The Only Way is Up - Carole Matthews

I really like Carole Matthews. Some of her books don't resonate with me as much as others, but she's always a fun, unpredictable read. THE ONLY WAY IS UP is probably one of my favourites. I don't know what it is about the "from riches to rags" stories that I find so alluring.

From the book jacket:

Lily and Laurence had it all: the money, the car, a beautiful home in the Buckinghamshire countryside. Then Laurence loses his job and everything disappears. With nowhere to turn, Lily and Laurence are forced to take their two young children and move to a flea-ridden council house on a notoriously rough estate. As they try to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, Lily constantly dreams of returning to her old, luxurious life. Will her dream come true or will she learn that money doesn't alway buy happiness?

Casablanca

Casablanca - the best love movie ever made. Just saying.

Welcome to the Real World by Carole Matthews

Welcome to the Real World by Carole Matthews was an enjoyable read. It's a romance, but with enough layers to pass for chick lit. It's warm and touching, humorous and poignant. Predictable, yes. But so is the whole genre.

From the blurb: Fern Kendal dreams that one day her talent will be 'discovered' and that singing in the local pub with her oldest friend Carl will be nothing but a distant memory. There again, in the real world dreams like that never come true. Or do they? 

Foreign-language romances

We're missing out by only reading mainstream romances. While I have nothing against Harlequin's very broad definition of romance books (historicals, paranormals, urban fantasy, steam punk, modern Greek tycoons as well as sex-and-the-city situations), I still feel there's a niche that needs filling.

This week, I was privileged to read a Polish contemporary romance. Katarzyna Grochola's "Houston, we have a problem" does not feature an alpha male. It does not feature a pathetic male, either. It's a story of a man coming to terms with a breakup. He's a genius at his job (film making) but cannot get a break. He drinks too much at parties, he rows with the neighbours, he gets irritated at him mother's Chihuahua... which doesn't stop him from taking his laundry there (his girlfriend moved out with the washing machine). In other words, he's human. We can sympathise or empathise with him. We can admire his genius. We can shake his head at the idiocy of his romantic decisions.

I'd like to read more such books. Harlequin, do you copy, over?

$100 could be yours

Buy a book and win $100!

If you are the 10th customer to buy this romatic suspense title, "Operation: Genocide" by Yvonne Walus, before the end of February 2014, you will win $100. To qualify, simply buy it here: http://www.stairwaypress.com/bookstore/operation-genocide/. The 10th customer will get $100.

As easy as that.

Austenland by Shannon Hale

I'm not an Austen fan. I don't go weak at the knees at the mention of Mr Darcy (who?) or Colin Firth (who? oh, you mean the gay guy in Mamma Mia!), but you know what? Austenland, the romance novel by Shannon Hale, works for me. It's fun, it's light, it's easy to read while stirring bolognese sauce or waiting at the piano lessons. I will read the sequel for sure.

From the blurb:

Jane is a young New York woman who can never seem to find the right man—perhaps because of her secret obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. When a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-obsessed women, however, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become more real than she ever could have imagined. Is this total immersion in a fake Austenland enough to make Jane kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?

Don't miss Shannon Hale's next book, Midnight in Austenland, a mystery set at Pemberly available in February, 2012. 

 

 

The Big Bang Theory - The Kiss

The Big Bang Theory - still a better love story than Twilight, right? Especially now with the Sheldon-Amy kiss.