I soon lost interest.
So Now You're Back, by Heidi Rice, sees an ex come back into the picture. The summary says: "'Domestic Diva' Halle Best is world famous as Queen of the Kitchen, and for making a successful career in TV, despite having a baby at sixteen. Now 38 and happy with her success, Halle panics when she discovers that her ex is writing a book that could expose all of her secrets. In order to stop him, she'll have to speak to him face to face, which could also mean falling infuriatingly in love with him all over again!" So Now You're Back is out in February 2016.