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By My Side – Alice Peterson

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One of the great things about reviewing books is that when you finish one you can’t mindlessly dive into the next one- you have to take a bit of time to process what you’ve just read. The standout for me here is that this is amazingly well researched. We’ve covered a couple of Alice Petersons here already, and this one seems the most ambitious.

Cass is a medical student, happily fulfilling her lifelong career dream and falling in love with her boyfriend Sean. Her world comes crashing down when she is hit by a car and suffers a spinal injury that leaves her paralysed from the waist down. Once Sean has scarpered and Cass has moved in with her parents to adjust to her new life, she discovers a whole new world of rehabilitation, getting around, dogs, friendships, action-packed holidays, and possibly love.

Kooks for your Kindle?– Where to start? So many great characters here. The star was Ticket, Cass’s trained helper dog who performs impressive feats to make Cass’s life easier and keep her out of danger. Cass’s Mum is a well layered character who surprises even herself by pushing Cass to get out into the world instead of coddling her. Guy and Dom are similarly afflicted friends from Cass’s time in hospital, they form a strong bond as they head back into the world with varying levels of success. Cass meets Charlie on a ski trip, he’s able-bodied and she ends up moving into his spare room when she returns to London. Their relationship is unpredictable and as complicated as you might imagine.

The Bella-Swan-Pathetically-Self-Sacrificing-Factor– Cass has above-normal levels of resilience in her journey to adapt to her new life, and startles everyone around her with brave decisions, some of which turn out well, others not so much. The only area she struggles with is her old life as a medical student, and instead moves towards charity work.

Painting a picture for your paperback?– This book is an amazing insight into the nightmare that is spinal injury, from the accident to rehabilitation, all the way through to adaptation, acceptance and finally enjoying life again. Details of little things that you wouldn’t normally consider make the story very real.

Evaluation of your eBook?– For such a serious subject the book was very readable, almost light in tone. Despite Cass’s setbacks she still has the normal problems for someone of her age in the areas of dating, career, friendships, family and where to live. I like a book that makes little time jumps to the next interesting period in someone’s life, but I would have been interested in seeing a little more of the time immediately following her injury because that is mainly covered in flashback snippets. At least we get right to the business of learning to lead a new life, and it’s quite engrossing. It’s funny, heartwarming, tragic and memorable. And you’ll never take your legs for granted again!

Frothy Ranking: 4/5 cocktails.

Can be obtained from:

UK: Amazon for £5.03.

US: Not on Amazon, but can be found on Kobobooks for $9.39.

Flat-out Love – Jessica Park

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Here’s something different, in theory it could be classed as YA, but it felt more grown up than that. Julie is leaving her midwestern small town for college life in Boston- but she’s totally ready. Armed with confidence and keen to learn she dives right in- but a problem with her accommodation is resolved by her unexpectedly boarding with an old friend of her Mother’s, Erin Watkins and her family. Erin and Roger are both academics, and distant from their children. Matt is a few years older than Julie, studying hard and taking care of his his thirteen year old sister. Celeste is unusual, she doesn’t fit in with her school friends and has an unhealthy dependence on a flat cardboard cutout of her other elder brother Finn who’s away travelling. Julie, who is studying psychology, quickly becomes an invaluable part of the family and makes a project out of socially integrating Celeste to prevent her getting thrown out of school, but it’s hard when the family won’t tell her more about Celeste’s history. When Julie starts communicating with Finn online she doesn’t get any answers- but she does fall in love.

The Bella-Swan-Pathetically-Self-Sacrificing-Factor– Regular readers will know strong female leads are appreciated here, and we have a good one in this tale. Julie is tough, bold, resilient and positive, surprisingly strong for an eighteen year old. Perhaps this is why the book felt older than a YA. The only time she acts like a teenager is on a visit to her mother- but then it’s easy to regress on a visit back home. She doesn’t have your typical college experience, she makes a few friends, dates a nice guy for a little while and socialises somewhat, but most of her time is taken with studying and working on helping Celeste.

Kooks for your Kindle?– The Watkins family are a mess, the aforementioned distant parents not helping matters. Put it this way, they are all stunned one night when Julie cooks them a meal and they don’t have to order take-out. All of them are highly intelligent and academic, but this does not explain the underlying tensions between them and Celeste’s mental state. Matt is the only one whose behaviour resembles normal, but he’s under a lot of pressure from his parents and studies. Seth is the guy that Julie meets in a coffee shop and dates for a while, but Julie’s focus is elsewhere.

Painting a Picture for your Paperback?– Seeing Boston through Julie’s eyes is great, a small town girl keen to learn goes to one of the great college towns in the States. But the Watkins’ home life has the strongest portrayal here.

Nookie for your Nook?– Julie does steam up Facebook at one point.

Evaluation of your eBook?– This was not at all what I had expected, and I loved it. The underlying mystery kept me gripped, and while I guessed at part of it, that didn’t ruin it. The heroine may be very young but she’s so grown up and smart that the story works for older audiences too, the subject matter helps this too. The dialogue is witty and Julie’s personality is quite sharp. Celeste’s issues were extremely well done and fascinating from a psychological perspective. Apparently there is a companion piece to this, but don’t click here or look into it before you’ve read this one first, or you’ll spoil the ending!

Frothy Ranking: 4/5 cocktails.

Can be obtained from:

UK: In May I picked it up on special for 99p, but it’s currently £3.49, click here for the latest price from Amazon.

US: Amazon for $3.99, can’t be found on Kobobooks at present.

Midsummer Magic – Julia Williams

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I meant to have this done a month ago at the appropriate time… never mind! Harry is a journalist with aspirations to travel until he suddenly finds himself engaged to his lovely girlfriend Josie. Josie’s manic wedding planning takes a turn for the extreme as they and their best friends Ant and Diane all take a weekend away at Josie’s wealthy parents’ house in Cornwall. Ant and Diane were expecting to meet for the first time- it turns out they used to know each other well until a betrayal tore them apart.

In one eventful weekend the group meet two television illusionists whose star power convinces all four of them to undergo hypnosis for a dare at the site of a local tradition. On midsummer’s eve by the standing stones on the cliff top, if you plight your troth, you will have true love, so the legend says. If this sounds familiar, yes it is a modern retelling of a midsummer night’s dream. This becomes especially apparent with some of the names!

Kooks for your Kindle?– There are a few familiarly named supporting characters here, Auberon (Bron), Freddie Puck and Tatiana are a little past it in professional years, but Tatiana is trying to get back on stage in a production at the local open air theatre. Josie’s well-to-do parents have an old fashioned dynamic, he earns the big bucks while the little woman looks after him. Small wonder Harry finds his prospective father-in-law intimidating. The four leads are in their twenties and quite different to each other- although neither Ant nor Diane are the committing type, both flitting through life for the same reason.

The Bella-Swan-Pathetically-Self-Sacrificing-Factor– Josie knows she’s led a charmed life; only child; wealthy parents; men falling at her feet; but even when she’s obviously more into the wedding than Harry is she fails to see the signs. Harry isn’t really the strong silent type, he’s just silent at first, wondering how he ended upon this runaway train and how he can get off it. Fortunately midsummer’s eve offers just the chaos he needs.

Painting a Picture for your Paperback?– One of the book’s strengths was the vivid portrayal of a summer weekend in the west country (if you’re lucky with the weather), with the heat, the cliffs along the coast, sitting outside a pub of a summer’s afternoon; it made me quite homesick!

Evaluation of your eBook?– I suspect we all know a couple where the bride-to-be got a teensy bit carried away and ended up with a massive wedding- or no groom! Josie was not especially likable at first, fortunately the weekend contains lessons for her. The hypnosis element was interesting, and a new take on the Shakespeare tale, but it did lead to an awful lot of back and forth (I love him, no not him ,him!) and running up and down cliffs having Enid Blyton style adventures. The older supporting characters were showbiz luvvies, entertainingly so. It wasn’t as predictable as you might imagine, for there are real possibilities for people to end up with other partners so I won’t tell you whether it follows A Midsummer Night’s dream in that respect. Not quite as good as the last one we reviewed by this author, but a pleasant summer read, no need to have read the original Shakespeare, and a good price (in UK at least, if it remains 99p).

Frothy Ranking: 3/5 cocktails.

Can be obtained from:

UK: Amazon for only 99p.

US: Amazon for $3.79 and Kobobooks for $7.29.

Crazy Rich Asians – Kevin Kwan

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There’s a lot of buzz about this book at the moment, and it certainly is a summer frothy read- but complex, hence the review nearly as long as the book! College professor Rachel is an American with Chinese origins, having left there with her mother at a very early age. Her mother raised her alone and made a comfortable life for them with her career as a real estate agent. But none of this has prepared her for a summer in Singapore with her boyfriend Nick, his family and friends- for they really are crazy rich asians. Rachel didn’t even know Nick had that kind of family money, but as they prepare for his best friend’s wedding Rachel discovers it’s actually the society wedding of the year- with all the scandal, gossip, bitchiness and opulent overspending that goes along with it. In the meantime Nick’s family are wondering who this girl is, who her family are, and how they can break the couple up!

Kooks for your Kindle?– Now i’m reasonably well read on Chinese recent history (well ok, Wild Swans is one of my favourite books, but that’s educational right?), but I had no idea that a lot of Chinese families with old money escaped China when communism was on the rise and went to nearby Taiwan/Malaysia/Singapore. So these families have been around for so long that there is a certain amount of snobbery, at least in some of the characters portrayed here, as such it echoes the snobbery you might expect from the British or American old-money establishment.

Anyway suffice to say there are some crackpots here, Nick’s mother Eleanor and her cronies go all out to find out Rachel’s heritage and scheme to pair him with a more well-bred young lady. Nick’s cousin Eddie is a monster, overwhelmingly concerned with his social standing, appearances and the exact temperature of his closets (55 degrees F for cashmere and fur, 75 for leather…), and not remotely interested in the wellbeing of his wife and children. Cousin Astrid is down to earth and married to Michael, a regular guy who runs his own company- but his annual bonus equates to only one of the many couture dresses that his wife splurges on a few times a year with her own money. She thinks all is well and that he doesn’t know about all the family properties placed in her name by her parents while they live in a modest flat on his income. But all his resentment has to come out somewhere…

Finally Peik Lin is Rachel’s old college friend from Singapore, glad to finally have her friend come to visit her homeland, and stunned at the scene Rachel has entered into. Minor characters include Oliver, another cousin who likes to observe from outside with some gentle gossip and a little meddling. Kitty Pong sounds like the name of a performer in a seedy bar in Bangkok, in fact she’s a gold-digging Chinese soap opera actress, trying to hide her mainland accent and pretend she’s from Taiwan. There are many more fascinating characters, way too many to keep straight!

The Bella-Swan-Pathetically-Self-Sacrificing-Factor– Our heroine is blindsided by the situation she’s dropped into. Instead of a relaxing summer travelling around Asia in flip-flops, she’s presented for judgement to a very intimidating family; involved in the Asian wedding of the year; and thoroughly set up by all those against her. Fortunately Peik Lin is on her side and has the resources to make sure Rachel is sartorially equipped, even if she is socially out of her depth. I’m happy to report that Rachel keeps her dignity, even while whisked away on the hen weekend from hell with a bunch of catty women she doesn’t know (yes, even a free trip on a private jet to a beautiful island can be a nightmare it seems!). She puts up with a lot for Nick’s sake, but as befits a self respecting modern professional woman in her early thirties she puts her foot down when it gets too bad. Nick, by the way, is a lovely chap whose only sin seems to be neglecting to prepare Rachel for Singapore. Admittedly that was quite a biggie.

Painting a Picture for your Paperback?– If living vicariously with the rich and famous, with over the top name-dropping luxury is your thing, you’ll love it. I’m not one for brands, but can appreciate the impressive detail. It’s a whole other world with the private jets, massive houses, wardrobes (women’s AND men’s), and crazy amount of money. If you’ve passed through the far east it’s easy to see where these people might shop- although it’s more likely to be Paris- but they move in totally different circles, with private dining and country clubs. The storytelling here gives an amazingly vivid image of Singapore, from the food markets to the upscale locations, all well done.

Evaluation of your eBook?– For such a superficial theme there is surprising depth and heart in some of the characters, especially in Astrid and Michael’s struggle, and Nick’s best friend Colin is certainly more than your typical playboy. I loved the ending, which wasn’t at all predictable, neither was it neatly tied up. The fast-paced gossipy style is fun but a little hectic, with brand names and character names flung around with abandon, but it’s not essential to keep up with the minor characters. Some of the characters are deliciously over the top, with one flinging a rejected thirty-nine carat diamond into snow never to be retrieved, and others totally down to earth and relatable. Definitely a fun, escapist summer read.

Frothy Ranking: 4/5 cocktails.

Can be obtained from:

UK: Only 79p on Amazon.

US: A little more on Amazon, at $12.99, but only $1.44 on Kobobooks!

Starstruck – Portia MacIntosh

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Sorry for the lack of frothiness over the last couple of weeks, I have one excuse- Wimbledon! Anyway, it’s music festival season, so what better way to get in the mood than with Starstruck, the tale of Nicole, a young British music journalist who loves hanging with the bands and aspires to Paris Hilton levels of fame. Be careful what you wish for though, because her friendship with megastar Dylan puts her firmly on the front pages of the trashiest newspapers with him looking misleadingly like he’s cheating on his new wife with Nicole. In the meantime somebody else has it in for Nicole and makes it look like she’s spreading nasty rumours about the bands that she’s interviewing, jeopardising her journalistic reputation to boot. What’s a girl to do? Head off on tour with another favourite band, drink far too much and get an ego boost from having all the band members fight over you, that’s what! If Nicole can clear her name, get revenge and stop her mates doing too many drugs, even better.

Kooks for your Kindle?– There are a lot of rockstars within, and they’re easily confused, especially when Nicole’s with the band Two For The Road, but Luke is the main one there, he adores Nicole but is fighting demons of his own. Dylan is Nicole’s best mate, and massively famous. He seems the adorable screw-up type, shagging his was around and needing a good friend to keep him out of trouble. Unfortunately Nicole wasn’t able to prevent Dylan impregnating a vile WAG-type creature and doing the proper thing by marrying her. It’s worth reading just the see the baby names of the twin girls. Nicole’s hometown colleagues include the overly naive Emily and the resentful Vicky. Potential love interest Charles seems great only at first, but it took Nicole a while to hear the same alarm bells that you’ll hear.

The Bella-Swan-Pathetically-Self-Sacrificing-Factor– Nicole had all the decision making skills of an early-twenties fangirl, as a result of this she gets into frequently avoidable scrapes. But she’s not too silly; she doesn’t touch drugs or sleep with entire bands. I also liked the way she stood up for herself and spoke her mind in the TV interview, and the way she exacted revenge on her nemesis at the end. I found her fame role model of Paris Hilton to be a couple of years past relevancy, I would have thought today’s equivalent would be someone heavily featuring the letter K (whose name shall not darken my pages, you know the one).

Painting a Picture for your Paperback?– I get the impression the author is a bit of a groupie herself and has worked some disguised true stories in here. If you want the gritty truth of what it’s like to be there on the tour bus and backstage while the fans are throwing themselves at the band, this is quite an insight.

Provoking your Inner-Pedant– There were a few little errors, but no more that are commonly found in a self-published book. It didn’t seem in need of a big edit though, the structure and pace were both great.

Evaluation of your eBook?– I suspect this book would be best read by the twenties and late teens market, for it did make me feel a little old- if you are no longer able to do shots the entire night, wake up from two hours sleep and function the next day then you might not identify very well with the heroine! Despite that she’s a (mostly) practical girl with a lot of initiative who knows what she wants and takes good care of people. The book was fast paced, gossipy, warm, can be devoured in a few hours, and very well priced for a good fun summer read.

Frothy Ranking: 3.5/5 cocktails.

Can be obtained from:

UK: Only 77p on Amazon.

US: Only 99c on Amazon.

A Weekend With Mr Darcy – Victoria Connelly

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This is a delightfully english tale of two women who attend a weekend Jane Austen themed retreat at a beautiful country house in Hampshire. Katherine is a University lecturer in English Literature, and her speciality of Austen gets her a place at the weekend giving a talk. Having recently been betrayed by two different men, Katherine’s not looking for love, but is very interested to meet a best-selling author with whom she’s recently become pen-pals.

Then there’s Robyn, whose Austen obsession is of amateur status, but just as passionate as Katherine’s. She’s longing to go to this event for the first time, thus escaping from her mundane life and boyfriend. Jace has been there for her since they were kids, but they have nothing in common and Robyn longs for some time apart and then possibly to break up with him- until he decides he’s joining her for the weekend! At Purley Hall, the home of their host and celebrated actress Lady Pamela Harcourt, kindred spirits gather to celebrate their love of all things Austen and happen upon a few surprises.

Kooks for your Kindle?– A gathering of Janeites is a good recipe for some eccentric characters, mostly of the dotty older variety here. The men are lovingly portrayed, Lady Pamela’s younger brother Dan would have been at home in a Jilly Cooper novel with his animal loving nature. Warwick is a mysterious writer- but he’s made a grave mistake in not being upfront with Katherine before the sparks begin to fly. Jace’s surname is Collins; this should have given Robyn some clue of what to expect from him as she knows her Pride and Prejudice better than most. There’s nothing badly wrong with him, he’s just wrong for Robyn.

The Bella-Swan-Pathetically-Self-Sacrificing-Factor– Katherine is in her thirties and a little jaded by her romantic experiences. Fortunately a little Austen can restore most women’s faith in the not-so fairer sex. Katherine’s confident, knows her own mind and is quite stubborn. Robyn is younger and hasn’t fully found herself yet, but knows she’s not satisfied with the life she’s drifted into. While she doesn’t yet know where her future lies she knows she doesn’t need rescuing. The question is does she have the courage to leave it all behind and branch out?

Painting a Picture for your Paperback?– The majority of the book takes place at Purley Hall, which seems to be so vast and beautifully appointed it could have passed for Netherfield. Speaking of which, the atmosphere and focus of the tale is very Austen-centric, as are the discussions and excursions, all of which I loved, but might not appeal to non-lovers of the books. If you are a Janeite, even to a minor degree, there is much to appreciate here.

Nookie for your Nook?– There’s more action than you’d expect at this event, but nothing that would make the lady herself blush.

Evaluation of your eBook?– It’s a gentle tale, with pet chickens named after Austen characters, kindly butlers and an eccentric actress, but it’s also a modern love story (or two), with present day men and the accompanying problems. It’s not hard to foresee the romantic outcomes, but it’s an enjoyable, warm journey with much reflection on the comfort of old favourite books, the wisdom of Austen and her sadly short life. And it’s totally made me want to go and re-read all six…

Frothy Ranking: 4/5 cocktails.

Can be obtained from:

UK: Amazon for £2.99 at the moment, sometimes it seems to be on special for less.

US: Amazon for $10.09.

Righteous Exposure – A K James

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Now if I was to tell you this book was written by the same author as one of our recent frothy reads: A Stitch In Time, you might not believe me, for this has a different look to it, it’s more of a conventional thriller and the heroine is an American doctor from a latino family. The strange thing is, it also works as chick lit for there’s a strong female lead, a touch of romance, some family drama and it’s unputdownable.

Dr Alita Ramirez is thirty years old and works in a Houston hospital, her busy schedule helping to distract her from commitment issues and increasingly recurring nightmares about a blue-eyed man. When her father is hospitalised for a kidney transplant, her mother Liliana confesses her darkest secret to Alita, who realises that those weren’t nightmares, they were flashbacks to an event that would forever affect both her and her mother. In her darkest hour Alita comes up with a desperate plan to exact her revenge on the man who shares her own strange blue eyes.

Kooks for your Kindle?– Although the story is mainly about Alita, there are some great three dimensional characters, in particular twelve year-old Jackson and his mother Joanne, both of whom show surprising strength under pressure. Tony, Alita’s persistent ex-boyfriend is extremely understanding of her scheming, and is supportive in the background. The bad guy, Robson, is horribly evil and fully deserving of the troubles that come his way.

The Bella-Swan-Pathetically-Self-Sacrificing-Factor– Alita is a modern, intelligent and capable woman, the first in her family to achieve such a prestigious post as a doctor. So it is quite a surprise when her revenge plan turns out to be a serious crime potentially punishable by prison time. This doesn’t come out of nowhere though, the increasing nightmares have taken their toll and Alita has to do something. Fortunately she thinks it through and plans for most contingencies.

Painting a Picture for your Paperback?– There is great atmosphere to this book, I really got a feel for the fierce Texan heat, the vast distances, the relief of the beach.

Evaluation of your eBook?– The story is well plotted and paced, a good tense page-turner. It also didn’t go quite where I expected it to, let’s just say some outside influences livened things up! It’s a brave thing for an author to write for a character of different nationality and heritage, it seems to work (although Americans could tell me if I’m right, the language seemed standard English) but Alita seems a little more mature than her thirty-odd years. Definitely worth a look for something a little different with a satisfying ending; everybody got what they deserved, good or bad! Especially if you love a good revenge tale as I do.

Frothy Ranking: 4/5 cocktails.

Can be obtained from:

UK: Amazon for £1.99.

US: Amazon for $2.99.

Always You – Erin Kaye

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Back in their university days Sarah and Cahal were the Romeo and Juliet of their time, plotting to marry despite opposition from their very different families. Fast forward twenty years to the present day and we wonder why it never happened, why Sarah is a divorced mother of 2 and Cahal is a divorced father of 3 in Australia. When Cahal is seconded back to Northern Ireland for a few months the past is faced and family mysteries solved. Can Sarah trust again?

Kooks for your Kindle?– There are some lovely characterisations, it really seemed like the characters existed first and then determined the plot, rather than the other way around (not always the case!). Standouts include Sarah’s former mother-in-law, who is in a care home and still adored by Sarah. Her ex-husband Ian and his ill-chosen new wife are well done too, especially as Ian misconstrues Sarah’s caring for his mother as an indication of another chance for them. Sarah’s little sister is no longer so little but that doesn’t stop Sarah from mothering her, keeping a promise made years before.

Cahal has changed a lot since being the teen bad boy, he’s a loving Dad torn between his kids in Australia and the love of his life in Ballyfergus. The state of his parents and siblings is pretty horrifying, as is their desperation. It was good to have some parts of the story told from his point of view, as well as that of Ian.

The Bella-Swan-Pathetically-Self-Sacrificing-Factor– Sarah struggled to rebel against the disapproval of her family back in the day, and old habits seem to die hard. It’s hard to see her bow down when faced with what seems to be unreasonable demands from her father and aunt, but as it turns out, there’s more to it. Thankfully she’s more assertive in her dealings with her ex-husband, while somehow remaining supportive.

Painting a Picture for your Paperback?– Geographically speaking, we are set in Ballyfergus, Northern Ireland, same as we were for Second Time Around, a pretty coastal town (and possibly fictional). We also have snippets in Australia, but the main image left having finished the book is that of modern families, how parents separate and join with other parents to make big combined families. The tale also touches on the logistics of such a set up, especially when spread across the world.

Evaluation of your eBook?– It’s something of a present day retelling of Austen’s classic Persuasion, with added step-families, emigration, substance abuse and other more timely issues. Ultimately though, the essential questions remain; are the couple still meant to be, and can they overcome their differences. The characters were very well done, with rich detail in the history of their relations with each other, and lots of development over the course of the book. Although the romantic outcome wasn’t a surprise, the details of it and the underlying mystery were unpredictable. Totally recommended for a gripping romance/mystery/family drama.

Frothy Ranking: 4/5 cocktails.

Can be obtained from:

UK: Currently 99p on Amazon, not sure how long for.

US: Amazon for $1.99.

Perfect On Paper- Maria Murnane

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Meet Waverley Bryson- no, that’s not the name of an 1800’s Mississippi steamboat, she’s an american twenty-something PR account manager. Really, what’s with the surnames as first-name thing, it’s spreading across the Atlantic too! But that’s beside the point, for she’s been jilted dangerously close to her wedding day and dreading rejoining the ranks of the Dating Woman. Fortunately she leads a full life in San Francisco with a stressful job in national PR for endorsed sporting products and she has good friends to egg her on. Waverley exorcises her romantic disasters by using the inspiration for writing greeting cards called Honey notes, and as her romantic life continues to flounder the Honey Notes take off, opening new opportunities for her.

Kooks for your Kindle?– Waverley’s best mates, McKenna (don’t get me started again) and Andie are lively enough, and the kind of girls you’d need in the aftermath of a breakup, they allow no wallowing. The girl chat is real, not cheesy, and frequently oiled with plenty of good booze. There’s a nice selection of characters both in and away from work, from all walks of life. Waverley’s Dad is a trial, but he means well.

The Bella-Swan-Pathetically-Self-Sacrificing-Factor– Waverley does seem disproportionally distressed by her failed engagement to Aaron, whom she dated for only a few weeks before his proposal. I think it’s more the disappointment than the guy himself, as she didn’t know him very well. Her romantic endeavours are admirable, even going so far as to attempt the occasional blind date- these go as disastrously as you might expect from a frothy read. She has a habit of befriending the famous people with whom she comes into contact through work, although not exploiting those connections.

Painting a Picture for your Paperback?– Anything set in the picturesque city of San Francisco will hold my attention, especially when interspersed with glamorous trips to New York. But the morning walks/runs through the hilly streets overlooking the bay really took me back to one of my favourite cities.

Evaluation of your eBook?-The plot skips along with various work/romantic/social events, but it wasn’t until I wrote this this that I realised nothing huge happened in the middle of the book. Despite this the pages kept turning, possibly because the characters are so likable. When Waverley’s career escalates towards the end of the book things do become a little far-fetched (People magazine!). The author clearly knows the world of PR and gives an interesting insight. The ending leads the way to a sequel, It’s a Waverly Life, followed by Honey on Your Mind. It’s an enjoyable read, and certainly frothy without being mindless. The lead character is immensely likable, if a little bit Bridget Jones with the klutzy disasters.

Frothy Ranking: 3/5 cocktails.

Can be obtained from:

UK: Amazon for £3.49

US: Amazon for only $2.99.

The Pollyanna Plan – Talli Roland

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Emma is something of a control freak; her life is perfectly ordered, she works hard as an insurance underwriter, she owns her own well organised flat and is engaged to a similarly employed suitable man, George. But within a week she is laid off at work and discovers George’s faithfulness isn’t quite as his boring personality would suggest. Her best friend Alice helps her pick up the pieces, and believes Emma should try acting her age (thirty-two) and having some fun for a change. Alice devises the Pollyanna plan- Pollyanna being a fictional character who always sees the positive in any situation- and challenges Emma to change her perspective on life. Thanks to some sensible savings Emma does not have to rush into her next job and makes some surprising discoveries.

Kooks for your Kindle?– Part of the story is told from the point of view of Will, the enigmatic stranger Emma meets in her local DIY store. His viewpoint allows us to understand his mystery, which stems from his difficult relationship with his father, the family business, and some health problems. Alice makes a nice contrast to the uptight Emma, she’s a more fun loving, daring actress/bartender. There are a few other minor characters, still with heartfelt roles, such as Will’s eccentric neighbour Lou, and Emma’s (oddly 25 years younger) half-sister Meg.

The Bella-Swan-Pathetically-Self-Sacrificing-Factor– Emma has some scars and they all hark back to the early death of her father and subsequent withdrawal of her mother. By keeping control of her adult life and not feeling anything she can avoid getting hurt again. Once she lets go and begins to live she has a bit of a scare, not really surprising with such a big change.

Painting a picture for your paperback?– The tale has both a sad and hopeful tone, and is a little more poignant and thoughtful than you might expect having seen the truly frothy cover. The setting is more picturesque than your average London-based story, with canal boats and a side trip towards the end which i probably shouldn’t reveal.

Evaluation of your eBook?– It’s fairly short as books go, I read it in just a few hours, but that might just be because it was quite gripping. The ending isn’t a big surprise but it’s a good journey, and an uplifting one at that. Emma’s personality changes are extreme, and the ensuing fear has a boomerang effect, but a nice balance is eventually achieved. There is one aspect of the story that concerns illness, and again I don’t want to spoil anything, so lets just say it was very nicely handled. Overall a nice easy read with a positive ending, cheap too.

Frothy Ranking: 4/5 cocktails.

Can be obtained from:

UK: Amazon for only 79p

US: Amazon for only 99c