Novelicious - Everything Chick Lit

WIN! 4 Copies of THE ICE CREAM GIRLS by Dorothy Koomson for Giveaway!

2010-03-12T12:10:38+00:00

I'm halfway through this book, and it's excellent so far. Today we have 4 copies of THE ICE CREAM GIRLS by Dorothy Koomson to give away. Hurrah!!

At only eighteen years of age, Poppy and Serena were the only witnesses to a tragic event. Amid heated public debate and scrutiny, the two glamorous teens were dubbed 'The Ice Cream Girls' by the press and forced to go their separate ways and to lead very different lives. Twenty years later, Poppy is keen to set the record straight about what really happened, while married mother-of-two Serena wants no one in her present to find out about her past. But some secrets will not stay buried - and if theirs is revealed, their lives will start to unravel all over again ...Gripping, thought-provoking and heart-warming, The Ice Cream Girls will make you wonder if you can ever truly know the people you love.

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment letting us know why you deserve a copy!

The contest closes on Mon 15th March at 12 (UK Time) and winners will be announced soon after.

THIS IS A UK ONLY CONTEST.

Good Luck!

Hidden Gems #2 - Come Together by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees

2010-03-12T11:33:50+00:00

Hidden Gems is a brand new weekly feature here at Novelicious. It allows us to cover, review or suggest books that our readers may not have happened upon.

It's so easy to miss out on older releases, or books that weren't publicised heavily, and this seems such a shame. We hope to rectify this this with our suggestions of books you may not have read and probably should!

COME TOGETHER was first published way back in 1999 and was the first book Emlyn Rees and Josie Lloyd wrote together. The pair have since gotten married and Josie Lloyd is now known as Jo Rees, who wrote the recent (excellent) bonkbuster, Platinum.

I'm featuring this book for those who are relatively new to the chick lit genre, and may not have noticed this book. It really is a must read - classic chick lit!

Meet Jack:

Jack Rossiter. I'm twenty-seven years old, single, and live with my best mate Matt. Matt and I started hanging out when we were eight. Life was simpler then. Our idea of fashion was polyester. I told him I wanted to be a spy and he asked me who I'd marry. I imagined falling in love with a girl so perfect I couldn't even guess her name. Things have changed since then. I did fall in love for a while but it didn't work out. And single is good, single is fun.

Meet Amy:

Sometimes, in my darker moments, I've thought about trying internetdating. But surely it can't be that hard to find what I'm looking for? All I want is the right job and the right man. But all I ever manage is the wrong place at the wrong time. It's been six months since I last had sex. Six months! Well, enough is enough. This is the year I'm going to sort it all out for good. This year Amy Crosbie's going to have it all. Now find out what happens when they meet each other ...

You can buy this book by clicking here

Review - Fairytale of New York by Miranda Dickinson

2010-03-12T10:41:01+00:00

REVIEWED BY DEBS CARR

Rosie Duncan’s life is exactly as she wants it. She spends her days running her flower shop, Kowalski’s on New York’s Upper West Side working alongside her co-designer, Ed and scatty, assistant, Marnie. On Sundays she enjoys lengthy chats over breakfast with her best friend, Celia, a journalist who knows everyone worth knowing in New York and the only person who Rosie has ever confided in about her past in Boston.

Ed, who seems to have a never-ending stream of dates, each time with a different woman, and Marnie, who is in love with a man she can’t possibly have, are determined that Rosie should get out and start dating. Celia is going to ensure that her friend’s business will be as successful as possible. Thanks to her, Rosie is invited by Mimi Sutton, New York’s top socialite, to design and arrange the floral displays at the Grand Winter Ball, a glittering event that Rosie knows will increase her client list far beyond anything she ever hoped.

After a meeting with Mimi, Rosie bumps into Nate, Mimi’s intended son-in-law. Ignoring Mimi’s objections, Nate visits Rosie each week for coffee and a chat and slowly they get to know each other. He arranges a meeting designed to help her business, but which brings her face-to-face with the one person she has been avoiding for the past six years.

Rosie has to decide whether it’s time to take flight once again, or if this time the lifestyle and friends she has are worth sticking around for. She has to find a way to deal with her past, whilst battling her nemesis, Philippe Devereau, Floral Artiste of the Year for the past decade and someone who isn’t going to allow Rosie to take his clientele away from him. Not without a fight anyway.

My daughter bought me this book because we both fell in love with New York during a recent trip. Miranda Dickinson cleverly brings alive the vivacity of this exciting city and reading it brought back the incredible sights and sounds that I remember so well. I can see why Rosie Duncan would choose New York as the place to run to, and also why she would be hesitant to give up living such a dream.

I loved this book and can fully understand why Fairytale of New York has made the shortlist for the Romantic Novelists Romance of the Year Award!

A perfect 10/10

NOTE - ON MONDAY WE WILL BE HAVING A FAB CONTEST TO WIN A SIGNED COPY OF THIS GORGEOUS BOOK - SO STAY TUNED!

Visit Miranda's Website

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LBD News - The Not-So-Secret Diary of a City Girl by Allie Spencer

2010-03-11T13:11:19+00:00

Both myself and LBD Thursday Editor, Debs Carr, really loved Allie Spencer's first novel Tug of Love. Her next novel is out on the 1st April this year, and looks like a classic chick lit read...

Banking analyst Laura McGregor’s electronic diary is full of things which definitely shouldn’t be made public: musings on her lacklustre relationship with trader boyfriend Tom, disturbing irregularities in new boss Will’s trading accounts, and the small matter of her attraction to gorgeous journalist Alex. So when the diary is accidentally uploaded on to the internet in blog form by clueless younger sister Mel, suddenly not only Laura, but her bank too, is facing meltdown and, even worse, Laura suspects Alex of using it as a scoop. Fighting to convince the world’s media to believe her over Alex is one thing, but can Laura win the battle with her heart?

Really looking forward to this one!

Pre-order this book!

Visit Allie's Website

LBD Review - Nina Jones & The Temple of Gloom by Julie Cohen

2010-03-11T12:15:49+00:00

REVIEWED BY DEBS CARR

Nina Jones, a blonde PA with legs up to her armpits, is secretly in love with her happily married, celebrity chef boss. Her adoration is hopeless and she’s fully aware that nothing can ever happen between her and the god-like Edward Jett. Opportunity for a completely new life comes her way, and Nina, determined that handsome Spaniard, Juan is the true man of her dreams, gives up everything she thought was important and goes with him to start a new life and their own restaurant in Spain.

Unfortunately for Nina, before their restaurant has even opened for business, Juan reconnects with his childhood sweetheart and leaves her not only alone and humiliated, but broke. She is left with no option but to return to England. Wishing she hadn’t been so quick to donate her clothes that would have been far more suitable for the English weather she has returned to than the floaty dresses making up her wardrobe, she moves into her dead uncle’s flat in the middle floor of the ugliest, gothic building she’s ever seen, which she nicknames, The Temple of Gloom.

Nina isn’t sure what to make of the eccentric couple living in the downstairs flat, and Viktor, the tall, brooding character who seems to have very little to say and only appears to venture out under the cover of darkness, is definitely someone she’s determined to avoid. But first impressions can be misleading. Can’t they? After all, is Nina being completely honest to those close to her? And can she realistically hope to hide away from her past forever before it starts catching up with her?

I love Julie Cohen’s books and this was just as entertaining as I had hoped it would be. From the chemistry between the well-drawn characters, to the unusual locations and twists and turns of the novel, I devoured every page. This is a story that will stay with me for a long time.

Definitely a must read book. 9/10

Check out our Interview with Julie Cohen

Buy This Book

Visit Julie's Website

LBD Review - Sunnyside Blues by Mary Carter

2010-03-11T10:54:51+00:00

REVIEWED BY ABBEY WASS

Sunnyside Blues is not your average romance novel, filled to the brim with deadly snakes, religious cults and pyromaniacs it’s definitely not for the faint hearted!

The novel follows the adventures of two outsiders, trying to fit in and find the one place they can truly call home. A tranquil dock in sunny Seattle sets the scene, however the peace is quickly shattered when a building goes up in smoke and everyone suspects it’s the doing of a ten-year-old pyromaniac.

The story quickly picks up pace when heroine Andes, a twenty-five-year old traveller trying to find the one place she can call home, accompanies her new ward Chase to Sunnyside Queens- where trouble seems to follow them.

Mary Carter turns the chick lit genre on its head delivering Andes- the ultimate flawed heroine whose obsession with deadly vipers is one of many secrets she will do everything to keep under lock and key.

However this is not to be as history rears its ugly head, forcing Andes to face her past once and for all, and return to the place she ran away from ten years ago.

I enjoyed the unique storyline which explores the obscure inner workings of a religious cult in West Virginia. Carter’s style is unusual in that her characters are rebellious misfits, yet the reader is sure to fall in love with them all the same; Mary is almost educational in the way that she humanises conditions that are usually misunderstood- such as religious practices and pyromania impulses.

As the plot unravels with every unpredicted twist and turn, light is shed on Andes history before the true horrors of her past are revealed. This novel is certain to keep the reader guessing with every turn of a page, be sure to expect the unexpected!

From cover to cover this will set your pulse racing- this is one book you will not be able to put it down

8/10

To buy this book click here!

Buy Sadie's Dragonfly Necklace from Sophie Kinsella's Twenties Girl!

2010-03-10T15:29:05+00:00

First off, Sophie Kinsella has a brand spanking new website and it's gorgeous; full of little bits and pieces about Sophie and her books.

So there I was having a good old route around, and what did I see? The Dragonfly necklace from Twenties Girl available to buy !!

Independent of the fact that I absolutley loved this book, the necklace is just beautiful. I need it in my life. It is designed by Claudia Bradby and only costs £38.00

It's already on my wishlist - what about you?

YA Review - Della Says: OMG by Keris Stainton

2010-03-10T11:40:29+00:00

Della’s over the moon when she kisses her long-standing crush at a party – but then she discovers her diary has disappeared...
When scans of embarrassing pages are sent to her mobile and appear on Facebook, Della’s distraught – how can she enjoy her first proper romance when someone, somewhere, knows all her deepest, darkest secrets?

Before anything else, it's fair to say that Keris Stainton is a very good friend of mine. I have been tantalised with excerpts of her writing for years and so in receiving this book, my expectations were very high. Regardless of my friendship with Keris - this is a completely honest review.

The concept of this book really appealed to me. I have been writing in diaries since I was 11 years old, and one of my worst nightmares is that somebody might find and read them. The thought that they may be put onto the internet or shared with anyone else gives me the complete heebie jeebies! For such a thing to happen to the protagonist, Della, immediately keeps you turning the page to see whether she can retrieve her diary and all of its secrets.

I thought this book was wonderful. Keris has a real skill of writing three dimensional characters; the kind of people you would like to exist in real life, and perhaps be friends with. Della was no exception. A lovely, smart, funny teenager dealing with the ups and downs of life as an adolescent. Her thoughts and feelings on life and the events happening around her were so well observed and very realistic. A perfect narrator.

The supporting cast were colourful and a joy to read. I especially loved Della's parents, who - far from being the kind of 'parenty' parents you may expect in a teenage novel - were very cool.

In-between searching for the missing diary, Della is enjoying a burgeoning romance with her long term crush - Dan. I think that this plot was my favourite of the whole book. For a start Dan was absolutely delicious. I was worried about just how delicious I found him (you know, with him being a teenager and all), but have been re-assured by others who have read this book, that this is completely normal. In reading this, expect to get a crush on Dan. It's inevitable.

The kissing scenes between Della and Dan brought on a touch of nostalgia. They snog and snog and snog some more. Kind of made me want to be a teen again, when kissing for HOURS was the most exciting way to spend your time.

I found this book refreshingly real, well written, witty and atmospheric. I highly recommend it and can't wait to see what Keris offers us next!

A snogtastic 10/10

Buy This Book

Read the first chapter

Visit Keris' Website