Book Challenge...Books 3 & 4!!!

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

& The Flavours of Love by Dorothy Koomson

The second stage of The Novel Cafe's book challenge....Which book did you prefer?!

Don Tillman is a socially challenged genetics professor who’s decided the time has come to find a wife. His questionnaire is intended to weed out anyone who’s unsuitable. The trouble is, Don has rather high standards and doesn't really do flexible so, despite lots of takers, he’s not having much success in identifying The One. When Rosie Jarman comes to his office, Don assumes it’s to apply for the Wife Project – and duly discounts her on the grounds she smokes, drinks, doesn't eat meat, and is incapable of punctuality. However, Rosie has no interest in becoming Mrs Tillman and is actually there to enlist Don’s assistance in a professional capacity: to help her find her biological father. Sometimes, though, you don't find love: love finds you…

Review by Laura

An excellent read! I don't think I could recommend this book highly enough, it really does deserve the rave reviews that it has received since being published. I was so enthralled, I couldn’t put the book down and finished it in half the time it usually takes me!

The Rosie Project is the story of Don Tillman, a professor in genetics, and his search for the perfect wife. While embarking on a scientific project to find the ideal woman for him, he accidentally stumbles across the imperfect but ideal match in Rosie. Along the way, Don’s relationships with the few friends that he has is interesting, it makes Don and the reader question what is ‘normal’ and what is ‘perfect’. But above all, this story is of the battle between mind and soul – what our minds tell us we need in a partner is not often what our hearts desire, a lesson for us all perhaps?! The question is, does Don follow his heart or his mind?

Don is such an endearing character, making me smile and laugh throughout that I was left wanting more. I would love to see what happens to him after The Rosie Project and hope that the author, Graeme Simsion, does consider a sequel.

I give this book 10/10, A Novel Café Cupcake! Grab a cuppa and get stuck in, it won't take you long to finish it!

'I'm looking for that perfect blend of flavours; the taste that used to be you. If I find it, I know you'll come back to me.'

It's been 18 months since my husband was murdered and I've decided to finish writing The Flavours of Love, the cookbook he started before he died. Everyone thinks I'm coping so well without him - they have no idea what I've been hiding or what I do away from prying eyes. But now that my 14-year-old daughter has confessed something so devastating it could destroy our family all over again, and my husband's killer has started to write to me claiming to be innocent, I know it's only a matter of time before the truth about me and what I've done is revealed to the world. My name is Saffron Mackleroy and this is my story.

Review by Nicole, book received from publisher, thank you!

This story focuses on Saffron and her battle with life after the murder of her husband Joel just 18 months ago. Struggling along through life with her son and daughter in tow, juggling the burden of truth she knows about the murder of her husband, her own personal self and the life changing news her 14 year old daughter is carrying, how can things get any worse? Maybe by your husband's murderer sending you threatening letters in the post? How much more can Saffron take before things just get too much?

I am still confused as to how I actually feel about this book. In places I could not put it down, thoroughly intrigued and enjoying the suspense but then within another few chapters I would find myself skipping over paragraphs feeling quite bored. I liked the suspense Koomson carries through the book and the different secrets which appear as the story develops. I did miss the laugh-out-loud moments im used to in most books I enjoy reading but then I realise this would be inappropriate for this storyline and was quite open to reading something i'm not quite used to. Many readers may find it a hard book to read as the author jumps backwards and forwards from present day to the past, however I quite liked this and thought it really helped with relating more to Saffron and her story.

I rate this book 7/10, a chocolate brownie. It was worth a read and enjoyable, the storyline was very good, maybe just too deep for me and did loose my attention at times.

Author special......Victoria Browne

A very warm welcome and thank you to Victoria Browne joining me today at The Novel Cafe.....

Read about Victoria's amazing, courageous journey to becoming an author and the release of her debut novel Gut Feeling...which is available now!

As a young girl I remember my mum reading to me “The Famous Five” by Enid Blyton. As I listened to my mum read, her words would capture my entire imagination as if I was one of the characters in the book. My love for books grew with each story my mum read to me, along with a quiet desire to be able to read the words for myself. My first attempt at writing a story was age ten. I somehow managed to scribble a few pages into one of my brother’s old school exercise books, before giving up frustrated that I could not spell the words I had in my head. It was a horror story! I stayed struggling with this genre throughout my childhood and into my teens. A few short stories or scenes from my imagination made their way onto paper if they were lucky. At this point I had no idea that I had a talent that needed to be nurtured. I used to think, how can someone who can’t spell be a writer? So I never told the adults in my life how I felt about reading and writing. My brother had a talent for art, you name it and he could make it or draw it. So I put down my pen and picked up a pencil. Let's just say I did not have the same talents as my brother. I would not write again until I was about thirteen where the horror genre continued along with a fantasy.

During my time at high school I became unruly and despondent. I had an attention span of about six minutes and a sharp tongue. From my teacher’s eyes I was a naughty child with no intention of learning, from my eyes I was surviving the best way I knew possible without being called stupid. I was quick to learn that if I were loud and aggressive then people would not pick on me. I left school with bad grades and no career prospects but a wild imagination.

I fell into my first real job at seventeen within the dental industry. I studied to pass my dental nurse qualification. As an adult I would still write short stories and scenes from my imagination however my genre was not horror or fantasy but erotica and romance. I managed to struggle through every page of Rider’s by Jilly Cooper and had fallen in love with the Mills & Boon section at Waterstones in Oxford Street. I would show my writing to the other nurses who thought it was outrageous but loved everything I wrote. This gave me the confidence to keep writing. At aged twenty I was writing erotica poetry and also some general philosophy. Looking back I can see the natural creative path I was taking myself on. Just like an artist I was trying different genres and writing styles.

Dyslexia for a creative writer is a cruel disability. I carried a vocabulary in my head that did not match my spelling ability. Spell check and computers were not around when I was younger, so I would find myself substituting words on paper in order to make my writing legible, unaware that this only detracted from my writing and the impact it had on the reader. Aged twenty-four I sought help, determined to learn to spell, I found out that I had a weak short-term memory. In short, it went in one ear and out the other! So now all I needed to do was get the information to go in one ear and stay there. I worked on developing my memory with a therapist called Margaret Chawke, which helped me go back to basics and teach myself to spell. Towards the end of my program Margaret asked me to write a diary to help develop my reading and writing skills. I explained that I did not like writing diaries but I did write erotic and romantic scenarios. Margaret suggested building a beginning and an end to one of my erotic or romantic scenarios. This was the birth of my first book Gut Feeling and the final step in finding my genre, Chick Lit. I put a beginning to one of my romantic scenarios and then carried on writing an ending. This ending came 165 pages later in 2010. It took me another two years to believe in myself enough to publish in 2012. I am currently publishing the first book in a two part series “Third Time Lucky – The Honey Trap” due for release In June 2014.  

Spelling is only one part of dyslexia for many and low self-esteem is a sad consequence.  As an adult it still brings a tear to my eye when I think back. For many years “the if only(s)” would play on endless loop in my mind. If only I had not been so naughty at school, if only I had tried harder, if only I had wanted to learn. I blamed myself for many years. It wasn’t until I was in my late twenties I realised that I had been shouldering all the blame. I was a child. How could it be my entire fault?  Throughout the years this regret had silently suffocated me. I had allowed Dyslexia to become larger than me. I had let Dyslexia define who I was and in turn it had crushed my self-esteem. It was time to let go of “the if only(s)”. It was time to be happy that I can now read and write, and content that I can also use my journey to help other young people with their journeys. 

Author special....Ciara O'Neill

A huge hello to Ciara O'Neill who joined The Novel Cafe today for an Author Special! Thank you Ciara...it was a pleasure to have you!

Alert! Shortage of Hollywood Romcom movies!

If there was such a headline as this, I could well believe it.

I have been waiting with bated breath for the release of Austenland which was shown at the Cannes Film festival in August 2013. With much anticipation I browsed the cinema listings for months hoping to see it on general release. It wasn't released in the UK until this week when it came out on DVD. Given the fantastic cast and great story line, not to mention the devotion we have for all things related to Jane Austen, this is surely a crime!

As there’s such a huge appetite for the chicklit and RomCom genre, I fail to understand why Hollywood doesn't make more RomCom movies. You can never have enough happiness and there's a lot of comfort to be gained from a happy ending. RomComs are fantastic stress relievers.

Think about it. Most of you reading this will have seen movies where horrendous and sometimes hilarious obstacles and hurdles are thrown in the path of two protagonists who are very obviously destined to be together. Have you ever not sighed with satisfaction when they do eventually fall into each other's arms at the end? I can pretty much bet that you don't turn around to your companion and say "Gosh, isn't it a shame that:

(a) he didn't die in a car crash on the way to see her, or 

(b) she didn't go blind from the syphilis she was riddled with.” 

These are definitely not the kind of endings we look for in a RomCom.

The beauty of RomComs and the chicklit genre is that they can be put in any setting - desert, city, village, beach, country; in any era - present, past or future. They can have any theme - sport, academia, medical, scientific, business/office, artistic, theatrical, musical, nature, marine, agricultural, ethnic, fashion, media. I’m getting carried away but it proves my point that the potential for new story lines is endless as are the number of incredibly well written novels in this genre by some highly talented authors. This therefore, does not account for this bizarre RomCom-themed movie shortage. 

When I wrote my novel, Legally Wed, I saw it play out as a movie my head. I cast Henry Cavill (who wasn’t as well known then as he is now) to play the part of Max. Max is a self-assured businessman. Women find him attractive but I wanted him to be liked for more than his looks. He evolved into an intelligent and smart, well travelled but also likeable being. Henry Cavill fitted the bill perfectly but I had to imagine him with an American accent - Superman hadn’t been made then! For Mia, the heroine, she is an English woman who came from an Italian background. I needed an actress who was dark-haired and also not a skinny wraith. It took me ages to find someone from the current pack of Hollywood stars but I eventually picked Rachel Weisz. She’s beautiful but not obviously so. She also seems to exude a quiet confidence but has this gentle aura of vulnerability at the same time. 

The book I’m writing now was inspired by someone I saw on TV. This man (I won’t give the namer the program away as it will be a spoiler alert!) comes from a multi-cultural background, is well educated and a global traveller. The hero in my book is not multi-cultural but he’s also a seasoned traveller who has lived amongst diverse and ethnic communities; his global experiences have evolved into a large feature of the plot. In my movie mind, he looks a little bit like Hugh Dancy (the chap who’s married to Claire Danes). Hugh has a kind of Mr Darcy-esque vibe but not quite as haughty. The female lead in my mind resembles Amy Adams. My character is a little lost and more than a bit feisty. She needs to be - she’s had a major life shock. The two leads are as different as two people can get and I get excited writing it and seeing their story unfold in my head.

The same thing happens when I read a book. If the writer has done a good job, I will be able to see the characters as real people. It’s more than describing hair and eye colour. It’s about mood and temperament, mannerisms and actions. By the time I’ve finished reading the story, a movie has imprinted itself in my brain. It’s an incredibly pleasurable experience.

There’s no disputing the attraction for action, thriller and the heart-wrenching drama genres that fill the big screen. In fact, in the majority of other movies, there is almost always a romance angle. So I’m even more confused about the dearth of RomComs? Is it a case that our guys don't want to go see these with us? Do they sit and squirm their way through the love scenes? Who needs the guys anyway! I would happily go with my Mum or girlfriends and my sister always let's me know if there's a good one coming out so that we can share the delicious experience. 

Perhaps we need to put some girl power behind this and turn it into a crusade against Hollywood. Whenever you see a new RomCom come out, don't wait for it to hit DVD. Round up a bunch of your friends and head off to the cinema where you can all share in the joyous glow and happy buzz. 

If you’d like to see more of my Legally Wed movie ideas, and seeing how I’ve cast my other characters and visualise settings from the book, then check out my Pinterest Board -http://gb.pinterest.com/ciarawriter/

It has been a lovely experience writing this because it has cemented my love of love and RomCom even more!

Ciara xxx

Dont miss Legally Wed now available on Amazon at a bargain price!Just click on the link...

Book Challenge Week 1

Don't Tell the Groom by Anna Bell &

A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke

What a fabulous first week for The Novel Cafe book club...two fantastic books.

Will Penny be able to keep her secret long enough to say 'I do'? 

Penny has big dreams for her wedding day. She wants an unforgettable celebration, perfect down to the last detail, and has been saving for ages to make her dream a reality. When Mark finally pops the question, it's the best moment of her life.

Until Penny checks her wedding fund and is horrified to discover that something has gone terribly wrong. There's far less money there than she'd thought... and it's all her fault. She can't tell Mark the truth about what she's done, he knows nothing about how much time she spends gambling online. Her only choice is to seek help for her addiction and get married on a drastically smaller budget.

Working under the pretense of surprising Mark with her plans on their big day, operation 'Don't Tell the Groom' rolls into action, with surprising, hilarious and moving results.

Review by Nicole

What a brilliant book, I thoroughly enjoyed it, from start to finish I was gripped. I dont judge a book by its cover either but this one really is so pretty! 

Penny's lifelong ambition is to have the wedding of her dreams and once her boyfriend proposes along with her mood boards and pinterest pins she is ready to make all those dreams come true...until she checks the wedding savings fund and realises that due to her Bingo addiction this has decreased by ten thousand pounds! The story follows Penny and her journey to planning a wedding day on a budget, without telling her finance her gambling secret, 'Dont tell the Groom'.

I dont know if its because I have just got married myself but I could really relate to this book especially trying to plan a wedding on a budget . I instantly warmed to Penny, some people may find her selfish and stupid but I really felt for her and truly believed she was just very naive, after all we all have dreams, she was just trying to help hers come true. Maybe if the book had a different ending I would have felt differently! The whole Bingo gambling issue I thought gave a great unique spin to the story. This book had me laughing out loud and gave me that warm fuzzy feeling inside.

I rate this book 10/10, A Novel Cafe Cupcake, a book I would read again and again and can't wait for a sequel!

Paul West, a young Englishman, arrives in Paris to start a new job - and finds out what the French are really like.

They do eat a lot of cheese, some of which smells like pigs' droppings. They don't wash their armpits with garlic soap. Going on strike really is the second national participation sport after pétanque. And, yes, they do use suppositories.


In his first novel, Stephen Clarke gives a laugh-out-loud account of the pleasures and perils of being a Brit in France. Less quaint than A Year in Provence, less chocolatey than Chocolat, A Year in the Merde will tell you how to get served by the grumpiest Parisian waiter; how to make perfect vinaigrette every time; how to make amour - not war; and how not to buy a house in the French countryside.

Review by Laura 

A Year In the Merde is the story of Paul West, a project manager from England who has been seconded to work with a French company to set up a chain of English tea rooms in Paris.  The story follows Paul as he attempts to navigate his way through work, food, women, and dog poop in France.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, at many points making me laugh out loud.  It is an easy read, not particularly challenging but exactly what I needed for a rainy February!  It really highlights the hilarity of both English and French stereotypes and you can tell that Clarke clearly has experience of living in France. 

The character development is excellent and I particularly enjoyed the atypical romance story between Paul and Alexa.  The relationship between Paul and his boss, Jean-Marie, is slightly unbelievable but so funny that it doesn't matter.   And Clarke’s description of the other main characters – Élodie and Paul’s work colleagues – is excellent, really setting the scene for some hilarious mishaps.

I would rate this book 9/10 – A Novel Café Cupcake.  I would definitely read this again  and am looking forward to getting stuck into Clarke’s other ‘Merde’ books.  I would recommend it to anybody who fancies something light-hearted and fun. 

How do you rate week 1?