Rachel Walsh has such a fondness for recreational drugs that she's even had her stomach pumped. Now her family's bought her back to Dublin for a spell in the Cloisters rehab clinic. She's only agreed because she needs a holiday and she's heard it is like a spa full of rock stars. What Rachel finds is a diverse group of characters fighting addictions to everything from alcohol to gambling - and not a massage table in sight. Lucky that Rachel doesn't actually have a problem like the rest of them - she's planning on checking herself out real soon. This book often tops the list of favourite novels for many chicklit authors and readers.
7/10
When Jem moves into a flat with the smooth Smith and his best friend Ralph, she is convinced one of the guys is her destiny since she's been having a dream about this flat since she was a teenager. Although Ralph, an artist, already has a girlfriend, he soon falls head over heels for Jem. But Jem has started dating Smith. Meanwhile Smith has spent years pining after the haughty Cheri who lives on the top floor of the apartment. But Cheri has been having an affair with neighbour Karl, who lives with Siobhan. And so the tangled web of relations begins. And it all comes to a head when Ralph throws a party. A great romantic comedy that will pull you in as soon as you read about the interconnected characters - and it's certainly not just for girls.
7/10
Mira and her husband, Max, are approaching their 35th wedding anniversary. Ten days before the party Mira is shocked to find out she has breast cancer but resolves not to enter treatment even though the doctor has told her she has options. Now she must tell her three adult children about her disease and her decision. Her three kids arrive on the scene with issues of their own - her oldest, Katya, thinks her husband is having an affair and struggles with trying to keep everything perfect. Her son, Ivan, is pursuing a music career and keeps falling in love with the wrong women. The youngest, Irina, has grown up battling everyone, thinking she was a mistake for her parents. When Irina finds out she is pregnant, she struggles with what options she has with her new husband who she has only just met and married. A great tale of the behind-the-scenes dynamics of families and how they react in stressful situations. (CG)
7/10
Allison Holloway is one of the few people who will openly admit to being a reality TV junkie. So she's very excited when her interior design firm is signed up for TV show Kamikaze Makeover, where they compete against a Japanese team to decorate a room, using one unorthodox item. Once the show premieres though, Allison's world comes crashing back to reality, as the episodes are edited to make her and her team look anything but professional - even when she makes a room work using vibrator art. And more trouble is afoot when she gets involved with show producer and Italian prince Nicola Parma.
5/10
Newspaper reporter Kate Walker needs a tasty new story, so she decides to do an expose on chefs and the restaurant industry. She goes undercover as a waitress at hot-tempered Jake Goldman's new restaurant Cuisine. Jake has put everything on the line, including every cent he's got. His wealthy rival since culinary school, Harry Hunter, has also just opened up a restaurant in town and he's intent on stealing away not only Jake's staff but his model girlfriend too. Through exhausting shifts, crazy colleagues, flooding and reality cooking shows, Kate finds a lot of the heat in the cooker-pressure environment is actually being generated between her and Jake. Just ignore the fact that no regional newspaper could spare a reporter for weeks and weeks on such a story - and enjoy this insight into a chef's domain. Dare we say it - this sweet debut is a recipe for success.
7/10
Jolie Russell and her widowed father are redneck farmers in Kentucky. Cody Dean, son of a wealthy real estate developer, buys their farm for $3.5 million. The developers turn their farm into an upscale gated community with one of the homes built for Jolie and her father. Jolie has had a crush on Cody since high school but she believes that he would never fall for her redneck ways. As Jolie and her father try to fit into their new county club lifestyle, they find themselves being looked down upon by their new neighbours. Can Jolie keep true to herself and win the heart of Cody? While the storyline is predicable, it is still a humorous and entertaining read. (AO)
6/10
Lexi Smart is having a crappy night. Her date is a no-show, she's the only staff member at her flooring company to miss out on the annual bonus and her new boots are too small - oh and tomorrow is her father's funeral. While trying to hail a taxi, she slips and bumps her head. But when she wakes up in a hospital bed, she actually discovers it's 2007 and she's got amnesia after a car accident. But in the three missing years of her life she's gained a millionaire husband, a glamorous wardrobe, a luxurious apartment and has become boss of her department. How on earth did she land this dream life? And why do her friends hate her and why does her husband's colleague insist they were having an affair? Kinsella has delivered another failsafe chick lit comedy - maybe not her most memorable but you'll still devour it as fast as you can.
7/10
Judith McBride certainly did not anticipate how her life would end so abruptly. At 31, she is just leading an ordinary life working as a physical therapist and happily married to her one true love, Saul. But when her medical operation goes absurdly wrong, Judith ends up in heaven - in a brand-new environment with numerous rules. Still unable to get over her old life, she resorts to spying on Saul, and soon learns about her husband's involvement with another woman, who she deems as having ill intentions. Judith tries to interfere in their relationship, even at the expense of defying the laws of the spiritual world. Will she succeed? It's refreshing to see a light-hearted story based on a rather serious theme - the afterlife. The plot is not particularly heart-tugging but the message of letting go reverberates throughout the entire story, leaving one thinking about life, love and even probes deeper into the reader's stand on whether the character Judith made the right choice in the end. (XT)
6/10
Divorce lawyer Lydia O'Reilley has had enough of failed romances and heartbreaks in her life, and has since come to the conclusion that relationships don't last. Desperate to replace her bedroom toy Barnie, she ends up having a one-night stand. And if sleeping with a supposedly married man wasn't enough to add on to her bad experiences with men, Lydia soon learns that Jed Harrison is also her client's husband. Despite her attempts to avoid Jed, she ends up meeting him frequently and discovers that she might be falling in love with him. Worse still, Lydia finds out that she's pregnant with Jed's child, but he seems apprehensive about getting into another marriage. (XT)
6/10
The death of her adoptive mother and the double christening of her sisters' children gets Holly Bennett wondering about motherhood for herself. She's been with steady boyfriend Murdo for a few years but isn't sure he's the one. The advertising exec is also taking a break from her real life, living in her family home and working with her best friend at the post office. Holly hires a private investigator, ex-cop Phil, to look for her biological mother. All she knows is she was left on the steps of a hospital 30 years ago. A blanket, a confirmation necklace and an envelope are clues enough to take the pair to the Isle of Man - and perhaps into their own romance. Every so often I read a book where I think the last few pages must have fallen out. This ending certainly leaves you hanging - and if you're hoping to find out all about Holly's origins you will be disappointed. (And since Holly shares the surname of the main character in Barnes' previous novel Special Delivery, I even began wondering if there was a link I missed that would explain all.)
6/10
It's spring, the air is full of bright colours and floral patterns. Jess and her friends are getting ready to do a Sex and The City take-off girls night out. Out clubbing at the Peacock Club, Jess' friend Kelly decides it's time to play Do Him, Date Him or Dump Him. This game ends up taking off on a tangent with Jess reminiscing about her high-school crush David Miller. Fast forward to the present day: Jess is 37, married and her friend Michelle has finally convinced her it's time to venture on to Facebook. While searching around and adding friends, she decides to look David up. After the pair meet up for a reunion, Jess must decide whether to finally succumb to her crush or stay till the end with husband Kyle. A wonderfully written book that will have you laughing and imagining the amazing settings from Spring Collection at Macy's to the strutting of the patrons at the Peacock Bar, all dressed to the nines. (PP)
8/10
Mags Grimsdale finds it difficult to say no to people. As a result she is looking after a Belfast wedding planning business while her boss Julie takes off with a young stud, Jay. She's also left to organise her dad's send-off and set up a home within her home for one of her sons, Alexander, and his anorexic girlfriend Emma. And while juggling these mini crises, Dream Weddings is dealing with its biggest clients to date - an ageing rock star and his model girlfriend - and they want the works: fireworks and ice sculptures, castles and bats. Don't let the title mislead you, this is more about the characters and less about wedding hi-jinks.
6/10
This follows a group of savvy, interesting and relatable girls who form an unexpected friendship early in life. Nic is a lonely heiress who has the world and daddy's credit cards at her fingertips but all she really wants is the love of her father. Tory, the fashionable florist, is living in the shadow of her murdered older sister and just can't seem to cut a break in life. Caryn is a quiet achiever who comes from nothing and works to get herself to the top, while the gorgeous, long-legged Estelle uses her looks and body to get what she wants. But Estelle has a vicious secret and will stop at nothing to tear all three girls apart but can she break the bond of true friendship? While this book is not the usual light and easy read of the chick lit genre it still has all the concepts we know and love such as romance, wealth, power, revenge and most importantly fashion! It's a clever and interesting novel which leaves you wanting more and is great for when you feel like a bit of a change in your reading preferences. (GF)
7/10
Twenty years ago, Nina, Meredith and Annie were part of a feminist gospel choir. Now the trio are hitting the road again, travelling north from Melbourne to Byron Bay to attend the wedding of Meredith's daughter. Their home for the next two weeks is a motorhome, with Elvis emblazoned on the side. Nina, the overweight wife of a footy legend and mother of three sons, is desperate for some female bonding - if only she could stop acting like a mother hen. Divorced homewares shop owner Meredith is wondering if her perfectly elegant life is perhaps a bit empty; while single real estate agent Annie has been drowning her sorrows in drink. With a catty choirmate, hairy union officials and feral pigs to contend with, their unforgettable roadtrip makes for one feel-good read.
7/10
Interior decorator Lily Allen gets a job on Swap/Meet, a TV DIY show that does up two singles' homes then lets them meet at a party of friends. What Lily didn't count on when she took the dream job was fussy contestants, a ditzy host, warring fashion consultants, and a competitive fellow designer. Nor that her schedule would leave her without time to see her friends, more or less date.
6/10
University graduate Ruth is facing a tough year after her boyfriend dumped her on graduation day and then left for Australia. Now she doesn't know what to do with herself - she's never wanted a career, she's only ever wanted a husband. Moving in with some uni friends, Ruth starts to forge herself a new life.
4/10
Beauty therapist Dayna is in hospital, about to give birth. Her best friend Emily is there with her candles and whale song CDs but the father is conspicuous by his absence. And so the book journeys into Dayna's boyfriends past to determine who the father is. First up is Simon, her first love who can't stop at one woman. Then there's Chris, a serious university student who wants to be a rock star, and rough-and-tumble Archie with his own particular views of the world. Mark seems the perfect boyfriend - but there has to be a catch and then there's her boss' son Cristian, who wants to settle down. With the author's trademark humour and loads of hilarious cultural references, this is the polar opposite of rubbish. Oh - and one of the truths about one of the boyfriends turns out to rate among the funniest passages I've ever read. Sequel please.
8/10
Tilly Cole comes home to find her boyfriend has packed up his stuff and left. So she quits her London life for a fresh start in the small town of Roxborough where her friend Erin lives. Tilly fits right into her new role as a Girl Friday for divorced father Max and his teenage daughter Louisa. And, despite her best intentions, she finds herself drawn to Max's friend Jack who has a terrible reputation around town for bedding every woman in sight. An easy-reading story filled with engaging characters including Lou's US-based soapie actress mum Kaye, who is run out of Hollywood after an unfortunate incident with a pampered pooch, and town gossip Stella who is bitter about her husband Fergus moving on. Just a shame about the rushed ending.
6/10
In this sequel to Lizzie Jordan's Secret Life, the wannabe actress is dumped by her boyfriend of four years, Richard, a week before her best friend Mary's wedding. Fat Joe, her former flatmate and now a transvestite living in Los Angeles, lets Lizzie move into his Venice Beach home. Soon Lizzie is working as a waitress and pretending to be the fiancee of a hot movie director, who just happens to be gay.
6/10
Natalie Miller's life has gone into a tailspin. She loses her PR job for a ballet company, her brother is dating the ballerina Natalie outed as an anorexic and she's exchanging drunken kisses with her best friend's husband. What Nat really needs to face is the mirror - to take a good hard look at herself.
5/10
