Rhoda Baxter‘s review

Jemima has a dark secret. The scars from her past stop her from settling down. Ben has secrets of his own. When Jemima goes to Ben’s shop to ask him to stock her jewellery, they recognise something in each other.

Please Don’t Stop the Music is too dark to be considered chic lit. The deeply damaged hero and heroine, arson, postnatal depression, the peculiar mystery of what Saskia is up to, all combine to make it a compelling read. With all that, you’d expect it to be a bit of a depressing read, but it isn’t. The characters are vivid. The comedy is mainly through the way the characters interact with each other (no ditzy heroine slapstick here!) and the dialogue is witty. Jemima is likeable and believable, even if you want to shake her sometimes. Ben is so damaged you just want to wrap him in a blanket and take him home. The ending is not quite your traditional happily ever after, but it’s upbeat and full of hope. This is a good book; well written and thought provoking. I really enjoyed it.