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I Did a Bad Thing - Linda Green (2007)
Birmingham newspaper reporter Sarah Roberts is living with her schoolteacher boyfriend Jonathan, a vegetarian Amnesty International crusader. Then two blasts from her past reappear - Nick Hardwich, who she used to work with on another local newspaper, and Colin Leake, a councillor and story source from those days. In a series of flashbacks to 1997, it is revealed that Sarah first slept with Nick the night of Colin's parliamentary election - she didn't get around to voting and he lost by a single vote. She's been tormented by guilt ever since - about both events.
8/10
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I Do (But I Don't) - Cara Lockwood (2003)
Lauren Crandell's qualities as a neat freak and organisational guru makes her the perfect wedding planner (even though she has uncontrollable curly hair and is divorced). When two weddings go haywire on the same day - a parachuting groom gets stuck in a tree and a bride faints after spotting a stalker ex-girlfriend dressed as a bridesmaid - hunky firefighter Nick Corona comes to the rescue. With sparks flying between them, Lauren is put on to a new client who knows Nick - the beautiful but Psycho Bride Darla. Although the cases of mistaken identity were as obvious as a bride wearing a big meringue dress, it's an entertaining read with a delightful heroine. The story was turned into a 2004 TV movie starring Denise Richards as Lauren and Dean Cain as Nick. The sequel about Lauren's sister, Lily, is called I Did (But I Wouldn't Now).
7/10
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I Don't Know How She Does It - Allison Pearson (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
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In Her Shoes - Jennifer Weiner (2002)
Sisters Rose and Maggie Feller have nothing in common apart from the same shoe size, a dead mother and a wicked stepmother Sydelle. But they have stuck together through thick and thin. But then Rose, a down-to-earth attorney, catches the wild and gorgeous Maggie with her boyfriend, colleague Jim, and throws her out of her apartment and life. Maggie, who fails an MTV screen test because of her dyslexia, takes off to Princeton University where she squats in the library. Rose quits her job, takes up dog walking and starts dating former colleague Simon. Then Maggie rediscovers her grandmother Ella, and heads to stay with her in Florida. The book was adapted into a film starring Toni Collette (Rose) and Cameron Diaz (Maggie).
7/10
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If You Could See Me Now - Cecelia Ahern (2005)
Also known as A Silver Lining
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
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In Search of an Impotent Man - Gaby Hauptmann (1995)
Insurance agent Carmen Legg, a flame-haired 35-year-old, is sick of men trying to crack on to her, so she places a personal ad for a man with higher things on his mind - because he's impotent. Surprisingly a lot of men reply and Carmen meets them in turn. This book was originally written in German and sometimes reads a bit clunky because of the translation.
5/10
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In My Sister's Shoes - Sinead Moriarty (2007)
Kate O'Brien has just landed her dream TV presenting job in London when her older sister, Fiona, finds out she has breast cancer. Kate owes her sister big time since Fiona selflessly brought her and brother Derek up after their mother died of the same disease. So Kate heads back to Dublin to step into her sister’s shoes and look after her boisterous five-year-old twin boys.
7/10
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It's Not You, It's Me - Allison Rushby (2004)
Charlie is at the airport leaving for a trip to Europe when she hears over the announcement system a name from her past - Jasper Ash. It's her former flatmate, a songwriter who has gone on to great things as Zamiel in supergroup Spawn. The last time she saw him was when they nearly slept together - until he backed away at the last moment proclaiming “it's not you, it's me”. When Jas joins her on a bus tour to Oktoberfest in Munich (even though Charlie hates beer), they slip straight back into their easy banter. But That Night looms over them as an undiscussed topic. Both seem at a crossroad in their lives - why is Jas ignoring all his phone calls and why has Charlie still not finished uni or got stuck into creating her sculptures? Not just a light frothy read. You'll also get some great survival tips in case you ever find yourself at Oktoberfest with a group of Australians from a Beer-drinking Society.
7/10
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I Take This Man - Valerie Frankel (2007)
When Penny is jilted at the altar by Bram, the mother-of-the-bride immediately swoops into action. Esther finds the groom in the bridal suite, clonks him over the head with a bottle of Dom Perignon and drags his unconscious body back to an unused attic in her mansion. There she imprisons him until he pays for humiliating her daughter. By eating his way through the uneaten reception food, including 80 servings of prime rib, 70 servings of grilled salmon, 50 roast chickens and 30 pounds of shrimp cocktails. He also needs to write all the return labels for the wedding gifts and admit why he got cold feet. But with Bram's father on the hunt for the runaway groom, Esther realises that kidnapping sure isn't a piece of (wedding) cake. Especially when you throw in some suspicious injuries, a mysterious death, a predatory friend and a calculating Russian servant.
6/10
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It Had to Be You - Sarah Webb (2004)
In Burnaby village, three women are discovering that it's all fair in love, politics and business. Molly Harper is manager of Ireland's only dedicated romance bookshop, Happily Ever After. She suspects the new owner Milo Jones is up to no good but at least he has a very attractive son, Sam. Her best friend Paige Brady is a councillor who is contesting the next general election. But a newspaper smear campaign and family matters may put her out of the race. Kate Bowan is a shoe shop assistant who runs a dummy dating service at night. She gets more than she bargained for with one of her clients.
6/10
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It's A Kind of Magic - Carole Matthews (2008)
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
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IzobelBrannigan.com - Christina Hopkinson (2004)
aka Cyber Cinderella
What happens when you Google yourself and find someone has created a website dedicated to you? That's what faces PR girl Izobel and she is shaken by the idea that a secret admirer may be stalking her and have a sinister motive. She begins confronting her exes in a bid to find out which one might be responsible, while cute IT consultant Ivan examines the website's origins. You can check out the website for real at http://www.izobelbrannigan.com.
6/10