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dangermousieI've put them in order from least liked to most, but I liked all of them.
Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham - a year in the life of Holly, a receptionist at a financial firm told entirely through what is in her inbox. It's about as fluffy and inconsequential as a cream puff but very fun. She makes friends, enemies and finds true love - not at all with someone she expected. There is a sequel I plan to get to.
Farm Fatale by Wendy Holden. So funny and sweet and darling. Rosie, an illustrator who hates living in London and dreams of living in the country, finally talks her grumpy journalist boyfriend Mark into moving there. Life there proves a lot more complicated than expected, with a glorious eccentric cast of characters - a nosy postman who missed his tabloid calling, an elderly couple growing onions competitively, a farmer obsessed about his calling, a burned out rock star, a former Bond girl, a social climber D-lister and her lecherous banker husband etc etc etc. It really is darling. A bit romance-light (though of course the heroine finds true love) but very very darling.
Kiss and Tell by Fiona Walker. All about a bunch of very posh British people who raise and ride horses in competition. Now, I have little interest in horses, and I've probably never been within a touching distance of an upperclass Brit, but this book was ridiculously fun (it made me go and order a bunch of other Walker books), in part because it is so far removed from my life, and in part because I really did like the characters, especially the heroine, Tash, who's smart, competent, and pragmatic. As K&T opens, Tash and her husband Hugo, are basically the golden couple of horse-riding circuit - good-looking, winning competitions, seemingly devoted to each other, kids. But cracks are about to form - when drunk, Hugo arrogantly makes a bet with his closest competitor, a New Zealander named Lough, that if Lough can seduce Tash, she is all his. When he sobers up, he's horrified, but things have been set in motion. Ah, the drama!!!! There are two parallel interconnecting stories, actually - the other involving a talented but drunk and feckless rider named Rory who is throwing his life and talent away but his groom Faith has other ideas. Anyway, I had a blast - I like stories about people who are already together who have to deal with stuff ordinary and not to make their relationship work, plus there are multiple satisfying ships (nobody goes home alone) and it's about a world that is as alien to me as the moon. Also plus, as I said, I really liked every character with the possible exception of Beccy, Tash's stepsister (lady, it is way tacky to plan to steal your stepsis' husband as she is delivering his second child. WTF! Thankfully it goes nowhere, not just because of no cheating, but because the guy in question is so very proper, he'd probably not just be appalled at the scandal hooking up with wife's sis would create, but he also views her as an utter hippie and thus about the least attractive thing ever. LOL). Partway through, I realized that I am sort of in the middle of the story and, sure enough, this is book three of a Tash-centric trilogy. I really must seek the other two out, they've got to be fun. For one, the story as to how Tash ended up with Hugo and not the hilarious, alcoholic, sexy superstar who is now married to her BFF is something I need to find out.
Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham - a year in the life of Holly, a receptionist at a financial firm told entirely through what is in her inbox. It's about as fluffy and inconsequential as a cream puff but very fun. She makes friends, enemies and finds true love - not at all with someone she expected. There is a sequel I plan to get to.
Farm Fatale by Wendy Holden. So funny and sweet and darling. Rosie, an illustrator who hates living in London and dreams of living in the country, finally talks her grumpy journalist boyfriend Mark into moving there. Life there proves a lot more complicated than expected, with a glorious eccentric cast of characters - a nosy postman who missed his tabloid calling, an elderly couple growing onions competitively, a farmer obsessed about his calling, a burned out rock star, a former Bond girl, a social climber D-lister and her lecherous banker husband etc etc etc. It really is darling. A bit romance-light (though of course the heroine finds true love) but very very darling.
Kiss and Tell by Fiona Walker. All about a bunch of very posh British people who raise and ride horses in competition. Now, I have little interest in horses, and I've probably never been within a touching distance of an upperclass Brit, but this book was ridiculously fun (it made me go and order a bunch of other Walker books), in part because it is so far removed from my life, and in part because I really did like the characters, especially the heroine, Tash, who's smart, competent, and pragmatic. As K&T opens, Tash and her husband Hugo, are basically the golden couple of horse-riding circuit - good-looking, winning competitions, seemingly devoted to each other, kids. But cracks are about to form - when drunk, Hugo arrogantly makes a bet with his closest competitor, a New Zealander named Lough, that if Lough can seduce Tash, she is all his. When he sobers up, he's horrified, but things have been set in motion. Ah, the drama!!!! There are two parallel interconnecting stories, actually - the other involving a talented but drunk and feckless rider named Rory who is throwing his life and talent away but his groom Faith has other ideas. Anyway, I had a blast - I like stories about people who are already together who have to deal with stuff ordinary and not to make their relationship work, plus there are multiple satisfying ships (nobody goes home alone) and it's about a world that is as alien to me as the moon. Also plus, as I said, I really liked every character with the possible exception of Beccy, Tash's stepsister (lady, it is way tacky to plan to steal your stepsis' husband as she is delivering his second child. WTF! Thankfully it goes nowhere, not just because of no cheating, but because the guy in question is so very proper, he'd probably not just be appalled at the scandal hooking up with wife's sis would create, but he also views her as an utter hippie and thus about the least attractive thing ever. LOL). Partway through, I realized that I am sort of in the middle of the story and, sure enough, this is book three of a Tash-centric trilogy. I really must seek the other two out, they've got to be fun. For one, the story as to how Tash ended up with Hugo and not the hilarious, alcoholic, sexy superstar who is now married to her BFF is something I need to find out.
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Date: 2011-11-27 01:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-29 12:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-27 02:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-27 04:02 am (UTC)Addictions
Date: 2011-11-27 02:17 am (UTC)Re: Addictions
Date: 2011-11-29 12:24 am (UTC)And she is.
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Date: 2011-11-28 12:49 am (UTC)Oh you have to read Kiss Chase by her too. It's just as fabulous. Basic premise is main character is asked by her sort of family friend to make male lead fall in love with her and then break up with him in a spectacular fashion after he's gone and broken sort of family friend's heart (as well as many others). Female lead does so but along the way...
If you want British chicklit recs i can give you plenty lol.
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Date: 2011-11-28 06:02 am (UTC)The Fiona Walker book was such fun (even if it confirmed to me that if I had to live on a farm I would die) but I have a simple explanation as to why that was the one I got - I literally googled "British chick lit" and got to a website which gave author names with a brief paragraph on what type of books they wrote and then searched each name on amazon kindle and this was the only book of hers on kindle. Why precisely they thought to put the third book in a series and only the third book in a series on kindle I have no idea. I ordered a bunch of her (paperback) books when I was halfway through K&T, including the first two in the series. I am so v.v. dense it only started dawning on me partway through these people must have had a backstory. Thing is, I am the ultimate spoiler seeker so the fact that I know how it ends doesn't bug me at all and actually just adds more fun. Especially since Hugo seems utterly awful at expressing emotion verbally which is normally a necessity while dating ;)