Hard to Get by Jessica Fox

****4 stars
This is the third book in the Hen Night Prophecies. I have to say that it has been a while since I read the first, but I only recently read the second and have found that this one is my favorite thus far. It is about Charlotte that has chosen to keep to herself in measure and not completely open up, which holds all that are close at arms length. After being hurt and having to see the betrayal day after day as her ex-husband is her co-worker, Charlotte's uses the experience as another lesson as to why you simply can't trust men. I guess I just found this character so believable with the way she has chosen to live as self preservation. It was a great romance that has you cringing at some of the assumptions that Charlotte makes.

Book Jacket Summary:
"Love will come through hope alone"
Or so a fortune-teller tells Charlotte at her future sister-in-law Zoe's hen night. But the fact is Charlotte's love life is utterly hopeless. She's decidedly single and not happy about her ex-husband Richard working with her at the Arts Council, especially as he's dating her boss.
When Charlotte's and Ricard's work trip to Yorkshire includes a visit to the Hope Foundation. Charlotte has to laugh-although she wonders if the sparks between them really has been snuffed out. And that about devoted single dad Paul? And the dashing, dark and brooding Heath? Perhaps Charlotte has reason to hope after all.

A Summer Fling by Milly Johnson

**** 4 Stars
This was a great book about the formation of friendship through a common workplace. Each character was unique and had a wonderful story. I thoroughly enjoyed watching as their friendship grew and their pasts became revealed, as to how they became the people they are now. I really enjoyed Dawn's story and found that it ended the way I had hoped, but took a different route to get there. It took me a few more chapters than normal to be pulled in, but I see that it helped form a wonderful deep story of friendship and the strength that it can give you to make choices you might have feared to conquer on your own.

Book Jacket Summary:
These girls are about to have a summer they'll never forget!
When dynamic Christie blows in like a warm wind to take over their department, five very different women find themselves thrown together at work.....
Anna, 39, is left reeling after her fiance's departure with a younger woman. Can she ever learn to trust again? Then there's Grace, in her fifties, trapped in a loveless marriage with a man she married because she fell for his motherless brood. Can she prevent 33-year old Dawn-orphaned as a teenager and engaged to a love-rat Calum - from making the same mistake she did?
At 28, Raychel would seem to be the happiest, with a loving husband, Ben, and their cosy nest for two. But what dark secrets are lurking behind this perfect facade, that make sweet, pretty Raychel so unwilling to open up?
Under Christie's kindly hand, the girls know they have some difficult choices to make. Indeed, non of them quite realized how much they needed the sense of fun. laughter, and loyalty that abounds when five women become friends.

Anything for Love by Sarah Webb

**** 4 stars
I enjoyed this book and was sad to see it end. I really liked Alice and felt for her for the paces she was put through by her employers. The underlying plot kept the pace rolling along with sparks of suspense. If you are in the mood for a funny romantic read, this is a great book.


Book Jacket Summary:
Alice Devine needs a well-paid-fast-or she'll end up living with her sister again. A young single mum, she's still waiting (and waiting!) to meet the man of her dreams. When she lands the position of assistant fund-raiser for St. Jude's Maternity Hospital-and meets her gorgeous but enigmatic new boss, Jack Wiseheart - she's over the moon.
However, she hadn't banked on being general dogsbody to the terrifying chair of the hosiptal's fundraising committee, wealthy socialite, Maud Hamilton-O'Connor, and her side-kick Koo Ryder.
Nothing is what it seems, however, and it's not only the women who have their secrets. And whenh everything Maud holds dear is threatened, it's up to Alice to show her how to fight for what she truly believes in.

Nothing but Trouble by Rachel Gibson

****4 stars
These are my guilty pleasures. I enjoy Rachel Gibson books, my only complaint would be that they end and I can't wait for the next one. This book goes along with many of her previous witting s, as she has focused on a hockey league called the Chinnocks, and their players. I have really enjoyed all of them. This ones lead character, Chelsea, was cute and quirky and I really liked her a lot. I could also relate to the leading man Mark, as an on the mend ex-hockey player, having to pick up the pieces of his life after a horrific car accident. It is a must read, especially if you are a Rachel Gibson fan.

Book Jacket Summary:
Trouble . . .
Chelsea Ross's acting career has been a total bust. The closest she ever came to stardom was her brilliant performance as "Pretty Dead Girl #1." But leaving Hollywood to become the personal assistant to a famous hockey player could be her stupidest career move ever.
More trouble . . .
Injured superstar Mark Bressler's glory days are over. The bad-boy ex-jock could at least be civil to the pint-sized, pink-haired bombshell who the Seattle Chinooks hired to be his P.A. If Chelsea didn't need the money, she'd be running from the world's biggest jerk as fast as her feet could carry her.
Big trouble!
Chelsea can deal with Mark's rotten attitude and dark moods. The problem is those biceps and that red-hot bod! And when the bad boy starts to put the moves on her, Chelsea knows it's time she banished him to the penalty box . . . if only she could resist the kind of trouble he has in mind!

Second Time Around by Beth Kendrick

*****5 Stars
I loved this book. I picked it up early afternoon and had it finished by bedtime. It should have come with a warming, reading this will have you neglecting life for several hours. Her books just flow for me. I wish she would put them out faster. I didn't want to put this one down. It was a story of friendship, where the characters relationships gave the other strength and courage to go for their dreams, love and to live each day to the fullest. It's a great story of how it is never to late too change direction and find happiness. I strongly recommend this as a great book for the beach.

Book Jacket Summary:
Every summer, a group of former English majors holds a mini-reunion. They laugh, reminisce, and commiserate about their soul-sucking jobs. Maybe they shoudl have listened to everyone who warned them to study something "practical."
Then an unexpected windfall arrives - one million dollars, to be exact - with the stipulation that they use it to jump-start their new careers. Almost overnight, a professor, a bartender, a copywriter, and an administrative assistant reinvent themselves as a novelist, an event planner, a pastry chef, and a bed-and-breakfast owner. But the changes in their professional roles create unexpected turbulence in their personal lives, and soon secrets from their past start to resurface.

Love Letters by Katie Fforde

****4 stars
I loved this book as I have loved many of the other Katie Fforde books. She has a way of really spinning a story where I feel immersed within it. I have always loved to escape with a good book, and find that Fforde's books are able to transcend me to a place I haven't been before. I do feel the main character Laura was different from your normal chick lit heroines. She was quiet shy and down to earth. I really enjoyed seeing this character come alive. As always, I look forward to my next Fforde book.

Book Jacket Summary:
With the bookshop where she works about to close, hopeless romantic Laura Horsley, in a moment of uncharacteristic recklessness, finds herself agreeing to help organise a literary festival deep in the heart of the English countryside. But her initial excitement is rapidly followed by a mounting sense of panic when reality sinks in and she realizes just how much work is involved - especially when an innocent mistake leads the festival committee to mistakenly believe that Laura is a personal friend of the author at the top of their wish-list. Laura might have been secretly infatuated with the infamous Dermot Flynn ever since she studied him at university, but traveling to Ireland to persuade the notorious recluse to come out of hiding is another matter. Determined to rise to the challenge she sets off to meet her literary hero. But all too soon she's confronted with more than she bargained for - Dermot the man is maddening, temperamental and up to his ears in a nasty case of writer's block. But he's also infuriatingly attractive - and, apparently, out to add Laura to his list of conquests...

Take a chance on Me by Jill Mansell

****4 stars
As with all books by Jill Mansell "Take a Chance on Me" will pull you in quickly and have you not wanting to put it down. There are many likeable characters that you go between and it keeps the pace moving right along. I found myself really drawn to Ash and Abbie. I did think that Cleo's story, the main character, drug out a bit and would have liked to seen something happen a little sooner in the book. It almost seemed rushed at the end. Overall, I really liked the book.. It wasn't my favorite Jill Mansell, but still a wonderful read.

Book Jacket Summary:
Cleo Quinn doesn't have the greatest track record when it comes to men, but now Will's come along. Handsome and attentive, he could be her Mr Right. Things are definitely looking up for Cleo... apart from one small problem with a rather large ego. Johnny LaVenture, sculptor extraordinaire and her personal childhood nemesis, is back in Channing's Hill and tormenting her as if he'd never been away. Meanwhile Cleo's sister Abbie has a problem of her own – husband Tom has become distant and withdrawn, and she's determined to find out why. But will the shocking truth mean the end of their idyllically happy marriage? The sisters are about to discover that the past can come back to haunt you, and that love can flourish in the unlikeliest of places...