Review: THE LOVING KIND by Sarah Webb ****

Two months to write a raunchy bonkbuster set in the glitzy world of modelling should be easy. Right? Wrong!
Life can’t get much worse for romance writer Libby Holliday. She’s been dumped by her agent and her publisher, and now she’s discovered her fiancé, Jeremy, is seeing their mutual friend, the shameless Ruth-Ann, behind her back.
So when broken-hearted Libby’s offered the chance to ghost-write a novel for model and reality show darling, Lulabelle Ryan, she leaps at the chance. Lulabelle is in the middle of filming a new TV show about plastic surgery – which means five star travel for her entourage to San Francisco, Paris and Antigua. And even better, Libby’s best friend spiky-mouthed journalist, Celeste O’Connor, is coming along for the ride.
Lulabelle proves to be the diva of divas, but there are some benefits – her handsome and enigmatic manager, Leo, to name just one. If only Libby could forget about her other male addiction . . .

I knew this book was a must-read for me as soon as I first heard of it months ago - I just fell in love with the cover and the plot sounded fantastic too so I pre-ordered my copy and couldn't wait to read it. It came out in February in trade paperback and the UK paperback will be available in September, I think. Anyway, I really really enjoyed this books - it had '5-star material' written all over it and I was having a blast reading it ... and then the ending happened, bah. I wasn't too keen on it, but most of the book was fantastic!

What I loved most about this novel (apart from the gorgeous cover, obviously) were the fab characters and the hilarious writing - I was really laughing out loud reading it! I honestly loved all the characters (well, except the cheating fiance Jeremy and Libby's mum), from our main girl Libby, the dumped ghostwriter, to her amazing best friend Celeste, all the guys (Leo, Alex, Dion etc.), but I have to say I was most surprised by Lulabelle - based on the plot description above, I expected her to be some sort of an airhead and a completely useless diva, but I think she was actually the person with the most depth in the novel. Yes, she could be a total diva, but she was also badly damaged as she's been through a lot in the past, and she had some very serious self-image issues, even though she appears to be perfect already. I loved how she was involved with the book writing process (needless to say, her fiction debut is pretty much an autobiography so it meant a lot to her) and I was really quite intrigued by her complex personality. Funny this is, I expect to be annoyed by her, but she ended up being my favourite character - even though it was a hard decision as other characters are were brilliant too!

The plot itself was great too. I enjoyed reading more about the book writing process and I loved reading about Lulabelle's entourage travelling the world A-list style - honestly, the treatment Lulabelle received was just mind-blowing. Lulabelle's determined to turn her name into a worldwide brand so she's decided to film a reality show called Plastic Fantastic about her going under the knife with the help of the world's leading plastic surgeons - she receives her Botox injections in San Francisco, has her breasts augmented in Paris and wants to have a liposuction ("Liposculpture!") in Antigua, but then something happens that changes everything ... And that brings us to the ending, which had me unexpectedly rolling my eyes and sadly it nearly ruined the book for me. Yeah yeah, it's good to know that all the characters got their happy ending and I wasn't really all that annoyed with Libby and Celeste's story, it was totally obvious who they would end up with, what I was most disappointed by was Lulabelle's ending. Well, I know the book and the madness had to end somehow, but this just felt rushed and corny and unrealistic and too sudden and just too much of a change for Lulabelle, I just couldn't swallow it.

So apart from the ending, the book was a fantastic read and I absolutely loved it! It was my first my Sarah Webb and I'll definitely be reading more by her!

overall rating:
plot: 4/5 | writing: 5/5 | characters: 4/5 | cover: 5/5

In My Mailbox #40

As always, my favourite meme is hosted by The Story Siren.

I only got two books this week and it's all because of that damn volcanic ash cloud - that *peep* is also to blame that I couldn't attend the London Book Fair at the beginning of the week, boo! Luckily that's more or less gone now so I'm hoping more books will show up next week! Yes, I know I have more than reading material to last me a few years, but I just get so excited about getting new books!

Anyway, here's what I got:

THE HORSE DANCER by Jojo Moyes was the only book that made it to my mailbox by airmail even when airspace was still closed - it has to be magic! ;) This was another complete surprise from Hodder, yay.

I haven't read a Danielle Steel book in like 10 years, but as soon as I came across A GOOD WOMAN a few weeks ago it completely grabbed me and I knew I had to have it! I love the cover and the plot sounds fantastic - I love that it's sort of Titanic related and I love the time period it's set in. Furthermore, the book also has a fantastic opening:
"On the morning of April 14, 1912, Annabelle Worthington was reading quietly in the library of her parents' house, overlooking the large, walled-in garden."
Best opening line ever, y/y? I certainly think so and it really, really makes me want to read more! Heck, I'd read it now if I had the time, but sadly I don't, busy weekend ahead. :(

My little hiatus will be over soon, I promise! Thanks to everyone who bothered to leave such lovely comments on my last post, I really appreciate it! :) I just have to get through this weekend and then I'll be pretty much a full-time blogger for a week, haha!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! :)

Forced go on a small hiatus, bah! :(

As some of you lovely people may have noticed, I've been a baaad book blogger lately - I've been rather silent and far less active in the blogosphere. It's not personal, I haven't ceased visiting other blogs because I'm fed up or anything, it's just that I've been very, very busy lately and sadly I've been unable to both read and blog much.

Thus I've decided to go on a small hiatus from the blog. Days go by so fast and sadly I fell completely out of the loop about what's going on in the book bloggosphere (among other things, heh) and I honestly don't have the time to keep up, even though I really want to. I love being part of the book blogging community and I love visiting other blogs, but unfortunately I can't really do this at the moment. I do have a few posts lined up, but I've decided to post them once I'm back - it just feels useless to post something when I can't be properly active neither on my blog nor elsewhere, it's just not the same.

I expect the situation to improve next week when I should hopefully be back in full swing. I do feel horrible for being such a distant blogger lately and I really do appreciate people who still bother to come back here, thanks so much!

I struggle to type this as I'm barely awake and so tired, but I hope I'm making some sense. What I'm trying to say is that I've been really busy lately, that I'm terribly sorry about 'neglecting' other blogs and that I expect to be back properly next week! Don't forget about me! ;)

Hope you're all well and I can't wait to have the time to finally catch up on what everyone else has been up to! :)

Cover Win / Fail #3: PREP

It's time for another Cover Win/Fail feature! If you're not familiar with this feature, it's basically where I spotlight two covers - one that I love and one that I don't love all that much. As always, I mean no offence, I'm just expressing my humble personal opinion and you're more than welcome to disagree. :)

This week I've decided to compare the two Prep covers. Sadly I haven't read the book yet, but I've heard great things about it and I've made it my personal resolution to read Prep in 2010, ha! The book has just received a makeover so what better time to compare the covers, especially since I feel quite strongly about them.

I much, much prefer the new cover on the left. As far as covers go, it's no masterpiece, but (in my opinion) it's miles better than the old cover on the right.

The old cover is incredibly plain and booooring, plus it tells me absolutely nothing about the story at first glance. Is that a belt on the cover? Does it play a super important part in the story or what? Even if it does, this is still a very boring cover - although I have to admit that at least the colours are pretty. I've seen the book around in bookshops, but never bothered to pick it up and see what it's about until someone recommended it to me.

The new cover will be available in July and not only is it far prettier, but it also tells me something about the story and the main character. It's far more eye-catching, even though I somehow have this feeling that the new cover doesn't really represent the main character all that well, but I could be wrong as I haven't read the book yet.

I have a copy of the book with the old cover, but I like the new one so much more that I think I'll just pre-order the re-issued version and then give the old one away once I review the book.

So what do you think of these two covers - which one would you buy if you saw both in a bookshop? And if you've read the book, what did you think of it?

ps: I loooove the taglines on both covers, they really make me want to read the book, heh!
"The OC meets Donna Tartt's The Secret History with flashes of Clueless." & "Sweet Valley High as written by George Elliot."

In My Mailbox #39

This fabulous meme is hosted by The Story Siren, who's actually celebrating her birthday today - along with Kirsty from Novelicious! Happy birthday, Kristi & Kirsty! :)

Here's what I got in the past week:

GETTING OVER MR RIGHT (ARC) by Chrissie Manby was kindly sent to me by the lovely Book Chick City, who received it for review herself, but since it doesn't really fit her blog theme, she asked me if I'd be interested in reviewing it here so of course I said yes! I've heard that Chris(sie) Manby is fab, but I haven't had the chance to read any of her books yet - thanks for this great opportunity, Carolyn!

THE CARRIE DIARIES (ARC) by Candace Bushnell - I'm pretty sure everyone and their monkey knows this is about the teenage years of *the* Carrie from Sex and the City. I'm looking forward to this one, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to 'get' it since I haven't seen a single Sex and the City episode - shocking, I know, heh! I think this comes out in May - has anyone read it yet? Will I get it, not really being a SatC fan? (I mean, I'm sure it's a great show and all, I've just never felt like watching it ...)

THE ORIGINAL SIN by Tasmina Perry - I've been wanting to read books by this author so I'm so happy I got this one! I'm always up for a good bonkbuster, plus I quite like the cover for this one!

THE LAST LETTER FROM YOUR LOVER (ARC) by Jojo Moyes was a complete and utter surprise! The packaging itself was wonderful - the book arrived in this cool hot pinkish envelope and then it was wrapped in brown paper and tied with the prettiest pink ribbon, similar to the one on the cover. I absolutely loved it so kudos to whoever came up with this idea! I must admit that I first thought that this was another book I've been waiting for for ages so I pretty much squeeed when I found this book inside! It sounds absolutely fantastic and I cannot wait to read it! Oh and the final cover is actually even more gorgeous one than the ARC one - I actually think it's one of the prettiest covers ever! So um, massive THANKS to whoever sent this one - I presume it was someone from Hodder, but I don't recall getting any emails about it ... Still, it was a fabulous surprise, yay!

That's it from me - what did YOU get? I can't wait to find out!
Have a great weekend, everyone!

Review: SCANDALOUS by Martel Maxwell *****

Meet Max and Lucy Summers - half-sisters and the best of friends.
Max is a gorgeous showbiz reporter whose life is a whirlwind of celebrity parties, glamorous bars, juicy gossip and gorgeous men. Lucy, a beautiful, elegant fashion writer, has always been the sensible one, taking care of her little sister and never seeking the limelight. But that all changes when she falls for Hartley, Britain's sexiest royal bachelor, and her lovelife is suddenly splashed across the front pages of the tabloids. And when Hartley's ex-girlfriend starts scheming to get her man back, Lucy realizes that she's up against more than just the paparazzi…
Meanwhile Max, tired of the non-stop partying that her job entails, has finally met the perfect man but when she finds out who he really is, she realizes that they can't be together. Can Max walk away from the love of her life? And will Lucy play the fame game in order to keep hers?

Don't you just love it when books turn out to be better than you expected? I expected Scandalous to be a fab read, but I had no idea I'd be having *so* much fun reading it!

The plot delivers so much more than the blurb promises. Like the author herself, Max is a tabloid journalist and through story offers some great insight into how tabloids really work - I honestly don't read them, but I still enjoyed reading about how stories are made (up) and what being a tabloid journalist really includes, heh. Speaking of which, I can't help but compare this book to a tabloid article as they both sound far more 'scandalous' than they actually are. I'm not saying the book was boring, far from it, but it wasn't all that scandalous either - I guess there's just the right amount of drama involved, no complaints here.

I can't fault the characters either - they were fabulous! Max was my personal favourite and I loved how she was entertaining and flawed and determined, I really enjoyed reading about this wild sister, who managed to get herself into several embarrassing situations that had me laughing out loud. Lucy didn't really impress me much at first, I found her too boring, but then she started to enjoy life more and I started liking her more. Their mother Marj was great too and she reminded me of Mama Walsh (Marian Keyes) - what is it with these fab Irish mothers, heh? When it comes to guys, I was rather impressed by Luke and oh, the bitchy ex Bridget was fun to read about too - jeez, she really came with some crazy plans to get her ex back! I enjoyed reading about Shagger Sheri misadventures too - she wasn't the most positive character at first, a tragic glamour girl really, but I liked how things ended for her. All in all, I thought pretty much all characters had depth and were well portrayed and they just worked in this novel.

Another thing I liked was the writing style - the prose itself is simple, yes, but it's also fresh and modern and it just fits the novel. There is quite a bit of swearing, which I don't mind at all, and on the whole the book was easy to read and rather enjoyable too.

I suppose my least favourite thing about the book has to be the cover - I don't mind it, I think it's pretty but I just find the colours sort of not strong enough? I just thought that perhaps if the colours were bolder, then the book would stand out even more, but other than that the illustration is nice enough.

In conclusion, I thought this was a great light read with a lovely set of characters that I really enjoyed - definitely recommended if you're into showbiz chick lit or if you're just looking for some entertainment!

overall rating:
plot: 5/5 | writing: 5/5 | characters: 5/5 | cover: 4/5

The book is out TODAY and you can read an extract online. To learn more about the author, visit her website or follow her on Twitter.

Waiting On Wednesday: A chick lit, historical and a YA pick!

Yep, today I've decided to highlight one example of the three genres I favour: chick lit, historical and YA (in case the banner above isn't clear enough, hehe). It was quite difficult to pick just three as my list is endless, seriously ...

MEN I'VE LOVED BEFORE

by Adele Parks
[8 July 2010]

How do you know when you’ve met the one you’re meant to be with?
Neil and Nat are a match made in heaven. They hate marmite and the opera. They love smelly cheese and the missionary position. And they both absolutely do not want children.
At least that’s what Nat thought. But now Neil seems to have softened to the prospect of dirty nappies and sleepless nights, and he’s practically begging her for a baby. Nat, however, has no intention of swapping her high-flying career for a life of endless self-sacrifice. As the cracks start to show, Nat wonders if Neil really is the man of her dreams. Or is it possible that someone from her past could actually be ‘the one’?
Nat’s little black book, filled with the names and addresses of previous lovers, could hold the answers she’s looking for. Or it could be a one-way ticket to all kinds of trouble. And is the perfect match too much to ask for?

MY LAST DUCHESS
by Daisy Goodwin
[19 August 2010]

MY LAST DUCHESS takes as its theme the late 19th-century market in American heiresses, married off to the sons of the impoverished British aristocracy. Beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, the wealthiest debutante in America, is spirited away from the glamour and comfort of her Park Avenue mansion and suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, mistress of Lulworth Castle, maried to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England.
As Cora is soon to discover, nothing in this strange new world is quite as it seems. Her handsome new husband is withdrawn and secretive; the English social scene is stuffed with pitfalls and traps, and there are increasingly dangerous forces at work, people who wish she'd never met Ivo in the first place...

FORGET YOU
by Jennifer Echols
[20 July 2010]

There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four-year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. With her life about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon.
But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people—suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.

Do any of these tickle your fancy? I absolutely love the sound of all three! :)

Winner of the Life Swap giveaway!

Bears, Boys and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots by Abby McDonald is out today and to mark this special occassion, I'll also be announcing the winner of my extra copy of Life Swap, Abby's excellent debut. The giveaway ended last night and there were more than 150 entries - thanks to everyone who entered! Aaaand the winner iiiiiiis ... *drumroll*

#27 - Rogrady - Book Lover!

Congrats, you lucky chick - please email me your details so I can send the book out asap!

ps: The lovely Jenn-ay from My Tea Time is Book Time posted a quick Q&A with me the other day so feel free to check that out if you'd like to learn more about yours truly. :)