About the Book
Title: Don't You Forget About Me
Author: Alexandra Potter
Publication: Hodder (19 July 2012)/Amazon Kindle
Summary: Tess is heartbroken when Seb breaks up with her and can't help blaming herself. If only she'd done things differently. If only she could make right all her regrets. Drunk and upset on New Year's Eve she wishes she'd never met him. But when she wakes up to discover this dream has come true, she realises she has a chance. To do it all over again. And to get it right this time.
What I Think
Tess Connolly, the main character of Don't You Forget About Me, is a little ridiculous, but not totally unlikable. There are a couple of cringe-worthy moments when I can't believe girls like this really exist and furthermore that other people, presumably also girls, want to read about them. At times the character seems so shallow, and frankly quite stupid too, that I can't believe I didn't stop reading immediately.
What saves this book is that its moral is sound: don't pretend to be something you're not. In order to keep her boyfriend Seb happy and their relationship thriving, Tess is constantly trying to be something she's not, often with disastrous consequences. This message of being true to yourself is reinforced by the character Fiona, Tess' flatmate, who not only is the most unhealthy health & beauty editor, but she's prepared to adopt a fake persona to fit in with the 'posh set'.
Throughout the year that we follow the characters they discover more about themselves and who they truly are. With this new-found knowledge they are able to form better and stronger relationships with the people around them and ultimately be happier.
About the Author
Alexandra Potter (b. May 8, 1970) is an award-winning British author who previously worked as a features writer and sub-editor for women's glossies in both the UK and Australia. In 2007 she won the prize for Best New Fiction at the Jane Austen Regency World Awards for her bestselling novel, Me and Mr Darcy. Her novels have been translated into seventeen languages and her latest novel, You're the One That I Don't Want, is being adapted into a film. She now lives between London and Los Angeles and writes full-time.
About the Book
Title: Amy & Zach
Author: Sarah Louise Smith
Publication: Crooked Cat Publishing Ltd. (3 Jan 2013)/Amazon Kindle
Summary: Flying home to the UK from the US for her sister Libby’s wedding, Amy has some major issues with her homecoming. She is furious with Zach, who should have been travelling with her, but after he dropped a bombshell the day before she left, she hid his passport and flew alone. Now, can she act normal when she meets Libby’s fiance Tim? After he finds his passport, Zach heads for the UK to surprise Amy. He wants to apologise to her and finally meet her family. He has kept his secret for way too long and knows he has a lot of explaining to do.
What I Think
This is a very sweet story about how two people get together. One of the things I liked best about this book is that it is about a relationship. My biggest annoyance with many chick lit books (and rom coms alike) is that they end when the couple finally get together after months, or sometimes years of struggle, and we as readers (and viewers) have to assume that they just live happily ever after.
Amy moves to the US to 'start over' as life back home is not working out as planned. It may have been intentional, to set up the contrast with her life in the UK, but I think everything was slightly too easy for Amy in America; she found a loving boyfriend within weeks; she connected with her new family and they all welcomed her with open arms; she loved her job and one of her colleagues became her new best friend. Being an expat myself, I know that even if life is great, it's not always easy living abroad.
That said, this was a fun and pacy read. I was drawn in immediately when within the first chapter it was apparent that not all was well in the world of Amy & Zach.
About the Author
Sarah Louise Smith lives in Milton Keynes with her husband, two cute cats and a loopy golden retriever. She also has a twelve year old step-daughter and a large extended family. She has been working in marketing communications for several years and has a passion for reading, her favourite genre being "chick-lit".
Sarah has been writing stories ever since she can remember. A few years ago her husband bought her a laptop out of the blue, telling her she could accept it only on the condition that she used it to write a novel, something she'd been saying she wanted to do since she left high school. In 2012, she completed her first novel, Amy & Zach.
You can find out more by visiting her website.
Amy & Zach is available at Crooked Cat Publishing/Amazon UK/Amazon US.
About the Book
Title: 7 Days and Counting
Author: Suvi Lampila
Publication: Frictionist (27 Oct 2012)/Amazon Kindle
Summary: Reads like a modern romance, unfolds like a mystery and at the end opens up for interpretation. Are you looking for something surreal?
MAYBE: "Intensely realistic dialogue, even in the most bizarre circumstances"
NO: "a quick read for the first time; slow burner for the second"
YES: "a story that challenges your perception"
What I Think
As the lives of the two main characters collide, nothing is quite as it seems. Lampila weaves the story backwards and forwards in time with ease and skill. The reader has a little work to do in order to put pieces of the story together for him/herself. This is a challenge and I like that.
Due to there being two perspectives, you can read certain parts of the story twice. In my opinion these are some of the most interesting passages in the book, as two people rarely experience things exactly the same. It's therefore extremely interesting to read the same scenario from differing points of view.
Strangely (for me, at least) I got to the end of the book and immediately wanted to start reading it again. I feel that the first time I read it quickly as I wanted to know all the hidden secrets behind the closed doors of the character's lives. However, I feel that on a second, and more detailed read, so much more will be revealed.
About the Author
Suvi Lampila is the author of IL B L8, a short play written for three actors and a grand piano, and 7 Days and Counting, her debut novel that received a Literary Arts Grant of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. In her previous life she has been a furnishings officer for a British Embassy, an improper Bostonian and a technical services engineer, better known as a computer geek. She creates genre-defying fiction at Frictionist.
7 Days and Counting is available on Amazon US/UK/EU
