CHICK LIT SARA LAWRENCE
MR MAKE BELIEVE by Beezy Marsh (Ipso Books £7.99)
MArnIe MArTIn is juggling childcare, a job as a journalist, a marriage hanging by a thread and an all-consuming fantasy about her favourite movie star. With all this tail-chasing going on, it’s no surprise when Marnie messes up at work and loses her job and then her husband. Then the movie star walks into her life for real, turning everything she thought she knew about herself upside down.
Marnie isn’t sure whether to pursue this fantasy or try to sort things with her husband, but her new job means she barely has time to see what’s happening around her.
Marsh has created an appealing protagonist in Marnie and I raced through this warm, witty and well-written novel, rooting for our hapless, but relatable, heroine. It’s compulsively readable and entertaining.
THE OPTIMIST by Sophie Kipner
(Unbound £14.99) I’ve never come across such a uniquely weird protagonist, or indeed premise. I whizzed through this hilarious and horrifying read about Tabitha Gray’s crazy — only this word will do — search for love in all the wrong places.
Tabitha is delusional and misguided, with no boundaries, no respect for personal space and no idea of what’s appropriate. she is optimistic to the point of insanity — the endless rejections she encounters on her mad quest to find her soulmate can’t dim her not so much glass-half-full as glasstotally-overflowing attitude.
each chapter relates to a failed seduction attempt with a variety of men who all find Tabitha and her intensity terrifying. The narrative veers into satirical territory as she uses her psychologically compromised alcoholic mother and grandmother with dementia as her sole sources of wisdom.
Kipner writes beautifully, is emotionally intelligent and has a keen eye for detail — the more absurd the better. The result is a different, occasionally deranged and always very clever read. I loved every minute.
THE OTHER US by Fiona Harper
(HQ £7.99) ThIs book examines the link between expectations and happiness, questions if there is such a thing as greener grass and asks what would happen if we could turn back time.
Would we stick by our old decisions? Or make different choices based on our current satisfaction levels? since nothing in life comes with a guarantee, where would those new choices lead us anyway?
After 24 years of marriage and with her beloved daughter about to leave home, Maggie wonders what her future is going to look like — and whether she should have married Dan in the first place.
A university reunion posted on Facebook takes her down a more dangerous path of thought as uncomfortable old memories of the romance that preceded Dan surface.
An engaging and thought-provoking read.