The Midnight Witch by Paula Brackston

**
I wanted to read this as I’ve had Brackston’s previous novels as audiobooks.  I quite enjoyed The Witch’s Daughter, but was less enamoured by The Winter Witch.  However, when I’m in the mood I like my witchcraft/ magical themed stories and so wanted to give the author another go.

Lady Lilith becomes Head Witch of the Lazarus Covern on the death of her father.  Not only is she stunningly beautiful, rich and engaged to an equally gorgeous and talented son of an earl, she’s a powerful neocromancer.  Romantic affairs and sinister witchy complications affect her otherwise perfect life.

Sadly, this one didn’t work for me.  I didn’t like or care for any of the characters, Lilith in particular was just irritating.  The whole point of her covern is the big secret she has protect at all cost and then she tells the rather random guy that she suddenly decides she loves.  I struggled to finish the book, but I did felt I had to give it a chance to grown on me, unfortunately it didn’t.  Not a lot actually happens, the whole magical aspect was unimpressive and by the end I didn’t really care.

Sorry, just not for me.  Although I did like the cover!

Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the chance to try it.

Cold Feet at Christmas by Debbie Johnson

**
Rob is trying to get away from it all by spending Christmas alone in a Scottish cottage.  His peace is destroyed when a dishevelled and almost delirious bride turns up on his doorstep seeking sanctuary.   Leah has abandoned her fairy tale Christmas wedding after finding her intended up to no good with a bridesmaid.  The unlikely pair is snowed in but quickly make the best of the circumstances by jumping into bed with each other!  We go from serious passion to cruel rejection and it just left me feeling a bit “ick”.

I was expecting a cosy love story with a slow, romantic build up where two hurt and slightly damaged people find love.  If that’s what you’re wanting, this isn’t the book for you; I also didn’t think it was a Christmassy story and I didn’t get the warm, fuzziness I expect from a Christmas novel.  

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the book, but it’s just not for me.

The Fat Chance Guide to Dieting by Claudia Pattison

**
Three women are battling the bulge at the local "Fat Chance" slimming club.  Holly lives with Rob but has to deal with the far too frequent visits from his overbearing mother.  Naomi is a wedding photographer who finds unusual perks to the job and recently widowed Kate has been seeking solace in the fridge.  The three become firm friends and support each other through the strict diet regime, a boot camp and their own personal dilemmas.

So two things made me buy this book; firstly, I just loved the cover and even though I know you shouldn't judge by that alone, I probably am a marketer's dream and yes, I do fall for the trap! Secondly, I'm back on the diet wagon, and although I've not submitted to the slimming clubs this time, I've been there (several times), bought the t-shirt, calorie point book, those horrid diet biscuits that taste of nothing and I have been the cynical element that sits at the back that the leader finds difficult to motivate!  So I was in for a light hearted dig at the world of losing weight...and although the book does provide that, I was disappointed...a bit like how Options 40 calorie hot chocolate just doesn't deliver against a full fat Starbucks version!

I didn't realise (should have checked the blurb on the back) until I'd bought the book that Claudia Pattison also writes as Leonie Fox.  I read one of those a couple of years back and wasn't overly enthusiastic, so I'd have probably not bothered if I'd been more thorough before slinging it in my supermarket trolley.
As a parody of the horrors of slimming clubs, there was a couple of points where I smiled, but Amanda the club leader is beyond horrific (and at times makes Marjorie Dawes look empathetic!) so it might be funny, at first, but is completely unbelievable that anyone, particularly a professor of psychology, would pay for the privilege of being harangued by such an unoriginal stereotype.  And that's my main problem with this book, it seemed almost over the top, cartoonish at times with such bizarre situations that I just couldn't enjoy it.  The characterisation seemed thin and I really didn't like or care for anyone throughout the story, even Holly, who was the most believable person but was just so wet!  Without giving spoilers,  Naomi was the most unreliable character as I not only disliked her life choices but there was no indication as to why, and as Naomi apparently weighs in at 11 stone is she really likely to be attractive to Toby's "interesting" predilections?
On the plus side, it does rattle along and I still love the cover! However, although it's definitely not to my taste, it will appeal to many.

Recipe for Scandal by Debby Holt

**
Life is gently plodding along for Alberta Granger; living in Bath with her partner, Tony and son, Jacob. The catering business keeps her busy, and the only cloud is the general lack of contact by her high achieving daughter, Hannah.

But Bertie’s world is shattered by the death of her father, the well-known politician, Lord Trussler, in scandalous circumstances. Revelations about her mother, also hit the press and it causes her to question how well she knew the men in her life.

I’ve ready a couple of other books by this author and found them to be easy, light reads. There’s nothing wrong with this one but my main frustration is that nothing happened in the first hundred pages and so I didn’t care when the plot started to move. Generally, the characterisation wasn’t strong enough to make me interested; Alberta is one of the most dull and least self-aware characters I’ve come across for a while and I couldn’t see why she was so interesting to so many people. The tribulations of Hannah’s life were dull and Jacob had the most potential but was quickly shunted off to France (why?!).

The scandal and subsequent “outings” weren’t particularly shocking and although would, understandably create a family crisis, I didn’t find it particularly believable.

Writing Jane Austen by Elizabeth Aston

**
This is the story of Georgina, an American living in England whilst completing post doctorate research.  She rents a room in the house of Henry LeFoy, his teenage sister Maud and housekeeper Anna.
She's a published author specialising in historical misery.  Although her debut novel was critically well received, it appears that no-one actually enjoyed it and unfortunately she's struggling to write her next book.  Her scary editor, Livia, makes her an offer she shouldn't refuse, when publisher Dan Vassey "finds" the opening chapter of a long forgotten, never completed Jane Austen novel.  Georgina has to complete the book in double quick time for loads of cash which will allow her to stay in England.
The problem is that Georgina has never read any Austen and sees it as the antithesis of her gritty, downtrodden understanding of the nineteenth century.  She refuses to do it but circumstances, lack of money and pressure from her friends force her to reconsider.

Although I'm only giving this two stars, there was something strangely compulsive about this book and I did want to see how it all worked out, but there were just too many things that I didn't like to rate it any higher.  Firstly, I didn't like Georgina at all and if I can't warm to a lead character I tend to struggle. (That might just be me, but there it is!) I found her to be a literary snob in thinking that Austen is twee, fluffy and lacks realism.  She spends the first half of the book simply running away from anyone who is trying to make her write the book, making it a chain of events rather than a definite plot.  She is sneering about all the Austen haunts that she visits and comes across as a weak, bigoted character with major author angst. 
When she finally reads all the Austen novels (in a ridiculously short time that wouldn't allow anyone to truly appreciate them) she has a complete turnaround and tries to avoid writing the book as she realises she isn't worthy of the task!  Georgina is a self confessed procrastinator and there's even references to helpful websites (but I didn't check if they were real!)  The middle section of the book is all about the process of writing and heck, does it seem painful...this is enough to put any budding author off!  This focus on effort and process manages to kill off any interest in the story and characters for me...it became a grind for me too.
Henry gradually becomes the romantic hero, but he's so weakly written that he's practically transparent.  Maud is possibly the most interesting character and I though Livia would have been far better approaching her to write the Austen book!  But there's an over reliance on stereotyped misunderstood teenage girl for her to be a stand alone character.
The final denouncement when Georgina finally writes the much demanded book wasn't a big surprise, but did manage to tie everything together. There are several sub-plots going on throughout that relate to Austen plots, but these are unnecessary and a bit forced, as was the quirk of putting in names of Jane Austen's many characters as an in-joke.
I had this on audiobook and couldn't understand why they'd used an American reader.  Georgina was the only American character and it made the whole thing sound out of place as the attempts at an English accent were patchy at best.  The use of "Americanisms" by English character's was also annoying and should have been edited out.  Maud as a private school teenager, would never use the word "sneakers"
and there were other examples that were just wrong!
Similarly to the Mr Darcy ruined my Life book, it had a spark of potential that it didn't live up to.  For something that has so much content on the process of producing a book, I though the author needed to take on her own advice a little more.  Disappointing and a bit pointless for me.  Sorry!

Mr Darcy Broke my Heart by Beth Pattillo

**
Still on my Regency theme - but a modern twist, with this one!

Claire Prescott travels from the US to Oxford university for a Pride and Prejudice Summer School.  She's taking the place of her Austenophile sister who is unable to travel, but she's probably not the best person to do so as she has only a sketchy knowledge of the author and her books.
Claire is having a difficult life, she's brought up her sister, Missy, by herself after the death of her parents, has just lost a fairly mediocre job and has a nice, but inattentive and dull boyfriend.  She realises that this could be a fresh start and she can be whoever she wants to be amongst a load of strangers that she'll never see again.
Soon after arriving she meets a tall, dark and aloof stranger.  Is this her Darcy?  She also meets the eccentric Harriet Dalrymple, who claims to have a first draft of P&P and is eager to share it with her.  As the week progresses Claire becomes fascinated by the very different version of events in Harriet's manuscripts, how will it turn out for Lizzie Bennet? But there's also her own developing romance and conflicting feelings for James (potential Darcy) and Neil (safe boyfriend) the ongoing subterfuge by others to get their hands on the valuable manuscript.

I think there's a danger that I've made the book sound better than it really is...
True, it has great potential, but it just didn't work for me.  Firstly, Claire is wet; she is moping about her parents death, trying to run her sister's life and being a general doormat.  She is so pathetic and uninteresting that the fact that she managed to get on a plane and find Oxford was a genuine surprise to me.  She shows no improvement through the story and needs a backbone, not P&P.
As soon as she arrives she meets a handsome man who she has immediate "chemistry" with without knowing anything other than he's rich, good looking and a bit pompous. James is a stereotype strong, silent type, but again shows no charm or wit to be a potential engaging character.  The fact that he has another agenda is immediately obvious to all but Claire.  However, she wafts gently around Oxford, and there's lots of description of the city, but I don't know how reliable it is as I've only visited once, and meets a mad old bird who practically holds her hostage to read the first draft of P&P.  It's all too contrived and convenient to believe.
There's no character development - everyone is a cardboard cut out, the dialogue is laboured and I just didn't care!  It managed to be both cold and superficial and "twee - Lil' ol' England" all at the same time.
However, the best bit (and how it manages to get any stars at all!) was the alternative version of P&P where Mr Bennet dies and Elizabeth seeks employment by becoming companion to Anne de Bourgh and meets Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam at Rosings.  I found this interesting as a "what if" exercise, and though not brilliantly written, was enough to make me read on.
Overall, it read like fan-fiction and just didn't live up to expectations.  With a title like this you'd expect most readers to have a pretty good knowledge of Austen, but the constant explanation provided by the character of Martin (a professor in Austen) was patronising and stalled what little bit of plot development was there.
I could be kind and give it an extra star for the attractive cover, but as the picture had absolutely no relevance to what happens in the book anyway, I just can't! 2 stars and won't bother with any others by this author.

Other People's Secrets by Louise Candlish

**
The glamorous Sale family are holidaying in a luscious villa on Lake Orta.  Their stylish and confident air disguise the underlying problems that are simply on hold as Marty, the charasmatic husband and father brings his family together for possibly the last time.
Ginny and Adam Trustlove are devastated by the tragic death of their baby son.  Ginny has retreated from the world, whilst her husband is following the self-help and counselling route which creates further tensions as they try to cope with their grief by taking a peaceful holiday within the grounds of the Sale's villa.
I'm afraid I have to be pretty blunt about this one...sadly, not even the gorgeous setting of Lake Orta could redeem this book for me as it's just sooo gloomy.  The whole thing takes place within a fortnight and has a very limited number of characters that you hardly get to know or care about and this makes it feel superficial and claustrophobic.
Firstly the Trustloves.  Okay, so they're grieving, but they are mightily irritating.  I can't really find anything else to say.  The revelation at the end was unconvincing as I couldn't believe that Adam was sufficiently interesting to have any kind of sordid past!
The Sales are based on an idealised "Boden" family and the descriptions of the family business describes the company's catalogues and media coverage exactly.  Bea is quietly perfect, Marty is dynamic and their three adult children are pretty thinly drawn.  Dom is agonising throughout the book over something that I didn't want to know and didn't care when finally revealed.  Esther (who was so redundant I couldn't remember her name) is beautiful and a lesbian but has no point to the plot and Pippi is an irritating, over indulged brat.
Bea quickly reveals that Marty is a serial adulterer and now the children have grown up it's time for her to move on.  The whole mix is stirred up by Zach who arrives in the town and is quickly leapt upon by Pippi, who fancies him as a romantic diversion.  Zach and the Trustloves are quickly drawn into the Sales' circle and tensions and subterfuge take over.
I usually love books set in Italy, but this could be taking place anywhere...there's little description of the lake (apart from it being cold and Ginny quickly gets fed up of visiting churches) and so not even that made me interested in going on.  It was too cold, removed and depressing for me to enjoy.  Sorry.

Charming the Prince by Teresa Medeiros

**
So, I was pretty scathing about a previous Teresa Medeiros book a few days ago…in my defence, I got this one at the same time, and although I was expecting more of the same, it does pain me to give away books before at least giving them a go.  So I gave it a go!

It is more of the same really (and I won't bother with any more by this author - they're just not for me) – this time, it's medieval England and Lord Bannor returns from the wars in France to find he needs a mother for his huge brood of unruly children.  He sends out his friend Hollis to find a suitably maternal woman, who he won’t be attracted to (so he doesn’t have more children!)  Unfortunately for Bannor, Hollis returns with the beautiful Willow, who has been used as a skivvy by her evil-stepmother. Both Willow and Bannor are instantly attracted to each other, but spend most of the book fighting and squabbling, until they get their happy ending!
That’s really all I can say – it’s written as a fairy tale for grown ups, it’s silly, ridiculous romantic fluff and that’s fine, but the characters are one dimensional and there’s no surprises or twists to keep you interested.

The Bride and the Beast by Teresa Medeiros

**
I'm going to keep this one short...I'm off work and it's a retelling (again) of Beauty and the Beast! By now if you've been keeping up with my whims, (and I know there’s at least two people out there who do!!) Firstly, I tend to have indulgent, silly reads when I'm on holiday and secondly, I can't resist any reworking of my favourite fairy tale! (So that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)
However, this has to be one of the most ridiculous - the story set in old Scotland, the beast is a self styled Laird with a thirst for revenge and our Beauty being a pretty but slightly overweight, mouthy girl with a mad father and three sisters who keep the male population of the village entertained! It's bad, but did make me smile at certain points, and it was a swap - so I didn't pay more than postage for it - so it just scrapes two stars – and I’m being kind!

If this is Paradise, I want my money back! by Claudia Carroll

**
Charlotte has a serious road accident and is lying in her hospital bed thinking over her life.  There's not a lot to say about it but she particularly regrets the five wasted years with James, her love rat boyfriend.  After a brief visit to the afterlife she decides to come back as a guardian angel, but the difficulty is she has to watch over her ex!  Being an angel isn't all it's cracked up to be and the ongoing sagas in the lives of her friends and family are increasingly difficult to manage.  James has already moved on but his professional life is crumbling; best friend Fiona is still searching for love on the internet and super efficient sister Kate with the ideal husband is having a less than perfect life!  Charlotte tries to help, but is she just imagining she can play God?

Oh dear, this is a difficult review to write...although I've really enjoyed previous books by Claudia Carroll, I didn't like this at all!  I've given it two stars, because it's not badly written, but I just hated the story and found it a really miserable read.
My main problem is that everyone in the book is having an awful time!  There's no joy and very little humour throughout.  Charlotte starts off in a coma and realises what a waste her life has been so far, she pops up to heaven before having minimal angel training and is sent back down to be her ex-boyfriend's guardian angel.  She also pops in on her best friend Fiona, sister Kate and her mum.  Frustratingly, she finds that only James can hear her and so she starts to settle a few scores with him...not that he needs it as his life is plummeting into a downward spiral.  Kate's perfect marriage is less so when seen at close quarters and Fiona had the potential to be a more interesting character but never developed very far.  The whole thing was thoroughly depressing - infidelity, bankruptcy, family difficulties, clinging ex boyfriends, death, problems conceiving, divorce...it's all in there but nothing is resolved until the last couple of chapters when the reader is promised that everything will be okay in the future but we never get to read that bit as the book ends.  Even heaven is beige - like the waiting room of a hospital!  The best character is Regina the high powered angel, who showed some humour and a sense of style, at least!  My final grip is the constant use of "em" during dialogue to show discomfort, lack of understanding- any pause in a conversation - I'm pretty sure all readers get it, without the over use!
In some ways it has shades of Cecelia Ahern and sadly she's also an author that I've recenty found depressing rather than the promised "life-enhancing" on the cover.  If this is paradise, I hope it doesn't exist!  I truly hope Claudia goes back to what she's done in the past and deals with the same trying issues with a lighter touch and a huge dollop of her previous fun.