Kooks for your Kindle?- The supporting characters here are not of the kooky variety, but are certainly memorable. Hope’s insensitive ex-husband has a thing or two to learn about parenting, and her high-school ex is sniffing around trying to use his position at the bank to wheedle himself into her affections. Gavin is a gem, although Hope thinks he is too young for her (he’s 29, she’s 36), his job as handy-man hides other talents and his ideas are invaluable to Hope’s quest. The characters Hope meets along the way are beautiful people; kind, full of wisdom and priceless memories. To say more would give away parts of the tale. Annie is as prickly as you might imagine a 12 year old to be having gone through her parents’ divorce, but things change as she learns more of her family history.
The Bella-Swan-Pathetically-Self-Sacrificing-Factor- Hope is slightly defeatist in her attitude to saving the bakery, but then she did always imagine herself as an attorney. But her attitude to love is the main focus, whether there is such thing as a Great Love, and The One. Her future begins to hinge on whether she can prove it exists. Hope’s upbringing and her marriage have beaten her down on this subject, so it takes a lot to change her mind!
Painting a Picture for your Paperback?- The setting is Cape Cod, Massachusetts, busy in the summers, but quiet, cold and windy out of season. New England feels like part of the story- but not as much as the baking! Many delights are created at the bakery, originally established by Rose, and the food becomes a part of the investigation giving vital clues to what happened in Paris. There are a few flashback chapters to Paris, not too many, just enough to get a feel for the tragedies that happened there in the war.
Evaluation of your eBook?- This is a definite 5-cocktail rated read as far as I’m concerned, amazingly plotted with well paced twists and turns, and characters that you’ll care about immediately. I had my usual dilemma of which level of frothiness to use to classify it (it didn’t seem as frothy as the cover), it’s as readable as absolute froth, but the substance won out! It has the feel of a Jojo Moyes, and a few themes in common with The Girl You Left Behind but this is possibly a little easier to read. It’s clear that an enormous amount of research has gone into this work, and it’s so fulfilling to come away from a book and realise that you’ve accidentally learned something while being entertained. The main theme of love is thoughtfully explored, and it says a lot for this book that it made me cry- doesn’t happen often! If you like modern fiction with a good mystery, a bit of history and a hint of romance then this is one for you, I certainly couldn’t put it down.
Frothy Ranking: 5/5 cocktails.
Can be obtained from:
UK: Amazon for £1.39
US: Sometimes on Amazon
In what might be a case of nominative determinism (scarily big words), Scarlett O’Brien followed in her mother’s footsteps and became obsessed with movies. Her mother named her for the film character she resembled, but abandoned her a couple of years later. Scarlett’s father did a good job of bringing her up alone, and in her twenties she’s on the verge of marrying a suitable man. David is a little on the sensible side, but he’s from a wealthy family whose chain of cinemas could really help her family popcorn business. Scarlett’s downfall is to daydream about movies- and what better way to prove to her father and fiancé that it’s not a silly obsession than to house-sit in Notting Hill for a month, right where all her favourites are set. In addition she can get some distance from her frugal fiancé, and make sure she’s making the right choice- a choice complicated by her new neighbour Bond, Sean Bond, as well as the eerily movie-inspired turns her life then takes.
which I look forward to.
, or $7.99 on Kobobooks.
Meg Barnes is a former A-list TV actress, still getting by with roles for a woman of a certain age, living the hollywood lifestyle in her dream home and married to a loving husband, property developer Paul. Unfortunately things head south when he heads to Mexico for a deal and gets kidnapped, possibly killed. In the months afterwards, Meg learns that her husband was not the man she’d thought he was and that she’s financially ruined- along with many of their friends. One year on she’s secretly living out of her car and publicly maintaining her dignity; Meg is back for pilot season in an attempt to revive her career and finances. Coinciding with her arrival back in town are various shady characters threatening her while searching for her (apparently still alive) husband and handsome FBI agent Jack Mitchell is pressuring her for more information, so Meg decides to undertake an investigation of her own.
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What happens when loving someone is not the same as being in love, and it’s no longer enough? Bella Summer is thirty-eight years old and having a revelation- her long term relationship with Mattias is not enough, and her boring day job has sadly eclipsed her singing career. Bella’s pragmatic friend Kat thinks she’s crazy to give up a sure thing at that age when she herself has experienced the upside of a steady supportive partnership for many years. But when Kat suddenly finds unexpected true love, Bella has to be content with kissing a few frogs. Bella’s day job takes a nose dive so she goes all out to get noticed as a singer, taking advantage of one of the aforementioned frog’s contacts, and the hospitality of the ever supportive Matthias.
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Alice receives two bombshells at the same time- she’s been wearing the wrong bra size all her adult life, and her fiance Charlie is ditching her just before their wedding. These factors were not connected, he’s just an ass. Having been talked into correctly upholstering her boobs by her best friend Georgie (at great expense), Alice has to start over- she’s homeless, her job is going down the pan, and all she has going for her are killer organisational skills and a good rack. Along comes Lady Fairfax-Mason, who offers Alice a live-in job managing the staff of a farming estate in Cornwall, so Alice takes a chance and moves there- to a run-down farmhouse with a staff of one- Lady Fairfax-Mason’s cranky farmer/vet son Edward Fairfax. Of course if his name rings a bell and you know your 
, you won’t be surprised by a hidden other-half (although not in the attic!), a fire and one or other plot developments.
Oscar winning American actress Willow has called it a day with her cheating British rocker husband, but remains in love with England and wants to stay with her three small children. Her kids’ nanny Kitty might not have a job for much longer due to Willow’s financial situation, fortunately Kitty happens to co-own a crumbling ancestral pile in the west country. Upon de-camping to their temporary home, they discover Kitty’s long lost older brother Merritt has also returned, together they all find a way to restore both Willow’s movie career AND their neglected historic home, Middlemist.
(this is the second) and some of the characters from the first make very brief appearances here, but it doesn’t look like it’s essential to read the other first. The aforementioned Jilly Cooper feeling is no bad thing, this is more of a modern day homage, while retaining the (mostly) kind-hearted characters, drama, fabulous country houses and reformable bad-guys. Definitely recommended and I can’t wait for more.
to check. Not on Kobobooks or ebooks.
This is where we stretch our definition of Frothy slightly- I’ve included it because it’s a quick easy read, gripping, and cheap- but the subject nature is not frothy at all! Kathryn Brooker appears to lead a blessed life; wife of the charming and popular headmaster of a prestigious private boys school, two well-behaved teenage children, and not having to work other than maintaining their beautiful home. So why does she calmly stab him in the stomach and leave him to die, and why is she so relieved to be in jail? This happens at the very beginning of the book, so I don’t think I’ve spoiled the plot there. Over the next ten years we see chapters of her life from serving time, to her release, to finding her path, becoming the Kate she used to be, and trying to reconnect with her traumatised children.
Charley’s having the perfect day- throwing a typically lavish engagement party for her flatmate Sam, then finally receiving a text from her epically shaggable boss John asking on a long awaited date- unfortunately fate decides things are going a little too well and flings her down a hill breaking her pelvis and her leg in 2 places. Then things started to go really wrong. Her duties as director of communications for the launch of a lifesaving drug are passed to her evil deputy, Margot, and she discovers that John was actually trying to tell her that he’s engaged.
), and i can’t wait to find out what comes next!
to check, but not on kobobooks or ebooks at the time of this review.
Thirty-nine year old CC’s life looks good on paper; a successful career in advertising, plenty of friends and a flat that she’s almost paid off. But something’s missing- a boyfriend- although a baby and a farm would be nice too, but first things first. CC approaches this with the same determination which which she handles her job, and attempts speed dating, but once is enough. Ditto for spontaneous weekends in France with VERY strange men. In the meantime her gay friends are living the dream, with coke-fueled parties, carefree hook-ups and occasionally finding love. Even her sexagenarian mother is sexing up a Moroccan twenty year old. Can CC get past the issues preventing her from opening up to new possibilities?
too- but don’t read the blurb on that or you’ll spoil the ending of this book! It’s currently a bargain on both sides of the Atlantic too.