Mini-View: Date Expectations - Paul Reizin

Date Expectations tells the hilarious true story of some of the most disastrous dates in the history of courtship, as Paul sets out on an increasingly fraught quest to leave singledom behind ... These include the date with the psycho hippy nutter; the date who didn't turn up; the world's shortest date; and the date with a face like a bag of spanners.

Learn to interpret the secret language of the lonely hearts columns (e.g. 'bubbly' = fat). Learn how to read between the lines of a recorded message - fine tune your radar for those tell-tale references to cats and anger-management classes. And much, much more ...

Remember - blind dating is like life. By the time you've learned how to do it properly, you no longer need to . . .

Having just moved I've come across a box full of second hand books that clearly caught my attention at one point but that I never managed to quite get round to reading, wanting something a bit easy to settle down with I plucked Date Expectations off of the top of the pile.

Review: The Wrong Knickers: a decade of chaos - Bryony Gordon*

For years, women have been told that their twenties are their golden years, filled with fun, parties, sex and glamour. Countless TV shows and movies tell us the same story: this is your perfect decade - don't waste it! You'll never be so happy - or thin - again. 

Here, in her hilariously honest memoir, Bryony Gordon gives us a fresh perspective. Like Carrie Bradshaw, she may have had a column in a national newspaper, but her twenties weren't one long episode of Sex and the City, instead they were a decade of hangovers, heartbreak, and hideously awkward mornings-after, all over her overdraft limit.

Something a bit different on the blog today with a review of a memoir from Bryony Gordon,  a coloumnist for The Telegraph and one of the paper's best loved writers. As I'm sure we'll soon be hearing from everyone, Gordon has produced the Bridget Jones for the noughties with the added bonus that it is all hilariously true.

Review: Once Upon a Kiss (Book Club Belles Society #1)- Jayne Fresina*

These Book Club Belles are ready to put down their novels and find some real-life leading men!

In the sleepy village of Hawcombe Prior, five young ladies of the local book society are reading a salacious romance called Pride and Prejudice. Upon finishing the book, the ladies race to find their own Mr. Darcy, and the handsome, mysterious Darius Wainwright is the perfect mark. 

Justina Penny can't understand why her fellow Belles are starry-eyed in the newcomer's arrogant presence. But if the town's only eligible bachelor marries anyone, it should be her sweet, beautiful sister. And it's up to Justina to make it happen. How could this plan possibly go wrong?

How has it been so long since I've read a historical romance? I know, I know, it's terrible. But you'll be pleased to hear that I've put an end to this drought and have read and reviewed the first in a wonderful new series from Jayne Fresina.

The Troublemaker Next Door (the MacCauley Brothers #1) - Marie Harte*

Flynn McCauley never thought he’d be so cliché as to fall for the girl next door. But when Maddie calls him over to help fix her faulty sink, he’s a goner. Too bad the fiercely independent interior designer wants nothing to do with him. Even worse, he’s forced to rely on the advice of his nosy brothers—and his five-year-old nephew!—to figure out how to make her give him a shot.

It feels like a long time since I've been introduced to a new contemporary romance author and I can't think of a better addition to my digital shelves than Marie Harte. Having never read any of Harte's books before I wasn't hundred percent sure what to expect, what I got was an enjoyable erotic romance.