Book Haul: September (So Far…)

I do love buying books. I love it even more when friends give me books and that is what one friend did recently (I was a very happy girl.) I like the look of all these novels and I wanted to share these books with you.

The Last Honeytrap by Louise Lee (Headline, 4th June 2015)

The first one is The Last Honeytrap by Louise Lee. I really love the look of this book. This looks great – a good, old-fashioned romantic comedy and I am really looking forward to reading this.

Scot ‘Scat’ Delaney is a world famous jazz singer. He has ample opportunity to stray and his girlfriend, Alice, needs to know she can trust him. Introducing Florence Love, Private Investigator. Florence has just ten days to entrap an A-Lister. Whilst sticking to her cardinal rule: One kiss, with tongues, five seconds – case closed. A master of body language, evolutionary science and nifty disguises, her approach is unconventional, her success rate excellent. But targets are rarely as beautiful as Scat. Never fall for the target. That is very bad form indeed.

View at The Book Depository. 

I Followed The Rules by Joanna Bolouri (Quercus, July 2015.) 

The book cover for this one is so lovely. The plot for this book looks great and it sounds as though it will be a great read. I am looking forward to reading this.

Rule 1: Never ask him on a first date. Rule 2: Laugh admiringly at all his jokes. Rule 3: Always leave him wanting more.

. . . wtf?!

Have you heard of The Rules of Engagement? It’s a book that promises to teach you to find the man of your dreams in ten easy steps. Unsurprisingly, I don’t own a copy. What is it, 1892? But I’m a journalist, and I’ve promised to follow it to the letter and write about the results. Never-mind that my friends think I’m insane, I’m stalking men all over town and can’t keep my mouth shut at the best of times.

My name is Cat Buchanan. I’m thirty-six years old and live with my daughter in Glasgow. I’ve been single for six years, but that’s about to change. After all, I’m on a deadline. I Followed the Rules and this is what happened.

View at The Book Depository. 

Love Lies by Adele Parks (Headline Review, March 2012.) 

It’s Adele Parks. I don’t really need to say anything else. I’ve not yet read this one so I am excited to read. I think this one is perfect for a holiday if you’re lucky enough to escape this horrible weather.

Fern is staring thirty in the face and she believes a romantic wedding should be the next step for her and long-term love Adam, but he just won’t go down on one knee. Then a chance meeting catapults her out of the everyday existence and into a girl’s ultimate fantasy – being swept away by Prince Charming to a life of luxury, wealth and celebrity. But is her whirlwind romance with pop star Scottie Taylor everything it seems? Fern is forced to ask herself if a fairy tale ending is possible in such a modern rock and roll world… 

View at The Book Depository. 

The Novel Cure: An A to Z of Literary Remedies by Ella Berthoud & Susan Elderkin (Cannongate Books, September 2015.) 

A fantastic idea. I have only skimmed this book and I love it already. I like the fact that you can jump in and out of this book. It’s not one you have to read cover to cover if you don’t want to – you can just refer to the section you need (even if it’s just to find the next thing to read.) If you’re feeling down, ill or heartbroken for example, it will suggest a book for you to read. For example, it gives you book suggestions for lying, looking for Mr/Mrs Right, optimism, abandonment, addicted to coffee and Christmas. It even gives you a suggestion for if you’ve broken your leg. Excellent! I am looking forward to using this novel.

This is a medical handbook, with a difference. Whether you have a stubbed toe or a severe case of the blues, within these pages you’ll find a cure in the form of a novel to help ease your pain. You’ll also find advice on how to tackle common reading ailments – such as what to do when you feel overwhelmed by the number of books in the world, or you have a tendency to give up halfway through. When read at the right moment, a novel can change your life, and The Novel Cure is an enchanting reminder of that power.

View at The Book Depository. 

The Blue by Lucy Clarke (Harper, July 2015.) 

I am a big fan of Lucy Clarke and so I was so happy to get hold of a copy of her new novel, The Blue. A Single Breath was one of my favourite novels from last year. Lucy has a gift for drawing you into her novels and I am looking forward to escaping into this new one for a while.

They had found paradise. What would they do to keep it?

With a quick spin of the globe, Kitty and Lana escape their grey reality and journey to the Philippines.
There they discover The Blue – a beautiful yacht, with a wandering crew.

They spend day after languorous day exploring the pristine white beaches and swimming beneath the stars, and Lana drifts further away from the long-buried secrets of home.

But the tide turns when death creeps quietly on deck. A dangerous swell of mistrust and lies threatens to bring the crew’s adventures to an end – but some won’t let paradise go…whatever the price.

View at The Book Depository.

Fresh Hell by Rachel Johnson (Penguin, June 2015.) 

I have to admit, I am not familiar with Rachel’s novels but this book looks as though it’s going to be fun. I am not sure whether I would have needed to read Notting Hell to read this one but any excuse to buy another book.

Debt, double-basements, dastardly bankers…and DIVORCE?

‘Hell is other people’ and journalist Mimi Fleming is fast realizing on her return to Notting Hill that there is no greater hell than the W11 neighbours with whom she shares an exclusive communal garden. Since she’s been away, all her friends have become – impossibly – even richer, thinner, and YOUNGER. They’re busy not just turning back the clock but also their homes into palatial iceberg houses – with basement swimming pools. 

But Mimi’s troubles are just beginning. There’s the compromising and risky mission she’d undertaking to re-launch her so-called journalism career (plus an embarrassing case of mistaken identity thanks to Google). Then there’s her children who will only communicate via WhatsApp . And worst of all, Mimi’s fallen for someone, and it’s certainly not her husband Ralph. 

Ralph and Mimi have already been to Notting Hell and back. But is this the end or the beginning of something new?

View at The Book Depository.

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.