TITLES U and V
Titles - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T The U V W X Y Z
Under My Spell - Deborah Wright (2004)
Twenty-five-year-old witch Cara takes a job as a nanny so she can move out of her overbearing mother's home. She is hired by Nick and Andie to look after their son Fred but Andie doesn't seem keen on having a nanny in the house, particularly one that her flirtatious husband likes the look of. With their marriage falling apart, and Andie considering an affair, Cara decides to break her resolution to avoid using magic and casts some spells to put things right. But of course nothing works out the way she plans - leading to lots of humorous situations. Especially since she really doesn't want Sean, the cute gardener who lives next door, to find out she's a witch.
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Under the Rose - Diana Peterfreund (2007)
Picking up where Secret Society Girl left off, Amy Haskel, having unravelled the plot set on destroying the first class of female diggers, is looking forward to having put her troubles behind her. Amy's hopes are dashed when the diggirls get an email that leads them to believe they have a traitor in their society. To make things worse Amy's ex-boyfriend has a sexy new girlfriend, one of her digger brothers starts dating her roommate, and someone in Rose & Grave has a thing for Amy. This book will keep you intrigued and provide some background on Amy's fellow diggers. (AV)
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(Un)Like a Virgin - Lucy-Anne Holmes (2011)
Gracie is very focused on her career as an estate agent and has a great boyfriend, Danny, who she has been dating for 10 years. Then all of a sudden, things start to fall apart. She was first in line for a promotion at work but John, aka Posh Boy, gets it instead. She discovers her mother is deep in debt and is considering accepting a payout from a construction company to dig up her father's grave to make way for a road. Next Danny decides to take up a job in Canada. With all of this drama, Gracie knows she has to take drastic measures to fix her life and figure out not only what she is going to do but also end her mother's financial worries. That's when Gracie gets an opportunity to sing for Britain Sings with her old-time friend Anton. But she hasn't sang since her father died because that is what she did with him. Can Gracie overcome her fears and win Britain Sings? This is a moving story about a woman's life being turned upside down and her trying to find a way to fix her world as well as the people around her. (CG)
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Unpredictable - Eileen Cook (2008)
Sophie Kintock wants her boyfriend Doug back. When she overhears the new girlfriend, Melanie, aka Melon Tits, talk about how she visits psychics, Sophie decides she can get rid of her rival by convincing her that Doug is not her destiny. So she becomes psychic Emma Lulak, and uses sceptic Nick to help her learn all the tricks of the fortune-telling trade. When Emma's predictions help prevent a tragedy, she is offered a regular radio spot. Can she use her newfound powers to get Doug back - or does her future belong to another guy? With lots of laugh-out-loud moments from chick lit's latest loveable goofball, Unpredictable is a very promising debut. Just wish the ending was a bit less rushed and a bit more unpredictable.
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Unsticky - Sarra Manning (2009)
When Grace, a junior fashion editor on Skirt magazine, gets dumped outside Marc Jacobs on her 23rd birthday, she thought life couldn't get any worse. Then a well-dressed stranger named Vaughn whisks her away and offers her a place in the world she's always dreamed of, far from her £14,000 a year wage. Grace soon finds out there is more to her barely existing life than getting pushed around by the girls in the fashion office and her ever-growing pile of bills. But will she give up her family and friends for a shot at wealth and unexpected love? This can't-put-it-down novel is bound to make you blush on more than one occasion! Touted as Pretty Woman set in London, Manning's first attempt at adult chick lit is a definite success. (GF)
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Until the End of Forever - Shannon Hart (2009)
Sarah Matthews is in a rut. With a seemingly perfect life, two great kids and a husband whom she adores, she can't help feeling as if there should be more. When she gets the opportunity to spend three weeks writing in Paris, she jumps at the chance to take a break from her life to figure out what's missing. Once in Paris, she finds she misses her family and life more than she ever imagined she would and can't wait to get back to them. However, when tragedy strikes and she rushes back early to be with her husband, she realises just how much damage her sabbatical has done to her marriage and wonders whether things will ever be the way they used to be. While the story moved along quite well, it felt a bit too cliched at times, almost as if the author hoped to capture every chick lit scenario in one book. (LEK)
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Untold Story - Monica Ali (2011)
The day that Princess Diana died, I was sitting in an empty Sunday morning newsroom filling in for the foreign editor. The news wires were humming because Diana and her boyfriend had been hurt in a car crash in Paris. But when the alert announcing her death flashed on my screen, my first reaction was disbelief - did I really just read that the most famous woman of my generation had died? As the shocking news filtered out, and the newsroom started filling with people, never once did I consider the death might have been a con. But that's the premise behind Monica Ali's story - what if Princess Diana faked her death to escape the limelight? Lydia, as she is known now, is living in a small American town fittingly called Kensington. The story opens with Lydia missing the birthday party thrown for her by her new friends - and then backtracks to explain how the princess went missing, presumed dead, 10 years ago (it wasn't in a Paris car crash); who helped her escape and how she transformed her appearance. Then John, a British photographer travelling through the US, spots a woman with a pair of eyes he'd never forgot. Could it possibly be her - and what will Lydia do to ensure her secret isn't exposed? Although Ali has said her princess is "fictional", the similarities are all there - how much her sons mean to her, how much she loathed the Establishment, her instability, manipulations and self-absorption, her role as the Queen of Hearts, her flirtations with other men. Those expecting another literary novel from Ali or an insightful book into Diana may be disappointed. But with an irresistible what-if scenario, against your better judgment it does become a page-turner in the build-up to the pap and princess coming face-to-face.
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Un-Veiled - Eileen Rendahl (2007)
The Zimmerman twins, Ginger and Cinnamon, work together in their hairdressing salon, Do It Up. After local-girl-turned-popular-actress Courtney Day gets them to work their magic for her much-photographed wedding, the salon is inundated with women seeking "The Courtney" for their own special day. One day the groomsman for another wedding strolls into the salon and Cinnamon looks like she's seen a ghost. Could he be the mystery father of her daughter Sage? And Cinnamon is not the only person in town keeping mum about something. Ginger for one is planning to change career and leave town. In a riotous, really enjoyable tale, all the town's secrets soon come tumbling out.
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Up All Night - Carmen Reid (2005)
There are simply not enough hours in the day for Jo Randall - and this is no ordinary week. The newly divorced mother of two is a newspaper reporter whose love life is heating up thanks to a sexy younger chef, Marcus. And she's working on two big stories. She's chasing an interview with the Green Goddess, Savannah Tyler, who is expected to be the first Green MP and has been keeping her private life secret for a reason. Then's there her investigation into a potentially harmful vaccination as a whooping cough epidemic takes hold. Can she uncover the truth before it affects more families - including her own?
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Up and Out - Ariella Papa (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.
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Up Close and Personal - Leonie Fox (2010)
Three friends are in very different places in their lives. Yasmin, a stunning woman who has risen quickly in her career as a reporter, has it all - a great career, a great flat, and random men in her life that she uses only for sex. Nicole is a new mother and she loves her new life as a parent. Unfortunately her husband Conner has not taken to parenthood and has been incredibly distant since Tilly's birth. And then there is Juliet who has just fallen in love and married Dante after meeting him in Aspen. But when the newlyweds return to Juliet's home that she inherited from her late husband there is someone not happy about her moving on. This is a great - and naughty at times - story about three friends at different crossroads in their lives. (CG)
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Upside Down Inside Out - Monica McInerney (2002)
Eva Kennedy heads off to Australia to visit her friend Lainey, to decide whether she wants to take over her uncle Ambrose's delicatessen in Dublin. Successful English businessman Joseph Wheeler is in Australia for an industrial design conference, then is taking a few weeks off to travel. The pair meet but through a series of misunderstandings, Joseph thinks Eva is an Irish singer/sculpturist called Niamh, while Eva thinks he's a penniless English backpacker called Joe. What willl happen when they discover the truth about each other - and themselves?
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Valentine - Rebecca Farnworth (2009)
Valentine Fleming dreams of making it big as an actress but after years of rejections and bit parts, her hopes and self-esteem are beginning to fade. With a stroke of luck, she lands a part in a play alongside sexy leading man Jack Hart and although things don't get off to a great start between them, there's certainly an instant attraction and it's not long before the two of them are an item. However, with Valentine's ex-boyfriend still in the picture, along with a couple of stalker ex-girlfriends of Jack's who just can't seem to let go, it's a rocky road to love. Just as things start to look up in both her professional and personal life, Valentine learns a shocking secret that threatens to turn her world upside down. With a strong lead character, a supporting cast made up of quirky yet lovable characters and a fantastic plot this is a must-read. (KC)
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Venus Guy Trap - Shannon McKelden (2010)
Haydee Miller has had a plan devised since she was 16 after her mother passed away and left her dad depressed - she was going to go to college, work hard, pass her MBA, get a great job and be married by the time she was 33. Her plan worked well in the education and work areas but not when it comes to pleasure. Haydee is turning 33 in six weeks, five days and eight-and-a-half hours and she hasn't had a proper date in 10 years when she thought she had met the love of her life but he up and left without even a good-bye. As always though, Haydee has a contingency plan in case of an emergency - if she doesn't meet her true love in time, she will settle for Patrick "Dr Vanilla" the Veterinarian. Venus has been sent to Earth by her dad, the mighty Zeus, to match-make couples as a punishment. And the Goddess of Love's latest project is Haydee who is in dire need of some love guidance. Going to work in Haydee's bookstore, Venus plans to reunite her with her one true love, Derek, an international photographer who has moved back to their hometown to set down roots. Can Venus get cracking on her fairy-godmother skills and match-make Derek and Haydee in six weeks or will she fail and see Haydee settle for second-best with Patrick? When it comes to true love, sometimes the parties just need that little extra push. (PP)
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Versace Sisters - Cate Kendall (2009)
Australian sisters Bella and Sera are both obsessed with keeping up appearances. Flight attendant Bella's pilot husband has just left her for another woman while Sera, who traded in her flight attendant uniform for family life, is compensating for a scar from a childhood accident by trying to be perfect. A cast of other characters are introduced through their Stitch 'n' Bitch knitting group. There's single mum Chantrea who doesn't want to acknowledge her heritage as a Cambodian refugee and upbeat Mallory who's about to get a nasty shock. Widower Sam is looking for some company while trying to get back on the dating scene; Jacqueline is an uptight homemaker who has a penchant for shoplifting and Joan is Sera's critical live-in mother-in-law. It's an enjoyable and surprisingly unsuperficial look into the lives of people concerned with shallow matters because of deeply ingrained issues.
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Very Valentine - Adriana Trigiani (2009)
Italian-American Valentine Roncalli has a passion for creating exquisite handmade shoes. She works with her grandmother Teodora in their family-run Angelini Shoe Company, based in Greenwich Village. But the small company isn't making money, and her brother Alfred is trying to sell the building from under them. While juggling a relationship with ambitious chef Roman, Valentine gets the chance to design a bridal shoe for a Bergdorf window competition. And a trip to Italy to source the best materials and find artistic inspiration may well inspire Valentine in other ways. Written in memory of the author's shoemaking grandfather and the first in a trilogy, the characters are as exquisitely drawn as you imagine the shoes.
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Vince and Joy - Lisa Jewell (2005)
Vince and Joy meet at a caravan park during their late teens but had to part abruptly. Over the ensuing years their paths nearly cross several times as each settles for the wrong people. Is their destiny so strong that it will pull them back together again - despite numerous missteps? This reminds me a lot of Cecelia Ahern's Where Rainbows End but the unique element is that these two romantic leads are hardly together throughout the book.