Best of February 2021

It's February: the month of love and romcoms. See what's out this month....

#1 The Man I Didn't Marry by Anna Bell (4 Feb 2021)

What happens when the man she married can’t remember her at all? Ellie has the perfect life: a happy marriage, a gorgeous daughter and a baby on the way. But when her husband Max suddenly develops amnesia, he forgets everything about the last five years … including their relationship. Ellie’s determined to get to the bottom of his memory loss and find her Max again – he has to be in there somewhere, right? But then she discovers that before he lost his memory, Max was keeping a huge secret from her. 

In my opinion: ★★★★★

I absolutely loved Bell's previous book #WeJustClicked - which is one of the funniest books I've read. And as another brilliant light-hearted romantic comedy I loved this one too! Although this was more continuously funny throughout rather than big laugh out loud moments excluding Ellie being mistaken for a stripper, unicorn headbands and the camping kettle incident. Bell's created another great posse of characters from main character Ellie, who's warm, funny and still slightly geeky, to support characters like theatrical mother-in-law Judy. 

I particularly loved the baby group friends; sharp-witted Helen who says she brought Anneka reusable nappies from her baby shower list as the thought of her washing them "was like giving a gift to myself" and Anneka herself who says: "I can't go into the hospital. What if they make me give birth naturally." They are all people you'd love to know and be friends with in real life. I also enjoyed the contemporary love story of having to fall in love all over again and whether love really is fate or simply timing - can you recreate it? My only criticism is that I wanted an epilogue - I need to know whether the friends had baby girls or boys, names, etc.

#2 Lie Beside Me by Gytha Lodge (18 Feb 2021)

You wake up. 

You can't remember what happened.

The man lying next to you is not your husband.

And he's dead . . .

As Louise desperately struggles to piece her memories back together, it's clear to Detective Jonah Sheens and his team that she is their prime suspect - did she do it?

In my opinion: ★★★★

This totally screws with your mind - I mean main character Louise isn't even sure whether she did it or not. Although I wouldn't even say it's twisty and turny, more a cleverly plotted story line which just adds layer upon layer right up until the end. The u-turn is more on the characters than the plot, with the author turning you from hating someone (Louise) to rooting for them and vice versa with other characters (Alex). I also liked that while this was full of unexpected revelations, it remained realistic unlike so many books which push the boundaries too far in their attempt to deliver shock after shock. Its part police procedural and part psychological thriller alternating between the two.

I really really enjoyed this but couldn't give it the full five-stars for a couple of reasons. One I always find crimes of a sexual nature uncomfortable reading. I also dislike it in crime novels when the detectives' stories follows that of the victim - it just feels too much and unnecessary. This is the first/only one I've read but is actually the third in a series. It works as a standalone although at the start I did find all the different police detectives difficult to keep track of as it was obviously the first time I'd met them - it was perhaps also why I wasn't quite as invested in their stories too. I'll definitely be catching up with the previous two books though.

#3 Much Ado About You by Samantha Young (2 Feb 2021)

At thirty-three-years old Evangeline Starling's life in Chicago is missing that special something. In a burst of impulsivity, she plans a holiday in a quaint English village with a temporary position at Much Ado About Books, the bookstore located beneath her rental apartment. As soon as she arrives, Evie's drawn into the lives, loves and drama of the friendly villagers including Roane Robson, the charismatic and sexy farmer.

In my opinion: ★★★★

This started so strongly. I liked the first person monologue style which felt just like chatting to a good friend - a witty American thirty something booklover friend. I also liked that it wasn't just a love story but had lots more going on too with village life providing lots of family, friend and neighbour interactions (as well as a great supporting cast). I also liked the realistic timeframe with the story spanning a number of months rather than the whirlwind romances typical of this genre. However, as it went on there were a few things that took it from a 5-star to 4-star. Firstly that newcomer Evie was able to fix everyone else's lives, even fixing long-standing issues that had been plaguing the village for decades. It was a bit much both in terms of the ease and speed she could help and the sheer number of things she got involved in. At least a couple of these could have been forgone and more focus given to the running of the bookshop (which was one of the things that really drew me to this book but was sadly given little time). I also thought after the build up, Roane's "betrayal" was really quite insignificant and personally I really couldn't understand Evie's distress at finding out the hot, single guy you've fallen for is actually extremely wealthy - I mean seriously?! But, most annoying for me was Roane's continuous use of the term "Angel" urgh! A good book though despite a few minor niggles.  

#4 Married at First Swipe by Claire Frost (4 Feb 2021)

Hannah has truly been living her best life. But she wishes she had someone to spend the quieter moments with too. Jess has been with her husband for twenty years. They have a stable marriage, great kids and run their own businesses. But Jess can’t help but wonder whether settling down is all it’s cracked up to be. When Hannah embarks upon her latest scheme: finding a man using Jess’s dating app and meeting him for the first time at the altar, both women start to realise the grass isn't always greener.

In my opinion: ★★★

Described as perfect for fans of Helly Acton and Mhairi McFarlane (which I am) and loosely based on one of my favourite TV shows 'Married at First Sight' I couldn't wait to read this. Sadly though I was left disappointed as it wasn't anywhere near as funny as 'The Shelf' or 'If I Never Met You' or as dramatic as the show. The big problem for me was that this focused way too much on the pre-wedding and not enough on the wedding or marriage. I wanted more of their first impressions of each other, more of what happened on the honeymoon, more dates, more getting to know each other, more Toby - just more of everything really. I also wanted more from the epilogue - which was too soon after the end of the story to see how things worked, particularly for Jess who wasn't even given an update. The other problem was main character Hannah - who I found slightly annoying and totally selfish. Overall, an easy read but one that ambled along and unfortunately just didn't live up to its potential.