Newest Women's Fiction Reviews
Women's Fiction
The Art of Leaving by Anna Stothard
Luke's a barrister and Eva? She's a romantic novel editor and habitual leaver. Be it a party or a man, she's working on the exit strategy from the moment everything starts. This makes the fact that Eva and Luke have been together for three years a little abnormal in Eva world. The other abnormality in Eva world is the blonde woman she keeps spotting in random places, almost as if she's being spied upon… Full review...
Losing It by Cora Carmack
Bliss is a drama student, but what else would you expect with a name like that? And yet, when we first meet her, I would never have guessed that was her major. She just doesn’t seem the type. She’s also not the type to pick up random men in bars, but that’s exactly what she does as the book starts. It’s her friend Kelsey’s fault. She’s determined to get Bliss out there, because that’s not where Bliss normally is. About to graduate at the end of the year, Bliss has made it through college without one key college experience: sex. And it’s time to change that. Full review...
Peaches for Monsieur Le Curé by Joanne Harris
It’s over seven years since I read Chocolat, set in a small French town called Lansquenet. I liked it, on the whole, and often wondered what happened to Vianne, the chocolate-making and rather mystical heroine, not to mention the people whose lives she affected so deeply. A couple of years later I read The Lollipop Shoes which purported to be a sequel, but really stood alone. It was set in Paris and rather different in style. I liked it, but somehow it did not feel as if it involved the same people. Full review...
The Adoption by Anne Berry
It is a sad fact that only a few decades ago, the forced removal of an infant from its unmarried mother was widely considered the best option for all concerned. It is hard to imagine the terrible trauma suffered by these women when the authorities intervened and took away that tiny bundle, destined for a new life with new parents. Full review...
Mums Like Us by Laura Kemp
Stella Smith is fed up with the expectation that mums should be superwomen. She feels that there are certain women, who appear to have achieved perfection in terms of motherhood, that make all other mums feel inept and inferior. She feels that realism is best and that to strive to be 'good enough' is what most mums should aspire to. That is why she sets up the 'Mums Like Us' group that meets weekly in her messy kitchen and rejoices in slovenliness, messy clothes and overeating. Full review...
A French Affair by Katie Fforde
Gina Makepiece has just moved to the Cotswolds to live near her sister Sally. They are intrigued when they discover that their dear Aunt Rainey has left them something in her will. In order to find out what though, they have to go to the French House, an antiques centre, where the owner, Matthew, has a letter from their aunt to open. It transpires that they have been left a stall in the centre and their aunt has requested that Matthew helps them get to grips with the world of antiques. Full review...
The Last Time I Saw You by Eleanor Moran
As a woman in her mid thirties, Livvy feels that her life is OK. She has a good job even though she is slightly intimidated by her boss and is often in danger of being overlooked for new projects. Her love life might be non-existent but at least she shares her home with James, the one time love of her life which only works if she can settle for being good mates. However, when she hears that Sally, her best friend from many years ago, has been killed in a car accident, her world is turned upside down. Full review...
The Mummyfesto by Linda Green
Three women, who meet regularly in the school playground, have become close friends. Sam has two sons: the sensitive, old-for-his years Zach, who is seven, and the fun-loving five-year-old Oscar. Anna has two teenagers, Will and Charlotte, and a younger daughter called Esme. Jackie just has Alice. Oscar, Esme and Alice are classmates, and good friends; sadly, Oscar suffers from an incurable muscle-wasting disease, and can only move in a wheelchair. Sam and her partner Rob have to use ventilators and other machines just to keep him alive, knowing that any infection could be seriously life-threatening. Full review...
Gossip by Beth Gutcheon
Loviah French, Dinah Wainwright and Avis Metcalf met when they were at boarding school. Lovie owns a top-class dress shop in Manhattan - the place where women of a certain class go when they want something for a special occasion and to be secure in the knowledge that they will be treated well and discreetly. Dinah is a columnist who chronicles the lives of New York's rich and famous, whilst Avis is a prominent figure in the art world. Lovie is our narrator and she's also the glue which holds the three women together. They're both devoted to her and she to them, but a small, imagined slight, many decades earlier, has left an icy distance between Dinah and Avis. Full review...
The Baby Diaries by Sam Binnie
Hot on the heels of the Wedding Diaries, Kiki and Thom are back with the next installment of their lives. It’s not giving too much away, given the title, to tell you that there’s a baby on the way. It was sorta, kinda not all that planned, but they’re happy if a little shocked. Luckily she’s got her sister to guide her through the process, numerous friends who are newly married, newly pregnant or newly parents themselves, and her own mother who seems to be almost nice for once. Full review...
Unexpected Lessons in Love by Bernardine Bishop
Cecilia Banks and Helen Gatehouse met by chance in a doctor's waiting room and a friendship developed because they were both cancer survivors, albeit with a colostomy. It was a case of opposites attracting: Cecilia was quiet, reserved, married for the second time and the mother of Ian whom she idolised. Helen had never married, loud in the nicest sense of the word and an author. They gave each other mutual support and an outlet for their preoccupations. People with whom you can discuss the, er, intricacies of your stoma are few and far between! The relationship wasn't entirely uncritical: Helen was less than impressed when Ian dumped (sorry - there's really no other word for it) a baby on his mother. Cephas was the result of a fling he'd had with the child's mother and she'd disappeared. He - a war correspondent - was on his way abroad. Full review...
Pedigree Mum by Fiona Gibson
When Kerry Tambini moves to Shorling, she has high expectations that she and her family will live there happily forever. Within weeks though, her dreams are shattered after her husband Rob shocks her by an indiscretion that he can hardly remember. This indiscretion turns out to have a devastating consequence leaving Kerry with no option but to ask Rob to move out. This leaves her alone with the children in Shorling and pretty much friendless as she struggles to find anything in common with the snooty mums she meets at the school gate. Full review...
Transforming Pandora by Carolyn Mathews
When we first meet Pandora Armstrong in the spring of 2003 she's grieving for her husband, Mike, who had died just a few weeks before. It hadn't been his first heart attack and he had reduced his workload but this attack was fatal. He was only in his fifties and Pandora feels that he'd been snatched away from her as they'd only been married for a few years. When a friend suggests that she goes with her to an Evening of Clairvoyance she runs out of excuses to refuse and although she's not exactly convinced by what she hears there's a lingering doubt. A spirit voice mentioned her children and Pandora was adamant that she didn't have any children - it's actually quite a sore point - but that wasn't true of Mike. Full review...
A Passionate Love Affair with a Total Stranger by Lucy Robinson
Charley is a have-it-all alpha-female. She takes cooking lessons, learns Mandarin, volunteers her time to worthy causes. But she’s not a lady who lunches, trying to fill her days, she’s a high-flying communications manager at a Pharma company who dreams big and works relentlessly to achieve her goals. So, when she’s side-lined by a nasty accident that leaves her leg broken in 3 places, she panics. Not for her are months off sick, lounging on the sofa watching Jeremy Kyle and eating Thorntons straight from the box. She can’t return to work, so she needs a new plan, something to occupy her time and stop her brain going to mush. Full review...
Honey Brown is Married by Sara Judge
Honey Brown had been a foundling, but fortune - and a benefactress - had smiled on her and she became a dancer at the Windmill Theatre. Then she met August Blake, farmer and the two married and Honey left the theatre to live on the Sussex farm. After a week's honeymoon she was largely left to her own devices. How would she cope with married life, the local community and being a farmer's wife? Well, it was a steep learning curve, but there's more to Honey than meets the eye. There's more to August, too. Full review...
How We Met by Katy Regan
At the start of 'How We Met', a group of friends - Fraser, Mia, Anna, Melody and Norm - are all meeting up in order to celebrate their friend's birthday. There would be nothing unusual about this apart from the fact that the friend is dead. Liv died tragically after falling from a balcony when they were all on holiday in Ibiza. The remaining friends feel that they need to honour her birthday but of course it is going to be a poignant occasion. As they are remembering their friend, Norm produces something that he found in the pocket of a coat he once lent Liv. It's a list of all of the things that she wanted to do before she was thirty, such as, learn a foreign language, swim naked in the sea at dawn and go to an airport and pick a random destination to travel to! As it would have been Liv's thirtieth the following year, the group decide to share out and complete all the activities on the list as a tribute to their friend. Full review...
No! I Don't Need Reading Glasses! by Virginia Ironside
Marie is enjoying the sort of hectic retirement that makes her wonder how she found the time to work. However, not everything is rosy. Her son and daughter-in-law are thinking about moving abroad, taking Marie's beloved grandson, Gene. Meanwhile Marie's partner, Archie, is becoming worryingly forgetful. On top of this, the derelict patch of 'park' at the top of the road may be replaced by a hotel. It's amazing how attractive it's seemed to become once it's under threat. But 'attractive' isn't the word that comes to mind when describing the resulting action group. Thank goodness there are always wine and good friends. Full review...
The Perfect Present by Karen Swan
What do you buy for the woman who has everything? Rob Blake thinks he has it cracked when he commissions a piece of jewellery for his wife Cat’s birthday. But this is no ordinary necklace. The bespoke bling will be like nothing she’s seen before, because he is paying the designer, Laura, a small fortune to dedicate all her time to it. She will interview Cat’s nearest and dearest, and design a charm that tells the story of each relationship. Full review...
Would I Lie To You? by Clare Dowling
Hannah, Ellen and Barbara have been friends ever since they shared a house at university. They are now in their late thirties and over the years have always been there for each other. This year though, as both Hannah and Ellen prepare to celebrate their thirty eighth birthdays, they all seem to have a bit more stress in their lives than usual. Hannah’s partner, Ollie, has left her and their seven year old daughter, Cleo; Barbara is preparing to adopt a Russian baby on her own; and Ellen and her husband Mark are struggling to ‘live the dream’ that was theirs when they moved to France a few years earlier. Added to this, when Hannah and Barbara spend a couple of weeks with Ellen and her family, something happens that shocks Hannah. If she tells Ellen, it could wreck their friendship. However, if she keeps quiet, she runs the risk of Ellen finding out anyway which could make things even worse. Full review...
You Had Me At Hello by Mhairi McFarlane
Who hasn’t got a ‘one that got away’? Or maybe several? Rachel and Ben meet at university in Manchester, but she’s got a boyfriend back home, and he’s a bit of a ladies man, so rather than settle down together (which is arguably what at least one of them thinks they should have done), they pad through a few years as fellow students and then go their separate ways. After a while Rachel heads back to Manchester and some time well after that, Ben finds himself back up north too. They bump into each other and it’s like nothing has changed. Except everything has changed. Rachel is hot off a broken engagement, while Ben is married to a hotshot lawyer from Lan-dan. Will their past stay in the past, and do they want it to? Told from Rachel’s point of view, this is a story that sets out to answer those, and other questions. Full review...
A Merry Little Christmas by Julia Williams
Cat Tinsall, Pippa Holliday and Marianne North all live in the lovely village of Hope Christmas and have formed very close and supportive friendships over the four years they have known each other. The story starts with Christmas just over and follows the three friends through the entire year leading up to the next Christmas. It’s not going to be an easy year for any of them though and they’re definitely going to need each other’s help. Full review...
The Valentine's Card by Juliet Ashton
Orla, a primary school teacher, is still at home in Ireland while actor boyfriend Sim works over in London, but although it’s hard to be apart, there are some benefits to doing the long distance thing, not least Sim’s awesome card writing skills. So when Valentine’s day comes around, Orla is excited for what the day might bring. She’s expecting a little something in the post, but she’s not expecting the phone call that comes, nor the news that comes with it. Sim has died, suddenly. And it’s not just his life that is over. On the verge of a proposal, Orla feels her life is finished too. She flees to London to recover some of Sim’s possessions, taking with her the as yet unopened Valentine’s card he sent, with its unfulfilled promises. Full review...
The Vintage Teacup Club by Vanessa Greene
Jenny, Maggie and Alison meet at a car boot sale. Jenny is looking for vintage tea sets to serve tea at her wedding to Dan in a few month's time. She spots four cups and saucers that would be ideal but at the same time, the cups are also spotted by Maggie and Alison who also want them. Over a cup of tea, they realise that each of them needs them at a different time so it could be possible to buy them and then share them. Jenny will have them first at her wedding, then Maggie will use them in the 'Alice in Wonderland' garden she is creating, before finally passing them on to Alison who will use them as scented candle holders. It's a good solution and one that will lead to a strong and lasting friendship between the three of them. Full review...
Dream a Little Dream by Sue Moorcroft
Liza Reece works as reflexologist at The Stables, a therapy centre attached to a hotel. It should be doing quite well. It could be doing quite well, but the manager and leaseholder is Nicholas, who's a waste of rather a lot of space. Liza reckons that she could take over the lease, reorganise the finances and make a success of it, but she has to raise the money to buy the lease. Dominic Christy has a plan too. He used to be an Air Traffic Controller, but he developed a rare sleep disorder and falling asleep on that job is not a good idea. He's just split up with his girlfriend and has money from the sale of their house. He has plans for The Stables - and he wouldn't need a reflexologist. Full review...
