Calling Romeo by Alexandra Potter

Hello to all,

                    nearly the end of summer , it is too soon but we have to do with what we have. Anyway, my dog is already better but under medication so i'm happy so happy ( i can't stand seeing him bleed ). So today i will share with you my opinion on the last chick lit book for this month " Calling Romeo", i could perhaps have read another one but it's really not my genre so after finishing one i have to read something else, it's impossible for me to read two chick lit in quick succession but i did discover at least one that i really liked so this month challenge was interesting to say the least.

Without any more delay here come Calling Romeo:

 

Publisher: Black Swan

Publication: 2002

ISBN:  0552770035

Genre: chick lit
Violence: none
Language: normal
sex: mild
Public: 18+

Source: received from Birgit (The Book Garden)



Short description from goodread :

 Juliet can't help wishing she had more romance in her life. She loves her boyfriend Will, but after living together for two and a half years, she's come to realise that thirtysomething monogamy isn't all it's cracked up to be. Will used to whisk her off to candlelit restaurants. Now his idea of a perfect evening is a video and vindaloo. He used to leave post-it notes saying 'I love you' on the bathroom mirror. Now the only things she finds are his dirty socks on the bathroom floor. So, when Juliet meets a sexy, dark-eyed Adonis from a rival London advertising agency she is sorely tempted. And when he invites her away for an illicit, no-expense-spared weekend in Verona it's almost impossible to resist. Her very own Romeo.

But does she want to risk losing Will and all they have shared together? Juliet must work out what's really important in life and whether romance really is all about sexy lingerie and red roses.

My opinion:

          Enjoyable read, we can easily see the improvement of Alexandra Potter’s writer style. Her first book was properly writing but didn’t keep the readers hooked, this one is better to keep the reader attention on the story.

The message is also expressed in a better way during the entire story: don’t keep everything for granted, stay attentive to your loved one, keep having small gestures to show your feeling and don’t give up at the first difficulty, speak about the problem instead or letting them add. The moral is good and true but I regret the fact that the characters have to succumb to understand them. Tempted I understand but I don’t see why the heroine could not be wise and strong willed. I mean there are women who keep their head on their shoulders even if they are terribly romantic. That’s the part of Alexandra’s books that keep bothering me, I can’t identify myself and I stay too detached from the characters.

Now like I say this one was better that the first one “What’s new Pussycat?” and I didn’t have to force myself as much to read it even the opposite. It was a light read, enjoyable but not my style. The readers of chick lit should love it and its happy ending and the no fan could appreciate it at least a minimum.

Score:  3/5

 

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

 

Challenges:

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

Book read for the 2012 TBR reading

The Starter Marriage by Kate Harrison

Hello to all,

                    doing a small break in the read-a-thons i've entered i decided to give you today my opinion on another chick lit book , one that really moved me, the first one so far, "The Starter Marriage". Now i know that yes there are chick lit books that can interest me.

Happy reading

Publisher: Orion

Publication: 2005

ISBN:  0752868810

Genre: Chick lit
Violence: none
Language: normal
sex: mild
Public: 18+

Source: received from Birgit (The Book Garden)

Short description from goodread :

 Tess Leonard thought matrimony was for life, but her husband has decided that their marriage is the equivalent of a starter home: cramped, claustrophobic and something he's definitely outgrown. Known as 'Tip Top Tess' because of her dogged pursuit of the perfect home, marriage and career, she's now in the biggest mess of her life. And it's all because Barney has walked out. But there's a life raft on the horizon: The Divorce Survival Class. It may be uncomfortable and nearly sinking under the weight of excess baggage, but it's a boot camp for the broken-hearted. Over eight weeks, Tess and classmates will lay bare the darkest secrets of their failed marriages. And course-leader William will turn their lives around in a truly spectacular style...

My opinion:

          Kate Harrison seems the best author of chick lit for me so far.  I love her writing style so fresh and moving with some funny moments and characters so interesting.

It’s, by far, my favourite chick lit book at the moment ; though I concede that after only 3 I still don’t have a lot of experience but at least this time I was completely in it and I wanted to finish the book

Tess in a wonderful character: teacher in her mid thirties, she is in her opinion living the perfect marriage with the perfect husband/best friend. Together they have nearly a perfect relationship: liking the same things, same passion etc. But scratch this surface a bit and we discover a woman that forgot herself while trying to keep the pretences that everything is perfect, for who the appearances were more important. A bit maniac, in a way, wanting everything to be just like she wants them in her logical mind.  Tess doesn’t have conscience of those facts until she is confronted to her divorce, suddenly her perfect husband is leaving her without much of a notice and then to add salt on the injury his girlfriend is pregnant, proof that he didn’t wait their separation to go to another.

For Tess all her life and dreams are shattering. After becoming quite depressive, and isolated herself, she is put in front of the facts by her friend Mel and asks her to go to search help in a support group.

The step to ask for help is harder for her than her friends could have though but she manages it and enters the group for 8weeks. A group to learn to accept the reality, to grieve the shattered dreams without too much anger or guilt and to discover what she really wants. It a slow process but I really enjoyed to see her evolve progressively with her ups and down.

The characters, members of the group, all have a different background and aspiration and while the main story is centred on Tess we also discover the others with their life and aspirations. Kate  Karrison doesn’t forget them or has put less quality in their story far from it. All of them are really well constructed and introduced to the readers so that we can enjoy them as much as Tess. The group is transforming its member by their shared experience. Friendships are forming and sometimes more.

William who directs the group is a good mediator but I enjoyed getting his impression on the members however I even enjoyed more to see his own struggle to accept past and future and how he had a crush without acting on it. The author really made us see those hesitations, regret and moment when the illumination appears and the characters see the reality, clear for once, for the first time.

The ending is really perfect, I loved to see the evolution between Tess and Barney, and have all the stories coming to a new start giving us hope.

Really a wonderful book, more than easy to read, captivating for readers even new to chick lit. To recommend.

Score:  4/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges:

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

Book read for the 2012 TBR reading

What’s New, Pussycat ? by Alexandra Potter

Hello to all,

                     On this wonderful sunny sunday and before enjoying some times with my family ( a barbecue!) i will share with you my second attempt at discovering the chick lit subgenre.  Let's just say that i'm really happy it wasn't my first attempt or i'm not sure i would have found the will to continue. I'm not planning on giving up thought so don't worry you will still get more of them before the end of this month.

So here comes "What's New, Pussycat?" by Alexandra Potter, Happy reading!

Publisher: Fourth Estate

Publication: 2000

ISBN:  1841153788

Genre: chick lit
Violence: none
Language: normal
sex: mild
Public: 18+

Source: received from Birgit (The Book Garden)

Fourth cover summary :

Why, Why, Delilah?

Delilah has made a big decision. In fact she’s made several. She’s leaving Bradford, leaving her boyfriend Lenny and taking her Tom Jones record collection, her pet whippet, fatso and herself to the bright lights of the big city…

My, My Delilah

And now that she’s here, it seems that down-to-earth Delilah is just what the big city was waiting for. But whatever she does, Delilah is determined finally to make the right choices for her future, in love and work. So whether Charlie, the wealthy media boy, or sweet Sam in his café are right for her is something she needs to decide on her own. And then she can really start to live…

My opinion:

          Fight for your dreams, never give up those could be the morals of the story unfortunately, for me, that’s not what I remember the most after closing the book.

Alexandra Potter has an enjoyable writing style and this book was the first edition of her first novel that has been republished with a new edition since then.  But for me that’s not the right book at all. I smiled only at the end and even then I can’t really sympathize with Delilah. She is the kind of girl I despite; she is a total opposite of the model I would like so yes in the end things get right for her but I don’t approve of her behaviour at all.

For me love is important and not a game so we have to take some risk like expressing our feelings and such but going from one boy to another just because it’s convenient or not, no. Just because she hopes, dreams of happiness and for her it means to try the men like shoes until the one that fits?  She can’t wait and learn to know him no too long and too simple better to go straight to bed with him and wait and see. Really not my style, I’m not against divorce with reason but before that I think we need to think before taking an engagement, it’s not a plaything it’s serious  and I ‘m afraid a book like this will just gives the idea to some that everything is permitted…I think it’s sad.

If you love this kind of book, it could be a good addition to your reading but for me it’s a no but I will still try others books from this author to make my mind about the genre in a whole.

Score:  1,5/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges:

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

Book read for the 2012 TBR reading

The Secret Shopper’s Revenge (Secret Shopper1) by Kate Harrison

Hello to all,

                  A new month begins and since i haven't given up  on the challenge i've entered it's also a new genre/subgenre to discover and in August the fates did things right because Chick lit is the topic for two of the challenges so " une pierre deux coups" with Romance and Me and reading romances challenge.

Now i first want to thanks a lot Birgit because without her generosity my participation this month would not have been possible.Chick lit is a genre i had not read prior this event and i didn't even own any chick lit book, not one. Months ago Birgit made a giveaway on her blog " The Book Garden" to give her used books about a specific genre, i was lucky to be chosen and received severals chick lit books to discover so thank you a lot Birgit.

Without waiting more here comes my first step in the Chick lit genre with my review of The Secret Shopper's Revenge by Kate Harrison.

Enjoy!

Publisher: Orion

Publication: 2008

ISBN:  978075289388

Genre: chick lit, friendship
Violence: none
Language: normal
sex: none
Public: 16+

Source: received from Birgit (The Book Garden)

Short description from goodread :

 New mum Emily wants revenge on the stick-thin assistants who laugh at her post-baby tummy and post-baby budget. But frumpiness has its advantages when you're wielding a secret camera - and sending the damning footage straight to head office. Store manager Sandie has a lifelong love of the world of retail - the glitz, the glamour, the stockroom. Then she's fitted up by an ambitious assistant and secret shopping is the only way to keep her one passion alive. Glamorous widow Grazia can't leave behind the high life, despite her chronically low bank balance. The more she's buying - and spying - the less time she has to mourn her husband or her fair-weather friends who've dumped her. They're Charlie's Shopping Angels, controlled by a mysterious figure who sends them assignments. But when they're sent to stitch up a doomed shop owned by Will, the angels begin to feel divided loyalties . . .

My opinion:

          First chick lit book for me and I’m not really sure where I stand. I loved the writing style of Kate Harrison that is really accessible and easy to love and it was mostly the reason that kept me reading at first.

I’m not really fond of alternated point of view, they have a tendency to make me loose focus on the story however for this one its use was important since we have in fact  3 separated stories intermingling in one bigger. 

The author offers us 3 different heroines with more in common that they thought before hand so the majority of readers can identify themselves with one or another or have a preference. There is a bit for every one.

Emily’s story shows how abuse even only verbal can destroy someone and that the one that angered me the most. I wanted to punch Duncan and shake Emily, it’s well written in a realistic manner but not my cup of tea.

Grazia’s story is one about letting go and accepting that no one is perfect. Windowed she must face the reality of her bank account, because her husband was a great artist yes but not a great accountant, living for his art he forgot reality and she must now endure the consequences. I enjoyed it a bit more than Emily’s because I could sympathize with her but not with her living style^^

The story I was more interested in is Sandie’s. I felt her injustice, her betrayal and wanted to fight with her perhaps because I see a bit of myself in her too loyal and too honest people are using her and it takes time for her to see that see is more than that, that she deserves more. Her story isn’t the longest one but for me it was the more complete.

It was a good book and chick lover should find this one really entertaining.

Score:  3/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges:

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge

 

Book read for the 2012 TBR reading