CHICK LIT
LAST OF THE SUMMER MOET by Wendy Holden
(Head of Zeus £18.99) I adored Wendy Holden’s hilarious, clever and compulsively readable last book, Laura Lake and The Hipster Weddings. I am thrilled to report that this second in the series is just as brilliant.
Journalist Laura is promoted to acting editor of Society, the fabulous fashion magazine she works for, when the actual editor’s drink problem becomes totally unmanageable. always on the hunt for new stories, Laura is thrilled to discover a rural British village stuffed full of politicians, captains of industry, film directors and artists.
Great Hording is so exclusive, it doesn’t appear on the internet and non-famous outsiders are refused entry to the local pub.
Laura needs to find a way in and must write her expose before the locals discover who she really is.
Holden, a regular reviewer on these pages, is a wonderful comic writer whose narrative zips along, full of twists and turns and fascinating secondary characters in a huge variety of engrossing sub-plots. I couldn’t put it down. Total bliss.
ANNA: ONE LOVE, TWO STORIES by Amanda Prowse
(Head of Zeus £11.99) aS THe title suggests, this is one romance told from two perspectives, published as separate books.
First, we hear anna’s side. Her mother has so little money that she often feeds her children rather than herself, but because anna knows how much she is loved, she always feels rich.
anna is nine when her mother dies and her world becomes a dark, chaos-filled place as she is shunted between a succession of so- called homes. (Warning: keep a box of tissues nearby.) Under such circumstances, it’s easy to see how people might give up, but anna writes regular letters to her own imaginary children about the better future she is determined to forge.
When our courageous heroine gets stuck in a lift with handsome, posh Theo, it seems he is the answer.
despite his material riches, however, Theo is not without emotional scars of his own.
I loved it and can’t wait for Theo’s tale, out next month.