Chick Lit

Review: The Secrets Sisters Keep by Sinéad Moriarty

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The Secrets Sisters Keep by Sinéad Moriarty (UK edition)

Title: The Secrets Sisters Keep
Author: Sinéad Moriarty
Genre: Contemporary, Chick Lit
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK (26th February 2015)
Source: Catherine Ryan Howard/Penguin Books
Blurb:

The Devlin sisters rely on each other – but some things are just too painful to share, even when your sisters are your best friends . . .

Mum-of-four Julie thought that if her family had more money, life would be easier. But now they’ve inherited a fortune, her problems are only starting.

Lawyer Louise is used to having life go exactly as she wants it to. Discovering that there are some things even she can’t control is a shock she might never recover from.

And former model Sophie can just about cope with getting older – that’s until her ex-husband finds a younger model.

All three sisters think that some battles can only be fought alone. Maybe they need to think again . . .

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

THE SECRETS SISTERS KEEP is the latest novel from Sinéad Moriarty. The book follows the story of three forty-something sisters – Julie, Louise, and Sophie – as they navigate through the changes in their lives. Julie’s husband recently inherited a fortune which has eased things for her family financially, but means she’s left on her own more. Louise finds out something that changes her life. Whilst Sophie struggles to find her place.

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Review: Coco’s Secret by Niamh Greene

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Coco’s Secret by Niamh Greene

Title: Coco’s Secret
Author: Niamh Green
Genre: Chick Lit, Contemporary
Publisher: Penguin (15th August 2013)
Source: Penguin Ireland
Format: Finished Copy
Blurb:

Coco Swan has always been embarrassed by her name . . .

With a name like Coco, people expect you to be as exotic and glamorous as the famous designer, not an ordinary-looking small-town antiques dealer who could win an award for living cautiously.

But when a vintage Chanel handbag turns up in a box of worthless bric-a-brac, Coco’s quiet world is suddenly turned upside down. Where did it come from? And is it just coincidence that it’s the same bag Coco’s late mother always wanted for her?

When Coco discovers a mysterious, decades-old letter hidden in the bag’s lining, she sets off on a quest to piece together the story behind it, stumbling across secrets that span three generations as she goes.

Could the beautiful Chanel bag be about to teach Coco more than she wants to learn? Or will it show her just where her heart can take her if she lets it lead the way?

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

COCO’S SECRET by Niamh Greene tells the story of Coco Swan who lives in Ireland and runs an antiques shop. Coco bids on and wins a box of odds and ends at a local auction, in which she later uncovers a vintage Chanel bag that contains a letter which sends her on an adventure.

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Review: I Wished For You by Amy Huberman

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I Wished For You by Amy Huberman

Title: I Wished For You
Author: Amy Huberman
Genre: Chick Lit, Contemporary
Publisher: Penguin (6th June 2013)
Source: Penguin Books
Format: Finished Copy
Blurb:

Grace and Robbie seem destined to be together for ever, but when he unexpectedly goes down on bended knee, Grace freaks out. Cue the mother of all meltdowns.

On top of that, Grace is not exactly fulfilled by her job – dressing well-to-do ladies with way more money than style. Cue – in her addled state – losing it at work, with disastrous consequences.

Into Grace’s train-wreck of a life comes Verity – ex-Hollywood costume lady and vintage-clothing queen. Verity has seen it all and done it all and her life makes Grace’s look about as exciting as Songs of Praise. Verity tells Grace that the secret of happiness is to discover her ‘heart wish’. If only Grace could work out what her heart’s greatest wish really is . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

I WISHED FOR YOU is the second novel by Amy Huberman. It tells the story of Grace Harte an almost thirty year-old who is in a comfortable relationship with her boyfriend Robbie, the only problem she has (apart from her job) is that well-meaning friends and family keep asking her when she and Robbie are going to get married. Grace is happy with the status quo, and when it looks like Robbie might actually propose she freaks out.

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Review: Mutton by India Knight

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Mutton by India Knight

Title: Mutton
Author: India Knight
Genre: Chick Lit, Contemporary
Publisher: Penguin (1st August 2013)
Source: Penguin Books
Format: Finished Copy
Blurb:

Clara Hutt is forty-six years old and is in pretty good nick, considering. She has kick-ass underwear, a large and loving family, and a healthy sense of what matters in life. Until Gaby moves in.

Gaby’s an old school friend of Clara who has just returned from LA. She may be a yoga mogul who lives off kale and speaks a made-up fantasy novel language, but Gaby’s no stranger to cosmetic surgery: she’s almost fifty but looks thirty-six at most.

What with Gaby, and Clara’s son’s leggy girlfriend, Sky, wafting around the house in her stripy pants, Clara starts to wonder if a little Botox, a little filler, a nip and a tuck, would be so very wrong. Should she ignore the fear? Or is there another way to grow old gracefully – and how far is she prepared to go to find out?

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

Clara Hutt is a  forty-six year old mother of three who on the whole likes her life until her best friend from childhood Gaby comes to live with her. Gaby has lived in LA being a yoga mogul, and all that entails. The last time Clara saw Gaby she was the thin pretty one, but the tables have turned with Gaby returning looking closer to thirty-six than her actual age of almost fifty.

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