chicklit

Book review: The Lonely Fajita by Abigail MAnn

| Rhoda Baxter 
The Lonely FajitaThe Lonely Fajita
 by Abigail  Mann

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I requested this book from Netgalley because I loved the title.
This is a fun, light hearted read and is genuinely funny. Elissa is in an intern position that’s losing her money, she has a terrible boyfriend and is about to be made homeless. She signs up to be a companion for the an elderly lady called Annie.

The story is about loneliness – both Elissa and Annie, with their different lifestyles, are lonely. They find in each other the impetus to move out of their respective ruts.


I was expecting a rom com and kept waiting for the romantic storyline to kick off, which impaired my enjoyment a little. There is only a mere hint of a romance subplot in it. There is plenty of comedy though and all the other stuff with the interesting friends. If you’re looking for a coming of age type story of a twenty something Londoner, you’ll enjoy this book.


I got a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. Thanks to Netgalley and to the publisher.

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Book review: The Hopes and Dreams of Lucy Baker by Jenni Keer

| Rhoda Baxter 
The Hopes and Dreams of Lucy BakerThe Hopes and Dreams of Lucy Baker by Jenni Keer
 My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 What a lovely heartwarming book. 

Lucy is a kind soul, if a little lacking in confidence. Her neighbour Brenda is a colourful character who may or may not be a little bit magic. When Brenda gives her a locket which urges Lucy to do some spells to help her win the new neighbour George's heart.

There were some lovely touches in this book. I especially liked the office awkward/sexist guy Adam was a really nice guy at heart, despite his clumsiness and sexist comments. The feud between Danny and Adam was fun. Likewise, I liked that Sam was painted as a nuanced character.

If you're looking for something to keep you company on a chilly winter night, this would be just the thing.
I got a review copy of this book from Netgalley. I had met the author as we both belong to the same professional organisation. 

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Christmas At The Palace is on tour this week!

| Rhoda Baxter

Christmas At The Palace in on tour of some awesome book blogs this week.

It’s already been to:

A Cat, A Book and a cup of tea who gave it 4 cats!

and Jera’s Jamboree 

You can click on the links to read the reviews. (I’ve read them both – over and over… )

Tune in for the rest of the tour.

Did I mention that Christmas At The Palace is available in ebook, paperback AND Audio now? Did I? Oh, okay. As you were.

Goodreads book review: The Cake Shop In The Garden by Carole Matthews

| Rhoda Baxter

The Cake Shop In The GardenThe Cake Shop In The Garden by Carole Matthews

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a charming book. All the descriptions of cake made me hungry, so I ate three cupcakes and half a packet of biscuits in the time it took me to read it. So, it’s also a fattening book.

Fay is lovely, but suffering from self esteem issues. Dan is sweet (and hot obviously), but there isn’t that much to him, really. Anthony starts off being the 2D ‘wrong man’, but ends up being much more solid and believable. Fay’s mother and sister are really quite horrid. My favourite of the bunch is Lija, who gets all the good lines! Stan is a bit of dude too.

This is the first Carole Matthews book I’ve read. I enjoyed it. It’s very relaxing to read, perfect for reading on a summery weekend. But, be warned. You will crave cake.

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Doctor January is released in e-Format!

graphic cover with silhouettes
| Rhoda Baxter

Doctor Janaury book cover
Doctor January Lab-Lit Romance

 

I’ve ever so excited today. First there was the news that Doctor January was released as an ebook today – a whole month and a bit before the paperback comes out.

And then the post arrived:

A box of author copies of Doctor January in paperback.
The BEST parcel ever!

 

Now I feel like a real grown-up author! Woohoo!

I would LOVE it if you could share my good news. Any shares, tweets, G+s, telling your friends etc would be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Right. Now I need to go celebrate with an ice cream sundae.

 

Inheritance Books – Lynda Renham

| Rhoda Baxter

Lynda Renham, author of books with hilarious titles, is visiting Inheritance Books today. 

Hi Lynda, welcome to Inheritance Books. Please tell us a bit about yourself.

Copy of Copy of DSCF4175My name is Lynda Renham. I am the bestselling author of the romantic comedies Croissants and Jam Coconuts and Wonderbras, Pink Wellies and Flat Caps and The Dog’s Bollocks which is my latest novel. I also have a little ditty out titled The Confessions of a Chocoholic, which is a collection of short stories about my mad life.

I live in Oxfordshire with my second husband and our little cat Bendy. I have been writing for 25 years but only had success in the past three, when I decided to write comedy. I have a contemporary novel out titled The Diary of Rector Byrnes which is written under the pseudonym of Edith Waylen. It is very different to my comedy novels.

I love chocolate and music and need both when writing. I have talked on radio and written political articles before turning my attention mostly to novel writing.

I live in the country and absolutely love it. We take lovely walks through our village and I take many photos and share them on my Facebook page.

I love having contact with my readers and love to hear what they like about my novels and which ones are their favourites. I produce a monthly newsletter and anyone can subscribe to it by going to my web page at http://www.renham.co.uk. I’d love to hear from you so please do contact me. I’m on Twitter as well as Facebook and you can always contact me via my website.

Oxfordshire is lovely. The countryside is so heartbreakingly beautiful in the summer.

Which book have you inherited from the generation above? Why is it special?

IMAG0148The book I have inherited and love dearly for many reasons is The Sea The Sea by Iris Murdoch. My mother bought it many years and gave it to me and so began my love and addiction for Iris Murdoch. I have all her books. And what makes this introduction so special is because twenty years later after being introduced to Iris Murdoch a wonderful film was made about her life based on the book written about her by her husband John Bayley. I discovered after seeing the film that Iris had lived in Oxfordshire and not far from me. I found out from a friend where it was and learnt that John still lived there. I found the house and popped a note in asking John Bayley if I could pop round for tea and see where Iris had written her books as I was such a big fan. The biggest shock was when he answered the note and invited me for tea. It was amazing. I saw Iris’s study and her home and met John Bayley and best of all John read my book The Diary of Rector Byrnes and said it was highly publishable. From a Professor of English that was praise indeed.  That was one of the highlights of my life.

Which book would you leave for later generations? Why?

The book I would leave for future generations is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. It was recommended to me and is a fine balancebeautifully written novel and so compelling. Absolutely beautiful and I want to buy a copy for all my friends. It is a book that has made me desperately want to go to India. I have many books recommended to me but this one was most certainly the best ever.

Thank you for sharing our Inheritance Books with us, Lynda. All the best with your books.

dogbsLynda’s latest book The Dog’s Bollocks is out now. You can find out more about Linda on Facebook, Twitter or her website.

Goodreads Book Review: The Runaway Actress by Victoria Connelly

| Rhoda Baxter

The Runaway Actress
The Runaway Actress by Victoria Connelly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Connie Gordon gets sick of the pressures of Hollywood stardom and runs away to her mother’s home town and HQ of her fan club – a remote village in Scotland. Maggie runs the Connie Gordon fan club as well as the only shop in the village. There’s a playwright called Alastair who has also run away from London to live in a house in the middle of the hills.
Although there are two love stories in the book, the real story was about Maggie and Connie. The men are almost incidental. Victoria Connelly is very good at natural sounding dialogue. From the start, the Scottish characters sound Scottish, without resorting to clichéd bits of dialect. The various residents of the village have distinct voices and the interaction between them is very funny.
I would have given it five stars, but I found some of the false trails in the plot a little annoying. For example, the reporter who is conveniently scared away and the agent who is angry at being fired, but didn’t tell the press where Connie was. The ending seemed a little flat. Overall, it was an enjoyable story and well worth reading to hear the villagers talking to each other.

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